(Woman to Frog)
(Woman to Cricket)
(Woman to Fly)
(Woman to Mouse)
(People to Slugs)

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to tonight’s bite-sized Wheel of Change!” Alan Thompson strode confidently onto the stage, smiling confidently.

“That’s right, tonight we’ve asked every contestant to come up with small and inconsequential forms for their opponents! Rodents, bugs, you name it! We’ll be showing it all courtesy of Snake Snacks, the new and humane death penalty.”

He turned, showing a quick live feed of a hardened criminal being transformed into a tiny mouse.

“Snake Snacks! Because sometimes you don’t want these murderers to walk… At least not on two legs.” Alan paused, looking at the camera with a wider smile. “And for those of you interested at home, remember ‘Snake Snack Light’! A fun and fast way to try out a new form; now available in ‘Safe’, ‘Risky’, and ‘Deadly’!”

The crowd cheered loudly, and Alan raised a hand to still them. “Now, I know that all of you might be a little hesitant to try this at home, but that’s why three lucky audience members will get a free Snake Snack Light! As ever, you know the risks of being in the audience… But this is one of the rewards!”

He looked down to his card; then glanced back up to the crowd. “So, you, you, and--you! Come on down!” He pointed at each of three people, a showman’s smile on his face. A middle-aged housewife, a young frat boy, and a girl who looked fit to be a cheerleader stood up, waving as they walked to the front of the room.

Alan pulled out three packs of tablets, each of them unmarked. “They’re chewable.” He said with a small smile, nodding as each of the three popped their treat into their mouths.

A simultaneous shudder passed through them, and the three audience members trembled as they began to transform.

The oldest woman shrank down, her skin turning a dark brown as she became nothing more than a cockroach.

The frat boy’s cheeks bulged as he croaked, whatever human words he’d say snatched by his toady vocal chords.

And the cheerleader shivered, fur sprouting from her every pore as she changed into a squirrel.

All three of them coped with the difficulty of shaking off their too-large human clothes, revealing their animal forms to the crowd. A few more enthusiastic members of the audience snapped quick pictures with their cameras, no doubt intending to post them online later.

“Snake Snacks! Fun for everyone. Just watch out…” Alan paused, looking up to the rafters. On cue, a transformed stage-hand swooped down, their hawk’s talons snatching up the toad before it could so much as croak. “The results might be deadly.”

The hawk dropped the toad, letting it fall to the ground and break its neck with an audible cracking. “Deadly samples! You are what you become for the next twenty-four hours with no way out!”

He then looked down to the cockroach, lifting a foot. “Risky!” He shouted. “As dangerous as the first, but with the added benefit of a safe word! Just think ‘Snake Snack, Change Back’; and the transformation is immediately reversed!”

He then lowered his foot slowly, beaming as a naked woman appeared beneath his heel, trembling on her hands and knees. Then, Alan turned to the squirrel, simply pointing at her. “And ‘Safe’! Any lethal harm changes you back on the spot--though it has to be inflicted first. This also comes with the safe word, though…”

He paused, waiting for squirrel to change back. When she didn’t, he shrugged, chuckling. “Though you are entitled to spend the next 24 hours as prey. Anyone here care to pick up her clothes?”

A beleaguered boyfriend jogged down from the stands, scooping up her former clothing with a tired sigh.She climbed up his arm and chittered, and he smiled despite himself.

Alan waited for the pair--and the other formerly changed audience member--to return to their seats before he called out the contestants! Caitlin! Cassandra! Jaime! And Lauren!” He waved them on stage: a dirty blonde who waves shly; a dark-haired brunette who waved cutely, a blonde who bounced her bust as she bobbed onstage; and a tall brunette who sashayed her way to her Changing Room, flaunting her ass and legs.

“These four women will be changing into… A frog! A house-fly! A mouse! And a cricket!” Alan grinned from ear to ear.

All of the color drained from Caitlin's face, and she whimpered a little in distress, picturing herself changing into an amphibian. Meanwhile, Cassandra simply shrugged, stretching in preparation for any possible physical challenges. Jaime looked down at her bust, picturing it shrinking. She frowned immediately, nodding as she resolved to win this game. And Lauren just play-rubbed her thighs together, beaming from ear to ear as some of the male audience members shifted their legs slightly.

“Without further ado, let’s see Caitilin give the wheel a spin!” Alan waved the slightly neurotic girl to the Wheel of Change. She gave it a spin, frowning as it landed on ‘Head’.

“Might I remind you that you can take a TransSpin? But since this is a bite-sized episode, all transformations from here on out could be deadlier than you’d expect. Including for our audience members.” Alan cut in, and Caitilin swallowed heavily.

She then shook her head ‘no’, looking back at the wheel. “I think I’ll be able to win this… Whichever it is…”

“It’s a quick game of chance! Much like how football games begin with a coin toss, this one will too!” Alan pulled out a small Wheel of Change coin, winking to the audience. “In tonight’s ‘Audience Grab Bag’ is one of these coins, our special reward to you for supporting us.”

He turned back to Caitilin with a smile. “So, who’ll it be?”

Caitlin sighed, pursing her lips. “I think… Cassandra. I can’t see a fly’s head working out for anyone.”

Cassandra blew Caitlin a raspberry, pouting. “I can’t see a frog’s head working well for you either, you know.”

Caitlin simply frowned, coming up with a clever response. Insead, she settled on: “You know that I can eat you, right?”

“Better keep that appetite under control, then.” Alan interjected. “If you kill a contestant before they are fully changed, that’s a permanent disqualification.”

Cassandra scowled. “Call it.” She said, crossing her arms.

“Heads.”

The two girls watched as the coin was flicked into the air. Alan caught it, revealing the backside of the coin. “Sorry, Cassandra. But looks like you’ll be losing that pretty little head of yours.”

Cassandra sighed, patting her cheeks for what might be the last time. Then she marched into her booth. The Changing Room hit her with transformative light, and Cassandra could feel her face beginning to shift.

She groaned as her eyes bulged from her head, becoming bulbous and multifaceted. Cassandra’s fingers flew to her mouth as it sealed over, becoming a set of chittering mandibles. Short hairs bristled from her face as chitin creeped over her visage, and she whimpered loudly. “At least I don’t have a mirror on hand…” Cassandra mumbled, working her new mouth parts around the words.

“You sure don’t, but you do have a spin on the Wheel of Change!” Alan grinned as the former brunette wobbled slightly, working out her new vision.

She managed her way on-stage, though, gripping the Wheel of Change and setting it in motion. It ticked down to ‘Legs/Feet’, and her mandibles twitched in an approximation of a grin.

“I don’t even need to see the challenge. Lauren loves her legs. Let’s see if she’ll like them as much when they’re all chitin-y and gross.”

“Yeah, let’s.” Lauren strutted onstage. “I don’t think your little fly-head is up to this.”

“You might be mistaken on that.” Alan chuckled. “Name the fifty states, first one wins.”

Lauren’s face fell as Cassandra sang them in a song, tilting her head from side to side as she said them to the beat. The fly-headed girl finished triumphantly with ‘Wyoming’, looking up to Alan with her bug-eyes shining with pride.

“So, can I get extra credit for that? I even said them alphabetically!” She bounced a little excitedly, and Alan tilted his head.

“You know what? Why not! It’s about time we had something fun like this! Let’s give you a TransSpin to increase Lauren’s changes. Besides, you’re not gaining anything. Lauren’s the only loser here. And, of course, an audience member who… Well, let’s just say that there’s a reason there’s a multitool under all of your seats. First one to swat her gets five thousand dollars!”

The audience clamored even as a woman in Cassandra’s section yelped, the show’s TF-Ray pointed at her.

“Sorry, dear. Tell you what, if you can avoid getting killed for 30 seconds, you’ll have lived 29 seconds longer than we all guessed!”

The woman’s face fell, whatever expectations of salvation fleeing from her mind as the beam fired. The changes tore across her body, shrinking her and sending her into small convulsions as new legs burst from her sides; wings sprouted from her back. She tried to get out of her seat to run, but her clothes bagged up around her legs.

The woman fell to the ground, buzzing loudly as her skin darkened and hardened. She shrank down and down until she was just a speck in her clothes. Then, warily, she took a small step out.

Almost immediately, someone pounced upon her, their fly swatter cracking down to flatten her into a mushy paste.

“I got her!” The man shouted, holding up his swatter triumphantly.

“That you did, sir!” Alan laughed and pointed. “Five thousand dollars to the man in the Hawaiian shirt!”

“So then, what’s going to happen to Lauren?” Alan turned to Cassandra.

She let out a quiet ‘oh’, spinning the TransSpin wheel. It clicked down to ‘2 Loser’s Wheel Spins’, and Cassandra laughed with pleasure.

“Well, that’s unfortunate.” Alan turned to Lauren. “The Loser’s Wheel, as you know, is the worst one we have. I’m afraid that Cassandra might just have ended your time on this show before it began!”

“We’ll see what her spins are. There’s only a fifty-fifty chance I end up losing right now…” Lauren bit her lip worriedly, watching as the fly-headed girl strutted to the loser’s wheel.

A pair of spins revealed both ‘Full TF’ and ‘Free Change’.

Alan whistled. “Well, the second result would keep you from being transformed at all, instead dooming an audience member. But the first result still has you becoming a cricket regardless.”

“The hell with that, I’m taking one of them with me! This isn’t fair, it was just Cassandra’s extra credit! I should get some sort of chance!”

“Well, I could always offer you a TransSpin of your own. Keep in mind that this might be worse, but…”

“Deal.” She walked to the wheel, clicking it down to ‘Three Wheel of Change Spins’.

“Well, it’s a better deal for you than for our two hapless audience members!” Alan pointed to a pair of women seated next to each other. The two of them looked up with wide eyes at the TF-Ray, watching it swivel to target them.

“Sorry you two. But if it’s any consolation, since there’s two of you, maybe one of you might make it out of here alive. Though that really depends on how many people want to make easy money. Let’s spice it up, while we’re at it. If someone can squish both of you at once, they get a cool twenty thousand dollars instead of the ten we’d offer for the pair of you.”

The girls swallowed nervously, already beginning to rise from their seats to run. But they were too slow, and the beam caught them mid-step. Almost immediately, two empty sets of clothing fluttered to the floor. A pair of bugs made a mad hopping dash for the show’s exit, dodging oncoming swats left and right.

“Wait, I can help!” Someone shrieked, their PETA shirt clearly visible. The crickets hopped towards their savior-to be, leaping into the elderly woman’s hands. Then she clapped her palms together, squishing the pair at the same time.

“Twenty thousand dollars!” The old grandmother shouted, punching her fist in the air. “Take that, you commie bastards!”

Alan guffawed with laughter, needing to put a hand on his podium to remain stable.  Wordlessly, he nodded and pointed to her, struggling to catch his breath. When he finally managed to, he looked at her, a jovial grin spread across his features. “What the hell, doesn’t that go against what you stand for?”

The woman shrugged. “My beliefs can’t be bought. But they sure as hell can be rented!”

Alan laughed again, turning to Lauren before he lost control. “Just take your spins, I need a minute.”

Lauren rolled her eyes, spinning thrice. Her jaw fell slack as she got ‘Lower Body’, ‘Legs/Feet’, and ‘Size’ in the same go. “What are the odds of that?” The brunette asked, trailing a hand down her legs. She sighed aloud, making her way back to her booth and dropping to a low squat.

Her preparation helped greatly at first: her hips clicked even as her legs stretched out, bursting from her thighs. She groaned loudly, wobbling slightly but retaining her balance. Then she began to shrink down, faster and faster. The girl chirped loudly, brushing her legs together as she wiggled her way out of her short skirt and panties.

She chirped again, hurriedly tossing aside her shirt as she began to dwindle more and more, her skin turning a vibrant shade of green, hardening to a proper set of carapace. Another two legs burst from a little higher, allowing her to stand on her back legs, despite the changes thus far.

“Great. I’m a tiny cricket-centaur.” Lauren groaned, crossing her arms. She looked up to the huge world around her, her frown only widening as she realized she was up next.

“Oh, what the hell.” She groaned. “Alan, let’s make this interesting! I’ll use my TransSpin now; try and take someone down with me!”

Alan nodded. “For those of you watching at home, Lauren has chosen to forego asking me to spin the Loser’s Wheel, intending to go out in an all-or-nothing round. Since she’s so small, she can only manage the Loser’s Wheel, meaning that we’ll be seeing... three spins on that as the wager for this round!” Alan finished the announcement, the TransSpin Wheel having settled on ‘Three Wheel of Change Spins’.

“But first! Who’s up for another hopping five grand? Every TransSpin comes at a cost! This one is that an audience member bites the dust!”

As Alan spoke, a young man yelped, beginning to shrink in his clothes. He hopped out a few moments later, a complete cricket. Then he looked up to find his date’s high heel already descending on his head.

She crushed him mercilessly, turning to the camera. “And that’s how you break up with style!” She winked, striking a pose.

“Indeed!” Alan beamed. “And our three Loser’s Wheel spins say… ‘Prey’, ‘Prey’, and ‘Full TF’!” He laughed. “Looks like whoever you choose really needs to risk it all, hm?”

“Looks like.” Lauren swallowed. “So let’s see Jaime up here. I think I’m in the mood for seeing someone become a mouse.”

Jaime shrugged. “Fine by me. What’s the challenge?”

“This one’s pretty simple. You just need to…” Alan paused, looking down at the randomizer in his hand. “Well, that’s unfortunate for Lauren. You’ll need to toss a tennis ball in the air and catch it behind you.”

Lauren brushed her legs together, chirping in defeat. “So… Since I’m losing this anyways, I’d like to request going up against a group of frogs, if that’s all the same. Let’s show Catlin what’s in store for her.”

Alan laughed. “You heard her! Four audience members, one from each section! I’ll need you to come down, get transformed, then dig in! Whoever munches on Lauran first gets a nice sum of cash… And is exempted from the Commercial Challenge!”

Four people walked up on stage, bracing themselves and transforming in turn. Then they hopped into a small arena, waiting for Lauren.

“Wait, like this?” Lauren blinked. “Shouldn’t I be fully changed?”

Alan shrugged. “In all honesty, I don’t think that’ll make too much of a difference.”

He grinned, bending down to scoop up Lauren in one of his hands. His giant fingers brushed up against her diminished breasts, and he hefted her forward, tossing her towards the frogs.

Lauren didn’t even get to land before a frog’s tongue snatched her out of the air. One second, she was soaring above the frogs, her legs twitching in a loud chirp. The next, a long, wet, and sticky tongue flew towards her, grabbing her out of the air.

She was pulled back into its mouth a moment later, disappearing with a loud crunch. The first didn’t entirely do it, and Lauren had a moment to beg for mercy.Her transformed legs were mangled beyond recognition, but her lungs were intact enough to wheeze out a single “Please, no.”

The moment passed, and the frog bit down again, swallowing the shrunken girl contentedly. The changed audience member looked up, watching the show’s slow-motion camera replay its moment of triumph. It let out a pleased croak, watching the bug-bodied girl make a bug-eyes expression the moment she realized what was happening to it. And just like that, with a loud crunching, Lauren was no more.

The triumphant frog hopped out from the arena happily, settling back to watch the other frogs’ fates. It didn’t need to wait long. The same hawk from earlier in the show swooped down, its talons spread wide as it snatched up a frog from the ground.

The hapless amphibian squeaked loudly, wheezing a second later as the hawk clenched its talons down, puncturing the frog in six different places. With a massive beat of its wings, the hawk returned to its perch, chowing down contentedly.

The other frogs watched all of this with horror and shock alike, suspecting that when the hawk was done, it would make meals out of them, too. So preoccupied were they that they missed the pair of snakes slithering up behind them.

One was a constrictor; the other a viper. And yet they both struck at the same time. The constrictor wound its way around the frog, hissing in amusement as the frog began to kick and struggle. The viper struck forward, its jaw extended wide. It didn’t bite its hapless victim, though--instead choosing to hold it fast.

“Ladies and gentlemen, could you give a big hand to tonight’s lucky audience predators? Charlie and Francisca!” Alan clapped loudly, pointing to the snakes. “I’d like to apologize to our frogs, but… If you don’t keep your guard up, you never know who’ll slither up on you.” With that, he nodded almost imperceptibly.

It was just the signal the snakes had been waiting for. The constrictor tightened his coils, breaking every bone in his next meal’s body. The viper simply sank her  fangs in deep, toxic venom paralyzing the frog’s heart in mere moments.

In a sense, the constrictor was a more humane way to go. It was truly quick, the shock enough to cause its prey to black out before dying. The viper’s frog, on the other hand, had to wait as its brain slowly died, feeling the snake’s mouth around its body as it devoured the former person whole.

A loud buzzer sounded and Alan spun back to the crowd. “Now, I know we’ve seen a lot of the audience in this episode so far… So let’s hear it for another Prey Run Challenge!” He called out a quartet of audience participants, the group of them heading down in mild surprise.

They were a pair of women and men, and they looked at each other a little uneasily as Alan began to go over the rules again. “So, you all loved it the first time! It’s time for another Prey Run Challenge! We’re going to see four people compete against one another, each of them trying to complete an objective.

“The winner gets changed back and a lovely seven thousand dollars! The next runner-ups get to change back. And the loser is changed forever! Keep in mind that the last part still applies to you if you’re in second when the other two contestants die.” He paused, smiling wickedly. “I mean ‘if’.”

He waited for them to acknowledge this, and they nodded apprehensively. Alan beamed, turning back to the audience. “Folks, it’s do or die, with an emphasis on the ‘die’, in this week’s Prey Run Challenge!”

The TF-Ray covered the four in a wide beam, and they all shivered at a strange sensation. None of them could place what it was until they looked down to their bodies, seeing slime ooze from their every pore.

One by one, the audience contestants’ skins went from human shades to a dull and mottled grey, and their eyes literally bulged from their heads. Each of their eyes turned a dull black, and they drew back, rising on stalks.

They fell to their bellies, their mouths gumming over as they became little more than holes for food. Then they started to shrink. One at a time, they shrank down into their clothes, leaving them to ooze out a few moments later.

“In this week’s Prey Run Challenge, the goal is for our slugs to make it up and down a small hill. The catch? The second the last slug gets over the hill, we’ll be releasing another our other audience predators, the pair of them changed into owls. I’d like you to watch Vera and Henri go; I’m sure they’ll snatch up at least a slug apiece. If not more.”

Alan waited for the stage hands to drop the slugs into their little trough, beaming widely. “Now then, let’s wish our slugs some good luck!”

He raised his hand, chopping it down in time with a loud clap. The slugs set off as one, each of them moving as quickly as their bodies could take them. The course was a little bit bumpy, with a cleared path in the middle.

One of the slugs saw it, taking its chance and dipping within the smooth trench. As it did, a chime sounded from above it, and before the slug could react it was coated in salt. It writhed and spasmed, contorting as all of the moisture was drained from its slimy body in seconds. It had been one of the female contestants, and she could feel herself drying out everywhere as she died. The slug’s twitching dimmed to a few feeble spasms, and Alan laughed.

“Did I forget to mention that there’s salt traps? I’m sorry, allow me to do that now. By the way, there’s salt traps. Relax, you just need to keep an eye ahead and an eye above.” Alan spoke with an immensely entertained smile, and he watched as the slugs slowed a little, watching more carefully.

That said, one of them was able to move a little faster than the others. It had actually listened to Alan, and had traded a little depth perception for constantly keeping one of its eyes focused above itself.

It crossed the top of the hill well ahead of the the other two, who went over a few moments later. Alan had been waiting for this, and he cheered. “You know what that means? Owls!”

A pair of cages clicked from above it, and the two birds screeched as they took to wing. They flew down in unison, both of them aiming for the leading slug. Unfortunately for them, they also got in each others’ way, and their wings connected.

They were sent to the ground in a heap, one of them too stunned to react. The other, however, sent its head forward, nibbling one of the two furthest back slugs. The former man found himself bisected by a beak, his body still surviving for long enough to let him feel the owl’s entire gullet.

But the remaining two slugs had crossed the finish line before the owls could find more prey, and they were able to make it to relative safety. The pair changed back, looking at each other; then back to the ring where the one owl tilted its head down, swallowing its meal’s other half.

“Well done to all of you! Unfortunately, sir. You were last. That said, Prey Run Challenges are kinder than most. You get a chance to live out your life with another audience member. So, does anyone want a new slug for their garden?”

Predictably, nobody responded, and Alan shrugged. “Then I suppose it falls to you, sir. Salt or owl?”

“Salt!” He shouted, his eyes wide. “Sorry, I’ve always had a thing about getting eaten; if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t, but you might! It might end up being more unpleasant to be salted than to be eaten!” Alan laughed as the winning contestant returned to her seat with a relieved smile.

The man shrugged, shivering as the TF-Ray changed him into a slug once more. He shivered, his eyes screwed shut as they drew away from his head on stalks. And he began to shrink, his body oozing slime from its every pore.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have that much salt left.” Alan chuckled, scooping up the slimy grub in a tray. “So you’ll need to coat yourself in this and hope you die before one of our owls enjoys a nice snack of slug jerky.”

He poured in a small packet of salt, and for a moment the slug didn’t react. Then the realization of what was happening set in and it hurriedly oozed itself over the salt, drying itself out as quickly as possible.

True to Alan’s word, it was incredibly painful. The slug could feel his skin drying out, going underside-first. It was remarkably painful, and the slug began to thrash and spasm, unintentionally coating itself in more salt.

Yet despite these struggles, it wasn’t fast enough, and the owl that hadn’t eaten hopped her way over, biting the slug’s head off in a quick little munch. It retched, its beak hanging open as it looked to Alan accusingly.

“What? I never said it would taste good. That much salt… Hell, it must have been like eating at the Olive Garden.” Alan laughed, dumping the tray out onto the ground. He turned back to the main contestants, looking at the unchanged Caitlin and Jaime as well as the fly-headed Cassandra.

“Cassandra’s up next!” He shouted, grinning as she made her way out. “How’s it feel to have a fly head?”

“It’s hardly pleasant, but I guess it’s better than being a slug.”

Alan shrugged. “Yeah, let’s see if you say that after changing completely.”

The dark-haired girl shrugged, looking over to the Wheel of Change and spinning it down. Her face fell completely a she watched it settle on ‘Size’. “That’s not fair; I won’t be able to survive anything if I’m as small as a fly!”

“Well, that might be your problem, and not ours.” Alan grinned and winked. “You can always TransSpin…”

“Done.” Cassandra crossed her arms, biting her lip as the TransSpin wheel spun. She beamed as it settled on the least of the punishments: ‘2 Wheel of Change Spins’. Then she spun to her audience section.

One of the audience members in her group shrieked, her face splitting into a pair of mandbles and the rest of her body growing dull carapace. The hapless audience member was shoved forward as her hips and shoulders reshaped, and she shrank just in time for her wings to come in. She buzzed loudly in distress, becoming a complete fly in seconds.

And with that, another audience member swatted her, squishing her beneath an open palm. “How’s that? Did I get five thousand dollars?”

Alan snapped, pointing to him. “You know you do!” He grinned widely, and the man took his seat once more. Then Alan turned to Cassandra. “It’s time to take those two new spins, Cass.”

She laughed uneasily, the audience member’s death a reminder of her own mortality. But she swallowed down any nervousness, first spinning the wheel to ‘Lower Body’. She swallowed nervously when the second spin settled on ‘Head’. She’d need to win this challenge or take 2 more spins on the wheel.

“Well, in that case… Let’s give Caitlin a froggy tongue!” Cassandra called, a smile on her face as she looked at her twitchy friend.

“No way, choose Jaime! She’s barely been up here!” The woman protested.

Cassandra shrugged. “Not my problem. Alan, what’s the challenge?”

“I’m glad you asked!” Alan laughed. “In this challenge, whoever manages to bounce the most ping-pong balls into a bowl wins. Let’s see which of you had more fun at college.”

Caitlin’s face fell. “But I’m terrible at pong!”

“And I have a fly head. Sometimes life’s not fair.” Cassandra retorted. She rolled out her shoulders, and the second the bell chimed she was in motion.

In a few seconds it was readily apparent that despite her fly’s head, she had the upper hand. Caitlin barely made anything, while Cassandra had sank nearly every shot she’d tried. Sure enough, when the buzzer rang a moment later Cassandra’s bowl was noticeable fully.

“Welcome to the animal head club.” Cassandra sniggered.

Caitlin began to panic, her eyes wide as she moved back to her Changing Room. Her plan was to go this whole game without being transformed at all. Now having two changes at once was almost too much for her to handle.

She managed to keep her beating heart under control, and she looked up in apprehension as her Changing Room bathed her in transformative light. Her skin started to get slick and rubbery, turning green and froglike. Her tongue stretched out longer and longer, becoming gross and slimy.

But perhaps the worst of these changes was the feeling of her tailbone stretching out; her hips clicking so she had to squat like a frog. It was a humiliating reminder of what she’d become if she would change further.

She shivered in apprehension again, then glared to Cassandra. “Hey, you know that frogs eat flies, right? You might end up regretting this!” Her words were sharp, but they held no real bite. She didn’t believe a word.

That said, Cassandra bought into it completely. Caitlin’s froggy head served as an excellent poker face, and she was more than able to bluff Cassandra into fear.

“Jaime, you’re up next!” Alan shouted, bringing the girls back to the present.

“About damn time.” She muttered, a frown on her face. She bounced her way out again, keeping her eyes on the crowd. Sure enough, they loved it.

“Sorry to all of the ladies in the crows, but I don’t plan to lose these anytime soon!” Jaime grinned as she pressed her breasts together. She spun the wheel and laughed aloud as she landed on ‘Head’. “So at worst I get a mouse head--which I can totally pull off--or at best I can maybe knock out Caitlin?”

She laughed again, waving Caitlin down. “Hop on over, let’s see what you can do.”

Caitlin did as asked, glaring. “Yeah, you will see. Scared yet?”

“Not even a little.” Jaime rolled her eyes, tossing some of her blond hair behind her head. “What’s the challenge?”

Alan winked at her. “You’ve got to drop an M&M from your mouth to a cup between your feet. Using a natural standing position, I might add.”

Jaime opened and closed her mouth a few times, looking down to her impressive bust. “You’re joking.”

“Nope.” Alan winked as two stagehands placed a cup under each girl, giving the pair of them a bag of M&Ms apiece. “First one to get one wins. Ready?”

They nodded, grinning from ear to ear. Alan winked at them, flicking down a hand to announce their start. Just like that, the two of them let their first M&M fall. Predictably, Jaime’s bounced off of one of her breasts.

Luckily for her, Caitlin wasn’t used to her new snout yet, and her own M&M fell harmlessly to the floor in front of her cup. But while Jaime’s second treat acted much as the first, Caitlin’s follow-up shot was perfectly done.

The buzzer sounded, and Jaime shrugged, heading back to her Changing Room. “Looks like I’ll need to give some of the crowd a furry fetish.” She winked, feeling her face already begin to change. Sure enough, short and white hairs forced their way from her face as her hair fell out in clumps around her.

Her nose turned a light pink and she could feel her eyes slide to the sides of her head. Her teeth became gnarled and twisted and she hurriedly hid them, making a note not to smile anytime soon. Instead, she focused on giving the crowd a tight-lipped smile while the rest of her muzzle came in.

“Hope you’re ready to compete again, Jaime.” Alan smiled. “Because Cassandra’s up next!”

Jaime frowned. “Why would I need to get ready, then?”

Cassandra gave the woman a shy smile. “Because I’m terrified of Caitlin as a frog?” She smiled nervously. “Don’t worry! I’m sure all you need to lose are…” She spun the wheel. “Your legs and feet! That’s not too bad, right?”

“It’s not great, either.” Jaime glared. “What’s the challenge, Alan?”

Alan clapped his hands together, pointing back towards the wall behind him. “This is a game of darts! Who wants the first toss?”

“Well, crap.” Cassandra sighed. “Jaime’s a bartender.”

“Oh, you know each other?” Alan handed Jaime her needle and she tossed a perfect bull’s-eye.

“We do… Although I’m not sure if we’ll be friends for that much longer.” Cassandra swallowed nervously. She tossed her own dart, completely missing the board. “Lovely.” She muttered, heading back to her Changing Room. It glowed with light, and a moment later Cassandra wobbled out with a pair of fly’s legs.

Unlike with what happened to Lauren, Cassandra only had two legs to stand on. “It’s like walking on your heels while wearing stilettos.” She muttered grumpily.

“Luckily, you might not be next! Jaime’s up for the next spin.”

Jaime strutted back out, frowning as her wheel landed on ‘Size’. “Well, that’s unfortunate. Sorry, Cassandra. But I think I’ll have an easier time beating someone who can barely stand.”

“You wouldn’t!” Cassandra gasped, her face pale.

“Wouldn’t I?” Jaime purred. “Don’t worry, I’ll try not to step on you.”

“Jerk.” Cassandra took a wobbling step out and almost fell on her face. “Well, crap.” She sighed. “What’s the challenge, Alan?”

He smiled sadistically. “A footrace.”

“Nope.” Cassandra tossed her hands in the air, turning back for her booth. “I’m out, I concede this round.”

“Not worth the trouble of walking out here?” Jaime smirked.

“Not at all.” Cassandra returned. She groaned a moment later as her skin tightened around her, compressing her into a smaller form. She twisted and shrank further and further, dwindling down to almost nothingness.

Luckily for her, she had enough sense to crawl out from her clothes, keeping herself from being squished by their weight. That said, the world was huge around her; she was absolutely miniscule now. The small stage had now become a football field, vast before her.

“I don’t know what to say here, Cassandra.” The show’s host grinned down to her. “You’re smaller than my pinky’s fingernail. I honestly don’t think that you have much more than five minutes before you get changed completely.”

“Yeah, well… We’ll see.” She squeaked, noticing how huge the floor was around her.

“We will indeed, because Jaime’s up again!” Alan beamed.

Jaime strutted her way on stage cockily, grabbing the wheel and giving it a good yank. It settled on ‘Head’, and she laughed. “Let’s get froggy in here, shall we?”

Caitlin’s eyes bulged even more from her head. “But Cassandra’s an easy win!”

Jaime nodded. “That’s why I’m keeping her as an option in case I lose this. But as it stands, this is a lot more dangerous for you than it is for me.”

Caitlin groaned, looking back to her froggy tail. She knew it too--if she lost this challenge, that would be another two spins on the Wheel of Change. And with two parts of her already transformed, there was a one in three that she’d be transformed further.

She swallowed nervously, heading up to join Jaime on stage. “And this challenge is?”

“The challenge is to jump higher than your opponent.” Alan grinned. “Based on size, not posture.”

Caitlin’s heart only sank further. With her hips changed like this, she couldn’t even get close to what Jaime was capable of. And a few moments later, when the challenge’s buzzer had rung, she was proven right. Caitlin hadn’t even been able to hit her jump tester, while Jaime’s reach proved far superior.

“So, two more spins on the Wheel of Change. How’s your luck, Caitlin?” Alan walked over to her, grinning from ear to ear.

“It’s good.” She bluffed, promptly spinning ‘Head’. She groaned. “All right.” She followed, getting ‘Legs/Feet’. Her next spin was ‘Head’ again, and Caitlin whimpered. “Well, it’s actually kind of awful, to be honest. Um. I don’t suppose that I could just triple-check that those audience predators are full, can I?”

“Relax, they won’t bite. Unless your family doesn’t want you.”Three more spins.”

Caitlin swallowed. “And… Wait, no.” She blinked. “I only have three things left to change!” She squeaked, her eyes wide in distress as she looked to the Wheel; then to Alan; then to the Wheel again.

“Oh, why, right you are.” Alan clicked his fingers.

Caitlin squeaked, looking back to the TF-Ray in distress. Before she could try and hop away, it struck her with transformative energy. Her arms shortened as her legs lengthened, and she croaked again and again in distress as her vocal chords were forever changed.

Caitlin’s croaking sobs lowered in pitch as her chest changed as well, stretching out along with her belly. She immediately regretted keeping her family in the dark, preferring to wait until she’d won to tell them she was on the show. Sure enough, as she shrank down, Alan paused, looking at her empty front audience row.

“That’s not good.” Alan shrugged. “Especially since I think Francisca's still hungry.”

One of the snakes slithered over to the frog, opening her jaw wide. Caitlin croaked in distress, but her changing legs weren’t able to get her away in time. She completed her transformation just as Francisca slid her unhinged jaw over Caitlin’s diminished body.

“Looks like there are some situations a frog can’t hop out of.” Alan looked to the crowd with a smile. “Did you know that a snake’s gullet actually suffocates its prey before it goes down entirely? Camera B, let’s get a close-up on Francisca's throat.”

Sure enough, the camera zoomed in, providing the crowd with a view of the struggling object in the snake’s gullet. It seemed to struggle harder at the sound of Alan’s statement, unintentionally further suffocating itself as it fought to get free. After a few silent moments, the frog’s twitching slowed to a feeble spasm here and there. Then it stilled completely.

“Such a shame, and that’s why I would like to remind people that it’s a lot safer to bring your family to watch and take care of you. If you don’t; we have to treat you like an animal. And we do have so many predators…” Alan laughed.

The tiny Cassandra swallowed nervously, looking up to her mouse-headed friend with distress. “Well, on the bright-side, that’s one less frog for me. But there are still a bunch of birds and snakes out there, so I don’t think losing would go too well for Jaime.”

“Yeah, stuff it.” Jaime sighed. “Am I up next?”

Alan looked down to his tablet, then up to her. “You are indeed! Why don’t you give the Wheel a spin and we’ll see where your luck will take you?”

She strutted on-stage, spinning the wheel down to ‘Upper Body’. Jaime sighed at that, putting a hand on her hip. “It would have to be that, wouldn’t it?”

“”On the bright side, I don’t think you’ll be losing this competition! It’s a simple thumb war! Whoever wins gets to be unchanged!” Alan boomed, with a sassy glance towards the fly-sized girl.

“That’s not fair!” She squeaked, cowering slightly as Jaime got closer.

“Isn’t it?” Jaime smiled wildly, sticking out her thumb. “I think this is just me getting reay to win the game.” She knelt down, holding her massive thumb out over Cassandra.

Her thumb ended up being barely a quarter of an inch from the ground in order to meet Cassandra’s digit. The tiny girl cowered beneath its massive expanse, hey fly’s eyes able to perceive the entire thumb at once.

Then the buzzer sounded and Jaime exerted the tiniest amount of force. Too much, in fact. It drove Cassandra’s thumb back, sure enough. Along with her arm, her shoulder, and eventually her spine.

Cassandra was so small nobody heard the cracking of her back being broken--though the zoomed in camera was able to clearly show the event. And the ensuing squishing as Jaime’s thumb went the rest of the way, mashing Cassandra into a fine paste.

“Oope.” Jaime said, wiping off her hand. “Well, that’s the risk of being as big as a bug, I suppose. Besides, it’s not like she was going to be winning this game anytime soon, is it?”

In all honesty, she hadn’t meant to crush the girl. She’d expected more resistance, and had simply overexerted herself. That said, no harm no foul…

“She might have, though; and that’s the problem. I’m afraid we’re going to have to permanently disqualify you.”

“What?” Jaime’s eyes widened. “No, you can’t! I didn’t mean to, I swear! I thought that she’d press harder against my thumb; I had no idea I’d squish her! More to the point, you’re the ones at fault for making me thumb-wrestle her in the first place!”

Alan shook his head. “We might be, but you do know that you could have lost… But no, instead you had to win this competition, resulting in…” He pointed behind him to the replay, a slow-motion event that showed the mixed surprise and guilt in Jaime’s eyes.

“T-there, see? I didn’t mean to, you can’t possibly put me at fault for this!” Jaime stomped a foot on the ground.

“Well, unfortunately you need to still be held accountable for your actions. And whether you meant to or not, you did squish her. As a result, it’s only fair that the runner-up’s family gets what would be your winnings… And that you get changed.”

“N-no!” Jaime turned to run, but  TF-Ray was a hair faster than her. She let out a strangled squeak as her vocal chords began to twist, her body shrinking and changing faster than she’d expected.

Unlike with the other transformations thus far, her shrinking was accelerated and centered around her torso. The immediate effect was to dwindle her once-proud breasts away to nothing. The secondary effect was that she began to fall, her legs having pulled back into her increasingly smaller body--leaving her in midair.

She shook out her arms and legs, squeaking loudly as her back cracked; her shoulders and hips popping a moment later. Like it or not, she was suited only for four-footed travel now. She could feel her hands twisting and becoming paws; her feet becoming disgusting and rodent-like a moment later.

Jaime squeaked again as her clothing fell to the floor, with her still inside. Stunned by the impact, she could only watch as her tailbone slowly extended into a long and hairless appendage. Its growth was followed by fur growing all over her body, and she squeaked again. This was a mournful cry to her lost humanity, as her changes were finally complete.

Alan turned to Jaime’s family, nodding as the small mouse struggled to free itself from its clothing. “So, what’ll you be doing with Jaime here?”

Jaime’s mother frowned. “So she didn’t win any money whatsoever?”

Jaime’s heart sank, falling further as Alan replied: “None at all.”

“Then I’d say you can do with her as you see fit.” Jaime’s mother smiled at her hapless daughter. “Sorry, but at this point it’s not worth taking care of you.”

“And who would blame you?” Alan chuckled. “I’m an animal person myself, but nobody loves a mouse. This is as good a time as any to see one of Snake Snack’s other products: The laser deterrence field!”

As he spoke, stagehands jogged up with a box, trapping Jaime inside of it. She squeaked and thrashed, but it was like a child fighting a hurricane: in the end, fruitless.

Alan walked up to the two, smiling and looking down at the box. “For those of you not in the know, the laser deterrence field was an early invention of Snake Snack’s. It’s a set of crosshaired beams that are designed to keep transformed criminals behind bars. Anyone tries to get out, and… Well.”

He waved over two more stagehands, this pair bringing out a plastic frame. They clicked a button on the side and a violet net appeared within its confines. Alan walked over to it, reaching down to pull out a box that looked a lot like the one Jaime was in.

“Now, for those of you watching: this was completely unintentional. Snake Snack insisted that we give a live demonstration of their product, and they gave us one of their own transformed inmates. I’d like you all to meet Prisoner 01438-C, formerly known as ‘Megan’. She was caught trying to illegally transform other people, and… Well, life’s not too great for her right now. But she won’t need to worry about that for too much longer.”

Alan opened the box, revealing a small dark-furred mouse. Its nose twitched as it scrabbled at its confine’s sides, trying to break free. Alan laughed at its fruitless struggles, tilting the box to sent it falling into the field.

There was a bright flash, a loud squeal, and the sound of meaty thumps hitting the ground. The little mouse had been cut into small cubes, its life thoroughly ended by the laser deterrence field.

At the sound of a fellow mouse’s demise, Jaime scratched even harder at her box, squeaking again and again in fear. Ye she was helpless to do anything as the stagehands walked her to the laser deterrence field.

“So, who’s up for a repeat demonstration?” Alan grinned and the crowd went wild. “We’re going to do this nice and slow for you at home.” One of the stagehands reached into the box, grabbing Jamie by her muzzle. The mouse couldn’t do more than thrash in place, squeaking behind closed jaws as it was lowered closer and closer to the field.

Then, with a burning sensation, her tail was snipped clean off. She’d been waving it to and fro, hardly the best thing to do when approaching such a deadly display. Jaime squeaked loudly, kicking her arms and legs harder.

Unfortunately for her, this stagehand had a sense of humor, and he began to move his hand from side to side, as though he was grating cheese. The smell of burnt fur and seared flesh  filled the air, and Jaime squeaked louder, small slices of her body falling to the floor in bits and chunks.

Somehow she was still alive, despite the shock and trauma. It had to be the cauterization caused by the searing plasma--she wasn’t even allowed to bleed to death.

The stagehand kept grating her down, whittling her down to just her head. Jaime could feel her thoughts slowing to a halt by this point. Cauterization or not, there was very little that could be done for someone whose brain was no longer receiving oxygen. Her eyes began to dull as the stagehand dropped her head through the field. When it sliced her skull to slivers, she barely felt it.

“Well then, how’s that for a demo?” Alan waved to the camera. “We’d like to thank Snake Snack once again for helping keep our country safe. And thank them for their involvement in this bite-sized episode of…”

He left it to the audience, and they were all too willing to cheer. “Wheel! Of! Change!”