Author Note:
This is the first chapter of a new long running series I thought of, set in an apocalyptic world where a strange chemical caused widespread mutation. I'll try to update as quickly as possible, but I only have bits and pieces planned already so it might take me longer to write new chapters so bear with me. I do not own Regular Show or its characters, I have to say that so they don't chain me to a mountain top and have a giant bird pick out my liver everyday.
Enjoy

I've failed, I can't say I expected it to end any other way but nonetheless… it doesn't make it any easier.
I've decided to leave the lab for I've run out of supplies, unfortunately this means I must abandon my work.
It wouldn't have mattered anyway, I made little if any progress on reversing the effects of the Nosoi weapon.
The effects are too widespread, the contaminant has caused many animal species to become humanlike both physically and mentally, while actually humans exposed to the chemical suffer from genetic can range from minor changes to serious deformities, even I seem to have undergone a transformation.
I predict that most areas will naturally decontaminate themselves within the next few decades, but by then it will be too late. The effects are irreversible, I'm afraid the era of man has come to an end.
This will be my last entry for I'm leaving the CDC. I've done all I could…but it wasn't enough.
To anyone who may be reading this… I'm sorry.

Log entered by Unknown User- 78 years after incident

Present Day- 183 years after incident

Mordecai laid atop a dusty hill beneath a dark and gloomy sky. He took a deep breath as he gazed down the sight of his riffle. In his crosshairs was a large deer, between two hundred to two fifty from his guess. A very valuable catch… that is, if he makes the shot. He focused his sight on its side and aimed for its lungs. Mordecai placed his finger on the trigger and slowly squeezed. A loud bang echoed through the empty wasteland. The buck looked in Mordecai's direction before darting out of the plain and into the thick woods. Mordecai stood up and ran to where the deer was standing, but when he examined the area he found no blood trail.

"Son of a bitch" he mumbled to himself ans he looked at his gun, "Must be the new sight". He put the rifle into the holster on his back and began the trek back to the settlement empty handed, "Benson's not gonna be happy about this" he said to himself as he made his way up the hill, "It has to be that sight, I'm usually a crack shot and now I can't even shoot a deer". He reached the peak of the hill and took a second to gaze at the barren wasteland, a cool breeze blew across his face. He wanted to stay out longer, but it was getting late. It was getting dark and he couldn't risk being out at night alone, so he continued his march home. The wind started to pick up and blew dust and dirt into Mordecai's face. He lifted his hand up and wiped the dirt from his goggles.

While he was cleaning his eyewear he heard a loud scream in the distance. "What the hell" he quickly ran in the direction of the cries until he reached a downward slope that led into a large gully. At the bottom was a female bird with red feathers caught in what looked like a bear trap.

"Help, anybody please" she wailed out in pain.

Mordecai was about to run down to assist her, but then he noticed a group of men approaching her. "Oh shit" he whispered to himself as he ducked down. He didn't know what to do. He wanted to help her, but wasn't sure if he should risk it. He slowly lifted his head up and looked to the bottom of the pit.

The poor bird watched as the gang of men approached her, "Well well well, look at what we have here" on man said with a crooked smile. He had fox like features, pointed ears, snout, and fingers with long claws.

Another man with the appearance of a coyote knelt down next to her, "Why it's a pretty birdy" he said deviously while he ran his hand down her cheek.

The third man walked over to her. He seemed to be the oldest of the three, he also seemed the most intimidating. He appeared to be a wolf, and he had a chunk missing from his left ear and a large scar on his jaw.

"What do ya think we should do with her" the coyote chuckled.

The wolf man smiled, "We'll bring her back for… entertainment".

"Good call" The fox snickered as he walked up to the wolf, "Should we uhh… sample the goods".

His smile turned into a large sinister grin, "Be my guest".

The three laughed evilly, the fox walked up behind her and grabbed onto her shoulders as the coyote reached to undo the trap, "I'm gonna enjoy this" he sneered. Suddenly he heard a loud blast and felt a warm substance splash on his face. He looked up and saw the fox man with a small hole in his forehead, his eyes rolled into the back of his head as blood dripped from the wound. The coyote wiped his face off and when he looked at his hand he saw it was covered in his friend's blood. "What the fuck" he yelled in shock before looking up at his buddy. The fox fell to the ground, and behind him the coyote saw Mordecai sliding down the dirt slope before drawing a makeshift sword from his side.

"Get up" the wolf commanded as he pulled out dual knives from his coat and charged towards Mordecai.

Mordecai ran towards him and swung his sword downward at him, but his sidestepped out of its path and swung his knife at Mordecai's face. Mordecai tried to dodge it by leaning back, but the tip of the blade hit his cheek, leaving a long gash. He staggered back and held his face for a second, but he quickly brushed it. He looked to his right and saw the coyote charging him with a machete. Mordecai simply stepped back and stuck his foot out, tripping the imbecile. Mordecai leapt over him and rammed his shoulder into the wolf's chest causing him to stumble back. Mordecai took advantage of the hole in his defense and swung his sword upward. It cleaved his arm off at the elbow, the wolf grabbed his stump with his other arm and cried in pain. Mordecai then swiped the sword again this time taking off the top of his head, leaving only the lower jaw attached to his neck.

The coyote lifted himself to his feet and charged Mordecai from the back, but Mordecai could hear his clumsy footsteps. He swung his sword around and thrust it backwards, impaling his abdomen. Mordecai then spun around and re-gripped the handle and ripped it downward, cutting him from his stomach to his groin and spilling viscera onto the ground. He then kicked him in the chest propelling him back several feet, leaving a path of entrails in front of him.

Mordecai wiped the blood from the rusty blade before sheathing it, then he walked over to the girl. He knelt down and undid the bear trap, but to his surprise the trap opened with much more ease than he thought. Actually it took no effort at all, and he also noticed that there were no visible wounds on her ankle, "What the…"

Before he could finish she lunged forward and tackled him to the ground, and before he knew what was happening she was lying on top of him. That's when he noticed the cold steel pressed against his throat, "Not good".

"What are you doing" she screamed at him.

"Uh, saving your life" Mordecai answered, he could feel her pressing the knife harder to his neck.

"You idiot" she leaned in closer to him, "I stuck myself in that trap to lure the marauders".

Mordecai was baffled by her statement, "What" he tried to lean forward but she put her hand on his chest and forced him back down, "Why would you want to attract marauders"?

She closed her eyes and lowered her head, "Because they have my dad". She lifted the knife from Mordecai's neck and stood up. She then held out her hand and helped him to his feet, "I'm sorry, I know you were just trying to help".

"Don't worry about it" he replied as he dusted himself off, "I guess I did kinda ruin your plan".

"It's not your fault" she said, "I mean it is but… I guess I just didn't expect there to be a Good Samaritan, I guess there's still good people in the world".

Mordecai finished cleaning the dirt off his jacket before holding his hand out, "I'm Mordecai".

She looked back at him for a second, then she smiled and shook his hand, "Margret".

"Well Margret" Mordecai stuck both of his hands into his coat pockets, "This Good Samaritan's gonna help get your dad back".

Rigby crawled through a small hole in the ground underneath a fence. Once he emerged on the other side he reached back and grabbed his pack. He draped it over his shoulders and made his way to a small building. He walked in and saw rows of shelves, "Awesome, a convenience store". As he looked around the abandoned building his excitement soon turned to despair, "Ah man, it looks like the place has been ransacked already". After looking from empty row to empty row he finally found something, "Alright, canned food". He took the silver cans and stuffed as many as he could into his bag, he then slung it over his shoulder and exited the building. He was no more than two steps out when he heard a voice.

"Over here I found someone"?

Rigby didn't know if they were scavengers like him or marauders, but he wasn't going to wait and find out. He got on all fours and ran to the fence, he threw his pack over the top and crawled under it. He picked up his bag and continued to run through the wreckage until he made it to the hills. He looked behind him and couldn't see anyone as far as he could see so he decided to slow his pace, "That was close" he panted.

He continued to walk until he made it to a thick grove, "Ok, now where's that tree" he looked around until he found a tree with a small notch in it, "Were we go". He kept walking until he found another notched tree, and he repeated this until he arrived at the front of the settlement. He stood at the gate and looked around, but couldn't see anybody, "Hello". After a moment of silence Rigby approached the gate, "Screw this". He climbed over the fence, when he was halfway down he leapt off. He started to walk when suddenly a thin man ran up to him.

He had weird semitransparent skin, it was so translucent that his bones and organs could be seen, "Rigby what are you doing" he said nervously, "You know Benson doesn't like you climbing over the gate".

Rigby turned towards the transparent man, "Well maybe if you were at your station Fives I wouldn't have to" Rigby took his backpack off and held it up, "Now I need to get this food to Benson, if that's ok with you ghost boy".

Fives lowered his head, he hated it when Rigby poked fun at his unique mutation. He knew his near invisible skin and muscles gave him a ghostly appearance, but Rigby didn't have to bring it up all the time. "Fine" he said quietly.

Rigby put his pack back on and started to walk to Benson's shed.

"How are you going to do that" Margret said, half grateful and half skeptical.

Mordecai walked over to the wolf's body and reached for his right arm, "Oh that's right" he then turned around and picked up the man's severed arm. He turned it over and looked at the padding on the hand, "Look".

Margret walked over and took a look, she saw a pair of eyes and teeth branded into his hand, "So"?

"This is the sign of The Feral" Mordecai elaborated as he sat the arm down, "Their hideout is on the other side of the valley in the rubble of an old city, I'd bet anything that your dad's there".

"Mordecai I don't know what to say, thank you" she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him, after a moment she pulled away, "How do you know all this"?

"I've scouted the area out before, it pays to know those kind of things" he answered.

"I bet" she looked up at the sky, "We should get going then". She walked over to a rock and lifted it up revealing a large hole. She reached in and pulled out a bag, she opened it and retrieved a lantern before putting the bag on her back. "You lead the way".

Mordecai nodded, he pulled out an old flashlight from his pouch and used it to light his way. They then started to head to The Feral hideout.

Rigby walked along the path of makeshift shacks and houses, waving to friendly residents as he passed. He eventually came to a large shack, its door was open so he let himself in. Once he entered he made his way to a table were a strange machine stood. It appeared to be a robot made of miscellaneous junk, it's arms and legs were made out of assorted pipes and tubes and it's torso appeared to be an old candy machine. The glass dome made the head and it was filled with a strange purplish liquid surrounding a brain with wires protruding out of it. The machine turned and faced Rigby, revealing crude facial features like a mouth and eyes, "Rigby, glad that you're back".

"Hey Benson" Rigby said as he sat his pack on the table.

Benson leaned over the table, "What do you got"?

Rigby opened the bag and dumped its contents out, "A lot of canned goods".

Benson grabbed one of the cans and examined it, he then sat it down and grabbed another, then another. After examining almost all of the cans he looked up at Rigby, "Are you kidding me" the fluid in his dome began to boil as it changed to a reddish color.

"What"?

"It's dog food" Benson slammed one of the cans onto the table causing it to bounce off and almost hit Rigby in the face, but luckily he moved out of the way, "All of it, every last can. Dog food".

Benson's yelling drew the attention from people outside, including a large ape like man with white fur who entered the shack, "What's going on in here"?

Benson turned towards him, "All Rigby brought back from his trip is dog food".

"Sorry, I should have read the labels" Rigby said in an unapologetic tone, "What's the big deal anyway, it's edible".

"Dog food is made from meat byproducts, it's not safe for human consumption" The large man answered.

Benson looked back at him again, "Thank you Skips".

Rigby was unscathed by their arguments, "Don't worry about it, I'm sure whatever Mordecai brought back will be enough food for a while".

Benson and Skips just looked at each other, he liquid in Benson's dome returned to its normal purple color. Skips made his way to Rigby, he knelt down and put his hand on his shoulder, "Rigby" he said in a disheartened tone, "Mordecai hasn't come back yet".

Rigby's heart sunk from the news, he just stared wide eyed at skips, "Wh…what"?

"Now don't worry Rigby" Benson said reassuringly, "I'm sure there's a good reason he's not back yet, just try not to jump to conclusions".

Rigby brushed Skips hand off of him, "A good reason… what reason could there be. He knows he shouldn't be out on his own after dark, he's always careful about it".

"Rigby, I'm sure he got held up and decided to bunker down for the night" Skips added, "He'll probably be back by morning".

This did little to help Rigby, his mind was still plagued with thoughts of the worst. He turned around and started to exit the shack, "I need a drink, I'm going to the canteen". Rigby left and walked quickly to his destination. The image of Mordecai's demise was still on his mind. He arrived at the canteen and took a seat at one of the tables, "Maybe they're right" he thought to himself, "Maybe he's just camping out till morning, I mean he is pretty dedicated to hunting. Maybe he stayed out late to make sure he got something".

But no matter what Rigby told himself to reassure himself nothing seemed to ease his mind. After a few moments of deep thought he was snapped back into reality by a voice, "Hey Rigby". He looked up to see a short girl with brown hair, she stood timidly as she pushed he glasses up.

"Hey" he grunted in an irritated tone.

She ignored his negative attitude and pulled out a notepad, "What can I get for you".

"Do you have any coffee" he asked.

A frown suddenly appeared on the short girls face, "Sorry, we're out" she rubbed her arm nervously, "You know how hard it is to come by these days Rigby".

He let out a loud groan, "Then just get me a lemonade Eileen" he scoffed as he rubbed his eyes.

She put her notepad away and quickly ran to retrieve his drink. While she was away Rigby propped his head against his hand, "I hope she doesn't stick around after she gets my lemonade" he thought to himself, "I'm really not in the mood to deal with her shit today".

Shortly after Eileen arrived back at the table, "Here you go Rigby" she said as she placed the glass in front of him. He didn't respond, he just picked up the glass and chugged about half of it in one gulp. "Is something wrong" Eileen asked.

Rigby put his cup on the table and looked off into the space, "I don't want to talk about it".

Eileen rubbed her hands together as she pondered what could be bothering him, "Is it because Mordecai isn't back from his hunt yet"?

Rigby snapped his head back and glared at Eileen before slamming his fist against the table "Just shut the hell up" he screamed violently, "Why do you always bother me huh, why can't you just leave me alone? I don't need this shit right now". After his outburst he picked up his drink and walked out of the canteen, leaving Eileen almost in tears.

"I need to be alone" he said to himself as he walked to the front gate, he looked up at the watch tower, "Hey Fives".

Rigby waited for a second until Fives head poked over the edge of the tower, "What"?

"Take a break, I'll take it from here" he yelled up.

"Really" Fives asked in disbelief, Rigby nodded his head in response. He immediately climbed down the latter, "Thanks Rigby, I was starting to get bored up there".

Rigby started to climb the latter, "Yeah yeah, whatever" he continued the climb till he reached the top of the tower. He took a seat on the chair and stared off into the distance, he took a deep breath as he relaxed into the chair.

Mordecai and Margret approached a large chain link fence that surrounded the city, it was erected by the CDC in a failed attempt to contain the outbreak once the contamination spread to the area. Mordecai walked along the fence looking to find a hole they could sneak through. Eventually he found just what he was looking for, "Awesome" he held the fence open and signaled Margret to go through, and once she was on the other side he quickly crouched in.

Once inside Margret and Mordecai found a road and started to follow it towards the city. The two were quiet for most of the march till Mordecai decided to start a conversation, "So, have you and your dad been on your own for a while".

"As long as I can remember" Margret answered, "We've never really settled down anywhere, we just travel from colony to colony".

"Wow" was Mordecai's response, "Do you ever get tired of moving all the time"?

"Sometimes" Margret said in a slightly disheartened tone, "It'd be nice to find a place to just live there, but I kinda like it just being me and my dad sometimes".

"I bet" Mordecai replied, "But what's wrong with other people"?

Margret looked over at him and smiled, "Nothing, just have met anyone I really enjoyed talking too… till now".

Mordecai smiled and even blushed a bit by here answer, but the mood was killed when they finally reached the city and were greeted by a horrific sight. Bodies hanging in the streets to adore, strung by the neck from the lampposts. Gently swaying in the wind, some seemed fresh while other were rotted with bones exposed from where the birds were picking away at the decaying flesh. When Margret saw the scene she instantly feared the worst, she buried her face in her hands and began to sob.

Mordecai immediately walked to her side and put his hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry" he reassured her, "They wouldn't bring your dad here just to kill him, they need him for something. He's probably just being held captive in a jail cell or something". Mordecai started to realize what he said and felt like an idiot, "Why did I bring up the jail cell part" he scalded himself.

To his surprise his words actually cheered her up, "You're right" she said while wiping tears from her eyes, "He's probably around here somewhere".

The two continued to walk through the city streets, to their surprise no one was to be seen. After some time they came across an old jail house building, "This has to be where they're holding him" Mordecai said as he climbed the steps to the building. He peeked around the door to see a Feral member sitting at the desk wearing the tattered remains of an old police uniform. Mordecai grabbed his sword and readied himself for an altercation, but before he could charge in there he saw a knife fly across the room and hit the guard in his left eye.

His body went limp as Margret walked towards him and pulled out her knife from his skull, "Let's go" she ordered as she scrapped the blade against the desk to get the pieces of flesh off of it. Mordecai simply nodded before following her lead. They reached the jail cells, they began to search each one until Mordecai found one that was occupied.

"Margret, I think I found him" he said as he approached the man who was tied to a chair with a black bag over his head. He grabbed it and pulled it off revealing a human man with grey hair. He had a mustache and his mouth was gagged, "Oh man" he said disappointedly. Mordecai cut the guy loss and walked out the cell when he bumped into Margret. "I'm sorry Margret but it wasn't…"

"Dad" she yelled as she ran past Mordecai to the man who was walking out of the cell. She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug. Mordecai just watched, completely stupefied.

"Margret what are you doing here" The man sobbed as he hugged his 'daughter', "I told you not to come for me if I'm captured, we discussed this".

Margret broke away from her and shot him a sly look, "Oh, cut the noble shit dad. You knew I was going to come for you".

The man just smiled, "As much as I wish you wouldn't, I did".

Mordecai continued to wrap his head on the whole situation, but failed miserably, "I don't understand" he said in a confused voice, "You're dad's… human"?

Margret looked over at Mordecai, "Yeah, we get that a lot" she chuckled, "I'll explain it later". She took her dad's hand and pulled him over towards Mordecai, "Dad, this is Mordecai. He helped me rescue you".

Mordecai held his hand out, "Nice to meet you".

Her dad just looked down at his hand and stared blankly at it for a second, making Mordecai feel really awkward. He then looked up at Mordecai, "Thanks Mordecai, you're a good kid" he said while walking past him.

Mordecai lowered his hand and turned around, he watched as Margret's dad walked out into the other room.

"Don't take it personally" Margret said as she patted Mordecai on the back, "He's not really fond of handshakes".

Margret followed her dad, leaving Mordecai in the room alone. He looked down at his hand and shook his head, "This just keeps getting weirder" he said to himself before joining the others. When he entered the next room he saw Margret's dad examining the dead guard, "A clean kill" he said in a proud tone, "Wish I could have seen that throw".

"Thanks dad"

Mordecai walked up to the two, "So do you know what's going on here, uhh…"?

"Frank" he answered just slightly looking over his shoulder at Mordecai, "Frank Smith".

"Frank" Mordecai said finishing his first sentence, "I mean, where is everyone"?

Frank walked over to Mordecai, "Probably trying to figure out how to fly my helicopter".

"Helicopter" Mordecai said in shock, "You actually have a helicopter"?

"Sure do" Frank answered, "My dad gave it to me, and his dad gave it him. My grandfather was a pilot before everything went south, so he decided to pass on the knowledge to my dad. And he did the same with me".

Mordecai was in awe, a man with an actual working helicopter. Possible the last one in the world, and he actually knew how to fly it, "So how did The Feral get a hold of it".

"Well, about two days ago we landed the chopper so we could get some sleep" Frank elaborated, "I asked Margret to get some fire wood for dinner and while she was gone those bastards snuck up on me and knocked me out".

Mordecai was more confused than before, "But how did they get it here"?

"Those crazy idiots dragged it here" Margret explained, "I came back to camp and found a bunch of them pulling it with ropes, I tried to follow them but a few spotted me and chased me off".

"Well that's one question solved" Mordecai said, "So what did they want with you"?

"That's easy" Frank replied, "They were trying to get me to teach them to fly it, but I refused. They've been torturing me for the past two days trying to get me to do it".

Margret put her arms around her father again, "Oh dad, I'm so sorry".

Frank patted her back, "It's not your fault Margret".

Mordecai waited for a second so the two could have their moment before speaking, "I think we should be getting going".

Frank broke away from Margret and looked at him, "You two go ahead, I need to get the helicopter".

"But Frank…"

Before Mordecai could finish Frank cut him off, "Look Mordecai, you're a good guy, and I'm eternally grateful for your help. But there's no way in hell I'm leaving without my chopper".

"Then I'm staying too" Margret added. Frank looked like he was about to protest, but then decided against it, knowing that Margret wouldn't listen.

Mordecai took a deep breath, "Then count me in".

"Mordecai" Margret said in a stern voice, "You don't have to do this, you've done enough".

He shook his head, "No, I'm going to see this to the end" Mordecai replied, "Plus this will give me a chance to kill some Feral scum".

A small laugh escaped from Margret's mouth, "Wow, you must really hate them".

"Meh" Mordecai shrugged his shoulders as he drew his sword, "I don't mind the dead ones that much".

Rigby stared into the darkness. It was now completely dark as he sat in the watch tower, thinking about his best friend. Suddenly a hand slapped on the floor of the tower, causing Rigby to jump. Then Eileen pulled herself up from the ladder, "Damn it Eileen" Rigby scoffed, "What are you doing"?

Eileen sat on the floor next to him, "Just checking on how you're doing".

"Why" he mumble angrily.

"Because I saw Fives at the canteen and asked him why he wasn't at the watch tower" Eileen explained, "Then he said that you relieved him so I knew something was wrong".

Rigby diverted his eyes from her, "Nothing's wrong, I just felt like volunteering for night watch".

"Rigby, you never volunteer for night watch" she argued, "You don't ever do day watch, you're obviously worried about Mordecai".

Rigby clenched his fists at the mention of his name, "I swear Eileen, I will push you off this tower".

"Rigby" she said sternly, "I want to help you, let me help you".

He finally let out a loud groan, "Fine, I'm worried ok. I'm worried that my best friend is out there alone. I'm scared that he's dead and I'll have to go through life alone". Rigby propped his head against the palm of his hand.

"Rigby, I'm sure Mordecai's fine" Eileen said comfortingly, "He's a skilled survivalist, you know that". Eileen then started to rub her arm bashfully, "Also, I want you to know you'll never have to go through life alone".

Rigby lifted his head up and turned towards her, "It's just, I feel like there's no good reason for him to not be back. He's always… what's the word"?

"Punctual" Eileen answered.

"Yeah, that" Rigby said before propping his head on his hand again, "It's just not like him, you know".

A silence fell between them, Eileen looked up at the stars and smiled, "You know what I do when something's bothering me Rigby" she said softly before turning her gaze towards him, "I pray".

Rigby just laughed in her face, "What" he chuckled, "Come back when you actually have something useful for me Eileen".

"Rigby, there's nothing wrong with having a little faith" she retorted.

Rigby suddenly stopped laughing and glared at her, "Faith in what Eileen? This broken world we live in, the gangs of thugs we hide from and fight against everyday" he yelled at the top of his lungs, "I'm sorry but when I have a problem I don't ask the sky for answers".

Eileen frowned as she stared at the wooden planks of the floor before standing up, "Then the world's going to seem really dark to you Rigby". She walked to the ladder and started to make her way down.

"The world is dark Eileen" whispered Rigby, "You just need to open your eyes". Rigby then leaned back in his chair and gazed into the night, hoping to see his friend return soon.

Holy Diver
You've been down too long in the midnight sea
Oh what's becoming of me
Ride the tiger
You can see his stripes but you know he's clean
Oh don't you see what I mean
Gotta get away
Holy Diver
Shiny diamonds
Like the eyes of a cat in the black and blue
Something is coming for you
Race for the morning
You can hide in the sun 'till you see the light
Oh we will pray it's all right

Author's Note:
That's the end of chapter one, hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading it. Leave a review if you feel like it, I would love to know what you think. I got this idea with I had this random thought of Mordecai (from Regular Show) dressed like Mordecai from Borderlands. Then I thought 'what about a post apocalyptic universe where the anamorphic characters were mutants' then it kinda festered from there. Also I just want to point out that the prayer topic wasn't me pushing religion on people, that's not my style. I just wanted to show that even though Rigby has his carefree attitude from the show that deep down inside he as a cynical and bleak view of the world. The footnote to this chapter is from the song 'Holy Diver' by Dio, check it out on YouTube if you like.