- Thank you so much for reading and the reviews!

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"Don't say something so stupid!" Alfred half shouted, shocked at its harsh words he gripped tighter onto the cold bars.

"Oh? …And how are my words 'stupid', prey-tell?" it sneered back weakly, teeth bared slightly.

"Well, you need help, so why wouldn't I help you?" Al was looking it straight in the eyes, a determined and confused expression on his face.

The thing chuckled darkly at him, a sinister gleam forming in its eyes as it shifted foreword pressing its face against the gap in-between the bars, it was so close now that its noise was nearly touching Alfred's. Smirking at him, its voice almost sounding playful now, that is, if it weren't for the venom that was at the edge of its words causing Al's hair stand on end.

"But again, why would you? I dare say I've never even met you before… we have no connections and you have nothing to gain from helping me… and after all, I'm nothing but a 'thing' to you, right? Of less worth than a bloody dog to you huma-"

"Shut up!" Al cut it off harshly before it could continue, hurt by its opinion of him. He didn't move or look away though, instead giving it a stern look, his eyes glassy and hurt.

The things smirk faltered then, its ears folding back as a look of guilt and confusion crossed through its face from seeing Alfred's reaction. …As I thought before, this one really is so much different than those others. It thought vaguely. Alfred noticing its expression sighed, his own expression softened into one of understanding. He knew that it probably had good reasons to think like that. Clearly it had been mistreated before and it was locked up in a cage after all… that and Al also knew himself, from first-hand experience how truly cruel and selfish people could be towards something different, something they deemed 'outcast'. Frowning he quickly pushed back a memory that was forming, he really didn't want to remember that right now.

Before he realised what he was doing, Al had let go of one of the bars and cautiously lifted his hand to stroke the side of its face with his thumb, wanting to comfort it. The thing flinched away from the unexpected touch, its eyes scrunched closed and clenching its teeth as if expecting to get hit. Al frowned again but he didn't give up, instead moving his hand to stroke its hair softly. He spoke up again, this time his voice gentle but happy, wanting to reassure it.

"Hey, dude, I'm sorry… I didn't mean to snap like that… but, well, you know you really shouldn't talk like that. I know that there are some horrible people about, but, honestly, not everyone's like that. I promise. And I promise that I really do want to help you, no catch, and I'm not lying… I'm gonna be you're hero, okay?" Al smiled as the thing looked at him strangely with its mouth open slightly. For a second he thought it was going to cry but was surprised when it started that weird laughing-barking again, sounding much like a deranged hyena. It grinned widely at him, sounding airy and a little crazed when it spoke.

"Heh, you're… a little weird, you know that?"

"…Yeah, I could say the same for you." Al grinned back.

Letting go of the bars and standing up, Al winced as he stretched out his back which had been aching from being crouched for so long. He then took a hold of the lock, tugging at it to test its strength… it didn't seem like even he would be able to break it by hand… but maybe if he had a pole or metal bat of some sort he might be able to break it off, he was known for being unnaturally strong so that should work. With that in mind he started searching around the area and with the amount of stuff and crates crammed about the place it shouldn't be hard to find something of use. The thing watched him with a raised eyebrow, quietly amused. It had taken quiet a liking to this 'Alfred' guy it decided.

After a minute of rustling about in a few piles cardboard boxes it heard Al make a 'whoop' like noise as he emerged from the shadows carrying something like a crowbar and grinning proudly to himself as he approached the cage. It watched him silently, smiling as it felt a glimmer of hope start to grow in its chest for the first time in years.

"Okay! You might wanna cover you're ears, cause I think this'll be pretty loud for you in there." Al stated calmly but with an excited gleam in his bright blue eyes at the prospect of them finally escaping. The thing nodded and lifted up its hand and paw, pressing down both of its ears against the sides of its head. It then looked back at him, giving him the go-ahead. Al couldn't help but giggle a bit from excitement and at how cute the fox guy looked like that as he lifted up the metal tool, ready to strike. Suddenly and forcefully he brought it down against the thinner strip of metal that joined the padlock to the chain. It made a sharp loud clanging noise that echoed ominously around the area and sent vibrations from the impact through his arm. Cringing, Al worriedly looked about himself, only just realising that the noise could draw some unwanted attention.

He couldn't see anyone around though and the whole place was deadly quiet, but he felt a strong and sickening chill run down his spine and into his gut. Quickly and trying not to panic he raised the tool again, the lock had a large dent in it now and it should only take one more hit for it to fall. Another, even louder echo rung throughout the area as the padlock fell heavily to the ground. Quickly dropping the tool Al desperately pulled the chain from around the door and flung it open, nervously he glanced around the area again checking for any sign of movement or noise. It had gotten a lot darker and later now than it was before, he didn't have his watch on but he guessed from about the time he'd left the show and at how long he'd been here it was around 11:30pm.

The show had ended a while back, hence why everything was so quiet and desolate. The whole place was unnerving, it made him tense and was giving sense of dread in his gut, kind of like the feeling you get in a nightmare where you can't see anything, but you know that something really bad is about to happen.

A rustling noise and movement to his left made him jump violently and spin around. He let out a breath relaxing when he realised it was just the fox guy crawling from out of the cage, he rubbed his hand over his face trying to calm down and compose himself, he couldn't afford to panic right now. Looking back at the thing he watched as it struggled and wobbly stood up on its two back fox legs, Alfred couldn't help but stare at them slightly in fascination as it balanced on the two small paws, the reddish-brown fur reached to just around its knees, from there the rest of it looked completely human (except for its left arm, tail and ears which were fox-looking). Al noticed worriedly that it's odd smile was looking much weaker now than before as it shakily walked towards him, and he could also see now that it was a bit shorter than him.

Concerned by how unstable it looked Alfred reached out and held onto its shoulder to help steady it.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Yes, I am quite all right. Thank you…. So, what happens now?" it laughed again, but much more quietly and less demented than before. It took a hold on the sleeve of Al' shirt to help keep its balance, it was starting to feel really tired and wanted to leave this place badly. Al smiled at this, happy that it seemed to trust him.

"Now we go back to my place!" Al replied enthusiastically, giving it a thumbs up. He was about to lead them back in the direction of his apartment when he stopped, noticing the things face. It showed a look of pure horror as it stood stock-still, staring wide-eyed in the direction behind Alfred. Feeling sick Al slowly turned around, his movements stiff and jerky. Not far in the distance he could make out the shadowed silhouette of a man moving towards them.

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- end of this chapter, Thankyou for reading and the nice reviews! ^^

(sorry for OOCness/mistakes etc)