Chapter Text
How long has it been since that day? In "The Hour of Joy". Maybe 3 months, 1 year or more, he's not keeping count after being imprisoned as a heretic.
Tough punishment, isn't it? Being locked up against your will and having your arms tied to the wall is nothing compared to being torn in half. Or rather, having that half eaten.
DogDay doesn't know what to do anymore but think about the old days. His mind is disconnected from harsh reality and he lives in a world where he and his friends just have a good day at home, in the garden, wherever! He just wanted to escape.
But that whole world disappears when CatNap shows up. Or when it simply stalks him in the dark. So much time here made him develop some kind of sensor that let him know he was nearby. Maybe it's fear.
His breath catches when he hears footsteps walking in his direction.
What will it be this time? A brief conversation from CatNap telling him to join this macabre and twisted "religion", with him refusing again? A check on how he was doing? Time for the one meal he was given every 4 days?
Someday he'll get lucky and his (former) best friend will tell him he'll let him go.
And how do you leave when your legs have been taken away?
"DogDay."
His head lifts heavily, looking with mock cockiness at the huge cat.
"Hello, CatNap," he replies without much emotion, having caught him not wanting to speak. But keeping quiet was not a good option. "Any news?"
Optimism is in the dog's blood, even if he tries he can't be so nasty as to insult or ignore it.
"The prototype has sent me to free you."
Quickly DogDay's eyes widen, he still has empty sockets but with what CatNap just said they might sparkle again.
"How, but w-why?" Is it possible that it's a trap, a joke, a dirty trick? If not, why would they release him.
"He hasn't answered me, but I'm not going to question him further. If he sent it to me it must be for something."
Before CatNap releases the straps from his arms, DogDay doesn't stay quiet and demands. "I will not join you! If that's why you're going to let me go, then I'd rather rot here."
The other remains silent, watching the dog with no expression other than his big grin and indifferent eyes. He always had that coldness on his face, it was terrifying for his companions that even if he was sad, upset or angry, he never took off his "smiling face". That gave him the advantage that no one knew how he really felt. Or he was just too wrapped up in his role.
DogDay never seemed to mind, never saw the negative side of things and never let CatNap be alone, no matter how different it was.
Now DogDay gets increasingly nervous when CatNap looks at him intently.
"I won't let that happen." he says and then removes his restraints, dropping him hard to the ground. "And you won't be free at all."
That doesn't reassure him, it only makes him want to run away, or else crawl away, but he can't. He's been tied up for so long that his arms can't feel them either, they're numb and he can't even lean on them.
Suddenly, he feels himself being grabbed by the back of the neck and lifted to a safe distance from the ground. DogDay is confused for a moment, until he feels CatNap's teeth gripping him tightly.
He would complain that he's not a puppy, but besides not having paws, he also doesn't feel like starting an absurd argument.
While being carried by the cat, DogDay looks around intently in search of an exit through which he could escape at some point. Unfortunately, there wasn't a hole in the ground, just rubble and boards everywhere. CatNap must have made sure not to let him see any exit when he came looking for it.
He doesn't have time to analyze properly when they enter a new room. It looks like a normal playroom but completely ruined.
Blood and cracks on the walls and floor, toys, dolls, tattered and abandoned stuffed animals, broken chairs, the atmosphere is dreary and the dim lights flickering every 10 seconds don't help lighten it. DogDay groans in pain as he remembers that here the children had fun, ran and laughed without a care in the world. And he was part of that joy along with his friends.
"And where do you plan to leave me?" he asks and tries to move his arms now that he is calmer.
He hadn't realized that underneath him was a mat until CatNap let go. The canid lets out a small gasp as he feels the not-so-comfortable surface of a bump. But he's thankful it wasn't the floor.
"You're staying here, temporarily." he paces around the room and DogDay stares at his every move. He seems to be looking for something.
"Temporarily?" That can only mean two things. The first, that I could put him back in that cell. The second, which is the worst, that it could kill him if this release hasn't helped them in the end.
CatNap returns to his side, now in his mouth are a couple of cushions with pictures of stars and moons on them, which he leaves at each end of the makeshift round bed. That brings more confusion to DogDay, why does he now seem to care about his comfort? Doesn't he remember that he kept him prisoner and tied to the wall? That he got rid of his other half?
"Easy." he says sitting up and not taking his eyes off the dog. He notices how the feline gently wags its long tail. "You won't be alone."
DogDay is not the type to get upset or scared when he gets a surprise, for him it's always fun. Now he doesn't feel that way when his ears pick up the sound of little paws echoing in the holes in the walls, through which the smiling mini-creatures slowly emerge. He hears them make mocking noises, as if they are laughing. They are shrieking noises that pierce his ears.
He is about to tell CatNap to put him back in the cell, whatever, but the cat had already disappeared, leaving him with those little monsters to his fate.
"CatNap, wait! Please, you can't leave me here with them!" his fear increases as he saw them approaching him. There were too many of them and DogDay doubted he could escape, he still felt weak.
Is this why they let him free, so he would suffer more?