Elsewhere…

Sierra stared passively through the glass at the person inside. They glared back, defiantly.

It was a good day then; they were cognisant at least. She noted it down. It had been over to weeks now since the subject had been brought in as per the professor's request and so far, their progress had been inconsistent at best. The initial procedure had gone well at least and much of the subject's surface level brainwashing had been removed.

Unfortunately, that was the easy part. Much of the subject's more deeply rooted programming remained, as evidenced by the subject's continued insistence on being referred to as a 'girl.' At this point though that is likely more true from a biological standpoint than it could be considered false.

Sierra wasn't entirely sure what form of biological tampering the subject had undergone, but it had certainly had an extreme effect. A simple examination of the subject's body revealed that their male genitalia has shrunk to the point of being barely noticeable while the female genitalia was even now still developing, the uterus and ovaries proceeding at a rate that would likely allow the subject to become pregnant and carry children in another week or so. And the subject's chest now displayed two small budding breasts. Not enough to see while the target was clothed but this would no doubt change as well as observation continued.

Even with all of their progress towards reassignment surgery there was no way modern science and technology would be able to arrange for a transition this pronounced. The professor has already predicted that within a month this individual would be fully female right down to their chromosomes. And it went without saying that reversing the process was impossible considering they couldn't even understand it. Perhaps even more bizarrely the subject had shown little interest in the process. As far as 'she' was concerned she couldn't wait for the 'ugly bits' to be gone and for her true femininity to shine through. They still had much more work to do.

Sierra watched her fellow assistant; Penny approach the subject with a small personal computer.

The subject frowned:

'Do we have to do this every day?' they protested, 'it's humiliating!' Penny nodded, unsympathetically.

'I'm afraid so,' she answered, 'we have to check every day for signs of any improvement or deterioration.'

'Deterioration?' the subject repeated, 'how can it get any worse?' Penny didn't answer. She just moved on.

'Name?' she asked, crisply. The subject sighed.

'Andrew Murphy,'

'Sex?'

'Female'

'Age?'

'Not sure, mid to late teens I think.'

'Date of birth?'

'Fuck off, if I don't know my age how am I going to know the date?'

'Home address?'

'No clue.'

'Next of kin?'

'My parents I'd assume.'

'Work?'

'I worked at the theatre, damned if I remember where it is though.'

'Can you describe your work colleagues for me…'

Sierra watched the interview for a little longer then turned away. Not much had changed. The process had removed much of Andrew's programming, but also stripped the subject of almost all their memories. All that remained was the deep-seated knowledge of the Myskin Theatre. The demons were certainly good at this, far better than humans were.

'Are you frustrated?' her employer Professor Sarutana asked. Sierra shook her head, even as she understood that her boss was too sharp to fool easily.

'You should be,' she continued, 'I know I am. The demons, the divine, the spirits, they all wield powers that run against everything we know about the world. And if we ever want to push back against them all we'll need to learn how to do what they do through our own means. Even if that means cooperating with them for now.'

Sierra looked back at the boy that was soon to become a girl. Their research was a long way from being able to really help people in this situation, but it still had its uses. And those uses would only continue to grow as their progress did. Though they were still a long way away from throwing all the freaks out of their city and reclaiming it. One battle at a time…

Boyce grunted with the exertion as he lifted himself up again, even his well-practiced, well-toned muscles complaining at the brutal, relentless workout he put them through. He would keep going though, until his entire body was screaming at him and probably even beyond. Working out was the only thing that really helped. He wasn't allowed to do much, so it had to be this. Anything to distract himself from…

'You still here old man! Fuck you are intense!' The newcomer's tone was harsh, his demeanour sulky and crass but Boyce welcomed him all the same. Anything that would mean he wouldn't have to listen to…

'They still going at it?' The boy asked, scratching his groin, 'damn! You know when it'll be my turn? I've always wanted to try riding a tiger!' Boyce grunted. He didn't like talking but it was better than listening.

'You'll get your chance,' he replied, 'and you probably won't be so eager afterwards. The Mistress doesn't like it when other people are happy, after all.' The scrawny youth seemed to consider this.

'How bad could it possibly be?' he asked, 'I mean yeah, I'm not really into little kids. But she's a shapeshifter, right? She can turn into anything! I've got some porn mags in my room I could show her.' Boyce resisted the urge to sigh. They were all like this at first. That optimism didn't last long. Harmony delighted in feeding off of it. This one probably wouldn't last long either. She'd ring him dry like a damp sponge and throw him out when she was finished.

'Hey,' the kid continued, 'I heard a rumour. I hear that the Mistress has a special room where she keeps the guys who she really likes! They don't have to do anything all day, just lie around waiting for her to come and fuck 'em! Sounds pretty cool to me!' Boyce didn't bother correcting him. He was right, really. Though he missed a crucial detail. Mistress Harmony was a creature of contradiction. She enjoyed manipulating people, she enjoyed toying with them and making them suffer until they broke.

But at the same time, she also wanted them to please her. And while there were some people out there that enjoyed being abused and tormented, Harmony didn't enjoy that either. She wanted to see the discomfort and pain in people's expressions. There were plenty of other things she wanted but those were the main ones.

And her inconsistent desires led her to a particular hobby. Making people into sex toys. She was more similar to her rival Aria than she cared to admit. It was likely one of the reasons why they hated each other so much. But Aria at least had the decency to make sure her dolls didn't feel anything. For Harmony that was almost the whole point. Her victims were entirely conscious and entirely helpless, trapped inside their own bodies, helpless to do anything as she played around with them and manipulated their bodies as she saw fit.

Most recently she'd developed a fetish for testing to see how large she could make someone's cock and still have it fit inside her. She'd use some repulsive power to swell the thing up to ridiculous sizes and then straddle it. It always seemed as though the massive beast would split her tiny child frame in half. But it never did. No doubt she used the same fucked up ability to widen her own holes, hollowing herself out so she could ravage herself on a rod almost the same size as she was. It was disturbing, but also wonderful. And it was that bizarre mixture of awe and revulsion that Harmony seemed to enjoy the most.

Though in Boyce's case things were different. He was useful according to her. And that meant no distractions. What was the biggest distraction for a male? The need to reproduce, of course. So Harmony had taken it away. Or at least he wish that was all she had done. Instead, typical of her she'd gone halfway. He still felt the arousal, but he couldn't do anything about it. His cock never became aroused, it remained flaccid no matter how he wanted to stimulate it. Not that he could do that, he wasn't allowed to touch it and nor was he allowed to ask anyone else to touch it. He couldn't even hold it when he needed to piss, forcing him to sit on the toilet like a woman.

This would be bad enough, if it wasn't for his son. Poor Felix was one of Harmony's cock toys. He was still just a kid, probably about the same age as that one kid from the Concert. He hadn't seen him for so long. She always promised she'd let him see her, but he'd long given up hope of that. Nowadays he only wished she'd let go of his balls so he could fuck her again. He hadn't performed well during that last Concert, but that wasn't really his fault. Those other demons always gave out stupid fucking penalties. Maybe during the next operation he'd get a chance. Mistress said it was going to be pretty big. If he did well maybe she'd finally let him touch his own cock again.

In the background Harmony's orgasmic cries echoed across the room. It didn't actually matter where in the compound you were, you could always hear the sounds of her indulging herself. At least here he could do something to try and distract himself from the noise. Was she fucking his son right now, or some other brat? It didn't matter. He just needed to keep on being useful. That was all…

Julie bowed her head once more:

'I am terribly sorry about this!' she apologised again, 'he doesn't normally take this long to meet his guests! And you've been here for so long already!' She couldn't admit that her Master was deliberately avoiding this man. Not that she didn't understand why.

'Not to concern yourself, young lady,' the foreigner laughed, 'I've enjoyed the company immensely. I really feel as though more people should stay in a casino when they travel. It truly provides a different perspective from an inn or a hotel.' Julie nodded her head in agreement. There's no way she'd do anything else.

'I can try speaking to my manager again,' she ventured, 'see if there is anything we can arrange.' He chuckled.

'Not to worry, my dear,' he replied, 'it's a matter of little concern. It is in fact your 'other' employer I came here to see!' Julie's rabbit ears perked up in alarm. Like many of the other girls working at the Golden Wheel, her ears were real. It was one of the 'gifts' she had been given for working here and helped her hear customers calling for service from long distances. They also helped her spot the tell tell sounds of cheaters trying to adjust their stacks or tamper with their cards as well as allowing her to get away with some slight of hand herself. A casino run by a demon was never going to play fair, after all.

Still, this time it was danger her ears were reacting to.

'I am sure that I do not understand what you might be referring to,' she stammered, 'I am a loyal employee of the Golden Wheel and I wouldn't dream of doing anything else.' The man's smile didn't fade but a dangerous edge appeared in it. Julie felt as though she was trapped between a bear and a wolf, trying to decide which was most likely to savage her.

'I am quite aware of your divided loyalties, my dear,' he continued, 'and I'm not the only one that knows. The Rat must have gotten senile to expect you'd be able to stay here for so long without being discovered. Either that or it just doesn't care! I'd recommend you take some time off after my visit here is over, for your own safety.'

Julie suddenly felt faint. She knew what she had signed up for, of course. But when you are the eighth child out of twelve living in a shithole just outside a literal warzone between heaven and hell you'd do anything you possibly could to escape, even sign your soul away to a twisted creature that lived in darkness and frittered away knowledge like it was collecting a horde of treasure. She'd run if she had anywhere to run to. But she didn't, so she'd just have to accept her fate. Her Boss could only kill her, after all. The Rat would do far worse to her if she deviated from her contract.

'I appreciate your concern sir,' she replied, 'might I ask what matter you wish to bring up.' The man gestured and a small child stepped forwards.

'I'd like to leave her here under your care,' he said, 'the Rat will understand.' Julie looked at the small child. For her part the girl met her gaze without concern. Evidently she was aware that she was to be abandoned here. Julie certainly didn't understand, but she didn't need to.

'As much as I would love to do as you request, sir,' she said, 'I'm afraid my other employer wouldn't take too kindly to it. He might attempt to stop me.' The man laughed again.

'He won't,' he stated, 'he knows better than to try. He cares too much about his precious casino and wouldn't like to see me level it to the ground, after all.' Julie nodded. She very much believed that a being such as this could do just as he stated. She gulped.

'Very well, sir,' she agreed, 'I shall get to it right away, will there be anything else?' The man shrugged.

'Not particularly,' he answered, 'unless you happen to know where that rotten egg happens to be right now.' Julie flinched.

'I believe the egg sir speaks off will be next appearing at the auction next month,' she answered, 'does sir wish to receive a brochure.' He was already looking uninterested.

'Nah,' he said, 'it was just a passing fancy. I always like to catch up with all friends while I'm in the area. Speaking of which I should visit the vixen while I'm here. She's really letting this place go to the shitter, after all.' Julie found herself leaning back as though doing this would help ward her from the dangerous conversation they were having.

'I'm sure I wouldn't know anything about that,' she managed. He grinned.

'No,' he concluded, 'I imagine you wouldn't. Well, best of luck little girl,' he moved past her a hand moving out to clasp her backside as he moved past. This wasn't the first time he had groped her and Julie hadn't reacted to it any of the other times either. She actually found it difficult to breathe in his presence. But finally he was gone, leaving her alone with just this strange little girl. Julie had already decided it wasn't her problem. She would do as she was told and hope for the best. It was really all she could do…

The rough man lay on the riverbank, staring grimly at the water. He'd done this regularly, for three weeks now, as though his grudge would allow that person to materialise before him. He gripped the dagger concealed in his grubby coat, imagining what he would do with it if given the chance. In truth he didn't understand why he was so fixated on this. He hadn't been that close to Jerry, after all. They hung out together and had shared a can of beans once or twice. But there wasn't any real brotherhood there. Just two homeless guys trying to make their way together.

So it wasn't anger he felt, at least not anymore. It was just that there was something missing now and it wouldn't feel right until he knew what happened. Chances are he'd never find out why Jerry's body had been floating in this river, all the blood sucked out of it like the work of some king of fucked up vampire. But he still wanted to know. The killer always returned to the scene of the crime, right? Maybe if he hung around here for long enough something like that would happen?

'Tony you little limp dick fuckhead!' a voice called out to him, 'you seriously here again! You got fungus growing in your brain or something?'

'Fuck off, Rita,' Tony fired back, 'I can sit wherever I damned well please!' Rita cocked her head.

'Oh yeah,' she snarled, 'you going to waste another fucking day skipping rocks or whatever the hell you are doing? You remember the rules, right? If you want to continue on at the shelter you better carry your own weight! I'll kick your arse if you turn up with nothing but a dumb look on your face again!' Tony would have chuckled, if he didn't know it to be true. He'd once seen Rita deck a wise guy right in the balls. Then she'd beat him round the head with a bat, just to make sure he didn't get any funny ideas later.

'I know,' he snapped, 'I'll do some proper work, quit your bitching! You ain't my mother!'

'Thank fuck for that,' she fired back, 'cos if I was I'd probably have thrown myself into this shit stained river by now! We've had a fair few of us dying recently, we can't be dealing with no slackers on top of that! Get your act together, or find some other place to stay! This is the last time I'm saying it!' She threw him another dirty look for good measure and stalked off. Tony couldn't help but chuckle.

Rita was a foul mouthed, vicious little brat, but it couldn't be said that she didn't look after the bastards at the shelter. And their loses had hit her hard as well, it was unnerving, as though they were being targeted specifically. Chances are they likely were. Nobody gave a shit if a few bums went missing or showed up dead. Just like Jerry. Sure the police came and took his body away. But would they actually seek justice for him? Like hell they would! If there was anyone left who actually cared about him he wouldn't be some bum living hand to mouth every day. And it had happened again after that. Plenty more of them had died after Jerry. As if their lives meant less than other peoples'. It was fucked up, but there wasn't much he could do about it. Just sit here on this river bank and hope.

Tony was prepared to sit there for another hour or so. He'd go and beg for some coins after that, he didn't really want Rita tearing him a new one. But his plans were quickly disrupted when something emerged from the river in an explosion of water. This thing seemed to sort of resemble a human, albeit a human with all his limbs and his head removed. Just a chest and torso somehow crawling it's way up the river bank using strange black, things. Tendrils maybe, not that he really understood what the word meant. It looked like the thing had spider legs, thin and black with pointed ends. He held his dagger close and watched the thing as it dragged itself under the shadow of the tunnel.

Then it started to writhe and twist, its shape changing as he watched it. More and more it was shifting into something that more closely resembled a human. Arms and legs sprouting in place followed after by a head. Then hair and facial features emerged and the man was standing up, handsome of feature and entirely naked. Another figure emerged from the river, like a stuffed animal but moving. Black with red wings and stitched outlines. It seemed to be carrying a bundle with it. Is that clothes? The creature that now resembled a man now stood before him, fully dressed and rather menacing. Tony could only gape. He probably should have run a long time ago, but some macabre fascination had kept him in place.

'Did you not know that it is rude to stare?' he asked, with a voice cold as ice, 'I may have been disgraced and deposed, but I'm still not in a position where I can tolerate being gawped at by the clueless locals. Would you say that is true, Francene?' The little creature on his shoulder nodded.

'Sounds right to me, Lord Razor,' it replied in a high pitched voice, 'back home one would have to pay a toll to gaze upon your magnificent countenance, they would!'

'Yes,' the man continued, 'you are quite right, my dear. But just look at this plebeian, do you truly believe he can afford to pay for such an honour?'

'Not a chance,' Francene, answered.

'How dreadful,' the man continued, 'and how do you suggest we resolve this difficult issue?'

'The way I see it,' the animal suggested, 'there's really only one thing left for this cretin to pay with.' Lord Razor nodded.

'Then we have an accord,' he said, with the finality of a guillotine blade slicing down, 'rejoice, wastrel, for you will experience the greatest joy in your miserable life, and serve as a stepping stone for me as I begin to reclaim my past glory!' In a moment the man was surrounded by dozens of vicious looking red bats the colour of blood. Tony barely had a chance to raise his dagger before they were all over him, sharp teeth slicing into his neck and sinking into flesh all over his body. He fell and they fell with him, leaving a mass of writhing flesh and splashing blood.

'Now then,' Razor asked, 'where exactly are we now?'

'I believe this is the midwestern suburbs,' Francene responded, 'there's already a demon governing this place, but I doubt she poses a threat to your majesty.'

'No need to be hasty,' Razor countered, 'I have yet to fully recover. And I'd hate for my former partners to learn of my survival too soon and come after me. Let us go forth and view the sights first! It has been so long since I have experienced what it must be like for the rabble!' He set off, his familiar commenting as he did so.

'Ah yes, a brilliant decision as always, my Lord! Truly you are destined to become the next Demon Lord!'