Monsterverse 5 - Ch 1

(UNEDITED)

Chapter 1

A dull yellow glow seemed to occupy the air around me as I walked with my team of monsters through a heavily fog-covered swamp. I only say 'swamp' because what seemed to be water glistened around us in spots, and the whole area had a sour smell. The more we walked, the more I noticed that the yellow light was more than that. It wasn't only light, but a light layer of some yellow substance in the air, and even having alighted on some of the branches. I had to wonder if I was breathing it in, and how bad that might be for me.

The others walked ahead, with Devasla taking up the rear. With her fiery glow, I had to keep my eyes on the surrounding area or others, so that my vision wouldn't be too affected and then have to readjust to the surrounding darkness. At least Suiko's ghostly glow was subtle, more like looking at an ereader with backlight than a computer screen or fire. Devasla and Amabie never wore clothes--the former with rock or fire covering her special areas, the latter with scales like armor--the rest of us were all still dressed, in spite of how weird that would be here.

Lizzy had on a cute black skirt with red overcoat, in some way reminding me of the redhead from that Riverdale show. She wasn't a redhead, though, so maybe it was the eyes and mouth? Something about her face, for sure. Kinara and Jalee were both wearing slacks with thin blouses, leading me to think Ahlaksiz must've dressed them. Their outfits didn't fit their personality at all, giving them the looks of women working in department stores rather than ladies who were bat and thunderbird monstergirls, respectively.

Milrae caught me eyeing her and grinned, slowing to my side an wrapping one of her furry panda paws through my arm to pull me close.

"It's not all so cold and dreary," she insisted.

"God, I hope not."

We walked on and my attention went to a skittering sound above, motion in the leaves. One of Suiko's balls of light floated up, casting a lavender glow on the leaves, but revealed nothing.

"The sooner we find water, the better," Amabie said, holding her fish tail to avoid letting it drag along the ground here.

"I'm sure you'll have plenty of it, soon enough," Kinara told her. "Swamps, oceans, lakes. We have 'em all, just like on your planet."

"What I wonder is, will you be able to travel in them the same way?" Ahlaksiz asked,

Amabie wore her beak at the moment, but her eyes narrowed in a thoughtful way. She was curious--one more thing about this world we wanted answers to. Part of me wanted to simply get out of there, but we had Jalee's sister to find, the situation with Randi and her hunter dad, or whatever was going on there, and my little desire to take down the hunters once and for good. That last one wasn't a must, but certainly was on my list of areas to explore.

I placed my hand on my satchel in a nervous habit to ensure it was still there. Within were the two sundisk halves, food and drink, and the mask that Lizzy had once worn. Keeping it tucked under my jacket at least made it less likely to get snagged on creeping tree branches, or taken by thieving monsters. In this type of world, I had no idea what to expect.

Even with clothes, I was cold, and figured some of them were, too--especially the other normal human, Lizzy. She had looked extremely relieved when the others had agreed we could keep our clothes on until we figured out where we were and had a plan.

At one point I tried my spirit sight, but it literally did nothing externally here other than making the ladies around me seem to glow. What it did was give me a more internal sense of self awareness, to the point that I even seemed to be able to see Suiko where she rested within. Basty was in his scarf form around my neck, and while I held my spirit vision, I 'saw' him, too, as if looking at myself with thermal vision but from a few feet away. A strange sensation, that I quickly turned off.

Low hissing sounds reminded me of snakes, but a glance at Randi didn't reveal anything. She simply slithered along next to Kaharu and Bloodsong, Ahlaksiz following close behind. Most likely, she was keeping an eye on Randi--none of us were sure how far the lamia could be trusted.

The hissing sound turned into a low howl, so I decided I'd be better off not thinking about it.

"Welcome to our world," Kinara said, pulling up close to me on the other side opposite Milrae. I couldn't help but notice the way she shook. "I hope you're hating it so far, because I sure as fuck do."

"You're going to be okay," I told her, pushing back the worry that threatened to show in my cracking voice.

"It's just that I started to imagine a scenario where I'd never have to come back here. Where you and I could relax on the beaches of your world and make love, and have no other worries."

"Someday."

"You think?"

I glanced around this strange land, taking note of a smal, slithery creature that scampered up a tree and then paused to stare at me. It had dark yellow eyes, and a series of horns along its back. The thing reminded me of a small dragon, but didn't have wings. I had to wonder, then, if they had dragons in this place. Another thought struck me as we passed that tree and I glanced back to see the animal was gone. What about dinosaurs? How crazy would it have been if, many years ago back on Earth, the dinosaurs didn't go extinct, but somehow managed to escape into this world? I shook my head with a chuckle.

"Ferris?" Kinara asked, waiting for an answer.

What was the question? Ah, about someday being able to relax and simply enjoy each other. My honest thought was in the affirmative, if this strange monster land didn't kill me first. But I didn't tell her that. Instead, I pulled her tight, gave her a slap on the ass, and said, "Of course. And when that day comes, I'm going to make you forget all about this place. You'll be too busy screaming my name to ever have another scared or worried thought again."

"Are you two seriously talking sex at a time like this?" Jalee asked, glaring as she slowed to walk beside us.

"Well…" I shrugged.

"You see any sign of where we are?" Kinara asked, knowing the smart move here was to change the subject.

"No," Jalee admitted. "That's why I came back. I was thinking maybe Suiko could go up and get a lay of the land, let us know what she sees."

As the ghost lady emerged from my chest, I offered, "Actually, I could do that. With the mask powers, and--"

"No!" Randi said, spinning on us. She waved her hands, looking worried, "The last thing you want to do here is activate Akame."

"Wouldn't saying her name here be problematic?" I asked.

"For her, yes," Milrae explained. "But she's already trapped in the mask, in a sense. How much worse can it get?"

"And if we set her free?"

"You've watched too many Disney movies," Bloodsong said with a scoff.

"I… might have." As a child I'd actually watched more Studio Ghibli movies than Disney, if you counted numbers of rewatches, but had seen all the Disney films at least once.

"She can't be freed," Ahlaksiz explained, "because she's not exactly a prisoner."

"That's right," Randi chimed back in. "It's more like a transformation. She was merged to it, but in that step, became it. Sort of like a moth and butterfly in your world, but not exactly."

Considering that, I wondered if there was any way to help her, and felt bad about the mask. Eventually, I decided to ask Suiko, and pay attention in the meantime. For now, now using the mask or its powers. Except…

"Why'd we bring it, then?"

"Ah." Randi grinned, giving me a corny thumbs up. "It seems you don't let anything slip by you. We brought it to use, but not yet."

"Why don't you pretend we're all friends here and tell us why," Koharu said, playing with her tail. She was fidgeting, likely as nervous as I felt.

"The mask was made here." Randi explained. "Meaning, the energy has been storing up out there. If and when you use it here, you're likely going to be overwhelmed. Her influence will threaten to take over you and Lizzy, even though Lizzy isn't attached anymore. If you did it right away, her chances of taking over the both of you would be even stronger. Like how your eyes don't adjust immediately when going from darkness to bright light, or vice-versa, here your powers and even mind hasn't had a full chance to adapt.

Fow now, we would avoid that route. Suiko first went up to scout, but said she wasn't able to see anything in the darkness. Then she went to scout in different directions, as we continued our trajectory forward.

"How exactly did you come to work for Randi?" Bloodsong asked Lizzy, and I glanced back, curious as well.

"You know how these things work," she said with a shrug.

"Not really, no," Kinira chimed in.

Seeing that everyone was looking her way, Lizzy kinda of mumbled something to herself, shaking her head.

"You don't want to tell us, that's fine," I said. "No pressure."

"Fuck that," Milrae said. "Now I'm more curious than ever. Pressure on!"

Randi laughed. "Go ahead, you can tell them. Or should I?"

Lizzy turned, slowing her walk as she explained, "A connection invited me to a party, I put on my best smile and talked myself up, catching his--of course, his at the time--attention. He was a real prick, though."

"I'm standing right here," Randi protested.

"But you were. I mean, even now you're a bit of a bitch."

Randi looked around at us, as if we would come to her aid. Not a chance.

"Want to know how I found out about all this monster stuff?" Lizzy asked, looking around to the group, smiling now. "It's… weird."

"Yes," Kinara blurted out. Others nodded our heads and said we did, too.

Ranid seemed humored, and didn't interrupt.

“There we were, like three months into working together. I’d just been given my big assignment, when I was about to enter the bathroom. Instead, I froze, watching as Kim stood there and Rand came rolling in on his wheelchair, asks her how committed she was, and then pulled out his cock. I’m thinking he wants her to go down on him or something, and am about to walk out of there, but she looked horrified and seemed to be about to staple his cock to his nutsack. Except, as she stood to protest, his cock vanished! I stared in complete disbelief, then practically fell on my ass when he stood and slipped off his pants. When he became a she with the lower body of a snake, you can bet I was on the verge of a major breakdown. At that point, I would have loved to be presented with a simple cock to staple. Kim, however, seemed super into it and they… started stuff. So I had to leave, and never mentioned it.”

“I didn’t used to be the type to avoid beating around the bush,” Randi said with a frown. “Figured that was the most forward way to show what I was, and see if she could handle my world, but after that, she threatened to reveal everything and… blackmailed me. It was fucked up. Hence, why I never showed Lizzy.”

“And…?” Jalee asked.

“That’s so fucked up,” I muttered, but almost wanted to laugh at the image of what she’d just said.

“He did tell me, though, that there was a whole world of monsters out there, and that he wanted me to help out, on the inside, and that it would greatly propel my writing career. Naturally, I was intrigued, even if Rand and Randi tried to pretend they were two separate beings for a while. A fact I found humorous.”

"She signed up on the spot," Randi said with a chuckle.

"I'm not sure I would've," Koharu said, shaking her head in confusion and disgust.

"And what about those first monster gatherings you went to?" Milrae asked. "With all the… You know."

"No, what?" Lizzy shrugged.

"Huge schlongs swaying about, is what she means," Ahlaksiz interjected. "Right?"

Milrae nodded.

Lizzy blushed, eyes darting my way, then at the ground. "Honestly, that was disgusting. No offense if any of you are, you know, into monsters. God knows Randi has had her share…"

"Hey now, no slut-shaming here," Randi said, but was still smiling.

"I just don't find a penis on its own to be a turn on, especially if it threatens to rip me in half. It's more about the man it's attached to."

"But with the right man, put that thing in front of your face and you'd go all lollipop on it, right?" Kinara asked.

Lizzy didn't voice an answer, but nodded, still avoiding my gaze.

"This is all well and good," Suiko said, floating around and appearing at the front of the group. "Heaven forbid I be the one to bring the topic of conversation away from sex and genetalia, as always, but you all might like to know that I've spotted a group of monsters."

"What did they look like?" Jalee asked. "Describe them."

"Small, furry. Long dangling hair."

Jalee put a hand to her chin in thought, while Kinara offered up, "Rilandar?"

"It's possible," Milrae chimed in. "But that would put us way off target."

"It would also mean we're at risk of being attacked," Jalee pointed out. "The alternative would be that they might be Eadrags, but then we'd be in for a whole other shitstorm."

"Never been a fan of shitstorms," I admitted. "But to be clear, what do you mean?"

"Eadrags are about waist high, and like to bite whatever they can, with no warning. They'll all smiles one minute, piece of your bloody ass or cock in their mouths, torn from your body, the next."

"Let's avoid those ones." I gulped, feeling my package wanting to recede into my body and hide.

Half the group was lingering behind, so we waited for them to catch up and explained the predicament.

"A couple of us could scout them out," Randi said. "See what we can learn from them, verify which type they are."

"Are you volunteering?" Bloodsong asked.

I was getting a bit dizzy with the whole group around like that, so actually liked the idea of a few going down.

"I'll go," I said.

"Didn't you hear what they said?" Kinara protested. "Out of all of us here, you're the only one with a cock at risk of being bitten off." She stepped close, hand cupping my package. "And it's such a nice one at that."

I frowned at that, ignoring the groan Lizzie made at Kinara's overt sexuality.

"Right. Fine, but how about this--I get close with Suiko, and she can share what she's seeing with me. Basty will help out with protection if there are any wanderers. So, whoever goes with Suiko gives her a signal, and I'll see. One finger means we're good. Then I signal the rest of you. Yeah?"

"If he's getting close, I'm going in," Kinara said.

"Shut up, you know as well as I do you're the last of us who can go prancing around," Ahlaksiz said, likely referring to the fact that many monsters wanted to eat Kinara's kind. "I won't be of much use here, Amabie is also not a good choice--not being from here--and Devasla, you would scare the hell out of them. So that leaves--"

"Of course I'll go," Milrae cut in.

"And me," Jalee said.

I grinned, kind of figuring it would be my original gals who would go. Kinara pouted, but the rest seemed okay with the arrangement.

"We'll form a perimeter," Devasla said. "Keep it safe, monitor who comes and goes."

"One thing," Randi said, eyes showing humor as she added, "We're in the land of monsters, now. We've waited long enough…"

"Ah, right," Kinara was the first to catch on, shimmying out of her clothes and suddenly standing there stark naked. At least it was kind of dark, so as next Ahlaksiz and then Jalee and Milrae stripped, it wasn't as awkward as it might have been in broad daylight. Of course, I made it MORE awkward by waiting. Even more so when I wasn't the only one. Lizzy stood next to a now nude Randi--snake bottom--one one side and the always-nude form of Devasla on the other.

Everyone looked from me to Lizzy, then back to me, and finally it was Bloodsong who cleared her throat.

"I get it," Bloodsong said, "I'm not used to this land or its ways, either. But neither of you have reason to be shy, and I guarantee this won't be the last time you have to strip in front of each other."

"Actually, they'll likely be moving around in these parts without clothes for… who knows how long," Amabie said, her scales retreated so that she was full nude. "Best to get it over with, and get used to it."

"It's so weird for you humans?" Koharu said with a laugh, then shook her breasts back and forth. "They're just parts of our bodies, like our fingers, noses--"

She stopped because I had suddenly dropped trow. With having most of them nude, and seeing Koharu shake her breasts like that, I was hard as stone. The fact that I'd pulled it out instead of naturally stripping added to the embarrassment, even more so when Lizzy stared.

Damn.

I covered myself, blushing, and hating the laughs from Jalee and Kinara.

"For the record, I said, starting to pull my pants up, when a man does that, it's rude to laugh."

"Just, help him," Bloodsong said, and suddenly Kinara and Jalee were on me, pulling off my clothes and tossing them.

"Hey!" I protested.

"Shut up. You're a man, your penis gets hard. We get it." Jalee stepped back, my clothes off, and gestured to the shoes and socks. "All of it."

"But we're walking…"

She sighed. "We are in a land of monsters, going up against who knows what, and your biggest worry is the bottom of your feet getting scratched?"

I couldn't help but notice that Lizzy had pulled off her top and bra, her nipples taut as she worked her jeans. That made me forget about the shoes, so I kicked them off and then the socks. Lizzzy saw me watching, but didn't bother to conceal herself as she pulled off her pants and panties, tossing them.

If she ever had trimmed down there, it had certainly been a long time. Her thick bush nearly concealed the line of her pussy. She held her hands out, eyeing me, too.

"Now that we've both had a good look, should we get on with it?"

I felt my cheeks burning, nodded, and said, "Suiko, ready?"

"You living types are hilarious," she replied, and then looked down at herself. "But to be fair…" She eyed me as her kimono faded, leaving only her nude, ghostly form.

Fuck me, my cock felt like it was going to explode. I took a deep breath, and said, "I'm less worried of getting my head chopped off as I am passing out from blood flow to my cock. Does this get… more normal?"

"Probably not," Bloodsong said. "And yeah, we noticed."

I gave her a playful glare, then decided to try to have fun with it. Turning and pointing with my erect cock, I said, "Is it that way?" I turned again, sticking it out. "Or… that way?"

They burst into laughter.

"Children," Suiko said, shaking her head, and then took my cock in an ice grip, pointing slightly to the left of where it was. "That way."

Her touch sent a chill through me. And as good as it felt, the effect was like a cold shower, causing the pressure of blood in my cock to lessen, at least enough to allow me to think clearly.