[DISCLAIMER: Still fiction.
A few notes:
For my favorite Doggo and to commemorate her DOOG Eternal easter egg, and because she went through hell and back to welcome back her friend, Miko, with a spectacular firework show - I dedicate this to Inugami Korone. She's my favorite and I changed the pic for this story just for her since this is a DOOG story, after all. (I may change it again later.)
I had to EDIT the end of Chapter 2 (the Korone chapter). I realized I wrote something incorrectly, and it's been fixed.
This chapter we get to see Lamy, Miko (welcome back), Botan and Okayu bromance, Korone, and surprise guests at the end. I hope you all like. Please enjoy and thanks for reading. Please be sure and check out their YouTube channels; especially the Minecraft streams (I make many references).]
Chapter Four
Korone continued pulling herself along the small vent shaft. It was cloistering. Her fear of dark and cloistered places made her body shake, but also the blood loss. She had been pulling herself along for around 30 minutes when she saw the light up ahead.
She kept telling herself, "keep moving, keep moving," because at any moment something might know where she was and she was hoping to find an area to leave and head upward.
That light was her hope.
She was finally over a room, once she spied down. It had linoleum flooring and she could smell chemicals that reminded her of when she'd visited her friend in the hospital.
"This might do," she whispered.
She pulled up the vent and slowly spied for any sign of one of those creatures. It seemed to be clear. There was a metal door to the right, glass doors to the left, further inward – it looked dark down that way, so she needed to work fast.
The doggo liked to self-talk. It helped her. Before she made an appearance, she'd spend a few minutes air boxing, or jumping up and down, warming up and getting pumped to move forward. Her fear could be crippling, but her will power was stronger, and so she kept repeating under her breath, "you can do it, you can do it."
Adrenaline fed her this far, and now she was ready to face anything. If not, she'd end up dead in a vent shaft and might never be found. She couldn't stand the idea that she might let down her friends, or Okayu, and just disappear.
The coast seemed clear, so she lowered down and fell to the floor beneath with an oomph and tightened grunt of pain.
She was on the floor of what looked like a medical lab.
Someone is looking out for me, she thought. It was exactly what she needed – medical supplies.
Painfully, she lifted and limped, dragging her bad leg which had grown numb past the knee, toward the door, making sure it was locked first, and then went to the glass doors to make sure they were locked.
Once it was secure and she knew no one could come in, she limped to the medicine cabinet, constantly grabbing to the counters to help hold herself up.
She grabbed whatever looked like it would help: alcohol, antiseptic, bandages, and anything she'd need. She carried her supplies to the examination table, sat up on it and got to work on cutting her pant leg, exposing where she'd been shot and where those things had grabbed her leg. There were deep lacerations, along with the bullet wound, and her left shoe was missing where that thing had bit down. It looked horrible and Korone felt like she would throw up at the sight. The skin was blistered and red, covered in blood. Gashes and the wounds needed stitches, but there were surprisingly no supplies for stitches – not that she'd know how to do that.
"This isn't like the movies, is it?" She spoke quietly to herself, seeing spots.
Her head felt light and dizzy, but she continued working on getting it cleaned to alleviate infection.
The pain was excruciating, as she bandaged her leg and foot tightly. There was still blood. It was at this point she felt she was passing out,
"Wake up!" she told herself, rolling off the exam table. "Need to stay awake," again repeating over and over.
She was so tired and worn out. She knew she'd be passing out soon. Her head was hot, eyes barely able to see with fever. She needed something to keep her going, and something to keep out the infection.
She needed supplies if she was going to make it miles up to the top. So, she found the small fridge dug through and found three bottles of water. She downed three pain relievers she'd found with one of the water bottles. She was overwhelmingly thirsty and drank the whole thing.
She then looked over the room, it taking on a sepia tone, color faded from her view, and she knew something was desperately wrong. Why was color fading?
She shook her head, "I need some type of weapon."
She recalled survival games and horror games, myriad video games she'd played with Okayu. Amazing how those games were so resourceful with info on how to survive.
She needed to find some tool to fight with and looked around to find a broom in the corner. She broke it in half, so that it made a makeshift sharp edge. She whipped it around, making sure it would be easy to swing. She grabbed sharp scissors and a scalpel looking thing, wrapping the handles in bandages for a good grip and then placed them in the outer pockets of the bag.
Anything to keep busy and awake.
After she was sure every consideration was thought of, she placed the supplies down, along with her makeshift bag, and climbed on the examination table, if just for a minute.
"I'm so tired," she said to herself… "so, so tired," drifted from her lips. Just a quick nap before leaving.
Her brow was dripping with sweat, feverish and growing worse every minute. Her body shook, as she wrapped within herself, whimpering.
If there was one thing Inugami Korone was known for, it was her endless will power to see a project to the end. It was really the only reason she was hired as a reporter. They said she was cute and lively, audiences loved her, and then she was like a dog after a bone in how tenacious she could be.
She kept wanting to hold on. But whatever was coursing through her at this moment, was overwhelming and she couldn't keep her eyes open.
She closed her eyes and passed out instantly, there on the exam table miles below the earth.
Alone.
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Behind the truck, Botan looked across the area for any sign of what she hit. She spied a few droplets of blood leading to the left and she wandered further off the road, peering through the trees. It was dense and the wind picked up, as a storm moved in from the north. She felt a chill along her neck.
"Yo."
Botan turned, her gun pulled out in an instant.
"Whoa," Okayu held up her hands. "It's just me."
Botan slowly lowered her gun, sliding it back into her holster.
"You are really fast on the draw."
"You learn to be when you've had to deal with what I've dealt with." The creatures she saw in the Demon Realm were still haunting her thoughts.
"Something's not right," Okayu looked down at the blood droplet, took a stick and touched it. She lifted a bit of blackened, and deep cherry red blood on the stick.
"Yeah, the viscosity is too thick," Botan spied at the blood alongside Okayu. "It's like…"
"Like demon blood."
"Yeah, and not the domesticated kind. Looks like what we were fighting in the Demon Realm trying to keep out. But that's the only place they have a gate for these things, and they keep it guarded, so, why would they be here?"
"What ran across the truck wasn't a primal demon – too small."
"Yeah, you're right." Botan looked over at Okayu, "you've seen one?"
"I've only heard stories – don't really want to see one."
Botan shook her head, the memory of when she was injured plaguing her thoughts for a moment.
"We need to head to the shrine." Okayu didn't like being outside. The cloud cover was darkening everywhere. "These mountain storms get torrential."
Botan nodded. "I hope the truck is working, or we might have to walk."
Okayu agreed, looking over the woods, having this uneasy feeling, and she could have sworn she saw movement further deep in the woods. She stepped forward, squinting and spying to catch a better glimpse.
Botan touched her shoulder, making her jump. "Yeah cat, I saw it too."
"Saw what?"
"What we hit didn't seem like the normal Holios citizen, but it also wasn't big like a primal."
"So, what did you hit with your truck?"
"Or, what hit my truck?"
Botan stared outward, considering what was going on. She was always thinking ahead. She read reports about Joseph Village and wanted to check it out after she took Okayu to the shrine. Something didn't feel right.
The cat wandered back to look over the truck.
There was a dent on the hood, but the boulder they ran over was jammed underneath. Whatever hit the hood wasn't that boulder.
There was a leak, dark liquid all over the ground.
Okayu looked it over, "that doesn't look good," pointing out the scratch across the hood. "What do you think did that?"
"Not sure." Botan noted the size of the scratch and a flashback of her time in the Demon Realm entered her thoughts. This mountain was making those thoughts continue to enter. "Let's get out of here." She honestly didn't want to have a PTSD moment right now.
Okayu climbed in and Botan was in the driver's seat. She tried turning it over three times. Nothing. Four more times. Nothing.
They would be walking.
Botan grabbed the shotgun, and then the high-caliber rifle. She spied across to Okayu, "Can you handle one of these?"
"Think we'll need it?"
"Hope not."
Botan also had the most uneasy feeling. Whatever they hit should have been nearby, but whatever ran into her truck was strong enough to make a big dent in the hood, and keep running.
"I'm not really a rifle kind of person."
"Okay-you." Botan snickered.
"Hah," Okayu laughed, "I think I prefer 'cat' over your dad puns."
They continued laughing, and Okayu realized the lioness was trying to lighten the mood. Something didn't feel right. It was then she considered Korone told her she was up at MoonaTech and wondered if she was still up there. It was another hour up the mountain.
"I'll take the shotgun."
Botan handed it to her, and Okayu could barely lift, so she grabbed it back from her hands.
"How'd you get into the police academy being such a weakling?"
"Hah, well," Okayu scratched at her head, "I got in with my brains."
Botan snickered again, "yeah sure," and Okayu couldn't help but laugh along. She was fast and quick, but not much when it came to strength. Korone always won her at arm wrestling contests.
Botan strapped both the rifle and shotgun over her shoulder and then grabbed her small backpack with shells and equipment.
"Looks like you're going hunting."
The lioness snarled with a curled lip, "maybe."
They were ready to head further up the hill and to the shrine. It wasn't that much further.
At the Mountain Shrine…
Lamy was headed to the small Joseph Village, but wanted to stop at the shrine on the way and chat with Miko. They had worked together in the past helping out villagers, and so she wanted to stop by and get some insight on what was happening.
The snow elf got a call earlier by a family member who lived in the city, asking her to please go help with an illness that was spreading in the village. They desperately needed a healer. Last this person had heard from the relative, was earlier in the week, and they had been told many were sick with high fevers and unable to keep food down.
Lamy walked into the temple and Miko met her instantly, warmly giving her a hug, calling her, "Mama!"
Lamy shyly giggled, because everyone called her that affectionate term. She was naturally very maternal.
The storm approached loudly from the north, and so she invited her inside for a light lunch and tea, maybe some sake. Lamy was always available for the delicious shrine sake.
"The village has been oddly quiet for the last few days," Miko stated, handing a bowl of rice with fish to her guest. "It's unusual nobody has come by."
"No one?"
"Not since maybe… four or five days ago. Not even for simple prayers."
"That's strange." Lamy took a sip of the delicious sake.
The village on the outskirts housed only a few hundred residents. Most were demon half-breeds and poorer folks from Holios.
Lamy nodded, listening closely, as Miko told her about the last few days and the stories she had heard about the strange illness.
Back, Miles Beneath MoonaTech…
Two figures came from the glass doors to the left dressed in coats, and looking like underground explorers, packed with backpacks. It was obvious they had been in survivalist mode for a few days. They had used a key to enter the room, looking for a certain vile of chemicals that was necessary for a cure. They had left it in the centrifuge and just needed to retrieve it.
When they first were about to go in the room, there was someone shuffling about, and so they stayed back. They originally thought it was one of the test subjects, and that was the last thing they wanted to run into.
Once it seemed quiet and it wasn't moving, they entered.
Moona Hoshinova looked down at the passed out doggo on the exam table.
"Looks like another unfortunate victim." she stated, "look at her leg. We need to kill it."
"She looks familiar." Usada Pekora neared her slowly, realizing she could be infected.
The taller one inspected the poorly done bandage job wearing a glove. She pulled up the bandage to reveal she'd been wounded by the creatures. "She's definitely not a nurse – I mean, this one is lacking major medical skills."
"She was scratched by them?"
The taller one nodded.
"Bitten?"
Moona coldly stated, "Yep - she's already dead. Let's get our stuff and get the fuck out of here - your lucky rabbit skills can only last so long. Who knows how long this has been incubating inside her, or when she got this bite."
Pekora continued to look her over and then with gloved hands looked into her eyes. "She's not showing signs like the others. She might not change for a while. Incubation has been speeding up, but I don't see that here - Peko."
The bunny girl looked over how this doggo had been gathering supplies, even making a small weapon. She was resourceful and had every intention to fight her way out of this facility. That's what she surmised. She had a will to live.
She had heard her old friend go on and on and this was why she loved her so much. She knew that this was definitely Inugami Korone, the last of the inugami's on Holios.
She couldn't face her old friend if she just left her favorite person.
"What day is it?!" Pekora suddenly asked excitedly.
"I think Thursday? Don't do that – you're freaking me out." her friend and boss was acting peculiar.
"No – the day - Peko!"
"May seventh?"
"I set a message to be sent before I left for here and… yeah, she's gotten it by now. Peko… Peko… Peko."
The rabbit's mind was percolating and whenever that happened her eyes would widen and she would repeat her "Peko" tic.
"What are you talking about now?"
"I can cure her – Peko. I just need a little time to put this together. I'll grab those final ingredients, and we can both lift her up and take her back to your hidden room and then see if this cure works."
"You mean you want me to lift her up." Moona always had an underlying snark in her tone but Pekora greatly admired her ability to think two steps ahead of most people she'd met.
"You've lifted heavier things. And I'm still your boss - Peko."
"Yessir." The taller one laughed. "So, you're going to use her for the experiment?'
"She's dead if I don't. It could be her only hope. It's already entered her system."
"So, yeah, you're going to use her for the experiment."
"She fell into our lap. All the Joseph's are dead, and so maybe we just need a doggo instead." Pekora's eyes gleamed. "Of course! She has inugami blood. No wonder she's here. I bet that jerky guy brought her here - Peko."
Moona had to agree, her assistant was a complete jerk.
"You really are a crazy rabbit."
The smaller girl laughed in her usual cadence, "Ha. Ha. Ha."
Moona rolled her eyes. "You know, I both hate and love you. But you really are a mad scientist."
The taller one was strong enough to lift the doggo off the table, and throw her over her shoulder, as the smaller bunny gathered what she needed from the lab and threw them in her bag.
"Let's hope her inugami blood keeps her alive and the gods favor her," Dr. Hoshinova remarked. "And she doesn't kill us both."
"Pekora favors her, and so that is all she needs. Peko… Peko… Peko..."
[END NOTE: Okay, reviewer who reviews, I'm sorry there was no Lamy x Botan, but next chapter I am sure they will finally get to be together. Thanks for reading all!]