Further Possibilities

Heat and sweat and sound and motion and love of life. For a moment, she almost forgot what she was, losing herself in the song and the beat, and the cheer of the crowd. But then, something snapped her back to self-awareness. She didn’t miss a beat, didn’t even hitch her voice mid-lyric, but she opened her eyes and her gaze snapped up to match that of another woman watching from the back. One woman observing her from two sets of eyes. And when her show was over, after she bowed and thanked the lovely crowd of rockers young and old, Opal and her band exited the stage, and the blue-haired Omny teleported herself to the roof of the club.
 
RoseGold was already there, her nearly twin bodies waiting in their customary airs. Rose stood with her hands clasped behind her back, a calm expression on her face. Gold had her arms folded, her foot tapping impatiently, her smile quirked in such a way that couldn’t seem to decide between bemusement and smugness.
 
“A lovely show,” said Rose, bowing respectfully.
 
“A screamin’ set,” said Gold, her mouth deciding on a grin.
 
“Thanks,” said Opal, putting a hand on her hip. “You a music head, too? Or you just introducing yourself to the newbie?”
 
“Barely newer than me,” said Gold, dropping her arms and slinking up to the blue haired Omny. She leaned closer, her grin salacious. “Osha sure moved on quick from us, didn’t she? Fire and forget.”
 
Opal smiled bemusedly. “You’re still one of her favorites. Trust me, I know.” Her hand whipped out, snagged Gold by her tie, and yanked her in for a deep kiss. Gold met her in kind, coiling herself around the other Omny, and the two moaned deeply in passion.
 
Rose couldn’t help but shiver a bit, feeling her other body’s pleasure as Gold and Opal’s Erotic Essences rippled through each other. Within a minute, both women gasped and bucked against each other in a mini-orgasm, and Rose let out a shaky breath to match. Opal reached out, snagged Rose with her power, and the reserved side of the twin-bodied Omny was pulled into a similar kiss. Rose held Opal delicately, almost chastely, but her own Energy licked and flickered over Opal, while Gold still half-clung to her. Another mini-climax, and the three bodies shivered together.
 
After taking a matched breath, Gold and Rose pulled away, both smiling. “She hasn’t lost Osha’s touch!” said Gold.
 
“But there’s a wicked tinge not there before,” said Rose, gazing studiously at Opal. “Hmm… I’ve said hello to Demi and Wyllow, but I’ve not had the chance to inspect a Mingle of someone I was already familiar with…”
 
Opal let out a laugh. “I’ll be happy to help with your inspection. But I get the sense a quickie isn’t the only thing you came to me for, hmm?”
 
A touch of mirth crossed Rose’s lips. “What are your plans, Opal? What do you wish to do with your newfound existence?”
 
Opal shrugged. “Rock out. Chill out. Tease cocks. Lick pussies. Have fun. The usual Omny stuff.”
 
“Mmm.” Rose motioned downwards to the club they were standing on. “And this is your fun?”
 
Opal cocked her head to the side. There was something in this woman’s bearing she wasn’t quite vibing with. Most Omnys didn’t mind openly sharing their thoughts and feelings, but RoseGold was strangely guarding herself.
 
“Something wrong with it?”
 
“Of course not,” said Gold, smirking. “Just interesting to me. I don’t recall Osha being that into music, ‘side from wanting to fuck some of the pop bands. Which she did, of course.”
 
“Shady, likewise, has not struck me as much of a bard,” said Rose. “So it is simply interesting to see you take up the hobby. Unexpected from your lineage.”
 
Opal shrugged again. “Dunno what to say. Osha and Shady were mostly casual listeners, but something about the craft sings to me, pun intended.” She smirked. “We all got our inclinations, yeah? We all have our art. My personality isn’t just a merging of theirs, I’m my own person, so I got my own passions.”
 
“And it helps you be distinct,” said Gold, her grin maintaining. “Really cements yourself apart from them.”
 
Opal held her gaze for a moment, then said, almost flatly, “I suppose.”
 
RoseGold looked her over with both sets of eyes, slowly appraising her. Just before the silence got awkward enough Opal was about to break it, Rose said, “Would you care to come to my World? I have a proposal for you.”
 
“You can propose it here,” said Opal.
 
Gold shook her head. “I’d prefer the privacy.”
 
Opal cocked an eyebrow at her. “Didn’t think privacy was much of a thing with us Omnys.”
 
“Under normal circumstances,” said Rose. “But that’s somewhat the point.”
 
“Oh?”
 
“I’ll not say more here.” The two bodies of RoseGold turned, and Rose grabbed at thin air as if holding a doorknob. She pulled, and a golden rectangle shimmered into existence, as if she’d opened an invisible door in the air. Rose stepped through, vanishing from this World, back into her own.
 
Gold looked back to Opal, bowing and gesturing her forward. “Coming or not?”
 
Opal felt something was off. She might assume a dubious invitation from an Omny was just a set-up for some kinky fun, and her memories from Osha told her that Ryoko/RoseGold certainly enjoyed some elaborate sex games. But why was the woman’s mind so guarded? Opal could have pierced her mental barriers with an effort, but she also wasn’t sure she wanted to start off on the wrong foot with her. Maybe RoseGold was a little envious Osha had Mingled with Shady, and not her, and she was just wanting not to let those sour feelings put off the resulting Mingle in question?
 
Gold waited patiently, still bowed, arms positioned invitingly towards the doorway.
 
Opal pursed her lips. Well, what’s the worst that could really happen? Some bitter feelings flare, and they have a little slap fight that the Five would stop before it got out of hand. A much more likely outcome was RoseGold deciding to test Opal to see if she still had all of Osha’s skills in the sack.
 
Opal stepped forward, entering the door, and Gold followed, sealing the portal behind her. They could have all just teleported where they were going, but she supposed this was fun, too. They all had their inclinations of how to go about things, and RoseGold seemed to enjoy her airs of ritual.
 
Opal was surprised when she stepped into a large, pristine office. Everything was neo-modern décor, built from marble and glass, with gold framing and black cushions on the furniture. The room was wide, with several chairs in a semi-circle before a sleek glass-top desk, behind which Rose was already sitting, hands folded in front of her. Gold stepped over to join her other body, conjuring another chair to sit on.
 
On the other chairs, however, Opal saw she was not the only one who’d been invited. Osha was there, the dark-skinned blonde wriggling her fingers in a cheerful wave to her Mingle-Daughter.
 
Illia was nearest to Osha, though there was still an empty space between them. She sat curled up in her chair, hugging her legs to her chest, her face half-hidden behind her knees. Her green eyes peeked out from her mess of long black hair; those eyes might have flickered towards Opal for a moment, before fixing back down on the floor.
 
In the next chair, past another empty space, sat Megan. The bespectacled brunette gave Opal a glance and a slightly raised eyebrow for a moment, before turning back to look at Rose. And finally, after another empty chair, there was Kat, the green-eyed noirette giving Opal a smile and a nod.
 
“Well,” said Opal, smiling at the group. “Wasn’t expecting a little party!” She nodded toward Megan and Kat. “Given the Straights are here, I’m assuming we’re not jumping right into the orgy?”
 
Megan and Kat shared a glance, and despite the cool expressions they gave each other, both rolled their eyes in mutual bemused annoyance at the comment. Kat at least smirked a bit, while Megan just pursed her lips. Opal chuckled, and took the empty chair to the other side of Osha.
 
“Perhaps after the meeting is concluded,” said Rose, smiling slightly. “But no. I am here about a proposal. A quite significant one.”
 
“So why aren’t you calling for a full meeting?” asked Kat.
 
“Because I would first like to run this past the, shall we say, less-attached members of our group,” said Rose.
 
The others shared a glance. “How’s that?” said Megan.
 
“What do you think of the Omnyverse in it’s current state?” said RoseGold.
 
A pause, but not a long one. Osha spoke up first. “I like it!”
 
“I have come to appreciate it,” said Illia.
 
“It’s fine, I guess,” said Megan, shrugging.
 
“No complaints,” said Kat.
 
Opal shrugged. “Kinda just got here, so I’m feeling it out. But seems pretty cool.” She motioned to herself. “I mean, I’m not seeing anything I dislike from all the memories I got.”
 
Kat smirked. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m glad Shady got it out of her system.”
 
Megan nodded. “If she keeps pestering me to Mingle after this, I’m going to file a restraining order. By which I mean I'm getting Domina to help me kick the shit out of her.”
 
Opal laughed. “Relax, she only brings it up to mess with you. She’s crazy, but she’s not crazy enough to mix her crazy with your crazy.”
 
Megan opened her mouth, closed it in a scowl, glanced Opal over again, then let out a sigh and shook her head. “Whatever.”
 
Kat grinned. “Just admit you’re secretly jealous.”
 
“Gunna kick you, you keep that up!”
 
“You can try, but I’ve leveled up since our last fight!”
 
Gold slapped the desk, her mouth quirked into a scowl-grin. “Focus, bitches!” Everyone turned to look at her. “Let me say it plainly: we’re already getting overcrowded.” She looked to Illia. “The Progenitors learned to play nice with each other. Their first three descendants came out a defacto Get-Along-Gang, and Reignbeau fell right in with them. Great. Wonderful. Superb! All the oldies got their little kumbaya sisterhood. But what about those of us who came after?” She glanced across the assembled group, notably skipping over Megan. Then her eyes went back to Megan as she said, “And what of the oldies who never really got along with the rest?”
 
Suddenly, another joined them. Domina loomed into being next to Megan, filling the space between her and Illia. The towering redhead didn’t move to sit, standing with arms crossed, glaring down at RoseGold. Everyone but Megan and RoseGold flinched at her sudden appearance.
 
“So, I have your attention after all,” said Rose, smiling primly. “Good.”
 
“You had best not be about to say what I think you’re about to say,” said Domina, her tone icy, blue eyes almost glowing with the intensity of her glare.
 
Gold’s grin seemed almost feral as she matched Domina’s gaze. “And just what do you think I’m about to say?”
 
“I know a rebellion proposal when I hear it,” said Domina. “Nevermind how it looks that you called us all here while Cyl and Reignbeau are out on another of their jaunts.”
 
Illia’s eyes widened, and she snapped her head up. “Is that your thought here? Do not be an idiot! Learn from our mistakes, will you?” She tucked her head back down. “Gods, have I wrought the undoing I feared already?”
 
Osha gingerly, almost cautiously, pat Illia on the shoulder. “I’m sure it’s not like that.”
 
Rose nodded curtly. “It is very much like that.”
 
Everyone looked at her again, Osha in particular giving her a disappointed pout, but the pink-haired woman raised a hand. “Mind you, I am not proposing a violent revolt. Just a change in status quo.” She eyed Domina. “I do not mean to impugn your position, but—”
 
“But nothing,” Opal cut in. “I might be new, but I’m as much Shady as I am Osha. And Shady has a long memory. I remember timelines even Domina and Megan weren’t a part of, and I remember how they went sour, too. And I remember how they ended. My god, woman, we just went through this with Demi’s bout of crazy. Do you really need to touch the stove yourself, to learn what a mistake being a little upstart would be?”
 
“Demi proves my point,” said Rose. “I can accept that we occasionally make mistakes that may briefly inconvenience our ‘roommates’ once in a while. But she was just one of us, and in her bout of madness, she brutalized us all and would have annihilated the Omnyverse if Cyl hadn’t stopped her. And we’re all supposed to let it wash off our backs, just like that.”
 
“Demi repayed us all for it,” said Megan. “Or did she not get around to you yet?”
 
Gold grinned while Rose gave a thin lipped smile. “I have extracted my compensation, I assure you.”
 
“I will give credit to the first Mingle that she was sincere in her regret, and her penance was appreciated. But it was hardly necessary, and had she decided not to pursue redemption, there would be little to be done about it.”
 
“We could have discussed a punishment at the next Etiquette meeting,” pointed out Kat. “But she took the initiative to make up for it. So, what’s the problem?”
 
“Yeah, you seem to be grasping for reasons to stay mad,” said Osha.
 
Gold grinned ruefully at her former superior, now equal. “Gee, Osha, one can only wonder how I might possibly have it in me to hold a grudge against an Omny.”
 
Osha blinked, then frowned. “Are you… still mad at me…?”
 
“Not really,” said Rose. “But you did essentially torment me for a year when I was in no position to resist. Yes, I agreed to it, but it’s not difficult to convince an addict to indulge.”
 
Osha opened her mouth, then closed it, looking hurt. Illia tentatively reached out and pat her hand without looking at her. Keeping her eyes on the floor, Illia mumbled. “If you’re going to hold a grudge over that, hold it against me.”
 
“Oh, rest assured, Spooky, you’re on my shitlist,” said Gold.
 
Illia buried her face in her knees. She almost withdrew her hand, but Osha gave her a reassuring squeeze first. “Ryoko—”
 
“RoseGold, please,” said the two-bodied Omny.
 
Osha pursed her lips. “Ryoko. If you’re still sour about your Ascension method, then I can and will work with you to get over it. But I’m not going to allow you to take it out on our home.”
 
Domina chuckled, shaking her head with a pitiable smirk. “My, how nostalgic. Just like old times.”
 
Everyone else blinked and looked to her, except for Megan, whose smirk mirrored her own. Opal scowled. “Shut up, Domina.”
 
The tyrannical redhead’s smirk maintained, even as she swung her piercing gaze to their newest member. Opal swallowed, but even the part of her that was Shady couldn’t ignore the sheer intimidation. “You speak of long memories. So remember to whom you speak.”
 
She gestured to the others. “We’ve been here before. Bitterness building up, even between allies. The new generation can’t just learn from our example. No, they’re going to have to beat each other to death a few times to really appreciate what we’ve built here. Because that’s just how children are. You prepare a comfortable life for them, and they fuck it up just to prove their independence.” Her grin widened. “Only after they break something so badly they can’t fix or dismiss it does it finally don on them just how much they’ve fucked up, and then they come crawling back to Mommy for help.”
 
RoseGold closed both sets of eyes and took a breath. “I apologize,” said Rose. “I did not call you all here to start an outright conflict.” She looked to Osha and Illia. “The dubious nature of my Ascension aside, it is not so much that I hold a grudge. Rather, I mean to say that our manipulations are inevitably going to chafe against one another. It can so easily slide into excess.”
 
“Which is why we keep one another in check,” said Opal. She gave an exasperated shrug. “Look, you want start a slap fight with the Progenitors, be our guest. Just don’t go thinking it’s some grand gesture of independence when it’s just you flexing to establish yourself in the crowd.”
 
“Oh, do we get to flex and establish ourselves?” said Gold. “Because the way it seems to me is, the Progenitors got to have all their universe-shattering mistakes and forgive each other, but the rest of us aren’t even allowed the chance to do more than rustle some feathers. The moment Illia started her little experiment, Cyl was on her ass.”
 
“For good reason, it would seem,” mumbled Illia.
 
“So what, precisely, do you wish to do?” said Domina.
 
“In short, create another Omnyverse,” said Rose. “One we can mold into our own vision, without the Original Five and their spawn calling all the shots.”
 
Both Megan and Domina couldn’t help but react slightly at her use of “Original Five”, Megan’s frown twitching lower for a moment, Domina’s eyes narrowing a bit. A not-so-subtle reminder that even as Progenitors in their own right, Domina and Megan would never really be apart of the first five Omny’s collective. Not that either wanted to be, of course. But neither did they enjoy the thought of being on a lesser status to them, just because the two had not had as many incarnations as them prior to the current Omnyverse’s creation.
 
Kat spoke up next. “I want to say on the surface it’s not a bad idea but, how exactly does it really fix the inherent problem? You make a new Omnyverse, new Omnys keep appearing here and there, and new conflicts break out, and before we know it, we’ve just exponentially grown the problem.”
 
“Why the assumption that an Omnyverse need be built such that new Omnys necessarily will randomly appear?” said Rose. “As it stands, half of the new Omnys are directly Descended. And half us New Ascended broke the rules already.”
 
“The experiment with you threw any sense of rules into question,” said Illia. “All we managed to figure out was a theory that Ascension resonates with our subconscious desires. Not quite so random after all. Less random, even, then I initially suspected. If you tried to make a new Omnyverse that lacks an Ascension Force, can you guarantee your own desires won’t manifest a new Omny down the road eventually anyway?”
 
“I cannot say such a thing would not happen,” said Rose. “But even if it lacked an Ascension Force, who can say when I, or any of you, won’t decide to make more Descended of our own? Propagation is inevitable. We are still partly human, and most humans desire reproduction in some form.”
 
“So that’s not really the issue I’m talking about,” said Gold.
 
“The incident with Demi raised a very crucial fact about our reality,” said Rose. “I daresay the woman was right, even in her moment of madness. Utilizing a single Earth as the axis around which all our realities revolve was not, perhaps, the best of choices.”
 
“I get why it was done,” said Gold. “But it’s still a stupid structural oversight. Moreover, Demi had a point about how limited we’ve made our own Worlds. We could each create an entire Multiverse Cluster of our own, each reality within as large, or larger, than the physical universe of the Fundament.”
 
“And yet, we eschew wasted space in all but our foundational World,” continued Rose. “We’re fine with safe, comfortable, pocket homes, with little else going on. The Fae Lord’s Sex Mage Island is larger than most of our Worlds, for that matter.”
 
The others shared a glance. That was certainly true. “Nothing’s stopping you from making your own entire planet, or solar system or whatever,” said Kat. “We could all do that. I’m not sure how that differs from what we’re doing now.”
 
“I mean to say that we should seek to unhook our Worlds from being dependent on a single Earth, and a single Fundament at large,” said Rose. “Practically speaking, we should each forge our own Fundament, each of us having an Omnyverse unto ourselves.”
 
“The problem with that,” said Megan, “is we need each other to keep from going unhinged.” She hooked a thumb to Domina. “Even us, we need some kind of company. If we all take our balls and go home, so to speak, we’ll go batty. And if we get nuts enough, there’s a non-zero chance we start breaking into each other’s Omnyverses just to have someone to take it out on.”
 
“We do need one another,” said Rose. “None of us is an island. Our need for companionship, to balance against one another, to keep each other in check, I understand these are things we cannot simply dismiss. Beyond the basic craving for sex, a Goddess on her own gets lonely with just her own toys to play with.”
 
“But enough companions become a crowd, as I said before,” said Gold. She gestured to the blue-haired newbie. “Opal makes sixteen. If the Author’s preference for factors of five holds true, we’ll end up with twenty, then twenty-five soon enough. And if we’re already starting to trip over one another here, well, imagine another nine added to the pile. And who knows how many more after that.”
 
“For now,” said Rose. “I am proposing the creation of one new Omnyverse, with several of us moving there to test run it. But the more of us keep appearing, the more we may need to split off subgroups and create new Omnyverses.”
 
The others shared a glance. In truth, each of them had grown their own attachments to at least one of the Omnys or their Descended.
 
Domina, for all she had been the ancient enemy of the Original Five in past canons, had finally cooled her enmity with them enough to accept the (extremely rare) occasion to take Devi or even Shady as a lover.
 
Megan was not especially fond of most of them herself, but she’d found a bond with Jax, and as reluctant as she was to admit it, she did, in fact, value Shady’s companionship from time to time.
 
Kat had eventually pulled out of her own isolation to become friends with Demi and Wyllow.
 
Illia had finally opened herself up more to true intimacy, Whitney taking the girl under her wing.
 
Osha was open to sleep with anybody, but was regular fuckbuddies with Lettie and Reignbeau, and had flings with Demi and Wyllow.
 
Opal, of course, was Shady’s daughter as well as Osha’s. And while neither was pushing to be all motherly with their Descended, it wasn’t a connection Opal wanted to ditch before it had a chance to develop.
 
RoseGold herself had not exactly taken the opportunity to form any strong attachments herself just yet. She was attached to Osha, of course, but that was it among all the Omnys. So, of everyone in the assembled group, it made sense that RoseGold had the least tying her to the present Omnyverse, and its Creators.
 
“It is not my intention to propose total severance,” said Rose. “I am open to suggestions on a new model’s structure, but what we could do with multiple Omnyverses is arrange connection points to form a dimensional web, giving us channels to continue staying in touch. However, in the event something disastrous goes wrong with one, it can be disconnected to spare the others the ripple effect.”
 
“Likewise, this also creates choke points of contact,” said Gold. “Screens through which we will have to make some conscious effort to observe and communicate with one another, instead of constantly being aware of what the rest of us are doing at all times if we’re not blocking each other out. Maybe we can’t stop each other from kicking one another’s doors open, but at least there will be doors to shut.”
 
The group considered again. And for all their connections, they each had some caveats. Domina, Megan, and Illia did chafe under the restrictions of the Etiquette. Even after making new friends, Kat still valued being able to do things on her own. Osha had a lot of attachments, but she was still eager to try new things. Opal had no strong attachments other than her own parents, and she had the strong sense that Shady probably wouldn’t mind her own Descended fucking off to another Omnyverse; she might even encourage her to spread her wings into new possibilities. Hell, maybe she, too, would want to come along.
 
Osha was the first to speak up. “I suppose there’s no harm in trying it, but, I don’t know if I want to participate.”
 
“Hmmm,” said Illia. “I… I might… hmm…”
 
Megan and Domina shared a glance. “What do you think?” said Megan. “We could even opt to make a third for ourselves. Better chance to keep the others out of our hair.”
 
Domina nodded, her expression thoughtful. “Quite. I helped make this Omnyverse, so I do feel attached, despite everything. But it is getting tiresome, bottling myself up in Apoclypha just to try and ignore the others. And really, this whole Earth Reform thing never sat well with me. The point of Earth was to leave it as it was to juxtapose against our more fantastical Worlds. I expected more resistance to the idea of changing it, but I suppose Cyl’s sense of guilt was more infectious to the others than I realized.”
 
“It was also so you wouldn’t end up with another like me,” said Illia. She gazed up at the redhaired tyrant. “If… if you intend to make a world more… darkly cast, then… I might be interested in a new such experiment…”
 
Domina scowled a bit. She didn’t entirely dislike Illia, as such, but she had no love for the girl. Neither did Megan. But of all the Omnys, only Illia and Shady came close to matching Domina’s capacity for monstrous expression.
 
Illia shifted uncomfortably and looked down. “Well… if you’d have me. Remember, using each other’s Created is more satiating than just using our own. With you two as Splinters, you might still want another in the mix to keep things fresher.”
 
“We can discuss it,” said Megan. Glancing up to Domina, she said. “Might want to ask Shady, too.”
 
Domina scowled. “I am not going to tolerate her constant need to chucklefuck her way into everything.”
 
“Well,” said Gold. “With us or off on your own, the point is, we can all break off, instead of being stuck here.”
 
“I don’t want to leave,” said Osha, pouting. “But I’d like to not lose you, either. So, if you do this, I’d like you to keep in touch regularly.” She looked around. “All of you. Don’t shut your doors so tight, you snap your Worlds off the chain. That’s a risk to consider, too.”
 
Gold grinned. “We can hold an annual get-together if that’ll reassure you.”
 
“I think I’m good here, too, at least for now,” said Kat. “Honestly, I’m kind of already on my own a lot, Omny-wise, and I haven’t had any real conflicts with the others.”
 
“Also, you got Sal to babysit,” muttered Megan.
 
Kat smiled primly. “If you leave, you can’t terrorize him anymore.”
 
Megan snorted. “If I leave, I’m taking a duplicate to torture that you can’t rescue.”
 
Kat’s smile thinned into a frown, but she didn’t have a counter to that.
 
Opal grinned. “Ah, will you two just fuck already? Or at least give your little redhead a femdom threeway?”
 
The two Straights blanched at her and looked away from each other, but maybe not quite as quickly as they could have.
 
Rose looked to Opal as well. “Alright. So. Three tentatively for, two against. What about you? This is a perfect chance to strike out on your own.”
 
Opal hesitated as all eyes turned to her. Osha smiled sympathetically at her daughter. “I don’t want to lose you either, but whatever decision you make, I’ll support it, as long as we can stay in contact.”
 
Opal let out a breath. She had barely been in existence for a few months. She was still establishing herself, settling into her niche. She hadn’t really gotten to enjoy the Omnyverse as it already was on her own terms yet, and here she was being asked to help make a new one. Plus, both her mothers were here, and she didn’t feel the need to be a rebellious offspring just yet.
 
True, part of her couldn’t help but be intrigued. Shady liked to be a button pusher. Osha liked to explore new experiences. She wasn’t quite sure if those elements drove her own impulses, but her memories from both did make her already well familiar with the current Omnyverse. She hadn’t even created a World of her own yet. She hadn’t felt much need to, in an Omnyverse already filled with them. Maybe a blank slate, or the closest thing to it, would jog some creative juices for herself. And, of course, she could always come back home.
 
Opal sighed. “Maybe. I’m not against the idea, so much as I don’t feel a particularly compelling need to do it. But if you want some help getting it started, I can feel it out.”
 
Rose pursed her lips. “Well. No pressure, if you’re so hesitant. This doesn’t have to be an immediate endeavor. Something to let percolate for a bit. Still, there is one more I’d like to consider the counsel of.”
 
She raised a finger, and suddenly, Salamando, the Avatar of their Author, appeared in their midst. The redhead, who’d been mid-stride when he was taken, stumbled slightly, but recovered before he could trip. Then, he fell to his knees with a gasp anyway, as his body flushed with supernaturally intense arousal. He glanced around, eyes wide as he saw he was smack in the middle of a whole group of Omnys!
 
The cosmically alluring women all tamped their Erotic Energies down, though not without a few chuckles and smirks. Kat, however, immediately flicked a finger to him, and moved Sal to sit in her lap, where she instantly wrapped a shield of her power around the vulnerable mortal.
 
Sal let out a breath of relief, his body twitching in the aftershocks of an arousal spike so intense, he would have ejaculated right through his pants if Kat didn’t already keep an Orgasm Block on him!
 
Gold leered at the young man, and Rose smiled primly. Kat scowled at her. “You are really intent on pushing our buttons today, huh? Salamando is my Plaything. That means you don’t get to fuck with him without my permission. That includes teleporting him somewhere against his will!”
 
Sal finally managed to compose himself, letting out a long breath as he got his body back under control. Kat held him protectively, and gave him a reassuring smile. “Hi. Sorry about that. Didn’t know she was about to do that.”
 
Sal glanced warily around the room. Osha and Opal smiled brightly and waved at him, Megan and Domina just gave him a flat look, and Illia just glanced over for a moment, before looking away. RoseGold still had her bemused expressions.
 
Sal swallowed. “Uh, alright. What’s this about?” He moved to get up, but Kat’s grip tightened slightly. He gave her a reassuring smile and pat on the arm. She gave him a kiss on the cheek, and he felt her power envelop him like a warm blanket, further shielding him from the other Omnys’ ambient Energies. Finally, she let go of him, and he stood up, straightening his clothes, and adjusting himself. Shield or not, his dick stayed diamond hard around the Omnys, as any mortal man’s would.
 
“Sorry for the abrupt invitation, Salamando-sama,” said Rose. “But I figured you were used to such treatment.”
 
Sal scowled. “RoseGold, right?”
 
“Nice to meet ya!” said Gold, still grinning.
 
“Sure. Please do not do that again.”
 
“No promises,” said Gold with a wink.
 
Sal shook his head and held up a hand. “No. If I put myself in your hands, that’s one thing. But let’s set the precedent straight, I am not an open target anymore.”
 
“Bold words, from a mortal,” said Gold.
 
“He’s not,” said Kat. “Don’t think that because Cyl isn’t here, I can’t enforce the Etiquette in regards to Playthings myself.”
 
Rose smiled primly. “As you say. Note that your appointed guardian is already here to watch over you, so please be assured I mean nothing untoward.”
 
Sal gave her a flat look. “You’ll forgive me for being hesitant to take an Omny at her word on that.”
 
Gold half-sneered, half-grinned at him. “I didn’t bring you here for sex games. I want to ask your opinion on a matter of our future. As the Avatar of our Author, I figured you might have a bit of a unique insight.”
 
“I’m not in constant communication with him, you know.”
 
“But you were him once.”
 
“Once. At this point, I’ve been alive as the Avatar at least as long as I existed as him. So, it’s been a while.”
 
“Aw, most of that's just been in time warps with your dick in one of us!” said Osha.
 
Sal scowled slightly. “Point.” He paused, glanced to Kat, who nodded with a reassuring smile. He looked back to RoseGold. “Alright. Shoot.”
 
Sal remained standing as RoseGold broke down the debate. Sal didn’t give it more than a moments consideration before saying, “Okay, sure. Go make another Omnyverse. I don’t see why not. Or why you even felt the need to ask me.”
 
“You really think it’s a good idea?” said Kat.
 
Sal shrugged. “Would it actually hurt? Look, if the new bloods are already chafing under the old bloods’ system, well, that whole Harmonious Coexistence thing isn’t going to last as long as new Omnys keep Ascending, adding their own fresh crazy to the mix every few years. Like, obviously, right? The Original Five, even without Domina showing up, couldn’t stay friends forever in previous timelines. Arguably, if they hadn’t Ascended, they likely wouldn’t have become friends even if they had met as mortals. And the main reason they’re so bonded together now is because of all those traumatic past canon experiences. So, by this point, they don’t mind being so open and in each other’s lives constantly. And their Descendants probably inherit that attitude. They’re one big polycule.
 
“The rest of you had a tougher time integrating. Or, well, some of you did. Or you haven’t had much chance to stretch your wings, especially not without the new Five breathing down your necks. So I get where you’re coming from. You want the freedom to make your own mistakes, you want more privacy. That all makes sense to me.”
 
He shrugged again. “The last time Cyl and I talked about stuff like this, she even joked we may as well fraction off every five Omnys into their own Omnyverse, if the numbers get out of hand. Obviously, it doesn’t have to be five each time, but if each clique decides they want to move on, why not? Keep your offshoots close enough you can still cross the Beyond easily to visit each other, but otherwise, this way, no one’s fuck ups chain-react to mess with the balance of anyone else’s cluster. Or whatever.”
 
“Yes, those were my thoughts on the matter,” said Rose. “I just wanted to hear it from someone whose insight on the matter technically trumps ours. But of course, the real question is how do you think Salamando, the Author, will react?”
 
Sal rolled his eyes and threw up his hands. “His scatterbrained ass can’t settle on anything. I say just do it, and he’ll have to, by the whole conceit of the series, leave it in your hands.”
 
“Well, I’d say the Avatar’s blessing as good as settles it,” said Gold with a grin. “Thank you for your counsel, Salamando-sama.”
 
“Sure,” he said, flatly. “Can I go now?”
 
“You don’t want to stay for a little after-meeting fun?” said Gold, a salacious gleam in her eye.
 
Sal glanced to Kat, who smirked to him, then to RoseGold. “Let’s at least have a coffee date before I let you borrow my toys, hmm?”
 
“I prefer tea,” said Rose. “But very well.”
 
Kat beckoned Sal over, and she kissed him again, then sent him back to where he’d been when RoseGold teleported him.
 
“Well!” said Osha with a chipper smile. “I guess that’s all there is to it now! So, what sort of Omnyverse were you thinking of making?”
 
Rose smiled thinly. “Oh, I’ve already done it. I was just looking for a bit of a peer review on the idea.”
 
Everyone blinked. “You… already made a new Omnyverse?” said Illia.
 
Gold smirked. “It’s fairly barebones. There’s an Earth and it’s Universe. It has a Thrae, with its own full universe in reflection. I have replicated and expanded EroTokyo into its own planet, a technocratic empire spreading across its own solar system. I’ve kept its universe small for now, only the size of a single galaxy, but I’m open to expansion. Any of you who wish to join me, I am open to structural suggestions and adaptations.”
 
“When did you do this?” said Osha, looking a little stunned. “When did you ever leave the Omnyverse? I never sensed your absence!”
 
“You know I’m used to operating multiple bodies,” said Rose. “Moreso than any of you, given it was my Empowerment before I Ascended. I’ve sent other selves as scouts into the Beyond. One was out there during the incident with Demi. When this form was obliterated here, I became disconnected from what was happening, and couldn’t see inside. I came back in when things seemed to have stabilized, after the Five dealt with their wayward member, and everyone else was still coalescing. And that whole incident is what got me to pull the trigger on this.”
 
“So I went ahead and just did it, once I saw Cyl and Reignbeau leave again,” said Gold. “Better to ask forgiveness than permission, hmm? I figured worst came to worst, the Five would just kick me out, but by then, I’d already have my own home away from home set up.”
 
“Smart,” muttered Domina.
 
“Risky,” said Illia.
 
Rose looked to the three “dark” Omnys. “If you are intent to make your own darker reflection of this Omnyverse, I invite you to join mine. I have my own… predilections… that may be more in keeping with your themes, albeit not as extreme. I believe we could co-exist in relative harmony, and share our resources without much conflict of interest.”
 
The three glanced at one another in consideration.
 
Gold looked to Opal. “You are still welcome to spread your wings with us. We might chafe under the watch of an angel, but we might need someone a bit closer to the light to keep us honest.”
 
Opal cocked an eyebrow at her. “You want me to be y’all’s den mother?”
 
“I was thinking simply a more grounded presence,” said Gold. “You seem like a live-and-let-live type, who also won’t put up with anyone’s bullshit.”
 
“Got me all figured out in just a couple of minutes, hmm?” said Opal, giving her a flat look.
 
Gold shrugged. “I could be wrong. It was just a thought. I wouldn’t ask you to be our own Etiquette enforcer, but a little variety in perspective can be useful in a group project. Reminds us we’re still human, and not just a pack of demons.”
 
Opal looked to Osha, who smiled. “We can talk to Shady first, but it’s up to you. You can try it out for a bit, then come back if you don’t like it.”
 
Opal glanced to the floor, considering.
 
“You needn’t decide immediately,” said Rose. “But I’d like some form of company sooner than later, to see how well this works.”
 
The three Dark Omnys looked like they wanted to say something, but still weren’t sure yet. Opal spoke up first, however. “I’ll go with you. For now. Chance to get to know each other.” She winked. “Besides, you and I got our own connection already, you know?”
 
“Oh?”
 
“Salamando left us on the cutting room floor when he tried to end our series before, remember? You and I managed to niggle our way back into his attentions enough to get made after all!”
 
RoseGold laughed. “You have a point there!” said Gold.
 
“We still need to weigh the matter,” said Domina. “But we shall consider your offer.”
 
Rose nodded. “Failing us being roommates, we can still be neighbors willing to trade Created, if that is agreeable to you.”
 
“We’ll work it out,” said Megan. “If we’re done here?”
 
“There is the matter of informing the others, of course,” said Rose. “I shall come to Cyl myself when she returns, and we will likely have another meeting on it. I would prefer you not discuss this overmuch with the others until that time, but it is up to you.”
 
“Don’t want us getting pressured from the other side?” said Kat.
 
“I want you to have time to come to your own decisions without undo influence,” said Rose.
 
“That includes from myself,” said Gold. “After this, I won’t pressure you one way or the other, either.” She glanced to Opal. “Though I would be obliged for you to stick around a bit longer after this.”
 
“I can do that,” said Opal.
 
With that, one by one, the Omnys all left. Osha lingered a bit longer, making sure RoseGold didn’t truly have hard feelings over their pasts, but eventually, she left her lover and daughter alone together.
 
RoseGold let out a sigh of relief. “I was honestly expecting this to blow up on us,” said Rose.
 
Opal shrugged. “I think you’re not giving the whole Harmonious Co-Existence thing enough credit.”
 
“Just trying to nip potential problems in the bud,” said Gold. “I don’t think we have a real problem yet. But we will, if we don’t prepare ahead of time. And we can’t rely on Cyl to do all our policing for us.”
 
“You want to know my opinion?” said Opal. “You’re a bit of a control freak. Before, with Osha being your clear mistress, you knew your place, even if it went against your impulses to be on top of things. But now that you’ve joined her in the hierarchy? You need to establish a strong position for yourself. Headmistress of a new Omnyverse is just the thing to prove you’re still in charge where it counts.”
 
Rose pursed her lips while Gold blanched. “Got me all figured out in just a few minutes, huh?” Gold mocked.
 
Opal smirked. “I have the benefit of being able to inspect Osha’s memories with my own perspective.”
 
“Hmmmm,” said Rose. “Yes. You are right, of course. I do like to have a tight handle on things. And that in itself could become a problem in the future, when this reality is already so well-established, and my own input is hardly needed. I have no desire to go against our Harmony here, but I don’t know if I can stand being just another go-along girl in the group for the long haul.”
 
“If that’s how you feel, then it’s good you’re taking steps to mitigate things,” said Opal. “At the same time, don’t let your concerns become paranoia. You can become the very problem you worry about just by over-worrying it.”
 
RoseGold smiled. “I think you can be a good balance for us,” said Rose. “You have Osha’s whimsy and Shady’s slyness, coiled into your own braid of wisdom.”
 
Opal smiled knowingly. “I’ve also got their teasing instincts, don’t forget. And you serious types are always the most fun to play with!”
 
“Well, then,” said Rose with a sly smile. “I look forward to a mutually beneficial partnership.”
 
Opal winked. “Wanna make those benefits official?”
 
“Thought you’d never ask!” grinned Gold.
 
Opal drew both of RoseGold’s bodies to her, and they spent the next few days thoroughly examining those benefits in great detail!
 
***
 
As Domina mused on her throne how she might craft her place in a new world, a psychic signal came to her attention. With a glance, she saw Cyl, hovering in the Planar Void, awaiting her response. The leader of the Five beckoned her for a meeting.
 
Domina pursed her lips, but decided to not put things off. She stepped across dimensions to meet her rival. “That didn’t take long,” muttered Domina.
 
“RoseGold told me all about it,” said Cyl, looking a little somber. “We’ll be calling a full meeting very soon.”
 
“Here to sway me?” said Domina.
 
Cyl shook her head. “Not at all. You want to go, go. I just want you to know there’s no hard feelings. And I’m sorry we never really managed to fully settle things. Believe it or not, I’ll be a little sad to see you go.”
 
Domina scowled at her. “You can’t possibly tell me you’re going to miss me.” Then she smirked. “Unless you like having a few bad girls around to feel morally superior to.”
 
Cyl pursed her lips. “I have more than enough things in the Beyond to do that with. Believe it or not, I really did want this Harmonious Co-Existence thing to work with all of us. You might not have felt like you were a part of us, but you were with us to help create this place. We weren’t going to be friends, probably never truly get along, but I felt like we managed to come to an acceptance.”
 
“Mm. Maybe I’ll swing by and rattle some chains every now and then.” Domina made a theatric shrug. “We’ll still be neighbors, connected even through the Beyond. But we’ll finally be out of one another’s hair this way.”
 
Cyl nodded. “Yes. I suppose that’s for the best. And I suppose I’m just letting sentiment get the best of me.” She gave Domina a sardonic half-smile. “Telling you to be good would be antithetical to who you are, so I’ll just say take care. And I would very much appreciate it if we could continue to not be enemies from here on out.”
 
Domina pursed her lips. “I suppose I can grant you that much. For what it’s worth, I really don’t want to go down that route again. I still can’t stand most of you, but it’s been a long time since I genuinely wanted to kill any of you, either.”
 
“I’ll accept that as progress,” said Cyl, with a little sardonic smile.
 
Domina rolled her eyes and scowled. “Whatever. I would say see you around, but it’ll be a while before I actually want that to be the case.” Domina vanished back to her world.
 
Before Cyl could leave as well, however, Shady was suddenly there, grinning.
 
“Don’t worry,” she said. “I’ll still be around to give you a migraine!”
 
Cyl smirked. “I’d have thought you’d be going with them.”
 
Shady smirked back. “Do you want me to?”
 
Cyl shook her head. “No. You, I’d actually miss.”
 
Shady laughed. “Aw, you’re such a romantic!” She floated over and hugged her, and the two kissed. “I’ll probably set something up there, but this place is my home.”
 
“Hey, nothing wrong with getting out once in a while,” said Cyl. “Still. You, Megan, Domina, Illia. That’s going to be a quite a dark cocktail. And don’t make a race joke about that, please.”
 
Shady chuckled. “You keep being no fun like that, maybe I will just move there full-time!”
 
Cyl kissed her. “You’d miss me too much.”
 
“It’s cute that you think so.”
 
“It’s cute you’re in denial.” They chuckled and kissed again.
 
“I just hope it doesn’t lead to an escalation,” said Cyl. “The last thing we need is all you trouble-makers encouraging each other too far.”
 
Shady sighed. “You are such a fuckin’ cop.”
 
“Sorry,” said Cyl. “Can’t help it.”
 
Shady waved her off. “Hey, Opal’s gunna be there. She’s a pretty alright kid, if I do say so myself. RoseGold’s got a little dark in her, but she ain’t me or Megan by a long shot. And she seems to value stability just as much as you, so she’s not going to let things get out of hand.” She grinned smart-assedly. “Figures, though, another flavor of East-Asian comes along, and now we suddenly gotta start balkanizing!”
 
Cyl gave her a flat look. “Shady, can you stop being such an American for like five minutes?”
 
“Never!”
 
“Hmph. Maybe you should go with them full-time after all.”
 
“You’d miss me too much.”
 
“Sometimes your smart mouth makes me doubt it.”
 
“Oh, I know for a fact my mouth is the part you’d miss the most!”
 
Cyl smirked. “Yeah, probably.” The two kissed again, and let their bodies do the rest of the talking.
 
***
 
A few weeks later, the meeting was held. The Progenitors and their Descended were a little taken aback at first, but ultimately no one raised a strong protest. Cyl surprised RoseGold by being more supportive than the latter would have assumed. Of course, the lead Progenitor chided the younger Omny about creating a new Omnyverse without running it by all of them first, but she was the most understanding of the motive.
 
In the end, Domina, Megan, and Illia opted to join RoseGold and Opal, while the rest decided to stay. Shady had been tempted, but ultimately decided to keep staying with the other Progenitors most of the time, and establish a “summer home” in the new Omnyverse. Osha, of course, intended to visit often as well, though she wasn’t ready to set up a World of her own there.
 
The Shadow became the main link point between the two Omnyverses, allowing the Omnys to easily contact and travel into one another’s Worlds, even separated by the Beyond. These contact points still needed to be manually opened from either side, rather than being permanently open portals, ensuring some level of division. Some of the Omnys still kept certain Worlds of theirs linked as well. From the perspective of the Beyond, the second Omnyverse was a glowing sphere in tight orbit around the first, visible tendrils wisping between the two. In truth, they were still far more connected than separated, but it was enough to enable the growing number of omnipotent nymphomaniacs to find their own ways of living without risking one another’s realities.
 
As for the older Omnyverse, its remaining Omnys had already been considering expansions of their existing Worlds. Perhaps, given how things had shifted so much already, a bit of restructuring was due. Earth and Thrae were further adjusted. Reinforcement of the cosmic structure ensured the Worlds could remain stable even if Earth suffered damage. Some Worlds were likewise expanded into full planets, with smaller scale universes of their own.
 
It was yet another new era for the Omnyverse. The Omnys also sensed it was another possible stopping point for their series. Perhaps more stories would still be written in the future, but for now, this was as good a point as any to put things on pause, and let the new status quo simmer for a while in their Author’s psyche.
 
END