Episode 3: Family Matters

Aki:"So what's it like, being an heiress to such a big company?"

Sarah:"It has its perks, but it also brings such a gap between you and the other kids, like you have a sign hanging over you just for being present alone."

Aki:"Makes sense since your dad's the CEO AND a Beastar, that's two of the biggest positions in the world that anyone can think of and he's both of them."

(The Two Hybrid children talk further in the garden club as Sarah cares for a flower by trimming its leaves while Aki is near her, sitting on a table as he's lying on his back and watching the clouds roll by.)

Sarah:"Ugh, my dad…I love him to death but he drives me crazy with this destiny nonsense he can't seem to shut up about."

Aki:"Destiny?"

(The wolf-bunny says as he sits up from his resting position, focusing almost entirely on Sarah as he asked her to explain.)

Sarah:"I'm destined to be the next Beastar, according to him. As much as I wanna say I want to make the world a better place-which I do!…I can't help but feel like being the Beastar…Just, isn't FOR me."

Aki:"Lucky, My dad NEVER tells me his stories. I learned about all of his adventures through my mom telling me during bedtime. Did you know he fought the Shishigumi all by himself?"

Sarah:"My Dad RAN the Shishigumi."

Aki:"No way!"

Sarah:"Yeah, he ran them while he was still in Highschool too, nearly dropped out because of them. Did you ever hear about the Shishigumi security force in the Horns Conglomerate, why do you think most of them are lions?"

Aki:"That's awesome! I gotta meet your dad, I bet he's got some REAL cool stories to tell."

Sarah:"I'm kinda afraid for you to meet him, what if he wants you to become a Beastar too?"

Aki:"I'd see it as an honor."

Sarah:"Of course you would, you really remind me of him…Also my Mom. She's cool, she is REALLY fun and is really nice like my dad. I think she wants me to just do whatever I think is right."

Aki:"Your mom's Juno right? She's like a high Executive of the Horns Conglomerate, which was really risky since she was the first wolf to actually work for them and in such a high position too."

Sarah:"Yeah, they split up just after a couple of dates but…they never could STAY apart, you know? He was originally engaged to a Doe named Azuki, she was the heir to another CEO and their marriage was arranged for political reasons, but eventually Dad ran into Mom again and again, and he eventually broke down and proposed to her."

Aki:"Really?"

Sarah:"Well, that's the way my Mom describes it, Dad said he actually did a legal contractual deal to convince Azuki to let him go through with marrying my Mom. At first she was surprised by these turn of events, but you have to keep in mind that he was already deemed the next Beastar and was already the CEO of grandpa's company, and since the offer was more than generous, she actually was pretty ok with it, she even did deals with my Mom afterwards. What about your parents? Not much is really known about Legoshi the gray wolf, only his involvement with the Back Alley Market's downfall."

Aki:"Not much to tell, he married Mom as soon as he was legally permitted to and the two sooner-or-later had kids, my Dad told me around my 8th birthday that he retired as the Beastar and became a janitor for a Hospital, I think it was because Mom was already expecting Winter."

(Sarah gave Aki an odd look as she was confused about how a season would be involved with such a specific decision, Aki realized his words and explained further.)

Aki:"My sister, her name's Winter. Mom named her that because she was covered totally in white fur, she got my Mom's fur and eyes but my Dad's everything else."

Sarah:"Do you REALLY want to be the next Beastar?"

(Aki just leans back and returns to his relaxed position from before, he stares at the sky and says with a smile and confident look as he confirms his claim.)

Aki:"It's my Destiny!"

(Aki closes his eyes and daydreams about the mere thought of him achieving that position, the medals, the parades, the idea of being a vigilante that takes down criminals and finally being strong like his father. He continues this day dream while Sarah thinks to herself as she stares at the boy fantasizing about this goal of his.

"My dad would love this guy, he's more than determined to be the Beastar."

She then smiles beneath her mask at the thought of her playing devil's advocate and questions Aki further to see just how determined he really is to go for such a goal.)

Sarah:"Well you do know the responsibilities of the Beastar right? With the back alley market gone, it seems Predations have only become more rampant. My dad and his partners are already spread thin enough as is, do you think you have what it takes to handle the politics, the brutality and all the obstacles it comes with being the Beastar?"

Aki:"I know I do!"

(Sarah simply crossed her arms and proceeded to smirk beneath her mask as she asked him a question to test if he has the knowledge to fill the role.)

Sarah:"So where do Dogs come from?"

Aki:"Uh…what?"

Sarah:"The Dogs, the descendants of the wolves? Where do they come from and why?"

Aki:"Uh…from a mommy dog and a daddy dog?"

(Aki says with an embarrassing smile, knowing his answer wasn't what she was looking for. This only is confirmed as Sarah bursts out laughing at the answer Aki gave her, she covered the surgical mask that shielded her mouth and giggled as she thought to herself once more.

"You have quite the spirit Aki, but you have a long way to go before becoming the next Beastar…But I know that whatever you do, your parents WILL be proud of you."

Aki was wandering his eyes while scratching the back of his head, he eventually asked Sarah about the question further.)

Aki:"So just out of curiosity, how close was I?"

Sarah:"I mean…you weren't wrong, but you missed the point of the question entirely. You see, a long time ago there was this conflict between…"

(Sarah continued her explanation of the need for dogs to be a thing. As she continued, Aki was half listening as he was thinking to himself as well, about how he had realized that Sarah was incredibly smart and knew so much about such topics.

"Wow, I didn't realize she knew so much about history…I guess it makes sense if your dad's Louis the Red Deer, he probably knows all kinds of stuff about history, politics, economy…just… everything. I wonder why Uncle Jack never told me about the history of dogs, I know he's always busy with his teachings at Dodome, but I'd figure he'd at least tell me about his ancestry."

Aki then noticed something that he'd almost completely forgotten about Sarah as she was talking, he pointed it out to her halfway through her lecture when he asked about a specific choice she made.)

Sarah:"-That's when the war was over, but people still wanted-"

Aki:"Hey…Sorry to interrupt…but if you don't mind me asking… why do you wear a mask all the time?"

Sarah:"I already told you…it's…to hide my teeth."

Aki:"No, I mean, why do you wear it around me? I have canines too…"

Sarah:"I don't know…I guess I'm just used to wearing it."

Aki:"You shouldn't have to be, you look more normal than I do and your eyes and fur are beautiful!"

(Sarah blushes at that last comment.)

Aki:"There are Hybrids everywhere, we should be treated just like everyone else."

Sarah:"I don't know…I don't wanna start any conflict and I don't want to change anything just because of me."

Aki:"Then promise me this…whenever it's just us, you keep that mask off…Deal?"

(Aki says as he holds out his hand in a playful manner. Sarah showed hesitation at first, but ultimately nodded as she grasped his extended hand.)

Sarah:"Deal!"

(The two shake hands as they confirm their contract, all the while Sarah thinks to herself once more as she sees something in Aki.

"You may not be ready to be the next Beastar, but you DEFINITELY deserve to be…I know you'll do great once you're ready."

(Meanwhile, in an unknown warehouse.

The light of the sun shined through the mostly dark building as thugs of varying sizes and species were moving crates of unknown ordinance, the moment one of them dropped it on the floor, they were yelled at by another thug. He is screamed at by what seemed to be a large bear type of animal who shouts "Hey! That stuff's fragile! Be careful with it or the bossman will end you!" causing a mysterious figure to rise from the shadow and shout in retaliation to the grunt's loud exclamation, saying "He's right you know." As he approached the goons. He slowly walked up to the two that caught his attention as he continued "This equipment is worth more than this city, let alone your lives." as he leans towards the Bear goon. He panics and apologizes with the usual "Sorry Boss! I promise, nothing bad'll happen to the goods." as the other goon tries to slowly back away from the tension.)

Boss:"Where are you running off to?"

Grunt:"Nowhere, just…Keeping my distance is all."

Boss:"Why?…Do I bother you?"

(The boss asks while sauntering slowly towards the frightened grunt.)

Grunt:"No boss, I'm just…easily frightened, that's all…"

Boss:"I can tell…After all…"

(The Boss emerges from the shadow as he revealed his face towards the grunt, he was tall and reptilian looking but had goat horns that extruded from his forehead, he had the sharp teeth of a crocodile but his head was more pronounced and shaped like a Komodo dragon. His eyes were feline like and constricted, all while being a deep blood red shade, and his scales look more like they belonged to a Pangolin than a Reptile. He tilted his head up to the Grunt as his grin widened and continued to petrify the goon as he simply stated the following.)

"It's not everyday you meet a Chimera…"

(The rest of the goons were uneasy, the boss usually liked to avoid light and his only reason to show his image to others is to flex in front of them, usually it cost a life when he'd do so. But despite the jump it gave the Grunt, all he did was place his hand on his shoulder and pat it a little as he then walked by the grunt. Eventually one of the goons developed audacity as he blurted out with a subtle "So…What's this stuff for?" to learn a little more of the exact purpose of the equipment. The Leader turns around and his goons felt like he wanted to answer them with a long speech about how the world will be affected by his goals, about how his origin shaped him and his goals, about what he aimed for out of all of this…But all he actually did was chuckled as he said a simple yet unnerving sentence.)

"To kill the Beastars of course…"

(The goons questioned further about his intentions for everything, why the Beastars? Why kill them? What's the Endgame? All of which he replied with a fun loving tone of "In good time…You'll know why…But for now…Let's just get this outta the way and head home for some dinner…Kay?" as he continued to walk away from his help and leave them to do the heavy lifting. All while he begins to monologue in his head about what he's ultimately after from this goal.)

"I need that Wolf and Deer out of the way, Hybrids are all over this world and yet people like to pretend they don't exist. This… 'Fragile' stuff is to get their attention, but then I intend to go pay a visit to an old friend, get something that belongs to my old employers…Then do what I was made to do…"

(One of the goons picks up a crate and as they lift it up, there is revealed to be another crate beneath it made entirely out of metal and of designed by militaristic standards, on its surface were the spray painted words "The Chimera Project".)

"Change the world…"

(Meanwhile, at a suburban park, Haru sits on a bench as she watches her daughter Winter playing on a nearby Jungle gym. She smiled as she saw her pup enjoying her time in the sandbox, but began to become more troubled as she thought about her son. She was then approached by a wolf that she almost instantly recognized, she reached the bench and sat down next to Haru as she greeted her old friend.)

Haru:"It's been a while…"

Juno:"Yeah, but you know how life is."

Haru:"Boy do I…So how've you been?"

Juno:"Pretty great actually, I finished college with a masters and got a job with the horns conglomerate as an executive. Soon after I had a daughter named Sarah and she's already getting straight A's and plays the piano, though that was mostly because Louis kept pushing her to do it."

Haru:"She sounds lovely, you'll have to show me pictures someday."

Juno:"How about you? How are things in your life going?"

Haru:"Not too bad, It took a while for Legoshi to finally propose…but once we got married, we eventually had our son Aki, not that long after came that Angel in the sandbox over there…Her name's Winter."

Juno:"She's beautiful, she has almost every gorgeous aspect her parents possessed."

(Juno smiles and looks at Haru as she finishes her claim, but is surprised to see Haru depressed as her ears droop and her head bowing.)

Juno:"Gck! Is everything ok?"

Haru:"It's Aki, He got into a fight with some of the kids. I just can't help but wonder if I can even help him."

Juno:"W- Well I'm sure it'll turn out ok, I know things can get rough but knowing you and Legoshi, I can only imagine you guys will make it out of this ok! Besides, you know how boys are…"

(Juno says as she looks away, confident that Haru and her family will be just fine, unfortunately she looks back to see Haru even sadder somehow. Haru explains why she seems so down as she emphasizes the importance of the situation by showing her awareness of what's REALLY going on.)

Haru:"I know he didn't actually get physical…I've been bullied enough times to know when a situation has been blown out of proportion by a teacher. But the fact that the Teachers easily believed them instead of him, the fact that those kids picked on him to begin with…Sometimes I wonder if it's because of some circumstance…Or…"

(Haru stops for a moment as she looks up back at her daughter, she is building a sand castle and is being given constant stares from the kids, they fear approaching her and Juno notices this. Haru then says something that reveals to Juno one of her biggest concerns about her children and the situation her family is constantly in.)

Haru:"Sometimes I wish I could give them all of my DNA or all of Legoshi's…Just so they can live a better life."

(Juno realizes the issue that troubles Haru the most as she grabs her purse and scrambles for her phone, she grabs the device upon finding it and begins to go through it. Once she found what she was looking for, she held it to Haru so she may see what she had on the small device, a photo of Sarah. She had just recently won a talent show and was wearing her usual mask as she held a massive trophy, Louis was standing next to her with a look of pride on his face.)

Juno:"…That's her…She always wears that mask, she has teeth like mine and she had to exchange school a couple of times because of the kids that would pick on her for being different…Louis and I still argue about whether or not we should do something different and talk with the school, or if we should just try and be as discreet as we can…"

(Haru smiles as she sees the picture, mostly because she saw a perfect mix between Juno and Louis in the child.)

Juno:"Parenting is the toughest job on the planet…It comes without instructions and the consequences are forever…But sometimes we just have to have faith in what we're doing and what our children will become…we can't always make the right decision, but that's one of the other reasons of why we are there, to be there for them when something bad happens…"

(Haru wipes away a tear from this talk and passes the device back to the wolf, once placed back in her purse, she turns to see Haru looking at Winter in the sandbox but her smile slowly fades as she ponders one more thing.)

Haru:"…I kept a big secret from my kids and grounded my son for a crime he didn't commit…Juno…am I a bad mother?"

Juno:"Eh?! No! I wasn't trying to imply anything like that! I was just-…I don't know…trying to tell you that things will be ok in the end or-…something? I'm not trying to knock you down or anything!"

Haru:"I know…But this is something I have to look at myself…I need to tell Aki and Winter the truth…"

Juno:"Well… what is the Truth?"

Haru:"Where Legoshi goes at night, that he's still one of the Beastars. It won't stop the bullying and it won't fix much of anything else…but-… I just want Aki to know that I'm there for him and that I want him to be aware of what goes on…I want him to know that I'm on his side."

Juno:"Well…Whatever happens, I'm sure you'll know what to do…and I'm certain that it will turn out ok…"

(Haru smiles once more and this time it remains, she keeps her focus on her child as she shows her appreciation to Juno and explains why it was so important they met.)

Haru:"Thanks Juno…You know…You're actually the first friend I had…I'm glad to have met you."

(A loud rhythmic thumping is heard after Haru finishes, Juno's tail was wagging and smacking the bench she and Haru sat on, her excitement was present in both her face and her tail.)

Juno:"Oh…Well I'm glad I'm your friend!"

(Juno joins Haru in watching Winter from the bench and the thumping continues but gradually lightens as it eventually stops. A feeling was present in the park's air, Today was going to be a good day…This time for everyone.)