Pete ran his finger along the edge of the cleaver's blade as he rounded the corner of the corridor. With nothing much to do at all, with a break finally on his hands after weeks of tracking down another fucking enemy, he was... not exactly grateful, but obliged at his rest. He considered how "lucky" he was that the ceilings were so high in most of the building. It would've been intolerable to knock his head on everything. His brain wandered as aimlessly as his body until he heard an unfamiliar voice calling his name from behind him.

"Hey Pete! Pete wait up, I wanna talk to you!"

He turned around and saw a strange white-toned object barreling towards him. They had sharp hair, overalls, and magnetic letters attached to the chest of their shirt. It was certainly and interesting outfit, but it's not like Pete could say much with regards to his simple shirt, shorts, and apron. The object jumped up to grab at his arm and hopped excitedly around him. Pete tried to resist flinching in response.

"Hey Pete! It's me Frankie! You remember me right?"

"...can't say I do..."

The object's face fell. "Oh come on! It's me, Frankie the Fridge! You were at my initiation 15 years ago!"

"...alright." A man of few words usually deterred this sort. But not Frankie apparently.

"Oh come on now Pete!" Frankie hopped around some more and swung on his arm. "You're my IDOL! You're so amazing at what you do! This is so cool, to finally catch you on your off time!"

"Idol..." Pete weakly tried to wrest his arm away but there wasn't much effort put into it. What kind of idol was he...

"Yeah yeah! Idol! You're so cool, how do you do it!"

"Do... what..?" He could not recall talking to someone this much in years.

"Your butchering! You're the absolute expert after all, people say such wonderous things about you, and they're all true!"

"I don't know... it's just my job..." And not a good one at that.

"Aw come on, don't be so humble-" Pete started walking again, unintentionally dragging Frankie with him while he was still latched to his arm like a leech. Neither of them much seemed to mind though. "H- hey why don't you let me hang out with you? It'd be fun!"

"Fun."

"Yeah, fun! I'm rather charismatic you know."

That almost got a chuckle out of him. Almost. "Sure."

"OH THAT'S GREAT!" Frankie hopped some more having released the object's arm. Unfortunately, this didn't stop him from walking and Frankie was forced to dash forwards to match Pete's gait. Still, the tall man found himself actually listening to the things this other had to say. He even said things in response. What a novel idea, having someone to talk to. A friend to talk to.

That was the first.

...

"So... what did you want me for?"

Pete anxiously scratched at his throat as he stood in the elder's room. They'd called him in that day for a "special surprise." He just hoped it wasn't too painful, but they always were. He'd really been trying his best to keep up with their wishes but it probably wasn't enough for them. The dark, metallic, creaking room was oppressive enough as it was without the elders smiling at him excitedly.

"Well, we've been through some deep consideration, and we thought it would be a good idea for you to take on an apprentice for your butcher's job!"

"I- what?"

Apprentice? What was the meaning of this? He'd never- he wasn't any good with- did they not like him anymore? What was their ulterior motive with this move? There always was one.

"Indeed. It'd be good sense to have another prepared ahead of time. You know, just in case. Besides, we thought you could use some variety..."

"But I don't know who to-" His weak protest was cut off.

"Oh that's already taken care of! We have the perfect one picked out for you!" One of the elders stood up from their chair and walked into the darkness of the far corners of the room, returning with a small object girl with long green hair and a gray face. She sported gloves, a dress patterned similarly to some other members, and her leafy hair was tied up in pigtails.

"This is Sally. Sally the Spinach Can! She's very eager to work with you, isn't that right?"

"Mhm!" she gleefully replied.

"We hope you two will get along well But that is all. You can go."

Pete glanced at the little girl before walking out the door.

...

Pete and Sally hiked through the open woods as they made their way to the next target. This was Sally's first mission outside the building and she was bursting with excitement when they first left. That excitement had soon fizzled into exhaustion as she struggled to keep up with Pete.

She initially didn't want to say anything, to prove how strong and cool she was to her new mentor, but eventually, she couldn't take it anymore.

"ARGH I can't take it anymore!" she groaned. It was not much compared to the complaints she was burying in her soul.

"What is it?"

"How am I supposed to keep up with you? You're twice my height! I can't even catch up while running!"

"If I spend all day waiting for you, we won't get there in time." He flashed his cleaver around again. Sally theorized that was a tic of his, since he never did it to actually intimidate anyone.

"Isn't there a better option though?"

Pete paused for a moment, and put his finger to his mask in consideration. After a good minute had passed, a shift in his expression signified he thought of something.

"Well? What's your plaAAAAAAAA-" Pete swooped Sally into the air and placed her squarely on his shoulders.

"There. Now you're as fast as me. ...Sally?"

She slowly peeled her eyes open and lowered her hands. The young girl's jaw dropped. "Woah, this is what it's like being this tall?! That's so cool!"

"It's not that cool."

"Ha, speak for yourself!" She shifted herself to a more comfortable position and pointed forward, "ONWARD valiant steed!"

"Oh, are you in charge now? Also how do you know what a valiant steed is."

"Yes, and I don't know. Now come on, let's go!"

From that point onward, that was their ideal method of transportation.

...

It had been a year or so now since the two of them had teamed up and about two years since Pete had met Frankie.

Pete and Sally lounged around in their room in silence. On nights like these, it was better to just wait to fall asleep than force it. Although, Sally would something that... brought out a few memories.

"You know, I kinda always wondered what it was like, outside the building."

"You know what it's like. We go out there all the time for work."

"Yeah but..." She rolled over onto her stomach and traced her finger on the bed. "I want to know what it's like for people who live out there. We only ever stay out of everyone's way, and kill whoever we come across. It's not the same." She pouted and sighed.

Pete fidgeted with his mask.

"I know what it's like out there..."

"Ooh really? What is it?"

"It's..." He took a deep, shuddering sigh that wracked his whole body. It had been so long, how could he truly remember? He could try. "It's beautiful. It's beautiful out there. There's so many people, and friends, and family. And they're nice to you. And they like you. And it's quiet. And peaceful..."

"Hmm, that's pretty funny, hehehe! I couldn't imagine something so mundane! And here I thought it would be more exciting than that."

Pete clenched his mask. He wished he could make her understand. He wished she could see what it's like out there. It'd be nice, she'd be happy out there, he was sure of it. But she doesn't understand. She was raised here, in this awful place. She was still a stupid little 10 year old. She was impressionable, and what was imprinted on her was something very unpleasant.

What a shame.

"Hey, you know what Pete?"

"...what..."

"You're never happy. Not like the rest of us. I don't like it."

Pete turned away from her. "I am happy when I am with you two."

"It's not the same. You never smile or laugh like us! You don't even like your job! It's not fair, you should be happy."

No response. Is that really what she thought? Hmm.

"Well you know what?" Sally stood up and marched over to him when he didn't yield any results. "I'm gonna make you smile one day! I'm gonna make you happy like the rest of us!" A wide grin spread across her face.

"I appreciate the thought..." She couldn't possibly understand why that was so wrong, to be happy like the rest of them...

...

Sally hummed The Rats Come Out to Play to herself as she strolled down the hallways. She couldn't remember who taught her that tune, but who could give a care at a time like this? It was always so nice to get the whole month off! She'd have plenty of time to talk to her friends and play around and- CRASH

Sally toppled over a small object child. She whipped her head around after peeling it off the floor to see this mysterious assailant. The kid was startled, and looked to be no older than five? Huh, how'd a baby like him wander into the lower levels?

"Hello there," she turned around to face him all the way, "what's your name?"

"Ehhh... my names Bread Boi..." His voice was slightly incomprehensible, but it was still pretty good for such a small child. "Uh, but you can call me BB! It's easy!"

"You mean easier. BB huh? That's a silly name. You're silly." She smiled as she pat him on the head. This person would be her next kidnap victim, she could feel it in her bones. Of course, she'd only ever done it once before but MMMMMMMshutup.

"Mhm, I know, but they gave me the name, so that's what it is!" He spoke with such distinct diction.

"Who?"

"The elders!"

"Oh, okay!" Sally pulled him to his feet. "You're mine now. You're my friend okay?"

"Okay!" BB skipped around as him and Sally continued down the hall. Making friends was easy! All you had to do was say you were friends!

"Hm, do you wanna go meet my other family?"

"Family? Aren't we all family?"

"Well yeah, but these guys are double family."

"Okay then! Where to?"

"Well, lets go see Pete! He's my dad-older brother-best friend-mentor thing, he's really cool!"

"Yay! Wait..." Bread Boi mouthed out something and counted on his fingers. "He's a DOBBFMT?"

Before she could affirm such a statement, the two slammed directly into two very lanky objects. Sally just was having the best of luck with crashing into her friends, as it turned out to be the Monster Can Twins!

"Oh hi there Tam and Pam!"

"Actually I'm Tam." "And I'm Sam!" "There is no Pam!"

"Oops, sorry. I keep forgetting." She jokingly pouted, but they didn't seem too troubled, as their faces didn't change at all.

"It's alright!" they said in unison. "Where are you going?"

"Oh, I'm just taking Bread Boi here to see Pete! You wanna come?"

"Of course!" "We love Pete, he's wonderful." "I think he's hanging out with Frankie." "Let's all go hang out together!"

The quad squad made their way to Pete and Sally's room where they saw he was indeed talking with Frankie. Probably about boring grownup stuff considering Pete's bored expression and Frankie's intrigued face.

"Hey Pete! I got a new friend!" Sally lifted the surprisingly light BB and displayed him to her mentor like a collectable in a video game. Which they did not have in the Food Family.

"Oh. That's very nice indeed." Pete's bored face softened at the sight of the rest of the gang gathering in the room. Things were growing a little cramped, but he didn't mind. He'd rather be cramped than alone.

"D'ya think he'll fit in?"

"I don't see why not. You fit in after all."

"Hey!" Sally resisted the urge to retort at his teasing, and the gang slipped into their normal conversations after just a few minutes.

...

And thus the gang was completed.