Bonesnap

Story

"I came up with some new experiment types, but a group of them managed to break out and are now running loose in Darkside. These are absolutely brand new, never-before-seen experiments. I don't know what effect they'd have on the ecosystem, and like hell if I'm going to get slapped again with a fine for escaped test subjects," Euclid explained, rubbing his left hand through his green and black mop of hair, while he held his usual cigarette in his right hand. The last time he had been fined, he had accidentally allowed an Experiment 5162 out too early into the Darkside valley and did not realize the species had mutated to reproduce asexually. Needless to say, the Subetan government council were not happy with the tidal wave of tar-like blobby creatures running amuk, and it took some time and effort to corral them into a containment site to allow inhabitants to adopt their very own Blob pet. It all worked out in the end at least, as far as Euclid had been concerned.

"So what do you want us to do then? Go find them and bring them back for you?" Sven grumbled. Fetch quests felt beneath him.

"Well I didn't give you my sob story for nothing, did I?"

"The four of us, plus Ragnarok, would be capable I'm sure. How many subjects are we looking for?" Hanji ignored Sven's annoyed eyeroll.

"Eight of them. But," Euclid hesitated, flicking his cigarette a little for emphasis.

"But, what?" Elfric echoed, his shoulders dropping defeatedly as if they sighed. There was always a catch with these kinds of missions.

"I must warn you. The eight are all the same kind of experiment. And they are incredibly dangerous," the scientist grimaced while he stamped out his cigarette on the ground. He reached for the very chewed up pencil behind his right ear and fiddled with it.

"Aren't all your experiments technically dangerous?" Sven asked flatly. How dangerous could these test subjects be, when compared to the likes of the wild t-rex-like Mortiking that roamed Darkside already, he thought.

"These new ones are incredibly intelligent, sly and had the capability of breaking the wooden bars on their cages. I'm going to have to put them in a steel room to keep them from getting out in the future," Euclid complained. "Now then, time is of the essence, get those beasts back here as soon as you can. I don't know where they went, but you have noses. Here's one of the broken bars, it has their scent on it."

Elfric and Sven stepped forward to smell the broken piece of wood. It was acrid and abrasive to their noses, and they pulled back in disgust.

"They aren't venomous, but their saliva can cause severe irritations. Whatever you do, avoid their mouths," the scientist stressed.

"Understood. May we take that with us?," Elfric asked. Euclid nodded. The wolf would pocket it in the saddlepack later.

"Anything else we should know about these creatures?" Hanji requested. Euclid paused to think, opting to nibble on his pencil. He had been turned into a rat some years ago, and even after being turned back to human, he still retained some old habits from his time as a rodent.

"They're not likely to go with you easy, but please don't kill them. Just knock them unconscious. Ask Mathis to borrow a cart and hook it up to your Neela."

"Thanks, we'll be back hopefully soon," said Elfric, and with that, the guild members walked out. Outside, they waited for Ragnarok to finish his work. Mathis allowed them to hook a cart up to Haluk. Ragnarok appeared, soot-covered and sweaty from forging all day. He sniffed the piece of wood Elfric had kept from Euclid.

"EWWW!! It smells like death warmed over!" the pup yelped. He'd gotten used to awful smells, the smell of sulfur no longer bothered him anymore. But this slimy piece of wood was even worse.

"No kidding. We have to track these stupid things down too." Sven was indignant about the affair. Not being allowed to kill their target sucked. It meant he had to hold back.

"Best to get a move on before it gets too late. Ragna, you lead, your nose is better than mine or Sven's," Elfric suggested, and it wasn't long before Ragnarok had the scent down. They walked into the mountain ranges, not knowing what was ahead of them.

Ragnarok's intently focused on the trail, but Sven can't help but feel like the area they're in is familiar somehow. The Telenine pup stopped suddenly, his ridge rising on his back.

"This is...my parents scent too. It's mixed in. My little brothers and sisters as well!" he exclaimed.

"That's why it's so familiar looking here. We're near your old home," Sven finally figured out.

"Elfric, you don't think these creatures did anything to my family do you??" Ragnarok frantically asked.

The older wolf sniffed all around. There wasn't a smell of blood, but that didn't sit well with him either way.

"I think we need to go and check on them regardless," Elfric decided, and with that, Ragnarok sprang ahead, running towards his family's cave. Elfric and Sven ran after him, and Hanji spurred on Haluk to canter. They soon arrived at the valley below the cave that was Ragnarok's old home, but it was eerily quiet. No light shined from the entrance. The wolves fur on their backs stood on end. Haluk was alert, listening all around for any sign of danger. Hanji tightened her grip in his mane.

"I don't like this, commander. It's too quiet," Sven murmured, while he sniffed around. The mixed smells of telenine and these strange beasts was even stronger now. Fresh blood was smeared on the ground in places. Right as Elfric was about to order a command, Ragnarok bolted for the cave.

"Come back, you idiot!!" Sven hollered and chased after the pup.

"Hanji, stay here with Haluk. Guard our backs!" and Elfric tore off after his soldier and lieutenant.

Hanji looked around for any signs of movement, and then shouted, "Elfric, they're coming in at the sides!" She saw three of the beasts loping through the rocks, and it was too late. They ambushed the three wolves. Hanji couldn't get Haluk to move forward, he was too spooked by these animals. They were striped, had sloped backs, ridges of hair similar to that of mohawks, long legs and most notably, drooling open maws. The creatures were cackling, whooping with excitement as they ran circles around the trapped wolves.

Ragnarok tried to break through their circling, and narrowly dodged being bitten. "OUT OF MY WAY YOU FILTHY CRETINS!" he bellowed and charged further up the path to the cave. The three sloped beasts forgot Sven and Elfric and stormed after Ragnarok. They were incredibly fast, but Ragnarok's training has made him even faster. He came to a halt at the cave entrance, standing tall and proud. Right as the beasts were about to tackle him, Elfric fired his Natasha from behind. The beasts scattered in fear, cackling and whooping.

Elfric and Sven caught up to Ragnarok and see what he sees: inside the cave, Ragnarok's parents and younger siblings are being kept corralled by four other beasts, much larger than the three that ran off. Laying across a couch in the den was the biggest experiment of them all. She jumped down and sauntered towards the three wolves. Her mouth was open wide in a grin. She looked behind her and hollered at one of the four guarding Ragna's family. The guild could see Ragnarok's father was bloodied and injured, but the rest of them appeared fine.

"Well, well, well. Look at what the cat dragged in, hahaha," chuckled the largest beast. The other beast, slightly smaller but still huge, let out a light cackle as she joined the leader.

"Or should I say, wolves."

"Let my family go you hideous beasts!" Ragnarok screamed. His father's ears perked up, and his mother gasped. They hadn't seen their son in so long, and yet here he was.

"Hideous?? Boy, have you looked in the mirror, ha ha ha!"

Ragnarok snarled and tried to move forward, but the smaller beast tackled him and had him pinned down. She brought her face close to his neck, growling, saliva dripping from her murderous grin.

"Easy, Bones, let mother take care of this. I am Bloodbath and I am in charge of my family. I am a matriarch," the largest snarled as she stepped past to greet Elfric and Sven. She was a deep dark brown, with almost gold-like striping. But her jaw and chest had hints of dark red fur as well. And there was a bright red blood on her teeth. Elfric lowered his firearm, but Sven kept his gutting blade ready in his mouth.

"My daughter, Bonesnap, would certainly break the neck of your friend there if he doesn't watch his tongue, so I suggest you tame him," Bloodbath growled. Sven felt sweat on his face, but he could see Elfric was maintaining his cool.

"Release him back to us, then," Elfric commanded gently. Bloodbath looked to her daughter and let out a sharp bark. She got off Ragnarok and before he could even react, Sven ran forward to restrain him.

"Dumbass, read the room," he hissed at the Telenine.

"Soooo, what brings you here, wolfy? I assume you're the leader of your little pack."

"The Telenines back there are my soldier's family. Let them go free, please. This is their home," Elfric remained calm in his delivery of his words. Bloodbath's face soured.

"Their home? Pah! It is OUR home now."

"I understand that you escaped a laboratory and do not want to return, but I am required to bring you back. You have the choice to come quietly."

Bloodbath sneered. Her tail raised up, signaling to those behind her to approach.

"You forgot to mention the choice where we don't 'come quietly' and instead end your life right here and now," she growled lowly. Elfric narrowed his eyes. As soon as he reached to grab his Cronus blade from its sheath, the fight began.

Outside, Hanji took a breather. She had gotten Haluk to calm down long enough to unhook him from the cart so he was free to run as he needed, but then she got tangled up in warding off two of the creatures on her own. She had kept her cool though and skillfully whacked them silly with her Ornamented Hook Swords.

"Two of the three psycho beasts knocked out. Just waiting for the third," she sighed. Suddenly, the third beast charged at her from behind, but she continued to sit calmly on a large stone. Before he connected corrosive drool-laced fangs on her tail, Haluk slammed into the beast's flank with his horns and tossed the creature into the air. The poor beast landed with a thud and a whimper. He went to rise again but Haluk nailed him with a backwards kick to the spine. This time, the weird animal was down for the count.

"Oh good! There's the third! Also a male. Nice work Haluk, you've really grown stronger," Hanji complimented as she turned around. Haluk sighed but the two worked together to pile the third beast onto the back of the cart. She could hear the the sound of yells and sword clanging echoing from inside the cave.

"Haluk, let's go assist now that we're good out here!" and she clambered onto the Neela's back, ready to storm the cave.

Inside the cave, three of the creatures are knocked out but Bloodbath and her daughter remained tough. Sven and Ragnarok kept the daughter busy while Elfric took on the matriarch. Elfric was starting to overpower Bloodbath though, and her daughter saw the opportunity to break away from the other two males and sucker punched Elfric straight in the back of his head. He collapsed to the ground, losing grip on his Cronus. The two females were about deliver final blows to Elfric but an arrow grazed Bloodbath's ear. She howled and backed off. Elfric turned his head around to see Hanji, wielding a bow and arrow, had arrived with Haluk, the latter of who threw Bonesnap with his horns.

"Hey, not bad you three! So here's the rest of them then," as she switched out the bow for her hook swords, pointing it at Bloodbath and her daughter.

"You have no chance of winning. Surrender," Elfric stood up, regaining his grip on his sword and pointed it at them as well. Surrounded, Bloodbath clicked her teeth and bowed in defeat. Bonesnap mimicked her mother's stance, growling bitterly.

Ragnarok looked to Elfric pleadingly, and his commander gave him a nod. It was safe now. The fiery Telenine ran past the defeated creatures to check on his family. His father had a couple chew marks on his body, but had held his own quite well. His mother and siblings were completely unscathed.

"Ragnarok, we're so proud of you honey! Thank you. We have really missed you," his lilac-colored mother nuzzled him. His little brothers and sisters cheered happily, and hugged their older brother's legs lovingly. Ragnarok looked to his sun-colored father, searching for approval. His father smiled wearily.

"We can tell you're very happy to be with that guild," he commented. Ragnarok nodded his head but frowned a little.

"I...I should have told you I was leaving with them. It was wrong of me to make you guys worry for so long. I had been so tired of looking after my siblings, and being cooped up in this cave. I wanted to explore the world, and now I'm able to explore even farther than Darkside. But I should have written to you both. I'm sorry," the fiery red Telenine apologized. The father embraced his son, and his mother also hugged them.

"We're sorry too, for putting that strain on you. You're here now, and we know you're doing well. We would love for you to drop in more often though, so you can share your stories with all of us," his father said as he rubbed his son's back. Ragnarok simply nodded in agreement, and cherished the embrace of his family. He had truly missed them.

Meanwhile, Hanji treated the wounded Bloodbath.

"I don't understand why you're doing thi--OWW! That stings!" the matriarch yowled as Hanji sprayed antiseptic on her ear wound.

"Well now, you don't want to get an infection do you? Sadly I cannot stitch your ear back together, so congratulations! You have a fancy new scar to return home with," the Jollin laughed while Bloodbath fidgeted, grinding her jaw uncomfortably.

"We'll only end up with more scars, possibly even the cost of our lives going back there to that man," Bonesnap snarled. "What's wrong with us wanting to be free?!"

"Nothing. But you can't steal the home of another, you have to find your own territory." Elfric reprimanded.

"But you're sending us back to that man! Why does it even matter if we found our own land to claim for ourselves??"

"Bonesnap, calm yourself. Let Mother talk," Bonesnap soothed her daughter. Bonesnap whooped angrily, but loped to her mother's side quietly after.

"My daughter is right. Even if we were given the chance to try again and do it right, you would still take us back there, correct? As you were ordered to do so."

"Yes, unfortunately. It's not my decision to make. Your creator cannot let your kind roam free until he is absolutely certain you won't unbalance the ecosystem," Elfric explained.

"That'll never happen!" Bonesnap yelled in outburst. Bloodbath grabbed her daughter's jaw with her own, silencing her.

"Forgive my daughter's outburst, but she is still right. We may never see the natural light of day again, depending how long we are kept in that forsaken place."

"It will take time. You have to prove your kind can live among the rest of us," Hanji reassured. "You know...that gives me a thought."

Back at Euclid's, the guild returned with the creatures captured, though Bloodbath and her daughter walked freely alongside the cart.

"Splendid! That is all eight! And their private room is prepared to ensure this cannot happen again," Euclid clapped his hands together, ready to move his specimens back inside.

"First though, Euclid, I have a proposal for you," Hanji announced. Euclid's smile faded but he was all ears. "This here is Bloodbath and her daughter, Bonesnap. They are competent and speak the native language. Is it possible to allow these two to be ambassadors for their kind, to prove that they can mingle with the rest of the ecosystem and not harm it?"

"I..." Euclid started but couldn't think of what to say.

"If it makes it easier, allow at least my daughter," Bloodbath nudged her daughter towards Euclid, and Bonesnap was taken by surprise at the gesture.

"But, mother!"

"Bones, as matriarch of our kind, it is my job to take care of the rest of these clowns we call 'our family'. My temper also gets in the way of things. But if you can represent our kind, by staying with this--what do you call yourselves again, a guild?"

"Yes" Sven replied flat. He groaned, knowing exactly where this was all headed. Goddammit, another mouth to feed, really...

"Then as matriarch, I request my daughter be allowed to roam free with this guild and make a name for our species. Show the world, so that the rest of us can one day reunite, as a family again," Bloodbath's eyes shown brightly. Bonesnap's eyes welled with tears and she embraced her mother.

"It won't be long, my dear Bones. Your Mother is proud of how you fought today, and she wants you to keep fighting. May this guild train you well, and bear your fangs proudly for me."Euclid sighed and shrugged. "Fine, but only her. The rest of you have to stay here until your daughter can prove your kind is safe to roam freely across the world."

"Thank you, Euclid. We'll visit as much as we can, but it is time for us to get going I'm afraid," Hanji frowned. Mother and daughter embraced one last time, before the guild, with Bonesnap in tow, left Darkside behind for the time being.