Chapter Text
Alarms were blaring, bright red lights flashing as Linda dashed down the hall of OWCA’s labs.
This has to work, please let it work.
This has to have been the most insane thing she’s ever done in her life. Risking her status, her career, and possibly her life… all for a puggle?
No, no… he was not just a puggle. She should have known, ever since she started feeling that weird attachment towards him, that something was up. Something OWCA didn’t tell her. She knew OWCA used human DNA when it came to creating their agents, but she never thought that would include DNA from other researchers. Despite being Experiment 13854’s primary caregiver, they never gave her full access to his files. After snooping through a more classified section, she now knew why… the DNA they used was hers.
She couldn’t believe it, nor could Lawrence when she had told him. The two of them had joined OWCA because they wanted to make the world safer, to keep their own young kids safe. But the longer they stayed there, the longer they both realized the rather unethical routes OWCA was willing to go. Hell, while they’ve been trying to protect their families, they have been essentially taking young animals away from their own, having them undergo awful experiments and training at such a young age. Neither Linda nor Lawrence could bear it any longer, especially after what Linda had discovered.
Linda just hoped that Lawrence’s distraction would give her enough time…
She read the door numbers as she sprinted down the hall, “13850… 13852…” She then skidded to a stop, stopping right in front of room 13854. She took the keycard on her lanyard, scanned it, and with a deep breath, pushed the door open once it unlocked.
Inside the room was dreary and dark. All kinds of strange testing machinery lined the walls. In the center of the room was an incubator, and inside, thankfully, was what she was looking for.
As she approached the incubator, she could already hear his small whimpers. The sounds were so… human… It reminded her of when her own kids were that little, and that thought alone wrenched at her heart. She gazed through the glass, and immediately saw the little ball of teal fluff curled up inside. He looked awful… stitch scars littered his tiny body, tubes of all sorts hooked up to him. Another memory pounded at her mind, when Phineas was born. Her poor son didn’t have the easiest time coming into this world, and now looking at the puggle reminded her of all the extra care her son needed. Except where a hospital was safe… this place… was no place for a child…
Carefully, she opened the incubator, and the puggle stirred, letting out a soft yawn. Linda gently undid the tubes and cradled the puggle close to her chest. He was so… small… she looked down at him and gently stroked his fur-covered head with a finger as he started to cry, “Shh… it’s alright… I’m here…” Linda cooed softly.
She glanced around, making sure no one was coming. She heard no footsteps approaching, good… she suddenly felt one of the platypus’ tiny paws wrap around her finger, holding it with the same amount of strength and dexterity that a human baby would have. Then, just barely, the baby platypus’s eyes cracked open, his right one a bit lopsided.
Linda didn’t know how long she stood there, just holding the platypus, but the longer she looked at him, the more she began to realize: this is my child…
And then she smiled and… she swore he gave the tiniest smile back.
This is my child… and I need to get him home.
Suddenly, a sound snapped her to her senses: footsteps thundering through the hall, the baying of dogs.
Shit…
Linda quickly tucked the platypup into her lab coat, shielding him as she rushed out of the room in the opposite direction of the sounds. Unfortunately… she was spotted.
“There she is! Stop her!” Barked one of the guards, “Don’t let her escape with the experiment!”
Linda ran as fast as she could, but the barking drew nearer and nearer. She took tight turns, trying to lose them in the maze of halls. She just had to make it to the exit, and pray that Lawrence made it to the control room so he could open the gates.
Suddenly, a distorted voice came over the earpiece she was wearing, “D-Ducky! Ducky, do you copy?”
“Yes… I copy…” Linda panted, “K-Kind of in a situation here!”
“I can see that on the cams… I’m in the control room, did you secure him?”
“Yes… I have him… can you do anything about these dogs on my heels?”
“Let me see, ah, yes! If you can make it to this next section, I can activate one of the doors. Once you pass it, I’ll shut the door behind you so they can’t get to you.”
“R-Roger that… Wren…” she glanced down at the puggle, “We’re almost there, Perry… I promise.”
Linda couldn’t exactly remember when she came up with that name. They never usually named the agents, only the future host families did. Still, she couldn’t help herself, whether it was because of the attachment or because she got tired of saying ‘Experiment 13854’, the name just kind of stuck.
She was coming up to the section Lawrence had mentioned, she was almost there, she just had to—
Suddenly, her ear piece went off again, “LINDA! LINDA! They found me, keep running! I have to get out through the vents before they break into the room!” Suddenly she heard a loud bang over the earpiece as well as Lawrence’s small mutter, “Bloody hell-“ before things went silent.
Linda began to panic, “Lawrence?! Lawrence! Are you alri- AAA!-“ Linda yelped as a sharp pain shot up her leg and before she knew it, she hit the ground, shielding Perry in the process. She quickly whipped her head around and sure enough, one of the dog agents had bit into her ankle and was shaking its head back and forth.
Linda let out another yell in pain before using her other foot to kick at the dog’s head, muttering a soft “sorry” under her breath. The dog yelped and let go, but only for a moment before letting out a growl and stalking towards her. Linda’s heart pounded as she tried to get up, but her ankle failed her. Letting out pained huffs, she slowly tried to scoot away from the dog, still shielding Perry from possible harm. Perry was whimpering loudly now, and Linda tried her best to console him while her brain raced with a hundred thoughts. Was this it? Did they fail? Had she failed him?
*Clank, thud, thump*
Linda glanced up, hearing the strange sounds from above, it sounded like it was coming from the vents… could it be?-
Right as the dog lunged again, Lawrence suddenly leaped down from the vent with a yell, landing on the dog. He wrestled with it a bit before grabbing it by the collar and using his strength to toss the dog back. The OWCA agent slid across the tile, slamming into another oncoming dog and causing them to tumble over each other.
Linda looked up at Lawrence and, yeesh… he was in rough shape. His lab coat was practically shredded and he was covered in scratches and bites; his glasses had a crack in them. Before she could ask if he was alright, Lawrence went behind her and lifted her slightly by the under arms, dragging her back a bit further down the hall. The dogs were up again, and were quickly approaching.
Lawrence then let go of her and rushed over to a panel in the wall and took out what looked to be a taser device. Quickly, he turned it on and stabbed it into the panel, frying it. Linda watched on as a massive metal door came down from the ceiling, hitting the floor with a loud thud right as the dogs nearly got too close.
The baying of the dogs grew muffled, and soon everything became quiet, except for the sounds of the duo trying to catch their breath and Perry’s small whimpers.
Lawrence’s back was against the wall, panting as he slowly bent over, hands braced against his knees. He glanced over at Linda, “Are… are you alright?”
Once she caught her breath, she replied, “Y-Yeah… that dog got my ankle pretty good… but I should be asking you that…”
“They sent one of their weasel agents in the vents…” Lawrence says with a half chuckle, “Ugh… is… is he okay?”
Linda opened her labcoat to check on Perry. The platypup was clinging to her sweater, clearly shaken by the whole ordeal, but otherwise okay. Linda let out a breath of relief, “Yeah… he’s okay…”
Lawrence nodded, approaching the two of them, “Come along then, love… we aren’t out of danger quite yet.” He gently helped Linda up, supporting her to help her walk.
“What about the gates?” Linda asked.
“They’re open… I used this lil knickknack to fry the controls so they can’t close them.” Lawrence said, twirling the taser in his hand, “Stole it from one of the guards.”
Linda let out an exasperated laugh, “Great Povenmire, they’re gonna kill us…”
“Not yet they aren’t.” Lawrence says, and with that the two continue down the hallway.
As they walked, Linda glanced back a few times, seeing the trail of blood they were leaving. “Shit… what if they track us?” Linda murmured.
“It won’t matter by the time we’re out of here… they won’t find us, I promise…” Lawrence whispered back.
Linda winced slightly as she accidentally put pressure on her injured ankle, “Ow… how are we gonna explain this to Viv?”
Linda had almost forgotten that she asked Vivian to watch the kids. She had explained that she and Lawrence were going on a small “business trip”… goodness, she was gonna have all kinds of questions when they got back… if they even made it home.
Lawrence bit at his lower lip for a moment, his eyebrows furrowed. “Weee… could tell her that we saved this puggle from a pack of coyotes? I mean it’s not too far off.”
Soon, the exit was in sight and as Lawrence had said, the gates were open. Linda let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, “See… there we are Peewee… almost there…”
Lawrence couldn’t help but snort, “Peewee?”
“What? It’s a nickname… he’s very tiny, so I thought it fit.” She didn’t even have to look over to know that he was giving her that dorky smirk, “Shut up- he’s my son- I can call him what I wish.” She huffed.
Lawrence chuckled, “Alright, Ducky…”
Perry’s little head poked out of Linda’s labcoat, blinking up at her. Linda smiled down at him, “We’re gonna be home soon…”
“THERE THEY ARE!”
Linda and Lawrence turned towards the shouting and sure enough, guards were rushing down the hall to their west, guns pointed in their direction, “DO NOT MOVE! SURRENDER THE EXPERIMENT!”
Linda could feel her blood boiling; was this all they saw him as? Something for them to poke and prod? To turn into a tool? A weapon? Linda glanced down at Perry, then at Lawrence. They were both frozen, unsure what to do. One wrong move, and it could all be over…
Linda looked outside, freedom was so close… she could see the night sky, littered with twinkling stars. Perry saw them too, and the look on his face… was everything. His eyes were open wide, wider than Linda had ever seen them open, the stars reflecting in the dark orbs. His bill was slightly ajar, his focus purely on the sky as he reached a paw out, as if he could catch the sparkles. This… was probably the first time he had ever seen the night sky… the first time he ever saw stars… would he ever get to see them again?
Yes… he would… Linda would make sure of it.
“Listen… gentlemen… we don’t have to do this.” Lawrence tried to calmly negotiate, “Let’s talk about thi- !!!” Before he could finish, Linda grabbed Lawrence by the arm and ran outside.
“L-Linda! W-What are we- AH!” Lawrence ducked down as the sound of gunfire echoed around them.
“W-We are not going to go through all this effort for nothing! I promised we were going to get home safe and I’m going to make sure of that!” Linda panted, trying to ignore the pain of her injured ankle.
Using the night as cover, the two weaved through brush and shrubbery within the woods ahead of them.
“Stay low and stay silent… they’ll lose us… we are almost to the clearing…” Linda whispered.
Shouts, barks, and rustling filled the night as OWCA tried to search for the traitors. But soon, the two made it to the clearing, where their car was parked beside the road.
Linda and Lawrence quickly got into the vehicle, with Lawrence taking the driver’s seat. As soon as Linda sat down and had secured herself and Perry, they took off.
For a while, neither of them had said anything, with Linda occasionally looking back to make sure they weren’t being followed…. They weren’t.
“….We… we did it… we actually did it…” Linda said between breaths. “I….” She looked at Lawrence, tears beginning to form in her eyes, “I-I… I can’t thank you enough, Lawrence… I have no idea what I would have done… w-what could have happened… if you weren’t there….”
Lawrence was still focused on the road, but he moved one of his hands to take Linda’s in his own. “You don’t have to think about it at all, love… we did it… but now we have to plan what to do next…” he glanced over at her, “You are certain they won’t find us?”
“Yes… I-I made sure of it….”
———————————————————————
Back at OWCA’s lab facility, a man stood just outside the building, watching as employees and agents alike searched the wooded areas… but nothing could be found. Other than a few droplets of blood leading to a clearing, they had no leads. He glanced over as his young intern approached.
“Carl… have they identified who caused this?”
“Well, sir… the camera footage in the building seems to have been messed with in the control rooms, but based on the guards’ bodycams, it seems like this ordeal involved Dr. Flynn and Dr. Fletcher…”
“Hm… I see… what exactly did they steal?”
“O-One of the potential agents, sir… #13854 to be exact.”
“Hm… Carl… could you please pull up their files? As well as Agent #13854’s?”
“U-Um….” Carl nervously tugged at his shirt collar, “About that… sir…. they’re missing… all three files.”
Monogram turned towards him, “….They’re what…”
“The data regarding them has been completely removed! Even the back-up files… unless we find a way to recover them, there is no trace of any of them…” Carl said nervously.
Monogram let out a deep sigh, massaging his brow, “We can recover them… one way or another, we will find them… those amateur scientists don’t know what they’re dealing with. They will mess up… and when they do, we will bring Agent #13854 back to where he belongs…“