It wasn’t the most obvious den of supernatural crime she’d ever seen, Scarlett had to admit. The casino did a fair job pretending that it was a legitimate establishment - it had all it’s papers in order, everyone in the area swore up and down it had been there as long as they could remember. Few villains or Corrupt Beings could get away with having their home base right out in the open like this, but the proprietor of this establishment was smart, thorough, and willing to play nice with the neighborhood she based herself in. It made her hard to find, and harder to nail down, even when she’d upgraded from back alley underground establishments to the present, much more approachable sort of entrance.

Back in her own days as a magical criminal, she might have sought the place out for work - it seemed like a no brainer way of learning from a master. These days, though, she just knew that it was important to take her down.

One group had tried the subtle mixing and mingling route, back when the place was still operating with an illusion-covered front entrance of a Chinese restaurant. They’d not reported back. Another team had tried a stealthier entrance not long afterwards. They hadn’t either. That was why Scarlett decided that subtlety could sit this one out. It clearly wasn’t going to work here, and she didn’t plan to end up as part of the staff.

Scarlett cracked her knuckles, and walked in through the front doors. She noted the security guards, two of them. A quick scan didn’t show obvious magic, but of course - she was probably employing mundane people on the outside. “Evening, miss.” one said politely. “Gonna need you to show some identification, and sign a couple of forms before-”

She flashed her Magical Girl Association identification. “Let’s not play games. I’m not signing the magic contract. You’re obviously normal guards, so I’d rather not blast you. I’m sure your boss isn’t expecting you to try and tackle anyone flashing an MGA ID, is she? Because if she is, I hope she’s giving you some excellent medical insurance.”

The guard - a young, well built man - flushed. “Listen here, lady-”

His coworker, fortunately for all involved, was more level headed. “Have a fine evening, miss.” The older gentleman said, pulling his partner aside. “Fair warning, though - you’re not the first to have tried.”

“I’m sure.” Scarlett said, waving the man off. The doors slid open and Scarlett walked onto the main gambling floor. As she passed the threshold, the outside world fell away, washed away by the gold and scarlet light of the casino. It was as classy as reports predicted, the kind of ritzy establishment that you went to for the purpose of showing off almost as much as you did to gamble.

Despite herself, Scarlett felt herself pulled towards the slots, towards the blackjack tables. But she quickly shook her head and refocused. Captured magical girls. Evil owner. Deal with the important stuff first.

She turned towards the side sections of the casino, looking for anything that looked like it might be an administrative office or something - of course, such wouldn’t be right out front and easy to find.

Soon, she was accosted by a pair of bunny-girl waitresses. Both were clad in tight latex bunnysuits, the tan-skinned blonde in blue and the pale brunette in red. “Hey there~ I’m Sapphire~” the blonde said.

“And I’m Ruby~” the brunette said.

“Why don’t you follow us to the games~” Sapphire said, wrapping herself around Scarlett’s arm.

“I know you’ll do great with us there to cheer you on~” Ruby agreed, pressing her chest against the other arm.

Scarlett blushed fiercely. “I-I’m sorry, girls, but I’m really not here for that. You guys should leave here while you can - I’m gonna free you!”

The pair simultaneously tilted their heads in confusion. “Free us? But we love working here~” Sapphire said cheerfully. “C’mon, lemme show you a good time… in more ways than one, if you get some wins~”

Scarlett blushed even more. “I, uh, as tempting as that is, I really am kinda busy right now…” she stammered, pulling her arms away from the bunnygirls. “I need to see your boss.”

As she spoke, another blonde bunnygirl, this one wearing black, sauntered up to them. “Why would you? All you need is us three, hm? I bet you want us real bad, huh~” she said. She was really, really persuasive. Too persuasive. Scarlett noticed unlike the other two, she didn’t introduce herself. And there wasn’t the same empty-headed lustful look as the others. Bingo.

“I take it you’re the boss here?” Scarlett said, fighting through the haze that had started to cloud her thoughts - persuasion magic was a pain, but easy to work through if you were expecting it.

The third bunnygirl blinked in surprise. “I’m not sure what you’re implying-”

“No, Teiko definitely isn’t our boss! Isn’t that right, mistress?” Ruby said helpfully. Teiko sighed.

“Right, then.” Scarlett pulled herself away from Ruby and Sapphire, and approached Teiko. “Look, you know the drill here - I’m here to stop you, you’re gonna try and transform me, I didn’t sign the damn contract so let’s get to the fight.”

“Why something so unsightly?” Teiko said, recovering her composure. “We could simply… play a little game. You get your friends back, I don’t call down my guards…”

“Look, bunny bitch, I’m not in the mood for this. You’re going to make me bet away my humanity or something and turn me into a deck of cards or another brain dead bunny girl or any number of other things. I know you’ve got the papers in order and all the consent forms, but when you’ve also entrapped at least 4, probably more, magical girls before me, the higher ups ain’t gonna care.” Scarlett’s hands glowed a dangerous red as she channelled magic. “Now, we can either deal with this now… or I can track you to the next six bolt-holes and pocket dimension entrances you have ready for this eventuality, plus the two different establishments you’re going to have ready for if this place goes under, and we can go through this bit again at each of them.”

Teiko’s expression went cold. Not a fearful sort, but a cool, calculating sort, a stark contrast from the playful condescension she’d had before. “...I see how it is then. I won’t be letting you leave without a game, however.”

Scarlett didn’t wait around, lunging, hands wreathed in red magic. She wasn’t about to let Teiko cast some spell on her to make her easily manipulated or just outright transform her, so it was best to go on the attack. Her burning red hands approached the bunnygirl’s throat-

And something slammed into Scarlett’s side, sending her sprawling. She scrambled to her feet, but felt her arms wrenched behind her back as she was kicked to her knees. Teiko stood over her, flanked by a woman in a dark suit, bearing fox ears and an extremely fluffy tail. “Apologies that we were late, Mistress. You instructed us to stay well back.”

“It’s fine, Maxine. Roxanne, you have her?”

“Of course, Mistress.” Another feminine voice said from behind Scarlett.

“Good.” Teiko said. She reached down and tilted Scarlett’s face upwards to look at her. “As I was saying. We will be playing… a little game. I’m sure you’ll enjoy. Maxine?”

Scarlett braced herself, but when the foxgirl’s boot made contact she dropped all the same.

-----

She woke up and, once the pain died down enough for her to think Scarlett tried to take her bearings. She was shackled to a chair, but her hands were free. She blinked her eyes open. She was in a small, poorly lit room. Teiko was seated in front of her, in a chair of her own next to something covered in a black shroud, with her bodyguards looming at the entrance. “I’m glad you’re awake~”

Scarlett sighed. She tried at her bindings, and the foxgirls tensed, ready to come and take her down again if she got free. But the metal was strong and, good for them, her magic didn’t take the form of strength enhancement or actual burning - she’d need to get her hands on someone to hurt them. “If you let me go now, I’ll keep this painless.” she said. It was a bluff, but well, maybe one of them would crack.

Teiko laughed, a soft but somehow sinister sound. “You’ve been out for a while, you know. I’ve had some time to research you, Scarlett. Or, ‘Scar’, as you used to be known. You’re going hard on this ‘hero’ business, these days, aren’t you?”

Scarlett rolled her eyes. “It pays the bills and I don’t have magical girls coming for me anymore, win win. Moving on.”

“Now, now, that’s not very-”

“Can we cut the pretense and just get to the transforming?” Scarlett cut her off.

This time, Teiko kept her composure rock solid. “No.” She said simply. “Before we begin, I must ask - how did you know about my precautions? No magical girl made it far enough to discover that information before they were transformed.”

“Pretty simple logic, really.” Scarlett said with as much of a shrug as she could manage. “I wasn’t always using the powers to be a magical girl. ‘Scar’ might have wanted to hop aboard - you’ve got your act together way more than I did back in the day. But once you decide to be a bit more subtle than trying to establish a personal kingdom, villains tend towards a lot of the same kinds of tricks.”

Teiko thought about that for a moment. “Noted. I’ll have to make an effort to diversify.” she said. She took the shroud and pulled, revealing a machine beneath it. “You see the slot machine. It has several unique symbols to determine what you’ll win. As you didn’t create any chips upon entrance and haven’t signed the contract to allow you to generate them, I’ve customized them for you. If you roll the symbols that indicate freedom, I’ll let you leave. Otherwise… well, I’m sure you can guess. We’re going to keep spinning, and spinning, and spinning, until eventually you’re free. Aren’t I generous?”

Scarlett rolled her eyes. “Get it over with.”

Teiko smiled, and pulled the lever on the machine. It spun and spun, symbols flashing past faster than the eye could track. It began to slow, and eventually came to a stop. Of course, it wasn’t the broken-chains symbol representing freedom - it was a symbol of a bow tie it landed on, three in a row. “Oh, so close,” Teiko said cheerfully, “But you did win something, at least.”

In a flash, Scarlett’s clothes changed. She barely had time to register that it was happening, before it was over. Her normal clothes - a punkish leather jacket over a red shirt, black shorts, and black stockings, and red boots - morphed. The jacket slid from her body as her shirt turned to white latex, and shifted in form to cling to her body, accentuating her form as it’s neckline plunged.

Lower down, the transformation continued, her shorts merging with her newly latex top to form a leotard. The final change was her hair, black with red highlights, pulling itself up from her shoulders and tying itself in a sexy ponytail. She’d gone from looking like a punk to wearing a playboy bunny-suit in the blink of an eye.

Teiko appraised the new look with an approving eye. “Business formal suits you, doesn’t it?”

Scarlett rolled her eyes, not bothering to look down at herself. “I rock anything. That said, this doesn’t look nearly as good as my usual outfit.”

“No accounting for taste, I suppose.” Teiko said. “You were close that time - maybe you’ll get lucky, and only leave with some nice clothes.”

The wheel spun once more as Teiko pulled. Around and around it went. Left, center, and right slots each landed on the same symbol - a pair of fox ears. It didn’t take a genius to guess what was going to result from that one.

Scarlett suddenly felt a deep discomfort from two sources, one on her head and one on her bottom. She struggled in her chair, an instinctive reaction to the discomfort. She couldn’t see it, but her ears had started to grow fur on them, the same black and red as her hair. They lengthened, turning long and pointed. They then began to slowly slide up her head. It felt strange, and uncomfortable, but not painful - as they reached their destination at the top of her skull, sound seemed to snap into sharper focus, as if she’d been living with earmuffs blocking the bulk of the noise before.

Meanwhile, on her rear end, a different change was occurring. She felt something push against her undergarments, and her pants. Her back arched as whatever it was tried to force itself out, slowly, and actually kinda painfully. It wasn’t the transformation itself that hurt, but the blockage of it. Thankfully, the magic causing it seemed to recognize this - suddenly, holes opened in her lower garments and the new tail sprang free, and Scarlett could let out a sigh of relief. With thick and fluffy fur the same color as her hair, it was rather large and forced Scarlett to sit awkwardly.

None of which was helped by a sudden pressure in her bust and butt - they felt like they were pushing against her clothes, as they ballooned outwards; a modest figure expanding, becoming sexier, more voluptuous. B-cups became C, then D-cups, while her ass was now big enough to act as a cushion.

“I’m sure you’ll get it next time,” Teiko said to the panting foxgirl she’d created.

“And I’m sure that this is rigged.” Scarlett said. “It’s not like I thought it wasn’t.”

“Oh, you wound me!” Teiko said with overwrought drama. “This establishment is committed to the fair treatment of it’s paying customers. Of course, you’re not a paying customer, so I have no trouble admitting that you were never making it out of this human.”

Scarlett sighed. “On with it, then. Sooner we get this over with, sooner I can tune out until I’m rescued.”

“As you wish~” Teiko sang, as she pulled the lever one more time.

This time when it came to a stop, the symbol was a simple spiral. Scarlett took just a second too long to see what was coming. Before she could close her eyes, the spirals began to move. She was in a trance in seconds, staring at the spirals slack-jawed and drooling a little.

“Finally…” Teiko said. “I was wondering when that one would come up. She was beginning to irk me.”

The spirals danced in Scarlett’s eyes as Teiko approached. She made sure not to block her vision, but be close enough to touch her. “There we go… there we go. Let’s let all that… rebellion, fade out. No more struggling, you want to do whatever I tell you. Listen to whatever I tell you. You don’t need to think; that’s what I’m here for.”

The words bounced around in Scarlett’s empty mind, embedding themselves in every nook and cranny. Her body sagged as she relaxed back into the chair, not a thought passing through her cranium.

“You’re not a magical girl, anymore. You never were, actually.” Teiko said. As she did, it became true, as far as Scarlett was concerned. Nope, she’d never been a magical girl.

“You were always a tricky little fox, weren’t you? Humans are your playthings. You nearly got caught, though. That’s when I found you.” Teiko’s soothing voice stated, and Scarlett could remember it. The foxgirl had loved playing tricks on humans, but she’d always been reckless. Teiko had found her, had saved her.

“And since then, I’ve had you putting your strength to good use - as my strong, loyal, sexy assistant.” Teiko said. This was an easy mental change for her. In many ways, Scarlett was already well suited to it - she’d once been a criminal herself. She just had to get rid of those pesky morality and standards. “You’ve devoted yourself to me, completely - your world revolves around me, your morality and your goals. Your only desire is to serve.”

And it was. It was Scarlett’s only desire in life. Protecting humans? As if. Justice? Who cared? No, the only purpose of her life was to serve her beloved Mistress Teiko. To protect her, to do her bidding, to make her desires reality. A serene smile spread across Scarlett’s empty expression as her new self locked itself into place.

Teiko returned to the slot machine, and spun it once more. This time, it landed on freedom at last - the broken shackles symbol spread across the slots heralding a quiet click as the shackles binding Scarlett to her seat snapped open. Teiko strode over and took her by the hand, helping the dazed woman to her feet. She snapped a finger in front of Scarlett’s face.

Scarlett blinked. “Huh? What?”

“You were a bit dazed when that magical girl resisted, weren’t you, Scarlett?” Teiko said. “Gave you a solid knock on the head. Are you alright?” Give an easy explanation for how she got to the room, and she’d fill in the blanks herself.

Scarlett rubbed her head. Now that Teiko mentioned it, she did feel a little sore. “Huh. Guess I did. Sorry, Mistress.” she said. “She was a feisty one, but she went down. A better fight than the last few!”

“She was. Now, don’t we need to be somewhere?” Teiko prompted.

Scarlett frowned. Did she need to be anywhere? She remembered she had an important job… oh right, of course. “Ah, right, I was working on backup plans, wasn’t I? Things to do if we get found again and need to relocate. I think I have some ideas for some out of the box ideas - they’re so used to magical criminals acting the same they’ll be thrown for a loop if we think about it.”

“I look forward to your report.” Teiko said. “I’ll be heading back to the main gaming floor to make sure everyone’s having a good time. Keep an eye out in case our latest bunny had some friends.”

Scarlett saluted, and strode out of the room towards her job, none the wiser as to who she had been not minutes before.