Truly, the tall maned wolf believed herself to be a genius, an innovator of the newest kind whose discoveries would change the world permanently.

The day she had been entrusted with your case, the only civil human discovered to date, she knew this was a sign from up above to pursue her dreams. Of course, she had tried to get as much information out of you and conduct as many experiments as possible, and usually you participated without any qualms, but the question of where you came from was never answered. You appeared in the middle of the city; that is all she knows. Masago theorizes that you either suffer from memory loss or you are hiding something very important from her and the rest of the world.

She didn't particularly care about you but if anything happened to you, her greatest chance to help the world in the name of science would disappear the same way her partner had all these years ago. In the beginning, it was clear that you weren't fond of her at all, nor of her research. The amount of disrespect you held for her certainly didn't put you into the maned wolf's good books but she had to live with your attitude, much to her dismay.

When you finally came to your senses all these months ago, she was absolutely ecstatic. Even though your deteriorating mental health was more than obvious, she was glad someone finally valued her work enough to take the risks in the name of science. Everything was ruined by that unfortunate mishap. One of her assistants had messed up with the portion of the venom and it attacked your nervous system much more aggressively than they had thought. It was no wonder that you had lost a good amount of trust in her and her work.

So when the opportunity arose to have you mate with one of the most intelligent dog breeds around, she knew she could make everything right again. Although she would've liked to breed you with another human, those weren't available. An ape wasn't an option either, seeing as their intelligence and built were inferior to that of a canine. It wasn't hard to acquire a suitable male subject and she was sure that convincing you wouldn't be hard either.

You were a female, so you must be feeling the urge to conceive either way, right? She knows she does. But alas, nature wasn't on her side. Born infertile and therefore deemed useless to society, Masago only saw science as her child and legacy. It wasn't enough to fill the empty void in her heart but it keeps her from wasting her potential by simply taking the 'easy way out'. She was more than surprised when you denied her request, much less with such vigour and ferocity.

She almost believed you had turned into a vicious carnivore right then and there. Hoping that a bit of private time with your temporary partner would ease your worries, she made sure to pick a gentle fellow after all, she left the room with the certainty that her experiment would be a flawless success. She even gave you five minutes more than initially promised.

Swiftly opening the door, Doctor Masago and her team enter the laboratory once more, her arms carrying a renewed clipboard to write down her observations during the planned process. But what she sees isn't a pair of mammals, no.

The canine is lying on the floor, unconscious, whilst the medical chair is covered in blood. A severed finger can be spotted amongst the puddle of crimson.

Had you been truly mad enough to disfigure your own body just to escape the gift of motherhood? She just couldn't understand you.

"Doctor Masago, what are we supposed to do now?!" Her assistant cries. Meanwhile, a quiet growl escapes the female maned wolf, her pen snapping in half in her hand. With a commanding tone, she turns to the guards.

"Put the entire facility on lockdown. No one leaves or enters this building without my permission. I want every floor and every possible room searched and cleared."

In instant, the canine guards get to work and with confident steps, she goes over to the puddle of blood. Picking up the severed digit, she inspects the clean cut and wonders, how you've managed to free yourself from your predicament.

Experimentally, she focuses on her sense of smell and while Maned wolves generally have a poorer sense of smell than canines, it is still not to be underestimated. However, the only thing she smells is the pungent stench of disinfectant. Once again, she glares at the finger in her hand.

Clever little human.

***

Crawling through the vent shafts at a far too slow pace, you quietly wince at every movement your hand makes. Inching yourself forward with the strength in your arms while staying on your stomach, you are very aware of the bloody scalpel in your pocket. It'd be stupid to go without a weapon or tool after all.

You're pretty sure you've made it out of the laboratory section, meaning you are currently weaselling your way over the corridors. Finally coming across a section that leads to the floor above, you thank whatever God exists that they were smart enough to install a ladder. Granted, it still hurts like hell due to your missing finger, but at least you're not entirely out of luck.

A quiet, almost non-detectable thud echoes through the vent and you shudder, wondering if you jinxed yourself yet again. Are you going to meet a goddamn xenomorph next? Who knows really, at this point anything is possible.

Grabbing onto the ladder, you climb up onto the floor above, mentally cursing at every little noise coming from the metal around you. Continuing your way through the vent, you instantly stop when a loud alarm rings through the building. The shrill sound assaults your ears and you flinch as rushed footsteps come from the grid a few feet in front of you.

Guess they realized I'm gone.

Craning your head to look through the opening, you press down against the floor as soon as you notice the three security officers, all of them canines. You press a hand over your mouth and nose, hoping to make your breath as quiet as possible whilst praying that they won't smell you up here.

Please, whoever's listening...please don't let them find me.

Their hushed voices are dimmed due to the distance but not too long after, two of the three canines leave in separate directions; they're probably splitting up in order to search for you. However, one is still situated right beneath the vent opening.

And your heart stops for a second when he audibly sniffs, most likely catching a whiff of your scent. Pressing yourself further against the metal, you squeeze your eyes shut out of fear. Your body is shaking, your mutilated hand most likely breaking a world record with its trembling movements. Had you been capable of forming a rational thought, you probably would've taken your severed finger with you so that hopefully, some other medical professional could reattach it, like Gouhin.

But you don't have the time for that. You have nowhere to put the digit, much less keep it cool. Nor are you certain that you'll make it out of here in time. It could take hours for you to get out of this building, much less find your way to Gouhin. You doubt that you could've saved your finger, to be honest.

Either way, it's just a pinkie. You can live without that. It was the only viable choice, as a dislocated or broken thumb would've made it almost impossible to climb. But it is much more important now, that you get out of this without being caught.

The officer below takes a few cautious steps in your direction. Your heart throbs in your chest, beating faster than that of a terrified mouse.

You are saved by the force of coincidence.

"Nagisa! Get to work!" A male voice shouts and you're guessing it's the leader of their small squad. With a hesitating moment of silence, the canine finally agrees. "On it!"

When his footsteps have faded away, you let out a shaky exhale and run your uninjured hand over your hair. After waiting another two minutes for safety measure, you once again begin to crawl through the vent shaft.

Truthfully, it is entirely too easy to lose track of time in this metallic maze. If you had to guess, you'd say it's been about two or three hours since your scary encounter with the security officer, but it feels much longer than that. Cold sweat rolls down your skin and occasionally, your head is filled with the all too familiar white noise as the adrenaline leaves your body at a steady pace. The bandage on your hand is majorly tinted crimson, the red liquid leaving marks on your clothes and the metal beneath you. You've climbed about six more ladders since then, which is better than nothing.

Still, you've got a long way to go. The laboratory was on the third floor and from your knowledge, this facility is made up of 14 floors. You're guessing you're on the ninth floor now, which means you still have about five more to go. Not to mention that somehow, you'll still need to find a way down once you've arrived on the roof. Sure, you know this building has a fire escape, but who's to say they haven't locked it up or secured it with a dozen guards?

But at this point, you can only hope for the best.

On another note, something much more concerning are the consistent thuds and hisses sounding from behind you during the past thirty minutes. It's too consistent to be coincidental and the paranoid part of you is screaming at your brain that you're being followed.

But...by who? As far as I know, this facility only has canine guards due to their lack of instincts, their exceptional sense of smell and overall versatile use as officers. But I doubt they've already discovered that I'm in the vents.

Even if they did...they wouldn't only send one guard, right?

Fuck, I have a bad feeling about this. How did my day turn into such a mess?

Your breathing is ragged as you turn another corner, the incredibly dim light illuminating the rectangular orifice giving you very grotesque vibes. As if the Girl from the Grudge herself could just appear in the darkness ahead of you. The mere thought of it sends a chill up your spine but you calm yourself with the necessary reminder that such things are only fictional.

But the bang that echoes through the entire vent is not.

Stopping dead in your tracks, you minimize your breathing to the lowest volume possible. A few more Knocks and clunks ring through the air, the ground beneath you vibrating just the tiniest amount as a low hiss reaches your ears. You're certain that whatever it is, it's getting closer.

Adrenaline pumps into your veins once more and like a mouse trapped in the lion's den, you stay completely still and silent. Searching your memory, you speed through all the possible things that could be in here with you. It can't be a dog, that'd make no sense.

So what is it?!

Another hiss, this time much louder than the last, sounds through the vent and your eyes widen upon realizing something utterly horrific.

Your school has a security guard. One that travels through the pipes and air-shafts, remaining hidden from the majority of your fellow students.

A snake.

That's the only rational conclusion you can think of and you want to slap yourself for not thinking of it sooner. With such a massive ventilation system, of course this facility would have a security guard that would patrol them.

A third hiss brings tears to your eyes, your body trembling in fear.

It's coming from behind you.

And to your horror, when you turn around, your e/c eyes stare into the dark pools of a giant Green Anaconda. Its head peeks around the corner, the dim lighting giving its scales an alien gleam; it's an image straight out of a horror movie.

"Found you."

Even back in your world, the green Anaconda counted as one of the largest snakes. However, right now, it feels more like staring into the eyes of the Titanoboa than a regular snake. Whimpers escape your mouth as you keep yourself from screaming, scrambling away at the fastest pace you can manage. The entire time, you don't take your eyes off the reptile.

"L-Listen, you don't want to do this." You cry, your entire body taken over by panic. "I just want to go back to my school. I don't want to be a part of this sick experiment."

"Apologies, human, but I'm simply doing my job. And I won't lose it for a scrawny thing like yourself." The voice is female, a deep, chilling tone that is accentuated by a low hiss every time she speaks. As if she has all the time in the world, the Anaconda slithers towards you, despite the fact that she could easily catch you in the matter of a few seconds. The smooth terrain of the metal is the ideal material for her after all. But instead, she drags out your capture, like a predator playing with its prey.

Though that is exactly how you feel right now.

Even during your fight with the lion, you never felt this helpless. In your panic driven mind, the scalpel in your pocket is forgotten; the only goal in your head is escape. You're freezing; it's so fucking cold that you can't even feel your toes right now. A part of you wonders if in reality, humans do have a natural fear of snakes. Much like Arachnophobia, Ophidiophobia is one of the most common fears in your species.

And surely, there's an evolutionary reason for it.

Your back hits the end of the vent-shaft and seemingly, that small contact and the quiet clang of the metal forces all of your rational walls to crumble. Determined to escape the gigantic predator, you flee into the next section of the small corridor, which is right beside you. If you could run, you would; but alas, crawling is the best you can do.

Desperate noises escape you and you can hear the scales slide across the metallic ground behind you, the snake's hiss embedding itself into your brain.

You don't get very far.

A broken scream comes from your throat as the Anaconda's vicious teeth bore into your right thigh. Instinctively, your other leg begins to kick at the snake's head, only bringing more agony your way as the teeth dig deeper into your skin. Your entire body begs, no, screams at you to keep fighting, to free yourself and run away.

But you know that won't work.

The image of Legoshi, smiling as brightly as the moon itself, appears in your head and fuels a fire deep within you. You want to see him again. You can't give up now. If you keep thrashing around, the snake's teeth will hit a major artery, if they haven't already. Then it's game over for you. An anaconda's teeth are designed to keep its prey from escaping.

If you want to get out of this, you'll have to fight against your own set of instincts. Whilst humans don't suffer from constant fear around predators or the urge to kill another being for its meat, your species still experiences helplessness by your own brain's assistance. In traumatic situations, your brain decides how you react to it; whether that is fight, flight or freezing in your place.

You have to remain focused enough to get out of this the right way. It's no use if you escape the snake's grip only to die of blood-loss.

Ceasing your struggle whilst you feel the warm crimson liquid flow down our leg and taint your white clothes a sickening red, you hear the Anaconda chuckle at your apparent defeat. Twisting your body to fully face it, a newfound ferocity in your gaze, you devise a plan in the matter of a mere moment. Another benefit of being a human; your species is known for achieving the impossible. You don't even know if these animals have reached the moon yet.

Swinging your left leg against the Reptile's strong body, you grit your teeth while you trap it against the wall. At the same time, you move your trapped leg further into its mouth. By doing this, you personally remove the teeth from your flesh.

Your leg is almost free when the snake manoeuvre's the rest of its muscled body over and around you, trapping you in a deadly circle. The scaled pounds of muscle fight against your left leg whilst another part wraps around your left arm.

Then, she squeezes down.

An agonized mix of a growl and a scream escape your throat, as the wound on your upper left arm burns due to the pressure. Driving its teeth deeper into you once more, you realize your plan isn't going to work. Pain, Fear and Adrenaline melt together in your blood into an unnatural mixture of chemicals, your mind already making itself acquainted with the idea of death.

So finally, your brain chooses the only option it has left, disposing all of your morals and convictions.

Swiftly, you take the scalpel from your pocket, your hand quivering as you hold the bloody weapon. For a second, you swear you can see a terrified spark within the Anaconda's eyes. Then, you ram the small blade into its head.

Over and over again, the scalpel goes impales the scaled skin between its eyes. Feral, broken cries sound from you the entire time as you keep stabbing the animal, scorching tears running down your face. Even when the giant reptile has stopped moving, you continue for a while longer, lost in your daze of panic and horror.

When the weight of your actions dawns on you, your pants covered in yours and the snake's blood, the scalpel falls from your shaking hand. Quickly, you free yourself from the razor-sharp teeth before scooting away, only to be stopped by the rest of the snake's body behind you.

Dead, soulless eyes stare back at you.

A sob rocks through your body, shortly followed by another. You want to scream. You want to scream so bad, ask any kind of God why it had to be you, why all of this couldn't just be a terrible nightmare. Filled with disbelief and shock, you stare at your hands, both of them covered in blood.

I killed someone.

The realization disgusts you and you can't keep the bile inside of you any longer. Promptly, you climb over the snake and empty your stomach on the metallic floor. All this time, you thought you had it in you to kill someone, especially in an act of self-defence. But no one told you how horrible you'd feel afterwards, how shameful, dirty, guilty and utterly disgusting it is.

I...I killed someone.

It was in self-defence...right? You're just fighting for your rights here, you didn't want to do this. You gave the snake your explanation, a chance to back off. So why do you feel so terrible?!

Once more, Legoshi's face pops up in your head, soon followed by everyone else you hold dear. Haru, Valentina, Juno, Gouhin; these people mean so much to you. You can't die on them now. You can't slow down, not even to wallow in your self-hatred.

Inhale. Exhale.

I can cry once all of this is over.

Glancing down at your leg, you examine the wound. It's bleeding, but not as much as you had expected. That means the reptile probably didn't hit a major-artery. Still, you'll need to close the wound. And the only thing that is remotely clean is your top.

Mentally sighing, you rip the lower part of your tank top, evidently exposing your stomach. The part of the cloth is relatively clean and you wince as you tightly wrap it around your new wound. Your leg is shaking, much like the rest of your body and only the sound of impending footsteps keeps you from falling into another daze. All you want to do is huddle into a corner and stare at nothing. But alas, you can't do that now.

As your tired gaze travels to the open grid in the vent barely two feet away from you, you realize that you can't risk another close-call with the canine guards. And you reek of your own blood, a scent they are incredibly familiar with. With a trembling exhale, your eyes find their way back to the reptilian corpse.

Reluctantly crawling over to the body, fresh tears escaping your eyes as you grab the scalpel once more, you prepare yourself for the atrocity you're about to commit.

"I'm sorry," You whimper, before driving the blade through the thick scales, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Like a chant, those silent cries fall from your lips as you cover yourself in the serpent's blood. That way, your scent would be covered by hers. And it seems to work, because the canines move past the opening without a second glance or sniff. Seemingly, they either don't know or don't care about their reptilian co-worker. Still, you can't bear seeing your once white clothes now fully covered in this sinful crimson. The irony stench alone causes more bile to rise in your throat.

Once more, you glance at the serpent. Deciding that you can't just leave her like this, you do the only thing you can do. Kneeling in front of her body, you close your eyes and bow to the animal, silently reciting prayers in your head for every name of heaven or paradise you know. You don't know what she believed in after all and the least you can do now is try your best to include all possible beliefs. Who knows, maybe it'll help her in the afterlife.

When you finally move on, you do so with a heavy heart and spirit. No one tells you how changing it is to take a life, even when it is in self-defence. It is easy to say you'd do so in these situations; it was easy to threaten Louis or the Lion. This day has changed you. Even more than your own death.

And you know once you make it out of this building, things will never be the same again.

The hours that pass by you are nothing but a hazy blur. Between the aftermath of the adrenaline, the shock, the pain and the blood-loss, you move through the vents much like a robot. You don't know how much time passes as you heave yourself up the ladders, scraping your legs on broken pieces of metal multiple times and only increasing the amount of blood dirtying your clothes. Your skin feels raw, irritated through the salty tears streaming down your cheeks almost consistently. The scalpel had been left behind with the corpse; you couldn't handle to look at it, much less use it again.

When you finally knock back the grid of the final vent-opening, you come face to face with the setting sun. Groaning, you climb out of the vent with trembling limbs, most of your strength gone by now. Your left arm gives in and you land on your back, the concrete digging into your spine. Taking a handful of deep breaths, you finally manage to stand up again, though on tremoring legs. It hurts to put pressure on your right leg.

The sun burns in your eyes after such a long time spent in the dimly lit maze. Car honks echo through the city but all of that is forgotten when a playful, cold breeze tickles your skin, even though it is covered in dried and fresh blood. Turning to glance into the setting sun, you lift your left hand into the air to let the golden light cover the four s/c digits.

I made it.

I fucking made it.

It seems almost surreal. And though you would like to, no victorious grin works its way onto your lips. Instead, you make your way to the sides of the building and glance down, only to mentally curse at the armed guards standing on the lower levels of the fire escape.

You're not getting down that way.

You're back to square one.

Taking a step back so that you are completely out of sight for anyone that isn't on the roof as well, you let your gaze sway over your surroundings. Your brain spirals into panic mode once more when you don't spot an alternative escape route.

That is, until your eyes land on the neighbouring building.

Walking over there with a slight limp, you check out the distance. The building is slightly smaller than the one you're on, but not by much, meaning the chance to injure yourself further is smaller. And the distance is do-able, about eight feet, though you don't know how much being in your condition is going to impact that.

I'm going to have to jump.

It's worth a try. If I fail...I'll plummet to my death. But that's better than having them capture me again.

...I can't even call anyone to say goodbye just in case.

Your phone, your wallet and even your passport are still in your backpack, which you had to leave behind in the changing rooms. Naturally, your heart aches at the thought that Legoshi has no idea this is happening. He probably doesn't even suspect anything is wrong right now; normally, you wouldn't be back at this time either. He'll only realise something is amiss when you don't show up at school tomorrow, either because you're dead or hiding somewhere. You can't go back to school after all, not for quite some time at least.

That'll be the first place they'll search for you.

So somehow, if you survive this, you'll need to find your way to Gouhin.

Walking back to the middle of the rooftop, as any further would only cost more energy that you don't have to spare, you close your eyes. For a moment, you simply let yourself enjoy the wind around your face, the setting sun on your skin.

Possibly, this will be your last moment alive.

After another deep breath, you take off running. Despite the pain radiating from your leg, you force yourself to sit through it and continue speeding up. Focusing all of your brain power onto timing that jump perfectly, you push yourself off of the edge.

You're in the air for a few seconds. Absolutely free as the air carries you over the distance.

Sharp pain shoots through your body as you land, crumbling into a ball and rolling for a few feet on the rough concrete. When you finally come to a stop, you cough and wheeze, trying to introduce air back into your exhausted lungs.

Looking back at the ominous scientific facility, you only manage to grin.

I fucking did it! I'm not dead! Halle-fucking-luiah!

Tears of joy stream down your face as you laugh, both in shock and happiness. And though your body aches, you force yourself to stand. Sending the building both of your middle fingers, you limp your way to the other side of the building you're on now. It's an apartment complex as far as you know, meaning there has to be a fire escape. And thankfully, there is.

Making your way down the steps as quickly as possible in your condition, you lean against the brick wall amongst the shadows as you catch your breath. Watching the many animals walking on the streets, all of them bathed in golden, slowly disappearing light, you slip into the dark alleyway.

Your new goal: the black market.

Logically speaking, someone with your injuries shouldn't seek out a place that is exclusive to meat-eating carnivores. But truthfully, nothing you did today is even close to logical or rational. And you need to see Gouhin; he's probably the only one who can keep you safe and treat your injuries.

As you make your way past the dirty brick walls, passing by graffiti speaking of some weird black devil, you notice the occasional black spot dancing at the edge of your vision. To be fair, it is a wonder you're still standing.

Your body refuses to move any further, but you push past that barrier, continuing to limp through the empty alleyways, the occasional carnivore crossing your path. But seemingly, all of them know better than to mess with you. After all, a human covered in carnivore blood, much less that of a serpent, is not something many would like to be involved with. Their eyes follow you but nothing more than that and for once, you're thankful that this world is at least a little better when it comes to sexual assault. You know damn well that, had this happened in your old world, you could never do something like this without becoming the victim of another crime.

When you look up once more, you notice that you don't recognize the street you're in. While you were lost in your thoughts, you must've wandered off the path.

"Fuck," You curse in your hoarse voice, leaning against the wall as your vision fades again. However, multiple footsteps assault your ears, forcing you to open your eyes again in case you'll need to defend yourself.

Only to come face to face with a familiar but shocked red stag.

"Y/n?"

A bitter grin appears on your face and normally, you'd retort with a witty remark. But this time, you can't.

The last thing you see before you lose consciousness is the stag running towards you, his face contorted with worry. 

Then, your world is shrouded in darkness.

***

Hey ho ho homies! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Again, we went off the rails. Lots of blood and gore, yay. Also, MC killed someone 0_0 What now?! And wow, Louis makes another appearance! Much amazement!

It hurt to write that scene because I tend to feel the emotion my character is going through, so I had to take a few breaks while writing this because even I felt guilty. Also, rip Y/n's sanity again, sis is done. 

And Green Anaconda's are one of my favourite snakes. They're killer machines but also very pretty in my opinion and frankly, they also have really scary teeth. But I loved them ever since I saw a video of an Anaconda biting a dude in the butt after he tried to capture it as a tourist attraction.

I tried to keep the injuries and scenarios as realistic as possible. Did some research on what arteries would be deadly to hit, as well as if a human could possibly survive a jump like that. Like mentioned, I like to stay rooted in logic and realism, cause it raises the stakes and makes the story more interesting.

But now, our next big thing is the Riz vs Legoshi fight. And before that, we're getting cross-dressing Legoshi and my omni heart is very happy about that😌

On another note, I am now up to date with beast complex and I am in love with it. Paru really shines in it and you can tell that her true strength is in short stories. If she had taken more time and support, I think she could've made beastars an absolute masterpiece and better than it is now. But alas, I'm happy the way things are as well and hoping for a Juno chapter soon.

Still, be prepared for cameo's.

By the way, had another dream about Legoshi and we were dating😌 but then I woke up and was fucking sad cuz my brain basically pulled a "IT'S JUST A PRANK BRO" on me😭

Also, do y'all want a lemon for Chapter 69? 👀

Anyways, I hope y'all are safe and sound and healthy in this crazy pandemic! Stay safe guys, gals and nonbinary pals!

See you in chapter 66!