Look. I have had too many responsibilities thrusted upon me, and I could not be everywhere at once and enjoy my Sundays. So yes, I use clones. Yes, they are all slightly different from me. No, they are not their own people, my AI confirmed that with each one I made.

  -Deus Ex in an interview about Cloning technology, 2056.

  The remainder of the day was spent simply talking. About my past, about her upbringing, embarrassing stories about our families. We even ended up talking about why snakes are so cool. We both understood that their scales just felt good, and their faces were just as cute as any cat or fox.

  “So, how did you end up becoming a slitherian?” I asked, curled back into her coils on the blue egg.

  “Apollo's daughter, Yerlette, had asked for fox ears and a tail to be closer to her idol, Foxfire. From there, Opal and Alice got their parents to agree to animal features, as they discovered that it was an option. When mother and I talked, we both discovered that I felt more comfortable with snakes than any other animal, and she wanted to make sure that whatever form I chose, I could defend myself. Her AI, Fryze, recommended the Slitherian race, and mother bought a class I bioshifter for me last year. I had to work to earn it, mind you. Keeping my grades up, my combat training, and keeping a hobby. I ended up taking up drawing. I'll show you my sketch books later.”

  I saw her dive into a memory, her face relaxed and a very content smile on her lips. I wanted to kiss them, but figured that would be rude as she was distracted.

  Her face fell slightly, “She made a promise, saying that she would upgrade the shifter to Class II for my birthday, which would allow for me to grow out of the neonate form into a more specialized one, but only if I graduated top of my class, and proposed a new business idea that we could work on together.” A small tear rolled down her cheek as she cuddled into my chest. “My birthday is in a month, and I only had a basic idea to open a bakery for the street market.”

  I held her close as she wept silently, pressing my face into her hair. It took a few minutes, but her breath stabilized as she calmed herself.

  I gave her one more gentle squeeze as she pulled back a bit, looking me in the eyes once more. Hers were a bit red, but still breathtaking. She cleared her throat as I handed her a tissue from the box we were sharing.

  “So, yeah. Opal wanted to wrestle right away once she learned, but she then quickly discovered that bears lose to snakes when the bear is smaller. She was fuming for weeks, trying different styles and plans, but never having an answer for my tail since we were both barehanded. She eventually got a gravity mod from her father that allowed her to adjust her own mass, preventing me from pinning her.” She giggled at the memory.

  Smiling softly, I ask, “Did Alice want to spar with you? She seemed like she's the type to try at least once.”

  Cari barked a laugh, then blushed. “Oh boy, did she. She's a sly one, and very flexible. When I went to restrain her, she ended up on my back and… was very handsy with me. I was unable to get her off at all, so I surrendered. Yerlette and Opal had to pry her off me, then Opal people's elbowed her while Yerlette helped me to the showers.”

  Chucking at the image, I held her hand. “So. If you could have… evolved? Grown?” I saw her raise a questioning eyebrow, but mouthed grown. “If you could have grown out of your neonate form, what specialty would you choose? I know there are quite a few options, but I am curious.”

  The eyebrow stayed raised at my very clumsy attempt to ask for information. “Victor, love, you are not spending your last token on a Class II bioshifter for me, no matter how much guilt you still feel.”

  I shake my head, chuckling. “And what if I wanted it for me as well?”

  Now both eyebrows were raised as her mouth slightly opened in surprise. I took a photo for later. “I have been thinking on it for a few days, especially after feeling your tail and the biology lesson. I have never had a problem with my body, not like I know others have, but that also means that I have no real attachment to it.” I exhale quickly. “I mean, the first thing I did besides buy the swarm was upgrade my brain, followed by my body, yet the only reason I upgraded my body was because not doing so left me in actual horrible discomfort.”

  I shivered, remembering the feeling of lag and overly sensitive, well, everything. Cari giggles a bit. “Well, if that is the case, then I will explain my choice. I wanted to be a grappler type, the one with an even thicker, longer tail and longer arms.”

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  I nod at that. The grapplers were designed to be non-lethal capture units, to restrain and inject a large dose of paralytics. They did indeed have the biggest and longest tails of the species, with their arms being thicker and longer for ease of restraint and carrying the incapacitated foe.

  “And what about you, love? Which form were you thinking of?” She asked, a playful smile on her lips.

  “It's a toss up,” I say furrowing my brows, “Either the commander type, or the soldier type.”

  Cari nodded, “I can understand the commander type for you. The pheromone processing and enhanced mental faculties would be useful, even if the tail isn't as long as the grappler. But why the soldier type?”

  “They have a better friction control on their undersides, which would be useful for when I use my Maelstrom, as well as quick, twitch muscles to allow me to shift quickly out of danger.” I say with an even tone.

  A heavy questioning look takes over Cari’s face. “You are planning to take to the battlefield directly again? With all of this, and your extended control range?” her voice was incredulous.

  Before I could answer, she cut me off. “No. Absolutely not. I refuse to allow that, I refuse to allow you to risk your life on the front lines when you have everything! Everything set up to prevent you from taking to the field yourself!” While not yelling, her tone was severe, threatening even, yet her voice cracked on the last word. She never broke eye contact, burning her message into my soul.

  “I understand, Cari, I do. But-”

  “Don't you dare! Don't you dare suggest that you need to be there yourself.” I could see tears once more form, but this time in anger rather than sadness.

  “That's not it, Cari.” I say, feeling my anxiety spiking and speaking quickly. “I know I don't need to be there in person. I know that I can just leave it to the others, and sure I won't get all the points I could, I would be safe.”

  She stared at me, hard. “Then what?” She spat out, her coils tightening around me. “What possible reason could you have to risk life and limb, leaving your family if you die.” Then, much quieter. “Leaving me alone if…”

  “Because… because I enjoyed the process. Fighting side by side with others, the feeling of my gun going off, the adrenaline rushing through my veins, being able to focus my everything on one task.” I see her eyes don't change. “I- I know it's dumb. I never realized I enjoyed it before. But the last few days had left me time to process the battles I had been in. And I liked the feeling combat gave.”

  I could feel my heart beat faster, the blood rushing through my head as I stared at her angry eyes.

  Before either of us could say something, Synaptic floated over. “If I may, there is a solution to this problem that will satisfy both of you, if you would like.”

  I feel Cari's hands unclenched from mine, feeling the blood return to them, yet her coils stayed taught. She doesn't shift her gaze from mine as she commands, “Explain.”

  “Clones. Either biological or mechanical would do, yet I expect mechanical would both be easier to get set up as well as allow you, Victor, to still alleviate those desires. You already have the base network to shift your consciousness between both forms, all you need is a dedicated frame to control.” She explained.

  Cari started to relax her coils, and bloodflow started to return to my legs. She finally turned to Synaptic. “So he could have a frame that he deploys, controls from here, and still have haptic feedback to enjoy combat?” Cari asked.

  “Indeed. It would also allow him to purchase things through the frame in case of emergencies, as for all intents and purposes, he would be there, not here. We could get a simple frame set up using your Class II Neural cybernetics by tomorrow. It would be missing a few features, feeling slightly off, and hormones muted, but once you unlock a dedicated Class III Catalog, the racial catalog Dresgout Spare Bodies, that would allow us to resolve those issues, as well as allowing us to strengthen said body beyond your normal biological form.”

  I could see the fury fading from Cari as Synaptic explained her fix. I felt relief that she wasn't mad anymore, yet I had this voice in my head telling me to stay quiet until Cari said something to me.

  “Class III… would he be able to buy it once he has the tokens?” She asks quietly.

  “Considering the amount of Class II catalogs and the spread they cover? Yes, that would not be an issue.”

  Cari nodded to herself, then turned to me. Her eyes had softened, but still held a tinge of steel. “Do you understand what you did wrong?”

  “Yes. I do.” I say softly. She stared at me as we sat in silence for thirty seconds before I add. “I won't do anything that could endanger me again. I won't leave you alone like that.”

  She nods, then pulls me in for a hug, resting her head on my shoulder. “Build the Bot, Synaptic. Please don't let this idiot die stupidly.”

  “Morrigan has received the request and we are collaborating to design the frame to be as strong as possible. It will be based on his current form, as this is the only structure he has. Once he obtains his slitherian form, we will build a new, separate body for that form. Once he obtains the Dresgout Spare Bodies Catalog, we can add a shifting function at that time.” She reaches out and places a tentacle on Cari's shoulder. “Don't worry, Cari. I won't let this idiot die a stupid death.”

  I decided not to say anything, thinking that doing so would have consequences.

  Cari held me tighter, whispering in my ear. “You are not buying the bioshifter now, understand?” Her voice was soft, tired even. I simply nod, and I feel all tension fade from her body as she leans all of her onto me, laying on top of me. Soon, I could tell she fell asleep. Realizing I could not possibly extract myself from the tangle of snake lady on me, I simply decided to sleep as well.

  She would wake up for dinner, at least. Or the bathroom. Whichever came first.

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