Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds and Pokemon

My Night As An Eevee

By Lucky_Ladybug

Notes: The characters and Pokemon species are not mine. The specific Eevee characters and the story are mine! I can hardly believe I wrote this. I utterly despise transformations because they feel so violating to a character's body. I had a dream with this premise and it upset me so much, I couldn't get it out of my system until I wrote this based on it. I did, however, come up with a way to make it more palatable for me, revealed near the end. (No, it doesn't turn out to be a dream.) It takes place in my crossover verse, but I'm on the fence as to whether it takes place in an AU of that verse or not. If not for the truth of what happened that the characters discover in the climax, it would absolutely not be my main verse. If you like this sort of premise, I suppose you may enjoy this fic. If it makes you as uncomfortable as it does me, I hope my resolution will soften the blow for you. As always, Radley is a nice guy, the way I honestly see him.

Kalin knew something was wrong when he woke up and wasn't fully hugging Radley. His arm was there, but it hadn't stretched fully across Radley's waist. When he strained, it wouldn't go farther.

His eyes snapped open. A short brown furry arm was laying on Radley's waist, but not Kalin's arm. Only …when he moved his arm, the brown furry arm moved.

He jerked in horror. What …what was this?!

He sat up, studying himself. Brown fur everywhere … paws … a fluffy tail with a cream tip…. His front paws went to his chest. A thick furry ruff…. He looked down to be sure.

His heart was racing. "Rad … Radley …" He tried to talk, but the only sound that came out was "Eevee!"

He slumped back, dizzy, his head spinning. He was an Eevee. Oh God, what had happened?! Why was he an Eevee?! How would he change back? Would Radley even know him? How would they communicate?!

What if he never changed back?!

The other Eevees stirred on the pet couch. Evie especially looked delighted. "A new friend!" she exclaimed.

"It's me!" Kalin cried, too upset to think about the aspect that now he could talk to the Eevees. "Kalin!"

Evie blinked in confusion. "Kalin? How?"

"I don't know!" Kalin burst out.

Evan, Lily, and Ruby looked worried too. "You're not supposed to be an Eevee," Evan said. "You'll be sad like this. Everyone needs to be what they're supposed to be."

"I know!" Kalin said. "I don't know how to fix this!"

"Radley will know!" Evie said innocently. "He can fix everything!"

Kalin hoped that was true. Again he looked to his slumbering friend.

"Radley! Radley, help! Help me!"

The frantic cries woke Radley and he looked over his shoulder. "Kal …?! What?!" He sat up. "Another Eevee?!"

He lifted Kalin with both hands, bewildered, staring into the wide purple eyes. Then, to his horror, he saw a familiar mark down the Eevee's face.

"A prison mark?! … This is a joke, isn't it?!" Trembling, Radley set the Eevee back on the bed.

Kalin's eyes widened. He still had his mark. He hated it, but now it was a desperate means of identification. He ran forward, placing his hands … front paws … on Radley's chest.

"It's me! It's me, Radley! Please … say you recognize me! Please … oh God…"

He wasn't normally so panicked. But then, he had never woke up as an Eevee either.

Radley started. He was still badly shaken, not wanting to believe, not knowing how to believe, but … what could he do with this? The Eevee was frantic to get his attention, and there was the mark…. And it had been laying right where Kalin should have been….

"... Kalin?" he finally spoke at last. "Is this you?"

"Yes! Yes, it's me!" Kalin leaped in Radley's lap and nudged him over and over, placing his paws on Radley's shoulder.

Radley held him close. "How … ? How is this possible?!"

Kalin shook his head. He didn't know.

"How will we fix this and change you back?! Who could have done this?!"

Radley brought a hand to his forehead. He had to get himself under control. Kalin was panicking, completely understandably. Radley couldn't let himself panic too. That was the last thing either of them needed.

"Eevee-vee!" Evie said encouragingly.

"Okay, okay." Radley spoke soothingly now. "We're going to fix this, Kalin. We'll figure out who could have done this. Maybe it was even the town itself, with our luck. I promise, it's gonna be okay." He gently stroked Kalin's fur. "In the meantime … honestly, you're kinda cute as an Eevee." He gave a shaky smile. "Of course, you're kinda cute all the time."

Kalin slumped on Radley's lap. Radley was trying to cheer him up with his joking, playful comments, but he was too worried to even smirk like he usually would. What if they could never fix this? Maybe they'd never know what happened and he would always be like this now. He wouldn't be able to talk with Radley or anyone else, or be the sheriff, or do any of the things he loved to do. It would be its own kind of hell.

He had just been happy. Why … why would something like this happen?!

Radley finally reached for his phone but hesitated. "... I'll need to tell the Bunch, I'm afraid, even if we can keep it from everyone else," he said. "We need help to solve this. Do I have your permission to call them?"

Kalin slumped further in resignation. "Yes…"

Determining the tone meant a sad yes, Radley dialed Scotch.

"Hey, Radley, what's up?" Scotch asked. If he had been asleep, he didn't sound tired at all.

"We … kind of have a really big problem," Radley said. "I woke up and found Kalin is an Eevee."

Scotch blinked several times. "... Radley? Are you okay?"

"Oh yeah, I'm fine." Radley swung the phone to show Kalin, especially the mark. "Kalin isn't."

Scotch continued to stare. "It's a trick, right?! Someone put the mark on that poor Eevee and kidnapped Kalin!"

Kalin sat up. "No! No, it's me!"

Radley sighed. "I wish that was true, Scotch, but the way he's been struggling to communicate with me, I'm afraid it isn't."

Scotch took another moment to try to process that. "But …" He swallowed hard. "It's just not possible…."

"Could it be the town's supernatural force?" Radley suggested. "If it's not, then some … witch or warlock must have done this. You don't know how loco it makes me feel to say that, but if this is for real, we've gotta think about that."

"Maybe it's Lawton!" Scotch suggested. "Maybe he broke in with some potion and …"

"Nothing looks broke into in here," Radley said. "We should go over all the house to check everything."

Kalin got up, trying to stand on two legs. He fell over.

Radley gave him a sad look. "Oh Kalin…." He gently picked him up on all fours. "I'm afraid you'll have to walk like this for now."

Kalin gripped the quilt. Radley was right. He jumped down, waiting for Radley before heading out of the room. The other Eevees scampered after them.

"... It really is Kalin, isn't it," Scotch said in horror.

"Yeah," Radley said sorrowfully.

An inspection of the house showed that nothing was broken into. Radley dug a hand into his hair in frustrated bewilderment.

"Can you think of anything weird you got into, Kalin?" he asked.

Kalin shook his head.

"Then it must have been the town," Radley said. "I thought the force was gone, but it couldn't be."

"How do we fix it?!" Scotch cried.

"I don't know," Radley admitted. "It usually seems to hang around the mines. Maybe we'd better go out there and look around."

"Should Biff and I come?" Scotch asked.

Radley hesitated. Kalin still looked displeased for others to know about this. It certainly was awkward to explain.

"How about we go out and let you know if we need you guys?" he said.

"If you're sure," Scotch said doubtfully.

"We're not sure what's going on," Radley said. "If something else goes wrong, someone else needs to know where we went to come help us."

Scotch chewed on his lip. "Okay," he said. "I'll wait up."

Radley smiled. "We'll call you when we get there."

He hung up with a sigh. "I'll get dressed and we'll go," he said.

Kalin went up on two legs and then dropped down again when he couldn't hold himself up. "It's the middle of the night…. Is it safe?"

Radley couldn't understand. He sighed and patted Kalin's head. "We're going to fix this," he promised.

Kalin sat down like an Eevee, waiting for Radley to be ready to go. The other Eevees came to sit with him.

"It's okay," Evie said. "Radley has a plan! I knew he would!"

In spite of himself, Kalin had to smile a bit. "You really adore him," he commented.

"Of course! Radley is everything!" Evie said.

"I hope I can tell him you said that," Kalin said.

"You will!" Evie said cheerfully.

Evan nuzzled him. "I love you so much too," he said. "You took me in when I had no one. I've been so happy here with all of you."

"I'm glad," Kalin said. "I …I love you and Evie and Lily and Ruby too. You've all brought so much to our lives. Isla and Kiryu as well."

"I'm happy I've been here," Lily said shyly. "I love you and Radley and everyone."

Evie beamed. "We're all a happy family!" she chirped. "And we always will be, no matter what!"

"And it's okay you're an Eevee," Ruby said cheerfully. "Radley will fix it, and in the meantime, you can see how fun being an Eevee is!"

"Kalin is too worried to find it fun," Evan told her. "I understand; I'd be worried to wake up human. I don't even want to evolve. I would never want to be another species altogether."

"... I wouldn't want to not be an Eevee either," Ruby conceded. "I guess I can understand how Kalin wouldn't want to change, even though we're so wonderful."

"Humans are wonderful too," Evan said. "It's just not the life I want for myself."

"Yeah," Kalin said. "That's exactly how I feel about not being human." He swallowed hard. For a moment the image flashed through his mind of romping around with the other Eevees, behaving like them since he could no longer be a person. He saw Radley laughing and picking him up, petting and grooming him along with the others. They were so sweet. But … it wasn't the life he wanted. He wasn't an Eevee! He was a human, with human responsibilities! He wanted to get back to that. He needed to get back to that, especially communicating with Radley. Being cut off from that was agony.

In moments Radley came out fully dressed and picked Kalin up. "Okay, let's go."

The other Eevees called Goodbyes and encouragement. Radley and Kalin returned the sentiments, Radley petting each before heading to the door.

The night was chilly when they went out. "I'll have to zip you up in my jacket, okay?" Radley said.

Kalin nodded. "Fine."

It was strange to be zipped into Radley's jacket. He was snuggled so close to Radley's chest, in ways he couldn't be as a human. He felt warm, and the jacket was warm, and it honestly felt good. As Radley took off driving, Kalin peeked out of the jacket to watch the scenery fly by. His long ears flapped in the wind. It wasn't like before, but it was still being with Radley and it was nice. So nice...

When they arrived at the plateau, Radley stopped the motorcycle and looked down at Kalin. "How are you doing?" he asked.

Kalin looked up at him. "As good as can be expected."

Radley gave a sad smile as he unzipped his jacket. "I wish I could understand."

Kalin jumped down. That was the worst part of this, not being able to communicate.

Radley set his helmet aside and walked forward. "Hello?" he called. "My friend was turned into an Eevee. Is anyone here? How do we fix this?"

His voice echoed eerily off the mountain. Sometimes a mist would swirl up from the ground, signaling the presence of the force, but now there was nothing.

Kalin scowled. Of course there wouldn't be any help.

Radley called for several more minutes without success. Finally, sighing in frustration, he reached for his phone. "I'd better let Scotch know it's not working out."

Kalin jumped up on the motorcycle seat, his tail hanging down in his discouragement.

Radley gently laid a hand on Kalin's furry shoulder. "Hey, Scotch," he greeted.

Scotch quickly deflated. "It didn't work, did it?"

Radley shook his head. "Nothing's out tonight."

"Then you guys better come back," Scotch said.

"I know," Radley said. "We're going to."

He hung up again. "Are you ready to go, Kalin?"

Kalin nodded. Sighing, he draped his front paws over the handlebars.

Radley smiled sadly. "Yeah, it's not the same. I guess we could go in the cemetery and see if the force will come out in there?"

Kalin hopped down and ran into the cemetery.

Radley followed him in, chilled as always by the rows and rows of graves. "Hello?" he called. "We need to turn Kalin back to normal! Is anyone here?"

Still no response. Kalin wandered desperately, praying the force would come out. But … if it did … maybe it would hurt Radley. He didn't want that! He turned, running back to Radley. "Let's go."

Radley looked down at him. "You wanna go home, Kalin?"

Kalin nodded.

"Okay." Radley went back to the motorcycle. Kalin followed, wiping his paws before jumping up on Radley's lap. Radley chuckled sadly, lifting Kalin onto his chest before zipping his jacket again.

Kalin snuggled close again as Radley drove off. It felt good, but this wasn't what he wanted for the rest of his life. He wanted to properly hug Radley again, to talk to him and fully share in communicating with him.

Could he learn to type on the computer? He would have to hunt and peck, but then at least he could talk to Radley again in some way.

Radley was hurting too. He was trying to be strong, but Kalin knew this was crushing him.

They pulled up into the driveway and Radley got down, supporting Kalin with a hand at the bottom of his jacket as he headed inside. "We're home," he said softly. Unzipping his jacket, he let Kalin jump down.

The other Eevees came over, warbling greetings. Seeing Kalin was still an Eevee, Evie rubbed him again and Evan laid a paw on his shoulder. Lily still didn't know what to say or do, but she softly said, "I'm sorry." Ruby patted him.

Kalin sighed, leaning into their affections. It was nice that at least he could communicate with them, but it wasn't the same. He couldn't even really appreciate it when he didn't know if he would ever be his true self again. He was too worried, too agonized.

"Hey, guys," Radley said softly. "I'm glad you're here for Kalin."

Kalin looked up at him. Radley couldn't hide the sorrow in his eyes. But he tried to smile as Kalin looked at him. "It's gonna be okay," he said.

"How?" Kalin cried. "How will this ever be okay?!"

"We're not out of options yet," Radley insisted. "Not by far." He bent down to be at Kalin's eye level. "And … even though this is awful, I think we can both be grateful you still have your mind. It would be way worse if you didn't remember being human, or me, wouldn't it?"

Kalin had to nod. He was trapped in this Eevee body, but he was still him inside. The alternative was even more of a horror.

"Alright. So I already have another plan," Radley said. "I'll need to let Scotch know about it, and maybe he'll need to come with us." He straightened. "But if he does, he'll need to at least tell Biff. Is that okay?"

Kalin gave a resigned shrug.

Evie nuzzled him. "While we're waiting, do you want to play?" she asked. "I know you're sad, but I'd love to play with you while you're Eevee!"

Kalin shook his head. "I don't feel like playing." And if this wasn't fixed any time soon, there would be plenty more chances for it.

"That's fine," Evan said. "Just do what you're ready to do."

Kalin looked at the floor. "I wasn't ready to not be myself anymore."

Evie looked worried. Finally she went over and hugged him. "Radley will fix it!" she insisted.

At last Kalin hugged back and Evan, Lily, and Ruby joined the hug too. It was so furry and warm and loving. Eevees really were innocent, pure beings.

Radley gave a sad smile as he watched. It was adorable, but heartbreaking under the circumstances.

Finally Kalin sighed. Maybe, if this did get fixed soon, he would regret not having played with Evie first. "If you want to play, go ahead. I'll try to follow your lead."

Evie brightened. "Yay! We'll have fun! We get to play with Eevee Kalin!" She took off running.

Evan, Lily, and Ruby soon followed. Kalin, still hesitant, trailed after them.

Evie loved to romp around the house. While Radley watched in bemusement, she led the others upstairs, downstairs, and everywhere in between. Eventually they ran into the kitchen.

Kalin stumbled, skidding on the tiled floor. It was hard to control a body he wasn't used to, and on a smooth surface it was even worse. He crashed into the nearest garbage can and then was propelled between the bottom rods of a chair. The garbage lid popped open, ejecting what was supposed to be an empty bag of flour. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite empty.

Radley rushed into the kitchen at the ensuing cries of "Eevee! Eevee!" Then he could only stop and stare at five white Eevees, one of them stuck and struggling under a chair.

"... Oh boy."

Kalin frantically tugged and pulled. His front half had gone through, but his back legs and tail were spinning wildly. No matter how he fought, the rest of him remained stuck. It was humiliating. He wasn't overweight as a human or an Eevee; there just wasn't enough space.

Radley reached down, examining the situation with a frown. "Okay, Kalin. Hold still and I'll try to help you," he said.

Kalin went stiff, still scowling.

Radley sighed. "Here we go," he said. Gently he took one of Kalin's back paws and lifted it, easing it through the opening. He managed to do the same for the other leg and the tail, finally freeing Kalin from the chair.

Kalin shook each paw out. "Thanks," he mumbled.

Evie shook out all her fur. "I'm sorry! It's all my fault! I shouldn't have asked you to play!"

Kalin followed suit shaking his fur. "I didn't have to agree. I just couldn't control so many legs…."

Evan sighed. "At least it wasn't a lot of flour."

But it was still too much. Even after they shook themselves out, there was still too much white in their fur. Radley ran a hand into his hair as he observed. "Okay, guys, I'm gonna have to run the bath for you," he said.

Kalin flamed red. This was going to be incredibly awkward.

Radley gave him a sympathetic look. "I'll do my best to make this work for us, okay?"

Kalin could only nod.

Radley wearily called Scotch as he headed for the bathroom and ran the water in the tub. "Hey, Scotch. So I've gotta give all the Eevees a bath," he greeted. "They ran into a bag of flour."

"Oh gosh. Are you okay, Radley? Can you deal with it?" Scotch asked.

"Yeah," Radley said. "But if I don't answer the phone for a while, that's why."

When the water was deep enough, he turned it off and reached for the pet shampoo. Evie hopped in the tub in delight. So did Ruby. Lily and Evan followed more slowly, looking to Kalin in concern. Still highly displeased, Kalin carefully rose on two legs and tried to climb into the tub. He fell in headfirst with a shocked gurgle.

"Kalin!" Radley exclaimed in concern.

Kalin popped up, coughing and spitting out water. He held onto the rim of the tub with both front paws.

Radley sighed but smiled.

With the regular Eevees, Radley soaped them all up himself. When he got to Kalin, he gently started working the shampoo into his scalp, ruff, and back. Although tense at first, Kalin slowly started to relax. Radley was gentle and this felt good.

"Okay," Radley said presently. "Now, I can either finish the job, or I can give you a little shampoo and you can try to soap up the rest of you yourself."

Kalin sat back. He wasn't sure he could with fumbly little paws, but he appreciated Radley offering him the dignity of trying. He held out both front paws.

Radley smiled. "I thought so. Alright." He squirted some shampoo onto Kalin's paws.

Soaping himself up was definitely difficult. But Kalin worked hard to try, and he didn't think he did too terrible a job overall. Eventually he was grasping his thick, fluffy tail, running his paws up and down it to soap it up.

"You did a good job," Radley said.

The rinsing was much easier. The Eevees splashed and played and then Radley let out the water and filled it up with fresh to rinse them off. Evie and Ruby happily swam about.

Kalin just wanted out as soon as he was clean. He jumped up on the rim of the tub, waiting and watching as the others finished up.

Radley smiled at him. "I'll probably have to dry you all over. Is that okay?"

Kalin nodded. That had happened a time or so as a human as well, when he had fallen in the tub.

Radley took a big, thick towel and wrapped it around Kalin, drying him while half-hugging him at the same time. It felt strange, but not bad. It reminded him of his mother drying him off as a small child. He could feel Radley's love and kindness, just as he thought he had hers.

"There," Radley said after a few moments.

Kalin warbled a thanks.

Radley proceeded to dry Evie and Evan and Lily and Ruby as well. Then he took out a brush, going through their fur to dry it more and fluff it out.

Kalin held still when Radley got to him. This felt downright weird. But … it was also nice. Radley was still gentle, trying his best not to tangle the brush in the thick ruff. Kalin didn't want this to be his life forever, but just right now, he kind of liked it. Radley wasn't treating him like an animal … although even with the actual animals, he treated them like people. It was no wonder Evie practically worshipped him.

"You've got really nice fur," Radley commented. "I'd pet it more, but I don't wanna make you feel even weirder."

Kalin mumbled in gratitude, but shrugged. Radley petting his fur sounded nice.

"Really?" Radley gave it a few strokes. "You like that?"

"Yeah," Kalin said. "When it's you doing it."

Radley petted him a little more, hoping to comfort him. Kalin relaxed.

What would happen if this didn't get fixed? Would he have to play a part as one of the other Eevees? Would Radley have to pretend Kalin was a pet? What would they say had become of him? They couldn't tell the truth or they'd be thought insane.

I'm not a pet, Kalin thought to himself. And Radley would never treat me like that. But … I like being touched like this. Does that mean I'm developing an animal's mindset? Or is it just a further indication of how much I enjoy affection in general?

He prayed for the latter.

"There we go," Radley said at last when everyone was brushed and petted. "Now I just need to clean the kitchen."

Evie warbled and rubbed him, sorry again that so much trouble had happened because she wanted to play.

Radley petted her and headed out of the room. The Eevees all followed.

The mess wasn't too terrible, thankfully. Most of the flour remnants had been on the Eevees and not on the floor. Radley quickly wiped it up while they watched. "All done," he announced.

Evie warbled happily.

The phone suddenly rang again. Radley answered. "Hey, Scotch."

"Did the Eevees get clean?" Scotch asked.

"Yeah, everything's fine," Radley said.

"So, what are you guys going to do now?" Scotch worried.

Radley sighed. "I guess we're going to have to think about seeing magic users. Maybe Duel Monsters would be able to reverse this?"

"Like the magicians?" Scotch perked up. "Yeah, that's a great idea!"

"I'll have to use my pendant to try to get us over to the Duel Monsters' world," Radley said.

Kalin looked at him worriedly. "It'll hurt you!"

This time Radley was sure he knew what Kalin was trying to say. "I've gotta do it," he said. "I don't know what else to try, unless …" He frowned. He stared down at Kalin, pondering. "You know, I wonder … if this is some kind of supernatural transformation, what if we can break it the traditional way?"

Kalin perked up. Another solution?!

Radley smirked down at him. "How do you feel about a kiss?"

Kalin rose on two legs. "Do it!"

Radley picked him up. "Do you think it has to be on the lips?"

Kalin shrugged. "It's fine! Do it!"

Radley smiled. From the impatient Vee's, Kalin was more than willing. Radley, meanwhile, loved Eevees but wasn't sure he would normally kiss one on the lips. This, however, was a special case. "Okay then." He leaned in to kiss Kalin on the lips.

At that moment, the door opened and Kalin as a human was standing there, staring at the scene.

Radley's jaw dropped. "... Kalin?!"

Kalin struggled in Radley's arms. "That's my body, but it's not me! I'm here!"

All the Eevees exclaimed in confusion.

The human Kalin looked awkward. "I'm not Kalin," he said. "I'm Kiryu, the Eevee."

Radley blinked several times. "We have a Freaky Friday spirit swap?!"

Kalin wasn't sure what to think. This was still absolutely bizarre. But … his body was safe. It hadn't transformed, like they had thought all night. That did give him a certain relief, even though they still had a problem to fix.

Radley looked to the phone. "Scotch, why didn't you notice Kiryu was gone?!"

Scotch looked guilty. "Um … well, this is the time of night when the Eevees are with Uncle Robert, so I wasn't even looking for them…."

Kiryu took out Isla from inside his coat. "I'm sorry," he said. "When I woke up like this, I really wanted to see what being a human was like, so I didn't immediately come over. I walked around the town for a while. Then Isla started getting worried about you and I wondered if you'd woke up too. I honestly thought maybe you were still sleeping and didn't know. I thought I could fix it before you found out…."

Kalin exclaimed indignantly. "I've been awake for ages! We all have!"

Isla looked sad. "Please don't be too angry at Kiryu," she pleaded. "He wanted so badly to experience being a human. He wished on a magical artifact Robert found to be able to experience being human. We didn't know it would swap his spirit with yours! Kiryu honestly thought it would just temporarily transform his body into a human's!"

Kiryu was explaining the same thing to Radley and Scotch, who both listened with a frown.

"You guys know you're not supposed to get into Uncle Robert's stuff!" Scotch exclaimed.

Kiryu looked down. "I know. All of this is my fault. I'm so sorry."

Radley sighed. "Well, how do we fix it?" he frowned.

"What you were starting to do will undo the spell, I think," Kiryu said. "There was a funny rhyme on the thing that made it sound like true love's kiss fixes it."

Isla climbed on his shoulder. "I'll kiss you!"

Radley sighed again. "Okay. I really hope you're right. Kalin has been terrified for hours thinking he transformed and wondering how to fix it. I've been really worried too." He looked back to Kalin. "Take two?"

Kalin nodded. "Do it!"

Radley kissed Kalin on the lips, while Isla was doing the same with Kiryu. The others watched hopefully.

Immediately there was a flash of light. The spirits swapped again, into the right bodies. Kalin stumbled on human legs, holding Isla and reaching out to grip Radley's shoulder. He pulled back, staring into Radley's eyes in awe. "It worked," he gasped.

In their arms, Isla and Kiryu were hugging as Eevees. The others hugged on the floor.

Radley broke into a smile and hugged Kalin close while Scotch whooped for joy. The Eevees cheered too. No doubt Evie was saying, "I knew Radley would fix it!"

"Thank God," Kalin rasped, returning the hug. "And thank you, so much."

Radley kept hugging him. It was such an incredible relief for him too. His friend was safe. "I've missed talking with you," he whispered.

"Me too," Kalin nodded, shutting his eyes tightly as he clutched his friend. "Me too..."

xxxx

Kalin jumped a mile in the bed, startling both Radley and himself. He breathed heavily, holding up a trembling hand to study in the light.

Radley blinked sleepily at him. "Kalin?"

Kalin shuddered again. "Was it just a dream?" he wondered. "Did Kiryu and I really swap bodies?!"

Radley sat up, letting the hair fall in his face. "It wasn't a dream," he said, looking a little shaken himself. "That's weird, but easier to believe than what we thought happened."

Kalin looked to him. "Transformations couldn't ever really happen, could they? It must be impossible … surely…."

"Of course it is," Radley soothed. "Nobody can turn into something they're not. That must be why the artifact did the Freaky Friday thing, because that was the only way to grant Kiryu his wish."

"And why did he swap with me instead of Robert or Scotch or even Biff?" Kalin wondered.

"I have no idea, unless it's because you're his namesake," Radley said.

"... And if Scotch didn't remove their collars for bed, we would have known immediately," Kalin realized.

Radley sighed. "Well, since Scotch does that for safety reasons, I wouldn't feel right to ask him to stop. Hopefully this will never be an issue again."

"Yeah." Kalin sighed too. "Both spirit swaps and transformations seem so violating."

"... You know, that is a good way to put it," Radley remarked. "I think that's why some of the Bunch hate those tropes in fiction."

Kalin managed a weak smirk. "I didn't mind how we solved it, though."

Radley smiled. "Me either."

Kalin laid back on the bed. "We've already been through experiences where the way out was a fairytale. If something like a transformation ever did happen, we should try that method first."

Radley laid down next to him. "I'll make sure we do. But I'm sure it won't happen. Enchanted deaths and even spirit swaps are somehow way more believable than transformations."

"... Strange but true," Kalin grunted.

"Are you angry with Kiryu?" Radley wondered.

Kalin sighed. "He disobeyed, but he's an innocent Eevee. I know he didn't mean to cause trouble. One thing I definitely saw while communicating with the Eevees is how pure and good they are. They were all worried for me and at the same time, excited to talk to me on their level, Evie especially. Oh, she said you're everything, by the way." He smirked.

Radley smiled, touched. "She is such a sweetheart. They all are."

"Yeah." Kalin looked to where their four were curled up on the pet couch, asleep and happy. "So I don't think I could be angry with Kiryu if I tried … as long as he doesn't do it again."

"I don't think he will," Radley said. "And I hope Robert will lock his artifacts up in a safe from now on."

"He'd better," Kalin grunted. "Maybe you should buy him a safe, just to be sure."

Radley chuckled. "I think I will."

Kalin relaxed into the bed. "... You were so kind and respectful to me," he said. "Evie has the right idea about you."

"Hey … you were still you inside," Radley said. "Of course I wouldn't treat you any different."

"You treat all the Eevees the same way," Kalin said.

"Naturally," Radley said. "They're all deserving of kindness and respect."

"I wonder why I still had the mark when it wasn't my body," Kalin remarked.

"A failsafe of the spell, maybe?" Radley suggested. "A way of protecting you so I would know something was wrong and that you were in there?"

"Maybe," Kalin said. "I've always hated that mark, but it helped us tonight. Would you have believed it was me without it?"

"I think I would have, but it might have taken you longer to convince me," Radley said.

"Thank you, for being open-minded," Kalin said.

Radley smiled. "Thank you, for staying you inside."

"You don't know how relieved I am that I did," Kalin sighed. He looked down at himself. "I wonder what, exactly, Kiryu did with my body."

"He said he just walked around town," Radley said. "I doubt he met anyone so late, but if he did, he probably knows you well enough to pretend to be you just for some small talk."

"Hopefully," Kalin grunted. "I'd rather not have to explain what happened to anyone."

"Not even Yusei?" Radley asked.

Kalin sighed. "I'm willing to tell him. I'd just rather not talk about it at all with anyone who doesn't already know. How am I supposed to get into it? 'What did I do last night? Oh, I spent half the night as an Eevee because our friend's Eevee wished to be human and our spirits swapped.'"

"It is an awkward subject," Radley said with a sympathetic smile.

Kalin looked to the Eevees. "I did like communicating with them," he said, "and I liked your kind treatment, so I can't say everything was a nightmare. But I'm glad to really be me again."

Radley hugged him close. "I'm so glad you are."

Kalin clutched him close, rejoicing in really being able to hug him again.

"... I actually enjoyed you petting me," he said, feeling embarrassed yet wanting to be honest about it. "Is that strange? Was I just feeling the animal body's emotions?"

"... I really couldn't say," Radley said. "But I don't think it's strange. You are a very touch-starved and physically affectionate person. You're even more into it than I am, and I always thought I loved it more than average." He chuckled a bit. "As an animal, cuddles are even more acceptable than as a person. I'm not that surprised you'd like that part of it."

"I guess," Kalin said. It still felt weird to him, maybe even unacceptable. But Radley accepting it definitely helped. "It feels uncomfortable to like it so much since I'm not an animal."

"Well, and it felt uncomfortable to me too, since I knew that," Radley said. "But I still liked it. Eevee fur is very soft."

"It is," Kalin said.

"Truthfully, it was hard to resist not petting even more than I did," Radley chuckled. "It's very soothing. But I didn't want to make either of us more uncomfortable."

"Thanks," Kalin said. Blushing more, he added, "If things had ended up different and I'd been stuck that way longer, I wouldn't have minded more pets."

"I'll remember that, but I hope it's not information we'll ever need," Radley said.

"Me too," Kalin grunted.

"... Do you think you can get back to sleep?" Radley asked.

"Maybe," Kalin said. "Let's try."

It felt good to move closer to Radley and doze. Reality had been bizarre, but not as frightening as they had thought. Kalin had never truly changed species. He smiled as Radley hugged him and sleep crept over them both.