Rough Draft - The Change

Story by Kale Garrison on SoFurry

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#1 of Dragon Origins

The Year of the Dragon was celebrated in China in February this year, and I submitted this on Fur Affinity on New Year's Day. I was actually born in the Year of the Dragon two cycles previously, so this is kinda cool for me.

Anyway, I got my story more or less figured out. I don't have a ref for my character yet, but I will eventually. This marked the official changing of fursonas on Fur Affinity, (from a wolf-fox to a dragon) and now it will mark my first submission on this site.

So please, enjoy!

Mature for violence and descriptions of painful transformations and gore.

EDIT: Ok, I lied about having my story all figured out. Actually, I don't have shit figured out. So I'm dubbing this chapter a rough draft and non-canon, but it still illuminates what is to come.


The first thing I was aware of was the light. A white light, soft like a fluorescent bulb, but still bright. Blinking my eyes open, I squinted as they adjusted. I found myself in a small, white room lying on a cot. There was someone sitting next to me, leaning over me. I still couldn't see clearly; everything was out of focus.

"Oh, good. You're awake," a man said. Someone helped me up into a sitting position, and my head immediately started to pound. I shook it a few times, trying to clear the cobwebs, but that only made it worse. I held my head in my hands for a few minutes as the pain subsided a bit. I looked back up and I saw that there was someone sitting next to me. A doctor or scientist, if the white coat was anything to go by. "Who are you?" I asked. "Where am I?"

"Listen, we don't have much time," he began as he began ruffling through his coat. He didn't look much older than me. Tall, sandy hair, and stubble on his cheeks, suggesting he hadn't been home in a while. "You've been selected for a procedure that's supposed to take place any minute. If you want to get out of here, you need to do exactly as I say."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up," I protested. "What procedure? What's going on?"

"I don't have time to explain. Just know that it's not something you want to participate in. Ah, here they are," he said, pulling out a keycard and a set of keys. "Now pay attention. In a few minutes, two guards will show up to escort you to the testing chamber. You must overpower them and get to the elevator located in the center of this level. To get in, swipe this card over the panel to the side and take it all the way up to the top floor. When you reach the top, find the garage where all the vehicles are kept. One of these keys should work on one of them. Once you've found a vehicle, drive straight out of the hanger as fast as you can and head north. The gate isn't heavily fortified, so you should have no trouble escaping."

"How the hell am I supposed to do all that?" I demanded.

"Your survival depends on it," he answered flatly. "Figure it out."

"Aren't you coming?"

"I must stay for the moment. There some things I must take care of." He stood to leave, but I grabbed his arm, halting him

"Like what?" I asked.

He shook me off. "You're not the only life I need to save." And with that, he exited the room, closing the door behind him.

What the hell am I into? I thought. I glanced around the room, checking out my surroundings. It was quite plain; white walls, white ceiling, white floor, even the bed was entirely white. There was a single florescent fixture in the middle of the ceiling that was illuminating the room. It was also quite small, being barely large enough to hold the 6 ft bed that was against the side wall to the door. The door itself was the only thing that wasn't white. It was metallic in appearance with a small window in the top center, and the door handle was configured to keep people in, not out. I spied a doorstop in the floor, which would make it impossible to open the door all the way. I looked down at the keycard and keys the doc gave me, and I hatched a plan.

It wasn't long before a pair of guards opened the door. They wore simple black uniforms, and they had AK-47's in their grasps, as well as a baton and a pistol each dangling from their hips. Upon opening the door, they found the room empty. Temporarily surprised, the guard behind didn't realize his baton had been swiped until it was too late. He turned around to find me brandishing it behind me. I brought it up under his chin before he could say a word to his partner. His head jerked upward and his body was thrown into the other guard, catching him by surprise. He had been checking under the bed for me, so he was slow to react to his partner coming down on him. I brought the baton down on his head as he tried to get up, and he crumpled without another sound.

I stood there for a moment, astounded at what I had just done. Snapping out of my reverie, I quickly closed the door behind me after checking to see that they had keys. I sized both of them up and proceeded to strip one of them of their clothing. They were a bit loose, but passable. Donning the guard's cap, I swiped their keys and radios and let myself out of the room. I paused to peek out into the hallway. Seeing no one, I carefully shut and locked the door behind me.

I couldn't have wandering through the halls for more than five minutes before I ran into someone. I was following the signs for the elevator when two patrol guards turned the corner down the hall. I kept my head down, hoping they wouldn't recognize me. At first, I seemed to escape their attention. But at the precious moment I passed them, both our radios crackled to life. "Team 15, report in. Darris, where's my patient?"

I had frozen in place, unable to think, much less move. The other guards had stopped as well to listen to the message. Looking at me, they spotting something on my uniform. I looked down to see the word 'Darris' stitched onto the breast of the jacket I was wearing. Reacting quickly, I drew my baton and moved to broad swipe the two guards. They were prepared, however, and one drew his own baton to block mine while the other grabbed his radio. I brought my foot up to the guy's crotch and he went down. I turned to run, only to be tackled to the floor by the other guard. I was then promptly handcuffed and brought to my feet again.

After the guy I low-blowed recovered, they took me to the lab where I was to be taken originally. It was a chamber of sorts, like the kind you see in movies; cylindrical in shape and complete with people in lab coats shuffling around me holding clipboards and typing at computer screens. There was a pod-like structure hanging overhead that had these tubes hanging down from it.

They dragged me over to this weird platform in the middle of the room. It had no back; rather it consisted of two form-fitting halves that supported my shoulders, head and legs. The middle of my back and my ass was left exposed to the air for whatever reason. I tried resisting, but I was overpowered and was lifted onto this thing. As soon as I settled, guards and doctors strapped me down using leather straps that bound my legs, arms, and chest in place. I struggled to no avail as everyone cleared the room, the door closing with a soft hiss.

Suddenly, I felt several sharp objects stab my body in multiple places; my arms, my legs, my stomach and chest and more. My eyes widened and I cried out in pain as my back arched itself off the table. After a few tense moments, I collapsed back onto the table and was immediately blinded by a bright light lighting above me. Looking down, I saw the things that had stabbed me were umbilical-looking clear tubes that connected to the machine hanging over my head. There were several large containers of different colored liquids attached in an array that fed into pumps connected to the umbilical tubes. Despite the pain, I continued to struggle against the restraints. If nothing else, I wanted the tubes OUT.

"I wouldn't bother," a voice called out. I paused and looked around for the source, only to find it coming from speakers on either side of an observation window overlooking the chamber. "That's some of the toughest leather on Earth; not even a professional bodybuilder could break through." I ignored whoever it was for a little bit longer as I continued to struggle. I stopped after a few minutes, though. Even if it wasn't strong stuff, they were holding my wrists down as well as my biceps, preventing me from getting any leverage. Besides, I had a feeling I needed to save my strength.

"Ya know, this is kinky and all, but I'm really not in the mood to be experimented on," I said, mustering as much contempt as I could. "Now a movie and popcorn? Much more enjoyable."

"Interesting. You still managed to retain your sense of humor and sarcasm."

"It's one of the many services I offer," I replied dryly. "You should know I'm also fluent in cursing and profanity, which I'm going to start demonstrating within the next 3 seconds unless someone tells me what the fuck is going on. Because if you ask me," I gestured to the straps. "this was not something I auditioned for."

"You were selected for an experimental procedure."

"I know that, dumbass. Dare I ask, what kind of procedure?"

"DNA modification."

"Uh huh. Much as I would like to see what kind, I'd like to stay the way I am, please."

"Do you even know who you are?"

I scoffed as I was about to answer when I paused. I tried to remember how I got here, when I realized I couldn't remember anything before waking up in the room.

"What have you done..." I murmured.

"You've been given a chemically induced case of amnesia. You're previous life is no longer relevant."

"FUCK YOU!" I shouted. "WHO ARE YOU TO DO THIS TO ME? WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?"

"We have our reasons for doing this and for choosing you, some of which will be apparent in time. Begin the procedure."

And with that, someone behind me proceeded to place a mask over my face and strap it to my head. They left the room and closed the door behind them with a hiss, indicating the room was sealed. I tasted pure oxygen as the air started flowing. I felt my muscles begin to tense up in the initial stages of hyperventilation, something I was desperately trying to prevent by staying calm. It didn't help when several panels slid aside on the wall in front of me to reveal rather larger speakers. They extended out from the wall and positioned themselves so that they were pointing directly at me.

"Begin Stage 1," the voice said. "Destruction of skeletal system."

I barely had time to think, Oh crap, before the first sound wave hit me. It was like being hit with a semi, and several things happened at once. I felt my breath whoosh out of me as my lungs virtually collapsed under the intense pressure. I became deaf instantly as my inner ears shattered, leaving me feeling like someone had stabbed both my ears simultaneously. My teeth were broken in half and my crowns were rattling around in my mouth. But more importantly was the fact that my bones felt like each and every one of them had been hit with a hammer. I opened my jaw to scream, but I had no air to make the sound. The reflexive tensing of my muscles made it hurt all the more, I was certain my fingers and toes were broken, given how I couldn't move them without making it worse. I might have passed out from the agony had the air supply hadn't starting pumping the air harder into my lungs.

I spat out the remnants of my teeth, along with some blood. Just when I thought it was over, the speakers activated once more, sending two consecutive blasts my way. After going through the pain again, I was certain there wasn't a single bone in my body that wasn't broken in at least one place. The speakers ended up activating twice more before they finally retracted back into the wall. The air supply continued to pump my lungs full of oxygen as it breathed for me. Tears had been streaming down my cheeks since they started, and thus my eyes itchy and red. Every bone in my body felt like they had been reduced to tiny little pieces. My skull was shattered, my ribs splintered; it was a wonder I wasn't coughing up blood.

A screen lowered itself over my head and an X-Ray appeared on the display. It was me and my skeleton, which appeared to be virtually destroyed. No major organ damage could be seen. It then cleared and text replaced it. "Stage 1 complete. Begin Stage 2: DNA Modification."

Another umbilical cord descended from the apparatus above and positioned itself over my chest. Its needle promptly plunged itself into my body and began pumping some sort of liquid directly into my heart. I was in such a pain-induced haze that I couldn't react, not that I wanted to anyway. The screen displayed a list of chemicals that was being pumped into me. Among them was atropine as well as some sort of DNA modifier. There were also some RNA type stuff and some various enzymes. After a painful couple of seconds, the atropine stabilized my heartbeat and I was able to calm down a little bit. Thankfully, it was almost painless, except for the tender spots near a piece of bone and the tips of my fingers and toes where the blood vessels were destroyed by the sound waves. Still hurt, but after getting my skeleton blown away, it was nowhere near as bad as might have been before.

The screen cleared and a new set of text appeared on it. "It will take some time for the DNA modifiers to reach all the necessary cells in your body. Your blood is capable of distributing it all through your body, but it still needs to penetrate the surrounding tissues enough to reach critical mass. The atropine will keep your heart stable until such time occurs."

They're just gonna let me lay here with my bones shattered beyond oblivion? I thought, incredulous. I tried talking, but like every other bone in my body my jaw was in several dozen pieces. I couldn't move at all without experiencing excruciating pain, thus I had to completely relax my muscles and stay relaxed for what ended up being about an hour.

"80% penetration," the screen reported. "Stage 2 complete. Begin Stage 3: Regeneration and Reconstruction. Introducing solution. Main ingredients: Myostatin receptor blocker, HGH, testosterone, Aluminum Hydroxide, and other minerals and supplements."

I mentally braced myself as other tubes began filling with fluid that started pumping into my body. At first, it was something akin to having several IV's hooked up to you, except they were all pressurized. I felt my blood pulsing in my brain and body as my blood pressure steadily increased. Suddenly, I grew very warm, and an energized feeling washed over me. It was like my body had kicked it into high gear, getting ready to do some serious work.

The first thing to change was my heart. As more and more fluid was pumped into my body, my heartbeat slowed as it struggled to keep the sludge in my blood vessels moving. It continued to pound harder and harder in my chest until it started to hurt. All of a sudden, my chest heaved and swelled upwards with my heart threatening to break through my skin. I felt my heart expand against my lungs, making it hard to breathe. At that point, my lungs started expanding as well, and what was left of my ribcage continued to expand outwards, reaching the same level as my face. I felt my ribs crack and grind as the pieces grew and joined to become solid again. My skin was stretched painfully over them until it grew to accommodate the changes.

My spine was next; my vertebrae disconnecting from each other as my spinal cord lengthened considerably. It was not unlike like the feeling of getting your spine re-aligned at the chiropractor, but instead of my bones getting forced into place, it was more like feeling my spine fall apart. Once this was done, the individual bones grew and new vertebrae formed as they reconnected into a usable spine again. This allowed my torso to lengthen considerably, which made extra room for everything in my body to grow. My organs swelled to fill in the new space. My pelvis exploded outward a few inches to allow room for my expanded torso. The pieces grinded against each other as they moved about to form a new shape that allowed for both bipedal and quadrupedal movements. I must have looked ridiculous laying there on the table with a bloated torso and comparatively tiny limbs and head.

I then felt the muscles in my arms and legs growing longer, letting them sink downward as my skin also grew to accommodate the new flesh. I could feel the remnants of my bones sliding along with my lengthening muscles, the pieces spreading out. The remnants of my bones started to grow and reform into new shapes. My arms had stretched to be about the same length as my legs so quadrupedal movement would be easier.

The bones in my palm lengthened a few inches making my hands more like paws. They thickened up considerably, making my fingers look bony from lack of adequate muscle around them. Ivory claws grew out from my fingertips as they pierced the skin and flesh in front of them and extended out a few inches, curving slightly.

My feet received more drastic changes that began with my disintegrated heal molding itself into another joint. My feet flattened and elongated, stretching themselves another 7 or 9 inches. My big toes moved up the sides of my feet as my feet lengthened, while my other toes simply grew bigger and thicker. The two remaining toes in the middle grew the largest, sticking out further than the digits on either side of them, shifting my stance to digitigrade. As the bones thickened, my toes mirrored my fingers as they sprouted claws as well, curving down towards the floor.

At last, the changes reached my head and neck. My neck lengthened as the tendons and muscles pushed my head towards the end of the table. My vertebrae and spinal cord grew along with the flesh to accommodate the space and to ease the tension. I had sweet relief for a few seconds as my inner ears repaired themselves, restoring my hearing. But then, the bones in my skull started to shift. I cried out in pain as my face started to push outwards.

As all that happened, another wave of heat surged through my body as the growth catalysts began their work. My muscles started swelling as my skin stretched around them, barely growing enough to keep up. My pectoral and abdominal muscles bulged outward, adding further to my torso's bloated appearance. My biceps and triceps swelled, making my arms verifiably thick columns of muscle, and my quads simply exploded, becoming tree trunks.

I let out another cry, but it came out as more of a howl as my vocal cords changed. My cries grew deeper and deeper until I was no longer crying but roaring. My teeth grew back, piercing my gums to form new molars and sharper, longer front teeth. My nose swelled and protruded out as my face continued to push out into a muzzle. My ears flared and stretched backwards, transforming into fins.

I began to feel pressure beneath my skin directly over my vertebrae as well as at several places along the top of my head. After a few moments, spikes burst through the skin, growing from my vertebrae outwards. Two rows of spikes grew on either side of my head, followed by two horns that sprouted just above my eyes.

It was at that point that I realized most of my skeleton had reformed, and I could move again. I began to struggle against the tough leather straps, this time being able to put a lot more force behind it. They remained steadfast, but I could feel the leather groan and stretch with each passing moment. I barely noticed my tailbone growing out of my butt as new vertebrae formed to form an actual tail. Its base was about half the width of my wider waist, and it quickly grew to measure some 6 to 8 feet long. Short spikes formed on the topmost part of it that ran down its full length, steadily getting smaller as they neared the tip.

I was almost done changing at this point, and that's when the final change began. My skin began to harden, taking on a crusty feel to it at first. It burned as the aluminum oxide dust migrated its way to the surface and began forming scales. Much like an alligator's scute, a layer of tough outer skin formed over the scales that grew beneath. Most were quite large, measuring about 2 to 3 inches in length; these overlapped and formed over the broader areas like my forearms and chest to provide protection. The smaller ones remained apart and formed near joints and on my head to allow for movement and flexibility.

I was still struggling against the leather and after a few more moments, they finally snapped in half. I used my claws to cut through the ones holding my legs down and I hopped off the table, free once more. My heart was pumping a little easier now that most of the sludge in my bloodstream had been used up. My eyes found the door and I marched toward it. I managed to stay on my feet despite the new and unfamiliar stance I was given and I reached the door in two steps. There was no handle for me to grasp, and with a quick observation, it would be impossible to break the steel rods holding it in place, even with my new physique. Instead, I turned my head up towards the observation window overlooking the room. Seeing no other alternative, I started climbing the wall. Had I been human, I wouldn't have been able to find any footholds. But with my new claws, I was able to dig them into the spaces between the wall panels and therefore letting me climb.

I soon reached the window, but when I punched it, it failed to shatter. My... paw... merely bounced off the glass. Dismayed, I tried a few more times, but I only managed to start a few cracks. Getting more frustrated by the minute, I opened my maw and drew breath. But unlike the last few times I did it while on the treatment table, I felt some new muscles clench within my mouth. When I began to exhale, something squirted two streams of liquid out, and when they hit each other, they ignited. A blue and yellow stream of fire had formed and it hit the window above with head on. I kept shooting flames at it until I felt the fire sacs in my mouth drain completely. By the time I was done, the window had acquired a molten glow about it, and without giving it a second thought, I punched it once more. It burst into pieces, scattered shards of hot, glowing glass around the room. I swung my body into the room, breaking off more of the glass that was still in the frame. I pulled myself through the window frame and landed on my feet, my new tail instinctively keeping my body balanced.

Anyone who was in the room had already abandoned it, as there was no one to be found. I couldn't stand up to my full height with the ceiling designed with humans in mind, so I ended going on all fours, something that felt a lot more natural than it used to be. I looked around and saw that the room was some sort of control center, with rows and rows of monitors and computers tucked into rows that had all sorts of things on the monitors.

I spotted a door on the far wall and I sprinted towards it. I could feel the power coursing through my new arms and legs as they propelled me to the door in about two bounds. I didn't stop though; I was too focused on escaping that I just threw my weight against the door. It was just a regular wooden door, and thus it burst into splinters as I plowed through it. I ended up slamming my side into a wall on the other side, leaving several holes in the wall from my spikes.

There were armed guards waiting in the hallway, and they all had automatic weapons pointed at me. I could smell the perspiration on them; I could smell fear on them. Somewhere in the back of my mind, the thought occurred to me that I shouldn't kill these men. But there was an overwhelming urge to seek revenge, to make sure these people these people know they shouldn't have messed with me. I drew a deep breath, and I smiled mentally when I smelled more than one of them piss their pants. My fire sacs had refilled enough for another burst, and they sprayed the deadly chemical combination out of my open maw. A huge fireball burst into existence and hurled itself towards the men. It was big enough where it filled the entire hallway, thus they were knocked off their feet rather than being burned to a crisp.

I tore off in the same direction, trampling a few of the men as I dashed past them. The hallway had rooms on both sides at even intervals, adding to the monotony of the place. I encountered more guards, and more often than not, they had a chance to fire at me. My scaly armor protected me, though; the bullets merely bounced off my hide as I blew passed them. But I was still getting nowhere as traversed hallway after hallway. I found myself wandering aimlessly going from hallway to hallway, and I ran into more than a few dead-ends.

I suddenly smelled blood, and I skidded to a halt. The particular hallway I was in had an eerie feel to it, as though things more sinister than what I went through were happening down here. I turned to the first door, and upon opening it, I immediately recoiled from the stench. It smelled like death in there; something was decomposing in there. I peered my head in to see what it was, despite myself though. I was greeted with a terrible sight.

So that's what the doc meant, I thought. The room was much like mine had been; plain, small, and it had a single bed. But unlike my room, it was bleak, unclean. The walls were covered in grime and mold, and there was dried blood everywhere. The bed itself was most decrepit. The sheets were soiled with dried fluids, and the frame was rusting.

But it was what was on the bed that made me want to vomit. A lone figure lay upon it, unmistakably dead. There were boils all over it's body, and there appeared to be ruptures in the skin all over the torso, as if the organs themselves had exploded. It appeared human at first. Upon closer inspection, however, revealed the figure had fur; orange fur with black stripes. At least, there was fur where there was skin. Opening more doors down the hall, I found more bodies. I suppose it shouldn't have come as a surprise, given what they had done to me. But knowing that they were experimenting on other people was still a blow, more-so that they had failed so painfully.

Opening the last door at the end of the hallway, I found none other than the doctor who had tried to help me escape. He was tied to a chair with his head leaning to one side. I rushed over to him and started clawing at the bindings.

"Doc, you ok?" I asked, tearing apart the ropes holding his ankles. "Doc, come on, snap out of it."

He moaned as I continued to get him free. There blood all over his face from several gashes, presumably when someone hit him repeatedly. Noting his steady heartbeat, I picked him up and threw him over my shoulder, minding the spikes on my back. With one arm holding him up, I was forced to go back to moving on my legs only, and it slowed me down with my size being what it was.

As I turned another corner, I spotted an elevator at a T-intersection. I hurried towards it, the doc still draped over my shoulder. I skidded to a stop in front of the doors and I thrust my free paw between them, prying them open. There was nothing but cables in the shaft, indicating the car was somewhere below. I leapt out into the shaft and landed on the support structure. Swinging my body up from rafter to rafter, I climbed what had to be at least 15 stories to the top.

The top of the shaft came out inside of a large aircraft hanger, filled with all sorts of cars and equipment. Some of the people walking around were scientists socializing with each other and checking out equipment, but the majority were security, dressed in nondescript business suits. They were all going about their business when a loud BOOM resounded itself from service door leading into the elevator shaft. Another BOOM followed it, and another and another as the door started to buckle under each hit. Finally, the lock gave and the door flew off its hinges landing several feet away. A large lizard looking creature stepped out, carrying someone on its back.

Security stood there in fear and awe like everyone else for a moment before they remembered they were armed. In the split seconds they took to draw their weapons, the creature had already taken off in the direction of the hanger doors, still carrying the guy on his shoulder. Despite it extra load, it was approaching the exit extremely rapidly thanks to its strong limbs. By the time security started firing, it was nearly there. Bullets whizzed by the 1000 lb. mass barreling its way through anyone who was dumb enough to be in the way. As before underground, they merely bounced and ricocheted all over the place.

I finally reached the hanger doors, and being only thin sheets of aluminum, I burst through them like tissue. It was raining outside; dark, ominous clouds shielded the stars from view, necessitating the use of spotlights. I was soaked in mere seconds in the downpour as I dodged more fire in the yard outside the hanger.

Suddenly, I heard something screeching behind me, I ducked out of instinct as a rocket hurled itself over my head and buried itself into a humvee, destroying both the truck and everything near it. Taking refuge behind another truck, I watched them load another shot. Taking the doc into my arms, I got up as fast as I could and broke into full speed heading towards a couple of trucks parked next to a chain-link fence. Just as I leapt, they fired. The two trucks exploded, sending flaming shrapnel everywhere.

I landed in a heap, rolling into a ball of scales and flesh before coming to a stop a short distance away. I checked on the doc to see he was ok. I looked behind me at the blazing fire on the other side of the fence, listening for signs of pursuit. Hearing none, I stood up to my full height in the continuing rain, raindrops landing on my new muzzle and head. I stood there for a few moments, enjoying the rain and its comforting coolness on my scales before picking up the man I saved, turning and setting off into the woods nearby, looking for a new life.