A new specimen is brought into the lab.

Chapter Warnings: much of the same as over all; swearing, dehumanization, ambiguous ethics.

A/N: yay, I'm so happy this fic is finally seeing the light of day! I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I have enjoyed working on it ^^

Ford doesn't remember much except a sharp pain in his side and his vision fading to black. He wasn't conscious when the officers of the Anomaly Detection Squad gathered around the fallen werewolf with fascination, a bright red tranquilliser dart jutting out of it's large mane.

"Is it a new species?"

"It looks humanoid!"

"Dr. Pines will want to see this immediately."

It takes five of them to haul the limp creature into the truck and drive back to the labs.

Soon, the werewolf is placed in a large metal cage, a bowl of water nearby. It's tongue hangs limp from it's jaws, it's great chest heaving with every breath.

One of the officers hurriedly runs to Dr. Pines' office to inform her boss of the find. She halts at his secretary's desk, out of breath. He seems surprised.

"Can I help…?"

"Dr. Pines… Is he in?"

"Nope you just missed him. His assistant can take your inquiry."

The officer finds herself in front of the world famous inventor's office door, knocking on it to announce herself.

Fiddleford sighs, looking over yet another massive pile of paperwork. He flips through the stack, signing his name occasionally. He'll have to get Ford to sign the rest of the sections when he returns.

He's so focused on his task, he barely hears the knock on the door of his office.

"Come on in." he calls without looking up. Ford can't be back already, can he?

The officer swings open the door, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. "Sir. Officer Penelope of the Anomaly Detection Squad. We've brought something in that we believe you and Doctor Pines would have interest in. A new species, perhaps. Or something more." She announces.

Fiddleford sits up, paperwork all but forgotten. He's maybe a little too hasty about shoving the stack of documents aside, only just managed to catch them before they slide off the desk. He straightens them, then composes himself. "Well, what are ya waiting for? take me to it, immediately!"

"Right away!" She turns on her heel, expecting the professor to follow her. Into the elevator and down to the ground floor where they have the animal safely contained.

Ford awakens slowly, the ground is cold and hard beneath him. His eyes snap open as he sees metal bars in his vision. A cage. He whimpers, ears pressing down against his head. Oh no where is he? Where has he been taken? Oh no oh no oh no.

"Just through here, sir." Comes a voice, before the door opens and light pours into the room. Ford curls his lip, squinting in the light and shrinking back to the furthest corner of the cage. His captors, surely. He bares his teeth, uttering a ferocious growl, tail tucked between his legs.

Penelope doesn't flinch, confident the cage will hold. "What'd you think?" She asks, unable to hold back her excitement. "We picked him up in the forest nearby. The readings on the radar were massive."

Fiddleford looks the creature over, trying to mitigate his excitement somewhat. He knows he's only partially accomplishing that task.

The creature is unlike anything he has ever seen, at least outside of mythology books and artistic depictions. It's a wolf, but not a wolf. An animal of remarkable size and strength, its eyes seeming to almost glow in the shadows.

He folds his arms over his chest, propping his index under his chin in contemplation. "Well, it's not of any subspecies I've ever seen, assumin' it's even a wolf at all." He takes a couple of steps closer, leaning in. "We should definitely keep the creature here for further study. Dr. Pines will want to have a look at it as soon as he returns."

Fiddleford feels his leg starting to bounce. He rests his hand on it. It's a beautiful specimen, and he's more than eager to examine it himself.

Something stirs deep inside Ford. This one has a familiar smell. Something he knows from another time. He cowers against the far corner of the cage, darting forward for a moment to snap his teeth before retreating.

Penelope tilts her head to the side. "Its limbs are far too long to be a grey wolf. It's muzzle is far too broad… Those are the only ones you'd find around here."

Ford tries to see through his panicked animal mind. Tries to think and reach his speech. But nothing comes out except a strangled sounding panicked bark.

Fiddleford nods. "Well, until we run some tests, we won't know for sure if it is a wolf, or if it's a creature native to this area, either." Or this dimension... He thinks to himself.

Fiddleford stares at the creature, noting it's movements and reactions.

"How did you end up subduing it?" he asks, turning his attentions back to the officer.

"Tranq dart. Straight in the neck. Pa-shew!" Penelope goes to mimic a dart gun but then thinks better of it. "Um… Yeah. Took it out long enough to bring it here."

Ford's ears prick up at the sounds of the female human. He bristles, disliking the officer already. He lunges at the bars of the cage, seizing the metal between his teeth and chewing at it. Saliva drips down his teeth.

Penelope blinks. "Yikes. Hope it doesn't have rabies." She remarks. "You got your rabies shot, right doc?"

Fiddleford nods, but he's only half listening to Penelope at this point. the creature stopped growling and then chewed at the bars...even though they had done nothing different...

It's ears. That's what's bothering him, its ears moved in their direction when they discuss its capture.

hrm...

It could just be a coincidence, but then again, Fiddleford knows better than to trust coincidences by now.

he can't prevent his leg from bouncing, and this time he doesn't bother. "Officer Penelope, what was the creature doing when you found it?"

The officer shrugs. "Seemed to be sniffing around for something. Dunno, maybe it was hunting."

Ford releases the bars and begins to pace restlessly up and down the cage, golden eyes fixed firmly on the familiar smelling one. His nose twitches, ears tilted forward. He whines with frustration, the cage rattling as he starts digging against the metal floor of the cage.

He tries to howl, desperately trying to communicate, but he can only utter a drawn out, high pitched whine.

"Reeeeeeehhhelpooooo"

Fiddleford stares back at the creature intently. Something is still bothering him. Something about the way it's looking at him.

He frowns when he hears the whine. No, he's imagining that...he must be...

But then again, what if he isn't?

Well, stranger things have happened.

"What was that?" he says, approaching the creature and meeting its gaze. "Did ya...say something...?"

Ford's ears swivel sideways, his low hanging tail wiggling from side to side. He knows this one. He knows him!

"Arrghheoooidds…" He tries to speak. But it's garbled by his whining and whimpering. He raises his paw and scratches on the bars, licking his lips frantically.

Penelope's eyebrows raise. "It seems kinda agitated… I suggest a muzzle if you're gonna do tests… Uh… Sir?"

Fiddleford listens carefully to the creature's vocalizations. His eyes flash with surprise. Did he...hear...correctly...?

He notes the animal's change in body language. Hrm... it's possible ...

He still could be imagining things, his brain trying to fit pieces together where there aren't any to fit in the first place.

But if he's not...well, it's a bit of greater risk, isn't it?

"Hold that thought, Officer..." he mutters, glancing very briefly at her before turning back to the wolf.

he inhales. "Can ya understand me? Nod if ya can understand what i'm sayin', ok?"

Ford freezes, staring back at the nice smelling one. He raises his head up and then down, his tail wagging slowly. He whimpers again, clawing at the bars of the cage more urgently now.

"Rrrrooaghhrooaghriend."

Fiddleford is even more surprised, and curious too, but suspicion quickly overtakes both of those emotions. His eyes narrow. "You may understand some words of mine, but...I need to run some tests before I go about trustin' ya."

It could be a malevolent creature trying to gain his favor so it could betray him. He needs to know more about it.

He stands. "Officer Penelope, go fetch that muzzle for me, please."

Further A/N:

[24/09/2016 7:47:26 pm] they have that American cheese finish: ((my hc is that Fidds is a partner in the company, but he ends up with the paperwork anyway lmfao

[24/09/2016 7:51:17 pm] moose: (( lol yEAH PROBABLY

[24/09/2016 7:52:40 pm] they have that American cheese finish: (( lmfao 'here's this stack of forms we need to read and sign-' "NONSPECIFIC EXCUSE -jumps through window-"

[24/09/2016 7:53:23 pm] moose: (( BASICALLY

[24/09/2016 7:54:20 pm] moose: (( FORD'S WORST FEAR. PAPERWORK.