Mercutio really hated himself sometimes.

With the business pact struck with Talos, the Burgundy remnants rebranded, and the supplies refurbished, all that was left to do before setting up the new hideout was, well, to find someplace to put it. It had to be a certain distance from Doc's tower, not too close to arouse suspicion, but not too far to affect communication with her, so Mercutio had decided to scout out into the forests that hung behind it, taking along only a single buddy: Rhody. Rhody had a good knack for studying architecture and building emplacements, in fact he had been preliminary 'construction guy' for the Burgundy scarves since their very founding, as none of the punks had an eye for observing materials and measurements quite like Rhody did. Any kind of camp or hideout they set up used his rough drawings and feedback as blueprints, so it was a no brainer to have him tag along on this recon to get his assistance on finding a good enough foundation.
The issue however, was that Minerva's tower was placed dangerously close to Sector 6: the Clawlands, the area known for having all of the monsters in. So close in fact, that to Mercutio's dismay, it was pretty much impossible to not set up shop within its borders, if the gang really wanted that ideal distance anyway. The circumstances aggravated the young thief boss, but trying to squirm out of it would've brought on more logistical headaches than not, so the pair relented, and moved to further pin down whatever spot would be the least life-threatening.

Here, was the part Mercutio was beating himself up over, because eventually they did find a good spot. It was some form of half-clearing, still covered by trees, but with smooth and solid ground that was formed into a perfect flatness, ideal for supporting construction work as Rhody was keen to point out. The trees were in the way, but Rhody argued that they could be easily cut down for logging materials, possibly enough make a veritable fortress out of the stuff. The idea intrigued Mercutio a little too much, because the daydreams and somewhat eager chats with Rhody about having big spikey walls and finely rustic cosy logs, kept the pair's attention away from movement above them. Mercutio, who was normally so observant of things, likely should've noticed the strange plant growths, grown over tracks, and claw marked trees, as obvious signs of monsters being recently present. But, from the initial stress of setting up a whole construction project, the weird new instincts that jerked him all around while within the wilderness, and now his brain for some reason repeatedly telling him 'That smell is just plants, ignore it.', over and over and over again, it was quite easy for the Blight Merchant to slip right through his gaze, and drop down from its nest in the trees above for a perfect ambush.

As Mercutio would later learn from Talos, 'Blight Merchants' were not monsters he had come sufficiently staffed and equipped for. What were once a normal, unassuming, pretty shit at existing Sloths, undergo significant mutations after extended exposure to wild magic, causing them to not only grow to a staggering 4 meters tall, but manifest a strange symbiotic relationship to mutation-borne plant-life. For Blight Merchants often rest for periods of length so long, that various of species of moss, fungus, sometimes even flowers, find fertilisation in the Merchant's magically enriched fur and skin, feeding off the excess wild magic to sprout, bloom, and develop various magical auras to poison, debilitate, and rot whatever gets to close, making the monster something of a walking disease factory. Wherever it goes, decay and sickness follows, like a merchant peddling his wares of blight, hence the name: 'Blight Merchant'

Now with that brief biology lesson done, the Blight Merchant made its move on the unsuspecting prey, and came down swinging.

All Mercutio got for a warning was: "Boss, look out!", before Rhody shoulder shoved Mercutio sideways, allowing the long, leering, razor sharp sloth claw to whiff wide over both their heads. With a gargling roar, and a speed way faster than any sloth should be able to achieve, the Blight Merchant's other claw was thrust forwards, and Rhody had the unfortunate mistake of aiming up his heavy crossbow instead of dodging, his underestimation of the enemy's agility....costing his life.

CRRCK!

"Grugh!"

Rhody was no mutant, he had not decided on whether he wanted to share in Talos' boon to the scarves, but now that the Merchant's claw pierced right through his hardened leather cuirass, and burst out through the other side of his back, Rhody realized he would never get that chance. Thus, he simply stared at the ice cold wound and blood-soaked claw, before the monster hauled him upwards with the arm still embedded, and threw him across the clearing into a nearby tree, dozens of bones-his neck and spine included-shattering upon impact, yanking the life right out of him in a quick, loud, sickening 'CRUNCH'.

"RHODY!" The hoarse, shill, shrieking scream of panic and shock that leapt out of Mercutio's mouth, did so by tearing through his throat without any say from the lad himself, and the poor sod was permitted to process that compulsive screech only after being back-handed by another crudely aimed sloth swipe, the sheer strength of the impact cracking his shoulder, and sending him flying back until he landed in a nearby ditch.

Normally when an outlaw died, scarf especially, it was met with mostly apathetic disappointment. Dying to a monster was seen as a failure of skill, rather than a tragic end, and back before all of this stuff had happened, the Burgundy Scarves had a primarily similar mindset.
That's just how things were in Engrievion.
But this time, to Mercutio specifically, it was a bit different. Behind his stern exterior, he did feel like he was more sensitive than that of his peers, which was the inspiration for adopting such an act in the first place. He found it a little harder to move on from death than most locals of the forest nation would, but given that his own subordinates would likely ridicule him for such a show of weakness, he found a way to stomach the heartache regardless.

Or at least he did, until he was granted the power to turn into a monstrous rat person. Now, with an onslaught of strange new instincts and feelings that didn't even seem trustworthy, seeing what the Blight Merchant had done to his comrade struck something deep in Mercutio. He should, by all accounts, be reacting with necessary fear, a hesitation that should corral him into rethinking his options, and reassessing his situation, a result of many years spent building up a straight-laced, logical, human-born tactical mindset.
However, Rhody had been there since day 1, he was one of the first members of the fledgling gang back in greywind, and was one of the very few that still stuck around in spit of everything. And now, he was dead, his body broken and crumpled onto the ground.
The Blight Merchant did that.
It had taken out one of his men.
It had killed of his friends.

It had disgraced his pack.

Mercutio wanted to back up, to run, to get into cover and possibly even retreat and regroup. But he didn't. He bristled instead.

Crr-crrk-blubblubblubbluuub

And then, he literally bristled, his body hunching, clenching, seething, as his quivering eyes widened to see his limbs slowly starting to swell.
The logical side protested, saying 'No, you can't fight that thing, retreat. Now.'
But the emotional side, the beast, the rat, it hissed.
And Mercutio hissed with it.

"Huge..." Came the word in his mind. Mercutio didn't know if it was the rat demanding power, the logic relenting in exchange for a tactical advantage, or if it was the young thief himself. But he didn't care. He wanted huge, big-
"Monster....make me a fucking monster. Make me a giant fucking monster!"

CrrrrrrRRRRRNNNN
THROB-THROB, THROB-THROB, THROB-THROB-THROBTHROBTHROB

"aaaaararrRRRRAAAAAAGH!"

Mercutio let out a keening whine as his muscles began to violently bulge, throbbing and pounding like doors being bashed in, as his whole body ballooned out against his clothes, loudly stretching and straining them to breaking point.
CRRRRRRN-PAP-PAPAP-PAP-PAP PAP PAPPAPPAP
Seams and stitches then loudly creaked before bursting open all across his body, as the muscular bunched and bulged and bloated even larger.
His biceps swelled in their sleeves.
His thighs swelled in his trousers.
His tailbone stretched and swelled against his flesh.

BUH-BUMP, BUH-BUMP, BUH-BUMP.
His pectorals pumped and throbbed, his weedy build bulging more and more hulking with each 'BUH-BUMP'
His clothes grew snug against a sweep of soft, grey, rodent fur that erupted from his skin.
His eyes watered as his skull began to push out, ears stretching while the hair melted into the emerging fur on his cheeks.
All down below, his feet glorped, the tiny, dainty little tootsies bulging and bloating and erupting into hulks of flesh inside his rapidly ill-fitting boots.
Normally, all of this would draw out the blush, and the hesitation and nervousness soon after, but Mercutio wasn't in the mood right now.
His feet wanted out of his boots? Fine, he thought, fucking grow then. Get all fat, swell up, get huge and burst them to fucking pieces, burst all of his clothes to fucking pieces. Even if he wasn't alone, he didn't care anymore, he wanted to be a big fucking monster right now, so fuck his armour, fuck his stealth gear, fuck his weapons, his tatics, his cloak, and especially his stupid fucking thighboots. Fuck all of this human shit, and-
"GROW. FUCKING GROW YOU S-STUPID BODY. T-TURN.... I-INTO A-A-A F-FUCKING M-MMONSSSSTEEEERRRAAAAAAGH!!!"

CRRRRRRRR-PAP!
The swirling, growling mutation within Mercutio's body, was quite pleased to finally have some enthusiasm for once, so it diligently, (and eagerly,) obeyed, as the sides of Mercutio's thighboots twinged and tightened, before splitting wide open, the straps 'POP'ing and 'SNAP'ing away.
More straps 'PAP'ed and 'SNAP'ed, as the rat man's chest billowed, his progressively hulking pecs bubbling and throbbing thicker and thicker as the shirt grew tighter and tighter, bulging abs 'Blub-blub-blublbub-blub'ing into existence around his mid-section, pushing and straining his shirt even tighter. So tight, that it soon 'RIII-III-IIII-II-I-IIIIP'ed wide open around them, springing up as the tension against his belt tore into strands, before those strands inevitably snapped away themselves.
Crrrrrrrnnnnnn...
The trousers soon followed a similar vain, as Mercutio's thighs ballooned out with packing muscle, throbbing and bulging and swelling until the stitching ruptured, bursting across soft, cuddly, erupting fur, ripping and ripping until they were unrecognizable as trousers. Likely more fitting to be labelled as shorts, if shorts even got that short.

CRRRRN, CRRRU-UU-UUUCK
Mercutio whimpered and groaned slightly, as he looked down to his hands, and watched as his gloves stretch and pull snug against his aching, swelling hands, the leather practically discolouring as it grew just that tight. A simple flex of the fingers would be enough to rupture them, but Mercutio found no need, the hands just kept bulking and bulking until:
RRRR-PAFF
PAFF
They burst like overstuffed balloons, bits of leather flicking away as Mercutio watched his hands grow more and more rat-like. Brief fluster washed through him, but anger flushed it away, letting him clench the fists tight.

CREEE-EEE-EEEAAAK

The boots meanwhile were now stretching and discolouring just like his gloves, and Mercutio's slowly glowing eyes swivelled down to see just how thick and puffy his feet were getting. It felt good, the sense that his boots were too small for him, especially since he wasn't wearing socks that day, so his bare skin was nuzzling and pressing right into the interiors. Mercutio however was still a bit too angry to let himself focus on it, so his eyes simply narrowed, as he mentally willed his toes to flex and wiggle, and grow while they did so.
BLUB-BLUB-BLUB
CRRR, RRRRRRR
His feet pounded and pumped, growing bigger and bigger with each 'BUH-BUMP, BUH-BUMP, BUH-BUMP', and Mercutio was pooling all of his strength into his ballooning digits. The frustration swelled like his feet were, and that frustration only made his feet swell even more. The toes were growing fat, and even heavy, but strength was filling them up even fatter, and the power was letting them spread even further. Soon the toes grew stronger than the leather, and the 'pik-pik-pikpik-pik' noises signalled the first splits in the leather, tiny gaps forming between the front of the boots, and the soles. Mercutio felt the breeze start to flow into the emerging gaps, as the leather began to peel apart like wet clay, but he was growing impatient, and the Blight Merchant was growing closer. So, his feet began to bubble.

Streeee-eee-eee-eeeee-eeeeeeeeeech

"G-get.....o-o-offf...." Mercutio hissed, as his body began to bloat, and bloat, and bloat. "G-get....o-off....me! G-get off my FEET!"

CRRRN-PAPAP-POP!

At his irritated command, growth and bulk violently rippled and surged across Mercutio's body, and every single part of it doubled in size.
"Hggh...nnnggggh-"
POP
"Nnnngh!"
PAFF, PAP-PAP
"Nnngaaaa-"
RIIP-RIIIIIP-RIIIIIIP
With numerous pops and snaps, the thighboots split and ruptured against his legs as Mercutio's engorged, rat-like talons, pumped and throbbed and grew thick and hulking, swelling fatter and fatter and fatter, until the rest of the straining thighboots loudly split, and popped, and burst across the gleaming, spongey, squishy soft flesh, as his big, fat bare feet loudly burst out, letting Mercutio kick off the scraps and press the naked skin and flesh of his throbbing sole into the cold wet soil.
"Nghaaa....-HRGN"
CRRRN-RIIIIP!
Soon after, his tail bulked, and throbbed, and swelled, pushing and pushing and pushing until it ripped through his shorts, snaking out behin as it thumped against the floor.
"Agh-"
RIPIRPIPRIPRIIIIP-RIP
His arms then bulged and burst his sleeves to pieces, musculature bunching and rippling as they flexed in freed mobility.
"Mm!"
THROB
His hands bulged.
THROB, THROB-THROB.
His feet swelled.
THROB-THROB-THROB-THROB.
His body bristled.
THROOOOB, THROB-THROB THROOOOOB
"AaaaaaaaAAAGH!"
Mercutio watched as his vision rose higher, and higher, and higher, his body swelling and inflating like it was some kind of fuzzy, fleshy balloon. This felt....bigger, than usual. Almost Talos big. Wasn't his rat form usually on the smaller side? Why was he getting so big? B-because he was....angry? Or because he....wanted to be big?

"Ha-a-agh....hnng.....hrrrrrrrrgh...."
Doesn't matter. He didn't care. The Blight Merchant was nearly upon him, and he wanted to hurt it.

"HrrrrrRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" So he roared instead, using the pain of his skull crunching, shifting, shunting itself out into the whiskered muzzle of the monstrous rat he was, to scream and growl and yell bloody murder at a creature that probably wasn't quite sure what was happening.

"HhhrraaaaAAAArrgh!" Mercutio, did not care. The shoulder pauldron was irritating him too much, so barely thinking, a hand raised up to:

CRNNK! RrrrRRRII-PAP-PAPPAP-I-II-IIIIIIIP!

Wrench it clean off.

The logical side was miffed, because that was the only piece of armour that actually stayed useful. The rat however, was in no mood to be chastised. Not with the Blight Merchant seeing Mercutio's transformation as a declaration of a challenge for this territory, and roaring itself to meet it.

Admittedly, The Blight Merchant didn't seem to have any interest in deliberately causing pain, at the end of the day it was just a simple minded animal trying to eat and protect its territory. It was cruel, but it simply just wanted Rhody out of the way, so it give him a quick death.

Mercutio wasn't going to be that charitable.

They didn't call him "The Merciless" for nothing...


(W-well I mean they did, but shush, he's having a moment.)

---

And another trilogy done, Blacktigerr was the first guy I had commissioned, he was the first man after shiro to do up Minerva, and now he's gotten the honour of completing the last member of the mutant trio.

I went a bit harder into the transformation scene then I intended, but eh, I was horny and it came out pretty nice, especially given that Mercutio has gotten the opportunity to actually let himself fill out a bit. Call it a Macro march feature cause I....did not plan any Macro content yet.

Also, original monster that isn't just pulled from Dnd, I finally did one. I really like the idea of it, I don't think it's gonna show up very often but hey, is cool.


Artwork by:  Blacktigerr