I run through the pipes and make my way deeper and deeper into the twisted sewers below. It always disturbs me on how quiet and calm the sewers are, where all I could hear were my thoughts, loud thoughts of worry and fear. I was so used to the yellow lights above and the fire of kindness humans shared with each-other, but here.. it was so empty. So dark. So cold. I've been here for what seems like a year now, but it always seems new to me, as if the sewers itself was changing shape as I went down, like it was alive.

Eventually, as I go deeper and deeper, I hear a small cackle echoing in the vast emptiness of the tunnels. It seems broken, in-pain, yet distinctly.. happy. I begin to see his silhouette. Twitch held his hands firmly as he limps through. There are times when he stops to lean on the wall, gasping for air. "He lives.." Twitch repeatedly rambles on and on. "He lives.. He lives.. He lives! Hehe.. Heh. Heh. I saw him go this way. I saw him! He grows.. He jumps.. he breathes! Heh. He fights! He runs! HE LIVES! Must find him.. Must find him.. Heh. Hehe.."

I grow worried as I hear this. What happened while I was gone? I hop out of the pipes and manifest myself into my natural physical form. Twitch's ears perks up at the sound and jerks his head towards me. He quickly took a stance to go into camouflage, but then he realize who it was.

"ZAC!" He shouts happily like a child. So much happened! You must help me!"

"Heh. I could tell pal. A lot of bugs came to me. Uh.. what got ya so happy?"

"Well.. let me show you.. You must se- Augh!" Twitch cries as he fell in his more rodent-like stance. All 4 legs on the ground.

"Twitch!?" I ask as I run towards him. I bend down and try to lift him up. As I reach for his hands, I felt the usual burns from sentience experiments, but then I felt loose fur and scars. I look up to where his beady eyes would've been. He just looks at me as he begins to laugh. I could see the shadows of his sharp teeth and the edges of his maniacal smile. "Hehe.. He did this you know.. Hehe.."

I just look at him, puzzled and worried. "..who?" I mutter out.

"Haha.. Haha! Hahaha! You should've seen it.. YOU SHOULD'VE SEEN IT! HAHAHA! HAHA! HEE! HEE!" He couldn't stop. He couldn't control himself. He couldn't move. He fell to the ground as his cackles are carried by the empty tunnels of Zaun and his pink eyes cried of laughter and joy.

I march towards the pipe that acted as the entrance to Twitch's lair with Twitch sprawled on my back. As I approach the pipe, I see the tarp that hanged in front ripped to shreds, clearly revealing the sole green lantern behind it above the metal cauldron in which steam is rising from it. My skin begins to tingle at the very sight of it. I tip-toed slowly towards it, inching my way into the lair as slowly as possible as if the entire area was being watched by some unseen predator. I look around the wet concrete floor to see the usual bones and cracked glass, but also fur and imprints. Cracked concrete filled with new excess poison and arrows. As I make my observations, Twitch begins to point out certain parts of the area while mumbling about them faintly. "That's where I tried to shoot.. How stupid I was hehe.. ...Ooh! He ran over there.. I could see his footprints at one point! ...That's where he just stood there.. and grow.. and PULSE! He glowed green when he does that and he shed so much fur.."

Once I finally made my way over to my trashbag bed, I sat Twitch down and felt for his hand. I could feel the scars bleeding out. I grab a roll of paper towels that I kept on standby and pressed my hand to his. Twitch grits his teeth at the warm sensation of my healing, as my flesh tried to mesh with his to invigorate the skin cells growth. "Hey.. I know it's a bit uncomfortable, but.. tell me about what happened." I glance at the steaming cauldron with the green lantern hanging above its chains. "Must be a real great story huh..?"

"You don't know the half of it.. Heh. When you left to do.. whatever you do up there! I walked around the sewers thinking of what you said, Goopy One! And when I was thinking about my new ideas, a new chemical showed up on my footsteps! It dropped all of a sudden! Yes.. It must be the sewers itself.. It must be giving me a sign that my kingdom must prosper!"

"Wow.. Nice luck, pal."

"Heh. It's not luck! It's a blessing.. Twitch always gets the best blessings y'know.. Heh. I put it in and the smell changes. I put my first subject in.. and he begin to fight! Fight with such ravenous force that he escaped!" Twitch pointed to a large crack in the wall. I walk towards it and tried to look inside. There was nothing inside.. or at least, I assume not. The only way I could see it was through the dim green light from the lantern. "The roaches.. they've been trying to find him.. Scratch.. That's the name I'll call him! But they keep failing me I tell you! They lead me everywhere.. To the east and to the west.. To the north and to the south! Up and down! Left and right! Twitch thinks that his roaches are on to something I tell you.. They're trying to get in my way!"

"Hey.. let's calm down buddy," I said, moving my head away from the large empty black crack towards Twitch's wild eyes. "Let's.. calm down for a second. You're injured. Your hands are bleeding. It's been a wild day, but everyone needs to relax y'know?"

"But.. But IT LIVES! My newest subject.." Twitch tries to stand himself up, but as his hands reach the pavement he begin to feel pain.

He grunts out as ZAC quickly reaches for his hand. "Hey. I'll help in any way that I can, but right now.. you need some rest. This isn't good for you buddy. You make me worried sometimes. Not letting you out of here.." I wrap his hands with a paper towel and tied it real tight. Once I was done, he moves his hand away from me with his sharp anger and frustration cutting through my skin.

"Hmph! It better be worth it.. I better have no blood coming from my hands.. No more pain!"

"Hey. You won't. Will be done in a heartbeat." I wrap Twitch up in a little trash bag blanket before going to my own bed. I didn't lie down. I just sit there, watching Twitch as he tried to sleep.

I remember it. I always see it as I sleep. I remember the moment I hesitated. He clawed at my hand as I held him. He fought back relentlessly and relentlessly until I couldn't handle it anymore. I instinctively grab the crossbow and started firing. Firing everywhere to kill the one who did this to me, Twitch! Everything happened so fast as my ears begin to drone out every sound. Every pitter. Every skitter. Every crack. Every sound that I could hear. All I heard was the trigger until I saw.. him. My creation in front of the entrance. It pulsed and glowed green. It just sits there growing and growing and growing until it is half my size.. I just stared.. aiming the crossbow at him, pulling my hand away from the trigger. It looked beautiful. Its green fur and its wild eyes.. Another plague rat in the making.. Another of my kind! But.. as it opened its eyes from the pain and looked at me for a tiny millisecond, it ran.

It took me a while to process that he had the audacity to run away from his maker. I couldn't waste anymore time. I strap the crossbow behind my back. I put all of it on my back. I started to pounce, to run after my newest subject ! Then.. my hand hit the pavement, and my arms begin to crumble. As my poor head hit the floor, I jolted up from my slumber. I look around to see the Goopy One sleeping on his bed, sitting straight up, his head towards me. Was he spying on me? No matter! I reach for my crossbow and continue my search.

As I march up to the tunnels, searching around the area... I see him. I see him glowing a faint green light. I see him glowing in the end of the tunnels . He looked huge. Gigantic. My size even! maybe bigger.. "Scratch..?" I mumble out. I couldn't control myself. I run. I run towards it. My arms tried desperately to grab the creature that I know was mine. As I ran and ran, the green light begins to fade. No! He can't be gone! He can't be gone! I can reach him before he leaves! I can reach him before he runs away again! Eventually as I ran, the light fades to black, and my hand begins to feel a concrete wall. I feel a tinge of pain, but not as severe as earlier. I felt my hand.. It wasn't bleeding anymore, more reasons to continue! I listen.. I listen to the cracks of the walls. Skitter. Skitter. Skitter. He's still here! He may have left, but he couldn't have run so far! I must find him! I sprawl out on the floor, enduring the small twinges of pain for my search as I begin to hear the sounds of the second plague rat! I listen closer and closer until that was all I heard in the dark night of the sewers. He must be here..

Skitter. Skitter. Skitter.