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Nicholas was momentarily speechless at his son's sober response.

"What kind of nonsense is this..." instead of raising his voice again, he sighed.

"Dad, if we don't do what they want, you're going to die. I don't know what I'll do with my life if that happens, but I don't want to lose you."

For once, Logan meant it. There was only one reason why he had agreed to this with his brother. He really wanted his beloved father to make it out of this world alive and well. That was all.

"There are mutants like us out there right now, and you know it. You know... Dad, you can't fight them in your current state... You don't want to admit that we've changed, and I understand that, but I want you to realize, Dad, that it's not safe for you to leave us."

Logan said the words in a calm voice - one that should be filled with fear. It was something the human Logan would never have said, proof that he was becoming more like a Cordollian in his thinking. Subconsciously, Logan saw his barely-mutated father as weak, and that was why he felt he could control him, his almost-human father, as he deserved.

"Okay, so let's say you're right, there are monsters out there, and the bottom line is, that's what you're doing to me... I'm telling you, even if the monster boss told you to do it, you can't possibly... you want me to put up with your filthy behavior in exchange for your protection."

Nicholas' voice got thinner. He sounded choked, perhaps. The middle-aged man looked pitiful as he turned his head away, refusing to look at his son. There was no trace of hope in his voice.

"It's not that."

Logan replied again, firmly. Whether he was sad or relieved, he spoke only the truth.

"What the Cordollians want are eggs, our eggs, and you're probably the only one of us who can lay them. Every other mutant who wants to lay eggs will want you, too."

"Eggs. Me? There's no way I could do that."

Nicholas chewed his lower lip. Even as he said it was impossible, an uncomfortable feeling of what might happen shot through his body for a moment. He had definitely felt a fluttering, shuddering sensation when he smelled his sons' body odor. The thought that this might be related to his abnormal s*xual arousal made Nicholas feel sick. He refused to admit it.

Would it have been less painful if he had been able to violate someone else like his sons were doing now?

Nicholas thought, but quickly concluded that it wouldn't. After all, to be in the position of transgression was to be a monster. Disfigured hands and feet and even a penis.

"Logan. Suppose I give in and do what you say. If I do that, then... you can be human again?"

"That's..."

There was bitterness in the middle-aged man's voice as he questioned his son.

Nicholas looked extremely vulnerable. He looked so fragile, like he could crumble to dust at the slightest touch.

Was it better to lie? Or would it be better to tell the truth?

The truth was that Logan didn't know the answer to Nicholas' question. He wanted to say it was impossible, but there was still too much he didn't know about the Cordollians. Although, no matter how he thought about it, mutation was an irreversible reaction.

"Well..."

Logan trailed off. If he were a pure Cordollian, he would have shattered the illusion of weakness, but there was still a glimmer of humanity in Logan.

"I'm not sure, but I guess it depends."

It was best to give an answer that was neither positive nor negative. As much as he liked his father to be cooperative, he didn't want to deceive him by creating something that wasn't there.

His tone was almost uncertain, but with a hint of possibility. Logan's voice, with so few highs and lows compared to human speech, sounded like a machine. Unable to read any guilt, any trace of fear in his son's words, Nicholas acted like a man unwilling to extinguish even the smallest spark of hope.

"I had a dream. I dreamed that you would disappear and I would be left alone..."

Nicholas' voice still trembled. Even though he knew full well that what his sons wanted was to mate, he kept weighing the slim possibility that things might return to normal. But then he winced, horrified that he had just unconsciously defined his relationship with his sons by the word mate.

No, Logan, he's not a monster.

Nicholas seemed to be out of his mind as he floated away in fear, even though Logan hadn't given him a definite answer. The poor middle-aged man didn't realize that being able to give ambiguous answers to questions was a human trait in itself.

For him, the only indicator of his son's humanity was his ability to speak and carry on a conversation. His son's face had already been dehumanized, as had his actions. All that remained was his voice. Not knowing which of these reflected his son's true humanity, Nicholas tried with all his might to hold on to some trace of the son he knew.

"It's just a dream."

"Right, it's... just a dream..."

Nicholas was comforted by his son's words, even if he couldn't relate to them. He hadn't realized yet that Logan had lost his ability to empathize.

If Nicholas couldn't make his sons human again, he could at least keep them from getting worse. He had to continue to treat them like people and talk to them. If someone asked him what kind of ridiculous superstitious idea this was, Nicholas would have nothing to say, but he felt a sense of obligation to do something.

An irrational belief in an unstable mind. Nicholas had begun to believe that if he left Dustin and Logan alone, they would be consumed by their inner beasts and turn into complete monsters because he subconsciously felt a great deal of fear as he watched them communicate and exchange plans in ways he didn't recognize.

So, like it or not, it was up to the still-human Nicholas to try harder to keep his beloved sons from becoming complete monsters. Nicholas had no doubt that he had a role to play in this situation. He had to.

"The eggs, how do you make them...?"

It wasn't that he didn't know that eggs were made by reproducing. Nicholas was asking his son something more fundamental.

"I don't know exactly how, but you know, Dad, your body will tell you to do something."

"That's..."

Hearing Logan's answer, Nicholas shook his head instead of denying it. There was no way to deny it, because last night he had acted like a drunken man, unable to control his body, unable to control his two sons and himself.

"Survival is the most important thing, and if you're not sure you want to do that, I can talk to Dustin and see what else we can do."

Logan's pupils narrowed. His son's reptilian eyes didn't seem to be trying to fool him, but they were all too familiar for humans to read.

Inside, Logan kept asking himself if it was worth taking a female for two Cordollians. He'd compromised with his brother for a while because it was the only and best way to protect his father. But the thought of living like this forever was a little overwhelming. Logan couldn't help but wonder if one of them might leave in search of a new female mutant once they had established a stable base.

"Once we're safely settled and things have calmed down a bit outside... maybe one of us will go in search of new breeding stock."

"......"

Nicholas didn't know why the words felt so... strange, even though his son wasn't on a pheromone-induced rampage. He looked at his son with a frown on his face, unable to hide his embarrassment.

Dealing with both Dustin and Logan was certainly physically demanding. But it was another thing altogether to have a son ripped from this world. Nicholas didn't know which one it would be, but he couldn't help but cringe at the thought of one of his sons taking another woman as his bride.

"I think we can think about that later."

"Yes, it's too much to think about now."
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