A/N: Hello everyone! A quick apology, because I forgot to mention in last chapter's note that I would be on a vacation for a few days without my computer, so I'm writing this on my phone. As a make-up, here's a mini-chapter that takes place a month before the main events of the story! I know it's not super long, but I hope you enjoy it anyways! The next actual chapter will be published on Sunday!

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Humidity hung over the forest, surrounding the area in a blanket of steam and heat.

A wild deer standing next to log perked up when it noticed the wood suddenly melting into a puddle of rotted gunk on the ground. Panicking, the deer sprinted off deeper into the woods as a means of escape, moving just in time to avoid being rotted as well.

Trees zoomed by the mammal as it made its way further and further into the forest. But no matter how fast the deer ran, the surrounding trees turned to goo one after another, almost like the rot was following it. Life flashed before the deer's eyes as it rushed to escape its fate.

When a large rock finally came into view, the deer climbed on top of it and backed away from the rot. It should be safe here, right? The black gunk only surrounded the rock and made it impossible to escape. Well, at least the poor deer was still alive.

Out of nowhere, a figure jumped down onto the rock, before shooting a blast of gunk identical to the rot from the trees. The deer tried to run, but it's legs were engulfed in the rot and melted down to the bone. It was only a moments notice before the rot reached the deer's torso, and the animal fell over and died.

Once the rot had cleared from the animal, all that was left was a pile of bones. The figure standing near the back of the rock laughed, approaching the bones and kicking them off the rock. They fell into the now sea-of-rot, joining the other hundreds of rotted corpses in the gunk.

"Lame...", The figure stepped into the sunlight, shielding his eyes and frowning. He was a scraggly looking teenager with abnormally colored skin and eyes. To some he was an enigma, but to the Bureau of Grossology, he was Kid Rot.

"Then why would you kill it?"

"SHUT UP!" Kid growled. Why did his stupid voice always have to interrupt him inside of his head? No matter how hard he tried, Chester was always there, like an annoying fly stuck inside of a car. Ever since Kid had taken over the boy's brain, the two fought over Chester's body in a game of tug and war. While Kid mostly remained in control, sometimes Chester would manage to put him in the backseat, reclaiming the body that was rightfully his.

"I was only asking..", Chester's voice drew off as Kid was finally greeted with a moment of silence. The parasite's frown dropped as he stretched out his arms and legs, which cracked in inhuman ways and positions. When Kid Rot had made his way into Chester's nervous system, he began altering the boy's dna, making it possible for his body to complete and survive inhuman tasks. However, it came with the price of transforming Chester's human appearance into a much more eerie one, with gray skin and discolored teeth. Kid couldn't care less about his looks, but Chester hated his appearance.

Determined to actually take care of himself, whenever Chester had the body's reins, he would often cut his hair and clean up his outfit. Kid never took baths in water, which left Chester to spend his time sitting in a river and washing off his body in hopes of being decently clean. In return, Kid would mess up his hair and get himself as messy as possible to peeve his host (which never failed to work)

Currently, Kid was finally on the run after spending three years in hiding from the grossologists. Nobody was supposed to know he was alive, yet here he was. Even rarer, nobody knew Chester was alive, and even Abby Archer had brushed off the idea of reuniting with her former friend. Deciding to strike after years of silence was risky, but Kid Rot wasn't afraid of risks, especially if they involved the grossologists.

Speaking of grossologists, Kid figured that they were probably on his trail by now, meaning the fun part of his plan could start. Playing cat and mouse was enough entertainment to last the villain for a week or so, but he'd eventually get bored and strike again. They only question that remained was where to go first?

Kid Rot knew he wanted to hit Ringworm, but figured he'd save the best location for last. While it was pretty far from his current location, the rot portals would help speed up the traveling process. In no time, Abby would be on the lookout for him.

"Abby.." Kid hadn't thought of Abby properly in a long while. The last time they had met, she watched him practically drown in rot. Did she think he died? Was she sad?

"Why would she be sad about that? She hates us."

For once, Kid Rot didn't yell at Chester's voice. In a sense, the boy was right, Abby did say they weren't friends anymore years ago. Even after Kid's attempts at "charming" her, she never faltered, never leaned in, never agreed to join him. In reality, Kid had no idea why he was so obsessed with the girl in the first place.

When put at the base point, it wasn't an attraction based on appearance, but rather power. Abby was athletic, flexible, and well-coordinated, someone who would be an extremely valuable ally. And unarguably, a much better possible host than Chester. If only Kid could rewire her brain somehow.

Suddenly the sound of rapid footsteps startled the teenager, and he put his guard up before slipping through the hoard of trees he hadn't rotted yet. A bright beam of light shined through the forest, illuminating the darker parts of the woods. Someone was here.l

Kid's plan could wait. For now, he had to get out of those woods.