Lions and Chimps and Bears...

A Fox Serum Story by grapehyacinth

“Happy Birthday to you!” everyone cried, and a birthday cake was set down in front of eighteen-year-old Tonya Grant. She blew out the candles, the cake was taken away to be cut, and her mother placed a plain paper bag before her.

“There it is!” Tonya squeaked, opening up the bag and drawing out a glass vial.

“Happy Legal-to-use-Fox-Serum day!” smiled her father.

From behind the circle of teens, her friend Miriam yelled, “What kind of animal is it for, Tonya?” Miriam, with her auburn hair, was often mistaken as being Tonya's sister. Tonya and her mother Lisa had a very similar shade, albeit with greenish eyes instead of Miriam's hazel.

“Lion, I hope?” Tonya twisted the vial in her hands to see the sticker, which read “Lion Transformation Serum: caution, not for users under age eighteen”.

It was just what she wanted! She began to laugh, almost in relief. This would not be her first time trying the transformation serum. By accident, she had taken some of her mother's canine one, and had become a puppy for a week. It hadn't seemed to effect her adversely any way, and she wondered why the law had made it illegal for underage teens to use. Perhaps the government worried about the effect it would have on growing bodies? Who knew? But it had been amazing, and she couldn't wait to try it again.

Her mother then handed her a brochure. “What's this?” Tonya asked, perusing it quickly. She read the title aloud: “'Serum Central: a place for first time and inexperienced Fox Serum users'.” “You're sending me to the 'Farm'?”

“You know it's not a farm. It's a place for someone like you who's not experienced in transforming. If you want, they can even guide you through it, which you probably don't need, since you've done it once. But it's also a safe place to turn into dangerous things.”

“Why can't I do it here?”

“Tonya,” Lisa replied gently, taking the brochure from her hand. “You'll be a lion. You might tear up the house, there's nowhere to run, and when you feel the lion urges, well, we don't want you killing us.”

“I know what it's like to be transformed. I won't kill you.”

“You were a puppy. Not a predator,” responded Lisa, and Tonya knew that was the final word.

As her parents drove her to Serum Central, Tonya was slightly heartened by the fact that her friend Miriam would be there as well. Miriam had been given a chimp serum for her own birthday, and her parents preferred her to use it at Serum Central so she would be able to climb and enjoy her new form to the fullest. And having a friend to change with on the first time wasn't so bad either.

When they reached the front gate, Miriam was already there with her parents. She ran to Tonya before she had even emerged from the car and started banging on the window. “Hurry up, Tonya! I can't wait! It's going to be so awesome!”

Tonya got out, followed by her mother and father. They walked over to Miriam's parents and began to chat, but Miriam had no patience for trifles. “Can we go in, Mom?”

“Don't you even want to say good-bye? We won't see you for a week!” her mother exclaimed.

Embracing both parents, Miriam cried, “Thanks again. I'll send pictures!”

Miriam's mother smirked at Lisa. “Ah, first timers.”

“Bye, Mom and Dad!” Tonya said, giving her parents each a quick hug, and then, with backpacks in hand, the two girls ran through the gate.

They stopped at the 'check-in' area and presented their tickets. “Let me inspect your serums, please?” said the lady behind the counter. Each girl handed their vials to the woman, who examined them and then returned them. “You're good to go! First door on your left! Enjoy your transformations!”

Miriam was so excited, she could barely grasp the doorknob, so Tonya did it for her. They entered a small office where a woman sat at a desk. “Welcome to Serum Central. I'm Shelly, and I'm here to be your guide.” She looked at her computer. “Tonya, you're going to be a lion, and Miriam's going to be a chimpanzee?”

Miriam nodded vigorously. “Yes...oh, gosh...yes... and I can't wait!”

“Can we stay together?” Tonya asked, her voice a bit more sedate than her friend's.

The woman clicked at her keyboard. “Yes, I see that was requested. Well, you most definitely can transform together. Tonya, being a large predator as yourself, it's possible the hunting urge might make you strike out at your friend here. We can try you two out together, but make sure you stay well fed. If you get too hungry, you might cause problems.”

“She'd never hurt me,” Miriam tossed out.

But Tonya knew very well, having been a puppy, that she would gain animal instincts, in this case, a lion's. And the instincts might be hard to fight the longer she stayed in that form. “Just keep an eye on me, okay? I really don't want to hurt anyone.”

“The cameras are on you twenty-four seven, and they're always manned. We can always pull you out of the enclosure or sedate you if we need to, Tonya.”

Although this did not sound very fun, Tonya nodded.

Pulling her vial from her backpack once more, Miriam burst out, “Okay, can we turn into animals now?”

Shelly smiled. “One more thing.”

Shelly led them to a large glass dome, which was one of several clustered together. This particular structure was the biggest and tallest, easily the size of several football fields. “This is the large animal enclosure. Yes, we have a limit to how many of you can be in here at a time so we don't have to go in and constantly break up fights. Believe it or not, transformed people can get pretty territorial if they're animals long enough! But try to make friends with your fellow enclosure-mates, and if someone gets nasty, just get away from them. Come on in!”

They entered through a very tall, wide door. Inside was remarkably similar to Mission Replenish's Zoo, which both Tonya and Miriam had visited many times. The zoo was entirely filled with people transformed into animals, usually endangered, and now they even had a part with extinct animals, called Prehistoric Park. It was fantastic what the Fox Serum could do!

Serum Central's layout was just as beautiful as the zoo. Thick trees grew under the dome, and the underbrush was lush and jungle-like below. Birds fluttered through the treetops, and butterflies and insects flew by. A large tortoise sat beside a deep pool which contained a very large shark.

“No fish?” Tonya asked, laughing as the shark bobbed up and winked at them.

“Well, there are some in there, but they're real fish. We can't put transformed people in there because Bobby will eat them. Actually, many of the large animals here would eat them.”

Shelly directed her voice towards the trees. “Can you guys come out? I have two new people to introduce here.”

With some growls and groans, the woods parted in several places. A giraffe stuck its head out from the branches it was munching on. “That's Mara. She's been here two weeks. She loved her first day so much, she begged for a longer serum.” Mara tilted her head at them, then went back to munching leaves.

“Awesome!” giggled Miriam.

“The rhino over there is Ted, and beside him, the hippo, is his girlfriend Canna. The bear over there is Jose. Toby is the tortoise, the elephant is Katie...um...oh, the python over there on the tree is Meg. Sorry, didn't see you there, Meg.”

Meg stuck her forked tongue out and then slithered further down the branch.

“There are a few birds and bugs flying around. There's Sima, Mike, Greg, Pina, MacKenzie...a bunch of them. Guys, this is Miriam and Tonya. Miriam will be a chimp, and Tonya a lion.”

The animals that could wave did, then they went back to what they were doing.

“See you soon!” Miriam yelled back at them.

They stood in the Changing Room in front of an enormous mirror.

“I feel weird undressing in front of you,” uttered Tonya, tugging half-heartedly at her shirt.

“Oh, Tonya, you're a wuss. Our clothes will get destroyed if we don't!”

“We can wait a bit, can't we?” Tonya whimpered.

“Fine, fine.”

“Thanks.” Tonya picked up her vial. “You ready?”

“Wait!” Miriam picked up her phone and started to text.

“What are you doing? Seriously, Miriam?”

“Lizzie and Taylor are dying to hear what it's like! I promised ongoing texts and pictures to everyone!”

And she began to type. 'I'M ABOUT TO TAKE IT! SO EXCITED!!!!!! '

Tonya shook her head. First timers...

Miriam placed the phone down on the floor and retrieved her own vial. “Ready?”

Both girls removed the corks and held them to their mouths. “One, two, three!” They gulped down the serum, and Miriam fetched her phone back up.

'I DID IT! I DRANK IT! I CAN'T WAIT TO TURN INTO A CHIMP!!!!!!!!!'

The girls stood there for a moment, Tonya with a little smile, Miriam staring at her body impatiently. “Nothing's happening! I heard it feels awesome, they have drugs in it that makes it feel really nice instead of painful...Oh....my....GOD!” The girl buckled over, her eyes nearly rolling back in her head. “Now it's starting! It's like...amazing! Oh my God, Tonya!”

The pleasure began to course through Tonya's own body, and this time, unlike when she had accidentally ingested the serum, she intended to enjoy the changes to the fullest. The drugs were running through her, sending a delicious warm bliss that was already changing her body on a molecular level, and she groaned contentedly.

For a few minutes, Miriam could not do anything but moan and giggle. She fell to the floor and started to roll back and forth in ecstasy. Tonya found it fascinating how differently the serum drugs affected people. Yes, she was almost speechless from the wonderful feelings spreading through her body, but Miriam seemed almost in another world. Maybe the first time was like that? Who knew? Tonya had been so scared when she had taken it the first time that she had probably missed out on a lot.

“I gotta text...I gotta text...” Miriam mumbled, fumbling for her phone. Her hand met with it, and she fished it over. Still rocking, she began to type with a shaking finger: 'YOU GUYS WON'T BELIEVE HOW GOOD IT FEELS. IT'S LIKE...RUNNING ALL THROUGH ME...TINGLY...'

She threw down the phone and hugged her hands against her chest. “Isn't it awesome, Tonya?”

Tonya smiled, inhaling the air. It had never smelled so fresh, so full of various scents, all of which she was swiftly becoming able to identify. “Your fur is starting up,” she pointed out to her friend.

“What?” Miriam screamed in elation. She ran her hand down her bare arm, and Tonya did the same to herself.

“Mine's coming in too.” Tonya watched in fascination as reddish-brown hair sprouted all over her body. She focused on how it felt- almost a prickly sensation as it pushed through her skin, and then an itchiness as it grew longer. Her hands were just beginning to shift, and she could feel a general tightness throughout her body. When she heard the seam give on her pants, she knew it was time to disrobe. “Oh, gosh...the clothes... I need these off!” Shoes and socks were shed, quickly followed by pants and shirt.

Now Miriam was sporting short, brown fur over her most of her body except her face. 'I'M GETTING HAIRY!' she texted, then turned the camera towards herself. “Selfie time! They can see furry me!” She snapped a picture, looking up at Tonya. “Hey? Did I start to shrink already?” Her clothes were quite baggy, and her pants suddenly slid down her legs to the ground.

“I think you might have,” Tonya chuckled, but she did not want her friend to keep her from focusing on her own changes. She wanted to experience every small bit. Just like when she'd become a puppy, she could already see her fingers fusing, but this time the nails did not darken. Instead they thinned and elongated, growing into a needle-sharp point. Her feet, shrinking, did the same. She held up her foot, which was darkening on the bottom. This time she wouldn't miss her paw pads coming in. She really wanted to see the whole process occur.

“Oh, God...I feel so good...” Miriam gasped, hitting the 'send' button to deliver her picture. She shook one foot, then the other. “I so need these OFF!” She tossed her shoes and socks to the side, displaying feet that were more hand-like than foot-like. “My God! I bet I could text with these! I'll have to... Oh, I need everything off!” She removed every last bit of her clothing, not even checking to see what was covered and what wasn't. “Hey...my hair...” Her long auburn tresses were shortening and turning the brown of her fur. “Awesome!” 'MY HAIR IS BECOMING FUR!' She snapped a shot of her head which now was just as furry as the rest of her had become. “Send!” she yelled in glee. “Oh! I think I got shorter again!”

Tonya had noticed a slight dip in her height as well. She was looking forward to that last push were her body was forced onto all fours. Her legs had thinned and shortened to the same size as her arms, and she watched her ears travel up her furry head and grow leonine.

“Your ears! Let me take a picture of you! You're getting so cute!” Miriam clicked a picture before her friend could react. “I'll send it to you when we're back home.”

Moaning slightly, Tonya could feel the sensation of her tail coming in. First was a pressure in her lower spine, which was in no way painful. Then she could feel it pushing out, growing and lengthening, and she was gaining feeling in it, now she could move it...She grinned and batted at it with her hand, which was more of a paw now. It most definitely had the imprint of a paw pad, so she grabbed up her foot to observe its changes. With a small pop, the dark outline on her sole pushed out of her foot and inflated into a perfect leonine pad. It wasn't a cute one like a cat or dog. It was...big. Just like she'd be.

“Oh my God! Now I'm really shrinking!” Miriam giggled in delight. She placed the phone on the floor, and amazingly accurately, she typed 'SHRINKING FAST. BYE, HUMANITY' with her chimp-toes. Leaning down towards her phone, using her toe, she clicked her last picture, an odd half-woman, half-chimp image. By now, her face was mostly the pinched, bare face and round dark eyes of a chimpanzee. But she was not quite chimp height or ape-figured yet. She kicked the phone away, beginning not to care about her texts and photos. This was so amazing, and she was feeling so...animal-like...Who really cared about what Taylor and the rest of them thought? She wanted to feel the changes!

Tonya grabbed at her own face with her front paws. Her teeth were swiftly growing long and sharp. She could feel her very skull molding itself into a lion's. Her body was transforming on the inside as well – organs, blood vessels – shifting and changing...Even her private parts were re-arranging, which, she had to admit, was dosing her with another burst of pleasure.

Miriam began to roll and shudder as the remainder of her transformation concluded. Then she sat back and simply stared at herself in the mirror.

Growling, Tonya fell forward, finally the quadruped she couldn't wait to become. She could see her beautiful cat-like face in the mirror, and as the transformation came to its conclusion with the last pleasurable bursts, she lay at her side, shaking and moaning until she was lion through and through.

At the same time, both animals jumped up in exhilaration. Miriam bounced up and down, shaking her ape-fists and squealing in joy. Tonya began to prowl around, flicking her tail experimentally and growling with excitement. She felt so great in this body! She was strong! She was powerful! She wasn't a measly little puppy!

She was queen of the jungle!

“Done transforming, girls?” Shelly called from outside.

Tonya let out a deafening roar, and Shelly entered the room. “Oh, you girls came out beautifully! See yourselves? Look at you.”

Miriam nodded enthusiastically, accidentally stepping on her camera. She kicked it aside as an afterthought, totally disinterested in it now, but Shelly did not seem to realize this.

“Oh, you want a picture, huh? Get together.” As Shelly picked up the camera, the chimp jumped onto the lion's back. After all, it couldn't hurt. It would be a cute shot.

“Say cheese!”

Click.

As Tonya prowled through the bushes, she watched Miriam swing by overhead. Her friend had become a regular acrobat, thanks to her new ape form. She jumped from branch to vine, squeaking and squealing with happiness. She seemed to be having a wonderful first transformation, and Tonya felt slightly wistful. Yes, being a puppy had been fun once she knew what was going on, but she did wonder what her first time might have been like had she been able to plan for it.

Miriam flew past her face with a chirp, and Tonya swatted at her with a playful growl.

So the past was past. Now, as Tonya sniffed through the bushes, the smell of raw meat met her nose, and her stomach rumbled. Immediately she slunk to the front where Shelly had placed out lunch for all the animals. Without a second thought, Tonya went right to the juicy raw steak. Holding it down with her paw, she ripped at it, shredding it with her sharp canines and swallowing large chunks. How good it tasted! How nice it felt, filling up her furry stomach!

Ignoring the other animals who dined, she paced over to the pool and lapped some water out with her long, pink tongue. Drinking like a cat took some getting used to, but she was mastering it pretty quickly. It was similar to drinking as a puppy.

Bobby the shark popped out at her, waving his fin almost tauntingly. She nipped at him, and he dove back into the water. One of the insects buzzed at her, and she flicked it away with her ear.

Suddenly there was a low growl behind her. She turned around to see Ted, the rhino, glaring at her and slamming his hooves into the earth.

Tonya shrugged, and turned back to drink.

The angry rhino let out an earsplitting roar, and butted its head into Tonya, nearly pushing her into the water. Incensed, Tonya turned to face her attacker. Her lion instincts were beginning to overwhelm her, and she could feel a deep, animal rage. She raced at the rhino, growling and snapping at it. It retreated several feet, then rushed back at her, trying to injure her with its horn.

“Ted! Ted!” they heard from the front of the enclosure. Shelly ran in with another man who carried what appeared to be a tranquilizer gun. “Stop it! There's plenty of room for you both!”

The rhino snorted, and retreated into the woods. “If it happens again, we're putting you in your own enclosure. Without your girlfriend!” Shelly yelled after him.

She patted Tonya on the back. “Sorry, Tonya. Ted's been a rhino for nearly a month. He's more rhino than human. Sometimes he gets like that when he has those deep urges...food, water... There's an example of territoriality there too. You okay?”

Tonya nodded, but her heart was pumping, and for once, she looked forward to being human again. Her next change would be in her own house, and she would choose something relaxing and harmless. Maybe she'd become a houseplant for a week.

With that calming thought and a full belly, she curled up in a sunny patch and went to sleep.

At week's end, Tonya was relieved to see that she was starting to change back. Miriam, on the other hand, grew depressed. She sat in a branch, just watching her beautiful coat fall out in clumps.

“Come on down, Miriam. It's going to be too dangerous for you to be up there soon.” Shelly had entered the enclosure to deliver their backpacks, and she opened them up so the girls could get to their clothes.

Tonya approached her friend. She already was walking on two legs although she was still more leonine than human. Grabbing a baggy sundress as well as she could with her truncated fingers, she threw it over her head. She beckoned to her friend to come down from the tree, offering her hand to her.

Miriam refused. But, her speech was swiftly returning, and she was able to emit a “what is that?”, pointing to Tonya's dress.

Tonya could only make a slurred sound in response.

“Miriam, the branch will break, and you'll get hurt. You can injure yourself, no matter what form you're in.” Finally she and Tonya were able to coax Miriam down as the branch sagged under the very hairy near-human's weight. Miriam slunk over to her bag, pulling out her shirt and dangling it before her with distaste. As she donned the clothes she had entered in, she understood the need for Tonya's baggy dress. The feeling of the fabric against her still-furry skin was maddening, and through the rest of her reverse transformation, she could only curse and scratch at it. Why hadn't Tonya warned her about bringing baggier clothes?

When they were fully human once more, they were brought to the front to wait for their parents to pick them up. “So, what did you think?” asked Tonya.

“Awesome!” Miriam cried. “I just hated turning back! I wanted to stay an animal for more time. You know, next time I'm going to be a...gorilla! No, an elephant! NO! A whale! What do you want to be?”

“A plant,” Tonya groaned, and turned away. She was done with being an animal for a while.