By Moony
Disclaimer: I do not own any parts of Final Fantasy, as it belongs to Squaresoft. I do not own Squaresoft, either. . . yada yada yada. . . blah blah blah. . . legal mumbo jumbo. . .
Thanks to Natalie for giving me strange looks when I tried to tell her what this story was about, and thanks to Padfoot for NOT giving me weird looks when I told him I wanted to write this story.
Oh, and one more thing. Practically every one was able to guess in the reviews what Red turns into, and you'll notice that the genre I selected for this story is Sci-Fi/Romance. I know it's probably just as obvious as Red's transformation, but anyone who can guess who the romance is for gets. . . a cookie!
(Note: Cookie really nonexistent)
Chapter II
When Red awoke, the first thing he noticed was how soft the blankets felt against his fur. He could feel the springy mattress beneath him and frowned, slightly, wondering why anyone would put him in a bed at all, when most of the time he preferred a comfy place on the floor. It then occurred to him that he had just frowned, but not in the way that he usually did. A frown for him meant baring his canine fangs near the corners of his mouth, turning down his lower-lip to reveal black gum, but as he tried the expression then, he could sense that what he did was quite different. He sleepily opened his eyes, and automatically dismissed his blurred vision for the side effects of a deep rest. He blinked a few times, trying to clear away whatever was in his eyes, but after a few moments he realized that wasn't going to happen.
He turned his head, peering around the room, and he was horrified to find that he couldn't even make out the characters on a poster across the room. It was only the green insignia emblazoned near the top that told him it was a Turtle's Paradise ad, and he marveled at how his eyes could be so terrible. In the process of a few nanoseconds, he assessed that all his senses were as greatly diminished as his sight, leaving him feeling robbed and helpless. He lay there, in a panic, staring up at the ceiling, as the thought of how odd it was that he was lying on his back struck him. A cold sweat collected on his neck.
'What's wrong with me?' He thought, as he bolted up in the bed. He stopped, frozen, at the realization of what he'd just done.
He'd sat up in bed.
Red slowly looked down, thinking his poor eyesight was to blame for what greeted him. He digested what he was seeing, suddenly aware of why the cloth had felt so smooth against his fur.
He didn't have any fur.
Smooth, dark skin covered his body, which was soon overcome with tremors as he studied his arms, and the hands – not paws – that came from the ends. Each finger was devoid of any weapon other than smooth, rounded nails, and he felt his stomach heave inside of him at the completely vulnerable feeling that soon overwhelmed him.
He was human.
He heard a voice scream, and it took him a while before he realized it was his own. It was much less gritty than it usually was, the distinct growl gone from its tone and replaced with a higher, nauseatingly human quality. He struggled to breath and continued to wail until Cloud charged into the room, followed closely by Cid, who stopped by the door as Cloud rushed forward. The ex-SOLDIER wore a grim expression, but sat in a chair by the bed and grasped Red by the shoulders – his dark, human shoulders – and shook him gently until he stopped screaming.
"Quiet! It's all right! Calm down!" Cloud shouted, managing to sound severe enough to silence the distraught boy but comforting enough to prevent him from bursting into tears. The former beast took deep breaths, feeling them shaking in his mouth as he drew them in.
"Hell. . ." he heard Cid mutter from the doorway, his eyes looking at Red as if he refused to believe he was even there.
"You all right. . .Red?" The older man asked, hesitantly adding the name at the end. Red didn't blame him. He wasn't sure if he was still himself, either.
"I-I'm not hurt," he replied, flinching at the sound of his own voice. He didn't know how Cid would define "All right', he hoped his answer would do. Cid nodded, shutting the door and coming over to stand next to Cloud. They both stood solemnly, unsure of what to say, before Red spoke again.
"What happened?" He croaked, not really sure he wanted to know. This had to be a dream. If he just shut his eyes, he would wake up again somewhere completely different, curled up on the ground with his tail flicking subconsciously around him.
Cloud sighed, rubbing his eyes with his fingers.
"Yuffie said that she found a large piece of materia in the reactor and tried to use it on you. You transformed into a human, and fainted. She dragged you out and ran to get us." He shook his head, clearly believing it to be a dream as much as Red did. Red looked down at his torso, only then noticing the scratches and bruises that were evidence of Yuffie's struggle to get him out of the old Mako reactor. He felt a sting on his arm and raised the scratch to his mouth, licking it. Cid drew back, shaking his head, at the sight of the animal-like gesture. Red quickly ripped his arm away from his mouth, returning to the task at hand.
"Yuffie. . ." he whimpered, not caring if he sounded brave or not. "She said it was a Transform materia. How could it change me into a human?" He supposed it was a good thing he wasn't stuck as a toad, but that went away with Maiden's Kiss. He'd never heard of any potion that could turn you back from a human.
Neither of his companions answered, not knowing what to say, and a sickening silence reigned over the room. Red glanced around, considering asking where he was, but he remembered that the reactor had been near Kalm.The quaint, cottage look of the room confirmed his suspicions of their location, and he tried to think of other questions to ask. He wanted to think of anything but himself.
"Are you hungry?" Cloud asked, finally breaking the silence. Red shook his head. If he ate then, it would probably just come right back up again.
"No," he whispered, "I just want to go to sleep." He rolled onto his side and buried his head against his pillow, grateful that, after a moment's hesitation, he heard them get up and leave. He curled himself up into a fetal position, desperately trying to mimic the way in which he always fell asleep. When he was satisfied that he'd managed to replicate it to a point, he clamped down his eyelids and willed himself to sleep.