The Days Blur
The next few days were a blur. When you did have some semblance of consciousness, you found yourself in the same room as before. The lights were always out, though, and your body was numb. You could barely hear the murmurs of your captors whenever your eyes opened in the darkness. Your body felt like it was changing, as though it wasn't quite yours anymore at all. Your skin felt prickly and itchy sometimes, and soon you realized why. You heard an unfamiliar woman's voice during your daze one day, and it seemed she was speaking directly to you.
"You're coming along nicely. You should be proud. Not only will you become our first Sabertooth, but also our first gender transition experiment. Your body, your DNA, your nervous system...even your brain all responded very well to our treatment. We have only a few more steps before your ascension to something greater is complete. Until then, my apologies, but you'll be kept in...less than desirable circumstances. Can't have you running around, otherwise the STT drugs might turn your organs to mush. Sit tight, will you? Your new life here at The Arcadia Facility is about to begin."
You were horrified, but you could neither move nor see. You were trapped in your mind, forced to wait until this 'transformation' was completed.
One day you had a bit more clarity and managed to open your eyes. The lights were off, but somehow you could see clearly in the darkness. There were belts around your wrists, ankles, torso and head that kept you from making even the slightest movements, but it felt strangely comfortable. You did not feel the material scraping against your skin, but instead you felt something soft, like a cushion, between the belts and your skin.
...Your skin?
You squinted at one of your hands. Even though it was dark, you could see the outlines of something where your skin should be; it looked like...fur. You squinted a little more and looked at your feet--your skin was covered with fur as well. Why was there fur on your body? Then you remembered what that voice from before had said: you were to be their first Sabertooth.
A Sabertooth Tiger. Was that what they were doing? Not only that...but you swore you heard the words 'gender transition' as well.
You struggled against your bonds through your weakness and delirium, and immediately a red light began to flash as an alarm sounded. A moment later, you heard a mechanical whirring, followed by a prick in your left arm. Your strength faded almost immediately as your consciousness faded once again.
Days had passed before you were finally awake again, but you felt awful. Your mind was even more scrambled now, and your body itched all over. Worse, though, was the terrible sensation you felt in a certain place between your legs. It felt like you had been stabbed, but even worse was that you felt that there was nothing there at all. What had happened over the last few days?
You wanted to speak, to call out--your sanity was mostly gone, and you were desperate. You wanted some kind of release, some kind of hope that this nightmare would end. Whenever you tried to make a sound, a low gurgling growl was all that came out. And then, a voice came over a speaker in a corner of the room.
"Are you prepared? Your transformation is nearly complete, Saber 01. Why don't you take a look at yourself now? You're quite a beautiful tigress, you know."
The lights of the dark room flashed on all at once, burning your eyes after you had become so used to living in the darkness. A mirror came down from the ceiling and it took you a long moment to realize that what you were looking at was indeed your own reflection.
You saw a humanoid face, but your features were catlike. Your face was covered in white fur with black stripes and your ears were pointed upward. You saw two fangs slightly protruding over your bottom lip and your nose was shaped like a tiger's. Your eyes were predatory, aqua blue, and sharp like a cat's.
You didn't believe it.
You blinked and tried to move your body, but you were paralyzed from the neck down.
"It seems that you're just as excited as we are. Don't worry. The next time you wake up, you'll be in the Field. You'll meet other newcats there and be able to start your new life towards greatness. We look forward to seeing you soon, Saber 01."
You growled and gurgled sadly, horrified as the lights flickered off. Again you were put in darkness and your mind was in chaos. Soon, you felt that familiar prick in your arm, and everything went black once again.
Written by Merieth on 16 March 2018