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The Victoria Chronicles

**Chapter 20

Portals to Hell**

Somewhere else, somewhere far underground. A large ring of metal and strange tech sat near one end of a large room. The device was supported by two large hydraulic arms from the floor and two more from the ceiling. Cables ran and hung everywhere, and techs in white lab coats congregated around various tech and machines. Occasionally one would leave a group and confer with another group.

Opposite from the large ring was a glass control room set high up on the wall above a large blast door. Inside a few more scientists and engineers stood looking over consoles or observing the activity in the room down below.

Suddenly the door to the control room opened and Smith strode into the room.

"Sit-Rep!" Smith demanded.

"Sir!" the head engineer responded turning to face the agent. "We're making progress, but we did have a setback this morning."

"What kind of setback?" Smith said as his eyes narrowed just a little bit.

"When we ran the power-up test the main capacitor bank blew. I'm afraid that we will have to rebuild the whole power bank." The engineer said.

"How long will that take?" Smith said turning and looking out over the room with the inactive portal sitting idle.

"A few days at least. We have the resources, but it's going to take time." The engineer said.

"Fix it ASAP! I want to be running trials by mid next week!" Smith insisted.

"But sir!" the engineer protested, "We still have many test yet to perform. Something like this has never been attempted before! If we're not careful who knows what could happen!"

"You have until mid-next week!" Smith repeated. "If you can't do it I'll find someone who can! I have several cells full of test subject 'volunteers'. Unless you would like to 'volunteer' to be the first to go through I'd suggest you work your men faster!"

Smith turned to leave and left the room. Outside in the corridor his second was waiting for him.

"Well?" Smith said without looking at the man as he fell into step behind him.

"Out of the two teams we sent out only one man came back sir." The second said flatly.

"Which one?" Smith asked still staring straight ahead as he walked down the corridor.

"The three man team leader." The man said in the same emotionless tone as his superior. "Apparently they were attacked by some sort of creature. His other men were captured. We assume the same must have happened to the team we sent out the other night. The creature in question matches the description of the creature the sentinel we left to watch over the energy signature where those three campers were claimed he encountered. Since then the energy signature was vanished without a trace."

"I want to see him in my office first thing in the morning! I want to know everything he knows about this, 'creature'!" Smith said as he entered an elevator and the doors closed.

Vix didn't get much sleep that night. Unlike every other night since she woke up a vixen Visalth didn't come to talk to her. Instead it was right into the nightmares.

It first started with the same nightmare that she had been having since waking up as a newly minted vixen. And like the others this night it was somehow even more real. Now not only did she hear the explosions, she felt them now too. The shockwaves, the heat, it was like being in a warzone. Which to be fair she was. The screams were louder, the people more solid, everything was more vivid somehow. And again, it all cumulated in a shapeless horror that reached out for her, only for Vix to wake up screaming. In her emotional state from the previous day it took a sometime for Edna to calm her down enough that she was able to go back to sleep. Edna was at her side soon after she woke up screaming, and held her in a rocking hug while telling her she was alright. It was just a dream. For some reason Vix felt it was more than a dream. And it kept getting worse every night. Eventually she calmed down enough to make another attempt at sleep. Edna was now fully awake and for some reason she didn't think she'd be as easy to sneak past. Not that Vix was too interested in going anywhere anyway. For once she had no interest in doing anything. Eventually she fell back asleep.

Only to have a different nightmare.

In this one she was the creature she had hallucinated in the mirror at the thrift store. The town's people chasing her with torches and pitchforks as if from some cheesy monster movie. But when you are the one being chased it's hard to notice the difference. Even the Crawford's had thrown her out to fend for herself, telling her that they wanted nothing to do with a freak of nature in their home.

And then her friends wouldn't have anything to do with her. They just hurled insults and stones to chase her away, she wasn't sure where they had come from, but either way they wanted nothing to do with her. When the mob had caught her they tied her up and threw her into a deep pit. Before she hit the bottom she again woke up to find that she was tangled up in her blanket and in a panic that she was still tied and falling.

Again Edna had to calm her down and assure her that she was ok, it was just a dream.

After that she didn't get much sleep. She just lay there watching the room. When Edna had checked on her in the middle of the night after answering the call of nature Vix just feigned being asleep. Edna straightened the blanket and patted her head softly in a motherly way. Somehow that alone made her feel just a little better, although she didn't let Edna know this.

Vix had grown up without her mother, or father for that matter. Her mother had died while Victor had still been young. Too young to really remember much. And his father was just not there at all, having left early after finding out his mother was pregnant with him. Forcing his mother to seek help from her brother.

After his mother had died he was raised by his uncle. All in all his uncle did a pretty good job overall. But not having a mother left a hole that his uncle just couldn't fill. After meeting Sarah and Ben Sarah filled the part of surrogate sister. That helped, but it just wasn't the same. Victor had dim memories of his mother. Not much, just someone who had put him to bed and tucked him in before his uncle filled the male parent role after her passing.

There were a few girlfriends that his uncle had dated that sorta filled the role for a very sort while. But none of them were 'his' mother. And anyway they never stuck around long for some reason. Later when he was older he figured out that it was just a chemistry thing. They just weren't compatible with his uncle, or in some cases, they didn't want to be a mother to an orphaned boy. Either way they had moved on. And eventually his uncle had just stopped altogether. He wanted someone that cared for his nephew as much as they cared for him. And for some reason those were few and far between.

Edna blew them all away in the limited time he had known her for less than a day. All the Crawford's had really.

Vix was almost ready to consider them a second family. His uncle had done his best, and in her opinion had done a very good job. She wouldn't trade him for anything. But the family experience she had thus far with the Crawford's was something she had never had growing up. It felt...nice. Comforting in a way.

She would have to find a way to thank them for everything they had done for her. And for tolerating her frequent mood swings as of late.

That was something else that bothered her now she came to think about it. She never used to do this kinda thing. Was this a female thing she was experiencing? Something else Percii had messed up? Or was it just all the stress she was going through? Maybe a combination of everything? She'd have to ask about that. Maybe Edna and Kristine had an answer for her? Or even Visalth the next time they spoke.

Either way, these thoughts kept her awake for much of the remaining night till the sky outside finally started to show a little color as the sun was still below the horizon. Only then was she able to finally fall into a light and fitful sleep. But at least the nightmares seemed to be done with her.

For now.

Victoria didn't wake up till late morning, which for her was pretty late. Everyone had decided to let her sleep as they all felt she needed it. Especially after the day, then the night, she had.

When she did slowly wake up Edna was sitting in the recliner working on adjusting her cloths to accommodate her tail, including some underwear she didn't remember buying.

"Oh, there you are." Edna said when she noticed Victoria watching her with half open eyes. "How are you feeling today?"

Victoria yawned wide before answering. "Like I was run over by a truck."

"Does it hurt? I can go get Kristine if you think you need medical help." Edna said with a concerned look on her face.

"What? Oh, no. I'm fine." Vix said after a bit of confusion. She had almost forgotten about that! "I'm just a bit sore."

"Oh. Well, besides physical, how do you feel?" Edna asked.

"Like my life has gone out of my control! I can't find my friends, bad men keep trying to finish the job Smith started. And, oh yeah, I'm a fucking female bitch fox!" Vix screamed. "I'm stuck in this alien/fox body with stupid scary abilities, I'm supposed to save the world, and I have absolutely no fucking idea what I'm doing!"

Edna didn't say anything. She just sat in her chair and let Victoria go on for a while. Despite the screaming, and the yelling, she never said a word or made a movement. She just sat there and let the distraught vixen go one until Victoria started sobbing. Only then did she move over to the couch next to Victoria and pulled her into a motherly hug, making shushing sounds and running her hand down Victoria's head soothingly.

Only after Victoria calmed down enough to talk again did Edna say anything. "Feel better?"

"No, maybe. I don't know." Victoria said sniffing, "I just don't know what to do anymore."

Edna waited for Victoria to calm down a little more before adding anything. "Well first off, why don't you go and wash up a bit. Finish waking up. When you're done, and you're a little calmer, we will talk some more." Edna said standing up and helping the vixen to her feet. "Go one. You'll feel better." She said shooing Victoria to the bathroom.

Victoria shuffled over to the bathroom and stepping inside, closed the door behind her. She went over to the sink and with a washcloth, she washed her face and muzzle. After freshening up a bit she looked at the covered mirror. She didn't want too, but she knew she would have to look at herself eventually. She couldn't go through another event like yesterday. And in a public place too. And next time she may not be in the company of others that would take care of her.

Tentatively she pulled back the towel she had put over the mirror and looked at her reflection in the largest shard of intact glass. A vulpine face stared back at her with its orange/red and white fur and long vulpine muzzle.

Victoria reached up and ran her hand along her muzzle, watching the reflection in the mirror. She looked carefully at the end of her muzzle and the large black nose and the short whiskers that stuck out either side of her muzzle. She ran her fingers along the whiskers and felt the sensation of her fingers moving them. It was an odd feeling, almost like having another sense as they picked up any vibration.

Then Victoria looked closely at her eyes. Those deep green vulpine eyes. She had never seen a fox with green eyes, but she had them. The pupils were the typical vulpine slits and when she reached over towards the rheostat for the overhead light and adjusted the intensity she watched her pupils widen and contract depending on the light level. Yet, even when she turned the light off she could still see everything in the bathroom as her eyes adjusted to the dark and the sliver of light from under the door.

Putting the light back to a normal light level she moved on to her ears. Those large triangular ears that turned like radar dishes to sound and heard everything. She could even hear Edna moving around the main room doing something. Sounded like she was in the kitchenette making something. And soon enough her nose picked up the smell of butter, then the sound of it hitting a frying pan. Her senses had never been this strong or accurate. She prided herself on how well she heard stuff before, but this was a whole new level of hearing and smell she had never known before.

Reaching up she felt the velvet soft fur of her ear, felt it push against her fingers as it swiveled to track the sound in the other room.

Ok, that's enough.

The image in the mirror wasn't the monster she had seen in the stores mirror. But it still wasn't her. With an unsteady hand she flipped the towel back over the mirror then gripped the sink to steady herself.

Ok, ok. It wasn't as bad as it was yesterday. But it still wasn't her. Well, it was 'her'. It wasn't him.

Leaving the bathroom Vix went back to the main room, skulked onto the couch, and collapsed.

"How do you like your eggs dear?" Edna asked from the kitchen area.

"Mph mmph-urff." Vix mumbled into the pillow.

"How's that?" Edna asked.

Vix moved her head just enough to expose her mouth, "Not hungry." She mumbled.

"You need to eat dear. You missed dinner last night, and slept through most of the morning as well. You must be at least a little hungry?" Edna said while she busied herself in the kitchen.

"Hmmph!" was all she got from Vix. She wasn't hungry, she just wanted to be left alone. She didn't know where her friends were. She didn't know how she was meant to save them. Nor did she know what it was she was supposed to do to stop whatever Smith was planning. All she knew was that he was planning on opening a portal to what essentially was hell. And she didn't know how to stop that. She didn't even know where the hell Smith and everyone was. She felt useless. It was not a good feeling.

Not that her life had been all that easy in the first place. Just moving from job to job. Always picking the wrong ones. The longest she'd been at one place was just under three years working in an office IT department. The problem was that the place was so underfunded that Victor had spent all his time cannibalizing older machines into something that barely did the job. When the company folded that's when Victor had decided that office work wasn't for him. The rest of the jobs weren't all that much better in longevity.

It had just been a string of one after another. Farms, garages, repair shops, even a few retail jobs when things were really tight. None lasted.

But the point was, he had always moved on.

But at least he felt useful. And he did meet a lot of people along the way.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a hand on her shoulder. As she rose up from her prone position on the couch a plate of food was placed under her nose.

"Here you are dear." Edna said as she held the plate. "Go on. You need to keep your energy up."

Reluctantly Vix took the offered plate. She looked at it for a moment before picking up the fork and spearing a bit of scrambled eggs. Slowly she picked at her breakfast while Edna sat by her and watched politely. Why were the Crawford's so nice to her? They didn't know her. She looked like something out of a fantasy book or a horror movie. Yet these people didn't seem to see that.

"Why are you helping me?" Vix said in a quiet voice between bites. "You don't know me. You don't know what I might be capable of."

"We're helping because you are a person in need." Edna said, laying a hand on her shoulder and giving it a light squeeze.

"You don't think I can take care of myself?" Vix asked without looking up.

"Physically I think you are the strongest person I have ever met. And I can see you are strong willed and compassionate to others with buckets of empathy." Edna said, "But everyone needs a helping hand every so often. And right now I can see that you are troubled by a lot. More than most people could ever be expected to handle. And yet, despite what you have gone through, you still go out of your way to help people. My husband has told me what you have done, and yesterday I saw for myself what you can do. But today I see someone conflicted, scared, and feeling alone. But you are not alone."

"But I am alone!" Vix said with a small growl, "I've been changed into this freak of nature. The only one of whatever I am now!"

"Look," Edna said, gently moving Victoria's head to face her. "You are unique. I won't argue that. But you are not alone. Not as long as you have friends. And I would like to think we are, or can be friends."

Vix finished the bit of food in her mouth and swallowed before putting the dish down on the coffee table. She had only eaten about half of the food on it but she had had enough. Edna noted this but didn't push the matter. Instead she switched subjects.

"Do you want to talk about the dreams you had last night? You seemed to have had some pretty bad ones." Edna asked.

"No, not really. I'd rather forget they ever happened." Vix said.

"That's not a very healthy thing to do, but we can talk about it later." Edna said kindly, "Instead how about we talk about what happened yesterday at the store? Something shook you up pretty bad."

"I..." Vix started then stopped. She thought about it for a long moment before saying anything. "I saw something in the mirror I didn't like."

"What I saw from you yesterday was much more than a simple dislike of something." Edna said. "Whatever it was scared you worse than anything I've seen from someone before."

"I...I saw myself, but not as you see me now. I saw myself as some sort of blood thirsty monster. It scared me more than anything I've ever experienced before."

"Tell me." Edna said giving Victoria a reassuring squeeze to her shoulder.

Victoria gave a long sigh. "These abilities I have, they scare me sometimes. What if I were to go too far and hurt someone? Or worse kill someone? What if these changes aren't done and I turn into some sort of monster?"

"You're not a monster. You're too good a person for that." Edna said reassuringly.

"But there have been good people who have become corrupted by power. That sort of thing unnerves me. No one should have the power I have. No one human anyway." Victoria said apprehensively.

"If such a thing were true I would not have given it to you in the first place." A voice that was familiar to Vix said. Edna heard it too. The two looked up to see Visalth standing on the other side of the coffee table.

"What, the, hell! Who the hell are you?" Edna said to the person standing there. She was another vixen, but taller, older and dressed in Victorian dress.

"I am Visalth Edna."_Visalth said, _"I am sorry to interrupt Edna. But I felt that Victoria was in need of me."

Vix for her part instantly shot up from her seat on the couch. "Visalth! Why, why did you make me like this?! She cried in barely contained rage. This had been the first time she had really lost her temper at her benefactor.

"Dear Victoria. I am sorry for Percii's mistakes." Visalth said calmingly yet despondently. Seeing Visalth's sadness actually tempered Victoria's anger slightly. "I was never my intention to make you miserable."

"Then why?" Vix seethed. She was really trying to be civil, but after the last few days she had anger to spare. And she didn't really care, after all, what did she have to lose? "Why change me at all?!"

Visalth gave a sigh and looked down at Victoria sadly. "Because you are the only one who can save this world."

"What the actually Fuck does that even mean?!" Vix screamed. Visalth didn't comment on the vixen's comments or choice of words. She merely let the rage wash over her.

"You were meant to remain male. That was Percii's mistake. Mine was forcing the change on you at all without your consent first. For that I apologize." Visalth explained softly.

"I...I mean...you...I..." Vix stammered a few times before becoming silent. She wanted to yell, she wanted to scream. But she also wanted to cry, to run away and hide forever. "I don't know what to do anymore." She finally sobbed. "You should have just let me die in those woods."

"You don't mean that child."_Visalth said pulling the upset vixen into a motherly hug. _"You're just upset and overwhelmed."

"I don't even know how to be female. I was barely scraping by being male! But at least I knew how to be that!" Vix said, choking back her tears.

"I know little one." Visalth cooed. "And I will help you where I can. But remember, you are surrounded by those that can also help you to adjust."

"Who?" Vix asked without looking at Visalth in the face.

"My daughter and I for starters." Edna said joining the conversation for the first time.

"See? You are not as alone as you think." Visalth said petting Vix's head gently.

"And this dimensional horror I'm meant to stop? Why did you choose me? Why not someone else more capable?" Vix asked. Her anger hadn't left her, but her emotion pendulum was swinging back and forth between the two.

Sighing, Visalth held Vix at arm's length before speaking. "As I have already stated, you are the only one who can do the duty set out before you."

"What makes me so special?!" Vix yelled. "I'm just some guy off the street trying to eke out a life. I have no experience with stopping rouge agencies or dealing with Lovecraftian Horrors."

"That's an interesting turn of phrase little one. What do you know of such things?" Visalth asked, genially surprised for the first time since Vix had first met her.

"I've been having nightmares." Vix said reluctantly. "Recurring ones, every night. And each night they are more real and worse than the last."

Visalth sat Victoria down on the couch then kneeled next to her at head height. "Tell me child."

Vix took a deep breath and slowly let it out. It was clear she didn't want to, but eventually she slowly started to recount what she went through every night. All of it, and why after waking she wouldn't or couldn't go back to sleep.

"I see." Visalth said firmly after Vix had recounted her tale.

"Dear lord, that's horrible." Edna said in shock.

"Hellish would be closer." Victoria said flatly.

_"I feel I again should apologize."_Visalth said. "You should not be having those nightmares."

"Why's that?" Edna asked.

"Because she should not have those memories." Visalth replied. "Those are my memories from our exodus from our home dimension. And the destruction of our world. Many died during our escape. Only a handful escaped before we sealed that dimension. Some of those who escaped never fully recovered." She then turned to face Victoria. "You should not be having those dreams."

"So that thing actually exists?!" Victoria asked, her ears folding back in dread.

_"I am afraid that it does."_Visalth said.

"I'm sorry, but I'm confused." Edna said, "What is this thing?"

"This, thing, as you call it Edna, is a world destroyer. It is entropy incarnate. A creature that destroys everything it encounters be it matter or energy. Something entirely operating outside the laws of physics." Visalth explained. "My people found it by accident when we opened a portal into a dimension that we never should have tried exploring. We evacuated those we could while a brave few remained behind to slow it down and destroy and seal the portals after the refugees had left. We came here thousands of your years ago and hid among your people. Most of our numbers left soon after to find a new world to colonize as we did not want to influence your development. Those few of us that remained her either died of old age, or were killed off by superstitious humans."

"Why would...nevermind. Stupid question." Edna began.

"Indeed Edna. Primitive humans, we quickly discovered, while still quite intelligent were very naive of how the world around them worked early on. Hence, we hid ourselves. That at least proved fairly easy as most of my people can alter our shape. So with some caution we were able to hide more or less in plain sight." Visalth explained.

"So how many of you are left?" Edna asked, curious.

Visalth extended her hand and indicated Victoria. "She is the last of our linage on this world."

"I'm still confused about that." Edna said, "She told me that she was combined with you and a fox. How does that work?"

"Genetic manipulation beyond what your science has so far discovered. Your people are not yet ready for such technology." Visalth said with a bit of a severe tone to her voice. "But we are getting off topic. We are here to help Victoria." She said looking back over to the vixen.

"Oh no, please. Do continue talking about me like I'm not in the fucking room!" Vix yelled furiously. She was angry and scared and just did not care if people knew it or not.

"We're sorry little one. What about the situation bothers you most?" Visalth asked in a motherly tone.

"Oh, I don't know!" Vix said as she got up angrily and started pacing around the room. "Maybe having my life fucked around with. Or people constantly trying to kill me since this whole thing started. How about being changed into this fucking bitch-fox of a creature! I mean look at me!" she screamed turning around so quick that her breasts shook. Noticing this she reached with both hands and grabbed them then shook them to emphasize her point. "Look at these things! How do women deal with these fat-bags bouncing around all the time?! They are fucking distracting!! I can't believe women tolerate bras to contain them! I fucking hate them!!" she spun on her heal and started stalking to other way. "And these ears, I can hear everything! I don't know if it's the fox or the Vivudrosian but the damn things are like radar!"

Vix reached the other side of the room and spun around to stalk the other way again.

"I mean...I mean..." she stuttered as tears began to run down from her eyes. "I don't like any of this!" sniff,"Why? Why was it me? Why am I the lucky one to be changed into a monster? To have to deal with all this shit?" sniff,"I...I don't...I don't want any...of this! I defiantly didn't want to be female!"

Visalth crossed the room and pulled Victoria into a firm motherly hug.

"I know. I'm so sorry you have to go through this little one." Visalth said stroking Victoria's hair in a soothing motion. "It doesn't seem fair, does it? For the universe to choose you to bear this burden?"

Vix choked out a few sobs but managed to nod her head.

"If it were within my power I would change things so that you would have an easier time of things at the very least."_Visalth said, _"But such things aren't within my control any more than they are yours. What I can do is to at least help you to feel more at ease with your new body. I've been so busy with other matters that I've neglected to prepare you for those basic things that now make up your new form. So when you have calmed a bit we will go over what you are missing. And remember, even when I am not here by your side, you are not alone. Let those who are sheltering you help you adjust."

It took a while for Vix to calm down. When she finally did Visalth once again sat her down on the couch and between her and Edna they started to educate Victoria on the basics of being female. Now Vix wasn't coming in completely in the dark. She knew some stuff from health class in high school. But there was much that she didn't know that she would need to. Edna talked about body movements while walking and standing and even showed her how to sit properly in polite company.

But there were things that only Visalth knew that pertained to Victoria's unique heritage and biology. turned out there were some perks to her new biology. She was effectively immune to all known diseases, both human and animal, as her body would immediately stop and destroy any foreign invaders. This also made cleaning a bit less scary as most of the embarrassing female afflictions were something she needn't worry about. This knowledge didn't make talking about it any less embarrassing for Victoria though. Who sat on the couch listening in abstract horror and fascination.

Vix asked what she should use for shampoo considering all her new fur. Visalth told her that she had just used pat shampoo as it didn't rob her fur of the oils that human shampoo would do. Edna confirmed this when she felt Vix's fur and attested that it felt dry and coarser than it should. They would get her some from Kristine.

After that embarrassing talk was over they moved on to what had triggered Vix's panic attack at the story the other day. After Vix explained the image she had seen in the mirror Visalth spent some time explaining that Vix wasn't some monster, regardless of what Vix or others thought and said about her. It was no surprise that Visalth had heard similar during her life. She told Vix to just brush such jabs from people away. As long as her mind stayed strong and she remained true to her ideals she would never be the monster she feared she may become. Monsters were more a product of the mind, not what you looked like.

After over an hour Visalth said that she needed to go. Manifesting took a lot of energy and she needed to rest. But the bulk of what Vix needed to know had been relayed to her. Plus Visalth would talk to her more after she went to sleep that night.

After Visalth had faded like mist, Edna took over the more human aspect of what women had to go through. This was no less embarrassing, but also needed.

Victoria did not enjoy one bit of it, but she silently sat through it nonetheless. After all, she needed to know this now.

By afternoon Katie and Kristine had come up to see how Victoria was doing. By this time Victoria had mellowed out somewhat, having burned off most of her fury and now just being tired of it all. She was sitting on the couch and leaning heavily on the arm with a tired look on her face while her tail idly flicked about in her lap.

"How are you feeling?" Katie asked as she sat down next to the vixen on the couch.

"Like crap." Victoria said dejectedly, "I'm...it's a lot to take in."

"What part?"

"All of it, everything." Victoria replied while staring off into the distance, her ears drooping to the sides. "The changes, the abilities, learning to be something else than you were born as, the responsibilities I never wanted. All of it." She said flatly. "And yet knowing that I don't have the luxury to take my time learning it all. It's like...like my life has been taken away from me and I've been given someone else's to live."

"You still have your memories, and you still have your health." Edna cut in, "Many starting over have less than that. Maybe you can't go back to your old life, at least not the way it was. But maybe you can start over anew and have something better?"

"Yeah, maybe." Vix said still looking off into the distance. She inhaled and opening her jaw wide gave a vulpine yawn.

"You look tired dear." Kristine said kindly but with a hint of concern.

"She's had a busy afternoon." Edna said matter-of-factly. She turned to her daughter. "Kristine? A word please."

Edna and Kristine stepped outside to talk, Katie got up and joined them outside on the landing.

"Look, Victor ne Victoria has had a lot thrown at her. And this last conversation with her benefactor has just heaped even more on her. Add the changes she had to get used to now, and her missing friends...just go easy on her. The best thing we can do for her now is to just be there for her when she needs us, but otherwise try not to add anything more to the load she's already carrying." Edna said laying out the simple truth of the matter.

"That bad, huh?" Kristine said.

"Pretty much. You saw how she reacted at the thrift store. She's trying hard to adapt to the situation, and honestly I think she's doing an admirable job at that, but it's too much too fast. In any other circumstance maybe she'd have an easier time dealing with just one thing. But dealing with being changed, losing her identity, losing her friends to an unknown fate, and having the fate of a world thrown on her already loaded shoulders...it's a miracle she's even coherent. Can you even imagine what it must be like to be forced into a different species and gender? I don't know what Victor was like before, but Victoria is struggling with it." Edna explained. "So for the foreseeable future go easy of the poor dear."

"Do you really think what she said about this 'world threat' thing is real?" Kristine asked.

"I don't know. I agree it's a fantastical claim. But, given what we've seen, what she can do...I don't know. It's not beyond the realm of possibility." Edna said with some unease to her voice.

"Anyway, we need to get her cleaned up." Edna said in a more upbeat voice, "Kristine, you have some dog shampoo in your clinic, right?"

"Yeah mom. I've got plenty." Kristine replied.

"Good. Go get some. She's been using regular shampoo. It's fine for her hair, but her fur is getting a bit dry. While you do that I'm going to go fetch a tub." Edna said before turning to go back inside to inform Katie. Only to find Katie standing there.

"I heard grandma. I assume you want me to stay with her while you go collect what you need?" Katie asked.

"Yes." Edna said as Kristine was already at the bottom of the stairs and heading across the yard. "And don't ask her any personal questions for the time being. I think she's had enough of that for the time being. Just be her friend. Let her do the talking, if she wants to."

"I understand." Katie said, "So maybe find something on TV she would like. Something to take her mind off recent events?"

"I think that would be a great idea." Edna said, "If she wants to."

Katie nodded before going back inside the apartment. She found Victoria right where she had been. The vixen was sitting on her end of the couch with her arm propped on the arm of the couch and her muzzle in her hand. She seemed to be in thought. Katie left her for a bit, unsure how to approach a subject. Finally she broke the silence.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"Just...thinking." Vix said.

"About what?" Katie said taking a seat on the couch at a respectable distance. Not so far as to be distant, but not so close to be crowding.

"About...how a person perceives themselves I guess. I've spent all my life as a male, and a human. Now I'm in the body of a female fox, a vixen if you will. In body and in looks. I don't know how to be...this." Vix gestured to herself. "I don't really want to. I wish I could go back. But I can't, for just as many reasons as why I'm like this now."

Vix took a deep breath and let it out slowly in a long sigh.

"I'm like this because of the actions of Smith. Both direct and indirect. He killed me, I died. Then I was brought back as...this." Vix said pointing towards herself again. "I am both grateful for the second chance in life, and yet I want to scream and yell at Visalth for this. I don't blame her, but I'm not happy with the _conditions_attached. I want to find my friends and the missing town's people. I need these new abilities to do that, and yet they scare me. No one should have this kind of power." Vix said with a nervous huff.

Katie just sat there and listened. It was clear Victoria needed to say this.

"I've more or less accepted this I guess. This is what I am now." Victoria said despondently, "But I don't like it. I don't want to change who I am."

"Who says you need to?" Katie said kindly. "Why can't you be you? Sure, there a few changes you will have to get used to. But I don't see why you can't stay you. Oh sure, you don't look like Victor on the outside, but you are still you on the inside. Hold on to that. You can still be who Victor was, maybe more."

Victoria sat in silence for a bit as she mulled this. But before she could say more the door opened and Edna and Kristine returned. Kristine was holding a few bottles of what she assumed were soap of some kind. But Edna...

"What's the tin tub for?" Vix asked.

Edna and Kristine glanced at each other then straight at Vix. Realization dawned on Vix and she was suddenly filled with dread. What the two were planning hadn't been done to her since she was a baby.

"Oh no! No no no No! You are not seriously considering what I think you are?!" Victoria said incredulously.

Edna spoke first. "There are things you need to learn, both from an animal and human point of view you haven't had to deal with yet." She said assuredly. "In the sake of expediency this is the fastest and thuroughest way to do it."

"And you fur needs a good conditioning." Kristine piped in. "That shampoo you've been using has started to dry it out. You need to learn what's right for fur, and what's right for hair. We understand you're in a bit of a unique situation so this is the best way really."

Vix started backing further into the corner of the couch she was seated on. She was cornered.

Somewhere else...

Smith was sitting at his terminal in his office going over reports. He did not look very happy at what he was reading. He never really ever looked particularly happy, but right now he was less so. The progress reports he was getting indicated more delays. This would not do!

There was a knock at his door.

"Enter!" he stated without looking up from his screen. The door opened and four men entered. Two of them were scientists, the lead engineer and one of his aids. The third man was "Moe", and the fourth was Smith's second and entered behind the first three. After he entered the room the door was closed by one of the two security guards out in the hall.

Nothing was said for a while as Smith finished what he was reading. Then he secured the terminal before steepling his hands and looking over them at the two scientists. "Speak." He commanded in a composed yet menacing tone.

"We're working as fast as we can sir. The damage to the power bank was more extensive than we first thought." The lead engineer said in the strongest voice he could muster.

"How long?" Smith asked.

"At least a month. Possibly longer." The man said nervously.

"You have two." Smith said. The man started to abject but the look Smith shoot him instantly silenced him.

Smith then shifted his gaze to the agent. "Where are the rest of your men?"

"Captured sir." The agent replied.

"How?" Smith asked in that same level tone.

"We ran into some sort of creature sir."

"Creature? Explain." Smith directed.

"It was some sort of animal-hybrid sir. Looked something like a fox." The agent explained.

"And this 'creature' managed to capture two men and foil your collection mission?" Smith asked.

"Yes sir." The agent replied.

"Did you at least deal with the sheriff of that damn town?"

"No sir."

"Explain. I gave explicit orders that she was to be liquidated. There are too many loose ends in that damn town agent." Smith expounded.

"The creature interceded our attempt at the sheriff." The agent replied.

Nothing more was said for a time as Smith glared at the three men standing in front of him. His second stood behind them, resting his right hand on his holstered sidearm. The clasp was undone.

Finally smith spoke again. He didn't look at anyone in particular as he spoke.

"There have been far too many mistakes happening of late. That stops today!" He said firmly. "From now on there will be consequences to failures!" He looked at his second and gave a terse nod of his head.

Smith's second withdrew his pistol and pointed it at the lead engineers head. The muzzle pressed against his head. The other agent relaxed slightly while the lead engineer stiffened. The man fully expected his life to end right there. Smith nodded and the pistol fired.

Blam!!!

The two scientists jumped at the same time, the lead engineer was surprised at the lack of pain he didn't feel. He opened his eyes he had closed and looked around. To his right side the other agent had a surprised look on his face as he stared at the hole in his chest before his eyes rolled back and he collapsed lifelessly to the floor.

"You have two weeks. Do not ask for more." Smith said menacingly. "No get out of my sight. And someone remove 'that'!" he indicated to the agent on the floor.

After the two men had quickly fled the room with as much decorum as they could muster and the dead agents body had been removed by one of the guards from outside smith turn to his left-hand-man.

"What have you found out?" Smith asked in a more measured tone.

"Not as much as I would have liked, but I did find a few things. This creature we've been hearing about matches a partial description of the one you've been looking for sir. Fox-like, walks like a human, intelligent, looks to be female, nearly impossible to track. Seems to have come out of nowhere. It's been sighted a few times near or in town. Most of this information comes third-hand and is hard to verify. I'm keeping up the search for more reliable information. But I did come across this." The man pulls a smart phone from his pocket and hands it to Smith with a video on the screen. Smith watches the video of a fox-like creature chasing after the van three of his agents were driving. The video then jumps to a view apparently shot from an upper story window just as the creature comes from out of frame from above the van and penetrates the roof just a few moments before the van careens into a telephone pole. Smith finishes watch the rest before handing the device back to the other man.

"This looks very close to what we found in the woods a number of months ago. But that one wasn't known for ever being seen outside of the woods. What happened to the man you posted there?" Smith asks.

"After we questioned him we had to eliminate him. Whatever happened out there made him useless to us. But the little we got from him indicated the same creature from those videos."

"Keep on it. Find whatever you can on this thing." Smith said firmly. "Find it. Subdue it. Bring it in alive! I want to know what it knows, and I want the location of that ship!"

Vix sat in the tub like a dejected child. She wasn't enjoying this very much. It felt embarrassing to be bathed like a child. It was made all the more awkward being made to listen to what else she had to do to take care of her new body. She was thankful for the information, but did Edna and Kristine need to be so graphic about what could happen if certain things weren't done?

Leave it up to a couple of doctors to freak out a person with information. this went far and beyond what health class covered.

After that was out of the way was more mundane washing. Edna was working on her head and hair while Kristine scrubbed her back. Vix had little choice but to sit in the water filled tub and let it happen. Soaped up and soaked she resembled a drowned rat. At least Katie had been shoed out of the apartment for now while this all happened. Not that anything was exposed despite not having any cloths on. Everything was covered in fur. Vix could walk around naked and not be exposed, though she would feel that way.

"There you go. All cleaned up now." Edna said as she and Kristine finished.

"You do realize that I could have done all this myself, right?" Vix quipped.

"I wanted to make sure you knew how to take care of certain aspects you were not aware of." Edna replied with a friendly, but firm voice.

"And the rest?" Vix asked as Edna and Kristine started drying her head and upper body while she still sat in the water. After her head was reasonably dry Vix grabbed an extra towel and wrapped it around her waist as she stood up. She shooed the two women off of her and started drying herself. With her bottom half covered she felt a little better. Not like she had anything to hide at this point, but the towel cinched around her hips covered her enough to afford some modesty.

"Thank you. I think I can handle it from here." Victoria said as she vigorously dried her hair before moving on to her chest and back.

It was at that point that the door to the shop opened and Earle stepped in.

"Hey. Have any of you seen my--" He started before suddenly stopping upon seeing Victoria. Victoria's reaction was first a bit of mild shock as she was still drying herself off. Her next was fairly predictable.

Earle was suddenly hit full in the face by a ballistic heavy wet towel.

"Don't you know how to bloody knock!" Vix said sternly with her hands on her hips and a very cross look on her face. Her chest was only covered because her hair was covering her breasts.

"Earle! Get your ass out of here!" Edna scolded him. "Don't you know better than to walk in on a women bathing?!"

"But...I mean...I've never had to ask permission to come in here before." Earle stammered.

"Well, from now on you do! This is now a lady's abode." Edna said strictly. "I don't care what you and my husband used this room for before. But from this point forward this apartment belongs to Victoria!"

"Now shoo!" Kristine added to her stammering husband.

Earle grumbled as he closed the door and stomped off.

Vix sighed after Earle had retreated back into the shop proper. "Can someone please get me some clean clothes?" She asked as she renewed her efforts to get dry. "I don't want anymore walk-ins."

Kristine nodded and went to search through the clothes that had been purchased the previous day.

"I'm sorry for that." Edna said as she handed Vix another dry towel and took the sopping wet one from Victoria. I'll have my husband put locks on the interior door and get you a key so things like this don't happen again." Edna said apologetically.

"It's ok I guess." Victoria said while drying her chest. "I guess no real harms been done. Just a bit of a shock I guess." She said as she sat down on a chair and worked on her legs next.

"Be that as it may, Earle should have known better. This is your place now after all." Edna said.

"Thank you." Victoria said with a weak little smile.

There was a knock on the other door leading to the outside. "Is it safe to come in yet?" Katie asked.

"Give us a minute honey." Kristine said as she handed Victoria some clean clothes. Vix took them and started pulling them one. She was dry enough. She'd really have to look into some sort of dryer that would speed up the process. She had fur now to consider. Towel did the job, but she needed too many now to be really practical.

Vix pulled on a shirt and tucked it into her jeans that she had just shimmied into. Yeah, the hips were another thing to get used to.

Vix looked over to Kristine, who had walked over to the door, and nodded her head in affirming she was ready. Kristine opened the door and came in holding her phone in one hand.

"Uhm, you might want to see this." Katie said walking over and turning on the TV.

Edna, Kristine and Victoria looked over at the flat panel after it came on. On the screen was a news channel with a reporter sitting at a news desk.

"For those of you just tuning in, we have found video of a strange creature. Here's the video.

What was shown next was a white windowless van that Victoria recognized all too well. And chasing the van up the road was a very angry Victoria running on all fours faster than the van to catch up. They watched as she chased the van until shots started ringing out and she veered off into an alley and parkoured up the walls and disappeared over the roof. The video then cut to a view of the van taken from a higher vantage point on another street, probably a second or third story window. As the van drove on at high speed Victoria came into frame from somewhere up high out of frame and smashed through the roof into the van. The van then crashed into a pole and stopped. The van started shaking violently and dimly heard yells and screams could be heard, as well as some angry growls and barks, before two badly mauled men were thrown out of the passenger side wearing badly torn cloths. Then the video stopped.

Victoria pulled a towel over her head to hide her face.

"Oh bloody hell!" Victoria said from under the towel. Her voice had gone British again. "Just bloody kill me a second time!"

The reporter continued her report on the screen. "This video was sent anonymously to our studio and experts have yet to determine its authenticity. The likelihood is that this is some sort of publicity stunt. Analysts are--" At this point the TV was turned off by Edna.

"Well..." Kristine started after a bit of silence had settled on the room. "At least it seems that they are likely to think it is a fake video or a cry for attention. Then people will quickly move on to the next big story rather quickly."

"And when lately has my luck worked even remotely like that recently?!" Victoria spat. "All I need is for some bloke to see that video and shoot at me the next time I make an appearance somewhere!" If her accent was any indication on her mood Vix was really pissed off.

"It was boned to happen eventually I suppose." Edna said. "What with all the smartphones people have now and the fact most people have them glued to their hands at all times."

Sigh. Vix took a deep breath. "Yeah. I guess you are right. I just don't need this right now."

Edna walked around Victoria and started brushing her hair and using a blow-dryer set to low heat to dry the remaining moisture. Surprisingly the brushing seemed to calm the vixen somewhat. "Let's just table that for now." Edna said calmingly. "For now let's work at calming down and get back to the matter at hand."

"And that is?" Victoria asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"You're education on how to be a proper young lady." Edna said.

"Oh, that." Victoria said flatly. She had, for the moment, forgotten about that. "What other terrors do you have to embarrass me with?"

Kristine held up a small box not too unlike a tackle box, but pink and with flowers printed on it.

"Now it's time for you to learn about the world of makeup!" Kristine said cheerfully.

Victoria's ears wilted and folded back against her head as she imagined at what was coming.