Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ohkay City was a rather small city. Some might even argue if it was a city at all. It was the kind of place where neighbors are good friends, everyone knows everyone's business, and not many weird or life threatening things happen.

For the most part, it was a very laid back town. Kids could be seen walking around with their friends, families were out having fun with one another, and the police were always alert, making sure the town was as safe as it could be. Nobody was scared to live in Ohkay City. All the residents were happy with their lives. Some had even been living in the city for more than 30 years, and not once thinking about moving.

So could you imagine the pure shock the residents felt when it was announced that there was a murderer on the loose in this happy town? What was supposed to be another fun summer in Ohkay City, with laughter and new opportunities, would have ended up being a nightmare filled with loss and horror.

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School was finally over, and Li'l Petey raced his friend Molly to the forest so they could go exploring. The two 7 year olds laughed as they ran, and once they reached the beginning of the woods, they set their backpacks down to grab their small shovels.

"Okay, here's the plan." Li'l Petey announced. The small kitten was holding his shovel as if it were a sword, pointing it towards the forest. "We try to find at least 5 worms, 7 beetles, and if we're lucky, 1 millipede." He turned around to the small frog, who had just gotten her arms and legs a few days ago.

She held her hand up, asking a question, "What about butterflies? Do they count?"

Li'l Petey put his hand to his chin as if he were deep in thought. "Hmmm... If u can catch them without a net, I guess so." He replied while picking up his backpack. Molly did the same, and the two ventured off into Ohkay city's forest, searching for new bugs to add to their collection. 

As the kids were digging, they talked about their new comic book ideas. Li'l Petey and Molly had a fascination for comics, which was one of the main reasons why they had become friends, and were trying to make a series of their own.

"Are you gonna add Wally in one of your stories?" Molly asked.

"You mean my papa?" Li'l Petey questioned while digging in the dirt.

"Yeah! He could add some...uhh... what was it called?.. Oh, right! Comedic relief." Molly laughed, and so did Li'l Petey.

"Haha! Maybe... Should I write his real name? Or should I call him Wally?"

"Wally!" Molly beamed. "It's way better than his real name. Why do you think I call him that?" 

Li'l Petey walked over to a new spot to dig for beetles. "I dunno. I thought you didn't hear him right when he said his real name is Petey." Li'l Petey giggled at his friend's silly nickname for his papa.

Just as they were about to go deeper into the forest trail, they noticed someone was running towards them. "GUYS! HEY GUYS! LOOK AT THIS!" It was Molly's older brother, Melvin. He was waving a newspaper in the air while racing towards the two, almost tripping over his feet as he made his way down the small hill and into the woods.

"Guys!" Melvin sputtered out, trying to catch his breath. "You gotta look at this!" He handed Molly the newspaper as the kids tried to read the big word that was in the center of the headline.

4 bodies found mutilated by dog near Ohkay City Forest.

"What does "mew-teh-lated" mean?" Molly asked, tilting her head to the side as she passed the paper to Li'l Petey.

"Dad told me it means someone who got really, really, REALLY hurt." Melvin answered with a smart tone in his voice. "But the reason I'm here is because this is the same place where the Dog Man killed those four people! So I came to make sure you guys were okay." 

"The Dog Man?!" Molly and Li'l Petey shouted at Melvin. Their faces showing a hint of fear.

"What's the Dog Man?!" Molly nervously asked. 

"Well, I just heard this story from one of my friends in school, so i dont know if it's true or not." Melvin began.

Molly and Li'l Petey sat down to listen to Melvin as he cleared his throat. "A few months ago, there was a really bad car crash. I think they rolled off a hill? Anyway, the person inside the car had his dog with him, and they both got really, really, REALLY hurt." Melvin looked around the forest, just checking to see if no one else was here.

"The man that was driving the car lost his head, and the dog broke his body. Once they got to the hospital, someone stole the dog and the man! It was this new doctor who wanted to sew the dogs head, onto the man's body, to see what would happen. When he was done, he brought him back to the hospital and gave him to the nurses. Then a few days later, the dog woke up, now with the man's body attached to his head." Melvin lowered his voice for dramatic effect at the end. Molly and Li'l Petey scooted closer to eachother, both totally not scared by the story at all.

"Once he woke up, he tried to get up and go home, but was stopped by the nurses. The nurses ran a bunch of tests on him, but one day, he escaped! Some say he ran away into the woods, others say he left town." He bent down to meet face to face with the other frog and cat.

"And some say he's the one that's been causing all the murders..." Melvin said quietly before yelling "BOO!" At Molly and Li'l Petey, making them scream so loudly that the birds flew out of the trees in a panic.

"MELVIN!" Molly shouted. "YOU'RE MEAN!"

"Hahaha! You should see the look on your faces!" Melvin cackled. "Okay, I gotta go now. Dad's gonna help me fix my bike. See ya later! Watch out for the Dogman!" He teased while running back up the small hill and out of the forest, leaving poor Molly and Li'l Petey terrified.  

"...So...you still wanna look for bugs?" Li'l Petey questioned Molly as the two dusted themselves off.

"Yeah!" She protested. "It's just a dumb story his poo-poo-head friends made up." She scoffed, picking up her backpack and walking down the trail. Li'l Petey giggled, and picked up his backpack to follow her.

They walked around for a bit before realizing how dark it was getting. Li'l Petey reached into his backpack and grabbed his flashlight. "Okay, let's go back now. I'm getting little scared." He whispered while tugging on Molly's arm. She nodded and they both sped-walked back up the trail. 

After a few minutes for walking, they heard something. The sound of bushes moving around behind them was faint, but they heard breathing along with it. Li'l Petey turned his head around, and shone the flashlight over at the bush.

Nothing.

He looked at Molly and laughed at how scared they both were, when out of nowhere, a deep, loud howl fille the air. The sound shook Molly and Li'l Petey to their core, sending the poor kids running out of the forest, screaming as they tried over rocks and sticks. 

Once they saw the houses from over the hill, they pushed themselves to go faster, holding eachothers hands, and jumped out of the forest. Li'l Petey did a summersault, and Molly fell flat on her face. The two kids stayed still for a bit, then quickly got up, both looking at the dark forest. They couldn't hear the howling anymore, but the sound was still embedded their minds.

"...OKAYBYELI'LPETEYI'LLSEEYOULATER"

"BYEMOLLYSEEYOULATERBYEBYE"

Both kids frantically said their goodbyes and ran home, deciding if they should tell their parents what they heard or not.

∘₊✧───☣───✧₊∘

Li'l Petey opend the front door to his house, putting his backpack inside beside the entrance once he walked inside. "Li'l Petey? Is that you?" Petey, Li'l Petey's dad, yelled out from the kitchen.

Li'l Petey took his shoes off and walked over to his papa. "Yeah. Hi, papa. Whatcha making?" He asked, his voice a little shaky, and Petey noticed. 

"I'm making a salad to go with the pizza I ordered. Its on the table already, and once I'm done we can eat... So, what happened?" Petey stopped cutting the lettuce and turned over to face his son who was sitting at the table.

"What do you mean?" Li'l Petey moved his eyes around the room, trying not to seem like he was lying. It backfired.

"Kid, I know something happened. Your shirt is covered in dirt, u have grass in your fur, and you're not looking at me while I'm talking to you." Petey crossed his arms, moving a little closer to him.

Li'l Petey looked at his tiny hands, then at his papa and sighed. "...Okay. So, me and Molly heard this really scary sound in the woods today...and...and..." He looked at his papa, small tears forming in his eyes. "A-and it really, really, REALLY scared me." He cried.

Petey rushed over next to him, picking him up and holding him tight. "Oh, kiddo...What did you hear?" He brought him over to the couch, letting him sit on his lap as he smoothed Li'l Petey's fur out with his hands.

"It sounded like, like a dog. It was the same sound a dog makes when they howl... and I think I got scared because Melvin told us a scary story about a dog earlier today..." the kitten spoke softly, hugging his dad.

"...Did he tell you that Dog Man story?" Petey spoke up, making Li'l Petey sit upright and face him.

"Yeah! How'd you know?" 

"That story's been going around. I figured it'd get to you at some point." Petey sighed. "But it's just a story. The whole "people getting killed by a crazy dog" is probably what started this rumor. Halloween is just a few months away, so I wouldn't doubt if it's just some big lie." He reasured his son.

"However, I do want you to start coming home earlier, and always staying with either Molly or one of her siblings." He pointed a finger at the kid.

"Why?" Li'l Petey questioned.

"Because I don't want you to be alone." Petey answered with a stern voice.

"Why?"

"Because it's getting dangerous with the murders that are happening. "

"Why?"

"Because you could get murdered!"

"Why?"

"Beacuse you're so cute, I would eat you up too if I were a dog!" Li'l Petey laughed and screamed as Petey tickled him. Petey stood up while holding Li'l Petey by his legs, holding him upside-down.

"HAHAHA! PAPA! PUT ME DOWN!"

"Not until you say: "Okay, papa! I won't get murdered!" " Petey laughed, slowly swinging him around the living room.

"Okay! Okay! HAHAHA! I promise I won't get murdered!" Li'l Petey's laughter died down a bit as his papa laid him back down on the couch.

"Okay, you little weirdo, ready for some pizza?" Petey walked over to the kitchen, grabbing the salad he made and setting it down next to the pizza box. Li'l Petey followed him and sat down at the table.

In the back of Petey's mind, he was a little nervous for his son. While he doesn't truly belive in the Dog Man rumor, he's not completely doubting it. In a new police report, a body was recovered with human scratches to the arms, along with several dog bites to the neck. If someone set their dog out to attack people, why would there be any human markings on the victims? Wouldn't it just be the dog doing all the attacking? And woudnt the person want no evidence tracing back to them? So far, all victims have been connected to the medical field, which made the whole Ohkay City hospital on edge, but fit the motive for this Dog Man.

If the Dog Man rumor was about him being some weird science experiment in the hospital, it's no wonder he would go after doctors and nurses. Petey was glad he wasn't in the medical feild, but it still didn't ease his worry for his or Li'l Petey's safety. Listening to Li'l Petey's story made his stomach turn. That fact he heard a dog howl and how loud it was, didn't make Petey feel any safer. It made him feel worse.

He just hoped nothing will happen to Li'l Petey while he's at work. The last thing he wants is for him to loose his son. 

Chapter Text

The bright summer sun flooded Li'l Petey's room, waking him up from a good night's rest. He sat up and yawned, rubbing his eyes to help him wake up. Today, he was going over Molly's house for an all-day playdate.

His papa worked at the local mechanic shop, selling parts and fixing almost anything and everything. He worked long hours, but sometimes he'd let Li'l Petey hang out with him in the shop. However, he was super busy that day and needed someone to watch Li'l Petey while he was gone.

Li'l Petey opened his door and walked into the kitchen, wearing his super hero pajamas he got for his birthday. "Good morning, papa." He yawned, still feeling sleepy after the eventful evening from yesterday. "Whatcha doing?" He climbed on a chair that was near the counter and watched his papa cook breakfast. 

"Buenos días, muchacho." Petey replied while he turned off the stove, setting down a plate of eggs and bacon infront of the kitten, who immediately felt wide awake after getting a good look at his papa's delicious cooking. "How do these look?"

"Really, REALLY good! I love your cooking." Li'l Petey spoke while getting a fork from the drawer, and climbing back up the tall stool by the counter to start eating. His papa's cooking is one of the many things he loves about him. He brags to his friends at school how cool his dad was, and always made sure to include his amazing food.

"Thanks, kid." Petey sipped on his coffe mug Li'l Petey made for him last year on fathers day, and sat down next to him. Li'l Petey was talking about his next comic book him and Molly were making, while Petey texted Flippy on his phone about dropping off Li'l Petey for the day.

Today, 8:21 a.m.

Just wanted to make sure, you're gonna feed him lunch, right? Or should I give him a lunchbox? 

Fish Lips (Flippy).

Yeah of course I'm gonna feed him! I'm not gonna treat him like a prisoner smh. >:(

8:26 a.m

It took a while for flippy to reply, since texting with robotic arms could be a little tricky.

Today, 8:27 a.m.

I didn't know you knew emoticons.

Fish Lips (Flippy).

You think I live under a rock? Just get over here and go to work already :/

8:30 a.m

Petey smiled at his response, but he was right. Petey worked from 9 am to 4 pm, and it was already 8:30 am. He chugged the last of his coffee and set the cup in the sink. "Alright, LP, Go get ready to hang out with Molly and her siblings. We're gonna leave in a few minutes." Petey ordered while cleaning up the mess from breakfast. 

Li'l Petey quickly shoved the rest of the food in his mouth, and ran to his room to get changed. He picked out a light blue t-shirt, denim shorts, and his new green shoes he just got a few days ago. After getting changed, he brushed his teeth, and packed his backpack full of art supplies, two small buckets, and his shovel.

"Li'l Petey?" Petey announced and knocked on his door, opening it once he heard Li'l Petey inside. "You ready to go? It's 8:50." He crossed his arms and leaned against Li'l Petey's door frame. Petey wore his usual cargo shorts, and white t-shirt. All his darker shirts were dirty, and would've worn them since being a mechanic can get messy, but he had forgotten to go to the laundromat when his friend Big Jim came by to show him the newspaper about the murders. 

"Yeah! Just one sec, papa!" Li'l Petey yelled while under his bed, trying to grab something. 

Petey chuckled at his son, "What are you looking for?" He walked over and bent down to peak under his bed. He made a mental note to help him clean it out once they got home.

"I'm trying to find my- AHA! GOT IT!" Li'l Petey exclaimed, wiggling out from the bed while holding his binoculars. He ran over to his backpack that was on the other side of his room, and put them in. He zipped up the bag and put it on his shoulders. "Okay! I'm all ready!" He stood up straight, both of his tiny hands holding onto the straps of his bag.

Petey made sure to lock the front and back door of his small house, and held onto Li'l Peteys hand as they walked over to the next street of the neighborhood. They took in the warm moring sun while walking, as they new it would get hotter throughout the day. Li'l Petey loved summer. He could go to the arcades with Molly and her dad, his papa wouldn't work as much as he did in the winter, and he could go to the beach that was just a few hours away. 

Summer was definitely one of his favorite seasons.

"Petey! Wally!" Molly shouted as she saw the pair make their way towards her house. Some of her siblings were outside with her, playing with chalk. Li'l Petey ran up to her and gave her a high-five, and Flippy came out of the house.

"There you are. It's 9:02, Petey. I'd offer you a coffee but I don't wanna make you any later than you are now." Flippy joked as he nudged his robotic arm into Peteys shoulder. Petey rolled his eyes.

"Nah it's cool. I had some already anyway." He walked up to Li'l Petey and gave him a hug, scooping him up and giving him a spin. "I'll see you later, okay?" He set Li'l Petey back down and he nodded, going back to drawing with the chalk.

"Thanks again, Flippy! I'll be back at around 4-ish" He waved at Flippy, and the fish waved back.

Flippy turned over to the kids and told them some rules before they could go out to play. "Molly, LP, Listen up for a bit." He spoke, making Molly and Li'l Petey look up at the fish. "I'm sure you're both aware about what going on in the news right now, so if any of you are gonna play outside that's not in the front or back yard, I need you two to be with one of Molly's older siblings, okay?" He put his hands on his sides, making a stern expression and the kids.

Both kids let out a groan of annoyance, but both reluctantly agreed, going back into drawing with the chalk on the driveway. 

After a few hours of drawing with chalk, playing board games inside, and eating lunch with Molly's 21 siblings, there was a knock on the door. Melvin came running and answered it. His two friends from school were outside, waiting for him to come out with them and play baseball. 

"Dad!" Melvin yelled as he grabbed his baseball hat. "Mike and Joaquin are here!" 

Flippy came around the corner from the kitchen, with Li'l Petey and Molly following from behind, spying on the conversation. Molly looked at Li'l Petey, both having the same idea, and came out from the corner of the kitchen into the living room with Melvin and Flippy.

"Can we come with you guys? Pleeeaaasseee?" Both kids put their hands together, and looked at Flippy with big eyes. Flippy looked at Melvin, then back at the kids.

"Yeah, why not." Flippy spoke.

"What?" Melvin interjected, putting his hands in the air.

"Melvin, C'mon. They'll behave themselves, right kids?"

Molly and Li'l Petey looked at Melvin with huge grins plastered on their faces and nodded. Melvin let out a sigh, and agreed. Both kids jumped up and down, grabbed their backpacks, and followed Melvin and his friends.

Once they reached the makeshift baseball field, they played a few rounds of hitting the ball, and seeing who can make the most home runs. Where they played was a few minutes away from Molly's house. You can still see the back her home, but it ws still pretty far. 

Once they grew tired of an hour of baseball and were ready to head back, Mike had another game to play. "Let's play truth or dare!" He announced, and all the kids huddled into a circle, taking turns asking others if they chose truth or dare.

Some of their truths and dares were silly—Like, Li'l Petey asking Melvin if it's true he still sleeps with a nightlight at 12 years old, and Molly daring Joaquin to lick the bottom of his shoe. All of them were having a fun time, until it was time for Li'l Petey's turn.

"Okay, Li'l Petey." Mike asked. "Truth, or dare?"

"Hmm...Dare!" Li'l Petey rocked back in forth on the floor, excited and a little nervous for what he's gonna ask him.

Mike looked around, trying to come up with a dare, when he noticed just how close they were to the forest. "I dare you....to..go into the forest..." He paused, leaning in to the small circle of kids. "...and find The Dogman!"

All the kids gasped, looking at Mike like he just admitted to being the serial killer. Li'l Petey broke out a small sweat, looking at the forest he was being dared to enter. 

"Uh, Mike?" Melvin spoke up. "I don't think he should go in there. He could get too scared. I told Molly and LP the story yesterday, and they totally freaked out." He also looked at the forest, feeling a little nervous. 

"Hey!" Li'l Petey shouted, standing up and putting his hands on his hips and looking at Melvin. "I am NOT scared!" He glanced back the forest, thinking about the howling he heard from last night. Mike stood up and patted his back.

"See! He ain't scared!" He ran up ahead of the group and waved to them. "C'mon! Let's go wish him luck, guys!" Mike ran down the hill and reached the front of the woods, with Melvin right next to him.

"Don't worry, Melvin. I'm just gonna pretend to be The Dogman and just give him a little scare." Mike reasured him, though it didn't ease his worry for his sister's friend. Melvin nodded and waited for the others to join them at the edge of the forest.

Li'l Petey was right infront of the trail, looking deep into the trees and holding the straps of his backpack tight with his hands. He gazed at Molly, holding a thumbs up, and waited for Mike to say when he could go in.

"Alright, LP...You ready?" Mike went up to him and put an arm on his shoulder, then handed him the baseball bat from their game. Li'l Petey nodded, not taking his eyes off the forest as he grabbed  the bat, and felt Mike give him a little nudge to start walking. Soon, he found himself walking down the same path as last night, holding the baseball bat in his sweaty hands.

It was quiet, and a little darker now that it's 2 in the afternoon. He kept walking down the path, eyes wide open and his heart going 100 Miles per hour. He looked around for any moment in the bushes, trees, anything that could suggest he's being followed. After a few minutes of walking deeper into the woods, he heard the rustle of leaves coming from his left.

He snapped his head around quickly to see what was making the sound, but as soon as he did, it stopped. He moved closer, aiming the bat above his head, ready to wack whatever was in the bush, when Mike came out from behind him and pushed him to the ground screaming "BOO!" as he laughed.

Li'l Petey screamed, staggering to his feet and running away from Mike, still holding the bat in his hand. He was running off the trail, even deeper into the woods. He was too scared to open his eyes as tears streamed down his face, and didn't hear his friends telling him to stop. As he was crying, he tripped on a rock, and came tumbling down the small hill that the lighter part of the forest was on. He rolled all the way down, landing on his back in the tall grass, loosing one of his brand new shoes from the fall.

He sniffed his tiny nose, wiping his face as he looked up. His head and back hurt from landing on his backpack, and slowly got up, still letting out a shaky cry. He didn't recognize where he was, and couldn't see the path. He picked up his baseball bat and walked around the tall grass and bushes, then found a clearing a few feet away from him. 

As he raced towards the patches of sunlight that was just up ahead, he let out a soft gasp as he didn't recognize the field that was infront of him. Lots of small hills and tall telephone lines were stretched out along the grass. The hot summer afternoon sun beating down on him as he stood there speechless. 

Li'l Petey tried to yell out for Molly and Melvin as he walked down to the feild, hopping they were here his cries and come save him. He yelled over and over again.

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing. 

The only thing he could hear were the birds and the the grass swaying beneath his feet as he walked along the field. He looked around again, trying to recognize anything, but to bo avail. All he could do was walk and cry. And that's what he did for 2 hours.

The poor kitten reached the end of the field and ended up in a different part of the forest. It was getting darker, and the tall trees and bushes didn't help provide whatever little light was left from the setting sun. Li'l Petey grabbed his flashlight, from his bag, and noticed he had a leftover granola bar in his bag from yesterday. 

He sat down in the woods, alone and scared, and ate his granola bar in-between cries and sniffles. He wiped his eyes, feeling hopeless.

"Papa!" He hadn't tried calling out for Petey yet. Maybe his papa could use his super dad powers and come save him.

"Papa!" He yelled out again, standing up and putting his backpack on after putting his bat inside the bag, and held the flashlight in a death grip.

"Papa! Help me!" He cried out again, but nothing came of it.

"PAPA!" Nothing. 

"PAPAAAAAAA!" He gave his loudest scream, making the birds leave their nests and fly out in a panic. Li'l Petey breathed heavily, feeling tired, hungry, and depressed.

'Am I gonna die here?!' He thought to himself. He sat down again, crying whatever tears he had left in him. He made a promise to his papa that he wouldn't die! He can't break a promise!

Just as he felt himself beginning to drift off to sleep, he heard footsteps approaching him. He immediately shot up, pointing the flashlight in the direction of the footsteps. He saw someone step out of the bushes, wearing camo pants and a dark blue, oversized shirt.

It looked like a person.

Until he saw his head.

Chapter Text

Petey was just about done with work and ready to leave when his phone started to ring, almost making him jump since not many people call him at that time. He opened his phone and saw it was Flippy. He answered it, but didn't have a chance to say hello as Flippy was frantically babbling nonsense through the other side.

"Wha- Hey! Flippy! Calm down! What's going on?!" Petey yelled at him, wiping some sweat off his forehead with his other hand. He knew Flippy would sometimes get wound up in a panic over the simplest of things, so he didn't worry too much when he heard his rambling voice.

"Oh god, Petey, the kids are telling me that Li'l Petey is gone! They were playing near the forest behind my house and he took off running becau– because he was scared, and– and...JUST GET OVER HERE, PLEASE!" Flippy shouted on the other end of the phone, trying to calm himself down but ultimately failing.

Petey's heart sank at his words, and soon started to feel his head grow lighter,".. Okay... Okay, Flippy. I'll be over there in 5 minutes... Just... You're absolutely sure you haven't seen him come out of the woods at all?!"

"YES! YES, I'M SURE! THE KIDS AND I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR 30 MINUTES NOW!"

"Okay... Listen to me. Call the police, alright? Please call them, Flippy, I... I–I'm on my way." Petey closed his phone quickly and ran out of the building, not caring to tell his boss where he was going. All he could do was run. He ran to Flippy's house as fast as he could, and once he got there, he helped the kids look around the forest.

He looked in the bushes, trees, and under piles of leaves, but he couldn't find his son. He got closer to the deeper part of the forest and found something that made his throat dry up. Li'l Petey's green shoe was lying on the side of the trail. He rushed over and picked it up, but soon heard the shouts of Flippy's kids telling him a police officer wanted to question him so he could help find his Li'l Petey.

The policeman wasn't the best of help. He just made Petey file a missing person report, asked him useless questions for an hour, took Li'l Petey's missing shoe as evidence, and left.

Completely useless. 

Petey sat on the curb of Flippy's house, still not over the fact that his son is lost. It's 6 pm now, and the sun was starting to set. Flippy put a hand on his shoulder, trying to provide a sense of comfort for the worried father.

"How about we go to the station and talk to the chief? Maybe he will take you more seriously than that officer?" Flippy suggested, trying his best not to show his fear he had for Li'l Petey.

Petey looked at the floor, his knees up to his chest, and his arms wrapped around himself. "My son is MISSING, Flippy. MY ONLY SON! IM SURE YOU'RE NOT FREAKING OUT BECAUSE YOU HAVE SO MANY KIDS, YOU WOULDN'T NOTICE IF ANY OF THEM WENT MISSING! BUT MY ONLY KID IS MISSING! HOW DO YOU THINK I FEEL? LI'L PETEY COULD BE DEAD IN A DITCH SOMEWHERE FOR ALL WE KNOW!" Petey shouted in his face, breathing heavily as tears were forming in his eyes. He recoiled and put his hands to his face, regretting the words he spat at his friend.

"... I'm sorry... I didn't mean that–"

"Petey." Flippy cut him off. "I'm worried to death about him. He and Molly are best friends, almost like brother and sister! The pain she feels about her best friend going missing is the same pain I feel. I'm terrified, Petey. But you need to understand that if you let your fear take control, you won't find him. You need to rationalize your actions. Make sure you're acting smart..." Flippy sighed as he flew in front of Petey to be at eye level.

"Look, how about this: I'll go tell the chief everything that's going on, and you keep looking here. You're obviously not in the right mindset to talk to him, and would probably get kicked out."

Petey wanted to defend himself, but deep down he knew Flippy was right. He nodded his head as he stood up, wiping the almost-formed tears away from his eyes, and began walking back into the woods to find anything that could lead him to Li'l Petey.

He went back to the spot where he found Li'l Petey's shoe, and kept walking in that direction for a few minutes. There was a small cliff that led down to a pile of leaves and tall grass, and noticed something shiny. He slid down and gasped as he saw what it was: A pair of binoculars. 

The same binoculars Li'l Petey was looking for earlier that day.

Petey quickly got up, putting the binoculars around his neck, and kept moving in that direction. Some turns he took ended back to where he started, and others led to dead ends. But he didn't give up, and kept walking around the woods to find Li'l Petey for an hour, until his phone rang. He took a deep breath and answered it once he saw it was Flippy. 

"Hey, the chief of police said he's gonna send some guys out tomorrow morning and look through the forest for him," Flippy spoke with a slightly shaky voice.

Petey clenched his fists as he listened to Flippy, and stumbled upon an open field with tall grass and telephone lines. He'd never seen that part of the forest. He'd never even heard of it. All the telephone lines looked old, and the wooden poles that were keeping them up were covered in moss and cracks, and not to mention how tall the grass was. It was obvious no one had been here in a long time. Looking closer with the binoculars up to his eyes, he noticed some parts of the grass were lying down on the ground, leading to the horizon line. His gut was telling him to follow it. 

His super dad powers were telling him to follow it.

"Hello? Petey? You ther-"

"Tomorrow isn't soon enough, Flippy. I'm sorry, but my kid needs me..and I need him." Petey stated, still looking out into the field as he slid down the hill and reached the bottom. He hung up the phone, feeling a little guilty about leaving Flippy alone, but he had a feeling Li'l Petey went that way, and walked along the field, using his phone screen to light his way as it got darker.

He wasn't going back home unless it was with his son by his side.

▰▱▰▱▰▱▰▱▰▱▰▱▰▱

"The Dog Man..." Li'l Petey whispered, shining his flashlight at the man with the dog head. He started to slowly back away from him, feeling his chest grow tight in fear. He didn't look away, and his big green eyes were stuck on the hybrid. The Dog Man was squinting his eyes at the bright flashlight, trying to get a good look at the kid in front of him.

The Dog Man walked over to him, slowly reaching over to grab the kitten, but Li'l Petey freaked out and quickly started running away from him. The hybrid barked at him and began chasing after him in a panic.

"PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!" Li'l Petey cried out as The Dog Man was catching up to him. He pushed himself to go as fast as he could, but was so tired from all the walking that he hadn't gotten very far. Eventually, The Dog Man caught up to him and grabbed him by his backpack, lifting him from the ground.

Li'l Petey started kicking his legs towards The Dog Man's direction, doing everything he could to make him drop him back onto the ground. The Dog Man still had a tight grip on the kid's backpack as he grabbed a stick from off the floor, and started moving it around the tall grass.

Li'l Petey was still kicking Dog Man's legs, but abruptly stopped once he heard a loud metal clamp. He slowly looked down, pointing his flashlight near the ground, and saw a closed bear trap a few feet ahead of them. The trap completely shredded the stick, and The Dog Man tossed the rest of it away. He set Li'l Petey down and crouched to meet at eye level with the small kitten.

Li'l Petey looked at him, studying his face with the flashlight that now dimmed from the low battery. The fur on the hybrid's face was disheveled, and he had a huge scar above his muzzle, along with a smaller scar on the right side of his face. One of his ears had a chunk of it missing, and his eyes were a dark brown color, with the whites of his eyes being a pale shade of pink. 

Li'l Petey saw his neck and how it merged from dog to human. There were lots of stitches wrapping around his neck, along with small scratches that appeared to be new. His arms were covered in tiny cuts, bruises, and some scars were scattered along both sides of his arms. His shirt was torn a little near the neckline, and had some dirt on it. 

Li'l Petey turned around and looked behind him, seeing the now closed bear trap. He could've stepped on it and gotten seriously hurt, but The Dog Man saved him. He noticed how The Dog Man was just waiting for him, letting him process everything that had happened. He held out his hand slowly, leaving it in front of Li'l Petey.

"...Did you know that trap was there?" Li'l Petey asked with a shaky voice. The Dog Man nodded his head.

"My name is Li'l Petey... are you...The Dog Man?" Li'l Petey cautiously shook his hand, looking back at the stitches on his neck.

The Dog Man looked off to the side, waited for a few seconds, then looked back at Li'l Petey, nodding his head. He smiled at the kitten, showing him that he wasn't going to hurt him, and Li'l Petey held on a little tighter to his hand.

He looked at The Dog Man's eyes and smiled back. "Can you talk?" He tiredly spoke, wiping away any snot off his tiny nose with his arm.

The Dog Man shook his head. He pointed to the stitches on his neck, then let out a small bark. Li'l Petey understood what he meant, and felt a little sad.

The Dog Man seemed like a really nice person, he just looked a little...

Different.

Maybe people jumped to conclusions because The Dog Man looks scary? Maybe they thought he would be the reason for all the murders because he looked different. If he were a murderer, then why hadn't he let Li'l Petey get stuck in the bear trap? 

"It's just a story. The whole "people getting killed by a crazy dog" is probably what started this rumor."

Even his papa believed that Dog Man wasn't a murderer...

His papa...

"Um... Mr. Dog Man.." Li'l Petey spoke up, letting go of Dog Man's hand and holding onto his backpack strap. "I...I'm lost...I've been looking for my papa all day! I don't know where I am, but I've been walking for a really, really, REALLY long time..." 

Dog Man looked down at him, putting a hand on his shoulder. Li'l Petey started to cry again. "I-I know you can't talk...but can you help me? I don't wanna get eaten in the forest!" 

Li'l Petey held onto his arm that was on his shoulder, then moved closer and hugged him, scared to death that he'd never get out of the woods. Dog Man was taken aback by the hug, but slowly wrapped his arms around the kid. 

It had been a very long time since anyone had shown affection to him. This might be the first hug he's had since...

"C'mon, Greg! We're gonna miss it!" The young man yelled over to his dog, who was trying to catch up with his best friend. They saw the first ice cream truck of the year and wanted to be one of the first to get their hands on a popsicle. 

The human and dog ran side by side together, chasing down the truck, when it finally slowed down and parked. They both got their ice cream flavors and sat down by the curb of the sidewalk.

The man had his arm stretched out so the dog could eat his strawberry popsicle, and held his vanilla popsicle in his other hand. Once they finished their ice cream, they walked back home.

"How was the first popsicle of the year, Greg?" The man asked, happily walking next to his dog. Greg barked and ran around the man, who laughed at his silly dog.

He picked him up and hugged him, and Greg licked his face, leaving behind a little strawberry ice cream on his cheek. 

"Ewww! Hahaha! When we get home, I'll make sure to wash all the leftover ice cream off you." The man giggled while wiping his face. "I don't want you to have strawberry all over you when we visit Alice today. Oh yeah, remind me to bring some snacks for the road before we leave." 

He held onto the dog the whole walk home, and couldn't wait to go on a road trip with him later that afternoon. He just hoped he'd get to his girlfriend's place on time. 

"Mr. Dog Man? You're squeezing me." Li'l Petey giggled. Dog Man's ears went up, not noticing how long he'd been hugging Li'l Petey. He let go, but put a hand to the kitten's face and wiped his tears. He licked the top of his head, making the kitten laugh. He stood up and held out his hand for the kitten to take. 

"So, you're gonna help me find my papa?!" He lightened up, quickly grabbing Dog Man's hand as he nodded and smiled, and made their way to where Dog Man lived while Li'l Petey used his flashlight to light the way. As the two walked throughout the forest, Li'l Petey told him everything that happened before he got lost, and apologized to Dog Man for thinking he would be scary.

That apology hit Dog Man in the heart. He'd known this kid for 9 minutes, he'd heard the rumors that he's a serial killer, and even seen how terrifying he looks. But he said, "Sorry" for thinking he would be a horrible person and trusted him enough to help find his dad. This kid was very special, that was for sure.

After 30 minutes of walking, a small light could be seen up ahead. It was a small house that looked old and abandoned, with a metal fence around it. The fence had "keep out" and "beware of dog" signs in some areas, and the porch light was on. The dog man went up to the gate and lifted the hatch. He climbed up the porch and unlocked the door, ushering Li'l Petey inside. 

"Woaah...is this your house?" Li'l Petey asked while looking around the small living room and kitchen. The living room was on his left. There was a small couch that had seen better days, one tall lamp emitting a soft orange glow next to the window that had slightly see-through curtains, and a small coffee table in the living room filled with paper and plates. 

The kitchen was on the right, and had an old fridge from the 50's that had a few dents, and the counters were a smooth gray gravel. There was a small toaster, a knife holder, and a bowl with a few apples in it. The window above the counters was small, much like the sink below it, and there was a gas stove next to the sink with an oven underneath it.

Li'l Petey smiled at the interior. It seemed very cozy, but a tad messy. The floors were creaking whenever he took a step, and he saw all the dirt, crumbs, and dust on the floor. He didn't mind, however, so long as he wasn't out in the woods anymore. "I like your house, Dog Man! It's nice." He walked over to the living room and put his bag on the table.

He saw Dog Man holding up a sheet of paper that had some writing on it, and read it once he handed it to him.

"Dog Man is a name I don't mind, but my real name is Greg. I don't own a phone, so we'll look for your papa tomorrow morning. If you have any questions, let me know."

"Your real name is Greg?" Li'l Petey questioned while looking up at him. Greg smiled and nodded at him. "I like that name. It sounds less scary than "The Dog Man"... So, Greg? How will we look for my papa, if everyone thinks you're a murderer?"

Greg hadn't thought of that. He had been so worried about the kid's safety that he hadn't even thought about how to get him back to his dad. He put a hand to his muzzle, trying to think of something, then wrote on another piece of paper.

"I can get you back to your papa if we go at night. The people in your town are scared of me, and I don't want to get you involved. You can choose to leave now, or wait until tomorrow."

Li'l Petey read the note and thought for a few minutes. He was very tired, hungry, and wanted to see his papa more than anything. But he was safe there with Greg. He had food, shelter, and could get some sleep before they ventured off tomorrow night. It was a tough decision, but he knew he would be alright in that small house.

"We can go tomorrow. I'm really tired...Plus, I can hang out with you for a day!" He answered, sitting down on the couch and sinking into it. Greg was surprised he'd want to spend a day here, given his appearance, but let out a small laugh.

"If you're tired, I can show you where you can sleep."

Another note read. Li'l Petey nodded and hopped off the couch, following Greg into the hallway that was in between the kitchen and the Living room, and into one of the doors off the right of the hallway. 

It was a small room with a bed, a closet with a sliding door, a tiny drawer, and wooden flooring. Li'l Petey got into the bed, taking off his one shoe, and got into the covers. "Uh, Greg?" Li'l Petey spoke before he closed the door. "Can you leave the door open a little?"

Greg gave him a soft smile and nodded, leaving the door open as he left for the living room.

He sat down on the couch, going over a sign language book he'd found in the trash a few weeks ago, and started practicing. He knew he'd most likely never use the language, as there wouldn't be anyone to talk to, but thought it would be a fun way to pass the time and still learn from it. Maybe if he wore a biker's helmet he could go out in the city? Or a big paper bag over his head?

After an hour of practice, he closed the book. He got up to turn the lights off and lay down on his couch. He kept thinking about Li'l Petey's dad. The poor guy must be terrified to know his kid was missing, especially at night. Greg closed his eyes, hoping Li'l Petey's dad was holding up alright with his missing son situation. 

He'd find out soon enough.

Chapter Text

Petey didn't know how long he was running for. His side ached and his legs grew tired from all the climbing up hills, running through fields, and occasional falls to the ground from tripping over rocks and logs. But none of that was going to stop him from finding his son.

Ever since his dad left him and his mom, he promised to never end up like him. He was a terrible excuse of a father. He never looked after Petey when he was young, and scarred him for life, both physically and mentally. So once Li'l Petey came into his life, even if it was on accident, he swore to not let him live the life he did with his father. 

It was extremely dark now, and his small flip phone was providing very little light. He didn't remember how many times Flippy had called him, but knew it was more than 20. His voice was hoarse from yelling out Li'l Petey's name, but ignored his vocal pain and pressed on throughout the feild. 

Soon, he reached the other half of forest, but his phone died once he entered the pitch black woods. He tried to turn his phone back on, but the red empty battery logo was all that appeared on the screen.

"No! NO, NO, NO! FUCK!" He screamed at his phone, holding back from slamming it on the grassy floor. He put a hand to his face and took a deep breath. He could see in the dark better than the average person, given the fact he was a cat, but he also needed glasses, and left them at his work when he ran out in a panic. 

He squinted his eyes, trying to see into the dark woods, and felt like he was walking around in circles, making no progress at all. He felt like curling up into a ball and crying. Not only was his son missing, but he might be lost now, too. He cursed himself under his breath, feeling stupid for not thinking this through.

"I should've just taken him to work with me.." He spoke to himself. His mind was racing with possible scenarios Li'l Petey could be going through right now.

Murdered, tortured, sold, murdered, hostage, murdered, murdered, murdered-

"GOD DAMMIT! LI'L PETEY! WHERE ARE YOU?!" He yelled with tears in his eyes and his throat on fire. He picked himself up and began to walk around the new part of the woods, his mind and body a mess. He felt like he was going insane. 

Every small movement in the leaves made him flinch. Every sound of the nighttime wildlife made him shake. Not in fear, but in heartbroken disappointment that it wasn't his son coming out to hug him. Each second that went by with no sight of his son made him delirious. 

He soon saw a huge swarm of birds flying from his right. They were all moving away from that part of the woods, as if something was after them. Petey looked up, and followed in the direction where they came from. It's a sign that he wasn't alone in the forest, and maybe could find someone to help him out, or if he was lucky, find Li'l Petey.

He walked, no longer having the strength to run, but kept himself awake by scratching his arms with his claws. Some ended up leaving small trails of blood, flowing down his left arm, but he just wiped them off. He didn't care how he was hurting himself.

After a few minutes of silence walking, he heard some twigs snapping from behind him. He quickly turned around, and noticed someone holding an old lamp, and wearing a black trench coat. Petey stood there, not knowing if he should move or not, when the person waved his lamp, signaling Petey to come over to him.

Petey stared, then felt his legs moving over to the person.

"Hey! You okay over there? You lost?" The person spoke in a low, almost empty voice. Petey stopped walking when he heard his voice. It sounded just like how he looked—suspicious. Petey put a hand to his throat, trying to push out his voice to speak to the man.

"I need your help. My son...I can't-.." He stopped talking once he got close enough to the man to notice he had his arm behind his back. Petey looked him, and slowly started to back off as he revealed a machete.

"This is just for cutting the grass, don't worry. I can help you. I live a few minutes away. Why don't you come over and I can call the police?" The man walked towards Petey, and Petey backed up more.

The man's face held no emotions. His eyes were deprived of life, his skin an unhealthy shade, and his hair was black with some spots missing due to hair loss. Petey wasn't that dumb to know not to follow him, so he booked it in the opposite direction of him, going back to following the path the birds came from.

To his horror, the man chased after him, holding the machete in one hand, chopping away at the grass, while also trying to aim at Petey, and the light from his lamp was getting dangerously brighter. 

Now with the rush of adrenaline from being chased by a mad-man, Petey made a quick turn to his left, causing the man to get thrown off guard at his sudden movement, and was able to get far enough that he couldn't see his his light. However, he could still hear him shouting angrily at Petey to show himself, so he quickly, but quietly, kept running.

He ended up tripping over a rock and fell face first onto the ground. He hissed at the slight pain of branches cutting his cheek, but got up and kept running. He was not going to get murdered today.

Soon, he couldn't hear the crazy man anymore, and took a small stop behind a tree to catch his breath. His hands and legs were shaking, his mind felt numb, and his heart was about to break his ribcage with how fast it was beating. He knew he wasn't safe here, so after his small break, he started to walk again, but fell down a small hill that lead into another part of the woods.

He shook his head, not even fazed by the fall, but started running this time. He had to get out of these woods. He couldn't even feel his legs anymore with all the running, falling, and climbing. Until-

CLAMP

A sharp, cold, unbearable pain traveled throughout his right leg, causing him to loudly scream out in agony. He fell, struggling to breath as he wondered what just happend. He looked over at his bloody leg to see a bear trap, holding his lower leg in a strong hold. If he couldn't feel his legs before, he can definitely feel them now.

Petey began to hyperventilate as the pain in his leg became too much to handle. He tried to move, but every inch he crawled along the grass made the metal sink deeper into his flesh and bones. He felt the warm blood flow out of his leg, and onto the grass.

Was this it?

Was he going to bleed out to death here, never finding his son? Never getting to hold him in his arms after a long day of work, or hearing his bright laughter after telling a funny joke, or listening to his silly stories he made up at school? 

Petey's body started to shake violently as tears streamed down his face. He felt his head get lighter and lighter after every movement he made. He kept crawling on his stomach, trying his best to ignore his mangled leg, but only made it about 7 feet ahead once his vision started to fail him.

He started to feel himself black out, but kept screaming as an effort to keep himself alive. His body was so tired from everything he put it through, that all he could do was yell until his throat was dry, and cried as he felt like a failure to his son.

"Li'l Petey..." He let out a hoarsed cry. If he couldn't find his son, then he would let his last words be his name.

"Li'l Petey!" He said louder, feeling his vocal cords beeing ripped to shreds.

"LI'L PETEY!" The loudest scream he could push out, making him cough after.

He felt himself nodding out, seeing shadows in the corners of his eyes. One shadow growing particularly close, making him use the last of his strength to look up. Was this the angel of death coming to take him to hell where he belonged? 

He couldn't take the pain anymore, and finally passed out as the shadow got close enough to Petey that he could see his attire. 

Who would've thought angels wore camo pants?

_________

Greg was just about to go to sleep, when he remembered he hadn't locked the gate outside. He got up, put on his black rain boots, and went to close it.

As he was about to turn the key insde the gate hatch, he heard a blood curdling scream from the woods outside his home. He paused, and his ears shot up in the direction on the cry. It was loud—almost deafening. He put the key in his pocket, and followed in the direction of the cry.

Thankfully, the screams didn't stop, making it easier to find where the shouts were coming from. He carefully walked around the forest, being mindful of where he put his bear traps, and soon heard the screaming turn into words.

"Li'l Petey!" He stopped in his tracks as he heard the name.

"LI'L PETEY!"

Greg was now running, happy to know someone who knew Li'l Petey was here, but his cheerful mood was washed away with a wave of dread as he saw the person up ahead laying on the floor.

Greg was a few feet from him, when he noticed the man's leg was caught in one of his traps. He stood there, in shock and in guilt. He couldn't look at the man's leg without feeling his stomach grow sick, but he quickly moved closer to the cat when as he saw him lift his head up.

Greg bent down, about to help him up, but flinched once he saw his head give up, and fall to the ground. Greg looked back at the cat's leg, and realized just what kind of situation he was dealing with. 

He quickly opend the trap, trying not to gag at the sight of the cat's mangled leg. His leg was severely punctured, and three big holes were gushing out blood onto the grass and Greg's clothes.

He took a deep breath and picked up the cat, being extremely careful with his leg that looked like it was hanging by a thread, and hurried back to his home.

This cat's life was on the line, and Greg had little time before he bled to death.

Chapter Text

Running through the dark forest in the warm summer night, Greg was carrying the tall cat, racing against time to fix his mangled leg. He tried not to move him too much as his leg left behind a trail of blood from his huge wounds. 

Once he reached his house, he quickly opened the door, put the cat on his couch, and ran to the bathroom in the hallway to grab his first aid kit. He came back with the kit, and quickly rushed over to the cat, putting a pillow under his leg to elevate it. He opened the kit, and pulled out a ton of bandage wraps, gauze, tape, scissors, and disinfectant. 

The biggest wound was in the cat's shin. A huge chunk of it was punctured, leaving an open wound at least 4 inches wide. Greg bit his tongue, trying his best not to pass out at the sight, and got to work fixing the leg.

After nearly an hour of disinfecting, wrapping, and a few breaks to keep himself from throwing up, Greg was done tending to the cat's wounds. He sighed after seeing his bloodstained clothes, couch, and floor. He grabbed a wet rag to clean the floor, moved the bloody pillow outside, and changed his clothes to a less blood covered pair of black sweat pants, and a grey shirt.

He looked at the cat that was still passed out on his couch. His staggered breathing shook Greg to his core. Greg was glad that he hadn't been conscious while he fixed his leg. That would've been a whole lot harder to deal with. He walked back into his room, checking on Li'l Petey. He was sound asleep.

That poor kid must've been so tired from walking around the forest all day, Greg wouldn't blame him if he woke up late in the afternoon. He left the door slightly open, before returning to his living room to check on Li'l Petey's dad.

He bent down, now getting a good look at his face without having to worrying if he bled to death. He had slightly paler fur than Li'l Petey, but the color was still a vibrant hue of orange—or a slightly pale yellow for Greg, since he was color blind. He had 5 wiskers, 3 on his left, and 2 on his right. His eyes had very dark circles under them, and his face had a few smaller cuts, most likely from a fall.

Greg looked at his arms covered in different scratches. He never noticed how many cuts were on the older tabby cat's arms, especially the left one. The main injury on his leg distracted Greg from all the other possible injuries across the cat's body. He went back to gret his first aid kit, grabbed a bunch of small band-aids, and applied them on the cat's arms, legs, and one on his cheek.

After he was done, he put a blanket over the sleeping cat, went to his room, grabbed a blanket and pillow from his closet, and slept on the floor. He knew once Li'l Petey's dad woke up, it would be a day full of explaining, and Greg mentally prepared himself for the tiring day ahead. 

___________

Li'l Petey woke up to the sunlight shining through the window above him. He slowly blinked his eyes open, and found himself in a room he didn't recognize. 

He shot up out of bed, quickly looking around the room, but remembered the events that happend last night, and calmed down. He yawned, rubbing his eye as he scooted himself off the bed, but jumped back on when he heard a muffled whine coming from under the bed.

Greg was on the floor, face down in a pillow. Li'l Petey had accidentally stepped on the back of his head while trying to get down. He giggled and slid down the bed a different way, sitting next to Greg on the small blanket.

"Good moring, Dog Man. Sorry for stepping on you." He spoke quietly. Greg held a thumbs up, still face down in the pillow, but moved his hand so he could ruffle the fur on top of the kid's head. Li'l Petey laughed, and patted Greg's head in return, making the hybrid smile. Eventually, Greg sat up and yawned, and Li'l Petey stared at the sharp canine teeth he had.

Greg noticed him staring, and gave him a toothy smile, which the kitten examined. Li'l Petey gave a big smile back, showing off his tiny teeth, but his two small fangs stood out most of all. He and Greg both laughed. Li'l Petey's laugh was a small giggle, and Greg's was like a mix of a growl and a deep, hoarse laugh.

Greg stood up from his blanket and walked over to his nightstand, pulling out a notepad and paper. He took a while to think of what to write, and how to explain to Li'l Petey his dad was here, but hurt. Greg scribbled away on the notepad, and handed Li'l Petey the note.

"Last night, I found your dad hurt in the forest. He's in the living room asleep, but when you go in there, try your best to keep it down. He's very tired and hurt his leg badly."

Li'l Petey stared at the note, then looked up at Greg as he sprung to his feet. "He's here?!" He spoke with a loud voice, but just below a yell. Greg put a finger to his mouth, signaling him to keep it down, and nodded.

"He got hurt?" A small shake was in his voice as he moved closer to the bedroom door. "Is he okay? When will he wake up?"

Greg wrote again on his notepad, thinking if he should let him see his dad or not. His injuries were horrible, and Greg didn't want the kid to cry at the state his dad was in. But Li'l Petey had every right to see him. He was his dad, after all.

"He's doing a lot better than last night, and he will be OK. I don't know when he'll wake up, but he needs his rest, so it might take a while. You can see him in the living room, but remember to be quiet."

Li'l Petey sniffled his nose and nodded. He held onto Greg's hand as they walked down the small hallway and into the living room. Greg was glad he put the blanket over him so Li'l Petey didn't see the amount of bandages that covered his dad, and bloodstains that were on his clothes. Greg had been going to give him a change of clothes, but decided against it. 

When Li'l Petey saw him asleep on the couch, he let go of Greg's hand and ran over to him. Li'l Petey was going to give him a hug, but saw how drained his papa appeared to be, so instead, he put his small paw to his head. Greg could see his eyes starting to blink back tears, and put his hand to the kid's back to comfort him. Greg didn't expect to get another hug from kid, but bent down and returned the hug to Li'l Petey, who was letting out soft cries.

"Thank you for helping my papa, Greg." Li'l Petey spoke after using his hand to wipe the tears off his cheeks and the mucus running down his nose.

Greg smiled and signed "you're welcome" while getting up to go to the kitchen to grab a paper towel for Li'l Petey.

"Was that sign language you used right now?" Li'l Petey asked as he took the paper towel from Greg and cleaned his nose. 

Greg nodded and showed him the ASL book he had left on the coffee table last night. He flipped to the beginner's page and showed him. Li'l Petey grabbed the book and did the sign towards Greg. Greg then did the sign for "good job" and Li'l Petey smiled.

"Hey...if it's okay with you, can you teach me how to do sign language?" Li'l Petey held the book up to Greg, but then heard his stomach growl.

Greg laughed and went to grab his notepad. He came back and wrote his answer, then walked into the kitchen after handing Li'l Petey the note. 

"Of course I can teach you. But first, let's eat some breakfast. We can practice signing after."

Li'l Petey giggled at the note, and went over to the kitchen see what Greg was going to cook. When Li'l Petey peeked inside Greg's fridge, he noticed how it looked almost empty. There was a small carton of eggs, a few apples, half a bag of bread, a bunch of different plastic containers from different restaurants, and one avocado that hadn't been opened yet. 

A fridge that was the definition of rock bottom.

He watched as Greg turned on the gas stove, cracked an egg inside the pan, and started mixing the egg. He ended up dropping some eggshells inside the pan, but scrambled them up with the egg, hoping the kid wouldn't taste it. He then grabbed a plate from one of the upper cabinets and placed the scrambled egg on it, along with a piece of toast. He handed it to Li'l Petey and walked to the front door, opening it so Li'l Petey could eat outside. Li'l Petey had the plate on his laps while sitting on the steps of the porch, and ate while Greg was making his breakfast.

Greg came oustide holding a bowl of cereal that had no milk, and a bunch of paper. He sat down next to Li'l Petey, and ate the cereal with his hands. 

"You don't like milk?" Li'l Petey questioned. Greg shook his head, and pointed at the bowl, then shook his finger.

"...you're allergic?" 

Greg shook his head, and made an x with his fingers.

"Uuuhhh...OH! You don't have any milk!" 

Greg sighed and nodded his head, wishing his vocal cords worked. He ate some more of his cereal, then gave Li'l Petey one of the papers he had brought with him.

"Can you tell me about your dad??"

Li'l Petey gazed up at Greg, a big smile forming on his face. "His name is Petey, but my friend likes to call him "Wally". I dunno why she thinks that's a better name." Li'l Petey replied with a mouth full of toast.

'The name fits. He does look like a mini version of him.' Greg thought while eating more cereal. 

"Let's see...what else.." Li'l Petey put a paw to his small chin, thinking about what else to say. "Oh, he's a mechanic! A real good one, too. My friend's dad once broke his washing machine 'cause he thought you could put metal inside, and my papa was able to fix it in a day!" He stretched his arms out and bits of toast came flying out of his mouth.

Greg payed close attention to everything the tabby said. Everything from the delicious food Petey makes for him, to when Petey helped him ride a bike without training wheels. Greg felt almost jealous at how much of a loving parent Petey was to Li'l Petey. He felt terrible about what had happend to his leg even more now. Those dumb kids just had to scare Li'l Petey and get him lost. However, he was lucky Greg found him and not-

"LI'L PETEY?!" A frantic voice yelled from inside the house, catching Greg and Li'l Petey off guard.

Li'l Petey shot up from the porch, and rushed inside. He stood in the entrance of the living room, staring at his papa who was sitting sideways on the couch. Petey's expression went from panic to shock as he saw his son standing just a few feet away from him, holding his breath and hoping this wasn't a sick dream. 

"PAPA! PAPA! YOU'RE AWAKE! YOU'RE OKAY!" Li'l Petey exclaimed as he went to hug his papa, but was careful to not hurt him since Greg said he had some injuries.

Petey quickly wrapped his arms around his son, holding him in a tight embrace. He felt tears forming in his eyes as he held onto his baby, realizing that he finally found him. His son was alive. He was alive. Everything was going to be okay...until a sharp pain engulfed his right leg. 

"AGH- WHAT THE- FFF..UUAAGGH!" Petey cried out, letting go of Li'l Petey. Taking the blanket that was on him off, he eyed the white bandages with a small shade of red that covered his leg. Li'l Petey backed up and headed to the door.

"Don't worry! I'll get Greg to help you!" 

"WH- WHAT?! LP, COME-...here..." His train of thought was stopped once he saw the dog-headed man step inside, a worried look on his face. Petey's heart dropped at the sight. The Dog Man was real?! Really real?! He felt himself start to hyperventilate, and Greg quickly went to the kitchen to grab a cup of water, while Li'l Petey rushed over to his papa's side to help him calm down.

"Papa! Papa! It's okay! Greg isn't gonna hurt you! Look at me! He helped me, and I'm okay!" He grabbed his papa's face, making him look down at him as he spoke. "Papa, Dog Man is a good guy. His real name is Greg, and he helped you! Don't be scared, papa."

Petey tried to calm down, but the pain in his leg, the fact that the whole Dog Man thing was real, and that he didn't know where he is, it was too much all at once. He closed his eyes, trying to focus on Li'l Petey's and the fact that he was alive. Soon, his breathing slowed down, and he opened his eyes to be met with Li'l Petey's warm smile.

"Greg brought some water for you. Do you want it?" Li'l Petey asked and looked up at Greg, who was holding a small plastic cup.

Petey slowly gazed up at Dog Man, his heart rate spiking a bit at the sight. He didn't know what to feel while looking at him. Fear? Remorse? Gratitude? This was the guy everyone had been claiming to be a murderer, and yet, he kept his son and him alive for who knew how long he was out for. However, this could all just be an act. Gaining their trust, just for him to break it and kill them In the end. Petey's green eyes stared into Greg's brown, but slightly red eyes. Trying to work up the courage to say something, but he just snatched the cup from him and stared at it.

"...Papa, say thank you to Greg." Li'l Petey whispered while he nudged Petey's arm, and Petey nervously glanced back up at Dog Man,  fidgeting with the cup in his hands.

"...Thank you." Petey spoke with a shaky voice, but slightly relaxed when he saw Greg smile at his answer. His smile was so...normal? It didn't look like a fake smile, or a forced smile, or any kind of smile with a double meaning. It was just a pure smile. A smile that came from the heart.

"Papa, how's your leg?" Li'l Petey wondered as he looked at all the bandages that covered Petey's leg. Petey took a deep breath after drinking the refreshing water and looking at his leg. He couldn't remember what had happened, but knew he stepped in something that made him unable to move, and that it hurt. It hurt a lot.

"...I don't even..remember..what happened. It hurts like hell right now...but...I dunno." He sighed, trying to move his leg off of the pillow, but every movement felt like it was being crushed. Greg walked a little closer, and bent down to inspect Petey's leg, and Petey shifted on the couch, still not over the fact that Dog Man was a real person, and that he helped him of all things.

Greg raised his hands up in front of him, and gave a worried glace at Petey. His expression again caught Petey off guard, but Petey understood what he meant. He was reluctant for a few seconds, but eventually relaxed his body and let Greg take a closer look at his leg, biting his cheek to keep himself from screaming in pain.

"Greg, what happend to papa? Why is his leg so hurt?" Li'l Petey questioned while pointing at Petey's leg. Petey wanted to know too, since the last thing he remembered seeing was the grass in his face...and the crazy man in the woods with the machete. What was his deal?

Greg looked at the kitten, then back at the equally confused cat, and went into the kitchen to grab his notepad. He handed the note to Petey, and with every word he read, his eyes got bigger and bigger.

"You were caught in a bear trap I had set up outside. I'm so sorry. I tried my best to fix your leg, and I think I did a pretty good job. You have a lot of different injuries, but your leg is the most serious one."

"You set the trap up?" Petey replied in a cold voice. The memories of the night were now coming back to him. Greg looked down and nodded his head, writing another note.

"It wasn't intended to capture people like you. I'm sorry."

Petey scoffed at the note. "Okay, so what was it for, then? You tryna capture doctors? Nurses? It can't be bears 'cause we don't have them here, so who are you tryna capture?" His voice was shaking again, due to the reality of his situation hiting him like a ton of bricks, but he tried to keep a cool head.

Greg sighed and handed him one more note before going into his bedroom to grab more paper, as he knew the questions wouldn't stop, especially with the answer he just handed to Petey.

"More people like me."

Chapter Text

Greg returned to the living room, holding a new pen and a bunch of papers. Some with pictures, appearing to be newpapers and photographs, and some left blank for him to write on. 

He was startled to see Petey trying to walk to the front door, hopping on one leg while Li'l Petey held his hand for support. Petey looked behind him, sweating as he noticed that Dog Man had come back and quickened his pace to reach the front door faster.

"Papa," Li'l Petey spoke, a slight hint of annoyance in his voice, "Greg isn't gonna hurt you. Just sit back down before you hurt yourself!" 

Greg placed the paper on the table and slowly approached the tall cat that was trying to escape. He held out his hand, showing Petey that he really didn't mean any harm, but Petey smacked it away and continued to hop over to the door.

Li'l Petey, upset at his papa for not listening to him, backed away and left Petey with no support, causing the tall cat to lose his balance. Petey felt himself starting to sway and prepared for the pain he would feel as soon as he hit the floor, but Greg was able to catch him from behind before he collapsed.

"Let go of me, you psychopath," Petey hissed in a low voice, holding onto his tail as he felt Greg move him back to the couch. 

"Papa, please calm down. I promise Greg didn't mean to get you hurt!" Li'l Petey protested.

Petey shoved Greg off of him, luckily landing on the couch. The pain in his leg was making him lightheaded, and he couldn't get his mind together with everything that was unfolding in front of him. He was terrified, but his fear was gradually turning into rage. What did Greg mean by "other people like me"? Were there more freaks like him catching innocent people and keeping them in the woods? He stared at his bandaged leg, not wanting to make eye contact with either of the two. Petey was about to try and get back up, but a small hand resting on his knee grounded him. 

"Papa... you're scaring me."

What?

Petey's eye grew wide at his son's statement. How was he scaring him? He was in an old house in the middle of the woods with a freak of nature, yet he was the one scaring him? Petey looked down at him, gazing at his son's worried expression. He closed his eyes while trying to steady his breath and moved his hand to feel his son's face. Li'l Petey leaned into his touch, gripping onto his papa's arm.

"...Alright." Petey glanced up at Dog Man, who was standing beside him, his eyes barely opening to meet with the hybrid's. "Your story better be good or so help me..."

"That's what he's been doing, Papa. I told you he's been trying to help you, but nooooo, you don't listen." Li'l Petey rolled his eyes, making a small huff of laughter come out of the exhausted cat.

Greg picked up everything that was on the table, putting it away in their respective places, then returned holding the papers and pen he brought with him before and sat down on the now empty table. He wrote on one of the blank sheets of paper and handed it to Petey.

"What do you want to know first?"

Petey took a deep breath and crumpled up the paper, shooting a tired expression at Greg. "...What are you?"

It took a few minutes for Greg to finish writing his answer. The memories were still difficult for him to process and he had trouble writing it down, but he gave Petey the sheet of paper once he was satisfied with what he wrote.

"I'm sure you've heard how a man and a dog were in a fatal car accident a few months ago. I was that dog. My owner friend was the man who, unfortunately, was decapitated on impact."

Petey looked up from the note, examining the... Man? Dog? His face.

He had an expression of grief plastered on him as he looked out the window that was to his right. Petey almost felt sorry for the guy.

Almost.

He continued reading.

"My body was crushed as we rolled off the hill. The last thing I remember seeing before I was out cold was a man in a doctor's uniform rolling us out of the ambulance and into a different vehicle. Then, once I woke up, I found myself connected by the neck of Knight my friend. I have his body, but I have my head, so I don't know exactly what I am. A mix of both? I hope this answer satisfies you."

Once Petey reached the end of the note, he folded it and put it in the pockets of his shorts. He let out a shaky sigh, feeling the anxiety slowly leave his body. He continued to stare at Greg, who was still looking at the window, after reading his explanation. Petey tried to deceiver the expression that was on his face. He looked calm, like he was patiently waiting for someone to pop out of the window, but his eyes were incredibly exhausted. The light shade of pink around the whites of his eyes made it clear he was going through a lot of stress.

Petey knew that feeling all too well.

"What did you mean when you wrote "more people like me"? What else is in these woods?" Petey tensed his shoulders as he questioned Greg. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer to that question.

While Greg was writing his answer, Li'l Petey climbed onto the couch and laid his head in his papa's lap. "Thank you for listening, Papa... I love you." He spoke in a soft voice, closing his eyes as he held onto one of Petey's hands.

Petey looked down and caressed his son's head with his other hand, feeling a tad more at ease. "Te amo, chico."

Greg shifted his eyes to catch a glimpse of Li'l Petey and Petey. Seeing the father and son finally getting a chance to relax after such an eventful night warmed his heart. He handed Petey his answer, along with a few pictures from a newspaper and photographs he took. Petey put the photos to the side and read the note first.

"When I escaped the hospital, I found this house abandoned and decided to make it my own. After a few weeks of living here, I occasionally heard screaming and crying not too far away. Some sounded like animals, and others sounded more human. If you take a look at the newspapers, you'll see a headline and some pictures of humans with bite marks all over their body."

Petey picked up the newspaper clippings he left to the side and inspected them. It was similar to the newspaper Big Jim had shown him, but this time, they had photos of the victims and not just their description. He thanked God it wasn't in color. He looked through each cutout headline and at each of the victims' wounds. One article that stood out to him the most was of a man with two huge chunks of his arm ripped off. Petey had to read the article over once more when the words "stolen" popped up. Apparently, this man's body was stolen after the autopsy and couldn't be traced. That left a bitter taste in Peteys mouth as he continued to read Greg's note.

"The screams I heard were most likely these people being mauled to death, but why would they publish the victims' deaths so late? It didn't make sense to me, but I didn't want to also fall victim to the attacks of these animals, so I set up traps along the property just in case. It wasn't until I was walking towards Ohkay City one night when I spotted a disfigured man in the woods. I thought he was hurt, so I tried my best to approach him without scaring him, but he wasn't human. He was an animal. He was like me. He was some sort of monster. experiment. victim of the doctor who had sewn me to life. He noticed me and started chasing me back to my home. Thankfully, one of my traps caught him. I was able to take a few pictures of him with my camera after he died."

Petey set the note down beside him and picked up the photographs.

They were...disturbing, to say the least.

The first photo was slightly blurry, but not enough to hide the horrific details. It was a close-up of his disfigured face. His lips were gone,  giving a clear view of how his human teeth were replaced with rows of sharp canine teeth. His nose was broken and bloody, and his first layer of skin was cut off like how a chef filets a fish. He had stitches across the top of his head and along his forehead. His eyelids were gone, showing off his bloodshot eyes as they stared at the camera. 

The second photo showed his body. His arms were gone, replaced with the front legs of a dog. His nails were sharp, and the brown fur that covered his new arms were soaked in blood. His short-sleeved shirt was ripped, showing the line of stitches that connected the man and the dog together. There was a huge hole in his upper chest, similar to a stab wound. Petey felt himself grow sick.

The last photo was of him laying in the forest. He was caught in a bear trap just like Petey, except both of his legs were caught. His left leg looked ready to come off, as it was extremely dislocated. Did he try to walk with the bear trap on? Petey put the photos back to the side of the couch, facing them down so he didn't have to look at them any longer. He read Greg's letter once more.

"Someone is making more hybrids, and I have a feeling it's the man who made me. I've been looking for a description of him in papers and for more of his experiments, but I haven't been able to find anything. As much as I want to help you get back home, I can't let you or your son get attacked by these things people. You're in no condition to walk, and we're 2 hours away from the city. Until you're healed enough to run, I'm asking you to please stay here. I won't talk to you or your son if you dont want me to. I won't do anything to make you feel uncomfortable. All that I ask of you is to please trust me. I truly mean no harm."

Petey held the note, gripping it tightly as he read the last few sentences. He felt his eyes starting to burn, not realizing he hadn't been blinking while he read Greg's explanation. He put a hand to his face and rubbed his eyes, taking a deep breath before locking eyes with Greg.

"...I dunno what to say," Petey spoke, letting out a shaky sigh, not breaking eye contact with him.

Greg studied the cat's face, feeling remorse for the poor family. He hadn't wanted any of this to happen to them and, in a way, felt responsible for their situation. He gazed down at Petey's injured leg, then back up at him, holding his hand out. Petey's ears went back, contemplating whether or not to accept his hand. He kept his eyes on Greg, resisting the urge to blink as he moved his hand to grasp the hybrid's.

"I'm sorry." Petey let out as he held onto Greg's hand, slowly shaking it.

His response caught Greg off guard, making a slight expression of surprise grow on his face. Petey noticed and tried to come up with something to talk about. If he was gonna be here for a while, he might as well get used to talking to the infamous Dog Man.

"Sorry for lashing out at you. It's just... so much is going on all at once, I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around... all of this." He let go of Greg's hand and gestured around the room. "... I'm fine with you talking to my son. After all, he's alive because of you. I'm just... confused. Why would someone want to make things like you?" Petey questioned, but then quickly put a hand to his mouth, realizing how that must've sounded.

"I-I didn't mean it in a bad way, obviously. I'm just, like, y'know... sorry." Petey glanced outside through the front door. It was cloudy and seemed to be relatively cool. He felt a tap on his knee and looked back at Greg, smiling as he handed Petey another note.

"I get it don't worry. Thank you for trusting me. If you have any questions, let me know."

"I have so many questions, believe me, I do..." Petey paused and looked down at Li'l Petey, who was taking a much needed nap, then at the front door. "...But can we talk outside? I just really need some air."

Greg nodded as he slid down from the table and waited to help Petey up. Petey moved Li'l Petey off of his lap and laid him down comfortably on the couch, giving him a quick hug. He stood on one foot, trying to make it to the front door by himself, but Greg moved Petey's arm over his shoulder to help him walk. The sudden touch made Petey flinch, almost falling back, but he put a hand on the arm rest of the couch to steady himself. He was still not over the fact of exactly what Greg was. Greg looked at him, giving him a smile and a thumbs up to show he was alright, and Petey eventually relaxed and let him help him get to the door.

They had a height difference, Petey being 6'2 and Greg standing at 5'6, so Petey had to bend over a bit as Greg helped him outside.

Once the door opened, Petey took a deep breath in. The smell of the cool summer wind helped him clear his mind. He winced as he sat down on one of the porch steps but waved a hand at Greg, showing him that he was fine. They sat in silence for a bit, both looking off into the distant forest. The cool wind ruffled the fur on both of their faces, taking in the sounds of nature that surrounded them.

"What's up with you?" Petey broke the silence, still looking at the deep woods. Greg turned to him and tilted his head in confusion. "What do you like to do? If I'm gonna be stuck here against my will, I might as well get to know you, right?" Petey side-eyed Greg and saw he was writing his answer.

He patiently waited, closing his eyes for a bit as he collected himself. He soon felt a tap on his shoulder and opened his eyes to grab the paper Greg handed him.

"Most days, I look for more victims and check all the traps I have set up. It takes most of my day since I have to do a lot of walking. When I'm not doing that, I like to read books. I'm learning sign language since I can't talk. It's been fun. I also go around the city at night and take what people leave in trash bins and donation boxes. I've been trying to grow my own food since most food I gather from the city is a little past the expiration date, but I don't think plants like me."

Petey smiled at the last sentence but felt bad at the kind of life Greg was living. Eating expired food, walking for hours every day, being feared by society, and not having the ability to talk? This guy had it rough. He wanted to ask why Greg couldn't talk, but figured he shouldn't as it could be a touchy subject for him, given everything that he'd been through. He set the paper down and watched the grey clouds move around in the sky, leaning on his hands behind him for support.

"Sign language sounds cool," He replied, still gazing up. "I don't know anything about sign language. Maybe I can learn with you so you don't have to spend 30 minutes writing a response for everything." He chuckled, his response in a joking manner but he wasn't fully against the idea.

Greg moved his body to face Petey and smiled. He got up to grab his ASL book and another cup of water. He came back and sat down, holding the cup out for Petey to take.

"Oh, thanks... Greg, right? Your real name is Greg?" Petey asked while grabbing the cup.

Greg nodded while opening the book. He took the bookmark out and laid the book on the slightly old wooden floor. Petey set his cup down after taking a drink of the much needed cool water and watched as Greg flipped to the front page. He set the book in between them and showed Petey all the signs he knew so far.

They went through the book for a while and signed various things at each other. Some were sentences, and others were just words. Greg really appreciated Petey's company. It motivated him to learn ASL even more now that someone was there to have conversations with him. This might've been the first time he smiled this much since the accident. He was expecting Petey to ask him more questions, but he didn't.

Petey didn't want to talk at all. He had so many questions to ask but didn't know when, how, or if he could ask them. Did Greg remember what the surgeon looked like? How did he have running water and electricity in this abandoned house? How long until his leg would be healed? When would he be able to go home? 

His mind was fogged with too many questions, so he used the sign language lesson as a means to distract himself. He thought about Flippy, Molly and her sibblings, his job, his home, everything. He couldn't contact anyone with his dead phone. He felt crushed. Everything he worked so hard for was slowly drifting away from him. Would the police come looking for them? Flippy would've filed a missing person report for the two of them, right? No one was going to forget about him and his son, right? 

He could trust that Greg would help them get home... right?

"Papa, whatcha doing?" Li'l Petey opened the door to the porch, walking over to the silent pair. "Is Greg gonna teach you sign language, too?

Petey looked up at his son and smiled. "Yeah, wanna join in?" He moved over to make room so Li'l Petey could sit in between him and Greg, trying his best not to move his leg too much. Li'l Petey sat down, excited to learn a new language with his papa. 

The three of them spent the morning in silence as they signed phrases and words, and came up with sentences. Most of Li'l Petey's sentences were about bathroom stuff and food, which got a few laughs out of the adults. Soon, Li'l Petey let out a giggle as he felt water fall on his face. They all looked up at the old roof of the porch and noticed it was starting to rain.

"Hurry! Before the book gets wet!" Li'l Petey shouted dramatically as he held the book in his hands and ran inside, holding the door open so that his papa and Greg could come inside. Petey held onto Greg's shoulders, shuffling his way back to the couch. He felt embarrassed having Greg help him whenever he needed to walk. It made him feel like an old man. However, Greg didn't mind at all. He had spent months being alone and not interacting with "normal" people, so helping Petey walk was no problem for him. It made him feel wanted.

Once they all settled inside, they noticed just how late it had gotten. When Petey had woken up, it was 9 a.m., and now it was already 3 p.m! No wonder Petey felt so hungry. 

"Greg?" Petey spoke once Greg sat him down. "Do you... got anything to eat? I'm fine with anything you have, by the way... I just haven't had anything for a while..."

Greg's ears went up in surprise. Why hadn't he given him anything to eat?! He'd been giving him nothing but water for the entire day!

"Sorry! I'll get you something!" he signed quickly as he went into the kitchen to make him a PB&J sandwich. Petey felt proud of himself for understanding what he said. Now, he wouldn't have to read his weird handwriting and wait ages for a reply to a short sentence.

"Can I have a sandwich too, Greg?" Li'l Petey walked over to the hybrid in the kitchen, who was holding a thumbs up, and watched as he made the sandwiches. He placed them on a plate and brought them over to the coffee table. The two cats and Greg ate together in the dim room. The clouds made it darker outside and soon thunder roared in the distance. 

"Hmm, sounds like a storm," Petey thought out loud, making the hybrid and kitten look at him as he stared out the window. "I wouldn't doubt it with how windy it was earlier today. Must've blown in a cool front."

"...Papa, you watch too much Storm Stories," Li'l Petey stated, making Greg laugh a bit. Petey stared at his son, squinting his eyes at him in a playful manner.

"And you watch too much Invader Zim, but do I  complain when you talk about alien invasions? Noooooo."

"I don't talk about it that much!"

"I heard you talking to Molly about making inventions like Dub a few days ago when I came home from work."

"His name is "Dib", and what's wrong with making cool inventions?! You make cool stuff. Why not make a laser gun or something like that?"

Petey laughed at his son, memories of them watching shows and bantering about them flooding in his mind. Soon, his laughter stopped and he stared back out the window, watching the rain fall as he ate his PB&J.

Greg enjoyed watching the silly conversation they had just now, wondering what their home and friends looked like. He turned to Li'l Petey, not surprised to see his face full of jelly.

"Favorite thing to do?" He simplified his question since Li'l Petey joined the lesson late.

"Hmmm... I really like drawing. I told my papa how I wanna become a comic book artist when I grow up! My room has loooooots of drawings on the walls, and my friend Molly gives me funny ideas." Li'l Petey stood up and put the plate in the sink, then came back with a piece of paper, a pen, and a clean face. 

Li'l Petey drew Petey, himself, and Greg, all together in the living room of his house. They were watching TV and had lots of snacks in their hands. He showed it to Greg, and Greg immediately put it on his fridge using tape.

"Haha! Papa, Greg put my drawing on the fridge!" Li'l Petey stood in front of Petey, who was still looking out the window, and blinked back into reality after zoning out.

Petey turned around to see Greg by the fridge and gave him a weak smile before inhaling sharply as the pain in his leg returned, making Greg rush over to help him. The pain had been on and off all day, and Petey was growing tired of it.

"It's fine. I'm fine. It's alright." Petey sighed and held his hands up. "How long until I can move an inch without my leg feeling like it's exploding?" 

Greg bent down to look at his leg, then stood up with a hand to his chin. "4 months, maybe?" he signed nonchalantly. 

"FOUR MONTHS?! SERIOUSLY?! I CAN'T WALK FOR FOUR MONTHS?!" Petey shouted as he moved forward from the couch, then recoiled as his leg throbbed with pain from the movement. 

Greg bent down to be at eye level with him. "Relax. I might have medicine." He got up and quickly went into the bathroom, returning with the opened first aid kit and grabbing a package of Tylenol. "Here."

"You had this the whole time? Could've used this when I woke up," Petey snapped as he opened the small package and grabbed his cup.  "...Thank you."

Greg gave a nod and watched him take the pill. He turned to the analog clock on the stove that read 4:38 p.m..

'Still so much time to kill...' he thought as he went to his room, brought out an old radio that had seen better days, and tuned it to an FM radio station. 

They spent the rest of the day listening to music, drawing, playing multiple rounds of Tic-Tac-Toe,  charades and any rainy day activity they could think of. After a few hours, Li'l Petey eventually fell asleep on the floor, pen, and paper in hand. Greg picked him up and put him in his bed, then turned back to the living room to ask Petey if he wanted help with anything before he went to sleep.

"No. I'm fine." He spoke as he sat sideways on the couch, pulling the blanket Greg had given him earlier over himself.

"Your clothes?" Greg signed and stepped closer to the cat.

"My clothes? What about them?"

"They're dirty. Covered in blood." 

He took the blanket off to examine his clothes. "Ah, yeah, they are kinda gross, huh?" He realized how much dried blood, sweat, and dirt was over him. Wearing a white shirt had been definitely a bad idea. "Uh... well, I mean... since you offered, sure." 

Greg went to his room, opened the sliding closet door and reached inside of a box. He got his clothes from drop-off donation boxes, and sometimes the clothes he found were too big. He had been planning to cut them to fit his size, but never got around to doing it. He returned holding a black shirt and a pair of blue plaid pajama pants.

He helped Petey up so he could get changed in the bathroom and handed Petey his new clothes. Petey thanked Greg as he closed the door behind him.

Petey leaned on the counter to support his weight as he changed, sucking his breath in when he had to lift up his right leg. He felt so much better now that he wasn't wearing bloodstained clothes. After putting his old clothes on the counter, he turned to the front of the sink to splash his face with water. He froze as he stared at the reflection in the mirror.

"Holy shit." He spoke out loud, not believing that what he was looking at was himself.

He looked horrible.

His fur was a complete disheveled mess and he just noticed the band-aid that was on his cheek, along with the dark circles under his green eyes.

"Wait, am I missing whisker?" He looked closer at the mirror, almost using his right leg to lean forward. "Jesus..." He looked away and washed his face, hoping that would help. After he dried his face with the towel next to him, he looked back up at the mirror. 

Other than his fur being more puffed up, nothing had changed.

"...Whatever." He rolled his eyes at the mirror and opened the door, almost jumping back when he saw Greg waiting for him.

"How long were you there for?" he asked as Greg walked him back to the couch that had a new blanket and pillow. 

"Not long. I made the couch better for you," he signed after setting Petey down.

"You didn't–... thank you." Petey laid down on the couch, pulling the new blanket over him and tightly closed his eyes. "Night."

Greg turned off the lamp and waved at the cat, making his way to his room. He slept on the other side of the floor so Li'l Petey wouldn't step on him again.

'I should find him a wheel chair... or maybe some crutches? ' Greg thought as he closed his eyes, making a "shopping list" in his mind for what to find tomorrow night.

He didn't sleep much despite being very relaxed. Maybe he was just happy to finally have people to talk to? He had been living alone for months, not interacting with anyone at all, and now he's housing a grouchy cat and his cheerful son.

Knight must be laughing at him from heaven right now.

Chapter Text

"Oops. Sorry, Greg."

Li'l Petey had accidentally stepped on Greg's head again while getting out of bed, having rolled to the other side of the bed as he slept and woke up the hybrid from his 2 hours of sleep. Greg tiredly gave a thumbs up and sat up on the floor, rubbing his neck after he had stretched his back.

Sleeping on the floor was not helping his neck recovery at all. Who knew if the doctor that had sewn him together was even licensed. It had been 3 months since his operation, and the stitches on his neck were far from fully healed. If he moved his neck too much, he would get sharp pains and feel dizzy, as if his head was going to fall off and roll onto the ground.

After rubbing the top of Li'l Petey's head to say good morning, Greg stood up and went to the restroom. Dogs didn't have the need to brush their teeth since they had dental bones that would clean their teeth as they chewed on them, but Greg felt he had to brush his teeth like a "normal person." Having a human body had changed his perspective on hygiene, if not then everything. 

Except for his hatred of showers. It only grew more unbearable for him since he had to stare at his exposed human skin with every shower he took. His knew this body was different from his old body, but he sucked up his fears and tried to take one at least once a week. Besides, he didn't want Knight's body to be neglected. 

As he was about to leave the restroom, he noticed that Petey's clothes were still on the counter. He grabbed them, planning to wash them later on in the day, but felt something hard in one of the front pockets. He took it out and saw the cat's flip phone. The screen of the gray phone was cracked, and the outside had a sticker of fadded yellow happy face. He tried turning it on, but nothing happened. Not even the low battery logo popped up. He held onto the phone as he walked out with Petey's clothes and set both of them on his nightstand. He opened the drawer and took out his notepad, writing down "charger," along with other items he planned to find today.

"Hey, Greg?" Li'l Petey asked asked as he walked into the room. Greg turned around, slightly tilting his head to the side. "Papa wants to know if you have any butter or cooking spray. He's gonna make breakfast."

The hybrid stood still, blinking quickly as he replayed the question in his mind.

'Petey's cooking breakfast... Standing up?!' Greg thought as his eyes grew wide, not answering Li'l Petey's question and darted straight to the kitchen to make sure Petey was alright.

He sharply turned the corner and saw Petey standing up, looking inside the fridge with an old broom upside down in his hand. Greg was taken aback by the sight, not expecting to see the broom in his hand that made him look like a witch, and for him to have the strength to stand up by himself on one foot. Petey glanced over to his right and noticed the surprised expression on Greg, trying his best to suppress the proud smile on his face.

"Your fridge is depressing," He stated, closing the doors to the refrigerator while holding onto the broom, using it as a homemade crutch to move towards the stove. "I was gonna make some eggs, but since most of your food is expired, I'm scared a baby chick will come out if I crack one open." He joked, almost wiping the now worried expression off of Greg's face.

Greg walked closer to the tall cat, facing him from the side. "You okay?!" He quickly moved his hands to sign, looking down at his leg. Petey had rolled up the pants of his right leg so the fabric wouldn't be suffocating his leg more than it already was. "It hurts? You need help?" Greg wanted to ask the questions in more detail but didn't have most of the signs memorized yet.

"I'm fine," He reassured, squinting his eyes in annoyance. "If there's one thing you should know about me it's that I don't like relaxing. Besides, you left the package of Tylenol on the table so I took some when I woke up."

Greg stared up at Petey, his worried expression slowly fading away and was replaced with a weak smile. Petey didn't appear to be in too much pain, but he still didn't like the idea of Petey moving around too much.

"So, do you have butter... Or anything to make the eggs not stick to the pan?" the cat asked as he leaned on the broom, but before Greg could answer, Li'l Petey came rushing in.

"Papa! Do you have your phone charger? I wanna play Snake." He held up Petey's phone and waved it in front of him.

Petey took the phone from him and held it up close to his face, noticing the cracked screen, and sighed. "Sorry, kid, but it's dead... or broken... or both..." Petey's neutral expression grew into disappointment, holding down the power button and not seeing the red battery logo. He set the phone down on the kitchen counter. "Dog Man, do you have any butter? Yes or no?"

Greg, surprised to hear Petey call him Dog Man, shook his head. Remember when he made those eggs for Li'l Petey? He had to scrape off the eggs using a knife since the eggs had gotten stuck to the pan. Petey rolled his eyes at Greg's response and shuffled his way to the fridge.

"Well, what's in these fast food boxes? Maybe I can make something out of them..." He spoke the last part mostly to himself. 

Greg quickly ran to his room to grab his notepad, writing down a response as he returned to the kitchen and handed it to Petey.

"You don't have to make breakfast. I can do it for you. Just sit down before you lose your balance and fall on your leg. If you want it to heal sooner, then sit down."

Petey scoffed at the note and glanced over at Greg, but his attitude almost vanished as he saw the annoyed look on the mutt's face. He swallowed his pride and crumpled the note.

"Alright, mom," he teased in a mocking tone as he limped his way back to the couch with Li'l Petey following behind him, giggling at his papa's funny expression. 

Greg shook his head, reaching up to the cabinets and pulling out some stale bread, along with a can of tomato soup. He set a pot on the stove and warmed up the soup, grabbing three bowls from the cabinets and placing the soup and bread inside. He held two bowls in his hands and placed them on the coffee table, along with some plastic spoons.

"... What is this, Papa?" Li'l Petey asked, looking down at his bowl.

"Tomato soup?" Petey answered in a questioning tone and peeked up at Greg, who nodded his head in agreement. "And you're gonna eat it."

Li'l Petey let out an exaggerated groan. "Can I have a PB&J sandwich instead?"

"Li'l Petey." Petey spoke with a stern voice and turned his head to face the kitten. "Comer. Ahora."

Li'l Petey looked back down at his bowl and sighed. "Fiiiiineeee."

Greg laughed at the interaction. He was willing to make a sandwich for the kid, but Petey told him he had to learn to eat what was given to him, especially if it was at a guest's house. That was something his mom had taught him when he was young.

The three of them ate in relative silence, with Li'l Petey occasionally talking about superhero stuff and his many comic book ideas. It was like a small radio show for Greg and Petey to tune into.

Once they finished, Greg rinsed the bowls and put them back inside the cabinet, and Li'l Petey swept the floor with the broom Petey was using as a crutch.

"Hey, Papa? Can I get paid for doing this?"

Petey let out a tired sigh. "Yeah, you'll get paid with a good feeling in your heart for doing something nice. By the way, you missed a spot over there."

Li'l Petey let out yet another groan of annoyance. 

__________

After Li'l Petey helped Greg clean the house, which didn't take very long, Petey joined them in the sign language lesson for the day. They made games out of it, such as who could recognize the most signs in a time limit or who could sign a bunch of sentences the fastest. It was a fun way to pass the time while still learning something together. This went on for a couple of hours until they all eventually grew tired of the lessons and needed a break.

"Greg, can I play outside? It's sunny now and I'm suuuupppa bored." Li'l Petey flopped dramatically onto his side on the couch next to Petey, getting a few laughs out of the two adults. 

Greg scratched behind his ear in thought. "Okay, but you have to stay where I can see you. Don't go past the gate." He signed slowly, making sure the kitten understood the words he was "saying."

"And," Petey added, "don't step in any mud you find. I just remembered you don't have your other shoe."

Li'l Petey laughed. "Oh yeah! Hahaha! I forgot I lost my other shoe. How about if I wear my socks?"

"No. I still don't want you playing in mud."

"Why?"

"Otras ves... Because I don't want you to."

"Why?"

"Because you'll bring mud in the house."

"Why?"

"Because you're gonna be covered in mud!"

"Why?"

"Hijo de la- Just go wait for us by the porch before I tickle you!"

Li'l Petey screamed and laughed at that and ran to the front door, opening it and waiting on the porch steps for his papa and Greg.

"That kid is gonna give me gray hair by 30..." Petey sighed, grabbing the broom and standing up from the couch. Greg laughed and walked alongside him, making sure he wouldn't fall.

"How old are you?" Greg asked, opening the door for Petey.

"27, but looking after that kid makes me feel 50," Petey replied as he stepped outside and slowly sat down on the porch steps, watching Li'l Petey roam around the front yard, picking up sticks and laying them down on the ground. He looked back at Greg once he saw his hands move.

"29, I think?"

"You think? What do you mean you think?" Petey questioned the hybrid.

Greg went inside to grab his notpad to write his answer and handed Petey the paper once he came back.

"I don't know if I should count in my dog years, which would be 28, or count in my body's years, which would be 31. I just rounded them together."

Petey clicked his tongue after reading the note, glancing at the stitches that hung around the hybrid's neck. "Huh... alright... when's your birthday— LP Don't climb on the gate!"

Li'l Petey jumped down and yelled sorry, then went back to playing with the sticks.

"December 29," Greg signed with a smile. "You?"

"July 18th. And before you ask, no, I am not excited about my birthday," Petey answered in a sharp tone. His birthday was a little over a month away, reminding him of how old he was becoming and how it was only a matter of time before he ended up looking like his dad.

"My birthday's on Halloween!" Li'l Petey ran up to the pair, laying his bundle of sticks down on the porch. "Instead of having a piñata, I go trick-or-treating! It's super fun,"

"That sounds like a lot of fun." Greg signed to the kitten, ruffling Li'l Petey's hair as he sat down next to him.

"Mhm! One time, Papa ate too much candy and threw up all over—"

"OKAY! That's enough out of you." Petey covered Li'l Petey's mouth, but let go as he felt the kitten lick his hand. "Eeww... Li'l Petey, that's gross." He wiped his hand on the back of Li'l Petey's shirt once he escaped his papa's grasp.

"Ooo! Papa, can you and Greg play red light green light with me?" he asked while holding onto both of their hands.

Greg looked over at Petey, and Petey looked back at Greg. "Yeah, okay," one signed, and the other spoke out loud. Li'l Petey tugged on Greg's arm and led him to the front of the gate, waiting for Petey to close his eyes.

"You guys ready?" Petey yelled at the odd pair. They both held their thumbs up with big smiles on their faces.

Petey covered his eyes. "Green light."

Li'l Petey rushed ahead of Greg, who wasn't really trying to win anyway, and got to the middle of the yard before Petey could shout—

"Red light!" he announced quickly, catching the small tabby cat off guard as he struggled to stay still. Petey purposely kept an eye on Li'l Petey, trying to catch the tiniest movement to call him out on.

"HURRY UP, PAPA!" the kitten yelled, holding his arms out as he desperately tried to keep his balance on one foot.

"Haw haw, alright... green light."

Li'l Petey, breathing a sigh of relief, raced towards the first step of the stairs, almost able to touch Petey's shoulder, when suddenly Petey shouted, "RED LIGHT!" Right in the kid's face, making him stumble back in surprise. 

"Hey! That's cheating!" The kid argued with his papa.

"Nuh uh," Petey denied. 

"Yeah huh!"

"Nuh uh!"

"YEAH HUH!"

A loud bark broke up their extremely serious argument, catching both cats' attentions right away. Greg was standing in the middle of the yard, crossing his arms and tapping his foot. That was the first time Petey heard his bark. He darted his eyes away from the hybrid that was losing his patience and let out an awkward laugh, allowing Li'l Petey to take the victory for this round.

They played a few more rounds, Petey playing fairly now after Greg's freakishly weird bark startled him. Li'l Petey had 7 points, and Greg had 2. Just as Li'l Petey was about to win his 8th point, he tripped over a stick he forgot to pick up and landed in a mud puddle face first.

Greg rushed to his side to help him. The kid was laughing so hard he couldn't stand up, so Greg had to carry him inside. Petey rubbed his eyes and sighed. Of course he would get dirty. Li'l Petey playing outside and not getting dirty was like Petey going to work and not having a few oil spills on him: impossible.

After Li'l Petey took a shower and tried on some of Greg's donated clothes, which were far too big for the little 3'2 tabby, he settled for a pair of basketball shorts that fit like pants on him, and a short-sleaved shirt Greg was able to cut so it wouldn't be dragging on the floor. Petey laughed at how his son looked like a wannabe gangster, but the kitten didn't find it funny at all.

After that whole ordeal, they ate some granola bars and relaxed inside for a bit. Li'l Petey ended up falling asleep on the floor tuckered out from all the running outside.

Petey sat on the couch, trying to finish a crossword puzzle Li'l Petey had made for him before he fell asleep, when he felt Greg sit down on the couch next to him, handing him a note.

"Later on tonight, I'm going to Ohkay City to restock on some stuff. Do you have any requests?"

Petey blinked at the paper, then side eyed Greg. "Oh yeah, I forgot you do that." Petey put a hand to his chin, trying to think of anything, when he had an idea. "Hey, where'd you put my shorts?"

Greg tilted his head but got up and grabbed his shorts from his room. He returned to the living room and held them up to show Petey.

"In the back pocket, there should be some keys. At least I hope they're in there..." He spoke nervously but sighed in relief when Greg held up the silver keys, along with a small homemade keychain of an alien. "Cool, cool.. okay, one sec." Petey began writing on Greg's notepad, making a list of items.

"I wrote down my address, along with a list of things to grab from my house. If you can't carry all of them, just grab what you can... I guess." He handed the hybrid the note.

Greg looked up from the note and stared at Petey. "I'll do my best," He signed happily.

He was thrilled to be helping the cats with whatever they needed. When you spent months living with the fact that everyone feared you and labeled you as a psychopathic murderer, and you had to push away the few people that did care about you, it could really mess up your head. It can make you believe you were worthless. Greg hoped that by helping Petey and his son, it would make up for the mistakes he had made while living his first weeks as Dog Man.

This was his second chance to prove he wasn't "The Dog Man," but just a dog-man named Greg.

__________

"So, you had a shotgun behind the couch that I've been laying on for the past 48 hours this entire time?" Petey questioned, eyes wide as he held the gun in his hands. 

Greg nodded. "In case something happens. Not saying you'll have to use it," He signed, reassuring the cat who's been giving him a weird look ever since he announced he was leaving for the city.

Petey set the shotgun on the side of the couch. "How'd you even get it?" the tired cat asked. It was 9 p.m., but taking Tylenol and playing a bunch of games to tire out a kid that had a long nap had left the poor dad exhausted. The occasional sharp pain in his leg was the only thing keeping him from falling asleep right then and there.

"I found it here. Must've been used for hunting," Greg signed, after making sure Petey's list, his keys, and his own list were in his pant pockets, then walked to the front door.

"Good luck," Petey muttered, setting the gun behind the couch and laying down to sleep.

Greg waved at him and closed the front door. He stood on the porch for a bit to check out Petey's list again, and started making his way to the city for his shopping trip.

"Clothes for me and LP. Food from the fridge and pantries (you can choose I don't care so long as it isn't expired). Phone charger. Some of Li'l Petey's toys and coloring stuff. Toothbrushes.

P.S. There should be some bags to carry all that stuff in my closet.

P.P.S. Don't step in one of your traps. Those things fucking hurt."

Chapter Text

The full moon behind thin clouds provided a sparse light source in the dark, dense forest. Thankfully, with every step Greg took, fireflies would spawn out of the grass, providing a tiny bit more light to the eerie darkness of the woods.

It was a warm night. The kind of night that would be perfect for walking along a beach shore and stargazing with someone beside you, holding hands as the two of you talked about whatever came to your minds without a care in the world. The kind of night that would become a long-lasting memory filled with laughter, adventures, and friendship. 

Something that would only occur in Greg's dreams.

The hybrid strolled along the forest path he memorized in his head, keeping an eye out for the traps he had set up while also checking if anything had been caught in them. Thankfully, they all remained open and untouched. He left his house at around 9 p.m., so he should arrive at the city at 11 p.m. 

He listened closely to the sounds of the woods, keeping an ear out for anything odd or concerning. Ever since the incident with the other dog-man hybrid, Greg had been on high alert with every outing.

He hated walking past the area where the victim died, and the whole event was forever burned in his mind. The groans and cries of the poor soul in agony echoed in Greg's head. Having to put him out of his misery was the most difficult thing he had ever done, and he felt as if the victim's ghost was haunting him as he walked in the woods. Greg knew without a doubt the person making these fucked up horror movie characters was the one responsible for bringing him back to life.

Every time he would remember the victim, he wondered if he could've ended up like him.

Feral, confused, helpless.

If they had anything in common, it would be that they were both afraid.

Greg wondered why he didn't turn out like him. Why was he the only "lucky" one out of God knows how many others? The question tormented him, along with his most desperate question he wanted an answer for– why?

Why would anyone want to do such a brutal, repulsive, vile operation? It wasn't even an operation. It was a goddamn science experiment. Sewing an animal's head onto a human's body? What would anyone benefit from that? The only thing Greg could think of was nightmare fuel, freak show attractions, and horror stories to be told around a campfire, only meant to strike fear in others.

A monster. 

He shook his head, growing tired of the questions he knew would be left unanswered, and tried his best to keep his mind empty as he was now jogging to the city, wanting to get this whole trip over with as soon as possible.

__________

"PAPA!"

Petey sprung out of the couch at the sound of Li'l Petey's scream. He didn't even grab the broom for his walking aid and started leaning against the walls, hopping on his left foot as fast as he could, wincing at the pain when his right foot accidentally hit the floor.

Petey quickly opened the door, running to the bed that made Li'l Petey seem so small. He was curled up in a ball with his big fluffy tail covering his face, lying down on his side.

"¡Hijo!" Petey shouted, limping his way to the bed and sitting down next to his crying son. "¿¡Qué pasó!? Are you okay!?" He picked up the kitten and held him in an embrace, slightly rocking back and forth in the bed.

"I *hic* had a nightmare... It was, really, REALLY scary!" Li'l Petey held tightly onto his papa, crying into his chest and wrapping his tail around himself.

Petey shushed him, still slightly rocking him back and forth like how he used to when Li'l Petey was a newborn. "Shhh, Li'l Petey, you're okay. It was just a dream. I'm right here, kid... Do you wanna tell me what it was about?"

Li'l Petey shook his head. "I don't. It was ugly. I just... I just wanna forget it..."

"Alright. Do you want me to stay with you until you fall back to sleep?"

The kitten sat up, holding onto the front of Petey's shirt. "No! Well, yes, I want you to stay, but I don't wanna go back to sleep! I'm too scared."

Petey let out an exhausted sigh and flopped on his back, trying to move to the back of the bed without hurting his leg. Once he was able to sit up against the metal headboard of the bed, he held onto his son.

"Papa, when will be able to go home?" Li'l Petey asked with a yawn.

Petey stayed silent for a bit, then answered with, "I don't know."

The two cats laid in bed, listening to the sounds of the settling house as the light wind blew outside. Soon, they felt their eyes grow heavy and struggled to keep them open. Li'l Petey rested his head on his papa's chest, and Petey held him close, both falling fast asleep in a couple of minutes.

__________

Greg stopped jogging once he reached the 1-hour mark and decided to walk the rest of the way. An hour later, Greg noticed the street lights in the distance and rushed over to them quickly, but remained cautious. 

He peaked from behind a tree, looking at his surroundings and making sure no one was out. He ended up near the back of a small diner. The lights were off and he didn't hear any cars on the small road, so he hurried his way to the lamppost so he could read his lists. Once he was under the lamppost, he noticed a flyer was swaying in the small breeze, taunting him to read it.

It was a missing poster. The poster was of a police officer, last seen a week ago before he disappeared while on duty near the forest. He was young, only 19 years old, and Greg couldn't imagine the fear and sadness his family was going through. 

Greg turned away from the poster and pulled out his list first. He had to focus on the task at hand, which was to find the items he wrote down, go to the cat's house to find what Petey wrote down and make it home safely.

He read the items on his list under the soft orange glow of the lamppost, making sure to be on high alert for any pedestrians nearby.

"Bread, shorts, tennis balls, blankets, wheelchair, Tylenol, charger, board games, books."

He remembered seeing a wheelchair near the back of a thrift store the last time he was out and decided to grab that first to use it as a shopping cart. The walk wasn't very far since everything was such a close distance from each other, so he reached the thrift store pretty quickly.

He went around the back of the store to the unloading dock and looked around. Thankfully, he found the wheelchair tucked away behind the large donation bin. He pushed the chair to the front of the bin, stood on top of it, and opened the lid, checking inside to see if anything on his list was there. He found 2 board games, a blanket, shorts that were actually his size, and a bag of worn-out softballs. He didn't see any tennis balls, but beggars can't be choosers and took the softballs. He piled all the items onto the chair and made his way to Petey's house while carefully pushing the chair.

He looked at Petey's address, realizing how far away it was from his home. It was a miracle nothing happened to the two, besides Petey's leg getting caught in his trap, but at least nothing alive found them. Greg's train of thought was suddenly stopped as he saw yet another flyer stapled to a lamppost. He looked around to make sure no one was watching him as he stepped into the light.

His ears shot up in surprise before he could even read it. The flyer had a picture of Petey and Li'l Petey with the words "Father and son missing" above them, and descriptions of each other under their photos. Greg ripped the note off of the lamppost and read it.

Greg held the missing poster in a tight grip, wrinkling the paper. He couldn't stop staring. He felt a chill go down his spine, but not the kind that was out of fear. It was frustration. 

He should be happy that people are looking for Petey and his son. He should call the number and let them know where they are and that both of them are doing alright. He shouldn't keep them from their loved ones.

But he wants to.

Li'l Petey makes his home feel alive. His energetic personality and creative mind never failed to make Greg smile. His funny jokes, his laughter, and the random stories he'd come up with, it was all that Greg could want and more.

Helping Petey recover made Greg feel like he had a purpose. Keeping him safe and healthy was all Greg wanted for him. But what would happen if someone found them? They would take them away, and he would never be able to see them again.

Petey and Li'l Petey were the only people he knew who wouldn't judge him for who he was. They're the only ones who have seen him for who he truly is. Everyone else either pushed him away, or he messed up the only chance he had at proving himself to be innocent. 

He wasn't some urban legend to be told at sleepovers, or to be some kind of dare that others would take to show how brave they are. He was just a dog on a man's body. That's it. 

Not a killer.

Not a psychopath.

Just Greg.

Greg the dog...man.

Greg sighed as he crumpled up the poster, shoved it in his pant pockets, and continued his way to Petey's house.

As he reached the neighborhood, Greg tried his best to look inconspicuous and made sure to avoid walking near houses with any lights turned on. He moved quickly along the sidewalk but would have to slow down if he saw any cracks in the pavement. It was a stressful situation for the hybrid since the last thing he wanted was to draw attention to him, especially now since he looked like a homeless person.

He breathed a sigh of relief once he reached Petey's house. It wasn't a big house, but it wasn't small either. It was a "normal" house with a white roof and pale blue wooden walls. A bike and a few pieces of chalk were outside the small yard, and the house had two different doors. One light gray screen door, and one dark blue wooden door. Thankfully, both keys to the doors were on the keychain, and Greg left the wheelchair by the side of the house before he walked in.

The living room was the first thing Greg saw when he opened the door. A small couch, TV, rug, and a few plants occupied the space. There was a bookshelf underneath the TV, serving as a stand for the device. Inside was warm, probably since no one had turned on the AC for a while. 

Greg looked to his left while standing in the living room and saw the small dining room. There were some toys on the table, and some folded laundry on the chairs. He walked over to the dining room and noticed the entrance to the kitchen.

The kitchen was rather small compared to the dining room. It had everything a kitchen needs, but there were a few stools up against the counters taking up more space. There was a #1 dad cup inside the sink, along with some plates and forks. Greg smiled at the cup, making a mental note to bring that with him.

He looked to his right and noticed the hallway also had an entrance to the kitchen. He walked down, looking at the three doors on his left-hand side, and the many picture frames to the right.

He stopped walking to take a look at the pictures. Most of them were drawings made by Li'l Petey, but there were a few photos of Petey and Li'l Petey, along with a picture of a calico cat holding a baby tabby cat.

Greg looked closer at the picture. The kitten looked just like Li'l Petey, but slightly paler and had a cast around his tail, and a band-aid to his right cheek. The calico cat was beautiful, holding the kitten on her lap and smiling, but seemed to be tired. Greg had a bittersweet feeling from looking at the picture. 

He walked away from the wall and opened the first door at the beginning of the hallway.

Petey's room.

The bed was neatly made, having some piles of laundry on top of it. Across from the bed was a dresser, and next to that was a closet. His room didn't have much, either being tucked away in various drawers, or he didn't seem to own a lot of things.

Greg opened the closet to grab the bags Petey had written about and noticed all the boxes and knickknacks that were piled high in the closet. 

'Woah' was all Greg could think.

He eventually found the bags, two of them were backpacks and the other was a large shopping bag. He started grabbing some clothes for Petey first. His drawers weren't that full, so he decided to grab it all, not forgetting to grab the clothes that were on Petey's bed. He looked above the dresser to find his phone charger. There were lots of different wires, so he grabbed them all.

He looked back inside of Petey's closet to find anything that could entertain him. He found some books that had bookmarks inside and a ukulele.

'He can play the ukulele?' Greg thought to himself. He didn't know why, but the thought made him smile.

After he found everything he could fit in one bag, he moved into the next room which was the middle door in the hallway.

The bathroom.

It was relatively clean, aside from a few bath toys strewn across the tile floor and some toothpaste stuck to the counter. Greg took the toothbrushes, and toothpaste, and opened the glass cabinet that was above the sink to check for any painkillers. Luckily, he found more Tylenol, band-aids, and gauze wrap. He put everything in the front pocket of the backpack that was filled with Petey's items.

The last room at the end of the hallway was Li'l Petey's room.

The door was already open and Greg laughed at how messy it was. Toys, paper, markers, and pencils were covering the wooden floor. Li'l Petey's bed was unmade, and his plushies were scattered along the sheets. His small closet was opened revealing a huge pile of comic books.

Greg started by picking up all the art supplies that were on the floor and putting them inside the other backpack. After that, he grabbed some of the comics Li'l Petey made and a few toys. He went through Li'l Petey's dresser inside of his closet and grabbed a bunch of clothes, making sure to grab extra in case he faceplants in more mud.

He was finally done with finding everything in the cat's rooms. Now, he had to get some food from their kitchen.

He opened the fridge, almost closing it shut as the bright fluorescent light engulfed the kitchen. Greg didn't turn on any lights as he came inside in fear of drawing suspicion, so the bright white light from the fridge startled him. He had to act fast so the light didn't stay on. He grabbed the necessities, such as milk and eggs, along with some snacks, like apples and grapes.

He closed the fridge and moved over to the cabinets. He took some bread, peanut butter, and a bunch of canned food. He also grabbed a small bag of flour, sugar, and anything in a bag that could be used for cooking. He didn't like making these trips for food, so if he could make his food from scratch, that would minimize the amount of shopping trips he would take.

He washed the #1 dad cup in the sink, wrapped it around one of Petey's shirts so it wouldn't crack on the way home, and placed it inside Petey's backpack.

He gave one more look at the inside of the house, making sure he hadn't forgotten anything and carried all the bags out. He had one backpack on his back, the other in front of his chest, and the shopping bag filled with food on the wheelchair.

He locked the door, feeling a little sad to be leaving, and made carefully his way back home. He went in a different route, one where there were fewer hills so he wouldn't struggle with pushing the chair. He was almost at the entrance of the forest when he heard someone call out to him.

"Greg?"

He stopped, his breath growing shaky as he recognized the voice.

"Greg? Please turn around. It's just me, I promise."

His hands became sweaty, and his mind raced with ways to get out of the situation without causing a scene.

"It's me, Genie. Please turn around, Greg..."

Greg couldn't take the pain in her voice anymore and slowly turned around. He saw the lady dressed in a nurse's outfit. She held a small brown bag and looked tired. She smiled once Greg looked at her.

"...Came back from a shopping trip, big guy?" 

He looked down, avoiding eye contact with the nurse. He felt like crying. Was she here to make fun of him? To hurt him? He deserved it after scaring her when he woke up after the surgery.

"You know... Clarence didn't mean those things he said to you... he's truly sorry."

Greg looked up at Genie, opening his mouth as if he were about to speak. He wished he could speak. That would make everything so much easier for him. He closed his mouth and turned around. He was about to enter the woods when he felt a hand placed on his back, making him flinch.

"I'm sorry. I just... I'm glad you're alive, Greg. I... we miss you so much, boy..." the nurse spoke, her voice breaking slightly. "Take care of our little house. I know it's not much, but we had great memories in there... here, you can have these. I was gonna save them for lunch tomorrow, but I think you need them more than me." She handed Greg the brown paper bag.

Greg was hesitant to take the bag but eventually accepted it and placed them on the chair. Genie placed her hand on his, looking at the hybrid that was just a few inches shorter than her and hugged him. Greg stood still, not knowing how to react.

Genie released him, said goodbye, and went around the corner of the building, which turned out to be the hospital. How did he not notice... it doesn't matter. What matters is that the whole interaction was over with, and now he could go back home...

With a bitter feeling in his heart.

He should've at least smiled at her to show that he was doing fine. Why does she even bother trying to help him? The world won't ever accept him for who he is. It's a waste of time.

He looked inside the brown bag and saw a ham sandwich. One of her specialties. He closed the bag, tucked it away, and continued his journey back home.

It took him an extra hour since pushing a wheelchair along sticks and grass was a difficult thing to do. He thought about clearing out the basement so he wouldn't need to sleep on the floor and get stepped on by Li'l Petey anymore. Maybe even build a ramp for–

BANG

A gun.

A shotgun to be more specific. 

The sound came from the direction of his home.

BANG

Another shot was fired, coming from the same direction. 

Greg stopped in his tracks like a deer caught in headlights, and then before he knew it, he was running at full speed, definitely cracking the eggs in the shopping bag as he did.

He didn't care.

He had to get back home to make sure that bang wasn't what he thought it was.

__________

Li'l Petey woke up again, this time without a scream but instead with an itch in his throat.

He was thirsty. Really thirsty. 

He moved out of his papa's light hug, careful not to wake him up, and slid down the bed. That was the first time he didn't step on Greg's face while climbing down from the bed, but Greg wasn't on the floor, so it didn't count.

He tiptoed through the hallway and turned on the dim kitchen light. It flickered on, a sign it should probably be changed soon, and illuminated a soft yellow glow to the dark kitchen.

Li'l Petey stood on the counters to grab a cup from the cabinet, but he saw something out of the kitchen window that caught his eye. He stood up and leaned on the glass, cupping the sides of his eyes to get a better look.

He didn't see anything. 

He kept staring, keeping quiet so he could hear anything weird.

Nothing.

He slowly backed away from the window, still standing on the kitchen counters.

A sudden crash at the front door made him jump, whipping his head around to face the door that was being pounded on. His eyes grew wide and jumped off the counter, running to his papa to wake him up. 

Petey was already up, meeting Li'l Petey halfway in the hallway as he limped to the living room.

"Li'l Petey," Petey spoke with anxiety in his voice, "go inside Dog Man's room and close the door." 

"But Papa, what's out–" 

"LI'L PETEY, GO!" He shouted at the kitten. Li'l Petey listened to him and rushed inside, closing the door and hiding underneath the bed.

Petey staggered his way to the couch, growing more anxious as the pounding on the door became more aggressive. He quickly reached for the gun, but before he could make sure it was loaded, whatever was outside finally managed to break the old wooden door.

Petey screamed and fell back, aiming the gun at the creature that was now inches away from him and fired twice. One shot landed in its head, and the other in its chest. The monster fell to the ground with a loud thump, making a gargling sound as it lay on the floor.

Petey couldn't move. He dropped the gun and remained laying on the ground, sweating and shaking. He heard Li'l Petey yell from across the hall if he could come out. It took everything he had to answer.

"Yes, Li'l Petey... I'm fine.. stay–stay over there, okay? Don't come out..."

He slowly sat up after a few minutes, eyes still wide in shock.

"...what the hell am I gonna tell– AHH FUCK!" Petey screamed as he saw Greg enter the house, bags off of him and panting as he looked at Petey, then at the corpse of...

A deer... man?

Chapter Text

Greg's living room looked like a scene from a slasher film. A pool of blood was quickly forming around the corpse, soaking the wooden floor in a dark shade of red. Greg tried his best to avoid getting any blood on himself as he bent down to examine the deer, but he ended up covered with a few stains by the end of it.

The deer had human arms instead of its front legs. They were sewn by the shoulders of the deer, and we're covered in scratches and bruises. Since Petey shot the deer near the head, some pieces were missing, but Greg could see some stitches near the top of the head that was still intact, along with the deer having human eyes. Other than the human arms, it looked like any ordinary deer, but Greg still felt himself growing sick at the sight and walked outside, sitting on the porch for some air.

Another innocent person fell victim to the psychopathic doctor who made him and the other dog man. That's the reason he felt so ill. Another person was used as a toy for the doctor, and Greg knew there would be more to come.

Petey was sitting upright on the couch, staying silent the whole time he watched Greg examine the deer... man... thing. He didn't know what to say. The whole event left him feeling uneasy, on edge, afraid, all those emotions combined into one big ball of stress. He noticed Greg began to whine as if he were on the verge of crying when he backed away from the deer, wiping the blood off of his hands and onto his pants as he hurried outside. 

That might have shocked him as much as having to shoot the brains out of the deer.

He grabbed the broom that was leaning against the wall and carefully shuffled his way outside, keeping his eyes on Greg and not on the corpse surrounded in blood, while also making sure to not step on the broken pieces of the front door.

Petey stood at the front door entrance, watching Greg rub his eyes as he was sitting on the last step of the porch. He walked closer, making Greg turn around as he heard the floorboards creak and the tapping of his "crutch". He looked up at Petey, his eyes were slightly more red than usual.

"...You alright?" Petey questioned, leaning on the broom to keep his balance as he stood next to Greg.

Greg looked at his boots, noticing the dried blood, then back up at Petey. "Sorry," He signed, "are you hurt?"

"I'm fine. It's not my first time shooting a deer, but it's definitely my first time shooting... something like that." Petey forced a small laugh, then slowly sat down, wincing a bit at his aching leg. "But that's not what I asked. Are you alright?"

Greg shook his head, closed his eyes, and sighed.

"Y'know, I didn't think you'd get so... disturbed? I mean, that other hybrid was way more gruesome than this deer with human hands. I thought you'd have no trouble dealing with–"

Greg cut Petey off by his growling, growing louder with every word the tabby spoke. Annoyance and stress spread across his face as he held his shaky hands up to sign. "A person died. A person died to create the animal in my house. That's what makes me sad... angry... confused."

Petey stared at Greg with his eyes wide open. A small drop of sweat ran down his forehead, from both the warm summer night and the sound of Greg's growl.

"Yes, this deer isn't like the other hybrid," Greg continued, his hands becoming more unstable, "But it's still scary! This doctor is breaking people's lives with every animal he makes! Families are putting up missing papers for their loved ones because of his horrible decisions. Do you understand? As long as this man is around, people are in danger. That's why I'm so upset."

Greg was breathing heavily, his eyes not leaving Petey's the whole time he signed. He would've said more, he wished he could've said more, but he hadn't memorized the right words yet. Greg rubbed his muzzle, mentally preparing himself to get rid of the corpse that was in his living room. 

"...I didn't think about it that way," Petey announced. His voice was quiet and low, taking in everything Greg signed. "I guess I just saw them as... feral. Having no emotion, no conscious, nothing other than a desire to kill... why aren't you like them? You act so normal that I sometimes forget you're even a victim yourself."

Greg side-eyed the cat, his eyes watery and strained. He shrugged his shoulders, not knowing why either.

Petey stayed silent, his eyebrows furrowed as he looked at Greg's expression. He felt a sense of remorse for him, along with a feeling of uncertainty. Could Greg snap at any moment and turn out like the other dog man, or would he remain sane and live his life in constant fear of other hybrids destroying his home? He's nothing like the other hybrids–far from it. If it weren't for his exposed skin and the stitches that hung around his neck, Petey would've thought he was just an ordinary anthropomorphic dog. He seemed to enjoy the company he and Li'l Petey provided for him, not to mention all the things he had done for them in the past few days. If he had wanted to hurt them, he would've done so on day one.

"You're right." Petey broke the silence, still looking into Greg's tired eyes. "As long as this doctor is around, innocent people will have their lives ruined. I don't know exactly how, but I want to help you find this... guy..." Petey's concerned expression dropped to fear as he remembered the man who was chasing him when he was searching for Li'l Petey.

"Holy shit... Greg, I think I met him!" Petey gripped Greg's shoulders, slightly shaking him. "When I was looking for LP that night be–before I stepped into the trap, I–this guy was holding a lamp and a fricken machete! He told me to go to his house so I could call the police, but he gave me this weird feeling in my gut and I didn't trust what he was saying. I started backing away from him, but then he chased me and tried to kill me! God, wait a second..." Petey let go and held his hands to his face trying to remember where he was or what the man looked like.

Greg's pissed expression slowly molded into shock, mouth agape as if he were about to speak. The doctor could've murdered Petey and made him his new experiment, sewing him to God knows what. Multiple outcomes of Petey getting murdered flooded Greg's mind, but we're stopped when Petey shouted in frustration, punching the floorboard.

"DAMN IT! I can't remember his face! All I remember was that he wore a black trench coat and was a pale guy... his face is just a blur... I–"

He stopped rambling once Greg held his shoulders, signing "thank you" with an honest smile stretched across his face.

"For what?" The confused cat asked while another bead of sweat formed on his forehead.

"For not dying."

Petey was about to speak, but a tight hug from Greg sucked the words out of his mouth. Petey didn't know how to react. Not knowing if he should push him away or reciprocate the action, he ended up staying still, eyes wide open. He had a good look at Greg's stitches, seeing the messy zigzag pattern across his neck, and seeing where the line draws from dog to man. His head eventually found its way to the crook of Greg's neck, resting there until Greg pulled away.

"I don't know what I would do if you were dead." The hybrid signed, his smile slowly fading as he noticed Petey's surprised expression. "Sorry. I should have asked before I hugged you."

"Wha– oh... no, no it's... fine? I was just looking at your... at that wheelchair with the bags on it. Is that your shopping cart or what?" Petey pointed behind Greg, the loot from his shopping trip was waiting outside near the gate. Some items had spilled out when Greg frantically took the bags off in a panic once he reached his house.

Greg laughed as he stood up, quickly running over to the wheelchair and bringing it over to Petey. "The chair is for you. You won't need to use the broom."

Petey stared at the wheelchair, a small chuckle slowly turning into a laugh. "I– I thought I'd spend my whole recovery sitting on that cou– never mind. Thanks. I appreciate it, really."

Greg smiled widely as he lifted the wheelchair over the steps and sat it down on the porch. He took off all the bags, placed them aside, and brushed off any dirt that was on the seat. Petey stood up once Greg had pushed the wheelchair closer to him, helping him sit down and adjusted it to the cat's liking.

"Never thought I'd use one of these. It's not as hard as I thought it'd be." Petey thought out loud, wheeling himself back and forth and slowly spinning in a circle. He almost felt nostalgic while in the chair, remembering when his sick mother would sit him down on her lap as she pushed herself around their home, trying to find the fun in her serious situation.

His eyes landed on the deer in the living room, getting a clear view of the mess in Greg's house. Pieces of wood were scattered across the floor, along with some splotches of blood, mud, and of course, the large deer-man in the center of the living room. Petey rolled his way over to the front door entrance, sticking his head inside the house to get a better look at the corpse, then looked at Greg.

"If you want, I can clean up all the blood. All you gotta do is just get rid of the body. I would do it myself, but... y'know."

Greg shot a glance at the deer, taking a deep breath as his fists clenched, in nervousness and anger. "You don't have to. I can do it." He signed with stiff hands.

"Nah, I can do it. Consider this a payment for helping me out. Besides, blood doesn't creep me out." Petey insisted, kicking some bits of wood that were in his way with his left leg and wheeling himself inside.

Greg wanted to retaliate, disliking the idea of Petey cleaning up anything that required him to get on the floor, possibly irritating his leg, but he really hated blood and would avoid it if he could. He let it slide and sighed in defeat, walking behind Petey and started to pick up the pieces of wood on the floor.

"So, do you have a mop or something?" Petey asked, picking up the shotgun and setting it behind the couch. Greg nodded his head and made his way into the bathroom, grabbing the mop from inside the closet. As he was about to hand it to Petey, he heard sniffling from inside his room. His ears shot up, setting the mop against the wall. 

"Is LP asleep?" Greg signed, looking at his bedroom door.

"SHIT! I forgot I told him to stay in there!" Petey frantically rolled himself to the bedroom door and turned the handle, only for it to be locked. "Pedrito, it's me! You can unlock the door now!" He called out while knocking on the door. 

Soon, the door unlocked and quickly swung open, revealing a puffy-eyed kitten wiping his nose with his arm. Petey scooped him up and gave him a loving hug, sighing in relief that his son hadn't gotten hurt.

"Papa, are you okay? What was at the door? Wait, what's with this chair?" The kitten questioned, pulling away from his papa's hug and sitting on his lap.

"Dog– Greg gave me this wheelchair. Now I won't have to use that broom and look like a brujo." Petey winked at the kid, getting a small chuckle out of him. "And don't worry, it was nothing. It was just Greg. He forgot his keys and I helped him open the door."

"But what were those two big bangs I heard? It was so loud it shook the window!" Li'l Petey raised his arms in exaggeration. 

"Oh, those? It was fireworks."

"Really?! Can I go outside and watch them?!"

Petey began to sweat. "No! No, uh, see... Greg found fireworks while shopping and lit one outside, which was why it sounded so close."

"But I thought you said he fell down twice? How did he light the fireworks if he fell down?"

"Thats what made him fall down!" Petey spoke through his teeth, frustrated his son wont buy his stories from the first sentence anymore.

"Hahaha! That's funny! I wish I could've seen that happen."

Petey sighed, thankful Li'l Petey bought the story. "Haw haw haw, yeah, he's dumb."

Greg looked down at Petey, crossing his arms. He gave a light kick at the wheelchair, huffing out an annoyed laugh as Petey gave a smug expression at him. 

"Greg, you scared me! I thought you were a monster coming to eat me!" Li'l Petey exclaimed, jumping down from the wheelchair and hugging the hybrid's leg. Greg picked him up, signed sorry, and licked his cheek. Li'l Petey laughed as he wiped the slobber off his face, hugging the hybrid. Petey felt a bittersweet feeling while looking at the two, but shook the feeling off when he remembered the corpse that was behind the pair.

"Alright, Li'l Petey, it's late. Go to bed so you're not grouchy when you wake up tomorrow." Petey rolled his way to grab his son from Greg, gazing up at him and nodding his head near the deer. Greg understood what he meant, and waved goodnight to the kitten, making sure to block as much of the living room with his body so the poor kid wouldn't have to see the corpse.

"Aaawww, fine. Night, Greg!" Li'l Petey wiggled his way out of his papa's grasp and ran into the room, getting under the covers and pretending to snore. Petey sighed and closed the door, shaking his head at his son's silliness. 

"Wait." Greg signed and put a hand on Petey's, slightly opening the door.

"What?" The cat whispered, pulling his hand back.

"I need my camera."

Petey tilted his head. "Why?"

"I need to take a picture of the animal."

"...I'm gonna sound like Li'l Petey– Why?"

Greg laughed and signed "Evidence."

"Ooohhh, that's why you take those pictures? I thought you just did it for fun."

Greg huffed and nodded yes, giving a look that read "yeah, obviously." Petey chuckled and scooted his chair backward so Greg could walk into his room.

Greg quietly opened his nightstand drawer, took out the camera, and tiptoed his way out. He tried not to laugh as he heard Li'l Petey's fake snores and giggling, and successfully made it out without trouble. He closed the door behind him and turned on his camera. It was an old Polaroid camera. Some paint was chipped off, and the camera lens was a faint shade of yellow, but it seemed to work just fine.

Greg held the camera up to his face and quickly snapped a picture of Petey, who was completely caught off guard by the sudden flash, and laughed as he shook the picture. 

"What the hell?!" Petey whispered-shouted at Greg, snatching the picture from him. Greg kept laughing at his angry expression, hanging the camera around his neck, and grabbed the photo from the annoyed cat, shoving it in his pocket.

"Sorry. Making sure it works." He signed, lying behind his smile. Petey rolled his eyes and wheeled his way to the living room, grabbing the mop that was against the hallway wall.

For the next hour, the two adults were busy cleaning up the horror movie mess. Greg took a couple of pictures of the deer-man, making sure to capture every human part, then dragged it by its back legs to the woods behind his house to bury it. He tried to gaslight himself into thinking he was just burying a normal deer, hoping it would make the whole process less disturbing, but the thoughts of the victim were replaced with what Greg would do to the doctor if he ever found him.

A part of Greg wanted the doctor to have a life sentence in prison. Death was too good for him after everything he had done. He deserved to live out the rest of his horrible life in a cell, completely shunned from society, and soaking in the guilt of his actions. Being surrounded by people who hate him for the monster he chose to become. Not having a second to relax.

But Greg also wanted him to experience the fear and hatred he had to endure. He wanted the doctor to feel what it was like to be cast away from the only home he had, having everyone around him cry in fear of his presence, and become a horror story that would give children nightmares. He wanted him to feel the pain of having multiple needles injected into his skin, the sting and itchy feeling of having stitches on your body that just won't heal, and the sleepless nights caused by the fact that someone is out to kill you.

Death was not an option for the doctor.

After 30 minutes of digging, burying, and non-stop thinking, the deer was finally buried under the earth. Greg scratched his neck as he made his way back to the house, ignoring the sharp pain and focused on getting rid of the itch.

While Greg was having a mini-crisis while burying the deer-man, Petey was mopping the blood off the floor. Mopping while in a wheelchair wasn't as hard as it seemed, and he got it done rather quickly. He made sure to mop the rest of the house, noticing a few small splotches scattered throughout the wood and tile floor, and had everything cleaned by the time Greg came inside.

"Esperar," Petey spoke while bringing the bucket of bloody water over to Greg, "dump this outside real quick. Take your blood-covered shoes off before coming in, también." 

Greg sighed, playfully rolling his eyes like a moody teenager, and nodded. He dumped the water out and left the bucket and mop on the front porch to dry. He placed his boots by the front door entrance and walked around his blood-and-guts-free home. Everything seemed normal, definitely cleaner now that Petey had mopped.

"Thank you." Greg signed while sitting on the couch, taking a breather after the eventual night.

Petey wheeled his way closer to Greg. "No problem. It was the least I could do."

Greg sunk deeper into the couch, putting an arm over his snout. He could finally relax now that everything had been sorted–

"So, whatcha gonna do about the front door?"

GOD DAMN IT–

Greg sat up and looked ahead of him. The front door had been completely torn off its hinges, letting in the warm summer air into the slightly cool house. What was he going to do? He couldn't leave his house doorless! Something could sneak in, or worse, someone. Greg growled in annoyance, flopping onto the couch and turning his back away from the entrance. He would deal with it later. 

Petey laughed at his reaction, wheeling himself to the entrance to come up with an idea. He pondered for a bit, then came up with a plan.

"I got it," He rolled over to to Greg, kicking the couch to get his attention, "You saw how my house has two doors right? Just take the screen door off and bring it back here! I was planning on getting rid of it anyway, and it's less likely to break if anything else tries to break in."

Greg sat up and rubbed his neck. He wasn't sure if he should leave for another trip after everything that happened tonight. 

"If you're worried about another experiment coming in here, don't be. I was able to shoot that deer in the chest and head while it was running towards me. I got good aim." Petey crossed his arms and gave a confidant smile.

Greg gazed at Petey, now at eye level with each other. The tired hybrid sighed, nodding his head. Petey could obviously take care of himself, seeing how talented his shotgun skills were, but he still felt responsible for keeping him and his son safe.

"Okay," Greg signed reluctantly, "I'll go tomorrow."

"You thought I was gonna make you leave right now? It's, what does that say..." Petey looked over at the analog clock on the kitchen stove. "It's 4:26 a.m.?!"

Both Greg and Petey's eyebrows went up in surprise. It would've been almost 3 hours since Greg came back home to the sight of Petey laying on the floor with the deer-man a few feet away from him, blood covering the floor and the front door broken down. Petey must have been as exhausted as he was.

"Go to sleep." He signed, getting up to turn off the kitchen light.

"Already ahead of you." Petey rolled to the couch and was about to sit down, but Greg held onto the handles of the chair and pulled him away, moving to stand in front of him.

"Woah– hey, what the hell? You want me to sleep or not?"

"Sleep with LP. I need to watch the door."

Petey shook his head, "I can watch the door for you. You need to get as much sleep as you can for tomorrow. That screen door is kinda heavy and you need to carry it for, what, 2 hours you said? Just sleep in your room." He tried to wheel himself closer to the couch, but Greg stopped him.

"Greg," Petey spoke with a stern voice, looking up at the hybrid that was blocking his way, "you're gonna be wide awake if you try to sleep in here. You need to relax with no distractions." Petey wheeled himself around the coffee table to the other side of the couch. "Besides, Li'l Petey wants to play with you tomorrow. You really need a good night's rest for that."

Greg huffed out a small laugh and crossed his arms. He hesitated before nodding his head, realizing Petey wouldn't let up, and walked by the front entrance, looking outside. Once Petey was able to sit down on the couch, he noticed Greg had left to go outside. Sighing in annoyance and unfolding the blanket that was on the couch, he laid down and got ready to fall asleep.

He shot up on the couch once he heard the floorboards creak, but laid back down once he noticed it was Greg holding all the bags from his shopping trip. Greg placed two of the bags on the coffee table, and one on the kitchen counter. Petey then heard the footsteps fade out, then heard a door open and shut.

"His shoes better be off... " Petey thought to himself as he felt his eyelids grow heavy, falling asleep soon after.

Chapter Text

A warm gust of summer wind woke Petey up from his sleep, groaning as he blinked his tired eyes open. The sunlight coming from the empty plot where the front door used to be shined in his face, making the tall cat sit up from the couch. He yawned and rubbed his eyes, cursing himself mentally for constantly waking up to make sure nothing was coming into the house.

Why did he even convince Greg to let him watch the door? This wasn't his house, so why should he be the one to stand guard? Did he just want to be useful and not seem like a chore? It's only been 4 days and Petey's already feeling... domesticated? 

He didn't quite understand what he was feeling, but in a way, he felt similar to a patient. He's bound to a wheelchair, eating Tylenol like candy, and has his body covered in itchy bandages and cuts that would take months to heal. But Unlike patients at a hospital, who are surrounded by the sounds of beeping monitors, nurses chatting in other rooms, and having their room smell of cleaner and medicine, he's surrounded by the sounds of nature, the laughter and screams of his son, and a house that smells of old wood and metal.

Unlike patients who have their family and friends visiting them, talking to them, and sending cards and hugs to them, he's sitting on his "hospital bed" alone, as if he were some John Doe waiting to be found.

Was anyone even looking for him and Li'l Petey? It had been 4 days, surely someone had to at least file a missing persons report. Was his and his son's picture up on a telephone pole right now? Swaying in the summer wind as a warning flag for parents to make sure know exactly where their children are?

It's kind of depressing. One day he's a single dad working as hard as he can to provide for his son, and the next, he's stuck with a stranger in his old home, trying not to let his son or himself be mauled to death by cursed science experiments.

Did the events of last night really happen? Did he really almost get attacked by a crazed deer-man hybrid, shot its brains out, helped a different hybrid clean up the mess (all while in a wheelchair) and agreed to let that said hybrid take his front door as a replacement for the one that was broken down?

Some people say their life is like a movie. For Petey, his life was like a goddamn horror story written by an angsty teenager.

He rubbed his eyes, trying to get rid of the thoughts that had been flooding his mind ever since he woke up, and turned his attention to the table. Two bags were occupying the space, and both looked like they were about to burst with how much was contained inside.

He moved himself on the couch, now facing the table as he grabbed a bag. It was packed so tightly that when he opened it, a packet of crayons popped out. He smiled, realizing this must be all of Li'l Petey's items, and started to unpack the bag.

He had folded all of the clothes, set them beside him on the couch, and placed all of his son's art supplies, stuffed toys, and silly comic books on the table. Petey couldn't wait to see the look on his son's face once he woke up to find his stuff in the living room. Now he won't have to play in the mud and stain his clothes, at least for a while.

He set the now emptied backpack on the floor and grabbed the other bag. When he unzipped the backpack, he was met with all of his clothes and found his #1 dad cup that was wrapped around a shirt. He chuckled as he placed the cup on the table, thankful it wasn't broken and kept digging through his backpack.

"...Wait, what?"

Petey questioned out loud. His mother's ukulele was tucked away in the corner of the bag, looking at him as his eyes opened wide with surprise. He held the ukulele, making sure there were no scratches or cracks in the old wood. 

'Why did he bring this?' Petey thought as he plucked the four strings, tuned it, and then quietly strummed a chord. He held on to the ukulele for a while before setting it down and emptying the rest of the bag. He found some books and his journal at the bottom, some first-aid equipment, and a bunch of wires.

He sighed and shook his head, recognizing some of them to be his old TV cables he forgot to throw out when the TV in his room broke.

'He must've been confused when he saw all of the wires.' He chuckled as he thought of Greg frantically shoving them in the bag. Thankfully his phone charger was in the wired spaghetti mess, and he shoved all the other wires back into the bag.

Now with his phone charger in hand, he scooted himself closer to the edge of the couch to reach his wheelchair, sat himself down, and wheeled his way into the kitchen to grab his dead phone and charge it.

He plugged the charger into the same outlet as the living room lamp, connected his phone to the cable, and waited for the battery logo to pop up.

He waited...

And waited...

And waited...

He waited for 20 minutes, but his phone still hadn't turned on.

He unplugged the charger and plugged it back in.

Nothing.

He held onto the power button while it was charging. 

Nothing.

He opened and closed his phone over and over, waiting for the screen to shine.

But nothing happened.

Petey unplugged the phone from the cable, and then unplugged the cable from the wall. Wrapping the wire around the broken phone, he placed both electronic items back inside his backpack.

Petey felt his stomach turn.

The only thing he could use to get in contact with anyone was broken.

He couldn't call Flippy to let him know that he was okay, nor let his traumatized son talk to his daughter. He couldn't call 911 to help them get out of these hybrid-infested woods, or let anyone know about the mad doctor who was killing and experimenting on who knows how many innocent people and animals.

The itchy texture of the suffocating bandages that clung to his arm and leg became more defined as he breathed heavily, realizing his plan to get home as fast as he could was torn apart.

His surroundings were a blur as his right hand started to unwrap the bandage and gauze on his left arm, wincing as the wounds were irritated by the gauze being ripped off. He ran his shaky hand along the cuts, taken aback by how deep they were.

These weren't the cat scratches (no pun intended) that he was used to seeing. These were clean, deep cuts. Reaching the dermis layer, more commonly known as the Styro. Most of the cuts were scattered on the outside of his arm, but a few were on the inner part. He felt a sense of shame and regret seeing the newer cuts alongside the old scars that were now fading away, hidden by his short, striped fur. His fur pattern almost feels like some sort of sick joke to him now. As if his genetics were mocking him or predicting the future actions he would inflict on himself.

'This time was for a good reason.' Petey thought to himself. However, he knew deep down that no matter the reason, these were still self-inflicted wounds, therefore bringing him back down from his 8-year clean streak.

He gripped the armrests of his wheelchair with both hands and slowly inhaled, filling as much of his lungs with the warm summer air, held it in while closing his eyes, and then shakily exhaled.

He repeated the process over and over, trying his best to calm himself down. After a few minutes had gone by, he heard a muffled whine, then a small voice from down the hall.

"Oops. Sorry, Greg,"

It was Li'l Petey.

Petey quickly opened his eyes once he heard the bedroom door open and frantically wiped the sweat off of his face. He was about to wrap his arm back in his old bandage, but Li'l Petey rushed into the living room before he had the chance.

"Good morning, papa– WOAAHH!" Li'l Petey exclaimed as he ran up to the table to grab his toys and art supplies. "MY COMICS! MY TOYS! MY– HAHA! Papa! It's like a summer Christmas!"

Li'l Petey held up his comic books and toys in front of his papa, then laid all of them out on the living room floor, sorting them out. Petey chuckled as he rolled over to his son, his worries and frustration slowly fading away as he saw the excitement that was plastered on Li'l Petey's face.

' As long as I have him...' 

Greg walked into the living room shortly after, rubbing his neck and waving good morning to Petey. Petey waved back, his smile fading a bit once he saw Greg look down at the bandages and stained red gauze that was laying on the floor, then looked at him with concern. 

"Hey," Petey spoke, his voice low and slightly raspy, "...can I take a shower?"

Greg's worried look didn't leave his face, debating if he should ask why Petey took off his bandages, but nodded his head. "Yes. No need to ask."

Petey grabbed his clothes and wheeled his way to the bathroom, only to find out his wheelchair would take up too much space inside the small room.

"You gotta be kidding me..." He muttered to himself, trying to make the chair fit, but he couldn't even close the door all the way. He huffed an annoyed sigh as he stood up and shuffled his way to the bathroom sink, leaning on it for support.

Greg was behind him, holding his clothes and setting his chair against the hallway wall. He walked in and set the clothes on the sink while Petey sat on the lid of the closed toilet, unwrapping the bandage on his leg.

"What are you doing?!" Greg anxiously signed, moving Petey's hands away from his leg.

"Taking off the bandage so I can shower? What do you think?" He pulled his hands away from Greg's, confused by the hybrid's action.

"You can't. Your leg is very hurt. You'll make it worse!"

"Well then, smart guy, how am I supposed to shower without getting my leg wet?"

Greg squinted his eyes in frustration but tried to come up with a solution. 

"I have an idea!" Li'l Petey announced as he raised his hand, startling the two adults who didn't even notice he was with them.

"When did you– whatever. What's your idea, kid?"

"Remember when I broke my arm at school 'cause I fell off the monkey bars?"

"Yeah, how could I forget that," Petey groaned at the memory of getting a call from the school saying Li'l Petey had gotten hurt. He expected to see his son with a scratch or a bruise but was met with him sitting on a chair in the nurse's office with his arm at an unnatural angle.

"Well, do you remember when the doctor gave me that funny bag to put my arm in when I would take a bath so the cast wouldn't get wet? We can just do that!"

Petey looked over at Greg, who received a thumbs up from the hybrid and nodded his head in agreement.

"Not a bad idea, kid. You got a plastic bag, Greg?"

Greg thought for a moment before he held up a finger, signaling Petey to wait, and rushed to the kitchen. He opened the grocery bag containing the food from Petey's kitchen and took out the loaf of bread. He unwrapped the plastic and took the bread out, placing it on the kitchen counter, then returned to the bathroom with the now emptied bread bag and handed it to Petey.

Petey shrugged and placed his leg inside the bag, ignoring Li'l Petey's giggles as he did so, and tucked the opening end inside the top of his bandages.

"Haha, it looks like you bought your foot from the grocery store!" Li'l Petey giggled but quickly covered his mouth when his papa side-eyed him, holding onto the shampoo bottle and pretending to throw it at him, only making the kitten laugh more.

"When you're done, I can fix the bandages. They need to be clean," Greg signed after opening the shower curtain and turning on the water. "Let me know if you need anything."

Petey nodded his head and thanked Greg as he walked out of the bathroom with Li'l Petey, closing the door behind him.

Petey carefully undressed himself and braced for the stinging pain he would feel on his left arm from the warm water and soap. He slowly sat down in the tub, letting the water fall on his orange fur. He closed his eyes the entire time he was in the shower, not wanting to look at himself, and tried to take his mind off of the multiple worries and regrets that had invaded his mind from this morning.

But no matter how much water he used, he couldn't drown the thoughts that floated in his mind.

__________

"What's for lunch, Greg?" Li'l Petey asked when Greg returned to the living room after getting dressed for the day.

"Breakfast?" Greg signed while unpacking all the food items in the grocery bag.

Li'l Petey chuckled and shook his head. "No, lunch! Look, the oven says 12:28 p.m!"

Greg eyed the analog clock as his eyebrows raised in surprise. It was already halfway way through the day, and they both spent their time sleeping those hours away. He turned his head back to Li'l Petey and laughed. "Yes, lunch. Do you want a sandwich?"

Li'l Petey walked to the kitchen counter and peeked inside the grocery bag. "Yeah, I'm fine with that. How about an egg sandwich? Like the ones at McDonald's."

Greg smiled nervously at the kitten, knowing his cooking skills were horrible, but decided to try it anyway.

After a few stressful minutes of cooking eggs, toasting bread, and accidentally getting cheese stuck onto the pan, the McDonald's all-day breakfast sandwich was done... kinda.

It looked more like something a shady McDonald's in a ghetto neighborhood with one too many health code violations would sell, but it didn't taste as bad as it looked. After the two ate their sandwiches and put everything away, the bathroom door opened and Petey came wheeling in, wearing a gray t-shirt and black shorts.

"Papa! We made you a McDonald's sandwich!" Li'l Petey pointed to the sandwich on the counter.

"...McDonald's?" He tilted his head to Greg, who shrugged his shoulders and smiled at the cat. Greg handed the plate to Petey, noticing the cat inspect the sandwich before he took a bite.

"It's better than it looks." Greg signed reassuringly, but Petey would be the judge of that.

"...It's... crunchy," Petey spoke in between bites of the questionable sandwich. 

"Yeah, that's the eggshells and burnt toast. If you really chew it you can't taste it." Li'l Petey commented.

Petey swallowed and chuckled at the two chefs in front of him. "It's not completely horrible, I'll tell you that. Give my compliments to the chef."

"Greg! He complimented our cooking!" Li'l Petey held onto Greg's hands as he jumped up and down, and Greg copied him while laughing. Petey smiled at the two, finishing his sandwich as he listened to them talk about the "very complicated" cooking techniques they used.

If being able to burn every ingredient they used while still making the food edible was a contest, they would be world champions.

__________

30 minutes had gone by since lunch and Petey was waiting for Greg to return to the living room with his first aid kit.

"On a scale of one to ten, how much does your leg hurt, Papa?" Li'l Petey asked while coloring on the floor.

"Eleven, But I took some medicine to help with the pain, so it's like a six right now."

"Is it like when you were fixing Big Jim's car and you bonked your head really, really, really hard and had a huge bump on your forehead?"

Petey laughed at the memory. "Worse than that."

"Wow... What did you even do? You didn't tell me when I asked you a few days ago when you tried to leave the house."

"I told you already, it was La Llorona."

"Papa, La Llorona isn't real... probably..."

Petey raised his arms. "Whatever gets you through the night. Don't say I didn't warn you when you hear her if you do something bad."

Li'l Petey laughed nervously, then went back to coloring, putting the old legend that parents would tell their kids to make them behave in the back of his mind.

Greg returned with the kit and sat down on the floor in front of Petey, opening the box and grabbing the many rolls of bandages. "You ready?" He signed, noticing Petey's slightly nervous expression. 

"Yeah... can't wait." Petey answered sarcastically and gave a fake smile, clenching his teeth.

Greg began unwrapping the bandage. Halfway through, Petey started to feel the sharp pain stab at his shin, but he held a thumbs up, not wanting to show how much it was hurting him, and bit his cheek.

Soon, all the bandages were off, letting his torn leg feel the warm summer air. Curious about the severity of his wounds, he bent over and glanced at his leg. The amount of blood that covered the bandages and the sight of his swollen and punctured skin made him feel weak. 

"Holy shit...that gash is huge..." Petey noted, not taking his eyes off the largest opening in his leg that revealed his tendons, layers of skin, and a whole lot of blood.

"Dude, that's bad. Like, really bad. Bandages can't fix this...this!" Petey gestured to his leg with shaky hands. "I need stitches or something! Wrapping up an open wound like this is like putting tape over a broken cup. Sure, it keeps it together, but you can't use it!"

Greg examined Petey's leg, realizing he was right, and began to worry if his leg would take longer to heal than he had originally thought. "Sorry. I don't know much about first aid. I'm trying. I'll think of something to do." He set the bloody bandages aside and skimmed through the first-aid kit for anything useful. 

"...I know you're trying. It's...whatever. It's fine for now. Just wrap it up already." Petey looked away from his leg, trying to keep his breathing at a steady pace as he heard Greg open the roll of bandages.

Before Greg started to wrap the leg, he tried to pinch the biggest wound closed as a substitute for stitches, but Petey kicked him in the face and shouted in pain.

"AGH– WHAT– AAAGH WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM, MAN?! THAT HURT!"

Greg whined and rubbed his muzzle, signing sorry while he sat up from lying on the floor. "It needs to be closed! I'm sorry!"

Petey folded his upper body as he slightly shook in his wheelchair, groaning as the sharp, unbearable pain from his shin traveled throughout his entire right leg. He couldn't take it anymore. The stabbing and burning sensation was making him lightheaded, but his eyes were wide open, not taking his eyes off his wounds.

"Papa," Li'l Petey walked over to Petey's left side, putting his tiny hand on his papa's back, "do you wanna hold my hand?"

Petey peeked up at his son. The worried and scared expression he received from the kitten made his heart sink. He shakily grabbed his son's hand, but didn't squeeze it tightly, as he knew he would probably break Li'l Petey's hand if he did so.

He turned his attention to Greg, noticing the small streak of blood that was around his nose. "...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to kick you. You can, uh... you can continue. I won't kick your face this time."

Greg gave a genuine smile, but his eyebrows were still furrowed in concern for the cat. He whipped his snout, grabbed the bandages, and began wrapping them around his leg, starting from the bottom to the top. When Greg reached any largely opened wounds, he would try to pinch them together as he tightly wrapped the bandage around them. When Greg would do that, Petey would shout in agony and desperately try to restrain himself from kicking his legs and screaming profanity for his son's sake.

He clenched his teeth so tightly he was sure they would break.

He gripped the chair with his free hand, sparing his son from his strength as his tail wrapped around the armrest of the chair, holding it tightly. 

He shut his eyes as tears started to form in each corner and would soon be streaming down his face, along with sweat.

Greg tried his best to get it over with quickly, but he kept looking away from the wounds. Touching the swollen and pierced skin made him sick, but pushed through by keeping Petey's sanity in mind. The last thing he wanted was to cause more pain for the cat crying in agony.

After 2 painfully long minutes that felt like 2 hours, Greg finished wrapping the bandage around Petey's leg and cut the access wrap off. 

Petey was hurled over, breathing heavily and still holding onto his son's hand. Li'l Petey hugged his papa, holding him tightly as he heard his shaky breath and rapid heartbeat. Greg put the first-aid kit away, washed his hands, and sat back down at the same spot on the floor. He put a hand on Petey's left knee, making the exhausted cat slowly sit upright.

"All done. Are you okay?" Greg signed, hoping Petey's leg felt better than before.

"...no." Petey stated coldly, "I hate this. I hate having my leg torn to shreds, I hate being stuck to this stupid chair, I hate being stranded in this God-forsaken forest with a serial killer that's making freaks of nature surround every mile of these woods, I hate staying in this stupid house that's isolated from society, and I hate that I can't call anyone because my phone is broken. So no, Dog Man, I AM NOT OKAY!"

Li'l Petey flinched and let go of his papa as he yelled at Greg, running to the hybrid's side and holding onto his arm. "Papa, it's gonna be okay. Greg is gonna help us get ho–"

"YOU TRUST THAT FREAK MORE THAN ME?!" Petey fumed, making the pair in front of him speechless. "WE WOULDN'T BE HERE IF IT WEREN'T FOR HIM! HE SET UP THAT STUPID TRAP, AND LOOK WHAT HAPPENED BECAUSE OF IT! WE HAVE TO STAY HERE FOR MONTHS, LI'L PETEY! MONTHS! ALL BECAUSE OF THAT DOCTOR WHO JUST HAD TO PLAY FRANKENSTEIN, AND MAKE THE CREATURE YOU'RE HOLDING ONTO RIGHT NOW!" He stared at the hybrid and kitten, his tail was puffed up and so was the fur on his arms. After a few seconds of painful silence, he slumped into the wheelchair and covered his face with his hands, not wanting to look at them anymore.

Both Greg and Li'l Petey were wide-eyed in shock after Petey snapped. Greg didn't know how to feel. He felt hurt, sad, and even a little angry, but he also understood where Petey's anger and fear came from and couldn't help but feel sympathy for the cat. His ears dropped low, and a soft whine had escaped his throat. He looked away from the cat, bringing his keeps to his chest, and sat in silence. 

Li'l Petey however, felt angry at his papa for making accusations and hurting Greg's feelings, along with his own, and just now hearing everything his papa hadn't told him. He stood up and walked in front of him, crossing his arms like his papa would when he would get mad at him.

"Greg saved me from a bear trap too." Li'l Petey stated, catching Petey's attention as removed his hands from his face to stare at his son.

"He saved me from spending the night alone in the woods. He saved me from starving by making me eggs and PB&J sandwiches and made sure I wasn't afraid when you were gone. If he's such a bad guy like you said, then why would he help me?!" Li'l Petey's voice grew louder, making Greg turn his head to watch the kitten argue with his dad.

"I was afraid when I first met him, but that was because everyone told me he was scary! When I got to know him, I found out he wasn't scary at all, just... uh, what was the– uh, misunderstood! Melvin's friends told me to go into the woods to find Greg, so they should be the ones to get in trouble, not him! If they didn't dare me to find him, he would still be living alone in this house and being called a murderer and a monster... and Papa," Li'l Petey stepped closer to hold Petey's hands, "I trust you as much as I trust Greg. I know Greg won't hurt us. I know he will help us get back home. We just need to be patient. I really miss Molly and her siblings, but I know I'll see them again! I have hope, and you should too... it's not Greg's fault for becoming The Dog Man, it's that doctor you were talking about. Greg is the good that came from the bad, and you need to stop blaming him for all these problems! I'm sure he never wanted to be known as a scary story, right Greg?"

Greg's ears went up, but his expression was still somber. He nodded his head as he looked at Petey with pleading eyes, hoping Petey believed that he truly meant no harm.

"Please don't blame him for everything. I'm sure he wants to meet other people without being called mean names..."

Petey gazed at Greg, both of their eyes were tired and watery, and he kept staring at him until his eyes burnt. Petey closed his eyes and took a breath, let it out, then looked at his son, gently squeezing his tiny paws.

"Ever thought about joining a debate club? I think you'd be good at that." He chuckled and pulled his son in for a hug. "I'm sorry," he spoke quietly, tightening his grip on Li'l Petey, "I'm sorry for yelling at you... and..." He let go, and shot a glance at Greg, "I'm sorry, Greg. That was... I dunno, honestly. I'm going through some stuff... but I shouldn't have let it out on you. I appreciate everything you're doing for me and my son, really... I don't see you a monster, a freak, or anything bad at all. I'm sorry."

Greg smiled softly at Petey, accepting his apology, and got up to hug him, wagging his invisible tail and was just happy Petey wasn't mad at him anymore. Petey was surprised by the action, but once Li'l Petey joined in the now-group hug, he slowly reciprocated the action, smiling as the pain in his leg started to fade.

"By the way," Li'l Petey asked after he and Greg pulled away, "what happened to the front door?"

Petey and Greg exchanged a glance at each other and smiled nervously. "Oh, that... uuhh you know what, I can't remember. What about you, Greg? Do you remember?" Petey forced a smile, making Greg sweat under pressure if he should tell the kid the truth or not.

"Deer." He signed, sheepishly smiling as Petey facepalmed himself.

"A deer? Really?" Li'l Petey questioned and both adults quickly shook their heads, agreeing that was the truth, and they technically weren't wrong.

"Oh, okay. That's kinda funny, hahaha!"

Surprised by how quickly Li'l Petey bought the vague answer, Greg and Petey sighed in relief, thankful they wouldn't have to elaborate or make up a story on the spot.

"Are you gonna buy a new door?" The kitten asked while walking to the front doorframe and running his tiny hands along the line.

"That's actually what he's gonna do tonight. He's going to use that old screen door we have at home as a replacement." Petey answered as he wheeled himself to the couch to sit down, needing to relax after that whole ordeal.

"Can I come with Greg this time? And before you say "No, La Llorona will get you", I know she won't get me 'cause I won't be bad." Li'l Petey placed his hands on his hips as he turned to his papa.

Greg shot a glance at Petey, tilting his head in confusion about who this "La Llorona" lady was, but also because he didn't think it was a good idea and wanted to see if Petey would agree.

"Haw haw, it's a story my mom used to scare me with," Petey answered to Greg, but took notice of his concern and also agreed it'd be best if Li'l Petey stayed behind. "And no, muchacho. I don't want anything to happen to you. There've been some weird things happening in these woods lately, and I don't want you getting hurt."

"Weird like what?!" The kid raised his hands in exasperation.

"Weird as in you'll have nightmares if I told you. So my answer is no, got it?"

Li'l Petey let out an exaggerated sigh and plopped himself on the couch next to Petey. Greg laughed at the kid and his funny antics, finding it amusing when he and his papa would playfully bicker with each other.

As much as he wanted to get them both home safe and sound, he was always worried that once he did, it would be the last time he'd see them. He's grown so attached to Petey and his son that just the thought of Petey making a full recovery made him a little depressed.

He didn't want to keep them away from their family and friends, but he didn't want to have to leave them because of his reputation. Who knew what people would do to him if they ever saw him walking down the roads of Ohkay City... 

He shook his head free from his thoughts and sat on the couch with the cats, making the most of the time he had with them now.

__________

For the rest of the day, they did the same "routine" as the days before—Sign language lessons, playing in the front yard, and comic book making—but time, Petey got to read some of the books Greg had brought for him, and Li'l Petey had more toys to play with, along with a fresh change of clothes at actually fit him.

Li'l Petey was tuckered out from playing with his long-missed toys and art supplies, and was out like a light by 9 p.m. Greg was getting ready to grab the new door from Petey's house, and was given written instructions by Petey on how to get the door off it's hinges. 

"In my garage, I have a toolbag that has everything you'll need," Petey stated, sitting on the couch with his journal. "and try not to make too much noise when you do so. My neighborhood is pretty quiet and if you drop that screen door on the floor, it would sound like a huge cymbal and echo throughout the streets."

Greg rubbed his neck, now feeling a little nervous, but gave a thumbs up. "I'll try my best. I just hope I can bring it back without causing a scene. How big is the door?"

"It's... shit...you know what, I don't– ok look, just bring my toolbag along with the door, in case I need to modify it to fit in the doorframe." 

"You can do that?"

"...I think? It's too late to back out now. Who knows how long we have until some other hybrid comes bursting in... unless..."

Petey quickly closed his book with a loud smack, making Greg twitch his ear in surprise. "I got a way better idea! I don't know why I didn't think of this before– Just grab my toolbag from my garage and I'll replace the front door with one of the doors here! We can use the bathroom closet or your bedroom door... if you want to. It's just a suggestion."

Greg smiled and happily nodded his head. "Perfect! I didn't want to carry that big door for 2 hours, anyway." He laughed as he signed, but before he left, he wanted to ask a question that had been eating him away all day.

"Do you want me to bandage your arm? I was going to after I bandaged your leg, but... I forgot."

He didn't forget to ask, he just didn't know if he should. Once the tense atmosphere returned to normal after Greg was finished wrapping Petey's leg, he didn't want to ask if he wanted to bandage his arm for fear of ruining the peace that took a while to obtain.

Petey glanced at his arm, feeling the guilt rise back up. "...yeah, alright. I can do it myself if you've had enough blood for today."

"No, don't worry. I like helping you. I'll go get the kit." Greg signed and went to retrieve the first-aid kit from the bathroom.

Petey, who was not expecting Greg to say he liked helping him, ran his fingers along the cuts and scars as he waited. He still felt the regret gnawing at his mind, making him feel like he betrayed his younger self and the promise he made to recover for his unexpected son.

Greg snapped Petey out of his daze when he sat across from him on the couch. Greg reached to grab Petey's left hand to pull his arm closer, checking for any re-opened cuts. "I'm glad I don't have to pinch these. They're nothing compared to your leg." Greg joked, trying to make the situation seem casual. 

"Haw haw haw... yeah..." Petey was surprised by the soft texture of Greg's hands, not expecting that considering all the work he does with them. They had a few faint scars but were not at all calloused.

"What happened? These look pretty deep." Greg signed, noticing a few cuts that were puffy and irritated, but some were healing and were a deep crimson shade of red. Greg felt Petey's arm tense at the comment and looked up at the cat.

Petey shrugged, not wanting to have this conversation so late at night, and because he didn't like talking about anything related to his mental state with others.

It made him feel weak and pathetic.

"I think I fell or something. Do you know how many hills are in these woods? It's surprising." He answered, not making eye contact and staring at his arm.

Greg sensed Petey wasn't telling the truth, but didn't want to push him so he nodded his head in agreement. He wrapped the bandage around his forearm and hand, then cut the access off. As he was tying the bandage, an idea popped into his head. He cut the remaining bandage down the middle and tied it into a mediocre bow.

"All done! You feel any better?" Greg chuckled as Petey looked at the bow on his upper arm.

"Haw, haw, haw." Petey laughed sarcastically, "Yeah, thanks."

Greg held two thumbs up and closed the first-aid kit, placed it on the table, and put his boots on to start his journey to fetch Petey's toolbag.

"Hey, Greg,"

Greg turned around to face Petey, tilting his head as he signed, "Yes?"

"Be safe. I think Li'l Petey likes you more than me." Petey laughed, hiding a serious thought behind his joke.

Greg shook his head and smiled. "Not true, but I'll be safe anyway. Bye, cat."

"Haw haw, "cat"? That's what you're gonna call me?"

"You call me "Dog Man" sometimes and I don't complain."

"Hmm... fair. Alright, hurry up so I can go to sleep. I'm not gonna get any rest until there's a door separating the forest from the living room."

Greg rolled his eyes and mockingly saluted, then started army marching out of the house, getting a laugh out of Petey.

Petey opened his journal and started writing, picking up where he left off. He had been writing about his experience staying with Greg, and everything he had to endure. He wrote about his leg, his encounter with the man in the trench coat, and what he would do once he could walk again.

But there was one thing that he had been writing that left an odd feeling residing in him—letters for his mom. Just small sentences and updates in his life that he thought his mother would have loved to hear. He talked about Li'l Petey, his work, his friends, and even about Greg and his odd hospitality.

His journal helped him say the words he couldn't form in his mouth, and wrote happy endings for parts of his life that didn't end the way he hoped for.

"Sometimes, I forget you're not here anymore. I hope you're not too worried when you're looking down on me, but I'm sure you're getting a few laughs with how Li'l Petey acts. I don't know where he gets his attitude from. Was I like that when I was younger? If so, then you're a strong woman for having to put up with me for 12 years.

I miss you, mom. Cuídate.

Tu hijo, Petey."

Chapter Text

While Greg left the house rather happy, a small wave of anxiety eventually washed over him, making him hypervigilant of his surroundings. The last trip, which was a full 24 hours ago, didn't go as he had planned. Hearing the gun shots and finding a dead hybrid beside a shaken-up Petey in the living room was not something he had hoped for. He wasn't too worried for Petey and Li'l Petey, given how well Petey handled the whole ordeal and definitely knew his way around a gun. Greg was afraid he would run into anybody he knew while he was out and about on the town again.

Like Genie.

The nurse made it seem like the two of them were lifelong friends who hadn't seen each other in a long time, talking as if they were catching up on how their lives had been treating them since they last spoke. To a point, she was right, they had been friends for a while and hadn't talked since Greg escaped the hospital, but after everything Greg had done while being examined by the doctors and other nurses, how could she have been so... calm?

She was always such a sweet lady, it's no wonder she worked as a nurse. Her bright and uplifting personality, along with her compassion for almost anyone, made her everyone's favorite caretaker. Greg would be lying if he said he didn't miss spending time with her after work.

He even missed her boyfriend.

He owed Genie so much, but he didn't know how—or if he even could—repay her kindness. The reason why he wasn't sleeping in the open woods and was probably dead by now was all because of her.

"Greg! Wait!" The nurse shouted at the hybrid who was escaping into the nearby forest, following closely behind. She was able to grab his arm, forcing him to stop running, and held on tightly to his bandaged arm.

Greg flicked his head around to face the nurse, growling and baring his teeth. Genie remained calm, not taking her eyes off the teary-eyed Dog Man in front of her.

Greg pulled his arm away from her grasp, looking down at the ground in shame for how he had acted towards her.

"Greg... I know a place where you can stay. It's far from here, and no one checks on it," she spoke softly, walking closer to Greg and holding his hand. "It's not safe for you here, I understand that... so until I figure something out, just stay there, okay?"

Genie reached into the front pocket of her nurse's uniform and pulled out a pen and a notebook. She started frantically writing down directions to the house, while Greg held himself and watched her.

"Here, it's been a long time since I've been to that house, but I know you'll–"

"GENIE! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

The nurse whipped her head behind her, recognizing the voice as her boyfriend, the chief of police. She shoved the notebook and pen in Greg's hands, trying her best to keep a cool head.

"There's clothes, running water, electricity, it's a fully functioning house, so don't worry too much, alright?"

"GREG, IF YOU DID ANYTHING TO HER I SWEAR I'LL–"

The man's voice became louder and more aggressive. Genie began to sweat, and Greg seemed to be frozen in place, wide-eyed with fear visible on his face.

"Go! You need to go! Now!" She shoved him roughly, helping him to get moving before the chief found them. Greg didn't look back as he started to run into the dense forest. He heard the chief of police yell out after him, but soon his shouting and profanities faded out, being replaced with Greg's heavy breathing and a deafening ringing in his ears. He kept running throughout the woods, still in the hospital gown, and tried to follow the directions Genie had given him.

It took him a whole day, but he was able to find the house the nurse had talked about. He climbed over the gate, unaware it had an opening, and raced to the front door. The door was locked, but the front window wasn't, so he climbed in through the window and collapsed on the wooden floor.'

He slept for the rest of that day, replaying everything that had happened in the last 48 hours in his dream. Once he woke up, he wished that car crash had killed him, instead of bringing him back to life as an "abomination of life", as the chief had once stated in his face.

It was a complicated feeling he had for the chief of police, but he still missed him dearly.

Just as Knight would have if he were still here.

Two agonizingly quiet hours later, he saw the familiar street lights and buildings in the distance. He got rid of his mind-eating thoughts and made sure not to be seen from the open road as he stayed behind the trees, reaching the part of the woods that would wrap its way around to Petey's house.

He eyed the neighborhood Petey's house was in, crept his way behind the houses, crossed the street, and finally reached the familiar house. He took the keys out of his pocket and carefully unlocked the two doors, thankful he didn't need to carry one of them home. Once he opened the doors, the warm air inside the home flowed out, hitting him in the face. He breathed it in as he walked inside, feeling a strange sense of comfort as he did so, and made his way to the garage.

The door to the garage was near the kitchen in a small hallway, being slightly hidden by the stove that was next to it. He had barely noticed it during his last trip, but thought it led into the backyard, so he didn't open it. As he turned the door knob and opened the door, a gust of hot air came flowing out of the room, along with the smell of metal and dust. He blinked in surprise at the warmth that spewed out from the garage, but was more surprised at the state of the room.

Piles of metal, boxes, pipes, and wood were up against each side of the four walls. There were mountains of boxes piled high on the workbench against the back of the garage, and a small jeep was in the center of the room, taking up most of the space. As he walked inside, the door shut behind him, making the whole room extremely dark due to the lack of windows. It was so dark that Greg didn't know if his eyes were open or not as he tried to locate a light switch. He ran his hands along the walls, tripping over some stuff as he did so, but finally found the switch and flipped it on.

The yellow fluorescent lights flickered on, making Greg squint his eyes at the sudden change of lighting. He rapidly blinked to adjust his vision to the light and started looking for Petey's toolbag. He cautiously walked around the garage, but would occasionally knock over some boxes and step on some of the metal scraps that were on the floor. He would flinch and hold his breath as he did so, fearing the loud sounds would echo throughout the garage. Thankfully, he found Petey's toolbag on the workbench that was at the end of the room and quickly grabbed it.

When he was back inside the house, he glanced at the hallway that was to his left where he was currently standing. He walked down the hallway, looking up at the wall that had many pictures on it, but kept his eyes on the picture of the calico cat with the small tabby kitten. He took the picture frame down and placed it inside Petey's toolbag. He held the bag on his shoulder and got ready to head back home.

He felt a strange connection to the picture and wanted to ask Petey about it. Something about the older cat in the frame made him... sad? He couldn't explain it, but knew he wanted to learn more about her.

Just as he had locked both of the front doors, he heard a siren in the distance, growing louder and louder.

Damnit.

His eye twitched from nervousness and he ran behind a nearby tree, climbing up and hiding in its thick leaves. The siren was louder now, and he could see the flashing blue and red lights growing brighter, reflecting onto Petey's house. Had someone seen him and called the cops? 

He noticed the neighboring houses started turning their lights on, probably waking up confused at the sudden lights and blaring siren. Greg's heartbeat began to quicken, not sure how to get into the woods without being seen. He'd have to cross the street and run behind the houses to get to the part of the woods he had come from, but he would've been seen clearly due to the police lights and streetlamps, not to mention the chismoso neighbors that might be looking out their windows to see the commotion outside.

He tried to stay as still as possible, rubbing his hand against his head to calm his nerves. The police car was parked outside of The Cat's driveway, and the officer stepped out and started walking to the front door. Greg peeked from behind the leaves of the tree, waiting for the officer to turn their back so he could make a quick getaway. He had to time everything right for him to not be seen, and he only had one shot.

Once the officer reached the front door, Greg quickly climbed down and hid behind the trunk of the tree. He held the toolbag close to his chest and eagerly waited to hear the sound of the front doors opening. He heard the a door knob jiggle, the radio of the officer, and soon, the voice of said officer.

"Okay City Police Department! Open up!"

Greg recognized the voice as one of the officers that the chief was rather friendly with: Muade. She wasn't always the nicest person, but her headstrong attitude and confidence made her one of the most reliable cops on the force.

Greg also remembered she hated being teased, and that gave him an idea.

He opend the toolbag and found some loose screws at the bottom of the bag. He grabbed a handful of them and tossed one of them in the middle of the street. The cop heard the noise and turned her head over to the street.

"Hey, who's there?!"

Greg saw her starting to walk over to the street, and dashed to the side of Petey's house, hiding behind the wall. He threw another screw, this time closer to one of the houses across the street.

"Hey! I ain't playing around, man! Come out with your hands up!" She yelled, speed walking over to the house across the street, one hand on her belt that held her taser.

Once she started walking again, Greg quickly moved to hide behind her car, making sure to keep an eye on her movements, then threw a small wrench to the far end of the street. Just like Petey stated earlier, the sound of metal hitting asphalt echoed throughout the street, making the cop snap her head towards the sound in surprise.

"What– Come out with your hands up! Last chance!"

Now she was moving away from the house, rushing down the street to where Greg threw the wrench.

'Don't look, just run. Don't look, just run,'

That thought was the only thing echoing in Greg's mind as he quickly got up and ran across the street. He held a death grip on the bag, trying so hard to prevent the tools in the bag from clanking against each other. Once he reached the curb of the street, he threw himself onto the grass and tumbled to the ground, hiding himself behind the house that was across from Petey's.

He took a breath he didn't know he desperately needed, and raced behind each of the houses until he reached the same alley that led into the forest entrance. He took some time to steady his breathing, but something in his mind was bugging him as he tried to relax.

'...THE PICTURE!'

Greg frantically opened the bag to make sure the picture frame wasn't broken from all the commotion. He sank to his knees when he noticed a small crack down the middle of the glass frame, and soon became nervous about the reaction Petey would have when he showed him the damaged frame. He ran his slightly shaky hands down the crack and hung his head low in disappointment. The expression of the calico cat didn't help him feel better, and he looked away from the picture, but flinched when he noticed someone in the corner of his eye.

"...I'm not that good at hiding, am I?" An all too familiar voice spoke out from behind a nearby building, and walked into the dim lighting of the lamppost on the sidewalk.

Greg sprang to his feet, still holding onto the picture, but let the toolbag fall from his shoulder and lay on the ground. His breath had become a tad more staggered, but he was able to wave a hand as the lady dressed in a hospital uniform walked closer to him.

"Or maybe, you're not that good at staying hidden?" Genie laughed softly, holding her hands behind her back, "It's only been a day since I last saw you, and here you are again. Are you stalking me?"

Greg quickly waved his hands in protest, but Genie just chuckled at him. "Don't worry, big guy, it's just a joke!"

Greg tried to force a smile, but was so winded from the running and lingering anxiety that all he could do was squint his eyes. Genie noticed his tired demeanor, debating if she should ask him why he seemed so exhausted, then shot a glance at the picture frame Greg held in his hands.

"Are you doing all right? And what's up with that picture?"

Greg straightened himself and hid the photo behind his back, shaking his head and tightly shutting his eyes to avoid eye contact with the nurse. 

Genie crossed her arms, gazing at Greg with concern. She walked a little closer to the hybrid and placed a hand on his arm. Greg didn't retaliate, but his eyes shot open and stared at the kind nurse. He felt a knot in his throat once he saw her face, the events of his stay at the hospital were flooding his mind all over again.

"You don't have to show me if you don't feel comfortable doing so..." she paused, eyeing the building she was hidden behind while spying on Greg, "hey, how about I get you a donut? You look like you could use one."

Greg's ears shot up in surprise, not expecting her to say that out of the blue. He looked around, trying to tell her if that was a good idea since everyone thought he was a murderer. Luckily, Genie understood. 

"Don't worry," she giggled, "I'll just run in and grab a donut, then come back out here. So, whadaya say?"

Greg was hesitant, but after seeing the joy and odd relief in her expression, he nodded his head. Besides, who could say no to a donut?

___________

"So, how's the house? 'Been keeping it clean and stuff?" Genie asked, watching Greg happily eat the donut as they sat behind the building. Greg held up a thumbs-up, completely ignoring the fact that Genie's summer home was missing its front door.

"I'm glad." She smiled, leaning her head against the cool concrete wall. "Y'know, I'm not even supposed to be out right now. I was supposed to be back home 30 minutes ago, but I couldn't resist a late-night snack."

Greg tilted his head, licking the sugar from the donut off his face. Genie sighed and turned her body to face him.

"There's been rumors going around that you've been killing doctors and nurses, and that it's an act of revenge, but I don't buy any of that BS. I know you and how squeamish you are of blood." She giggled at the end, but her cheerful demeanor soon faded away. "But Clarence, and I guess myself, are worried about my safety here due to the messed up murderer that's on the loose... Greg, do you remember anything about the doctor who brought you in? Anything at all? I've been trying to find information about him, but when he arrived, he wore a mask and didn't speak a word. He just dropped you off in one of the rooms and left in a hurry..."

Greg pulled his legs to his chest and shook his head no. He wished he did, but he was unconscious as soon as the car crashed, up until he woke up in the shiny white hospital, surrounded by doctors and nurses.

"...There's a new report of a missing father and son, and it's made so many parents on edge to let their kids enjoy their summer vacation happily. My coworkers are saying that the same murderer could be kidnapping people, and isn't just after us first responders anymore, but the whole town."

Greg's blood ran cold at the mention of the missing report. Who knew how much of an impact the two missing cats would've had on the community? The guilt of not finding a way to get them home was starting to creep up on him, making him clench his fists and look ahead at the woods. If he weren't so afraid of being left alone in that house, he would've told Genie that they were with him. However, he was a coward and just nodded his head in agreement. 

"I know you didn't mean to harm those doctors, but people are still afraid of you, unfortunately... I've been trying so hard to find a way to let you live here, but I've overheard conversations from people around the city that would go so far as to shoot you on the spot if you ever show your face here."

Greg flinched at that statement, but wasn't too surprised. If he saw a science experiment escape from a hospital, wrapped in bandages and still had IV tubes sticking out of its arms, he wouldn't want something like that on the loose either.

Genie placed a hand on Greg's tensed shoulders, comforting her odd friend the best she could. Greg couldn't hold back his fear anymore and wrapped himself into a ball, hugging his knees as he held his head low and wept.

This was the first time he allowed himself to cry since he spent the first night alone in his new home. His shoulders shook and shaky whines escaped his throat. Genie's heart shattered, not expecting his reaction, but she didn't hesitate to stay by his side. She hugged him, a warm embrace similar to a mother comforting her crying child, and Greg reciprocated the action. 

Just last night, Greg was terrified of Genie even placing her hand on his, but now here he was, clinging onto her as if she would disappear if he didn't hold onto her tight enough.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, until Genie's phone began to ring. The sound startled both of them, and Genie quickly reached into her side pocket and flipped open her phone.

"Ah, shoot..." She pressed the answer button and held the phone to her ear, "Heyyy, baby... what's up?" She spoke nervously into the phone, and Greg could hear the muffled voice of the chief of police on the other end.

"Oh, yeah I'm almost at my house, I just stopped by for a donut real quick... yeah... yup, love you too, Clarence... I will, buh-bye."

She closed her phone and looked at Greg, then stood up and dusted herself off. "Well, I gotta go... listen to me, Greg," she bent down to help Greg up to his feet, and held his hands in hers, "If you ever need anything, just swing by this place and I'm sure I'll be here. You know my love for food and how I can't resist a late-night snack."

Greg wiped his snout and nodded his head. The two of them smiled, hugged one last time, and soon, Genie was off, leaving Greg to stand alone behind the building. He picked up the toolbag, bracing himself to talk to Petey about the broken picture, and started heading home.

Part of him wanted to tell Genie about how he found the missing father and son, and how he was helping them recover, but couldn't bring himself to do so. He didn't want to be left alone just yet, and figured as long as Petey used his wheelchair and Li'l Petey had his toys and art supplies, they should be fine until they met again.

However, he knew how badly Petey's leg was becoming, and feared it wouldn't heal properly with his lack of medical experience. His brain and heart were at war, wanting to do what was best for him, but also what he wanted for himself. He knew it wasn't normal "kidnapping" people and keeping them in his home, and was well aware of just how serious their situation was.

But being lonely does things to you.

__________

Petey was still on the couch, barely awake after writing and doodling in his old and beaten up journal for a couple of hours. 2 hours into the night, he tried messing around with his broken phone a few times, just to see if he could do anything, but kept getting depressed when it wouldn't turn on, so he decided to zone out and try not to fall asleep for the last few hours of the night.

The sound of the metal gate opening and closing snapped him back into the world around him, and he sat upright on the couch, holding his hand near the shotgun just in case.

"Finally... I didn't know how much longer I could stay awake for." Petey spoke quietly as Greg entered the house, taking off his combat boots and placing the toolbag on the table.

"Sorry. I had some trouble and would've been home sooner." Greg signed, sitting down next to the tired cat, and rubbed the stitches on his neck.

"Trouble?" Petey side-eyed the hybrid, "What kind of trouble?"

"Someone must've called 911 on me, thinking I was breaking into your home, but I was able to get away. It just took a while."

"I mean, you were kinda breaking into my house, so I guess that's not so surprising." Petey chuckled. He knew it had to have been the neighbors a few houses down his street. They were always waiting to call the cops as soon as they saw something deemed "illegal." One time when he and Li'l Petey were lighting fireworks in their driveway on one 4th of July, they ended up getting a warning from the police due to a phone call from said neighbors. They could be such a buzz-kill sometimes.

"You gave me the keys, so it's technically not breaking in," Greg argued, eyeing the toolbag that lay a few feet ahead of him.

"Yeah, yeah, alright. I'll get started on the door in the morning 'cause I don't know about you, but I'm tired as hell." Petey grabbed the blanket that was behind him, but paused once he saw Greg's hands move.

"I have a question before you sleep... if you don't mind." He nervously signed after grabbing the toolbag and placing it on his lap.

"Sure, what is it?"

Greg took a deep breath and unzipped the bag, but quickly signed before he took anything out. "It was an accident, so I hope you won't be too mad."

Petey furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head, confused but also curious about what he was talking about. "...Alright?"

Greg took the picture out of the bag and placed it on Petey's lap. Petey's eyes opened widely at the picture, and he quickly held it in his hands. He inspected the frame, obviously seeing the crack that was in the middle of the glass since he ran his fingers along the line, but didn't say a word. He stared at the photograph for some time, taking in every detail, then took a small breath as he set the frame back down on his lap, and glared at the nervous hybrid next to him.

"What was your question?" He questioned flatly, a neutral expression plastered on his face.

Greg was surprised that Petey didn't seem to be bothered by the state of the picture, easing his worries a bit, but still felt bad for damaging the picture.

"Who is the other cat in the picture? I'm assuming the kitten is you, since it looks just like LP, but I don't know who the older cat is."

Petey now had an unamused expression, but noticed Greg was really serious about his question.

"Really? Not even a guess?"

Greg shook his head, a small bead of sweat forming on his forehead.

Petey sighed and placed the picture on the table. "It's my mom. Thought it would be easy to piece that together... and yeah, the kid in the picture is me."

Greg shot a glance at the picture. With that new information, he felt even worse cracking the frame, and covered his muzzle with his hands as he sank into the couch. How did he not figure that out?

Petey smiled and stared at the picture, raising his eyebrows at his mom in the photograph. "Don't worry about the frame, I can get a new one... Y'know, could've just told me about the photo? You didn't need to bring it all the way here."

Greg jolted back up, almost falling off the couch. "I know, but... I wanted to bring it here as you answered my question. I don't know why, but I feel sad when I look at it, and I wanted to see if the feeling would go away once you talked about the photo. Your mother is very beautiful... she must be worried for you."

Petey felt his tail flick a few times at Greg's explanation. He stared at Greg's hands, still slightly hovering near his chest, then turned his attention back to the picture.

"Why does the picture make you sad? It's just a family photo."

Greg reached to grab the frame from the table and held it in his slightly sweaty hands. He traced his finger along the calico cat's eyes, then at the kitten's bandaged tail.

"You both seem a little sad, maybe that's why."

Petey watched as the words formed on Greg's hands, then went back to tracing his finger along the glass. Petey was impressed by his ability to read facial expressions, but felt slightly nervous about the questions Greg had in store for him.

"...What do you wanna know?" Petey questioned, shifting his body to sit more comfortably on the couch.

Greg held his hands up, but paused for a moment before signing, "Anything."

Not everything.

Anything.

He didn't want to know every microscopic detail about the photo, he just wanted to get to know about the mother of the person who was a few inches away from him.

Petey crossed his arms and leaned his head back on the couch cushion, thinking for a bit before giving the answers that Greg was patiently waiting for.

"Her name was Grace. I think I was 6 years old in that picture, so that would make her... 28 at the time that photo was taken. That picture was for my school's family photo day, and I remember she was so exhausted from running to the school from her work. She arrived just as it was about to be my turn." He smiled fondly at the memory, remembering it as if it were yesterday. "She taught me almost everything I know, from her cooking to her work advice for when I grew older. The ukulele you brought was hers, and I've been playing it every now and then... She passed away when I was 12, so don't worry about her freaking out because Li'l Petey and I are missing."

Greg's ears hung low as Petey talked about his mother, noticing the sadness in his eyes as he spoke about her passing. Part of him regretted bringing the photograph here, but after learning about Grace, he was right, the sadness he felt while looking at the picture was replaced with a warm feeling in his heart. Grace must've been a wonderful mother to Petey, given how he acts towards his son. He had more questions, so many more, but he could see how Petey's tail kept flicking back and forth, and decided not to push him. 

"I'm sorry." Greg signed, placing the picture back on the table.

"Thank you, and really, don't worry about the frame. As long as the photo isn't damaged, it's all good."

The two sat quietly for some time before Petey broke the slightly awkward silence, draping the blanket over his lower body. "So, did you decide on what door will be the replacement for the front door?"

"The bathroom closet." Greg signed, surprised by the sudden change in conversation, but felt relieved as the awkward tension slowly faded out.

Greg stood up from the couch and waved goodnight to Petey. Petey smiled and waved back, but called out to him before he turned the corner. Greg looked back at Petey, tilting his head, but Petey shut his mouth and shook his head.

"...Forget it, sorry. Goodnight, Dog Man."

"Goodnight, Cat."

__________

A week had passed since Petey successfully replaced the door with the bathroom closet, and he and Greg could finally sleep without worrying too much about something sneaking in.

It was hard at first, given how Petey couldn't stand up to screw the hinges on the higher parts of the doorframe, but thankfully, he had two great helpers to complete the task. Greg was in charge of holding the door up, Petey used his screwdriver to tighten the screws in place, and Li'l Petey was on Greg's shoulders so he could tighten the screws that were higher up.

The trio worked hard that day, not only fixing the door problem, but also the gate. They found out the deer-man had slammed itself against the side of the wired gate, and bent the metal so it could jump over it more easily. With Petey's tools and him shouting instructions from the porch, Greg and Li'l Petey were able to repair the gate as good as new. Li'l Petey even made a sign using one of the warning signs that were in front of Greg's gate. He covered the sign that read "Keep Out" and replaced it with "Greg's Home."

They kept up with their sign language lessons and were all practically fluent in ASL by the end of the week. That's what 3 hours of studying, memorizing, and playing ASL based games every day can do to help.

Greg had gotten slightly better a cooking, but Petey was the main chef of the house, and Greg didn't mind at all. Greg hadn't eaten food that good since he was a "normal" dog, and he always ate every last bite of whatever Petey had cooked up.

Petey had been playing his mother's ukulele more often, and even played it for Li'l Petey and Greg while they colored and played their games. Li'l Petey would make up silly lyrics to go along with his papa's music, and Greg would quietly howl along. Petey eventually realized why he felt so off whenever Greg would make typical dog noises, and it wasn't because of his appearance. It was the noise itself. It was a mix of a dog and a human's voice, sounding like a dog trying to sound like a man, or a man making an impressive dog impression. Once he figured that out, Petey wasn't spooked whenever he heard Greg bark, and it eventually sounded normal for him.

Now it was the middle of June, and the unlikely trio were inside the old house next to the small AC unit that was under the living room window. Greg was reading one of the books he had brought for Petey, but funny enough, Greg ended up reading them more than him. Li'l Petey was drawing a new set of comic book characters, and worked on a brand new story for them. He had his markers and crayons scattered throughout the floor, and a pile of comic book pages started to form beside him. And Petey was unscrewing the back of his phone, trying to see if he could find out why it won't turn on.

"...Rats," Petey muttered under his breath. He found the source of why his phone wouldn't turn on, and there wasn't anything he could do to fix it. The circuit board had been slightly chipped and dented, most likely due to the many falls Petey had made while I the woods. It would explain the dent near the middle of the screen and the cracked glass.

He tossed his phone and the screwdriver to the side of the couch and sighed in defeat. There was nothing he could do now. He had to wait patiently for his leg to heal so he could return home safely. He wished someone would just knock on the front door and help him and his son get back home in one piece, but he knew how deep into the forest they were, and it would be impossible for someone to mindlessly stumble upon this shack in the woods. It would take a miracle for someone to find—

Knock knock Knock

...Well, hallelujah. 

Chapter Text

The trio immediately stopped each of their activities, and a deafening silence spread throughout the house. After the three subtle knocks had echoed across the walls of the living room, they all glanced at one another to check if the sound they heard was real, and not just in their heads. A small seed of confusion had started to sprout into anxiety within them once they heard the knocking again after a few seconds.

Greg stood up and quickly—but quietly—tiptoed to the window that was beside the front door. Peeking behind the slightly see-through curtains, his mind went blank once he saw that there was nothing at the door.

Nothing. No one.

"Greg, who's at the door?" Li'l Petey whispered while he quietly put his art supplies away in his bag. 

Shrugging his shoulders, Greg kept his attention on the window, wide-eyed, and tried to come up with an explanation for the sound. He had never heard knocking on his door before. Ever. The deer-man was technically his first unexpected "visitor" to deliberately find his home. Greg's house was far from any trails or forest landmarks that would be on a map. If someone happened to stumble near his house, like Li'l Petey and his papa, it would've been an accident. 

The knocking was too normal for it to be coming from a possible threat. It sounded like a normal knock on a door that a normal person would use with their perfectly normal hand. But maybe that's what they wanted Greg to think; luring him out of his home once he sees it was nothing, but once he turns his back, all hell would break loose.

He wasn't going to take any chances.

"Maybe it was just a branch?" Petey thought out loud as he positioned himself in his wheelchair. Trying to calm the uneasy feeling within him, he thought of possible, logical, and understandable reasons for well well-formed knock to be heard at the door... twice in a row... But the sound was so profound that he knew just as much as Greg that it had to have been on purpose. 

Li'l Petey sensed the uncertainty in the room and soon had goosebumps run along his arms. His already puffy tail had doubled in size, along with the fur on his face, and he quietly ran over to his papa. He sat himself on Petey's lap, hugging his knees and closing his eyes. Petey could feel his son's heartbeat against his chest from where he sat, and held him close in a comforting embrace.

Petey was taken aback by his son's fear. Usually, he'd try and act tough for a while until something "really, really, REALLY" scary happened. He wouldn't be this scared from just a few knocks on the door. He held one hand onto a wheel of his wheelchair, just in case anything were to escalate, and the other on his son's head.

Greg started to pace around the room, wondering what he should—or could—do, but anxiousness quickly morphed into alarm as the sound of tapping on the kitchen window broke the nervous tension. Everyone snapped their heads towards the small window above the sink, each noticing small stones that were bouncing off the glass. A faint muffled voice could be heard from outside, slightly shaky, but light in volume.

"Helloooo?" The voice proclaimed, singing the last of the greeting in a small tune.

That was enough for Greg to grow into a panic.

"What was–wha– hey! What are you doing?!"  Greg held onto the handles of Petey's wheelchair and started pushing him quickly into his room. Greg didn't answer him, only focusing on making sure that both cats were hidden and out of the way. If his gut was right, which usually was, an old friend of his was waiting outside for a surprise visit. 

'Why is she here?!' Greg mentally screamed as he pushed Petey and his son into the corner of his room. Petey kept insisting that Greg tell him what exactly was going on, but Greg didn't reply. The hybrid only put a finger up to his mouth, a signal to keep quiet, then closed the door behind him with a small slam.

Petey could hear the front door open, followed by a lady's voice, then footsteps that followed into the house and reached the living room. He could hear the lady speak, but couldn't make out much of what she was saying. She sounded relaxed, but had a few moments of a surprise pitch in her voice that were soon followed by a series of laughs.

Li'l Petey was terrified now, holding onto his papa's shirt in a tight grip. "Papa? What's going on?" The kitten spoke with a quiet and shaky voice, "Who's talking?"

Petey kept his eyes on the door, ears tilted towards the muffled conversation that was ahead of him, and felt his blood boil. Whoever was in that room was clearly not a threat, but someone who appeared to be well acquainted with Greg.

That person could help him and his son get out of that house, help them get home, help them start life again, but it seemed like Greg didn't want that.

Petey began wheeling his way towards the door, but stopped in his tracks once Li'l Petey jumped down from the chair and stood in front of the door.

"Papa!" Li'l Petey shouted quietly, clenching his teeth as he tried to talk to his papa. "Don't go! It could be a monster... remember you said a bad guy was making weird animals to hurt other people?! It could be one of those!"

"Hijo," Petey spoke flatly, knowing that wasn't the case, "believe me, whoever is talking is not gonna hurt us. In fact, she might help us."

Li'l Petey furrowed his eyebrows, confused by his papa's calm demeanor, but trusted in his papa and knew he wouldn't let him get hurt. It took some seconds, but he slowly nodded, and moved aside, helping Petey open the door. Once the door opened, the talking stopped, but Petey quickly wheeled his way to the living room, and Li'l Petey walked behind him, hiding himself behind the chair.

"...What the..." The lady muttered with a shocked expression, locking eyes with the equally surprised tabby cat that was a few feet from her. She stared at him, her bright blue eyes meeting his dark green gaze, but noticed the small kitten that was peeking from behind the cat's wheelchair, and shot a glance at him. His eyes were much brighter and held more emotions than the older cat's. A wave of multiple questions and concerns had flooded her mind, and she felt as if they would overflow and spill to the floor beneath her.

Petey was at a loss for words, but his anger only grew once he saw nervousness plastered on the mutt's face. He turned his chair to face the pair on the couch, trying to get the words out of his mouth, but his thoughts were going 100 miles per hour, and he couldn't form what he wanted to say.

Thankfully, the lady was able to quickly break the tense atmosphere, and asked Greg the most important question that she desperately wanted an answer to: "Greg... why are the missing father and son here?"

" "Missing father and son"?!" Petey exclaimed, clenching the armrests of his chair with his claws. So people have been looking for them. He wasn't forgotten about. That information slightly eased his worries, but it also made him angrier. Why has it taken so long to find them?!

The lady brushed her vibrant reddish-orange hair away from her face, still shocked by the sight of the small family that had gone missing two weeks ago. "Y-yes," she affirmed, "Petey and Li'l Petey The Cat, right?"

"You know my name?!" Li'l Petey yelled, jumping from behind the chair. The woman tried to form a smile and nodded her head in agreement. 

"Yeah, the whole town knows about you two..." Her smile dropped as she turned to look at Greg dead in the eyes. "Greg, you didn't answer my question: why are the missing father and son here?" She persisted.

Greg sat still, clenching his fists into a ball, and staring at the floor. He didn't move, not even a flinch. He just kept his eyes locked on the ground, not daring to make eye contact with anyone in the room.

He knew that Petey and Li'l Petey would be leaving soon. When? He didn't know. It could be as soon as today, or maybe in a few days, but he knew once the cats found out he hadn't even tried to find a way to get them home, they wouldn't want anything to do with him.

It was fun while it lasted. 

"I know why." Li'l Petey spoke up, moving closer to the redheaded lady, "...I got lost in the woods one night, and Greg wanted me to be safe, so he let me stay here until my papa came looking for me." He started to fiddle with his tiny paws, glancing at Greg's distraught expression, "My papa hurt his leg while looking for me... He stepped in one of Greg's traps on accident, and that's why he's in that chair. Greg helped him and said he would find a way to get us back home. We just have to wait until my papa's leg is all better..."

The redhead gazed at the small kitten, surprised by his story, and took a deep breath to process everything that was quickly unfolding before her. She turned her attention to Petey, who seemed to be just as distressed as her, and examined his leg. The bandages looked well-kept and clean, but he had to be severely injured for him to be in a wheelchair. 

"You mean you stepped in one of those traps I saw outside? The bear traps?... Those traps?" Leaning forward from where she sat on the couch, she questioned the older tabby cat in a loud voice.

"Yeah, thank the mutt you're sitting next to for that." Petey snapped. Greg's ears twitched from the tone in Petey's voice, but he didn't remove his gaze from the floor. The guilt and shame had started overcoming his mind rapidly, leaving little room for any coherent thoughts.

"Papa, it was dark outside when you stepped on that trap! You can't blame Greg! He was only trying to protect his home from those monsters." Li'l Petey protested, but that statement piqued the redhead's interest.

"Whoa, wait a sec... "monsters"? What kind of monsters, kid?"

"Why do you wanna know, huh? Are you some kind of integrator?" Petey interrupted, his volume was almost at shouting level, and his breath became slightly staggered, "Well, how about you integrate the dumb dog that's next to you? Ask him why he didn't call you for help since you obviously know him! Ask him why he tried to hide us from you when you knocked on the door! Ask him if we're just kidnapped victims at this point!"

Petey's rage-filled words finally made Greg look up from the ever-so-interesting floor, and he started to rapidly sign incoherent sentences. The lady felt her chest grow tight at the sight of the one-sided argument the other adults were having. One screaming and demanding answers, the other silently but desperately wanting the conversation to end. The poor kitten was caught in the crossfire of the bickering and stood still as his eyes became watery, fighting back tears from streaming down his face.

"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT!! Knock it off you two!!" She furiously shouted at the pair, walking up to Li'l Petey and bending down to meet at eye level with him. She whipped away the single tear that had managed to form in the short amount of time, then stood back up, now in the center of the room. She turned to look at Petey, putting on her best relaxed expression, and prepared herself to stay at Greg's home for longer than she originally intended. 

"You got one thing right: I am a reporter. My name is Sarah Hatoff. I was a friend of Greg's friend, but I guess I'm also just his friend, too." Sarah let out an awkward chuckle as she extended her hand to shake Petey's. Petey didn't reciprocate the action, only staring at her hand until she slowly dropped it, then cleared her throat. 

"Uh, yeah... like I said, I'm a reporter. And as a reporter, I need to gather information and shine the spotlight on eye-catching stories."

"So, what? A father and son going missing that ended up being kidnapped by a psychopathic dog-man creature was the story you wanted?" Petey interrupted again, getting an annoyed groan from his son.

"No. No, that wasn't my original plan." Sarah spoke sternly, not letting Petey's remarks get to her, "Recently, there have been multiple murders and missing reports throughout the city. So far we've had ten missing reports—including you and your son—and out of those ten, six were found dead, bringing the total murder count to thirteen."

Petey shut his mouth at that new insight, and Greg's ears perked up in alarm. He had no idea the death count would be so high!

"While murder mystery stories and reports are "interesting" in and of themselves, it's nothing compared to how these bodies looked on the scene." She turned her body to Greg's direction, fear hidden behind her poker face, "Some of the victim's human anatomy had been altered and replaced with animal limbs, being stitched together like some messed up rag doll. I'll spare the gruesome details for the kid's sake, but just know that the person responsible for this is skilled with a needle and thread... That's why I came here, Greg. I wanted to know if you remembered anything about the doctor that brought you back as "The Dog-Man" everyone in town whispers about. He's the police department's main lead as of now, and Chief is doing everything he can to track this guy down."

Greg felt his heartbeat quicken, still overcoming the fact that Petey and his son would be leaving him all alone in the forest in a matter of time, but he tried to get his mind straight to help out an old friend who could possibly save lives. Li'l Petey noticed Greg's panicked state and rushed over to provide some comfort for the hybrid. He placed his tiny paws on Greg's hands and gave him a warm smile, thankfully getting Greg to relax his tensed fists.

That little smile of his would be enough to bring world peace if he were to be broadcasted everywhere. Greg forced his smile, took a deep breath, and shook his head in disappointment while looking up at Sarah. He couldn't remember a single thing about the doctor, but he desperately wished he had.

Sarah hugged herself, more out of frustration with a dead end than for comfort. "Really? Nothing?..."

"...I have some info," Petey announced, his grip still tight on the wheelchair armrest, "but I'll tell you if you can answer my questions... that goes for you too, Dog Man."

Sarah turned to Petey, a faint feeling of nervousness creeping up on her as she did, but agreed to his request as she sat down on the couch. Greg also agreed, but couldn't look him in the eyes. He kept his attention at the door, for once hoping something would barge in so he wouldn't need to have this conversation.

"First off, Dog Man, are there any other people you know that could've helped me and my son get home?"

Greg nervously blinked his eyes as his hands shot up to sign, but held them in the air for a bit before giving his answer: "I know the chief of police, and a nurse..."

"Wait... "NURSE"?! YOU KNOW A NURSE, AND YET YOU POKED AT MY LEG LIKE YOU KNEW WHAT YOU'RE DOING?! THIS WHOLE TIME I COULD'VE HAD THIS PROFESSIONALLY CHECKED OUT, BUT YOU—FOR SOME STUPID REASON—DIDN'T BOTHER?! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

"Petey," Sarah interjected, "Greg probably couldn't since everyone thinks he's a mur—"

"Listen here, Sandra," Petey grumbled, "He's been lying to my son and I for god knows how long, I'm allowed to be pissed at him!"

"It's–it's "Sarah", my name is Sarah—"

"I don't care. What I do care about is why he's been keeping us here. So, why, Greg? Why have you been keeping us all cooped up in this shity home? You don't wanna be alone?! You wanna keep us here for your amusement?! It can't just be 'cause of the other hybrids that roam around the woods, 'cause after every trip you take, you're completely fine with no hybrid interaction along the way! That deer-man we dealt with was because we stayed here, and I probably wouldn't have had to scrub its blood off the floor if you just took us home that night!"

Greg's hands were shaking now, struggling to sign the right words, but he pressed on for Petey's sake. Sarah watched as Greg's hands moved, surprised by his knowledge of what appeared to be sign language. She didn't understand what he was talking about, but she understood the weight that was being lifted off of his shoulders with every tense movement of his fingers.

Li'l Petey also watched as Greg explained his case, and sat next to Sarah as he did so. He didn't want to see his papa or Greg upset, so he turned his back to lie down on the couch, not caring about the conversation anymore.

"I spent months alone. Being feared, being threatened, being treated like the monster everyone believed me to be. I pushed away the only people who cared for me out of fear of myself. I didn't want to be a burden to the ones that I loved anymore than I already was. When I found you and LP, I thought it was a second chance to show the world that I'm not just a freak of nature. I thought if I spent enough time with you, you would consider me a friend, and people would see that I mean no harm... But I took it too far. I was worried that if you were found, you would be taken from me, and I would never get to see you again. What I did was wrong, I see that now. I shouldn't have put my needs before yours, and I'm so sorry! I'm so, so, so sorry! I really am!"

Petey fell silent for a while. His eyes hadn't left Greg's direction, and he kept a hand to face as he leaned on his chair. His expression was unreadable, and made Greg's anxiety spike with every second that went by without hearing a reply. Soon, Petey's attention turned to Sarah, catching the reporter off guard as she had a hand on the kitten's head, comforting him the best she could.

"Why is it taking so long for people to search these woods for us, and how did you even find this place?" Petey questioned in a dry tone.

"Well, this area of the woods is pretty isolated from any trails or landmarks. It's kinda hard to search the forest without getting lost unless you've had experience." She replied, "And I was given instructions from Greg's nurse friend, Genie. This is her childhood summer home that she doesn't use anymore, and I wanted to talk to Greg about getting any information he had, even if it's just the tiniest bit. I asked her a few days ago if I could have the directions so I could plan a visit."

"...Alright." was all Petey said after the two had given him the answers he desired. He took a few seconds for him to gather his thoughts, but was ready to commit to his part of the deal.

"I don't remember much, but I do know that Dog Man's doctor is somewhere in these woods. I saw him when I was searching for my son while he was still lost, and he asked me if I wanted to stay at his cabin, which wasn't too far from where I was. I said no, and that's when he started chasing me. Before I got away from him, I was able to make out some of his features. His skin was extremely pale, almost to a sickly point, and he wore a black trench coat. He was armed with a machete and held a small lamp. That's all I can remember since I was running for my life that night."

Sarah held a hand to her chin, listening carefully to Petey's story. She took a much-needed sigh and smiled. "Thanks, Petey. It's not much, but it helps. Especially the bit where you stated he's somewhere here. We've been looking around Ohkay City's woods and along the forest trails for a few days, but haven't ventured in too deep yet."

She glanced at Greg, who was still avoiding eye contact with either of the two, and held his hand, causing him to flinch slightly. "Genie told me a lot about what you went through. Your escape, your injuries, your fears, everything she knew, she told me. I don't know what you told Petey, but I think I understand why you kept him and his son here... you didn't want to be alone anymore, did you?"

Greg slowly met Sarah's gaze, fighting the knot that was forming in his throat, and nodded his head. Sarah's words caught Li'l Petey's attention, and he shot up from where he was laying.

"Greg, you just wanted some friends to live with you?" The kid asked, scooting himself off the couch and moving in front of Greg. The hybrid nodded, and Petey scoffed at his answer, looking out the kitchen window and away from the sight that was a few feet ahead of him.

"Hey, Ms. Sarah?" Li'l Petey turned to her, ignoring his papa's justifiable attitude, "Do you think you can help us get home... and do you think we can bring Greg with us?"

"What?!" Petey and Sarah shouted in unison, and Greg had the same thought. 

"Kid, why the hell would you think I'd be willing to let him—after everything he's done to us—be okay with him even living in the same state as us?!" Petey argued.

That hit Greg in the heart. He really messed up, didn't he? Maybe if he tried to help them get home, they could've found a way to visit him? Not that it mattered now. He bet none of them wanted to be associated with him anymore—

"Y'know what," Sarah spoke up, "that isn't such a bad idea."

Chapter Text

What?

The two adults were surprised by the confidence in Sarah’s voice. How could that option even be open for discussion? Had Sarah forgotten about Greg’s rather dangerous reputation in OhKay City? The moment anyone were to catch a glimpse of the infamous Dog Man would have their pitchforks out, ready to hunt him down with no mercy.

“Just hear me out, alright?” She mainly spoke to Petey, who had his mouth open to protest, but Sarah held her hand up to stop him before he could let anything out, “Nobody is safe until this doctor is located. If anything, it’s even more dangerous here than in the town. Seeing as how you both have had an encounter with this guy, you could help me and the police track down this doctor and put an end to his messed-up sewing lessons!”

The reporter turned to make eye contact with Greg, her face almost shining with the kind of optimism that would make even the most negative person have a little bit of hope, “Think about it: ‘Murderer Mystery Solved By A Victim.’! Doesn’t that sound like an amazing headline?! If you help solve this case, not only will you be proven innocent, but you’ll be able to get out of these suffocating woods!”

Greg wanted to give his opinion, not fully on board with the idea of having his name and face all over the town, and would rather eat dirt than to be face to face with the Chief again, but Sarah was too excited by the possible news story that she didn’t notice the concerned look on the hybrid’s face.

“And Petey,” She snapped her head rather quickly in the cat’s direction, causing him to flick his tail in surprise, “If you help us locate where you last saw the doctor, it could help us out a ton, and you can go back to the life you left behind; away from experiments on the loose and having to live in a… Creepy old cabin…” 

She moved her eyes around the room, taking notice of the many cracks and bumps in the worn-out wooden flooring, the almost-yellow tint of the “white” walls that had a small amount of tiny holes scattered around the surface, and the odd smell of wood, metal, and wet dog that hung in the air. She felt a shiver crawl up her spine as she shook her head, snapping out of her inspection, and went back to the task at hand, “...Plus, you and your son won’t need to worry about the possibility of getting murdered once we find the doctor. That’s a pretty good deal if I do say so myself.”

Petey’s gears were turning in his head, carefully thinking about Sarah’s offer. He was sick and tired of that shack in the woods and the constant threat of insane hybrids breaking down door after door. He wanted nothing more than to go back to the life that he had left behind. His morning walks to work. Dropping off and picking up Li’l Petey to and from school. Having a small gossip session with Big Jim and Flippy. Anything that wasn’t in that god forsaken forest.

A life without feral hybrids.

A life without knowing Dog Man.

“But how would we even get back home?” The tall feline questioned, “It’s a 2-hour walk, and the movement from the rough terrain would mess up my leg… adding onto that: HOW WOULD DOG MAN GET TO LIVE A LIFE IN OHKAY CITY IF EVERYONE’S OUT TO GET HIM?!” He didn’t care for Greg’s safety, that was the least of his problems as of now. He was worried about the possibility of his son witnessing a public execution at the ripe age of 7… Alright, maybe he cared a little bit about Greg’s safety. For Li’l Petey’s sake, of course.

“First off,” Sarah stated, “I have my car. It’s only a 30-minute drive from here to the hospital, and I'm sure you’ll be able to survive 30 minutes of a bumpy road.”

“...You have a car—” Petey couldn’t finish his surprised remark, getting cut off by Sarah answering his other question.

“But secondly, for Greg’s appearance problem… I got nothing. It’d be pretty hard to make him appear inconspicuous with his… Everything. No offense.”

Greg shrugged his shoulders as the room fell silent for a while, each person coming up with their own idea to make Greg seem “normal” to everyone back home. A minute had passed, which felt more like an hour, and Li’l Petey raised his hand to announce that he had an idea, “What if we gave Greg a space suit?”

…

“Kid, I love you, but that’s—”

“A great idea!” Sarah noted, cutting Petey off for what seemed to be the hundredth time so far. “Well, maybe not the space suit, but the overall idea. We can give Greg some long-sleeved clothes... maybe some gloves? I guess anything to hide the man and only show the dog, making him appear more like an ordinary anthropomorphic dog, you know?” Sarah turned her head to see if Greg liked the idea, but he seemed to be spaced out, looking at nothing in particular as he breathed deeply.

Greg was lost in thought about the idea of living in Ohkay City. He was afraid of running into the people he had left behind, since the whole reason he didn’t reach out for help was to protect them from his reputation. He didn’t like being alone, he hated it, but if being alone keeps people alive, so be it.

Ever since he woke up from the surgery, Greg had become an extremely closed-off person. He only felt comfortable and relaxed around those he knew he could trust. He could cry in front of Genie, take small naps when Li’l Petey would feel tired, and joke around with Petey. Sarah was more friends with Knight than she was with him, but talking to her made Greg feel closer to his deceased friend, and she was open enough to keep a conversation going.

But that was it.

Only 4 people out of the hundreds within Ohkay City didn’t cause him to hyperventilate. He knew they wouldn’t judge him, make fun of him, or fear him for who he was. They trusted him, and he trusted them. Though, after today, Petey might be removed from his list.

Greg shot a glance at the crippled cat, seeing how intense his green eyes were at that moment. He felt horrible knowing he potentially ruined a new friendship because of his selfishness. It was too good to be true, he guessed. How could he ever make it up to him?

“Greg? You doing okay?” Sarah broke the uncomfortable silence, bringing Greg back from his intensifying thoughts. He raised his head and rubbed his tired eyes, trying to get his mind straight and focus on the task at hand. He had to help Sarah, not just for her story, but for everyone in the city, Including himself. 

If Greg could find the doctor, prove he never killed anyone, and face his fears for once in his pathetic life, Petey might want to be friends again. Oh, and people wouldn’t fear him anymore and murders wouldn’t be a common thing. But seeing as how Petey seemed so distant as of late, the second outcome became the more realistic goal.

Greg took a deep breath and held a slightly shaking thumbs up, receiving squeals of excitement from Sarah, and eager laughter from Li’l Petey.

Sarah discussed with Greg on how he would stay with her at her house, Li’l Petey and Petey would be sent to the hospital for a much-needed checkup, and how they all had to keep Greg’s presence a secret, only allowing Genie to know that Greg is back in Ohkay City. Li’l Petey didn’t pay much attention, but he understood that he couldn’t let anyone know about Greg, and colored on a sheet of paper as the adults kept talking.

Petey, on the other hand, was staring bullets at the pair. He watched as they went back and forth with ideas, plans, and fun stuff they could do once everything had been cleared. 

He hated that.

Had she forgotten what Greg had confessed a few minutes ago? Kidnapping. He had kidnapped Petey and Li’l Petey, holding them in the woods until he had had enough fun. Petey’s leg felt like hell, and Dog Man didn’t give him the help he needed when he clearly could have. Dog Man traumatized his child with the dangers of the woods they could have avoided if he had told his police friend about their whereabouts. So much pain could have been avoided if Dog Man had just… Man up.

…

Being alone for months on end can change a person’s way of thinking. Being alone can alter the behavior of others over time. Being alone… does things to you.

Feeling lost, lonely, and afraid that people are out to get you… eats away at you.

Maybe Dog Man’s head hadn’t been in the right place this whole time? No pun intended, but also intended.

…

Petey remained silent as he kept thinking about Dog Man’s predicament, thinking long and hard about his apology, and trying to understand all that he had to endure over the months. He tried to keep his distance from the hybrid, still not forgiving him for everything he had done, but he couldn’t get him out of his mind as Sarah helped him and Li’l Petey pack up their belongings. Petey didn’t speak to Dog Man, but the words he wanted to say to him started to overflow in his mind.

It wasn’t until it was time to hit the road did Petey agreed to let Dog Man come near him. He avoided eye contact as he was supported by Dog Man’s shoulders, slowly walking him to the front seat of Sarah's small car that was parked around the corner of the house, and carefully sat him down. Petey could see how Dog Man’s eyes didn’t have their usual spark, seeming almost dead compared to the ones he was so used to seeing. Before Dog Man could close the door, Petey let out a small “Thank you”, all while still avoiding eye contact. It wasn’t much, but Greg felt a small wave of relief wash over him when he heard the cat speak.

Just knowing that Petey would take the time to form clear words for him was enough.

With The Cat’s stuff packed into the trunk—along with a few of Greg’s possessions—and a hybrid wearing a black hoodie, green turtle neck, gloves, and a pair of black jeans in the middle of summer, everyone else hopped into the car and made their way to Sarah’s house.

Away from the hybrids that roamed wild in the woods.

Away from the house and its fragile doors.

Away from the Beware of Dog signs that hung on the gate.

But even closer to the person who was considered a threat to the city.

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

Chapter Text

The car ride was painfully awkward. The only thing that kept the deafening silence away was Li’l Petey rambling about what he was going to do once he got back home, and the radio station that had a lousy signal playing the same five songs. Despite the A/C being on full blast, the air in the car felt almost suffocating for the three adults. No one spoke, and no one made noticeable eye contact. Side-eyes and the occasional clearing of throats were the main activities during the less-than-enjoyable road trip.

Sarah had attempted to strike up a conversation with her passenger princesses, asking Petey what he had planned on doing once they reached OhKay City, but Petey didn’t respond verbally to her question. He lazily shrugged his shoulders, keeping his attention to the blur of trees that were passing his window. Sarah got the hint that he wasn’t in the mood for a chat after his gesture and decided to keep her attention on the road, trying not to hit any wildlife as she drove.

Petey clenched his teeth every time the car bounced along the uneven road. There were a few times when Sarah ran over slightly large logs or had to quickly swerve the car to avoid falling into a ditch. When Sarah’s driving made Petey sway side-to-side, his injuries would throb with a pain he was almost used to by now. Almost.

His leg was where most of the pain centered itself, since the length of his legs made it difficult for him to avoid bumping his shin against the bottom of the glove compartment. He held his breath and tried not to make a sound, not wanting to have to answer anyone’s “Are you okay?”s. His arm was holding up much better than his leg, but he would occasionally feel a few stings when it would bump against the armrest of his seat. Petey kept his gaze on the ever-so-interesting window as a distraction, counting the trees that passed him by, and tried to find anything remotely familiar to the path he took that night.

The only thing he recognised was the old, moss-covered telephone polls that stretched out far into the grassy field. That was when he knew they were almost home.

Greg seemed to notice too, since he started slouching further into his seat and clutching the seatbelt in a sweaty grip. It was hard enough that he was sitting in the same type of vehicle that was the cause of his “death”. Now with the fact that they were almost at the city was making his worries skyrocketed at an alarming rate. He spent the whole car ride thinking about what he was going to do, who he would have to see, and had multiple outcomes of him living in OhKay City play through his head like a song a repeat.

He wasn’t too worried about talking to Genie. He was kind of looking forward to it. He was dreading the conversation he knew he would have to have with the Chief.

The anger and pissed-off tone in his voice were etched into Greg’s memory. The look of utter disgust and shock that was written all over his face when he saw Greg after the "successful" surgery was a look he’d never forget. Would he look at him the same way? Or would the disgust and shock be replaced with hatred and abhorrence? He thought about it for a long while, but remembered something Genie had told him when he had his first trip back from The Cat’s house: “You know… Clarence didn’t mean those things he said to you… He’s truly sorry”

He’s truly sorry.

Greg had almost forgotten Genie had said that. Genie was never the type of person to sugarcoat things. She always spoke what was on her mind, even if it wasn’t the best of news. She was “The truth hurts” kind of gal, and was never afraid to give someone a reality check. If the Chief was still filled with animosity for Greg, Genie would’ve told him and would’ve helped him come up with a way to mend the broken bond between them.

There was only one way to find out if Genie was right, and with the trees turning into buildings and the uneven road becoming smooth, Greg knew he would get his answer soon enough.

“Guys,” Sarah spoke up, “you might wanna lean back so people don’t spot you just yet. I don’t wanna get pulled over and have the police find out "The Dog Man” is here.”

Petey tried his best to recline his seat and lie down without moving his leg too much, and Greg quickly unbuckled his seatbelt and dropped to the floor of the car. Li’l Petey spread out along the back seats and patted Greg’s head to help him calm down. Greg gave a weak smile to the kitten and signed a small thank you, but felt his anxiety crawl back in his stomach as he felt the car go up a small driveway and come to a stop.

“Alright, I’m gonna go open my garage real quick. You guys hang tight and stay down. I’ll be right back.” Sarah took her keys out of the car and quickly exited the vehicle. The trio remained hidden and quiet until she came back, started the car, and drove into the small garage. Everyone sat up once the door to the garage closed, and Sarah began unloading the trunk.

There was a door to the garage on the left-hand side that led to her home, and her garage was, for the most part, empty. There were only a few boxes on the floor, with words like “X-mas” and “memories” scribbled on the outside.

Greg stepped out of the car with Li’l Petey following behind, and the kitten was quick to run around the echoey room. “You have a nice garage, Ms. Sarah!” The kitten noted, giggling after hearing his voice bounce off the cemented walls.

“Aw, thanks,” Sarah laughed, picking up some of the bags as she watched Li’l Petey open the door that led into the kitchen. Before he could step inside, a small poodle with grey fur that had a hint of purple in it came darting out of the house. Li’l Petey gasped and started laughing at the dog that was running around Sarah, and started chasing after it.

"I didn’t know you had a dog!” Li’l Petey exclaimed, trying to pick up the small poodle.

“Her name is Zuzu,” Sarah explained, scooping Zuzu up in her arms, “she’s a sweet girl who loves to meet new people. She won’t bite—” Sarah was cut off by Zuzu barking at Greg, who had just opened the car door to help Petey get out. The small poodle jumped out of her owner’s grasp and ran towards the pair, growling and yipping at them.

Greg remembered Zuzu from when Sarah would bring her over to Knight's house. Sarah and Knight used to hang out now and then, and Sarah would sometimes bring Zuzu along so she could get to know Greg. This time was different, though. The last time Greg had seen Zuzu was when he had his dog body.

Greg had a weird feeling when Zuzu approached him, a mix of happiness and unease. He could understand what she was saying, which was a mix of “What happened to you?!” and “Who’s that weird cat?!”. It took a while for Greg to fully understand what she was saying, and that worried him. He used to understand what other dogs were saying without having to focus on their tone of barks and growls, but now he found himself having to pay close attention to every sound that Zuzu barked out.

It was as if he were forgetting how to be a dog.

“Sarah, your dog’s not gonna bite my ankles if I step out, right?” Petey questioned, keeping a sharp eye on the small dog.

“She won’t!” Sarah reassured the feline as she ran over to pick up her barking dog, “Be nice, Zuzu!”

Greg suppressed a chuckle, and Petey squinted his eyes in annoyance, “Yeah, be nice, Zuzu,” He repeated to the now-quiet dog as he started stepping out of the car.

“Hold on– why are you getting out?” The redhead asked, “I’m gonna take you to the hospital, remember?”

Right, the hospital. Petey nodded his head and sat back in the car, but had turned his body sideways so he could still face the others. Li’l Petey overheard Sarah’s reminder and slowly made his way to the car, a little upset that he and his papa had to get a check-up. “Do we have to go right now? I wanna play with Zuzu and stay at Ms. Sarah’s house!”

Sarah turned around to face the kitten, “Well… tell you what, I can bring Zuzu along with us. She can sit next to you, if you want?” Zuzu let out a bark in agreement, excited to get to know who these odd cats were, especially the little one with the big head.

"Yeah! C’mon, Zuzu!” Opening the door to the back of the car, Li’l Petey hopped in and patted the seat next to him so the poodle could sit down. Zuzu happily jumped out of Sarah’s arms and into the car, and the two of them were all set to go.

Sarah finished moving the cat’s belongings into her house, making sure they were in a safe place for when she would have to secretly return their stuff, and got ready to drive the Cat’s to the hospital for a long overdue visit.

Greg watched from the side of the garage, feeling bittersweet about them leaving him behind. He knew it would be dumb for him to tag along, but even if he could, he didn’t want to deal with Petey’s frustration. He wanted to wish both of them good luck, but something kept him from moving closer to the car. Someone kept him from moving closer to the car.

His gaze moved from the car to Sarah once he noticed her approaching. She gave the hybrid all he needed to know about her house. What to do, what not to do, how to close the garage door when they leave, and reassured him that she’d try to make her stay at the hospital a quick one. Greg mustered up a smile, nodded his head, and stood by the door that led into the house as Sarah started the car.

Li’l Petey pressed his face against the window and signed a “See you soon!” towards Greg. Greg replied with the good luck he had been holding back, and watched as the car slowly made its way out of the room. Just as he was about to press the button that would close the garage door, a small wave from Petey made him freeze on the spot.

He had his lips lightly pressed in a straight line as he waved goodbye to the troubled dog, not appearing to be angry, yet nowhere near happy. Greg hesitantly waved back, and the words that Li’l Petey had signed towards him found their way to his shaky, gloved hands. Petey’s ears flicked as he read his sentence, and he turned his head to look out the window, wearing an unreadable expression as the car quickly backed out of the driveway.

Taking in a shallow breath of slightly dusty air, Greg pressed the button to close the garage door. He stepped inside of Sarah’s house as he wondered if Petey’s wave meant that he wasn’t mad at him anymore, or if it was just a random gesture that held no meaning behind it. That cat was draining his mind with every mixed signal he would send his way. Was he still mad but wanted to be nice? Was he not mad but still didn’t want to talk? Was he somewhere in the middle of upset and annoyed?

Whatever it was, Greg didn’t know how much longer he could go on without an answer. All he wanted was an answer. A simple yes or no would be enough for him. He didn’t care if Petey hated his guts, he had to know exactly how Petey viewed him, be it positively or negatively.

All he wanted—no, all he needed—was an answer.

▰▱▰▱▰▱▰▱▰▱▰▱▰▱

“I don’t know…” Petey replied flatly as the nurse stuck a needle into his forearm to draw out some blood for testing.

“I consider this a miracle! Given the few resources you found in that empty shack, it’s amazing how long you put up with this injury for so long…” Filling up the 3rd vial, the nurse kept chatting to his emotionally drained patient, “I can’t imagine what you and your son went through spending all those nights alone with no contact… With all this talk about The Dog Man rumors going around, I for sure thought I would end up performing your autopsy!” He joked as he capped the last vile, missing Petey’s unsettled expression at the mention of who he now knew to be Greg.

“Alright, Mr. The Cat, the doctor will be here shortly!” The nurse grabbed the tray of vials, his clipboard, and closed the curtain that separated Petey from the other patients and staff. Petey breathed in the hospital air, filling his lungs with the smell of medical equipment and cheap cleaner, finally having a moment to himself after the stressful events of that morning.

He grabbed the remote that was attached to his hospital bed to turn on the small TV that was above him, but paused once he heard the sounds of approaching footsteps and metal clanking together. A man wearing a police uniform pushed the curtain aside to enter the room where Petey was being held.

“Good evening, Mr. The Cat. Glad to see you alive and… going to be well.” The officer spoke as he offered his hand to greet the recently-found father, but noticed the I.V. that was attached to him and changed his mind. “If you’re not too exhausted, could I ask a few questions for a Safe and Wellness Check? It’ll only take a few minutes.”

“...Yeah, that’s fine,” Petey stated. He watched as he pulled up a chair and sat across from Petey’s right, then took out a small notepad and pen.

“First off, my name is Clarence Bailey. I’m the Chief of police here at–”

“–Crap.”

Being interrupted by Petey’s remark, he raised a brow at the weird comment made by the feline. “Do we have a problem, Mr. The Cat?”

Petey realized he was sitting a few feet away from the chief of police who Greg was friends with. The memory of Greg mentioning him played in his mind, but he shook it out of his head once he realized he spoke out loud. “Agh, no,” Petey raised his hands, “Sorry… uh, con— continue with your… thing.”

“…uh huh...” Clarence put aside the remark and clicked his pen, “So, you and your son, Li’l Petey, have been missing since the evening of June 3rd, correct?”

"Yup.”

 Scribbling on his notepad, Clarence asked another question: “What caused you to go missing?”

“...Well, I went looking for my son since you guys weren’t working fast enough, but it got too dark in the woods and I couldn't find my way back. I was able to find my son, but I stepped in a bear trap and couldn’t walk at all, which made finding a way back home almost impossible.” Which technically was the truth! If li’l Petey hadn’t gone missing, he wouldn’t have been lying in that hospital bed, waiting to get his leg fixed up.

“Right, your leg. That must’ve been a nightmare, staying in the woods like that… How did you find help?”

“That news reporter, Sandra—or whatever her name is—was driving along a path close to where we were staying, and my son flagged her down.”

“Oh, you mean Sarah! I was wondering where she went off to today. She found you guys?”

The tabby nodded his head, praying the interrogation would be over soon. Thankfully, the rest of Clarence’s questions were the usual welfare questions and were easy to answer.

However, before the chief of police left, he had one more question to ask:

 “I know this might sound a little strange to you, but… have you seen a dog– or, a person… kinda both... while you were in those woods?”

Petey wore the same unreadable expression.

‘I could turn him in right now…’

He looked up at Clarence,

‘I can make sure I will never get to see him again.’

Opened his mouth,

‘My life can finally go back to normal if I just say—’

“No.” He muttered while maintaining strong eye contact with the chief, “I don’t believe in that whole Dog Man thing.”

Clarence let out a deep sigh as he crossed his arms, and nodded his head. “Oh… alright. Thank you, Mr. The Cat. Hope you have a speedy recovery.” He turned to close the curtain of Petey’s room, leaving a stressed-out cat alone with his thoughts once more.

He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t put that mutt through more pain than he had to endure for months on end.

The fear of being found, yet not wanting to be alone.

Having violent actions inflicted on you, only for you to be deemed the violent one.

Being framed for multiple crimes you haven't committed

And having your friends, family, and whole life taken from you with one sick act.

How could Petey live with himself if he added more to that list?

It was clear Greg needed help. He may have made mistakes, huge ones, but deep down, Petey knew he meant no harm. He helped him and his son when no one else could. He put the time and effort into making sure they were happy, and went as far as to travel to a place where he could have been killed on the spot, just so Petey could have a few of his belongings.

Greg wasn’t a bad dog. He was just misunderstood.

Call it Stockholm Syndrom if you must, but Petey felt his spite mold itself into concern.

He wasn’t ready to forgive Greg just yet, that will take some time...

But he was ready to stop hating him.

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Chapter Text

Slowly walking around Sarah’s cozy home, Greg began making himself familiar with the living situation he found himself roped into. The suburban ranch house was a huge upgrade compared to his shack in the woods. The wooden floors had no cracks or dirt, and most likely never had any deer blood soaked into it. An almost–white shade of yellow painted the walls that held picture frames and paintings, and there was not a single hole or mysterious mold in sight.

The door from the garage led into the kitchen. White tiled countertops, wooden cabinets, and a fridge with collectible magnets decorated the space. The kitchen had no walls and flowed into the large living room, containing a square table with a few chairs placed in between where the kitchen and living room met, turning the extra space of the living room into a small dining area. Greg didn’t want to invade Sarah’s personal space, so he ended his house tour there.

He sat down on the small leather couch and sunk himself into its soft, comforting cushion. An old CRT TV was on top of a small bookshelf in front of him, and so was the hallway that led into the rest of the house. He slowly closed his eyes as he tried to relax after the eventful morning, and tried to keep his mind off of living in a town that wanted him dead. ‘There’ll be time to think about that later’, he thought to himself as he felt his body sink deeper into the couch, burying his worries and troubles away in the depths of a much needed nap.

.

.

.

“Greg?”

.

.

.

.”Helloooo?”

.

.

.

“DOG MAN!”

Nearly jumping out of his skin, Greg was awakened by someone shouting in his ear. He darted up from the couch and scanned the room around him, his flight or fight kicking in, but soon calmed himself once he realized who the culprit was. Li’l Petey, who was holding a large swirly lollipop, looked up at the startled hybrid with a huge smile on his face. "Good morning sleepyhead!” He laughed, “We’re back from the doctor's"

‘Already? That wasn’t very long…’ Greg thought as he happily picked up the kid and gave him a quick lick on his cheek, tasting a tiny bit of the rainbow lollipop that was smeared all over his face.

“Hi!”, Sarah announced as she came from the garage, “Sorry we took for-ever I did not expect his check up to be so long.” She set her purse down on a chair in the dining room and ZuZu quickly jumped out, and began walking down the hallway into Sarah's bedroom. It looked like someone had a long day and needed her beauty sleep.

Greg sat Li'l Petey on the couch and walked over to Sarah. He knew she did not understand sign language yet, so he pretended he had a watch on his wrist, pointed at it, then tilted his head. Thankfully, Sarah understood. “Oh, maybe a few hours? We left at 12 and it’s now…” She looked behind her shoulder and read the time that was shown on the stove: 4:45 p.m.

That might have been the longest nap Greg had taken since he was a puppy. His eyes grew slightly big as he rubbed the back of his head, a little surprised he slept for that long, but did not regret it whatsoever. Aside from the ear-ringing wake up, that was the best 4 hours he had spent all day. Greg held a thumbs up, but soon dropped it once he noticed it was just Sarah, Li’l Petey, and ZuZu that had come home. Petey wasn’t there.

“My papa needs to spend a few nights in the hospital.” Li’l Petey spoke up after noticing how Greg started gazing around the room. He wasn’t blind, he knew Greg was worried for his papa. “The nurse said his leg needed surgery. Something about a really, really, REALLY bad infection, but I forgot the name.” He went back licking away his lollipop, oblivious to the concern that had engulfed Greg. Greg turned to face Sarah, but before he could try to sign something to her, she started walking towards the 7 year old.

“Hey, you wanna watch a movie? You can pick something out from the bookshelf, if you want.” She handed Li’l Petey the large remote with too many buttons that controlled the TV.

“Sure! Thanks, Ms. Sarah!”

“Yup! If you need anything, Greg and I will be just down the hall.”

Li’l Petey nodded as he looked through the DVD collection, and Sarah motioned to Greg to follow her down the hallway.

The hallway split in half and continued sideways, showing 3 closed doors that ran along the wall of the house, and 1 room was at the far end: Sarah’s room. The door was already opened, showing a sleeping ZuZu lying peacefully in her fluffy dog bed.

When they entered, Sarah sat on the edge of her bed and patted the space next to her, inviting Greg to sit beside her. The hybrid filled the spot and looked at the redhead, wondering why she decided to bring him into her room.

“I didn’t want Li’l Petey to hear any of this.” Sarah began, “He’s been through enough struggles, and I don't want to plant anymore seeds that could sprout into fear… poor kid.”

The reporter's words didn’t sit right with Greg. He shrugged his shoulders and nodded his head, trying to signal his question to Sarah. He really needed to teach her sign language soon, or at least grab his notepad and write what was on his mind.

“Don’t worry, I think I might know all the questions you got in that dog head of yours.” She giggled, but cleared her throat soon after, hoping Greg wouldn’t grow into a panic with everything she needed to tell him. “First off, Petey’s gonna be fine. His leg did end up needing surgery like how Li’l Petey said, but the recovery could take months. He caught a bad infection where the trap punctured his shin—Osteomyelitis is what it's called. Thankfully, we brought him in just in time before the infection could spread any further. A few days too late and he would've needed his whole lower leg amputated!”

'Amputation?!' Greg’s ears shot up worry, as did the rest of his body. What would he have done if he didn’t let Petey go to the hospital? Would his leg just fall off on its own? Would the infection engulf his entire leg?

“I’m glad I showed up when I did, otherwise you would be responsible for Petey’s leg literally dying. The infection eats through the bone tissues, leading to chronic pain and instability… Greg, why did you wait so long to get help? If you care about both Petey and Li’l Petey health, why didn’t you at least let Genie know about them?”

Freezing in thought, Greg averted his gaze from Sarah and focused his attention on his hands. He wanted them to get help, he really did, but he had just gotten in touch with Genie again and didn’t want to risk the possibility of her taking them away. Now understanding the reality of the situation, he was filled to the brim with guilt and shame. His neglected dog brain was blinded by the hopes of making a new connection. Someone who liked him for who he was inside, and didn’t care about how he looked on the outside. A friend, an acquaintance, just someone who would be considered a “fresh start”.

Sarah got up from the bed and grabbed a packet of sticky notes and a pencil. She handed them to Greg as she sat down, and inspected his way of writing as he scribbled a reply on multiple pieces. Using 11 sticky notes, he placed them in order for her to read:

I knew Genie would rush them to the hospital as soon as she saw how badly injured Petey was, but I didn’t want to say goodbye yet. I was so lost in my own head that once I found The Cat’s, I was determined to help them myself and make them like me; no matter the case.

 I was desperate for anyone to like me again, for anyone to see that I’m not the Dog Man that kills people for revenge, but I took it too far. The line between friend and hostage became thin, and I realized too late how my actions affected both Petey and Li’l Petey.

I’ve been surrounded by people my whole life. No one ever feared me, no one ever looked at me with hatred or disgust. I was a good dog. Now, people see me as a monster, a freak, an abomination. Going from a loving and carefree life to being blamed for murders messed with my head, and I’m worried it’s going to get worse.

 I know I have problems, but I don't know what they are. Though, that doesn’t justify my actions. I’m so sorry, Sarah. I’m sorry I didn’t reach out for help sooner. I’m sorry for pushing you, Genie, and everyone away.

I now know that I can’t get through this alone, but I’m worried about your safety. I don’t want you to get in trouble with the Chief just because you’re helping me, same goes for Genie.

I just want to live the life I had before. A life filled with friends, yummy food, and love.

 I just want to be a good dog.

After silently reading the pile of sticky notes, Sarah looked at Greg and sighed. She knew he would have problems, it was pretty much expected. There’s no way he could live peacefully by himself, especially with the state he’s in—mentally and physically. He needed help, and that’s what she was going to give him. She set the bundle of notes aside and rested a hand on the hybrid’s back.

“You are a good dog, Greg. You’re just… confused.” She comforted her friend to the best of her ability, making sure to think about her words before she said them aloud. “What you did was… not the best, but I’m glad you realized your mistake and allowed me to help you and The Cat's. So don't apologize to me, you did nothing to hurt me. You need to save those apologies for the ones who need it the most: Petey, Li’l Petey, and…” She took a deep breath before continuing, hoping Greg would not tune her out, “... and Clarence.”

Greg stiffened at the name. Before he could make any sign of disagreement, Sarah shoved a finger into the dog’s face. “Just listen to me before your brain starts running away.” She argued. Greg huffed in defeat and nodded his head.

“While I was getting permission to take care of Li’l Petey, I ran into him as he was doing welfare checks on the kid. He asked Li’l Petey about you, but that kitten barely made it through without giving you away. It was kinda funny.” Sarah giggled, but Greg still had an uneasy look on his muzzle.

She cleared her throat and continued, “Anyway, he then approached me and asked if I saw you while I was out “collecting evidence”. I said no, but his face seemed… disappointed. Not in a bad way, either. He looked sad, like how he usually looks when a case goes cold.”

Greg listened to her explanation, feeling a sliver of hope that Clarence might not want his head on pitchfork. Still, he had to keep his guard up when it came to the chief. After all, he witnessed the night where Greg escaped from the hospital. He saw how he attacked the doctors and nurses, knocked over furniture and medical equipment, jumped out of a window that was 2 stories high, and ran away into the woods. It’d be kind of hard to fully trust someone after seeing all of that first hand.

Yet, so did Genie. She saw everything, experienced everything, and she’s the closest person to Greg as of now.

“If you ask me, I’d say he’s worried to death about you.” Greg shot a glance at Sarah, her words tearing down his mountain of thoughts. “You’ll only find out if you talk to him.

He averted his gaze once more, but slowly nodded his head. If he wanted to live a good life,. He had to stop running away from his problems, even if it made his head spin with anxiety. There was no getting over it— if he wanted to help find the doctor, stop his killing streak, and prove that he truly is innocent, he needed to get on the Chief’s good side.

Sarah knew the gears in Greg’s head were spinning at rapid speed just by the look of his furrowed brows and stiff ears. She missed spending time with him, even if he was now more… human-like. She decided to give him a break and patted his back. “Hey, you wanna see what Li’l Petey’s watching? We can worry about sending apology letters and looking for therapy sessions later. I don't know about you, but I for one have had enough human interaction for today.”

A tiny smile grew on his muzzle, happily agreeing to her offer, and walked out of Sarah's room, leaving behind the pile of sticky notes as they left.

Li’l Petey was sitting on the floor, staring at the TV screen as Lilo and Stitch played. His lollipop was still in his hand, though decreased in size and lost all of its color. Sarah sat down on the couch, but Greg went to retrieve his backpack from the garage door.

“The bathroom is the last door to your right!” Sarah shouted as she saw Greg walk down the hall with his bag in hand. He barked a reply, slightly surprising Sarah into a small laugh, and closed the door behind him.

The mirror in Sarah’s bathroom was much larger than his, and cleaner too. He never paid close attention to his appearance, but this time he did. He looked at the hybrid in the glass. He looked at his eyes, his snout, his ears. As he changed from the suffocating disguise into an outfit better fit for summer, he looked back at the hybrid that waited for him inside the glass. He looked at his arms, counting all the scars, scratches, and hair that covered them. He stared at the jagged line that wrapped around his neck, feeling the way it tightened around his skin and fur.

Then, he smiled. A smile full of uneven teeth. Some sharp, some dull.

He waved at the dog in the mirror after packing away his belongings, and closed the door behind him.

══════════════════

Chapter Text

Cutting through the busy hallways of The Major Hospital, the fast-paced footsteps of a nervous nurse joined the chaotic chorus of medical staff gossip and beeping monitors. She shot a quick glance at her reflection in the passing windows, making sure she looked presentable, and soon found her way outside the room of a patient she was eager to meet. After knocking on the door in a rhythmic tune, she entered with a warm and welcoming smile.

“Hello, Mr. Petey! How are you feeling tonight?” She folded her hands and stood at the foot of her patient's bed, waiting for a reply. The cat had gotten out of a long surgery last night, so she didn’t take his lack of reply to heart. However, she wasn’t going to leave until she had asked her new favorite patient all of the questions she had developed after receiving a startling text from Sarah.

She kept a smile on her rosey face as she studied the way Petey appeared to be zoned out, looking out the hospital window at nothing in particular. His hands were on his lap, mindlessly fiddling with the IV tube that was delivering antibiotics, painkillers and various other drugs into his system. Dark circles hung from his eyes, despite being asleep from 7 pm and waking up at 3 pm earlier that day. Those circles weren't from sleep deprivation; they were from mental exhaustion.

Genie sighed and stepped closer to the window that Petey was fixated on. “It’s a nice view you have up here.” She began, “I love the way you can see the lights from not just the cars and shops down below, but also from the stars and the moon up in the sky. Plus, you can peek into other people’s windows and see what they’re watching on their T.V’s” Her joke received a slight flick of Petey’s ear, but he remained silent as ever.

“It must beat living in a forest for weeks on end, huh?”

“...”

“I still can’t believe you survived staying in those woods for so long, given your state at the time.”

“...”

“Well, I’m sure Greg helped you and your son out a lot. That sure explains why he kept coming into town more often than he used to.”

“...What did you say?” Petey forced out, his tone raspy and confused. Was this the nurse friend that Dog Man had mentioned? Have they been chatting all while holding him and Li’l Petey “captive”?

“He did help you, right? It’s not like him to ignore people that are hurt, especially being in a police mindset.”

“What– wait, ‘police mindset’? Lady, what are you talkin’ abou–”

Genie lightly slapped her forehead, “Oh, duh, he must’ve not mentioned you to me–concidering he didn’t bother to let me know he was housing you when I mentioned your disappearance to him… Anywho, I’m Genie.” She held her hand out to shake Petey’s, but smoothly recoiled her hand to her side after remembering the multiple IVs that tangled around his hands and wrists.

Petey took a deep breath, filling as much of the hospital air into his lungs as he could, and gave Genie the attention she patiently waited for. “No, he has. If it weren’t for his lack of compassion, I would’ve known about you sooner.”

“‘Lack of compassion’? Greg is nothing but compassion, Mr. Petey.” Genie argued, her smile slightly faltering, “...Look, I’m up to date on his whole…’kidnapping’ ordeal, but I don’t think he meant any harm.”

“You don't think he meant any harm? Really?” Petey fixed his posture and sat more upright on his bed.

“He neglected the severity of the gash in my leg, even though he was still in contact with you, but chose to mess around with it like it was a game of operation! He didn’t bother to call his chief of police friend to notify him about me and my son, or even try for that matter! He could have told us about you anytime, but he chose not to. Instead, he chose to keep us hidden—stuck inside of an old house that had been caked with blood, guts, bullet holes, and an immense amount of trauma that I couldn't get out of.” He crossed his arms, wincing as the sting from an accidental tug on his IV tube traveled through his left hand.

He paused his bantering as his eyes traveled from his hand to his arm. The marks that were once hidden underneath layers of bandage wrap were now slowly being covered by his pale orange fur. Dog Man’s bandaging skills prevent any further infection to his arm, perhaps even providing some aid to the healing process. He shot a glance at his right leg, now bearing a large cast that made it feel numb. He was thankful Li’l Petey never took a step into those jaws of death. He wouldn’t wish the pain he felt on anyone, especially on his son.

“I almost stepped into one of those traps, but Greg saved me!”

Dog Man saved Li’l Petey from having his leg pierced by one of those traps. Dog Man saved his son from possibly becoming the doctor’s next sewing project.

Dog Man saved his son.

“...But he made sure my son was safe. He played with him, cooked with him, made up stories and songs together. He tried to preserve his childlike wonder during all the crazy shit we encountered. He even…” Petey looked out the window, not wanting to admit how much of a help Greg really was to him. Maybe it was the amount of drugs that were flowing into his system that made him think this way, but he started to feel a bit guilty about how he treated the hybrid before he arrived at the hospital. “...He even took the time to make sure we were happy. He didn’t have to! He could’ve just slapped a bandaid on my leg and dropped me and my son off somewhere in the forest—"

“But he didn’t.”

Petey turned to face the nurse, her cheeks warm and rosy. She took a seat on the edge of Petey’s bed, taking off her nurse’s hat and laying it on her lap. “Yeah, making sure you and your son are happy and keeping you safe from a murderer on the loose really sounds like a guy with a lack of compassion, doesn't it?”

“But—but why didn’t he take me to you?! Or to the chief?! That’s what I don’t understand, lady!” Petey’s composure slowly started to break, “If he really cared about us, why didn’t he give us the better option?! Why did he have to keep us away from the people we needed the most?!” His throat began to feel scratchy, but no matter how many drugs they pumped into him, he would never show his tears to complete strangers.

Genie put a hand on Petey’s blanketed knee, “Maybe, it’s because he was thinking about what you and your son would have to face beacuse of him?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Did Greg ever tell you why he hardly ever leaves his house”

“Yeah, ‘cause everyone thinks he killed a bucncha people… Are we talkin’ about the same Greg here?”

Genie chuckled, but her welcoming smile soon faded into a more melancholy one. “Yes, but do you know how those rumors even began?”

Petey thought way into the back of his mind, but shook his head. How did these rumors start?

“Greg had an owner before he became part man and part dog. His name was Knight. He and Greg were one of the best police officers OhKay had ever recruited, but they ended up in a horrible car accident. That part I'm sure you’ve heard of, right?”

Petey nodded his head. He never would have thought that Greg used to be a police dog. He did not seem like the type, with his fear of blood, guts, and anything remotely grotesque. You need to have a strong gut to become part of the police force.

“Well, I had just clocked into work around the time Greg and Knight were dropped off at the hospital. I remember seeing how they were sewn together at the neck and part of me wanted to throw up, while the other part wanted to cry. So I did both.” She joked, trying to lighten the mood, but cleared her throat and got back to the story.

“I remember I would spend hours and hours watching Greg as he remained unconscious. The sound of his heart monitor became white noise to me, and once he woke up, the poor guy was scared out of his mind. He didn’t know how to walk, how to move his hands, or anything. I tried my best to teach him how to "act like a human”, but it was hard with all of the doctors constantly surrounding him. I could never find the time, nor the place, and I guess everything was just too much for him at that point that he sorta… snapped.”

Petey held up a hand, “Hold up, what do you mean he"snapped "?"

“He didn’t mean to!” Genie stressed, waving her hands in front of her, “It was mainly the medical staff’s fault for the way he acted at that moment.” She moved a piece of her short blond hair behind her ear, thinking back to that less than favorable night.

“The doctors were incredibly pushy towards Greg. They would poke him with needles all day long and run hundreds of tests that drained the poor guy to his core. They treated him as if he were replaceable, and he had enough of it. Now, Knight was a pretty strong guy. He could carry weights like there was no tomorrow, So imagine waking up and suddenly gaining 10 times the strength you once had. A simple shove would be like a punch to the gut, and that’s what happened in Greg's case. He elbowed one of the doctors, and that set off a domino effect of punches, bloody noses, and the eventual death of one doctor who was crushed by an incoming hospital table."

Petey suppressed his laugh, imagining the scene with the Greg he knew at that moment. The thought of Dog Man throwing a table at someone was more funny than he'd like to admint. 

"They tried to stabilize him, deeming him to be “unsafe”, but I tried to get close to him so I could find a way to calm him down. My boyfriend, the chief of police, came as fast as he could to try and help me out, but some other officer that arrived on scene pulled out a gun and started firing at Greg. I managed to pull Greg away, but I almost got shot by the officer and Greg was grazed by the bullet.” Genie took a moment to breathe. She hated to retell those intense memories, but pressed on so Petey could see the full picture.

“I guess Clarance’s cop mind took full control and started to fight back against Greg. Greg was so heartbroken to see his friend retaliate against him, and I think that's when he decided to stop fighting. He jumped out of the nearest window and started booking it into the woods, but I found a way to meet him halfway and give him directions to my old summer home… It was only a few weeks ago when I finally got to talk to him again.”

Petey was dumbfounded, not knowing where to start with all of that given information. Greg was wearing his owner’s body, he was overwhelmed day after day with inconsiderate doctors, and his friend turned on him instead of checking to make sure he was okay after nearly dying.

Almost everyone he knew was taken from him in a matter of days.

…

“Whatchya thinking about?” Genie spoke up, startling Petey from his intense pondering. He raised his head to meet her gaze, trying to form the words he wanted to speak, but they simply remained as thoughts. He felt the layers of regret beginning to build within him, only focussing on what was wrong with Greg, and not how he became the way he was now.

His self isolation made him paranoid. The traumatic events at the hospital not only scarred him physically, but mentally as well. His friend had turned on him, leading him to make himself more likeable so that no one else would ever have to do the same. He almost injured the people he cared so deeply about, so he made it his priority to take extra care for the ones he had now.

Those people being Petey and Li’l Petey.

He did all of that for Petey and Li’l Petey.

“...I… I messed up.” Petey stated, “I didn’t care to think about how he ended up the way he is. I just viewed him for what I saw… just like everyone else. He couldn’t go to the chief ‘cause the last thing he did was try to get rid of him, and he couldn't go to you ‘cause he was trying to keep you out of harm's way… Did my son and I help him feel brave enough to let Sarah in ‘cause he realized he couldn't live alone in his state of mind?”

“Or something like that, yeah.” Genie giggled, happy to see Petey understand how complex Greg really was. “I think he developed a human side to go along with his dog brain. He’s more aware of his surroundings, has more intense feelings and actions, and can comprehend much more than any “normal” dog could… But when he meets someone he can trust, someone he knows is a good person, or someone who cares for him as much as he does for them, he loves like a dog. Loyal to them until the end… It worries me sometimes.”

Petey thought about that last part: “Loyal to them until the end.” That sure sounded like what Greg had been doing since Petey arrived. He chose to help him, even if it was about helping him get away from Greg, and asked no questions. That…made him mad.

It made him mad that Greg wasn’t at least a little pissed off at him. He should be. He had every right to be. Yet, he remained loyal to Petey and Li’l Petey.

He let Petey take his anger out on him like a punching bag.

And Petey hated that.

There’s a line between loyalty and blind obedience, and Greg was right on it, waiting to lose his balance.

"...Was that all you came here for? Or do you have any more fun facts about Dog Man." Petey questioned as his tensed muscles began to relax. 

Genie laughed and shook her head, pulling out a small notebook from her uniform pocket, and began flipping through multiple pages while clicking a pen. "Nope! I wanna get to know the guy who got to live in my old house, and... did I hear you correctly when you said my house had been covered bullet holes and blood...? What, uh, exactly happened?"

Petey chuckled and scratched his ear, wondering if he should try to sugarcoat his answer. "Uhm, just a little accident. Nothing too serious... it was just a deer that ended up breaking inside your home and I had to shoot it. Your house is fine, by the way..."

The nurse felt a small wave a stress wash over the longer she thought about Petey's answer, not knowing if she should continue with her questions or just put a pin in it. "Uhh... Great. That's—that's great. I'm glad no one was hurt.. y'know what? It’s getting pretty late. I think I'll leave you be for the night and we can pick this up again tomorrow if you'd like." She spoke as she closed her notebook and stuffed her pen into her uniform pocket.

Petey huffed out a laugh and agreed. He understood where Genie was coming from. No one wants to hear about their childhood home getting covered with deer brains and bullet holes, especially if the deer happened to have human arms. The poor nurse would not be able to sleep comfortably for some time if she found out.

"I'll see you tomorrow then?" Petey asked, his gaze following the nurse as she turned off his hospital rooms lights.

"Yup! Oh, and before I go, you're going to have some visitors here at 12 pm. If you need anything, press the button behind your bed and I'll come as soon as possible. Goodnight!" With that, she closed the heavy hospital door.

She was too in a rush to notice Petey's surprised expression, but she wanted him to get as much sleep as he could.

After all, he needed his rest so he could get through having 23 visitors in his mid—sized bedroom.