Of Owners and Pets
Chocolate-colored hair covered a pale face lined with smudges of dirt and dried blood. Torn cat-like ears pressed flat against the sides of his head, and a tail with bare patches swung madly behind him as he thought out his escape. It's unfortunate for him that there will be none.
Rated: R
Pairings: 1+OC, 2+OC, 1+2 (All are friendship pairings or Owner/Pet)
Warnings: The major theme in this fanfic uses the concept of owners/pets, but with the owners being humans and the pets being half human/half animal. If you don't like the idea of one human owning another (or owning a half human) then do not read. There will also be angst, violence, language, OOCness, death and a mention of rape.
Summary: "Pets" were created to be the perfect companion for the sick of body or mind. Half Human and half animal, combining the devotion and love given only by an animal with the intelligence of a human so they could care for themselves and their needy owners. Yet it wasn't long before they became more popular with the general public, thus leading five scientists to uncover the secret that led to mass reproduction of the species….
Notes: Words in bold type are flashbacks, words in italics show writing or, when in quotation marks, writing that is being read aloud word for word. Slaves will mainly be referred to as Pets. The entire fic, or at least a good deal of it, will be told from an original character's point of view.
Disclaimer: Take a good long look at me. Do I look rich to you? If I do then maybe you need glasses. I'm a poor college student who thought up this idea many, many, many years ago and just recently was able to find the outline. The Original characters ARE mine however…….
Prologue
The airport that day was the last place I wanted to be. It was nearing the holiday season and people able to get the time off work were bustling to and fro, trying to get home for the early festivities. This amounted to a large crowd of people, even in the lower parking lots where I was awaiting the arrival of precious cargo.
Much to my relief, I didn't have to wait long. At around one twenty, twenty minutes after my arrival, the sounds of angry hissing and muttered curses could be heard coming from one of the opening elevators.
I tilted my head to watch a boy of about sixteen – he was dressed in fancy slacks and a maroon button down shirt, and was flanked by two large body guards – struggle to push a wheeled cart out of the elevator. On the wheeled cart was my prize: a large metal cage containing my new Pet.
Once the petite boy was able to wheel the cage over to my dark blue pickup, I knelt down with a hand on the top of the cage to peer inside. Wild Prussian-Blue eyes peered back at me from the darkness – which prevented me from seeing more of his body - in curiosity before realization dawned in the intelligent depths and the stare became a glare. I chuckled at his bravado and straightened.
"How much do I owe you?" I asked the heavily breathing boy. Upon my direct acknowledgment of him he straightened and pushed some of his blonde hair from his hazel eyes.
"Six 'undred." He answered with a light accent I couldn't place. The cage rattled between us and I hid a smile as the boy jumped. "It's the price m' father wanted for 'im."
"It's a little steep, but I understand. Your father is one of the best breeders." I pulled out a small purse of velvet and counted out six hundred in bills. The boy slipped the money I offered him into his own purse and handed over a rather thick file-folder containing the Pet's papers.
"Was, sir." The boy said softly before turning around to leave. I looked up. "He was one o' the best. The beast you jus' bought is from one o' his latest – and last - litters. Bred one o' our good bitches to a foreigner as an experiment an' ended up with a handful o' runts……one o' which is a killer." Then the boy took off, much to my shock, after nodding to the cage holding my new Pet.
"If I may sir, I believe you've just been ripped." I turned to glare at the burly body guard that was helping the other heft the metal cage into the back of my pickup. "Have a good day." Hands were brushed off and they went off in search of the young boy.
"You as well." I climbed into my car and, brushing aside the odd behavior of the three, opened the file folder.
On the top of the pile of papers was the Pets birth certificate.
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Zero-One
Birthdate: October 18, 1980
Birthplace: Japan, Tokyo
Litter: Second born of four
Attending Doctor: Doctor Sally Po
Coloring: Blue eyes, Brown fur
Special Features: Duo to canine and feline blood mix, Zero-One shows signs of retractable claws typical to that of a feline and has normal nails when claws are retracted.
Stud Name: Momento's Dream (C)
Owned By: Odin Lowe
Birthplace: America, Minnesota
Current Home: America, Minnesota
For Full Pedigree Contact: Odin Lowe at (231)212-3179
Dam Name: Full Time Fun (F)
Owned By: Doctor Jaymeson O'Dell
Birthplace: Japan, Tokyo
Current Home: Japan, Tokyo
For Full Pedigree Contact: Doctor Jaymeson O'Dell at (339)415-6528
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"Born October eighteenth, nineteen eighty? That makes him eleven. A little young…." I said out loud. "Father is a registered American Stud owned by an Odin Lowe, Mother is one of Doctor J's bitches. Born on J's property, Sally Po as overseer…."
I flipped through the pedigrees without really looking at them. They were of no use until the Pet was old enough to breed, should I wish to do so. I passed through the vet records, skimming through them to learn that my Pet and his three siblings were all healthy from birth until their recent examination.
I spent more time reading Doctor J's notes on his birth and the beginning of his training than anything else, if only to get a sense of how well-trained my Pet was and how much I needed to do with him. I wasn't very please with what I read.
"Of the four born, Zero-One and shows the most revulsion for touch….does not like to be handled beyond what is needed for bathing……claws needed to be clipped not long after birth….." I paused when the cage behind me rattled. "Unsettled in closed spaces…..does not take well to collaring or leashing…" On and on it went until I flipped to the most recent notes that were, to my surprise, in another's handwriting.
"The training for Zero-One is not going well at all. I am forced to write in my father's stead as he had suffered many injuries to his hands. Injuries caused by Zero-One in his craze to get away from any contact. We have come to the conclusion that hastily breeding to a foreign stud – and a canine one at that - without proper research in lineage and behaviorisms, resulted in undesirable characteristics in the litter." I paused to snort.
"And here I thought Doctor J was smarter than that." I flipped past the list of undesirable behaviors shown by both my Pet and his siblings, and stopped at the last full sheet in the folder. It was a report written by the boy, after J's death.
"My father is dead. The experiment had been called off due to the unpredictability of the entire litter. According to my father's investors and partners the litter together is too dangerous to raise and attempt to train properly. We have sold the three sibling of Zero-One to different experienced households, who were informed of their questionable lineage. We are trying to establish contact with Odin Lowe for questioning of behavior in his stock, but he cannot be reached. I have ordered Zero-One to be punished, and then locked up until further notice…."
There were more notes littered on various papers following the report, most only half sheets. Some were from other trainers and some from vets. All of them labeled Zero-One as an unstable Pet in need of an experienced owner that could beat some manners into him.
"I'm beginning to think I'm in way over my head." I muttered. I put all the papers back into the folder and set it on the seat beside me. "Oh well, it's too late now." I said, and started the car up. After a glance in the back to make sure my new Pet hadn't broken out, I left the airport.
TBC
Okay, I might as well take the time to explain a little about the Pet's and their background. Throughout the fic I will be sure to make notes on certain aspects of the Pet's and their behaviors/characteristics.
As for those who are awaiting the next book to The Perfect Soldier Arc, you'll have to wait a little while longer I'm afraid. I've hit a bit of a road block in that series but I expect it to be finished by the time I stop posting this fic. That should be in another week or two.
The History:
The first Pet was created about one hundred years prior to this fanfiction. The first occurrence was a mistake created by a scientist eager to experiment with genes and genetic makeup.
Once word got out that he made a creature that was half human, half animal, more experienced scientists began their own research into the matter. Twenty years later the first "Medic Pet" was created.
The first several hundred Pets were created artificially – through test tubes and chemicals. They were created with a keen intelligence, a strong need to care, and the ability to care for themselves and others. These Pets were called "Medic Pets" because they were trained in the medical fields to care for the elderly, the sick (in both mind and/or body), or the very young.
The general public however wanted Pets of their own, ones that they could care for. So five new scientists put their heads together and learned how to manipulate the genes once again, this time to create Pets that were more animal-like than human.
But the Pet's were expensive, and only the rich could afford one. So the scientists once again put their heads together and came up with a simple, cost-efficient way to mass produce: Breeding.