tf-side-story-mass-in-motion

SHRIMP Agency TF Stories: https://pastebin.com/Pdzmv2ej

It was another busy day in the labs where Dr. Easton was working hard on a new potential breakthrough. He had been cooped up in his personal lab trying to figure out one of the biggest mysteries surrounding transformation science. As a recent development in the scientific world there was still much to be learned about this almost physics-defying field. Every researcher had one big question about transformations: where does the mass go? You could add or remove mass to people by turning them into other creatures but there was never any explanation on where that extra mass came or went. That is until today when Dr. Easton make a remarkable discovery. Right as he was about to proceed with more testing the lab doors slid open and his assistant Samantha walked in. Samantha was a new hire at the labs and had been working with Dr. Easton for some time now.

“Dr. Easton? Are you in here?” Samantha asked and scanned the room for any signs of the diligent professor.

“Oi! I’m over here just setting up for another test,” Easton replied and popped up from under a computer console he was tinkering with.

“Doc you’ve had yourself locked up in here for almost six hours. Shouldn’t you take a break and maybe get something to eat?” Samantha asked.

“Pfft, taking a break just to eat? Who does that? Science doesn’t stop for basic needs, that’s what donuts and chips are for!” Easton replied and took a bite out of a pastry sitting on a nearby keyboard.

“Ugh, I hope you’re at least taking care of your other needs. Anyways, I finally got word back on your latest requests. The board approved them so you should be good for any further testing. Though I highly doubt you would have waited for their approval anyways...” Samantha said and handed some paperwork to Easton.

“Ah, my dear Samantha, you know me too well. This is all oh so lovely I can’t wait to show you what I’ve discovered. This is going to change everything!” said Easton ecstatically and threw the papers into the air.

“You’ve been telling me that every day for the past week. What makes this time so special?” Samantha asked, crossing her arms.

“Soon you will see because this time I have actual results that can be reproduced. Come over here and I’ll show you what I got,” said Easton as he directed Samantha to the testing station. “See these two big rats in those isolated containers? Well, I’m going to change both with just one transformation.” He then walked over to an assortment of beakers and extracted a formula from one of them and transferred it into a syringe.

“What I have here is a stag beetle mixture specially crafted with some tweaked parameters. Observe as I inject the mixture into the left rat. Remember, both of these rats are completely isolated from one another,” said Easton and proceeded to inject the solution in the squirming rat. The transformation quickly took place and soon a shiny black stag beetle was scuttling around inside the container. At the same time the other rat suddenly changed form, growing in size as it transformed into a gray monitor lizard. It frantically clawed at the walls of its container.

“Whoa, that’s amazing! How’d you figure this one out doc?” asked Samantha while eyeing the newly-transformed lizard.

“Well, like most things in this world mass has to be conserved. Mass is energy and we can’t create or destroy any more of it, just transfer it from one state to another. Or in this case transfer the mass from one body to another. I suspected from the very beginning that transformations still followed the tried and true laws of energy and that every transformation was leeching its mass from some unknown source. With a bit of hard work and admittedly some luck I’ve managed to direct the flow of mass between sources for a transformation. Look over here at the readings,” Easton said and moved Samantha over to the computer console.

“See how these energy readings are coming off from both bodies?” the doctor asked. “They’re connected to each other. With any regular transformation we can only see the… lets call it output signal of the transformation. This signal reads: ‘hey! I want to transform into this thing. I need x amount of mass!’ I'll need some more research on this but my guess is the other signal is too far off for us to catch on our scanners. Heck, it could be coming from another dimension for all we know but that’s for another time. Anyways, what all of this boils down to is that, yes, transformations still follow the laws of conservation of energy.”

“Impressive work, doctor. But what determines which bodies the mass is shared between? And how come this second rat turned into a lizard instead of just growing into a bigger rat?” Samantha asked.

“Well… I’m still not too sure about that,” Easton replied. “All I could gather from my testing so far is two things. One, it picks the most related body nearby to transfer the mass between. This means something similar in shape and species. I haven’t managed to transfer mass between stuff like a plant and an animal. It’s only been between animals so far but the parameters can be tweaked to pick and choose which bodies of mass to transfer between. Right now this mixture searches for another rat nearby. The search can be broaden if one so desires. And two, the indirect transformation tends to take on any form that’s related to the new change in mass. So for example you can’t turn a rat into a giant rat that’s unrealistically large. Somehow the transformation adjusts for this and picks a different species to transform into that fits the new mass. This time it just so happened to transform the rat into a monitor lizard. It could have turned into anything like a cat, a large fish, or even an eagle.”

“And do you know how it chooses a new form?” replied Samantha.

“At this moment I do not know. That’s going to take a lot of testing to nail down but hopefully we’ll figure it out soon,” said Easton. The doctor sat down at the computer console to look over the results. Samantha was fixated on the two subjects who looked quite displeased at their new forms.

“Hey doc, can I turn them back to normal? Will anything weird happen or what?” asked Samantha as she peered over the table of mixtures.

“Go right ahead, Samantha. Everything should balance out just fine. Use the red mixture in the large beaker on the right. That should turn them both back to normal. In fact, you can inject it into the lizard to see how it works both ways,” replied Easton as he eagerly waited at the console. Samantha prepared a syringe and managed to wrangle down the lizard before injecting it with the mixture. Soon the two rats were back to normal squeaking away in their correct bodies.

“You continue to amaze me every day, doctor. Looks like we’ve got something special on our hands,” she commented and walked over to the doctor. She placed her hands on Easton’s shoulders while he squinted at the computer screen. Easton kept to himself, ignoring Samantha’s presence. The doctor could barely hold his excitement in while analyzing the plethora of new data. Easton then came up with a flashy idea.

“Hey, Samantha, you know… I haven’t tested this on people yet. Want to-”

“Be your test subject? Sure, I haven’t been transformed before and they say we should all get some experience in. I’m down,” she said and removed the pony tail holding her hair in.

“Great! Also, you won’t be the only test subject for this because I’ll join in too. I can’t wait to see how this goes! Hmm, since I asked first I think it would only be fair to let you choose what happens next. Do you want to, uhh, lose mass or gain it?” asked Easton.

“Well, I kinda like my height so I guess give me the extra mass. I don’t want to get any shorter,” Samantha replied.

“Alright! But do be warned: I don’t know what you’ll turn into once I inject myself. I’ve got a nice little concoction prepared just for this. It’s a fennec fox mixture! Just the right size to trigger a transformation between the two of us. Alright, here goes nothing!” said Easton and injected himself with a syringe. The transformation quickly took place. Easton’s ears started to extend greatly as they took on a triangular form, shifting towards the top of his head. Caramel colored fur began to grow all over his body. His mouth and nose shifted outwards, forming a tiny fox-like muzzle with little whiskers to boot. His eyes appeared to increase in size when it was actually his entire body that was shrinking by a considerable amount. Fingernails turned to dark claws and his hands and feet shifted into paws. The mixture was designed to have an anthropomorphic form so Easton continued to stand up straight despite his legs changing into digitigrade form. Fur had coated his entire body and a fluffy tail appeared from behind, signaling that the transformation was complete. Now as a small fennec fox the only thing Easton was left wearing was an oversized lab coat and shirt. He looked up to Samantha to notice she hadn’t changed at all.

“Aww, look how cute you are with those big pointy ears. Wait… why didn’t I transform? I thought you said it would affect me as well?” Samantha asked.

“I did. Oh no...” Easton said in a squeaky voice. It almost caught him off guard before he continued speaking. “Oh no no no this is bad, very bad!” Panic struck Easton as he scampered around the lab looking for something.

“What is it, doc? Where did the mass go?” Samantha said, watching the little fur ball run about the place.

“Where is it where is it where is it? That blasted little tracker I had it has to be in here somewhere! Oh, here it is,” said Easton, lifting a small electronic device. Small for a human, that is. The device was almost as big as him and he struggled to pull it out of the box. “You know how I said the two bodies had to be related? Well, either your body just wasn’t compatible or I messed up the parameters and we don’t have the time to find out. The mass must have found a suitable body somewhere else in the building, I hope. Take this, we can use it to track where the displaced mass went,” Easton said and handed the device to Samantha.

“Well, it couldn’t have gone too far, right? Right, Dr. Easton?” said Samantha in a worried tone.

“There's a chance it could be anywhere, I'm afraid. I had done some testing earlier with help from our associate lab down in Greenwood. We managed to transfer mass between the two places with no trouble at all,” replied Easton.

“Oh no, that’s pretty far. With that much distance who knows where it could have ended up,” said Samantha.

“No worries though, with so many employees here hopefully it found a compatible host nearby. I wonder what they’ll turn into… Oh, one more thing!” Easton exclaimed, interrupting his chain of thought. “Can you carry me? We really don’t have time to turn me back.”

“Sure thing, doc.” Samantha said with a smile and hoisted Easton up onto her shoulders, carrying him piggy-back style.

“Onward, my noble steed! There is trouble afoot and time is running out!” yelled Easton in the cutest voice ever. Samantha giggled and carried him out the door with scanner in hand. The two rushed down the hallway in a desperate attempt to find the unlucky victim.

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Duncan was about to enjoy the best part of any week: Wednesday lunch. Noon had just arrived and he was already off to take his lunch break. Wednesdays meant Slider Special was going on at the cafeteria and he was not going to miss out. Various meats could be seen lined up across the kitchen counter ranging from little hamburgers, pulled pork, to even spicy chicken. Each and every one of them just as delicious as the other. Duncan’s excitement was through the roof as he began piling the tiny sandwiches on his tray, making sure to sample every single flavor the cafeteria had to offer. Finally, after applying a liberal amount of barbecue sauce to each one and grabbing his favorite soda, Duncan was ready to enjoy the tower of sliders he expertly crafted. He paused for a moment to get mentally prepared then began to eat. Across the cafeteria a very important conversation was playing out.

“As you can see we offer a variety of foods in each cafeteria running twenty-four seven. Who knows when you’ll be in the labs overnight and need a quick snack?” said an enthusiastic young man acting as a guide. The conversation was being held between the quirky tour guide and a very well-dressed businessman who was intrigued by the luxurious dining options.

“Hmm, and what about meal plans? Do employees pay for all this out of their pockets?” asked the wealthy businessman.

“Nope! All of this is free of charge to all salaried employees here in the labs. Even custom orders are free. Want a pizza whenever it’s Taco Tuesday? Go right ahead! Our top-notch cooks will whip it up in no time. I’m sure you’re hungry right about now anyways. Care to take a break and enjoy some barbecue?” asked the young man.

“Yeah, I guess I am a bit hungry. I could go for a few burgers,” replied the businessman and the two stood in line near the counter. The entrepreneur was on a mission surveying the labs to see if it was worth investing in. He was a bit skeptical about the practicality of this new transformation science due to some recent events but kept a neutral bias all throughout the tour. If there was something worth investing in he would definitely see it here. For now his interests were set on having a good meal. Just then he noticed a glimmer from the middle of the cafe. There was a hefty fellow eating an enormous amount of food and had his back towards the kitchen counter. The businessman could see something strange going on with the top of his head. It almost looked like he was slowly losing hair. Maybe the man was bald to begin with and he just didn’t notice. His suspicion rose when he noticed the man’s dome darkened up. Just then the businessman accidentally bumped into the young guide in front of him

“Oh, sorry about that,” the businessman apologized.

“Don’t sweat it. Come on, get something to eat,” said the guide and both of them grabbed some sliders. Meanwhile, Samantha and Dr. Easton in tow began their pursuit of the missing mass.

“Alright, uhh, this way!” Samantha said and turned a corner. The tracker was beeping louder and louder with every step while other personnel gave them very confused looks as they rushed by.

“Hmm, shouldn’t be too far ahead. We’ll need to get the poor victim back to the testing chamber as soon as possible,” said Easton in his high pitched voice. He was holding on for dear life as Samantha barged through the hallways.

“So why couldn’t we just change you back in the lab again? Wouldn’t the mass return back to normal?” Samantha asked as she almost tripped over a cart. The employee pushing the card just stood in awe as he saw Samantha run away with the furry little doctor on her shoulders.

“It’s not that simple, at least not yet. I need to refine the specifications for the target bodies else I might just gain the mass from another unwilling host. Once we find our target I’ll be able to configure the transfer with more accuracy and turn us back to normal,” replied Easton. The tracker beeped even louder as they approached the end of the hall. “Looks like we’re almost there! It must be somebody the IT wing. I hope they’re not too upset about this seemingly random transformation.”

Samantha burst through the door and was greeted with various odd looks from IT personnel. Everyone seemed fine but were surprised by their abrupt entrance.

“I don’t see them and the tracker says we’re right on top of our target,” Samantha said as she scanned the multiple rows of office desks.

“Uhh, hello? Have any of you experienced a sudden transformation?” Easton piped up, presenting his tiny self to the crowd of onlookers. Most of the personnel just stared back wondering what this little fuzz ball was talking about while others shook their heads. “No? Sorry for the interruption we’re on a very important mission right now!”

“Doctor, I think I know why they’re not here. They’re on a different floor. Problem is, they could be in the cafeteria above us or in the labs below,” said Samantha as they made their exit from the IT department.

“Hmm, well it is lunch hour right about now. My guess is they’ll be in the cafeteria. More people means a bigger chance it found somebody there.” said Easton and the two backtracked down the hall.

Back at the cafeteria the two men had got their meal and sat down to eat. The businessman was still eyeing the odd fellow just a few tables away. His guide kept blabbering away at more details about the place but he wasn’t interested in that at the moment. He knew something was up with the porky fellow and wanted to see what would happen next. His patience was soon rewarded as more changes began to take place. Duncan was about one third of the way done with his meal and took a big sip from his soda. As he prepared to take another bite more hair began to fade. Soon the top of his head was completely bald and black scales began to etch themselves into his skin. Duncan’s mouth started to stretch itself all the way to his cheeks while the rest of his face grew the same dark scales. The scales made their way down his neck while expanding outwards and stretching the skin into a wide, flat shape. Underneath Duncan’s chin the scales changed color to a more yellowish tint while his head started to squash itself. Oblivious to his transformation Duncan managed to down another slider. More changes occurred as fangs grew at the front of his mouth. His nostrils moved towards the side and soon his nose was almost nonexistent, mouth pushing out to create a more boxy look. The flattening of his head also pushed his eyes right behind each nostril. They took on a more simple style as his pupils increased in size. Meanwhile, the hood forming around his neck was almost complete. Duncan’s entire neck started to grow upwards in length while more scales formed all across it. A forked tongue exposed itself for a quick second before retracting back into the mouth. The underside of Duncan’s neck took on an alternating pattern between black and yellow horizontal stripes while the backside kept its solid black tone. Duncan swallowed a few more sliders and still failed to recognize the changes. The businessman sat in silence as he saw the man’s head transform into that of a cobra. Others around him also noticed the transformation and panic slowly began to flow through the cafeteria. Unfortunately the changes weren’t done yet.

Samantha had just reached the other end of the hall near the elevators and rapidly pressed the down button. A moment later the doors slid open to reveal an almost empty elevator with only one occupant. Samantha hopped in and pressed the button for the next floor then waited. The female lab assistant inside was confused at the quirky animal resting upon Samantha’s back and had some awkward eye contact with Dr. Easton. She then noticed the nametag dangling from his oversized coat and made the connection.

“Dr. Easton? What happened to you? And what’s the rush?” the lady asked.

“Sorry Angela but we’re on an important mission right now. One of my experiments, well… backfired and now somebody else in the building has been transformed. You haven’t seen any sudden transformations occur right before your eyes have you?” the tiny doctor asked.

“No… you’ve been the weirdest thing I’ve seen today. Where are you guys headed?” Angela asked.

“To the cafeteria,” Samantha said. “The doctor here thinks our unwilling test subject might be in there.”

“It’s a complicated process that I don’t have time to explain right now but if everything goes well it’ll be the talk of the town!” Easton said excitedly. The elevator suddenly stopped at the next floor and the doors opened. A man waiting on the other side was surprised at Easton’s furry form while Samantha exited.

“Good luck on your mission, I guess,” Angela said and stayed put in the elevator. Samantha and the doctor continued their pursuit towards the cafeteria.

Back in the cafeteria more changes started to take shape. Continuing down from Duncan’s new cobra hood were more scales forming all over his body. Very soon both arms were covered in black scales. Once reaching his hands they shaped into a more bestial appearance. Two fingers merged together on each hand while claws started to jut out from each fingertip. Some barbecue sauce got on Duncan’s newly formed claws and he licked it off with his forked tongue, ignorant the loss of digits. The scales made more drastic changes to his body as he started to increase in size. Duncan’s chunky appearance shifted and his muscles took on more mass, appearing more refined and stronger than ever. His gut flattened out and toned abs started to form. The increase in muscle mass to his upper torso caused his shirt to stretch. A loud rip could be heard and the shirt tore itself apart, unable to contain Duncan’s huge gains. Eventually his upper torso stopped growing and a very bulky, shirtless Duncan sat in place continuing on with his meal. The whole cafeteria grew silent with the sudden rip and everyone was staring at Duncan’s hulking body. Panic broke out and people started to evacuate the area. The businessman just watched in horror while Duncan continued on with his transformations. His guide tried to make him budge but he stayed glued to his seat, hypnotized by what might happen next. Samantha and Easton were close by and noticed that panic was set in motion as employees ran against them away from the cafeteria.

“I think it might be too late doc. At least we were right about the location,” Samantha said while pushing through the flood of terrified people.

“Oh, I knew they would have been transformed by now. Good news is this makes finding them even easier,” Easton said, trying to stay positive. They just about made it to the cafeteria when the transformation was almost complete. Duncan’s legs started to merge into each other as scales sealed them together. Another loud rip could be heard and shreds of Duncan’s pants were scattered all around. The legs formed into one cylindrical mass and started growing to a great length. Thick, segmented scales formed on the bottom while the top was covered in a pitch black layer of smaller scales. The lower mass continued to grow, and grow, and grow, until finally tapering out at the end to a small point. Finally, the transformation was complete and so was Duncan’s meal. He took one final sip and let out a sigh of relief. Except it wasn’t a sigh and more like a shallow hissing noise. Duncan was surprised by his forked tongue producing such a sound and reality smacked him right in the snout. Feeling around Duncan quickly noticed the changes that he had developed. His flat head, the increased height, bigger muscles, and the extended hood all put fear into Duncan’s mind. He looked behind him to notice his extremely thick snake-like body extending out to almost 20 feet long. Duncan finally lost it and let out a loud hiss combined with his screaming. Samantha reached the cafeteria just in time to witness Duncan’s road.

“Whoa, that’s a big one,” Samantha said and kept her distance. She could tell Duncan was extremely scared and saw him rolling about the place trying to control his squirming body.

“Hmm, I really messed up the parameters this time,” Easton said, eyeing the gigantic king cobra as he flailed about. “They must have gained some extra mass from some other source because I definitely didn’t lose that much.” He hopped down from Samantha’s shoulders and the two slowly approached Duncan. He managed to coil himself up and was hiding underneath his hood. The businessman noticed Samantha and Easton’s entrance and followed cautiously from a distance. Easton tapped on Duncan’s flat head to get his attention.

“Why’d it have to be a snake? Why why why? I hate snakes I hate ‘em I hate ‘em I hate ‘em!” Duncan repeated to himself with his arms over his head.

“Hey there, are you okay? What's your name?” Easton asked in the calmest and cutest voice ever. Duncan lifted his head to look at the adorable fox-like creature presented before him.

“M-my name's Duncan and no… I just turned into a giant snake, I’m not okay!” Duncan hissed back at Easton before covering his head again.

“Now now, don’t be so upset Duncan. I’m sure it was just an honest mistake,” Easton said before winking back at Samantha. “Hey, look at me. I got transformed too, see? Look how big and silly my ears are!” Easton started to hop around holding his ears up to the side. Samantha giggled at the dancing doctor who was trying to cheer up poor Duncan. Even the businessman let out a chuckle which got Samantha’s attention. She gave him a quick glance and he tried to stop laughing by covering it up with a fake cough.

“Heh, you are kinda cute,” Duncan said as he started to ease up. The length of his head was already towering over the doctor’s short stature. The doctor kept jumping about and Duncan's mood slowly improved.

“You feeling better now? Come on, I can change the both of us back to normal!” Easton said to Duncan.

“Uhh, I don’t know how to walk, er… slither, I guess,” Duncan said, looking back at his trailing body.

“Oh, it’s very simple! Just think of a wave flowing through your body! You know how waves on a graph look in motion, right?” Easton asked.

“Yeah, I guess…” Duncan said and tried moving his body about. Very soon he was slithering around in an awkward motion.

“There you go, look at you slither around the place. See? It’s no big issue. You just gotta keep that up! Now, follow me and I’ll get us both fixed up in my lab,” Easton said and started to march back towards the elevators with Duncan following behind. Samantha also followed suit before noticing the businessman looking on with awe.

“You’re not from around here, are you? You a guest or something? Sorry you had to see all that I’m sure it was quite terrifying. This doesn’t happen on a constant basis trust me,” Samantha said to the man.

“Oh no no no it’s totally fine. Actually, seeing the whole experience was quite exhilarating I must say. I’ve never seen somebody transform before. Excuse me, this is extremely rude of myself, I’m Mr. Nelson,” he said and extended out his hand. Samantha reluctantly shook it before he continued speaking. “I was here today taking a tour of the place. My company has been searching around quite a while for something new to invest in. Up until now I haven’t seen any actual transformations yet. Everything my guide showed me was just boring offices and bland hallways. What I just witnessed sure was breathtaking. Would you care if I joined you and your fuzzy companion back to your lab? I’m sure it would be a very worthwhile experience if that’s okay with you.”

“If you’re looking for some real lab experience then sure you can tag along. Just don’t touch anything for your own sake, but you already knew that I bet. Come on,” Samantha said and took Mr. Nelson back to the elevator. Down the way they could see Easton struggling to fit Duncan’s unwieldy body inside the cramped cube.

“By the way, I’m Samantha. That furry fellow of mine is Dr. Easton, I’m just his assistant,” Samantha said to Mr. Nelson.

“Well, Samantha, lets hope this doctor of yours can fix up that poor fellow. If everything goes well then I might just consider investing into this place,” Mr. Nelson said.