Growing Acceptance Ch. 04

Spoiler Tags: Transformation, Feminization, MtF, Male to Futa, Succubus, Monstergirl, Femdom, Loving, Romance, Adventure, Futa, Futanari

The team emerged from the two nondescript sedan's dressed for battle. We all had on tight tactical gear that hugged our bodies so that nothing would get snagged on any branches. And yes, it was our bodies that headed into the forest. Mine included. I'd eventually won the argument with Lexi and convinced her to take Artissa's advice and bring me with her. Something about the strange, emaciated woman's words struck me as true and I'd fought for my place in the breach team. Despite my assurances to Lexi that I would be fine, I couldn't stop my hands from shaking.

How can I feel like vomiting if I haven't eaten anything all morning?

I swallowed heavily and tried to get my runaway breathing under control. Lexi couldn't spare me much more than a worried glance and a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"Let's move out. Keeping your eyes open and your hands at the ready." Annita pointed at Sam and Lexi in turn. "You, you're with me. You, bring up the rear." Her voice dipped lower as her face turned my way. "And you, remember what I taught you."

Right. If I feel like I'm in danger, run. Only fight as a last resort.

"Give 'em hell, Sis," Uno called out from where she leaned against the still running car.

Sam nodded her agreement and smacked her glistening chrome fists together. The noise they made was an oddly ceramic smack. As I watched, the ostentatious armor swirled with color, matching the environment near perfectly with muddy greens and browns. Annita led the way, Sam at her side, both of their eyes alert even though we were a couple miles away from the spot where the complex was supposedly located. Lexi gave me a tap on the ass that jolted me into moving. I took off in a jog after the vanguard, my succubus bringing up the rear. The weight of her entrancing blue eyes was a calming presence on my backside. Had I been looking in her direction, I would've seen an occasional ripple of dark tribal tattoos slip across her skin before vanishing into her usual unblemished skin.

The first thing I noticed as we traveled was the presence of something in the air. My brow furrowed and I looked around, my hackles on edge. My instincts insisted that something wasn't right and there was a taste that lingered on the back of my tongue. A bitterness that I couldn't escape. I shook my head. Glancing at my companions, none of them seemed to notice anything wrong.

It's probably just my nerves getting the better of me. Jumping at ghosts.

We continued deeper into the forest.

Nothing happened.

Nothing continued to happen.

We were maybe one hundred yards away from the coordinates Joshua had sent us and everything seemed quiet.

Everything except these stupid nerves of mine.

I licked at my teeth and shivered. Goosebumps sprouted from my skin like mushrooms after a warm summer rain. Annita halted in her advance. Lexi's hand fell on my shoulder, her eyes full of a question. I smiled back at her and shrugged, pointing forward. She squeezed reassuringly before fixing her focus on the areas around us and moved back behind me, presumably in an attempt to intercept any danger before it could creep up on us. Little did she realize that we were already in danger, only no one had noticed it yet.

Annita checked a gps wristwatch, ensuring that we were heading the correct direction. Judging from the tension in the mocha-skinned woman's back, we were close to our destination. But there was still no sign of anything of note. By this time the entire group was uneasy, waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop and squish us.

Then a membrane slipped across Annita's broad shoulders as she passed through an invisible barrier. Magic distorted the air, but only as the succubus passed through it. Tensing up, our frontrunners looked around expectantly, but nothing jumped out to confront us. After a period of swollen silence, Annita crooked her fingers and the rest of the group followed. The magic felt slimy as it tugged across my flesh. My nose twitched as the smell of overripe peaches danced across the back of my sinuses. An intense itch forced my spine to wriggle. Lexi had a similar reaction. Our eyes met for a brief moment of lightness at the humorous movement. Lexi tilted her chin forward and the moment was gone.

Beyond the barrier the once featureless forest now had a slate-grey bunker door that tilted such that it looked to descend deeper into the earth. Four sets of eyes darted about, waiting patiently for anything to happen. Annita drew her machete. With every step she took her fingers curled tighter and tighter around the handle. The air seemed thick, clinging to my throat with sticky tendrils. Each breath became harder and harder as that uncomfortable peachy scent continued to bother me. Annita was ten yards or so from the bunker that was nestled into the center of a copse of trees.

A rumble of the ground was the only warning we received, an instant before the emergence of the base's defenses. The monsters emerged from the forest floor like megalodons breaching the surface of the ocean.

They were less creatures, and more violent maelstroms of rage that struck out with sharpened shards of bark that whirled about them in a deadly storm of naturally hardened blades. The sickly peach smell intensified now that the sources were above ground. Their cores were verdant green tendrils of magic that slipped around and caressed the more corporeal wooden pieces of their existence.

Annita deflected two of the elemental guardian's blades before she danced out of range from the deadly spray. Slivers of wood carved off by the sharp edge of her machete spiraled out into the forest. Following my training, I ducked behind a nearby tree, safely out of the way from any other stray projectiles. Sam parried a pair of blades as she backpedaled out of the way, her movements buttery smooth and controlled. Her green eyes calmly assessed the situation, even as her feet shuffled across the forest floor, keeping her torso pointed toward the closest elemental. The elemental tested her defenses with a few probing attacks. Each of them was intercepted by one of her gauntlets. A dull ping accompanying each whizzing blade that arced out into the forest.

Lexi glanced at me and her eyes went completely black as she let the protective rage overwhelm her. Her limbs quivered as pounds of muscle and reinforced bones magically appeared, stretching her body distressingly as she lumbered towards the closest monster.

Meanwhile Sam's fists clunked together as she slammed the tops and bottoms together. Done observing, she'd decided it was time to go on the offensive. Bouncing on her feet like a dancer, she slipped around one of the shards that whipped toward her. She jabbed her fist upward with a quick follow up. The knuckles of the etched gauntlet caught one of the streams of magic that held the nature elemental together. Glowing green magic elongated like a rubber band for a moment, the creature's whirlpool bending into a sharp spline curve. The rotational speed of the creature slowed for a moment as it sought to bring the rotational mass back into balance. After it regained said balance, the rpm sped up again until it was once again spinning with lethal velocity. Sam smiled predatorily.

Darting closer, the succubus closed the space with a pair of ducking lunges that ate up the yards. The elemental responded instantly, sending one of its heavier blades toward her head. She deflected it with the back of her hand. The blade went spinning into the forest and thunked heavily into the trunk of a random bystander tree. It wobbled like a flicked spring door stopper for several seconds before falling silent.

Before the tendril holding the now-distant blade could retreat, Sam struck. Twisting her wrist, her finger closed around the mostly transparent stream of magic. If a semi-sentient bundle of magic bound into eternal guardianship could emote, I'm nearly certain the brief lull would be from astonishment. Sam brought her other hand to join the first, constraining the piece of the elemental in a two-fisted grasp.

Bound minds bore their collective will down on the elemental, interfering with the communication of individual magic particles that made up its composition. The rotation of the monster slowed as it fought the invasive presence. Sam and Sariel were resolute, continuously flooding the monster with their combined magic. The swirling blades slowed and wobbled drunkenly. Sensing their advantage, the two of them pressed harder. The gauntlets tightened around the tendril, a white light began pulsing out of the filigree of the gauntlets. As seconds passed, the color began to bleed into the elemental and the blades of wood began dropping to the floor. The elemental quivered once, before the tendrils lost cohesion and dissolved into a cloud of pale green light. Wooden blades fell to the floor like discarded cutlery. Just like that, our team had vanquished one of the guardians.

Sam's success, however, had a consequence she had not foreseen. While her interference disrupted the magic of the elemental, it meant all the energy bound into its whipping tendrils now had nothing containing it. It exploded outwards in a series of popping explosions not unlike that of a string of firecrackers. Sam barely had time for an astonished expression before the magic bomb she'd created went off in her face. Her gauntlets whipped up to protect her head as the majority of the blast slid her ten feet backwards. Some manner of training and instincts combined to allow the succubus to keep her feet. Unfortunately for her, when her slide finished, she was not five feet from the other elemental, her back completely exposed. The monster reacted instantly, a blade spinning from the center on a collision course with Sam's stomach.

Annita intervened.

She'd been monitoring both the elementals simultaneously, looking for a chance to attack or assist. When she saw Sam's vulnerability she sprung into action. Her large body collided and folded around Sam, shielding her from the blow and twisting out of the way. Their bodies tumbled to the ground, neither of them moving.

Lexi roared and redoubled her efforts. Her approach to defeating the nature elemental differed from Sam's. It lacked a few things.

Like thought.

Subtlety.

Reasoning.

Or self-defense.

She waded into the maelstrom, making the barest of efforts to protect her vulnerable head with her bent arm. Her bicep acted as a shield for the side of her face, her elbow pointed up into the air. Her other arm was busy plucking the blades free and shattering them in a vice-like grip. Like wooden rods under a pneumatic press, the weapons didn't stand a chance against my Lexi's rage. The resultant pieces of wood were small enough that their energy lacked the force necessary to do any harm. Even beyond that, the elemental's own attacks were working against it, the blades splitting and cracking as they impacted Lexi's supernaturally tough, tribal tattooed skin. This accelerated its inevitable destruction. It only took a couple of revolutions before the polished wooden projectiles averaged about half of their previous size. Lexi, while a certifiable wreckingball of muscle and force, was not invulnerable. The staccato machine-gun blows carved a nest of cuts into her body. Blood slid down her shoulder and lower back in separating and rejoining rivulets like a macabre estuary. The elemental redoubled it's efforts, the green magic pulsing brighter as it sought to overcome Lexi's toughness with increased velocity. After five minutes or so of pinging strikes, the stream of wooden shards stopped, the magic supporting the elemental exhausted with its effort to eradicate the intruder.

Is it over?

Through it all, I had stood, safely covered and feeling useless in the worst way. My tail whipped angrily behind me as I had watched Lexi wade into the maelstrom of magic and pay for it. Every drip of blood that slipped from shoulder, arm, and side onto the forest floor felt like a personal failure.

A terrible sort of quiet fell over the forest. The atmosphere was thick with anger and desperation that had my teeth on edge. I pressed off the trunk of the tree I'd hid behind, moving towards the downed succubi with all the haste I could muster.

Sam was dazed but mobile as she sat up. "Damn. That overcharge had a hell of a kick. Everything went white for a moment."

That's one.

My head rotated toward the larger of the two succubi. "You okay?"

Annita smiled, but there was a pallor to her face I didn't like. "I'm fine. Go check up on your girl. She doesn't seem to be settling down." The dark-skinned succubus tilted her chin over my shoulder.

That's two.

I released my held breath and turned my attention back towards my lover.

A near complete circle of kindling was spread out on the ground around Lexi, an empty space behind her where her body had shielded the spray of shrapnel from falling. She fell to her knees and continued pulverizing the defeated elemental. Her fists fell with earth-shaking force onto the little remaining wood, breaking and pressing it onto the earth. White teeth gleamed in the shadow-dappled light of the forest, bared in a grim snarl. Worried, I sprinted over to her.

"Lexi? Lexi!"

The thumping that quivered the air and trembled my bones stopped along with Lexi's fists.

I took her hands in mine and kissed her bruised and bloodied knuckles. "It's over."

My girl couldn't tear her eyes away from the mound of kindling that bled remnants of magic into the ground around it.

"Lexi..." I placed one last drifting kiss onto her knuckles before I curled my fingers through hers, the size difference making my hand seem childish in comparison. "Victory is not worth the cost if it takes you this far from me." My eyes never left my love's face, but I canted my voice toward our compatriots. "I know I can't command you, but I would appreciate it if you would avert your eyes. I will not let her suffer a single moment longer than necessary. Not if I can prevent it." My pants were the first thing I worked at. The zipper caught under my hasty fingers and fumbled to get it undone. Lexi's fists slowed and cocked her head to look at me.

I gasped.

When in her... enlarged state, Lexi's eyes normally possessed a pure blackness that seemed to swallow the light. Normally. Lexi's eyes currently gleamed with a bleeding crimson that struck me as wrong.

One of her meaty hands landed on my stomach and shoved me away. She returned to rhythmically punching the pile of still-glowing kindling. My heart stopped in my chest. I couldn't look away from the bloody handprint on my shirt.

She doesn't care. The guardian spirit's influence hasn't faded with their destruction.

I picked myself up off the ground. My eyes flicked around. My mind raced.

What do I do? How do I help her out of this? What can I...

The calm surety of Belini's gift to me descended on me like a rainstorm over a forest fire, muting the consuming heat of my panic. Pastel-pink tattoos covered my skin, sprouting as if under the brush of a skilled painter. I shivered, my increased awareness rolling across my body like the tide flowing out to the sea.

Okay. The situation is not favorable. But what can I do to change that...

Extending my mental fingers towards Lexi, I was met with an immutable wall of gangrenous magic ten feet thick. I could dimly sense my love's struggle on the other side but I didn't let it affect my mental state.

That's a no go. I'm not strong enough to break through that barrier.

I took off sprinting.

But I do know someone who can.

Urgency gave my feet wings as I sprinted toward the door of the bunker. My eyes darted across the forest floor, both for where to place my feet, as well as any additional facts. My brain felt like a well oiled machine working efficiently in seven different directions.

Belini! I shouted mentally into the void.

There was still no response.

A large metal door barred my entry into the facility. There were no obvious forms to gain entry. No keypad, card swipe, or convenient lever with an open label above it in crimson. My fingers touched the cool surface of the metal. I jerked, my head twisting to the side as a lesser portion of my awareness stretched into the facility proper. Strobelight flashes of sensations overwhelmed me as I grappled with the novel stimulus.

Haste... Cold... Impatience... Worry... Certainty... And above all, a desperate need to do all that was possible, no matter how repugnant. A fervor that bordered on mania that stole whatever was at hand, reason, sleep, and decency were shoved into the greedy maw of ever decreasing time. It was coming. He was coming. And he would show no mercy unless-

"Syd?"

Belini's voice came into my brain, short-circuiting the deluge of foreign sensations that swarmed me from the facility.

"How...? Never mind. Just give me a moment."

There was a sensation of her rifling through my brain, but more pleasant, like a gentle hug but with her thoughts.

"Ah. I understand. Here's what you need to do..."

Got it.

A phantom set of lips pressed into my forehead. "Good. Now go rescue your girl. I'll still be here when you're done. Trust yourself, Syd. You're better than you know."

Her words were slightly undermined by the continued rhythm of Lexi's fists crashing into the pile of shattered wood.

Pulling my hand from the wall severed the connection with my goddess. I took a deep breath and stared at the tree Bel had indicated.

One... Two... Seven. I carefully counted out the steps before dropping to my knees. My hands pierced the soft loam of the floor, staining my fingers brown. Chill invaded my skin as my pants became soaked with excess moisture from the damp earth. A foot of quick but measured digging and my fingers collided with something hard. I grabbed and hauled it free of the surrounding dirt. It was an antler connected to a bleached-bone skull. A humanoid skull. And right between the insertion point of the antlers was sigil etched into the forehead. It gave off the same unnatural energy that I'd seen trapping Lexi away.

Following Bel's instructions, I centered myself as much as I was able. I folded my legs beneath me and wiped the worst of the dirt from my hands onto my pants. I sat the skull in my lap. Gritting my jaw, I jabbed my thumbs onto the prongs of the antlers. Wincing, I closed my eyes as the scent of blood mixed with the earth. The enchantment that Bel had laid onto my body unfolded as the pink tattoos that whorled across my body flashed.

The darkness of my eyelids transitioned to something else entirely. Bel had described it as a construct of our combined minds to help me interface with the magic. A piecework solution in lieu of years of formal training in the arcane arts.

When the rushing vista stopped, I was left staring at a hazy but recognizable approximation of the engineering lab at my college.

Only, no one is around.

In fact there was nothing around me.

This isn't rea-

A splitting headache threatened to take me to my knees when I tried to focus on the surroundings. The only thing I could easily look at, as well as the only thing of note, was a desk containing a single piece of paper with a pen. Following Belini's advice, I rolled with the setting and took a look at the paper. My brow furrowed.

It's a statics problem?

It was a diagram I was readily familiar with. Complicated, but not too difficult if I took each step in turn. I grabbed the pen, flipped it around before hunching over and bending my mind to the task.