(Huggy's PoV)
My friend and I tensed as the BoneNap stalked toward us. It crouched and tried to pounce on us. The human yelped in fear as we dove in separate directions. The creature turned toward him and began to advance. Acting quick, I stood up and grabbed its tail. This yanked it to a stop…for now.
"Use that battery over there to start charging the outlet!" I called to him. There was one of those square battery packs lying in the corner of the room. My friend took a glance over to the battery and then back to me. "I'll keep this cat busy for a bit." The bone cat kept tugging against my grip. The human nodded.
"I'll be right back to help you, Huggy!" He reassured me.
Once my friend was out of range, the BoneNap whipped around and swiped its claws at me. I managed to let go and fall back at the right time to avoid the sharp weapons. The creature then jumped and stood over me. A boney paw gave me a powerful cuff to the head. It followed up with the other paw, trying to disorient me. I caught one of those paws in my teeth. The BoneNap shrieked in surprise but did not seem hurt. The cat looked like it was thinking about how it wanted to toy with me next.
My friend fired his flare gun upgrade at the feline. The fiery projectile ended up bouncing between the creature's eyes and scared it off me. I took this opportunity to scramble away from the dangerous cat. We watched as it pawed at its face, making sure the flare was gone. The feline then turned back to us.
My friend noticed some pipes along the wall. He reached with his GrabPack and pulled one away from the wall. The pipe spewed steam in the BoneNap's face. The creature backed away, shrieking in confusion. I rushed forward and pushed it into the wall, letting the feline collapse to the ground. My body proceeded to run away and get out of range of those claws. Just as I was running away, something small and skinny wrapped around my throat and gagged me. I reached up to try and pry it off. When I didn't feel any fingers, I figured it must be the tail. It tugged down, bringing me to my knees and then ultimately my side.
"Let go of him!" I heard the human say. His figure ran closer and launched the GrabPack hands at the BoneNap's face. It didn't seem to do much. That was until one of those hands whacked the eye socket. The creature hissed and pawed at its face again. I felt the tail come away from my neck as I gasped for breath. The appendage then lashed at the human. It whipped at his legs as he began to turn and run. This sent him spiraling across the room. The BoneNap growled in delight and went for him. Its oversized paw stepped on my bandaged torso as it passed by.
"Oof!" I squealed as my wound got aggravated yet again. My body writhed a bit as the taste of blood traveled up my throat. I swallowed it down and rolled over to try and get up.
When I had made it to my feet, I realized my friend had the BoneNap trapped between a gated door and the wall. The feline's legs flailed about as the door had wedged itself against its neck and pinned it against the wall. Good thinking, friend. But it wasn't trapped for long. The elongated fingers got hold of the door and shoved it off. I rushed over, knowing my friend would be in trouble.
I got over there to find that my friend was indeed cornered by the oversized cat. My body reacted and latched itself to the BoneNap. It shrieked as my arms wrapped around it and my fangs bit down on the torso.
"Thanks for the distraction, Huggy! I've got the second battery." I heard the man say and snuck past the feline. This left me to keep the creature distracted while he put in the second battery. This would be a powerful charge when it was done considering there were still two more sockets for batteries to go in after this second one.
I kept trying to adjust the grip with my fangs. But no matter what angle I tried, I couldn't make a mark on our adversary. The BoneNap thrashed around, trying to get me off. I kept my arms wrapped tight. Better to be over here than in front of those claws, I thought. My teeth started to hurt. Blood seemed to well up in my gums. This meant if I tried to bite down harder, I would only end up breaking my own teeth. The creature thrashed around enough that I let go with my fangs and focused on holding on with my arms. The feline had jostled me so that my arms were wrapped around just below its neck.
"Huggy, let go!" Came the man's voice. Before I could contemplate on whether I should let go, I felt my body get slammed into the wall. I definitely wanted to let go now. My grip weakened from the impact. The BoneNap reached down and bit my arm. It made sure I couldn't get away now. The creature proceeded to run and slam me into a different wall.
My body started to go limp. That was when the bony cat slung me around and onto the ground. I only had a second to writhe on the ground before the enemy attacked again. Its wide mouth came down over my shoulder. The BoneNap's squeeze was intense. It lifted my upper body and slammed it into the ground multiple times. If it kept slamming me like that, I was going to black out for sure.
"Hey, over here! Juicy human ready to be eaten!" My friend taunted and waved his arms around. A gurgle rose in the feline's throat before it ultimately let go of me. For it had a new toy it wanted to play with now. As soon as the creature was clear of my body, I tried to get up. It wasn't easy. My body was starting to slow down, but we still had to ward off this thing until the power outlet was completely charged.
The boney cat reared up in front of the human and raised its claws. Once I was up, I approached the cat from behind. My arms locked around its shoulder bones to prevent it from swinging the claws.
"Shoot into the mouth!" I told my friend. He nodded and promptly aimed for the big target. The flare projectile bounced into that black void with no problem. The BoneNap thrashed about wildly, almost dislodging my grip. It even yowled like it was actually feeling pain.
Once I had a good grip on the feline, I told my friend to shoot again. The creature must have understood what I said because it gurgled and proceeded to attack me. That skinny tail reached up and lashed my back like a bony whip. I winced in pain. A second lash came that made me let go of our adversary. The BoneNap ducked down, leaving the flare to bounce off my furry chest. A patch of fur got singed as I cried out in pain. My yellow hands furiously smacked at the affected area to douse any live flames. The feline swept its tail and knocked my legs out from under me. I collapsed to the ground yet again.
"Huggy, I'm so sorry!" My friend called. The BoneNap began to turn on him. My hand lashed out and grabbed its tail again.
"It's okay. Just focus on getting those other batteries." I told him as the bony cat turned on me.
"But-!" He began to argue.
"Just go!" I said as those claws tried to come down on me. My skinny limbs shook as I attempted to keep those weapons at bay. A quick shift of my gaze confirmed to me that my friend had listened.
The BoneNap pulled its claws away and proceeded to cuff my head again. I smelled some red smoke seep out of its mouth as it kept smacking me around. That mouth came down around my shoulder again and proceeded to toss me along the ground. My fur got pushed in the wrong direction and the bandages felt like that had been loosened. The BoneNap gave a snort and walked off. I guess it didn't think I was a threat anymore.
My body didn't want to move. I knew I had to get up and protect my friend, but some invisible force kept me from following. Instead, I actually wanted to fall asleep. Some of that red smoke must have gotten into my system. I tried to fight the urge to sleep. It was too powerful and pulled me in.
I looked about as I found myself still in our battlefield. It was all quiet. No sounds of any struggle between us and the BoneNaps. Catnap, DogDay, and the human were nowhere to be seen. Red smoke filled the connecting hallways. It seemed to slowly snake its way toward me as if it were alive. Was this all real or was this a dream? It seemed real, but I could never be too sure when red smoke was involved. I tried calling out to see if anyone was there.
A figure began to emerge from the red smoke. It was my friend! A feeling of dread came over me when I saw the state of him. His body was bloodied, there was a burn mark on his face, and one of his legs was broken and twisted badly. He dragged himself over with his arms and one good leg.
"Huggy…." The man croaked out. "Please….help me." A wet cough came from him. Instinctively, I went to get up and help him. I had only made it to my hands and knees when something pushed me back down. My black eyes looked over my shoulder to find a BoneNap holding me down. I struggled against it to no avail. Horror filled my heart as the other BoneNap lumbered in the smoke behind the human.
"Look out!" I tried to warn him. He looked behind. His eyes widened as the claws came for him. A bony finger punctured into his broken leg. My friend screamed in agony as the skeletal cat proceeded to pull him back into the smoke. There was now another figure just behind the BoneNap. Its hulking figure told me it was the Prototype. I watched as the feline handed the man over to him. Various tools and appendages sprouted from the Prototype. They all stabbed into the human's body. His screams died out as his body went limp.
"No! Leave him alone! It's me you want!" I tried to bargain with the Prototype. A single pipe-like appendage extended my friend's body out toward me.
"Come join us, Huggy." The human said with a creepy voice. There was a metallic undertone laced into it. The Prototype kept him alive as his puppet, now fused with his body.
"No, never!" I shook my head.
"Oh, but you will come back to us, Huggy. You can't resist his will. The Prototype's rule is absolute. Perhaps you need a little wake up call." His green GrabPack hand started to spark with electricity.
"Wait, no! Please don't do this!" I pleaded with the puppet. The sturdy hand ejected out and aimed for my head. "No! NOOOO!"
I jolted awake as that fake hand came at my face. A shriek emitted from my throat as my body flinched. The movement seemed to aggravate my wounds. Sounds of the struggle were now present. Thankfully that was all a dream….but that also meant that the ending for our fight was still up for debate. I could only hope it would end better than that dream sequence. But what were our chances? We can't even make a mark on these BoneNaps. That electrical charge is our only hope of shutting them down. I had to go help the human or he would never have the chance to keep the effort going.
I put my hands under me and attempted to lift my upper body. It was a slow process, but I finally found the strength to support my weight on my hands and knees. My body was screaming at me. Pain was all over. The bandages felt like they were threatening to slip away. I struggled to get up onto my legs. Once I was there, I stumbled forward. My balance and coordination was off so I swayed from side to side. A hand went to my bandages. They were still holding up…for now.
Rounding the corner, I found the human struggling to stay away from the BoneNap. It kept swatting him around like a toy. His battered body barely avoided a swipe of the claws when he noticed me standing at the opposite end of the room.
"Huggy, put the last battery in the outlet!" He croaked out and then coughed. "Here, catch!" The man used the GrabPack to launch the cubed shaped battery toward me.
I caught it and turned around to place it in its holder. My body had to stop short as Catnap ran by, charging the other BoneNap. I wasted no time in slapping the last piece in. Only maybe a minute more until it would be fully charged. I didn't know if either my friend or I could survive the bony cat for another minute. A minute was so long when you were expending your energy to fight back against an opponent. Especially one that didn't seem to hurt easily.
I gasped when I saw the BoneNap scoop my friend up in its paw. The creature proceeded to open its mouth wide. It held the man above its face and prepared to drop the man down its gullet.
"No!" I cried. My body pushed itself forward faster than I thought I could go at the moment. I used all four of my limbs to power forward. The BoneNap began to loosen its grip. But it seemed to be happening very slowly. I tackled the bony feline before the human even exited its paw. My fangs wrapped around its neck. Why was I biting it? The sturdy bones had made my teeth hurt before. It just felt right to be driving my fangs at its throat. My grip tightened and tightened. The BoneNap below me thrashed about but did not deter me.
My friend rubbed his head and recovered from the fall. He gasped and came near.
What are you doing? Don't come close! This thing is unpredictable!
"Huggy, calm down!" He called to me. "Come on, buddy. You're not like them. You're better than that." His hand started to reach for my head. I instinctively growled at the approaching hand. He flinched and backed off for a second. The man took a deep breath and attempted to reach for me again. I tasted blood now. It dripped onto the bones under my fangs. "I wouldn't hurt you, Huggy. I trust you." His hand gently placed itself on my forehead. The warm touch seemed to wake me up from my trance. I slowly eased up on my grip and pulled away from the BoneNap. It was only now that I realized the blood had come from me. My gums were definitely bleeding now.
"I…did it again…didn't I?" I asked him.
"You did." He admitted. "But not for long. You're learning to control that urge quickly. I'm proud of you, Huggy."
Our moment was interrupted as the BoneNap got its bearings and lashed out at me. Its tail reached up and wrapped around my throat. The creature tossed me up. I could only watch as it followed me. My body was freezing up and I couldn't fight back at the moment. Those claws aimed for my torso. The points poked into my bandages. Blood began soaking the white cloths as the BoneNap slung me to the ground. My body went limp as I collapsed to the ground. I wasn't unconscious, but I definitely couldn't move either. In a sense, I kind of wish I was knocked out. That would at least spare me from all the painful wounds I felt.
"Huggy!" The man rushed to me. "Come on, you gotta get up!" He tried to lift my head. I merely moaned from the dull pain ringing in my head. The BoneNap rushed us, preparing its large paws. I squeezed my eyes shut and my friend screeched in fear.