meanwhile, at the badgers' home...
Asher stood in his living room in shock and despair. How could he let someone like Benji slip away from his grasp? The younger badger knew changing people required a lot of focus, and after Benji spilled his tea, he seemingly got too excited and his mind slipped, letting him get away. He could've had the perfect friend, maybe even mate, and he utterly blew it. He was ashamed, absolutely ashamed. He gulped as he heard Felix storm into the room, furious and full of rage, ready to take the brunt of his uncle’s wrath.
"What the fuck were you thinking, nephew?! Turning our neighbor into one of us so quickly after meeting the man? That's downright irresponsible and dangerous!" Felix roared.
Asher, on the other hand, tried to defend himself. "I-I didn't mean for it to happen like this, Uncle! I just wanted someone to be with, someone who I wanted to share my life with and who understood life as a badger!"
Felix was not having any of it. "You have powers that you don't even know how to use, boy. You can't just go around changing people all gung ho like that! This could get the two of us in deep shit, not to mention the danger you put that poor bastard in!"
As the argument continued, Asher's guilt and fear grew stronger. He knew he had made a terrible mistake, and he didn't know how to correct it. Suddenly, he had an idea. Maybe if he turned Benji's family into badgers too, things would make more sense and he would have less of a problem. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time.
"Asher, don’t you dare!" Felix yelled, but it was too late. Asher had already gone outside and started to work his magic on Benji's family. Within no time, Benji's mother and sisters had all been transformed into anthropomorphic badgers, just like Benji.
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returning to the second person perspective...
The door swung open after you had banged on it relentlessly, and you were relieved to see it open. However, that relief was short-lived as you were met by another badger, This one, being your younger sister Grace. "Cor Blimey! What has gotten into you, Benji?" she asked, her voice thick with an accent that you were sure she never had before.
"I-I don't know," you said in shock, "Asher… from next door… he did something to me, and now I'm like this."
"Like what?" your mother's voice interrupted from behind your sister, and you saw her too, now a badger just like you and your sister.
"We’re badgers now, Mum," you explained, still in complete dismay at what you saw. "Asher did this to us, he made us like him."
"Made us like him? What do you mean, love?" your mother asked, confusion etched across her furry muzzle.
"He turned us into badger people, just like him," you said, as your whiskers twitched in frustration. "Don't you remember our lives as humans? Don't you remember at all?"
Grace and your mother looked at each other and then back at you, both with blank expressions. "What are you talking about, Benji?" Grace asked. "We've always been badgers, just like you."
You looked at your mum and sister with complete confusion. "What do you mean, always been badgers? That's ridiculous!"
"Well, we don't know what you're on about, love," your mother said, patting your paw. "We've always been badgers, and so have you."
You couldn't believe what you were hearing. Had Asher not only turned you and your family into badgers but also altered your family's memories to think that they had always been a working-class English family? Turning you into a badger was one thing, but now that your poor, innocent mom and sisters have been roped into this mess, matters just got worse.
You looked at your mother and sister, both of them cocking their heads in confusion, and you realized that there was no point in arguing with them. They wouldn't remember anything different. You were alone in this, trapped in a body that wasn't yours, and with a family who thought this was all normal.
You sighed heavily and leaned against the doorframe, feeling defeated. "What am I going to do?" you muttered to yourself.
"Benji, why are you acting out the way that you are?" your sister asked, noticing your distress.
You looked up at her, tears still streaming down your face. "I don’t know, Gracie. I… Just panicked, that's all."
You knew that you couldn't tell them the truth. They wouldn't understand, and it would only cause more confusion and pain. You had to find a way to reverse this, to turn back into a human, and to make Asher pay for what he had done to you.
But for now, you had to play along, to act like everything was normal, even if you were anything but.
You head back upstairs and notice that the whole house has a different feel to it as your mind becomes fuzzy. The family pictures you had across your home had anthropomorphic badgers in place of the humans that previously appeared in them. There were some new pictures of you as well, playing football in school (the football that your American peers oddly referred to as “Soccer”), you in your school uniform in primary school before you moved to America, among other scenes, and it had felt all kind of real to you despite having never actually lived through those experiences. You then walked into your room to see it had also changed. Your room seemed rather plain, as your family was still trying to make ends meet after your father’s passing. There was some decor in your room, such as a bookcase lined with some novels you used to read back in Middle and High School, a trophy you had from the youth “soccer” program years ago, as well as a small laptop you had for schoolwork.
You then noticed that you were still wearing clothes that were tight on you, not to mention they are still drenched in tea from earlier, so you took off your clothes, revealing your new, powerfully-built body in the mirror. A large chest, gut, and strong limbs covered in black fur on your front as you turned around to see a blend of black, white, and silver fur across your back down to your short and fluffy tail. You started to look for something that would fit your new body as you rummaged through your wardrobe, starting with some underwear, before finding a sweater and some trousers that conveniently fit your new body perfectly, it also contrasted well with your new fur, giving you a cuddly look. It’s probably the one good thing Asher did for you after everything that has happened today.
You then took a rest on your mattress, as you put your clawed fingers behind the back of your head on the pillow, trying to look for answers for everything that had happened over the past hour, asking yourself why this had to happen to you and your family. You try to distract yourself with something, as this new life feels all so foreign to you…