Year Of The Rat: ZeroForever Reward pt. 1 (Patreon)

"Yay we're here in the town of Dramalam!"
"It's Spamelin! I swear if you made the wrong turn at that crossroads Rei I'd tell Usa-"
"Oh we're in the right place silly. Ooh what's that?!"
"NOT SO FAST NOT SO-" The mouse girl Misa held on for dear life as her transportation/harlequin/helper Rei skipped through the lively cobbled streets of Spamelin, a future stop on their master's next large magic tour. Eventually after tugging at a few tufts of hair from her overly bubbly ride until she finally got the memo and stopped.
"Awww you're no fun!"
"Usa doesn't pay me to waste time."
"Wait Usa pays you?"
"Let's just get to the venue!"
"Geez it's just some sightseeing! This town's so pretty~!" Misa was checking a few notes she had scribbled down, scoffing at that last remark.
"You wouldn't be saying that if you were here last year."

Misa passed a small note down to Rei who squinted at the tiny text.
"Come visit... Spamelin! Full of cheap, no that's cheer, women and... uh what's that say Misa I can't read-"
"It's the wrong thing anyways, that's this year's advertisement from the town. Apparently this has been a big hub for single men looking to find wives recently and also a large commerce center now, which is impressive given its guide description just a year ago. Here let me find it." While Misa searched the many folds of Rei's jangly hat, Rei was looking around, noticing now the many types of women roaming the streets around them, and their less than stellar partners.

All of the women were perfect, kind of like the ones Barbie used to make when she was Bob, though she guessed it wasn't like Barbie stopped turning people into hot women just cause she was good now. But wow all of the girls were similar in how attractive they were, and how they acted too, almost kind of robotic as each one seemed to repeat the same behaviors when their partners said or did something similar to some of the other guys. Years of helping with crowd control had made Rei very adept at spotting crowd trends. Also now that she looked at it, a lot of them were dressing the same too with aprons and dresses and even a few wearing yellow dishwasher gloves, though she noted all of them had their clothes cut low so that their cleavage hung fairly visible to everyone who wanted to look.

Despite the odd uniformity across the variety of monster girls and regular ones, the strangest thing was with the guys. Sure a few were okay looking, but a lot of them looked like slobs and bums with very few appealing qualities that were apparent to Rei's eyes, at least none that explained how they all got bombshells to be with them, but Rei chalked it up to true love. These girls must be really good people if they don't care about looks! Or maybe they all had the same type and that's why they were all acting so strangely similar. They even seemed to be the only ones working, a busty, doting lady sweeping every street, working every eatery and uh... were the guys groping them occasiona-

"Oh I found it!" Misa held up the note proudly before reading off in a dramatic voice, "Eh hem, The ghettos of Spamelin are not to be stayed at for long as the town lies between several werebeast gangs. Due to the near constant attacks on the area, it is suggested to avoid all banks, avoid all areas where you would have to show your money and best to be avoided in totality on any adventurers journey." Rei stopped for a second, but only for a second, prepping for a somersault before Misa smacked her across the head.
"Oww! And really? You know how much the pigeon messengers can lie about a place!" Misa scowled.

"Of course I remember this place! I almost got mugged here a few times, and any time I've had my money threatened you can bet I etched it deep into my memory. I didn't believe the rumors at first, but seeing is believing and this is all very impressive considering only two years back you were liable to get mugged by a gang or your pockets groped by a cutpurse... though it seems like the groping is still common."

They paused, staring as a passing washerwoman was groped as she hung laundry next to a white picket fence, a elfish serving girl giggling as three men felt her up and one passing beast women had her children at three of her breasts and a few men at the other all of them-
"Oh wow this place is uh... pretty open isn't it?" Rei hopped excitedly at the strange sites, nearly sending Misa flying.
"Yes you overly energetic fool! You know how the boss's shows can get... racy. At the very least she wanted a few stops where she could do the full act instead of getting chased out by local religious nuts or audience members's wives. But yes besides the constant sexual assault this town is as clean and impressive as any capitol street. Begs the question how they did it, but I'm not paid to answer that. Now the venue should be that impressive building on the left. See it?"
"Ooh free drinks before six?"
"Yes now- Wait STOP YOU STUPI-"
But it was too late.

For most of their journey Rei had been forced to be restrained in her movements, the natural circus girl not wanting to just walk, but skip, frolic, somersault, backflip her way from point a to point b. But she was carrying Misa on her and the rat girl could possibly die if she was thrown out anywhere which led for a long boring journey, and long boring journeys made Rei thirsty. And how could she resist a happy hour special for a happy girl like herself? That's how Misa found her world flinging upside down, her work so ingrained in her that she held onto her notes and ledgers instead of the safety of the hat, shrieking as she tumbled to the cobbled ground.

Thankfully it was only a few inches, Rei's overabundance of agility and acrobatic flair having kept her center of gravity low so rather than the ground being feet away, the tips of her hat just barely avoided the ground, bells jingling as Misa went tumbling to the ground unceremoniously, her flagrant curses squeaking away uselessly as she triple flipped her way towards the door, a faint patter of applause fading once the door closed on her.
"FINE I'LL CHECK OUT THE VENUE MYSELF!!!" She knew Rei didn't hear that, but at least it made her feel better as she dusted herself off and collected her papers, sighing at the long walk that awaited her small body to the relatively close building that acted as the town square's central attraction and their future venue for Usa's latest batch of tricks.

It was definitely a gorgeous structure, a white marble half dome with raised audience seating and an outdoor stage that also had a roof over it's otherwise opened staging with hidden wings and a scant backstage area that, while not necessary, was always a plus in Usa's eyes as she liked people to try and guess how she was doing her tricks instead of just knowing she was an absurdly powerful sorceress. Well she'd judge the insides properly herself once she got there, though she couldn't help but feel the eyes focused on her as she was walking, none of the women caring yet it seemed at least half the men had their eyes either trained or half lidded at her.

Maybe they weren't used to a rat girl her size since there were definitely plenty of larger ratgirls of varying stages of anthropomorphism in the town, but then again maybe they were just considering helping her to the venue, she must have made quite the sight falling off earlier and it wasn't like they could possibly see her as a threat right? Though they were definitely whispering frequently amongst each other and those looks weren't exactly friendly. sigh She wasn't paid enough to deal with whatever they were annoyed about so she just walked towards the venue, ignoring them.

Reaching the place she could see that it was definitely spacious enough and even from her vantage point from the entrance, this was a venue of dreams. Really how did they improve this much? It was absurd how well the town had shaped up over the course of the last few months. All she had to do was take a half hour to reach the stage, inspect every inch and then spend god knows how long finding Rei and they could get the hell out of here. All in all an easy tas-
"There she is sir! The plague beast girl!" One of the men who had been staring at her earlier was back with a finely dressed man hobbling along on a cane in a tri cornered hat with all sorts of embellishments that just screamed "I AM IMPORTANT! NOTICE ME!" Behind him was another man in all black, a large baton in one hand, a hollowed ram's horn listening device in the other. This did not bode well.

"Why hello there gentlemen how are you doing today? I am here legally to preview the venue for Usa's grand magic to-"
"WHAT?!" The man in black yelled with the hearing horn in his ear.
"This were rat says she's here legally for that bunny bitch's show sheriff."
"WHAT?!"
"SHE'S HERE LEGALLY SHE SAY-"
"Poppycock! Weres got no rights in these parts of the woods. Y'hear that missy, you're coming with me!"
"On whose authority?"
"WHAT?!"
"Of for the love of, ON WHOSE AUTHORITY!"
"...WHAT?!" God Misa hated being so small sometimes, though usually her voice could at least carry itself a decent amount. The important looking man spoke up next.
"As the mayor of this town and this here being the sheriff we have full authority to-"
"WHAT?!" The mayor sighed in frustration before turning to scream at the man.
"JUST TAKE HER IN ALREADY AND WE'LL SEND HER TO THE PIPER!"
"You're kidding right?" Misa hoped this was some yokel joke, but that was dashed as the sheriff took out a small rat cage, the door open. This was definitely going to suck.

It definitely did suck. Her trial was more of a kangaroo court, with a judge with the thickest pair of spectacles Misa had ever seen squinting at all the wrong places before making a proclamation.
"GUILTY!"
"But you didn't even hear any case yet!"
"Hmm?! Oh there you are, you're so small. No wonders I couldn't see ya."
"...judge that's the bailiff, the criminal is standing on the table."
"Hmm?! Oh the grey splotch there? Egads they come in all sizes these days. I doubt anyone could even stick a thimble in 'er. Well the piper'll take care of her." Every red flag she could imagine was signaling in her mind.
"What's even my crime?!"
"What do ye mean what's yer crime? Did y'not read our town's brochure?" Holding up a long scroll that unrolled itself to the floor, the judge pointed to a few random lines before the sheriff stepped in, a thin line of barely legible text reading, "No were's allowed of any hybrid species on the streets of Spamelin."

"We know yer type girlie! Looting stores, raiding our village, stealing the fondue fountain, bribing me with circular rocks in the shape o' stones. All ye beasties are nasty, vile creatures! To th' Piper with ya!" Misa yelped as the cage was roughly jostled, the sheriff picking her up and walking to the next door jail. It was never a good thing to have to rely on Misa, but surely she'd notice her missing and get Usa to try and find-
"Hi Misa! You're in here too?!" Of course she was fucking in prison already. And in a cell next to a rather dandy looking man in bright, garish colors, a spiked color around his neck and an instrument tightly clenched in his hands.

"What did you do?! How did you end up in jail before me?!"
"It's not my fault!" She pouted, pointing to another cell bathed in shadows and furious squeaking.
"They started a fight in the bar and I fought them off! ...well okay the property damage might have been a bit excessive and during a flip I kinda landed head first on the sheriff, but really I'm a hero!"
"You ruined our revenge!" The shaded squeakers revealed themselves to be two large rat beastmen, their whiskers twitching furiously as they shouted, "Our comrades are gone and these weaklings did it we know it!"
"Our whole clan must be avenged! I bet they poisoned em!"
"Yeah you freakish idio-" The two rats were cut off by the sheriff.
"Quiet down the lot of you! I can't hear what you're saying, but you destroyed the last bottle of my favorite whiskey and for that you get the piper! Speaking of, Piper! C'mere we got some fresh meat for you to cook!" The dandy next to Rei bounded to the bars.

"WHATEVER YOU SAY SHERIFF YOU KNOW I'M THIS TOWN'S MAN!"
"Yes yes, now go make those two dirty rat men fuckable, then give the othe-"
"SURE THING SHERIFF I'LL GET RIGHT ON IT!" He cut the sheriff off, his smile stiff and forced, but the reply seemed to satisfy the half deaf sheriff, lighting a few more torches to reveal the two rats in better light.
"Alright then. I'll be back tomorrow to check on the new wares and maybe give em a test ride to make sure you aren't skimping out on us, but for now I need a good drink. Have fun girls!" With that he left, slamming the door behind him as the piper sighed in relief.
"Thank god I cut him off before the order or else we'd all be screwed. Well all of you quite literally, me it's more metaphorica-"
"Okay wait wait wait what the hell is going on here?! And why the hell are you locked up in here, aren't you the one in charge or something?" That got a laugh out of the piper.
"No I'm just as much a prisoner as any of you, though before I go on, I have to play a tune for the raiders over there."

"We'll rob you blind!"
"We'll fuck your mom!"
"We'll take your shitty little flute and shove it up your-" They were cut off by a calming melody, the piper's music quickly lulling them into a daze.
"Alright so you wanted to know what's going on here, well you see about a year ago this town had a major rat problem, those ones in particular. As a world class tamer, the townspeople begged me to help save their town when I passed by, so for the next few days whenever a raid came by I, well here it's easier to show you. Pick one, left or right?"
"OOH RIGHT! RIGHT!"
"Sure thing, though first I have to extract his musical core." A few more notes and an oily black sphere left the right rat's chest, loud rock music and industrial hip hop beats with plenty of expletives filling the cell, Misa and Rei both covering their ears from the cacophony.

With a few toots the oily surface was scrubbed clean, the black giving way to a blinding sheen as the internal music lowered in intensity and lyricism, transitioning from aggressive to easy listening, the same droning type of comfort muzak that could be often heard during Commercialmas, for stay at village moms. What was once dirty now sparkled like professionally washed crystal, the orb submerging as the piper finished his song, the chords of the muzak fading once his own accompaniment ended. Almost instantly the rat began to squeak and shift, its body shaking almost like it was seizing up as unkempt grey hairs were plucked out, the strands merging with each other into a latex material, the belly paling while the rest turned a shiny grey. Where skin could be seen it lost its unhealthy plucked pallor to become human flesh toned, the bandit's body beginning to shift rapidly as pleased squeaks filled the air.

It's snout receded, black button nose compressing to a dainty little sniffer that separated from the mouth. It's beady, red eyes remained the bright red they were before, but the thin slants were almost pried open, wide, adoring rubies fluttering behind mascaraed lids, its animalistic squeals taking on a more human tone as its neck compressed to a thin cylinder, the light grey hair on its head shooting out into well conditioned locks. The sharp, scarred ears on the top of its head were swelling into cartoonish form, shining with a similar sheen to its latex body suit as they circulated into two circular fake mouse ears, the pleased grunts accompanying the crunchy sounds as two human ears popped out the sides of his head. Well Misa and Rei thought he was still a he at least as the high pitched moans leaving their pretty face left little doubt what gender the former raider would be when this was all over.

It was an impressively erotic show, his claws stretching to fingers, tail turning plastic, one painful sounding snap sending its hunchbacked form standing straight up, the curve inverted as his waist cinched in much to the rat's delight. He began to play with his nipples excitedly, moaning as it pulled at the two hard lumps, slowly drawing out two, large, perky breasts that he seemed completely unwilling to stop playing with, even as the large lump in his pants sprouted a zipper, said zipper closing as the bulge shrank. In a few more seconds there was nothing animalistic about the moans coming from the freshly minted girl, her pussy clearly outlined around the zippers as a squeaky pop sent the last of her old cock inside, spreading apart her hips as the new girl cheerily screamed out her new desires.
"OH! I want to be the town's slut! Ohh~ yes let me serve the town and marry a Spamelin hunk. Mmm~ I want to be a doting housewife just please let the men of this town fuck me!" Eventually her moans stopped as her eyes fell into a cheered glaze, completely content.

"Huh, usually people have a stronger reaction to seeing a rat beast transform into a hot chick."
"We work for Usa's magic show, it's kind of a weekly occurrence. Hell half the staff used to be guys so I'm used to it."
"Don't let Misa get you down that was amazing! That was stupendous! What did you do?" The Piper tooted a few more notes, the left rat's own greasy orb beginning to emerge.
"Well my music can shake a being to its core and alter it however I see fit, making most of my jobs quite easy. As you can see I've now been tasked to turn all of our prisoners into horny obedient housewives. When a man finds a girl he likes, I play another song to make the girl fall madly in love with them. Now mind you these gangs absolutely deserved this, so I was more than happy to use my particular skills for those first few days as I turned the once war torn area into a much more peaceful and lewd area for the town. And I freely changed the tune of all the surrounding marauding bands. Of course when it came time for them to pay me that's when their tune changed. This one'll be a bit more anthro by the way, Sheriff's quotas." This time he played a foreign sounding melody, the black orb cleaning itself to a red white and peach colored gem, the music a calming folk melody from some foreign land.

Misa though was too busy focusing on the Piper's neckwear to really care about another change, the squealing shifting rat already flexing elegant fingers and hairless legs, though the skin was a light purple instead of the usual fleshy peach.
"Wait is that why you're wearing a slave collar? I was wondering why I recognized that. Usa sometimes puts one on herself to force her to be more productive sometimes, but I assume this wasn't voluntary." He seemed stunned for a second ignoring the pleased mewling of the remaining were rat as his hair turned brown and molded to twin braids, bare knees poking from under a skirt.

"Well I was going to get to that, but yes. The mayor, judge and sheriff all conspired against me, realizing that a man of my unparalleled skill could be used to permanently sway whoever they wanted. So when I went to collect my payments for my work they got me drunk at the bar and then like an idiot I let them bring me to the courthouse alone. That's how they got this stupid collar on me. Ever since then I've been this town's personal conditioner. Every few weeks I rewash the minds of this town's women to be subservient, horny workaholics who love their partners and we're always adding more to the fold. Originally it was just the invading beast men, but then it was all non humans whether they were hostile or not. Werewolves, elves, goblins, tax collectors! I've been forced to tur-"
"Wait aren't tax collectors human? Wouldn't the townspeople revolt against changing government officials?" Rei asked puzzled while Misa clicked her tongue.
"...well if you saw the debts the town owed after decades of robbery and decadence. Then add a few more willing, worker wives, you can see how the population would side with them."

Speaking of turning, the other rat girl was nearly done, her cock long gone in a tight snatch hidden under the folds of a flowing red,orange and yellow skirt that hugged her slim frame tightly. She was far more animalistic than her former compatriot, large, but real brown mouse ears, whiskers on her cheeks, her tail also real as it swung around. One eye that'd been lost in a turf war years ago remained covered in an eyepatch, yet it somehow looked cute and complimented her lavender eye that blinked back the tears that had formed. With a few pleased chitters her chest swelled out, tenting the fabric and a hot sluice of juices that splattered the floor proved that she was complete, her own more squeaky moans repeating what her old partner had said, both girls now ready for a mate.

Misa looked at the two with concern, wondering which she'd look like more.
"Alright so the town is corrupt and they're using you to stepfordize everyone. Why are you telling us this? Aren't you about to do the same to us?" Now he just looked disappointed.
"Of course I'm not. I figured you'd have probably noticed when I cut the sheriff off." Thinking back on it, the sheriff had only commanded him to turn the two rats. He had no orders to turn Rei and her yet.
"I figured we could help each other plan an escape from here before they return. I do not plan on staying in this godforsaken place any longer than I have to. Good news is they drink a lot so we definitely have time to book it if you had any ideas."
"Wait you don't have one?"
"Misa don't be rude to Pipey! Though uh... you sure there's no plan?" After sighing he pointed to the collar.
"I've already been ordered not to think up any escape plans. The most I can do is make allies who hopefully can do the thinking for me." Misa did have to give it to the corrupt trio of assholes, they were rather thorough with the preparation, but now that Rei was here anyways, she might as well take advantage of her size difference.

"Rei! Feel around in your hat until you find a few small sharp objects. Be careful not to break them, we'll need to use them to get out!" It did feel annoying that her designer pens were being used for this, but sure enough it was just what they needed as she worked at the lock of her cage, the whole thing popping open with a satisfying click.
"Alright with these locks the rest ought to take only twenty minutes," she said eyeing the door to their prison cell, figuring out how she'd reach it.
"And don't worry," Now she was grinning, hoping Rei still had that two way mirror magic thingie connected to Usa.
"We won't need to run, I've got a plan."