A/N: Here is the long-awaited first chapter for Beast Wars, my Person of Interest monster!AU. I have a thing for monsters, what can I say? :D

For a better idea of where this came from, read up on and/or watch Unleashed, starring Jet Li and Morgan Freeman

In this story, Finch has a bit of a Ben Linus (LOST) personality mixed in with his canon personality. Hopefully I can get it to mesh well and you'll like it. O_O Also, the world in which this takes place is significantly different from ours in terms of technology and such. Not really futuristic since it's a present-day story. You'll see.

**Tags/warnings: Rinch (Reese/Finch); monsters; transformations; creature violence/violence in general; werewolves/werecats/wereanimals in general; future sexual content/what could be considered bestiality (based on the nature of some of the characters, namely Reese); future mentions of what could be considered animal abuse/abandonment (again based on the nature of the characters); slavery-like situations; servant/master-like relationships**

More warnings to come as more chapters are added

The main music used as a sort of background to this story is dubstep. The specific songs for this chapter are Seven Nation Army (Glitch Mob Remix) originally by The White Stripes and Chinter's Will by Klaypex (in case y'all like background music)

Sorry for the long author's note! They won't always be this long. XD

o-o-o-o-o

Harold Finch hated the rain. To be more specific, he hated having to go out when it rained. The moisture in the air was torture on his already painful joints. They ached and creaked, making him feel centuries older than he actually was. Sometimes if the weather was bad enough, he ended up in bed for the next day and a half, rigid as a board and unable to even sit up properly without pain blinding him. He hated the rain, and he cursed the Gods in charge of it daily. It was unfortunate for him that his main line of work was based in Seattle, Washington, one of the rainiest cities in America.

Today however, on October 7th, he would brave the rain. There was a promise of something good along with the moisture in the air today, so with some effort, he dressed in one of his more casual suits (grey was simply the only logical choice given the weather; a maroon tie made it a little less ironic) and reluctantly grabbed his cane from his bedside.

He hated his damned cane as well. Sometimes he felt brave enough to walk around without it, but he didn't dare leave his house. He had fallen on more than one occasion because his leg locked up, and it had taken far too long for him to pull himself together and get up again. The doctor said that one day he could forgo it, but for now, he would have to deal with it. It was the cane or the wheelchair and Harold would be damned to an eternity in Hell if he ever sat in a wheelchair of his own free will.

Checking his appearance in the floor-length mirror one more time, Harold took a deep breath and made his way to the garage. The elevator ride down from the top floor of the condominium complex was quick; he hardly had time to notice. He enjoyed that very much. Standing in one spot too long put strain on his bad leg.

Lucky for him, his beautiful black Lincoln Town Car was easy to drive. Sure he had to adjust and readjust the seat every single time he drove (he had to push it all the way back so he could get in and out, and then pull it back forward so he could drive), but that was hardly a serious bother. He was fortunate that he could drive at all in his condition.

With a low roar, Harold started the car and pulled out onto the main road, heading for the Pet Registration and Distribution Center. Late in the evening a few days before, he had received a call from the caretaker there, stating that a lone Pet had been brought in. No ID, no owner with it, extremely hostile. Hell, the workers had to tranquilize it before even considering bringing it in. A canine, she said, the size of which she had never seen before.

Canines were common in the Northwest. They were loyal and great with children, but they were hardly ever violent enough to need to be put under in any way. Of course, just like normal dogs, canine Pets had certain 'breeds', namely people, that were more likely to act a certain way but most of them had been weeded out. Harold could admit that he was intrigued. His schedule had been full for most of the week, which was why he was only just making his way out there on a rainy Saturday morning.

The shadow of solid metal gates of the PRDC loomed across the hood of his car as he eased to a stop in front of the booth.

"Sorry pal, no visitors allowed in today." The guard said as he rolled his window down.

"I think you'll see that I'm allowed." He replied coolly.

For once, he didn't mind that he lacked the ability to turn his head anymore. The intake of breath from the guard told him enough that he didn't feel the need to level the man with a blank stare. The guard stammered an apology and the gates slid open.

"Have a good day, Mr. Finch." The guard said. Harold paid him no mind. He was obviously new. Most of the guards knew his car by now and didn't bother to stop him. It was good being the richest man in the world sometimes.

He quickly parked his car under the awning, grateful that he didn't have to walk in the dreary Seattle drizzle. He didn't stop to check in at the front desk. There was no need. The receptionist didn't even bother looking away from her computer, having seen him pull up. She buzzed him in with a pleasant 'good morning, Mr. Finch' and a smile that was implied to be for him. He parroted her greeting back at her and pushed through the doors, meeting up with the woman who had called him yesterday.

Nancy was her name, a thin redheaded girl with big grey eyes and a pale complexion, just out of college. She was a bit timid for someone who worked with Pets but Harold saw potential in her so he kept her around.

"Welcome back, Mr. Finch." She said, smiling at him. This time, he returned the smile.

"I've only been gone a couple days, Nancy, but thank you."

She beamed at him. She often reminded Harold of a puppy, eager for that pat on the head that he was too willing to give to her. No one else took her seriously save for him, and really he was the only person who mattered around here.

"So. Where is this troubled Pet that I've heard so much about?"

Nancy's smile faded as she clutched the file in her hands to her chest.

"You… want to see him?" She squeaked. Harold simply raised an eyebrow, making her fidget.

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea, sir."

"Nancy."

She stood up straight as a rod at his firm tone. He took a small step towards her, somewhat proud when she didn't shrink away like most people as he leaned close.

"What do we have the bars on the rooms for?" He didn't pause to let her answer his mostly rhetorical question. "I just want to see him. Now, please." He swept his arm out, indicating for her to lead. Her throat bobbed as she swallowed and she gave him a pained look, but she did as she was told, her heels echoing off of the concrete walls.

As they passed the other rooms, Harold glanced at the Pets inside. Most of them were lounging around on their beds in their human form, reading a book or exercising or sleeping. Some were even chatting with one another through the bars. The ones who spotted him lowered their heads as he walked by, understanding his status just by looking at him. There were also a few that were in their domestic form, the canines lying with their heads on their paws snoozing, the felines sitting in the window watching the rain quietly.

The further they went into the facility, the darker it got. Eventually they reached a door that required a passcode to be punched into the keypad. There was a thud of a lock opening and the door slid open. They kept the battle Pets separated from the domestic Pets. It was just easier that way. Back here, the pets were almost never in their domestic forms. It was human or beast. A yellow line down the middle of the hall warned you how close was close enough. Getting grabbed by an unruly Pet was never on a person's list of things to do, so it served as a cautious reminder more than anything.

Another door came up, and this one required a passcode as well as a fingerprint scan. There were only four cages behind the door, and only one of them was occupied. These were usually used to hold Pets that needed to be put down, whether it was because they were simply too dangerous or because they were sick and beyond medical help. In the less extreme cases, the cages were used when a Pet just needed some isolation or space from the other Pets.

The only light in the back room came from the flickering lights in the main walkway area. The cages themselves were dark as night. It helped keep the Pets calm and controlled, or as much as possible.

Nancy halted a little farther from the occupied cage than Harold did, shaking slightly. Squinting, Harold tried to get a look inside the cage. There was a moment of silence before Harold was finally able to hear the slow, deep breathing of enormous lungs.

"Has he said anything?" He asked, keeping his voice low so as not to startle the beast. Nancy didn't answer immediately but when he turned his body fully to look at her, she snapped out of it with a blink.

"Uhm, no sir. He hasn't even shifted back to his human form yet. He's been a beast since we caught him. We can't even get close enough to feed him. He lashes out and tries to bite through the spaces in the bars, as well as makes swipes at us with his paws. We've been sliding his food and water under the door with a rod. He's been eating and drinking normally however so he's not ill I don't think."

There was a shift inside the cage but that was the only indication of the creature inside. Harold turned back to stare in between the bars. As his eyes adjusted to the low light, he could make out a shape that was darker than the rest, and that only made him stare more.

For more than a decade, Harold had been working with Pets, and he had grown up around them because his parents had been in the business, so it didn't take him long to realize that what Nancy had said on the phone was correct; a Pet of this size was astounding to see, and he couldn't even tell what he looked like yet.

"There's something else, Mr. Finch." Nancy said softly, forcing Harold to tear his eyes from the cage. She was now standing to his side, slightly in front of him so that he could see her, and was extending the file that she had been holding to him. He took it and opened it, scanning the information and raising an eyebrow.

"We managed to finally get some ID on him. Everything that we found is in that file."

A low growl was heard from inside the cage and Nancy jumped slightly. Harold glanced up and saw a bright-colored eye watching him from the darkness. He would be lying if he said it didn't send goose bumps racing up and down his arms. The blue iris was so light that it almost looked white, another rarity for a Pet in its beast form. Most Pets had black, brown, or yellow eyes as a beast, or even dark blue if the genes were right. Any light color was extremely hard to find and usually required surgical genetic modification.

"It says here that he used to be in the military…" Harold mused.

More shifting and growling. Harold was beginning to see the bigger picture here, especially after he saw the man's name.

"Nancy, I would love some Sencha green tea right now. Be a good girl and go get me some." He said gently, smiling as he rotated his body to look at her. Her eyes widened and flickered to the cage, where an occasional growl was still vibrating from within.

"Are you sure-"

"One sugar please, thank you." He cut her off, leaving no room for argument. With a sound of discontentment, Nancy nodded and left the area, the door thudding shut behind her. The only sounds in the area now were Harold's own soft breathing, the heavy breathes of the caged beast, and the shifting of large limbs.

"I haven't seen your name in a very long time, John Reese." Harold said, watching the cage for movement. He only had to wait a moment before a huge, black, clawed paw reached out and grasped the bars and the beast came into the light. Harold's eyes went wide as he stared at what he could only describe as the most exotic Pet he had ever seen.

The giant black canine had a long elegant muzzle that had hints of silver in it. The tips of his pointed ears as well as the areas around them were slightly silver also. From what Harold could see, the file wasn't lying. The muscular build screamed 'military canine', as well as a few pieces of smooth exposed scars on his chest and upper biceps. All together, John Reese was a beautiful creature. Harold couldn't help but wonder what the man looked like as a human.

"You know, Mr. Reese, you being in that form creates something of a language barrier for us. Won't you please shift so that we can talk?"

Harold received nothing but a curl of a lip and a snort from John. Swallowing hard, he dared to take a step forward, keeping a white-knuckle grip on his cane, an action that did not go unnoticed by the beast. The eerie eyes flickered over Harold's form from head to toe before he seemed to smile, his long white teeth flashing. John released his grip on the bars and leaned away from the cage, melting into the darkness once more, hardly visible in the sad excuse for light.

"Please?" Harold pressed. "I just want to help get this sorted out. I can't imagine that you like it in here, in that cage. I certainly wouldn't, especially if I were your size." He bit the inside of his lip as John stiffened and gave him a warning growl.

"I'm sorry, I meant no harm by that."

The hair that had begun to stand up on John's neck lay back down and he relaxed a bit, but he stayed hidden mostly in the shadows.

"It's just. I only want to speak. I won't ask you any personal questions, I just want to know why you resisted so passionately to coming here."

Again, a snort was given to him for his troubles but this time, a low rumble followed after it. John was basically sighing at him. Harold's leg was beginning to feel stiff so he grabbed the chair that was sitting by the door and dragged it over in front of the cage, keeping just behind the yellow safety line. He sunk down with a groan and rubbed his knee, placing his cane across his lap.

"I'm here to help, Mr. Reese."

Finally, he heard the telltale cracks and pops of shifting, but after that, nothing more happened. He waited for a few moments before leaning forward.

"John?"

"No one's called me John in a long time."

Harold didn't know what he expected John's voice to sound like, but that definitely wasn't it. It was like a wave caressing the shore. It could just as easily lap lazily at sandy coast as it could kick up and level an entire city in a fit of rage. There was power in that voice.

A tan human hand reached out and held onto the bars this time, joined by the other, the human John Reese leaning casually against them. His hair was long and unruly and he had a beard that was streaked with the same silver as his hair. Also, like all registered Pets, he was wearing a specialized body suit that allowed him to shift between all three of his forms without ruining any clothes and/or accidentally shifting into a naked human. No one really knew how the suits worked except the people who made them. They just knew that they worked.

John's eyes were just as bright a blue as his beast eyes and Harold met the intense gaze easily, completely fascinated by the man in front of him.

"Would you prefer I call you something different?"

"Just Reese is fine." John replied smoothly. Harold figured as much, seeing as John was previously in the military and would therefore be accustomed to responding to his last name, human or not.

"Alright then Mr. Reese. Want to tell me why you resisted capture?"

"No."

The answer came so quickly that it threw Harold off guard and he could do nothing but stare at the now-smirking man in the cage.

"Why not?" He finally asked. Reese shrugged, seeming completely at ease, and Harold could only guess that it was his natural state to seem so relaxed. He adjusted his glasses and read more in the file.

"Shouldn't my file tell you why I'm running? Why I don't have my ID on me? Why my owner isn't looking for me?" The sharp edge to Reese's voice warned Harold to tread carefully, lest he undo the small amount of progress he had achieved.

"Of course it does, but I'd much rather hear the story from you."

Reese smirked again and looked away, shifting his weight.

"It's a long story, and not one that I usually share with strangers."

"You're unemployed currently."

So much for treading carefully, Harold thought as those blue eyes snapped to him again, glowing softly.

"Yes. What about it?" Reese's voice was hard. Harold took a chance with what he said next.

"Merely stating a fact. You also have no owner registered on your ID chip."

When he heard no sound from Reese, he looked up from the file, only to see the man staring at him.

"What?" Reese finally said. Harold's brow furrowed.

"You have no registered owner."

It was at least 30 seconds before Reese spoke again.

"… I see."

Harold was suddenly struck with an idea. Granted it was a pretty stupid idea, one that could possibly get him into a lot of trouble, but he knew if he didn't try it, he'd never hear the end of 'what if'.

"I have a proposition for you, Mr. Reese." He said, wanting to say it before he chickened out. Reese's eyes bored into him once more and the man spoke.

"I'm listening."

Harold closed the file and laid it in his lap on top of his cane, folding his hands on top of that. This was a huge risk, but Harold Finch was a businessman, and in order to make it in this industry, risks were necessary.

"I'm assuming that you know who I am." He started. Reese nodded.

"Of course I do. You're Harold Finch, reclusive billionaire, richest man in the world."

Harold nodded. As reclusive as he was, he was still extremely well known.

"How would you like a job?"

Reese's eyebrows rose slightly but other than that, he didn't react.

"What sort of job?"

Indeed, Harold thought. The idea rolled right off of his tongue before he could stop and think logically about it.

"I find myself in need someone who can keep me safe when I'm doing business. My current physical state makes me somewhat vulnerable."

Reese practically oozed smugness.

"Like a guard dog?" He drawled, a smile that almost seemed real playing on his lips. Harold offered him a smile in return.

"If that's what you want to call it, then yes."

Reese seemed to consider it, giving Harold more time to flesh out his proposal.

"You'd live like any other Pet does, with me in my home. You'd get a new ID assigned to your chip in place of your military one. When I go to do business, you will accompany me."

Reese and Harold locked gazes again, and Harold watched in wonder as the blue irises seemed to shift and roll, just like ocean waves.

"I want to keep my military ID. Even if it's a secondary, I want it." John said firmly. Harold couldn't argue with that. He nodded.

"Whatever you like."

"Alright." Reese finally said with a shrug. He stuck his hand through the bars at Harold who, after a moment's struggle, got out of the chair and shook it. Just then, Nancy came back through the door, gasping.

"Mr. Finch what are you-?"

"Nancy, I need some registration papers for Mr. Reese." He said sweetly, taking the hot tea from her hand and taking a sip. She stared at him, mouth slightly open before she looked past him and stared at Reese just as openly, finally shutting her mouth when the caged man smiled at her.

"What- whatever for?" She asked. Harold handed her the file back.

"He's coming home with me as my guard dog." He said simply, shooing her away. She hesitated but did as she was told. That was what she got paid to do wasn't it.

Within the span of a little more than an hour, Reese's papers were signed, his ID chip was updated, and he was given a haircut and a shave. Reese was also given a new set of clothes (a simple white button up shirt and some black slacks) so that he would be comfortable until Harold could get him his own.

When they let Reese out of the cage, all of the guards had their weapons out and trained on him. After reassuring them numerous times and having them disagree with him just as many times, Harold felt irritation bubble up inside him.

"Oh for God's sake, would you put those away? If you shoot my new Pet, I'll find the deepest, darkest, dirtiest hole in this city, and then I'll dig deeper and put you in it, do I make myself clear?"

He had to turn one hundred and eighty degrees just to look at the guards but that was enough. Their eyes were nervous as they lowered the guns, flinching at the gentle smile Reese flashed at them, not being fooled in the least by his routine.

"Pay them no mind. Come, Reese."

Harold was both startled and pleasantly surprised when Reese immediately straightened and followed him through the halls, keeping to his side and slightly behind him. Harold decided to see just how much military training Reese had retained. He let Reese trail a little ways away before he spoke again, his tone firm.

"Reese, heel."

Reese took a larger step and snapped to his side instantly, shadowing his every step until they reached the main lobby, eyes straight ahead and not wandering. Harold smiled to himself.

The receptionist looked up in surprise, not recognizing the handsome man leaving with Mr. Finch, but after Nancy and the nervous guards exited the same hallway and watched them go, she could easily guess his identity.

"Were you taught to drive, Reese?" Harold asked once they were outside. The rain had stopped for the most part. There was a small sliver of sunshine trying to cut its way through the clouds, lightening up the otherwise drowsy afternoon. Reese nodded once.

"I can drive anything with a steering wheel." He said confidently. Harold smiled and got into the passenger side seat.

"Good. My leg is killing me and I don't want to aggravate it by driving. Get in and I'll give you directions."

Without another word, Reese got into the driver's side and started the car, pulling out of the parking lot and out onto the main road.

o-o-o-o-o

A/N: HOLY CHRIST THIS CHAPTER IS HUGE! So here's the start. :D It only gets better from here! I hope you guys like it!