(Man to Giant Leech)
(Man to Giant Worm)
(Woman to Giant Spider)
(Woman to Giant Scorpion)

“I don’t know about this...” I said, swirling the vial between my fingertips curiously. Joan and Trent had asked Mitch and I to meet them for a Halloween of TransFun.

This wasn’t that big of a deal until we found them in their woods, the pair of them stark naked. I understood the practicality of that, but it was still a little off-putting—though not as off-putting as changing into something Trent both claimed that he had chosen and insisted we would like.

“Are you sure this only lasts for a night? And why do you think we’d be free tonight?” I looked up, still tempted to put the vial down.

“Yeah, we might have had parties to go to or something!” Mitch agreed with me a second later, and I bit back a smile. I knew that he had been planning to spend the night cuddling and watching horror movies.

That said, I never really was any good with them, and our TransFun experiences in the past were definitely some of the more memorable experiences I’ve had. This definitely wouldn’t be a total loss of a night...

“Well, I know my roommate.” Trent grinned, waving his hands placatingly. “And relax, I made sure to do some research this time, and Joan and I agreed on what sort of creatures we’d be becoming. I know you guys probably wanted to spend the night together, but we’ll all be in the same forest, right?”

“Right...” I said uneasily, watching both his face and Joan’s for any hidden signs of amusement. While I didn’t doubt that he and Joan would be perfectly suited forms for each other, Mitch and I would probably end up genderswapped, to say the least.

As though she was reading my mind, Joan grinned impishly at me. “I promise there’ll be no genderbending in your drink, or in Mitch’s. Right now, we’re just here to have a good time, explore a much lesser-seen part of TransFun.”

Well, that phrase certainly didn’t bring up any warning bells. Or sirens, alarms, or klaxons…

“Lesser-seen?” Mitch gave voice to my thoughts, his face a mask of incredulity. “Trent, are you sure this is okay?”

“Hell yeah.” Trent flashed him a thumbs-up. “Don’t believe me? Watch.” With that, he downed his vial in one go, making a face as he swallowed. “Ugh. One hell of an aftertaste.”

His stomach rumbled, and he paused to say something else. Then, he gagged, spitting up a large amount of what looked to be mucus.

“Oh my God!” Mitch jumped away from him, his face white as a sheet. Idly, I remembered that he had a ‘thing’ about most human bodily fluids, something about how ‘insides should stay inside’. I hugged him to me gently, watching Trent with a good deal of apprehension.

“You okay, honey?” Even Joan looked a little worried, watching her boyfriend up his hands on his knees to retch up another volume of liquid, his hair hanging over his face. The volume of flow increased, and he shakily raised his right hand, giving us a determined thumbs-up.

“He doesn’t look okay.” Mitch said defensively, and I noticed he was a few paces behind me. I sighed, linking arms with him so he couldn’t just run off. Just in time too, because that that point, Trent raised his head, looking straight at Mitch.

Trend’s face... Well, he didn’t really have a face anymore. It was more of a cavernous mouth, with row upon row of barbed teeth lining his gullet. Thick mucus, his body’s new primary export, still trailed from some of them. His lips were a dark, bruised shade of purple, and we watched as they took on a rubbery sheen, one which quickly started to spread across the rest of his head.

Mitch and I screamed like little girls—though no doubt later he would assert that his was a masculine shout—and we tripped over each other, falling on our backsides with a thud. Luckily, these TransFun vials were kept in a toughened plastic—else I might have cracked mine from how tight my grip was, let alone the fall.

Trent’s whole body shook, and he held his chest as he continued to rumble with what could only be laughter. His legs snapped together, and he didn’t even try to spread his arms out for balance as he fell onto his back. I realized that his arms were now fusing with his chest, sinking back into the flesh—he couldn’t have used them if he wanted to. Not that he wanted to, the jerk was still shaking with mirth.

We watched as the rest of his skin turned a rubbery black, his form inflating, losing its shape and becoming alien, almost slug-like. A few bands trailed across the front and back of his body, though I couldn’t tell if those were a part of his body or an effect caused by the rippling mucus his body was sweating.

His head tank back into his body, and the skin on his chest took on a pallid grey tone, and with that it looked like his transformation was done. He rolled from his back to his stomach, raising himself upright on his tail.

“Trent, you okay?” Joan asked. The huge leech in front of us swiveled its head toward her, then scooted up to her, nuzzling her. Lucky thing Trent didn’t have eyes or else he’d see the brief look of disgust that crossed the girl’s face as a good amount of slime covered her nude form.

Mitch whimpered beside me, and the leech now turned to look at us, the sides of its mouth turning... upward? Was he smiling? That couldn’t be good. Sure enough, he let out a bellowing roar, flecks of mucus flying in our direction.

Some of them caught on my tank top, and I watched with wide eyes as the viscous liquid ate away at the fabric, beginning to strip me. I glanced behind me to see Mitch’s clothes were in a similar state, and we hurriedly disrobed. I glared at Trent as I did, though he probably couldn’t see the action. Of course he’d choose a form that could spit a clothes-dissolving acid. No wonder he and Joan weren’t wearing any.

I sighed, letting the remaining tatters of clothing fall from my form. Then I turned to Trent with an angry glare, flipping him off.

“Um, honey? I don’t think he can see you.” Mitch placed a hand on my shoulder, emboldened by my gesture.

Trent bobbed his head up and down vigorously, making a distinctly unsettling gurgling sound. How in the hell could someone stand becoming such a disgusting creature?

“Trent, I’m flipping you off. Letting you know because you can apparently hear me.” I sighed with distaste.

Trent chortled more, paused, then squirmed over to Joan, curling around her. She squeaked a little with surprise, but hugged his large, blubbery form.

“You okay, sweetie?” Joan smiled at him, petting his lips. Thick mucus connected her fingers to where she’d touched, but it looked like she had gotten over her distaste for her boyfriend’s fluids.

He bobbed his head; then bumped against the vial she was holding. He made a soft, almost crooning sound.

“Aw, you lonely, boy? Well, we’ll have Hannah change next.” She looked at me with an impish grin.

“What? Why?” I frowned, arching an eyebrow.

“Because I really want to see your reaction, and I’m not sure about how well I’ll be able to see after my change?”

My frown deepened. That couldn’t have been a good sign. Still, much like ripping off a band-aid, it was better to just get it out of the way as quickly as possible. I uncorked the vial, taking a step away from Mitch as I downed its contents.

Huh, that was odd. It tasted like some salted plums I had once. Wait... A salty fruit? Wasn’t that how Joan described her tarantula—My mouth ached, and I grunted, feeling my teeth sink back into my gums even as a pair of pedipalps grew in front of my mouth. Yep, it looked like I was becoming a spider. Lovely.

My lips closed behind the new mouth-legs, leaving a small opening which I could stick my tongue through. I glared at Joan, pulling apart my pedipalps with my hands to stick my straw-like tongue out at her.

She laughed; then a pair of spiked arms burst form my shoulderblades. I quickly pulled my hands away, staring at these new appendages in surprise. They were small, looking like they were perfect for trapping prey.

Joan laughed louder, no doubt at the look on my face. “Come on, you have to admit that it’s a little bit funny. Plus, you’ll like being a spider. I’m sure Mitch is a huge fan.”

I shrugged, turning to look back at Mitch. He yelped in fear, taking a few steps back in alarm. Okay, so that was a little funny, even if my changes weren’t... I started to walk towards him, my steps becoming lurching staggers as my arms and legs thinned out.

I fell onto all fours, two more pairs of limps sprouting from my sides. They continued to grow around me, spikes pushing out from the hard chitin that was replacing the skin on all eight of my limbs.

I could feel my butt sink back into my expanding hips, a pinching feeling marking the split between my thorax and my abdomen. My legs lengthened, and I soon towered over Mitch, my legs surrounding him as I looked down at him. Walking on eight legs was definitely a new experience, and this height! I wondered what Mitch was thinking right about now, being so small beneath my form...

Oh my God I can’t let Hannah know I’m afraid of spiders. Oh, okay, now her hair is falling out and she’s growing a few more eyes haha that’s lovely.

Such were the thoughts racing through my head as Hannah moved atop me, towering over me. Of course she wouldn’t be the size of a normal spider—that would have been almost bearable. No, Trent had to find the biggest possible one there was. Jackass.

Hannah leaned down over me, tilting her head quizically. Right, I had to be brave. I brushed my hand against one of those legs she had in her mouth, then groaned as she loomed a little closer. Why would she ever want me to be close to her when she was like this…

I summoned what little courage I had and darted forward, kissing her on the pedipalps. To my surprise, it was kind of smooth, and the churring sound that Hannah made was almost relaxing. Yeah, she was just a puppy and this was just like kissing a dog. A big, spiky, chitinous dog that could eat me at any moment—

Before I knew what I was doing, I downed my own TransFun vial, gagging at the bitter flavor. I didn’t know what drove that impulse—some part of me must have felt that it was easier to be with Hannah like this if I was a monster too. At least being her size would even the playing field, unless Trent had decided to pull another little ‘prank’ on me.

My stomach gurgled, and my legs went snapped together, sending me off-balance. I watches as the skin between them joined, turning a dark shade of black. Hannah skittered away from me, watching my changes with concern. Even though she was a huge monster, she still loved me after all. I rolled onto my back, raising my hands calmingly to tell her everything was all right.

To my surprise, my hands continued to lift until they were flat against the sides of my head, covering my ears. I could feel the skin fusing, sealing off my ability to hear. I t also felt like my neck was lengthening, my arms moving until they were straight, the skin fusing along the sides of my head. Guess I was becoming some sort of worm, too. Lovely.

I tried to say something comforting, but quickly stopped after I realized that my voice probably sounded really strange, with me being deaf and all. At least Hannah was probably deaf, too. I smiled at her from the ground, blinking as I noticed there was a faint green glow as I did so. I opened my mouth, and a gentle green light emanated from my open lips.

I regretted unleashing that floodgate almost immediately, gagging as my mouth continued to expand, my teeth sliding back to line my new gullet. I could feel my fingers lengthening, so I focused on that, not on how my eyes were sealing over, my nose was retreating leaving me with a featureless maw.

I shook my head, concentrating more on my fingers. It felt like they had grown a new set of muscles, and I could wiggle them as though I didn’t have bones. They started to feel wet and slimy, and I could feel the tips becoming spongier, softer.

Twigs cracked around me as Hannah moved to inspect my body, and with a start, I realized I could hear again. More than that, I could smell again, too—though these sensations were coming from my... tendrils? I tried swiveling around my head, finding myself able to focus my hearing based on both where my head pointed and where the thin tentacles along my face quested.

Thanks to that, I could judge about how large I was based on where the sound of my tail’s motion was. It felt like I was twice as long as Trent, and maybe... half the size? My skin felt moist, but not slimy—so maybe he was more oriented for swamp life while I was supposed to be underground. That explained the lack of orifices besides my mouth, at least—less for dirt to get into.

My body felt really limber, too. Which left me with a few ideas. Hannah probably had started to straddle me to unnerve me. So, by that same vein, I figured a little turnabout was fair play, especially now that I was a... What was the best word for it?

Earthworm from hell. That was the only way I could describe Mitch. He was an earthworm from hell. His whole body was a dark black, save for the pink tendrils that surrounded his circular jaw. They twitched around his mouth, seemingly at random. And his mouth! It was like he had a green light inside of him, some sort of lure to attract prey.

It was really hard to believe that he was still Mitch. At least, he was still Mitch, right? I knew it seemed silly, but I somehow doubted that he could be within that thing. Even though I probably didn’t look any better…

His head swiveled in my direction, and I shivered, retreating a few paces as he slithered closer to me. Of course, walking backwards with eight legs was a lot harder than walking forwards, and his slithering pace was quicker than mine. My entire body tensed as he caught up, sliding his entire length along mine, careful not to brush against my spikes.

I felt him squeeze around me, and I realized that was his approximation of a hug. His head loomed closer to mine, and my entire body stiffened with fear. The tendrils around his mouth loomed closer, and he rubbed them along me. My body started to tremble with apprehension, and he let up almost immediately, quaking with... laughter? Well, that erased any doubts as to whether or not Mitch was in there.

I glared at him, all eight of my eyes narrowing as he continued to laugh. Then, he stiffened, his head pointing behind me. I turned to find that Joan had already taken her serum, and she was on all fours, gasping for breath as a segmented tail grew from her backside, tipped with a lethal-looking point.

Her hips flattened, drawing her lower body to a tapered cone around her tail, even as her torso expanded, layered chitin forming over skin. She opened her mouth to gasp loudly, her eyes sliding back to the top of her head as it sank back into her shoulders.

Her legs were shrinking to small, almost delicate limbs, and she fell on her stomach, unable to support her increasing weight on them. Her hands pressed into the dirt, her fingers merging to leave her with a pair of crab-like pincers. No, not crab-like; scorpion-like.

She inspected one of these, clacking it loudly over her head. Mitch tensed from beside me, and I brushed against his side with the tip of one of my legs.

Joan’s mouth split into a pair of... What was the word she’d taught me for that? Chelicerae? She wiggled them, no doubt familiar with their use. Speaking of, I’d probably need to watch her example if I wanted to eat tonight. I watched her new legs come in, and she stood rather confidently on all eight of them. She met my gaze, scything her tail through the air with a few quick flicks of her muscles.

I nodded, impressed. But what were we going to do now? There wasn’t really much we could do without killing each other… Well, aside for killing other things, that is. I looked at my friends with a growing sense of pleasure, noticing they arrived at the same conclusion.

Joan was the first to turn, moving back into the brush. Mitch and Trent followed a moment later; the former burrowing underground and the latter moving to wriggle towards the nearby lake. Well, if that was how they wanted to play it...

I hurriedly turned to leave myself, eager to catch my first deer. Unfortunately, my body wasn’t as stealthy as I would have liked—my spiked legs kept crashing loudly through the underbrush, foiling whatever attempts I’d have had to creep up on my prey.

After what felt like hours of searching, I finally had to stop for a break, trudging tiredly towards the lake. I just needed a little bit to recuperate…

My eyes perked up as I saw that I wasn’t the only one to think of this: there was a deer standing across from me. I fondly thought back to my time as a deer, biting back my body’s instinct to hunt the creature. It was just so peacef—

The lake’s surface exploded into motion, interrupting my thoughts. To my shock and horror, a giant slavering maw erupted from the lake, grabbing the deer by its head whole. The poor creature’s legs kicked and spasmed, and I considered running to help it.

Then the leech clenched its maw, a loud cracking filling the air as the deer’s headless body slumped to the ground a moment later.

I watched in horror as the leech lurched its way up to the lakeside, gripping more of the cervine in its maw and pulling it back into the water with a loud splashing. I watched in horror for a few more minutes, a little unable to believe what I’d seen.

More to the point, wasn’t that monster Trent? I couldn’t help but wonder how he was able to eat a deer in good conscience, especially after he’d been one himself. I shivered idly, slinking back into the woods. I really hoped that Mitch was having an easier time than I was…

Digging a hole~ Underground~ I’m digging underground! I sang to myself quietly in my head, my mouth munching away at the dirt. It was certainly a new experience; I’d never thought that I’d be munching dirt, and especially not at such a prodigious rate!

That being said, this was definitely a comfy way to travel. It was like the dirt around me was hugging me gently, cooling me off as I made more progress through the soft, loamy soil.

The secret was to just give into my monster-y instincts and let them control me. It was kind of like riding a bicycle; you just let the muscle memory control you. And right now, my muscle memory was screaming at me to resurface and take a quick bite of what was just above me.

I hurriedly burrowed straight up, bursting from the earth and enveloping a small creature in my maw. From the size and texture of it, it had to be a rabbit. Relying on my palate was probably one of the funniest things about being a worm like this. I still couldn’t believe I could sense my location so well despite being without vision. This whole ‘no-eyes’ thing was really incredible.

And of course, while I was reflecting on what I was missing I had to consider how it was to move without arms or legs. I absently gulped the squirming bunny down, crushing it with a flex of my throat. Then I burrowed back underground, inwardly grinning at how much simpler life was without limbs. I was free of worries and troubles, no real needs besides eating and digesting.

I might even need to ask for an earthworm serum after this—maybe one for Hannah, too. She must be having such problems dealing with so many limbs…

Stupid damned legs getting tangled in my stupid damned web only to cut the stupid damned silk making me reweave the stupid damned web in the first place. I glared at the web I’d made, unable to deny that I felt a little bit of pride despite myself. It looked like a good and solid web, and I did get used to layering the silk from my butt.

It was only a little bit embarrassing that I’d almost gotten myself stuck in my first attempt. I sighed mentally, looking to the heap of cords by the first trees I’d thought to string up. This new web wasn’t in as good of a spot, but I was still fine with it. After all, there was still the chance that something might run into the web… Even a deer.

Loathe though I was to admit it, hunger had rapidly revised my stance on not eating deer. Right now, it was all I could do to keep from seeking one out myself. But I knew from experience how fruitless that would be.

Yes, I had to be the patient hunter, climbing a tree to wait for my oncoming prey. On the bright side, it seemed that my new body was built to scale trees like this. My talons sank deep into the bark of my new perch, and I climbed up it without any issues. Funny how this would have been harder with hands—I hadn’t really thought of how some things would be simpler without fingers.

Then, to my immense surprise, a deer came prancing through the woods, bolting towards my web! I chuckled at my good fortune, mentally leaping with joy as it entangled itself in my web with a loud bellow.

I dropped from above with a loud hiss, dropping my it and preparing to snare it further. My butt had a seemingly limitless supply of web, and I was going to make sure to use it.

But just as I started to let loose some silk, a loud hiss came from beside me. I turned to find Joan clacking her claws at me menacingly, her tail whipping through the air a few times.

I hissed back with understanding. So, she was the one who spooked the deer… Well, too bad for her—she wouldn’t have been able to catch the dumb thing were it not for my web. I looked back to her and clicked my pedipalps with amusement, turning to my quarry.

Then Joan struck out with her scorpion’s tail, spitting the deer and tearing it from my web; leaving scraps of fur behind on the strands I’d woven.

I hissed loudly with outrage, spreading my fangs and legs to show off the spikes that lined my body. If she wanted to take my food, she’d need to fight me for it!

Not one to be outdone, Joan hissed and waved her claws in the air as a gesture of challenge. Then she slowly reached one of her claws above her head, snipping the deer in two.

All of my eyes widened with understanding, and I skittered over to the lower half, spinning it into a small cocoon happily. All in all, this was shaping up to be a pretty good night.