Battle Vixens! - 23

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Episode 23: Amory

Amory woke up slowly. There was light behind his closed eyes, not the harsh sunlight from the window across from his bed but something much duller, weaker. If the sun were up his alarm should've already gone off and woken him with considerably more of a start. He turned over a few times in half-asleep denial before realizing that his bed also seemed far...roomier than it really should be. Then he turned over onto his back one last time, and slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes on the way to getting them open.

He was not in Kansas anymore. Not that he had been in Kansas, but...well, he was faced with the sight of a humongous, lavish bedroom with blue flame on candles sparsely spread across the walls as the only source of light. The bed he was in was a king at the smallest, with a big canopy over it, and there were all kinds of decorations adorning the walls, massive dressers and drawers and some chairs off to one side...the sight of a room so opulent, yet so archaic, was just as jarring and alien as waking up in the merry old land of Oz. He had listened carefully to Blake's description of the room he woke up in in his dreams, and couldn't help but think this one was even bigger and more lavish than that. It was hard to place the source of that impression, but the more he looked around and mentally probed the thought, the more certain it seemed.

So, this was it, was it? Or..was this something else? It could just be a normal dream, perhaps, but he felt very...awake now that he'd been sitting up for a moment. He climbed his way over to one side of the bed and finally off of it, thinking this was probably the point where the woman who had granted everyone else their powers was going to pop into existence about two inches away from his face and startle him. He braced for that kind of thing, but it didn't come. After waiting what felt like a long while expectantly, he shrugged to himself and began walking around the room, wondering whether this was some different kind of game she was playing. But when his tour brought him close to the double doors opposite the wall that bed was up against, there was a calm, dignified knock on them.

Slightly confused, Amory walked up to the door. It did have handles to be opened from the inside. This was...uncharacteristically polite if he was encountering the same person as everyone else, wasn't it? Still, he had to know for sure who was on the other side of the door and what they had to say. Therefore, he had as little choice in the matter of opening it as anyone else ever did in having her just plain appear. Taking a miniature deep breath, he reached out and opened the door.

Outside there was a wide hallway, just as grand as the bedroom, with a red carpet spread along it. She was, of course, standing there on it: A tall, gorgeous woman with a perfect cascade of hair, tall fox ears, and a multitude of tails spiraling out from her back. She had a very pleased, almost proud, smile on her face. "Welcome, dear. I'm so happy to finally get to meet you," she said.

"Um..you, are," he said, a half question.

"But of course!" She made her way inside without a specific invitation, but he knew better than to try and get in her way. "I've anticipated this moment ever since I began to make plans for your world. I didn't know it would be you specifically, of course; there were so many candidates at first."

She frowned slightly. "The enemy thought they would disappoint me and destroy my favorites, but I anticipated that. All they managed to do was help me narrow things down by removing those with incompetent protectors from consideration." Her expression lightened once more, along with a small chuckle.

"Wait, protectors? So—"

"Oh, of course," she nodded before even hearing the question. "But a good strategist never does something for just one reason. You needn't worry so much."

"What's, uh, what's this about then? Candidates for what?"
"Only a very special gift of mine," she said, with an almost motherly smile. "All those I entrust with power are like my children, but if I were a queen then you, my dear, would be the crown princess. Your desires give you the potential to use a power like my own."

"So, we were right about that?" said Amory.

"Of course! You're right about a lot of things. One of the reasons you stood out as a favorite even early on. On top of that, you are one of very few with the potential who displayed certain proclivities that will make using this particular gift so much easier and more enjoyable for you."

"What do you mean?"
"It'll be clear soon enough," she grinned. "Finally, I know you'll accept this gift. Many would be hesitant at first, but you've already made up your mind, haven't you? You want to help those you care about too much to turn it down, even if it came with a terrible curse."

"...You've, got me there I guess," he said nervously.
"Hahahah!" She laughed aloud this time. "You've nothing to worry about, dear~! If anything, this is one of the greatest blessings I can give."

"Then...how does this work? You tell me a phrase to unlock the power or whatever?"

"Oh, I shouldn't have to," she said. "I'll let you in on something that nobody in your world has figured out yet, though a few, I think, suspect it. That which you speak to receive my gift is nothing more than a name. Unlike your world's names, arbitrarily given when one can hardly even be considered a person yet, the names I use are true. They cut to the heart of who one is. Knowing one's name grants power over them because it amounts to a deep knowledge of their essence, their very self. I'll admit that it's inconvenient for the referential use of names, so little nicknames are always helpful." She crossed her arms, putting on a look of mild displeasure. "I suppose 'Giver' works well enough, but I really wish you would pass on to them that I would prefer precious gems. Ruby, Sapphire, Diamond—I'm not picky."

"And you're saying that I should be able to just figure out my own 'name'," he said.

"Mm-hm! This room is yours, more than any place on your world is, dear. In this realm such understanding will come easily with just a little thought. But to speak the name I give here is to accept the power that comes with it, and anything else that comes with that power. Not that you didn't know that already."

He tried to think about it. This was...sort of a dream, so there should be a kind of link between thought and reality. His name was...Amory. He pushed that aside, it was the name he'd lived with a long time but here and now that wasn't his "name". Keeping in mind that it wasn't Amory, he tried to remember his name again, and immediately it came to him, just as naturally as if he had lived with it even longer than the other one. And, just like she knew he would, he chose to speak it and accept whatever amazing power it supposedly came with.

Amory felt his ears tingle slightly, stretching their way upward, and a tail pushing itself out from his back. And then...nothing else. He turned around briefly to see a thin, bright yellow tail with a white tip moving around back there, and then forward again with a slightly confused look toward the tall woman. "Uuhh...?"

She chuckled again. "Ohh, that look is priceless. Don't worry, I haven't tricked you—well, not for more than a moment at least. Your power is unusual, a weaker version of mine. It can't be easily understood without experiencing it firsthand. I'll show you just how it works." The woman's hands reached over toward the top of Amory's head. "If you don't mind?"
"Um, sure, go ahead."

He guessed correctly that she meant to pet the new fox-like ears, but there was probably nothing that could've prepared him for how that actually felt. He shivered slightly as she started gently rubbing and scratching them near the base, finding the new fur far more sensitive than seemed reasonable. But it wasn't only a physical feeling he was hit with as she continued; he could feel something trickling in from her fingers through his ears and down into the rest of his body.

It was...power, her blessing itself, and as it began to fill him it also started to reshape him. Before Amory's eyes the woman rose taller and taller before him, her hands following the downward progression of his ears as he shrank. He could feel his hair growing out, soft locks tickling the sides of his face and dancing down to his shoulders; a gentle tingling took away his body hair, softening and smoothing his skin as it traveled down his body.

He let out a soft, slightly confused "Mrrrnh" sound as she continued, and heard his voice starting to rise in pitch. His face felt warm with a blush, embarrassment at the whole situation, but it was a deeply pleasant feeling that came with his body gently softening and melting inward, his arms and legs and stomach all slimming down, his shoulders narrowing, every trace of muscle gently fading away. His hair fell down across his back, some of it tickling the back of his tail and drawing a small giggle from his lips in the voice he had as a young teenager, at the oldest. The shrinking finally levelled off with the tall woman's generous chest right in front of him, and Amory could feel his clothes gradually pulling themselves tighter against his small, slim body, a small slipping sensation between his legs signalling the start of one change he had anticipated from the beginning.

"Mrrrr..." Amory's eyes fluttered helplessly closed, the pleased churring from his throat rising higher and higher. A pair of panties had replaced his underwear, some soft, thin tights wrapped around his slim legs, and both were finding room to pull themselves steadily tighter and tighter down there. Finally, with a high, girlish "Aah~!" from one last tug, it was gone, and the new equipment replacing it immediately gave her a wonderful sensation unlike anything she'd felt before.

The new fox-girl found herself teetering forward a few steps, slowly wrapping her arms around the woman's waist. In return, she felt some of the woman's multitude of tails sliding across her body, wrapping themselves around it: One held her own waist in a kind of return hug, two wound their way around her legs, fur tickling her from thigh to ankle through the tights; at least another two found their way to her own tail, which was just as sensitive to them as her ears were to those hands.

"Mmnh, mrrrrnnh~!" She let out more pleased, slightly animal noises and blushed all the brighter as she found herself leaning forward, pressing her nose directly into the woman's generous bosom and gently nuzzling it in response to all of the new feelings. Part of her was terrified this was a step too far, but it was practically involuntary at this point.

"Ohoh, you like them?" The woman teased, pausing for a second. "Let's get you some of your own, dear.." She resumed the petting, and now the power pushed into Amory not just from her ears but through her tail, which itself grew steadily longer, thicker and fluffier from the woman's touch. She felt it rushing to her hips, pushing them out to either side and puffing her buttom out. A skirt fluttered out down to her thighs as if in response. Then she felt a sharp, pleasant tingling across her chest, drawing a surprised "MmmMMmmh~!" as the skin there suddenly became much more sensitive. Right away, it began to push forward, rapidly filling a waiting bra under the increasingly tight sweater her shirt had turned into. But as the woman continued to rub her ears and tickle her tail, still filling her up more, that proved far too small and the new breasts began to push and stretch the bra further, more and more sensitive skin sliding across the soft material and drawing more pleasure from between the new girl's legs, expressed through a fiery heat in her cheeks and a high "Mrrrrrnh~!" as she continued to hold her arms tightly around the woman, pressing her face vigorously into the woman's own soft chest.

Before long, her breasts finally finished growing, her body filling completely with the power just as it became entirely the right shape to hold it. The woman slowly, almost reluctantly let go of her ears, and Amory slowly pulled herself back, one tail after another gently disentangling itself from her until they were standing fully apart again. Still blushing quite a bit, Amory looked up at the woman's pleased—proud—face and then down and around at the appearance her own body had taken on. "Well, what do you think?" she said, crossing her arms once the smaller girl was turned forward again.

"It's, I uh, um." Amory's mind was not functioning at the moment. She pressed her fingers together nervously, feeling the heat rise into her cheeks all over again. "I, I like it a lot," she managed eventually.

The woman chuckled again. "I knew you would. Do you understand how to use this gift?"
"I um. You mean—it's, just...?"

"Mm-hm~!" She patted Amory's head a couple of times, which a part of her mind insisted should've been embarrassing but instead it just made her feel pleased with herself. "Your power is like my power—not that of a warrior, but something far greater. I give you the ability to reward or punish those who I've blessed as you see fit. And I bless you another way as well, dear: Those horrible things cannot touch you while you take that form, just as if they were mere shadows to you—the same way it is for me. Unlike mine, your blessings given this way are merely temporary, but I think they will be appreciated all the same."

"Wait, so so..I, I mean—you—you 'bless' people by petting them?!"

"That's right! Surely you noticed your Hero friend gaining some new little insights after my visits to her, even in topics I never said a thing about?"

Hero...was her nickname for Blake. Or Light. Light had understood after this woman's last visit exactly how to reshape clothes and had had some instinct to use Ning's power, the idea to reconfigure it. It was less certain what new insight she'd gained after the first visit, not counting what she had been directly told.
"She's far less open to my touch, but she doesn't mind yours so much," the woman said with a smirk. "It hurts me a little to not be trusted, you know. I never lie, I'm just vague when I don't want to say too much."

"You..?" That really explained a lot about the way she talked. Somehow Amory's mind refused to doubt the claim even though it was just as capable of being a lie as anything else; something about it just made sense.
"Yes! For example: Those who fall with no one to claim their powers return them to me, and I had a fun time matching those I got back with the other candidates as consolation prizes to give out tonight. But they don't need to know that there was a greater prize available; I only tell them that they were targeted because they had potential, and they receive gifts now in the second round because they survived those attacks."

"Now, a little more about your power: You are not a fighter, as I said. Your name cannot be learned by any other, and your power cannot be taken or owned. You need not fear an attack by the enemy, of course, but others with my gift are a far greater concern. You could always be coerced into blessing someone you otherwise wouldn't, hmm? That's why I would advise keeping this special gift of mine under wraps, and making good use of the protectors I found for you, or any more you should find for yourself."

Her ears folded down slightly, a conflicted expression. "I-I don't really..."

"If others willingly fight to keep you safe then that's their decision, isn't it? Call it what you want, I'm merely saying you should do what you can to help them. Isn't that what you wanted anyway?"

"Yes...you're right."

"I usually am!" she said, pleased, and patted Amory's head again.

"Now, I've blessed you as much as I ever can, but would you mind terribly letting me feel them a little bit more?" she said, her tone almost a pleading one.

"I um—no, I wouldn't mind," said Amory, the blush rising to her cheeks again.
"Ooh, thank you!" she said, immediately picking the smaller girl up in a hug. This time Amory's new breasts were up against the woman's own pair, their faces in front of each other, and when she felt her ears being rubbed, several tails wrapping around her again, the new fox-girl couldn't help nuzzling the woman's cheek and giving more soft, high churring in response. Plus, her hands slowly reached upward, feeling their way through soft hair up to the woman's own soft, fuzzy ears and gently running up and down them a little bit. To her surprise, the response to this was a little bit of nuzzling from the other end, until finally she let go of Amory's ears and gently pushed her head back a few inches, giving a very pleased smile her way.

"Mmnh. I knew I picked the right one," she said. "Have fun with this, dear."

Amory felt a hand running through her long hair from the back of her head on downward, along the curve of her back just to the base of her tail. When it got there, she let out a quiet, surprised "Aah~!" at that feeling and—sat up.

The feeling of the tall woman's body against hers was replaced by that of the covers over her, and the several tails wrapped around her by the mattress and sheets. She opened her eyes quickly, sitting up and tossing the covers off, drawing her feet up and looking around.

There was bright sunlight coming in; she was back in her own room in the apartment—but her clothes and body were just as they had been the whole second half of that dream. And...looking at the clock, Amory found that somehow her alarm had failed to go off, leaving her getting up an hour or so later than intended. It was hard to say whether this was something that Di—err, the Giver had done or if she had just managed to forget to set it last night.

She turned her ears around, listening to try and see whether Hero—err, Light—no, Blake was up yet. They could pick up people moving around and doing things in several neighboring apartments, but there wasn't any noise out in their own living room area, nor a shower or anything in the kitchen going, so maybe he was still asleep. Well, possibly the fight yesterday had taken more out of him than he'd let on; after all, overusing one's power always tired one out like that. Wait...no, that was a logical conclusion based on a little bit of evidence so far, but why did she feel so certain of it? It was maybe...the power over power came with an intrinsic understanding of it? That, kind of made sense.

Standing up, she really understood what the woman had meant about her being a non-combatant. She felt exceptionally weak and soft, not just compared to the super-powered girls all over but even to just her human form, and yet...there was something very pleasant about that feeling. She giggled a little to herself in the mirror before realizing what she was doing and thinking that maybe it would be a good idea to turn back to normal.

Thankfully, there was nothing unusual about the effects of Amory speaking her Name now that she had been "filled" with power relating to it: She went back to normal, male Amory, and he went back to the entirety of her form—power, fluffy tail and all—from saying it again. And then it was back to the male form because the whole point was to be like that and he had just sort of briefly forgotten in the worry that something might be different about changing back and forth.

So...the way, apparently the only way, to use his power was...to pet people. Rub their ears and their tails. And that would make their power stronger? How was he ever going to explain that to anyone, even just Light? The first thought that came up was that it would be easier to show than tell, and just ask her to trust him. But—wait, why was he thinking of Blake as a girl? He was probably in human form, had gone to bed in it...

Thinking about it a little more, Amory recognized that some mental tweaking was going on. As a test he thought about the other people he knew of with powers, attempting to imagine each one in turn. Ning, Clark, Rory, that policewom—er, man, Emma, Dawn—well, granted he didn't know what that one looked like normally anyway. Regardless, the first instinct was to think of each of them in the fox-form rather than their regular one. It was...this was somehow how she saw (or maybe preferred to see) those people, so as someone with a power like hers, he apparently "inherited" that impression of them. This would really be a problem if he couldn't keep the names straight and blew someone's cover by accident...

Wait a second—she had said she was giving powers to a bunch of new people! Was that true? It probably was; the idea of unclaimed powers going back to her sort of made sense, as did having a "second round" a week after the first night she gave "gifts" to people. He needed to check the news, see whether a bunch of new people with powers were popping up, and if so—maybe, warn Rowan and through her—um, him—the Initiative in general about this. But that meant admitting to gaining a power, and he wasn't sure if he trusted Rowan or whoever she was working for with that knowledge just yet. Maybe persuade Blake to claim it came from a dream of his, or...something. Better yet, they maybe already knew about it by now; it would be easy enough to figure that out without admitting to knowing something himself.

Amory paused, forced himself to take another mental step back. One thing at a time. First: See if it was already publicly known that this second round was people like him who'd been attacked; that would be easy enough. Then: Whenever Light woke up, talk about what had happened. Tell her everything, regardless of how...embarrassing as it was. What she had told him last night—he wanted to start with that. Then...demonstrating how the new power worked before going into that just seemed like a good idea. Light would understand then...hopefully.

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Finally. I've been waiting to write this one for quite a long while. It just kept being the case that this couldn't happen yet for one reason or another.