I almost always welcome reviews on my works so if you have an opinion about what I wrote feel free to email me at happiest_in_shadows@yahoo.comBe certain to include something in the subject line that will let me know it's not spam. Preferably mentioning the title of the story.

With all the media attention Lucy had been receiving Phillip and Sandra hadn't really had a chance to speak directly with her. Still she had kept in touch with them. "Lucy, I know I asked this over the phone but." Phillip went silent as he was made to suddenly move forward though only slightly. His forward motion was caused by something very large yet with plenty of give bumping into the back of his head and knocking him forward. "Sandra will you quit that?"

"Um nope." In response to her statement Sandra quickly thrust her chest forward once again slamming her breasts into the back of Phillip's head. "I swear no matter how often I do that it never quits being fun."

A sigh escaped Phillip as he slumped forward and tried to brace himself. He tended to enjoy such games but right now he was trying to talk to Lucy. "Are you sure you shouldn't be more concerned?"

"You worry too much Phillip. I know that I didn't get everyone in Mizia that opposed me and I'm sure plenty will hate for me for the wrest of their lives for what I did. However, I doubt they'll do anything about it after the little display of power I put on. As much as they want revenge they simply know that to try to harm me or take away something I care about is to invite a painful death. Now how have you and Sandra been doing."

At first Phillip went to respond but he held his tongue until he once again felt those breasts bump into the back of his head. "Blast it am I going to have to set down?" Instead of waiting for an answer Phillip quickly took a seat. He had up until that point been standing wanting to stretch his legs a bit but it had become clear that wasn't going to work.

Apparently Sandra had been expecting Phillip's response. The moment he set down she quickly lowered herself so that her breasts landed firmly atop his head. As she wrested her breasts atop her lover's head she reached around him so that she held him in place. "Ah that's better. It's nice to have something to wrest these breasts of mine on. They're kind of heavy."

A sigh escaped Phillip as he shook his head actually rubbing his head against the underside of Sandra's breasts as he did so. "As you can tell Sandra is still quite caught up in her new height advantage."

It was impossible for Lucy to keep from giggling as she noted the expression on Phillip's face. "So I see. I'm glad that the symbiots are working out for the two of you though."

"Only thanks to all your help."

"Now now. You did your fair share of the work to."

"Lucy this wouldn't have been possible without your help. You just had us doing the grunt work."

"Exactly! The boring stuff I don't like to do and saps most of my energy. I have to say though I was surprised to learn that the military had already developed mutual symbiots."

"You're not the only one. Are you sure that you should have told us about all of that though?"

"I don't see why not. I never signed any form of agreement after all and the army has been openly providing its soldiers with combat symbiots for years now. It'd be foolish to think they hadn't developed some more powerful versions they haven't made public. I just never assumed that they had developed ones that were quite so powerful."

"Hey Lucy where is Albert right now?"

"He's still wresting. I've been keeping him busy as of late. Even with the modifications I made to his body I suppose I'm a bit demanding."

Instead of questioning where he was wresting Phillip gave his head a quick nod. He'd known Lucy long enough to have a rough idea of just where that location was. "Hey Lucy what happened to the wrest of you? You seemed a lot larger whenever I saw you on television."

"Some of me is in the basement, I have other bodies out taking care of a few jobs. Right now I have a few of my bodies back in the lab working on some projects. The vast majority of me is here though." A sigh escaped Lucy as she shook her head. "I'm really having to strain my brain right now trying to figure out a way to build a home large enough for all of me."

"That's rare. I guess you really have been growing faster then you're use to."

"Yeah, at first it was fun and it still is but." Instead of continuing speaking Lucy pointed behind herself at a few of the joints that were holding up the wall. "This structure was never designed to expand this quickly and I've had to resort to some fairly crude temporary fixes. Even with just this much of me together I have to be careful that I don't collapse the entire structure."

Now Sandra chose to speak up. You seemed quite comfortable during your interview though."

"I was but even then I was using temporary fixes. Though I didn't realize how temporary they were going to be. My financial situation isn't helping things either."

"But you helped us develop the symbiot I'm using. I thought you had taken care of that."

In response Lucy shook her head. "Nope not yet. I've been doing some things to speed up the regrowth and encourage my cash flow but until the satellite is up into orbit I have to be careful. I considered helping the two of you a worthwhile expense though. I just hope I don't collapse this building before my income picks up."

"What happened to make you worry?"

"Some of the metals I used in the construction of my home were ones I developed myself. I thought I had a pretty good understanding of how they worked and the stresses they could endure but it seems I was a bit off. They behaved as I expected within the confines that I tested them in but they haven't endured the wear and tear quite as well as I believed they would outside of the testing confines."

"So have you began working on some new alloys to replace them yet?"

"No I've resolved that metals aren't the way to go with this. At least not in the way you're thinking. I believe I've come up with a better way to hold things together but it's going to require quite a bit of funding to implement." A sigh escaped Lucy as she ran her right hand through her hair. "The limitations of operating within the bounds of what society considers acceptable can be quite frustrating at times."

"Couldn't you just take out a loan? I know that they are a lot of people that are scared of you and angry with you but I'm sure you could get plenty of funding."

"I prefer not to be in debt to anyone considering my situation. Anyway, it's not like I actually need the shelter this building provides and I can keep Albert perfectly safe without it."

In response Phillip gave a nod. He knew better then to ask why Lucy didn't just split up into smaller bodies to take away the risk of collapsing the structure. He knew how much she hated to feel small. As he went to speak though he was surprised whenever Sandra's breasts once again bopped him on the head. In response to this he reached up and quickly took hold of Sandra's breasts without really thinking about his actions. He wasn't surprised though whenever he heard her giggling. "Blasted it Sandra you were trying to make me do that!"

"Hm I wonder if I can lift you with my breasts. I know they got plenty of give but maybe if I flex my chest muscles enough."

There was no way that Phillip was going to let go of Sandra. He knew that to do so was to invite another bop on his head. Unfortunately he could tell she was seriously considering what she'd said. "You know I never dreamed that you would have financial issues."

"In all honesty it caught me off guard as much as this body of mine growing so quickly. I should have planned things out better but I was just so excited when I came back. Of course I could cancel my efforts in Mizia but that wouldn't look good on me and I would prefer not to. Once things have stabilized there I'm certain it'll provide more then enough income to justify the current expense."

"Over how many years?"

"Mm I'm thinking ten years most likely worse case scenario twenty years. That's enough about me though what have you two been up to?"

"Well I introduced Sandra here to my mother and father. They were a bit surprised as she had to duck to avoid damaging the door frame."

"Ah I wish I could have been there for that!"

"His father's eyes nearly bugged out of his head whenever I walked over to him. Did you know that Phillip's dad is actually shorter then he is? My breasts were actually above his head."

"Well yeah I noticed that whenever I met him."

"Of course both of them just had to make a crack about me liking big girls."

"What about your family Sandra? I don't believe you told them what you were working on."

"Nope, they were quite surprised. It actually took my father a few minutes to recognize me and I think it took him several hours to believe that this was his little girl. My mother seemed to recover more quickly and had quite a few questions as you can imagine. Of course I'm sure my father did as well but he wasn't really in a mind set to ask them. My mom probably beat him to them anyway."

"Oh and what kind of questions?"

While Phillip knew the question had been addressed towards Sandra he couldn't help but speak up. "She wanted to know if we had gotten around to buying a reinforced bed yet."

Immediately a slight chuckle escaped Lucy as she listened to the tone of Phillip's voice. She couldn't help but suspect that he had been asked far more personnel questions as well. "I see! Well I suppose that it's important to know that you're handling the relationship well. What all did you tell them about the symbiot?"

"Not much. We didn't tell them that it connects Phillip and me together making use of both of our awarenesses. I'm not sure they'd been comfortable knowing that just yet."

In response Lucy gave a slight nod. "If you two ever do decide to separate you're going to have to come to me first unless you want to risk suffering quite a back lash. Remember the connection and what you can endure depends on you two maintaining a healthy relationship. If one of you should begin shutting yourself off from the other they could end up paying a heavy price."

In response Sandra gave a quick nod and squeezed Phillip to herself more firmly. "Oh no need to worry about that. There is no way I'm letting him go. I decided that long before I even got the symbiot."

"Smart decision. So what else did they want to know?"

"Hm well Phillip seemed pretty uncomfortable whenever my mom was asking them. I'm not sure if he'd like me repeating the really good stuff. They did want to know where I was living now and how I was handling things like door frames. When my father finally managed to find himself he wanted to know what I was going to do about school. I had to tell him just because I put on an extra meter I wasn't going to quit my classes. I still have career plans after all."

"That's good to know. Have you noticed any change in your class performance?"

"OH yeah! The work has gotten much easier. Lately it's just been so easy to recall my lessons."

"Good, I'd be worried if you hadn't shown some improved mental performance. How would you say it compares to what your body has undergone?"

"It hasn't been quite as pronounced but I'm certain it's there. I've had a lot more energy as well so a lot more free time."

"I take it that means your free time has gone down."

Phillip didn't even need to look at Lucy to know she was talking to him. "Well she has been keeping me quite busy but I'm not complaining. At first I thought my grades would suffer but she's been helping me with my class work quite a bit."

"I believe I finally understand why you helped Albert so much. You wanted the attention he was devoting to his work for yourself."

"MM it's amazing how long it took him to figure that out. I don't believe he really understands it now." As she spoke Lucy gave a slight shrug and shook her head. "Are you sure you should be saying that in front of Phillip though."

"Yeah I don't mind if he knows."

"So Phillip what have you been doing to help Sandra along?"

At first Phillip was surprised whenever he felt his cheeks growing warm and he felt a slight blush coming. "Well there isn't a whole lot that I can do. I've been trying your suggestions though I'm not sure how effective they've been."

"What suggestions?!"

A slight chuckle escaped Lucy as she noted the look of surprise on Sandra's face. "I explained to Phillip that your power is directly related to the strength of both of your resolves. I suggested a few exercises that he could do in order to help strengthen his resolve though it would require a fairly large improvement for you to notice a change."

"Oh really? Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"I didn't want to get your hopes up. You know. I didn't want to risk failing you after I had told you."

Lucy didn't wait for Sandra to respond before she spoke up. "You know Phillip that's only hurting your progress. By avoiding those things that would provide extra motivation you only hinder the strengthening of your resolve."

"Huh, I didn't think of that."

"Ah don't worry about it Phillip. I'm just delighted to hear that you've been trying to help me. What have you been doing though?"

"It's not much really. At first I actually found it hard to even attempt because it seemed so silly. I finally decided that even if it seemed silly if there was a chance to help you I might as well take it."

"Which is important. After all willingness to attempt something to help her even if it seems almost too silly to attempt is an important step."

"Yeah but could something so minor really help her?"

"Sure it can! It just might take a while for you to be able to visually see the results. Sandra would be able to feel the changes long before you would notice though."

"Okay you two. I'm delighted to here that but I would really like to know what these exercises are. After all I don't want to put all the burden of strengthening this body on Phillip."

"Are you sure you want to hear them? Like I said they're rather silly."

"Yeah! Especially if they might work."

"Well I'm not sure if you can do them actually. Effectively I asked Phillip to stop and consider what he values most. This includes friends, family and you. I then told him to decide where the priorities wrest and what situations might cause some confusion. He was then to try to evaluate them and see where you really stood in each situation. The decisions he made were the ones he was to commit himself to."

"What? Like if it was choosing between my life or the life of his mother?"

"That is one example yes and quite a good one actually. If he would choose his mother or father's life over you then he hasn't fully resolved himself to being yours."

In response to this Sandra glanced down at Phillip leaning forward a bit so that she could see his face. As she looked into his eyes though she felt certain Lucy wasn't joking. However, she wasn't ready to make him answer such a question verbally. "You believe that would truly help?"

"Yes I do. I also suggested that he tries exercising but instead of doing it for himself think of how it would benefit you. If he could use that as extra motivation it could slowly strengthen his resolve. Of course with the way you've been acting I doubt he's had much time for that."

"Um well. He does get plenty of exercise." A slight giggle escaped Sandra as she gave Phillip a quick kiss on the forehead.

"Oh I have no doubt of that!"

All Phillip could do was cover his face as he listened to the amusement in Lucy's voice. "I'm thinking I might have a slight understanding of what we put Albert through at times. He just had several years to get used to it."

"True but he has to deal with it on a much larger scale. So Sandra what are your plans?"

"Well after this semester Phillip and I plan on taking some time to get away. We're hoping to go to a nice secluded location and see what this body of mine can really do and honestly I'm hoping to put in a few more decimeters or meters if possible. Right now we both have quite a few distractions and I believe getting away from them would help both of us develop."

In response Lucy gave a quick nod. "You could be right but keep in mind that adversity is one of the best ways to strengthen ones resolve as well. Of course taking some time to get away and get closer to one another should help as well. I take it you've been doing some exercises as well."

Now Sandra gave a nod. "Yep as often as I can."

"That's good to know. Well then have the two of you had any fights yet?'

In response Phillip gave his head a nod. "Well yeah we moved in together. We're going to have some disagreements." A sigh escaped Phillip as he rubbed his forehead. "Sandra threatened to make me walk around the house naked if I didn't start keeping my dirty laundry in the basket."

"I was kind of hoping that he would ignore me or think I was bluffing actually but so far he's been keeping things tidier."

"Now that's the way to do it! He learns his lesson and you get something nice to look at. So have there been others? Before you go too far I believe its best to insure that the honey moon is over and the two of you are prepared for this. Before either of you ask if that should have been taken care of before you got the symbiot well the answer is yes and no."

In response Sandra gave a quick nod. "Yeah we were getting along wonderfully before hand but you never know what this kind of change is going to bring. I'd say if anything we've become closer. Even if it's only due to Phillip fondness for my breasts. I swear he can't keep his hands off them."

"More like you can't keep them off of me!"

A slight chuckle escaped Sandra as she gave a slight jump causing her breasts to bounce and impact with Phillips head. The moment her breasts bopped him in the head though she felt his hands once again take hold of them. "See! You just can not keep your hands off of them."

"If I take them off you bop me in the head with them!"

"And your point is?"

A sigh escaped Phillip as he looked up at Lucy who was by now beginning to giggle. "So do you ever do this to Albert?"

"I can't say I've ever spent a day just bopping him in the head with my breasts but it's starting to look like fun. Perhaps I should give it a try." For a moment Lucy grew silent as a wide grin formed on her face. "If you don't mind I'll need a few moments. Albert just woke up." As she finished speaking Lucy drew herself to a standing position and began to walk towards the back room. With each step she paid careful attention to how the walls responded to the force of her foot steps and was made to sigh. "I really don't want to have to use a smaller body then this one inside my own home but it's looking more and more likely."

***********************************************************************************

"So Sara it looks like you have been authorization to negotiate further with Miss Angeye."

"Yeah I just wish what we had learned from her had paid off more. We would have had a lot more leverage during our talks with the commanders."

In response Patrick gave a slight shrug. "It can't be helped. So are you going to meet her face to face?"

"Well I plan to call ahead but yeah I would like to handle the actual negotiations face to face. I just hope she hasn't already moved beyond anything that we could offer her."

"Well if she has perhaps she'll share some knowledge in the name of competition."

It was impossible for Sara to keep from chuckling as she looked at Patrick. "Yeah right. More like share just enough information for us to think we might be able to compete with her just so she can beat us."

"Sounds like someone else I know when it comes to bored games."

"Well aren't you going to get ready?"

"Huh?"

"You're coming to. I'm not going to go there without someone else with me."

"What could I do?"

"Get cleaned up and prepared to go."

"That's not what I meant and you know it. So far you're the only one that has talked with Miss Angeye about such matters."

"Patrick it'd really help me if you were to come."

For a moment Patrick was silent and just looked at Sara. He then gave a slight shrug and stood up. "Give me fifteen to get cleaned up and we can go and speak with her."

***********************************************************************************

Albert a slight sigh as she set atop Lucy's massive right thigh while Patrick and Sara set on the table before the massive monuments Lucy called legs. "So you must be the government agent that Lucy has told me about. It's nice to finally meet you."

"I'm glad to finally meet you as well. Lucy this is Patrick my superior."

"It's nice to meet you Patrick."

"It's nice meet you as well Ms Angeye, Mr Guarsen." As he spoke Patrick gave a slight smile turning his gaze from Albert to Lucy then to Sara.

"Hey what is that grin for?"

"Huh? OH my apologies Ms Angeye. I was just thinking how strange it seems to be calling the two of you by different last names."

"What's strange about that?"

"It just seems peculiar considering that you're clearly a couple. I'm surprised that neither of you have taken the others last name at this point."

"I see." For a moment Lucy grew silent and glanced down at Albert. "I can't say that it hasn't crossed my mind but it never really remained there. You know it never really seemed important. I'm not even sure whose name we'd use. What do you think Albert?"

"I'm not really sure myself. I'd be fine with taking your last name if you want to."

"Hm I don't know that I would want you to give up your last name but then again I don't know if I want to give up mine either." As she finished speaking Lucy gave a slight shrug. "It's not like it's important though. We can talk about this later after all."

"Alright."

After a moment Patrick gave a slight nod. "Well Sara."

"Lucy I take it you already know we're not here purely for social reasons. I was actually hoping that we might exchange some information involving the development of symbiots. I couldn't really negotiate the first time we met but I've been granted greater freedom for these talks."

"Sara you really need to learn the importance of taking advantage of something while it's there. You can probably guess that I've been working on my mental abilities as well. Albert's actually learned to use the connection we share fairly effectively as well."

A slight chuckle escaped Albert as he leaned back looking up towards Lucy's face but only seeing the underside of her breasts. "You have a very generous idea of effectively."

"Ah don't sell yourself short Albert. I think you're progressing quite nicely."

In response Sara gave a quick nod. "Yeah but well orders are orders. I don't have the same level of freedom for negotiations as you do. If I had done so before hand I could have got into a lot of trouble."

"Unless the information you gained was deemed worth while. You know great gains often involve some form of risk. I'd thought you knew that when you first obtained your symbiot."

Now Patrick chose to speak up. "Duty at times restrains us from acting even whenever we believe it would be best to act. It's just one of life's little difficulties we have to over come. Much like your difficulty in securing certain licenses."

A sigh escaped Lucy as she gave her head a quick. "No matter how often I'm right they always want test to prove it. You have a good point there."

"You know Miss Angeye we could help you fast track certain projects in exchange for some information. Now I realize that you could do the same if you wanted to bind a few rules. However, from what I've seen you prefer to refrain from such acts."

"Oh? And just how much more quickly are we talking?"

"If we were to license some of your projects as a joint civilian and military effort we could reduce the evaluation periods from years to months. It would even be possible for us to shoulder some of the cost though only to a limited extent."

"The government only being able to shoulder some of the cost?"

"Miss Angeye we are quite aware of your finances and your remarkable ability to spend them. Quite frankly you're one of the major factors in our economies current success."

A slight chuckle escaped Lucy as she looked up towards the roof for a moment. "You know I never put much thought into it but I suppose I do give you a run for your money when it comes to spending. You should call me Lucy by the way most people do and you seem worth knowing."

Patrick couldn't help but grin. "I do believe that is the first time someone has told me that. Okay Lucy. I can't even begin to offer to finance one of your projects as I have no doubt the cost would become quite noticeable. At least we could shoulder some of the expense though and the technology would remain entirely yours."

"Hey Albert, can you think of anyway that the military could benefit from my current projects?"

"Yeah, it'd be easy to justify giving female soldiers the strength enhancers you've been developing. The satellite would be even easier."

"You mean that wasn't a joke?"

A slight chuckle escaped Lucy as she noted the stunned expression on Patrick's face. "The female and male biology is quite different. A treatment meant to help females refine their body clearly isn't going to work as effectively for males. On top of that the more effective the treatment the more dangerous it is to those who it wasn't built for."

"You do have a point. I just thought you were joking whenever I heard about that project though."

"I'm afraid she's not. I was hoping to get out of my exercises by having her develop some form of treatment but well she wants to be difficult."

"I like feeling you climbing all over me getting all hot and sweaty just for me."

Sara couldn't help but speak up as she looked at Patrick. "Hm that sounds like fun. I may not be as big as Lucy but I bet I could help you with your daily exercises Patrick."

Instead of responding to Sara Patrick chose to keep his mind focused on the conversation at hand. "Well we could indeed use such a treatment even if it would lead us to having to try to develop a male version."

"I'm afraid you'll have to do that one on your own."

"Yes I suspected you would say as much. However, the satellite does have more general use you know?"

"It might but. Patrick have you forgotten my stand on what my technology can and can't be used for?"

A sigh escaped Patrick as he shook his head. "No but I hoped you had."

In response to Patrick's comment Lucy quickly stuck her tongue out at him. "I welcomed you to call me by my first name don't think that I'm going to let you off that much though. The treatment on the other hand would be a different matter. It isn't like I could stop women from using it and it would be foolish for me to believe that female soldiers won't take advantage of such things."

"And if the military was generous enough to devote some of its budget to the treatment?"

"Well you're not forcing the females to take the pills so I can't really blame the army."

Now Albert was made to speak up. "Besides any army that's willing to provide its female soldiers with such pills probably isn't the type Lucy would take issue with."

A slight chuckle escaped Lucy as she reached down and ran her pinky over Albert's back. "Well I can't say that is entirely accurate but there is also some truth to its as well. In truth I wouldn't mind if the UR began using systems I developed for military applications however I can't just permit them to do so. If I were to I have no doubt that other powers that I don't want to use my technology would begin making use of it."

"Wouldn't you enjoy that Lucy? It would justify you acting against them."

"That is true but, well I try to stay out of politics. I don't want to interfere with peoples' lives too much."

"Lucy you changed the political structure of the entire world by wiping out Mizia. Would it really change all that many things if you were to permit the UR to use materials you developed in our weapons systems?"

"You have a point there but yes I believe it would change things too much."

"Ah well. If you'd like we could sign on as joint developers of. What would you name the project?"

"I don't actually have a name for it just now. I just file new ideas under numbers and wait for a name to come to me."

"Very well once you do have a name for it we could sign on as joint developers and even offer you a contract if you would be willing to engage in a limited information exchange."

"There are a few problems with your offer. We might disagree on the value of the information I've given you and I could end up feeling cheated. I believe that I've made it clear on several occasions that I don't like feeling as if I've been cheated."

In response Patrick gave his head a nod. "Very clear but I hope you respect our intelligence enough not to try and cheat you. My ability to negotiate." For a moment Patrick grew silent then turned to Sara. "Blast it Sara this is your job!"

It was impossible for Sara to keep from chuckling as she noted the expression on Patrick's face. "You seemed so relaxed and in your element that I didn't want to risk taking you out of it."

A slight chuckle escaped Lucy as she to noted Patrick's expression. "I take it that this has happened before?"

"Once Patrick starts something he has trouble putting on the breaks. Even when we were first meeting he'd start to help me with a basic task and then end up doing it for me. Patrick before you say anything though, I didn't plan for that to happen. Though I thought that it probably would."

"Uhuh."

There was no way for Lucy to wipe the grin from her face as she noted Patrick and Sara's behavior. She had began to wonder if it was something of an act but she doubted it. They seemed quite relaxed and the conversation had been fairly friendly. "Well in general I do respect the intelligence of the armed forces. I haven't had any trouble with you before hand. However, you must realize that such an arrangement would create even more potential for friction."

"We'd be willing to accept that risk if it would aid in the development of our special units."

"By we I take it you mean you'd be willing to accept the risk and by units I take it you mean Sara."

"Such an arrangement would benefit everyone in the project."

"I somehow doubt that's your main concern. Now Patrick tell me are you mostly doing this for Sara or are you doing it for the army?"

Now Patrick was made to grimace as he looked up at Lucy. After a moment he grew certain she was serious and a sigh escaped him. "For Sara. I know that she wants this."

"I'm glad to hear that. Well I'm sure we can work out something then. I take it you're primarily interested in methods of increasing the threshold of awareness."

"Yes that is our primary interest."

"Okay I know of a few methods that you could help. I'll also dredge up some old plans I have."

"Dredge up?"

"At one time I tried to develop ways to increase my own threshold. However, while studying ways to improve it I found that the method I've been using is still the most effective by far. Eventually it became clear how superior it was so that I ended up scrapping my old plans."

"I take it you wouldn't be interested in shearing your primary method."

"I would but I doubt you'd find it useful. It's not something you can really duplicate out of a desire to do so. It has to happen more naturally then that."

"I understand. We are still interested in the other methods you mentioned naturally."

"I figured you would be. Okay Patrick I'm going to put some trust in you and your superiors. I'll share some of the information with you and trust you to make an equivalent effort to help me. If you don't do so you can forget about any future talks and if I'm unhappy enough you can expect retaliation for trying to cheat me. Is that agreeable?"

"Yes, however should you feel we are not living up to our end of the deal I would appreciate it if you would tell us first. We might be able to make some arrangements to equalize things."

"That's fair enough."

***********************************************************************************

"Okay Albert just remember what you learned while I was letting you manipulate my body. This is very similar."

In response Albert gave a slight nod and continued to focus on the brick in front of him. "I'll do my best but Lucy. I have to say this feels really strange."

An amused chuckle escaped Lucy as she lightly tapped her chin. "Well to be perfectly honest I feel a little silly doing this as well. It's just a matter of you and me working together. Um no Albert not like that?"

"Huh?"

"You're trying to get the brick to move itself. That isn't going to work. You have to move the brick. Think about when I had you move my arms or whenever you kept moving my hands away from my breast. That's what you're going to need to do. You knew the arms weren't yours and they didn't function as yours did but you were still able to affect them."

"With you acting as an intermediate though."

"That's what I'm doing here as well. Now come on Albert I can't do this without you."

In response Albert gave a quick nod and began to focus on the brick in front of him. As he did so he could actually feel something though he wasn't sure if it meant anything or if it was just his imagination. Even as he was speaking he continued to try and focus on the brick before him. "Lucy shouldn't we start with something lighter?"

"No, then you wouldn't be certain if you had truly done anything or not. Though perhaps we could do something to help you out a bit." As she spoke Lucy reached forward and slipped the fingernail of her index finger under Albert. She then gave him a slight nudge causing him to roll over onto his back.

It actually surprised Albert when the moment Lucy rolled him over he lost the feeling he had been experiencing before hand. He didn't get to think much about that though as he looked up at her and noticed the smile she was wearing. "Just what are you planning?"

"You'll find out soon enough." While Lucy didn't answer Albert she didn't make any attempt to hide what she was doing. Reaching behind herself she quickly undid the heavy cables that held her top on. As she undid the material though the metal gave a slight groan that made Lucy wince. "Blast it I hate having to use these materials. They're just so weak."

"Well I doubt they were developed to handle something as massive and bouncy as your bust."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Despite her words Lucy was made to sigh as she tossed the top to the side. It was easy for her to hear when the metal cables struck the fabric that covered her breasts. "I just can't wait until I can develop something more suitable for my clothing. I swear it isn't like it has to do much work though. My breasts support themselves."

"That's still a lot of fabric to hold up." As Albert watched Lucy removing her top he prepared for her to reach down and pick him up. He was a bit surprised though whenever Lucy's began to come closer while her hands remained on her sides. "Um Lucy what are you doing?"

A soft chuckle escaped Lucy as she quickly lowered her chest towards Albert. She could already see him raising to a seated position but didn't have any intention of allowing him to do so. In the end she moved so quickly that the air being pushed aside by her massive chests was actually enough to knock Albert back down making it all to easy for her to settle her chest over him. As she lowered her breast unto Albert she made it a point to position herself so that the edge of her areola was just above his head. "Now where do you think you're going?"

Albert trusted Lucy with his very spirit but as that massive mountain of flesh lowered towards him he couldn't help instinct. Both of his hands reached upward and pressed firmly into that massive mountain as if he had any chance of stopping her. "Now just how is this suppose to help us?"

"I'm getting to that part." As Albert pressed against her breast Lucy continued to lower herself towards him being careful not to crush him. She took her time letting herself enjoy the feeling of his arms quivering as they struggled to hold up that massive weight then feeling them slowly pressed down towards his body. Soon Albert had been forced to lower his arms to his side yet Lucy continued to lower her breast down onto him.

The heat from that massive globe was as all encompassing as the mass itself. As Albert took note of his he couldn't help his body's response and he felt his penis pushing against the front of his pants. As that massive mountain continued to be lowered onto him he actually thrust upward against it but only once. This wasn't from a lack of desire though rather a lack of ability as that massive globe pressed down onto him forcing him to remain still. The softness of Lucy's flesh kept it from being painful but he couldn't move.

"Now let's try this. I want you to make me set up."

"What? How am I suppose to do that?"

"The same way you kept me from fondling my breast." As she spoke Lucy increased the pressure she was exerting on Albert with her bust. She heard a slight grunt escape him as the pressure went from just pinning him to being uncomfortable.

"I was in your body back then though. I can't do it outside."

"Albert you're always with me as we're always connected. Besides I told you where your awareness truly resides." As Lucy spoke she started to move her hand to point for her head but stopped herself. With her breast covering Albert she knew that he couldn't see anything. The action was simply instinctual enough that she had to stop herself from preforming it.

As Albert was listening to Lucy he could have sworn that her breast was pressing down on him more firmly after what had become a pinning force became uncomfortable though he was certain of it. "Lucy, you're settling a bit more of your mass on me then I'm used to."

"Hmhmm I know and it's only going to get worse." As Lucy spoke she allowed more of her breast's mass to settle down on Albert. It was only an insignificant amount to her but she knew it would be substantial to Albert.

"What are you doing?"

"Encouraging you to try and get me to lift my breast up of course. You've had experience working my body."

"I thought we were working on moving outside objects though. This isn't the same as moving something that isn't connected to you."

"True but it has similarities and is much more fun." As she spoke Lucy increased the pressure a bit more. As she did so she couldn't help but notice Albert's penis was still pressing into her flesh quite firmly. "Not all of you seems to be upset about this though." There was no response from Albert but rather a grunt of effort as he pushed up against her breast clearly using a considerable amount of his strength. "Albert you know you're doing it the wrong way."

Once again Albert answered in a grunt though this time it was due to the difficulty of breathing and not effort. He knew that Lucy was right. He also knew there wouldn't be any arguing with her at the moment particularly because he doubted he could talk effectively. There was no choice but to try things her way so that he began to focus on the massive globe pressing down on him. As he focused upon it he tried to mimic what he'd done while inside of Lucy's body.

It only took Albert a few moments to comply and Lucy felt the first tingle in her back muscles as he tried to have her lift her breast off of him. It wasn't nearly pronounced enough to cause her to do so even if she didn't fight it but it did have an affect. "See you can do it Albert. I can feel. That!" It was hard for Lucy to keep from jerking upward as she felt Albert's tongue press firmly into her breast and move along the tiniest portion of it. As his tongue moved over as much of her breast as it could in his pinned state he quickly closed his mouth running his teeth over the surface of her flesh.

If he had been able to breath easily enough Albert would have chuckled as he noted Lucy's response. He knew that he hadn't harmed her and his tactic had worked. Some of the pressure was lifted off of him. It wouldn't be enough to get Lucy to lift all of that globe off of him but at least it wasn't as uncomfortable. Before hand it had been borderline with being painful.

"Oh that's just being tricky." Even as she spoke Lucy could still feel Albert trying to get her breast lifted off of him. She was glad that he wasn't using his arms to the extent he had been. He couldn't stop trying entirely just yet but that was natural. "Come on Albert I know you have it in you."

"Lucy, you're the only one that has an awareness strong enough to operate a body like yours."

"OH Albert that isn't true. Your awareness is strong enough you just need to realize that and I'm sure this will help." As she spoke Lucy considered leaning forward again to motivate Albert more but she chose not to. She could feel his efforts having an affect despite his statements. There were other ways of encouraging him as well. "Come on Albert you helped me develop this body of mine so much. You were there always nurturing me but never letting me grow content. Just think whenever I first found myself able to look over the tree tops."

Now Albert was made to feel a ping of guilt for a moment. Not because of what he'd said but because what he couldn't remember. "Lucy, I wish I could but I can't remember that."

"Ah well we were young then. You said. Just wait until you can look over the buildings like that. Of course you never specified what buildings."

For a moment Albert was silent then a chuckle escaped him. "Hey I actually remember that! I was talking about the research building."

"Really? I thought you were talking about some skyscrapers."

"Then I'm glad you never asked me to clarify." A grunt escaped Albert as he noted Lucy's breast move upward slightly. He was still pinned so that he couldn't work his way out from under Lucy's breast but it did give him some more breathing room.

"Now Albert you can't relax yet! You're just beginning to work my muscles."

Before anything could happen Albert immediately resumed his efforts. Right away he recognized the tone in Lucy's voice and knew that if he stopped now she'd lower her breast back down on him. "Can't you give a guy a break?"

"Nope! Not until he realizes that he shouldn't be straining at all. Albert do you really believe I have to exert that much force to stand up?"

"Not but."

"Your awareness isn't weak Albert you shouldn't be straining at all. Quit trying to brute force your way through and feel what works."

A sigh escaped Albert as he began to force his arms to relax. It proved more difficult then he thought it would as he could have sworn the pressure on his chest increased when he did so. His instincts told him to push up with his arms and with all that weight pressing down on him it was hard to ignore them. He managed to do so though and began to try to focus on Lucy lifting her chest off of him. "I'm not trying to get you to lift your chest off of me I'm trying to lift it right?"

"Yep!"

"Lucy I've been wanting to ask. How much control can you exert over my body?"

"The same amount of control you can exert over mine at least in theory. Albert we have a two way connection. Nothing about it gives me an advantage over you but you don't have any advantage over me at least not from the physical link between us two. If you wanted to try to over ride my control over my body it would be purely a battle of will and the reverse is true. Hey I have an idea. Perhaps you'd feel more comfortable if I enter." Lucy didn't get a chance to finish.

"No!"

"Huh? But I was just going to suggest."

"You are to stay out of my body."

"Ah but why? It's a fine adorable strong body. I think we could have a lot of fun. Perhaps we should switch control and point of view entirely."

In response Albert quickly shook his head. "No. Lucy I still feel strange inside of your body and I sure don't want to know what it's like for you to be inside of mine."

"Ah that's just being selfish!"

"Lucy, I just can't stand to think of you that way. It just wouldn't feel right. Even though I feel awkward whenever I'm inside of your body and seeing through your eyes I still know your surrounding me. All around me and that I'm comfortable with."

"Ah but you don't want to feel like you're surrounding me?"

A slight chuckle escaped Albert. "You know I suppose that I don't."

"You mean you don't feel like wrapping your arms around me hugging me and keeping me safe?"

"Lucy I want to protect you in every way I possibly can. I want to be your shield but I. You know I don't believe I would feel differently if you had never grown. If you were smaller then me I'd probably be trying to convince you to join me in the gym."

It was impossible for Lucy to keep from giggling. "And why is that?!"

"I don't like the idea of you being weak Lucy. You deserve your strength every least bit of it and every last bit you will gain you are fully worthy of it. I want you to have that power and I don't want anything to happen to ever diminish it."

"Thanks Albert."

"You're welcome Lucy now how about getting this incredibly lovely but massive mountain off me?"

"Not happening. You're either going to lift it off of you or you're going to be there for a very long time."

"Come on Lucy you've got to let me up sooner or later?"

"Oh do I? Who here has multiple bodies? Which one of us knows how to network her mind with computer systems to get outside business done?"

"You do."

"So you see Albert I could be here for a very long time and by the way. I like how you feel pressing up against my breast so I'm in no hurry."

A groan escaped Albert as he started to push up against Lucy's breast more firmly. This time he remembered though and was able to keep his body from trying to physically force her breast up. Instead he forced himself to relax and try to continue feeling out what he was doing. As he focused his thoughts he was quite surprised whenever he felt the pressure Lucy was exerting against his body lighten up even more.

"See Albert. You can do it."

"Um Lucy do I have to make you straiten up entirely or do I just have to get enough room to wiggle out from under here?"

"Hm I'll cut you a little break for today. If you can wiggle out from under my breast we can move onto something else."

"Now hold on. Before I agree to that what do you mean by something else?"

A slight chuckle escaped Lucy as Albert clearly wasn't letting his guard down. "Something we can both enjoy."

"Do you mean in the long run or immediately?"

"Now Albert would I reward you with an even more difficult task?"

"Yes."

Um well." A slight chuckle escaped Lucy as she ran her index finger over her lips. "Okay, if you can get out from under my breast I assure you that the immediate task will be enjoyable for the both of us."

"And how long will this task last?"

"Oh at least three hours."

"Yet you won't tell me what that is?"

"Nope."

"Well then I guess I'll have to accept it."

***********************************************************************************

It was hard for Lucy to be upset as she felt Albert snuggled against her right breasts as he lay within her cleavage. His presence alone was often enough to comfort her even when she found herself feeling frustrated. These last few days had reminded her of the past. InCon had originally supported her but as she had continued growing Lucy had realized the limitations of that arrangement. It had become clear to her that they wouldn't be able to support her forever as her scale and wants continued to grow so she had branched out with her own projects.

Starting out had been rough but in time Lucy gained enough money to do what she wanted. For several years she hadn't had to think about money. Now she was having to do so and it was rather frustrating. So much of her money was going into Mizia that it actually annoyed her. However, she felt sympathy for those people who had backed down and wanted to help them out. Waiting years for government approval on certain projects wasn't fun either especially when she knew it'd help with her income.

What made the situation bad though was her limited space. She needed a new place to call home if she was going to have some form of privacy without using increasing smaller bodies. Even if she did pull in enough money to expand her current home the expansion would eat up most of her property and she wouldn't be finished growing even then. She needed to move away from where she was despite what she's contributed to the community.

There was a brief reprieve from these thoughts as Lucy felt some movement and glanced down at Albert. He was looking up at her though she could tell that he wasn't fully awake. As she looked into his eyes though she couldn't help but wonder. "Albert what do you love most about me?"

At first Albert didn't say anything as he looked up at Lucy. While he wasn't sure what was going on he found himself semi aware of the world around him. If he had been awake enough to think about it he would have realized that he was responding to the stress Lucy was feeling. "The fact that you love me so much."

A slight giggle escaped Lucy as she reached down and gently ran her finger against Albert's back. "It's not my kindness?"

"You could be kind and still not love me as you do."

"That's an interesting answer. I have to admit I love the way you love me to. Now how about this. What do you like most about my body?"

This time the answer game far more quickly. "The power you are worthy of."

"Oh? So it's not how big I am?"

In response Albert shook his head causing his face to rub against Lucy's breasts as he snuggled against it. "Your power goes so far beyond your scale. If smaller meant more powerful I would want you to become stronger."

Albert's voice was muffled but Lucy could still understand him. She liked what he said though it was an odd moment for her. Albert had always spent his time encouraging her to grow larger. She had thought that scale would be his main attraction. As she took a moment to think about it though she quickly realized where her folly had been. He might have teased her about being too short but he always said she was worthy of her power. Size might have been the main means by which he encouraged her to increase but perhaps it wasn't the main goal. When she went to ask him another question though Lucy was surprised to find that he'd fallen back to sleep entirely.

In most situations talking would have served to wake Albert more. However, as Lucy relaxed so did he and he was soon overtaken by sleep once again. He was still made to shift instinctively whenever he felt Lucy's finger brush against his back pushing himself more firmly against the massive finger as it brushed against him. His body once again relaxing as Lucy withdrew her finger.

As Albert snuggled against her Lucy found herself thinking about what he'd said. She hated feeling small. She much preferred to interact with the world using one of her larger selves. If she had more of herself with her whenever they'd been struck Albert wouldn't have been harmed. At least that is what Lucy had thought at the time. As she remembered the event though she couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if she'd been more powerful. It would have been easy to stop the truck if she'd been faster.

Instead of shielding Albert Lucy could have quickly climbed out of the vehicle and put herself between it and Albert. It wouldn't even have reached the car to nick it. At the time she didn't have the speed though. As she considered this Lucy held up her right hand while placing the left over Albert. It only took her a few moments to form a smaller body from the larger which quickly jumped down from her hand and dashed towards her room. She would need to retrieve some clothing if she was going to go swimming.

***********************************************************************************

Patrick couldn't help but sigh as he examined the proposal before him. They were two actually one Lucy had prepared for those who were studied in the area of biology. The other for those who were less knowledgeable such as himself. He was stuck reading over the one for the less studied of the two and it was far thicker then the other. At least Lucy had been kind enough to insure that people such as himself could understand just what was going on to a limited extent. "I swear I'm use to getting progress reports not an essay about every detail?"

Sara gave an amused chuckle as she set her copy of the proposal down. "It wouldn't be half the problem it is if you would just read a little faster."

"Not all of us can read at super human speeds. Why don't you give me your opinion on it?"

"Sorry sir I don't want to say anything that would affect your opinion. After all you're the one that has to make the sell to our superiors."

"At least this will give us grounds to work more closely with Miss Angeye."

"As if Mizia wasn't enough?"

"Unfortunately we're being watched too carefully there." Once again Patrick grew silent and focused on the document before him.

"You know Lucy didn't write that proposal just for you. You could submit to one of the research and development departments then let them write a proposal for you and the higher ups. It would save you a lot of time."

"I like to know as much about something as I can before I try to convince others to go along with it. I believe that we'll start the project stating that while symbiotic life forms can help soldiers they still don't improve upon the base. Due to the dangers of further developing symbiots we've decided to also work on the foundation to which they are joined. The human aspect in other words."

"That sounds fine but how are you going to explain it only being safe for women?"

"The researchers in charge of that branch of the project managed to proceed far more quickly then those on the male. Perhaps some of the data Lucy provides will let us develop that as well. I doubt we'll finish as quickly though of course that isn't my concern."

"You just want to speed up the project."

"Indeed finding new ways to increase the threshold of awareness is my primary goal. Speaking of which. Did you notice the drug Lucy mentioned?"

"The one that temporarily increases ones threshold? Yeah I noticed it and I got to say it has me worried. It sounds good in theory but you're talking about some major alterations to the mind. To make matters even worse eventually it'll wear off and you could find yourself over the threshold and falling."

"Yes but I believe that it would work for temporary use. Perhaps symbiots that aren't meant for long durations?"

"Such as?"

"The air force has began work on a new type of fighter. Its control system is partly organic even if you don't include the human component. One problem with the aircraft though is finding pilots that can handle the strain on their awareness. If the drug does work as Lucy believed it would we could provide pilots with it before take off so they could handle the connection during the mission. They come back in, detach themselves the drug wears off and everything is find and dandy."

"Assuming repeated doses don't have an adverse affect."

"True but it does have great possibilities. Of course I realize Lucy abandoned that path for a reason. Such short cuts to increased performance do carry certain risk with them. You won't be permitted to use the drug."

"Saw that one coming."

Patrick gave a slight chuckle as he lowered the paper and looked at Sara. "Well I can't risk losing you and the increase is linear. It wouldn't be worth the danger to you."

"Would you say the drug temporarily increases their threshold or just lets them stay at their absolute limit longer?"

For a moment Patrick grew silent. "You know I'm not really sure and I just realized something. Why do you think Lucy shared actual technology with us instead of methods? The information she provided on the drug isn't complete but it's still a violation of her regular methods."

It was impossible for Sara not to smile. "She won't agree to let us use her technology but that doesn't mean she won't permit it. Then again she could just be setting us up for a major fall. She did confess to enjoying leveling a nation after all and we're a much larger nation. I bet she would get even more enjoyment out of that."

"No. I doubt that she intends to do that. She seems quite fond of people in general. I doubt she would try to trick someone into provoking her."

"I dunno. People can change."

"Sara are you just trying to be difficult?"

A slight chuckle escaped Sara as she quickly stuck her tongue out at Patrick. "Maybe."

***********************************************************************************

Albert couldn't help but grin as she set on the table in front of Lucy. He was actually surprised by how good he felt. Up until that point he had been dreading practicing with Lucy. Now that they were about ready to begin though that dread had melted away. It was strange and he didn't know how it had happened but he knew that it had. Perhaps it was the thought that he would be aiding Lucy that had removed the discomfort. "So what are we going to try today."

The tone with which Albert spoke actually caught Lucy off guard. She knew that he found training uncomfortable and was mostly doing it for her. She was glad to know that he was willing to sacrifice for her but she knew he wasn't enthusiastic about it at least she thought he wasn't. "Where did that come from?"

"Where did what come from?"

"You're sounding oddly excited today. I thought you didn't like practicing."

"I didn't think I did either I sure didn't feel like it a few moments ago. Maybe I'm just looking forward to being trapped under your breast again."

A soft giggle escaped Lucy as she lowered herself so that her face was more level with Albert's position. "I'm glad to hear that though I didn't quite plan on taking that path today."

"Oh what did you have planned?"

"Well sense you got the basics down I don't see any reason to make you uncomfortable. I just thought I'd relax my body and have you try moving my arms or getting me to stand up."

It was odd but as Albert listened to Lucy he couldn't help but feel awkward. "Lucy I'm not sure if I could just do that. Trying to make use of your body without any reason just doesn't seem right to me. It'd feel strange."

"Huh? You mean you need the motivation?"

"I guess I do."

"Mm well I still don't want to make you uncomfortable. Hey I know! I'll try to take control of your body and make you undress. You have to try and retain control of your body and try to the same to me. That should be fun."

"What?! Lucy I think that'd be a bit much to."

"Oh come on Albert it'd be fun." As she spoke Lucy leaned closer to Albert squeezing in on her breasts and causing them to become even more pronounced. "You can prove to me just how badly you want to see me naked."

At first Albert was going to try to talk Lucy out of it but unfortunately she'd hit on something that he wasn't willing to argue. "It'll stop at the clothing right?"

"Yep." As she was speaking Lucy began to focus on Albert, it was easy for her to begin moving his right arm and he didn't even seem to notice what was happening at least until he took hold of his pants buckle. The moment his hand gripped the button he quickly yanked it away clearly surprised this prompted a slight giggle from Lucy.

"Hey I wasn't ready!"

"If I wait for you to be ready we'll never get started."

Before he could comment Albert found his arm once again reaching for his waste band. In response he quickly took hold of his right arm with his left only to find he had a problem. He found the fingers of his left hand trying to let go of his arm and had to focus to keep them from doing so. Lucy was already on the offensive and she was giving him quite a rough time. "Are you sure I have the same level of control you do!?"

"I'm absolutely certain you just need to learn the same skills. Now aren't you going to try to undress me?"

At the moment undressing Lucy was out of the question. Albert was just struggling to control his limbs. Fortunately he realized what he was doing wrong very quickly. He was holding his right arm back with his left. That wasn't how he was suppose to be doing it. Rather he should be resisting Lucy's control the same way he was with his fingers. Upon realizing this he released his hold on his right arm and began to will it back to its position at his side. He wasn't all that surprised when it didn't move in the least but happy to see that at least he was holding it.

Albert was scared to try and manipulate her body and Lucy knew this. This would prove a problem for him though as it meant she could focus entirely on working his limbs while leaving her own fairly relaxed. She couldn't ignore what was going on with her own body entirely but she was far more free to act then he was.

It was odd but as Albert struggled to force his arm back to his side he found himself grinning. He had thought it would be awkward and while he was still certain that Lucy taking total control of his body would be this was fun. It was a method of wrestling with Lucy that gave him an actual chance of winning. One thing he noted quite quickly though was the strain it was putting on his arm. "Lucy, should this be causing physical exertion?"

"Not really. The problem is you're counteracting what I've done. I move your arm a bit then you move it back. So you're using up some energy. Once you get some more practice your body won't even respond."

As Lucy was speaking Albert turned his attention to her and tried to focus on her right arm. He wasn't too surprised whenever the limb didn't move in the least but he had to quickly focus on his own to stop them from moving. Apparently he wasn't nearly as good at multi tasking as Lucy if she had even felt him trying to move her arm. "Lucy you've had this kind of control over my body ever since we lay together right?"

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"Why do you want to teach me how to manipulate your body though? I know you said that I couldn't override your control if you struggled against it but it could still hinder you."

An amused giggle escaped Lucy as she stuck her tongue out at Albert. "Oh Albert they are so many reasons where should I begin? I suppose the first reason is I believe it'd be fun. I'm certain will be able to come up with all sorts of fun games once you better learn to manipulate the connection between us. This also serves to strengthen that connection which is always good."

"Is there anything else?"

"Um well. I'd like to sleep again."

"Huh?!"

"I'd like to focus my awareness entirely inward like I did in Mizia. In order for me to do that safely though I have to make certain you can exert enough control over my body that I don't hurt anyone."

"Lucy surely you realize how dangerous that could be. I'm not sure if you can remember what you did while your awareness was focused inward but I know you saw the end result."

"Yeah I remember but I'm not worried. After all you'll be taking care of my body and I trust you."

While Lucy had been speaking Albert felt his arm growing less tense. His first thought was to contribute it to the conversation thinking that Lucy was exerting less effort. He didn't even consider that it was him actually getting a better grasp on the situation so that the battle was remaining more a mental struggle then a physical one. He did however feel it was a good time to go on the offensive and once again focused on Lucy's arms. Once again the limb remained stationary though he could have sworn it twitched for just a second.

At least Albert was doing a good job of canceling out her control over his body so long as she took it easy on him. He was going about it the wrong way but then again it took someone a while to learn the right way to move. "Albert can you recall learning to swim?"

"Yeah, I was still doing the dog paddle whenever I met you though."

"You know that was one of the last things I had trouble learning? Then I was burned in that fire and got Symbi. From that point on things changed. I began learning things so easily that they lost their challenge. Soon learning something that was already known by another just became a matter of seeing or hearing it once. I could even comprehend and apply the new material with no real effort." A slight chuckle escaped Lucy as she shook her head. "So I had to find things that weren't already known."

"It was always amazing to watch how quickly you learned. You were never stuck up about it though."

"Yeah but I was glad when you were never jealous."

"It was hard to be jealous Lucy. You always took out the time to help me learn as well. I was grateful to you and I actually felt a bit guilty that I was taking you away from what you wanted to do."

"OH but Albert you're wrong there. You never took me away from what I wanted to do. Helping you was exactly what I wanted to do." A slight giggle escaped Lucy as she finished speaking.

Instantly Albert's attention went to his pants upon hearing the snap. What he found was that Lucy had managed to manipulate his arm and have him unbutton his pants. Impulsively he went to button them back up but he found his arm unwilling to move. His gaze shifted to Lucy who was wearing a rather large grin on her face now and still chuckling slightly. "Sneaky girl."

"Well I do like seeing you naked." Albert hadn't noticed it but Lucy had quit manipulating his arm alone. She had also began working on his eyes so that he wouldn't glance down and notice what was going on.

A sigh escaped Albert as he began to bring his arm back towards his waste. At first it was easy but he knew that wouldn't last. It'd be hard to get his fingers to work with Lucy struggling to break his focus. "Well at least that is the only thing you can do easily."

"You'd think that wouldn't you?" As Lucy finished speaking she noted a grin on Albert's face. She was a bit surprised whenever she also noted the feeling of something against her finger. Upon looking down she actually found out why Albert was grinning. She had undone some of the latches that held her bottom together. "Hey!"

"It turns out that it's easier to get your body to do something when you're trying to do it to my body."

"Huh?! And you call me sneaky. I didn't even know that."

"Lucy do you believe it'd be safe for us to have some closer interaction?"

"Huh?"

"Well just setting here isn't very enjoyable. I was thinking that instead of just trying to undress one another we could interact more closely. Perhaps I could try climbing you while you try to stop me by overriding my control over my body. At the same time I try to use your body to help me."

"Hm you know I think I like that more to." As she spoke Lucy extended a hand towards Albert and placed it flat upon the table. "Let's go to our room and have some fun."

A grin formed on Albert's face as he moved to stand up. As he tried to bring himself to a standing position though he found he had a problem. While he was eager to go mentally it didn't seem his body was. His legs stayed the way they were. He realized what was happening a moment later upon looking at Lucy and finding her tongue sticking out at him. She was tampering with his legs so that he was having trouble standing up.

It was impossible for Lucy not to giggle as she noted the expression on Albert's face. "And you won't be able to get me like you did before. I'm not even trying to stand up right now while you are. Let's see what you can do."

Albert was made to chuckle as well as he quickly fell forward and began to crawl towards Lucy's finger. Using his arms alone made it quite difficult but he wasn't going to play the game how she wanted. He had limbs other then his legs though he wasn't surprised when his arms began to stiffen up. This didn't stop him though as he continued to will his muscles to work and force himself forward as he looked up at Lucy he noted how focused she seemed to be. Apparently he was learning quite quickly.

Lucy knew Albert was a quick learner at least in regards to most things. She was still surprised by how quickly he was learning to lock her out so she couldn't take control of his body. For the moment she didn't think his abilities were quite on par with her own as while she couldn't stop him from progressing it would have been easily to withdraw her hand. She chose not to but to leave it where it was. "You're doing wonderfully Albert I'm really proud of how quickly you're progressing."

"Thanks Lucy, but you were working two bodies within a few hours." As Albert made his way to Lucy's finger he gave a sigh. This would be the hard part. Lucy was truly massive and there was no way that he could just crawl onto her finger. He would have to either stand up for climb. Pushing his hands against the ground he focused on forcing his legs to comply and bring him to a standing position. Unfortunately he didn't just have to contend with Lucy he also had to keep his balance so he didn't just fall down.

As Albert took hold of her fingernail Lucy instinctively curled it upward to help him stand up. Only as she felt him raising up using her finger for balance did she realize what she'd done. She was still used to helping Albert climb into her hand and she doubted that behavioral trait would ever fade away. She didn't mind though as she felt him trembling as he struggled to keep his balance while forcing his legs to comply.

How was he ever going to climb Lucy in his current condition? He was having a nightmarish time just getting his legs to stand up. His mind was taken from these thoughts though as a second problem hit him. As he stood up his pants finally slipped down his legs having been unbuttoned before and pulled loose while he'd been crawling.

A slight giggle escaped Lucy as she noted the surprised expression on Albert's face as his legs failed him. Fortunately his arms didn't and he maintained a good grip on her finger. "Are you having trouble?"

"Yeah." Instead of continuing right away Albert glanced towards Lucy's free hand. He then began to focus his attention on it trying to move the limb much like he had his own he was surprised whenever it began to comply. "I could use a hand."

"Well then it's a good thing you have two of your own." The moment she finished talking Lucy regain control of her arm and forced it back to its original position. She was surprised though as she noted a sudden flurry of motion on her fingertip and before she could respond Albert had pulled himself onto her hand.

"Indeed I do."

Lucy immediately realized that Albert had taken the opportunity to regain control of his legs and climb onto her hand. He most likely hadn't even been trying to control her hand for the duration. "You're getting pretty good at switching between limbs!"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." As she spoke Lucy quickly reached down and fastened her bottom back on. It was apparent Albert had noticed this as he whore a surprised expression on his face. "Unlike you I tend to remember to button up my garments." With that Lucy stood up and began to make her way towards their bedroom. "I believe you should start on my leg and have to work your way upwards. Don't worry though I'll cut you a few breaks."

"Not making me climb your leg is a nice one right there."

"Well that would probably be a bit much especially if we're going to seriously try to compete with one another."

As Lucy was speaking Albert had already began to compete. He knew she would notice if he tried to take control of her arm or legs but Albert also knew Lucy had other limbs. As she was carrying him he began to focus on her hair. He'd seen her hair move under its own power before so he knew it could. He just need two or three strands to drape themselves over her shoulder to give him something to climb.

"Sorry Albert but I don't even have to resist to keep you from controlling those?"

"Huh?"

"My hair I know you're trying to manipulate it but it won't work like that. The motions I go through to control my hair is different from what you go through to control your limbs. They just don't work the same."

It wasn't exactly pleasant news for Albert as it meant the climb would be harder then expected. Then again he didn't have to always win to enjoy himself. As Lucy began to settle down though and extend her arm he quickly focused on it. He noted an immediate reaction from her as he looked up at her smiling face. He was trying to keep her from setting him down so that he could simply climb out of her hand to his destination.

A slight chuckle escaped Lucy as she noted Albert trying to restrain her arm. "You're getting the hang of this! But this is my body still." As she finished speaking Lucy resumed her efforts and began to lower her palm towards her leg despite Albert's best efforts. It was slowed repeatedly though as Albert would manage to get a slight grip on her arm and slow her efforts down. The closer her arm got to her leg though the less resistance he was able to put up.

A sharp gasp escaped Albert as he took in a deep breath. At the same moment though he felt Lucy's finger tilt to the side and he was rolled onto her leg. "Blast it Lucy. I thought. I thought you said my awareness was strong enough."

"It is Albert! You're just not using the most energy efficient method. Part of this is technique and knowledge."

It took Albert a moment to bring himself to a seated position. "Well at least your legs are nice and smooth for crawling over if you're going to keep hindering my legs. Just how bad is my technique anyway?"

"Um well. Imagine pushing a wheel barrel with an octagonal wheel."

A low groan escaped Albert even as he was made to chuckle. "That bad huh?"

"Ah come on Albert. At least it isn't a square."

"Or a triangle." As he spoke Albert tried to stand up. He wasn't too surprised whenever his legs wouldn't comply. Fortunately he was used to crawling over Lucy's leg so he wasted no time rolling over onto his stomach. As he reached a hand forward he couldn't help but notice that the only thing Lucy was hindering was his legs. "So you're not going to stop me where I am?"

"Na I like now your penis feels pressing into my leg as you crawl across it."

Albert could feel his face warming up as he was made to blush. He had suggested the change but he wasn't quite ready for Lucy to say that. Still he reached forward and began to draw himself along. Unfortunately Lucy's comment had reminded him of something and as he pulled himself along he hoped he could keep control of himself. It was already clear that he needed to regain control of his legs or he'd end up rather sore by the time he'd made it over Lucy's thighs.

As Albert was progressing over her leg Lucy relaxed and strengthened her control over his legs. Each time Albert would raise up as if he was going to crawl on his hands and knees but each time she prevented it. So his efforts to ease his journey only made it more difficult as several times he was made to thrust his crotch against her thighs. "You know Albert I'm not sure you're quite ready for this."

"Trust me Lucy this is one time I'm not worried about losing?"

"Oh and why is that?"

"Well whether I manage to climb you or not I still win."

"Mm well yeah there is a reason I started you on my thigh." As she spoke Lucy reached down towards her waste and slipped her thumbs into either side of her bottom. She then pulled open the garment for a few moments though not enough for Albert to see inside. After holding it open for five seconds she withdrew her fingers and let the material snap back into place. "You don't have to make it very far from my leg to end up there."

"Oh sure sap my motivation why don't you?!"

A slight giggle escaped Lucy as she reached down and pressed her little finger against Albert's back. When she went to rub her finger over his back though she was surprised to find she couldn't move her hand. Apparently he was taking advantage of the situation to try and get her to pick him up. She heard him grunt as he struggled to get her hand to comply with his desires and even felt her hand beginning to move in order to take hold of him. However, it was still easy for her to shut him out and withdraw her hand. "Persistent."

"Drat. All well with you I've got to be."

"Now about that motivation. Don't you want to play with these as well?" As she spoke Lucy reached under her breasts and pulled away her top for a moment letting Albert see inside the garment. "You like it up here as well don't you?"

"Yeah but well. I kind of like it in there better."

In response to this comment Lucy gave a slight giggle and stuck her tongue out at Albert. "Ah well. I'll be sure to keep that in mind later. From the way your penis is pressing into my leg though I wonder if you'll even make it that far."

"You bet I will." As he spoke Albert once again began to try and force himself to a standing position. So far Lucy had shown how easily she could take back control of her body. If she was being honest though that meant he could do the same with his body. There was a knowledge and experience gap but he would just have to cope with that by putting in some extra energy. He was working on that gap and was delighted whenever he felt himself lifting upwards.

As Albert was standing up Lucy felt a slight rush. She could feel his consciousness taking firmer hold of the body. Instead OF making her feel weak though it gave her a surge of energy and made her feel all the more excited. Absently she reached down and pressed the index and middle finger of her left hand against the very outside of her panties just over her lips. She then began to gently stroke her peddles.

Whether or not Lucy realized what she was doing or not Albert didn't know. He couldn't help but notice what her fingers were doing though and was made to stumble as he noted the outline of those lips. He'd been up close and personnel several times with that part of Lucy's body indeed on a nightly bases at least. However, it was still a wonderful site to him and between Lucy's meddling and his temporary lack of focus he nearly lost control of his legs.

Standing and walking were two very different things. It was still impressive to see Albert making such quick progress with his body though. Eventually he would grow tired though and need to take time to wrest. "So are you going to walk?"

"Yeah and this time I don't have any pants to trip me." As he spoke Albert lifted one leg into the air. He felt Lucy's influence instantly as she tried to make him topple over. This brought a chuckle from him as he quickly put his foot back on Lucy's leg just a few inches further then what it had been. "It may just be a baby step but I'm going to get the hang of this. You just wait and see."

They were some things Lucy had patience for and some things she didn't. Albert belonged to the group she had a great deal of patience for. As he began to progress along her leg she watched intently resisting the urge to move her leg and try to cause him to fall. She was giving him enough trouble by trying to take control of his legs. He was already doing a better job of avoiding the muscles twitches though not entirely. "Ah do you have to walk? I like how you felt pressed against me."

"I'm going to scale this mountain Lucy and I can't do that on my belly. I need to stand for this."

"Eh ambitious. Well you have a long way to climb." As she spoke Lucy placed her hands just above her crotch. She then began to glide them over her stomach up towards her breasts. As she reached her breasts she pushed up on the underside of those massive mountains making them lift into the air. At the same time she reclined slightly so that Albert would be able to climb her if he could keep control of his body. If he didn't he would end up going for quite a topple.

Albert knew he couldn't match Lucy with the current knowledge gap. Whenever he tried to take control of her body he lost control of part of his normally. She on the other hand could keep applying pressure and trying to overwhelm his control over his body and keep hers secure. They might have had the same raw power when it came to their awarenesses but he wasn't using the best method for the task and that was costing him a great deal of energy.

As Albert neared her knee Lucy noticed his legs wobble violently. Up until now he was taking little baby steps but this would prove to be his first major barrier. As he was going now though he wouldn't be able to make it up her stomach. As her thoughts turned to her stomach Lucy focused on Albert's forcing him to lean forward suddenly. She got the results she wanted.

A slight shout of protest escaped Albert as he was made to topple forward. The sudden jerking forward of his body coupled with Lucy's continued influence on his legs proved to be too much. At least she allowed him to catch himself and her soft skin insured that it was a gentle landing. "Well darn it."

"You know this really does help."

"Huh?" Upon looking up Albert was actually surprised to see that Lucy had leaned forward much as she had made him do. Except she had been in a seated position while he had been standing.

"You mean you really weren't aware of that?"

"How could I have known? It isn't as if I ever had someone to practice with before. It's really an interesting and delightful discovery you made and so quickly."

Despite ending up face first on Lucy's leg once again Albert was grinning. "So I actually managed to teach you something?"

"Yep and while I'm grateful that doesn't mean I won't use it against you."

"Now Lucy shouldn't actions back up words?"

"Mmhm but I can show you that I'm grateful in other ways." While Albert was down Lucy reached down and gentle brushed her fingers against him. She felt him trying to take control of her hand once again but she was ready for him. A sigh escaped her whenever she felt Albert's lips press against her thigh.

"Lucy, I don't believe I can climb you like this. I'm being worn down. My arm is still sore from before and I'm really feeling tired all of a sudden."

Once again Lucy extended her hand towards Albert however this time she gently pinched him between two of her fingers. "I believe you're right. Manipulating your body has just gotten too easy at this point. You need some time to rest and recover." As she was speaking Lucy slipped the fingers of her free hand into her waste band and pulled the garment open. "You can relax in here for a while."

In response to Lucy's comment Albert looked towards her crotch. He had a pretty good idea of where she meant even before she picked him up. Before saying anything he turned his head to the side and placed a kiss on Lucy's finger. I'm not sure how much good I can do you like I am now."

"I said you can wrest Albert. Just curl up against me or maybe slip inside and take a little break we can continue later."

"Ah and here I thought you were actually getting worked up when I saw you touching yourself."

"Who says I wasn't? I hope you don't mind being a little damp."

***********************************************************************************

"So what do you think?"

At first Lucy said nothing as she read over the document Patrick had provided her with one last time. She didn't want to miss anything. "It feels kind of odd signing a contract when it comes to a back door deal."

"Well we need to keep things well documented even if they are secrets. You never know when they might come to light and we want to be prepared."

"I take it the budget for the initial half of the development is actually my payment for the information."

"Indeed it is. You don't sound too enthusiastic though. Is something wrong?"

As Lucy looked at the budget she couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. It was a bit less then she'd been hoping for though it would suffice if she was careful. "This is really a borderline proposal in my opinion. It's just barely in the yes category and I don't want to risk missing something that would push it into the no. I thought you were going to try and insure I was happy."

"Lucy please understand I have to please a great many people with this proposal. If you were to take a strong stance and give us an idea of what more we could do though I could try for more room."

"I want the military to provide the materials for the development of the experimentation." As Lucy spoke she noticed a subtle change in Patrick's demeanor. He didn't seem surprised or upset by her request and she couldn't help but note he seemed relieved. "What is that for? Oh for goodness sakes they sent you here to bargain."

"You know how business works."

"Yeah you make me an offer that's just barely acceptable so I won't refuse but if I don't say anything you let me go with it." A sigh escaped Lucy as she placed a hand against her forehead. "Getting as much as you can out of the deal."

In response Patrick gave a quick nod. "It's just business Lucy I hope it didn't damage your opinion of me."

"I swear I wish Albert was awake. I should have went easier on him during our training but he's exhausted physically and mentally."

"You must have been quite active yourself. I honestly was surprised whenever you kept rereading those files."

"It does take some energy alright. Anyway, as the contract stands I must decline. The government is to provide me with the materials I need to conduct the testing and this includes a place to work."

"Very well I'll have the files drawn up."

"Don't bother and check your desktop. I just sent a new contract to it."

In response to the comment Patrick quickly flipped open his desktop. He was a bit surprised to see the file already open and ready for him to read. "Now Lucy I'll need to have this looked over to insure that it's agreeable. Just give me a moment to send it to a few others who can read over it and give their approval or make revisions."

"Didn't they give you sufficient authority to negotiate small changes to the document?"

"Now Lucy this was just to make an initial proposal. I thought I would just be meeting with you, negotiating them have time to return and draw up a final contract based upon what we agreed to here. I didn't expect you to immediately provide a new one."

"Well I would like to get things underway I'm somewhat pressed for time."

"Yes I know. I imagine that is in part why you're willing to compromise."

"To such a large extent? Yes. I should be the one pushing this issue though. After all you're the ones that came to me for information. You do realize that I'll make you pay if you ever need a favor from me when I'm not at a disadvantage."

In response Patrick gave a nod. "I'm quite aware of this. I'm sorry Lucy but my superiors are quite certain that you would have done that regardless. This is one of the few chances that we have to get a deal from you. It'll take some time for them to look over your proposal would you prefer to continue this later?"

"No. I have some questions anyway."

"I'll answer what I'm able."

"What did you think of the drive?"

"The what?"

"The drug I included in the information I sent you. I named it the drive considering that it temporarily increases ones motivation. I'd like to know what you thought about it."

"It seems to have many promising application."

"You know there isn't anything about the drug that would make it chemically addictive however I can't help but think it would be. It increases ones motivation allows you to achieve what you'd normally be too weak willed to do. Something like that could easily become addictive especially if someone wanted to succeed but didn't have the self motivation to do so."

Now Patrick grew silent as he rubbed the back of his neck for a moment. "I can't say that I'd actually thought of that."

"I worked on it for a while hoping to develop a version that would work for me. However, I realized my body was changing far too quickly and that I'd never be able to make a version for myself. Then I started considering other uses for the knowledge I'd already gained and became concerned about the risks."

"Why did you provide us with that information then? I know you agreed to provide techniques and some knowledge but that goes beyond either of those. You actually provided us with technology."

"I decided it'd be nice to see what the military would do with such information."

"I see. So using it would hinder future negotiations."

"That isn't a guarantee. If you don't use it my opinion won't really change. I'm sure you'd caught on to the dangers of using drive before it got out of hand. However, if you can find a way to use it wisely then I'd most assuredly be more willing to speak with you. Of course if you used it and began to either abuse it or failed miserably in your attempt to the point that you actually got hurt then my opinion would become far more negative."

"Lucy I believe the drive as you put it holds too much promise for it to be ignored. If nothing else it could be used for a form of medicine."

"Well I won't say anything more on that subject it's the army's decision after all. On another topic does the military really plan to supply its female soldiers with the treatment I'm developing? It seems that you would be setting yourself up to have a great deal of issues. I kind of expected you to take the drug, find it only works on females and then claim you were waiting to develop one for the males before it was deployed."

"I don't see why we should wait. We'll begin developing a version for the male soldiers once you provide us with what you've developed. Hopefully that'll give us a starting point so it doesn't require too many years."

"So you don't expect to have any trouble?"

In response Patrick gave a slight shrug. "I believe you should be the one expecting trouble."

An amused giggle escaped Lucy as she tapped her cheek for a moment. "Gee I develop a treatment that helps females develop their bodies more quickly however I don't develop one for males. I can see where some people would get upset by that. For some reason I'm not worried though."

"Have you already thought up a response to the inevitable accusations?"

"I'll just point out that the military is developing a treatment for males as well. It just happened that the one for females was developed more quickly. It isn't like I benefit from the research after all my body wouldn't respond to the treatment. I've fulfilled my end of the contract and thus am under no obligation to focus my energies elsewhere."

"You know this could have even greater implications then what you did in Mizia."

"I suppose that it could. So has Sara already began practicing some of the methods I listed?"

"Indeed she has and I've been doing my best to help her. Though it's rather strange to refrain from speaking to one another verbally but rely upon our connection."

"What's the greatest range the two of you've managed to achieve?"

"I can hear Sara's thoughts within ten miles normally. It's harder to hear her whenever she's being forced to focus such as during combat training."

"Ten miles is pretty impressive."

"Yes, however they are many combat situations that would take her out of that range. It's strange though she can scan an entire city for certain key thoughts but we can only hear one another within that range. I'm still not comfortable with trying to influence one another's bodies though."

"It can be quite fun! Albert's actually getting much better at it and seems to be enjoying himself more and more."

"I would just prefer if Sara would show a little more restraint in certain situations then she has been."

"Oh I'm sure she wouldn't do anything that would get you in trouble."

"I doubt she would intentionally but you don't know her as well as I do. Sara isn't exactly suited to ritual. Especially the type of ritual that the higher ups like to see their subordinates play out."

"From that I'm guessing her strong awareness is the only thing that keeps her out of trouble."

"She's tolerated far more then what others would be thanks to that particular feature and her loyalty." As Patrick was speaking he glanced down at his desktop. He hadn't received a reply just yet. "Lucy you do realize this could take a very long time. It might be best if I left and came back later."

"Are you in a hurry to leave?"

"Well." For a moment Patrick grew silent as he rubbed his forehead. "I can't hear Sara's thoughts this far away from her."

"Where is Sara right now?"

"She's undergoing evaluation right now. Periodically the army tests those they've enhanced and see what their current standings are."

"I see. So Patrick how do you feel now that you're outside of Sara's range?"

"Honestly I feel rather alone. It's to a degree that I haven't experienced in a very long time."

For a moment Lucy grew silent and pressed a few fingers to her forehead. "I don't know what I was thinking just now. Sorry about keeping you past the point where you said you were feeling alone I must have spaced out for a moment. Sure Patrick you might leave however when you return I want an agreeable contract and I want that money as quickly as possible."

In response Patrick gave a quick nod. "I know this is unprofessional Lucy but the feeling has been building for a while."

"I understand."

***********************************************************************************

"I'm surprised you didn't require the military to help launch the satellite at least Lucy. They already have the facilities and ability to do so." As Albert looked over the documents he was glad Lucy had taken the time to simply them for him. She had taken out all the legal jargon and worked it down to a fairly simple read. There were several things that bothered him though several things Lucy seemed to have missed.

A sigh escaped Lucy as she closed her eyes. She had actually thought about that after Albert had made the suggestion but the deal had already been made. "I just figured the money the military was providing would be enough to pay for all that."

"I see but wouldn't it have been cheaper for the both of you if they'd just done it?"

"Yeah it would have been but I didn't think about that and while it would be cheaper for them it'd be less convenient."

"At least you remembered to have the military provide the people for the initial testing of the treatment. Have you come up with a name for it yet?"

"No, I've been trying to but nothing I've come up with has sounded right."

"Really? Could you give me a few examples?"

"The liberation, the awakened, unchained I have a few others but they all follow along the same lines."

"As in liberated from the limited their genetics imposed?"

In response Lucy gave a quick nod. "Yeah that's the main idea."

"I think I like the unchained more how about going with that? Though I imagine the military would like the liberated. It's funny how they'll name a bomb freedom. They take an object whose only purpose is to explode and destroy everything near it and name it freedom." A slight chuckle escaped Albert as he shook his head. "Though I suppose anyone being hit by it is free."

"Well yeah."

Once again Albert grew silent and continued to read over the document. There were a few other things he could have pointed out but chose not to. Instead he wanted to find the cause. "Lucy have you been feeling alright lately?"

"Actually, I noticed it once we began training together. I've been feeling really tired lately."

"Huh? Do you need to wrest? I know you tend to exhaust me. Lucy you shouldn't be negotiating legal contracts whenever you're mentally exhausted."

A sigh escaped Lucy as she shook her head. "I tried it. While you've been napping I've been just laying around trying to wrest. It hasn't been working though. Lately the only time I've really been feeling energetic is when we're doing something together. Then when I start doing something less important I just crash."

Albert put the papers he'd been holding down as he stood up and took a few steps closer to Lucy's throat. He'd been setting on her right breasts. "Lucy are you serious? The only times I've heard you complaining about being tired is whenever you were doing some very tedious or whenever you found yourself doing employee evaluations."

"I know. I didn't think much of it until I spoke with Patrick a few days ago. I didn't mention it to you as I just thought I needed to wrest more but that hasn't been helping." As she spoke Lucy reached up and began rubbing her hand against her right eye as if trying to wake up. "Even now I'm a little drained."

It was an odd moment for Albert. Lucy had complained about being exhausted before but never over a long duration. It seemed minor in some respects but it made him concerned. "I wish I could tell you to go visit a doctor but you're the most qualified person on the planet to see to your health. Aren't you a little concerned that you've been staying drained? I don't know perhaps we should hold off on practicing."

"No!"

"Huh?"

"We are not going to hold off on practicing Albert. I'm just feeling tired I know that something is going on but I'm not worried about it."

"Lucy I know you're very hard to injure but don't you think."

"We're not stopping."

As Albert looked up at Lucy she met his gaze and he could tell she was serious. From the tone of her voice and the expression on her face this was something she wasn't willing to give up. He could try to refuse to practice but he wouldn't do that to Lucy. "I'm just worried about your health. You just said it yourself you know something is going on."

"Yes but just because I feel tired it doesn't mean that something isn't good. Unlike with most humans my times of weakness tend to be beneficial in the long run so we're not going to stop."

"If you start feeling worse will you agree to take some time to wrest?"

"No."

Lucy. If you start thinking you may be in some form of danger you are to tell me and we're going to cut back. I"m not going to have you risking your health when you don't need to." As he spoke Albert held Lucy's gaze and even as he finished he continued to look into her massive blue eyes. He felt himself lift upward as she took in a deep breath a reminder that he was standing atop just one of her breasts. When she exhaled his hair and clothing was ruffled but he stayed standing.

"Okay Albert. If I think my life is in danger I'll cut back and devote all my energy to recovery."

Now Albert was made to sigh as he felt a wave of relief. "I'm going to hold you to that promise you know."

An amused chuckle escaped Lucy as she shook her head. "Yeah I know. So back to those papers."

"After what I've read I think the next time you make a deal with anyone I want to be there. You shouldn't be handling such things by yourself while you're feeling out of it. I wish I could do something about the contract you've already signed but I can't think of any legal methods to do that. Though I'm not a lawyer."

"No. I don't want to go back out on something I agreed to."

"Well if your estimates are right at least they paid you enough to lighten the burden of developing the satellite. Lucy how has that been going?"

"It's a good thing I started on it well before this started happening to me. I have nearly all the materials planned out." For a moment Lucy grew silent and closed her eyes. "I want to have others make the materials though. I really don't think I have the energy to do it myself."

"Could I help with that?"

"MM I wish you could but no. You don't know enough about the technology to use it properly."

"I'm sorry Lucy."

"Albert! You have nothing to be sorry for. No one person I know of other then myself has the knowledge to work with all these technologies. Even if I do hire specialist to do it for me I'm going to have to be careful they don't mess up."

"What about Sandra?"

"Huh?"

"You told me that her intelligence has been going up with her body. Do you believe she could help you out?"

At first Lucy said nothing but opened her eyes and looked directly into Albert's. "Okay now you're making me look stupid."

"What do you mean?"

"You thought of that like it was the easiest thing in the world and it didn't occur to me at all." A groan escaped Lucy and she placed a hand over her eyes. "I really am feeling slow right now."

"It wasn't anything Lucy I'm sure the only reason you didn't think of it is you spend so much time doing things for yourself. You don't normally have to ask others for help so when the need comes about you don't think about it. You don't need to shoulder the entire burden yourself though."

A slight giggle escaped Lucy and she felt Albert stumble atop her chest for a moment. "Thanks Albert. You're right she could probably help me considering how much she's developed. I'm going to get in touch with them and ask for her help."

"I'm sure she'd be glad to give you a hand after all you've done for them." As he spoke Albert began to walk back towards the documents he'd set down. Upon turning around though he found they were no where in site. "What?"

"Is something wrong?"

"Where did those papers go?"

In response to Albert's question Lucy lifted a hand up high enough for Albert to see it. She then gave a slight chuckle as she pointed down towards the ground. "I suppose I should pick those up."

"Huh? How did they get down there?"In response to Albert's question Lucy puckered her lips and gently blew across him. A look of recognition appeared on his face as she did so while a blush also covered it. "Well that's a given okay I feel silly now. See you're not all gone."

"I just should have thought of that before I exhaled like that." As she spoke Lucy reached up and placed a hand against Albert's back so he wouldn't fall. She then reached down and began to carefully gather up the slips of paper. Even if the document wasn't a legal one just a dumbed down version for Albert to read it still had information she didn't want to share on it.

While Lucy was gathering up the papers Albert turned his head to the side and placed a kiss on Lucy's finger. "I love you."

For a moment Lucy stopped what she was doing and her gaze turned to Albert. "I love you to."

"Lucy, I hope you don't mind me asking this but I feel I need to. Do you trust me."

"Of course I trust you Albert. Why do you need to ask that?"

"Would you still trust me if there was some danger of me harming you?"

In response Lucy gave a nod and smiled at Albert. "Yes Albert I would trust you even then. Though you may be the only person that I could trust anymore."

"Why do you say that?"

"I love my parents and trust them but not like you. Over the years I haven't really had to trust anyone I've been self secure. I think it's hurt my ability to trust whenever I don't have some form of advantage. You I would trust though even if every advantage was stripped from me."

"Thanks Lucy I just wanted to ask."

"You're welcome Albert." As she spoke Lucy set up and placed the papers back on her breast near Albert.

"I swear how you do that is beyond me."

A slight chuckle escaped Lucy as she wiggled her fingers a bit. "Do you really want to know?"

"Actually yeah."

"My finger prints aren't static. I have slight grooves in my flesh that ripple and move whenever I'm picking up something. It really helps whenever I'm trying to retrieve things like a slip of paper."

"But your finger prints aren't nearly as pronounced as your size would suggest they should be."

In response Lucy gave a quick nod. "They don't have to be very big or noticeable as long as there are a bunch of them."

Before speaking Albert reached down and gathered up the papers Lucy had set before him. "You know there is a lot about your body that I don't know. I trust you Lucy but at times I wonder if you trust your body too much."

"I really don't have a choice there Albert. Even I can't really begin to understand how my body truly works. I can understand how it did work several years ago but it doesn't give me a up to the minute design layout. To be honest the abilities my body grants me are beyond what my knowledge says should be possible."

"I know. I just wish that there was a doctor we could send you to whenever you're not feeling well."

"I'm actually kind of glad there isn't. If there was that would mean someone knows how my body works or has a reasonable idea. That level of knowledge would make them a threat to me."

"Okay I wish I had a better understanding of how your body works."

"Mm that would be nice."

***********************************************************************************

"How are you doing Sandra?"

In response to Phillip's question Sandra glanced over her shoulder back at him. Currently Phillip set at a computer console just a few meters away from her. "I'm doing fine. This is a lot to absorb all at once but I'm actually taking it in which is really surprising."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Mm stay here and keep me company."

A sigh escaped Phillip as he shook his head. "I meant anything else."

"Nope."

Albert had years to get used to living with a woman as capable as Lucy. Phillip had only months to get used to it and the experience was still draining. He wanted to help Sandra but he didn't have the knowledge to understand the blue prints Lucy had sent them. Even if he did it would take him far too long to read over them for him to be any of use. Sandra on the other hand was breezing through the materials comprehending what she read nearly as quickly as she read it. It was astounding and left him feeling rather useless.

"Phillip you've known Lucy and Albert longer then I have. Why do you think Lucy asked me to do this?"

"I'd guess she trusts you. That and you're probably the only person that's capable of doing it while maintaining her trust and it's cheaper to higher you then an entire team I imagine."

"That's several ands."

"Ah well I like to think the first one is the main reason. So just what does Lucy have you doing exactly?"

"She just wants me to make the materials and put together a few components. She doesn't feel comfortable with the designs being made public."

"I swear she leaves herself so open to someone stealing one of her designs and licensing it before she does. She always said she didn't feel that the patent office was safe enough though."

"I'm sure she has some form of legal record showing what she was the developed. Besides anyone using one of her designs without her permission would be in a lot of trouble whether they did it legally or not. She's proven that to the entire world."

"I'm glad the news hounds are leaving her alone."

"Yeah, I guess everyone realized nothing would be done. She took apart an entire country starting with their military and no one wants to sacrifice themselves in an attempt to bring her down. So how is your game going?"

"Kind of slow without you to play with."

"Hm I'll be sure to catch up to you later and give you a hand."

"I swear our characters have predetermined statistics as they level but you still do so much better then me."

"Well you have less time to think then I do. A lot of things are reaction time after all though it can be frustrating. I know what I want to do to handle a situation but I can't do it as the ability isn't currently available."

"I'm still amazed whenever I think how you began playing both of our characters during that boss fight."

"I didn't mean to push you aside like that I just really didn't want to lose and the others were being stupid."

"Summoning the boss before everyone was recovered yeah that was pretty stupid. It was perfect the way you managed to get them all killed before the fight was over but still take the boss down. Even funnier whenever we took off with all the loot."

"I don't know what came over me they just ticked me off so bad with their incompetence."

"You know if this works out you might find yourself working for or even with Lucy quite a bit. I guess I should be quiet and let you focus."

"No you should keep talking."

"So I'm not distracting you?"

"You're doing more to help me by keeping me company. Is something bothering you Phillip?"

At first Phillip said nothing but he couldn't hold it in. "I'm just a bit fearful of losing you is all."

"Huh? Phillip you know you don't have to worry about that! We're bound together by a symbiont there is no way I could leave you and retain my abilities."

"Well yeah that's true but I'm worried you'll grow tired of me thanks to those abilities. I don't really feel like I'm contributing much here."

"None sense. I couldn't do this without you." As she spoke Sandra turned away from the screen and turned to face Phillip. She then leaned forward stretching her arms out towards him and took hold of the arm wrest of his chair pulling him in closer to herself. "I know what's going on. You don't feel like you're providing and it's hurting your ego."

"Well yeah."

"Phillip you are providing for me. There is no way that I could have achieved this without you and I need you if I'm going to progress further." As she finished speaking Sandra leaned forward and pressed her lips against Phillip's forehead.

"I know. It's just. I'm sorry I'm just getting use to this still."

"It's no problem Phillip. Do you want me to quit working for now?"

"No! It's fine."

While she couldn't help but note the concern in Phillip's voice Sandra gave her head a slight nod. "Alright then."

"So um. How long do you think this is going to take?"

"A week at the very least. Lucy is still well beyond my current level."

"A week? That's remarkable!"

"Mm not so much. Don't go thinking I'm catching up to her."

"It took her months to design that though."

"That's right it took her months to research and develop the materials in her head. She had to adjust the designs again and again to fit with current technology as well so it could be made. I'm just understanding what she did I don't believe I could duplicate the results. I know that it would have taken me far longer."

"Ah, I guess I didn't think about it like that. Well I'm still amazed that you're catching on so quickly."

"Thanks. You know what though? I believe I'm going to need to take a break soon."

"I thought you weren't having any trouble?"

"I'm not but one shouldn't focus too much on their work. Besides I believe a five minute break every hour just to stretch your legs is good for you. Don't you?"

"Ah! Just five minutes?"

An amused chuckle escaped Sandra as she glanced over her shoulder at Phillip. "I thought you didn't want me to stop working."

"Well I didn't fully realize how easy it was for you. I'm sure you could take an extended break and make up for lost time."

"We'll see."

***********************************************************************************

Lucy gave a long sigh as she leaned her head against her desk and closed her eyes. Her main body was at home laying in a bed or in the floor. She had to split herself up quite a bit. She had hoped that she could continue using her smaller bodies to relax but that wasn't working out for her. As she lay her head on the table her gaze turned towards the phone. Slowly she reached up and began to dial in a very familiar number. It struck her as odd that she was using the phone.

"Hello."

"Hey mom how are you doing?"

"I'm doing quite well Lucy! Though it's nice to hear from you baby. How are you doing?"

"Not so well mommy could you get dad on the line as well."

Karen immediately felt her heart rate speed up upon hearing Lucy's response though she kept control of herself easily enough. "Sure thing." Covering the receiver for a moment Karen called out. "Claude pick up the phone." Upon calling out Karen immediately put the phone back against her ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey Daddy I was wanting to speak with you and mommy."

"Sure sweaty, what is it?"

"I need to ask you two a favor."

It had been a great many years since Claude had pulled his little girl from the fire. It had only been slightly fewer years since she'd last needed his help. Upon hearing this he felt a rush of energy but at the same time a great wave of dread. "Is something wrong Lucy?"

"I've been feeling really tired lately dad. I seem to only be able to pep up when Albert is awake and even then it's pretty limited pep. I want you to take care of a few things for me."

"You know we'll do whatever we can Lucy."

"I need you to run my company for me for a while."

Claude felt as if a ten ton load had just been dropped on him. He knew the scale of Lucy's company and the money it brought in. The idea of being responsible for so many people's jobs wasn't exactly comforting to him. However, he couldn't say no to his daughter when she needed him. "Just what do you mean?"

"Keep track of sails, check employee reports, see what marketing is doing. Oh and maybe expand the research and development team."

Now Karen spoke up. "Lucy you know we love you and we'd do anything for you. I don't know if we can help you with that though. I'm worried that we would end up hurting you more then helping."

"You'll do fine mom trust me. I have a friend that I believe I'll ask to help as well she's pretty bright."

"Well, we're not going to say no. We don't know anything about developing a new department in a company."

"Mm I'll higher some advisors to guide you along. I've just been too tired to do much lately. I've got two projects mostly finished though which should serve as a good source of income for a while."

While Claude wasn't going to say no he couldn't help but wonder. "Lucy don't you have a research and development department?"

"Well yeah but. Honestly the turn over rate has always been rather high."

"How come?"

"Um well I never really needed them." A slight chuckle escaped Lucy as she shifted her head from side to side rubbing it against her desk while she held the phone against her ear. "You know they'd do their research and begin developing. Then I'd come along and decide if I liked the initial idea or not finish it up and move then to something else. Apparently they didn't like me doing that."

"Sounds like an easy job."

"Well yeah but people don't attend over five years of college for such things apparently. It never really bothered me though. It probably didn't help that I never allowed them to really get into my personnel projects."

"Do you have anyone working in research and development?"

"Yeah a few. They're not really seasoned developers though. As you might recall I normally had the development team doing the testing that I didn't want to do. That's probably another reason most of the more experienced designers quit working for me. I suppose they didn't appreciate being made to do the grunt work but I sure didn't want to do it."

"Lucy do you have any idea as to why you're feeling tired?"

"I might know where it began but I don't know where it's going to end and I don't have any ideas as to what I should do about it. I promised Albert I'd take a break though if I started feeling more drained." While that wasn't exactly the promise Lucy had made she didn't want to wait until she was fearing for her life. For the moment she would just take preventive measures and get some of the work load off her shoulders.

"Don't you think you'd want some people more experienced then your parents doing this?"

"Don't worry Daddy I'll higher some professionals to help you out. I just don't want the research and development teams going in a direction I wouldn't approve of. I know it wouldn't take me long to just read over a proposal but I'm just so tired right now. I need the two of you to act as the moral guideline and keep me informed."

"We'll do it sweet heart but where should begin?"

"I'll have someone fill you in on the details mom."

***********************************************************************************

"How is she coming?"

"Quite well Sir. Sara has began showing some noticeable improvements in her capabilities. So far we're measuring a ten percent increase in her overall abilities."

As Patrick was speaking the officer joined him on the observation platform. Heavy protective paneling separated them from the evaluation room below. Yet he didn't feel it was enough. "I wonder how easy it would be for her to send something through this." As he spoke the officer extended a hand and placed it against the paneling. It felt like plastic to his touch though there was a solidarity to it that reminded him of glass as well.

"She'd have to do it intentionally sir but she could most assuredly do it."

"Ten percent. I believe originally she was down to making a two percent increase periodically so the methods provided by Ms Angeye really have improved her progress five times. I wonder how long it'll hold out."

"We have no way of knowing Sir."

"I take it you're aware of the casualties."

"Yes sir. I suppose they weren't as compatible as it was believed. I never expected such a violent backlash though."

"We knew there was an element of risk trying to improve upon Miss Angeye's methods so I'm not holding anyone accountable. However, this makes you and Sara even more interesting. So far there have been no reported complications between the two of you. Even your disagreements don't threaten the balance."

"I fear we might have rushed the procedure with the others sir. They had some differences that needed worked out before they underwent such methods."

"You and Sara had been speaking mentally before contact with Miss Angeye even began. Her suggestion to delve further into one another's mind by separating one self from the physical world was a logical reaction. However, it seems they are risks in having others try to expand on that connection so that the two are even closer. Even a slight flaw resulting in a tremendous backlash. That last part was what got us. However, there are other concerns."

"Such as?"

"We can't be certain that Miss Angeye has tested these methods herself. There is a chance she's using us as willing test subjects."

At first Patrick said nothing then gave his head a slight shake. "That is a concern I hadn't considered sir."

"So far the data she has provided has been accurate it was our expanding upon the method that resulted in the deaths. What do you think Patrick?"

"I don't believe we should halt the testing Sir. While it maybe dangerous it gives us our best chance of closing the power gap between Mis Angeye and the military. While to date she has proven trust worthy I can't accept that a single person should hold such a power advantage. She at least needs one person who is capable of providing a threat."

"You're not concerned that she won't try to remove that threat?"

"It is a concern Sir. We don't know how she'd respond after so many years of seeming invulnerability. She might not be able to accept that there is another capable of harming her and seek their death. I don't believe she will but it's possible. She may not even know the answer though."

Sara gave a sigh as she glanced towards the observation room. She knew Patrick was speaking with a superior but she still didn't like the lack of attention she was getting. Later she needed to have a talk with him. So far she hadn't mentioned it but as of late she'd found herself feeling more jealous then usual. She didn't like sharing Patrick's time before hand but she understood that it was for work. As her abilities had increased though that dislike had grown until it had nearly become anger.

"Sir, Sara's improvements aside we are weaker then what we were. The loss of those other teams reduced our abilities quite a bit."

"Yes and acceptable volunteers aren't exactly the easiest thing to find. There was little alternative in the matter though. With no other way to test the results we had to jump in. At least we're learning from our mistakes. It's regrettable that we can't observe Miss Angeye more closely to see what that amounts to. For all we know her rate of improvement could have stopped, slowed down, remained constant or even sped up."

"Sir while that information would be valuable it's too dangerous to even entertain thoughts of trying to obtain it."

"Indeed. Patrick you might want to watch the observation room. I believe that Sara is growing upset."

In response to his superiors words Patrick quickly glanced towards the observation room. He didn't find Sara looking at them but he did notice she seemed rather tense. Of course she'd heard what the officer had said and he knew she'd hear him. They both knew she'd heard them given her abilities. For the moment though they'd just have to act as if she didn't. "I'm sure she didn't mean any ill intent Sir."

"As the connection between the two grows stronger it becomes harder to separate them. We've known this for a long time. It's whenever something that forces separation is found that the greatest difficulties are encountered. That tends to be the main result of the connection breaking down and both hosts suffering for their union."

"Yes Sir but what of it?"

"As Sara's abilities improve it stands to reason that she'll come to require more of your attention. Patrick while we can't observe Miss Angeye too closely we have noted certain behaviors. How often have you seen Ms Angeye setting Mr. Guarsen down?"

"Very rarely Sir and I don't recall a time he's been outside of her arms reach since they began living together."

"I wonder if this behavior isn't just a desire but a need that's developed due to the symbiot's nature. A need to have the one they value most constantly at hand."

"It's possible Sir. I know since Sara and I have began having our conversations through the symbiont connection we share it's become increasingly difficult to separate myself from her."

"Did you know that since she started housing Mr. Guarsen Lucy's size has increased far more quickly then it did all the years before?"

"I noticed Sir."

"Hm this could be a liability. We can't be sending Sara into combative situations if you're required to come along."

"I don't believe that would be necessary Sir due to our mental connection."

"You and Sara seem to be working out the best of all our candidates. I'm going to halt using the modified methods on the other couples and only have the two of you remain on the regiment. I take it you're aware of the risk in doing this."

"Yes Sir. I would prefer to talk it over with Sara first though."

"I'm fairly certain she approves of the decision."

"Sir isn't that a little bold?"

"Not when I can see her nodding her head."

Once again Patrick turned his attention and found her eagerly grinning up at them. "Very well."

***********************************************************************************

"Hey. Wake up sleepy head. It's time for breakfast." As she spoke Lucy placed a hand against Albert's shoulder and gently nudged him. As she shook him she felt his hand reach up and come to wrest on her wrist. It felt odd to have his hand actually be able to wrap around hers but it was a gentle touch and she didn't mind.

"Can't I sleep just a little longer."

"Now you've had plenty of sleep. Are you going to make me carry you?"

A sigh escaped Albert as he set up. "No. I'm up. I'm up." As he was speaking Albert turned and looked at Lucy he was surprised by what he saw. "Lucy why is your hair blond?"

"What?" In response to Albert's comment Lucy quickly glanced down towards the body she'd been using to wake him up. What she found was that her hair was indeed blond. "How did that happen?"

"I'm not sure. You've always used the same color of hair."

"I know." As she was speaking Lucy reached up and took hold of a few strands of her hair. She then began to focus on them willing the pigment to change and shifting to the same color as her larger body. Her focus was broken for a moment whenever Albert suddenly called out.

"Wait a minute! You've been breast feeding me. How is it suppose to be cold?"

An amused chuckle escaped Lucy as she looked back at Albert. "Ah well I just wanted you up actually."

As he spoke Albert reached up and began to try to rub the sleep out of his eyes. Much to his surprise he still felt very groggy. "How long was I asleep?"

"Nearly twelve hours?'

"Huh?! Well crap I hate sleeping away half a day."

"Mmhmm." While she was listening to Albert Lucy once again began working on her hair. "I'd really like to know how this happened. I meant for it to be my regular color this morning."

"Um Lucy, why are you using one of your smaller bodies to wake me up?"

For a moment Lucy bit down on her lower lip she then gave her head a quick shale. "It's hard for me to find the drive to make most of me move Albert. Look at me." As she spoke Lucy lifted a hand and indicated her main body. "Don't I look sleepy?"

As Albert looked towards Lucy's main body he felt his heart rate speed up. "Lucy do you think you're dieing?"

Lucy's response was immediate. Her cheeks bulged outward and moments later she began to shake with laugher. "No! I'm not dieing Albert. You really shouldn't assume the worse like that!"

"I'm sorry Lucy I just. You've never been tired like this before."

"Listen Albert I told you something is going on. Why my hair is blond right now I don't know. I already asked my parents to take over the company for me and Sandra is helping a great deal. I'm busy working to free myself from all my regular responsibilities though I'm worried now. I can't focus enough to really work like I normally do."

Before speaking Albert reached up and slowly wrapped his arms against Lucy. As he pulled her against himself though he gave a slight chuckle. "You're well enough to make yourself taller then me."

"Naturally."

"Lucy, I worry about you when things like this happen. Could any of this be due to me?"

"Albert you've never hurt me and you're not hurting me now." As she spoke Lucy reached up and easily removed Albert's arm from around her neck. She then slipped her hands under him and lifted him off her breasts slowly repositioning him as she did so. "I feel okay right now at least."

"I believe we should."

"If you're going to say skip out on our practice you'd best think again." As she was speaking Lucy reached up and began to undo her shirt.

"But Lucy."

"Hush up and let me feed you."

A slight chuckle escaped Albert as he looked at Lucy's breasts. "I swear I'm use to having a nipple bigger then myself to work with."

"Not today Albert."

"So have you taken care of all other responsibilities?"

"I might have to deal with the military a bit more. Other then that I'm certain plus something might arise that needs my attention. I don't want to go out while in my exhausted state though. I don't know what kind of response it might get."

"What's your worse fear?"

"That someone would try to harm those close to me while I'm weakened. It isn't likely though. They'd more likely try to kill me in my weakened condition knowing that if they stopped at harming those close to me I might recover and go berserk. Hopefully if this gets out most will believe it's an act so that others will do something foolish."

"Your hair is back to normal."

"Now my eyes aren't the right color."

"Huh?"

"The body I have in my office right now its eyes just changed color." A sigh escaped Lucy as she shook her head. "Albert I'm not sure what's going on but I've never underwent a transformation that wasn't beneficial to me in the long run. Try not to worry and let's just relax later I may delve into my mind and try to find out what is going on."

***********************************************************************************

"Hello Mr Angeye, Miss Angeye." As she spoke Sandra extended a hand to each of Lucy's parents giving them a quick hand shake. "I believe Lucy told you about me."

"Um yes well she told us a little bit." As he spoke Claude found himself looking up at Sandra. She wasn't nearly as big as his daughter but she was still quite a tall woman.

As Sandra shook Claude and then Karen's hand she couldn't help but think it was odd. Given Lucy's abilities it seemed strange that she hadn't provided her parents with a symbiont as well. For the moment though she chose not to ask why not knowing either of them. "Well Lucy instructed me to help you in any way that I'm able so what would you like to know?"

"Um well first of all. Where are we going to be working and where are the bathrooms?"

"Oh yeah I imagine you'd need to know where those are first. Okay follow me we can talk about some others things as we go. So you two just arrived in town?"

"Yes. We only had time to pack the essentials but Lucy assured us they'd be provided."

"I've no doubt of that. I hope you don't mind me asking but just what is Lucy up to? She didn't explain much just that the two of you would be the final word when it came to company business for a while."

"I'm sorry but I'm not sure Lucy wants us talking about that right now."

"I know that she hasn't been feeling energetic lately. If you're here it must mean she's gotten worse or something else has happened. I hope that she recovers soon."

"You must be quite close to Lucy."

"It's been several months since I met her but I don't know how close we are. We've spent some time together and she seems friendly to me."

"If Lucy trust you enough to let you know she's not feeling well she trust you a lot."

"Mm I don't know if that's a comforting thing or not. I've scene what happens to those that betray her trust."

A sigh escaped Claude as he shook his head. "She can have quite a strong reaction. She gets it from her mother." The moment the words left his lips Claude felt a sharp pain on the back of his head and heard a smack. He immediately knew who had smacked him and gave a grin.

"I'm not the one that over reacts in this relationship."

"Sure dear, just please don't hurt me."

Karen gave a drawn out sigh and rolled her eyes. Her husband was already acting like his casual self. "I'm sorry dear Claude here has always tried to make the friends of his daughter uncomfortable. He seems to believe it's his job as her father."

"Don't worry I've met worse. Well then shall we get going?"

"Yes. So do you know anything about a new research and development team?"

"Lucy mentioned it and I believe that it's a good idea however I believe she made it out to be more urgent then what it is. I'm going to suggest giving those employees currently working here a chance to step up to the plate and see how they do. It isn't like she doesn't have anyone seeking employment here either. Even if those that have been working for her are somewhat jaded there is a chance that some of the fresh blood will do well."

"That sounds like a good idea. Tell me do you know why Lucy didn't simply let you take over?"

"She wants me focusing more on the development of current projects. I'm also not sure I would want to handle management. It also stands to reason that she's hoping the wisdom of age will bring about some good changes."

Karen gave a forced sigh and looked at Claude. "If only she'd realized that age doesn't necessarily bring wisdom. After all we have a forty six year old child right there."

As they were walking Sandra couldn't help but grin. She could see where Lucy had gotten some of her more childish behavior. Apparently a lot of the traits from her parents still remained even if their blood wasn't anywhere near similar these days. "Okay here is the office Lucy assigned to the two of you. If there is anything you want to change let me know." As she spoke Sandra produced a key from her pocket and quickly opened the door.

Upon the door opening Claude took a step back. The room that was behind the door didn't seem to be an office to him. It seemed more along the lines of a living room. "Isn't that a bit much?"

"Lucy wanted to insure you were comfortable. If you check your computers you'll find a file on the desktop labeled finances. To get the computer to turn on hold you finger against the power button for three seconds and it'll do the wrest."

"Why three seconds?"

"It's just running a quick scan nothing to be worried about. The mouse and keyboard periodically repeat the check to see who is using the computer though it's less thorough. You have your own private bathroom to the right and if you check by the phone you'll find a list of numbers including where you can order dinner from."

"I see. So Lucy stuck everything we'd need for our work in here?"

"Pretty much, she also said she'd appreciate if you'd get to work on the payroll right away. She'd also like it if you'd look through the employee performance records and pick some people to do inspections. She won't be able to do them herself for a while or so she fears."

"I see. Well, Lucy?"

"Hey Daddy." As Lucy spoke she leaned against the door frame. She didn't actually need the support to stand her body was more then strong enough but it was instinctual with how weak she was feeling. "What's that look for?"

"You um. You look different. I didn't think you tanned."

A groan escaped Lucy as she stepped further into the room and made her way towards the bathroom. "I need to look at myself so I can fix this."

Sandra had been rather surprised when she'd seen Lucy as well. Her current body was only two meters tall well below the average Lucy used. Her voice lacked the usual energy and the changes in her appearance were noticeable. Yet it was clear who it was. "Lucy I didn't know your appearance was changing."

"It's not. At least it's not universally. The appearance of my bodies keeps changing though and I'm having trouble keeping the changes under control."

As Lucy walked towards the bathroom both Claude and Karen followed her though Claude was the one to speak up first. "I barely recognized you."

"That's not surprising." Lucy was made to groan as she looked at herself in the mirror and began to focus on fixing the changes. "You know up until recently I didn't even know I could change my appearance. At least I never tried."

"Do you think this is some new ability your body developed?"

"Isn't that sort of a given?" A groan escaped Lucy as her hand quickly moved towards her face and she struck herself on the cheek. The force of the impacted generated a sound wave so powerful that everyone in the room could literally rattled it. "Blast it! That isn't right. Sorry about that comment Dad."

"It's no problem Lucy I guess it was kind of a silly question." As Claude spoke he lightly rubbed his chest. He had felt the Shockwave generated by Lucy smacking herself in his rib cage yet she didn't seem harmed at all. It was as if the impact was nothing but a wake up smack someone might give themselves in the morning.

"No! I shouldn't have spoken to you like that. I'm. I'm just so tired." As she spoke Lucy placed a hand on her face covering it. "I haven't been tired in such a long time. Not tired like this it's a tired I can't really name. Something is changing within me."

"You don't seem to be worried though."

An amused giggle escaped Lucy as she shook her head. "I'm not."

"Because the changes in your body have always been positive?"

"No, because I have Albert. I came down to check on how things were going though."

Now Karen spoke up stepping up along side Claude. "Well we really haven't had time to begin."

"That's okay. Do you like the office?"

"Yes though I can't help but wonder who's it is."

"Yours and dads."

"I mean before that."

"That's what it was always meant for. I decided when I had this building built that I would include an office for the two of you encase I ever needed your help. Now it seems that I do."

As Claude looked upon Lucy he quickly moved forward. Extending his arms he wrapped them around his daughter and pulled Lucy against himself. "I love you Lucy you've always been a wonderful daughter."

Before she could comment Lucy felt her mother also wrap her arms around her. This brought a smile to her face. "Mom, Dad I'm not going anywhere."

"I believe you but you sounded like you needed a hug."

"Thanks Dad. I love the both of you to."

As Sandra looked upon the family before her she couldn't help but worry. She knew that Lucy wouldn't intentionally worry her parents or she felt very strongly. So she doubted that Lucy was joking around or that she had changed her appearance intentionally. Something was going on and it was outside of Lucy's ability to control directly. Unfortunately there was little that she could do in the situation except the job Lucy was paying her to do. She'd help Lucy's parents and continue in the research and development department. After all in the short time they'd known one another Lucy had become a good friend.

***********************************************************************************

If it had happened just a few months earlier it would have been a disaster. Had some part of Lucy realized this and held off until it was the most opportune time? Albert didn't know for sure but he couldn't help but suspect that was the case. Lucy might not have had direct control of what was going on but he knew something about her had influenced the change in her condition. Reaching down Albert placed a hand on Lucy's head and gently ran his fingers through her hair. She was awake but she wasn't talking much at the moment. "Would you like something to eat Lucy?"

"No thanks I'm not hungry."

"You know it might not give you much energy but a little food might help."

"Mm." Before speaking Lucy reached up and placed her hand against Albert's cheek. "I know that's why I've been eating."

"Alright, I guess I just didn't notice."

"Well I've been keeping most of my snacking fairly regular. If I just tried to eat to regain my energy well. That would run up quite a bill."

"You're not holding back due to financial issues are you?"

"No, I'm just maintaining a steady stream of nutrients." A sigh escaped Lucy as she removed her hand from Albert's face and placed it back down on her thigh. They'd just finished with their regular exercises and she felt her energy slipping away again. "It felt good to work with you. You're making some very nice progress."

"Thanks though I can't help but think it's due to your condition."

"Na! Don't worry about that Albert. Believe me I had all the energy I ever had whenever we were practicing. That seems to be the only time that I regain my energy entirely."

"I. I wonder if you were attacked if I could get your body to move in order to protect yourself."

"I'm certain that you could."

"Lucy do you want to sleep some?"

"Mm it might be nice but I can't. All I can do is relax."

"How about if I shut up and let you try to sleep?"

A slight giggle escaped Lucy as she once again shook her head. "Quit trying to take all of this upon yourself Albert. I've tried to sleep while you've slept and it didn't work. I just don't have the ability to sleep right now."

"Alright. I guess it's just easier to think that in some way it might be my fault and I might be able to fix something rather then I can do nothing to help at all."

"Albert don't worry I'm sure that this will work out for the best." As she spoke Lucy pushed off her breasts and raised herself to a seated position. "This feels too awkward."

"Wha..." Albert didn't get to finish as Lucy took hold of his shirt collar. Before he knew what was going on Lucy had pulled him down so that his head came to wrest on her lap. "There. Much better. Oh one thing." As she spoke Lucy took hold of Albert's head and turned it so that he was looking at her crotch. "That's better now."

It was impossible for Albert not to grin despite his concerns. "Oh having me on top of your breasts isn't enough?"

"Not right now it isn't!" While Lucy's voice was enthusiastic as she looked at her larger body she was made to sigh. Normally drastic changes did come with a time of weakness but nothing like this had happened in a very long time. She wasn't sure what had triggered it but she knew something was changing. Her body was in a wrested state so her smaller bodies that were active should feel more energetic. That wasn't the case though which meant her awareness was as active as ever. "You know it's strange that we call it our awareness."

"Yet we're not always aware what it's doing?"

"Bingo. I guess you've been thinking about this as well."

"Yeah but to me that means that on some level you are aware of what's going on. You just can't remember through the filter of your body."

"That sounds right. Albert you don't have to worry about your body it's still safe."

"In all honesty I haven't been thinking about it."

"I know. I just wanted to tell you that encase you began wondering. Even if your body that's inside of mine was to be destroyed the one you have now would continue functioning. It's separate even from my body so even."

"I thought you weren't worried about your life."

"I'm not."

"Then you don't need to finish that."

A sigh escaped Lucy as she reached down and ran her fingers through Albert's hair. "You're right."

"So do you have any idea as to why you've been feeling weaker and weaker?"

"More and more of me is being devoted to whatever change is happening. At least that's what I believe is happening."

"Have you tried delving into your mind to figure out what is going on?"

"I'm worried about what might happen if I took too much of my awareness away from this world. You may find yourself having to keep me under control and I'm not certain you're quite ready for that. In Mizia I didn't really care but here the situation changes."

"Do you believe this could all be a result of something that happened in Mizia?"

"It could be I won't know until I see what the changes are. I've noticed a pattern at least."

"What type of pattern?"

"The way my smaller bodies change their appearance. There seems to be a pattern to it."

***********************************************************************************

"Hello there I take it you're Sandra?"

"Pleased to meet you and yes. So would you happen to be Patrick?"

"Yes. I hope you don't mind me asking but up until now we've been meeting with Miss Angeye has something come up?"

"Nothing much she just wanted some private time for her and Albert. Some extended private time that is."

In response Patrick gave a quick nod. "I understand." As he was speaking Patrick retrieved a small stack of papers from his brief case. "Here is the paper work Miss Angeye will need to have signed before production can begin. When it's been filled out the funds will be released for the initial testing of the treatment as well as payment for the initial production."

As Sandra retrieved the paper work she knew what it was truly for. Most of the money wouldn't be going towards any testing rather it would go towards the actual materials needed to produce the satellite. The other half would indeed be going towards the production of the treatment. "Lucy mentioned that she had settled on a name for the drug."

"Oh and what would that be?"

"She's calling it the unleashed."

"Mm a very flashy name I have to say but that's fine. We already have some volunteers lined up to begin taking the initial doses."

"Now you do realize that these won't actually have Lucy's signature on them. Rather her current directors will be handling such things."

"I figured as much. It was quite surprising to learn that Lucy had chosen a group of directors to manage the company while she was away. It was even more surprising to learn it was her parents. One would have expected her to hire someone more experienced in the business world. I suppose she's confident that she can repair any damage done while she's busy and is more concerned about the moral behavior of the industry rather then the profitability."

It was impossible for Sandra not to grin as she listened to Patrick. "That sounded more like a question then a statement."

"Old habit I'm afraid. I like to understand my situation as best I'm able."

"And as your having dealings with Lucy her situation affects your situation."

"Indeed. So I suppose you wouldn't be willing to give me more information. Would you?"

"If you want to know more you're going to have to talk with her yourself."

"I see. Well then if you'd please get those papers signed."

"I'll have a decision for you within the hour. Let me show you to the meeting room and you can wait there if that isn't objectionable."

"No that is quite alright."

***********************************************************************************

Sara gave a sigh as she looked at Patrick. "What has you so worried? It isn't like she's done anything to show that she's hostile. I admit that her behavior is odd and agree with you that something is going on but I don't see why you'd worry about it. We have the information we wanted after all and if something was to happen to her that would explain why the drug's production was stopped."

"I'm concerned because I believe she might have been injured somehow. Lucy has never been conservative in her behavior nor has she vanished from the public eye quite like this. We haven't seen her outside of her home in a long time and I haven't noticed many of her smaller bodies around her company for quite a while now. She's even relying on others to keep tabs on working conditions."

"So you think this is something big?"

"Indeed I suspect that it is. I wonder if she might have breached the threshold."

"Hm. Oh? Oh dang I didn't think about that. I mean she's so powerful already it just didn't seem to apply to her."

"I doubt that she's dead. I'm not sure anyone could cover that up however she doesn't seem all that active. Perhaps she's slipped over the edge and is just holding on so to speak. Not every breach ends in death. There have been cases where the mind partly shut down or they even slipped into a coma to avoid breaching the threshold. I wonder if Miss Angeye would even realize it if she'd come to that point."

"I don't know. I know I don't like to think of that possibility and after so many years it might not even seem possible to her."

"If she did indeed come that close to the threshold she could be trying to find a way to bull herself back from the edge. In her case I believe it's possible she would simply have to kill off some of her own body so she had less hardware to maintain. From what I've seen of Miss Angeye's behavior though that's something she would avoid as long as she could. This is just speculation of course."

"You know perhaps she's underwent some other changes. Maybe she sprouted some extra limbs."

"Well I can't say that's not possible however I don't she'd seclude herself over that."

"Or maybe she's developed a blood lust after her time in Mizia and is trying to get it under control."

"Okay! Now that one right there is truly frightening."

A slight chuckle escaped Sara as she leaned towards Patrick. "Can you imagine? We might have to actually hit her with a hydrogen bomb and we don't even know if that would kill her."

"You seem entirely too pleased with this recent suggestion."

"Ah don't worry so much Patrick. Lucy hasn't done anything to suggest such monstrous intentions. Just the same maybe we can use this to get the commanders to provide extra materials for my improvement."

"I don't think such fear tactics are a good idea."

"Yeah they'd probably pull it the moment Lucy proved that she wasn't a threat. Still you have me curious as to what is going on. I wish there was a way to get a look inside that home of hers. I swear the structure is anything but secure at least by most standards yet we can't get inside of it while she's there."

"She's proven again and again how aware of her environment she is. She'd most likely notice out efforts and be more then a little upset that she's being spied on."

"No doubt. It doesn't help that she can listen in on radio signals."

"You don't think you could look in on her by using your telepathy do you?"

"I could give it a try."

"You think she'd notice though."

In response Sara gave a slight nod. "I might have been able to look in on her for a time but not these days. From what I can tell while keeping a safe distance her mental abilities have improved greatly and that includes her ability to keep track of others with similar capabilities. Then again if you're right and she is in a weakened condition she may not notice me."

"It's too risky forget that I brought it up."

"You'd really like to know what is happening wouldn't you?"

"I'm sure our superiors as well and now I'm worried that the order will come down to investigate. For the most part I doubt they'd be willing to take the risk but part of me fears it."

"It's not like we have to take the risk you know. It'd be easier to get some foolish reporter to invade the privacy of her own. If they found something we'd hear about it soon enough and if instead she found them and was upset it wouldn't be our problem. I'd prefer to ask her outright before we started trying to be sneaky. She must know we'd realize something is wrong."

"You do have a good point. It isn't like enough people aren't asking the question already."

***********************************************************************************

"So are you ready?" Lucy smile at Albert as she squatted at the knees and prepared to pounce on Albert. He followed suit though his stance was far less refine. She knew there was no way he'd get full power in his charge.

"This um feels rather awkward but I believe so." Albert had wrestled with Lucy's tongues and fingers before though only in passing. As he prepared to wrestle Lucy to scale though he actually found himself even more nervous. There was no way he could match her true strength. He'd seen Lucy lift a tank with one hand and sent it skyward while using a body only a meter and two thirds tall. He would have to try to take control of her body if he was going to have a chance.

"Here I come then!" The moment she spoke Lucy pressed off against her taught stomach though she limited her speed. Albert would kneed time to focus. It was still easy to close the gap between herself and Albert and her hands quickly came to wrest upon his shoulders. Instead of taking hold of her shoulders though Albert's hands had gone to her arms.

The moment her hands came to wrest upon him Albert felt them take hold of his shirt. He didn't have time to scream as he found himself smoothly lifted into the air and carried in a one hundred and eighty degree arc. A sharp grunt escaped him the moment he was slammed against Lucy's stomach and her smaller body quickly pounced on him taking hold of his right arms he began to pin him. As her left arm began to move into position he quickly took hold of it and to his surprise found that he'd stopped her arm.

Albert's muscles couldn't have even stopped her finger but by using the influence he wielded over her body he could restrain her. Lucy responded likewise though by trying to wrest control of Albert's arm so that she could pin him. "Remember each time you're pinned you have to take off a piece of clothing."

A grunt escaped Albert though he said nothing as he tried to hold Lucy's arm back. At the same time though he had to break free of the hold she'd already began to establish. This was proving quite difficult as he Lucy was already busy using her legs to restrain his own. It was taking all the energy he could manage just to hold back her left arm so finding off her legs was more a matter of wriggling them free then resisting them. Fortunately Lucy's legs were wonderfully smooth and slipping them out wasn't too difficult of a task.

Lucy couldn't help but giggle as Albert struggled. "You know this is actually quite a rush." As she was speaking Lucy found herself increasing the force she exerted against Albert slowly edging her arm forward. "It's been so long since I've felt like someone could actually resist my strength. There is a rush to knowing you have someone to compete against."

It was hard for Albert to talk as he struggled to resist Lucy. Already he found himself breathing hard. He might have been preventing well over ninety percent of Lucy's strength from reaching him but it was still overwhelming him. He didn't even know if Lucy was just playing around. As he tried to resist her arm though he looked up towards her eyes. He was amazed to see that they were glowing as she poured on the power. The only time he ever scene that happening was when Lucy's awareness was focused inward or when she was using tremendous amounts of energy.

In truth the exertion Lucy and Albert were really feeling wasn't physical. Physically she would have beaten him in an instant. Rather it was due to their awareness's contending with one another. The knowledge and experience gap had been closed over all their weeks of practice. Now Albert was able to truly resist her and fight her for control of his and her body. It meant Lucy had to truly work to overcome his awareness and maintain control of her body. As she focused on this task she didn't even realize her body was starting to heat up.

"You. You're really. Enjoying this?"

Instead of speaking right away Lucy let her tongue flick out and pressed it against Albert's cheek slowly drawing it against his skin. "Like you wouldn't believe." Even as she spoke Lucy was surprised whenever she felt her arm being forced back. Albert was actually managing to overwhelm her control of her arm enough so that he could move it away.

Was Lucy trying to dominate him? Did she want to prove that she was the stronger of the two? As Albert asked himself these questions he knew the answer was no. There was something else going on here some other reason Lucy was enjoying herself. "Why?"

"I can feel your strength now. Not the strength of your body but the strength of your awareness how strong you are at the very inner most level. I knew you were powerful but now I can feel it in a way I never could before. It's such a turn on! Now come on Albert show me how strong your awareness truly is and try to beat me!"

A wave of heat immediately slammed into Albert a heat that rushed throughout his entire body and seem to reach into his bones. He was made to gasp as he felt his body beginning to cave. In an instant he realized what was going. The heat he was feeling wasn't from Lucy's body rather it was her awareness pressing down on his trying to overcome him. Instantly he pushed back and felt the heat being forced from his body. Yet he was aware of the world around him and it was impossible for him to not notice as Lucy's nipples became pert and pressed into his chest nor when her lips met with his.

Times past Lucy had tried to break Albert's focus with her feminine charms. This time it wasn't the case though as her lips had met his. It hadn't been a distraction but an uncontrolled response brought on by the rush she'd felt. It couldn't be maintained though as she felt her left arm and then her right being forced back as he began to break free of her hold.

How could he be doing this? Even the tiniest of Lucy's bodies could have crushed him with a finger. Albert knew this all too well. As he struggled against Lucy he managed to come up with a few answers. Lucy was only using a very small portion of her true body which meant he wasn't truly resisting her arm rather only a small portion of it. It was also possible that he was using her own physical strength against her allowing his infinitely weaker muscles to contend with hers. Yet she'd always told him she could block out his control over her body while he could do the same to her.

As Lucy struggled against Albert her muscles weren't actually being used against her. Rather Albert was dampening the commands that were being sent to her muscles so that they could only use the most insignificant portion of their true strength. A delighted giggle burst from Lucy's lips as she quickly released her hold on Albert's arms. Quickly she slipped her hands under neath his arms and repositioned her legs as she worked to get behind him and get him into a choke hold he couldn't break out of.

Albert was made to gasp the moment he felt Lucy release her hold on him. He hadn't been prepared for this and for a brief second he did nothing as Lucy repositioned her arms. By the time he'd managed to grasp her hands he realized his plight as he felt Lucy tighten her grip on him actually starting to strangle him. Instead of immediately submitting though he grasped Lucy's wrist desperately trying to pull them away from his throat. He realized the effort was already futile though as he knew Lucy had gained the leverage advantage.

"Got you." It was impossible for Lucy not to giggle as she felt Albert struggling to break the grasp her arms held on him. Several times she felt him pulling her arms away from his throat yet his strength would always diminish. Realizing she had him this time Lucy slowly brought out her tongue and licked along the backside of his ear. She noted him shiver as the warm wet muscle glided against it.

At last a gasp escaped Albert and he quickly slammed his hand against the ground several times. On the third time Lucy released her hold on him and he was able to go free. As he gasped for air though he gave a sigh and pulled his arms within his shirt. He then began to lift the garment over his head. "You're good at this." For a moment Albert's view of Lucy was blocked as he pulled the shirt over his head.

It was amazing to Lucy. She knew she'd feel groggy after words but at the moment she felt incredibly strong. Energy pumped throughout her veins and she felt her skin tingling. The desire to resume was so strong it took supreme willpower just to get herself to stay still. "Mm I can't wait to continue."

Upon tossing his shirt to the side Albert retook his stance. As he looked at Lucy though he noted some changes in her appearance. Her skin seemed to be glowing while her eyes were still as bright as ever. He didn't know how much energy was currently pumping through her body but he knew that it had to be staggering. This became all the more apparent though as he risked a moment to glance over at the shirt he'd removed. He knew it had been intact when he'd removed yet now it had become shredded and as he watched was still being torn to bits as if a great pressure was being exerted upon it.

While Albert's attention was focused on the plight of his clothing Lucy's attention was focused upon him. She was surprised though whenever she moved towards him how quickly his head turned in her direction. As she reached to take hold of him her hands didn't meet his body but his hands instead as they grasped one another. However, while he did meet her charge he didn't quite stop it as she forced his arms backwards. "Ah and I thought you'd let your guard down."

At first Albert didn't know what to say or think. He had indeed let his guard down but he could have sworn he felt Lucy moving towards him. "Lucy how am I doing this? How much are you holding back?"

"You're able to resist me because we're connected Albert and part of this power is yours."

"Mine?"

A slight chuckle escaped Lucy as she looked into Albert's eyes. "Albert we've grown mutually and with the connection between our bodies this isn't a physical contest. It could just as easily be conducted on the mental plain. However, you're more versed with the body so we're using our bodies as a medium to compete."

"But my shirt."

"I don't have all the answers Albert just trust that you're safe even from my energy." As she spoke Lucy quickly jerked backwards releasing her hold on Albert's hands a few moments after she did so. This had the desired effect as the swift motion took him off his balance and sent him sprawling on her stomach. As she moved to pounce on him though he quickly rolled onto his back and caught her once again locking hands with her.

"I'm not going to make this easy for you."

"Mm good."

Even as he struggled to keep Lucy from pinning him Albert couldn't help but notice how the heat seemed to have left his body. There was still warmth but instead of trying to seep into him he now felt as if he was being pulled towards something. What this truly meant was beyond his current level of knowledge but it was a welcome feeling he had no desire to resist. At the same time though he felt even more driven it actually surprised him though whenever he gave a quick push forward and managed to roll over putting Lucy beneath him this time.

"Oh! Oh so you think you're going to pin me this time?"

The grin on Lucy's face was filled with childish delight. It actually brought a blush to Albert's face. Unfortunately it also brought a lapse of judgment as he felt his arms suddenly be taken out from under him. Before he even knew what was going on he felt Lucy's arm once again wrap around his head as she put him in a headlock. "Blast it."

"Looks like I've got you.." Lucy was cut short as she felt her arm being pulled away by Albert as he began to break free of her hold.

"Not yet."

Lucy gave a slight grunt as she began to try to regain her hold. Much to her surprise her arm continued to move away from Albert though her grin didn't shrink. Still, it was odd whenever she felt Albert suddenly twist around freeing himself from her hold and taking hold of her right arm with both of his. Before she could really resist he used both of his arms to restrain the limb and then began working on the second while maintaining the lock with his right arm.

At times Albert beat her at their games so long as she played by the rules. As she felt Albert working her into position though Lucy found herself starting to giggle. She'd never been able to use this much of her strength against him. Yet as she felt him take hold of her left arm and pulled it into position a sharp gasp escaped her.

He wanted to pin her once just once. For this reason Albert poured on the energy feeling certain he'd be left helpless moments later. As he gripped Lucy's legs with his own though and worked her arms behind her so that he had a leverage advantage he felt a sudden shock wave. The moment he locked her arms down Lucy gave a gasp and a pulse ran throughout him he felt her shudder for a moment and then she was giggling.

"I give."

As the words hit his ears Albert could hardly believe them. "You. You mean you can't get free?"

"Not when you have this leverage advantage." An amused chuckle escaped Lucy as she leaned her head back and looked at Albert. "You've got me pin." Lucy was made to blink and go silent as Albert suddenly released his hold on her. "Is something wrong?"

"Um no. I just you know didn't want to hold you any longer then what was needed to claim a win."

"Hmm." With that Lucy rolled over moving away from Albert and raising herself up on her hands and knees. "You didn't want to hear me say pinned did you?"

"I. It just felt so strange. I didn't like how it felt."

A slight giggle escaped Lucy as she stuck her tongue out at Albert for a moment. She then bent at the knees preparing to pounce him when she felt another pulse of energy run throughout her body and was once again made to gasp. "Something happened."

"Huh? What happened? Are you okay Lucy?"

"I'm fine. Something happened inside of me though."

***********************************************************************************

Was this really Lucy? Albert couldn't help asking himself as he looked towards her larger body then to the one that he'd been wrestling with moments earlier. The smaller body still seemed positively aglow while the larger was entirely still. Lucy didn't need to breath oxygen Albert knew this yet she tended to make her chest rise and fall as if she were. This tended to help those around her relax. Now though her chest was still as the wrest of her.

What had she meant something had happened whenever he'd managed to pin her? He wasn't entirely sure but he was having trouble focusing on the memory. He was very tired himself. Wrestling with Lucy had demanded tremendous amounts of energy and he was made to wonder why he couldn't go to sleep himself. The only answer that came to mind at the moment was that he was afraid to take his eyes off of Lucy.

***********************************************************************************

It was hard for Sandra not to be proud of herself as she examined the test results. She knew that the device had been Lucy's design and she'd only followed them but she was still pleased by the results. How many people were there in the world that could have handled the same assembly? It had taken a few weeks for her to begin work a few weeks in which she became grateful for how little sleep she needed but then the work had progressed smoothly.

"So how's it coming? From the grin you're wearing I'm guessing well."

In response to the voice Sandra quickly turned to face Phillip and gave a quick nod. "I believe we're ready to begin assembly."

"Already?"

"Mmhmm I did a lot of work while you were sleeping and managed to speed things along. It was kind of frustrating but knowing that you'd be awake to keep me company in a few hours helped."

When Sandra had first began speaking Phillip had began to feel a little down. Of course by getting a lot of work done while he'd been asleep she'd meant while he wasn't in the way. At least that was what he'd thought. By the time she was finished though he was feeling better. "I wonder if you just included that last part to make me feel better."

"Mm Phillip have you known me to lie to you?"

"No but that could just mean you're a very good lier."

"With the connection we share?"

"Ah well okay you have me there." As he spoke Phillip took a few steps towards Sandra and held out a mug towards her. "I can't believe how much sugar you've been taking in your coffee lately."

A slight giggle escaped Sandra as she took the cup from Phillip and took a sip from it. "Well my body doesn't exactly have trouble metabolizing it now."

"I believe you. If I drank that much coffee I'd be bouncing off the walls. Now by we can begin assembly I take it you mean the other employees."

"Welllll...Yeah!"

"Is this all of it?"

"Mm not quite yet I still have some other parts to make. However, I've produced enough of the components that they can begin putting them together. By the time they have this finished I should have the parts for the next stage finished if I don't get done well before them and have to rush them along."

"Is it safe to touch?"

"Now it is."

After a moment Phillip gave a nod and reached his hands under the metal plate Sandra had been working on. He was quite surprised when he lifted upwards. "Wow! It's so light."

"And delicate so be careful."

"Huh?"

"Not everything in construction is strong. That material is meant for the absorption and transmission of energy. It doesn't have much resistance to direct trauma."

"Well that's different. I'm used to everything Lucy designs being super strong."

"Oh believe me over half the things she's build are delicate. It's just the strong stuff you get to touch. Half the time I believe she makes it easily breakable just to prevent someone else from studying it."

"You could be right. So this is one of the plates that'll be soaking up the energy?"

"It is the plates actually. It needs to be cut into several smaller layers now." As she spoke Sandra made her way over to Phillip and took the sheet of material from him. "The machinist can begin cutting it to the proper dimensions now and working on the frame."

"Excuse me?"

In response to the voice both Sandra and Phillip turned towards the door. Phillip was the first to speak. "Yes Misses Angeye?"

Karen smiled as she stepped into the room still not quite use to the position her daughter had given her. "Please call me Karen."

"Oh sure. So is there something you need Karen?"

"Well yes. Sandra would you mind coming up to the office and helping us with some paper work? There is a bunch of legal jargon in it and it's making me nervous."

"Isn't the legal department helping you with that?"

"Well they're trying but honestly. I just can't act on the legal advice of people I don't know. Well not that I know you too well but Lucy trust you so I believe I can trust you."

"Karen you don't need to worry. All of those people were evaluated carefully by Lucy before she assigned them to you. I'm sure she wouldn't have given them the job if she didn't feel they were trust worthy."

"I know but please?"

"Mm well alright. Phillip you want to come along or stay here?"

"I'll come along."

"Okay. One second." As Sandra spoke she placed the sheet of material down and reached into her pocket retrieving her phone. "It's from Albert I should probably take this."

"Is it about Lucy?"

"I'll know in a second. Hello Albert what's this call for?"

"Hey Sandra, do you know where Claude and Karen are? I haven't been able to reach them."

"They're right here."

"Could you put me on speaker phone? This concerns all of you."

In response Sandra removed her phone from her ear and quickly clicked it to speaker. "Okay talk away."

"Hey everyone I'm just calling to. Well I don't want to make you worry but I believe something is happening to Lucy. She's been being a lot quieter these last few days and well. I believe that she's asleep. I can't tell you not to worry though as well. She feels rather cold all of a sudden."

Karen's response was immediate. "What?! What do you mean not to worry? Is she alright?"

"I don't know for certain. I feel really calm right now though but I don't know how. I tried to have Lucy move her right arm just a little while ago. For the last few days I've been doing it while she seems spaced out to insure that she's alright. Today though her arm wouldn't move at all. It's kind of inconvenient as I'm setting on her shoulder now."

Before Karen could continue Claude spoke up. "So she's not responsive at all?"

"No I have a few things that I could try but I'm not sure it'd be a good idea."

"Such as?"

"Jumping off of her shoulder. Even whenever Lucy seems to become dormant I've never known her to let me get hurt. If I hit the ground and get killed well it'd be a pretty certain sign that something major is going on."

A sigh escaped Claude as he shook his head. "That's not amusing Albert. I thought you said you felt calm?"

"I. Well I. To be honest with you I'm scared. I don't know how I'm keeping my composure right now. Lucy thought that something was changing inside of her and I've never known her to be wrong about these things but what if she was wrong this time? Her skin has been growing cooler by the hour every other time she altered she'd always become hot to the touch. Like whenever she first developed the ability to form two smaller bodies from one larger."

"We'll be right over."

"No!"

Immediately Claude felt a flash of anger run throughout him. Albert's reaction had been quite a surprise. "What do you mean no? My daughters life could be in danger!"

"I've been around Lucy whenever she undergoes a drastic change before. It's not safe!"

"How isn't it safe?"

"When Lucy begins to change drastically her conscious mind focuses inward. She becomes less aware of her surroundings and more dangerous in general. I don't know what she'd do in that state but whenever she has undergone such a change she's always isolated herself. I don't know what's going on now but if she were to recover and find out she'd killed you I don't know what she'd do."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes it's best if everyone just keeps their distance. I was calling to well. You all need to stay away. Don't try to contact her right now."

"What about you?"

"No matter how far she's been gone Lucy has never injured me. I'm certain I'll be fine regardless of what happens."

"Albert you've been a true friend to my daughter ever since the symbiont was introduced to her or almost since that day. We've come to see you as part of our family and I know Lucy trust you more then anyone else. I also know she loved you more then anyone else. I'm going to try to show the trust my daughter showed you and we'll stay away. However, the moment anything changes I expect to be informed."

"Thank you Mr. Angeye. I'm not sure what I'm going to do then again I'm not sure there is anything anyone can do. I'll be in touch."

Sandra was silent upon hearing the phone hang up her gaze focusing on Lucy's parents. "I imagine will be putting those documents off for the time being."

In response to this comment Claude gave his head a slight shake. "No. I'm going to start working on them. I need something. Something else to focus on for a while."

In response Karen gave a slight nod. "I believe that we should keep this quiet. Phillip, Sandra please don't breath a word of this to anyone."

"We won't. Okay if you still feel like it I'll help you with those documents now."

***********************************************************************************

She was entirely still. Normally whenever Albert found himself climbing on Lucy she was moving at least a little to give him a hard time. As he worked his way down a few strands of her hair though it was the hardest climb of his life. There was no motion from her to make it difficult but the fact that she was so still seemed to make it all the worse. He didn't want to leave contact with her and didn't know if he'd be able to make it past her lap. He needed to get down from her though and get something to eat he'd been setting over her shoulder for well over fourteen hours at this point.

He had considered phoning her parents again or Sandra and seeing if they could bring something to help him. He just couldn't bring himself to do it. For a moment Albert stopped his climb and glanced towards Lucy's hand. Much as he had been learning he focused on the limb and tried to bring it towards himself. It remained motionless bringing a sigh from him as he resumed his climb. "Lucy what happened to you? You've been getting quieter and quieter these past few days and now you're not say anything at all. Is there something I'm suppose to figure out?"

No thought of asking whether or not Lucy was alive entered into Albert's head. The idea that the woman he loved more then all the world was too much to consider. She had to be alive even if she'd grown still. "Lucy I'm just climbing down to your lap, them I'm going to make my way down your thigh and onto the chair. I'll then head to the kitchen and get some food and probably some other supplies. Then I'll be right back here with you."

Once again there was no motion from Lucy and Albert was made to sigh. "You know it's been a long time since I've had to cook for myself. I'll probably end up getting a bunch of canned food as I bet everything in the fridge has ruined by now. You've been breast feeding me for such a long time. I can still remember whenever you first told me that you were going to start breast feeding me instead of letting me eat regular food. It was such a strange moment and at first I was going to refuse.

Then you'd told me how it made you feel. How you enjoyed having me rely on you and not on the food of this world. Right now though I can't stand the idea of trying to draw strength from you though. I'm thinking that you need all the energy you can get. Hey while you're out perhaps I should prepare something for you to eat as well. It's been so long since I've cooked for you. I think one of the last times was whenever we got back from Mizia. I was so worried you wouldn't like the peach muffins I made for you.

You liked them though. I thought you were just saying that to be nice then you said you like the blueberry more though. I've often wondered how you can like so many foods. You don't seem to be bothered by the skins of any fruit I've known or and you bite through bone like they were meant to be eaten. I guess whatever wiring in a human brain makes us think certain foods taste bad and certain foods taste good are different then yours. I know I probably wouldn't like the taste of armor plating or concrete after all.

I wonder what people thought whenever they saw you swallow a tank whole on tv. I bet some of them couldn't believe it. I know that I found it hard to believe at first. You didn't hesitate at all though. Iron probably wouldn't really describe your stomach after that."

Even if she didn't talk back Albert wanted to keep talking to Lucy or at least at her. He didn't know if she could hear him and he hoped that he wasn't distracting her but he wanted to show her that he was still there and was still thinking of her. He was so busy talking to her that he was actually surprised whenever he felt his foot come to wrest upon her leg and found himself staring up at her massive form her face now obscured by her breast.

A long sigh escaped Albert as he continued to hold onto Lucy's hair. He didn't like the idea of letting go and part of him wanted to climb back up. "I'll be back as soon as I can be Lucy." Even as the words left his mouth his hand didn't leave the strand of hair it held onto.

***********************************************************************************

It was impossible for Sara not to grin as she lay upon the table. A few tiny beads of alloy currently resided on her stomach still red hot from they're firing. "Is that all you got?"

Patrick gave a slight chuckle as he glanced over at the examiner. "She's come a long way."

"I'll say. The last time I used that kind of round on her she had to dig it out from her skin. Now she's just gloating. Okay I'll take the next round up a few more kilometers per hour." As he spoke the technician began adjusting the firing velocity of the machine. Already the rounds were moving far more quickly then they'd ever dreamed they'd need to be. Fortunately the machine had been designed with such situations in mind.

As Casandra heard the device warming up she settled in and relaxed her stomach muscles. She could hear as the fluid filled the tubes and was compressed inside the firing chamber. There was a slight clink letting her know that the round was prepared. It took the machine several minutes to fire however it hadn't been designed to fire quickly. It had been designed to fire rounds at tremendous velocities and a wide variety of them. Moments later she felt the metal slug slam into her stomach and heard the sound several moments later.

Upon the weapon discharging the technician glanced over at several readings. One gave the velocity at which the slug had left the weapon and the intended velocity. They estimated velocity and actual velocity had less then a fourth of a percent difference. The other gave a reading on Sara's vital signs while the final one showed were the bullet had actually struck her. "Okay Sara if you don't mind remove the slugs that have built up."

"That last one tickled a bit." As she spoke Sara gathered up the slugs and dropped them in a small metallic bowl next to her. "How much higher can this thing go?"

"We're currently up to three fourths of its maximum. I'm honestly concerned we won't get all the data we wanted with this equipment."

"So what then?"

"We try to build a more powerful gun."

As Patrick listened to the technician and Sara conversing he couldn't help but feel a bit proud. He was delighted to see how far Sara had progressed and hopefully there would be much more development to come. "So tell me how much of this extra strength do you believe is due to her skin thickening thanks to her greater scale and how much is due to muscle strengthening?"

"These test were designed to test the strength of certain muscle sections. Once we know the actual strength of a given region of muscle we can calculate the strength of all the similar muscles in that area using volume."

"Hey! Why don't we try other parts of me if my stomach is too strong? I know." As she spoke Sara moved quickly to reposition herself before the machine fired. Rolling off the side of the table she quickly spun around and placed her bust on top of it. "Okay fire away!" As she spoke Sara knew the technician had no choice. She could already hear the machine priming to fire and there was a point at which it wasn't safe to stop it.

"No!"

Even before the sound waves from the technician's mouth could reach her the slug had. Sara's eyes were made to widen and she bit down on her lower lip as the slug slammed solidly into the top of her breasts. For a moment she was made to shudder and then she looked up at the testing center. "See I'm fine." As she spoke Sara retrieved the remains of the bullet from the top of her breasts.

Sara had caught even Patrick off guard though unlike her and the technician he was grinning. "So Sara! Should we try that again at an even higher velocity?"

"No!" For a moment Sara was made to grimace as she first got her breasts off the table and then began to climb back on it it. "No. That isn't necessary." As Sara was laying down she was doing it for two reasons. One she didn't want to take another slug to the tits and two she didn't want to throw up. She had over estimated her endurance and at the moment she was in quite a bit of pain. More then enough to make her ill.

A low groan escaped the technician as he covered his face for a moment. "I can't believe she did that."

"I'm sure she's regretting her decision as much as you are." As he was speaking Patrick glanced towards the video monitor. "You didn't get any data from that stunt did you?"

"No, by changing her position she threw off some of the readings. We'll need to do it again at the same velocity."

"Don't worry I doubt she'll move again." As he was speaking Patrick noted the image of Sara's chest on the screen. He could clearly make out where the slug had slammed into her flesh though it hadn't broken through. Already Sara was recovering from the bruise however for the brief instant the injury existed though he couldn't help but think it was quite painful. "So how powerful was that?"

"Well you won't be finding any tanks capable of delivering a round with that kind of energy or artillery pieces."

"Did you hear that Sara?"

"Yeah. Great." Normally Sara would have been delighted to hear such news and while she was at the moment she was in too much pain to respond. She could hear the amusement in Patrick's voice and couldn't help but feel quite silly herself. Unfortunately she didn't want Patrick to be quiet she wanted something to think about until her tit quit hurting. "Patrick have you heard anything about Lucy?"

"Miss Angeye hasn't maid a public appearance in a very long time. It's becoming a common assumption that something has happened to her."

"So do you believe someone will do something stupid soon?"

"I'm pretty sure someone just did."

"Hahaha! Very funny. You know what I meant?"

"It wouldn't surprise me if people started trying to get closer in hopes of finding out what's going on. However, she did destroy an army and bring an entire nation to hill. That should deter many and make sure that it's a while before anyone is willing to take too big of a risk."

"Mm I don't know if I agree with you. There is a difference between a nation and a loan reporter trying to get a scoop."

"Miss Angeye has made it very clear that she doesn't appreciate having her privacy invaded and she's now proven that she's not just willing to kill she's willing to do it on a grand scale. What is that look for?"

It was impossible for Sara not to chuckle as she listened to Patrick. "Patrick I didn't know you put such confidence in the intelligence of the masses. Do you really believe what you're saying?"

"Most likely the first to risk getting closer then her front door will be a fanatic of some type. Maybe someone who's family or friends were killed by miss Angeye hoping for a shot at revenge. That or more likely one that has a hatred of Miss Angeye and also hopes to profit from the situation if she is indeed in poor condition."

"What do you think will happen if she's injured?"

"Some will try to kill her. Or would I imagine we'll have to make it clear that the UR won't tolerate hostile actions towards one of her citizen's on her soil."

"You really think we'll protect Lucy?"

"I don't believe we'll have much choice in the matter."

"Why do you say that?"

"If people do try to confront Miss Angeye I have no doubt they'll bring an army to do it. It's been over two hundred years since the army of a foreign power was aloud to tread this soil. I don't believe we'll permit them now just so they can take a crack at Miss Angeye. Secondly should she recover before they can finish her off and we've allied with those that tried to kill her would be in quite a situation. Thirdly we stand to gain far more from her survival then her death."

"Wouldn't it be safer to just kill her though?"

"Hm." For a moment Patrick closed his eyes and grew silent. "What do you think would happen if Miss Angeye hadn't breached the threshold but something else had killed her? Something that was able to over come her defense and lay her low?"

As she was speaking Sara began to gently rub the spot were the slug had struck in her in the breasts not carrying who saw her or what the technician thought. "That is a rather frightening thought actually."

"Now let's say that something has happened to Lucy to make her ill. Then let's assume that she is attacked and killed. What are the chances that something that made her so vulnerable would begin affecting other people?"

"Not very good."

"Agreed but what would happen if it did?"

"It'd be a disaster."

"If Miss Angeye has been weakened to such a point I feel we must first find the source of the weakness. Once that is known we'd then be able to decide if striking against her would be a wise move or not. Of course in the end this won't be my decision."

"I'd assume the higher ups would think like you are."

"Well I sure would hope so but I don't know. They may feel killing her is the wisest path to take and aid in the action. That or they might explain to her that they can't protect her while they won't harm her either. I'm certain that Miss Angeye would find this agreement acceptable."

"Knowing her probably. Of course we couldn't do anything to help those that sought to harm her should they fail to finish her off and she decide to retaliate."

The technician had been silent while Sara and Patrick talked but now he was made to speak up. "The machine is ready to be fired."

"Ah sorry about that."

In response the technician gave a slight shrug. "Sara are you ready?"

"Yeah."

"In five, four, three, two, one." As he hit one the technician pressed down upon the firing button. He heard a slight hiss as the device prepared and a few minutes later he saw a read out on his screen. "How was that?"

"Much less painful then the shot to my breasts."

"My readings indicate you're good to have the velocity stepped up even further. However, we'll have to end the testing soon. I'm afraid that we've reached ninety percent of this machines capabilities. Honestly I never expected this day would come and I'm certain the engineers will be quite surprised as well."

"Have any designs been made to increase the weapon's power?"

"There was a more powerful version developed however it was decided that such a testing device wouldn't be needed. It involves using several technologies developed by Miss Angeye however."

"So you refrained from developing it for fear of upsetting her?"

"No the testing device was deemed unnecessary. We never dreamed that one of our combined couples would be able to endure this kind of punishment. Miss Angeye might not permit us to use her technology in weapons but she has never forbidden its use in in the testing of materials. On that topic this isn't a weapon this is a testing device."

"Hm my mistake. Well then are you going to take it to its limit?"

In response the technician gave a quick nod. "I was instructed to obtain the best data I'm capable of acquiring so I need to. I hope that the other test are able to yield better results though. While it's nice to know what can be endured its better to know what can't be endured. With the data that I've been able to obtain so far though we'll only be able to make a rough guess at what the limits of her endurance are."

***********************************************************************************

"Excuse me Claude Karen."

"Yes Sandra what is it?"

"I was just wondering if you'd heard anything from Albert or Lucy. It's been a few days since he last called."

A sigh escaped Claude as he shook his head. "Nothing as of yet but I'm certain he'd call us if anything had changed."

"I'm actually beginning to worry about his safety. The number of reporters forming at the edge of Lucy's property has been growing. There has also been some debate about what might have happened and why Lucy hasn't been giving interviews.

In response Claude gave a nod. "I know. There is even speculation about her being dead and that we're actually keeping it covered up. Like we could keep that a secret for very long."

"I fear that Lucy's lack of activity might make them bold. Some may even try to break into her home in order to see what's going on. Albert could be in danger if some people that were hostile towards Lucy tried to sneak in. Not just Albert though your lives could be in danger as well."

Claude gave a slight nod and sighed. "You know I wonder if our daughter might have feared this happening. Perhaps she didn't invite us here because she wanted us to run the company like she claimed. Perhaps she brought us here because she believed we'd be safer here then at our own home."

"I don't like what that theory implies but you could be right. If she did fear this happening though I'm certain she took steps to insure Albert's safety to."

"I wonder if I should go and try to pay her a visit. I know that Albert warned us Lucy could be dangerous while she wasn't fully aware but he could be in danger himself. What if Lucy wasn't fully prepared to loose touch with her surroundings?"

"Sandra if Lucy is aware enough to keep Albert from contacting us don't you believe she's aware enough to be dangerous."

"You have a point."

"I don't like trusting someone else with the safety of my little girl. However, at this moment Albert's the only person really qualified to do anything for her. Unless her condition is physical but even if that is the case. Sandra do you really think you could do anything for Lucy if she is sick."

"No. I just hate feeling so helpless though."

"Believe me Sandra we understand Lucy is our baby after all. It's painful not to be able to do anything for those you care for but for now we just have to trust in Lucy's foresight and Albert."

***********************************************************************************

As Albert held his hand against Lucy's stomach he felt his pulse quicken. He had only noticed whenever he'd been climbing back up to her shoulder. Why he made such a climb every day was beyond him but that is where Lucy had last set him and that is where he wanted to be. At least all the times she'd made him climb her had left him well prepared. The fact that he had been making the climb daily though had proven beneficial.

For several days now Lucy's body had been growing cooler though it hadn't actually become cold. All of her except a given region over her stomach. Now he looked closely at the thermometer making sure that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. Only after he'd checked the results five times total was he now ready to act. Slipping the thermometer into his pocket he retrieved his cell phone and quickly dialed.

"Hello?"

"Hello father."

"Albert! It's good to hear from you. I take it you're calling because something is happening to Lucy."

"Yeah, you know how I told you she was getting cooler?"

"Yes I remember. Has this changed?"

"To an extent yes. I just checked and her stomach is actually warmer then the wrest of her. Do you have any idea of what this might mean?"

"I wish I did son but I'd have to examine her to even have a chance of figuring it out. Albert I know that you're concerned for our safety but I believe we've waited long enough."

"Dad! Do you realize what Lucy might do to you if she were to awaken and still be partly asleep? She might not recognize you and decide that you're something to be played with."

"Son you worry too much. I didn't say that I would be staying long. I'm going to bring by some equipment for you to do some testing. At least we might be able to get some answers though I doubt we'll be able to help Lucy even with them."

"Then why try to get them?"

"At least we could help everyone relax a bit or begin preparing for the worse. That's why you called me after all. You can't stand not knowing what's going on within her and desperately want answers even though you know there is nothing we can do to help her. At this point in her life Albert the only person that can truly hope to help Lucy is you and you're doing everything you can already."

"Thanks dad but don't come by." A sigh escaped Albert as he shook his head. "I don't want to prepare for the worse I won't prepare for the worse. I know Lucy will recover if she's even sick at all. Thanks for helping me put it all into perspective."

"You're welcome son. I know that this must be hard on you."

"It's worth it. Dad how are you and mom doing? I've been thinking. It's well known how close I am to Lucy and anyone who knows anything about her past knows you had a major part in her obtaining the symbiont. I'm worried that with her in her current condition you might be in danger."

"OH don't worry about me son! You just focus on that lady of yours your mother and I are quite safe."

"You sound confident." It actually surprised Albert when he heard a slight chuckle come over the line though it was muffled.

"Son when you work on the types of projects I've been involved with you learn to manage certain risk. That was even before the symbiont though Lucy is the most well known. You don't need to worry about the safety of your mother or myself."

"Hm I guess I'll take your word for it. Okay I need to give Lucy parents a call. I promised them I'd notify them if I noticed any changes."

"I'll talk to you later son."

"Hey dad before I go. What if Lucy meant to help herself through us?"

"What do you mean?"

"What if she rushed the design of the satellite because we would need it. What if she's running low on energy and needs an outside power source."

"Albert, think about Lucy."

In response to his father's comment Albert bit down on his lower lip. "If Lucy believed that something could be done with the satellite she would have told us. On top of that she didn't leave any information about how to feed her the energy if we did construct it and her energy needs are too vast. If she is indeed dieing due to a lack of energy the satellite couldn't save her just prolong the experience. Besides she'd sooner start shutting down some of her bodies then rely on an outside source."

"Albert, I know you want to help Lucy but don't kill yourself trying to."

***********************************************************************************

"Hello?"

"Hello Albert, this is Sara I hope you remember me. We recently engaged in an information exchange."

"Yeah Sara I remember. What are you calling here for? You should know that all business inquiries are to be directed towards Mr and Misses Angeye."

"Albert having you been watching the news much?"

"No. I can't say I have. My mind has been on other things."

"There is a small army of reporters outside of your home right now. Some people have even began trying to find a way in. Fortunately Lucy seemed to have security in mind when she designed her home and as of yet none have been found. I swear they look like mice on the television or even ants."

"I see. But why are you calling me?"

"Well we were wondering if you'd like us to make them leave. Everyone knows that something is wrong with Lucy and a great many are quite curious as to what. We're concerned for your safety."

"Now why would you be worrying about my safety?"

"In all honest if some people broke in there and injured or killed you and Lucy recovered the results would be horrific. We have no desire to deal with a Lucy that's in a blind range because the death of the person closest to her. At least that's the primary motivation of the armed forces."

"Thanks for being honest but I don't have any desire to leave. Besides you could find yourself in a great deal of danger if you were to enter into here. Lucy tends to be quite dangerous to those she doesn't recognize as friends whenever her conscious mind is occupied with internal business. She can even be dangerous to those that are friends if they aren't close enough."

"I see. Well if we can't remove you would you like us to encourage the reporters to depart?"

"To be honest with you I don't care. I doubt they'll manage to find a way in here. If you do tell them to leave they should know its for their own safety. I don't know how Lucy will respond whenever she notices them. She might be pretty upset and if she's isn't fully aware at the time she might decide they're play things or snacks."

"Given how long it took them to gather I believe they already know that."

"I don't see why anyone should risk their lives trying to save those who know they're endangering their own. If the police want to try to convince these people to leave private property they can but I'm not going to deal with them."

"So you won't press charges?"

"Sara, this is Lucy's property we were never officially married after all. I'm here as a guest."

"Ah whoops! That is true. You two are together so much I guess it just seemed natural. However, you are a couple in other legal regards based on how long you've been living together."

"Huh, I suppose that you're right."

"Albert, you probably know what's coming so I'll go ahead and ask. Can you give us any information on Lucy's condition?"

"No."

"You won't or no you can't?"

"No I won't."

"Okay, I won't push you for any information then. You know that Lucy's condition concerns not just the nation but the entire world though. They're billions of eyes focused on that building now and some are wanting to strike against it. So far the UR has taken a stance that no hostile action will be allowed within her borders but I don't know how long that'll last."

"Thanks for that information but I'm staying here with Lucy."

"How are you doing in regards to supplies then?"

"I'm fine. Believe me I could be here for a life time and not worry about starving."

"Very well then."

***********************************************************************************

Even though Albert had told his father he didn't want any testing equipment Albert couldn't help but run test of his own. As he looked at the pad of paper before him a trend was clear. Lucy's overall skin temperature had dropped to between seventy five and eighty degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature at her stomach though was far greater and becoming even hotter. Other then the heat though Albert hadn't been able to detect any other changes in her skin. The texture and coloration was the same as it had always been.

The fact that her body was no longer cooling gave Albert hope that she was still alive though he didn't know what it meant. He was also quite curious as to why her stomach was growing hotter. At first he had thought that the heat energy from the wrest of her body was becoming concentrated in her stomach but that wasn't the case. Even whenever he factored in all the additional mass there wasn't enough heat energy missing from the wrest of her body to justify the temperatures her stomach had reached.

What was going on? There was so many possibilities that Albert didn't dare let himself speculate. Even whenever he had phoned Lucy's parents and told them about the temperature difference throughout Lucy's body he hadn't allowed himself to. The only speculation he was willing to do was that Lucy was alive and something was going on inside of her.

At last a sigh escaped Albert and he turned away from Lucy's stomach and back towards his little meal. As he looked away though his gaze fell upon Lucy's fingers. The moment he did he felt his pulse quicken. The skin at the very tip of Lucy's finger looked to be turning gray. Not even thinking about his food anymore Albert began to quickly walk towards the limb hoping that it was just his eyes playing tricks on him. However, each step he took only let him see even more clearly. Frantically he glanced towards her other hand only to find the fingers in the same condition.

***********************************************************************************

In times past Albert would have never had to cover up while sleeping on Lucy. Her body heat would have kept him warm. As he lay down to wrest though he layered the covers upon himself except for beneath him. Lucy's flesh was cold to the touch and he knew he'd lose body heat to her skin but he couldn't bring himself to break contact. They were some things to be grateful for though. In the darkness he couldn't see Lucy's graying fingers or note how they had began to shrink in size.

As he lay down though he couldn't sleep despite feeling tired. His mind was too busy. He had called Lucy's parents a day after he'd noticed her fingers changing color. It had taken him an entire day to even think about calling them. That was one detail he had left out at least intentionally. He had probably left out a great many more as he was busy with his own thoughts.

One thought was why he couldn't bring himself to break contact with Lucy's skin. It had come to him earlier in the day. He was trying to keep Lucy warm in hopes that it would help her. The thought brought a laugh to him. As if he had any chance of keeping Lucy warm. The idea was entirely laughable but he couldn't help it.

Before Albert could consider the thought further though a clanging got his attention. Quickly raising up he glanced towards Lucy only to realize that the noise had come from a different direction. Sighing he turned towards the door. People had began trying to force their entrance a few days ago though without any success at least none that he knew of. So far they only worked at night apparently not feeling bold enough to work during the day. He supposed that eventually they'd make their way inside though he doubted they were anywhere near success.

It was actually beginning to annoy Albert. When he had told Sara that he didn't care if they forced the trespassers to leave or not he wasn't really thinking. The fact that they were trying to break into Lucy's private domain while she was unable to stop them was upsetting and the more they tried the more upsetting it became. There had been amusement whenever they'd first began trying which helped manage the annoyance but over time the annoyance had grown stronger until it overshadowed the amusement. Now what was annoyance was turning into anger. Albert didn't know what he'd do if they did manage to force their way inside but he doubted it would end well.

As another loud clang reached his ears Albert just shook his head and laid back down. He knew Lucy had altered his body but he had never stopped to think about fighting. He wondered how well he'd do. Memories of whenever he'd cut himself and how quickly the wound had healed came back to him as he lay there. What kind of injury could he recover from? Would he even have to fight? If they managed to get inside he felt certain that he would end up fighting no matter what happened. A slight chuckle escaped Albert as he shook his head. As far as he knew the only person that knew Lucy had altered his body was him and her.

***********************************************************************************

"They must be certain that she's dead to be so bold."

In response to the comment Sara gave a quick nod. "You don't sound like you're as confident as they are though?"

"I'm certain now that something has happened to her. It's fortunate that Lucy granted her parents some stock in her company as well as a few others. If she hadn't there would be a great deal of legal trouble figuring out who currently had control of the company."

"Yeah but the stock is still falling."

"That's not surprising without Lucy's presence anymore many are wondering how long it'll last. But then again I don't know how much this matters to the Angeyes given it wasn't exactly a standard company."

"Well that's a given. I don't know of any other company that large in which controlling shares are held by a single person. Lucy never even sought out investors after the initial aid from InCon."

"Even if people don't value the stock enough it isn't like Lucy was selling and the products are still selling just as well. I have to admit though I'm glad we kept our distance from the satellite project now. We'd be taking all sorts of heat if we hadn't. I can't believe how many theorize that the satellite is actually a ploy to sustain Lucy."

"You don't believe so?"

In response Patrick gave a slight shrug. "I've been working with you long enough and have had chances to see how much energy you use. I don't know how it could provide enough energy to sustain Miss Angeye given that her energy demands must be far greater. That and satellite imaging has shown there is still a tremendous source of energy within that building and I don't mean what keeps the machinery running."

"The heat readings are something else. Are you sure we shouldn't have mentioned what we're reading to Albert?"

"I doubt that he would leave even if we did. I'm actually quite curious as to how he's alive being exposed to such energy levels for so long."

"Genetic modifications?"

"It's possible and at the moment seems quite likely."

"So we're just going to set back and wait for people to start barging in aren't we?"

"We offered to provide security but Albert declined. If Lucy asks why we didn't help we have that. Those that are currently trying to break in know that they're breaking the law and the possible dangers that wrest inside. They just assume that Lucy is so far gone that they're safe. While they may be right I don't see why we should have any enlisted people take the risk whenever they're those willing to do it of their own accord."

"You know it's commanders like you that mercenaries would hate."

"Huh?"

"OH you'd probably end up using them as human shields. Sending them on the most dangerous missions and intentionally getting over half of them killed off. Then kill those that try to back out of their contract so that you wouldn't have to pay them."

"Sara that's a terribly mean thing to say."

"You're not denying it."

"Ah well I can't say I wouldn't do it. It depends on the situation and the type of people I'm dealing with."

"Well at least you're honest."

"This is hardly the same situation though. There is a lions din and the lion seems to be dead but no one knows for sure. So they're trying to intrude on the lion's din and see what valuables may be there. I'm just not putting a gate in front of the din. It isn't like I have that kind of authority."

"Oh bull crap. Who do you think you're kidding? I know you have the ear of enough of our superiors that you could get something done. Especially based on the grounds that we're allied with Lucy in Mizia. There would be grounds for military intervention."

"Perhaps. If we didn't need all the soldiers we can spare in Mizia now that Lucy is no longer making appearances. Fear of her and meeting the same fate was one reason many didn't voice their opinions."

"That and she ate a good deal of them during the conflict."