POV
Leif/ sloth

Leif jumped off the boat and tied it to the dock. He and the guard who had driven the boat to the island worked quickly to unload his cart and merchandise. So far, no one had tried to assault one of the Redd co. hybrids as they came or left the island, but still, you never knew.

"That all of it?" the nameless guard asked.

"Yup, that's it."

"When do you want me to pick you up?"

"As late as you can. One or two in the morning."

The guard gave a snort of amusement. "You think business is going to be that good? Well, good luck to you." He turned and stepped back onto the boat. Leif undid the knot and tossed him the line. "Radio in if you need help."

"I won't need to," Leif responded coolly. Idiot, he thought smugly. I've never had to call for back up.

He pulled out a joint and lighting it, took a long pull as he watched the boat pull away. He savored the taste on his tongue and back of his throat. He would never admit it to anyone, but he secretly liked coming to the island. He couldn't quite put his finger on why though. Maybe it was his animalistic side, enjoying the untamed wilderness with its fresh air, clean of anesthetics and disinfectants. Maybe because it was away from the constant threat of being watched and feeling analyzed. Maybe it was simply that the residents of the island were more miserable then he was, and it was a nice reminder that he had made the right choice in allying himself with Redd co.

Once the boat was out of sight, he went over to his supplies and, after rummaging around, pulled out his trowel. He walked along the edge of the beach looking for the tell-tell spout of water. Seeing one, he dug in the sand to pull out the clam, and pocketed it. Walking around in the pre-dawn morning, he gathered up half a dozen. Going back to the dock, he sat on the edge of it and lightly kicked one of his boots in the water. He pulled out one of the clams and skipped it across the water. It wasn't making that much of a splash, but the bioelectric signature of the living clam was sure to get someone's attention. Leif pulled his arm back and tossed another. He should have known the boat was here. He should be close by. Leif frowned as he tossed another. He better not be making me wait on purpose.

Tuned out that the best of the Redd co. robotics was waiting nearby. With no warning, the water right at the edge of the dock erupted as someone dressed in a traditional sailor's outfit, complete with hat, pulled themselves out of the water. Leif moved his leg out of the way and scooted over to allow the android to pull himself farther out of the water. "Hey, Gulliver. It's about time."

The android tuned his eyes—no, optical sensors, Leif reminded himself— to look at him. Leif had a tendency to forget that Gulliver was purely robot. He looked human enough, from a distance. But there were little things about him that reminded Leif that he really wasn't. There was a slight internal glowing to those cold blue eyes, unmoved as water dripped down his face from this thick, sandy blond hair. "Associate Leif," he greeted simply. His voice had a human tone to it, but with a large metallic overtone, making it sound distinctly robotic. "What do you need?" The twin lines which marred his checks from his eyes the edge of his face shifted slightly as his mouth formed the question.

Leif took another long pull at his joint before answering. "Information. What is this about some human being on the island?"

Gulliver blinked. "Two days ago at 0145 hundred hours, a sailboat was sighted off the coast. It crashed into the rocks and an unknown being swam to shore."

Leif raised an eyebrow "How did they get that far in the first place?"

"There was a storm."

Leif snorted. "Someone is getting sloppy," he said in a sing-song tone.

Gulliver's optics narrowed. "The storm was interfering with my sensors. It is a completely normal and understandable systematic error. My programing is not at fault." He held up his normal-looking hand, and with a metallic shift, the tips became sharp and lethal. "I almost had them."

"Whatever you say," Leif smirked and took another pull. "So what did this human look like?"

"Standard human. No abnormities of any kind. Only four appendages. Height, skin, and hair color within normal genetic range. Slightly hypothermic body temperature though."

"Taking a midnight swim in the ocean will do that to a person." Leif frowned. "That's all you got for me? We need to upgrade your parameters for describing organisms. They sound completely normal."

"Look for someone with a limp, favoring their left leg. Like I said, I almost had them."

"A lot of good that does me," Leif grumbled. "They could be anyone."

"Not anyone," the android started to sink beneath the waves. "There is only one pure human here."

"Ya," Leif muttered sourly into the stillness. "Thanks a lot." He took one last pull on the joint and then flicked it into the ocean. He needed to get his supplies to the plaza, and Miss Isabelle frowned on his…habits. He stood up and headed over to his cart.

Once he had finished setting up, he parked his stool next to his cart and had a seat. The sun was just starting to rise, and some of the resident freaks were starting to stir. Miss Isabelle was up and already heading his direction towards Resident Services, one of the first ones up as always.

"Mornin, Ms. Bells," he greeted pleasantly as she unlocked the Resident Services' doors. He found her to be one of the least annoying people on the island. Plus, she managed to keep the residents from killing each other, which seemed to be a feat in and of itself. And she worked with Nook, so it was best to at least be pleasant to someone in control of this freak show. "Do you need me to sign into the Visitor's Log?"

"Morning, Leif. No, I'll take care of it, thank you." Keys jingling, she unlocked the door, and went in. Odd, she seems a little on edge. Leif turned to watch the small village start to wake up. He glanced down the neat rows of houses. There are a couple of new ones.

Shortly after, Mr. Nook came over as well from Nook's Cranny. "Morning, Mr. Nook." Leif didn't really like him, and he got the impression that Mr. Nook felt the same way about all the Visitors. But he was the curator of all the castoffs and rejects of the Project, so it was best to be civil.

Mr. Nook gave him a side glance, and a quick jerk of a nod before heading inside. Wow, I think that counts as a greeting. Most be in high spirits this morning.

It wasn't long before Raymond showed up at the plaza to begin his morning mediation. Leif hid his sly smirk. All the hybrids that worked for Redd co. had heard of Raymond's history. Raymond was also unique in that he was one of a few on the island that wasn't considered fully a failure. Leif in particular found it annoying that there was an open invitation that he could rejoin the Redd co. hybrids and leave the island. Apparently though, Pretty Boy seemed to think he was too good to work with them. So Leif decided that he was going to annoy Raymond as much as he could get away with. The cat-hybrid was prickly and sensitive, and it took Leif less than a day to find a dozen easy ways to spite him. And Leif enjoyed every second of yanking his chain.

Raymond hesitated half a second when he saw him, but then he continued to the plaza with a purposeful stride. "Morning, Rays." Leif said easily. Raymond gave a brief nod and begin to stretch out lightly, controlling his breathing. "Beautiful morning, isn't it?" Raymond ignored him, settling into the downward dog pose. "You are really good at that." He gave a lazy shrug, but he was watching Raymond closely. "But I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You have always come to heel easy enough."

There was a slight twitch in his cat ears, but otherwise, he didn't react. "And what, exactly," Raymond's voice and breathing were tightly controlled, "do you mean by that?"

Leif faked innocence. "Oh, nothing. Just an observation, is all."

"I know exactly what you mean," Raymond ground out.

Leif made a disapproving sound. "You are too tense you know that? Are you sure meditation is working for you?"

"It does most days."

"Maybe you should mix it up. Try medication instead." Leif gave a conspiring wink. "I bet I could fix you right up, Pretty Boy. Make you really relax."

"No. I don't do drugs."

"I bet I could convince you. I could grow you some catnip or something."

Raymond stood up. "You know what, I think I will mix it up; I think I will do my meditation on the beach today."

Leif smirked as he watched him walk away. He could tell by the stiffness of Raymond's movements that he had accomplished his objective of ruining his morning. It wasn't long after that his first customer of the day arrived.

"Hey, Leif. How's it going?" Lucky asked as he hobbled over to him.

"Hey, Lucky." He shot a pointed look at the cast on his leg. "Are you serious, this again? Didn't you just get it off?"

"Nah, that was the right leg." Lucky gave a humorless laugh. "You got what I need?"

"Right here." Leif pulled open a drawer in the cart and pulled out an unmarked, small white container. He held it between two fingers, and lightly shook it, making the items inside rattle. "Some custom-blend narcotics, right here. I think I'll call them 'Lucky Break'."

There was a hungry look in Lucky's eye. He pulled out a bag of bells. "Thanks, here is the agreed amount—."

Leif closed his hand around the container, hiding it from view. "About that, I think I want to change the payment method."

Lucky's shoulders sagged on his crutches. "Oh, come on, Leif, like what? What else could you possibly want from me?"

Leif smiled. "Information. Tell me about the human."

Lucky blinked. "What?"

"The human, Lucky. Spill."

Lucky shook his head. "Don't know what you're talking about," he mumbled.

Leif frowned. "Really? You don't know anything?"

"Yes, what human?" The was a plaintive edge to his voice. "I can't help you, if I don't know anything."

Leif eyed Lucky suspiciously. People talk to Lucky. He should have at least heard something. "That's a shame, Lucky. A real shame. I guess we can't do business. Come back when you can afford my price."

Lucky glared at Leif angrily, but with a sigh and slouched shoulders, he begin to go back the way he had came. Leif watched him hobble away, with a considering look. Hmmm, it's only been what, two days? And he is already protecting the human. That's interesting. After a few seconds, he stood up and followed after the cripple.

He came up behind Lucky and threw his arm across his right shoulder in a friendly-enough manner, but he pulled Lucky slightly toward him, causing him to lean unbalanced on his left side. "Hey, Lucky, we're friends, right?" Leif breathed into his ear.

Lucky was very aware of what Leif was doing. With the added weight on his right shoulder, he was having to shift his weight to his left side to avoid having too much pressure on his fragile bones. The left side was the one in a cast though, so he was supporting most of the weight in his hands on his crutches. If Leif continued to put pressure on him… Lucky stared straight ahead. "Yes, Leif." Lucky agreed quietly.

Lucky felt Leif's laugh on his ear. "Glad to hear it. Friends help each other out." Lucky felt the sloth's slender fingers slide the container of drugs into one of the pockets in his shorts. "That's what friends do. So if you hear anything about this human…" The slender fingers lightly overlaid his left hand's death drip on handle of his crutch. "You will be sure to let me know. Right?" The fingers twisted slightly, making the message clear.

"Yes, Leif," Lucky said hoarsely, still staring straight ahead. He felt Leif's soft chuckle again, before the arm and hand slid off and he heard Leif walk away.

The jangle of the general goods store interrupted Leif's thoughts as he headed back to his cart. He glanced over as one of the tanuki brats came out. Leif didn't bother to know their names—he just didn't care—but he knew this was the one that got more of the tanuki DNA. He was replacing one of the signs outside. Isabelle must have been listening for it, because she stuck her head out. "Tommy, do you have a moment? I need you to run an errand for me," she called to him. The little mute skipped over to her and raised an eyebrow in an inquiry. "Will you deliver this for me?" she asked, holding out a letter to him. He glanced down at it, and his eyes flickered briefly to Leif's, before he nodded. "Thank you, Sweetie," she gave him a smile before he dashed off.

Weird, Leif thought as he watched him. He thought it was odd enough that a village that he never saw having more than twenty-five individuals living in it at a time felt the need to have a message system, but hey, he wasn't one to really judge.

Right on time, Isabelle came on the speakers and gave her morning announcements. Leif rolled his eyes at them. He always found her announcements too cheery and over-enthusiastic, but that was normal for her. The rest of the village was awake now though. Zucker was out and about, being a nuisance already this morning. Reneigh was making the rounds with some new girl. Leif quietly scrutinized her from his peripheral vision. Nope, she is clearly a deer. There was no hiding that fact. But it was best to introduce himself and to get acquainted with her. Until he understood where she stood in relationship to the others, it was best to get on her good side at first. He plucked a yellow rose from the side of his cart and meandered over.

He tapped her lightly on the shoulder. "Hello, Friend, who are you?" She turned wide eyes to him.

"Leif, this is Fauna." Reneigh said from beside her. "She's new. And Fauna, this is Leif. He is a Visitor. He works for Redd co." She said the last part pointedly, and Fauna gasped slightly and stepped closer to her.

Leif gave her a calming smile. "Hey, now, there's no need to be afraid. You haven't caused any trouble have you?"

"No," she said quickly.

"There. Then there is nothing to be worried about." He held out the rose. "A pretty flower, for a pretty girl," he lied smoothly.

"Um, thank you," she mumbled, as she took it. "Are you a human too?"

"Too?"

"Like the guards at the Lab," Reneigh clarified quickly. "Are you like them?"

Hmmmm, interesting. "No, I'm a hybrid: Sloth."

Fauna relaxed slightly. "So you are like the rest of us. But why do you work for Redd co.?"

"I was offered a job, so I took it. Pretty simple." Leif shrugged. "So I heard you lot had a bit of excitement the other day. What was that about?"

Reneigh shook her head. "You would have had a better idea then us. Being on the inside of the company. We just saw them take the boat away."

"No one tells me anything," Leif complained. "So, you didn't see anything else? That's it?"

"'Fraid so," Reneigh agreed, but Leif was watching the new girl. She was biting her lip and looking off to the side. She knows something.

"That true, Fauna?" he asked slowly.

"What? Oh, yes," she mumbled absently.

Leif narrowed his eyes. "You know, Fauna, part of my job is to protect the island. If there is a threat to the safety of the island—"

"The only threat to the safety of the island is you and your 'friends', and you know it." Reneigh cut it. "Stop trying to scare her. We answered your questions, or is there something else?"

"Why so defensive, Reneigh? I'm only looking out for you."

"As if!" Reneigh shot back. "Any hybrid that works for Redd co. is only out for themselves."

"Easy there," Leif held up his hands. "Don't get spooked. I'm not looking for a fight. But I must say, you act like you have something to hide."

"We don't." She took Fauna's hand. "Do you still need us or are we free to go?"

"Of course." He looked over to Fauna. "Pleasure to meet you, Fauna. And if you feel the need to come talk to me about something later, you know where I'll be." He nodded his head in the direction of the plaza. "See you around, Dearie."

Leif ambled back to his cart. Yup. Well, something is up. Seems like they are all in on it. Other than that though, the village was pretty quiet. Everyone seemed to be out, doing their thing. The shops were open, but there didn't seem to be much of anything going on. With a sigh, he tilted his head back and, closing his eyes, basked in the warmth of the sun. Even though he was loyal to Redd co., that didn't mean he had to hate everything about the island, right? There were some good things. And he really did love the outdoors.

A sudden clatter caught his attention, and he cracked open one eye. It was the octopus freak. He had somehow managed to get caught on the sign outside of the brats' store, and he was hurriedly trying to right it. A slow smile spread on Leif's face. Zucker. He's an idiot and he's alone. Perfect. He put two fingers to his lips, and blew a long whistle. "Hey, Zucker. Come here a minute."

"Who, me?" He looked up in surprise. "Why?"

"Nothing. I just want to talk to you is all." Leif pulled out one of knifes that he kept hidden up his sleeve and lightly pruned one of the plants he had brought. "How's it going?"

"Um, pretty good, I guess." Zucker said as he walked over. His gaze flickered over the different flora on the cart. Zucker finally picked up one of the saplings and turned it around in his hands. "What about you?"

"Can't complain. Although, if one of those," he pointed his knife at Zucker's tentacles, "knock one of my plants off my cart again, I'm cutting it off," he threatened darkly. Zucker gave a tiny squeak of alarm, and putting the plant down hurriedly, took a few steps back. "So anything exciting happen lately?"

"Hmmm, no, not really." Zucker fidgeted slightly, hopping from one foot to the other. "Oh, I did catch I really large fish the other day. Blathers said it was a Zebra turkeyfish." He frowned. "I wonder why they call it that. Those animals all live in different habitats. Land, air, water—I mean, come on, make up your mind!"

"No idea," Leif said, refusing to get distracted by Zucker's idiotic ramblings. "So you haven't seen anything else?"

"Um, no." Zucker rubbed at his arm.

Leif smiled at him. "What about the boat that crashed, Zucker?"

"What?" Zucker gasped lightly. "Oh, um, ya, that happened," he said miserably.

"So you lied to me." Leif's voice was ice. "Why did you do that?"

"I—I didn't mean to," stammered Zucker. Leif smirked internally, as he watched Zucker tie himself up in knots. Pathetic. He is ridiculously easy to manipulate. He is as spineless as the animal he is mixed with, and has even less brains. If I gave him enough rope, I could probably get him to literally hang himself.

"So what happened?" Leif inquired.

"I—I don't know." He started to take a few hesitant steps back. "Look, Leif, I have to go—"

"Whoa, did I say you could leave? Get back here," Leif commanded sternly. Actually, there was nothing stopping Zucker from running away as fast as he could. It wasn't like Leif could actually force him to stay and talk to him. If Leif attacked him in some way, Zucker would surely make a racket, drawing the others' attention. And the others would be sure to defend one of their own. All the hybrids lived by the unspoken rule of don't start a fight you can't finish. But apparently, Zucker hadn't realized that, because he stopped trying to back away. "So. Tell me what happened."

"Um, the boat came, and crashed, and other boats came and took it away. That's it. The end," he said hopefully.

"And what about the human?" Leif prompted.

Zucker gasped again. "You know about them?"

"Oh, yes." Leif smiled coolly, absently spinning his blade. "So I'll know if you lie to me again. Tell me everything."

Zucker reached up and wiped the sweat off his forehead. "Umm…I—I—I don't know," he stammered. His eyes suddenly widened, and he pointed desperately at the edge of the cart. "One of your plants is about to fall!"

"Oh, come on, that has got to be one of the oldest tricks in the book," scoffed Leif. "How stupid do you—" but a sudden motion at the edge of his cart caught his attention. Apparently, the idiot had put the sapling right at the edge of the cart, and he must has bumped it just enough to cause it to start to fall. Leif snapped his arm out and caught it before it could crash to the ground. Unfortunately, Zucker had wasted no time in escaping in his distraction. "Hey! Get back here!" The octopus paid him no attention, running as fast as his legs could carry him. Leif swore and stabbed his blade deep into the top of his cart. Great. There goes my best chance. What are the odds that I'll get another shot like that?

The jangle of bells sounded over at Nook's Cranny, catching his attention and he moodily rolled his eyes in that direction. There was someone coming out of the shop. Leif didn't recognize them. They were wearing shorts and a t-shirt, and the ugliest blue hood he had ever seen. But after seeing an islander dress up as a literal hotdog, Leif had stopped being surprised by what passed as fashion among the freaks. What caught his interest though was the bandage that wrapped around their left leg, from knee to ankle.

A lazy smile spread across his face. Well, well. I guess the odds are pretty good after all. He stood up and begin to walk over to them.

POV
Alex/ human
Morning of same day

For the second day in a row, Isabelle's morning announcement was what awoke Alex. "Good morning, everyone! It is yet another beautiful day today! So there isn't really any news to speak of, so I'll let you all get back to enjoying your day. Have the loveliest of lovely days." With that cheery thought, she clicked off.

Alex stretched, trying to get the sleepiness out of their system. Their body was mildly sore today; not surprising after yesterday's workout. Oh well. Nothing a little bit of pain killers won't fix. They swallowed the pills Blathers had given them the other day, and started to get ready for the day. Wonder when my house will be finished. I'm getting a little tired of living out of a pack in a tent.

As Alex went to head out of the tent, they noticed a letter that was slid under the flap. Curious, Alex bent down and picked it up, to see it addressed simply as "To Alex," in a neat, clean script that they recognized as Isabelle's. They tore it open.

Morning, Alex!

Mr. Nook said to tell you that your house will be finished soon. Camping is fun, but I know you are probably ready to get into your own place.

Also, Leif is here today. He is a Visitor (I'm sure you remember what we discussed about that). So be sure to wear your hood, and keep your head covered.

See you soon!

Isabelle

Alex reached up and checked the placement of their hood. Yup, everything was covered. Still, it might be best if I stay out of the plaza area. At least, for now. Once they had all of their tools ready, they headed out to face the day.

They walked in the direction of the shore again. Gathering sea shells seemed to be the fastest, not to mention easiest, way to get bells. There wasn't too many shells out today, but Alex didn't mind. Just being near the ocean made them feel better. They walked along humming to themselves.

Raymond was out on the beach as well, doing some kind of yoga. I wonder if I should say 'hello,' Alex thought as they walked along the shore line. I'm not sure what would be considered more rude; interrupting him or not saying anything. They decided to go with the first option. "Good morning, Raymond," they said politely, walking on by.

"Is it?" Raymond hissed back. Alex rolled their eyes, and walked on. What's got him so upset today? Alex shook their head. Maybe he is always like that. "Hey, Alex," Raymond called after them. Alex turned and raised an eyebrow in question. "You know Leif is here today, right?"

"Yup. Got it covered," Alex pulled at their hood, "literally."

Raymond gave a quick nod of acknowledgement, before sliding into his next pose. Hmmm, Alex mused as they walked on. He didn't have to warn me. Maybe he is warming up after all.

They walked past the Airport and continued on, exploring the new section of beach. There wasn't much to speak of; besides a couple of rocks jutting out over the water, that was about it. As Alex walked on, they came to a dock section.

The dock extended over the water, but nothing else was out there. Alex could see the Lighthouse off in the distance from this spot. However, sitting on the docks, was Zucker. He had several fishing lines tethered into the water, and he was sitting cross-legged on the dock, watching them. Alex smiled and headed over.

"Morning, Zucker," they said once they were closer.

Zucker jumped and looked up at them. "Oh, Alex." A smile brightened his face. "Morning. What are you doing here?"

"Nothing much, just wandering around." Alex sat down next to him. "Any luck?" They nodded at the lines.

Zucker shrugged. "Not too much today." He bit his lip. "So, did you need something?"

"Nope, just coming over to say 'hi'."

"Really? You came over just to talk to me?" Alex noticed with a touch of sadness how his face and tone brightened. Does no one talk to you?

"Sure." Alex pulled out their own fishing pole and dropped the line into the water.

"Cool. So what did you want to talk about?"

Alex shrugged. "I don't know; nothing in particular." Alex dropped their legs over the edge of the dock and idly kicked at the water. "So, what do you do for fun around here?"

"Ummmm, for fun?" Zucker asked distractedly, watching their leg. "We play card games. Hey, can you not do that?" Zucker asked timidly.

"Do what?" Alex looked over at him in confusion.

Zucker nodded at their leg. "Touch the water."

Alex frowned, but pulled their legs up just the same. "Oh, come on, I'm clearly not escaping or anything. You mean someone would have a problem if I just touch the water?"

"You never know," Zucker said seriously.

"But Zucker that must be so hard for you."

"Why?" Zucker looked at them blankly.

"Umm, because you are an octopus?" Alex looked back in confusion. "Don't you need to be in the water at some point?"

Zucker shrugged, and wrapped his arms around his legs. "It's not so bad. I take baths, and drink a lot of fluids. Oh, and I have gills."

"Really?" Alex glanced at his neck. They didn't see anything out of the ordinary besides the suckers. "How did you find that out?"

"They chained me in a tank, and filled it up with water," he said simply. "I didn't know I had them until I finally gasped for air and swallowed the water." Zucker shuddered. "I thought I was going to drown."

What the heck… Alex thought numbly watching him. "Oh…" they said simply. "Listen, Zucker, I'm—" A jerk on one of Zucker's lines caught their attention.

"I got a bite!" Zucker cried excitedly, as he lunged for his pole, apparently forgetting his bad memories in his excitement.

"Great, Zucker!" Alex tried to smile, but they were still recovering from what he had just told them. They tried to dispel the shock, as Zucker was clearly excited about his catch. They watched Zucker fight with the line. "Don't lose it!"

"Ahhh, I lost it," Zucker said disappointedly, as the fish's shadow disappeared into the deeper water.

"It's okay." Alex patted his shoulder comfortingly. "Everyone has to have a story about the Big One that got away."

He frowned. "I have several stories like that. Maybe I should get some fish bait from the Nooklings…" He absently bit his fingernail as he thought.

"I'll go with you. I need to drop off some shells again." Alex stood up.

"Hmmmm, Okay." He stood up, leaving his lines out. "Maybe something will get caught on the line while I'm gone." He hummed quietly as he walked along with Alex. "Do you like to fish?" he asked suddenly.

"Oh, yes." Alex nodded. "It was a good way for me to get some cheap food. Lived on a sailboat, remember?" Alex answered the unspoken question.

"Oh, that's right." Zucker nodded. "I like to fish too. No one else does too much though. Oh, except the twins. And Reneigh and Lucky can. Raymond hates it, and the others don't have the time. It's unfortunate that Raymond hates it."

"Why?"

"I don't know, I always just kinda found fishing relaxing. It's not like you have to do a whole lot."

"No, why is it unfortunate that Raymond doesn't like to fish?" Alex clarified.

"He's a cat," Zucker said it like it was obvious. "He is a carnivore. He has to have meat."

"What happens if he doesn't?"

Zucker bit his lip and awkwardly rubbed at his arm. "Um, he will start to get really hungry."

"And then what? Will he die?" Alex looked over at Zucker in concern.

Nooo…" Zucker said slowly. "Listen you don't have to worry about it; it hasn't happened in a really, really long time. Mr. Nook and Isabelle figured it out, and they make sure the carnivores have plenty of meat now."

"But what happens?" Alex persisted. They were more horrified by the implied meaning then offending Zucker currently.

Zucker glanced around, to make sure no one was close enough to hear him. "They start to lose control," he said softly. "Some of them can't digest anything but meat, so they start to starve. And as they get weaker, their animal instincts get stronger. No one died," he said hurriedly, "but there were…bite marks."

Alex walked along in fascinated horror, digesting that information. "So you fish for him, because he hates it?"

"Yup," Zucker nodded. "We all try to find some type of niche in our village. So I fish so the others don't have to." He glanced shyly at Alex. "I know it's not super important, but at least it's something."

"I don't know, Zucker, it seems like a pretty important job to me," Alex smiled at him.

"Really?" Zucker beamed at them. "You think so?"

"Well, ya," Alex said as they got closer to the village. "Based on what you said, I would say so." As they walked on in companionable silence, Zucker had an extra skip in his step as they approached the twin's store. So much so though, as Alex went into the store, he tripped and slammed into the sign right outside the store.

"No, I'm alright," he said hurriedly as Alex stopped just inside, holding the door open. "You go on ahead. I'll be in in a second."

With a smile and a shake of their head, Alex let the door close. "Morning, Timmy and Tommy." Alex sold the shells and exchanged small talk with Timmy, as Tommy contributed in his own way. Hmmm, he is taking a while, Alex thought as Zucker still had not entered. I'll think I'll help him out. "Timmy, how much for some fish bait?" With their newly purchased fish bait in their pockets, they went back out.

To their surprise, Zucker wasn't still outside the store. Alex listened to the jangle of the Nook's Cranny chimes as they shut the door. They stared absently up into nowhere as they thought. Did he decide to go back to the beach? Where else would he have—

"Hello, Friend," a low and melodious voice breathed softly by their ear, causing Alex to nearly jump out of their skin. They spun around in the direction of the voice.

The owner of the voice was a young man dressed in a hoodie and shorts. He had pulled the green hood up over his head, but Alex could see his thick brown hair surrounding his round face. What surprised Alex was how normal (if he could keep using that word on this island), this man looked. His nose was slightly too large, but that was the only really noticeable variation from a normal human. But he still looked off. His skin was a sickly shade of pale, but with his flushed cheeks, it made him look sick. That and he had deep, dark circles around his dark green eyes. He reached up with one hand to push some of the shaggy hair out of his eyes, and Alex noticed that the fingers were extra-long and thin. "I don't think I have met you before. What should I call you?"

"Alex," they mumbled, trying to shake the feeling of unease.

"Alex," the man gave a slow smile, "what a happy name. I'm Leif."

"Oh," Alex resisted the urge to back up. "Do you live here too?" Alex decided that it was best to play dumb. They causally reached up to check to make sure that their hood was covering their ears.

"Oh, no," Leif chuckled softly, but Alex could hear a slight condescending tone to it. "I'm just visiting. I come to the island with products to sell."

"Like what?"

Leif jerked a thumb over his shoulder toward the cart in the plaza. "Botanical products. Rare flowers, shrubs, herbs, and some…special…products you can make from them. Oh, and I deal in weed."

"Weed? Like the plants?"

Leif gave them a slightly patronizing smile. "Of course. What else would I mean?" He put his arm around them in a friendly manner as he spoke, and begin to guide them towards the cart. "I would love to introduce you to all the little seeds and saplings I brought with me today. You want to look these over?"

"Um, I'm not sure." Alex was frantically thinking on how to get out of this situation. He is trying to be casual, but his eyes keep scrutinizing my face. And I saw that quick glance at my leg! How do I get away, without looking like I am trying to get away?

Alex felt something slip into their hand and pull slightly. They glanced down to see Tommy standing by them. But Tommy wasn't looking at them as he gripped their hand. His eyes and ears were trained solely on Leif. The way he looked at him—it was like he expected Leif to attack or something. Alex noticed that he had his fishing pole in his other hand. "Oh, hey, Tommy. I guess I did promise to go fishing, huh. You free now?" Tommy nodded, still not looking at them. "Cool." Alex ducked out from under Leif's arm and turned back to him. "I'll have to think about it. Catch you later?"

"You have to do what makes you happy. Anyway, meeting you has been a true pleasure." He gave them a slow smile. "I hope to see you again soon, Alex." Even though the words were friendly enough, it still gave Alex a chill down their spine. They couldn't quite place it, but it felt almost like a threat. Alex gave a weak smile and wave, and allowed Tommy to pull them away.

"Thanks, Tommy." Alex said once it felt like they were far enough away to be out of earshot. "Leif is kinda creepy, isn't he?" Tommy turned and gave a definite nod. He tightened his hold on their hand and started to lead them deeper into the woods. He led them to the river that Alex had found earlier. "Across the river, huh? Hmmm." Alex pulled out the vaulting pole and eyed it. "I guess now is as good a time as any to start practicing." Tommy pulled out his as well, and with a practiced flick of his wrist, it snapped open. He held it at the ready, and making it look way too easy, vaulted across the watery gap. He tuned and vaulted back just as easily. He stood in front of them and raised his eyebrows expectantly. "That easy, huh? Okay, here it goes." Alex mimicked the way Tommy held it and, after taking a few hurried and cautious steps, thrust the pole forward and into the river. They felt it catch in the mud, and their grasp on the pole flung them up and over the river. They felt a few seconds of the giddy rush of being airborne—

Before gravity and their lack of balance took over, and they tumbled into the river. It wasn't deep or fast moving, and Alex came up a second later sputtering water. They heard a high-pitched, barking laugh coming from the edge of the river, and turned to see Tommy leaning against a tree, laughing. Alex felt a brief flash of annoyance, before shrugging it off. Ya, I bet I was pretty funny-looking. "Oh, come off it," Alex called, playfully splashing water at Tommy. "You made it look so easy."

Tommy tried to get his laughter under control, but as if to prove Alex's point, he vaulted over to the over side of the river again. He continued to snicker as he came over and held out his clawed hand to Alex. Alex waded over and took it, allowing Tommy to help them out. "Show off," Alex griped good-naturedly. Tommy snickered again, as they continued on their way following along the river's edge. Tommy suddenly headed off on one side, pushing some bush branches out of the way, and showed them the way to a second, wider section of the river. It was a shallow inlet, but the branches had partly hidden it, so it wasn't immediately obvious. There was a small construction built on one side of the inlet. Branches and sticks had been tied together to provide a partial shelter, and that was where Tommy skipped over to. There was an assortment of shells and rocks inside, which looked like someone's collection of treasures. In fact, the whole deal looked like some of the forts Alex themselves had helped build with their friends growing up. "Tommy, is this your and Timmy's hideout?"

Tommy nodded and, picking up a stone—a small, pointy one with white flecks—held it out to them. "Cool," Alex said, turning it over in their hand. "It sparkles." Tommy nodded and took it back, placing it back where it belonged among the others. He skipped back out to the edge of the pond, and begin to prepare his fishing line. Alex followed and sat down beside him. Sweet kid, Alex thought as they baited their own line with their newly purchased fish bait. He is still just a kid after all. And I owe him one for giving me an excuse to get away from Leif. I will have to make it up to him somehow.

POV
Raymond/ cat
A little under a year ago

Raymond awoke slowly and painfully. He felt incredibly disoriented, and there was this lingering ache to his body that seemed to be deep in his bones and muscles. Everything felt oddly sore, but he couldn't really remember doing anything to cause that. But he could tell that he had been asleep for a while. There was this weird metallic aftertaste on the back of his tongue and his muscles felt stiff, as if they hadn't been used in a while. He blinked his eyes open, trying to dislodge the watery film in them. He was surprised to notice that instead of the world being blurry, he could see clearly on his left side. Did I fall asleep with my glasses on? But even as he thought it, he knew that it wasn't the case. He couldn't feel them on his face. He reached up anyway to rub at his face and caught sight of his hand.

His hand looked like his, but also different. Am…am I wearing gloves? The underside of his fingers and palm were toughened, like from calluses. The back of his hand and part of his fingers were covered in fine, grey fur. He slowly turned his hand, rubbing his fingers against each other.

A friendly bell-tone sounded suddenly. "Good morning!" A cherry voice greeted from somewhere. Raymond glanced around, focusing on his left eye's vision. He noticed a speaker mounted on one wall. That seemed to be where the voice was coming from. "I see you are awake. Good, good. We hoped you would wake up soon. Now, first off, let me be the first to thank you for your participation in the Project. The success of it is dependent on brave volunteers like yourself, and your sacrifice does not go unnoticed." Raymond frowned. The Project sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. In fact, he couldn't remember why he was here in the first place. The voice continued. "It is normal for patients to wake up confused and disoriented. The important thing is to remain calm and to take it slow. So we will start with the basics. Now. Can you tell us your name?"

"Ummm, Raymond. Raymond Jakku."

"Excellent. And now, what is your date of birth?"

Raymond glanced around the room. It looked like a basic bare room, but more like a prison cell then hospital room. The bed took up most of the space, with a small partition separating what he assumed was the toilet. More disturbing however, were the two cameras stationed in such a way at opposite corners so that every part of the room was visible to them. But both cameras were trained on him at the moment. "October 1st. Listen, what is going on, I don't—"

He sat up, but a wave of dizziness washed over him, causing him to fall back. The voice tsk-tsked. "I remind you to take it slow. There is no rush. It is normal for patients to experience dizziness, nausea, and vertigo. It comes as your nervous system reorients itself."

"Ya, about that? What is my nervous system reorienting? What does that mean?"

"All in good time. Now, what is 10% of 285?"

"28.5," Raymond answered immediately; it was the type of mathematical calculation he had done daily. He attempted to slowly sit up again; something was under his back and it was slightly uncomfortable. He looked down to see he was wearing a hospital gown, but he still couldn't remember what for. He held up both hands to his face. One had a hospital bracelet with an identification number on it, but both of them had the strange callused-like pads and fine grey hair. The hair reminded him more of fur then actual hair though. "What…what happened to me?" He slowly, turning his hands back and forth.

"Hang on, I'm not done. I still have several more questions. Can you touch your right hand to your left shoulder for me?"

"No, not until I get some answers," Raymond shot back at the voice. "What happened? What is going on?" Something was still knotted up in the sheets at his back, and he reached back to get it out. "I want to talk to someone in person. Why am I…" his voice trailed off as he yanked the object out.

It was a tail. A long, grey tail with a black end. Like a cat would have. The disturbing thing was that when he had yanked on it, he had felt it. He could feel his hand griping and tugging on it. It's my tail, Raymond thought numbly. "I feel the need to remind you that the important thing is to remain calm," the voice stated evenly.

Raymond screamed. He lunged away from the—his—tail right off the edge of the bed. Somehow his legs managed to get themselves underneath him though, before he hit the ground, causing him to land on his feet. He stumbled away from the bed, as if he could leave the tail behind. "What happened? What did you do to me?" He yelled. He crashed hard into one of the side walls, and leaned against it. He brought his hands up to his face. "What happened to me," he moaned, turning his hands again.

"Now, Raymond, you need to calm down. Why don't you take three deep breaths for me."

Raymond ignored the voice, and dashed towards the partition that partly hid the bathroom section. There was a toilet, shower head, sink—but the mirror was painfully and obviously absent. Whoever had designed this 'hospital' room didn't want the patients to see what they looked like. He whirled around, looking for the exit in a panic. There didn't seem to be one at first glance. But there was a section in one wall that looked slightly different. Racing over, he slid his hand down the wall, but there was no catch or latch for him to open. The voice was still talking to him, but he was no longer listening.

He turned around in a panic, and noticed a tray containing what he assumed was food on the desk next to the bed. He raced back over and snatched the metal spoon off the tray. Turning it backward, he held it up against the light.

The polished metal wasn't very reflective, but it was enough. He could make out the general shape and color of his features. What stood out was the vivid green of his left eye. He placed his hand under his eye, trying to think through the roaring in his ears. What did they do to me? I'm a freak. His hair wasn't just blonde anymore; he could make out that the sides where grey. Dropping the spoon in shock, he ran both his hands back through his hair, feeling two different hair textures. This is impossible. I'm having some kind of nightmare… the thought cut off as his hands partly collided with something. He felt his eyes widen as his fingers took in the shape and texture of the objects on top of his head. No. No way. I have ears. I have cat ears!

"No…no...no, no, no, no, no!" Raymond was aware that his voice was becoming louder and faster, increasing in volume and pitch until it was a shriek. He dug his fingers into his new ears and yanked, trying to tear them off in a blind panic. There was a sharp burst of pain, but the ears held. He was dimly aware that he was screaming and crying, he couldn't think past the roaring in his ears and the panic of his mind.

The door silently slid open, and a black security guard stepped in. Before Raymond could do anything, the guard calmly pointed a hand-held gun at him and fired. The tranquilizer dart embedded itself firmly in his leg. Raymond jerked at the pain, but quickly pulled it out. He stood up and lunged at the door but only made it a few steps before falling to his knees. "Who are you, where am I, what happened," Raymond's rapid-fire questions begin to slow down as the drug continued to kicked in. He tried to take another step, but his body was quickly becoming sluggish. The world tilted as he fell on his side.

The last thing he head as his eyes closed was a long-suffering sigh from the speaker. "Goodnight, Raymond," the voice said.

Raymond woke up the second time strapped down again. With a sick jerk of fear, he recognized that he was back in the previous room—the same one from when he had been strapped down before. An unintentional whimper of fear escaped his lips. It caught the attention of a doctor standing off to the side, reading a tablet. He turned around and glanced at him.

"Good, you are awake. Morning again, Raymond." Raymond recognized the voice as the same one that had been speaking to him in the "hospital" room. "Don't be scared; this is just a checkup. No pain today, I promise," he said with a wink. He hooked his foot around the rolling chair, and pulled it over. "You are only restrained because you were panicking earlier, and we were afraid you would damage yourself." He placed a gloved finger against Raymond's forehead and traced down his nose between his eyes. "Can't have that; you represent an expensive investment for the Company." He plopped down onto the chair, and rolled it over so he was closer to Raymond's head. "Here, you don't have to talk to me," the chatty doctor continued. He dangled a pair of earbuds over Raymond's eyes. "Got any requests? Hip-hop, classical, pop, rock—we got it all."

Raymond wasn't sure he could handle too much more of this. His nerves were frazzled and on edge, and the fact that it was the same doctor from…before…was really throwing him off. He could clearly see him—Dr. Shrunk—now, but besides the crazy red hair and old-fashioned large round glasses, he looked and seemed like a regular doctor. The fact that the doctor was treating this so normally, like this was a regular visit to a doctor's office, was particularly bizarre to him. The stress of everything was finally getting to him. He didn't say anything.

"Hmmm, you seem like a jazz person. We'll go with that." Raymond wasn't, but he really didn't care. He felt the earbuds being inserted into his ears, and then he felt something else being inserted into something farther up on his head. My cat ears, Raymond belatedly remembered. I have two sets of ears now. Even though it was muffled, he could hear the doctor typing away on the computer off to the side. "There, how does that sound?"

Raymond paused, but he couldn't hear anything. He shook his head reflexively. "Hmmm, let me try this. There, how's that?" Raymond shook his head again. Dr. Shrunk made a disgusted sound. "Now?"

Now Raymond could hear music in his right ear. "Right ear only," mumbled Raymond. A second later, the left one's sound cut on.

"There, that both now?" Raymond nodded. "Good, just relax now. This won't take long."

"Computer, begin dictation for notes." If Raymond focused, he could still hear the doctor over the music. "Auditory receptors in feline ears only." Raymond felt a heavy sadness as the words sank in. It wasn't the earbuds; it was my ears. My human ears. They ruined them. He could feel the doctor poking around at the base of his cat ears, checking something. Raymond closed his eyes and felt tears slide out of the corners of them. They ruined me.

He felt one of the earbuds get yanked out, as the doctor addressed him. "Hang on, don't go to sleep yet. I need to check your eyes." If the doctor noticed the tears, he didn't mention them. He placed one gloved hand over Raymond's left eye, and held up a small, printed card in front of his right eye. Raymond recognized it as a smaller version of a seeing eye chart. "Go ahead and read that for me."

Raymond blinked. His vision was still blurry in that eye; his left one was the only one he could see out of without his glasses. "Um, E, F, P, ummm, T, O, Z….L…P…E…D…?

Dr. Shrunk removed his hand and leaned over to look at him. "You really can't see out of that eye? Hang on." He pushed away, causing the chair to roll out of Raymond's field of vision. Raymond heard him rummage around in a drawer. He rolled back over, and Raymond saw that he was holding his old glasses. "I guess your human ears aren't useless after all," he said cheerily, hooking them on. Covering up the lens over the left eye, he held up the card again. "Try now."

"E, F, P, T, O, Z, P, E, C, F, D, E, D,…F, C,... Z, P…F…E…O…P…Z…D…,"

"Great. Now for the other one." He pulled the glasses off again. Raymond found that he could see just as well without the glasses in that eye. He rattled off the letters quickly. "Alright, so your vision is fixed in your feline left eye, but not your human right. Well, it's a step forward." He shoved the earbuds back in. "You can go to sleep now." He calmly inserted his gloved fingers into Raymond's mouth and flipped up his upper lip. "Elongated canines on the top and lower jaw..." Dr. Shrunk went back to dictating to the computer.

Raymond closed his eyes again. He felt numb: he knew he was going into shock. But he could still occasionally hear Dr. Shrunk as he methodically listed everything that had changed about him as he worked his way down his body in his examination: increased heart rate, patches of fur, retractable claws in his hands, double joints, increased muscle mass. Each new thing increased the depression Raymond felt. Each thing was a reminder on how much he had changed.

Eventually, he felt the earbuds being pulled out. "There, I'm finished," the doctor said conversationally. He ran a critical eye over his form. "You really lucked out, by the way. Your mix turned out really well compared to some of the others; you should be happy."

Raymond felt the first stirring of anger. "I should be what?" The shock was fading away now, being replaced by defiance and rage. "You changed me. Why should I be happy about this? About any of this?!"

"Now, hang on a minute. You watch your tone with me—"

"You ruined me; turned me into some kind of freak!"

"No, you are a genetically-modified individual. One that appears to be notably more functional then most of the others." Dr. Shrunk shrugged. "You have good spirit at least. Hang on to that if you can. It will help you last longer."

"To heck with that!"

Dr. Shrunk just chucked. "Oh, I can't wait to get you into the Lab. This will be fun at least." Before Raymond could ask what he meant, he continued. "But first, Presentation!" He went over to a separate cabinet and pulled out what looked like a thick, black band. "This is a shock collar. Or a shock anklet to be precise." He went over the snapped it around Raymond's left ankle. "It will hurt something awful, and drop you like you have been kicked in the stomach."

He raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you need a demonstration, or are you just going to do the smart thing and take my word for it?" Raymond glared at him, but didn't respond. "I'll take that as you will do the smart thing." He went around the chair, undoing Raymond's bindings. "Your clothes are in the first room on the right. Go get dressed."

Author's note!

Slow and steady wins the race. On average, it takes me about an hour to write 1,000 words. And because I am a perfectionist, I spend another hour editing those same 1,000 words. So per chapter, I spend about 20 hours on each. This is why my update schedule is sooo slow. But I am having way too much fun, so I don't except to stop this anytime soon; I just wanted to let you know why it feels like it has died.

Leif's...hobby: When I first met Leif in the game, I turned to my sister and asked her why was there a stoned gardener in a kid's game. She did not appreciate that, XD. But because this fic is slightly more dark then the game, I'm going to stick with my first impression. Also, as a side note, I am not condoning the abuse of any substance. I am down-playing a lot of the side-affects, but do your research. Substance abuse—and its withdrawals—are terrible and can really, really mess you up.

Raymond's last name: I dodged around giving him a last name, but I couldn't really avoid it any more. I decided to go with his name in the Japanese version of the game.

Thanks for your patience! I appreciate any and all reviews, favorites and follows. Particularly reviews; I would love to know what you think about this story so far, or any questions you have. I really makes my day, and motivates me to keep at it.

Response to Jewel moonstone: Thanks for the review; glad you are enjoying it! And yes, there will be, it will just be slow in coming.

Response to Griffin Stone: Oh my goodness, you wrote a review for each chapter! That is so much work; thank you! I really appreciate the input. I smiled like a idiot for a while when I got the notification. As for your speculations; hmmm, could be. Guess you will have to wait and see. Reneigh is here because she is my sister's favorite.

Credit to where credit is due!

Gulliver, Leif, and Dr. Shrunk are based on [REDACTED]'s descriptions of them.