FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Long stories by me. All create one big story. Sorry for the long wait! (Note: Characters in the story might have different genders. But I am a girl.)

Dreams Come True

By iriomotewildcat

I've always been a Pokémon fanatic, but only one species has always kept my interest these past few years: the Legendary Bird, Lugia. At first I saw it while I was playing Pokémon Silver (he was rather hard to catch without a Master Ball) but Lugia's fame seemed to spread past mere video games. And of course, I've done my best to keep up to date on the latest trendy.

There have been Lugia toys; I bought a scale-model electric "action figure". There have been movies; I saw it in the theater and own the DVD. There's also been CDs; I have it at the top of my library! I'm so immersed in Lugia that I even dream about him! But I consider that a treat; Lugia is as evasive in my dreams as he is in the games.

And yet... with all my Lugia merchandise, I still feel... incomplete. I personally longed for that one item that will make me the ultimate Lugia fanatic! I just wish that I knew what it was.

I had just graduated from high school and I had such a lot of gifts to go through that I had put my Lugia obsession (yes, I know it's an obsession) on hold. I was writing thank-you cards for all my gifts when I found a rather plain-looking card with a blank, silver cover. I could have sworn that I had opened all the cards and had never seen this card before. Nevertheless, I opened it and read who it was from.

"ConGRADulations on reaching the next stage in your life!"

Underneath the printed text was a subscript written in messy handwriting:

"I heard about your Pokémon interest and wanted to give you a ticket to a Pokémon-related auction this Saturday.

Congratulations,

Ash."

Okay... this is weird. Ash was the name of the main character in the Pokémon TV Series. This just reeked with coincidence.

But still... a Pokémon auction? I had a gut feeling that I might find that one special item to complete my Lugia collection, so I figured, "What the heck!"

Saturday rolled around and I had gathered what was left of my graduation money... $367.50 in cash... to take to the auction. The card had contained a ticket to the convention that I had somehow overlooked. I had a good feeling about this trip.

I climbed in my truck and headed to the destination marked on the ticket: 387 Wilkin AVE SW in the city over 200 miles away. From what I knew of that location, it was a beat-up, run-down mansion that had once housed a wealthy business that had suddenly gone under.

I pulled into the parking lot at 3:45 - 15 minutes before the auctioning was about to start. I handed my ticket to the man at the door and walked inside.

Nice digs, I thought as I walked through the crowd. The interior had been cleaned up and strewn with Pokémon paraphernalia such as trading card stands, pictures of various Pokémon and small shops. It was all very tempting, but I wanted to save my money for the main auction... just in case.

"Attention, everyone," blared the P.A. at exactly 4 o'clock. "Will those who plan on taking part in the auction, please come to the foyer?" This was it!

Once everyone had assembled, the items up for auction were laid out on a long table. They were items that I had never seen before... at least not in person. They were items that were commonplace on the Pokémon games. Huh.

There were large, yellow crystals that I recognized as Revives, a long, curved talon also known as a Quick Claw, perfectly round orbs of solid gold called Nuggets, a bag of fine, red sand known as Stardust and even heart-shaped scales I remember as, what else, Heart Scales!

Okay, this was really weird! This stuff shouldn't even exist and yet here it was directly in front of me!

OH... MY... GOD!!! There it was! The perfect piece to my Lugia collection was right there! It was... the Silver Wing!!!

If you don't know what the Silver Wing is, I can try to draw it.

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For those of you who are still lost, the Silver Wing was used in the Pokémon Gold, Silver and Crystal versions to summon Lugia in the Whirl Islands. I ran a finger over the trinket. It was about as big as my hand and appeared to be made out of the finest silver metal with a tiny hole at its base for a string to go through. I didn't care what it took - I wanted that wing!

"Our first item up for bid: a Team Magma Emblem found in Pokémon Emerald while on Mount Pyre. Starting bid: five dollars. Do I hear five dollars?"

One by one the items were auctioned off at reasonable prices. It mattered little to me. I wanted that Silver Wing and nothing was going to keep me from it! I then realized a fatal flaw: I only had $350. An item that rare could possibly sell for more. I tried not to think about what would happen if it exceeded my budget.

Halfway into the auction, it was time to bid on the Silver Wing. This was the moment of truth.

"And here we have a rare Silver Wing used in the Gold, Silver and Crystal versions to summon Lugia. Do I hear 25?"

I raised my hand.

"25 to the man with the gray shirt. Can someone give me 30?"

A woman raised her paddle and said, "45!" So... they wanted to play tough, eh? I upped it to $60.

The battle was tough. One particular man just kept going. It was well over $200 before he gave up!

"235 going once... 235 going twice... last chance... sold to the gentleman in the gray shirt!"

YES!!! It was mine! The ultimate Lugia item was mine! And what's more, I still had some money left over. Joy!

After paying for the wing, I left the auction and headed for home, stopping briefly at a store to buy some string to wear the Silver Wing wherever I went and a tin of silver polish to shine it with. Now I could finally gloat about my collection to anyone!

It was well past nine when I got home and headed to bed. I decided to wear the Silver Wing to bed just for tonight as a trophy. I would display it properly tomorrow. Tucking it under my shirt, I shuddered at the touch of the cold metal against my skin but it soon warmed up to my chest. After listening to my iPod that I got for graduation for a while, I soon fell fast asleep.

Someone was running a hand down my back. It felt smooth and almost rubbery to the touch. I liked it; it felt... strangely pleasant. It was kind of like a trusting friend was behind me. I knew that I could trust it.

The hand put itself on my shoulder and slowly turned me around. I couldn't quite make out who it was, but I had a feeling that I knew. Squinting through the mist, I could make out two, clear, narrow, navy-blue eyes looking back at me. I knew then that he was back.

"Lugia?"

Unlike my other dreams, the figure that I assumed to be him was not as distinguishable. It seemed more like a swirling white mist more than anything else. The wing-like hand stroked my face as smooth as a feather. It then put itself on the exact center of my forehead.

Suddenly, a sharp, burning sting cut through my dreams. It felt like something was pressing a white-hot iron on my forehead. It hurt so badly!

And then... it stopped and I was filled with a gentle coolness and I could see those blue eyes again.

"Why?" I asked, still smarting from the burn.

The eyes became a little more distinct and I could have sworn that I had heard a deep male voice in my head.

I'm sorry... It is... necessary.

"Huh?"

You may wake.

And just like that, the dream ended and I found myself in bed once again.

I tried falling back to sleep to revisit that wonderful dream, but I was fully awake now so there was no encore.

"Damn it," I swore, getting up.

Something fell from my forehead and onto my chest. It was my Silver Wing. It had apparently ended up stuck to my head during my constant tossing and turning in the night.

While washing my face in the bathroom, I noticed something unusual in the mirror. Right in the middle of my forehead was a silver substance shaped like the left half of the Silver Wing. It must have been some of the polish that I had used to shine it the previous night. Rubbing it roughly, I failed to remove the substance. No amount of rubbing or washing could remove it from my skin. It's almost like it was my skin now.

"Okay..." I said to myself. "That's weird. I should get this looked at." I finished up in the bathroom and went to make an appointment.

While in the waiting room, I thought about my latest dream. I was pretty sure that those eyes had belonged to Lugia, but I was still wondering about how real it had been. I had had dreams like that before but I was positive that I hadn't woken up with sliver marks on my head. It all seemed so... improbable.

"Mr. Schaefer?" came the doctor's voice from the door. I got up and followed him.

"I've never seen a case like this," said the doctor, examining my silver mark. "Are you sure this isn't a birthmark?"

"It's never been there before. What do you make of it?"

Examining it closer (I could feel his breath on my face.) he said, "I'll have to run some tests just to be sure that it isn't infected. I can get the results to you in a few days."

I figured it was probably worth the wait. "Okay," I sighed.

He swabbed my forehead with alcohol and then scraped it with a dull sterile blade.

"We'll call you when the results come back," said the doctor, leaving the room. And with that off my chest, I left and headed for home.

I entertained myself for the rest of the day by playing my new Gamecube and ordering a Pizza Hut pizza. When I had had enough, I popped in one of my new movies and sat back on my chair. The weather was very cold and cloudy for a summer day so I stayed indoors. Despite the mark, I still wore the Silver Wing around my neck. I was amazed that despite being handled a lot by me, the completely flawless metal didn't smudge or tarnish.

After watching two movies in succession, I decided to turn in. I still wore the Silver Wing because I felt that it had somehow triggered a dream with Lugia. Once again, I feel asleep rather quickly.

The eyes and the hand were there again but this time a faint song was echoing around me. The eyes were outlined this time by two navy-blue, mask-like flashes. I wanted to get closer to the figure.

"Lugia! I want to meet you!"

The hand had been joined by another, similar one. Both of them wrapped themselves around me like an embrace.

Just then, the eyes narrowed and I began to feel very cold. I looked at myself and saw that I was on fire! My skin was covered with ice-cold... blue flames? I tried to understand what was happening to me while trying to put the flames out.

"Lugia, stop it! I'm freezing!"

The figure ran its hands over me and the flames were immediately put out. I suddenly felt very warm like I was surrounded by a very warm blanket.

You are becoming... one... with the world, said the Lugia figure in its gentle voice.

"What do you mean?"

Your body... is changing... to a more... suitable form.

Uh-oh.

Looking at my hands, I started shaking as I tried to comprehend what was happening to me. My body was now 100 hairless and instead of pink skin, there was a smooth, white/sliver flesh that did not belong to me. Oh, God. At least this was a dream and it couldn't affect me in real life.

Soon... you will start to learn... everything. Wake up... my young soul mate.

I sat up, panting. That had been no coincidence. Two Lugia dreams in a row was about as rare as finding a live white tiger in the wild. And if that weren't scary enough, I actually screamed when I looked at my reflection in the mirror.

My skin was completely hairless and was smoother than polished glass. It also had a sliver/white hue to it. Not one inch of my body wasn't covered in this silky-smooth flesh. I had even molted; my lovely brown hair was gone except for the silver mark on my forehead!

I could not believe that this was happening to me! It was as if my dreams were becoming a reality! I pinched myself to make sure that I was really awake. It took a moment due to the flexibility of my new flesh but it did hurt a lot which ruled out that I was asleep.

I then had an epiphany - a crazy one, but it had its merits. The Silver Wing was doing this to me! It was somehow turning my dreams into reality! With that, I ripped the wing from around my neck and went to get in my truck. I then drove as far from my place as I could to a cliff out looking the ocean. I then chucked the wing as far as I could into the sea where it sank instantly.

Ignoring the looks from other people, I headed for home to get some well-deserved rest. Hopefully, without that accursed pendant, I would be able to sleep soundly. I would deal with my changes tomorrow.

I was lost in a black void. I had nowhere to go; everything had become dark and desolate. I still felt a sense of accomplishment; there would be no more transformations for this guy.

And then... I heard him.

The beacon is gone... but I can still... see you.

Oh... God.

"Go away!!!" I shouted to the voice. "I never want to see you again!"

But Alex... How did he know my name? I am... lost without you. You... complete me.

I shook my head and yelled, "No, you're just a game! You're just a game!!!"

Could a game... do this?

Instantly, the black void became a vast ocean. It seemed so... peaceful. There was nothing hostile about it.

"What's this?" I asked.

Come... said the voice. Join me... in one of my... memories... from an age gone by.

I immediately fell from the air and was underwater in no time. I tried to fight it but the voice said, I will not harm you. Relax... and do not be afraid.

I finally gave up all resistance and let this dream run its course. I spread my arms and pumped them through the water. It felt... strangely cool. I dove deeper and deeper into the heart of the ocean while watching other creatures swim by.

Schools of fish drifted past me, shining with all sorts of radiant colors. I saw large killer whales that appeared to be singing to me. I cannot describe how beautiful everything else looked as I dove deeper and deeper into the depths of the sea,

Eventually, I reached what looked like an underwater river which was actually a powerful current. Diving headfirst into it, the same eerie song that had sounded the night before played throughout the current. This time, I recognized it as Lugia's cry from the Pokémon 2000 movie. My heart softened at the song's soothing notes.

It was then that I saw a figure approaching. I did not try to run; it had a trusting look to it. Its blue eyes glowed in the near-darkness as it came closer. It soon came close enough for me to get a decent look at it.

Oh... my... whatever. It was him! It was a full-fledged Lugia! His radiant white/silver body shone with perfect luster that others would only dream of. Two large, flat, flipper-like wings were spread out before me. Five, short, flat fingers were on each one. His short, digitigrade legs were on each side of the sea-blue belly on his massive torso and each had three round toes. Lugia's tail was long and thick with a pair of sharp, blue spikes near its tip. Ten, navy-blue lengths that I called "back plates" grew in regular intervals down each side of his back. At the end of a long, muscular neck was his beautiful pointed head complete with the trademark pointed eye mask, navy-blue eyes, two pointed fangs on his upper and lower jaw and a curved beak that seemed to be indistinguishable from his kind face.

I looked long and hard into Lugia's strict yet kind face and eyes. I had had dreams with him before but not this detailed or real. I never wanted this dream to end. And yet... he didn't seem completely... "whole". His entire body was transparent like a ghost. It was as if he was only a spirit. But still... he looked more solid than the night before where I could only make out his eyes, mask and wings.

"Lugia..." I said with longing. I didn't know what to say. I eventually settled with: "What's happening to us?" I noticed that I had said "us" and not "me". It showed how concerned for both of our state of minds.

Lugia wrapped a wing around my shoulder and brought me close to his chest. I could still feel them both but they were still missing a feeling of satisfaction and wholeness. I couldn't hear a heartbeat, though.

Long ago... he began. When he spoke, he did not move his beak but instead spoke with his mind not unlike a telepath. I could hear his words in my head. I was once the guardian of this planet. I used to watch over this planet from the oceans and the skies. I noticed that his sentences were more complete now. I was in tune with the planet. When the planet was in pain... I felt it. When it was happy... I was overcome with joy. Whatever the planet felt... I knew about it.

"But the planet isn't alive... is it?" I was slightly confused.

It is very much alive. How do you think the winds form? I created them. Who is responsible for the volcanoes of the world unleashing their fury? It is the planet's and my anger.

"I thought God was responsible for that."

In a way... He is. I am the avatar of the Almighty Father; a guardian is on every planet in the universe. Some are alive as flesh and blood and some are merely spirits.

"But what does this have to do with me?"

The planet is both angry and sad at what the humans are doing to it. It has need for me again. But the humans' damage is beyond my control. So, I created the Silver Wing to choose a single pure-hearted human to be at my side. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect friend to watch over with me.

I sniffed and wiped back a tear. Lugia, an avatar of God, had chosen me out of six billion other people in the world. And what's more, he had called me his... "friend".

"I'm honored to be your partner. But why am I changing like this?" I spread my arms and then pointed to my forehead where the left half of the Silver Wing was shining.

Your current form is... insufficient for the task that I am about to bestow on you. I have been channeling my spirit into your body for the past few nights. It will take a few more days for the transformation to be completed. Until then, I have another blessing to bestow on you tonight: the knowledge of the cosmos. Will you accept it?

I thought about this for a while. Lugia was changing my complete physical being for the greater good of the planet, so I figured, why not? I always wanted to help the world in a way.

"I... accept your blessing."

Very well, said Lugia, releasing me and floating backwards. I was surprised at his size; he stood at least 15 feet high on his hind legs (neck included) and was about 20 feet from the point of his head to the tip of his tail. I couldn't help but admire him; here was the exact definition of a god. It also struck me as a strange coincidence that God chose a Pokémon as an avatar when Pokemon hadn't been invented until 1997 A.D.

Lugia sensed my thoughts and chuckled. One of the creators of Pokémon was inspired by a legend about me. Don't worry about it.

He then placed one of his massive wings directly on my mark and closed his eyes. He started to glow a bright white-and-blue mixture and I began to feel lightheaded. Suddenly, my mind began to fill with endless knowledge spanning millions of years. It was so much for my small human brain that Lugia had to expand its boundaries to an infinite size. I now understood everything there was to know about the planet and more. Things that people had spent their whole life trying to understand became common knowledge to me. I also began to hear things in my head that hadn't been there before. Things like: voices from the planet, every single person's thoughts and so much more. It was so overwhelming, I thought that I'd go insane if I had to try to comprehend it all.

I grimaced as Lugia's infinite wisdom entered my expanded brain. I thought it would never end; I figured that I wasn't good enough for the task; I was going to snap here and now from all the knowledge.

And then it stopped.

Lugia removed his hand from my head and I slumped to the floor, panting.

I am sorry, Alex; I fear that I overdid it. Are you alright?

My brain was full to bursting. I couldn't contain it all.

"I... can't... move."

Do not worry. I will keep you from waking today so that the information that I gave you will not break your consciousness. Later, it will subside and your brain will be better suited to the task.

"Thank... you... friend."

Sometime that day, my answering machine went off. It was the doctor with news on the mark on my forehead.

"Mr. Schaefer, this is Dr. Phillips. I'm calling to say that your test results are in. The mark on your forehead tested negative for cancer or any type of infection. I was completely stumped when I saw the results. The only conclusion that I was able to make is that the mark contained very trace amounts of a type of silver liquid that was not in our library. Other than that, the mark is not diseased or infected in any way. Please contact the clinic to reschedule another appointment at your earliest convenience. Good-bye. click"

Normally, this would have been a relief to know but now it seemed insignificant as a whole new existence was unraveling before me.

I remained asleep that whole day while my mind expanded to hold everything that Lugia had "taught" me. During that time, my body underwent another transformation. My silver skin began bubbling and stretching as layer upon layer of blubber and muscle expanded my human shape into a much larger form. What were once my arms widened, flattened, and gained mass as they become huge, wide, Lugia wings. I still had five fingers but they now became the flat "feathers" on my wings with a similar "thumb" underneath. They kind of looked like human hands but they were much larger and the thumb was where the palm was. I can't really describe it without drawing a picture.

Also, my already round gut began swelling like a balloon while a mark like this:

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... appeared on my belly similar to the original Lugia's except mine was a ruby-red color. My mass was so great that my bed collapsed while I slept on.

To add to my new shape, my neck elongated while my entire skull rearranged to match that of Lugia's with the exception of the pointed eye mask, which was a crimson-red color and my eyes became narrow slits and a similar maroon color. I unknowingly spit our all but two of my teeth on my upper and lower jaw. Those that remained were reshaped into razor-sharp fangs. This wouldn't be a problem because I had read somewhere that Lugia's jaws could crush a coconut with one snap.

A row of crimson-red "plates" grew from each side of my spine. I knew all too well that I could fold these into my back while underwater to increase my swimming speed. A long, thick growth extended from my backside as I laid on my front. All of my clothes were ripped to shreds during the process. Near the tip of my new tail sprouted two, red, razor-sharp spikes to add to my new form.

To top it all off, my legs shrunk and my feet grew while my toes melted from five to three. They both shifted to the lower sides of my torso to finish my transformation.

I was now a Lugia.

During this whole process, I was in a kind of deep sleep that Lugia had put me in to block out the pain of the transformation. I was neither awake nor dreaming the whole time. All the while, the spirit of Lugia was fine-tuning my brain to become that of a god. He added a telepathic ability to my senses that would allow me to communicate with words and hone my new powers. He also enabled me to breathe both above and below the seas because my new breathing system could filter the oxygen out of the water and air at the same time. Lugia may be immortal, but he was still connected to the planet. My voice box was also altered to emit the natural sounds of a Lugia. After all, I could now communicate halfway across the planet with my mind; what was the point of vocal words anymore?

To top it all off, I had been granted all of the classic Lugia abilities: recovery, regeneration, flight, swimming, elemental control (I could now control the forces of earth, fire, wind, water and the cosmos.) and telekinesis. To name but a few...

By the time the evening had rolled around, he was finished and I was 100 Lugia. I could hear Lugia's voice sounding within my mind.

You are complete, Alex. Now... awake and meet me at the sea's edge.

I woke up feeling a slight pain in my backside. I tried to turn my head in my cramped room but was unsuccessful. I could sense that my room was totaled and my personal possessions were mere garbage. But... I didn't feel as concerned as I should have been. They seemed... insignificant to the existence that was about to become mine. They were merely remnants of my former life. I could care less about them now.

Now that that was out of the way, I focused my attention on how to get out of my house if I couldn't fit through the doors anymore. It then came to me. I closed my eyes and pictured myself outside the house. I seemed to dissolve into a mist and float out of the house and reform on the front lawn.

I opened my eyes and looked out at the world through my new eyes. Wow! Lugia had such great vision! Colors were more vibrant and much sharper than before. Not only that, but I could see in different "visions" from plain black-and-white to electromagnetic (I couldn't see very well because of the interference of the city) to heat vision. I settled for regular vision and then took to the sky to find Lugia.

I could feel the stares of the people below me as I passed over large cities and towns. I even paused in mid-flight to pose over an open baseball stadium so that the fans could get some decent shots of me. Besides, if Lugia and I were going to be in charge of the world, I might as well jump-start some old legends and myths running around the planet.

Flying through the air on your own was beyond words. I didn't have to rely on thermals like most birds did; I could go anywhere and everywhere I wanted to. Feeling the wind on my smooth skin was like taking a bath in pure warmth. And that sun! If I wanted to, I could park myself on a cliff and soak up the rays all day without any fear of a tan. It felt so... relaxing and energetic!

The trip gave me some time to reflect on what I was leaving behind. I would no longer be able to play any of my video games or listen to any of my music. That didn't bother me anymore. Listening to the waves of the seas or controlling the elements of the world was all I needed nowadays.

I also thought of my family. I had finally earned the right to live on my own and they would be worried if I didn't check in with them every so often. My great wealth of knowledge provided the answer to this concern. I could still visit them as I was at anytime, but I had to put the responsibilities of the planet before the responsibilities of a single group of humans.

I had a feeling that life would be very different from now on...

...but I wasn't finished yet. I had finally reached the sea coast that Lugia had told me to meet him. I landed on the beach mere feet from the water and waited.

Good... you have arrived. Lugia's voice sounded in my head and I turned to a spot down the beach a ways.

A semi-opaque Lugia was standing before me with his wings tucked backwards on the sides of his torso.

I have, I said, holding my head high.

I had a feeling that you couldn't resist showing off for the humans on your way here.

Uh-oh. Busted.

Lugia merely smiled as well as his facial features allowed and laughed. It will be the start of the new age. We cannot exist if none of the humans have faith in us.

Hearing a laugh in your head was very different than hearing it vocally. Pure joy and radiance filled your mind when you heard it that left a lasting impression long after. Laughter is a way of expressing happiness and humor. When you hear it in your head, it made your heart race with pleasure and ecstasy. This is merely a hint of how great laughter felt to a being like myself.

I also noticed something. Why hasn't all this made you whole again, Lugia?

Your faith in me is making me whole, Altair. My... true name. Somehow I knew that "Altair" was my true, God-given name. There is just one more step to bring me back to the planet.

Please, tell me.

I need you to swear your allegiance to the Father.. and me.

I paused. I had never been one to go to church very often, but that seemed irrelevant now.

I'm ready.

Lugia nodded and raised his wings in a magnificent pose and spoke in a thunderous voice.

DO YOU, ALTAIR, SWEAR YOUR ALLEGIANCE TO GOD THE ALMIGHTY, CREATOR OF HEAVEN AND ALL THE COSMOS?!

I raised my wings in a similar salute and called back, I DO!!!

Lugia glowed brightly for a moment and seemed to become more solid.

DO YOU, ALTAIR, SWEAR TO UPHOLD YOUR RIGHTFUL DUTY AS GUARDIAN OF AND PROTECT THIS PLANET?!

I took a deep breath and blew a jet of blue fire into the skies. I DO!!!

Lugia became even more distinctive and flesh-like.

DO YOU, ALTAIR, SWEAR TO LIVE FOR ALL CREATURES AND FOR GOOD AND JUST?!

I let out a loud roar that echoed across the seas. I DO!!!

He was just barely a spirit now.

DO YOU, ALTAIR, SWEAR TO PUT OTHERS' RESPONSIBILITIES BEFORE YOUR OWN AND CARE FOR THE PLANET AS IF EACH DAY WERE JUDGMENT DAY?!

I finally fired a clear Aeroblast into the sky and bellowed, I DO!!!

Lugia glowed a bright white as the final oath was said and finally became whole. As he took his first breath of air in thousands of years and collapsed. I quickly "ran" over to him and put my wing around him.

When he came to, I let out a mental gasp. On his forehead was the mark of the right half of the Silver Wing. I ran a "finger" over the mark and said just one word: Brother?

Lugia looked up at me with his teary blue eyes. The joy in his face was past priceless. He had been reborn as I had and the only thing that mattered at the moment was that he and I were together at last.

Lugia climbed to his feet and put his wings around my shoulders and I did the same. We stood there for the longest time, two behemoths showing affection for their long-lost soul mate.

Brother!

It's been 30 years since Lugia and I became Guardians but it seemed like nothing to us. Ever since our return, the world has been at peace. I still look back on the events that we helped stop and prevent ever since those fateful days.

We are like ghosts to the people of the planet. We would confront the criminals of the world and stop their crimes after which we would mentally wipe their memories to the point that they would only remember us as the "White Ghosts". Soon, crime rates were so low that days to weeks would go by in one area without any kind of crime whatsoever. We could never conquer the criminal underworld but we were able to control it with a combination of fear and determination.

We still got our fair share of publicity, though. Every once in a while, Lugia and I would appear in out-of-focus shots in the media all over the world from time to time. Soon we had created our own fad similar to the people who believe in aliens.

Human matters weren't our only business. My brother and I have been able to see to the destruction of many, many fields of raw marijuana, heroin and cocaine. We did not attack most of the tobacco fields but instead we managed to create a classified sample of potion to cure any addiction and anonymously deliver it to a secret lab somewhere in Washington D.C. Another thing we did was clean up several large oil spills scattered around the planet. Since we were in tune with the world, we had to keep it as healthy as possible.

When we weren't dealing with planetary issues, we traveled the paths between dimensions and bestowed the pleasure of a good-night's sleep to those who deserved it. I can't even count how many happy people have prayed to the heavens for the best sleep and/or dreams they had had in a long time. On our own time, however, Lugia and I have gone on moonlit swims through the oceans or the night skies. These are our best times together and we enjoy every moment of them.

I know, I know... we sound like a couple of miracle workers... and it's true. Together, we did more for this planet than every human put together. It was the start of a new age for the planet. We did it all in secret. Like the Loch Ness and Bigfoot (who we have personally met) we remained as the stuff of living legends.

Lugia and I were almost never apart. And when we were, we were always connected via our minds. We were almost always busy, but that's the responsibility of being a Guardian.

One day in the distant future, my brother and I were swimming through the ocean on a cool night. We had watched the world grow up at peace for the past 200 years. Crime was at an all-time low and our presence was felt by every being on the planet. I was swimming to catch up with Lugia who was several hundred feet in front of me.

Just then, he asked me a question that he had been waiting a long time to ask.

Altair... Do you regret your decision?

I knew exactly what he meant.

I've never stopped thinking about it.

And...?

No... I don't. I'm glad that I made that choice on that day. I've done so much for the Earth that I wouldn't dream of going back.

I am happy that you are happy. That's all that matters to me.

Thanks for asking.

I smiled and tagged him on the tail. Lugia laughed as we swam on. I was happy; I had the life of something that I'd only dreamed of.

Lugia shared my thoughts as we swam on, Dreams do come true.

END

Another story.

Charred for Life

By iriomotewildcat

Author's Note: This story was actually the idea of Dragonide after reading one of my "Dreams Come True" stories. After some thought, I decided to put the story together and here it is now. Enjoy!

I hate my life... or at least I used to. I was at the end of my rope when everything turned around when I got...

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me introduce myself. My name is Skyle Kelvin. My life used to be one disappointment after another before I met an unbelievable person that changed my life forever. That person completely turned my life around and gave me a new reason to live.

What am I rambling on about? Let me tell you about the day that my life changed forever...

I had been living with my mother for all of my life. She was the best! She helped me with my homework, took me out to a movie once a week and gave me every reason to live. Life was good.

But unfortunately, all good things must end at one point or another, and my mother was taken from me when I was 16. She had been out in her garden when she suddenly collapsed from a sudden stroke. Yet despite the doctors' best efforts to save her, she passed away in her coma without regaining consciousness. I was there when her heart suddenly flatlined. I will never forget that day.

No child should ever have to sit at their parent's deathbed at such an early age. I thought I'd never be able to take care of myself without her.

After my mom passed away, my schoolwork began to suffer. I failed every one of mid-terms in my 10th grade year and I was kicked off the basketball team when I accidentally passed the ball over my teammate and hit him in the face.

To add insult to misery, I chose to drop out of school and even quit my job as a paperboy. Life for me was at an all-time low. I couldn't bring myself to continue the daily routine with my mom gone. My mother, who had once been my purpose for living, was gone and my life had spiraled out of control and into the gutter.

But despite being in a shocking state of depression, there was something inside me that kept me from committing suicide like most depressed teens do. I didn't know it, but there was something out there that would give my life a complete 180.

Some time after I dropped out, I was watching a show at home called "Animal Miracles" on Animal Planet. There was one story about a woman who had gone into depression like I had and was on the verge of collapse. But at the last minute, a friend of hers suggested that she get a dog. I can't explain the logic behind it, but her life completely turned around and the dog ended up saving her from getting stranded in a snowstorm.

I had never really believed in miracles, but with the state I was in, I was willing to try anything. I went to get some of the money I had gotten from my mom's life insurance and went out for a walk to the local animal shelter. I had never had a pet, but I was completely desperate for anything that would give me company. Besides, I've always secretly wanted a pet, but I never told my mom about it.

When I got to the animal shelter, I was greeted by the mixed funk of rescued animals. This place wasn't that big or that sophisticated, and you could look through a door in the entryway and see the animal pen. Walking up to the front desk, I rang the bell and a woman with blonde hair came up to talk to me.

"May I help you today?" she said in a kind voice.

"I'm here to look for a pet... if you've got any to spare."

The woman chuckled and pulled out a ring of keys. "Let's see what we can find for you."

She led me to the door to the pens and unlocked it. I was suddenly greeted by the sounds of dogs barking and cats meowing. The conditions looked more like a warehouse than a full-fledged shelter, but this place never had that much money to work with.

I walked from pen to pen, looking at the various animals. They had a cute Shih Tzu, an impressive Doberman, a pretty Calico and a great Great Dane. They were all good, but something told me that these animals just wouldn't work. I tried to picture myself with one of these pets, but the need and/or personality of each one just wouldn't work somehow with me.

Just when I was about to give up, I spotted a cage that had an iron pen inside of it that looked like it was keeping something especially vicious. For some reason, I noticed that the pen was giving off a slight heat wave around it. After looking at the other animals, I had to ask.

"What's in that cage?" I asked, pointing to the hot pen.

The woman who had let me into the pen looked at in concern. "You know, I'm not sure. We've never figured out what kind of creature it is. Whenever we let it out, things happen that we're still trying to fix."

"Like what? Can I see it?"

The woman's expression told me that she didn't want to, but figured to try it anyway. She went to a room behind a locked door in the room and reappeared a minute later wearing fire-retardant gloves. I looked curiously at her as she opened the cage door and then carefully opened the hot pen.

"Come on, little Charmy," she told the creature inside. "Someone wants to see you."

The creature that came out of the pen was unlike any animal I had ever seen before. If I was to call it by a name that already existed, I guess I would call it a "salamander". But I was pretty sure that normal salamanders were not as tall as my forearm was long and had red-orange skin. It had a reptilian-like face, but its eyes looked anything but. They were round and were colored with watery-blue irises. It had four short claws on its forepaws and had three ivory-colored talons on each of its footpaws. Its belly all the way down to the underside of its tail was a pale-orange color. But what was on its tail made my eyes go wide.

A small, flickering, live flame was burning on the tip of its tail. I noticed that the woman tried her best not to touch it. I wondered what kind of force on earth could allow a live flame to burn on a creature but not harm it in any way.

"Is that... normal?" I said, pointing at the burning fire on the creature's tail.

"I guess so. We tried to douse it, but she never let us near it. It doesn't seem to bother her, so we just let it be. We have to keep her locked in a fire-proof container so she doesn't burn anything." She handed the creature to me and I took it carefully in my arms.

When the creature looked at me with those watery-blue eyes, I could immediately see a sense of longing in them. It seemed to be begging me to take it and to show it, it buried its muzzle in my chest and "spoke" just one word: "Char!"

I blinked as I stroked the slightly-warm scales on the creatures back. "Is it supposed to say that?"

The woman shrugged. "She always says just one word or parts of one word: "Charmander". So that's why we call her "Charmy". I've never seen a creature that spoke its own name that clear and loud."

I also noticed something. "You keep calling it a "she". How can you tell?"

"You can't really tell, but it has some female characteristics."

Good point. There was just one more thing. "Where did she come from? I've never seen a "Charmander" before."

The woman had a strange tale to tell. "Someone who used to have this Charmander in a cage came in with it saying that she had gotten loose as a regular salamander and had wandered into a fire ant colony. He didn't see it, but when he found her, she was covered in ant bites and... she looked like this. I really can't explain it."

I looked at the Charmander in the eyes again and it suddenly smiled and started speaking again. "Char! Charmander-Char! Chaaaar!!!" It seemed that she really liked me.

The woman seemed impressed. "That's funny. Charmy's never liked anyone before, but she really seems to have warmed up to you."

"I know." I was starting to sweat a little from Charmy's body heat. "This is a first even for me."

After some more discussion, I finally agreed to give the little creature a home. As long as it didn't burn down the house, I felt that this Charmander would be ideal for me as a pet. I also seemed to have gotten there just in time. If I hadn't come along, they would have had to put it down in just two days. I paid a relatively cheap price for Charmy - $65.50 - and took her home.

When I got home, I let Charmy out of her pen and let her look around. She was unsure about what to do when she walked into my living room. I noticed that she walked on two legs like a human did - something most animals with four legs couldn't do. Charmy wandered over to my couch and looked at the impressive piece of furniture. It reached out with its claw and touched one of the cushions.

Nothing happened, but it must have startled her because she yelped, "Char!" and ran over the safety of my legs. I chuckled and reached down to pet the poor thing on its warm dome.

"It's okay, girl. It won't bite."

"Char... Mander..." She sounded uncertain. Looking up at me with those watery-blue eyes, she raised her arms and started jumping up and down for me to pick her up. I did so and tickled her belly with my finger.

"You're really something else, aren't you?" Suddenly, I heard her tummy growl and I laughed at the gurgle it gave off. "Are you hungry?"

Charmy smiled at me and barked, "Char! Man! Char!"

"Okay... let's get you some food." I set her down and let her wander around while I prepared her dinner.

The woman at the shelter told me that Charmy never touched dry food and only at canned dog food heated up in the microwave. This told me that she was a carnivore - normal salamanders did not have this type of diet. While I was out, I had bought her some cans of wet dog food and a bowl for her. I had plenty of money left over from my mom's life insurance, but if I had to buy wet food for her for life, it would seriously eat into my funds.

I opened a tin that contained a mixture of beef and pork with thick gravy and tipped the contents into her bowl. After nuking it in the microwave for a minute, I called to Charmy.

"Charmy! Soup's on!"

She immediately came running into the room with her arms waving. "Char! Char! Chaaaar!!!"

She approached the food and paused. I wondered if something was wrong, but then she turned to me and bent low into what was an unmistakable bow. After leaving me to reflect in this, she went at her food with moth hands and shoveled it into her mouth.

Did I just see that? It looked like she was actually thanking me! Normally, any animal just went at their food without acknowledging you. Charmy had actually thanked me! Weird.

I watched her eat until she suddenly froze up with plenty of food left. She started hacking and coughing as if she was choking.

"Charmy? Are you okay?"

Charmy coughed a little more and then seemed to be fine. There was a moment's pause before she sneezed, shooting a solid column of flame from her mouth and setting my blinds on fire!

Immediately, I grabbed the fire extinguisher and went to go put out the fire. When it was all out, I turned to face Charmy.

"Did you just... do that?! What was that?!"

Charmy flinched under my loud voice and come over to me to nuzzle my leg. "Charmander..." It sounded like she was saying, "I'm sorry."

I should have stayed mad at her, but then I figured that she really WAS sorry and probably didn't mean to shoot 20-foot flames at my blinds. I softened my tone and bent down to pick her up again.

"I'm sorry I yelled, girl. You've got a lot of spunk in you, don't you?"

Charmy smiled and looked up at me, nuzzling my chest again. I set her down and let her finish her food.

When she was done, Charmy climbed up on my bed, curled up and fell asleep with her head over her tail. I didn't want to disturb her, so I let her lay. To keep myself occupied until she woke up, I decided to watch TV.

Some time later, I started sweating heavily. I thought that the thermostat was lower than this and went to check it. It was where it should be when it happened. The temperature in the room suddenly spiked like a heat wave and I thought I was going to suffocate. I was sweating heavily and I found it difficult to breathe. The first thing that came to my mind was that the house was on fire, but I couldn't see or smell any smoke. Holy (explicit), this heat was going to kill me!

And then suddenly, the temperature in the house dropped substantially, cooling me off greatly. For the first time, I realized just how cold it was in here. My first thought was that the heater was faulty, but then one word came to my mind...

"Charmy..."

I crossed the rest of the living room in a few steps and was at my bedroom door within five seconds. Opening the door, I looked inside. The air was a little clammy in here, but that's not was shocked me.

Laying on my bed, apparently still fast asleep was...

Was that Charmy? No... it couldn't be... could it? I thought Charmy was smaller than that. This had to be something else. But just to be sure...

"Charmy?" I said softly to the sleeping creature. It simply rolled over in its sleep. "Charmy!" I said louder. The creature gave a grunt and kicked its leg.

"CHARMY!!!"

The creature I assumed to be Charmy opened its eyes, yawned widely, exposing several pearly-white fangs and sat up, rubbing its eyes.

"Charmy, is that you?"

The creature looked at me with eyes that I recognized as Charmy's and nodded. "Char." I noticed that this Charmy had a much deeper, almost growl-like voice.

I carefully entered my room and approached the Charmy-like creature.

"Charmy... what happened to you? You look different somehow."

The Charmander had somehow grown in the past few hours. It was now as high as my hip and looked much more menacing. Its skin had gone from a regular orange color to a deep red-orange shade. The talons on its paws had grown significantly to resemble three very sharp white claws while the ones on its feet had grown slightly longer. It also had a slight hunch to it with a significant point to its skull now. What's more, the fire on its tail had grown significantly so it almost looked like a small torch flame.

"Charmander..." I said in awe, calling her by her real name. "You... you..." I didn't want to believe it - it was just too weird. But there was no other explanation. "You evolved!"

"Charmeleon!" said Charmy, saying her new name with pride. She then hopped down from the bed and looked up at me with longing.

"Charmy..." I said, looking at its funny expression. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Charrrr..." I could have sworn that she was purring as she started nuzzling my leg and put her arms around my thighs.

"Charmeleon... you're creeping me out. Could you back off a little?"

Charmy obeyed, but the look in her eyes still haunted me. It looked like she was admiring me somehow. I just couldn't put my finger on it.

Looking out the window, I noticed that it was already dark. Wow. Where has the time gone? I decided to turn in for the night and went to get Charmy somewhere to sleep.

While I was out in the living room, looking for a bed for her, Charmy wandered over to a picture that I had of my mother and I posing in front of a tree. Even though she only had three claws on each hand, she gently took the picture in both hands and stared at it with longing. She recognized me immediately but then looked at my mother in confusion. For some reason, she didn't quite get the bond that we used to share and carried the picture out into the living room to show me.

I saw her coming once I found blankets for her to use. She held up the picture and said, almost question-like, "Meleon?"

I took the picture from her and looked at it with longing myself. "This used to be my mother. She was the only family I ever had."

"Charmeleon?" Charmy seemed confused.

"What's a "family"?" I tried to interpret what she was asking me. Charmy nodded. "It's a... a..." Good point. How could you explain something you had always taken for granted to an animal? "It's a group of people who are in the same bloodline that you share their deepest feelings for."

"Char?" Charmy didn't quite get it.

"Feelings?" Um... let me think..." I thought for a while before answering. "It's what makes you happy or sad or angry at something. You see, when you really care for someone and you really mean it, you develop a kind of relationship with that person. In some instances, if one person cares so much for another that they would be willing to do anything for them, the odds are that that person means a lot to them and they want to join together to form a family. You know..." I added, patting Charmy's head and sighing. "If we were the same species, we would be able to care for each other like my mother used to." I suddenly scoffed. "That'd be weird, though, huh? A pair of creatures like the two of us? I'd have to shrink and grow a tail with a fire on it before we could be in the same social pool. If only it was even remotely possible, I'd take it." I looked at Charmy again and sighed. "You don't understand a word I'm saying, do you?"

The response from Charmy was inconclusive. She looked at me with a look of longing that neither told me that she understood or told me that she didn't. I chuckled and scratched her under the chin.

"I just wish it were true that there was a relationship between us other than pet and owner. If only it could happen..."

I walked back to my room with Charmy following behind me, the two of us deep in thought. I was thinking about my mother. Seeing Charmy give me that picture brought back memories that I didn't want unearthed until years down the road. She had been cruelly taken from me when I was just 16. It wasn't fair that I had had give her up so early in my life. We could have accomplished so much more if fate hadn't intervened. It just wasn't fair.

Charmy, meanwhile, was thinking about what I had said. A family was a group of people who could share their innermost feelings with each other. Being the only one of her species, Charmy never had the chance to experience the privilege of a family. In fact, I was the only one she had now - her old master had abandoned her after she had been mutated by those fire ant stings. Now there was an empty feeling in her heart that only another of her species could fill.

Even though she knew it was impossible, she couldn't help wondering what would happen if... (Author's Note: That's a secret!). Then again... it had happened to her - what if fate was to intervene again? Could there be something worth living for between us? Yes... it was worth a try. She wasn't fully grown, so it shouldn't do much damage.

Charmy was now faced with a dilemma: try and see if it works and open up a whole new way of life or ignore it and face the cruelty of loneliness for the rest of her life. Decisions, decisions. She decided to sleep on the matter. When the morning came, she would think some more on the subject.

Of course, I was completely oblivious to her thoughts at this time. I would not fully understand her intentions until (event withheld) happened some time later.

I crawled into bed and pulled the covers over me. I had laid some blankets on the floor for Charmy to sleep on, but was slightly taken off-guard when she climbed up on my lap and curled up on top of me.

"Charmy!" I said, trying to shift her aside. "I made your bed already!"

But Charmy had already fallen asleep on top of me and her increased bulk was a little difficult to budge without waking the sleeping dragon. I finally sighed and put an arm on top of her.

"Fine... just for tonight. Tomorrow, you're sleeping on the floor."

Charmeleon did not answer, and the slow, steady combination of her deep breaths and beating heart against my chest soon lulled me to sleep myself. The warmth of her body soothed my own body and enabled me to achieve a state of sleep that I had never experienced before. In fact, if it wasn't for one very strange dream, I could have slept completely through the night without any thought whatsoever.

The dream in particular happened to involve me standing in the middle of a white mist, alone and defenseless. I felt very exposed here. There were predators out hunting for me and I was scared. There was an air of foreboding all around me.

Suddenly, I saw someone approaching me. It looked like a normal man who was out looking at the sights. He spotted me and knelt down, beckoning to me.

"Aren't you just a cute little fella? Come here, I got somethin' for ya." He had a slight Australian accent in his voice.

He seemed to be trustworthy. I meandered over to him but stopped just out of his reach. There was something not quite right about this man, but I couldn't quite tell what it was.

"I'm not gonna bite ya," said the man in a reassuring voice. "I've even got somethin' for ya."

He reached into his pack and pulled out a hunk of raw meat and held it out in his hand. "See? It's pork. I know how much little critters like yerself like this stuff."

It did smell good and the offer was just too tempting. I inched forward, took the meat with my hands and transferred it into my mouth. It tasted so good and it was free. This man was a very nice man. He even gave me my breakfast! What could possibly go wrong?

While I was eating, I did not see the man motion to another person to his left, who carefully snuck up on me with something in his hands. I was completely unaware that anything was wrong until I felt the burn of cold steel around my neck. Before I could react, it was too late.

I grabbed at the steel wire, dropping my meal and started thrashing. The man who had tricked me suddenly became excited.

"He's a feisty little fella, ain't he? Hold onto him now. Don't let him wriggle out! Watch out for that tail!"

As I struggled to get free, I tried to retaliate, but my throat was being constricted and I couldn't get any air to my lungs. I felt my feet lift off the earth and I was carried through the air.

I tried to call out, "Mama! Mama, help me! They're hurting me! They tricked me, Mama! Please help me!" I expected the men to drop me after they realized that they had lassoed a person instead of an animal, but one of the men merely said, "I ain't never heard a creature speak like that before! What d'you think he's sayin'?"

I didn't understand. Why were they hurting me? Did I really look like an animal to them? I tried calling out for my mother again but then remembered that she was dead. I was on my own this time.

Suddenly...

"SKYLE!!!"

"Mama?" I heard her voice call out to me like a rumbling explosion. She was coming! She was coming to save me!

The two men who had been in the process of locking me in a steel cage looked up. They were completely dumbfounded to see my mother coming for them. As she approached, the white mist around me ignited into roaring flames. I could have cried for joy if this lasso wasn't choking me.

"SKYLE!!!"

My mother came out of nowhere and grabbed one of the men in each arm. I was amazed at how strong she was. The man who had the snare around my neck dropped me, allowing some of the oxygen to come back to my brain. I then looked up and watched my mother lift both men up into the air and throw them onto the ground like a double chokeslam. While they were both stunned, she turned to me and snapped the lasso with a quick pull of her arms. She then lifted me up to her and rocked me gently.

"Are you alright, Skyle?" she crooned to me. "Are you hurt?"

"No..." I said, rubbing my neck. "I'm fine. You really showed them. How did you do that, Mama?"

She merely chuckled as we started walking. "You may not believe this, but... I'm not your mother. I'm actually..." But before she could answer, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my arm like something had just bitten me and my dream short-circuited.

I sat bolt upright, sending Charmeleon flying. I wasn't quite sure where I was or what had happened to me as Charmy tried to get her own bearings. For a while, nothing happened, but then I felt a sharp pain in my right arm, causing me to clap a hand to it. For some reason, my shirt felt warm and moist. Quickly turning on my lamp, I examined the suspected area.

Holy (explicit), I was bleeding! And it wasn't like a normal scrape or cut - I was flat-out bleeding! After further examination of the area, I noted that there was a half-ring of small puncture wounds on both sides of my arm! What could have done this?!

But then I realized that there was only one thing in the area that could have bitten me...

"CHARMY!!!"

Charmy climbed up on my bed and hung her head. She knew she had done something wrong, but she tried to explain her mistake.

"Char! Char Meleon-Char. Chaaaar! Mele-Char-Mele."

Judging from the defensive tone she was giving me, she sounded like she didn't mean to bite me. I thought about this and then came to the conclusion that I must have touched her unexpectedly as the two of us slept, causing her to awake suddenly and bite me in self-defense. I didn't blame her - she was just acting on instinct. Still... I had to do something about this wound before I bled to death.

Sliding out of bed, I held my arm as I went to my bathroom to address the situation. But when I flicked the light on and looked at the wound, I saw something rather odd.

The bite had ceased bleeding and all that was left of it was a half-ring of white scars on each side of my arm. What's more, it had stopped hurting, but a warm, liquid feeling was flowing through my veins.

I then faced a problem - could Charmy's bite be poisonous? If it was, it wasn't really hurting. All I felt was a soothing warm feeling flowing through me. If it was neurotoxic, it wasn't killing my nerves, and if it was hemotoxic, I didn't feel dizzy or noxious at the moment. Maybe I was getting ahead of myself.

I looked out the window and saw that it was already light out. Walking back into my room, I saw that it was already 9:00. Boy, did I sleep hard! Charmy was clawing lightly at the door, growling slightly.

"I'm coming, girl. Just hold on a second. After taking a final look at my new scars, I got dressed and went out into the kitchen to make us some breakfast.

"Char Meleon!" growled Charmy as he tugged on the collar around his neck. "Chaaar!"

"I know, girl, but you have to wear it. I could get in trouble if you don't have a collar out here."

We were in the park for a walk later that afternoon. I wanted to take Charmy out for a walk since I had no idea how long she had been locked up at that shelter. I had to have her on a leash even though she felt slightly uncomfortable with it on.

It was a beautiful day, but for some reason, I was sweating a lot. As I walked through the park, I could have sworn that I was coming down with something. It wasn't until I reached the restrooms that I felt like I was going to pass out from the heat.

Tying Charmy up outside the restrooms, I told her, "I don't feel well girl. Can you stay here until I come out?"

Charmy looked at me with a look of concern that should have told volumes, but I still couldn't understand her. Instead, she obediently waited for me as I stumbled into the bathroom and heaved my breakfast into the nearest toilet.

What was wrong with me? I felt like I was on fire and my breakfast was refusing to stay down. What's more, my skin was starting to burn and hurt like I had first-degree burns on them.

After blowing chunks again into the toilet, I started to feel pain in my backside. I clapped my hands to my bottom and suddenly felt something that shouldn't be there.

Looking around, I saw that a long, orange T.A.I.L. had just erupted out of my backside, ripping my boxers and shorts in the process! What the (explicit)?!?! What was happening to me?! It was a beautiful tail with rich orange scales on it, but I was a little preoccupied to notice that.

I suddenly felt the skin around my bitten arm start to itch. Pulling up the sleeve, I nearly passed out. My skin in that area had just turned a rich orange color and was significantly smoother and was now hairless! I was in shock as I watched the area around it be slowly consumed by the orange skin. It traveled up my arm, turning my hand and fingers orange and then hit my shoulder before it started spreading throughout my body like a miniature wave. I tried clawing at it, but it wasn't doing any good. Soon, I was completely orange except for an area on my chest all the way down to my new tail - that area was a paler-orange than the rest.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, I suddenly felt a pain in my arms again. The bones in them let out a snap like a gunshot and broke into a million pieces. They then started to shrink and my fingers started to shrivel up until I was stuck with arms about a third their original size and five "digits" on each hand.

Next, I yelled out in pain as my ribs, backbone and organs gave a snap and a squish and started shrinking. All the while, my legs had just vaporized along with my skull until I was almost completely boneless. I couldn't move anything as I felt the fragments in my skull rearranged and find new homes in a much smaller dome.

Also, my face rearranged itself to become more reptilian-like complete with muzzle, fangs and slits on my muzzle for nostrils. My ears disappeared into my head, but I could still hear just fine, if not better. To top it off, every hair on my body suddenly fell of all at once, leaving me completely bald and naked.

Along with that, my legs were reduced to a fraction of their original size along with my ever-shrinking abdomen. My new tail also seemed to be losing its size as it scaled itself down to match my new height.

First, my legs reformed along with my feet, causing my toes to disappear into my flesh and causing three sharp talons to poke their way out of my skin. Next, my organs and my chest did a little rearranging and reformed to take on a new, stronger but significantly smaller shape and form. After that, my eyes seemed to fluctuate as they went from dark-brown to watery-blue. Finally, my entire body suddenly went numb as my new brain began calibrating all of my new nerves and senses. My human mind was not lost, but it WAS pushed to one side to make way for a more wild and free-spirited mind. I could still remember everything that had happened to me as a human, but a new mind seemed to take residence in place of my old one, claiming dominance over my persona. For the finishing touch, the tip of my tail ignited, signaling that the transformation was complete.

When it was all over, I found myself lying in a heap of what used to be my clothing. I crawled out of it and looked and my hands. I did and did not recognize them as my own at the same time. They belonged to me, but at the same time, they were completely alien to me. Looking behind me, I saw a new tail with a fresh burning flame on its tip. It felt strange to have a new appendage, but I soon realized that it was here to stay. I then realized what I had become...

I had become a Charmander!!!

My new mind was suddenly filled with panic-stricken thoughts. I was filled with fear and panic that was unnatural. I was vulnerable! I was weak! I was lost!

"Char? Charmander? Mander-Char! CHAAAR!!!" I said in my new, slightly higher-pitched voice. What I had really said was, "Huh? Where am I? I'm scared! HELLLP!!!"

My new instincts took over and I fled the bathroom just as another person was opening the door.

"What the-?!" cried the man as I ran out into the park. "What the hell was that?!"

Out in the park, I felt even more vulnerable. The world was very large and I was very small. There were things out there that wanted to hurt me!

My first thought was to find Charmy - she might have had something to do with this - but when I looked at where I had tied her up, I only found the remains of her leash and collar. The band had snapped in two as if she had suddenly grown out of it and she was currently missing in action.

I was filled with a new sense of fear. The only one who knew anything about this was missing and I was in a body that did not belong to me. Could things get any worse?

"Look! There it is!"

I guess so.

A group of animal control officers were carefully approaching me from the other side of the restrooms. I stood there rock-solid as they carefully approached with a large animal snare in their hands.

"That's funny," said one of the officers. "I thought it was bigger than that. Be careful... it could bite."

I suddenly panicked and took off running. I didn't want them to get me and they were going to hurt me if they got me. Of course, I didn't know that they were trying to help me, and that failed to register in my new brain. The officers were in hot pursuit, but they were hard-pressed to keep up with my speedy legs. I was even amazed at the speed I was going.

"He's a fast little guy," said one of the officers. "Go around to the other side of the playground and we'll try to coral him."

I ran under one of the merry-go-rounds and hid where they couldn't reach me. What was going on? What happened to me? Why were those mean people trying to hurt me? And... where was Charmy?!

I watched in fright as the animal control officers came to the merry-go-round and knelt down to look at me. "It's okay, little guy. We're not gonna hurt you. Come on out and we'll get you a good home."

But I didn't believe him. I tried backing up, but I suddenly felt something grab my tail and then quickly let go. I scrambled back into the center of the merry-go-round as the officer who tried to grab me yelled out in pain.

"Ow! Son-of-a-!!! Don't touch that fire on the tip of its tail - it's real, alright."

I was cornered. They weren't going to leave me alone. There was no hope of escape.

But then I remembered that I was a Charmander now and I could try to breathe fire. If Charmy could do it, how hard could it be?

I took a deep breath and tried to blow a jet of fire at the officer in front of me. Unfortunately, I was too inexperienced to do it right and ended up blowing a cloud of black smoke at the woman in front of me. It wasn't much, but it was enough to cause the officer to back off a little, giving me enough time to crawl out from under the merry-go-round and take off again.

"What the heck?!" said the woman, coughing and trying to clear her vision. "Did it just try and blow fire at me?"

"I don't know," said the man, getting up and following me.

"Char! Charmander! Chaaar!!!" I cried, running for my life. In reality, I was saying, "Help me! Charmy! Helllp!!!"

The next thing I tried to hide inside was a tunnel in the children's playset. I was drawn to it because of its orange color. I assumed it was Charmy, but my panic-stricken mind was not functioning properly at the moment. When I realized that it was not Charmy, I was too scared to move and curled up inside the tunnel. Within a minute, the officers had me cornered again and it was all over for me. I was too scared to move and I soon had a metal snare around my neck.

I cried out for someone to help me, but I knew it was no good. Even my thrashing attempts to break free of the snare proved futile.

"Be careful, Shirley," said the male officer. "He's a wild one! Don't let him hit you with that tail!"

"I got a grip on him," said the female officer, trying to hold onto the snare as I thrashed around. "Get the cage before I lose him!"

"Stop! Please stop! You're hurting me! I'm scared! I want my mama!" I tried telling them to stop, but all that came out were a string of "Charmanders".

I knew that they wouldn't let me go. And when they brought me back to the shelter, I would end up being put down because of my wild nature just like Charmy was about to.

Charmy... I couldn't believe that she had abandoned me. I had raised her like one of my family and this is how she repays me? If I survived this, I would never be suitable for adoption. I would fight tooth and claw to make sure no human ever wanted me after what Charmy had done to me.

Suddenly...

"SKYLE!!!"

Like the voice of an angel, I heard a strange yet familiar voice call out to my like a roar of fury and concern. The officers were in the middle of shoving me into a steel cage when they looked up... and could have sworn that they had seen a ghost.

Or a DRAGON for that matter. The creature that came out of the sky looked more like a dragon than any creature that I - or the officers - had ever seen before. Before I could get a good look at it, it had tackled the officers and wrestled the snare from their grasp. It then carried me up into the air for a second and then destroyed the loop around my neck with a quick chomp on the metal.

Now that I could breathe a little easier, I looked up into the dragon's eyes... and gasped.

"Ch-Charmy?!" The only way I knew it was her was the look in her fierce watery-blue eyes.

"Yes, Skyle," said Charmy in a feminine voice that sounded like a growl to human ears. "It's me. I wouldn't ever leave you after the care you showed me." If I wasn't already in shock, I would have noticed that I could understand her fully now that I was a Charmander.

I took a moment to take in the new Charmy's details. She had obviously "evolved" again and now resembled what a dragon might look like if they existed. Her body had grown from four feet to well over six, and she had grown a pair of magnificent wings that were dyed blue in the middle with a red lining where the bones ran. She held me gently in her three-clawed paws that now looked like she had two digits and an opposable thumb on each one. Her tremendous girth was a blazing-orange that reminded me of when she was a Charmander only yesterday. It was also lined with a pale-orange belly that ran down to her long, thick, powerful tail. At the tip of it was a flame that made my own look like a spark. It was nothing short of a full-fledged torch flame. Her legs were short yet thick and powerful and her footpaws were tipped with three short, thick talons.

Her face had changed the most. Unlike her previous forms, her muzzle was long and was lined with razor-sharp teeth. Two long, orange "horns" grew from the back of her skull, giving her head that final reptilian additive. I could have sworn that she WAS a dragon after all this.

"Mother..." I said in awe. "You're alive..."

I couldn't believe what I was saying. My mother was supposed to be dead and here I was calling my own pet my mother! Even Charmy seemed to be taken aback as she hovered in the air.

"No, Skyle... I am not your mother. I never intended to be your mother. I intended for you to be my..."

But before she could finish, she looked down at the officers who had fled and returned with a tranquilizer gun. Before they could shoot, She transferred me to her back and said, "Hold on, my love. I'm going to make these humans pay for threatening my mate."

I should have questioned her words, but she suddenly took a dive, causing me to hold on for dear life as she rushed the officers.

The officers tried to shoot her with a tranquilizer, but before it reached her, Charmy let fly a blast of fire from her muzzle that made all of her other attempts look like candle light, annihilating the dart in the process. I could tell she wasn't truing to hit them because the flames tore through the dart and spread out at their feet. As the officers tried to avoid the flames, she held out her arms and seized them both by the collars of their shirts and pulled them into the air.

I was amazed at her strength as she carried them screaming through the air and over the park. I knew she wouldn't kill them, but she wanted to teach them a lesson for trying to "harm" me by dropping them on top of the building that housed the restrooms. Before they could turn around, she pressed her claws against their necks right in the zone that caused you to become stunned and fall asleep.

"When they wake up," she told me when I looked alarmed. "We'll be far away from here."

"Huh?" I didn't understand.

"Skyle... you aren't human anymore. After what just happened, we will be fair game for hunters and animal control officers everywhere. Our only hope is to flee into the wild."

She had a point. I was certainly not human anymore. My only hope for survival was to stay with her.

But something about what she said seemed to bother me. "How did you know that I would transform?! You had something to do with this, didn't you?! And where were you when I needed you the most."

Charmy didn't answer me until we were in the air again and were flying as far and as fast as we could before we were spotted.

"Charmy! You knew this would happen! You knew I would become a Charmander! You... You bit me on purpose, didn't you?!"

Charmy refused to speak until we were far away from the city and were in the cliffs near the beaches on the edge of the ocean. When we landed, she let me slide off her back and I turned my back on her in a huff.

"You planned this, didn't you?!" I yelled at Charmy, not looking at her. "You bit me so that I would become a Charmander and that you could just whisk me away from my life! How could you, Charmy?!"

Charmy hung her head and quailed under my voice. It was really something to see a massive dragon-creature like Charmy being yelled at by a pint-sized salamander like me. "I'm sorry that I took your life away from you, Skyle. But you must understand - you and I are loners in this world. We have no one to carry on our legacy and when we die, our lives are over. I transformed you because... because..." she struggled to find the right words. "I love you, Skyle."

I couldn't believe my ears! How could an animal truly "love" a person like me? Animals could never understand love and I knew it.

"You ruined my life, you pathetic excuse for a pet! You don't know what love is and you certainly didn't care when you bit me last night! I hate you! I HATE YOU!!! I wish you'd just go away and let me live by myself!"

Charmy then did something that I had never seen her do before - she started to cry. Real silvery tears began falling from her eyes and she let out a draconic wail by throwing her head in the air and bellowing sadly.

"I... I'm sorry, Skyle. I didn't mean to do this to you, but you must understand. Ever since I became a Charmeleon, I've been having these strange feelings for you. I began to feel emotions that only say one thing to me: "I love you, Skyle". I'm really sorry that this happened, but I had to tell you my true feelings for you. You must understand that this was the only way. Now I have another of my species and we can live together as one."

I was touched by her words and my mood softened when I saw a behemoth like her weeping freely. I tried to keep up my tough attitude, but I wasn't doing a very good job of it.

"But why, Charmy? Why did you have to transform me? I could have loved you even as a human. Why didn't you think about that before you bit me?"

Charmy softened her sobs, but I could tell that she was still sorry for the decision she made. "You told me yourself, Skyle. You said if there was a way for us to live together as the same species, you would take it. I couldn't become human, so I did the next best thing - I turned you into a Charmander. Just think about it - soon, you will be a Charizard, too. We can then live together and possibly save our species. I swear that I took that all into consideration before I bit you. I swear I thought about it before I transformed you.

"Besides, Skyle, can you honestly say that you don't feel better as a Charmander? Think about what I've given you before you answer me."

I did so. As I thought about it, being a Charmander didn't seem to be that bad. Despite not ever being able to return to the human world, I felt slightly stronger and more confident with my new form. I had always had a secret ambition to become an animal, but I had never told anyone about it and it was just now that I remembered it. Even better, I now had the power of fire - one of the most powerful forces of nature - at my disposal.

Even better than that, for the first time, I took in the enhanced senses of my new form. It seems that being a Charmander came with vision that was ten times sharper and clearer than my normal human vision. I never realized how much color there was in the world or all the different hues and shades there were along with it. I could also hear the insects and birds buzzing and chirping through my heightened sense of hearing. Even though you couldn't see my ears, I could hear things that made listening to the radio or watching TV inferior to these incredible sensations. And those smells! I never realized how strange and interesting the world smelled. I could smell fresh lilacs and berries over 100 yards away. Charmy herself gave off her own spicy-leather-like smell that I could recognize and pinpoint wherever she was in the area.

And if that wasn't the best feeling of this new life, then the knowledge that I would "evolve" into something much stronger and more powerful over time certainly was. I had always wanted to see a dragon when I was growing up; I never expected to become one! This just got better and better!

Overall, I felt that Charmy had done me a favor by turning me into a Charmander. My former human life had nothing on this new life. No school, no bills, no rules! I was completely at nature's and Charmy's mercy!

"I'm sorry I yelled at you, Charmy," I said to her, walking up to her bulky leg and giving her a hug, just like she had done to me only yesterday. "I never thought about the favor you were doing for me. Maybe life as a Charmander (or Charmeleon or Charizard) won't be that bad. By the way..." I added out of curiosity. "I've been calling you "Charmy" all this time. Do you have a personal name that I never knew about?"

Charmy lowered her head and licked my bald dome affectionately. I shivered when her long, smooth tongue touched my skin, but welcomed the feeling anyway.

"My real name is "Charmelle", but "Charmy" was a nice nickname. You may keep calling me that if you want."

"Okay!" I hugged her head and she lifted me onto her back, smiling.

"Shall we go look for a new home, my sweet little Charmander?"

I cheered, "Char! Char!!!", which was me actually saying "Yeah! Let's go!"

Charmy spread her wings and took to the air with me perched between her horns. We soared over the cliffs near the ocean for a decent cave to call our own. We did not fear humans would ever find us, but we stayed in hiding for the time being. Right now, we were being hunted by sightseers and dragon fanatics, but were we were going, we could be at peace for all time...

...but that's not the end of my story! Not by a long shot! Six months after becoming a Charmander, I was lying beside my future mate inside our new cave, fast asleep, when I suddenly woke up and sat bolt upright. A strange feeling was running through my blood, making it even hotter than before. I started to sweat - something I almost never did anymore. I had a pain in my heart as if someone was trying to drive a stake through it.

"Ch-Ch-Charmy!" I said to my mate, trying not to pass out from the pain. "W-Wake up! Something's h-h-happening to me!"

Charmelle opened her eyes and looked at me in concern. My body was shaking visibly and I couldn't stop sweating. The heat in the cave had also gone up substantially. "Skyle? What's the matter, love?"

I grit my teeth in pain as I told her of the pain I was feeling. However, instead of being concerned, Charmy merely smiled. "You are evolving. It is a trait of the blood that now flows through your body. It's natural for you to feel this way. Don't worry; I went through the same thing when I evolved. Just relax and take deep breaths. It will all be over in a minute. Here..." She held out her paw for me to take within my own, comforting me and enabling me to withstand some of the pain.

"Th-Th-Thanks, Charmy. I'm g-glad you're here for me."

A minute passed with no sign of the pain letting up. But then a surge of pain ripped through my body, causing my tail flame to flare. I was surrounded by a white light and I felt my body change for the second time.

The feeling wasn't as unpleasant as the last time, but it wasn't that welcoming, either. I felt my spine stretch and start to elongate. My normally-straight back started to curve and hunch over slightly. On my paws, it felt like someone was trying to pull my claws out of their sockets. The same painful feeling was tugging at my footpaws, making it feel like my talons were going to be forcibly ripped from my body. Something was also pushing out of the top of my skull and my teeth felt like they were about to be yanked straight out of my gums. A pointed growth pushed out of my skull and my teeth became sharper and slightly longer. My jaws were like a vice - nothing could separate them from the forces I was applying. My skin was also burning underneath the surface like it had six months ago, darkening it and adding a red-ish tint to it.

The whole thing took less than three minutes. When it was finally over, I fell onto my front from exhaustion. Charmy let me lay there, recovering in peace.

When I woke up, I got gingerly to my feet and held my head from the slight dizziness I was feeling now. "Is it over?" I said in a slightly more bass-like tone of voice but still recognized as my own.

"Yes," said Charmy, wrapping a wing around me and pulling me close to her chest. "Welcome back to the world, my sweet little Charmeleon."

I looked at my paws and examined my new three-inch claws with amazement. I had evolved into a Charmeleon and I was that much closer to becoming a Charizard. What's more, I felt significantly stronger and more powerful than I had as a Charmander. I felt so confident that I felt I could now take care of myself without Charmy always being there for me. She had always cared for me and brought me food from her nightly hunts, but now that I was the Charmander equivalent of a teenager, I could now go off on my first hunt with Charmy following close behind me.

"How do you feel, my love?" said Charmelle, stroking me on the cheek with her feather-like tongue.

"I feel... good," I said slowly. "I feel like I could do so much more than I could before."

"I'm glad for you." Charmy yawned widely and then lied back down. "Now let's finish our sleep. We can go on your first hunt in the morning."

I yawned as well and then curled up next to her. She hooked a wing over me like she always did to shield me from the sunlight and the two of us soon fell back to sleep.

Not too long after that, I managed to bag my first kill with the help of Charmy. It wasn't too hard to do - with our ability to breathe fire, I managed to create a Flame Wheel around an unsuspecting bison. The ring was large enough for it to assume that it was safe but small enough to slowly suffocate it with the smoke coming from the grass fire.

We waited until it was dizzy from the smoke and dropped to its knees and then I went in and delivered a lethal Slash attack to its throat. My muzzle wasn't large enough to bite it, but a Slash to its jugular was sufficient enough to dispatch it. When I finally became a Charizard, I would be able to sink my fangs into an animal and tear meat from its body and swallow it whole. At the moment, I had to rely on my claws and fire abilities to bring my prey down.

When I brought down my first animal on my own, Charmy was so proud that she let me have the choicest cuts before she ate the leftovers. I have to hand it to her. I may not be her son, but she treated me like one all the same. Since we were the only two of our kind, we had to look out for each other to survive. We never went back into human civilization since we would be considered living legends. And since we didn't want to draw any unwanted publicity, we made our home in the wild.

The first few weeks were the most difficult for us. We had to find an ideal location where the game was plentiful but was also out of range of humans. We also had to find a cave that would be suitable for our (secret!!!) but at the same time be out of range from wandering eyes. I also had to deal with living off the land and Charmy had had to provide for me until I had evolved. If I had been allowed to fend for myself as a Charmander, I would have been dead within a week. And even though she had never been out in the wild herself, Charmy quickly adapted to life as one of the wild. I owe so much to her for caring for me all this time. When I finally became a Charizard, I would finally pay her back the best I could. However, unlike Charmy, my evolution took some time to occur. I still do not understand how she could have jumped two stages in less than 24 hours. I've even asked her what could have allowed her to do that, but she merely shrugged and said, "It was my time." Go figure.

But that didn't stop me from dreaming about my own evolution. I had waited six months to become a Charmeleon and I could hardly wait to become a Charizard.

Little did I know that that time was not for another year down the road. I had been patiently waiting months with Charmy for it to occur so we could officially call each other our mate. And when it did occur, I couldn't have been more excited.

Charmy and I were out flying over the forest in our area one day, just enjoying a peaceful flight in the sunlight when my body suddenly seized up. I couldn't breathe and my heart was pounding through my entire body.

"Ch... Charmy!" I gasped, clutching a paw to my chest. "I... I think... it's happening! Hurry!"

Charmy looked back at me and noticed that I was in a lot of pain. She then nodded and took a steep nosedive towards the ground. "Hold on, Skyle. I'm right her for you."

The pains in my chest felt like they were tearing my heart to pieces as I slid off Charmy's back onto the ground. I was hurting, but I knew that this was the last time it would happen in my lifetime. I held Charmy's paw tight as I started hacking and coughing, spitting up sparks and coughing up smoke.

"Hold on, Skyle," she said, nuzzling my back as I continued to cough. "It will all be over soon."

I managed to give her a shaky smile before by body arched from a sudden pain and I was engulfed by a white light like I had been when I became a Charmeleon. Unlike the last time, I felt my body grow much more significantly. My spine stretched and my ribs snapped before they grew longer. My legs and arms also snapped in several places like quickly snapping super-dry branches. I could feel the talons on my footpaws stretch with a familiar feeling of them being ripped from their sockets. The digits in my forepaws also spread out so that I now had flexible, clawed digits again while my body and tail gained more muscle than anything else.

The bones in my shoulder blades gave an audible crack and started to grow outwards, pushing the skin out of my body and forming my new wingbones. Once they reached a decent length, the area in-between the bones began to stretch and fill out with navy-blue leather-like webbing. This was a good thing in a way because now there was a way to tell the difference between the two of us. Charmy had clear-blue skin on her wings while mine was slightly darker and more navy than anything else.

During all this, I felt my face and short muzzle grind and push out, making my face more draconic to match Charmy's. Also, I felt new teeth and fangs fill my mouth while the old ones took on a new sharpness and thickness than ever before. To top it all off, my skull began to push out again, but this time, they pushed out at two points to form my new Charizard horns. Just then, my whole body went numb again as my brain recalibrated the nerves in my body to fit my new form.

When the pain finally subsided, the flame on my tail flared and grew larger than ever before. Not only that, but my clear-blue eyes seemed to have gained a new flicker of "dragon fire", signaling the end of my final transformation.

I was a little shaky when the evolution ended and I looked at Charmy in the eyes. She smiled sadly and nuzzled my neck with her nose. "How do you feel?"

I took a moment to take in the raw, pure power that now flowed through my veins. I was now all-powerful and nearly invincible from the superheated blood that was now mine. For the first time, I truly understood what Charmy felt ever since she became a Charizard. She had become super-powerful with her latest evolution and was proud that I was feeling the same sensation in my own body.

"I feel... great!" I said in a growling voice that I still recognized as my own. "Let me show you."

To prove how powerful I felt, I reared back my head and let fly a powerful jet of fire that Charmy called a "Flamethrower". It went pretty far and high and Charmy smiled as she hooked a wing around my shoulder.

"Wow... 30 feet! You're pretty good for a first-timer... huh?"

The fire stream not only reached 30 feet into the air, but it also split into a star-like shape that we respectively called...

"A Fire Blast?! Amazing!" She looked at me and growled low. "You're a natural, love."

I rubbed my own nose against Charmy's belly and put a claw under her chin. "Now that we're finally together... wanna go for a little flight over the mountains?"

She growled pleasurably and started flapping her wings. "I don't see why not." She took off with me following close behind her.

For the first time, I could finally compare flying to nothing like I had ever experienced before. Riding Charmy's back was one thing, but being in total control of the flight was something completely different. The skies belonged to us as long as we were in the air and no creature could trump our movement, agility or grace. We rolled, dived and spun in the air high above the ground below us. We were truly lords of the sky.

As we flew over the mountains near our cave, Charmy suddenly locked her claws with mine and we began flying straight up to well over 20,000 feet. I was slightly taken aback at her persistence.

"What are we doing, Charmy?" I said as the air began to thin out.

Charmy grinned smugly and licked my cheek. "Continuing our legacy."

I realized what was going on a split-second before we turned over in mid-air, folded our wings and dropped like a ton of bricks through the air. I hadn't realized that Charmelle had wanted to do... that... so soon. But then I realized that I had wanted this the whole time as well. I decided to go with it. Besides, I had a responsibility to keep our species going if we were to survive. I was a Charizard now, and soon, I would be a father.

As we plummeted through the air, we held ourselves close to each other, sharing each other's body heat and our trust in each other that we would pull through with this. The wind flew past us at breakneck speeds as we stared into each other's eyes. I was determined to show Charmy that I could do this and I trusted her that we would not become a pair of Charizard pancakes on the jagged rocks below.

"Are you ready, my sweet little Charizard?" she said softly as we approached the 1000-foot mark,

I grinned and licked her cheek. "After you, love."

The two of us nodded and separated from each other just 500 feet from the ground and soared off in two different directions. Our own unique mating ritual had been completed and our legacy would soon pass on.

We met back at the cave a few minutes later, exhausted and satisfied. We had been through a lot today and we just wanted to rest for tonight. Tomorrow would come soon enough and I would begin my first full day as Charmy's mate.

About six months later, I flew back to our cave with a half-bison carcass in my claws. I was very excited for today. Charmy and I were expecting and I wanted to make sure my mate had enough strength for when it happened. To make sure she did, I had saved an extra portion of this carcass just for her.

As I landed on the cliff's edge, I carried the bison into the cave and placed it in front of Charmy. She was too bloated to move and she was very tense for her expecting labor.

"I brought you something, dear," I said, tearing a hunk of meat out of the carcass for her. "You need this more than I do."

"Thank you, Skyle," she said weakly. "I was wondering if you would make it in time."

"You know I'd never miss an event more important than this. How do you feel?"

Charmy sighed and took the meat from my jaws, chewing it slowly. "They're moving around a little. I think it's almost time."

We said nothing for another 15 minutes. Just then, Charmy went into a fit of gasps and hacks as she forced herself to push. I held her paw in my own as she slowly produced our young.

To cut a long story short, Charmy managed to lay three large, flame-colored eggs and then fell asleep soon after. I was practically in tears. The eggs looked healthy and they would soon hatch into beautiful new Charmanders. I couldn't wait until they hatched and our species could start to populate the planet.

Two months later, the fruits of our labor gave way as one of the eggs started to shake and rock. After weeks of guarding the eggs and gently breathing flame on them to keep them warm, Charmy's efforts were about to pay off.

One of the flame-colored eggs started to chip away, revealing a tiny, orange arm. It grabbed at its shell for a minute before retracting. Suddenly, eggshell went flying as the egg exploded, revealing a tiny, orange, male Charmander.

"Isn't he just precious?" said Charmy, licking the birth fluids off the tiny dragon.

"Words cannot describe my feelings, love," I said, smiling honorably. "It is a gift from God."

"Yes... Charley will certainly live out his life with the knowledge that his parents gave their best interests for him."

Soon after this, the other two eggs hatched, revealing another male Charmander and a female one as well.

"Charlotte," she called the female one. And for the final male: "Skyle... after his amazing father."

I smiled and rubbed Skyle's tummy, watching him giggle and reach for me. It was certainly something to see my next generation lying before me at such an early age. This was one step closer to making my mark on the planet's future. I had been given a great opportunity - I had been born a human, but I will die as a Charizard with a mate that had cared for me just like my human mother once did. To me, that meant the world. I had been given a greater existence and I was going to live it out to the fullest no matter what came my way.

"I am proud that we are together, Skyle," said Charmy as she huddled the three Charmander together. "Tell me... do you truly love me... AND your new life?"

I thought about the day my life changed forever. I had been transformed from a nobody into something the world had never seen before. I had been given a higher purpose in life and the outcome of that life was lying right in front of me. I would say that was worth living for.

"Yes... my sweet little Charizard."

END

Son of a God

By iriomotewildcat

(Before you read any further, you'll have to understand that nothing bad is intended in the name of the title.)

I don't like to think of myself as exceptional. I was born like everyone else into a decent, middle-aged family like almost everyone else. It was a twist of fate that I am what I am today. My parents would have been proud of me if they could see me now.

Then again... maybe not. They never did care much for me in the short time that I was with them, but I've learned to put the past behind me and move on in life.

I always wonder if we fate is set in stone or it just... happens. That's what my dad always said; and he knows nearly everything!

My story begins when I was just six months old. My parents had always wanted a girl, right? But instead, they got me. They were one of those families who didn't give a damn about a child that they didn't want. They would ignore my cries for attention until they couldn't take it anymore and had to give in.

"I really don't think that I can handle the responsibility of that kid!" said my father after yet another sleepless night of listening to me cry. "Why couldn't it have been a girl?"

"That's life," sighed my mother, downing her third cup of coffee. "It's not like we can just get rid of it."

And then my father got an idea. He quickly relayed it to my mother.

"I don't know," she said uncertainly. "We can get in a lot of trouble for doing that."

"Think about it: a life slaving over a broken back for a kid or going back to the way things were before this little nightmare happened."

"I guess it wouldn't hurt us to try," said my mother, downing another cup of coffee. "I never really wanted a boy anyway."

"Then it's settled! We'd better plan this down to the wire or else we're screwed."

See? What did I tell you? My parents could have cared less about kids. Only truly heartless parents could have gone through what they did to me.

Still, they wanted to keep it as humane as possible; if I was found harmed in any way, they could be faced with life behind bars compared to months to years if I just turned up missing.

To make sure that I wasn't coming back to haunt them someday, my parents used their own boat to head out to a private island in the Caribbean Islands where almost no one would be able to hear me cry. After walking up the beach a ways, they left me on the sands so that I would be exposed to the bright sunlight. More of an act of mercy than anything else, they gave me a small toy animal to play with so that I wouldn't pass away in agony and drove away in their boat.

It was not even 30 minutes before I was discovered by a large, silver, bird-like animal walking up the beach to bathe in the hot sun. It was at least seven feet tall and weighed over 200 pounds. It noticed me up the beach and used its nose-like beak to peel the blankets back to reveal a tiny baby boy fast asleep.

Letting out a small, note-like cry, it nuzzled me to wake me up. I did, but I did not cry as I normally did when my parents woke me up. I looked into the bird-creature's blue eyes and reached out to it as if it were a parent.

The creature didn't know what to do; it merely put a large, flipper-like wing around me to comfort me. I actually laughed as its smooth skin touched my face.

It was not long before a similar but larger bird-creature came from out of the ocean looking for its young. It let out a similar cry as if it was saying, Silver, where are you?

The younger chick couldn't resist replying to its parent, I am here, Father!

I looked from the young creature named Silver to its parent. Both of them had the form of a bird/whale cross. Their massive, flipper-like wings, like their skin, was completely smooth and had a silver/white hue with five, flat "fingers" on the end. On their massive, round bellies was a V-shaped/round sea-blue mark. On either side of it were two short, legs with large, round, three-toed feet. On their backs were five, long, blue "plates" on each side of their spines which extended down to a long, thick tail with two similarly-colored spikes near the tip.

To this day, I always turn soft-hearted at the sight of their faces. Their pointed heads were at the end of long, smooth necks and had smooth, hooked beaks that were indistinguishable from the rest of their heads. A pointed, blue flash surrounded each of their two, slitted blue eyes. Those eyes could soften the hearts of any wild beast despite their stern facial features.

To make a long story short: they were the long-forgotten guardians of the sea, the Lugia. They had been hidden from civilization for so long that they had passed out of all knowledge.

The young Lugia called Silver looked up at his parent Lugia. It spoke in a cry that said: I found this abandoned human here, Father.

The adult lowered its head to examine me a little closer. This child has been in the sun too long. He will not survive the night.

Can we take him home, Father? said Silver, looking hopeful. Just for the night? We can take him back to his family tomorrow.

Lugia closed his eyes and thought for a moment. He opened them again and said, We have always given shelter to those who are lost, but you know that that only happens once in a blue moon.

You're so old-fashioned, Father! accosted Silver. I'm tired of living in secret. I want to go out into the world and meet people! I've always wanted a brother, too! He could be the one that you've always prophesized about.

Lugia seemed to take this into consideration. He had once dreamed of a young human that would bring their stories back into the world.

You may be right, said Lugia. I have been sensing the presence of the One for some time. He may be the one who will bridge the gap between Lugia and humans. He examined my small form. Very well; we will care for him for a time.

Yay! I'm gonna have a brother! Silver was over the moon.

Lugia put a massive wing on me and his eyes glowed a bright blue. I yawned and fell asleep. After that, I seemed to be covered in a blue aura and disappear into thin air.

Come, Silver. Let us return home.

With that, both Lugia leapt into the air and back into the warm waters of the Caribbean.

Ten years after this, I had grown up and was able to go out on underwater "flights" with Silver and Lugia. I was able to bear the underwater pressure because either one of them could conjure a shield of clear energy around themselves to allow me to breathe underwater and withstand the pressure.

Other than that, I pretty much hung around the underwater cave at the sea bottom that we called home. Once in a while, Lugia and Silver would return to the surface to scavenge for items for my entertainment. I never found out how, but they were somehow able to obtain the items without being seen. My favorite thing to do with my Lugia brother was to play Dive Ball. I would throw a weighted ball into an Olympic-sized pool deep in our cave and Silver would dive in and retrieve it. We would have so much fun at seeing how deep it would go before he would catch it. Occasionally, Silver would "accidentally-on-purpose" knock me into the pool with his tail or wing when he retrieved the ball. I had learned how to swim at an early age, so it was always good for a laugh.

Lugia decided not to tell me about my biological parents until I had come of age at 18.

You are not ready to bear the truth yet, he kept telling me in his telepathic voice. I will decide when to tell you.

Despite this, I lived a perfectly healthy life with Silver and Lugia as brother and father. I was home-schooled by Lugia with his vast knowledge of the planet. He personally felt pleased to share his knowledge with a human.

I was never bored. Our cave went much further into the earth than most people think. Silver and I were always finding new routes and were given occasional tours by none other than Lugia himself.

Except for when I went on underwater swims with Silver, Lugia never let me leave the cave. I didn't ask why at first; how was I supposed to breathe? But when I was 12, I finally grew suspicious.

"Dad, why can't I go to the surface with you and Silver? I never get to go anywhere with you!"

Silver conveniently left the room when Lugia answered.

Because, he said to me. Up there, we are not welcome. The people of this planet would try to harm us or capture us. We would be famous for all the wrong reasons. Surely, you understand?

I sighed and nodded my head. "Okay, Dad."

I didn't know it yet, but every word Lugia spoke was the truth; he had the natural ability to "choose" what truths he said.

I had one thing to add. "When can I go up to the surface?"

Lugia put a massive wing on my shoulder. I nearly collapsed under its weight. When your being changes, we'll talk about it.

I had no idea what that meant, but decided not to argue the point. Besides, I've heard from Silver what Lugia is capable of when he gets mad.

On the eve of my eighteenth birthday, Lugia called me into his room. Silver had hinted that he had something special to give me. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and walked down the corridor lit by white, glowing stones that always peppered the cave. This had better be good to get me up at 11:50 at night!

Lugia was fully awake in front of a large, white birthday cake lit with 18 candles. A small, crystal bottle containing a blue potion was in his wings.

"W-w-w-what's this about?" I said, failing to stifle a huge yawn. My birthday's not until tomorrow."

Lugia walked over to me and lowered his head so that his eyes were level with mine.

Do you know what you've always wanted to be? he said in his massively kind voice. Ever since you were small?

I blinked. I had told him this along time ago, but we hadn't discussed it since then.

"I... uh... always wanted to be a Lugia," I told him. "I was never comfortable with my "insufficient form"," I said, since Lugia had called humans "insufficient lifeforms" on more than one occasion. "You always knew that."

Lugia nodded and broke our stare. I did. And yet... I have always been able to grant your requests... except that... until now.

"What d'you mean?"

Alex... I want you to have this. He presented me with the bottle of blue potion. This... is the item that will bind our beings together... for all time.

I reached out and took the potion. I expected Lugia to keep it from me and ask if this is what I really wanted to do. But Lugia is psychic and he can see the determination in my mind that this WAS what I wanted to do.

I uncorked the bottle and paused to look at the only father that I had ever known. Lugia nodded and I nodded in return and drank deeply. Once I finished the potion, I collapsed from a sudden burning pain in my chest.

Are you all right? said Lugia, putting a wing around my shoulders. To his surprise, I smiled as I said, "I will be... in a moment."

My skin began to bubble and boil with unnatural heat. It seemed to swell in my gut as I gained a lot of weight. I looked like a sumo wrestler until my skin started to tighten, taut and smooth out as my chest hair was shed. Not only that, but it also changed its tone from fleshy-pink to a silver-white hue except for on my belly; that area turned a sky-blue color. I felt my internal organs squish and squirm as they rearranged themselves inside my new torso. Not all of it was blubber; a majority of it was turning into hardened, toned chest muscle. Along with that, several pin-prick-like sensations occurred on my back, signaling that ten new back plates were now mine.

My tremendous girth was so much that my legs gave out. It mattered little since they were the next to change. They shortened but gained incredible strength and changed skin tone just like my torso had. I soon had short, silver-white limbs and my feet, which had grown instead of shrunk, had three massive, toe-like talons strong enough to support my new weight on their tips, as they had become digitigrade.

My arms and my neck morphed one after another. My arms widened and gained mass along with the usual sliver-white skin-tone change. Not only that, but my skin stretched well beyond its usual limits to become rubbery and taut. My new wings were now almost as broad as I was tall while my "fingers" were in the same place as before except for my thumb, which was underneath my wings.

The last to change was my head and neck. The latter stretched to at least four feet in length and was as smooth as rubber as its tone changed as well. My skull rearranged itself so that it was pointed at the top and much larger than my own. The part that was my "beak" was indistinguishable from the rest of my head. I could feel the muscles in my jaw strengthen with incredible power, Lugia had been able to crack coconuts with just a snap of his jaw and I knew that that ability was mine as well.

While I felt the trademark "mask" forming around my eyes, my mind was unlocked to allow the many, many things that Lugia had taught me to fill it. All the secrets of the planet and the universe filled my brain and my being. I felt that my human form wouldn't have been nearly been able to comprehend the knowledge that was now mine.

When my transformation was complete, I opened my eyes to look my "father" in the face. I tried to talk, but all that came out was an awkward squawk. Lugia could help but laugh.

Oops, I told him mentally. This takes some getting used to.

You will, he said, putting a wing around my massive shoulders. I was strong enough to handle it this time. Now, would you like to blow out your candles?

I turned to the giant birthday cake with the blue-flame candles. Nodding, I sidled over to it and took a deep, deep breath, making sure to exploit my new lungs. With a massive whoosh, I blew hard enough to blow out the candles but not damage the cake (Lugia's cakes are very wind-resistant) and made a wish even though I had already gotten it.

Happy birthday... son.

A tear came to my eye as I gave my father a massive hug. This was the very first time that he had accepted me as his son and I was over the moon for it.

The next day, I showed Silver my new form and we went out on a morning swim. The sensation of flying through the water was beyond words. I'll just say that it felt great to swim on your own instead of riding on the back of Silver.

I thought you'd like it, said Silver's thoughts. I blushed slightly. I had forgotten that my thoughts were roaming and that Silver and Lugia could hear them now.

Regardless, I was finally allowed to visit the surface as long as Silver or Lugia was with me (They had to make sure that I didn't get myself in trouble). I was looking forward to feeling the sunlight on my skin (They had shared the feeling with me via their mental link).

Wow! Flying in the sunlight felt great! It felt as if I was taking a bath in pure warmth. Silver shared my pleasure as he and I played an airborne version of "Territag". I had "control" over the air and Silver's "territory" was the sea. I would fly away from Silver in the sky until I was tagged either by his wing or his tail; after that, we would fold our back plates into our skin to deduce drag and dive into the water where I would try to tag him.

After all this time, Silver finally revealed how he and Lugia were able to walk among the humans without getting caught: they disguised themselves as humans! It was a simple process that involved picturing the form of the human that you wanted to assume. There was just one drawback: you had to be careful not to become the same human form as another human in the area. I got the chance to experience life from a normal human's point of view, although it wasn't as great as the life of a Lugia.

One of the benefits of being the son of a Guardian was the gift of immortality. Over the centuries, our family has expanded from three to six. It turns out that Lugia had had a trio of eggs hidden away to incubate somewhere on the planet. I now have another brother named Sol and two sisters by the names of Krystal and Luna.

Like he had once prophesized, Lugia had made me ambassador to the Lugia. My job was to be the spokesperson of the Lugia and communicate with the President of the U.S. Soon, we had obtained the added security of "Endangered Species" and were protected from hunters. We were soon able to travel among the humans like everyone else.

Life was good and my father said that the future looked even brighter for our kind. I can look back on the day that my life.

END

Hybrid Theory Emerald Version: Electra's Tale

By iriomotewildcat

Have people ever told you that you're... "Different"? "Strange"? Even "weird"? I know that feeling. I was born weird. They said that from the moment that I was delivered. Even so, I've learned to deal with my "abnormalities" from day one. However, my condition had its benefits. Whenever I wanted to get a discount at the store, all I had to do was...

Wait! I'm getting ahead of myself. I should probably tell you what all the fuss is all about. I guess I should start when my life took an unexpected turn...

"Oh... my... God..." The doctor was completely dumbfounded when he delivered me.

"What is it?" said my mother, Fauna. "Is there something wrong with her?"

"Uh... yes and no. The good news is that you have a very healthy baby girl. The strange news is..." He handed me to my mother.

I had been born with a birth defect that doctors classified as "Hybrid Syndrome". Every case was different, but most of the cases had similar effects.

I had a thin layer of smooth, green fur and elongated fox-like ears in place of where normal people's ears would be. Along with that, I had a pointed growth sticking out of my skull. To the normal eye, it looked like I had three long "hair spikes" when you looked at my ears and the growth together. Several yellow marks lined my "spikes", face and... "muzzle"? I also had a short, furry, green... tail... that was yellow on the tip. My hands only had four fingers on each one and my feet were like padded dog's paws except for the claws and I only had three toes on each foot.

I swear that if my mother hadn't been so dedicated to having a family after my "father" left, she might have sent me away on the spot. However, she was still concerned when the power surged when I cried.

"Have you seen this before?" said Mom, rocking me in her arms. She seemed to like the feel of my fur on her skin.

"We've seen a variety of outcomes, but it's all one condition. Are you sure that you want her?"

She could have slapped him if she wasn't so tired. "Of course I want her! What kind of question is that?!"

Unfortunately, she woke me up and I began crying again. For some reason, the power seemed to surge when I reached a certain "pitch".

This was the beginning of a very strange mother-daughter relationship.

For the first three years of my life, my mother studied everything that she could about Hybrid Syndrome. She attended conferences, checked out books from the library and even went to a lab in St. Cloud, Minnesota called "MetaboAnthro" to do research. However, since there were so many random cases and since each case was unique, there was very little hard fact on the topic.

She did, however, learn that Hybrid Syndrome occurred before birth which was caused by a rare, random, freak gene in the father of the hybrid, which was like finding a needle in 10,000 haystacks. She also learned that hybrids each contain on of 17 known powers that ranged from fire manipulation to wind control to even rare telepathic powers. She just wondered which power I possessed. Hybrid Syndrome was incurable, so it was something that she would have to deal with.

Don't get me wrong; she loves me very much. She's just not sure how to deal with having a hybrid as a daughter.

One day while we were at home, I suddenly sneezed and the power in the whole house went out. At first, she thought that the fuse box had blown, but then I sneezed again and the power was restored along with the activation of every electronic device that had a battery or was plugged in at the time.

Mom looked at me and saw, to her amazement, that my already light-blue eyes were glowing a brighter blue color. When they dimmed, the power suddenly went out again.

"Ashley? Are you feeling alright?" she asked me.

She picked me up and received a shock... literally! My body had built up a static charge and it was all discharged into her body at once, stunning her.

It wasn't a powerful charge; it was like touching a wire charged by an electric fencer. She suddenly dropped me and backed up as if she had just been kicked in the chest. I landed on my feet and looked up at her curiously.

"Ashley... did you just...?"

But I looked like I hadn't felt a thing. I saw that she was looking scared and took her hand. Fortunately, the charge had been released, so I didn't shock her a second time.

"What's wrong, Mommy? Did I hurt you?"

"I... don't know. You didn't feel anything?"

"No... I just felt a little tingle."

Mom was looking me straight in the eye as she stroked my spikes.

"I think there's something special about you. I knew it from the moment that I saw you. You've just given me an electrifying experience." She thought for a moment. "How do you like the nickname "Electra"?"

"Electra!" I said happily. "I like it! I'm Electra!"

"Then from now on, I'll call you "Electra"!"

"Yeah! I don't like Ashley anyway."

I will never forget my first day of school. I felt like a freak as I rode the bus to the building. Nobody had ever seen a hybrid before and I got quite a number of funny looks as I took my seat. Nobody knew quite what to make of me the first time that they saw me, but it soon became irrelevant. When I got off the bus, two large third-graders tripped me up and I fell face-down on the concrete.

"Hey, Greeny! Watch out for that first step!"

He high-fived his friend and watched me get up. Once I did, the other one grabbed me by my spikes and twisted it hard. Tears came to my eyes as his friend took a small, green, drawstring bag from his pocket and used it to tie my legs together.

By now, a bunch of other kids had gathered around us to witness the beating of the new kid. I was helpless while the boys stretched my arms and legs out between them. They were making my life a living hell and I was letting them do it.

But not for long. I took a deep breath and an electric charge began building in my body. I can't explain the chemistry behind it, but my body could build up a lot of static electricity in my blood without short-circuiting my heart. My eyes glowed a bright light-blue and I unleashed it all out through my hands and feet.

I could have sworn that the boys flew a good ten feet in either direction. They dropped me and I landed rather uncomfortably on my tail.

I seemed to have gotten my point across because everyone backed off and left me alone from then on.

While I was in kindergarten, I didn't exactly make any friends - they were too afraid of my electric abilities to approach me. I kept the green drawstring bag as a memento of that day and almost never went anywhere without it. However, I never did it again since my mother nearly maliced me with a shoehorn when she heard about my bully incident.

"You could have really hurt them!" she yelled with tears in her eyes. "I told you not to use your powers unless you were in danger!"

"I was getting bullied, Mom!" I retorted. "They were hurting me!"

She seemed to understand this and let up on the yelling. We kissed and made up and put the whole thing behind us. From then on, I never used my powers except on... ahem... "special" occasions.

Come to think of it, those "special" occasions started when I was 10. By now, most people knew who I was, but not a lot of them knew about my electrical abilities, so I had a slight advantage in this situation.

Why? It all started while Mom and I were out at "J.C. Penney's" one day. I had gone out shopping with her for the first time. Mom had picked out an expensive dress for a wedding that we were going to that wasn't a penny lower than $199.99. I chose a green kid-sized dress that was at least $149.99 in my size.

However, when the cashier rang up our purchases, the computers seemed to malfunction and our prices came up to $58.54 and $35.41. The man at the register thought it was a malfunction and re-scanned the tags. Meanwhile, Mom shot me a funny look but I was clueless as to what was happening and shrugged. Finally, the man figured that the clothes were on Clearance and dismissed it as he rang it up.

While Mom and I were riding home, the radio seemed to glitch and some static sounded before it intercepted a signal not unlike a satellite signal.

"Electra?" she asked me. "Are you messing with the radio again?"

"No." I shook my head and fidgeted with my tail. "I'm not doing anything."

"Are you sure? Because lately, whenever we're near anything electronic, it seems to start acting up."

"I swear I'm not doing anything."

I didn't know what was going on, but after some more incidents, we figured that the static field around me was getting stronger as I grew up.

Thankfully, I managed to keep my static field in check until I was 16. Mom and I used my electric abilities to our advantage and got pretty good discounts whenever we were out shopping. In order to keep the clerks in the dark, we spaced out the times that we went to certain stores. For example, we only went to J.C. Penney's once every six or so months.

I was in my sophomore year in high school when I came home one day to find a man I had never seen before talking with my mom in our living room. He wore a gray suit and had well-groomed... silver hair? Its luster was too shiny to be gray. He had a large ring on his right hand with what looked like a broken star symbol on it. He had calm, navy-blue eyes unlike any I had ever seen before. When the man spoke, he spoke in a calm, collected sort of voice.

"Hello, Ashley. We were just talking about you."

I frowned at this man. He obviously preferred to call me by my first name instead of my nickname. I wasn't sure that I liked him.

"She prefers to be called "Electra"," said Mom, sticking up for me.

"I know. I just have a tendency to call people by their real name."

"Electra, why don't you sit down?" Mom asked me, patting the seat on the couch next to her.

I did, feeling slightly uneasy about this man. I had a feeling that Mom had revealed some very personal information while I was out.

"Electra, this is Professor Johiko Darck of... Where were you from again?"

He nodded. "I am the headmaster of Johiko's School for the Gifted - a private campus for individuals like you."

"Huh?" I didn't think that there was such a place for hybrids like me.

"It's a school for hybrids, dear," said Mom encouragingly. "Everyone there has a "condition" like you."

"You mean a place for freaks like me?" I said, folding my arms.

Johiko Darck shook his head. "Freaks" isn't exactly what I had in mind. It's more of a haven for people with... exceptional abilities." He rummaged in a silver briefcase that he had brought with and produced a DVD. "May I?"

"Uh..." stuttered Mom. "Sure, go ahead." He handed me the DVD and I inserted it into our DVD player.

After it loaded, a title screen came up that read: "Johiko's School for the Gifted - A Place for Hybrids to Co-exist in Peace."

A short fanfare played followed by a gentle female voice saying, "Welcome to Johiko's School for the Gifted - A Place for Hybrids to Co-exist in Peace."

The screen shifted to a woman that I immediately knew suffered from Hybrid Syndrome. She had short, black fur with a yellow ring mark on her forehead, her upper arms, her two long "ears" and her long, furry tail. Her face was muzzle-like almost like mine except she had a small, round black nose on its tip. I could see that her hair was dyed a violent bubble-gum-pink.

"Hello," said the hybrid with a sweet smile. "My name is Sharon Stone, but you can call me "Luna". I'm here to give you a short demonstration of the haven for hybrids known as "Johiko's School for the Gifted". For the past 50 years, we at Johiko's school have taken in people suffering from a rare birth defect called "Hybrid Syndrome" and given them a chance for a quality education."

Luna's image changed to a shot showing a magnificent stone mansion with an extensive garden including a hedge maze, marble ruins and even a large pool.

"Here at Johiko's, we pride ourselves on keeping our students happy and content." It changed again to show various rooms of the mansion. "Our campus includes comfortable dormitories, an extensive library, personal studies and much more."

The scene then did a short montage of hybrid students that attended the school. One of them had fiery-yellow fur and a red face, arms, legs and ears. One of them had red fur, brown, padded hands and feet and what appeared to be six curly red tails behind him. One even looked like a blue and red dragon with large magenta, spade-like wings and sharp claws on its hands and feet.

"Our campus accepts all different sorts of hybrids and gives them a chance to interact with others of their kind. Just ask these students."

A hybrid with jagged brown spikes all over its back complete with tan skin and a white belly named Mark "Sandslash" Phillips appeared on the screen.

"I used to be called a freak because of how I looked and being able to manipulate the ground, but this place is the perfect opportunity for me to feel "normal". I can't believe that I never knew about this place from the beginning! It's so wonderful here."

Another hybrid, obviously female, was mostly blue except for her white underbelly that ran from her throat all the way down to the tip of her long tail. Two blue "beads" were hooked on the tip of her tail and on a necklace around her neck. Her feet were dog-like and digitigrade and two small feathery "wings" were where her ears were supposed to be. To top it all off, she had a long, pointed, white horn atop her muzzled head. This hybrid's name was Melody "Dragonair" Reston.

"Life for me was difficult to deal with because I was an outcast in my school. Then I heard about Johiko's School for the Gifted and I was finally able to interact with people who understand me." She had a sweet, musical voice.

The screen then changed back to Luna.

"Thank you for taking time to hear about our exceptional school. We hope to see you soon and share our special knowledge with you."

When the movie was finished, I took it out of the DVD player and gave it back to Johiko, who put it back in his briefcase.

"Well?" he said, folding his hands. "What do you think?"

"I... like it," I said, looking joyful. "I can't wait to go!"

"Now, now, Electra," said Mom with a sigh. "We don't even know how much it's going to cost."

"It's free," said Johiko simply.

"Say what?" Mom and I both wondered if we heard that correctly.

"It's an all-expense-paid school paid for by very generous donors. You don't have to worry about any financial problems."

This took a moment to sink in but Mom and I were soon looking at each other with joy. I get to go to school for free and it was full of people just like me... uh, in a way. I couldn't wait to go!

There was just one more question that I had to ask. "Mr. Johiko? If this is a school only for hybrids, where do you come in?"

"Electra!" hissed Mom.

But Johiko merely shook his head. "It's no trouble. I get asked that all the time. In fact... I am a hybrid myself. Would you like to see?"

We looked at each other again nervously and figured, "Why not?" We both nodded and hoped for the best.

Johiko smiled and stood up. He closed his eyes and started to... glow a bright white. It became so bright that the two of use had to close our eyes against the intensity of the light.

When it cleared, we were looking at a much different Professor Johiko Darck. He had a tall, thin body with dark-gray hairless skin and a long tail with two gray spikes on the tip. He wore a casual attire - an orange T-shirt and blue jean shorts. Johiko stood on two dog-like, digitigrade legs that bent in three places and had ten odd, rectangular red "plates" on his back that stuck out of holes cut in the back of his shirt. His hands, unlike mine were five-fingered, but they were smooth and had no fingernails - that trait we had in common.

His head had a small, pointed muzzle with two small nostrils where the nose would be. Under his deep-brown hair were pale, gray eyes covered by two pointed gray flashes that looked not unlike a mask.

"You look... nice," said Mom, trying to be nice.

"What power do you have?" I asked simply, ignoring my mother's annoyed look.

I have the ability to read and manipulate minds, said Johiko's voice... in my head?! How was that possible? Otherwise, he had a more freestyle and free-minded voice just like a teenager.

"Did you just...?" I asked.

"Yes." He said this vocally. "But you'd be surprised to no end if you knew what I was actually capable of."

The both of us dropped the subject. "So, when does the term start?" Mom wondered.

"I can arrange for a bus to pick you up at noon tomorrow. You'd better start packing if you want to catch it - there are two more students that will be joining you as well."

"We'll do that," said Mom.

"Good. Well, I'd better be going. I have other appointments to attend to." Johiko changed back to his human form, but this time he wore a black suit and tie instead. "Good day, Electra... Ms. Terra." He left.

For most of the next morning, Mom and I packed my suitcase for a long trip. Since it was a private school, I would have to take care of myself for a while. I packed my favorite clothes including a blue tank top and navy-blue jeans. Mom made a last-minute shopping trip to get me some decent clothes for school. It would take a while to cut new holes in the pants for my tail as she always did.

I included my lucky charm - the green drawstring bag from my first day of school - in the mix; it had served me well for the past ten years and I hoped it would still work. Along with that, I included a simple magnet that I used to charge up my electric powers when there weren't any outlets around.

Some reading materials such as a few of my favorite Mary Higgens Clark books and some of my Teen magazines were also added to the mix. After all, the school was in Minnesota, so it would be a long road trip. Our last meal before I left consisted of grilled chicken and scalloped potatoes with ham and cheese -- one of my favorites. Mom wanted to send me out in style so that I had something to remember her by. When it was nearly noon, she broke down and cried into my shoulder since she wasn't sure when she would see me again.

"I'm just so proud that you're going somewhere where they understand you!"

"You understand me, Mother. You helped me live normally with regular people. I'd never forget what we went through. No school could ever teach me what you taught me in my life."

"I'm just so proud of you for your help. You never once wished that you could be... normal like everyone else."

"Didn't you see all the different hybrids that they had at Johiko's School? I'll finally be with people that are like me. It's probably the best place that I could be."

Mom smiled. It was for the best, but she would always be my family, no matter how alike the rest of the hybrids were to me.

At exactly 12:00, a horn sounded outside, signaling that the bus was here. I gave Mom a good-bye kiss and exited the house. The bus looked like a regular compact yellow school bus except for the words "Johiko's School for the Gifted" stamped on the side instead of "School Bus". The bus driver, however, was anything but normal.

She had the form of a creamy-yellow-furred cat complete with padded paws, muzzle, tail and pointed ears. The only difference was that she had a large crop of purple fur around her shoulders with pom-poms and lining the top of her head around her ears. She had the most adorable jet-black eyes to boot.

"Hi!" she said in a sweet voice. "My name is Karen "Delcatty" Byron. What's yours?"

I decided that I could tell her my full name. She did.

"I'm Ashley "Electra" Terra," I said, bowing.

"Electra"?" Delcatty giggled and shut the door. "Okay, "Electra". Have a seat."

I sighed and went to pick a chair in the middle row on the right side. Lifting my luggage onto the seat, I sat down next to it and watched my house roll away as the bus started moving.

I was the only one on the bus so far, but Johiko had said that there would be two other students coming to the school later on, so I merely took out my CD player and listened to Shania.

Two hours later, a second hybrid got on the bus. I guessed that it a guy... a very stern and handsome guy. This hybrid brought the word "chicken" to mind, except he was anything but. He had rich, short, fiery-red fur that looked more like fine fuzz instead. However, his fur turned into a spiky yellow pattern just below his knees where it went down to hide his taloned feet. He had muscular red arms that turned to mimic a bird's scaled feet at his wrists and arms. Three powerful, sharp claws were on his hands that looked like they could easily break any bone in my body.

This man had a short, curved beak that blended with the rest of his stern face. His eye colors were a combination of yellow with blue pupils. A red V-shaped... something lined his eyebrows that turned into two short "antennae" above his head. He had a mane of white "hair" that split behind his head and went off in opposite downward directions down to his waist.

Even though this hybrid looked like a fierce warrior, I could tell that he was as gentle as a kitten. He wandered over to me with a large suitcase and spoke to me.

"Are you... going as well?" He had a deep, bass-like growl of a voice. He had obviously never talked to a girl before.

"Oh... yes."

"My name's Alex... but I call myself "Blaze"."

"I'm Ashley... but everyone calls me "Electra"."

"It fits your description." He was very handsome.

"So... what's your ability?" I asked him.

"Say what?"

"Oh, don't play dumb! Every hybrid's got a special power. Watch me!"

I looked over at the radio up by Delcatty. My eyes glowed a bright blue as they always did when I was manipulating electricity. I held out my hand and a tiny spark jumped between my fingers. The radio stations changed at my command until I found something that I liked. Delcatty looked confused as she fiddled with the stations. Somehow, she knew it was me and she looked back at us. I immediately lowered my hand and looked uninterested.

"Please don't do that," she said, looking back at the road.

Blaze looked at me in awe. "Nice."

I smiled and looked back at him. "I can control almost anything electrical. I used to fool the registers at the shopping mall because my staticy body would interfere with their computers."

"Did they ever figure out it was you?"

I shook my head. "We spaced out the times that it would occur. All I got was a bunch of strange looks."

"I guess that they're not really used to seeing a hybrid... like you walking around before, are they?"

"Not really." I was really starting to like this guy. "Speaking of which... what's your special power?"

"Oh!" He quickly looked around for a safe place to demonstrate it. "Hold on a minute." He obviously had a very dangerous power and didn't want to damage anything.

He opened a window and took a deep breath. He was obviously aiming for something to cause a little chaos and confusion. Opening his beak, he let fly a column of fire at an unsuspecting...

...mailbox. I knew he wouldn't hurt a fly. Thankfully, there were no people close enough to get hurt and Delcatty didn't see it.

"Not bad!" I said, clapping proudly. He was obviously a Fire-type hybrid. "You possess some special skills. Tell me a little more about yourself.

It was well over six hours until we arrived at the school, so we had time to kill. Blaze and I talked about how we had become hybrids and what we had heard about Johiko's School for the Gifted. I told him that I had been born a hybrid. However, it turns out that Blaze had been "attacked" by a hybrid that looked just like him and he had transformed into one through an infection in his system. I found that unusual since Hybrid Syndrome wasn't contagious.

"There must have been something in his talons that infected me or something," he told me. "I should be able to find out why when we get to the school."

We were so occupied with our own stories that we didn't notice that a third hybrid had joined us until she spoke up.

She was a female as well, but due to a lack of... things, it was hard to tell from her rock-hard expression. Most of her torso and face areas were white but the rest of her smooth skin was a sapphire-blue color. She wore a white tank top tied at the top with a pink scarf tied around her neck and back. On the edge of her shirt was a pink lace lining and a couple of yellow bands were wrapped around her waist. An oddly-shaped root-like charm covered her white chest and was tied around her neck. Two yellow arm bands were tied around her upper arms.

This hybrid wore a pair of blue short shorts that blended perfectly with her blue thighs along with a leather belt, blue ribbons and a short blue "cape" that was tied around her waist. Blue and white patterns made up the skin on her legs just above a pair of long, skin-tight leather boots with rubber soles on them. For some reason, two unusual, long, white ribbons flowed around her as if they had a life of their own.

I had never seen anything like the horns she had on her head. It looked like a long, crystal-shaped, sea-blue horn that was hollow in the middle. Two shorter, pointed horns extended backwards from both sides of the larger one. Above an odd, nose-like muzzle were two piercing-red eyes that seemed to radiate power and strength.

The female hybrid tried her best to join our conversation.

"Hi." she said in a timid tone. "I'm Yuna "Suicuna" Kirasagi." She seemed nervous.

Blaze and I stopped talking and introduced ourselves. It turns out that Suicuna had been born a human had been turned into a hybrid by a twisted laboratory named "MetaboAnthro". They were creating their own super-hybrids in order to take over the world. Suicuna had somehow escaped and went into hiding until she was found by Johiko and was invited to his school. I understood her concern and paranoia. However, we managed to convince her to show us her power.

Suicuna pulled a water bottle from her suitcase and opened the cap. By focusing her powers, she was able to manipulate the water inside and move it using her hands. She did a simple movement not unlike a ribbon dancer, formed the water into a solid sphere in her hands and then shot it at Blaze like a water jet. When she recalled the water, we could see Blaze was steaming... literally! White steam clouds had formed where the water had touched his hot fur.

"Don't do that again," he said, shaking himself dry.

"Sorry," Suicuna smiled meekly. "I can only manipulate water. I can't create it."

(Author's Note: Sound's like the X-man Pyro's polar opposite, don't it?)

Suicuna also produced a second power - something that most hybrids would only dream about. She was able to control the wind. When she did, her plum hair ruffled in a non-existent breeze and she showed her power by enhancing the air-conditioning into a blast as powerful as a skydiving gust. Delcatty chose to ignore us during this.

"Okay! We get it!" Blaze and I shouted over the wind.

Suicuna blushed, though it was hard to tell with her snow-white face. The three of us went back to talking about our stories and what we planned to do at the school. The rest of the bus ride was rather uneventful.

"It's not as bad as I thought it would be," I said, looking up at the school. "At least the brochure wasn't duping us."

The outside of Johiko's School for the Gifted matched the image on the movie. It had well-kept lawns and was built out of white sandstone and marble. Multiple hybrids were walking around the grounds and in and out of the building going about their daily routines.

"It seems to be more..." Suicuna shrugged. "Higher class than I'm used to. It certainly comes up to par with me."

"Just wait until you look inside," said a deep voice that sounded suspiciously like Blaze.

A hybrid that could have passed himself off as Blaze's twin was standing in front of the entrance, smiling as well as his beaked face would allow. I noticed, though, that his taloned hands were heavily wrapped in bandages.

"Hey Blaziken!" said Blaze, waving to him.

Blaziken tilted his head to one side. "Johiko must've told you my name, because I sure didn't."

"Johiko?" said Blaze.

"Oh. You probably know him as "Professor Darck"."

"Oh." He understood now.

"What're you all standing around for? Come on in! I'll give you a personal tour."

"What about our things?" I wondered, pointing to my suitcase.

"That's no problem." Blaziken waved a bandaged hand in the air and whistled sharply. A hybrid appeared at our sides so suddenly that it nearly made me jump out of my fur.

The hybrid had puffy white fur that covered everything but his jet-black face. He had piercing red eyes, a black "third eye" on his forehead and a curved black horn sticking out of the right side of his head. A hooked, black tail grew from the back of his tattered black-and-blue shorts - the only piece of clothing that he had on. The hybrid had wrapped his forearms and ankles in rough blue bandages. His four-clawed hands looked like long, sharp, black, fingers with another claw sticking out from his elbows and his digitigrade heels. His feet had three sharp black talons that looked like they meant business. Somehow, I felt that I shouldn't ever cross this hybrid or make it mad. Period.

"Absol, can you take these peoples' things to their dormitories?" asked Blaziken, pointing at our luggage.

"Yes, sir," said the hybrid in a quiet, menacing voice. He picked up mine and Suicuna's suitcases, hooked Blaze's on the horn on his head and carried them into the building.

"Tough guy," said Suicuna, obviously impressed.

"You have no idea. If Absol talked as much as he fought, he could rival most auctioneers." Blaziken sighed and shook his head. "Now, what about that tour?"

The inside of the building was more mansion-like than a school. There were strange, obviously rare and expensive artifacts on display throughout the building, an impressive library full of unusual books, multiple living rooms, dormitories, study halls and even a kitchen that rivaled most restaurants. There was nothing at all to suggest that we were inside a school.

"You would think it wasn't," said Blaziken when Suicuna voiced this opinion. "But we have a place where the real learning happens. This way."

"Oh, Blaziken?" Blaze asked him. "What happened to your hands?"

"Oh, these?" He held up his wrapped-up claws. "I had a little run-in with MetaboAnthro and they were injected with a toxin that transforms any human I injure with these babies."

Blaze looked alarmed. He had obviously realized the real reason that he had turned into a hybrid.

"But Johiko just had the toxin removed before you got here, so it's okay. I'm still recovering, though."

"How many people did you transform?" asked Blaze, worriedly.

"Just you."

"Oh... kay..." This was obviously a good thing.

Blaziken looked troubled, though. "Forget it. I'm not proud of what I did to you, so drop it."

"Sure," nodded Blaze.

Deep within the complex of the mansion was a maze of identical metal hallways that were most certainly not found in a regular mansion. There were large, circular, locked doors with various locking systems on them. In all, there were many different rooms and some of them read thus:

"Water Room - Water, Ice and Dragon Hybrid Training Room"

"Rock Room - Fighting, Ground, Rock and Steel Hybrid Training Room"

"Psychic Room - Psychic and Ghost Hybrid Training Room"

There was even one that caught my attention. "Electric Room -- Electric Hybrid Only Training Room."

"Hey Blaziken, what's with all the different "Training Rooms"?" asked Blaze.

Blaziken stopped outside a room marked "Combo Room 1 - One-on-One Dual-Type Hybrid Training Room."

"Every hybrid has one or two different "Types"," he said, pointing to him and Blaze. "These rooms are designed to help you harness your powers and focus them a lot better. You and I, by the way, are Fire-and-Fighting type Hybrids." He turned to me. "Electra, you look like an Electric-type, right?"

I nodded. "I guess so."

"And Suicuna must be a Water-type?" said Blaze.

"Maybe," shrugged Suicuna simply.

"Neat!" I said, heading over to the "Electric Room". "I can't wait to get started!"

"Hold on there, Jethro!" said an all-too-familiar voice. "You can't just use these rooms just like that! We have to register your... persona before we get to that point."

The four of us turned to face a familiar hybrid walking down the hallway. Johiko Darck, the headmaster, was meandering over to us, his long, spiked tail swishing from side to side.

"Headmaster!" said Blaziken, surprised at his sudden appearance. "I was giving a tour to our three new students."

"It's okay, Josh," said Johiko, smiling. "I was looking for you, actually. I need to speak with you about an important matter. Will you see these students to their room and join me in my study, please?"

"Yes, sir." Blaziken nodded and turned to the three of us. I managed to catch Johiko's eye and he gave me a quick smile. "Come with me, guys. Let's find you some spare rooms."

Most of the dormitories in the mansion had two hybrids in them. Blaze had been paired with a Dragon-and-Ground Type hybrid named Mike "Flygon" Gyro while Suicuna and I were paired together in a spare room. While the two of us unpacked, we talked about what Johiko's School for the Gifted had in store for us.

"What do you think is in those "Training Rooms", Electra?" Suicuna asked, putting her spare clothes in a drawer.

I shrugged. "Beats me. I'm guessing that it's some sort of machine to help us practice our powers."

"Like what?"

"I dunno. Maybe the "Electric Room" has a generator in it?"

"That's kind of dangerous," Suicuna said, flinching.

"That's why we're just speculating here. I really have no idea what's in there."

"Oh." She quickly changed the topic. "Do you think we'll meet any cute hybrid boys?"

I looked at her and giggled. "Why? Isn't Blaze or Blaziken cute enough for you?"

She shrugged and put her water bottle on her bed stand. "I dunno. They're a little "hot-headed" for me. I prefer to find someone who's a little more like me. You know - a Water Type."

I sighed and put my static rod in a drawer. "You're so picky! You'll never find a man with that attitude!"

Suicuna huffed and put her hands at her hips. "Well, what about you, chump? What do you plan to do with your life?"

I rolled my eyes and plopped down on my bed. "I've never been too interested in boys, hybrid or not. Who knows? Maybe fate will intervene someday."

"Whatever." She did likewise and looked out the window.

It was getting late and we had classes first thing in the morning. We both turned in for the night and I thought about all that had happened to me recently. Seeing Johiko's true form, meeting Blaze and Suicuna and coming to this school full of hybrids just like me. I had a feeling in my heart that my life was going to be very interesting from now on.

END

Hybrid Theory Ruby Version: Blaze's Story

By iriomotewildcat

It took half a second to change my life forever. I tried to help someone and this is the thanks I get for it. True, life now has its ups and downs, but it could have all been avoided if I had just walked away. But I had to be a Good Samaritan and it completely screwed my life.

In the meantime, I should probably tell you what I'm complaining about. It all started when I went out exploring one day...

In the woods near my home, I was planning to go hiking one fine summer's day. There is a pretty nice trail that leads down to the Mississippi River that I constantly go on. I had gone on this trail dozens of times before, but today was different - I just didn't know it yet.

While walking down the path, I was aware that the birds were unusually quiet today. I normally hear various birds' songs while on the path. However, there was an unusual silence that started to scare me a little. Nevertheless, I kept walking. I wasn't about to let the absence of some birds ruin my day.

As I neared the Mississippi River, the smell of smoke reached my nostrils. That was odd. There wasn't a house around here for miles. It smelled like something a bonfire was burning somewhere. I knew I should have gone back but my curiosity was getting the better of me. I pressed on.

Further down the path, I reached a clearing that I had been to many times before. This time, a small campfire had been erected in the middle of the clearing and a large, odd creature was sitting on a log nearby.

If I had to classify this odd creature, I would call it a "chicken", but it looked anything but. Instead of feathers, it seemed to be covered in fine red fur. It had its back to me but I could see that it had a "ponytail" of white-gray "hair" that split in two downward directions from the back of its head. I saw that most of its body was colored a burning-red except for a spiky yellow pattern from just below its knees down to its taloned feet. A short red tail extended from its back side. From what I could see from one of its arms on the log was that the creature had muscular red arms that changed to gray "bird's feet" near its wrists and it had three sharp "talons" for its hands.

I couldn't get a decent look without getting closer to it, so against my better judgment, I inched closer and closer to it... until it heard me.

The creature moved like greased lightning and it was soon on its feet facing me. What looked like miniature flames had ignited on its wrists. Before I knew what hit me, it had tackled me, digging its talons into my chest and I knew was looking into the face of a warrior.

It had a pair of fierce yellow-and-blue eyes above a hooked, red beak. A V-shaped flash grew from above its eyes almost like a pair of antennae.

"Who are you, human?" it growled at me in a deep voice. "Why were you spying on me?"

"I... I... I'm Alex Schaefer! And I wasn't spying on you! I don't even know who you - gack!"

The creature had put one of his talon-like hands around my throat and stopped me cold.

"I don't believe you! You're from that MetaboAnthro company, aren't you?!"

I tried to speak through being strangled but it was proving to be difficult.

"I... don't know... gack... what you're... gulp... talking about!"

"Don't lie to me, human!" challenged the creature. "I've seen how your kind works; you send someone in plain clothes to search for escaped specimens from your lab and recapture them with their hidden weapons. You're all the same!"

If I didn't say something soon, this creature was going to suffocate me to death.

"I'm from... Clear Lake... gasp... and I just... gulp... went out... for a walk!"

The creature didn't press any harder on my throat, but he didn't let up either. It stared me down with its fierce yellow-and-blue eyes. It seemed to be eyeing me closely. It got so close to my face that I could feel its hot, smoky breath. I wasn't sure how much longer I could be deprived of air. I was nearly petrified of dying at the hands of this strange, brutal creature.

Finally, it seemed to trust me enough to release me and get up off of me. I sat up gasping for breath and the creature extended a clawed hand to help me to my feet.

"My apologies, Alex." Its voice was normally deep and menacing, but its mood had lightened up. "I mistook you for those scientists from MetaboAnthro."

"No... ahem... problem," I said, clearing my throat. "Why did you think that I was from this "MetaboAnthro" place?"

I could hear a low growl in the creature's throat.

"I was captured by MetaboAnthro's science lab while they were experimenting with animals to create hybrids. They were using me to infect people like you and turn them into hybrids."

"Why would they do such a thing?" I asked, outraged.

"Hybrids like me are born naturally into regular human parents, but MetaboAnthro is using science to artificially create more powerful ones in order to take over the world. If I know them, they'll be going public soon."

"Is there any way to stop them?"

But the creature shook its head. "We can't do anything right now, but we've been preparing for a full-on attack in time."

"You keep saying "we". Who's "we"?"

"Johiko's School for the Gifted; a haven for hybrids like me." He suddenly froze and became stone-still. "I've told you too much already. I have to go." He turned around made to run off, but I grabbed his right talon and held him in place. "Let go of me, Alex. I don't want to hurt you."

Common Sense told me to let go, but I wanted to learn more about this "school for the gifted".

"Wait! What if MetaboAnthro finds you?"

"I'll be fine. Now let me go!"

"I don't want anything to happen to you. Let me come with you!"

"I said "NO"!!!"

With a sweep of his arm and a rake of his talons, the creature sent me flying towards the other end of the clearing, a long trio of scratches appearing on my chest. I hit the ground hard and clutched my chest with my tattered and bloody shirt.

When I looked up, the hybrid had vanished. He seemed to have leapt clean out of the clearing. Fresh talon marks were embedded in the spot where he had leaped from.

Confused and sporting fresh scratch marks, I decided to head back home and get some proper bandages on my wounds. What had that been all about? I just wanted to talk with the hybrid and it had just attacked me! I guess that's what you get for trying to spark a conversation. I didn't even get his name!

I was feeling a little feverish when I got home. I felt a little woozy and I was burning up from an unknown fever. Had that hybrid been infected with rabies or something? Was I slowly getting sick from an unknown disease?

Wait a minute... How could that be? That hybrid had said that he had been born into regular human parents like everyone else. The only difference was HOW they had been born. But why was I catching a fever after my encounter with that hybrid? Were they infected with something or did this "MetaboAnthro" do something to him to contribute to this?

Regardless, I needed to get some rest. My body temperature was skyrocketing. What's more, the area around my scratches was itching like mad. I was so hot that I had to sleep in my underwear with the air-conditioning on high just to stay even slightly cool!

When I woke up the next day, the heat inside my body had cooled to a point that I could handle it. However, the itching seemed to have spread around my torso. It was so bad that I had to check the mirror in my bathroom to see the damage clearly.

"WHAT THE #$&?!?!" I screamed out loud. "Is that what I think it is?!"

The scratches the hybrid had given me had healed up without so much as a scar, but that's not what I was screaming about. My torso was covered with a variety of white-gray, yellow and red fur. It was unlike any fur that I had ever seen before - it was short, smooth and sleek - like a cross between fuzz and fur. If my eyes weren't lying I was turning into an animal!

Wait a second... I knew exactly who did this to me! It was that hybrid that I had run into in the woods! I tried to stay calm as I watched the sleek, red fur progress down my legs like a miniature wave, turning yellow just below my knees.

Just then, I felt my internal body parts give way and change. I hit the floor as most of my bones started to break and snap audibly. Along with that, my organs were also changing and squishing around inside me. I couldn't move from the extreme pain that I was in.

All the while, the fur on my body extended to my arms and head where my hands reformed to mimic the hybrid's scaled talons. Also, I grew a similar plume of dirty-white hair that split in two different directions.

I was in so much pain that I passed out from the sheer intensity of it.

"Ohh... what... happened?" I put a clawed hand to my temple and tried to think straight after regaining consciousness. "I feel like I had my head in a monkey wrench. Huh?"

My voice was significantly lower and deeper. I instinctively put my hand to my throat. It was sleek and furry just like the rest of my body. I then held my hands to my face and felt a short, curved beak. Getting up, I dreaded the outcome of my appearance when I looked in the mirror.

The shock of seeing myself changed in the mirror was so great that I didn't know what to do. I just stood there, running my claws down my face and torso. I had changed into a form similar, if not identical to the hybrid that I had seen in the woods!

As I tried to comprehend what had happened to me, something tickled the inside of my throat, causing me to cough. In the process, several spurts of flame escaped my beak and ignited several things on my counter such as my toothpaste and a spare roll of toilet paper.

"Oh, crap!" I cursed, fumbling with the items to put them out. I quickly dumped the items in my shower stall and turned on the water, extinguishing them almost instantly. "Let's... not do that again."

Once I had gotten over the shock of my transformed form, I decided to look at the positives of this new form. My arms were well-toned and muscular. I had a feeling that if that hybrid could throw me halfway across a forest clearing with one arm, who knows what I could do with both of them?

I also seemed to weigh much less than I normally did. I was just shy of 270 pounds before, but now I guessed that I couldn't have been much higher than 100. This was a good thing; if that hybrid could jump as high as I thought he did, I should be able to mimic that easily. The fire breathing ability was also a bonus of being a hybrid. I might start to enjoy this after all!

Just then, the doorbell rang. Oh, crud. I couldn't let anyone see me like this! If word got out that I had turned into a fire-breathing hybrid, it would be the end of me!

However, I decided to see who it was. Grabbing a blanket off of my bed and wrapping myself up in it, I went to answer the door.

Oh... no...

It was my own mother! She couldn't see me like this! But something told me that I could probably trust her with this. After all, it was my mom.

"Alex?" she asked me, spotting me through the window. "Are you there?"

"Yes," I grunted, trying to make my deep voice sound normal. "Come on in."

She did, but she immediately spotted my unusual behavior.

"Alex, are you alright? Your voice sounds funny."

"Mom... I need to tell you something. But you have to promise not to scream and run away. Please?"

She seemed taken aback when I asked her. "I would never do anything of the sort to my own son. I promise."

"Okay..." I took a deep breath. "Here goes!"

I pulled the blanket off of me and showed her my true form. She nearly fainted when she saw me. Mom couldn't decide what was more frightening - my fierce, bird-like face, my powerful, clawed hands or my fiery-red fur. Instead, she approached me and put her hand up to my face.

"Alex... What have you done with yourself?"

I was slightly confused. "How do you know it's me?"

Mom took my hand and looked me square in the eyes. I had always been taller than her, but now I was a few inches past my former height, making her appear much smaller than before.

"Your eyes have changed... but I can still see you in there. I also know that you would never attack anyone no matter how strong you are. Oh, Alex!" She grabbed me in a hug and started crying. "I feel so helpless! I swore that I would protect you... and then this happened!"

I stroked Mom's head just like she did when I was upset. "It's not your fault. I told you that I was old enough to handle the world, and now I'm dealing with the consequences."

Mom cried into my chest for a while. She kept blaming herself for this, but I kept telling her that it was my fault for not being careful enough. When she finally admitted that she could do nothing about it, she pulled herself from my chest and looked up at me.

"You're so warm. Did you want to tell me what happened?"

I sat down on my couch and she did the same. I then began to tell her my entire encounter with the hybrid.

I had barely finished when the doorbell rang again. Mom told me to stay put and went to answer it.

A well-built man in a navy-blue suit and pants was at the door. He had unusual deep-blue eyes and had a full head of untidy... I wanted to say "gray", but his hair had more of a "silver" color to it. Around his neck was a silver pendant with a shattered star symbol. In the man's right hand was a silver metal briefcase.

"Is this the residence of Alex Schaefer?" He had a firm yet kind voice.

"Yes it is," said Mom, standing so that the man couldn't see me. "Who are you?"

"My name is Professor Darck. I'm the Headmaster of Johiko's School for the Gifted. May I come in?"

Mom quickly looked at me and I shrugged. I hadn't signed up for a school under any such name. I quickly got up and headed to my room. I didn't know who this guy was, but I wasn't going to let him see me like this.

While I was gone, Professor Darck sat down in my seat. He shook my mom's hand and got right down to business. I listened through the door at their conversation. One positive factor of being a hybrid was the enhanced senses. You couldn't see my ears, but my hearing was exceptional.

"I don't remember signing Alex up for any school," said Mom. It sounded like she was rifling through some papers that Professor Darck had given her.

"He didn't," he replied. "I have a way to find people with... special needs. You could say that a little birdie told me."

Both of us were suddenly interested. "Are you spying on him?"

I guess he shook his head. "No, ma'am. I have other informants that... let's say... keep an eye out for people of his... "condition" and report to me."

"Is he really... that obvious?" I groaned. Mom was always stating the obvious.

"You could say that. I am also quite used to people like him. You could say..." He broke off. I couldn't hear what he said, but Mom sounded surprised.

"You are?! But you don't look like...!" She broke off as well.

They weren't spilling it. I had a strange feeling that Professor Darck knew that I was eavesdropping... but that didn't explain how Mom knew "what he was".

The professor then addressed Mom so that I could hear them. "If it's all right with you, I'd like to meet Mr. Schaefer personally."

"I'm sure he'd like to meet you. I'll go get him."

I quickly ran back to my bed and grabbed a book to make it look like I was waiting for them to finish.

Mom opened the door slightly and spoke to me. "Alex... would you like to come out and meet Professor Darck?"

"Uh... sure," I growled deeply.

Just then, my beak tickled. I fought to hold it back but was unsuccessful. I sneezed loudly and a jet of flame flew from my maw and scorched the wall to my left. Thankfully, nothing caught fire.

Mom looked at me with concern. I chuckled and sniffed. "Sorry, I forgot to tell you about the fire-breathing."

"As long as you don't burn the house down, I guess it's a part of you now."

When I reached the living room, I saw that Professor Darck was waiting patiently for me. I approached the room cautiously. Revealing to another person that I was a hybrid was a very delicate process. However, he didn't seem surprised when he saw me for the first time.

"Just as I thought."

"Excuse me?" I asked, clenching and unclenching my claws.

"You've had a run-in with one of our current students, Joshua "Blaziken" Symon, haven't you?"

I blinked. "You lost me. I was scratched by a hybrid yesterday."

"Exactly," said Professor Darck simply. "You look exactly like him."

"Are you saying that these... "hybrids" are infecting people on purpose?" Mom looked genuinely concerned.

He shook his head. "That was just an unfortunate accident. I doubt Jeffery knew what he was doing at the time. I can guarantee that he will be unable to repeat his mistake again."

"Oh."

"You still haven't explained this "school" of yours in full," I said, sitting on the couch.

"I didn't? Oh, I guess I should then."

He took out a brochure from his briefcase and gave it to me. I had a little trouble handling it with only three claws, but I would get used to them eventually. The brochure showed a picture of a beautiful stone building that stood on the edge of an expansive garden. It seemed like it was all well and good. However, I didn't trust papers.

"Johiko's School for the Gifted is a special haven for people like you," explained Professor Darck as if he was reading my thoughts. "We specialize in the field of... hybrid learning and technology."

These last few words immediately caught my attention.

"Hybrids? This school is a place for freaks... like me?" I said, catching myself.

"Freaks"," he said, emphasizing the word. "Is more of an understatement. "Hybrids", like yourself, are people who possess unique and special abilities. They are completely capable of living normally with others. Other people, however, like to think of us as "outcasts"."

"And he'll find people like him at this school?" asked Mom curiously.

"Of course! Even I possess special hybrid abilities, as does all our staff."

"No way!" I blurted out. "You don't look anything like me!"

"Alex!" hissed Mom.

"It's okay," he reassured her. "I can sense that he needs proof to be believed. Allow me..."

Professor Darck got to his feet and closed his eyes. The both of us watched in disbelief as he started glowing a bright white. The light became so bright that the both of us flinched. When we looked back at him, we saw that he had changed form!

His skin had become smooth and dull-gray. He was wearing an orange shirt and blue shorts and his hair had turned a dark brown color, but that's not what alarmed us. He had two dog-like hind feet that appeared digitigrade and his face was muzzle-like and included two gray flashes over his navy-blue eyes... almost like a mask. Ten rectangular red "plates" grew from his back and poked through holes cut in his shirt. To top it all off, Professor Darck had a long, flexible, gray-spike-tipped tail!!!

He also looked considerably younger than he had appeared to be. He reminded me of a teenage boy instead of a full-grown man. Apparently, he was a shape-shifter.

"This is my real form," said Professor Darck. He had a much younger and freestyle voice now. "This is how I was born. I'm not ashamed to show it off and neither should you."

"Wow." That was all I could say. Mom was speechless.

Suddenly, I had a question. "If you can change forms, are you psychic as well?"

Professor Darck smiled. You didn't have to read my mind to figure that out.

I shook my head. I had just heard his voice in my head!

"Did you just...?"

Yep. I'm the best Telepath in the whole world.

"And I'm extending an invitation for you to come to my school and be with people just like you. What do you say?" He said this vocally.

I considered this. I had the chance to be with people who were like me. What's more, I could finally go back to school and graduate. It was either that or live the rest of my life among "normal" people with the "freak" status stamped on my head.

"All right! I'll go!"

"That's great!" said Professor Darck. "However, you seem to have one more question, Mrs. Schaefer?"

Mom flinched when he addressed her suddenly. "Yes, uh... How much is this going to cost? We haven't really saved up for anything like this."

The professor shook his head. "That won't be a problem. The school is all-expense-paid paid for by very generous donors. We've got it taken care of."

Free school?! This just gets better and better!

"Can I go, Mom? Please?!" Somehow, it looked very awkward to see a fierce giant like me begging my human of a mother to go to school.

"I... don't see why not. Sure!"

Professor Darck had made an appointment for a private bus to pick me up and escort me to school the next day. Since I couldn't go out in public, I spent the next 24 hours packing my things while Mom wrote several e-mails to my family and friends telling them where I was going. She left out the parts where I had turned into a fire-breathing hybrid and that I was going to a hybrid school. She wanted to respect my privacy and tell them when the time came.

Since I had a brand-new fur coat to keep me warm, Professor Darck had said that clothes were completely optional. I appreciated this new freedom but decided to wear them anyway until I heard otherwise. Nevertheless, I packed some of my biggest clothes in my suitcase along with my DVD/CD/MP3 Player (What? They make them like that.), camera and drawing materials. I wanted to draw some of the hybrids that I was going to meet and get some decent pictures.

The next day at 3:00 on the nose, the doorbell rang and I had my things ready to go. I gave my mom one last hug (while trying not to crush her to death) and left the house for what I felt would be the last time.

The bus was about as big as one of those small community school buses and had the words, "Johiko's School for the Gifted" stamped on the side.

When I got on, I blinked at the bus driver. She looked almost like a cat and had a coat of unusual purple fur around her head and shoulders. The rest of her was a sleek, smooth, yellow color. Her paws actually resembled cat paws with black pads on her palms. I blinked again.

"Hello there," she said sweetly. "I'm Karen "Delcatty" Bryron. What's your name?"

I had heard another of those "hybrid names" that Professor Darck had told me about. Since I was now one of them and I didn't have my own hybrid name, I decided to make one up. Since I was "Blaziken's" twin and "Blaziken" was taken, I settled with...

"Alex "Blaze" Schaefer," I said, taking a bow.

"Blaze", huh?" Delcatty giggled and closed the door. "Alright, "Blaze". Take your seat."

I left the snickering Delcatty to herself and chose a seat. The only other person on the bus was a green-furred woman wearing a blue tank top and similar-colored jeans. She had a short, yellow-tipped tail and similar yellow markings running down her back and on her face and "ears." The "ears looked like a cross between a rabbit and a fox while her head had a short muzzle and were both pierced with a single hoop earring on each one. A pointed extension reached backwards from her skull -- it almost looked like a horn. The woman had four fingers on each hand and her feet were dog-like - almost like Professor Darck's. In her hand was a small, green, drawstring bag.

Placing my suitcase under the seat, I took one across from the woman. She seemed to be examining me as the bus started rolling. She looked interestingly at my fierce, beak-like face and spoke.

"Are you... going to school with them?" She had a kind and delicate voice.

"Uh... yeah." I never learned how to talk to a girl before.

"My name's Ashley, but everyone calls me "Electra"." She reached out with one of her small hands.

"Alex... but I call myself "Blaze"."

"So I see," said Electra, looking up at the driver. She had very beautiful sky-blue eyes. "So... what's your power?"

"Huh?"

"Oh, come on! Every hybrid's got one. Watch this."

Electra pointed up at the radio and her eyes began glowing bright green. I heard the radio stations changing as a tiny spark jumped between her fingers. Delcatty looked confused as she started fidgeting with the dials. When she looked back, Electra dropped her hand and looked innocent.

"Please don't do that," she said, sighing and returning her attention to the road.

Electra smiled and looked back at me. "I can mess with just about anything electrical. I used to get discounts at the mall because I would mess with the prices in the cash registers."

"Did you ever get caught?" I wondered.

"Nope. All I got was a bunch of funny looks."

"I suppose that they're not used to seeing a hybrid like yourself walking around, are they?"

"No." She and I were starting to like each other. "What about your power?"

"Oh! Hold on a second."

I rolled down a window so that I didn't destroy the bus. Taking a deep breath, I took aim at a common mailbox. Just for fun, I let a jet of flame fly from my beak and it ignited the mailbox. Fortunately, there were no people around and Delcatty didn't see it.

"Nice!" said Electra, clapping. "You seem to have some unique skills. Tell me more about yourself."

It was over well over six hours until we reached the school, but the time seemed to fly by. Electra and I talked about how we had become hybrids. She had been born one while I had been infected by Blaziken in a freak accident. We also talked about what the school was going to be like. It was rumored that all the students and staff were hybrids of all shapes and sorts.

We were so immersed in conversation that we didn't notice another hybrid had gotten on the bus until it spoke up.

She was clearly female as well (I'm surrounded by women! I thought with a sigh.) but it was hard to tell that she was from her stern face. Her torso and face was white, but her arms, back, the fronts of her legs and the top of her face was a clear sapphire-blue. She wore a white tank top attached to a pink sash around her neck with pink lace underneath it and yellow bands around her waist. An oddly-shaped charm covered her... ahem... flat white chest. Two yellow bands were tied around her upper arms whose purpose was unclear to me.

She wore a pair of blue shorts complete with a leather belt, blue ribbons and a strange blue "cape" that flowed behind her. Blue and white patterns made up the skin on her legs just above a pair of skintight blue leather boots. Two long, white ribbons flowed mysteriously around her on their own accord.

This hybrid's head was the most peculiar one that I had ever seen before. Beneath two piercing-red eyes was a short nose-like muzzle. Her hair was waist-length and was colored... huh. Purple. Atop her head was the most bizarre headpiece that I ever saw. It looked like a crystal-shaped diamond with a hollow center and two shorter horns extending from each side of it.

The female hybrid took a seat in front of me and placed her suitcase on her seat. She then turned to us and tried to join in our conversation.

"Hi, I'm Yuna "Suicuna" Kirasagi." She seemed slightly nervous.

Electra and I stopped talking and introduced ourselves. Suicuna, it turns out, had been turned into a hybrid by a twisted company called "MetaboAnthro" in order to create super-hybrids. Somehow, she had escaped and was in hiding until Professor Dark found her and invited her to his school. She was understandably nervous and was rather reluctant to show us her power.

Suicuna produced a water bottle and was able to manipulate the water into complex patterns.

"I can only manipulate water," she said in disappointment. "I can't create it. Also..."

She produced a second power: wind control. She managed to enhance the force of the air-conditioning on the bus to a gust stronger than traveling down the highway with the windows down.

"Okay! So you're good!" Electra and I shouted over the gust.

Suicuna blushed and we all talked about our stories until we reached the school.

"Well, this isn't so bad," said Electra, looking up at the school. "The brochure certainly wasn't lying."

The exterior of the school was an exact carbon copy of the one on the brochure. It had well-manicured lawns, was built out of white sandstone. We could see various hybrids walking around the grounds going about their business.

"I was expecting something a little more..." Suicuna shrugged. "Low grade. This certainly exceeds my expectations."

"Wait'll you see the inside," said a voice that I immediately recognized.

Joshua "Blaziken" Symon was standing in front of the front doors, grinning as well as his facial features would allow. I noticed that his clawed hands were bandaged up heavily.

"Hi, Blaziken!" I said, waving at him.

Blaziken tilted his head. "I take it that Johiko told you my name? Because I sure didn't."

"Johiko?" I asked. I didn't have any idea who he was talking about.

"Oh. You probably know him as "Professor Darck"."

"Oh."

"Come on in! I'll give you all a tour."

"What should we do with our things?" wondered Electra.

"Don't worry about that." Blaziken let out a sharp whistle and another hybrid seemed to appear from out of nowhere behind us. It caught all three of us off guard.

The hybrid had a coat of puffy white fur and a black face with red eyes. He had a curved black "horn" sticking out of the right side of his head and a black "third eye" on his forehead. The hybrid's hands had four fingers with short, stubby, black claws on each of them and three of them on his feet. A small, pointed black, tail grew from his backside.

"Absol, will you take these students' things to their rooms?" asked Blaziken, motioning to our things.

"Yes, sir," said the hybrid in a dark voice. He picked up Electra's and Suicuna's suitcases in his arms, hooked mine around the horn on his head and carried them off into the building.

"Strong guy," said Suicuna, impressed.

"You have no idea what Absol is capable of," said Blaziken, shaking his head. "Now, how about that tour?"

The inside of the school reminded me more of the inside of a mansion. There were artifacts that I had never seen before, a library full of interesting books, several living rooms, bedrooms and studies and even a kitchen that would make any housewife jealous. There was absolutely nothing that suggested that this was a school.

"You would think that," said Blaziken once we had covered the majority of the areas. "But we have a place where the real learning goes on. Follow me."

"Hey Blaziken," I had to ask him. "What happened to your claws?"

"Oh, these?" He held up his bandaged claws. "MetaboAnthro had injected my claws with a toxin that infects any human I scratch."

I looked alarmed. It all made sense on how I became a hybrid.

"But Johiko had the toxin removed just yesterday. I'm still recovering."

"How many people did you infect?" I asked worriedly.

"Just one -- you."

"Oh... kay..." This was a good thing.

However, Blaziken looked troubled. "I'm not proud of it, so can we forget about it?"

I nodded and grunted, "Sure."

Deeper inside the mansion was a maze of metal hallways that were certainly not inside a normal mansion. There were large, circular locked doors with various locking mechanisms to different rooms. Some of the doors read thus:

"Ice Room -- Ice, Water, Dragon Hybrid Training Room"

"Dark Room -- Ghost, Dark and Psychic Hybrid Training Room"

There was even one that caught my interest. "Fire Room -- Fire and Dragon Hybrid Training Room"

"Hey Blaziken, what's with all the different "training rooms"?" I asked.

"Every hybrid is classified into one or two different "Types"," he said, stopping outside a room marked "Fighting Room". These rooms help you learn how to harness your powers at control them a lot better. You and I, for example, are Fire-and-Fighting Types. I happen to be a whiz at the Fire Room."

"Neat!" said Electra, walking over to a room marked "Electric Room." "I can't wait to get started!"

"Whoa now!" said a familiar voice. "You can't just run straight into these things. Once we register your powers, you'll be good to go."

The four of us looked down the hallway to see the headmaster, Johiko, walking our direction.

"Headmaster!" said Blaziken in surprise. "I was just showing our new students the school."

"That's fine, Josh," said Johiko, putting up a hand. "I need to talk to you in private. Can you bring them to their rooms and see me in my office?"

"Yes sir." He nodded and motioned to the three of us. "Come on, guys. Let's find your rooms."

Almost every bedroom in the mansion was a two-person deal. Suicuna and Electra were paired together while I was paired with a Dragon-type hybrid named Mike "Flygon" Gyro. He was a Dragon-and-Ground Type that looked like a cross between a dragon and an insect.

Don't panic! He had a muscular green body with a smooth, muscular torso. Flygon's hands were four-clawed and his feet were rounded and digitigrade. He had a long, thick, green-and-light-green-striped tail with three sharp spikes at the tip. He was one of the few hybrids that had wings and both of them were shaped like green diamonds with a red outline.

Flygon's head amazed me the most. He had a short muzzle with two short fangs mostly hidden under his maw. Two long, thin, green antennae grew backwards from the top of his head. However, you could see his eyes through two red, transparent "domes" over his eyes. He looked more like a dragon than an insect, so don't worry.

"Newbie, huh?" he said in a smooth, unconcerned kind of voice. He had a slight accent that I couldn't identify. "You look just like Blaziken."

"That's no surprise," I said gruffly. "Blaziken is the one who turned me into a hybrid in the first place." I extended a claw to shake his. "I'm Alex... but you can call me "Blaze"."

"Mike, aka "Flygon"." He shook my hand with a relatively firm grip. "Nice to meet you."

"Same here. So, how'd you come to be here in the first place?"

"I was born a hybrid in Russia. Apparently, the locals there don't appreciate the damage I did."

"Say what?"

"I didn't like them making fun of me, so I did a little arson to get them off my case."

"You know that never works!" I said, slightly offended.

"I learned that the hard way," shrugged Flygon. "Fortunately, the headmaster here busted me out of jail on $3 million bond. That guy's a real life-saver!"

"Huh."

It was getting late and my classes started in the morning. After unpacking a few of my things, I turned in for the night. However, Flygon suffered from permanent insomnia in his form, but he left the room so I could get some sleep.

I thought about all that had happened to me over the past few days -- meeting Blaziken, becoming a hybrid, seeing Johiko transform and this whole school of people just like me. I had a feeling that life was going to be very different for me from now on.

END

Hybrid Theory Sapphire Version: Suicuna's Novel

By iriomotewildcat

Why? Why did I have to answer that ad? I was so immersed in the benefits of the super-vitamin that I forgot to read the fine print. If it wasn't for that stupid MetaboAnthro, I would still be normal. Life would have been just fine if I hadn't answered that stupid ad! Then again, my life right now isn't as bad as I had hoped. This school is the perfect place for people like me...

Whoa now! I'm spoiling the ending, aren't I? I'd probably better slow down and start from the beginning where it all went wrong. It all started when I was reading the local paper...

I was sitting in Fantastic Sam's Salon getting my hair done so that it actually stayed straight. If there was one thing that I pride myself on, it's my hair. I had a long, straight crop of it that reached down to my middle back. I was currently having it shampooed with the finest Aussie products that they had. No sense in trying to cut any corners here.

While I waited for my hair to dry, I read the Star Tribune - St. Cloud's daily newspaper. I had just left high school and was looking for a part-time job to earn some quick cash for college. So far, there was nothing that was catching my attention...

...until I turned the page and saw a full-color advertisement for a company called "MetaboAnthro". Apparently, they were looking for volunteers to test some kind of super-vitamin. The ad read as thus:

MetaboAnthro Industries is seeking 50 people of all ages and walks of life to participate in a revolutionary experiment.

We are testing out a series of super-vitamin supplement formulas guaranteed to grant its user:

A Longer Life Span

Better Health

Stronger Muscles

Increased Intelligence

Select Elemental Manipulation

Stronger Emotional Control

All participants will be very well compensated for the road ahead!

No Experience Required!

No Degree Required!

Must be 18 or over!

"Wow," I said, reading the ad over again. "This'll solve all my problems."

There was some fine print, but I ignored it. It was probably just some legal stuff anyway. I paid for my haircut and pulled out my cell phone. Dialing the number in the ad, I waited for someone to pick up.

"Hello, MetaboAnthro Industries. How may I help you?"

"Hi!" I said anxiously. "My name is Yuna Kirasagi and I'm calling in response to your ad in the Star Tribune."

"Ahh." She seemed enthusiastic at the thought of me calling them. "Okay, we have an opening tomorrow at 3:00 PM. Can you bring your medical papers with you when you come?"

"Uh..." This was unexpected, but I agreed anyway.

I was given directions and I hung up. I should have been suspicious of her enthusiasm, but I needed the money and I wasn't about to turn down this opportunity to get some easy cash.

It took me most of the next morning to recruit all of my medical papers to bring to the building. I wasn't the most organized of women, but I had a feeling that I had acquired everything that I had.

Since I didn't have a car, I had to take the bus in order to reach St. Cloud. It was a rather uneventful trip except for one incident with a woman wrapped up in cloths and a heavy coat.

Somehow, she seemed to know what I was doing because she sat down next to me and spoke to me.

"Don't do it."

"What?" I was taken aback at her concerned tone of voice.

"If you know what's good for you, you won't go into MetaboAnthro."

I blinked. "Why?"

The woman looked at me with unusually black eyes. "If you go into that building, there's a good chance that you'll never come back out... a free woman at least."

I wasn't about to let this odd woman scare me out of getting some free cash. "You're really weird, you know that?"

The woman unwrapped the cloths around her face and looked at me again. I flinched when I saw a purple-furred face with pointed whiskers on her muzzle and deep black eyes. She had long, pointed ears like a cross between a cat and an elf.

"Am I?" she said calmly. "I won't be surprised when you end up like me. Don't say I didn't warn you."

I was breathing hard when the woman got up, replaced her face cloth and got off the bus at her stop. That was weird! She looked like one of those people suffering from some kind of disease... I think it was called "Hybrid" something. I had only seen two such people in my life with her being the third. She had scared me, but not enough for me to give up on this free opportunity.

Once I reached the bus station, I walked a few blocks to the front of MetaboAnthro Industries.

Wow. This place was huge! It reached up over 50 stories, but it was mostly concrete and had very few windows. A massive stone sign reading "MetaboAnthro Industries" stretched across the stone face. I guessed that the inside of the building would be like plain and ordinary...

...and I was wrong. This place was obviously furbished with a lot of money. The floor was made of polished granite, they had real leather furniture and a massive metal sculpture that went up several stories stood behind the reception desk. People in lab coats were walking in and out of various doors on the far end of the room. I could have sworn that the ceiling went up to the top. I could see many glass windows and walkways webbing around and above the metal sculpture.

I thought I saw several strange figures like that strange woman on the bus walking by when the receptionist got my attention.

"May I help you?"

I turned my attention back to the ground floor and went up to the reception desk.

"Yes, I'm Yuna Kirasagi and I have a 3:00 appointment?"

"Ah, yes. We've been expecting you." She took out a clipboard and a booklet and handed them to me. "Here is a selection of different vitamins that we are testing. Once you pick one, just write down the code number on this survey and bring it back. Don't worry, your spot is guaranteed and everything will be kept confidential."

I took both items and went to sit on one of the leather sofas nearby. The survey was pretty straightforward - it asked me how old I was, where I lived and what my job was.

When that was filled out, I flipped open the booklet and paged through the various courses. There were no pictures, but it gave a detailed description of what each vitamin did. However, some of them had a big "Unavailable" sign stamped in red ink across them. Apparently, they were already taken.

One of the courses read as thus:

Typhlosion Course - Code TY41

Benefits: Enhanced Strength, Toned Muscles, Fire Manipulation, Increased Intelligence

That was it. I had expected more, but apparently that was all there was. There were no side-effects or any warnings whatsoever. Huh.

What also confused me were the words "Fire Manipulation". How could a mere vitamin allow you to control fire? Double huh.

Regardless, it didn't quite fit my preference. I paged through the booklet and looked at the other options. I wasn't really looking for better muscles or enhanced strength: I was more of a speed person.

I considered the "Celebi Course", but that had been taken. The "Articuno Course" was taken as well. It seems that all the good ones were taken...

...until I read the following:

Suicune Course - Code SU19

Benefits: Increased Intelligence, Enhanced Speed, Sharper Senses, Enhanced Strength, Wind and Water Manipulation

That seemed to work. It had the "Enhanced Speed" that I was looking for and the "Increased Intelligence" didn't seem so bad. I wrote down "SU19" on the survey and returned the items to the receptionist.

She took the items and said, "Very good. May I see your medical papers?" I gave them to her and she began rifling through them. "You can go sit down now. Someone will attend to you soon."

I did so and entertained myself by looking up at the massive metal sculpture. It looked like a half-human, half-animal creature that I did not recognize. It seemed odd that they would put an animal statue in a human facility. Regardless, I waited a good 20 minutes before a man in a white lab coat approached me.

"Yuna Kirasagi?"

"Yes?"

"My name is Dr. Phillips, and I will be walking you through the Suicune Course today. Will you follow me, please?"

I did and we started through a series of locked doors guarded by keypads, palm scanners and voice recognition locks. I wondered why a simple vitamin company would have so much security, but I figured that it would be rude to ask.

As we made our way through the gauntlet, I heard a voice in my head shout out, YOU WON'T CONTROL ME!!! I'LL BREAK OUT OF HERE!!!

"We're testing a kind of mind amplifier in the next room," said Dr. Phillips, seeing me look worried. "It's still a little too powerful to put on the market yet."

Somehow, I seriously doubted that, but it wasn't my business, so I let it go.

We reached a simple examining room somewhere on the 16th floor and Dr. Phillips had me strip down and put on an apron. It felt a little drafty, but I dealt with it just fine.

Dr. Phillips went over to a steel briefcase lying on a table nearby and opened it. Inside was the biggest syringe that I had ever seen! It had three chambers, three vials of colored liquid - blue, violet and clear - and a needle three times the size of a bicycle pump needle!

"What are you going to do with that?!" I yelped, going pale.

"This syringe contains a combination of chemicals specified for the Suicune Course," Dr. Phillips explained. "I'm going to inject all three at once and that'll be it." When I still flushed, he said, "It'll be just one poke and a slight chill. I can assure you that no one has suffered any side effects as of yet, so you are in good hands."

I swallowed and took a deep breath before I handed him my arm. He smiled and applied a tourniquet, making sure that he got a good vein. After swabbing the spot with alcohol, he injected the needle. I bit my lip but still looked at the spot when it went in. I think that it's more painful when you aren't expecting it.

The chemicals were like ice as they were slowly introduced into my system. I got Goosebumps from Hell as I tried not to move while the needle was in me. When the three chambers were empty, the syringe was drawn from me like having a splinter removed.

After applying a cotton swab and a bandage to it, Dr. Phillips said, "You're going to feel a little dizzily now. I suggest that you lie back on the table while the chemicals work their way through your system. When it's all done, just press the "Call" button next to the door." He left.

Holy !!! He wasn't kidding! It felt as if I had been thrown head-first into a suicidal skydive without a parachute! My head was spinning wildly and I couldn't focus or concentrate on anything. I couldn't move from the sheer dizziness that I was feeling.

All the while, my body had gone into shock from the extreme cold that was running through my veins. I was shivering non-stop and it felt like something was tugging on my face and skull. I couldn't feel my breasts either - it was as if they had fallen off from frostbite or something.

Soon, the sheer chill in my body ended... or at least my body became used to it enough not to shiver uncontrollably anymore. I could focus a lot more, too. Getting up, I put a hand to my head and tried to concentrate.

It was then that I noticed that something was wrong. Something was on my head that wasn't supposed to be! I felt it and panicked. It felt as if I had grown horns! Two short ones were on the sides of a much larger one. It wasn't heavy, but it was very hard. Seeing a full-body mirror in the corner, I went over to it...

...and screamed!!! What happened to me?! I had grown a pair of aqua-blue horns with a large crystal-shaped one growing upwards and backwards from my head, adding a solid foot to my height.

Not only that, but my entire body had changed! My face... my beautiful face had bulged out with a short, white muzzle. The upper half of my face was blue with the lower half of it all the way down my... flat chest and all the way down to my calves was a pale white color.

I did not recognize my new piercing-red eyes as I ran a blue hand over my face. Along with that, my hair had thickened in strength, but it was a violent shade of... purple?! It grew past my waist and hit my shins. The rest of my body was a deep-blue shade, hairless and smooth. Other than my body and eye and hair color, the only things that had changed in my appearance was my chest, my muzzle and the three horns atop my head. Okay... so almost everything changed.

Regardless, I screamed again and started panicking. I went into a berserk fit of rage and confusion and ended up crushing a chair to splinters when I threw it clear across the room.

My mind was reeling with questions. What kind of place was this? Why did I turn into a mutant freak with that cocktail of chemicals? Was this part of the program? What was going on?!

My mind was so full of rage and confusion that I couldn't hear the pipes in the walls groaning. Eventually, the sprinklers burst apart of their own accord, drenching me in water and abruptly ending my rampage.

I blinked and shook the water out of my face. What had happened to me? I had never been so angry and confused before. Was this part of the program? I wanted answers. Walking over to the door, I calmly pressed the "Call" button and then sat back down on one of the remaining chairs. The sprinklers continued to pour down on the room.

I felt... different somehow. I felt as if all my anger and rage for everything bad that had happened in my life had been vented clean out of my body. I was now calmer than I had ever been before.

While I waited for Dr. Phillips, I swirled my hand in the water that had accumulated in a metal bowl. Somehow, I could "feel" the force of the water in my mind.

On a hunch, I lifted my hand out of the bowl and a small column of water rose up at my command. I could see little ripples in it where the sprinklers rained down on it. Feeling confident, I cupped my hand and the column turned into an orb of water that hovered under my hand. Cool!

Just then, Dr. Phillips walked in wearing a rain suit. "I see that you've already figured out one of the benefits of your new form."

I lost focus on the orb and it dissolved into regular water again. Very calmly, I looked Dr. Phillips in the face and said, "What did you do to me?"

Dr. Phillips pulled up a stool, wheeled it over to me and sat down. "MetaboAnthro has been experimenting with a range of chemicals from... various donors to help create hybrids. Hybrid Syndrome is a rare illness with different outcomes, but we've managed to pass it onto healthy people to help enhance their lives."

"Why?" I didn't understand why they would infect healthy people with an illness like Hybrid Syndrome.

"You and 49 other people have been introduced with various concoctions of Hybrid Syndrome so that we can build up our army."

Say what?! "Army? What do you mean?"

Dr. Phillips smiled evilly. "It seems that regular people have considered hybrids as "freaks" and "outcasts". The leader of MetaboAnthro, Dargon, has been recruiting people for his army to stand up against the people who consider hybrids outcasts. Pretty soon, the hybrids are going to conquer the world.

I should have been scared, but for some reason, fear didn't seem to register in my mind. I was completely free of all important emotions.

Dr. Phillips got up. "I see that closing your heart has wiped your mind of all emotion. Pretty soon, you won't remember anything about what went on today."

I did feel my mind ebbing. I managed to look him in the face and say, "You're not going to get away with this."

Dr. Phillips laughed. "I'm afraid we already have. You see, you don't exist anymore. You have no records, no family... nothing! Oh, by the way, here's a gift from us." With a sudden chop, he knocked me out and I remembered no more.

I woke somewhere inside MetaboAnthro Industries inside a glass cylinder. I tried to concentrate on where I was, but my memory seemed to be fading. It seemed that "closing my heart" was working all too well. Soon, I would just be a mindless servant for this twisted company.

Now I remember the hybrid woman's warning all too well. Why hadn't I heeded her words and just backed out? I felt like such a jerk for letting them lure me in like this!

Looking around, I saw several more hybrids in glass prisons like mine. One of them looked like a metallic bird with razor-sharp wings. One looked like a furry sloth with three sharp claws on its hands. One looked like a black dog with rich gray-and-black fur. All of them, however, seemed unaware of their surroundings. It appeared that their minds had already failed them.

I sat down as best as I could inside the chamber and thought. Since they would probably be the last few thoughts that I would have, I made them count. What had Dr. Phillips said about me not existing anymore? It seemed that they destroyed my permanent records and all of my medical files. I was nobody anymore. I didn't exist. Period. Oh well, I guess my life was over now. I had no reason to live except for MetaboAnthro's army.

Some time went by before and I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I heard was a tremendous explosion somewhere inside the facility and the intercom rang out.

"EMERGENCY!!! EMERGENCY!!! INTRUDER DETECTED IN SECTOR 1!!! EMERGENCY!!! EMERGENCY!!! INTRUDER DETECTED IN SECTOR 1!!!"

Whoever had broken in didn't stop there. I heard people screaming and several explosions rang out through the floors.

"WARNING!!! INTRUDER HAS BREACHED SECTOR 2!!! WARNING!!! INTRUDER HAS BREACHED SECTOR 2!!!"

The intruder was obviously giving the staff a lot of difficulties because I heard their screaming intensify and the building began shaking from the explosions.

"DANGER!!! DANGER!!! INTRUDER HAS BREACHED SECTOR 3!!! ALL PERSONNEL DESTROY AT ALL COSTS!!!

DANGER!!! DANGER!!! INTRUDER HAS BREACHED SECTOR 3!!! ALL PERSONNEL DESTROY AT ALL COSTS!!!"

The tremors were getting worse. The intruder was making its way up the building to where the hybrids were kept. I had a sinking feeling that whoever it was was extremely powerful and smart enough to take on an entire building by his or herself.

Suddenly, I heard people screaming and a voice cry out on this floor, Be gone! You people will not hinder me!

Just then...

KA-BOOOOM!!!

The wall to the room we were in literally vaporized when a blue aura plowed through it. It was, indeed, a hybrid, but it didn't seem like the renegade type.

It stood on two digitigrade feet and had smooth, silver-white skin except for on its toned torso. It had a long, spiked tail and less than a dozen blue "plates" growing from its back. The hybrid had a pointed skull with a blue "mask" around its navy-blue eyes.

The hybrid had obviously taken out everything and everyone in its way because once it was in the room, it took its time walking around. It looked at the hybrids in the cells and appeared to be making up its mind. It put its hand on the cell with the steel bird-hybrid and its occupant began glowing a bright blue. It soon became so bright that when it dissolved, it wasn't there anymore!

"What the-?!" I said out loud.

It must have heard me through the glass because it went to my cell next. It had such a kind face, but its eyes were filled with determination.

You can still speak? it asked me in its soft yet firm voice. It didn't speak with its mouth but instead projected its words straight into my head. Can you still think for yourself?

"Yes... but I can't remember who I am anymore. My time is just about up." I rested my head against the glass.

But the hybrid shook its head. There is still hope for you. I can restore your memory, but you must swear not to tell anyone about me... at least not yet.

"What...?"

I can give you a new chance at life, but you must not tell anyone about this until I see you again. Do you swear?

My mind was fading fast. I had no choice. "I swear! Please help me!"

The hybrid nodded and held its hand in front of me. A letter materialized in my hands and I took it. When you next awake, you must go into hiding until you are found by one of my contacts. Whatever you do, do not come back here! My contact will find you soon. This letter will explain everything.

Its eyes glowed a bright blue and I felt suddenly weightless. The whole world went white and I completely blacked out.

"Ohh... what hit me? Where am I?"

I came to inside an alley far from MetaboAnthro Industries. The last thing I could remember was the face of the silver-white hybrid and then... nothing! It had said something about a letter and a contact or something.

When I got up, I found myself fully-clothed and a letter was in my hand. I had been donned with a white tank-top connected to a pink scarf with an odd charm and yellow bands around my waist. I was wearing blue shorts with an leather belt and a blue "cape" around my waistline and skin-tight blue leather boots came up to just below my knees. Two white ribbons swirled mysteriously around me on their own accord. The fashion was quite catchy.

I turned my attention to the letter in my hand. It had been written with a loose, spidery writing. It said:

Suicuna,

I am calling you that because every hybrid has a second "nickname" and I felt that this name suited you quite well.

Anyway, after yesterday, your mind, thoughts and emotions should be back to normal by now. The only thing that I could not change was your physical being. Don't worry; you will learn to like being a hybrid.

As with most hybrids, you possess the ability to manipulate specific elements - water and wind in your case. You should practice them but keep them to yourself so that you do not attract any unwanted guests.

You are probably wondering what I had said about a "contact", yes? There is a hybrid named Professor Johiko Darck that runs a special school for people like you. He should be on his way to talk to you even as you read this. If you need proof that is him, ask for "a broken star". He should understand.

However, Johiko and I have never been properly introduced and it would be in his best interest that he be kept in the dark about me. I must remind you that you must speak to no one, not even Johiko about me until I contact you again in the near future.

Suicuna, you are the only one who escaped MetaboAnthro with your memory intact. I will attend to the other hybrids in due time, but you gave your word that you would not speak of me to anyone. If you do break your word, I will know about it. Until we meet again, I suggest that you do what Johiko Darck tells you to do.

I look forward to seeing you again in the near future. Until then, I bid you good day and good luck.

An important friend.

I soaked in as much of this as I could. The hybrid was apparently working in secret and preferred to keep his name a mystery. Since I had already given my word that I would keep my mouth shut, I was determined to keep my silence.

"Suicuna... Suicuna..."

I rolled the word around in my head for a while. It made sense. My name was Yuna and I had signed up for the "Suicune Course". I liked it, so I made "Suicuna" my regular name.

Whoever this "Johiko Darck" was was obviously a hybrid but it seemed that he and... him had never met before. I wondered how they knew about each other, but I figured technology these days was could work wonders. Since he was probably on his way, I decided to go somewhere where I would get his attention.

"I think you've already gotten it."

WHAT THE-?!

A well-built man in a blue suit and gray hair... wait a minute... I take that back. He had shiny silver hair. Anyway, he had appeared out of nowhere carrying a metal briefcase and nearly gave me a heart attack!

He realized that he had startled me and apologized. "I'm sorry. I have a habit of doing that to people. Are you alright?"

I recovered and looked at the man. "I'm okay. Who are you?"

The man pulled out a card from his pocket and handed it to me. "Professor Johiko Darck. I'm headmaster and founder of "Johiko's School for the Gifted". May I ask your name?"

I wasn't sure what to make of this man, so I told him my hybrid name. "Suicuna."

Johiko said nothing for a minute, blinked and shook his head. "Pardon me for saying this, but I believe your true name is "Yuna Kirasagi", am I right?"

"How'd you-?"

"I have a way of finding out."

"That reminds me... how do I know you're not from MetaboAnthro? Let me see that "broken star"."

Johiko appeared taken aback, but obliged. "You seem to require proof. Very well."

He spun in place and was suddenly engulfed by a white light. When it dissolved, I could have sworn that I was looking at the hybrid that had saved me...

...but with key differences. The hybrid had silver-white skin but Johiko's was more of a smoky-gray. The hybrid hadn't been wearing anything, while Johiko was wearing an orange T-shirt and blue shorts. My savior hadn't had a hair on him but Johiko had a head full of untidy brown hair. The color of their masks, eyes and tail spikes was also different where Johiko's was gray and the hybrid's was navy-blue. Finally, Johiko had eight red back plates whereas the unnamed hybrid had had ten blue ones.

"If you wanted proof, here it is." He had a much younger and more freelance voice than his human form.

He pulled up the right sleeve on his shirt to reveal a silver tattoo of a star with its points detached from the center. Good enough for me.

"I'm sorry that I was so rude," I apologized, but Johiko merely smiled and chuckled.

"I get asked that all the time. Don't worry about it."

Over the next two hours, Johiko and I talked about the school where he came from. It was a specially-funded facility for hybrids to live and learn together. There were hybrids from all over the world who came there and were able to harness their powers for good.

"It seems like a decent place," I said when we finished. "But I don't have any money for school. I don't exist anymore."

"That's not a problem at all," said Johiko, smiling. "We provide funding for hybrids like yourself on a regular basis. It's completely hassle-free."

"Free school?! It doesn't get much better than that!"

"I've been told that on countless occasions." He went back to his briefcase. "If you want to come, I can arrange a bus to pick you up tomorrow at 2:00. Did you still want to come?"

Was he mad?! "Of course I want to come! I'd love it!"

Johiko smiled and patted me on the back. "It's settled then. Just be in this alley at 2:00 sharp tomorrow afternoon. Now if you'll excuse me..." He got up and gathered his things. "I must be going."

He rounded a corner of the alley before I realized that I had one more question. "Wait! What powers do you-?"

He was gone. He had vanished into thin air. "Have? Darn."

I'm a psychic, said Johiko's voice in my head. I can read and manipulate minds at my command. Don't worry, you're not hearing things.

"Oh."

I guess I had better get ready for my trip to the school.

I didn't have much to get ready for the next day. Since I didn't exist anymore and since MetaboAnthro was out for my blood, all I did to get ready was practice my water and wind control.

I was getting quite good at it. I managed to cause some confusion and chaos when a freak wave drenched some unsuspecting beachgoers. I also threw some surfers off their boards by ramping up the wind speed to the point that they couldn't stay balanced anymore. The "weather" got so bad that the lifeguard had ordered the beach to be evacuated.

How did I do this with out being seen? I hid out in an abandoned building near the beach and caused a little elemental mayhem. I found that I could control the water and the wind even from a good distance away. I was almost like that X-man, Storm except that I couldn't summon lightning from storm clouds and I could only manipulate water, not create it.

I was having so much fun tormenting the beachgoers that I nearly freaked out when I saw that it was 1:50! I had to run like the devil was behind me in order to reach the alley in time. As I ran, I snatched a water bottle from a picnic table so that I could get some more practice.

The bus had just arrived when I returned to the alley, completely breathless. The bus driver laughed when she saw me get on.

The bus driver was also a hybrid, but she looked more like a cat than anything else. She had creamy-yellow fur except for a large puff of purple around her neck and tail. She had pointed cat-like ears and cute black eyes.

"Hi there!" she said in a sugary voice. "I'm Karen Byron, but you can call me "Delcatty". What do they call you?"

I guess I could tell my name to a fellow hybrid. "I'm Yuna Kirasagi, but people call me "Suicuna"."

"Suicuna", eh"?" Delcatty seemed to be overcome by the giggles. "Okay, "Suicuna", find a seat." She continued to giggle.

I rolled my eyes and went to join a pair of hybrids deeply immersed in conversation. They were the only two on the small bus, so it wasn't hard to find a seat.

They didn't notice me until I said, "Hello, I'm Suicuna."

The male hybrid looked like... I guess I could say "chicken", but the look of his furry muscles suggested he was anything but. He had a flaming-red-colored body except for a spiky yellow pattern that ran from below his knees to his taloned feet. His taloned hands had only three claws but seemed to match a bird's scaled feet from his wrists upwards.

This hybrid's face was slightly bird-like with a small, hooked beak that blended perfectly with the rest of his face. A V-shaped "antenna" split from the tip of his beak, traveled up his brows and pointed upwards from his head. Under that were two very fierce-looking yellow-and-blue eyes. If looks could kill, he would be a natural at it.

"Hey, I'm Alex, but you can call me "Blaze"." He had a deep, bass-like growl of a voice. Something about his voice told me that he was really a gentle giant and his personality didn't back up his appearance. Maybe he was a test subject like I had been...

"It's nice to meet you... Suicuna," said the other hybrid, a female. "My name is Ashley, but everyone calls me "Electra"."

Electra looked more "human-like" than Blaze did. Her long, trim figure was one most girls would only dream about. She sported a blue tank top and navy-blue bell-bottom pants that covered her three-toed, paw-like feet. Her fur was short and had an electric-green shade about it. Atop Electra's head were three "spikes" that I assumed were her ears and her hair together. Strange yellow markings lined these spikes along with some of her muzzled face and the tip of her short, bushy tail that stuck out from the seat of her pants. She had the most beautiful clear-blue eyes and in one of her four-fingered hands was a small, green, drawstring bag.

"So," said Blaze. "What's your story?"

This was the start of a non-stop conversation between the three of us. We discussed how we had become hybrids in the first place. Blaze, it turns out, had been attacked by a hybrid that looked exactly like he did now and he had been transformed overnight. Electra, however, had been born a hybrid.

I told them about what MetaboAnthro did to me, but true to my word, I didn't say a thing about the hybrid that had saved me. When asked how I escaped, though, I made the story up that I had broken out of the facility by smashing the glass from my prison cell with my new horn. It was actually very difficult to break, as I found out when I smashed the front door down of the warehouse by the beach. My horn was probably ten times harder than steel.

When we started on the topic of each of our powers, Electra showed me hers by controlling the radio from a distance. Her eyes glowed a brighter blue and tiny sparks jumped from between her nimble fingers when she used it. It turns out that Electra can control anything electrical or that can build up an electric charge.

Blaze's power, however, was a little bit more dangerous. He had to roll down a window to get some more room when he fired off a jet of fire from his beak at an unsuspecting mailbox. When he did this, I noticed that miniature flames erupted around his wrists as if he was getting pumped up to use his power.

"So... what's your power?" said Electra after Blaze had calmed down.

I pulled out the water bottle that I had swiped from the beach and uncapped it. Taking a deep breath, I put my hand over the top and raised the water out of the bottle behind it. Trailing it behind me I twirled the ribbons of water just like my own white ribbons. All I had to do was guide it with my fingers and it did some pretty exotic patterns.

Blaze and Electra clapped at my performance, but I still had a grand finale to perform. I molded the water into a large sphere with my hands and suddenly shot it out like a jet stream at an unsuspecting Blaze. However, his fur was so hot that the water vaporized into steam a few seconds after he was hit, leaving him bone dry.

Blaze coughed and spluttered because some of the water had hit him in the face. When he recovered, though, he gave me a look that could have snapped steel.

"Watch it, genius!" he said, shaking himself dry.

"Sorry about that." I actually laughed along with Electra. "I can't create water; I can only control it... Oh!" I suddenly remembered. "I can also do this!"

I turned and stared at one of the air-conditioner vents. My hair and ribbons rippled and started blowing in a non-existent breeze. The air coming from the vents began blowing with such force that Blaze, Electra and Delcatty were nearly ripped from their seats. If it weren't for their seat belts, they most certainly would have been.

"Okay! So you're good! We get it!" cried Blaze and Electra over the gust.

I dropped the wind speed and blushed, though it was hard to see with my pale-white cheeks. The three of us returned to our conversation about our stories and what we were planning to do at school. Not much else happened during the rest of the ride.

"This isn't as bad as I thought," said Electra as she looked up at the school. "The leaflet certainly lived up to its par."

The exterior of Johiko's School for the Gifted was everything Johiko had said it would be. Well-manicured lawns were spread around the main building like green blankets. Many marble ruins were strewn throughout various points on these lawns complete with an Olympic-sized pool to the left of the main building. It looked more like a mansion than a school with hybrids of every shape, size and color walking around the grounds going about their daily business.

"This is more..." I said, unsure of what to make of it. "Classy" than what I'm used to. I like it."

"Just you wait until you see the inside of it," said a voice that sounded identical to Blaze's.

Standing in front of the front doors was a hybrid that could have been Blaze's carbon-copy, smiling as much as his beaked face would allow. However, the key difference between the two was that this hybrid had its claws completely wrapped in bloody bandages.

"Hiya Blaziken!" said Blaze, happily waving to him.

Blaziken seemed confused for a moment but then smiled. "I'm going to guess that Johiko told you my name since I sure didn't."

"Johiko?" said Blaze, confused.

"Ah. He probably used the name "Professor Darck" with you, yes?"

"Huh." He seemed to get it now.

"Are you guys going to just stand there, mouths agape? Or are you going to come in here? I'll be glad to give you guys a personal tour if you want."

"But our stuff..." said Electra, pointing to her suitcase.

"No problem at all." Blaziken waved at something behind us and used his beak to give a sharp whistle. From out of nowhere, a hybrid appeared next to us, causing us all to jump.

The hybrid had a coat of beautiful white, puffy fur all over his body except for his jet-black face. He had two calm, piercing-red eyes, a black "third eye" on his forehead and an odd, curved, black horn sticking out of the right side of his head. He had a tail, but it reminded me of an old-fashioned black can opener with two points in opposite ends of the limb. It stuck out of the only piece of clothing on him - a pair of tattered black-and-blue shorts. His arms and ankles were wrapped heavily in heavy blue bandages. Four long, black claws were on each of his hands with a fifth claw sticking out from his elbows. The same could be said of his digitigrade feet except that he only had three claws on each of his feet and a fourth claw was sticking out of his heel. For some reason, this hybrid gave me the chills.

"Absol, could you please take these students' luggage to two available dormitories?"

"Of course," said Absol in a deep, dark voice. He picked up mine and Electra's suitcases, hung Blaze's over his curved horn and carried them effortlessly into the school.

For some reason, I liked this particular hybrid. He had a take-no-prisoners attitude about him.

"Cute guy," I said impressively.

"You'd be surprised how powerful in the field he is," sighed Blaziken, shaking his head. "He's the envy of all the Dark-Type hybrids here." He turned and motioned to the doors that Absol had gone through. "How about we take that tour now?"

Johiko's School for the Gifted looked more like a mansion on the inside than an actual school. Rare and expensive artifacts were on display in glass cases or on shelves throughout the building. There was a massive library full of interesting books, multiple dens for hybrids to hang out, dormitories, private areas for people seeking some peace and quiet and even a kitchen that most professional chefs would only dream about. Nothing whatsoever suggested that this was really a school.

"You probably think that," said Blaziken when I told him this. "But there's a section deep inside where the real learning goes on."

"Blaziken?" asked Blaze. "Why are your hands so bandaged and bloody?"

"Oh, these things?" He held up his claws. "There was a little situation with MetaboAnthro and I had been given a toxin that injects my DNA into anyone I harm."

Both Blaze and I were startled when we heard this. So, there was another escapee from MetaboAnthro. Blaze also seemed to confirm that it was indeed Blaziken that had turned him into a hybrid.

"Thankfully, Johiko removed the toxin yesterday, so I'm not in danger of infecting anybody anymore. They're still a little numb from the anesthetic, though."

"How many people did you scratch?" asked Blaze in concern.

"Fortunately just you. I apologize if I damaged your life in any way."

"Oh... it's okay. I actually like being a hybrid."

"I'm glad to hear that."

Farther inside the mansion was a series of metal hallways that I was sure were not inside your typical mansion. Large, circular, metal doors signified that there were rooms behind them. However, they were all locked by various locking mechanisms. There were many different rooms and what was inside was etched into a plaque on the wall next to them. Some of them read like so:

"Dragon Room - Fire, Ice and Dragon Hybrid Training Room"

"Grass Room - Grass and Ground Hybrid Training Room"

"Ghost Room - Ghost and Dark Hybrid Training Room"

There were even two that I found interesting. "Water Room - Water, Ice and Dragon Hybrid Training Room" and "Wind Room - Wind, Flying and Dragon Hybrid Training Room".

(Author's Note: I know that "Wind" is not a Pokémon Type, but it feels more complete if I add it in anyway.)

"Yo, Blaziken, what are all the different "Training Rooms" for?" wondered Blaze.

Blaziken stopped near a room that read, "Fighting Room -- Fighting Hybrid Only Training Room".

"Each and every hybrid is classified into one or two different "Types"," he said, pointing to each of us in turn. "These rooms are designed to help focus and enhance everyone's powers a lot better than regular training. Blaze and I, believe it or not, are Fire-and-Fighting-Type hybrids." He turned to Electra. "You look like you're an Electric-Type, right?"

She nodded. "I suppose so."

"And Suicuna? I take it that you are a Water-Type?"

"And Wind," I added.

"Sweet!" said Electra, heading over to the "Electric Room". "I can't wait to start!"

"Slow down, Jeff Gordon!" said a familiar voice. "These rooms can't be used just like that! We have to register your... character before we get that far."

All four of us wheeled around to face a familiar hybrid walking down the metal hallway. Professor Johiko Darck, Headmaster of this school, was sidling over to us with his tail trailing from side to side as he walked.

"Headmaster!" cried Blaziken. Johiko's sudden appearance had startled him slightly. "I was just giving our new students a grand tour."

"That's fine, Josh," said Johiko, smiling pleasantly. "I was actually looking for you. There is an important matter that I need to talk to you about. Will you join me in my office after these three have settled down in their dorm rooms?"

"Yes sir." Blaziken nodded and turned around to face us. I wasn't sure, but I thought I could see Johiko wink at me out of the corner of my eye. "Let's go, guys. I'll find you some decent rooms before you turn in."

A majority of the dormitories in the mansion housed about two hybrids each. Electra and I had been given a room together while Blaze had been hooked up with a Dragon-and-Ground Type called Mike "Flygon" Gyro.

While Electra and I unpacked, we talked about our futures at the school. I brought up the subject of the mysterious "Training Rooms".

"What do you suppose is inside those "Training Rooms, Electra?" I asked her, putting my spare clothes in a drawer.

She shrugged and hung her green drawstring bag on the bedpost. "I dunno. It's probably some kind of device to help us practice our powers."

"Like what?"

Electra shrugged again. "Maybe the "Electric Room" has an electric generator in it?"

"That seems kind of dangerous." I flinched when I pictured Electric-Type hybrids gathering around a power plant.

"That's why we're just guessing here. I really have no idea what's in them."

"Oh." I quickly changed the topic. "Do you think we'll meet any cute hybrid boys here?" I thought about Absol when he had appeared to carry our bags.

Electra looked at me and giggled. "Why? Don't you think Blaze or Blaziken are cute enough?"

I blinked and shrugged, putting my water bottle on my bed stand. "I don't know. They're a little too... "hot-headed" for me. I prefer to date someone who's more... like me. A Water-Type, perhaps."

Electra sighed and put a metal rod in a drawer. "You're too picky! Men aren't just going to walk up to you with that attitude!"

The nerve of her! I huffed and placed my hands on my hips. "Well, what about you, wise guy? What do you plan to do?"

Electra rolled her eyes and plopped down on her bed. "I never got into boys, hybrid or otherwise. But... you never know. Maybe love will come my way one day."

"Whatever." I flopped onto my own bed and looked out the window.

It was getting late and I had a lot of things on my mind. I thought about all that had happened to me over the past few days. MetaboAnthro, becoming a hybrid, the mysterious psychic hybrid, meeting Electra and Blaze and coming to a school full of people like me. I had a feeling in my soul that life was about to take an interesting turn from now on.

END

That is all for now! Sorry if it was too long. And please rate!