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Gaius stared dumbstruck for a moment. It happened so suddenly. One moment, he was talking to Marshall, the next the guy was on the floor, clutching his head. It took Gaius a moment longer to catch up mentally. Cursing loudly, he pushed himself inside and knelt down beside his buddy on the carpet.

"Marshall! MARSHALL!" he shouted over the boy's cries. "You're not going to die! Just hang on, okay? Hang on through it!"

It was hard to see from where he was, but Gaius caught a glimpse of the facial features shifting and felt his stomach twinge. "J-Just hang in there, pal..." he said, though he sounded less confidant.

Gaius watched with horror and morbid fascination as the transformation progressed... face, feathers, webbing... oh the webbing!

He placed a hand gingerly atop Marshall's shoulder, feeling the smooth new texture, and gave it a light squeeze. "Hey... hey. It's okay, alright? You're not going to die... You're still able to feel pain, that's a good sign, right?" he offered weakly. "You'll survive..."

"R-Right. Don't worry, I'm here for you..."

Gaius' ears flattened back. Poor guy. The change had been sudden and relentless. He'd wondered if the guy might burst at the rapid he'd changed. And now, where there'd been the dorky white kid, was a black-feathered being, but the eyes, those tearful eyes were still the same, pleading with him.

"Hey, let's move you off of the floor, huh? Think you can stand up?" he asked, picking up his discarded walking stick. His other hand held onto the... flipper. "I'll help haul you up..."

"Hey, don't say that!" Gaius snorted. "How can you over-react when something like this is happening?"

He did his best to support Marshall even as he leaned on his stick, pulling the guy across the room to the bed, where he let the guy sit down. Gaius himself remained standing, looking over the guy. It was easier to deal with the changes, somehow, seeing it first-hand, but there was no denying it was a shock to the system.

"I'll stay as long as you need me, okay?"

Gaius blinked, wondering where that had come from. "Do I mind? Hmm..." He lifted his eyes and tapped his chin thoughtfully, then broke into a grin and shook his head. "Nah, not at all. I think, ever since I first met you, I thought of you as the younger, annoying little brother I never had!"

Gaius grunted, ruffling Marshall's hair. "Don't know how strong I am right now when I can't even walk right... But don't worry. You won't end up like the stuff from that night. That was other people, ones we... don't know." He hadn't realy known Fiona, after all...

"Just take a rest, the aches'll go away soon enough..."

"Heh, right... And have a neck and foot fetish, I suppose..." he chuckled. "I think your change muddled your head, pal."

Settling back against Marshall's desk, Gaius relaxed a bit. "Don't worry, I'll stay here until you fall asleep, okay?"

Marshall awoke, greeted with the moon's light coming through his window, squeezing out from behind the neighbouring duplex. Marshall looked around in a slightly dazed look in his eyes. He brought up his hand, and even in the dark, could tell that it wasn't a hand. It was...A flipper? Marshall slowly got to his feet, gritting his semi-beak as he did so. The bones in his feet still hurt from drastic change that happened hours ago.

Slowly, Marshall made it to the Bathroom. Slowly, he took off his shirt, and put his flipper-hand on the light switch. "...3...2....1." he said, flicking on the light to see the damage.

White feathers covered his chest and the inside of his arms, while the rest of the feathers were dark black. The only noteable exception was the large patch of yellow around his neck. His face, which had only suffered slightly with his first change, was now unrecognisable.

"...Heh heh..." Marshall said, almost laughing as tears rolled down his face, "Heh heh...Heh...Ha ha...Hah...Ha ha ha hah..." he said, crying and laughing at the cruel irony of his fate.

He finally knew what he was. He was his own creation.

...He was a penguin.