Becoming Monsters 2: Ch. 45

I still think this chapter is peak comedy for me. I don't think I'll ever be able to top it.

PREVIOUSLY ON BM: The rest of the wives are tired of waiting, so they kidnap Honoka and get with the baby making! They receive more than they bargained for.

********************

Chapter 45: The Bill Is Due

Honoka slowly woke to beeping. Scrunching her face, the groggy architect decided to call in sick today, idly moving an arm to flip the alarm off. She'd left the most wonderful dream about walking down a brick road and the drowsy woman wanted to return there.

Stupid Steve can CAD his own Goblin Bank, Honoka blankly thought through the muddle of a sleepy head.

"Mommy?"

Honoka started, her addled mind throwing off lingering fog while eyes flew open, though they quickly shut again when the light blinded her. Then like a one two punch, she groaned when universal soreness throbbed throughout. Past those sensation, something heavy and warm rested on top of her . While this might have restricted her breathing a bit, Honoka felt the instinct to hold tighter, weakly hugging around a scaled girl.

"...Jaya?" Honoka asked past a throat frog, her eyes adjusting enough to squint a bright green outline hovering over her head and snuggling against her. "Wh...why are you here?"

"Because Jaya was worried," Diane said from to Honoka's left. "We all were."

Honoka finally became fully awake and rubbed her eyes, scanning around the room. She wasn't in her own bed, someone cobbled together a twin into the hosting room where Uncle Aki's medical equipment glowed and hummed. The beeping came from a laptop program connected to wires and nodes stuck to Honoka, the sound matching her heartbeat. There was an IV in one arm, Honoka dressed in too-small flannel PJs which pinched in places. Rather than pushed to the side, through her daze Honoka realized she lay in the center of the room; more alarming, her whole family was present, dealing with their worry in different ways.

Jaya, believing Honoka would be alright, already snuggled back into place in Honoka's embrace and fell asleep, softly hissing as her snake body relaxed past the bed and along the floor. She wore a rumpled long pink sleeping shirt with teddy bears on it. It would have been adorable at another time. However, the large damp spot on Honoka's shoulder broke the injured woman's heart. Jaya must have lied atop her new mother through the night, sobbing and dreading if Honoka would leave the seven-year-old like her father did.

Diane was an absolute wreck. Seated directly on the floor, her head and arms draped over the quilt covering Honoka's legs. The ground nearby was littered with plates, bags and wrappers. Clothing stains and crumbs were other testaments the pregnant woman took stress eating to new levels. Her usually gorgeous fiery red hair was a birds nest atop green horns, sweats and tank top worn since yesterday ripe from both spilled food and using them as tissues.

Using Jaya's body as a pillow, Aruna slept in his cloths, a throw blanket keeping him warm.

At the nearby wall, mother bear Shilo was awake and smiling towards Honoka, both her children curled in her arms and snoring soundly. Ken and Miu were dressed in pajamas and appeared woken in the middle of the night to join a vigil. They didn't have blankets, but the plush white fur of their mother was warm and inviting, Honoka knowing from experience.

Sitting cross legged beside to the door, Miaka frantically disassembling and cleaned all the guns the family owned, two piles of armament rather dauntingly stacked around her. When Honoka glanced towards Miaka, the owl shot a brief smile before returning to her nervous cleaning. Honoka wasn't sure if her mind played tricks, something was off with the fierce woman. Honoka decided to put a pin in that for now and moved to the next person in line.

Dolly fussed in the kitchen area, hunching over Quinn. The otter lay atop a counter with a blanket over her. At first, Honoka idly wondered if the two were up to sexy-time, Dolly's hands working under the covers. Then Honoka grew concerned when Dolly's hands pulled bandages blotted in blood and worked replacing them with fresh wraps. Quinn stared into Honoka's eyes for a brief moment before turning her head the other way.

Next to them, Banda and Padmava crouched and ate breakfast, both eating like their dog just got hit by a truck. They wouldn't meet Honoka's gaze.

Eve crouched around the other side of the room, her computer monitor displaying online university class homework, lots of spreadsheets and a muted classroom. She turned her head briefly for a quick smile and thumbs up, but even the unflappable goblin looked morose and hesitant.

"Did someone die?" Honoka asked softly, shifting slowly to extricate from under Jaya without waking the young mamba. Honoka's voice sounded a touch frustrated, many in the room flinching at that tone.

"You almost did," Diane replied, gripping Honoka's leg, her face ready to spit fire. Spreading this glare around the room made it clear Diane was out of food and would happily eat the next person to step out of line.

"Not really, but we were all concerned."

Akisame, walking into the room holding two bowls of steaming okayu with egg, casually checked the numbers on his laptop, every bit the doctor looking over his patient. "I'd like to hear your Status before I tell any more, System numbers will be more accurate than my measurements."

Honoka did , surprised with the results as she read out loud.

"That is...unhealthy," Honoka stated with trepidation when she finished, pulling back the covers to view her stomach and waist. With a bit of interest Honoka realized her voice was deeper, enough to sound like a different person. Also, because she still allocated thirty-one Endurance, ten Strength and ten Health, her current state told a horrific story of what could have been if she hadn't allocated through her sleep.

Diane pursed lips when Honoka moved about, Irish temper rising on her face enough to force any wife she gazed upon to flinch away. It was clear the fanatically protective succubus didn't like what she saw either and wanted to blame someone.

Honoka looked like a weird caricature of a person underneath ill fitting flannel PJs. Finally gaining enough muscle definition to thrust Honoka into fitness model range, all of the fat in her body had been sucked away except for boobs and butt and hips. Those extra three inches grown last night stretched the formerly small woman into a longer body, her proportions now thin and lanky instead of small and shapeless. With detached surprise, Honoka's face felt different when she reach up, narrow rather than wide and cheekbones more pronounced. Touching downward again, she traced something bordering anorexia over her abdomen. Overall, with hips flaring abnormally outward, Honoka resembled a Barbie doll more than a person.

"I did some calculations: you lost a fifth of your bodyweight," Akisame said, handing Honoka the bowl of rice porridge. "Frankly, if you weren't allocating, you would have suffered organ failure."

"That..." Honoka paused, thinking over the implications and nodding. "Yeah, ok." She carefully raised the spoon to her mouth and winced, stomach a roiling sea of pain and upheaval when it received the food.

"Take it slow, the IV is a mana potion," Diane urged, reaching out and helping keep Honoka from spilling. "We weren't sure about your MP levels. I...we couldn't risk you running out. You are probably over the tolerance limit for potions and everything will hurt. Until you recover, grab another thirty Health and twenty Wisdom from everyone. That should allow you to eat and regenerate mana faster than you're spending it."

Honoka nodded through her pain, agreeing with the assessment and pushing dials over. Within moments, agony diminished and her ability to comprehend increased. She also grew ravenously hungry and attacked the bowl as if she hadn't eaten in a month. While licking it clean she found another steaming bowl appearing. That one she took slower, even if her hunger hadn't abated.

"I have something to say," Honoka announced between bites, grabbing everyone's attention. "Last night was my fault."

The room immediately erupted in denials as wives talked over each other to explain how Honoka was wrong. Children woke with yelps and groans, Shilo glaring at everyone unused to dealing with sleeping kids. Akisame was the only one unperturbed, calmly studying Honoka's vitals and nodding to himself.

Honoka let them vent for a few seconds before she held up her spoon like a sword and chopped sharply through the air, everyone getting the message to shut up. Honoka took the opportunity to snuggle closer to Jaya, awake again and still adorable. "No more talking. This isn't a game to see who can feel the most guilty. Whether you think you are the one to blame, I didn't stop any of you. None of you did anything different than what we've done for the last month; the reality of the situation is I knew better. Four years ago, my uncle and I performed comprehensive tests to find out what my limits were. While allocation and leveling lets me move the goalposts, it hasn't changed my body's natural limits. We have had a lot of...fun in the last month, yet each time we tried something new it was like sprinting across a tightrope over lava."

Staring into the worried and trusting eyes of Jaya, Honoka smiled and finished her bowl. "I can't risk everything when I have so much to lose. But...we also can't stop, either. We can't stop because I believe everyone will lose just as much if we do nothing." Taking a deep breath, Honoka bowed her head in apology. "I'm sorry, please forgive me."

The only noise in the room was the faint, slow beeping of Honoka's heart from the monitor. Diane was still angry, though now more petulant than anything. Others were ashamed, even if they shouldn't be. The one to break the silence was Jaya as she slithered out of the bed and stretched big.

"I'll get a double breakfast ready for you so you can feel better," the energetic naga girl announced with a solid matter of fact attitude. "Miu can help. Loves!" With a sloppy snaky tongue kiss to a bemused Honoka, the green scaled girl picked up Miu and placed her on her back and tail, both girls laughing as they sped out the door.

"And you two can help me clean up the kitchen," Shilo said, standing up and herding two teenage boys out the door. The polar bear aunt slyly winked before exiting, pushing surly teenagers to move faster than they wanted too.

A spell broke over the room, though the remaining women still hurt emotionally. Honoka determined nothing would get done if everyone stayed in mope mode. Pushing off covers, yanking out various wires and tubes, Honoka instantly regretted her decision to stand when the room wobbled and shook. Gritting teeth, she teetered over to Banda and peered into the light brown and orange mixed irises above Banda's bovine face, currently drooped in sadness.

"You," Honoka said, jabbing her finger deep into a massive boob, eliciting a damp spot on the white and red checkered shirt the holstaur barely fit into. "I can hear you blaming yourself from across the room."

"I...I...the blessings..."

"Stop it. I love you." Honoka put words to action and went in for the hug, burying her head in boobs. Honoka motorboated a little. Who wouldn't if they had access to massive titties like Banda's? "This is on me, not you. I should have been more careful." Pulling out to address the room, Honoka lost a little balance before finishing her turn and straightening. "That goes for all of you. Now, I have to talk to my doctor and then eat breakfast, but I think we should all be happy for upcoming children instead of dwelling on the past."

Whatever anyone else wanted to say, they held it to themselves for the moment as they shuffled past Honoka for a quick hug and a kiss before leaving. When Quinn delicately limped outside, Honoka did make one quick change and threw goblin regeneration her way. Which left only Honoka and Akisame, who produced two cups of barley tea as if by magic and offered one to his niece.

"I disagree with your assessment," the older Japanese man said, sipping tea and comparing notes with his monitor readings. "There is plenty of blame to spread around. You were not awake, there was no indication you would wake again. Your spouses expressed panic and sorrow greater than I ever witnessed. When you did not wake and grew worse, they shouted and fought for blame. I was afraid Diane would kill Banda at one point. Shilo managed to mitigate further violence by involving the kids, but it was touch and go.

"By taking responsibility upon yourself, you saved them from the foul corruption of shame and guilt that causes unending misery and heartache. What you did wasn't a perfect solution, there will still be problems, but no solution in marriage is ever perfect. Your maturity has me more proud of you than I can express." With that announcement, the older man showed a rare smile, his pale eyes misty.

Honoka's own eyes also misted, leaning forward to hug her beloved Uncle Aki who watched over her for so long.

"Now," Akisame stated after patting Honoka's back, "let's see if we can develop a regimen a tad less reckless than you normally practice."

Blushing, Honoka agreed and sat back, enjoying her tea even if the conversation moved into embarrassing and explicit details.

********************

"This is soooooo cool!!" Miu shouted from atop Mount Tummy, Honoka finished eating a double breakfast and waiting for her massively bloated stomach to shrink down. She wouldn't wait long, it was already half the size after ten minutes, the allocated thirty-one Endurance working overtime to digest everything. Jaya also rested on the summit, laughing and bouncing with her step cousin, both girls instant and easy friends after one day.

Under her mini bunker (the wives built a sturdy box covering Honoka's head and torso so she could check her phone while digesting these massive meals), Honoka smiled knowing younger generations only living in the Changed world would see past Race and find people. It might take a while, but Seuss' Sneetches living together on Beaches would happen. Until then, there were more important things to ponder than idle philosophies.

"Frag," Honoka mumbled, flicking the screen on her phone, passing on a media influencer medusa girl with bucked fangs. "Frag." The next one was promising, a human woman tanking for her guild, but scrolling down Honoka spotted a no poly clause and Tank Girl got the boot. "Frag, frag, double frag, frag."

*ding* Achievement unlocked: Swipe Master!

"That is the stupidest...grrrr." In frustration, Honoka fragged the next dozen girls without looking, the DoubleD dating app's game-like mechanics generating a headache instead of making it fun like Honoka hoped. About to call it for the day and switch over to watching cat videos, the app dinged again, this time informing Honoka someone was LFG. Tapping, Honoka found a pretty girl in tailored navy pantsuits, although the girl was completely wrapped in white bandages. Scrolling through the information, Honoka discovered the girl's Race was mummy, which told Honoka nothing.

Well, not nothing. Honoka knew what a mummy was, even in gaming and mythology terms. However, as she also well knew, that didn't always equate to a person's actual Race. A quick search online, Honoka learned mummies were a subRace of the Undead group. They had more in common with Golems because they lacked a real body, entirely consisting of cloth-like bandaged shell instead. Considered one of the rarest of the Undead group, there were less than five thousand documented mummies in the world. Mummy pics didn't garner Honoka any IRL hits, but Rule 34 came through with lurid artwork.

"Hmm," Honoka mused, growing hard but forcing herself back to the mummy's profile. Boners were not an indication of attraction anymore to Honoka: thinking about taxes aroused the futa-girl, Honoka likely to screw a W-2 rather than file it. She dived further into the profile to see if there was more to a mummy than the wrappings.

Julieta Catherine de la Vega immigrated twelve years ago from Columbia, earned citizenship four years ago, graduated with her JD at the University of Tennessee two years ago, emphasizing in Change law. Likes rap music and bad puns...

"He...hehehe!"

Deciding to take a chance, the Ymirian emerged from her bunker and rolled off the blue gym mat while accepting Julieta's request to meet, setting a lunch date at the chicken joint nearby where Quinn used to work. Almost noon, Honoka waved at Jaya and Miu and power walked to the stairs, wondering if there was any clothing that still fit in her closet.

"Got a minute?" Eve asked at the base of the stairs, startling Honoka. The little goblin woman dressed modest and casual this morning, a simple black jumper with her green hair in pigtails.

"If you don't mind walking quickly and finding me a date outfit," Honoka replied, taking the stairs two at a time while noticing a folder in Eve's hands.

"Never a dull moment around here," Eve said, pumping small goblin legs to keep up. It was a strange hop and skip, like she had a sprained ankle, but instead of gasps of pain it sounded like someone licked her clit with each step. "Update on the weird bad news...uummm...the IRS isn't auditing Becoming Monsters, it is going after Quinn specifically. Which makes a twisted sort of sense, she's listed as the executive officer after we filed transfer forms ten days ago. That isn't so bad, she turned eighteen this year and the year previous worked part-time at a chicken restaurant...oh yeeeaaah...so not a lot of auditing to do. However, when I dug to see why we got targeted, it appears like the FDR, OSHA and even the FCC are sending inspection teams our way."

"How much of a coincidence is this?" Honoka asked, arriving at the top of the stairs and turning towards her room. "I mean, how often are other guilds smacked sideways outside of the gate like us?"

"Zero." Eve still limped but her grinding voice spoke gravely. "These are government agencies, they move at the glacial pace of bureaucracy unless prodded. Someone's playing a game on us." Eve handed the folder over when they entered Honoka's room. "I put together everything covering our end and what each federal agency will look for, including relevant CFRs and inspection statistics for other guilds in the last two years."

"Thanks," Honoka replied, sticking the folder in her pink bag next to the door, pulling off pajamas quickly and walking into her closet, the New And Improved Beast leading the way. Staring down at her penis in frustration, she realized new measurements were next on the growing list of tasks she didn't want to do. "About earlier..."

"We were scared," Eve whispered, looking away. "In a lot of ways that matter, you are our world."

Honoka turned around, bent down and kissed the blushing green wife on her prominent nose. "I love you too." Finally processing the night before, Honoka realized she had questions. "There is also...this is really hard to put in words..."

"Why?" Ability scores mislead people, the majority assumed numbers were the sum total of a person. Eve proved again she truly was the most perceptive in the family, never mind Status. Sighing, the goblin flopped to the floor, leaning her back against the bed, picking absently at the lint on the comforter. "Why did we throw you into a bag even though you were kidnapped last month? Why do we all crave preggo right now instead of acting reasonable? Why even get popped if our kids will be just like Diane's? In other words, why risk years of pregnancy and Legendary Racial children that will hit us in the piggy bank? Probably also want to know little stuff, such as Pad forgetting to be Mrs. Responsible?"