"S-so this is the place, huh?"

Ethan, dressed in a simple gray t-shirt and shorts, stared up towards the foreboding presence of the house that loomed in front of him. Beside the young teen stood 2 of his buddies - Liam and James. The three were adventure seekers, always looking for the next cheap thrill or excitement to cross their path - or two of them were, anyways. Ethan was the meek, cautious one of the group, what Liam and James liked to call a "scaredy-cat.”

Ordinarily, Ethan preferred to silently sit and watch the other two, perhaps reading a nice good book or playing Pokemon on his phone. He had just about every common fear you could think of - height, spiders, and especially Halloween! The holiday was an especially annoying time of the year for the teen - he’d never had a single successful trick-or-treating experience. From an early age, he was always too scared of the decorations to even attempt to venture out into the dark, and by the time he’d grown up enough to tolerate the less scary ones to venture out, he was too old for candy.

What Ethan really wanted was one, just one, Halloween with a positive memory, one where he could go and get as many treats as his sweet tooth desired without being such a wuss! But even now, he was quaking in his shoes, unable to do much more than stare up at the house before him.

Though in his defense, this house was the one place in the neighborhood worth being scared of: the Pickerson house.

The Pickerson house was there long before the neighborhood around it. A single reclusive family had lived there for multiple generations, who almost never bothered to poke their heads outside their Victorian-style mansion. The house was so dilapidated and worn down at the first glance you'd swear it was abandoned - if not for the meticulously-kept lawn. It was odd that the house had such a pristine yard given its horrid condition - if the owners could pay for all this lawncare, surely they could chip in a few dollars towards some upkeep of the home itself?

However, that was on the low end of weird rumors swirling about the home's inhabitants. They were serial killers, criminals on the run, or even a coven of witches! The family that lived there did little to dispute these rumors - their daughter, who actually went to his school, even preferred dressing in all black and largely keeping to herself, staying away from any attempt at contact that wasn't strictly school-related.

Her creepy, off-putting behavior, however, contrasted sharply with her almost inhumane beauty. The boys at his school - him included - stared at her as often as she stared back at them, watching them eating at the cafeteria or in between classes. She had a way of staring that shot daggers into your spine, that made you pause and shiver from both her beauty and her icy, paralyzing gaze.

These unsettling habits combined with the flurry of rumors around her family sent most boys scurrying after easier targets instead - but not Ethan.

Granted, it wasn’t like he could snag any other girl in the school even if he tried. He wasn't particularly hot or handsome, his athletics were slightly below average, his grades slightly above. Nothing stood out about him whatsoever, and combined with his weak and rather wimpy personality, he stood about as much chance with landing a woman as a bag of wet sand.

So Ethan was content to just simply watch his crush from afar, fantasizing that one day he might have enough courage to openly profess his love. A few times he tried catching her interest, once by leaving some flowers by her locker and another time some chocolates. His Valentine’s Day card was the only one sitting in her homemade box that day. However, they didn’t seem to get any reaction. The teen was still hopeful regardless -
One day he’ll woo her over!
In hindsight, he shouldn't have said that last part aloud within earshot of his two friends. That horrific mistake was the reason he was here, trying not to freeze himself to death from the chilly Halloween air. Why didn’t he wear anything more than a t-shirt???

"So, go up and talk to her!" Liam swooned, giving Ethan a gentle shove towards the front gate.

"Yeah, knock on that door and give her a giant smooch!" James agreed, helping Liam "assist" the struggling Ethan up the sidewalk.

"B-but what if the rumors are true??" Ethan stammered back, squirming in his friend's grips.

There was one more rumor circulating about the Pickerson house - people who strayed onto Pickerson property on Halloween never left.

"That's a bunch of baloney!" James laughed, slapping Ethan on the back. "Those are just rumors! If those were actually true, they'd probably be in jail or something! You can't make a bunch of people disappear and not get caught, let alone still live openly in the same house. And besides, we'll watch you all the way up to the door. Anything happens and we'll get the cops or something to save your whiny butt! You'll be fine!"

Ethan hesitated for a few seconds before taking a cautious step into the front path. They were right, what's the worst that could happen? They've seen him through on many other dares and he pulled out perfectly fine.

"Well, unless those witch rumors are true and they wipe our memories or something..."

Liam giggled as Ethan whipped around in a near panic. "What???"

"I was joking, there's nothing to be worried about!" Liam chuckled, waving Ethan on. He and James burst into muffled laughter as the teen turned back around, meekly walking through the yard and up to the front door.

It felt like hours, but finally he stood before the massive, imposing oak doors of the Pickerson house. He tried to look as confident as possible, but he couldn't stop his legs quaking beneath him. Ethan didn't know what was more frightening - the chance of a bloody, painful death or talking romantically...

"O-okay . . . let's get this over with . . ."

Just as he was about to knock, the door swung open to reveal the girl from school. Except now, she looked a lot more lively, her trademark deadpan expression replaced with a rejuvenated smile. For the first time, she looked . . . happy.

"Oh, hi! What brings you here? Are you a trick-or-treater?"

"Uh . . ." Ethan stammered, caught completely off guard by her smooth, silken voice. It was both far cheerier and more beautiful than he expected - why hadn't she tried out for the drama club yet?
The student blushed, shifting his hands nervously as he glanced downwards. He tried to drum up the courage to speak, mumbling out a quick “yeah . . .” before he angrily stopped himself. He wasn’t a trick-or-treater, idiot!

The girl looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and a smug arrogance, giving a simple little grin.

“But you don’t have a costume!”

“Uh . . . yeah . . . I decided to . . . um . . . go as a school student? . . .” Ethan uttered, wincing at his own hasty excuse. This was going south fast! His face flushed with embarrassment as he felt her staring at him again. For a second, he felt an icy chill run through his body as her eyes bore into his very soul - until she spoke again.

“I have a way better costume than that, I’ll let you have it! Be right back ... “

The girl turned and disappeared inside the house, leaving Ethan alone. For a few seconds, the boy considered turning tail and fleeing for his life. What if she was getting some kind of murder weapon??

He hesitated, torn between his affection for the girl and the desire for safety. Red flags were waving in his head, but when would he ever get the chance to talk to ANY girl again, let alone her?

His decision was interrupted by a thump behind him, and Ethan turned to see the girl standing right inside the door, carrying what looked like a heavy shirt with a zipper, a headband with two pointed fox-like ears, some paw-like gloves, a black circular, fluffy ring of rubbery material that resembled some kind of furred collar, and a tail attached to a belt. With a soft grunt, she set the materials down and stared directly at Ethan with a smile.

“So, what do you think? It’s a Zorua Pokemon costume! I know you’d look so adorable in it, and far better than this stupid ‘student’ wear of yours! If you want, you could even pretend to be my pet and we could do a joint costume!!”

“Uh -” Ethan blushed harder, taking a step back from the surprising proposal. He’d never trick or treated because he was always too frightened of most of the Halloween decorations, and by the time he’d grown out of those fears he was too old anyways. To actually experience trick-or-treating for once, especially with his school crush… a flurry of emotions overcame the teen as he struggled for words. On the one hand, being in an embarrassing Zorua outfit led around like a pet by the weird girl from school would doom his social life for the rest of high school. There was also the chance this was just a ruse to lure him into some dark alley and stab him to death. But on the other hand, this was a chance to socialize with the only beautiful girl left in school…

And for some reason he couldn’t quite explain, the idea of going as her pet felt surprisingly . . . tempting. Ordinarily he’d dismiss the idea of wearing the ridiculous thing without a second thought . . . but wearing it for her, pretending to be her ever-loyal pokemon…

“Are you going to decide sometime this century?”

“Huh??” Ethan shakily snapped out of his daze. “Oh yeah…”

He hesitated for a second longer before deciding, what the heck! At the very least, he could try it on and see how it felt. What could be the harm in that, right?

Yet, he couldn’t deny the uncertainty building inside him as he reached down and picked up the shirt, which resembled cloth on the outside but had thick, light blue rubber padding on the inside. Weird…

As odd as it was, it didn’t stop him from pulling on the shirt with a sigh of concession. Picking up one of the gloves, he had just placed it onto his right hand when he suddenly felt an odd tingling sensation running through his chest.

With a perplexed look on his face, he looked down, eyes widening with surprise.

The Zorua shirt seemed to be . . . liquefying. Shiny, reflective liquid began dripping down, up, and to the sides, stretching across the zipper. Little by little, the shirt looked like it was thawing into a liquid, rubbery state.

The zipper shot up unexpectedly, bringing the two sides of the decomposing shirt together.

“Whuh?!?”

Ethan’s arm lunged at the zipper, but the movement was stopped by something slimy wrapping around his neck - the black tuft-like collar!

The girl was standing in front of him, with a mischievous smile and a slightly outstretched hand. A quick gesture and the collar tightened, causing Ethan to gasp as his airway was impeded.

Too . . . tight . . .

The collar began to liquefy as well: slimy, gooey liquid sticking and squishing against his neck. It felt like a thousand tiny daggers stabbing his body as the thick, heavy rubber dug into his own flesh. Ethan gagged again, stumbling and fumbling for the collar. HIs chest felt the same way - what was happening?!?

The paw on his right arm met the same fate. His hand began to grow numb as the syrupy material rapidly squeezed his fingers, forcing them tightly into the only space available - the paw nubs, balling up uselessly from the pressure. The heavy, dense rubber began thickening and pooling down his arm, coating the elbows and meeting up with the rubber running from his shirt. In a few seconds the connection was so seamless he couldn’t even tell they were ever separated at all!

“I - help!” Ethan looked at the girl with wide, pleading eyes - surely this must be some mistake???

Her satisfying smirk said it was anything but.

To his utter shock and horror, the other glove flew by itself, up into the air and onto his left hand like a guided missile, surrounded by a faint blue glow. Immediately it began sticking to his hand, smears of liquid goo flowing down over his skin. The rubber was icy cold at first, but warmed up in seconds as it absorbed his body heat, creating the comforting sensation of being wrapped in a toasty, snug blanket. It felt . . . good!

Ethan shivered, concerned about how relaxed the liquid made him feel. His will to fight was being sucked up by the rubber like a sponge, panic simply draining away into a simple, peaceful contentment. He wanted to run, but he couldn’t force his body to move. It was like the rubber-covered parts of him were revolting against the commands of his own brain - they enjoyed it too much to leave!

“You look so cute already! I can’t wait to see what you look like when you’re done!”

Ethan looked up at the girl . . . wait, up?!? Since when was she taller?!!?

“You’ll look the part so much! No one will EVER be able to tell the difference…” She muttered with more than a tiny hint of malice.

Ethan froze with fear. The - the rumors must be true!! She’s a killer! A demon! A . . . witch?!

As if to confirm his dreadful suspicions, she gestured with her hand, now alight with a dim blue glow, and the headpiece rose up towards Ethan’s struggling head.

“W-what do you want?!?” he cried, looking behind him for support from his friends . . . ANYTHING . . . but his distant friends stood frozen in place. It was like time itself had stopped . . . leaving the poor teen completely vulnerable to the girl’s desires.

“Shush, I already know what’s in your mind... “ She remarked, giving him the same look an angry petowner would give to a misbehaving dog. Ethan recoiled backwards from fearful shock - it was like she already didn’t see him as human anymore! But that wasn’t true . . . despite the tingling sensation in his arms as the attacking rubber broke beneath the skin.

“You’re kind of pathetic. I’m completely out of your league! I wouldn’t be caught dead dating a loser like you!” the girl scoffed, each word sending an emotional dagger ripping through his heart.

“You’re a whiny wimp who’s scared of literally everything, and don’t think I don’t know what happened last Halloween . . . you’re not even fit to be human, let alone my boyfriend!”

Ethan’s face turned pale as each syllable echoed in his ears. S - she knew?

The teen lost all resistance as he slumped in defeat. At this point, it would just be better if whatever this weird, convoluted death trap was just finish him off already! She was completely right, he was just a complete failure as a human . . . the one time he tried to overcome his fear he got ensnared into some sort of kinky tourture with a girl who’s all but confirmed as a witch… how could he even face his friends again, let alone the school?

“But . . . I am flattered by your persistent, loyal love for me. Unlike the fickle trash that are the other boys at the school, you didn’t give up and run off with some other girl. I’ll let you know I did enjoy those little gifts you left! You even managed to muster up some courage in that scrawny body of yours to come up to my doorstep on Halloween. Halloween, the spookiest night of the year! You’re still a sad, idiotic wimp of a human being, but such … doglike devotion deserves to be rewarded.”

Ethan couldn’t tell if she was teasing or actually being genuine. He gulped, squirming underneath the increasing layers of latexy liquid. Yet, her silky, angelic voice tickled his brain with positive emotions, causing him to blush. The rubber seemed to squeeze and hug his skin with every compliment, sending shivers of pure euphoria rippling through his entire human body. His brain began instinctively associating the pleasure with her very voice, to where simply hearing her speak made bliss pulse through his body.

The Zorua headband with the ears and distinctive rounded tuft plopped unceremoniously onto his head. Likewise, the belt with the tail looped around his waist, securing itself right over his pants. Rubber began to ooze from both of the spots, smoothing out the hair on his head. Goo from the collar rose upwards over his face, pooling in front of his mouth and nose and trying to force its way in. Ethan panicked, trying to claw away the rubber with his deteriorating hands, but his goo-covered arms no longer responded like they should. They stuck out in front of him like the front legs of some kind of animal as his shoulders were compressed and coaxed into a completely different shape - one more befitting of a quadrupedal creature than a human.

“So, I’ll help you. Help you overcome your petty fears and . . . other weaknesses. Weaknesses from being human. It’s the best someone like you can hope for from your weak, pitiful existence. I’ll open your eyes to a world far bigger than the limited scope you could see: a world with magic.

Ethan staggered once again as the goo smeared at his thighs, gradually molding, pressing, and reforming them to be less and less human. It was becoming harder and harder to stand, and his head was becoming fuzzy from lack of air. He - he couldn’t breathe!!!

“Don’t worry, just let it in. It won’t harm you - in fact, it’ll do the opposite. Just relax. Embrace it. Let your tension evaporate into the air forever… I’m here for you. Just trust in me.”

Ethan looked over at the girl in fear. To his surprise, she looked like she had genuine empathy on her face. She walked over to him, grasping his mouth and gently prying it open.

“Just trust in me … It’ll be painless and quick.”

With a final, wrenching gasp, Ethan caved and the goo flooded into his mouth. His nostrils exploded with the dizzying, overwhelming stench of raw rubber, making him gag. Liquidy goo coated every centimeter within his mouth with a solid coat of latex. Rubber piled onto human teeth, giving them a shiny, near indestructible latex coating that tapered at the ends to form fangs sharp as daggers. His tongue got the same treatment, vanishing under a shiny rubber glaze. Latex pooled up on the tip, extending the new shiny appendage outwards by several inches - the length of his extending canine muzzle.

With a final, submissive gulp, a swell of oozing rubber gushed down his throat, pushing towards his lungs and stomach. Ethan crumpled onto his knees, expecting to die at any second. This was it -- how he’d die. Maybe if he was lucky he’ll become a legend about this house . . . or given the embarrassing way he was going out, maybe not.

A minute passed. Then another. And another.

Ethan wasn’t dead.

His chest had stopped moving. His lungs weren’t taking in oxygen.

But he wasn’t dead.

The gooey rubber rushed through his bloodstream, pumped through by his still beating heart. It seeped through the walls of the blood cells, substituting for oxygen. But it was better. So, so much better than oxygen.

And with the rubber came this “magic.”

Ethan could feel it. A strange, strong force coursing through his body within the goo, as if the rubber itself was magic in liquid form. It hijacked and crushed his internal organs one by one, making them obsolete in a single split second. There was simply no longer a need for frail, fickle organs to pump or digest. They were needlessly, stupidly fragile - it took astoundingly little for the heart to stop beating or the air supply to fail. Any disease could wipe them out in an instant - even eating the wrong kinds of food too much would be enough to threaten your life. Humans have to regulate themselves to eating disgusting plants to appease their delicate organs.

Why bother? The magic and the rubber kept him alive perfectly fine. Ethan suddenly found himself wondering how he managed to live so long so blindly. How are humans so cocky about risking their lives when they’re so frail? How could HE live like that?

Though as his hearing suddenly dulled, Ethan snapped out of his thoughts. Wh-what was that? B-but he was human . . . but being human suddenly seemed to have lost its appeal. Why was he even defending being human??

His human ears vanished under coats of rubber, contributing to a complete deafness. His nerves were a complete wreck - he didn’t trust them at all. It felt like his nervous system was in a complete renovation, nerve endings winding its way through the sticky, gooey rubber layers that caked most of his twitching body. But that can’t be right - right?!?

By now, he was little more than half the girl’s height, and as the rubber continued to eat away at his still-human legs, that distance was increasing.

But despite that, Ethan was finding himself . . . relieved by this increase. The girl’s height was almost calming, as if it was reassuring someone larger than himself was watching over him. Taking care of him, making sure that everything was going to be okay…

He suddenly felt the stroke of a hand across his back. The girl.

Before he could react, the hand brushed against his rubbery skin that was beginning to solidify. Pure euphoria billowed out over his entire body, blinding him to the world around him. For a few precious seconds, he was floating on a little cloud of joy over the miserable reality of the situation he was in. The petting was heavenly, like a massage given by angels.

He didn’t want it to end. Even if it meant being her pet… even if it meant being like this forever. There was no human sensation that could compare to this pure, simple bliss!

“See, doesn’t that feel nice?” The girl reached down, putting another hand by his underbelly. For the first time, Ethan realized how truly small he had become as he was lifted into the air by human power alone. And it did feel nice.

The girl flipped Ethan over onto his back, holding him like a baby as his feet became coated in red-colored rubber, twisting and deforming into small, dainty paws.

Ethan found himself nodding as the goo smeared over his eyes, and everything went dark.

The teen found himself in an empty void, with no senses of the outside world other than touch. He could very vaguely feel his toes being glued together by sticky rubber, but it felt like a whole ‘nother world.

And a whole other person.

Gradually, though, he felt his senses being restored. Groggily, he opened his eyes to see the girl staring back at him with a cheerful expression that, for the first time that night, he was certain was genuine.

He wasn’t sure how he could tell . . . but he could. He could tell she was feeling happy, like happy happy.

In fact, he could tell a lot of things. His ears twitched as the hearing picked up for the first time. Ethan gasped a little as he could make out the specific voices of multiple trick-or-treaters down on the distant street - and easily discern their conversation. In fact, two voices sounded very familiar…

“So what’re we doing at the Pickerson place?”

“Beats me. But isn’t this place scary? I heard that some kid named Ethan went in there real recently and never came out! The story is, he tried wooing the girl who goes to our school and her parents cannibalized him for their witch potions!”

“Liar, I bet you they’re handing him out as their candy this year!”

“Oh yeah? Why don’t you go up there and find out?”

Ethan turned and stared out towards the road to see Liam shakily making his way up the long, winding path towards the house, inching his way step by shivering step. Did he not remember him??

The girl, also hearing Liam, stood up and waved. Liam let out a girly shriek and sprinted back down the path in sheer terror, James following close behind. She laughed - and to Ethan’s complete surprise, so did he.

He wasn’t sure why - maybe it was because finally seeing his cocky friends be poopy-pants scared for once - but he just found it absolutely hilarious! He was never one to laugh at another’s misfortune, but now it was the funniest thing in the world. They were so simple-minded and frail it was just laughable.

Not only that, but Ethan realized his fears were gone. He wasn’t afraid of the spooky, supernatural costumes and decorations he could see in the distance - or much else. And why would he be? He didn’t have to worry about having to protect a weak, fickle body of flesh. Not anymore. No wonder he was afraid before - when he had so many weak points, so many vulnerabilities. So many ways to die. He could already think of 20 different ways he could kill his human self without a single drop of effort!

But what scared him then was little more than amusement now. If there ever was anything worth being scared of, his new senses could detect it easily. The range and scope of his new senses so far outpaced those of his human self that humans were basically flying blind by comparison. Even the girl above him was limited by her human body - he could feel it. Humans need animals like him to help focus their magical abilities - and he needed her just as much.

While he possessed massive reservoirs of magic, he couldn’t use it - not in the way humans could with their spellbooks, potions, and enchantments. His abilities were limited to that of his namesake - a Zorua. But with the girl and practice, any spell was within their grasp!

He was . . . her familiar.

The name echoed inside his head, over and over. Familiar. Familiar. A companion to witches…

And he was the familiar of Jayla the witch.

Jayla was the girl’s name. His owner’s name.

Ethan looked up towards Jayla, a curious expression on his face. He still felt a bit lightheaded as the information repeated itself inside his brain. It was like Jayla was telepathically bringing him up to speed on his new body and role.

And he liked it. He could feel the powerful sensation of magic teeming within his agile body. The power even his new being could barely contain . . . and his human form never could.

“I think you need a new name for your new life! How about . . . Yoru?”

The Zorua blinked, gazing up at Jayla. He didn’t need a new name! He was . . . was . . . he couldn’t remember.

It was like a switch flipped in his head. Every time the Pokemon tried to remember, only Yoru popped up. Yoru. Yoru.

The more he tried to remember the original name, the more naturally it seemed to fit, like the name was sculpted just for him.

With a conceding sigh, he nodded. He was Yoru the Zorua.

Any doubt fizzled into a drunken bliss as Jayla rubbed Yoru’s head tuft, sending the Zorua into sheer ecstasy. He lolled stupidly about, exposing his belly for his owner. If there was one weakness with his new self, it was a brand-new addiction to cuddles!

Alas, the petting drew to an end as the girl sat up, lost in thought for a second before she turned back to her Pokemon.

“Say, you want to try trick-or-treating? I’ll go as a Pokemon Trainer and you can shape-shift into my little Pokemon brother!”

Yoru was taken aback by the offer. Go . . . trick-or-treating? It was like a final dream come true. With a squeak, he stood up onto all fours, concentrating on changing. How hard could it be?

His efforts were rewarded when he opened his eyes and was met with himself - back as a human, though much younger. He looked around 8 or 9 years old, with an adorable cute, plush Zorua jumpsuit. His actual ears and tail poked out from the onesie, but with their shiny, rubbery sheen it was doubtful anyone would mistake it as anything other than part of the suit.

Jayla was somehow already ready, dressed up in typical Trainer gear - a sporty vest, hat, backpack, and a belt of suspiciously realistic-looking Pokeballs. Catching Yoru’s eye, she giggled.

“Who knows, why not cause a little mischief as well? I think there’s plenty of people out there who could use a costume upgrade…”

Zorua halloween comic and story! The story took way longer to make than I thought ...

Story editing help from P.Cykes and zen!