[The excerpt starts with the previous version of Chapter One.]

They were halfway home before Dad noticed the fox.

“Is that …?”  He stopped, holding a pointing finger.

Evan tried to make it sound like a silly question.  “It’s Rosie. Our cat.”

Dad’s eyebrows shot up.  “I those Rosie was a calico.”

“That’s Pippen.”

They didn’t have a cat named Pippen, but Dad’s phone vibrated.

“Ah!  A Pikachu.  Hurry, I think we can catch it.”

The fox snuggled in Evan’s arms all the way home.  Dad didn’t say anything when Evan carried the little creature through the front door.  Cats technically weren’t allowed in the house, but sometimes sleeping ones were allowed to stay until they woke up and this fox was definitely asleep.

Evan shut his door and slowly lowered the fox onto his bed.  His plan to keep the little guy from waking didn’t work, however.  As soon as Evan stepped back, the fox yawned and gave the longest stretch imaginable.

Then he jumped onto the floor and transformed in a flash.  His colors didn’t change, but now instead of a typical little fox, he was more like a person with a fox head and furry arms and legs.  Still an abundance of yellow and white, with touches of blue.

Size, however, wasn’t the biggest change.  His mouth opened and words came out. Words Evan could understand.

“Hi, Evan!  I’m Gokane Ninja.” [Not his real name.]

Chapter Two
When a Fox is Not a Fox

Evan stared at the human-sized fox standing in front of him with arms outstretched.  Human-sized and human-like. Its arms and legs were covered in fur, but not an animal’s fur.  It looked too clean and uniform for that. The colors were simple, three distinct shades of white, yellow, and blue, not the varying shades of colors in their calico cat.  The eyes were huge, along with the whole head.

“You’re a fox?” Evan asked.

The fox’s head nodded in exaggerated movement.  “Yes. Gokane Ninja. I’m pleased to make your acquaintance.”  He gave a low, formal bow.

“You knew my name.”

“Of course.  Dad said your name several times, as did you his.”

Evan thought back to the little fox that had looked up to him with such big eyes.  Except those “big eyes” were just an expression. This human-fox really had huge eyes.

“So . . .”  For a moment Evan wasn ‘t even sure what to ask.  This was all so surreal. “Your name is Gokane? Should I call you Mr. Ninja?”

The fox laughed.  “Nothing so formal.  You may call me Gokane.”

“How did you . . .”  Evan waved a hand to indicate the tall human-fox in front of him.

Gokane’s head rocked side to side as he replied, but although he spoke, his mouth didn’t actually move.  “Transform? I couldn’t speak in my fox form.”

“You look like a cartoon character now.”

“Oh.”  Gokane looked down at his shoes, then up at his paws.  “I thought this form would be less confusing.

Evan looked about his room, suddenly not sure what to do.  It was one thing to smuggle a pet fox into the house. He would just have to feed it and find an old pillow for it to use as a bed.  His former plans of teaching the fox to do tricks seemed impractical now that the fox could talk.

“So . . .”  Evan stared at his bed.  “Why are you here?”

“Ah, well.  I have come from another dimension on an important mission.”  He seemed unable to speak without moving his arms around in exaggerated gestures.  “My investigations so far have been fruitful, but I need additional help. Help I think you can provide me.”

Evan sat on the edge of his bed.  “What investigations?”

Gokane sat next to him.  “In the dimension I come from, our land is being overrun by an evil wizard and his army of undead warriors.  I traced the wizard here and now I need your help to infiltrate his evil lair.”

It was like he had stepped into an animated TV series with poor plotlines.  “You know, Gokane. We don’t have any wizards in this dimension, evil or otherwise.  Unless you visit Universal Studios, but then their magic is limited to some special effects shop windows.”

Gokane tilted his head as if trying to understand that, then he raised a hand, index finger pointed up at the ceiling.  “The wizard is in disguise here and may appear as an ordinary citizen. I followed him to a large castle where many children of your age congregate every day.  With your assistance, I can infiltrate enemy territory and scout out the size of the wizard’s forces.”

“Castle?”  Children his age only “congregated” in one place.  “The wizard went to my school? Is he an adult or a kid?”

“The evil wizard is an adult male.  He occupies an audience chamber lined with windows.  You and your fellow subjects sit in orderly rows as he expounds whatever subjects I cannot discern through the sealed glass that protects your meeting place.”

Evan could not stop from laughing.  “The evil wizard is one of my teachers.  I wonder which one it could be.” Gokane continued before he could go through his list of teachers to consider who the culprit could be.

“In my fox form, I am unable to enter the fortress, but with your help I shall succeed.”

A cute little fox had a better chance of slipping into the school undetected.  Once inside, he could hide under furniture or behind plants. A human-sized fox could only hide near the gym when the team from a visiting school happened to leave their mascot behind.

“So, about that.”  Evan wondered if human-foxes had feelings you could hurt by not wording your concerns carefully.  “I think your current . . . form . . . might attract too much attention.”

Gokane laughed, then rose to his feet.  “Of course. This was merely to make introductions, although I may need to revert to this attire should I be called to perform any actual combat.”

He lifted his hands to the side of his head.  Then he lifted his head completely off his shoulders.  Evan nearly fainted, but under the head was — another head.  A human head.

“Yeah,” the human Gokane said.  His mouth moved when the words came out – plain as day – yet he still used the exaggerated arm and head motions.  “This is just a fursuit.”