Chapter 15: The Full Moon Transformation
*~*~*~*~*~
The young prince snatched the broken plaque from the hands of, as far as he was concerned, the little demon child.
"Are you sure this is his name, Ryu?" he asked, looking at the single syllable there, "This thing looks like it's broken in half."
"He seems to like it better than the name you gave him..."
In a mock-defensive voice, he protested, "Hey, Bitey's a great name-ouch!"
*~*~*~*~*~*~
The boxer walked down the street uneasily and looked behind him once again. He was having yet another one of those days when paranoia got the better of him, he supposed. Then again...
He spun around on a dime without warning and, surely enough, a pigtailed head was seen in the crowd. "I knew it," he grumbled to himself. Only one person he knew had those purple bunny ears. I had a feeling she was following me, Yugo thought. He decided to play innocent and went about his business. It was private, though, and he told her just that. What, did she think he was some sort of serial murderer?
His destination was a pharmacy, one that was just across the street from one of a different chain. There was a difference between the two chains other than the names, but Yugo had long forgotten what that might have been. Alice crept through the class doors after him and hid in an aisle, peeking out to see what his "secret" business was. It appeared to be photographs. She could see her roommate opening the envelope to take a quick glance at its contents, and then shutting his eyes and grimacing before closing the envelope. He paid the woman at the film development counter and, having completed his business there, walked to the door. When he was halfway there, however, he stopped and bid farewell to Alice. The woman came running out of the pharmacy, yelling, "Yugo, what are you doing here?"
"You're following me, aren't you?"
"What? No, of course not!"
Yugo narrowed his eyes and shot her a glare that told her she was not fooling him. Alice, keeping up an innocent act, asked him what he bought. Yugo switched the bag the hand that was further away from her, partially turned away and said, "It's... private... Guy stuff, you know?"
Alice smiled. We're not fooling each other, are we? It doesn't matter. I'm going to reveal you, werewolf.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You're wandering again?" Cronos asked his Kitten, "But the labs are not a pleasant place to wander."
"I feel trapped," Uriko told him in an uneasy voice, "Your place is really nice, but I'm still a prisoner here. Besides... I haven't seen someone in a while."
"Hmm... A friend of yours?"
Uriko, seated on one end of a plush red and gold loveseat, l sighed and hugged a fancy cushion while Cronos casually sat on the other side, his arm lying along the back of the small couch.
"Yeah, I knew him before that experiment. Ever since you took me in, I can't see him often, so he doesn't play with me anymore."
Uriko nuzzled into the pillow.
Why do I miss him like this?
"'Him?'"
"Play?"
This was not good. She was thinking about other young men. Then again...
He saw the way she caressed that object. Of course, such actions are done in loneliness of fantasizing as well. She had no apparent claims, and she let him scratch her belly, so the only thing he figured he needed to do was make sure he acted early enough. Then, she would be his, as destiny planned, and this other male, whoever he was, would only be a friend... if he survived living in Tylon Labs.
"Well, dearest... I do recall hearing of a carnival and circus on the eve of the eighth... Would you perhaps like stepping out of this old building for a night?"
"You can do that?" she asked in amazement. The very concept of the possibility of leaving presented to her just like that was almost a shock.
"Why certainly, Kitten," he cheerfully told her, "I can arrange such things. After all, I am a prince. So... this will be our first date, will it not?"
.....
A.... A "Date?!"
She squeezed the pillow nervously and mumbled, "Er... I suppose so..."
"How special! I must get you something casual to wear, then."
He happily stood up and went to do what he had just announced. Uriko remained in her seat and began to get nervous. She knew this was how to play him to hopefully free herself, but the greatest pang of guilt was nagging at her. It was logical and it was her best situation so far in this place. Being with this rich prince gave her a warm bed, clothes, protection, and good food without any ninja giving her strange looks. The downside was that prince was starting to get more and more familiar with her, and she wondered how far he would go in his affection.
~~~~~~~~~~
Shenlong sat lazily at the bar and, between puffs of his cigarette, sipped a yellow tinted drink that would cause most respectable people to pass out from a tiny glass. Other assassins were also there, getting their buzz after a day's work, or after doing absolutely nothing. Cronos was next to him with a beer in hand. Standing behind them was a downcast Young Dragon. The prince invited him to sit next to him and partake in the bounty available for the tenants of this building. The Young Dragon finally gave in and sat down next him.
"See, Ryu? It ain't so bad, back with you're old buddies. Now... What do you like?"
"I think I've had alcohol before..." he whispered in his usual quiet voice, now more reserved with sadness, "It's bitter, isn't it? I don't think I like it."
"Then have some peanuts or something, Ryu," Cronos laughed, "I don't know. Maybe you'd like something fine..." He paused and then continued with a silly imitation of a well mannered and sophisticated voice, "like sweet plum wine. What do you think, Shen?"
The most aged of the three slammed down his shot glass and yelled, "Why do you two insist on calling me that? There's another half to my name."
The prince just went back to his beer. "You're no fun. You don't remember the times we shared those years back. Wasn't that somethin' Ryu?"
"..."
"That's right. You don't remember anything, either."
He then called the bartender to bring the Young Dragon a small glass of plum wine and began to tell the two of his date that night. He was going to give his new girlfriend, to whom he always referred as "Kitten," a new little outfit to wear for outside just before to surprise her. Niku House made the cutest things for his Kitten to wear, as far was Cronos was concerned.
When he spoke of her, he heard a heavy sigh from the ninja. So, was that why he was so sad? Ah, how true. The girl about whom he had told the prince was afraid of him, right?
"... She left my area. I barely see her now."
"Gee, that's bad. I guess she's in the open now, ne? Gotta hurry up with that first move, Ryu," Cronos told him, his attitude becoming more casual with alcohol. The saddened youth silently took another sip. It was sweet, pleasant, and warm, a perfect mask for the slow killing poison it held.
He felt warm... As if he was still next to her in bed, with her snuggled up against his velvety fur and him inhaling her scent, his pink nose nuzzled into her long hair. He longed to silently protect her and hold her close with his large paws defensively.
He longed to caress her with bare hands and touch his lips to her face...
He shook his head at the thought. Such things were unheard of... yet he wanted them so badly. It was such an odd sensation, and he had not heard much of it from his clan. Surely this was not something he was supposed to be feeling, so why did he let it linger in his mind like this for so long?
It was time to be good and put this away.
Like everything else...?
He blinked. It was that voice again. Who was it?
Child, his soul broke in, you are losing your control. It seems all you can do now is do what you have done for years unless you can correct the damage before you lose that hold on yourself. How long can you keep it up, child?
He waved a hand and shook his head. "No... Nothing's wrong. I'm good."
Stop trying to be so good...
"Be quiet..."
For your own sake...
"Hey, we mean it, Ryu!"
"Huh?"
The teenager came back to reality to find Shenlong and Cronos giving him strange looks. "A little dazed there, Ryu? Sheesh, you have a tolerance to all these deadly poisons, but a little ethanol fazes you. Anyway, I'm saying you need to live a little, take a page from the books of those around you. Life is hell. Make the best of it."
Shenlong added, "You're too good, kid. You're like Tylon's little spotless virgin ninja, if there is such a thing."
"Like that girl you talk about... Just make the move to make her yours before anyone else. Just take her, you know. And, you know what," he introduced, now not caring if he was contradicting anything he might have said earlier, "if you're sneaky... you can do a little 'stealing,' if she's taken, you know? Swoon her away from that creep. Girls like rebels and antiheroes."
"Enough," he whispered, getting out of his seat, "I can't listen to bad examples." He quietly walked away and then he was gone.
The prince looked at the man next to him and tapped his head with one finger. Shenlong nodded in response and then began to rant and they normally did in conversations. From down the bar, they heard, "Yo check this out!" and turned their heads to see one man who had gotten a hold of a blowtorch set a whole line of drinks on fire.
"Hey, I was drinking that!"
"You're such a pyro."
"That was hot! Do it again!"
The individual went down the bar, lighting drink after drink after drink, whether the drinker liked it or not. Cronos laughed out loud at Shenlong, who looked very annoyed with his shot glass now sporting a flame. The younger, still chuckling, looked around and saw his Kitten in the doorway. He quickly bid "Shen" farewell, as he did not want his Kitten to see him in the bar.
"My name-"
"Oh, hush...Bitey."
Shenlong's eyes widened and his left eyebrow started twitching uncontrollably. His bored face expression gave way to a snarling face and he stared audibly growling. The prince made no haste in making his speedy escape. The man had cooled off by the time the young lady was near him. He extinguished the fire in his class and turned to her, saying, "A little girl like you might not find a place like this friendly." The man made a gesture with his head to show her the perverts who were starting to point and whisper, but her attention probably fell on the trio next to them waving flaming mugs (who demonstrated his point nonetheless).
"I remember you..."
"Yes, we have met before."
"You look so familiar... do you have any relatives?"
He shot his blood red eyes straight ahead at nothing in particular for a fleeting moment, but then lowered them and returned to his ever bored expression.
"None that I know of..." he replied. He brought the cigarette to his mouth and inhaled deeply. "Then again... that 'dragon' kid... and quite a few other can say the same thing."
"You mean... Young Dragon? Kenji?"
He nodded and inhaled more of the addiction. "Yeah, that's him. All the other members probably had families at some point... but the heirs don't."
"That's really sad..." She turned around, and then nodded her head decisively and turned back around with force. "I've got to talk to him! I'm going to seek him out from now on!"
Shenlong said nothing and merely stared with curious eyes. Rather, he stared at just behind her. In turning around, she whipped her braid about so it flew carelessly through the air. The end of it was sitting in one of the flaming mugs the drunk behind her was holding and he was wondering when she would notice her hair was on fire.
~~~~~~~~~
"What? You can't go?!"
Alice, standing across from him on the other side of an empty hospital bed, calmly explained she was going to be busy that night.
"Doing what, giving the old fart lap dances?"
"Wh-what?"
Yugo growled rudely, "With those silly pink nurse outfits you wear..."
The nurse tugged at her collar. "I wear these bright outfits when I take care of the children! I'm not that kind of person."
"You with your pink clothes... I'm sure you'd know what they'd like..."
He reached over and grabbed one of her pigtails in each hand and tugged on them.
"With your stupid little girly bunny ears."
"You think I'm some sort of bunny girl? Look at this," She yelled, showing him her pale arm, "Do I look like a bunny girl to you?!"
"No, you look like some lying little bitch!"
"WHAT?!"
Yugo thought about what he said and then continued in a cruel voice, "Sorry... You're no bitch, you're a little bunny rabbit. Maybe a bitch is what I need."
The irate Alice shot holes into the floor with her eyes and she shook in her rage. "So... that's what you want... is it? Some little slut...?"
Maybe I shouldn't have said that. She wouldn't get that joke, would she?
The next thing the nurses outside knew was a largely built man flying out of the room and crashing into a cart. He sat there in a daze before blinking a few times and moaning, "What do you know..."
A human sized white creature in a little pink nurse outfit-style one piece complete with the little hat stormed out of the room on its hind legs and headed for the children's room.
"... She really is a rabbit..."
~~~~~~~~~~~
A nurse came to the desk just as the phone was ringing. "What," he asked, "You say the performer can't make it? You must have the wrong hospital, he's already here. Oh, and I have to tell you, that nurse bunny costume is genius. The children love it."
~~~~~~~~~~
The traditional style quarters of Tylon's trusted ninja were almost a haven from the dreary metallic blue environment most of the building shared. The garden especially was a retreat from the cruel world, and even the clan itself. However, without the protesting shouts and the occasional overreacting shriek from that girl, it not even the garden could offer him solace anymore. She had been a refreshing breath of air from his life, which now seemed... miserable?
You have had a lot of breaths of fresh air, do you not remember? You are falling for a rebellious spirit because yours is weak, or so you do not wish to believe.
"Why would I..." he began to whisper, but then stopped. Talking to oneself out loud was a rather ridiculous thing to do. Besides, what if someone found out his mind had degraded to such a point?
They probably already know.
He shook his head to shake the voice away. Besides, it was back to his life as usual, or what he figured was usual without that girl. He had not recovered that many memories of the days before her. Besides, in the end, it would be himself and his master until he died and the youth took on his name and mission. He sighed and thought of how he did not want to think of such a day, even though he knew it would inevitably come. His master, after all, was not getting any younger.
He once again made his vow that someday before then he would do the act that would make his master proud of him. It disheartened the heir to see a perpetually displeased Bakuryu. He was sure he did everything as he was supposed to, but even still he did not seem to be any more pleased. When talking to the doctor and to his ninja, he always seemed, at least to his acolyte, displeased and disheartened. Was it all his fault? Whatever it was, he was going to be a good pupil and make it better. He nodded in confirmation. Surely, someday, his obedience was going to pay off.
That had to be the answer.
His sensitive ears picked up the raspy low tones that only his master produced. His trained mind was able to decipher the hushed tones and recognize the words and sentences he and another ninja were saying.
"It's getting hopeless, I fear. Do you think the Praise would allow another..."
"Master Bakuryu, are you thinking of... of..."
"We musn't blind ourselves any longer. Even before that day I delivered the punishment... I knew."
Are you eavesdropping, child?
No.... No, I'm not, he told the voice in his soul.
You are. Are they talking about you?
"What would we do with the current... should you chose to I suppose it would be best to kill him."
There was a long silence and it could be somehow sensed there was much thought going into whatever reply would follow.
"... Perhaps we would give him to the doctor... permanently. Hopefully it would keep those large ugly hands off our new heir."
The Young Dragon became filled with ice and a heat ran down up his stiffened spine. His face completely froze and his eyes widened to their limits. What was this heat down his back, in his head, and behind his eyes? The wet heat leaked onto his body, melting the frozen surface and causing sudden thin fissures to split his self.
Child, catch yourself! he could hear the voice order him, but now next to a different voice that hissed seductively, reaching its warm arms around him, moving to caress.
His hands crept up the front of his chest, one grasping near his heart and he stiffly bent over, as if he depended on his arms to hold his physical self together, to keep it from falling in pieces on the floor.
"Master..."
Still clutching himself, he carried himself out of the quarters and through the darkness. He let go of himself only to leap up to a round indentation in the wall. His arms reached to desperately keep himself in one piece as he curled up into the shadows and leaned against the mesh that covered the huge broken fan.
He had committed the ultimate failure.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was the first time Uriko had seen the sky in a long time. She was almost scared at the sight of it and all the life suddenly surrounding her. People and colors surrounded her, the lights on the rides whizzed into streaming lines and the still ones made shining arms stretching against the pitch black sky.
The prince paid the vendor and handed artificially colored pink fluffy sugar spun onto a paper cone to his one and only. He placed one hand on her head and frowned at what had become of her hair. It seemed it had caught on fire earlier that day. The flaming portion was slashed off, but the claws struck at such an angle that the shortest part did not even touch her chin. All that was salvageable for a decent haircut was barely enough to look like a girl's style.
"Dear Kitten," he asked her, "Would you like to try this ride?"
It was one that placed people in single compartments before spinning them around for a few minutes. He stood on line behind her, but when it came his turn to be placed in one of the compartments, he quickly backed out of the line. He moved behind the tents and into a shed where nobody saw. He stood there in silence and looked around nervously.
"Don't worry, you're in the right place."
He jumped back and faced the woman behind him, stuttering, "M-M-M-M-Mi-ss... G-Gado..."
She grinned a thin smile. "They call me Marvel."
"R-right..."
"Don't worry. I wouldn't be talking if it wasn't safe here."
Her name was Jannu, but all who knew her called her by the nickname given to her, Marvel. She was lean and muscular woman in her early twenties with sharp features and equally sharp hair. Her head was covered in streaked blond hair that had been smothered in who knows how much styling gel to put it up into the spikes she sported. Her shining blue eyes smiled, yet at the same time could shoot an icy glare to make the mightiest cower to her command. She was a powerful woman, and anything she wore had some relation to the army, like the green pants she wore with their camouflage print.
"Miss Marvel... You have got to help me."
"You've got to help me. Daddy is in that lousy stalemate. We gotta sink through to the core.... to some sort of weak point, and get them in trouble for anything, ANYTHING we can prove. They conveniently have it so we can't 'prove' any experiments."
She walked over to a wooden beam and casually leaned her arm against it. "While your father is king, you still have some freedom. Use it wisely. Find any way possible to ruin Tylon, even at the cost of your kingdom. The victory will be greater than that."
"I am aware of this," he sighed. He silently though of his father back home.
A form was heard clumsily stumbling through the door. They shifted into defensive positions, but then Cronos recognized who it was. "Kitten!"
"C-cronos...?" she wearily called, her eyes spinning.
"How did you find me?"
"I was following the duckie," she told him, pointing above her head, "It keeps on spinning..."
She put her hand on his shoulders and tried to grip them so she could hold her ground until everything stopped spinning. It would have been easier had it not been for the overly long sleeved of her thing sweatshirt. It was perfectly fit, white with blue and gold on the shoulders and along the arms, except for the sleeves, purposely much too long just for the sake of being fashionable. "Niku House" marked the collar as well as her matching tight shorts.
"Er, Marvel..."
She nodded and waved raised fingers over her shoulder as a farewell for when she walked away.
"Who was that?" Uriko asked once she was feeling a little less queasy.
"Just... a friend..."
She nodded and the two continued to walk through the carnival, stopping to enjoy a ride, eat, or play a game. Despite what she had seen at Tylon, despite what she had seen, she was actually starting to enjoy herself once again and to forget her troubles.
"Heh, I know that aura anywhere," they heard a low voice laugh.
Fuck. That's... What was she thinking brining me to a carnival next to...
A huge, incredibly muscular man in a colorful leotard and top hat and a wide perfect toothy grin stepped through the crowd.
"Say there, Missy! We're always looking for-"
"She's not interested!" He yelped and quickly let her away.
She's gotta be playing some sort of trick, brining me to Greg's Circus!
As they ran, Uriko's eyes caught sight of posters with claims of new wonders of the world... supposed "beast men" and "no costumes!"
"Come on, the circus will be a blast!"
He's still following us!
The two kept weaving through people until they had accidentally wove into a line so quickly the sleepy teenaged worker thought they had been there to begin with. They were ushered into a box on a ferris wheel before anyone could argue. "At least we're safe," Cronos said. With a lurch and the sudden swinging back and forth of their closed car, the ride started and the two moved up a notch to let the next be filled with another couple. From above, they watched the giant man look around in confusion, scratch his head, and trudge back to the circus.
"So what's with that guy?" Uriko asked him, now curious over the people he seemed to know.
"That man, Gregory Jones, is the leader of a 'Zoanthrope Circus.' Thankfully, many of the non-zoanthrope world do not believe what they see. He knows better than the fully flaunt Zoanthropes in this world, though as time goes on he seems to be more and more daring."
"Does he have anything against you?"
"No, he does not. That individual deeply disturbs me, that's all."
"I see..."
The last car had been filled and the giant lighted wheel turned. The cars swayed gently as they rotated through the air. Uriko looked through the "window" with a solemn expression. When their car reached its highest point on its rounds, the silvery bright moon was at its prettiest. Cronos leaned over and put his arm around her shoulder.
"Are you enjoying our date?" he whispered, now shifting the rest of his body close to her.
"I'm tired of being a prisoner," she whispered back, not turning from the night sky.
"As am I. But, dear Kitten, you now have the freedom to share nights like this with me."
She reached up with a delicate touch and lightly hooked her fingers into the woven metal. "It's all an illusion," she said sadly, "How can we have fun like this when there are such sad things going on back there?"
"You haven't lived here as long as I have. I was sent here as a young child to be "raised properly" with Tylon and I am an experiment myself I fear. I have only fading memories from my few visits to my homeland."
"But what about all those experiments?"
He held her more tightly around the shoulder and slid his other arm towards the teenager to hold her closer to him. "What about my mother?" he asked, whispering in a barely audible voice into her ear.
"They took my mother, and I know they still have her, doing unspeakable things to her. I was once on an undying quest to find her, but I could only go on trying for so many years..."
"Cronos, she's your mother!"
"Kitten," he continued to whisper, "I am aware of that, even though I have no memories of her, except dreams. I suppose you fancy yourself rushing headfirst into danger, overcoming all your opponents with only the power of good and a little training on your side, and bagging a cute boy while you're at it, but it doesn't work that way."
He hugged her tightly and the ferris wheel stopped to start letting people out and the new riders back on. Their car held its place at the top where Uriko could see the moon still shining.
~~~~~~~~~~
"So... you're going to get 'The Talk' from ol' Gado," Yugo grunted. He shifted uncomfortably in the chair on front of Gado's desk, waiting for the inspector. Next to him was Alice in another chair, slightly bent over with her hands folded in her lap.
"Zoanthropes," she mumbled, "It figures. It wasn't a full moon that night."
The pigtailed woman reached into her inside breast pocket. "I guess I won't be needing this."
She tossed a small handgun onto the desk. Yugo's eyes bugged out when he saw this.
"Wha-what..."
"Silver bullets. I wanted to uncover a real werewolf."
He just stared at her dumbfounded and finally asked, "What kind of nurse are you?"
"Look, I love the moon and I'm a wolf, but I ain't no werewolf," he firmly stated with a defensive wave of his hands. He then let out a sad breath of air and asked her, "I guess you don't really like even stargazing. No one understands how much I love the moon. And I'm going to be missing a nice clear full moon tonight, too..."
Alice felt guilt run through her. She leaned her head so she could see outside the small open window behind Gado's desk. Without warning, she stood up and leaned on the sill and looked outside. She opened the window a little further for a better view.
"You can kind of see the moon from here," she suggested. Yugo came over and glanced up at the heavenly sphere, which still glowed brightly against the city lights. The two of them looked at Yugo's first true love for a while.
"Look, I'm sorry for..."
"..Yeah, me too. I'm such an idiot."
She gave him a small slap on the shoulder and teased, "No, you're not."
"Long ago," Alice then told him, "People thought the craters on the moon looked like a rabbit pounding mochi. Can you see it, the rabbit?"
"Is that why it's so beautiful?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Young Dragon, still shielded by the dark, now enhanced by the ritualistic gradual shutdown of the lights, still lay by himself and himself. He swayed side to side gently, though not holding his shattered self so tightly now. He quietly peeked from his aloof perch to the still lit area below him from where he had heard familiar voices just then.
It was the Prince Cronos, but who was that with him? She had short hair, but that voice was only that of one person he knew. She turned so he could see her better and his enhanced senses did not lie to him. That was Uriko. So was Cronos "that guy" of whom she spoke?
"There is nobody to fear when you are with me. I will keep you safe. It is my duty as a prince - no, as a man."
Even "Kenji" could not promise her security, even from himself. That was why she...
"How corny! Why do you always talk like that?"
That was indeed Uriko's voice.
"I am a proper gentleman, Kitten, my sweet Uriko. I know how to treat a woman. There is nothing to fear."
"Kenji" made a fool of himself. "Kenji" gave her much to fear.
"It is without a doubt we are both in a prison, but unlike anyone else here, I can make your life here a paradise."
"Kenji" could not do that!
Cronos took the sleepy Uriko in his arms and gently pressed his lips to hers. Uriko, foggy with sleep, succumbed and let herself fall into his arms and his kiss. He held her more tightly and ran his fingers through her hair as she gripped his arm with her fingers.
The young heir did not even hear the voice inside him order him to catch himself. He collapsed back into the shadows, his wide eyes staring at the metal above him as he felt the warm arms finally surround and caress him, sinking into his heart to finally claim him. The child, after years of trial, had finally shattered, leaving him motionless and incapable even of proper thought. Something in his core was finally free to dance about and then return to him to take him in his disabled state. The sadness was the closest thing to a loving caress, and the darkness that enveloped him felt so warm, as if he was still next to her.
