Mantis Do-over. (Non-CYOA, in progress)

"Grampa, tell me a story!" She cheered, excited to have finally met her grandfather. "I wanna hear about how you met grandma!"

This girl was Clara. By the sound of her voice, one could tell that she was still a young'un. Here she sits, patiently waiting on her grandfather's lap, waiting for him to start rambling about his days as a member of the village militia.

"Well, let's see..." he paused, rolling his eyes upward in thought. "It all started when I was given my first assignment. You see, the mayor himself asked me to do something..." As he began his tale, flashbacks came surging through his mind.


"Alright, Mister Guillaume."

"It's William, sir."

"Ah, yes, can I call you Guillaume? It sounds wealthier."

"Whatever pleases you, Mayor." William sighed.

"Right. Guillaume, I have a very important task fit for a man like you."

"Sir, I haven't even finished my training yet. Are you sure that I'm qualified for this?"

"Guillaume, I'm sure you know better than to question your superiors."

"Y-yes sir."

"Now, where was I? Ah, yes. I need you to check out a certain part of the surrounding forest. You will be deployed here, via a military vehicle, disguised as a caravan. From there, you will travel two kilometers south, where you will rendezvous with an agent of mine for further instructions. Got it?"

"Yes sir, I'll do my best."

The Mayor had William escorted from his office, and into the vehicle. It was like any other wagon, save for the frame being reinforced with a translucent, smooth material. Hidden under the curtains of the wagon, William tried to figure out what was going on. Why would The Mayor hire an untrained militia recruit for a top-secret mission? Why would he need to disguise a military vehicle? Why would The Mayor leave a single member of the militia to fend for himself in the forest? Why didn't he let the agent do this mission instead? None of it made sense.

"Alright, this is your stop." The chauffeur whispered, gesturing William off of the wagon. Checking his surroundings, William cautiously set foot into the forest. After walking south for a few minutes, he finally made his way to the rendezvous point. However, the agent was nowhere to be seen. William waited for hours, drawing lines in an open patch of dirt with his finger. When the agent finally arrived, William was in shock.

"Y-you're a..."

"A monster, and an agent. I'm here to brief you, Mister Guillaume."

"Y-yes, ma'am." William was surprised. The monsters around his village were usually savage beasts of lust, yet this particular one seemed more refined. She had a certain intensity about her; Sure, she had sharp blades protruding from both of her arms, but the true fear came from her soul-impaling stare. William didn't make eye contact with her, for he was afraid that her gaze would blind him. Instead, William made eye contact with the (hopefully) vestigial sets of less intimidating eyes and antennae on the sides of her forehead that were surrounded by her short, burgundy hair. According to the bestiary, these creatures were known as 'Mantes' (Singular: Mantis).

"Guillaume, you have been selected for a certain ceremony, one that acts as a treaty between humans and monsters. Under no condition are you allowed to speak of this ceremony. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Good. Follow me."

William obeyed the monster's orders. Walking close behind her, William couldn't help but stare at the abdomen attached to her lower back as it swayed from side to side. It was odd, being this close to what he always thought were brutes. Perhaps the brutes were not affected by the ceremony? He needed answers. "Um, Mantis."

"Do not refer to me by my species. My name is Clarissa."

A monster with a human name? William's curiosity grew with each passing moment, but he had a more important question to ask her. "Clarissa, why do monsters keep attacking our village if we have this treaty?"

"They're savages. More intelligent monsters (like myself) are less willing to earn a bad reputation with humans."

William was confused. Everyone in the village thought of monsters the same way he did; As nothing more than mindless savages. Until this point, he didn't believe in the possibility of meeting more intelligent monsters.

"We're here." Clarissa said, pointing to a small, wooden platform. "Please wait on the stage, while The Ambassador gets ready. William obeyed, and made his way to the stage. Although he couldn't see them, he could feel thousands of spectators watching. He closed his eyes, and did his best to ignore their collective stares.

"Ambassador Guillaume." Someone whispers.

"Y-yes?"

"Please open your eyes. I know you might be nervous, but now is not the time to show cowardice."

William opened his eyes. Before him stood a fancifully dressed succubus, dawning a pair of rectangular eyeglasses. "G-greetings, Ambassador." He stammered.

"Greetings! The ceremony may now begin. Ambassador Guillaume, your hand?"

"Yes." William presented his hand to the succubus, who firmly grabbed him by the wrist. "Alright, you maggots! This is a hostile takeover! Any and all resistance will be met with immediate death." William could hear guns rattling in the distance.

"Ambassador, what's going on?"

"Freedom, William. Freedom."

"Did you just call me 'William'?!"

"That's your name, isn't it? I'm sure you're sick of that pretentious suit's nickname by now."

"I'm thankful, but I'd appreciate it more if you let go of my wrist."

"Yeah, when I'm through with you. I think I'm gonna celebrate my newfound freedom by popping your cherry. Sound good?"

"N-not really."

"Fantastic."

Before she could lay a hand on you, the Ambassador is cut in half. Clarissa appears behind the dissipating succubus remains. She hauls William over her shoulder, and escapes the meeting ground through a rain of bullets. After a long, adrenaline-fueled escape, Clarissa sets William down in front of the burning remains of William's village. In the ruins before him, he could hear the pained moans of men, women and children alike. Placing a comforting hand upon his shoulder, Clarissa informed William of his fate. "You have my apologies, Guillaume, but I'm afraid that I will have to take you into protective custody."

"Do you think I'll be safe?"

"I guarantee it."

"How do you know?"

"Because-"

"How do you know, Clarissa? That ambassador, who was supposed to represent the frendlier side of your kind, tried to attack me. How do you know that the same thing won't happen again?"

Clarissa drove a passionate hand against William's face. "Because I'm going to protect you, whether you like it or not. I have a mission, and I'm going to carry out my orders no matter what."

William took a few seconds to regain his composure. "Alright. Also, call me 'William'."

"I refuse to refer to you by a anything a savage would. Now hurry up and follow me, Guillaume."

William reluctantly follows Clarissa to a massive cluster of large, spherical buildings located several kilometers away from his home. "Is this a city?"

"Yes, this is Halburn."

"Why are there so many round buildings?"

"We have to construct geodesic homes to satisfy the needs of the cold-blooded. The spherical design stops cold air from penetrating the walls."

As they walk through the city streets, William feels something tense in the atmosphere, as if the whole city was about to come crashing down on top of him. That feeling intensified as he drew closer to the town center; a massive, phallic building, decorated with words in multiple shades of colored handwriting. They step inside the building, and walk down a long strip of red carpet to a desk, where a horned, red woman is joyfully sipping from a mug.

"A room for two, please."

"Eh, what? Shorreh, I'm a lil' hard uff hearin'." The woman behind the desk spoke in slurred words. It's likely that the beverage she was consuming contained alcohol.

"I need a room for two, please."

"Ah, gahsha. Kesh!" She threw a set of keys toward Clarissa. "Go haff, fun, yoo twooo~!"

Clarissa catches the the keys, and takes William inside of an elevator.

William looked around the elevator with an aura of curious whimsy about him. "What is this room?"

"It's an elevator. By pressing one of the buttons on the panel, a card on top of the elevator changes to match the requested floor number. Then, an operator pulls you up to that floor. Every town center must construct one under international law, since there are several monsters who cannot climb stairs."

"I hope you don't mind the noise here."

"Noise? What noise?"

"You'll see."

As the elevator doors slide open, the sound of cacophonous moaning, and the stench of fornication fill the air. When William sets foot outside the elevator, he can feel the ground tremble beneath him. "Clarissa, is this...?"

"Yes, our town center is a breeding ground of sorts. Although capturing humans against their will is illegal, a few disreputable saleswomen have found ways around it."

"Does that mean-"

"N-no, I would never do that to you, Guillaume. Especially after what you've been through." For the first time, Clarissa's expression changes from her usual, cold gaze. Blushing vividly, she covers her face with her hands.

"Th-thanks."

"A-anyway, our room is over here." She walks over to a door, and unlocks a series of deadbolts with an unsteady hand. She opens the door to reveal a cramped bedroom with nothing more than a queen-sized bed, a small window, and a nightstand with a damaged lamp. After shoving William inside the room, she slammed the door shut, and quickly regained composure. "Under no circumstance are you allowed to leave this room."

"I don't see a bathroom, what if I need to..."

"Alright, if that ever happens, make sure I'm around. I'll show you where the restroom is when the time comes. Until then, I must leave. Go ahead and make yourself comfortable. I will return at midnight. Lock the door behind me."

And so, William waited, staring outside the tiny window to pass the time. From this height, the citizens of Halburn all looked the same. He wondered what a human would look like from this height.

"Are you interested in them?"

"Oh, no. I was just looking-" William was surprised by the unfamiliar voice behind him. "W-what?!?" He turned around, only to find out that nothing was there. "W-who or what are you?"

"That woman left you all alone. How careless."

"Answer me!"

"No, William, you will do the answering. Are you interested in the world around you?"

"I have no reason to be. It's too dangerous out there."

"Why bother looking out the window, if you're not interested?"

"Well, from here, I know I'm safe."

"Are you truly safe? That woman left you to fend for yourself. Do you have what it takes to survive?"

"Well, if all I have to do is sit in this room, I'll be fine."

"Ah, but if you're safe, you won't be interested. If you're not interested, you won't have fun. Perhaps it is time to have some fun."

At the end of her last sentence, something strikes the door, punching a small hole next to the doorknob, and emitting the dull thud of blunt force. An eye stares from the other side of the hole, accompanied by labored breaths. The eye moves away from the hole, and there is another thud. And another. And another. The hole in the door grows with each successive strike. The deadbolts fly off of the door when it finally gives in. Standing in the hallway, with a hungry look in her eye, is what the bestiary would refer to as a 'Cyclops'

She's about two meters tall, and wields a sledgehammer. Her violet iris is still completely visible, even though her silky, black hair covers her face down to her nose. She bears a massive, drooling smile across her face. The monster speaks her first words.

"Human... Fresh..."