Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Fox Tales ❯ Transfurmation, Part I ( Chapter 9 )

Fox Tales

 

Chapter 9

“Transfurmation, Part I”

 

(A/N: The title is not a typo. It's a bad pun)

 

After waking up from the conversation with Satoru, Todd looked at the alarm clock sitting on the nightstand to his right. It read 1:53 AM. Now knowing that he still had a few hours to go before he had to get up for school, he let his head fall back onto the pillow, and officially fell asleep ten minutes later. However, the dream picked up right where it left off.

 

“Oh, it's you again,” Todd said dryly when he re-entered the dream.

“Yes. What you said before you left is right. It must be something very important,” Satoru replied. “For whatever reason, my soul has not been at rest since the day I died.”

“Well…I gotta ask…can you think of any unfinished business you might have?”

“No. In fact I can't really remember much about my life. I know about the story that you mentioned earlier, but not a whole lot more. Why do you ask?”

 

Todd paused to try to comprehend and diagnose the situation. “Well, regardless of your apparent amnesia, I do think you have some unfinished business. In my mind, that'd be the only reason why you haven't found peace. Wait a minute. I just had a quick thought.”

“What is it?”

“You know, I think I've figured out why this is happening. My guess is that somehow, I'm supposed to help you put together the puzzle pieces of your life, and that will reveal what unfinished business you have. Does that make sense?”

“Yes, it makes sense. I am not sure, however, that your theory is true. Although what you say would explain many things, I think it is too soon to try to make prognostications.”

“I guess so,” Todd said passively “So, where do we start?”

 

As soon as Satoru opens his mouth, Todd's alarm goes off. He turns around onto his belly, puts his left hand on the nightstand, feels around for alarm, and turns it off. He then turns to lie on his back, and opens his eyes. Damn. This is going to be bugging me all day long, he thought.

 

Todd decided that if he was going to figure out what was going on, he'd need some clues, and that meant boning up on legends. He walked a few blocks to the local library, and checked some books out on mythology, particularly Japanese mythology. Since his mother would be out of the house all day running errands, he figured he could do the actual reading of the books at home.

-What are you doing? a voice said to Todd.

“What the…who said that?” Todd said shocked, looking around.

-You mean you have already forgotten my voice?

“You mean…I can hear you during the day?”

-Yes, Satoru chuckled. You and I have become one, remember?

“Yes,” Todd conceded. “I still have to wrap my mind around that idea, I guess.” Todd realized that he was in a public place with many people around him, so he decided to keep the conversation to himself rather than mumble to himself and cause everyone to question his sanity.

-If you must know, I've decided to do a little bit of research.

-Research? Research what?

-Legends and mythology. I figured that it might give me some clues as to why you and I have met.

-Well, I suppose it's not a bad start.

 

Back home that night, Todd is sitting at the desk in his room with the lamp on, doing something he hadn't done since before he could remember: studying. He hadn't stopped since he got back home. The phone rang downstairs. Todd bolted out of the chair, and ran down the stairs to the phone in the kitchen to answer it.

“Reinhardt residence,” he said.

“Todd,” the other voice said. It was his mother, sobbing deeply and breathing heavily.

“Mom, what's wrong?”

“Todd, I have some…very bad news,” she said, stopping to sniffle.

“What is it?”

“I just received word from your father that…your sister…was involved in a car accident…”

“Oh, God!”

 

Tears immediately began welling up in Todd's eyes. If it were possible, his jaw would have dropped through the floor and down to the bottom of the basement.
“My God! What happened?” he yelled.

“She went out with a couple of her friends to a party, with alcohol, and they all had too much to drink. On the way back, she ran a red light, and was t-boned, right into the driver side. I…I can't control myself. I've got to get to the hospital. I'll have to call you back later.” With that, she hung up.

 

Todd quietly turned the phone off, and let it drop to the floor. His face had disbelief written all over it. He stared blankly into space with an open mouth. He didn't say anything because he couldn't. He was at a total loss for words. None could express the emotions running through his body.

“I…I…I don't…believe it,” Todd whispered. Each sentence became more difficult to utter. “Oh, God. What's happening? Why does…my life have to be so…so--”

It's alright, Todd. Everything is going to be fine, Satoru said

“No! It's not fine!” Todd said, pausing. “It's all going to hell in a handbasket!” He picked up the phone from the floor, though his vision was blurred a bit by the tears welling up in his eyes.

“First, my own goddamn sister has been giving me the silent treatment for the last five years,” he said as he looked at the phone in his hand, “and she's now on some fucking hospital bed, possibly fighting for her life! Now…now I've become infused or whatever with you for some damn reason, and I don't know how to make any SENSE OF IT!”

 

With that sentence, Todd emphatically threw the handheld phone across the room like a tomahawk. As soon as he let go, the moment slowed down. Everything seemed to go in slow-mo, including himself. Tears flung from Todd's eyes as hair flew in front of his face. The phone slowly hit the wall, bringing everything back up to speed. Todd looked down, fell to his knees, and began to cry hard.

 

Late the next night, Todd decided to take a long walk in order to try to clear his head. The trip was so long that he managed all the way into downtown. The streets were quiet and empty. All of the stores had closed for the night; the air was crisp. Meanwhile, Eric and Rose (A/N: our antagonists, remember) stood on the roof of a three-story structure a few buildings away from where Todd was.

“Are you sure you want to do this now?” Rose asked.

“Yes. This is as good a time as ever.” Then Eric walked over to the edge of the building, looking down on the alley off of the sidewalk. He pulled out a wooden staff with a purple orb on top from underneath his trench coat, and stood it on its bottom end, placing his hands on top of the orb. He then inaudibly began to murmur some incantations, which caused the orb to glow. After he finished the spells, he picked up the rod, with his right hand at the bottom, and pointed the orb at the ground below. A big circle with a glowing edge formed, and a shining figure came from the circle. What Eric had done was create a monster almost as tall as the buildings surrounding it. In very simple terms, it was a giant lizard, but it could walk on its hind legs and it had hands shaped like a human's, only with claws. The monster was growling with teeth clenched like an angry dog, just waiting for the command. When it was all done, Eric grinned and pointed his index finger at his creation and said, “Go around this corner and destroy that boy!”

 

Todd walked slowly with his head slightly tilted down, looking at the sidewalk in front of him. He then suddenly felt and heard a loud thud. He stopped to regain his balance. “Holy shit!” he said. He then swiveled his head around to try to figure out where it was coming from. Another thud came, and another, and another. Todd looked up and saw the red monster standing right in front of him. A profound wave of fear went through Todd's body like nothing he had ever experienced before. The monster elevated its right arm and tried to squash Todd with an open palm. Todd was able to run and dive out of the way. The giant hand's impact left a huge dent in the sidewalk where he standing. Lying on his belly on the road, Todd looked over his shoulder and saw that the monster was trying again. He quickly got up to his feet and ran, with the smashing hand and tiny pieces of flying asphalt not far behind. What the hell is that thing, and what the fuck am I supposed to do? he thought. While running, Todd realized that the loud noises hadn't woken anyone else up, as if he was the only one who knew what was going on. Yelling for help wasn't going to help him.

-Um, spirit, whatever your name is…can you hear me? he thought.

-Yes, I can hear you, Satoru replied.

-Do you have any ideas? `Cause the only one I have is to run.

-I do know how to defeat this beast. But I have to ask you to do one thing.

-What's that?

-I need you to trust me enough to let me do what I'm about to do you.

-What?! `About to do to me'?!

-I know it a lot to ask of you since we haven't known each other for a while. But it's the only way we can get out of this predicament alive.

Todd realized that Satoru was right. No one else was going to be able to defeat this danger. He was still unsure letting some stranger do whatever with his body.

-Well, do you trust me or not? Satoru asked firmly.

Todd ran back to the sidewalk near the corner. He was facing the brick wall of a building, looking down on the ground. Thoughts of whether or not to basically give someone he just met a blank check raced through his mind as the monster came ever closer with each thud.

-Do you trust me, Todd? Satoru asked sternly. Another thud followed. The monster was now just a half-block away. Todd turned his body to face the beast, lifted his straightforward and said quietly, “I trust you.”

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