I cough into my fist as fully half the Ritual circle crumbles to dust and falls away into the emergent tunnel, revealing smallfolk workers with shovels. “This… might be my fault.” Google seaʀᴄh novel{f}ire.net

“The Ritual Site!” Scag groans. “Gone forever!” Ag moans. Then they both growl with ominous animosity while mumbling to themselves, “Intruders…” “Unforgivable…” The other two-wolf-headed Wargs in the room snarl and bear their claws as they turn upon the cowering critters.

““L-Lady Mayoress!”” the tiny monsters stutter as I interpose myself between the two groups. Each and every one of them pauses midstep as I cross their paths.

“Alex!” Moka cries with relief as she sees me by the light of the sconces.

While the Wargs look down on me by half a dozen inches, I know I’m a freakish sight of a monster. Scales, insect wings, Slime hair, four arms, and the dull blue electric glow about my collar fleece in the dim shows that I’m not one to be trifled with. “Apologies. I commissioned this tunnel, though no one could’ve anticipated it ending like this.”

“Grrrargh!” their leader rumbles in stereo, refusing to back down.

“Scag, Ag, are we going to have a problem?” I say in a deceptively calm voice as I crack my knuckles.

“Errm… no, Lady Mayoress.” Their shoulders slump in defeat and the other Wargs follow suit.

It seems I’m past the point of needing to display my strength to make an impression. It’s like the monsters of my Home Town can somehow sense that I’ve taken down multiple Third Tier threats… That, or bearing so many monster parts on my body makes it glaringly obvious the level of power I have at my disposal.

“Good,” I lower my arms, and the blue haze of my fleecy ruff recedes. “Janine, please make note of the recompense I owe the Wargs of Home Town’s Doggin Guardhouse.”

“Of course, Lady Mayoress.”

With that out of the way, I devote my full attention to the triumphant entry of my smallfolk tunneling crew. At the helm of the shovel-wielding heroes is Moka, the Dust Bunny Playmate. Her afro and cocoa-powderpuff tail accent her dark complexion. She’s wearing a strapless corset teddy, bowtie, white collar, white cuffs, and black sheer pantyhose, the shiny gold outfit making her into a delicious chocolate truffle of a girl. Despite the dirty work, her outfit is pristine; it’s probably because she can re-summon it at will, or maybe it’s just her control over dust at work.

I open my arms in invitation for her to leap into my embrace after the girl hesitates no more than a moment. Lifting the child-sized woman with a bombastic figure in my arms, I plant a fond kiss on her lips before hugging her tight (though not too tight for her slight frame, of course). The bunny girl is slightly taken aback by my forthright affection despite our difference in rank, but quickly melts into the cuddle. Moka is rightfully Suka’s prey, my mate’s woman, and she’s not sure how to balance deference against the memories of how we played together last night, at least at first, but it only takes a little provocation to show I expect her to hold nothing back around me.

With the bunny of the hour sitting on the crook of my elbow, I make introductions, “Jenny, Julia, Janine, Effie, this is Moka and her excavation team. The fact she’s here means we have a safe, monster-free tunnel leading straight to Field Town.”

“Well…” she hedges, “Two out of three isn’t bad, right?”

Hmm. “As long as this leads back to Field Town, I’ll make it work,” I say with confidence I’m not 100% sure is warranted. “All that leaves is gathering the teen Academy graduates, and we can secure the tunnel on the way.”

“Lady Mayoress, if I may?” Janine begins while adjusting her reading glasses.

“Of course,” I shrug.

“Ahem, does your Mayorship deem it best for the Intertown Tunnel’s entrance to be the bottom of the Doggin Guardhouse’s cellar?”

“Ah.” I see her point. That could get awkward for the Doggins and Wargs.

“Please understand, Lady Mayoress, I only thought to mention that the nearby subway entrance is a few hundred feet away in case it had slipped your attention—divided amongst immensely more important topics as your mental consideration must be.”

Flattery aside, I do recall the defunct ancient human subway system beneath Home Town. The tunnels that once facilitated an underground railway all collapsed centuries ago, but the subway entrances themselves, however, remain in good condition. Citizens have long since converted them into something of a covered curio market. It’s the kind of place one buys ‘performance’ enhancers, semi-legal substances, and exotic dildoes by lantern light late at night.

“Janine, could you direct Moka and her crew towards the old subway entrance? If we come at it from the right angle, it shouldn’t disturb the market. Moka, can you block this path leading into the Doggin Guardhouse on your way out? I’m sure the Wargs would prefer their privacy.”

“Yes, Lady Mayoress.”

“Not a problem, Alex.”

Janine sends a runner off to deliver a message while staying by my side. I choose to observe Moka in action firsthand as she hops down to course-correct her tunnel and collapse the branch invading the Doggin Guardhouse. Janine then proceeds to help the Dust Bunny navigate toward the subway entrance while Jenny, Julia, Effie, and I watch their progress with avid interest. The way the rodent-kin work in concert is impressive: Moka’s magic softens the soil she wants moved while hardening and supporting the tunnel’s structure, the digger bunnies shovel loose dirt aside, and mice scoop the piles of earth into sacks they carry away to dump elsewhere. In mere minutes, we are knocking down an underground subway wall without causing undue duress—the marketeers were forewarned of our ingress.

Mice and bunnies from Moka’s tunnel crew spill out into the shady Home Town market. Local Sheeple, Doggins, Goblinoids, Taurine monsters, and humans all absorb the shock of our new entranceway as Moka tidies it into something that looks deliberate. Most of all, however, they marvel at the unrivaled cuteness of the petite smallfolk prey monsters.

Everyone starts mingling and having a good time. Doggins sniff at the rodent folk, bunnies rub their faces against the soft wool of the Fleecy Sheeple, Taurine Milkmaids pick up mice to give them access to their creamy udders, and Goblin Janitors help clean residual debris from the tunnel opening. That’s not to say the mice and bunnies, feral monsters as of mere days ago, don’t swarm the few humans in the crowd. Age and gender don’t matter; the humans receive a bounty of not-unwelcome attention from the diminutive smallfolk.

While it’s an adult venue to be sure, the citizens of Home Town aren’t ready to start a public orgy at the drop of a hat like I would in Field Town, so the furthest anyone gets here is kissing and heavy petting. Regardless, the abundance of bedroom eyes I’m seeing promises that not all my mice and bunnies will be making the return trip with me. The domesticated monsters tolerate this with aplomb (and more than a few seem intent on taking a bunny or mouse somewhere private), probably because these smallfolk are among the most harmless of wild monsters I could be introducing. We’ll see how things go when it’s Treefolk, Harpies, and Slimes integrating.

Still, it does my heart good to see my people getting along so far. Jenny and Julia grab Moka the second my attention switches to monitoring the crowd, and are already fawning over the chocolate truffle bunny girl when I turn to look at them. Effie has a mouse girl seated on each arm and a blissfully contented expression on her face as they simultaneously nurse from her left and right teats.

“Well, isn’t this a pleasant sight,” Mrs. Fleece says as she descends the subway steps to join us. “It’s been centuries since a new monster species was introduced to our fair town.”

A line of human teens follow behind her, and I recognize my classmates. Scotty, Milly, Bruce, Ned, Penelope, Lance, and a few others I’ve known most of my life. Altogether, with Jonny (obviously not present), Jenny, Julia, and I, there are sixteen of us left. It’s a bit of a shock recognizing emotionally what I already knew intellectually—that a few of my former classmates have already been abducted.

““Alex?!?”” my classmates’ gazes slip past the mice and bunnies to focus on me, the weirdest monster in the room.

“Heh, yeah, it’s me.”

“You’re… taller,” Penelope says while eying my extra arms and the subtle changes in my frame from the added alien musculature.

“And bigger,” Ned adds without tearing his gaze from my enhanced bust.

“With some new surprises,” Milly comments after a moment of staring at the bulge in my panties, a line of drool running from the corner of her mouth.

“And your ass ain’t bad either,” Bruce comments while staring at my buttocks after circling behind me.

Scotty follows Mrs. Fleece's hungry eyes as they practically lick along my assets and bulge. He stares at me and asks, “Dude, are you fucking my mom?”

“Baby, we’ve been over this. Mommy has needs that daddy doesn’t always have the stamina for. Daddy and I have talked it out, and he understands. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

Scotty continues to give me the stink-eye while the others pepper me with questions. I field some of the more pertinent queries while choosing to ignore ones that’ll take too much time to address.

“Ahem. So, am I good to go?” I check first with Janine and then turn to Mrs. Fleece to include her.

“You mean, ‘Are we good to go?’” my former teacher corrects with a teasing smile, “Really, Alex, grammar was never your best subject, but I expected better of you.”

“Oh, you’re coming to help fight in the war?!?” I exclaim.

Her expression turns evasive, “No… not as such. I’m not much of a warrior; more of an administrator. Leaving Home Town unattended for long doesn’t sit well with me, but I can’t very well leave my boy in a strange place without first looking into the rumors I’ve heard about the local nighttime activities…”

I laugh, “You’re welcome to join tonight’s orgy.” Mrs. Fleece keeps a straight face despite Scotty glaring at her. She doesn’t even blink while batting him on the arm to get him to stop. “Don’t worry, Scotty. You’ll be too distracted by all the foreign monster girl pussy to worry about what your mother is up to.”

“I’m gay, mom,” the young man replies without breaking eye contact with his horny mother.

"I know that! It's just... a mother can dream of grandbabies, right?"

“Ahem," I pretend to ignore their banter, "Even better. I have two plant monsters in mind who are dying to meet you, Scotty.” That finally captures his imagination long enough to make him leave Mrs. Fleece alone.

“Lady Mayoress, the arrangements have been made. In the morning, the Field Town non-combatants will relocate to Home Town, allowing us to consolidate our civilian assets far away from the field of battle,” Janine explains while writing in her black ring binder. “A minimal defensive detachment will have multiplicative effectiveness while reinforcing the palisade.”

In other words, the weakest and youngest of my monsters and wards will head this way in the morning, along with a small number of stronger guardians to help man the walls. I’m not leaving the kids or Home Town defenseless during the battle. Yes, my classmates will be going back and forth over the next few days, but the important thing is keeping them as well-protected as possible. Hopefully, their not being where they’re supposed to be tonight will serve to discourage the kidnappers.

“Then let’s head out. Everyone who’s coming with us form up, please.” Jenny, Julia, Janine, Effie, Mrs. Fleece, my classmates, the Fleecy Sheeple fashionistas, and Moka are no surprise. The half-dozen Guard Doggins that march up and salute are.

“Please allow us to accompany the Council Chairwoman, Lady Mayoress,” the one at the head of the formation requests, indicating Mrs. Fleece with her eyes.

I shrug and nod. “Very well.” Then I recount our group to make sure nobody gets left behind, and notice we’re missing the tunnel crew.

Mice and bunnies reluctantly approach us as I cast my gaze about the market. “Lady Alex, with your permission, some of us want to stay…” one of them requests on behalf of the group. It’s about an even split between the ones who are keeping their distance and the ones standing with their kin for solidarity while slowly edging toward me. Scanning their faces, I recognize Diane the lop-eared rabbit stuffing her cheeks with sweets she grabbed from a nearby vendor, and Tricia, her piebald mouse girl partner, who apparently took a spinning top as a souvenir, amongst the latter group.

“Um, yeah, that’s totally fine,” I reassure, “I’m the Mayoress of both towns, so why would that matter to me?”

The smallfolk release sighs of relief as I cut the tension. Some turn to embrace their new humans, while others run over to join my group. All of them subtly change. The mice who stay in Home Town get bowler hats and lacy bonnets, while the ones who join me magically don straw hats and suspenders (without shirts to cover their nipples, regardless of sex). The returning bunnies who participated in digging the passage to Home Town now have mining hardhats with attached lamps, while the bunnies who stay gain monocles (also regardless of sex).

Book of Monsters Entry – City Mouse and Country Mouse: Domesticated Rodent monster. 2nd Tier, Promoted, Inferior Rank. It appears the spirit of humanity has an odd penchant for putting funny hats on small, adorable creatures.

Book of Monsters Entry – Somebunny: Domesticated Rodent monster. 2nd Tier, Promoted, Inferior Rank. Utterly pointless. A testament to the frivolity that led to humanity’s fall. However, please note here with scholarly indifference that monocles are stupidly cute on rabbit folk.

Book of Monsters Entry – Construction Bunny. Domesticated Rodent monster. 2nd Tier, Promoted, Inferior Rank. Often seen wearing a hardhat with a lantern. At least this evolution has an obvious application.

Interestingly, one bunny’s transformation is slightly different.

Book of Monsters Entry – Mochi Rabbit: Domesticated Rodent monster. 2nd Tier, Promoted, Below-Average Rank. Only a ‘domestication’ promotion would encourage a prey monster to make themselves tastier.

Diane’s floppy lop-ears take on a strange consistency before my eyes. She reaches up and grabs one, pulls, and tears off a chunk that instantly regrows. The rabbit girl experimentally tastes the presumed ‘mochi,’ which proves to be chewy, but quite delicious judging by her expression. I doubt she can produce enough to feed an army, though every bit helps.

She passes a gooey mouthful to her partner, Tricia, next. Then I notice how the once-piebald mouse girl’s hair has now become a hypnotizing spiral of white and black.

Book of Monsters Entry – Komanezumi: Domesticated Rodent monster. 2nd Tier, Promoted, Below-Average Rank. The waltzing mouse is an odd case where their evolution appears to have a detrimental effect. Namely, they’re barely able to walk straight. However, this has a similarly strange effect on predators, who seem unable to predict their movements.

Indeed, Tricia appears to be afflicted with permanent dizziness, with Diane leading her along, but she doesn’t seem to be suffering for all that. The two of them practically dance over to us, Diane following Tricia’s lead in a twirling waltz.

“We may need to carry her if the tunnel back is, you know, straight,” Jenny comments.

“Straight is overrated,” I reply.