Becoming Monsters: In the Mirror Ch. 15

This is still a story of the Becoming Monsters universe by Ai Loves, setting used with permission. All canonical and mechanical errors are my own. The yarrb is the creation of FelisRandomis, used with permission.

Also, thank you Dragonkain of the Becoming Monsters Discord for the name of the Ingeniator class.

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Chapter 15: Hit the Streets

The kitchen felt cold.

It was an odd kind of thing to notice, but it's true. The window and a significant portion of the back wall had been blown away by whatever Lucy had done to our last invader, so it made sense that the evening's unseasonable chill had also invaded. Thing is? There are very few things in life as sad as a cold kitchen. A kitchen should be warm, the heat of cooking mixing with the love and laughter of the family. Even when we were having ice cream in winter, the kitchen was a warm kind of place.

Instead, the entire room was bathed in the shimmering power of an active demonic Aura, a very powerful one. It was thick enough that it almost seemed to drip from the walls, to rain from the ceiling. It was centered on the cooktop, where a tiny waif of a girl was rummaging through our cookware. She turned and hissed at us.

"Careful! There's more here than meets the eye!"

Lucy glared. "Figured that out already."

I saw a strange shimmer, almost like a thickening in the aura to my left. Reflexively, I jumped back, and felt the wind of its passing. "Illusionist! Something just missed me!" Looking at the shape, it almost seemed... claw like? It was impossible to tell for sure. "Lucy! Flame on!"

She didn't have her staff on her, but that didn't stop her. The ball of fire she threw into the corner outlined a horror. It was enormous, almost having to crawl to fit into the eight-foot ceiling. There was a horned and muzzled head, and four arms, two of which ended in enormous claws.

While it was good to know that my eyes worked, that wasn't what I wanted to see. Glasya, demonic tempter. We could not let it get away, or it would wreak havoc well beyond mere claws. I dove in, Whitney just behind me, batons swinging.

Whitney connected with her target, and with a sickening crack one of its enormous claws became visible, the chitinous surface deeply cratered and cracked. I managed to hit one of its horns, breaking it off entirely with the enormous momentum of my enchanted baton. I even managed to catch it as it flew off, the second hit forcing it back into full visibility. The girl was gone, the demon remained.

It wasn't just huge, its wolf-like head surmounted by two foreswept horns (well, one and a half). It was covered in gray fur, hugely muscled, with its claws enormously outsized even for its mass. Its lower pair of arms was human-like, proportional to its size but looking almost shriveled compared to its pincers. With a roar of pain, one of those claws slammed into Whitney, who managed to brace herself for it and was merely slammed into the back wall. It tried to become invisible again, but I had a lock on its location and Disenchanted it immediately. Lucy kept pelting it with Flame Rays, only stopping to Shield herself when it tried to strike at her.

I didn't appreciate that at all, and my next jab went straight at its maw, cracking bone. And teeth. From inside its guard, my Lightning Net caught it full across the chest. Too close to wrap around it, but plenty of pain. It roared, and leapt for the broken wall. It jumped straight down to the alleyway.

"Don't let it get away!" I had to spend some of my again-limited Hunger, but it was worth it to stay in pursuit. My wings thundered, and as it ran to the street I was just behind, pelting it with jets of flame to keep it from catching its breath.

I heard an impact behind me, Whitney landing in the alleyway carrying Lucy. "Jay! It's out of Telekinesis range!"

"Then we harry it! Drive it North and signal Sarah and Gloria to intercept at 5th! Do not let it rest!" This plan had advantages. The late hour meant the more open streets would not be as busy, we'd have clean shots, and if it turned to attack directly we would take it out rapidly. We were driving it towards an ambush specialist, as well. The problem was that if this went too long, we'd end up inside of Central Cascadia Hospital with a rampaging demon.

Whitney's wings thundered as she sprinted forward, a fireball from Lucy blossoming in front of the four-armed foe to slow it down, this time. Whitney struck it across the upper back. Had to hurt, and when it got moving again it was noticeably slowed. Thing is? It struck back, slamming her with a hammer of kaleidoscopic colors, leaving my Berserker stumbling backwards. I sniped a couple more jets of flame at it, but with a gesture of one of its hands there were suddenly five of them running up the road. An intersection was coming.

We did not have the means to easily deal with this! Another clap of my wings let me pounce on one, which disappeared. Two more vanished as my wife shot them with more fire. The two remaining took different routes, but the one that turned left got tackled by Whitney. Of course, that one turned out to be real, and slammed her a dozen feet away with one of its massive claws. I lobbed a Firebomb at it before it could follow up, and it again turned and ran.

Even with my Endurance and enhanced recovery, I was starting to get winded. I topped off my mana from the battery and tried to catch the thing in another Net. This one slowed it down only slightly, hurting it, but it let Whitney get in front as Lucy got close enough to connect with a glob of Darkness. As she assaulted the target, I finally got a chance to pull up Cursebreaker. Bingo, we had another winner, this one in an acidic green color. Before I could do more, though, it managed to lay one of its human hands on Whitney, and suddenly she was sailing upwards as though the Earth had no grasp on her.

Reverse Gravity. Really? I was out of range to Disenchant or even yell instructions, all I could do was continue the pursuit. "Lucy! This one's like the others!"

She was panting heavily, but managed to yell something affirmative back at me.

There was another attempt to split up, but I spotted it happening this time and dropped a Firebomb on the bunch before they got far enough apart to matter, banishing the copies instantly. It tried to dash down a side street, Lucy dropped another Fireball in front of it to keep it on the street we were following. The area was getting more populated, bystanders screaming and running out of the way. My fatigue was intense, but I could no longer afford the slightest slip or miscalculation. This was why I was a Surface Hunter.

My phone chimed at me, but there was no chance to even look at the readout on my watch. The demon ahead took a moment to lob another spell at me, a greasy miasma of green-black smoke, but it was rushed. It brushed passed me, a near miss, stinging but not slowing me down. I returned fire with another Flame Ray.

This thing was obscenely tough to still be going after the amount of punishment it had received. It had slowed down, slightly, but not enough for me to catch a breather. Ahead, I could see a pedestrian foot bridge over the road, the fireworks already having mostly cleared it. There were two figures still there, impossible to make out clearly from this distance. Probably adrenaline junkies, people who chase major fights like some people chase tornadoes. One more thing to worry about.

The demon turned at me again, and I got ready to brace myself, when the unexpected happened. From the side, a tiny figure I had missed suddenly expanded. Four-legged, four-eared, spiny, and in colors that blended into the city. Nibbles? Nibbles was there. Somehow, he had grown to nearly the size of a horse, retaining his cuteness this time while suddenly jabbing at the monster with his quills.

From above, mystic bolts of power and very physical arrows rained down, pelting the already-injured demon. It desperately dove for the space under the bridge, and with a shockingly loud crack was suddenly encased in a block of ice, struggling to get free. I understood, then. Sarah and Gloria. They had somehow managed to set an ambush right in the path, and gave me the chance I needed to do something. Now barely within range, I flapped forward one more time and called upon Cursebreaker.

My hands were surrounded by an aura of neon red, and I slashed at the green icon with a savage determination. It did not act the same as its brethren, almost seeming to want to be free of its bond to the demon. I found out why seconds later as it dove at me, barely deflected by my powers. Two, three, four times it came at me, getting closer each time, but before it could reach me properly I got one last clean shot in. The curse was no more. The Glasya burst into flames.

I heard a couple of thumps behind me. Whitney had caught back up, having glided from whatever height the spell had taken her to. Gloria was there, riding Nibbles. She dismounted, and he nuzzled her as the size left him. Sarah jogged up, her aura doing barely better than earlier. Lucy, too, was sweating and panting but caught up (trust the Succubus to make even that look like it was because of marathon sex instead of a street chase). From the direction of the hospital, I could see a sparrow flutter in, transforming into Emily's human form. We were all here. The Shield Against Shadows stood.

The world went sideways.

I felt my cheek hit the pavement.

My vision blurred.

Apparently, only most of the Shield Against Shadows stood. I was hungry, and tired, and the road seemed comfortable. The cries of alarm around me seemed a good lullaby. The evening was pleasantly chill. Especially in my fingers and toes.

I felt Emily's touch, heard her scream. Why was she screaming? My world shifted again, I could see dark skin and black feathers, Whitney was carrying me. Wasn't I running a moment ago? It didn't matter. I was comfortable. My eyes, despite my curiosity, closed.

"... pushed too hard..."

"... empty, have to..."

"But if we don't, he'll..."

"... where am I..."

"... do it! We need to save..."

An orgasm took me. Why did I just orgasm? It felt nice. Deep and powerful.

"... all I got..."

Another orgasm struck. Less intense, still felt nice. I felt a thump next to me. Why was there a thump?

"... too far..."

"He needs..."

"I can."

A third, weaker. A blue haze, insistent, demanded my acceptance. I did, and it went away. Another blue haze. It reminded me of one that was familiar. I accepted and dismissed it, too. My fingers were tingling, I could feel the breath in my chest. My eyes opened. It was light, why was it light? A red blur, and my arms were full again. It felt... nice. Peaceful. Comfortable, comforting. Lucy?

Everything snapped into focus. I was on a bed, the stench of stale sweat in the air. I felt... weak. It was taking all I could muster to even hug my wife. I didn't even want to look at my Status screen, I would not like what I found there. The room was crowded, not sterile. Emily's apartment? My head rolled to the side. I could see... five?... people. Lucy. Whitney. Emily. Gloria. Who was that fifth one? That wasn't Sarah.

I tried to sit up, but even if I had the strength (which I apparently did not), it wouldn't have worked. A shimmering field of force covered me and pressed me down into the bed. Telekinesis. Lucy.

"Oh, no you don't! This time you're not going to go lie to a doctor and get out so that you can chase a demon halfway across Seattle using Stamina you don't have! I will push you down onto that bed so hard it'll compress you into a zip file." Lucy seemed mad. Not sure why, I wasn't hurting.

"What..."

She was pounding on my chest. "You aren't recovered yet, you big! Stupid! Hero! You spent all the power you had, all the Mana, all the Stamina, and all of your Hunger chasing that thing down! You almost died! You might actually have died there for a second or two! You gave it everything, and didn't leave enough to keep your lungs breathing or your heart beating! Don't you dare make me wonder if I'm still going to have you tomorrow!"

... well. That explained a lot. Too much. I could entirely believe that I had Done That. "Mind helping prop me up? I promise I won't leave this bed without your permission, but I need to see everyone."

Her glare exerted pressure much like her Telekinesis. Still, she and Whitney sat me up. On a cot near the foot of the bed, Sarah lay slumbering. Her Aura was a pale, pathetic thing, barely flickering, but rippling as though slowly regenerating. Very slowly. Even her scales looked more dull than usual.

The newcomer was another demonic woman, her Aura the strongest one left in the room. Not saying much there, really. She was tall, only slightly less so than Whitney or myself, and covered in gray fur. She didn't have distinct hair, the fur coming up to cover her neck and top of her head. Her eyes were brown. Her plain white tee and blue jeans did not look comfortable, clearly meant for a different person. This was easiest to see from the fact that extra holes had to be cut under the normal sleeves for another pair of arms to emerge.

She was built fairly fit and relatively modest in proportion to her height, but seemed... liminal, in a way. Like she was between states, not securely herself. Those eyes kept on taking in details.

"Hello. I'm sure you have the advantage of me right now, but introductions are in order. I am Jay, what's your name?"

Her voice was a bit lower than the others when she spoke. "My name is Amber Nichols. I am given to understand you all saved me?"

"Yes. This is my Guild, the Shield Against Shadows. Surface Hunters." I shifted my weight a bit. Even sitting up was draining me pretty quickly. "You led us on quite the chase, though it wasn't really 'you' doing it. You were cursed. Where are you from?"

"I'm local, actually. Dad works as an appraiser in downtown Seattle, the art district."

"Oh, that'll make things easier. I can tell you've done a bit with the others while I was out, sorry about that."

She nodded, arms down at her sides. "Yes. I'm a relatively rare Class, an Ingeniator, Level six. Item user. I extract their maximum potential, carry burdens in extradimensional space, and call the skills and intent of their makers. I helped reorganize a bit this morning while the others were taking care of you."

"You sound like you want to join. I don't mind, you just have to ask the others." The ladies laughed. Lucy facepalmed. I was not used to being the one who missed the joke. Must be karmic punishment for pushing myself that hard. "What's so funny?"

"I already have."

I opened my mouth to respond, something about that simplifying things, until the words actually caught up to me. My mouth snapped shut. "Status." Sure enough, one of my two brand-new slots was filled. Amber Nichols, ability of Extradimensional Space. My Hunger was, given I had almost literally killed myself in overexertion, inexplicably at 5%. Given context clues, perhaps not so inexplicable.

Lucy hugged me again. "She was the only one of us with anything left to give. I was already dry. Whitney Fed you, then Sarah literally knocked herself unconscious doing the same. Amber said there might be extra consequences if she donated, but agreed to. We didn't know if you would Acquire her or not, but once she transformed we all welcomed her to the Guild."

"... ah. Well, I'm sure Amber and Sarah will have a lot to talk about once she wakes back up." I thought for a second, looking back at our newest recruit. "Care to share what the other consequences you mentioned might be?"

Amber's arms folded across her chest, all four of them. She looked down and to the side. This was obviously painful for her. Tough. Just like the others, I needed to know. "I... I was young and stupid when the Change hit. Thought I knew everything, especially when books would literally tell me what I needed to know about them."

I nodded. I, too, remembered what it was like to be young. It hadn't been all THAT long. I refused to admit how long ago it was.

"I turned 18, and decided to give my boyfriend a precious gift. My virginity, and my Wish."

"Wait, a Wish? Aren't those crazy rare? How did you have one?"

"I am a Glasya. Once every ten years, we have the ability to grant one wish to another. Those wishes are cursed. Glasya Wishes always come true in the most destructive way possible. I knew that, and I thought I could game it. I told him that the wish had to destroy something to keep the magic happy. His wish ended up being shallow and horrific. My CHA has always been low, but he wanted a hot girlfriend. What he destroyed was my individuality."

"Oh no..."

"He turned me into every man's fantasy. The details of my appearance, my orientation, my dominance, my own preferences? Those shift now. When someone gives me an orgasm, they get the choice to take me as a lover, and over a few days I change to suit them."

"So, your boyfriend..."

"Ex. Ex-boyfriend. He wanted someone submissive to the point of slavery. I would do anything he said, no matter how degrading, instantly and without hesitation. He kept me slender, weak-looking. Now, though, I'm changing. You accepted the Status, so I am yours. Couldn't leave you if I tried, so I'm glad I seem to have fallen in with a good bunch."

"We won't make you do anything you don't want to."

"That really is the thing. I will want to. Right up until I blacked out two months ago and woke up here, I did, too. I really hope you are okay with your Guild knowing all of this. I'm yours, now. Every kink, every preference, every fantasy you have? They're imprinted on me. They'll be able to tell by looking."

"Amber, I've been married to a Succubus for almost five years. If she hasn't already figured that all out, I don't know what to tell you."

"Wait... you?" She looked at Lucy the same way Gloria had. Utter shock. "You were the first one to suggest I hop on and take your husband for a ride in his sleep! How does..."

"I would do a lot worse to make sure Jay lives, and I'm pretty sure in better circumstances that would have crossed an item off his bucket list. No matter what else we want, we can't avoid Demonic Hungers. Welcome to the Guild, incidentally. We can get paperwork started today as long as my husband," she glared at me again, "agrees to stay in bed at least until tomorrow, and not touch a weapon or move faster than a dignified stroll until two days after."

I held up my arms in surrender. This was not an argument I was going to win, nor one I even wanted to fight. Even that little gesture felt like I had been lifting weights. "Don't think I could right now. You might as well make an outing of it. Amber, you have a Delver card? Firearms license?"

She nodded. "Yes to both. They let me have all the more interesting things on my person with less questions."

"Makes things easier. Lucy, give me a pen and a piece of paper, I'll give a writ of affirmation. Take Amber and Emily to join the Guild rolls officially. Whitney looks like she wants to talk," she seemed surprised that I noticed, "and we're still waiting on word back for Gloria. On the way back, if there's time, submit a report with the OPP. This was a public safety hunt, but with how it went down? Too much collateral could have happened for my comfort. Need the assessors to do their job this time."

"And after your chat, you will put your head on that pillow and use it. You can read Get Well Soon cards tomorrow."

"Of course. I'll even put the phone on silent."

Whitney's feathers shook a bit. "Nah, I don't think that's good enough. I'm going to turn it off and put it in the kitchen. I don't want to have to carry you home after another fight."