So, the Percentverse was started in the story known as 30 Percent, written by Jackboy0815. The story is about a hypothetical scenario where suddenly, inexplicably, one-third of the entire human population on Earth was turned into Pokemon, and more specifically what happened afterwards. This story quickly grew popular, and now there's a vast community of people who have written fanfics set in this universe, and it's only continued to grow! If you like this story, I highly recommend that you check out some of the others too!
Although this is not the first time I've tried writing a Percentverse story, this time I'm going to finish it! Hopefully you all will enjoy this rendition of the story, and support me throughout the ride! It's gonna be a long one.
Let's get it started now! (-o-)
Zinnia Wilder
Hello there. My name is Zinnia, and this is the story of how everything went upside-down.
I don't know if anyone will find this journal. Maybe there will be no one left to read it. Perhaps we'll have survived, somehow. There's no way on earth of knowing.
Here my friends and I have written out our stories, so that the people of the future can see what we went through. Perhaps it will serve as a warning, or a reminder, or just something people study in school. I doubt Anne Frank knew her diary was going to be published all over the world after her death, so who's to say the same won't happen with this one?
So, just in case, we're going to write it out, and hide it somewhere safe, so that one day it will be found again. Be warned - some of the events that happen in here are dark and depressing. Which makes sense, since that's how the age we wrote this in felt.
But I think I've gone on long enough. There's an important story to tell.
That fateful August 21 didn't feel any different than normal. Of course, no days like that EVER feel different...until they are.
I got up exactly one minute after my alarm went off at 6:30 in the morning. While most would probably find it very strange, I got up early out of necessity. After all, this was one of the few times my father wasn't awake, and it was best for both of us to cross paths as little as possible. The most we interacted was at dinner, and even then it was strained.
So carefully, I slipped out of bed and got ready for the day. School didn't start for another week or two, so I was just planning on hanging out and enjoying a nice day with my friends.
As the sun shone through the thick mist over the bay, I rode on my bike to my favorite coffee shop - the Bridgeview Cafe, located in just the perfect spot to see both bridges over the bay. While most people took the seats facing the legendary Golden Gate Bridge, I preferred the other, less busy side of the cafe, where I could see the Oakland Bay Bridge. While the silver expanse wasn't nearly as famous, it was charming in its own way, and was actually longer than its fellow across the bay.
As such, that one was my personal favorite.
That morning, I sat down at my regular table, enjoying my standard vanilla latte and blueberry scone. Checking the time, I noticed it was around seven thirty. My friends would all be awake by now, perhaps already figuring out what they were going to do today.
I wondered what I was going to do today. I picked up my phone, in order to see what they might be talking about. But as I logged in, I felt a sudden, sharp headache. That was puzzling, but even more so was the fact that approximately half of the other patrons reacted as if they'd just gotten one, too.
Before I could question it further, the headache spiked further, and I cried out. With a furious rush, the pain flowed through the rest of my body, and with a burst of horror I realized it was twisting, changing, becoming something no longer human.
Then the pain grew to be too much, and everything went black. (-o-)
I awoke slowly, my mind muddled and cloudy. I'd been sitting at the cafe, and then...
I remembered the strange pain, and snapped awake. Immediately I realized something was very wrong.
I could hear sirens wailing and the sounds of crackling fires. My nose caught the pungent stench of burning rubber and metal, and there were lots of loud cries and screams of pain and terror.
But most of all...I could sense just how wrong my own body felt. I couldn't feel my arms or legs, and it felt stretched, elongated beyond physical belief.
What the heck had happened?!
Nervously, I shifted around. It felt strange, and wrong, almost as if I were a very long noodle. I still could not feel my limbs, and I was beginning to get panicked.
I spotted my phone ahead, lying near my fallen table, and I felt worried that it might be broken. I tried to reach out, but nothing responded. It was like my hands just no longer existed.
That was really, really bad.
Nervously, I twisted my head around, trying to get a better look at myself. It ended up twisting far more than I expected, but I quickly found out why.
For my body was no longer human, but that of an enormous serpent.
It stretched at least fifteen feet long, looping around chairs and tables, and was covered in smooth, iridescent scales. They were definitely blue-ish, but were so dark that they were practically black. At the end of my tail (oh god I had a TAIL) there were two shimmering pearls, the dark blue color of the deep sea.
I knew immediately that I had to see my face, and what it looked like now. I was terrified of what I would see, but still I leaned forwards, so that I could see my reflection in the screen of my phone.
Staring back at me was a strange, draconic face, shimmering with some strange otherworldly beauty. My eyes were wide and full of swirling colors, most prominently the chocolate brown they'd been before my sudden transformation. Growing out of my forehead was a tall, pearly white horn, flanked by two long white wing-like feather tufts where my ears had been. Glowing softly at the tip of my throat was another pearl, swirling with unknown power.
But what was most surprising was that I recognized the creature in the reflection.
While not everyone in my friend circle was into it, a lot of us (including myself) had always enjoyed Pokemon. And although I wasn't exactly an expert (that would be my best friend, Rosa) I still knew a Pokemon when I saw one.
And my new reflection was a Dragonair. A black Dragonair, oddly enough, but a Dragonair nonetheless. I didn't know how it could be possible, but my reflection didn't lie.
Then I remembered all the other stuff that had been happening, and froze. I must not have been the only one to transform, and now things were going insane.
I remembered my father. Oh god, how was he going to react!? I had no idea if he'd transformed or not, and I was now a Pokemon! What was he going to think? What was he going to DO?
But as I started mentally panicking, I then wondered something else. Although it would definitely be a stretch to say it now, I knew a long time ago he'd loved me like anyone else would. A crisis could change someone's mindset, and I wondered if, maybe, just possibly, seeing me in this state and needing his help would rekindle that old love. Perhaps we could even live happily again.
Dimly, I knew it was unlikely. But there was still a chance, and I needed it, needed to BELIEVE in it. So I pulled myself up, and prepared to face my first new challenge in this new body - how to move.
I remembered from what little I knew from the anime that Dragonairs often lived in water, but I also knew that it had shown them flying. If I could figure out how to do that, things would be a bit easier.
The problem was, I did not know where to even start. Dragonairs didn't have wings, and those feather tufts definitely weren't wings, much as they looked like it.
Hmm, maybe they moved with their mind...?
I focused, and thought about hovering into the air. I felt a tingling sensation across my scales, and suddenly I rose into the air, startling me. I fell forwards and smashed my face right through the fence, letting out a startled gasp.
Now I could see the road, and it wasn't pretty. While this area wasn't as heavily packed as downtown San Francisco, several cars had still crashed, and now they were burning while policemen and medics worked to free people trapped in the wreckage. I noticed one man pulling out a ghastly pale Skitty, blood matting its fur.
I felt a shiver of sadness flow through me. How many people had been killed or injured because they transformed while driving? How many more would get hurt in the days to come?
But I knew there was nothing I could do. I felt sickened by that fact, but it was true. I didn't even have limbs anymore.
I looked up the street, towards where my neighborhood would be located. I knew that that would be a long trip, especially if I couldn't get the hang of my flying powers fast enough.
Slowly, I hovered back into the air, and this time stayed there. However, I immediately caught the attention of some of the officers.
"Stay back!", yelled a particularly fat one, holding a gun, "Don't come any closer!"
I was scared. "Please, I don't mean any harm!", I cried, but all that came out was "Nair, dragodranair!"
"Get out of here!", the fat man yelled again, and with a flick of my tail I was out of there, shocked and terrified. I had just had a gun pointed at me, all because I looked like a big scary dragon! Even worse, I couldn't even speak - all I had said was the name of my species.
On top of adapting to this new, alien body, I couldn't even SPEAK properly! Another thing from the anime, I assumed, which meant other Pokemon would probably be able to understand me. But a language barrier was the LAST thing I needed at the moment.
I only hoped my father would be able to understand me...
So onwards I flew, hoping desperately that SOMETHING would go right right now... (-o-)
Ryan Newman
At the time of the transformation, I was hanging out with my best friend Jackson Perceval, enjoying a nice walk down the Embarcadero.
The Embarcadero was the name for the long bayside boardwalk running along the eastern side of San Francisco, home to a vast marina and quite a few fishing piers. Sea lions often hung out near here, and lots of fishermen and laborers worked hard each day to keep the place running and unloading their cargoes.
I had been hoping to spend the day with Jackson, admiring the sights and making fun of the tourists, but everything went wrong at 7:35 in the morning.
We were standing by the marina when it happened, admiring a yacht and dreaming of owning one for ourselves. We were both dressed lightly - while it was chilly in the mornings, it was going to heat up considerably by noon.
I was wearing a simple T-shirt featuring some mech warrior that I thought just looked cool, as well as denim shorts and my lucky red sneakers. Jackson was dressed similarly, except his T-shirt featured a different mech warrior and he was wearing blue sandals. We could almost pass for brothers, although Jackson's hair was black where mine was blond, as well as the fact I had a much better physique. Being the star of the local high school soccer team had its benefits.
I had just commented on how that one day, when I became a champion athlete I was gonna get the best yacht I could find when Jackson suddenly yelped and clutched his head.
I was startled. "Uh, hey dude, are you okay?"
Jackson groaned, "Ow...uh...I...AAAGH!"
He crumpled to his knees, and I ran over panicked.
"Jackson! Jackson, what's wrong!?", I cried.
I found out rather quickly.
Jackson writhed in pain on the ground, and I saw his flesh rippling, growing thicker and fatter and growing white fur. His hands splayed out and extended, a white membrane fusing them into flippers. His legs elongated and thickened, tearing through his shorts as they raced towards each other and fused into a large tail, ending in a massive fin. Short tusks jutted down from his mouth as his face melted into the muzzle of a seal, and a short horn grew out of his forehead. He grew thicker and thicker and larger and larger, until at last, the horrifying transformation finished and left my best friend as a big white seal.
"Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh.", I whispered frantically, "This can't be happening..."
I quickly fished my phone out of my pocket and frantically checked the news, where the first thing that caught my eye was a government message that had literally just been posted.
Reading it, my eyes widened and my feeling of fear grew, until it threatened to overwhelm me.
"Attention citizens of the United States of America. We are aware of a mass transformation of some of your relatives or family members. For the time being, it is advised to avoid them at all cost. It is not currently known if this is an infectious pandemic.
Stay calm and God bless the United States of America.'
'Oh no this is bad...', I thought, 'This is bad, bad, bad.'
I flipped through the various articles on my phone, hoping I'd be able to find more news. I spotted an article from BBC News and quickly clicked on that, reading through to see what they said.
"Hello. This morning, we at BBC News bring you breaking news. You are likely wondering what has happened to some of your loved ones."
'Yeah, right!', I thought, 'Who wouldn't!?'
"We at BBC News do not currently have an answer. But we urge people not to panic under any circumstances. The mass transformation happened at approximately 10:35 Eastern Standard Time."
'That would be 7:35 here.', I thought, 'I wonder how many people transformed just as they were getting up for the morning...'
"These former humans have appeared to be transformed into creatures from the hit phenomenon game most people know as 'Pokemon'. At this time, neither Nintendo or Game Freak have commented on the matter."
'Pokemon!?', I thought in surprise, 'Isn't that the game the girls and Sammy like? Man, now I wish I knew more about it so I could understand this situation better...'
"The British Government has warned the public to stay clear and be cautious of these so-called Pokemon. We do not know at this time whether this is a contagious pandemic, nor do we know if they are capable of using their magical powers.
We are currently ruling out the possibility of this grand event being a punishment from the grand beyond..."
I chuckled despite myself. How on earth could you prove and/or disprove THAT!? Then again, there weren't any high and mighty voices booming, "Thou hath sinned and thou shalt now suffer..."
I heard Jackson shifting, and I froze. As much as I really, really did not want to get transformed too, I couldn't leave my best friend here alone. Besides, there was always the chance that it WASN'T contagious...
I hurried over to his side as he stirred fully back to consciousness. He must've seen my worried expression, because he looked alarmed.
"Dew...Dewgong?", he asked.
"Oh no.", I whispered, "I can't even understand you!"
"Gong!?", cried Jackson, then looked panicked as he realized what sound had come out of his mouth.
I hurriedly showed Jackson his reflection on my phone camera, and he looked ready to faint again.
"I don't know what the heck happened, but apparently a bunch of people all around the globe transformed into creatures too. Apparently they're those 'Pokemon' the others keep talking about.", I explained.
Then I paled. "Oh no, the others! We need to find out what happened to them!"
"Dewdewgong!", Jackson replied, trying to pull himself towards me.
I said worriedly, "Oh no, and now you're a seal. How are we going to get you out of here?"
Jackson looked terrified too.
"Here, I'll try and see if I can call your family.", I said, "You guys have a truck, right?"
"Dew!", replied Jackson, nodding.
"Okay, good, that makes this easier then.", I replied, dialing his father's number. His dad picked up almost immediately, thank goodness.
"Ryan!? Is Jackson alright!?", the man cried, concerned.
"Um...he's a seal now.", I replied, "We need to get him out of here fast. Can you bring your truck over?"
Jackson's father replied tearfully, "Yes...yes I can do that. How did it happen? Was it...painless?"
I winced. "Well, uh...I think he was unconscious through most of it. But it looked...awful."
Jackson's father was silent for a time.
"I'll be there in ten minutes.", he said, "But the roads are bad. Car accidents everywhere."
"Oh no...", I whispered, "Okay. I'll be here waiting for you."
The call ended, and I walked over to Jackson, who was now sniffling. He looked like he could fall into a crying wreck at any moment.
"Hey, hey dude.", I said, leaning over to comfort him. "It's gonna be okay. Your dad's coming right now, and I'm sure the government is hard at work trying to find a way to fix this whole thing."
"Dew...dewgonggong.", Jackson replied sadly. I wished I knew what he had said.
"We're going to be alright.", I promised, "I'm sure that everything's going to be fine."
Famous last words.
Nearby, there was a muffled boom, and one of the yachts exploded into raging flames. With an agonized roar, a strange fiery creature pulled itself out of the wreckage, its hands a pair of matching fire cannons.
"MAGMORTAR!", it bellowed, before turning towards us and glaring.
Jackson's eyes widened dramatically. "Dewgong!", he screamed.
I felt just as terrified. What in the world were we gonna do? (-o-)
Rosa Santoro
It's my turn already? Jeez, why leave it on a cliffhanger, Ryan? I don't think we're writing a novel.
Well, anyways, hi there. Time for me to share my part of the events at the start of this whole event.
When I woke up that morning, I knew immediately that something was off. I didn't know what yet, but it was definitely off.
Everything was just so LARGE, and I was buried in a dark mass of cloth. Plus my body felt wrong, as if it was something else entirely. Something small, weird, and with very strange hands.
I struggled to escape my fabric prison, and ended up rolling off the bed. While that was normally a painful fall, for some reason this time it felt like I fell even further than normal and hit the floor even harder. I cried out and sat there for a moment, nursing a strange headache dully throbbing at the back of my head.
As I sat there, I realized more and more how wrong I felt. My hands didn't feel like hands, and I couldn't really describe what they felt like instead. My feet felt tiny and stubby, and I couldn't feel my toes. My head felt bigger and heavier than normal, and it felt like I had...leaves?
I knew instantly I had to find a mirror. Something had happened in my sleep, and I needed to find out what it was, immediately.
I stumbled around, finally wriggling out of an opening in my cloth trap. Out of the corner of my eye I could see my wall mirror, which was much taller than it should be. Everything was bigger now than it had been, much bigger. Either that, or I was...smaller?
I tried to stand up and walk over there, but my legs did not cooperate. My feet just felt too stubby. I started trying to tiptoe, which seemed to work a bit better. That didn't make sense, but somehow it did.
Finally, after a bit of stumbling, I reached the mirror, where I could see my new form in all its glory.
Instead of a teenage Hispanic girl, the reflection in the mirror was a tiny, green, feminine plant creature. My hands were now a pair of roses, one bright red and the other dark blue. Growing out of the top of my head were three sharp spikes, and several leaves grew out of my neck, covering my shoulders and torso.
'Oh my gosh!', I thought in shock, 'I'm a Roselia! But...how?'
I looked closely at myself in the mirror. 'This is definitely gonna take some getting used to...'
I took a sniff of one of my roses, and was astonished by how nice it smelled. I wondered how long I had been transformed. Long enough for the roses to start producing their scent, apparently.
Then I froze. No one else knew I had transformed! My parents worked long hours at the hospital, so they wouldn't be back anytime soon, and I couldn't contact my friends with flowers for hands!
Well, there was one friend I could contact...but I had no way of knowing just how they'd react.
In the apartment below mine lived Molly Parker, a close friend of mine and an avid inventor and scientist. She also liked Pokemon, but focused more on analyzing every single one of them to craft the perfect strategies and techniques. I wasn't so serious about it, but did memorize as many facts as I could.
Molly was the only friend I could easily get to at the moment, but I was afraid that the sight of me was going to melt her mind. After all, she believed entirely in science, and the sight of something impossible would short-circuit her brain as it tried to determine how it COULD be possible.
But she was my only option at the moment, and I decided to stop by for a visit anyways.
I quickly ran into a problem, however. Namely, the door.
I was far too short to reach it, and with roses for hands I couldn't exactly twist the knob. I frowned, trying to figure out what I should do.
I ended up pushing my computer chair up against the door, which while it did have wheels was no easy task, and carefully clambered up to the top of the back. There the doorknob was at eye level, and I tightly gripped onto it using my elbows. Then began the struggle of twisting it.
It was very hard, and I could feel myself sweating from the exertion. I had no idea that Roselias even could sweat. But finally, I turned it to the point where it clicked, and I pressed against it with all my weight.
I, uh, hadn't thought that through. The door swung open, and I immediately fell forwards, taking the chair with me. I yelped as we hit the ground, knocking the wind out of me and creating a loud crash that was undoubtedly heard by the neighbors.
But at least I'd gotten out of my room.
I brushed myself off, sending a few petals flying, and stumbled into the living room, where I saw my next challenge - the front door.
It went very similarly to the first time around, except this time I didn't take a spectacular crash. Once I was outside and in the hall, I struggled to get the door closed again, managing to do it by slipping my rose arms under the door and pulling it shut. Then I waddled my way to the stairs, nervously wondering what would happen if someone saw me.
The apartment complex was surprisingly quiet and empty, though, and I made it to the next floor safely. I walked up to Molly's door, which was locked.
I tried knocking at it, but only succeeded at dislodging more petals. The roses apparently did a good job at absorbing sound.
Next I called, "Hey! Hey, Molly, it's me! Can I come in?"
There was a muffled thump, and the sound of something large moving. "Um...no. I don't want to see anyone right now..."
I froze. "Oh no, you must have transformed too!"
There was another thump, and Molly replied, "Umm...yeah...you too?"
I nodded. "Yup, I'm a Roselia. Which means I, uh, can't reach the door. Or open it."
Molly replied, "Oof. Okay, I'm gonna open it now, then. Sorry about trying to chase you away before, this is just...a lot to handle."
I heard some rustling, and then a click. The door was pulled open, and behind it was Molly, her new form quite the surprise.
She was now a Galarian Rapidash. Her mane and tail sparkled with colors, and her signature bifocal glasses were now perched behind a tall unicorn's horn that nearly scraped the ceiling. She was holding the door handle in-between her teeth, and clearly did not like it.
I hurried into her apartment, and she used a hoof to push the door closed. We proceeded to stare at each other for some time.
"Well...this is awkward.", I said, hopping up onto an armchair so I could get closer to Molly's height.
"No kidding.", she replied, "You're a flower and I'm a unicorn."
"Any ideas how this happened?", I asked.
Molly shook her head. "All I know is that it happened suddenly, and that we're not the only ones to have turned into Pokemon. But I haven't been able to check any news, because well...I have hooves."
I hopped over to her couch, where I saw the remote to her TV sitting. "Here, let me try."
I used my stubby feet to press the buttons, and switched onto the first news channel I could find.
" - in the last hour Hungary has fallen completely into anarchy, for the country and its neighbors were much more strongly hit than others. The United Nations are making plans to form a zone around the country to prevent this from spreading. Other highly affected areas appear to include the African country of Chad, southeast Asia, the southern tip of Florida, and most of the western coast of the United States.
Additionally, it has been confirmed that the transformed can no longer speak in any human languages, but are still capable of understanding them."
"Oh no!", I cried, "This must be like the anime!"
Molly frowned. "Wait, but I can still speak with you and understand what you're saying. What are they talking about?"
I listened closely, and realized that while she wasn't HEARING it, she was speaking in various combinations of 'Rapidash', which meant the same must be true with me and the word 'Roselia'. "Our minds are automatically translating for us.", I explained, "But to humans we aren't saying anything intelligible, just variations of our species name."
Molly frowned even deeper, a strange expression on a horse. "How is that even possible? It doesn't make any logical sense!"
I shrugged. "Logic was dumped out the window as soon as this transformation occurred."
Molly sighed and rubbed her head with a hoof. "I hate this. Nothing makes sense anymore..."
I sighed. "Yeah, but hey, Pokemon are real now!"
Molly gave me a stern look.
"That's not nearly as great as you think it is.", she said, "Those Pokemon were people, transformed by who knows what into creatures that are full of endless destructive power. This is a very bad situation, and it's only going to get worse. We don't even know if our friends and family are okay! There's fires and crashes all over the place out there - what if they got trapped in one!?"
Suddenly I felt very, very guilty. I hadn't even thought about that.
Molly continued, "Our parents don't even know we're like this! So how can you be so happy about it!?"
I wilted under her vitriol, feeling quite ashamed. "I'm sorry, Molly.", I whispered, "I hadn't even thought about all that..."
Molly gave me an apologetic look. "It's okay, I forgive you. But you do need to remember how serious this thing actually is. Like, you had to do who knows what just to get down here! And I'm a literal horse - this apartment isn't meant to fit me. I can't tell you how many times I've knocked something over or bashed my head against the doorway, and I've hardly been transformed for five minutes!"
She frowned. "I'm not even sure what to do to keep you taken care of. Like, if you're a sentient plant, do you need to be watered regularly? Sunshine? Can you even eat?"
"Well, I do still have a tongue.", I commented, "So...maybe? But you're right, we don't even know what these new bodies require. No one would've ever thought they needed to know that before this event."
I thought for a moment. "Maybe we could try to see what Bulbapedia might say?"
"A wonderful idea!", Molly declared sarcastically, "Now if only we could type!"
"Ah.", I replied, "Right."
I thought hard for a moment. "Well, maybe I'll get stuff wrong, but I could try to remember some facts about our species. Let's see..."
I pointed towards Molly. "You're a Galarian Rapidash, which means you're a Psychic/Fairy type. Which, uh...means you use magical mind powers and just magical powers in general."
Molly winced. "Magic?"
I sighed. "Yeah. Magic. Like I said, logic was thrown out the window as soon as we transformed. Anyways, if I remember correctly, your horn can purify poisons."
Molly stepped back nervously. "Um...you're a Poison type. Do you think that would end up hurting you?"
I shivered. "No idea. Let's not find out. Anyways, you can also apparently summon powerful psychic blades capable of slashing through steel. Which is a little scary, actually."
"Psychic blades...", murmured Molly, "Aw, no, not more magic."
"That's all I can remember off the top of my head.", I said, "I don't know much about Roselias, though. All I can remember is that I shoot toxic thorns and apparently hate people trying to steal my flowers. There was something else about how pure spring water can make my flowers bloom much more vibrantly."
Thinking about pure water suddenly made me feel thirsty. "Um...is there any way for me to get water? Suddenly I'm really thirsty."
Molly nodded fiercely. "Yes! Yes, you probably need water very bad. Hang on, I think my watering can is still half-full."
She trotted off to her room, accidentally knocking over an end table as she went. I sat down, glancing nervously at the TV as it showed endless scenes of chaos and destruction from all around the globe. I tried not to look, but it was hard to tear my eyes away from all the images of fire and car crashes and overstuffed hospitals and violence. The hospital images especially got to me, since I knew my parents were having to deal with that right now.
How would they feel when they finally came home and found me like this? Their day was going to be awful enough already...
Molly came back, holding her watering can in her teeth. I hopped off the couch, so that she wouldn't have to dump it onto the furniture. I walked over to her, and she proceeded to pour the contents of the can over me.
It felt cold and weird, but also...kinda nice? I immediately felt refreshed and alert, and I almost seemed like my leaves and flowers pepped up with color. I smiled, and Molly put the can down.
"Huh, that was odd.", she said, "Your body literally just absorbed it. Do you feel better?"
"Very.", I replied, "I guess I'm a plant in more ways than I thought. I feel full of energy!"
Molly nodded. "Awesome! But, uh, now I have to wonder what else you need. Are we going to need to plant you in dirt or something?"
I shuddered. "Um, no, let's not do that."
Molly nodded thoughtfully. "Hmm, alright. Well, if you're full of energy, what do you say about us going out and trying to find our friends and family?"
I nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes, let's go! But, uh...I can't exactly move very fast."
"Not a problem.", Molly replied, "You can ride on my back, as long as you don't touch my horn. Do you think you can hold on?"
I looked at her thick mane, and nodded. "Yeah, I should be able to."
I climbed up onto the armchair again, and she walked over to me. I carefully judged the jump, before lunging with a flying leap and clinging onto her mane with my thorny roses. As I anticipated, the thorns snagged on the hair, and I was going nowhere.
Molly winced. "Ouch, try to be careful back there. Now, let's go!"
She trotted out the door, and pulled it closed. Then she carefully made her way through the hall and down the stairs, before bursting into a running gallop as soon as we were outside. I hung on tight as we rode through the crowded, chaotic streets, hoping we could find our friends in all this nightmare. (-o-)
Samuel Townsend
My turn, I see. Alright then.
That day didn't start out much different than others. I accompanied my father to his work at the Golden Gate News station, where I worked as an intern as practice for when I became an adult and became a full-time worker here. I was good at recording events and using a camera or a pen, and had helped the station out on many occasions.
The station was a tall three-story building with several rooms for office work, journalism, and camerawork. The top floor was the studio, where my boss, Mr. Philly Cheeztaik, served as a news anchor and spoke across television. He wasn't the worst guy in the world, per se, but he wasn't exactly my favorite person either.
Anyways, that morning, I was finishing up my morning cup of coffee when I heard Mr. Philly call over the intercom, "Samuel! Report to my office at once!"
I frowned. What could he possibly be calling me for?
I noticed the clock in the break room read 7:34. Nope, wasn't late for work, quite the opposite really. Mr. Philly didn't expect me for work until 8:00 at the earliest.
Was it something good? I knew better than to get my hopes up, of course, but I HAD been working hard recently. Whatever the case, I knew I had to hurry over there quickly.
But as I headed down the hallway to his office, I suddenly felt a headache coming on. I shook it off as nothing at first, but the pain only increased, until suddenly I felt it start burning through my entire body. I cried out, stumbling to the foot of the office door as my body started changing form, shifting and cracking and becoming something...different.
I crumpled to my knees, feeling every painful detail of my transformation. My ears extended and unfurled as they expanded to a giant size, and I could feel something very much like a tail grow out of the back of my pants. My hands curled up and shrank, turning into paws. Pink fur sprouted all over my skin with the feel of a bunch of tiny needles growing out, and my body painfully began shrinking until I was no larger than a housecat. My face shifted agonizingly and turned into a muzzle, and something small and round grew out of my forehead.
But as fast as it had come, it went, and I was left with a throbbing headache, a pile of clothes, and a strange, unfamiliar body. Thankfully, my ID card still hung around my neck, but I had no idea what to do.
I noticed the office door was open a crack, so I quickly bundled up my clothes and pushed them in, following after them. And not a moment too soon, because my new ears picked up the sounds of people running through the hallway.
I kicked my clothes under a row of cabinets, before dashing under my boss's desk right as the door burst open, revealing my father and Mr. Philly, both looking flustered.
"Impossible, I say! Impossible!", my father cried, "How in the world do people just TRANSFORM at the stroke of one minute!?"
I froze. So apparently I wasn't the only one.
Mr. Philly shrugged. "No idea, Edward. But don't you see? This is IT! The story of the century! Mass transformation of unknown cause, drastically shifting all aspects of life! If we report on this, we could get major publicity, and major profits! The public is going to want answers, and our job is to deliver them!"
My father, Edward, frowned. "How are you planning on finding those answers, sir?"
Mr. Philly turned on the intercom.
"Alright, reporters, I need you out there IMMEDIATELY! A strange mass transformation just occurred, and I want answers NOW! We're going to be on air in ten minutes, so I expect you all out there and recording by the time we start! Go go go!", he yelled.
Edward asked, "Does that include me?"
"Yes, of course! Get going and get filming! I want interviews! Films! Knowledge!", Mr. Philly shouted.
Edward nodded and hurried out, and I hunched up tighter, nervous about being discovered hiding under my boss's desk, even if I was some sort of cat creature.
Mr. Philly didn't notice me down there at all, striding over to his chair with a smug look on his fat, bald head. He plopped down in his chair with a groan, though I wasn't sure if it was from him or the chair as it struggled to stay up under his heavy weight. Straightening his green tie, he looked towards the door smugly, daydreaming about all the money he might be about to make.
It sickened me, honestly. Here was a catastrophic event that might ruin thousands of lives, and here he was dreaming about dollar signs. He was excited to make money from people's suffering, and it made me upset. But I reigned in my temper and kept a cool head, instead thinking more on what I had turned into.
Pink cat-like creature with a sphere in their head? That...actually sounded more familiar than I was expecting. Had I somehow...transformed into an Espeon?
My headache spiked again, and I winced. I felt miserable, not to mention how wrong everything felt as a completely different species.
My ears twitched as footsteps came near, and Mr. Philly frowned. The door opened to reveal a nervous man, who worked as a receptionist in the main lobby.
"What is it?", demanded Mr. Philly, "I got to get to the studio in ten minutes!"
The receptionist replied, "Well, um, sir...some of the reporters are unable to go anywhere at the moment."
"What are you talking about?", Mr. Philly asked darkly.
The receptionist shivered. "Uh...well, you see, David is now a fish. A big, black-and-white glowing one."
"My star reporter!", cried Mr. Philly, "Fine. What about Veronica?"
"Well...she's a fish too, sir.", replied the receptionist, trembling so hard I feared he might faint.
I couldn't blame him. Mr. Philly looked furious.
"Gah! What about Joseph? Don't tell that HE'S a fish too!", he cried.
"Um, no sir.", the receptionist replied.
"Thank goodness.", Mr. Philly said.
The receptionist added, "But, um...he's a weird green cocoon thing now."
Mr. Philly yelled several foul things that made my ears turn red.
"Are you telling me that only Edward and Winona are able to report?!", cried Mr. Philly.
The receptionist stammered, "Well, uh, yes. But, um...what about the intern? Sammy?"
I froze up, hearing my name. None of them knew I was hiding under the desk in the form of an Espeon.
Mr. Philly frowned. "Hmm...I did call him to my office shortly before this whole thing started. I have no idea where that boy went, though."
I wasn't sure what to do, but I doubted hiding longer was the best choice. "I'm here!", I cried.
Mr. Philly jumped right out of his seat, screaming, "AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHH!" I realized my mistake immediately, and froze in shock.
But the boss quickly recovered, frowning. He looked under the desk and saw me, and the ID tag still hanging around my neck.
We stared at each other for a few moments, neither making a move.
"Sammy?", asked the boss, "God damn it, you transformed too."
Then a sly smile crept up his face. "But you're not a fish...what a marvelous opportunity!"
I paled, wondering what he was thinking of.
"You are the perfect candidate for my upcoming broadcast!", Mr. Philly declared, "A nice young man, tragically cursed by the transformation that struck the nation! An interview with you on the television will raise views and sympathy, and sympathy means gifts! Come with me, we've got to get you ready for the studio!"
He got up, and looked towards the receptionist. "You, get back to your desk! I have work to do!"
He gestured at me to follow. "Come on, I need you to come with me. It's okay if you're nervous - hardly anyone gets a chance to show up on TV with a celebrity like me! Don't worry, though, I'll tell you exactly what you need to say."
Cautiously I followed him, wondering what exactly he'd just dragged me into. (-o-)
AN: That's the first part of this done! Woohoo!
Since I already have an idea of where I will be going with this story, I will hopefully be able to update it fairly frequently! But like with everything else I write, update times will be rather erratic. Sometimes I might get a chapter out in three days, sometimes it might end up being three weeks (that will hopefully be rare, though). But I hope you all will enjoy the journey I take with this story! Stay tuned, and don't forget to review!
Catch you all next time!