Everything was lucid in Chiro's mind. That wasn't to say that the boy had any control, or any comfort, but Antauri had expected something... different. He didn't know what he expected, but it was not this. Chiro's mind looked just like it would on a normal day. Things were somewhat calm, and Chiro's emotions flittered about, but there was something amiss. Distantly, he could hear Gibson talking, and figured he was going to see if Chiro did anything when the bag of blood was brought near him again.
Suddenly, everything changed. Where light was before, now only darkness remained. It almost felt as if something vital was ripped apart as Antauri felt the pleasant emotions crumble away to nothing, leaving behind savage instincts. What Antauri saw next made his stomach churn. The Power Primate was in a cage of sorts, fighting viciously to escape. As it pulled at restraints, it roared it's displeasure, and even sadness at being rejected by the boy it had so often comforted. Then, Antauri felt it.
Hunger. It rumbled through Chiro's mind, making even the Power Primate fall into a shocked and scared stupor. Something snapped just then. Antauri felt a sense of foreboding then, and wrenched himself out of Chiro's consciousness as quickly as he could. He knocked Gibson (and the rest of the team, who had crowded in closely) out of the way as Chiro moved in a flash. Not for any of them, but for the bag Gibson had once been holding. He bit down on it as hard as he could, and began drinking in the liquid.
Antauri looked on with apprehension, for he could tell Chiro's mind was not entirely his own just then. When the bag was drained, he whimpered, fumbling around for more. After failing to find more sustenance, he let out a feral wail before falling again into slumber, though not quite as troubled as before.
Antauri knew what must be done just then. He shooed the team out of the med bay, much to their chagrin, and activated the equipment they used when a patient was out of control. Shackles bound Chiro's arms, legs, and torso to the table he was lying on, and he activated the defense systems, programming them to not let Chiro leave the med bay. Sighing, with a bitter feeling in his chest, Antauri left Chiro alone.
Chiro woke up with a sick feeling in his stomach, confusion on his face, and throbbing pain in the back of his head. He closed his eyes trying to concentrate. From the sounds around him, he deduced that he was in the med bay. However, he couldn't sit up when he tried. Looking down, he saw that he had been shackled to the table, and he could see why. Blood coated his chest and hands, and he could tell from the scent that it wasn't his. How he could tell the scents apart, he didn't know, but his brain was too tired to attempt to think of a solution at the moment. Suddenly, he heard voices outside the door to the med bay.
"I don't care what's wrong with him! I need to know what's happening to the kid right now!" Sprx. It figures. Chiro could sense thousands of new things that he never knew a human could sense. One of theme was Antauri's anxiety. Another was Gibson's confusion. Last was Sprx's rage. Chiro smirked before wincing as the door was opened and light poured into the room. He gave a small hiss without knowing it, one that only Antauri could hear. Why does the light hurt, he wondered. Light. All of a sudden, that simple word filled him with fears and loathing. He hated the light. Even thinking of it was painful. What's happening to me?
Chiro just lay there as Gibson poked and prodded him, not wanting to move, or to let on that he was awake.
"I don't understand why you want me to take a closer look at his face; it isn't like anything could have changed while he slept." Chiro realized that his annoyance was directed, not at Sprx for once, but Antauri. Suddenly, as Gibson checked Chiro's teeth, he went stiff. Dumbfounded, he pried Chiro's eyes open, then his paws flew to Chiro's ears. At least that one was met with a sigh of relief. "Chiro is worse than we thought." Chiro kept his eyes open, and the look on his face said he'd been listening. He nodded, and Gibson continued. "Chiro is a... a..." He looked around helplessly. He had said it once before. This was not the realm of science, this was magical transformation. There was nothing he could do. Chiro's once deep blue eyes had faded, now the color of frost. His teeth had not yet grown in, but the sharp fangs were beginning to take shape. "Chiro is a... vampire."
