Mature Content Warning: Swearing, weird visual imagery, flap jack breasts, and general adult situations.

Author's Note: Hello, and welcome back to Nocturne. This chapter is somewhat longer than recent ones. I had planned to release it tomorrow, but I had nothing better to do. So, I finished it up today. Enjoy.

--

Scott sighed lightly as he looked out the bus window. It should have been a short ride back to Oldtowne and then a brisk walk up to the Hickey-Wa shrine. Like bus lines of old, however, this one took several out of the way stops and turned what could have been a two and a half day walk into a four day bus ride.

He did get to see the towns of Glasscock and Nippleton, though. Nice little places with mildly interesting people. He'd seen a Minotaur and even what looked like a Naga. He hadn't really seen a great variety of Demi-Humans for real even though he had been on this perverted world for well over half a year now, so this had been rather nice to the man.

Some parts had been a little odd to him. The sight of the half snake and half human chick had been slightly unnerving. She had a nice rack, though, so at least she had that going for her.

"My Pikabu could too take out a Shadow Strider!" snapped a young green haired boy.

"Cannot! Striders are insanely strong! Your Pikabu wouldn't last five seconds!" railed a green haired girl sitting next to the boy.

This conversation and similar had been going on for days as the two teenagers had argued back and forth about how powerful their starting Demi-Humans were. Neither of them had apparently had a real battle, yet they could not stop babbling about how awesome they were.

"Cinnamon would kick its ass!"

Scott blinked and finally had to speak up. "You seriously named a Pikabu... Cinnamon? What is she a family cat?" Apollo looked up at him with a kitty frown and went back to trying to nap in his lap. He and Aerune were the only other members of the group outside of Aaron that were allowed to ride openly. The girls had to get balled.

"Wha... who the hell asked you anyway?" asked the bratty young man. He was all of sixteen and thought he knew everything of the world.

"What's with that crappy armor anyway? Who buys that shit anymore?" snarked his sister.

"Common decency asked me. Neither of you knows how to shut up and stop bothering the rest of the bus with your chattering." informed Scott in the manner of a cranky old man.

Several other riders spoke up with a loud, "Thank the gods!" and "Bout time someone said something... damn!"

"Hey! We can talk all we want you jackass!" snapped the green haired chick.

"Whatever. It would be nice if either of you had a clue what you were talking about though." replied the man as Aaron agreed with a nod.

Jayce, the green haired sibling, couldn't help but snap back at him with, "We know what we're talking about! We're Demi-Human tamers! A tin can wearing idiot like you wouldn't know a Demi-Human from a... a... butt hole!"

Gina, his sister, started laughing snidely at that and Scott shook his head. Part of him wanted to continue the argument, but he really didn't want to encourage idiocy in children.

"I refuse to keep arguing with you. I'm sure that many others on this bus would appreciate it if you talked a bit more quietly about all your vast experience with taming though." replied Scott as civilly as possible.

"Yeah sure, whatever... want us to wipe your butt and make you cookies too while we're at it?" snarked Gina.

Scott rolled his eyes, though they could not see him do it, and said, "I'm not sure you're qualified. Do you have references little girl?"

"What?" she asked in confusion.

It took her a minute to process this before she answered with a cry of, "Oh you can just suck my balls!"

Scott reached out his hand, palm up. "Present them." It took all his self-restraint not to break out laughing as he said it though.

The teenagers looked at him stupidly and then stared at each other for a few seconds before shutting up. They really had nothing else to say to that. Despite popular opinion, Gina did not have balls.

Aaron quirked an eyebrow at him but could not hide the slight smile threatening his features. That had been an interesting method of handling the situation to say the least.

......

Chapter 2: Reina of light.

......

Two days into Scott's bus ride....

"Young man, I’ve asked you to leave for the last time. My granddaughter has no interest in you." informed grandpa Henrick. He had been called that for so long no one remembered his real name.

"Bite us gramps. Since when do Demi-Humans get to choose their masters anyway? Just bring the little slut out here so we can get this over with." snarked a blue haired teenager with horn-rimmed glasses.

He was the last remaining suitor of the twenty that had come in the last few days. He had battled and defeated, or simply outlasted, the others in desire to be here.

In short, he was the best of the worst that the local area had to offer as far as tamers went. The moderately reasonable tamers would show up, be turned away, and leave disappointed but with little fuss.

The others had stuck around like obsessed stalkers waiting to see if Reina would step out of the shrine. If she moved far enough away from the sanctuary grounds they would legally be allowed to capture her. Mr. blue hair was the last of those left, but some of them would be returning soon.

Spending a week, two in some cases, in the area with no toilet facilities and with dwindling food had sent several of them back for supplies. The others had been challenged and forced to leave.

"How dare you talk about me like that you pervert!" snapped Reina as she stepped out onto the porch in defiant annoyance.

"Reina! Get back in the house! You know it's dangerous to be out here!" exclaimed grandpa. Usually a half dozen D-balls would be flying already.

"No! I'm getting tired of all these idiots! This is a shrine, don't you have any decency!" snapped the irate girl, first to her grandfather and then to the blue menace.

"Decency? What's that?" he asked quizzically before he began to pick his nose.

"Oh god...” murmured the girl when he wiped a booger on the porch column.

Cale snorted at her and shook his head. "Look bitch we haven't got all year. Just come down here so we can capture you. No one else is left, and we're not going to wait forever. Our dad's with the league, soon your little sanctuary ruling will be overturned and we can get you legally anyway."

"The hell you will! All shrines, churches, and temples have the right to provide permanent sanctuary for human and Demi-Human alike! It's been that way for over two hundred years!"

"Oh, you think so? Well, you forget that whole part about wild Demi-Humans. Remember that, hmm? You know, any wild Demi-Human deemed a threat to the populous and all that? Even without our dad we could come claim you as soon as you regress. Who's gonna tame you? Gramps?" remarked the young man with slow, snide, and deliberate words.

Reina frowned cutely then her ears folded back as a wave of sadness tickled through her. He was right as much as she hated to admit it. She had a few more days at best before her growing needs over took her.

As it stood, there was only the blue haired freak, grandpa, or the new guy Jed. None of them were that appealing a prospect. Jed was cute enough but he creeped her out for some reason.

"My fiancé!" she exclaimed as she grasped at any idea she could come up with. Sure, he was already a day later than he was supposed to be, but he should be here soon right? Not that she was looking forward to yet another suitor.

Grandpa blinked at her as she referred to the fiancé she'd been adamantly refusing to discuss for the last few days.

"Fiancé? Oh please, who'd marry some cat-slut like you? Your boobs are alright, but really we could find one just like you in any alleyway back in Oldtowne." cackled blue.

"He's a knight of the league!" snapped Reina, in self-defense.

The blue haired tamer blinked at her then started to bray out in a loud annoying laugh. "Yeah, right! Why would a knight want a common Catgirl? You damn things are everywhere. Just the other day we saw one begging for scraps outside a restaurant."

"If that's so then why do you keep bothering me you ass!" she snapped hatefully.

The teenager shrugged and said, "Nothing better to do really. Besides, maybe we like taking uppity Demi-Humans down a peg? Hmm? Perhaps we get off on dominating stuck up bitches like you, that think too much of themselves. Yes?"

"Just go away!" she snapped again before swirling around in a righteous fury with her hair arcing nicely. The raven haired girl couldn't stomach talking to him anymore but did say one thing before she slammed the shrine door. "When my fiancé gets here you'll see!"

Grandpa blinked at her but wasn't able to see the look in her eyes. He was surprised at how eager she seemed to meet Scott, but he did not realize the girl was just saving face.

The words of her tormentor had been true. Why would some high ranking Knight want to marry a mere Catgirl? Hell most tamers only took her type along on the off-chance they might evolve into something more useful. She was as common as they came.

The only thing out of the ordinary that she had going for her was an exceptionally strong talent for foresight. All the metaphysical training her grandfather and mother had put her through had increased her psychic abilities greatly, but she was still just a Catgirl after all.

Never mind the fact that she wasn't really looking to get married! She had just turned eighteen a little over a week ago. There was a lot more of life left to live before settling down. If she had avoided awakening; she could have enjoyed being a human teenager a while longer.

"Heh, crazy Catgirl. She really thinks some knight in shining armor is gonna rescue her from the big bad tamer." snickered Cale. They turned away to walk toward the stairs. Maybe her supposed fiancé would show up today. If so they would handle that shit just like all the others.

.....

Scott mumbled in his sleep as a strange scenario opened before his inner eyes. The landscape of his dreams was a bizarre nightmare land with strange twisted trees made of onyx and lakes of fire. All around him screamed the tortured and the damned.

The strangest thing about the place, however, was how serene and calm he felt. It was like all this terror and pain was an illusion, a thing to frighten small children.

He nodded amiably to a red-skinned demon with a pitchfork as it stuck the rusty points into the ass of an overfed man in a tattered business suit. The demon inclined its head then waved merrily. It was strange, but Scott accepted it readily.

All over the place he could see mystical symbols such as the pentacle, the true swastika prior to the Nazi perversion of that ancient healing symbol, and even a few crosses. He crossed a bridge that seemed to be made of rainbow colored glass with demonic skulls attached to the railings.

Scott viewed the area and gazed at the sight before him. There stood a large onyx castle with gigantic bat wings flaring out behind it. The whole thing had the heavy metal pin-up vibe to it that made him feel at ease somehow.

There was pain and terror here, but it wasn't the torture of the innocent. The people he saw being thrown into the burning depths gave off the feel of true evil to him. He could somehow sense the emptiness in their souls where there humanity should be. He just didn't feel the urge to help them that he normally would. If anything, the horrible looking demons felt more human than the people they were tormenting.

Scott crossed the bridge and stood before a pair of massive black metal gates decorated with human skull door knockers. Boldly he knocked upon that door. The gates creaked open ominously and a dark fog rolled out giving the place an appearance reminiscent of a heavy metal music video.

Beyond the entrance were a large audience chamber and a grand stairway. The entire area had a blue and grey cast to it. The throne at the top, however, was jet-black and set against a backdrop of dancing flames.

Upon this throne surrounded by human and demon skulls sat a man with long hair, wearing a blood red leather vest and midnight black leather pants. In his hand was a golden chalice. This ominous figure had an evil but amused look on his face.

Scott blinked as he finally recognized who it was and then blurted out, "Holy shit! Dio?"

The man laughed out darkly and stood up from his throne before throwing his chalice aside.

"I've heard you calling in the dark...." sang out the dream image of Ronnie James Dio with his quintessential heavy metal voice.

"Uh...” started Scott as the reality of the scenario continued to expand upon him. He was in a demonic castle being visited by Ronnie James Dio. It had to be a dream, but this was the coolest shit he'd ever seen.

"I have heard you brave young soldier... you are hungry for the rock." sang out Dio as he started to take well-staged steps down the stairway toward Scott.

"Uh... you know I’m not Jack Black, right?" asked Scott in a suddenly nervous tone. He really didn't have time to start a metal band, chase after Satan’s teeth, or make a few moderately entertaining movies right now. What with the world being at stake and all. Plus, he had way too much taming to do. Always the taming!

Dio laughed at him and shook his head before singing out, "True... but to continue on your path, secret doors you must unlock!"

Scott blinked and found himself at a loss for words as Dio suddenly appeared right in front of him.

"Call on me when you’re lost inside the dark. Use my power... Go my son and... ROOOOOCK!" sang out the dream image of one of the greatest heavy metal vocalists of all time. Afterward the world went black for the man.

He awoke with a start not long after and sighed. He had fallen asleep on the bus after the fight with those damn harpies. A few hours’ ride from Oldtowne a small flock of wild harpies had attacked the bus and destroyed the engine.

It had taken the combined efforts of Scott, the girls, and Aaron to fend them off, but there had still been casualties. Jayce's Pikabu had been badly injured as well as several other Demi-Humans. Most of the human riders at least had escaped unharmed but the bus had been totaled.

"Another weird dream?" muttered Scott as he sat up straight. What was with this world and his crazy dreams? It had been a cool Tenacious D flavored scenario, but really what was the point?

"Sir Scott? Do you wish to continue waiting here for another bus?" asked Aaron curiously. The replacement bus was supposed to be here shortly but they had no way of knowing how much longer it would take.

"No... Let’s just go man. We could have been there faster walking! Why the hell did I think a bus ride would be worth the effort in the first place?"

Aaron nodded. This was true. If the bus had taken a direct route they would have gotten to the shrine the same day they left. Sadly, it had not.

Scott and Aaron got off the bus and told the driver they were leaving. He tried to stop them at first since he was responsible for his passengers. When they showed him their documentation as knights of the league he nodded quickly and stepped aside.

To be honest he was simply surprised that such high ranking individuals would ride a public bus. Didn't they have limousines or private zeppelins or something?

The girls were released in a flash of light and they looked around expectantly.

"Um... this isn't the shrine is it?" asked Cerene curiously.

Scott shook his head. "No, we have a good day's walk ahead of us. I'm tired of waiting for the bus."

A few groans of despair were heard but no one complained 'much' beyond that.

"Well it is good exercise." said Aerune in placation. Apollo snorted at her and said, "You say that now...”

The black cat stared at him curiously for a moment then lifted her tail imperiously. She trotted toward the road with her tail and nose in the air. What was a little walking after all?

The group set off at a steady pace toward their goal. Six hot and boring hours later they reached Oldtowne. It was getting dark by the time that they arrived. When Scott happened to glance behind them, he noted a bus with the same company logo as the one they had left behind coming up on them in its slow methodical manner.

"Well, damn." he said tiredly. The others looked at him with annoyance that quickly dissolved into laughter as his own electronic giggles could be heard loud and clear.

"Ah well." said Aaron without any semblance of exhaustion. The man could literally walk for days without much issue. There was something to be said for having a master's knowledge of magic and regenerative powers.

"Uhm, master? Do you mind if we stop for something to eat?" asked Makina hopefully. The others glanced expectantly at Scott and he nodded.

"Yeah, sure. Might need to stop here for the night anyway, unless you're all willing to push on in the dark?" asked the man. He would be good either way. Another night before he had to meet his possible future wife was fine. On the other hand he had good reason to want to see whether she was who he suspected.

They all voted for a good night's rest so he went along with it. Technically he was in charge, but he really did not feel it necessary to pull rank unless it was necessary. They were not just a battle team, they were a family.

....

Meanwhile during Scott and company's walk toward town...

"Look, I keep telling you people... there's no bus here!" exclaimed Reina from the porch while her tail lashed angrily. This was the fifth time in the last few days that someone had claimed a random friend or relative had disappeared around the shrine or took a bus that never arrived.

An understandably irate older man shouted at her, "My daughter messaged me just before she got on the bus here! It never arrived in town!"

Several other people joined in with similar complaints which continued to cause the raven haired Catgirl to have anxiety issues. A soft but displeased mew came from her throat as her only two friends fluttered down from the top of the shrine to land on her shoulders.

They had been her only source of comfort in the last week or so. Only their friendship had kept her from eating them, however. The feline in her was very interested in eating crow.

"Look girl, get your master out here so he can talk to us!" snapped a matronly woman with a high hair-do and a big motherly ass.

Reina started to snap out something angrily to them but Cale spoke up and said, "Yeah, what do you want?"

"You her master? I wanna know where my daughter is!" snapped the middle aged man.

"Yeah, we are. As for your daughter we don't know. Maybe the slut ran off with some guy." snorted Cale.

"What how dare you! No wonder this Demi-Human is so rude!"

"He is not my master! Now everyone calm down and maybe we can figure this out!" exclaimed the Catgirl.

"Oh stop pretending you slut. You know we'll be your master soon enough, and who gives a fuck about a bunch of lost idiots?" snipped Cale.

"What! How can you say something like that?!"

"We open our mouth and words come out." commented the man.

"Well, I never!" The woman gasped in righteous indignation.

Cale shrugged at her then yawned. "Look can you stupid rubes keep it down, we're trying to sleep. We've been up all night taming and would like to rest, so just go away."

"I'm not leaving without my daughter!" snapped the man.

Cale rolled his eyes and walked off toward where he had set up camp near the shrine steps. He could see any newcomers that way.

"I'm sorry, but I have no idea where she is! We get a ton of visitors every day and there is no shrine bus." explained Reina with as much decorum as she could muster. It had been a very trying day.

"Miss Reina, your tea is ready." announced the soft spoken shrine assistant Jed. His short blond hair was impeccably combed and his robes were clean and pressed. He seemed entirely normal and professional. However, he continued to give off an unsettling vibe to Reina.

The unnerving man's sudden appearance gave her a start and the two angry parents were also at a loss for words as they felt a bone chill after the man arrived. They experienced a deep need to simply leave. Something about the guy just seemed off to them. It was akin to what a Bunnygirl must feel when a wild Warvulf howls nearby.

"Thank you, Jed." she answered him in a strained tone. The man smirked at the people from his position. Reina could not see him, but it was an expression that set the couple's neck hair on edge.

The two disturbed parents blinked as though a heavy fog had come over their vision. They quickly made excuses to leave. There were promises of a complaint to the local police as they walked away, but they seemed distracted and sluggish as though their energy had suddenly disappeared.

Life continued at the shrine that day. People came and went with no sign of the phantom bus that Reina kept hearing about. Later that evening, Grandpa told her that her great grandfather was coming in the morning with her possible fiancé.

The girl just nodded tiredly at him and went off to shower then go to bed. She was feeling very drained for reasons unknown to her. As she passed by the room Jed was staying in she felt an unearthly chill. She looked inside and saw him gazing out of the open door at her with a feral gleam in his eyes.

She blinked and then got another look at him. His expression was entirely normal this time and he even managed a reasonably cute smile. She was obviously seeing things she told herself, before she continued on with her nightly ritual.

Jed's visage quirked into another cold smile then he turned to look into the mirror sitting over his desk. Had Reina gone inside she would have found something far different that his reflection gazing back at him.

........

The next day, around mid-morning...

"Finally!" exclaimed Cerene as she dropped down from the air next to Scott. The shrine steps were before them and she was ever so tired of flying. She needed her quality time near her master as much as anyone.

"What are you complaining about?! You flew ahead and sat down every chance you got!" snipped Aerune as she padded along in exhaustion. She may be a magical talking cat but she had never been that active even back during the era of the Selenite Empire. Walking long distances was definitely not for her. Worse yet, no one would carry her! Nina, and sometimes Scott, would carry Apollo. The whole situation was simply unfair. It was favoritism, sexism! It was some sort of -ism, and she did not like it!

The white cat looked down from Nina's Shoulder and tried his best not to laugh. He had warned her after all.

"We're here at least. That's all I care about." said Makina with a yawn. The walk had been long and vaguely boring. She had gotten used to constant action and snuggling. Sadly, neither was happening right now and it had her considering a nap.

Yoko glanced up the stairs while the others jabbered and said aloud, "Hey, looks like we're not the only ones here...”

The group looked at her then up to the top of the stairs to see a blue haired teenager with horn-rimmed glasses smirking down at them. He had his arms crossed imperiously and the look of someone with total confidence.

"Hey, would you mind moving over? We need to get through." asked Scott as politely as possible. The guy was standing dead center of the stairs and seemed to have every intention of staying

"We, have no intention of moving. This place is ours." informed the blue haired teen.

Aaron frowned at him and said, "This is my family's shrine young man! Now remove yourself."

Cale snorted down at him and shook his head. "When that bitch regresses we'll take her and the place with her. That's how it works, right? These things are handed down through the family, right?"

Aaron was about to unleash a major tongue lashing and possible bodily harm on the snotty teen but Scott moved to put his arm in front of the man.

The much older knight looked over askance at his younger somewhat protégé and saw that he was looking up at the foul mouthed obstacle before them. With a formality he rarely seemed to show Scott said, "Allow me Sir Aaron. I have not even met your granddaughter yet, but I can't abide the idea of this guy anywhere near her."

The thought that this young knight might very well be a member of his family soon entered Aaron's mind and he nodded. It would be his place to defend the honor of his great granddaughter if everything worked out anyway.

"Heh, so you're the knight the slut was talking about? Whatever, we are not impressed." informed Cale.

Scott grunted at the young man and not for the first time did he wonder at the way many of the tamers in this world acted. He had met only about twenty personally, but at least half of them treated their girls like simple minded beasts or sextoys. He had run across only two that he would admit to knowing in public.

"I'm not asking you again. You will move." said Scott as he brought his sword up. The others were getting ready for a fight too, weapons and fists coming up. Even Apollo seemed to be taking up some sort of kitty battle stance.

"Make us?" sniggered the azure haired youth before pulling out a D-ball. He idly tossed it in the air before catching it.

The black armored man frowned inside his helmet and asked, "What? You want some kind of Demi-Human battle?"

"Oh look at how smart he is. He picked up on that all by himself!" cooed the blue haired turd atop the stairs.

Scott started forward sword at the ready, but Cale snorted and called out, "You planning to fight us without a Demi-Human! Damn you really are stupid. Ivanka, we screw you!"

The ball flew forward and a black leather clad dominatrix appeared in a flare of red light. The girl blinked then entered a combat stance.

The black armored man made a move forward toward the dominatrix, but Nina jumped in front of him and exclaimed, "Wait! Let me handle her, master!"

Scott blinked and took a good look at his alpha before nodding his head. She was definitely dressed right for battling a dominatrix, what with her red leather suit and chain whip.

"You're the best!" she said with a wink before bounding up a few of the stairs and taking up a fighting stance.

"Oh ho ho! You tink you can vight me vith a vhip? You pretender!" crowed Ivanka as she snapped her whip around in excitement.

"Make her bleed for us my pet." said her master from up above.

Ivanka smirked, briefly. She moved with lightning speed and sent her whip out in a powerful lashing strike that should have ensnared Nina's leg and left her flat on her ass. Unfortunately for the slightly higher level dominatrix, Scott's blond alpha had been training long and hard for battles against supposedly superior opponents.

The dominatrix had a level advantage, but a Fiend she was not. Nina leapt over that whip and lashed out with her own in midair. The hook easily tagged the surprised Demi-Human in the gut and sent her staggering back to fall over the next stair up. She landed hard on her pert and bouncy posterior. A *whuff* of air exploded from her surprised lungs.

"Vhat?!" exclaimed Ivanka in shock as she found her attack so easily countered. Nina winked at her and arrogantly twirled her chain in her hand. "Guess it was a good idea for me to spend more time working with my whip than learning a fake accent."

"I vill make you beg!" snapped Ivanka. The Demi-Human got serious then and the fight went up a notch. The dominatrix, despite her bravado, wasn't that much harder to deal with however. Nina had developed a great deal technique-wise since her early days as a fighter. After the addition of hydra whip and other techniques were added to her arsenal she was a very difficult opponent to get within striking distance of during most battles.

Ivanka, for all her natural whip affinity, just did not have what it took to defeat an opponent who routinely fought creatures that would make anything short of a goddess class Demi-Human shudder.

Less than three minutes passed as the two girls whirled and slashed at each other before

Ivanka dropped to one knee. She was bleeding from dozens of light gashes. Her leather bodice was a torn wreck and sweat was pouring from her exhausted body.

Nina had a few minor bruises and a serious tear along the leather of her forearm bracer, but was otherwise unharmed.

"I fight on. You vill beg me...” babbled the dominatrix. She had no real sense of reality left. She stubbornly tried to get to her feet, but her master called out. "Useless bitch. We should have traded you off for that Avianette we saw last week."

"But master!" squawked the Demi-Human in shock and fear. Even in defeat she was surely better than a half-starved bird!

"Shut up and return. We'll handle this ourselves!"

The girl disappeared into the red beam of light with a terrified look on her face before returning to her ball.

Scott couldn't contain himself any longer and finally asked the blue haired turd monkey, figuratively speaking, "What's with all this we crap, anyway? You got a mouse in your pocket?"

Nina grinned back at him amid her light sheen of perspiration and artfully disarrayed locks. How Scott could ignore that while discussing the blue haired guy using the royal 'we' was anyone's guess.

AN: I mean, I am writing this crap fest and I would totally wreck that chick. She'd be all bent over and squealing "Aye Papiiii", in that way I think she has... and that giggle... oh man... totally... uh well.. Ahem.

Anyway...

Cale answered, "Hmm... we suppose we should answer the little tin man." before he seemed to disappear inside an inky black liquid that erupted around him.

Scott blanched involuntarily inside his armor while the others gasped aloud.

Aaron asked neutrally, "A symbiote?" with that quirked eyebrow thingy he does.

"Ah, you recognize what you're in for. How do you feel knowing what we have in store for you!" laughed the tamer.

Scott blinked as a bit of trivia from back home became apparent to him. "You're a chick!"

The others stared at him for a second before Cale's laughter echoed down the stairway.

"So, someone finally figured us out? Who cares about that bit of flesh anyway? Someone like you couldn't possibly understand the power... the power we possess now!" cackled the deranged sounding man, er woman... uh... Cale?

"Um... basically you're not quite as strong as a Generica? I mean, if you were a dude before... then you'd be what? Twice as strong as a normal human chick or something?" asked Scott with his electronically enhanced voice.

"It daress mock uss, but it's alright. Yesss, alright. It doessn't know the truth... No it doessn’t, yet." answered Cale with her speech pattern slipping into a sibilant semi-hissing sound. Despite the calm seeming tone, rage was evident in the creature’s eyes as the mouth began to elongate.

"Oh please...” began Scott as he began to power up to perform his fiery spell, prepare for war. He remembered this thing's weaknesses fairly well, considering he was also a Spiderman fan. The local equivalent was not even remotely as dangerous as Venom or Carnage.

Cale's eyes enlarged comically as her lips erupted sideways in a macabre parody of a smile.

"Begging already? Yess... too bad for it. We won't accept it'ss pleading. Ssoon... too sssoon."

Scott ignored the symbiote's bravado and let the words to his spell come to his lips. He wanted to take this thing out before it even stopped babbling. How strong could it be anyway, right?

"Do you ever shut up?" asked Yoko as she hefted her wooden sword. She wanted so much to run forward and simply take the crazy bitch out. Its constant yammering was annoying.

"They mock uss... yess. But, we have a sssecret... Yess, a sssecret!" chortled the thing before them, its shock of bright blue hair still evident despite the rest of it being a shiny black color.

"I thought that part fell off or something?" asked Cerene curiously.

She was reasonably certain they had figured that out earlier. "Oh, you know. Once a guy, now a chick, like oh my god he lost his dick?"

"Dude... wasn't that like a haiku or something!" called out Scott in awe as his concentration slipped ruining his spell. Cerene of all people talked like that? She was a freaking angel for crying out loud!

"Um...” she began. She was ditzy as ever apparently. Still, it was probably the wittiest thing she had said in days.

"Sounds like one, sort of?" said Yoko.

"Aren't they like poems? It kinda rhymed, so maybe?" answered Makina with a question of her own.

"Uh... Haiku don't have to rhyme I think?" asked Nina. She was not sure about that, but thought that it might be true.

"Oh?" asked Makina curiously.

Aaron nodded at Scott then and said. "Well it did have seventeen syllables, if I count correctly. Though, I believe they have to come in three lines, that have five syllables in one line, seven in the next, and five in the final line."

As a group they seemed to ponder whether the angel Demi-Human's words were indeed a haiku for a moment. Then they burst out with joviality at Cerene's deer in the headlights look. They were taking this way serious and stuff.

For those who misunderstand; they laughed their asses off. Not entirely off mind you. They still remained attached to their posteriors but the group did burn off a few calories at least.

"They laugh at uss? Sso be it. We'll jusst have to sshow them the truth!" snapped Cale.

Suddenly, the five foot six symbiote suddenly enlarged into a twelve foot tall monstrosity. The oversized beast had a barrel chest as wide as Scott was tall and looked like it could easily crush a man into a fine meat paste with little effort. It had long grasping arms, as well. Strangely, however, it had legs that were absurdly skinny. It’s too skinny legs and knobby knees made it look more comical than threatening.

"Oh shit!" snapped Scott as he lost his customary cool. No wonder the blue haired freak had been so confident. It had a transformation gift before he had become a she!

He started trying to regain his fading magical energies as the creature roared out and started hopping down the massive stone stairway.

The man never even came close to finishing his spell as a wave of fire erupted from Aaron's direction to collide heavily with the knobby-kneed symbiote. The inky black creature screamed in agony and flew backward and away from the hated flame.

Without its protective cellular realigning and mutational abilities the creature Cale became was revealed to have floppy tits, hairy legs, and the knobbiest knees anyone ever saw. Basically, she looked like a twelve foot skinny old grandma with an overabundance of hair.

Granny screamed in sympathetic pain, but was shut up quickly as several other attacks collided with her less than a second after the fire touched symbiotic flesh. A chakram slammed into a knobby knee causing her to begin rolling forward, and heart-linked golden chain wrapped around her arm before tugging her sideways to finish off the motion.

Granny Cale fell forward heavily to slam against the stairs and began tumbling down in a shrieking jumble of pain and confusion. The massive creature's flap jack tits occasionally hit the stairs before the body. The flopping tits gave off a slapping sound that was vaguely reminiscent of a flat tire.

A glowing afterimage of chi passed up the stairs to hit the rolling granny causing the oversized critter to slam sideways awkwardly and come to a halt.

It started to get to its hands and knees but the word "Sleep" emanated from Aaron's direction. A green cloud of energy arose around the struggling form before turning into a phantom image of a pasture with a sheep jumping over a fence.

When it dissipated granny Cale collapsed to the stairs and promptly started to snore. The inky black symbiote began to try and crawl away but it was far too slow to escape.

A chain whip, a chakram, and another chi strike struck it simultaneously. Neither did any real damage, even the chunk of brick that went flying at it with the speed of a cannonball courtesy of Makina.

Aaron's next flaming wave of energy collided with it, though, causing it to bubble and boil. A few seconds later it shriveled up into a tiny blob of flaming debris and burned to ashes.

Scott muttered slightly. “You could have saved some for me. I never even got off an attack.”

"Aw! Poor master!" chirped Nina with a wink.

Apollo shook his little kitty head at their antics and unleashed a relieved sigh of his own. These people were crazy, but at least things had gone alright for once. No one was even going to the hospital.

"We can't help the whole team work thing master! Your style is amazing!" exclaimed Yoko with a giddy bounce and a happy smile.

"Uh... yeah!" chimed in Makina. She was not sure what to add to that.

Cerene raised one finger and said, "Guess we really don't like transforming monsters."

They all looked at her in mild shock as the fact that she had come up with something else useful and observant again that day tried to worm its way into their minds. Cerene was really sweet, but normally she was also a ditzy flake.

'Maybe a little of that queen Selene DNA inside her is starting to show? It's a little early, but it is not right for me to be surprised at the fact that she isn't an idiot.' thought Scott.

He should really try to nurture her observant and thoughtful nature. To be honest they would need her to get as strong as she could. So far all he had really done is tame them and train them. There was more to life than sex and violence. It was a blasphemous notion, but it was also sort of true.

Scott took a good look at his little family now, one at a time, as they laughed on the stairway. He took the time to really notice them. Each was so familiar, yet, so different.

What he knew of them from their respective anime origins and his own parody stories was a narrow fiction. The complex individuals before him were real people. They had wants, desires, dreams.

Each of these people, he included the cats and Aaron in his thoughts, had their own goals and ambitions. Why had he not focused on that earlier?

In truth, he barely knew any of them. He had talked with each of them a bit, but how often had he really spent time getting to know their innermost selves.

These laughing happy people deserved more than a master, or a protégé. Hell, Cerene was supposed to be the leader anyway. They needed a real friend.

Scott frowned at himself inside his helmet before Nina came up and leaned against him in the manner she often did. She was his alpha, his first Demi-Human, and someone that he in younger lonelier days had developed a fan boy crush on.

He used to watch Sailor Moon and see the anime version of this very girl go through a lot of boy related heartache. She never seemed to find one truly interested in her despite all she had to offer.

Hell, he had the same sort of little faux-crushes on all the senshi in that show to be honest. The anime versions were woefully underage, but so was he at the time. Here, he was actually living a life where kinky adult parodies of them were real and needed him.

The more he thought about that, the more his old misgivings began to creep in. Just how HAD he really gotten here anyway?

Yes, there was the light in the forest but what caused it? The Ginzuishou could easily do it, but not the crystal prism. That thing pretty much just allowed Cerene to transform into her guardian form.

Stranger still, what was with his crazy heavy metal bastard style powers and all the highly unlikely coincidences? He could use spells and abilities similar to something out of the Bastard universe and even had Ashe Naile, an Arshes Nei parody, floating about somewhere like a stalker. He suspected that the girl had started a shrine to him somewhere, complete with a bad photo, chicken wire, and black candles. It was like he was stuck inside a badly scripted fan fiction that he had been writing or something.

So much did not make sense. Where was the parody equivalent of Darien, or Mamoru, if you will? Were there really Negaverse style generals, or were the Fiends just randomly acting monsters?

Then there was the Demi-Human stuff. In the fiction he had written you could not go five minutes into a story without someone evolving into something. Despite the girls all being in their twenties level wise, none had evolved yet. Hell Cerene and Nina were bordering on thirty soon.

It was baffling to him how it had not occurred yet. He had held a vague assumption that their guardian transformations might have something to do with that. However, what of Yoko? At her level she should have evolved. She certainly was not a guardian. Not to his knowledge anyway.

Scott stood there for several minutes in contemplation as the girls chatted amiably. It took him a moment to realize someone was talking to him before he looked down to see Apollo looking up at him curiously.

He got along really well with Mr. fuzzy butt now, for some reason. At first the white cat had been standoffish, but over recent weeks they had grown on each other.

"You alright?" asked the cat quietly.

Scott nodded at him slowly but said, "Can we talk alone later?"

The cat bobbed his head at him in imitation of a nod. Whatever Scott had to say, it was probably important.

The storm trooper attired man sighed digitally then turned toward his friends. "Guess it’s time to get going."

The girls frowned a little as the thought processed. They had forgotten all about why they were here. Master had to meet his potential fiancé.

Aaron smiled tiredly at him before sheathing his sword. He had not seen his son in about a year. He at least, was looking forward to this gathering.

With confusion in their hearts the group turned up the stairs and stepped forward into the future.

.....

Reina sighed heavily in her room while she sat on her bed. Her ears were set flat against her hair as she looked down at her empty ring finger. A little over a week had passed since she had finished awakening. For her it had started out as a nightmare and ended as a walking fog that never seemed to lift from her mind.

She went through the motions every day, but at night when she was alone in her room things came to her mind that she tended to avoid during the day. They were thoughts of her future and how her life was slipping away.

Everything she had ever wanted and dreamed was dying all around her. Soon, one way or another, she would simply be someone's personal property. Right now, she pretended to be a shrine maiden, but really she was just a Catgirl with delusions of humanity.

Her grandfather still treated her with the same respect that he had treated his own daughter, but everyone else saw her as a trade commodity.

Till about ten days ago she had been training to take over the shrine, and even attended a public school despite the distance between the shrine and the town. A local teacher had come to pick her up along with a few more rural teenagers. She had been two months away from graduating high school when she began to awaken.

She looked over at her keyboard and the small mountain of songs she had written to while away the lonely hours. Most of them were lonely songs about a young girl searching for love.

Reina sighed softly. Twin sets of liquid pain fled from her eyes in soft rivulets that traced the curve of her beautiful cheeks. They plopped from her chin onto her delicate hands.

Would she ever know love now? At best someone like her could hope to find a reasonably nice tamer that would allow her to keep her memories. She was almost deathly afraid of a mind wipe. She had already lost her physical humanity. The idea of losing her mind was terrifying.

In front of others she tried her best to seem strong and stable, but in the darkness of her room she was just a little girl again. The world was too big and her place in it had suddenly become smaller than even she had believed previously.

The Catgirl reached over and gently lifted a picture of her mother. The beautiful woman in the photo wore the traditional robes of a shrine priestess. She had followed the long line of shrine maidens and priestesses of her family lineage, but her daughter had somehow found herself in the body of a Catgirl.

Her father had been born with a few feline related gifts due to his heritage. Strangely these had won out over the normally dominant shrine maiden genes of her mother’s line.

For over two hundred and thirty years the women of her family had either been human shrine maidens, or the Demi-Human version. She had broken that lineage, despite having all the training of one.

"Mama...” she whispered softly in the dark as she hugged her mother's picture to herself.

It was only here in her cold empty room that the girl could break down the shell of haughty self-possession she'd had to maintain all her life and simply be a young woman on the verge of a strange new life.

Her biological humanity was gone. She had no friends to speak of and no prospects beyond the possibility of a guy that her grampy Aaron was bringing by.

Her face shifted from depression to anger and back again as the emotions warred within her. She did not want a tamer or a husband! She just wanted all this to go away!

Reina crushed her mother's picture to her chest for a short while as the angry, bitter, tears fell like a salty rain upon the back of it. She would warp the wood at this rate but she didn't think to care. At a time like this a girl needed her mother.

What if she and the guy hit it off, right? Shouldn't her mother be there to fuss over her? Shouldn't she be there to laugh and cry and look happy and miserable all at the same time?

In all honesty, Reina did not know what she wanted. Every day it seemed like her mind was slipping further and further. Her emotions were coming harder and faster and her ability to reason seemed to be lessening by the moment.

She was having urges that she never had before and there was no one to explain them to her.

Reina was utterly alone in a strange alien world. There was no one at all that knew what that was like, not in her world view. Her grandfather tried, but he did not truly understand what it was like to change so much, so suddenly.

A few minutes later a soft knock came at the door and a gentle voice she recognized as her grandpa. "Reina, your fi... great grandfather is here."

She smiled through her emotional turmoil at the bumbling way her grandpa had tried to lessen the blow and then sighed. "Well mama. Guess... it’s time to shine."

Reina Henrick dried her tears, collected herself as best she could, and then looked into her mirror. She practiced smiling like it was a lost art. The girl was not quite sure how it worked anymore since she had not had a reason to smile since the change.

She went through the motions a few times till she found something that did not look like she had been trying too hard and took a deep breath. The smile was on her lips, but she did not know if one would ever arrive again in her heart.

The Catgirl shrine maiden of Hickey-Wa shrine turned to the door in a flutter of traditional robes and forced herself to stand up straight. This was important and even though they argued sometimes she did not want to disappoint either of her grandfathers. They were all she had left.

......