Currently unbeta'd :)

When morning came around, the house was in chaos. Luhan knew this because, he was the cause of it. His fever had gone up and down throughout the night and by morning he realized he was miserable, and everybody should be informed that he was miserable. Burning up and sweating profusely, Luhan howled and howled and not even Minseok’s presence by his side could settle him down. 

It got even worse when Minseok, sighing, informed him that if he was going to continue being a baby, they had no other choice but to take him to the doctor. 

“What!? No!!” Luhan raged even louder. 

“Luhan, you’re ill. You need to go.” 

Usually Minseok’s gentle patience and aura of wisdom was a calming factor in Luhan’s life, but not today.

“I am not going to the vet! You can’t make me!” 

“I can. And I will,” Minseok threatened. 

Luhan had nightmares about the vet, ever since the first month he arrived at the shelter home. Minseok had gotten sick, and Yixing had taken him away. A whole week Minseok was gone and Luhan felt like death himself because he wasn’t allowed to visit him — something about being contagious — and Luhan was so worried and stressed because, he’d just found Minseok. He wasn’t about to let go of him so soon.

“It’s not a ‘vet,’” Jongdae tried to inform him when Minseok briefly left the room. “It’s a regular doctor just like a human doctor. He’s just a hybrid specialist.”

“I don’t care. I’m not going,” Luhan continued to pout.

Apparently his self-made decision had no bearing over the rest of the household. By the time Minseok sneaked back into their room and Jongdae slipped away, Yixing had already been informed, and Chanyeol was on his way. Luhan was halfway into a fever-induced sleep again, but he was definitely not drowsy enough to ignore Minseok’s presence. The older cat snuggled his way into the sheets, careful to leave some room between their bodies so Luhan wouldn’t overheat, and there they waited. 

“I don’t want to go,” Luhan repeated sleepily after a while. He wouldn’t even open his eyes, terrified that if he did time would get away from him. He wanted to hold onto this moment forever. 

“You, baby,” Minseok chided fondly. “I’ll go with you. You don’t have to worry.”

“Really? You’ll come with me?”

“That’s what I said, yes.” Minseok chuckled, burying his nose into Luhan’s neck to reassure him. 

At some point even Tao came in, and the kitten looked so concerned and worried about him that Luhan determined to pull himself together and look strong. That was easier now that he knew Minseok wasn’t abandoning him. 

“Look, Baekhyun even made you some tea,” he heard Minseok purr into his ear. “Sit up for a bit, hmm?”

Luhan consented to drink the warm, relaxing liquid and had just drained it when Chanyeol arrived. 

“Are we going now?” he asked pitifully, one last time, as if by asking it so miserably Luhan could persuade them to leave him home. 

“Yes, come on now,” said Minseok so sweetly that Luhan didn’t fight it any longer. He heard Chanyeol asking some basic questions about how he was, and then somebody — Chanyeol — was lifting him out of the bed. Around them Minseok fussed, begging the tall human to watch Luhan’s head on the door frame, and tucking his tail up over his waist. Luhan curled into the warm body holding him and promised to thank Minseok later. Chanyeol always kind of scared him, if only because it seemed like the man couldn’t possibly be graceful enough to carry someone of his weight without tripping or something equally embarrassing. What if he dropped him?

He needn’t have worried though. Chanyeol carried him down the stairs very delicately. Luhan felt like a princess, if only he wasn’t still burning up and miserable. He managed one regal wave of his hand to the other concerned housemates, Baekhyun, Tao, Kai and Jongdae all standing in a row in the entryway, and then one of them opened the door and Luhan freaked out.

Later on Luhan would claim it was only because the sunlight startled him. He wasn’t sure anyone believed him, but by all means, he would stick to his story.

Truthfully, and Minseok probably already knew this, it was because Luhan never went outside, not through the front door anyway. The backyard was fine because it was fenced in and pretty and the patio was a peaceful extension to their house. The front yard though... out yonder lay the world. Specifically the street and other houses and people, and Luhan was so unused to it that he’d almost forgotten it existed.

He cried, started kicking and screaming in Chanyeol’s arms that the man almost did drop him, which freaked Luhan out even more. Somehow, in all the time he’d spent upstairs coming to terms with his imminent doctor visit, he’d forgotten that going outside meant just that… going outside.

“Luhan! It’s alright!” came Minseok’s rushed cries of concern. To Chanyeol he heard him instruct to continue walking. Luhan remembered some inkling about how Minseok didn’t like going outside much either, but he was too much at death’s door to really notice.

“Hey, now. We’re almost there,” said Chanyeol assuredly while Luhan alternated thrashing about and nuzzling deeper into his chest. 

Minseok opened the car door and slipped into the backseat first. Chanyeol deposited Luhan right into his lap, saw that the two were buckled up – more howling from Luhan’s part because that required him to move more – but eventually they were settled and Minseok was holding him close, and Chanyeol started the car with a heavy sigh.  As they drove off Luhan refused to look out the window. He hunkered down, clawed Minseok accidentally, and finally just buried his head and shut his eyes. It would all be over soon, he hoped.

Inside the house, everyone left behind breathed a collective sigh of relief. Tao’s was the loudest of all.

“If you can’t tell,” said Baekhyun after a minute, “Luhan hasn’t stepped foot outside of this house since the day he got here.”

Tao didn’t speak, although his eyes did grow wide at the thought.  Perhaps the outdoors had been so much a part of his life growing up, but Tao could not imagine a time when he was actually scared of it. Even strangers and the weird faces they made at him was a recent discovery, but while it was disturbing, it didn’t bother him as much as it did others, namely Sehun. His boyfriend – Tao had to breathe again just thinking about the term – got upset enough for the both of them. It was cute, although Tao didn’t tell him that.

“Will he be alright?” he asked instead, still worried about Luhan.

“Sure he will,” said Baekhyun. “He’s just a baby. He never gets sick, so when he does he blows it out of proportion. Poor Minseok though. I pity him because that is going to be one hell of a car trip and visit.” He scampered off still chuckling.

Jongdae pat Tao suddenly on the shoulder. He didn’t speak either, just smiled reassuringly at Tao and then asked him about his plans for the day. Tao didn’t have any. He did sort of want to see Sehun, but Sehun had school and classes to go to first. Perhaps he’d just follow Baekhyun outside until the evening. Or go over and bug Kyungsoo in the other house. Or maybe he and Jongdae could hold a movie day? Maybe he could persuade Kyungsoo to host a movie day? Surely Joonmyun wouldn’t mind so much if the hybrids crashed his house again. It was still very cozy over there, and Joonmyun had a real cat, whose mannerisms fascinated Tao so much. Before, there had only been a smattering of outdoor barn cats who weren't all that friendly towards Tao.

He settled for walking Kai to work first. Since their heart-to-heart a few days ago he had done this every day and Kai no longer fussed at him for getting into his personal space. Even better was that Kai had stopped covering his ears with a beanie, and when he had suitable clean laundry he even wore his tail out. The white furs clashed nicely with Tao’s black fur, and it became easier to ignore the looks from random neighbors and passers-by, either pedestrians or drivers.

Before he left him at the front of his building, Kai turned to him. “Hey, don’t worry about coming to pick me up. I’ve got some… errands I want to do after work and Ilhoon is going to drive me. He’ll drop me off.”

“Oh? Okay…” Tao mused, curious about the nature of these errands, and disappointed because he liked his twice daily walks. They split up his day nicely into manageable segments between fun and naps.

“Yeah. And also, uhmm… in case you forgot, or rather, in case you didn’t think much about it. You’re… still invited out to my work party this weekend? The girls asked me to remind you even though I said you were—”

Kai blushed slightly.

“You said I was…?” Tao prompted, ears twitching because embarrassed Kai was adorable.

“That you were taken?” Kai finally managed. “Anyways, Sehun can come to. The more the merrier and… all that…” He trailed off, embarrassed again, and before Tao could say yes, no, or , Tao caught him muttering something like, “I just don’t want to be the only hybrid there…”

“I’ll ask Sehun, but probably, definitely yes. How’s that?”

Kai looked more than happy. “Yes! That’s great. Okay, thank you!” He bounded into the building right on time, and Tao turned around, heading for home.

Yixing was sitting in their kitchen by the time Tao there. He and Jongdae were discussing Luhan and the disastrous transplant from bedroom to car. They finished laughing when Tao walked in, and Yixing turned to him, still smiling but suddenly looking a little more serious.

“Ahh, Tao. Just who I was looking for. How was your walk with Kai this morning?”

“It was… good…?” Tao answered, confused. The fact that Yixing was here to talk to him personally was a little unsettling.

“That’s great. Absolutely great,” said Yixing slowly, stalling for time.

Jongdae seemed to pick up on the mood. “Should I give you two some time to yourselves?”

“Oh, would you?” Yixing pleaded apologetically. “I mean, I don’t mean to run you off but…” he hesitated and Jongdae bowed out of the room far from being offended. In fact he even winked at Tao like he had something to be worrying about, and since Tao was sitting down with Sehun’s father, he did worry about it.

Apparently though it was nothing related to Sehun at all.

“Tao, my boy. I do hate asking this of you, but I rather need a favor and… well, would you mind going with me somewhere this afternoon? I went once yesterday, but I'm in need of an assistant today...”

“Uhm,” Tao gulped. “Sure? If… if it will help you?”

“It would. Greatly actually.” Yixing smiled in what the man surely thought was the most reassuring smile he owned, and yet it frightened Tao. 

The compound they drove up to was dark, industrial, surrounded by fences with barbed wire skirting the top most rims. Yixing drove up to the gatekeeper in a tiny building situated right along the road, rolled down the window and handed the man his ID and a small stack of papers, documents that were signed and approved and would allow them entry to a place Tao had only heard mentioned of in deep, dark whispers. The sign on a small placard along the driveway read:

Sooman Corporation

Hybrid Animal Specialists

~ NO ENTRY EXCEPT TO AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ~

The breeding factory. It was situated on the outskirts of one of the outer most suburbs of town. On its own it was unobtrusive to the landscape and community, except its reputation preceded it. As they drove up Tao wouldn’t imagine that inside these walls was essentially a slave labor force of abandoned or un-adopted hybrids living in worse conditions probably than the adoption agencies.

“It’s done mostly by artificial insemination,” Yixing had explained before they got here. “There’s very little personal interaction between the hybrids. Just between them and their handlers. A very grim place, I’m warning you now. Just stick beside me, and don’t mind the things I say. We’re play-acting today, alright? Only it’s not really for play.”

Tao didn't need to be told that twice. 

“The kittens don’t live here for long,” Yixing had also explained earlier. “They spend about two months with their mothers, and then they’re taken away. Matched up by gender and compatibility into larger ‘litters’ and then literally shipped by the bundle to agencies across the country.”

“How many… breeding factories are there?” Tao still had trouble saying the word without getting the shivers.

“In our part of the world? Only three. This is the largest one, and compared to the others it’s massive, and worse. Still though, only three factories, but then there are dozens and dozens of agencies and it all bleeds together. This is the side the public doesn't see when they walk into those cute hybrid pet store front windows.”

He parked the car and Tao unbuckled slowly, almost unwillingly. Yixing paused, waited for a moment, and finally asked him, “Are you sure you’re okay to go in? You don’t have to do this, you know that.”

But Tao only nodded, steeling his face, and he climbed out of the car. “So,” he repeated for perhaps the third time so far, “We’re here… to look for my sister.”

“Correct,” said Yixing under his breath. “And to keep our eyes open. Alright now, to work.”

He lead them up the sidewalk to an unassuming door, another checkpoint where Yixing provided his documents and explained once again that he was here on behalf of an important somebody looking for specific hybrid siblings. The staff evidently knew he was coming and they beckoned him through, nearly challenging Tao’s entry until Yixing explained Tao was his pet companion and here was the paperwork on him too. 

Tao kept his eyes downward and tried not to flinch that Yixing’s papers on him probably weren’t actually doctored. Yixing undeniably had documentation for all of the shelter hybrids. In some peoples’ eyes, Yixing literally owned them all. 

The security staff verified the papers, and then let them through. Another personnel member fetched them shortly thereafter and walked them to a wing of only offices. 

“In here, sir, and the manager will be in shortly to meet with you.”

“Thank you,” said Yixing pleasantly, and the two of them took a seat. 

As if to keep them waiting as long as possible, it took the manager nearly twenty minutes to greet them. The name plate on his desk read Moon H. J. Based on his roll as manager of the entire factory,Tao expected him to be older. Instead, a man in his late thirties with a very round face entered and greeted Yixing like an old friend. Tao could tell they were not. The man’s smile was very clipped and rather sardonic, as if his grim pleasantry could wipe away the fact that Yixing was now seated comfortably in his office, probably to rob them of a good breeder or two. 

“Mr. Zhang,” said the man, finally sitting down. “How nice to see you again.”

“You said you would have some information for me today, Mr. Moon,” Yixing replied carefully.

The manager seemed to consider him for a moment. Only then did he notice the hybrid sitting beside him. Tao hadn’t even been worthy of consideration just a second before. “Oh, I see you brought a pet today?”

“This is Tao. He’s one of the siblings I’m collecting for our mutual benefactor. This one I’ve already acquired up front at my own expense. However, the others… if you perhaps have one of them, will be paid for directly.”

Mr. Moon’s eyes lit up, not over Tao’s presence, but at the promise of money. He stifled a greedy smile, however, and observed the hybrid. “I see. Such a shame though you won’t be able to keep this one. He's certainly very beautiful. Great genes too, I'm sure. No collar yet? Even if he’s yours temporarily, surely you wouldn’t want him to get loose somewhere without your name on him?”

Yixing chuckled amusedly. “An unfortunate case, but the collar I bought him had some chemical of which he was allergic to. I’m still waiting for a replacement one to arrive. In the meantime, he’s docile as you can see. And should be a great help when and if we find one of his sisters.”

Tao tried to act dumb. It was all part of the game Yixing had prepared him for, though it still kind of hurt to be discussed so flippantly. He smiled and nodded at Yixing’s words, eyes kept mostly lowered. 

“I see,” said the man. He then turned to a stack of papers on his desk and began pulling them apart. 

It took them another half an hour to sort through the documents, complicated charts and genealogies, most of which Mr. Moon refused to actually show Yixing. He spent a lot of time on his own reading through them while Yixing and Tao waited silently, every now and then posing a name out loud for Yixing to consider before shaking his head and undoing his own research just a few lines down.

“Apologies of course, because these particular files are quite old. My predecessors didn’t document things as well as what our computers do these days.”

By all that Tao could understand from the half-snippets of their conversation, all of the hybrids born to a certain mother had been delivered in this factory upwards of twenty years ago. One by one they were separated and sent to agencies, passed around to other agencies, sent to homes, or been returned. The paper trail though was evidently hard to follow and it was further complicated by the lack of proper DNA records. 

Mr. Moon ended their session with a promise to hook Yixing up with several of the distributing agencies, “But… as I think we can properly determine, we do have one of your girls back with us here.”

“Is there any reason you can give us for that? Did she ever live with a family? Was she not returned to an agency first before returning here?” Yixing asked.

The question flustered Mr. Moon but he had no verbal answer, or maybe none of those  were reports worth actually documenting. Tao suspected he may not want to even hear one. Listening to the men discuss so casually the movements and ‘shipments’ of hybrids, both kitten and adult, was starting to make Tao’s stomach lurch. But now that the one girl had been discovered, the manager started in on another search for a different litter. There were several such sets, all of them time-consuming since Yixing had come in with a batch of requests. Fortunately, two more of them were probably here as well.

“I'd like to meet them now,” Yixing said.

“All of them?” Mr. Moon did not seem to suspect this.

“If you wouldn't mind. Their... future owners are rather picky people. They'd like a report on the hybrids' health and mental capabilities if they're to own them. And, since they'll be paying so much money to take them right from here, you can understand how they would like to know what they are getting?” Yixing coaxed.

“Of course. Of course," replied Mr. Moon quickly. "I'm sure... they'll all be to your — and the owners' — satisfaction, but of course I can understand. Of course...”

“I can negotiate purchase agreements by the weekend. It would help if we can visit with them today while we are in the area.” Yixing kept on pushing. 

“Certainly. Let me call for a guide and he can... take you to see them.”

They waited politely in the hallway outside his office, waiting to be fetched. Yixing placed one hand behind Tao’s back to reassure him of their work, and because Tao looked a little faint. First and foremost their goal was a purchase to rescue at least this handful of hybrids. Yixing wasn't the only such activist willing to set aside his own money for a hybrid's sake. The main reason he wanted Tao with him on this day was because the hybrids would probably be skittish around any other human beings, himself included. Tao might be able to soothe a few ruffles quicker than Yixing could. 

“Are we even sure these are the right ones and he’s not lying to us?” Tao asked quietly.

“He won’t do that. Benefactors such as he’s being tempted with would undoubtedly do a DNA test to prove the relationship. He won’t risk getting caught on something like this.”

The second goal was to be the eyes and ears of those less fortunate than themselves, to take away everything they see and get that information into the hands of the public, lawmakers, any and all who could help them to eventually shut down the factory for good, and try to keep it that way.

“He didn't seem enthusiastic to let us back there.”

“No, he's probably not all that keen,” Yixing agreed. 

“Don't you think he's worried about us reporting what we see though?”

“I'm sure he is. But he probably doesn't think we can do anything with this information for a while yet, and he's just the acting manager. Hardly the CEO. I guarantee you he'll making a huge profit on these sales and keep more than is his proper share. He's not too worried about the future just yet. And that, is our advantage.”

Shortly thereafter another man appeared and beckoned for them to follow. He seemed uncomfortable, like he wasn’t used to doing such things as allowing visitors to explore the compound. For every hesitant step he took, however, Yixing looked cautiously overjoyed, as he had every right to be, Tao thought. They were one step closer to exposing the horror of hybrid breeding factories, and that made Tao a little bit proud to be here. 

Hours later, Yixing drove them home. Sehun was waiting and so they skipped the shelter house entirely. Tao followed the older man inside and noticed that the rose garden had been weeded, not thoroughly pruned yet, but Baekhyun must have been by sometime during the day. Tao would have to thank him later. 

He found Sehun almost passed out in his bedroom. While Yixing stayed in the forward part of the house feeding the puppies, his son was conked out on his bed, arms and legs askew, his school bag not even opened and laying on the floor. 

Tao poked him. When that didn’t work he sat down almost on top of him. 

“What’s going on?” asked Sehun sleepily. He tried to move and found out he could not. Tao took pity and rolled off of his body into the space next to the wall. 

“Tao?” Sehun groaned again.

“I’m here,” said the hybrid with an exhausted sigh. 

“When did you get here?”

“Just now. Your dad brought me home.”

Sehun rolled over to look at him. “Why? Were you out with him today?”

“Yes.”

“All day?”

“Yes. Well, mostly all day. This morning I just sat around and then I walked with Kai to his work, and then I came home. Oh, Luhan is sick and he went to the clinic earlier with Minseok and Chanyeol, but Chanyeol called earlier and said he was fine. They’ll be home by now. I haven’t been back there yet though…” Tao rambled.

The whole time he spoke Sehun didn’t cease to blink, confused. “You… you were with my dad all day?”

“Yes…” .

“But— but, he said he was going to the-the-the…”

“Breeding factory. Yes. We went there,” said Tao slowly.

Sehun’s eyes widened, almost panicked for Tao’s sake. It might have been funny had not Tao been so emotionally worn out. Sehun must have realized this too because without saying anything he drew the hybrid into his arms. And perhaps that gesture was such a wondrous thing compared to all he’d seen that day, but it was almost like a damn broke inside him. Without warning tears began to fall from his eyes, hidden at first from Sehun’s gaze, but the sniffles that came after could not be concealed. Sehun just held him tighter.

Pictures of the factory filtered through his mind, everything he’d seen, so clearly, so clinically. The cell-like chambers, hardly larger than prison barracks. The hospital-style beds behind curtains that were unable to hide them completely. The more they saw, the more hybrids they encountered, each so hollow around the eyes, skinny around the body, zombie-like creatures who were so desensitized they barely even cared to see another hybrid walking around without a collar. The ones he’d talked to, touched, they answered so impersonally, responded only in short word answers. 

“I’m Tao… how are you… would you like to go live somewhere else… somewhere much, much nicer than this place… there are other places, better places… where you can live… just give us a few days… okay?”

“Okay…”

Sehun’s arms felt reassuring. It was the best feeling he’d felt all day, and because it was Sehun and he of course knew plenty about the factory already, Tao didn’t have to explain it to him. He didn’t have to relate everything he saw.

“Why did he take you with him?” Sehun asked finally, when Tao’s tears were dry.

“There were some hybrids he wanted me to meet. One in particular. She… she will probably come live with us, if your dad can get her released.”

“Who?” Sehun asked.

It was the same question Tao had asked. In the last room they were allowed to visit, their guide seemed doubly nervous. 

“This is his sister,” answered Yixing. “The girl I’ve been looking for in particular.”

She was a beautiful hybrid, or at least she probably was once. No older than twenty-three, with long dark hair tied sloppily into a braid. When they opened the door Tao saw that she had a nicer room than the others they’d met previously. And then he saw why. She was holding a baby, her first kitten the guide had said. And if everything proceeded normally, the child was due to be taken from her in just about a week’s time. 

“Oh no,” Yixing had said. “I want them both.”

She looked suspicious of them, eyes darting between Yixing and Tao, more scared of the man than the hybrid, just as they’d prepared for. 

“Go along,” Yixing coaxed Tao. “Go on and speak to her. I’m going to step outside, right on the other side of the window, okay?”

Tao had approached her. He sat down on a chair and made no move to touch her or the child. She was cradling the baby close to her chest, still obviously questioning his motives. 

“My name’s Tao.” he began. “I’m a free hybrid. I live in a house with half a dozen other hybrids, all older than me. We… we want you to come and live with us. You and the baby.”

“Why?” she whispered.

“Because… because we believe you’re actually a sister, a real blood-related sister, to one of my friends. I think, he’ll want to meet you.”

It had taken her a long time afterwards to comment, even longer to believe even half of what Tao said. Perhaps she wouldn’t believe it officially until they took her out of this place, but the tiny window of hope Tao saw forming in her eyes was more than inspiring. 

“And we can both come? Me and my baby?” She almost wept when Tao nodded yes. “Okay… okay… I will… look forward to that… Thank you, Tao? My name is Victoria.”

4,696 words

Well that was emotionally draining... :(  Did I really start out this chapter with Luhan freaking out about the outdoors? That seems so long ago now. Phew! But a lot of things had to happen in this chapter. And a new character due to arrive shortly. Any guesses whose sister she is? Or the name of her baby? (Hint, the child isn't named yet, so I'm taking suggestions...) 

There wasn't too much Taohun in this chapter. Next time should be fun though. We're actually going to get to that party with Kai's work friends. And possibly bring home the new house guest. I'll try not to take so long to write it. 

<3 Rosie

Note to everybody: I'm currently 3 chapters into an epic Xiuhan-centered fantasy. I hope you'll go and read it: The Well of Emerald Waters. :)))