Becoming Monsters: I'm Blue 01

Welcome to the first of what is going to be an eclectic collection of stories in the Becoming Monsters universe! Random ideas, story seeds, commissions, raffle winners, and the like are going to be here. Lots of ideas that deserve to see the light of day!

Becoming monsters is the creation of AiLovesToGrow, setting used with permission

This first idea comes from Amethyst Dragonfly.

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Chapter 1: Abbey Dee

Her smile was chipper, her voice honed by many hours of customer service. "Thank you for trusting Central Bank of Seattle! We hope to see you again." The man in front of her, a stone-gray Incubus carrying way too many scars, nodded his head and walked off. The lobby was finally empty. She could relax and close out her till.

Abbey was a fairly pretty girl. Tall, at nearly six feet. Dark hair and eyes. Bright white teeth. Royal blue skin, marked in subtle patterns of darker and lighter blues. See, Abbey might have been pretty, her Racially boosted Charisma saw to that, but she couldn't exactly hide in a crowd.

"Dee! You finish up yet?" Already, Abbey was regretting telling her coworkers about that particular nickname, stemming from shortly after the Change when her family heard I'm Blue on the radio. Brittany, the pale blonde woman who usually worked the Coinage counter on her shift, was coming over with a smile she had no need to fake. The blue woman was jealous, really. Being out in front of everyone like that was hard, especially for her, but again. She stood out. People came to her, so the bosses kept putting her there.

She had applied hoping to use her shiny new Business Administration major, but at least it paid the bills. Even if, like today, some of them would be paid with the dollar coins she could easily withdraw her own savings in. "Yeah, just closed out. Gonna grab a cup of coffee so I stay awake on the way home."

"Again? Come on, Dee, if I didn't know any better I'd think you just wanted to see the cute barista again."

Abbey's blue skin blushed purple for a moment, but given that she was crouched behind the counter at least her face was hidden. "I just don't want to fall asleep on the bus again. Lock the doors and we can walk over? They got Pumpkin Spice back on the menu."

"Oh, come on, how basic can you get?"

"Just because you can't admit it's good doesn't mean it isn't. Come on, they take the dollar coins, too." It was a quirk of the post-Change world. Lots of people wanted to pretend they were trendy with valuable Dungeon currency, and loved paying with golden dollar coins. The government was perfectly fine with the excuse to slow down paper printing. The local shops? Well, once they got the proper training on how to distinguish the dollar coins from the Dungeon Gold ones that were fifty times as valuable, they didn't mind either.

Seattle being Seattle, there was a coffee shop on almost every corner. This one was a three minute walk away from the bank's front door.

The streets were relatively empty this evening. Though the Office of Public Protection and local Guilds did their best, the fact was that there had been more monster attacks than usual this past month. It made people nervous. Made for good business at the bank, especially for a lady like Abbey, but traffic was down. The door of the coffee shop opened smoothly, the bell over the door chiming, as the late-shift barista looked up with a routine-sounding "welcome to BuckStars! What can I get started for you?"

Brittany did have a point earlier, he was cute. Either still in a local college of just out of it like Abbey herself, his tanned skin and dirty-blonde hair suggested a life as a California surfer boy before coming up to Seattle. His accent was local, his eyes blue, and his form obviously fit even under his work shirt. Easy on the eyes, Abbey wondered what his Class was on occasion.

She was staring. Shook her head, getting it clear. "Sorry about that, Justin, long evening at the bank. Medium pumpkin spice?"

"You got it, Abbey! Four bucks, your usual." He hit a few buttons, his till popped open, and he started grabbing her cup and labeling things while she caught up.

Abbey reached into her pocket and pulled out five of the dollar coins. "Last one's a tip, since I'm keeping you open."

"I'm here for another hour anyway, but thank you. Always a pleasure. And how about you, Brittany?"

As the blonde girl rattled off an order for a small cup that was nonetheless most of a paragraph by itself, Abbey paused in thought. She came here often, and it was almost always the same boy at the counter. Maybe her coworker was right, he might be fun to ask out at some point. All she really knew about him was his name, that he was cute and friendly, and that he was almost supernaturally quick at assembling even the most demonic brews she had ever heard. It seemed like only a moment or two of idle chatter later when she and her coworker were out the door again, heading to the bus stop to get back to the apartments with another bright chime from the door.

Inside, Justin was putting as much as he could away. Despite his reassurances to the girls (who he really did look forward to seeing each evening, they were both pretty and treated him like a person), few came through this late. He had class in the morning, and wanted to get his cleaning done as soon as possible so that he could get some sleep. Popping open his till, he remembered that one of those golden coins was supposed to be for him directly. Cash tip, no need to bother the numbers about it, so he reached in to grab one.

That's when he noticed something. Four of the coins were identical to each other. The fifth, though, was subtly different. Thicker, more worn, the faces blank. It might either be a pre-Change coin or a misprint, either way it was cool. He pocketed that one for himself, feeling a shiver as he did so.

The girls on the bus chatted about trivialities as they sipped their (delicious) drinks on the way home, both getting off about fifteen minutes later. Brittany, still cheerful, gave the larger blue woman a hug and a kiss on the cheek as she went up the stairs. Abbey... had a different destination in mind. One that her friend didn't know about. Instead of going up the stairs into the apartment, her feet carried her to the green space behind the building. Old growth in the middle of a city was hard to find these days, but the Seattle outskirts managed it with some pride. It was here that she released her hold on this mostly-mortal form.

Blue smoke enveloped her as she grew, hidden by the trees. Tripling in size, gaining mighty muscles and an embarrassingly skimpy outfit. Staying blue. On the day of the Change, five years ago, Abbey had found herself in the middle of a wrecked house, the transformation coming involuntarily. She was now a Marid, Genie subspecies, and as far as she could find one of the more powerful ones. It was... not always a good thing. Genies granted wishes, that was something everyone knew, and the last five years of her life had been spent desperately trying to keep her bound object out of the hands of others. Not always successfully. She waved one hand, setting up the shimmering field of shelter that kept the weather off of her.

The form did come with some perks. Not needing to eat if she didn't want to was one. Being able to just call on magics of hearth and home was another. Definitely let her save a lot of money in a place as expensive as this one.

Abbey breathed deeply, settling down. The small form was somewhat close to her old one, before she became what she was today, but it took real effort to maintain. She couldn't do it all the time, so sleeping in her natural state helped. Last checks before bed. Phone alarm set properly, in a little hanging bag next to her head. Check her mana pool to make sure the spell wouldn't end overnight. Final check, for her bound object. The gold coin her father gave her, a relic of his days diving for shipwrecks. The one which, if possessed by another, would force her into servitude.

The one which was not in the pocket she left it in.

Her settling calm immediately vanished as if it had never been, to be replaced by icy terror. In the pocket was a handful of cheap golden dollar coins. Right where she'd shoved them at the end of her shift.

Okay, okay, that means I probably accidentally paid with it! I have a spot. Justin said he was going to be there for another hour, right? I have to get back to the BuckStar right now!

No busses would be running in time. She'd have to run. What was a 15 minute bus ride would take 30 to run in her full Marid form. Thankfully, seeing a six-meter blue giant running down the street was not exactly the cause for alarm and panic that it might have been years before. Still, running had never been her sport, and there were limits even fueled by her panic.

Several miles away, Justin closed up shop. Not a single extra customer had come since the two ladies from the bank. He sighed. Technically, this was about four minutes early, but he was tired. Same old grind. No family within three hundred miles. No time to hang out with friends or blow off steam. It was just class, then homework, then work. Occasionally laundry. A never ending cycle three and a half years long. He didn't know how he'd make it the last few months until graduation. The job wasn't the best-paying one out there, though it meant he'd only be in debt a few more years after graduation. It was just a long, lonely grind. The lock smoothly slid home, the click a familiar one.

He turned to start the late-night walk back to the nearby campus, hands shoved in his pockets, when he felt a bit of cold metal. The odd coin Abbey had given him. It seemed... comforting, in a way. Lucky. He found his heart pounding in his chest, nervous, like his next words would matter. Grabbing the coin tightly, he spoke the words in his mind.

"I wish I had a good girlfriend."

The giant Marid running down the road felt it as she rounded the last corner, desperately trying to make it to the store. She felt it as reality shifted, as her head filled with knowledge of one person. Knowledge she knew she had no way to have acquired. Knowledge about a formerly lonely man named Justin Majors. She shrank as she got closer, but not to what she thought of as her work form. No, this time was different.

Though she was again dressed in her business attire, slacks and a button-down shirt, she found herself much shorter than usual. Her muscles firmed and bulked, her face shifted to have bigger and brighter eyes, her form got curvier than her usual preference. A necklace appeared around her neck, one she didn't recognize, a simple silver chain with no pendants.

She found him standing there, lost in thought in front of the shop, and didn't stop running until she got all the way to him and swept him up into an enormous hug. This was in no way what she intended to do.

It was also apparently not what he expected. Justin found himself reflexively turning towards the oncoming blue woman, arms spread to take her into an embrace strong enough to make sure her soul stayed in her body. Just like he knew she liked. Somehow.

They stayed there for a moment, savoring the hug, until the oddity of the situation struck them. Justin first, surprising nobody with any knowledge of either of them. "Um. What are we doing, and why are you wearing my mom's necklace?"

"Let's walk back to your dorm room and I'll explain it."

He felt this was a bit forward. Then again, he also felt like he'd known her for years, as if the entire time he'd been slinging coffee for her they had been actively dating instead. It was both intensely confusing and extremely comforting at the same time. Especially when, at his hesitation, she grabbed his wrist and practically dragged him that way. She knew his building. She knew his room number. She knew the combo to his keypad. All of this was overwhelming in its way, to both of them. What was more so was the drying rack.

First, that one was present at all in his little dorm room was new to him. He'd never owned one in his life, relying on the driers and shirts that didn't mind going through them. Both of them saw quite a few things on it, too, that were a bit too... lacey... to be Justin's. Feminine-cut clothes, sized for both Abbey's business form and her girlfriend form.

I even call it my girlfriend form?

Justin was also shocked by the cleanliness of the room. He could remember conversations and hard work that he could have sworn never happened, building habits to keep it that way so that she would be more comfortable there. The air held a scent of lemon from an air freshener he both did and did not remember ever buying. The floor was three shades whiter, the bed sheets made, his school books organized on a cheap but durable shelf instead of a stack in a corner. There was an additional mess of toiletries in the bathroom, too, half of which he didn't have a name for until he thought about them.

Heck, there was a small shelf on the bathroom counter with feminine hygiene products he could remember her jokingly calling her Periodic Table after he came home from one frustrating chemistry test.

... why am I thinking of this place as "home" anyway?

And yet, there it was. He wasn't homesick. He wasn't lonely. He had her. How did he have her?

"I bet you're wondering how this happened. How you have me. I should know. I'm your girlfriend, after all, I know how you think better than you do half the time."

"Uh. Yes. How do you know what I'm thinking, and how are you my girlfriend?"

"You made a Wish." She wanted to rant. She wanted to yell. She wanted to be furious about ending up in bondage once more, but she knew that none of this would do the situation any good. It didn't help that she also hated having to do this. To even speak. Half of her was comfortable here. The other half wanted to cower in a corner, to disappear and hide from the world. "That coin you were holding? That holds my essence. I'm a Marid. A Genie."

"Wait. Wait, you grant WISHES? Aren't those super rare and dangerous? All I have to do is say I..."

"STOP RIGHT THERE! Yes, that's absolutely all you have to do to make one, and now that I'm tied to you it is automatic. Two more times, no matter what. I have to fulfill it, and if it's too big I'll die trying."

"How big is too big? I mean... one just turned you into my girlfriend of apparently at least a couple of years." He was looking around the tiny dorm, noting all the myriad details.

"I don't know! Last time around the person who enslaved me wished for a million dollars as his last one, and I woke up a week later. He found an antique in his attic the next day which sold for enough to satisfy the Wish, though the IRS swooped in afterwards."

"Oh... kay... Um. Welcome to my room. Again, I guess? And, uh, even if it's Wish-powered, I'm really glad to get this chance with you. I mean, you treat me like a person in the shop. That's... not common."

Abbey felt a surge of sympathy for him, coming from all sides of herself. As a bank teller, she was kind of used to being treated as background, even when someone was talking to her directly. As a Geniekin, she was used to being an object of desire. Not for herself, but for what her capture meant. As his girlfriend? She understood the crippling loneliness he'd been through. It was a rather comprehensive sort of emotion.

Her voice was small when she responded. "I... I think I know what you mean. Even without the benefit of magic. So. Um. I guess, same time tomorrow night?"

"That sounds... really nice. And you know I can make the salted caramel even if it's not up on the menu, now that you got your annual pumpkin spice. Not just for you, but especially for you."

She blushed. He would know her order, wouldn't he? "Ah... I look forward to it." She left the room, stepping quickly towards the side door. There were many speculative looks in her direction, but nobody decided to say anything. Much to her relief. She stepped outside glancing up at the gathering clouds, and released her hold on her shrunken form.

Inside, Justin breathed. His life had just redefined itself, dramatically, and he wasn't sure how to move forward. How would he make the time in his life... but that was answered. Besides seeing each other during breaks, and during homework, his studies had been much more smooth. Left more time open. He could remember successful tests where he knew he'd actually failed. Feel his body better now that he was taking care of himself.

It was getting late, he should definitely be asleep, but he had to know. Justin booted up his computer, setting aside his drawing tablet for once, and pulled up his academic files. What he found was a confusing mess. Specifically, all of the failures and struggles of his lonely life.

The essay he got a D on, written in a night fueled by way too much caffeine. The still life drawing with the shadows off by 45 degrees. The slideshow that he... well, he deserved that F. Thing is, he could distinctly remember them all going better. Much better.

With the help of Abbey. Her support in stressful times, her advice from having just gotten through her own degree.

He shook his head. This supposed Wish was confusing him even more than before. What was even real anymore? Justin debated pulling up the school website, to check his grades. Get one final confirmation. Thing is, it was already midnight. His schedule forced him to take a 9 AM class tomorrow, and he needed to sleep. More of the mystery could be unraveled later.

Justin shut down the computer and got to bed. It felt emptier than it should, as the Seattle rains began to come down outside.

Some miles away, blue and bedraggled, Abbey stared at her hands in disbelief. The icy rain was dousing her, the few belongings in this forest clearing as soaked as she was. The giant form failed to come to her earlier, forcing her to nervously wait for the late bus. Now, her magics weren't responding. The mystical cover would not materialize, and to prove the failure the skies had opened up.

To add insult to injury? Several of her packs were hung a dozen feet in the air. Easy to get to when one is eighteen feet tall. Not nearly so much at five and a half. She had climbing to do.

Her nice business clothes were soaked and stained by the trees and rain, but she managed to get them. Problem now being, she didn't have a place to actually try to sleep.

Wait. Yes, I do! The packs are light, but cuddling with Justin tonight sounds amazing.

With minimal ingenuity, Abbey could fold the mostly-empty bags to fit inside one another, wearing the largest one. Next problem? Now past one in the morning, no buses were running. A taxi was expensive at this time of night, but it beat hiking through the intensifying rain. A brief check of her Status on the way confirmed a few things. Her Attributes were degraded, especially those well above Human norms. Her Mana Pool was completely zeroed, and her Alternate Form was showing as Disabled. Until she recovered, this was who she was stuck as. There was no way to know how long that would take.

Her insurance was decent but nowhere near good enough to let her afford seeing a doctor specialized in her rare Race.

Some time later, she trudged back through the now-empty halls of Justin's dormitory. She entered his room, feeling welcomed by it, and used one of her own towels to dry off before hanging it back up. After getting changed into her pajamas, she slid into the small bed with him, snuggled up under his chin, his arm coming to hold her close despite his present lack of consciousness. It was a reflex, just how things were supposed to be. She was comfortable there. Comforted. The stresses of the evening melted away, as she felt the warmth of his embrace combined with the warmth of the blanket to lull her to sleep.