FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The soft buzz of his ventilator was the first sound to reach his ears as he woke. His eyes fluttered open to stare up at his ceiling. Or at least, what little he could make of it in the darkness. Sluggishly, he tilted his head to the side. His clock read 3:00. A.M.Much too early for him to be up. He so dearly wished in his dazed state to simply close his eyes and go back to sleep, but the dryness of his throat bid him to do otherwise. He closed his eyes and sucked in a breath before grabbing onto one of the support rails running along the side of his bed and gingerly pulling himself upright.

The feline's brow furrowed as he focused on his breathing, his chest having tightened in his attempt to rise. The entire frame of his body shook until he finally got himself into a proper sitting position. He eyed the wheelchair set directly next to his bed as he allowed his muscles to rest. After mentally mapping out his actions, he braced one paw on the seat of the chair, and his other on the bed. He sucked in a breath before hoisting his hips up with all his might until he could rest them partially onto the chair.

He breathed in with a little more effort as he readjusted his paws, planting one on the arm and the other still on the bed. He held in his breath before lifting himself up one last time to sit properly, dragging his legs across the bed until they fell off it. He sat back to rest, allowing his aching muscles a bit of respite. He eventually slipped his ventilator mask off his face and placed it on his bed before leaning back and slipping a ventilator tube into his muzzle. It was only then that he pushed forward on the joystick of his chair, easing it into motion.

The lights of his kitchen flicked on automatically as he rolled in. He came up to one of the counters and gingerly took a plastic cup with him to the fridge. He sat up with a bit of effort to lean over and dispense some of its water inside. His back muscles rippled as he waited for his cup to fill. He didn't even wait for it to reach halfway before pulling it away. He tilted his head away from his ventilator tube and carefully tilted the cup towards his lips. He relished the cool sensation of the water running down his throat, easing the dryness that tortured him so.

After lowering the cup from his final gulp, his gaze landed on a framed photo placed near the window. He used his other paw to operate the joystick and roll himself over for a closer look. Within the frame, he found himself at a much younger age. His younger self peered into the camera with the biggest and brightest smile his little face would allow. He stood tall and proud alongside both his parents, who were regarding him with loving looks. He reached out with his paw, trailing his thumb down between his parents, over the bright smile of his younger self, and onto his short, stout little legs.

He closed his eyes, clutching the cup in his paw, before turning himself around to roll his way back into his bedroom.

Kamen Rider Wild: New Age

"For the sake of our class, there are only two types of genes you need to worry about. Those are dominant and recessive genes. Normally, an individual inherits two genes of a given trait, with each coming from their parents." The sounds of keyboard clicks and pen scribbles filled the classroom for a brief moment. "If an individual carries even one dominant type of that trait, then that is the trait that will be expressed, regardless of whatever the second gene is. Dominant, recessive, it won't matter. Now, can anyone here tell me what were to happen if an individual inherited both recessive genes from their parents?" A paw went up. "Yes, Felicia?"

The tigress lowered her paw. "That individual would express the recessive trait?"

The professor nodded. "Correct. This trait could range from any number of things. From eye color to fur pattern, and even to diseases or deficiencies. An individual who carries both a dominant and a recessive gene will still express the dominant trait. However, they will still be carrying the recessive gene and be able to pass it on to their offspring. These are important things to consider when looking through patient medical histories." He glanced up at the overhead clock. "Alright, that should do it for today. Remember that we have a quiz coming up next week. If you have any questions, be sure to see me in my office hours. I'll be putting up the PowerPoint for this lecture online later today."

"Excuse me, Professor?" said another student in the back, "I think you also wanted to tell us about the internship program?"

"Oh yes, thank you for reminding me," he nodded, "Everyone else is free to go, but for those who are interested, please stay for a bit longer." A good chunk of students packed up their things and left. Felicia was not among those students. "Right, so the college is offering an accredited internship opportunity for third year students and beyond. By now, you should have gotten plenty of emails with offers relating to your specific major. You are free to choose whichever one suits your fancy, and may even request your own if you've found one not already being offered. Whatever your choice, you have until the end of the week to submit."

A few questions were tossed around before the rest of the class was dismissed. Felicia walked out of the classroom with her head in the clouds and her finger on her chin. As the professor had said, she'd already been sent an abundance of different opportunities from all sorts of different places. It didn't come to her as much of a surprise given her...history. It was just one of the many perks that had come from saving not one, but two civilizations from imminent destruction.

Her head returned from the clouds in time to see a sleek black limo smoothly slow to a halt just in front of her. Moments later, a well-dressed German Shepard emerged from the driver's seat and walked over to her side of the vehicle, opening the door for her, and beckoning her inside. "Punctual as always, Mr. Goto," said Felicia with a polite bow before making her way in, "thank you." Once she'd taken her seat, the tall canine closed the door behind her and returned to his. He made sure to turn on some calm and soothing music before easing them onto the road.

"Mr. Goto? Would you mind if I ran some of my thoughts by you?" His response was only a silent nod. "So this morning I went through all of the different options I received so far, and there's a good handful I've been considering. I'm supposed to pick one by the end of this week...but I really can't decide." The canine kept his eyes on the road and his lips sealed, but his ears remained pointed towards her. "They're all great opportunities, don't get me wrong. They're all just...missing something, I guess. Like, no matter the choice, I'm going to get some great experience working in the field, and I'll end up learning a lot of valuable skills. But...I dunno. I just feel like I can do more, if that makes any sense.

"Three years ago, when I decided to take on this path in my life, I'd done so with the intention of helping as many people as I could using the knowledge I'd learn. Furs, ex humans, everyone that I could reach. And while I know that following through with my education will get me to that point, it just feels like...like it can only take me so far. And these internships I'm being offered? They're not innovative or revolutionary. They'll just leave us right where we are, leaving us within the same limitations we're currently in. Is...any of this making sense?" Goto glanced up at the rear-view mirror to meet Felicia's gaze. He held it for a moment before returning his attention to the road. "You're right; I'm probably just overthinking this. I'll take another look at my offers once we're back in the apartment." That's when the limo eased into the parking lot set next to a massive tower with the large sign at the front reading "Kougami Apartments." The German Shepard left the driver's seat to open Felicia's door and motion her out. As she exited the limo, she smirked and nudged the side of his arm with an elbow saying, "Good talk, Mr. Goto."

***

Felicia offered a bow of thanks to Goto, who held the door open to her apartment as she stepped inside. She dropped off her backpack on the couch before sitting down and grabbing her tablet off the table in front of her. She winced upon seeing the time; 5:00 p.m. She hurriedly opened the device and tapped on the videocall app. She swept through her contacts before clicking one and setting the tablet back on the table. She took some time to adjust her hair until her call was eventually answered, and an older and groggier tigress appeared on camera. "Hi mom," she greeted her gently, "Is this a bad time? I know it's late on your side."

"No no, my beti, it's fine," her mother paused to yawn, "We were worried you wouldn't call actually."

"I know, I'm sorry," Felicia smiled, "I would've called sooner, but Mr. Goto and I stopped for some food on the way home."

"Bebo, wake up; Felicia's calling. Go get beta." Some rustling and groaning was heard, bringing another smile to Felicia's muzzle.

"Hi papa," she called.

"Hi Felicia," her father mumbled before stumbling out of bed.

"Mr. Goto, how is he?" her mother asked before her eyes widened in recognition, "Oh there he-hi Mr. Goto!" The stoic canine offered a gentle wave upon realizing he'd slipped into camera shot. He took Felicia's bag away from the couch and slipped out of view to put it away. "Has he been good?"

Felicia waved her paw. "Oh yeah, he's just been his usual self. You know how he is."

"He's been keeping you out of trouble?"

Felicia laughed. "Like I ever get into trouble..." Her mother raised a brow at that statement. "...Nowadays." Upon her mother's huff, the camera suddenly shook as it was taken away by a smaller tiger who peered into the camera.

"Didi?" he squeaked, "Is that you?"

Felicia wiggled her fingers at him. "Hi my little bhai. Are you behaving yourself?"

"Mmhmm," he nodded fervently, "I've been getting good grades at school, just like you!"

"That's very good! I'm so proud of you!" the smaller tiger smiled brightly upon Felicia's praise. That's when the camera was taken back from him and returned to her mother and father.

"So how's New York been? I hear it's nice this time of year."

"It is," Felicia smiled, "It's so nice and sunny around here. It really makes me wanna visit the amusement park nearby."

"Do you need me to send you money? I know the Kougami Foundation has been funding you, but if you need more, we can--"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she waved her paws dismissively, "I still have the money you sent me last month. Don't worry."

"That's good, that's good," her mother nodded, "It makes us really happy to hear that you're doing okay there."

Felicia smiled warmly at them. "Thank you, and thanks for answering. I can hang up now and let everyone sleep. I have some emails I need to go through anyways."

Her mother tried to stifle a yawn, failing to do so in time. "That sounds good. Thank you for calling us, my beti. We love you!"

"Love you too!" Felicia waved at the camera. "Goodnight mama! Goodnight papa! Goodnight my little bhai!"

"Goodnight!" they all exclaimed before the feed was cut off. The tigress let out a happy little sigh as she closed her tablet and set it back down on the table. She drummed her paws on her knees before getting up to walk over to her desktop. Once it flared to life, she opened her email account to find yet another batch of unread offers. "Alright then, what do you have for me today?" she said to herself before opening the first one. Goto continued to clean up around the place while she went through each and every email. As the hours ticked by, her eyelids began to droop. It was more and more of the same. Opportunity this, core skill that, nothing she hadn't seen before.

She stopped for a moment to squint her eyes shut and stretch, ending the process with a wide yawn. As she settled down, she suddenly felt the gentle embrace of soft fabric surrounding her. She blinked her eyes open to find a thin blanket now enveloping her. She turned around to face Goto. "Oh, thank you Mr. Goto." His response was a small motion of his muzzle towards the window. She looked over to it and realized the sun had set. "Oh...yikes. I did it again, huh? Don't worry, I'm almost done. I only have one left. Once I'm done with this I'll hop into bed." The tall Shepard offered a polite bow before excusing himself into a nearby room, closing the door behind him and marking his clocking out for the night.

Felicia rolled her neck as she returned her attention to her screen. "Alright then," she sighed, "last but not least, you. Let's see what you've got for me." She clicked it open and rested her chin against her free paw. "Dear Ms. Baagh, I hope this message finds you well... Yada yada... I would very much like the chance to meet..." Slowly, she raised her chin from her paw. She began to sit up, and her eyes began to widen. Slowly, silently, Felicia read through the email in its entirety.

When she was finally done, her eyes trailed over to the two photos framed side by side next to her monitor. The first was a photo of her on a plane smiling alongside an old and very happy lion. The second was one of her and her family, all smiling together and standing in front of an old, empty lab with flowers decorating the front. She reached over and trailed a finger down the frame of the first, a warm smile spreading across her muzzle. Eventually, she put her paw back on the mouse, clicked, and began typing.

***

A week later, the two of them found themselves patiently waiting in front of a tall three-story building. Goto had Felicia's bags slung over his shoulder, while Felicia herself was reading through some messages on her phone. "He's on his way," she said upon pocketing the device, "He's just facing a bit of issues right now." The canine nodded in acknowledgement, then tilted his head towards the glass sliding doors. "...Oh! Yeah, that's probably a good idea." At that, Felicia led him into the building to wait in the shade of the lobby. No one else besides themselves and a single maintenance worker occupied the space. The latter was knelt down in front of the elevator, working away at one of the panels.

"Can you believe it, Mr. Goto?" Felicia nudged him lightly with her elbow, "My first big internship! Not just classroom stuff; actual work experience! I hope I haven't gotten too rusty over the years." The nearby maintenance worker slapped the panel shut before closing up his toolbox and making his way for the door. He tipped his hat towards the two of them as he left. "It's only been three years...but do you think my coat still fits me? I really should have double-checked before we got here, but I assumed it would still fit me... The drive over here wasn't all that bad. You think we should drive back and pick up my school coat?" Goto stared at her silently. "...No you're right, I'm overthinking things again."

A ding from the elevator drew her attention away from the subject. It was instead brought to the elevator doors as they slid open and allowed a small, frail looking feline to pass through. He operated the wheelchair carrying him via joystick, which he used to roll over to the pair. "Why hello there," he greeted, taking his muzzle away from his ventilator tube, "You must be the lovely Felicia Baagh. It's so nice to finally meet you in person!"

The tigress took a bit of a stammering start. "O-oh, thank you so much! You must be Dr. Aleis Dragonov. It's so nice to meet you as well! I...uh...I-I'm sorry if I seem kind of caught off guard; in your email you didn't say anything about..."

Dr. Dragonov waved a dismissive paw. "You honestly need not concern yourself. I completely understand. However, I do apologize for the shock; I simply didn't want my condition to color your initial thoughts of me when you considered my offer. I also must apologize for being as late as I am. As you might've seen, the elevator wasn't functioning properly, and it prevented me from reaching you in a timely manner."

Felicia shook her head and paws. "No no, it's no problem at all; I completely understand!" She glanced over to the canine standing beside her. "Oh, right, this is Mr. Shintaro Goto. He's my...uh..."

"Butler?"

"Something like that, yeah..." she chuckled sheepishly.

"Well whatever he may be, it's nice to meet him as well." The slim feline offered his paw to the two of them. After they shook paws with one another, Dr. Dragonov turned his chair to face the elevator once more. "Now then, with the pleasantries out of the way, why don't we head up to my lab so we can start things properly?" The three of them rode the elevator up to the top floor, where Dr. Dragonov's lab awaited them. It was a small and sparse room, with lab benches taking up most of the real estate. Scattered across them were all of the lab essentials. Glassware of varying sizes, Bunsen burners, a microscope, and a centrifuge among various other equipment. Felicia found it hard to ignore the wave of nostalgia hitting her from seeing such a small and cozy lab.

"Apologies for the lack of chairs," said Dr. Dragonov, rolling between the benches, "As you can probably guess, I don't have much need for them myself. However, I do believe I have a stool set aside somewhere in here if you feel the need to sit."

"Thank you, but I'm alright for now," Felicia bowed politely before turning to Goto, "What about you, Mr. Goto? You can go ahead and head back home if you want. I'll just text you when we're done here." The tall canine only shook his head. Felicia shrugged. "Suit yourself."

"Before we start, Ms. Baagh, I simply must state how much of an honor it is to finally meet you," the frail feline regarded her kindly as he dragged a rolling stool with him over to Goto, "I'd heard so much about you following the incident with the humans three years ago. I find it to be no surprise that such an astounding individual such as yourself was a protégé of the late Dr. Kagami."

A sad smile spread across Felicia's muzzle, "Thank you so much. I've been working hard to do him proud."

The smaller feline turned around to head towards the other end of the lab. "And no doubt you have. You're in your _third_year of college, after all. There are not many who can say they've gotten this far."

"Thank you very much," Felicia said with a sigh, "But please, enough about me. I'd like to know more about you. You said in your email that you knew him as well?"

"Indeed I did!" Dr. Dragonov came back with a framed photo held in his paw. "As it so happens, him and I used to be lab partners back in the day." He handed the photo over to Felicia, which showed a younger version of himself using a set of crutches to stand alongside the aforementioned lion. Dr. Kagami's paw rested atop Dr. Dragonov's shoulder as they both smiled into the camera. And what caught the tigress' eye the most was the familiar hexagonal buckle strapped around Dr. Dragonov's waist. "That photo was taken following the publication of our study on gene splicing. It was one of our more successful studies and is still referenced today."

Felicia stared at the photo in awe. "Wow... This is...incredible. I had no idea you worked with him so closely. Dr. Kagami never really talked about any former associates when I worked for him."

Dr. Dragonov shrugged as he took back the photo and went to return it to its original place. "Well, we went our separate ways a long time ago, so I suppose there was no real reason to bring me up." He carefully set the photo aside and rolled back towards Felicia with a smile. "But now here we are, his oldest coworker meeting his next protégé. It's almost poetic. That brings me to my current project.

"You see, I've been looking to find ways of increasing muscle strength in individuals whose muscles are significantly weaker than the average population, such as myself. Up until this point, I've tried to find ways to directly address the root cause of the problem, faulty genes. But after dedicating years and years of my life to figuring out the solution, I've come to the...unfortunate conclusion that there is only so much I can do with the limitations I have. The only way I can feasibly see conditions like mine being cured is by altering an individual's genetic code entirely."

"And I suppose that's where I come in," said Felicia with a gentle smile, "Don't worry, Dr. Dragonov. I'm going to do everything in my power to make the impossible possible."

Hearing this brought a smile to Dr. Dragonov's muzzle, "You're just like him... That's exactly what I want to hear. I have my complete faith in you, especially since you've proven yourself capable of delivering on such a promise before! Please do tell me, how exactly did you manage to save the entirety of the human race?"

She laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of her head. "Well, save their race isn't quite accurate to say. If anything, it's more like I saved the humans aboard the Ark by bringing the human species to extinction."

"Oh...that is...quite an interesting way to phrase it."

"Yeah..." Felicia shrugged, "but given the context, there's really no other way to phrase it. You see, because our environment is toxic to the human species, we had to change their species altogether so they could live here proper."

"The...sergal species, correct?" The tigress answered his question with a nod. "Right, what exactly is that species? I'd never heard of it before."

"Well...that would be because it technically didn't exist until that point. Back when I was...uh..." Felicia blushed a little. "Back when I was Kamen Rider Wild, my transformations actually affected my body directly. The DNA of whatever old age animal I used would be integrated into my genetic code so that I could use that animal's abilities for myself. And that had the...interesting side effect of changing my species altogether."

"Right, yes...I'd heard about this in articles, but I could hardly believe it when I did."

"Dr. Kagami and I went through a lot of things at the time, and I ended up accumulating a lot of different animal DNA inside of myself. One thing led to another, and I tried to use my own DNA to transform. That chimerical DNA ended up creating what is now called the sergal species."

"Fascinating," Dr. Dragonov nodded thoughtfully, "although, one thing bothers me; of all the animal species you could have chosen, you ended up going with a chimerical species with very little study done on them. Why choose that over any other species that has grown accustomed to our environment?"

"Unfortunately, I learned the hard way how harsh it is on someone to change into a species from a different age than your own. That's what my first ever transformation was, and it sent my mind into a frenzy. The only reason I was able to come out of that in one piece was because I'd transformed using old world tiger DNA, a species ancestral to my own. All of the transformations that followed were easier to acclimate to because I'd gotten adjusted to old world species DNA.

"The sergal species is sort of that for the humans. It possesses both old world and modern world DNA, and it was capable of surviving in both atmospheres. It was the safest bet to use on them. Of course, this isn't without its drawbacks. Because sergal DNA is basically a giant metaphorical soup of all kinds of species, studying possible genetic defects and abnormalities has been nothing short of a nightmare. No one's really sure about what possible vulnerabilities the species might have, or any other sort of destructive effects there might be from having such a large number of different genes within a single individual. Even then, we were scared over the long-term effects, but given that the humans were short on time, it was just a risk we had to take."

"Right...and you wouldn't want to hesitate on acting before it was too late..." One of Dr. Dragonov's paws slipped from the arm of his chair onto his thigh. "So then, I imagine you used some sort of device to initiate humanity's change into this new species. Unless the humans learned some sort of magic I'm not aware of?"

Felicia chuckled. "No, no, you're right. The humans aided in designing an offshoot of Dr. Kagami's DNAnalyzer. It's a device capable of changing an individual's species safely and effectively, which we ended up naming the DNActuator."

"Such incredible technology... As you can probably imagine, I am rather interested in its capabilities. I can only imagine the number of things it can do for our field of study. Do you happen to have one on hand?" The smaller feline couldn't hide his frown of disappointment when Felicia shook her head.

"Unfortunately, the device itself is still under review by the government for use beyond its initial purpose. Like I said; we're still unsure of the long-term effects a treatment like this has on a person. Because of that, it's been deemed unsafe for use until further notice."

"But...that's absurd! Think of the possibilities technology like this has to offer! Unless more experimentation is done with it, its potential to improve lives will remain nothing but a mystery for many, many, many years!" There was a pleading look in his eyes as he went on. "Felicia, I know this is a lot to ask of you, but I must insist that you request permission to use the DNActuator in our experiments! The two of us should be the pioneers in discovering the true potential of this revolutionary device. Just think of how many more people we could be helping! The people who need this kind of help yesterday!"

Felicia's brow furrowed. She swished her tail around and ran her fingers through her hair. "I...I'm not so sure about this, Doctor. There's a good reason why they'd restrict me from..." She trailed off as her ear perked up slightly. She looked back at the wheelchair-ridden feline and realized his breathing had intensified. His muzzle was tightly wrapped around his ventilator tube, and he was sitting more upright. Felicia's gaze then trailed down to his legs, and the chair they rested upon.

"...Felicia?"

The tigress blinked and returned her gaze to meet Dragonov's. "Right, sorry, uh... Excuse me, I need to step outside for a minute if that's okay."

"Oh...alright," the smaller feline nodded, "go right ahead."

"Thank you. Mr. Goto? Can you come with me, please?" No sooner than she said that did the tall canine join her side. He held the door open for her as she left the room, keeping his eyes on Dragonov as he closed it behind her. He then met Felicia's distressed gaze. "I don't know what to do, Mr. Goto. I know he means well, but there's still so little we know about this technology. The number of risks we'd be taking by experimenting with it is immense!" Goto remained as stoic as ever, not a single word leaving his lips. "I know I said I wanted something more than the basics, but isn't this overextending?" Again, he only stared. Felicia sighed and folded her arms, looking to the side. "If you really think I should go with my heart on this one..." She then reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone.

Back inside the lab, Dr. Dragonov waited by the window, watching as a small group of furs ran about, bouncing a basketball around and passing it between each other. Admittedly, a part of him expected to see Felicia and Goto walk out onto the street as well. The two of them had spent a fair amount of time out, and doubts were beginning to fester. But upon hearing a click of the doorhandle, he turned around to see Felicia wearing an old lab coat with a striking resemblance to his own.

"You know," she began, looking down at herself, "three years ago, I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't wear this again until I started real work to change the world for the better. When I looked through my internship offers, I wasn't sure that time had come just yet..." She then smiled to him and held her paw out towards him. "But I think it's safe to say that this was the day I was waiting for, and I'd be _mad_to not take a chance on it. Let's make good on that promise and start making steps to change people's lives."

Tears began to run down from Dr. Dragonov's eyes. After wiping them away, he smiled and took her paw in his own, shaking it as firmly as his body would physically allow. "Let's change the world of genetics one test at a time."

***

After enough of the mess was cleared for it, Goto eased a sizable mechanical box on one of the lab benches. The wheel-ridden feline watched with intrigue as he pressed one of its buttons. With a whir, it flared to life with lines of light racing across it. Nearby, Felicia was talking with someone on her phone. After a minute or so, an indicator light on the box began to blink green. Only after the tigress gave Goto the thumbs up did he click another button. Through a tinted glass window on the box, Dr. Dragonov saw a spark of light flare within the box. It sparked again and again, larger and with greater intensity each time until finally stopping.

Once the whirring stopped, and a confirmational ring came, Goto opened its front door and removed what appeared to be some sort of injector gun. Felicia gave a quick word of thanks to the person on the other end of the call before hanging up and accepting the device from Goto's paws. A bright smile spread across her muzzle as she came over to Dragonov's side and presented it to him. "Well, here it is, the DNActuator."

The older feline was dumbfounded. He gently ran a finger across the device's surface. "My word...this is absolutely incredible. It was really teleported here from the Ark?" Felicia nodded with great enthusiasm.

"The humans managed to develop small-scale teleportation during their time of service. The technology is still under review for wider use, but given that I did sort of save the world, the government decided that I could use one of their test models." Felicia held up the DNActuator, turning it this way and that. "Though I had to pull some strings to get this in our hands today. It's kind of crazy to think about, if I'm honest. The humans have developed such amazing technology, and yet it's Dr. Kagami's work that's about to change the world."

"Yes... After all these years as well..."

"So are you sure you want to be the one being tested on? I told you before; we're still not sure what long-term effects this kind of treatment can have on you."

"Felicia, I've been waiting a very long time for a chance like this to come my way. And with each day that passed, I'd be left wondering if I'd be able to wake for the next. There are other people out there that have suffered a lifetime of that very same uncertainty, and I can't go on one more day knowing that I have the tools to bring that uncertainty to an end. Please, Felicia. I am willing to face whatever consequences this treatment may bring."

"Even if it may worsen your condition?"

Dragonov took a slow, thoughtful breath through his ventilator. "If that possibility comes to pass, then I will have paved the way towards the answer, at least for those who come after me."

Felicia took in a breath of her own, if only to steady her own paws. "Very well, Doctor." She then reached into the teleporter box and pulled out a small set of vials, each labeled with a different animal. She took one of them out and examined it closely. "And you're certain you want to go with a brown bear?"

"They are the epitome of strength. If I am to strengthen my muscles, I can think of no better species than that." The tigress nodded and loaded the vial into the back of the DNActuator. It was secured with a click, which was followed by a confirmational tone.

D-N-ANALYZE

She then lightly pressed the nozzle of the device against Dragonov's exposed arm. "This is going to sting at first. But if you feel any further discomfort beyond that, please let me know. I have a vial of your own DNA at the ready if we need to call things off." The chair-ridden feline nodded, keeping his gaze straight ahead. "I'll start on the count of three. One..." Felicia steadied her paws, bracing one against the other. "Two..." Dragonov dug his teeth into his ventilator tube, letting his eyes drift closed. "Three." Felicia pulled the trigger.

D-N-ASSIMILATION

A ring of black scales trailed out from the point of injection and all across Dragonov's body, forming a thin film over the surface. Felicia took the DNActuator away and watched as the feline's frail frame began to expand. Once the changes had reached their end, the scales began to peel back, drawing back towards their point of origin before shrinking away into nothingness. Once they were gone, Felicia and Goto were able to see the full effects of Dragonov's transformation.

Slowly, Dragonov's eyes fluttered open and met the tigress' nervous gaze. He tried to crane his neck upwards to look up at her proper, only to realize his neck was craning _downwards_just so his muzzle could latch onto his ventilator tube. He then looked down and noticed the brown sheen of his fur, and the increased muscle mass of his limbs. He lifted his arm to get a closer look and realized the relative ease of doing so. He tried clenching his fists and winced, finding that he'd clenched hard enough for his claws to dig into his paw pads.

He took his muzzle away from his ventilator tube. "Felicia, can you please fetch me a--" He stopped. His eyes widened, and his heart raced. He held his breath in disbelief. Slowly, his paw drifted to his chest. He began to sit up, now fully displaying his heightened stature and bulkier build. But those weren't what shocked him. No, instead it was something far more intimate. He dared not try to confirm his suspicions out of fear of dashing his hopes. But eventually, the need for oxygen won over, and for the first time in his new body, he breathed in deeply.

And breathed out.

He did this again and again, his muzzle having yet to return to his ventilator tube. The more he breathed, the more tears began to well up in his eyes. Eventually, they flooded over, and Dragonov began to weep openly.

"...Doctor?" Felicia called softly, laying a paw on his shoulder, "Are you alright? How are you feeling?"

It took a good minute or two for him to regain his composure. After wiping his tears away, he met her gaze with a smile. "Better than I've felt in many, many years." He then looked down at his legs, now too big for the chair he sat upon. "Felicia? Can you do me a favor and step back for me, please?"

"Of course, Doctor." She carefully backed away, granting him the space he desired. Dragonov braced himself on the arms of his chair and began flexing his toes. Gingerly, he raised a foot to rest it on the floor itself. The other soon followed, but it was then that he began to hesitate once more. "You can do it," came Felicia's voice, "Come on, you've got this!" Dragonov took in another deep breath, keeping his eyes glued to the floor. With nothing left to hold him back but himself, the former feline flexed his arms and pushed himself off his chair.

He nearly threw himself off in the process and almost fell flat on his face. He wiggled and wobbled as he fought to keep himself from tumbling over. Felicia quickly came to his aid, providing him some leverage to lean against. He stared at his legs as they trembled, but never buckled. Struggled, but never gave out. Strained, but strong. As he found his footing the trembling died down, and eventually, he found himself a sense of balance. Eventually, he stopped leaning against Felicia.

Eventually, he stood on his own two feet.

"Does anything feel strange to you?" asked Felicia, "Any numbness or unexpected pain or--OH MY!" The tigress was taken rather swiftly off her feet as the larger fur suddenly captured her in his arms, hoisting her up in a big bear hug. Goto immediately stepped forward but stayed his paws as Felicia held up her own towards the canine.

"I can stand!" Dragonov cried out, weeping tears of absolute joy, "I can-I can WALK! Thank you, Felicia! Thank you SO MUCH!"

"Y-you're so very welcome!" she cried back, realizing that tears of her own were beginning to follow, "I'm so glad this worked out for you!" Dragonov laughed and cried, spinning around and jumping with Felicia still in his arms. His hearty laugher rang throughout the entire building, held back by no one but himself.

***

Over the next few days, Felicia conducted test after test on Dragonov in his new ursine body. There was no doubt that he had successfully taken on the attributes of a brown bear with his bulkier build and more robust jaw. The question now was what else had changed about him. "Well as far as I can tell, everything seems to be in working order," said Felicia, removing a stethoscope from her ears, "Heart's working well, brain activity is nice and level, nervous system's all good, and your lungs are working better than ever. Not to mention your motor control and muscle strength." She nodded to Goto in thanks after he took the stethoscope from her and stored it away.

"Well of course!" the bear laughed from his seat atop the lab bench, "This treatment was an absolute success! I feel incredible now! Like I have the strength to lift one thousand men!" Felicia couldn't help but smile from his enthusiasm. It made the feeling of unease in the back of her head all the more bothersome.

"So...you're sure that you're not feeling off in the slightest? No manic episodes or unexpected bursts of emotion? Back then, we had a few cases with some humans that ended up experiencing a period of rabid mania following this treatment."

Dragonov shook his head. "I've felt nothing but glee and happiness ever since the change."

The tigress leaned against the lab bench. "Okay...but you'll tell me if something's wrong, won't you?"

"Of course!" His reassurance was barely enough to get Felicia to ignore her lingering feelings of unease. "So anyways, Felicia, I'd like to ask you something this time."

"Shoot."

He hopped off the lab bench to lean against it with her. "So you said it was the DNActuator that was used to turn the humans into the sergal species, but that wasn't the device that led to the species' genesis, yes?"

"Yeah, it was Dr. Kagami's DNAnalyzer that did that," she nodded, "In a sense, it fused the different species DNA in my body to form the one."

"Intriguing..." the ursine nodded thoughtfully, "You know, something like that could work wonders for our experiments."

"...What?"

"Well think about it. There's already millions of different species in the world, each with their own unique trait to offer. Imagine combining them to get the best of both worlds? Or even all worlds for that matter?"

Felicia looked over to Goto as if to confirm she was hearing the doctor correctly. "...Dr. Dragonov, we've only just begun our testing with the DNActuator. Are you honestly suggesting we start tests with the DNAnalyzer as well?"

Dragonov stood straight. "Felicia, think of the possibilities! You created the perfect transitional species for the humans out of pure chance. Imagine what we could accomplish with calculated decision! There wouldn't be a single disease or abnormality in the world that we couldn't face with that kind of power!" He was beginning to get closer, making Goto carefully approach, and making Felicia retreat. Instinctively, her paw went to her back pocket.

"Doctor...I think you need to take a step back and calm down for a moment. You're not thinking straight; we've barely begun our tests with the DNActuator. I sincerely believe it's in our best interests to continue those tests for the time being." Dragonov stopped, looking down to see that the tigress' other paw was held out in front of him. He briefly glanced back, finding Goto close by. The ursine shook his head and took a step back.

"I...I am so sorry. I don't know what came over me. I suppose I'm still riding the high of our success. I am so sorry for that; my enthusiasm got the better of me."

Slowly, Felicia lowered her paw. "It's alright, I understand. You just got caught up in the moment." She then turned to gather her things off the lab bench. "I think Mr. Goto and I are going to be heading home now. We'll be back tomorrow to run a quick brain scan on you."

"Thank you, Felicia. Truly." Goto kept a careful eye on Dragonov as he went to join her side. "You're so kind; you're just like our dear Dr. Kagami."

Felicia smiled softly at him and slung her bag over her shoulder. "We'll see you soon, Doctor. Have a good rest of your night." At that, the two furs made their way out of the lab, leaving Dragonov to his own devices, and to his own thoughts. He let out a sigh as he turned away from the door, looking over to the empty wheelchair at the other end of the room.

"...Just like him..."

***

When the next day rolled around, Felicia and Goto found themselves riding the elevator once again. "Look I know what he said," she sighed, fidgeting her foot, "But I'm sure it's just the effects of the treatment. It'll wear off eventually. Heck, it might've already! Either way, we have to be here to check." Goto only stared at the girl, holding onto his suitcase in silence. The tigress did her best to ignore, despite feeling his gaze burn into the side of her neck. She shook her head in exasperation. "It'll be fine, alright Mr. Goto? We can trust him." Any room for further discussion was vanquished once the elevator doors slid open. Felicia hurried off in a huff before Goto had the chance to stop her. She knocked on the lab's door as soon as she reached it.

"Come in, it's open," came Dragonov's voice. Felicia opened the door without missing a beat.

"Good morning, Doctor. How have--" She didn't get to finish her greeting as she was suddenly steamrolled by an enormous mass barreling her way. Lights danced in her eyes upon crashing against the opposite wall. She gripped the side of her head in a dazed state as she tried to sit up, seeing a large dark blurry mass standing over her. She heard someone run in at full speed before another blurry mass came into the lab. Her vision cleared in time to see Goto rush towards Dragonov with his teeth bared and a taser in his paw. He ducked under the bear's wide swing and lunged, jamming the device right against his side. A harsh snarl echoed through the halls as electricity surged through Dragonov's body. But with a sudden flail of his arms, Goto was sent flying backwards, landing in front of Felicia. "Mr. Goto!" she cried out, hurrying over to his side. She hurried to help him stand up as she reached for her back pocket. However, her heart dropped upon realizing there was nothing to be found inside.

R-N-ASSAY!

Hearing that made her heart stop altogether. She looked up to find Dragonov standing over them, holding the DNAnalyzer in his paws. "I offer my sincerest apologies to the both of you," he panted, jamming the device against his waist. Immediately, a silver belt snaked around his form, allowing the buckle to latch onto him securely. "However, I cannot afford to let such a golden opportunity go to waste."

BEAR!

"Not again." At that, he struck the buckle.

R-N-ASSIMILATION!

He let out a savage roar as black scales raced across his body, encasing him in a solid cocoon. It creaked and cracked until it finally gave way, allowing to emerge the rabid beast contained within. Its enormous claws ripped through it like it was nothing. Black armor-like plates caressed its legs, arms and torso, and its bright blue eyes burned like an uncontrollable flame.

Dragonov shook his head, somehow regaining his composure. His shoulders heaving, he slowly looked back up to meet Felicia's gaze. Just as slowly, he lifted his enormous claws up and pointed one of them at her to say, "Now then, I'm going to have to ask you to hand over the DNActuator. I'm afraid my experiments still require its use." Felicia immediately grabbed Goto's suitcase and hugged it against her frame. The sight brought an irritated sigh out of the transformed ursine, and that sigh transformed into a snarl as he charged at her with his claws spread.

Goto was between them before she was even back on her feet. The German Shepard dug his feet into the floor as he held the massive monstrosity back with every ounce of strength his body had to offer. His eyes were wide in focus, and as soon as they met Felicia's gaze, she knew what he was telling her. She scrambled back to her feet and made a break for the door.

"HOLD IT!" Dragonov's booming voice was soon followed by a cry of pain. Felicia whirled around to find, to her horror, that Goto was now trapped between his massive claws. "I trust you understand what has to happen next." Another cry of pain left Goto's throat as one of Dragonov's claws dug into his side.

"No, stop!" she screamed, "He shouldn't be part of this! Just let him go!" Dragonov's only response was a motion of his head. Felicia's tail fidgeted in agitation as she clenched the handle of the suitcase. With a hiss, she tossed the suitcase over. Only after it hit the ground did Dragonov release Goto with a swift kick to his back. The canine crashed against the opposite wall, prompting a horrified shriek from Felicia as she rushed over to his side. As she fretted over him, Dragonov swung his arm wide, completely obliterating his wheelchair along with the wall behind it. He opened the case to find the DNActuator along with a large set of vials. He yanked out the one already in his buckle to swap in another.

R-N-ASSAY!

BAT!

After closing the case, he struck the buckle once more.

R-N-ASSIMILATION!

The beast was encased in the black cocoon once more, and from it emerged a far slimmer creature. It was one with large ears and a massive wingspan. He shared one final look with Felicia before soaring out into the sky with a single flap of his wings. She sat there holding Goto in her arms, stunned silent from the events that had just transpired. As her gaze drifted from the giant opening in the lab to the shredded remains of Dragonov's wheelchair, all she could bring herself to say was, "...What have I done?"

******

"Reports have been coming in of a massive bat-like creature soaring around the skies of New York City. According to eyewitnesses, he's been swooping in on unsuspecting citizens and warping them beyond recognition by using this strange device you see on your screen now. Authorities have been in pursuit, but there has been little they've been able to accomplish. Requests for help from the Japanese special task force known as Amnesia have already been sent, but due to a recent crisis currently plaguing their place of residence, they are unable to respond."

No matter how flat she made her ears against her head, Felicia couldn't drown out the news report playing in the lobby. Police were coming in and out of the elevator as she and Goto sat down beside one another, with the latter sporting a bandage over his arm. "What am I gonna do?" she asked, her face hidden behind her paws, "This is all my fault. How could I let this happen?" The tigress jolted slightly as a paw fell gently on her back. She looked up to meet Goto's gaze. After holding it for a moment, Felicia shook her head and stood up. "You're right; standing around and moping about it won't do anything to fix this. But...what even can I do? The world is frighteningly short on superheroes, and my powers were just taken away."

"We are getting reports that the winged man has been spotted once again. We now take you to our live feed from Chopper 9, our eye in the sky." Felicia and Goto looked over to the screen to see the transformed Dragonov flying over a bed of water.

"Thank you, Emily. Now as you can see here, he is currently flying over Upper New York Bay. We're not sure where he's headed yet but--wait. He appears to be steering towards something!" The camera panned over to where Dragonov was aiming. Her eyes widened as soon as the yacht came into view. "He's closing in fast on that boat over there! From what we can see, it's very populated right now! They have no way of getting away in time!"

Felicia jolted violently as her phone began to ring. She nearly dropped it after clawing it out of her pocket with a snarl. "Who could be calling at a time like--" She stopped herself mid-tirade the second her eyes registered the caller ID displayed on her screen. She accepted the call without a moment's hesitation and immediately brought the device to her ear. "Hello?"

"Hello, Felicia."

A relieved sigh left her throat. "You have no idea how happy I am to hear your voice right now, Alpha."

"As am I," the android replied back, "We all heard about what happened and figured you were involved. Omega and I would recognize that brand of armor anywhere. I pray that you're unharmed."

Felicia's paw instinctively cradled the small lump on the back of her head. "We're in one piece, at the very least. But right now, I'm more concerned about Dr. Dragonov. He's gone out of control!"

"It was as you feared then..." Alpha sighed in resignation.

"Felicia," came a deeper, more masculine voice, "you're not planning on going after him yourself, are you?"

"I did this to him, Omega. So it's my responsibility to set him straight again. Maybe I can talk some sense into him."

"But if what you've been telling us about your studies is true, then words alone may not reach him," this was from a softer voice, "It would be dangerous to approach him when he is wielding the very level of strength you need to protect yourself from him."

"I have to try, NexUs! If I don't, that means I'm leaving it to other people that also don't have that strength." She paused. Was that...laughter on the other end of the call? "W...what's so funny?"

"It's nothing," came Alpha's voice, "We just knew that you'd say something like that."

"Before we called, Alpha and I began work on something that may help," said Omega.

"It should give you the protection you need to be able to confront him safely, and also hopefully talk some sense into him in the process," NexUs added.

"Unfortunately, even under these circumstances, we still aren't allowed to directly intervene due to our house arrest," Alpha sighed, "However, we still want to help you out in whatever way we can. And if we get the authorization to send it, then we'll have made one more step towards repaying you for everything you've done for us."

Felicia felt her heart flutter and her lip quiver. "Thank you. All of you. You're the best extended family I could ever ask for." Her eyes returned to the TV screen, narrowing as she watched him terrorize the furs aboard the ship. "So then, what do I need to do?

***

Shrieks of terror ripped through the air as furs of all kinds scrambled to get away from the hulking monstrosity that was Dragonov. They were practically trampling over one another as they tried desperately to avoid being captured in his massive ursine claws. Unfortunately for them, there was only so much space they could run on this ship. It was only a matter of time before Dragonov had one of them in his grasp. The others all screamed to get away, abandoning the shivering fur to his fate.

"You look like a healthy individual," Dragonov observed, giving his captive a once over, "You'll do nicely for this test."

D-N-ANALYZE

Dragonov shoved the nozzle of the DNActuator against the forehead of his captive, ignoring his screams of terror as he pulled the trigger.

D-N-ASSIMILATION

His screams became garbled and muffled as a thin membrane of black scales rapidly enveloped him. While his tail began to grow out, all of his other extremities began to shrink away. Once the screaming finally stopped, and all of his limbs had seemingly melted into his body, the black scales peeled away to reveal a clear-skinned slug-like form. His sudden spastic wriggles caught Dragonov off guard, causing him to drop him. He flopped and writhed on the floor, his two eye spots darting this way and that. Dragonov stared him down like a hungry predator as he picked him back up. "Now for the first test..." He raised his claw to strike, only to stop mid-swing. A new sound was reaching his ears, one from out in the distance.

A sound that was getting closer.

Fast approaching the yacht was a jet ski. Driving it was Goto in his regular suit. Riding behind him was Felicia in a full body wet suit and clutched tightly in her paw was a large metal fish scale. "Here goes nothing..." She jammed it against her midsection, causing a dark belt to snake around her waist. "Uh...h-Henshin?!" With her thumb, she struck the bright yellow gem in the center of the new buckle.

ARMORISE! Model: Alpha!

Immediately, she leapt off the jet ski and disappeared into the depths below. The sight alone shocked Dragonov, even more so to see Goto race away from the yacht in the process. But then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a black blur racing through the water. Only a second later, that blur closed in on the yacht and broke the water's surface, crashing against Dragonov with enough force to blow him off his feet. Him and his transformed captive were thrown out onto the deck like seaweed washing up onshore. Dragonov's furious snarls rumbled in his chest as he rose to face his approaching attacker.

Before him stood a figure with a striking resemblance to the ex-human, Alpha. Her black undersuit was covered by segmented armor with varying hues of blue. The fin-like blades she held out behind her grazed against her bright blue tailcoat fluttering in the wind. Small fin-like protrusions jutted out of her helmet, and a long, sail-like ponytail trailed down from the large crest adorning her helmet's forehead. And beneath that crest burned a set of bright yellow eyes that bore into Dragonov's very being.

"Hmph," he huffed, flexing his claws, "Felicia, I had a feeling you would pull something like this to try and stop me."

Felicia brought her fin-blades forward, crossing them and aiming them at the massive ursine. "Dr. Dragonov, please just stop all of this. I can't even understand why you're doing all of this! What are you even trying to accomplish?!"

Hearing this brought a hearty laugh out of Dragonov. "You really are just like him; you always think too small. You had at your disposal the technology with the capacity to change the entire world for the better! The only thing stopping you was your restraint, and that made you unwilling to experiment and test the limits of what you could do! I have no such limits, and now that I have both the strength and the means to do so..." Felicia shouted at him as he picked up his latest victim by the head, holding him up in the air. "I'm going to capitalize on it."

Before Felicia could stop him, Dragonov swept his claw across and sliced his helpless victim in half. He dropped the two halves onto the floor of the deck where they flopped vigorously. The sight alone sickened her to her stomach, but after the initial shock wore off, she realized that nothing else was spilling out from either half. Dragonov peered down at the two halves and shook his head. "As I feared, a flatworm's regeneration rate is still too slow, even when modified to our scale. Additionally, both halves are growing independently from one another rather than fusing back together. I'll have to deem this pathway a failure."

"You...you've gone off the rails, Dragonov!" Felicia snarled before crouching down and charging forward. Her fin blades clashed against the monstrous ursine's massive claws, which swiftly came back to strike at her. They went back and forth at each other until they finally withdrew from one another. Felicia crouched back down and crossed her blades in front of her. "So I'm going to put a stop to this scientific disaster before you can hurt ANYONE else!" With a snap, her blades splayed out into razor sharp fans, and with a roar, Felicia launched herself forwards to charge into battle once more.

She closed in on Dragonov far sooner than he was ready for, allowing her to land a flurry of sweeping strikes on him before he could make his first swing. It was an attack that was easily read and easily dodged. Her dive under him put her in the perfect position to scoop up both halves of the unfortunate victim in her arms. She immediately sped away and carefully dropped him off in front of a glass door, where a bunch of terrorized furs were gathered. "Stay put; I'll fix you once this is all taken care of."

Frantic motions from the other side of the door caught her eye. Realizing they were pointing behind her, she whirled around and got up just in time to block Dragonov's deadly bear-hug. A pained cry escaped her throat as her joints screamed in protest against the ursine's overwhelming strength. Her legs threatened to give out, and her arms were just barely managing to not buckle in either. Taking notice of the amount of water beneath their feet, Felicia allowed her legs to buckle to take Dragonov off balance. In the middle of his stumble, she dove between his legs and shot back up behind him to deliver another flurry of strikes on his back.

She ended up getting carried away, and as a result, she ended up on the receiving end of Dragonov's sudden outwards sweep. Sparks erupted off her chest armor from the first swing, but the spry feline cartwheeled out of the way of the second. The ursine kept in hot pursuit, swinging as many times as he could manage in hopes of getting her at least once. Unfortunately for him, Felicia had seen far more battles in her time. As such, his sloppy and sluggish moves were all the more predictable. Not any less dangerous, however, as the gashes in her armor proved.

Felicia's heart thundered in her ears every time she ducked and dove beneath one of Dragonov's swings. She punished every misstep of his with a quick slice of her fans, and each one only made him more furious. She was far too fast for him to keep up with. One moment she'd be in front of him, and the next she'd be behind. Then she'd attack from the side, and then below, and then right in his face. "Just stay STILL you little pest!" In his anger, Dragonov managed to shoulder-check her and throw her against the railing. He let out a furious roar and swung as hard as he could.

But all his claws ever caught against was the metal railing of the deck, with Felicia having once again slipped past at the last second. Now he was getting sloppy. He was putting so much force into his swings that his feet were slipping on the water. "There's two things I learned using those powers, Dragonov!" she taunted after leaving behind another slash, "First, your strength is useless if you don't know how to control it! And second, by staying too focused on your opponent..."

She suddenly swept beneath him, sliding across the floor using the water until she was directly behind him. As soon as she stopped, she sprung off her hands to ram her heels into the underside of Dragonov's chin. And as he stumbled back in a dazed state, Felicia charged forward and jump-kicked him directly through the opening he left in the railing. The hulking ursine hit the water at the same time Felicia hit the floor of the deck, with the former making a big splash before sinking deeper. "You'll lose track of your surroundings." With a huff, Felicia stood up and pointed a fan at one of the furs hiding behind the glass door. "You! Keep an eye on the victim and make sure he stays hydrated!"

Only after she saw them emerge did she take off running and vault off the yacht into the depths. As soon as she hit the water, her fans snapped back into fins, and her coattail expanded and clamped around her legs to form a mermaid-like tail. Her more aquatic form allowed her to rocket towards the rapidly sinking Dragonov. She raced by him again and again, delivering harsh strikes against him with each pass. "It's time to end this!" she shouted, launching herself far off in the distance and circling around back. She roared loudly as she rocketed towards the ursine, reeling her arms back to deliver the final blow.

R-N-ASSIMILATION!

But her blades instead clashed against a thick cocoon of black scales, bouncing harmlessly off Dragonov's body. "What?! When did he..." The question died in her throat as Felicia watched the man's arms and legs sink deeper into the cocoon. After bulging and pulsating, the cocoon gave in and cracked open, allowing a dizzying number of tentacles to spill out into the open water. Just looking upon Dragonov's new form made the tigress' stomach turn. What he lacked in limbs was made up for in tentacles. A clear, membranous veil canopied over his blank, featureless face along with whatever remained of his torso. And through the gap formed in his armor glowed a bright red spot.

"Dragonov...what are you _doing_to yourself?" Felicia coasted around the giant jellyfish uneasily, hesitant to even approach. She didn't have to as it turned out, as Dragonov's veil contracted and sent him sailing towards her. Felicia clapped her fins to just barely clear over him, making sure to swing a fin against his head as he rushed by. She gyrated her tail to press on the attack from behind, rushing him with a flurry of lightning-fast strikes.

She moved to retreat, but upon pulling back, she felt a sharp sting shoot up her leg. She looked down and realized a lone tentacle had managed to coil around her heels. She sliced it apart and tried to retreat, but when she turned around, an entire wall of tentacles was blocking her way. The speed at which she slashed at them all could only compare to the speed of her racing heart. She cried out as one reached her thigh and shot hundreds of tiny stingers into her flesh. Her leg throbbed with a burning pain that spread like a wildfire.

Her technique was thrown to the wind in a frantic thrash to escape her trap. But no matter how many tentacles she sliced, more were there to come after her. And more were reaching her one by one. A graze, a tap, all that was needed was one little touch to inflict upon her a world of intense pain. They stung and stung and stung, sending hundreds upon thousands of tiny little needle-like stingers through her wetsuit into her body.

Felicia's mind didn't even process when her torture came to an end. Even after Dragonov's tentacles pulled away from her, the horrible stinging pain persisted. It paralyzed her head to toe, and as a result, she began to float to the water's surface. The last things she saw before unconsciousness claimed her were Dragonov disappearing into the depths and Goto rushing over to her on his jet ski.

***

"I'm so so sorry about what happened to you!" Alpha bowed and bowed again in front of the camera, her palms pressed firmly together, and her head held as low as she could manage, "I should have known there would be critical imperfections in my prototype armor."

Felicia hissed through her teeth as Goto gently poured a bucket of hot water against her back. She leaned in closer to her tablet and said, "It's fine, Alpha. Seriously. You couldn't possibly have accounted for something like this. Besides, right now I'm way more concerned about Dragonov."

"Right, of course," Alpha nodded, tugging at her hair, "He's gone now, but he's bound to pop back up again soon, likely once he's begun his 'experiments' again."

Goto came by to drop off a towel on Felicia before refilling his bucket and dunking its contents onto the two halves of Dragonov's latest victim. "I'm...really worried about the furs he's using as test subjects. He's forcing these horrific changes on them, and for what?! What is he even trying to accomplish with all of this?!" She grunted from getting another splash of hot water against her back. "I don't wanna sit here waiting for long. Is there any way to improve your prototype armor from here? I can send it back if there isn't."

"There is," said Alpha, "but...we actually have something else in mind."

"Huh?"

Hearing her confusion, Omega stepped into frame. "Felicia, do you remember how we had to borrow the DNAnalyzer in order to develop the DNActuator three years ago?" She nodded. "Well, when we did that, we had to analyze its inner workings in order to understand how it functioned."

NexUs then stepped into view. "Because of that, we have the blueprints to the DNAnalyzer in our database." It was at that point that the tigress realized where they were going with this.

"Felicia," said Omega, "for a while now, since almost the start of our lifelong house arrest, we've had the idea of creating a newer version of the device. One that would allow you to reuse vials and fight at full strength regardless of the sampled species. The only things that stopped us were the lack of authorization to work on it..."

"And..." came Alpha, "we didn't feel right with making you replace what Dr. Kagami left behind for you..."

Felicia's paw drifted to her chest. "...Thank you. Really. I appreciate that." She looked over to Goto as he stepped in, holding out his phone to show live footage of Dragonov once again rounding up a group of terrified furs. "But he wouldn't want me sitting around letting someone else misuse his technology like this. Time is of the essence, and we're low on options."

The three androids nodded. As NexUs and Omega walked offscreen, Alpha said, "Then we will try to convince the higher ups for permission to finish the designs and send them out. Please try to hold out in the meantime."

"No need for the wait, actually," came a new voice. Both girls were confused until a new face popped onto screen, one of a snow leopard with white hair. It took Felicia a moment to realize it was Erika, her fellow Rider in arms. "Sorry to cut in so rudely, but I heard about what's going on over at your side of the pond. Earlier I had a chat with the big boys upstairs. They decided that, because me and the rest of Amnesia have our paws tied up over here, you guys have full permission to move forward with whatever plans you have to put a stop to Dragonov. So Alpha, Omega, NexUs, consider yourselves all authorized."

Alpha bowed deeply. "Thank you very much, Ms. Mori. Felicia, we'll get the blueprints completed as soon as we possibly can."

Felicia didn't even realize she'd begun crying until her vision began to blur. She hastily wiped them away. "Thank you. Thank all of you for all the help and support you've given me."

"Felicia," Alpha leaned in close, warmth radiating from her voice, "you saved our world once before. The least we can do is help you save yours."

***

A garbled scream left the throat of Dragonov's latest captive as he pulled the trigger of the DNActuator, encasing them in a cocoon of black scales. Once it was gone, the feline that he'd had in his grasp was replaced with a manic, terrified chameleon. Their tongue shot out and latched onto the side of his armored face before the large ursine grabbed it and yanked it off. The new reptile fell to the ground with their tongue still hanging out. Unable to pull it back in, they simply scooped it up with their claws before scrambling through the forest of abandoned cars and running for their lives.

Dragonov was just about to run after them when he noticed someone approaching him from the corner of his eye. The fact that they were approaching was enough to convince him to turn his attention away. Not much to his surprise, it was Felicia's gaze he met as she made her way down the street. Looking down, he noticed her wearing a belt with a striking resemblance to his own, the main difference being the blocky extension coming off the side of its hexagonal buckle.

"I must commend you for your resilience," he shouted to her, walking into a more open section of the street, "but I must insist that you turn yourself around and leave. There is no force alive that will stop me in my pursuit."

Felicia stopped her approach, closing her eyes to take in a deep breath. "Doctor, I don't want to start anything yet. I just want to hear your reasoning on why you're doing this. Please, I want to understand, so just tell me. What is this all for? What is this leading to? If you can help me understand, then maybe I can find a better way to help you!"

A low growl rumbled deep within Dragonov's chest. "Yet another minute goes by with you reminding me of my former colleague. Very well, Felicia. I will offer the same formalities I offered Dr. Kagami before he cast me out." He flexed his claws as he slowly began to walk circles around her, weaving his way around the various cars filling the street. "There is one very valuable lesson I learned from living with muscular dystrophy all my life; it's that those who are born with inferior genetics are doomed to suffer. Every day of my life was filled with fear and uncertainty, never knowing if I was going to make it through the day alive.

"As the years went by, my condition worsened and worsened. I lost the ability to walk on my own, my ability to stand was beginning to go, and I could feel the same beginning to happen to my ability to breathe. So, when I came to Dr. Kagami all those years ago, I had hoped to work with him and develop a method to save me from the fate I feared so terribly." In a fit of rage, Dragonov clawed apart an abandoned police car. "But the man was too HESITANT! Too risk averse! He always feared the unknown, telling me to wait until we had more clear results on what his technology was capable of! He told me again and again to wait as I leaned more heavily on my crutches and fought for each breath every passing day. It was THAT reluctance that costed not only me, but his late wife as well!

"That unwillingness to innovate and pioneer led to her death, and my complete disability! It wasn't long until after we parted ways that I ended up in that accursed wheelchair, cursed to use it for the rest of my foreseeable future, however short it may have been! Everything in my daily life became a struggle. Getting out of bed, eating meals, even BREATHING took every ounce of strength I had just to complete!" Dragonov held up the DNActuator in his claws, looking upon it like some holy treasure. "But now that he's gone, and now that I have his technology in my grasp, I'm going to do what he was too afraid to do all those years ago; change the world of genetics ITSELF! I don't want to live in a world where you must struggle to survive just because you were born from the wrong gene pool!"

When their eyes met again, it was like there was a fire burning in Dragonov's eyes. "So I'm going to eliminate genetics as a factor altogether by creating the ideal species! One that's strong enough to lift mountains, one that can heal even the gravest of wounds and one that can reach heights that no other natural species has ever reached before! Not even immortality will be outside of our grasp! With this new species, no one will ever have to live in fear of their own body ever again!"

Felicia's claws dug into her paws from how hard she was clenching her fists. She bit down on her lip to hold in the tears threatening to flood out of her eyes. "Doctor," she began, "I'm so sorry for what happened to you. No one can take away the pain you felt. I admire your dream to take away that pain from others; I really do. So I have to question why you're willing to bring that pain upon others for the sake of your dream!" Now her claws were digging deep enough to draw blood. "Look back on what you've been doing! Think about the furs you've been affecting, forcing these radical changes onto unwilling participants and risking permanent disfigurement! You're going to RUIN LIVES, DRAGONOV!"

"And their lives will pave the way to a revolution," he said dismissively, "A necessary sacrifice for the greater good."

"SACRIFICE?!" Felicia roared back, "Is that really what science means to you?! A means to an end?! You claim to want to help improve the world, yet you ignore the people you're trying to help IN this world! The very people I'M aiming to help! And I. Won't. Have it." Felicia's paw shot down to flip out a panel on the right side of her buckle

D-N-ANIRISER!

"Dragonov, you've become so fixated on the past and the future that you've become ignorant of the here and now! And I will NOT let you sacrifice the people of today!" She then pulled out a DNActuator of her own, plucking a vial off her necklace and loading it into the device.

D-N-ANALYZE

"So I'm here now, standing in your way to fight for their tomorrow!" With a valiant roar, Felicia jammed it into the opened slot of the DNAniRiser.

D-N-ACCESS: TIGER!

Large plate-like scales appeared out of thin air and surrounded the tigress, circling her protectively. With determination in her eyes and a fire in her heart, Felicia crossed her left arm over her chest and bellowed out at the top of her voice, "HENSHIN!" She pulled the trigger, igniting the hexagon of her belt in a fiery orange.

GO WILD!

BRAVE TIGER!!!

A ring of black scales erupted from her belt and raced across her body to form a familiar striped suit. The floating plates clamped onto her to form tough protective armor over her shins, arms and torso. Long, white hair trailed down from her head to her hips, where her long striped tail began. A red and blue 'x' decorated her chest, and a large black crest decorated the brow of her helmet. Now it was no longer just Felicia Baagh standing before Dragonov.

Standing before him was the one and only Kamen Rider Wild.

"Fine then," growled the armored ursine, "Pose as the same obstacle Kagami once was; it won't stop me THIS TIME!" With a powerful swing of his claws, he knocked aside the cars blocking his way and barreled forward. With a flash of her claws and a challenging roar, Felicia shot down on all fours and launched herself right at him. The distance was closed between them with a mutual leap into the air, both greeting each other with a powerful swing,

A bouquet of sparks bloomed in the air as their claws clashed. Dragonov landed heavily on concrete whilst Felicia caved in the car she landed on. Immediately she leapt off it to pounce at Dragonov from above. Sparks flared again, only this time it was off of the side of the ursine's helmet. He staggered backwards as Felicia sailed over him and landed on the car behind him. He whirled around to cleave it apart, but the armored tigress disappeared behind it before his claws could reach her.

He cried out as a set of claws raked against his back. He whirled around and swung again, clawing into her chest and sending her crashing into the car behind her. Dragonov immediately tried to plunge his claws into her gut, but she hopped atop his arm mid-lunge and ran across him like a ramp. He swung wildly to try and catch her in the air, but by then she was already behind another car.

The strikes came again and again, the nimble tigress ambushing him from his blind spots and slipping away before he could retaliate. When his fury boiled over, Dragonov let out an enraged roar and slammed his claws into the ground, sending all the cars around him into the air and revealing the stunned tigress hidden behind them. The massive ursine pummeled the cars aside and closed in on Felicia with powerful swings from both sides.

The ground itself shook once she caught his attack with both claws, with her heels digging deep into the pavement. Windows threatened to shatter as the two of them let out deafening roars in their struggle for power. Every muscle in Felicia's body screamed, and every bone in her body threatened to snap beneath Dragonov's immense strength. "GIVE IT UP, FELICIA!" his voice boomed, "YOU CAN NEVER HOPE TO OVERPOWER ME!"

"It's not a matter of strength, Dragonov!" she shouted back, staring him dead in the eyes, "It's a matter of how you USE IT!" Suddenly, all of Felica's resistance gave out, and the sudden change in power dynamic set Dragonov off balance. As they fell, Felicia shot her legs back and PLOWED them into his stomach as hard as she could. The massive ursine was sent sailing into the air, and before he could touch back down, she leapt up to greet him with a devastating upwards swing.

R-N-ASSAY!

BAT!

R-N-ASSIMILATION!

In a flash, Dragonov's massive claws were replaced with a set of massive wings. It took several flaps for him to right himself, and several more to rise higher into the air. "Oh no you don't!" Felicia roared as she leapt from car roof to car roof. In a last-ditch effort, she leapt onto a streetlamp and flung herself as high into the air as she could physically manage. Dragonov's heart nearly stopped as her claws came inches from his heel, but with a single flap, he pulled completely out of her reach. The armored tigress crashed back down to the ground, caving in another car in the process.

"Fight back all you want, Felicia!" he shouted down at her, "But you can never hope to stop the progress of science! I on the other hand will act as its catalyst!" His gaze drifted over to the silhouette of a Ferris wheel in the distance. "And I just found my perfect testing ground to do it!"

Felicia shouted after him to no avail as he clapped his wings and shot off into the distance. With a growl, Felicia clawed her way out of the car and ran in the direction he went, plucking out the vial in her belt and grabbing one off her necklace. She was just about to swap it in when she suddenly heard a ringtone go off in her ear. Her paw immediately went to her ear from the shock, and that's when a familiar voice came through.

"Woah there pal, hold your horses!"

"E-Erika?" Felicia stammered, "How did you call me through--"

"No time! Urgent business!" the snow leopard cut her off, "You weren't planning on running after him on foot, were you?"

"W-what other choice to I have?!"

"Fair point. Follow up question; when was your birthday again?"

"Uh..." she blinked, "Late December. Why do you..." She trailed off as the sounds of a jet plane filled the air. It swooped by in a flash, and not long after, a large metal pod came crashing down onto the street in front of her. It popped open with a hiss, and as its contents were slowly revealed, Felicia's eyes widened in awe.

"Happy early birthday, Felicia."

******

Dragonov kept his wings steady as he soared high in the sky, its sun on the brink of setting. His eyes were set on the amusement park in the distance, or rather the hundreds upon hundreds of furs that occupied it. It was a very busy day, probably the busiest it's ever been. All its rides and various other attractions were topped out with happy furs. But probably most filled of all was the outdoor auditorium. The furs down below were completely oblivious to the giant winged beast flying overhead. Instead, their attention was drawn to the empty stage, with their cheers hollering for it to be filled.

Their prayers were answered when the MC came screaming in, immediately igniting roars of excitement from the crowd. "How's everyone doing tonight?!" He was answered with a roaring applause accompanied by whistles and cheers. "Alright! Love that energy! But I hope you've got some saved up, because the wait is over! It's time to welcome to the stage our star performer of the night! She's come all the way from Japan to grace us with her presence. Everyone...let's give it up for NANO!!!"

The crowd exploded with cheers as a white wolf wearing a white hoodie came running out onto the stage. She waved to everyone as she took the MC's mic as well as his place on the stage. "Hello New YOOOOOOOOOORK!" Despite how impossible it seemed, Nano's shout seemed to further energize the crowd, their cheers becoming even louder than before. "I hope you've been having a great time so far! Tonight, I'll be singing a song that's very near and dear to my heart..."

As the crowd fell silent, the lights grew dim, remaining bright only on the singer on stage. The first thing to break the silence was a lone guitarist, plucking at their strings one note at a time. As the melody picked up, Nano brought the mic up to her muzzle and breathed out, "I look across the raging war and feel the steady beating of my heart. Arashi no mae no shizu kesa ni. Yaiba wo furu woroshiteikunda!"

The other instruments followed in an explosive crescendo of drumbeats, piano notes and guitar riffs that just barely drowned out the mighty roar of Felicia's motorcycle. She raced past the raving crowd in a spotted blur, the cheetah print of her bike glistening from the lights onstage. Her eyes were locked on the flying beast overhead, one that was very steadily descending. "Time to bring you back down, Dragonov!"

The question now was how. She rapidly scanned her surroundings, and among the amused shrieks of the attraction-riding furs she found her answer. She revved her engines and sped towards the nearby pendulum ride. She leaned back and yanked at the handlebars of her bike to launch her and her vehicle over the guard rails, landing on the neck of the pendulum which was swinging upwards and aiming her right at her target.

Her speed and momentum took care of the rest by launching her right at Dragonov. When the distance was closed between them, Felicia hastened the armored bat's descent to the ground with a harsh kick to the shoulder. He crashed right onto a large open stage, filling it with a large cloud of smoke. Startled furs who heard the commotion looked over to see Dragonov emerge back in his bear form. Only seconds later did Felicia land on the other end of the stage, screeching to a halt and quickly dismounting her ride.

Dragonov was upon her as soon as she turned around. She barely managed to clash her claws against his and delivered a firm kick to his gut before he could follow up with a second swing. Felicia rushed after him in his stumble and was swatted away with a powerful backhand, sending her sprawling across the stage. Felicia raked her claws across the floor to halt her momentum and landed on all fours. Dragonov kept after her with a ruthless rush of swings, each one threatening to either throw her off balance or throw her into the air altogether.

Sparks littered the stage as his claws raked against her gauntlets and nearly knocked her off the edge. He tried to finish the job by deadly bearhug, but Felicia took that opportunity to strike him square in the chest and fling him backwards. The tigress stood with her shoulders heaving as the armored ursine fell onto his back. "Alright, if I can't overpower you..." One paw went for her necklace whilst the other went for her belt. Without warning, Dragonov leapt up and lashed out, forcing her to block his swing with an arm. "Then I'll just have to outNUMBER YOU!" With her free paw, she jammed the new vial into her belt.

D-N-ACCESS: WOLF!

Dragonov was knocked aside by large hexagonal plates that erupted from her armor, allowing her to grip her DNActuator and pull the trigger.

GO WILD!

RAID WOLF!!!

Another ring of black scales raced across her body, exchanging the stripes of her suit with a gray pelt. The armor of her gauntlets was taken away and moved down to her thighs, her long hair transformed into a mane around her neck, and the striking green eyes over her now canine muzzle became a golden yellow. But keeping his eyes on her was a mistake, Dragonov found, as he suddenly felt a set of claws rake across his back. He staggered backwards and reached back, flinging another Felicia off himself. That's when a third joined the fray to pounce on him from the side. The other two attacked from all sides while he was occupied with the third, forcing him towards the end of the stage bit by bit.

The last one flung herself off the large ursine with a powerful kick that launched him off. She landed on all fours center stage, where she was startled by a sudden roaring applause. She glanced to the side to meet the gaze of her surprise audience over in the seats. She offered them all a sheepish wave before running off to rejoin the fight.

Felicia's pack mates leapt off Dragonov as he crashed through a set of gates and stumbled out onto a racetrack. He tried to close in on one of them to attack, only for a go kart to come racing between them. That momentary hesitation allowed one of the pack mates to close in and strike, quickly followed up by the second.

R-N-ASSAY!

GECKO!

R-N-ASSIMILATION!

Felicia ran onto the racetrack in time to see her pack mates leap off Dragonov's protective cocoon as it began to peel back. With his legs still fully cocooned, Felicia took that chance to close in and leap, slashing at his now exposed arm. She landed behind him on all fours, and soon after something landed beside her. She ignored it to sooner face Dragonov, only to be met with a sickening sight. One of his arms was missing. Felicia looked down to see that what had landed beside her was his missing arm.

"Oh my god," she gasped, "Doctor, you're going to be okay--" She was cut off by a swift swipe against her face. She sprawled across the road before a swarm of go karts came racing by. She was forced to wait for them to pass as she saw Dragonov's missing arm rapidly regenerate. His brown pelt had been replaced by a spotted, leopard-like print. He had a fat tail waving around behind him, and his muzzle had taken on a more reptilian shape. He held up his regenerated arm like a prize, flaunting it and flexing it curiously.

"Don't worry, Felicia; I think I'm feeling better already," he laughed, holding both arms out in invitation, "Come and see for yourself!" With the last of the go karts racing past, Felicia picked herself up and went in for the attack alongside her packmates. They swung and slashed with reckless abandon, but whatever damage they left was swiftly recovered in a matter of seconds. A go kart forced her to retreat, allowing Dragonov to go on the offensive.

She was struck again and again, his attacks swifter and less sloppy than those of his previous form. All attempts from her pack mates to stop him were thwarted by his rapid regeneration, and as such, he was free to do as he pleased. And he was very pleased to throw Felicia into the air with a swift swing of his tail.

She sailed clean over the gates of the racetrack and landed onto a neighboring dirt track. Some dirt bikers zoomed past her before Dragonov leapt over the gate as well, her pack mates' faces in his grasp. He slammed them into the ground, where they fell limp and disintegrated into nothingness. He set his eyes on Felicia herself before another dirt biker raced past.

D-N-ACCESS: CHEETAH!

"If a numbers game can't do the trick," Felicia pulled the trigger as she leapt out of the way of Dragonov's dive.

GO WILD!

RUSHING CHEETAH!!!

"Then speed should!" Felicia's shin armor melted away as her muzzle and tail regained their feline shapes. Her gray pelt became covered in triangle spots, and her mane was replaced with a long warrior-stripe ponytail. All it took was Dragonov to blink for him to lose sight of her. He only managed to spot her again when she came from the side and swiped her claws across his shoulder. She zoomed by again and again, running literal circles around him as she assaulted him from all sides.

He tried to retaliate, but by the time he'd made his swing, she was long gone. She was practically bouncing all over the place, only ever stopping when a dirt biker raced by. She was landing so many hits on him that she was outpacing Dragonov's regeneration. Realizing this put him on a hasty retreat, scrambling away as fast as he could. They both raced up a dirt hill with bikers zooming past them and keeping them separated from each other.

R-N-ASSAY!

BAT!

R-N-ASSIMILATION!

Right as they hit the peak of the hill, Dragonov spread his wings and took flight with a powerful flap. Felicia tried to leap after him, but her jump barely took her off the ground. She ended up rolling down the rest of the hill as the armored bat went higher and higher into the sky. Not one to relent, Felicia took off running as soon as she reached the bottom, weaving through the racing bikers and dashing past the cones guiding their way. She kept her eyes locked on Dragonov as he shot through the air.

"You'll chase me down to the heavens themselves if you could, won't you?!" he hissed.

"Whatever it takes to bring you back down to Earth!" she roared back, weaving through the hordes of confused spectators.

"Then it's time I lost you in the depths of hell..." Dragonov set his eyes on a false lake in the middle of the park. With one final clap of his wings, he turned himself into a live missile and dove straight into the water.

R-N-ASSAY!

JELLYFISH!

R-N-ASSIMILATION!

Seeing him disappear into the water, Felicia snatched a vial off her necklace and swapped it in. She raced up the handicap walkway and leapt over the railing, pulling the trigger right as she hit the water.

GO WILD!

HUNTING SHARK!!!

In an instant, her spotted pelt was replaced with a tough scale hide. Her gauntlets returned, her tail grew massive and finned. Her muzzle morphed to take on a more streamline shape, and a short dorsal fin formed atop her head. Her bloodred eyes quickly spotted Dragonov in the distance, his membranous, tentacled form glistening from the lights coming from above. The armored shark barreled towards him without even an ounce of hesitation.

She crashed into him with a tremendous amount of force and dug her jaws into his gelatinous torso. Dragonov's tentacles closed in all at once and coiled around his ravenous attacker. And yet, even with thousands of stingers being unleashed on her at a time, Felicia kept attacking him with the same vigor as before. She even tore the offending tenacles into ribbons. That's when he realized that his stingers were being stopped by Felicia's tough hide.

With him still clenched in her jaws, Felicia raced towards the water's surface and flung him upwards, throwing him clean out of the water with a swift swipe of her powerful tail. The giant jellyfish ended up crashing onto a giant stage set in the middle of the lake, immediately converting back to his bear form upon landing. Felicia followed soon after, landing cleanly on her feet in her tiger form.

"It's over, Dragonov!" she shouted to him as he clawed to his feet, "You can't beat me at my own game! Just give yourself up so we can end this peacefully!"

"NO!" he roared, slamming his claws against the concrete, "Not now! Not after I've come so far!" Felicia was taken aback. As he held up the DNActuator in his claws, she could hear him...crying. "My perfect species...my ideal future...it's just within my grasp. I will NOT let it slip through my fingers. Not again!" He suddenly jammed the nozzle against his arm. He roared out as he pulled the trigger. "NEVER AGAIN!"

D-N-ANALYZE

"WAIT DON'T DO IT!" Felicia's shout came too late as Dragonov jammed the nozzle into his belt and struck the side of his buckle.

DRAGON!

R-N-ACCUMULATION!

His bellowing roar melted into a wail of agony. He doubled over as he felt his insides violently churn. Sharp black shards jutted out of the ground and closed around him like giant jaws to form a crude cocoon, which jolted and jerked as Dragonov thrashed about from within. Eventually, his prison could no longer hold him, and from it emerged a pair of giant black wings. When they clapped together, the rest of the cocoon exploded into shards that Felicia hastily shielded her face from. Once she lowered her arms, she laid her eyes upon Dragonov, who now hung over her like a black-winged angel.

Black-scale armor now covered his entire lower half. A long and slender reptilian tail trailed down from his hips. Nearly as long as the appendage were the two scarves that hung from his robe, all of which were decorated in a purple DNA-helix pattern. He thrust his massive claws out to the side and threw his head back, bellowing out a vicious roar from his draconic maw.

He let his arms drop as the last of his roar left his throat. With his shoulders heaving, he lifted his claws back up and examined his new form. He then gazed down upon the denizens of the park. With hundreds upon hundreds of eyes upon him, he held out his arms and roared, "People of the bygone era, behold your next step in evolution! Your next step towards PERFECTION!" He clapped his wings and swept down on Felicia, who barely managed to shield herself in time. His claws clashed against her gauntlets and nearly threw her off balance. She ducked and dove frantically through Dragonov's relentless onslaught. "Through the power of science, I'm going to pave the way through the incurable to grant you all life's FINAL STAGE OF EVOLUTION! With it will come prosperity and GONE will be the days of fear and uncertainty! I will be the one to guide the world into a new era! A NEW AGE!"

Felicia dug her claws into the ground to avoid being flung off the stage. She crossed her arms in front of her as she prepared herself for Dragonov's next incoming attack. "Dragonov! You're not saying what I think you're saying, are you?!" She cried out as she was knocked off her feet again. She rolled onto all fours and dove out of the way from Dragonov's furious dive. "Do you plan on turning EVERYONE into this 'perfect species' of yours?!"

Dragonov came back around narrowly missing Felicia's head, instead digging deep into the stage with his claws. "How else am I to test for perfection, Felicia?! In exchange for results, I grant the people of this era their next evolution!" The dragon swept in again, this time coming low and racing towards her head on. Felicia flexed her leg muscles and leapt as high as she can. His claws grazed her chest armor as the rest of her cleared over him by the slightest margin. Once she landed, the DNActuator was out of her belt and in her claws. She pressed its nozzle against her arm and pulled the trigger.

D-N-ANALYZE

"I can't let you do this, Dragonov!" she snarled, "You're trying to take our work a step FAR BEYOND the scope of what we were trying to accomplish!" Dragonov swept back around and landed in front of her to assault her with another flurry of furious swings. Felicia went on the defensive, using her gauntlets to take the brunt of the blows.

"Then just TRY and stop me!" Dragonov whirled around and bashed his tail against Felicia's side, flinging her right onto the edge of the stage. She grit her teeth as she clawed to her feet, and as she rose, she plunged her DNActuator back into her belt.

D-N-ACCESS: WILD!

"I WILL!" she shouted back, "Because you need to realize that you're traveling a path that doesn't need to be traveled! There's only one way to make that happen now; by defeating your 'perfect species' HERE AND NOW!" At that, she pulled the trigger once more.

GO WILD!

APEX SERGAL!!!

Felicia crossed her arms in front of her as the ring of scales swept over her form for the final time. She kept her stripes and kept her armor, but this time, she also kept the spots of her cheetah form on her legs, the ears of her wolf form, and the muzzle of her shark form. She lashed her thick and muscular tail against the stage with a loud thwap and threw her head back to let out a mighty roar. Dragonov took that as a challenge to take to the skies and swoop in. As he reeled his arms back to strike, Felicia bounded forward and SLAMMED her tail against the ground. The resulting force flung her straight into the air, catching the armored dragon by surprise.

She landed right on top of him and clamped her claws around his face. Dragonov flailed and twisted in the air as he desperately tried to throw her off. But not only did she stubbornly cling on, she yanked him off course and crashed him back onto the mainland. The crowd of onlookers scrambled like ants upon their crashlanding. The resulting dust cloud was cast aside from Dragonov taking to the skies once more, with Felicia chasing after him on foot. He swept down on her from above, and she leapt up to meet him and clash claws mid-air.

Felicia landed on all fours, weaving her way through the crowds, and trying to direct them away from the fight. The two of them went on a vicious back and forth as they raced all across the amusement park. Dragonov dove down from above, and Felicia leapt off various buildings and objects to reach him from below.

She leapt onto the railing of a waiting line and bounded off it to swipe at Dragonov. The armored dragon swung back with his tail and knocked her back down to the ground. She nearly crashed through the crowd, only stopped by the very railing she'd leapt off of. The railing itself caved in as Dragonov swept down and rammed his body weight against her. She bared her teeth as she struggled to hold him back whilst the furs behind her scrambled to get out of the line.

"Why do you reject perfection?!" he snarled, "Do you despise the idea of ridding the world of debilitating flaws?!"

"Far from it!" she snapped back, putting all of her strength into forcing him backwards, "I'm rejecting your 'perfection' because perfection is NOT what you're offering!" Her tail swept in from below and swatted him across the face. The stars that flashed in his eyes blinded him long enough for her to slip behind him and hurl him back into the air. "Your plan may offer all of the physical strength in the world, but it lacks the greatest strength life has ever had to offer!" Her tail slammed against the ground and launched her into the air. Joining her fists together and reeling back, Felicia shouted at the top of her lungs, "The strength of DIVERSITY!"

She swung her fists down onto Dragonov with the force of a freight train, sending him careening through a carnival game booth. It's players and its attendant scrambled away as he made a staggered return to the sky. Felicia leapt off the remains of the booth to swing at him again. "It allows life to change and adapt to any situation in a world constantly changing!"

But Dragonov swatted her back down with his tail and dove down after her, blowing the still fleeing crowd off their feet with a gust of wind as he assaulted her with a rush of blows. "But even among those changes, there has ALWAYS been a universal constant; it's the strong that are allowed to survive!" Food went flying everywhere once Felicia crashed through the umbrella of a cafeteria table. She clawed her way out of the wreckage and weaved through the other tables with the armored dragon hot on her tail. "I aim to CHANGE that constant by giving the world the strength necessary to survive! That's why EVERYONE must change, so we can ALL survive!"

Right before his next swing, Felicia grabbed an umbrella with her tail and hurled it right at his face. He slashed it to bits and flew in closer to strike back at her, only to find that she was gone. But it didn't take long for him to find out where she was. She made her presence known when she leapt onto his back and started clawing away. "By limiting ourselves to one strength?! In the modern world, what more does physical strength have to offer?!"

Dragonov twisted and turned as he soared higher and higher into the sky. The winds bore down on Felicia and forced her to cling on for dear life. "For those who lack that strength to begin with," Dragonov's claws clamped onto her arm, "EVERYTHING!" With a twist and a deafening roar, he yanked her off his back and hurled her across the sky. She was helpless to stop him from rocketing forward and ramming his shoulder into her face.

Her sergal form crumbled to bits upon impact, leaving behind her tiger form in its place. Next thing she knew, she was rammed into again by a fast-moving object. She immediately clung onto it to avoid being punted through the air like a living tennis ball. A mass number of screams suddenly assaulted her ears, and when she finally got her bearings, she looked up to meet the terrified faces of a group of screaming furs. She glanced down and realized she was clinging onto a rollercoaster car, one that was currently racing across its tracks at blinding speeds.

One of the furs pointed behind her and the second she turned around, Dragonov's claws were coming right at her face. She immediately parried it and swung back hard enough to fend the dragon off. He kept coming at her as the car carried her and its other riders up and down its long and twisting tracks. "Dragonov! I won't ever pretend like I fully understand the struggles you went through!" She grit her teeth and swung both fists as hard as she could, knocking him back hard enough to force his retreat. "And I will never say that taking away such kinds of disabilities when we're capable of it is the wrong thing to do! But for as much as your disability took away, I want you to remember that it gave you one incredible strength you've lost sight of! The strength of your MIND!"

Felicia dug her claws deeper into the car as it took them through a mad spiral. The centripetal force it produced allowed her to remain planted on the car and attack Dragonov from all angles. "Your sheer willpower and determination; all of that came from your drive to overcome such insurmountable odds! It's the strength that allowed you to adapt and has carried you to continue living to this day! It's a strength that came from the very diversity you spawned from!"

Dragonov emerged from the spiral with a furious roar. He circled back around and assaulted her with everything he had, hoping to knock her off the car then and there. "Even so, my survival was by chance! There's no guarantee that others will be so lucky!" He was suddenly forced to retreat as the car was thrown into an enormous loop. His eyes traced the rest of the track and saw that it led to an incredibly tall hill. He headed straight for its peak and waited with claws widespread for her to reach him. "There's only one path that ensures that everyone reaches the dawn of a new age free of the incurable; MY PATH!"

Felicia grit her teeth as an overwhelming amount of centripetal force bore down on her and forced her onto her knees. "And that's where you're wrong! As much as I believe in your dream, you misunderstand one incredibly important detail! Same as how evolution isn't a ladder, the path to the New Age isn't a single road!" Mustering every ounce of strength her body and mind had to offer, she lifted her arm against the gravitational forces holding her down. "It's a BRANCHING PATHWAY!" She then struck the left side of her belt.

BRAVE DAWN BREAKER!!!

From her chest erupted a pair of spiraling DNA strands. They raced down the rest of the tracks and headed straight for where Dragonov was waiting for her. He saw them coming from a mile away and flew backwards, escaping its reach. But just when he thought he was safe, the strands split down the middle and branched off from one another. Dragonov hastily slashed one apart, but that resulted in that branching off into two more. The armored dragon flew higher and higher as the strands branched off again and again until they formed a giant tree atop the peak of the rollercoaster.

One of the branches managed to snag onto his heel, and instantly, all the other branches began to collapse in on one another, coiling around him and trapping him in place. That's when the armored tigress finally exited the loop and raced up the towering incline. Right as they reached its peak, Felicia leapt off the car and rocketed forward with a mighty roar, kicking her foot forward and driving it down the middle of the spiraling strands. She plowed her foot through Dragonov's chest, and with the air itself seeming to crack, his body erupted into a wild explosion.

Felicia landed back on the ground cleanly on her feet, and shortly after, Dragonov landed beside her. The last of his armor fizzled away before leaving him entirely, leaving him as a black and white dragon. The furs that had been watching began to clap, unaware that what they'd seen hadn't been a performance. They began to disperse and go about their day, and with them gone, Felicia saw Goto standing not too far away with a pair of police officers following behind.

Before they got any closer, the tigress halted them with a held-out paw. She then went to join Dragonov's side and knelt beside him. The dragon laid there in defeat, staring up at the sky with a blank, stoic expression. "So this is it, then," he sighed in resignation, "I'm going to be forced back into my crumbling husk of a body."

"Dragonov--"

"I don't want to hear it," he snapped, cutting her off. He grit his teeth and closed his eyes, turning his head to expose his neck. "Just...get it over with." Felicia sighed, shaking her head. After prying the DNAnalyzer off his waist, she took his DNActuator and reached down to pick up a vial. After loading it inside, she gently pressed the nozzle against his scales and pulled the trigger. A single tear managed to trickle down Dragonov's cheek before a ring of black scales raced across his body and encased him in a thin membrane. Felicia stood back up and stepped back to watch his body morph from within the black confines.

When his eyes opened again, the first thing he saw was Felicia's outstretched paw. He scowled. "Are you trying to mock me? How am I to..." But he quickly trailed off. He'd held up his paw in his anger, and in doing so he noticed the color of fur covering it. Felicia took that chance to grasp it before pulling the bear up to his feet to stand beside her. "...Why?"

Felicia let go of his paw. "I'm not putting you back in that chair, not after you fought so hard to get out of it." She then removed the DNActuator from her belt and closed her buckle, casting away her armor. "Doctor, I chose to become a scientist so that I could help people in need. The people like you, and the people like those around us." Dragonov's eyes drifted towards the furs enjoying their time at the amusement park. "I know at the end of the day, you wanted to do the same. I want to reach the new age as much as you do, believe me. But I don't want to reach it by sacrificing those who live in this age. They're not test subjects, they're not stepping stools, they're the very same people we're trying to help.

"Someone told me a long time ago to stay in the moment, because the here and now is beautiful. It's worth cherishing, not just something to overlook in favor of what's to come." She planted a paw on his shoulder. "I'm going to keep fighting for the future, Doctor, but I'm not going to lose sight of the people I'm fighting for."

Dragonov's head fell. Despite the tears trailing down his cheeks, he couldn't help but smile. "I know you will, because he would do the same..." With a heavy heart, but a smile of her own, Felicia turned back to Goto and the police officers and nodded. The bear put up no fight as they cuffed his wrists behind his back. The German Shepard joined her side as the officers took Dragonov away.

"W-wait, Doctor!" Felicia suddenly shouted. The officers stopped, but Dragonov did not turn to face her. Thus, he couldn't see the warm smile on her face as she said, "Let me know when you're out. I still want to see you again so that we can continue our internship."

The bear couldn't help but laugh, even as he choked on his own tears. He shook his head and sighed, "I will. I promise."

***

The sun was now setting on the amusement park, the chaos that had transpired within it forgotten. The furs that had been none-the-wiser to the events were on their way home now. Goto and Felicia stood at the entrance, the latter of the two mounting her bike. "I'm glad you're all alright," Alpha's voice rang from the tablet Goto held up for Felicia, "and I'm glad no one else was seriously hurt. But how are you? Mentally, that is."

Felicia sighed drumming her fingers on her helmet. "I think I'm alright, and I think Dragonov is too. At the very least, I think I was able to bring him some bit of peace. All I can hope for now is that my words got through to him."

"I'm sure they did," came NexUs' voice, "Same as when your words got through to all of us."

She held up Dragonov's DNActuator. "His words definitely got through to me, though. He's given me a lot to think about, especially in regard to what science has to offer. If we're going to change the world of genetics with this, we need to think carefully on what that means for the future..."

"Well, whatever it is you think, I'm sure you'll do great things with it," came the voice of Felicia's mother, "Me and your father are so proud of you for what you've been pursuing, both as a student..."

"And as a Rider," Erika finished for her, "You did good, kid. It's comforting to know that we've got another one of us on the other side of the pond." With everyone saying their goodbyes, Goto closed the tablet and stashed it away alongside Dragonov's DNActuator.

"So, you're really not gonna ride with me?" Felicia said with a smirk. The canine simply nodded in response, motioning towards the limo parked nearby. "Oh come on. You don't wanna at least see what it's like for me to give you a ride for once?" All Goto did in response was nod towards the pendulum ride back in the amusement park. The tigress flashed him another smirk before putting on her helmet. "You're no fun. Drive safe, I'll see you at home."

With Goto taking his leave, Felicia revved her bike to life. The engine let out a roar as she rode off into the distance, following the sun as it disappeared over the horizon.