Valkyrie was worried. Robin had been in the experiment lab for a full four meals and when she had come back, she had been left to sleep for another four. The longest experiment she could remember had lasted only two meals, and it was for the wings. That couldn't be it; Robin was born with them, as far as she could tell. It had to be something new then.

As she waited for Robin to come back, she cut her arm, trying to find the power binding chip she was certain was there. Stupid scientists, making her heal super fast. She felt the piece of plastic scratch against something that wasn't her bone before her skin closed up. She sighed and leaned back against her crate. She'd never get out. She and Robin would rot in this hellhole just as Sanguine had intended.

It wasn't too bad, she supposed. She hadn't been to the experiment room in ages. Mostly, they just tested her abilities. Maybe they'd altered her as much as was needed and they would use her for something else. Then again, maybe she was overdue for an alteration. Or maybe they were studying her as much as possible before they "retired" her. She wouldn't mind dying. It would take away the pain. But poor Robin would be stuck here, all alone…

Her musings were interrupted by two erasers frog-marching a girl aged between five and seven. Her pale sweaty face stood out against her flaming orange hair, making her look even sicklier. She was struggling weakly against her captors. One of the two erasers opened the Robin's crate while the other unceremoniously shoved her in.

"Hey Val, shouldn't you be cutting your arm up or something?" asked Robin as the two wolf men walked off.

"Tried that already. I got bored. What about you, have you figured out what they did this time?" replied her friend. The redhead immediately sobered immediately.

"Yeah, I did. Val, we're a flock, right?"

"Of course."

"So you'll love me no matter what?"

"Even if I get back to my old family, you'll still be my sister. What's wrong?"

"Val, I think… I think they've made me into an eraser." There was a tense silence.

"Show me," was all the Irish girl said. The little girl closed her eyes and thought about the feeling of power that had come over her earlier. She visualized the powerful paws she had used to rip the erasers to bits. Suddenly, she could feel body change, her muscles, organs and bones shifting and rearranging themselves to accommodate her new self.

Strangely, Val was smiling and looked relieved.

"Robin," she said "You're not an eraser. You aren't a wolf. You're a cat." The small girl concentrated and regained her normal body.

"But what if I'm the new generation? What if they make me kill you?"

"Rob, do you want to kill me?"

"Of course not!" screeched the horrified little girl.

"Then you aren't an eraser. You're just you, plus you can turn into a huge cat."

"I'm not huge!"

"You are for someone your size." Valkyrie suddenly became serious. "Rob, do you think you could just change part of your hand?"

"I can try." The little girl proceeded to focus on her hand. Slowly, the nails sharpened and hardened, the fingers went from long and slender to tiny stubs. The nails slid down into the skin which promptly covered itself in fine hair. "Here. Why do you need my hand?"

"You're not going to like this. Just give me your hand with the claws out. It's the only way for us to get the chip out and it'll be less painful than using the plastic." Robin handed Valkyrie her paw, but pulled away as soon as Valkyrie put the claw against her forarm.

"No! I won't do it! I don't want to hurt you!"

"Robin, your claws will hurt less than a jagged piece of plastic. It's the only way we can escape. Just think about it. You know I'll cut myself anyway, this'll just hurt less."

Robin turned away. She did her best to ignore her flock sister's words, but freedom was too tempting. She reluctantly handed the older girl her paw.

"Go ahead. Just don't make me watch."

Valkyrie flashed a smile at her before setting to work.