★Memorable Author: [El_Roy_1999] Hell on Earth - An Experiment

[El_Roy_1999]

After what seemed an eternity of corridors and increasingly bizarre rooms, Lucy finally ended up in front of a massive door, huge enough to let a giant pass without as much as touching the frame. Nodding at the guards, she entered. This had to be the demon queen's lair.

She walked into a massive hall, decorated with ceremonial weapons, flags and banners of conquered and defeated nations and trophies of Asturath's exploits. The hall's ceiling was very high, the light filtering in through the stained glass windows. She walked past a procession of devoted servants. The room was filled with vapours reminding her of incense, the soft sounds of a choir could be heard. As she approached the center of the room, she saw Asturath.

The demon queen was lying on a huge divan, her crown of ebon horns glistening in the sunlight. She looked down on her admirers, apparently awakening from the daze of a powerful narcotic. One of the sycophants addressed her with devotion:
"O queen of queens, mistress of blood, demon lady of destruction! Are you well? Do you require any help?"

Asturath's eyes flickered once again, she shook her head and replied:
"Not at all. I feel elated. I assume the doctor was successful?"
"Indeed! It was a full success."
"Perfect. Where is he? I want to thank him. I would have expected him to be here when I wake. If you find him, have him lashed."
"Of course, mistress. However..." The creature cowered. "There is a slight problem."
Her voice was ice.
"What?"
The servant hesitated:
"There has been an accident."
"An accident? Tell me now. Stop stalling or I'll have you gutted and served for dinner!"
Paling, the lesser demon replied:
"Sister Lucretia has escaped. She has killed the doctor and some of the guards."
The demon queen laughed shrilly.
"Excellent. I guess she'll be on her way here. Perfect. I think she might even be here by now. This time, nothing will stand in the way of our confrontation. I hope she isn't too weak. Let's see if the doctor's work was a worthy testament of his skill."

[El_Roy_1999]

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[El_Roy_1999]

With these words, the six-armed demon moved a little sideways. The lower part of her body was revealed.
Through the slits of her helmet, Lucy could see the total horror of the doctor's work. The demon queen's legs had been removed. Instead, her body now ended in what Lucy recognised as Theresa's. Where her friend's head had been, Asturath's hips flowed into the shoulders. The monster's body was now akin to a centaur. She got on her four lower limbs, putting what had once been Theresa's hands and feet on the ground and stretching her six upper arms. From what had been Theresa's jugular notch, a massive vagina grew.
The bizarre obscenity took a few hesitant steps, then called for one of her servants to clothe her. What had once been Theresa's body was quickly covered in dark red leathers. The monster exclaimed:
"Where is Lucretia? I want her to meet the new me!"

Indeed, Lucy barely managed to control her urge to throw up and she stood there, gagging desperately under her helmet. What had this abomination done? She had to kill her. She had to avenge her friend. She grasped her scythe tighter and advanced.
Meanwhile, the demon queen was in a foul mood. Waiting for Lucy to show up was making her angry. She paced the room, then said:
"Is the oracle ready? Have you added the new one?"
The servants nodded.
"Bring it in, then! I'm waiting."
She made a tapping motion with her lower body's fingers.

Lucy slowly drifted forward, approaching the central part of the room. The servants bustled to the back, then returned with a crystal sphere. It was actually quite a complex device, trailing cables and wires. Lucy pushed some lackeys aside and saw the content of the sphere.
Inside the clear orb, Theresa's head was swimming in some kind of liquid. Several tubes protruded from it, connecting her to a device in the back. Asturath took the globe and said:
"Alas, poor nun! I knew her."
Then she laughed hysterically. Theresa's head opened its eyes and waited:
"Where is Sister Lucretia?"
The nun's eyes flickered, her thoughts racing. At last she said in unison with Lucy:

"RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!"

[El_Roy_1999]

Lifting her scythe, Lucy charged at the abomination. She pushed aside the various servants and boot-lickers, jumped up on the platform and struck her foe's abdomen. The massive demon-creature stared at the cut in disbelief, reared up and smashed Lucy with both of her huge lower fists. The warrior nun barely escaped being crushed under the masses of her friend's hands. The demon woman did not wait for her to recover. Instead, she drew her weapons from a nearby rack and pounced at her, intending to impale her on her spear.
Lucy managed to divert the weapon and tried to circle her enemy, expecting her to be slow at turning around. Indeed, Asturath took some while to face her again, so Lucy found a few seconds to recover and make a plan. She looked at the monstrosity, thinking about a possible weak spot. The only thing she noticed was that the suture between the torso and the lower body still seemed weak. Getting there wouldn't be easy.
She ran around her enemy, once again stalling the confrontation. However, Asturath had enough.

"So you're a coward? Very well. You can die just as quick."
With these words, she covered herself in eldritch flames and threw them in a circle around her. The servants found their robes aflame and fled screaming, prompting their mistress to whoop with pleasure. Lucy was burnt too, her bandages singed, her skin scorched. She had to get on the beast's back. She expected a blind spot there.
Running to a nearby column, she called for Asturath, making the lumbering hulk charge her. Just as the monster was upon her, she climbed up the slick pillar and jumped from it. The ascension tore off her bandages, exposing her bleeding midsection. She struck at Asturath's face with a fistful of scalpels.

The demon's eight eyes glared furiously, but the monster just bent sideways, evading the attack. Lucy landed on the contorting, writhing muscles, readied her scythe and struck at the junction between torso and body. The weapon bit deep, but Asturath was unimpressed. Instead, she just twisted around, contorting her waist by 180 degrees and facing her assailant. Wielding too short steel whips in her lower pair of arms, she grabbed Lucy's arms and pulled her closer, her circular mouth gaping.

Lucy focused her strength on resisting her enemy's steely pull, then suddenly relaxed, throwing herself at the creature's maw. The moment her breast sank into her foes mouth, she released a spray of nectar. The monster swallowed it in surprise, her strange, lipless mouth dripping with honey.
The massive amount made it act with lightning quickness. Eight eyes gaping, Asturath stared at Lucy's face as the released warrior nun smiled wickedly and started pummeling her face into a bloody clump.

[El_Roy_1999]

As Lucy destroyed her foe's face, the growth process started, making Asturath's muscles swell and quiver. Soon, her arms were fighting for space in the cramped environment. She howled in pain as she literally tore herself apart. Finally, she threw herself on her own back, sending Lucy flying to the ground. For a moment, the warrior nun blacked out from the pain.
Asturath grabbed for the sphere, stared at it with a few of her remaining good eyes and said:
"I need to stop this. Find a way."
Once again, the eyes flickered and Theresa's head said:
"The antidote is the blood of angels."
Asturath stared at her and screamed in frustration. Meanwhile, Lucy got back up and staggered around looking for a weapon. The demon-queen's body became increasingly immobile by its relentless growth. She extended an ever-lengthening tongue from her lamprey-like mouth and liked up the blood spilled by Lucy. Instantly, the growth subsided. She gasped with relief, got back on her 'feet' and looked for her antagonist.

At the same time, Lucy had taken a sword from her enemy's own weapons rack. She advanced again on her, staggering from the blood-loss and the wounds. Asturath was bleeding just as badly, but she was still willing to fight. Besides, her bloated muscles had made her even stronger. The demonic woman attacked in full charge, jumping in the air to smash her foe with her full weight.
Lucy saw the monster's shadow eclipse the stained glass light. She realised that she wouldn't be able to evade this attack. Instead, she did the most awful thing she could do. Running forward, she jumped up herself, sinking into Asturath's now exposed vagina. The monster gasped, stopped where she landed, bent forward and clawed at herself, trying to get Lucy back out.

Then, just as sudden as she had fought, she stopped. Something had happened. Her body went limp, her eyes turned dull. Asturath collapsed. The blade of Lucy's sword shot out of her back, severing her upper body from the lower one. She emerged from the bleeding carcass, holding a strangely distorted piece of mother of pearl in her hand. She stared at it, wiped the blood from it and inserted it into her snatch.

[El_Roy_1999]

Lucy felt a wave of energy wash over her. The blood and insanity around her, the wounds her body had taken, everything became distant and unclear. She felt a strange calm permeate her being. As she opened her eyes, she could see that her body was healing. Her skin was reattaching itself, her wounds disappeared.

Then, when she had fully recovered, the transformation began. It came as a surprise. Lucy had somehow expected that taking the demon's power in herself would make her more powerful, but the effect was strange. Somehow, she felt a growing pain in her sides. Her arms started to shake, her head began to pound. She touched the area below her armpits and wondered at what was happening. Something was swelling, growing, taking form under her skin. And then, suddenly, she screamed in pain. Within moments, a second pair of arms erupted below her normal one. As they built up, the muscles wrapped around them grew stronger and stronger until they reached the girth of the others.
Soon, she calmed down. Her body, a perfect weapon, was slowly adapting to its enemies. She looked down at her midsection and realised it was growing ever more muscular. When the process finally stopped, she took a look at herself in one of Asturath's many mirrors.

She was no longer even remotely human. Her body had become ever more massive, her large frame stuffed with muscles. Her deflated breasts hung from a swollen chest full of strength, lying on top of a bloated stomach with enormous abdominals. She couldn't help but touch her extreme body, her four hands exploring the ridges and mounts of her overmuscled physique. She was amazed at how nimble and natural her new hands were. She used them instinctively as if she'd always had them.

The grumbling of destabilising masonry awoke her from her daydream. She looked around, saw that the others had fled and began feeling the slow but ever quickening descent of the aerial fortress. She ran to Theresa's severed head and tore it free from its cables. The other woman looked at her through her glass pane. She said:
"You defeated her. I knew it. Mistress, you must listen to me. I was connected to the other minds of Asturath's slaves. I know all they know. I think with their minds. I can help you. You must save me. I will explain later."
"Good. How do I get off this place?"
The head in a jar shook, then she said:
"There's a landing strip on top of the fortress. Go up there, there are six, no, five planes left. Be quick."

Lucy ran. She climbed the stairs, pushed aside fleeing demon servants and reached the top platform. There, she jumped into one of the vehicles. She stared at the controls.
"How does this thing fly?"
Once again, the head shivered. Theresa's voice said:
"Connect me there and there. I'll fly you, mistress."
Lucy did as she was told. The machine sprung to life and took off, dumping several fugitives overboard. As they left the collapsing fortress, Lucy looked back. The whole construct was a massive cathedral, suspended in the sky upside down. The building broke apart, pieces of masonry dropping into the wasteland below.
They flew away, avid to return to Barricada.

[El_Roy_1999]

Sadly, the escape was short-lived. After a few seconds, a group of similar planes appeared behind them and, seeking revenge for their fallen mistress, opened fire. Bullets whizzed by, smoke started pouring from the machine, the ground roared closer. Even though the severed head aligned the machines gun on their pursuers and managed to take two of them out, the damage was done. Within seconds, the plane went into a spin and eventually crashed into a rocky outcrop.

Spitting out dirt, Lucy emerged from the machine's wreckage. She reached into the broken hull and pulled Theresa's head from the debris. The head stared at her in confusion. Above them, one of the planes turned around and descended in a strafing run. Lucy ran.
She evaded the attack, took cover behind the nearby boulders and fled towards a ridge that cut the plain in half. As she ran, she finally realised that the ridge was more than a mere wall of earth. Instead, she suddenly saw that the horizon ended with this. Below her, a very deep chasm opened, a thin line of blue suggesting a river or creek. Still, it was too late to stop and she jumped.
Spreading her top pair of arms, she dove with perfect poise. When the water approached, she took a very elegant header. In this moment, she hoped and begged that the water would be deep and it was.

She smashed through the surface, the world bursting into a stream of bubbles. For a few seconds, she might have lost consciousness. When she recovered, she swam on underwater, losing her pursuers.

[El_Roy_1999]

A few minutes later, she emerged from the water. She was still dazed from the impact, her pale skin swelling up with bruises. She slowly climbed out of the riverbed and looked around. Lucy was at the foot of the gorge. The water was speeding by, the sides of the canyon were nearly vertical. No easy escape from here. She decided to look for some shelter. After all, she was still naked, wet and freezing.
She looked around and suddenly saw a cave entrance. It had been carved to look like the head of a demon. As she inspected it more closely, she realised it was abandoned. Indeed, the dust inside was half an inch thick. This place was a ruin. Still, it would offer her some protection from the wind roaring through the gorge. She held Theresa's head closer and stepped inside, her eyes slowly adapting to the darkness.
After a few yards inside, she found out that this place had been furbished with quite a few amenities. In it, she found a very dusty chamber with a cot, some robes and a few canned provisions. The people who had set up this place had even prepared some now useless guns. She found a knife she could use after a little  searching.
She lit a fire in the simple fireplace and checked, whether the smoke would be drawn off. She was relieved when it disappeared through the chimney.

After checking on her wounds and eating something, she finally had the time to recover. Only then did she realised that her body had once again changed.

[El_Roy_1999]

She touched the fingers on her four hands, running them through in a strange thumb twiddling motion. Once she was done, she stared at Theresa's head in its fishbowl. She asked:
"What happened?"
Theresa gave her a blank stare as her eyes flickered. After a few seconds, she stopped, then said with an indifferent voice:
"My head was cut off. She took my body. I was connected to this machine and joined to the minds of all her other enemies. I now know everything they knew."

Lucy took the head in her four hands and said regretfully:
"I'm so sorry I came too late. I was unconscious."
"I know. You couldn't do anything. It's okay."
"No. It's not. It's horrible. So am I. I've finally turned into a monster."
Once again, Theresa's eyes quivered and she said:
"Yes. But don't worry. It was the right thing to do. You'd have died without this. I would have lost you."
"I don't understand."
"You are my mistress. Even before this, I was at your mercy. Now, it is total. Absolute. This is how I want it to be."
Lucy stared at her friend's disembodied head. She continued:
"I have seen the minds of the many. You are the peace bringer. You are the angel of death. You are the one who will destroy the demons and free humanity."
"Me?"
"You. I will stay with you until the end."

Lucy slowly put down the sphere and took her head in her many hands. She sobbed.
"What now?"

[El_Roy_1999]

After a while, the head said in a soothing voice:
"We'll have to find a way out of here and return to Barricada. As soon as were there, we'll be able to recover."
Lucy calmed down and said:
"You're right. I'm starting to lose it. I need to focus on getting back."
She picked up the clothes and fashioned a garb for her. Then, she took the knife and built a torch. Lighting it, she descended deeper into the cave.
Soon, she realised that this place was part of a vast network of aimless tunnels that occasionally just ended, forcing her to backtrack. It seemed that some sections had collapsed, others hadn't been finished. She occasionally found some signs of bloodshed, apparently, demons had slaughtered the inhabitants. All of this seemed strangely familiar.

Eventually, she reached a massive steel door. It was well-constructed and appeared to be very robust. The whole thing was locked from the inside. She examined it more closely and finally found a plate in the wall next to it. As she lifted it off, she found a small alcove, roughly four inches high. Inside was a small machine with a needle on top of it. The needle was sealed in plastic. As she removed the cover, the thing sprang to life and beeped. A flickering light went on and a disembodied voice said:
"Prepare for genetic key."

Hesitating, Lucy pressed her finger on the needle. There was another beep, something sprang to life in the depths of the vault. Then, the door opened slowly.

[El_Roy_1999]

Lucy stared into the darkness before her. Beyond the light of the torch, something moved. She held the torch high with her upper left, held the sphere in her lower right and readied the knife. She was still amazed at how natural her movements were. She advanced, noting that the floor was devoid of dust. The place was deserted, but clean. She continued until she reached a series of doors. The corridor went on, leading to a large hall. She went in, looked around and shouted:
"Hello? Is there anybody out there? Hello?"

Her booming voice echoed back at her. She felt uneasy. Suddenly, the head sprang to life and said:
"There are lifeforms close by. They are approaching."
Lucy strained her eyes against the gloom and then she saw them. A whole group of humans emerged into the hall. They were of all races, but always sickly pale and clearly scared by the monstrous creature that had entered their lair. Lucy looked at them and said:
"I am a friend. My name is Lucretia. I am a sister of the order and a servant of the One."

The mob hesitated. The words clearly meant something to them. They lowered their clubs and waited. After a while, the group opened and a wizened old man came forward. He asked in a failing voice:
"Lucretia? I cannot see you, my eyes have failed me, but are you Ishmael's daughter?"
When she heard her father's name from the ancient man's throat, she shivered all over. How could he know him?

She replied:
"I am. Who are you?"
"My name is Matthew. I was your father's teacher before the fall. What has become of him?"
"He's dead. He died defending me. The demons killed him."
"I see. This is bad. On the other hand, it was expected. I told him that leaving this bunker would be his end. I was right. Good."
He nodded. She asked:
"What is this place?"
The old man sat down and motioned her to do likewise.
"It's a safe house we set up in case something would happen. We hadn't expected demons. A nuclear war was more along our plans. Still, it served well. We lived down here since the Fall of Humanity. This is the third generation."
He made a sweeping gesture. The people stared at the giant woman in terror.

[El_Roy_1999]

"Ishmael was a strange one. I had known him before the apocalypse. Unlike me, he was always afraid of changes. When the end came, he withdrew deeper into the bunker and refused to talk to us. Meanwhile, we others did what we could to repopulate and maintain our knowledge. Until now, the demons haven't found our base and I guess they won't."
Lucy looked around and gazed at the pallid men and women around her. She asked:
"Why did he leave then?"
"After a while, he escaped from his stupor. It must have been the realisation that his fears had been correct that made him calm down. For me, it had just been a scientific eventuality." With a smirk, he added: "After all, I much more expected a nuclear war than a demon incursion of all things. Honestly, even now, it sounds so ridiculous. Demons! Whatever!" He laughed a little, then continued: "In the end, he decided to go out and explore. I was against it, of course, but you know how it is. You can't refuse things forever. So out he went."
"And then?"
"Well, he returned. He had a prisoner with him. A demon, no less. We took our time and questioned it. It took forever, but in the end, it spilled its guts. It was only then that we understood that an infernal incursion was the problem. Until then, we still thought it was a military conflict amongst humans. After a while, we became used to the demon. After all, it was friendly and everything. If they're alone, they're quite human in their ways. Also, I have a theory that you should help me test: Is it true that there are several tiers of demons and that the lower ones are dominated by their, might I say, 'betters'?"
Lucy nodded:
"That's correct. Without the demon lords, they quickly become disorganised."
"Excellent. Thank you. This completes an important part of my studies."
He started scribbling words on a notepad.

After a while of watching him work, Lucy asked:
"And what happened then?"
"He left. Otherwise he wouldn't have been your father, would he?"
"Yes. But how and why?"
"He freed the demon and left with it. I don't know why. After all, we had learned what we wanted to know from it and I was getting ready to dissect it. Well, too bad."
"He took the demon with him? Why?"
"I don't know. I guess he liked it. Like a pet? Anyway, you're here now and the computer system has recognised your genetic code. You're welcome to stay."

[El_Roy_1999]

Lucy shook her head:
"I'm sorry, I can't stay. I have to return to Barricada. But you can come with me, if you want. It's much better on the outside."
The old man smiled and said:
"No, no. You have to stay. You seem like a strong woman, very fertile. I'm sorry I can't see you all too well, but with all this... volume, you must be good at bearing children. We need children, you know?"
"What?"
"We have to beat the demons at their own game. Overpopulate them. Destroy them with the masses of our progeny. That's all we've been doing here for decades now. It will work, if you help."
One of the pale people approached and whispered a few words to the old man. His expression changed and he said:
"I'm just being told that you have become a halfbreed demon bastard. That's bad, but not a problem. After all, some of your kids are likely to be human enough anyway. All this demon stuff will be able to be bred out, don't you think."

With these words, he made a sign to the mass of strange people. With a sudden bout of rage, they charged Lucy, brandishing ropes and chains to bind her. Lucy lifted her fists and prepared to defend herself. Within seconds, a huge brawl ensued. Lucy's fists smashed her deathly pale assailants into the ground, only to find them replaced by another wave.
She struggled against them, but they slowly but certainly ground her down. Understanding what was going to happen, Theresa's head shouted to her friend:
"Throw me over there, I'll take control."

Lucy threw her friend's severed skull over to the control board and sunk all four fists into the hordes around her, throwing them back again. She bit one of the attacker's ears off and spit it out high. Theresa's globe extended a few cable tendrils and quickly took control of the computer system. As Lucy headbutted another enemy, Theresa turned on the defense mechanisms, flooding the room with irritant gas. Lucy ran forward, eyes red from the agent, grabbed Theresa, and ran deeper into the complex. As she sprinted through identical corridors, Theresa directed her to another exit.
She sprinted up some stairs, throwing her pursuers over the aisle. When she finally reached the door, she heard the panting of her foes. She struggled to wrench it open, when she heard the old man shout:
"Do not flee! There is no place in the world for the likes of you. With us, you can be a part of society, somehow like a human being. Outside, you're neither human nor demon. Stay, and you won't be alone. Think about it!"

Lucy spat, pulled open the door and fled.
As she ran, the old man looked at her fleeing shape with whitened eyes. He said:
"My children, we'll have to get her back. Too bad. I really wanted to stay here. However, if we managed to breed her into our line, we'll have the means to destroy the demon brood. Follow her!"

[El_Roy_1999]

After what seemed like forever, Lucy stopped running. She fell to the ground, gasping for air. She laid down for a while, waiting for her to recover. Finally, she got back up and spat out the bitterness in her mouth. The hulking four-armed woman picked up her slave's head and said:
"I can't believe how crazy this guy was."
If Theresa could have, she would have nodded. Instead, she said:
"Agreed. He knew your father, though. I wonder what became of the demon?"
"Honestly, I don't know and I don't care. You know me well, but I must say that it is time for a break. I really need to get back to civilisation."
Theresa replied:
"Definitely. I'll need a little help too."
"Do you happen to know where we are?"
"I can find out when it's night."
"Perfect. Then we'll stay here and wait for sundown."

They just sat there for hours, in the pale and cold desert, waiting silently. Neither of them had anything to say. After a while, Lucy fell asleep. Theresa woke her up as the sun went down. Lucy awoke from a weird mess of a dream, involving her father, Asturath, the underground bunker and the darkness between the stars.
When she was awake, Theresa said:
"I have calculated our position. There should be a settlement thirty miles to the east."
Lucy turned her until she said 'this way' and started walking.
"Thank you."
As she walked, Lucy stared up at the sky. It was full of stars, there was no moon. However, she could see the strange phenomenon that had appeared before the demons had invaded. Amidst the stars, there was a large area, probably circular, which held no stars at all. Half dreaming, she said:
"I wonder what's up there..."
There was no answer.

[El_Roy_1999]

In the dark of the night, Lucy finally arrived at the fortified town Theresa had predicted. It was encircled by a wall of scrap metal and broken concrete. Its gates were closed. Lucy had to wait for the morning and finally caught up with the rest of her sleep.
When she awoke, she arranged her clothes so that people wouldn't see her additional arms and carefully hid Theresa's head in the folds of her garb. Then, she went to the gates. They were open, which she found surprising. She stepped through and walked over the main road. She was hungry as hell. As she approached the tavern, she was cut short by a group of men on riding beasts. The creatures were strange, scaled giant ostriches, with beaks full of teeth. The riders were well-armed and were currently addressing a group of people on their way to the store.
The leader had just asked:
"Where are you going, dirt?"
The young man, a pale, skinny farmer, his face tattooed with a slave mark that was slowly fading looked up at the rider and replied:
"I'm just going to the shop and by some stuff."
"Stuff? You heard that, guys? He's going to buy stuff."
There was a ripple of laughter. The rider leaned down and continued:
"Well, my friend, stuff isn't going to be all that important today. Not for a little freak like you. Although, you're right, stuff might get interesting."
He turned to his partners:
"What do you say? Let's stuff the little fucker. What do you think? We could arrange him in a fancy pose, with the bear you shot earlier, Joe."
Joe, one of the members of the group, replied:
"Sounds like a great idea. I know just the thing. Poor little orphan's going to get his place in history."

[El_Roy_1999]

Lucy still stood there, waiting for the riders to clear the path. As they continued abusing the youth, she finally interrupted the scene by abruptly lifting the leader from his animal and throwing him down to the ground. With a crash, he landed in the dirt. The beast, surprised at its rider's departure, squawked loudly in confusion. The other riders turned to Lucy and drew their weapons.
Lucy stared down six revolver barrels. One of the men wanted to say something threatening, but instead of letting him finish, Lucy just smashed her right fists into the still confused flightless bird and sent the 500 pound beast tumbling into its fellows legs. She used the following chaos to quickly demolish her enemies. One of the riders got back up from under his thrashing mount, managed to aim his gun at her and found himself unable to get a mark since she just slapped his hand aside. It felt like being hit by a steel rod. He howled in pain as his revolver dropped to the ground.

When Lucy was done destroying the gang, the few of them who weren't unconscious limped away. Lucy walked over to the young man, suddenly noticing that the entire town was watching. She stared at them, unsure of what would happen next.
Then, the crowd erupted into cheers.
Minutes later, Lucy was sitting in the tavern, enjoying enormous amounts of food and drink. Apparently, she had unintentionally rid the town of the resident gang of evildoers. Furthermore, when she explained that she was a woman of the Order,  the residents nodded but clearly had no idea. However, they were willing to place themselves under her protection. Lucy accepted.

There was a bit of confusion later on, when Lucy accidentally revealed her special shape, but apparently, the townspeople were somehow accustomed to it. When she asked, the barkeeper replied:
"We get all sorts around here."
He smiled.