February 13th, 2024

Scarlett

The ship touched down on an abandoned planet in the Farz system as the binary suns were setting in the distance. I was dressed in my cowgirl setup because I felt like it. I was going to leave the ship when Quentin stopped me. “What are you doing on the planet?” he asked as he scrutinized me.

I placed my hands on my hips and said, “It’s a surprise. This is the for the gift I was telling you about. Now then, can you please stay here? Following me will ruin the surprise.” I gave him a kiss before exiting the ship. Looking back, I could see that he didn’t follow. A smile graced my face as I ran towards the nearby abandoned lab.

When I approached the lab, I was greeted by the skeletal remains of several different aliens. From the looks of it, the lab had to be abandoned for over a year. The corpses had fully decomposed to only bones, but the building was in great shape, barring the bloodstains on the floor. The sight make my stomach uneasy, but it wasn't debilitating. It was a sight I was too used to. I could see them since the door was obliterated, leaving it wide open. I walked in, careful not to step on the skeletons that littered the entrance.

The hallways were caked with blood. There were skeletal remains against them. One notable thing about the skeletons was that none of them were Qarri. Despite that, there was too much blood for only these bodies to leave behind. It led me to believe that the Qarri evacuated their dead and did nothing else. Whatever happened here must’ve convinced them that they wanted nothing to do with this place. Nevertheless, I journeyed deeper into the compound.

Having spent my teenage years in slavery and experimentation left me desensitized to these sights. The thoughts of Qarri dying didn’t faze me at all. The alien skeletons left behind only reminded me of what the Qarri were willing to do. They saw everyone else as inferior and worthy only of being test subjects. They turned me into a freak and were going to use me as breeding stock if I wasn’t purchased and freed by Quentin. It seemed that this compound got what it deserved. Several dead Qarri and the ceasing of all cruel experiments.

My footsteps echoed against the walls, showing how eerie the place was. I knew the Demutator Serum was a few floors below me, but I wanted to check some more things out before I got it.

I walked into a room filled with computers and hopped onto a chair. Almost literally since they were made for aliens about twice my height. And in a case of brilliance I’ve never seen before, one of the Qarri stuck a sticky note onto a computer with their username and password. A smirk came to my face as I reached to turn on the computer. Only for the computer to refuse to boot. It only took a second for me to facepalm myself over the obvious. The power was cut off to the building. Or rather, the planet was abandoned, so there was no need for power plants to continue running.

With that in mind, I walked down the flights of stairs. I decided to go a bit further down than I was supposed to just to check it out. But when I took my step into that level, I heard a bloodcurdling roar echo through the floor. My fur bristled, tail fled between my legs, and my ears laid flat against my head as I started hyperventilating. My heart was beating a mile a minute as I froze up. I heard footsteps, but they weren’t getting any closer or any further away. Compounded with the fact that there was no sign of sapient life, I could only assume it was from an abandoned experiment. I was curious, but curiosity killed the cat, so I wasn’t going to add a foxwoman to that list.

I walked to the floor with the Demutator Serum and leaned against a wall, taking time to calm down. Once my heartrate was under control, I walked down the halls and towards the room marked on my SAD. My heartrate shot back up, but this time it was from excitement rather than fear. The goofiest smile must’ve graced my face as I walked to the room. It was time to focus on the mission. This was my only chance to regain my humanity. And then I would have a chance of my parents accepting me.

When I finally reached the door, I pulled out my new smartphone and took a selfie of myself. I did the same with my SAD. Since it was the last time I was going to be a foxwoman, I wanted some evidence to show what I was during this accursed period of my life. Soon enough, I wouldn’t have to look at that face in the mirror anymore. I took a deep breath as I opened the door.

Unlike the rest of the lab, this part had the lights on, meaning that it had to be hooked up to a backup generator. One that had enough juice to run for over a year. As I walked in, I heard a digitized familiar voice laugh. I spun on my heels and looked around, only to find a bunch of computer monitors with white screens. As in, they were on, but the screens were pure white. I continued walking.

As I was reaching the other end of the room that had another door, I heard the voice speak to me. “M734, formerly known as Scarlett,” it said in a masculine and reptilian tone, “it seems you’ve decided to return home.”

I looked around and shouted, “Who are you? And what do you mean by my home? My home is Earth, not this horrid place!”

The digitized voice replied, “In a past life, Earth was your home. But this is where your current life began. The experiments that turned you into a vulpine humanoid were held near your home planet, but you were sent here before you woke up to the new you. I must say, you’ve grown to be quite the beauty by human standards.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

I crossed my arms and spat back, “Humans aren’t into girls with hairy chests and fox snouts! Now tell me, if this is a recording, how did you know I would return? I can accept that you had DNA scanners that could detect my genetic signature in this room. What I can’t accept is that your kind would know I would come back.”

A voice came in response. “Oh Scarlett, you have no idea. I am no longer a mere mortal. I’ve become one with the lab. I’ve become a god!”

“I only believe in one God, and his domain is far greater than an abandoned lab. Even the ones in ancient mythology that share power typically rule over people, not corpses,” I replied with a smirk. If I had to assume what happened, I would take it that he uploaded his brain into the lab’s central management and took over the functionality from the AI. Typical science fiction movie plot. Kind of like a movie Quentin showed me.

“Quite narrow-minded of you, Earthling,” the voice replied as a small monitor dropped from the ceiling to display a picture of me with a tiny head. “I do have the powers of a god since I’m now immortal, have knowledge far exceeding that which is able to be learned in a lifetime, and can think faster than any mortal alive! Such a shame you’ll die like the rest of those pathetic mortals. You’ll become a shriveled shell of a person as life slowly fades out. I can do anything! I can solve any problem!”

I smirked as I shouted, “This sentence is false! Also, calculate all digits of pi!”

The screen changed to display a picture of a Qarri sighing. The computer replied, “I’m smarter than that. You realize that paradoxes don’t brick computers. I can just refuse the request, just like calculating all the digits of pi. It’s one of the benefits of having a brain instead of a motherboard.”

I sighed and said, “Enjoy being the Computer God of a Single Abandoned Qarri Lab. I’m just here to get the Demutator Serum.”

The monitor swiveled in front of me as the voice said, “Demutator Serum? My dear Scarlett, are you sure you want to become such a hideous creature again?” This time the screen displayed my current self next to a random human woman. My current self had a check mark next to it while the human was given an X next to her. It then switched to a moving atom symbol. “You are an extraordinary creation of science. Attempting to undo it will achieve nothing.”

I pushed past it and said, “I don’t care what you say. Whatever scientist you were, it means nothing to me. I’m taking back that which was stolen from me!” I opened the nearby door and shut it behind me.

I took a moment to collect my thoughts as I saw the Demutator Serum straight ahead. It was locked behind a glass cage. Whoever built it didn’t seem to account for the fact that I was willing to get cut if it was what it took to get it. I punched through the cage and grabbed the serum, ignoring the drops of blood that were dripping to the floor from my arm. As I pulled it out, my mind was filled with thoughts.

The risks were great. There was only a twenty-five percent chance it’d succeed. If it didn’t work, I’d die. Everything in my brain told me the risk wasn’t worth it. It was telling me that there had to be another way. And logically, it made total sense. Most people would shy away from anything if the risks were dire, even if they were likely to succeed. But comparatively, the chances of surviving this were far higher than the chances of winning the lottery or any gambling competition, and people still did those.

There was also my future to consider. Or rather, how I wouldn’t have a future if I didn’t use the serum. Being a mutant freak destroyed any chance I had of making it on Earth. The stunt I pulled by liberating slaves marked me for death by the galactic community. My parents would almost assuredly reject a foxwoman claiming to be their daughter. In other words, my life was already over. This serum gave me the opportunity to have a life again. When put like that, there was no reason to not take the serum.

A wave of guilt came over me as I thought about Quentin. He’d be glad if I was human again, but if I died, he’d be heartbroken. As both his girlfriend and best friend, I was almost as close to him as his family. My death would break him like a death of one of his brothers. Gruma saw me as a friend, so she would also be devastated.

But alas, fortune favors the bold. I grabbed a nearby syringe and placed the vial of Demutator Serum into it. My breathing quickened as I thought about what I was going to do. There was a decent chance I was going to die. I pulled out a slip of paper and wrote down my will on it. In the event of my death, I would give everything I had to Quentin so he could hand it to my family. For my burial, I wanted to be buried on my family plot. If that wasn’t possible, I would be buried in a cemetery in Atlanta.

I got the needle ready and let out the breath I was holding. I found an artery and stuck the needle into it. It stung, but it was nothing compared to what the serum would feel like. Since it was better to be safe than sorry, I only injected a small amount of the serum into my bloodstream. It felt ice cold, but otherwise no pain. It was probably because I didn’t inject enough to make the change.

Before I could inject more serum into my blood, I heard someone sprinting in my direction. The door slammed open to reveal a panting Quentin. He looked at me and screamed, “Stop! Don’t’ do it!”

I shakily stood up. For some reason, my legs were feeling weak as I felt a severe lack of energy. “This is my life, Quentin! I’m taking initiative to take back what the Qarri stole from me! I’m becoming human whether you like it or not!” I screamed as felt a growl come loose. It didn’t make sense for him to stop me. He wanted to have a normal girlfriend, and that was what I was giving him.

In a flash, he grabbed my arm and pulled out the needle. I wanted to stop him, but I was too lethargic to do it. He threw the syringe to the ground and stomped on it, sending Demutator Serum and glass shards all over the floor. He looked at my eyes and said, “Scarlett, my love, I asked Gruma what you were hiding from me. She explained your meeting with the defector scientist. Honey, why did attempt to take a twenty-five percent chance on something this important? I know you want to be human again, but it isn’t worth throwing your life away! We will find a way to make Earth your home again! If they won’t accept you, I’ll stand by your side! And if I must lose my humanity, then by God, I’ll do it!”

My vision started blurring as I saw two Quentin’s. I leaned against the wall to hold myself up as my breathing got shallower. I felt severe chest pain and all the noises of the room echoed louder and louder. “Quentin,” I hesitantly said between breaths, “I think you’re right. I made the stupidest mistake of my life. Sadly, the last one.” After I said that, my vision blacked out as I fell unconscious.