Japan
The Previous Night
Kai snapped awake, but the world was still black. He felt something else was amiss, but couldn't quite place what.
"I can't see," he announced, voice scratchy. "What's wrong with my voice?"
"Strange." He felt something float over him. "I did everything by the books. Your voice is probably hoarse because you're getting used to your vocal chords, but the sight…"
"Used to? I thought you said you did this twice before, how did you mess it up this time?"
"Good question. Your eyes are different from the previous two. I'd blame proprietary equipment and the war industry, but it is not my place to complain."
"Who were the previous two?"
"Again, I'm afraid I-"
"Can't reveal that information?" Kai interrupted, annoyed. "Is there anything you can tell me?"
"They were like you. By my calculations, you and your transhuman soldier comrades are the only ones with enough resilience to survive."
"Why can no one else survive? I thought you were a god, who could die under your care?"
"They would die not under my care, but when they step into the real world."
"Why is that?"
"Your new disguise takes an enormous amount of energy to change, and a small amount of it to upkeep. Only you and those of similar durability are capable of housing the extra reactor for-"
"Extra what now?"
"I took the liberty of installing a strange matter reactor alongside your primary heart."
"So you basically put a ticking time bomb into my chest?"
"It's metastable. A malfunction will not happen."
"And if someone shoots through it?"
"I thought ahead, the chassis is virtually indestructible. Chances are any projectile will ricochet off instead. This has the added benefit of keeping you safe since it surrounds one of your hearts."
Kai groaned. "Never mind that, where is Leora?"
"Still asleep. She should awaken soon." Something sharp poked into Kai's left eye; he barely felt it. After roughly a minute of prodding around, the needle was withdrawn. "Blink a couple of times." Kai obeyed, and his vision slowly faded in, albeit still blurry.
"So, what did you do?" Kai asked, trying to sit up. His entire body was sore, but he managed. "I feel off."
"Would you like a mirror?" Serenity inquired.
"Yes, please." Like quicksilver, a shimmery metallic liquid floated and slowly formed a solid panel before him. Kai blinked several more times before rubbing his eyes. Now that his vision was relatively clear, he looked into the mirror. There, he saw a wolf in a state of undress staring back at him. "A mirror," Kai reminded.
"This is one."
Alarmed, he glared down; instead of his hands, he saw paws; where there should have been the cushion of the bed, there was a bushy tail. He shot up but found he couldn't keep his balance on his shorter-than-expected legs. Kai fell flat on his back, scrambling away from the mirror. "What did you do?!" he demanded, shouting at the floating wolf.
"Your new disguise. Do you like it?"
"The word disguise implies that I can remove it!"
"You can. If you pay close attention, you will notice a new module installed into your neural network." Kai forced himself to calm down before concentrating intently. Sure enough, he felt that there was something foreign pervading his thoughts. When he focused on the intrusion, it became evident that it posed as an extension of his body. "That is the controller."
"For what?"
"Chromatophores, melanophores, and structural nanites."
"What did you do to me?" Kai whispered, slowly crawling towards the mirror in disbelief.
"You are now the poster boy for posthumanism. You can be anything you want to be. I've preprogrammed modules for just about any appropriately sized mammal you wish. Try becoming a leopard: the opcode should be in your memory."
Kai searched his thoughts and found the information he was looking for. Immediately, a shocking pain coursed through his flesh; in the mirror, he saw himself shimmer across a range of earthy hues before his fur eventually settled at a nice gold. His snout and legs shortened, his ears rounded, and his tail became much less fluffy. He was now a leopard. "What is this?" he muttered, gazing at his hands. He tried to stand, but once more found that he couldn't balance himself on two feet; knocked over an array of instruments on his way down. Leora scrambled up, herself falling from her bed.
"What's happening?!" she shouted, righting herself and standing. She noticed Garrett on the ground. "What… Who is that?!"
"Believe it or not…" Kai began, struggling in vain to stand. "It's me, kitten."
"I… what?" She approached him and reached for his muzzle, stroking his chin. "Garrett?"
"Unfortunately, yes." He leaned heavily on her. "I can't stand."
She chuckled, before devolving into a full-blown laugh and bending over to hug him tightly. "You're sexy," she crooned, kissing him on the cheek.
"I'd rather walk than be sexy," he grunted in response. He leaned a little too hard and took her down, as well; she laughed the entire time.
"Here, I'll teach you," she offered, sitting up and standing on all fours. "Follow my lead." He, too, perched on all fours. "Tail all the way out."
Kai tried to get his new tail to cooperate. "I wish I knew how to control it."
"Maybe we should go over the basics first." Leora sat upright and held one of her paws in front of him. "Touch your tail here." He flicked the previously non-existent appendage back and forth, eventually flicking it past her paw. She moved her paw around, and he continued to tap it with the tip of his tail. "You're picking this up really fast."
"I try. Perhaps the basics are in order. Serenity, make me a pin." The wolf waved his hand and created a small pushpin. Kai slowly managed to get back on the operating table. He touched his palms to various limbs and began pricking his skin in very small intervals.
"Garrett, what are you doing?"
"Could you please grant me a few moments of silence? I need to focus."
Leora watched as he poked himself all over his body, flexing his muscles intermittently. She crept up to Serenity. "What's he doing?" she whispered.
"He's mapping out his body," the wolf answered.
"Meaning?"
"Are you familiar with computers?"
"Not particularly. Why?"
"When you boot a computer, it performs checks. It finds out what is plugged in where, where the drivers are located, the works. This is much the same." They watched as he began prodding his tail. "In this case, the computer has new hardware." After ten minutes, Kai finally finished, flexing his muscles and swatting his tail to and fro. Once more, he tried to stand but fell yet again. Leora joined him shortly, also falling on all fours.
"Ready?" she inquired, standing by him.
"Just about," he responded.
"Alright, tail all the way out." Leora straightened her tail, and Kai followed suit. "Now, start coming up while bringing your tail down." She lifted her forepaws off of the ground and came up to a standing position. He quickly repeated her motion, himself coming to his feet. "You're a fast learner. It took me almost a month when I was a kitten."
"I'm not exactly a kitten."
"No, you're a handsome tom." She stood very close to him. "My handsome tom."
"Alright, before you start slobbering all over him," Serenity interrupted, "I have to say a few words."
"Those being?" Kai inquired, turning to face the wolf.
"Take your human form." Kai obeyed, soon standing at his full height and stretching.
"What…" Leora muttered, trailing off. Kai glanced in the mirror and saw that, although his hair was still slightly ashen, his features were decades younger; no longer did he appear grizzled and war-weary, but young and energetic. His eyes had a renewed life to them.
"Hey, you made me look good again," Kai spoke, chuckling.
"Some words of caution," Serenity responded, also chuckling lightly. "Those augments are fairly universal, meaning you can become just about anything. However, I would advise not to stray from anything too different in stature."
"Why's that?" Kai inquired.
"You see, your bones are infused with heavy metals, most of which would be toxic if they weren't bound tightly: osmium, vanadium, iridium, the likes. When you get smaller, the excess has nowhere to go but into your blood. Go too small, and your body won't be able to handle the strain. Likewise, too big and your bones will be brittle and deprived."
"So this is a curse in disguise?"
"More of a misunderstood blessing. You no longer have to try to fit in. The nanites can perfectly mimic any similarly sized mammal, fur color and all. If you care enough, you can change your fur color, eye color… You can be anyone you want, down to the last hair."
"So what, I'm just a pile of powder and iron shavings held together by your will?"
The wolf laughed. "No, Garrett. Those 'iron shavings' are locked in your cells, and I have no control over them."
"Why have you done this to me?"
"Because, Garrett, I am a bored God, locked away in the depths of hell. After what you've done for me, I wanted to repay the favor. I only have one request."
"What have I done for you?" Kai inquired.
"You treated me like a man, with dignity. You both have. Most others think I'm nothing more than some monster of a machine. My request is that you please come back. Both of you; you were the most pleasant company I've had since my creators died."
"Who else have you had?"
"Others. Three were like you, but most were normal men. They don't make for nearly as fun of a conversation. They're positively clueless."
"Three like me?"
"I'm afraid I cannot say more, save for this piece of advice: in your journeys, you may come across a rather amicable individual. He spends the bulk of his time masquerading as a wolf, much like your previous disguise, but he insists on showing his true eyes. He walks with a limp, from an injury inflicted long ago. You cannot trust this individual, no matter how much he claims to be your friend. He will lie and cheat only for his own gain."
"Who is he?"
"I know him only as 'The Lame Prince', or 'The Crippled Amier'. No one speaks his name anymore. I am told he was once a dear friend of yours."
"But his real name-"
"His real name doesn't matter anymore. I am told he is long since dead. The only thing keeping his body moving is his unending hatred. He is a miserable hollow shell of a man, who can never be content with anything."
"Vitya…" Garrett muttered. Serenity appeared pained, but could not muster the strength to speak.
"I feel I've tormented you with enough bad news for now, though. Go, enjoy yourselves." Serenity motioned towards the long hall that led out of the room. "You'll find everything furnished. I've even taken the liberty of including a few training apparatus so that you might get accustomed to your newfound skills. Should you need me, I will be around working on better-suited apparel."
"Better-suited?"
"I'm sure you've noticed that no fitted clothing can stay on you if you decide to disguise yourself. I'm working on stitching something together that will. Until then, here." A robe materialized in Kai's arms. "In addition, I will grant you privacy, in case you wish to… well…" The wolf laughed and faded away.
"Weird," Leora muttered, approaching Kai and jumping into his arms. "I have a few questions of my own that need answering."
"What manner?"
"Just how far you can go as a cat without breaking." She grinned in a fashion most sinister, making him uneasy.
"Erm… Leora, I thought you told me you disliked the prospect of sleeping with other leopards because of-"
"I did, but come on!" she interrupted. "You aren't even the slightest bit curious?"
"I suppose I am a little curious…" he responded nervously. "But maybe a little later." Her ears drooped and she furrowed her brow, very irritated. "After all, what manner of promiscuous man would I be if I indulged anyone who asked?" She playfully batted at his face and they both laughed. "I need to get some practice on the mu ren zhuang before I can retire for the night."
"The what now?"
"I'm sure that, among the equipment that Serenity promised, he left a training dummy. A mu ren zhuang."
"I… bless you."
"You too." Just before they left, Leora glanced into the mirror, which still floated precariously.
"Garrett, put me down," she suddenly spoke; he obliged, and she ran to the mirror. There, she thoroughly inspected her features. "I look different. What did you do?"
"While you were out, I played a game of chess against Serenity."
"And you won?"
"I cheated. I had my suspicions about how he lost, and he has the same flaw as many other computers. They only calculate the current state of the board. When I removed his queen, he wasn't programmed to question where it went, only to play without it."
"So you won, what happened?"
"Well, this," he explained, motioning to himself. "I also got him to remove your scars."
"I… why?" She appeared angry, which thoroughly puzzled Kai. "Was I too ugly for you?"
"No, but every time you'd call and talk with Grace, every night you stood in front of the mirror when you didn't think I was watching, I eavesdropped. It tore me apart to hear how you talked about yourself. I'm sorry, I… I just wanted you to be happy."
Leora slowly approached him, her furious expression fading before she broke down into tears altogether. "Thank you," she whispered, burying her face into his chest. He hugged her tight.
"Let's go." Kai lifted his companion off of the ground and started down the hall.
"Wait."
"Yes?"
"You're gonna have to become a leopard if you want to keep carrying me."
"I could just drop you."
"That's not an option either."
"I don't really want to right now. Unless, of course, you want to be dropped a couple dozen times in the span of five minutes."
"You need practice walking like one of us," Leora insisted. He rolled his eyes but became a leopard nevertheless. He stumbled slightly when he took his first few steps but managed to make it to their allotted room without another incident. "You made it, but you still walk funny."
"Do I?"
"You don't swing your hips or tail enough. Your tail is good for balance, use it."
He took several practice steps, following her advice. "God, I look like a tramp." Leora burst out laughing, patted him on the shoulder, and entered the room, quickly jumping into the bed. Kai didn't follow suit; instead, he dragged a training dummy to the corner and began practicing his striking. She watched in amazement as he flowed around the dummy in fluid motions, striking to the analogous weak points. He began moving faster and faster until the dummy broke from his repeated strikes. He cursed but dragged the second one over.
"How long until you call it quits?" Leora inquired.
"Until I figure this out," Kai responded.
"You already have it figured out."
"As a leopard, yes." He transmogrified into a wolf. "However, I have plenty of other forms to train." She groaned and buried her face in the pillow; his ears turned to the noise, and he swatted at them. Noticing the slight twitch, Leora proceeded to make as many irritating noises as she could; each time, Kai batted at his ears when they swiveled around.
"That's absolutely adorable, you can't stop them," she crooned.
"I'm trained not to. Any noise could be a danger."
"Not here."
"You can never be too certain."
"Oh, right, I keep forgetting." She jumped out of bed and stalked low on all fours, slowly approaching him. "Anywhere you go is the mighty jungle. You never know when a hungry leopardess might JUMP!" She pounced and grabbed hold of him tightly, playfully grabbing his neck in her mouth.
"No, I am killed!" Kai shouted melodramatically, falling to his knees and then collapsing to the ground.
"A lonely wolf should know better than to stray into my territory without his pack." She flipped him upright and ran her paws down his chest. "He might get… eaten."
Kai stood up effortlessly, picking Leora up and setting her down on the bed. He hopped in and curled up around his beloved tightly. "Wow, I never really appreciated how warm it must be to be covered in fur." He uncurled and slid a few inches away on the bed. "It's kind of sweltering, to be honest."
"What are you implying? Cuddling is great now! You're soft and fluffy!"
"I'd beg to differ." He stood and turned the thermostat down before returning. She wrapped her arms around him and held him close.
"If you don't want, we don't have to."
"Maybe in a couple of hours when air gets fresher and cooler. It's a little stale and hot in here."
Leora laughed and pecked her mate on the cheek. "Good night, dear," she spoke, closing her eyes and nuzzling against him. He followed suit, and the pair soon fell asleep.
When Kai awoke, he felt Leora nuzzling him. The ambient temperature was much lower, and she seemed to be hogging the blanket. He tried to get out of bed, but she gripped him tighter.
"Don't go," she murmured, moving her hands lower on his chest, tracing his abs, and then his waist.
"You're getting a little low, kitten," Kai responded.
"Maybe, but I love what I'm feeling. Feels like more than your face changed. How about showing me your cat parts?"
"You like the exotic, don't you?" He forced himself to be a leopard, prompting Leora to gasp.
"That was rather… sudden."
"You ask for a cat, you get a cat."
"Oh, I'd love to get the cat." She giggled and pulled herself onto him. "How about you indulge me? It's cool, and I daresay…" She pressed her muzzle into his chest fur and inhaled deeply. "Fresh."
"Only if you want, but I'd better not hear any complaints about the spines."
"I'll try not to."
She caressed him tenderly, and he caressed her back; the next few hours were lost in passion, the fiery heat of love shared betwixt them. Soon, their lust died down, and they laid back, exhausted. Not five minutes later, there came a knock on the door.
"Yeah?" Leora muttered.
"My apologies," Serenity spoke through the door, "But it has been twelve hours. Garrett's apparel is ready."
"Twelve hours?" She sighed. "I can't believe it. That barely felt like two."
"Three and a half, actually."
"You counted?!"
"Umm…"
"What happened to privacy?"
"I wasn't watching, I promise."
"Sure you weren't."
"Come in," Kai spoke, getting out of bed. The wolf entered and threw each of them a set of clothing; Kai's was appreciably darker in tone and much heavier. "Why is this so heavy?"
"It's difficult to create clothing that matches your requirements. I sacrificed weight for use."
"And what use, pray tell, does this clothing have?"
The wolf smiled. "I put everything I had into it. There's more technology in that than there is in a twenty-third-century hospital."
"Oh?"
"It's all nanoceramic and nanomachines. Those articles in your hands will adjust size and shape, and will repair themselves."
"Will they heal me?"
"No, are you crazy? They're just clothes," Serenity explained, laughing. "Almost indestructible, but clothes nonetheless."
Kai grumbled, but put the shirt and pants on. "You need to transition to human and back. Think of it as a reset, so to speak." Kai followed the instruction, and the clothing changed size to fit him. "Now you should be all set."
"They're rather… plain," Kai commented. He looked himself over and scowled at the plain gray apparel.
"They change color if you want. A last-minute feature, so to speak."
"How do I change the color?"
"Well…" Serenity looked the clothing all over. "I'm not entirely certain. I put in the feature to change color, but I might have forgotten to program its activation."
Leora burst out laughing. "Just pick a color and stick with it, then."
"I'll add it in later," Serenity promised. "And, one more thing." He produced a small vial of mercurial serum and a syringe, handing them to Kai. "I cannot guarantee anything, but there is a great likelihood that this can improve dementia in the case you spoke of earlier."
"Thank you," Leora spoke, getting out of bed as well.
"It really was no problem."
"Wait, just one vial?" she inquired, confused.
"You'll only need one. It should become evident in due course."
"Do you mind if I ask you another question?" she continued. "Perhaps… in private?"
"Go ahead," Kai responded on Serenity's behalf, turning to mind his own business.
"Can he hear me?" Leora asked.
"No," the wolf responded.
"Alright then. Suppose, theoretically, he were a leopard, and we…"
"Copulated?"
She visibly grimaced at his choice of phrasing. "Yes. Is there any chance I could… you know…"
"Get pregnant?" Serenity responded, filling in the blank. Again, she grimaced but held silent. "Theoretically, it is possible. It might be unlikely, but then again, who am I to judge the miracles of life? Oh, wait…" Serenity laughed, the lilt in his voice suggested he knew exactly what he was talking about. Her silence spoke volumes. "If you must know," the wolf continued, "I can't tell. Not this early, at least. Especially considering he only ejaculated inside of you less than-"
"Alright, shut it!" Leora interrupted, nearly shouting. Kai chuckled.
"Shut it, what?" he joked.
"Nothing!" she answered, flustered.
"I never thought I'd say this, but you smell agitated," Kai spoke, smirking.
"God, Garrett, don't say that! You're embarrassing me!"
"Oh, but these new senses need testing." He sniffed at the air. "And I detect a distinct hint of… Bun in the oven."
Leora shot a dirty look at Serenity, who shrugged innocently. "I promise you, Garrett," Leora said, "If I was pregnant, I'd know before you. You weren't even a cat before yesterday."
"Speaking of cats, how do I roar? I want to sound the part, as well."
"You'll never figure it out," she responded slyly. He attempted to produce a roar, but merely squeaked for the most part; soon, he discovered purring.
"This is nice," he noticed, purring again. "I always wondered why you purr all the time. It feels nice."
"Why else would I do it?" she hinted. Kai continued making noise, prompting Leora to laugh. "Look, you can try it later, you'll never-"
He successfully growled and then roared. "Never say never," he commented.
"But… It took me years to figure it out, why did you…" she muttered, very upset.
"Relax, whistling and snapping took me a year."
"But this is different! This is my birthright, anyone can whistle and snap!"
Kai approached and hugged her, lifting her ever so slightly. "I'm sorry, kitten. How can I make it up to you?"
"For starters, you can cook breakfast."
"It's actually lunchtime," Serenity interjected.
"Shit, lunchtime already?"
"Well, more like early brunch. It's ten o'clock."
"Ten is breakfast time!" Leora protested.
"For a lazy cat, perhaps," he responded. She rolled her eyes. "Either way, would you care to join me for aliment?"
"You eat?" Kai asked, brow raised.
"Of course I eat. You didn't think this body was fake, did you?"
Leora exchanged a glance with Kai, who shrugged. "I always assumed that you just provided nutrition for your body," he suggested.
"No, I enjoy the taste of food far too much. Join me in the main hall, take as long as you need." The wolf vanished, leaving them alone.
"What the hell, Garrett? Bun in the oven?"
"I'm sorry, the opportunity to embarrass you seemed too good to give up."
"Oh, I didn't know you wanted kittens!" she responded, grinning wildly. "Are you ready to settle down?"
"You misinterpret me, love."
"Are you sure you aren't just saying that?"
"Even if I was, it's not like I can get you pregnant. If you really want, we can look into adopting eventually."
She put up a hollow smile and nodded understandingly. They finished getting dressed and exited to the large chamber past the entrance, where Serenity sat waiting behind a large, fully furnished banquet table, but with no food. "Sit, eat, enjoy," the wolf spoke. Two chairs materialized on the opposite end of the table, and the duo sat at them. "I hope you find the selection to your liking."
"Selection?" Leora inquired, picking up a menu card on her plate. On it was listed hundreds of menu options. "Bœuf à la Bourguignonne? Sweet crepes? Veal pâté? What are these?"
"If you don't like French, I could try German." The menus changed and the nearly indecipherable text turned into other, equally indecipherable text.
"Jagdwurst?" she continued, still clueless.
"Feel free to ask for a bit of everything."
"Sure, a little of everything," she said, shrugging.
"Pichelsteiner for me, Serenity," Kai spoke, turning back to his human form.
"A man of plain tastes," the wolf commented. Plates of food appeared before them.
"I spent two years stationed in the farmlands of Germany. I haven't eaten stew as good before, or since." He sighed and ate a spoonful of the hearty soup. "I just wish I could travel the world freely without pressing matters drawing me back to Zootopia every eight hours."
"I'm afraid that won't happen anytime soon."
"Meaning?"
"You can't honestly expect that fiasco to be over, can you?" Serenity queried, eating a forkful of various meats.
"Rigel is an interesting character, but she's rather terrible in terms of planning."
"How so?"
"She had teams build several thermonuclear bombs in around a week, didn't test it, and then… did nothing with it. Jack was the one who sent the bombers."
"... You don't think it's suspicious that she built an implosion-type nuclear fusion weapon with adequately separated plutonium in the time it took you to find Leora in the mountains?"
Kai paused eating and sat forward. "How do you know all this?"
"There are precious few things I don't know about the world now."
"Fine, but… what are you suggesting? Someone helped her out?"
"Thus reaches the limit of my knowledge. I know her employer, but I am forbidden from saying anything about him."
"Forbidden? That means…" Kai's face twisted into an expression of disapproval as he connected the dots. "She knows another human?!"
"You see, Garrett, I know who he is and what he is capable of, but I cannot discern what he will do."
"You almost sound afraid," Kai observed.
"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear, Garrett, is fear of the unknown."
"It is irrational to fear that which you do not understand. Either it will kill you, or it will not, but there is no way for you to influence any actions beyond your control."
"You would be wise to fear the unknown, Garrett. Especially when it concerns him." The room fell into an awkward silence as everyone ate.
"I didn't think you could be afraid," Leora interjected, breaking the silence.
"I felt fear for the last time when I transcended the limitations of our world into hyperspace."
"And yet you talk as if you are afraid," she responded. Serenity suddenly stood and looked into the distance. "What are you-" her mouth continued to move, but no voice came out. She tried again, but couldn't produce words.
"I am sorry, but I must away; a problem has come to my attention. Feel free to finish eating, and you may stay if you wish, but I must ask that you not disturb me," Serenity finally spoke, promptly vanishing.
"That was weird," Leora commented.
"We should probably go," Kai responded. He took the handgun and uploaded the maps to his storage drive before offering his hand. Leora took his hand and stood as well. They gathered their belongings and made for the entrance. Just before they exited, Serenity appeared beside the door.
"I'm sorry for my prior rudeness. One of my sensors tripped, and I did all that I could."
"Sensors?"
"I keep tabs on the humans of the world. One of them is falling gravely ill."
"Where, we could help!" Leora offered.
"I cannot say, but I get the feeling you will help him anyways. If you are leaving, I offer my gratitude for your visit and a sincere farewell." He motioned and the door opened. "Please visit again."
"We will," Kai promised.
"You are still in the heart of Tokyo," Serenity mentioned. "You might want to disguise yourself." Kai chuckled lightly and transformed into a leopard. He took one step before stumbling over an invisible stair; Serenity laughed. "My apologies, that was too good to pass up. I'd recommend you go get a real lunch. Something… romantic, perhaps. I took the liberty of securing you a flight."
"Flight?" Kai asked. "Where to?"
"According to the maps I gave you, it's a long walk to Hiroshima. However, I have a feeling you won't actually end up flying there."
"You keep talking in riddles," Leora complained.
"Hey, it's Garrett's pilot, he can go wherever you ask. I was just the one who called," the wolf mumbled. Both of them stared in befuddlement. "Regardless of where you choose to go, know that you have my full, yet limited support."
"Aren't those antonyms?"
"Only if you perceive it that way." He motioned grandiosely and Leora's pack got heavier. "Have a little something for the road. I'll make sure to send you extras to your home."
"You know where we live?! Actually, you know what, I don't even care." She began rummaging through her pack. "What did you put in here?"
"It's in the second pocket," Serenity elaborated. Leora opened it up and pulled out several bars of dark chocolate and a bottle of what appeared to be wine.
"I appreciate the thought, but… I can't eat chocolate, and alcohol doesn't do it for us anymore." She patted her abdomen. "Cause… you know."
"I do know. Theobromine is processed by your liver, but you should get a good buzz off of the amount that's in the bars; the good, heart-racing kind of buzz. As for the wine, it isn't made with ethanol, it's made with tertiary amyl alcohol and gamma-hydroxybutyric acid."
"That wine is made with fantasy?" Kai piped in, intrigued.
"It's literally drugs, then? Why not add cocaine?!" Leora protested. Her pack became several kilograms heavier; she dug through before throwing several large packets of white powder into the trash nearby. "I was being sarcastic!"
Serenity couldn't help but chortle. "I know. Maybe something more on your alley? Catnip, perhaps?" Serenity formed several leaves and rubbed them, waving them under Kai and Leora's noses. They were both indifferent. "No? How about Valerian?" He conjured another plant which caused Kai to avert his nose but did nothing to Leora. "Silvervine?" A third plant; still no response from Leora. "Tartarian honeysuckle?"
"Look..." Leora began, quickly trailing off as her pupils went wide. "That's actually a rather pleasant smell. Tartarian honeysuckle, you say?" She took the stem from him and inhaled its aroma deeply, grinning stupidly.
"Whoa there, drug kitty," Kai teased, trying in vain to separate her from the small twig. "Why not get hooked on a softer drug, like Dilaudid?"
"Like what?" she muttered in a trance-like state.
"I'm just going to take this…" he spoke quietly, yanking the plant from her paws and throwing it into a nearby rubbish bin. She leaped after it and dug through the trash to retrieve it. "Say, Serenity, do you mind getting me a sealed container of that stuff?"
"What for?"
"Bedroom play," Kai responded bluntly, prompting Serenity to laugh.
"Sure, it'll be under your bed when you get back." He snapped his fingers and Leora was freed from the honeysuckle; she scowled.
"Just because he can't have fun doesn't mean I don't want to," she hissed.
"It's not that, it so happens that I'm indifferent to most of those plants," Kai responded. "I just can't stand Valerian."
"Hey Serenity, can I get a sealed container of Valerian?" Leora queried slyly.
"May I ask what for?"
"Also bedroom play." She grinned at Kai, who looked worried.
"Leora, Valerian was used as a homemade remedy for many things in rural villages and was chemically altered to be a poison in others. Either way, I'm hardwired to avoid it."
"Which will make it more fun when you have to act restrained."
"Restrained?"
"You didn't think I was the only one who was gonna wear those cuffs, did you?"
"Fuck," Kai whispered harshly, before turning once more to leave. "So be it. Either way, I believe we have overstayed our welcome."
"No, not at all," Serenity insisted, before handing them an ansible of his own. "I don't know how much use you will get out of this, but it will never run out of quantum states."
"How'd you get an unlimited data plan for this thing? I thought it was physically impossible," Kai questioned, looking the device over.
"I placed a quantum scrambler inside. A call can only last about four hours before it will need a few minutes to recharge."
"Any other surprises?"
"There are a few waiting for you at your home, but other than that…" He put on a grin much like a Cheshire cat, and slowly vanished; the last trace of his existence was a disembodied voice echoing throughout the halls: "I'll be keeping an eye on you."
"That was creepy," Leora muttered, taking a step out of the door. Kai took one last look around and followed her out; the door whooshed shut after them. They looked up and saw the tiniest glimmer of light above them, as though a star was shining through the blackest night. They started their trek up the long staircase in relative silence. After nearly a hundred flights, they seemed only marginally closer to their destination; Leora stopped to take a break.
"I don't know how you can do this every time you want to leave your bunker," she muttered, out of breath.
"This is maybe two miles. You should try six, it makes for great cardio."
She faux-punched his snout, gently bopping the tip of his nose. "As if."
"You have four legs, make good use of them if you can't bear to go on two," he suggested. She snarled, but started back up the stairs on two legs; Kai followed close behind.
"What do you think Serenity meant when he said we wouldn't end up flying to Hiro…"
"Hiroshima?" Kai responded, filling in the blank; Leora nodded. "I don't know, but I hope it's not bad. It was strange, he talked almost exclusively in riddles."
"I suppose when you have nothing to do that long, you go a little crazy."
"Crazy, perhaps, but he's far smarter than us all."
"What do you think he knows that we don't?"
"I can't even begin to imagine."
They proceeded in relative silence for a long while, before eventually making it back to the surface. There, the palace was seemingly abandoned: no matter how long they walked through the halls, they could find no evidence that anyone was ever there. Regardless, they proceeded through the palace entrance, and back into the woods, before coming out onto a paved sidewalk in the park. The duo received strange looks from the passersby, but nothing came of it.
"So, how about that romantic lunch?" Leora inquired, smiling.
"I'd be honored," Kai responded. "Where to?"
"How romantic do you think street food can be? I'm not actually that hungry."
"I'm sure we can find a ramen shop somewhere. After all, we are in Tokyo." They proceeded along the scenic walkways, soon coming to a main crowded street. "Pick a parlor."
"Parlor? Seriously, Garrett?" Leora laughed. "They haven't called anything a parlor in like, sixty years."
"It'll come back," he promised. "I'll make sure of it."
"How about that one?" She pointed a finger to a small shop in a corner. "With the hieroglyphs on top."
"They all have 'hieroglyphs', Leora," he responded, snickering.
"I'll lead the way, then!" She took his arm and dragged him across a crosswalk, opened the door to the shop, and entered. They took two seats behind the counter of the nearly empty shop; a rather short cat was expertly managing several cooking pots of ramen. He looked up expectantly at his new customers. Kai barked several foreign words and the cook nodded, quickly setting two more pots.
"I've never seen a cat like that before," Leora whispered, straight into Kai's ear; he recoiled from the loudness of the noise.
"He's an Iriomote, the Japanese subspecies of leopard cat. They were practically extinct, so I suppose he's back by a miracle."
"So we're related?"
"Leopard cats aren't closely related to leopards."
"They're not?"
"I assumed if either of us knew anything about cats, it would be you."
"I don't travel much, alright?" she retorted, insulted. "And you put far too much faith in our education system."
"Leopard cats just look like leopards," Kai supplemented. "They're more closely related to the fishing cat than the big cats."
"You wouldn't happen to know the tax class, would you?"
"The what?"
"Taxonomic classification."
"That's what the hip kids call it these days?" he joked. She laughed. "I think it's Prionailurus bengalensis."
"Never heard of it."
"I didn't think I would hear it again, either," he responded; two bowls of ramen were placed before them, and Kai handed the iriomote several bills.
"So, when does the romance start?"
"I'm afraid the candlelit dinner will have to wait. Ramen is more of a… cheap college student food than a date night food."
"Why haven't I heard of it, then?"
"You don't have cup ramen?" Kai inquired, dumbfounded. Leora shrugged before struggling with her chopsticks. "I'll see if I can't bring any."
"Sure." She failed several more times and expressed her frustration. "Only in Honshu do they serve soup with two sticks."
Kai spoke something to the chef, who handed him a spoon; he gave it to Leora. "For you, darling."
"They have spoons here?" She rolled her eyes but began eating. "This is actually pretty good!" she remarked.
"I know. I had the pleasure of good ramen when I was in Japan many lifetimes ago." He took his chopsticks and ate some noodles, sipping the broth from the bowl. The flavor was strange; he nearly spit it out, but the taste became very savory and pleasant.
"Something wrong?"
"It's… weird," he whispered. "Ramen never tasted like this before."
"Maybe it's made differently."
"No, it's not that, I saw him make it."
"Maybe things just taste differently for humans, I don't know." The notion was interesting; Kai ate his ramen in relative silence, taking much longer than Leora; she smirked the entire time. "Ready to go?"
He checked the time. "I imagine we'll get to the airport in time." She pecked him on the cheek, and they exited. Kai quickly hailed a taxi, which prompted several cars behind it to honk. The duo quickly hopped in, and after directing the driver to drive to the airport, they set off. The ride was rather loud, as they had passed several construction sites and got stuck in traffic on numerous occasions. At long last, after nearly an hour of driving, they arrived at the airport. Kai paid, and the duo exited to the private terminal.
"How far did we go?" Leora asked. "I swear I can see our hotel from here."
"It's a grid. Straight distance, probably eight miles."
"It took an hour to drive eight miles? Fuck, we could have walked faster!"
"Perhaps, but we had an hour and several thousand yen to waste. Is it wrong for a man to enjoy some peaceful company?"
"We were stuck by jackhammers for maybe half of the ride, I don't think that qualifies as peaceful!"
He hugged her. "I'm sorry." She hugged him back; right before he closed his eyes, he caught a glimpse of a tiger in military flight uniform standing around. "Hold on." He released her and walked over, greeting his pilot.
"Who are you two?" the tiger asked.
"It's us," Kai responded.
"Us, who?"
"Garrett and Leora."
Their pilot laughed. "Sure."
"Have you heard back from Arcturus?"
The tiger snapped to attention and saluted, sporting a very worried expression. "What happened to you two? You were lanky, and she was…" He glanced over and saw Leora's death stare, quickly falling silent. "No matter, I suppose. Come right this way." He led the way, and they followed; several guards asked to see identification, and he flashed the appropriate paperwork. They exited onto the airstrip, where they took a shuttle to their plane. The trio boarded the craft and got comfortable.
"How I missed these chairs," Kai mused, running his fingers along the faux leather seats; it amazed him that mammals who would never have felt the real thing could create such an accurate imitation.
"Where to?" the tiger inquired.
"Hiro-" Kai began before his phone rang. He checked the screen and saw that it was Grace. "Hello?" he answered.
"I'm sorry to bother you, Garrett, but Ian won't stop whining."
"Whining?"
"He insists Ichiro is sick, but all he has to go on is a cough."
"Babies cough, it happens."
"I know, that's what I've been telling him!"
"Although, out of curiosity, are there any other symptoms?"
"No. In fact, he's been pleasantly quiet for the past few hours."
"How quiet?"
"Almost unusually so. Why?"
"What's his temperature?"
"A normal one-oh-three and a half, why?"
"Are you-!" Kai nearly shouted, before hushing his voice. "You need to call Atria and Rigel. Get him in an ice bath."
"What? Why?"
"A hundred and three might be normal for wolves, but it's six degrees above what he should be."
"Shit!" Grace shouted, before calling for help on her end of the line. "Sick with what?"
"Let's find out." Kai set the phone down momentarily, turning his attention to the pilot. "Take us to Zootopia."
"So we really didn't end up going to-" Leora began before Kai interrupted her.
"Grace, I need you to answer these questions as accurately as possible. What color is his skin?"
"Peachy," spoke the wolf, "But I don't really know how to describe it."
"Redder than normal?"
"No."
"Paler?"
There was a slight pause. "I suppose so."
"Take his clothing off. Is there a rash anywhere on his body?"
Another pause. "Mother of... All along his back, there are… swatches of red."
"Describe them."
"His whole back is a dark red."
"Any purple?"
"Some, it's almost like he's bruised," Grace answered. There was an indecipherable shouting from her end of the call. "Atria is here."
"Put her on," Kai demanded. Some fumbling later, and Atria confirmed she was on the phone. "Put me on speaker. How are his pulse and breathing?"
"Rapid but faint pulse," Atria answered after a brief delay. "Shallow breaths, too."
"Does his breath smell of anything?"
"Pardon?"
"Smell his breath."
Atria grumbled but did as he asked. "Smells strange… almost floral," she responded.
"Pleasant floral, or cough syrup floral?"
"Cough syrup. How do you know?"
"He's been poisoned. Keep him upright, do not induce vomiting, and give him intravenous antiemetic, diphenhydramine preferable. Use proportions like you would for a small fox. Give him vasopressin, keep him on a steady saline drip, and give him fresh milk to drink."
"Fresh milk to drink?" Grace interjected. "Where in the hell are we going to get him milk? From the nonexistent humans in Zootopia, perhaps?"
"Unlike most mammals, humans can digest other species' milk. Doesn't matter what kind, as long as it's low on lactose and that it doesn't have oxysterols. That means none of that powdered milk."
"Achernar, you can come back, he said no powdered milk!" Sirius shouted. "Let's go see if…" Sirius trailed off, and soon, Achernar spoke up.
"Alright, we have milk," the giraffe piped in. "What now?"
"That was fast," Kai responded.
"It was on my desk. Dated today; a rather plain carton, with 'Human Breast Milk' written on the side. Feels warm, and it for sure wasn't there more than five minutes ago."
"Has anyone come or gone in the past hour?"
"No."
"Serenity…" Kai muttered. "Alright, keep him safe. Make sure he doesn't lose fluids. I'll be there in three hours."
"From Honshu?"
"This jet does a kilometer a second, courtesy of Arcturus."
"Godspeed," Sirius spoke; the call ended shortly thereafter.
"What's the plan, then?" Leora inquired. "Why Zootopia?"
"Serenity knew. That's why he had 'pressing matters' to take care of, it's why he mentioned that we wouldn't go to Hiroshima. He knew."
"I suppose it's a good thing he called the pilot, then."
"And made the milk."
"If he can make an antidote to poisoning, why are we flying back?"
"Because that antidote is magnetic." The plane started moving to a runway. "We're flying back because no matter how much milk he drinks, he'll die unless I can get to him."
A/N: Two days between chapters, I think it's a record for this fic. Special thanks to 33K121 for plot-related work. I also got a fancy grammar checking algorithm that catches the extra commas among other things, so the number of typos should have decreased. Interestingly enough, it misses or mismarks rather easy sentences, but I know enough grammar to tell which suggestions are good and which are bogus. I'll probably eventually reword the prologue and first few chapters of the prequel (again, I know), but anyone can go back and see how awful those are written compared to more recent chapters.
I'm done with classes in two weeks which should greatly free up my schedule to write. In the meantime, I'm not quite done drafting the plot out yet, so if anyone wants to see anything in future chapters, in particular, I'm open to suggestions.