While on vacation from work, a man wins a raffle for an exclusive vocal training session from a somewhat renowned singer. While there, he finds himself getting way more into the song he's singing than expected - to the point where he starts to resemble his new teacher in more ways than one. Hope you all enjoy!

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Congratulations! You have been selected for an exclusive one on one vocal training session with famed vocalist Frankie Sinpres! Report to the address listed below at 2:00 PM today for…

Justin grinned, looking over the email he’d received. He’d remembered signing up for this after seeing an ad in his local grocery store - exclusive vocal lessons with an apparently famed singer whom he’d never heard of before. A quick google search had revealed that this singer had been part of a moderately successful band several years back, even having been on a couple of country-wide tours in that time. He was certainly an impressive sight - a large, muscular brown bear wearing no shirt and only a pair of cargo shorts, sort of a signature look that made him immediately recognizable to those who knew about him. But he’d settled down since then according to the website, and was now giving out free singing lessons to those who were lucky enough to win his raffles - including Justin.

Justin, despite never having heard of this singer, was intrigued. He’d always had a passion for singing in his youth, having participated in both choir and musical theater during school, but that had since taken a backseat to his real life obligations. He had a job to work and bills to pay, and he simply didn’t have time to dedicate to music anymore. But now that he was taking a much needed vacation from his stressful job, his schedule had opened up quite a bit - so naturally, he was instantly drawn in by this particular raffle. Not only did he have a chance to work on his singing again, but he would get to do so with a seasoned professional? So he’d signed up, not really expecting much - yet here was the email, telling him he’d won! He could hardly believe his luck.

So when the time came that afternoon, he arrived at the address listed in the email he’d received. It was a quaint little place - a cabin in a sparsely populated part of town, surrounded by trees and vegetation. Pretty modest for someone who supposedly used to be a big star, thought Justin as he walked in, but he supposed it fit the aesthetic he was going for - sort of a rustic lumberjack-y type, he figured. Taking a deep breath, he walked up to the door and knocked.

The door swung open so suddenly that it caught Justin off guard, causing him to take a step back. Standing in the doorway was a figure that looked exactly like the pictures Justin had seen - a large brown bear, his toned upper body fully visible thanks to him not wearing a shirt. Even the cargo shorts he wore were exactly the same as the ones from the pictures. “Whoa! Sorry there, buddy,” he said, looking down at Justin with a friendly smile. “Didn’t mean to startle you there.” His voice was smooth and deep, almost exactly as Justin had pictured it. “You must be Justin, right?”

“Er… yeah, that’s right,” said Justin. “You’re… Frankie Sinpres, right?”

“The one and only!” said the bear with a grin. “Here, why don’t you come inside for a bit and get yourself situated? Then we can begin with your lesson.”

Justin nodded, stepping inside. The inside of the cabin had the same cozy vibe to it as the exterior: neatly arranged chairs and shelves, a couch on one end of the wall with a TV on the other, and a small rug in the center of the hardwood floor. But the focal point of the room was the grand piano sitting against the far wall, clearly standing out among the room’s otherwise rustic appearance. Justin remembered reading that Frankie had played piano alongside singing during his touring days, so it made sense that he’d have one here, but it still felt out of place among everything else in the room. “Follow me,” said Frankie, walking over to the piano and sitting down at it. “Oh, and leave your shoes at the front door, okay? Don’t want them tracking dirt all over my floors.”

“Okay,” said Justin, slipping his shoes off and following Frankie over to the piano. “So… now what?”

“Well, let’s start with you telling me a little bit about yourself,” replied Frankie. “Do you have any kind of experience with singing?”

“A little,” said Justin. “I used to do it a lot when I was in high school, but… well, that was a while ago, and I haven’t really kept up with it since.”

Frankie nodded. “I see. Well, if you’re interested in picking it up again, you’ve certainly come to the right place. Now, let’s see…” He grabbed a folder from the top of the piano and rifled through it. “Ah, here’s a good one.” He grabbed a packet of sheet music from the folder and placed it in front of Justin. “This right here is a good one for getting back into the swing of things. How are you at sightreading music?”

“Sightreading? Um…” Justin paused. It had been a while since he’d gotten any kind of sightreading practice, so his skills had almost certainly deteriorated in that time. Still, the song Frankie had given him seemed simple enough - the notes were fairly close together and followed simple patterns, with no tricky jumps or key changes. “...I think I can do this one.”

“Excellent!” said Frankie. “Then let’s begin!” With that, he began playing, his burly fingers gliding effortlessly over the piano keys as he did. “Alright, follow along now!” he said, looking over at Justin. “Three, two, one, and!”

“You said that we were nothing alike, but that’s not how I see it myself,” sang Justin, doing his best to follow along. He continued to sing as Frankie played, concentrating on the notes as best he could. Even though this was his first time reading through the song, he still didn’t want to mess up - he wanted to impress Frankie, after all. “Cuz I know, we could be one and the same-”

“Alright, I’m going to cut you off right there,” said Frankie, pausing his piano playing for a moment. “You’re doing pretty good so far, but I can’t help but notice that you seem a little nervous. Any particular reason for that?”

“Um… I mean, this is my first time reading through the song,” replied Justin. “So I’m kinda just trying to make sure that I don’t make any mistakes, that’s all.”

Frankie nodded. “That’s understandable, but I think you’re concentrating too hard on being perfect,” he said. “You’re too focused on getting everything correct, and not enough on actually putting on a show for the audience. In order to do that, you need to learn to let go a little, you know? Don’t worry too much about doing what’s on the paper, just worry about enjoying the process. Because if you have fun, the audience will have fun too.”

“...Right. Okay,” said Justin, nodding. “Sorry.”

“No need to apologize,” said Frankie, waving him off. “If you want, I can share with you a tip that really helped me when I was starting out.” He got up from the piano, standing right in front of Justin. “Try tapping your foot to the beat of the song. Like this.” He lifted one of his massive hind paws up and started tapping it against the floor, exactly to the beat of the song Justin had been singing. “I find that doing this helps you to get in the groove of the song, which allows you to concentrate less on trying to get everything right and more on just feeling the rhythm. Go on, give it a try!”

“Alright…” said Justin, raising his own foot and tapping it against the floor. “Like this?”

“Yes, exactly like that!” The bear returned to his piano and began to play the opening notes to the song again. “Now, try singing again!”

Justin did. “Spend some time with me and you’ll know, you’ll know that there’s nobody else…” As he sang, he tapped his foot against the ground just as he had before. Sure enough, he found himself looking at the sheet music less and less, finding that he was simply enjoying going along to the beat instead. It was strange - he had never even heard this song before now, yet here he was singing it as if he’d known it all his life. “Simply spend some time with me, and you’ll never need another name…”

As Justin’s foot tapped, though, it suddenly began to grow larger. Slowly it grew, bigger and bigger until it stretched against the confines of his sock before suddenly tearing through. As it stretched larger, reducing his sock to mere scraps, it began to change - brown fur swept across it, toes merged together into thick, meaty digits, and toenails grew out into blunt claws. With a rip, his other sock suddenly burst open as well, his other foot undergoing the exact same transition. Within seconds, Justin was standing on two massive bear paws - ones that looked exactly like Frankie’s. Yet he remained completely oblivious, tapping his paw against the ground as he finished the song. “Cuz I know, we can be one and the same!”

“Excellent! Fantastic work, Justin!” said Frankie, clapping his hands together. “You’re quite the natural at this, I must say.”

“Heh… uh, thanks,” said Justin, not really knowing how to respond. “I don’t know why, but… once I started tapping, it was like I just kinda got… lost in the music. Like I knew exactly what I needed to do to perform this song.”

“Well, that’s the idea, isn’t it?” said Frankie with a laugh. “Of course, there are still a few things we can work on, but we can leave those until tomorrow. I think we’ve done enough for today.”

“Wait, tomorrow?” asked Justin, confused. “I thought we were just doing a single session together.”

“Oh no, of course not!” laughed Frankie, clapping his hands together again. “This is a three-day lesson we’re doing. You’ll come back tomorrow for some additional training, and then the next day we’ll tie everything together for the conclusion. You are free both those days, right?”

“Oh, um… Yeah, I am,” said Justin. He was lucky - today was Monday, and the last day of his vacation was Wednesday, so that gave him just enough time to fit both lessons in before he had to go back to work.

“Excellent!” said Frankie. “Well then, take care and I’ll see you tomorrow!”

“Okay, thanks!” said Justin, turning around to leave. “Er, wait… where are my shoes?”


“Your… shoes?” asked Frankie. “What do you mean?”

“I was wearing shoes when I got here, wasn’t I?” said Justin. “I left them by the front door, and now they’re gone! Where did they go?”

Frankie frowned. “Are you sure about that? I really don’t think you were.” He chuckled again, looking down at Justin’s feet. “Besides, I don’t think there’s a single pair of shoes on the planet that you could fit those feet into, right?”

“What?” Confused, Justin looked down at his feet. He blinked, then wiggled one of them in place. Were those bear paws… his? He could have sworn he’d been wearing shoes when he came in here, but… like Frankie said, there was no way any pair of shoes could possibly fit those feet… right? Frowning, he tapped one of his feet in place, just as he had when he was singing earlier. As he did, suddenly everything became clearer. Of course… there’s no way he could have been wearing shoes here, right? Because he’d always had these paws. And these paws could never fit into any pair of shoes. “Right… sorry,” he said sheepishly. “I… don’t know why I thought that. Must just be tired from this session, I guess.”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Frankie, waving him off. “Go home and get some rest! And I’ll see you tomorrow for our next session!”

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..


As Justin cooked dinner for himself, he couldn’t help but hum the song he’d been singing at Frankie’s place earlier that day. Ever since he’d left, that song had been stuck in his head, and he couldn’t seem to get it out no matter what he did. Reading, watching TV, gaming - no matter what he did, that song was still stuck in his head. He continued to hum, even absentmindedly tapping his foot on the ground as he did. Though as he tapped, he failed to notice the brown fur from his feet spreading up his legs, past his ankles and towards his knees. He stopped tapping for a moment, putting his meal on his plate and walking over to his table to eat. But as he ate, he still couldn’t help but hear that song in his head, still couldn’t help but tap his foot on the ground. He couldn’t stop thinking about it - that song in his head, that song that had been occupying his every thought since the moment he’d stepped out of that cabin. Maybe it would help if he tried singing it again, he thought? It was worth a try, at least.

As soon as he finished his meal, Justin stood up, his foot tapping against the ground once again as he started singing. “If you wanna spend some time with me just know, that I’m open to you…” As his foot tapped, the brown fur continued to spread all the way up his legs, until it reached his waist. “Cuz even if you’re having your doubts, I know we’ll find a way to get through…” As the fur spread, his legs suddenly began growing larger and wider, swelling with both fat and muscle until they were stretching against his pants. “Just surrender yourself to me, and I can mold you to my name…” As if in response to his growing legs, his jeans suddenly began to shrink in length, receding up his legs as the color changed from blue to brown. “Cuz I know, we could be one and the same!”

As Justin finished singing, he nodded, impressed with himself. He sounded even better than he had earlier in the day - if Frankie could have heard him just then, he was sure he would have been impressed! As soon as he looked down at himself, though, he frowned. His legs looked… different? In their place was a pair of huge, bulky-looking legs covered in brown fur, completely different from the smooth skinny legs he’d had before. Even his jeans had vanished, replaced entirely by a large pair of cargo shorts. He reached down, running his hands through his new fur - and in that instant, everything clicked. That’s right - his legs looked like this because that’s what they always looked like, right? And he was wearing cargo shorts because that’s what he always wore. After all, those shorts were important for his look - why would he wear anything else? Satisfied, he turned towards his stairs and made for his bedroom, ready to turn in for the night.

The next morning, Justin woke up feeling completely refreshed, better than he’d felt in a long time. He stood up, heavy paws pressing into the ground as he went to his dresser to pick out an outfit to wear. His shirts looked the same, but his pants had completely changed - whereas before they had mostly been jeans, now they consisted entirely of brown cargo shorts. Not that he minded or even noticed - that was what he always wore, as far as he could remember. Throughout the entire morning, he could hardly sit still, his massive foot tapping on the ground impatiently. All he could think about was his upcoming lesson with Frankie that afternoon, how he could impress the bear with his singing. Even his impending return to his job in a couple days was the furthest thing from his mind - as far as he was concerned, trivial things like that no longer mattered to him. All that mattered was being able to impress his mentor, continuing to practice and improve until he was just as good as Frankie.

2:00 couldn’t come fast enough. As soon as the time came, Justin leaped into his car, speeding as fast as he could over to Frankie’s house. “Well hello, there!” said Frankie, greeting him at the door. “You seem pretty eager, I must say. Ready to continue the lesson? I hope you’ve been practicing!”

“I sure have!” said Justin with a grin. “You know, it’s funny - every since you gave me that tip yesterday-” He tapped his foot for emphasis. “-I’ve really been getting into this song. Honestly, it… it feels like I’ve known it all my life.”

“Well, that’s the idea!” said Frankie with a chuckle. “Getting you to the point where you can do it just as well as I can - that’s the goal here! In fact, I have another tip for you that might just help with that!”

“Really?” asked Justin. Any tips he could use to improve were more than welcome to him. “What is it?”

“Well, yesterday I was the one playing the piano for you,” replied Frankie, motioning Justin over to his piano. “But I thought you might like to give playing a try this time around. It might help you feel even more connected to the song you’re singing.”

“Play… the piano?” For the first time since yesterday, Justin faltered. He hadn’t touched the piano since middle school - how was he expected to play something this advanced right off the bat? Still, he didn’t want to disappoint Frankie after how far he’d come since he first started. “I… guess I could give it a try,” he said, sitting down on the bench. Positioning his hands on the keys, he took a deep breath, then started to play. To his surprise, the first few notes came easily to him - his fingers found the correct keys effortlessly, playing without a single mistake. Surprised, he continued to play, his fingers gliding flawlessly across the keys as he finished the first verse and reached the chorus. “So get lost with me and I know you’ll see, how to find your fortune and fame…”

But as his fingers made their way across the keys, more changes suddenly began to wash over them. Brown fur began sprouting across them as they grew thicker and meatier, fingernails sprouting out into short dark claws. All the while, his hands started to grow larger as well, more brown fur spreading across them as thick pads grew from the bottom. Yet despite this, his playing never faltered - his new massive bear paws seemed to be just as dexterous at playing as his old human hands were, if not even more so. “So just start the show, and you’ll immediately know, you’ll know, we can be one at the same!”

“Excellent work!” said Frankie, his own massive paws applauding Justin as he stepped forward. “I must say, you really are quite the natural at this. Are you sure you’ve never played this song before?”

“Um…” Justin frowned, looking down at his new hands. He was pretty certain he’d never even heard this song before yesterday, but… the more he stared at the massive paws attached to his arms, the less certain he was becoming. Something was nagging at the back of his mind… some creeping suspicion that he’d performed this song before. Maybe… on stage, while on tour? He immediately shook his head. No, that was ridiculous! He’d never performed music on tour before… had he?

“You know what? Don’t answer that,” said Frankie with a chuckle. “I think you’ve progressed far enough today. Go home, get some rest, and we’ll continue with your final lesson tomorrow. Capice?”

“Uh… yeah, sure,” said Justin, quickly getting up. “Thanks for the help, Frankie! See you tomorrow!” He headed for the door, still feeling confused. Where had that thought come from? Why had he thought for a moment that he’d performed this on tour before? He shook his head, stepping outside into the cold air. He’d probably just had this song on his mind for too long. Maybe spending some time doing something else would do him some good.

That nagging feeling persisted as he drove home, though. He couldn’t get it out of his head - that feeling that somehow, he’d performed this song in the past. Performed it in front of hundreds, maybe even thousands of people! As he pulled up to his apartment, he took a deep breath, turning off his car and stepping outside. He needed to do something to take his mind off this whole thing - cook, watch TV, play video games, anything! But as he opened the front door to his apartment, he was met with something completely unexpected.

Sitting there in the front room was… a piano. A full grand piano, exactly like the one at Frankie’s house. Justin frowned. How did this get here? He’d never had a piano here before… had he? He blinked, slowly approaching it. There was something strange about it - like it was calling him, begging him to play it. He walked up next to it and sat down at the bench, his massive hands hovering over the notes. And he began to play. “Just let me sit by you, whisper in your ear, let my words sink into your brain…” As he played, his torso suddenly began to swell, his frame growing larger and stretching against shirt. “And once you hear me you’ll know that we can start the show, you’ll know we can be one at the same!” With a loud RIP, his shirt quickly tore open, his new massive torso tearing it apart. It was huge, muscular, and covered in brown fur - just like Frankie’s. At the same time, his arms started to bulk up with muscle as well, more brown fur sweeping across them. All the while, Justin grinned, continuing to perform. He didn’t even notice the changes happening to him - he only noticed that he was feeling more in his element than ever before. He felt connected to the music in a way he never had before, like he’d known this song for most of his life. In fact, he might as well have known it for most of his life. It was like his entire identity was connected to it, yet he couldn’t quite figure out how. Not that it mattered to him at that moment - all he cared about was continuing to play, continuing to be connected to that song, making that moment last until he finally felt satisfied.

Standing up from the piano, he chuckled, looking over himself. The sight of his new, muscular brown-furred torso didn’t concern him at all, nor did his newly muscular brown-furred arms. None of it mattered to him - all that mattered was the song he was just playing, the song that continued to play in his head even after he was done. Smiling, he hummed it to himself while he headed over to the kitchen to prepare his dinner, fully intending to return to the piano when he was done. He was going to play that song for as long as he could once he finished eating - he wanted to keep practicing, keep connecting, keep feeling that music in him for as long as he could. After all, that’s exactly what Frankie would want him to do.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

“Oh! Hello, Justin!” said Frankie, opening the door to find Justin standing there. He certainly looked different than he had that first day - his feet, legs, arms, and torso had changed completely, looking almost exactly like Frankie’s. In fact, the only thing about him that was still human was his head, eyes wide and mouth grinning eagerly. “You’re… a bit early,” he said, looking at his watch. “Our session isn’t supposed to start for another half-hour.”

“Sorry,” said Justin, his grin never fading. “I… guess I was just really eager to continue.” He’d spent most of the night, as well as the entire morning, hunched over that piano in his apartment playing that song over and over and over again. Yet he didn’t feel tired - in fact, he felt more energetic than he had in his entire life. He hadn’t bothered to put on a shirt - why would he? He no longer needed one. All he needed was to be here, at Frankie’s house, playing his song - what felt like the culmination of his entire life leading up to this moment. He didn’t even care that this was his last day of vacation before he’d have to return to work. Work was the furthest thing from his mind - he could barely even remember what his job was, or what he had done during his time there. The only thing that mattered to him in that moment was that song - the one he was going to perform for Frankie right now.

“Well, I appreciate the enthusiasm!” said Frankie, leading the way over to his piano. “Now, why don’t you show me what you’ve got? Let’s see how much you’ve learned in our time together.”

“You got it!” said Justin, walking over and sitting down at the piano before beginning to play. He was an absolute natural, his fingers dancing flawlessly across the keyboard as his voice rang out across the house. “Now you’re with me, and I’m with you, and we’re both sharing the same name!” As he sang, the final changes began to occur: brown fur spread up his neck, covering his face. His ears enlarged as his nose darkened, his face stretching forward into a short muzzle while his teeth sharpened into points. All the while he sang, oblivious to everything even as his voice suddenly deepened, the timbre changing to match Frankie’s exactly. In fact, everything about his body was now exactly like Frankie’s - his large paws, muscular torso, thick brown fur, everything about him was the spitting image of the bear sitting next to him. “You’re finally free, I’m you and you’re me, we’re finally one and the same!” He crescendoed into the final note, his fingers flying across the piano keys as the final few notes were played. As soon as he was done, he took a deep breath, looking over at his teacher. “What did you think of that?” he said confidently. “Pretty great, right?”

“Oh, absolutely!” said Frankie, clapping his paws together. “I just knew you were going to be perfect from the moment I saw you! Isn’t that right… Frankie?”

The bear that used to be Justin nodded, grinning wildly. “Sure is, Frankie!” he laughed. “You really know how to pick ‘em, don’t you?”

“Oh, stop it!” said Frankie, waving him off. “Anyway, let’s get serious for a moment. How are you feeling? Any… lingering memories?”

The other bear thought for a moment. “Hmmmm… don’t think so, nope!” he said, shaking his head. “Just me on stage with my bandmates, performing for hundreds of adoring fans! Hell, I barely remember what that other guy’s name was… what was it, Jason or something?”

“Justin,” said Frankie. “Alright, let’s see what exactly you can remember… ah!” His eyes lit up. “Okay, remember the 2005 tour? What was the name of that woman that I - or rather, we - hooked up with in Nashville?”

The other Frankie chuckled. “Oh, you mean Rosanne? Yeah, I remember her well.” He sighed. “The most beautiful cheetah I’ve ever seen. The way those spots showed through that white dress of hers-”

“Alright, alright, I get it,” said Frankie. “Seems the conversion was a complete success, then. Seems we truly are…” He grinned, pausing for emphasis. “...One and the Same, aren’t we?”

“Yeah, yeah, I get the joke,” said New Frankie. “Which makes sense, considering I’m the one that came up with it.”

“Well, I actually came up with it,” said Old Frankie. “Although, I guess since you’re also me, that means you also came up with…” He shook his head. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter. The point is, the plan went off without a hitch. Get someone to sign up for the lessons, use the song to turn them into me. And then-”

“Start advertising in other places!” finished New Frankie. “And turn those people into copies of me as well! And then use those copies to give lessons in even more places, then turn all of those people into copies of me, and then… and then…” he frowned. “And then… what? Did I - or rather, did WE figure that part out yet?”

“Um… no, I don’t think we did,” said Old Frankie, scratching his head. “Eh, whatever. We’ll have plenty of time to figure that out later, especially now that there’s two of us. Double the brains means double the thinking power, right?”

“Right!” said New Frankie. “Now, what do you say we relax for a little bit? Watch some TV, sit on the couch together… what do you say we make some popcorn, too? I’m in the mood for a bit of popcorn right now.”

“Well, what do you know? So am I!” laughed Old Frankie. “Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s head to the kitchen to make some!” With a chuckle, he turned to head into the kitchen, his new clone eagerly following behind.