Transformation Tragedies [CoRIII]

Chapter 15 - Anguish

[The night feels endless as it comes to Nicole's realization time didn't pass a lot since she returned home. She clearly remembers having gone outside after becoming overwhelmed by the disastrous incident with the white housecat, but anything after that faded into complete mystery. Her head hasn't stopped hurting, nor does she manage becoming completely aware of her surroundings again after 'waking up' at the doorstep, despite not having gone to sleep at all. What just happened? Her mind certainly refuses to tell anything else after having given her such a heavy nightmare, which resulted in the call to her parents and ended up being the cause of all the following consequences. A part of her wishes she didn't call them nor got to know about the truth, while the other felt obligated to have her questions answered. But not enough got answered. Yet.

Is that really what it's all about? Finding out the mystery behind the way she is, who she is and what she became? For a long time she assumed it only had to do with her slightly supernatural capabilities not going along well with her short temper, only to recently have found out it's far from just that... After having held her aching head with her paws at the doorstep for full ten minutes, the blue feline takes pace towards the stairs, where she immediately catches herself in her demolished uniform in the mirror. While shaking her head, she soon realizes it was one of her episodes again. But how? Did she forget her medicine again? Or was it... intentional? No way, she thinks. I haven't given up yet... Starting to feel uneasy about not knowing what exactly happened while she was outside, the mouser forces herself not to think too much about it and makes her way upstairs to clean herself up.

She carefully turns on the lights and checks the time. 5AM. The sun hasn't started rising yet, but the cloudy sky can clearly be seen getting slightly brighter already. Good morning, she sarcastically thinks to herself while grabbing a new uniform from the closet. Despite owning a few other outfits, the cat never really bothered straying from wearing her work outfit during weekends as well. Especially right now, it gave her a sense of courage and comfort by it being something closely familiar. Furthermore, she felt proud of herself for managing going back to work after one of the most intense battles she has had with herself months ago.

Right after feeling that slight bit of pride and hope, her mind returns in its messier state and immediately hits her with flashbacks from those dark weeks. She stands completely still in her tracks while her eyes don't manage focusing on whatever is in front of her and lets her arms dangle lifelessly, with the new uniform in one of her paws. A cold shiver runs up her spine when she hears terrified screams of a child in her mind. Screams of a helpless child she doesn't manage to identify, yet she assumes it was Darwin. Her lovable adoptive son she ultimately traumatized during the terrific phase where she found her condition at its worst. She sees the flashing images of her skinny body, that was close to becoming just bones during that time of fear and illness. She never thought she could become so scared of her own body. How her fears started including being afraid of her own unstable mind, her physical system soon got a spot as well. I will never be able to forgive myself anyway.

Nicole freezes when the mirror reveals something that immediately unsettles her. Why didn't she notice it downstairs? The bathroom's already cold ambiance doesn't help with making it any less uneasy, together with the bright lights revealing every single detail of her now. Her mouth is covered in blood that had gone dry and turned dull. Her mind immediately fires an alarm as she takes her earlier thoughts back. She rather slapped herself in the face, starting to feel desperate for a clear mind. How the steps she took on the stairs felt effortless, her vision morphs into its earlier blurry state again. She restlessly checks the rest of her figure in case she missed out on more traces, but her face is the only place where the red fluid stained. What the heck did I d-

Then suddenly, what feels out of nowhere, a disgustingly sickening urge rises within her. She gasps and drops the clothing she had in her paws, letting herself fall to the floor and gritting her teeth in agony. It isn't over yet? Is it... IS IT REPEATING? REPEATING?!, she helplessly thinks as she feels tears evolving in her eyes. Not being able to handle this new level of anguish, the feline roughly sobs and groans while feeling as if her stomach just set itself on fire. But despite knowing well the Upper Limit is messing with her without any doubt, she doesn't know what it wants now nor what it's doing. Or is it a natural reaction from her body itself? Mentally preparing for the sinister voice to speak up again while trying hard at resisting the pain, she keeps her paws underneath her and uses them to keep herself from laying down. Or... perhaps laying down could help? Desperate to find any way to stop the forking agony, she lets her paws slide away from underneath her and carefully lets her chest hit the floor, laying down with her eyes closed. Her tail stops swinging restlessly and she actually feels slightly better, especially when she doesn't even hear the voice speaking up at all.

The blue feline then was about to sigh in relief, but those seconds of bettering immediately turn into the same pain when she tries getting up again. She yowls, but refuses to stay down and forcibly gets on her knees, trying to sit up straight. She starts panting in fear when she notices her ribcage revealing itself through her torn shirt the next second. What is happening? Am I missing out? What didn't I see? The next minutes then turn into some of the most agonizing ones she has ever had by far.

Her spine cracks and she feels the nasty urge from earlier returning, making her gag and bend over. She feels like her burning stomach turns itself inside out when something sharp rises up in her throat and she suddenly throws up what seems like an avian's skull, accompanied by gallons of acidic blood. Her eyes widen in shock when she opens them again and lets her head dangle while panting heavily and staring at the skull, soon discovering it's a raven's. It's small, but couldn't ever match the size of a generic feral raven, which strikes immediate panic into Nicole. But she doesn't even have the time to analyse which ravens she knows in her surroundings when she feels the burning feeling again. Tears start flowing down her cheeks when another, identical, skull leaves her maw in the same agonizing way as the other.

She uneasily grunts while forcing herself to stop sobbing as her vision stays pinned on the bloody skulls in front of her. She then has no other option than closing her eyes again and taking a deep breath. Her now oversensitive ears manage to pick up footsteps getting nearby and her heartbeat increases speed while she feels desperate to get up again. But she can't. She's stuck in the agonizing misery her body is tampering her with and can't help but hyperventilate as soon as the door swings further open.]

Richard: H-honey? Is that you?

[Nicole can't even feel relieved to hear her husband's voice revealing he's there and keeps hyperventilating when he enters the bathroom. The bunny's jaw drops open in shock when he encounters his wife powerlessly on the ground and feels nauseous when the shrivelled up skulls catch his attention. The next second, the blue feline lurches forward and helplessly grabs hold onto her husband's shoulders while wailing. How he first felt shocked and scared, grief and guilt hit him for not knowing what exactly to do. He gently caresses the back of the cat's head, who has her face buried in his shirt. His heart shatters even further when he can feel her entire system trembling and the exposed ribs when he wraps his arms around her, making him aware of how vulnerable she currently is. She then opens her reddened eyes with pupils that constrict in fright and her now raspy voice heavily cracks when she forcibly speaks up.]

Nicole: I- I'm broken, R-Richard... Please... Please fix me...

Richard: F-fix you? Darling... w-what happened?

[Nicole's stressing out increases and her nerves cause her voice to crack even more, which unsettles Richard who tries his best to calm her down.]

Nicole: [While panting] I don't k-know... I don't know- I'm terrified... I m-made a mess a-again. I can't even r-recall it... W-what's happening to me...?

[Those last words fade into low whispering until she doesn't manage to speak any longer and faints out of exhaustion. Richard gasps and checks her pulse out of reflex when she suddenly becomes powerless. Being relieved he can still feel it beating, the pink bunny gently takes her in his arms and carries her downstairs, before cleaning up the mess on the floor. He didn't have any trouble with tucking her in, but cold fear spikes up within him when he notices the skulls again and quickly puts them away in a plastic bag. On his way to the living room, after having thrown them away, he freezes when the kitchen's window catches his attention and stares out of it. His heart sinks deeply when he notices something unsettling. The pink bunny stressfully holds the collar of his shirt with one paw and feels his heart racing when he sees a lot of blood staining most of the lawn. Hoping it was just an apparition or him not being entirely awake, he turns around while shaking his head. But what he encounters next doesn't manage to prove that to him.

A small, green collar.