"Daddy, where are we going?" A small child murmured, her strawberry blond curls bouncing around her face as she looked around.

"You'll see." The father said, no emotion showed in his tone nor on his face. The two walked into a large building, its windows closed; curtains hiding the secrets held within.

"Ah, you must be Mr. Cuttler, we've been expecting you. Come in, oh, is this her?" An older man appearing over the age of forty asked.

"Thank you. Yes, this is her."

The girl looked up, confused. "Daddy?" She asked, her large green eyes searched his face, something?

"Wait here for one moment, alright Lizzy?" The girl nodded and stood where she was, watching her father and the man walk into an office, the windows covered to prevent her from reading their lips.

"Here is the due amount, Mr. Cuttler. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to try this experiment. We'll call you when we have finished with her." The man said.

"No. I don't want her back. Keep her; she'll be an excellent research subject for you, to study the behavioral changes." Mr. Cuttler said, covering the anger and hatred bubbling up within him which was all connected to one thing. They walked out of the room; Lizzy looked up at her father.

'Daddy?' her eyes questioned, yet she dare not say it aloud again.

"Lizzy, go with this nice man, please."

"Alright, daddy." She murmured, confused. She walked up to her father and hugged him for the last time. "Is it going to hurt, Daddy?"

"No." He murmured, though within the walls of his mind, he was unconvinced.

She let go and followed the man silently, her father watched for a moment and left; he could no longer stand to have her around.

"Elizabeth Cuttler, you are now Number 139." The man said, glancing back to be sure she was still there. "I am Dr. Dowele, the head of this experiment. You are very special to have been chosen to help us. Would you like to help us?"

She nodded, shyly.

"Good. I should find it very unfortunate that you change your mind later." Dr. Dowele led her into a white room, and closed the door behind them. "You have been sold to us, you may do nothing but abide by our rules now. You will be the one of the new hybrid, Cat-people." Elizabeth's eyes widened, she tried to back away, to run from this place. Upon reaching the door she tried as hard as she could, yet the door would not budge.

"Elizabeth! Wake up!" She quickly moved to an upright position.

"Oh, Chaos, it's just you. . . "

"You have that dream again? The one where your father left you at the clinic?"

"Yeah. It won't go away, no matter how hard I try to forget, I can't."

"You're lucky. At least you can remember what happened and your real name." He laughed.

She sighed and moved from the small corner which she had claimed. "Where are Rose and Cinder?" She asked, standing up. She stretched, her tail twitched and she jumped on to the rusted fire escape, looking into the window of the abandoned apartments for something to eat. A small squeak was heard; something skittered across the floor within the shadows. A mouse perhaps?

"They went out a while ago, they were supposed to be back by now, but they're not."

"Oh?" Two small mice moved into the perfect position for her to snag them. "Gotcha!" She yelled, victoriously. She jumped down and handed one to Chaos.

He laughed and caught her with ease. She smiled and leaned into him. She looked at the mouse; a look of pain crossed her face. "Can't stand to hurt it?" He laughed again. "You're so soft, you know that?"

"But, it's so cruel." She murmured, placing the mouse on the ground; she let it scamper away, frightened. He placed the other mouse on the ground, letting it follow the first.

"Hey! Tyler! Look, it's some of those Cat-freaks!"

Chaos set Elizabeth down and stepped forward, a dangerous air surrounded him.

"Hey, Ryan, I think that one's gonna try and claw us. What's wrong kitty-kitty?" He snickered.

Chaos walked forward, slowly and deliberately. "I suggest you scum get out of here, now. Unless, of course, you'd like to see what 'kitty-kitty' can do to you."

"Hey, you can't do anything to us! My dad's a cop, he'll have you in so much trouble, you'll regret it!"

"And that frightens me terribly so, I'm shaking, are you Darling?"

"Oh yes, I can barely stand I'm shaking so!" Elizabeth cooed, moving to Chaos's side.

The boys stared at each other, terrified. "Run!" They screamed together, and ran towards the nearest populated area.

Once the boys were gone, Elizabeth looked at Chaos, "Should we go look for Cinder and Rose?"

"Yeah, it's been a few hours actually, I hope they weren't caught by a trapper." Elizabeth looked down, a trapper . . . they caught Cat-people and sold them to special pet stores as personal slaves, maids, and much more. Cat-people are not considered people, only freaks and slaves.

"Speaking of trappers, here’s a rat now."

"My, my, here are some pretty kitties." A tall, well built man called, walking forward. Chaos had used the fire escape to run, and broken it in the process. Elizabeth stood, frightened.

"Chaos, you coward. . ." She murmured, fear overtaking her. She fell to her knees and stared up at the trapper, tears forming in her eyes.

"Now, now pretty girl, we'll have you fixed up in no time, no worries." The trapper said, grabbing her by the back of her head, he dragged her by her hair to the car where he threw her into the back, where she would await for her final judgment. She curled into a ball in the corner, the only way of escape was when he opened the door, but then she'd be running loose in a 'pet shop'.

"Chaos. . ." She whimpered. She sat in the corner, crying until the vehicle came to a stop.

"Yeah, I got a pretty one this time. I'm sure she'll sell for a high price." The door opened and one of the men slipped a catch pole around her ankle, and yanked her out of the vehicle.

"Oh, she is a pretty one." The men pulled her to a large 'grooming room' as it seemed. "Lily, Esther! We have one for you!"

Two young women walked out, both in their early thirties, maybe twenties. "Oh, this one will sell for quite a bit, where did you find her?" One murmured, she had gentle blue eyes and white-blond hair. She moved towards Elizabeth slowly, reaching towards her ears. "Number 139." She murmured, looking at the tattoo on placed upon Elizabeth.

"Another alley. Two boys ran in saying there were two Cat-people threatening them."

"Alright, we'll take care of her." The other woman sighed. She had cherry red hair and hazel colored eyes. She seemed to be distant to the world, the way her eyes seemed to look through everyone and everything. A distant world. The men left, leaving Elizabeth alone with Lily and Esther.

"I'm Esther, and this is Lily. Come, Number 139, we'll get you cleaned up. Let's give you a bath first though," They walked into another room, a small curtain was placed in a corner to give some privacy. The far half of the room was a large bathing tub; the other half was split between clothing and other items to prepare one for sale. "Undress and slip into the tub, don't worry, no one else will come in. It's just us and yourself." Once Elizabeth and slipped into the water, she was surprised by the warmth. Esther helped her wash and condition her hair, leaving the rest to Elizabeth. Elizabeth finished bathing shortly after and stepped out of the tub. Esther wrapped her in a towel and placed another over her shoulders. "Now, we'll have to cut your hair, Dear. It's in terrible need of a trim."

Lily guided her to a chair and Elizabeth sat down quietly. Lily began to brush out her hair, attempting to be gentle as possible. Once she had gotten all of the tangles out, she gasped, surprised. "Number 139, please hold still. I realize this will probably hurt, but it is for your own good." Lily moved Elizabeth's hair to the side and moved to the desk in the corner and pulled out a pair of tweezers. She returned and quickly removed the glass shards which had been implanted in Elizabeth's back when she had escaped the clinic nearly two years ago. The pain no longer bothered her; she had forgotten the shards were there. Lily placed the shards in a small basket and dabbed Elizabeth's back gently with peroxide and bandaged her back. She looked at the towel; holes from the glass now covered it. "I must say, I think the towel is garbage now." She laughed softly to herself and brushed out Elizabeth's hair once more. She took out a pair of scissors and carefully snipped away the bottom five inches. Once she had finished this, she left her hair to dry.

"Come," Esther urged, pulling her along to the clothing section of the room. She picked up several pieces of clothing and dressed Elizabeth. "What else. . .?" She asked, amusing herself now by playing dress-up.

"Daddy! Please! No, Daddy!" She cried, "I'll be good, I promise! Daddy!"

"Now, now, Number 139. Your father no longer wishes for you to be around him. You will be much happier here, we'll take care of you and love you like a real family." Dr. Dowele purred, covering the lie with a gentle tone.

"But . . . Daddy. . . Daddy promised, he promised he would never leave me! He promised we'd be a happy family together, even after Mommy left us! You're lying, you could never replace my family! No matter what . . . no matter what, they're still my real family. Even if they don't love me, even if they're not alive anymore, they're still my family and you can't replace them or even try to act like them!" Elizabeth sobbed, remembering her mother's last words.

'Lizzy, never forget what I tell you now, promise.'

'I promise, Mommy.'

'No matter what, I'll always love you, even after I'm gone. You, Daddy, and I; we're all a family, no matter what. No one can change that; no one can try to be a replacement. You only have one real family, no one can take care of you or love you like we do. I love you Lizzy, please--'

'Mommy? Mommy, please wake up! I love you too, Mommy, so please! Wake up!'

A white light, Elizabeth fell to the floor, unconscious. Upon waking, Elizabeth felt a surge of pain run through her. Tears fell from her eyes, she wiped them away quickly.

"Number 139, are you okay?" A hand touched her shoulder gently. She looked up, a girl of about twelve sat beside her, she had clouded blue eyes and black hair; a set of black cat ears rested upon her head, in one ear there was a tag with the number 46 labeled on it. A black tail twitched behind her.

Elizabeth nodded, "I'm fine, thank you." She murmured, the first lie she had ever breathed and certainly it would not be the last.

"Good," The girl smiled, "I'm Number 46, I'm pleased to meet you; we're roommates now."

"How long have you been here?" She asked, quietly

A distant look crossed Number 46's face. Her unseeing eyes glanced at the ground. "Eight years, since I was four."

"Oh, my Daddy left me here. He said we were going for a walk in the park."

"It's best to leave shadowed love far behind. He's not coming back. We're all alone here. No one wants us anymore, we're monsters. There used to be two hundred forty of us, six remain alive, everyone else didn't survive the operation, except for the ten that managed to escape. Numbers 39, 42, 12. 11, 4, 9, 6, 56, 32, and 89. This clinic has the lowest survival rate in the country.

Elizabeth screamed, awaking in a dark room. Her head felt heavy. She sat up slowly and looked around. A bell rung as she moved. She blinked, and moved a hand to her neck. A satin ribbon was attached to a bell and fastened around her neck. She got up slowly and walked to the mirror, she was dressed in a knee-length black dress with lace trimmed around the edges and a cross embroidered within the front of the dress. A large white ribbon held the bell around her neck, along with ribbon tied around her tail as well. What had happened?

"Ah, Number 139, you're awake. Come with us, a customer would like to see you." A collar and leash were attached to her, and she was pulled out of the dark room to a lighter room where the light burned her eyes.

A man with short, messy brown hair sat in a large, plush chair chatting casually with the female workers in the store. He looked up, "Ah, she's perfect. Beautiful and still young. She should learn quickly." Elizabeth snarled at him. He blinked, surprised. "Ah, a rebellious one. Lovely, I'll take her." He paid the men and took the leash. "Since you're obviously not going to come, I'll take you by force." He sighed.

Upon picking her up, she bit him. He glared at her and set her down. He struck her over her cheek. She blinked surprised and rubbed it, the skin burned, he had hit her with little of his full strength and yet, it still stung. He picked her up once more and walked out to his vehicle. He opened the door and set her on the seat, slamming the door once she was inside.

"You have much to be taught, brat. I will not tolerate such behavior."

"Yes, Master." She growled. She looked out of the window helplessly at the world. Three figures having a conversation struck her. Rose, Chaos, and Cinder. Rose was staring at her, a shocked look upon her face. Chaos and Cinder stared at the car, snarling.

"Elizabeth!" Rose yelled, moving towards the car, Cinder stopped her.

Elizabeth looked up, trying to hold back the tears, they were okay.

"Your friends? Hmph, wave farewell, you may see them again, if they appear in the shop, that is." He laughed wickedly. She stared at him, terrified. The car sped off, leaving Rose, Cinder, and Chaos behind.

"Just like Daddy. . ." She murmured.

He looked at her for a moment, confused. "What?"

"Just like Daddy left me. . . I'm leaving them." Tears slid down her cheeks.

He looked at her for a moment and wiped away the tears. "You actually remember?"

She nodded, and looked up at him. "Yes, I remember everything, my father said we were going for a walk, I followed him. He left me at the clinic, he said it wouldn't hurt, he lied. He never came back for me, he sold me to the clinic. He used my pet-name to deceive me. He kept calling me Lizzy so that I wouldn't suspect something. He broke the promise. After Mommy died, he promised he would never leave me, he left me." She sobbed.

He laughed softly and she looked at him confused.

"What?" She asked haughtily.

"My younger sister, her pet-name was Lizzy. You remind me of her. She died a few years ago though, she hung herself." The car came to a stop in front of a large Victorian house. He got out of the car and opened her door. He picked her up and closed the door, walking up the stairs to the house, another Cat-girl opened the door. She had knee-length white-blond hair and grey eyes. Her ears and tail were White and cream, she wore a long Cream and white maids dress and a silver ribbon which was tied around her right arm.

"Welcome Back, Master. How was your trip?"

"Fine, thank you, Grace."

"Should I take care of her for you, Master?"

"No, thank you, Grace. I have her. Would you wait for her outside of my office though? She will be a part of your division. So, Gather your division and have them wait in the Art room, then wait outside of my office for her."

"Yes, Master." She murmured.


*ϧevilish*

"So, your real name is Elizabeth Cuttler?" He asked, watching her closely. She nodded. "Do you want to see your father again, Elizabeth?" She stared at him, surprised. "Do you?"

"Yes. . . "She murmured. He let a smile grace his features.

"As you wish, you shall wait on us when he arrives here today for tea. He has mentioned you, I fear as it is though, he appears to be. . . grateful. . . that you are gone. I am sorry to have to say that though, dear."

"No. . .I. . . I always knew but I always pushed it to the back of my mind, deceiving myself."

"Well, we shouldn't keep Grace waiting. You are part of her division now. She is your captain, so to say." He opened the door and led her out where Grace stood, waiting patiently.

She looked up and smiled. "Hello, I'm Grace, your supervisor. Pleased to meet you, what is your name?"

"Her name is Elizabeth."

"Ah, come then, Elizabeth. We have your quarters ready and we would like to introduce you to our division and everyone else, as well as show you around before Master Grey's visitor arrives." She giggled, dragging her out of the sight of Sir Grey.

They walked for a few moments, until they came upon a lavishly furnished room with many other pale-faced girls with cat ears and tails. Elizabeth gasped. Number 46 stepped forward and greeted her.

"Hello, Elizabeth. It has been quite some time, I'm glad to. . . 'See' you again." She smiled.

"I am glad to see you as well. I am happy to see you alive and not in that place anymore."

"Yes, Master relieved me from that place. I am now Jane, and once more, your room mate."

"Oh? You two know each other?" Grace asked, confused.

"Yes, I shared a room with her in the clinic.” Jane sighed, her memories flooding back.

A loud crash was heard, screams followed.

“Grace, Jane, Stephanie, Lucy; capture and restrain these worthless creatures who have threatened our peace!” Stephan Grey called, fury consumed his voice.

“Elizabeth is ours, rat!” I heard Cinder snarl, Chaos’s voice followed; their voices both filled with rage.

“Now, now; Elizabeth is not yours, I own her. I own all of the young vermin in this house. They know this; you ought to know too. You lay a hand on Number 139, and I will see to it that she suffers a severe punishment. It would be quite unfortunate for such a pretty face to be harmed for your actions.”

I stared at Grace in horror, I had noticed the scars which she tried to hide, and I now knew what they were from.

“Grace . . . did Sir Grey do that to you?” I murmured, horrified.

“Yes. He did it without regret.” She murmured, looking away ashamed. “Run, run as far as you can; I do not want what happened to me to happen to you, run now.” She whispered; a fierceness I had not known seeped into her voice.