Title: No title chosen, so we'll just call this one Challenge #6
Author: MajikKarma and Sailor Majik

Animals chosen:

Max: Puppy - cute and loyal
Michael: Cat - prefers to be by himself, has an attitude, will claw you if you piss him off, but would be content sitting with Maria all day.

"OK, guys, are you ready to try?" Isabel asked Max and Michael. Both nodded with very slight movements. "Have you guys decided yet?" Both men nodded again. Michael had decided to be a ferocious lion or a panther or a jaguar or something big and tough with claws. He hadn't decided yet, but he knew he wanted to be one of the cats. Max decided to become a fox, clever, speedy, and agile so he could get away from danger without confrontation. Isabel had also chosen a more passive choice, an eagle, so that she could fly away easily but could also attack if she had to. "Ok, concentrate. God, I hope we get this right before he finds us."

Only moments ago, Max foolishly used his powers in public. He had, once again, gotten sloshed and tried to win Liz back, even though he really didn't need to. Two of Kyle's friends, who had provided Max's alcohol, had seen the strange array of lights in the sky dance to spell "I love you, Liz." Both stared at each other for a moment, and then to Max who just sat atop the hood of one of the guys' car. Suddenly, he was sober again, just in time to see the love note fade into the dark velvet sky. He looked again at Kyle's friends who confronted him with this occurrence. They thought it was cool, but the stranger in the shadows had not. Out from the night stepped Hank Geurin, Michael's father.

"Hello, son," the always drunk Hank said as he drenched Max's face with the smell of alcohol. Max turned his head to avoid the fumes, but he could still easily smell the man's breath. "I think y'all should be getting on your way," Hank began. "Now!" he barked as the boys tried asking Max what he had done to the spring night sky. Max quickly grabbed the car keys from the driver and threw them into one of the bushes.

"Walk home, guys," Max told them knowing full well how drunk they had gotten. The boys looked at each other, then at Max with pathetic eyes and only complained, "Man, why do we gotta walk? The old man is just as drunk as us and I bet hedrove here."

"So, Hank. Long time, huh? It's been a good few months since you threatened Michael and then abandoned him when the timing suited you."

"Yeah, well, I had things to do. Let me talk to you for a while, Max." Hank sat on the hood of the abandoned car next to Max. "Max," he started, forcing Max to turn his head away from the smell again, "I saw what you wrote up there." Hank pointed at the stars drunkenly.

"Hank, you're drunk. You don't know what you saw. It was just the light playing in your watery, drunken eyes. It was nothing."

"No, no it wasn't, boy," Hank said, turning away. Max heard a horrible tearing noise and some screaming. When he walked around the front of the bent-over Hank to see if he was ok, he found himself staring at a totally different person.

"Naseido," Max whispered to himself. "Shit." Max ran as fast as he could to avoid this new nemesis. Michael had recently told Max about a vision he had had the other night. Michael, Max and Isabel were standing on the hangman's gallows alone. A hooded figure approached them and identified himself as their executioner. He removed his mask and showed his face as Hank, Michael's foster father. But, the executioner turned his back to them and when he faced them again, a new face had taken the place of the old. 'Max,' Michael had told him the day after the vision, 'I had a vision. This is not good, bro. It's Naseido. He doesn't want to find us to take us home or to be our family, he wants to find us so he can kill us. The only part I can't understand is why he'd be Hank in my vision.'

Max ran as hard and as fast as he could to Liz's house, since her house was closer than any of the others'. "God, Max, what's wrong?" Liz said with a tremor in her voice. She had never seen Max this upset. Never.

"I need to use your phone," Max said, inviting himself in. He dialed the phone and paused to allow the person on the other end of the phone to customarily say their greetings. "Yeah, Iz, it's Max. Get Michael and meet me at the cave as soon as you can. Ok." He hung up the phone and walked over to Liz. She looked at him, worried and scared to death. He just looked at her, then gave her a sweet, long kiss on the lips. "Goodbye," he said as he let himself out. Liz, too scared to do much else, let a tear roll down her cheek.

----

"Concentrate, you guys," Isabel commanded. "I think it's working." Each opened their eyes, first Michael, then Isabel, then Max.

"God, it is working!" Michael said, smiling as his fingernail turned into claws. Max looked at his hands, which had begun to grow red fur. Isabel's transformation was nearly complete when the Other walked in. "Shit!" Michael screamed, at first sounding like a human screaming but ended like a cat screeching, breaking his concentration. His once huge and frightening form of a black panther was deformed into that of a black house cat. At Michael's scream, Max's concentration was also broken. In his fear, his focus had shifted from the shapeshifting ritual to Liz. He remembered some of the images he got from her; he remembered a stuffed puppy Kyle had given her in the seventh grade. His body had turned from the swift fox to a small black lab puppy.

The three flew and ran out of the cave as quickly as their newly formed bodies could manage. Once outside and a safe distance from the cave, the three perched on a sandstone rock. "Can you guys understand me?" Isabel, who had not broken her concentration, asked.

"Yes. What about you, Michael?"

Michael looked at his less-than-ferocious house cat body and just said, "shit."

"I guess that's a yes," Isabel replied. "What happened in there, you guys? We're you going to be a fox? And you, weren't you the one all psyched about becoming a big tough cat?"

"Shut up," Michael said glaring at Isabel. "I'm already pissed off. And now that I think about it, I'm starting to get hungry...." Michael rushed Isabel, forgetting about one new feature on her new body. She cried, not as a human, but as an eagle, and flew up about a foot, baring her talons.

"You may be pissed, but don't take it out on me, boy."

"Enough! We have to find out how to get rid of Naseido and then get back into our original bodies."

"Yeah, ok. How do you suppose we do that, wonder boy." Michael was on edge. He couldn't believe Naseido of all people, one of his own, could be trying to kill them. It just didn't add up.

"I don't know, but we should find Liz."

"And Alex," Isabel quickly added. "But, I can't show up like this. You guys are fine; at least you look like everyday stray animals," Michael hissed at her, hoping to forget about the form he was presently in, "but I'm an endangered species. What if someone were to capture me and take me into captivity or something? I'm going to have to change."

"Good idea, Iz," Max said. "Maybe we can go back to our original forms. Each attempted to change back into their original bodies, but only Isabel was able to succeed.

"Shit," Michael said again. "I'm going to spend the rest of my life in this little furry animal."

"I think it's because you guys broke your concentration. I don't know how long you could be stuck like this. It could be hours, it could be day...it could be for the rest of your lives."

"Shit," Michael said again.

"Will you stop saying that!" Max shouted. Michael hissed and jumped on Max, digging his claws into Max's back.

"Stop it!" Isabel yelled as she picked Michael up by the scruff of his neck. "We have to stay together on this, ok?"

Max and Michael looked at each other and reluctantly agreed. They walked to highway 42 and hitched a ride in the back of a black Mazda pick up. When they arrived at Maria's house, the driver blew a little kiss towards Isabel when she thanked him. "Ugh," she said, disgusted as she walked toward the front door with her new pets. Michael laughed and imitated the little kiss as Isabel rang the door.

"Shut up," she said as Maria opened the door.

"Well, pardon me all to hell!" Maria snapped as she looked at her visitor.

"Sorry, not you. I was talking to Michael."

"Really?" Maria asked, looking outside. "Where is he." Isabel pointed down at the cat by her feet. "Cute. Did you name your cat Michael?"

"No," Isabel said as she walked inside, "this is Michael." Maria stared in shock as the cat spoke to her.

"Hey, I can see up your skirt from here," he said, jokingly.

"So why can't his personality have changed, too?" Maria joked as he pretended to kick the cat. "You know, Sailor Moon has a talking black cat. Hi, Luna!" Maria greeted the cat with a high pitched voice. "How's the Scouts doing today."

"Grrr," was all Michael could do. He couldn't attack her. He cared for her too much. But he was still pissed. "Grrr."

"How cute!" Maria stooped to pet the cat who backed away at first, but then nudged his face into her hand. He started to purr. "Well, come on in. And this must be Max."

"Hi, Maria," Max said. "Is Liz here?" he asked wagging his tail.

"Yeah, she came over after you left her house. She's been crying all night." Max drooped his ears and tail at the sound of this news.

"Is she ok?" Isabel asked, concerned. Maria nodded and led the troupe into the living room. Liz was sitting in a chair with a tissue against one of her red eyes. Max ran up to her, jumped up and placed his front paws on her legs, licked her face, and wagged his tail. "It's alright, it's just Max."

"Max?" Liz asked at Isabel's attempt to explain the situation. Liz looked at the puppy's eyes. "Yep," she said, "it's Max. But, what happened to you?"

"Naseido." Michael spoke in a loud and confidant voice. He also had a sound of fear when speaking. He repeated, softer, "Naseido."

Liz looked down at Max. "Can we help?" Max didn't know the answer to her question. He wished he did, though. He hated seeing Liz like this.

"Isabel! What a pleasure seeing you here!" Alex called out. "And how are you this fine and lovely night, my dear?" he inquired as he gently kissed her hand.

"Not now Alex," Isabel said, pulling her hand away only after he had kissed it. "Alex, Max and Michael aren't quite themselves today," she explained, pointing at the black animals.

"So I gathered. Are you two really Michael and Max, or are all of you guys playing some colossal joke on me?" The death-stare from every member of the group told him the answer.

"Well," Maria started. "Suck a duck."

A pounding at the door caused everyone to jump. Michael jumped on Max's back, accidentally scratching the dog. Max barked and chased Michael up onto Maria's shoulder. "Shit!" she cried, not wanting to be in the middle of this. "Calm down guys," she demanded as she went to answer her door with Michael still on her shoulder.

"Ha! They're fighting like cats and dogs! Get, it? Cats and dogs?" Alex mused as he looked for someone to appreciate his lame joke. Iz smiled.

"Can I help you?" Maria asked after opening the front door, trying to sound as polite and as calm as she could under the circumstances.

"No, but I think I can help you," the visitor said, nodding his head towards Michael. "I know how to get them back."

"Them? Them, who?" Maria was a terrible liar when she was stressed.

"The cat and the other. Please, let me in." Maria looked at Michael for directions, knowing his instincts were almost always dead on in situations like this. He just closed his eyes slowly and reopened them, indicating a 'yes.' Maria let the man in and led him to the group in the living room. "You must all come with me. The Other knows where you are. You have only a matter of minutes." Everyone looked at Michael and Maria, then to each other, and quickly followed this stranger. They piled into the back of a large pickup truck with a camper shell and were driven into the desert. "You may hide here until it is over." He spoke with a certain air of urgency. "The power you need will come from within."

"What does that mean?" Michael asked, wanting to learn as much as he could, while he could.

"You'll know when the time comes. Now, get to safety!" Michael, defiant as always, would not hide. He perched himself on a boulder and watched as the stranger walked away from the group into the desert.

"What's happening?" Maria whispered.

"Nothing, yet," her furry informant replied. "Wait, I see the one who came after us in the cave."

"Leave. These children have done nothing to you," their new protector yelled.

"That's where you're wrong. They have done everything to me," the Other hissed. "I have nothing against you, so step aside. Unless you want to share their fate." The Other raised her head long enough for Michael to get a good look at her face illuminated by the full moon.

"Jesus," he whispered to Maria, "it's Tess."

Tess heard the voice and she quickly struck the Protector down. "No! You bitch!" Michael yelled as he charged towards her. With each stride, his body became larger and fiercer. By the time he had reached her, he was a full-grown panther.

"Bitch!" he roared at her. He didn't sound, pardon the expression, human any more. He had almost fully changed into the panther.

Tess and Michael wrestled for a while before Max ran towards the cave's exit. He glanced back at Liz who said, "don't get killed, OK?" and kissed his furry head. He licked her face and bounded out with Isabel quick to follow.

"Ditto," Alex called out. Isabel kissed Alex on the cheek and ran out to check on the Protector. As Max ran out toward Tess, he could only think of the times he spent with Liz. By the time he finally reached Michael and Tess, he had regained his 'human' appearance and grabbed Tess around the neck.

"Do it!" Michael shouted. He wasn't quite sure what 'it' was, but he knew that, like the Protector said, Max would know when the time came. As Max held this evil, he was able to look inside of her thoughts.

He saw Tess watching Max and Liz together and hating every moment.

He saw Liz smiling as she thought about Max.

He saw Tess read then tear up a letter Max had written to Liz their Freshman year after he had taped it to her locker. It was the note telling Liz how much he loved her and how much he would love to see her more.

"You were the one who tore up that letter!" Max screamed at the girl. "I thought Kyle had! I didn't even know you were in our school until last week! What are you?"

Tess only looked at him, and said, "I'm a shapeshifer, you idiot. I can be anyone I want to be. I can go to your school without you even noticing."

"But why?"

He saw a flash of Tess, watching Max from a distance. "I love you," she whispered.

He saw Tess gently caress the picture of Max in their year book. "I love you," she whispered.

He saw Tess scoop down to pick up a letter he had written to Liz several years ago, one telling Liz how much he cared for her, one he had tossed away thinking 'Liz would never go for a guy like me.' He saw Tess cross out the name 'Liz' at the top and substitute 'Tess' in its place.

He saw Tess following him through the aisles for Top Valu, hiding behind the bread shelves to listen in on his conversations with Michael.

He saw Tess draw picture upon picture of wedding dresses and tuxedos with the models being her and Max.

He saw Tess cry, night after night, for someone to hold and be close to.

"Why?" Max asked again, more sympathetic this time.

"You have no idea how lonely it can be to have no idea who you are and have no one to share that feeling with."

"Doesn't he?" Liz asked stepping from the cave. Maria rushed to Michael and helped him up as he turned back into 'human' form. "Look around, Tess, and you'll find three people just like you."

Tess looked from Liz to Michael being assisted by Maria, to Isabel and Alex walking towards her holding hands, back to Max. Tess collapsed, Max still holding her. "I'm so sorry, so sorry," she sobbed.

Liz extended one arm to Max's shoulder, physically telling him to release the girl. Her other arm went to Tess's side, to calm her. "Why can't it be more fair?" Tess cried, almost inaudible through her violent sobbing.

"Well, what do we have here? Did y'all start a party and not invite me?" Kyle shouted as he approached the gang. "I heard there was a party going on out here, but I got lost. Is this it? It looks pretty lame."

"Kyle," Liz started quietly. "This isn't the best time."

"Sure, Parker. I'm getting tired of you telling me that. First it was when I wanted to kiss you for the first time, now this. Cripes, what's your deal?" Tess looked up at this new boy. He looked at her, too, and smiled. "And who might you be?"

"Tess," Liz answered. "She just broke up with her boyfriend," she said, winking at Tess, "and is real vulnerable. But, we have to go. Can you take care of her?" Tess looked at Liz with a look of appreciation.

"Sure can," Kyle replied, walking towards the girl and helping her up. They talked for quiet some time, and Liz was shocked to see Kyle actually being kind, sweet, and affectionate. "Well, I think I'll drive Ms. Tess home now," he said as the sun slowly crept up over the mountains. "I'll see you guys in school Monday, k?"

"Ok," Liz said as she grabbed Max around the waist. Isabel hung her arm around Alex's shoulder and Michael gave Maria a quick kiss on the forehead. They helped the Protector stand but were told to go ahead and get into the truck, that he'd drive them all home. As the truck pulled away, Tess and Kyle got into Kyle's car and slowly drove away, both happy that they had someone.

----

The end