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Chapter Text

It was a pretty normal day to Matt. He was sitting in one of the dullest math classes his high school had to offer. The only thing that made it bearable was his best friend Smitty sitting in front of him.

Yep it was a pretty normal, boring day in Canada.

Little did Matt know it would be the last normal day of his life.

The fire alarm went off, strange considering this wasn't the time of day they normally did fire drills, but Matt shrugged it off. "Come on Matt, single file line." Smitty whispered with a smirk. Matt rolled his eyes and smiled, "Wouldn't put it past him." 'Him' being their insufferable math teacher.

People whispered in the halls, and it was clear something wasn't right. Matt tried to listen through the obnoxious beeping of the fire alarm, "-said this isn't a drill."

Matt's eyebrows raised, a real fire? That was a bit concerning, but Matt had most of his valuables on him. There was no way he'd leave them in his locker. He was sure Smitty did the same - they had been friends for so long they practically shared a braincell.

Everyone filed outside, and sure enough they were led farther away from the building and towards the street. "I bet someone fucked up the microwave." Smitty said, and Matt laughed, "Probably."

They stood outside for a while, some people worried about their possessions inside. Matt honestly didn't care. He was getting a free ticket out of his worst class, he'd take it.

And then someone screamed, and Matt felt something blunt hit him over the head.

Where the fuck am I?

Matt blinked awake, shifting and stretching. He couldn't tell how long he had been out, but clearly it had been a good chunk of time. It felt like he had just woken up from a week long nap.

The floor he laid on was concrete, clearly some kind of unfurnished basement.

Oh I've been kidnapped. Great, just what I needed today.

Matt sighed, trying his hardest not to freak the fuck out. His arms were tied in front of him, and his ankles were tied as well, both in some generic store rope.

Ok Matt you can break that.

He took a deep breath, when suddenly a thought hit him.

Smitty.

SHIT WHERE THE FUCK WAS SMITTY?

Matt shuffled around, looking for any sign of Smitty, part of him hoping he wouldn't find anything.

There!

A humanoid shape that definitely looked like Smitty lay in a corner a little ways away from him. Matt shuffled the best he could over to Smitty - it was definitely him now that Matt got closer but...

Were those... rabbit ears?

Matt shook Smitty awake, and he moved to face Matt, cringing at the small amount of light that was there. "Smitty- Smitty are you okay? What the fuck happened?"

Smitty blinked and nodded, still waking up. And yes those definitely were rabbit ears on his head, white and fluffy. "What happened to your skin?" Smitty squinted, and Matt finally took a second to examine himself.

WHAT THE FUCK?

The skin on the back of his arms were bumpy, almost like that of a toad or frog, and when he spread his fingers they were webbed.

"What the fuck is happening?" Matt whispered. "You think I know!?" Smitty shrugged the best he could while tied up, "Did something happen to me too? I feel... wierd."

Matt reached up and gently grabbed the rabbit ears, flesh and definitely attached to Smitty. "You have ears." Matt whispered, and looked over Smitty for anything else. His legs looked bent at an odd angle, and they didn't look all too human. "And something happened to your legs."

Smitty sat up and examined himself, the joints in his legs bent at new angles, and Matt felt it wierd to look at.

Suddenly, something moved deeper in the room. Matt tensed, and tried to maneuver in front of Smitty to protect him. "What was that?" Smitty whispered, and Matt glanced back uncertain. There was movement in the badly lit room, and there was the sound of shuffling. "I fuckin' hate this." Matt whispered.

The stillness unnerved him, and Matt suddenly wished he were literally anywhere other than here. He never liked scary movies, let alone living one.

"Psst!" The sound almost made Matt jump out of his skin. He looked over to see another guy about his age, holding a pocket knife, "Lemme cut you out." He whispered, looking around the room surveying. Matt relaxed a little, "Yes please." He held his arms out, and the man bent down to carefully cut the rope off.

His eyes were narrowed to slits, and sharp spikes lay flat along his arms. His ears looked like fins, and he appeared to have gills.

"How'd you get a pocket knife?" Smitty asked, and the guy shrugged, "Bad kidnappers I guess. Didn't check all my pockets." 

After Matt's arms and legs were free, the man started on Smitty's ropes. Although the man had gotten away with a small pocket knife, Matt's phone was gone, and he assumed the same of Smitty too.

The shuffling returned, and Matt tried to focus into the darkness. "That's my friend, don't worry." The fish guy said, moving onto Smitty's ankles. "Does he have a knife too?" Matt asked, suspicious. "Nah. Whatever animal thing happened means he's a bear now. He's got pretty sharp teeth, and they honestly do the job better than this knife." He finished breaking Smitty's rope.

Matt shivered. Even if it was less efficient, he'd take the knife any day.

"Probably would do him better if he were quieter though." The fish rolled his eyes.

"Have you seen anyone?" Matt asked. "Who isn't kidnapped? No, but better safe than sorry."

Something clicked in Matt's brain as the guy spoke, "You're American." The guy raised an eyebrow, "Yeah?"

Matt looked at Smitty, worried. These weren't their classmates.

How many people were kidnapped?

"We're Canadian." Smitty whispered, and the guy looked surprised, "That's concerning." Matt bit back a joke at the comment, understanding what the guy actually meant. This wasn't a time for jokes.

"I'm Puffer by the way." He stood up, helping them as well, "I'm Smitty, that's Matt."

Matt almost kicked him for saying their real names. What if this guy was lying? But then again why would he free them?

They followed Puffer around the outskirts of the walls, finally seeing his bear friend, who was biting through the rope of some half-bird guy.

"Grizzy quit being so loud." Puffer whispered to him. The bear looked up, "Sorry, that's a little hard when you're tripping over tied up teenagers in the dark." He ripped the last thread of rope and the bird stretched. Beside him a half-wolf was gnawing though his own rope by Grizzy's example.

Someone screamed in the farther darkness of the room, and something grunted, ironically almost like an animal.

The six of them stiffened, and Puffer quickly leaned down to finish freeing the wolf's ankles. "Whatever the fuck that is we need to get away from it." The bird whispered, and Matt had never had his thoughts spoken so clearly.

The group of six quietly walked away, the sounds only getting more disturbing. The thing growled and huffed, and the poor guy who was his victim screamed again, clearly trying to run away.

"Logically, we should find an exit if we follow the walls." Puffer whispered, and Matt breathed, glad someone here knew, or was pretending to know, what they were doing. "Do any of you know how many of us are in here?" The wolf asked, and Grizzy nodded, "I'd say about fifteen including us." The creature growled, and a new shrieking voice cried out. "And them."

They continued to walk along the wall in silence, the eerie sound of snarling and the breaking of bones filled the air. Matt shivered.

Fuck this shit. Absolutely fuck this shit.

The sounds eventually crept closer, thankfully there was a jutting out wall they could all hide behind.

Matt carefully peeked out into the darkness and saw the monster for the first time.

It seemed to once be human, just like everyone else, yet whatever they were mixed with was absolutely not an animal. Its legs bent at strange angles and its extremities faded into a black that clashed horribly with its sickly pale skin. Its fingers and feet were long, boney claws that seemed like talons. It had a dark black tail that reminded Matt of a rat, except rats were cute and didn't peel your face off. It was incredibly thin, bones showing through the skin. It had some ripped clothes on that were stained in fresh blood, and completely black eyes with white pupils. It seemed in agony, as if it were starving.

A fairly normal looking human scurried away from it, although Matt caught what looked to be scales on their arms.

Matt hid back around the corner. That sight was sure to give him nightmares for the rest of his life.

He looked at Smitty, and caught something in his eye. Matt could read him like a book, and he hated himself for it. "Smitty, look at me." Matt grabbed the side of his face to force eye contact, "You are not going to die trying to save some guy we've never met." Matt said, teeth clenched.

Smitty didn't say anything for a moment, but Matt knew from that expression he wasn't talking him out of it. "Matt," Smitty grabbed Matt's hand and held it tight, "I won't die. I promise."

And before Matt could protest, Smitty let go and ran out from the corner.

Goddamn it you fucking dumbass Smitty.

"Welp." Puffer sighed, and Matt felt on the verge of punching a wall and bursting in to tears.

YOU FUCKING DUMBASS SMITTY!

Matt tried to take a deep breath in to calm himself, but the sound of it snarling made him tense.

Suddenly he felt a paw on his shoulder, "Matt?" Grizzy looked down at him, and he paused trying to think of words, "Puffer and I will help him. You three find the exit."

Thank god for other people knowing what the fuck they were doing.

Puffer and Grizzy followed after Smitty, and Matt tried not to think about the sounds coming from the darkness.

"Matt huh? I'm Pezzy." The bird finally introduced himself as the three began walking. The wolf nodded, "Droid." He seemed more focused on looking out for the monster, which Matt didn't blame him for.

"Wait." Droid slowed, "Over there." He pointed across the room. Matt squinted, and could barely make out a door.

The only thing that stood between them and freedom was the monster. "Fuck." Matt cursed.

Smitty dodged out of the way of the monster's swipe, and Grizzy barled into it. It growled and turned around to face him.

Matt felt his heart drop as those piercing eyes met his, "Idiots." It growled, a hiss lacing its voice. Its teeth were stained with blood.

SHIT SHIT SHIT.

Matt darted out of the way as it lunged, Droid pulling Pezzy out of the way. It turned to look at Matt, letting its mouth hang open so black goop could fall out of it. Matt ducked beneath a swing of its powerful claws, blood roaring in his ears.

"Over here dumbass!" Puffer called, and the monster swiveled its head. Before it could move for anyone, it let out a yowl of pain. Matt saw Droid bite down on his shoulder, sharp wolf teeth digging into skin and drawing blood.

The door outside swung open, the scaley guy Smitty had risked his life to save holding it open. Matt raced for the exit, the monster let out a frustrated growl behind him. Droid and Pezzy distracted it as Puffer fumbled with the latch on the outer door. He watched as Droid got slashed in the leg, and Pezzy, momentarily distracted, was slammed against the wall. "Fuck." Smitty watched, preparing to leap in. Matt only now noticed the giant gash on his arm. "Oh no you don't." Grizzy grabbed him by the good arm.

The latch unlocked with a click, and Puffer pushed the hatch open to reveal the outside. Matt never thought he'd been so relieved in his life.

Once it was opened, Puffer darted back to help Pezzy and Droid. He threw his weight into the monster, giving Droid time to carry a hazy Pezzy over to the door. Grizzy helped pull them up, and Matt was the last up the ladder.

Well, last exept for Puffer.

He had tripped the monster, and came running toward the ladder. "You." The monster growled, clutching a wound on his side. Puffer kicked the trapdoor shut behind him, although they all knew it wouldn't hold it off for longer than a few seconds.

It was the middle of the night. Matt didn't recognize any of his surroundings. "We gotta lose it." The scaley guy, who Matt guessed was a snake or lizard, said while running towards a forest. The group followed, Droid and Grizzy carrying the dazed Pezzy.

"Why the fuck are we going to lose it in the forest? Wouldn't the city be better?" Matt panted, frustrated that he hadn't been working out recently. The guy turned his head back, "Do you want a bunch of news articles about some freaky half animals running through the street at midnight?" And fair, he did have a point.

Matt chanced a glance back, and sure enough it was following them.

Shit.

They dodged and weaved through trees, until Matt's chest and legs burned. The crunch of grass and leaves beneath their feet were loud, yet Matt didn't have enough energy to be quiet and go fast. He heard the monster crash through the trees behind them.

We can't die. We can't get this far and just die.

He swallowed hard, gasping for breath. Thankfully the monster slowed, either from tireness or from clumsiness getting through the thick trees. "Up." The reptile motioned to a tree, and no one hesitated. Smitty jumped onto the tree, a fair bit higher than a normal person could jump. Droid, Pezzy, and Grizzy followed.

Can I jump like that?

Maybe if he was a frog or toad he could jump higher? Matt braced before jumping a good ways up the tree, not as high as Smitty, but higher than he normally would've.

The thought distracted him, and he failed to grab onto the tree properly. Matt's heart stopped before he realised his other hand was still held on tight, tighter than he normally would've.

Am I... sticky? Like a frog?

"Matt, here." Smitty reached down from his branch, and Matt took his hand. He pulled himself up.

Puffer and the reptile sat on another branch nearby. Matt took a second to finally breathe. He was so preoccupied he almost forgot they were hiding.

Almost.

He squinted into the trees and saw the monster's large silhouette. The others in the tree watched it intently.

Don't look up. Don't look up.

It glanced around, looking less bloodthirsty. Then it turned around and walked away.

They were safe.

For now.

Chapter Text

[That Night]

On a map, South Carolina wasn't that far away from Florida. Only a little land sat between them, it wasn't that far right? That's what Puffer used to think when he looked at a map, but a map and actual land were two different distances.

The group of seven escapees had stayed up that night, taking sleeping shifts in groups. Puffer however, absolutely couldn't sleep, so he had stayed on watch a few times throughout the night. The first person he stayed up with was John - the reptile guy.

Turns out he was some kind of snake. Although he looked fairly normal at a glance, his arms were scaley, and he had pointy fangs. John thought they could be venomous, but Puffer suggested they not test it.

John seemed like more of a loner compared to everyone else. He talked about his aspirations of going to an art school, lamenting about not being able to show Puffer his art. He seemed like a nice enough guy, content to help these people who saved his life.

Droid took the spot after him, insisting he could see in the dark better with a wolf's vision, and Puffer didn't doubt it. He'd told Puffer that he and Pezzy had both moved to Texas recently, and had become close friends at school.

Droid seemed hyperactive, and alot happier than you'd expect after being dropped off in a completely different state with no shelter. Puffer asked him about it, and Droid opened up a little. He said he hoped his happiness rubbed off on Pezzy, and that it would make him feel better. It seemed like there was more than that, but Puffer felt like it was something he shouldn't push.

Grizzy took the last spot, "You're still up?" Puffer nodded, "I can't sleep." Grizzy frowned, sitting next to him, "You need sleep though, we gotta move tomorrow." Puffer sighed, rubbing his face. He was well aware it would bite him in the ass, yet he couldn't sleep if he tried, "Just drop it Grizz."

Grizzy directed his attention to the forest, quiet for a while. "I wonder how they did this... who did this." Grizzy stared at his bear claws, turning them over as if they weren't attached to him. "I'm trying not to think about it." Puffer replied, feeling the new webbing sit between his fingers. He felt strange, like his body wasn't his.

"Never thought I'd miss Florida." Grizzy smiled, although nothing was really funny. "Me neither." Puffer could feel himself zoning out - trying to ignore the itch that settled beneath his skin. Beneath his scales.

"Do you... You think they're okay?" He heard Grizzy's voice waver. Puffer looked over at him, "Who? Our classmates?" Grizzy closed his eyes, "My parents. Your parents." He had only met Grizzy's parents a handful of times. Sometimes when he went over to hang out, but mostly just randomly. Puffer still liked them though, they were very sweet to him.

He looked up at the stars. They seemed no different than they were at home. His own parents could probably glance up and see the same sky. The same moon.

Part of him wondered if they were.

"I hope so." Puffer said after a moment.

"Me too." Grizzy replied.

Chapter Text

[The Next Morning]

Dallas shut the door gently behind him. The abandoned store wouldn't work for long, but it was good enough for now. He lifted his hat and slicked back his long hair, claws getting caught on his animal ears.

I'll never get used to this shit.

"McNasty?" Dallas called, "In here." He replied. Dallas followed his voice to the walk in freezer. It was old and dusty, but better than nothing. "I found fresh bandages." Dallas sat down next to his friend. McNasty smiled, "You mean stole? Also where'd you nab that jacket?"

Dallas rolled his eyes, "No shit I stole it, but you need these - the jacket was a bonus." McNasty chuckled, "Alright Dal." He gently untied the old bandages from around his face and neck. Dallas cringed at the wound. It started above his eyebrow, went through his left eye and down his neck. He'd probably never see again on that side.

"It's getting better." Dallas gently wiped the wound with stolen disinfectant, McNasty hissed, "That doesn't feel better though." Dallas gingerly wrapped his eye and neck, "Sorry, its better than an infection though."

McNasty sat back after he was done, Dallas knew he was examining him too. "Your scar is looking better too." He gently padded the scar that went through Dallas' lip with the less dirty part of his old bandages. His wound wasn't as big as McNasty's, going from the bottom of his nose to his chin. It had still hurt like a bitch though.

"Did you see anything?" McNasty asked, Dallas shook his head. "No. You think that group of escapees is alive?" McNasty hummed, eyes fixated on his jaguar tail, "We should start looking."

Chapter Text

[Later That Day]

They were walking into the city, not quite there yet. Luckily - or unluckily - they hadn't seen anyone.

"So... what do we do exactly?" John had asked, watching as the group got up for the morning. Pezzy tilted his head slightly, "Find a police station?" Grizzy snorted, "Are you kidding? They'd shoot the shit out of us. We should go to a fire station if anything."

So that's where they were heading. John felt the scrapes on his arms and the cut on his cheek sting. He was grateful Smitty had stepped up to the monster before John was hurt worse, but he did feel bad for the gash on the Canadian's arm.

They entered an abandoned parking lot, glancing through windows for food or supplies. Droid walked with a limp, leg covered by someone's torn clothing, Smitty's arm was wrapped in a similar fashion. Everyone else's wounds weren't covered yet - they couldn't exactly tear up all their clothes.

Their injuries made them walk slow, and John felt a sense of dread creep up on him.

It's too quiet.

"Hey!" The words were almost at a whisper, and yet John almost jumped out of his skin.

The whisper had come from an open door of a store. The man had long, blonde hair and a cut on his lip. More importantly, he had animal ears! He was one of them!

"What are you doing out in the open?" The guy whispered urgently. "Uhh... looking around?" Puffer shrugged. The man rolled his eyes and motioned inside.

There wasn't much in the abandoned store near the front, but near the back away from the windows was a stash of supplies.

Thank fuck.

The man, who John guessed was a tiger, glanced around, "McNasty?" Someone grunted in response, walking out from what probably used to be a freezer room. He was alot bigger, and had a bandage wrapped around half his head. He too appeared to be some kind of cat.

"Dallas wha- oh." He blinked, eyes focusing on the newcomers, "You found em?"

"More like they found us - these dumb fucks were just out in the open!" The blonde waved his arms at them.

"Dumb? Were looking for the fire department - help needs to be able to see us!" Matt snapped back.

The two cats seemed to share a conversation with their eyes. "You don't get it do you?" Dallas watched them intently, "Get what?" Matt stared back.

He sighed and leaned against a shelf, "The fire department won't help you, they work for the government. And this," He waved at his ears and tail, "is their most recent experiment."

Oh.

John usually wouldn't believe claims of dumb government conspiracies, but he did literally have snake fangs.

"Why? How?" Grizzy asked. Droid and Pezzy sat down between the groups, resting against a wall.

"We don't exactly know the details, but it has something to do with bringing back extinct species or something." Dallas shrugged.

Matt squinted at him suspiciously, "What does that even mean? Why experiment with humans?"

"From what I understand, it's alot easier to use something already alive for this process to work." McNasty explained, "As for why they did this on teenagers I have no fucking clue - maybe because we know more about human DNA?"

"That isn't a fucking reason to use humans!" Matt said angrily, examining the webbing between his fingers. "I know! Don't get mad at us! Get mad at them!" McNasty waved his arm.

Dallas bent down to look at Droid and Pezzy next to him, "Y'all need bandages and shit?" Puffer perked up, "Fuckin' please."

At least they had help, even if it wasn't the help they wanted.

Although, John no longer wanted help from the fire department anyway.

Chapter Text

[That Night]

Pezzy sat in the freezer room that no longer produced cold. Dallas and McNasty had converted it into a temporary bedroom. It was probably nearing midnight, but he knew if he went to bed he'd have nightmares. So Pezzy lay in the quiet room, staring at the ceiling that was dimly lit by the crack in the door.

What if I die?

Pezzy hated this time of night. The silence made his thoughts seem louder.

What if the government finds us and kidnaps us again? What if they turn us into full animals?

Pezzy squeezed his eyes shut, but that made his possible concussion hurt too.

What point is there to surviving? To live in fear?

Pezzy tried to focus on his breathing. He felt tears well in his eyes.

Would it be easier if I just gave up?

"Pezzy?" Droid shook his shoulder, "You okay?"

Pezzy wordlessly turned toward his friend. Droid probably knew he was crying, Pezzy had done it too much.

He reached for a hug and Droid understood. He had comforted him through many depressive episodes and panic attacks.

"You need to talk?" Droid asked, rubbing a hand over Pezzy's back. "I'm scared." Pezzy's voice cracked. "Of what?"

"Everything." That didn't explain it, but Pezzy could barely speak.

"I..." Pezzy felt like a coward, unable to even admit to himself what he felt, "It feels easier to give up."

He wasn't able to put it bluntly - to even say suicide - but they both understood his implication.

"Don't." was all Droid said, emotion creeping it's way into his voice. "I won't. But it's so hard to do this shit." Pezzy stared into the darkness. "I know, but we're in this together. You know that right?"

"Yeah."

Chapter Text

[A Few Nights Later]

Matt followed Dallas and McNasty across the rooftops. The group had stayed with them for a few days, and they had decided to start scouting a new hiding spot, just in case.

It wasn't that Matt didn't trust Dallas or McNasty, of course he did to an extent. And honestly, he didn't really know half the people he was trusting anyway, but what else could he do? Take Smitty and run off? They'd be in an even worse situation alone.

These people are all strange individuals.

But so are we I guess.

"Get down." Dallas crouched, holding an arm out. McNasty and Matt did the same, creeping up to the ledge he was near. Matt peaked over and shuddered.

The monster was back.

He was just glad they weren't in its path.

"Do you guys know what the fuck that thing is?" Matt asked.

"Uh..." Dallas replied helpfully. "No, we don't know." McNasty said instead.

"Have you seen it attack?" Matt asked. McNasty smiled, "What else would've done this?" He pointed to his bandaged face.

Matt glanced over the bandage, "Fuck, what happened?"

McNasty pointed to his forehead under the bandages, "It clawed through," his finger traced down the bandages over his eye, down his chin, and onto his neck, "all that."

"Yikes." Matt heard the monster growl from below, and the attack wasn't hard to imagine - even if he didn't want to. "How'd you escape?"

"Once your group left the basement, it followed." McNasty motioned down to the monster, "Then Dallas and I climbed out and ran the opposite direction."

"Did anyone else escape?" Matt asked, scared of the answer. "Anyone else was already dead. Your lucky you were on the other side of the room."

The monster yelled, a scream that was terrifyingly human, yet Matt refused to think about how it was once a person. They probably once had a normal life at school with friends and family, but now...

It tore through civilians, and Matt noticed how the police stood back and let it happen. Sure they acted like they wanted to stop it, but they hid like cowards. They didn't want to kill their experiment.

Matt almost threw up.

"Let's keep moving." He said, and the two agreed. They got over to the ledge, the gap between the rooftops wasn't as big as some of the ones he'd jumped tonight.

It didn't stop Matt's head from spinning.

Dallas and McNasty jumped across fine, and Matt psyched himself up.

They made it. You're fine.

He jumped, barely making the small gap.

Then, he tripped.

SHIT.

Immediately he felt hands grab him, pulling him back up before he fell. Dallas and McNasty pulled him a little ways from the edge before letting him go.

"Thank you." Matt still felt lightheaded from adrenaline. "No leavin' us Matt. You ok?" Dallas asked.

"I'm fine." Matt smiled, "Not planning on leaving you guys anytime soon." He found he truly meant it.

McNasty laughed, lightly patting Matt on the back, "Good."

Chapter Text

[The Next Morning]

"Yep, your arm's infected."

Smitty sighed as Puffer said the words out loud. It hurt like a bitch, and smelled bad enough that Smitty had already guessed that himself.

A wet fabric rubbed over the cut, and Smitty had to resist moving. He tried to think about something else while Puffer replaced his bandages.

I'm a bunny.

Why couldn't I have gotten something cooler?

Smitty frowned, most of his newly found friends were some cool predator like a bear or wolf. Even those who were smaller animals were way cooler than a bunny. Bunnies were small and fragile - cute, but not exactly an upgrade to him. At least Matt could stick to things, and Pezzy got cool looking wings.

What do I get?

An infection.

Puffer finished wrapping his arm, "Try not to move it too much." Smitty nodded.

And now I don't even have two working arms.

The door opened silently, although Smitty still heard it. "You guys back?" He called, "Yep! Found a spot in some apartment. Doesn't look like anyone's been in there in years." Dallas replied.

"That's good." Puffer nodded, "Time for the bad news; Smitty's arm's infected." Matt frowned, "That's what I was worried about."

Matt sat next to Smitty, looking at his arm the best he could without removing the new bandages. "I'm fine Matt." He looked at his friend. He didn't want Matt to worry about him, there were way more pressing issues.

Matt looked at him, worried, for a few more moments before sighing, and walking to the freezer room. "I'm gonna sleep. Wake me if something happens." He dissapeared into the dark. "Sleep doesn't sound half bad." McNasty mumbled, following after him. Dallas rolled his eyes, but followed anyway.

"Smitty?" John said behind him. He was startled to hear his name, "Hm?"

At least I'm good for talking to.

"I found an old chess board in one of the storage rooms, wanna play?" John asked. Smitty nodded, why not?

Smitty and John were pretty evenly matched at chess, although that wasn't saying much. They were both absolute dumbasses who barely knew how to play, but it was still the most fun Smitty had experienced in a while.

John seemed to bounce off him so well, and they got along like they'd known each other for years. It seemed like they shared a brain, which kind of made it hard to strategize.

"You think I'd be good at running away by now." John moved his piece. Smitty snorted, "Tail between your legs buddy." John frowned playfully, "I'm still upset I didn't get a snake tail. Y'know how cool that would be?" Smitty laughed. "Did you get a tail?" He tilted his head, and Smitty paused.

He did get a tail.

A tiny little fluffy bunny one.

Smitty hated it.

"Yeah." Smitty hesitantly turned sideways so John could see. "Aww! I like it!" Smitty tilted his head, "Really?" John smiled, "Yeah! I mean at least you have one. I'm normal and boring." He rolled his eyes.

Smitty smiled dispite himself, "Checkmate my guy."

"Damn it."

"No! We are not throwing him off the roof like a baby bird!" Droid tried not to laugh. "I'm literally not built to fly. You think these little things could hold me?" Pezzy gestured to his small, pink and gray wings with a playful snark to his voice. Puffer and Grizzy laughed.

"Isn't that what birds do though? They drop their babies out of the nest and they instinctively fly?" Grizzy asked. "I'M NOT A FUCKING BABY BIRD!" Pezzy's wings fluttered. Droid couldn't help but snort, and Pezzy glared at him. "I'm so done with you guys." He rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Nope. You're stuck with us." Puffer said. "By what contract?" Pezzy replied.

"By the 'I said so' contract." Puffer lifted his chin playfully. "And what exactly does that contract entail?" Pezzy raised an eyebrow.

"It says that you," Puffer pointed at him, "are stuck with me." Pezzy smiled, "Am I stuck with you, or are you stuck with me?" Puffer seemed to ponder this for a second.

"That's why you always read the fine print." Grizzy commented, Puffer turned to him, "I thought you were supposed to read it!"

"Well, seems like we're all stuck with each other." Droid said. Pezzy put his hand up to his chest dramatically, "Help step bro! I'm stuck!"

Droid and Puffer burst out laughing, while Grizzy recoiled in disgust, "Aw hell nah!"

Chapter Text

[The Next Day]

Matt idly listened to the group - who he was regrettably starting to call friends - the next morning. Dallas and McNasty had went off to the new hideout with a handful of the group's supplies. They planned to come back later once they had scouted the area one last time to make sure it was okay for everyone to move.

Matt was sat beside John on the hard tile ground that was probably horrible for their backs. He found himself watching John doodle on the hord of paper scraps he'd found. A few discarded receipts, a single sticky note with phone numbers written in pen, and some paint chips he'd snagged in a trashcan. Matt especially liked the doodles he kept putting in their singular communal book Grizzy had found at the back of a shelf.

Matt thought the book was boring, but he did flip through it from time to time to see John's new doodles. John made sure to keep the words readable, doodling on the blank edges of paper. Unfortunately, someone else had the book at the moment, so John had gone back to drawing on scrap paper.

Matt had to keep reminding him to stop chewing on the end of the pencil, because they literally found it on the floor. John would roll his eyes, but keep the pencil out of his mouth - at least until he forgot again.

"You saw the apartment Matt. How is it?" John asked. "We think most, if not all of it, is abandoned. We still don't really know for sure though - there might be some homeless guy somewhere." Matt said. John didn't look up from his paper, "We're homeless too, Matt."

We are homeless.

Matt took a breath, wondering how John had managed to say it so nonchalant. "...Right. Well, we can't really tell why the building is abandoned, which is a little worring, but its better than our situation right now though." John erased a line of pencil, "There's a lot of things better than this."

"Shouldn't Dallas and McNasty be back by now?" Grizzy asked, causing Matt to look up at him, Smitty, and Puffer. They had been going on about some dumb bit, so Matt had tuned them out. "You think someone should go check on them?" Puffer asked.

Matt felt something akin to dread pool in his gut. "I can go look." He offered.

Puffer nodded, "Honestly wouldn't put it past those two to just not realise how late it is." He smiled, and Matt got up. A few bones in his back popped as he walked towards the door. The rest of the group continued their bit as Matt stepped outside.

He really hoped it was nothing.

Matt walked a ways closer to the city before climbing a tree next to a building. He remembered when they had done this the night they found the apartment, and Matt tried to re-trace their steps.

He did take a slightly different path though, as it was literally the middle of the day. He was conscious not to be seen, using his strangely sticky hands to climb easier.

The reason he had slipped that night was because he only used his feet to land his jump, but if he stayed lower to the ground and grabbed things with his hands, Matt hoped he could avoid falling.

Because there's no one to catch me this time.

Matt shivered at the thought of falling, trying to shake the idea out of his head. He would get McNasty and Dallas on his way back, and then he'd have his safety net again.

I hope they're ok.

Why hadn't they come back yet? It wasn't too long of a journey. Had something held them up? Was the building not abandoned after all? Had the monster found them, or worse, the police? Matt grabbed onto the railing tight.

They're ok. I'm sure they're ok.

He jumped across to another building, landing primarily with his hands. It worked as he'd hoped, and Matt didn't fall.

Thank fuck.

He continued on his journey, sure he was getting closer. He was almost there, he just had to scale down two floors and get in the window. Before he climbed down though, something caught his eye - well, his ear first.

Laughing.

Oh they're ok thank god.

It wasn't loud enough to draw attention, but it was lighthearted, and distinctly his friends.

And... someone else.

He poked his head down to look through the cracked window, careful not to draw attention. It was a hallway, and Matt's heart dropped at the sight of what was in it.

The monster stood with McNasty and Dallas. It laughed along with them, sharp teeth bared in a terrifying smile.

Am I crazy? What the fuck?

Matt felt his heart in his throat. It was so close to his friends, yet it sat docile, holding a conversation. Matt had saw it rip through people on the streets without remorse. Dallas and McNasty had seemed scared of it that night...

But now here they were, talking.

Laughing.

He tried to listen to their conversation. Were they... working with it? What the fuck?

"We need to lose them somehow." Dallas said. "Yeah, I can tear out more eyes if need be." Matt heard it's words echo in his ears. They laughed.

Everything fell into place.

The way McNasty and Dallas knew the details of the experiment - how it worked and why they were doing it. The way they survived when everyone else on their side of the room didn't. How they somehow knew more than everyone.

They were working with the government and it's pawn.

They were planning on ditching or attacking the group. Matt felt sick.

It was all a lie.

They knew where the escapees were hiding, and were willing to attack them.

Matt climbed back up, and ran away as fast as he could.

Chapter Text

[Earlier That Morning]

McNasty often got nightmares of that afternoon. He remembered it vividly. It was sometimes accompanied by other memories he had from before life went to shit. He'd had a pretty bad one this morning.

"C'mon McNasty! You know the teachers don't give a damn if we go sit in the grass." Dooo bumped him in the arm, "Dallas is waitin' on us." McNasty sighed in defeat, and Dooo led him to a spot under a tree.

McNasty was glad the fire alarms were quieter outside, at least the school could wait for the fire department and still have working ears after.

Dallas was already sat beneath the tree, and McNasty and Dooo joined him.

McNasty had known him and Dallas since about 5th grade. He still remembered Dooo being the 'new kid', and McNasty had struck up a conversation with him one time during lunch. Dooo soon after made friends with Dallas, who McNasty hadn't really talked to before, but through Dooo they became friends. The three of them were inseparable, even now in high school. They weren't the bad kids per say, more like emo class clowns.

Eventually the fire trucks arrived, and the firemen went into the building. McNasty honestly still had no idea if there was an actual fire in there, he assumed probably?

There was also police there, which didn't bode well for whatever had caused the fire.

A pair of policemen walked up to them, and McNasty was prepared to be told to go stand with their class or something.

Instead, one grabbed Dooo's arm and covered his mouth. Dooo struggled and tried to bite or scream.

And then McNasty was knocked unconscious.

He awoke in an unfamiliar basement, with two familiar figures next to him. He looked down at his tied arms to see jet-black paws.

What the hell?

Dallas was still waking up, and McNasty reached over to get his attention. Dallas blinked slowly, eyes focusing on the person in front of him. He also had paws, and a tail. McNasty just realised he had a tail too.

Dallas' eyes widened as he looked past McNasty, "What the fuck happened!?"

McNasty turned toward what he was looking at and saw Dooo. He looked like he was asleep, until Dallas spoke and his eyes shot open.

His eyes were pure black, with white pupils. He wasn't tied like Dallas or McNasty, although he looked like he could probably break through ropes anyway. He had black claws, and his already prominent veins made him look sickly. He was paler than usual, and thinner too - although so were McNasty and Dallas. Dooo had a rat-like tail, and his feet were also claws, or talons. A large metal collar sat around his neck that looked quite heavy.

McNasty instantly felt his fight or flight kick in. What the hell was this thing? Yet it had Dooo's face, and Dooo's voice. "Oh you're awake thank fuck."

McNasty didn't push him away when he went for a hug. He felt his muscles relax as Dooo pulled Dallas in too. The three of them didn't show affection like this often, yet this kinda seemed like an acceptable time. McNasty felt Dallas' shoulder press against his, trying to hug back, although it was hard with his tied arms.

Dispite being literally kidnapped and experimented on, he felt a little better in that moment. Even if they looked different, they were still Dooo, Dallas, and McNasty. They would get through this together.

He hoped.

Dooo pulled away and immediately ripped open the ropes on McNasty's arms. It was scary how easily he tore them apart. "Where are we?" Dallas asked. Dooo shrugged, moving onto another piece of rope, "Hell if I know. You guys ok?"

"Ok as I can be." McNasty replied with a light smile. "Same here. You?" Dallas asked, and Dooo looked at him, "Do you remember any of it?" Dallas looked at him confused, "Any of what?"

Dooo rolled his eyes, "This." He grabbed McNasty's tail. "Oh, no?" Dallas reached up and touched Dooo's collar with his newly freed hands - paws? "What's this?"

"They put it on me. I can't get it fucking off." Dooo growled. "Who?" McNasty tilted his head.

Dooo looked at him for a moment, "You really don't remember... do you?" He seemed to zone out, "Was I the only one kept awake?" He murmured.

McNasty put a paw on his shoulder, "Dooo?" The boy looked up. "Are you ok?" McNasty asked, Dooo blinked, "No."

"What happened?" Dallas looked at him concerned. Dooo took a deep breath, "The government wants to try and bring back extinct species through modifying a creature's DNA. We - or you - are the halfway point."

"What are you?" McNasty asked, "I'm... Mine failed." Dooo said simply.

The three went quiet for a moment. "How do we leave?" Dallas whispered. Dooo opened his mouth, before closing it again. No words came out.

Great. We're fucking stuck here.

"Okay... how do we... figure out how to leave?" Dallas asked instead. "Well we should probably look around." McNasty offered, staring out into the dimly lit room.

Suddenly, a red light lit up on Dooo's collar.

BEEP

Dooo flinched, squeezing his eyes shut and grinding his teeth almost instantly. His hands looked like they were painfully trying to grab air.

"Dooo!?" Dallas and McNasty both looked at him surprised and scared. McNasty reached a hand toward him, "Are y-"

Dooo swung, claws bared.

McNasty felt a white hot pain shoot through his entire head as his friend slashed through his eye. The warm blood trickled down his neck. McNasty screamed in pain.

"WHAT THE FUCK?" Dallas moved in front of McNasty to guard him from Dooo. He felt pain throughout his entire head and neck, like a headache mixed with the worst migrane he'd ever had. He felt woozy too, and he rested his wound on Dallas' shoulder. Everything was blurry, but McNasty tried to focus on what was happening in front of him.

"Don't." Dooo looked terrified, trying to move away from them. "Stay away." His eyes were wide, and he kept looking down at his hands that were stained with McNasty's blood. His voice sounded strange - distorted and unsettling.

"WHAT THE HELL?" Dallas still sounded angry. Dooo backed up again, "I'm sorry!" He sounded terrified. McNasty reached an arm over Dallas' other shoulder. His words were swept away by violent pain and adrenaline, only able to muster a half-grunt into Dallas' neck. Dooo recoiled at the hand reaching for him.

"Run." Dooo said firmly. "Where?" Dallas asked, grabbing hold of McNasty's wrist over his shoulder. "Away from me." Dooo replied.

Leave him?

We can't leave him. We can't lose each other.

Dooo lashed forward suddenly, this time only getting Dallas' lip. He hissed in pain, and Dooo backed up again, "Go."

Before McNasty could protest, he felt Dallas haul him to his feet. They ran, half stumbling, McNasty barely able to see.

They ran into the unknown.

Away from their best friend.

"You ok?" Dallas snapped McNasty out of his thoughts. "I'm fine." He replied, absently flexing his claws.

Dallas looked at him with concern, "Another nightmare?" McNasty nodded. Dallas frowned, before turning to jump onto the next building. He landed with a flick of his tail, and McNasty followed him. Dallas slowed his momentum with a strong arm - they were both getting good at catching each other.

"You get one too?" McNasty asked, already knowing the answer, "Of course." Dallas moved his arm, and they continued their journey to the new hideout. McNasty made sure his backpack was still on his shoulder with its supplies.

"I miss him." McNasty said quietly.

Dallas' response was barely audible, as if saying the words quieter would make them hurt less, "Me too."

They continued in silence for a little bit. It was dawn, barely light out. The sky was all kinds of pink and orange on the horizon, McNasty found it quite pretty. Of course it was also slightly worrying that they wouldn't have the cover of night soon, but the sun had to come up eventually.

The two stayed within an arm's length, always in eyesight. They would get through this together. Dallas and McNasty. They had to.

They couldn't lose each other now.

They had finally arrived at the apartment. McNasty let Dallas go first, grabbing hold of a window ledge before setting a foot on an ac. Dallas moved slowly to the side before being able to reach the fire stairs. As he climbed over the railing, McNasty took his spot on the ac. He never trusted it with his weight, and he held onto the ledge and bricks with his life so he wouldn't fall.

McNasty looked over to the emergency stairs, where Dallas was holding a hand out for him. He took it, finally resting his weight on something that was built for it. He was relieved to be behind a railing again.

They decended the stairs before reaching the proper floor. Dallas opened the window and climbed in. McNasty followed him, shutting the window behind them.

He sighed, finally putting down the backback of supplies. "Wanna check the hallway again? Make sure we didn't miss anything?" Dallas asked.

Or anyone.

McNasty nodded, suppressing a shiver. At least this place had beds and furniture - unlike the store. He was willing to possibly share the downstairs floors with a random guy if it meant not sleeping in a freezer.

Dallas opened the door, cautiously peeking out into the hallway. McNasty was about to follow, when Dallas stopped.

Uh oh.

"Dallas? I-I won't hurt you. It's ok."

A voice McNasty never thought he'd hear again.

How was he here at all?

"Dooo?" Dallas called, still holding the door as a shield. "Yeah, its me." His voice came from further down the hall. "I'll stay over here if it makes you feel better. Is McNasty there too?"

"I'm here." McNasty called. He walked closer to Dallas, silently asking permission to leave the room. Dallas looked at him with hesitation, before opening the door further.

McNasty stepped outside, and looked down the long hallway. At the opposite end from himself and Dallas, was Dooo.

He finally saw the friend he had left over a month ago. Not the monster he'd saw rip through people on the streets - no - this was the boy he'd known since grade school. Dooo sat cross-legged at the end of the hall, eyes welling up.

"You're ok." His voice wavered, "Oh thank fuck you two are ok."

McNasty felt a lump get caught in his throat. It was like his heart had been ripped out of his chest and violently stabbed. The first thing Dooo cared about was their well-being.

You're real.

McNasty ran to the other side of the hall before leaning down to pull Dooo into a hug. Dooo reached up, claws resting lightly on McNasty's back. A few moments later, a third presence joined the hug. Dallas reached his arms around both of them.

"I'm so sorry." McNasty said, tasting his own tears as they ran down his cheeks. "Sorry?" Dooo pulled away from the hug to look at him, "What do you have to be sorry for? I'm the one who should apologize!" Dooo wiped away some of his tears, but they just kept coming.

"I hurt you." Dooo said.

"We... left you." McNasty replied.

Dallas took a shaky breath, "I left you." He added, with guilt McNasty didn't know was there.

"You had to!" Dooo replied passionately, "I would've..." Dooo trailed off, staying silent for a moment.

"...I've killed people, Dallas."

They hugged again, silence enveloped them. Finally, they broke away, hauling Dooo to his feet. He was a lot taller now, and it was wierd for McNasty to see him almost at eye level.

"We know you don't want to hurt us - to hurt anyone. I know you wouldn't kill anyone." Dallas said. "So what did they do to you?"

Dooo wiped away more tears, "It's this thing." He pointed to the metal collar around his neck. "They... have a remote that makes these needles stab into my neck." He illustrated his point with his claws, gently poking his own skin. "It injects me with adrenaline or something. Painful as hell."

"And that makes you... hurt things?" McNasty guessed. Dooo smiled weakly, tears still falling, "Light way to put it, but yeah. It's some chemical mix that pushes the brain into fight or flight - more accurately just fight." Dooo paused, seemingly caught in his own head. "I can ignore the feeling but... not very well." McNasty could tell Dooo was looking at his bandaged face. That look of worry and guilt was worse than losing an eye.

"It's not your fault." McNasty told him. Dooo gently touched McNasty's bandages, "But I still did it." Dooo pulled his hand away and looked at it. "With my own hands."

"With someone else's wierd chemical thing in your blood." Dallas corrected. "It wasn't you. It was them."

"I'm still sorry." Dooo whispered.

"And we still forgive you." McNasty replied, wiping away his own tears.

"...I think this thing is out of battery luckily. They'd have to find me again to recharge it." Dooo rubbed a thumb over the metal absently. "How did you escape?" Dallas asked.

Dooo thought for a second, "The government kept me as like some... military police dog. They're trying to start a panic with me so everybody is also scared of you. They want it so that when people hear you guys ask for help, all they see is me killing people."

It's all one big game of fucking chess to them. Like we aren't people with lives and families. Their goal is to win, and they make their own rules and goalposts.

"They let me loose so this random 'monster' could get in the news. So I could spark fear. No one knows the people pretending to stop the monster also made it. They want to drum up panic so when they capture the rest of you it's a good thing. The kidnappings and human testing goes under the radar in the hysteria, and they magically have new medical info!" Dooo had clearly overheard some things while captured.

"Well jokes on them, they got too comfortable. I ran away when they let me loose to cause chaos. I saw an area they hadn't blocked, and I ran. They figured I hadn't done enough damage yet, and let me keep roaming. They lost me, and I hid."

"Are they still trying to find you?" Dallas asked. "Yeah probably." Dooo replied.

"Well maybe you start with that!" Dallas held his hands in front of him, a baffled smile on his face. "Hey I'm maybe being chased by the fucking government! We might wanna run?"

Yeah probably a good point.

Dooo smiled guiltily, "Sorry."

Dallas turned around, walking back to the door they came in. "Let's keep you on the move then! Come on!" He waved an arm implying they follow.

McNasty did follow, Dooo kicking into a jog to catch up to Dallas. "Hey, maybe we make a plan before we go out into broad daylight?" Dooo asked, grabbing his arm.

The three of them stopped, McNasty glad to see both of them smiling. "So, where do we start this plan?" He asked.

"We need to lose them somehow." Dallas replied,  half to himself. "Yeah, I can tear out more eyes if need be." Dooo winked.

"I thought you didn't like hurting people?" Dallas raised an eyebrow. "One; It's called a joke. Two; I don't like hurting civilians. These are cops."

McNasty chuckled, and Dallas rolled his eyes, "Fair I guess."

"I think the first step is to get back to the group." McNasty stated. "Group?" Dooo raised an eyebrow. "The other survivors." McNasty clarified. Dallas walked into the apartment, picking up the backback of resources, the other two followed.

"I don't think they'd be too happy to see me." Dooo said.

Who wouldn't be happy to see you?

Probably a lot of people actually.

"Well too bad. They're seeing you anyway." McNasty put a paw on his shoulder. "We'll either make them understand, or they can go fuck off. I'm not leaving you again."

The idea of leaving his new friends hurt - especially the people he was closer to like Matt or Grizzy - but that was a price he was willing to pay if he had to.

Hopefully I don't have to pay a price at all. We all got fucked over. I don't have to make a decision if they realise Dooo is like us.

"I'm taking this with us. I don't think we'll be able to stay here long term anymore." Dallas gestured to the supplies on his back.

I don't think we'll be able to stay anywhere long term.

McNasty sighed. He wanted to at least have one good night's sleep in a bed, but they probably wouldn't see this apartment again. It had Dooo's scent in it, and a tracking dog could find them pretty easy.

They'd have to fix that at some point.

McNasty forced a smile, trying to think of the positives. "Well, let's go see the rest of the group then!"

Chapter Text

[That Afternoon]

"What do you mean leaving?" Grizzy watched as Matt gathered everything they owned. "I mean we need to fucking get out of here! How many more ways do I need to say it Grizzy!?" Matt snapped.

Grizzy watched John get up, seemingly to help grab things. Puffer and Smitty walked toward Matt, trying to get him to explain what happened. Grizzy followed them after some hesitation.

"McNasty and Dallas are working with them. I don't know why. I don't know how." Matt said. "Working with who?" Grizzy asked, although he was afraid he already knew the answer. "The people who did this shit to us! They could like... control the monster or something? I don't know! They were talking about mauling us or some shit!" Matt replied.

"Well, it's not safe here then." John said, and Grizzy almost jumped. John had a weird habit of materializing out of nowhere and scaring the fuck out of him. "But where do we even go?" Puffer asked. "I don't know! Not here?" Matt shrugged.

Grizzy realized they were missing two, and looked around. Pezzy and Droid were sat in front of each other a ways away from the group. Droid was whispering something, and Pezzy seemed to be staring right through him.

Grizzy approached, breaking Pezzy out of his trance, "You two okay?" He asked. Pezzy looked like he was slowly comprehending the question, Droid spoke instead, "Yeah, we're fine. Just... this is all a lot to deal with." Pezzy paused before nodding at Droid's words.

"Okay. You know you can talk to me if you need? We're in this together." Grizzy said, offering a paw. Pezzy took it, standing up, while Droid helped himself stand. "We know. It'll be fine, Grizz." Droid assured him.

They walked back to the group. Puffer turned toward them, "We've decided on going to Florida for now. It's the closest state with people we can trust."

Home?

Grizzy tried not to get his hopes up - a lot could go wrong from here to there. "How do we get to Florida though?" Grizzy asked. "We go south and try to find a map on the way." John replied easily. "Okay, where's south?" Grizzy replied - they could quite literally be facing any direction.

John said nothing, instead walking to the front windows of the store. "The sun rises in the east and sets in the west." John pointed at the sun - which you could barely see from this angle. "It's past noon, so that's west. That's east." John pointed in the opposite direction of the sun. "So that way is south." He pointed in front of him, angled a little left of the front door.

"Huh. Okay I guess we go south." Grizzy shrugged. "I thought that was something most people knew?" Matt tilted his head. Grizzy was glad to see him calming down.

"I didn't." Grizzy replied. Smitty rolled his eyes, "Americans." Puffer turned to look at him with mock offense.

"So who's carrying what?" Droid asked from further inside, and Grizzy was suddenly aware they were standing in front of the windows. Everyone walked back to the pile of things - could you even call it a pile? - where Droid and Pezzy were.

"Shit - right they took our backpack." Matt sighed, looking at the collection of stuff. The pile contained fresh bandages, a handful of granola bars, a single can of beans no one figured out how to cook yet, two plastic water bottles, a ragged washcloth, the community book with John's scraps of paper tucked inside, a pencil, and a chess board.

John - of course - picked up the community book and pencil. Puffer took the bandages and washcloth, subtlety glancing at Smitty's arm. Pezzy took a water bottle and the can of beans, putting them in his hoodie. Droid and Smitty took a granola bar each, while Matt took the other water bottle. Grizzy took the rest of the granola bars, tucking them in his pockets. Only the chess board was left.

"I think we have to leave it." Smitty said sadly. Evryone agreed it was too big to carry, and so someone went to go put it back in the storage closet where they found it. "We should do one last check to make sure we didn't forget anything, then leave." Droid said.

Grizzy followed Matt into the freezer. Unfortunately, McNasty and Dallas had taken the one blanket they had.

Right as they were about to leave empty-handed, Matt stopped. Grizzy turned to look as Matt crouched down to pick something up.

It was Dallas' hat.

Did he really forget it?

Matt turned it over in his hands, fingers drifting over the beat up embroidery Metallica logo. "You gonna leave it?" Grizzy asked. Matt looked at it a moment longer before taking a deep breath. "That'd be a waste of a perfectly good hat." Matt finally replied, putting it on his head.

As they walked out, no one commented on the hat, but they definitely noticed it. The only thing anyone else found was another scrap paper. Pezzy handed it to John, who smiled appreciatively.

Matt straightened his shoulders, almost as if trying to reassure himself. "Alright fellas! To the south!"

Chapter Text

[Dusk]

Dooo sighed, purposely trying to get a reaction, "Are we there yet?" He whined. McNasty groaned and rolled his eyes, "For the thousandth time; no." Dooo could still see his light smile, no matter how much McNasty tried to hide it.

"I smell rain." Dallas turned his head back to look at them, pretending to ignore their conversation. "That's good, it should muddy our trail." McNasty replied. "Free shower too." Dooo added.

Dooo instantly hated that he had uttered the word 'shower' at all. It reminded him of when his captors would make him shower.

Dooo would be forced to clean himself while they watched. They wanted to make sure he didn't try to escape somehow, or god forbid steal the one bar of soap he was given. He barely had ten minutes, and a third of that was while the water was still freezing. Dooo never thought he would shake the feeling of them watching him.

McNasty and Dallas would never experience what that felt like - not as long as Dooo lived. He'd make sure of it. They didn't need to experience that. Ever.

Dallas fell back inbetween him and McNasty. Dooo looked around, scanning for anyone who could be watching them. He squinted, looking up at a tree long enough he started to go cross-eyed.

His mind still hadn't found the sweet spot between relaxed and paranoid - Dooo hadn't had much sleep during the two days he'd been free.

Dallas rested his arms over Dooo and McNasty's shoulders, linking the three of them together in a line. Dooo forced himself not to jump too much at the touch. "You good?" Dallas looked at him. "Yeah." Dooo nodded.

It was sprinkling as the storefront came into view - although Dooo was more distracted by whatever wierd footsie equivalent the three had started with their tails.

And then, suddenly, it was pouring.

"Holy shit!" McNasty said beside them. Dooo was immediately soaked. "Come on!" Dallas tightened his grip on both of them, and they started running. The rain obscured Dooo's vision and made him shiver.

They reached the entrance and piled in quickly. Dooo pressed his back against the door, breathing heavy. McNasty and Dallas looked about the same. Once the buzz was gone from his legs and he could breathe again without inhaling rain, Dooo felt himself laugh.

"You two look ridiculous."

McNasty and Dallas literally looked like wet cats, the fur on their tails sagged. Dallas' hair was stuck to his face, dripping water all over the floor where he stood. McNasty seemed bothered by the rain on his ears, constantly twitching them to get it off.

McNasty looked to see how ridiculous they actually looked, while Dallas immediately huffed, "We look ridiculous? Look at your hair!" McNasty laughed, "Look at your hair bud."

Dallas frowned playfully, a mischievous look in his eyes, before shaking like a dog. The water flung everywhere, his hair hitting McNasty. "Ow! Dal!" He backed up, while Dooo laughed.

Dallas finally stopped, "You fuckin' done now?" McNasty asked, squeezing the water out of his tail. Dallas hummed, "Probably."

Dooo shook himself off a little, not wating to actively fling around water like Dallas had. "...It feels too quiet in here." McNasty said, mostly to Dallas. The blonde looked a little worried, "Guys! We're back!" He called, although they probably would've heard them already. No one answered. "...We brought a friend!"

Still, no one answered.

That can't be good.

Dooo followed behind McNasty and Dallas as they walked further into the store. He was a little scared of what they'd find.

Nothing.

Just an abandoned, empty store.

They stood in silence for a moment. "What... happened?" Dooo whispered. "I don't know." McNasty replied, walking toward where Dooo assumed the counter was. They followed, finding no leftover supplies. It was eerie, and Dooo didn't like any of it.

Something was wrong. Dooo remembered chasing the escapees in that basement - they didn't seem like the type to leave people behind. Even as he chased them into the forest, they carried and helped each other. He was glad the adrenaline had worn off when it did - otherwise he would've followed them much farther into the trees.

He probably would've killed them.

Dooo tried to shake the thought, returning to a conversation he hadn't heard the beginning of. The three walked toward the old freezer. "I'm just saying maybe they left." Dallas said.  "They wouldn't do that!" McNasty replied with conviction. Dooo was about to agree with him when Dallas stepped in again. "Do we know that though? McNasty we've known them for a month!"

"I trust them! You're telling me you don't?" McNasty asked, and at that Dallas faltered. "I-" He paused, staring at nothing.

"...My hat's gone."

They stepped into the freezer, "Your Metallica hat?" Dooo asked, Dallas nodded. "I thought you had lost it. I've never seen you without it." Dooo added. Dallas' reply was very quiet, "I left it here. I thought I could come back for it."

He had trusted them enough to leave it here.

And now it was gone.

They were quiet for a moment, before Dallas turned to McNasty, "I'm sorry for yelling at you. I..." He brushed a paw through his hair before sitting down. He curled his knees to his chest, "...we shouldn't be arguing."

Dooo and McNasty sat on either side of him. Dallas always tried to be the strongest in the room, yet he had a habit of bottling things up until he broke down. Dooo rested an arm around the youngest, remembering how he was so startled when Dallas had first done this.

He had broken down while laying in Dooo's room, lamenting about how much time school and sports took out of his life. He didn't have time for hobbies like music or gaming. He didn't have time to live a life.

That was the first time Dooo had ever seen him cry.

"I know the idea that they left is more likely, I just-" McNasty paused, " I don't want to believe they would do that." He admitted. Dallas looked over at him, "I don't want to believe it either! But like you said, it's the most likely." He looked at the ceiling so his tears wouldn't fall, "There's no note left for us, no supplies, no sign of a struggle, no blood..."

Dooo sighed, "Well, I think the answer is that we just don't know." He rubbed Dallas' back soothingly. "What we do know though, is that they couldn't have gone far. We can go ask them ourselves - and get your hat back maybe." At that Dallas smiled a little. "We need to keep an eye on them anyways. Whatever they do is also what we do in the public eye."

"Thank you guys." Dallas whispered, and McNasty smiled, "Of course." They hugged briefly before standing up.

"We have to stay positive, okay?" Dooo said the same thing he always kept telling himself. He had to stay positive. He had to live - if only out of spite for his captors.

They nodded, and set out again.

It was still raining, but it had mildly subsided. They weren't sure wich direction the group went, so they just had to hope they were going the right way.

They followed a river, hoping to keep out of sight. Eventually they found a bridge, and decided to rest there for the night. It was dry enough, and harder for people to spot.

But there was someone there. They weren't half-animal, just a regular human. Dooo didn't recognize them, and he doubted Dallas or McNasty did either. The stranger looked terrified of them.

Dooo put his hands up and backed away a little, the others did the same. "We don't want to hurt you - just want shelter from the rain." Dallas explained.

"Y-you." The stranger stared right at Dooo, still as a stone. "I don't want to hurt you either. I promise." Dooo tried to sound calm and disarming.

"You can talk?" They still sounded scared, but now a little intrigued. "Yeah?" He would've thought the public knew that. "I'm a human - or I used to be." Could he still call himself a human? Humanoid or person sure, but homosapien?

Their voice was quiet, "You've killed people." Dooo felt like he had been stabbed. People did view him as a monster - this person he was talking to face-to-face thought of him as a monster. He always hoped, maybe a little irrationally, that wasn't what people thought of him, but he was wrong.

The government hadn't just vilified their wierd experiments, they had vilified people. They had tarnished his own name, and that of his friends.

How did those fuckers sleep at night?

"I didn't want to. They made me." Dooo was almost saying it to himself, staring off into space. They made him do this. He had no choice in the matter.

Or was this all his fault? He could've tried harder to resist, he could've ran away sooner, he could've-

"Who made you?" The stranger asked. "They made me a monster and put this collar on me. They pumped me with adrenaline and watched me kill for sport and political gain."

They took away my humanity. Physically and mentally.

McNasty took over the conversation, trying to allow for Dooo to calm down. "Listen, we'll leave you alone and you can go home." The stranger frowned. "I'm sitting under a bridge in the rain. Do you think I have a home to go back to?" They looked down at the dirt they were sat on. "No. This is my home right now."

"We don't have a home to go to either, alright? Can we just stay here for a bit? We won't bug you." Dallas tried, although it would be hard to ignore them with how little dry area the bridge provided. "We have a few granola bars we could share." He added.

The stranger hesitated, "No murdering me, no bugging me, and a granola bar?" Dallas nodded. The stranger looked over the three, watching their raised hands.

"...I need you to explain some things first."

Chapter Text

[The Next Morning]

Pezzy felt tired.

It wasn't the kind of tired because of bad sleep - although sleeping out in the woods hadn't been the greatest for his back. No his brain felt like it was wading through a boggy lake.

It all felt so fucking pointless.

Why was he even here to begin with? To be betrayed by the two people who knew what they were doing?

Pezzy wished he had the energy to hate Dallas and McNasty. He wished he had the energy to hate the people who did this to him. He wished he had even the energy to hate himself.

But he was too tired.

"...So we send John in because he looks the most human, and have him ask for a map because his phone's dead or something." Droid suggested, as they walked closer to a gas station. They were still in the woods - thank god for rural fields - although there was a road up ahead with a gas station.

They had debated on who to send in, although it seems like they had finally settled on John. Pezzy wasn't paying attention.

"Before I go in, can one of you hold the book? I don't wanna lose it." John said. Pezzy was surprised to hear himself reply, "I can hold it."

John smiled at him, "Thanks." He handed Pezzy the communal book filled with scrap paper, as well as the pencil.

Pezzy zoned out again after that, he'd been doing it a lot lately. At some point they all sat down near the edge of the forest while John went inside for a map.

Pezzy idly opened the communal book. He hadn't looked in a while, and there were quite a few more of John's drawings.

There were a few new landscapes, as well as some abstract doodles Pezzy couldn't decipher. The pencil sitting in his hand felt surprisingly light, even though Pezzy hated writing.

But this isn't writing.

He set the pencil down on a bit of free paper, deciding to try and copy a snake John had drew. Everything felt easier for a second - not the drawing, that was still pretty difficult - but the worry and the depression subsided a little. His worries faded into the scratching of pencil on paper, and the concentration of getting that line just right.

"What'cha doing?" Droid asked from beside him, having apparently exhausted his conversations with everyone else for the time being. "Drawing, I think." Was all Pezzy replied. He didn't want to break this bubble of enjoyment by looking up and seeing the real world. "You good?" Droid asked - something he did often. "I'm fine." It was a lie Pezzy hadn't even meant to tell, it was just force of habit. Pezzy added, "The outside seems to be helping a little." That part at leat was true, as the fresh air seemed to calm him mildly. "That's good." Droid replied.

They sat in silence, Pezzy hearing the other conversations but unable to put them into english. He didn't want to anyway, he wanted to draw this snake. Time faded away, Pezzy confident that Droid would grab him if they needed to move.

Eventually, someone else sat on his left too. "Nice job." John's voice came from beside him. "Thanks. Aren't you supposed to be getting a map?" Pezzy asked, not looking up. "I did. The group is trying to figure out the best way to head." John replied, unbothered by Pezzy's antisocial demeanor.

Have I been zoned out that long? Or is John just fast?

Pezzy would probably never know the answer. "I can't get the head right." He told John, erasing a part of his line. "I had some trouble with it too. Try not to keep going over the same line; be confident in your strokes." John suggested, and Pezzy laughed - well mildly exhaled air but still, a laugh! "You sound like my art teacher. She was always telling me to be confident with my medium." Pezzy smiled. "She sounds like a good teacher." John said. Pezzy nodded, "She was."

It had been a mandatory class, and Pezzy wasn't the most exited for it. He never considered himself much of an art person until then - he still didn't really consider himself one. That teacher made him enjoy the class though, and Pezzy still remembered a few tricks she'd taught him.

"When did you start drawing?" Pezzy asked, for once in a conversational mood. Maybe it was just that John was easy to talk to. "Pfft, I dunno. I've been drawing for as long as I can remember. My family moves around a lot, and so I think they gave me some paper during a car ride to pass time. I never really stopped." John didn't talk about anything from before he was kidnapped, so Pezzy let the words soak in.

"Why do you move a lot?" Pezzy hoped the question wasn't intrusive. "My dad's job requires it. I've never stayed anywhere for longer than a year or two." John replied. Pezzy couldn't imagine moving every year. The one move he'd done in his life to go to Texas was draining enough.

"I think they've decided where we're going." Droid mentioned to Pezzy and John. Pezzy turned to hand John the book.

"You can keep it for a bit if you'd like." John offered. Pezzy looked up at him, "Really?" John smiled, "Yeah. It is a community book after all." Pezzy felt himself smile back, "Thank you." He said, and John nodded in response.

Droid was on his feet with everyone else, offering a paw to John and Pezzy. He helped them both up, and the group was on their way again.

Pezzy watched Droid practically skip through the trees, somehow still smiling despite it all. Pezzy had no idea how he did it. He could barely trust himself to put one foot in front of the other and not trip on a leaf. Droid always seemed to have it all figured out, or at the very least have a plan when things went wrong. Droid wasn't over-optomistic or childish though, just happy. He was capable of being serious and comforting people - Pezzy knew from experience. He was capable of being a human and having more than one emotion.

Unlike me.

Pezzy couldn't trust his own decisions, but he could trust his friends' decisions. He could trust Droid's decisions.

At least he knows what he's doing.

Chapter Text

[A Few Hours Later]

Droid had absolutely no clue what he was doing.

He had left the map reading to Puffer. Droid still hadn't told him about the scar on his leg. Puffer had taken up the role of medic, treating Smitty's arm. He had almost immediately asked Droid about the wound the monster gave him, but he hadn't wanted to bother Puffer so he said it wasn't that bad.

It was that bad.

It was getting better, and Droid was okay at treating himself, but fuck did it hurt like hell sometimes. He's been trying to keep it clean and not infected, but he still didn't really know what the hell he was doing.

He was always walking in the dark, now especially. He was just glad he hadn't majorly fucked up yet.

Because I can't fuck up.

Droid couldn't break down and fuck up. Not now. He had to stay strong and pretend everything was fine. He couldn't let people know he was anxious. He couldn't let them know he was having the worst spike of depression he'd had in years. He was the happy person who brought everyone's spirits up, and helped everyone keep going. He could sense it.

Droid knew it wasn't healthy, but it was necessary.

So he put on a smile and kept walking. He kept walking in the dark, hoping no one would notice. It was for group moral, and Pezzy's safety. God knows what would happen to him if Droid broke down.

He sped up to walk beside Puffer. Droid glanced at the map, trying to figure out where they were. He followed the pencil marks they had made for their route, Droid only now realizing something. "Couldn't we go over this river here?" He wasn't sure if it would be faster, but it kinda seemed like that on paper. Puffer looked over at him, "We don't really know how wide that river is, and going over a bridge chances going out in the open."

Droid thought that made sense, but he still wanted to make Puffer smile a little. "Couldn't we swim across if its too wide? Or is the fish afraid of water?" He expected Puffer to laugh, instead he flinched before looking away.

Shit. That's not what I wanted. Uhhh...

"Are you actually afraid of water? I'm sorry." Droid said quieter. Puffer at least looked over and smiled, "No, Droid. I grew up in Florida. I love the ocean."

Oh? Then what was that?

Droid didn't want to push him on it. He was supposed to make people happy, not bring up bad memories or something.

Instead, he let himself fall back beside Grizzy. "How you doing?" Droid asked. "Been better. Been worse." Grizzy replied, "I miss my family." Droid nodded, "Me too."

"It's strange to miss someone who isn't dead, y'know?" Grizzy said, "I always thought I'd lose my family when they died, but they're still out there somewhere. I don't know if that makes me feel better or worse."

"Well, at least they're still alive. I think about it like that." Droid tried to think how to phrase his thoughts, "I miss my abuela quite often, but she's not dead. She's living her best life down in Mexico. I'd visit her a lot, and even when I didn't want to leave her, I knew she'd be fine without me."

Grizzy paused for a moment, "But you could visit her, and I doubt my parents are 'living their best lives' with me missing." Droid frowned.

Fuck, that was the wrong thing to say.

"You're on your way to Florida right now. You kinda' are visiting them." Droid offered. Grizzy looked down, "I'm just trying not to get my hopes up."

Having exhausted all his ideas of where to take the conversation, Droid looked around at the group. John and Pezzy were walking side by side, talking about something - probably art - while Matt and Smitty were playfully arguing about something or other. They seemed to be enjoying things for once, and Droid didn't want to chance fucking that up.

Because that's all I can do today apparently.

Droid took a deep breath, trying to keep himself out of his thoughts. He was aware that the group was probably trespassing, although they couldn't really fix that could they?

Then, Droid swore he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. He looked, but...

Nothing.

I'm just going crazy now. Okay.

He hoped it was just a squirrel or something. The monster wasn't around here, right? It probably went to where it knew people were, which hopefully meant a city. Well - not hopefully. He didn't want people to die, but he'd rather it find some strangers rather than his friends.

Again! Something moved, Droid knew it this time!

"Shhh!" Smitty suddenly hissed, "I hear people." Everyone stopped, and Droid tried to listen... Maybe he heard something? He had definitely seen something though.

"Who are you?" A person stepped out from the trees. It was no one Droid recognized. He was young, probably thirteen or fourteen years old. He looked almost angry, although Droid caught how he nervously looked over them.

"We're just some guys trying to get to Florida." Matt replied. The kid looked intrigued for a moment, then scared again, "What are you guys?" He was clearly staring at Droid's tail. He hid it behind his legs self-consciously. "It's a long story." Matt adjusted Dallas' hat on his head, "Why are you out here?" The kid paused for a second, "My family and I live out here."

"Out here? In the woods?" Smitty questioned. The kid looked almost proud, "Yep. We move around sometimes when people chase us away though." Droid felt sorry for the kid.

Suddenly, someone else stepped out. She was a lot older, and put the kid behind her protectively, dispite not seeming to be blood related to him. She also looked very pissed.

Uh oh.

"What are you doing here?" Her voice was ragged, and her eyes looked immensely tired. "Just passing through, ma'am." Puffer replied.

Droid could see her eyeing their non-human features suspiciously. "I recommend you follow me."

Droid didn't like the sound of that at all.

Chapter Text

[That Night]

Smitty lay awake. It was probably almost morning. He should be asleep. But Smitty couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong.

It was getting colder. Smitty didn't want to think about what month it was, he'd lost count of the days anyway. Matt snuggled up to him under their shared blanket, craving body warmth even in his sleep. Dispite being Canadians, the two weren't exactly built for sleeping outside with only trees as their windbreaker.

He was grateful for the blankets the group had been lended. The homeless people they'd met were actually pretty nice - at least once everyone was settled and Puffer explained everything.

They actually had a lot in common with Smitty and the group. The way they had to live off the land, avoid police, stick together dispite barely knowing each other, and do probably illegal things just to survive. They traded supplies, although Smitty didn't have much to give them exept for a granola bar.

It was all different necessity items traded like water and first aid equipment, exept for one gift. A little later into the day, as everyone was huddled around a radio listening to some news station at Puffer and Grizzy's request, they scored big. Well, not big to Smitty, although by John's reaction someone might've thought they'd been gifted a way to fix everything by the snap of a finger.

Pezzy had smiled sheepishly, "I got to talking, and he said he'd be willing to part with them." In his talons he held three little tubes of acrylic paint, and a paintbrush. Smitty had no idea if any of the supplies were 'high quality' or if they'd literally been found in a dumpster somewhere, but regardless John lit up. "Seriously?" Smitty had never heard John that close to crying. Pezzy nodded, and John smiled, "Tell him thank you."

The news on the radio however, wasn't the best in the world. They tried to gather if anyone knew anything about the hybrids that they didn't know already, and if the police were actually after them or not. Safe to say, no one really knew what was going on either out there. The only new info they gathered was that the police had put out a public statement to tell local authorities if anyone saw anything suspicious. They also reccomended, thankfully, not to shoot on sight, as they didn't know how the monster (or the 'monster-like entities' as they'd been hilariously dubbed) would react to gunfire.

They turned off the radio soon after that when a local radio host theorized that China or Russia had sent the monsters to crash the economy or something.

Someone on the radio had shortened 'monster-like entity' into 'MLE', which the group laughed about for a while. It eventually devolved into laughing about other acronyms when Grizzy had mistaken MLE for MRE. Matt had laughed, "We aren't snacks Grizzy - well you might be but-" "AYO?" Droid piped up while Smitty laughed his ass off.

Now though, everything was silent apart from snoring and the sounds of the forest. It was eerie, and Smitty had a feeling something wasn't right.

You're just paranoid. Go back to sleep.

A bright light shined through the trees.

Oh, I'm not just paranoid. Shit.

Smitty shook Matt awake, who seemed briefly confused, immediately followed by terrified. "Are they friendly?" Matt whispered. "I don't know. Wake everyone." Was all Smitty replied.

The light was coming closer.

Smitty wrapped the blanket around his shoulders, praying that he'd be able to run with it. He could tell Matt had woken up Grizzy, as the snoring had stopped. Smitty woke up some of the strangers too. As much as it might help to leave them as a distraction, there was no way Smitty was doing that after they'd helped him. They'd offered him as much of a shelter as they could, and given them any supplies they could spare. It would be wrong to leave them now.

"Put your hands in the air." A voice called from the direction of the light.

It was police.

Smitty's initial reaction was to listen, to put his hands up like he'd been taught to do. The homeless person who had originally marched them back to camp stared at Smitty. "We need to run. We are trespassing. They will shoot us." Her eyes were intense, "We'll run toward the street, you guys run further into the trees."

"Just listen to us and nobody gets hurt."

Everything was so loud. Smitty could hear blood roaring in his ears. "Wouldn't running make them shoot us?" Smitty asked, aware of his friends moving in his peripherals. She frowned, "My daughter put her hands up. They shot her. Cops don't have an obligation to protect homeless people. You're homeless, whether you like it or not. Fucking run."

BAM!

A gunshot.

Laughter.

Smitty grabbed Matt by the arm and fucking ran. He could hear this friends close behind, and he tried to block out the ringing in his ears to no avail. Smitty hoped that the other group would make it out alive. He'd probably never see them again to know.

I hope we make it out alive.

There were definitely police following them, but less than expected. The stupid pigs couldn't run through a forest too effectively it turned out. Matt adjusted Dallas' hat, and Smitty clung onto his arm for dear life.

We've gotten this far together, I'm not fucking losing you now.

He chanced a glance back, and was relieved to see everyone accounted for, lit up by the dawn shining through the trees.

I'm not losing any of you.

Chapter Text

[At Dawn]

Dooo felt the chains heavy on his ankles. A third chain was connected to his collar, locked in place with a key he didn't have. Handcuffs held his hands behind his back in an uncomfortable way.

Footsteps trailed down the hallway, and Dooo lay down. He was asleep. He was asleep.

"Morning mutt!" The policeman's voice boomed, and Dooo flinched. He laughed, "We need to take you out again soon. Have some fun with those friends of yours."

Dooo felt ready to throw up.

A woman sauntered up next to the man. She absently tapped her badge, "What'cha doing over here?" The man motioned to Dooo with a nod, "Waking up the police dog."

I don't need to be woken up. Leave me alone. Just let me starve here.

The man kicked a bowl toward Dooo - his food for the day. He had no idea why they enjoyed referring to him as a dog so much. He was sure that wasn't even something they spliced him with.

"How do you sleep at night?" Dooo forced himself to say something. The words hurt to come out of his throat.

The man smiled, "Why, I lay down in my bed and close my eyes! You do remember what a bed is, right?" The woman laughed like it was the first time she'd heard a joke in 20 years. "You know what I fucking mean. Answer me." Dooo growled.

"Hey, be a good dog, will you? I sleep well knowing we're keeping you locked away. Wanna know why? Because you're a monster. You've slaughtered people." The man spat.

"By your command." Dooo felt his blood boil, "You did this to teenagers! For what? Your cruel fantasies of seeing civilians die? Isn't there a better way to do research?"

The pigs laughed again, almost as if out of pity - or maybe mockery. "This ain't about fucking research." The woman sneered, "It's about the money. We used you kids because no one cares if you go missing." The man piped up at the word money, "Exactly! Do you even know how much governments offer for this kind of info?"

Dooo's body sagged, "I don't want to know."

The woman narrowed her eyes, "Then don't ask questions you don't want the answer to." She kicked him in the stomach, and Dooo hurled over. He squeezed his eyes shut and his head spun.

BEEP

His eyes shot open. He was in the basement. "WHAT THE FUCK!?" Dallas' voice rung in his ears. Dooo's body felt attached to a live wire. "I'm sorry!" He hated the growl in his throat.

"I don't want to hurt you! I'm sorry!" Dooo felt the tears start to fall, "I'm sorry." The needles pierced into his throat, and he had to lean on one arm to steady himself.

The ground was wet with blood.

His claws were dripping with it.

He looked up at Dallas and McNasty. The latter's face was pouring a constant stream of blood. They were all swimming in it. "I'm sorry." Dooo had to steady himself not to lunge at them. Everything hurt. He coughed up black spit and blood.

"Dooo?" Dallas called.

His claws itched to slash something.

"Dooo!?"

I don't want to hurt you.

"DOOO!?"

He couldn't even tell if it was Dallas saying it anymore.

"...Dooo?"

He awoke breathing hard, nearly bumping heads with McNasty. The man had a hand on Dooo's shoulder, "You okay? You were mumbling in your sleep." Dooo let himself relax under his friends touch, "Nightmare."

Just a nightmare. I'm not there anymore.

McNasty rubbed his arm, letting his breathing return to normal. Dooo looked at the bandage that covered his eye. The wound was healing, thankfully. "You're staring." McNasty stated. "When was the last time you changed that bandage?" Dooo asked. "A bit ago. Should be about time to switch it." McNasty replied.

The forest was peaceful as the two walked down to a nearby stream. "Dal's down near here too. He's drying off from a bath." McNasty said, and Dooo nodded.

They sat by the stream, and McNasty lifted his hands to remove the bandage. "I got it." Dooo leaned forward, unwrapping it in comfortable silence. McNasty let his hands settle back in his lap. Dooo let the last wrap fall slowly. It always scared him to see the scar.

The wound had scabbed over, and small parts near the edges were starting to heal. His eye was irreplacibly damaged. It looked awful, but Dooo didn't want to fuck around with it in case he messed it up worse or gave him an infection.

"I'm sorry." Dooo whispered. McNasty placed a paw on his friend's knee, "For the last time, I forgive you. It wasn't your fault. Please stop apologizing." He smiled lightly, and Dooo couldn't help but return it, "Okay."

He laid the dirty bandage in his lap, re-wrapping his eye with the fresh one. "Should be able to only cover your eye soon. Everything's scabbing." Dooo stated. "I can tell. It's all itchy." McNasty replied. Dooo hummed in acknowledgement, holding the dirty bandage in the water. He made sure to rub out any oil and blood from end to end. Trading two bandages back and fourth wasn't ideal, but it was better than one.

"We ready to head out?" Dallas walked up behind him, hair and fur only mildly wet. "Yes. You cold?" McNasty asked. Dallas shrugged, "Yeah, but the walk should warm me up."

"I thought we agreed not to take baths like that once it started snowing?" Dooo stood, mildly worried. "It's only frost, and its melting anyway. Would you rather me be stinky?" Dallas smirked. "I'd rather you not get sick." Dooo poked him lightly.

They started their walk. The sun was starting to come up, shining through the trees.

"I don't know how you can bathe with this much fur anyway, its awful." McNasty commented. "Guess I'm just used to it," He brushed a paw through his hair, "but yeah. I can't wait until we figure out how to fix this."

Fix it?

"What do you mean, Dal?" Dooo asked. "Y'know, be human again? There's gotta be a way to reverse it." Dallas replied, as if it were just that simple.

"No. No, you don't get it, do you?"

"Get what?" McNasty looked at him curiously.

"Its permanent." Dooo hated this. He thought they would know already.

"What? What do you mean it's permanent?" McNasty looked at him surprised. Dooo sighed, he could see the fear in his eye. "It's gene splicing and DNA editing - wich is difficult already. Do you really think the people who did... this," Dooo gestured to himself, "would care enough to have a way to reverse it?"

"Yeah! If they're a decent human! Someone along the way had to have cared enough to at least think about a cure!" McNasty said. Dooo nodded, "Someone did, absolutely - but that would've cost a lot of money."

They had all slowed to a stop at this point. McNasty rested a paw on Dooo's arm, "But it's a form of research, isn't that what they're after in the first place? Isn't that good to know?"

Dooo shook his head, "This was never about research. They wanted the money promised if they got the info, nothing more. They threw us to the curb once they got that money."

The three stayed silent for a moment. Dallas appeared beside them, "If there's no cure... why are we doing this? Why do we keep going?" His voice was laced with defeat. Dooo looked him in the eyes, "Spite." He smiled, "I want to expose this whole bullshit. Also I want to find your friends. Maybe we can all run off and live in the wilderness somewhere if spite doesn't work."

Dallas laughed, "Kind of a strange reason, but I can get behind it I suppose." Dooo waved them to keep moving, "Better than no reason."

They still didn't really know if they were heading the right way. Dooo constantly kept an eye out for a newspaper, or the details in a distant conversation. If Dallas and McNasty's friends had passed this way, someone had to know about it.

Turns out, they didn't need to listen that hard.

"Stop resisting!" A cop shouted, and Dooo immediately held a hand out to stop his friends. They crouched behind some foliage at the top of a hill. Below was civilization - supposedly - although these cops weren't all that civilized.

They were surrounding a group of people Dooo didn't recognize.

Wait...

"It's them!" Dallas hissed excitedly. "It is!? I can't see that far." McNasty replied. "It is them. They're surrounded by cops." Dooo stated.

We found them. Now how do we get them out of that mess?

Maybe if we surprise the cops, they can get away. There's enough of us to take them down.

I think.

"Lets go give these pigs a taste of their own violence." Dooo whispered. The two smiled, "Hell yeah." Dallas' ears folded back.

"McNasty get the closest ones, Dallas get the ones on the left, I'll get the ones on the right. Whoever makes an opening first, we run."

The three parted ways, staying hidden in trees and bushes. The group was already putting up quite a fight. He could hear gunshots, and he was scared as to who fired them.

Please say one of you stole a gun.

A cop pulled a gun up, ready to shoot a rabbit hybrid.

And a man wearing Dallas' hat.

I'm stealing a gun.

Dooo leapt out of his hiding spot, swiftly pointing the gun at the floor. He slashed at the man's throat, grabbing the gun as the cop faltered. He fell to the floor.

The two he'd saved stood there stunned, Dooo grinned. "If you see an opening, take it." He held the gun out to them. The one with Dallas' hat hesitantly took it. "Okay." He nodded.

"Also, Dal might want his hat back." Dooo winked, before charging at another cop.

He was scared how cathartic slashing through their flesh felt.

One soon tried to pull a gun again, but a bear hybrid tackled him. The gun fired into the air, thankfully hitting nothing. Dooo turned in time to see a relatively human man bite into a cop's arm. His fangs left puncture wounds, and the cop stumbled back in agony. His arm was turning a dark purple.

Glad he never got to bite me.

Dooo only got bits and pieces of the rest of the fight, too focused on his own attackers.

BEEP!

A sharp pain stabbed him in the neck, and Dooo's head swam. He could feel the panic build in him along with the suppressant of his other emotions.

SHIT. I THOUGHT THE COLLAR WAS OUT OF POWER!

He shut his eyes tight, no longer fighting the cops. He was fighting himself.

How could I have been so careless? I shouldn't have chanced this!

His eyes snapped open, they had almost won. Dooo felt an insurmountable rage build behind his claws.

He turned around and swung at the remaining cops. Why did they think he'd obey them? "Idiots!" Dooo yelled at them, slashing his way toward the man holding his remote. It was the cop who always taunted him. He was the one who'd started calling him mutt.

Dooo saw red.

More cops pooled out from behind buildings, holding riot shields. Dooo fended them off for a bit, but he couldn't fight them all himself forever.

"Dooo!" McNasty called.

He looked at the group. There was an opening for them, but it would soon be closed by the cops' incoming backup. There was no way they could all fight off another round. They needed to run.

But Dooo wouldn't be able to get free in time.

"Go!" Dooo locked eyes with Dallas and McNasty. "I'll be fine!"

I hope.

Dooo could feel the fear of sitting in that cell again settle on his shoulders. His breath caught in his throat, and his body stiffened.

I'll do this a hundred times, as long as you never have to experience it once.

I'm sorry.

Dallas felt the tears fall as his breath hitched. "NO! I'M NOT LEAVING YOU AGAIN!" His voice cracked. McNasty was still as a stone beside him, a tear fell on his hoodie.

"DAL, I SAID GO!" Dooo shouted.

This can't be happening. I'm having a nightmare.

BAM!

A cop fell to the ground beside Dallas, a bullet hole sitting in his head. He hadn't even noticed the cop charging him.

Someone shook him, "Come on Dallas, you heard him!" Matt nearly dragged him and McNasty backward. "But..." Dallas muttered, finally turning to look Matt in the eyes.

His face displayed many emotions, all jumbled together and fighting. There was one Dallas could pick out though, genuine concern.

I trust you.

Dallas let Matt pull him along, McNasty following close behind. He took one last look behind him at Dooo, slowly losing the strength to fight them off as more and more cops surrounded him.

I will come back and get you. I promise.

Dallas wiped the tears falling, trying to clear them enough to see where he was going. Matt had a gun. That was new. "I'm gonna have a talk with you two." Matt huffed. "Not right now." Dallas' lungs burned as he replied. "Obviously." Matt afforded a small smirk.

It felt comforting, yet at the same time Dallas wanted to punch him.

I trust you, but I don't forgive you.

Soon they caught up with the rest of the group. "So, where exactly are we running?" Grizzy asked. "Away." Dallas replied, more focused on the fact John was being held up by Smitty and Pezzy. "What happened?"

"They shot him." Grizzy replied, "Tried to kill him, but Droid fucked him up enough that only his foot got shot." Everything was all too much. Dallas tried to steady himself, finally realizing that he knew where they were.

Thank god.

"Follow me." Dallas waved them to the right, and surprisingly they followed him.

If he had thought a little more about it Dallas would've run the other way, but his legs burned and he wasn't really in a place to sit and think things over.

No, they needed help.

And there was only one person who would be willing to do that.

They trampled through old hiking trails, the trees almost all bare now. Dallas' feet ran across the familiar path, finally falling into the same footsteps he'd walked across enough times to lose count. McNasty seemed to finally recognize where Dallas was taking them. He looked over at him, mildly surprised. "Isn't leading them here a bad idea?" McNasty asked. "Probably, but you know he'll help us." Dallas replied.

Somehow, getting him involved didn't seem like a big decision - it definitely was, but it didn't feel like it. It was almost second nature for Dallas to run here when he was lost - physically or emotionally.

McNasty looked back at the path, familiar to him as well. They were this far, there was no turning around. Not yet.

The forest gave way to a beautiful backyard, grass mowed, leaves raked. It was the perfect  American dream - and here they were, come to ruin it.

They stood by the flowerbed, decayed from the frost. McNasty bent down and lifted a large stone that lined the mulch. He tossed Dallas the key, who unlocked the window with ease. It wasn't the first time he'd done this, and he hoped it wouldn't be the last.

Dallas pushed the window open, and a head popped out. A boy with long, blonde hair, and a striking resemblance to Dallas, despite not being related. Well, he used to look like Dallas, although the latter's tiger features made them easier to tell apart now. The boy looked surprised to see them, and Dallas couldn't really blame him.

"Dallas? McNasty?" Dispite his shock, he still offered a hand to help Dallas climb inside the house.

"Ethan... I need help."

Chapter Text

[That Morning]

Ethan stared at himself in the mirror. His parents would be furious if they learned he skipped school again. He was failing all his classes, gone from a solid C+ student to an F.

His parents and teachers berated him and worried sick over his change in attitude. They pleaded with him to go to school and just go back to how he was before.

They didn't fucking get it.

Ethan's reflection stared at him with eye bags and bloodshot eyes. His long, blonde hair fell over his shoulders, and Ethan had the urge to cut it. It reminded him of Dallas. He left it long though, just like every time he got that urge. It looked nice, and it reminded him of Dallas.

How could he possibly care about his grades and school when his friends had dissapeared without a trace? How could they not care? How could they go back to normal?

Other people in the school dissapeared that day too. The missing classmates were the talk of everyone, and there were many rumors as to what happened. Grades dropped and attitudes worsened. All the teachers started telling them that they can't do anything about it. They were just kids! Not professionals who had been doing this all their lives. They should leave the search for their friends up to the adults who knew what they were doing. Let the police deal with it.

But we can look for them! I know we can! We aren't useless because we're young!

You can't just tell me to not care. I care!

For better or for worse.

Ethan always felt so guilty for missing school that day. He'd known Dallas since they were 8 or 9, he wouldn't just up and dissapear for months without telling him. Something awful had happened, and Ethan was scared he'd never see him, Dooo, or McNasty ever again.

He sighed, pushing himself up off the bathroom counter. The house was quiet - his parents were at work. He shut his bedroom door behind him, looking up at his wall of papers. He didn't have a cool corkboard, and he had to use tape to hold it up as to not put holes in the drywall. It was the one part about it all he mildly enjoyed. He could see the progress he was making. He was doing something.

But it was a lot less enjoyable once you actually read the papers.

The most heartbreaking were three papers near the center - copies of missing posters he helped make. He stared at Dooo's poster in particular, Dooo's mom had been so helpful in making it. She was devastated when her boy went missing, and Ethan did his best to comfort her. Dallas' parents pitched in all the time too, making Facebook posts and helping put up missing posters. McNasty's parents always seemed too busy to help, but they were still worried sick about their son. It was plain as day the few times they'd help put up fliers.

Ethan wasn't stupid. He saw the similarities in the face of Dooo and 'the monster'. Dooo's mom was the one who had pointed it out to him, and they had to sadly agree. It was probably Dooo.

What exactly happened was another topic, and the two held out hope they were wrong. Hope for the best, plan for the worst - that was what they kept reminding each other.

Ethan had found a suspiciously similar story across the country; the fire alarm went off in a school, the people evacuated, and students went missing. There weren't only reports of missing kids in South Carolina, he'd found ones in Kentucky, Texas, Kansas, and California. It had started a few months before the dissaperances in South Carolina, always seeming to step up in scale of police force, kids missing, or both.

He was so close to figuring it out, he just needed more time, more rescourses, more-

Ethan heard his windowsill creek as the latch was unlocked.

His heart sped up. This was the way Dallas, and by extension sometimes McNasty and Dooo, snuck into or snuck Ethan out of his own house. He kept a key in a spot specifically for them.

Please tell me it's you.

He raced to the window, pushing it up with ease. "Dallas? McNasty?" Ethan could barely believe his eyes. They were... cats? Ish? Who were these people behind them? He didn't recognize them as people from his school. They were also animals, and one had a gun as well as a suspiciously familiar Metallica hat. It struck him as odd as Dallas never gave up his hat, unless it was to someone he trusted.

And were was Dooo?

"Ethan... I need help." Dallas was out of breath, and Ethan reached down to help him climb in.

What the fuck happened to you?

Everyone climbed inside, and Ethan counted nine people, but none were Dooo. Some of them looked familiar though. Dallas took a deep breath, "Ethan, this is everyone. Everyone this is-" He stopped himself, and Ethan could see him staring at his wall of missing posters. "...Ethan." he said quieter, walking up to the wall. Ethan couldn't tell if he was finishing his sentence or just saying his name.

He pulled out his phone, scrolling through articles he'd bookmarked. He swore he'd seen the bird guy and the wolf before. "You were looking for us?" Dallas turned to him. Ethan was shocked at the idea that he wouldn't. "Of course! About everybody looked for yall when you dissapeared - your parents were amazing help by the way. Where's Dooo?"

Silence.

It was almost deafening.

"...The cops got him." Dallas replied quietly. Ethan stared at him, "Christ Dal, what did you do this time?" Not like Ethan had to hear the story, he always ended up on Dallas' side anyway. They were like brothers - Ethan would help him bury a body for fucks sake.

"We don't have time for explanations, we need to move." The guy with the gun said. Dallas nodded, before looking at Ethan, "Grab your keys, I'll tell you in the truck."

Ethan did as he was asked, and the group stocked up on supplies. As they were heading out the door, Ethan grabbed a sticky note and stuck it on the fridge;

"I'm fine. Be back soon. Love you. - Ethan"

Matt was initially afraid their license plate would be caught if they used a car, but that worry proved less of a problem when he saw the mud stained truck. You couldn't read the license plate if you tried, at least not until it rained.

He didn't know whether to be glad, or disgusted.

Ethan sat in the driver's seat. Smitty and John squished in shotgun. The former was now wearing a beanie Ethan gave him to tuck his ears into, just in case anyone saw him in the passenger seat. Everyone else was squeezed into the back. Matt had ended up on top of Grizzy, Dallas to his left relaxed on McNasty's lap, and to his right was Droid and Pezzy sat half on Puffer, and half on Grizzy. It wasn't very comfortable, but it beat walking.

A phone was held from the top of the driver seat, "Here, Dal. Text Dooo's mom and let her know you two are alright. She'll let your parents know." Ethan said from the front seat. Dallas grabbed the phone. McNasty snickered, "Why do you have Doobra's phone number Ethan?" Dallas elbowed him in the arm, "Dooo's not even here to shut you up. Stop it."

Dooo.

Matt would never get the image of Dallas screaming out of his mind as the monster was dragged away.

"Dooo's the name of the monster, huh?" Matt said. McNasty turned to him sharply, "Do not call him that."

"McNasty, it blinded you, why the fuck do you care what I call it?" Matt replied, startled by his aggression. "Because he has a fucking name, Matt." Dallas snapped at him. "And he isn't a godamn monster." McNasty added, sitting up.

Oh you want to argue? You want to yell at me after all you've done?

"You saw it from the roof same as I did. It's killed people! Why the hell were you conspiring with it in the apartment to ditch us?" Matt asked.

"Ditch you!? We never said shit about ditching you!" Dallas replied. "Yeah, you did! You were talking about how you needed to lose us!" Matt recalled that day too well. The shock and fear as he realised they weren't who he thought they were. It still hurt.

"We were talking about losing the cops! They were after Dooo, as they've fucking proved now. That's why you left, wasn't it? Because you jumped to conclusions and couldn't fucking hear us out!" Dallas was nearly shouting. Everyone else in the car had fallen silent by now. Matt's resolve faltered for a moment, "How else did you think I would take you talking to it!? Look at the damage it's caused all of us! Smitty's arm is still healing for gods sake!"

"You don't think I understand that?" McNasty pointed to his bandaged eye. "But you know what I did? I fucking let him talk to me and explain himself because he's my friend!"

"And you fucking stole shit from me." Dallas looked at the hat atop Matt's head. "You left it behind!" Matt replied. "Not permanently! I was going to come back and get it before we moved! We! As a group!" Dallas yelled, "I trusted you to keep it safe and you stole it! You fucking left us!"

Oh.

Dallas kept yelling "Dooo went through the same shit all of us went through, even more for that matter! They labeled him a monster and forced him to kill - and you bought right into it. You keep calling him a monster and an 'it' even though he's a fucking person just like the rest of us! Who's side are you on Matt? Because you're the reason we separated! You're the reason Dooo got caught! You're the reason you all ran off and almost got captured by police! You're the reason everything has gone wrong so far!"

The car was quiet. Matt felt the dread of realization creep up on him.

...

...I fucked up, didn't I?

He stared at the gun in his lap. It - no he - had given it to Matt. He had been shocked to see the thing he had been running away from help them. Dooo had killed the cop pointing a gun at Matt and Smitty, before handing it to Matt. He hadn't really known what to do in that moment, more frozen with shock than anything. "If you see an opening, take it." Dooo had smiled. His voice sounded so different from when he had chased them. Was this a trick? Why was it helping them? But Matt had eventually, shakily, taken the gun Dooo had handed him, "Okay."

"Also, Dal might want his hat back." Dooo had winked - a strangely comforting action. Dal. It was a nickname he'd only ever heard McNasty - and now Ethan - use.

Matt hadn't been running away from a monster. He'd been running away from Dooo - and by extension his friends.

"...Here." Matt took off Dallas' hat, holding it towards him. After a few seconds, Matt chanced a glance over. Dallas looked momentarily surprised, before he took the hat, putting it back on his head.

Matt had promised he wouldn't leave.

And then he ran away.

"I'm sorry." Matt went back to staring at the gun in his lap. He wanted to apologize for it all, but his mouth wouldn't move.

The car fell silent again...

"So, what exactly happened?" Ethan asked, looking at them through the rear view mirror, "From the beginning." He added.

"We were... at school. The fire alarm went off, and everyone was rushing outside." Dallas said. Ethan tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, "Sounds familiar."

"Dooo, McNasty, and I were all outside, waiting for instruction. They came up and..." Dallas trailed off, his mouth moved but nothing came out. "Kidnapped us." McNasty finished for him. "The police?" Ethan asked, "Yeah." Dallas replied.

"I don't know what they did to us. I don't remember." Dallas said, "Dooo remembered I think. It didn't seem pleasant." Matt grimaced, not wanting to know what that meant. "We woke up tied in this basement - all of us." Dallas turned to everyone for the first time in a while.

"Do any of you remember anything between getting kidnapped and waking up there?" Ethan asked. Most of them said no, including Matt. Puffer and Grizzy had some fuzzy memories between, but they had been put to sleep pretty quick.

"Dooo was next to us when we woke up. They put this collar thing on him, it forced him to go crazy. He tried not to hurt us but you can tell how that went." Dallas pointed to his lip and motioned vaguely at McNasty. "He really didn't mean to. He keeps beating himself up over it." McNasty said. Dallas nodded, "He told us to run away so he wouldn't hurt us more. We did."

"That must've been when he went crazy?" Grizzy asked gently. "For a little, yeah." Dallas replied, "He killed about half the people in the basement. Everyone in this car are the only ones who survived."

"I blacked out pretty quick." McNasty stated. "Good. I don't think you wanted to hear people die." Dallas told him.

"How'd you get out?" Ethan asked. "We opened a hatch, Dooo chased us out." Puffer replied. "Then I carried McNasty out. Very slowly." Dallas added.

"I get it I'm fat." McNasty smiled, "Shut up." Dallas laughed lightly.

"We all lived together for a while until Dooo escaped police. He found Dallas and I." McNasty said, "He was back to normal, the poor guy." Matt turned to him, "Was that in the apartment?" Dallas nodded, frowning, "What'd you do? Follow us?"

"No. You guys were taking a long time so I came to check on you. I saw him... and ran away." Matt said, the handgun in his lap heavy. "I've never shot a gun until today." His voice dropped to a whisper.

I shot someone. I killed them.

I killed a cop. What if it was someone innocent? How would I live with myself? I already feel bad killing one person who possibly deserved it.

I wonder how Dooo feels.

I wish I could talk to him.

Dallas looked at him worried, before weakly smiling, "Of course you haven't, Canadian." His voice was teasing, and humorous for once. Matt smiled, he missed that.

"Wait, Canadian?" Ethan asked. "Yeah, Matt and I are from Ontario." Smitty replied. Ethan thought for a moment, "I've... never looked into if there were cases outside the US. That's terrifying."

"We split into two groups from there. Myself, Dallas, and Dooo tried to find the rest of these fuckers after they left." McNasty gestured to them. Matt was unsure if he was joking, angry, or both.

"We got chased by police after staying with some homeless people in the woods." Smitty said, "They surrounded us and tried to catch us, but they caught up to us." Smitty smiled back at Dallas and McNasty, who smiled back.

"We helped create distraction so they could get out, but... they got Dooo." McNasty seemed to zone out again. "And then you came to me and asked for help?" Ethan guessed, and Dallas nodded.

"Well, there seems to be a pretty clear next goal here." Ethan stated,

"Let's go save Dooo."

Chapter Text

[A While Later]

Puffer stared out the window of the car. The speed at which the land passed by felt like rubbing his fingertips along concrete repeatedly, slowly numbing his eyes to the scene in front of him.

If only it would numb his brain too.

Moving an arm, Puffer felt the bandages shift over his skin. Before they'd left Ethan's house, Puffer had restocked on first aid supplies. He'd washed John's wound in the tub, disinfected it, and put bandages on. There had been enough bandages that Puffer could justify wrapping his arms with them, explaining to his friends that he didn't want to poke them with poisonous pufferfish barbs.

That was true, especially when they were about to squeeze into the backseat of a pickup truck. Truthfully however, Puffer had done it so he wouldn't have to look at his scales any longer. The feeling of webbing sitting between his fingers already made his skin crawl. It felt as if his flesh wasn't his own, like someone had just implanted his brain into another body like a transplant.

And his body was rejecting it.

Except doctors do transplants to save people. Doctors wouldn't make him into an inhuman beast for the world to mock. A transplant gives a person another chance at life, not cuts it short and removes their identity.

I'm a fucking fish.

Puffer used to love the ocean, now he wants to throw up at the sight of a water bottle. Everything's just another reminder of what they did to him, that he'll never be the same again. He didn't want this. He didn't want any of this.

"Puffer, you good man?" Pezzy asked, breaking Puffer away from his trance. He realized he'd been bouncing his leg, which probably wasn't comfortable to the man sitting on it. "Sorry." Puffer replied, stopping himself.

Smitty watched the darkening sky through the trees. Ethan had driven them to some dilapidated shack in the woods to stay at for the night. McNasty had suggested staying at Dooo's house, but everyone decided that might put Ethan, his parents, and Dooo's parents in danger if the police found them.

Puffer was making absolute sure that Smitty's arm didn't hurt anymore, and could stay unbandaged. He'd done a quick once over at Ethan's place, but Puffer requested another look at it. Smitty was happy to learn his infection was officially gone, and his wound was mostly healed.

"So how did you end up our medic again?" Smitty joked as Puffer nearly poked himself in the gills trying to scratch his neck. "Well, most of us were kinda distracted at the time figuring out how to live in a convenience store." Puffer replied.

"Yeah but, why did you step up? Do you want to study medicine or something when this is over?" Smitty asked. Puffer snorted, "Oh fuck no. I hope I never have to do first aid again in my life after this." He leaned back, "I don't really know what comes next after 'Domino's delivery driver'." He reached his arm up for air quotes and Smitty laughed.

"No, seriously, why'd you decide to be my personal nurse?" Smitty smiled. "I suppose it was something for me to do. I wanted to take my mind off everything, have something to think about." Puffer adjusted his glasses.

"It's kind of hard not to think about it all. Especially when- y'know..." Smitty gestured to everything around them. They were out in the woods in an area neither of them lived in - in a country Smitty didn't live in - to hide from the police. Not to mention the scales beneath Puffer's eyes, or the bunny ears that fell over Smitty's shoulders like hair. Neither of them would've met without being kidnapped.

As much as Smitty wanted to make everything all go away, he wasn't sure if he'd want to live without knowing the friends he'd met since then. Admitting to that though, was giving his kidnappers credit they didn't deserve.

"No- don't get me wrong I do think about it all. I think about everything all the fucking time, it's exhausting honestly. I just don't like to think about myself." Puffer stated. "What do you mean?" Smitty tilted his head. Puffer outstretched one of his bandaged arms, spreading his fingers to show the very visible webbing and scales that poked out. "I don't want to be a godamn fish, Smitty."

Smitty laughed before quickly stopping himself, realizing Puffer was being serious. "I don't want to be a bunny either." He replied, "Everything is so loud." The words felt like an understatement. He could hear everything in these damn woods. He could hear the incessant tapping of Puffer's foot in the car, Dallas' light snoring once they'd been on the road for a a while, Droid and Grizzy's conversation, Ethan's muttering to himself while he drove.

How loud gunshots were, how loud their fight with police had been. Smitty had nearly pulled Matt's sleeve off, terrified of losing himself in the noise of the crowd. Everything and everyone was so overstimulating all the damn time - Puffer didn't fucking know the half of it.

"Yeah?" Puffer said curiously, seemingly comforted.

What did he have to feel bad about?

Smitty stopped that train of thought. A lot. Puffer had a lot of things to feel bad about. Just because they didn't have the same problem, didn't mean Puffer had it any easier.

And the forest was kind of peaceful at the moment.

"Yeah. You don't have that sensory stuff right?" Smitty asked, kinder. "Not with hearing. I do want to peel my scales off though, does that count?" Puffer replied. Smitty smiled sympathetically, "Are they like, itchy?"

Puffer shrugged, "Kind of. I feel like they shouldn't be there - they shouldn't. I'm not supposed to be a fish, but I am." The man shuddered, "I don't want to think about what they did to me. My entire body constantly reminds me that they changed something. They gave me fucking scales and gills - turned me into something I'm not. I don't want to fucking look at myself and see them."

Puffer fiddled with the bandages up his arms, trying to cover the parts of pufferfish skin that peered through. Smitty opened his arms in the silent invitation of a hug, Puffer took it.

"We just have to remember we'll be human again eventually. We'll be back to how we were before this all happened, all of this will be behind us." Smitty said softly, trying to comfort them both, "It'll all be over soon, and we can go back to normal."

Puffer rested his head on Smitty's shoulder, "Right. I suppose you're right, Smitt."

After a moment, Smitty laughed, "I wish I had something to record you saying that." Puffer lightly punched him in the side in response, "Shut up." He smiled.

Everyone sat around the only light in the cabin - Ethan's small ass lighter - occasionally passed around when somebody's arm got tired. "So, what's the plan here?" Puffer asked after everyone had settled into a circle.

"Save Dooo." McNasty replied. "Okay smartass, how exactly do we do that?" Matt rolled his eyes.

"I can figure out where he is - I think." Ethan chimed in. "Great, we're putting our trust in you." Dallas said sarcastically, "You do remember how to open a computer program, right old man?" He laughed. Ethan shoved him playfully, "I'm sure Dooo's mom and I can average one braincell to figure it out."

"Ethan, you get on that then. Once we figure out where he is, next question is how do we get him out? They're probably guarding him, so our options are fight or stealth." Matt said.

"I don't think stealth is a good idea. If we get in and grab Dooo, what happens if they figure out he's missing? They all go on alert and it's impossible to get back out." Puffer said.

"Then how the hell do we fight them? We were only able to fight that group briefly - and that's how we got into this mess in the first place." Smitty sighed.

"There's a third option we're forgetting; distraction." Droid gestured with his hands enthusiastically, as if setting something new down on the nonexistent table, "If we distract some of the guards, then there's less to fight."

John looked up from his sketching, Puffer had no idea how he could see it in this light, "Ethan, could you get me spray paint?" Ethan looked at him a little startled, as if he'd forgotten John was there, "Huh? Yeah, why?"

John looked at him as if the answer was so obvious, yet he explained it. "Graffiti. We don't need to do the distracting if other people do it for us. I can paint something big to get people's attention - no offense Ethan, but your posters are a little easy to miss." Ethan shrugged, still a little shaken by John appearing out of nowhere.

He'll get used to it.

"John, you are not going outside alone with a bullet in your foot." Smitty glared at him, Puffer nodded in agreement.

John sighed dramatically,  "I never said I'd be alone. You wanna come paint, Pezzy?" Said man looked at John as if he was surprised he'd even been considered, "Sure." Pezzy almost smiled.

"Fine, but I'm coming with you as well." Smitty stated. John groaned, as if it was so much of an inconvenience to have his two closest friends go paint with him. Smitty elbowed him in the side, and said something stupid Puffer didn't quite catch.

"Is that fine with you, Puffer?" Pezzy asked. Puffer felt a wierd sense of pride every time someone asked for his medical opinion, even though he didn't know something as basic as cpr.

"I suppose John can go with you two." Puffer replied. "Wow, I thought you'd be more stubborn than that." Grizzy said beside him.

"Well, John absolutely should wait and let it heal, but we don't exactly have time to wait around for it to get better. Plus, the longer we wait, the longer I have to be a fucking fish so..." Puffer shrugged. It probably wouldn't be good for John in the long run, but there weren't many other options.

And I think John might kill me if I keep making him rest.

"The longer you have to be a fish?" Dallas asked. Puffer gestured to himself, "Yeah. The sooner we get Dooo, the sooner we can look for a cure."

Dallas and McNasty looked at each other, sharing a silent conversation. Their expression didn't bode well for whatever they were about to say.

Dallas took a deep breath before speaking, "As far as we - and Dooo - can tell... we don't think there is a cure."

...

No.

No no no.

"What!?" Smitty's ears almost stood up straight, "No! No, there has to be a cure!"

There has to be.

The room erupted into chaos and shouting.

Puffer didn't hear any of it.

No no no no no.

This isn't happening.

This can't be happening.

I can't be stuck like this.

I can't 

Puffer didn't realise that his breathing was going funny, didn't realize his hands were shaking, didn't realise he was flash hot and ice cold.

Not until the panic attack hit him with full force.

Everything was so loud. Everyone was screaming. Was this how Smitty felt all the time? The walls were closing in on him, he couldn't breathe. He felt Grizzy's hand on his shoulder - paw? Fuck. The world was spinning.

Eventually John's voice cut through the shouting, "SHUT UP!"

And it was all quiet again.

Puffer could feel the tears on his face, Grizzy's comforting words didn't quite make it to his ears. Puffer wanted to go home. He wanted to go back, wake up like none of this ever happened.

But it didn't go back to normal no, nothing would ever be the same again.

Chapter Text

[An Hour Later]

Pezzy opened his eyes. The room was dark - it was probably past midnight already. Droid was asleep beside him, still half wrapped in a hug with Pezzy.

Once everyone started screaming about a cure, Droid had pulled a hyperventilating Pezzy away to calm down. Pezzy could tell Droid wasn't taking the news well either, but he stayed calm somehow to comfort his friend. Pezzy wasn't sure how he did it.

There was just so much shit going on. Pezzy felt like everyone hated him. The sad excuse for scientists who did this to them, the government who allowed it to happen, the cops who chased them down - hell, even the regular people on the radio thought they were subhuman.

No matter how much calming down and crying his eyes out Pezzy did, he wasn't tired. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, and a headache made his head pound. Pezzy had pretended to fall asleep just so Droid would stop fussing over him. "I'm fine." he'd told Droid. It was a lie, so maybe his friend had a reason to fuss.

Pezzy sighed, slowly climbing out of Droid's death grip. Everything was too much.

I just want this to fucking end.

The thought scared him, but his legs moved toward the door anyway.

Most of the group were still up, whether to plan or to hang out Pezzy was unsure. He wanted to walk in and talk to them, but his damn body stopped him. They might make him feel worse anyway, so it was better for him not to take the gamble.

"Hey." John's voice startled him, and Pezzy turned to look at him. He felt... guilty somehow, like he'd been caught doing something wrong. Maybe he was. "You need to learn to stop sneaking up on people." Pezzy sighed. The faint silhouette of John shrugged his shoulders, "I thought you went to sleep?"

"I can't. I'm gonna go take a walk." Pezzy motioned toward the door beside them.

Just a walk. He lied.

"Have fun then. I'd follow you, but I think Smitty and Puffer would kill me." John leaned on the wall that Pezzy thought might not even support his own weight. The cabin didn't crumble though.

"Oh, here." John handed him the community book, and Pezzy felt around in the dark to grab it. "I doubt the lighting is any better out there, but just in case it is." John said.

Pezzy grabbed the pencil as well. dread settled in his chest, the feeling quickly taking up every fiber of his being. It was such an isolating feeling, settled deep in his bones.

"Maybe you can sketch out what we're gonna paint." John smiled, and that made Pezzy feel even worse.

I need to get out of here.

"Yeah, maybe." Pezzy faked a smile, heading out the door.

The outdoors was mostly quiet. All the dawn birds had yet to wake, but they probably would soon. The moon lit up the night a little, though Pezzy still found himself tripping on tree roots in the dark.

The silence was maddening. Everything seemed so peaceful, yet Pezzy felt so volatile. Didn't the woods understand the world wasn't right? Didn't the world understand it should be on fire? How could nature go on so normally? It felt so lonely in the woods, so oppressive and claustrophobic while being so open and unobstructed that Pezzy felt lost even two steps out the door.

Where was the trail? He could've sworn there was a trail when they got here. Without a trail there were too many directions he could walk in, how could he guarantee he wouldn't get lost?

I can't fucking do this anymore. I can't.

Pezzy looked around at the trees, trying to find one that looked climbable. He'd never climbed a tree past the first branch or two, but that didn't deter him much. What would he even do? Fall?

That was kind of the point.

The community book and pencil was tucked into his hoodie. The poor raggedy fabric had holes torn in it to let his wings out - not like they did much, but fuck were they uncomfortable crammed in like that.

He reached for branches, climbing one at a time. His talon feet grabbed bark easily, and the task at hand quieted his racing mind for a moment. He didn't think, just climbed.

And climbed.

And climbed...

Before he knew it, he was near the top. Pezzy perched, steadying himself with a wing around the trunk. The height was dizzying. Even though he'd meant to do this, he didn't want to think about the fall. How it would feel on the way down.

So Pezzy looked up instead, watching the trees, silhouetted against the sky. Light pollution still made it a little dull he was sure, but that sky might've been the prettiest he'd ever seen. The gentle sway of the wind was peaceful, though still freezing. Somehow, it didn't bother him - more focused on the view than his numbing fingers.

It's a shame to leave all this.

Pezzy looked down again. A fall from this height would probably kill him. All he'd have to do is jump.

Maybe I can draw this, the sky.

Pezzy grabbed the book and pencil, flipping through the pages in the dim light. He landed on a page with John's doodles, trying to come up with good, eye-catching graffiti. There was one with a silhouette of Dooo injected with a syringe. There was text that read, "Who's the real monster?"

There were similar ones littered across the page, sometimes with different people or words. John had little notes and annotations next to all of them, workshopping it with himself. There was one of Pezzy too, John made him look so elegant. So light. Looking at it, Pezzy felt it a little too.

He smiled, pressing pencil to paper. He sketched the scene in front of him, gorgeous stars and all. The fear and pain escaped through the graphite, leaving peace in its wake. The sketch wasn't perfect, but he liked it. He was... proud... of it even.

Beneath it he wrote, "I just want to live."

Pezzy sighed, the weight of it all dissipating with each breath, before gently unwrapping his talons from the safety of the branch.

...

And he climbed back down.

Droid watched Pezzy nearly hyperventilate in the dim light, "It's too much. It's just too much." Droid reached out to comfort him. The walls were wobbling and shifting around them, the room growing and shrinking with every breath Droid took. He tried to stay focused. "Hey man, we'll figure it out..." the words didn't even convince himself. "I don't want to be a bird forever. I want to go home and- and live a fucking life again." Pezzy was crying. Droid pulled him in for a hug, "...I do too." The floor looked as if it were falling beneath them, and Droid shut his eyes. The only sound was Pezzy crying.

"I want to die. I don't wanna fucking deal with this anymore!" Pezzy dug his talons into Droid's back, voice muffled with tears. Droid felt terrified.

Because he felt the exact same way.

Not quite suicidal like Pezzy, but he felt the constant drag of his problems everywhere he ran. He wanted to have a life again. He didn't want to deal with this anymore.

And he wasn't sure how to comfort himself, let alone Pezzy.

Droid opened his eyes again to see the shifting floor, this time pulling him down with it. He felt the terrible sensation of falling, before jolting awake from the dream. He nearly screamed, but his own spit caught in his throat and he only coughed.

As his mind came back from the dream, he finally realized there was something missing - someone no longer asleep beside him.

Pezzy.

Oh fuck.

Droid tried to calm himself, but he was already frazzled. Maybe he had just went to talk with the group? But a certain dread still lingered in his mind. He rushed out to the main room of the cabin.

"Where's Pezzy?" Droid looked around at his friends, laughing together on the wooden floor. They turned to look at him, no bird person appeared. "Uhh, I don't know." Grizzy shrugged. John didn't bother sitting up, "He said he was going to take a walk."

Alone? While vocally suicidal?

Droid came to the awful realization.

That's not just a walk.

"And no one went with him?" He was in full panic mode now, racing around trying to gather supplies and head outside.

"It's just a walk?" Puffer said, confused. Droid felt his paws shake. "He did seem a little wierd." John seemed to think out loud.

No, it wasn't just a walk. Pezzy was going to do something stupid.

Why didn't I fucking stay awake?

This is my fault.

"No, no you don't understand." Droid said frantically, "Something's fucking wrong. Pezzy's been off his damn meds for months. There's a reason I don't usually let him out of my sight - especially when he's like this."

That at least seemed to kick their asses into gear. "Meds?" Puffer stood up, worried. Droid turned to him upset, the floridian standing closer than he thought, "Depression meds." He snapped.

Droid angrily slung the backpack over his shoulder, opting to take the whole damn thing. It was faster anyway. Not like he could really tell a blanket apart from a bandage right now.

He walked to the door, but was startled when a hand rested on his shoulder, "We're coming with you." John said firmly, held up by Smitty.

Droid huffed, knowing there might not be time to argue, but something deep down didn't let him accept it. "No. This is my fault. I'll fix it."

John looked at him defiantly, "Pezzy's my friend too, asshole. You need the fucking help." He glanced down at Droid's shaking paws.

Droid took a deep breath, trying to steady himself, "Fine."

So they all headed out into the woods, searching and listening for any sound or clue that could allude to Pezzy's whereabouts. Droid didn't hear anything.

He can't have just dissapeared, right? He has to be somewhere!

His vision distorted with unshed tears, and a headache started to build up due to the stress. It just compounded, and compounded, and compounded. He was doing everything wrong. He was being so mean. This was all his fault.

All my fault.

"Droid?" Grizzy appeared in front of his face, "Listen to me. Can you hear me?" He set a paw on Droid's face, "You need to look at me."

Droid listened, trying so hard to not let the tears escape his eyes. Grizzy couldn't see him cry. He wasn't supposed to cry. He was supposed to be happy. He was supposed to be happy all the time.

Grizzy looked him in the eyes, and Droid was vaguely aware of the rest of the group still searching for Pezzy.

"It's not your fault, Droid."

Droid's weak facade crumbled, tears falling down his face. Grizzy pulled him in for a hug, and Droid let himself melt into it. He hiccuped, soaking a teary spot into Grizzy's hoodie. Grizzy protectively wrapped his arms around Droid, rubbing circles in his back and saying comforting things Droid didn't even take in.

They stood still like that for a while, the search party letting them have their moment.

A tree shook to their right, followed by the sound of someone hitting the ground.

Droid immediately shot up, along with everyone else. Matt shined a lighter to the person, and standing there, unharmed, was Pezzy.

Droid ran to him, still crying, "You're okay! Thank fuck."

Pezzy seemed a little startled, although he hugged back, "...You all came looking for me?"

"Of course." Droid heard Puffer reply, "Are you okay?" Pezzy hesitated, "...Yeah. Yeah I'm fine."

"Good." Puffer sounded relieved, "Now we're all going to go back inside and have a conversation. Alright?"

Droid took a shaky breath, "Okay."

Chapter Text

[Meanwhile]

Dooo sat quietly, listening to the officer yell at him. He wished he could talk back to them - like he did in his dreams - but his mouth stayed locked shut. His body nearly paralyzed in fear, yet his brain raced at a thousand miles a minute.

"-and like I said, no one's coming looking for a mutt like you anyway! Get that through your THICK FUCKING SKULL." He snarled. Dooo forced himself not to react.

You're wrong. They're coming.

...

...Right?

They're coming?

Dooo shook the doubt away - it had only been less than a day - although it felt like the day was never ending. Maybe he should sleep.

The policeman hit his hand on the wall with a loud smack, "YOU HEAR ME?" Dooo looked up mildly. He'd hoped they would leave him alone at night, but it seemed they kept getting bored and decided yelling was the closest thing to entertainment. He was just glad they weren't hurting him yet.

McNasty and Dallas will find me.

...I hope.

Most of the group was asleep, as they'd all been up before the sunrise. Droid, Grizzy, Puffer, and Pezzy were all cuddled up, quietly talking. Pezzy was trying his best to stay awake, but Grizzy could tell he'd be out in a few minutes.

"I'm glad you're okay." Puffer whispered. Pezzy slouched a little, "Yeah. Sorry." Puffer looked at him sympathetically, "Don't apologize. You know we're here for you, right? All of us." he looked up, referencing the rest of the group.

"I... I get that now." Pezzy said quietly.

Grizzy could hear Dallas out cold, snoring away somewhere in the cabin. The sound was followed by Matt's annoyed mumbling as he tried to get the man to lay in a way where he would shut up.

They stayed quiet for a while, just laying in comfortable silence. As predicted, Pezzy fell asleep, resting most of his body on Puffer.

Grizzy rubbed an arm over Droid's back, "Y'know, this shit goes for you too." The wolf shuffled tiredly, "Hm?" He replied.

"You can talk to us too y'know?" Grizzy said, "We can help you." He added, and Puffer let out a noise of agreement. Droid paused, "...But, I'm supposed to help you."

Puffer tilted his head, and Grizzy felt the man's hair tickle his neck, "What does that have to do with anything?" He asked.

"I'm-" Droid rested his chin on Grizzy's stomach, "I'm supposed to be the happy guy, y'know? Like, I make everyone happy and not feel so hopeless. I'm not supposed to be bumming you out." He sighed.

Grizzy looked at him with the little night vision he had, "Who says you have to be happy all the time?" Droid looked over at Pezzy, "I have to be. For him."

Oh, right.

"Droid, you can't force your feelings away all the time. Nobody can do that." Puffer said. "And Pezzy has us too. We can all lean on each other when we need to - that's how friendships work."

Droid seemed to ponder this for a moment, staring off into space. "It's all I have though - my happiness. I can't do many things very well. Thought I could give advice, but I see now that I'm shit at it." He paused, "The only way I'm useful is by making you guys happy."

Grizzy looked at him confused, "You don't need to be useful. You're still important to us." Puffer nodded, "Yeah. And what do you mean you can't do stuff well? Weren't you the one who came up with our distraction plan for Dooo?" Droid seemed surprised that Puffer remembered, "You guys did most of the work there though."

"But you had the idea in the first place." Puffer replied. "Yeah!" Grizzy chimed in, "Remember when you were talking with me about my homesickness and shit?"

"I thought you didn't like what I said?" Droid asked, confused. "Not in the moment, but I think you just worded it wrong. The more I think about it, the more I understand. You were trying to reassure me that my family were okay, that the world keeps turning even if I can't see it. It is kinda comforting to think they're okay."

Droid let out a quiet "oh" as his brain tried to think of ways to argue himself out of the idea he'd done something good. Grizzy knew he was stubborn. Droid couldn't seem to come up with anything though.

"Puffer," Droid looked up finally, "what's uh, what's your deal with water?"

Puffer stayed silent for a moment, "...It- god this sounds stupid- it reminds me that I'm a fish now." Puffer seemed to brace for a joke, but Droid just looked at him confused. "Like..." Puffer leaned his head back, carefully moving his arm to not wake Pezzy. He held his hand up, spreading his webbed fingers, "I don't like thinking about what happened. It's like a permanent mark they left on me, but its my entire body."

"Hm. Yeah." Droid paused again, deep in thought. Grizzy knew Puffer was upset with his transformation, but he'd never explained it in depth. Maybe Grizzy had never asked enough. Maybe Puffer didn't want him to know that much.

"Is that why you get so dehydrated?" Grizzy asked - lately he always had to hound Puffer to drink something. Puffer looked away guiltily, "Maybe."

I should check on you more.

"Isn't that what they'd want though?" Droid said suddenly. "What?" Puffer looked at him confused. "The dicks who experimented on us." Droid must've realized that made no sense either, "It's like scars - you need to be proud of your fish-ness. Dwelling on it gives them power over you."

"It's what I do. Look at my "scars"," Droid put up air quotes, "It means I survived! They tried to hurt me, but they only made me look cool as shit!" He flexed his claws. Grizzy and Puffer couldn't help but laugh.

After a moment, Puffer's smile faded a little, "...I just- I don't feel this way on purpose." Droid's expression softened, "Of course not. Attitude won't fix you overnight... but it's a good start, no?" Puffer nodded thoughtfully.

"Maybe you should start taking your own advice, Droid." Grizzy smiled at him.

Pezzy moved in his sleep, and Grizzy hoped he was having a nice dream. "I think he wants us to go to bed." Puffer commented, and Droid laughed.

Grizzy relaxed, smiling as he closed his eyes, "That don't sound like a bad idea."

Matt had nearly forgotten how wonderful seasoning was.

Ethan had brought some leftovers from Dooo's mom that morning. Matt seriously thought that breakfast was the best meal he'd ever had.

The only thing left on his paper plate was some scrambled eggs with a few chunks taken out of it. Matt looked around, eyes settling on McNasty beside him. "You want my eggs?" Matt asked. McNasty's face lit up, and Matt bit back a laugh. "You don't want them?" McNasty looked up at him. "Nah. Not much of a fan of eggs." Matt held the plate toward him. "Alright." McNasty shrugged, grabbing it.

A hand rested on his shoulder, and Matt turned to see Dallas. "C'mon Matt, quit feeding the homeless." He smiled. Matt rolled his eyes with a smirk, hearing McNasty laugh around his bite of eggs.

"What'cha want Dallas?" Matt raised an eyebrow at the man playfully, "Let's go teach you how to use that gun, yeah?" He motioned toward the door. Matt nodded, "Alright."

"Oh, by the way," Dallas paused, looking at Matt, "You can just call me Dal."

Matt couldn't hide the smile that appeared on his face, "Alright, Dal."

Chapter Text

[A Few Days Later]

McNasty could hear the chanting of the protesters at the front of the police station. He was honestly suprised at how many people showed up. He hoped his parents, his friend's parents, and Ethan were alright out there.

Matt and Grizzy followed either side of him, trying their best to sneak through the shadows. McNasty stopped a distance away, letting the two walk up to the back door as planned. Grizzy was there to help with any restraints Dooo may have on him, and Matt's job was to knock out any guards nearby and jam any locks open. McNasty was nearby in case things went south.

They were all there in case things went south, but McNasty was the closest - as he'd volunteered. He dug his claws into his palm in anticipation.

A singular guard stood there, facing away from the silently approaching Canadian-Arab, and the gun that swung hard at the back of his head. Grizzy caught the incapacitated cop, laying him down quietly and stealing any weapons from his holster.

Matt pried the door open, adjusting the hat on his head. Grizzy followed him inside, out of sight.

Please come back out with Dooo.

Dallas tapped the dash of the truck with his fingers - a repeated and stressed sound that he was sure Puffer and Droid were about ready to deck him over.

He knew they didn't blame him though. The air was nearly thick enough to slice with a knife, the three men tensed in waiting.

Since Ethan was in the front with the protesters, and McNasty and Matt were in the back with Dooo, there wasn't really a good spot for Dallas to be. He couldn't exactly have eyes on everyone at once, so he'd decided to be the escape driver.

He wasn't quite sure if he regretted that decision or not.

Dallas ran his hand through his hair, a hat again missing from his head. He'd given it to Matt intentionally this time, telling him, "You aren't dying, you hear me? Not you. Not Grizzy. Not Dooo."

He hoped the hat would somehow protect him, even if Dallas wasn't stupid enough to actually believe that.

Dooo heard the yelling outside, knew the cops were using tear gas and batons without even seeing it. He could hear it.

He curled up into the corner, praying to whatever god that it wouldn't mean a beating for him later.

What a horrible time to be an atheist.

Sounds of movement in the building made him shrink. Maybe if they didn't see him. Maybe...

Two men walked around the corner, saw Dooo cowering against the wall. A bear man beside a toad-eyed guy wearing Dallas' hat.

They did come.

They're here!

Dooo barely took in the words being told to him, coaxing him to sit up and lean his head forward.

The bear broke his handcuffs in two. The collar, after a few moments of the frog's fiddling, let out a click and loosened around his neck.

One of them reached for the collar, but Dooo batted the hand away. "Me." He croaked.

Dooo'd meant to say something like "let me" or "I want to do it", but his voice seemed to fail him. The two still seemed to understand, and let Dooo hold his claws up to the collar.

It felt agonizing to take off, needles pulling at his neck, before he could finally let his hands fall to his lap.

I'm free.

Holy shit.

His neck must've looked bad, as the two shared a worried look at each other after seeing it. "We're taking you to Puffer." The bear whispered quickly.

They both leant him their arms to support his weight, "We have to hurry. I don't know how much longer we have. Can you stand, Dooo?" The toad asked.

His own name almost sounded like a foreign word.

"A little." Dooo replied, sore throat painful and crackly. He wobbled to his feet, leaning his weight on the two.

I never want to see this place ever again.

Smitty could hear the clashing of cops and unarmed citizens, it was chaos. He was regretting letting John bully his way into guarding with Smitty and Pezzy. A man with a limp might be an easy target.

The cobra leaned between the two, nervously waiting for someone to re-appear out the backdoor.

And eventually, they did.

McNasty immediately ran up to Matt and Grizzy, hugging the pale, lanky figure held up between them. Smitty couldn't hear the two from where he was standing, but they were clearly happy.

The group walked toward Smitty, John, and Pezzy. They were out in the open. This was the riskiest part of the plan - the moment they were the most likely to be seen as they walked around the side of the building and into the nearby cover. Especially dangerous now that the cops were firmly in a fighting headspace with the protesters.

Don't see them. Don't see them. Don't see them. Don't-

An officer yelled. Smitty could see a man point a gun at the group, Dooo in the center of the mass. Matt was by his side in the direct line of fire.

It was a real gun. No tear gas. Because Dooo wasn't a person to the cop.

None of them were.

Shit.

Smitty, in a split second, looked over at John. He had a terrified look in his eyes.

Smitty remembered the only other time he'd seen that expression - in the basement where they first met. Where Smitty had risked his life to distract the crazed Dooo so John could run away.

He remembered what he'd said to Matt in that moment;

"I won't die. I promise."

The split second passed, and Smitty looked back at Matt a handful of steps in front of him.

Decision made, Smitty ran forward.

I hope I can keep that promise.

BANG!

Matt didn't have time to draw his gun, bracing himself for the sharp pain to hit him somewhere.

But...

It didn't.

Instead, he heard a blood curdling scream.

Smitty's blood curdling scream.

Godamn it you fucking dumbass Smii7y.

In an instant John and Pezzy were on the cop, sinking venomous fangs into skin and slashing bird talons blindingly across the pig's eyes. Grizzy and McNasty defensively blocked Dooo, Matt, and Smitty, acting as shields. Even the weakened Dooo seemed to tense, ready to fight.

But the damage was already done.

YOU FUCKING DUMBASS SMITTY!

Matt caught all of Smitty's weight, trying his best to keep them upright. Dooo noticed and wordlessly helped Matt hold up the rabbit.

"SMITTY!" Matt felt tears sting his eyes as he searched for the wound.

It was in his side.

"NO- NO SMITTY!" Matt screamed again.

The man groaned in pain, clinging desperately onto Matt's clothes. "PLEASE." Matt couldn't stop himself from yelling. Nothing felt real. He barely knew what he was pleading for.

"YOU- YOU FUCKING PROMISED ME. YOU PROMISED." Matt felt his throat start to close up, blinking tears away.

Dooo and McNasty were trying to get them to move, but Matt couldn't hear anything exept the gunshot ringing in his ears.

"Please. Smitty. Stay- stay with me- please." Matt was frantic, his scared brain blocking any kind of useful signal. Smitty hissed in pain, digging his nails into Matt's back and pressing his face into his jacket.

"You promised you wouldn't die, Smitty. Please."

Smitty looked up at him weakly, a dull humor in his eyes, "I always keep my promises, Matt."

Chapter Text

[Nearly A Month Later]

Smitty stared up at the hospital ceiling - a familiar sight at this point. The IV taped to his arm followed his movements strangely.

He hated being tied up to machines like this. At least his nurse had stopped calling him, "the bunny guy" finally.

He knew he shouldn't complain about his situation - especially when the alternative was a gazillion court hearings, and all the legal shit that the rest of the group was currently dealing with.

And not to mention the news interviews.

Yeah, he thought the hospital wasn't that bad, actually.

A knock came from the door, "I brought you lunch!" A familiar voice called. Smitty could hear his stomach growl, "Fuck yeah. Come in!"

Matt let the door swing shut behind him as he sat down next to the bed, fast food bag in hand. Smitty quickly grabbed it, surprisingly hungry.

"Bro, are they not feeding you or something?" Matt asked, amused. Dispite his comment, he still stole a fry, leaning back in the plastic chair.

"I told you, the stuff the nurses bring up tastes like shit. Its all healthy." Smitty rolled his eyes, "Anything new going on?"

Matt proceeded to catch Smitty up on the current court cases, riots, and news coverage; how everyone's family was doing, and how they were all handling it. The man had a few choice words for some asshole cops who were arguing against Dooo.

Smitty had no idea how Matt kept it all straight.

He supposed it was easier living through it, not stuck in a hospital room. He'd ended up writing a few statements, but thankfully the doctors had ordered Smitty stay in the hospital until he was healed.

The hospital almost felt like it's own little world, disconnected from everything going on outside. He wasn't sure if he should be happy for some transitional place before rejoining society, or upset he couldn't be there for his friends.

He supposed they had each other.

And I'm not completely isolated either

He thought, smiling as he watched Matt steal another fry.

Dooo tensely waited as the doorbell rang, a person moved around inside - presumably toward the door.

"It'll be fine." Dallas reassured him, a little further from the door. Ethan swayed beside the tiger, smiling, "She'll be very happy to see you, I promise." McNasty and Matt murmured in agreement.

But what if I'm different now? What if she changes her mind when she sees me?

...What if my own mom thinks I'm a monster too?

Dooo swallowed the lump in his throat. Part of him knew it was an irrational thought, and yet he couldn't get it out of his head.

The front door opened, and her eyes immediately widened. Her expression wasn't fear or disgust, just love.

So, so much love.

"Dooo." Her voice shook, "My baby..."

Dooo was overwhelmed with emotion, and his legs suddenly felt weak. He reached for her, burying his face in her neck. He knew he was crying.

"Momma."

His voice was small, laced with a hidden Missouri accent he thought his mouth had forgotten by now. His entire world was encompassed in that hug.

He was safe. He was safe in his mother's arms.

He was finally home.

Pezzy stepped back to stare at the canvas in front of him. An actual canvas! It was a little intimidating at first, but John's reassuring words finally got him to paint on it.

"Does that arm look right?" Pezzy leaned back, eyes not leaving the piece. He hadn't exactly gotten down how to draw a human yet.

"Might need to be a little longer." John leaned over, gesturing at part of said arm.

Pezzy meant to nod, but it ended up as more of an exaggerated blink. Briefly twirling the paintbrush between his fingers clumsily, Pezzy settled back into his painting. Sometimes it was like he forgot the paintbrush existed, and he resorted to finger painting. John assured him that he did it too sometimes.

The arm was looking better now, but something was still missing.

The figure kind of resembled Pezzy, although he hadn't meant it to - at least not consciously. They were hunched over, sitting on the ground. He'd tried - and failed - to draw a face on it. Eventually he covered it with hair, making the person look down instead.

There was miles of blank space above the figure, and Pezzy was desperately trying to figure out what to do with it.

As he was zoning out, Pezzy absently reached for his drink, sputtering when paint water touched his mouth. John laughed, and Pezzy set the water down. He would be a little embarrassed if he hadn't seen John do the exact same thing before.

"I'll go get you a refill, yeah?" John pointed to Pezzy's actual drink, which was empty. "Alright." Pezzy handed the glass to him.

Leaning on his cane, John stood up with the empty glass. His foot had never properly recovered from being shot, and he walked with a limp on that side now.

A small sketchbook was left where he sat, along with some colored pencils. Pezzy would look over at what he was making, but he was still focused on his own art.

It needs something.

Pezzy stretched, his back cracking in places. He was mindful of his wings, making sure they wouldn't bump into anything as he stretched them out as wide as he could. They hadn't grown an inch since he got them - which he was grateful for. He was still trying to get used to rounding corners properly without hitting them.

Wait.

That's it.

He dipped his brush into the acrylic, painting broad strokes above the figure. Eventually he forewent the paintbrush, dipping his fingers in the paint and smearing it on the canvas to make feathers. It was cathartic in a way, knowing his fingerprints would be left somewhere in the painting. It wasn't perfect, but it was his art, that he made.

A self portrait - kind of.

John came back, Pezzy catching a glimpse of his bedazzled cane. He sat the refilled glass down, and Pezzy gratefully took a sip.

"That looks sick." John smiled, nodding toward the canvas. The figure now had the silhouette of pink wings stretched out above them, a little bigger than Pezzy's own.

Pezzy smiled back at him, "Thanks! Now you gotta help me figure out how to shade this thing."

McNasty combed through his tail, picking burrs out with his claws. He watched fondly as Matt and Dooo messed around with Dallas' guitar, handing it back and forth.

He was glad the two seemed to be getting along, bantering as if they'd known each other forever. He had to keep reminding himself that they'd only met a few months ago.

McNasty jumped when a paw suddenly settled on his shoulder. "What have I told you about sneaking up on my blind side, fucker?" He turned his head to glare at Dallas, who seemed unbothered.

"That you react really funny when I do it?" Dallas smirked, handing McNasty the lunch he'd picked up. Eventually they'd all go out to eat at a restaurant or something, but right now none of them were keen on being in public.

...The couches in Dallas' house were more comfortable anyway.

"I hate you." McNasty opened the food container, no bite to his words. Dallas set his keys down on a nearby table, "Mhm, ok."

An electronic noise, distorted and vaguely guitar sounding rang out, followed by Dooo and Matt cracking up.

"Hey!" Dallas called, walking over to them, "No touching my amp settings you pice of shit." He gently swiped Dooo's talons away from one of the nobs. He was smiling, clearly not all that upset.

McNasty felt at peace, watching the three have fun and laugh together. Despite all the shitty legal battles they were going through, despite the social movement they'd accidentally started, despite all the interviews - let alone everything else they all went through...

They were happy to be here.

They were still Dooo, Dallas, McNasty, and Matt. They would get through this together.

He knew they would.

"CANNONBALL!" Puffer yelled, giving no time for Droid and Grizzy to move out of the way, before he jumped off the deck and into the pond.

The water felt cool against his skin, protecting him from the hot South Carolina sun. He swam with ease, being sure to tuck his spines as close to his arms as possible so he didn't accidentally prick anyone. His toxins weren't quite as bad as John's venom, but it was better safe than sorry.

Poking his head back above the water, Droid and Grizzy both yelled at him, although Puffer could see Pezzy snickering on land in the shade of the trees. The rest of their friends lounged around the pond, not much bigger than a swimming pool.

Puffer ducked back underwater, ignoring Droid's protest. Breathing through gills felt strange, but Puffer didn't mind it too much. It was peaceful underwater, a world only he could reach.

Well, he still couldn't see underwater. Turns out opening your eyes in water is still pretty difficult even if you are part fish - let alone the fact Puffer didn't have his glasses on.

It was still his world, though - and he was content with that. He was slowly repairing his relationship with water. Slowly accepting his new life.

He swam over to where he last saw Matt, sneaking up and poking him in the leg. Puffer prepared to dodge a kick to the face, but instead a quick hand grabbed his wrist.

Breaching the surface again, Matt looked down at him playfully annoyed. Smitty and John watched the two, unbothered, as Puffer wiggled his way out of Matt's grasp. He quickly ducked under again, swimming away from the now pursuing Matt.

Puffer felt webbed frog fingers attempt to grab his ankle, but he moved his leg before Matt could grab him again.

They swam around the pond, Matt the only person fast enough to keep up with him. Puffer knew they'd have to slow down soon though, as Matt couldn't hold his breath forever.

Puffer suddenly felt himself be yanked back by his shoulders, Matt pushing them both to the surface. "Got you." Matt gasped, desperately trying to catch is breath. He still held a shit-eating grin though, which gave Puffer half a mind to splash him in the face.

He didn't though. He had restraint.

They were both by the dock again, and now at this height Puffer could see Dallas and Ethan hiding from the sun beneath it.

"Did idiot one and idiot two come back with the water bottles yet?" Matt asked. Dallas shook his head, "Nah. I think they ditched us for the AC."

"Bitch." Matt huffed, still out of breath. Ethan laughed at the near whisper.

Puffer let himself sink his neck into the pond, submerging his gills. He took a deep breath of water, letting the sounds of his friends comfort him.

We'll be okay.