PART 1: CHANGED
Chapter Two: Awakening

Munkustrap groaned and rolled onto his belly. His whole body ached painfully. He felt as though his head were floating a mile above his body and his legs felt like Jello. Even his fur hurt.

Drawing himself out of the swimming darkness that surrounded him, he groaned again and opened his eyes. He swept his arms out to his sides, wanting to see if they'd stretch, and brushed against something soft.

Turning his head, he saw a dark haired human child laying beside him. Well, maybe not a child. A teenager. A small one at that. Suddenly startled, Munkustrap jerked into a sitting position.

Wait a minute, he thought. Since when are humans of any kind small? They're all huge. How come this one actually looks smaller than me?

Gingerly, he reached out to touch the boy. To his horror, his paw he did not see. Instead, two human "paws" (what WERE they called again?) were at the ends of his arms. Not his arms. Human arms.

Munkustrap patted them in disbelief. Seeing that they were indeed real, he brought his "paws" to his face and felt that, too. Human nose and mouth.

Drawing his "paws" over his head, he discovered his thick gray striped fur was gone and replaced by human hair.

Munkustrap gasped and crawled over to a puddle that he had seen when first waking up. Praying it wouldn't be there, he cautiously peered into the mucky water.

Oh no!

Staring back him was a human face. Dark brown hair with gray streaks running through it instead of his gray fur. Pale human face instead of his striped one. Human lips and teeth, too. At least his eyes were the same. That was a plus, he guessed.

"Everlasting Cat," he murmured. "I'm a human!"

A groan beside him snapped him out of his shock. Munkustrap turned his head curiously.

The boy beside him had stirred and rolled over. He still had his eyes shut and a look of fear was on his face. Immediately, Munkustrap knew who he was. He leaned over and brushed his hand against the boy's cheek. Munkustrap sighed when the boy's face relaxed into a calm look and he moved his arms out towards Munkustrap's direction.

"Mistoffelees?" Munkustrap said softly. "Wake up."

The boy opened his eyes slowly. He looked around, hunting for the speaker. Being careful not to frighten him, Munkustrap lightly touched his shoulder. Mistoffelees looked at him for a second then jerked up and away.

"Get away!" he hissed.

Not realizing that he was in a human body, Mistoffelees staggered away from the man that was staring at him. He hated human strangers.

"Mistoffelees, stop! It's me! Munkustrap!" Munkustrap called, reaching towards the boy.

Mistoffelees froze. Munkustrap, he thought. How could that be Munkustrap? Suddenly, it hit him like a train. He knew what had happened, at least to some extent. Letting out a cry of confusion, Mistoffelees dove at Munkustrap. He buried his face into the older man's shirt, whimpering.

"Everlasting Cat! We're... we're..." he struggled to say what he knew was correct, but couldn't.

"Humans," a feminine voice finished for him.

Holding a trembling Mistoffelees close, Munkustrap turned his head. He looked at the pretty red haired woman in front of them in awe. She tilted her head to the side and ran her fingers through her hair.

"It's true, Mistoffelees. We're humans," she said.

"Demeter," Munkustrap murmured.

She hurried to him and wrapped her arms around the both of them. Mistoffelees moved his head enough to tuck it into the crook of Demeter's arm. He whimpered softly.

"Want my body back," he whispered, resorting to a kittenish voice and manner. He looked up at Demeter with huge, blue eyes. "Don't wanna be a human."

"I know," she soothed.

Concerned that he was so upset, Demeter brushed a hand down his cheek. She moved a bit then slid Mistoffelees over so that he was closer to her. She cradled him in her arms as best she could, murmuring soothing words. Jennyanydots would be very handy right now, she thought.

Waiting until Mistoffelees had stopped whimpering and had cried himself to sleep, Demeter turned to her mate.

"What can we do? I don't even know what to do with Mistoffelees," she said.

Munkustrap stared at the sleeping boy thoughtfully. Black hair, same blue eyes, and dressed in a black sweater and jeans. Hard to believe that this was the same black tom that he knew. He patted Mistoffelees' head gently and returned his gaze to Demeter.

"Let's let him sleep," he suggested. "This is affecting him worse than either of us." Demeter nodded.

"I know. It's breaking my heart to see him like this." Munkustrap cupped her chin in his hand and kissed her on the lips. "When he wakes, we'll find somewhere to sleep the night."

Exhausted, Demeter nodded, leaned against Munkustrap, and shut her eyes. This was all a bad dream. When she woke up, they'd be back in the junkyard, in their own bodies and curled up in Munkustrap's box. Safe and sound with no human bodies.

At least, she hoped so.