A group of seven dragons can be seeing walking along the slopes of Stolis Mountain. They are heading towards a campsite, favorite spot of one of them: Billy Brown. He was a scientist, and believed that where they were going, he could find a lot of spirits. Normally, scientists don\x92t believe in spirits and fairies, but he knew better: he has a Pnevma spirit living inside of him! Those spirits are all female, so legend tells, and when one falls in love with a mortal, she is forced to live inside of him. But this time, he wasn\x92t looking for Pnevmas. He was looking for another race of spirits.

Billy was followed by Sarah Jovi, Anna Nashon and the Deep Rockers. Pik Rance, the drummer of the band, being an amphibian, needed water very often, and it\x92s been over an hour since the last time he drank. That made him very tired, and he panted hard as he tried to keep up with the rest. Even further behind, Babe Cleave followed the rest of the gang. He didn\x92t feel that he should be going with them\x85 ever since he got turned into a robot he avoided doing things that \x93normal\x94 people do. But Sarah, the girl he loved begged him, so he gave in. Unlike the rest, he was no tired at all, and couldn\x92t wait for the time to come to go back to the laboratory and practice on his weapons. He still had a lot of weapons he didn\x92t know how to use, and he was sure he had more weapons that he already knew!

At last, they reached the top. Billy walked over to the edge of the cliff, and looked down at the valley. \x93It\x92s so beautiful,\x94 Anna said as she hugged him. \x93I\x92m so glad I came with you\x85\x94 Billy smiled and nuzzled her snout.

\x93I know\x85\x94 he said and kissed her. \x93I just wished Michelle could come with us\x85\x94 he said, tears in his eyes. Billy was a divorced father, his daughter living with her mother. He could see her only at weekends and that broke his heart. He knew he\x92d miss many things from his daughter as she grew up, and deep down inside his heart, he wished he hadn\x92t ruined things with his marriage. But the emotions between himself and his wife had long been gone, and there was no alternative solution.

He turned around to face the rest of the gang, only to see tired faces. Ace and Kia were sitting on a log, panting, and Pik was trying to \x93re-fuel\x94 himself, by sitting in a puddle!

\x93My God guys! You\x92re so weak! Come on! Get up! Lets make something to eat\x94

As soon as he heard food being mentioned, James rushed over to Billy and stuffed his snout in his backpack. He could smell food in there, and as usual, James was always hungry. Ever since a polluted dragon bite irradiated him, he developed animal instincts and senses. His animal form also changed, instead of transforming into an animal, he changed into a 70m tall anthro. Those transformations always made him hungrier than ever. But he had to pay a price for all those \x93gifts\x94. He often suffered from intense headaches and stomach cramps, and he couldn\x92t control his animal behavior. He would very often behave like an animal, without noticing he did so. Kia always joked about that, saying that he made a cute pet.

\x93So Bill\x85\x94 Ace said as he ate his food \x93what are you searching for?\x94

\x93Oh come on Ace! You had to ask him??\x94 Sarah said jokingly. \x93Now he\x92ll start all his science talk!\x94 Bill laughed and reassured the rest that he wouldn\x92t. Kia was watching Ace eating his food. She was very worried about him. He was very thin, and she never saw him eat a decent meal. Deep in her mind, she worried in case he suffered from anorexia, but she wasn\x92t sure if that wasn\x92t a girl-only disease. And besides, anorexia people usually suffer from mental illnesses. Ace was healthy and had a happy life, even though he is adopted.

She then looked over her shoulder towards the cliff. She saw Babe there, sitting alone, not wanting to join them in their feast. She was ready to call him, when she saw Sarah approaching him. She smiled and remembered the days back at high school. Babe was her first lover. But they broke up when they had to go to college. They were both going at different cities, and they thought that a long-distance relationship wouldn\x92t work. She always loved him until she became a Deep Rocker and met Pik Rance. From that moment on, her heart was given to him.

\x93Hey Baby\x85\x94 Sarah said as she lay on his lap. \x93Want some company?\x94 Babe smiled and stroke her head as gently as his heavy hands would let him. She bit her lips as she felt tears in her eyes \x93He\x92s so cold\x85\x94 she thought \x93and hard. Made of metal\x85\x94 At times like that she realized that the man she loved was not an anthro. He was a robot, unable of making love and doing things that a normal lover would do. She knew she would never have a family with him, never go to long family trips, she won\x92t be feeling his breath on her neck while they slept in the same bed\x85 they wouldn\x92t even sleep in the same bed. Thoughts like that made her want to leave him and live a normal life. But her heart couldn\x92t do that. She loved him with all her might and she didn\x92t want to see him sad. Suddenly, as if he knew what she was thinking, or maybe he could sense her heartbeat, he lifted her head up slowly and kissed her on her lips. He couldn\x92t feel her taste, he couldn\x92t feel lust. But he loved her. He wanted her. He needed her.

He sighted and watched the moon. It was gonna be a long night