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[b][u][center]A Whole New Party

Part 14

For Engy

By Draconicon[/center][/u][/b]

She wasn’t sure if she was seeing blood anymore, or if it was just how much had coated her from all the monsters that she’d cut down since entering the passage. Viola didn’t know, didn’t care, and was frankly ready for more if it gave her the distraction from her utter terror that she needed.

[i]Finally starting to get why Red-Arms did this so much,[/i] she thought, almost casually bisecting a raging orc from skull to crotch. [i]At least when you’re fighting, killing, you’re only afraid for you.[/i]

The room was cleared. Forty orcs lay dead at her feet, only partially due to the sheer sharpness of the sword. It was her skill that wielded it, and though she panted for breath, she was still the one responsible for all their deaths. She shook her head, leaning on the hilt, catching her breath now that the latest room was cleared.

[i]Can’t be much…much further…[/i]

She just had a little more to go. Then she would find the dragon. Then she could tell him that he was fucked, that she’d beaten him. She could look him in the eye and say that he couldn’t beat her, that she’d won at his game, and managed to…to…

[i]I’m not just…weak. I’m not less. I’m not…I’m not! I’m going to win. I’m going to win.[/i]

Ever since Red-Arms, Kyo’Thar, and Olfel had all but abandoned her at the start of the dungeon, she’d understood the score. She was going to be stripped of what little she’d gained. Whatever had happened with the dragon, or with her, she’d lost all authority that she used to have. Was that her fault? Theirs? The dragon’s? It was impossible to tell when she was this worked up, and more impossible without having them all there to question them.

But whatever had happened, she no longer had the power of a leader. What she’d put together, the team that she’d created, the power that she’d directed, was gone. All she could hope for was that she made it through this labyrinth of pain and blood, just so she could show the dragon that she was the one to beat.

[i]Whoever falls, whoever gives up…it won’t be me.[/i]

She wouldn’t be the weakling that the world thought of her as. She wouldn’t be the one that they looked down on. She wouldn’t be the one that gave in because it was fucking easy. She was Viola, trained to fight, trained to lead. She wasn’t going down.

She ripped the blade out of the ground, shaking her head as she stumbled forward. There couldn’t be that many more rooms. There just couldn’t be.

#

Audron watched as Viola entered the last room on her track. He honestly couldn’t believe that the human had managed to clear so much so fast. He had hoped that the swamp tuggers would have pulled her down and slowed her, at least, if not utterly disabled her, but she’d cut them down despite being trapped underwater at the time. Two orc shamans and thirty-eight illusory warriors hadn’t been enough to slow her down, or even make her feel fear. All she’d done was charge in, cutting through them with ease.

[i]I should not have given her that sword.[/i]

But it was too late now. It was buffing her, growing her strength with each fight, and it meant that she was getting stronger than she should be. She had already beaten down the last door to the last challenge, fighting an ice giant with nothing but that magic sword and her wits.

[i]And here I thought that thing might be overkill.[/i]

“Master?” a kobold whispered, tugging at his tail.

“Hmm?”

“They here.”

“Already?”

“They want you.”

“Oh, okay. One second.”

He looked back at the image. Viola had dodged the ice spikes, climbed the giant’s arm, and cut it off. As the giant looked dumbly at its detached limb, she was already cutting it into smaller and smaller pieces. It might be able to do a little more damage before it went down for good, but he doubted it. She was that good, and that sword was that strong. He was going to need something new for that.

Shaking his head, he followed the kobold out of the final room to the penultimate one. Four different paths emptied out into the chamber, and three of them stood with open doors. The last was covered with shards of ice, showing where Viola was waiting at that moment. He winced as he heard the thumping from behind it, knowing that she was ripping that last monster to shreds.

[i]Good thing that none of them are really here…[/i]

Illusion magic was a powerful thing, particularly when the adventurers going through them believed them to be real. The more that they believed, the more power that the illusions had. So far, it had worked, saving lives, but…well, there was only so much one could do with that. Shaking his head, he turned to his Claimed.

The gecko that had been Red-Arms, the raptor that had been Kyo’Thar, the stocky, spined lizard that had been Olfel: they were all assembled in line, looking one another over, obviously rather amused in some cases, and surprised in others. They had obviously expected to be the only ones transformed, but now that they saw that they weren’t, they almost seemed relieved.

[i]Guess that makes sense. They’re all strangers, now.[/i]

The dragon cleared his throat, and the three former adventurers whipped their heads around to look at him. Kyo’Thar nodded in respect, the gecko bowed until his head touched the floor, and Olfel chuckled.

“So, that’s where you were hiding.”

“Less hiding, more watching.”

“Right…so what’s our former leader up to?” Olfel asked, tossing his thumb over his shoulder at the thumping door.

“Fighting an ice giant.”

“…How, exactly?” Kyo’Thar asked. “That’s beyond the strength of most of us.”

“Pure piss and vinegar, as far as I’m aware,” Audron said, shaking his head. “I think she’s pretending that all the monsters are me.”

The three reptiles winced. He didn’t blame them; he wasn’t comfortable imagining her going that nuts on his hide either, all things considered. He looked at the door as he realized that the thumping sounds had stopped, and that there was a sound of something panting on the other side of the door, instead.

“I think she just killed the ice giant,” he muttered.

“She’s gone crazy,” Kyo’Thar muttered. “I guess we’ll have to take care of that.”

“She’s going to come out swinging,” he warned. “Just make sure that you don’t kill her, and don’t get yourselves killed, either.”

“The important thing, master, is to keep her from getting to your chambers, yes?” the gecko asked.

“That’s right.”

“Then we will stop her here. Perhaps we will be able to make her see reason.”

Audron had every doubt in the world that such a thing could happen, but he would hope for them. He’d like Viola to come to his side willingly, but after seeing how she had lost so much of her sanity to the gradual breakdown she was going through, he doubted that there was any chance of that. She was so desperate to keep hold of her idea of herself, of being that leader that had survived killing her people and all the mockery that she had gone through, that she was not going to take any sort of helping hand that was offered her. It didn’t matter that he could give her the power that she needed to be that amazing general; if it didn’t come from her, she didn’t care.

Worse, she was about to see that he had ripped everything that she’d had from her, and now, she was alone. She’d have already figured out that the blade was giving her the major advantage that had kept her moving through the different puzzles and traps that he’d set for her, which meant that she’d be doubting herself.

Hopefully, it wouldn’t break her completely. He took a deep breath, then stepped back.

“Good luck, my Claimed.”

“We won’t need it,” Kyo’Thar said.

“I think we might,” Olfel said. “She couldn’t do that before.”

“We will do what we must,” the gecko muttered.

#

Viola slowly stepped past the hissing body of the frost giant, approaching the great stone door. That had to be the final boss. She was…she was so close now. All she had to do…was get through…and then find the dragon…and then…

[i]Then I’m going to wring his fucking neck…[/i]

She didn’t care about the deal anymore. If it wasn’t necessary to her survival, she would have thrown the gift of his sword away, too. The only reason that she kept it was because it had kept her alive, and she needed to get to the end to avoid giving in to his deal. Once that was done, she was melting it to slag, and then she was going to shove the molten steel up that scaly bastard’s ass.

Shaking her head, she stomped over to the door, resting her hand against it. She hesitated, thinking of her party. The dwarf, the monk, the wizard –

[i]They went with him. They abandoned me…abandoned me for the dragon…[/i]

They had stopped believing in her. They’d been convinced that she wasn’t worth following, that she wasn’t good enough. They believed the same thing that her teachers had believed when they were thinking of trying to control her. They believed that she was worthless, less, nothing.

[i]I’ll show them…I’ll show them all…[/i]

With a grunt, she shoved the door open. As soon as it fell over, she saw the three waiting scalies in the other room. She didn’t see their faces; she didn’t hear their voices; all she saw were non-humans, waiting monsters.

[i]One more. Just…one…more…[/i]

Viola hefted her blade, only to feel the air heat where she stood. Recognizing the power of a fireball, she rolled forward, cutting the ground and using it to slow her momentum so she didn’t roll right into their midst. With the fire exploding behind her, she kicked the charging gecko in the ribs, knocking him back. The spined lizard came for her from behind, only for her to slam her head back into his guts, cutting off his breathing.

As they slammed down, the last of them – the freaky, thick-legged reptile – tried to spin his hands into another spell. Not going to happen. She swung her blade out of the ground and into it, throwing herself into a vault through the air. Her fist came down right in his cheek, knocking him to the ground.

She would have broken his neck at that moment if a smaller, chicken-sized monster hadn’t come out of nowhere and started biting at her face. It managed to cut through her cheek and bite her ear before she got a good grip on it, throwing it across the room. It hit the wall, slumping down, either dead or stunned, she didn’t care.

By the time she grabbed her sword again, the gecko was on her once more. His arms were striking from left, right, left, right, above. She was barely able to bring her blade up, but rather than chopping his arms off, she was barely managing to parry the blows. Almost like he was wearing some kind of invisible –

“Oof!”

His tail came around, hitting her in the guts. She stumbled backwards, the blow hitting her hard enough to affect her through her armor, but before he could follow up, she managed to slam her helmet down against his forehead. He was dazed, and her sword came up –

A shrill squeal cut the air, and she was knocked off-balance, her entire body vibrating from the sonic attack. The gecko pulled back as she covered her ears, the sound fading after a few seconds. The horned lizard; he’d been responsible for that.

The mage was back on his feet, and she shook her head, pulling her hands tight around the grip of the blade again. She huffed hard.

“Out…of…my way…”

“You’re stronger than you used to be,” the gecko said. “Before, that would have worked.”

“What do you mean, before?”

“Do you not know us?”

She didn’t care. Whatever the mystery was, they could rest dead for all she cared. The dragon was beyond that door, and if she got to him, then this hell was over. This would be done, and she could rest.

She could stop.

She could say that she won.

Screaming, she charged forward, cutting at the three of them. The wizard almost didn’t get out of the way in time, but the gecko shoved him. Clang. Her sword hit his arm, and it went flying up. She couldn’t cut it off, couldn’t cut him, but she could hurt him. She jabbed the pommel of her sword into his throat, and he went down, gagging and gasping for breath.

The spined lizard came for her, spinning like a top and bringing his bladed tail around. She cut up, and he screamed, falling back as his spines were cut loose. She panted hard, shaking her head.

[i]One stunned, one hurt, one –[/i]

The air suddenly went cold around her. She spun, cutting the ice crystals before they could form a prison.

“Fuck you…fuck you…fuck you…”

“Dammit…since when could she do that?” the mage shouted.

“I don’t know…what any of you are…but I’m not…losing…anymore!”

She grabbed one of the spikes she’d cut off the spined lizard, whipping around and throwing it like a throwing knife at the mage. He was too slow, couldn’t dodge it. She could at least get rid of him and his distractions, and then –

Another shriek. She was ready for it this time, braced, and she lunged for the smallest of the reptiles. She heard something shatter, guessed that it was a sonic attack against the spike she’d thrown, but it was too late for the screaming. She bowled him over, jabbed her elbow into his throat. He gasped for breath, his voice coming out as muffled, too weak to speak. Another blow would break his neck and she lifted her fist to deliver –

CRACK!

One of the gecko’s blows finally broke through, shattering her armor and almost doing the same to her elbow. The blow took her down, her sword flying away. It hit the wall off on the other side of the room, and she barely got back to her feet before the three of them were all around her. She shook her head, holding up her gauntlets, fighting tears.

“I can’t…I can’t lose…”

“You can’t win,” the gecko wheezed.

“Just…put the fists down,” the spined lizard said. “Let’s talk about this.”

“No…no…can’t…can’t…”

“All you’re going to do is get hurt,” the thick-legged one said. “Come on. Just…just relax for a second.”

“No…no, no, no! I can’t – you can’t relax! I can never relax! That’s how you lose. That’s how you DIE!”

She leaped for the mage. Her hands managed to close around his neck for a moment, her thumbs on the verge of pressing through his scales before the gecko pulled her back. He managed to grapple her, getting her arms behind her back. She screamed in defiance, trying to pull free, but then the spined lizard stood in front of her, and his eyes…they glowed.

“Sleep…”

Viola stared, feeling the command seeping through her, passing through her bones, rushing through her skull. She fought it, her eyes flickering.

“Nnnn…n-no…”

“Sleep…”

“You…”

“Sleep…”

“Bas…tard…”

Her eyes slowly closed, and she fell, weeping, into sleep.

#

Audron shook his head as he stepped out of the private room again, looking down at the fallen form of the warrior woman. She had completely lost it there at the end, ready to fight until she was dead, or her former companions were. He knelt down at her side as his three Claimed panted for breath, shaking their heads.

“That was insane,” Olfel said. “[i]She[/i] was insane.”

“What was all that about?” Kyo’Thar asked. “She was…does anyone know what that was about?”

“Not I,” the gecko said.

“Me neither,” the mage said.

“…I have a few guesses,” Olfel admitted.

He imagined that the former dwarf had quite a few. From what Audron had seen while studying her, he could see that she was broken down inside. She had pushed herself to the brink, and the idea of falling short one more time was something that she just couldn’t take. She’d need to be put back together from scratch, and they’d all have to hope that it worked for her.

But for now, she was asleep, and he was more grateful than he expected that he had allowed Olfel that power to bring her down. It was just one small thing, but who would have thought that it would have kept his trio alive? He’d thought that they were powerful, but Viola had nearly beaten the three of them while she was only blessed with the sword, while they had all received other gifts.

[i]Goes to show that she had good training…and if she really does convert for me…goodness…[/i]

Audron still hoped for her. If nothing else, then the transformation and the correction magic should begin some healing. Maybe, just maybe, she’d see the world as it was rather than the fearsome prison that she had turned it into.

“Let’s get her in the other room.”

“Doesn’t that mean she wins, Master?” Kyo’Thar asked.

“…Good point. We’ll do it out here. First, though. Chains.”

#

Viola wasn’t sure how long she was asleep, but she knew that it had been a while. She hung from chains when she woke, chains that were stronger than the metal that she knew she could have shattered before. She blinked twice, clearing her eyes before glancing up at the long links that ran towards the ceiling.

[i]I’m caught…I…[/i]

No, the word wouldn’t come. She didn’t let it come. She hadn’t lost, and she wouldn’t lose if she kept fighting. So, she’d keep fighting.

She was tied with her legs off the ground, so she couldn’t just kick up and swing towards the ceiling. But she could start swinging, and she did. She managed two forward and back movements before the door across the room opened, and the dragon stepped out.

Dressed in the same platinum color as his scales, he pulled his robe closed as he walked across the stone floor to her. She shook her head as he pulled her to a stop, huffing under her breath.

“I will…get out of this…I haven’t lost…yet…”

“No, but you will.”

“You think…you can break me?”

“Do you think I’ve been trying to?”

“…”

“You broke yourself, Viola. You broke yourself so hard that I don’t think that there’s any way for you to come back as you were.”

“I didn’t lose.”

“I’m sorry, but you did.”

“No…no…”

The tears were coming. Those stupid things, those sad things, those…weak things…weak like…like…

They came, and she couldn’t stop them this time. She turned her head, gritting her teeth as they flowed down her face. She couldn’t let the enemy see that. This was just showing the dragon that she was beaten. She wasn’t. She was just…just…

[i]Why…why can’t…I’m not…I’m not…[/i]

She was mentally lost, and she cried. The tears kept flowing, hurting her eyes, stinging as they flowed down her cheeks. She waited for the teasing, the humiliation, the cat-calls, the jeers that always followed. Not good enough, she was. Not good enough for her blade, her armor, for what she tried to be. Her teachers proven right at last, that she should have been controlled, that she should have been put on a leash, that she was nothing but a woman and nothing but a goddamn failure.

She waited for whatever the dragon wanted to say about her failure and his win, but heard nothing. Maybe it was stifled under her snorting and whimpering, but maybe it was something else. She slowly tilted her head back, trying to blink away her tears.

“Well…what are…what are you…” She snuffled. “What are you going to do to me?”

“Do to you?” he asked. “I don’t know…All I know is that you can’t get better on your own. And for that…for that, I want to help you.”

“Nobody can help me. I can’t even help myself. They were all –”

“Not another word.”

He held her mouth closed, something that nobody else had ever done. He kept her from saying the words that she thought he would say, kept her from saying the things that would never be taken back. She deflated in the chains.

“I’m going to give you what you need. Do you know what that is?” he asked.

She shook her head.

“A fresh start. Something that you can do from the beginning, the way that [i]you[/i] want to.”

“…”

“Not the way that you were taught. Not the way that you were forced. The way that you want to. You can be what you want to be.”

“…Impossible.”

“Not so much as you’d think.”

“I…I…”

“You need somewhere to start,” the dragon said. “I can give you that new start. A body that will give you what you want, rather than what you were given. A chance to be who you are, rather than what you were born as. A chance to grow, and to change, and to succeed in ways that you never had the chance to try.

“All you have to do is let me do this. Be mine, and you’ll finally be yourself.”

It would be the end of her. That sort of submission, that sort of giving in would mean that she’d lost everything, that everyone would finally see her as the fraud that she’d been accused of being. She wanted to cry, wanted to break down again, but she had shed all her tears. There was nothing left of that.

She looked down at the stone floor. Of all the things that she had been expecting, she hadn’t expected this. Apparently, the good dragons really were good. At least, some of them were.

[i]He’s offering the chance to start over. You wouldn’t be you anymore…but did you ever like being you?[/i]

That was a question that she had never bothered to answer. She had always wanted to be…different. She wanted to be better than what people thought she could be, or should be. She wanted to be someone that stood head and shoulders over their expectations.

But now…

Now…

[i]Viola failed. Maybe someone else can do better.[/i]

A jumble and a mess in her own head, she barely knew what she was doing. But she knew what she needed, and it was to be better than this. The dragon could give her that. That was what he promised.

“Fine.”

“What?”

“I said, [i]fine.[/i]”

“Then…”

“Make me new. And I…I will do what you say.”

“…It will be better than you think,” the dragon said.

“It would have to be hell to be worse.”

She knew that was cruel to say, particularly to someone that she would ostensibly be serving soon, but it was the truth. Viola lowered her head, waiting for whatever spell that the dragon had that would take her and change her. She expected something shocking, something painful, something heated or ripping, something that would hurt.

Instead, she just received light. A golden light, something that flowed down her and left her…abstract, nothing but a glow, nothing but weightless light.

[i]Goodbye, Viola…it was good being you…[/i]

The once-woman slid out of her chains, but only to float freely as her body became nothing but light. She didn’t know what she would become, but she had turned into something bright, something different, something formless. It seemed to be almost waiting for her to direct it, rather than forcing something on her.

What did she want to be?

No. What did [i]it[/i] want to be, for she wasn’t a she, and didn’t have to be.

[i]Male.[/i]

The light started changing almost immediately, expanding down, gaining legs and spreading out further than it had before. It groaned slightly, the sound bubbling out of the light as arms and legs grew out, and then grew thicker. It grew taller, too, more than a foot taller than it had been, more than big enough to look down on the dragon slightly.

“Didn’t expect that,” the platinum dragon muttered.

It didn’t matter what the dragon had expected, because the changes were still rolling. What had been Viola stared ahead, feeling the growth of more masculine characteristics through its body. It could feel the muscles pumping into limbs of light, getting thicker, heavier, broader. It was becoming powerfully strong, more so than before, broad and built, heavy and –

And hung. Yes, hung. It could feel a penis growing between its legs, a shaft of light that was steadily getting longer and longer. The being of light looked down, cocking its head to the side as it took in the view of a shaft poking out where none had before. Almost curiously, it reached down and cupped the shaft. Sensitivity was there and building, and so was size, already ten inches and promising to grow further if it was teased.

As large orbs began to take form, the dragon blushed, looking away ever so slightly. It was like he was embarrassed, almost like he wanted to look, but wasn’t feeling quite able to do that. What had been Viola would have smirked at that. As it stood, the glowing light cocked its head to the side.

“Sorry. I’m still getting used to myself,” the dragon muttered. “It’s…weird, being free to do what I want. I don’t really…know how to do it, sometimes.”

It understood. It had been given the freedom to be literally whatever it wanted, to come through as the ideal being that it could be from then on, and it was having a hard time actually taking hold of that. Being male was the first step, but…but what next? It had size, it had a sex that would allow it to gain respect better, quicker, easier.

But.

What.

Else?

[i]Strong…big…[/i] It looked at its master, and it understood. [i]Scaly. Leader. What I should be.[/i]

And as it thought, the scales started appearing up and down its body. Not platinum, not like the dragon that had created it and given it the second chance, but something darker. Not quite black, but barely a shade off, something like the darkest of grays. It was something of someone that had gone all the way to the edge of darkness and evil and had then been turned back, someone that still had a chance.

As the scales spread down its body, it slowly felt more like a him than an it. The forming creature grew stubs of wings, not capable of flight, but like the beginnings of something, things that would grow, things that might change over the years. It stretched one arm, then the other, feeling the cracks of joints that were starting to take shape. Little by little, more came in, giving its body a greater physical shape.

Slowly, his tail started to take form, long and sinuous, slowly slinking out from just over his rump and spreading backwards. It was thick, yes, but there were greater joints through it, feeling almost like a powerful serpent’s tail rather than a traditional one. Something that would be useful in battle, as well as in peace. He flexed it, coiling it around his waist like a belt.

As the scales spread down his legs, adding to the thickness of the tree-trunk like limbs, he could feel his cock becoming solid, too. It turned dark with a crimson head, and he saw the dragon look down. He spread his legs slightly, offering a better view of the area down there, and his master smiled slightly.

“You don’t mind?”

The forming reptile shook his head. He didn’t mind. If anything, it made him feel slightly more worthwhile. Something worth looking at, something worth enjoying, something worth looking at and maybe following.

His shoulders bulged a bit, becoming even bigger. He was a muscular brute, but he still had his mind. He had not lost his intelligence, his training, his canniness as a leader. He could still do that, even if he had failed in so many ways.

[i]No. Viola had failed. I’m not her. I’m…Vincent.[/i]

That name struck a small chord for him, and he nodded, accepting it as the one that he would carry for now. He grew into his body, the scales covering him from bare feet to bare crotch to bare head. He was a warrior, a powerhouse, a master of the field and a master of those that he had to lead.

The light faded, and his horned head emerged from it. He looked down, holding up his hands to see the dark scales that had replaced his flesh, and he realized that it was all done. Everything that had been the failure was gone.

[i]Goodbye, Viola…hello, Vincent.[/i]

“How do you feel?” the dragon asked, almost tentatively.

“I feel…alright. Not great, but alright.”

“At least that’s better than you were. Do you want me to call you by your old name, or –”

“No, Master. A new me deserves a new name. Call me Vincent…or General.”

“…I don’t exactly have an army.”

“You will.”

“…I kinda just want a mountain.”

“Then you’ll need something to hold it, won’t you?”

“Focused, aren’t you?”

“I prefer problem-solving. Is there anything else, Master?”

“Yes…the others. The rest of your party you almost killed.”

“That was them?” The master nodded. “Oh…oh.”

“Yes. You might want to talk to them.”

“…I will. Thank you, Master.”

[b][u][center]The End[/center][/u][/b]

Summary: Viola hits the end of her road. She hoped to succeed, but it seems that she’s on the verge of breaking.

Tags: F/solo, M/solo, transformation, human, reptile, fight, dragon, fighting, fantasy, series, chains, mind control, master/servant, gender shifting, tftg,