Blocking your exit from the classroom is a familiar trio of canids fronted by their cackling hyena-like leader, there is a scar on his right arm from where - you recall - Anders had shot him. You hear a low growl emanate from behind you as Cameron stares down the group, ready to provide some payback for the ambush they sprung on you two-days earlier. The hyena continues to chuckle to himself as his compatriots flank around him, a mastiff, a bulldog and some other mutt of a creature. They're all armed with clubs and pipes and chains, except for the bulldog who his carrying a shotgun.
You all stand there for a moment, no one moves. Anders has his sidearm at the 'ready', Cameron is crouched low by some desks, you have your pipe-wrench drawn by your side and Amelia begins casually strolling up to the group. You don't know what she's planning, but she begins to speak, "Aw, c'mon, Kenzie! What're ya doin' here?" She clearly knows who this hyena-man is, though it doesn't seem like he's happy to see her. Kenzie has stopped his chuckling and is barring his fangs at the snowy fox, "Look, you're upset that your program got scrapped, I get that, but what's with all of... this?" Amelia gestures to the room, doing a little pirouette. Kenzie makes a quick lunge for her, but she's too quick and slips out of his grasp with ease. The hyena growls in frustration
"You have no idea what we were so close to accomplishing before we were forced to toss away all of our work!" Kenzie tries to maintain some composure as he continues, "While you were running and hiding and playing games, we were there -doing- the work that had to be done. All the pain and suffering we went through was all going to be for something, it had to be! We suffered through agony after agony because it was going to mean something! But then we were tossed to the side, everything was for NOTHING!" The hyena whips around the pipe he had in his hand, letting it fly through the air. Amelia dodges but Kenzie wasn't aiming for her, Anders lets out a yelp and a whine as the pipe strikes his hand, sending his pistol skittering across the room. "TAKE THEM OUT!" Shouts the gang leader, you hear the bulldog rack the slide of the shotgun and aim for Amelia.
Without thinking, you slam your pipe wrench down on a desk in front of you creating a loud *BANG*! It immediately grabs the attention of the gun-toting dog, who swings around to engage you, only to have the weapon kicked out of his hand by the quick-thinking fox. The gun goes off, blasting a hole in the ceiling before clattering to the center of the floor. A roar from behind, Cameron springs out from cover and leaps for the discarded gun. In a fraction of a second, it's in his hands, he racks the slide with practiced ease and levels the firearm at the hyena-leader. He pulls the trigger.
*Click*
The gun is empty. The Hyena lets out a cackling laughter as he begins to charge your brother, producing a length of heavy chain that he starts to swing around. You make your move, bringing your bludgeon to bear, you run toward the hyena. Slashing down with your weapon, you are rewarded with the shock of impact as your wrench makes contact with Kenzie's forearm. The blow causes him to stagger a little and you begin to follow through with your second strike when, suddenly, you have the wind knocked out of you. The mastiff tackles you to the floor, your head hits a desk on the way down and you're seeing stars. The creature growls in your ear, "I don't know you... but your scent is familiar, very similar to the one we caught in our trap. Heh." He has you pinned, you're staring into his muzzle as he slobbers a little on you, "Yeah, I got to know his sent -real- good after that fight. You wouldn't know it to look at him now, but we broke him good that night. Each of us taking turns on his strong body... It's only fair for the victors to enjoy the spoils..."
He flashes his wicked canines at you, staring into your eyes. He leans down and draws a long lick across your face, your heart starts to race. You can feel a large bulge begin to form in his pants as he presses into you, dominant. You don't know why your face is flushed, your own pants are starting to feel tight as well in response to this domineering creature and a tiny part of you just wants to give up and submit... The clamor of the fight around you rings in your ears, bringing your mind back to the present. You can hear all of your friends engaged in the melee, a howl from Anders, a taunt from Amelia and shout from Cam. They're all fighting, they're all fighting for each other. You can't - You WONT let them down. You reach deep within yourself for that spark of fury, that ember of strength you can fan into a burning flame to aid you in battle. You feel something.
Smoke starts to pour from your maw, the mastiff looks down at you in confusion. You can feel something in your throat, like a choking sensation, but not really. It's like a bubble of pressure from some internal source is pushing its way out through your throat and you instinctively open your maw wide. You can see a slight glow reflecting in the startled eyes of the dog above you just before he dives away. You release a torrent of flame into the space the mastiff once occupied, the heat from which makes you close your eyes, some of your face feels burnt. You get up.
You have to react quickly to avoid a strike from the mastiff, he misses causing him to lose his balance. You take the opportunity to land a swift punch across the back of his head, causing him to fall over. You pick up your pipe wrench. The dog comes at you again, you strike his legs and he yelps in pain. You smile. He comes at you again, this time you lash out at his right arm. You hear something crack. The mastiff stays down this time, looking up at you in great pain. You can't help it, you chuckle a little to yourself. This thing thought it could have its way with you? This pathetic, lesser creature? You stalk towards the dog as he tries to crawl away.
*Kill it*
A voice inside your mind eggs you on,
*This thing tried to make you his, its presence cannot and will not be tolerated anymore*
You get closer to your prey, your arm raising the weapon above your head,
*This is the natural order of things, the strong destroy the weak... KILL IT!*
You bring down the hammer as hard as you can.
It shatters the floor beside the head of the wounded dog, embedding itself harmlessly and permanently. The room is quiet. You look around. Your brother, Cam, has Kenzie in a choke hold on the ground, Amelia is sitting on the unconscious form of the bulldog and Anders is finishing up with the prone form of the mutt creature, zip-tying his wrists behind his back. You can't quite seem to focus, the mastiff is still cowering below you. What was that voice? Your jaw is slack and you reach up with your left hand to rub your temples. And proceed to scratch yourself. You yelp a little and look down at your formerly human hand, scales cover your clawed digits and you can feel new scales press out of your skin underneath your slowly disintegrating sweater, a small spike spears its way out from the elbow of your left sleeve, matching the one on the right. It's an odd sensation, like a prickling that begins under your skin before coalescing into callouses above it. You look down at the dog again.
He has prostrated himself before you. An act of submission that puts you as the dominant over him, your pants feel incredibly tight all of a sudden. A haze clouds your mind as your eyelids droop and your panting comes a bit deeper and harder, your tongue hangs out slightly. The thought of putting this pup in his place below you, enacting your revenge on him again and again as he begs for more, has you drooling. You move as if on autopilot, a little voice in the back of your head tells you that this isn't right, you brush it off. Your heart is beating hard and fast, you -will- have your prize and you'll make sure this dog knows exactly who his master really is. You reach down to undo your belt...
Searing pain rips through your body.
"GRAAH!" You howl out in pain, everyone is looking your way now. It feels like someone has taken a hot knife and buried it in your back, you can barely breathe. Falling to your knees you arch your spine and cry out in agony as your soft, mostly human, flesh is rent asunder. You feel the warm trickle of blood dribble down your body as you tear away your sweater. With your upper garments lying in shreds below you, you take stock of what has happened. The world begins to spin around you.
You're vaguely aware of warm, furry arms catching you as you fall backwards, having lost your balance temporarily. You can't really hear that much either as you look into your brother's face, it is etched with concern and horror, it's like you're watching things from the bottom of a pool. What happened? You can't really talk either, your brain seems to be misfiring and receiving errant signals, not sure what to do with them. Someone grabs your head to turn you towards them, it's Amelia. She looks pleased as punch... Almost giddy? You shake your head, you can't hear what she's saying. She continues to look at you in awe, what's wrong with you? What's up with her? Lastly, Anders pushes her aside and leans down into you. He gives you a quick nuzzle and licks you across the cheek. What's...?
Sound starts returning, your brain refocuses and everything starts to speed back up. You can hear your labored breaths and you can make out what Anders is saying, "Hey, hey, there you are... look at me pup, you're gonna be alright... It happened again." He pulls you onto your feet, you're still a bit wobbly, but you manage. Anders quickly pulls behind you, and starts to massage your disconcertingly-numb arm, except... you look down at your left arm and realize that it is perfectly fine. Looking back you can see -what- has happened 'again'. Another white-scaled, bat-like appendage graces your back, a twin for the wing on your right-side. You let out a ragged sigh. You were half hoping this wouldn't happen while you were awake, last time was traumatic enough and you slept through most of it, but with Anders' ministrations you soon have another fully functional wing, even if it is still kind of sticky with your own blood. You wonder if you can fly?
"Oh, wow! I've never seen anything so dramatic before! You were awesome!" Amelia is prancing around you like a little girl, poking your new, sensitive limb, "And it looked incredibly painful! Ya really conked out on us for a moment!" You're really glad she finds your pain so incredibly amusing. That being said, you find yourself more or less back to normal, you feel much better and more in control. You don't know what happened back during the fight, something in you called for the other creature's death and you almost obliged. Following that, you were going to rape the monster in an act of pure domination. What are you becoming? What is this voice? Is it you or the dragon in you? Will it eventually take over your mind or can you fight back somehow? Your brother turns you around.
"Woah, man, your ears have changed as well..." He narrows his cat-like eyes to study your new features. Self-consciously, you reach up to feel your extremities. Woah... Your claws trace along four prominent, elongated spines that are webbed together with a thin, scaly membrane. The spines seem to converge at an ear hole. As you move your claw around them, you notice that they twitch and move with your touches and if you focus, you can adjust them yourself to really focus and sharpen your natural hearing, like listening through an ear trumpet... almost. Amelia is having fun playing with your new ears so you have to turn away from her. Your eyes fall on the cage at the end of the classroom.
"So..." You say to the group, as you see Cass get up from her spot in the corner of the cage, "What's the plan for these guys? I don't think we should leave them..." There's an uncomfortable silence that falls over the group. If you choose to take them with you, you will be burdening yourselves and taking on the responsibility of the welfare of a group of people you don't know. If you leave them, especially in the state that they are in, you doubt that they would care to cling to any humanity they have left and may become a problem for you later on, though you'd probably be better prepared by that time. What do you decide to do...?