Becoming Monsters 1: Ch. 29

Now available on Literotica: Becoming Monsters Book 1, Growing Problems!

All 40 chapters will show up here, so look forward to Honoka's adventures with monster girls chapter by chapter as I figure out how to format everything to fit my vision.

For right now, enjoy the story and join with thousands of people when I say to KEEP HARMONIZING!!

PREVIOUSLY ON BM: Sexy montage, but when enemies attacked, Diane and Honoka were caught in a battle of life and death!

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Chapter 29: Harmony Assault

The delving wives arrived soon after, followed by a fun game of Toss The Regeneration as Honoka and Diane used it alternatively between Banda's blessings and some painful amateur surgery. Surgery because magical healing doesn't push the bullets out and just closes around them, so there were screams and bleeding and needle-nose pliers followed by more magical restorations to make both women stable.

"We knew something was wrong the moment I allocated human without any warning," Padmava explained to Honoka as Banda chanted with glowing hands next to the bed. The Indian woman remained human, Honoka not wanting to test moving Health points around and what it would do to Diane's weak system. "When Eve got the notice she gained regeneration, we fled to the Floor elevators."

"This should heal you fully," Banda said, her hands dimming and leaning back with a tired sigh. "Diane, though, got it much worse, she shouldn't step out of bed for at least another three days. Georgia is already en route, and I swear I heard Philip actioning a shotgun in the background."

Honoka nodded, the whole affair draining her completely. The only reason she stayed awake at this point was she allocated every point of Endurance available and four points of Health from Quinn. Magical healing just fast-forwarded the recovery process, knitting the body back together using the body's resources. Honoka forced two chickens and a dozen eggs down her throat just to keep her levels above drastic, but Diane was on an IV nutrient drip and fed soup whenever she woke enough to eat.

"Bodies are gone, though I salvaged some of the gear before the dungeon absorbed it all." Miaka poked her head into the room to give her report, her sawed-off shotgun in one hand and the other holding her knife. "I'm going to do a sweep around the Lair to see if they sent a second team."

"Stay close," Honoka said, propping herself up and brushing her two wives' hands trying to keep her down. "I need to take care of a few things. In a couple of hours, we are starting the final assault planning session." Honoka then left the room and slowly, achingly made her way to the nearest bathroom, locking the door.

Alone, Honoka broke down and cried, sobbing for being forced to take lives. She'd do it again, twice as hard if it meant saving her family, but right there lying on the cold stone, all she felt is the spray of hot blood from a screaming man cut in half by her sword. For however long she cried, she pulled out her phone eventually and called someone who might help.

*ring ring* "Douglass here."

"Daddy?" Honoka asked, her voice still trembling."

"Teddy Bear?" He replied with the nickname he used for his little girl. "Are you alright?"

"I...I...there were a bunch of men, they shot at Diane and me, we almost died and I...I..." The vulnerable young woman felt like everything was falling down around her.

"Honoka, are you safe?"

"I killed them! I killed five men!"

The line went quiet, but not for long. "Honoka, I don't know what happened, but I only need to know two things: are you and your spouses safe, and was it self defense?"

"Diane almost died. We should be fine, but..." Honoka babbled at this point.

"Are you safe?"

Honoka paused at the words. Actually, not so much the words, but the solidness of his tone. Despite everything Honoka might go through, the steadiness of her father brought her back. Taking a shaking breath, the young woman collected her thoughts. "I honestly don't know, but all of us intend to do what is right instead of what might be safe. I think I'm falling into the middle of something big and evil. It terrifies me."

The line went quiet again. Honoka imagined the large black man clenching and unclenching his jaw in frustration. "Teddy Bear, I wouldn't be much of a father if I said I wasn't worried about you and wanted to wrap you in blankets and give you ice cream and keep you safe forever, but I'm not going to say that. I'm with the Guard and I've seen combat. Your brothers both served in the Army and they've been in hot zones. Jeffersons don't stand by and let bad things happen.

"I can tell you it stays with you, those feelings of dirty guilt. Whenever it comes, I think of your mother, of you and the boys. There are good reasons to fight, and it sounds like you've found a good reason. There is nothing to feel guilty about fighting and even killing if it is for family, God or country. Anytime you want to talk, you call me, any time."

As far as pep talks went, it wasn't perfect, it didn't suddenly make her problems go away, but it did make Honoka feel better. "Thanks, daddy."

"It does sound like things are...getting hot and heavy up there."

"Dad!" Honoka blushed at the deep Southern chuckles coming from the other line.

"Quinn is a chatterbox. Your mother and I receive daily updates, sometimes a bit too much information. Banda called me the other day for advice on running a business. Eve emailed your mother for college application help. Diane also texts regularly and Padmava is trying to arrange a super secret surprise party for your birthday next month. The only one we don't hear from much is you."

"I...I'm sorry, I'll do better." Honoka still worried about what she needed to do and what she might need to do, but at least her father accepted her. That was all she required. "I've gotta go, but I love you."

"We love you, both of us do." He hung up. Honoka pushed off the floor, dusting herself as she took a moment to collect her thoughts.

When she opened the door, she found Quinn waiting outside, almost tittering with worried anxiety. The otter girl immediately wrapped her arms around the surprised Honoka before the fragile young woman just accepted it and hugged back.

"I'm so sorry, I still have super ears," Quinn said quietly, her whiskers tickling Honoka's neck and face as she talked. "I won't say anything if'n ya don't wanna tell the others, but I..."

"It's fine, not your fault you hear everything." Honoka gave one last squeeze and kissed a furry cheek before disengaging. "Can you bring everyone into Diane's room? Time is running out. I can cry into consolatory ice cream later."

"I think we could all use some ice cream," Quinn replied, heading off down the hall to gather the troops.

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"It is now seven-fifteen. It has been three hours since we were attacked."

Honoka sat because standing was still a little painful. Everyone was crammed into Diane's room, and it felt claustrophobic. Most of the space was taken up by Padmava - back in her naga body - holding tightly to Jaya. Diane lay in her bed, pale to the point of translucence, though at least she was awake while propped up on some pillows. Miaka stood near the door, her gun lightly held in one hand and her knees bent slightly as if ready for anything to happen. Banda stood next to Diane's bed, finishing the latest blessing. Eve and Quinn sat on the floor with some cushions brought in from the common room.

Honoka continued. "They said they kidnapped Aruna. Whether they meant to or not, he would be leverage to make Diane and I behave. Communication can't happen across the dungeon, they might still be waiting for their team to report back, but I don't think it is a good idea to assume that. We need to expect the worst. If we want to save anyone, we need to act now. Tonight."

No one said anything, Padmava holding her daughter tighter and the little girl crying for her brother.

"Not going to sugarcoat here. I will pull up your Harmony menus, and we are spending these points right now. When I pick you, tell me how to spend them, then we'll move to the next wife. Once you've gotten harmonized, Miaka will make sure you are properly outfitted for battle, then we march out of here. Diane will not be joining us."

The succubus in question tried to protest, but Honoka held up her hand, "That is not a request. You are too injured to move - much less fight - and I will not lose you again. This leaves us with a dilemma: we don't know if there will be other teams coming. Someone needs to stay behind to protect Diane and Jaya."

A commotion broke out as everyone wanted to either stay or go, which led to letting a FBB loot sorting app chose for them. Eve got picked, and she may or may not have grumbled some choice profanity. Honoka decided to move past it. Quinn did swat the goblin upside the head, though.

"Stupid Luck score," Eve muttered. "Might as well let me go first then."

Honoka nodded and pulled up her Harmony menu. "Already spent a good chunk on your regen and your first ten points to eliminate your negatives, leaving you ten points. Anything from the Race or Rectify you want?"

"Not today. Acid Fluids sounds fun, but what if that means vaginal acid fluids? No more...um, happy mommy time." Eve winced as Padmava glared in her direction. "The rest of the stuff I don't have enough points for. My class needs Agility and Health, but I've been pumping points into Agility and Dexterity, so put five points in Health and five points into Intelligence."

Honoka complied and confirmed the choices. The goblin's red eyes gained a sharp look to them while her breathing eased and slowed. Jumping up, she gave a snarky salute and walked out of the room, Miaka following. Before pulling up Quinn's menu, Honoka made one last quick look at Eve's Status to remember what allocations she could make.

"Look, I know there's some interestin' Races I can become, but I don't know if'n I'll lose the awesome bonus Attribute thingy. For today, let's just use me for Attribute storage."

Honoka licked her lips, thinking of how out of control this might become. "You sure?"

"Yeah, throw some points on me 'fore I change my mind." Quinn did stand up and took off her shirt and shorts, pulling her panties higher onto her hips and loosening the bands on her bra.

It was theorized that twenty points in any Attribute was the pinnacle of human ability before the Change. Olympic gold medalists, beauty pageant queens and the smartest women who ever lived, if they quantified their traits into numbers, would never reach beyond twenty points. Honoka was about to make sure every Attribute on the beastkin was at least twenty points, her most important skill for casting spells, Charisma, over forty. Quinn was about to become a monster:

5 harmony points into Endurance

5 harmony points into Dexterity

7 harmony points into Intelligence

10 harmony points into Wisdom

8 harmony points into Charisma

1 harmony point into Luck

1 harmony point into Perception

3 harmony points into Health

It was...well, it was like she became an entirely different woman. The most outward change came from her Charisma shooting upward by sixteen points. There probably wasn't a person alive with forty-one points of Charisma, and it was a beauty that defied human comprehension. Her breasts inflated another few inches but didn't go much further, the System exhibiting a hard cap on breast size from Charisma, apparently. However, their shape became perfectly spherical as her bra strained to keep them confined. Her entire body seemed to gain a flawless symmetry that almost reached past the uncanny valley, it was so perfect. Even her teeth whitened and shifted a little in her mouth. Whether from just Charisma or a combination with her expanded Health, the otter girl's fur took on a luster that appeared to generate its own light. Altogether, the beautiful young woman suddenly became something sublime, beyond mortal understanding. Other smaller changes made themselves apparent, such as her fingers flexing and cracking, her eyes sharpening then widening in expanded capacity for thought.

"Achoo!"

When Quinn sneezed, it broke the spell and everyone could breathe again. She was still a bit ethereal, but a person can only look so sexy while wiping her nose and itching under a breast.

Honoka tore her gaze away from that hypnotic claw as it slowly scratched, the rippling jiggle of tits bounced on and on and on...Honoka decided to check on the final Status or else she'd never get anything done.

"This is goin' ta take some gettin' used ta," Quinn said as she walked out, lost in thought, every eye enjoying the beauty as her fur shimmered with every move.

"You up for this, Banda?" Honoka asked, switching to the next menu while her head throbbed.

"I guess. There's plenty I'd want altered about myself, but whatever you think is best." Banda stood and clopped over to the center of the room, managing to look every bit the gentle giant she presented.

"Forty inches (102 cm) of boobs, got it."

Banda's eyes widened, and she raised her hands to stop Honoka when she realized everyone left in the room was laughing (except for Jaya, whose ears were covered a split second before Honoka spoke). Blushing, the holstaur joined the chuckle and Honoka began with some baselines that needed addressing for the large and sexy holstaur. Six points fixed her brittle hoof problem and another two brought her Dexterity up from the negatives.

The other thirty-two points Honoka wasn't sure how to spend. Banda was possibly the most reliable wife all around, it was difficult to pick just one thing. On the one hand, her milk income gave their coffers a much-needed injection this last week. Yet as she flooded the market, they'd lowered their prices to more reasonable rates or else risk losing customers. A boost in her lactation, such as increasing production, nutrition, adding healing properties to her milk or even allowing her to change the taste would greatly benefit the family long term.

Her Attributes - precisely her size and Strength - saved lives on multiple occasions. Increasing those would pay off as soon as later today. However, Diane and maybe even Honoka herself might not be alive right now if it wasn't for her Cleric blessings and her level six Class Feature, Selfless Healing, which allowed Banda to trade her own HP with the injured woman on the receiving end, meaning more Health might be the right option.

The choices were tough. In the end, Honoka picked the Healing Milk for twelve points, four points in Strength, three points in Endurance, eight points in Agility and five points in Health. The Agility was because Honoka remembered how hard it was to move around with so much muscle.

Banda's changes weren't as breathtaking as Quinn's, but they were more surprising. It was late in the day, her red and white checkered shirt already straining its buttons from enlarged and unmilked tits. When her muscles grew in size, those buttons popped right off when her back and chest muscles expanded, followed closely by the short sleeves splitting from her thickening biceps and deltoids. At the same time, her hips and especially her thighs burst her jean shorts. Mindful of Jaya, the bashful holstaur covered herself with her arms and quickly left the room.

"Get a milking in before we leave, ok?" Honoka yelled after, checking Banda's changed Status to keep current.

"I've said before, Endurance is all I need." Padmava had covered Jaya's eyes, but she removed her hands when the holstaur left.

"I think the camouflage scales for twenty would come in handy, ditto to the age regression for three and increased venom for seven," Honoka suggested, already adding up the points. "Then take six points in Perception and two points in Agility to eliminate the negatives. That leaves eleven points for Endurance, unless you still want those pink scales."

Jaya looked up at her mother pleadingly, but Padmava flicked her tongue downward and gave Honoka a wifey look. "That sounds good, though let's save the paint job for some other time."

Confirming the menu, Honoka watched the subtle changes of someone growing younger. Her waist tightened slightly under her sari while her breasts didn't so much get larger as they jostled a little, likely firming up in the ligaments. Her face smoothed a little, and her eyes gained a more vibrant color, but a lot of the rest of it was lost when the naga shivered and shook, probably from the energy boost of so much Endurance.

"After a certain age, you grow used to little pains that come with time," Padmava commented as she flexed the fingers of her lower hands. "Don't even notice them until they're gone." Gathering Jaya, they left the room. Honoka made her Status check with minimum eye-twitching.

"You are getting a flat ten to Health, no arguments," Honoka said as she moved over to the bed and took Diane's clammy hand and got into the Harmony menu. "Then I'm fixing your womb for twenty-five points because when I get back, we are having a child. Anything else you want with your last four points?"

The succubus couldn't help herself, she wept with no way to stop. Wiping her eyes, she grew irritated as she adjusted her contacts. "Is it ok if I get it in Perception?" she asked, hiccuping while she laughed and cried at the same time.

"As you wish," Honoka replied, gently helping with the tears in her face and inputting the points.

Diane's changes were imperceptible, though she did remove her contacts and toss them aside. She also took Honoka's hand. Together, they felt her warm abdomen under the blankets. For a moment, they sat there, then Honoka leaned in, tenderly kissed her wife, and whispered in her ear.

"That day, Diane was amazed to discover that when Honoka was saying As you wish, what she meant was, I love you."

With a bit of mischief in her eyes, the succubus replied in kind. "Have fun storming the castle."

Honoka laughed, getting up and walking out of the room as she checked the final Status.

What Honoka missed was the faintest of whispers as Diane finished the line:

"It would take a miracle."

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While the destruction of her old gi made Honoka sad, it was never going to be her delving gear. For one thing, too many allocations required her legs remain free. They commissioned a set of armor that would work with her particular needs, the most practical solution something like a roman cingulum, or skirt made of metal and kevlar weave that reached almost to her knees and sported a few slats of metal over the top, a sturdy black jockstrap her underwear. Her shirt needed both protection and flexibility, but Miaka's arachne friend apparently relished a challenge. The solution was something that fit like workout lycra but was three times as thick and made of some tough stuff, the spider woman gleefully hanging it on a wall and firing a handgun at it, the bullet not even moving a thread out of place. The coloring couldn't be helped, a flecked charcoal gray though the arachne insisted she was working on a way to fix that. The form was a sleeveless turtleneck with more empty space under Honoka's pits to account for four-arm allocations. Some strapped armor on her upper and lower arms kept the rest of her body covered. Her helmet was also a more modern military style but the plastic clips were quick release. Her outfit remained mostly the same downward, shin guards slanting to overlap the knees while her feet wore sandals because they couldn't think of a better footwear solution. Her sword and gun were at her belt.