The casino’s bar was on the ground floor. Troy and Xavier meandered their way to it, passing by multiple games. Troy studied Xavier intently. He wasn’t paying much attention to Troy, staring at each game with intense fascination.
“So where are you from?”
“Hmm?” Xavier blinked and pulled his attention away from a particularly lewd wrestling match. “From…oh, Alabama. You?”
“Arizona.”
“Not New Mexico?”
“Oh, I dunno anymore. So many timelines.” Troy shook his head and pointed at the games. “So much to take in, right?”
Xavier grinned and walked backwards. “I’m looking at the best game in the house.”
Troy rolled his eyes and blushed.
“Seriously though,” Xavier kept walking backwards, talking excitedly. “Hot damn there are a ton of games we can play! Have you seen some of those duo competitions? We could do some of those. Or the tag team matches at the wrestling arena and have a blast there too!”
“Oh? Aren’t you gonna say ‘we need to think carefully’ or ‘don’t be reckless’ like you always do?” Troy said, staring at the hunky chunky deer lustfully.
“Pfft! Seriously?” Xavier shook his head, almost catching one of the nearby customers with his antlers. “Excuse me-! No. We’re friggin’ loaded Troy. We have enough chips to spare and if we really need ‘em, we can make more copies.”
“What about my Body chips? Aren’t they priceless?” Troy baited the hook.
“I mean, your body is great.” The buck winked. “Besides, it isn’t like Dolan couldn’t just make them anyways. You made copies, dummy, which means it’s logged in the system. Anyways, you have a perfect body, why not show it off?”
Troy blushed.
So this was what ED Dolan had meant when he said a minor change was all that was needed to make Xarxos his perfect boyfriend. Honestly, he might only need a few adjustments. He didn’t necessarily mind the beer belly the buck sported-and worse, what if getting rid of it made him into a health nut or a control freak again!
Troy shivered at the thought.
If the buck asked Troy to change him…sure. But shifting reality? That might end up with things going bad. Again. And boy, judging from all those failed timelines he’d watched, it was real easy to fuck things up.
His cell phone rang.
Troy checked it at a glance. Rusty was calling him, and Todd had sent him some texts. He stopped for a moment and checked them. Most of them said Xarxos was missing, that they needed to look for him. Todd seemed to think he was dangerous.
“How was that sex game?” Troy asked.
“It was fine.” Xavier looked away.
Huh. Avoidance. Maybe he did need to watch him.
Troy looked from the texts to Xavier. He might be dangerous, but if he told the others he had found him or that he was a completely different person, they’d just force him to change Xavier back. Then Troy’s chances at finally losing his virginity might come to pass.
He decided to keep Xavier as he was and not tell anyone. But…he also thought it best to be cautious, play it smart, they were in the middle of enemy territory. If he fucked up, he’d only be proving Xarxos correct.
Troy fiddled with the ring of myth in his pocket.
He knew he needed to give it back to Xavier soon. The longer Xarxos stayed in that form, the more ‘real‘ it would become to him. The huge difference in personality between the two meant that Xavier would reject Xarxos. Troy would have to force the chips onto him….
Or, pretend Xarxos didn’t exist, never tell Xavier about the Books, and then sneak attack him later.
No fighting over whether Xavier was a real person and all that philosophical jazz. As soon as he went to sleep, Troy would slip him the chips and when he woke up tomorrow, he’d be Xarxos again. Until Troy brought Xavier back to play.
That was the smart move. Now all he had to do was figure out a way to conceal the Books. If Xavier was dangerous, he’d make a move for them. Troy would rather not have to deal with becoming someone else right now.
They were almost to the doors of the gay bar-it was near the back of the ground floor-when Troy felt a shiver down his spine.
Troy froze.
His clothing became more flamboyant, materials more expensive-clearly designer. A weight on his wrist shifted and Troy saw the old Rolex that Xarxos had given him as a coming-of-age present had shifted into the newest smart watch on the market.
Troy stumbled as he felt new memories fill his head. He remembered building his empire over hundreds of years during the course of his many lives. The luxurious lifestyle his mind told him he was accustomed to was a more recent affectation his current incarnation had acquired after he started manufacturing an incredibly successful magical sex toy product line.
Pride filled him as he recalled building up Myth City from a tiny little temple compound on the back of the Lion Turtle to the grand city it was today. Memories from his past incarnations filled his head. He felt so old and yet so full of youthful vigor.
Troy looked at the buck and felt more memories settle in. Xavier had revived him. With so many life times, it was easy to lose yourself in the vastness of time. He had met Xavier a year ago while on his fifth go around at college., during a frat party.
No more arguments, just lovemaking and an open relationship scouting for potential reps for their brand. They’d started the sex toy brand and even opened a premiere sex club in Myth City. Troy was rich enough that he could have any man in the world if he wanted, but he was satisfied with Xavier. He had a soft spot for the young buck, always willing to try whatever he want. He had a difficulty saying no. Why not pamper his boyfriend?
Troy heard his phone light up. He pulled it out of his pocket again and saw a group chat. He was the head of the group. He paused as his throw-away phone they’d brought as a precaution shifted into the newest Pear product. A reality shift? In the middle of the casino? This was supposed to be a Nexus only minor changes-
He wanted to slap himself. Xavier. He’s from Alabama now. Someone had to become the ruler of Myth City, and Troy was the next logical choice.
“We need to find Xarxos! It seems like what ever he was changed into is affecting us slowly.” Rok had just texted.
“Shit, where was he last?!” Rusty replied
“Somewhere on the Body floor. He might have the Book on him but he’s completely changed. So he will remember us to a certain extent.” Fox Mark replied.
“Should we change him back or into something similar?” Todd queried.
“Make sure no drastic changes happen to him. The more he changes it becomes harder to get him back.” Rok replied.
“Do you know what he look like?” Rusty replied.
“He’s like…a deer or something.” Mark replied. “Hazy on the details.”
Troy texted his companions back, telling them he’d keep a look out for Xarxos.
“Hey, are you going to be on your phone all night or are we going to get wasted?” Xavier asked, hovering near the door to the bar.
Troy blinked. Man, he must’ve been lost in the sauce, so to speak. They’d already arrived!
“Uh, yeah, of course.”
“We’re going to have a good fuck tonight, I can feel it!’ Xavier proclaimed. “It’s like I haven’t had sex in a month.”
He hadn’t. Troy knew. Troy technically hadn’t had sex in twenty years or so.
“Yup, looking forward to that.” Troy smiled.
“Come on!” Xavier bounded into the bar, bee-lining for the pool tables.
Troy pointed at the buck and whispered a command.
The Buck shivered and paused. His fur became trimmed and styled down to the tuft of his tail. A forest green highlight appeared in his head fur. That would make him stand out more in a crowd. Xavier turned to look at Troy, rolling his tongue around his mouth.
“Did you change me?” Xavier asked warily.
“Hair dye.” Troy said. “Let’s you stand out in the crowd.”
“Oh yeah?” Xavier glanced at his reflection and patted the dyed streak. “It does look good.”
The bar was extremely lively. Bartenders of various myths an animal species were shaking up cocktails and pouring beer from taps. Prices were plastered on the wall behind them and Troy had to crane his neck to check out some of the strange mixed drinks they had. The ingredients must have come from Myth City, because the concoctions were so alien.
The bar was loud and rowdy, all the patrons having a blast eating, drinking, partying. Some were randomly making out in some of the booths against the wall. That was normal for a gay bar, of course. Troy was honestly surprised people weren’t openly fucking, but he supposed they still had a health code to maintain.
Alongside the customary bar games like Darts and pool, there were novelty mini-games plastered around the bar. There was a karaoke, a small drinking game, and a brand-new machine standing in the corner with an ogre posing lewdly.
Troy and Xavier walked to the counter and took a seat at an empty spot near the end. An anthro-elephant wearing a tuxedo served a few other guys. It was pretty busy, getting their orders in would be difficult. So Troy just studied the drink list and noticed the customers were paying mostly in chips-rarely money.
“Wow, this is place is lively. Is it always like this?” Troy spoke over the clamor of the bar.
“Usually it isn’t.” The elephant said, bustling over to them. “There was a magician battle that just paid out huge. Everyone’s spending all their chips.”
“At a bar?” Xavier said and Troy mirrored his confusion. “Why waste chips at a bar?”
The elephant just smiled.
“Dude, is that a Big Hoss Hank fuckbot?” Xavier pointed 15 stools down from them.
Troy looked over. “Huh, pretty authentic.”
“Come to think of it, everyone here looks pretty snazzy.” Xavier glanced around.
Troy looked around too. And this time, really looked. An anthro ice dragon was down the behind the bar cooling everyone’s drinks Among the patrons, extremely rare mythics were now common-many of them copyrighted, like Hoss Hank.
“Man, those guys are lucky. Wished we’d made a bet hun, we’d be raking in the chips.” Xavier said.
Troy had wanted to, actually. He’d seen the odds and had told Xarxos it was a sure thing. The minotaur had glared at him. Well fuck him, he was a chunk redneck buck now. Troy was the one making decisions and Xarxos was just a sugar baby.
“Hey, what’s with that musk machine?” Xavier asked.
“New game we just installed.” The elephant said. “Can I get you boys a drink?”
“Yeah, uh…some of this stuff is weird.” Troy puzzled over the menu. “Do you have an recommendations?”
“Understandable. Most of the stuff we have is beer and wine from places people have never heard of. But if you’re a daredevil, I recommend the ‘Mystery Drink’. It’s hot right now.”
“You only take chips?” Xavier asked, digging into his wallet.
“For the mystery drink or one of our special cocktails and dishes. We do offer a challenge.”
“What’s the challenge?” Xavier smirked.
“If you beat any of the bar games in here on hard mode OR take the drink challenge, you can win chips and a free round for the whole bar.”
“That..sounds easy.” Troy said. “Except, uh, no one is taking you up on that offer. Musk machine looks easy.”
“Ha!” The elephant trumpeted. “Try it! I think I’d enjoy seeing what you end up as.”
Troy rolled his eyes and looked down the bar. A fuckbot bartender was making two pink cocktails. He handed them to two humans-one a skinny guy with glasses, the other a muscular guy-who paid with two Body chips. They clinked their glasses and gulped the cocktail down in one quick chug.
The skinny guy with glasses burped as his face pushed out into a streamlined shark muzzle, his muscles pulsing a growing, surpassing his buddy’s physique. He looked down at himself, his human teeth falling out, replaced with rows of dagger-like teeth. His tan human skin coarsened and turned gray, becoming shark skin.
“Bro, look at me!” He exclaimed to his friend, flexing an arm, muscles bulging.
His gut swelled, abs appearing under a prodigious musclegut that Troy knew meant the new body the anthro-shark was getting belonged to a steroid abuser. The sharkman’s neck thickened, gills flopping weakly on the sides. His eyes turned deep black, dorsal fins protruding from his arms and legs. He grinned, his muscles swelling ever larger.
The shark-man’s clothes stretched and ripped, the shark groaning as his spine popped and he grew one-no, two feet taller. His clothes fell away as a huge dorsal grin sprout from his back and a finned tail grew from his ass, leaving the anthropomorphic great white shark completely nude.
He grinned and looked down at his cock, his face a picture of delight. Then, with growing terror, his cock and balls slowly shrank and split into a two three-inch long dicks, his balls grapes beneath them.
The muscular human next to him giggled as the newly-minted shark man flushed red in embarrassment and covered himself with his hands.
As the muscular man laughed, he began to hiccup. Every hiccup found him growing shorter and shorter. His clothes draped around him by the time he finished shrinking at a grand total of three feet high.
“Ha! I might have a tiny dick now, but at least I’m not a pipsqueak!” The shark laughed.
“Fuck you, baby dick!” The tiny man squeaked, continuing to hiccup.
With each hiccup, his hair turned a brilliant white color and fur covered his body in a thick coat. More hiccups and his spines extended, turning into a tiny hairless tail. His masculine features softened, muscles smoothing and hips rounding, leaving him plush and feminine. He groaned and chittered, face pushing out into a cute little muzzle, complete with little buck teeth. His hands became pink and delicate-looking, and his ears moved to the top of his head and unfurled. His nose gave a cute little wiggle as long, thin whiskers grew.
“Heh, guess I got the better part of this mystery drink shift.” The shark chuckled, flexing his muscles.
The mouse was holding his pants up when his dick started to change. He glanced down and dropped his pants, letting every see his dick as it grew. It became longer, heavier, pinker. His dick became so thick his hand could barely wrap around its width as it grew to a foot long. His balls wobbled and expanded. His genitals looked freakish on his tiny mouse body.
“Wow.” The shark blinked, looking down at the mouse’s ginormous crotch. “That’s, uh, that’s rather large.”
The shark and the mouse suddenly wobbled, their eyes going blank.
“Whoa, reality shift.” Troy said, meeting Xavier’s questioning gaze. “They were humans before. You can tell their minds are shifting by the eyes.”
“Are we in trouble?” Xavier’s hand tightened on Troy’s.
“No,” Troy nodded at the couple, who were blinking and shaking their heads as new memories settled in. “Neither of us are connected to them, so the shift is localized. If we’d known them for years, our memories might change. If we were human, we might shift into anthros.”
Troy’s attention returned to the mouse and shark.
“I-I like your dick.” The shark was saying, staring down at the mouse shyly.
“Everyone says I’m a freak.” The mouse waggled his expansive junk. “Your dicks are perfect, though.”
“They’re tiny.” The shark blushed.
“To you.” The mouse shuffled forward, swaying his feminine hips. “I’m Michael. I’m a versatile power bottom.”
“I’m Marley.” The shark said. “I, uh, don’t know what to think about that.”
“That’s okay Marley.” The mouse said, sliding his paws over the shark’s swollen muscles. “I can do all the thinking for the both of us.”
Michael and Marley started fucking right there on the bar.
Troy’s jaw dropped at the sheer size of that cock spearing the great white like a kebab. And then Michael the mouse flipped Marley the shark over and rode the shark’s cocks to completion.
“Holy shit that mouse was packing it down under!”
“Do, uh, do they always-?” Troy inquired to the bartender.
“Yeah, they fuck in here, sure.” The elephant nodded. “Not uncommon to change and fuck here. We’re all adults after all. Besides, once you leave, a clean pair of clothes appears on you. Being naked in here ain’t a problem.”
“So what’s the main goal here?” Troy asked. “Are you trying to change them to get more chips?”
“Nah, this is a place for people to vent and try something…new, in a sense. They can drink to their heart’s content if they feel their lives or luck are horrible.” The elephant pointed over to the shark and mouse. “And some of them want a new perspective on life with a drink. But mainly this is a place to relax after a hard day of bets to take a load off…or have someone relieve you of your load, someone special or new to your life.”
“Uh, but reality shifted.”
“There’s a standing deal that if you pass your chips to a bartender, we’ll make sure you leave as your old self if you want. No stealing, guaranteed return.” The bartender said.
“Did they-?” Xavier asked.
“No.” The elephant shrugged. “That’s the new them now, always and forever…or until they lose a game.”
Troy nodded. He looked at the shark and the mouse, who were holding hands and sharing a beer. He wondered if they were happy. They looked happy, happy enough to exchange phone and room numbers.
“Hey, if you need to, you can fix us with the Books, right?” Xavier whispered, hand on Troy’s.
Troy pulled his hand back, keeping an eye on his rings, and put his hands under the bar. He turned away and discreetly spoke a few spells and when he turned back, he was wearing three rings-Body, Beast, and Myth. He slid off Body and passed it to Xavier under the bar.
Xavier glanced down at the ring in confusion.
“It’s the Book, dummy.” Troy murmured, covering his mouth with his hand. “Put it on.”
Xavier slipped the ring on his finger and blinked, blood trickling down his nose.
“I-whoa-I was kind of an asshole.” Xavier shook his head. “I’m sorry, Troy.”
Troy slid his talons over Xavier’s hand. “It’s fine. Do you want to turn back?”
Xavier hesitated. “Maybe. On my terms. Tonight. He’s a stick in the mud, Troy.”
“I know.” Troy nodded. “What memories are you getting?”
“Tons, but it’s kinda hard to concentrate on them and mine.”
“It’ll be fine. You get used to it.”
“Can I…test it?” Xavier glanced around the room.
“I guess you can test the Book.” Troy said. “Be very careful.”
“Careful, why?”
“There are no reality audits in Mag Mell. But in the real world, you alter the wrong thing…well, let’s just say you risk yourself. Apparently-and I’ve heard this second hand-there are 5 candidates for each Book. I’m candidate five for the Book of Beast.”
“What does that mean? The other guys rejected it?”
“No. It means they no longer exist as viable candidates.” Troy said. “They got audited. The Auditors can’t hurt us with a shift in here, so for now we’re safe. But we don’t know what will happen when we leave the casino.”
“Auditors?”
“Like gods, basically. They are supposed to only change certain things-but on a wide scale, and usually when someone breaks too many laws of reality.”
“Laws of reality?”
“Yes. Like...someone I knew once said, giving someone muscles or making them fat is easy and never triggers Paradox-that’s when the reality Auditors come for you. Because it is logically explainable.”
“People get fat.” Xavier nodded.
“Right, but turning a town into chickens is NOT logical, and also, YOU’RE in town, and that’s when Paradox hits and you end up clucking in an industrialized chicken farm.”
“Heavy.” Xavier nodded. “You deal with that shit all the time?”
“Yes.” Troy shook his head. “Apparently. My auditor likes turning me into a fat nerd , from what I gather, so I try not to piss him off anymore.”
“I think you’ve been doing a good job so far.” Xavier shrugged, nodding his head in time with the music. “How do you remember what he did, if he audited you?”
“I guess you can stop it.” Troy sighed. “Then again, maybe he has audited me?”
“Right.” Xavier nodded sagely. “You wouldn’t know if you were audited either way, would you?”
“So...” Troy cleared his throat. “There are also natural reality shifts. As in, ’If-Then’ shifts. These are what the Books kinda do. So, as an example, let’s say I change you into a bodybuilder. If you are a bodybuilder, then you must have gone the gym and eaten healthy.”
“It fills in the gaps.” Xavier said.
“Exactly.” Troy nodded. “The Books are like mini-Auditors. They do the most minimal reality shift possible to fulfil the alteration logically.”
“So why be careful if there’s no Auditor in here?”
“Because thus far, the Dolans barely use the Books.” Troy leaned forward. “And if they aren’t using their Books too much in here, there’s a reason for it.”
“And you think they don’t use them often because…?”
“Because they want to be able to leave the casino at some point in their lives.”
“Right.” Xavier surveyed the room. “Can I test it on someone now?”
“Sure.” Troy shrugged. “Pick a target, point and whisper the command words. Wearing the ring should make the spell list appear in your mind.”
Troy ordered a beer and smirked.
The ring he’d given Xavier was a mere copy. It could do everything the real Book did…but if the deer ever pulled the same trick he did and turned Troy into something…weird or fetish-y, the effect would wear off in a few hours. He’d still have to deal with the reality shift, but because Troy didn’t have to worry about Auditors in here, he could afford to do repeated reality shifts.
The beefy elephant bartender passed Troy an ice-cold beer. Troy gave it a good chug, shivering as the ice-cold drink poured down his throat. The flavor! It was one of the best beers he’d ever tasted!
“Is it that good?” Xavier asked.
“Dude.” Troy glanced at the buck and pointed at the ice-cold mug. “You have got to try this.”
Xavier ordered his own and gave it a chug, his hairs standing up.
“Yeah, it is, good!” Xavier rubbed his arms. “And hoo boy is it cold!”
“So, who’d you change?” Troy asked.
“The bartender. Didn’t you notice?” Xavier said.
Troy eyed the bartender critically. He was bigger, now that he thought about it. The elephant's forearms flexed as he washed glasses and shook cocktails. He looked great. Unfortunately, the effect would only be temporary.
“Anyone else look different?” Xavier asked, sliding one paw over Troy’s massive pec muscles.
Troy leaned back and sighed, enjoying the deer’s caress, and put one powerful arm around his handsome buck.
“Me,” Troy guessed.
“Wait, what?” The buck stared at Troy, “H-how’d you know?”
“I’m a wearing a ring, buddy.” Troy chuckled. “Of course I’d noticed.”
Inwardly, Troy was screaming. Because he hadn’t fucking noticed. It was a lucky guess! And holy shit, why hadn’t the Book protected him? He was probably merely athletic before, and now he was as muscular as that great white.
It wouldn’t last but for a few hours and it wasn’t a big shift anyways. That was the only thought that kept him from popping Xarxos’ chips back into Xavier right now. The stupid little buck could’ve shifted the entire bar!
“Uh, are you angry with me?” Xavier asked, eyeing Troy’s expression worriedly.
“No!” Troy coughed. “Uh, no of course not! Why wouldn’t you change me? I did it to you.”
“Oh, good.” Xavier sighed. “I’m sorry, by the way.”
The elephant interrupted them.
“Need a refill boys?” The elephant asked.
“Uh…” Troy considered the menu.
“So while he decides,” The elephant turned to Xavier. “You guys a couple?”
“We’re…a new relationship, yes.” Troy said, still staring at the drinks on the wall.
“We just got married. We’re spending our honeymoon here. And trust me, I’m lucky to have a guy like him.” Xavier drew Troy closer to him. “And, uh, we’d like to try a new game together.”
“Uh, yeah.” Troy smiled at the buck and looked to the bartender. “Got any challenging games for couples?”
“So…” The elephant stroked his chin with his trunk. “There are two games I can think of. There’s the dating game and the Musk Machine. If you beat either of those on Hard, you get a special prize and everyone here gets a free round of drinks.”
“Okay, what’s the Musk Machine?” Troy said.
“That’s a brand new game our Boss brought in. Supposed to test how much willpower you have and if you are dominant or submissive. If you can take charge and enjoy it without falling to his charms, you win.”
“And the cost?” Xavier asked.
“A Body chip.” The bartender said. “But if you play on Hard mode and lose, you become whatever he wants to turn you into.”
“Why the difficulty challenge? If it’s too hard, why would anyone do it?” Troy asked.
“Honestly? Because it brings more people to watch and the more people who watch drink. If you beat the Musk Machine on hard, you get into the hall of fame as being the first to win the challenge without both of you losing.”
“Sounds risky.” Troy frowned.
“Hun, if we can beat the Musk Machine, we can beat anything.” Xavier said, deer tail waggling.
Troy looked into his pretty brown eyes and felt his resolve crumble.
“What if we lose? You might change and lose yourself.” Troy wasn’t worried about himself-but if something changed Xavier…he hadn’t made copies of Xavier’s chips yet. He’d just be gone.
“We have the Books, remember.” Xavier whispered. “It can’t hurt us.”
They got up and walked back to the machine. Behind them, a small crowd started gathering. Troy could hear them talking.
-”Do you think they can beat the new game?”
-”That guy’s a phoenix-kin-he must have amazing magic!”
-”True and the deer looks cute maybe if can’t do it I can!”
-”I hope they win, I could use a free drink.”
-”Yeah, do it!”
And the crowd behind Xavier and Troy started chanting and egging them on.
Troy could feel the expectations of the crowd bearing down on him and he grinned.
He turned to the machine, eyeing the lewd animatronic ogre with a smile. They were going to be safe. Xavier would have his back and Troy would have him. They;d earn some chips for Xavier and have fun along the way.
“Alright, let’s do this Xav!” Troy said.
The crowd cheered and wished them luck. The machine had two player slots and a few buttons on the machine: Easy, Medium, and Hard.
“You think you can withstand my musk?!” The Ogre’s voice cut through the sounds, his face moving and jaw working, eyes glowing red with anger. “Test your strength of will! One Body chip, all three chips for Hard mode!”
“Alright, see you on the inside.” Troy grinned and pressed Hard, placing his Mind, Body and Soul chips in the slot.
He looked up into the ogre’s eyes and froze, face going blank and expressionless.
Xavier grinned, grabbing Troy’s hand and discretely sliding the Ring of Beasts off his finger and placing it on his own, smiling.
“Hoo boy, I can’t wait to make you into my dream boat.” Xavier giggled and placed his chips in, hitting Hard mode and looking up into the ogre’s eyes.
And the bar faded away.