Chapter 4 Lisa awoke when the sunlight beamed in through her window, shining in her eyes. Rolling over and putting the pillow over her head, she tried to get back to sleep, but to no avail. "Okay, I'm up." She said to nobody in particular. Getting out of bed, she reached up and stretched. She had gotten a good night sleep. She hadn't slept very well since Josh disappeared, so getting him back set her at ease. 'Wonder how Reno's doing?' she thought. 'Better go check on him.' She walked out of her room and down the hall towards Reno's room. She slowly peered into the room to see Reno sound asleep on the bed, looking much better than he did the previous night. His color had returned, and he seemed to be breathing normally. She walked over to the bed, sat down beside him and gently touched his forehead. Still warm, but much better. Satisfied that he was getting better, Lisa got up and headed toward the door. "Mornin' sunshine." A cheerful voice said from behind her. She had woken Reno up and he was now sitting up in bed rubbing his eyes. "Sleep well?" "As a matter of fact I did. Sorry I woke you up though, I just wanted to check on you after last night." Lisa said apologetically. "Ah, don't be sorry, I was up a few hours ago. I was just to lazy to get out of bed." Reno reassured her getting out of bed. Lisa blushed slightly at Reno's not so modest appearance. Standing before her in his boxers, he looked for his shirt and pants. "Did it get warm last night or something?" She asked jokingly, trying to hide the blush. "Nah, it wasn't that. My shirt and pants seem to have shrunk last night or something. I can't fit into em'. You think Josh could loan me some cloths?" He asked discarding his ragged cloths in the trash can. "Good news though, I think my fever's gone." "That's good," Lisa said. "I was starting to get very worried about you." "You were?" He asked in surprise. "Why?" "What to you mean 'why'? You came out of nowhere and fought off that jerk at the bar. Then when you find out what my problem was, you offered your help and asked for nothing in return." Tears started to swell on her eyes. "And if it wasn't for me you wouldn't have been caught by that Professor who used you as his personal 'experiment'." A tear fell down her face. "Its all my fault. I'm sorry...I'm so sor-" Her words were cut short by Reno's soft lips against hers. Usualy if someone stole a kiss she would have pushed him away and given him a good slap across the face. But this...this felt right. Without breaking the kiss, Reno wiped away her tears with his hand. And with the other, pulled Lisa closer to him. Everything else in the world seemed to almost disappear. After Reno was sure Lisa had stooped crying he broke the kiss. Lisa's eyes grew wide, but before she could say anything, Reno put one finger over her mouth and said, "It's not your fault, I did it because I wanted to, and I don't regret it." "But that's not what I was going to say." "What was it then?" He asked with a puzzled look on his face. Lisa simply looked behind him into the full sized mirror against the wall. Reno turned around as well, he went wide eyes when he saw his reflection. A long slender tail was hanging from his backside; the tip formed into an arrowhead. He turned back around and looked at Lisa. "Please tell me I'm seeing things!" He asked her with the beginning of panic forming in his voice. "That's not all." She said pushing some hair out of his face. "Your eyes..." Spinning back around to the mirror again, he saw what she meant. His pupils had narrowed into cat-like slits, and the green in his eyes gave off an eerie glow. "So...this is what Hojo meant when he said he was going to 'alter' me. I wonder why I didn't turn out like Vincent. All vampire like." "Probably because you and this 'Vincent' character are different people, I got injected with the same stuff but nothing happened." She added. "It must vary from person to person." "You think?" "I'm sure of it. However, I'm not Hojo, and he's the only real person that can give you answers. But.." She lowered her eyes to the ground. She didn't know what else to say. "Ill go ask Josh if he has any extra cloths." she said as she turned to the door. "Be right back." By himself in the room again, Reno sat down on the bed and put his head in his hands. He thought of what Hojo had said back in the lab. 'Since you're a Turk and all, the results should be quite interesting.' He also thought of how the cells had no effect on Lisa. She was an innocent, sweet person who wouldn't hurt anyone, while Reno was a cold and ruthless killer, and he was good at it to. Sometimes he even enjoyed it. Perhaps that what the professor meant. The cells must bring out the malice within the person and turn it into physical form. Lisa was innocent, and he... was a monster. "Sorry to keep you waiting." Lisa said, holding an armful of cloths in the doorway. "It took me a while to find an outfit that would fit you." She handed him a pair of dark grey pants, white T-shirt, and a long grey overcoat. Reno held them up and took a look at them. "Yea they should fit. Thanks." He said with a smile. "Great. Tell you what, you get dressed and I'll go make some breakfast." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and strolled back out and into the kitchen. "Oh yea, you should probably call your friend from the bar. Rude, was it? He's probably wondering where you went." "Okay, Ill be right out." He said as he took his pocketknife and cut a small hole in the back of the pants for his new tail.