Summary: M-21 grows stronger during a spar with Takeo.

Set post season 5.

Step Up

By Dark Ice Dragon

M-21 huffed, flicking his head to the side to get his hair out of his eyes. He'd been sparring with Takeo for a few minutes, neither of them gaining an upper hand, both of them knowing what the other would do and how they would react. They had both transformed, but that hadn't made much difference.

"Heh, maybe I should start throwing things at you two," Tao said at the side, his laptop in front of him, camera to his side, "change things up."

While Takeo shook his head, M-21 rolled his eyes.

"It's a completely valid strategy!" Tao protested, waving an arm. "If another enemy comes along, they're not going to wait patiently at the sidelines while you kick the first person's ass."

"What would you throw?" Takeo said as he looked across to Tao, lowering his pistols.

"Dunno yet. Beanbags? They wouldn't-" Tao made a face. "Or not. If you shot them or M slashes them, we'd have to clean it up."

It wouldn't take too long with a hoover, but it would still be a pain to do after every spar.

"Anyway, I'll think of something," Tao said, blowing his hair away from his eyes. "Keep going - the children will probably be arriving soon."

"Right." M-21 raised his hands again, and he could feel the tug of exhaustion starting to creep in; his transformation wouldn't last that much longer.

He and Takeo shared a nod before they rushed each other again. M-21 ducked a bullet and swung upwards; Takeo blocked his hand with a pistol and M-21 grunted, pulling on what reserves he had, needing the spar to end before his time was up.

M-21 sucked in a breath, feeling a surge from somewhere (no, his heart), and Takeo's pistol went spinning in the air as M-21's body spasmed, changing further than he had ever pushed it.

He closed his eyes, panting as he waited for the transformation to stop, resisting the urge to scratch the itchiness away, and – and he felt his ears move to a cracking sound, and he shifted from foot to foot, everything feeling both right and wrong. He tore his shirt off when it started constricting his breathing, his trousers when his legs got too large for them.

Lights flashed behind M-21's eyelids and he wanted to drop to his knees but his body couldn't understand what he was trying to tell it.

"M, that is not what I meant," he heard Tao say, his voice a little choked, feeling Takeo's hand on his shoulder. The fur was thicker, like a coat instead of a layer.

"And what-" M-21 started to say, but he stopped, his voice deeper than before, his mouth a different shape. He opened his eyes to the fucking snout in front of his face, felt it when his lips twisted at the sight.

"The fuck?"

"Looks like your transformation levelled up again," Tao said, walking over to their sides, smiling.

"I can tell," M-21 replied, his ears flat. And he had a fucking tail too, pointing out to keep his balance. Great. He wouldn't be surprised if Tao sent him a couple pictures of himself in a few hours.

"How's your eyesight?" Tao asked, and M-21 blinked, looking at him. "Same, different? How're the colours?" Tao gestured towards Takeo's head.

They didn't seem to be completely random questions, so M-21 studied Takeo, trying to tell if there was anything different. It seemed to be the same, even the colour. …And M-21 clamped down on the want to bat Takeo's hair to make it move.

Both Takeo and Tao's eyes went upwards, towards his flattened ears. Fuck.

"It's the same," he told them, forcing his ears upright again.

"Really, M?" Tao asked, his lips slanting. "I need to know if you see differently when you're transformed."

Oh. Right. "Really. My eyesight's the same." He shook his head, a wave of lightheadedness and weakness sweeping through him. Damn, it drained him faster than his regular transformation.

M-21 transformed back and he was panting, leaning on Takeo when he finished.

Tao wasn't in the room when he looked around.

"He's getting you clothes," Takeo said.

"Ah." M-21 huffed, continuing to lean on Takeo, his legs not able to hold his weight yet.

"How long do you think you could stay transformed like that?"

"About five minutes." At best, if was he was at full strength, which was next to useless.

The door to their room opened and Tao bounced in, a folded pile of M-21's clothes in his arms. "I bring clothes! And I think I heard the children arrive upstairs too."

So they would have stopped now anyway. M-21 took his clothes with a thankful nod and started changing while the other two picked up the scraps of his destroyed clothes.

"It could be a two-step transformation," Tao mused, picking up a piece of M-21's trousers.

"Hopefully," M-21 muttered. The extra strength would be a bonus but not at the shortened time he could use it for.

"And if not," Tao continued, "then we'll just keep practicing until you build up your stamina."

Or they could do that. M-21 relaxed, nodding. "Yeah."

"Right," Tao said once M-21 had finished changing, "time to entertain the children!" He hooked an arm around M-21's and Takeo's arm, pulling them out the room.

"Entertaining the children is your job!"

"They're bringing board games this time so the more the merrier!"

Fuck. There was no way they would get out of it now

So I wanted to write transformation fic, haha… I'd also wanted to write playing with Takeo's hair. *snerk* Oh well.

When M-21 goes to his room afterwards, he's got a new text with a BUNCH of pictures of his new transformation. XDD

Yeah, Lucathia's right – you need Takeo on his own before he really starts talking.