Austin found himself moping often. Jan never stayed when she said she would, and she never gave him what he wanted, what he needed. He was fortunate to be able to wander, but there was no help for him. 

"It's not fair..."

Often his thoughts went to Lansing. She would never have left him here like this. She would have cared for him, loved him, tended to him...

"It's not FAIR!!"

Austin charged full out until he hit a wall. The impact was not as hard as he had imagined it would be. In fact, the wall seemed to give way somewhat. Austin paused, then backed up, and charged again. The wall came apart, somehow both ripping like paper but also shattering like glass at the same time. Revealed behind was something large, red, and striated, pulsing in long rhythms. Austin tentatively pulled at a striation between pulses, while it was slack, revealing a vast cavern. Austin looked around and saw many objects floating around the cavern, but the most notable were round, red discs with dents in their centres.

Red blood cells.

Austin jumped back into his bright prison to contemplate what he had just seen. Then something Jan had said to him dawned on him...

"You'll be in my heart, always..."

Had she meant it literally...? 

It was a little romantic, in a way... and thinking of romance lead to thinking of Lansing, and soon he was moping again...

--

Angel and Jan stepped into the kitchen, right in front of the evil Umbreon. She stared at them for a moment and scowled.

"What? Do you think I'm going to let him go just because you brought another version of me along? I don't care!"

Jan spoke. "Why are you holding him hostage?"

"Because. He's a Flareon that I thought no one would miss. And he's very soft to cuddle."

"You know you could always cuddle in Abuja's fur. Or Lagos's. Or Lusaka's. Or even Malta's, assuming it isn't... y'know, a sexual relationship..."

"Who's Malta? And besides, they have their own things to do! This one is mine!"

The evil Jan growled at both of them and approached, claws extended, preparing to shred them to pieces. Angel stood fast, preparing to go out with a bang. Jan, meanwhile, had realised where Angel's brother was probably hidden, and was looking around for a loaf of bread. At last, she found it, and leapt onto Angel's back, holding the bread on her own shoulders. The opposing 'Bre suddenly sped up, catching the two and, without a thought, consuming them both whole.

"What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck"

Angel was thoroughly freaking out, as Jan held her tightly, focusing as well as she could on... well, something... then... everything was bright...

Austin bit his paw, trying to liberate himself from the feeling, but he could not do it. He was on the verge of crying, screaming, or something, but then... 

Jan appeared! And...

Angel?!!

Austin ran to her, and she to him, and they embraced, both of them crying.

"I-I thought I lost you Austin!"

"I thought I was lost! But you came for me! Oh thank you!"

He grinned, and Angel blushed when, after the initial delight of seeing one another slowly dulled to a mere cheerfulness, Angel realised that Austin smelled... odd...

"Austin are you... in heat?"

Austin blushed, and tried dodging the question. "I-I'm a Flareon, I'm always pretty heated..."

"That's not what I meant..."

Jan scowled, approaching Austin and touching his head with her paw. "That's a terrible way to torture someone..."

She took a sharp, deep breath, and Austin's chemical balance was restored, and he became embarrassed. "Yikes... thanks. Um... I'm guessing you've changed...?"

"Not quite. I'm... well, I'll explain later. Now is the time to get out..."

"Um, speaking of which, where, exactly, are we?" Angel said. "Last I checked, evil you was eating us..."

"This is... well, it's a pocket dimension that I keep in my heart," Jan said.

"Wait. You mean you have a prison like this too?" Angel asked, once again becoming suspicious...

"Wait, no no! I mean, as this version of me uses it, it's a prison for certain. But I made it to keep my loved ones safe in case there was ever a need to... I don't actually use it, but yeah... Also I'm sorry I surprised you with the bread thing, I just didn't want to let on..."

"Bread... urgh..." Austin sighed. "I don't think I want to make another sandwich as long as I live..."

Jan blushed, knowing exactly what he meant by that. "S-sorry..."

"Anywho, escaping?"

"Ahm, yes. So, I see you've broken down the wall," Jan said quickly. "If we break down the rest of the walls, the pocket dimension will expel us and then collapse."

"Won't we be stuck in the heart then?" Austin asked.

Jan shuddered. "Not quite."

So, the trio began tearing away the walls, revealing more of the myocardial tissues until, in the midst of a contraction, the pocket dimension collapsed.

It was the last time that heart would ever beat.

The three suddenly found themselves back on the floor in the kitchen, covered in shimmering blood. They looked back at their captor, who laid on the floor, her chest burst open. Jan quickly pushed the Lexington siblings into the portal, but she lingered to look back at her doppelganger, staring at her with a pitiable expression. Then Jan shuddered and went through...