Brain didn't like to be interrupted.

Unfortunately, that was something that his species loved to do. Whether it be interrupting an event, or a conversation, or even someone's existence. Yes, interrupting and disrupting were a gremlin's favorite pastime, much to Brain's chagrin. Of course, it was perfectly acceptable when he was the one doing it or when his species were doing it to other people.

But he especially hated it when something like a human interrupts him. In the last ten years of observing the scientists, he had noted that human beings prided themselves on being civilized and upholding the manners of their respective societies. So when they disregard those standards entirely yet expect "lesser beings" to stick to them, it makes Brain's spiked brow twitch ever so slightly.

And right now, as he watched Harvey interrupt his plans of having a civilized discussion with his cohorts, he could feel his brow twitch with irritation. Of course, he did not protest this, less he be subjected to unnecessary torture, but he was soon going to make his feelings about the matter loud and clear.

Very soon

But for now, he had a meeting to attend.

He turned away from the sight of Harvey carrying the human-gremlin hybrid off for some, no doubt, painful experimentation and started to walk towards the restaurant. He walked past the usual views of the chaos his kind performs. He casually turned his head to the side to dodge a flying molotov cocktail, hearing it explode on impact behind him. He stepped over a passed-out, drooling mess of a gremlin with an empty whiskey bottle in hand. He stopped just short of a stampede running away from a chainsaw-wielding gremlin before continuing his walk.

He reached the outdoor seating section of the restaurant and weaved through the tables of gremlins shoveling junk food down their gullets. He reached out without even thinking twice, and a waiter suddenly appeared from nowhere, handing him a glass of chardonnay. He sipped it casually while he entered the restaurant, the sounds of utter chaos increasing tenfold now that they were trapped within the confines of the smaller building. The sound didn't get a chance to soften from the large expanse of the biome and assaulted Brain's hearing. He paid no mind; however, the sound becoming white noise to him.

"Are they still in the back?" Brain asked no one in particular, but a gremlin next to him nodded in reply before turning back to their plate of candied rat tails. "Good." He finished his wine glass and idly tossed it behind him, to which the glass smashed over a waiter's head and knocked him out instantly. He ignored the cackling chorus of his peers before stepping into the kitchen.

The sight before him was no less busy than before. Gremlins in chef hats and aprons were all cooking at different stations. Some were tenderizing meats by chewing on them, and others were stirring pots of boiling broth mixed with various objects they found on the floor. Brain held out his hand again as he passed them by and was immediately handed a plate of meerkat heads slathered in barbecue sauce. Breakfast in hand, he exited the kitchen and into a backroom.

The room was dimly lit and much quieter than the rest of the restaurant, save for Daffy's constant giggling. There was a large, round table with five office chairs circling it. The table itself was broken in half, with only one half still standing while the other laid slanted on its side. A fire axe from an argument weeks ago was still stuck to the broken half.

In four of the five chairs sat George, Lenny, Daffy, and Greta. Brain took his usual spot between George and Greta. The room was filled with smoke from George's ever-lit cigar, making everything appear hazy and almost out of focus. Brain picked up a meerkat head from his plate and popped it into his mouth, swallowing it whole. It wasn't his favorite dish. He personally preferred fermented basking shark, but their caretakers haven't sent any shark scraps lately.

"Now, I am sure you are all aware of the reason I have called you here." Brain started, smiling politely at his comrades.

Daffy spun in his chair, laughing madly. "Human!" He shouted.

"Yes, the human. Well, not a human, per se, more like a hybrid." Brain corrected. "It is rather fascinating if you think about it. The science behind it is-"

George interrupted him with a grunt that seemed to mean, "Get to the point, idiot."

"As I was saying," Brain huffed, "I called you all here to discuss our newest addition to our kind. The human-gremlin hybrid that our caretakers have created."

Greta let out a bored sigh as she pulled a pocket mirror from her bikini bra, flipping it open to check her makeup. "What about her? She can talk like me, but she looks like she's annoying like you. Seems cut and dry to me."

Brain ignored the jab for now. "Well, I believe she can aid us with…" He trailed off, his gaze following the wall to land on the cameras pointed at all of them. He cleared his throat, flicking his left ear twice.

At this, Lenny got up onto the table, picking up Brain's plate. He threw it at the camera and broke it, glass shattering onto the floor. A larger piece of glass flew from the impact and hit George's face, causing Lenny to rush over and grunt out apologies. George growled and slapped him upside the head.

"Thank you, Lenny." Brain glanced at his wristwatch, mentally jotting down their timeframe. "Back to the subject at hand, I believe that our new friend can aid us in taking over the facility."

As soon as he said this, Daffy stopped spinning in his chair, giggling at how his world turned. The other three gremlins looked at Brain with shock.

"How is someone like her supposed to help us?" Greta asked with a look of disbelief on her face. "From what I heard, she nothing but a big crybaby with fried hair." Word spreads quickly when it comes to gremlins, and virtually nothing can be kept a secret.

"Yes," Brain sighed, "while she is quite sensitive, I believe we can shape her into a fearless weapon. George, Lenny, you saw what she is capable of." He pointed out.

The two gremlins nodded in agreement, but George looked still looked to be distrustful. "Threw… up." He spoke slowly but clearly with his gravelly voice.

Brain's ear flicked again, but out of annoyance this time. "Yes, she vomited at the sight of her own violence, but with enough training and guidance, I believe she can become just as horrible as the rest of us. Her strength is like ten gremlins, all commanding one body, and her height gives her an advantage over the rest of us. She also has an in with the other humans."

Greta rolled her eyes. "Of course, she does." She flicked her mirror shut and stuffed it back into her bra. "She was one of them."

"No, not just that." Brain smirked. "She is Harvey Little's daughter."

At the name alone, Lenny grabbed his ears and tugged them down to cover his face. George nudged him hard to get him to stop cowering. Daffy stopped laughing for just a moment, going still as stone, before returning to his chair, spinning once the fear had passed.

"Yes, which means she not only knows his weaknesses but might also have some of his ruthlessness in her. We just have to bring it out." Brain gave his companions a wicked smile.

"Where is she anyway?" Greta asked, her ears perking up at the sound of security running towards the door.

Brain cursed under his breath as the guards rammed against the door. "She's with Harvey at the moment, most likely undergoing the same procedures we had to go through. No doubt she will be upset, but she may be vulnerable to persuasion." Sparring a glance at the door that was splintering, he quickly added, "And do not mention this to anyone."

As soon as he finished that sentence, the door was broken down by several guards in rioting gear. The sounds of gunshots littering the kitchen could be heard behind them. Without a word, the five gremlins raised their hands in surrender. All except for Daffy, who was still spinning in his chair without a care in the world. Each one of them was grabbed by a shouting guard and thrown out of the room.

"Watch the hair!" Greta hissed as she tumbled onto the floor, earning her a strike on the head from a guard's baton.

"Goddamn it! Quit breaking the camera, you idiots!" The chief guard knocked his riot shield against Lenny, causing him to fall over onto George, and sent them down on the floor. "Another false alarm, folks! Back to your stations!" He called out to his team.

A chorus of disappointed " awwwws " rang out, the guards having wanted to lay waste to the nasty gremlins that always caused them so much trouble. They all trodded out of the kitchen, stepping over the various corpses they had created.

Brain picked himself off the floor from where he had been flung, brushing the dirt from his clothes. He watched as Daffy ran after the security team, babbling something about using their nightsticks to shove up an orifice. He felt his brow twitch as he looked back at the broken door.

Oh, how he hated being interrupted.

Throbbing.

Pulsing.

Pounding.

These were words that came to Casey's mind when she woke up to one of the worst headaches of her life. She knew she was conscious but could barely open her eyes. She tried to raise her arm to rub her head, but all she could manage was a twitch of her finger. It felt like she had awoken to sleep paralysis. As soon as the thought popped into her head, the sound of footsteps echoed around her. It must have been the demon that was going to torture her.

In a way, she wasn't wrong.

She felt a slight prick on her neck, and it was gone as soon as it came. After a few moments of nothing happening, her slow breathing suddenly picked up without warning. The pounding in her head subsided, and she felt herself regain control of her body. She opened her eyes, seeing nothing in the dim light of the room. She sat up, allowing her eyes to adjust. Suddenly, her vision focused, and she could see everything in the room, despite the bare lighting. Looking around, her gaze landed on the sight of her father holding a used syringe.

"I'm assuming your concussion is gone?" At the sound of her father's voice, memories flooded her mind at once. She realized what had happened, and her heart started to race.

Casey moved to stand up but found that she couldn't, for her wrists were chained to the surgical table she was sitting on. With a shaky breath, she raised her hands, finding that she had enough slack to reach over her head. She looked down at her feet to discover that they were also chained. After realizing she was trapped, she also noticed that her clothes were gone. She suddenly grew hot and embarrassed, crossing her legs to conceal herself. She tested her restraints by pulling on them hard but only succeeded in chafing her wrists.

Her sharp ears twitched at the sound of more footsteps. She looked up to see her father step closer, syringe still in hand. "One of the many little formulas we have developed for instantly curing mild ailments you may be suffering from." He regarded the needle and capsule with a smug look. "This one was my creation." He walked over to a nearby trashcan and discarded the syringe, Casey watching his every move like a frightened animal. "It's a combination of a potent aspirin formula and epinephrine, among other things. It would have been a hit on the pharmaceutical market if we were permitted to sell such a thing. Oh, well." She started to struggle with the chains again, only stopping when Harvey spoke up again. "Oh, and mind the chains. They are specially made to restrain your species. All we had to do was update the cuff size. There is no escape." Casey remained silent, but her eyes darted around the room to look for an escape.

Harvey watched her with a glint of fascination in his eyes. "You can see in the dark." It was a statement of fact. "Most, if not all, gremlins have such an ability, which makes perfect sense, of course. They would have lived under cover of darkness in the wild." He walked over to a foldable table next to the surgery bed and picked up a clipboard and pen to take notes. "I wonder if you are the same when it comes to light."

Casey looked at her father with confusion, opening her mouth to finally speak. However, before she could, a bright light was flicked on and focused on her. She winced, letting out a hiss as the light assaulted her eyes. Her ears curled forward slightly on instinct as if to shield her face. However, she slowly opened her eyes and blinked rapidly, letting her vision adjust once again.

A great smile formed on her father's face. "You… you're immune to bright light…. or at least you can withstand it better than the others." He quickly noted this. "Tell me, does it hurt at all?"

Despite all he had done to her, Casey still felt the compulsion to respond to him as if nothing had changed between them. "Um, it hurt my eyes at first, but that's it. I don't really feel anything." She shrugged.

"Good, that will make examination much easier." Harvey set down his clipboard and pulled out a pager from his pocket, pressing a button on it.

Within seconds, a door on the other side of the room flung open, and three people walked in. Two of them, Casey did not recognize, but one of them she did.

"So," Autumn walked up to Casey, looking her up and down, "I can assume bright light is not a problem?" She nodded up to the lamp hanging from the room.

"I still want to test if she can be damaged by the sun, but so far, she looks to be immune." Harvey watched as Autumn's lab assistants walked over to a large cabinet. They opened it and pulled out two tranquilizer rifles. While they loaded their weapons, Autumn went over to the sink next to the weapons cabinet and pulled out a bucket from the cupboard underneath. "She also responded well to the Alleviate Your Ail-a-mate formula." He cringed at the official name.

Autumn rolled her eyes as she filled the bucket with water. "We really need a new naming department. The two assistants stood behind another table nearby. They unceremoniously flipped it, making Casey jump at the sudden crash. She grew fearful as they crouched behind the table and aimed their rifles at her.

"Are they gonna kill me?" Casey whimpered, her ears falling back. She once again yanked at her restraints for freedom but to no avail.

"Shut it." Harvey snapped, unable to stand his daughter's whining any longer. "We're not going to kill you. That'd be such a waste."

Autumn shut the sink off and carried it over while Harvey quickly moved to crouch behind the table. "We're going to see if the water will affect you." She explained.

Briefly, Casey recalled back to the story Brain told her. Her eyes widened at what she realized what they were trying to do. However, before she could protest, Autumn reared back with the bucket in hand and tossed the water at her. Casey flinched as the ice-cold water splashed onto her, hearing the bucket drop with a loud bang. She looked back just in time to see Autumn diving over the table for safety, the two assistants readying their rifles.

The room grew silent, save for the water dripping from the operating bed. Casey watched the scientists with wide eyes as she waited for the painful event of childbirth. However, it never came. Instead, she was just cold and nude, her wet hair slowly losing the effects of the flat-ironing she did a couple of days prior.

Autumn and Harvey both stood up from the table, cautiously rounding it and walking over slowly. They immediately scrambled for the clipboard to document this while the lab assistants idly fixed the table.

"Amazing! The human DNA must have completely canceled the negative effects." Autumn was the first to teach the table and snatched the clipboard as quickly as she could. She wrote down several notes and put her name down next to them for good measure.

Harvey rolled his eyes when he noticed her name, but it did not waver his fascination. "But this means that she can't reproduce…. unless …" He trailed off with a smug smirk.

At this, Autumn let out a sigh as her shoulders sagged. " Fine ." She spoke through gritted teeth. "We'll do it."

Her coworker let out a celebratory whoop and ripped the clipboard away from Autumn. "Then let's get this done as fast as possible so we can figure out the best way to go about it."

Autumn ignored his eagerness and nodded to her assistants, who had long since put their rifles away. One of them started to wheel a tray over. The tray was covered with a white sheet. The other followed after him. When the tray was brought over, Casey, who was still trembling, grew even more scared since she had a feeling of what was under the sheet.

"Now, Cassandra," Harvey pulled the tray to his side, "be a good patient and stay calm. No crying, no screaming, and no whining. Understood?" The look in his eyes told her that if she tried any of the following, there would be severe consequences. Harvey smiled when his daughter slowly nodded, the look of fear never leaving her features. "Good." He pulled back the sheet, revealing several sharp surgical tools.

At the sight of the equipment, Casey let out a sudden screech. It was high-pitched, and everyone had to cover their ears to shield themselves from the noise. Without giving it a second thought, she jumped to stand, hissing as the chains kept her hunched over awkwardly. As she watched her father and the other scientists run from her to get the rifles again, her thoughts faded into a static noise, and her only drive was that gargling voice she had heard before.

Run

Casey let out a terrifying shriek and, with the strength she felt when Brain had angered her, yanked on the chains so hard that they broke at the cuffs. She jumped down, grabbing the chains on her feet and ripping them clean off. Her left ear perked up at the sound of the cabinet being flung open, and without sparing a glance, she ran off as fast she could.

"She's getting away… again!"

Her father's shouting only spurred her on, and she pushed her speed to the limit. She was already down the hall and around the corner within just a few moments. She ran into other people, but none of them slowed her down. They flew by like bowling pins suffering from a violent strike. She couldn't even process her surroundings properly. She couldn't even hear the loud alarm that was going off. The voice in her head only told her to " Run" and " Go through that door ." Any door in her way was broken through like paper.

One of those doors led to a large, spiraling staircase. Without hesitation, she leaped over the railing and fell down the large gap inside of the spiral. On instinct, she stuck her legs out to prepare for her landing. The passage of time was lost on her. She could have been falling for hours or mere seconds for all she knew.

Finally, she saw the ground. She braced herself and landed on her feet perfectly, crouching instantly to help spread the impact among her body to avoid breaking anything. In seconds, she was back on her feet. She sprinted through the stairwell exit, again, knocking people back. She kept running and making sharp turns, her ears constantly twitching in every direction to listen for anyone chasing her.

Suddenly, after bursting through another door, her environment changed. Instead of another long corridor, she was now in a large room with a glass dome in the middle. The dome was surrounded by people recording and noting something going on inside. Seeing the glass made Casey gain enough sense to recognize that she would not be able to halt her momentum in time to avoid smacking into it. However, her judgment was wrong. She did not smack into it.

She crashed through it.

Lenny was currently playing on top of the mountain in the gremlin biome. He was sitting on the ground with a little toy rabbit in his grasp. He bounced the rabbit around and occasionally snuggled it. His ears flopped happily, and his dopey smile never left his face. His playing was interrupted by a disapproving growl. He turned around, seeing George sitting on the bench behind him.

The two were always together. They were roommates, they ate together, and they wreaked havoc together. Seeing one alone meant the other was not far, typically right behind you to bonk you on the head with a mallet.

So, Lenny was not surprised in the slightest to see George behind him with no warning. But he was surprised at a group of six gremlins walking up to him. He quickly pulled his rabbit to his chest protectively, his ears going back as they approached him.

George watched with interest as the group circled around his roommate. He took a deep drag of his cigar and blew it out, letting out a snicker as they started to tease him about his rabbit. He let it go on a bit longer before eventually standing up to put a stop to it. He let out a growl at them to get their attention. The group turned to George, allowing Lenny to quickly escape and run around to stand behind George. The shorter gremlin rolled his eyes at this, nudging his companion hard with his elbow to berate him for his weak nature. He waved a hand at the group to dismiss them. Usually, they'd leave and find something else to do, but this group didn't move, much to his surprise.

That was very odd. Everyone knew not to bother them too much. The only ones who didn't know were freshly born gremlins who have yet to learn the laws of the jungle.

With an aggravated sigh, George realized that he was dealing with a group of what were essentially teenagers. They must have been dumped in recently by their caretakers doing some more experiments with water. He walked up to them, growling out threats of what would happen if they continued to bother either him or Lenny.

The group merely laughed in response. One of them reached out and snatched the cigar right from George's lips, planning to take a bite out of it. But before he could, a strong hand grabbed his wrist, and he was suddenly picked up. George watched with a smug look of satisfaction as Lenny threw the gremlin over the cliffs, reveling in the prick's terrified screams.

The rest of the gremlins didn't back down, however. They hissed and snarled, all of them charging Lenny at once. Lenny, for all his strength, couldn't stand up to six gremlins. He was shoved off the cliff and fell with a scream of his own. The gremlin group laughed maniacally as they watched him hit the deep lake below. They all turned around to deal with George but froze in place at the sight before them.

Looking pissed as all hell, George stood there holding a Tommy gun that he didn't have before. He grinned evilly as he fired his weapon at the gremlins, killing them all instantly. They collapsed to the ground with not a single scream having the chance to leave their mouths. George tossed aside the gun and sped off, hurrying down the small mountain. He quickly reached the bottom and ran around to stand on the shallow edge of the lake. When he didn't see Lenny, he rushed into the water and swam towards the spot just under the cliffs.

Right as he reached the deepest part, he was suddenly knocked back by something under him. He sputtered as water splashed into his mouth, swimming back quickly to avoid getting hit again. He saw Lenny emerged from the deep with the dead gremlin in his hands. Apparently, both had survived the fall, but only one survived the fight.

Lenny couldn't tell if George looked relieved or angry, but he went with the first option. He pulled George into a tight embrace, much to the smaller gremlin's annoyance. Like always, he pushed and struggled against the hug but eventually gave up, knowing there's no escape. Finally, he was released and swam back to distance himself, wanting to avoid any more hugs. His companion didn't chase after him because he was too preoccupied with something above them. George hissed as pieces of glass bounced off his head.

He looked up just in time to see Casey fall right onto him.

Lenny winced at the sight and immediately dived under the not-water to find his friend. He looked around, not seeing him anywhere. After a bit, he reemerged and spotted both George and Casey wading onto the shore. He quickly swam after them, reaching the shore just in time to watch Casey run off from a screaming, angry George.

Aw, his friend is upset. Another hug should cheer him up.

While George dealt with another hug attack, Casey continued her run. However, the sudden crash halted her instinct-based momentum, and her thoughts had returned. Adrenaline no longer supported her, and she felt the result of the collision in her leg. The same leg she had pulled in ballet class was now several times worse. She limped as she escaped, her run considerably slower.

Not only that but she was exhausted from the run and fall. She was pretty sure her head made first impact with the water/George, and the throbbing was back tenfold. She ignored the other gremlins laughing at her pathetic run, trying to focus on escaping. She could hear the doors to the biome being opened, and she made a stupid decision.

She turned around to meet the attack head-on and was suddenly met with several security guards shining massive flashlights at her. The lights sent gremlins scattering, but she remained still. Her ears picked up the sounds of somebody screaming, "Don't kill her! She's vital for us! Don't shoot!"

At this, Casey couldn't help but smile as the voice filled her head once again but sang in harmony her own thoughts this time. The situation brought on a feeling of deja vu.

Kill them all

Despite her injuries, attacking her enemy was a lot easier now, having done this once already. In a flash, she had tackled a guard and tore off his protective helmet. She stabbed through his eyes with her claws, killing him instantly. She felt someone hit her with a nightstick and immediately turned on them. After disposing of them with a clean slash to the neck, she made quick work of two more next to her. As she killed, the flashlights were dropped and broken.

The rest of the gremlins returned once the dangerously bright light was gone and watched the slaughter in front of them with disturbing glee. They cheered her on and heckled the guards, laughing as a head was torn off, and blood gushed from the body like Ol' Faithful.

The commotion brought the restaurant-goers, and they all joined the growing audience. They all ran from the tables, and the new cooks in the kitchen abandoned their food.

Brain, who had been eating, watched in confusion as all of his peers rushed out of the establishment. He left his plate of pickled socks and salted glass to find out what was going on. He pushed through the large crowd of gremlins with ease. Most of them knew to stay out of his way. He made it to the front of the group and beheld the gruesome sight before them all.

His eyes widened as he watched Casey, completely naked and covered in fresh blood, bury her head into a guard's open chest cavity. After a few seconds, she flung her head back, tearing out the man's heart with her teeth. She spat it out, crawling onto the pile of dead bodies. She stood up straight and tall, looking out among the sea of gremlins watching her.

Her hair, now wet and tangled with rejuvenated curls, hung from her head like a red mop. Her round chest heaved with deep breaths, and her entire body shook from the fight. Her face and chest were covered in blood, looking ugly on her green skin. Her eyes glimmered with pure, raw ferality. Blood mixed with drool dangled from her open mouth, panting like a wild beast.

With a deep breath, she let out the loudest, most terrifying screech a gremlin could produce. It was a cry of rage and promise of battles to come. It was a scream gremlin let out to alert others of destruction and chaos. The screech was met with a symphony of shrieks from her fellow gremlins.

All except for Brain.

He was not above letting out the screams of his kind. In fact, he often reveled in it despite his hypocritical commitment to civility. However, he didn't join in with his peers, not because he didn't want to. He felt instinct beckon him to join, but he was too mesmerized by the sight in front of him to listen.

Casey looked like Hell incarnate. She was dirty, disgusting, wet, feral, and was breathing like a dying animal.

Casey looked… looked…

"Beautiful." Brain did not hear himself say such a thing and would deny having said so if someone had heard for him.

Unfortunately, the choir was cut short by the sudden sound of a gun firing. A red dart hit Casey in the hip, and within a matter of seconds, she collapsed from the pile of bodies and passed out. All of the gremlins let out shrieks of anger but scattered away like cockroaches.

And again, all except for Brain.

He watched as Harvey walked up, tranquilizer in hand, looking angrier than he had ever seen before. For the second time that day, he watched the man scoop up his daughter into his arms and carry her off.

And again, for the second time that day, Brain said nothing.