While the beach looks inviting on a hot summer day, or the spa with its luxurious massages and baths, Ken and Cole wanted to spend their first day exploring the local flora and fauna. They assumed that they could find what they are looking for in the 'Merge Menagerie' because the picture on the map has icons of plants and animals. Also, menagerie means an enclosure of animals kept in captivity for exhibition but it could also bear the same meaning for humans.
The menagerie is few ways off so the two hitched a ride with a train car along Midrib avenue. A guide came over to them and gave them their explorer hats and told them that it was a courtesy from the menagerie. Ken appreciated the gesture but found it strange. They just thought of going to the menagerie and he doesn't remember telling anyone of their destination. Nevertheless, he accepted the hat and wore it in his head.
The trip was swift but found certain obstacles along the way. It's the summer vacation so there are way too many people walking on the streets. There are men of all builds and origins. From men twice taller and thicker than Cole to little brats who could barely cling to their father's arms. Then there are strange ones who walk naked on the streets, blistered by the people looking at them with embarrassment and confusion. These men shared the same mannerisms. There are smiles on their faces and their hands are groping their bodies as if it was their first time having them. It is strange but the memory of the sight vanished immediately when they reached the menagerie.
The Merge Menagerie is a palace of trees and vines across a steep ravine. Ken and Cole needed to cross one of the multiple rope bridges to reach the place. The menagerie is bustling with people, most of which are wearing their explorer caps. Those who knew the place went inside immediately. But for the newcomers like Cole and Ken, they were grouped up by a muscular island official and gave them a tour of the menagerie.
"Welcome to the Merge Menagerie, a place where you can find the closest connection with other people," the guide said in an enthusiastic voice.
They went inside to see trees that extended into the sky. Vine descends from the branches and numerous animals are dangling on some of them. There are colorful birds with equally vibrant beaks flying between canopies. Squirrels are scurrying with nuts on their cheeks. Then there are some animals that Ken and Cole don’t recognize. Like the animals dangling on a vine that looked like halfway between a monkey and a squirrel. It's the size of a monkey with a body of a monkey, but the face and the tail are all that of a squirrel's.
The guide hurried them along further into the thicket of trees, into an area where the ground is soil instead of wood. They stopped in front of a tree with three cavities on its surface. It looks as if a giant pressed its thumb on the bark of the tree. Especially with the whirlpool pattern of the bark inside the indentations.
"These trees have grown in these islands for millions of years. They are so unique that one cannot find any of their kind anywhere else in the world. Like any other tree, they provide food and shelter from animals. But what sets it apart is that it is responsible for forming the unique faunas in the island," the guide picked a small critter from the floor, "this one is a fusion of a beetle and a mouse."
The critter on his palm looks like your ordinary mouse but with a stag's horn on its head.
"You might ask yourself, how is a tree responsible for doing that?"
The guide was correct. Ken was indeed asking himself the very same question.
"Lucky for you newcomers, we have a physical demonstration right now."
Behind the guide, two men appeared and walked closer to the tree. The two guys are probably in the same age range as Ken and Cole, but what separates them is their nakedness and how built they are. The guy on the left, a black-haired Asian hunk, has this youthful look on his face. He even looked at Cole's eyes and sneaked in a wink. The guy on the right is probably the older one. Blonde-haired and stern, he sees this performance as a routine. He flexed his muscles a bit as part of the performance, looked to his partner, and gave him the heads up.
The black-haired Asian guy stepped into the leftmost cavity and laid his body on the surface. The cavity is angled a bit so the guy is at no risk of falling. The blonde dude did the same in the rightmost cavity of the tree. Then suddenly, the newcomers felt the ground rumble. The topsoil roots are moving before their very eyes. It's squirming and reeling as if it was a motile animal. The roots stretched outwards and pulled into the air. The tendrils cohered into three oblong-shaped matrices which the tree used to cover the cavities.
The newcomers heard squirming and grunts coming from the covered cavities. One of the newcomers leaped to help but the guide just looked like he expected someone to help. The altruistic guy tried to pull the tendrils free but it would not budge. Then suddenly, a single vine from above descended and lashed at him. The whip was so strong that it shredded the man's clothes. His shirt was torn into pieces but his shorts were left untouched. Seeing the danger posed by his attempt, the man backed down and assessed the damage on his body with his circle of friends.
The squirming from the trees stopped. The tree rumbled then silence. The first root to unfurl was the leftmost cavity. It revealed nothing inside. The Asian hunk is gone, like a bubble that popped in the air. It's the same story for the rightmost cavity. The blonde hunk disappeared. To what destination, the newcomers could only theorize. But among the theories, those who thought that they'd appear in the middle cavity are right. But the results are different than what they thought they would be.
The man that came out from the middle cavity is familiar yet strange. Its hair is a mishmash of black and blonde, its features between Asian and Caucasian. His face has the aura of youth underlying a rigid and mature face. The guy looked at Cole and gave him a wink. The man's muscles are huge, his biceps alone are bigger than his head. He walked closer to the guide, every step reverberated with power to the waters and flexed the same positions the blonde hunk did before. From there, the newcomers realized what just happened. Both guys had their bodies merged into one hell of an adonis.
The guide stepped forward and explained the rules and guidelines of the menagerie.
"As you can see, that is how people can merge bodies with other people. All of the trees in the menagerie have the same cavities. All of them are free of use, as long as nobody else is using them."
But before you can use them, all of you should know the two types of ‘merge’. There is the additive merge where attributes from two parties are added together. What you saw right now is an additive merge. Their muscles are added together," the guide looked at the merged guy's 12-inch penis, "and among other things."
"Then there is also the average merge where attributes from both parties find a middle ground. If a ten-year-old kid merges with a twenty-year-old adult, they will come out as a fifteen-year-old. The type of merges you'll experience is random so don't bother inspecting each tree to see which tree does what."
"If you want to turn back, just step inside the middle cavity and both parties will appear in their original bodies in the peripheral cavities." The merged hunk stepped inside the middle cavity and the tendrils of roots covered the cavities once more. Within a minute, the two guys were back to normal then stepped away from the crowd. Likely to get their rest before doing another presentation to a new batch of newcomers.
"One of you probably thought about it and yes, you can use the animals in the menagerie but I highly discourage you from doing so. Animalistic instincts can quickly overtake an untrained mind. We don't want another man merged with a monkey shitting on Midrib avenue while harassing the other guests."
"And with that, the menagerie is all yours. Find a partner for a merge and have fun."