The claws snatch at my body, trying to dig into the outer parts of my skin. He tries to push me away so it could back into the darkness to hide, but I wouldn't allow it. I grab the rat's wrists. My fingers pressed on his as he tries to break from my grasp, pushing away from me as he grunts and growls and squeaks for its life. He even tries to bite my hand, but I never budged; I just sit unmoving as he did so, just trying to make out the shadow. It had large ear, coarse fur, large nose.. I could hear his rapid breathing and huffing. Eventually he just gave up, whimpering; it's heartbreaking to see. His arms gradually lost all of their strength until they all went limp.

"Hey.. I just wanna help, okay?" The rat just stares at me blankly. "I know I can be pretty scary, but I promise I'm a nice gu-" I look up only to see his confused and fearful posture. The same as always. He didn't hear a word I said. Then again, he did grew sentient yesterday. Time to think up a solution. I needed a way to talk. I look around trying to find a way to converse, but nothing was in the dark sewers.

I took the rat to a more lighter place where a manhole laid above us. I ignored the rat's silent pleas to let him go in my head as his struggling rippled my own flesh. I look up at the dim green light above us, giving us a sufficient light source to see each other. I look at the rat as he looked at me in open pink bloodshot eyes like Twitch. His fur was a murky brown instead of gray, and his skin was blotched and scared beyond all belief. His naked legs are limping and his ears twitches every 2 seconds. His sharp teeth gritted as I held on, yet as the light hit him, he looks up at the city of Zaun above him and gazes at it. It was illuminating and warm, yet alien to him. He hears the voices of the zaunites on the surface, but couldn't tell the tones of the voices. He didn't know what they were feeling, but he knew there were more than what was down here. I look up, empathizing with his destructive curiosity towards the city and quickly felt a faint sense of happiness from up there. Exhilaration.. from those voices, yet the rat hears nothing.

I glance at the rat's scars on his chest and arms. One large scar's just below the rat's wrist, evidently bleeding. Once I grab a hold of it, he's out of his trance. He fights again.

I fight back. "Listen!" I shout. He just looks up, not knowing what I said. "If. You want to go up there," I said, pointing towards the manhole. "You have to trust me." I pointed to myself. As I put my hand on the scar, I close my eyes and begin the process, letting my flesh go into his. My substance begins to reform the flesh that has been destroyed. I feel the heat coming out of me, taking my breath away as it goes to him. I hear his rampant breathing as this happens. His hands twitch more and more from the heat. I even feel the sweat coming from his fur. I stop. When my fingers turn loose, his arm jerked off from me, going back to his other hand until suddenly he realized that it wasn't bleeding. He raises his heated arm and gaze at it, wondering where the blood go. Wondering where the pain went. Then he looks at me, huffing to conserve energy.

"I'm here to help pal. I promise." I open a hand. I'll let him choose this time.

He points to the other wounds: his chest, his arms, legs, neck, and forehead. I nod yes. I'm willing to do it. He pauses and points his shaking & trembling hand up to the city. He looks around tirelessly for his creator, unsure of where he is. The water drops that clang on the pipes turn his head as his bones stiffen. I nodded yes. He paused slightly before taking my hand, and we went back to the deep depths of the sewers where no warm light reached us, where no one could find us.

I walk deeper and deeper with the rat's dragging behind me. As we walk, I tried to think about what exactly I'm doing. Twitch never wanted to kill or torture his creation. Heck, I think he didn't even want to boss it around; he just wanted someone to be with. I just needed to play along with that. "Listen.." I said, looking at the rat. "Y'know Twitch doesn't want to hurt you right?" He just stares at me blankly, not knowing what I said. i forgot he didn't know much about language. I just sigh. This was going to be hard. This entire thing was going to be hard. Just need to press through it.. That's all..

Once we were deep enough and close enough to Twitch's lair, I pointed down to the spot he should stay and gave him a signal to listen to. I knock on the pipe 5 times in a little tune, 2 sets of consecutive beats with one final beat ending it, and point to myself. If he hears that I'll be nearby. After that was explained, I walk towards the lair to tell Twitch about this. I begin to think of some neat ideas of what the three of us could do. Maybe we can play some games together. Maybe Twitch would like having a nice audience. Maybe I would have someone to come with me in the cultivairs and the commercias. The thoughts made me feel warm inside about how it could all work. It could really pay off. I just needed Twitch's help with conveying that to his creation.

I went into the lair with its lone green twisted lantern creaking and dangling. I see Twitch concerning himself with a book, writing vigorously inside it. "Hey, Twitch!" I said happily. "I have some good news for you! I-" I glance at the notebook he was writing on and it seemed to be a.. recipe. In front of the desk , there were more recipes that he pinned down to the wall as well with the center being what seemed to be the original recipe. The one with the green material with glow marks all around it. The shreds of papers scattered across the wooden table showed that this was recent. Just today.

"I don't need your news.." Twitch mutters. "I'm working on something!"

"Work? Working on what?" I ask. "Thought you would be searching for the little ra-"

"His name is Scratch!" He shouts, somewhat offended. "I told you his name is Scratch.. and my roaches are finding him! I just need to work on this.."

I raise my eyebrow. "Ok.. what's 'this'?"

"Well.." Twitch says, not diverting his attention away from his task. "I'm working on a potion.. The sentience potion worked, but he ran away..He ran away! From his own creator.. he's faulty, but I can fix it.. I can fix it.."

"How.. how are you going to fix it..?" I ask, stepping back. "What's.. what's 'it'?" I repeat more firmly.

"I need to make him more obedient.. Make him listen! And I can! I can't lose him.. I can't lose this..." The crazed rat walks over to the steel cauldron and threw a match underneath. The low blue fire rose. He threw in ingredients left and right in the water. Ingredient's I didn't know existed. He seemed to ignore me at that point, going about his work as if I'm not there. As he messed with the cauldron, I look at the recipe. It had a picture of a small rat bowing before a bigger rat. I'm struck horrified as I read...

Journal Entry 710:

I realized that the sentience potion may be successful, but it didn't give me a subject..

The potion must be faulty. I have to build from it! I must do it again, but with more ingredients..

Which ingredients would make him listen to me, make him- Doc Manager be Twitch's loyal subject! I must explore!

I just need to find those ingredients that should lead to obedience.

Journal Entries to look into:-

"What are you doing!?" Twitch shouts, swiping the paper from me. "That's classified information.."

"What am I doing!?" I shout angrily. "What are YOU doing!? This isn't needed. I.. I found him!"

"You what!?" Twitch asks back.

"Yeah. I found him, and he's more than willing to be with us, but not when this happens!"

"No.. No! He'll run again! He'll run if I don't do this! He'll be mine this time.. and besides, why should I trust you!" Twitch finally turns his head, his eyes glare at him, filled with hate. "All you've done was distracted me from my work, my job as the sewer king! I need to keep subjects under control.. The king needs to make sure the subjects stays under him! Not in the surface.. Not shot or blasted by the humans!"

"What!? I didn't do any-"

"Oh really? You refused to let me search for him at night.. You take my future subjects and release them! You even tried to let some blue abyss distract me, well NOTHING DISTRACTS TWITCH! I have to do this Goopy One.. Twitch must! Twitch must.. Twitch must.." His speech began to devolve into incessant rambling and all I could do is stare. I remember the time in the labs..

"Yeah.. guess you're right," I growl. "I'm just playing your tail." Twitch didn't listen; he's too busy with his own ideas as they formed a wall between me and him. To the rat, it seemed like it's just him, the cauldron, and the green lantern faintly illuminating his way. I couldn't break it, not after so many goddamn attempts. Let him wither in his own "kingdom", in his own "castle". I walk away from the lair, planning to do to Scratch what my parents did for me long ago..

All was quiet in the sewers after that. Twitch was left alone, with only drawings to talk to.