AN: I forgot to mention this last chapter, but I've completely finished with typing up this story. All that's left is to continue releasing chapters every Wednesday and Saturday until all fourteen chapters are out. I'd rather not have everything out all at once. Also, I'm taking a break from active writing for the sake of peace of mind. I'll certainly get back to it since I love writing so much, but it also takes a lot out of me. Anyway, this chapter features my OC's Andy, Ben, and Casey. Also, prepare to be shocked.
Ch 6: A New Curse
Everyone in Legoshi and Haru's apartment is staring in shock at the TV screen.
"What the hell?" Goshen asks no one in particular.
Legoshi, Dope, and Free suddenly stand up and start heading for the door.
"Where are you guys going?" asks Jack.
"Louis's in trouble," says Legoshi.
"Boss needs us," says Free.
"We'll save him," says Dope.
"Stop right there!" shouts Haru. "They're on the other side of the city!"
"We can't just leave him in danger!" shouts Legoshi.
"I hate this as much as you do! Still, by the time you'd all get there, everything would be over!" The dwarf rabbit then turns to the lions. "You two won't like me saying this, but Louis is not your boss anymore."
Dope and Free feel a pang of misery after hearing that, but acknowledge that she's right.
"You should all sit back down and pray things go well."
The three return to their seats.
Marie stares at her father's face on the TV. "Father."
Meanwhile…
The Drama Club members are too shocked by what just happened to say anything.
"Bill," Pina says in a more serious tone than he usually speaks with. "I don't think you'll have to worry about Dancer W becoming your son in law anytime soon."
Everyone's still too engulfed in the TV to pay that comment much attention.
Meanwhile…
Juno's staring at the screen in despair. 'Louis's in danger. He could die any moment and my last words to him were so full of hatred. I feel so disgusting.'
Meanwhile…
Louis is checking his surroundings. 'The kid has everything under his control now. He's somehow had this planned in advance.'
Dancer W reaches into his pocket and pulls out a flash drive. "Ken, as promised, this one and only piece of evidence will now be destroyed." He drops the flash drive down onto the floor and stomps it with his foot.
Once the flash drive is in pieces, Mara looks at Dancer W. "What was that evidence of?"
"Nothing you need to worry about anymore. Just pictures of private moments that would have ruined you if they saw the light of day. Your…producer…couldn't let that happen."
Mara has a look of horror on her face as she realizes what was on that flash drive. Seeing Ken's guilt written on his face just confirms it to her.
Louis looks between the gazelle and the zebra. 'Wait a minute. Those looks. The two of them are lovers. That would ruin both of them if it got out.' The stag looks at the young wolf in anger. "You used blackmail to get on this show!"
"Yes I did," says Dancer W. "One can do a lot with the right information. Just look what I did with you."
Realization hits Louis like lightning. "It was you. You're the one who had that listening device put in. You had all those photos taken. You sent everything to The Daily Spew."
Dancer W chuckles. "While my crew were the ones who collected the information, I was the one who masterminded the whole thing."
"Why?! What reason did you have to wreck my life?!"
"To explain, I should inform you that you may already have slight awareness of who I am through my…I guess you could call the ones that raised me my parents, Xander and Delilah."
Louis gasps as he realizes who is sitting in front of him. "Philip."
"That's right."
Meanwhile…
"Philip's alive?!" shouts Legoshi.
"You even looked into his death thinking something was going on," says Jack.
"Boss thought so too," says Free.
"Nothing came from our investigations though," says Dope.
"To think he'd show up alive," says Haru.
"I can't believe I was ever a fan of this blackmailer!" Goshen shouts about Philip.
Marie is just staring at the proceedings.
Meanwhile…
"Holy shit!" shouts Kai.
"What an insane twist!" shouts Dom.
"This is nuts!" shouts Tao.
Meanwhile…
Juno is staring at the TV screen as if seeing a ghost. "Philip?" The wine glass slips from her hand and shatters on the floor.
Meanwhile…
Louis is staring at the young wolf. "Philip, I thought you were dead."
"That's what Xander and Delilah wanted the world to believe," says Philip. "If those two had their way, I would be."
"Okay, they were the shittiest parents. That doesn't justify or explain why you would go after me and Marie."
"Xander and Delilah hid the fact that they couldn't produce an heir of their own."
Louis stares at Philip. "You're adopted."
"Yes I am. Same goes for that Malcolm kid they replaced me with. Now, to explain what reason I had for why I went after you, you are the reason Xander and Delilah wished to get rid of me."
"How is that possible?! I've never met you before!"
Philip stands up. "It is quite possible because you are one half of why I was brought into this cruel world, Louis the Red Deer!" He throws the microphone away and takes his glasses off. He grins and opens his eyes, revealing he's not blind.
Louis gasps. 'He doesn't have fangs. They're the flat teeth of an herbivore. Those eyes. He has my eyes.'
Philip tilts his head. "Perhaps I should call you Father."
Meanwhile…
"Father?!" shouts Goshen.
"Whoa," says Haru.
Nobody else can say anything after that revelation.
Meanwhile…
"You gotta be shitting me!" shouts Bill.
"So, Louis's had a hybrid kid too," says Kibi.
"Didn't see that coming," says Pina.
Meanwhile…
Juno is covering her mouth. 'Oh, Louis.'
Meanwhile…
Louis is shaking. 'Father? Philip is my…son?'
Philip sits down. "You should've been more careful with your affairs…Daddy."
"You…how?"
"Really? You're asking me how? Clearly, sleeping with random carnivore women every Saturday for almost two decades was bound to produce at least one hybrid child. Even if using a condom every time, it was inevitable."
'I didn't use a condom every time. If the women told me they were on the pill, then I'd go without. My favorite one told me she was on the pill. That she wolf was one of the few times that I allowed myself to get dominated in bed. The feel of her body…it was easy imagining her being Juno.' The stag's favorite scars suddenly feel very tender.
"My mother apparently didn't feel I was worth keeping, so she gave me to Child Services right after I was born. She didn't have the courtesy to let them know I was a hybrid. So, Xander and Delilah adopted me thinking I was just a small wolf. My teeth were written off as just some birth defect. Being part wolf, I still needed protein, but these herbivore teeth made it hell for me to chew eggs or fish. They all had to be blended or cut into really tiny pieces. So, thank you for cursing me with that, Father."
'Now he's cursing me for making him inherit my own flat, herbivore teeth. Seems Xander and Delilah must have shamed him for making them have to do that for him all his life.'
"The eyes were unusual for a wolf, but that was it. I was under the impression that I was just a wolf with some physical differences for years." Philip starts to undo the straps keeping his top hat in place. "Then, I began to go through puberty. That's when these things came in." The young hybrid throws off the hat.
Louis's eyes widen as others in the room gasp. 'Antlers. He grew antlers.'
"Not much to look at, are they? Being part wolf makes the antlers small and simple. Just perfect for hiding under large hats. However, being discovered by my doctor, who then informed both Xander and Delilah, meant trouble for me. Xander and Delilah had spent years saying that I was their biological son. Not only could they no longer claim that, they were disgusted they had allowed a hybrid into their home." Philips stands up with rage in his eyes directed at Louis. "Do you want to know what those two did next?! They beat me! I don't just mean to hurt me! They were trying to beat me to death!"
Louis is staring back at the deer-wolf hybrid in horror. 'They did try to kill him…and he's blaming me for it.'
"They cursed my existence! Calling me spawn of sickness! Mutant! Freak! I only lived because I found an opening to escape them! I ran and ran until I collapsed in some grimy alley!" Philip breathes heavily. "The next day, it was announced that I was dead." He chuckles. "It was interesting being labelled as dead when I was still breathing. It's also rather fascinating watching your own funeral from a distance."
'He was there.' Something suddenly clicks in Louis's mind. 'On the day of the funeral, I became obsessed with proving Xander and Delilah had actually murdered Philip. It wasn't when I saw their uncaring reactions when it started. It was when I saw the photo of Philip they had set up. His eyes were closed and he was frowning. I don't know what it was, but something inside of me compelled me to seek justice for him. When no proof was found, I was completely devastated. Philip's picture has haunted so many of my nightmares because I felt I'd failed. Is this why I was so determined? There's no way that my logical mind could have known, but did my own instincts somehow recognize Philip as my son?'
"I had to get by on the streets for a few years," Philip continues with a far off look. "That was difficult, me being a homeless young hybrid. Luckily, I found others." He snaps his fingers again.
The three cloaked figures remove their cloaks. All of them are hybrids.
"Andy with the guns is half alligator, half rhino. Ben at the camera is half eagle and half vulture. Casey in the control room is half cheetah and half chimpanzee. All are hybrids rejected by their own parents and society as a whole. We've been all we had the last few years."
Louis looks around at the other hybrids. 'They're striking back at a world that turned its back on them.' He looks back at Philip. 'My own son amongst them.' "Philip…I didn't know."
The deer-wolf hybrid scoffs. "Of course you didn't. All you cared about was having fun on the side while keeping your precious position as CEO of that damn company."
The stag looks away, unable to deny this completely.
"That reminds me." Philip points at the goat intern. "You! Go to Ben at the camera and take the folder he's holding!"
With reluctance, the intern goes to the eagle-vulture hybrid and takes the yellow folder.
Philip beckons the goat over with a smirk. "Now, bring it to me."
The intern slowly approaches with fear obvious in her eyes. She holds the folder out with a shaking hand.
The deer-wolf hybrid takes the folder. "Thank you. You may go back to where you were now." As the goat hurries away, Philip opens up the folder and pulls out some papers.
Mara, who'd been silent this whole time, can't hold back her curiosity. "What's that?"
"You don't recognize this? It's another copy of the script for today's interview."
Both Louis and Mara stare at the papers in horror.
"Andy may appear to you as just the muscle, but he is the computer expert. He did some expert level hacking to acquire that email from Horns Conglomerate's Board of Directors. Once that was accomplished, he printed off the script they made and here it is in my hands. Allow me to read it to the viewers." Philip turns the script to the camera so the viewers can see what's been written on it. "Mara asks, 'So, Louis? Why did you marry Azuki?' My father answers with, 'As a young child, my father, Oguma, made it clear he saw the potential I had to change the world.'" The deer-wolf hybrid continues reading what had been intended to be said during the interview.
Louis and Mara are frozen. They've been revealed as fakes to the world.
Once finished, Philip turns to the pair with a grin. "Interesting that there's no mention of my father's affairs with carnivore women. I know exactly why that is. Horns Conglomerate had been hoping to just sweep that under the rug. They'd have held it over his head in private for the rest of his days as CEO, but publicly acknowledging it wasn't going to happen." He looks to the camera again. "If they had, they couldn't have avoided revealing a truth about themselves which certainly would have ruined them. Horns Conglomerate is anti carnivore, anti hybrid, and so anti interspecial relationships." Philip spreads his arms while letting the script fly from his hands. "I am sorry to say, Horns Conglomerate, but I'm here to make sure the world will never forget what your CEO has done. I am Philip, Louis the Red Deer's hybrid son he produced from an affair he had with a carnivorous she wolf!"
Louis blinks at this. 'Philip's mocking the Board of Directors at Horns Conglomerate. I don't think they can escape controversy now thanks to him.'
Philip's ear twitches and he turns to the stag with a smirk. "Take out your phone."
"What?"
"Your phone. I heard it vibrate with my enhanced hearing."
Louis reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone. Before he can check anything, it's swiped from his hand by Philip.
The young hybrid smiles at what he sees. "As I suspected would happen, it's from Horns Conglomerate's Board of Directors. I'll read what they said." He turns to the camera. "'Due to recent events and questionable choices on your part, it's been unanimously decided that, effective immediately, you are hereby removed as CEO of Horns Conglomerate.'"
Louis's stomach drops. "What?"
Philip smirks at the stag. "Basically, I got what I wanted. You have lost your place at the company. The Board of Directors have dropped you because you bring too much negative press. Oguma's legacy has been cast out of Horns Conglomerate. You are jobless and powerless."
In that moment, Louis is no longer in that room. He's back in the jail cell from his youth, waiting to be eaten. The stag's vocabulary suddenly goes out the window and he reverts back to only letting out sounds.
Philip smiles seeing the older animal clearly having a breakdown on live TV. "This is my revenge for you living a shallow life of privilege, while I faced abuse and homelessness for being nothing more than a hybrid. Now comes my curse." Philip steps forward and grabs Louis by his shirt and brings him in so that they're face to face.
Jerked out of his memory, the stag sees the rage in his son's identical eyes. 'This close, I can't see much of his wolf half. He looks like an angry stag. It's like…seeing my darkest side.'
Philip growls. "Don't ever try to build yourself back up! If you so much as try to run an ice cream truck, I'll be there to bring you back down to dirt! That is your curse from your reject hybrid son!" He pushes Louis back into his chair. Then, Philip starts laughing, which evolves to cackling.
Meanwhile…
Legoshi lets out a whine. Seeing his old friend lose his job, have a breakdown, then have the hybrid son who caused it laugh in his face hurts. "Louis."
Haru and Jack both place comforting hands on Legoshi's shoulders.
Free and Dope are ridden with guilt at not being there to help the stag. "Boss."
Marie can barely feel Goshen's hug, she's so distraught at what's happened. "Father."
Meanwhile…
"Poor Louis," says Riz.
"That's rough," says Aoba.
Bill shakes his head with a frown. "I know I was mad at Louis and all earlier, but the guy really didn't deserve this."
Els hugs her husband.
"Wonder if Juno knows," says Shiira.
Meanwhile…
Juno is an absolute weeping mess after witnessing everything. "Louis! I'm so sorry!"
Meanwhile…
Louis is staring at the laughing young hybrid. 'He's ruined me…and he's laughing about it.'
Philip stops laughing and smirks down at his father. "This was fun, but now that it's over with, time for me to deal with Mother."
The stag is able to understand that the hybrid's planning to ruin the she wolf mother's life too. He feels the urge to try and help her. "Who is she?"
"That's for me to know and you to find out." Philip drops a smoke bomb. "Viewers will find out on my upcoming live stream!"
Coughing fills the room. Once the smoke clears, everyone can see Philip and his gang of hybrids have left.
Dolph rushes over to Louis. "We need to leave now, Boss."
The stag offers no resistance as the lion leads him out of the room and all the way to their waiting car. As Agata drives them away, Louis only has one thought. 'Philip.'
AN: YES! Not only is Dancer W the thought to be dead Philip, but he's also Louis's deer-wolf hybrid son! I've been so anxious to let you all know this! What do you guys think of the reveal?! And who's the mother?! Hmm?! Confirmation will come on Wednesday! See you then!
