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It had begun like any other day - unremarkable, just like the past weeks. Gaius had been in low spirits, his drive dampened and his feelings confused. At least there were others to work on the construction when he wasn't there, but what did it matter? Escape? For what? He was already utterly inhuman, hardly recognizable anymore. Family, friends, they all thought him dead. And Nita? After that fiasco weeks ago, she was probably furious with him. If only he'd handled himself with Miller better...

It was in the middle of these gloomy thoughts, out in one of the sunny grass clearings around the village that the buzzer caught Gaius, felling him like a heavy black bag of potatoes.

---

When he first awoke, the first thing he felt was something wet and warm against his nose and cheek. Gaius grimaced, turning away from the disturbance, but it continued with an insistent whine. He cracked an eye open.

"Wha...?" Where was he? It was... dark? Vixen's face obscured most of his view. Shoving the worried dog off, he squinted around at his surroundings. He was in his own duplex, the curtains drawn. The clock blinked down at him, 9:41pm.

Gaius groaned. He'd been out all day? Why couldn't he remember any of it? The last thing was outside on a walk, and then...

His eyes went wide and he jerked up in bed, jerking one of his wings painfully in the process. "Well damn..."

It was then he became aware of a strange sensation, as he sat up. Something felt sensitive, down on his bottom. The fabric of his boxers wasn't rubbing against horse hair, it was rubbing against skin.

The pegasus-man was up in an instant, lurching clumsily to the bathroom as his body tried to recover from standing up too fast after being prone for so long. He flipped the lights on, barely noticing the slight film of dust on the mirror as he turned around and, in his relative privacy aside from the canine companion, tugged down the back of his pants over his tail. There, standing out like the full moon on a black night, was a bare shaved patch of skin, practically the entire side, and in the middle of it was a black bar code. Gaius, frowning and confused, rubbed at the markings - they didn't smudge. For all intent, it looked like it was under the skin...

His heart raced. He'd been shaved and marked? His eyes trailed up the mirror as his wing pained him again. The spread of his wings, normally smooth, was marked by several breaks where pinions were missing. Gaius turned back around, catching himself on the counter. What the hell had happened while he was out?

His hand pulled away from the counter, and he stared at where his hand had left a trail in what appeared to be a layer of dust.

Gaius was out of the bathroom in a flash, grabbing at the calendar/clock beside his desk. How long HAD he been out?!

August 29, 2007.

But hadn't it just been March...? Gaius's blood ran cold. Vixen whined at his side. It couldn't be... He couldn't have been gone that long, surely people would have noticed?

Not even bothering to grab Vixen's leash, he bolted out the door, taking the steps two or three at a time and putting his long stride to work. He stared around wide-eyed, heart pounding and on the verge of panic. Where was everyone?! What'd happened?

"Hello? Someone? Anyone!" he bellowed, somewhere between a horsish bray and a panicked cry.

Richard was finally sitting down with a stack of clothes magazines and a tape measure when the chip went off. Her entire body tensed and then slumped against the desk.

She awoke with fit of sneezing. "Snnnnnt! Snnnnnt!" The dust that covered the room was to much for her nose. It took her about a minute to get it under control. Then she looked around the room. It was dirty, dust was all over her den! What the hell? Her mouth was dry.

Panic was rising, she had no idea what had happened. Then she saw her stomach, the four injection marks. "No!" She squeaked. Thoughts race through her head. What the hell was this? Four injection marks?

She pushed herself out of bed, grabbing a robe. She started sneezing again. She needed to get away from the dust! That had to come first. She opened the duplex door and stumbled out.

Comet wagged her tail and dashed away in the general direction Vixen (and Gaius). Wincing, Nita forced her short legs to carry her more quickly. In spite of her generally good night vision, she stumbled a few times. Her head still hadn't cleared from her forced unconscious state.

"Gaius?" she called. "Is that you?" Nita finally caught up with Comet, who was busily sniffing Vixen. "What- the hell- is going on?" she gasped. "Were you buzzed too?"

If his heart had been pounding before, it nearly stopped when he heard Nita. His running broke out into a full-out sprint, practically running her down as he skidded to a stop and caught her up in his arms.

"NITA! I was so worried! I thought- The buzzing, and the labs-" He shook his head, unable to get things out straight. "How long was I gone? I-I just got up, and the calendar said it's August already!"

The sneeze came as an unwelcome surprise in Gaius's high-strung state. He spun around, ears alert, but then glanced back at Nita. "What's happened while we were out...?"

Vixen looked up as well, sniffing at the mildly familiar (but changed) scent, and gave a gruff 'woof!'

"August?" Her voice came out of the darkness, it had changed so much it wasn't even recognizable. Did she hear that right? No thats not possible. She shook her head, as she walked toward the pair. Then there was a dog in front of her sniffing her robe. She gave a small growl at it, waving it away with her handpaw. "Hey you, shoo!"

She looked up at Nita, her eyes catching the moonlight. "Its just me, Richard."

Nita frowned. It certainly didn't sound like Richard, she had to agree. "Comet, come here," she said, her voice cracking. This was all too weird, even for the Island.

With another friendly snuffle at Richard, Comet bounced back over to Nita. The red panda girl leaned against Gaius, resting one hand on Comet's back. Shaking her head, Nita peered at the person who claimed to be Richard.

"I was asleep," she repeated. "And I don't usually sleep this late.. I guess... I think I remember being buzzed..."

Gaius stared, still unsure of what he was seeing. It was clearly a woman... a kinda feline-looking one, with tentacles coming up over her shoulders. "But... Richard's an old guy. You're not a guy!" He gave a snort in emphasis. "Besides, your hair's darker and stuff. And he didn't have... you know..." He made a cup gesture at his chest, pointing out the obvious.

"Unless..." Gaius's eyes widened. "They gave you a sex change while we were out?! I thought I had it bad waking up with a tattoo..."

Richard beared her teeth at Gaius and then shook her head at Nita's question. "No I'm fairly far from okay, but I've been sulking around for a month now, I- I'm trying to get use- No." She sighed, "I'm moving on."

She took a deep breath, tail swishing behind her as she did so. "Now what this about August? And a Tatoo?"