I felt his smirk as I looked down; my fists shaking by my side, and I forced my eyes to his direction.

"How…How did you -" I started but he interrupted, "Like I said, you would be coming to me. It was just a matter of time."

"Tch. Well, how certain?" I asked.

"There was no doubt in my mind that you would come to me for help," he responded, "It was just a matter of when."

He motioned his head and walked while I followed behind him. "We can discuss more in my lab. Come."

Few minutes later…

We arrived at the lab, and he pulled a remote from his coat and pressed a button, "There, we have our privacy."

The door closed behind us, and I noted the room littered with notes.

"So, let's get right to the point of the matter," he looked at me, "So…mind telling me how you stole my experiment?!"

"I don't know what you are talking about," I retorted as I scanned the room, hiding my uneasiness miserably.

"Please don't play dumb with me; it's just insulting… Just tell me the truth. Okay, I need to know how a human manage to steal my experiment?"

"Human?" I scoff, "Right as if."

"Please... This is a serious matter, and you are not understanding the gravity of the situation you are in currently," he remarked.

"Fine, but how do you know I was human?" I asked shocked.

"Simple, all the experiments don't worry themselves of any knowledge of god, angels and demons or the devil; they are far too advanced to believe such religious superstitions," he reasoned as he leaned back against the wall.

"Now let me ask again… 'How did you steal my experiment?!"

"I-I wouldn't put it like that…" I stated as I trailed off. "I didn't steal your experiment..."

"Then how did it occur?" he questioned with a hint of impatience.

"I-I don't know…it just sort of happened."

"Well, you need to try to explain what happened in detail; because not only does your life depend on it, but now mine does as well," he retorted as he rubbed his head.

"It's still all a blur," I said as I walked around, "I-I don't exactly remembered what happened."

"Well hopefully you'll remember soon," he commented.

I turned to Dr. Vodra, "I need to know something… If I fail this assessment… By 'upgrade'…does that mean I'll be reformatted?"

Dr. Vodra eyes grew like saucers and then he quickly averted my gaze.

"Dr. Vodra… Will I be or not be reformatted?"

He didn't respond as he grabbed a pile of paper and tried to organize them.

"Dr. Vodra, I have to know. Will I or -" My voice strained as the growing pit of anxiety grabbed hold of my throat.

He sighed as he set down the stack of paper, "…Yes."

I bit my lip as a deep grief poured into my being while he continued. "Yes, that's the truth. If you fail this assessment… You will be reprogrammed and there will be no escape from that."

"What do you think I should do?" I asked him.

"You mean what you need to do?" he countered.

"Don't play games with me Dr. Vodra," I growled as my core simmer with rage.

"I'm not playing any games with you. What you are now is an experiment and I'm sure you realize that it is getting easier and easier to do things beyond your wildest imagination; even though, you don't belong in that body am I right. It is becoming almost second nature, right?"

I looked at my paws shakily as he continued, "As the assessment continues; the risks only grow more and more. If you are to be reformatted, then you will disappear. In exchange of having your fragile human mind in an erroneous being who has failed over and over again time after time…Once you're in your pod form; you will simply disappear, and no one will ever know of it. There won't be a trace left of who you once were. For all the strength and powers you have; you can't even be able to protect yourself in this moment."

"No…" I whispered as I shook my head, "No."

"If you continue to act on your own accord currently," Dr. Vektor Vodra stated, "the end result will you being reformatted. Do you understand?"

My chest rapidly heaved in and out as my throat tightened; blood pounded in my ears as it deafened my surroundings. My body trembled as I was struck with the understanding of the grave situation; my vision unfocused as if I had looked through a kaleidoscope. I had to get away… I needed to get away.

"I-I can't just… No…No. No. No," I combed my paws through the tuffs of fur on my head.

"Experiment 628, you need to lis-" Dr. Vektor Vodra placed his hand on my shoulder, and I grabbed it with my vice-grip like strength and flung him on the ground. "DON'T TOUCH ME!"

"I CAN'T DIE!" I hollered while I paced around as he groaned from the impact.

My head pounded as if it were being pelted by hail, I grabbed it and screamed to release all the pent-up uneasiness I have been caged inside.

'I can't die like this… I can't. My friends and family… My mom… None will ever see me again. If I fail this assessment it will result in my death. My existence erased… And no one will know of it. None would be the wiser. '

Dr. Vector Vodra coughed as he pushed himself off the floor while I remained frozen.

"628."

"628."

"628! Listen," I turned to face him with a blank numb expression, "the only way this works if we work together."

"Understood?" he said, and I numbly nodded.

"Good," he groaned as he pushed himself onto his feet.

"Though I will say this… You have chosen the worst time to be part of this?"

"Why?" I asked softly.

"Because this year the Grand Councilwoman isn't the only person viewing the assessment," Dr. Vektor added, "the other Grand Council members will be as well."