Search for a New Host - Part 1

"You aren't escaping me that easily. My control is supreme!"

Leave! Me! ALONE! GET! OUT! OF! MY! BODY!

"Never. You are an excellent host. Now, sleep. Sleep for eternity..."

No, I'm not going to! I can't! I... I...

And Ren slipped into oblivion.

---

Seven Days Prior to Ren's Loss

---

"So, yeah. That fire in New York City almost made it here."

"Do you know if anyone figured out what caused it, Jim?"

"No, Ren. As far as I know, nobody knows what caused the fire."

"Hmm..." Ren and his friend, Jim, were talking after school one day. A fire had broken out in the town nearby, and they were contemplating how close they came to being in the wake of it. As they spoke, though, a meteor raged through the sky, crashing nearby.

"Whoa! Come on, Jim, let's go find out what that was!"

"Nah, man, I've gotta get home. Homework and stuff. Stuff that YOU wouldn't know about, since I'M taking THREE AP CLASSES AND THREE HONORS CLASSES at school, FOUR OF WHICH ARE MATH-BASED, while YOU are taking only normal-level courses, and NO math courses this year. You NEVER have homework!"

"Fine, fine, I get your point. See you later, man!"

"See ya."

Ren kept going forward, into the forest where the meteor landed. No freaking way... He looked around it, but it didn't seem very dangerous. It wasn't on fire, it wasn't glowing, and it wasn't anything he considered really interesting. He turned to leave. As he did, a small, light brown mass snapped out of the meteorite and onto his shoe. He walked home, completely unaware of the danger that was lying on his foot.

---

That evening, as Ren was about to go to sleep, he noticed the odd brown gunk stuck to his shoe. He reached down and peeled it off, throwing onto the floor. Guess I got some gum on my shoe in the forest or something. Oh well, time for bed. Ren turned away, but some slight motion caught his eye. What the...? He turned back and saw the "gum" starting to slide across the floor, without any help! "AAH!" He screamed, and the gunk turned. It stretched out and snapped onto his leg. "Get it off!" Suddenly, he heard a voice out of nowhere. It was a girl's voice, but not his mother's. It was too young for his mother's voice, and he only had one female friend. Her voice was different, though.

Hello.

"Who are you?"

My name is Adira. I am speaking to your subconscious. I have been trapped inside of this brown substance. I request your help to get me back to normal.

"Trapped? How?"

A magical spell. I come from a distant planet. A spell sealed me away inside of this brown filth.

"So, how can I help you? Magic doesn't exist here."

Oh, that is unfortunate.... I have an idea. Just hold still.

The brown gunk started to expand, stretching slowly over Ren's body. "What's going on?"

I'm simply reading your memories. I need to cover your body in order to do so. Don't worry.

"Okay, fine. Wait.... I thought you said that you were trapped inside of the brown stuff..."

I am. I have mild control over it, though. Surely you've seen it move?

"Oh, yeah, that's right..."

So, just make sure to remain still. Surely you trust me.

"Yeah, I trust you. And don't call me Shirley. My name is Ren." The brown gunk continued to expand, covering his whole body. When it did, he felt a strange pressure all over. He felt the brown stuff disappear, but he still felt the pressure. "What the?"

Don't worry, Ren. I'm just reading you.

Ren turned away. His eyes caught a glimpse of a mirror, and he looked back towards it. His body was slowly shrinking. His face was becoming rounder, and his skin was becoming smoother. What's going on here? His legs became slender, and his arms followed suit. His fingers elongated, and his fingernails copied the motion. His chest started to expand, forming small breasts on it. His waistline became rounder, and his eyes became larger. His hair became longer, reaching the center of his back. He cringed as his manhood slid away into womanhood. "What happened? I'm a girl?!?" She stopped talking soon after starting. She wasn't expecting her voice to be so different.

Humans. So gullible.

"What the? You did this?"

But of course. I'm not done yet, either.

Ren's body started to change again. Her nose started to push out, and her body started to become covered in a light brown fur. A tail forced its way out of the base of her back. She tried to open her mouth, but she couldn't.

"Foolish human. You aren't in control anymore."

What the? Adira?

"Yes. I am a wolf-girl, and I was indeed sealed inside of that brown stuff. However, they sealed me for a reason. I was a very powerful warrior on the other planet, and I had many enemies. They sealed me away, forcing me to become a symbiotic lifeform that needed to merge with some sort of living, moving being to fully exist. I simply lied to you to break free again. You will stay inside, trapped in your own body. After a little while, though, you'll fall asleep, never to wake up again."

The changes stopped, leaving a very anthromorphic wolf-girl in place of where Ren was standing. Adira had broken free. Let me go!

"No. I need to merge with a body to exist again."

How will you explain this to the other people I know?

"Good point. I'll just take you in the night, then, while nobody else needs you. At least, until I fully recover my strength. Besides, you'll come to love being a girl, even if you're not in control. You'll beg me to take over again.

Never.

"Suit yourself. Even if you don't, I'll be in control every evening. Now then, I'm hungry. After becoming a symbiotic lifeform, I must feed on the energy of humans. I am in control. I'm going to eat now. And there's nothing you can do to stop me."

You'll never get away with this.

"On the contrary. I already have."

And Adira leaped into the night. After a few hours, she found a homeless man sitting on the ground. She walked over to him, and he looked up into her eyes. With this connection, she drained him of all of his energy. She left him a hollow shell, unable to do anything.

"What delicious food. Much better than I was accustomed to when I wasn't forced to merge."

Suddenly, the sun started to rise.

"Oh, dang it. Well, the sun is something I can't stay fully in form in right now. Looks like it's time for me to return you back to yourself for a while, Ren. But know this: I'll still inside of you, and you'll never get rid of me."

With that, Adira's form started to fade. A few minutes later, Ren was fully back in control of his body.

Just as a reassurance: I'm still here.

"Get out."

I've told you before. I'm not leaving.

---

Four Days Prior to Ren's Loss

---

"Jim, you will NEVER believe what happened to me on Friday."

"What, you stayed up all night?"

"Kind of.... Remember that meteorite?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"There was a lifeform inside of it."

Don't you dare talk about me.

I'll do what I want. You get to do what YOU want in the evening.

"You're kidding me, right, Ren?"

"No, Jim, I'm not. It was a symbiotic lifeform that merged with me. She takes over in the evening."

"She?"

"Yeah, it's a wolf-girl named Adira. She takes over my body in the night. She's controlled me three times so far."

"Yeah, sure."

"I actually become her, Jim. She takes over my body, and morphs it into her."

"Later, dude. I'm not in the mood for jokes."

Ren walked away, not sure about anything. He ran right into his other friend, Jasmine.

"Hey, Ren, watch where you're going!"

"Sorry, Jasmine. I've got a lot on my mind."

"Like what?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

"...OK, fine. On Friday, I found a meteorite. Apparently, a symbiotic lifeform had been attached to it, and merged with me that night. Her name is Adira, and she's a wolf-girl. When she takes over, I become her. Or, at least my body does. Her mind controls it, and I can't find any way to break out."

"...You were right. I don't believe you. I'll go relay this information to Paul, who is really into your jokes."

"I'm not joking!"

"So prove it, Ren."

"...I can't. Not until this evening..."

"Fine, then. Goodbye, Ren."

Ren relayed his story to his other friend, Clyde, who also refused to believe him.

---

One Day Prior to Ren's Loss

---

Ren invited his four friends over after school on Thursday, and asked them to stay there until the evening so that he could prove his story to them. They did.

I'm not going to take over with witnesses nearby.

"You were right, Adira." Ren was alone in the bathroom, making sure that nobody could hear him talking to himself. "I miss it. Change me back. Please. I'm begging you."

Heh. I told you you'd miss it. Fine, but I'm not going out that way.

"Fair enough." His body started to change again, and he ran out of the bathroom.

"Hey, Ren! When is this transforma-" Jim stopped mid-sentence.

"No way..." Jasmine gasped.

"Unreal..." Clyde was in shock.

"I knew he wasn't lying." Paul smiled.

Ren had become a girl, completely and fully. That wasn't the end of it, though. His body started to become more wolf-like. It had been getting more and more wolf-like over the last few days, and today, it looked almost completely like a wolf.

"Ren, you jerk. You tricked me! While you were still in control, you revealed yourself!"

Yes. And now you're stuck.

"No, I'm not."

And with that, Adira leaped out the open window.

"...Ren told us that Adira was evil and wanted to stay in control, right?" Jim asked.

"Yes, Jim, he did." Paul replied.

"Well, we need to break him free soon. She looks like she's almost completely recovered. I'd give him one more day, maximum." Jasmine said.

"Agreed. We need to get him out." Clyde said.

"Well, then. Let's go and free our friend." Jim stated, as he turned toward the door.

They couldn't find Adira for the whole evening. She had already fed twice tonight, and was now hiding away in an alley. Someone shouted from behind her, and she turned around.

"I'm not leaving."

The stranger screamed when she saw a wolf talking, and turned to run. Adira dashed around her, and looked into her eyes. Her knees buckled, and she fell over.

"This isn't enough.... Simply feeding off of energy isn't enough.... The energy needs to come from a male...."

She left, and the stranger started to stand up. Adira had gone, and was hiding in a different alleyway. She became hungry again, and saw another homeless man.

"Bingo."

She ran to him, and looked into his eyes. As he became less and less conscious, he started to change.

"What the? This is new..."

His body started to shrink, and it shrank a lot. As it did, his face started to become rounder. His hair turned a light yellow, and his chest pushed out. His arms and legs became slender; his hands, smaller. His eyes became bigger, and his manhood slid backwards into womanhood. During this whole time, he was still shrinking. After he had completely become a girl, the homeless person was still shrinking for some reason. Her back started to push itself outward, and her clothing started to shrink. Her clothing became a dress that covered her entire body, and her back suddenly burst, revealing sparkling wings. The homeless person had become a fairy.

"This is odd.... And this is good. This is VERY good."

The sun started to rise, and Adira dashed home. She reverted into Ren again, and Ren collapsed.

---

The Day of Ren's Loss

---

Ren woke up late, and looked at the time. Sunset was in a few minutes; he had been out the whole day. His body started to change again, but this time, it felt stronger.

I've fully recovered, Ren. You're done.

"No!" When his body had fully changed into a girl's body, it started to change again.

"I'm in control, now, Ren."

No! I won't let you! Ren started to try harder to break free of her control; harder than he had ever tried before.

"Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated."

...Never. And Ren tried even more.

"You aren't escaping me that easily. My control is supreme!"

Leave! Me! ALONE! GET! OUT! OF! MY! BODY!

"Never. You are an excellent host. Now, sleep. Sleep for eternity..."

No, I'm not going to! I can't! I... I...

And Ren slipped into oblivion. His friends stood outside of his window, and watched as Adira leaped out into the night.

"Looks like she's even stronger..." Paul said.

"Yeah. We might have lost Ren..." Jasmine said.

"No. We aren't going to let Adira take control. We'll find a way to help Ren, no matter what. Come on, guys, let's move!" Jim showed the most resolve, and boosted the team's morale. They were going to get their friend back, no matter what.