(A/N: Most of you probably know me through my Urthblood stories under the Redwall category, but here's something much, much older, that I wrote a good dozen years before I ever picked up my first Redwall novel. And as tempted as I was to tweak or refine this as I typed it up for posting, I decided to transcribe it word-for-word from the original manuscript, to show what my 19-year-old mind was capable of all those years ago. Hope this doesn't make any of us cringe TOO badly!

Also, I am aware that at least one other "NIMH" fic on this site bears a title very similar to mine. However, mine has been "Return to NIMH" since long before there even *was* a Fanfiction dot Net, so I will stick with my original title.)

Prologue

The scientist clipped the final set of electrodes onto the ears of the sedated rat and rolled the rodent over into what he could only guess was a comfortable position. He bent over the box in which the animal slept and whispered, "If this works, my friend, you and I will be on the cover of every scientific journal in the country. If it doesn't … well, you'll never know the difference."

The human lay down on a couch beside the table on which the box sat and proceeded to tape the electrodes onto shaved areas of his scalp, face and neck. Once finished, he gave one last look at the rat box. "Wish me luck, kid." That said, he reached out to a machine to which both rodent's and human's wires were connected. He rested his finger on a large, red switch a moment while he said a prayer, then pushed the lever down.

And then, darkness …

00000000000

The sun's rays were only just finding their way through the laboratory's windows when the man and woman burst into the room. Both wore the flimsy white coats that identified them as workers in the research complex. They rushed to the cot upon which lay the figure of the chief scientist. The man felt for a pulse, and looked up at the woman. "He's dead," he said. "Dr. Hargraves is dead."

"So he actually did it." The woman's voice was level; the full impact of her superior's demise had yet to hit her. "And we could have stopped him."

"There's nothing we could have done, Lucy." The man began peeling the electrodes off Dr. Hargraves' head. "He would have gone through with it no matter what we … or the government … said."

"But he gave you the letter, Harry."

"I didn't find it until this morning. And even after I read it, I thought it was some kind of joke. I mean, mind transference and all that … he must have been crazy to try it." Harry stripped off the last metal disc. "By the look of it, he's been dead since last night."

Lucy's attention was drawn away from the corpse by a loud, constant chattering from a stainless steel box on the lab table. She turned to look and found her gaze being returned by a pair of shiny black eyes peering over the side of the box. The female scientist allowed herself a chuckle. "Irony of ironies! A great man dies, but his subject lives on." Lucy picked the rat up. "No one blames you. Now, back you go." She started toward a row of cages against one wall, but the animal squirmed so violently that it escaped her grip, fell onto the table, and ran for the far end. By the time Lucy reached it, it had stopped among a pile of notebooks, reared up on its hind legs, and picked up a pencil with its forepaws.

Lucy snatched the pencil away from the rodent and grabbed the animal up with two hands. "Very good. You can do more tricks later. But you have to go back in your cage now." She carried the struggling mass of fur to the confinement wall and put it in Cage 18, the only one which was empty.

"Harry?'

"Yes?"

"How could Dr. Hargraves die and the rat still be alive?"

Harry glanced over the machine to which the electrodes were attached. "I've no idea how this was supposed to work, but the jolt that killed him must have only gone one way." He went to the lab door. "Come on. Let's go phone Forbes and tell him what's happened."

"All right." The two scientists left the room.

The rat in Cage 18 rattled its door at their departure. "Harry! Lucy!" it cried out after them. "You've got it all wrong! I'm still alive!"

00000000000

Harry came to the lab late the next morning. He was surprised to find that Lucy was not yet in. Harry wasn't going to wait for her; Dr. Hargraves had left behind several volumes of notes which had to be read through to determine if any of his unfinished experiments were worth continuing.

Harry set down the notebooks he had found in Dr. Hargraves' home, stacking them next to those that the chief scientist had been keeping in the lab. He noticed a torn piece of yellow tablet paper lying atop the stack of lab notebooks. Certain that it hadn't been there when he locked the room up the night before, he held it up and read what was on it.

Lucy and Harry,

The experiment was a success. I was able to transfer my mind to another body. Unfortunately, it seems to be a one-way bridge. I have left to search for those whom I believe may be able to help me. I can only pray that our attempts to destroy them have failed.

Dr. Ian Hargraves,

ex-human

The words were scribbled in pencil and barely legible. Alongside the scientist's name was an inky pawprint.

Harry threw down the note and ran to the cage wall. The door to Cage 18 was open. The cage itself was empty.