Bolts P.O.V.

As we walked down the corridor I couldn't help but notice that with every door we passed, the security was getting more and more. We went from normal doors that open automaticly, ID card scanners, over iris scanners to DNA tests.

„What's up with all this secrecy?", Mittens asked, looking around the metallic walls. „Well, you see, where we're going is a highly classified area. Not everyone is supposed to just walk in like 'Hey guys, whatcha doin?'. Actually, you wouldn't be able to even get around the second door!"

Zeta looked over to the two border collies and chuckled. „Yeah, but Capn isn't the only one in this group who has access to the class B areas!" - „Really? Who else?" - „It's Allan! Ain't that right Al?"

„That's true... But Mauser can go to ANY area, so I'm not really that important here." - „Ah, you're just downgrading yourself again!", Lucy laughed, before turning to us. „He might be a shy dog, but he's very loving and caring to his friends!"

„Definately!", Mauser added, „He has a pretty good talent for knowing what other people think and feel, meaning that we all go to him when we need advice from time to time!" The border collies face was starting to fill red.

„Oh guys... thanks for your words, but I'm really not that important right now..." He was playfully pushed by his sister, then we all stopped. „Ok. This is it. We need to go in here, one after one, and don't worry about what happens between this corridor and the actual room."

„Why? Is there something to worry about?" - „Hm? Oh, no, no! But some people might get scared by the desinfection process. It won't hurt you, but we had a few visitors faint because of that."

One after one pressed a button and was guided inside a small chamber. When my turn came, I carefully stepped inside. It smelled weird in there. The door closed behind me and whatever was here with me didn't hesitate to begin.

„Please stand still until you get permission to move!" And then the ceiling came crashing down. Well, not really, it looked like that in the first moment. What actually happened was that two detached circle halfes were put next to me, which then started spinning.

I was suddenly hulled in laserbeams and strange magnetic fields. Just then I noticed that I couldn't move! I mean, I wasn't supposed to move anyways, but even if I wanted, I was pretty much glued in one place!

„Scanning complete! Detected 280,451 signs of bacteria. Disinfecting." HOW MANY? Almost 300,000? Where did I go to get hundrets of thousands of bacteria? Grey dust sprayed over me, but I didn't have to cough! It was more liquid than dusty, but still behaved like it...

„Disinfection complete! Please proceed!" The door in front of me opened up and I could walk again. I looked back at where I came from and shook my body so that the rest of the desinfection liquid would come off, but when I turned my head around I stopped.

I saw Lucy, Allan, Zeta, all had little grey puddles under them and were clean from the watery stuff, only Mittens, who was next to them was different.

Instead of being black with a few white spots on her, she was completely grey, with only her green eyes having a different color. I tried my best to hold my laughter in, but the more I saw my cat struggle with the liquid, the funnier it got, to the point where I just couldn't control myself anymore, and started laughing so badly that I fell on my back in the process.

„Yeah yeah... real funny wags... I get it..." But eventually she cracked too and we both layed down on the floor holding our bellys from laughing. After a while we caught ourselfes again. „Could- could you please help me with this?"

How could I ever say no? „Sh- sure thing!" I helped her up and started brushing the remains off, still laughing and giggling. It was completely like dust now. The others were watching with huge grins on their faces. We didn't even notice that Rhino and Mauser were also inside already.

„Are... you done now?", Mauser asked in a sarcastic way. When we realized how long we took and that we may have had a bit too much fun, we both blushed. „Look how cute... ok, let's move! We are only one door away from our destination."

As we entered the final room, our minds were blown. Not only was it gigantic and full of robots, but it also had an enormous flower thingy inside a glass container that spit out some yellow gas once every couple of seconds.

„What is this?" Before Mauser could answer, Allan found his words quicker. „It's a 'Gasopendric', one of the smaller versions! It's capable of producing a highly neurotoxic gas, which we harverst to manipulate into a liquid: The yellow liquid!"

I was confused. „The... yellow liquid?" - „We use it to enrichen diodium crystals which are used for mining even the hardest materials!" - „So, you're telling me, that even though you can come up with names like 'Gasopendric' or the slime material that sounds like temperature, you call it 'Yellow liquid'?"

„Well, to be fair, we just kinda started using the name when we didn't know what it does, and it has just become the name for it ever since..." I couldn't believe I was talking to the same Allan as a few minutes ago!

„So? Where are your crazy farms of these plants?", Mittens sarcasticly asked. „Eeeeh, funny story, uhm... this is the only plant left." - „Why don't you go get a few more?" - „Because this is the last one in the entire us known universe."

My mind was even more blown than before. „You are standing in front of the last Gasopendric alive! Well, it's pretty much our own fault, we should have never blown up the planet it came from... That's why we are trying to find a way to clone things!"

Wait... didn't Mauser tell us when he first met us after a while that they already had clones? „Hey, didn't you say something about clones and how you already have them?"

Even though the question was clearly directed towards the light brown boxer, the border collie took the word. „Indeed! But they aren't identical on all levels! We are able to reconstruct the atoms and cells, but we're still struggling with copying DNA. That's why all clones either fall apart after a few hours or never even... live in the first place."

That was dark. „And you need the yellow liquid to stay forever?" - „Technically nothing stays forever, but yes, it shouldn't at least vaporize itself right after being constructed!" - „So this liquid... has DNA and or is a living creature?"

A short silence in the room amongst us animals. „I... I really shouldn't talk too much about it, the classification is too high for outsiders to know. S- sorry guys..."

And thus he became the normal shy Allan again. Something was weird about the way he turned that question down. „Thank's for tellin everyone Al, but we gotta go! Ain't that right Capn?"

„Correct. Just take the elevator and go to facility 17! I'm going to talk to the head professor for a second." Whatever was inside that facility, something told me it had something to do with this strange liquid. And we weren't even five minutes from finding out.

Did Allan talk too much already? Well, I can tell you, I don't use a script or anything, I just flat out write whatever I think the characters would do in that situation according to their personalities, but I love tethering little sideplots together, just so that you, the reader, can say: „Oh hey, so that's what was going on with it!" Anyways, goodbye und schönen Abend noch!