The Gorgon Experience--Verse II

Story by Hardcover on SoFurry

, , , , ,


Here's the follow up to The Gorgon Experience, which I finally got around to a whole two years after the first chapter. In this one, Megara and Dr. Turnbuckle are off trying to assemble the Eye Of Demeter before the mysterious stolen box from last chapter can be used, it takes the good Doctor into a whole bar full of mythological creatures, and encounter with another figure out of myth, and a life changing experience.

------------------------------------------------------------

THE GORGON

EXPERIENCE:

VERSE II

By Hardcover

The city of Prague, the capital city of The Czech Republic, can be downright creepy late at night.

Situated on the Vltava River in central Bohemia, Prague has been the political, cultural and economic centre of the Czech state for more than 1,100 years. For many decades during the Gothic and Renaissance eras, Prague was the permanent seat of two Holy Roman Emperors and thus was also the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. Today, the city proper is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 1.9 million. It is, obviously, a very old city, filled with those aging stone structures of Gothic design and those narrow, dark streets filled with cobblestones. The effect at night can be dreadfully unnerving, to the point where you're jumping at almost every shadow.

And if you're slipping out of those dark narrow streets and into one of the city's largest and oldest cemeteries, well that makes the matters even worse. Prague's Olsanske cemetery is by far the largest graveyard in the city. It is the final resting place of over a million people, including many of the leading figures of the Czech national revival and scholars and artists. You can also find there the graves of Czech legionaries from the First World War, as well as Commonwealth and Russian soldiers who lost their lives on Czechoslovak territory during the Second World War. Surrounded by busy thoroughfares from all sides, the Olsanske cemetery is never a quiet place although on a weekday night like right now, it is nearly deserted. The older parts, close to the metro station Flora, are sometimes a painful sight. Among the greenery, sandstone tombs, a couple of centuries old, are nearly falling apart, their roofs caved in. Some of them have their doorways bricked up to stop unwanted guests from using them as toilets or places to sleep.

But in the oldest part of the cemetery, the view is a little more optimistic. The eye is attracted by small white tablets scattered among the graves with photos and texts paying tribute to some of the long departed. That's the work of Roman Catholic priest Milos Szabo and his parishioners from the nearby district of Zizkov. The first dead were buried in Olsany in 1680 during a plague. A chapel, now outside the cemetery, commemorates the epidemic. In 1787, Emperor Joseph II made Olsany the central cemetery for Prague. Located outside the city walls, it was a safer burial place than the old graveyards in an already overcrowded city.

The old, weather beaten slab of stone casts eerie shadows in the moonlight, adding the unnerving feeling of the place. And if you happen to have come here on a night flooded with thick fog, then that only makes the problem worse, the soupy grey can limit you vision, making the scene even more sinister, and adding to a sense of unease.

This can be made yet even creepier by the incessant hissing coming from the head of your companion.

My name is Dr. James Turnbuckle, and I was slipping into this ancient cemetery with aid of a gorgon named Megara.

It's a long story, but through my research into the myths and legends of the ancient world, I discovered evidence of the location of the famous Isle Of The Dead, home to the legendary gorgons. I had traveled there in hopes of finding some evidence of the truth behind the myth. I had expected to find some trace or evidence; I certainly had not expected to find a real live gorgon. Let alone find myself having sex with one, but that is what happened. It was quite a surprise when I did, and even more surprised to find her to be more or less like a twenty something party girl.

Unfortunately, while we had been having fun, a rival of mine; a glorified grave robber named Hanz Tolber, had snuck onto the island and breeched the vault that lay in ts depths. It turns out, the island was a storage place for many mythical objects, and one gorgon always guarded it. Tolber had stolen some kind of box that Megara told me was the most dangerous thing in there. She had still not told me what the box was or what was in it.

It was no use trying to follow him, so Megara had insisted we stop him from opening it. It would take him a long time to figure it out, so that gave us, hopefully, enough time of our own to do so. To stop him, we needed an amulet called the Eye Of Demeter. Megara had it, but it was incomplete. I was later to find out that we only had the center piece. The pieces that fit along the edge were scattered all over the world; and we would need to find all of them to prevent the box from being opened. Megara only knew where the first one was.

Exactly what was in the box, and what we were supposed to find with the Eye Of Demeter Megara remained conspicuously vague.

This is what brought us here.

I glanced over at my peculiar companion; Megara was exceedingly beautiful in her unearthly way: With a round, lovely face and a curvaceous figure filled with sensuous curves. Contrary to the popular image, Megara did have hair, a long black main that ran down her shoulders. But it was almost invisible under the writhing mass of snakes that poked out through it, twisting and slithering around her head with a chorus of hisses. Her skin was a shade of dark green, making her look a bit like a Martian in some old 1950s sci-fi film.

Her wide eyes were possessed of yellow irises pierced with the long narrow pupils of a serpent. Her ears were pointed slightly, and next to each one hung the tale of a rattle snake with sounded when she was angry or excited. When she smiled, her canine teeth seemed to be stunted, but when she needed to, the unfolded into a pair of long thin fangs. I had little doubt that they were as venomous as any snake's.

She wore a black sheer, backless gown that exposed more then it hid, a trait not unusual to the exhibitionist Megara, who loved being naked more then she liked clothes. Over her shoulders she wore a long cloak, with a hood that was now pulled back. Her large cleavage was exposed and tempting, the dress slit up the sides of her rounded hips.

I knew, under that dress lurked a bit of a surprise: Megara was a futanari, a hermaphrodite, possessing both a fully functional vagina and a penis. As I was told, most mythics (Megara's word for creatures that inspired man's myths and legends) were futas; it was a common trait in their hidden world. Still, Megara's voluptuous beauty and enthusiastic sexuality made her a joy to be with, in case you were wondering how I got roped into this mad caper so easily. Well, the end of the world and all that stuff was pretty good motivator too.

We moved back and forth, moving amongst the tombstones, Megara leading the way through the darkness. I followed her nervously, glancing about myself. It wasn't just the willies; I could swear I was hearing movement out there in the fog, and a lot of it. I squinted my eyes, but I couldn't see anything. But I knew it wasn't my imagination, there was something out there, remaining just out of sight.

"Come on, Doc." Megara said looking back over her shoulder, "Stay with me, don't get lost."

"So, the first piece is in here somewhere, hidden in a tomb, I suppose?" I asked her.

"No, a fried has it." Megara said simply.

What friend she meant she didn't elaborate on. We continued moving, and the further we went into the cemetery, the more my uneasiness grew. I could definitely hear scratching and shuffling all around us, far too much to be only one. Whatever was out there, it was out there in large numbers. I pulled a little closer behind her, reassured by her immortal presence for whatever illogical reasons.

Before we left the island, I had met one other gorgon, a small girl named Kia who looked like she was about fourteen but I was well aware that she was much, much, older. Weirdly, she had tied both her hair AND her snakes in high pigtails on either side of her head. Kia remained behind to guard the rest of the items while Megara and went off to stop certain disaster from happening. She would also use the net to monitor Tolber's movements and alert us if anything seemed to be happening, and to arrange travel when necessary. I got the impression there was some kind of rivalry between the two of them, because it seemed a little tense.

Enrique, the ship captain who had taken me to the Island had not been happy about my going ashore there. He was much less happy about me returning with a gorgon in tow (to say nothing of the huge amounts of baggage Megara brought with her: six suitcases in all . . . I think she packed her entire house). However, during the trip, Megara's friendly attitude and party girl personae had endeared her to most of his crew, especially her penchant for going naked on deck. I think everyone had her at least twice on that trip. It had taken us several different modes of transport to get to Prague, but we'd made it without being discovered.

We'd had plenty of time to talk, and I had found Megara to be a rather stimulating conversationalist, talking fluidly and intelligently on a whole breadth of subjects. Her joyful, easy going manner may have made some people believe her to be stupid, but I found quite the opposite.

To my surprise, I found out that I had a rather large readership amongst the mythics; which went a long way to explain how I could remain on bestseller lists but no one ever came to my book signings. As it was, the mythics remained hidden from normal humans, living out their lives in a complex J.K. Rowling-ish secret world. At first I worried that Megara may have gotten into trouble for revealing it to me, but I found I was on a very small list of mortals who were considered worthy of being brought into the society should the need arise.

It kind of made me proud.

More of that sound could be heard, and I realized with a shiver that it was getting closer. Icy fingers clawed at my spine as I now could see hunched over shadows moving in the fog all around us. My grip on Megara's hand tightened.

"Megara . . ." I started.

"I know." She replied simply.

"What are they?" I asked in a hushed voice.

"Ghouls." She told me, "Looking for a meal. But don't worry, the almost never attack a mortal when he's with a mythic."

'Almost' wasn't exactly a soothing choice of words. Not a good thing to say to someone who remembers being scared out of their mind as a little kid by a late night showing of Night Of The Living Dead. Damn George Romero and his unflappable direction. It must have registered on my face because Megara attempted a reassuring smile and put one green arm around my shoulders.

"Don't worry, Doc." She said, "I'll protect you. I need you, and I like you, so don't worry."

For good measure, she kissed me on the cheek. Still my eyes were drawn to the fog, for I could now definitely see the shadowy forms moving closer and closer to us, and could make out a slightly humanoid like shape in the soupy gloom, the wheezing, groaning sounds seemed to come from everywhere at once as Megara led us towards her goal. I noticed her snakes had started to move with an agitated urgency.

Those snakes were still sort of mystery; I had no idea whether they were really separate animals or a part of her. They definitely responded to her emotional states; probably one of the reasons she was so forward: Her snakes gave away her every sentiment, not to mention those rattlers on the ears. Like right now, they were giving away that she was not as calm about the monsters surrounding us as she was pretending. Granted, the warmth and closeness of her body next to mine did somehow make me feel a little less apprehensive. Ah, the magic of D-Cup breasts . . . even if they were green.

I could now make out the figures surrounding us more clearly; and they definitely were not as appealing as the gorgon on my arm. I couldn't make out their features clearly, but I could see their general anatomy. Their grotesqueness was almost impossible to describe; they looked like some kind of ungodly cross between a bat, a gorilla and Gollum from The Lord Of The Rings. They paced and stalked back and forth, their faces turned in out direction. No matter which way they turned or moved, their faces continued to stare at us.

It happened as we passed a medium sized mausoleum, flanked in the front by a statue of a weeping angel. One of the ghouls suddenly cried out and leapt on top of the stone construction, hissing malevolently. With its full face in view, I can't begin to describe how ugly and horrific the thing was. Its pale sickly grey skin seemed stretched over its corpse like features, almost like a shriveled up old mummy. Its eyes were sunk deep into its head, and were black as the night itself. It had no nose, that I could see, and huge bat like ears topped its head.

With horror, I realized it was going to attack.

Without missing beat, Megara suddenly threw herself between me and the ghoul, pushing me to the side. Suddenly, her eyes changed, turning from yellow to a bright green color, glowing the same green brilliantly. Like a pair of head lights, the glow shot out of her eyes in two beams, easier to see in the fog, while her ears rattled and all her snakes suddenly pointed their heads in the direction of the ghouls. There was a high pitched whining sound and then the crackling sound of hardening stone.

It was over in an instant: In the blink of an eye, the live creature was suddenly a stone gargoyle sitting atop a grave. After a few seconds, if fell over, smashing into pieces with a loud crash as it hit the ground. What had once been a living breathing creature was now a pile of rocks.

It was the first time I had ever seen Megara do that.

It was hard not to stare at her in horror. I had always known she had the capability, but I had never seen the act before. The sheer murderous efficiency of it was terrifying in and of itself. I noticed that as she grabbed my hand and moved us away, Megara didn't meet my eyes. The other ghouls instantly scattered, running off into the darkness with terrified squeal, no longer seeming as frightening. As we made our way deeper into the graveyard, Megara finally stopped and turned to me.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." She said, "I know it's frightening."

I exhaled, "Yeah, I understood you were capable, it's just . . ."

Megara stepped forward, getting very close to me, her body almost touching mine. The warmth of her from made me relax a bit as she looked down with those wide yellow eyes. I was surprised to see a look of hurt in them, an almost poignant expression of sadness. She put her green arms around and looked at me, her snakes writhing slowly on her head.

"I did that to protect you, ya know." She told me.

I nodded, "I know, and I realize I'm being silly . . ."

"I . . . really like you." She said, "I've been a reader of yours for years, but, now I know I really like the man as well. You're one of the few mortals to really just accept me, and just like me for who I am. I need you for this, its true, but I like being with you as well."

"Megara, I like you too . . ." I started.

It was cut off as she kissed me, this time full on the mouth, her snakes hissing around my head. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close, the warmth of her body erasing all doubts as I felt her large breasts press up against my chest. Ah, once again the magic of D-Cups. My lips moved against hers and very suddenly I could feel the bulge of her erection against my crotch.

As we made out, in that dark fog enshrouded cemetery, I began to wonder of our attractions for each other was something more then just physical.

We broke the kiss and were quiet for a second, just looking at each other until she spoke.

"We . . . we have to keep going." She said at last.

Again, she took me by the hand, and took me deeper into the cemetery. I said nothing else, but the moment there left me thinking: It was an insane attraction, if, indeed, there was something more then just a physical attraction between the two of us. I thought about it; I did find that I enjoyed her company tremendously and sex with her was astonishing to say the least, once I accepted the fact that she had a penis. Megara was quite intelligent, despite her drunken party girl like personality. But I was mortal, and she was a gorgon, and it certainly wasn't an option to bring Megara, snakes and all, home to meet my parents.

My thoughts were distracted as we went deeper into the cemetery, and I thought I could hear music. The further we got to the old section of the grave yard, the more I was sure I could hear it. We moved through a series of large mausoleums, those big house shaped concrete structures with metal gates on the front of them and steps leading up to the tomb, and then on through a series of brushes. The music continued to play; an uppity number and I could now make out the sound of singing.

"When the crypt goes creak, And the tombstones quake. Spooks come out for a swinging wake. Happy haunts materialize, And begin to vocalize. Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize."

Was that . . . were they singing . . . wasn't that from . . .? Naw, it couldn't be; I told myself. We crossed through the thickets and then found ourselves looking down at a much lower section of the graveyard. And everywhere I could see human shapes, as if a massive party were under way. Although they were distinctly human figures, they all seemed to be slightly wrong: Each one was a pale grey or white color, and as they moved I realized that they were all slightly transparent.

"And don't try to hide. Or a silly spook may sit by your side. Shrouded in a daft disguise, They pretend to terrorize. Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize."

Also their clothes all seemed to be of different eras: all of them out of date by a few decades at least; quite a lot of them outdated by several hundred years. And they were everywhere, dancing, talking, and moving about. I could see the music came from a full band of spectral performers who moved around the graves playing their song with ghoulish delight. Everywhere was activity; one of them rode around on an antique bicycle, and I even saw one couple making out.

I rubbed my eyes as I stared at the scene; for I was quite certain that I was looking at ghosts.

"Megara . . . I see dead people." I murmured.

She grinned at me, "This is always a party, and some of these dead people really know how to live."

Ba dum bum bum.

She continued, "But anyways, were' not going here, where we need to go is over on the other side."

We moved down the path, coming around the graveyard. Various ghosts stopped and greeted us; it was entirely a surreal experience to be polite to specters, but that's what I found myself doing was we came around. Unexpectedly, a group of female ghosts in Victorian era dress popped up and flashed their breasts at us, giggling and clearly drunk (although how exactly a ghost can get drunk, I have no idea.) and having a blast. We both gave them a thumbs up and kept moving.

"How can they have parties like this?" I asked her, "This is pretty busy city, wouldn't the locals notice?"

Megara shook her head, "Not everyone can see them. You probably had some ability to see them before, people with your level of intelligence usually do, but all your contact with me has tuned you in to our world."

Eventually, we came to one of the biggest mausoleums I had seen in the cemetery, a huge and very old stone structure that seemed to be as big as the living room in your average house, all done up in a gothic sort of architecture complete with small pointed turrets. The front of the tomb was a large iron door with wide bolts all around it, rusted and weathered with age. The door was absurdly large, towering at least over eight feet and being about five feet wide. A small rectangular viewing window sat closed in the top half of the door about six and a half feet up. Megara stepped up to the door and knocked.

After a second, the small window opened and a monstrously large eye peered through, looking down at us. Whatever this was, it must have been huge.

"Who dares . . .?" The booming voice demanded, causing me to flinch.

I had a sudden urge to put myself between Megara and the eye, but I pushed it aside, reminding myself that Megara knew what she was doing.

"It's me, Thoth." Megara said, "Would you can the theatrics and let us the fuck in, please?"

"Oh, it's you, Megara." The Thoth's voice softened as he saw her, "Come on in."

There was a heaving groan and screech of metal, the sound of a large bold being slung back, and then the massive metal door swung outward and Thoth appeared, beckoning us inside. Seeing him in full was a complete surprise. To begin, the one eye we had seen through the window, was the only eye he had, located right in the center of his forehead. Thoth was some kind of Cyclops, He had no hair, and large pointed ears, and his whole body was covered in a brownish, leathery skin, the muscles on his body taunt and ripped. His mouth was large and his teeth thicker then on a normal persons.

He was dressed, interestingly enough, in a black T-shirt and matching black jeans. And he seemed to be wearing a walkie talkie on his belt, but wore no shoes on his feet.

But what was the most surprising was that he was couldn't have been much over four feet tall! A ladder behind him revealed how he had been able to reach the window, and it was only the disproportionately large side of his eye that had given me the impression of a massive being behind that door.

Diminutive size aside, a thrill ran through me: This was a real honest to goodness live Cyclops! Never in my life had I dreamed that I'd see one. I knew the myths about them, of course: In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, a Cyclops, is a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of its forehead. The classical plural is Cyclopes, though the conventional plural Cyclopeses is also used in English. The name is widely thought to mean "circle-eyed".

Hesiod described one group of Cyclopes and the epic poet Homer described another, though other accounts have also been written by the playwright Euripides, poet Theocritus and Roman epic poet Virgil. In Hesiod's Theogony, Zeus releases three Cyclopes, the sons of Uranus and Gaia, from the dark pit of Tartarus. They provide Zeus' thunderbolt, Hades' helmet of invisibility, and Poseidon's trident, and the gods use these weapons to defeat the Titans. In a famous episode of Homer's Odyssey, the hero Odysseus encounters the Cyclops Polyphemus, the son of Poseidon and a Nereid (Thoosa), who lives with his fellow Cyclopes in a distant country. The connection between the two groups has been debated in antiquity and by modern scholars. It is upon Homer's account that Euripides and Virgil based their accounts of the mythical creatures.

And here was one, dressed like a bouncer in a strip bar. His small size reminded me of the vast difference between the myths and the reality of the creatures that born them.

"Well, come on in," Thoth told us, "The night's still young and the party is just getting started."

The door led to a high wide chamber the ran a few feet leading to a tall but narrow arch that open on flight of stairs leading down to another door at the bottom. A slight glow could be seen at the bottom. The stairs were lit dimly buy a series of dull lamps on the ceiling. We both followed Toth as he led us down to the bottom of the stairs, far under the mausoleum. At the bottom was another door, this one wooden and ornately carved, padded with deep red leather across the full length of the midsection. Above the door, I saw that the source of the glow was a large neon sign buzzing lightly over the entrance.

The sign read "The Horny Unicorn"

I rolled my eyes at the awful pun. Toth fished a ring of keys off of his belt and unlocked the door, waving us in with one thick hand. On the other side of the door, I was surprised to find a turnstile, and thick red curtain. We passed through and pushed through the curtain, and into the room beyond. I almost thought I'd faint when I saw it.

The place looked like some kind of weird cross between a dance club, the bar from Cheers, and the cantina from Star Wars. Hell, the cantina had nothing on this place. Tables and booths were spread all over the wide room we were in, and to our right was a huge rectangular full service bar. And to the far side on the left was a wide dance floor. On the very far side of the room I saw a stage, raised high off the ground.

And everywhere fantastical creatures of myth and legend moved here and there. Not all, I noticed, of the Greek variety. A more unusual gathering in all the world I had never been to. Centaurs, Cyclops, Kappa, trolls, nerids, and all the like seemed to be packed into the club and the room was jumping. Harpies perched on the backs of chairs, bare breasted and chatting amiably with huge muscle-bound Minotaurs, half serpent half female Lamias danced with goat hoofed Satyrs. Everywhere there was something going on.

On the far side of the room I spotted an enormous fish tank, filled with rare colorful fish that I had never seen before, and to my surprise I saw that also there were what appeared to be three actual mermaids floating and dancing under the water like aquatic cage dancers, their long fish tails undulating under the liquid, their large breasts shamelessly bare and displayed for all to see. They grinned and danced, wiggling in a surreal ballet in liquid space. The effect was almost hypnotic.

As we walked in, Megara waved to the crowd, "Hi, everybody."

"Megara!" Several patrons called back ridiculously in unison.

"How are you, Megara?" The bartender asked her polishing off a glass.

Interesting: if this place was the bar from Cheers, then Megara was apparently Norm. Though admittedly with a much better figure then George Wendt.

Megara approached the bar tender, a small woman probably under three feet tall with long black hair running down her back and huge pointed ears that went taller then her head. Megara leaned over the bar and talked to the odd elf like woman. I realized she was one of the Fairie from Norse mythology.

Fairy comes from the Old French word faerie. The word has been overused to describe a supernatural being. There is a great deal of difference in classifying a being as a fairy from the medieval literature and those from modern literature, especially those belonging to the Celtic tradition.

There are other traditions such as that found in English, German and Slavic folklores.

Today, when we think of fairies, we often visualize them as tiny, supernatural beings with wings and glowing with uncommon light in today's children fairy tales. And they also possessed some sorts of strange magical powers, like Tinklebell in the story of Peter Pan or the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella. The modern fairies, between the 18th and 20th century, comes from oral tradition before they were transmitted into writing.

The fairies are supernatural beings that can be best described by the Greek word - daimon, which means "spirit". They are not divinity, ie. god or goddess, in the usual sense of the word, and yet they are not mere mortal; often, it is easier to classify them as minor divinity.

However, if we look at the idea of fairies, then you would find that have been around a lot longer than everyone expects. Perhaps the earliest form of faeries can be found loosely in the mythical beings in Greek mythology, such as the nymphs, satyrs and sileni. The nymphs from ancient Greek myths can be considered as fairies and they existed as early as the time of Homer writing the Iliad and the Odyssey. Even the river gods in Greek myths can be classified as fairies. These are spirits or minor deities of nature or of the natural phenomena.

And then, there are household or guardian spirits that can be found in Roman religion and mythology, such as the Penates, Lares and Genii.

The Norse versions of the fairies are the wide variety of elves and the dísir that exist in the Teutonic traditions. The Valkyries could also be classified as fairies.

"Hey, what up, Piff?" She said, "Listen, I need to see . . ."

I didn't hear what she said because I was distracted by something. All around the bar were circular stages with brass poles running to the ceiling. On each one, girls in skimpy leather outfits, the kind of thing that makes them look more naked then when they're actually naked, did their bump and grind with ecstatic enthusiasm. I had seen them when I walked in, but now that I could see them up close, I noticed that they all had red skin, and when one of them turned smile and wink at me, I saw that she had three eyes, the third one being right in the middle of their foreheads.

I was an expert in mythology, and I had no idea what these girls were.

Megara came up behind me and put a hand on my shoulder, pulling me away from the odd sights, "The person we need to see is up next, come on, and let's grab a seat."

As we made our way forward, I noticed Piff standing behind a large centaur, angrily gesturing towards the ground, "Not cool, ya' hear me! Not cool! You take that business outside! Now clean up this mess!"

As we sat down at one of the tables I realized it had to be open mic night because a huge troll like creature of some kind was grumbling his way through a train wreck of a rendition of "You're So Vain" that mutilated Carly Simon in ways Dave Mustane never dreamed of. I winced; this was worse then any karaoke night full of drunken frat boys that I had ever witnessed, and having been a professor at Berkeley, that was an unfortunate amount. As we sat down I glanced at Megara and all her waving snakes. She chuckled looking at the performance. Within a second, we were both laughing under our breath.

I had a sudden flashback to hearing Megara's dreadful singing on the island, and began to hope to whatever gods might be listening that she didn't get up on stage.

A waitress appeared with two drinks, apparently something Megara had ordered while at the bar. The waitress herself was dressed in a small white Greek style tunic, and came equipped with four arms and three breasts. She appeared to be of Indian decent. She placed the glasses in front of us smiling gleefully and then rushed off to the next table.

I sampled the drink, and found it sweet and tasty, starting to sip it faster. It was a marvelous elixir, Megara had ordered well. I wondered what it was called, as I did not recognize the taste. I sure felt the effects fast, however, as my head began to swim a little as soon as I had downed a few sips.

After the troll had finished, he lumbered off stage and a scaled, red eyed demon like creature stepped up to the mike. He turned out to be the MC for the night as he spoke with a game show host like voice.

"Alright, our next performance of the night is the one you've all been waiting for. You know, you love her, it's everyone's favorite queen of the underworld! Let's give a round of applause for . . . Persephone!"

I blinked and almost gasped as everyone applauded and the lights dimmed; could it be? The legendary Persephone was here in this tacky bar. In Greek mythology, Persephone (usually pronounced /p?r?s?f?ni?/ in modern English; also called Kore or Cora) was the Queen of the Underworld, the kor? (or young maiden), and a daughter of Demeter and Zeus. In the Olympian version, she also becomes the consort of Hades when he becomes the deity that governs the underworld.

The figure of Persephone is well-known today. Her story has great emotional power: an innocent maiden, a mother's grief over her abduction and great joy after her daughter is returned. It is also cited frequently as a paradigm of myths that explain natural processes, with the descent and return of the goddess bringing about the change of seasons.

In Greek art, Persephone is invariably portrayed robed. She may be carrying a sheaf of grain and smiling demurely with the "Archaic smile" of the Kore of Antenor. There is an archaic role for Persephone as the dread queen of the Underworld, whose very name it was forbidden to speak. In The Odyssey, commonly dated circa 800 to 600 BC, when Odysseus goes to the Underworld, he refers to her as the IronQueen. Her central myth, for all its emotional familiarity, was also the tacit context of the secret initiatory mystery rites of regeneration at Eleusis, which promised immortality to their awe-struck participants--an immortality in her world beneath the soil, feasting with the heroes who dined beneath her dread gaze.

The story of her abduction is traditionally referred to as the Rape of Persephone. In the later Olympian pantheon of Classical Greece, Persephone is given a father: according to Hesiod's Theogony, Persephone was the daughter produced by the union of Demeter and Zeus: "And he [Zeus] came to the bed of bountiful Demeter, who bore white-armed Persephone, stolen by Hades from her mother's side" Unlike every other offspring of an Olympian pairing of deities, Persephone has no stable position at Olympus. Persephone used to live far away from the other deities, a goddess within Nature herself before the days of planting seeds and nurturing plants. In the Olympian telling, the gods Hermes, Ares, Apollo, and Hephaestus, had all wooed Persephone; but Demeter rejected all their gifts and hid her daughter away from the company of the Olympian deities. Thus, Persephone lived a peaceful life before she became the goddess of the underworld, which, according to Olympian mythographers, did not occur until Hades abducted her and brought her into it. She was innocently picking flowers with some nymphs--, Athena, and Artemis, the Homeric hymn says--, or Leucippe, or Oceanids-- in a field in Enna when Hades came to abduct her, bursting through a cleft in the earth. Later, the nymphs were changed by Demeter into the Sirens for not having interfered. Life came to a standstill as the devastated Demeter, goddess of the Earth, searched everywhere for her lost daughter. Helios, the sun, who sees everything, eventually told Demeter what had happened.

Finally, Zeus, pressed by the cries of the hungry people and by the other deities who also heard their anguish, forced Hades to return Persephone. However, it was a rule of the Fates that whoever consumed food or drink in the Underworld was doomed to spend eternity there. Before Persephone was released to Hermes, who had been sent to retrieve her, Hades tricked her into eating three pomegranate seeds, (six, seven, eight, or perhaps four according to the telling) which forced her to return to the underworld for a season each year. In some versions, Ascalaphus informed the other deities that Persephone had eaten the pomegranate seeds. When Demeter and her daughter were united, the Earth flourished with vegetation and color, but for some months each year, when Persephone returned to the underworld, the earth once again became a barren realm. This is an origin story to explain the seasons.

In an earlier version, Hecate rescued Persephone. On an Attic red-figured bell krater of ca 440 BCE in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Persephone is rising as if up stairs from a cleft in the earth, while Hermes stands aside; Hecate, holding two torches, looks back as she leads her to the enthroned Demeter. In the earliest known version the dreaded goddess, Persephone, was herself Queen of the Underworld (Burkert or Kerenyi).

The curtain parted, revealing a simple wide set of black steps on which several of the three eyed girls stood wearing black bikini like outfits that left little if anything to the imagination. Behind them was a painted back drop of a huge tower in the midst of a dark foreboding landscape, which I took to be a representation of the underworld itself. As the music started, the girls began to dance and a black light was turned on, illuminating florescent paint on their bodies in the shapes of skeletons. When ever the lights went low, it looked like just skeletons dancing. The music sounded like a strange cross between gypsy music and big band.

From up in the middle of the steps, a trap door opened, and a lithe female figure rose out. This, I decided, must be Persephone. And I was pretty sure she was also the one we were here to see, the one who possessed the first piece of The Eye Of Demeter. She rose up out of the door, and turned around to face the audience. Applause ran through the whole room.

My mouth dropped open: Persephone looked NOTHING like any of the representations I had ever seen of her. Perhaps fittingly, she reminded me a bit, in her facial appearance, of English actress Kate Beckinsale. True, she was exceedingly beautiful, but she was also so completely alien in her features. She was definitely not entirely human.

Persephone's skin and hair were a flat chalk white color the shade of sour cream. She had dyed the ends and bangs of her hair with streaks of black (or perhaps it was naturally like that, you never know), and it hung down strait spilling down over her shoulders where it curled slightly at the bottoms. Her eyes were completely black, and I could discern no iris or pupils within them. They seemed to be shiny black pools within her head. Her lips were full and luscious, but colored a slight grey shade. Two small black horns protruded from her forehead, curving up to her scalp. Her fingernails were also black, but I suspected that was just polish. A thin white tail extended from her back side, swishing behind her.

I was reminded again of the vast difference between the myths I knew, and the reality. If Persephone had been human originally, as in the myths, then years in the Underworld had definitely made their mark.

She was dressed in a tight black one piece bathing suit that was more or less like a bikini with material running down the stomach linking the top and bottom halves. Much of her white flesh was exposed, and she moved down the steps on large high heeled boots with seductive movements of her body. With that tight outfit, I could see a thick bulge in her crotch that made no doubt of the fact that, like most mythics, Persephone was most likely a futa. I shifted in my seat; just the thought of her being like Megara in that way was starting to turn me on. It would seem Megara had successfully introduced me to a whole new fetish.

With a microphone in her hand, and dancing with erotically charged bumps and grinds, Persephone began to sing in a low, slightly growling Jazz style voice.

She sang: "A Minotaur's my butler, a Cyclops my valet A Centaur draws my chariot that takes me down the way Through a river made of fire to a street that's paved with bones I got a dozen zombie skeletons to walk me to my throne

"In the land of the dead Heck boy, ain't it grand? I'm the overlord of the underworld Cause I hold Horror's Hand In the land of the dead I'm darkside royalty I'm far renowned in the underground And you can't take that from me

"Whoa! (whoa) Whoa! (whoa) Whoa! (whoa) Oow! Oow! Oow! Oow! Oow!"

They all spun and danced, and then, as the music hit a high note, they all pulled their tops off. Persephone's was apparently attached with Velcro, and it came off with one pull, exposing her large, shapely breasts. Her nipples were the same light grey shade as her lips, but thick and very hard. She might have used ice cubes before the show, but her they were full and perky, despite their shade.

She sang again, "Cerberus my lap dog is loyal as can be My bed is made of skulls; I'm in the lap of luxury I've got a Dragon's Blood Jacuzzi; the Gorgons think it's cool And a seven-headed Hydra livin' in my swimmin' pool

"In the land of the dead Heck boy, ain't it grand? I'm the overlord of the underworld Cause I hold Horror's Hand In the land of the dead I'm darkside royalty I'm far renowned in the underground And you can't take that away from me."

"No you can't take that from me!"

With the final note, they all pulled off their bottoms, revealing that not only was Persephone a futa, but the entire chorus line. The writhed and jiggled to the music, astonishingly erotic creatures, seemingly made to expose themselves on stage. I felt my penis stiffening at the sight. They finished the piece with kissing and caressing each other, all falling into a piled of undulating flesh as the lights dimmed and the curtain fell.

Applause filled the room and I found myself clapping as well; that had been quite a performance. As the noise died down, I talked to Megara, and she confirmed that Persephone was the one we were to meet, and she would join us shortly. Music began to play and some of the patrons began to dance.

"Wow," I muttered, "I'm going to be having drinks with a goddess. Even of the underworld, this is just incredible."

"Yeah, it is supremely cool, huh?" Megara grinned, "She's a friend, so this shouldn't be too hard."

The gleeful waitress and her three boobs returned dropping another glass in front of me. I looked down and realized that my first glass was empty, and I was already starting to feel a little tipsy. Again I wondered what was in that, and why I was stupid enough to drink it without asking. I took another sip of my second drink anyways, enjoying the euphoric sensations the drink brought regardless.

It didn't take long for Persephone to appear again. She came out from back stage and headed directly for our table, swishing her hips back and forth and a sensuous walk that conjured up all sorts of forbidden thoughts with every sway of her thighs. My face blushed as she approached because she hadn't really put her clothes back on. Yes, she wore the tight bottoms of her outfit, and her boots, but aside from that was completely naked, her large ample breasts completely exposed and her nipples still as hard.

She came towards us, shameless as anything, a smile spreading across her face as she did so.

She spoke, in a hauntingly smooth, sensuous voice.

"Yo, Meg-dawg! Wassup!"

It was going to a long time before I got used to mythological creatures talking like that.

"Hey, Peri." Megara squealed and jumped to her feet.

They both exchanged and exuberant hug, Megara's ears rattling joyously as they did so. It seemed there were pretty close. As they sat down, Persephone taking a seat across from as, she eyed me with some interest, and a naughty sparkle. She looked me up and down with a mischievous smile.

"And, who's you're friend here?" She asked, looking at me, "Are playing around with the mortals again, Meg?"

Megara hooked her arm around mine and leaned on my shoulder playfully, "This is none other then Dr. James Turnbuckle, eminent professor of mythological studies and pussy and cocksucker extraordinaire."

I chocked on my drink as Megara said that, blasting the news that I'd had her penis in my mouth to the whole room. True, this was probably not much of a big deal in a place where near everyone had a penis; but I turned beet red none the less. My humiliation was cut off, fortunately, by Persephone's squeal of excitement.

"Dr. Turnbuckle! Way cool! I read your stuff!" Persephone exclaimed.

"Uh . . . thank you." I said, dumbfounded that I could count a goddess among my readership.

"Hey, can I get you to autograph some of my books?" She asked me with a wink, "They're up in my bedroom; I have a place just upstairs where I live sometimes."

There seemed to be a subtext in her invitation, not lost even on my drunken senses, which reminded me of an episode of Desperate Housewives or Cougar Town. The idea filled my mind with longing, but also the thought of what pissing off Hades the lord of the Underworld by sleeping with his wife might be like. That did not sound like a good idea, even after two glasses of whatever the hell I'd been drinking.

Megara leaned forward, "Listen, Peri, before we get carried away, we've got a problem and we need your help."

Persephone was about to respond when we were suddenly interrupted by the arrival of a very large, and very drunk, Minotaur.

In Greek mythology, the Minotaur (Greek: ??????????, Latin: Minotaurus, Etruscan ?evrumine?), as the Greeks imagined him, was a creature with the head of a bull on the body of a man or, as described by Ovid, "part man and part bull." He dwelt at the center of the Cretan Labyrinth, which was an elaborate maze-like construction built for King Minos of Crete and designed by the architect Daedalus and his son Icarus who were ordered to build it to hold the Minotaur. The Minotaur was eventually killed by Theseus. Theseus was the son of Aethra, and fathered by both Poseidon and Aegeus.

The term Minotaur derives from the Greek ??????????, etymologically compounding the name ????? (Minos) and the noun ?????? "bull", translating as "(the) Bull of Minos". In Crete, the Minotaur was known by its proper name, Asterion, a name shared with Minos' foster-father.

Minotaur was originally a proper noun in reference to this mythical figure. The use of minotaur as a common noun to refer to members of a generic race of bull-headed creatures developed much later, in 20th-century genre fiction. Or so I had thought, but it seemed that there was, indeed, a race of these creatures since this was not the only one in the bar.

Have you ever had the experience, of sitting in a bar, minding your own business when some huge gorilla of a man, usually a member of a biker gang, comes up and tries to pick a fight with you? Imagine that times ten; this thing was monstrous: towering above us, fully seven feet tall, with a huge snorting bulls head topped on what looked like a professional wrestler's body. He wore a black t-shirt that was two sizes too small and a pair of Levis jeans, which bulged grotesquely at the crotch. He staggered over, his red eyes bleary and deadened, and slapped a hand arrogantly on our table. I probably should have gotten up and run out, but I was way too drunk to think clearly. I looked down and realized that my second glass was empty. What the hell had Megara ordered for us?

"Hey, Queenie, how'z 'bout a dance with da' Matcha." The Minotaur slurred.

It took me a second to realize that Matcha was his name, and not the dance he wanted to do. Persephone glanced up at him, annoyed. She kept her pleasant demeanor.

"No thanks." She said simply.

Matcha leaned in closer, snorting and sending a noxious gust of alcohol laden bull breath our way, "Yeah, what, ya' stuck up? Take this bull by the horns, baby, and I'll rock 'ya back to life. Waddaya say?"

"I'm talking with my friends." Persephone said levelly, "And you are being rude."

Not appreciating being dismissed, Matcha grunted in indignation, "What? You mean this little mortal twerp here?"

He obviously meant me, and suddenly one of his massive hands shot my direction. I had no time to dodge the blow, and pain exploded in my chest as the palm of his over sized hand connected with it making an agonizing slapping sound. She sheer kinetic force of the blow sent me flying backwards out of my seat and tumbling across the bar room floor, sliding like one of the drinks on the bar until I gradually slid to a halt in front of the exit, landing flat on my face with my rear end up in the air like a porn star getting it from behind; what an embarrassing position.

Puffing out his chest, Matcha laughed cruelly at my expensive, and most of the other patrons were joining him in his mockery. I normally didn't let my pride make any decisions for me, but I was very drunk, and I didn't like being humiliated one damn bit. Rage filled me, and my rational mind was too sloshed to keep it in check. Throwing caution and common sense to the wind, I leapt to my feet and stupidly rushed at the Minotaur.

Megara and Persephone had both shot to their feet as soon as he hit me, and Matcha's attention was on them and whatever they were planning to do. He didn't notice me until I was almost upon him. The only conscious rational thought I had was that he was too big for me to hit him from the floor. So like a complete jack ass, I leapt up on the table and hurled my fist at his face with all the power I could muster.

I guess all of the digging around in tombs I had done over my career had left me in fairly good shape, or maybe it was the fact that the booze was numbing me to any serious pain, but I connected hard with Matcha's nose, hitting it dead center with a loud slap and painful crackling sound. Matcha let out sound that was halfway between a scream and belch and staggered backwards, clutching his injured nose with both hands as he gushed blood through his clenched fingers.

It would appear that I had lived in America a bit too long because I childishly yelled, "Fuck you and the horse you rode in on!"

"Dob't you be talking bout Mom like dat!" Matcha roared, through his broken nose.

I had no time to ponder that bizarre cryptic statement because Matcha lowered his head, scraped his feet on the floor like an actual bull and lunged at me, intent on goring me with his horns. He charged full ahead and I barely had time to leap off to the side and out of the way of the angry bovine.

He missed me and blundered forward, out of control with his own inertia, he finally stopped when he plowed clumsily into another creature sitting at the bar with a loud fleshy thunk. It was clear that this was not the best person to accidentally run into.

This new creature was an enormous misshapen monstrosity, covered with bulging muscles and skin that was colored and sickly combination of greens and yellows, studded all over by thick wart like growths, and possessed of a large simian like head on a slightly too long neck. Ripples of bulging veins stood out all over its huge body, like writhing worms beneath his skin, and sparse hair grew out of his chest, shoulders and back. His exceptionally small cranium sat above a pair of large, black eyes. Most of the rest of his features were obscured by a large beard, though tusks jutting out of the top of his mouth were visible.

I was later to find out that this was an ogre, but believe me; this thing looked nothing like Shrek.

An ogre (feminine: ogress) is a large, cruel, monstrous and hideous humanoid monster, featured in mythology, folklore and fiction. Ogres are often depicted in fairy tales and folklore as feeding on human beings, and have appeared in many classic works of literature. In art, ogres are often depicted with a large head, abundant hair and beard, a voracious appetite, and a strong body. The term is often applied in a metaphorical sense to disgusting persons who exploit, brutalize or devour their victims. Closely related is the troll figure, although these are sometimes not as malevolent.

The Ogre was knocked from the bar stool and fell to the floor, spilling the foul looking substance he was drinking all over himself. He got up to his feet clumsily, his face contorted in annoyance and indignation.

"Hurg mad!" The ogre bellowed, "Hurg SMASH!"

"Bring it, mutha fuka!" Matcha bellowed, too drunk to realize that Hurg was already 'bringing it'.

The ogre pounded both fists into the Minotaur's chest, sending him flying backwards much the same way that I had. He crashed painfully into what appeared to be a large rock next to the bar. I took me a second to drunkenly realize it was a gigantic turtle shell. The huge turtle let out a yelp and turned to glare at Matcha. While the body of the creature was that of a turtle, the head was somewhat of cross between human and reptile, being topped with a main of fuzzy black thick black hair, with a bald spot in the middle. I recognized it right away as a Kappa.

Kappa (??, "river-child"), alternately called Kawatar? (???, "river-boy") or Kawako (??, "river-child"), are legendary creatures, a type of water sprite found in Japanese folklore. In Shint? they are considered to be one of many suijin. A hair-covered variation of a Kappa is called a Hy?sube (?????).

Kappa are similar to Scandinavian Näkki, Germanic Neck and Scottish Kelpie in that all have been used to scare children of dangers lurking in waters.

Most depictions show kappa as child-sized humanoids, though their bodies are often more like those of monkeys or frogs than human beings. Some descriptions say their faces are apelike, while others show them with beaked visages more like those of tortoises or with duck beaks. Pictures usually show kappa with thick shells and scaly skin that ranges in color from green to yellow or blue.

Kappa supposedly inhabit the ponds and rivers of Japan and have various features to aid them in this environment, such as webbed hands and feet. They are sometimes even said to smell like fish, and they can certainly swim like them. The expression kappa-no-kawa-nagare ("a kappa drowning in a river") conveys the idea that even experts make mistakes.

Kappa are usually seen as mischievous troublemakers. Their pranks range from the relatively innocent, such as loudly passing gas or looking up women's kimonos, to the more troublesome, such as stealing crops or kidnapping children. In fact, small children are one of the gluttonous kappa'_s favorite meals, though they will eat adults as well. They feed on these victims by sucking out their _shirikodama (???), a mythical ball inside the anus. Yes, it would seem that the Kappa, or at least a few of them, really did suck ass. Even today, signs warning about kappa appear by bodies of water in some Japanese towns and villages. Kappa are also said to be afraid of fire, and some villages hold fireworks festivals each year to scare the spirits away.

Kappa are not entirely antagonistic to mankind, however. They are curious of human civilization, and they can understand and speak Japanese. They thus sometimes challenge those they encounter to various tests of skill, such as shogi or sumo wrestling. They may even befriend human beings in exchange for gifts and offerings, especially cucumbers, the only food kappa are known to enjoy more than human children. Japanese parents sometimes write the names of their children (or themselves) on cucumbers and toss them into kappa-infested waters in order to mollify the creatures and allow the family to bathe. There is even a kind of cucumber-filled sushi roll named for the kappa, the kappamaki.

Once again, the myths I knew more or less turned out to inaccurate. At least the part about the obsessive politeness. The Kappa turned around and then rose on two legs. It opened its mouth, and when it spoke I realized it sounded like a native Californian surfer.

"Dude, why dontcha watch where you're goin'?" The Kappa said, sounding like any bleached blonde beach comber I'd ever met.

"Shut up, badly." Matcha grumbled, striking the Kappa's shell with his fist and then wincing in pain as he realized how hard it was.

"He who dings the shell must pay." The Kappa growled, still sounding like a reject from a Bill And Ted movie.

Suddenly, the Kappa turned around, facing away from Matcha. With a fast, almost blinding movement of his legs, he suddenly lurched himself backwards, slamming the whole of his thick shell against the Minotaur with a loud slapping sound that echoed through the room.

"Cowabunga!!!!!!" The Kappa yelled as it connected.

Matcha once again was thrown backwards like a rag doll, crashing hard into Hurg the ogre once more, now traveling with such force that he simply bowled the creature over and sent him flying along with him. Both mythics crashed into a table around which several Cyclops were drinking, shattering the wood into so much kindling in a second, and smashing all their drink glasses as well with a tremendous sound of breakage.

The Cyclops stood up, pissed off as I've ever seen anyone, and that was when all hell broke loose.

I'm not going to bother going into detail about the domino effect that followed, but suffice to say, the whole bar exploded into a full on brawl like something out of an old western. Within a few minutes, the room was a mass of creatures big, small and medium trading blows with each other in a riotous enthusiastic fight. Fists flew, legs kicked, tentacles slapped and very quickly everyone was in on the action in something that resembled the LA Riots crossed with Marvel Comics. Voices rose to a pitch and the slapping sound of punches filled the air.

Needless to say, Megara and Persephone got right into the action with gusto. At some point, Megara had either had her dress ripped off, or had taken it off her self because as soon as I turned around, she was clad only in her shoes and panties, and she and Persephone traded blows with other mythics topless in a naked brawl that would have warmed the heart of any fan of the Action Girls website.

As for me, I was just trying to stay alive. I ducked and jumped and swerved in between the various beasts, just hoping to avoid getting crushed and maimed. At one point a centaur tried to kick me in the crotch with his back hoof. I am indeed fortunate that he missed, as he ended up punching a large hole in the bar.

A huge troll came after me, attempting to pound me with its massive fists, but suddenly it was smacked hard over the head by a large fish tail, with such force that the ugly brute lost consciousness almost immediately, falling over with a fantastic thud like the world's largest, and ugliest crash test dummy.

Bewildered I turned to look and there saw one of the naked mermaids, sitting on the edge of the tank, winking at me and grinning slyly. I couldn't imagine why she had jumped to my defense but I was both grateful for her help and the generous view I was getting of her bared breasts; although I wouldn't know what to do with the lower half of her.

It was, indeed, a miracle that I survived all that. But survive I did and one hour's time found me sitting up in Persephone's apartment letting the Goddess of the Underworld disinfect a nasty cut over my eyebrow. She had taken off my shirt and my shoes and I was wearing only my trousers at this point.

Suffice to say, it had been one hell of brawl.

Persephone's apartment occupied the space in between the ceiling of The Horny Unicorn and the floor of the mausoleum above it. More or less, her place was exactly what you would expect: Black walls, black ceiling, black carpeting. Skull goblets and candlesticks everywhere, furniture made to resemble coffins the whole nine yards. Posters of old horror movies decorated the walls rubbing shoulders with posters of various goth bands like Sisters Of Mercy and Switchblade Symphony. Not a real surprise that the queen of the underworld was goth.

The apartment was large, much bigger then Megara's, and featured a wide kitchen and a full library, where Persephone proudly showed me her shelf dedicated to my books, which I dutifully signed. We now sat in her bedroom, on the front edge of her wide coffin shaped four poster bed as she treated my wounds. The salves and creams she was using were incredible, for not a single one of my many bruises remained.

The head of the bed sat against the far wall, and various furniture found in any woman's bedroom lined the walls, yet all with a goth slant. She even had a phone shaped like a vampire's skull. A coffin shaped arch on the other side led into a wide walk in closet, the contents of which resembled a Hot Topic outlet. Across from the bed, next to the entrance, was a large mirror that took up the whole wall.

Sitting next to me as she carefully applied the salve, Persephone hadn't bothered to get dressed after the fight, and sat there as before, clad only in her boots and panties. As she leaned over, her shapely breasts brushed against my arm. I'm sure she realized as I saw a light naughty girl expression pass over her face as she worked. I shifted uncomfortably, trying to fight down the erection that was threatening to emerge.

Likewise, although Megara had rescued her dress from the middle of the fight, she had not bothered to put it on, standing around completely topless in only her thong panties as she laid out the whole situation for Persephone.

As strange as both these women were, their alluring sexuality was undeniably infectious, as was their uninhibited way of living.

Persephone sat back as the last of the healing was done. She pursed her lips and then her eyes grew wide as Megara finished her story.

"When you say 'the box' . . . you mean . . . THAT box?" She asked her in shock.

Megara nodded solemnly.

Slumping her shoulders, Persephone sighed, "It's true, I'm the guardian of the first piece of the Eye Of Demeter, but I don't actually have access to it at the moment."

"You don't, where is it?" Megara asked, surprised.

Persephone looked evasive, "Well . . . okay, it's in the Prague National Museum."

"Huh?" I said, "What's it doing there?"

The NationalMuseum is a Czech museum institution intended to systematically establish, prepare and publicly exhibit natural scientific and historical collections. It was founded 1818 in Prague by Kašpar Maria Šternberg. Historian František Palacký was also strongly involved.

At present the National Museum houses almost 14 million items from the area of natural history, history, arts, music and librarianship, located in tens of buildings.

"It's a long story," Persephone sighed, "But it's in the care of one Professor Radek Býtoddánzeny. And if we're going to get it, we're going to have to get it from him, and that won't be easy."

Suddenly, she looked at me, and raised her eyebrows, a sly grin appearing on her face. She got up and strolled over to a large cabinet in the corner that was topped by a large wooden carving of bat, her thin tail swishing behind her as she moved, wiggling her hips in a sensual manner. She opened it up revealing several small bottles inside. She selected one, then a glass and poured it in. She returned and handed me the glass.

"Here drink this, you'll feel better." She told me.

I suppose I should have been suspicious, but I was still too drunk. I took the glass and sucked down the bitter sweet tasting liquid. As I drank it I instantly felt the effects as my body warmed and much of the soreness I was feeling had gone away. In a way, it felt a little like getting high, which if I wasn't already drunk I would have been suspicious of that, but now all I did was ride the feeling.

Sitting back on her hands and crossing her legs a bit, Persephone pursed her lips a bit in thought. Finally, she spoke.

"I think we can get to it, though." She added, after a second, "I've got an idea. But we'll have to wait till tomorrow, when the museum's open. We're gonna need your help with that, Doc. You know you're way around this kind of stuff, and it's not like Megara and I can just walk in the front door."

Megarasnickered, and I had to join her, imagining these two very strange looking women wandering through the front door of the museum to the stares of all. Yeah, that wouldn't exactly be subtle. Funny but definitely not subtle, especially if they walked in there dressed the way they were now.

"Okay, tomorrow then." I replied, "What do we do till them?"

I stopped and my heart leapt into my throat as Persephone let a wide naughty grin spread across her face and raised her eyebrows, a wicked sparkle in her eyes. There was no mistaking her intent this time, and she leaned forward and ran her fingers through the hair on the back of my head. I tensed up, excited by her closeness. She kissed my lips, closing her eyes, and the moved down and kissed my neck. My penis sprang to life in my pants and pleasant tingles of arousal filled my body. But there was one thing that was on my mind.

"Woah, Persephone!" I protested, "I'd like to, believe me, I'd like to."

"Then do." Persephone said, licking my neck.

"What if Hades finds out? I don't need that kind of trouble."

I heard Megara giggle, and Persephone rolled her eyes.

"Mortals." She commented drolly, "Don't worry, my old man doesn't care who I fuck any more then I care who he does. I'm free to ball whoever a like and he can keep right on turning himself into a rock star and making all those groupies squeal. He's gotten some choice tail that way."

"Oh." Was all I could say. Apparently, Hades and Persephone had an open marriage.

I was later to find out that almost all mythic marriages were open sexually. I guess with two sets of genitalia to please, maybe you kind of have to. Well, I supposed they didn't have to worry about STDs, being immortal and all. Could it be that the whole mythic world was like a episode of Jerry Springer?

Bringing her head up, Persephone kissed my lips, "I like you, Doc. You don't look at us as something to be feared. I've read your books, you see us as something to be appreciated."

Her lips met mine again, and I did not resist. She kissed me deeply and passionately, letting her tongue flick in and out of my mouth, her arms sliding around me. One of her hands danced over my stomach, her fingers teasingly close to my crotch. I rand my hand over her smooth skin as we touched, feeling softness of her white flesh. My hand cupped her breast. She squirmed a little, but did not pull away as I touched her, gently squeezing her boob, her nipple had to the touch.

I felt movement to my right and spied Megara coming over to me, crawling over the bed, the same naughty look on her face as her snakes writhed on her head. Her large breasts hung down from her, jiggling slightly as she moved, making her slow snake like movements that much more sensual. She reached over and took my chin in her hand, breaking my kiss with Persephone and bringing my head to hers.

I kissed her deeply, feeling her odd forked tongue slip into my mouth as we made out. Persephone kissed my neck, her hand slinging down my stomach and finally resting on my cock. She traced the outline of my erect penis under my pants, moving her hand skillfully over it.

Her other hand took mine and brought it down between her own legs. I felt the shape of her stiff, not inconsequential, penis through her hot pants, and a little lower took me to the moistness of her vagina. Before Megara, this probably would have freaked me out, but now it turned me on even more. Had these two actually turned me into a "futaphilliac" so to speak? Was I going to complain that the next normal woman I met didn't have a penis? Hard to say at the moment; my thoughts were all extracted by the warm green and white bodies pressed up against me.

Megarabroke her kiss and then leaned over and planet and long bisexual kiss on Persephone's lips. The two mythic women made out in front of me, their tongues exploring each other's mouth. The passionate, lesbian kiss was something they had obviously done before. Their lips pressed against each other with undeniable relish.

Her ear rattling with enthusiasm, Megara cooed, "Aren't you lucky, Doc? Two naked mythics ready to get jiggy with you?"

"Very lucky." I mumbled.

With my mind still swimming, Megara pushed me back on the bed. I felt Persephone's hands already at my belt, undoing my pants. A few seconds later, Megara joined her. In no time they had pulled my pants open and let my hard cock pop out. They both squealed with delight as they saw it, and quickly stripped off my trousers and rendered me naked.

Persephone stood on her knees and Megara leaned over and slipped her hot pants off, exposing her hard cock and wet pussy. She then slipped her own panties off, stripping herself naked. Both nude, the two strange girls crawled over my body, Megara's snakes moving on her head and Persephone's tail swinging behind her, their large breasts hanging down, their nipples hard and stiff as they moved with sensuous arousing actions.

The both took turns kissing me. Strange to feel both Megara's snakes brush against my head and Persephone's horns. They then began to move down my body, kissing my naked flesh as I moaned a little, the feeling of their naked bodies against mine arousing me consistently. The reached my stiff, hard penis and began to lick at it in tandem; their tongues, including Megara's odd forked one, running up and down my shaft. They then took turns slipping it into their mouths. I tried not to think of Megara's folded up fangs. They sucked me with rapt enthusiasm, enjoying what they were doing. One would go quite far to find a pair of girls so genuinely turned on by fellatio as they were. Ageless as they were, they were quiet proficient.

I closed my eyes and moaned at they expertly sucked my cock. I was probably one of the luckiest men alive at this point, I thought. I became aware that I was dizzy in a way different from just the fact that I was drunk; it was a strange euphoric feeling, much like being high, again, but stronger. Colors danced in front of my closed eyes and I began aware that my body was moving on its own, squirming and shuddered for no reason. The girls had stopped sucking me, but rolls of pleasant tingles were still washing over me. My limbs and body were contracting and convulsing, and all my muscles seemed to undulate at once and my body twisted itself and moved. What the heck was happening to me?

This lasted only a few seconds, but when it was over, I was frightened to realize that my body felt all wrong; foreign almost and unfamiliar.

"Persephone!" I heard Megara protest.

"Awe come on, you'll both love it." Persephone said.

"He's gonna freak!" Megara complained, "You shouldn't have done that! Damnit, Persephone, I really like him."

I opened my eyes, "What . . . what happened?"

Too my alarm, my voice sounded all wrong; much too high and soft. I sat up, feeling strange. My chest was much too heavy, but my limbs felt lighter. Somehow, the bed felt like it was a little bigger. The tingles and sensations still ran through my body, and I was still horny as hell, my penis still hard between my legs. Something tickled my shoulders, I couldn't tell what.

I sat up, and found both Megara and Persephone staring at me with amused smiles. I looked from one to the other, and then timidly glanced in that huge mirror across from me.

I almost screamed.

Reflected in the mirror was not the familiar form of myself, but rather at stunning curvatious red headed woman. My hair was long and slightly wavy, and colored and rich fiery red color. My face was round and cute, with thick red eyebrows and a small nose, bridged by a light smattering of freckles. My eyes were a deep brown color, wide and expressive staring out of my head. I had full, pouting lips and smooth creamy skin.

I was smaller then I had been before, but my new body was curvy and voluptuous, with large soft natural breasts tipped with wide, puffy nipples of a soft pink color and round full hips as well as slight tummy. My legs were long and luscious, hanging over the edge of the bed. My body was soft and fleshy, a porn star's body if I ever saw one.

Between my legs, however, my penis remained; as hard as it was before despite my shock; but my testicles had shrunk and were tight against the base, almost looking like a child's. Just beneath it, a perfectly pink female vagina now sat, its clit swollen with excitement, juices already starting to flow.

I was like them, I was a futa girl.

My head swam in disbelief and my body shuddered with shock and surprise. Damnit, that drink she'd given me! It must have been that; and stupidly I'd drunk it, and now I had a set of boobs that would be the envy of any girl gone wild. I couldn't believe it at all, at first I was in denial: It had to be a hallucination. Persephone must have slipped me some acid in that drink; lord knows I'd had my students to that to me enough times.

A quick feel of the breasts revealed that this was not the case; they were definitely attached to me.

"Great Caesar's ghost!" I cried, "What did you do to me?"

A specter in ancient Roman garb passed through the wall.

"Did someone call?" It asked.

"It's nothing, Julius." Persephone told him, "Don't worry about it."

The ghost sighed, "I hate that expression."

He then vanished through the wall as inexplicably as he had arrived. I was too shocked and befuddled to register how ridiculous that incident had been. I was later to find out that it wasn't the ghost of Julius Caesar at all, but rather a Czech man who had died with a mental condition similar to saying your Napoleon Bonaparte. I stared at my reflection in the mirror, shocked at what I was looking at. I ran my fingers through my long hair, trying to get a grip on this new form.

"She's pretty hot, isn't she?" Persephone said to Megara.

"Yeah, but what the fuck, Peri?" Megara complained, "Why'd you change him against his will like that?"

"Awe, come on, don't you think she makes a great futa girl?" Persephone answered, and then said to me, "You'll love being a futa girl, everyone does."

"You could have asked me." I said bitterly, my head spinning at the feminine quality of my voice.

I ran my hand through my long red hair, it silky and smooth to the touch, feeling pleasant through my fingers if I wasn't in so much shock at what had been done to me.

Suddenly, I felt something under my hair and yanked it behind me, looking at the side of my head in the mirror.

"Hey!" I demanded, "I have pointed ears! Why do I have pointed ears?"

It was true, there on the side of my head, my ears extended into perfectly Mr. Spock-ish points at the tops. Easily, I realized, matching Megara's, except that they weren't green.

"You're a nymph." Persephone explained to me.

A nymph in Greek mythology is a female spirit typically associated with a particular location or landform. Other nymphs, always in the shape of young nubile maidens, were part of the retinue of a god, such as Dionysus, Hermes, or Pan, or a goddess, generally Artemis. Nymphs were the frequent target of satyrs. They live in mountains and groves, by springs and rivers, also in trees and in valleys and cool grottoes. They are frequently associated with the superior divinities: the huntress Artemis; the prophetic Apollo; the reveler and god of wine, Dionysus; and rustic gods such as Pan and Hermes.

The symbolic marriage of a nymph and a patriarch, often the eponym of a people, is repeated endlessly in Greek origin myths; their union lent authority to the archaic king and his line.

The ancient Greek belief in nymphs survived in many parts of the country into the early years of the twentieth century, when they were usually known as "nereids". At that time John Cuthbert Lawson wrote: "...there is probably no nook or hamlet in all Greece where the womenfolk at least do not scrupulously take precautions against the thefts and malice of the nereids, while many a man may still be found to recount in all good faith stories of their beauty, passion and caprice. Nor is it a matter of faith only; more than once I have been in villages where certain Nereids were known by sight to several persons (so at least they averred); and there was a wonderful agreement among the witnesses in the description of their appearance and dress."

Nymphs tended to frequent areas distant from humans, but could be encountered by lone travelers outside the village, where their music might be heard, and the traveler could spy on their dancing or bathing in a stream or pool, either during the noon heat or in the middle of the night. They might appear in a whirlwind. Such encounters could be dangerous, bringing dumbness, besotted infatuation, madness or stroke to the unfortunate human. When parents believed their child to be nereid-struck they would pray to Saint Artemidos, the Christian manifestation of Artemis.

Of course, all this was mythology, and I had no idea what my real condition might entail

"Yeah, ha ha!" I said bitterly, "Can you change me back now?"

Persephone sat on the bed next to me, putting her hands on my shoulders, "Actually, I have a reason for changing you like this. We'll need you in this body to get the first piece. You have to remember how important this is; if that box is opened it would be disastrous beyond imagination."

"What's in that box?" I asked.

Instead of answering, Persephone began to massage my shoulders. To my dismay, I felt my body responding instantly, tingles of desire running all through me. A slight light headedness occurred and I felt my breathing deepen as Persephone's fingers moved over my neck and shoulders. I was becoming aroused in ways I hadn't in a long time. My penis was stiffening up harder and hard, and tingling ran though the vagina underneath it.

As Persephone kissed my neck, I let out a small moan. I couldn't help myself.

"Nymphs are naturally the most sensual and sexual creatures in the world." Persephone cooed, "You'll feel pleasure ten times as much as you did before. And you'll feel it deeply."

This new body was completely betraying me. I should have been angry at what was done to me, but instead I simply responded to her touches. Persephone's lips on my neck worked their magic, and my eyes closed involuntarily. I felt Persephone's hands cup the breasts on the front of my chest, and my body shivered as she gently squeezed them. My whole skin was alive with arousal in ways I'd never felt before, and I teetered on the brink of a sexual precipice that threatened to swallow me up.

Crawling across the bed, Megara again kissed my lips, and that was all she wrote.

I opened my mouth to protest, but all that came out was a high moan, and I knew then that I wanted this so badly, wanted to give in to my new body's demands. They lay me back on the bed, and I relented as they kissed my new body, running their hands and their lips all over my stomach and thighs, kissing the breast . . . kissing my breasts and suckling my nipples with the skill of ageless years. I squirmed and moaned on the bed, lost in the sensations of my body. I had never been this turned on, not once in my whole life. My tongue licked my lips as I groaned in ecstasy.

Moving back down my body, Persephone began to suck my cock once more. Megara kissed my lips, slipping her forked tongue into my mouth, and then moved up, guiding her hard cock towards my mouth. I felt none of the apprehension I had the last time; I wanted that big dick in my mouth. My body pumped full of feminine hormones, nothing resisted the urge. I took her cock and licked it greedily, taking it between my lips and sucking it, moving my head up and back while Megara moaned.

Persephone's fingers touched and teased the pussy that now lay between my legs, and my body moved as pleasure flowed through my, moisture flowing from between my legs. I couldn't deny the fact that I was feeling very distinctly feminine, and that I was enjoying it. Some part of me was rising to the occasion and making me like my new identity as a nymph. I couldn't help myself, Persephone was right, the amount of pleasure I felt with this new form was ten times what I had before.

I ran my tongue down Megara's cock, sucking nimbly on her tiny balls before moving deeper, letting my tongue run across her dripping wet pussy, teasing her green clit with it. I lapped and teased at her lips as she moaned, her ears rattling with pleasure. Persephone spread my legs wide, pushing the open and exposing the pussy . . . my pussy, though I was still having trouble acknowledging that I had one now, and began to lick me hungrily, teasing the tissues while her hand masturbated my dick.

Soon, Megara got up over me and, guiding my cock with her hand, slipped me into her pussy, giving a deep moan as it went in. Her ears rattled and her snakes slithered with excitement on her head. She began to move up and down, reaching down and massaging my breasts with her hands as she did. Almost without thinking, I began to thrust back, driving my cock in and out of her. She rode me, her cock flopping back and forth as her pussy was filled with my dick.

"Mmmm, yeah, Doc." She cooed, "Fuck me."

I reached up and squeezed her soft, green boobs. I thrust hard as she rode me, pleasure flowing from my cock into my whole body. I shivered as Persephone got her face in my pussy again and flicked her tongue on my newly formed clit, sending me into spasms of ecstasy. I was almost starting to forget what had been done to me, my new body was so filled with sensations, for brief moments it was like I had always been this way.

I felt the softness of Megara's large breasts under my hands and her surprisingly tight pussy around my cock, the muscles moving in their rhythmic motions the way no mortal woman's vagina did. As before, the rolling movements of her vaginal muscles stimulated me deeply as I screwed her. She leaned down and kissed my lips, a kiss I eagerly returned, her green lips feeling warm and wet on mine. It would seem I had gotten used to the hissing coming from her head. There was no doubt that Megara was one of the most incredible creatures ever to walk the planet.

After a while, Megara got off me, and Persephone took her place, eagerly gripping my dick and guiding it into her.

She bit her lip and moaned, "Oh, Doc, what a big cock you have."

She began to ride me, gripping her penis and masturbating herself as she did. Megara returned to my lips and kissed me again, softly and gently, her hands caressing my breasts as her forked tongue slid into my mouth. I thrust my hips, driving my cock deep into Persephone's twat. The new pussy between my legs was dripping with fluid as waves of pleasure were flowing all over me. I felt totally out of control, and for the moment was embracing my new body, and my new identity as a futa nymph.

It's hard to describe the amount of stimulation and sensation that I was now feeling: It was like every single cell of my body was alive and crying out for sex, like my whole body, every inch of my skin was one giant sex organ intent on orgasmic experience.

I reached behind her, grabbing her ass as she rode me, her breasts and cock flopping back and forth as she moved up and down, moaning and wailing. I moaned too, my body moving, the unfamiliar yet surprisingly welcome feeling of my breasts flopping two and fro stimulating me somehow, driving me further into heights of ecstasy. I rolled my hips, pushing my cock deeper into Persephone's love canal. There was no resistance on her part; she took every inch of me, gleefully thrusting her hips as she rode me.

It was hard to believe I was actually doing this: I was having sex with the mythological goddess of the underworld.

We fucked like that for a while, and then Persephone got off me. She crawled down pushed my legs back to my ears. So horny and still drunk and stoned was I that I didn't realize what she was up to until I felt the soft tip of her penis against the new hole beneath my testicles. My eyes flew open in shock and I lifted my head in alarm.

"No!" I cried, "I'm not ready for that!"

"Too late." Persephone grinned as she entered me.

My eyes bulged and my mouth formed a perfect 'O' as my new vagina was penetrated for the first time. Tingles of pleasure flowed through me as I felt the unfamiliar sensation of her penis slipping into my pussy. All my resistance melted away like butter at the feelings that coursed through me took over and ruled me. I arched my back and let out a long moan as Persephone started fucking me, thrusting her hips and driving her white dick in and out of me. For the first time, I was really learning what it was like to have a vagina, and it wasn't bad. I moaned and cried out as Persephone kissed me, followed by Megara. I writhed and undulated on the sheets, grabbing Persephone's shoulders as I was screwed, her big cock sending me into delirious states of delight. Not only was a feeling more aroused and excited then ever before, but I had begun to feel very . . . feminine. As if my new body was taking me over. And I wasn't entirely sure I didn't like it.

"Don't complain, you like it girl." Persephone chortled.

"Look at her face," Megara leered, "She does like it. She loves it."

Somehow, being called 'girl' and 'she' energized me even more. I undulated with her cock inside me, letting out shrill cries of pleasure and wrapping my legs around her, pulling her closer to me and deeper inside me. My stiff cock pressed between my belly and hers, and I shivered in delight. My moans came out in shrill cries of pleasure as ground my body against hers, her breasts now rubbing against mine. My body undulated and I arched me back as I was screwed, my breaths coming out in deep heaves.

When Persephone pulled out of me, I tried to pull her back in. But Megara quickly took her place, leering down at me.

"Here's something I know you like." She said grinning at me.

My heart skipped a beat as I felt the tip of her cock touch my asshole.

"Want it in here?" She asked me impishly.

"Yes." I heard myself say.

Pushing herself forward, Megara slipped her cock up my waiting ass. I arched my back as I was sodomized, feeling her dick go deeper and deeper into my butt. She began to trust, fucking me slowly at first as I got used to her inside me, then picking up speed. I grunted and moaned as she went deep into me, her breasts flopping back and forth with the motions.

"Oh, Megara!" I cried, "Deeper, fuck my ass!"

"You got it, sweetie." She said, pushing deeper inside me.

"Wow, you really like it up the butt, don't you, Doc." Persephone grinned next to me.

"Uh huh." I nodded, panting and groaning.

I undulated my body, reveling in my sodomy. My hand was on my cock, masturbating myself as my butt was penetrated. It felt so good, so unbelievably good, I couldn't help myself. It had been good when I was a guy, but as a nymph, all my senses were accentuated and this felt simply divine. I gripped the sheets with one hand, closing my eyes and squealing with glee as I was sodomized. I gasped as I felt Persephone's hand go between my legs and massage my pussy, teasing my new clit and stimulating me, causing me to move and tremble with lust even more.

Leaning over, Persephone whispered something to Megara, and the Gorgon nodded enthusiastically. She pulled out of my ass and then inserted herself back into my pussy, and then gripped my shoulders, rolling over on her back and pulling me on top of her with her dick still inside me. Without hesitation, I began to ride her, lay flat on her body, my boobs rubbing against hers. I brushed some of her snakes out of the way and kissed her lips as I drove my hips up and down, moving her penis in and out of me.

I'm not stupid, I'm a college professor for Christ sake; and I had already figured out what was going to be done to me next. I should have been apprehensive, but all I could feel was excitement. Longing for the next penetration that I was sure was about to come.

Getting behind me, Persephone pressed her pale white penis against my ass. I stopped moving for a second allowing her to enter me. When she did, I squealed and shrieked with joy and pleasure. My whole body shivered and shuddered as I was double penetrated. I now had two cocks in me, one in my ass and one in my pussy; I couldn't help but love it.

My body spasmed and shook as they both fucked me, driving their cocks deep into my altered body. They had to be rubbing against each other in side me almost. I groaned and twisted, my large new breasts rubbing against Megara's, while I felt Persephone's tits pressed against the skin of my back. She nibbled at my ear while I kissed and tongued Megara's mouth, pleasure rolling through me.

For that moment, I was happy to have become a futa nymph; the pleasure of which this altered body was capable of was astonishing, and I twisted and moaned with joy as I took every inch of them in my two openings. They flesh pressed against mine as I wiggled and moved my hips driving them in and out of me. It was like the world ceased to exist except for that bed, and the three of off in out deep sexual bliss. Who I was before didn't matter, all the mattered was the joy and pleasure I was getting from Megara and Persephone.

The pleasure built and expanded, flooding through me, steadily increasing as I moved my body faster and faster. I was almost there, almost on the brink, and I knew it. I moved, undulating like a snake, as I moaned and groaned with enjoyment. Megara raised her hips and thrust into me, her snakes moving rapidly with excitement all over her head. When the orgasm hit, I practically exploded, almost having an epileptic fit as more pleasure then I thought possible flooded through me as I came. I filled the air with high pitched squeals and writhed in delight as I felt the most perfect orgasm of my life fill every inch of me.

As if on cue, Persephone moaned and I felt her squirt inside me, while I came. I was still thrashing in the grip of my orgasm when Megara's ears rattled and I felt her ejaculate into my new pussy. Both mythics moaned and groaned as they came gripping my shuddering form as the three of us all enjoyed our orgasms with unabashed enthusiasm. When they finally pulled out of me, their cum dribbled out of both my whole, my body filled with their juices; and I was still cumming!

When it finally subsided, however, we weren't done: I sat on the bed, and Megara and Persephone got down on the floor on their knees and began to suck me off in tandem, both working my still stiff cock at once. It's incredible how hot women look when their down on their knees with a penis in their mouths, something about that was always a pleasure, even in my altered state.

They kept working on me, licking and sucking my dick, running their lips up either side harmonica style and taking turns swallowing it with uninhibited relish. Megara's snakes moved and twisted on her head with an excited flourish and I moaned as they blew me, my breasts heaving as I took deep breaths.

When I finally came, it was three times the explosive ejaculation I had ever hand. I cried out and shuddered, my breasts jigging as I climaxed, spewing my cum into the waiting mouths of the two mythics at my cock. The lapped it up enthusiastically as I thrust my hips, moaning as I pumped my seed at them. They both jerked me off, squeezing every last drop out of my cock, licking up the results with their tongues and kissing each other in process.

When the orgasm subsided, I flopped back on the bed, spent. Persephone and Megara crawled up on the bed and lay on either side of me, sandwiching me between their naked skins. They kissed me playfully and felt my breasts, teasing them a little. I kissed them back, too drunk on both whatever Megara had given me and the lustful experience.

Licking my nose, Persephone said, "See, you had fun."

"Yeah, lots of fun." I said levelly, still finding my high feminine voice disquieting, "Can you turn me back now?"

Persephone sat up and shook her head, "Like I said, I have a reason for doing this."

"You could have asked me." I complained.

"You probably wouldn't have let me." Persephone answered, "At any rate, we need you in this form to get the first piece like I said."

"Why?"

"First off, the piece is encased and a clear jeweled case made for me by some sea nymphs in Jamaica to keep the piece safe. It's protected by powerful nymph magic. Aside from me, only another nymph can open it. Secondly, you're still going to need to get past Professor Býtoddánzeny. This guy's had his work and items stolen from him before, and believe me he's more paranoid then a House Un-American Activities Committee member in the 50s. He's not going to let anyone into his collection without him being there, and he's certainly not going to let anyone take something out.

"But trust me on this, 'ol Radek has a week spot: Young voluptuous girls. He's got a complete weakness for pussy. Rumor has it that pretty much all of his female staff have slept with him. So, not only can a nymph get into the case, but nymphs are naturally seductive and highly sexually enticing. Radek has never been able to resist one, believe me; they've told me some stories."

"Why does Radek have the piece anyways?" Megara wanted to know.

For a long moment, Persephone was silent. Turning her head away, we could both see that she was embarrassed, shamed by something.

"I . . . er . . . lost it in an online poker game." She admitted quietly.

"Zeus' beard, Persephone!" Megara exclaimed, "This has got to stop! How much trouble has your gambling gotten you into over the last two centuries?"

I gathered this was a sore topic between the two of them.

"So you lost priceless archeological artifact to a museum curator in a Texas Hold 'Em game?" I asked her, stunned.

"Well, no, not exactly." She said, evasively.

"Not exactly?" Megara asked suspiciously.

Another long pause before Persephone mumbled, "I sold it to him on EBay to cover my losses."

Megarastared at her in disbelief, "Who are you and what have you done with Persephone?"

"I have a problem, alright? Don't judge me!" Persephone shot back.

"So why do this to me?" I asked her a little bitterly, "Why not just get one of the nymphs downstairs to do it? I'm pretty sure a saw a bunch of them in the back."

Persephone shook her head, "Just any nymph isn't going to recognize what we're looking for and we don't have time to get the original makers on a plane from Jamaica. And Radek isn't going to let just any woman, no matter how sexy she is, into his collection room. It needs to be someone who knows this sort of thing, someone who can impress him with her knowledge as well as her big tits. That's you, Doc, in every way necessary now."

Given how dire the situation was, I could see her logic.

"So, I just have to charm him, flirt a little, and get in the vault?" I asked.

"Actually," Persephone grinned, "You're probably gonna have to seduce him to get in there. He's not gonna let any girl back there that he hasn't porked beforehand."

And this guy held a prestigious post as the Czech National Museum? Damn and I thought Americans were corrupt.

"Ah . . . I'm not sure I can do that." I protested. I may have been able to deal with a penis on futa, but doing another man was something else entirely.

Persephone smiled again, "Oh, you sure can, sweetie. Try to remember, Doc, you're not a man anymore; you're a futa nymph woman. Nymphs practically are sex, and it's not in their nature, or yours anymore, to have any kind of hang ups about any sort of sex. There is no such thing as heterosexual or homosexual nymph; you are all bisexual and respond to just about anything. Believe me, you'll be able to do this, you're body will tell you what to do."

She paused and then added, "Speaking of having sex with anything: I'd stay away from horses for the next twenty four hours if I were you. You're libido is completely out of its cage and that can get . . . ugly."

This was getting weirder and weirder, "So, after we get the piece; then you'll turn me back?"

"Turn you back?" Persephone laughed, "What makes you think I can do that?"

"WHAT!?!?!"

"It's pretty easy to turn a mortal into a mythic, but turning a mythic into a mortal? That's impossible."

"Wait, I can't stay like this!" I protested, "I have a job, I have a life!"

"Oh, don't worry; I can fix that all up for you." Persephone insisted, "I can set you up with a new identity and background and when we're done you can go right back to your old job and no one will think you're anything other then the new girl in the post."

That didn't reassure me, "Oh god, why is this happening to me?"

I felt Megara put two green reassuring hands on my shoulders.

"Doc, try to understand and appreciate the gift Persephone just gave you." She said soothingly, "You are a nymph, one of the mythics. Nymphs are powerful, the wield a lot of strong magic. Nymphs never age, they never grow old, they never get sick, and they never die."

As soon as she said it, my eyes grew wide with the implications, "Y-you mean . . . I'm . . ."

Megarasmiled, "You're immortal."