You continued to train with the boys for the next few days, although you still didn’t show any signs of having a power. Yongguk suggested that perhaps you needed some stimulation, so the boys installed a punching bag into your training room. You spent a lot of your time punching the heavy black bag, and then you would attempt to blast the chair with some sort of power. Unfortunately, that didn’t work either. You did become physically stronger, though.

 

The days passed calmly. You and the boys were having the time of your lives. You took this valuable time to get to know the boys better, and pretty soon you were all closer than ever. Even Daehyun and Zelo began to appreciate each other!

 

The boys’ powers began to improve. Youngjae could lift heavier objects without straining much anymore, jongup could almost teleport accurately, Himchan could stay invisible for a long period of time, Yongguk could shoot out electric bolts with a single hand, Daehyun could manipulate the elements with only a single finger touching( he was still working on trying to affect them without actually touching them, but with no luck ), and Zelo… Well, Zelo didn’t show much improvement, though he insisted that his transformed animals were all slightly older, an obvious advancement. Honestly, you couldn’t see what had changed. Zelo claimed that his dragon form had its horns coming in, but you didn’t see anything. Oh well. Maybe his power just took more time to evolve.

 

 

 

One night, as you were lying beneath your soft covers, waiting for sleep to overcome you, you heard a strange, girly shriek. Instantly, your eyes flew open. What in the world was that?!

 

You sat up slowly and looked around in the darkness. Should you go look? Should you go call one of the boys to go with you? What was it? Was someone in the house? Was Daehyun’s mother back? Who made that strange noise?

 

You heard the cry again, and you found yourself getting off the bed and moving towards the door. Slowly, you opened the doorknob and began to creep across the floorboards. The sound had come towards the direction of Zelo’s room, you thought..

 

The same, shrill yelp resonated through the house again. There was no doubt about it. That sound was coming from Zelo’s room.

 

You took a deep breath and grasped the doorknob to Zelo’s room. Slowly, you twisted the knob and opened the door. 

 

The brightness of the room contrasted against the dark house sharply, and you squinted to see what was going on.

 

You heard another yelp, and a thumping noise. The scream had come from Zelo. He was swatting at something with a slipper.

 

“Zelo?” you asked. “What is going on? Were you the one making those noises?”

 

“Hana!” Zelo stuttered. He raced towards you and enveloped you in a bonecrushing hug. “Thank goodness you’re here! Kill it!”

 

“What..?” you asked slowly.

 

“Kill the spider!” Zelo shrieked. He pointed to a large black spider that was crawling up the wall.

 

“Oh god!!” you cried, backing away. “Spider!!”

 

“I can’t sleep with that here!” Zelo wailed. “Please kill it!”

 

“I can’t! I’m scared of spiders too!” shook your head, your eyes glued to the black arachnid.

 

“Then can I sleep with you tonight?!” Zelo pouted. “I’ll sleep on your floor or something! I just really can’t sleep with that thing crawling around! What if it crawls into my mouth when I’m sleeping?! Or what if it goes into my nose or my ears?”

 

“Ew!” you frowned. “That’s nasty!” You looked at the spider again, and nodded. “Yeah, for sure! Bring your blankets and your pillow. And whatever else you want. Spiders are so creepy! Hurry before it crawls here!”

 

Zelo smiled in relief. “Oh, thank you!” He ran over to grab his blankets, though he was wary of the crawling spider.

 

He turned the light off and slammed the door shut, trapping the spider in his room. He trailed behind you into your room and tossed his blankets onto the ground, grinning from ear to ear. He gave you another bonecrushing hug, and giggled,  “Thank you!”

 

“No .. problem,” you gasped for air. “But we might have one if… you don’t let … me go!”

 

“Oh! Sorry!” Zelo laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. He grinned again and began to fold his blankets so that it formed something like a sleeping bag. He slid between the sheets and tested his temporary bed.

 

“It’s kind of hard.. cuz of the ground and all, but I think it’ll be okay,” Zelo nodded.

 

“Hold on,” you said, walking towards your drawers. “I have extra sheets. You can put those on the ground, so it feels softer. You pulled out the entire contents of the drawer – two sets of blankets – and spread them on top of each other.

 

“Ooh, thanks!” Zelo smiled.

 

“You’re welcome,” you grinned back. “Now, try it.”

 

Zelo complied and set himself on top of your sheets. He pulled his own blanket over himself and laid there for a few seconds.

 

“Yeah, it’s perfect!” he laughed. “Almost like a regular bed, except I’m only a few inches off the ground!”

 

“That’s good, then,” you nodded. “At least your back won’t be hurting when you wake up tomorrow.”

 

“Yeah,” the sixteen year old sighed in relief.

 

You climbed onto your own bed and reached towards the lamp. “Are you going to sleep now? Or did you have something else you wanted to do?”

 

“I wanna sleep now,” Zelo replied. “I’m so tired, but that spider wouldn’t let me go to sleep.”

 

“Well, it’ll be stuck in your room for a while,” you said. “Maybe we can ask one of the boys to kill it tomorrow.”

 

“Yes, please,” Zelo nodded.

 

“I can close the light now, right?” you asked.

 

“Yep!” Zelo replied, snuggling deeper into his blankets. “Goodnight, Hana!”

 

“Goodnight, Zelo,” you smiled, turning the light off. “Sleep well.”

 

“You too,” he replied. “Sweet dreams!”

 

“Sweet dreams.”

 

You closed your eyes. A few moments later, you heard a small giggle.

 

“What’s up?” you asked, opening an eye.

 

“Oh, nothing,” Zelo replied. He cleared his throat. “I was just laughing because this feels like a sleepover or something. I just feel kinda happy.”

 

“Ohh,” you laughed in understanding. “Well, I mean, I guess it kind of IS  a sleepover, if we exclude the fact that we live in the same house. I guess it’s kind of a… bedroom-over? Room-over?”

 

“Yeah,” Zelo chuckled. “Kay, sorry for bothering your sleep. Let’s sleep for reals now. Goodnight!”

 

“Goodnight~”

 

 

 

 

You opened your eyes the next morning and smiled. Bright, yellow rays were streaming through your window, casting  a warm feeling all over your body. You sat up and yawned. It was then that you realized something was wrong.

 

You felt small and strange. Everything around you was huge. Your lamp, which normally only stood two feet tall, towered over your entire body. Your ceiling was so far away… and the bathroom door was enormous. Everything was huge. Something was wrong.

 

You looked at your bed. The covers were super long and wide… and your pillow was at least three times bigger than normal.

 

Everything was absolutely gigantic.. including Zelo, who was still sleeping on the floor. That had to mean one thing, and one thing only. You were tiny, and everything else was still normal sized.

 

You wiggled out of your covers and instantly fell off of the bed. You dropped onto the floor and landed with a painful thud on the carpet. You let out a pained gasp, and the first thing you noticed that your voice… Well, it was not exactly a voice.

 

You had just mewed. You looked down at your hands… Paws.

 

You gasped in disbelief and ran towards the full length mirror. It couldn’t be…

 

As you continued to gaze at yourself in the mirror, your fears became reality. Indeed, you were… a brown kitten.

 

What the hell was going on?! You could feel your throat beginning to tighten up, and breathing became increasingly difficult. Why were you a cat?!

 

Calm down, you told yourself. Calm down, Hana. There had to be some reason for this. Your eyes widened as you realized. It was so obvious! This was your power! Like Zelo, your power was animal transformation! But… why had your power manifested so suddenly? You had been sleeping! You weren’t even conscious, so obviously you didn’t force it out.. You didn’t will yourself to transform… You shook your head and tried to clear your mind. You remembered that the other boys’ powers also come unexpectedly. They were just trying to speed up your powers by training you. This was normal. The other boys had gone through this, too. Daehyun had been washing his hands when his manipulation power developed. Nothing is wrong. Everything is going well.   

 

You managed to recover from the shock, and your breathing returned to normal. You sprinted towards Zelo and climbed on top of his blankets. Thank goodness he wasn’t on a real bed, or you might not have been able to climb up it.

 

You sank your small claws into the blankets for balance, and stared at his face. How would you wake him up? You began to jump up and down on his blanketed body repeatedly, trying to wake him up. He would not stir, probably because your new body was way too light.

 

As a final resort, you padded up to his face and swatted his cheek, claws sheathed. Your soft pads bounced off of his face, and Zelo remained sleeping.

 

“Forgive me,” you mewed to Zelo. You slowly unsheathed your tiny claws from within your furry paw. You raised your arm and swatted again. You tried to graze him lightly, though with enough force to at least be felt.

 

Zelo instantly woke. He sat up, grabbing at his cheek and nearly flinging you off the bed.

 

“…What the heck…?” Zelo yawned and scratched his face. He looked around. “Hana…? You awake yet?” He noticed that you weren’t sleeping in your bed, and mumbled to himself, “She must already be awake..” He prepared to throw the covers off of his body, but noticed you, a brown little kitten stumbling across his covers.

 

“Hey,” he said. “How did you get in here?” He frowned and poked at your nose.

 

“Meow!” you insisted, your entire sentence coming out as a single mew.

 

“It’s me!” You tried again, but it was futile. He could not understand your newly developed kitten speech.

 

He scratched his head, and suddenly smiled. “Hey! I know how to talk to you!” He lowered his voice. “I hope Daehyun hyung doesn’t come in here. That’d be embarrassing… to find me talking to a real cat.” He sighed, and began to shrink.

 

You mewed in happiness. He was going to converse with you! You suddenly cocked your head to the side. Is this what Zelo did in his free time? Talk to real animals? After all, he didn’t know that you were really Hana… He believed that you were a kitten that had somehow strayed into your house.

 

Zelo sat himself down comfortably. “Hi, cat!” he mewed. “Don’t be afraid of that weird thing you saw just now. I’m a cat, just like you! How did you get in?”

 

You stared at Zelo. “Zelo…!” You finally said.

 

He gasped. “How the hell do you know my name?!” The furs on his back bristled, and his tail shot straight up. “Are you a Nightmare?! Did you come here to steal Hana away?!”

 

He growled and prepared to attack.

 

“N-No!” you cried. “It’s me, Hana! Don’t attack!” You covered your face with your paws and curled into a ball, trying to protect yourself from the incoming blow.

 

“Hana..?” Zelo frowned, looking at you. “No way. Hana isn’t a cat, you idiot.”

 

“I just woke up like this!” you whimpered, still clutching your head in your beige paws. “I don’t know how it happened!”

 

“Prove you’re Hana,” he hissed.

 

“How..?” you asked slowly. You lifted your head to look at him. “I don’t know what happened to the stuff I was wearing, so I have no idea where the ring went. I think it’s still on me… but I can’t exactly get it out in this state..”

 

“Tell me everything you know about yourself, me, the other boys, and your role. And your heritage.” His claws remained unsheathed, for he did not trust a single word you were saying, but you did the best you could and explained everything to him in detail.

 

By the time you finished, Zelo was staring at you in wonder. His claws had slowly retracted back sometime during your speech.

 

“You really are Hana..” he breathed. He took an uncertain step back. “Oh god. I totally was not expecting that. How did this.. How did this happen?”

 

“I don’t know !” you wailed. “I just woke up as a cat. I don’t know how to turn back!”

 

His eyes suddenly widened. “Maybe… Maybe your power is animal transformation as well!”

 

“Yeah,” you responded. “I considered that. But why would it be animal transformation, of all powers? I’m supposed to be the person who saves Mato.. how can I when I have such a common power? Look, you even have it! Doesn’t that mean you have the potential to save Mato as well?”

 

“Um,” Zelo replied, shaking his head slowly. “I don’t know. Maybe you’ll have a second power..? Hang on, I’m going to rally the other boys.” He returned to his mortal form, and ran out of the room. “Stay there!” he called.

 

“I’m not going anywhere…” you mumbled. You could hear various yells downstairs, but you were unable to tell what they were saying.

 

Finally, after listening to Zelo screeching at his sleeping hyungs for many minutes, followed by their sluggish groans, Zelo returned to your room.

 

“Come here,” he said, stretching his palm out. “I’ll take you downstairs.”

 

You obeyed and climbed onto his palm.

 

As he began to walk, you could feel yourself wobbling. You scrabbled for balance, and instinctively raced off of his palm. You jumped, and grabbed hold of his shirt with your sharp claws.

 

“Hey!” he protested in surprise. “Noona? Are you okay?”

 

You nodded into his shirt and continued to hold onto him tightly. “Sorry,” you apologized, though you knew that he couldn’t understand you. “I  thought I was going to fall.”

 

“Umm, I didn’t understand that.. .but I’m assuming you said yes?” You nodded again, and he smiled. “Okay, then. Onward to the living room!”

 

When Zelo entered the living room, the boys all turned their heads.

 

“Hana!” Youngjae cried, reaching out for you. You unlatched your claws from Zelo’s shirt as Youngjae took you in his hands. He stared at you and smiled widely. “You’re so cute! Oh my gosh!”

 

“Let me see!!” Himchan whined. Youngjae set you on the couch, and you walked over to where Himchan was sitting. Daehyun and Youngjae began to squeal.

 

“Ahh! Look at the way she walks! IT’S SO CUTEEE!”

 

You could feel your face (furry face?) grow hot. You sat yourself down on Himchan’s knee. He stared at you, and then suddenly burst into laughter.

 

“Oh, Hana! How did this happen? You look so adorable!” He grinned.

 

“She said she just woke up like that,” Zelo explained. He chewed his nails anxiously. “She has no idea how she became like this, and no idea how to revert, either. Yeah, she’s cute and all, but we need to talk about this. Is her power animal transformation, like me? Because that would not be a very helpful power in restoring Mato’s energy.”  

 

The boys all suddenly grew quiet. Your whiskers twitched anxiously. Zelo was right. If this was indeed your power… your ONLY power, then you guys were all screwed. Zelo’s power was animal transformation as well. If that was all it took to save planet Mato, then shouldn’t someone have done it already?

 

“You’re right,” Youngjae said gravely. “Animal transformation isn’t enough to heal Mato.”

 

 Jongup stuck his arm out rigidly, as if he was about to karate chop someone, and awkwardly patted your head. “Don’t be scared, Hana,” he mumbled, blushing slightly. “Everything will work out.”

 

You smiled at his stiff actions, and began to purr subconsciously.

 

Daehyun scooped you up. “Guys, we don’t know how this happened. It might be her power, it might not be. It might just be a fluke, you know? Like, before her real power sets in. That’s known to happen before.. I think. Anyways, let’s just focus on getting her back to normal, and then we’ll test her to see if she can transform again afterwards. Everyone okay with that?”

 

The boys all nodded, and you did as well.

 

Zelo tried to coax you out of your kitten form for the next few hours. The boys stood by, chatting and watching nearly the entire time, but left a few times to cook food. Yongguk fed you a mushy mixture that tasted strangely like fish, but you found it quite delicious, and the large spoon clean.

 

No matter what Zelo said, you couldn’t transform back. He told you his own techniques of transforming, imagining what he was, and slowly increasing or decreasing in size, but you remained the same. For some reason, you couldn’t change back!

 

Zelo reassured you and said that these things took time, that people weren’t always able to transform back immediately. However, when you asked him, he blushed and admitted that he’d never encountered this problem before.

 

At the end of the day, you were still a brown kitten. The boys all crowded into your room and slept around you, refusing to leave your side.

 

Though you protested (and Zelo translated), inside you were secretly glad that the boys were staying.

 

You went to sleep curled up on Youngjae’s steady chest.