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Bubble Bath Bedlam

By CalexTheNeko

Tom turned off the faucet as he finished running the bath. He then picked up the bottle pet shampoo he had bought online and glanced at it for a brief moment. It was a medicinal shampoo for his cat. He just wanted to be sure he used it right so that it would work. The only warning he saw on it was warning to avoid cross contamination between species. He only had one cat, so that should be easy.

His cat was getting on in years... In fact it was older than him. His parents had adopted the cat five years before Tom was born. That made the cat twenty years of age. Tom had known this cat his entire life. He had played with it when he was younger and often let the cat sleep in his bed since his crib days. Now he didn't do much now other than sleep and eat... Which admittedly wasn't much different from normal cat behavior... But still. The shampoo was specifically designed with all kinds of vitamins meant to help out rejuvenate older cats. Tom could only help it might make his old cat a little more lively again.

Tom poured the shampoo into the tub. He planned to use quite a bit of what was in the water. Since his tub was probably much bigger than most bath tubs he figured he would need quite a bit of the shampoo for it to have any effect. He watched as bubbles began to form and set the shampoo down next to the tub.

Now... It was time to fetch the cat. But first... Tom had to make sure he was prepared.

Tom dressed himself in an old pair of thick jeans. He wore thick wool socks over his feet, and a long sleeved sweater. He had wanted gloves, but had none that were water proof sadly. He also had hoped he could cover his face and sandy colored hair... But he was sadly lacking in proper helmets. Still... His body was as protected as it could be for the task at hand.

Tom slowly walked out into the living room. There he saw the cat. He was sound asleep on the recliner.

"Hey there Barnaby." Tom spoke to the cat calmly as he approached it. The cat woke up in an instant and stared at the teen as if suspecting he was up to something. "It's ok... I'm just going to pick you up and pet you for a moment..." Tom bent down and lifted the old gray tabby into the air. He held the cat against his chest and began to pet it. The cat began to swish its tail as Tom carried the cat back to the bathroom. Then... The cat saw the tub full of water and bubbles.

Tom slammed the door shut just as the cat attempted to leap from his arms.

"No!" Tom gave a shout. "Bad Barnaby!"

"MROOOOOOOOOOOWL!" The cat gave a shriek. Despite its age it proved it was still capable as it jumped up on the kitchen counting knocking over toothbrushes and deodorant.

"No stop making a mess!" Tom pleaded. "Look it'll just be a quick bath! I promise! You'll feel better after!" He tried to grab the cat only for it to swipe at him with its claws. Luckily things to the thick sweater he was wearing the claws got stuck in that without hurting Tom. "Got you!" Tom took advantage of Barnaby being stuck to scoop him back up. In one fluid motion Tom tossed the cat into the tub. The cat let out an angry mrowl as it landed in the water.

The battle was only beginning though. Tom rushed to the side of the tub as Barnaby attempted to leap from the tub. With a furious hiss he rose from beneath the water surface like a demon. Tom grabbed onto the cat and tried to keep him in the water with one hand while the other he began to furiously massage the cat's fur.

"Stop fighting me!" Tom whined. "I'm trying to help you!" Barnaby returned this argument by furiously biting at Tom's arms. Thankfully, the thick sweater helped protect Tom from that. Still, the cat was determined to escape its fate of cleanliness. Barnaby dug his claws into Tom's sweater and kicked at the tub with his hind paws. This had the effect of splashing water all over Tom. He grunted and tried to pry the cat off him only for the cat to smack him right in the face... A spot that wasn't protected. Tom let out a yelp and flailed about before falling into the tub with the cat.

Tom felt a strange sense of disorientation as he landed in the water. The cat meanwhile took this opportunity to leap out of his grip and out of the bath tub. Tom himself reached for the edge of the tub to climb up but missed the edge. He felt... Unwell. He almost felt like he wasn't in his own body, as if everything in the world was stretching out away from his reach. Was it an effect of the medical shampoo? Tom managed to stand up and get out of the tub but as he did... Everything was wrong.

It wasn't hard to notice what was wrong... But it was very difficult to process the experience. The first thing Tom noticed as he stood on his bath rug was that he was no longer wearing pants or socks. In fact the only article of clothing he had on him was his now soaked sweater... Which he was now practically swimming in. The sleeves went way past his hands and flopped around on their own. Meanwhile the tail of the shirt was long enough to go all the way down to his ankles. He couldn't quite understand what was going on... And then it only got weirder when he heard a youthful voice.

"Well... It's been a long time since I've seen you looking that cute."

"What!?" Tom spun around. The bathroom looked twice as big as normal and now there was apparently someone in here with him. However as he glanced around the room all he saw was Barnaby. The cat was licking its paw furiously before rubbing down its ears. Tom noticed his cat... Looked younger. Not like a kitten, but like an adult cat in its prime now. As he wondered what could be going on the cat suddenly slowly stood up on his hind legs and placed its paws on its hips while staring at Tom.

"So I guess I should thank you... But was a bath the only way you could really do this?" The youthful voice came out of Barnaby's muzzle.

"Talking cat!" Tom managed to shout as he fell back onto his bottom and backed away from the cat.

"I suppose that I am." Barnaby shrugged. The cat took a step towards Tom. "Heh it's kinda fun being almost as big as you!"

"But but!" Tom tried to process what happened. Then he remember the fact that everything looked gigantic to him. For a moment he forgot the cat as he tried to peer into the bathroom mirror. It was too high up for him to see. He had to climb up the counter to get a look. His wet sweater tried to weigh him down and Tom slipped out of it as he climbed. He then sat on his knees atop the counter as he stared into the mirror.

He saw the naked body of a sandy haired five year old staring back at him.

Tom gave a shout and fail down from the counter. He flailed in the air, only to suddenly to come to a surprisingly soft landing. He looked back to see that he landed in a basket of towels.

"Careful!" Barnaby said. "I barely managed to shove that in the way in time!"

"Wha... what happened!?" Tom shouted. "Why am I a little kid!? How are you talking!?"

"Didn't you do that?" Barnaby asked with a quizzical look.

"I-" Tom paused. It had to be the medicinal shampoo. He grabbed the bottle and looked at it. There was a customer service phone number on the back. Tom quickly moved to the door. Reaching the doorknob was tricky. He had to stand on his tippy toes to grab it. Once the door was open he quickly ran to his bedroom and fetched his cell phone. He dialed the number as quickly as he could.

And was promptly stuck on hold for ten minutes. Ten minutes of boredom is enough to certainly take the edge off the situation a little... But when a live person came onto the line Tom snapped to attention.

"Hello thank you for calling Callyco Science Industries. How can I help you?" The girl on the other end asked.

"Your shampoo!" Tom pleaded. "It did something to me! And now I'm small!"

"Is this a kid?" The voice asked. "Your voice is really high pitched. You shouldn't be playing on the phone without your parents."

"But I'm not a kid!" Tom whined. "Or... Wasn't... But... I bought a medicinal shampoo for my cat! And now I'm all tiny and my cat is walking around on two legs!"

"Oh that's not supposed to happen." The girl said on the other line. "You didn't use more than one cup of it did you?"

"Um... Maybe?" Tom responded. He hadn't actually measured out how much he used.

"Well there's your problem." The girl said. "That's why we put the instructions on there. If you followed the directions you would have been fine."

"But... But how do I fix it!?" Tom pleaded.

"Well luckily for you we do have an antidote we make here. Let me get your order information and we'll send out separate bottles. One for you and one for your cat. Make sure you follow the directions this time."

As Tom hung up he began to calm down. The idea that this was only temporary helped a bit. The antidote would arrive and he could go back to his proper age. He gave a sigh of relief at that.

"What was that about?" Barnaby asked as he walked into the room.

"GAH!?" Somehow Tom had forgotten about the talking cat. "Um well..." Tom blushed a bit. He remembered he was currently naked. Come to think of it so was the cat but he didn't seem shy. Maybe he should try not to think about it. "I just wasn't really expecting to be so small..."

"Why not?" Barnaby asked. "I figured you did that so you could have a little fun." These words seemed to trigger something in Tom. That was right... If only until the antidote came here he was a little kid again. Since this was going to be reversed he should have a little fun with it before he changed back. He was still conscious about being naked... But none of his clothes fit and it was just Barnaby here with him.

"Uh right..." Tom tried to think of what he might do now that he was a little kid again. Come to think of it he had a possible new playmate to play with too. "Then... We should play something!" Tom said. "Oh how about! I still have some stuffed animals I haven't played with in forever!" Tom paused as he suggested that. He realized that the idea of playing with toy animals might have been a bit silly to suggest when he had a real talking cat in front of him.

"You know I've never actually played with those before!" The cat's eyes lit up. "I mean I've chewed on them a few times but before now it never occurred to me what else you might use them for! I'd love to give it a try!"

"R-right!" Tom muttered as he went to fetch a few stuffed animals. As then proceeded to spend the next several hours playing with Barnaby. The two pretended to be an assortment of wild animals making all kinds of noise until eventually they were interrupted.

In the evening Tom heard a door slam shut indicating his mother was home. He looked down at himself remembering his current state. He was going to have to explain things to his mother! And he needed to get some clothes! He tried to come up with an explanation but was still struggling when she walked into his room.

"Tommy what do you think you're doing!?" His mom asked.

"Look mom I can explain!" Tom replied.

"Explain why you're running around naked?" His mom asked. "Honestly your dad and I spent good money on your clothes."

"Wait... That's the only problem you see?" Tom froze and looked over at Barnaby. It was like his mother didn't notice the cat was walking upright or Tommy was now so young... No that wasn't right. She could notice... But she was acting as if they were supposed to be like that!" Come to think of it... Why would being naked be a big deal anyway? He couldn't remember why he was so concerned about it earlier.

"Well enough of this, let's get you a bath and into your jammies." She bent down and picked up Tom. "You stay here Barnaby."

"Oh trust me I'm not coming anywhere near a bath!" Barnaby replied.

"I learned that one the hard way." Tom's mother replied as she carried Tom out of the room.

"Mom I can take my own bath!" Tom whined and flailed trying to free himself from her group. However she refused to let him go. She proceeded to run water into the tub and then fill the tub with shampoo making a bubble bath. She lowered Tom into the water as she began to bathe him.

Tom couldn't resist having a little fun. He hadn't taken a bubble bath since... Well since he had been a real little kid! He proceeded to clap at the bubbles popping them when he could as well as splashing them about having a blast. However as he played he felt strange again... As if the tub was stretching out again. Suddenly he felt weaker... As if he couldn't sit up of his own strength. His hair became thinner and suddenly his teeth were sucked up into his gums.

Luckily his mom caught his back and held him strong. He felt safe with her... But as he looked up at her he noticed she looked almost a decade younger now! Wait that meant... She must have used the medicinal shampoo! He looked around wildly seeing the shampoo bottle now setting next to the bath. Tom tried to object and cry out... But only incoherent gibberish came out again.

"There there, no need to get so upset Tommy." His mother replied. She lifted him out of the water easily and wrapped him up in a towel. Tommy was mere infant now, completely helpless to do anything himself. "Now let's get your jammies on!" Tommy wanted to protest but all he could do is watch as his mother headed to his room looking for pajamas. She was confused unable to find any in his size there and had to resort to looking for some in the attic. However after Tom was fitted into his pajamas she brought him down into the living room and set him on the couch.

"Whoa." Barnaby jumped up onto the couch next to Tom. "You decided to make yourself even younger? Well if that's what you want." Tommy tried to respond but all he could manage was a gurgle. So instead he just crossed his arms and gave the cat the most serious stare he could. "What'd I do?" Barnaby whined.

"Looks like something came in the mail today." Tom's mom spoke as she carried a cardboard box into the room. "Found this on the front porch." She opened up the box revealing two bottles inside of it.

The antidotes! Tom couldn't believe they were here already. He flailed his arms trying to grab at them. This just had the result of making him fall onto his stomach.

"Hungry are you?" His mom asked. "I don't know... I'm not sure I trust milk that came in the mail. Well... It's probably harmless and I wouldn't want to waste it. You and Barnaby can both have a treat." With that his mom poured one bottle into a saucer while attacking a sucker to the other bottle. She then set the saucer down on the ground while giving Tom the bottle.

Tom sucked on the bottle greedily. He was ready to return back to his normal age now. Being a little kid had been fun but he felt so helpless now as an infant! Much to his satisfaction he felt strength returning to him as he drank... His teeth and hair began to grow back But something was wrong. He was stronger... But not bigger! In fact he was getting even smaller! The infant sized pajamas fell right off his body! Then there was hair growing in all over him instead of just his head! And his teeth felt all pointy! He tried to shout and instead the only thing that came out was an adorable 'mew.' Meanwhile the hair became a thick coat of fur that covered his entire body. His ears formed into the shapes of triangles and pushed to the top of his head. Whiskers sprouted from the sides of his face as it pushed out into a muzzle. His hands and feet shifted into paws and a tail grew out from his backbone. He had gone from a baby boy to a baby kitten!

He ran around in circles on the couch in confusion. He didn't understand what had happened. He was certainly more physically capable as a kitten than a human at this age... But he was supposed to return to normal! Then he paused as he noticed someone standing up off the floor.

It was a human boy... He appeared to be around eight years old. Despite the boy's youth he had gray striped hair. It almost looked like a cat's fur pattern.

Barnaby!

The antidotes must have gotten reversed! That meant that Tom had drunk Barnaby's drink! And he had gotten his! But... How was Tom supposed to communicate this!? He couldn't use his phone to with these paws! And he couldn't talk! He could only meow. His mother! She'd figure this out when she knew what to do.

And as his mother came in... She certainly stopped and looked at the scene in shock.

"Barnaby!" She said with a stern voice. "Why did your father and I bother buying you pajamas if you're just going to run around naked!? Honestly, you have to grow out of this little nudist phase."

"Sorry mom!" Barnaby gave a silly smile. "But... I'm just not used to the feeling of clothes! But I'm going to go upstairs and play with Tommy now!"

"Meooooow!" Tom tried to object at this. But he could do nothing as the human Barnaby picked him up and held him to his chest.

"Heh..." Barnaby giggled as he carried Tom up the stairs. "I'm not sure why you decided you wanted to reverse our lives like this... But this could be kind of fun! I'll make sure I always take good care of you!" As Barnaby spoke he began to scratch behind Tom's ears. Despite Tom's best efforts to remain distraught he found himself purring and leaning into the pets. "I'd really like to try out this whole school thing though... But I think you got the better deal out of it. I bet they're going to make me wear clothes to it." Barnaby made a face. "But I'll try to have fun with it."

Tom as he heard this could only stare at the human child in complete bewilderment. He had no idea how he had managed to get himself stuck like this. At least there was one silver lining, though not one he knew yet. The two would have the healthiest and cleanest hair and fur anyone had ever seen.

The End