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Part II
MR-tan started up the bus and hummed along the sprawling streets of the city. “Man, the Develop Your Story section,” she sighed, blowing out a long breath, “That gem could be anywhere.”
In the back, the quartet sat, mulling over the possibilities. “Well,” Mahlua shrugged, “The hint this time around also threw in the word ‘outline’, and since they already hinted strongly at Development…I hope we’re not on a goose chase in the wrong part of town.”
Everyone grew grim, except Everlastin, who seemed relaxed.
“How do we know they’re actually going to make us break the gems?” the brunette offered. “I mean, after a while, they’ll probably get bored and undo it, right?”
Coryn shook his head. “Nah. Those girls, when they give a challenge, they expect us to hold to it.”
“Yeah, but aren’t their other challenges usually timed?” Everlastin pressed. “Besides, I really don’t have a problem being stuck like this for a while. My gender’s always been a little fluid.”
“That’s great and all, and I’ve had my bouts of gender dysphoria as well,” the electric elemental interjected, “But, for the most part, it’s a pretty safe bet that the cis raiders are having their own bout with it. It might be nice for others under the genderqueer umbrella, but dysphoria sucks, just in general. A lot of raiders are probably feeling pretty uncomfortable by now.”
Coryn and Lego nodded.
“Back on topic,” MR-tan called from the driver’s seat, “I have a few spare maps of the city, if you think that’ll help with their riddles.”
The party congregated towards the front of the bus, where the Tan handed off various maps of the area. They spread them around the aisle to examine each in its complexity, searching for something, anything that could be a clue as to where the second gem lay. Clouds passed overhead, and amidst the pointing and discussions, the sky began to show signs of turning from late morning to early evening. MR-tan parked the bus to scout around, meanwhile Lego argued about the junction of alleys that formed the gentle curvature matching very womanly cats-sets. By the time she returned, the raiders were hardly looking at one another in frustration. She made a flat expression and held up a massive bag. “So, no luck? Well, I brought food.” That got everyone to turn and face her, lightening expressions into relief.
As the Tan joined the circle, she passed the bag around and everyone took a little box of fast food from it. They mulled over the maps some more, then brought the conversation in its circle back to whether or not the Twins might have put it around a topic discussion room about a particular ecchi story or genderbender. When the sky started to turn orange, Coryn threw his hands up.
“Those girls are out of their minds! At this rate, it’d probably be easier to summon them and ask them if they’d pretty please give us another clue,” he groaned, chomping aggressively at a double bacon cheeseburger. “Ugh, beer would be nice to go along with this.”
“Uh, Coryn, scientifically speaking, I think that does the opposite of helping your brain think logically about stuff,” Everlastin, ever his assistant interjected.
“Well, maybe we’re logicking too hard. In my work with them, they’ve taught me that sometimes the answer is cheesy, mind-numbingly simple, stereotypical, and probably exaggerated and ridiculous,” Mahlua mused, standing up for a stretch.
All eyes fell on her like floodlights.
She paused, looking around, bewildered. “What. Is there mayo in my beard?”
Everyone crowded around her with expectation painted on their features.
“Seriously, dudes. What?”
“You’re pagan,” Lego pointed out, ears tucked back and eyes widened.
“Aaand?” the lightning child drawled.
“And you’ve worked with the Twins…as goddesses,” MR-tan pointed out, almost as if agitated at their pompous claim to the title.
“Well, I am a dual citizen of MR and Ecchiworld,” she said, taking a step back, breaking into a nervous sweat. “They are considered goddesses there.”
“And think about what you just said. Cheesy, stereotypical,” the Tan pressed.
Mahlua blinked.
“C’mon, Milk,” Coryn crossed his arms, or tried to. He still had difficulty figuring out if they should go above or below his bust. After a moment of shuffling, he gave up. “Do the witchy thing and summon them!”
“Wow…that…actually might work,” she sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. “But, uh, I’ll need some room, so it’s probably best if we don’t try this in the bus.”
With that, the party migrated out onto a little green space nearby. Mahlua shuffled out of her jacket and folded it, placing it on the ground to give herself a place to sit. “So, uh,” she started, turning to everyone with a faint blush, “Usually being in their presence gives me hot flashes, and since I don’t exactly have tits right now, would anyone be like, super uncomfortable if I took off my shirt?”
“What, are mew Mr. Fanservice meow?” Lego chuckled, earning a piercing glare.
“Ugh, fine,” she sighed, shaking her head. “Sorry for trying to be sensitive.” In a single movement, she grabbed a bit of fabric between her shoulderblades and pulled the shirt over her head, revealing a broad chest with the slightest ginger peach fuzz. A blush still colored her ears as she sat, exhaling.
She grounded herself, letting everything heavy phase into the earth, and then she centered, pulling her energy around her heart, a few thin lines of electricity zipping like a plasma ball between different parts of her body. Her breathing started to even out with five beats of her heart, and then she began to speak.
“Lady of youth and playful shyness, lady of experience and forwardness,” her deep voice resounded, illuminating the faint glow of heiroglyphs that were embedded into her being, “I seek your advice and your kinship. Great goddesses of the highest acropolis in Ecchiworld, mistresses of the sacred mysteries, Ecchi-tan, Lewd-tan, I call to you.”
The air grew heavy, melding with the heat in the dulling colors of duskfall. Mahlua’s ritualistic state drew static that congregated before her, solidifying. Then, with a bright flash and metallic pop, a wind hitched up that began billowing her ponytailed hair upward. Her flush deepened as her eyebrows knitted together in concentration.
A sudden whirlwind of energy knocked everyone nearby back a few feet, and in the center of the whirlwind, the witch sat, met in the presence of her twin goddeses, who materialized before her.
“Holy s——,” MR-tan groaned, “They are literally deifying themselves. That wasn’t a joke. That is actually happening.”
The other raiders stood and brushed themselves off, awestruck.
“So,” Lewd-tan curled her lips around the word like a smile, “What do you request of us?”
Beside her, Ecchi-tan arched forward, examining the witch, mouth open slightly in surprise and intrigue. “Oh my,” she sighed, “I think I really like how this spell turned out for you!”
Mahlua flushed and opened her eyes, which no longer appeared to have irises, instead glowing like the holy markings in her flesh. “I’m honored, my lady,” she said, bowing her head.
“What the hell?” A vein pulsed visibly on Lego’s brow. “Ecchi-tan…you actually like men like that? I…but—”
“Don’t worry, Maestro,” the pink haired Tan cleared her throat, “I’ve known from the beginning that she’s definitely one of dear sister’s children. Your heart is certainly more pure, more appreciative of the intricate balance of showing only what is necessary and generating the power of the ancient art.”
The nekomimi stopped as if frozen in time and space, all but the tears of gratitude that leaked from his eyes for the greater goddess he had always served.
“Guys, you’re forgetting why we summoned them in the first place,” Everlastin called for attention, shaking her head. Seeing as she was never a member of Ecchiworld, the Twins held no more power over her than MR-tan, who at this point looked impatient.
“Clever one, aren’t you?” the red haired Tan called, putting a hand on her hip as she adjusted her glasses. “Of course, we already know. You want to know more about the location of the second gem.”
“You could say that they’re looking for a sign, couldn’t you, dear sister?” the younger giggled, smoothing down her schoolboy tie.
The two shared a look, Ecchi-tan’s red eyes meeting her sister’s pink ones in an unsettling knowingness. They grinned at one another, raising an air of dangerous mischief.
“Of course,” the spectacled Tan sighed, expression dropping into one more grave, “We can’t just give you the answer. There have been some unforeseen benefits of the sex swap. Surely you’ve noticed, MR.”
The orange haired Tan stiffened. “And some people are experiencing anxiety at unhealthy levels. I know what you’re about to say. Stop. Isn’t it enough that you’ve made so many raiders suffer this dysphoria for almost a full day? You could call it humbling, but for drawing it out like this, it’s getting closer to sadistic,” she said, tightening her fist as she took a step forward.
Ecchi-tan drew her bokken without a shred of hesitation and held it at ease, eyes fixed on MR-tan. Despite the casualness of her stance, the threat remained.
“Now, now, there’s no need to get vicious,” Lewd-tan cooed, extending her arm to bar her sister’s way. “We won’t give you an answer directly, but, we will give you a sign.” With that, she looked into the eyes of the raider sitting before her. “Are you ready to offer something in return for our help?”
“Yes, my lady,” Mahlua replied, closing her eyes and bowing low.
“Good. Now, this will hurt a little,” the older goddess turned to the younger with a nod.
Ecchi-tan followed up on the cue with a swing of her bokken, whamming the raider’s ribs with a chilling THOK, sending her in an impressive arc through the grey sky. The other raiders gasped in horror and surprise, running after the flying, limp body of their friend.
To protect herself, the witch focused on phasing herself into pure electric energy and attached herself to the closest conduit that made a safe, direct route to the ground that she could find. With a jolt, she found herself firmly planted on street level, one hand pressed against the billboard stand that held up the sign dividing the districts. Looking up, it all made sense.
“Welcome to the Develop Your Story District!” it read.
Curious, and no longer glowing in her ritual state, Mahlua let herself electrify again, zooming up to the standing platform on the billboard. To confirm her suspicions, a diamond-shaped gem sat embedded between two plates of metal. Unlike the last one, this one shone a brilliant blue. Below, she could hear her friends calling up to her. She picked up the gem and held it up, calling down “Hey, guys!” Smiling, she put it in her pocket and started making her way down the ladder, not wanting to expend any more energy.
Once back on the ground, everyone crowded around her again. “Are you alright? That sounded like she broke your ribs!” Everlastin whined, inspecting the red mark that would no doubt soon turn black and blue.
“I’m fine, really,” the ginger assured her, “I took a worse beating back in December, remember? Being in my ritual state protects against major damage. Speaking of, did someone bring my shirt?”
Everyone exchanged an embarrassed glance and shrugged. “Well, let’s at least crack open this next clue first, then we’ll go get it,” Coryn suggested.
“I almost swear you guys just like seeing me shirtless,” Mahlua grumbled, withdrawing the blue gem and gripping it in her hand. Like she saw Pub-tan do, she clenched the magic imbued stone and it shattered without resistance.
The same as before, the Twins’ voices rang out from the ashes.
“Excellent work, raiders!” Ecchi-tan’s peppy, feminine voice chided in, almost sounding foreign now in light of everything, “Two down, two to go. You’re halfway there!”
Lewd-tan took over, sultry and prodding. “The next one is somewhere important to me. I was humbled in a glorious battle.” Her voice paused, as if she wanted to say something else, but decided instead to conclude with, “When it comes down to it, the favor of a goddess will always help you find a way.”
Coryn and Mahlua met eyes instantly. “The tunnels?” the scientist asked.
“That was one hell of a fight, and it was a route no one had taken, and she let us all pass. We almost won the raid because of it,” the ginger replied with a shiver.
“Wait, wait, wait, what’s this about?” Lego prodded. “I know the tunnel entrance under the Admin building took damage during meowr battle, but what’s paw-ll this about ‘the favor of a goddess’, eh, Mahlua? Furst, Ecchi-tan herself compliments you, and meow Lewd-tan says something about a ‘favor’ over a battle you won with her? I think there’s something mew’re not telling us.” He crossed his arms
Mahlua bit her lip. She hadn’t told anyone about the brief vision she had before being struck down in the final fight in last year’s raid. She treasured that dream as if it were real, even if she never brought it up with the Twins after the fact.
Irritated, Everlastin butt in. “What’s it matter? If we have a pretty good idea where the third gem is, let’s go get it!”
“You’re much eager about this than before,” Coryn hummed, raising an eyebrow like an accusation.
“Yeah…it’s just…let’s just grab Mahlua’s shirt and go. This is weird.”
---
It didn’t take long for the raiders to enter the tunnels, since the web of pathways criss-crossed throughout the city. Before starting their trek, MR-tan told them that she was going to find the Writer-tan and Pub-tan and have a long, hard chit-chat with the Twins about the massive boundaries they had overstepped.
“Ugh, I wish she would’ve at least driven us closer to the Administration Building before she ducked out,” Everlastin yawned, walking with her hands on the back of her neck.
“Yeah, well, whatever they’re gonna do, it looks like it’s going to be serious. Did you see the look on MR-tan’s face? And Pub-tan earlier today was absolutely furious. Everything seems really out of place. For whatever reason, the other Tans are getting tired of the Twins, and they aren’t trying to hide it,” Mahlua pondered aloud. “Hey, Coryn, you’re the unofficial scribe of all of MR. Do you know what’s going on?”
The scientist shrugged, shaking his head. “If something went down, I wasn’t let in on it. Or, it happened before I got here.”
“Speaking of strange occurrences, why was I turned into a nekomimi girl?” Lego added. “I mean, efurryone knows I love cat girls, but I can’t believe that I’m the odd cat out in the whole city. Also, I wish it were pawsible to turn these puns off.”
“Yeah, you’re basically a walking stereotype,” the ginger sighed. “Guess they really have it out for you.
“I’m not sure he’s the only one,” Coryn said, scrunching his eyebrows together. “My wardrobe was changed completely when I woke up. There was a lot of cowgirl attire, and that isn’t even my thing.”
“Oh, so that explains the American flag shirt…and…wait, you had a double bacon cheeseburger earlier, too,” Mahlua’s eyes grew wide, “And you kinda help lead us around, giving me the ideas I need to do things, and…well, there’s your obvious, erm…”
“What are you trying to say?” the scientist shot back, crossing his arms, settling on the decision that under the bust was definitely easiest to achieve.
“I think I get it,” his assistant chimed in. “You’re an All-American stereotype!”
“So, what mew’re suggesting is that we weren’t just genderbent?” the nekomimi inquired, tilting his head as if processing the information.
“It’s a possibility. Isn’t it also odd that we seem to be the only ones on the hunt for the gems, despite all the people who probably hate life right now? It’s all like some corny shounen save-the-world story,” Mahlua continued.
Coryn made a ‘pssh’ sound and cracked a smile. “I guess that makes you the lame shounen protagonist, Milk. I mean, after all, you were the one who used your electric affinity to find the first gem, and then you summoned the Twins and got the ball rolling, not to mention they really seem to be drawn to you, in that weird way villainesses seem to do, and even Everlastin! She may have budded a gentlemen’s sword, but she’s still straight as an arr–YYEEOOW!”
“Sorry,” the brunette said without the faintest hint of remorse, fist still dug deep in the side of her boss.
“Which brings up the question…what stereotype is Efurlastin?” Lego said, raising a hand for a high-five. Everlastin smacked it proudly.
“Traitor,” Coryn grumbled.
“Nah, more like the MC’s childhood friend foil character. The Suzaku to my Lelouche,” the lame shounen protagonist offered, nodding in satisfaction with her own answer.
At the edge of their vision, a familiar corner came into view.
“Well, no more time for mulling about. Time to see if this is the place, and, more importantly, if it’s booby trapped,” the scientist smiled, stretching for a moment before rubbing his smarting side.
Everyone took a deep breath and mentally braced themselves before turning into the murky green light of the underground entranceway to MR Tower. Yet again, a faint pink gleam sat in the middle of the room. The two mods nodded to one another and circled the room as if trying to avoid initiating a boss fight cutscene. Mahlua, meanwhile, approached the center of the room, Everlastin in tow. She reached the precious item and squatted down to grab it. The air stood still in anticipation for an attack, but then…nothing.
Relieved, the elemental held up the pink gem and crushed it in her hand.
“Nicely done,” the red haired goddess’s familiar, warm voice purred. “That day marked a profound step forward for raiders everywhere. I will surely hold it in my heart forever.”
“As for the final clue,” Ecchi-tan’s voice cut in, “Don’t you wanna share your victory with everyone? Because pretty soon it looks like our little show is going to be taken off the air.”
“Man, their clues keep getting easier. What the hell?” the ginger said, face contorting with concern.
“I guess they had to make up knowing that the second gem was ridiculously hard?” Everlastin offered.
“Or maybe it had to be us, because only those involved in last year’s raid would’ve known this location’s value,” Coryn added.
“Whatever the case, looks like we’re headed to the broadcast tower,” Mahlua concluded.
---
As the raider party made their way to their final destination, in another part of town, MR-tan called together a meeting for all the Tans. The night was warmer than it had been in a while, with spring on the horizon. The meeting place was a little café with outdoor seating. MR-tan, Writer-tan, Pub-tan, and the Twins sat around a metal outdoor table with an umbrella in the center, with a little light suspended from the spokes to fight away the darkness.
“I take it we all know what this is about?” MR-tan started the meeting, shifting her eyes to look at everyone.
“Yes. This went further than we anticipated,” Lewd-tan sighed, sliding her glasses up the bridge of her nose.
“This goes far beyond this genderbending incident, Lewd,” Pub-tan spat, eyes cold as ice as she sat, arms crossed, piercing the Twins with her gaze. Ecchi-tan shifted under the pressure.
“So,” the pink haired one sighed, tightening her fists in her lap, “We’re bringing that back up, huh, Si–”
“Don’t call me that,” Pub-tan hissed.
After a pause, Writer-tan spoke up, albeit with care. “Look, I know this pulls on a lot of nerves, but we have to take into account all the transgressions of the Twins.” She drew a scroll from her belt and unraveled it on the table. “On top of having stolen Pub’s old stuff to create Ecchiworld, a separate world where you’ve begun to deify yourselves, and all the damage you’ve done to the city over the course of your annual raids, and now wreaking havoc on so many raiders for some idea of amusement, personally, I can’t see how we can let this go.”
“…What exactly are you planning to do with us, then?” the redhead asked quietly, narrowing her eyes.
“If I had it my way, you two would go on to that little palace you made yourselves, and you wouldn’t cross the bridge back over here ever again,” the bartender spat, eyes afire with a look that could kill a mortal. Ecchi-tan winced at its intensity.
“That was such a long time ago, and you got everything back from us, and you even beat our butts in that fight. Then, you even completely changed everything. Your name, your occupation…your family.” At that, the younger twin’s breath hitched, throat clogged with a strike of emotion.
Pub-tan’s expression softened, but only a fraction. “Because I knew it would come to something like this,” she said, losing her edge and sounding exhausted.
“Answer me this,” Lewd-tan spoke up again, “Why? Why did you go through all the trouble, to even cut your blood bond with us as sisters?”
“Because I was afraid,” Pub-tan replied, as if it were the most obvious answer. “You two, the way you conspire together, it’s like some bad alliance. I didn’t want family to ever conflict with my greater judgment. In fact, I didn’t really want to keep being a Tan, but I couldn’t just give up my gift for all the people it serves. So, I just did what I do best: I held a mirror to life, reflecting it back, making a space for raiders to reflect, see things, experience, and live.”
“Art…” Ecchi-tan sighed, pain clear on her young face.
“That stopped being my name ages ago,” Pub-tan sighed, uncrossing her arms.
“But, I believe a compromise can be reached,” MR-tan cleared her throat. “You’ll be allowed to cross the bridge, but we can enchant it such that you two will never be able to use your magic within MR grounds again. You can still host your raid, if you can find a way. How does that work for everyone?”
“Aye,” the bartender agreed, jaw clenched in her usual tic.
“Aye,” the writer sighed. “Cancelling out my DEM magic was the last straw there.”
Lewd-tan put a hand on her sister’s shoulder and nodded. “I think we can agree, with one little thing.” Ecchi-tan nodded. “If one of our children call us, we should be able to go to them.”
The table exchanged glances. “I suppose that’s fair,” MR-tan said.
In the distance, a burst of energy sent shockwaves through the city. Raiders stumbled for a moment as their physiology altered. In seconds, the shockwave reached the Tans, and their previous forms restored, outfits and all.
“Then so it will be, effective immediately,” Writer-tan declared, finishing writing a seal on the scroll before her.
The goddesses exchanged a laugh.
“What’s so funny? MR-tan asked suspiciously.
“Nothing,” said one.
“Those kids sure are something,” said the other.
---
As Mahlua, Coryn, Lego, and Everlastin returned to report their victory to the mods and prepare a grand party to celebrate, the Twins followed the path to the edge of the city, stopping at the bridge between the world that the five powerful entities once built together and the one they made all their own, where they would now spend the rest of their time in semi-exile. Writer-tan stood by, chaperoning them. She adjusted her glasses, then rested a knuckle on her lips in thought.
“You know,” the blonde Tan drawled, “I still get the feeling that there’s more to your little gender-bending plan than you let on.”
“What else could we tell you about it?” Lewd-tan countered.
Writer-tan stood at the center of the bridge walkway, folding her arms. “Why?”
Ecchi-tan turned her face to meet eyes with her twin, a smile playing on her lips. “Shall we give her a hint as well, dear sister?”
“Stop playing your games,” the blonde barked, narrowing her eyes.
“My, my,” the redhead chuckled, striding up to the other Tan until she stood nose-to-nose with her. “This isn’t a game any more, Writer. If it were, we would have won. You see, in the end, things still went according to plan.”
The blonde’s eyes widened as fear shivered down her spine. She felt for a moment like she couldn’t move. “What do you mean,” she asked, with her throat gone dry.
Ecchi-tan skipped up, still smiling. “Y’see, this finalizes everything. It kinda sucks that we’re broken off from MR, but those gems did a little more than break our spell.”
Realization crashed down like a violent, destructive tidal wave. Writer-tan grit her teeth and summoned her massive scroll and pen. “What have you two unleashed?” she growled, heart racing in her ears.
“No need to get so riled up. Unless, of course, you consider us monsters,” Lewd-tan purred, lips curling into a dangerous smile as she took an uncaring step forward, disregarding the Tan and her weapons.
“You can’t mean—” Writer-tan gasped.
The pink haired twin passed by her with a wave. “Yup. See you around, Writer. Shame that you guys never listened to us when we told you how easy it would be to become true goddesses.”
The Twin Goddesses shared a laugh and continued across the bridge without turning back. The Tan fought for her breath for a moment before crumbling to her knees.
“No…” she coughed on the word, and it tasted like blood. “I can’t believe this. This whole time, under our nose, and then…they’re so far out of our league now. True Goddesses…Deus dirige nos.”
Topic: MRverse: Genderbending Conundrums (Read 4703 times)
