A/N I finally decided to write a story on Thrax's childhood. I'll also continue through "Almira's Story", showing his POV on meeting Almira. I don't own Thrax; he belongs to Warner Bros. I DO own his surname, his family, and other characters you don't recognize from Osmosis Jones.

Devilgirl123: Dun-du-du-duuuh! XD Just had to do that XD

LaMuerteRoja: All the time :D

thebigcrunchone9: Thanks :)

Chapter 18

Almira didn't stop when she thundered into the hypothalamus chamber. She leapt at a frozen cop, wasting no time in grabbing the back of his fat neck in her jaws. Thrax couldn't watch for long because the other cop attacked again, obviously not worried for his partner. In a few seconds, he began to smell melted cell. Almira must've killed him. He decided, finishing off the remaining cell. As he stood, catching his breath, he felt something paw at his coat. Looking back, he saw that Almira was sitting behind him, holding something small in her mouth. To his surprise, she spat out the hypothalamus bead at his feet, smiling and wagging her tail.

Thrax stared at the bead before crouching down and picking it up. Once he attached it to his chain, he stared sternly down at the hyena. "I thought I told you to stay home." Despite trying to sound irritated, he was secretly happy to see her.

Almira answered by nuzzling his hip with her head. Thrax rubbed her head, scratching between her bangs. He understood; she had chosen him instead of the fighting ring life. Several loud shouts interrupted them. More cells were coming. "We better get goin'!" Thrax exclaimed.

With a nod, Almira followed Thrax as he ran through the halls of the brain. They both dodged brain cells, although they didn't so much as dodge them; the brain cells jumped to the sides when they saw the virus and hyena germ coming. They soon came upon a large window, leading to outside the brain. Before they could jump through, several Immunity cells blocked the way. "We have you surrounded!" One yelled. "Surrender at once!"

Why do they always say that when they know it won't work? Thrax gritted his teeth. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Almira crouch down. He watched her, thinking she would jump over the barricade of cells. Instead, to his surprise, she took a deep breath, thrust her head forward, and let loose a stream of fire out of her mouth. The Immunity cells ran to the side to avoid it, and the fire also destroyed the window.

Thrax whistled, impressed. "I didn't know you could do that." Not wasting any more time, he ran to the window. He stumbled when Almira jumped onto his back, clinging to his coat, but managed not to fall. "Hang on tight, Baby Girl." He said, grabbing the sides of his coat. He jumped out the window. He felt her press her face to the back of his neck until he stretched out his coat, slowing down tremendously. It was more difficult to glide around with the extra weight, but he managed to land without any injuries.

As soon as their feet were on the ground, they headed for the throat. Just as they entered, a voice snapped, "Hold it right there!"

Freezing, Thrax and Almira gasped, seeing Preemer standing in front of them, leaning on his cane. "Preemer!" Thrax exclaimed. "Get outta my way! The cops are on my tail!"

"Exactly." Preemer crossed his arms. "No one turns my best fighter into a softie an' gets away with it."

Thrax's jaw dropped. "This is about Almira? What's she got to do with you rattin' out on me to the cops?"

"I asked ya t'heal her, not turn her into a pet. I spent a year trainin' her, an' ya spoiled it all!" Preemer yelled. Thrax sighed bitterly. He had a feeling Preemer would be upset, but not this upset!

He began walking towards Almira, who was glaring at him. "As fer you, yer comin' with me!" He reached for her collar, but quick as a flash, she bit his hand. He snatched his hand back, glaring. "Ya stupid hyena!" He kicked her to the ground, raised his cane up, and slammed it on her right hind leg. She screamed so loud, Thrax had to cover his ears. He felt a sliver of worry that he broke her leg.

Growling, she pushed herself to her feet and head butted him in the legs, making him fall back. His cane slid down the tongue and was lost to the saliva.

Almira crawled onto him and growled in his face. For the first time, Preemer was scared of this hyena. This wasn't the hyena he had trained; that hyena would have been too scared to attack him. No, this hyena not only had been tamed by a Red Death virus; she had gained a thirst for her former trainer's blood. But instead of biting him, she raised her paw, and tapped his forehead with a glowing claw. She shuffled back, smiling as Preemer began glowing and bubbling, screaming in horror and pain. Finally, he exploded into a pile of melted goo.

Almira stood up, but collapsed with a cry. Her hind leg didn't look broken, but she definitely couldn't stand on it. Thrax crouched down and ordered her to climb on his back. She crawled on, gripping his coat in her claws again. Making sure she was secured on, he stood up, took out a pollen pod, and threw it into the throat, activating it. Jack began inhaling to sneeze as soon as the pod disappeared into the dark. "Let's blow this joint." He said, preparing to take off again. As he spread his coat, Jack sneezed. Thrax rode the wind out, Almira still clinging to his back.

Within a few minutes of riding light breezes, they found a stray dog walking around. Changing course, Thrax glided into its nose, and finally landed. With Almira still on his back, he began walking around, trying to find a place to live in for the time being. He wasn't going to kill the dog; even if he was a killing virus, he still needed and appreciated his R&R.

Finally, he found an abandoned warehouse near the right ear. Once they were inside, he let Almira climb off onto the floor. She lay down, holding her injured leg in an awkward position. "Let's have a look at that leg." He said, crouching down and reaching for her leg.

She pulled it away, whining softly. "Mira, I gotta see it in order to treat it." He said patiently.

After a few silent seconds, she finally let the leg lay still, allowing him to examine it. "It's bruisin', all right," He sighed. "An' with a hit like that, it might be fractured. Might wanna splint it, just in case." Looking around, he tore a small beam of wood from a nearby crate, cut some strips of cloth from a discarded tarp, and began tying the makeshift splint to Almira's injured leg. Although she whined painfully, she stayed still, and didn't bite once. "I know, baby," He whispered soothingly. "I know. It's ok; it'll be over in a minute." When he was done, he ruffled her head and said, "Might wanna lay off it until it heals."

She licked his claws and rubbed her head against his hand.

Later that evening, Thrax was sitting on an old sofa that had seen better days. He was snapped from his thoughts when Almira limped over, climbed onto the sofa, and crawled onto his lap. Smirking, he stroke her head. "Guess I'm gonna be stuck with you, huh, Baby Girl." He scratched between her ears when she nudged his hand. "Maybe it won't be so bad." He smiled down at her as she began wagging her tail. "Yer a good girl, huh? Yer more than that; yer my good girl. Daddy's Baby Girl."

That night, when Almira was fast asleep in the same position on his lap, Thrax sat awake. His head leaned back against the couch, and his hand was on Almira's back. He was thinking back on some memories, all good, bad, and ugly. He also thought solemnly about the future, wondering what would come of it.

If someone told him he and Almira would try to kill a human, were thwarted by a goofy blood cell, survived alcohol dissolution, came back to the man, saved the city, and joined the Immunity alongside the very blood cell that nearly killed them, Thrax would have laughed at the "joke," and then killed the person who told him the story. But stranger things had happened, and no one really knew what the future would hold for them.

The End

A/N I was going to add an epilogue, but I'm sick of this story being uncompleted, and I'm itching to do some new stories, so I thought, "Ah, heck with it! I'm ending it here!"

19 chapters, 48 reviews, and over 3,300 views. Not bad; especially when I kept taking so long to finish this. I'd like to thank those who Favorited this,

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