Chapter 3

I woke up aware of my left arm and shoulder feeling very warm. I rolled up my sleeve to see that my entire arm, including my hand, was encased in black fur. I stripped of my shirt, the fur continued across my left pectoral. It was almost surreal as I saw the progress of the virus from day to day, I couldn't help but wonder what else it would do to my body. I took time to examine the area of fur on my elbow that was yellow instead of black. The yellow fur was in a ring shape, if I didn't believe it before, that my Umbreon got me sick, I sure did now. I wondered if the virus would completely turn me into an Umbreon, or turn me into some hideous, monster-like hybrid.

"Something tells me my life will be a lot more interesting now." I said out loud.

"Yeah I'd say so." A voice agreed. I jumped to my feet.

"Who's there?!" I called. I spun around a few times, searching the forest. I had to look stupid just looking around for something I couldn't see.

"Calm down, I didn't mean to scare you or nothin." The voice said. I heard a rustling in the bushes behind me. I spun around, prepared to fight. A Lucario stepped into view, but this one was different. The Lucario was wearing black cargo shorts and a dark blue hoodie. It's voice was male so I assumed the Lucario also was. His forepaws were stuffed into the hoodie's pockets. "Hey buddy no need to be so hostile, I'm a friend." He stepped toward me. "Name's Anubis." He extended his hand out. Wait, hand? Anubis must have seen my confusion. "Oh yeah the whole hand thing's prolly throwing you for a spin." He placed his hand back into his hoodie. "Let me explain. I'm like you."

"What do you mean... like me?" I replied, flabbergasted.

"Let me guess; your Pokemon, an Umbreon I'm guessing, was diagnosed with the Pokerus. Everything seemed alright but your Umbreon died from the virus." He began pacing "A few weeks later, a patch of fur started growing, on a spot you had had an open wound around the time of your pokemon's death." He raised an eyebrow at me and cocked his head, I nodded. "Now take that story and change your Umbreon to a Lucario, and you to me."

"Oh I see." I said "So I'm not going to completely become an Umbreon?"

"No you're not." He replied "So what's your name?" He re-extended his arm to me."

"Ezekiel." I shook his hand "Zeke for short."

"Anubis." He repeated "Just Anubis."

"What afraid I'm gonna call you Newb or somethin?" I joked.

"Wouldn't be the first person, but I'd rather you not." He chuckled. "So where you heading?"

"I was told to head east three days until I found a mansion." I told him.

"Ah so you're the one that Jace has been expecting, eh?" He said.

"What do you mean expecting?" I questioned.

"I'm sure Jace will answer all the questions you have." He told me. "Now come on I'll lead you to the mansion." He began walking in the direction he came from and I followed.

"So how did you find me?" I asked him.

"I always take a walk through this part of the woods on Thursdays." He explained "I sensed your aura."

"Wait, what do you mean sensed my aura?" I asked.

"Oh well i didn't just get my Lucario's looks, I also got some of his powers." He answered "Sure they are toned down a bit, but it's still pretty cool. Look at this!" He stopped and held his palm out and up. Slowly a small blue sphere began to form.

"Woah, that's awesome!" I exclaimed "You think I'll get some cool powers too?"

"Depends." He said, starting to walk again. "What kind of moves did your Umbreon know?"

"Dark pulse, Psychic, Shadow ball, and Hyper beam." I told him.

"Hyper beam?" He repeated "I don't care if it is toned down that will be awesome to see." We broke through a wall of trees. "Ah here we are." Before me stood a large mansion behind a stone wall. I couldn't make out much of it, being as it was behind a wall but just the fact that i could see the top of the building meant it had to be huge. Anubis led me to a small side gate in the wall and we entered, what appeared to be, the main courtyard. "This is the back of the building, the main drive is out front." he explained. The courtyard was surrounded on three sides by the mansion itself, and the fourth was covered by the back wall. The mansion looked horseshoe shaped in design; it was a two story complex on the wing to my left and the wing on my right was covered in large bay windows, it looked like a dining room inside. Anubis made his way for a door on the wall that ran between the two wings, I followed. When I entered through the door i realized we were in the kitchen, the large amount of stainless steel appliances was a dead give away. I saw a large set of double doors that went directly into the dining hall wing, we didn't go through those, we went through another door on the other side of the room.

It was a large front room with a mantel, flat screen tv and two, rather large, leather sofas separated by a coffee table. There were people seated at both couches, well not people, more hybrids like a would soon become. I counted five in the room; I saw two that looked like Mightyena hybrids, a Sneasel, a Leafeon and the last one I honestly couldn't guess what that one was a hybrid of. Whatever it was, it looked like it had two enormous growths on either side of its forehead and grayish purple scales.

"Hey Newbie your back!" One of the two Mightyena called, seeing Anubis. "Who's that you got with you?" Anubis glanced back at me and shot me a "What did I say?" look, most likely about being called Newbie.

"He's one of us." He answered, approaching the groups at the couches. "He's not too far along yet, but I reckon he'll go through the major changes within the next couple of weeks." Anubis and I stopped in front of both couches so everyone could get a look at me, it was so awkward having all of them staring at me. "Well everyone, this is Ezekiel." He told the crowd "Umbreon." I found it strange how he tacked on that last part but I guess he anticipated someone would ask what kind of hybrid i would soon be.

"I'll go tell Jace we have a new arrival." The Sneasel hybrid said as she slid off the arm of the couch she was sitting on, heading toward the two story wing.

"Good idea." Anubis told the Sneasel "Hey you know where Eona is?"

"I think she's in her room." The Sneasel answered.

"Alright, thanks Sasha." Anubis turned back to me. "I'm gonna go, you stay here and get acquainted with these guys. Alright?" I just gave him a hesitant nod. He went the same way that Sasha did and left me there. I could say I was nervous, but scared out of my fucking mind would be more accurate. I was in an unfamiliar place, with four unfamiliar people and I was pretty sure any one of them could kill me if they really wanted to. I just stood there, trying not to make direct eye contact with any of them, I felt all of their eyes on me though.

"What's the matter kid?" The one hybrid I couldn't identify asked "Delcatty got your tongue?" I quickly shifted my gaze to my shoes. "Hey don't feel discouraged, we all have been where you are." He approached me. Great the one that probably terrified me the most decides to be the first to get withing two feet of me. "I'm Michael, Garchomp." He extended his hand, I now noticed a scythe like fin on his forearm, Garchomp that's what he was.

"Zeke." I shook his hand, he was left handed so I ended up shaking with the one of my hands that had already undergone the change. "Umbreon." I mustered a slight smile, at least he didn't seem like my biggest worry here. The Leafeon jumped up from her spot on the couch and approached me. She appeared female, not just because of the way she acted but because of the fact that, even though she was wearing a hoodie and was a Leafeon hybrid, I could still see she had a small rack on her, that Sneasel hybrid, Sasha, was the same way.

"Kendal." She held out her hand for me to shake, this time the right hand. "Leafeon." I shook her hand not bothering to say my name and hybridization again for the sake of sounding redundant. She smiled at me and I returned it, she seemed really nice.

"And since I know these two won't formally introduce themselves." Michael spoke up, gesturing at the two Mightyena hybrids. "That's Romulus..." He gestured at the taller one. "...and remus." He gestured at the shorter of the two. I just gave them a curt nod and Remus returned it, Romulus did nothing. "And before you ask, no, those aren't their original names. But, they thought since they looked like Mightyena they might as well change their names to the two brothers from the old legend." Romulus grinned at the remark. I vaguely remembered the story of Romulus and Remus. They were two brothers lost in the forest as babies, or something like that. A pack of Mightyena found them and the alpha female raised the two of them as her own.

"It will be nice to have another eeveelution hybrid here." Kendal said " Eona's the only other one but she doesn't really talk to me that much." It was obvious to me that she kind of felt like a loner here. I felt for her, back at my school I was always the outcast. It wasn't that I was a nerd or an ass or anything. Most people thought I lacked the ability to care because i showed barely any feeling in public. Sarah had been the only one to put in the time to see through that for who i really was, but she was gone now.

"Well I'm sure you and me can be good friends." I told her, giving her a pat on the shoulder. She smiled at me and I smiled back, I felt like maybe this would be a better home than my old one.

"Ah, you must be the one Rick told me about." I heard a man call from across the room. I looked and saw another hybrid approaching me, Sasha was with him, he had a canine face and two horns protruding backwards from his skull, a Houndoom hybrid. He closed the gap rather quickly. "I am Jace." He extended his arm towards me and i shook his hand.

"Ezekiel." I replied "But please, call me Zeke."

"Will do my friend he said." He adjust some buttons on his coat as he said the words. It was strange, most of the hybrids here wore cargo shorts or pants with a hoodie or hooded jacket, Jace was wearing a full black suit with a crimson red tie. "Rick came to me a few weeks ago about you, let me start by saying I am very sorry for the ordeal you went through."

"It's not your fault." I told him. "So you know Rick?"

"Yes, we planned your escape, him and I." He told me "And since you're with us here it means that it most likely went off without a hitch." He said that last part very "matter of factly". "So I see you've met about half of our current residence here. Has anyone shown you around the mansion yet?"

"No, I just got here with Anubis about ten minutes ago." I explained.

"I see." He said "Kendal would you mind showing him around? I'd have Michael or Sasha do it but they are about to go hunting."

"No problem Jace, I can do that." Kendal replied "Come on Zeke, let me show you around your new home." She began walking towards the two story wing and I followed, surprising myself with how eager I actually was to be here.