POV
Alex/ human
Alex yawned as the morning sunlight pooled in through the window, brightening their room. They rubbed at their eyes sleepily and rolled over. Hmmm, too early, was the jumbled thought in their head. Should get some curtains. Or make them. But the sunlight was warm and bright, promising a good day to get out and get things done. And Alex was not one to waste a beautiful day. Best get a move on, they thought, stretching their arms over their head as they came fully awake.
They were up and ready to start to the day soon after. Alright then; time to get my house customized. Alex pulled their hoodie over their head as they made their plans for the day. And to see if Reneigh has time for another lesson today. And I still do need to pay off my debt. Alex frowned as they pulled the crumbled list out of the pocket of their shorts. It's been what? One week? Crazy how much has happened in that time. Folding it back up, they placed it back in their pockets and headed out.
Alex didn't see anyone as they walked along the path from their house to the village. But that didn't surprise them. Alex had noticed that many of the villagers, Zucker included, had a tendency to sleep later. Which was fine by them. Not that they minded his presence, but in these early morning hours in particular, it was not to be alone with their own thoughts. Hmm, I think I will swing by the beach to pick up shells to sell to Timmy and Tommy. Changing directions, Alex shoved their hands in their pockets. That seems to be a steady source of income for me at least. And then I will go back to chopping trees. Alex frowned as they walked along the beach. Hmm, I wonder if there is somewhere else I should be getting my wood from. I mean, I know they are trying to clear out the area around the village, but surely we shouldn't chop down all the trees. I should swing by Resident Services and ask at some point.
Alex walked along the beach, lazily watching the surf. They were becoming used to the familiar ache in their chest at this point. I wonder, they thought as the watched the foam rise and fall, if they are exaggerating the threat of being in the water? I mean, my boat is gone, even if I wanted to escape, it's not like I could swim all the way to the mainland. Surely it's fine to just go partly in. Alex realized that they had stopped moving, and were standing, staring at the glittering ocean. They shook their head to dispel the spell that it seemed to put on them. Maybe, but it's best not to chance it. Besides, I have a reminder of what happened last time after all. Alex shot a glance down at their leg. I should get back to the village. Best to avoid temptation.
As Alex walked over to Nook's Cranny, they idly glanced to see if Raymond or any of the others were in the Plaza area. While none of the island regulars were there, it wasn't empty. There was a young woman standing there. She was dressed smartly, with a black shirt, white pants, and blue jacket with an orange gingham scarf tired around her neck. She had white sunglasses perched on her head. Like Reneigh, she was sporting makeup as well, with blue eye shadow and dark, expertly drawn winged eyeliner. She wasn't looking at them; her focus was on the clipboard in her hands. Even with the makeup though, there was no hiding the family resemblance. Not to mention the purple-tinted spines in her hair.
A smile broke out on Alex's face. Ah ha! The missing sister. Alex was pleased that they had at least solved that particular puzzle. What is she doing out here though? Alex noticed that she had a rolling suitcase and a travel bag with her. Surely, she isn't a "Visitor"… But that's exactly what it looked like. She had some kind of long, white jacket draped over the suitcase. The way her eyes stayed in the clipboard, combined with how tightly she was gripping it, gave the impression she wasn't too thrilled about being here.
Alex's hand dropped off the handle of Nook's Cranny. Well, I won't get any answers just standing here. "Um, Hello," Alex said timidly, giving a small wave as they walked over. She jumped and turned to them, startled.
"Oh, hello. I didn't see you there." She cleared her throat nervously.
"Hi." Alex glanced at the name pinned on their jacket. "You're Labelle?" Alex pronounced it as if it would rhyme with Sable and Mabel.
She winced though. "No, it's Labelle. Emphasis on the second syllable." She fidgeted slightly with the clipboard. "I'm not sure if you've heard of me…"
"Nope," Alex shook their head. "Pleased to meet you though." They tried to read the clipboard upside down. "So what do you do? You're a Visitor right?"
"Oh," She brightened slightly. "Oh, okay then. Well, I'm from Redd co., but it's not like that," she said hurriedly. "I know everyone here doesn't want anything to do with Redd co., but they can't exist completely independent. They still need help. You need still need help. I mean look at us," She gestured at Alex and herself. "We're genetic experiments! Who knows what will happen as time goes by. I mean, you don't even have a real doctor here."
"Well, Blathers is here," Alex said slowly, But Labelle was already shaking her head before they could finish.
"He means well, he really does. But he's not trained in the medical field. We are talking brand new science here. Now I know you don't like it, but Dr. Shrunk (and his associates) are the best doctors to care for you. But I understand that you don't want to go back to…Them…for your medical needs, so I come here instead. Think of me as a traveling nurse. I'm here to give basic first aid and to help monitor the health of the residents living here."
"Well, that's good, I guess." Alex said slowly, filling the name of Dr. Shrunk away for later. "I mean, if you really are trying to help them—us." Alex hurriedly corrected.
"Of course," she sniffed, apparently too offended by Alex's statement to notice the slip. "I don't want anyone to get any more hurt then they are already are. Even if no one else believes it," the last bit was mumbled so quietly Alex had to strain to hear her. But she quickly brightened.
"In fact, I wonder if maybe you might help me with a little medical exercise. It's just a questionnaire and survey: it's nothing invasive." Her enthusiasm reminded Alex of a certain blue-spined shop keeper.
"Sure. Fire away."
"Great." She pulled a pen out from behind her ear. "First, let's get your name. What do you go by?"
"Alex," they said simply. Alex didn't see a reason to lie to her about it. Many of the other villagers only went by one name. Besides, they had already told it to Leif.
"Perfect. How long have you been living here?"
"You need the exact days?" Alex asked uncertainly.
"No, just an estimate."
"Okay, less than a month then. It is an estimate. Technically.
"Really?" She looked up at them in interest. "I guess that explains why I don't remember seeing you here before. But you seem really…at ease. Most newcomers aren't this calm around me until they reach their 6 month mark." Alex gave a non-committal shrug in response.
"Okay, then, so have you developed any physical abnormalities since coming to the island. Like increase in feathers, or scales, or fur. Or appendages," she added.
"That can happen?!" Alex asked in interest.
"Well, no, not really. We just want to be sure though. So I guess the answer is 'no'." He marked it down in response to Alex's nod.
"Alright, what does your diet mainly consist of here on the island?"
"Well, I get my weekly rations from Mr. Nook, and whatever else Timmy and Tommy sell in the store."
"Yes, but is it mainly meat, vegetables, fruit…?"
"All the above. You know…regular, human stuff." Alex bit down on their slight smirk.
"Good to know. Do have you have any strong urges or instincts that you didn't have previously?"
"Like what?"
"Um, like when you see an insect, do you have a sudden desire to eat it?"
"Ewww, no," Alex laughed. "Oh, sorry, I forgot you're a hedgehog. Do you have that?"
"Absolutely not," She said tight-lipped.
"But aren't hedgehog insectivores—?"
"Alex," she said gently but firmly, "let's not get distracted. We are talking about you."
"Sorry," Alex said again, trying to bite back their giggles.
"Great." She turned to the travel bag, and pulled a pair of gloves out. She gestured at Alex's leg as she pulled them on. "I see you injured yourself. Do you mind if I take a quick look?"
Oops. "Um, I would rather not." Alex turned slightly, putting their bad leg behind them.
"Oh, I'm not going to hurt you," she said as she moved closer, to Alex's unease. "I just want to check to make sure it isn't infected—"
"Don't talk to her, Alex," a clipped voice interrupted her. Alex turned to see Raymond standing there, arms crossed. For once his angry stare wasn't directed at them though, his narrowed eyes stayed focused on Labelle. His tail swished moodily behind him, and his ears were turned slightly back.
"Why?" Alex asked skeptically.
"Because she is a bootlicking traitor," Alex could hear the undercurrent of resentment in his voice. "She used to be one of us, until she went crying back to Redd co., begging for a job so she could leave the island."
Labelle's cheeks colored slightly at the accusation, but she was quick to defend. "That's not how it was! I—" She clamped her mouth shut with an angry shake of her head, causing her spines to rattle slightly. "I don't know why I keep trying to argue the point with you. You will never understand; you and Sable both."
Alex was surprised at the venom which twisted through her words when she said her sister's name. "You don't like Sable? I thought you were her sister?" Alex let their tone turn their statement into a question."
"No, I am. It's just…I mean, look what she did." She gestured to herself. "I couldn't stay here, Raymond. I'm not like my sister; I have to do something."
"What do you mean?" Alex hurriedly interjected, before Raymond could continue to argue the point.
Labelle turned to look at Alex, with something borderline of surprise. "You must be new, if you haven't heard about Sable's 'lost' sister. Well," she took a steadying breathe. "Sable was always protective of me, and especially Mabel. Part of that was because our parents died when we were all pretty young. I was thirteen and Mabel—dear Mabel—was only eight, but Sable was eighteen, just barely old enough to get custody of Mabel and me. Even before we ended up here, Mabel didn't really remember our parents too well. For her, Sable was her mother.
"However, I handled it about as well as you would think a young teenager would. It didn't help that I felt like I lost my sister too. I felt like she was trying to replace Mom. Looking back, I could have been better for her. She was just trying her best to be our guardian and trying to run our parent's shop all on her own.
I don't know what she would have done if Tom—that is, Mr. Nook— didn't stick around to help her. They were supposed to go off to college together. He was going into business to open his own store, and I think Sable originally intended to be his business partner (no matter what the other gossip said). All that planning got chucked out the window however, when my parents died. He stayed back a year, to help get my parents' finances in order. I think he was the reason we were able to keep the shop after all.
He couldn't stay forever though; whatever he felt for my sister wasn't strong enough to keep him with her. Tom eventually went to the big city to chase his dream, but Sable was now content to stay in our little town to run the family business. I think she needed it; it was home and a piece of our family and all that.
But I'm not Sable. I didn't want to stay there, and I couldn't see how my sister had given up on her dream either. There was no way I was giving up on mine. I wasn't content to stay in our small town, making clothing items for just the locals. I wanted to go to the big city, and become a world famous fashion designer. I left as soon as I could, and was doing pretty well on my own by the way. I was busy working in a shop, and was on my way up in the fashion industry. Suddenly, about three years ago, I get a frantic call from Sable out of the blue.
There was an accident, and Mabel was hurt. Really hurt. Sable sounded terrible; I hadn't heard her sound that scared in a long time. I understood why. She was scared that she was going to lose Mabel in the same way we lost our parents. She wanted me to drop everything and get on the first flight and come down (which I did, I might add. No matter how she feels about me now, I did come). What was weird was that they weren't at our regular hospital; they were at some new medical facility.
Mabel needed to undergo some new treatment to save her. I never could get a straight answer on what needed to be done. The doctor just caught saying that he needed two donors: me and Sable. I tried to find out what exactly was supposed to happen. I don't think even Sable knew. But she was half listening anyway; she was so desperate to save Mabel. I think she would have signed her soul away if it meant she would live. "It's Tom's company," was what she kept telling me, whenever I would ask questions. 'It's fine, Label. It's Tom.' I found out much later that she hadn't even talked to Tom Nook, that she hadn't even gotten ahold of him. She just thought that because it was 'Tom's company' then of course everything would be fine." She rolled her eyes. "And we can see how that turned out.
"After the…procedure…as soon as saw my new appearance in the mirror, I knew that my life was ruined. I could never be a fashion designer, looking like this. I was so close too, I was getting ready to start my own brand," she clutched the clipboard to her chest. "All of it, gone. And there was nothing to be done about it.
"And poor Mabel. It's ironic, I guess, that it affected her the worst. What memories she had of our parents are gone. Not to mention how she looks. Sable didn't seem to mind though. Through everything, she just clung to the idea that as long as we each had each other, then it would somehow turn out alright.
"Eventually, we ended up here." Her tone turned bitter. "And la-de-dah, guess who else was here? Her old flame: Tom Nook. So in her mind it all worked out. She still had her shop (even if it was now slightly different), we were all together again, and her old "friend" was here as well. Everything was just…fine.
"She didn't care that my life was ruined. That we were ruined. She was content to just 'make the most of it' and just carry on. Poor, sweet Mabel didn't even realize what she had lost."
"I couldn't live like this. I couldn't just give up. There had to be something I could do, some way for me to undo my sister's mistake. There has to be a way for me to…to go back to how I used to be." She turned her pleading eyes to Raymond. "You see, right? I couldn't stay here, I just couldn't. The hopelessness…I couldn't stand it. I had to just get out," she managed to say as her eyes filled up with tears.
"Even if it meant going back to Them," Raymond said harshly, apparently unmoved by her display of emotion. "The very people who did this to you, you would go back to them and—"
"If it means finding a way out of this nightmare, then yes" she exploded cutting him off. "I have to do something, Raymond! I have to keep moving forward." She rubbed at her eyes angrily, before her makeup had a chance to be ruined.
"Are you though?" Raymond's eyes narrowed. "Why do you call yourself 'Labelle,' instead of your real name 'Label'?"
She absently fidgeted with her clipboard, a habit Alex noticed Mabel must have picked up on. "It's just a name. It doesn't really—"
"Why?" She winced at his persistence.
"He didn't want me to be part of the rhyming set," she said quietly, not meeting his eyes. "He said if I was truly loyal to Redd co., then I would change it. He wanted me to prove I was different from my sisters.
But I haven't abandoned them!" She continued quickly, not allowing Raymond to get a word in. "I—I'm still trying to help. I only work with Them so I can find a way to change us back. There has to be a cure or…or…or something."
Raymond laughed humorously. "You think there is a cure for this?" he pointed at his own set of animal ears.
"There has to be something. There has to be. I won't give up," she insisted.
"Well, you should." Raymond took Alex's arm. "You should at least give up on coming back. No one wants you here. Come on, Alex." Completely ignoring Alex's protest, he began to drag them away.
"That seemed a little harsh, Raymond" Alex said as they were pulled along.
"It wasn't though." He gave them a narrowed-eyed look. "You aren't off the hook either, by the way. What were you thinking, talking to her?"
"It's not like I knew who she was. I could tell she was Sable and Mabel's sister, so I wanted to meet her."
"So you just thought that because she is their sister, then that makes her okay?" Raymond rolled his eyes, "You really are kinda stupid, you know that? Come on then. If you are so nosy about their family drama, you should just ask them directly."
Before Alex could protest, he pushed the Able Sisters shop door open, and pulled Alex in. "Hey, Alex, Raymond!" Mabel gave them an enthusiastic greeting as always. "What can I do for you today?"
"Alex has a question." Raymond said simply. He dropped Alex's arm and stepped back, allowing them to be the center of attention.
"Sure, what about?" Mabel turned to Alex with a smile.
"Um, well," Alex fidgeted slightly, not sure how to start this. It's not like I was trying to pry on purpose. But Raymond was standing by the door, arms crossed with a look that said he wasn't going to let them out of this. "There is a Visitor here today, and I couldn't help noticing—because she is a hedgehog too—that she—"
Mabel gasped slightly. "Labelle is here today?" She asked slightly hushed.
"Her name is Label." Sable said, as the machine abruptly cut off.
Mabel turned back to Sable "She wants to go by Labelle now, Sabes. We have to respect that."
"No, her name—her real name—is Label. She only changed it because He made her."
"You two are never going to make up, if you can't even—"
"Who says that I even want to make up with her?"
Mabel eyes started to water. "She is still our sister, no matter what!"
Sable didn't look up from her work. "Our sister is gone, Mabel. The sooner you accept that, the better. It will hurt less."
Mabel sniffed and looked down at her feet. "I'm not fighting with you about this again," she told the floor. She wiped at her eyes. "Oh, I just remembered I have to go ask Timmy something; be right back!" before Sable could abject, she scurried out the door, and in the direction of Nook's Cranny.
Which also happened to be the direction of the Plaza as well.
"I wish you won't tell Mabel when…She…comes to visit." Sable said quietly, into the sudden silence. "Mabel is conflicted on the whole thing."
Alex winced. "So…what she said is true? She implied that there was a rift between you two."
Sable gave a quick, humorless laugh. But resting her arms on the table, she finally looked up at Alex. "She only 'implied' that. Wow, she must be starting to forgive me."
Alex walked over to her and perched on the edge of one of the counters next to one of the mannequin heads. "Weeelllll, she might have said it a bit more forcefully then that." Alex hesitated before continuing. "She blames you for why you all are here."
Sable gave a deep sigh. "In that…she is correct." She shook her head. "It is my fault. Tom—I mean, Mr. Nook—and I were close friends when we were younger. However, he was destined for success, everyone back home knew it. He was kind enough to stay back from school that first awful year to help me, when it felt like everything was falling apart. I don't know how I would have managed without him. He kept me sane while I tried to get everything in order after my parents' death. But it was killing him, to continue to stay in that small town. I knew it, everyone knew it, and I think even he knew it, he was just didn't want to abandon me. No matter what I felt, I had to let him go…
"He promised when he got on that train, that he would keep in touch. And I really think he meant it, he really did. But his world was so much bigger, brighter, and faster. And we just grew apart. I still kept up with him though," she giggled slightly. "I even cut out the newspaper articles about him and kept them in a scrapbook. How silly is that?"
"Oh, I don't know," Alex smiled at her. "You just really cared about him. I think it's sweet."
Sable smiled softly at the memory. "It was a silly schoolgirl thing to do. But we really were close. I think he rubbed off on Label in that way. He was around a lot when she was young girl because…well…we were…"
"Friends?" Alex said with a smile.
"Hush, you. You are as bad as Mabel," but she chuckled softly. "And yes, that was all we ever were. Officially. But I think he was what inspired Label to go chasing after her dreams as well.
"And I think that was what scared me so much originally. Tom had left me, and now Label wanted to as well, being drawn away with the lure of the big city. It terrified me.
"But she isn't like me," Sable's voice turned more pensive, as she idly traced a pattern in the cloth she has been working on with a clawed finger. "She isn't continent to just stay at home. I'm a homebody; I know I am. But I'm happy in my quiet little corner of the world. I think it would drive Label—and Tom too, for that matter— mad.
"But, like Tom, she made a name for herself. She went off to school, got a job, and honestly, she was really doing well for herself, for all of my worrying. She really was doing just fine," she hesitated slightly. "They both were doing just fine…without me."
"Through it all, I always had Mabel though," she brightened as she mentioned her youngest sister. "Mabel was a lot like me. She was satisfied to stay home with me, and that suited me just fine.
"But then there was the accident," she stated with a shudder. "It was horrible. I felt like it was that first awful year all over again. She was dying, and the doctors didn't know what to do, and they just told me to 'prepare.' How do you prepare for something like that?"
"I was already following Tom's company, so I knew that it was changing directions, going more in the field of medical science. Which didn't really seem like Tom, but he always seemed to know what he was doing. So I assumed that because it had Tom's name on it, then it was safe.
"I tried calling him, but we hadn't actually spoken in so long, I wasn't surprised when I couldn't get ahold of him. But there was this one doctor who was different from all the others, in that he gave me something else no one else had: he gave me hope. He said that he thought that they could save Mabel; he just needed a donor to do it. Once I mentioned I had another sister, he was sure of it.
"Label was more reluctant. She kept trying to ask questions and find out exactly what was supposed to happen. But Mabel was running out of time, and Label normally moved so fast, why was she choosing now to slow down? She eventually signed all the papers, not because she wanted to, but because I pushed her to."
After…it…was all over, I was horrified. I honestly had no idea what would happen, and I certainly didn't expect this." She flicked her fingers towards herself. "Label was furious when I finally told her the awful truth; that I didn't really know what would happen. She said things—screamed them in my face—things best left not repeated. But there was nothing to be done about it now anyway. What was done was done, and that was all there was to it. But, at least I had succeeded in saving Mabel. And we were all alive and together.
"Label didn't see it that way. We stopped fighting over it though, because Mabel was under the assumption that it was her fault. The one thing Label and I could agree on was that Mabel was not to blame in this. We lived altogether for a time. But I knew Label was unhappy, but I just didn't know how to make it better.
"I never dreamed she would be back to Them. I don't think she really disliked the thought of staying on the island; it was the thought of staying on the island with me. No matter how many times I apologized, I don't think she ever fully forgave me. I don't think she ever fully got over it. I just never once thought that her dislike of me would drive her back to Them. I had no idea that she had been talking to Slider about it, until she just disappeared with him. That was a while ago now."
"Yes," Raymond nodded in agreement. "It was before I arrived here."
"Wait a minute," Alex haft-turned to look at him. "If she left before you even got here, why do you dislike her so?"
"Because she represents…" he paused, collecting his thoughts, "He didn't even want her back; she begged him to take her back. Unlike the rest of the Visitors, she was one of us first. She lived here, and worked alongside the other villagers. She ran the shop with her sisters. She had friends here. And she shrew all that away, practically spit in everyone's face about it. She represents what Mr. Redd wants me to do."
"Mr. Redd…" Alex repeated loosely, thinking over that information. Sounds like I can assume he is the one in charge of Redd co. "He wants you to work for him? Why?"
"Doesn't matter." He shook his head. "Not gonna happen. Besides, it's worse that she works for Shrunk."
"Who's Shrunk?"
"Oh, that's right; I forget you aren't supposed to know this stuff." Raymond smirked at Alex's annoyed expression. "He is the head doctor over the Project. He is the one mainly responsible for the experiments. Redd may be the one orchestrating this whole thing, but Shrunk is the tool he is using."
"And Labelle chose to work for him? Why?"
"Like I said, she begged for a chance to go back. She didn't care how low she had to sink to do it (no offense)," he added with a look at Sable.
"No, I agree with you there," she sighed. "I can't imagine working with that…mad scientist in his creations. I can't see how she can either. I know I was reckless in trusting him, but I never would have called Label if I had known what he intended. Even to save Mabel," she said that last part softly. "But now that I know, I'm not going back to him. I was tricked. Label knew, and still went back. She made choice. She chose their side over ours. Now she has to live with the consequences."
"She said she wants to help everyone here," Alex said hesitantly. "She wants to find a cure."
"She says whatever she needs to say to help herself sleep at night. She wants to find a cure, because that is what she feels like she needs. She can't accept that this is her new life."
"I think she is really trying to help though," Alex disagreed quietly.
Sable gave a tired sigh again. "I know she thinks that. But that doesn't change the fact that she is working with those…horrid people. I can't imagine hurting other people like that."
Raymond shuddered. "And they think we are the monsters…"
POV
Labelle/hedgehog
At the sound of footsteps running in her direction, Labelle tensed and turned quickly. Seeing it was her younger sister though, she hurriedly dropped the clipboard on the rolling suitcase to better catch her in a hug.
Mindful of her spines, Mabel wrapped her arms around her sister in a fierce hug. "I miss you," she said, pressing her cheek against Label's shoulder, which was higher than normal because of her stylish high-heels. "I'm so glad to see you."
"Aw, thanks, Mabes." Labelle tightened her arms in a quick squeeze. "I miss you too. And I'm glad someone is glad to see me," she laughed humorlessly.
"We all are." Mabel insisted. "You know you can always come back."
As if, thought Labelle sadly. But she was happy to see her baby sister, and she wasn't going to spoil it. She pulled back slightly, so she could get a better look at her. "So how have you been? You doing okay?" She lightly tucked a stray hair behind Mabel's ear.
"Oh, yes. Everything has been great. We got some new fabric in. It's so pretty." Labelle loved the way Mabel's eyes shone as she talked. "I bet you could make something so stylish with it. Very chic."
"Bet you could too. Have you convinced our older-but-wiser sister to let you have a chance on her precious sewing machine yet?"
Mabel giggled conspiratorially. "Of course not. You know how protective she is of that old machine."
"Oh, believe me, I know." Labelle said with a roll of her eyes. "So…anything exciting happen lately?"
"Hmmm, no. Not really." Mabel said, but suddenly her eyes couldn't meet hers. Something Mabel had done sense she was little when she was lying. "You?"
"Mabel," Labelle said gently. "This is every important. There may be a trespasser on the island. Have you seen anyone that you don't recognize, who acts different?"
Mabel was staring hard at the ground, fidgeting with her apron strings. "No…"
Labelle took both of her paws—hands—in hers. "You've seen them? Mabel, they aren't with us," she hissed quietly. "They could be dangerous."
"But they aren't though." Mabel mumbled.
"You don't know that," Labelle insisted. "Look, where are they? I need to—"
"No!" Labelle was startled at the harsh and firm tone to Mabel's outburst. "You'll…" she continued softly, and Labelle hated hearing the tremor in her voice. "You'll take them away."
Labelle bent down slightly to try to see into her sister's eyes. "Mabel, I don't want them to get hurt, but I don't want you to get hurt either. I'm not going to have you be in any danger. Please, Mabes just tell me where they are."
"No," Mabel repeated softly. "I won't." When she finally raised her eyes to meet hers, Labelle was surprised again at the quiet fire in them. "And I don't want to talk about it anymore. If you don't drop it, I'll go." Trying to let go of her sister's hands, Mabel started to turn away.
"Don't. Mabel, don't." Labelle held on tightly—so tightly. "Don't turn from me too." I already lost Sable. I can't lose you too. "I'll drop it. So…how is everyone doing? What's the latest island gossip?"
()-()
Labelle didn't stay as long as the others Visitors. Mabel eventually had to get back to the shop, and no one else came by to see her. But honestly, that wasn't too much of a surprise. She radioed in to report that she was ready to return to the mainland in the early evening. Besides, there was something she wanted to check up on back at the Facility.
She was brought back to the docks at the Facility, which was the main building of the Project. It contained the docks, parking garage, offices, and the Lab of the Project. It was on the outskirts of the city, nowhere near the main offices of Red Biotech. The private dock of the Facility was covered, so the company could load and unload the several boats docked there in peace. There were the smaller boats, used by the hybrids to get to the island, plus the much larger ones used to transport goods and supplies and…"friends"…to the island. The guard stayed close to her as she walked up the docks toward the parking garage. She and the other Redd co. hybrids might be loyal to the company, but Mr. Redd had no intention of letting them travel on their own. He kept his personal hybrids on a very short leash.
"Wait here, your ride—hey, where are you going?" the guard interrupted himself as she walked deeper towards the Facility, the clicking of her high heels echoing in the large space.
"I want to check something real quick. I won't be long." She left her bags at the junction to the parking garage while she continued on towards the elevators. While waiting for it to arrive, she pulled on her white lab coat and attached her ID card to the front of it. With a soft chime, elevators opened to allow her to descend deeper inside of the Facility. High heels clicking, she scanned her badge at each door, allowing her deeper into it. Finally she made it into the main Lab section. She glanced at the time on her watch. It was getting late by now, so most of the doctors and techies had already left for the evening. She booted up a computer and pulled up the files she wanted.
Yup, I was right. She thought as she flipped through them. There is no "Alex" listed anywhere in the last six months. In fact, she opened her parameters. There is no "Alex" at all. Hmm, they must have picked a new name. She changed the setting and ran the physical features that they had seen of Alex as well through it. But even then, the search results turned up negative.
Turning it off, she went back upstairs. She saw her guard from the docks had a friend now, and he(?) was waiting by the car to take her from the Facility to where she stayed with the other Redd co. hybrids. Label had never seen the guards' faces; they were always dressed in the same black body armor. She wasn't even sure that it was a different face under each of those facemasks. The first guard had a tablet out; he must have been watching her through the cameras. "You find what you were looking for?" he asked simply.
"Sorta. But I'm ready to go now."
The second guard just nodded and opened the door for her. Pulling her bags in behind her, she got in the car. She looked out the tinted glass as he drove. This was the only chance she got to see the outside world. The Facility was located in the seedier part of town—no surprise there—next to the warehouses and ports. The House where all the hybrids lived was located outside the city limits, in an old mansion. Nook Incorporated must have purchased it and surrounding land intent on expanding the company father outside the city. Of course, with Mr. Nook's new circumstances, the old building was once again abandoned. Mr. Redd had decided to repurpose it as the home for his ow personal hybrids. None of them wanted to stay at the Lab, obviously. The House was supposed to be some kind of reward, in that they had a greater amount of freedom then the rejects on the island. A large fence topped with barbed wire surround the old property, including the House and several other abounded structures on it. Slider had quickly claimed a section for a gym, and Leif had dipped the old green house, but the remaining hybrids had quickly claimed any of the other rooms in the House for their own use. Most of the rooms were still unused though. She was suppressed at first that there wasn't more security. But she was pretty sure that their badges—the ones that they were supposed to keep with them at all times—were tagged with trackers. She wouldn't be surprised if Mr. Redd had them all personally tagged as well. Besides, they had all heard stories of what had happened to those who had tried to escape.
Mr. Redd seemed to take it personally when one of "his" hybrids tried to leave. It was a greater offense then when the islanders tried to escape. Not only were you kicked out of the Company to the island, but the Lab worked you over before finally letting you go. And the one thing the Redd co. hybrids agreed with the island hybrids on was that no one wanted to end up back there if they could help it.
The car pulled up to the front of the House and, grabbing her bags, she opened the door. "Goodnight," she called politely as she got out. Just because she worked with Redd co., was no reason to lose her good manners in her opinion. She walked up the stars, to the front door and went inside.
()-()
Leif looked up from where he was lounging on the window seat as Labelle walked inside the house. All of the current Redd co. hybrids were hanging out in the main common room. That had turned out to be the norm after one of them visited the island. Whoever went would update the others on any progress of this human that they were supposed to find. Slider didn't have any leads from when he went—but that wasn't surprising—and Daisy only spent half her day off there, so she didn't see anything out of the ordinary either. Leif was there just so see if anyone was making more progress than he had.
She glanced around, surprised, as she entered, dragging her suitcase behind her. "Oh. You are all here already?" Her surprise was valid; all the hybrids were reluctant to be around her, and Leif could understand way. It wasn't just the white Lab coat around her shudders that put them all on edge; the small of antiseptic seemed to cling to her. It didn't matter that she was a hybrid like them; she was clearly on the side of the scientists. But that wasn't enough for them to ostracize her from their current mission.
"Yes," Slider sat up a little straighter. "Did you make any headway?"
"Sorta. Maybe? No official word on the human." Leif kept his smirk off his face. "But I met a new person I have never seen before. Does anyone know of an Alex?"
Leif kept his surprise off his face, as the others all gave some kind of negative response. Of all the idiotic…he quietly seethed. How stupid do you have to be—? But Celeste was already talking.
"If you have never seen them, then they must not be a hybrid." Celeste said pointedly.
Label shook her head. "Not necessary. Contrary to what you all think, I don't work that closely with Shrunk." Someone made a grunt of disbelief, but Leif couldn't tell from his angle who had made it.
"What were they: cat, dog, deer…?" Slider cut in before Label could continue her defense.
Labelle was glaring at someone on her left, but she still answered Slider's question. "None that I could see. They were wearing a hoodie though. Oh, and their leg was bandaged. That matches the SEAGULL's description. "
Leif tuned out rest of the conversation, annoyed. If Alex is going around, talking to all the hybrids, one of them is going to piece it together soon enough. They will have enough proof to go to Redd co. about them first, before me. His eyes narrowed at that thought. I have will have to speed up my timeframe, and see about going back sooner. I wonder if someone would—
"Um, excuse me," a timid voice spook up firmly. All eyes turned to look at him. It was newest of all the hybrids, a small cream-colored squirrel. His brown eyes flickered cautiously around to everyone—trying to gauge the atmosphere of the room—but he didn't back down. "Who are you talking about?"
"Nothing that concerns you." Slider said evenly. His tone wasn't friendly but wasn't hostile either. Leaf knew why. As Mr. Redd's current favorite, they didn't want the new hybrid to carry tales of how they were doing back to his patron. "Don't worry about it."
"Ya, Marshal," snapped Leif moodily, "mind your own business."
POV
Marshal/squirrel
Two years ago
Marshal hummed to the tune in his earbuds as he stirred his cookie dough. He loved working here, at the Roost. Marshal loved this old café. It had always been around, at least in his mind. He used to come here with his parents when he was little, the soft golden glow of the café promising warm goodies. He would love to stand on his tiptoes to see into the display case—his breathe fogging up the glass in front of his face— to admire all of the colorful sweats and treats. In the winter, he would be given a cup of hot chocolate to keep his hands and body warm. He would sit between his parents, happily sipping his drink, basking in the warmth of the old place.
Of course, time changes all that. As he got older, the display case lost some of its magic, and the cups of hot chocolate didn't seem quite so rewarding. But that old café still had a special place in his heart. It seemed to be a common thread in his childhood. It was there from his preschool days all the way through elementary and middle school.
It even was there through his parent's very messy and somewhat volatile divorce.
Maybe that was why he started hanging out there so often after school as he got older. It seemed quiet and peaceful, so different from what home was now. He saved some money from his allowance, and tried to buy a cup of hot chocolate after school as often as he could. It was a familiar taste of happier times now, and just something he could cling to as he felt like his life was falling apart. It seemed in his parent's attempt to screw each other over, they seemed to forget how much they were tearing everything apart.
Tearing him apart. He stared at the cup of hot chocolate in his hands. They seemed to forget that he wasn't just another asset to be divided up with everything else. They both seemed intent on keeping him, like he was some kind of prize. They don't really want me," he thought sadly, blinking back tears. They just don't want each other to have me.
His thoughts were interrupted as a cloth was loosely tossed over to him, lightly landing on the side of his head. He looked up to see the old owner—Mr. Brewster, he remembered—was looking at him. Well, Marshal assumed the older man was looking at him. He couldn't see his eyes very well, with the light reflecting off his glasses like that. He was wiping the inside of some of his mugs. "If you are going to make a habit of being here every day, you might as well get some work done." He gestured at the cloth. "Here. You can bus the tables."
Marshal blinked. Looked down at the cloth. Looked back up at him. What? The old man just raised an eyebrow. "You hear me, kid? Get to it."
More surprised than anything, Marshal got to it. Besides, he didn't have anything else to do, and it would delay the inevitable trip home. He wiped down the tables and returned to the counter. "Um, here you go."
"Thanks." He continued to wipe his mug. "Next cup will be on the house."
"Oh, um. Okay. Thanks." Marshal stood there uncertainly, watching the older gentleman.
"Don't you have homework?" He asked after a minute.
"Um, yes, Sir."
"Well…" he prompted.
Marshal went back to his seat and sat down, pulling out his texts. He's so weird, was his thought as he got to work. But it was the start of a percular kind of friendship. Marshal would stop by everyday after school, to wipe down tables and counters, and to bring to dirty cups and plates to the back. If anyone asked, he did it for the free hot chocolate, but that was simply his excuse. He became a regular fixture in the café; the kid parked off to the far side of the counter, his textbooks spread out around him as he worked. The café become his solace from the madness that seemed to grip his home. As he got older, the textbooks got thicker, and the chores got harder. But he didn't mind. Mr. Brewster—or just "Brewster", as he ended up just being called— started to pay him—in cash, mind you—as his chores increased. An arrangement that suited Marshal just fine. He had no intent on leaving anytime soon.
When he was finally old enough, the café become his first job too. Brewster sat him down and helped him fill out the proper paperwork to become an official employee. Now Marshal was allowed to make the customer's orders. Of course, he knew most of the regulars by this point and they knew him. He was so proud of his first satisfied customers. He loved the art that was making coffee. The skill that went into a good cup of joe.
It seemed only natural that he became one of Brewster's top employees. He truly loved his job. No one was suppressed when Marshal decided to major in business, once he finished high school. Brewster worked with his schedule, allowing him to attend his classes and to still work part-time.
Opening up the oven, Marshal traded his tray of raw cookie dough with the ones that needed to come out of the oven. He washed up the dirty utensils and bowls while they cooled. After wrapping up his earbuds, he finally placed the fresh cookies on a plate and brought them to the front section of the café. He was slightly startled to see two professionally dressed gentlemen sitting at one of the tables in the corner. One of them he recognized as one of their semi-regulars. The other one was smartly dressed, obviously a high-end client. Keeping his eyes on them, he shuffled over to his coworker. "Hey, Sally, who is that?" He asked, with a jerk of his head toward them.
She didn't bother to look up. "You mean Mr. Anderson's guest? No idea."
Hmmmm. "Did he order anything?"
She gave a snort as she poured water over two glasses of ice. "Of course not." That wasn't a surprise; businessmen often came to the café to conduct interviews or meetings in the more relaxed and informal atmosphere. They simply ordered glasses of water, but nothing else. It was annoying, but not really worth the trouble to bother them about it.
Marshal eyed the new gentleman another few seconds as Sally finished pouring the drinks, before taking both glasses and putting them on a tray. "Hey! What are you doing?" She asked in surprise.
"He is part of a large corporation. You can tell just by looking at his suit's cut and make. He has expense tastes, Sally," he explained as he slipped a sample of the still-warm cookies he had just pulled from the oven on to the tray as well. "Come on, you know how good it would be for the café if we had a couple of high-end regulars. Besides," he added with a wink, "aren't you a little nosy?" Before Sally could protest, he backed out the door separating the counter area from the rest of the café. He slapped on his professional smile as he walked over to the table.
"Excuse me, my fine Sirs, I brought your order over." He placed the water on the table, followed by the plate of cookies.
The new gentleman gave Marshal a look. "We didn't order those."
"Yes, Sir. It's a commentary sample. To go with your drink."
The same gentleman raised an eyebrow. "Cookies with water?"
"Weeelllll," Marshal dragged out, "they probably would pair better with one of our signature drinks. Might I recommend—"
"Please ignore him," Mr. Anderson cut in, talking to his client. "He's trying to upsell you." He made a 'shoo' motion with his hand. "You can go."
"Hold on," the first gentleman kept his eyes on Marshal. "I can always appreciate a good sales pitch. So, where are you going with this?"
"Well," Marshal continued, despite Mr. Anderson's annoyance, "due to the sweetness and chocolate flavoring of the cookie, I would suggest a more bitter drink to contradict it, such as a macchiato or cappuccino."
The gentleman was already shaking his head. "No, I never liked those. Too bitter for my taste. I can never find someone who makes it the way I like."
"That could be because you have never come to the Roost, Sir."
He chuckled, amused. "Well, you are not one to be at a loss for words or confidence. You think you are pretty good, don't you."
Marshal laughed, lightly. "You are correct, Sir; keeping my mouth shut has never been my strongest trait." He loosely spun the tray through his fingers. "And if you don't mind my saying so, I'm the best in the city."
"That's a rather bold statement," The gentleman leaned back slightly, giving Marshal a calculating look. "All right, my confident little barista, I'll make you a wager. If you make me a cup of coffee that I actually like, I will be more than happy to pay for it; otherwise, it's on the house."
"You got it!" Marshal agreed enthusiastically, just happy to have hooked his customer.
The gentleman paused. "You got a pen?"
"No, Sir," Marshal tapped the side of his head. "It's good for it. Hit me with it."
"Alright then. I want an extra wet cappuccino, almost no foam, with light vanilla syrup and lighter sweetener."
"Got it; be right back." Marshal flashed his customer another smile, before going back to his work area.
Sally watched as Marshal fired up the espresso machine. "What type of crazy order was that?"
"A fussy one." While the expresso dripped down, he poured the milk and popped it under the steamer.
"Hey, I thought he said he wanted a cappuccino." Sally asked while she watched him work. "What are you doing?"
"No, he doesn't, he only thinks he wants one. What he ordered was basically a latte."
"He said a cappuccino though," she repeated uncertainly.
"Gotta listen to my gut, Sally," Marshal said. "Trust the instincts."
Sally shrugged, "You're the boss, when the Boss is out." She backed off and let him have the space. She didn't comment when he added honey instead of the regular sweetener.
"Have a little faith, Sally," he said into her uneasy silence anyway. "Have some faith." Swirling the now-streamed—with next to no foam— milk in the metal jug with one hand, he picked up the mug containing the expresso, syrup flavoring, and honey with the other. "Alright, time to really impress."
Sally leaned over his shoulder as he poured the latte. Even with her misgiving, she still felt a smile tug at her lips. "Show off," she murmured.
"Hey, now. It's not showing off, if you really are that good." He laughed as he put the mug on the tray. "Don't worry; you'll be as good as me some day."
"Ya, when I'm old and wrinkly."
Marshal only laughed as he backed out the counter area, and walked over to his customer.
"Here you are, Sir. Enjoy." He placed the steamy mug on the table.
The gentleman looked down, and raised a skeptical eyebrow. "A squirrel? I don't think I have ever seen that design in the milk before."
"That would be because only the best can do it," Marshal gave a ready smile as he pushed up his barista visor. "It tastes even better than it looks too."
"I'll be the judge of that." He carefully took a sip of the drink and closed his eyes thoughtfully. Marshal idly spun the tray threw his fingers as he waited for him to give his verdict.
"Well, now," he said finally, as he tapped his lips thoughtfully, "color me impressed. And that is not something easily done." Causally reaching into his suit's front pocket, he pulled out a credit card and handed it to Marshal between two fingers. "Your claims just might be justified."
"Thank you, Sir." Marshal gave him a beaming smile as he took the card. "Enjoy your drink, Sir." Marshal flipped the credit card over as he went to the register. A Mr. Redd, huh? I hope I'll be seeing more of you around.
Author's Note
These last two months have been crazy, but it is just that time of year. I rushed this one a little bit, but it was either post it now or after the Holiday. I would rather post it now; I'll clean it up later. Overall, I am pretty happy with it.
The Able Sisters Backstory: I had a lot of fun altering their backstory to fit this. I tried to keep to the original as much as I could, but still adjusting it to this AU. Label and Sable represent two different approaches to the same problem. It will be fun to explore this in future chapters.
Also, while ships are not a significant part of this particular story, I would love to write a complete one-shot centered on Tom and Sable at some point. I love their sweet (but tragic) history.
The Animal Crossing 2.0 Update: Let's talk about the update! First of all, it is amazing, not to mention the extra DLC! But I'm not sure how much of the new content and features will change this story. I had already written Marshal working at the Roost, before it was announced that Brewster was coming to back. I wanted to include a barista character, and I had given up on Brewster coming back to the game. Marshal was chosen because his house is based on a coffee shop (at least in NH). It's weird to think about, but this story was started back around March of 2020. One of the reasons for the "don't get in the water" rule of the Island was because we couldn't go swimming until the July 2020 Update. So some things will probably change (I'm trying to see if I can work in Kapp'n), but I not sure how much. But that is part of what makes this story fun. In the words of Indiana Jones, "I'm making this up as I go."
Response to Reviewers!
Whomie: Wow, thanks for the amazing and detailed review. It is definitely a huge motivator! It is a huge boost to my writing.
I agree with your insight on how the use of the POV system has changed and improved slightly. It is crazy to think about, but this story is over a year old, and I have spent about 180+ hours on it. You do anything for that amount of time, and you are bound to get better at it. Writing is a skill-based art after all, and the more you do it, the better you get.
I am glad you like Zucker: He is one of my favorite characters, and I enjoy writing from his perspective. As you can probably tell, I use dialogue to move the story along as much as I can. In some cases what is not said is just as important as what is said. That and body language.
Good catch on Alex's flaws and qualities. You are correct Alex is extremely dedicated (which can also be considered just plain "stubbornness." You might catch some of my warning signs that this is going to become more of an issue later on). I want Alex to be a normal human as much as possible, and based on the backstory I have given them, some skills are going to take time to develop. Normal people aren't good at something, just to move the plot along.
As for your other questions…well, you are just going to have to wait and see. :)
Nikingki: ¡Muchas gracias por escribir su reseña! Me alegro de que esté disfrutando de mi (muy amplia) historia hasta ahora.
Thanks to everyone who is still following, liking, and reviewing this! It is the best holiday gift you can give, lol! Thank you all again.