Meteor Effect

And Out Of Luck 3: Fish

"Doc! Doc. Can you hear me?" Ren shouts frantically trying to snap his friend out of the odd trance that he was in. Ren had come back from his kitchen with some apples and cooked chicken. When he had entered the sitting room to find Doc slumped agents the wall it sent him into a bit of a panic.

Doc slowly blinks gaze focusing on Ren. He gives a slight nod, freezing as Ren grabs his communicator.

He looks at the screen for a moment reading it before saying, "What's this? Doc, your human DNA is... disappearing?"

"Looks like," Doc deadpans as he puts the device back in his pocket.

"Hey, Are you ok you look really pale," Ren asks, reaching down to help Doc off the floor.

Doc takes the offered hand pulling himself back to his feet. "Not sure, everything feels a little... off? I don't know," Doc looks down at his feet slowly scuffing at the ground. "I'm going outside,"

"Ok. You, come back here before it gets dark," Ren calls after him, before laughing at himself for sounding like a mother hen. He watches Doc leave for a while then calls Xisuma and tells him what had happened with Doc.

.............

As Doc slowly made his way down the hill, lost in his thoughts he eventually ended up near the massive dragon skeleton. Without really thinking he climbs on top of the dragon and lies down on its skull. Basking in the fading afternoon light. He stays on the skull for quite a while as the sunsets before deciding that it would be much warmer if he went back to Ren's place.

Half asleep Doc slides off the skull, he makes it a few steps before freezing at a sound behind him. He spins around hissing, stopping confused as the noise had merely come from a salmon that had breached the surface or the water. Cocking his head to the side he creeps up to the edge of the lake. The fish slowly swims back and forth in a lazy pattern. Doc carefully crouches staring intently at the fish following it with his eyes. The fish suddenly flipped around startling, Doc who jumps at the fish catching it. Before he could even comprehend what was happening the fish was in his mouth. And his head was tipped back to swallow better.

"Doc?" A voice asks from behind.

Doc freezes in place biting down on the poor fish that was sticking out of his mouth. He spins around to see Tango who is leaning over looking concerned. Doc swallows the fish, "Hey Tango, what can I do for you?"

"Um, Ren's looking for you," Tango says pursuing his lips and rocking back on his heels, "Are you ok?"

"Me, I'm ok?" Doc says blinking rapidly, still processing what happened, "I'ma go to Ren's now." As he wanders off in the general direction of Ren's house he leaves a very confused and slightly terrified Tango.

..............

"Where were you!" Ren yells as he storms in from looking for Doc. He had gotten the message from Tango that Doc was heading his way. Before he even had a chance to answer he continues, "I told you to get back here by sundown,"

"Sorry Mom," Doc grumbles sarcastically before swaying slightly and tuning his tongue over his teeth.

"What happened?"

Doc explains what had happened and where he had been. When he gets to the end of what had happened with the fish and when he swallowed it. Ren sits there slowly blinking at Doc slightly stunned.

"So... sorry I yelled at you, I was really worried."

"It's ok. I probably deserved it,"

"You probably don't want food now?" Ren asks awkwardly trying to break the ice.

Doc shakes his head, "I'm good. Where do you keep your extra blankets?"

"What? Oh, in the chest over by the fireplace,"

Ren watches as Doc takes the blankets and layers them into a sort of nest. He slowly walks around the newly constructed nest quietly hissing. Ren stands watching for a few minutes before leaving and heading for his bedroom.

...............

Doc walks around the nest a few times before laying down and curling up as tight as possible. He pulls his communicator out and opens it to the statistics page and looks at the human percentage which in the time he was out had fallen to 60 percent.

Gently tossing the communicator away Doc falls into a restless sleep.

"Doc? Doc? I need you to get up!" Ren yells frantically shaking his friend. He had gotten up a bit late and had expected Doc to be up and doing something, but when he walked in Doc was still laying down asleep. At first, Ren just brushes it off but as the day progresses Ren starts to worry.

"Ren?" Doc hisses confused as he sits up.

"Doc, you good?" Ren asks frantically his ears laying flat against his head, tail curling around his waist.

"What?"

"You wouldn't wake up, it's almost diner time," Ren explains ears perking up.

Doc sits for a moment then checks his communicator. "Well normally creepers are nocturnal, that might be what's happening?"

"Ok, that sounds right. You mind telling me about what's up with all my blankets?"

"Oh, sorry about that I was kind of out of it last night. But yeah, um creepers have nests that they sleep in," Doc shrugs as he stands up stretching. "I'm going to go get some food,"

....................

A few days later and the percentage of human DNA had seemed to have stabilized at 50 percent.

"The changes that have affected Doc are Hissing, nocturnal behavior, only able to eat live animals, and basic creeper instincts," Xisuma says as he adds the information about Doc to the list he had been making. "Am I missing anything?"

"He's real temperature-sensitive oh and last night Doc was hanging out with a pack of creepers and they didn't do anything to him," Ren says as Bdubs slowly walks into the boardroom followed by Doc who doesn't look very happy at having to walk all the way to Sahara in the middle of the day.

The meeting for Doc continues for a while before Scar flies in Jellie running after him.