They would leave by midnight.

Lup had planned the escape plan long ago; they'd steal anything they could carry in the duffel bags the human kept lying around, full of valuables they could pawn off any tools they needed to fix themselves. They'd find an artificer to craft them rings of disguise self, or steal some trying. If their bodies hadn't been found yet, they'd just give them (most of) the truth.

They would not be slaves again.

Lup took care of finding things while Taako looted the human's things, wincing when something seemed to fall too loudly into the bags, but he didn't wake up. Heavy sleeper, it seemed, thank the gods.

It took the better part of an hour to get everything together, including a goose hunt of a blueprint for their systems, just in case. Of course, the asshole kept barely legible notes, but it was better than nothing. They snatched it up and headed for the stairs.

That's when shit hit the fan. Like it always did.

Lup felt something tug her, like a grown man pulling at her entire body. She slammed against something to her right with a shriek; trying to pry herself off only forced her closer to whatever it was holding her, making it even harder to move. She could see Taako stop in his tracks then start forward to help her, only to pause like a deer in the hunter's sights when he heard the sound of the human's footsteps and quiet cursing.

"Hide!" she hissed. Taako glanced between her and a nearby closet, making up his mind, before finally dropping his bag and darting inside.

Perhaps she would have thought the human's bedhead and tired expression looked cute any other time, but, right now, it only made her artificial heart pump faster. He crossed his arms in front of her with a sigh, squinting as he scanned her for damage. Lup grit her teeth and swallowed, waiting patiently for the time to strike.

The human reached behind her and turned a dial; she could the pressure holding her down lessen, but not enough to let go of her. The way the dial was positioned meant there was no way that Taako could help her out if they got caught again. Damn it, why did this human have to be prepared?

"There we go," he muttered, suppressing a yawn as he took her by the waist and began tugging her off. "Should've warned you about the magnet, huh?"

Lup lunged forward as soon as one arm was free of the magnetic pull, her hand colliding with the right side of his face.

She only meant to push him away.

His scream told her she did otherwise.

(*TRIGGER WARNING: GRAPHIC VIOLENCE AND GORE*)

It felt like it happened in slow motion, the way she felt his skin melt under her hand, falling on top of him as he screamed and writhed in pain, trying to push her off. She could hear Taako's gasp from the closet, could practically see him covering his mouth to keep quiet, fake tears rolling down his cheeks.

The human shoved her to the side and crawled towards the stairs, sobbing as he forced himself to his feet and up the steps. When he looked back at her, halfway up, she wished she had the ability to puke.

His face was a mess of sinew, skin barely hanging on. His eye had taken the worst of the damage (if he had only worn his glasses, maybe it would have been spared), practically melted in its socket. Lup could see bone beneath charred muscle, just barely, and a hint of teeth.

(*END TRIGGER WARNING*)

She'd done this to him.

Gods, he was trying to help us! she realized with horrifying clarity. He hadn't known better! He just thought they were things, not living beings!

Lup began to sob and curl in on herself, the slamming door above shaking her down to her bones.

"Dear god, Bluejeans, what happened to you?" Merle grumbled, inspecting the damage. "This… this ain't natural."

Evocation user, Barry signed lazily to Magnus, who hovered over the cleric's shoulder. They didn't mean to hurt me, I think.

Barry had practically dragged his way to the nearest occupied apartment two flights up— everyone else worked graveyard, for the most part— where he found Magnus whittling a duck in his living room, having slammed his hand against the door. Magnus then carried him to Merle, who had to force a sedative down his throat to get him to stop screaming and squirming whenever he tried to touch his wound.

"He says an evocation user did it," said Magnus.

Merle grunted. "Course it was. Most of the patients I get were hit by a stray fireball or something. You'd think the governor would put harder restrictions on who can practice."

The old cleric pressed his palm against Barry's face, channeling magic through into his skin. It was an odd sensation, feeling his skin weave itself back together. It still hurt like hell, but at least he'd be able to move his jaw without feeling like it was being ripped off at the hinges.

"There we go," said Merle, wrapping a bandage around his face. "Now, I ain't the best cleric out there—" Magnus snorted. "— but that should be good enough. It'll scar, and you'll have some problems in that eye, but you won't have to worry about infection. If you want an eyepatch for later, I've got some in my dresser you can take. I don't use them as much anymore."

"No thanks," Barry drawled, wincing a little and working his jaw for a moment.

"You good there, buddy?" Magnus wrung his hands together, like a nervous child. "Want me to carry you back to your place?"

"Nooo… Don't wanna… go back there…" Fuck, the sedative was starting to make him drowsy.

"It's better if he stays here under surveillance, for now," Merle announced, cleaning up his supplies and hopping off the chair. "Bring Billy to the guest room, on your left."

"Aye aye, captain," Magnus said, picking Barry up bridal style and carrying him out. The engineer giggled, head drooping onto the other man's chest.

"You good there, buddy?"

"Yeeaaahhhhhhh…"

"Merle gave you the good stuff, huh?" Barry nodded as Magnus tucked him in. "Yeah, I had that before, too. Got it during the war; I think I crawled into Merle's cot and snuggled him! The start of a beautiful friendship, if you ask me. He'd never admit it happened though."

"Uh-huh…"

"Night buddy. Feel better. There's big things comin' in the future, and I want you to be there."

The lights flickered off, and Barry was alone.

"... Wait, wha—?"