What woke Aisha up was not the agonizing, aching that spread throughout her body, throbbing in every fingertip - in her toes, even in her ears - no, it was the hunger.
.
She felt like she was starving - like she hadn't eaten in an entire month. She clutched her stomach - the feeling was like being stabbed, but many times worse - like someone was trying to tear the stomach out of her body.
.
"Food!" She gasped, ignoring the burning in her body. "Where- I need food…"
.
With her blurry vision, Aisha crawled her way over to a floor cabinet and ripped the door off it's hinges. Chemicals and extracts - tempting, but not food - another cabinet - papers and scrolls - a third cabinet -
.
It was raw meat, stored in the cabinet, wrapped in paper, along with a few blue, glowing magicite crystals, cold to the touch. Aisha's stomach screamed at her.
.
Aisha was no stranger to eating raw meat, so she dug in, tearing into the meat of some animal - Aisha didn't care - blood getting all over her face and hands. Halfway through, Aisha realized that she had eaten a lot of butcher paper, and even swallowed a few magicite crystals.
.
But her hunger wouldn't let her unwrap the meat. She had to eat. NOW.
.
Aisha didn't even realize that she had emptied the cabinet, and after eating so much raw meat, she felt like throwing up. It had tasted awful, but Aisha wasn't able to stop herself - she had to fill her stomach with something - anything.
.
And she was still hungry. With a new strength in her limbs, she began to search for more food.
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Raw eggs. She ate them, shells and all, whites dripping down her face. Berries, stems too. Raw white meat - Aisha had the sense that it was dangerous, but she still devoured it, bones and all. A few fruits. A carton of milk - on the verge of spoiling. A house plant. Everything else was just a blur.
.
By the end of her spree of gluttony, Aisha felt sick to the stomach - She still felt hungry, but it was just a grumbling, instead of the screaming pain she felt earlier.
.
And with the subsiding of her stomach pains, Aisha's attention was drawn to the agony that spread through all her veins. She curled up into a ball, on the floor, and puked up all her guts onto the floor.
.
She felt awful. The worst physical pain she had ever been in her life. She had set herself on fire once when she was little - this was much worse.
.
On the floor, curled up in a pile of her own vomit, clothes unbuttoned - Aisha felt miserable. But at the same time… she felt amazing. She felt free.
.
She opened an eye, and began to laugh at the pool of vomit in front of her. She laughed and laughed, harder and harder, bringing herself almost to tears, as she saw the sickly puddle in front of her.
.
The first pile she had puked was pure black, but the second? It was green. It was green.
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Aisha stumbled her way to her feet, pure joy driving her, overpowering the agony, as she looked at herself in the mirror, puke-stained clothes, blood, egg whites, milk, everywhere. She pulled down her scarf.
.
All there that there was was a small little black diamond, the symbol of love winking at Aisha.
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She devolved into mad giggles, collapsing onto the floor, spread-eagled.
.
.
.
Aisha smiled as she left the tower, freshly washed up - well, to the best of her ability, with the jug of water that she had access to. The pain in her body had subsided partially - it was now a dull throbbing, instead of the searing pain it had been. Given, she had curled up into a ball for an hour beforehand, but now… Aisha felt amazing. Even the misty graveyard seemed to have sunbeams shining down, and the skeletons seemed to smile at her as she made her way through.
.
Although, Aisha's happy mood was quickly broken by the feeling of chills - a familiar chill. Her expression quickly went alarmed as she felt her limbs go cold and lock up - the pain in them went away, but so did the rest of her feeling - she was completely numb. She watched as the corpses near her collapsed into piles of bones near her - their flesh started to decay rapidly, until it turned into dust entirely.
.
Aisha's eyes widened in fear, but a glimmer of hope shined deep within her. Aisha felt determined - she felt like she could take on the reaper, even.
.
But when the shadow materialized in front of her, all that determination was swept away, as pure terror filled her heart.
.
"YOU!" She shrieked. "NO, NO NO NO NO! Y-YOU CAN'T BE ALIVE! YOU CAN'T! GET AWAY FROM ME! HAVEN'T YOU TORMENTED ME ENOUGH!?"
.
.
It was Xelos. Her old teacher. In the flesh. The one who had started her training - into what she was. The same man who had cut her, limb from limb, flayed her flesh, and beaten her senseless.
.
The man she had killed, not so long ago, stood in front of her, long black coat, figure wisping angrily in the mist of the graveyard.
.
"..." Xelos was quiet, staring at her with those damn red eyes-
.
Wait. Xelos's eyes were black. And this person didn't have sideburns. And… had gaunter features. And was missing an Adam's apple.
.
"You've met my brother." The stranger said, her voice deep, and stoic. "And you can see me. Interesting."
"Who are you?"
The stranger's eyes narrowed. "Isn't it obvious?"
"Are you-" Aisha stammered.
"The reaper? I suppose you could say that. One of many. I just happen to be… the one who has to kill you."
"Kill me? No no no, I-"
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Aisha stared into the woman's eyes, shaped so alike to Xelos's. While his had been black, mysterious, the woman's were red, angry, resentful. Hateful.
.
"It's just the job." She said. "I admire the resolve, to pull off a stunt like that, but my job is to kill people like you. Who break the laws of death. Hmph.. Just sounds pretentious, doesn't it?"
"W-why didn't you go after the necromancer?" Aisha asked fearfully.
"Well, he was never successful. You're quite lucky, you know. Your body has never had a soul in it, so it didn't reject the one you put into it." The woman shrugged, before her eyes went hard, staring directly at Aisha. "It pains me to have to destroy such an interesting specimen."
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"N-no…" Aisha cried, shivering, holding her hands up to block her face in a pitiful gesture. "P-please… l-let me live."
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"Hmph. So many have-..." The woman paused. "What's that?"
.
Her eyes were drawn to the symbol on the front of Aisha's uniform, and her expression visibly hardened.
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"That's his symbol." She growled. "You… You haven't just met him. You… He gave you something. What's your relationship with my brother?"
"H-he trained me. He taught me how to fight." Aisha blurted out.
.
"Then where is he? Where's Sen now?"
"S-Sen?" Aisha whispered. "I-I thought… I thought his name was X-Xaleos."
"No." The woman muttered. "Xelos is… that's a fake name. His real name is Sen. Like my name. Feng. Answer me."
"H-he he-" Aisha gulped, stammering uncontrollably. "H-he-"
.
"This is getting nowhere." The reaper snarled, placing her palm on Aisha's head. She screamed as visions flickered through her head - memories, some she recognized as hers, but others were… blurry. Amalgamations of colors and faces. Aisha felt her brain start to melt-
.
"Ugh." The look on the woman's face was one of utter contempt. "Bleh."
"S-sorry?"
"I'm going to throw up." She muttered. "God, you're just like him, you know?"
.
Aisha hesitated, not knowing whether or not to speak.
"You're disgustingly cute, you know that?"
"Does that mean…?"
.
The reaper forced her hand down again, and Aisha cried out in pain-
.
"Where's the book?" Feng said, darkly. "Where's his journal."
"Wh-wwww-" Aisha blubbered.
"Fat Idiot!" Feng snarled. "Do you know how many souls you took into yourself? If I go through any of your memories, you'll die on the spot! WHERE IS THE JOURNAL!?"
"I-I-I… I forgot."
"YOU FORGOT!?" The tall woman shrieked, retracting her hand. "YOU HAVE HIS JOURNAL, AND YOU FORGOT WHERE IT IS!???"
"I-I'm sure I'll remember eventually!"
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Feng growled as she clenched her fists, glowing with immense power, but after a second, her grip loosened.
.
"Here's the deal." She snarled. "I'll let you live, as long as you get that book. Then I kill you."
"What? What's in it for me?"
"Better than just dying here on the spot."
.
Aisha looked into those terrifying, glowing red eyes, and gulped. The reason she feared Xelos, or Sen, as it were, was those damn eyes. Unwavering. Unblinking. They were unhuman, and Aisha never was able to read them - the only time ever, at least, until now.
.
Aisha took a deep gulp, her voice shaky and wavering. "I don't agree to those terms."
.
Feng's eyebrows furrowed dangerously.
"You're choosing to die?"
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"I will… I will get you the book." Aisha gulped. "In time. And you will not kill me until, or after."
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Feng stepped uncomfortably close to Aisha, red eyes burning into the top of Aisha's head. Not being able to read Feng made Aisha incredibly uncomfortable. Calling Feng's "bluff" was entirely a gamble, on her part.
.
Aisha squeezed her eyes shut, and for what seemed like an eternity, there was only silence. After a few minutes, she dared to pry one eye open, and felt immense relief at Feng's form dematerializing into the mist, the color and warmth starting to return to the graveyard.
.
"Watch yourself." Feng warned. "And wash yourself, tubby, you smell awful."
.
Aisha collapsed to the ground, panting.
.
.
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Returning to town, Aisha felt a massive sense of relief, no longer having to check her back constantly, in case Feng showed up behind her. Aisha didn't know why she felt so deathly afraid of the woman. Maybe it was the thought of death - the woman was literally the reaper, after all. Maybe it was her connection to her old teacher - a time when Aisha felt helpless, and lonely. Maybe it was the eyes-
.
Aisha shook her head, noticing that her breath was starting to quicken. No use obsessing over it now - what was more important… was that she was now not dying…
.
And she had a soul. She had a soul, tucked nicely into her little tummy. She could use magic.
.
Just the thought of it made Aisha giddy, and the stupid grin returned to her face. She felt like dancing, right there in the middle of the street, but decided against it.
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"Hey!" Somebody shouted at her. A beautiful blonde.
"Yeah?" Aisha called back, smiling radiantly.
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"W-whoa…" The succubus blushed, at how cute Aisha looked, smiling. "Er. Come with me. Your friend's been waiting for you."
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That was right. Hana!
.
.
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"...Is she sleeping?" Aisha whispered.
"Duh." The succubus rolled her eyes. "She got hurt pretty bad by those skeletons - good job, by the way."
"Thanks."
.
Aisha looked over Hana's sleeping form carefully, bandages sloppily applied to her arms, legs, and wings. Aisha assumed the other succubus bandaged her, since she didn't expect that a succubus would be well-received in a town with an active necromancer. Aisha furrowed her brows, concerned. Hana's body… looked frailer than usual - while her legs and arms were usually full, hiding the powerful muscles within, Aisha could see signs of malnourishment.
.
"Have you been feeding her?" Aisha demanded.
"Er, well I can't feed her." The blonde woman mumbled. "I would just drain everything I give her."
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Aisha rolled her eyes, kicking her boots off and jumping on top of the bed, straddling Hana's waist. She started to pepper the big woman with kisses, and the other succubus looked at the action and blushed, mouth agape in an embarrassed fashion.
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"Oh my gosh, right here? W-while I'm watching? You're freaky too…"
"I never got that." Aisha said, turning her head as Hana squirmed in her sleep. "Why do you demons always get embarrassed at handholding and stuff?"
"W-well…" The blonde mumbled. "We're demons."
"..."
"Like… we feed off life and sexual energy and stuff, right?"
"Yeah."
"So when we have sex, it's kind of like… a handshake kind of deal." The demon explained. "Just an exchange of energy, so that we can live. But when you hold hands and stuff - that's not really stuff you do to strangers - you only do that stuff to… well… someone you like."
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"It's just really kinky, yannow? It's like roleplay… love and stuff… we don't really get that back at home."
"Mmmm…" Aisha mumbled affirmatively. "Kewl."
.
She started to bounce up and down on Hana's tummy, stopping every once in a while to hug the big woman, ignoring the embarrassed shrieks of the other succubus.
.
Aisha saw the life begin to return to Hana's body, and she smiled, as Hana stirred beneath her.
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"Mmm?" The big woman mumbled cutely. "Who-"
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Suddenly, her face scrunched up in disgust, and her eyes shot open.
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"AUGH!" She cried. "Aisha, you smell awful!"
"Huh? Oh… sorry."
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Hana shot upright, pinching her nose.
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"Bath time, bath time, ugh…" She clenched her eyes shut.
.
.
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Aisha stretched out her body as she slipped off her uniform and scarf, unintentionally giving the two succubi a show as she disrobed herself.
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"Hey!" Hana cried, pointing at Aisha's n. "You're… the mist poisoning… i-i-it's gone."
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Aisha smiled slyly. "It is."
"Oh my gosh!" Hana cried happily, wrapping her arms around Aisha. "That's amazing! What… Happened?... oh no, Aisha…"
"I feel amazing." Aisha smiled, mouth stretching into a wide grin. "Let's just say… A whole new world has opened up to me."
Hana's eyes widened. "Does that mean…"
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Aisha held up a hand, and a faint purple glow emit from the top, mana dripping from her palm onto the ground. She sucked her lips into her mouth.
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"I don't know how to turn it off." She said, as Hana sighed, cupping Aisha's hand in both of hers.
"That's amazing, that you can do that now…" She replied carefully. "But… aren't you a little concerned?"
"About what?"
"Well…" Hana mumbled. "We don't know… what side effects you might have."
"Can't be worse than death, right?" Aisha said.
"...I guess."
.
With that thought resolved, at least for Aisha, her mind turned to focus on the second succubus in the room, her illusion melting away to reveal a head of red hair, her body significantly less voluptuous than Hana's but still amazingly beautiful. Notably, she was missing wings - Aisha wondered, since her mistress didn't have wings either.
.
The fact that she had followed them into the bathroom wasn't at all surprising to Aisha. Nor the fact that she disrobed, and appeared to want to get into the bath with Aisha and Hana. But what Aisha thought was suspicious, was the way that Hana's face filled with guilt whenever she glanced at the redhead.
.
"What's going on?" Aisha asked. "Why is she helping us? Why are you looking like that?"
"Well, my help doesn't come without a price." The redhead pouted. "After taking care of her for three days, I think I'm entitled to compensation…"
"Three days!?" Aisha said in shock. "I was gone for three days!?
"Yeah, and she waited for you that whole time! She must care a lot about you! That's so… hot."
"...Hana…" Aisha whispered.
"E-enough about that!" The redhead said impatiently. "I want my reward!"
.
Aisha looked to Hana, who looked away, ashamed.
"What did you promise her?" Aisha asked, although the redhead's reactions pretty much told her everything.
"I… I might have promised her… A threesome." Hana whispered guiltily. "I'm sorry Aisha, I know you don't like sex all that much, and we haven't even done it - and you have that girl you're waiting for-"
"Okay!" Aisha said, happily.
.
Hana turned to Aisha in shock. "What?"
"I'll do it."
"B-but…"
Aisha grinned. "I feel amazing right now. I can go for some sex…"
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Hana's eyes bugged out of her head, as she started to pant, entranced. "R-really?"
"Mhm!" Aisha nodded mischievously, climbing into the big bathtub. "Who wants to wash my back?"
.
.
.
Eight figures sat around a long table, chatting amicably about themselves as they dined over a gourmet looking dinner, dishes shining amazingly in the light. They were all dressed in fine silks and fabrics, and if not for the guards stationed around the singular entrance, the party could be mistaken for a fancy, upper-class dinner.
.
The man in the center chair, at the head of the table, raised a wine glass, motioning towards an empty chair at one of his sides.
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"Here's to another successful quarter!" He said merrily. "We've experienced a 10% growth this quarter, in seven branches! You should all be proud of yourselves."
.
Clapping echoed around the room, as the aristocrats looked at each other, smiling in satisfaction.
.
"Of course…" The chairman continued, in a less energetic voice. "I'm sure you're all aware of… what happened in Alcinera. Regrettably… the entire branch was shut down by the magistrate. And our dear, little Mao…. didn't make it. On our largest-growing branch, too."
.
"She had it coming." Someone muttered. "Too ambitious. She was going to get shut down at some point."
"Flew too close to the sun." Someone quipped.
.
"To Mao!" The chairman said, interrupting any other conversation, to which all the diners echoed the statement, with varying levels of enthusiasm. The merriment continued after, in full force.
.
"What's your thought on little Mao? You liked her."
"She never really fit in, did she? Always too ambitious. Never happy."
"Oh she won't be a terrible loss. She never came to any of these gatherings anyway."
"Apparently she was studying battle magic. What a silly girl. What else are bodyguards for?"
.
The underground room began to shake, and everyone went silent, as dishes rattled, and chairs squeaked, dust falling from the ceiling.
.
One of the women shrieked as the ground split open, a jagged crater carved out the ground, and a single, gloved hand clawed its way out, dragging a body with it.
.
The sound of chairs scraping on the floors echoed throughout the chamber, as well as the sound of screaming women, as the full body of the mage stood into full view, standing upright.
.
"M-Mao!" One of the women said fearfully, backing up in her large, poofy dress and heels. "W-we-"
"Unhappy to see me?" Mao said spitefully. "I thought you always wanted me to come to more of these parties."
"Y-yy-you-... you look-"
"I'm sorry I didn't come into a dress again." Mao said sarcastically, walking up to the long table and grabbing a fistful of potatoes with her fist, shotgunning it down her throat. "What, don't like my new look?"
.
Mao looked like a necromantic corpse, the skin literally melted off her bones in some places - in other places, her skeleton showed, the skin having incinerated directly off her. Her face was horribly disfigured with burned flesh, and half of her hair was missing. What was left of her face was absolutely slathered in dried blood.
.
Her suit had completely burned off. Scraps of her shirt had survived, but for the most part, the grisly sight of her right arm was completely exposed. Everyone automatically lost their appetite, save for Mao, who shoved food into her mouth like a starving hyena.
.
"Mao…" The chairman said cautiously. "It's great that you are alive, but you are… not presentable. You need to go to the church."
"Save it!" Mao snarled at the chairman. "Raxas''s guards are all over Alcinera! I can't get anywhere! And that's… that's not why I'm here. I need 10000 platinum to rebuild. I know how that bastard found us. That damn outdated way of distribution got my hideout-"
"Mao…" A gentleman spoke, chuckling nervously. "Surely you don't expect to receive such a large sum of money, after your… catastrophic failure, don't you?"
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Mao glared murderously at the man who spoke, but her voice, nonetheless, came out calm. "The raid on my operation is indicative of a flaw in all of our systems. I did everything just like you fools did, which is WHY-"
"Well, Mao." A woman interrupted. "You can't say that you did EVERYTHING like we did. You spread yourself into the middle ring. That's why you lost your branch."
"Less than 1% of my clients were from the middle ring." Mao snapped irritably. "The reason I got raided was because Raxas is the hardest on Nepenthe distribution, by a long way! Why is why I keep telling you fools to expand!"
.
"Mao…" The chairman sighed. "We have been over this. There is simply no need-"
.
"The war isn't going to last forever!" Mao snapped. "When the guard comes back, and we're still rats, feeding off the scraps of the capital, we're going to be exterminated!"
"The war has lasted over fifty years!" Someone said, in a patronizing tone.
"The war won't last forever!" Mao snarled, frustration audibly leaking into her voice. "It is literally an inevitability! We have to-"
.
"Mao, enough." The chairman said firmly. "Enough. We are retreading this subject."
"You fools have never addressed my argument!" Mao snarled.
"Regardless." The chairman said. "We don't have the money to rebuild your branch. You can take a position as a junior administrator in someone else's branch. Maude has always had an affection for you, perhaps she will-"
.
"You definitely have the money." Mao said coldly. "I have read the books. More than enough."
.
"..."
The chairman was silent for a second.
"Regardless…" He said cautiously. "We are not willing to fund another branch."
"NOT WILLING!?" Mao shrieked. "YOU WOULD DO THIS FOR ANYONE ELSE!"
"Don't be a child, Mao."
"You think that I'm a child!" Mao snarled. "All I ask is the same respect that the rest of you tops fucks have for each other!"
.
"Watch your tongue, Mao!!" Someone snapped. "We took you in, when you were just a whore!"
"You did no such thing!" Mao snapped back. "I took control of Alcinera from that fool Flowers!"
"We liked flowers!" A woman said, offended.
"I-"
"Stop, Mao!" The chairman demanded, leaning forward and wrinkling his tuxedo. "You'll either take our deal, or leave with nothing!"
"Then I choose nothing!" Mao spat. "Rot in hell! I'm leaving!"
.
Mao made to leave using the main entrance, but stopped, narrowing her eyes when the guards crossed their swords in front of her path.
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"You don't seem to understand." The chairman said, coolly. "Since you did not take my offer, you are no longer a partner.'
"So what of it."
"Well, you are a loose end that needs to be taken care of."
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The chairman snapped his fingers, and a group of over twenty guards leapt at Mao, swords swinging clumsily, and magic firing wildly. Mao blew them back effortlessly, giant spears of rock impaling each guard to the wall in grizzly fashion. Shocked, at Mao's power, the rest of the gallery backed up away from her.
.
Mao gave each person in the assembly a cold look, before bringing her hand down, a massive column of stone smashing the long table to pieces.
.
Savoring the fearful looks on the aristocrats faces, Mao left, a look of contempt on her marred face as she sank into the ground.
.
"Send out word!" The chairman said, scrambling out of his chair frantically. "A thousand platinum, for Mao's head!"
.
.
.
Mao cursed as she speared another thug, knife flying clumsily at her head. Word spread fast, and while she dispatched with every hunter with absolute ease, she could not last forever.
.
The pounding in her head was agonizing, and while she kept herself together well, she desperately needed medical attention. She was barely holding off to life at that point, fueled by only pure determination, and hate.
.
She had been depending on those tops fuckers to help her out. But they were too busy sucking each other off to give a damn about her. She should have seen it coming. She would make them pay. After.
.
Mao had to use her last resort. She thought she would never have to come to that place ever again, but luckily, she liked the workers enough to keep good relations with them.
.
The extremely bright lights, pounding music, and shouting patrons sent searing agony into her head, but Mao grit her teeth and continued to walk, left arm clutching her right desperately.
.
"Let me in." She gasped, to the large bouncer at the door. "It's… It's doll night, right?"
"It changed, a long time ago." The bouncer said apathetically, staring at Mao with contempt. "And I doubt someone as fucked up as you are is on a guest list."
"Let me in… Marik…" Mao gasped, as the edges of her vision began to blur, and her head began to ring. "It's me… Mao."
.
"..." The bouncer's eyes widened. "Meowie?"
.
Mao nodded, crying out in agony as the motion split sent head-splitting pain into her.
.
"Mao!" He gasped. "W-we have to get you medical attention! What happened? Were you caught in the earthquake or something?"
"Just… let me in…" Mao struggled out.
.
The next few minutes were a blur for Mao, Her vision blacked out, and the ringing enveloped her brain, although she could just about make out the sound of voices, faint and slurred.
.
"OH MY GOD!? Is that Mao!?!??"
"Meowy?"
"What happened to her?!"
"Shut it down! We have an injured!"
"Get her to a back room!"
"What happened to my adorable little Meowy!?"
.
Mao groaned as she was lowered onto a bed, her head finally finding relief as it was set on an incredibly fluffy, incredibly soft pillow. Two more soft pillows cuddled up to her, one on each side of her body, caressing her stomach and sides, and despite the stinging pain in her destroyed body parts, Mao let a sly grin creep up on her face.
.
She was safe now. She could rest. Even if the dealers turned on her… if her den was destroyed… these girls cared for her. It felt nice, to have such a feeling of safety…
.
But she had to plan. Plan on how to get it all back. And oh would they pay - the dealers, Raxas, all the damn aristocrats would pay.
.
The capital had no idea what was coming for it.
.
.
.
Meanwhile…
.
Aisha giggled as Hana let out a cry of pleasure, throwing her head back as her body was wracked by shivers, the big woman collapsing backwards onto the bed, flushed and panting. She joined the other succubus, Lissa - the name she screamed during their lovemaking - their shoulders pressed side-to-side, as they tried to catch their breaths, and close their mouths.
.
Aisha purred triumphantly above them, smiling as she gazed on her handiwork.
.
"W…wow…" Lissa blushed. "I've never… such hunger…"
"Oh my god…" Hana panted. "That was… that was amazing. That was the best orgasm… I've ever had. I-I… I can't move…"
"All tired out?" Aisha grinned, to which she received two slow nods. "Then it's cuddling time!"
.
Aisha giggled as she fell backwards onto the bed, resting herself on the two succubi's arms, and pulling the covers over them. Snaking her arms underneath both women, Aisha giggled again as she heard two yelps, as she forced the two women to face each other, so that both their breasts pushed up against Aisha's chest. She couldn't help but mewl when she felt their arms wrap around her navel, skin feeling so amazingly smooth on her ticklish tummy.
.
She looked to the left. A beautiful pair of breasts belonging to a beautiful redheaded woman, face flushed with embarrassment. And on the right, an infatuated succubus, eyes brimming with affection, and lovey-dovey pleasure. Who had even bigger breasts. She giggled. What a sight!
Snuggling deeper into the cuddle pile, she couldn't help but let a sly grin creep onto her face, untapped power buzzing in her navel.
.
She felt amazing. She had conquered two succubi, and she had evolved.
.
The world had no idea what was coming for it.