Warm and snug as a bug, wrapped up under several layers of sheets and cuddled up in a nest of pillows, I hold Sky as she sleeps in my arms. It has been three days since Adam was born, and I have had a lot of time and sleepless nights to go over my thoughts. To chew over my feelings. To work over the question of the morality of my changing people, of making people. What my responsibilities are to those that I change and the rules that I should set for myself. Visiting my therapist over the past couple of days has been a big help in all of my soul searching, along with the loving support of Sky, but mostly it has been Adam's existence that has pushed me to finally find my answers.
I've decided how I am going to handle this. What I am going to do.
The first matter was an arguably simple one. Adam is currently alone. While it has only been a couple of days since he was technically born, he has taken to learning like a fish to water. Devouring anything and everything that the researchers try to teach him. I made a point of forcing myself to come and see him every day, and will be doing so again today, despite the guilt that I feel. I have a responsibility to him.
Because of these visits, and Adam sucking up knowledge like a dry sponge, he has finally learned some very simple English. Yesterday, I asked him if there is anything he wanted, anything that I could give him. Anything to help keep him happy and from me hating myself.
He told me that he wants a friend. Although, not in so many words. Really, he just said, “Friend.” But I felt that the message was pretty clear.
He is lonely. Yes, the researchers, Sky, and I have been visiting him daily, keeping him company and teaching him different things. But he lives alone in that big room of his and sleeps in a bed big enough for a full-grown man to be comfortable in. And he used to be a rat… And rats don’t like being alone.
So, I have decided that today, despite how it makes me feel, I am going to make him some friends. I am going to make more Gremlins.
Dr. Doe requested that I make a total of twenty-one more rats evolve into Gremlins. Ten more males and eleven females. I’m not particularly thrilled by this, but Dr. Doe pointed out that it would be best to increase the genetic diversity in the group for when they eventually start having kids.
Which they will eventually. They are a people now. And people inherently want to grow.
Even if I only made one. Say, make Adam a girlfriend as an example. I would have to make more Gremlins eventually, regardless -to help prevent inbreeding - so, I begrudgingly accepted and asked her to prep the rats for me and to make sure that none of them are related. I also made sure to ask that the two other boy rats that was in Adam’s old cage with him, be a part of the group.
There was of course, the option of just not making more Gremlins or just making one more boy, so Adam could have a friend, and then waiting for them to eventually die. To let their new species end with just them. But I can’t do that… I can’t just bring a new race of people into existence, just to sit back and watch it go extinct after its first generation. I have a responsibility to them as their creator now…
So, pushing aside my feelings. I figure that it's better to just get this out of way now rather than later. Just rip the Band-Aid off… I’m going to make Adam some friends. I won’t let him be lonely.
The second matter that I have decided on is in regard to changing people into demons, and if it ends up happening again, making new races of people. I have to face reality and accept that I am bound to eventually do it again. A part of me is hardwired to want to do it, and I am just going to keep tearing myself apart every time it happens if I don’t set some rules for myself. So, I came up with three. A good simple number.
First rule – I can only change those that volunteer willingly and know full well what it means to have this happen. If I can’t keep those who change from being bound to me, then I can at least warn people away from asking for it. I’m not blind or stupid. I know how tempting the power I hold -what I can give - could be for a person. They need to know that there is a price, and they need to be willing to consent to it. The only exception would be for someone that is dying, like Nathaniel, where they can’t be saved through any other means. Regardless, they still need to be able to accept the deal. Else, my blood won’t work for them.
Second rule – I must always guarantee that the free will and individuality of a person, be it one that I changed or made, is always maintained and never taken away. I can’t remove my ability to command them, but I can at least give them their freedom. They are people, not slaves. No matter how much the Devil part of my brain may want to think otherwise.
Third rule – I will give them my love. I can’t just make a person, or change someone, and then turn my back on them. I’m not Frankenstein. I won’t become a monster and disregard or hide away from my creations. I must be better than that. I will be better than that. Even if it hurts…
Three rules. Three rules that I will have to swear myself to for the rest of my life, no matter how long that may be. I won’t let myself become a monster…
Sky shifts in her sleep, and I smile as I watch her. Her arms wrapping up around me even tighter as she uses me as her personal hug pillow, pulling my head into her chest. I just nuzzle into her and let her wrap herself around me, burrowing my face into her naked chest and enveloping myself in her scent.
Mmmm, so relaxing… I don’t know how I survived for twenty years without experiencing this…
After a while, Sky eventually starts to stir, slowly waking up. She finds me being held in her arms; my face buried in her breasts in her big glomping hug. I rub my face against her to let her know that I know she is awake, and she gives me a sleepy giggle, her hand gently petting my head.
“Good morning~” She whispers.
“Morning…” I mumble into her chest, not wanting to remove myself from her wonderful, oh so wonderful, softness. She is the best pillow in the world as far as I am concerned.
She just giggles, one of her legs sliding down mine slowly as her fingers dig deeper into my hair and scratch at my scalp. “You really like my breasts, don’t you~?”
I give one a kiss, “Love them~”
She gives my ear a kiss in return, one of her horns knocking against one of my own. “We have some time until we need to go meet the Doctor… How about you show me just how much you love them~?”
“Hmhmhm, gladly~”
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Private Nathaniel Smith
“They’re late…”
“It shouldn’t be much longer until they get here. It’s not like we had a strict schedule set or anything. Besides, I still have some paperwork that I can get done in the meantime.” Dr. Doe reassures me.
She continues to work away at her desk while I sit and wait in an armchair. The thing feels tiny due to my new build, though honestly, everything feels smaller now. Something that I am still getting used to even now.
Getting a bit impatient, I watch the clock as the second hand clicks by, bouncing my knee as I wait. I am nervous… Something that is easy to understand considering that I am about to see the person that changed me into what I am now, that saved my life... Yes, I had seen her right after waking up, but that meeting was short and quick, she said her part and gave me my freedom back before hightailing it out of there, leaving nothing but a promise…
I am apprehensive about seeing her again, though from what I had seen of her at the time, and from what I have heard, she is probably just as apprehensive, if not more, about seeing me…
I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about her, though fear is definitely a strong contender for first. I know that it isn’t what she wants, I have been told as much plenty already, but if she wanted to, she could do anything she wanted to me, and I wouldn’t be able to stop her. A single word from her could end me. And that is horrifying. The thought that a person could hold so much power over me…
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“Any progress on learning to control your new body properly? Last time I checked, you were still having trouble controlling your grip strength. Break anymore doorknobs recently?” Dr. Doe asks, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“Ah… Uh, ya, uh... yes ma'am. I’m getting better. Takes a bit of focus, but I haven’t broken anything in a while…”
“That’s good. I’m sure that SSG Haren will be glad to hear that. We can finally get you back to training with firearms again. Not having to worry about you breaking them will be a big relief.”
“Hahaha…. Ya, I still feel bad about that… It makes me wonder how it is that She is able to handle her strength so easily.” I say, scratching at the back of my head.
“Hmm, from what I understand. Lain didn’t start off with her current strength. She grew into it. Unlike yourself, she didn’t just instantly jump to the point of being able to bench-press a tank.”
“I still find it hard to believe that I did that…”
“Mhh, truly a marvel of biology. Speaking of…”
“No, Dr. Doe. I am not going to let you take a muscle sample, and especially not bone marrow. I still can’t believe that she let you guys do that… Cutting open her own leg without working painkillers…”
Dr. Doe shrugs, still working away at her paperwork. “She’s a strong girl.”
“Mental is more like it…”
She looks up from her paperwork, an eyebrow raised. “Your able to bad mouth her? Hmm, interesting.”
“She gave me free will. Of course I can…” I tell her, feeling a little defensive.
She just nods her head and says, “She did.” before getting back to her work.
That’s right… She gave me my free will back. On top of saving my life, giving me power, and well… I look at my reflection in the window and get a bit shy. She didn’t have to do any of this, but she did it anyways. Even if it wasn’t done with the purest of intentions. She has given me a lot…
…
Hmm?
I turn and look to the wall, our connection pulsing lightly in the back of my head like a pulled string. On the other side I can feel that she knows I am here as well. It’s impossible for her not to.
“She’s almost here.”
“Good timing, I’m just about done with this. As an aside, I would certainly like to test this connection that you share with each other. To be able to sense one another, even at a distance. Quite fascinating…”
Saying that, she finishes up on the papers before her and starts getting everything sorted away. As she is finishing up, I can feel as She stops at the door and waits for a bit, eventually moving to knock on the door. I can feel the nervousness radiating through our connection. She can probably feel my own...
Dr. Doe responds while she finishes sorting her files, “Come in.”
The door slowly opens and She, no… Lain. And Lain enters the office looking a bit sheepish and nervous. Even sitting down as I am now; she seems so incredibly small. The nervousness radiating off from her body doing her no favors. But despite that, she seemingly oozes with the promise of power. Like she is taller than everyone in this building, an invisible weight pushing down on the world around her as if she has her own gravity. As if a titan had chosen to take the form of a small grey demon woman, wearing an oversized hoodie and shorts that barely show underneath. Her thighs, legs, and feet exposed to the world despite the cold and the snow outside. The urge to kneel comes over me, to lower myself before a higher being, but it is a weak urge and is thankfully easily ignored.
A second woman follows in behind her. One whom I had only heard about, but have never met. She is beautiful to the point of being inhuman. Soft lips, delicate and rounded features, perfect olive skin, and yellow eyes that you can get lost in, with long dark blue hair that flows like the deep currents of the ocean’s depths. The silver chains that adorn her ivory white horns almost seem to make them glow in the light, giving her an almost ephemeral element to her appearance; a living crown, a mark of royalty grown from her very bone resting upon her head. Her body is narrow and full in all the right places and has nonhuman features that distinguish her greatly from others while also giving her an alien air of wonder, a curiosity that catches the eye before drawing you in. She is beauty incarnate, and I find it honestly difficult to not stare at her. Especially with how well she fills her clothes, the curves of her body setting the imagination ablaze and desire growing.
A crack like an electric whip goes through the connection and I quickly force myself to look away, lest I get burned.
Like static ripping through my mind, my instincts rage within me.
//She is already claimed! I will not contest my Queen for her mate! //
Ah! Ok, ok! Holy Shit! Dangerous! Staying away from her…
I make sure to keep my eyes off of the beautiful woman as the vestiges of the domineering instincts that Lain had previously pushed from my mind, slowly slink away like a hissing animal, burrowing into the back of my mind where they continue to hide away in some dark hole. Only held back by Lain’s first orders.
I shudder as they disappear and try to pretend that didn’t happen.
My eyes turn back to Lain and I freeze.
She is staring at me with a mix of emotions on her face that I am incapable of reading. The connection between us, buzzing like static and a confusing mess of emotions being transmitted between us. All I know is that it fills me with dread. We stare at each other for a sparse few moments that feel like hours. Eventually, she is the first to break the spell over us, her look slowly changing to a relaxed one as she lets out a very slow and controlled breath, the connection slowly settling and calming. I suddenly remember to breath…
Lain clears her throat, running her hands down her hoodie to smooth out the folds. “Apologies… I didn’t mean to scare you. That just took me by surprise is all… Nathaniel, in the future, please try to avoid having that happen again. I can understand that Sky is quite attractive and that with your new body, it might be difficult to control your desires. But if you let that get the better of you and you try anything with Sky… I will hurt you. I might even kill you. She is off limits. Nathaniel Smith, do I make myself clear?” She asks, her eyes locked with mine, voice calm and even, but hiding a blade just behind her words, promising to spill my blood at a moment’s notice should she find my answer lacking.
The desire to throw myself to the floor and prostrate myself before her fills me, her previous orders being the only thing just barely allowing me to remain seated in my chair instead. I grip the armrest, the wood creaking dangerously, fabric threatening to tear. I swallow nervously and slowly nod my head, physically incapable of turning my eyes away from hers. The golden halos of her eyes silently judging me like a set of golden scales, my soul resting on one side. “Yes… I understand. It won’t happen again… I promise…”
She sees me shivering and breaks eye contact while lightly cursing. Putting a hand to her face, she says, “Gods damn it… I’m supposed to be trying to get along better with him, not make him scared of me… Idiot, idiot, idiot…!”
The woman next her, Her partner, puts a hand on her shoulder and tries to help her calm down, whispering words into her ear with a loving look on her face that could turn even the most devoted of saints into sinners.
Lain nods her head, taking a deep breath and trying to release some tension from her body. “Sorry… Sorry about that… I don’t mean to scare you; I just have my own problems... You, you’ll learn that part of being a demon means sometimes having trouble controlling our emotions… For me its possessiveness and anger. I’m especially quick to getting angry if someone tries to take what is mine… Please just be mindful of that for the future, and make sure to be on the lookout for what your own triggers might be. I don’t know what they are, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it starts becoming a problem for you too, soon. Mine first started acting up over a torn shirt… Slaughtered a nest of Goblins...”
I just nod my head, “I understand. And, uh, I’ll be careful about that… Again, I’m sorry that I was ogling your wife. It won’t happen again, I swear…”
She just looks shocked at this, a blush ripping across her face, while her partner just tries to hide a happy smile with her hands. “Wife!? Ah, uh… Not yet… Ah! I uh, I mean that we are just dating! Girlfriends, she is my girlfriend…”
“Oh! Uh, sorry… It’s just, all the rumors that I have heard… Everyone talks about it like you are already married…” I try, feeling incredibly awkward. Though, at the very least she doesn’t seem like she is going to murder me anymore. So that’s good…
Hearing this, she just drops her hands in defeat. Her embarrassment lost to shame. “More rumors… Just how many rumors do I have going around about me now…?”
Dr. Doe cuts in while Lain’s partner… Ah, Sky, that’s right, she called her Sky. While Sky simply hides her face like a happy maiden in love, her big fluffy tail happily twitching behind her, trying and failing to contain itself. “As fun and interesting as this all is to watch. I do believe that we had plans for today. Or should we cancel so that the three of you can get to know each other better?”
Lain snaps back into attention, looking a bit knocked about by all of this. “Sorry… Uhm, no. We should be good. Although, I have to ask. Why is Nathaniel here? Not that I don’t want him here of course…”
Dr. Doe simply points to me with her pen from where she sits comfortably behind her desk, prompting me to answer.
“I heard about the little man that you made, from Dr. Doe. That you made a person from a rat, and that you were going to make more… I wanted to see for myself…”
Especially when I learned that she gave free will to this rat person she made. I need to see for myself if she really does treat them like people and not like slaves. Because if she will do that that for a rat… Then what does that say for me…?
Lain just scratches at her horn - which weirdly makes my own horn feel itchy, so I give it a scratch – and says, “Well, if you want to come with… I’m not going to stop you. Just fair warning, I might get a bit weird while I am doing it…”
Before I can respond, Dr. Doe stands from her desk and speaks up. “Excellent! Let’s get going then. I already have everything prepped and ready for you. Follow me.” She says, clearly looking excited and already heading out of the room before we have a chance to respond.
Lain and I simply look at each other and shrug, deciding to follow after the mad doctor.
Lain grabs Sky’s hand and leads her out while she is still looking like a blushing maiden. I ask her a question as we walk, trying to help rid of us of some of this awkward energy between us.
“So, did you really let them take muscle and bone marrow samples from you?
She just puts her free hand to her face and moans, shaking her head, “Oh my gods, yes, I did… Let me guess, are they trying to convince you to do the same?”
“Ya, I keep telling them no. But they just keep asking every chance they get…”
She points at me with a clawed finger, her oversized hoodie swaying with her every movement. “Don’t let them. That shit hurt! I still can’t believe that I let them talk me into doing that!”
“Did you really have to cut open your own leg for the procedure?”
We continue our conversation as we walk through the facility, Lain and I finally starting to lighten up and relax around each other a little bit as we complain about a mutual annoyance in our lives. Sky just lets herself get pulled along after us, her head up in the clouds and probably thinking fluffy thoughts about the future.