The Microwave

Every once in a while a flaming torch lit up the area, but the further the group got from the City Chambers the less these appeared, leaving the place to be lit up by their bouncing flashlights.

They entered a larger chamber that Felix always knew to be second to the stairwell. This place was well lit, and the moss was flattened with pawprints. There was a line of all sorts of creatures waiting to be let into a chamber door that Felix remembered not being very interesting. The sign above it read "TERRIBLE'S CANNIBAL BUFFET"

"It looks like we've made it.." Felix mumbled.

"If you take one step through that door I am out of here," Pipe said.

"You think he's in there? Like Dog?" Felix asked her.

"Of course. He always has a hobby, apparently this is it, if it isn't chasing that Error guy all the time," Pipe said.

"I didn't know Error was that important to him.." Felix said.

"You don't even know.. FELIX," Pipe hit his helmet with a hoof.

"Felix?" Olive spoke up, "What are we doing now?"

"Uhh," Felix looked around the area. Creatures lined the wall waiting with their children and money purses. At the very front of the line a devil wolf bouncer stood with a clipboard, "Let's talk to the bouncer," Felix pointed and walked up.

"Excuse me, but would you happen to know where more of us are? Creatures that look like us?" Felix pointed to himself and the group.

The devil wolf tilted her head and then looked down at her clipboard. It had a doodle of herself with a magical wizard wand and stary triangle hat and nothing else.

"Hold on, I think I know something about that actually," She turned around and headed through the restaurant's entrance on her fours.

"Welp! I'm outta here!" Pipe popped off Felix's helmet and ran back the way the group came.

"Wait!.. ohh.." Felix couldn't will himself to go back with her.

"What did the bouncer say? Where's your pipe friend going?" Zapps asked.

"The bouncer went to go get more information.. I think. Pipe's heading home. She's scared.." Felix explained.

Janet lifted her visor.

"Should we be afraimm?" the visor fell back as she finished her sentence.

".. Y-yeah," Felix stuttered.

"Felix you're shivering," Sam held his shoulder.

From the other rooms around them devil wolves and remcamen began to crowd. Looking back Felix could see a remcamen using a portal to transport more wolves to surround them.

"Felix?" Olive asked him what to do. The entire gwenen group hid behind him, except for Brian and Kevin.

"Stand back!" Brian roared, his bat up.

"You will not curse us you beasts!" Kevin said, his sword drawn.

One wolf barked and the crowd snapped into taking turns pushing a gwenen over and then picking them up with a giant mouth. Brian and Kevin went down first followed by Felix.

Felix pulled the hammer down and shot at the wolf holding his torso in its mouth. The creature dropped him and shuffled backward with its eyes closed, but another came at Felix and rammed its giant head into him until they hit a wall. The air was knocked out of him but Felix still pulled the hammer back and took aim. He pulled the trigger and got the beast straight in the forehead, killing it instantly.

The monster went limp but another took its place jumping at Felix's firing arm and biting down. Felix pulled his arm out through the wolf's teeth but lost the revolver in the beast's mouth.

The regret sank down in him.

Just moments before he had around three more chances to make an escape. There wasn't much time to think about it, even if he felt it. The wolves were fighting over him now, picking him up and dropping him. Where was everybody else? The shadowy shapes wolf backs and the flashes of their teeth flowing like rapids was all that was making sense now.

"Not so hard! Be delicate!" A devil wolf pushed another out of the way and scooped Felix up in her mouth. She had blue eyes, unlike the rest with their red eyes. Felix tried to pry himself from her grip but she didn't flinch. Instead she trotted into the restaurant entrance with her eyes closed in a proud happy state.

"Please let me go.." Felix begged.

"No <3 !" the devil wolf mumbled with Felix hanging out of her mouth.

They trotted into the restaurant which was a modified chamber with blown out walls to make the room bigger. The whole place was split into two open sections. One section had the buffet with meats, sauces, and sides in heated trays blocked slightly by glass. The other section was the dining area made up of flimsy but expensive looking tables and a range of chair sizes. Water was dripping from the ceiling sogging up the red carpet in places, and the walls had yellow mood lamps with their wires exposed.

They didn't stick around for long, as the devil wolf darted straight for a pair of batwing doors labeled 'employees only'. The halls after that door weren't as destroyed from how Felix remembered them. Felix got a glimpse of the kitchen but they were heading deeper. In their path a limp wolf was being dragged into a room, but by the time they got to him he had been sealed up behind an iron door labeled 'Butcher'.

"Where are we going?" Felix asked the wolf.

The wolf shrugged her shoulders while trotting, but didn't slow down again until they entered another artificially large room. Felix could still smell the airborne concrete from the destruction of some of the walls. More devil wolves with gwenens in their mouths were sitting politely.

Felix's devil wolf sat down next to them but couldn't keep her tail from wagging across the floor. In this room was a desk with a very strange devil wolf sitting behind it. She had an eager smirk on her face as she held her chin, but she also had square moose antlers just overtop of her head, a big white spot on her snout going up the left side, and a long extra arm coming out of her back almost the same place a wing would be.

"Oooh! Look at you!" the strange devil wolf smirked, "Aren't you good little boys and girls?"

The devil wolves couldn't help but wag their three pronged tails even if they didn't smile.

"We aren'p all -ildren! We -id as you psked. Voucher pls!" The wolf holding Sam said.

"Nah aw! Gotta sign the squeaks up first," the strange wolf shook her head. She pulled a plastic bin full tear-away notes out from behind the desk. She slid it over to the wolves and they each took some to fill out.

Sam looked to Felix as she was forced on her knees while a devil wolf looked her over.

"Felix what's going on? What are they saying?" Sam asked.

"It looks like the wolves get something in exchange for hunting us down. The others are probably here too. I'm sorry, I messed up. I should have..Urrg! This was never going to work! They took our friends and we literally walked right into their base of operations with barely anything to fight back with. Our fate's in their paws now.." Felix's ears drooped.

"Felix! Don't be so down! There has to be something we can do right?" Kevin asked, trying and failing to stay positive.

"Please tell me there's something we can do," Brian said, wide eyed.

"We'd have to find an opportunity to escape that we can actually use. Maybe like a passageway that's too small for the wolves to chase us through or something," Felix said.

"What if I get stuck?" Brain asked.

"We can't really plan this stuff out Brian. You're just going to have to be good on your feet and not get stuck ok??" Felix said, a little frustrated.

"Hey Felix.." Olive spoke up, "How come we aren't dead yet? Are they planning something?"

"I don't like it but they probably are. If it helps, try to think of it as time we can use to escape," Felix said. Olive nodded at him.

"Talkative are we?" The strange wolf mentioned, "I wish you squeaks could understand me. It makes this process so much more boring.. Kinda. I guess I can say whatever I want right now so that's a little liberating."

From a hall behind the desk a chameleon lizard woman with a chef's coat and pants walked in. It was the very same that had shown up at Error's apartment before, but she moved in a much more natural way, and didn't have the strange white eyes anymore.

She was followed by a shorter two headed lizard of a similar, although sturdier, raptor-esc build. The head on the right had one oval shaped eye, while the on the left had three in a triangle pattern.

"What is this?" the left head asked as she turned on her own to face the gwenens.

"This is not right! We have to wait till night!" Her right head said, turning fully to face them.

The strange devil wolf lifted her head and stopped smiling.

"I know Pardons, these little guys just kinda sorta walked onto our doorstep. No action was taken within the walls of the nursery. Just good old fashioned outdoor sporting," The strange wolf said.

"It better have," The right Pardon said. The Pardons took out a thick notebook from a satchel and placed it on the odd wolf's desk.

"Keep records darling," The left Pardon said.

"It becomes science when you write it down," The right Pardon said.

"I know!!" The strange wolf said. She wagged her tail.

The Pardons looked to the gwenens with her tiny arms behind her back and then headed out in the direction of the kitchen.

"Anyway-" The chameleon started, monotone "It's all powered up I just have to clean. Did you give them their vouchers?"

"No!" a devil wolf barked.

"Give them the vouchers and group up the squeaks. I'll meet you there, and please... be on time," The chameleon grunted.

The odd wolf made a silly face instead of saying ok. The chameleon rolled her eyes before walking down the back hall she had just come out of.

The strange wolf pulled a drawer out of the desk and gave out little papers to the wolves who had captured the 'squeaks'. The wolves left leaving the gwenens and their odd captor to themselves. The strange wolf walked out behind her desk on her hind legs and began to herd them into a hall to their left.

"Come on now, let's go. Kiddies can't stick around in my office all day, that's my job," The strange wolf said. The hall was so narrow that trying to run back was blocked by the odd wolf's body. The walls were lined with cages that were either empty or filled to the brim with a native species that Felix recognized. Each cage was only different by its size, and it saddened Felix to see the ugly pale birds he was used to seeing in the air now climbing cage walls with mad frustration, as well as the slimes in plastic tupperware. He could barely look at the entire coyne herd boxed in and stepping over one another.

As the strange wolf herded them onward Felix thought about sprinting, but the group ran into two remcamen pacing the area. They had just begun to drift down this prison, there had to be more guards somewhere.

Felix still didn't know the rules of this place. Monsters weren't known for being merciful, but maybe there was a cleaner fate for him if he only broke the rules when he realized what they were.

"Where are we going?" Zapps asked.

"I don't know.." Felix sighed.

The group passed a caged spiky shape convulsing in and out like a giant violent star. The next cage down had gwenens inside. The group's ears perked up, their eyes scanning for anybody they recognized.

Before they could get a good look a remcamen guard walked up to the group and lifted its arms. The cinder block floor vanished beneath them and the gwenens all fell through a portal that landed them in the same cage as their friends. Felix rolled off the gwenens he had fallen on top of, but Una gave him a hand to help him up. Felix grabbed it, and fell into her arms for a hug. He held her tight. They were in a bad place but within Una's arms was a pretty good escape.

Felix held her shoulders and took a look at her.

"I'm so sorry," He squeaked.

"Felix, you have returned to homeostasis," Una mentioned.

"Yeah, I was attacked and they shot me with some type of super dose of my medicine or something. I came to rescue you but.. You know.." Felix explained.

"I am honoured you thought to come rescue me. Did you learn anything the rest of us should know? On our travels we have yet to meet a single monster we can understand," Una said.

"Gwenens and monsters don't speak the same thing Una. Apparently I can though, somehow. We're in the back of Dog's devil wolf buffet. It's like a restaurant where devil wolves eat other devil wolves," Felix explained.

"If that is the case then why are we being kept here?" Una asked. She began to shake.

"Maybe Dog wants us close by. He's like the monster king, and this restaurant is his royal hobby. Maybe to combine his duties and his hobby he does both in the same space," Felix tried to reason. He held Una's palms and rubbed them so that she might calm down.

"... Felix I do not want to be eaten.." Una said.

"I will never.. let a creature touch you," Felix hissed.

"Do not forget yourself.." Una told him.

"I'm trying to save myself, but I can't be my best self and willingly leave you behind," Felix smiled.

Una shifted her gaze to a corner of the cage. Felix turned around.

Zapps was sitting in the corner with his hands over his eyes. Olive was crouched beside him in an attempt to comfort him.

"Pumpkin isn't here.." Olive told the onlookers.

"Not anymore," Una said.

"... Where... where are the others?" Felix swallowed.

"Four hours and twenty two minutes ago more than half of us were taken by that devil wolf to somewhere we didn't know," Una pointed to the strange devil wolf as she flirted with the remcamen guards, "Pumpkin was one of them."

The strange devil wolf led the remcamen guards back in the direction of her office to get them something.

"And you haven't seen them since.." Felix already knew.

Una nodded.

"What should we do?" Sam asked. The entire room looked to Felix.

".. For now, all we can do is wait," He sighed.

The cage got quiet, especially since the monsters had dilly dallied out of view.

A grinding sound, like nails. It was coming from the cage with the violent star. Felix turned to face it, but it was just the same as before. Still looking for the sound, he scanned the top of the cage. Sitting on top of the cage in a black cloak was Nick the artifex.

He stopped scratching the cage bars and silently lifted a talon to his mouth to signal silence. He shook his head, transforming it into the wide mouthed, orange haired, bulgy eyed, bare snouted beast. The very same monster that had been in the long grass before. Felix remembered how Error had reacted to that face.

"Dog.." He breathed.

Nick nodded. He leapt off the cage and glided through a doorway without a single sound.

"Where is he going?" Una asked Felix.

Felix turned around and realized everyone had been watching.

"... I think he's going after Dog! The monster king," Felix smiled. Hope sweetened his teeth.

"So what? He's going after Dog instead of helping us," Brain said, arms crossed.

"The artifexes are our friends. They saved me from Dog before. It might not be obvious but I think he probably has a better plan than we do," Felix explained.

"And to think I was going to be a hero.." Kevin sighed, "I lost the sword.. My honor.. My life.. Fades.."

"If the artifex situation works out then you might have another chance at restoring your honor, and saving all of our lives," Felix said.

"... I guess, in facing the greatest evil, great tragedy is always by its side.. If I survive this I might not just get a sword, but a statue. I must sharpen my mind and claws as I have my blade. My family's blood does not just exist in the sword but in my very veins.." Kevin said to himself as he looked at his wrists.

"... Is he like one of those crazy guys that live on the third floor?" Brian snickered.

"I'm sure you're real fun at parties, you know that?" Kevin narrowed his eyes.

"They're coming back!" Felix turned to face the monsters approaching.

"-So yeah, if you ever feel like starting over in another, better, stronger class of people I'm open for appointments on the weekends. I rent the thing on the weekends hehe," the strange wolf snickered.

"I'll definitely keep it in mind," a remcamen said, eyes glowing as he talked. Both of them had little slips of paper in their claws, possibly brochures.

"Eh, I don't know if this kinda thing is for me. I'm really close to learning fire magic," the other remcamen said.

"That's fine! But just know I'm not going to be here forever. Once we make it to the surface it's showtime on the front line!"

"Well duh, I'm a part of the front line. Why do you think I work here?" The remcamen continued.

"Good point. I guess I thought you were seasonal or something. Eh no biggy," the strange wolf shrugged.

"Weren't you supposed to be doing something?" The first remcamen mentioned.

"Oh yeah! Uh, I need a bunch of them," The strange wolf pointed to the gwenens.

"We literally just put them in there," the second remcamen lowered his eyelids.

"Yeah well I'm all mixed up all the time ok? If you're good at it just send like half of em to the control room and I'll meet them there," the strange wolf said.

She trotted off and left the two remcamen to roll their eyes at each other. Looking to the cage the remcamen lifted their arms.

Zapps fell through his own personal portal. Olive tried to grab him but he slipped right through.

Felix looked to the rest of them.

"Grab the bars and keep your feet off the floor!" Una shouted.

Everyone scrambled to the walls and lifted themselves against it, curling their tails around the criss-cross bars.

"What about Zapps?" Olive asked Felix.

"I don't know!" Felix shook his head.

"I do!" Sam pointed at herself with a thumb, "When another portal appears I'm going to dip in and try to grab Zapps, but I need someone to hold my legs so I don't fall in," Sam said.

"I'd be happy to oblige!" Kevin put a hand on his chest and then climbed over next to Sam.

"Grr," the remcamen growled. They kept making more portals on the ground but nobody was falling in.

A portal appeared in front of Sam. She dived for it, nearly escaping Kevin's grip.

"Woah!" Kevin held her tail but his feet and tail were slipping from the bars. The two gwenens next to him pushed his chest in back toward the bars but now they were also holding onto the wall without arm support.

"Stupid!" A remcamen hissed at the other.

The wall Kevin was leaning on suddenly became a portal and he fell in, dropping Sam and dragging the two gwenens that were holding him with him.

Felix gasped as he fell into a portal on the wall the same way. He fell into a small rectangular room.

One of the long walls had been replaced by a bunch of control panels attached to a window out into another room.

The other room had a door with a giant vault type handle screwed on tight. It seemed the other room was made out of some white metal, almost as if the control panel, window and door didn't just lead to another room, but to some sort of portable alien room that didn't belong in the tower. It had noticeable brown droplet stains on the floor.

"Took you long enough," the strange wolf rolled her eyes while the last couple of gwenens, including Brian and Una, fell in, "That's good!" She gave a thumbs up to a portal as it vanished, "Hope they heard me.." She mumbled, "Whatever! Let's get started."

The green chameleon lady came in from the chambers outside with an oddly clean mop and water bucket.

"Did you eat the mop?" She asked.

The strange wolf made a silly grin instead of saying anything.

"You are impossible!" The chameleon shouted. She put the mop and bucket aside as she walked up to the alien room's door and turned the lock until the door gasped open.

"Spirana I'm sorry. Gah.. I was super bored and it's kinda like a stick, and I like crewing on big sticks..." The strange wolf avoided her co-worker's eyes.

"Just get over with your speech or whatever. I would've been done by the time you got here if I didn't have to go find an extra in the kitchen janitor's closet.." Spirana, the chameleon said. She went back for the bucket and mop and went inside the alien room. Dipping the mop into the water she began to clean away the brown droplets.

"Ok then..LISTEN UP!" The strange wolf said. She began to pace the small rectangular room while the gwenens sat against the wall, "My name is DWMO, but everyone calls me Dynamo. I will be operating this machine against your will, but if you do as I suggest then it shouldn't be so bad. After all, I am the direct product of this machine and I do classify myself as something rather nice to look at."

"You know they can't understand you.." Spirana said without looking up from her work.

"You know you were the one that suggested I continue with my speech!" Dynamo mocked her, "Anyway..." Dynamo stood up on her hind legs and leaned on the alien room's control panel, "This my friends, is the microwave. No, it's not a normal microwave for food, well it kinda is based on what's going to happen to you. Not my call, I believe this machine brings hope as well as innovation, and rebirth to the world, but no. This is just for complex cannibalism," Dynamo sighed. She held her forehead with her third arm, "Alight alright.. You guys don't understand me. Last session was like this too so that means we're going to need a scapegoat. How's the blood?"

"Mnn... It's all gone now," Spirana picked up the mop and walked out of the chamber. Dynamo caught the door and held it open with her third arm, "Go ahead little squeaks. Walk on in.. I'm not picky."

"Don't go in. It.. it does something.." Felix told them.

The other gwenens nodded at him. This just made Dynamo grin.

"You," She pointed at Felix. His heart sank, "What are you up to?" She took a step close to him, letting the door close on its own.

"Felix I think it would be wise to speak.." Una suggested.

"Hey! Hey you!" Kevin stood up and flailed his arms. Dynamo turned to face him.

"You? Wanna get MY attention now little squeak?" Dynamo stopped going to Felix and looked at him. Kevin took a pebble from the decaying cinder block floor and chucked it as hard as he could at the devil wolf's face. She growled.

"Not cool.."

"Well?" Kevin looked to the rest, "Are you going to fight like heroes or die without trying. The door has a lock, push the devils in!"

Felix stood up, followed by the others.

"Oh definitely not cool," Dynamo's face squashed to show her teeth.

Janet slammed into Dynamo's side but the wolf snapped and opened her jaws attempting to strike. At the same time more gwenens kicked and pushed her making her snap her jaws on the other side of her body.

Spinrana turned invisible and sighed.

Brian jumped onto Dynamo's back but was swiftly snatched by Dynamo's third arm. She put the gwenen in her mouth and stood on her hind legs.

"Do anyfing ad I bike is arm off!" She growled. Brian scrambled to twist out of her grip.

"Everyone stop!" Felix held his arms out, they all stopped.

"You again.." She gave Felix a sour look as she spit Brian out, but still held him by his wrist. Dynamo stepped over to Felix and snatched his wrist too. Felix pulled her arm closer to him and bit her as hard as he could. She let go briefly but it turned into a suckerpunch straight to his face. Felix tried to hold his nose but Dynamo grabbed his hand again. Una jumped on Dynamo's arm but she slapped her with her third arm.

"Now then..." Dynamo walked up to the door while holding onto Brian and Felix, "I've got the first two of you. Your strongest," She glanced at Brian, "and your leader," She glanced at Felix, "Say your goodbyes you two blah blah," she pushed them to face the gwenens.

"Please don't!" Felix looked up to Dynamo and spoke in her tongue.

"Woah, was not expecting that," Dynamo's ears twitched, "You can talk? Are you a monster?" She sniffed him.

"I don't know.. it's complicated, but please don't do this. You don't want us to get eaten right? You don't have to do this," Felix shivered.

"Mnn, I don't want you to get eaten, but I can't really help you. If I don't put you guys in the microwave someone else will, or something worse could happen to you," Dynamo said.

"If you don't put us in the microwave then we won't go in the microwave! You'd save us and I know we would all be eternally grateful, right? Everyone would be totally grateful," Felix nodded and looked to the other gwenens to encourage them into nodding too.

"Squeak whisperer, I've been doing this business practically all my life. My name is Devil Wolf Microwave Operator. You think nobody's tried to bargain with me before? I work for Dog, you know him?" Dynamo asked. Felix nodded, "He is a very wealthy and feared monster. I'm much more afraid of him than I am you. What protection from him can you offer if I betray him?"

"Well.. we have a series of chambers that are protected from monsters. Gwenen cyborgs guard it. You could hide there while the gwenen, er squeaks, go out and rage war," Felix explained.

"Mnn, you need something better than just an army to get rid of Dog. I'm not buying it," Dynamo thought it over. Without even looking she shoved Brian through the door of the microwave. Before he could dash back in Dynamo had slammed the door shut. She twisted the lock tight and then looked to Felix.

"Don't get any ideas. You're still next," She told him.

From inside the room Brian was trying to pry the door open.

"Uh? Anybody going to explain what's going on!?" Brian smiled but panic showed up on his face afterward.

Felix stood back from the window with his hands over his mouth. Should he see? He didn't really want to know.

"Tell your friend that he should lay on his back," Dynamo said. She walked up to the control panel and started turning knobs up halfway their capacity. Next in line where large levers, "Well?"

"Brian! There's nothing left to do. Lie on your back!" Felix let out one last yell.

Brian gasped without making a sound and took a few steps back from the door. From within the microwave he could see the gwenens looking back at him from the other side. They all cowered together far from Dynamo with their tails wrapped tightly around one another. He saluted.

"You guys really suck at following directions huh?" Dynamo slammed the two levers down. Just like a real microwave the entire room began to hum.

Brian put his hand to his chest like he had just been punched. He fell to his knees and quaked. It didn't even seem like he could move. His fur darkened, his ears laid flat in a fearful position. He spasmed to his side and tried to get up but his arms began to grow and misshapen, his muscles bursting out of his skin, even his clothes. He stopped trying, seemingly passed out, but his body still twitched and boiled around him. His head and face lengthened into a long large snout. His tail grew three new ends and his hands and feet grew large black claws. Finally his skin grew back growing in a layer of long black fur. His body then lay still.

Dynamo pulled the levers back up. The hum vanished into silent terror.

Brian was a devil wolf.

"Spinrana go get him. I'll watch the door," Dynamo said.

"Fine.." Spinrana became visible again. She had been standing in a corner but now she was walking up to the door. She spun the microwave door open until it gasped once again and walked in while Dynamo held the door open. Inside she grabbed Brian by his back legs and dragged the beast back into the control room. Felix stepped back next to Una and held her hand. He looked to Brian as he was dragged in.

At first Felix thought that he was dead, but the now devil wolf was breathing with the rhythm of rest. As a devil wolf Brian was so much larger. Devil wolves had almost always been so intimidating to him, but Felix felt no fear around Brian, even now.

Dynamo noticed his gaze.

"He'll be fine. You will be too. After it's done it's like it never happened," Dynamo looked away, "I would know."

"...Why do.. do you keep doing it?" Felix shivered. Dynamo looked at him as if he was stupid.

"I don't know if you've met me, my good squeak, but this is literally my favorite thing ever," Dynamo said.

"Oh..." Felix quivered.

"Welp.." Dynamo stepped over to him. Felix's ears fell back as he opened his mouth in terror. He tried to crouch down to crawl away but she snatched his free wrist. Dynamo dragged Felix away from Una until Una couldn't hold his hand any longer. He glanced at Una. Even though he couldn't see it on her face, he knew she was horrified, and didn't want to see her in so much pain.

Dynamo shoved Felix into the microwave, shut the door, and turned the lock. The gwenens at the other side were still holding one another, and crying softly. There was nothing he wanted more than to be with all of them now, but it seemed that time had passed and there was really no way out of this hellish machine. The floor was slippery and cold, offering no comfort. He just had to stand and wait for Dynamo to pull the levers. He saw her turn up the knobs, but she then stopped and faced the door to the rest of the chambers. He noticed Sam in particular shake her head in disbelief.

Tito walked into the room, but he looked a little darker, a little longer. Felix held his breath.

"Hey Tito! What's up? I'm kinda working right now," Dynamo asked.

"I know, I know. I just wanted to ask you a favor though. You know how you have gwenens in this room, and I eat gwenens? Well, I was hoping you could have one to spare. For a little old me?" Tito put his hands together.

"Mnn. Just one?" Dynamo asked.

"Do I look like I can really eat that much," Tito gestured to himself.

"I guess you can have one then. It's not like it'll make much of a difference to Dog. They'd probably be eaten by you if they weren't here anyway," Dynamo shrugged.

"Come on Sam," Tito said in his own tongue.

"Tito..." Sam stayed still.

"Just get over here!" He hissed. Sam did as he wished, "As for the rest of you, sorry, but this is just how it has to be from now on."

Felix shook his head.

"Tito!" Felix barked from inside the microwave, "Help the rest of us! Please! Make up something!"

"Ehh.." Tito walked right up to the glass, "I don't think so. I can't just let you all out, who do you think brought everyone here in the first place? Well, most of you.. We can't win this fight, and I think you know that. It's heroic and really fascinating that you thought that you could make a difference in this situation. Makes me wonder how you'd be as an athlete, but this isn't a game. It's more like a lot of terrible events that happen to people for seemingly no reason. It's just... your turn to have bad things happen to you and I can't really help that," He shrugged.

"Don't say that.. We have to try. You have to try," Felix gasped.

"Try what? Look where that got you. You think I like this? I'm an athletic director not a cannibal, at least I was. Face reality. Lie on your back," Tito turned away from Felix and walked out the door with Sam's hand gripped in his.

"Tito!" Felix barked, but he was already out of view, "Tito!!"

"Jeez what did that vampire say??" Dynamo asked as she pulled the levers down.

The humming began and Felix choked. Every muscle twitched and spasmed. There were so many little unnatural movents stretching and tearing that all he felt was a burning echoing and rumbling from his wild toes, tearing legs flailing arms, skipping heart to gasping lungs. Unable to stand Felix fell over and curled up. His arms and legs were attempting to flail away from him so he forced them tight around his chest. He felt he was being electrocuted or had been pressed into a bed of nails. He moved his hands to his head to hold it.

On the outside of the room Dynamo watched. She made a face.

"He's taking a bit isn't he.." Spinrana commented what Dynamo was thinking.

"He'll get to stage two in a bit. Everybody does," Dynamo mumbled.

A moment passed and Felix was still only spasming. He clawed at the ground and kicked and tried to cover his ears but the hum was still stretching and snapping him.

The gwenens refused to watch.

"Alright I'll turn it up..." Dynamo said. She went to the knobs that were on halfway and dialed them up to their full capacity.

The humming inside became higher like a screamy yowl. Now Felix's muscles moved even more violently than they had before. They began to break out of his skin in some places, making oozing cuts. He yelped but it didn't last into a yell before he was gasping against his lungs. His white arms began to go dark. His claws began to sharpen. He rolled over, but as much as he voluntarily moved the pain didn't change.

Why did it have to take so long? He didn't want to be a devil wolf before but he wanted to be one if it meant this would end. It had to be better than this. It burned everything. Every layer. He wanted to let go of this and drift away from his breaking body. No matter how much he wanted to breathe a breath without ripping apart, it just didn't happen. The pain continued on and on. How could this place do this to him?

Error had warned him and he knew that it was true but why? Dynamo didn't want to bargain because she was afraid.. Tito left them all to die because of the same thing, and Pipe left because she knew what Felix was more daring to face. At the end of the day he had ended up the same as every creature that had ever met a monster.

The pain would end soon and he would become livestock. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe he would even be able to escape after becoming a devil wolf. It was unlikely. Perhaps it would hurt less if he had given up earlier. Perhaps it would hurt less if he walked into the soup pot willingly. No. It would still burn. But why did this have to happen?

The humming stopped. All his muscles went limp and dropped. His left shoulder tightened and his jaw clamped. He willed his body to breathe but it stayed put. The worst of the pain had vanished, but now he felt so empty, so tired.

The door popped open and Dynamo walked over to him. He could just barely see her, as he couldn't move this neck to face her. He wished she'd leave him alone. He was comfortable here. Hot like toast, unmoving and unbreathing. He still stung but it numed the longer his lungs were frozen.

Dynamo jabbed his chest with the end of a blunt stick. It sent a burn down into his body. Like a key, it seemed to unlock everything.

Felix rolled over and spat blood out of his mouth. He then gasped a breath that led into a series of coughs. Sitting up he looked at his arms. The black devil wolf hairs had sprouted somewhat, especially on his elbows and knuckles. For the most part he was the same as before. If no gwenen ever met him they might've thought that he had odd markings. He couldn't see it but the back of his head and his forehead now had dark hair spots, leaving his face markless like a mask.

"It didn't work.." He breathed to himself as he looked to his claws.

"I know. But that doesn't make any sense.." Dynamo said. Her brows were up, and her ears were folded even further back. She took a step toward the door, "Err.." She looked to Spinrana who was at the doorway, "What do we do? This has never happened before.."

"Uhh. You should probably give him to the Pardons!" Spinrana said. Her eyes were finally wide and alert.

"Uh no way. You're bringing him to the Pardons! I'm not touching that thing," Dynamo said.

Spinrana looked two ways and then turned invisible, "Oh real mature!" Dynamo sighed. She slowly stepped over to Felix.

Felix stood up to try and get away but his muscles cried out and he fell again.

"Oh darn! You are seriously going to die if I don't take you to the Pardons right now. I already saved your life once, don't make this even more difficult," Dynamo snorted.

Felix spat out a glob of blood.

"... Ok.." He coughed. Dynamo walked up to him and picked him up with her third arm. She placed him on her back and walked back into the control room, "Please... Let me take them with me.." Felix gasped.

"As far as I know they aren't some freak like you are. They're staying right here-"

Felix slid off of Dynamo's back and limped toward the gwenens. Una caught him before he fell. The others gathered around him to help hold him up.

"What is happening? Where are you going? I do not wish for you to leave. Please stay," Una asked.

"It didn't.." He coughed, "..It didn't work on me. They're taking me somewhere I don't know."

"Why?" Zapps asked.

"Probably to do something more awful. I'm dying so I think they're also taking me to a doctor," Felix turned his head away to spit. Janet lifted her visor to speak.

"Are we still going in there?" She pointed to the devil wolf microwave.

"...Yeah," Felix sighed.

"Where's the artifex? I thought you said he was planning something? Surely this isn't the end of our journey," Kevin worried.

"I don't know.." Felix coughed.

"Alright that's enough goodbyes from you," Dynamo grabbed Felix with her third arm, but Una still followed behind. Spinrana reappeared and held her back, "Keep it going back there ok?" Dynamo said as she walked out of the room.

"Fine.." Spinrana said. She walked into the microwave with Una gripped in her wrist. Still, Una kept her eyes on Felix, and he did the same until they turned the corner back to the dripping cinder blocks of the Statue Chambers. From Una's view she could see that in low light, the back of his eyes reflected blue.