(Sorry i missed a day, i had family stuff to tend to, but i'll make it up to you with my favorite part from this book, i had alot of fun writing this one, and tomorrow we have two parts and a big reveal at the end of the second part)
Elizabeth's POV:
"Remind me what your doing?" I asked Varian who was mixing some kind of compound.
"The twins have been begging me to make something so they can switch bodies and prank their parents" Varian said.
"Those two can be such little troublemakers" i looked over at them, trying to play with Ruddiger who was hiding from them.
"Guys, guys, Ruddiger isn't a toy!" Varian said.
"I have an idea, why don't the three of us go play upstairs, away from the dangerous lab equipment" i suggested to them.
"Ok!" They said.
I led them upstairs, giving Varian space to work.
Varian's POV:
"Sorry about them Ruddiger, they can be a little crazy, they've chased Athena around the house too" i said.
Ruddiger seemed upset.
He kept rubbing his nose on my hand and walking around my feet, which he does whenever he wants attention.
I sighed "i know you wanna hangout buddy, but i'm busy, we can play later" i said.
I did feel bad, i haven't been able to spend as much time with Ruddiger as i used to with being so distracted by the trials and everything.
"Ok buddy, i think it's done, let me get it to the twins then we can play" i said.
He started jumping around excitedly and accidentally bumped into my leg causing me to trip and fall.
As i hit the floor i heard glass breaking and the area filled with smoke before i passed out.
A little later
"Varian?" I heard a...weirdly familiar voice.
"Varian!" I opened my eyes and looked around.
What happened?
Why did everything suddenly seem bigger?
"Varian!" I felt myself getting picked up.
"Ahh!" I yelled.
"Oh! Sorry buddy" i got turned around to see...myself?
I was even more confused now.
"So uh...good news and bad news...good news is, your potion worked...bad news, we kinda switched bodies" he said.
"They aren't potions they're-" i held up my hands only to see raccoon paws and realized.
I looked back at this other me, and realized what had happened.
"Ruddiger!?" I said.
"Uh...yeah, so...how do we fix this?" He asked, putting me down on the lab table.
"I haven't made an antidote yet! It should only last a week or so! Oh this isn't good, now i need to make a whole new one, make an antidote, i'm a raccoon!" I yelled.
"Calm down, you're overreacting" Ruddiger laughed.
"I think you're underreacting!" I told him.
"Hey Var? Are you ok? I heard a crash down here" Ellie called down as we heard footsteps coming down the stairs.
"Uh oh"
Ruddiger kicked the broken glass under the desk.
"Yeah! Yeah! I'm fine!" He said.
I could have said that.
"Are you sure? I could have sworn i heard glass breaking" she said as she reached the bottom of the stairs.
"Yeah, totally fine" he said.
I ran up to her.
"Ellie we need your help, you see i kinda tripped and broke the vial that was holding the body swap compound, and Ruddiger and i got caught in the smoke and now we've switched bodies" i explained.
"Uh, Var? Is Ruddiger ok?"
"Oh yeah, he's fine i think he just wants some attention is all"
"Ok" Ellie said, bending down and patting my head "I just wanted to make sure my two favorite boys were alright and weren't getting into to much trouble"
She turned and went back up the stairs.
"What just happened!?" I asked.
"Nobody can hear you buddy, i can just understand you, to everyone else you're just making little raccoon sounds, welcome to my life" Ruddiger said.
I realized he hadn't moved from the spot he was in at all.
"Why aren't you moving at all?" I asked.
"How do you make it look so easy to walk around on two feet!?" He asked.
"Oh yeah, cause you're always running around on all fours" i said.
He nodded.
"Well, looks like we've both got alot to learn if we're gonna be stuck like this" i said.
Later
We moved from the lab up to my room, got changed into looser clothes because Ruddiger kept complaining the clothes i was wearing before were to tight for him to be comfortable in, and we got to work.
"Step one of acting like me" i started.
Ruddiger was pretending to yawn.
"I'm already bored, i know you well enough already buddy" he said.
"Ruddiger please take this seriously" i said.
"Ok ok, i'll listen" he said.
"Make sure nobody touches the alchemy equipment" i said.
"Here we go again...Varian relax, i can handle this"
I gave him a look like i didn't believe him.
"Don't give me that look, i've got this!" He said before leaving the room.
I facepalmed.
This isn't gonna go well...
While Ruddiger was off pretending to be me for a while, i was working on an antidote.
Which was not easy to do with tiny raccoon hands.
By around three in the morning the antidote was done.
"Ruddiger!" I called him down.
"What?" He walked down, rubbing his eyes.
"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you, the antidote is done"
"Oh" Ruddiger said sadly.
"Hey, buddy what's wrong?" I asked.
"It's just.... i'm so used to you being the only one to understand me! It's nice to be able to have a full on conversion with other people and i don't know if i'm ready to give that up yet..." he said.
"I understand but there isn't much we can do, we need to get back to how it was, i don't know how much longer i can be stuck as a raccoon for!" I said.
"Look, i get it! Really i do but you don't understand! You've been like that for a few hours and it's already driving you crazy! Imagine how i feel, i've been living like that for 17 years! Especially before you learned how to understand me!" He cried before running up the stairs.
I sat there confused until i heard a door slam.
"Ruddiger no! You can't go out in the rain! It's really bad right now!" I yelled, running after him.
When i reached the main entrance the door was slightly open and my jacket and boots were gone.
I ran out onto the porch.
"Ruddiger!" I yelled.
I couldn't see him anywhere.
I can't find him alone.
But i know who can help me!
I ran upstairs to the hall with all the bedrooms and made as much noise as i could.
Everyone walked out.
Except Hugo.
"Varian! Tell your raccoon to calm down!" I heard him yell from his room.
I rolled my eyes.
"Ruddiger? What's wrong buddy?" Ellie bent down infront of me.
Then i remembered.
They couldn't understand me.
Looks like we're gonna need to play a game of sherades.
I pointed to myself.
"Are you trying to tell us something?" Ellie asked.
I nodded.
"Guys, he's trying to tell us something!" She told the others.
I held my hands up to my head making the shape of my goggles.
"Goggles?" Yong asked.
I shook my head.
"Varian?" Ellie said.
I nodded.
I ran and got a cup from the kitchen.
"Cup" Yong said.
I shook my head.
"Glass?" Nuru asked.
I shook my head again.
"Is this supposed to be one of Varian's experiments?" Ellie asked.
I nodded again.
I ran over and pointed to the twins.
"The body swap potion" they said.
"Compound" Ellie corrected.
I nodded.
I purposefully fell over and dropped the cup.
"He spilled it?" Everyone said.
I shook my head and pointed to myself.
"Wait wait!" Ellie said "Varian and Ruddiger were working on it together and.."
She looked at me.
"You switched bodies?" She asked.
I nodded.
"So Ruddiger has been pretending to be you all day?"
I nodded again.
"Let me guess...you made an antidote but he didn't want to take it because he likes talking to us so he was being stubborn" she said.
I nodded and led them to the slightly open door.
"He's out in the rain!?"
I nodded and gave them a worried look.
"Don't worry Var, we'll get him back" Ellie said, picking me up a putting me on her shoulders like i always did with Ruddiger.
I was worried, he's never been alone in weather like this for so long...not since the night i met him.
We all went in seperate directions.
"Ruddiger!? Ruddiger!" We called out.
I hope we can find him!
We've been friends as long as i can remember!
I don't know what i'd do if i lost him.
Flashback (15 years ago)
"Ok, Varian, ready to do some alchemy with mommy?" Mom asked.
"Yay!" I said.
"Ok, be good and don't get into anything"
Mom walked over to her lab table and started working on something.
I stumbled over to the book shelf and pulled out a 'Flynn Rider' book.
At that age i was mostly just looking at pictures when i heard a noise outside.
"Mama" i got mom's attention.
"What is it darling?" She asked.
I pointed to the window.
"Oh, Varian, it's just rain"
She walked over and picked me up, showing me outside.
"Nothing to be scared of"
She set me back down.
I went back to looking through my book when i heard chittering at the window.
I looked back up at the window.
Then over at my mom.
I closed my book and grabbed some others.
I piled them on top of eachother and climbed up to the window.
I pushed it opened as a tiny figure jumped into the lab.
It went up on mom's lab table.
"Oh hello there" she patted it's head.
"Oh you poor thing, you're soaking wet"
She grabbed a towel and dried it off.
"What that?" I asked.
Mom bent down to let me look at the small animal she was holding.
"This is a raccoon" she said.
"Coon" i said.
"Good job, Varian"
"What's going on in here?" Dad walked into the room.
I waddled up to him.
"Papa" i said as he picked me up.
"Oh, Quirin look" mom said, holding up the little raccoon.
"How did this get in here?" Dad asked, taking the raccoon in his hand.
He walked over to the still open window.
"Out" he said.
I started crying.
"Oh" mom took me from dad "Darling, what's wrong?" She asked.
"Friend" i said.
"Aw, Quirin let him stay" mom said.
"Ulla, it's a wild animal!" Dad said.
"You'd really toss a baby raccoon into the storm not even knowing where it's parents are?" Mom asked.
Dad thought about it before dropping the little guy onto the floor.
"He stays till the storm is over, then he's out"
Once dad left mom sat on the floor with me next to the baby raccoon.
"And no naming it! You'll just get Varian more attached" dad called from upstairs.
"To late~" mom called up to him.
"How about...Ruddiger?" She suggested.
"Rur rur!" I said excitedly.
"Ulla!" Dad yelled from upstairs.
Mom laughed a little.
Present day
He's never been out in weather like this alone since.
Maybe he was a little safer because he was in my body but i still didn't want him hurt.
"Ruddiger!" Ellie called out.
Suddenly something fell on my head.
An apple core?
I looked up to see him sitting in a tree, completely ignoring us.
"Ruddiger!" I got his attention.
"Oh, hey guys, didn't see you there" he said.
"We've been calling for you for the past hour" Ellie said.
"Oh i heard you, didn't mean i had to listen" he laughed.
"Listen mister, watch the tone" Ellie said.
"Sorry, sorry"
"Come down here!"
"Uh..no...i'm still mad"
Wow he really can be stubborn.
I didn't want it to come to this.
"Ruddiger Flynn Quirin Ritter!" I got his attention "get down here, right now mister!"
"Wow Varian, you sound like your dad" he joked.
"What did he say?" Ellie asked.
"He used my full name, that means serious"
"So you should probably listen"
"I could but..."
I crossed my arms "i'm counting to three, one..."
"Ok ok, i hear ya, i'm still not taking that antidote" he said, climbing down to the ground.
"We'll see about that" Ellie said as i jumped of her shoulders.
She sprinkled the antidote over both our heads causing us to switch back.
I opened my eyes and looked down to see my hands and feet.
It worked!
I looked over my shoulder.
Ruddiger was curled up in a ball and seemed sad.
"Hey buddy" i picked him up "i'm sorry i haven't had time to hangout with you, i'll try to clear up my schedule a little more okay?"
He looked at me and smiled.
He nodded and went up on my shoulders.