Chapter Text
Claire Redfield woke up with a very strange feeling. It wasn’t even that something was wrong. That would have been too simple.
It was that everything seemed… different. For the first few seconds after waking up, Claire lay completely still, her eyes closed, trying to figure out why she had woken up in the first place. She hadn’t heard an alarm. She didn’t remember anyone knocking on the door. There was no familiar sound of her phone vibrating somewhere on the nightstand.
She had simply woken up. Frowning, Claire rolled onto her side. Something soft shifted across the bedding. She opened one eye. Silence.
The room looked normal. Morning light filtered through the curtains, spilling a pale streak across the floor. The furniture was exactly where it belonged. Her jacket hung over the chair. Her phone lay on the nightstand beside the bed. Or at least, it looked normal.
Claire wrinkled her nose. Something definitely felt wrong. She couldn’t say what. She lay there for another moment, listening to the silence. Finally, she sighed and tried to stretch. That was the moment everything fell apart. Her body reacted differently than it should have.
Claire tensed her muscles, stretched her arms out in front of her…
And felt something strange. Very strange. Something light. Soft. Furry.
Her eyes flew open. For a second, she didn’t move an inch. Then she looked down. Instead of hands, she saw two ginger paws.
Claire froze. Paws. Not hands. Paws. Ginger fur covered her forearms. Her slender limbs ended in small, soft paw pads. Her claws were retracted, but Claire could clearly see them beneath the skin.
For several seconds, her brain refused to process the information. No. No. Absolutely not.
Claire raised one paw. The paw rose. She lowered it. The paw dropped onto the blanket. She raised the other. The same thing happened.
“…What?”
The sound that came from her throat did not sound human.
“Meow.”
Claire went completely still. She stared ahead. Her heart began pounding.
“No.”
“No, no, no, no…”
She tried to sit up. Instead, her body made a sudden, distinctly feline movement. Her front paws pressed against the mattress, her hind legs pushed off the bedding, and Claire found herself sitting upright.
A tail. A tail. She had a tail. A long, ginger, fluffy tail slid across the bedding and fell beside her.
Claire stared at it in absolute disbelief. Then she turned her head. The tail moved with her. Claire turned her head the other way. The tail followed.
“Oh my God.”
This time, Claire didn’t even try to remain calm. She jumped out of bed. Her paws hit the floor, and for a moment she completely lost her balance. The body she had known perfectly well just yesterday suddenly had completely different proportions. She was lower to the ground. Lighter. Smaller.
She took two quick steps, then slipped on the rug.
“What happened to me?!”
Claire turned toward the mirror. She stopped. A female cat was staring back at her. Ginger. Slender. Somali. With a distinctly wild look about her. Her ears were large and pointed. Her fur was a rich, warm shade of ginger, lighter across her chest and muzzle. Her eyes looked far too intelligent for a creature that was currently sitting in the middle of a room trying to understand why it had four paws.
Claire stared at the reflection. The reflection stared back. The cat tilted her head. Claire tilted her head.
“No.”
The cat opened her mouth.
“No.”
Claire closed her eyes. She opened them again. She was still a cat.
“This has to be a dream.”
She took a deep breath. Or rather, she tried to. Her nose filled with scents she hadn’t even noticed before. The bedding. Wood. Dust. Coffee, which had to be somewhere in the house. Perfume. Soap. And something else.
Leon’s scent.
Claire turned her head toward the other side of the bed. Leon was sleeping. At least, at first glance. He was curled up beneath the blanket, his blond hair completely tousled. His face was partially buried in the pillow.
Claire stared at him for a moment. Then she narrowed her eyes. Something was wrong. It wasn’t his hair. It wasn’t his position. It was the fact that sticking out beside the pillow were…
Ears. Long, feline ears.
Claire stopped breathing.
“Leon?”
Silence.
Claire moved closer.
“Leon.”
One of the cat ears twitched.
Claire froze.
“Leon?”
The cat beneath the blanket moved. He sighed.
“Mmm…”
Claire stared at him with growing horror. Leon rolled onto his back. The blanket slipped down slightly. That was when Claire saw the rest.
Leon didn’t have hands. He didn’t have legs. He didn’t have a human body. Instead, lying on the bed was a large, cream-and-white Ragdoll cat. The fur on his ears, face, paws, and tail was noticeably darker, forming the distinctive color points of the breed. His fur was slightly tousled from sleep.
He looked…
Claire blinked.
He looked absurdly calm. As if being a cat were the most normal thing in the world.
Claire felt panic beginning to take over. She approached the bed.
“Leon.”
The cat didn’t answer.
“Leon, wake up.”
One eye slowly opened. Blue.
Leon looked at Claire. For several seconds, there was no emotion in his expression. Then his gaze moved from Claire to her paws. To her tail. To his own paws. Back to Claire. His eyes widened.
“Claire?”
Claire let out a breath of relief.
“Yes!”
Leon looked down at his front paws. He froze. He raised one. Turned it over. Looked at the other. Then he tried to move his fingers. He didn’t have any fingers.
“…What?”
Leon abruptly sat up. The blanket slid completely off him. His long, fluffy tail moved across the mattress. Leon stared at it. His ears flattened against his head.
“No.”
“I know.”
“No.”
“I know!”
“Claire…”
“I know, Leon!”
Leon jumped onto all four paws. And immediately lost his balance.
“Damn it!”
He landed on his side.
Claire instinctively took a step toward him.
“Leon!”
“I’m fine.”
“You just fell off the bed.”
“That was controlled.”
Claire stared at him. Leon stared back.
“It wasn’t.”
“No.”
“Not at all.”
“Leon.”
“Fine. It wasn’t.”
For a moment, Claire tried to hold back her panic. She failed.
“We’re cats.”
“Yes.”
“We’re cats.”
“Yes.”
“You’re a cat.”
“Yes, Claire.”
“I’m a cat.”
“Yes.”
“Why are we cats?!”
“I don’t know!”
“How do you not know?!”
“I woke up five seconds ago!”
“I woke up earlier!”
“And?”
“And I don’t know either!”
They both fell silent. For several seconds, they stared at each other.
Claire sat on the floor as a ginger cat, her tail wrapped around her hind legs. Leon stood a few steps away as a large Ragdoll, clearly trying to recover what little dignity he had left.
“This is impossible.” he finally said.
“Yes.”
“We must be hallucinating.”
“Both of us?”
Leon thought about it.
“Maybe.”
Claire stared at him.
“You seriously think we’re both having hallucinations where we’re cats?”
“At this point, I’m open to different possibilities.”
“Leon.”
“Fine. It’s not a hallucination.”
Claire let out a heavy sigh.
“Okay. Think.”
Leon looked around the room.
“First, we need to see if we can move normally.”
Claire raised an eyebrow.
“Leon, we just discovered that we’re cats.”
“I know.”
“I think the issue of movement can wait for a minute.”
“No. If we’re really cats, we need to know what we can do.”
“Like what?”
Leon looked at his paws.
“I don’t know.”
He took one step. Then another. Then a third. He moved awkwardly, but with every step he became more confident.
Claire watched him carefully.
“Well?”
“Walking works.”
“Congratulations.”
“Very funny.”
“Thank you.”
Leon looked down at his front paws.
“Claws work, too.”
He extended one claw.
Claire looked at it.
“That could be useful.”
“For what?”
“I don’t know. Opening doors?”
Leon looked at the door. He approached it, rose onto his hind legs, and tried to press down on the handle. His paw slipped.
“Damn it.”
He tried again.
Nothing.
“We need hands.”
“Mhm.”
Leon stepped back.
Claire approached.
“Move.”
“What are you going to do?”
“This.”
She stood on her hind legs and stretched out her front paws. She couldn’t reach the handle.
“…”
Leon watched.
“Great plan.”
“Shut up.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Your face did.”
Leon turned his head.
“I don’t have a face.”
Claire stared at him in disbelief.
“You have a muzzle.”
“That’s what I meant.”
“No, it isn’t.”
“It was.”
“No.”
“Claire.”
“Leon.”
For a moment, they stood facing each other.
Suddenly, Claire sneezed.
“Achoo!”
Leon jumped back.
“What was that?!”
Claire stared at him.
“I sneezed.”
“That sounded like an explosion.”
“We’re cats.”
“I know.”
“Stop reacting like I just told you I’m armed.”
“Sorry.”
Claire sighed. Then she looked at her reflection. She was still a cat. The realization was starting to sink in. This wasn’t a dream. It wasn’t a hallucination. There was no logical explanation. Her heart began beating faster.
“We need to find Chris and Jill.”
Leon immediately became serious.
“Yes.”
“If this happened to us…”
“It could have happened to them.”
Claire approached the door. This time, she didn’t try to open it. Instead, she looked at the gap underneath. It was small. But big enough.
Claire looked at Leon. Leon looked at Claire.
“No.”
“What?”
“I’m not squeezing underneath that door.”
“Why?”
“Because I have dignity.”
Claire stared at him.
“You’re a cat.”
“I know.”
“Dignity is no longer part of the equation.”
Leon narrowed his eyes.
“Just because I’m a cat doesn’t mean I’ve stopped being human.”
“Right now, you look like a giant fluffy pancake.”
Leon looked at himself.
“I do not look like a pancake.”
“A little.”
“Claire.”
“I’m just saying.”
“Claire.”
“A little.”
Leon sighed.
“Fine.”
He approached the door. Lay down on the floor. Looked at the gap. His ears flattened.
“This is humiliating.”
“Very.”
“You’re not telling anyone about this.”
“I’m not planning to.”
“Promise?”
“Leon, Chris and Jill are probably cats too. I think they’ll have their own problems.”
Leon looked at her.
“You’re right.”
He tried to squeeze underneath the door. He stopped. Backed out.
“I’m not getting through.”
Claire approached.
“Why?”
“The door is too low.”
“You’re a cat.”
“Yes.”
“You should fit.”
“I’m not some tiny kitten, Claire.”
“Fair point.”
Claire looked him over. Leon was really big. His fur only made him look even larger, as if he took up half the room.
“You’re… very fluffy.”
Leon gave her a warning look.
“Don’t start.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You thought it.”
“Maybe.”
Suddenly, something darted beneath the bed. They both jumped back.
Claire raised a paw. Leon immediately turned his head.
“What was that?”
“I don’t know.”
“I saw something move.”
“So did I.”
Claire crouched down. She stared into the darkness beneath the bed.
Nothing.
“Maybe a rat.”
Leon made a deeply disgusted face.
“Don’t say things like that.”
“Why?”
“Because we’re cats.”
Claire looked at him.
“And?”
“And I think we’re supposed to catch rats.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m an agent, not an exterminator.”
Leon nodded.
“Fair.”
Claire straightened.
“Let’s try the window.”
He approached it with her.
Claire looked at the windowsill. It was high. Leon took a step. Looked up.
“You think you can do it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Try.”
Claire tensed her hind legs. And jumped. She landed on the windowsill without the slightest problem. They both froze.
Claire looked down at her paws.
“Wow.”
Leon looked at her.
“Wow.”
Claire took another step.
“That was… easy.”
“Try again.”
Claire jumped back down to the floor. This time, she landed perfectly. Her body seemed to know exactly what to do.
“That’s weird.”
“Very.”
Leon looked at the windowsill.
“My turn.”
He jumped.
He landed beside Claire.
“Okay.”
Claire smiled despite herself.
“This is kind of cool.”
Leon looked at her.
“Don’t say that out loud.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want to get used to it.”
Claire lowered her gaze. She understood.
Just a few minutes ago, they had been human. Now they were cats. They didn’t know why. They didn’t know how long it would last. They didn’t know whether the transformation could be reversed. They didn’t even know if Chris and Jill were alive.
Claire felt a knot form in her stomach.
“We have to find them.”
Leon nodded.
“Yes.”
He approached the door again. This time, they both heard something on the other side. A quiet noise. As if someone had dragged something across the floor.
Claire looked at Leon. Leon looked at Claire.
“Did you hear that?”
“Yes.”
The sound came again. Something rustled. Then silence.
Claire moved closer to the door.
“Chris?”
Nothing.
“Jill?”
Silence.
Leon stood beside her.
“Maybe they’re sleeping.”
Claire looked at him.
“After all this?”
“Maybe they don’t know yet.”
“We have to wake them up.”
Leon raised a paw and began scratching at the door.
“Chris!”
Claire blinked.
“That was supposed to sound like Chris!”
Leon looked at her.
“I know.”
“It sounded like…”
“A cat.”
“Yes.”
“We’re cats.”
“I know.”
Leon scratched at the door again.
“Chris!”
Claire joined him.
“Jill!”
Silence fell on the other side.
Claire and Leon looked at each other.
“Can they hear us?” Claire asked.
“They should.”
“But they might not understand us.”
Leon frowned.
“We understand each other.”
“Maybe it only works between us.”
“What if they understand us too?”
Leon shrugged.
“There’s only one way to find out.”
Claire took a breath.
“Chris!”
Silence.
“Jill!”
And then…
Something slammed into the wall. They both froze. It wasn’t an accidental bump. It sounded like something had been knocked over. Then came scraping. More scraping.
And then, very clearly:
“What the hell…?”
Claire looked at Leon. Leon looked at Claire. The voice coming from the other room was familiar. Very familiar.
Chris. Claire felt an enormous wave of relief.
“Chris!”
Silence followed on the other side.
Then:
“Jill?”
Claire and Leon looked at each other.
“He’s a cat too…” Leon said.
“Yes.”
Another sound came from the other room. This time, it was unmistakably nervous.
And then Chris’s voice, increasingly panicked:
“Jill… why the hell am I a cat?”
Claire’s eyes widened. Leon slowly sat down. For a second, neither of them spoke.
Then Claire said:
“All right.”
Leon looked at the door.
“That makes it official.”
“What?”
“We have a problem.”
Claire and Leon looked at each other. And for the first time that morning, they both realized that their nightmare had only just begun.