Fit for a God
Fit for a God
By shadowlugia249
Author's Note: The foundation for this story came to me in a dream I was having some time before Halloween 2006. I pieced together a storyline for this one-shot from various sources and here it is! Enjoy!
I love Halloween. Love it! I don't know what I treasure most about the holiday: the costumes, the candy, the hot apple cider, the traditional festivities or the food, food, food!!! I guess it would be the food! All of the Halloween delicacies would have to be my favorite things about the fabled holiday.
But if I were to choose a personal experience about Halloween, it would have to be my personal lust for the most impressive costume in the city. I don't really care for scary costumes; I personally go for a lasting impression. For example, I look for costumes that are as impressive to look at as they are realistic.
I didn't always go for looks; it was just this year that I wanted something... more. Which is what brought me to the Willmar Mega-Halloween Outlet store one fine October morning.
It was less than a week before Halloween and I had yet to find a costume that would trump all other mere mortal guises. However, I wasn't having much luck today. These costumes were just too casual for someone like me. I mean, come on! Elmo? Werewolves? Ogres?! These costumes were inferior to someone with such high-quality tastes as my own.
There had to be something better that this garbage! Costumes like these are mass-produced by over-paid, under-worked seamstresses working with felt or cheap latex somewhere outside Detroit!
(Author's Note: Not really. I just got that from a TV show.)
My point is that costumes like these are a dime a dozen in my book. If this was the best that this store had, I might as well just walk out the door.
But there was one more spot I wanted to check. There was a door in the back of the store marked, "Warning! Adults over 18 only!" I was well over 18 and I wanted to check out this "Adults Only" section.
I pushed open the door and entered a dark part of the store. It was dimly-lit and smelled like some kind of old, sharp spice. Once my eyes adjusted to the light, I could see that this place was filled with odd, Halloween paraphernalia. I could see dark, black vampires' capes on one rack, a glass cabinet with strange objects inside it and shelves of items that I was sure weren't found in your average Halloween store. Words couldn't describe the strange items I saw.
I wandered around the dark store, looking at the various costumes. I stopped in front of a werewolf costume and picked it up. Holy crap, this was heavy! It felt like actual fur and was just as heavy as a full-length fur coat. I felt the face and nearly screamed! I had never felt such unnaturally-real details! It felt as if I was touching a real, live werewolf despite the fact that it was just a costume.
"Can I help you?"
I nearly jumped out of my own skin! An aged, decrepit old man had just appeared out of nowhere right next to me. He looked so wrinkled that I was sure my laundry had more wrinkles than him. He had piercing-green eyes that I was sure looked younger than him.
"I... I..." I stammered.
"Are you over 18?"
"Uh... yes... yes, sir."
The man looked at me with those unblinking eyes of his but I was unable to look away even if I wanted to. He finally figured I was telling the truth and walked away. "Carry on. Let me know when you want to check out."
"Huh?"
The old man looked back at me. "No one ever comes back here unless they're sure they want to buy something. It's good business."
He walked away, leaving me wondering. "What a warped, old man he is!" I said to myself.
All right, if he wanted me to buy something, I will. There had to be something worth buying here. I certainly "bought" the werewolf disguise.
Walking around, I visited a section marked "Divine" and looked at the various costumes. Most of them were sealed up in boxes. I had to look at pictures to see what was inside.
One of the boxes had a picture of a blue dog-like creature with a large, diamond-shaped horn and long, wavy purple hair. It read: "The North Wind -- Suicune". I had never heard of a Suicune before, but it seemed to meet my qualifications for "bizarre" but not "impressive." It wouldn't work.
I looked through the Divine section. There was one costume in a box marked, "Renamon" that looked like a cross between a fox a mouse with yellow and white fur. Bizarre... but not impressive.
There was a dragon-shaped costume with feathery wings and white skin marked, "Siron". Impressive... but not bizarre. Was there anything that would work here?!
And then I saw it. A rather old, dusty, banged-up box labeled, "Lugia - God Reincarnated?" showed a picture of some kind of bird/whale hybrid with a pointed, blue mask around its eyes, massive flipper-like wings and a long, spiked tail. There was a warning sign on the very bottom, but I figured it was a warning for those people who are allergic to latex. Somehow, I knew that this would be the perfect costume. It matched both bizarre and impressive. According to the box, it was a latex costume and had "divine power included!"
I highly doubted that, but it was worth a shot. Picking up the box, which was slightly lighter than I had expected for a latex costume, I carried it through the shop to the check-out counter near the back. The old man was polishing a crystal ball with a cloth and special cleaner when I put the box on the counter.
"I'd like to buy this one please," I told him, patting the box with satisfaction.
The man glowered at me while looking from me to the box. Unfortunately, he was not convinced.
"That one's not for sale."
Say what?! "But there's a price on it and everything! I want this costume!"
He shook his head. "You don't want that. It wants you."
I could have sworn that this guy wasn't all there in the head. "Huh? What do you mean, "It wants me"?"
"That's my business."
What a grump! I didn't care what he said; I wanted this costume!
"It has a price sticker and I want it! It's just the one I want and nothing you can say is going to change my mind!"
The man grumbled for a minute before finally making up his mind. "Fine! But know this: If you abuse this item in ways other than its intended purpose, you will have me to answer to!"
"Whatever. Just ring it up."
The old man shrugged and scanned the bar code with an ancient scanner. "Do what you will, but don't say I didn't warn you."
I finally gave up on this man and paid the $20.94 for the costume in cash. I then carried the box out of the store and into my car and then drove home.
"Okay, let's see what we got here."
I put the box in the middle of my living room and opened it. Inside was a silver-white latex costume with various blue parts on it piled in the box. It was rather shiny just like polished sliver, but what it felt like was beyond comprehension.
Have you ever felt a dolphin's melon? It's like fleshy, smooth, cold rubber. It flexes under your fingers and is unlike any flesh you've ever felt before! That is exactly how this costume felt. It felt as if I was holding a smooth, silky skin in my hands. It was certainly not like any rubber latex that I've ever felt before. What's more, it wasn't cold at all like I expected. It was rather warm like someone had just worn it! Weird!
I pulled out the suit and draped it on the floor. Parts of it were full of what I assumed to be extra rubber so that the massive wings, belly and tail were thicker than the part where I could slip inside. It really felt like whale blubber as I laid it out to its fullest on the floor.
It was about my height. It had a semi-long neck and the legs were a little shorter than my own, but I was sure it would all balance out in the end. Between the two rows of rectangular navy-blue plates along its back was a zipper with a gap big enough for me to climb in.
It might not be Halloween yet, but I was eager to try it out. I picked up the costume and unzipped the back. I then stuck my left leg into the gap and wedged it into the costume's leg. I had thought that it would have been rather slack, but it was actually very tight against my skin. Thankfully, I managed to slide my foot into the costume and wedge it into the space for the occupant. After successfully getting my other leg in its place, I then slid my hand into the costume's wing. It was slightly cold inside and I could feel the skin as if it was my own flesh, but I got both arms into it and then went to work on the head.
It felt like flesh on flesh as the neck wrapped itself around my own. I could see through the eyes of the head and a strange sea smell entered my nostrils. Pretty soon, I could feel the entire costume as if it was my own skin. Using my broad, flat wings, I managed to get to the zipper and pull it shut. After a little wobbling, I was able to get over to a mirror to check myself out.
I looked like a great bird of destiny. The costume's silver-white skin was stretched taut over my human skin underneath. Where my arms were inserted, I had large, flat, broad wings about three times as wide as my hand on the end with five thin, flat feather-like "fingers" in the same place you'd find a human's. On my back were ten flat, navy-blue "plates" lining both sides of my spine. Along with that, there were two pointed, navy-blue spikes on the tip of my tail. I was almost convinced that this realistic tail was really my own!
Over my eyes and above my curved, nose-like beak was a pointed navy-blue mask. The last thing on my costume that was blue was a round, V-shaped shape on my rounded torso area, but that area was more of a sky-blue than navy-blue.
I looked pretty impressive in this getup. If I didn't know better, I could have sworn that the costume was my real body. Whoever this "Lugia" was looked just like God would if he was reincarnated.
But I was getting a little warm in this suit and decided to bail out. I moved one of my "wings" to my back to find the zipper... but it wasn't there! Uh-oh. I felt around some more, but I could feel it through the thick fat of the costume. This was not good. If I didn't find that zipper, I would be trapped in this costume for a while!
Finally, I felt the small piece of metal through the thick skin and somehow managed to get my flat fingers around it... but it wouldn't budge!
"Oh no. This can't be happening!" I pulled and yanked on the zipper and it felt like I was pulling on my own skin for a second. It hurt a little when I finally got the zipper to budge and slit the back open. Instantly, I felt my limbs free themselves from the suit and I managed to slip out of the costume.
That had been too weird. It had felt as if I was bonding with the suit and it was rather reluctant to leave me. But then I got a hold of myself. It was utter nonsense. Despite being unusually realistic, the costume was not bonding with me. I had just hit a snag in the zipper; it was nothing to get all worked up about.
I packed up the suit and got ready to go to bed. It had been a long day and I had a party to prepare for.
Every year at my office, we hold a contest on Halloween for various subjects like "Best Use of Pumpkin", "Most Creative with Candy Corn", "Scariest Cubicle Decorations" and the most coveted of them all, "Most Impressive Costume". I had a feeling that with this Lugia costume, I was a shoe-in for the best costume.
It was Halloween night and I was getting ready for the party. I wanted to save my costume for when I got there. I hadn't put it on since that day but I was sure that I wouldn't have another run-in with the zipper like I did before.
When I was getting dressed, I noticed something odd. I seemed... taller somehow. My clothes weren't fitting as well as they used to and my height in the mirror was well over what I'm used to seeing. And it wasn't just a fraction of an inch like most people noticed, I had grown at least six inches over the past week! I was now six-foot-seven when I used to be six-foot-even.
Was this a very late growth spurt? No... no one had ever grown seven inches in seven days in the history of the planet! Something was up here but I couldn't determine what. If I didn't know better, I would have guessed it was magic, but I remembered that there is no such thing.
My main concern now was being able to get into my Lugia costume for the party. It had barely fit before, but now I was certain that I wouldn't have a chance. Nevertheless, I went to the box and pulled it out anyway. If it didn't fit me now, all my hopes for winning the award would be shattered.
The costume felt just as strange as ever. It scared me how close it felt to real dolphin skin. It creped me out even more when I put my arms and legs in the costume and it felt unusually warm despite being unworn for the past week.
Like before, the costume stretched taut and tight against my own skin and felt fleshy when I slipped my fingers into the wings. I was completely thrown for a loop when I was able to get in the costume just as easily as before. I left the zipper open this time since I wasn't "officially" putting it on, but what amazed me the most came from the costume's appearance.
There were no stretch points, no tears in the material and no slack despite me having grown a full six inches. In fact, other than having mysteriously grown to fit my new frame, there was no difference whatsoever in my appearance! I still looked like the great bird of destiny I was before and it was just as tight and comfortable against my skin as it was a week ago.
I crawled out of the costume with less problems this time. The skin still felt like it was bonding to me, but other than that, it was rather uneventful. I packed the costume back up in the box, thinking. What was going on here? I was growing like a rouge weed and the costume seemed to "know" what was happening to me. It had fit like a glove then and it certainly fit now. This was just too strange here.
On a hunch, I decided to check out the warning label that I had initially ignored when I bought the costume. In small, bright-white letters were the words: "WARNING: Wearer may experience slight physical and/or mental changes in his or her appearance upon the application of this product."
In slightly smaller letters underneath was another note that read, "DANGER: Never wear this product on the night of a full moon! Effects of this product may be irreversible! Don't say we didn't warn you!"
I blinked when I saw that last sentence. It sounded suspiciously like the old man's words from the Halloween store. That made me worry. Was tonight a full moon? I looked at my calendar and sighed. The full moon labeled on the calendar wasn't until the day after Halloween. As long as I didn't wear it tomorrow night, I had nothing to worry about. I put it out of my mind.
I finished getting dressed, packed up the Lugia costume and left to go to the party. I had nothing to worry about. I was getting worked up over nothing important.
... but as I got into a taxi several minutes later, I had second thoughts about that. Even though the taxi driver wasn't looking at me, his voice was flying around the cab like an angry hornet. He seemed to be extremely talkative and what he was talking about was making me feel uncomfortable. He was completely oblivious to me even being in the cab.
"That must be some Halloween gift that kid's got in that box. Must be like a collection of costumes for his friends' kids or something. I don't know what I'm doing working on Halloween. I should be at home with my own wife and kids, taking them out trick-or-treating. But instead I had to work today. This holiday only comes once a year and I had to spend it working. I swear, if I ever meet the guy who forced people to work on holidays, I'd strangle him and put his body through a wood chipper."
Okay, enough was enough. "Excuse me," I said finally. "Can we talk about something else? I'm getting really nervous here."
The driver looked at me with a puzzled look on his face. "I didn't say anything. You haven't even said a word until just now."
It was my turn to be confused. "Didn't you just say that you hated working on holidays?"
He blinked at me. "I might have been thinking that. How do you know?"
I said nothing. If he was lying to me, he was doing a pretty good job of it. I was sure I had overheard his entire conversation as clear as day. But if he truly hadn't said anything, did that mean...?
"We're here. 8.50 please."
I snapped out of my trance and looked out the window. We had arrived at my office. I quickly gave the driver a ten and told him to keep the change. I then got out and carried my costume up the front steps. I noticed that it was rather cloudy and stormy for Halloween and the cold was eating through my coat. I couldn't see the moon, either. On a positive note, I told myself that the full moon was tomorrow and that I had nothing to worry about.
Once inside, I wandered through the empty entryway until I reached the elevator. I then noticed something strange. Even though it was empty, I could hear faint voices coming from several floors above me. I knew for a fact that the first five floors were completely empty tonight, but I was hearing people as clear as day. I mean, the duct work was a little loose in this building, but I could never hear anything more than the floor above or below me through the vents before.
If I had paid attention, I would have noticed that while I was thinking, the lights on the floor flickered very briefly. But I was facing the elevator and did not see them.
Once the elevator arrived, I pressed the number 15 and rode the lift up to my floor. I noticed that every floor I went past, I heard people through the walls like they were right next to me. That shouldn't have been possible, but several floors had been known to blast music on holidays. That was probably what I was hearing.
As I rode up, I shifted the box in my arms so that the picture of the costume was facing me. I didn't want to give anyone a hint on what I was going to be... yet. It would ruin the surprise.
As soon as I stepped off the elevator, I was immediately greeted by the financial supervisor, Amelia, dressed up as a witch. She had a pretty cheesy mask with the long, warty nose and was dressed all in black and she even tried scaring me from around the corner. I flinched a little when she startled me, but she was a good sport and lifted her mask, revealing her face.
"Ha! I got you, didn't I?" she said happily. "Come on, admit it. I got you good, huh?"
I sighed and shook my head. "Yeah, you got me. I fell victim to a classic Halloween prank. Oh, woe is me."
She laughed and gave me a pat on the shoulder. "Oh, don't be so hardy. You know it was just a joke."
I chuckled and said, "Yeah, I know. So, what's the count this year?"
Amelia and I walked down the hallway to where the real party was. "Oh, about 20 people made it this time. "Dan from Accounting has a pretty lame egg costume and Muffy brought in her pumpkin bars for the occasion."
I licked my lips as I thought of Muffy McDonald's cooking. "Her sweets are a celebration all their own. I can't wait to try them."
Amelia smiled and then looked up at me. "Hey, Alex. Have you grown?"
I blanched. I had always been shorter than her, but only slightly. Now I was over three inches taller than her and reached halfway up her pointed hat. "I guess so. I don't know what happened, though."
She shrugged. "Whatever you're doing, you should tell Sherry about it."
I grinned. "Shriveled Sherry. Yeah... I guess I can let her know." I had no intention to, but I told her I would anyway.
Amelia finally tapped the box in my arms. "So, what's in the box? Did you find a killer costume this year?"
I looked at the box and then at her. "You could say that. This year, that "Most Impressive Costume" Award is as good as mine."
She sighed and walked away to join the party. "We'll just see about that. Michael could give you a run for your money with his gladiator outfit."
"I'll keep that in mind. See ya." I branched away from her and headed straight for the men's room. If I knew Michael Calaway, he would be fair game for that award with the time and effort he put into his costumes.
Once inside the small room, I bolted the door and set the box down on the floor. I could still hear the cacophony of people's voices outside better than normal, but I didn't worry about that. I took out the Lugia costume and laid it out the best I could in the confined space.
Getting it on was no problem. It fit just as snug as before, but my tail was just too long for the bathroom. Also, the costume's overall height was too high for and hit the ceiling. When I finally got it all on, I closed the zipper to make it complete.
Almost instantly, it felt as if an electric charge was passing through my body. It hit both my heart and my brain so hard at the same time that I started to have a seizure and collapsed, hitting my head on the sink and knocking me out. When I hit my head, a powerful surge tore the rough the building, temporarily knocking out the power. All the while, the temperature of the costume grew so hot that I would have screamed from the pain if I had been conscious.
"Alex? Are you okay in there? You didn't fall in, did you?"
I came to with my head hurting. What happened? I felt as if I had just been kicked in the head by an ostrich. If I had slipped, my costume should have absorbed all of the impact. But it felt that my whole body, including the costume, was sore.
The person outside knocked on the door. "Are you okay, Alex?"
I rubbed my head with the costume's wing and said. "Yeah... Just a little costume trouble." But all that came out of my mouth was a kind of musical cry.
"What was that, Alex?"
I put a hand to my throat. That was odd, I thought to myself. Did I just do that?
"Do what? Alex?"
Now my entire world was spinning. Whoever was outside had obviously heard my thoughts. It was as any thought I spoke freely came out of my mind for the world to hear.
_What's going on here?_I said more to myself than the person. For some reason, he didn't hear me that time.
"Alex? What's going on in there?"
Nothing,_I spoke, using my mind. _I just got a little light-headed.
"Oh. Okay. Just checking. Anyway, you'd better get out here if you want to catch the judging for the best costume."
I'll do that.
I put my wing on the door handle and pushed it open. My mind was reeling from what had just happened when I had put on the costume and it only got worse. As soon as I stepped out into the office, the music stopped and I saw that everyone was looking at me.
Blinking, I looked around. What?
A few people shook their heads while others continued to look at me.
_What?! Why are you looking at me like that?!_I seemed to project my confusion and surprise and a few people gasped.
I started walking towards Amelia, who was nearby, and said, Amelia, what's going on?
Suddenly, the room was filled with astonished muttering. People were quietly conversing with each other and I noticed that Amelia was backing up, a frightened look on her face. Although they were whispering, I could hear them loud and clear.
What is_that thing? How did it get in here?_
How does it know Amelia? I'm getting freaked out here.
I didn't like it when people talked about me behind my back and I turned to confront them. What is going on here?! Tell me what this is all about!
Apparently, they had gotten the wrong impression. Just then, all hell broke loose. People started screaming and backing away from me towards the nearest exit. Some tripped over chairs, got up and kept running.
From their frightened cries for help, they apparently thought that a wild animal had gotten loose in the building. I tried to walk towards them, but they screamed even louder and ran away from me.
Dugan Phillips, who had been known to keep a gun under his desk just in case, pulled it out and opened fire on me! I felt several excruciating pains in my neck, but somehow, the bullets bounced off my costume and hit the ground. I let out a scream and swung wildly with my arms, demolishing several stations in the progress. Blinded by pain, I wobbled forward, tripped and collapsed an entire cubicle wall.
Soon, everyone had fled the floor, leaving me all alone... except for one person. Amelia cautiously approached my fallen form and put a hand on my back. I was in tears. Why had everyone freaked out like that? What was happening to me? Was my costume that terrible?
"Alex...? Are you all right?"
No..._I sobbed. _What's going on?! I thought it was a pretty good costume!
"That's a costume? It's pretty real if you ask me."
What do you mean?
"Here... come look at yourself."
She took my massive wing and helped me get to my feet. As we walked to where Michael had his full-length mirror, I noticed for the first time that I was much, much taller than her. I was actually looking down on her with the tip of my head scraping the ceiling. Had I grown again? What was going on here?!
"Here... look at yourself."
I did... and nearly cried again. I had grown from six-foot-seven to almost ten feet. Most of it was from my newly-elongated neck and the costume's pointed skull. I put my hand... or "wing" to my face. It felt... so real. I could feel the costume's skin as if it was my own. It was as if... it was my skin.
I had to make sure. Amelia, look on my back. Is there a zipper between those plates?
I turned around so she could see. She ran her hand down the costume's back, feeling for any kind of metal or seam that showed where the zipper was. All the while, I had my doubts. The touch of her hand against my back was too real for this to be a costume anymore.
"I'm sorry, Alex," she said sadly. "I don't see anything."
Tears in my eyes again, I let out a strange, sad wail that did not belong to me. It was so powerful that Amelia nearly went to tears herself. What's wrong with me?! I've turned into an animal! This costume has become my skin! What am I?! I've never seen this creature before!
Amelia climbed up my tail on onto my back to try to calm me down. "It's okay, Alex. You're actually very beautiful like this. I'm sure that we can fix this, though."
But a thought was running through my newly-transformed brain. There had to be a way to fix this... and I knew just who to do it. Without thinking, I turned to the windows on the side of the room and started running, my outstretched wings demolishing everything in their paths. I was completely oblivious to the fact that Amelia was still clinging onto my neck, screaming, "Alex, stop! What are you doing?! STOP!!!"
By then it was too late, I had just plowed through the mortar and glass and went into a steep nosedive. Amelia screamed for it to stop, but my mind was completely ignoring her. I held my wings to my sides as the ground came up rather quickly.
At the last possible second, I spread my wings wide and came out of the dive and soared into the air. I was flying and I didn't even know it! My only concern was to get there as fast as possible. There had to be a way to fix this.
Amelia had closed her eyes and was holding onto my neck like a lifeline. She had given up trying to reason with me and just wanted it all to stop. If I had known the danger I was putting her through, I would have stopped long ago, but my mind was on auto-pilot at the moment.
At last, I spotted what I was looking for - the Halloween outlet store where I had bought this accursed costume. Stopping in mid-flight, I hovered for a moment and them folded my wings against my sides again. I was going to dive-bomb the store in order to get answers from that warped old man even if I had to kill myself to get them. Amelia silently prayed for it all to stop.
About 500 feet above the store, I folded the plates on my back into my skin, making them practically melt into my back and creating a smooth surface to reduce drag. And then a divine force seemed to generate a barrier of clear energy around me, protecting me and Amelia from hurting ourselves as I plowed through the roof of the store. I seemed to pull out of the dive at the last possible instant and hover to a stop. I was in.
Amelia had fainted and slid off my back onto the floor. Completely oblivious to her condition, I stormed through the store, knocking display racks and costumes flying with the psychic force that was radiating from my body. The "Adults Only" section was locked, but that didn't stop me whatsoever. Sitting back on my tail, I used my short but powerful legs to kick open the door with the force of a speeding train. I then ducked my head low and stormed into the back store.
If I had been aware of my surroundings, I would have noticed that all the displays and merchandise had been moved aside, leaving a clear path between me and the cash register. The ceiling had also risen to allow my neck to reach its full length. The old man stood behind the counter unflinchingly as I approached. He seemed to be waiting for me.
YOU!!!_I bellowed. _WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!?!
The old man looked at me with a disgusted look. "You'd do well to lower your voice before you hurt yourself."
His influence was overpowering. I suddenly felt my anger and frustration vanish as if all the hatred in my heart had been washed away. I was left feeling as calm as I had ever been before all this happened.
I... what... what happened to me? I said meekly, trying to clear my head. I've never felt so... angry before. Where am I?
"You're in good company," said the man simply. "Your new form just needed to cleanse your mind of all anger. It's an unfortunate side effect during your conversion."
Conversion? I don't understand.
"When you put on my costume, you failed to read the fine print and put it on on the night of a full moon. I'm afraid there's nothing I can do about it now. I warned you when you bought it and now you have to suffer the consequences."
I realized that I had made a big mistake. The calendar had been off by one day - the full moon had been tonight. Now I had to pay for this for the rest of my life.
The old man seemed to be reading my mind. "This is not a bad thing. If you took a moment to read the instructions for the costume, you would have read about all the good things that being Lugia can do."
_Yeah? Like what?_I didn't see what good things this "Lugia" had in store for me.
"Well... if you paid attention, you would have noticed that you are now psychic. You can read people's minds and manipulate reality."
Thinking back, I realized that he was right! The voices of people that I had been hearing... they were their thoughts! I also guessed that speaking using my own mind had to be that of a Telepath.
Go on...
"Next, you clearly flew here. Did you pay attention to the feeling of flying on your own?"
I hadn't paid attention, but my subconscious mind had felt a strange feeling while I had been flying through the city. On a side note, I looked forward to experiencing flying for myself.
Not really. I'll have to pay attention next time.
"Good. You might also notice that you are now immortal! Judging from those bruises on your neck, someone must have shot you. Did you think about that?"
He had a point. The gun had been a .44 Magnum - the most powerful handgun in the world - and they had barely scratched me! True, they left some rather painful bruises, but I realized that nothing could harm me any more than stubbing my toe would have done.
Wow. Anything else?
He thought about this for a minute. "Actually, there is. Lugia is quite a natural in the water. You can breathe underwater and even visit the ocean floor if you want. If I'm not mistaken, that's where he came from in the first place."
This just gets better and better. I was practically invincible!
But something about what he had just said triggered something in my memory. Hang on... what do mean, "that's where he came from"? There's a Lugia still out there?
"Wait here." The man went behind a curtain in the back of the shop and didn't reappear for about ten minutes, a scroll of parchment in his hands.
"This was the birth certificate for Lugia's son, Silver. They lived deep beneath the surface of the ocean in an underwater river. Sadly, Silver passed away shortly after his birth. Lugia was devastated. He took his son's body to me and asked that I turn it into a skin that his "successor" would one day purchase. However, in order to make the change permanent, I had to sell it before the next Halloween full moon or else it would become an ordinary skin. I've waited years to sell it and I almost ran out of time. But Lugia prophesized that someone would turn up before too long. So in a way, he knew that you were coming."
I didn't know what to say. I had literally become a son of a god. (Author's Note: Sound familiar?) My own parents almost never had time for me. Would this Lugia treat me any different? So, that's_what you meant when you said "It wants you." Lugia_ knew_that I would buy it!_
As Lugia's name crossed my mind, I heard something in my mind. It was hard to make out, but it sounded like someone was... calling for me. The best I could understand was, C... o... m... e... h... o... m... e... s... o... n... It was the call of a concerned parent to its child. I knew what I had to do.
Thanks for telling me this,_I said, bowing my head to the old man. _I now know where I belong.
It was hard to tell, but I thought I could see a flicker of a smile on his wrinkled face. "I'm glad you see that now. You'd best be getting back home. I'm sure your father is worried sick about you."
I turned to leave when two questions popped into my mind. What should I do about Amelia? She's the only one who knows about me like this. And.. just who are_you? How do you know all of this?_
The old man simply shrugged. "Take the woman to your father. You should be able to get her to the ocean's floor and your father will do what's best for her. As for who I am... you could say that I am the One who planned all of this. I know much more about you and Lugia that either of you know... and you two know a lot." That was a pretty vague answer, but I knew that he wasn't going to say anything more on the subject. "Now run along home. Your father is waiting for you."
I nodded and left the store.
Amelia was just coming around when I reentered the demolished Halloween store. She was confused and scared of what I had just put her through and I didn't blame her. The best thing I could do was put a wing around her and use my new psychic powers to comfort her.
It's okay, Amelia,_I crooned, nuzzling her affectionately. _Everything is going to work out in the end.
"But what about me? That job was all I had. Where am I going to go?"She started to cry.
I used a feather to get her to look into my navy-blue eyes. Come with me, Amelia. I'll take you somewhere where we can live in peace. The police won't find you and you'll have no job to worry about. I'm sure my father will understand.
"Your father? Who is that?"
I blinked. I had forgotten that she had been out this whole time. That was easily remedied. I looked her square in the eye and projected all that the old man had told me. In an instant, she knew everything.
"Oh. That's who he is. Do you think he'll accept me?"
I grinned. I don't see why not. I'm sure he's very understanding. I then turned around and motioned for her to get on my back. Get on. I promise I'll be gentler this time.
I didn't know it yet, but I was now incapable of deception. Every word I spoke was the truth, but I had a feeling that my father could work around that trait and speak only certain truths.
Rather reluctantly, Amelia climbed on my smooth back and held onto my neck. She also noticed something. "You've grown even more since we got here."
She was right. I was now up to 12 feet long and stood about 8 feet high. My instincts told me that despite being over 250 pounds, I was still not yet fully grown. Oh well.
I unfolded my back plates and spread my wings. After getting my bearings, I crouched down and sprang into the air through the hole in the store ceiling. Within seconds, I was at 2000 feet and still climbing. Down below, I could see the city practically from a bird's-eye view. I also never noticed how many trees there were in the area. Sirens wailed down below us and I could see that the police were finally on their way to the store to check out the damage.
Wow! Now that I was paying attention, I could bask in the pure joy that was flying. As I soared through the air towards the ocean, I could feel the wind rolling off my skin like I was a hot knife cutting through warm butter. There was little to no resistance in the air even though there should have been. I felt weightless and free as if the whole sky was mine to command. Up here, I could do anything!
Amelia shared my joy. Some of my loose emotions seemed to drift into her mind and she was feeling the sense of freedom that I was. She was feeling so weightless that she actually let go of my neck to hold her arms out like she was actually flying on her own! Fortunately, reality eventually kicked in and she clung back to my neck, embarrassed slightly.
You don't have to hold on so tight, I_said, smiling as she almost choked me. I _won't drop you. Amelia blushed and loosened her grip slightly. "Sorry."
We reached the ocean at about 11:00 P.M. As a Lugia, I could fly at incredible speeds that rivaled most military aircraft, but the ride was as smooth as polished glass. I flew out a ways before I stopped in mid-air, hovering in the middle of the endless blue.
_Are you ready, Amelia?_I asked her, turning my head to glance back at her.
"Are you sure about this?" she said shakily. "I can't breathe underwater and the pressure is probably going to kill me before we get too deep."
I chuckled a little. You underestimate us Lugia. I can summon a barrier of light that is both depressurized and provide you with plenty of fresh oxygen for you.
But that didn't stop her heart from beating rapidly against my back. "I hope you're right."
Don't worry about it. You'll be fine.
With that, I folded my wings against my side and folded my back plates against my skin. Amelia held on tight as a barrier of clear light like the one I had used to destroy the store appeared around me and we dove into the ocean. True to my word, the barrier provided fresh air to Amelia and as able to withstand the increasing pressure as we dove deeper.
But I wasn't diving fast enough. On a whim, I decided to try a technique that my Lugia instincts were suggesting. Hold on, Amelia. I'm going to try something here.
She did as I went into a rapid spin, producing a whirlpool and descending faster and deeper into the ocean. Now I was moving! At this rate, I would reach the bottom in minutes instead of an hour. Fortunately, neither of us felt any dizzying effects of this move.
I spun through the water at breakneck speed and soon reached a part of the ocean that was so dark and so deep that only creatures who could survive at this depth could make out anything. I stopped my whirlpool and halted above what looked like a raging underwater river. Below me, the current would have spelled doom for any creature brave enough to enter it...
...except me. I turned to face Amelia and looked her square in the eye. Are you ready for this? I asked her point-blank.
Amelia didn't know what to say. She had already ridden on a creature of legend and had reached the bottom of the ocean with only a thin barrier of light protecting her. She didn't know what else could surprise her. She finally nodded and I did so in return.
_Hold on. We're going in!_I plunged the remaining few yards into the underwater river.
Immediately, I could sense things that I hadn't been aware of before. Voices were speaking to me that I could barely make out. A strange wailing song was echoing all around me. It seemed that I had entered the heart of the planet.
Hang on... I knew that song. I hadn't heard it before, but I knew exactly who was singing it. Could it be...? I had to make sure. Against the rushing current of the river, I swam upstream, following the song like a child chasing a butterfly. It grew louder as I swam on. I knew where I was going despite the fact that I had never been here before.
My eyes had lit up to project a piercing-blue light so that Amelia could see around me. But besides that, it was hard to make us out from the surrounding area. We only looked like a dark, faintly-blue shadow swimming through the river.
"Where are we going, Alex?" asked Amelia, holding on as best she could.
I almost didn't recognize the name "Alex" at first. It seemed so... foreign to me... almost like the name of a distant life. So it took me a moment to realize that she was talking to me and answer her.
We must find my father. He is calling for me.
Amelia was a little nervous at my response. But she knew she had to go along with me. She was over three miles under the ocean and I was her only life-support.
And then I saw him. A creature much larger than me but similar in shape and build was approaching us. It also had shining blue eyes that I now locked my own with.
For the longest time, the two of us stared at each other, about ten yard away from each other's faces, a parent and its child looking at their long-lost relative. We didn't speak at all until Amelia said, "Alex?"
No..._I said to her. _Not Alex anymore. My name... is...
Silver._Lugia spoke my true name through our minds and I nodded in response. _You have returned... son.
Yes... Father. I am home.
I swam up to meet him but realized that Amelia was still on my back. Lugia remedied the situation my waving a wing in front of me so that Amelia parted company with me and hovered off to the side, safe inside a smaller psychic light bubble.
She waited there while the two of us embraced each other with our massive wings. At that moment, I knew that I had finally returned home to my rightful spot.
At last..._said Lugia, his usually super-calm voice starting to crack. _I am complete... You are home.
I am..._I replied. _But... I looked over at Amelia. I don't know what to do with her. She was my only friend.
Lugia and I separated and he turned to look at her. Amelia was a little startled to see a much bigger Lugia shadow approaching her. The two of them locked eyes and I could sense him scanning her mind.
Well, Father? What should we do with her? She has seen too much of us to risk letting her out in the world... and she has nowhere to go even if_she went back. It's your call._
Amelia seemed shocked at my response. Through the water and the psychic sphere, she pleaded her case. "Oh, please don't kill me! I got dragged into this when Alex... er, Silver destroyed my office! He was scared of what was going to happen to him! I just went along to comfort him and now I'm here! Please, please, please don't hurt me!"
Lugia tilted his head to one side and I could feel his curiosity. Why would I do that? You humans have a funny way of dealing with individuals who have seen too much in their life. I do not know of this... "revenge" you are obviously thinking of, but I don't intend to do away with you like you are expecting me to do.
She blinked and sniffed a little. "Then... what are you going to do with me? You can't just leave me here!"
Lugia turned to face me and smiled. Now, we wouldn't do that, would we, Silver?
No, Father. In fact..._I sent him a picture of a possible alternate solution. _What do you think?
He nodded. That's a good idea. Why didn't I think of it?
"What?!" cried Amelia. "What's a good idea?!"
Lugia and I turned to face her again. You and Silver are lone siblings, correct? he said simply.
"Uh... yeah, I guess."
How would you like to join our family? I'm sure Silver wouldn't mind, would you, Silver?
Not at all, Father. I've always wanted a sister!
"You mean... become... one of you?"
Amelia considered the possibilities of becoming a Lugia. She would be practically immortal, she wouldn't have to worry about her human responsibilities and she would even have a brother of her species that would be as close as Lugia and I were now. Sure, why not?
"I'd be honored to. What do I have to do?"
I swam off to one side while Lugia swam in front of her so that she was being dwarfed by his massive form. Amelia flinched as he began collecting energy all around him, creating a bright blue aura that intensified as more and more energy filled his body.
"Alex, what is he doing?!"
Relax, Amelia,_I said reassuringly. _He knows what he's doing. This will not hurt.
She did her best to stay calm as the energy in Lugia's body reached its climax. He then began focusing it all into one point in his open maw. With one powerful blast, he fired a solid-blue-colored Aeroblast directly at Amelia's heart. I knew that our Aeroblasts were not blue, but that was irrelevant. The psychic bubble around her shattered and her mind went completely blank. If she could breathe or think at the moment, she would have died on the spot from either the immense pressure or drowned from being underwater.
Her body began swelling to a tremendous girth, tearing her clothes to shreds. A long, white tail tipped with a pair of navy-blue spikes was now a part of her. It swished through the water of its own accord since she had no control of it yet. Two rows of similarly-colored blue plates grew from her white back that I knew could fold into her back just like mine did while underwater. Her legs were moving to the sides of her body as her hips and feet changed, her feet changing into three-toe white talons. Her neck elongated to a much longer length and her eyes were moving to the sides of her head with our trademark pointed navy-blue eye mask extending from her brows, her brown irises now deep-blue vertical slits. She barely looked like the fair middle-aged woman that I once knew as a friend and coworker and it now seemed that we were meant to be together on a much more spiritual scale.
All the while, Lugia kept her from feeling any pain during the transformation. If she had been conscious, she would have felt pain so intense that she would probably have gone mad from it. Lugia was passing his life energy into her, transforming her in mind and body. Soon, she would awaken with the same understanding and knowledge of the planet's life that I now felt.
Shutting his beak at last, the Aeroblast shorted out and Amelia's mind came back into focus as she slowly recovered herself. It is done, he said simply.
I swam over to my new sister and put a wing around her. How do you feel, Siron? I said, calling her by her true name.
I feel... good,_she answered. Her voice was sharper and more confident, but I still recognized it as her own. _I feel... strange. I never thought becoming a Lugia would be such a strange experience.
We are a family now,_said Lugia, looking his new daughter in the eye. _Be thankful that you have been granted this new life. It will be the first of many new experiences to come.
Lugia then backed up and then swam on his way through the underwater current. It was impossible for us to be separated now. Our mental link would keep us connected even if the three of us were at completely different ends of the world.
So, Siron..._I said, swimming ahead a little for her to follow me. _Wanna go for a swim?
She turned to face me, a sad smile on her face. Yes... I would like that.
And with that, Siron and I continued after Lugia, the two of us exchanging conversation about what had been going on and what we were looking forward to experiencing in this new life. Two new Lugia had taken their rightful places in the world. It mattered not how we had become them - we just embraced our new existence and pressed ahead into the unknown.
END