Xavier grinned, drinking a beer, watching his half-tanuki boyfriend enjoying sakes.
The hot DILF raccoon was being manhandled and caressed on all sides by horned-up patrons. He had to admit, he’d done a great job. The mouse and shark from before were lapping at Trevor’s musky balls and armpits. The Hoss Hank replica was sitting on his lover’s cock, anus whirring away, and Trevor was just lying back, basking in it all.
He went to order another beer and noticed the bartender examining his muscles in the bar’s mirror, frowning. The elephant seemed concerned, which was shocking, because he shouldn’t notice anything happening to him at all. Reality should have shifted.
Unless…unless there was something that prevented the servants of the Dolans from being affected by reality alteration. It was imperative that Xavier found out. Any information he could use or weaknesses-or strengths-needed to be discovered as soon as possible so Xavier could counter them.
Xavier walked up behind the barkeep and rapped on the counter with his hooflets. The elephant glanced over at him.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Xavier asked. “You seem…uh…preoccupied.”
“Something fishy is happening in the bar.” The elephant said, nodding towards the half-nuki, who was chugging a beer while more patrons swarmed him. “Something over there seem…different to you?”
Xavier turned and watched the crowd of groupies around his husband start to change and alter. At first it was small things, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it kinda stuff, like muscles bulging, and then their facial features warped and distorted, jaws squaring, brows thickening, and the sycophants around Trevor were more aptly described as ‘brutish’. Then their clothing changed-what little they wore-and they were dressed in suits. Snazzy ones, clearly Italian-made.
The buck hid a smirk. Exactly what he wanted-more lackeys. The more people that fell under the newly-transformed mobster’s reality shift, the better. They were celebrating and cheering Trevor’s name, downing beers.
“Seems to be in order.” Xavier turned to the elephant, taking a drink. “Obviously we’re all celebrating the flawless victory my husband and I achieved.”
“Hmmph.” The elephant snorted. “Two other things are bothering me. The first was that I think someone made me more muscular, not that I’m complaining. Just surprised, since I didn’t notice anyone pressing chips into the back of my head…which is against the rules.”
Xavier spat out his drink.
The Book should have altered reality. The elephant shouldn’t have noticed anything amiss. So was it his fault? Did the bartender manage to hear him whisper over the din of the other patrons in the crowded bar?
“And, um, the second thing?” Xavier asked, listening intently.
“Your husband’s level of alertness during his random transformation.” The bartender tapped his tusk. “There’s a level of awareness that happens when the game changes someone. It isn’t an instant loss. For example, he commented about not wanting to turn into a trash bandit.”
“And that’s what tipped you off?”
“Yes, generally speaking, he didn’t react appropriately to transforming…after you arrived.” The elephant frowned. “He changed, mental state shifting abruptly. Very odd.”
“Might be a glitch.” Xavier shrugged, trying to play it cool. “But why didn’t you say anything about it?”
“It’s common for someone to change here and most won’t bat an eye. Plus, after watching you guys play the hardest mode and winning, we’ve got a ton of people using the Machine now. It’s set to churn out more patrons, so I couldn’t really complain.”
“I see.” Xavier said.
The elephant was called down the bar by another patron and Xavier eyed the pachyderm.
Xavier pointed and whispered. “Alter.”
The elephant’s skin turned pink and tiny feathered wings grew from his back. They began to flutter frantically, and the bartender hovered a few inches off the ground. He still served beer, but looking at him was disorienting.
The bartender paused and looked himself over. Xavier frowned. That should not happen. He shouldn’t even notice!
He waved the barkeep over.
“Something wrong?” Xavier asked.
“I’m pink!” The elephant whispered. “Someone turned me pink!”
“Oh man, you know how drunks are.” Xavier pretended to chuckle. “I’d better leave now before someone turns me green.”
“Really, what about your little posse? Aren’t you going to wait for them?”
“You know what, I’ve had a realization and uh, I’ve gotta get something done.” Xavier slid a few hundred bills across the counter. “Keep the drinks coming. I don’t want them to notice I’m missing. And if they ask, you only recently saw me leave.”
“Um…yeah, sure, I’ll keep the drinks coming, and thanks for the tip.” The elephant took the money and smiled before raising his voice and shouting. “Three more rounds on the house!”
The patrons cheered and Xavier snuck out while they were preoccupied. Clothes materialized on him as he stepped out the door. He checked the rings he wore. None of them merged when he placed them together.
Forgeries. Fakes.
Xavier had been duped.
Only the Ring of Myth was real. He knew it because of the small scratch it had on it when he’d almost got it caught on the machine. Back when Trevor had originally betrayed him. The scratch mark was still there. The others were definitely fake, now that he examined them. The lack of merging was a dead giveaway.
And because he’d taken them, Trevor would know he’d betrayed him as well. That was why he’d seemed so relaxed. He’d essentially allowed Xavier to do whatever he’d wanted to him…because changes caused by the game were more permanent…but changes caused by fake rings only lasted a couple of hours. And they were weak spells as well. Weak enough that the bartender had noticed the muscles and the pink skin.
“Clever bastard.” Xavier shook his head.
He’d be proud of Trevor if he wasn’t so incensed.
Xavier’s nostrils flared. Now he was going to have to make some quick, last-minute changes in his plans. Trevor clearly didn’t have the rings anymore, as his tubby middle-aged body was naked. So he must have hidden them somewhere for safe keeping. Until Xavier could recover them, he’d need to keep the Rings he had on close. He couldn’t let the Dolans know they were fake or he’d definitely end up a Blank.
The other problem was that he couldn’t do this alone. He needed to buy some time, let the changes run their course as long as possible. If the others got their hands on the Book, they’d change him back immediately and undo all the progress he’d made.
The final problem was that the loyalty program embedded into his mind meant he couldn’t directly hurt the Dolans or lie to them for very long. He could, however, come up with excuses that bypassed the programming. Like what he was going to do right now.
Right now, he had a few fake Books and the Book of Myth. He also had Xarxos’ spare chips, meaning with the Soul Chip, he could sense his companions anywhere in this casino and avoid them. Unfortunately, Todd and Mark were unknowns to him, so they could always sneak up on him. And then there was Other Xarxos. Also an issue, he had the same exact abilities that Xavier did.
He needed to come up with a plan that solved those issues. Xavier had already come up with a plan that was already crystallizing before he’d even entered the bar. He just needed to…tweak it bit.
First thing he needed to do was make it to the Cashier. Xavier walked around the casino floor, keeping an eye out for any of his companions. Rusty and Rok were the biggest threats right now, likely being under the effect of the reality change. Even though he was simply walking around the main floor, he couldn’t help but notice the staff giving him side-eye as he passed. They weren’t nearly as discrete as they thought they were being because when he caught their eyes they looked away.
So the Dolans weren’t happy, then.
Xavier couldn’t do anything about that right now. The Cashier’s area had a bunch of other counters-making copies of Chips, auctioning off rare chips, and, most importantly, the Rewards counter. Some things were only available at the Rewards counter. Rare powers, pets, and…Blanks.
It was busy tonight, people bargaining and trading chips like it was the stock market. He walked around, watching the prices constantly changing. The Top 50 Chips were worth over a million dollars. He probably wouldn’t be buying any of those, bet he kept an eye on them nonetheless.
As he entered, he was greeted by the staff with fake smiles and wary eyes.
“Hello,” A lamia slithered up next to him, holding a tablet in her arms. “Is this your first time here at the Cashier’s?”
“I bought some copies earlier, but now I want to spend some of my winnings. How does this place work?” Xavier asked.
“Absolutely! Here at the Cashier’s, you get your own personal tablet. You can register for one at the main counter over there. With it, you can make offers, buy or sell chips or Blanks you have.” She gestured for Xavier to follow her. “Let me help you get started!”
Xavier followed her to the main counter where he was registered for a personal tablet.
“Your tablet is encoded to you, so it can only be used by you or, if you become a Blank, your new owner. Once it is turned on, be careful to keep it closed or turn it off since anyone can make deals on it as long as you allow access to it. It has all your chips, your bank account, and skills listed as well as a way to hold excess chips. They can be stored simply by placing them on the screen.”
“That’s much easier than carrying them around.” Xavier muttered, placing a bag of chips on the screen and watching them sink until they were completely absorbed. The screen now reflected an updated chip status as well as abilities.
Trevor’s account was there as well, to Xavier’s shock. Apparently, they had a shared account, as they were married. Something to worry about later. Also, something to consider, having his account controlled by the AI (which was a version of Dolan) was a huge disadvantage. He kept a few chips out and in his pocket at all times, just in case.
“So this is a simple trade and barter system, then?” Xavier asked, lost in thought.
“Correct!” The Lamia smiled. “You can set it to get alerts when rare chips are in circulation so you can quickly bid on them. You can also buy chips here as well.”
“What are you doing here, boyo?” A loud voice rumbled behind Xavier.
The buck turned and was greeted by the sight of a massive, hairy Irishman, who glowered down at him. MB Dolan.
“What do you mean, MB?” Xavier asked.
“I heard you were spending the night with your lover.” MB Dolan walked up into Xavier’s personal space.
“Yes, but the night is still young. I’m just stopping by to get a prize. One or two Blanks to spice up the evening.” Xavier smiled, trying to look ingratiating.
“Young? It’s 1 in the morning.”
“Then I’d better hurry.” Xavier shrugged. “He’s still drinking. Half-nuki’s hold their liquor.”
“Follow me, then.” MB Dolan frowned and cleared a way to a set of double doors.
The next room was…a little disgusting and made Xavier feel uncomfortable. It was a flesh market, essentially. Anthros were lined up in cases against the wall-people who had gambled and lost all their Mind chips, bodies for sale. There was a stage and an auction area nearby.
Three hunky gnolls who appeared identical were flexing and posing on stage. They wore only thongs, and even those left nothing to the imagination, bulges clearly outlined. Their eyes were dull-no Mind chips in there.
“We have a three for one deal, folks!” The announcer, a handsome anthro lion auctioneer said. “Triplet gnoll brothers. Folks, they still have their Body and Soul chips! They work well as a package deal when needed, though we can split them up. Starting bid is 20k. Do I hear 20?…Yes, 20K for the monkey over there. Do I here 21K…”
People were bidding like there was no tomorrow, sitting on ‘chairs’-anthros that were bent at painful-looking angles.
Xavier tore his gaze away from the awful sight and found his target. Many Blanks were for sale. Some of them were listed with quality and IQ. The price varied on what chips they had left…and what chips they’d had in the first place. The price clearly skewed towards high if they had a fell set of chips.
“There’s a few here that should fit your requirements.” MB Dolan growled. “Just for you, I’ll increase the price by 10%.”
“Okay, that’s it!” Xavier rounded on the massive man. “What’s your beef with me, pal? You’ve been hostile to me since I got here!”
“You know what you’ve done or are going to do! Your question doesn’t even justify a response.” MB Dolan snarled. “Are you buying or not?”
Something he’d done or was going to do, huh?
That didn’t answer his question. But that explained the looks. They feared him. Why? Because he’d figured out their plans? Or because he hadn’t immediately given them the Books as Mothar had demanded?
“Yes, unfortunately, I am.” Xavier shook his head. “I want to know if there’s anything here with a full set of chips. I don’t care what form it is.”
He had the money and chips to buy a Blank with a full set of chips outright-a regular human male, of course. The cheapest. Something else on the rewards table caught his eye. Because he’d ‘beaten’ the Sex Machine and Musk Machine, he’d earned the right to buy it. It was a large egg. He bought that too.
“There’s a one-time spell you can use that will age it back up to adulthood.” MB Dolan said. “Interested?”
“Yes.”
Begrudgingly, the muscle-bound Dolan handed him a scrap of paper. “It adds thirty years. You’ll be filling in his memories just by talking to him. You only have twenty minutes or so after the chips is inserted to finalize it. Don’t fuck it up.”
Xavier nodded.
“Changing rooms are over there.” The Dolan pointed to a nearby privacy room.
Xavier walked in, egg in hand, dragging the Blank behind him.
The room was bare save for a table and chair and a mirror on the wall. Xavier checked the room for cameras and, surprisingly, found none. True privacy, likely a rarity in the casino. He prepared the room for the changes. He set the egg on the floor, pulled out a copy of his own chips, and paused.
In his backpack was a book he’d borrowed from Elf Mark. He’d given him a book from the game he liked playing when he found out Xarxos had the Book of Myths. A Monster Manual. Xavier flipped through it, looking for something incredibly dangerous.
The Book of Myth could create anything-any species of creature and power level no matter how ridiculous it may by. But it did have its limits-the more well-known the creature is or established in lore or myth, the easier it was to create and manifest the powers it would naturally have. But the more powers you gave the creature beyond what it was originally designed, it would cost a lot of energy.
Mark had told him that he used the Monster Manual as a reliable power level indicator. Thanks to it, he made the power management issue the Book of Myth tended to run into more balanced. Xarxos hadn’t been too keen on making many changes. Xavier, however, was very interested in making some major changes. He’d undo the spells if he needed to.
He flipped through the pages, focused on creating something that would guarantee a victory. Or, at the very least, something which would prove immensely annoying to deal with. His eyes settled on a very strong creature. The Tarrasque, a dragon-dinosaur hybrid that was not only spell immune, but it actively reflected magic back at the caster. He could tweak this a bit and make it workable.
“Alright.” Xavier closed the Monster Manual and turned his attention to the egg. “Let’s find out what you are, Mystery Egg.”
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The fetus formerly known as Bob slept a dreamless sleep, waiting to be hatched, when he felt tingles on his protective home. He felt himself slowly growing, swelling up to the confines of his safe space. It became tight-too tight! The baby began to smash against the constrictive covering with a sharp tooth he’d grown. Cracks appeared, light showing through. He hissed and squirmed his way to freedom.
Bob chittered happily to himself as he finished worming his way out of the confines of the egg. He opened his eyes and stared up in shock at the strange furred giant that stared down at him. He gasped the sweet air and tried to remain calm.
“A stegosaurus, huh? I thought you’d be a dragon or something, but I can still work with this.” The stranger said as he appraised the little dinosaur.
Bob could barely understand what the deer was saying, his brain capacity quite severely limited as an infant. The buck flipped through something-a leaf? Lettuce? But it seemed to study the vegetal matter rather than eat it.
“Alright little guy, let’s see if these chips work.” The buck leaned over and shoved a few chips into Bob’s head.
Bob’s jaws gaped in surprise.
Knowledge, skills and memories filled his mind. He saw an older stegosaurus and recognized it as…himself. Strong, powerful, even rather graceful. All of the memories that had seemed so distant now came back to him in force. The baby stegosaur cried, the force of the knowledge overwhelming.
“What happened to me? Where are Deng-Long and the others?” The stegosaurus squeaked.
“Too cute, you sound like you’ve sucked on helium!” Xavier laughed, and then composed himself. “I believe I remember you. Bob, was it? Yes, your team lost and apparently…this was a consequence.”
“W-what the hell?” Bob squeaked in protest, scrambling back on his tiny stump legs. “Change me back now! I don’t want to be stuck as a baby!”
“Whoa, bud, calm down!” Xavier held up his hands. “Don’t go having a heart attack. I’m gonna lock away some of those memories for now and age you up a bit.”
“Lock away my memories.” Bob blinked, “No, wait-!”
Bob felt his mind shrink away, memories eluding his grasp despite his attempts to hold onto them. He panicked, trying to remember something, anything, but it all slipped away like sand through his fingers. The baby stegosaur looked up at the deer, to plead with him.
Only to see the buck pointing at him. “Familiar.”
And he felt suddenly calm.
“Progression. Mythic Shift.” The buck continued.
There was a coppery taste in his mouth and he began to grow up.
The spines on his back grew thicker, heavier, becoming a spiny carapace. His muscles bulged and throbbed as they enlarged. The very scales on his body became tougher, nigh-impenetrable. He turned orange, horns thrusting out of his skull, pointing forwards. Immense primal energies coursed through his body.
Vast and powerful, the anthro-Tarrasque flexed his muscles and roared.
Bob was scared still, but the power coursing within him and his loving master beside him kept him calm and stable throughout the transformation. He caught his master as he wobbled and gazed down at Xavier lovingly.
Xavier had chosen him out of the rest of his peers-as though the Tarrasque had any. His master used many rare resources to help him grow even stronger, to go beyond even that which nature had gifted him. The intense training together gave them a high position in the gang-and a way to escape it, if things got too hairy. Xavier had recently engaged in pursuing the head of the mob, Trevor. And now he was back. And Bob would keep him safe.
Bob was Xavier’s sword and shield and his best friend throughout their whole lives, after all.
What the Tarrasque hadn’t realized was that Xavier was whispering all those memories into reality, molding him into the perfect comrade.
The Tarrasque realized Xavier was staring at him and bowed.
“Master, I’m happy you’ve returned. How did your engagement go?”
“I have a Book.” Xavier held up a ring.
“A Book? Did you beat one of the Dolans?”
“Unfortunately not. I don’t have much time to explain the situation to you. Check your memories, Rex, and you should get the gist.”
Bob…Rex, shook his head in confusion. His newest memories filtered in, and he realized what deep shit they’d gotten themselves into. Xavier had just took him aside to explain the information. Trevor had likely caught on that Xavier had betrayed him, or would, in an hour…no, less than that, now.
“Shit, Xavier!”
“It’s going to be fine, Rex.” Xavier patted his bony skull. “I’ve got it all planned out. As long as I hold a Book, you have all your memories and I can cast spells through you. Even if the Book of Beasts is only a copy, the spell is permanent.”
“We should run.” Rex prompted.
“We run, we die.” Xavier said. “And you forget, I’ve already had a plan. This just…moves the timeline up a bit.”
Rex gulped and watched as Xavier strode to the Blank and shoved some chips into it.
The Blank shifted and transformed….into a perfect copy of Xavier. The deer looked down at himself and up at his clone. And then frowned unhappily, reeling as memories hit.
“What the hell, you made a clone?” Rex asked.
“Yup. Bait.” Xavier pointed at his copy.
“For what?”
“To get the others off my back while I finish my plan. Plus, Dolan only owns me, not my copy, so he can get away with stuff I can’t.”
The second Xavier finished accessing his new memories and stared at Prime Xavier.
“What happened?” Clone Xavier asked.
“Welcome to the world, new me. I believe you know my plans…since they’re your plans.” Original Xavier removed his clothes.
“I don’t like it.” Clone Xavier pouted.
“Put on my clothes.” Xavier ordered.
The clone dutifully obeyed.
“What’s the plan?” Rex asked.
“The plan.” The clone adjusted his clothes. “Is to let myself be transformed or killed by Trevor.”
“Ah.” Rex blinked. “I can understand how upset that would make you.”
“This isn’t going to work, you know.” Clone Xavier said. “He’ll know I’m not wearing the Book of Myth. And that I’m too easily caught.”
“He doesn’t know how smart I am.” Xavier pitched his voice into the hick accent he’d assumed around Trevor. “Don’t sound smart now, do I? Anyways, you’re just running out the clock on his temporary shift. Troy is a pushover, I’m sure he’ll just change you back into Xarxos.”
“That old fart?” Clone Xavier rolled his eyes. “This just keeps getting better and better.”
Xavier handed his clone his ring. The Book of Myth.
“Change me.”
“What?” Clone Xavier said. “Why would I want to do that?”
“Because, stupid, if I changed myself, reality won’t shift.” Xavier rolled his eyes. “I’m going incognito.”
“Then change me into the White Hind.” Clone Xavier replied. “I can buy you more time. They’re quite elusive when being pursued.”
“Fine.” Xavier stood back and ordered Rex to close his ears. Xavier stuck his fingers in his ears as well.
“Hit me.”
The clone pointed at him and mouthed something
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Xavier shivered, tasting copper, as the changes struck him.
Fur flattened and hardened into bronze scales that shifted his upper half. His legs shifted and enlarged, becoming more horse like. His cloven hooves melded together, resembling something more equine than cervine.
Xavier gasped and moaned as his balls twitched and pulsed in their sac, swelling into ostrich-eggs sized lumps. Testosterone flooded his body in a heated wave, his muscles swelling, though his beer belly stayed. His cock twitched and became erect with arousal as his muscles flexed and swelled larger, until his top half resembled the over-muscles horse half. The head of his cock flattened and surged from his sheathe, growing a foot long and gaining a medial ring.
“Ho man!” Xavier panted, face cracking and shoving itself forward, becoming a mixture of horse and dragon. Whiskers grew from his snout, beard like, and the antlers on his head multiplied and gleamed bronze under the light.
A proper Italian suit and tie appeared on his body. It was rather flattering, making the Kirin look bigger than he actually was. And of course he was wearing a suit, he’d bought it with the money he’d earned working for Trevor. Feng was a recent recruit, he’d been with the crew for five years. He’d met Xavier and Rex and things had fallen into place. He was an ally of Xavier’s and one of his spies in Trevor’s mob.
He wobbled as new memories struck him, reality shifting. Rex caught him in his hugely-muscled arms. Xavier-no, Feng- stared up at his saviour, brain tingling, and realized with a shock that they were loyal partners in both senses of the word.
“You okay, babe?” Rex asked, rubbing the Kirin’s ass.
“W-wait!” Feng cried, feeling his cock harden against his will. “I-!”
Rex kissed him tenderly and Feng’s cock jumped.
The Kirin managed to break the kiss.
“This-you weren’t supposed to erase me!” Feng protested.
“I’m just making sure you fit in, Feng.” Clone Xavier smirked. “Anyways, it’s fine. I have a spare Mind and Soul chip. Just adjust.”
The anthro Tarrasque unbuttoned his pants and his twin cocks spilled forth, jostling against each other. The musk was unique, enticing, and the anthro unbuckled and lowered Feng’s own trousers.
“Rex, stop, he’s trying to change me!” Feng whispered. “You gotta-!”
“Master’s orders, babe.” Rex whispered, and spat in his hand, rubbing it on his cocks and shoving a finger in the kirin’s anal ring.
Once he thought there was enough lube, the Tarrasque shoved him down onto the table. He thrust.
Feng gasped as the twin cocks were shoved in his hole and splayed his pucker wide.
The Kirin moaned, first in pain and discomfort. Then his ring relaxed as memories of the two of them doing this all the time flooding his mind. Then it was mostly mild discomfort and a bit of pain
“Like that?” Rex asked.
Xavier shivered, because he realized he did enjoy it.
The way his ring stretched taught. The utter fullness. The way Tarrasque bottomed out inside him, balls thwapping against his own with each thrust was simply delectable. With so many thick cocks, they simply couldn’t miss his g-spot.
“That’s it.” Xavier taunted. “Let go. Can’t put the chips in until you let go.”
Feng wondered, briefly, as to why that was.
Then as he moaned again at the sensation of the dual cocks jostling for position inside his warm tunnel, he realized what it was. His clone wanted a tiny bit of control before he went out himself. And he couldn’t see anything wrong with that.
The cocks thrust again and again, and the Kirin just gave up, letting his head fall against the table, feeling his hole loosen, pain gone away, only the two cocks and the constant pleasure remaining.
“Oh, fuck.” Feng huffed, the cocks twisting around inside him. “Ooooh!”
“Gods, you’re so tight and warm.” Rex muttered, thrusting again.
He couldn’t last much longer, the Kirin realized.
“His lover was unrelenting, cocks going in deep, and he groaned, feeling his balls churn and tense against his thigh.
“I’m-I’m gonna!”
“Ungh!” Rex cried and both cocks unloaded inside him at once.
Feng felt his lover flood his bowels with seed and that was enough. With a gasp, his cock twitched and he unloaded onto the floor.
He stood up in a daze and watched Rex clean him off. The Kirin did the same to Rex, suckling the musky, savory ass juices form his lovers cocks. They cleaned themselves up and made themselves presentable. Feng adjusted his tie in the mirror.
“Feng?”
The Kirin looked up. “Hey boss. You gonna cast a spell on me or what?”
The Buck smiled. “Actually, I was hoping you’d use the Book on me. White Stag, please?”
The Kirin walked over to Xavier on wobbly legs, hole still sore from the fucking he’d just endured.
The buck plugged his ears, as did Rex. They knew the drill, after all.
Feng pointed at the buck and whispered. “Shift.”
The transformation wasn’t all that extraordinary. The buck’s fur simply lightened into an unnatural white color and his antlers turned into gold.
“Ring?” The buck asked.
Feng hesitated. He thought he was supposed to keep the real ring on him, right? It protected him from the Dolans, after all. But obviously his boss needed it now more than he did. He handed the ring over and the buck smirked.
He fiddled with the ring and split it in two. He handed the copied ring to Feng.
“You can keep the fakes. You two have one job to do: Keep an eye on me. Don’t make any moves until I tell you too. Keep any pursuers away from me. Got it?”
“Long a possible. Got it.” Feng nodded.
Rex smiled. “You can count on us, boss!”
“Good. Feng, these are copies of my memories.” Xavier handed the Kirin two chips. “If anything happens to me, insert them..” Feng nodded. The Stag walked out into the casino proper. “Follow me.”
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The re-entered the flesh auction. MB Dolan was waiting for them, smoking a pipe The massive man came to his feet, eyeing up the group.
“So, these are the forms you chose for your bodyguards.” MB Dolan said. “Interesting choices.”
“Thanks.” Clone Xavier grunted and walked past.
Feng and Rex kept their distance as the walked out onto the casino’s main floor. The deer was easy enough to spot, the golden antlers and white hide made him fairly obvious. Feng and Rex spread out, keeping a lookout for the others that would surely be pursuing the buck.
Everything went smoothly for another half an hour. The buck wandered from floor to floor. He came back down to the bar, checking inside for the half-nuki just in case. Nothing.
Then-
“There he is!” A voice shouted from the Mind Floor.
Feng glanced up. Two foxes, one orange furred and one white furred, were pointing at the buck. Xavier kept moving, pretending not to hear. They were too far away to actually capture him, so it shouldn’t be a problem-
“We got him!” A deep voice called.
Feng turned just in time to narrowly avoid being bowled over by Rok and Rusty, who rushed towards Xavier.
Not good.
Xavier slipped into the crowd, losing the two Myths.
Rok and Rusty started shouting at each other. While they were busy fighting, Xavier slipped further away. The foxes, however, were shouting down at them, coordinating the two Myths towards Xavier. With their help, the two Myths were actually making progress.
Fucking foxes. They hadn’t been hit by any reality changes. Rok and Rusty had. They were now wearing suits almost identical to Rex and Feng’s. Clearly reality was shifting them into goons for Trevor.
He couldn’t do anything to the foxes from here-he couldn’t be sure his spell would hit them from so far away-but he could do something about the Myths. Help them along with their changes. Make them more controllable.
Feng pointed at the two Myths, still jostling and bumping and cursing each other while pursuing their target. “Alter.”
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Rusty was rushing after the traitor, following Todd’s directions. His suit was restricting his movements. They weren’t exactly designed to run in, after all. Stylish but that was about it. They’d almost cornered the buck again, when suddenly Rok punched him smack in his muzzle.
The Cerberus growled, tasting coppery blood in his mouth and shivered in pain.
He was barely able to stand Rok before the chase. Rok was supposed to be able to use his Eye like a Book, but for some reason the White Stag conveniently couldn’t be seen in his future sight. The cyclops had made up some excuse about the Myth being funny and evasive and the casino messing up his sight. Rusty thought it was all baloney, cold reading and shit.
All his heads growled as a sudden bout of rage flooded his mind. He turned and punched the cyclops hard, snarling, muscles growing even more. Unlike his sleek, well-built aesthetic from body building he’d had before, however, these muscles were bulky and ugly, from years of street fighting. Every punch the cyclops landed in response made his fur coarser, scars appearing on his face and muzzle, from bar fights and beatings he’d given people for disrespecting his boss.
The cyclops landed a particularly heavy blow and the Cerberus’ face distorted. His snout shrunk, jaw squaring up, giving him a bulldog-like visage. The change swept across his other heads. It rocked the three-headed dog, and his forehead cracked and flattened backwards a half-inch. Rusty blinked, growling angrily as his brains shrunk and his thoughts became simpler.
He was just muscle, after all. Rusty didn’t need to do much thinking.
Rok wasn’t doing much better, but the hammering blows Rusty was landing was doing a number on the blue-skinned cyclops. His one eye became piggy and shrunken after a particularly nasty blow, He roared, jaw shoving forward, tusks growing sharp. He felt his skull wobble, squaring up, and tried to fight against the creeping dullness in his thoughts. Then a punch rocked him and the big, dumb cyclops grunted, brain jiggling and shrinking in its case.
“You…you hit me?” Rok stared at the Cerberus dumbly.
The Cerberus technically wasn’t any smarter, but he had three heads to do the thinking.
“Duh, dumb-ass!” Rusty snarled. “You keep fucking up!”
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Xavier smirked at the two dumb goons. Then he frowned as a hefty raccoon dressed in a fine Italian suit and a fedora swaggered towards them angrily.
Uh oh.
“What the fuck are you morons fighting for?” Trevor snarled.
“Sir, sorry, but this one-eyed moron got in my way.” Rusty whimpered.
“No, three-head no brain is the one who got in the way!” Rok protested angrily.
Feng glanced over at Rex and waved for him to close on the three. They continued listening, weaving through the crowd, some of whom had stopped to watch the fight.
“I don’t give a fuck who got in the way!” Trevor roared. “Guess what, boys? Those two foxes got him.”
“Shit, sorry boss.’ Rusty’s heads looked away.
“Don’t feel too bad. Looks like ole’ foxy boy was holding out on us and has some explainin’ to do himself.” Trevor growled. “Now get your shit together and follow me. We have to hurry before I become that pussy boidy again.”
“Yessir!”
“You two!” Trevor turned and stared at Rex and Feng.
“Yes sir?” Feng said, cock hardening under that cold, dominating stare.
“We’re taking the traitor to the bathroom. Keep watch and make sure no one enters until we’re finished.”
“Yes sir!” Feng and Rex replied in unison.
They followed Trevor as he ambushed the foxes and practically dragged them into the bathroom against their wills. Feng and Rex posted up at the door. As they did, a pair of glasses *popped* into existence on Feng’s face. He glanced over at Rex and saw a matching pair on him.
Feng flexed his shoulders, feeling suddenly uncomfortable, not noticing his shoulders enlarging, muscles swelling under his now ill-fitting suit. He looked over and saw Rex trying to lower his own suit over the sliver of gut that was peaking out. Feng’s spine popped and creaked as he grew another six inches, muscles bulging obscenely, stretching the seams of his suit.
Were they changing?
Rex's body started getting covered in scars, and that was when he realized his mistake. He’d altered reality, making all the Boss’s underlings dumb goons. Since he and Rex were underlings…
Feng had to think of something or he’d be dumb like Rok and Rusty!
He couldn’t just open the door and undo the spell. Trevor would be furious!
Feng shook his head. Why was he so concerned about what Trevor thought?
“You alright, Feng? Ya ain’t lookin’ so hot.” Rex’s deep voice-deeper than Feng remembered-commented.
Feng turned and saw Rex. The changes had moved to his head. Brow pushed out, jaw squared, toothy under-bite, and smaller eyes. Even his head seemed…flatter.
Typical brutification signs.
He would be following very soon, he was sure.
“Just, uh, keep an ear to the door.” Feng said. “Remember the plan.”
Rex blinked stupidly. “Right, yeah. Stop ‘em from killin’ someone.”
Already, Feng could hear the sounds of a commotion occurring in the bathroom. The fox-Todd, he realized-was standing up to Trevor. Not a smart move, considering what Trevor could do with his rings.
Feng winced as his head began to hurt. Complex thoughts were becoming harder to grasp. He glanced at the reflective surface of the door handle and saw his face beginning to distort.
In the bathroom, Mark and Xavier were gone. Todd was talking, and making a persuasive argument. Trevor would still kill him. Or turn him into a Dick Weasel, whichever struck his fancy.
“This is bad.” Feng grumbled, voice gravelly, his brain beginning to feel tingly. “We…we can’t lose Todd.”
“What are we gonna do now Feng, he’s gonna kill him!”
“We-hurk!” Feng grunted, watching his beard grow longer, jaw squaring up, teeth jutting out like tusks. “Need to stop Trevor. Cause he’s the only one who can undo this!”
In the bathroom, Feng heard the cock of the gun.
Pleasant pops were going off in Feng’s head.
His forehead flattened slowly, as Rex’s had, brows protruding. As it did, he belatedly realized what the tingling was. It was the feeling of his neurons as they died in the hundreds. The loss of his IQ was gentle and strangely pleasurable, like his mind was slipping away in a warm bubble bath.
The Kirin felt his genitals swell little larger, muscles surging larger as memories of fighting alongside Rex entered his mind. Scars crisscrossed his body and face.
With one last surge of will, Feng raised a meaty taloned hand and pounded on the door as his skull pulsed pleasantly.
As he waited, hearing footsteps on the other side of the door, his skull gave one final pulse and flattened. The last pleasurable pops went off in his head. Feng blissfully unloaded in his pants and huffed happily to himself as the door opened.
The goon grinned at Trevor dumbly, his cum-stain disappearing.
“What do you want, idiot?” Trevor snarled, pointing a gun at his face.