20 years ago, The Event occurred. The exact explanation of what happened greatly differ, stories from survivors at the Epicenters ranging from seeing 'a strange light in the sky, then a bright flash' to 'Someone set off a bomb' and every paranoid explanation in between. What can be explained is that everyone within 4 miles of the blasts that hadn't been incinerated soon exhibited extra-normal abilities. The nature of these abilities, like the stories from the people giving them, varied greatly. In an attempt to curtail the inevitable rise of E.N.C's:Extra-Normal Criminals, whilst studies were done on the effects, the governments of the world collectively agreed that any E.N.A:Extra-Normal Abilities, would be registered and active use closely monitored; Any unsanctioned use of E.N.A's in an unlawful manner by individuals considered able to understand the ramifications of their actions would be highly penalized depending on severity,up to incarceration; The concept of the death penalty is an ongoing conflict, the vast majority of governments seeing it as the obvious violation of decency it was. As a result of these same said restrictions, Multiple Academies and schools, of varying levels of legitimacy and intent, popped up in an attempt to help guide future E.N.I's:Extra-Normal Individuals. In that time, many individual's of both classifications have arisen.


This is a story of some of these individuals, the mistakes they have and will make, and the ramifications of them.
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=Langley Residence, New Cardiff Suburb=
 “And that is all for today. Thank you all for your attendance, and I will see you bright and early tomorrow. ” The voice on the young rottweiler's computer said, though it was quite obvious they weren’t being very closely listened to. Theomond looked like any seemingly typical rottweiler, if a little stocky and on the shorter end of the stick as far as growth went. He wasn’t a terribly social child, for one very specific reason; Theomond was an E.N.I of ‘cataclysmic physical capabilities’ and an even more cataclysmically short temper, the rottweiler having been kept separate from other children his age to avoid the possibility of him having an episode and...well...his father kept him insured for just such an occasion. 
Theomond murmured to himself softly as he ran through the mental calculations of his homework, the young Rottweiler nodding as he worked through the intricacies, noting down the answers to his questions as he found them to the best of his ability. His ears flicked softly as he thought about the work, and the distinct lack of it being shown in getting his answers, growling as he imagined the inevitable chastisement he would get from his teacher...again...for not showing his work and how “It didn't matter if the answer was right” and “Shouldn't be that hard to note his work”. It WAS hard, the manner in how he found the answers being...complicated and not ever the way he was taught, which always got him yelled at more when he DID show his work.


“Why...why does it matter? The answer isn't wrong.” He thought to himself, feeling the soft creak of the pen between his digits before he spun in his chair and threw the pen angrily at the wall, aiming at the thick E.N Mad Pad and cursing angrily as he watched it miss completely and embed several inches into the wall with a thick thud. He could already hear the shout of his name and the pound of his fathers feet through the house in response, the pup groaning and leaning back in his chair. Now he was in for it, and as if he wasn't already annoyed enough.


“Oooooh...Now you did it. It's a big fucking pad dude, and the first thing you do getting mad again is ook ook a fucking pen into the wall like some petulant gorilla...literally. It's fucking hilarious.”The 'demon' in Theomond's head said with a chuckle, Theomond turning his head over to look at his bed, seeing the 'demon' on his bed, tossing a ball up into the air and catching it. It looked...like him really, a little short for his age and having never really grown out of his puppy fat. He didn't like being called a 'demon' though, so Theomond called him...Garolt, which seemed to please it. “You're not wrong though. You have the answer right in front of you, all you have to do is reach out and grab it. You can do anything you put your mind to...Isn't that what they all say?”.


Theomond nodded softly, before sitting up as he heard his father finally stomp up to his door, the locks sliding open slowly before stopping, a huff and a knock. “Theo, Buddy. I'm coming in to talk...ok? If you're not decent, just cover up a little I guess...”His father said through the thick Brick-Block door, the same damage resistant material that made up the floor of his room...and the walls...and ceiling. They said it was there to protect him, the house and everyone around him in case he lost control of his temper, and that a lot of buildings were made of it because of all the other E.N.I's, but Theo knew deep down that it was purely so that if he did quote unquote, 'chimp out', it would severely reduce the damage.


He had been told his E.N.A's were 'cataclysmic strength, speed and endurance' when he had been old enough to understand what they were, and that he had to rein in his emotions because not everything around him could handle what he could do. And he did try, he really did...but...it didn't make sense that he couldn't get mad...or sad...really feel anything negative. They were natural feelings weren't they? He'd seen other people getting mad...or crying...or anything else really, without being considered dangerous. He breathed deep, looking around his room for a moment before his father entered. It was sparsely furnished, mostly because it was hard to make things that could stand up to being accelerated to near hyper-sonic speeds.


His bed was short and sturdy, an admittedly thick memory foam mattress set into a raised frame of the same material that made up his room that he was sure was literally part of the wall and floor, and took up the majority of the corner opposite the door. He had a desk and chair setup, made up of sturdy pieces and easy to take apart...mostly because it had to be easy to repair if he decided to flip out and throw pieces around. There was a dresser made of almost the same material, the drawers filled with what clothes he hadn't torn to pieces. His walls were covered in posters of movies and shows he enjoyed, many a patchwork of tape and paper. He had had a computer for a while, before an errant act of anger at a blip during processing had sent it hurtling at the wall...and prompted the purchase of the Mad-Pad for future acts of object throwing.


“Yea...come in I guess.”He said, before pointing his finger at Garolt, whispering. “Not...a...word. Other people might not be able to see you, or hear you...but I'm not annoying dad because my fucking imaginary friend is living rent free in my head”. Garolt snickered, though he made no motion to move, the ball still rising and falling through the air. “I mean it...I...I can't hurt him again”. Garolt scoffed, making a soft little jerking motion at Theo before waiting with him for what was to come.


Theomond's father, an older rottweiler named Garth, entered the room, wincing as his cast-covered arm bumped into the frame of the door. He growled before breathing softly, and looking softly at Theomond. “Buddy...I thought we talked about this. If you're going to get mad and throw things, at least aim for the pad. It's meant to stop stuff from hitting the wall and breaking it.''He said softly, making his way over to Theo's bed and sitting down, Garolt perking a brow and turning his head to look pointedly at the older rottweiler. Theo couldn't help himself but feel guilty as his father huffed quietly, leaning back and supporting himself on the bed with his not broken arm. “You know what happens when you get mad...Things get broken and then who's fault is it?”


Theo whined softly as the guilt built before it turned into a short growl and bark as he stood, his father putting a hand up softly and sitting up as Theo breathed short and deep, trying to work himself back down from his elevated state. “It was an accident. I didn't mean to hit the wall...you...you know I wouldn't have hit the wall if...if I could help it. I didn't want to...”he said, looking down at his feet sheepishly and kicking softly at the floor...which was saying something from the way his father jostled on the bed and yelped softly. “I just...it doesn't make sense. Why can't I just give them the answer and they accept it? It's the answer they wanted, isn't it?”.


His father sighed, looking between Theomond and the wall where the pen was...and moving very carefully to position himself between Theomond and the wall as quickly as he could without alarming him. “Buddy...I know but you have to try harder...this stuff isn't cheap and it's not cheap to get it repaired. That's what the pad is for...stuff hits the stasis field and then it doesn't break.''He said, turning around with the pen in his free hand, and woofing softly. “Here buddy...take it back.''He said, tossing the pen back to Theomond.


Theomond looked up in time to catch the pen, his other hand rubbing sheepishly at his side again as he stood there. “Yea...I know dad, but that...doesn't mean...”he said, growling as his inability to get the words out angered him. He looked up at his father and the open door, licking his lips as he started to speak before the sound of the doorbell interrupted him, his tail wagging reflexively as he started looking more pleadingly between his father and the open door. He could see the fight going through his fathers eyes, his body rocking in place.


Garth cocked his head, pursing his lips as he fought with himself on what to do. He knew he couldn't actually stop his son, even if he got to the door in time, not with all the locks needed. “Theo...Buddy...If I let you answer the door, You have to promise to stay inside. No going outside without me or an adult, remember?”He said, watching his son's tail stop wagging for a moment before starting again, Theo nodding softly as a wide smile spread across his muzzle. “Just find out who it is and what they want...”He said, pointlessly as Theo literally disappeared to his eye, fighting the physical sensation of that much weight moving at the speed it was.


Theo was positively vibrating as he ran up to the door, having to consciously stop himself from yanking the door off of its hinges. He breathed deep, carefully opening the door to see who had rang the doorbell. He couldn't help himself but yelp as he saw who had, looking up at a metaphorical 'dragon', his wingspan blocking out the porch behind him, what looked like a glowing iron mask locked around his jaw. The parts of his head that weren't locked behind the mask looked vaguely familiar to the boy, though with the mask taking up so much of his face it was hard to tell. “Sup kid...parents home? Just moved here, and...Well, Just go get them please.”The 'dragon' said, looking down as politely as the mask allowed him to.


Theo blinked, cocking his head and looking up at the 'dragon'. “Fucking hell you're big.”He said, snickering softly at the 'dragons' blinking at his frankness before turning his head to look back over his shoulder. “DAAAAAAAAD....SOME BIG ASS FUCKING DRAGON NEEDS YOU”. He turned his attention back to the 'dragon', looking up at him curiously. He hadn't legitimately met many 'dragons’, and this one was, as he said, fucking big. “So...what's your name, big guy?”


The 'dragon' perked a brow-ridge, cocking his head a little and letting out a, with the mask, very robotic laugh. “Kid, after that little show, why would I tell you? Especially after you don't even introduce yourself? Kids these days...”He said, his brows coming as close to wrinkling as the fleshy ridges could get as Theomond positively fumed at the treatment he was receiving from the stranger, the young rottweiler about to slam the door when he felt a hand on his shoulder.


“Can I help you, Mr...?''Garth said softly, tugging Theomond behind him. He didn't fight the feeling, still angry and surprised he had been treated so rudely. The 'dragon' coughed mechanically, or rather it sounded almost mechanical, pulling out a smallish phone and looking down at it, Garth taking the moment to look down at Theomond, squeezing softly on his shoulder. “Buddy, go...just go back to your room for now, ok?”


Theomond nodded, walking off towards the stairs and whining as his father insistently watched him, walking softly partway up at least before turning around, leaning against the wall just out of immediate view. He fought between peeking his head out obviously and trying to be subtle and not be seen. It took him a few tense seconds before he peeked just enough of his head to see the 'dragon' and his father, his fathers arms crossed in front of him, or rather as close as they could be when one of them was in a semi-permanent position. “I know who you are, and what you did, and I know you've a routine you have to get through so let's skip to the formalities.”

The ‘dragon’ coughed, a can kicked down the stairs in sound, before starting a very prepared speech. “Good afternoon sir. My name is Faust T Yong, and the terms of my release require me to inform you of my presence in the area. My crimes were not of a sexual or violent nature, and any information you may require about the exact nature of my crime is publicly available.”The 'dragon' said, giving a soft little bow and looked up past Garth to where Theomond was watching them for a split second to meet his gaze, giving a little wink before looking back down at Garth.


Garth nodded, taking a soft grip of the doorknob, starting to close the door. “I appreciate your candor, Mr Yong. Now if you wouldn't mind, I'm a single parent and I've got to figure out dinner for me and my son now.”He said tersely, closing the door softly before the 'dragon' could respond. He stood there for a moment, resting his head against the door before standing back up. “Theo, come here”. Theo let out a quiet little curse as he started down the stairs, quickly but not instantly getting over to his father.


“Buddy...You have to be a little more...polite when people come to the door. This is why...Not everyone understands that you don't mean things rudely, but you can't always just speak your mind, ok?”The older rottweiler said, patting his son softly on his head and ruffling his fur. “I love you, you know. Now go finish your homework, and we'll...forget about that little conversation there, ok?”. Garth knew he was taking a gamble in hoping the boy would let it rest.


“Ok dad, sure...just...you seemed to know who that guy was.”He asked, feeling his ears droop at the curse his father thought he wouldn't hear, though it didn't stop him from continuing.”Did he...do something wrong? I mean...I thought only people that were...sex convicts had to...tell people when they moved into an area”. He wasn't sure why the 'dragon', Faust he had said his name was, would have to tell people he lived nearby if what he had done wasn't sexual.


Garth sighed, looking back at the door and shook his head. “Can't tell you that buddy...for your own good. Just know that he did something that violated the E.N.A statutes. “He said, tussling Theomond's headfur again. “If it helps explain things, that's why he was wearing the mask”. Garth let out a groan as it looked like Theomond was going to 'argue' again, the younger rottweiler biting his tongue for the moment.


He pulled away from his father for a moment before going back in for a hug, feeling his fathers bones creak a little as he squeezed him as gently as he could, before letting him go and heading for the stairs. He stopped for a moment at the bottom, his paw on the banister, and looked back at Garth before shaking his head and making his way back up to his room and shutting the door. He sighed and slid down against the door, resting his head on his knees.


“Little Rude of you to run out of here without saying something. I'm positively hurt. I might just cryyyyy.”Garolt sing-songed, eliciting a growl from Theomond, the sound of the ball in his hands bouncing off the walls as it kept getting tossed into the air. “Oh come on now...You know that of all the things that you literally cannot get mad at, I am one of them. Besides, I'm just teasing you...you know that''. Garolt stopped tossing the ball, letting it drop soundlessly to the bed beside him as he sat up with a grunt, clapping his hands down onto his knees. “So yea...I heard a little bit...some big fuck off 'dragon' in a mask scared you, You freaked out. What do you know about him?”.


Theomond lifted his head, breathing out through his nose. “His name is Faust. Evidently he's an E.N.C and he just moved into the area. That's all I know...”He said, standing up from the door and walking to the sole window and looking out through the streaked 'glass'. He could see the neighborhood spread out before him, New Cardiff glinting dully in the afternoon sun in the distance some odd 30 miles away. He looked down at the road and sidewalk before him, blinking in surprise as he saw the 'dragon' standing down on the sidewalk, staring down at his phone. “Oh, He was rude to me, too. All I said was that he was big and he...he just...”he growled, slamming his fist against the window and feeling it thud beneath his fist.


“Sounds like someone owes you an apology...and maybe an explanation of what his E.N.A is. Mask like that one, gotta be a good one.” Garolt said, stepping up behind Theomond and pressing his hand against the window, his fingers spreading and the tips of his claws scraping across the 'glass'. “What's stopping you from marching down there and getting exactly what you want from him”. He kept his arm in place as Theomond turned to look at him, growling and pressing through him to flop onto the bed.


“You know I can't. Dad says I can't go outside without him, or another adult, cause I'm so easy to upset...and I can't be stopped if I get mad without someone like me there...and I could...could cause serious damage if they can't get there quickly.”Theomond grumbled as he buried his face in one of his pillows for a few seconds before turning his head up and resting his chin on his arms over the pillow. “I can't exactly sneak out either...Dad would hear me...So what, am I supposed to hope that dude comes back up onto the porch?”.


Garolt sighed, tapping his claw tips on the 'glass', the material tapping almost with an almost metal timbre. “Oh please...You could probably be out that door and have your answers before Dad can even have time to realize you left. Would you rather not know and just hope for the best?''the young 'rottweiler' said, stepping away from the window to flop down beside Theomond. “It's easier to ask forgiveness than permission, isn't it? Run out there, get your answers, run back in. Nobody gets hurt so long as dude behaves himself.”


Theomond groaned, grabbing the pillow and doing his level best to smash Garolt to death with it, feeling the pillow impacting softly against the bed as the pillow passed through the actually 'non-existent' rottweiler. “Dad would tan my hide...or try at least....if I even thought about it, so yea...I'm gonna hope for the best right now. I'm not...god, I want to though. Go down there and yank him down by that tacky mask of his, and get him to apologize and explain himself.”He said quietly, his eyes darting to the door. He hadn't heard his dad lock it yet...if he just piled some clothes under the blanket...made it look like he was still there...it had to work, right? There was a reason people still tried that.


He knew better though, knew that if he did...and the 'dragon' was rude to him again...and he got mad...even if someone got there during the tantrum, there wouldn't be anything left of the 'dragon'. There...there was a reason he wasn't allowed to have pets, The Event having only affected anthropomorphic beings, and the last time he had had a pet... “Look...How about this. I'll get up, go to the window...and if that guy is still down there fiddling with his phone or something...I'll sneak out there somehow. If he isn't, You'll leave me alone about it for now, ok?”he said, barely waiting for Garolt to grunt in response before he rolled off the bed and made his way to the window.


He looked down towards where the 'dragon' had been, feeling a moment of panic interspersed with joy as he saw that the 'dragon' was getting into the back of a car, resting his head against the 'window' and watching as it looked like the 'dragon' was about to leave...before he stopped, looking up towards Theomond's window for a moment, tapping the roof of his car and pointedly gesturing at a very unique looking antenna, before continuing to get in. Theomond bit his cheek softly, looking back over at Garolt and then out the window...the 'dragon' was leaving, and if he didn't hurry...and he couldn't hurry very well without making a lot of noise.


“Welp? Looks like you wanna make a choice here. Don't have to go.” Garolt said softly, looking over at the door. They both knew it was still unlocked, and he could sneak out of it, but there weren't many options for escape-...His dad's room! He knew his dad didn't like him going in there, but Theomond knew that there was a window there, and not one like his glorified chunk of carbon-reinforced aerogel. All he had to do was make it in there, get the window open, and he was scot free. “Gotta hurry though, heaven knows he's probably already around the corner and zooming off. Superspeed is nice but when you cause literal windstorms when you run fast enough...”.


Theomond whined again, tapping his head against the window before he nodded. He would deal with the yelling later...and the authorities fining his dad for Theomond breaking E.N.A statutes...again. He made his way as quietly to the door as he could, turning the knob slowly and letting out a silent breath as the knob turned freely. The door opened soon after, Theomond creeping along the hallway towards his fathers room. He didn't dare stop to hear if Garth was coming, knowing if he did and he was, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from making noise.


“Loooook at us, being all sneaky and shit. Krrrrrsshhhh....Commander, We're approaching the first rally point...what are our orders? Commander? COMMANDER?!”Garolt shouted in his ear, causing him to jump. It took everything in him to not literally hit the ceiling, the other rottweiler laughing uproariously at the way Theomond snarled silently at him as they walked. “Oh come on, you really are too easy to fuck with. I guess I should be glad you can't actually touch me, cause I bet you'd just loooove to get those angry little mitts on me”. They walked in silence until they got to the door, Theomond finally risking the time to listen for his father. He heard nothing implying he’d been caught yet, breathing deep as he approached the door.


Theomond licked his lips as he reached down for the knob, giving it a test turn. He spat a soft little curse as he felt it resist his attempts. He looked back towards where the stairs were, and then at the door. If he...If he busted the lock or the door, his dad would know he was getting out and...the response time for a E.N.I of his ability level...”Dad...don't be...”He mumbled to himself as he shoulder-checked the door gently and feeling his shoulder hit the door with a crack. He grunted at the sound of the wood breaking beneath his shoulder. He knew that he hadn't been exactly quiet there, his 'cover' undoubtedly blown as he nodded and reared back again for another slam, feeling it splinter like balsa against his shoulder, leaving him holding the knob from where it had broken free. “Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck”He thought to himself, tossing the knob to the ground at the same time he heard the shout of his name and the sound of frantic running.


Garolt laughed maniacally at how events had unfolded, running up to the window and pounding on it frantically, laughing the whole while. “AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH...YOU FUCKED THAT DOOR....HE'S GONNA BE SO FUCKING MAD...RUN DUDE RUUUUUUUN” He laughed as Theomond dashed for the window, throwing it open with as much care as he could muster between wanting to get out quickly because of the likelyhood of his father calling in his escape as he ran up the stairs and gently so that he didnt scatter shattered glass everywhere whipping it open. “Get out there big guy, you're in for it now...”


Theomond didn't waste time looking back as he clambered through the open window. He could already hear the whooping call of the response vehicles, his eyes scanning the sky for a moment for aerial vehicles before he pulled himself completely out of the window. He tumbled down onto the ground beneath the window in the backyard, coughing and spitting out chunks of grass and dirt as he ran and vaulted the fence, going for the sidewalk out front. He heard Garolt huffing behind him as he ran, the rottweiler looking around frantically and panting.


“Antenna...Antenna...God fucking damn, did the car teleport?”He thought to himself, squinting as a car in the distance turned a corner...Maybe? It looked like it could be, but if he ran that way and the 'dragon' had gone the other direction, or...He couldn't think about it long, the sound of whooping sirens getting louder, the sound of v-tol engines starting to come out over the sirens. “Fuck it, Gotta commit”. He braced himself, feeling the ground crunching beneath his feet as he took off after the car, each pounding step sinking his feet into the asphalt before just as effortlessly being ripped out again.


“They're cooooooooming for you, Theomond. They're cooooooming.” Garolt jeered behind him as they ran, a great furrow digging in the road as he slid to try and make it around the corner the car had gone around. “Can you hear them? You know that every single Response Officer coming that isn't a Enny has orders to shoot to kill at the minimum; it's the LEAST that's gonna stun you since they don't know if you're immune or resistant to anything”. Garot was mocking him but Theomond knew he was right...


If he was caught now, they'd take him to the nearest containment center for processing while they found out who his guardian was and got the paperwork for his fine ready...and tacked on all the damage to the road he was doing...but he was already in for it, regardless of whether he stopped now...so he might as well keep going. “Then...I...don't...get...caught-”He started saying before the sudden impact of a round hitting his shoulder sent him tumbling across the asphalt, each bouncing impact sending chunks of road scattering off.


“CEASE YOUR FLEEING. YOU ARE IN DIRECT VIOLATION OF E.N.I REGISTRATION STATUTE 184-2:C. IF YOU DO NOT STOP NOW, WE WILL BE FORCED TO ACT IN ACCORDANCE WITH E.N.C APPREHENSION PROTOCOL:SAMSON.”A voice boomed in Theomond's head as his body came to a rolling stop, his hands and feet scrabbling for purchase as he threw himself aside as another shot impacted the road beside him and left a crater just as large as his head in the asphalt, the sounds of screams and things being knocked over as people scrambled to not be in the epicenter of what could end up being a E.N.I fight.


Theomond threw himself through the nearest window, the sound of shattering glass and renewed screams scratching at his ears. He shook his head as he looked around at the shop he had thrown himself through the window of. It was a classic looking Soda Shop that he couldn't remember the name of, having seen it maybe a handful of times over the years on the occasion  his father took him out in this direction. “I'm so sorry, oh god...Please, I'm not going to hurt...”He said, rolling off the table he had landed on and rushing past the huddled crowd for the service hallway in the back.


“Violating Registration, Fleeing Response Officers, Endangering Civilians recklessly. You're just shooting for this being more than a fine, huh. Just a regular Ankh in the making aren't you.”Garolt said behind him as he burst through a steel emergency door, the alarm warbling erratically as the door itself embedded itself into the opposite wall of the alley. Theomond looked around quickly.


In his efforts to find the car, He had ended up on the outskirts of New Cardiff, in one of the many 'Heritage' Districts. That was both good news and bad news...it was good because it meant that all he had to do was get into the city and the buildings and masses of bodies would make it harder to just take shots at him from a distance...it was bad in the sense that it meant the closer he got to Central Plaza, the more people he was putting in danger. They'd need to send in fighters on his level, and to do that they'd need to evacuate the city as much as they could considering how quickly Theomond had made it to the outskirts. “Deeper in, less chances I'll get sniped but more likely they'll send in some big fuck like Adonis.”He thought to himself, looking the other way.


“Still think that's a stupid name...or even stupider alias...but yea, or back out into the open, where they'll keep taking shots until you surrender or stay down and they can send in a Reclamation Squad. You haven't put any lives at serious risk yet, so they won't be using Vorpal rounds...but you know if they do...” Garolt whispered needlessly, Theomond speeding down the alleyway, water splashing and cans rattling or falling over as he rushed by, moving as quickly as he could towards the city. Fighting someone like Adonis wasn't optimal, mostly because as resilient as he was, he had never fought anyone...for good reason.


He hurried, dashing across emptying streets to alleys on the opposite side, the sound of phone camera's clicking and hurried conversation following him. He knew it wasn't long until the area was clear enough that they could send in someone to fight him close up, and he was running out of options. All he had wanted was a few simple answers, and now here he was likely about to permanently gain a reputation as an Ankh...and if he did that, with what his powers were...He shook his head, panting heavily as he ducked into a dark and disused subway stairwell, collapsing down and affording himself a few moments.


“Psst...Hey...dude”Came a voice from the dim shadows at the bottom of the stairs, Theomond yelping loudly and grabbing in a panic at the banister of the stairway, wrenching a chunk free and holding it at the ready. He could hear shuffling in the shadows, a mass of clothes and trash moving and sloughing off a body beneath it, revealing a figure. Theomond couldn't tell from where he was what the figure was, or what they wanted, Theomond starting up to his feet. “Wouldn't run if I were you...Not that I would try to stop you, just...you're not wanting to go back out where they could find you easily, I'm thinking?.”


Theomond nodded gravely, looking back up the direction he had run from, the sound of sirens and jet engines starting to echo from seemingly all around him. He was running out of options that weren't fighting, and loathe though he was to put all his trust in some random stranger...said stranger was the only hope he had at that moment. He tossed the useless chunk of banister over his shoulder as he jumped the distance down the stairs, landing with a crunch near the figure, a rat he could now see from beneath the layers of coats, hoodies and hats. He brushed himself off, looking back up the stairs again. “Yea. I'm sure you can guess who those sirens are for, and if you know what that means, you have an idea of what I can do...So what do you want?”He asked, the sounds of his pursuers getting louder.


The figure, to all the surprise of someone covering them in debris from a landing, took things in stride, offering a hand and jerking their head further at the darkness. “Talk later, Avoid the cops now. Let's get the fuck out of here and keep you out of a cell.”the figure said, fingers curling invitingly and insistently. They clearly had no love for the authorities, considering it wouldn't take long for the Reclamation Squads to swarm the area...or Adonis did...Theomond had only one real option at this junction he could see. With a soft grasp, he took the rat's hand and followed them further into the darkness.


Theomond roiled inside, his thoughts racing as they darted down stairs and through busted gates. He was a fugitive now...he had resisted intake and thereby committed a crime...but, he wanted this so badly...to find the 'dragon' and get the answers he wanted and why was that so wrong? Why was wanting things so wrong, just because he was...was very strong. His steps slowed as he fought with himself. “Theo...Dude...We...You can't slow down now. You made a choice...We have to stick to it now. If we stop now, you know what they'll probably do...”Garolt said, pressing a paw to his shoulder and slowing down beside him.


Theo was about to respond when the rat tugged him roughly, keeping him moving before he could speak. The rat kept him darting through the darkness down towards the subway line below. “The demon...Garolt as he calls- You call him...is right”The rat said, slipping for a moment as they went under a turnstile before finding their feet again. The rat looked around for a moment, seemingly lost in thought before darting with Theo down onto the tracks. Theo couldn't hesitate, considering the stoop of the rat, following them down onto the track.


The rat led him down into the tunnel until they found a maintenance tunnel, the rat ushering Theo to it and gesturing insistently with their head, confusing him for a moment as he watched them stare back down the tunnel. He didn't know what the rat was doing, but he trusted they knew it was the right thing to do. He tried the door handle, feeling his pulse quicken as it turned and he pulled it...the knob clicking and the door swinging open, the rat dashing in as he did and pulling him in through. Theo reflexively grabbed the inner knob as he went through, shutting it behind him. “Lock it...They won't have heard it shut, and they know how fast you are at this point...so we're going to let them think you ran down the tunnels.”


Theo nodded softly in his panic, turning and locking the door and deadbolt in the murky light of the emergency lights running above them, starting to pant and whimper as he turned around again, watching the rat darting further into the tunnel. He yelped nervously, chasing after the rat, bouncing off the walls as his attempts to keep up made him skid on the slick floor. “W-wait...Stop...who...stop please”He whined, his panic at the situation keeping his anger at bay albeit building underneath. Why was this rat helping him, what was going on. The rottweiler licked his chops nervously, a question building in his chest...Did they...know him somehow?


“No, I don't. Not the way you think. I'm just someone that...knows what's going on. Get in here, and we can talk a little more safely.''The rat interrupted his attempt at speaking, stooping down to what looked like a grate in the wall, tugging at it and setting it aside when it came free, waving Theomond in. The rottweiler fought the desire to listen and get answers when he was told he would, and the desire for answers now...and he could see somehow the rat knew that. “Yes, I do. It really doesn't matter if you get them out here or in there besides it being more comfortable sitting down”.


Theomond snorted softly and nodded, climbing through quickly and finding himself in what looked like a ramshackle apartment built in a meter room, furniture and crates cramping the room. He stepped carefully into the middle as the rat climbed in slowly behind him, pulling the grate cover back over the grate they had climbed through. He found a beanbag that didn't look like it would burst if he sat on it, flopping onto it and looking at the rat. “Ok. I'm in here, I listened to you. I want answers now. Who are you? What do you want?”.


The rat sighed, starting to peel their coats off and pull hats off. What he thought was a stooped rat was just a very short one, and one that looked almost...radiation burnt. Their fur was patchy...thin where it wasn't missing, and several old sores spotted the patches of bare skin. “My name is...John. I'm...an E.N.I, and what I want is to see...how this all pans out now, with me helping you.”He said, holding a paw up as he took a deep breath and coughed into his other paw, wiping a bloody gob of spittle onto a coat as they took it off. They shook their head, breathing softly and continued.


“I'm a precognitive. Yes, I should probably be dead because of system strain but I was...I guess I was just old enough or maybe being a rat kept my genes and system stable enough...Doesn't matter how, what matters is that I can see how things are going to go, not how they went before”. John had finally freed themselves from the coats and rags they had been using as a...disguise, and made their way over to a crate, clearing it. “I knew that being right there like that would change what happens...well rather, I knew I could influence events more directly if I acted at least. To further what I said, I want to see what happens now. You are...an anomaly...just as precogs like me are supposed to be, and I want to see what will happen if I steer you...not steer you, because I know that saying steer is going to make you mad. This is all about what you choose to do, and how you ask your questions...do you bite the bullet, master your fears of reprisal and go to your fate as it is now, or do you go all the way and find out what you want to know, and accept the consequences when they come then? And before you ask, Yes I could literally tell you everything but that would...not get you the answers you want actually...” The rat asked, sitting down on the crate and bracing themselves on their knees, watching Theomond intently.


Theomond looked down at his paws and then the grate they had come through and thought very hard about everything. If he did go back now, He...they would very severely punish him...he didn't THINK they would do anything very severe...he might be almost impossible to contain without immense amounts of restrictions on his body, literally or figuratively, but he could still be contained. But now...this rat, John, could answer at least some of his questions or point him in the direction of someone who could maybe. He closed his eyes, rubbing at his face softly before staring at the ceiling. “I want to see this through...I'm not gonna be able to live with myself if I don't”.


John clapped his hands together and laughed softly. “Good, good. Now...About that 'dragon' with the mask...”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


=Langley Residence, Thirty Minutes earlier=


Garth was humming as he rustled through the fridge, hoping what he had given Theo was enough to convince the young canine to let things rest. He was in the midst of pulling a carton of eggs out the fridge when he heard the first crack, his ears perking and head cocking instantly as he tried to parse just what he had heard was, the realization dawning on him at the same time as the massive crack of his door breaking. He dropped the eggs, scrambling the best he could for purchase on the tiles of the kitchen. “THEOMOND GRANT LANGLEY!!!!!”he roared, cursing himself for his stupidity, knowing that he had failed in letting himself be talked into that 'classic style window'.


He lept up the stairs the best he could while pulling his cellphone out of his sling, dialing the local E.N.R.O as he made it up the stairs two at a time, the automated voice getting out the first few words of its spiel before he pounded on the number that would skip past the 'severity list',the line ringing once before someone picked up. “My Name is Garth Ulysses Langley, My address is 2370 Fairbanks Drive. My son's name is Theomond Grant Langley, E.N.I Registration 57129-64-5309. He is currently making an unauthorized trip outdoors. Please...Don't...He's just a kid”.


The emergency services worker on the other end, tapped away on a keyboard, before spitting a polite 'curse'. “Sir, You understand that...If he resists, We will have to assume he has hostile intentions and will act accordingly.”She said softly but sternly, the sound of conversation behind her coming through the speaker of Garth's phone as he stepped into the hallway leading to his room, seeing the broken remains of his door, kicking the knob absentmindedly as he walked down the hall. 

“He's...He's never been intentionally violent towards anyone, not...not maliciously...”He said, stepping into his room and staring forlornly at the open window. Garth knew the situation was out of his hands at this point. "Worst is maybe some broken bones…"


“That's...Sir, you know what he can do if he tries. An officer is on the way to get your story, please do not leave the area. Trust us that he will be brought in safely if it can be helped.”The woman said, speaking to someone on the other end for a few moments before Garth heard the sounds of insistent pounding on his door downstairs. “That would be the officer now. Please cooperate and I'm sure things will be fine sir”. The woman terminated the call, Garth gripping tightly at his cell-phone before turning and making his way to the front door.


Garth sighed as he opened the door to find an almost shockingly clean looking Sphynx in an E.N.R.O uniform, the black plates and navy material flexing and shifting as the feline stepped in, looking around for a moment, reaching up for the goggles over his eyes and lifting them. “Good Afternoon sir. My name is Victor. I'll be taking your report of the situation while we wait for the S.R.O’s to arrive.”Victor said, pulling out a small tablet and looking around again before looking up at Garth, noticing his confusion. “Right, those aren't entirely public yet. Cat's out of the bag I suppose”. The little joke elicited a laugh from Garth, the rottweiler gesturing to the living room, the pair of them finding seats on the couch.


The feline tapped at his tablet, mumbling softly to himself before he nodded. “S.R.O's are a new division. They can, through a psychic connection between a materia-kinetic or glamourist and a retrograde chronal psychic, reconstruct events to a...degree. Details can vary, depending on whether we have a glamourist or M.K available for construction. We still want a hard report of events from your point of view...supposed to keep things 'honest' “the feline said with air-quotes. “Whenever you're ready, we can proceed.”


Garth blew out through his cheeks, looking down at his hands. “Guess I should start at the beginning. Went upstairs after hearing a thud. Theo...Theomond had I guess gotten annoyed at his homework and threw a pen at the wall...He...He meant to hit the pad, I'm sure. We were talking when someone came to the door. Told him...fucking hell. Told him if he stayed inside he could answer the door. Wasn't near enough to stop him from being surprised by the 'dragon' at the door...''He said, watching the sphynx as he listened, a barely perceptible flick of his ears being the only proof the cat hadn't zoned out completely. “Theo has...an issue with bluntness sometimes, and he might have been...rude...to the 'dragon'. He called for me, and...I'm not sure what exactly was said before I got there...but Theo was pretty upset. I told him to go to his room, found out the 'dragon' was an E.N.C and was just telling us he had moved into the area.”


The Sphynx looked up, his ears cupping towards Garth. “Sir...What was his name? If this was a violation of his parole, your son might be in a whole lot less trouble than we thought.''The feline said, leaning forward eagerly. Garth could tell that the cat clearly wanted this all to be a big misunderstanding for Theomond, the rottweiler looking down at his hands. “Sir...Garth...This matters. If he was coerced even a little, that means he doesn't understand the full extent of what he's doing...”. Garth breathed heavily, rubbing at his cheeks.


“Faust. Faust Yong. I knew he was moving into the area, and couldn't go a day without hearing about his trial. I just...I thought the muzzle was supposed to stop him from...”Garth said, looking at Victor worriedly. “If he...Theo could do some terrible things if he was told to. He...He knows but doesn't understand just how much damage he could do. Please, Don't let them...Don't let him get hurt...”


= Outskirts of New Cardiff, Current Time=


Theo looked down at the scrap of paper, the rat's directions here having been specific enough. “The man you're looking for is Faust Yong. I can't tell you where he is, for...your own benefit. The way you want this to go, it has to happen as naturally as possible. Head to this address, put this card through the door, tell them Ginbogi Jwi said you needed their help finding someone. They'll...give you exactly what you want.'He remembered the rat telling him, feeling the card in his pocket seeming to start weighing tons...which wouldn't have changed how easily he walked up to the door and knocked once before remembering the card.


He fumbled it out of his pocket, looking for a slot or something to put the card through. He spotted what looked like a mail flap that had been welded shut and then had a slot cut in the middle, sliding the card through nervously and taking a step back. He wasn't sure what to expect as the door rattled, multiple locks disengaging. “Just like my room...Must be an Enny place”he thought to himself as the door swung open, a rhino in a worn but clean tank top and jeans stepping out like he was just having a smoke. Theo was prepared to do as he was told before he watched the rhino walk past him and around the corner, the sound of urine splashing against a wall making Theo whine in embarrassment.


“Well that's...Fuck, you think maybe we're supposed to go in and the rhino is just a coincidence?” Garolt piped up beside him, the other 'rottweiler' stepping up towards the open door and the dark hallway on the other side, the dim shape of other doorways and maybe...a desk?, being all he could see from where he was. “We've come this far...Worst that happens, this is some long trick and they're gonna try something...let them”. Garolt strolled right in, the darkness of the hallway swallowing him after a few feet.


Theo looked over his shoulder where the rhino sounded like he was still relieving himself, the young canine biting his lip before steeling himself and walking through the open doorway, the darkness swallowing him a few feet in as it had Garolt. He blinked his eyes, trying to get them to adjust to the darkness more quickly, a soft whine escaping his chest that stopped as he felt a coldness press against the back of his neck, a very pointed click cutting through the dark. Theo tensed up, fighting the urge to panic and cause a scene. “3...2...”


“Ginbogi...Ginbogi Jwi. They said...They said you could help me find someone. I...I'm in a lot of trouble, and I need...answers before I can be brought down. I...I understand if you wanna try hurting me, I can't...can't say you will, but...”He stammered, closing his eyes in the darkness and balling his fists up nervously. He couldn't hear anything but the soft sound of his breath, the coldness pressing against him not moving, the moment of silence seeming to stretch for an eternity. He almost screamed as he felt the coldness move, the rottweiler spinning on his heel to stare up at the person that had gotten the drop on him, the hallway brightening up considerably suddenly.


Standing before him was a modestly tall spider, a pair of hands disengaging a pistol and slotting it back into a holster, the others arms flexing as much as a spider could. “Oi, Phil. Leave the kid be...He's not got a lot of other places to go right now if he's who I think he is, and we probably can help him.”Came a voice from behind the spider, Theo leaning over to see who it was. He swallowed softly as he saw the rhino from before closing and locking the door behind him. He tugged at the door softly in an almost ritualistic manner, before turning around and looking at Theo. “Ok kid, so you're here now. The rat sent you and we can help you find someone...but first, we gotta talk terms”. The rhino whistled, the hallway brightening further as he pushed off from the door, and walked past Theomond.
Theo blinked, looking between the spider and the rhino, and then following the rhino when he saw the way the spider was looking at him...he didn't know if spider-morphs could salivate, but it sure as hell looked like he was trying to as far as Theo could tell. He looked around as they walked, stopping in front of a non-descript doorway, the rhino pounding on it and stepping aside. “Inside kid, try to behave yourself...you're not the only Enny on the run here.”He said, the door buzzing and then opening, Theo looking in curiously before stepping in through.
The room was an office, or was being used as one for the moment at least, the rottweiler shuffling his feet as he walked. The desk was being manned by a literal shrew, a small pair of glasses perched on a narrow muzzle. “Dear, Hurry up and sit down. Intake is slow on these old dinosaurs''the rodent said, thumping a fist against an old looking computer tower. Theo nodded, hurrying to sit in one of the chairs in front of the desk. The shrew picked at a chunk in her teeth, flicking it off somewhere before looking at Theo. “Right kid, so name, age and Enna?”.
Theo blinked, biting his lip nervously, looking down at his feet for a moment before breathing deep. “Theomond Grant Langley, I'm...I'm 16 years old. My En...Enna...Super Strength, Speed and Endurance.''He said with as much confidence as he could muster, looking up at the shrew.  She nodded, typing the information in and giving the computer a moment to process before she slid forward a strange device. “Just need a blood sample, for scanning and clerical purposes.''Theo blinked and sweated a little. If they had scanners like this, that means they could afford a bit of Ulthrite. He licked his lips, sliding his hand into the machine and closing his eyes. He knew what was about to happen and tried to prepare himself for it...but nothing ever prepared you for a needle jamming into the back of your hand and feeling like your bones were being pulled apart. The rottweiler grimaced, pushing through the pain before the scanner beeped a confirmation and turned off, the rottweiler yanking his hand back and rubbing at it..
The shrew mumbled to herself as the computer processed all the aggregate information before a printer on a shelf behind the shrew made a rather ugly electronic noise as it spat out a card. She turned to grab it, setting it down on the desk between the two of them. “Alright kid, we've got you an I.D made...but before I give you this, you have to know what the terms are. We provide you room and board, no questions asked...in return, you...put on a few fights for us.”
Theo cocked his head, squinting his eyes before what the shrew had said sank in and his eyes spread wide, the rottweiler sitting up stock straight. “You...Fight? I...No, I can't. If I...”He mumbled, gripping the frame of the chair he was on tightly and feeling it compress in his hands. “There must be...I wasn't told I would have to fight...I”. Theo looked back towards the door he had come through, seeing it shut and whining before he turned his attention back to the shrew, who's attitude hadn't changed despite Theo's seeming waffling. “That isn't going to be safe...I can't...someone might get hurt.”
The shrew snorted, rolling her eyes and looking over her glasses. “Theo...kid...you really think you're the only brick we got on the roster, let alone the only brick we have around your age? We've got people here that would have your clothes off your back, washed, and back on your body between beats of your heart”The shrew laughed at his worry, the rottweiler feeling monumentally embarrassed, and his nerves were starting to be less of a bulwark against his anger. The shrew seemed to notice this, licking her lips softly as a hand danced towards the underside of the desk. “Kid...I can vent this room right now...Superspeed, Endurance...won't matter if your lungs glue themselves shut...think about this”.
Theomond growled, standing and throwing the chair at the door he had come through, the metal crumpling under the sheer velocity of the throw. He seethed and panted, turning back to the shrew...who had surprisingly still not vented the room like she'd threatened. “What are the rules? Are punches going to be pulled, or...”he queried, looking almost pleadingly at the card on the desk, his paws clenching and unclenching anxiously.
The shrew magnanimously had just watched his tantrum, leaning back in her chair now. “No rules really, but if your opponent surrenders and you beat them worse or...well...we won't match you against anyone that isn't going to go just as far. You respect honest surrenders, We give you 'honourable' fights. You go for the throat, and we pit you against people just as willing to beat you to death with your own arm”. The shrew nodded her head down at the card. “You take that card, you have a bed here between fights and food whenever you want. You're free to walk out of here, and back to...whatever it is you're running from...but part of me thinks that you'd not be here if you wanted to go back to that”.

Theomond let out a reflexive little growl at the catch-22 he was in. He stayed and fought, he couldn't guarantee he wouldn't pull someone apart...but it seemed like that was considered. He left, he could be looking at a very long time separated from his father anyways. This way, he at least...could work towards getting to Yong. He stepped up to the desk, pressing his hand down over the card, his eyes burrowing into the shrews. “If there are any recordings, I want a mask”.
=New Cardiff, Central Plaza, Fujiwara Building, Current time=
Faust hummed quietly, the sound coming out almost like an ill-tuned kazoo, as the elevator he was in soared silently skyward, staring out upon Central Plaza and the rest of New Cardiff thereby spread out before him. He could see the Reclamation Squad vehicles off in the distance, the mask hiding the rictus of malevolence spread across his mangled  muzzle.
He hadn't quite known that of all the houses he could have visited, that one would have such an interesting little specimen in it. Faust felt his wings flutter softly, wispy tendrils of smoke curling upwards through the vents in his mask as he thought about the sheer...desire and fury in the young Rottweiler's eyes. "Tender little ember...Feed that rage...Fuel the fire. Fight the muzzle they've put upon you and break the city upon your knee."he whispered softly, the mask rendering it as an almost croaking hiss.
He turned almost immediately upon the elevator reaching his destination, the glass elevator doors sliding open silently. He stepped off, the 'dragon' almost immediately flanked by a pair of raven aides. The trio conversed as they made their way through the offices, the pair softly informing him of the goings on since he had arrived, and that his father was requesting his presence.
 "Ah, figured it was only a matter of time. Surprised he waited this long...half expected him to have tried chewing me out half way here.” He said as the trio made their way through the penthouse floor offices, Faust continued to converse with the ravens, though his eyes scanned the area around him, less out of worry than reflex. His…’father’...hadn’t changed the decor since he had been here last, the 'dragon' finding it amusing that his father took such pride in...what he did.
 What space on the floor that wasn’t taken up by the enclosed glass cubicles, the executives within going about their business...whatever their ‘business’ constituted, was filled with priceless works of art; Each and every single one of them clearly being crafted with clear care and skill...and to a one, each was a depiction of brutal subjugation. “Depraved fuck...I might be a monster, but you? YOU are evil...”he thought to himself as they made their way to the one office on the penthouse floor that had even a semblance of privacy, the ravens splitting in front of the door from him to sit at their desks,  Faust’s own pace not slowing in the least as he pushed through the thick ebony doors, the jagged knobs pressing sharply into his palms as he threw the doors open and he strolled on in with no announcement. “HEEEEEEEEEEEY Old Man...Heard you wanted me for something, and I just COULDN’T wait to hear what wonderful, loving, caring-”
 
 A gloved hand raised and cut off Faust’s thinly veiled diatribe, the 'dragon' chuckling softly as he made his way up to his fathers desk. Looking at his father was like looking in a mirror, golden eyes staring out from a iridescent jet black visage though where Faust required his mask and kept things relatively on the casual side of business, Yeodun was almost painfully formal and business-like, their suits alone differing in presentation. “Boy...''Yeodun started, ignoring the visible bristling Faust was exhibiting at being addressed as such. “Why do you insist on embarrassing us...ME? One formality...You couldn’t get through one formality while being here without causing a scene? And now we’ve...authorities asking about your whereabouts in regards to an escaped E.N.I...what do you have to say for yourself?”.

Faust growled softly, before letting the sound die away as he smiled beneath his mask again, his eyes glittering softly. The younger 'dragon' stepped even closer, leaning down over the desk and bracing against it, the tips of his claws digging soft little furrows in the wood of the desk. “Aww...Does little Moogi really want to know?”Faust returned the immense disrespect he felt he had been visited, though his father was much better about not showing his anger at the impropriety. “How was I supposed to know the kid was an Enny- Excuse me ‘E.N.I’”. He made a soft jerking motion at the acronym before continuing. “I did exactly what I was supposed to, I announced my presence in the area. I left. What the boy did after that has nothing to do with me…”

  Yeodun sighed, lacing gloved hands together, resting his muzzle on them before looking up severely at his ‘son’. “Swinne...Take off the mask.”Yeodun murmured, his gaze going absolutely icy as he watched a blood vessel in Faust’s eye rupture from the sheer apoplectic rage from being called his ‘name’. Yeodun calmly pulled open a drawer, removing a case, opening it and removing the contents...what looked like an ice pick tipped with a shining stone, and gently rolled it between his fingers. “I will not repeat myself...You are just a number to me, I can make another and you know it. You are not special.”

‘Faust’ growled, before standing up straight and staring with disgust at his father as he reached up, slowly unfastening the clasps that held it on. He used one hand to pull it free from his face, the other reaching up to softly rub at...well, cheek wouldn’t be the right word. ‘Faust’ didn’t actually have much face without the mask, ragged and half melted flesh hanging off in chunks and strips from the bone, a claw tip scratching at the little bit of remaining flesh on his ‘nose’. “Fucking fine. There...the mask is off. What the fuck do you want me to say now?” Faust, or Swinne, spat at his father, turning away and staring at the floor.

“I want the truth. What...did...you...DO!?” 'Moogi' shouted, his hands slamming down on the desk. He did not like feeling like he was being lied to...He couldn’t lie and did not like others doing so around him, a cruel irony for a man in his position, and if he was being lied to, he did not want Swinne being able to try without him being able to tell. His gaze never left the back of his son’s head, a soft growl building in his chest.

  “I...I told you already. I...showed up...told them who...I was...and-”Faust stumbled, a soft gag escaping him. He pointlessly put a hand up to his non-existent mouth, coughing and hacking as he fought down the urge to vomit. “I...Didn’t...do...any-”. His attempts to explain himself were cut short as a flood of burning plasma singed his hand before he could move it, the 'dragon' gurgling softly as his body purged itself in response to his attempt to lie. Thankfully, he hadn’t been entirely lying and so the purging was over quickly, Faust standing shaking his head to discharge the errant flecks of plasma stuck to his muzzle.

 “Now that your little display of defiance is over...What did you do?”Yeodun said calmly, looking between his ‘son’ and the fading puddle of plasma, a disdainful grimace spreading across his face at the patch on his floor resulting from the burning ‘fluid’. He made a mental note to have someone brought in to fix that, waiting for Swinne to properly explain himself, the older 'dragon' coldly considering his spawn. “And please be quick about it, Swin Yeo should be arriving as well soon enough, and I don’t need them exposed to your...sickness”.

Faust grimaced as much as one could, turning to face his father again with a fury in his eyes, the left eye having gone almost entirely red. “What do you want me to say? That I baited the kid? I didn’t...I just…”he said, starting to gag again before stopping. “FINE, fuck. Yea, I saw that the kid got pissed and might have goaded him a little. I just thought he might throw some shit around in his room, maybe wreck his house a little...I didn’t...I didn’t think he would actually follow me...Kid like that? Figured his guardians would have that shit on lockdown”.

 Yeodun held up a hand to stop Swinne there, sighing again. “That is simply unacceptable. You CANNOT keep antagonizing other E.N.I. We are already on a tight timeline, any major deviation from the outlined plan or major interruption such as an errant drone not following its commands could ruin tenuous relations and accelerate the necessity of contingencies being used.”Yeodun turned and stood, walking slowly to the window that took up the entirety of the back wall, staring out across New Cardiff below. “You will rectify this matter quickly, You will rectify this matter quietly. You will not bring failure down upon this house again...any more, and I shall have to…”.

Faust growled, chomping softly as he slid his mask back on, the metal vibrating and warming as he locked the clasps and secured it to his face. The threat hung in the air, like it always did when he...or any of the others...failed. “Fuck you old man. Fuck you and fuck your plan for the world”Faust spat softly, sweating as he saw his father turn his gaze back at him over his shoulder. “Whatever...If you’re gonna make me clean this up, I’m using everything I have at my disposal”. Faust didn’t wait for a response, turning and marching out of the room, stopping only to look at a marble bust near the door and back at his father, pushing it over as he walked out of the room. “I’m gonna fix something alright...We're gonna burn the whole house down…”

=New Cardiff, Underneath Garmr’s Growth Grotto, The Warrens, One hour later=

  Theomond opened his eyes, the soft hum of the ventilation system being the only sound he could hear outside of the clock on the wall ticking. He had been brought here after taking the card, told that he would be taken care of. “No rush to fight, no rush. I’ve been here maybe 30 minutes...I can sign up to fight...whenever”he thought to himself, sitting up from the bed. The room was less sparse than the room he had back at the house, if only because it was smaller. Everything in the room was clearly built for affordability, the bed being a basic frame and mattress...the desk likely literal particleboard. He looked at the desk, or rather the mask perched atop it. 

  Just like he had asked, since it was a simple request to fulfill for any reason, he had been provided with a mask, a simple white and gold hood meant to fit his head and obscure his identity more than protect him...not that it needed to. The colours weren’t quite to his taste, the hood being what they had on short notice, a promise of something more to his tastes being offered if he did well in fights...and ‘was liked’. He wasn’t sure if he was entirely comfortable with people watching him be violent, but if the mask could give him even just the smallest bit of anonymity…

  “Not gonna lie, Theo...Buddy...this place is kind of a boring shithole so far…”Garolt laughed, breaking the silence. Theo looked over, finding the other rottweiler leaning beside the closed door, tossing a ball up and down again. “C’moooooonnnnn...If I’m bored, You’ve got to be bored...Let’s go explore, meet some of our new ‘friends’...maybe even actually have a fight today”. Theo knew Garolt was just wheedling him about what he was already thinking, the young canine rolling off the bed and walking over to the desk, picking up the mask and chewing at his lip. 

He didn’t have to do anything today...but what if they changed their mind about letting him stay if he didn’t show he was willing soon…”We’ll...I’ll go. Look around, sure. Don’t have to…”he said, finding himself walking towards the door already, mask in hand. He stopped himself, looking down at the mask in his hand and then Garolt. Clearly he wanted this...why should he deny himself the pleasure. He nodded, holding the mask in one hand as he left his new room, looking down at the floor. Whoever had designed this place knew that they would probably have to handle people that couldn’t perceive things quite the same way, the floor striated with lights and colours of multiple kinds he could see, and several he was sure he couldn’t.

“Group Lounge...Group Lounge...Fucking hell, did they have to make this as hard to figure out as they could? I get you're running an illicit organization, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make things easy.”He thought to himself, remembering the colour they had said was assigned to the Group Lounge and following the strand down the hallway, ignoring the stares he got and the slammed doors as he walked by. He found himself at an elevator, the rottweiler hesitating for a moment before pressing the button to summon the lift. 

 He stood there in silence for a few moments, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, closing his eyes and starting to hum a little song he couldn’t remember where he had heard for a few moments, before he heard someone step up beside him, his humming stopping now that he wasn’t alone. “Aww...That was such a pretty song...Why’d you stop?”said a voice from beside and below him. Theomond opened an eye and looked down at whoever had joined him.

  He had been joined by what looked like a very small armadillo, a band of plates peeking out from their shirt and sleeves. Theomond blinked in surprise that such a small and fuzzy looking anthro could be here, curiosity starting to get the better of him, his lips moving before the armadillo held up a hand. “You first please, It’s only polite.”he said, turning his head to look up at Theomond with a smile and letting his hand stay where it was. 

Theomond snorted, looking at the light above the elevator to see where the lift was and then back down at the armadillo. He couldn’t fault the armadillo’s logic, as annoying as it was for the little fuck to be so lippy, polite or not. “Stopped because I don’t like people hearing me sing. And...thank you.”He said, realizing the armadillo had seemed to have complimented him. “I’m Theomond. I’m...a Brick. You?”He said, calling the armadillo’s bluff with his hand and shaking it.

“Ignazio Lorenzo Ippazio Klaus Emilio Dante Ignaz La Felder-Schweinne” The armadillo said as if he had practiced it, finishing just as the elevator arrived, the doors hissing open. The armadillo tugged his hand free, stepping onto the elevator and looking out at the confused canine as he parsed over the armadillo’s name.

 “Ignazio...Lorenzo...Ippazio...Is this kid fucking serious? This kid can’t be fucking serious...who the fuck names their kid that?” Garolt said from behind him, stepping onto the elevator beside...whatever the fuck the armadillo’s name actually was, staring down at him with more than a little contempt. Theo could tell Garolt was annoyed with how coy the armadillo was being, the rottweiler still parsing over it before a lightbulb went off in his head, a wry grin spreading across Theo’s face.

 “Ah, I see. I’m impartial myself, but I suppose sometimes one can be a little discerning.”Theo said as he stepped onto the elevator, the armadillo’s smile having spread into an almost comical smirk. “So really...what’s your name, and shit...what got you running?”. Part of him was happy that he already seemed to be hitting it off with someone that was in the same situation he was, the nub of his tail positively vibrating.

  The armadillo snickered, pressing a button with a faded label, and stepping back as the elevator shook softly and started moving them towards their destination. " Robert D Custruttore, but you can call me Bob. As for why I’m running…”Bob said, his face softening some from the smirk before it picked right back up again. “Curiosity. Plain and Simple. I had a question, I got an answer. People didn’t like my question or the answer, and well”. The armadillo gestured at the elevator vaguely, the rottweiler cocking his head softly.

  “I know how that feels...I’m...looking for answers myself, and from what I was told, the people that got me here can get me to the answers I need.”Theo said, the pair of them standing in silence, the soft ping of floors being passed being the only break before he coughed, not wanting things to get awkward. “You...Not trying to pry but you never answered my question really. You know I’m a Brick, but what can YOU do?”.

Bob looked up at Theo, shaking his head and looking forward at the wall. “Can’t tell you...If I told you, I’d have to kill you...and I want to wait until we’re in a fight to have to do that.”The armadillo said gravely, silence dominating the elevator again before Theo started to speak up, the armadillo peeking out of the corner of his eye and waiting for the moment Theo’s mouth opened. The second he had the opportunity, one of his little fingers went up and what felt like a solid chunk of...just something...blocked his mouth up.

  Theo growled in surprise, trying to turn his head and feeling whatever it was in his mouth catch on his teeth. He tugged and scraped with his hands at his muzzle, panting through his nose and feeling his temper starting to build before the object disappeared, Theo roaring angrily and swinging a fist at Bob...and feeling his fist impact against nothing. “Sorry about that...Easier to demonstrate than it is to explain." The armadillo said, putting his hands up defensively. 

Theo was livid, breathing deep and heavy as he loomed over the diminutive male, his still free paw grabbing the armadillo by his shirt and lifting him, Bob squeaking in surprise. "Two things. One...you do that again, I see how much force it takes to pull one of those plates off, got it?" He said, the armadillo nodding softly as Theo continued. "Two...you have to see where you're doing that to project there?".

 Bob started to respond before a very pointed cough broke the suspense. During their little display, the elevator had either finished it's ascent, or been delayed by someone calling it midway, the pair in the elevator looking out to see who had stopped them. A komondor stood there, twirling a strand of fur around a finger. "If you two faggot's are done fucking in the elevator, some of us have places to be."

 "What the fuck did she just call you? Was that...who the flip-flap-jacking fuck is this chick?”Garolt said from the back of the elevator, stepping past Theo and circling the other canid, looking between her and Theo as she stepped in and jammed another button, the elevator doors hissing shut before the whole thing shuddered and they started moving again. “Uh Uh...Y’all don’t get to just woob woob woob away. Theo, I don’t know who she thinks she is but she doesn't just get to be offensive”. Garolt stared angrily at the komondor as he just...appeared in the back again.

Theo growled softly, setting Bob down and turning to the new addition to their eclectic little group. “Mind explaining just what gives you the right to call us that?”The rottweiler said, rolling his shoulders softly and looking at the newcomer. He wasn’t trying to be threatening, mostly because after the little example with Bob, he didn’t want to test the other canine in case she had some askew enna. “I’m sorry if we kept you waiting”.

  The komondor turned her head after a moment, Theo not being entirely sure if she had just rolled her eyes or not, and presumably looked up at him. “If you two are gonna act like big macho poofs, gonna call you on it. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to get to the gym without further issue, and your breath is just...really a fucking issue.”She said, scooting aside away from Theomond, continuing to twirl and tug at a cord and ignoring the buildingly fuming rottweiler.  He started to step closer, grunting as he thudded into a wall, spinning on his heel to look down at Bob.

  “Hey Hey, Theo...Buddy, can I call you buddy after that? I can understand that you're mad...if I answer your question, You promise you don’t try and pull her apart. She’s…a total bitch.”He said, letting the comment hang in the air for a moment before Theo snickered, the armadillo breathing in relief and uncrooking his finger, the wall behind Theo dropping. “I...don’t know. Never really tried, never really used my enna before...things happened, and well...I don’t really fight well, and just…”he trailed off, a look of guilt crossing his face, Theo stepping up and patting Bob on the head the way his dad would with him, stroking his headplate.

 “You don’t have to fight well, not alone at least. Just gotta find someone to watch your ass”He said, eliciting a snort from the komondor that the rottweiler gritted his teeth at and ignored. “Like I was saying...don’t have to go at it alone”. The rottweiler stopped rubbing Bob’s head, mostly out of embarrassment that he had just done so but partly because the elevator dinged as it reached its destination, the doors opening and interrupting any thoughts he had as he looked out from the elevator upon...Heaven.

Spread out before the elevator was a veritable sea of machines that Theomond had only ever dreamed of, each and every single one likely being rated for enny’s like him. He barely budged beyond stepping off the elevator, Garolt stepping beside him, their faces almost mirrors as they looked out. Every inch of space, save for a square, waist-high wall in the middle, was dedicated and utilized in the pursuit of honing E.N.I ability in as safe a manner as possible, several machines already in use by just as diverse a selection of people.

 “If this is some twisted criminal organization with goals for global domination...Let’s find out what their promotion options are…”Garolt said with no trace of sarcasm, the rottweiler turning to look around at everything before laughing uproariously. “Holy fucking shit, is that a rock wall? How the hell did they find a rock wall that could stand up to Enny’s? We have got to get dad in here somehow...maybe they might give us a penthouse if we do like...phenomenally”. 

 Theo felt a pang of guilt, his grip tightening on his mask at the mention of his father. What must his father be going through right now, how much must he be worrying. He had just disappeared, no explanation...no reason. He was starting to doubt himself when he felt a very small hand on his shoulder, the rottweiler turning to look and finding Bob inches away from his face, contorting his own into one Theo had only ever seen on roadkill. He yelped and legitimately leapt into the air, falling down in a heap to the collective laughter of the whole gym that had seen him do so.

  Theo picked himself up off the floor, dusting off and realizing he had dropped his mask in his fright, the rottweiler looking around frantically before seeing a pitbull bending over nearby to pick it up. He shot Bob a look, receiving a guilty sorry mouthed back at him as he walked over, sheepishly rubbing his upper arm. "Hey. I uh...Need that back. I don’t mean to be rude, just...I don’t have a lot of stuff here.”He said, watching the pit-bull stand up and look at him, cocking his head rather...concerningly.

 “Oh is that right? This mask? This one here? Is that right?”He said, cocking his head to the other side and grinning mischievously as the rottweiler cocked his head in confusion, wagging the mask in front of Theo’s face before it disappeared in a puff of smoke, a cackle escaping the pit-bull’s chest as Theo blinked in abject horror. “Aaaaaand, like that, it's gone...what’re you gonna do about it, suka”. The pit-bull grinned even wider as the rottweiler squared up, his eyes glittering brightly.

Theo was...mad wasn’t the right word, not even close. It was taking everything in him not to grab the pit-bull by the face, his fists balling up. He could hear Garolt growling behind him, Bob cursing and hopping down from the platform he had made for himself in the air, trying to interpose himself between Theo and Bob. “Ah Ah Ah...Nope. Can’t...Stop...Can’t hit him out here. Don’t blame you...but you do, and any medical expenses are on you. You want to hit him, you get him in there...”Bob said, gesturing with his chin at the massive square of wires that took up the center of the gym, leading down to the ground floor.

 Theo growled, before calming down and grimacing as he gestured with his chin at The Cage, the pit-bull barking in eager agreement. “Sure...After what he did, whatever the fuck he did, I wouldn’t mind beating his ass in a setting where it was ok.”He said, watching the pit-bull dart off, Theo turning to look at Bob. “So what the fuck is this thing, and how exactly is this going to work?”. He hadn’t thought to ask when he got here how this was going to work, just knowing he would find out eventually.

 Bob sighed, looking over at The Cage, and then back at Theo. “Ok, that's the...ok, how do I explain this?”the armadillo said, waving with a hand for the rottweiler to follow him, leading him through the gym, down a set of stairs to the staggered second level and then down further to the ground floor, Theo blinking in surprise as he saw what looked like...the entrance to a laser tag arena, though there was no intake area other than a computer screen with a card slot next to it. “Right...So yea. You use the I.D they gave you on the computer there. Scan it through, follow the prompts on the screen, get the match set up...and...be safe.”He murmured softly, before realizing that at some point in leading Theo, he’d grabbed him by the pocket, blushing a little and letting out a small laugh and letting go. “Need you to watch my ass after all...You might need someone cute and lovable to show you the ropes, and unless you got a secret buddy living in that head of yours I don’t know about, you’ll need all the friends you can get around here.”

  Theo made a choking noise that he barely was able to turn into a cough, the rottweiler covering his mouth to try and help play off the obfuscation before he stepped up to the screen. He slid his card through the reader next to the screen, watching it buffer for a moment before a small animation played and then showed a menu. “ Sparring Match Ready-Awaiting Combatants:1. Wow, that dog is fucking fast. So...yea…”Theo said softly, tracing a claw above the screen until he found the option he thought he wanted, tapping it softly and tracing the claw again over the choices as the option prompted a drop-down menu. “Gonna be fun wiping that smug grin off his face when I’m done.”He thought to himself, growling as the sheer plethora of options started to weigh on him before he just randomly selecting an option, the screen darkening for a moment before a light above the door switched from a steady green to a blinking yellow, the doors below grinding open, soft mist rolling out along the floor.

 Bob stepped up, punching Theo softly in the thigh, grinning up at him softly. “Welp, You’re in it to win it, right? Don’t know if dude’s gonna tap out or not, but remember...only give as good as you get.”The armadillo said, looking at the open doorway and gesturing with his chin at the open door. “Don’t wanna keep him waiting...the sooner you pull his ass out through his throat, the sooner you’ve got your mask back”. Theo nodded, rubbing the back of his head as he stepped towards the open doorway, waiting for just a moment.

  “No matter what happens in there...Thank you for, mostly, being such a cool dude.”Theo said, biting the inside of his cheek softly and blushing a little. “M-maybe if I win, we can go back to my place and have a little party”. He couldn’t hear or see Bob’s reaction to his offer, stepping into the misty darkness and hearing the door grind shut behind him. “Ah fuck...I gotta pee”

-Langley Residence, Current Events-

 Garth sighed, slumping over on the couch. It had been...he couldn’t even tell. Victor had sent the report and information along to N.C.R.H.Q, patting Garth on the shoulder and assuring him everything would be fine as the S.R.O’s finally arrived, a stocky a.p.c trundled up in front of the house. Victor looked out and sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he saw the markings on the side of the A.P.C, the squad symbol eliciting an oddly negative reaction. “W-what? I thought they were here to help?”Garth said in confusion, looking out as well.

  “It’s...they are, just...I know which group they sent....and well…''Victor continued, before he was interrupted by the sound of the A.P.C hissing softly, the back unfolding into a ramp. The sphynx turned and started out of the house to the A.P.C, Garth following out close behind him. “OI...They really have to send you? What were the dregs not available? Cuckoo’s flew the nest? They had to send the biggest sack of-''. The sphynx’s derisive little rant was cut off as a bulky drone whirred out, being followed out by a trio of Reclamation Agents, a pair of twin moose and, though it took Garth a moment to notice him behind the much...much taller ungulates, a corgi that clearly hadn’t been blessed by his genes.

  Garth cocked his head as the trio walked up onto the sidewalk, looking up at the house. The corgi was the first to approach him and Victor, the drone hovering at the ready three feet above the diminutive canid. “Yes, Yes Victor...Please undermine N.C.R.O’s in front of a civilian because of a petty grudge.”The corgi said, rolling his eyes and waving his hand in the air to hurry the feline. “I’m sure this will reflect well on Mr Langley, and how sure he is of our work”. The corgi turned to the moose beside him, reaching up to touch their hands for a moment, the pair nodded and started circling the area.

  “S-so...How does this work? You lot just...psychically reconstruct events from what...lingering feelings?”Garth asked as the moose did their job with efficiency, finishing the sweep around the outside of the house before starting their way inside the house. He whined as he started in towards the house as well, before feeling a soft tug at his hand, the rottweiler looking down at the corgi that had stopped him.

 "Feelings, trace thoughts, the like. You'd be surprised by the psychic imprint left by even just a few moments of extreme emotion, let alone as long as your son was in there…'feeling'..."the corgi said, shuddering and snarling. "But active thought and emotions can have a...muddying effect. You'll have to stay out here until Cydymdeimlad and Gwneuthurwr are finished. Shouldn’t be long-.”

 “Francois and Hector. You could call them by their goddamned names…’Torth’. You don’t ALWAYS have to be at work...''Victor hissed, the stout canid sighing again, pulling out a small tablet and making a few presses on the screen. Victor’s own tablet buzzed, the cat squinting suspiciously and pulling it out, mumbling as he read what he had been sent. “You smarmy little fucking...god, this is why you could never make it work with Victoria”. The feline slid his tablet back into its holster, reaching up to tug his goggles back down, and looked at Garth. “Really do hope your kid turns out ok. Lotta Enny’s don’t have someone that worries like this’. The feline nodded softly before disappearing, a soft clap of thunder being the only indication someone had been there.

 Garth cocked his head, looking down at the corgi in confusion about the little scene, the corgi looking back up at him. “Not that it’s your business, but yes...he and I are...acquainted. Just have to hope his little display didn’t interfere with the afterimages out here...” 'Torth' said, clapping softly as the moose came back out and looked between each other and then the corgi, nodding softly and offering their hands, the corgi reaching up slowly. “As I was saying. Now...un dau...dri...ac o dan''. The moment the corgi’s paws intersected the hands of the moose, his body shuddered, his eyes rolling back as the moose lifted him gently and started for the house, the drone following close behind.

Garth paused where he had been, unsure where he should stand or be, looking around for a moment before letting out a gulping whine, before following after the trio. He couldn’t help but watch with trepidation tempered by concern as the rather...macabre..trio went to work. The moment the corgi neared the porch, the light went...wrong...for a moment before refocusing, the scene on the porch being exactly what he had seen previously.

 They walked slowly through the house, Garth watching eerily as he talked to his son before he went upstairs, the rottweiler nearly pushing past the trio as they made their way upstairs..and into Theo’s room. Garth hesitated for a moment, the trio marching into the room and holding there for...an inordinately long time. He couldn’t help himself but peek in...and felt his world shatter.  He felt himself retch, bracing himself against the opposite wall and stumbling out of the way as ‘Torth’ was directed out into the hall.

“No...No...No. He...It can’t...God...they’re going...questions” Garth thought in a panic, watching his son...and a monster...break into his room. He staggered to the broken remains of his door, watching as Theo threw the window open and crawled out. “He’s...They’re out there...We should have just...”. Garth jumped as the sound of yipping broke his thoughts, Garth watching as the light went wrong again, the haze over everything starting to fade...and as Garolt turned his head towards him, grinning and waving, his lips moving silently as he faded out. “Surprise!”

 "Gar-...This...this can’t be...We...You shouldn’t…”He thought gravely, looking between the bed and the open window. “Does he...Does Theo know...He couldn’t…”. Garth, gripped tightly at his cast, his bones aching in worry. He didn’t know how N.C.R would take what the drone had recorded, the aging rottweiler wishing he could take so many mistakes back as a very long lie started to unravel before him.

 The moose set the corgi down gently, the corgi panting and coughing as he came back to reality. “Ffyc sy'n brifo...Well, I believe we’ve seen everything we need to. If you require a copy of the drone’s recording, you are welcome to come in to N.C.R.H.Q and fill out the necessary paperwork and we should be able to get you the recording within the quarter.”The corgi said coolly, rolling his neck softly before pressing his hands to the moose and then heading back for the a.p.c, the drone flying ahead of him now.

  Garth nodded softly, making his way back up to the porch, turning and flopping down on the step, staring off at New Cardiff in the distance. “Theomond...Be smart…”

=The Cage, ‘Somewhere Fishy’=

  “Oh for fucks sake, another goddamned dead end…Garolt...where the fuck are you?"Theomond yelled in his head, punching a shipping container and feeling the steel crumple around where his fist pierced through. The moment the doors to The Cage had closed, Theo had felt a buzzing in his teeth, the Rottweiler putting a hand to his head as he felt a pressure building, Garolt whining next to him.

 “T-theo...what the fuck...I...Nngh...I shouldn’t be…”Garolt had said, before the pressure became agonizing and everything washed out, Theo hearing the faint sound of Garolt shouting haltingly before they both hit the ground with a very loud thud, the last thing he remembered before passing out being the sight of blood trickling out of Garolt’s nose. When he came to, he had seemingly been dropped into the middle of a Harbor...but not one that a rational designer had any hand in, containers stacked to make a maze that went vertical at times.

 “Nothing to do about it now, just gotta...Fuck, where is everyone. Garolt is missing, and THAT shouldn’t be possible...that other asshole still hasn’t shown up and THAT is just annoying.”He thought as he looked around, sniffing softly at the air. Whatever the fuck was going on, it was a very convincing illusion or hologram or...whatever the fuck it was, the subtle smell of rotting sea matter and salt water stinging his nose, an undercurrent of oil making it almost sickly.

 “What would Garolt say to do here…’Get up high, and if the fucker wants to hide, make it hard for him to’...Guess I should do that then”. He looked at the container he had punched and then down at his paw, shrugging and thrusting his fist into the container again, slightly higher and in a spot he hadn’t punched yet. With more than a little effort he pulled himself up without peeling the metal down, his foot slamming into the container to provide a brace, the rottweiler climbing slowly upwards.

 It took him a few moments to climb the stack that way, huffing as he reached the top, pulling himself over the top and surveying the scene before him. The rottweiler could see for what seemed like a mile in each direction, shipping containers and lanes criss-crossing to make a veritable labyrinth of metal and water, the canid crouching softly and closing his eyes for a moment before sinking his hands into the container beneath him, tearing a hole in the metal and pulling, wrenching his way in without concern for how much noise he was making.

  With a huff, he dropped into the container, dusting himself off as he landed and looked at the crates lining the container. He couldn’t see well in the little light filtering in from his little entrance, his paws going to the nearest crate and rubbing over it. “Alright...Not like I’m at a loss for choices here. Gotta hope that whatever is in here was worth coming in for.''He thought to himself, smashing the top of the crate and pulling it free, looking down at the contents. "Well fuck ME...not exactly a GPS locator...but I can work with it”. In all the great grace of whatever wrote the story of his life, the crate he had chosen...held Ulthrite-steel alloy rods...like the ones used to construct his room. “Let’s see you teleport now…”.

=The Cage, ‘Somewhere Fishy'=

  Paul grinned to himself as he dropped down from between a group of containers, cocking his head and listening for more sounds like the one he had just heard. “Knew the dumb fuck would give it up eventually. Haven’t met a brick yet that didn’t end up getting mad and smashing shit to find things. ‘Hurr hurr, me no have to think when fist made of win’...Now to actually find the bitch.'' the pit-bull thought to himself, making his way in the direction the sound had come from.

  Paul could not for the life of himself figure out beyond pure violent curiosity why he decided to find out what the rottweiler would do if he shifted the mask, grinning even wider as he shifted the mask back out. “Kids really that wrapped up around this? Things a fucking gimp mask in everything but function...Problems there for DAYS.”He laughed, shifting across a canal and ‘jumping’ his way up a stack of containers that made a sort of staircase in a series of ‘shifts’.

  He breathed deep as he surveyed the scene before him, his nerves singing as he yowled uproariously at such a joyous occasion, getting to show yet another overblown sentient wrecking ball just how worthless they were. He threw himself forward off the stack, shivering as he neared the ground, ‘shifting’ at the last second and coming back out moving forward several feet away, letting out an insane yip with each step, the desire for violence starting to overcome him.

 Paul loved the feeling, getting to let out his every screaming need. That these needs were the same ones that had gotten him locked up once already and had him hiding here in The Warrens hardly crossing his mind as he caught a scent that was new compared to the rusting metal and rotting sea life. He whooped loudly again as he shifted up and over another stack of containers, running in the direction of the scent.

 He didn’t have long to run before he found his quarry, sliding to a stop and hiding just around the corner from the rottweiler, watching him wandering around seemingly in a daze. “Oh this is rich. First he has the bright idea to make a whole bunch of noise, and now he’s just walking around without watching his ass?”The pitbull laughed in his head, biting his lip as he started creeping up towards the wandering rottweiler, each step bringing his pulse higher. His nose flared in anticipation, breathing deep and savoring the scent of his prey...and feeling a pit grow in his stomach...the rottweiler in front of him wasn’t his prey. “That...How the fuck are you in here?”The pit-bull stopped, too gobsmacked at the impossibility before him.

 The rottweiler spun on his heel and yelped, scrabbling backwards in an attempt to press himself back into the container behind him. “Who...How the fuck...What did you fucking do?! Where IS HE?”the rottweiler roared as the knowledge of who had scared him dawned on him, turning to grab the container he had been trying to melt through and swinging it at Paul in an inarticulate rage, the pit-bull shaking his head clear of the confusion just in time to see the container swinging towards him and shift out.

 Paul gasped, his fur standing on end as he appeared a good hundred feet back and in the air, grunting as he hit the ground. Shifting with that little ready time was...not a fun experience. Traveling through...whatever...he did when he shifted was hard enough when he knew where he wanted to go, let alone doing it reactively. He scrambled up from the ground, the rottweiler panting raggedly and looking around frantically, spotting him and causing the pit-bull to swallow, putting his hands up, looking down at them and noticing he had the mask still openly in his hand. “OI...Oi, Calm...Calm your tits. It was a joke man...You want the mask, here man...fucking take it, shit”He said, tossing the mask to the ground and backing up away from it. 

 The pit-bull tensed as he saw the rottweiler rearing back with the container, cursing as he watched the rottweiler throw the container at him like a big fucking dart. He growled, knowing that he had to do something, try and talk him down...it was stupid and dangerous, but short of surrendering, there was only one way out of The Cage. He shifted past the container as it sailed through the spot he had been, hitting the ground running as the rottweiler charged him.

=’Somewhere Fishy’=

 Garolt was...he could not understand the fear and rage he was feeling at that moment. The moment the door had rumbled close behind them, Garolt had felt a buzzing in his teeth, which was already enough of an impossibility seeing as he shouldn’t have been able to feel ANYTHING...actually feel anything at the least. When the pressure started, he tried to find the words to describe feeling impossibilities. “T-theo...what the fuck...I...Nngh...I shouldn’t be…”The Rottweiler stumbled, before the impossibility of feeling pressure became the much more terrifying and unknown concept of pain. More pain than he could recall having ever felt in his...existence, white blinding furious pain that washed away any attempt at thought. The rottweiler not realizing he was yelling as he fell forward, his nose feeling...wet...as unconsciousness took him.

  Garolt gasped loudly when he woke, and continued to pant as he realized that he had to actually breathe. The rottweiler coughed, another new sensation for him, as he stumbled shakily to his feet. He wobbled, his arms going out to try and balance him. “Fuck...Fuck...Fuck what the fuck.”he said, before his eyes widened. “Oh...This is not…”. The rottweiler looked around nervously, jumping at the sound of metal being rent asunder. “Only been physical like five minutes but fuck that, nope…”He said, wobbling slowly in the opposite direction from the noise. “How the fuck does he do this...Is this what having a body feels like? This fucking sucks, fuck this.”Garolt growled in his head.


  Garolt stumbled into a container, bracing against it and looking around in worry. “Theo...Buddy...Where are you? This...everything is so loud...how do you hear through all this.”He thought to himself, closing his eyes and starting to sob quietly. “That...How the fuck are you in here?” Came a voice from behind him, Garolt yelping and spinning on his heel and yelped, scrabbling backwards in an attempt to press himself back into the container behind him. The pit-bull that had gotten them into this mess...got him separated from Theomond had snuck up on him. The pit-bull was right there in front of him... “Who...How the fuck...What did you fucking do?! Where IS HE?”Garolt screamed as the rage and confusion overwhelmed him, turning to grab the container he had been trying to slip through and swinging it at the pit bull, scarcely noticing the pit-bull vanishing in a puff of smoke.

  “Theo...Theo...Help...Please...I’m afraid...please...I don’t want to be alone”Garolt worriedly thought, panting and looking around as he tried in vain to find Theo, but what he was able to find was the bastard that had done this, meaningless sounds coming out of the canid and something being tossed between them. He could think of nothing other than hurting the pit-bull, hurting him like he had felt when this all started, his body throwing the container at the pit-bull and chasing after it. “Hurt...Hurt him. Hurt him...kill...him...”He thought, his vision narrowing as the pit-bull reappeared running towards him...saliva starting to drip from a growingly feral maw.

=’Somewhere Fishy’=

  Theo hefted the trio of rods in his hand as he jumped across another wide gap between rows and stacks of containers, stumbling as he landed. Learning to actually use his strength was hard, so used to either extreme, and he was sure that this ease wouldn’t stick around once he was back in the real world. “Now...If I were a sneaky jackass, where would I be?”He thought to himself, scanning the area before hearing a cacophonous crashing, a stack of containers in the distance shuddering. “Well fuck...I sure as shit didn’t do that...and I don’t…think...”He mumbled to himself, before a creeping realization dawned on him.

 He felt the metal beneath his feet depress as he launched himself up and forward, soaring through the air towards the source of the commotion...hoping he wasn’t too late. If this place worked the way he thought it might...it made no sense, but neither did being able to punch holes in steel by sneezing too hard...then he had to hurry. “Garolt...God, Please don’t...We don’t know how this place works…”he thought in concern, barely taking the time to land before he jumped again.

  It only took him a few minutes to get where he was headed, the rottweiler landing just outside an open...almost arena like area. “Fucking hell...I’m gonna walk in there and gonna hear boss music…”he said, resting the rods on his shoulder as he strolled through into the open area, the sound of pounding steps causing his pulse to race as he saw the pit-bull appear in a puff of smoke, looking around in a panic and spotting him, yelping in relief before the dawning of just who he was glad to ‘see’ was. “Yea...Me. You have five seconds to explain yourself before I beat the special out of you.”He yelled, his grip tightening on the rods, his temper...surprisingly even at the moment.

  The pit-bull looked behind him towards the stomping, weighing his options and considering what was best in that moment, before a searing pain shot through his foot, a Vorpal rod pinning his foot to the concrete beneath it, the rottweiler’s paw holding the other end. “FUCKING SUKA. Fucking really? FUCKING REALLY? NOW?”He screamed, collapsing to his knee and trying to tug the rod out from where Theo was holding it, the rottweiler staring down almost...curiously.

 “I did say five seconds, didn’t I?''He said, leaning forward and flicking the pit-bull’s nose. “ Besides...Didn’t want you trying to fuck off before you explained yourself...or whatever you’re running from showed up...and if what’s coming is what or who I think it is...well...this day got REALLY shitty for you”. He laughed, standing and whistling loudly, the pit-bull yelling and yanking again, looking around frantically as he was pinned there by the rod. “So what exactly is your issue with me? First interaction with me, and you decide to be a dick? Wasn’t laughing at me enough?”

  Theo set the rods against one of the containers, resting beside them, watching the pit-bull agonizing over his choices, shit though they may be. One of the rottweilers MIGHT beat his ass at this point...rod in his foot aside...but the other…”Shits and giggles. It’s so...boring...You’re the first...new person...at this Warren...in weeks.”the pit-bull pants, before his breathing stopped for a moment...the sound of a feral roar stopping his heart in his chest...and then renewing his efforts to be free. “Oh god fucking...Dude, get this fucking rod out of me before he shows up…”

Theo snorted, grabbing one of the rods and hefting it in his hand and looking off into the distance, spotting a shadow coming around the corner and wincing, starting to pace back and forth “Ooooh...No. How about no, no sound good? Think I’ll go with no."he said, absent-mindedly swinging the rod back and forth. “He’s looking for you specifically right now, and well…”.

 Paul blinked, gritting his teeth and looking back in the direction that Theo was looking, seeing the thing Garolt had become at the end...and seeing Garolt seeing him. He closed his eyes, resting his head against the rod. He knew that if Theo was just going to use him as bait, there wasn’t much he could do about it. He accepted his coming beating, opening his eyes and looking up at Theo. “I’m sorry. I surrender.”He said calmly, watching with growing numbness and pain as Theo perked his ears, cocking his head and stepping up to the pitbull, the remaining rod being picked up as he moved.

 “What? You surrender? Now that you don’t get to jump around and shit? Don’t get to act like an acrobat and be all super ninja like? Awful lot of shit for me to be swallowing here after all that.”He laughed, looking past the pit-bull to Garolt as he burst through a container, chunks of concrete flying up as his pace started to pick up. “Ooooh...He’s running now. How long do you think it’ll take before he gets here?”. Theo knew he was being cruel, and that if anyone was watching this somehow they’d know he wasn’t respecting a seemingly honest surrender, but he found it difficult to actually care.

  Paul blanched, assessing his options at that point. He had one monster in front of him, already having pinned him and using him as bait for the other, the pounding sound of heavy impacting steps and chunks of stone pinging off metal causing his pulse to quicken again. He licked his lips, taking a deep and steady breath as he realized he only saw one option to get out of there fast . “Longer than it’ll take everyone to see that you’re a monster. Heh...fuck...Surprised it took you as long to get picked up as it did. Your parents must be terrified every fucking day of you…’Oh no, We got applewood instead of maple bacon, Timmy’s gonna kill the cat again’...”The pit-bull laughed, watching as the rottweiler’s hackles raised, continuing on in the same breath.” Sweet fucking hell, Here I am...thinking I’M the cosmic fuck up in life...can’t keep a steady roof over my head cause I can’t help sneaking into places...but YOU? You really ARE a fucking monster, big guy back there must have just been a great big excuse that The Cage made real”.

  Theo didn’t remember dropping the rods, stepping up to the pit-bull, or grabbing him by the throat,and yanking him up the rod with a yelp. He could barely think at that moment...barely see...What the pit-bull was saying...it wasn’t true...it couldn’t be...it wasn’t. His father loved him...He...He thought he did. He felt his grip tightening around the pit-bull’s throat, Paul's breathing becoming a rasping wheeze. “Ooooh...Did...I hit a nerve?...Monster doesn’t like being...called a monster...does he? Being...made to realize...that every...interaction he...has is...a lie...predicated...on...people not...wanting...to...be...ripped...apart...by...an...insane...child”the pit-bull wheezed in the moments before Theo’s rage went nuclear, ripping the pit-bull free of the rod and tossing him underhand towards the rapidly approaching Garolt. 

 Paul gasped and screamed as he was ripped free of the rod and thrown at the other monstrous Rottweiler, the agony in his foot distracting him from shifting. He hit the ground and rolled, coming to stop a dozen feet from Garolt. The other rottweiler stopped at the sudden change in the situation, cocking his head and sniffing at the air before growling, a rapid pace being replaced by an almost predatory one . He grit his teeth, closing his eyes and preparing for pain in the very near future.


 Theo wasn't far behind the pit-bull, walking slowly behind his flying...and then tumbling...body. He was still seething, teeth bared as he stalked up in kind to Paul, though with each step he could see Garolt getting closer...and with each step closer, he felt his desire to return to the simplicity of having Garolt in his head growing, until it was too much. Theo felt himself moving forward, stepping over Paul and up to Garolt, wrapping his arms tightly around him and starting to hum weakly.

 Paul watched with morbid fear and curiosity at the scene before him. He watched the seemingly identical Rottweilers embrace, the one he had been pinned by humming what sounded like...a lullaby and rocking the pair gently back and forth, the seemingly engorged rottweiler clearly straining and panting, tears running down his face. The pit-bull licked his lips nervously, resisting the urge to move too much. "This...this is sweet, and heartwarming...and shit...but can...can we stop now? You win. I get it."the pit-bull watched as both Rottweiler's snapped their gaze down at him, holding up his hands in fear, cowering as they approached in near unison.

  Theo growled, before closing his eyes and nodding softly, the world going white as everything started fading out. He felt...empty...without the rage, all the emptier without Garolt making some cheeky comment or snide remark in his head, not knowing what was going to happen now.

=The Cage, Three hours later=

  Bob paced nervously around The Cage. He knew fights could take time sometimes, but it seemed like this had been no normal fight. The armadillo had immediately noticed something awry when the monitors that would have displayed the mental projection of the fight immediately exploded the moment the doors closed, several of the other gym users yelping or screaming in surprise at the shower of sparks and glass.

  "That...that can't be good. Theo...fuck...you don't get to drop a bombshell like that and then…"Bob thought, letting out a sigh of relief as the light above the door started blinking yellow, a loud announcement buzz fighting through the gym. The armadillo scrambled, darting for the door he knew Theo should be coming out of. "Oh god damn...what happened..."he mumbled to himself, bouncing as he waited for the doors to rumble open.

  The moment they did, he darted in and looked around furiously before spotting the crumpled body of his newest friend...and the approaching, limping form of the pit-bull from before with murder clearly in his eyes. He didn't hesitate to throw up a wall, growling as the pit-bull shifted through the wall and kept coming. "Paul...Paul...Don't. I don't know what happened here between you two…"he said, blinking in confusion and relief as that got the pit-bull to stop, a growl turning into traumatized laughter.

  "Two? Unh-unh...wasn't any two about it. This...freak...managed to make The Cage manifest his imaginary fucking friend, and I got double mint FUCKED in there. All this over a fucking mask...well fine, he wants the mask?"the pit-bull spat, stooping over to pick up the mask from where it had appeared and throwing it at the Rottweiler, spitting on the ground and storming off at a limping but quick clip.

 Bob heaved a sigh of relief as the pit-bull left, before turning his attention back to the Rottweiler, crouching down and softly rubbing his back. "Theo...Theo buddy...w-wake up...you're...you're ok…"he said, something about what Paul had said eating at him. The Cage shouldn't have manifested a third party without there actually being a third party, and as well...there shouldn't have been a bloody trail of footprints tracing the way Paul had been walking.

  Bob jumped a little as Theo gasped loudly, bolting upright and looking around as if he had seen a ghost. "GAROLT?!"he shouted, closing his eyes and mumbling to himself, tears streaming down the Rottweiler's face. "Theo...there's no-one...else here."he said softly, a tiny paw coming to rest on the rottweiler's head, stroking it nervously. He felt his heart drop when he saw the panicked look as Theo opened his eyes, the armadillo biting his lip before tightly hugging the much larger Rottweiler. "I don't know what happened here with you...three, and I don't need an explanation...You clearly can't and shouldn't be alone right now. No maybe about it, and I know it's fast to invite you back to my place after the first date, but we're going...". Bob didn’t know if humour was quite the right choice, but he could tell something was clearly seriously wrong.

 Theo blinked as he was hugged, the Rottweiler starting to hyperventilate at how little the armadillo seemed to be worried, a confusing and cold numbness fogging his mind. He had never felt Garolt if he wasn't "there", but now...he could swear he felt a raw, open wound he couldn't see, sobs starting to rack his body as the armadillo coaxed him to his feet and made no fight as the armadillo, stopping only for a moment to pick the Rottweiler's mask up, led him out of The Cage.

=Fujiwara Building=

Faust stared out across the city from his 'office', the room being a glorified and gilded cage, a great big 'this is mine. It stays here by my will alone' sign. He growled, the mask rendering the sound an almost rattling hiss. It had been several hours since his 'father' had dressed him down, and he had already put feelers out for the Rottweiler.

  He turned slowly in his chair, looking down at his sparsely furnished desk. He wasn't allowed much in the way of distinction for his office, a laptop and a single framed picture, the 'dragon' reaching out to pick the frame up, caressing it softly.

When his father had given him this one indulgence without asking any questions, he pounced on it. He knew his father didn't like reminders of past failures, but the picture was the one reminder he had of things before...the pristine, grinning faces of fifty four of himself staring back at him in various stages of seriousness and age, the largest holding up a pair of smaller copies, throwing up peace signs and looking absolutely at one with the world.

  He shook his head as his laptop beeped, rousing himself out of his revelry. He opened the laptop, a ping on a secure line. The 'dragon' looked up at the doors to his office, closing his eyes for a moment, opening the message:

‘Coeus(21:45): Hey boss. Got an interesting little video for you from one of our Warrens. Really interesting. Kid blew out all the viewing screens on a Cage during what was supposed to be a one on one, but we’ve got the hard video and...You just have to see this. Sent you a copy, wiped the original

 Faust saw the attached file, running it through a few scanners before opening it. He might pay Coeus well, but he was still an information broker and the 'dragon' wasn’t so stupid as to assume he wouldn’t have something there just as a formality. Seeing that it read clean, or atleast clean enough, the 'dragon' played the video, sitting back and watching with bated breath. The video started out...well, it didn’t start for a good few minutes it seemed, just crackling static and a black screen before the image faded in.

  Faust knew the rough location of the exact front that this Warren was located under, but didn’t recognize the arena this particular Cage had constructed, figuring one of the combatants had opted for whatever suited them both best. The ‘camera’ swooped in down on a pit-bull as he hit the ground, rolling his shoulders. “Not impressed so far...Let’s see what’s going on…”the 'dragon' thought, tapping through the video until he accidentally went past something happening, rewinding until he was a few moments before the bit of action he had thought he had seen.

  He watched a pit-bull coming to a sliding stop, the 'dragon' leaning in as he watched the pit-bull start sneaking up on someone and feeling his pulse spike as he watched the pit-bull sneak up on a very familiar rottweiler before stopping. The 'dragon' let out a happy little snarl as he watched the rottweiler freak out and then immediately react just as he figured the rottweiler would in the situation. “Oh fuck the hell yes…”He whispered softly, gripping his desk giddily.

 The Rottweiler laid into the Pit-bull with a fury he had fully expected from just the way the boy reacted to him being a little curt, each movement an explosion as he went from spot to spot with seemingly no indication beyond a crack like gun-fire and the rottweiler slamming into a spot the pit-bull had previously been in only moments before, swiping at wisps of smoke as the pit-bull tried very hard to simultaneously keep a safe but close to the rottweiler and seemingly say...something, while not staying close enough to let the rottweiler get his paws on him...each swipe taking chunks out of the concrete. “Get him...Do it. Rip him apart...show me the monster I can see in those eyes”he murmured, watching as the chase continued into an arena after the pit-bull broke pursuit with a blistering series of zig-zagging jumps.

  He could feel his breathing starting to grow heavy as the pit-bull looked around frantically, darting up, around and through containers as he tried to get as far away from the rottweiler as he could, his own predatory instinct starting to build with each moment the pit-bull ran in fear before he stopped, the 'dragon' almost leaping onto his desk in anticipation, the camera swinging around to show the pit-bull had ran into...the rottweiler again and yet…”Why...why stop?”he mumbled, his eyes shooting wide open and a victorious roar being rendered an almost electronic screech cut through the silence as he watched the rottweiler pin his prey with a rod.

  Faust was literally salivating, the nostrils of his mask smoking furiously, as he watched the rottweiler toy with his prey, though part of his mind couldn’t help but notice the way the pit-bull kept looking off somewhere else..and that the rottweiler seemed to be acting much more coherent. He started to pant as the pair got much closer again, seeing the strain in the pit-bull’s face as the rottweiler choked the life out of him before ripping him free and throwing him towards...something. The camera wasn’t quite showing any focus on anything but the pit-bull beyond a 6 foot radius, though the 'dragon' almost clapped for the artistry of what he saw next.

 Marching from both sides of the crippled pit-bull were a matching pair of the rottweiler he had seen at that house, the 'dragon'’s wings flaring painfully open with another roar as the pair stalked up to their prey...and ignored it, choosing instead to embrace. “NO!!! GOD FUCKING DAMMIT, YOU WEAK FUCKING…”he spat, slamming the laptop closed, the sound of cracking glass making him only that much angrier.

  This was...this would change things. If there were really two of that rottweiler, that meant he had twice the job to do. He would have to...the easiest method would be to just show up, find the kid...or rather kids it seemed...and put two in the back of their head. He knew Moogi had money to burn, but four Vorpal rounds, even at a small caliber, would draw a lot of unwanted attention. He turned to look out upon the city, rubbing at his mask softly before reaching up to unclasp it, sliding it free with a soft hiss, and setting it aside. He stood, walking to the window and pressing a hand to it, the other reaching into a pocket to pull out his newest cell-phone, dialing the number for the Control Center of the Warren, humming softly as it rang twice and then clicked. “It’s Yong. I understand there was a bit of an...event...tonight.”He said softly, cutting the person on the other end off. “No No. Stop. Not mad in the least. These things happen...it’s a sensitive system...the boys in question?”. The person on the other end stammered out an explanation, the 'dragon' perking his head when he only heard mention of one rottweiler. “No. Draw no attention to him directly, but do...add his name to the roster, maybe somewhere near the top...arrange it however you need to”. The 'dragon' ended the call, looking down at his mask and then out at the city again. “You want to try controlling everything...lets see you control ash, old man”


=The Warrens, 12 hours later=

Theo gasped and bolted upright from unconsciousness, looking around frantically. The last thing he could remember was being led out of The Cage by- He looked around nervously, panic starting to build as he didn’t recognize the room, before a soft little sneeze drew his attention lower. Curled up beside him was the sleeping form of Bob, the diminutive armadillo wearing solely, unless he had something on underneath, a large shirt. The rottweiler racked his brain, trying to recall the events. He had been led here from The Cage, the armadillo having gently coaxed him onto the bed, changing into at least the shirt he was currently swimming in, and curled up beside the rottweiler, allowing him to use the diminutive male as a particularly warm stress ball.

  He pushed off of the bed softly and as quietly as he could, watching as Bob twitched and started curling up a little tighter, the rottweiler snickering quietly at how adorable the look of it was. He sighed, rubbing his face and stepping away from the bed. He leaned against the opposite wall, watching the armadillo sleep before closing his eyes and just...he couldn’t put a word to what he was trying to do, the rottweiler trying to push his will out into the universe or something, maybe…

 He bit back a growling sob as he still felt nothing, and heard nothing from Garolt. He’d never been without Garolt for...any real amount of time, any ‘fight’ with them seeming to be over the moment Theo wanted to apologize...and now. “Garolt...Buddy...You...you can’t be gone...this...I can’t be alone.”He whispered to himself, just hoping against all hope that...that nothing had happened and he would hear Garolt make some snide remark about how ‘That big honking bone is gonna pop him like a balloon’. Theo knew nothing had happened between the two of them, the rottweiler feeling an odd contentment that Bob had been willing to be so close.

 Theo was startled out of his brooding by the sound of what Theo thought had to be the most adorable sound he thought anything could make, the small armadillo sitting up and yawning, the squeaking noise sounding almost like a toy, Bob rubbing his face and blinking bleary eyes. "Morning...you even think about telling anyone I yawn like that, and I'm liable to gag you and leave you there."he said sleepily, shooting what he thought was a soft wink as he rolled, quite literally, out of bed.

  "I...mnnn...you…"Theo mumbled, looking down at his feet. He didn't understand why Bob was being so...casual...about everything. Did he...did he not actually care? The Rottweiler sniffed softly, rubbing at his eyes with an arm before he felt the armadillo's paw on his knee. He looked down, whining softly as he saw Bob rubbing his knee sympathetically.

  "Theo, my guy. If you can find a single person here that isn't carrying some sort of baggage, I'll never crack another joke again...but seriously dude...if you want to tell me what's going on, you're going to. Otherwise, I'm not gonna ask...not my place to ask, and not my burden to bear...now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get to the cafeteria before all the comfy spots are taken."The armadillo snorted cheekily, shucking the shirt and leaving Theo to blush furiously as the smaller male had not been in fact wearing anything beneath his shirt, the Rottweiler looking away pointedly and trying not to be embarrassed. The armadillo didn't take long to get dressed, a simple tank top and what would have been hot-shorts on literally anyone else. "Alright, you can stop looking now, I'm dressed." He laughed, turning and gesturing with his head for the canine to follow him before making his way out quickly.

  The Rottweiler stammered and whined, looking down at his wrinkled shirt and shorts before following after him. "Do you...WANT...to know?"Theo asked, rubbing the back of his sheepishly as the armadillo shook a hand in the air. "Mnn...I...don't know if it'll make sense."he murmured as they walked, making their way back to the nearest elevator to where they needed to go. They walked in silence for a few minutes, the Rottweiler mulling over his thoughts. 

 "Let's get some coffee and then maybe we can go from there...hard to avoid talking when you need to when you have coffee."the armadillo said, patting the much larger males thigh as they reached an elevator, Bob 'creating' a set of 'steps' up to press the call button. He turned and sat down on the steps as they waited, humming to himself. "I WILL tell you you spent most of the night hugging me like a teddy bear, and mumbling someone’s name."

Theo felt his blush return though he wasn't sure if it was from the idea of having cuddled with Bob or having been subconsciously calling out someone’s name. “I...We’ll talk about this when we...have more privacy.”The rottweiler said as the elevator arrived much more quickly than he remembered, the armadillo hopping down and stepping in beside Theo, joining the crowd inside. They rode in ‘silence’, the only sound being what little conversation the others on the elevator were having, stopping infrequently to let off or let on passengers. It wasn’t long until they were the only ones left, Theo breathing heavily before licking his lips, looking at the buttons of the elevator nervously and then to Bob, who looked up at him and stepped up, hitting the ‘non-emergency’ stop button, and leaned against the wall.

“My...Best place I can start is from as far back as I can remember. My name is Theomond Grant Langley. My mother was killed trying to stop someone from kidnapping me, and I’ve lived with my father since. I’m an E.N.I with Cataclysmic physical capabilities, a temper problem and until 15 hours ago...”He said, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to continue explaining.” I had a demon living in my head…”

=Somewhere=

 Garolt roared as he came around, bolting to his ‘feet’. He looked around furiously, building dread surmounting the fear and rage he felt. He could see nothing, though it wasn’t that he couldn’t see, just that all he could see around him was a seemingly infinite void, distant lights dotting the indeterminable distance. He bit his lip, starting to move...trying to just move in any direction, but no matter what he did, either he wasn’t moving or it didn’t matter how much he did, the lights never seemed to get closer.

 “Where...What...why did this happen. I...why did I make him do this? Am...Am I...really just...a demon?”Garolt cried to himself, starting to curl up on himself and sob. He just laid there, crying for...he didn’t know how long. It...why did existing have to hurt, and why did he have to like that. He was so...lonely. Not having Theo there, not being able to do things with him, it was an agony he couldn’t bear...that...emptiness.

So don’t. 

Don’t goad him, That’s not what we’re here for.

 Garolt yelped in surprise at the sudden sound of new voices, terrified that yet another world shattering change was going to take what little he had left from him. He bolted, “running” away from the voices as best he could. He still didn’t know if he was moving, or if anything was happening, but he knew that he was tired of change already. Tired of a world that, in one experience, overwhelmed him entirely. He would happily give anything if it meant just getting to sit quietly in Theo’s head, getting to be...not. 

Is that what we want? Really want? To cede control? There is no fault in such a desire. The Simplicity of purpose in liberating oneself of control can be...fulfilling Came a...condescending voice. Garolt stopped, feeling tears well up in his eyes. He really had been terrified. Everything had been so...intense. All those sounds, the creak of metal...the splashing of the water...actually hearing them, how did Theo ever turn that off...COULD he turn that off? If...if he couldn’t...and with everything else the world threw at him...how could Garolt let him keep at it alone like that...

Exactly. If you don’t like the world, change it. Fight back. Don’t let anything stop you. If on the path to your comfort, your path is blocked by the Gods, Kill the Gods and Topple their thrones. We share a body with what may be the strongest being on the face of the planet...and here you are...sitting in nothingness...looking out at the stars and fearing your own light. A brutal and aggressive voice countered, Garolt looking up. He couldn’t see either of the voices, part of him wondering if this was what it was like when he talked to Theo without showing up, but he knew the voices weren’t saying anything he didn’t already know

 “What...What do I need to do? If I want to help him...protect him and us both...what do I need to do?”He asked the voices, though he wasn’t sure if it had been out loud or in his head...or both. Wherever he was seemed to be of a different nature than wherever he had been previously when he’d been split from Theo, the rottweiler closing his eyes and breathing like Theo did when he tried to center himself. It took him a few tries, but soon his fear and confusion...pushed to the back more than lessened. He could feel...something growing in him...a courage that yet seemed to gnaw at his soul...a light flickering around him...

 We think you already know...Garo-

=The Warrens, Cafeteria=

 Theo would have never believed something that could make a yawning noise like Bob could be so...The rottweiler surveyed the carnage on the table before him, stacks of plates and bowls the size of the armadillo sitting on both sides of him as he devoured what had to have been...Theo didn’t even know at this point. The little armadillo let out a quiet little belch, setting the bowl he had been assaulting  down and laid back, looking up at Theo.

 “Welp...Mnnn...I’m good and fed now. So...yea…”He said, noticing the look on Theo’s face at the damage he had just done to the cafeteria’s larder, blushing a little and waving a hand through the air. “Yea. You’ve spent the last fifteen years with some dude named Garolt that looks just like you living in your head, and until last night, you’d never spent a moment without him. You know what it sounds like?”. The armadillo hopped up on the couch they’d staked a claim on, walking around the table between him and clapping a hand on the rottweiler's shoulder, looking him in the eye like a good friend. “Sounds like The Cage really fucked with your head. Can’t imagine what that must be like...to have someone and then just...lose them like that...must hurt…”.

  “Aye...You have no idea...especially when you didn’t exist until then.” came a different voice from Theo’s mouth, the rottweiler’s eyes widening as he looked around, Bob blinking and taking a step back. Though Bob wouldn’t be able to see it, lounging with his feet up on the table...was Garolt, picking his teeth with a claw before continuing, his lips moving but the sound coming out of Theo’s mouth.  “Don’t freak out. Just needed to talk, and I couldn’t do this until he was good and distracted...Not that I think he would fight me. Some shit happened, and now...I’m not in a position to just let that happen again. So tell me...You two bump uglies yet?”

 Theo felt his cheeks burn at the words Garolt was having him say, his eyes watering at the embarrassment and confusion as he looked at Bob. The armadillo looked nervous, looking between where Theo had been staring and the rottweiler and then around the room before sitting down. “Dude, Keep it down. Look, no...We haven’t. Picked your friend here up out of The Cage after whatever went down, brought him back to my room-”He said, squinting his eyes and shifting them between the empty spot and Theo when he heard a snicker.”And got him to sleep. Nothing happened...but I mean...if he...wanted. Ain’t fool enough to try anything penetrative but this mouth is good for more than just running”.

  Garolt laughed through Theo, shaking his head and letting his ‘hold’ on Theo go, though when he noticed how hurt Theo looked, he felt a twang of guilt...and a small thorn of anger at the guilt. “Hey...Theo, Dude. It’s me...I’m here...Calm. Dude seems cool, I’m glad he was there for you...just...What’s up?''Garolt murmured softly, concerned with the fact that Theo was just sitting there...looking hurt. He scooted slowly around the bench, watching Theo’s eyes tracking him and Bob’s by proxy, until he was close enough to put his arm out through Bob to touch Theo...and felt his non-existent pulse quicken when the other Rottweiler pulled away. 

 Bob noticed the reaction, looking down at himself and then the seat, stepping very carefully back before he was stopped by Theo’s paw flashing out, gripping him tightly. He winced softly, eliciting a whimper from the rottweiler, the armadillo stepping up close and being pulled tight to the rottweiler’s side. “Sure...Sure Theo. I’ll stick right here. But...You can’t just push him away like that. I understand you’re hurt...but you were so...scared without him.”The armadillo said, hugging the rottweiler’s arm gently.

 “Y-yea...b-but the f-f-first thi-thing he does...w-w-when he shows...shows back up..i-is…”Theo said, starting to sob more than a little before he breathed deep and angrily to steady himself. “This is...is my body. I...I choose what to do with it...I don’t...don’t want...ANYONE...taking that from me. Least...he could have done...is ask. After all this, he should know that.”He murmured, picking Bob up and turning to walk away. He could hear Garolt behind him, the rottweiler staring straight ahead as he walked, ignoring all the looks and snickering.

 “You know you can't run away from me, right? For real, Theo...buddy…"Garolt murmured softly behind him, growling as he was ignored and continuing to follow Theo as he stared straight ahead. "What? Do you want me to say I'm sorry? Fine. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that...there, that make everything better?" He said quietly, though he couldn't hide the sneering undertone, holding his hands up placatingly as Theomond stopped.

 "Cool b-b-beans. You're f-f-forgive-given. Don't cha-change wh-what you di-id. Now pl-please...leave m-me al-lone for a wh-while.''Theomond mumbled weakly, before starting off again. He couldn't hear Garolt following him, his grip tightening slowly on Bob before he slumped against a wall and broke down sobbing, the armadillo wriggling free so he could more safely console Theo. He couldn’t understand what was going on. How did Garolt get separated from him, Why did he take so long coming back...and how did he control him like that.

"Hey, Theo…I'm here. Just let it out, no shame."Bob said quietly, throwing up a pair of walls and hugging Theo tightly, barely noticing the translucent nature of the walls, concerned only with the consoling of his friend.

=Outskirts of New Cardiff, Grandma Chen and Grandpa Julio’s=

 Garth sighed as he looked up at the store-front in front of him, having never expected to have to come back here after that day. He thumped the steering wheel of his car, thinking. “ 'First one was free' they said. If I came back for anything but the dinner special…''He thought to himself, steeling himself as he stepped out of his car, trying very hard not to look nervous. He had brought...Theomond...here 15 years ago after the traumatic encounter that took his wife and left him a single father having to wrangle an infant that could get into and destroy anything...and they had helped him.

 “Raise the boy, tell him only what he needs to know. If he knows what happened, what he did...There will be no stopping him and what is to come”. He pushed into the store, the gentle tones of bells over the door announcing his presence, the murmur of conversation and din of action in the kitchen at once soothing his nerves...and reminding him that for all appearances, this place was...His reverie was broken by a soft cough, looking at the host stand and rubbing the back of his head weakly. “Table for one, or to go?”The young crested dog said softly, rolling a pen between his fingers. 

Garth swallowed softly, closing his eyes and digging through his mind for what that rat had told him were the right words all those years ago. He could hear the crested dog breathing and playing with the pen, digging in deep. “What was it...what was it…”he thought, before the memory came to him. “I was told you know the secret to Dragon’s Heart Soup. I was hoping that I might learn part of that secret.”Garth said quietly, the boy nodding and hopping off of the stool he was using and bustling off into the back.

Garth knew that he was taking a risk here. Chen and Julio did not brook hesitancy in those that came before them like this, looking for answers that they couldn’t get elsewhere. If they were there, they were willing to get their answers from means some might consider...unnatural. He breathed deep, just as he had taught his son to, staring ahead as he waited for the boy to return. “No stopping now. I back out, I’m out of luck if I don’t find some other means of getting the information”He thought to himself, nodding as he watched the boy pop his head out from the kitchen and wave him over.

 Garth kept his gaze steady as he wove his way through the restaurant past the conversing families and business people to the swinging doors, pushing through as the boy stepped away. The noise went from a gentle murmur to a louder din, the clamor of pots and knives fighting against orders being shouted out and updated on. The boy led him haltingly through the kitchen to a backroom, gesturing with his head before leaving the rottweiler to it and heading back up to the front. Garth swallowed, pushing through the curtain into the backroom. His head immediately swam at the cloying smell of incense, the acrid sting of cleaner and an undeniable undercurrent of gore.

 “Dear, take your time getting your head clear but do not wathe time here. You have a quethion. We can get you an anthwer.”said a much older crested dog from behind a very worn looking crate, the tip of her tongue drooping softly out of the corner of her mouth as she went about the preparations for what she was about to do, the xolo behind her dutifully bathing himself. “Thith will be your thecond quethion...you underthand? The firth wath free, a gift for a grieving father. The thecond hath a coth, a tithe of blood...”. She let the words hang ominously in the air as she laid out the knife before him and set a vessel on the crate, the knife handle facing towards him and glinting softly in the flickering light.

  Garth looked down at the knife, and up at Chen, stepping up to the table. He sighed, his free hand going to his sling and tugging it free over his neck. He winced as he let the sling slide free, the cast around his ‘broken’ arm being pulled free with a small yelp. The damage hadn’t been quite as severe in the end as they had made it out to Theomond, though still significant. He offered forth his arm to the diminutive canid.

"Take what you need...what you want...hell, take it all if it means I get my answers. Where is my boy...is he safe...does he know?"He anxiously asked, before whining as the smaller canid held up her hand, and then a single finger. Garth felt embarrassed as he looked down into the milky eyes of Chen, calming himself. He knew he only got one question, and he had to be very specific. "What do I do now, if Theomond knows what's going on and...who he is?"He asked quietly as Chen grabbed his arm and in the same fluid motion, cut his forearm and let it drain into the vessel below. He was surprised at how painless it had been, watching the blood start pooling before Chen's paw washed over the forearm, the wound closing over as if freshly healed, the barest trace of a scar remaining.

 Chen murmured quietly as she worked, grinding and mixing...gods knew what...into the blood in the vessel, Garth looking up past her to Julio, who had finished his bathing and knelt behind them, his eyes half-lidded and head nodding softly. "By thecreth kept, by thecreth damned. You will have your anthwer today, Garth...but know that each quethion bringth the thecreth clother to breaking what little faith they have…".

  Garth nodded gravely as Chen poured the blood concoction down the blade, watching as it seemed to run down the blade before being seemingly sucked into the metal, the blade seeming to swim with an almost pearlescent sheen. His eyes followed her, blinking as he watched Chen step up to Julio, pressing her head softly to his and murmuring something he couldn't hear...before sliding the knife into Julio's stomach and sliding it across slowly, Chen continuing to murmur to Julio as she did, before pulling the knife free and stepping back. Julio shuddered for a moment as viscera spilled forth from the cut, his head continuing to loll from side to side.

  It took everything in Garth not to vomit at the sight of Julio's organs falling wetly out of his body, nor the sight of Chen murmuring as she slid her hands softly above the pile, mumbling to herself before she seemingly found the information she sought, and started returning Julio’s organs to his body. It was an endeavor to do so, but within a few minutes she had gotten Julio's bits back roughly into place, slowly sliding her hand across the gash and sealing Julio back up. The xolo collapsed over onto his side, panting and coughing softly as his partner turned and made her way back to Garth.

 "Your next thep then ith to call in your favourth...all of them. Reth at nothing, fear no reprithal...if your thonth figured out the thecret, nothing will thop what is to come. Now go...and remember...the coth increatheth gravely for your next quethion.''Chen murmured before continuing the cleanup, seeming to pay the rottweiler no mind.

Garth huffed softly as he turned and walked out, the dawning dread building in him. All...of his favors. That meant a lot of people he had hoped to never have to contact again, the rottweiler growling. This was all his own damn fault...If he had just been open with Theomond about what had happened...maybe he would have been more willing to listen. He shook his head, pulling out his cellphone and closing his eyes, dialing the first number and breathing deep as he heard it ring once and then click over.

 “It’s Garth. I’m calling the Jagd...We need to discuss the agreement.”

=The Warrens, Theomond’s Room, 2 hours later=

 Theomond sighed softly, looking down at his hands. Bob and him had come back to his room after he had sobbed himself out again, the armadillo leaving after it seemed like he had calmed down and Theo told him it was ok if he left. He still didn’t understand how Garolt had taken control like that. Could he always have done that? Could he have taken control of him at any point...HAD he taken control of him before that point and he just didn’t remember?

 “Until then...I didn’t know I could, no and as far as I know, No.”Came a voice from the corner of the room, Theomond sighing again and keeping his eyes on his hands, not so much ignoring the other rottweiler as just...too numb still to get angry. "I said I was sorry. Stop...fuck...just...Look. I have no idea what happened back there, when we got separated. All I know is after all that...Is THAT what pain feels like?”He said angrily before shaking his head. “ I woke up, tried to find you, ran into that dude and was just...so…”Garolt said softly, sliding down the wall to sit there, hugging his knees tightly. “And then you showed up, singing that lullaby Dad used to sing us, well...you really. Next thing I know, I’m floating in some weird fucking space and all I can see is stars I can’t reach...Do you have any idea how terrifying that whole experience was for me?”.

  Theo growled softly as a weak flicker of anger licked at his mind before he let out a shuddering breath, closing his hands and looking up weakly at Garolt. “I have no idea...That weird fucking thing you do where you always kind of seem to know what I’m thinking only goes one way it seems. All I know is that I’ve never felt pain like that before, and wouldn’t wish it on anyone...and then I wake up alone. You always seem to notice things I don’t, see things I don’t at first...and not having you there for that...it was…”Theomond said, looking down at the bed and sighing, patting the spot next to him. He had expected Garolt to walk the short distance maybe, but found him immediately there next to him, his eyes watering softly.

 “I...I never want to feel that again...It...pain...Nothing like that should exist…”He mumbled, sniffing and burying his face against Theomonds shoulder, shakily reaching up to hug him and whimpering softly as Theo made no move to stop him. “I...I really don’t know how you put up with that...every day”. Garolt hugged Theo tighter, sniffling even louder as he tried not to cry.

 Theo growled again, before he tempered his anger, slowly putting an arm around Garolt. “You fucked up bad back there. After everything we...I’ve been through, always being told ‘you can’t do that’ or ‘calm down, you’re going to break something’...always having to not want things because if you get mad or upset about not getting it, things break...and the first thing you do showing up is suddenly take control of my ability to speak? You understand why I'm mad right?"He said, giving Garolt a soft squeeze before continuing. "I'm not going to say it gets easier cause it really doesn't...but you get more used to the noises when you've dealt with them for a while"

Garolt nodded sheepishly and opened his mouth to speak before being interrupted by what sounded like the harsh sound of a speaker system crackling to life. Both of the rottweilers looked up, unaware there was even a speaker system. "Langley, Theomond G. Report to Bay 3 for immediate Arena transport. Repeat. Langley,Theomond G. Report to Bay 3 for immediate Arena transport. Non-compliance will be met with sanction. You have 10 minutes to comply"Buzzed the voice, the rottweilers looking at each other in a panic. When Theo had agreed to this, agreed to put on fights, he hadn’t expected he would be slotted for a real one so soon.

 “Uhhh...shit...SHIT.”Garolt cursed, bolting to his feet and looking around the room frantically. “Theo, Mask...Mask...MASK. Where the fuck is your mask? Ah fuck, did we leave it in that little p-”Garolt said, catching himself and looking up nervously at Theo who had bolted to his feet and was tearing the room apart in kind. “Bob’s room...Did you leave it there? I’ll…”. Garolt started for the door before spitting a soft curse and ‘punching’ the wall, stopping and looking back at Theo again. “Buddy, it’s not in here...Maybe if we hurry, we can get to-”.

 A pounding started at the door to Theo’s room, Theo moving quickly to open the door and revealing a panting Bob, mask in hand. “Fuck...you...for...forgetting...this. Can’t...run...that far...that fast...Without prep.”He panted, winking up at the rottweiler as he tried to catch his breath, offering the mask up as he did. “Figured you’d...want it...especially for your first fight, like a real one...They record and distribute those, and you wouldn’t be here with a mask if you wanted even the possibility of one of those videos getting to your dad and showing you clearly.”Bob said, nodding softly as the rottweiler took the mask and pushed out, making for the elevator.

 Theo ran as quickly as he could, knowing that he had to hurry. The elevators, from what he knew, were slow at the best of times and if he remembered where the Bays were, ten minutes would be down to the wire for getting there if he tried to take them. “Bob...Fuck...Stairs?”He shouted as they ran, reaching back with a paw and throwing Bob over his shoulder as they moved, the diminutive armadillo taking to the sudden change in the plan with aplomb, pointing with a tiny paw the right direction. It took a couple minutes, but Theo found the stairs and burst through the door as carefully as he could with Bob on his shoulder, coughing softly as he impacted a banister. He saw Bob pointing down the stairs, turning his head and grinning sheepishly. “Bob, Buddy...Hold on…”He said, ignoring Bob’s confusion and then protesting as he vaulted the banister and took the ‘Enny Exit’, the air whistling past them for a few moments of screaming ecstasy before he impacted the ground, Bob bouncing softly on his shoulder. 

 Theo looked around for the door, nodding and slamming through it, Bob wheezing softly in surprise as he shakily tried to continue pointing the way, the rottweiler dutifully following the direction before he came to a screeching halt at the hallway leading to the Bay. Flanking the door were a quartet of what looked like guards, rifles held at the ready. The rottweiler set Bob down and they both put their hands up, the armadillo very slowly backing up. “Don’t shoot, don’t shoot. I was told to come here…”Theo said, fumbling with his free hand for his I.D, one of the Guards stepping forward to take it, scanning it against a pda set into a bracer on his forearm, and nodding, handing it back and gesturing with the rifle to the doors they were flanking, the other three not moving quite yet but obviously at the ready. Theo stepped up to the doors, looking back nervously at Bob. “If I don’t come back, Tell my wife...I never liked her spinach puffs”He said, biting his lip as he stepped through as Bob rubbed his forehead, Garolt sighing teasingly in his head.

 “You know...if he ever makes you food, he’s gonna make you spinach puffs now...you know that right?” Garolt said as they made their way to the Bay proper.

=Langley Residence, ‘Gehenna Terminal #004’, New Cardiff Suburb=

 Garth looked out across the ‘table’ at the other Hunters. He had prayed all those years ago he would never have to do this, call these people in. A baker's dozen of the most reprehensible people and E.N.I’s that could be found and he knew...and he knew each of their darkest secrets, thanks to his own E.N.A. He closed his eyes, nodding to himself and pressing a button, locking the meeting off from prying eyes and convening the ‘Wütendes Jagd’, a plan he had laid out the day he knew just what Theomond had become. He looked at each of the others in turn, not one of them showing their real name, or face obviously, each of the others there under the pseudonym of a Dragon Slayer of Myth...save for one, who proudly proclaimed themselves to the shadowy group.

 “I won’t mince words here. I didn’t expect this day to come, and never wanted to see a single one of you again if it wasn’t at your funerals or I was the one that did you in.”Garth said softly, drawing a few chuckles and annoyed growls from the collected group, Garth raised a hand, the group quieting down significantly. “You know why we’re here. 20 years ago, our world fundamentally changed. Across the globe, Millions of people were either obliterated where they stood...or became something more. Because...because of it...I lost my wife...and my...son...became a monster. You all help me here with...with what might need to be done, and you can consider your favours paid in full.”

 A round of discussion went up around the table, Garth...or Berthold as the pseudonym showed...watched quietly as they argued and conversed and discussed amongst themselves whether what ‘Berthold’ offered was enough. Some of their secrets were less damning than others, though which knew that was a query for the ages. He looked up curiously at the sound of what seemed to be a block of wood smacking against a table, the conversation stopping as ‘Dobrynya’ stood and spoke.

 “Your boy, if what we know about him is true, could easily kill each of us without half a thought...You think just considering our debts paid is enough to risk death? Because YOU failed as a father in reining in your errant spawn?”The Bear spat, looking around the room for agreement. “You may hold the gun, little one, but we are the bullets. What’s stopping us from walking, and letting you figure things out without us?”. The bear laid back into the chair smugly, the rest of the group all looking at him pointedly.

  ‘Berthold’ nodded solemnly, standing and leaning forward to lean on the table. “What…Dobrynya...says is true. Theomond could easily break any SINGLE one of you easily...but he’s inexperienced in a fight and doesn’t know yet how to properly control his...powers. Each one of you is either Extra-Normally empowered, or has trained to make up for the difference...or cheat. Collectively, We...You...should be able to put him down...Yes, he could easily obliterate any of you with half a thought...but HE doesn’t know that.”

 This little addition caused another uproar in the conversation, now less about if the job was worth it...and if what ‘Berthold’ said was just as monstrous. A soft chiming sound broke through the argument, a light in front of John switching from neutral to green, every eye snapping to it and then immediately to ‘Bertholds’ face, detached fury building in him. “I won’t see my nephew abused like this. We knew this day would come if you kept him in the dark like this, and yet even still, you blinded him to the world around him. You could have told him as soon as he was old enough, told him what happened. I avoided being a part of the boy's...Theomonds life, because you and I disagreed on telling him...and now...Now you want me to kill the one remaining tie I have to my sister. I will consider my debt fulfilled...but know this...Garth…”The grizzled, scarred rottweiler growled, his remaining eye glittering with unadulterated hatred. “I only have one question left...You know what three of them were... ”

 The conversation froze there, each of the other’s summoned to the meeting looking between Garth and John before nodding to each other. A series of either soft chimes or buzzes indicating audibly each one of their choices. It took less than a minute...but soon they had their vote. At only a slight majority in favour, 'Berthold' nodded solemnly.

 "It is agreed then. As of this moment, Theomond is to be considered an active and hostile target. Do not engage him alone, Act with the knowledge that he knows what he is fully, and remember...Do. Not. Let. Him. Eat. You”


=30 Miles outside of New Cardiff, ‘Old Town’=

 Faust hummed softly, the sound muted in the quiet room by his mask to a gentle hissing sound. He had received word that not only had the rottweiler, Theomond as he had come to learn the delightful little wrecking ball was named, been added to the rotation but through some odd quirk of the machine, the next slotted match was one involving the rottweiler. The 'dragon' had been entirely unconcerned with who his opponent was, his attention entirely focused on the rottweiler, watching as he was prepped for the match ahead. 

The combatants were informed of the location of where they were being sent, and the cover they would be operating under. Their fight was, by the very illegal nature of their very drafting into these fights, unsanctioned;Thereby, the only real way to get any believable cover was demolition. The location was rigged to explode after a set time limit, or if triggered early. They were free to do and fight as they pleased within the selected area. Anything outside that area would be called in as rogue E.N.I fighting, as was required. 

  Faust grinned beneath his mask, switching the feed to solely the drone following Theomond, smoke starting to roil up from his mask as he watched. The rottweiler looked around for a moment, a strange mask in his hand that Faust hadn’t seen before, before looking off seemingly into the distance and seeming to...talk...to someone. He unmuted the feed, listening as Theo conversed with some unseen person, the 'dragon' feeling a thought chewing at the back of his mind, about ‘keeping safe’ and ‘only coming out if things go pear shaped’ before it seemed to dissolve immediately into a seemingly one-sided argument about how it didn’t matter what fruit it was and that it was a euphemism or some shit.

 “That’s odd...where's the other one? Is he...can he hide himself?”Faust as he indulged the thought gnawing at his mind as he watched the rottweiler nodding and then donning the mask, his fists clenching and unclenching before he dashed off, the drone zipping along as quickly as it could to follow the speedy rottweiler. The rottweiler said nothing else as he dashed through the condemned hotel complex, the ‘'dragon's’ eyes narrowing as the rottweiler paused and cocked his head. The faint sound of laughter came through the drone’s stream, not a child-like laughter but the laughter of something...hunting.

 Faust sighed softly as he watched the rottweiler dart off towards the laughter, hoping that the action would start soon. “A brick of not inconsiderable strength...and another that can seemingly hide himself...Maybe…?”He thought to himself, bringing up the drone’s feed and cycling through the different cameras, each one washing the screen in a different filter. He grew increasingly angry as nothing seemed to reveal the existence of a second Rottweiler.

 "Why waste time pretending? If there are two of you…"he wondered to himself as the Rottweiler started talking...bickering softly with some unseen second party. Faust was seething as he found himself growing bored, a noise not unlike a mechanical frog coming from his mask as he ground his teeth. This was...Why was the boy STILL being such a pansy? "Where is that fury? Are you NOT going to be the weapon I need you to be?"

='Old Town'=

  Theo groaned in annoyance as he smashed through another wall in his efforts to find...just...fucking ANYONE and came up empty. He didn't know how long until the place blew on its own, or if someone might blow the place early. "Fucking hell...are we even fighting someone or are some rich assholes just watching us run around before they blow the place."Theo growled, cocking his head and listening. The laughter seemed to be getting closer and yet, no matter how much he searched, all he ever saw was fleeting shadows around corners, and the occasional object thrown at him.

"Yea, this is starting to get tedious...why aren't we taking the direct path to intercept one of these elusive fucks?”Garolt growled, Theo feeling his ears twitch at the odd sensation of knowing that Garolt was just as annoyed as he was, before Garolt groaned and slumped against a wall, throwing his arms up in the air. “What the fuck are we supposed to do? Is this asshole just gonna run around till the place blows?”. Theo was liable to agree before he heard the soft sound of a door clicking open and then yelping as he felt something hit the back of his head, and then the slam of a door.

  Theo roared, spinning on his heel and charging to, and then immediately through the door he thought the person that had hit him had just let slam shut, watching as...someone...dived down through a massive hole in the floor. He wasted no time in doing the same, though his frame was much larger, chunks of the floor coming down with him and his feet cratering the bed he landed on as he watched the shadow dive over a balcony bannister. Theo felt his temper starting to get the best of him, the sound of Garolt starting to pant and howl behind him driving him to unhesitatingly throw himself through the banister to follow his prey, hitting the ground at a crunching roll and sniffing the air, the scent of prey close now. He bounded after it, all but running on all fours with Garolt literally nipping at his heels in eagerness.

 “So close...I can...almost taste...the fucker”He thought to himself as he leapt over an outdoor pools dividing wall at what seemed to be the sound of someone tripping and falling, Theo positively salivating at the chance to FINALLY get the asshole that had been wasting his time. He sniffed the air and looked down into the drained pool, trash and leaves littering what little bit wasn’t covered in a thin sheet of scummy water. His prey was, from the look of it, a hyena. They had fallen...or slipped, holding their knees and rocking back and forth before looking up at him and spitting a curse. He could feel his lips peeling back, Garolt panting behind him before he heard more feet hitting the ground around him, the rottweiler looking up and growling as he saw that the hyena had not in fact been alone. A series of cackling and grinning faces looked down at him, the hyena he had thought he had trapped cackling in kind as they stood and brushed themselves off.. 

 “Oi, Dodo actually fell fo im.  Alright boys, we beat ‘is head like a pinata till something funny falls out, right?”Came a voice from behind Theo, a foot connecting with the small of his back and throwing him forward into the pool, the rottweiler stumbling and spinning and watching as the hyena dropped down into the pool around him. Theo growled, scanning the number of hyena around him. A good six of them were now closing around him and pushing him towards the one he had been following. “Oh, Little bitch don't like dat idea, does ‘e?”. Theo was starting to sweat, not entirely sure what to do. He could fight back, but he couldn’t tell what the hyena could do...any of them. “Fucking monster gunta lay down unte die...”

  “Theo...It doesn’t matter...We...are...stronger than...they are.”Garolt growled at him as the crowd fell on Theo, throwing him back and forth, blows raining down as Theo. Theo growled, trying to protect his head as he thought of something, Garolt crouching down just outside the circle, foam starting to build at the corner of his mouth. “Get...Get up...Fight...FUCKING DO SOMETHING.”Garolt roared, just as one of the hyena grabbed the rottweiler by the mask and went to tear it off, the crowd exploding as the rottweiler speared that one, slamming them into the wall of the pool, the tiles cracking beneath them.

 Theo growled, turning and looking with rage at the collected hyena as they stared at him surprised, his mask tearing raggedly as he roared again, throwing the hyena into the crowd and kept after him, slamming into the nearest one with a shoulder. Theo was positively hyperventilating, spittle starting to drip from his muzzle as he fought wildly, receiving just as good as he got, though none of the blows were nearly as bone-cracking as Theo’s, though with each throw...each charge...the Hyena were starting to consider their options. They clearly hadn’t expected him to not fold in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds. 

 Theo barely noticed as the drone that had been following him zoomed in closer as another crushing blow sent one of the hyena tumbling ass over tea-kettle into the staircase at one end of the pool, the rottweiler panting rapidly as he watched the group decide that enough was enough, and started running. One, unfortunately, wasn’t quite ready to run with the rest, Theomond pouncing on him, straddling his chest and slamming him against the floor until he stopped fighting as much. The hyena screamed for help before Theo cut off any further attempts at pleading by biting into the hyena’s throat and clamping down, a hunger building deep in him. “Do it...Rip it...RIP IT OUT”he could hear Garolt urging him from over his shoulder, the sounds of hurried conversation not stopping him. 

Theo growled, the years of being lied to, hobbled and shamed finally cresting. He could feel the hyena’s flesh beneath his teeth, soft and warm and inviting, almost urging him itself to bite down harder, the fur tickling his nose even as he seethed. The sounds around him started dying down, the only things he could hear in that moment being his own breath, the breath of the hyena beneath him, ragged and drawn...and the pulse of blood though he wasn't sure whose. 

His rage finally boiled over and, with a muffled bay, crunched down around the flesh in his maw, and tore. The gurgling became much more literal as he chewed and swallowed, the acrid-sweet and metallic taste of the flesh as it crunched between his teeth and the warmth of the life-blood dripping down his face after each rending bite, gorging himself on the hyena to the sound of running feet and vomiting. He gripped the hyena by the shoulders to pull him closer, digging his muzzle into the mess of a neck and ripping more chunks free, bone crunching and blood pumping itself in thick tides down his chest as he ate. It didn’t seem to concern him that no matter how much he tore out, the hunger only seemed to intensify. 

Even with as voracious as he was in consuming him, it took some time to chew through the entirety of the hyena’s thick neck, scarcely noticing as the head dropped with a sick thump in front of them, the rottweiler chewing his way slowly towards the hyena’s chest cavity before a wave of pain struck him, the rottweiler doubling over, feeling like his every cell was being torn apart again. He fell over and off of the body, trying to hold himself together as he felt his every molecule trying to go in every direction at once.

 “Theo...What...Not...again?”He could hear Garolt whimpering as the pain built, Theo growling again with each building wave. He knew it had to have been because of the hyena, or rather having eaten part of him, the growl groaning to a creaking roar as the pain crested high, and the pool washed out in a sudden flare of light, blinding and cold in its sterility. When the light died down, Theo groaned as he sat up...and felt the emptiness again, his heart dropping. He looked around where he could see in front of him, panting and yelling. If he lost Garolt again…

“Fucking hell Theo...Don’t gotta yell...You’re so...fucking…”Garolt said, pushing himself up off the ground with splash and starting to brush himself off before he blinked and looked down at himself and then the still prone form of Theo before screaming loudly and rushing Theo, pulling him to his feet and hugging him tightly. “No No No No No No No…”He repeated, hugging the other Rottweiler in a panic, not knowing how they had gotten separated. Theo hugged Garolt back, not sure himself, the two of them embracing tightly before...something...happened, Garolt seeming to melt into Theo, a short wave of that intense pain washing over him.

 Theo blinked, looking down at his hand and then back up. “What...the fuck. Garolt?”He said, more in his head than outloud and spinning as he heard Garolt coughing behind him, Theo spinning on his foot to see Garolt crouched and poking at the cooling remains of the hyena, a muddy pool of blood spreading out from the ruined body, that strange hunger still building deep in him. “Garolt...Are you...what the hell was that about?”

 “Fucking hell...You eat one fucking hyena’s fucking well...entire fucking neck really...and suddenly you can…”Garolt’s head snapped up, turning to look at the blood-spattered face of his constant companion. “Try...Try thinking really fucking hard about me standing in front of you”. Theo cocked his head, confused as to why Garolt thought that would do anything before the expectant look on Garolts face caused him to sigh, the rottweiler closing his eyes and concentrating on the idea of Garolt being physically in front of him. He felt stupid for a few moments before his teeth grit as, for a third time, he felt that pain...and then a void in his mind.

  “Oh holy fuck...Theo...How the fuck are you doing that?”Garolt said, looking around fearfully as Theo looked up at the drone and cursed softly. The mask might hide his face for the most part...but now there was no hiding that he was a monster...He had just eaten part of someone...and now he could make Garolt actually appear. This was...not good. Theo looked down from the drone, tackling Garolt and willing him away, gritting his teeth as he heard Garolt barking angrily in surprise. 

“Garolt...You didn’t want to be out in the first place...You HATE being real…”he murmured to himself as he turned to the cooling hyena corpse, licking his lips. If he was in this for a penny, he was in for a pound. He crouched, the distant sound of sirens echoing through the quiet against the whir of the drone, and finished his meal as quickly as he could...which seemed to go more easily than it should have, his teeth seeming to just cleave right through bone, meat and sinew.

=’Old Town’, Nearby Bunker, Fifteen minutes earlier=

Faust had almost been ready to call the fight a loss before he watched the rottweiler taking a phone to the back of the head, finally snapping and chasing directly after his assailant, gripping his chair tightly as he watched the rottweiler chasing after his prey, robotic wheezing escaping his mask as the rottweiler hunted. He felt the chair creaking softly beneath him as he leaned in close as the rottweiler jumped a wall and found his prey. His nostrils flared under the mask as the rottweiler was caught in a trap now, the hyena’s surrounding and then laying into him

 “Come...fight...fight back...is this...all you can-”The 'dragon' was thinking before he watched with a sick thrill as the rottweiler exploded out of the group, feeling his interest growing before roaring with satisfaction as he watched the rottweiler first bite and then tear out the hyena’s throat, the sound becoming almost warped beyond even what the mask could do by the sheer force of his cheering as the boy not only swallowed the meat but went in for seconds, panting and spinning out of his chair to throw it in sheer bloodthirsty glory. He had been right, the boy WAS as violent as he needed him to be. He had barely turned his attention back to the feed when he saw the boy double over in pain before the video washed out in a sudden flash of light.

  Faust was growling almost ferally as the video stayed washed out for a few moments more before revealing the scene, Theo sitting on his hands and knees...and the other rottweiler being shown nearby. The 'dragon' was beside himself as his suspicions were confirmed, watching intently as the boys embraced...and the second disappeared. Faust grabbed the laptop he had been watching the feed through and shook it angrily as Theo was left there alone, almost ready to throw the laptop as he had the chair before he saw Theo’s eyes close...and a few moments later the other rottweiler appeared again, crouching above the corpse of the hyena.

Faust already had his phone out, turning and marching out the door by the time Theo had tackled his compatriot and had willed them away again. “Yeah...It’s Yong. Have the boy cleaned up, provided with...company...and then brought to...Laja-Brayja's. I need to have...words with him...oh, and provide two outfits please...”He said, the door closing behind him and muting the growing...visceral...sound of the rest of the hyena being devoured.

=New Cardiff, Bari’s Hall=

 Garth nodded to the bouncer as he stepped up past the gathered line in front of the club, the muted sound of pounding music coming through the walls. He waved off the multiple complaints and jeers he got from the much...much younger crowd that typically frequented the establishment. He handed over his I.D, watching as the bouncer took it and consulted a clipboard, the rhino snorting as he flipped the page up...and then blinked as he set the clipboard down and reached up to the earpiece in his ear, speaking short terse sentences Garth couldn’t quite hear into it before looking up at Garth and nodding, handing his I.D back and ushering the rottweiler into the club to the cries of the crowd.

 Garth whined despite himself as he walked in through the door, the almost physical pressure of the music intensifying as he stepped in, and a chameleon that looked like he could pull the rottweiler apart even without being an E.N.I  peeling literally out of the shadow and gesturing for Garth to follow him. The rottweiler was close behind, his gaze wandering as they wove through the club, more than once having to swat away an over eager hand. It took them a couple of minutes till he was directed to a backroom, the rottweiler nodding his thanks before the door was shut behind him.

 He had been directed to the manager’s office, the rottweiler having hoped to, like many other things in the last couple of days, never have to see this person again, though he had a much...much less favorable position to be working from with this encounter. The bear before him gestured down at one of the chairs before her, though he knew it was less an offer than a command. He sat down, smoothing over the fur on his head and trying to seem presentable before a growl interrupted him.

 “Time for grooming is over, Time for explaining is now.”The bear growled, causing the rottweiler to swallow...and thereby the bear to growl even louder. Garth knew Bari was very...very short on patience, and even shorter on it with people that had taken things from her. He could hear the metal of the desk creaking, the smell of metal heating starting to fill the room. The rottweiler held up his hands in defeat, trying to calm the bear down before she decided that it would be funny...or justified...in seeing what Garth looked like with his eyes literally on fire.

  “Bari...Bari...Please. I have very few options here, you must know that if I’m here. My son, I know Morrigan told you about...him, got loose, I can’t find him, and...and I know you can...find people”He said quietly, and nervously, knowing just what he was getting himself...and his son...even further into. He buried his face in his hands, hoping that Morri would forgive him...wherever she was. “You loved her just as much as I did, maybe more sometimes...I don’t know if this is what she’d want…”

  Garth felt his hackles rise as the deep laughter that broke through the growling, the metal of the bear’s desk having warped in the time before she had let it go, holding her stomach as she laughed, wiping her eye with  the back of a paw. “This is rich. You steal from me, put spawn in her, let her get killed, and now you want for me to help you find your son? I am not thinking so. I will see you break first...God this is going to be satisfying.”she said, pressing her hands through the desk in a smoking line as she stood, the rottweiler yelping and holding his hands up again. 

  “YouKnowWhatICanDo,IllOweYou”he spat rapidly as the bear tossed the halves of the desk aside, the sound and smell of the floor burning as the slagged metal dripped down. He could feel the searing heat of the bear’s paws even before she reached for him, the rottweiler yelping as he felt the paws wrap around his neck...and nothing beyond that. “I...I’m already...in the hole...with enough...of you...unscrupulous...fucks. What’s...one more…”. The bear growled, lifting him up to meet her gaze, Garth being unsure which eye was more disconcerting to look at...the almost literally ice-blue eye that stared off into nothing or the milky white one that seemed to be boring directly into his soul.

 “You did not deserve Morrigan. You do not deserve child. I will find boy, I will take boy in but you? You will never see him again, if I have say. Now go, do not show face around here again.”The bear spat, figuratively and literally in Garth’s face, before dropping him back into the chair and waving him off, a soft growl escaping her chest. Garth nodded and swallowed, hurrying out of the office before the bear could decide that not letting him walk out after all was the better plan. He heard a soft sniffle as the door closed behind him, the rottweiler feeling even guiltier than he already had.

 He wound his way back towards the front of the club, rubbing  his neck softly and trying not to break down. It all seemed to be falling apart around him...He had to call in a group of people he had gathered specifically to kill his son on the off-chance he MIGHT have figured out that he was...And now, he had prompted his wife’s ex to also hunt down his only son...his only remaining connection to Morrigan. He was nearly to the exit hallway when his wrist was grabbed,the rottweiler yanked onto one of the many dance floors that made Bari’s Hall a veritable fortress. He tried to protest, apologizing to writhing bodies that neither noticed nor cared.

“Alright...Will...Fuck...FUCK, STOP”He shouted, yanking his hand free when whoever had accosted him pulled him into a space in the thumping, writhing mass. He breathed, looking down at whoever had pulled him into the middle of this...very...surprisingly obfuscating crowd. The rottweiler felt his stomach drop into his feet as staring up at him from a very expert take on ‘homeless chic’ outfit was that damnable rat from all those years ago. It took everything that the rottweiler had not to throttle the rodent right there, and from the way the rat was looking at him, they knew that as well.

  “Don’t have much time...Only person Bari hates more than you right now is me, and someone HAS seen me. We have…”the rat looking down at their wrist and squinting, looking up past the rottweiler for a moment. “About three minutes. Things are moving faster than I had predicted. Something has fundamentally changed today with Theomond and Garo-”the rat wheezed before a fit of hacking coughs interrupted them, leathery muzzle burying in a sleeve so that the phlegm and blood didn’t cover everyone else. “The boys. Whatever you’re doing, it’s not going to be enough”. 

 Garth whined, looking down at his feet in shame. The rat knew what they were talking about...or usually did at least...If what Garth was doing was pointless, then Theo was...it was all for nothing. All these years of trying to protect him...protect the both of them. “No. I have to try at least. We...I might not be able to actually harm him...but maybe...I can throw enough bodies at him that I can slow him down and...and maybe explain.”Garth murmured, before he felt the rat punch him in the knee before yelling loudly as their hand seemingly broke.

 “No...fuck that hurt. No, none of that. You do that, and well…”The rat said softly, looking past Garth and spitting a curse...and more than a little blood. “Find him, sure. Talk to him, yes. But if you bring a fight to him, you will get damnation back. Trust me...that path is not one you want to go down right now. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”the rat said before turning and darting off through the crowd as he felt a humongous paw on his shoulder.

 “Boss Lady said to throw you out if we saw you in here still…”Came a cold, detached voice as another paw grabbed him by the belt-loop, hoisting him up into the air and carrying him out. The rottweiler yelped in surprise as the ox carried him through the snickering and picture taking crowd, winding towards the door. It didn’t take long before the ox did just as he had been told, throwing Garth out and aiming for the sidewalk but overdoing it, the Rottweiler landing in the street and the line laughing and following in suit with the crowd inside.

 Garth groaned as he picked himself up off the ground, wincing as he brushed his paws off on his pants and picked loose gravel from his pads. This had been a total failure, on many levels. He looked towards home, sighing and making his way back to his car.

=New Cardiff, Li Ming Shen’s Baths=

  Theo blinked and looked down at his outfit again, grumbling softly as he was still monumentally confused. He had  finished...eating...and found his way to where he was told to be if he won or survived, blushing sheepishly as what looked like a black-eyed and wooled ram in the guard armor first perked a brow at his bloodstained countenance and then grinned with a mouth full of very sharp looking teeth, the rottweiler noticing the nub of a much longer tail poking free from the uniform. "Fuck yea kid, feed the beast. Expect no mercy and give none, law of the jungle."he chuckled, ushering Theo into the a.p.c with a wave of a rifle.

 He had expected to be carted back to The Warrens, pulling his hood off and looking at it trepidatiously. It was...ruined wasn't quite the right word. "Fucked-comes from the root words...fuck if I know. Means to have had sex with or destroyed...and well...that ain't semen on it."Garolt said from the opposite side of the a.p.c, putting his hands up defensively when Theo's gaze snapped up. "Look...yea, I know...im the...the one that urged you to...but I don't...I have no idea where that came from. Besides-".

The conversation was interrupted by the a.p.c stopping, the two rottweilers cocking their heads in unison and looking at each other then the door...ramp...thing. “That...we shouldn’t be...Garolt…”Theo growled, looking down at the mask in his hand before donning it, shuddering at the oddity of the blood still being warm on the mask. He nodded at Garolt, saving popping him out as a ‘trump card’ in case things got hairy, and got ready for the door to fold down. It was a few moments later that he burst out of the a.p.c like a rocket, inadvertently smashing through a wall....and tripping comically into a steaming pool of hot water. He gasped in surprise as he surfaced, to the sound of shouting and people scrambling out of the water.

 “Well...Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck”he mumbled as he waded towards a congregation of people with nametags, and a pair of guards. He rubbed his arm sheepishly, looking back and squinting in suspicion as the water, while disturbed still from his clumsy entrance...was completely clean still. He couldn’t help himself but reach up to touch the mask, his paw coming down wet and bloody. He shook his head to clear the thought as he stepped up to the group. “My...My bad. I just...After what I did...thought you guys would…”.

 For all his clumsiness, the group of attendants graciously accepted his apology and explained things. Someone had requested he be cleaned, and while they were appreciative that he was eager to be bathed...the little joke getting a titter out of the crowd and a much more furious blush from the rottweiler. He nodded as he was told that he would have to rinse himself off first before he could actually use one of the springs properly, and that if he intended on not being stared at, he’d have to take a private room. Theo scratched his arm, looking out of the corner of his eye at Garolt, who shrugged. “I-I’ll take a private...private spring”.

 The attendants nodded, leading him into the building proper. It was a quaint establishment, the rottweiler being too unversed in architecture to properly place just what he was looking at. He was led through the building, sneaking furtive peeks at any open doors, part of him very very much hoping to just...see something. It wasn’t long before he was led to a curtained room towards the back of the establishment, the mice that had led him here bowing as they held the curtain aside. He walked in, rubbing his arm as the curtain closed behind him. He looked around the room. It was comfortably furnished for a private lounge/bathroom, a small little sitting area off to the side with most of the space taken up by the modest sized showering area, a pair of stools and buckets sitting before a small row of handled shower heads. The one thing that drew his attention was the twin sets of clothes, one with a note-card that said ‘Theomond’ and the other saying ‘Other One’. 

 “Well fuck...Guess the cat’s out of the bag on that one. No way they’d leave out two sets of clothes with name tags if they didn’t know I was around. Let’s...Let’s just get this over with. Someone wants us to clean ourselves...not that I’m dirty.”Garolt said, Theomond biting his lips before nodding, concentrating on the space before him, the pain washing over him before the empty spot in his head sent a shiver through his spine, the rottweiler standing up and smirking sheepishly before turning to the showers and gesturing with his head as he started stripping, tossing his clothes into a provided hamper. “Well...Allons-y, Carpe Diem and all that shit”. Garolt sat down at the shower at one end of the bathing area, grabbing the shower-head and using his free hand to fiddle with the water, Theo snickering at the high pitched yelp the other rottweiler let out at the ice-cold water that came out at first.

 Theo quickly joined his now not so imaginary friend in bathing, making sure the water was warm enough before he methodically started washing himself. It had been...he couldn’t even tell how long, and he knew that all the stress, and heat...and the crusted bits of blood that slowly melted away as the water washed over him, the runoff being almost as red as the blood pumping out had been. He sighed, setting the shower head down on the hook, reaching over to get some soap and working it into his fur, letting out a happy little whine as he massaged his muscles, the soap making it delightfully slippery. He let out a happy little bark as the last of the soap was rinsed, looking around nervously before shaking himself vigorously, and barking happily again, Garolt grinning as he stood and did the same. “Welp...Now that we’re bathed bathed, let's go get nice and relaxed.''Garolt quipped, slapping Theo on the ass before turning to the curtain that led to their ‘private’ spring.

  Theo had to admit, he hadn’t expected it to look so nice. A stone pool in the ground maybe, but this? He felt Garolt step up and literally close his jaw as he marveled at the veritable holy spring, the hot water steaming as it burbled down the rocks into the pool. Theo looked at Garolt, swearing his face was going to split as he slipped himself into the water, unable to help himself but let out a pleasured yelp as the water felt momentarily too hot before he acclimated, the rottweiler relaxing happily in the water. He felt, from the soft ripples that splashed against his chest, that Garolt had joined him, the sound of the other rottweiler relaxing being both strange and soothing. “God damn....I should have run away and eaten someone sooner if this is what I get for it. Not sure about the ‘suddenly can manifest my possibly schizophrenic delusion’ thing though...Hey Garolt...Ummm…”Theo said, realizing a weird little fantasy he’d always had, the rottweiler noticing the obviously bashful look on Garolt’s face. “Do...you remember that-”

 “ ‘scuse. Was told to go to…Theo’s room and provide him...company. Which of you is Theo?”Came a voice from the doorway, interrupting his attempt at reconciling an odd desire. Both the rottweilers turned their head to look at who had walked in on what was supposed to be a private bath and both let out a whine of immense surprise and pleasure. Standing at the door was the most absolutely stocky mastiff they had ever seen, displaying a very obvious masculinity for the both of them to see. The newcomer looked down, before snapping his fingers and pointing. “Both of you, here. Now, kneeling.”the mastiff commanded, his nose flaring and his body tensing. The two rottweilers blinked and sheepishly nodded, climbing out of the pool and making their way over to the mastiff, kneeling and looking alternately between his chest and his face, not sure if he expected eye contact or not. “Now tell me...which. of. you. is. Theo.”

 Theo swallowed, nervously raising a hand and feeling the massive mastiff grabbing him by the scruff and lifting him effortlessly off the ground, the rottweiler yelping and flailing a little as the mastiff immediately curtailed the growl from Garolt with a pointed look and baring of his teeth before turning back to Theo. “I hear you’ve been a naughty pup. You know what happens to naughty pups?”He said, bringing the rottweiler up to eye level and pressing his nose to the rottweiler’s. “They get punished. Now, Sit and tell me how sorry you are for running away and throwing everything away by eating someone”. The mastiff dropped him more than a little roughly, the rottweiler patting Garolt softly and looking up at the domineering canid. 

 “I...Look...Can...can you at least...tell me...who...and what you are? I don’t...If you’re…''He said, unsure of what was going on. He...he couldn’t deny that the way the mastiff was treating him was...alluring, but the confusion was crippling. “I’ll...I’ll give you an answer if you give me an answer...My...my agreement was with...whoever the fuck is housing me.”He said, watching as the mastiff...silently cursed thinking the rottweiler wouldn’t see and stepped up grabbing him by the muzzle.


 “Fine pup. You want...fuck...you want an answer, I’ll give you it, but...you have to give me your answer after...don’t want you fucking bullshitting your way out of this, got it?”The ‘mastiff’ said, stepping back and rubbing the bridge of his nose as, with a very loud popping sound, the mastiffs body shrank down to nearly Bob’s size, what was a mastiff now being...a very young looking octopus, rings glowing a bright and very angry looking blue across their skin. “The name is Blake...and I swear to fucking god, you say a damned word about ‘too young’ or ‘innocent’, I’m jumping on your face and pumping you with enough toxin to kill everyone in this place three times over”.

 Theo was...positively livid, the confusion in his loins and head only getting even worse now that he saw that they had sent a fucking child to...Who the fuck were these people. He stood, gesturing over his shoulder at Garolt. “Uh Uh. This ain't happening. I ain’t fucking some kid, or doing a damn thing except getting you some clothes to put on.”He said, looking around for a moment before he felt a very sharp pain in his groin, the rottweiler collapsing back to his knees, Garolt growling angrily at the sudden assault.

 The octopus stepped back, shaking their hand and looking down at the kneeling rottweiler. “Oh laaaah-dee-fucking-dah. Look at you, mr big fucking fighting enny. Not all of us were so blessed to get to be a flying fucking brick that gets to eat people and steal their fucking powers. Some of us got shafted and only get to transform into someone’s deepest desire. Some of us didn’t get the luxury of a loving family, and a stable home...so save me your puritanical fucking white knighting.”the octopus said with the vitriol of someone that had to have this conversation many times. “So yea, I don’t get to go out and fight, but hell if I’m not gonna make a fucking living. These freaks”Blake spat, gesturing to...the whole world it seemed with two hands” Want to punish me for doing what feels good and making money at it while being ‘too young to understand’.Fucking hell if I don’t understand that these freaks look at us, see our innocence, and beat themselves silly to the idea of defiling us. I’ve seen...and felt...every depraved sin they want to visit upon us”.

 Theo groaned and reached up to keep Garolt from charging the octopus, looking up at them with sorrow and pity. “You...Jesus, I thought I had it bad but you? Fuck, Is some sappy song gonna play now while we have some grainy sepia toned flashback?”he said, watching the octopus first flare brighter before snickering. “ Yea. I get it. Your lot in life is shit, but are you absolutely sure that’s all you can do or how your enna works?”he said, thinking of something...completely different he really...really fucking wanted. He watched the octopus cock their head, crossing their arms indignantly. 

 “Look...I might not be as...old as you...but I think I know how my shit works, alright?”the octopus said, before he saw the look on Theo’s face...desire and...coiled violent expectation, ‘sweat’ dripping down the octopus’ smooth face before they rolled their eyes and nodded, the rottweiler watching as their flesh rippled and changed, fur sprouting and covering the spots slightly as they shifted between a small octopus...and an absolutely massive destrier, a whinny escaping their chest as whatever Theo had desired made things different. The ‘destrier’ looked down at themselves. “Well fucking hell, look at you. Mr Big Fighting Enny got the inspirational bullshit going. This is really what you want right now?”the ‘horse’ said with a snort, cocking their head at Theo’s nod and grinning wildly as they, without warning, kicked Theo dead center in his chest, sending him flying through the air and impacting into the waterfall that fed the spring.

 Theo laughed, watching Garolt turn in gobsmacked horror as Theo wrenched himself free of the stones, the trickle of water becoming much larger as he pulled free. “How about THAT desire?”he laughed, launching himself at the horse and tumbling, throwing him through the curtain and laughing as they went flying, crashing through walls and causing other patrons to yell and scream in surprise. The rottweiler looked back at Garolt, then to the clothes they had been provided. “We gotta hurry...dude is probably gonna get back up and come charging in here.”he said, watching Garolt grin wickedly and run in with him to get changed, the sound of charging hooves echoing through the growingly destroyed bathhouse.

=Le Brasserie de Laja-Breyja=

 “So he somehow turned him into a horse…”Faust said robotically, listening in on the other side of the conversation, rubbing his temple with a claw. “ Then they demolished the place…”. The voice on the other end was frantic, though Faust couldn’t help but grin under his mask. The boy was acting just as he expected, a wildcard he could use to finally wrench himself free of the contemptible clutches of his careless father. “Yes, yes...Charge all repairs to the company, hell...expand while you’re at it. Just make sure the boy is- Oh, He’s already on his way then?”.

 Faust nodded as all seemed to be in place, setting his phone down as the call ended and waited. He knew the boy would be confused still, even with the little bit of fun he just got to have, and that the moment he saw the 'dragon' all bets were off. Plus, there was the matter of his seeming twin, and how that would play into matters. He hummed gently to himself, picking reflexively at a tooth on his mask before letting out a robotic hiss at the momentary failure of control. He made a mental note to punish himself for that before a host came into his private room, leaning down and quietly informing him his ‘guests’ had arrived and if he would like them shown back. The 'dragon' nodded, letting the red-tailed hawk bow away and go to do his job.

 “Come on kid. Can you and...whoever the fuck the other guy is...hold it together long enough to hear me out?”He thought to himself, feeling his pulse quicken with each moment as he saw shadows on the corner of the hallway leading to him, and then the hawk opening the door and bowing politely, ushering the pair of rottweilers in. It took only a few moments for Theo, and his compatriot, to realize who he was. Garolt, surprisingly, was the one to stop Theo from launching himself at the 'dragon' and ruining his nice suit. “Yes yes...It-sa me. Calm the calamity that is your mammaries, I have...a proposition for you. So please, Theomond.”He said with an almost metallic whine, watching with particular relish as both Garolt and Theomond growled and bared their teeth at the familiarity.” Sit, and let your...friend....join us.”

 Theo let out a barking laugh as the 'dragon' invited him to sit, looking at Garolt and inclining his head. “You believe this guy's shit? Pisses us off, causes us...me...to have to run away from home and end up eating s-someone. “He said, subtly licking his lips and remembering just how...fulfilling...eating the hyena had been. “And now he wants us to have a cute little date with him. Up to you at this point, Gar. We can end him now, walk out of here and go...back. Or we can sit here, listen to his bullshit and THEN end him.''He said, his ears flicking as Garolt growled again, looking between Faust and Theo before walking to one of the seats and pulling it out, sitting and staring with fury at the 'dragon'. Theo nodded at his...whatever Garolt was....and took the other seat.

 Almost the moment they sat down, the hawk was back again, a small pad in hand. Faust gestured with a hand to the pair. The rottweilers looked at each other and then the table, finally realizing that there was a small menu waiting there for them. The pair looked it over, looking at each item and pointing, having never had the opportunity to be in a place as nice as this, before looking up at the 'dragon' who seemed to be impassively looking at the menu himself, though the rottweilers could tell he was just putting up appearances. Taking this as a sign to do as they pleased, the rottweilers both ordered a wagyu filet and house cider. They both blinked in surprise as the waiter turned to Faust without a moment's pause. The 'dragon' ordered something the rottweiler was sure would summon a demon if he tried to pronounce it with a wine that he was sure would send that same demon back to hell, the hawk bowing and taking their orders to be filled. The rottweilers turned their attention to the 'dragon'. “So what’s the catch here? You're feeding us...and you want something. So spit it out.”he said quietly, clenching his fists together on the table.

 Faust nodded and sighed, reaching up slowly to take off his mask, watching the rottweilers watching first with curiosity that slowly became horror as they saw the ruin that was Faust’s face. He set the mask down beside him, sighing for the first time in front of Theo without the mask. “Fucking hell I hate that thing. Keeps the bile from burning everything when I lie. Now, like I said. I have a proposition.”He said, before pulling a folder out of a briefcase beside him, and tossing a folder to the boys. “Theo, and guest. Do you know who Yeodun H Yong is?”he said, resting his boney muzzle on his hands with a clack and watching the boys.

 Theo looked down at the folder, opening it up. He knew what dossier’s were, he’d seen his father’s one on him, the rottweiler spreading the paperwork and photos across the table in front of him. Just about everyone knew who Yeodun was. The owner and c.e.o of the Yeouijucorp conglomerate, he was a polarizing figure in the field of genetic research. His company had made immense, some would say violating, progress in the fields of recombinant d.n.a and stem cell research, among acquiring several technological firms in the process, ever growing in his attempts at...something. The conspiracy theories varied wildly, some saying that Yeouijucorp had been responsible for The Event, others saying Yeodun was trying to use d.n.a to become a “real” Dragon. Nobody could agree on what he was doing behind closed doors, but everyone could agree on one thing. If there was anything he was doing for sure, it was providing the world with everything that kept Enny’s from destroying the world. “Ok, two things. One, Names Garolt. No middle name, no last. Two, What? You want us to…”Garolt started to say, before he grabbed a piece of paper with Yeodun’s name on it and then wracked his brain, before turning to Theo...who seemed to have come to the same conclusion he had, the both of them looking at the 'dragon'.

 Faust nodded, ‘grinning’ with the ridges on his forehead, his eyes wrinkling mirthfully. “Aye...You’ve got the right of it. I want you to kill my father. And before you ask, no, this isn’t a corporate thing. I don’t care what happens with the company beyond getting to live a comfortable life, and...Ah…”he said, before gesturing with a hand as the hawk returned with the boy’s plates, and what looked like a very very fancy pair of juice pouches, their meals being placed before them after space had been cleared. “Now, enough talk of business...You boys must still be hungry or rather...one of you might be”. Faust knew he was being mean, teasing the boy about having literally chewed his way through an entire hyena neck, and a not inconsiderable amount of the torso, but he couldn’t let the boy not be mad…

Theomond snorted and flipped the 'dragon' off more than a little as he dug into his steak, shuddering visibly at the first bite, slowly chewing and savoring the primal feeling of meat between his teeth. It wasn’t often that Theo got to eat meat, for various reasons such as what happened with the hyena. He turned to look at Garolt, resisting every urge to just stab the fork into his steak and tear chunks off, chewing and grinning softly. “Waswrong....Dontlikemeat…?”He said, watching Garolt staring softly at the steak and then his utensils, the rottweiler blinking softly. Theo swallowed, before realizing what the issue was, and looking at Faust, who had been watching them both as he ‘sucked’ softly on one of the pouches for a few moments, the straw being pressed between his tongue, the one piece of flesh that hadn’t been seared off, and the bony roof of his mouth...the sight being quite...disconcerting. 

 Garolt felt embarrassed, not sure what was to be expected of him. It was weird being out in the open like this, all this space to move around in and these things he had never actually done physically. He reached out tentatively to hold his fork, his fist closing around it like a child as he lifted it, his eyes flitting up to the 'dragon' before down to his steak, his shame building before his anger at the situation pressed over it, the rottweiler stabbing his steak like Theo had been avoiding and tearing a piece off with his teeth, nearly dropping his fork and the steak as well onto the clean cloth of the table as he tasted his first piece of...anything. He chewed till the meat had been thoroughly turned to paste, swallowing so slowly he nearly inhaled some, coughing and looking at Theo with watery eyes. “Holy fucking shit Theo...This is…”he said before tearing a much larger chunk off, his chair shaking as his tail thumped against it. “Dude...Thish ish fucking aweshome. If he keepsh feeding ush like thish, I’m willing to kill the Godsh themshelvesh”. The rottweilers both ate in moderate silence, each individually savoring a meal they didn’t have much opportunity to eat.

=Langley Residence=

Garth sighed softly, nursing softly at a glass of scotch before pressing it to his temple. It had been...he had stopped keeping track at this point, the rottweiler having figured that if things were going to get better or worse, he wouldn’t be contributing to it going either way. He would...let things come as they would. It was trying to control things that had gotten him into this mess, and now...now Theomond was out there...doing...gods know what. He let out a soft growl as he heard his computer ping, the aged rottweiler moving to his desk. He squinted softly as he clicked on the message he had been sent, the name not ringing a bell at first. “Coeus...No. Burned that bridge ages ago.”He thought before closing his eyes and letting out a groan as he saw what it said and the video that came with it, setting it to play as his eyes opened.

 He watched as a drone followed his son out of an a.p.c, the younger rottweiler having donned a mask while being transported from...wherever it was that Theo had been hiding. Each moment sent a chill down Garth’s spine, watching as the rottweiler in the video ran and jumped and moved through a dilapidated pre-Event hotel. It took quite a while before anything more than Theo being spooked by things being thrown by...someone...off camera happened, this object actually smacking Theo actively in the head. The older canine whined as he watched his son roar and charge after his assailant finally, the drone fighting very hard it seemed to keep up with the raging rottweiler. It was a wild ride, the rottweiler following a quick and brutal path that terminated in an empty pool. What came next destroyed any illusion he thought he had about Theo’s situation remaining, watching as the boy was first surrounded and then beaten, before one of his hyena assailants tried to remove his mask and was tackled into the pool wall in response.

 “No...Buddy…”he said quietly as the boy threw his assailant into the crowd and followed, the brawl growing quickly out of hand as the group of hyena tried to flee after one of them was knocked into the stairs and Theo pounced on that moment of weakness, Garth watching with quickly narrowing vision as his son committed an atrocity he had prayed would never happen, having to grab the rubbish bin next to his desk and vomiting into it as his son chewed threw his opponents neck, the meaty sounds seeming to echo over the sound of his retching. He purged everything from his system in fear of what was to come, having to choke the vomiting down when he heard something else that made the situation go from horrible to positively cataclysmic, his gaze coming up just in time to see his son willing Garolt into reality. He wiped his mouth with his forearm, rubbing his temple again. If Garolt was free, then any chance he had of corralling the situation just got that much more complicated. He stopped the video,  downing the last of the scotch in his glass before throwing it at the wall and seething. All Theo had had to do was behave, and now...Garth collapsed against his desk, starting to cry as everything burned around him.

=The Warren, Theo’s Room=

 Bob bolted upright from having curled up on Theo’s bed, having been told to fuck off away from the loading area if he wasn’t actively being transported to a fight. Not wanting to deal with rounds that could easily ignore his walls like butter, he made his way back to Theo’s room. He didn’t know who Theo would be fighting, or how long it would take but he knew that Theo would come out of this safely...he had to. He curled up tighter, not wanting to imagine what he might do if the one person that hadn’t gotten tired of him was gone, and was nearly back to sleep when he heard the door to the room hiss open. He burst up onto his hands and feet, looking up and grinning as he made a platform to leap off of, throwing his arms the best he could around “Theo’s” neck.

 “Fucking hell dude, You had me worried. Next time you fucking want to take forever getting back to me, atleast let me know you’re going to be all day”He said jokingly, squeezing the rottweiler tightly before feeling the rottweiler very pointedly trying not to touch him, the armadillo slowly dropping down to another platform beneath his feet. “Theo...did...did something happen out there? You...You can talk to me. I know I’m being...kind of friendly for how short of a time that we’ve known each other, but you seem to like me...and...and I-I think…''He mumbled, rubbing the back of his head.

 “Yea...thats...Yea, I think I like you too, but...Garolt is a little…”Came a voice from behind ‘Theo’, Bob blinking and looking past ‘Theo’ to see...Theo. He looked between the two, blinking and watching as Garolt nodded curtly and moved past the armadillo to flop onto the bed, his feet thumping on it as Theo walked in and let the door shut behind him. “Yea...It...something happened out there. And, as it turns out...that something means I can’t stay here in this part of The Warren anymore”. Theo leaned against the door, rubbing his arms sheepishly.

 “Turns out, chewing your way through someone’s neck kind of qualifies you as a killer. But...also turns out that...that the guy that got me into this mess wants to see me...succeed, so I’m getting that penthouse Garolt…”Theo said, before noticing the confusion on Bob’s face and snorting softly. “Right...You couldn’t see him. Garolt made a joke earlier about getting a penthouse, and well...I don’t know if it’s a penthouse exactly but its a larger room and it's not dorm style like here...and well...I couldn’t say no...especially if that hyena is also living in this part.”

Bob nodded, rubbing his head and sighing. “Well yea...I get it. You gotta do what you gotta do. Big awesome dude like you can’t just hang around here.”the armadillo said, cursing himself for getting attached so quickly just because the rottweiler had been nice. He hopped down from his platform and made for the door, squinting as the rottweiler refused to move. “Theo...No need to rub it in. You get to go off and hide and be awesome...No need for silly little…”. He was about ready to punch Theo for all the good it would do him as the rottweiler snickered, reaching down to scoop Bob up.

 “Yea...No. Like I said, I think I like you, and well..”He said, before Garolt groaned and told him to stop fucking around and tell Bob. Theo rolled his eyes, Bob looking between the two in confusion. “Well, since little miss impatient has to fucking try and ruin the surprise...Yea, it’s not just me. I told them I wanted a room big enough for two...Not my fault they thought I meant Garolt.”He said with a grin, watching as the cogs slowly turned in the armadillo’s head, his grin growing wider as Bob blinked.

 “Dude...Why...I’ve known you for like...two days maybe. Why would you be so..”He said, before being cut off by the rottweiler kissing him as best he could considering the difference in size, the rottweiler holding them together before breaking the kiss softly, his eyes glittering and his grin growing sheepish. Bob blinked, his fuzzy little cheeks burning almost visibly. “W-well...Your argument is...is quite convincing...But I think I might need to hear it again.” Bob murmured quietly, Theo blushing just as hard as the armadillo, the sound of Garolt making mocking kissy noises in the background. 

 “Look...I get it...Jumping into things like this is...is dangerous. But...I’ve never been allowed to be social like this...or have friends really...and...well…”he said timidly, giving Bob another soft squeeze and kissing his forehead softly. “You’re really cute. Do you think...maybe...moving in together aside...we could maybe talk and...and get to know each other better?”. Theo wasn’t sure if this was how it worked, the rottweiler jumping a little as the armadillo reached up with a hand to stroke his cheek. 

 “Dude...you told me about your, no offense Garolt, imaginary friend and your life story like...twenty minutes into our meeting. At this point, I think we’re already common law married. We’re gonna get to that new apartment and there’s already gonna be three cats and a fucking mortgage.”The armadillo said with the flattest face he could muster before cracking up, wrapping his arms around Theo’s neck and squeezing softly, kissing his cheek softly before coughing. “But let's get the ground rules set here...The kissing thing? I’ll let that go for now. I’m cool with us being friends, cuddling platonically and working up to being...like that, but that's a little fast for me”.

Garolt sat up, throwing a pillow at the pair and barking. “So him using you as a particularly adorable stress ball was kosher but the moment he puts his lips to yours, suddenly you're singing hymns and talking about doing charity?”He said, before flopping back onto the bed as Theo growled at him. “I mean...what sense does that make? You had on like...a t-shirt...at any point, he coulda flopped it out and-”

  “Yea, He coulda done a lot of things, but he didn’t. He was a perfect fucking gentleman, unlike some people. Now why don’t you sit pup, and let the grownups talk? ''Bob said, holding a hand up and walling Garolt off by himself, the armadillo turning back to Theo. “So yea...No kissing, and definitely no sex but thats more because...well.. your shit would pop me like a balloon. Like for real...You put that thing anywhere near my ass, and I’m gonna end up going Fweeeeeeeeeeeee...”the armadillo jokes, moving his hand through the air and watching as Theo tried very hard not to drop him while laughing.

  “Dude...I’m not even sure I WANT to bone anything, let alone someone that looks like if I even tried using a finger, I’d be able to scratch their nose from the inside. The kiss was...I think I wanted to kiss you...I like the idea of kissing you, but...I dunno about the other stuff.”He said, Bob patting his cheek again, the rottweiler nuzzling it reflexively before looking up to see Garolt making soft little pumping motions with his hip at the invisible wall and letting out a snort. “So yea...We stick to being platonically close and shit, and if boning ensues somehow, we’ll just...deal with it from there?”

 Bob nodded, looking over at the brazenly thrusting rottweiler and made a jerking off and then exploding motion with his free hand before dropping the wall, his hands resting on his chest as the wall went down, Garolt swinging a paw through the air before stopping his thrusting. “Aye. Not gonna lie though...always wanted to see what a knot looks like in comparison with my hands...and yours?”he said, teasingly holding his hands up and splaying his fingers out. “Fuck, that thing is gonna look like a fucking boulder against these.”


=The Warrens, The Charnel Run, Three Months Later=

  “And I’m fucking telling you. A clear wall wouldn’t stop a real laser. You’d need some kind of means of either scattering the light, or reflecting it entirely,”Theo said from the bathroom, gesturing out the door with a toothbrush. “Besides, Even if you could stop it, the sheer heat that it would be generating if it even remotely goes around the wall would mean blocking it didn’t matter in the end”. He went back to brushing his teeth, looking at himself in the mirror. It had been a long few months since he had been slotted in that first fight, his one caveat to not putting up a fight in being moved being that, other than Bob being allowed to treat the room just as much as his, was that when he was ready for more fights, he would put his name into the mix alongside all the other Charnel Run denizens. The rub to doing that though was that once he did, any confrontation outside rooms was considered a valid match, and since he had been dumped into the Charnel Run...it meant each fight was potentially to the death. 

Since then though, he and bob...and Garolt when he was feeling sociable, had lived relatively tame days, getting food brought to the room if only because Theo knew that if he himself was ready to kill at a drop of a hat if it meant protecting his things now...so would everyone else in the spartan lunchroom that The Charnel Run sported.``Oh, Oh. And I suppose you know how my power works? I project ‘no fuck you, stay out’ walls with my MIIIIIIIIIIND and you think my wall couldn’t stop a laser? Fucking weird mind wall, and dr frankenfucks zapgun can get through it?”Bob said from the mass of pillows he had taken as his part of the bed, snorting and shaking his head. “I don’t care what you say, Mondy. I make invisible walls...I don’t make foggy walls, I don’t make solid or colored walls, I make invisible mind walls. Now if I hear one more word out of you, I’m coming in there and walling you in the shower.”

Theo laughed, making his way over to the bed and making as if he was going to flop onto the mass of pillows, the armadillo squinting and getting a hand ready. Theo snorted, flopping down beside the mass, staring up at the ceiling. “Can’t keep avoiding more matches or leaving this room. Sooner or later, they’re not gonna just let me be. The dude’s brothers...clones...whatever the fuck they are considering the fact that eating one of them let me woobidy-woo up a whole body for Garolt...are fucking screaming for my head after I well...ate their brother’s well...everything. The only thing keeping me...and you...safe is the promise of more fights. “Theo said, rubbing his muzzle and looking over at the plinth that held his mask. It had been repaired since the fight with the addition of a set of magnets along the muzzle to account for the possibility that the hyena hadn’t been a one off meal, though the blood strangely had never washed out right the first time...the mask now a grisly splattered mix of white, gold and blood red. 

 “And I told you. Not going to tell you how to make that choice. You fucking ate a dude, Mondy. As fucking sweet as it is that you just fucking chewed through that much fucking muscle and bone...people are gonna remember that, and purely that. They’re going to expect you to take your opponent apart, literally, and feast on their tender, tender sweetmeats.''Bob said, sitting up out of the pile slightly. “And I know that weighs on you, even if it does mean that you can interact with Gary physically. So if you want to fight and are either going to REAAAALLLY try not to eat someone again or are ok with the fact that you might, then go right ahead. I’ll be waiting here for you. Maybe if you win some more, you could get them to put in a feed to your matches here”.

Theo growled softly and sat up on the bed, looking intently at his mask, and then Bob. "You know he hates being called Gary...why do you tease him like that. We're the ones together, Ignazio…"he playfully jeered, poking his boyfriend as softly as he could. "I...please don't joke about...about me...me eating people...eating that hyena. I hadn't intended on that...eating him...". The Rottweiler rolled into his feet, walking over to the mask and running his hand over it.

  "Still think you should have had the rest of it dyed to match, maybe even make the white part black"Came Garolts voice from the little "kitchen" area adjoining the room. "Think you could pop me out, 'feeling' hungry and piggy-backing isn't gonna do it for me this time". Garolt wandered into the room, flopping down where Theo had been moments before, Theo turning and rolling his eyes. A blink of pain later and Garolt was absent-mindedly fist bumping Bob. “Look...Might as well lean on being considered a monster. Look like the beast they think you are, and they’ll fear and respect you. Besides...I can’t fight if you don’t, that's what they said. You wanna fight solo, that's fine. I don’t get that luxury.”Garolt said, tossing a ball up into the air, the soft sound of it impacting the ceiling echoing off the walls.

 "Garolt...I swear, you get any more edge, and you're gonna start looking fourth dimensional. I'm not dyeing my mask black, I didn't even want the blood on it to stay but for some fucked reason, I now get to run around with a mask with supernaturally fresh blood on it…"he said, picking up the mask and leaning against the plinth. He rubbed a thumb across the muzzle, sighing as the blood smeared into his thumb and wiping it off on the wall, watching as it faded away as he did. It was disconcerting, seeing it happen, as if reality itself was punishing him and only letting him know he was being punished. “If you’ve got any ideas, I’m game for something other you going ‘wooooo...beeeeeee...eeeeeeddddggggyyyyyyyy”. Theo set the mask down, perking his ears as he heard Bob stammering and trying to climb out of the pile of pillows quickly before his head snapped around to the electronic punch-clock at the loud beep it put out as Garolt slid Theo’s badge through it, before sliding his own through.

 “How about that for an idea. You wanted someone to make a call, I made a call. You wanna fight about it, I’ll be in the cafeteria. Try to get there before I get eaten, or eat someone myself. Toooooodles...”Garolt laughed, before pushing his way out the door to the gobsmacked reaction of Bob and Theo. He didn’t actually know where the barracks was, having not been listening when it was detailed, though it didn’t matter to the rottweiler. A nifty little thing Garolt had noticed was he could functionally do everything Theo could, short of making clones and eating people to gain their power...although Garolt wasn’t entirely sure about the second. He could hear footsteps behind him, grinning to himself as he hummed as loudly as he could without it being terribly obvious that his tail wasn’t being too subtle, the sound of additional footsteps and the unfurling of chains sending a thrill down the rottweiler's spine.

 Back in the room, Theo groaned, pulling the mask on and shuddering at the moment of sticky coldness before the mask ‘warmed’ up and the feeling mostly went away. He looked down to Bob, who was preparing things like they had discussed. The day after he and Bob had come down to the room, they had discussed what to do if Theo had to leave the room without Bob. With hurried movement, Bob dug his way free of the mound of pillows and made his way into the bathroom, closing and locking the door before barring it wholesale with a wall. Theo nodded before charging out the room as quickly as he could, both cursing and blessing the fact that The Charnel Run smelled exactly like one, the stench of death and aggression making it hard to make out any THREE scents, let alone one. He cocked his head, spitting a curse as he heard nothing and chose a direction, yelling in his head. “Gods fucking damn you for this Garolt. When I find you, you better hope nobody else has found you first…”He thought to himself as he turned a corner and bounced off what felt like a pair of brick walls, the rottweiler growling before looking up into the “grinning” faces of a pair of Kestrels, their heads cocking in unison. 

 “Think this one…is the one we were told to delay? Oh please...Please tell me he is” Said one kestrel, her head cocking to the other side. 

“ He came from the direction the other did, did he not?”The other said, cocking his head to the other side in kind, the rottweiler slowly getting up and watching as the kestrels in unison straightened their heads out. 

“I do believe…”the second said again, his eyes almost glinting with cold, calculating malice as he took a step forward, the rottweiler taking a step back in kind before the first kestrel stepped up as well. 

“He is, dear one. Oh...They said to delay him but can we please playyyy...I’ve been so bored down here, all the fun is always over.”The first one whined, her malice being much much more obvious in her eyes. The second kestrel rubbed the tip of his beak with a thumb, before snapping his fingers and the air getting painfully cold and the first kestrel screeched, her ‘wings’ scything through the air, the feathers glinting for a moment before the force of the motion sent them flying through the air like darts.

  Theo was already moving the moment he saw the kestrel starting to snap his fingers, the rottweiler admittedly moving much slower than he would have meant...which only meant that his hand closed around the first kestrels spine as his fist punched into her abdomen instead of through her, gripping it tightly to the keening cry of the kestrel’s pain, his eyes snapping to the other kestrel. “Back...the...fuck...off. I’m…”he started to say before he looked past the kestrel as all the camera’s in the hall craned towards them, their lenses whirring as they focused. “I’m not dealing with this shit right now. I’ve got your...whatever the fuck she is to you...by her spine and-”. His words were cut off as the first kestrel outstretched a hand, the feathers that had missed him and embedded in the wall whistling through the air and thudding into his back, the rottweiler roaring and starting to crush the kestrel’s spine in his hand. “T-t-turn...t-t-t-the...h-h-e-e-eat...b-b-back...on”he said stutteringly, his eyes narrowing as the kestrel raised his hand again, and snapped, the hallway starting to actively ice over. Theomond growled, grabbing the kestrel in his grip by the arm...and yanking numbly, the feathers cutting mildly into his hand.

 It was almost effortless, even as cold as he was, to pull the arm off like a loose piece of string, dropping it at his feet and very pointedly starting to reach down towards the kestrel’s leg. “Nnnnggghhh...G-granvell...Such...exquisite pain...Ohhhhh...make him...angrier”She laughed, feeling the rottweilers fingers dig into the flesh of her leg, the sheer growing cold of the hallway causing the spurts of blood from the ruined socket of her shoulder to crackle and tinkle across the floor like so many little pieces of glass. She raised her still attached hand to rake at Theo’s face, the rottweiler pulling his head to the side before yanking as he did previously, feeling the bird’s hip first pop out of socket before tearing free, a scream that Theo could almost tell was orgasmic wrenching free of the kestrel’s chest before Theo rolled his eyes and simply threw the clearly deranged bird at her...whatever Granvell was to her...the bird stepping out of the way and going to snap his fingers again, Theo moving in the figurative blink of an eye, his paw closing crushingly around the bird’s hand.

 “N-n-n-no...mo-mo-mo-more...of that. NO...n-n-no...mo-mo-more...y-you.”he spat, before reaching up and grasping the kestrel by the beak and snapping his neck, dropping the body where it was to freeze. He moved as quickly as he could out of the cold zone, his body shaking violently as he warmed before he started off again in the direction the kestrels had been blocking...and towards the sounds of meat being flagellated with a very heavy chain. Each slap made his still numb body move faster, before he was all but running on the walls in his effort to get to the source of the noises. 

It was a tense minute of running, before Theo came around yet another corner to the sight of Garolt lounging on the broken and contorted body of one headless frog, though if Theo guessed correctly, it was that same frog’s head that Garolt was using as a paddleboard. His free hand was being used to whip the body of another headless frog with a very heavy looking chain, though this one looked like his head had been pulped as opposed to torn off. Garolt turned to look at him with a bloody grin. “Heyyyyyy…Theo, glad you could make it. Took you so long, I had to entertain myself. Had a bit to eat, and now i’m trying to see how many times I can get this head to bounce in a row before the tongue rips off”He said, moments later the tongue ripping free from the head to a soft little whine from Garolt before he shrugged and bit into the tongue and tearing a chunk free, offering the rubbery appendage to Theo, shrugging again softly and hopping up off the body when Theo let out a soft little gag. “Oh, come the fuck off it. You know how thick a hyena’s neck is? You still ate through THAT with no issue, but a tongue...THATS where you draw the line…”.

 Theo growled, grabbing Garolt by the shoulder and slamming him ‘softly’ to a wall. “Garolt. I didn’t WANT to. It was a moment of weakness. Killing? That I’ll do. Can’t help that now...But...I’d like to…”He said before Garolt pulled himself free, growling and pressing his nose to Theo’s, Theo pressing back just as much. “I’d like to avoid it. Take the win that I ate someone that evidently let me give you an actual body...which I’ve noticed you’ve taken to being happier about using...mr scared of everything”. He stepped away, jerking his head down the hall. “Lucky for you, your dumb ass ran in the right direction. Now, if you want something that you’re SUPPOSED to eat, follow me.”

=Fujiwara Building, E.N.A.R Lab #01=

 Faust unclasped his mask and set it down in the sterilization bath before him, his eyes glinting as he dared the intake officer to make a comment about what he was doing, or the fact that his father highly frowned on extraneous fraternization with ‘Subjects’, the 'dragon' shuddering in disgust at how little 'Imoogi' cared about his ‘children’. He nodded testily as the door forward hissed open, Faust stepping into the next step of keeping where Faust was headed absolutely sterile. Imoogi did not publicly advertise the main goal of his conglomerate, not wanting to indulge any of the conspiracy theorists,and thus wanting to keep his end goal secret, mostly out of shame.

 Faust quickly stripped, tossing his outfit into the incinerator before he shivered in pain as the room he was in flashed quickly through first extreme cold and then heat, before several varying flashes of light accounted for anything else, be it magical, technological or anything else that could damage Yeodun’s ‘prizes’. With the cleaning cycle finished, a drawer beside the door ahead slid open, an almost clinically efficient set of scrubs being provided that Faust pulled on with little complaint. Almost the moment he had finished dressing again, the door forward hissed open, Faust scarcely waiting for the doors to open before he dashed through, part of him hardly able to resist starting to pant happily.

 He rushed down the tube-like hallway, multiple heads snapping up in confusion as he passed before returning to their tasks. Faust knew that it might hurt some of the ones that he didn’t visit as often, but if there was one ‘Subject’ he wanted to see, it was this one. He bounced in place as the guards outside ‘Subject: Y.Han’ turned to react to his approach, his wings twitching angrily as they cleared him for entrance, making sure he was still ‘allowed’ in, not that the guards could stop him really. Upon confirmation that he wasn’t barred, the guards simultaneously turned to the locks of the door they manned, and simultaneously inserted and turned their keys, Faust almost wrenching the doors open and throwing himself through them, almost roaring in time with the Subject within.

“FAAAAAAAUTH…” ‘Subject Han’ roared in jubilation, Faust having to brace himself very carefully...not to keep from hurting himself...but to keep from hurting Han, sweeping him up in a hug and squeezing him as much as he dared hug the dragon. The much smaller, frailer Subject coughed softly and laughed, squeezing his ‘brother’ tightly before letting go and starting to babble softly before he breathed slowly. “Faust...It is...very...nice...to see you. I...I’ve been practicing like...you told me to. Do you...Do you think Father might visit me soon too? It’s not...it’s not quite breathing it yet but it’s...it’s a start-”Han said slowly before Faust pressed a finger to the boy’s lips softly. 

 “Ah ah ah Yeehaw. What did I tell you? When I’m here, and he’s not...What do we call him?” Faust said teasingly, setting his brother down and playfully putting his hands on his hips, the younger and smaller boy bashfully kicking at the floor and looking at his feet. “That's right. Moogi or Imoogi. He doesn’t give US the respect of being considered people, we don’t give him the same either. Now...what's this I hear about practicing?”He said with a laugh, watching his brother’s face light up almost literally as he stepped back and coughed a few times before breathing deep and exhaling hard, Faust watching the boy’s face contract and struggle before a small jet of flame shot out of the boys mouth, Faust cheering happily and stepping up to clap the boy on the shoulder as he stuck his tongue out and whined, the heat having singed his tongue again. 

 “Holy shit Yeehaw, That was like...so much further than last time. Soon, you’ll be showing Moogi just what a real dragon is like."He said, looking off to the auditorium. "You've been practicing your flying too, right? I know it's hard, but if you can breathe fire like that I KNOW you have to be able to fly". He grinned as Yeodun grabbed his hand, letting himself be led towards a large adjoined auditorium. The ‘dragon’ couldn't stop the laughter as his brother excitedly led him. He was so glad to support his...siblings...in their efforts to please their demanding father, leaning against a wall as his hand was let go and the boy ran out towards the middle of the auditorium. He watched with rapt interest as the young dragon took a few shaking running steps before hovering for a few feet and then dropping to the floor in a heap, Faust clapping like he’d seen the most amazing act of flight.

 “See Faust? That’s a whole six inches further than previous measures, it’s gotta be”Yeehaw cheered, running up to sorely hug his ‘brother, the much larger ‘dragon’ sweeping him up in another hug. “Father is sure to be pleased with my progress. I will...Will…”. The dragon was cut off by a series of hacking coughs, Faust hugging him and crooning softly as the boy’s touchy biology worked against him, the coughs turning into soft, pained sobs. Faust felt tears starting to well up, before his head dipped in close.

 “Hey, Yee. Can I tell you a secret?”He said softly, peeking up his head at the many cameras that were focused on them, knowing that if he wasn’t careful, ‘Father’ would hear everything he was about to say, his head dipping down again as the boy coughed out an affirmation.

 Faust nodded, cradling Yeodun close as they walked out of the auditorium. “So, you know I’ve moved back here for a while, right?”Faust said, making his way over to the little ‘eating’ area he had set up down here. 

 “Y-yea. You were meeting…meeting someone at the bank or something, and some dudes walked...walked in. You didn’t mean to get in the middle of things, but before anyone knew anything...the robbers were fighting about betraying each other if it meant they got out richer and...well…”the dragon said as Faust set him down, and set about finding something remotely palatable for them to share.

 “Something like that buddy. Just asked them how much they meant to make off with, and they all said roughly...well...Father had the police report and court recording sent to his office. That's besides the point. I got here, and in the midst of letting people know I was in the area… I met the most interesting little puppy. I think...He might just be able to help you...He knows the neatest little tricks...”


=Bari’s Hall=

 Bari looked out over the dance floor before her from her office, growling softly as she squinted in disgust at the writhing bodies on the dance-floor, so many puerile people...grinding their bodies against one another. It was enough to make Bari pop a blood-vessel, the bear having to close the ‘blinds’ to keep from ruining another part of her office in a rage. She moved back to where her desk had been replaced, all of her things exactly where she had left them before her moment of weakness, sighing as she set her eyes on a picture of a bear and rottweiler, both clearly very young.

 “What is point of all of this? I make this place dance club, place where people can go to forget themselves...but You?  I cannot forget you. Why choose him? He is...weak, knows only weakness.”The bear growled, reaching out to grasp the picture, a thumb tiredly caressing over it before setting it down, lacing her hands together and thumping her thumbs against her muzzle. No progress had been made in finding the boy, and Bari was starting to wonder if she was going to have to cash in chips she wanted to save for less...prideful...goals.

 Her revelry was interrupted by a knock at the door, Bari looking up and growling for a moment before she remembered Morrigan’s constant reminder to at least give people the room to disappoint her. “What is it?”She said, perking a brow as the door cracked open, and a heron popped their head in. 

 “Ma’am. We got some....He just…”The heron said before being pushed into the room, Bari almost launching herself over the desk as a rottweiler paced into the room, before the rottweiler held his hands up defensively, Bari sniffing the air and blinking first in surprise...and then legitimate fear, the rottweiler nodding softly as he gestured a hand at one of the chairs, Bari nodding with her head.

 “Aye...She told you exactly who I am, I’m sure. Who I am and what I was doing BEFORE The Event...So if I wanted anyone in here to hurt, trust me...they’d be hurt”John said softly, sitting down in the chair and watching the bear swallow nervously. “Calm yourself, seriously. I’m here to offer you something. You know what my...outfit...does.”.

 Bari nodded again, waving the heron off before leaning forward. “You do things...ugly things. You and your butchers...you destroy things. Peace...war...if it has a price tag to be stopped, you are one of the groups used to do it. Where you go, death follows. What? Do you expect me to hire you?”She said with a growl before she remembered herself. “I cannot. What you want for things, even I cannot and will not match. If all you’ve done is come to offer your services, find a different buyer”.

 John chuckled softly, waving a paw through the air. “Oh please. I know for a good fact you can’t. Garth isn’t the only one that knows how to find things out, or be willing to use it. I know Garth came here at some point and talked to you...I’m here to talk as well.”He said, pulling a knife out and rolling it between his fingers. “You know surely what he wanted you to help him do...He has covered all his bases. I’m here to offer my services, yes…”He said, before stabbing the desk with the knife and leaning back again. “But not for a price. He wants the boy found? We’ll find the boy. Your people and my people will work together...and the first thing we will look into is this”. John pulled out a tablet, pulled a video up and slid it over to Bari.

 Bari took the tablet with no small measure of worry before playing the video and watching. The room was dead silent save for the conversation the boy was having...with someone. Bari was confused for a moment before something dawned on her, her eyes drifting upwards for a few moments to the rottweiler and then back down again. The video had reached a pool, Bari watching curiously and with no small amount of concern as the boy was accosted...and then violence happened. It was...shocking to see that the innocent little boy Morrigan had shown her was doing this...and Bari had to set the tablet down when the boy...did...things. “He...I know where that hotel is...I can...find out who was nearest to it…”. Bari slid the tablet back over. "What do you plan to do with him? If you...he is Mori's one and only remaining spawn...if you…". The smell of burning metal and wood started to fill the room, John smiling impassively.

 "Bari...please...you wouldn't get halfway through before you were dead. Relax...what I intend to do is none of your goddamn business really. Just know that the plan is going to...really change things."

=The Charnel Run, The Trough=

 "Dude...put the spoon and the pudding down...nobody gets hurt."Garolt said softly, his hands up non-confrontationally and his eyes locked on his 'prey'. The armadillo growled, holding the items defensively as Theomond snickered, leaning back and watching carefully.

 "And I told you...this stuff has more protein than that little brain of yours can handle. You want it" Bob said with a smile, deftly holding a finger up, though this one isn't projecting a wall. "You're gonna have to go through Theomond first...right babe?". Bob looked over playfully at his boyfriend, scoffing as he saw him 'sleeping’.

 "He can't save you every time. Now if you'll excuse me-"Garolt said, before his body shot up rigidly, his hands falling limply to his side. Theomond and Bob both blinked in surprise at the sudden silence from the Rottweiler, their eyes squinting as Garolt marched up while they were surprised and wrenched the pudding free of the armadillo’s hand and marching over to a different table and setting the pudding down in front of a very familiar komondor, the braid covered canid waving Garolt off before digging into the pudding, the rottweiler shaking his head and looking around in confusion and then down to the komondor before looking back at Theo and Bob, who looked at each other and were already scrambling out of the table as Garolt turned his attention back to the female.

 “Oi...The fuck did you do? Did you...how…”he said softly, the komondor groaning and rolling her eyes as it looked like Garolt wasn’t going away, pulling a braid off and flicking it at Garolt, the rottweiler flinching before watching it hit a wall in the air and flop weakly to the ground. He looked back, seeing Bob giving him a soft thumbs up, before turning his attention back to the other canid. “What the hell is your issue? This is the second time you’ve been a turbo-cunt for like...no reason. Now, my buddy back there is trying to be real nice here...I wont be”. Garolt growled softly, watching the komondor rub her forehead.

 “Fine, fuck. If It’ll get you to fuck off. I don’t like most people and I don’t like you three. You lot were going to fight about that stupid pudding, so I took care of the issue. Now please...let me eat my goddamned pudding.”She said, gesturing with a spoon for them to leave. Garolt bristled, starting to pull a balled fist back before stopping as Theo stepped up, putting a paw to his shoulder and tugging softly at him. Garolt growled as he was tugged at, pulling himself free from Theo's grasp and shooting Bob a look before moving to sit down.

"So tell me...When you woke up this morning, did you use the industrial sized bowl for your bitch flakes or do you just metabolize cunt particles at a high rate?"Garolt asked, snorting mischievously as the komondor nearly choked on the pudding, dropping the cup and spoon on the table as she tried not to further inhale the nutrient rich goo. "Mmmmm...breathe in that good chocolatey taste...what all us growing boys, girls and other churls need to grow up big and fucking strong". He knew he was taking a risk here, if the komondor was already willing to control him.

The female finally cleared her airway, breathing deep and glaring at Garolt angrily. "Fuck you dude...shit. let me breathe at least before you try to kill me again.''she said, looking up even more angrily as Theo and Bob approached before she turned her attention back to Garolt. "What's to stop me from just having you walk away right now? Could have you really do anything…". Garolt could tell the bitch was testing him, the Rottweiler leaning in to grin even wider. 

"The fact that I see any of those braids come off and I see if my buddy over there is the only one that gets powers from...well...just find out."

The komondor studied Garolt carefully, before shooting Bob and Theo a look. "He's cool, you two fuck off and die now, kay thanks bye."the komondor said, offering a hand to Garolt as the other two looked at each other in surprise before shrugging and going back to their own table. "Sheva. Sheva Barclay. Infallible, albeit temporary, mind control, you?". Garolt couldn't help himself but laugh, taking the paw and shaking it fearlessly before leaning back in the seat.

"Garolt. Garolt...Langley I guess. Arguably just a brick. You gotta tell me...Mind control is a fucky power but that doesn't get you locked up in a place like this."Garolt said, picking his teeth softly with the tip of a nail. "What...you make some bitch stab out her eyes with a pair of earrings for stealing your boyfriend?"

"Last limited edition plush. And it was thirteen people with a box cutter...would have been fifteen but I hadn't expected the last two to be part greyhound. They shouldn't have cut me in line just because I got splashed with soda."Sheva said calmly, before cocking her head and gesturing with a hand. "And now we come to the part where you tell me what you did to come down here."

Garolt blinked and snorted, lacing his arms behind his head. "Technically speaking, not a damn thing."he said, holding up a hand as Sheva scoffed and made to leave. "I didn't do anything...it was Theo there that did. Didn't actually exist, I don't think, till then...pretty sure I was just a delusion till he chewed through a good foot of neck. After that...poof...suddenly I've got a body and superpowers”. Garolt could see the gears turning in Sheva's head, a braid being tugged off and flicked in an arc behind her. Garolt perked a brow as he looked in the direction of where the braid had been flicked and feeling his eyes widen as a diminutive horse came trotting up, staring at them with glazed eyes before Garolt watched the braid fall limply from their upper arm

The filly blinked,  shaking her head and looking down at the people she had been brought before and starting to say something before the komondor stuck another braid to her hand, the horse going rigid again as Sheva turned to her new friend. "Well...since I've no interest in getting hurt and you don't seem like the kind of person that would turn your nose up at getting to show off…"She said, noticing the way all the cameras were starting to turn their way.

Garolt felt the room chill as the filly stood there, a line of drool starting to drip from her lip. He hadn't expected Sheva to jump right to unwittingly making him prove himself, the komondor looking at him with a bored smirk. The Rottweiler swallowed, getting up out of his chair and looking at Sheva nervously. "You...you sure? This...isn't going to be-"he said before being cut off with a hurrying gesture, Garolt whining softly. He turned to see what Theo and Bob were doing, blanching as it looked like they were giving him privacy. The Rottweiler nodded, nervously gripping the night-comatose horse and pulling her neck down to muzzle level, closing his eyes and hoping Theo would stop him as he bared his teeth, nibbling his way along until he found a spot that seemed particularly vital and biting down hard. 

The komondor smirked even wider, her eyes glittering as the filly's head shook again...and she noticed the canine on her throat, an almost feral whinny struggling forth as she tried to get a good grip on Garolt, Sheva’s hand going up to toss another pair of braids past the pair before her. "Ah ah ah…"she said, shaking a finger at someone and making a shushing motion and kicking her feet up for a very entertaining show.

Garolt whined as he was put in a very difficult position, not wanting to hurt someone he had no quarrel with...but at the same time...feeling the horse's fear through her racing pulse was...Garolt didn't have the words for it. He couldn't help but clamp down harder, tasting the horse even more strongly as his teeth broke the skin, the horse choosing that moment to try and bolt. Garolt growled, tearing the chunk free and hearing the horse scream in pain and fear as a spurt of blood coated the instigating komondor. He felt his own pulse quicken as the horse fled, some primal instinct getting the better of him as he chewed the meat in his mouth...and felt his hands gripping the table he was in front of and reflexively threw it at the horse, chasing her even as the table struck her back and sent her tumbling into a group of magpies. He was on her almost instantly, barking ferally at the 'trespassers' before tearing into the screaming horse, grabbing her wrists roughly and pinning them to the broken remnants of the table. Her screams were quickly silenced as Garolt made as Theo had, clamping down around her trachea and the surrounding flesh and tore her throat out, chewing the viscera with relish before diving in for more. Whereas Theo had taken his time...whether intentionally or not...Garolt barely took the time to chew and swallow before the next bite was torn out, crunching his way quickly through the comparatively thin neck.

"Fucking hell...Dont you think the food they provide is good enough?"Sheva said quietly as she watched her new friend feed, part of her knowing that Garolt couldn't really hear her. She looked up as she watched the braids starting to go fully limp on the pair she had thrown them at, counting down silently to the sound of crunching bone and tearing flesh.

Garolt, for all his worry, was much deeper into the horse before the pain hit him, his muzzle brushing against a feebly pumping heart when the first wave hit him, the nausea nearly making him wretch as every cell seemed to fight to be independent of the rest. He crumpled next to the horse's twitching body, rocking softly as more waves hit him...and then serenity. He groaned softly as he sat up, rubbing his head softly. "Was that entirely necessary? Was elucidation not sufficient, you had to instigate an altercation that left someone decapitated as opposed to just asking?"Garolt said...before stopping and looking over at Sheva, a positively delighted grin spread across her shaggy face. "Wait...This can’t...It can’t be...". Garolt felt a chill wash over him again, looking down at the horse and feeling a rumble in his stomach as dots started connecting in his head, the Rottweiler looking between his...friends from previously and Sheva, before shrugging and returning to his meal as he heard his name being roared, shuddering at each morsel that entered his maw before nearly choking as paws slammed on his back before the Rottweiler felt his meal literally slip out of his hands...or where his hands had been.

Garolt 'bolted' to his feet, spinning to stare angrily at Theo as his meal was taken from him. "Theomond...Please let me back out..."he growled, coming chest to chest with the other rottweiler and pressing his nose to his. “I should not have to suffer for your mistakes. You being unable to take a little bit of goading is what got us into this mess. I get a meal laid out before me and you get to decide when I stop eating? No. Not how this works”. He said, his nostrils flaring as Theo took a step back and licked his lips. “No. No excuses. I don’t want to hear how it wasn’t your choice. You could have run away. You could have stopped at tearing his throat out. You were no less in control at that time than I was. I want out, You are going to let me out, or we are going to have a very bad time here…”.

Theomond snarled angrily, starting to speak before stopping himself and starting to walk away before feeling his legs seize up, his head whipping around to stare hatred at Garolt and his lips starting to move before they too seized up, the other rottweiler shaking his head. “I seem to have lisped...or stuttered....or misspoke because you seem to have misheard me. I said no excuses. Don’t want to hear anything but the sound of your pulse racing as you pop me out, else I’m not the only one eating here tonight. I’m sorry that only one of us gets a say in when the other is out, I’m sorry that in such a sh
ort amount of time I’ve decided being real sucks less than not being real, but I can’t go back...and I don’t want to hurt you trying to see if I can make you let me out.”Garolt said, looking down at Bob pointedly.

Theomond growled through grit teeth, his tongue lashing furiously against the back of his teeth as he wished plagues and damnation upon Garolt for the transgression he was committing, before all the tension went out of his body, the rottweilers eyes tearing up almost instantly as his vision went blurry and he let the other rottweiler out, the hold on him releasing and a sob escaping him as he turned and ran with Bob in close pursuit. Garolt dismissively waved the other rottweiler off as Sheva walked up, picking her teeth with a shattered fragment of rib before tossing it away, the din of conversation starting back up again as the cameras whirred back to their original positions. “Well shit...You sure know how to put on a show. So I’m guessing from the way he just sobbed off like some soap opera, You can’t go back to your place...sooo...Wanna crash at my place and pretend to watch something before inevitably fucking?”