"I'm in"
Pheo told them. He went straight towards Jug's group.
Jim laughed, "What made you finally change your mind?"
The group looked suspicious of him, the sudden change wasn't his behavior.
"Didn't you want me to join you guys?" Pheo asked, "Besides, this isn't for free"
"You may be something that we wanted, but you aren't something we need" Mark got up and spoke
Pheo rolled his eyes, "Come on, it's pretty obvious that you guys are planning something"
"And you need me for it"
He went up in front of Jim, "I'll help you, you know this won't be a loss"
Jim smirked, Pheo wasn't what he was before.
Something changed him
And he was the one who made it happen.
"Alright, what's the catch?" Jim asked him bluntly, he knew that everything comes with a price.
"Ryu" He told them, "I want him to survive"
"Unnegotiable" He told all of them. They all looked at each other, wondering if anyone had something to say about it.
"Looks like it's a deal then" They shook each other's hands.
"By the way, if you want a chance of him surviving before he dies, we're acting a month from now" Jim told them.
They all looked at him surprised, "Don't worry, its possible"
"Especially with him on board now" Jim gestured at Pheo.
"You simply have to take gramps for a walk" He told him, "Keep him distracted enough for us to make an escape with the sick guy in tow"
Pheo thought about how Don's been treating him, he felt like he would be betraying him.
For Ryu
He thought as he nodded, "I can do that easily"
"Now what's your plan?"
Jim got a piece of trash from the ground and threw it at Tom.
Instinctively, he jumped away, "What was that for?"
"Explain the plan"
"Alright alright" Tom sighed, "Me and Mark's going to be setting something up to stop the dog from acting up. Really only leaves Parquatz to roam free"
"I'm in charge for dealing with him" Jen got up and chimed in, "I'll make sure he won't be able to be in our way"
Pheo looked at the crew he was going to work with, but noticed something a bit odd.
"And what's Jug doing in all this?" He asked.
"He was a great leader" Jim clarified, "But even with how young he is, his ways are old"
"We just decided a group where we all can make decisions is better" He got both of his hands up and laid down.
Pheo felt that his answer was lacking, but he understood enough not to pry. "How do I know exactly when it'll happen?"
Tom bursted out laughing at Pheo's question, "You'll know"
"Everyone in this damn hole will"
His response was odd, but Pheo dismissed it.
"I'l be sure to do my job, so do yours" He told them all before going off.
Warhound entered the pantry to see it infested with mice.
"I guess this is what happens when you let kids take care of the kitchen"
He quickly jumped away as a few of them scurried out the room.
Don was in the room as well, inspecting the stocked bread. It was gnawed on, some of it littered with excrement.
"It seems so"
He went in deeper, further revealing just how infested the pantry really was.
"Tell me, how would so many of these rodents enter a locked room with a single entrance?"
Warhound transformed, trying to make himself look bigger to prevent the rats from approaching him as he followed behind.
"Maybe two got in and started getting busy"
"Its only bread in here, but there's a strong stench somewhere" Warhound commented as he watched Don move boxes full of stale bread.
He pushed one of the boxes to reveal small holes that the rats could pass through. He looked down the hole, backing off when multiple rats ran off from the inside.
He touched the area nearby, there were small chunks of rocks
"Doesn't this seem manmade?"
Warhound easily pushed aside the boxes that were blocking his view, "I'm sure that way leads to the area we blocked off because it was full of pests'
Don stopped to think, "And you said there was a strong smell here?"
"Can you describe it?"
"Yeah" Warhound sniffed the air, "It smells like nuts"
He went around, sniffing every once in a while to check if the scent was stronger or not. He pushed aside box after box until they found a cluster of rats.
Don went in and kicked away the rats, revealing a ravaged jar of peanut butter.
"Isn't that what Parquatz puts in his meal share?" Warhound picked it up, trying to read the label. Parts of it were scratched off from the rat's claws.
He noticed that the expiration date was past due, "This is probably stolen"
"I'm thinking one of the kids did it" He speculated, "Maybe that kid, Pheo"
Don shook his head, "He wouldn't act without reason"
"There is someone who would though, the owner of that jar"
He grew suspicious of Parquatz, but it only grew as such. "Let's inspect whatever's still good to eat and change rooms for the pantry"
Don took a look to see Warhound was struggling to move around because of the rats.
He sighed, "You move the boxes"
Don's eyes turned purple, making the rats that met his eyes jump from the shocking pain it took them in.
Within seconds, they would run as far away as they could. This allowed Don and Warhound to fix the pantry, barely able to scrape anything useful.