As we all blink back into existence, I’m immediately assaulted by a fast moving, black lump.

I tumble to the ground, something small and wet crawling all over me.

“Oubiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!” Wem squeals. “You all left me here!”

My face breaks into a smile, that I try to hide, as I realize Wem jumped on me.

“Sine, no!” I hear Tilly scream.

I look up, and see that Sine is smaller than before, his star condensed to fit inside the room better. Oh, and he has two long tentacles of glistening darkness coming out of two shattered spaces to either side of him, both ready to strike Wem.

“But that thing attacked Mother!” Sine protests, the static badly distorting his concerned voice.

Holding out my hand placatingly, I try to talk him down. “Wem is my… friend, Sine. She can do whatever she wants, okay?”

The glistening tentacles stay in place threatening for a few seconds, before retracting into their holes in the universe reluctantly.

“If you say so… Mother.” Sine says, unconvinced.

I sigh, my migraine from earlier returning.

“Since when’d you have a kid, Oubi?” Wem says, her voice pitched up.

I smirk at the demon. “Oh, since a few minutes ago.”

Wem, who’s still little more than a basketball sized wad of goo, stares at the demon generals accusingly.

“You… you guys didn’t…” She hesitates.

All three of the generals blush furiously.

“No!” Azrael practically screams. “I would never, not with her!” He hisses.

I start giggling at the demons’ reactions, and the look of horror on Wem’s partially formed face. Slowly I get to my feet, holding Wem in my arms. I walk over to the head of the table, and sit in the plush office chair. As the others find seats, I pet Wem’s head, hoping it’ll make up for forgetting her.

It seems to work, the wad of slime in my lap turning into a puddle.

I watch in amusement as Sine floats next to one of the empty chairs uncertainty. Eventually he just moves into it, the furniture passing through him like he’s not even there.

“So!” I say a bit louder than necessary. “I have a plan!”

The group of four all look at me curiously.

────────────

“What’s our main goal?” I ask the assembled demons.

They all stare at me, a bit blankly, until Tilly eventually speaks up.

“To… get laid?” She offers.

I sigh. “Not personally, I mean for the dungeon! What’s the goal of the dungeon?”

“To gather lifeforce.” Maddi instantly answers.

With a nod, I continue my spiel. “We have a steady supply of lifeforce from the miners, but as they get used to dealing with Mama Silk’s kids, that supply is going to drop.” The group all nods at my words, so I continue. “Even if Mama Silk gets trickier with her tactics, or her kids get stronger, it's always going to be a losing battle. So we need another source, one that won’t devalue overtime.” I pause, making sure they’re all understanding me. “Any ideas?”

The generals all look at each other, thinking over my words.

“We could open a brothel in the mining town, and make some succubi to run it.” Offers Tilly.

I raise an eyebrow at her. “That’s not the worst idea, but we’d have to get the ability to make succubi, plus their output would never be very high since the humans stay alive.” What kid of media did Tilly consume on Earth to make that idea come to mind so quickly?

“What if we offered a resource in return for convicts scheduled for execution?” Maddi asks.

I shake my head. “I think that’s a bad one due to the risk it puts us in. In order to make it worth it for kingdoms to send prisoners, we’d need to make something really valuable to trade. If it's that valuable, people will just invade instead of dealing with barter. At least that’s my worry. Plus it might be used to get rid of political dissidents. Not something we want to be wrapped up in.”

Maddi nods slowly. “Yes, I think I see what you mean. Even if that’s not likely, it would still be a risk.”

“Right.” I nod.

“What about farming?” Azrael asks.

My head tilts in confusion. “Farming?” I ask the cat.

“We could just capture a bunch of humans, and make them breed. Then whe—”

“No.” I cut him off, my voice stern. “That’s… beyond what I’m willing to do.”

Azrael nods, a bit downcast.

“I’d have had a hard time with that too.” Tilly adds. “I might be a monster now, but I was raised human. Treating them like cattle wouldn’t be something I could do.”

The cat demon nods slowly, seeming to realize what we’re saying.

After that, I wait for a bit, to see if anyone else comes up with an idea. When they don’t, I offer mine.

“So, my idea.” I say, drawing their attention. “Came to me after making Tilly herself.”

The angel tilts her head at me, confused.

I don’t let her wait long, explaining. “I can get the ability to remake a person’s body, and then use it as the ultimate prize for reaching the center of the dungeon.”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Immediately, three voices yell out.

“No!” “Mother, no!” “That’s unacceptable.”

I blink confused. I look towards Maddi for an explanation.

“We cannot allow humans, or anyone for that matter, anywhere near your core.” She says firmly.

After a few seconds, I smack my forehead.

“No no no, not the real center, a false one!” I say soothingly. “One after a maze of traps and monsters. We could build it anywhere.”

Instantly the three demons calm.

“That's… much more manageable.” Maddi says.

The demon’s objections put to rest, I continue to speak.

“We could offer a total body rework for anyone who makes it to the center of the fake dungeon. That way, anyone who’s trans, or otherwise unhappy with their bodies, would be lured into danger. Danger we can constantly update and change, so they can’t be too prepared.”

Everyone nods, except one person.

“We’re… going to target trans people?” Tilly says, unsure.

I flinch. “Y-yeah, but not only them.” I say weakly.

The angel keeps frowning. “I’m… not super happy with that.” She admits, the feathers on her wings bristling.

My shoulders slump as I let out a sigh. “Yeah, me neither. But we need lifeforce, and this way we can at least give people a chance at getting what they want. It’s not like we’re going to make it impossible to get through the maze.”

Wem suddenly speaks up from my lap. “People can get their bodies changed by the right magic users, if they have enough money. It’s not that hard.” She offers.

My stomach churns in guilt. So that means only the poor and desperate trans people would be lured in.

“I… might need to rethink this.” I admit quietly.

Tilly nods, her face dark.

“What if you offer a contract” Sine says out of nowhere.

I look over at the floating star.

“What do you mean?”

His surface pulses a few times before he speaks. “You could offer a contract to people, where you’d change them if they became a part of the dungeon, as you did with Ms. Tilly. That way there’d be another option. They wouldn’t have to throw themselves into danger.” He thinks out loud.

I stare at my sun, a bit proud.

“That’s just indentured servitude.” Tilly mutters.

“Only for now.” Maddi counters. “We could easily expand the dungeon into an entire kingdom, then they wouldn’t have to fight. They could do whatever they wanted, as long as it was inside of Oubliette, and not harmful to the dungeon.”

I hold my chin with the tips of my fingers, my elbows on the table.

“They still couldn’t leave!” Tilly says frustratedly.

“Neither can you, yet you still took the deal.” Maddi shoots back.

My head throbs as the migraine gets worse. How am I having a headache, I don’t even have a real head!

Tilly crosses her arms defensively. “Right, but I thought it through!”

Maddi laughs. “And no one else can? I find that a bit presumptuous of you.”

Azrael sinks back into his chair as the two women bicker.

“I wasn’t desperate though! I had other options! Who knows what these other people would be going through!” Tilly shouts.

Maddi scowls. “That’s not our business, is it? As long as they take the deal willingly, we shouldn’t be concerned with why.”

“Enough!” I yell. Everyone shudders, like they were hit.

My heart drops, I didn’t mean to scare them that badly.

“I need to think about this more, you all go do… whatever.” I say, maybe a bit moodily.

Before any of them respond, I let my avatar dissolve into light.

────────────

When I reform, I’m inside my sanctuary, the orange light of my core bathing the room.

I look around the space, and chuckle to myself. It has the typical layout of a bedroom. A bed, desk, television, some shelving, except for the giant pool of water in the center. I’ve put up some decorations, paintings I bought from town, trying to make the space my own.

And it's basically become what I always wished my bedroom was, all those years ago.

My heart filled with bitterness, I throw myself onto the bed. I quickly crawl under the covers, trying to hide from the rest of the world.

Tilly was right. I hadn’t thought my idea through. And then it became that huge ethics debate, and they got so… angry.

I’ve never seen them like that.

I curl up tighter, trying to calm my heart. Flashes of my parent’s faces haunt me. I try to ignore it, and think about other things. But all that comes to mind is all the arguments they had. How they always yelled at each other, acting like I wasn’t there.

“Oubi?” A soft voice says, scaring me.

Throwing off my covers, I look around, and spot a small black lump sitting in the artificial pond.

“Wem… It’s just you.” I say with a sigh of relief.

The blob tilts a little. “Who else would it be, only I can come in here.”

“...Right… Right.” I say, trying to calm myself unsuccessfully.

Wem’s three eyes all narrow a bit.

“...Oubi, are you okay?” She asks quietly.

I look away and stare at the unpowered TV.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” I ask, my voice shaky.

The sounds of splashing water fill the room, followed by something landing on my bed. I look to the side, and see Wem sitting next to me.

“I have no idea! That’s why I asked if you were.” She says, like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

I guess it kinda is.

A sigh slips out of me. “I… I’m not sure. To be honest.” I say weakly.

“You want to talk about it?” She asks, with a maturity I’ve never seen from her before.

My arms wrap around me protectively. “No. Maybe… I don’t know.”

We sit in silence for a few minutes.

“Was it about the ‘trans’ thing you all were arguing about?” She finally asks.

My blood runs cold. I forgot Wem didn’t know. That I don’t want Wem to know. What if she… So many fears run through my mind, only some of them realistic.

“P-partially.” I whisper.

“I don’t know what that is, can you tell me?” She asks.

I stay silent, frozen in fear, for quite a while.

“It's… when someone wants to be something else. Another… gender.” I eventually mumble.

The room falls silent again for an unbearable amount of time.

“Like… a boy wants to be a girl?” She asks.

I flinch, and then nod.

“Oh!” She yells, startling me. “I’ve heard of that! That’s why I knew about the flesh shapers!” She says excitedly.

I stare down at her.

“Then why did you ask me to explain it?”

She shakes her small body. “No! I knew the idea, but you guys were using some weird term.” She pouts.

I smile despite myself, some of my stress evaporating.

“Not our fault you don’t have a good vocab.” I shoot back with a smirk.

Her whole body twists as she pouts. “That’s not fair! I’ve never heard that term before, and I’ve been everywhere, and have talked to ‘trans’ people before! You guys just made it up, didn’t you?”

I shake my head. “No, its from Ear—” I cut myself off, eyes going wide.

“From where?” She asks expectantly, her eyes glittering in excitement.

I stare at the orange eyes of the slime girl, trying to build up my courage. I was going to tell her, I did tell her, during the party. This is just… saying it again. It won’t be hard. Just do it.

“It’s a term from Earth, the place Tilly and I come from.” I say, my voice slightly strangled.

The demon stays quiet for a while.

“How are you from anywhere? You’re a dungeon?” She asks, confused.

My hands clench into fists. “I wasn’t always one. I used to be…” My voice fails as I try to tell her my other secret.

“Used to be?” She asks, lost.

Fuck it.

“I used to be a boy, on Earth. I died there, and became a dungeon here.” I say quickly, before I chicken out.

She blinks at me a few times.

“Oh! You’re trans!” She squeals. “I understand now!” She says happily, sliding in a circle on my bed.

I stare at the joyful slime in shock.

“You’re not… grossed out?” I eventually ask, voice trembling in fear.

She stops celebrating, looking at me like I’m stupid.

“Why would that gross me out?”

I look at my hands, and smile dryly. “I suppose it wouldn’t.”

She hops in place joyfully. “Right right! Like I’d care about something like that. You aren’t grossed out by my body, and I’m all goopy. How could I be disgusted over something like that.”

Laugher starts bubbling out of me.

“When you put it that way.” I say with a grin.

“And…” She continues. “Who cares what you used to be, you’re cute now! That’s all that matters.”

I feel my face turn beet red, and I quickly look away. I try my best to ignore my beating heart. My mind is too all over the place to deal with this right now.

“Oh, wait, what were we talking about?” Wem asks herself. “...Oh! Right! Was that what was bothering you?”

Damn, she remembered. “Not really…” I admit. “It was…” I hesitate, afraid to admit anything more to her. …But I’ve already spilled so much.

“I was remembering when my parents used to fight, similarly to Tilly and Maddi just then.”

Wem goes still, her eyes filled with worry.

“Are… you okay?” She asks.

I nod. “Yeah, I’m alright.” I say with a confidence I don’t feel.

My body jerks as the slime rams into me.

“Well… I’m still gonna snuggle you, even if you’re okay!” She says firmly.

A warmth bubbles up inside my heart. “Alright.” I concede with a giggle.

I lay on my bed and turn on my TV, Wem by my side.