The darkness surrounding Pack Rat was accompanied by an oppressive, numbing chill. He would have appreciated the dulling of his pain if it were not for the claustrophobic feeling that came with it. Pack was perfectly at home when tunneling through the ground, where his acute senses let him perceive his surroundings nearly as well as when he was on the surface. What he felt now was nothing like the welcoming embrace of the earth. Here, in this place, Pack Rat felt blind and deaf, completely cut off from his senses. He could perceive only the encompassing stygian black, the enveloping cold, and a slow, sickening, sinking sensation.

"You stupid rat," a gruff voice admonished.

Pack Rat turned to face the sound. Or at least he thought he turned. He could not really feel enough to be sure. At first he saw the same nothingness as before, but after a moment a pair of glowing white eyes could be seen fading in from the gloom. Soon after, the familiar silhouette of Sajit's black-furred form was detectable as he stalked forward. He was in his hybrid form, and wearing his belt of human skulls strapped to his waist. The skulls clattered and rattled as he walked and were licked with blue ghostly tongues of translucent flame.

"Where the hell are you?" the werewolf demanded.

"I'm right here, Sajit."

"God damn it Pack haven't you learned anything about magic since we met?"

The ratling shrugged and gaped wordlessly.

"I'm not really here Picky. There is no here, not really. I'm projecting myself to you. I've been trying to locate you for days but your spirit is so weak I..."

"Whoa, what a minute. Days?" Pack interrupted.

"It's been about six days since you were reported overdue," Sajit's eyes flashed angrily, "And the only reason I know that much is because you listed me as your next of kin! What the hell?"

"I had to put something in that blank on the UNTIL registration form when I put my request in to..."

"Where. Are. You." Sajit intoned deliberately.

"Damned if I know. Last thing I remember was blowing up the VIPER lab."

"Where were you when that happened?"

"I was... er... still inside... the... um... lab?"

"FUCK!" Sajit threw up his hands in disgust.

"Well I was almost out but there was a rabid cat woman attached to my leg in the elevator and..."

"Pack you have to give me something to go on here. If I don't find you soon Sahara is going to start losing feathers."

Pack could not help but chuckle a bit at that. The thought of Sahara worrying over him was somehow strangely comforting.

"I'm serious! She hasn't eaten or slept in two days. Haraka is worried about her, and now he's getting mad at me and Ken for "Letting this happen."

He used finger quotes.

"I'll just pop right into ye olde comatose convenience store and grab you a map, how about that?"

"Pack!" Sajit bit back his frustration, "You don't understand. I think you're dying. I can just barely hear you. It took almost all the mojo I had to connect to you and I still can't tell where you are."

Pack paused and looked around. He wasn't quite sure what dying felt like but, yeah, this seemed about right.

"Maybe... maybe you should just... let me go Saj," the ratline said quietly.

"The hell you saying, Rat?" Sajit barked.

"I'm... I'm tired man. I've been fighting VIPER for so long, hunting down Medford, tussling with psychotic cat girls."

Pack sighed deeply.

"But it's done. I got him. Blew the whole place to hell. He won't hurt anyone else."

"Oh please," Sajit sneered, "You think Medford was the only mad scientist that VIPER has in its back pocket?"

"Er... well..."

"Forget all that Pack. Listen man, please, don't give up. Just tell me where to start looking." Sajit's tone had shifted from annoyed to pleading.

"I dunno Sajit. I mean, what have I got to come back to, really? A hole in the ground to hide in? Getting kicked out of restaurants because I'm a health code violation?"

Sajit opened his mouth to speak but then just shut it again.

"And have you seen how women look at me, Sajit?" the hurt in Pack's voice was evident, "I'm barely tolerated at best. Most girls look like they're about to retch at the sight of me."

"It's not that bad Pack... Sahara doesn't react that way."

"What does that matter? Even if she isn't disgusted by me that doesn't mean she'd ever... Besides, what would you know about it? You've got Snow, hell even Ken is with Kuro, Sahara has Haraka..." Pack spat back bitterly.

"Are you really telling me you're willing to let your life just slip away because you can't get laid?"

"Fuck you, dog boy. It's not that... not just that... grrr." Pack frowned, struggling with his conflicting thoughts.

Sajit forced down the growl welling up in his throat. He never did react well to being called a dog.

"Pack. Listen. You're not thinking straight. Can't you see that..." Sajit's voice suddenly seemed distant. Pack could see his form becoming indistinct, fading.

"Shit... losing you... gotta tell... where... Pack... Packy!"

The lycanthrope flailed and pleaded for a response but his spectral form faded from view, leaving the rat man alone again with only his thoughts. Without the distraction Sajit provided the frigid gloom came crashing down on the rodent with soul-crushing force. Pack was suddenly very aware of the sound of his heart beat, present just beneath the throbbing pain that was wracking his body. It was slowing down.

"So this is it..." Pack mused to himself, trying to steel himself and stave off the panic he felt bubbling up inside.

"Not like this... not alone..." he thought as he felt the space between heartbeats steadily grow wider.

The already oppressive dark bore down on the rat man. He wanted to thrash and kick against the enveloping, choking cold, but he couldn't feel his limbs. The gap between heart beats grew bigger, and the beats themselves seemed to grow sluggish. The ratling's terror grew even as his thoughts became cloudy and sluggish. He could feel himself slipping away. Scattered, disjointed images of life flashed through his mind like still frames from a slideshow with a madman running the machine.

He saw the blurry view from within the fluid filled tube in which he was grown and birthed, with VIPER scientists watching him. Their cold, dispassionate expressions and the tubes connected to his body were the only mother he would ever know. The next was random images of his escape that once provided him a sense of triumph, now proven to be a lie and just another test, the meaning stolen away by the man who created him. He saw moments with his friends. Friendly shooting contests with Ken, which he invariably lost. A moment alone comforting Sajit as he agonized over losing control during battle and wounding an innocent. Sahara, her beautiful face locked in frozen laughter as Sajit flailed at Pack for dumping a bucket of confetti on him. Then Sahara, her hand placed comfortingly on Pack's shoulder as he fought back tears, several elitist superheroes chortled nearby after insulting the ratling relentlessly. Sahara again... the last time he saw her, looking up at him with those huge, deep, violet eyes. The slideshow froze, focused on those soulful portals, and suddenly the fear was gone, replaced only with regret. Was there something he had missed? Faintly, as if from far away and behind him, Pack heard Sahara's soft, melodic voice and those words that had haunted him since he boarded the jet for Canada.

"Come back..."

"I want to," Pack thought out loud, "I just... can't..."

Fear gave way to despair. He would have been sobbing if he could move. Pack couldn't remember the last time he heard the low thrum of a heart beat. How long had it been? So cold..