He woke up in the empty pool at the boat house as the sun was setting. Memories of his time among the Ashen flooded his mind, at least until he decided to distract himself from thoughts on the days when he was humanoid and not some pile of ooze.

Opening a jar some goop plopped in and he drew out all the piercings that he had gathered from the student body. Of his trophies two stuck out more than the others; Juniper and Nin.

He had looked into each, followed them at times and investigated them. Each he had promised to see again and each he had some piercings to return to when his conquest was complete. There were few reasons to hurry anything along and he liked to savior moments. Like fine wine that fragrance grew, that terror that built knowing that he was coming at one point.

He decided that today would be Juniper's turn. If he could not find the journalist (he had learned) then Nin would suffice so that this was not a wasted trip but when he got to the dorm room he had hear a voice just prior to oozing beneath her door.

“She's not in,” came the voice as the black skinned creature materialized.

“Oh? Is that so? And I had something to return to her. You wouldn't know where she is, would you?”

“Knowing her ...” Slarr considered. “Actually, she can be pretty much anywhere. She was just leaving as I arrived, too many people around to do anything then and I was hoping to catch … well that doesn't matter I suppose.”

Ortix nodded though he still checked out the dorm any way and it was a good thing he had. Seems that there was a memo here that reminder her that she had to clean the pool today. Classes were over as far as he knew and he went their slithering through vents he spied out 0f grates gazing out, searching as he looked for his target. Ah, he was in business though he had some clunky materials that would not squeeze though the grating but no big deal it was time to show her a little trick ...

Juniper rested her back against the wall of the school's indoor olympic swimming pool, arms crossed over her modest chest as she watched the swim team finishing their final laps from her position. A deep frown crossed her round face as she glared at them irritably from benieth the bill of the black baseball cap her hair was tucked up into. She really couldn't begin to understand it, there was a whole ocean surrounding the school, who in their right mind would build a swimming pool on a tropical island? Well, people who didn't want to risk dealing with sea urchins and jellyfish, she supposed, though she'd yet to actually notice any such animals in the water. Like the rest of the island, the sea seemed to be silent, but somehow not dead, like maybe the wildlife simply gave the land a wide berth for some reason. She honestly suspected that the building was little more than a honey pot, a trap deliberately built to give the island's guests easy access to their scantily clad prey. And now she was going to be in here, alone, for the better part of an hour. She snorted, drawing a glance from one of the club members on their way to meet with the coach.

Of course, she couldn't exactly blame Anne. The Prefect thought that the island's creatures were nothing more than dreams and stories, after all. From that perspective, the notion that a little menial labor might teach her some of the respect for the staff and facility that she clearly lacked was a fine notion. And, of course, it could always have gone far worse than a little routine maintainence of the grounds, if her little escapade had gotten back to Vera she didn't know what she was in for. To say nothing of if NICE Labs knew she'd snuck a peak at one of their little toys. Rolling up the plain white t-shirt she was wearing, she tied it off just below her breasts and picked up the pool skimmer, sweeping it through the shallow waves to pick out any incidental flotsam that might have gotten in while the club had been working as the coach's booming voice laid out the plan for the next few weeks before dismissing the class to the showers.

She tipped the brim of the hat a bit lower as the class walked by her, hiding her face and making a casual gesture of acknowlegement with the same gesture as she set the pool to start draining the hundreds of thousands of gallons of water contained within. The steady slap of flip-flops on concrete followed her as she opened the utility closet to pull out the long handled brushes and bottles of cleaner she'd be using to scrub the interior of the pool clean, resting her hands on her hips over the navy shorts that didn't quite hide the narrow band of a swimsuit bottom going up over her waistband to hug the tops of her hips before diving down lowly.

"Nothing to it but to do it, right Junebug?" she muttered, stepping down the tiled stairs that led into the shallow end, a bucket in one hand and a brush propped over her shoulder. Better to start now where she could than wait for the whole thing to drain, if she was going to be doing all of this by herself at any rate.

Ortix watched and thought that this was ideal. Certainly she was going to be here for a while and he had changed his mind about the tactics that he was about to employ. He would take his time working on that grate pulling against the mesh slowly so as not to make too much noise. He widened the mesh for while he could flow through it easily enough those objects he carried could not.

Eventually he had stretched a section of the grate out to the size of a half dollar then split a portion of himself off of his main body. For five minutes or so it would live and he could control that smaller portion that carried all but two of the goodies he retained. He would rejoin that severed piece soon enough though for now he thought to have a little fun.

He dropped one object, then the other. The tink of metal hitting the floor drawing attention. Whether enough to alarm her or not did not matter but he had hoped she investigated. He waited their in the vent, her dumb bell shaped piercings there on the concrete below near the pool. Oh, he wanted to announce his presence but certainly she was cagey enough to know that something was very likely about to happen though he froze in place careful to make no other noise until realization sank in.

The soft scratching of stiff bristles running over the smooth concrete interior of the pool filled the air as the unrepentant student worked to scrub the slimy film that slung to the stone work after the water had been drained away. A green hose dangled down over the edge of the pool on one side, once she was satisfied with the scrub job she could wash the soapy mess down into the drains before clearing out the filters. She'd be lying if she claimed it was easy though, the basin was more than thirteen thousand feet square before you took the walls into account, and her brush was maybe a foot and a half wide. She tried to work quickly to compensate, but the burn in her back and elbows told her she wasn't going to be able to keep that pace up for the entirety of the job.

Her cheeks puffed up as she blew out an irritable breath, letting her brush rest for a moment as she straighted up and arched her back, digging one fist into the small of her back. She reached for her back pocket, pulling out a rootbeer flavored sucker, though she paused as she touched her fingers to the wrapped. She'd only barely heard the light "tink" of metal against concrete, but the light scraping sound as it rolled down along the incline of the pool lasted long enough for her to turn her head. A light flicker of the light reflected from the overhead lights catching her eye and bringing her attention to where Ortix was lurking.

" ... Kakogo cherta?" she muttered, cocking her head to the side. As if to further feed her curiosity, a second metallic ping rang out, more clearly than the first now that she was silently listening. If there was one thing Juniper could say about herself, it was that her curiosity frequently outweighed her sense of self preservation. With a quick tug, she unwrapped the sucker she was holding and placed the small round tip against her lips before using a quick flick of her tongue to draw it into her mouth, enjoying the feel of the hard candy rolling against her teeth more that the sugary taste that accompanied it.

She started walking towards where the second small object still rested near the grate, tightening her grip on the brush she was holding as though it had any appreciable value as a club. She didn't blunder blindly forward, of course, her first instinct was to look up at the ceiling to make sure nothing was lurking among the rafters knocking washers loose or the like. She quickly scanned the entrances to the pool as well, but between the natural camouflage abilities and the shadows she didn't pick him out hidden on the other side of the grate as he was.

Finally, she stooped to pick up the small barbell, turning it over in her fingers for a moment. Of course, she recognized what it was, but she didn't immediately recognize the plain metallic barbell as her own at first. Close as he was, he could see the exactly moment the revelation hit her, her eyes opening wide as she closed her fist around the piece of body jewelry. Her proximity to the vent had apparently registered as she tried to scramble back, though the smooth soles of the sandals she was wearing gave her poor purchase on the wet stone.

So delicious, like a fine wine he savored that reaction that tasted only better with age. He saw though sensing his surroundings, movements and vibrations. If she were perfectly still, holding her breath she would have been effectively invisible to him. He would have to guess what stationary object was an object or a standing student though he was pretty good at guessing and when he was paying particular attention he noted the shift in facial features when they were fairly large such as they were now.

When that realization set in he decided to appear on the scene. A metallic colored slime oozing down from the holes in the grate, building up before her. He was minus his toys given that the split of slime had them. Nor was he as large which she would have noted if she continued to watch each and every drop of him fall to the floor before her, a somewhat humanoid shape appearing.

From last time in the shower she would have noted just how ineffective that brush was going to be against his boneless body. But arriving before her in all his glory was going to take time. It was intentional on his part, he gave her the option of running or holding her ground, it did not matter to Ortix which she chose in the end as he came forth with her full understanding of what was here and what awaited her.

Juniper was moving more on reflex than from any particular plan as she jumped back, getting clear of the vent as it bulged from the pressure as he squeezed himself through the grate and into the room. With the metallic silver sheen his body had currently taken, she might have doubted his identity for at least a moment, it wasn't as though he was the only sapient ooze she'd encountered after all. Those trophies, however, left no room for doubt ... and this teasing little display meant he wanted her to know exactly who'd caught hold of her scent.

She hesitated for a moment as she watched the bundle of metallic noodles that had squeezed through the grate pool on the floor in front of her, reassembling itself as though the separation of it's body was of no consequence at all. Her heart fluttered in her chest, a spiderweb of phantom aches dancing over her nerves, her muscles clenching tightly. Her body remembered everything this creature had done to her before, tormented her, hurt her, made scream, and cry ... and moan and shudder in pleasure just as easily, as though either was just as good for him. The only scrap of victory she'd managed to steal from that first encounter was that she'd never begged him for mercy, that'd taken on every sensation he'd ground into her body. That tiny scrap of pride had cost her though, as she dangled on the ragged edge, pushed to her utmost limit he'd offered her a devil's bargain. He could either snuff that contentious fire completely and crush her will ... or she could take a reprieve, a chance to recover, perhaps plan a way to retaliate. She'd taken that reprieve almost eagerly, just desperate for her torment to end at the time ... but, now it seemed the devil was due, and this time it was no chance encounter.

Of course, there'd been nothing bargained about her being a willing, pliant subject for his attentions. In the center of the mass, she saw a bud of slime rising tall, hollows reminiscent of eye sockets giving it the impression of a head even as the slime flowed down to give the impression of severe cheek bones. She swung the brush in hard from the side, hoping to spatter his "head" across the stones, though with such a light club it was unlikely to do more than get stuck halfway in. That was fine, she didn't expect it to have any meaningful effect on him, she was more lashing out and trying to distract him than anything. Once she felt the impact, he let go, following the motion of her body to turn around and make a break for it.

For months, she'd made plans, preparations, thought of ways she might be able to damage his chemical bonds and break him up, or freeze him solid, or separate him into component fluids. And now she was reduced to trying to run, because he'd chosen a moment when she was far from anyplace she normally frequented. At least she was good at running ... and she hadn't exactly gotten the chance to the first time. Slimes were, generally, ambush predators after all ... but that meant she wasn't sure just how fast he could move when he had occasion.

The brush got stuck half way through, slime gripping and holding it fast as he flowed around it reshaping himself as he chuckled at that reaction. Some slime that splattered off of his body slithered back to the mass of slime rejoining him as she turned tail and ran.

“Mooching on our agreement,” there was amusement in that voice as if he had figured that she would run. Four minutes he had told himself giving away a few dozen seconds to ere on the side of caution.

Once she was beyond 20 feet or so he could not effectively “see” her as his unique form of vision was close range and relied on her being close. But that was what made it fun.

Of course the odds were stacked in his favor and she might not have know that his consciousness resided in the largest portion of his slime but he could control what was separated from him for five minutes or so where he had to rejoin with it or the piece died.

And now as she ran from the pool region the game was a foot. That separated portion of him had been just outside in a vent there. It could “see” her despite being in the enclosed space for she was moving and within range of his unique sight. Even objects did not allow one to hide, just a stillness.

Aware of his clone Ortix had it follow assuming that this was Juniper given the data that he processed. The slime zipped off after her and Ortix now followed knowing what direction she was traveling in. Where was she seeking to lure him or was she just trying to get away he wondered.

His slime altered into the coloration of the white tiled floor then once again as he left the pool behind him, turning into a brown to match the wood better. His color change was virtually automatic on his part.

“Is that a wheeze I hear!” He was not sure that it was but he added to the daunts as he flowed down the hall. “Come out now before I start thinking about all the new ways we can have fun this time around, well I'll be having fun anyway.”

There were no reaching tendrils, no wet slap against the back of her neck or around her ankle to reel back it. It seemed that while he could separate and reintegrate freely, it did limit his ability to shape himself somewhat. Or he was just enjoying the sight of the girl who'd given him such biting words before in a desperate rush for escape. Poorly held in place to begin with, the flip flops kicked free in her mad dash, sailing back and through the air as she closed in on the nearest door, reaching for the handle.

One of the external doors would've been better, the open field where more students might see, where he'd only have one approach. Unfortunately, it was also the furthest and to travel in a straight line she'd have had to jump down into the pool and climb to the other side. Instead, she ran into the door to the locker rooms with a low thud, grabbing hold of the handle with both hands and wrenching it open as she stepped back.

"And here I thought you liked it better when we struggled!" she called back, stepping through the door and pulling it closed behind her, turning the latch to lock it from outside entry. It would only slow him down a little, if he could slide through the vents he could definitely crawl under the door, but she needed to stall for time as she figured out her next move. At least the locker had another exit she could use ... but it'd mean moving passed the showers. She shuddered involuntarily at that thought.

"I think you've had more than enough time to fantasize about that!" she called back through the door, taking a few steps away, "I was starting to think you'd forgotten all about me, what with that mush-brain of yours!"

Okay, Juniper, antagonizing the sadist with a marker on your ass? Maybe not the best plan. She glanced back at the showers, a tense feeling in her stomach, before she turned and started to move briskly through the locker room. She probably had a little time before he could reroute through the pipes or the vents ... maybe she'd be better off just hiding in one of the lockers? No, no, she had to get where there were people. She didn't care if they thought she was slacking off on her detention, these things tended to avoid public spectacle ... with classes being over though, there was no guarantee that anyone would be out in the gym's lobby.

“Really?” He had pulled on the handle of the door finding that it was locked. He made better time just using a door as a door but locks were useless against him. He may have played with her a bit longer if he wasn't on a strict time constraint to rejoin his body. If all that slime went inert well it was annoying having to slowly absorb enough water and transform it to slime, a slow process.

He began oozing beneath the door …

running through the locker room the clone followed as it squeezed through the vents. It was aware that the wall was there though had not known their was a door present. It could assume that there was one since she was racing towards a spot. Ortix could not have that though and used the clone to race forward, it was behind here though and she was nearly there when a section of the vent fell away and a sticky pseudopod shot out towards her, foot. Waste, arm, it hardly mattered as it anchored itself to the inside of that vent seeking to immobilize her. It was the same consistency as Ortix and had the dissolving chemical should it encounter any cloth it would simply eat it away.

There it was, just a few more feet away. She tried to pick up the pace, eager to be away from the cold tiles and steel lockers. Overhead, she heard a low *CRUNK* as the thin metal of the ventilation ducting buckled in response to a heavy bulk rapidly expanding against it. Unlike the grate by the pool, he didn't squeeze slowly through the slats in the air conditioning unit here, rather his bulk hammered into it full force, stripping the screws and blowing the grate off with a single push. She ducked and weaved, reaching for the door handle on the other side.

">HRKK!<" her finger tips lightly brushed the handle, causing it to rattle in place before she was jerked back roughly. She could feel the pressure of one of his appendages drawn tight around her neck, it might have been a blind grab as tightly as he was squeezing, her hat falling free as her momentum suddenly reversed. Her fingers grabbed reflexively at the appendage, fingers sinking into the dense mass as she tried to claw or squeeze enough free to get loose.

By the time his main mass had squeezed under the door, she was balanced on the tips of her toes. Her eyes were half closed as she focused on breathing, the collar of her shirt having burned a little lower from incidental contact as she'd struggled. It seemed she'd grown her hair out some since the last time he'd seen her, long enough to brush against her shoulders normally, which meant it was caught up in the tacky substance of his body as much as her fingers.

"Nnn...wishful thinking?" she responded to his incredulous question.

“So close,” Ortix announced as he arrived. The slime in the vent a metallic coloration as his shifted back to the white coloration of the floor. Her hair had grown some and she was struggling to remain on her toes, hands smeared with the slimy residue of that pseudopod.

He grinned at her, tracing a gooey hand against the side of her face. “I have learned much about you over the days for our eventual meeting. I was thinking of your dorm but the fellow outside of there said you were not in. I improvised. Hm, that looks uncomfortable.”

The pseudopod released her and goo cascaded down from the vent showering her. It was the quickest way to the parent and after a few moments she would be totally dry as the slimes merged. Ortix growing larger, her body now naked from contact with the slime attracted his gaze. From her movements alone it was hard to determine if she had new piercings or let them close so his hands moved casually to her chest. He kept her free for now, after all if she made a dash for it he could easily snare her up at his stage.

Feeling along her nipples he would see if there were any new ones though it did not matter if there were or not. “Today is rather lucky for you or unlucky I suppose depending on how you wish to look at it.

“I got a package in a bit earlier than expected so I will allow you to choose between pleasure and pain today. Or I could simply surprise you, after all it makes little difference to me.”

Juniper tried to turn her face away as he ran a 'hand' along her cheek, gritting her teeth. That was the part of these little meetings that she hated the most, being treated like a recalcitrant child or some kind of pet. It only reinforced the difference in power between them, resisting the creatures that lurked in this place was as futile as trying to battle a hurricane. You couldn't win, you just tried to to weather the storm as best you could. Her face was starting to color red from the strain, one leg sweeping to the side as she couldn't quite touch the floor.

And then, without preamble, she was dumped gracelessly down to her knees in front of him, the weight of his seperated component crashing over her shoulders and coating her her liberally for a few dark moments as the opaque fluid covered her eyes. It was wierd, feeling the slithering mass of him flowing over her skin, under the folds of her clothes even as the fabric unraveled and disintegrated at the touch of his mass. She finally took a deep breath, noting that he'd recalled every drop of himself, there wasn't so much as an oily dampness in her hair to mark her dousing, just the nakedness as he stripped away the flimsy pretext of protection.

"Nn--" she bit her lip as his hands moved to her chest, lightly running over the peaks of her breast to examine the pink nipples carefully. Whether she wanted it or not, a little bit of attention got her peaks to stand at attention. It seemed she'd let the channels grow closed since she'd last seen him. It hadn't been by choice, she'd only brought the studs with her from the mainland after all, she had nothing to replace them with. She honestly hadn't thought she'd have the occasion to trade to something else while she was schooling.

"I ... " she hesitated a moment, her body seizing up as she remembered the way he'd used her body before. Spikes thorns, edges ... she felt a little woozy at the prospect of facing it all again, like a dark pit was forming in her stomach. She looked off to the side, not wanting to meet his gloating slit of a grin. If it really didn't matter to him either way ... maybe ... "I'll take pleasure." she said a bit tersely.

Oh, they had closed. Hm, well he certainly had the means to open them again if he willed it though he started to get a few ideas in his head that amused him. Those words, words of surrender she was not begging him, that would have been music to his ears, such a refreshing sound though moans had the same effect as screams.

His slimy fingers rolled against her breasts making a show of playing with those nipples as they reacted to his touch. His thumbs rolled in opposite directions as he moved over them his a casualness. Oh, he was well aware that she hated this, in being reduced to such a state and that was what was so intoxicating about it. She did not have to say anything and while he only could make out big expressions he could gather from her responses in trying to pull back from his earlier touch.

“Then pleasure it will be.” He waited for a moment as he absorbed those portions of himself then held a hand up stretching it into the vent and reabsorbing the toys that his mass had left up there rather than dumping those down on her as well.

Once he had felt full once more he circled her slowly as he processed his toys. Most were designed for pain and he had been prepared for a retort of some sort though her desiring pleasure over pain was a no brainer too.

Stopping behind her he brought his hands over her shoulders in a slow caress, palms transforming into mouths as tongues licked and smoothed their way along the skin. Another hand was reshaped from his amorphous mass rubbing against the bundle of nerves above her sex. Nice and slow, one way then the other.

“Pleasure … perhaps you will find some enjoyment in today after all. Definitely more so then last time.”

The word "pleasure" felt like ash on her tongue as she uttered it. She remembered their first meeting, when she'd been unwilling to give him the satisfaction of turning away from the worst of his torments. Taking the gentler path seemed like a betrayle of what she'd stood for when she'd first learned the nature of this school. Of course, she rationalized it to herself, it was not as though he'd taken any lesser pleasure in the tears and screaming after all. This route, at least, preserved her body ... and unlike when he'd offered that choice before, he wasn't telling her she'd need to beg, and earnestly, for the privilege. All of that, however, only meant that it was less of a backstep, not that she wasn't backstepping at all. It was just more evidence that this place was wearing her down, molding her into what it wanted her to be, even if her progress was slow.

Such philosophical thinking derailed sharply as pliable fingers deliberately played with her nipples, an involuntary shiver running through her as he rolled his thumbs slowly around her nipples. The casual way he touched the intimate places of her body was clear, highlighting the ease with which he could toy with her body without repercussion. Her hands closed into fists at her side, but she didn't strike. She'd looked, there were no vulnerable points on Ortix's body for her to strike, no way for her to hurt him physically. She'd just end up miring herself within him, which would only prelude worse violations.

"Don't get the wrong idea..." she said, twisting at the waist lightly as he slid smoothly around her to approach her from behind, pressing his hands against her shoulders, "There isn't o-one part of you that I find enjoyable..." that slight hitch marked the transition from smooth hands caressing the curve of her low shoulders to exploratory mouths pressing surprisingly warm tongues against the tensity in her shoulders. Those shoulders fell forward slightly as a third hand slipped her attention

"Hahn..." a second, stronger shiver ran it's way up her spine as he gently stroked a set of fingers along her clit, ever so slightly teasing her, "...I just can't afford to shirk my duties witht he Prefect watching ... and I can't do them if you rough me up too badly...." she managed to say gently, trying to take some of the triumph out of her choice by implying there was someone or something else out there that she feared repercussions from even worse than he. It wasn't, strictly speaking, true ... at least, not of the Prefects, but she hadn't quite finished fighting him yet.

“Do you seek to wound me?” He halted for a second before those tongues began moving again. “I am nobody's favorite guest, nor do I try to be. This isn't about your pleasure and I think the others would agree there. It is about ours.”

Ortix had been unphased by that though true to his word his touches remained pleasant as his hands moved down along her arms with those mouths tracing down them as they licked a path down them.

“So justify this however you like. Getting back to duties for instance … I don't care as to why you have chosen pleasure over pain after the meager demonstration from last time. I am just as glad to continue it or not. I have already shown you pain and wish to show you something new. Granted, I had gauged incorrectly, I thought that there might be more of a fight, a greater need of punishment before this moment was reached but I am happy to see that you have seen that as pointless; excuse or not.”

Removing his hands from her arms he cupped her breasts, mouths latching on and sucking between bursts of his tongues sweeping over her. Leaning down he brought a slimy tongue against the side of her neck.

From the movements of her head he had determined that her hair was a fair bit longer than last time which was a good sign, he enjoyed people looking over their shoulder for a while then striking after they relaxed or thought that they dodged a bullet.

“Your hair has grown longer,” he commented but did not follow up with anything as he pulled back straightening up a bit. “Rise, there is a bench right there. Proceed to it and if you realize what is good for you, you won't run.”