FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

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Spoilers for the whole series! But by this point, you're probably familiar with how it ends already :D

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~~~CALI GREENLAW~~~

What... What AM I?

I stared in the mirror, standing naked in the middle of a small room, asking myself the same question over and over again. But the thing... the _creature_that I saw looking back at me was incapable of answering me.

She looked like me, if I concentrated hard enough. She had my hair, my eyes, even that damn scar under my left eye. She had my physique and facial structure, and when I took a closer look, I could see she even had my freckles underneath the fur on her face. We were standing in the same timid pose, and when I waved my hand, she waved hers back. I blinked, she blinked. Whatever I did, she did the same thing. Exactly what one's reflection would do.

But she is not ME. How could this... this THING possibly be ME!?

Last I checked, I was not an ANIMAL, I was just a GIRL! A normal, average, every-day girl! I had college classes to fret over! I had a closet full of clothes that I only really wore one time! I had family and friends and... and a boyfriend...

Yeah... I think 'had' a boyfriend is key, here...

I mean, it WAS him. He had the same features and voice. And that kiss... that hyena-thing definitely was my Greg.

But that girl... That... That blue-haired leopard girl...

She and Greg are TOGETHER???

WHY!?

This was the same man who told me he'd rather DIE than be with anyone else! The same man I spent the best year of my entire life with, the man I was all but SURE I'd be marrying one day!

I lost him...

I lost my home... And how do I even know my family's still safe after a whole year?

And that zombie... I lost... I even lost my own life. And now... Now I'm a freak.

A FREAK!

"Oh God, WHY is this happening to me? WHYYY? WHY? WHY!?" I shouted, angrily punching the twisted reflection I saw in the mirror square in the face. The resulting CRACK echoed throughout the room as pieces of the mirror fell to the floor and shattered further on impact.

I didn't even intend to hit it that hard... But the force of impact shattered the entire thing. And there wasn't even a single cut or scrape along my fist!

That's not... That's not NORMAL!

"GRAAAHHH!!!"

I screamed... I thrashed... It was the first of many outbursts. It just went on and on.

I completely lost any semblance of self-control. There were times, times that seemed like an eternity ago, that I would find something so unbelievably funny that I'd find myself caught in a perpetual laugh. The kind that robs you of your breath and makes you think, for a single scary moment, that you're actually going to suffocate yourself and die laughing. Except now... now it was the same sensation, but brought on by the complete opposite emotion.

"GYAAAAAAAHHH!!!"

I screamed. I had to; it was the only way I could clear my throat and not choke on my own sobs. Eventually I found myself helplessly curled up in a corner of the room, away from the shards of mirror on the ground.

WHYISTHISHAPPENING??? WHYISTHISHAPPENING??? WHYISTHIS---

KNOCK.

KNOCK.

KNOCK.

"Hey, uhhh... Cali? I uh... I brought you some clothes. Can I come in?"

...wha? Who's there...?

I managed to stop bawling quickly enough to realize that the person at the door, whoever it was, wasn't Greg. And it wasn't the blue-haired leopard girl, from the sound of it...

"It's me, Harry. Uh, well... the cheetah guy. Hybrid. Thing."

Oh. The rude one Greg was arguing with...

Regardless, I didn't feel like getting up off of the ground and letting anyone in. But I didn't have to worry about it for too long, as Harry decided to let himself in after a few moments of silence from me.

"Look, I know you're hurting and not really... _comfortable_with other hybrids yet, so I'm gonna try not to make it worse or anything. I just---"

He stopped himself short once he was able to get a good look at me curled up in the corner and realized I didn't have any clothes on. Probably had a front-row view of everything I had on display...

"...But, uh... yeah. Like I said, I uh... clothes for you..."

Go ahead, get your fill.

"I don't care" I mumbled, completely apathetic to his flustered state. "Stare all you want. It... It's not MY body you're gawking at. It's something else... Something I don't even recognize..."

Harry stuttered, trying to find any words that he felt would cheer me up. "Cali, it's not---"

"NO. It IS" I interjected. "I don't know what I am anymore. I might as well be a zombie myself, if they brought me back to life! That's what I am... I'm a furry zombie. I'm... I'm a monster..."

A thick silence hung in the air for a few minutes... But Harry didn't seem like he wanted to give up on me so easily. He placed my clothes on the bed and knelt down in front of me, gently placing a yellowish, padded hand on my shoulder.

What are you...

I didn't know why, but his kind action broke me out of stupor long enough to actually look him in the eye and give him my full attention. Looking back at his face, it seemed like there was actual, real concern in his eyes; not just the fake variety used to absent-mindedly cheer someone up.

He smiled, took my hand and slowly helped me to my feet, though he continued to stare at my nude, animalistic body. But not so much with the childish thrill of seeing a woman naked; it was what looked like a genuine _appreciation_for my new form.

"You are NOT a monster, not anymore" he said, completely matter-of-factly. "And for what it's worth, there IS beauty in these new bodies of ours. Like I said earlier, you do have it."

...you think so?

I'm not... just an animal now?

I had no idea why, but I was really warming up to this blonde guy... cat... whatever the hell he was. He struck me as a goofball at first, but it looked like he could be serious, too...

"...Thank you" I sighed.

"You're welcome" he replied with a relieved smile. "I was worried that'd come out wrong... being all poetic isn't exactly my strong suit. But it's the truth."

He continued talking as I changed into the tank top, pants, undergarments, and boots he brought me, extending me the common courtesy of turning around and giving me privacy while I did so. Everything fit me well enough, though I initially thought that wearing clothes of any kind wouldn't combine so well with the fur I now had covering my entire body. But to my surprise, I found that once I was fully dressed, there was no discomfort at all. According to Harry, any clothes seemed to work well with hybrids. The boots were slightly modified to account for the pads on my feet and my sharp toenail-claws, but they too felt comfortable enough to wear.

Eventually, the two of us took seats across from each other on the bed. "I'll be honest with you, though... being a hybrid, waking up and seeing the new you for the first time... It's a lot to take in. Trust me, I know. I know, Greg knows, we've all been through it. But once the initial 'holy crap, I'm a walking, breathing furry' factor wears off, you start to find that the benefits of your new body pretty much make up for it. Unless you were already a fan of that type of thing... Eh, forget it, that's a completely different conversation... Let me get back on track; you won't BELIEVE what all of us, including yourself, can do now."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Well, uh... lemme think. Did you ever have any allergies as a human?"

I thought for a moment. "I'm allergic to shellfish, I know that much."

Harry chuckled. "Welp, now you can have all the lobster you want, because that's only the first part of your new gift. Being a hybrid changes your body chemistry to give you perfect health ALL the time. No sickness, no allergies, you can't even get drunk!"

"I can't?"

"Uh, that is, you... uh..."

I couldn't help but smile a little bit at that last part. "Don't worry, I wasn't a drinker. Only a social one, and not that much of one to boot. So no loss there."

Sighing with relief, Harry resumed his list of 'benefits' to being a human-leopardess hybrid creature. "The best part is that immunity to disease also means immunity to being zombified if you get bitten. So no more worrying about that, either. We live longer, run faster, hit harder, and I didn't even mention the superpowers yet---"

"Wait, what?" I interrupted.

"What about what?" he asked.

"Go back... what did you say I could do?"

"The immunity to the zombie infection?"

"No."

"The enhanced strength and reflexes?"

"No..."

"The superpowers...?"

"Yes, that. I have... powers...?"

Harry chuckled, opening his hand as if to show me something in his palm. At first, there was nothing, but with a slight flick of his wrist, a small ball of fire suddenly flickered into existence, floating right in his hand! He held it like a baseball, and somehow it wasn't igniting his fur or hurting him!

"W-Wow!" I yelped. "That--- That's so cool! You're like a firebender now?"

"Heh, you can say that" he chuckled, more heartily this time. With another quick flick of the wrist, the fireball extinguished, leaving only a small puff of smoke behind. "Firebending, without all that martial arts-y stuff. I can make fireballs, shoot them at things, and teleport myself from A to B. But that's just me. Those things I just said; you can do them, too. Except you can do them WAY better than I can."

"I... what?"

The entire time, it felt like Harry was telling me that the earth was made entirely of chocolate now or something ridiculous like that. I would have had an easier time just accepting the changes to my body, honestly. But if I hadn't seen him create and quench the ball of fire in his hand, I wouldn't have believed any of it at all.

"I don't know what they did to you over there, but your abilities are some of the most powerful I've seen yet" Harry explained. "I can make regular fire, but you were creating something more like napalm. And your teleporting skills are faster and better than mine, too. The only problem is, at least from what I saw when you were being mind-controlled, you need to pace yourself when you're doing all this, or you'll tire yourself out. Your alter-ego sure didn't, and well... that's how Greg was able to beat 'you.' No offense, of course."

"N-none taken" I quickly responded. "I... I'm glad he did what he did... Just... Why--- no. Forget it."

"Forget what?" Harry asked concernedly.

I glanced down at my arm, fighting the urge to start bawling again. I sniffled loudly... but it looked like there just weren't any tears left to shed. "If I have all that power and my body can super-heal itself... then why do I still have these fucking scars?"

The cheetah hybrid studied my scarred arm himself. His expression suggested he was trying to piece together an existing idea in his head that'd answer my question for both of us.

"May I?"

You... want to see it? Okay...

I sighed and offered him my arm. It wasn't like I had anything to lose at this point.

"Does it hurt?"

He looked me right in the eye as he asked... his concern was a weird mix of cute and gentlemanly. It almost... almost made me feel better enough to want to laugh a little...

"No. It feels normal. Or... the 'new' normal, I guess..." I muttered.

He released my arm, drawing my attention back to himself once more. "I... Greg told me what happened to you about a week ago. I'm no doctor, obviously, but I can hazard a guess. I think it's a mix of a few things. For one, the people that turned you into a hybrid are different from us, so their process might not heal the body as well as ours does. But I also think the zombie virus has something to do with it. I mean, you'll never turn or anything... But maybe that one part of your body, the part that was affected the most, is still infected somehow."

It took a minute to process his words. I didn't know what to believe, but I realized that if I hadn't turned into a zombie by this point, then the answer really wasn't so important after all.

Nevertheless, Harry quickly sat up to pull something out of his pocket, which turned out to be a length of bandage. "For all you know, those scars might fade away eventually, maybe even the one under your eye. But for now, I also brought you this, just in case."

I thanked him and wrapped it around my arm, feeling a little more at peace knowing that my scars were out of sight. As the minutes ticked on by, I also asked Harry several more questions. Mainly about the current state of the world and how he, Greg, and everyone else had become wrapped up in this real-life science fiction story.

Eventually, I finally found the courage to ask the big, burning question. "Harry... what happened to Greg? Who the hell is that other woman and what does she have to do with all of this?"

Harry sighed deeply. I could already tell he was going to confirm what I'd been dreading to hear...

"I mean... yes. Yes, she's his new girlfriend. Her name is Kyla, and the two of them officially became an item about a week ago."

"Oh my God..." I muttered. "How could he---"

"Cali, it's WAY more complicated than you think it is" Harry interrupted. "I've known that guy for a long time now, and I know what his thought process behind his decision was. So... just let me explain everything before you make any judgment calls, okay? I'm one of the only friends he's got, so I want to extend him that courtesy."

"...Okay" I said after a pause. "Tell me everything you know, Harry."

He did... Though by the end of his recap of my boyfriend's woes, I sincerely wished he hadn't.

"I... I put him through all that? All that pain and torment? ALL this time...?"

"Wha--- NO, no you didn't!" Harry frantically countered. "You didn't put him through anything; all of this was in his own head. I mean... I'm sure you know already, but Greg can be a... sensitive guy at times."

"He was, that was one of the things I loved about him," I replied. "After all the boisterous, 'bro-ish' jerks I've dated in my life, he came along and showed me that not all guys have to be so manly-manly all the time."

Harry chuckled at that, but remained serious. "It's just that... Without you, that sensitivity of his took a turn for the worse and began brutally kicking his ass day after day. But through it all, aside from me and our other teammate Francis, Kyla was there for him. She was more than just a friendly face with a flirty 'hi' and 'bye' every so often; she was a constant reminder that love can be found again, or whatever. Remember, I'm not really the poetic type... But you see my point, right?"

I sighed deeply. "I guess..."

"That guy was NOT trying to replace you, I promise you that," Harry continued. "He just finally decided to try and move on, especially after some of our other friends gave him the push he needed. He realized he and Kyla had way more in common than he thought, too. One thing led to another, and well... Yeah. That's about it. The problem here is just that the timing was horrible between him and her getting together and then finding out you were still alive."

That was all Harry really had to say on the subject. In the back of my mind, I understood him completely and felt I understood Greg's actions as well... but it didn't do a lot to help my own feelings.

Who can I even blame for all this? It's not Greg's fault, nor is it mine. I just... I wish there WAS someone to blame here, at least that'd make me feel a little better!

"I need some time to take all this in... But... Thank you, Harry. Thanks for being someone I could talk to."

He smiled and patted me on the shoulder, then got up to leave me in the peace I needed. "Like I said, I know there's a LOT of crazy shit to take in. But in a time like this, I think all you need is a friend. And you've got one now."

~Several weeks later~

"I love you, Cali."

"I love you too, Greg. I love you so much."

He turned away and ran off with the true love of his life in his arms, tears streaming down his face and occasionally splattering her unconscious body. He ran towards an opening to the outside, one obscured from view by a flood of sunlight since the entire base's own lighting had gone out. As he ran, it was as if the light was swallowing him and her whole, taking them to a warm place they could be together forever...

But I, on the other hand, remained pinned to the ground by rocks and debris, slowly being devoured by something quite literally on the opposite end of the spectrum. The floor shook, the walls cracked, and there was so much dust flying in the air that I could choke to death before being crushed to death.

Escape was... completely out of the question. I had no strength, no superpowers, and my leg felt like it took a hard enough hit to be shattered on the inside.

This was definitely the end for me.

But that's okay.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as a large rock crashed dangerously close to my head.

It's okay, Greg... It's okay. Just please don't take so long in getting over me again. And Kyla, promise me you'll be good to him...

At least I was able to make my peace... And with that, I figured I could go in peace, too...

And thankfully the monster caged inside of me won't survive, either.

As I let those and other thoughts swarm through my head like bees, I suddenly heard a noise down near the exit. I opened one eye and could see something down the hall; a black mass that looked like it was making its way towards me.

Wait... what's that? WHO is that? Is that a person...?

"Who's ther---"

I only managed to spot a few details of whoever it was before the inevitable happened.

A loud CRACK sounded from above. There was a split-second of pain.

And then, only darkness...

~~~

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

What... what's that sound?

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Oh, it's a heart monitor...

Beep Beep.

Beep Beep.

Wait a minute...

My eyes snapped open. I was staring at a ceiling in a dimly lit room, lying in what felt like a small bed. I was numb and uncomfortable all over, and my senses all felt slightly impaired.

But I was alive.

I... I'm alive? I'M ALIVE!

The fight, the escape... the roof collapsing and burying me... All of it came rushing back in a flash.

...Including what could've been my final moment with my now official ex-boyfriend...

Oh God, poor Greg... I didn't want to put him through that! Not TWICE in the same lifetime!

But I had to... it HAD to be done...

Now, though... I guess it didn't even matter? Or it did, but just not in such a bad way? God, I have no idea...

It was a lot to suddenly take in. I wasn't ungrateful that I had somehow cheated death yet again, but... I almost wished I hadn't. Back in that collapsing hallway, I had resigned myself to just letting go... and dying. Part of me didn't think I'd be able to live knowing that I could relapse into becoming a murderous bitch as simply as I did, especially when I was forced to watch 'her' through my own eyes and witnessed her power and cruelty.

And Greg finally making the hard choice... It didn't do a lot to help the situation, despite me basically forcing him to do it. Maybe I had just gotten caught up in the moment, but sacrificing myself for him and Kyla... it just felt like the right thing to do. The last act of love I could've given him before it was too late...

...does EVERYONE get so dramatic and poetic when they're faced with their own mortality?

But then something happened. The very last thing I saw... before a rock or something knocked me out... it wasn't Greg. It was only for a brief second, but sometime after I told him to leave me behind and escape, I remembered seeing another figure, this time running towards me...

That person definitely saved me. But who did I see? I have to try and remember.

It was definitely a guy. Greg's height, give or take. He didn't say anything, I don't think... But for a split second, I know I saw the color of his fur. Was it brown? No, it was... yellow?

Yellow with black spots. Definitely. No--- no, black rings? Not like mine, like a--- Oh my God.

It was... HE saved me! I don't know how, but he did it!

As my senses gradually returned and my sleepy haze began to wear off, I could see there were three other people in the room sitting next to my bed. Greg and Kyla were there, but were slumped over in their seats and draped over each other, fast asleep. I could only assume it was some obscure hour in the dead of night. To their side was the heart monitor and other pieces of medical equipment flashing and beeping, some of which I recognized from my college studies, but others seemed to almost be cobbled together and made identification impossible.

And on the opposite end of the room, sitting calmly and playing a battered Nintendo DS with his eyes glued to the screen, was the person that saved me. The person that I now owed my life to.

"...Harry...?"

His eyes snapped to mine and the game system slipped out of his hands, dropping to the floor.

"CALI!" he whisper-yelled. "You're okay!"

The look of pure joy on his face was so priceless... So much so that I couldn't help but crack a huge smile myself. "Yeah... I guess I am. And I have you to thank for that, don't I?"

He nearly tripped over his own feet as he leapt out of the chair and came over to my bedside, gently taking my hands in his. I felt his touch, but only just slightly so; my body was still mostly numb. "I mean... Not to toot my own horn, but yeah... I felt like I had no choice, really. I just had a crazy idea pop into my head, and much like every other major decision I've made in my life, I acted on it without really thinking first."

"Now that sounds JUST like you" I giggled. "But what DID you do? How did you save me without your powers?"

Sometimes I had noticed that Harry paused briefly before explaining something complex and scientific to me, whether he didn't want to mess any details up to impress me or just because he was a perfectionist and didn't want to mess anything up for himself. However, this was not one of those times. Well-rehearsed, he explained in great detail how, when he was being trained to properly use his own powers, he heard there was an underlying theory some HAC scientists made on how two hybrids with teleportation could work together. I already knew that, since my own teleportation ability was more advanced, I could teleport someone else as long as we were in contact. But apparently, if two or more teleporters were in contact and any of them, even the weakest, triggered the ability, the theory suggested that that person would 'overcharge' and be able to move the entire group as one.

It made sense up until that point, because when Harry teleported me to outside the OGD base, both of our abilities were still being blocked by the power-suppressant solution. But Harry had the same opinion and worked towards getting an answer when I was in my coma. After tracking down one of the few surviving HAC scientists who came up with the theory in the first place, Harry learned that, suppressed or not, there was always a slim possibility that an overcharged teleportation could still be done. By slim, however, it was apparently more like a hundred-to-one chance. The HAC scientist filled Harry in on the details, but he didn't understand enough of them to reiterate it back to me.

"I guess that's for the best, since my head's still throbbing and any more science-y stuff might make it explode" I said once Harry was done recapping. "But wow, only a ONE percent chance? And you still did it anyway?"

"Well like I said, I didn't know it was that slim until after the fact," Harry countered. "But hell, I was just as surprised as you are. I'd do it again, though. But for God's sake, please don't get yourself trapped inside a collapsing building again."

We both shared a laugh at that. "I guess my last question is how long was I out?" I asked after a moment's consideration.

"Not too long; you've been out for almost four days, now. The three of us never left your side."

Greg and Kyla had changed positions on their chairs a few times in the recent minutes, with his head now on her lap and her own head resting on his chest. Both were drooling a little as well... but they looked relaxed. Circumstances aside, however, I couldn't deny that the two of them looked so adorable with each other either.

"I can't believe you didn't wake them up with all that BS you were just rambling about" I giggled.

Harry laughed himself. "Eh, all that science mumbo-jumbo would be enough to put anyone to sleep, so I'm not surprised they're still out like a light."

"What time is it? Should we wake them up and let them see I'm okay?" I asked.

Shrugging, Harry picked up his discarded game device off the ground and used it to check the time. "Eh... It's half past two in the morning. I'll be honest though, none of us have gotten a lot of sleep during the time you were out. I think it'd be in Greg and Kyla's best interest to just wake up on their own and see you tomorrow. Or today. Uh, later today... you get it."

Only then did I notice that there were some serious bags under Harry's own eyes, confirming his statement. "Well, I am alive and everything, so maybe you should try and get some sleep yourself" I said.

"No, you need to rest way more than I do" Harry insisted. "I'm still wired on energy drinks and caffeine, so I won't be falling asleep for a few more hours. The doc said someone _should_be watching you at all times, so I'm gonna sit here and do just that."

"You sure?" I asked.

"Positive" he replied.

We spent a little while longer just talking about what I missed in recent days until I eventually I nodded off, falling into a sleep way more relaxing than a four day coma. When I awoke next, everyone was practically standing right over me with wide, happy eyes as I once again triumphantly returned to the world. There were hugs, tears, and plenty of laughter from everyone, especially from Greg. Despite what had happened in that hallway, he was still my oldest friend here and more than likely the only one of my friends left in the world from before the zombie outbreak.

I knew the two of us would still have some issues to work out... But for the time being, he and everyone else just wanted to celebrate the fact that I was alive and that we had defeated our enemies.

So I forced all the uncertainty to the back of my mind, put on a happy face, and raised a glass of my own.

~~~

Dim lights. The sounds of explosions and the smells of smoke and rubble. A large room, somewhere deep underground in the middle of the desert... Somewhere in the middle of nowhere, there was a battle going on. A war, even.

"STOP! No, no, don't hurt him! PLEASE!"

I raised my arm and readied a burning napalm attack, firing it in quick succession as I dodged an oncoming sweep to the legs. It missed the target by a reasonable distance, but the force of the resulting explosion staggered him for a brief second. A second that was best used for me delivering a swift kick of my own.

"URK! Ow, shit!" he screamed. The kick was aimed at his shinbone, and it looked like it hurt...

My God, this wasn't a battle at all. This was just madness.

This was unlike anything anyone could ever say they've been a part of before... especially not when you've got half human, half animal hybrid creatures with superhuman abilities beating the crap out of each other. Some for very noble reasons, others for twisted or misguided ones.

"Dodge her, dodge her, DODGE HER! Behind you!"

I teleported ten feet to the right, reemerging in the perfect position for a killing blow.

"Ca--- SHIT!"

Because although I was an active participant in this battle... The REAL fight was taking place entirely inside my head.

"Wait, no! Don't shoot that--- Okay, he deflected it... NO! Don't try it again! You'll hit him this time! STOP IT!!!"

Despite my internal pleas for it to stop, my body moved on its own, determined to destroy everything and everyone in its path. And worst of all, the only person in that path right now was my horrified boyfriend. He had previously explained to me what fighting against my alter-ego was like the first time, but seeing that look on his face... That mortified expression on realizing he'd have to fight 'me' again...

"FIGHT IT, CALI!" he frantically shouted at me as he dodged a second blast from me. "You can snap out of it, I KNOW you can!"

"I'm trying, I'm TRYING!" I shouted back, even though no words escaped my physical lips.

My pleas, however, didn't completely fall on deaf ears.

[IT IS USELESS TO RESIST. I AM IN COTNROL]

That voice... It was 'her' voice. She sounded exactly like I did, except lower pitched and without a single trace of any identifiable emotion. Just like a machine.

"Get OUT of my head! I'm the REAL Cali, NOT YOU!" I inwardly screamed at her.

[THERE IS NO 'CALI.' THERE IS ONLY GC-511]

"That is NOT ME!"

[IGNORE]

"I changed my name from Caroline---"

[IGNORE]

"---and YOU people changed my body---"

[IGNORE]

"But I am NOT 'GC-five-whatever!' I am CALI! I CHOSE my new name, and I CHOSE to make the best with this leopardess body! I do NOT choose to take you along with me!"

[IGNORE. IGNORE. PREPARING TO EXECUTE TARGET]

Oh no... I suddenly realized that 'I' had him cornered! Somewhere in the space of a few short moments, a large chunk of Greg's sword got melted away, and my alter-ego had a golden opportunity to get a guaranteed hit! I was so focused on trying to break free of the mind control that I wasn't focusing on the battle in front of me...

The battle that was about to turn into a cold-blooded murder!

"NO! I won't let you do this! I need to fight... I NEED TO FIGHT!"

[YOU ARE ONLY DELAYING THE INEVITABLE. SUMBIT TO MY CONTROL]

My arm raised itself to line up with Greg's head as yet another burning napalm orb began to form in my hand. I still couldn't move on my own, but I could still feel every sensation in my own body. And from what I could tell, Red Death was putting almost everything she had into this one attack.

"Please, Cali... you're stronger than this!" Greg shouted.

[IGNORE. CHARGING OLEOKINETIC BLAST. FIRING IN THREE---]

"Please don't do this! PLEASE!" I pleaded.

[TWO---]

"IT'S MY BODY, NOT YOURS!"

[ONE---]

"NOO!!! GRE---"

[FIRE]

~~~

I heard the sound... but saw nothing until my eyes snapped open. I abruptly sat up in my bed, hyperventilating furiously.

"OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGodohmyGod..."

It was just a nightmare...

But not just any nightmare. It was the nightmare.

The same nightmare I'd been having for quite a while; my own subconscious forcing me to relive the most horrifying experience of my life.

WHY? Why does this keep happening to me?

But this time, it was just... so much worse! So vivid that it felt like reality and that I had somehow gone back in time. I felt like this time, everything played out in high-definition instead of through a hazy, dreamy filter. I smelled the dust in the air, I even felt the heat from my own napalm attacks...

And the ending... oh God, she actually did it...

She... she killed him! She fired the shot!

I knew better, though. I knew that that wasn't what really happened back then. At that exact moment, before Red Death fired the shot, I had managed to break through for a second and...

And I begged Greg to kill me...

I managed to get my breathing under control in time to notice that I was very hot and my clothes were completely covered in sweat. The sheets and blanket from my bed were all thrown towards the end, tangled into a giant mess. There was something else, too. Something just... smelled weird.

What... what do I smell? Is that--- Aww, fuck me...

It was the smell of burning rock. I didn't realize it at first, but apparently right as the nightmare ended, I had accidentally shot a napalm blast right at the wall. And it had left a fairly decent sized hole... through solid metal and concrete... Thankfully, the room next to mine was unoccupied, so the blast didn't hurt anyone.

There was a sudden _whoosh_sound from outside my room. I was still on edge and it made me jump, but the sound was familiar. I brightened a little on the inside, knowing that Harry had teleported over to calm me down. He caught me in the middle of changing into some dry clothes as he opened the door and quickly averted his eyes, but I once again didn't care.

"Was I... was I screaming again?" I asked him as he entered the room and shut the door behind him. I was already feeling guilty for anyone else I may have woken up.

Harry shook his head in a 'no,' but his gaze was fixed on the smoldering hole in the wall I accidentally caused. "I was already awake; Sanders and I were playing Halo 3 again. Let's just say I knew it was you in distress right away, but it wasn't exactly a scream we heard... More like a ka-BOOM."

"I... It was an accident..." I stuttered meekly as I climbed back into the bed. "It was the same nightmare as always, but... but this time it was worse. Worse because of what I--- she did. Or almost did... It's not a dream at all, Harry, none of it is. It's a memory. Either my memory or hers... And the last part was one of the worst moments of it... I never told you, since I didn't want to have to remember it, but now I guess I owe you an explanation."

Quietly sighing with concern, Harry walked towards the bed and climbed in himself, sitting upright and resting his legs on top of the bunched-up blankets at the end. Without even waiting for him to get comfortable I shoved my head to his chest, nuzzling him as hard as I could and holding onto his torso tightly. I tangled my legs with his, effectively wrapping my entire body around him like he was a giant stuffed cheetah. But he paid it no mind; he was used to it. Once he stopped squirming and settled on a good position, he rested his head on top of mine and gently hugged me back.

"Feeling a little better, champ?" he whispered.

This had become an unfortunate routine for me over the months, born out of plain necessity for whenever this nightmare happened. Ever since I was a little girl, I always wanted to--- no, needed to just cuddle with someone after suffering from a bad dream. My father never minded being that person; he was always there for me in my time of need. As I got older and more mature it happened a lot less frequently, even to the point where it'd only happen once a year, if that. But when it did... I still needed to find solace in someone's arms. I made sure Greg knew this shortly after we began dating... but it never happened when I was with him. But ever the gentleman, he was always enthusiastic about cuddling me anyway.

As for now, in my new life, it wasn't always Harry or Greg that came to my rescue in the middle of the night. Sometimes it was Arty or even Kyla. Other times it was simply whoever came to the door after hearing me screaming into the darkness...

I did like it when it was Kyla, actually. Nothing against the guys, of course, but girls are just plain _better_at cuddling. One time I unwittingly woke up again and realized she was groping me in her sleep, thinking that she was squeezing Greg's muscles instead. She apologized profusely for it, but her goof made me laugh so hard that the nightmare's aftershock wore off completely.

Wore off, at least until the NEXT time. Which now always seems to be every few days...

"Yes... and no. She's still there, Harry. Somewhere in my head... I can... I can almost feel her, waiting and watching for the perfect opportunity to strike..."

"Cali---"

"I'm serious!" I whisper-shouted as I broke off the embrace and stared hard into his eyes. "Ever since Stryker made me relapse, I've gone to bed almost every night afraid that once I fell asleep, she'd take over and just start MURDERING everyone! And when I wake up after having that dream, I always feel like I actually HAVE done something terrible! I just... just..."

I sniffled loudly, inches away from yet another meltdown. But through it all, Harry kept his arms wrapped around me, gently rocking me back and forth and shushing me until I calmed down. He followed up by rubbing my back, easing the tension I had in a few key spots. "I promise that if you ever do relapse into you-know-who, I'll hit you nice and hard on the head and snap you out of it. M'kay?"

"Oh stop" I snorted. But joking or not, I knew he would do anything and everything to help me. He did once already, right?

The minutes ticked on by, turning into a half hour or so. Neither of us talked, but I could tell by his breathing that he wasn't asleep. The two of us just lay in place and held each other close, occasionally shifting spots to stay comfortable before eventually lying face to face.

I broke the silence. "Thank you, Harry. For this, and for... well, everything. These have been the hardest months of my life, but from minute one you've been here for me to make it a little better. You have no idea how grateful I am for that."

"Hey, what are friends for, right?" he answered with a grin.

I suddenly felt something... something deep inside me coming to life and filling my head with only a single thought. Without thinking it over for even a second, I reached up and gave the cheetah hybrid a kiss on the lips. A quick one, but just long enough to satisfy the sudden desire I felt within.

Harry, I... Wait. Why did I just---

I quickly pulled back after realizing what I did. "Uh... Sorry" I muttered sheepishly.

But Harry just stared back, smiling. And not his usual, childish 'we exist and everything is awesome' smile, either. A smaller, more mature one.

"Sorry for what?" he asked.

Blushing furiously, I quickly averted my eyes and tried to think of something, anything to say. "For uh... I mean, you... It wasn't... UGH!"

"Cali..."

He gently tilted my head up from under my chin and stared deeply into my eyes. I found myself staring back just as hard, and just couldn't look away.

Harry...

I let it happen. He brought my head towards his, and we kissed again. A real kiss this time. Long and deep, full of passion.

I could've stopped him. I could've easily pushed his head away or just teleported to the side with the superpowers I completely forgot I had. If I had done anything to signal that I really didn't want the kiss, I knew Harry would've backed off without hesitation.

But I let it happen. I let it happen because in that moment, when I was feeling so needy and vulnerable, it was all I wanted; a physical representation of how much he cared for me. And as our lips danced and his hands gradually moved to my back, it began to feel more and more justified. Despite the fact that it still felt so wrong to kiss someone who wasn't Greg, even when our relationship had definitively ended, it felt so oddly right to kiss Harry. Yet, I had no idea why. I fully realized this was all happening because we were caught up in the moment, but what kind of moment was it?

But it feels so... Oh, Harry...

Eventually, however, the kiss ended once we both realized we needed to breathe. As he and I pulled back, I inadvertently began shifting my gaze all about the room, trying not to look Harry back in the eyes out of embarrassment. The kiss was wonderful, but now it was over and done with and the emotional high had faded, leaving only confusion and worry. My mind unwillingly rushed into overdrive and began rapidly considering the ramifications of what we had just done, both this and the first time.

I kissed him!

He kissed ME!

SHIT SHIT SHIT!!! What did we DO!? What DO we do!? What happens now!?

I could tell Harry could see the indecision in my eyes. So he decided to deliver his dumbest, and yet sweetest line yet. "And now we're even," he said with that trademark silly giggle of his.

You... You just... WHAT!?

I couldn't help it. I burst into laughter so rich that he couldn't help but follow suit.

"You are the biggest JACKASS, you know that?" I said with a light smack to his thigh.

"I do know."

He smiled, and I smiled right back as we both cuddled in closer and eventually drifted off to sleep. From that point on, the nightmares came a lot less frequently.

~~~

We didn't even talk about it after it happened. We kissed TWICE, but he told me what I wanted to hear at that one horribly confusing moment in time. He played it off as something just unprecedented and not that big of a deal... but it was. He knew it, and I realized it as time went on; that second kiss was what brought things to light. Everything he had been doing for me, big or small... it all began to add up and open my eyes to something I should've realized quite a while ago.

Harry liked me. Like-liked me.

He had been willingly fulfilling the role of the 'supportive friend' all this time, but there was no doubt I had in his actions. Everything he had done for me was completely sincere; he had no sinister ulterior motives to make me love him. He was just a sweet guy doing what all sweet guys did when they saw an unhappy girl. And he never asked for anything in return, save for stealing that kiss.

That unexpectedly wonderful kiss...

No, it was more than wonderful. It was... there were feelings in that kiss. HIS feelings were in that kiss.

Harry didn't radically step up his game or anything after that night, either. He did everything he normally did in exactly the same manner, not making any extra attempts to woo me or anything. But the way I perceived those things he did with or for me... that did_change. I always considered Harry to be a person I shared many similarities and interests with, but only now were those common grounds making me see the cheetah hybrid in a much, much brighter light. I _appreciated him more. I wanted to be around him more...

As the weeks went by, I began to realize the truth... I was falling for that doofy clown.

The realization of it hit me like a train, a train carrying a ton of bricks to be precise. I was happy with knowing there was someone for me out there who already held me in high regard... But underneath the happiness was still plenty of confusion and doubt. When Greg and I fell in love that two-something years ago, it was completely undeniable. I was never one to believe in love at first sight, but he proved me wrong that evening, and most likely proved himself wrong of the same fact. That love was real. I didn't have to wake up every day and ask myself if I was honestly and truly happy with what the two of us had; my mind just never felt the need to go to that place. I had been on plenty of dates in my time, some of which were promising for a while, but none of which measured up to Greg in the end. He was the first TRUE love.

But this... this was just so... different. Not just because of the person and the circumstances, but because after having the first love for so long, experiencing another, slower-growing type of love just felt too alien for me to throw myself in to all at once. I was more of a spontaneous girl, ironically similar to how Harry was definitely a spontaneous guy.

I had no idea what to do... I needed advice, and I needed it urgently. And in the end, there was only one person I felt I could talk to about these feelings I had...

"Hey, Kyla... can I talk to you for a few?"

The snow leopardess placed her book face-down on the table to preserve the page she was on, giving me her full attention. "Of course, what's on your mind?"

"I just need some girl-to-girl advice on something. Something kind of important..."

She smiled as I took a seat next to her on the couch. "Let me guess... is that 'something' yellow, shoot fireballs, and fancies himself the funniest man alive?"

I sighed deeply. "So you already know..."

Kyla chuckled and patted me on the shoulder. "Come on, Cali, it wasn't that hard to figure out. I see the way he looks at you when you're hanging out with him, but lately I've been seeing the same look in your eyes, too."

"You're right..." I admitted. "He likes me, and I like him... I just don't know why I'm having issues with it!"

Kyla was unperturbed, however. She may have been expecting a conversation like this would arise at some point in time. "Start from the beginning, Cali. Tell me everything."

So I did. I began to explain everything to her, from start to finish. I left nothing out, nor did I add anything that wasn't there to begin with. I just kept spilling my guts and hoped with every word that Kyla could give me the answers I needed.

"It's not him, Kyla; it's not him at all... It's ME. I mean, I know girls say that all the time and guys never want to hear it---"

"Oh nooo they don't" the snow leopard interjected.

"But that's EXACTLY what it is" I resumed. "I'm falling in love all over again, yet this time it just feels... different. Not different in a good way or a bad way, but in a way I really can't describe. And every time I try to figure it out, I get stuck and can't think of a damn thing... But it IS love, though. At the end of the day, no matter what it feels like, I know that it's there and that it's REAL."

Kyla thought it over for a second. "So what I'm hearing is, your heart knows what it wants, but you can't really act on it because your brain isn't a hundred percent certain that it wants the same thing?"

"In a nutshell, yes..." I mumbled, staring at my hands folded in my lap. "I know it sounds like such a huge storybook cliché, but I never expected to find myself in this situation. But I also never expected to find love at first sight like I did with you-know-who, so I guess anything's possible."

However, Kyla already seemed to have a solution for me. "Well Cali... I'm no shrink, but I think the best answer I can give is to just go for it. Find Harry, and tell him exactly what you just told me; that you're mostly on the same page he is, but just need a little time to get all your facts straight. The way I see it, there'll be two possibilities. If he cares as much as you think he does, he'll totally respect that and the two of you can work towards your relationship at your own comfortable pace. But on the other hand, given that Harry's already done such a great job at telling you what you've wanted or needed to hear so far, maybe once you two start actually talking about a relationship out in the open, he'll say the one thing that will put any doubts you have to rest. Then you'd both be ready, one hundred percent. I know because... well, that's one of the things that helped me and Greg."

"Hm... you think that that'd be the best thing to do?" I asked after weighing both outcomes.

"I do, very much so" Kyla answered. "I know he and I get on each other's cases a lot, but I love him like a brother. Harry's got a heart of gold deep down. A guy like him... you'd be lucky to have him as a friend, but having him as something more would be sublime."

"Yeah... he really is one-of-a-kind..."

Kyla laughed at that. "Seriously, the sheer amount of dreaminess in your voice just now should be convincing enough RIGHT THERE. So go find that boy and make him swoon! And of course, tell me all about what happens afterwards."

~~~

My heart was pounding so fast that it felt like it'd explode out of my chest. These next few moments between Harry and I, no matter what the outcome, would have an impact on the rest of our lives. Acting on Kyla's advice, I decided to go for broke and asked Harry to come to my room later that night so I could tell him what I was feeling. I asked him to remain silent until I had finished my spiel, and once again left absolutely no details out of the conversation. He sat and listened, perfectly quiet with rapt attention, but looked as nervous as I was by the time I was done. It was cruel to think about, but I was grateful that now it wasn't just me with iron butterflies in my stomach.

"Please be honest, Harry. No jokes or anything. What feelings do you have for me?"

"It started when I risked everything to save you from being buried alive in that building. I know I said that I never think before I act, but... that time I actually did. Not whether I'd take action or not; I paused for a split second to ask myself why I was going to do it. The only response I could get from my brain was 'I need her.' Why, though? Was it because we get along so well? Was it because you actually like my jokes more than everyone else? Why, why, why... But then, sitting in that room and looking at you while you were unconscious, hoping every minute that you'd wake up... I think that's where I realized what the real answer was. I need you... because of all that, and more. Because I had fallen for you."

Harry...

"When you and I had that first chat after you came back to reality, I felt so bad... I told myself that I was going to be a friend to you and make the new, scary world you woke up in try to suck a little less if I could. And the first time I kissed you, when you had that nightmare for the ten millionth time, I figured that it was what you needed... but it was something I_needed, too. I admit, I want us to be so much more than friends, with all my heart. But... if this, if _we don't work in the end, just know that I'm still always going to be that friend to you. Count on it."

I was completely dumbfounded. I had no idea his affections ran that deeply...

"Do you... really mean all that?" I asked.

"Yes. I do" he replied.

It only took about two seconds of staring into each other's eyes that we simultaneously leapt at each other and crashed lips furiously, seizing the other in an inflamed, passionate kiss.

And this time, there was no uncertainty, no doubt in my or his actions. We both knew what we wanted, and we both GOT it.

I love him. I love Harrison Allan Morris. I love him and I want to be with him.

As the old saying went; the third time was indeed the charm. First I kissed him, and then he kissed me... but now... now it was mutual.

We reluctantly pulled apart to catch our breath, having rolled around on my bed an ending up with Harry resting on top of me. I felt so warm and safe with his body draped over my own... Warm, safe, and completely at ease. Even though his weight was pressing against mine, it felt like a huge load had finally been lifted off of my chest.

I smiled with a glee I hadn't felt in a long time. "Harry, I don't know what it is about you... You're crude, you're childish, and I swear you deliberately PLAN on always walking in on me when I'm naked. You never take missions seriously, and always have to try and make them into a game. And your ever-present sense of humor ranges from funny to deadpan to just... plain awkward. You, sir, are CRAZY."

_"Aaaaand?"_Harry asked as his own goofy smile grew wider with every word I said.

He was as wrapped up in the moment as I was... and completely off guard.

In one swift motion, I wrapped both of my legs around his waist and flipped both of us over on the bed, making it so I was the one on top. Harry yelped in surprise, but I quickly silenced him by going in for another long, deep kiss.

"And I LOVE IT."

Oh God he kisses so well...

"Now, with all that being said, does this mean I finally have permission to see you naked?" he joked.

~~~

It didn't take us very long to work towards that, unsurprisingly... Our first time was amazing.

Despite having the heart of a child, Harry proceeded to whip out some very interesting, very adult moves throughout. By the time I had collapsed on top of him as sweaty and tired as he was, we also realized I had damaged my bedroom in more ways than with just a single hole in the wall...

Oh, well. It can be fixed again, right?

Greg always preferred to be gentle, whereas Harry was rough. And I liked rough.

I never admitted it to him, but I often wished Greg was a little more forceful in the bedroom from time to time. Not that he was bad at all, for someone who had zero experience before meeting me, but it was just a preference of mine. But I felt like he was beginning to realize it before we spent all that time apart, especially considering how good he was when the two of us did it in our new hybrid bodies. Considering that would be our last time with each other, it was a sweet note to end on.

Oh, Greggy... now Harry and I have some 'splaining to do... Tee-hee!

The next day would be when we'd let him know what was going on, even if he already suspected something was blossoming between Harry and I. Or if Kyla told him after I talked to her... Either way, considering how smart he was, I suspected he wouldn't be surprised at all.

He'll always have a special place in my heart. He knows that, and I know I'll always have a special place in his...

It was that nice, comforting thought that officially put any reservations I may have had about my new relationship to bed. Because now, as Harry and I went to bed ourselves, all I could think about was what the next day would bring us. Every day from now on would be a new adventure... and I knew I had the perfect companion to share it with.

"Mmmph... I love you, Cali..."

"I love you too, Harry. I love you so much..."

~~~

~~

~

Funny that I've uploaded the Cali story when I've just received my new Kyla avatar. Refresh this page enough times and you'll see it XD

But man does it feel good to be uploading something again, though! I hope you've all enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it, and hope you're ready for more in coming months!

~Awesome Greg