SUBJECT 204
Notes: That YOLO moment when you write assuming the story is taking place more or less in realtime but then talking meta with konako makes you come up with a slightly different date for the events of the story. For all intents and purposes let's just pretend this shit's happening August-ish, 2017
Also, Re: notifs and FF being buggy as hell
Yeah, I've been talking to some other writers and readers and they've been having issues with the notif system as well. A lot of writers lost readership on their latest chapters posted this month and I know a bunch of readers are also missing out. But I thiiink it's starting to get fixed? I saw some posts lately about some writers and readers starting to get notifs again so hopefully things have worked themselves out.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
When Aurora led them to a bar, Belle hoped they weren't going to start drinking on the job again. She wasn't particularly keen on having to maneuver the group back to the hotel if Aurora got herself hammered and tried to influence Mulan to do the same.
But Aurora didn't disappoint, because as they got inside, they spotted Neal hunched over a table on one side of the bar and Killian approaching from the other side. They both seemed to be fixated on a man in a suit looking over his phone. The man seemed to be growing frustrated with whatever was on the screen and put his phone down. That was when Killian sat next to the man and seemed to be making conversation with him.
Neal now stood from his spot and started approaching the man. It was just as he was starting to walk past them that Mulan placed herself in front of Neal. Belle hadn't even realized that Mulan had walked on ahead.
Then she noticed Mulan's hand on Neal's wrist, and Belle noticed the man's phone in Neal's hand.
Knowing this could but hoping it wouldn't lead to trouble, Belle, accompanied by Aurora, worked her way through the crowd to wear Mulan and Neal were stiffly staring each other down.
"I'm only going to say it one more time." Mulan's voice was low, "Give it back or I will."
Neal's face was set with annoyance but as he looked over to see Belle and Aurora coming over as well, he seemed to force the tension out of his body. "Fine." Flashing a forced smile, he pulled his wrist free from Mulan's grasp and turned over to the man in the suit. "Excuse me, sir. I think you dropped this."
The man in the suit was surprised as he took the phone back, then he smiled, "Thanks, man!"
"Sure." Neal maintained the stiff smile until the man turned to continue the conversation he'd gotten engrossed in with Killian. "Excuse me, ladies."
"Hold on." Mulan refused to move out of the way. "We want to talk to you. About Emma Swan."
At the mention of Emma's name, Neal's smile fell and what looked like genuine concern came over his features. "What about her? Is she okay?"
"Not exactly." Belle hoped the aggressive stance that Mulan was using wouldn't make things harder than they had to be. She used a calm, polite tone as she spoke to Neal and he looked at her like he was torn. "And she needs our help. She said you can affect technology."
Chewing at his bottom lip, Neal put his hands on his hips and looked down. "Okay." He looked up, glanced to the side. "Okay, let's find somewhere to talk." He led the way out of the bar, looking back at them several times to make sure they were following.
He led them down to an alley and it was probably not the brightest idea to follow a known criminal around at night. Belle noticed though that Mulan was keeping one of her hands in her jacket pocket, probably holding her pocket knife.
"Okay, we're good here." Neal turned to face them. "Killian and I were supposed to regroup here." His eyes darted around before focusing on them. "No cameras, few witnesses. We can wait for Killian or you can start telling me what's going on."
They hadn't quite planned out how to approach the duo about this. Belle glanced over at Mulan, who kept her hands in her pockets. Aurora was uncomfortably looking around.
"Emma's being held at Baelfire Research Center." As Belle spoke, she noticed Neal wince visibly before setting his jaw and looking off to the side. "Regardless of her past, we believe she's not being treated humanely."
Neal had his hands in his pockets now as well and he merely grunted his response.
"There are several other subjects there." Belle continued, "And at least one almost died this week. Many have already had their lives taken by the experiments being run over there."
"Yeah." Neal nodded stiffly, his jaw still clenched, his shoulders still tense. "Sounds about right."
"What's going on here?" A male voice came from behind them and they turned to see Killian striding over. He was easily taller than them all. "And what are three lovely ladies doing in a dark alley at this time of night?"
Belle didn't consider herself someone capable of aura reading and definitely didn't want to be the type of person who judged people and wrote them off. But Killian seemed like the kind of guy Belle would be wary of.
There was good in him of course, and he probably had his heart in the right place. Maybe it was just being in an alley at night with two men that was making Belle uneasy and uncomfortable. That and among their trio of women only Mulan was capable of fighting. Aurora carried pepper spray at least. Belle… was kind of just here.
"They knew Emma." Neal was the one who spoke up before any of them could. "Said she might need our help."
"Oh yeah?" Killian raised an eyebrow and looked down at them. "Last I heard, she was moved from prison to some research place. Thought we wouldn't be hearing from her again."
Though the words sounded cold, Belle guessed there was some regret in there that Killian was trying to hide. "She's asked for you two. We've driven all the way here to ask you to help us get her out."
"Emma said you'd have connections we might be able to use." Aurora said, "And that Neal has some technology-related ability that we can use?"
"I wouldn't mind making some connections with you though," Killian winked at Aurora and Belle felt Mulan stiffen.
Putting a hand over Mulan's arm, Belle hoped they could keep this conversation as civil as possible. "The point is, we want to help Emma and several other subjects being abused in that facility. We want to get them out, and Emma said that you'd be able to help."
"You got any idea how tight security is over there?" The more they talked about this, the more uncomfortable Neal looked. "Cameras, guards and locked doors everywhere."
"Of course we know." Mulan's tone was low and she didn't bother to hide her annoyance and suspicion. "We all work there."
Neal stiffened then, frowning and looking over them. "Really? As what? And is that how you met Emma? Were you testing her, too?" The accusing tone made Belle wince because there was truth to it. They had indeed played a part in testing on Emma and the other subjects.
"Mulan's a guard." It was Aurora who spoke up. She gestured towards Mulan then towards herself and Belle. "The two of us are part of an internship program Dr. Gold accepted us into."
An uneasy silence followed.
Belle thought over what to say next but felt like she was coming up blank. Mulan on the other hand was still tensed up and suspicious.
"No." Neal shook his head and started to walk past them to join Killian.
"No?" Belle felt her heart sink. "What do you mean no?"
"It's too risky." Neal kept his eyes averted. "We don't want anything to do with that place."
"We've got our own plans to figure out." Killian added as he brought out a cigarette and lit it. "We can't get caught up in something as high-profile as breaking into a government-funded facility." He blew a puff of smoke at them, "So ladies, if you'll excuse us…"
They were turning to leave. This wasn't how things were supposed to pan out.
Belle reached for Killian's shoulder as they started to walk away. Then things happened so fast, Belle didn't know how she ended up with her back pressed against the wall and Killian's forearm across her throat and a knife dangerously touching her side.
"Let her go." Mulan had reacted just as quickly, pressed up close to Killian and holding her own knife just under his stubbly chin. "Now."
Killian's eyes were cold and hard as he weighed out his options and glanced at Neal, who kept his hands in his pockets and his gaze averted. The seconds that passed weighed heavy with tension and Belle didn't dare speak or breathe.
Then Killian's face softened and he chuckled, moving his arm and his knife away from Belle and keeping them up, level with his head. "I like a girl who knows her way around knives."
Mulan didn't let go of Killian immediately, in fact she tightened her grip on him and the knife looked like it was pressing deeper into his jaw. "I knew we couldn't trust criminals like you."
"And you think Emma isn't a criminal too?" Killian let out another laugh. "We were making it big when she was still with us. The stuff that chick could do is more than what Neal and I can do combined. None of our jobs back then could have been done without her. So you tell me, how you sleep at night knowing you're going to help a criminal escape from her prison."
That got to Mulan. The tension in her body was clear as she pulled Killian even closer.
"Mulan, let him go." Aurora was the one who took it upon herself to talk to Mulan and slowly approach her. "If they won't help us, we can't make them."
For a while, tense, heavy breathing filled the alley. The noise of cars and chatter further down along the street was barely audible over their pounding hearts. It was scary and the air was thick with anticipation for what was going to happen next.
Finally, Mulan shoved Killian forward. He stumbled but recovered, avoiding a collision with Neal.
"She was counting on you." Belle tried one more time as Killian dusted himself off and turned around, nudging Neal forward as well. "She needs you."
They were walking away.
"You were the first people she could really consider her family!" Belle shouted after them, desperate now, and she thought she saw them falter. "She thinks about you two a lot. She looked up to you."
They were gone now.
"She trusted you…" Belle sighed, shoulders slumping as the weight of disappointment washed over her.
"Maybe we can try again tomorrow…" Aurora was hugging herself and looking just as let down as Belle felt. "I could also try to visit their dreams… Although I'm already really drained after searching for them so I'm not sure if I can."
"Let's just get to the car and go back to the hotel." Mulan pocketed her knife and started to walk forward, shoulders hunched, head low. "I want to sleep."
Maybe tomorrow would be better.
It was nice to be back in her room, back under her bed.
But it wasn't nice to have the IV taken out. Whatever they had used to keep her sleepy was gone and now the memories and thoughts pressed harder and harder against her head. Memories of being Ruby Lucas bombarded her with thoughts of Granny being a good person, thoughts of Mother being very cold, thoughts of doubledates with Peter and Dorothy and Merida, thoughts of being human.
But she never had been human, had she?
Those hazy memories of playing doctor in the basement and playing with big dogs… that was her as a wolf among the wolf forms of her mother and her grandmother.
Ruby Lucas wasn't real.
The subject had always been a monster and always would be.
If Belle and Emma and Mulan and all of them could just stop calling her that, it would be so much easier. She had already left that name behind a long time ago. Why did they have to torment her with it now? She didn't deserve that name. She didn't deserve any name. She was not human and she never was.
She looked up when the door opened and crawled out before being told to. This was one way to be more cooperative. Preparing herself for transport before they had to order her into position. She wanted to be good and cooperative.
"Hello, 204." Dr. Gold waited for a guard to finish setting up a chair before he sat down. "Don't worry yourself, we don't want to stress you with more tests just yet. Take a seat."
Caught off guard by this, the subject stared at Dr. Gold for a moment, not quite sure if this was real or some sort of test. That sounded like they were going to give her a short break from testing. Was that really something they would do?
"I assure you, 204." Dr. Gold's smile was warm as he gestured towards the bed. "You need to rest and recover. We won't be running tests for a few days. Please, sit down."
If she just had the words, she would have thanked them, showed them all her gratitude for being given some time to rest. Even if her chest no longer warmed up and tingled as it repaired whatever went wrong on the inside, she was still feeling very fatigued.
She sat down and hoped a small smile would convey her gratitude.
Smiles felt so odd on her face. Her muscles weren't used to it and they felt stiff.
"That's a good girl," Dr. Gold nodded his approval. The scars on his face hadn't quite healed yet and the subject still felt guilt at causing them. "I just want to have a talk before I get some sleep myself."
What did he want to talk about? Had she done something wrong again?
"Belle and Aurora were both absent today." His smile had fallen and his face looked less warm as he rubbed at his chin. "I'd rather not assume the worst of them but I fear they may have gone out jobhunting. That last session took a toll on them and I hope it wasn't heavy enough for them to really want to leave."
Oh no. The subject knew how much Dr. Gold valued Belle and if she was really thinking of getting a different job because the subject had botched their test, then hopefully there was some way she could make up for it. Maybe another test? She would do whatever she could do behave and cooperate and do good.
Dr. Gold shrugged. "It's also possible that they're just being the twenty-somethings that they are. Maybe they wanted to go out drinking late and slept the morning off. I don't really know."
For some reason the subject thought about age and how she couldn't tell if Belle and the other interns were her age or older. So they might actually be older.
Not that she knew her own age anymore. Maybe she was nineteen or eighteen. Seventeen at the youngest, probably. If she was human she would be starting college. Maybe something in the culinary field since cooking with Granny had always been fun. Although Mother usually got upset when she caught her daughter going through the food in the refrigerator. The meat in the freezer was also usually off-limits.
"I realize you've had a difficult couple of days, 204." Dr. Gold was speaking again and seemed to be fumbling with something in his pocket. "We were conducting some very new tests lately and maybe you've been a little overwhelmed."
The subject shrugged and looked down at her scarred hands. It wasn't her place to say if the tests were too much. Her purpose was to take what they dealt because they all knew best. They were the ones who knew what they were doing.
"Here," Dr. Gold tossed something her way and she instinctively caught it. "Happy twenty-second birthday."
What?
She stared blankly at him, stunned.
"I was going through some of the clutter in my office and I noticed we missed your birthday last Sunday." He pulled out a device and showed her the screen, where a calendar flashed the date as August 23, 2017. "So I apologize for being a few days late to greet you."
He had never greeted her before. Not that she could recall.
And it was bizarre now to know that it was 2017. That she was twenty-two years old. That she'd been here for a very long time. She didn't know what to feel.
"I'll have an extra meal brought to you." Dr. Gold was standing up now. "I hope you'll put in more effort to cooperate from now on, considering how long we've been taking care of you."
It felt like she was nodding someone else's head. She felt detached from herself, like she was viewing the scene through a glass or a monitor.
"I'll see you soon, 204." With that, Dr. Gold left the room and a guard retrieved the chair.
She was twenty two years old and it was her birthday several days ago. It was 2017 and she didn't know what was going on outside, which celebrities were still popular, what movies were out, what phones were like, what ipods were like, what junk on the internet was like, what social media was like and if what she used was still being used, what neopets was like and if it was still active.
Not that she needed to see the outside world again. She needed to stay here and be fixed by the team here.
Whatever went on outside this facility wasn't important.
But she couldn't help but wonder about it.
The thing in her hands was small and it smelled leathery. She looked down at it and felt lightheaded.
It was tattered and faded, the leather and thread giving way. Stains all over it were most likely blood. And the metal plate was rusty and darkened, but the engraved name was still there, still readable as "Wolfie."
Memories of Peter and Dorothy ran through her mind as she closed her hand and pressed her forehead into her fists, feeling like her head was too heavy to keep upright.
This was from so very long ago.
If only she could just go back to that moment. Be back at that table, be back among the two people she valued the most.
Her eyes were warming up, but she knew this time it wasn't because of the wolf. Dampness spreading over her hands confirmed that.
If she could just sit there again.
Be at the old dining table in the dark and dilapidated kitchen that never felt foreboding when her friends were around.
She could feel the table in front of her, smell the rust and wood and meat in the kitchen. There was Peter's warmth wrapped up in hers. He always liked to put his arm over her shoulders and kiss her forehead. She could feel the way his hair always felt stiff and sticky because of all the product he put in it. It was kind of gross but she could appreciate the effort he put into his appearance and she knew that she herself used to think a lot about what to do with her hair and her face and her clothes. And Dorothy was there with her smile and her snark. She would bring Toto sometimes, even if Mother hated the smell of another dog in the house.
And they were together and it felt good to be together.
She wished she could speak to them, tell them how sorry she was.
Curling up on her bed and clutching the bracelet tightly, close to her face, she tried to think of all the words she could use to tell them how much she missed them and how horrible she felt for what she did to them. She thought about how she would beg them to forgive her even if it was the last thing she deserved.
She could barely see their faces now, but she knew that they wouldn't be smiling anymore if they could hear her now.
She didn't know how they would react, if they would forgive her.
But they probably shouldn't.
And yet, it still tore at her, the longing for them. If she could just feel them piling over her and laughing with her again… If she could just hold them close again… If she could just line up their stupid bracelets as they clasped hands again…
They were gone.
Peter was dead. Dorothy was dead. Ruby was dead.
Pressing her face into her fists, she struggled to stifle her sobs.
They didn't sleep well last night, though they didn't talk as a group much either. There was a bit of conversation as they tried to talk Aurora out of invading Neal and Killian's dreams. After that it was an uneasy sleep. Belle woke a few times to Mulan and Aurora whispering to each other. Some talk about doubt and guilt and fear. Belle tuned it out, not wanting to eavesdrop or interrupt.
That and she had needed to be alert enough to drive them all home after checkout.
They stopped over at a gas station for Aurora to have another bathroom break before they continued on the rest of the trip and pulled in to Aurora's driveway. Mulan helped Aurora carry her bag up to her place while Belle checked on her car to make sure it wasn't cranky from the trip. Once she was satisfied that everything was in order, she went up to join Mulan and Aurora.
Belle found them sitting at the dining table.
"What now?" Aurora asked as Belle took a seat across them.
"We have to keep going." Belle leaned back on her chair. "I would prefer to get them out like this month. We know the layout of the place and we have a list of some of their subjects. We might have to leave some of the creatures for now and maybe come back for them later."
"So we prioritize Ruby, Emma and Regina?" Mulan asked, "What about the Dunbroch family? And Elsa?"
"Let's prioritize that group as the first batch we pull out of the facility." Belle felt heavy thinking about the big job they had ahead of themselves. "And I'd like to go back for the more if possible."
"Are we still thinking of going public somehow?" Aurora asked.
Belle thought about it. Last they discussed the topic, they were leaning towards going public. At the very least to make it harder for the facility to cover their tracks since they seem to be pretty good at it. "I'd like to, yeah."
"I haven't tried it yet," Aurora looked from Mulan to Belle and back, "But I talked to Emma again and we were wondering if the energy drain we managed to do with the two of you can be used to make people fall asleep."
This was news, and potentially good news at that. "Meaning if you can do that, you'll be able to get the people at the facility to fall asleep?"
"Maybe." Aurora sounded hesitant. "I'll try to see if I can and see if I can get the hang of it. If you and Mulan are okay with me trying it later."
Belle glanced at Mulan. "I'm okay with letting her try it. You?"
After a moment of thought and a shrug, Mulan nodded. "Yeah. I'm up for it."
They had to finalize their plan soon. Belle thought over what they had now and what they still lacked. Someone with access to the system would have been invaluable but they didn't have that right now and they probably couldn't get someone like that without risking discovery of their operation.
They had a guard who provided them with a layout of the area and possessed a keycard that gave her access to most of the facility. They had someone who could telepathically link their minds and essentially provide open communication within the team. They had someone who could move and manipulate objects and even living beings.
That was it!
"I think that if you can't do it yourself, you should be able to do it with Regina's help." Belle was still formulating the theory of how it could work, but she spoke out loud as she tried to figure it out. "She's capable of manipulating matter, right? But she's also capable of some biokinesis. Maybe, and I'm not sure yet and you'll have to talk to her about it yet, but maybe…"
Aurora sat up straight as she caught on to where Belle was going. "She could give them the physical symptoms of sleepiness and I can be the one to pull their consciousness into a dream! Belle, that's perfect!"
"One problem though." Mulan leaned forward, "They've been keeping her high on their cocktail mixtures and she hasn't been able to use her powers. Maybe only during tests if ever. I heard some assistants talk about working on blockers for her powers. We'll either have to address the sedatives or the blockers or both before Regina can be of help."
"For the other psychics with blockers, like Elsa," Belle said, "Do you have access to the remotes that deactivate them?"
Mulan shook her head, "Usually, no. But I think I know where the assistants and scientists keep at least some of the remotes."
"Will you be able to get them?"
Letting out a breath, Mulan seemed to be bracing herself before she nodded. "I'll work on that."
"Mulan, I've only been there at night like three times, and those times were on the full moon. Is it generally more quiet at night?" They would have better chances of success if they did this at night. Belle remembered there being significantly less people during the evening and the lobby barely had any lights.
"Yeah. There are hardly any tests done at night." Mulan paused to think. "I know it's only really during the full moon that there's a lot of activity after hours. In general, I'd say that at night, there will only be several assistants and maybe two scientists if any. They turn off the lights on some floors, though the cameras have night vision. Ruby's floor and room always have the lights on."
"Always?" Belle asked.
"Always. It's an actual rule in our handbooks." Mulan's brow furrowed and she looked downwards. "If I remember right, I asked about it one time. I don't know if it's true, but the rumor is that they think she might be stronger in the dark, so they keep her quarters bright."
That was… interesting. Belle couldn't imagine living her life in a room with the lights always on. With the lights everywhere always on. Wasn't that disorienting? Any concept of time was probably gone. It must just feel like an endless day of tests and rest and more tests again in a wretched eternal cycle.
For seven years.
"She draws power from the moon, that's proven." Belle wasn't sure why she felt like arguing the lack of sense in keeping Ruby's quarters always bright. "But I don't recall seeing in their notes that she draws power from darkness."
"Aren't the notes they give you filtered though?" Aurora asked.
"I guess, yeah…" It just… felt all wrong. The concept didn't seem to make sense.
Mulan picked up the conversation before they could trail off or get sidetracked, "But yes. There are still a lot of guards and quite a few maintenance workers, but there are definitely less assistants and scientists at night. Our best bet really would be to strike at night. If they've developed the blockers for Regina then I should be able to deactivate them. Then she and Aurora can get the guards and staff inside to go to sleep. From there, I should be able to escort Regina, Emma and Elsa outside."
"I can go and get Ruby," Belle stopped, remembering her updated pass only gave her access to some of the testing rooms. She still didn't have access to the lower floors where the subjects were kept. "But I might need a guard's pass to get to her quarters."
"I think I can get you one once you've gotten past the guards that Aurora and Regina have put to sleep. After I've gotten Emma, Regina and Elsa out, I could go back for the Dunbroch family. Maybe you and Ruby can meet me on their floor."
"Yeah, I think that could work." The plan was starting to take shape, but Belle felt like there were things they were still missing and key parts that could still go wrong. "What about the cameras?"
Mulan rubbed the back of her neck. "That's another problem. I can probably spike Walter's thermos, the guy who watches the monitors, but the monitors aren't the only output for the cameras. I know Gold has the security system hooked up to his phone. So we'll have to move very fast or separate him from his phone or take care of him ourselves."
What take care of him entailed was a question mark Belle wasn't particularly sure she wanted to know the answer to just yet.
"Do we know where he lives?" Aurora asked.
"What so we can kill him in his house?" Belle looked at Aurora, appalled.
Aurora looked just as appalled by the suggestion. "What? No! So we know how long it'll take him to get to the facility if he notices us on the cameras."
"He'll probably call the police instead of driving to the facility himself." Mulan pointed out.
A moment of silence hung over them as they thought over their options.
Static coming from the television caught their attention, followed by a voice. "Hello? You girls over here?"
They exchanged looks, all showing a mixture of doubt and confusion. Didn't they leave the television off? And why did the voice sound familiar?
"Is that Neal?" Aurora was the first to stand up and start approaching the television.
"Dammit, what were your names again?" Neal's voice came over the television again. "Look, it's me, Neal. We want to talk."
Belle stood from her chair and walked over to join Aurora in front of the television. Mulan followed, tensed up like she was ready to face anything that would prove to be dangerous.
There, on the television screen was Neal. He was in a sloppy-looking apartment with clothes and miscellaneous electronics all over most of the available surfaces. Killian was in the background, laying on a coach, eyes glued to his phone. Or hopefully it was his phone.
"Well now that you're all here, let's start over and introduce ourselves, maybe?" Neal pointed behind him. "I'm Neal and that's Killian."
"I'm Aurora and this is Belle and Mulan." Aurora pointed them all out before taking a seat on the coach in front of the television. "Is there any particular reason you're somehow talking to us through my TV? Or maybe could you tell us how you even found my TV?"
Neal put his hands over his face and exhaled before he straightened up in his seat and clasped his hands on the table in front of him. "I can manipulate technology, and I can also gather the information that they've gathered. Long story short, I tracked you down via security cameras and the hotel's system and it took me a while to find you."
"Ask them about Emma." Killian called over from his spot on the couch.
Nodding, Neal gestured towards Killian again. "That's why we're reaching out now. Tell us more about what's going on with Emma and what it is you three are planning to do."
"In general, the subjects are being treated pretty badly over there." Belle sat next to Aurora while Mulan stayed standing. "Emma has been put through tests against her will and I've seen a guard strike her at least once. Other times I've seen her with bruises."
At the sound of this, Neal's features hardened.
"And there are other subjects there that have it worse. We believe that Emma is going to be put under more pressure as time goes on." Belle tried to be as brief and as clear as she could. "Things have already started to escalate."
Neal bit his lip while his fist fidgeted on the table. "Okay." He shifted in his seat. "Okay, tell me one thing first."
"What's that?" Aurora asked.
"Why?" Neal said, "Why now? Why do you want to help Emma? You all work there, right? What made you turn your back on that place and decide to screw your boss over?"
That was a loaded string of questions, but Belle understood how they essentially could be summed up to Why are you doing this? And Belle had several reasons and Ruby was the biggest reason, but honestly? If Emma and Regina hadn't reached out to Belle then things would not have steamrolled into what was going on now. If Emma hadn't been using her abilities to try to find out more about what the other subjects were going through… if Emma and Regina hadn't been secretly communicating with each other… If Emma hadn't pushed to find out more about Ruby… things might have played out differently.
It was Emma, really, who set everything in motion.
It may have been Regina who first reached out to Belle and who first convinced Emma to talk to Belle, but it was Emma who wanted better for herself and for Regina and for the subjects she barely knew anything about. It was Emma who was fighting for better treatment. It was Emma.
"Because she asked." Belle felt like the answer came out to simple, but she tried to organize the jumble of thoughts into words. "She and another subject, Regina, reached out to me. They opened my eyes to what it's like for them. They showed me that behind the glamor of the magic and the prestige of scientific pursuit, there were very real human beings being treated like lab rats. And that isn't something I'm going to be able to sit well with anymore."
Just the thought of how naïve she was not so long ago made her cringe. She knew she wasn't ever going to go back to that mindset again. "There's another subject as well, Ruby. She really needs to be taken out of there. They almost killed her earlier this week. They put her through torture because she doesn't have anyone looking for her. They're more careful with Emma and Regina, but with Ruby…"
Belle found herself trembling again at the thought of how broken Ruby really was. "She's been their possession to poke at and electrocute and cut for seven years and I'm not going to let her go through that any longer." The tremors were so bad that her teeth were starting to chatter. She curled into herself and looked down at the ground.
Putting a hand over Belle's shoulder, Aurora took it upon herself to speak as well. "I have some abilities as well, astral projection for one thing, but I'm also learning some things I can do that's tied to it. I've used it to look at the facility and talk to Emma and Regina and they're scared and miserable. Knowing how they feel and feeling how they feel, I can't leave them alone to continue to live like that."
"And you?" Neal said, "Mulan?"
Still stiff and uncomfortable, Mulan kept her arms crossed over her chest. "I couldn't keep letting them treat the subjects like trash. I thought that working and training to be a guard and maybe some day a cop meant I'd get to protect people. As a guard in that place, all I've been doing is watching abuse and letting it happen." She shrugged. "I can't keep doing that."
"Okay." Neal nodded. "Okay. Emma has helped Killian and I out of a lot of tough spots and she helped us earn big when she was on our team. She took the fall for us and we can't leave her when she needs us. Especially not when we're capable of helping out."
Killian came over to sit next to Neal. "It took a bit of thinking and we're sorry to be late to the party, ladies." He smiled at them, "But we're in now. What's your plan?"
The trembling had eased and Belle was able to straighten up and answer. "We think Aurora may be able to get the guards and the rest of the staff to fall asleep. Most likely with Regina's help."
Belle tried to keep their plan concise and clear as she explained it to Neal and Killian. "The problem is that Regina is being heavily sedated, and there may also be blockers being developed for her abilities. Mulan will work on deactivating the blockers but the sedatives is another bit we still have to address because she won't be of much help if she's still groggy."
Neal and Killian both listened without interrupting. Belle wasn't sure why she found it so surprising that Killian wasn't interrupting.
"Aurora will be able to link with Emma and they should be able to telepathically link to us all so I think we'll be able to maintain communication with everyone on the team. I mean everyone within the area of the facility anyway. A wider radius might be too taxing for Emma and Aurora." Belle had to stop herself from going into too much detail about the mechanics of Emma and Aurora's abilities. "Once Regina is able and the guards and staff are asleep, Mulan will inform us of the update and will be able to move in and get her, Emma and another subject out of their quarters. I'll be using a key card from one of the guards to get to the lower levels were Ruby is being held."
"Okay, so you've covered how to get in and more or less how to get out. That still leaves the cameras, right? I'm assuming the boss has the cameras hooked up to his phone and I'm assuming if he doesn't sleep in that damn hellhole he loves so much, then his eyes are always on the footage."
The sudden aggression from Neal about "the boss" took Belle by surprise, but she took it in stride. "Yes, Mulan said the cameras are going to be a problem."
"We can't cover up every camera and there are only a few blindspots." Mulan added.
"Leave the cameras to me." Neal said. "I can take them down. When they go down, the boss will probably think it's a connection issue. He's going to call the phone and try to figure out what's going on. So I'm going to cut the phone lines as well. Now he's either going to call someone to go and check, but more likely he's going to go over there himself to find out what's going on. But again this is assuming he doesn't sleep there."
"He does sometimes." Mulan shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "A lot of times. But he does go home every so often."
"I figured." Neal was showing an uncanny understanding of how Dr. Gold thought and behaved. It was probably part of their line of work- profiling people with very limited information. "So we're going to have to give him a reason to be at home or at least not in the facility on this particular night. Killian and I should be able to call in a buddy to stage a break in and set off the guy's alarm system. This could be the afternoon of the breakout."
Belle wasn't sure if she was impressed or alarmed by how experienced… even professional Neal was about this.
"The other option is of course to just let him be at the facility that night and have him fall asleep together with everyone else." Killian said. "That's simpler and uses less resources."
Right.
That was simpler.
"This is of course all running with the assumption that Regina and I can really get everyone to fall asleep." Aurora said. "I haven't had the chance to try it yet."
"Well you're going to have to get practicing then, love." Killian said, "Because a lot is going to be riding on that. Otherwise we're going to have find another way to get past all the staff and guards."
"You can do it, Aurora." Mulan's posture was still tense, but as she looked over at Aurora, there was a gentler tone to her words. "I believe in you."
Then, as if shrugging off that moment of softness, Mulan turned her gaze to Neal. "But as a back up plan, I'll figure something out. We have more than enough sedatives there to knock out all the staff, with room to spare."
"Drug the people who drug their prisoners." Killian smirked. "I like it."
"Wait," Belle spoke up before they could get too far into their walkthrough. "Neal, would you be capable of getting into the system and publishing all their research?"
Neal's eyes widened at the question before he clenched his jaw and looked to the side. He mulled over the idea before looking at them. "In theory, yes. But why? Are we hoping to expose them as well?"
"Yes." Belle said, "We figure that having their database published would give them a harder time of covering everything up. It'll also make it divide their resources and give us more time to get away."
A smile spread over Killian's face as he nodded his head. "Makes sense, yeah."
"Okay. I'll work on that during the breakout itself." There was reluctance in Neal's tone and discomfort in his posture, but he didn't object. "So we've just about covered getting in, avoiding the staff and getting to the prisoners. Is there a way to discreetly contact them to tell them to be ready?"
"Yeah, we've got that covered." Belle answered.
Neal nodded. "Perfect. Killian and I can work on getting two cars."
But Belle already had a car, wasn't that enough? She wasn't too keen on parting with her car. Although admittedly, she wasn't too keen on potentially having an intense car chase with it either. "Why do we need two cars?"
The smile on Killian's face was almost condescending, like he was talking to children. "Even with the cameras down, there's going to be a chance that the car we get away in will be seen. So one car is seen going out. Another car will be what takes the team to the hideout or at least the meeting point."
"Can we use vans though?" Aurora asked. "We're getting at least three subjects out, possibly nine even. And there's still the three of us and the two of you. We either need more vehicles or bigger ones. Or both."
"Nine?" Neal blinked a few times. "Really? I thought we were just gunning for Emma and the two others you mentioned?"
"There are a few others we feel obligated to help." Mulan said, "And Emma herself said she would rather all of the subjects are released but that's not quite feasible for now."
Killian and Neal exchanged looks.
"I have my car." Belle said, trying to be helpful. "Not including myself as the driver, I can hold four passengers, five or six for a tight squeeze."
"Nah, I think I can figure something out." Killian said, "Assuming we succeed in getting out the nine that you want, there's still the five of us. I can get us maybe two pickups that can hold maybe five or six people each. Those can be the ones stationed at the facility. I'll try to get a truck or a trailer that can hold all fourteen of us."
"Do we have a hideout?" Neal asked, "Because once the three of you don't show up to work after the breakout, your houses will probably be the first places they'll look. It can't be anyplace under your names."
This was sounding more and more like they were going to have to go into hiding and Belle knew that among the three of them, nobody was prepared for that just yet. "We haven't figured out a hideout yet." Belle admitted. And she didn't particularly feel ready to think about hiding. Papa still had no idea of any of what was going on.
"Okay. We'll cover that too." Neal's tone wasn't as judgmental as he took in their lack of preparation. "Will all of the subjects be staying at the hideout or will any be breaking off on their own before we reach our destination?"
Mulan shrugged, "Four of them -the Dunbroch family- they might prefer to handle themselves and meet with Mr. Dunbroch. Maybe we can drop them off somewhere with fresh clothes so they're not conspicuously in hospital gowns?
Killian raised an eyebrow. "So we're going to have to get clothes too?"
"I can cover that." Aurora volunteered. "Mulan, if you can just give me an estimate of their sizes, I can handle getting some clothes for them. I can get something for Elsa as well. Heck, I could work on preparing clothes for all the subjects if ever."
"Okay, good." Killian seemed relieved. "Maybe we could meet this weekend to finalize things? And we'll also let you know if the three vehicles and the hideout are ready by then."
"I have work this weekend but I could join the meeting after my shift." Mulan had still not moved to sit down at all or even relaxed the tense set to her shoulders.
"I should be able to keep my place free for a meeting this weekend, yeah." Aurora said.
Belle felt pumped from the excitement of planning everything out, but also terrified of how things could all go wrong and it would only serve to make the lives of the subjects all that much worse. "I can come over here. Will you guys be able to make the trip here?"
"Yeah, no problem, love." Killian winked again and it irked Belle.
"Okay then." Neal looked just about as uncomfortable as Belle felt. At least he didn't come off as slimy as Killian did. "We'll see each other this Saturday. We work on the cars and the hideout. You work on the clothes and spreading the word. And finalizing how to keep the staff out of the way."
"Got it." Belle said.
"Before we get in too deep, I hope you three know what you're getting in to." Neal looked at them and there was what Belle thought was a knowing look in his eye. "Once we do this, there's no turning back."
"Just handle your end and we'll handle ours." Mulan spoke up again.
"Fair enough." Neal said. "Have a good night."
They were left staring at a blank television screen like Neal had never been there.
But he and Killian had been right there, and Belle felt a heaviness in the air as the three of them all thought about what would most likely change as a result of the major risk they were all going to be taking.
Mother had been at it again, talking about plans to leave the country and complaining about how attached her daughter was to her friends. It had been difficult to get permission to go out this Saturday, after work at the diner. There was a lot of begging and negotiating.
"Daydreamer, you're doing it again." Peter's hand squeezed hers as he called her attention. There was no impatience or annoyance in his tone, which she was grateful for.
Smiling and trying to get herself back into the present, she nodded to Peter next to her then to… Dorothy and Merida across her. "Sorry. Just got a lot on my mind."
"Aye, seems like you were in another world just then." Merida was smiling but it was hard to tell if she was genuinely amused or trying to politely mask frustration.
"Sorry." She shifted in her seat and leaned into Peter, "You were going to tell us why you transferred?"
"Tis a bit of a long story, but basically mum has an…" Merida toyed with her curls, seeming to think of the right word to use, "… illness. We left home to come here for treatment for it."
Dorothy wrapped an arm around Merida and stroked her shoulder. "They only get to see their mom on weekends since she's checked in for the treatment."
Was it possible that Mother was sick and wanted to get treatment outside of the country, just like Merida's mother was doing? Somehow that was doubtful though. It seemed more likely that Mother just wanted to go somewhere different. She was always complaining about everything.
Either way, she couldn't imagine leaving all she knew, just like that. "Do you miss your friends? Back in Scotland?"
Merida toyed with her hair again. "Sometimes, I do. But it's for the best and I gotta see it that way, don't I?"
"I suppose you do." She nodded, tried to smile. "I'll just head to the bathroom for a bit." Untangling herself from Peter, she headed to the restrooms.
It was clean here, which she appreciated. And it gave her time to look herself in the eye and tell herself to get a grip. This whole thing was supposed to be so they could get to know the girl that Dorothy was starting to date. This wasn't the time or the place for her to be distracted or moody or make a scene.
"Wolfie, you okay?" Dorothy came to join her and they both looked at their reflections.
"I don't know." She admitted.
"This isn't about Merida, is it?" Dorothy asked, worry dripping into her voice. "Because I'd really love it if you guys could get along with her. She's… she's really great."
And she was.
But there was still that small stupid part that wanted Dorothy for herself.
Which was wrong and greedy because Peter was already part of the picture.
"We can make it work, you know." Dorothy put a hand over hers. "I was scared too, when you first started dating Peter. I thought things would get weird between us."
"It did for a little bit though, didn't it? You gave Peter a pretty tough time."
Dorothy laughed, "Yeah, I guess I did. But things did change. And they changed for the better. We all got a heck of a lot closer to each other, didn't we? Maybe the same could happen with Merida. Maybe we'd just be a great team, the four of us." That was a lovely thought, but she wasn't quite sure if she was ready to think welcome it.
"Please," Dorothy said, "Give her a chance."
Nodding and smiling, she said, "Yeah. I will. I am. I think it's nice that she can makes you smile a lot more lately." They looked down at their matching bracelets, with "Wolfie" and "Kansas" still clearly visible. "She's going to need a nickname, too."
A smile spread over Dorothy's face. "Yeah, when we've gotten settled into our thing with her, we can give her one too!" The smile turned into a smirk and a raised eyebrow, "But we are not calling her Ginger or anything like that, okay? I'm pretty sure she's going to stab us all if we do."
"Fair enough." They could think of something together when the time was right. Maybe Scotland if they were going to poke at her homeland like they did with Dorothy and her hometown. Or maybe Pony since she seemed almost as fascinated by horses as she was with wolves.
"Something else is bothering you."
Of course Dorothy could tell. They've been friends long enough to know when one had a problem.
But maybe Dorothy would be able to provide some advice or at least some comfort. She thought over how to express herself before finally speaking, "Mother's been talking more about leaving. And talking more about how I'm too attached to you and Peter."
"Oh." Dorothy's brow furrowed. She wasn't too fond of Mother and often had trouble hiding that when they talked about her. "More than usual?"
"Yeah."
"No matter how much she talks about it, there's not much she can actually do." Dorothy squeezed her hand. "Leaving town is a huge hassle. Leaving the country is an even bigger hassle. There's a ton of paperwork I'm pretty sure she still has to figure out so it's not going to happen instantly."
"Right." She nodded. "That's true."
"She's not taking you away from us that easily, okay?"
"Okay."
Dorothy reached over and pulled her in for a hug. "Come here,"
It was nice, being in Dorothy's arms. She was warm and soft and soothing. They were here for each other and they'd helped each other through bullies and boys (and girls) and helped each other with homework and binged movies and shows together. The world wasn't going to have an easy time separating them.
"Wolfie," Dorothy's voice was muffled into her shoulder. "Can you do me a favor and like… stop growing?"
She pulled away to look at Dorothy with a raised eyebrow. "What?"
"You're too damn tall!" Dorothy's tone was joking as she pretended to be annoyed. "I mean come on, when we were kids, I was taller than you!"
That got a laugh out of her and she nudged Dorothy, "Maybe you should start working harder on growing then."
Dorothy huffed, "Whatever. Let's get back to our humans. Peter is enjoying the interrogation way too much since I put him through the same damn thing when you two became a thing."
"Yeah, let's get moving before he scares her all the way back home."
As she waited in the small room, Belle thought over the conversation with Mulan and Aurora last night. They kind of avoided the topic of how things would change their lives. None of them were really ready to dwell on that. Belle knew Mulan didn't want to drag her twin brother into the mess but also didn't want to just disappear on him without a trace and without a word. Aurora wasn't willing to part with her comfortable life and wasn't willing to lose contact with her grandmothers. She also would rather not get her parents involved. Belle also had a feeling that Aurora didn't want to be part of a scandal that could affect the family and the business.
And Belle herself? She could relate to Mulan most. Papa didn't deserve to get involved in this mess, but he also didn't deserve to suddenly lose contact with his daughter, the only family he had left after his wife's passing.
What they did talk about instead was warning the subjects and getting them ready for an escape. Aurora was in charge of handling that with Emma's help. A debate had erupted from that on whether or not Ruby should be informed. Mulan had expressed doubt about telling Ruby beforehand. With all the brainwashing and abuse that Ruby was being put through, she might panic and somehow try to warn Dr. Gold.
While Belle preferred to get Ruby mentally and emotionally prepared for an escape, there was merit to Mulan's concerns. If Ruby recoiled so much at simply being called by her real name, then the concept of being liberated from the facility may overwhelm her.
They could only hope that she would cooperate when the time finally came to get her out.
And Belle hoped Ruby would be able to see what they were doing for her.
On top of all that, they also still had to see if Aurora would be capable of making people fall asleep. The practice runs she had with Belle and Mulan had only made them groggy but not quite enough to doze off yet. And the excess energy Aurora gained from that made her annoyingly hyperactive.
The door swung open, interrupting her thoughts. Mulan and another guard maneuvered Ruby to the chair across Belle.
"Unclasped cuffs like last time. And no chains either." Dr. Gold's order came through the speakers.
"Yes, sir." Mulan worked on the cuffs behind Ruby's back while the other guard undid the chains. Once her hands were free and the chains were removed, Ruby looked just as nervous and tense as ever. Her eyes darted around the room like she was looking for a place to hide if she lost control.
As the guards left the room, Belle had to remind herself once more not to use Ruby's name. "204, it's okay."
Ruby turned her tired eyes to Belle and it was surprising to see that they were bloodshot and puffy. Almost like she'd been crying. A lot.
"Look, we're not going to do anything intense today." Belle spoke softly, slowly and calmly. "You're still recovering from that close call and we just want to help you feel better, okay?"
Slumping into her chair, Ruby looked down at her hands. They were under the table, so Belle couldn't see them, but she hoped they weren't clenched and bleeding again. The fact that Ruby had developed the habit as a coping method was tragic and Belle hoped that once they were all out of here, they could work on helping Ruby find better ways to cope with stress.
"I brought you lunch again." With Dr. Gold's permission of course. Belle pulled two burgers out of a paperbag and pushed one over to Ruby's side of the table. "I got you one with bacon and cheese."
There was suspicion in Ruby's eyes and she looked around a few times before bringing one of her hands up and reaching for the wrapped up burger. Before her hand could touch it, she stopped and looked at Belle, almost asking for permission.
"Go ahead," Belle had to stop herself from saying Ruby's name, had to remind herself this was not yet a safe place to use it. "Nothing bad is going to happen, I promise."
As she said that, she wished she could somehow convey how much she meant that promise. How much she wanted to keep bad things from happening to Ruby because she'd already been living seven years of bad things and the poor, broken girl could really use a break.
Ruby brought the burger over to herself while Belle started unwrapping her own.
Just like with the pizza, Ruby looked to Belle for permission again.
"Go ahead," Belle didn't mind the patience that was going to be needed to help Ruby feel comfortable with acting on her own again, but it still hurt just seeing how fearful she was and how she kept needing permission to do anything. "You deserve it."
At that Ruby shook her head.
"Please," Belle couldn't read Ruby's mind without Emma's abilities, but it wasn't hard to tell that Ruby was probably now thinking long and hard about how she deserved the treatment she got. "Just eat, at least to regain your strength and recover after what happened."
Ruby looked down at the burger, unwrapped but still pretty much untouched.
"Please?"
Finally, Ruby nodded and tore into the burger, taking big bites and leaving a mess of cheese all over her face and hands.
That was when Belle noticed something new. Wrapped around one of Ruby's thin and scarred arms was a leather bracelet. It was patchy and worn out, all tattered at the sides, with a rusty metal name plate on one side.
"That bracelet, that wasn't there before."
Ruby tensed up, covering the bracelet with her other hand.
"I won't take it away, I promise." Belle moved her chair closer to the table. "May I see?"
Visibly swallowing the food in her mouth, Ruby hesitated, then seemed to glance at the camera before returning her attention to Belle. An uneasy sigh could just barely be heard coming from Ruby's lips before she reached her hand over to show the bracelet.
The nameplate was rusty and darkened, but with some effort, Belle was able to make out the word "Wolfie."
"Is that from someone here?" Belle asked.
Ruby shook her head.
"Someone from your past?"
The question was making Ruby uncomfortable. She licked her lips then glanced at the camera again.
"It's okay, we don't have to talk about it." Belle leaned back in her seat and returned her attention to the burger. "You can continue eating."
Though there was still tension written all over Ruby, she relaxed by a small but noticeable fraction as she continued to eat her burger in big, ravenous bites.
"If you remember Happy Meals," Belle put her burger down and wiped her hands on a napkin, "This came with a toy I figured I'd give you." She reached into her bag and pulled out a little stuffed lion with bready green eyes and a fluffy red mane. It had been tempting to get the husky that looked like a wolf but Belle had doubts about how Ruby might feel about it.
Confusion was written all over Ruby's face, from the tilt of her head to the lift of her brow to the slight parting of her chapped lips.
"Here," Belle placed the toy in front of Ruby. "Dr. Gold and I kind of talked about it and he said I could give it to you since your birthday was last Sunday."
It had taken some discussion and Dr. Gold was reluctant but eventually gave in. Belle somehow managed to tie it in with how they were trying to work on Ruby's interpersonal skills and receiving a gift and how she would react to it would be interesting.
Those were bullshit excuses and Dr. Gold probably knew that as well as Belle did, but at least he relented.
"Really, you can have it."
Ruby looked down at the toy as she placed her burger on the table and wiped her hands on her gown before Belle could think about offering tissue. There was another glance at Belle, again asking for permission.
"It's yours."
After looking around and glancing at the camera one more time, Ruby picked up the stuffed lion and brought it close to her face. She looked like she was sniffing it, then she brought it to her face and rubbed her cheek against it. Her eyes closed for a moment as she relished the softness of the toy and the texture of the lion's little mane.
A smile was taking form on Ruby's face now as she looked at Belle and put the toy down on the table.
"You're welcome." Belle smiled back.
The smile spread wider and it struck Belle how much younger Ruby looked and how she deserved to be happy and full of life and love instead of trapped here in this prison full of horror and pain and sadness.
Ruby brought her attention back to the rest of the burger and scarfed down the last of it.
Remembering to finish up with her own, Belle continued eating it while thinking of other things to say. If only she could use Ruby's name and tell her about what they were planning to do, tell her that one day she wouldn't have to keep asking for permission or that one day she wouldn't have to always be wearing cuffs and a collar. If only she could tell Ruby that she mattered. That she was human and not the monster that she was so sure that she was.
The past was a tragedy and Belle could only imagine the guilt that Ruby carried.
But the answer wasn't years of torture and humiliation. There had to be something else. It was hard to figure out what that something else was. But Belle hoped there could be another solution. What Ruby did wasn't something that could be swept under the rug, but putting her through this wasn't right either.
"Do you like sweets?" Belle asked, trying to swallow back the train of thought.
Ruby looked up from playing with the lion's mane. She looked around again before nodding.
"How 'bout we have some dessert?" She had grabbed the M&M's from the nearest convenience store, hoping to comfort eat before driving home later but why not share it now? It was conveniently in the pocket of her labcoat and Dr. Gold hopefully wouldn't mind too much. "Let's share."
It was interesting to note that Ruby was squeezing the lion toy. Not hard, but enough to be noticeable, and Belle thought that could count as a small victory.
"Here." She brought out the pack and tore it open wide enough so they could both get from it. Belle helped herself and gestured for Ruby to do the same. "Go ahead. I have a feeling you haven't had much chocolate in a while."
With one hand still squeezing the lion, Ruby reached her other hand over to take a piece.
"Come on, 204," Belle just barely managed to avoid using Ruby's name. "Take like a whole handful. Open your palm, please."
Ruby turned her hand over and opened her palm.
Again, Belle tried not to wince at the scars. The skin was so twisted and mangled, it wasn't hard to imagine how often and how intensely Ruby used that coping method.
"Here." Hopefully she hadn't spent too much time staring at Ruby's hand. Belle focused on taking the bag of M&M's and pouring a good chunk of the pack into Ruby's palm. "Enjoy."
The expression on Ruby's face was still one of disbelief as she brought the chocolate over to herself.
And sniffed it.
"I know some people like to eat piece by piece." Belle said. "I know others who like to just drink it all. Which one are you?"
A sheepish smile came over Ruby's face just then, and she lifted her hand up to her mouth and showed that she was the type who drank her M&M's.
Belle found herself smiling and suppressing a laugh. "Okay, noted. Me, I'm kind of the type to eat just several pieces at a time."
Ruby licked her lips and moved her hand close to the M&M's, looking at Belle and silently asking for more.
"Go ahead, have the rest." Belle moved the pack closer to Ruby. "I can always buy more."
The wide eyes and open mouth on Ruby's face basically looked like What? Really?
"Really."
The excitement Ruby had was contagious and Belle found herself grinning ear to ear. Ruby took the pack and was definitely the type to drink her M&M's.
And Belle knew that she was going to do everything she could to give this person all the happiness and warmth she hadn't had in years. It was going to take patience and a whole lot of it, to work on giving Ruby back to herself. But if there was still something in her that could smile and drink her chocolate candy the way she was now, then maybe, just maybe, it was more than just possible that Ruby could heal from this.
They just had to get her out of here.
Note 2: Is this my longest chapter yet? I don't even know how that happened. WHEW.
Also gosh the stuffed lion happy meal toy. I NEED IT.
Not sure when I can update since I've got a somewhat busy weekend, and I also recently started a mentorship thing that should help me get on track with what i'm trying to do with my comic. So we'll see how things go. See y'all again soon!