Three Square Meals Ch. 067

The girls shared bemused looks with one another, but they each began to close their eyes, following Athena's instructions. Soon all six girls were sitting there patiently, their beguiling eyes firmly shut and hidden behind long lashes.

"That's excellent, Calara, well done!" Athena remarked a few seconds later, sounding startled.

These kind of focusing exercises were second nature to the Latina, having spent countless sessions with John mastering just this kind of meditation technique. She was a trusting girl, and she threw herself into this exercise with her typical dedication, knowing that John needed her help. Surprisingly Sakura followed shortly afterwards, which Athena acknowledged with an approving smile. One by one each girl fell deeper into the trance, their psychic mentor nodding with satisfaction until there was just a single person left.

"I'm sorry," Rachel whimpered, a troubled frown on her face. "I'm trying, but I find it too hard to let go. My mind's too busy!"

Athena looked alarmed, and she glanced at John as she thought to him, *She's strong, John. We need her for this.*

*Don't worry, let me handle it,* he replied, giving her a confident smile, and moving across the bed until he was behind the kneeling brunette. He glanced at the other girls to check on them, but they were all immersed in the trance now, oblivious to this interruption.

Rachel's eyelids flickered open, and she twisted to glance at him over her shoulder, as she murmured in a hushed voice, "I can't help it! I loathe these kind of spiritualistic rituals, they fly in the face of reason. I'm so sorry that I'm letting you down!"

He leaned in to give her a comforting kiss, then shuffled in closer, wrapping his arms around her. "Shh, everything's going to be okay," he murmured in her ear, his deep voice sending shivers down her spine. Pulling her back against him, he placed one hand on her abdomen, and the other on her chest, and whispered, "Just relax and breathe with me. Use the movements of my chest as a guide."

She gave him one last dubious glance, then did as he asked, closing her eyes once more. He felt her inhaling and exhaling as she leant against him, their chests moving in perfect synchronisation.

"Like this?" she asked, her voice calmer now as his soothing presence relaxed her.

"You're doing wonderfully," he praised her. His right hand was across her stomach, and he gently stroked her lower belly where her swallow tattoo had been.

"That feels lovely," Rachel whispered, relaxing against him.

He nodded as he kissed her bare shoulder, and said, "We've only just started to explore how my abilities work. Psychic powers aren't magical, the Progenitors just tapped into a form of science we don't understand yet."

She smiled as she murmured, "Any sufficiently advanced technology..."

"That's right," he said in a hushed voice, nodding as he held her. "Just think of this as a science experiment."

"With a proven protocol that just hasn't been fully documented?" she asked, sounding eager now.

He nodded, and said, "Exactly. So just relax, and follow Athena's protocol. Focus on me and my voice, it'll help make you more responsive for this experiment."

The brunette nodded slowly, listening to him as he whispered gentle, encouraging words in her ear.

It took less than ten seconds for Athena to announce, "She's immersed now, John. That was excellent, well done!"

John smiled at her praise, then moved to join her in the centre of the bed, kneeling in front of Athena. He was surprised to see her whole body shrouded in a white glow now, the radiance no longer shining from just her eyes.

Looking at her in alarm, he asked, "Are you alright? Your whole body is glowing!"

Athena held her arms out in front of her, the light pouring from her being, a wild grin shattering her normally calm and composed demeanour. She laughed in delight, and sounded full of admiration as she exclaimed, "The amount of power they're channelling to me is staggering! These links were never meant to work this way, John..."

"What do I do now?" he asked, eyeing her with a worried frown.

She placed her hand on his shoulder, then gracefully straddled him, reminiscent of his joining with Alyssa only a short while ago. Her face was only inches from his as she stared into his eyes, and urged him, "Use the power I give to you, and shape it into a shield! I'll guide the function, but you have to provide the form."

He nodded hesitantly, watching the unpredictable girl in front of him, unsure what she was going to do next. Catching him by surprise, she leaned in and kissed him passionately, flooding him with Eldritch energy.

"Holy fuck!" he blurted out, muffled by her eager lips, as he felt a pulsating surge of power swelling within him, making his hair stand on end.

Working by instinct, John held out his hands behind Athena, and imagined that wellspring of psychic energy pouring along his arms and then out from his fingertips. He wasn't exactly sure what she'd meant by 'shield', but he wanted it to encompass all of them, so he formed a large dome in his mind, big enough to arc over the bed. He was surprised when blue-tinted semi-transparent hexagons began to form out of thin air, slotting together and forming the base of the dome he was building. He could picture the precise shape he wanted, and tile by tile, he filled every inch of that curved surface.

Athena was still clinging to him when he was done, planting tender kisses on his lips, and gazing at him lovingly. He kissed her back, then smiled at her, and asked, "How did I do?"

She blushed furiously, and he strongly suspected she'd got far more carried away with the kissing than was actually necessary. She looked up at the blue-tinted dome, and her eyes widened in surprise as she gasped, "That's brilliant, John!"

Dismounting him with his assistance, she stood on the bed, and stretched out her arms so that she could place her fingertips against the glowing curved surface of his shield. She closed her eyes, and her hands began to move as if she was probing the dome for weaknesses. Finally reopening her eyes again, she met his expectant gaze, and nodded her approval.

"That's it then? We're safe?" he asked, his relief quite apparent in his tone.

Athena sank to her knees beside him, and with newfound respect in her eyes, she replied, "Your shield exceeded my original design, by layering additional protective wards into the lattice. We've done everything we can."

"So what happens now? Do I just go to sleep?" he asked, feeling more confident now, and pleased that he'd exceeded her expectations.

The reverberation in her voice seemed more apparent as she replied, "I'll relinquish all control to Alyssa, then yes, you just fall asleep. If all goes according to plan, you'll wake up tomorrow morning, and you can carry on unmolested."

With a grateful smile on his face, he said, "Thank you for all your help, Athena." He hesitated for a moment, before he blurted out, "I'm going to try and find a way to help you! I don't want you to be absorbed and destroyed."

Reaching out her hand, she brushed it against his cheek, and said wistfully, "I wish things could be different, but my fate is already sealed. When Alyssa's ready, I'll merge with her."

He gave her a confident grin, and said, "Don't worry, we'll come up with something, we always do!"

She gave him a sad smile, and replied, "I know you'll try your hardest. Thank you..."

Closing her eyes, she slowly exhaled, the light no longer shining out from under her lashes. Alyssa drew in her breath sharply, her blue eyes snapping open, and she looked around, trying to get her bearings.

John pulled the confused girl into his arms, and said, "Welcome back, beautiful. Let me bring you up to speed..."

***

The girls had been roused from the trance as soon as Athena had departed, and they looked up in wonder at the blue hexagonal dome that John had created to protect them. He briefly explained what had happened while they'd been in their deep meditative state, and they were relieved to hear that Athena was confident in the protective nature of the shield he'd constructed.

There was a brief telepathic conversation between the girls while the sleeping arrangements were discussed, as John had broken their carefully planned system, by feeding all of them an equal amount after the orgy. While they made their mind up, John decided to make a trip to the bathroom, and after hesitantly waving his hand at the dome, he was relieved to find that he could pass harmlessly through the shield.

The girls followed him to finish their night-time routine, with Alyssa and Sakura the first to join him back in bed a minute later. He welcomed the blonde and the raven-haired girl with open arms, and they snuggled up to him while the others adopted their normal hierarchy in the bed.

"Thanks for an amazing evening, ladies," he said to them all, glancing both ways.

After a chorus of "You're welcome!" and plenty of giggling, there was a brief bout of quiet chatter amongst the girls. The conversation eventually faded out as everyone got drowsy, and they all settled down for the night.

"Good night everyone," John murmured, his eyelids growing heavy as he finally drifted off to sleep.

***

John felt the welcome oblivion of sleep fading away, and the featureless darkness began to form vague, grey nebulous shapes as his surroundings lightened. He shook off his disorientation in alarm, recognising the swirling ethereal mists that preceded a visit to the dream world. Although he couldn't see more than a few metres in every direction, it was enough to make out the edges of the dome he'd created, the precise geometry of the hexagonal tiles preventing the astral fog from swirling around his feet.

With the mists held at bay, he was able to study the ground for the first time, but it was simply a featureless black surface that made him dizzy to look at it. It felt like he was walking across an inverted night's sky, and that strong sense of agoraphobia assailed him as before. He purposefully turned away from staring at the floor, and looked around him at the rest of his surroundings.

For some reason the mists hadn't disappeared in a flash like they normally did, which usually happened moments before being plunged into some kind of terrifying nightmare. As it was, he was left standing there with an rising sense of foreboding, as he wondered what was going to happen next.

He couldn't see past the ethereal mists, but he -knew- there was something lurking out there, just out of sight. A deep bellow thundered out of the fog, confirming his worries in a terrifying instant; the ponderous sound brimming over with pure frustration and rage that left him quaking in fear. The sonorous cry could have come from any direction in the unbroken banks of fog, which pressed up oppressively against his warding dome.

Suddenly he wasn't alone in the protective confines of the shield, and a girl snapped into existence at his side. "Oh fuck! Not again!" Alyssa cried out in alarm. She spotted him and rushing into his arms, she gasped, "John! What's happening?"

The indignant roar echoed around him again, sounding closer this time, and deafeningly loud. Alyssa quaked in his arms, her blue eyes wide with terror. The noise didn't end, but just reverberated around them, growing louder and quieter in cresting waves.

"I've got no idea!" he replied, just as scared as she was. "The shield was supposed to stop this, but we're stuck in this astral fog!"

Something massive clomped down in the mists what seemed like only a few dozen metres away, causing the floor to tremble with the impact.

"Get us out of here!" Alyssa screamed, her breathing coming in short gasps.

John flogged his brain in desperation, trying to recall how he'd yanked them out of the Astral Plane the last time they'd been attacked. Gathering his will, he held on to her tightly, then attempted to jerk them out of this limbo state and back to their bodies. His heart surged with relief as he felt a trembling shift, and he knew he was on the right track, but something immense seemed to interpose itself between them and his target destination.

"I can't! I'm being blocked!" he exclaimed in dread.

She was about to reply when a gigantic shape coagulated above them out of the mists, crashing down on the shield with a cacophonous impact. They dropped to their knees, with Alyssa screaming in fear as they stared at the titanic limb in abject horror.

The end of a vast tentacle had smashed into the dome, black and viscous, and dripping with all sorts of foul corruption. Centred in the limb was a gaping maw, with endless circles of razor-sharp teeth flexing and convulsing with a dreadful hunger. They dug into the shield, scratching and tearing as they tried to chew their way through, but finding no obvious break in the arcing surface. The limb swung back, leaving eddies in the fog as it disappeared from view as quickly as it had arrived.

"John...!" Alyssa moaned in fear, clinging to him as if her very life depended on it.

Then the tentacle was back, hammering at the shield with unspeakable force. There were tendrils embedded with multi-barbed claws surrounding the limb, and they flailed at the surface as it tried to rip through. The slavering mouth was biting and chomping as it ravaged the dome, the rows of teeth circling like a fanged whirlpool.

Alyssa's screams of fear suddenly intensified into a shrill chorus, and John realised that the other girls were here too. Even though they had just appeared, they seemed fully aware of the abyssal terror that was trying to sunder their protective haven, and with a start, he suddenly realised they'd been here all along, merely obscured from his senses. With low cries of relief, the girls seemed to see him too, and crawled across the onyx floor, reaching out to John and Alyssa in their terror. He gathered them to him as best he could, surrounded now by whimpering girls as the ancient eldritch behemoth continued its relentless assault.

Another tentacle joined the first, vast and sickening as it loomed out of the fog. This one was covered in a nauseating multitude of eyes, each one surrounded by uneven, bloody teeth. It studied them in its unblinking gaze, and to be the focus of such a hideous ancient intellect filled John with a paralysing terror.

The loathsome eyes seemed to all focus on a single point in the shield, and from high up above them, a distorted cackle of vile laughter seemed to seep through to his bones. The clawed and fanged limb slithered across the curve of the dome, and seemed to be feeling for some kind of vulnerable location. It battered that same spot with a resounding smash, causing a splintered fracture in one of the tiles, before rearing back for a mightier blow. The ragged screaming from the girls intensified, their terror sharpening as their sanity trembled on a knife edge.

Flickering runes appeared in the tiled surface of the dome, and John blinked in shock as he recognised the language of the Progenitors in that glowing script. Heedless of the doom that approached them, he stared at the writing in wonder, its meaning becoming clear to him as though another form of fog was lifted from his mind. The wards described the structure of the shield, and he understood that the strange runes linked the protective dome to the girls that had provided him the power to construct it.

As the newest member of their group, Sakura was their weakest link, having been with them for only a matter of days. He knew now that Athena had made a terrible mistake adding her to this ritual, but there was no time for recriminations or to bemoan the unfortunate error in judgement. The sharp clarity of this moment let him shrug off the feeling of all-pervading terror, and he rose from the cowering group of girls, stepping clear as they shrieked for him to return to them.

Placing his hands on the dome he focused his will, shoring up and strengthening the weak point, the wards flaring as he bolstered them. The edges of the fracture melted together, reinforced and impenetrable once more.

The rent was resealed with seconds to spare, as the staggering immensity of that clawed limb raced out of the swirling mists, and smashed into the shield with enough force to make the ground quake. The hideous assembly of eyes reared above them once more, the gloating laughter echoing around them as it viewed the focal point for its assault. The stomach-churning laughter was cut off with a sound like a limb being torn from a body, and an incandescent howl of anger boomed around them.

It was John's turn to laugh now, and the girls gaped at him as if he'd gone insane.

"Your eyes, they're glowing!" Alyssa gasped, her fear forgotten for a second as she stared at him in amazement.

Further discussion was cut off as Jade cried out, "It's trying to tunnel under the wall!"

John whirled around and immediately saw what the Nymph had spotted behind them. A third tentacle had appeared, identical to the first, and the serrated teeth in that ravenous mouth were whirring against the floor, sounding like some kind of drill. Black chips were spattering off the dome as tiny fragments were broken loose, which then hit the shield and oozed down to the ground. The barbed tendrils adorning the tentacle lashed with a repulsive eagerness, as if hungry to tear into their flesh.

John sorely wished he had his gear with him, but here he was naked and unarmed, with seven vulnerable girls to protect. That thought triggered a blistering, terrible anger, drawing up from deep inside him. Here in the Astral Plane, such intensity of emotion had a power of its own, and his rage manifested before him into something tangible that he could use. A blackened blade over six feet long appeared, dreadful red runes glowing in the surface as it floated in the air.

Seizing the weapon with both hands, he rushed forward, surging through the protective dome as though it were just an insubstantial illusion. He used his momentum and his two-handed grip, to deliver a devastating scything cut to the tentacle's flank, gouging a four-foot-deep furrow through the grotesque, crawling flesh. Black ichor spurted out in a fountain, and from some unseen orifice high above, the stygian monstrosity let loose a disbelieving howl at his effrontery. John dived back into his warded sanctuary, narrowly avoiding the ripping hooks that sought him out, which rebounded harmlessly from the wall of hexagons.

"How did you do that?" Alyssa asked, as she gaped at him in astonishment.

"Your mind has power here," he said, struggling to put his epiphany into words. "That thing isn't invulnerable, we can hurt it..."

He glanced up at the innumerable baleful eyes, which glared at them, full of hate. Several more gigantic tentacles lurched out of the billowing fogbanks, cutting into the ground around them as the fearful abomination tired of their impudence.

"Hurt it..." Alyssa mumbled while quaking with fear. She tried to wrap her brain around the concept of challenging this terrifying enormity, a twisted titanic monster the likes of which she could scarcely begin to comprehend.

John let go of his sword and left it to float in the air, as he took hold of her shoulders with both hands and stared into her frightened eyes. He reached out to her telepathically to try and shake her out of her terror stricken stupor, and yelled, *We need to distract it! Hurt it badly enough, so I can tear us free from the Astral Plane!*

*It's fucking huge...* she stammered, staring back at him in disbelief. *You barely scratched it with that sword!*

*I know, but my mind works differently to yours!* he growled in frustration. *I've given you all my other powers, there must be something you can do!*