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The squirrel girl was on her last wit, and after much contimplation had arrived at the inky one's door. Her knocks were rapid and urgent. She really didn't have much resolve left, and patience wasn't a virtue she could uphold at this level of frustration.

He didn't answer, although she could hear the loud sounds of a television inside, as well what seemed like odd, foreign asian lude groanings.

"Damnit Billy! I know you're in there, so ******** open up!" She yelled through the door, pounding louder, and in the end, even tried to open the door herself. Maybe he had left it unlocked?

Indeed he had, and once she opened the door, she was greeted by the stink of seafood and cigarettes that seemed to have been locked inside for some time, judging by the stale edge. The television flickered off, leaving the room fairly dark, save for the light from the windows. The octopus man was laying on his bed, his tentacle sliding back into view and down his leg to curl around his ankle. "Wha' th'feck are y'doin, bargin' in?"

"Sightseeing," she replied sarcastically, but paused before going further, coughing as she was hit by the stench of seafood. The squirrel was not pleased, but Antony had things she needed. "I need your help."

"Well feck you, I aint movin'."

"Yes, and you're going to need to move."

"Feck off!" It had been weeks since he had come back from the labs, but Billy was still not feeling a hundred. Moreau kept his deal, alright, but in tiny incraments. He had barely been able to stretch it over the course of a week, let alone go without and try to save up. "I'm busy!"

"Too busy for sex even?" She raised an eyebrow, gaze scanning the room before settling on the TV, a knowing look in her eyes. It's not like she hadn't walked in on her guy friends watching porn before, and Billy hadn't exactly been listening to it quietly.

"Wha', y'offerin' a feckin' pity-shag?" He snorted, sitting himself up better.

"I'm horny god damnit!" She replied in a frustrated growl.

"Bet I wasn' yer first choice, was I?" he sneared, giving a sniff.

"You weren't the last," she said honestly, letting her fingertips of one hand run along the top of her shorts' waistband. "But in the end, does it really matter?

"Well FECK YOU. I don' need NO one." He snapped.

Antony looked startled by the rejection, but recovered quickly, stepping over to the tv and turning it on manually. "I'm not stupid," she hissed, "But if all you want to do is smoke and jack off..."

"Who th'feck d'y't'ink y'are, eh? Comin' in here an' tellin' me what t'do?" He snapped back, a tentacle groping for his crutches.

"I haven't told you to do anything. All I did was offer you something!" She narrowed her eyes and watched his movements.

"Well, then th'answer's no!"

"Someone's cranky about not finishing," she muttered, eyes scanning for the porn before returning to him. "I thought we were on good terms!"

"Well, I've been t'rough' a lot, an' I'd rather be a hermit!" He snapped, "I don' need feckin' *women*."

"I'm not women," she gestured with her arm towards the door, "I'm your friend and friends are supposed to help eachother out!"

"Friends, eh? Where th'feck were ye when I was feckin' EVICTED?" He pulled himself off of the human bed to limp to the 'water' bed that had either been reinstalled since his return, or had never been removed. "Where were ye when I was sick? Where was anyone??" He snapped.

"Well I'm not all knowing! No one told me you were evicted, because I would have let you stay with me, or sick for that matter. When the ******** did that happen?" She ranted, eyebrow raising at the water bed, obviously impressed and getting several unnatural ideas.

He clung to the side of it, "weeks ago!" He managed. He was sick of this. Sick of being the butt of the universe. It seemed to hate him, so he decided to hate it in return with equal, if not greater distaste.

"If I had known, I would have helped you," she explained, taking a step or so towards the tank. It wasn't long before she was curiously running her fingers through the water inside. "This is ******** sweet."

"Feckin' improvement from th'bloody *lake.*" He grunted, running his tongue over his oddly shaped teeth indignantly.

She was silent for a bit before, finally murmuring, "I'm sorry I didn't help." God, all this for sex.

"Aint yer fault. Aint no one's fault. S'pose it's me own damn fault," He muttered, rubbing his nose with the tip of a tentacle as he eased a leg over the side and into the water.

Nodding, Antony absently dipped her hand deeper into the tank. That could be fun. Chilly, but fun. "Let me cheer you up..." She wasn't leaving till she was good and tired.

"I aint in th'mood."

"Moods can change."

"Feck off! T'ink aboo' someone other than yerself fer once," He growled.

She gave a low snarl, trying and failing to hold back her irritation. "If I remember correctly, it was me who came over here and helped your inky a** up off the floor and cleaned you up after Aubrey left you high and dry."

"Aye, an' I t'anked ye fer it."

"I don't understand why you won't just help me then! It's not like I made you beg for help!" Without thinking, she closed the distance between them and angrily shook an index finger in his direction.

"Because I'm FECKED UP, y'dumb b***h! I'm SICK an' I'm DONE!"

"Done with WHAT?! It's just me!"

"WOMEN, y'dumb b***h!"

She looked at him with a mixture of horror and anger. First Vasile, and now him. "********! You're turning gay too?! Moreau did that to Vasile and..."

"I aint feckin' GAY!" He snapped, wrything with anger now, "Y'don' e'en CARE do ye??"

"You're head's so far up your a** complaining and whining about how bad you have it and how no one likes you. Then you push anyone away that actually CARES about you so that you can keep up the 'woe is me' song and dance routine!" She spat, stepping so that her face was less than six inches from his. "I'm here. I care. Stop the pity party."

He sputtered,brows raised as he wobbled back away from her, tentacles clinging to the side of his pool-bed.

She held her ground, eyes narrowing as she tried to smother out her anger. Part of her was surprised he hadn't retorted back.

"So wha', y'want t'use me fer a sex toy, then? Tha' it? No one else woul' shag yer furry arse, so y'turn t'ol' Bill, eh?"

"If I wanted a sex toy, then I would't be here you slimy oaf. I'm sorry if mastaurbating all day isn't my style." She said defensively, relaxing somewhat after a moment and rubbing her hands over her face and then through her longer hair. "******** aye, nothing's easy with you is it?"

"Y'coul' ha' at least tried t'seduce me fers'."

"I didn't think I'd have to play games with you," Antony replied, frowning slightly. "I mean, it was damn good the last time, so I figured..." Shrugging, she gave him a slightly apologetic look, but it was obvious that she was still extremely frustrated.

"Well a lo' has happened since th'last time, hasn' it?" He grunted, frowning at the water befor finally climbing in the rest of the way. He was feeling dry and cakey and it gave him a reason not to look at her.

She watched him settle into his tank curiously, letting her hand once again dip into the cool water. "Can you breathe underwater?" Experimentally, she moved a finger to poke the closest sucker.

"As of ye' who knows, bu' maybe t'morrow, eh?" He laughed weakly. The tentacle twitched, wriggling to wrap around her finger curiously.

"Tell me when you can, because I'm sure we could get creative with it," she smiled. Antony raised an eyebrow at the tentacle moments later, but said nothing.

His eyebrows raised. It was terrible, but he couldn't help but htink of hte videos he had just been so engrossed in over the past few days.

"Ah, there's the Billy I remember," she gave him a cheeky grin, wiggling the captured finger. It was a strange, but not entirely disgusting.

"Y'aint gonna' sic any' other ex boyfriends on me, are ye?"

It took her a minute to figure out who he meant, and she frowned, shaking her head. "He was still mad about you trying to choke me, and I don't have boyfriends." There was a definate negative connotation to the last word.

"Yer Beau, then, if'n tha's how y'wanna' be aboo' it," He snorted, settling back in the water more comfortably, leaning against the back rest as he switched on the jets with a tentacle. Definatly a step-up from the lake.

"No," Antony said firmly, "Just friends, with sex. I don't date anymore." It was obvious that it was a sore subject for her. She looked both jealous and intrigued when the jets turned on in the tank.

"I was almost married once, y'know," He admitted idly. "An' there's a couple beers left in th'fridge I think."

"You never seemed the marrying type. Before or after the drugs came into the picture?" Antony tugged at the captured finger lightly, mostly to continue experimenting with the limb.

"Er... come t't'ink o' it, th'drugs were probably caused by th'bloody engagement," He frowned, brows furrowing. He tugged back, the little suckers making squishing suctiony pops and left little round red marks. "Y'could a' least get a drink fer' me, Cheaks."

"Well you'll have to let go and stop giving me hickeys on my finger first," she chuckled, scratching an itch on her stomach lazily.

He tugged it free, "Go git' th'cripple a drink."

"You should say 'please'," she teased, but made her way to the fridge, pulling out a beer and heading back. "You don't seem like the marrying type... No offense."

"It was one o' them... acception-types," He grunted, waving a tentacle irritably, "I was tricked into it."

"That's most women for you," she muttered, dangling the drink in front of him.

He had figured out how to open a beer with his suckers and tentacle tips durring his hermit-period. He popped the top cooly to bring it to his blue lips. "I noticed."

"It's part of our nature," she said with a shrug, dipping her hand back into the tank, absently playing with one of the jets.

"Feckin' manipulatin', usin' vultures, th'lot o' ye," He snorted. "Got any cigarettes?"

"Look at history, it's the only way women could get by." Her dry hand dug into her pocket and produced a pack of cigarettes, "I only have enough for a good post sex smoke though..."

He regarded her while savoring the taste of the beer that was usually far too much effort to get up to retrieve, and nodded, "Alrigh' then."

"Alright then what?" Her fingertip brushed against the side of a nearby tentacle.

It quivered, snaking toward her as another crept up the side of the tub as well, "Ye came in here all detirmined, were'd yer sass go?"

"To the back burner. Manipulative woman remember?" At what seemed to be a challenging statement, Antony raised her eyebrows and set the pack on the nearest dry surface.

His tentacles all wrythed in the water, moving to the sides of the tank as though opening up for six armed hug.

She smirked and immediately tugged off her jeans and tank, leaving on her skivvies to simply be a tease as she swung one leg over the side and into the tank. Once in she was slightly unsure of how she should situate her limbs, but finally settled for straddling his hips and putting her hands on either side of his head.

His tentacles curled around her, his mouth pulled back into a harp-toothed grin, "I smell wet furr."

She chuckled low in her throat, closing her eyes somewhat at the more than strange feeling of his limbs on both her fur and skin. "And what do you intend to do with it?"

"Shave y'bald?" He snickered, the tentacles snaking and coiling around her arms and middle and tails.

Her tails jerked, not exactly wanting to be captured, it seemed. "That'd take a lot of razor blades." She breathed, flicking a chunk of his hair with her index finger.

"An' probably real hands, eh?"

"Probably," she murmured, glancing as his limbs worked on trapping her there.

"Ye've been captured by th'sea monster."

"Am I supposed to play damsile now?"

He tightened his grip, suckers sliding over her wet furr. There was teh subconcious octopussian desire to take a bite out of the prey he had caught in his arms, but he managed to ignore it, instead leaning his head up to her muzzle. Alright. She was a hideous furry beastly monster rodent, but hell, he had seen her befor, and he wasn't one to talk when it came to disgusting. Beggers couldn't be choosers- this went for both of them, he figured.

She gasped softly at the tightening, the squirrel side of her automatically become fearful. It was going to eat her! Like him, somehow she managed to ignore her animal's urges, and met him in a firm kiss.

He gave a small, low groan in the back of his throat, "Las' time I kissed someone, I vomited ink all over 'em."

She blinked, attempting to pull back and away somewhat so she could register what he had just said. "And that's supposed to turn me on how?"

"Jes' reminiscin'!" He huffed, pulling back as well.

"O...kay?" Antony wasn't exactly sure why he thought it good to bring up, but in the end she was still horny and trapped in his tentacles.

"Ne'er mind," He seemed like he was getting crouchy again, lips pursing. She didn'ts eem to care why he was origonally apprehensive. Fine. If that was the basis of their friendship, pity sex and calling out favors on eachother, than fine. He had mostly said it to try to make her laugh, but also to get it off of his chest. Let the images of the horror stick in his head, then. Let them rot there. His stomach churned. Maybe it wasn't octopus mating season.

She sighed roughly at his expression, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "It's not that I don't care... The timing was just, awkward." Pausing, she glanced down at him, her mood, despite how desperate, was quickly mellowing. "If you want to just talk, that's fine... I just can't concentrate on both sex and meaningful conversation at the moment." God, she had a knack for picking the moody men for sex partners.

"Nah, yer already in th'water," He grunted, "I was jes' tryin' t'make y'laugh."

"M'sorry I didn't get it," she murmured, letting her fingers trail through his hair before she cupped his cheek and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Can you ever forgive me?" Came an overly dramatic response in attempts to lighten his mood somewhat.

He gave a snort, kissing her hairless chin, "Depends on how y'make it up t'me."

The squirrel woman was relieved, and cracked a smile when he kissed her chin. "Hmm... Anything you particularly crave?"

"Besides fish?"

"Yes, besides fish."

"I don' know wha's better'n fish," He offered playfully, eyes halflidded and eyebrows raised.

She huffed in mock offense, "I'd like to think that I'm more delectable than fish."

"I've ne'er eaten squirrel b'fer."

"But I've eaten calamari," she replied, making a dismissive gesture with her free hand, "It was okay."

"Aint tha' squid?" his tentacles slid between her furry breasts, suckers tugging at the wet furr.

"Maybe? They had little wee octopi in the dish too... It was creepy." A soft sigh left her lips before she reached behind her with one hand and easily unclasped her bra.

He gave a laugh, "Hearin' y'say 'wee'-" He hadn't yet mastered the art of tentacle-bra-removal just yet. Not enough practice.

She grinned, letting the article slide off before she tossed it atop the normal bed, shivering slightly at the cold.

"I can turn up th'heat here, y'know," He ran his odd teeth along the skin of her neck, kissing softly.

She shuddered at the entirely new sensation, "Can you now?" Her hand returned to playing through his hair, encouraging him.

His free tentacle went to the controls, indeed turning it up a notch. It was still fairly cool, but not as cold as befor. He wasn't about to make octopus soup.

An noise of approval slipped her lips at the temperature increase. This was a damn nice setup he had here.

His mouth twitched into a wide, fishy grin, knowing what she was thinking, "Nice aint it?"

"Pretty damn," she replied, nodding slightly in approval.

"Was a-" he coughed strategically, "Present from th'she-Doc."

"I may have to request a few things myself..." She trailed off, letting her fingertips run along the side of the tank, "Do ya'think they'd install a pole in my duplex if I wanted?" A smirk appeared on her muzzle.

"That, I'd love t'see," He couldn't help but chuckle.

"Hmm... I may just do that then," she murmured, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

His tentacles slid up around her again, becoming a bit more invasive of her personal space.

A slightly surprised chittering noise left her lips before she relaxed against him and his limbs.

"Cor, eh?" His lower tentacles had wrapped around her legs, holding her down in the water like a vicious sea monster.

She made another, more throaty, pleasant noise as her eyes half lidded, "Now where's your 'sass'?"

He pulled her down against him, pressing his lips against her's with a playfull chuckle, "Feckin' b***h."

She gave a girlish yelp of surprise, but was silenced by his kiss, which the squirrel girl deepened. A hand moved to trail through the hair at the nape of his neck, encouraging him.

It was funny how his hairline had altered since the last time they had lay together- quiet, terrible hints towards the fact that his hair situation was undoubtably the opposite of the rodent-woman's.

Antony, for the time being, paid no attention to his hairline, engrossed in other ministrations and not so easily distracted. The tentacles weren't -that- hard to overcome, especially after a long drought. Any drink was a welcome one.



The sun had long set and post-intercorsal cigarettes had been lit. Billy's duplex had been rendered even messier than he had already left it, spilt ink and water splattered about, the stink of fish and wet furr even thicker than befor. The octopus lay sprawled out on the ground, his many limbs limp where they were entangled, save for the one that was coiled around his cigarette.

Having been the one to light said smokes, Antony tossed the lighter in the general direction of her discarded pants. She glanced down at a few, fishy smelling black stains on her fur and her stomach churned. Still entangled, her only option was to close her eyes and try to forget about the dark substance.

Billy sighed, exhailing the thick grey smoke in slow, lazy clouds about his face. His face twitched anxiously, tentacles tentitively sliding across the damp carpet as though subconciously searching for somehting.

As soon as she was able to slip free of his grips, the squirrel woman made her way to stand, offering him an arm up if he wanted. "Mind terribly if I use your shower before my fur is permenantly black?" She tried to make it sound as casual as possible, but she really didn't want to look like a dalmation squirrel on top of everything else.

"Sorry bou' tha'. No' much I kin' do aboo' it," his teeth were stained in the cracks, his beard sticky with the dried substance. He had come to pretend those instances where his preverbial 'weak blatter' couldn't be controlled. He didn't blame her. He wrapped a tentacle around her arm, letting her help him up and continued to hold onto her as he stood for support.

She waved it off, wrapping her other arm around his torso to help support him before pressing a quick, comforting kiss to the top of his head. "Bed or tank? I'll grab you a wet towel from the bathroom if you want too?"

"Tank, an' a towel'ed be lovely," He murmured gruffly, violet eyes lockedo n the pillows of his dry-bed interestedly.

Nodding, Antony helped him over to the tank before heading into the bathroom to retrieve him a wet towel, as promised. Once delivered, she ducked in to take a shower as quickly as possible. "Shouldn't take me -too- long." She called, having not bothered to shut the door.

"Take yer' time!" He called idly, trying to sound non-chalant as he sat up in his tank, extending a tentacle out to grope under the tussled sheets and ink-stained pillowcases, finding what was left of Moreau's current provisions. Glancing over his shoulder to the steamy reflection of the squirrel woman, he filled a sucker at the tip of his tentacle, giving himself a little pick-me-up. Just a little. A tiny pinch. He didn't want to run out. The b*****d had cut back on the amount given- if he stretched it he could just barely get through the week untill the next drop-off. He sagged back into the water with a relieved sigh.

Antony had no choice but to take her time, after all she had five tails to wash, among the ink stains on her white fur. After a deal of scrubbing, a grey spot lingered where the ink used to be, and it seemed to be as good as she'd be able to get it for now. Ugh. Eventually, she stepped from the shower, one towel wrapped around her while she used the other to attempt to dry her five extra limbs. She sat down on the edge of the bed, sniffing and wrinkling her nose a bit before shrugging it off. Probably some strange octopus smell that she wouldn't want to identify anyways. "Feeling better?"

He gave a groan, grinning up at her fondly, "Ach, aye, much! Yerself?"

She offered him a small, albiet sincere smile as she continued to towel dry her tails, "Good, and much better."

"Excellent!" He certainly seemed to have perked up since they had finished, rubbing his tentacles over his chest and fiddling with his webbing as though fascinated by his own slimy texture. "Glad t'hear I wasn' a waste o' time!" At that, he laughed sharply.

Her smile faded to a more placid expression, though the way he was acting brought back a bit of foul deja vu, and she gave him a perplexed look. But Sabin had taken it all away right? Of course he had. Just post sex high then.

"I had more cigarettes, jes' don' know where they went to... where do y't'ink they coul' ha' gone? Feckin'- ah yeah! Look under th'bed there- carefull o' th'broken glass-"

Antony gave him a second, more inquisitive glance before looking under the bed carefully. "Why the hell are they under here with broken glass?" Carefully, she plucked the carton and shook it just to be sure before making a questioning motion of tossing it to him.

"I go' frustrated th'other moment," He huffed, glaring heatedly at her as though challenging his decision to drunkenly throw a bottle across the room.

Her fur bristled at the sudden turn around of Billy's attitude, and she frowned deeply. "It was just a question... Where'd your good mood go?" Maybe she should ask where his stash of whatever was hiding. Unless octopi got PMS...? She was pretty sure that didn't happen though.

"It aint gone no where!"

She raised her eyebrows, expressing that she thought otherwise.

"Wha' about you? Gonna' give me a bloody f** 'r no?" A tentacle-like hand uncoiled in her direction pointedly.

Sighing roughly, she ran a hand through her hair and over her face before handing him the pack. "Have at it."

"Thanks," He grunted, back to his recently usual ill tempered and bitter self, groping on the shelf beside his tank for his mathces.

Her eyes were narrowed once more at his sudden dismissal of her, and she stood up, careful to avoid the broken glass, moving to get dressed. "You're on something, and I honestly rather like the man who was with me before I went to shower... Ink spills and all... To how you're acting now." It was obvious she was angry that she was just being tossed aside after they were supposed to be 'friends'. At least, that's one of the things he had bitched about earlier.

"Wha' th'feck're y'talkin' abou'? Y'barge in here, demandin', an' now yer bein' tetchy because I go' a bit o' glass under me bed! I'll bet there's glass SOMEWHERE in yer's!"

"It's NOT the glass that's bothering me!" She snapped, not really willing to get in range of eight limbs of angry Billy. "You... How are you getting it? I thought someone stole your stash?!" It was the only explanation.

"How th'feck woul' y'know tha'?" He snapped, brows furrowed, and eyes widening.

"This," she gestured to him angrily, "Is how you acted before you lost it. ******** Billy!" A growl escaped her muzzle, and she looked almost frustrated. "I thought you quit that..."

"I di'! Wha'? Y'thin' I'm crazy?" He said in an offended tone, sitting back away from her in his tank. "Where th'feck d'y't'ink I got it anyway? Me purple arse?"

She pursed her lips and ran her hands over her muzzled face, "It was taken away months ago..." Despite the question being addressed to her, she spoke to herself, as if trying to fit puzzle pieces together. "...Said it was too risky for the hard stuff..." Finally, she spoke to him, brain still mulling over things in the background, "You're a better, more attractive man without it... Just quit it! ******** I'll even help you get over it..." Somehow, she knew the offer wouldn't go over too well, but after seeing the Billy minus drugs, she especially didn't like this side of him.

Besides, it's not like there was much to do on the island anyways.

"Y'don' know wha' yer talkin' aboo!" He snapped back, his face reddening.

"I've seen both sides, so I'm allowed to form my own opinions about which I like better thanks," she barked, tails bristling.

"Tha's a bloody lie! I know fer a fact y'aint ne'er seen *my* side!"

"I meant you being a pleasant guy you were before I took a shower, versus the guy you were when you tried to kill me! I can't see it from your side."

"Then y'obviously can't see it from both sides, can ye??"

"Stop twisting my words god damnit!" She snarled suddenly, shaking a finger threateningly in the direction of him in his tank. "You and your ******** pity party are getting old. No wonder no one visits you!"

"I din' ask ye over here! Y'came over on yer own!" He grappled with the side of his tub, his right arm and tentacle wriggling for his fallen crutch. "If y'don' like me, than feckin' get OUT!"

"I don't hate you Billy. I hate the coke, plain and simple." Her face contorted in a look of pained frustration. She wanted to help, but he was being an a*****e. A rough sigh later, she glanced over at him and tried to soften her voice and features, "I just want to help... Really. I'll even stay here for a while if you want?" Something told her this wasn't going to go over well either.

He grunted, hoisting himself up and out to head towards the back door leading towards the bald patch of earth that had become of his forgotten garden.

Antony threw her arms up in the air, but followed him outside after a while, too stubborn to let this die like this.

He leaned on his crutches as he light another cigarette, ignoring her presence.

"So now you're going to ignore me?" She asked, standing firmly in front of the way back inside.

"I don' know wha' y'want from me," He grumbled, sitting in his lawn chair heavily as he exhailed a thick bout of smoke.

"To give up coke," she answered honestly before rubbing her face and sighing, "Which apparently you can't do... So I'm offering to help. I'm sure the labs would help too. Maybe I could stay with you?"

"Why d'I need t'give it up?" He grunted. "It aint yer problem, is it? I aint botherin' ye wit' it."

"Because there are other ways to feel good other than drugs," she stated firmly, but in a kinder tone. "Because it's one of the few things you can choose not to do on this island."

"An' I choose t'keep usin' it. ******** off."

"Fine," she snapped, "I'm going to talk to that overly sympathetic doctor... Aubrey. Tell her you're back on coke and a danger to her precious Colche." It was far from an empty thread. "I didn't want to have to resort to this, just to let you know Billy."

"How d'ye know I'm back on anythin'? How can y'make an assumption li' that? She aint gonna believe ye!"

"But she'll check it out. If it'll protect Colche... You remember what she did to you and you were set up!"

"I aint talked t'colche in ni' on a MONTH, lass."

"Do you think Aubrey will take a chance when it comes to her?! You and I both know she won't. Besides, what's the big idea? If I'm wrong then I'll get on my knees and apologize to you."

"Regardless," He chuckled, looking smug and missing the squirrel woman's point, "It aint gonna' be colche she's worried aboo'."

She narrowed her eyes, "Oh? Then who will she be worried about?"

Billy said nothing, but the smile didn't fade.

She gave him a moment to reconsider, staring him down before turning on her heel suddenly and running for the back door. Once inside, she quickly shut and locked it, "You should have taken the help!" And then she immediately crossed the duplex to lock the front door as well.

"OY! OY!! Wha' d'y'think yer doin'??" He snarled, rolling from the chair to pull himself back up on his crutch, "Get out o' there!!"

"No." She said simply, disappearing into the bathroom to get a wastebin to put the broken glass into. Cleaning this place would be the best way to find anything. That and it wound't make her feel as guilty.

He rushed up to the back window, pounding a tentacle against it frantically, only to get the suckers stuck, "Hoy! HOY! Get out o' there!!"

She ignored him, carefully making her way to the bed, picking up trash along the way and generally tidying up.

"OY!" He slammed the crutch against the window, shouting profanities and general disgruntled protest as he wobbled.

Antony jumped at the sudden noise, but generally paid him no real attention as she cleaned, straightening his stuff as she searched. Trash was thrown away, and she honestly looked as if she were just cleaning. After the chests and drawers, she moved towards the bed.

"YE FECKIN' b***h DONCHA' IGNORE ME!"

"You're wasting your energy," she called back towards him as she shucked the dirty sheets off into a pile away from the broken glass and tank. From there, she began carefully picking up the larger chunks of glass and tossing them into the trash can.

"Why've y'locked me out! Let me in, y'mad b***h!"

"Because you won't take the god damn initiative, that's why," she replied, standing up and making her way to the closet. Maybe there was a dust pan or something inside?

"I need WATER!"

At this, she turned and looked at him with a frown, but she shrugged. "The cafeteria isn't far. I shouldn't be too much longer." Retrieving the dust pan and broom, Antony returned to the bed, pushed it out of the way with a grunt, and began sweeping up the broken glass and other dirty things.

"Let me IN! Y'don' gotta' lock me out t'bloody CLEAN!"

"Oh cool your jets," she snipped, dumping the contents of the dust pan into the trash can before setting the broom, pan, and can aside. Lifting the mattress, she scanned underneath it before her eyes caught sight of what she had been looking for. With a balanced lean, she picked up the baggy and eyed it before glancing over to Billy. "You know I hate liars."

His skin bleached out white in splotches across his face and down his shoulders, tentacles still stuck to the window, "HOY!! HOY!! LEAVE THA' ALONE!!" He shreiked in horror.

She jumped at his sudden skriek, tails bristling automatically before a look of pity came across her features. For a moment, she looked unsure of what to do, and tenatively glanced towards the intercom.

He spluttered, ink dribbling from his beard in his panic as he wrapped a tentacle around the doorknob, rattling it desperatly, "C'MON! C'MON I KIN' EXPLAIN!!"

"Explain through the door then," she said coolly, carefully folding the baggy and sticking it in her pocket for how.

"I need it!!"

"It needs to be better than that."

"I bloody EARNED Tha'! Now give it BACK!"

"How?!"

"Aint none o' yer business!!"

She scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest and raising an eyebrow. "Since I have the blow, you best be explaining."

"I CAN'T!" He snapped, "Let me IN!"

Antony shook her head and simply began to make her way to the intercom.

"Get BACK HERE! Where're y'goin'? C'mere t'me!!"

"I warned you. Dr. Lockhart needs to know about this."

"STOP!" He screamed, slamming the crutch against teh window as though it would do something other than set him off balance.

She jumped, again, and stopped her progress towards the intercom, placing her face in her hands. The squirrel woman was torn between what was 'right' and the pathetic screams of the man outside.

Although he had fallen, his tentacles remained stuck to the glass and he was able to slowly pull himself up, "Don'cha' t'ink I'm miserable enough already??" He moaned.

"Billy," she croaked between her fingers, "He has that much more control over you with this." By then, she had put two and two together. God she felt like crap.

"Wha' do I care??" He moaned, "Wha' do I bloody care?? He's go' EVERYTHIN' let 'im jes' give me SOMETHIN'!!"

"God damnit. If you're not going to have any resolve, then I will for you. I can't sit here and let someone I care about fall to pieces." As a friend she added in her head. "Look at yourself Billy. Look at how pathetic this drug has made you?" The squirrel woman pulled the bag back from her pocket and shook it.

His wide, violet eyes were glued on it hungrilly, terrified that it would meet some sort of horrible doom, leaving him stranded untill Moreau's next deposit. "I aint pathetic! Y'don' understand!" He babbled.

"So if I flushed it down the toilet, you wouldn't have a breakdown?" She asked point blank, her own discolored eyes watching him intently.

"Ye wouldn'!"

"Try me," she countered.

"N-now... c'mon, now, aint no reason fer tha'-" He pulled himself upright again, leaning against hte window iwth a desperate, hungry expression, "If ye were me.... friend.. ye'd leave me be!"

"No, because I'm your friend, I'm going to help you. It's made you fall so far that you can't see a way out, so don't try and guilt me." She frowned, trying and failing to keep the pity from her eyes.

"Fine," she snapped. Her frown deepened, and once more she turned on her heel and headed directly towards the intercom. Pressing zero, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the baggy.

"Main Facilities," the bored male voice on the other end chimed. "Who do you need?"

Still, Billy seemed to refuse to move or say anything, his coloring greying slightly with light shades of brown in splotches akin to the ground he sat on.

"Aubrey," she stated clearly and almost angrily, "It's an emergency."

The line clicked over the moment she finished her sentence. "Dr. Lockheart, what's wrong?"

In her office she frantically tried to pull up Billy's video feed on her computer, cusring under her breath when she couldn't seem to.

"It's Antony... Listen, I'm at Billy's duplex, which you probably know. Long story short... I uh, locked him out and searched the place. I found a bag of blow under his mattress..." She said quickly, lifting the bag into clear view and shaking it lightly. "See."

"That.... HOW? I had this place searched top to bottom before he was released from the hospotal! Do you know where he got it? Is he okay?"

"That's what I was trying to find out!" Antony exclaimed, "Well, depends how you define 'okay'. He's not in mortal peril or anything, but he has one large stick up his fishy a** that's for sure."

"Thats pretty par for the course for him." She ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "Maybe I should come down there/"

She shook her head, "But before I showered he was... God this sounds strange, but sweet? Well... He was being nice, is all." The question was left unanswered, as Antony still wasn't sure if that was a good idea.

"Someone's supplying him, I think... But Dr. Duvert said that you all couldn't get hard drugs..."

"The only person who even could get hard drugs if they wanted to is..." Aubrey stopped mid sentence as you could almost hear the click of comprehension. "I'll be down there in a few minutes," she said, her tone changed, the line clicking dead before giving Antony a chance to respond

Billy remained oblivious to the conversation, still giving this "non violent protest" thing a try.

Antony blinked as the line went dead, closing her mouth and frowning, but moving towards the front door quietly nonetheless.

Several minutes later a Jeep could be heard coming down the path. An armed guard was in the driver's seat and a perturned looking Aubrey in the passenger seat, holding down her hat from the wind. The car pulled up near Billy's duplex, Aubrey quickly getting out and heading directly towards the door, knocking quickly.

Hearing the jeep, Antony carefully made her way to the front door, opening the door before Aubrey could even get a second knock out. She didn't want to alert Billy. "He said something, earlier, about having 'earned'
the coke... I just put the pieces together. Oh, I think I still have the shirt you left here. Ah, before you were attacked. You look good," she added as an afterthought.

"Earned it?" she said, sounding very confused. "How the hell-"

She was cut off by Antony's mention of the shirt, making her flounder and turn red. "M..mmy shirt? Oh, uh.. that thing.." she clearned her throat.

"Thanks... I'm feeling better, too...where is he?"

Antony waved her stuttering away, "I didn't want it to stay here, considering what had happened." A meaningful look was given before she motioned her inside. "He's out back. I cleaned up a bit. Felt bad for locking him outside, but damnit he needs to detox."

"Uh, thanks," she said, giving her a tiny, embarassed smile. She went towards the back and opened the door. "Mr. Woodrow," she said on her way out, "We need to talk."

At the sound of her voice, the octopus-man's usual color returned in a flush, befor his face went pale, "Nuh-UH I don' want any!" He scrambled for her crutches, fumbling as he stood.

The squirrel woman followed, stuffing the coke back into her pocket before stepping off to the side, but between the two. Just in case his cranky attitude turned violent again.

She blinked as she watched the color shift, but shook it off. "Where are you getting it, Billy?"

"I flushed that bag Billy," she said sternly, raising her eyebrows at his sudden urge to flee from Aubrey. Hopefully the doctor would remain discrete.

"I don' know wha' yer talkin' aboo'!" He snapped, crutching away from them towards the other side of the garden.

"The blow Billy," Antony explained, knowing damn well he knew what they were talking about. "I showed Dr. Lockhart."

Aubrey crossed her arms, looking over Billy with a hard to read expression. "I want to know where you're getting it. Who the hell is supplying you?"

"It's too late now! Ye've gone an' spoiled it, so it's too late, aint it??" He snapped back unhelpfully, making no move to stop his slow-paced flee.

As she moved to absently block the doorway back into the duplex, she glanced to Aubrey. "My guess is he can't say who, or else the line goes dry... Maybe worse."

"This doesn't make any sense. There's no way anyone can get hard stuff." She looked back to Billy. "Which means your supplier's going to run out eventually anyway. Unless you kill yourself first."

"No' tha' I haven' TRIED!"

"Remember when you tried to kill ME too?" She countered suddenly, "Because you thought I had stolen your precious white, powder lover?"

"You have a problem, Billy," she said, shaking her head. "I'm -" she galced quickly to Antony, "we're trying to help. Maybe you won't be sure a hurry to die once you're off this s**t!"

At that, the octopus man turned sharply, ""Why do either o' ye feckin' CARE?? Y'don' know me! Y'don' got any use fer me other'n scratchin' bloody ITCHES in yer UTERISESES!!"

His tentacles flailed and coiled angrilly, his teeth and the corners of his lips glistening with seeping ink.

It was Antony's turn to get angry, but she made sure to take a step back so that she didn't get inked on, "********. You. I don't ever ******** want anything in my uterus ever again." She gave a snarl, shaking her

head as her tails bristled behind her. "If I promise that I won't ever ask you for sex again then would you believe I'm really just trying to help?" This was obviously, not a lie.

Aubrey bristled as well. "Oh please," she planted her hands on her hips. "Nothing happened between us and you damn well know it!

But I do care about you, and I'm sick of seeing you do this to yourself. I don't care if you believe me or not but I won't stand for this."

"FECK BOTH O' YE!! If y'had any RESPECT Fer me, ye'd jes' LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"If you had any respect for YOURSELF, then you'd have kept with the first god damn detox and we wouldn't all be here like this!"

"Thats the problem," Aubrey said to Antony. "I don't think he does. Probably thanks to this vicious cycle."

"Neither o' ye got ANY IDEA!" He spat, taking a few steps back towards them, looking utterly livid. His skin had splotched with red about his face and down his shoulders.

"I'm sure we don't, but it's not like you've let anyone in I'm sure." If at all possible, Antony seemed a little more on her toes, the squirrel ready to flee like the wind should he lash out.

"You're not the easiet person to crack," she said in response to Antony. "You don't exactly treat the people who might actually give a damn with much reason to stay around."

"Than why don' ye bloody GO already?? If ye don' got a reason t'stay??" He reached them again, gritting his altered teeth in anger.

"Because we're here to get you HELP, regardless of what your emoing brain seems to thing." Antony took another step out of tentacle range, clearly paying attention to his movements much as a prey would.

Aubrey on the other hand stood her ground, staring Billy in the eyes, though her confidence seemed only skin-deep. She motioned and nodded along with Antony. "Exactly."

"I DON' NEED ANY BLOODY HELP! Now GIVE IT BACK or GO!" He hollared, "I'm sick an' tired o' bloody GAMES!"

"I TOLD you. I flushed it! And I'll ******** wait outside your door in case you have an appointment with your lovely lady white. If I'm buzzed down... It won't be hard to put two and two together, now will it."

A pointed look was given to Aubrey, signalling that she had a damn good idea what was going on. "******** Billy, I said I'd stay with you for support."

"You're not getting it back. YOu're not getting any more. I'm going to find out where you're getting it and put a stop to it!"

"I DON' NEED SUPPORT! I DON' NEED A BLOODY INTERVENTION! I *KNOW* I'm addicted!! It's bloody obvious!! Th'thing is, WHO BLOODY CARES?? We're trapped on a God Damned island bein' turned unto ANIMALS! I'm vomitin' ink, bein' hunted an' attacked an' harassed an' tested on! So wha' if I DIE?? It'll be better than changin' again, won' it??"

"Because," Antony said seriously after her face fell into an almost pained expression, "They aren't going to let us die. We're more valuable to them alive... Besides, we all know I'm stubborn, and not only do I want you off the coke, but the lady in charge does. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be a choice for you Billy."

Aubrey's expression faltered as Antony spoke... though there was a truth to it, Aubrey's reaason were far more personal than that, whether or not she could voice them.

"Everyone changes. And there are people here that would help you through it if you let them. How could death possibly be a better solution than that?"

"Are ye kiddin' me?" He huffed. "I jes' want a little buzz, is all! It keeps me goin'! There aint no harm in tha', now is there?" He huffed.

"I think I'm tired of arguing in circles. If you're going to take him Doc, you might as well zap him and take him in now."

Aubrey faltered for a moment. "I can't help him if he's not willing to help himself. If he some kind of supplier on the outside taking him to the labs isn't going to do much good." She shook her head, the confusion evident on her face. "He could forcibly detox him only to come back and get more." She turned her attention back to him, pleading. "Please tell me where you're getting it!"

Billy thought for a moment, his chemically imbalanced brain mulling things over. He wasn't supposed to tell anyone about his drugs. He hadn't told anyone, technically- they had found out. Did that count? Would Moreau go back on his deal because of this? No... no, he wouldn't. But he was supposed to avoid Aubrey- and here she was, not leaving him alone. Would he go back on the deal now? His stomach was in knots. s**t. s**t, ******** and damnation. That was it, then, wasn't it? He'd find a way... another way. Moreau wanted to play games with him? Fine. Billy would play games. "Y'wanna know where I got it?" The octopus man tried to look as dignified as he could, purple, naked and on crutches.

Antony blinked, not expecting Billy to actually spill the beans. This was a surprise, and she had a feeling that they had put him into a damned if you do damned if you don't sort of situation.

Regardless, she nodded cautiously, giving a sidelong glance towards Aubrey before bringing her attention back to Billy.

Aubrey crossed her arms and nodded. She had no idea what Billy was about to say, but she didn't expect a straight answer. Regardless, she couldn't deny her anticipation to see what he came up with.

He stalked towards her, violet eyes locked on the she-doctor's face as he came up to her face to face, "Who d'y't'ink? Someone who wanted t'keep me occupied. Someone who was... threatened." His mouth twisted into a wicked grin.

Her inklings were confirmed, and Antony turned her entire attention onto Aubrey. No words came to her, and she held her breath. This could either go really well, or really sour.

Aubrey felt her the corner of her eye twitch as she struggled to keep her expression neutral. The suspicion had been there for a while, but she had nearly refused to believe it. She didn't allow herself to examine it too closely... and she knew deep down it was because she was afraid of finding an answer she didn't want to find. It was several moment before she felt confident enough to talk without her voice wavering. "You can't possibly be seriously implying what I think you are..."

"Tha' dear ol' Doc obviously is fascinated by th'effects o' cocaine on octopusses. At least enough t'keep me from ooglin' his girly." He spat to the side, a mixture of siliva and left over ink.

The only noise she made was a deep sigh as she took a slight step out of the way of the spit spot.

"That's absurd!" she exclaimed, though there was an unmistakable look of panic in her eyes. "Moreau is not the kind of man who's going to feel threatened by.. by..." she looked him over, motioning with her hands, stopping herself some saying something too damaging. "...by a subject."
She gave a flustered sigh and reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose, something she always did out of nervous habit. "Don't you hate me now, anyways? What's the point... this makes no sense!"

Billy didn't answer, "There. Ye lot happy now? Get off o' my damn property." He was frowning, his face splotching with red.

"Oh come now dear, men are inately territorial, regardless of whether they're being turned into an animal or not. Don't tell me -you- wouldn't feel threatened if there was suddenly a hotter, skinnier, and sexier woman that not only had the brains to match, but also had the same... Love of playing God as your lover does. Would you not feel threatened? And then, on top of that irking feeling of jealousy and betrayal, you catch him with his pants down and that other lovely lady rubbing her body up against his. Up against something that belongs... To you." Antony made sure to accentuate many of the details, and her tone had an edge to it. "Now, tell me. If that happened, are you saying that you wouldn't feel the least bit... Threatened by this other woman? Would you want her to stay away from your lover...? How about fired?" She shrugged suddenly, smiling, "Hypothetically speaking, that is..."

Aubrey's voice sounded much less confident now, but she leveled her gaze on Antony. "First of all that argument is implying that Moreau would view Billy as an equal, which he most certainly does not."

There was obviously a nerve struck somewhere... her eyes barely concealing a rage of some kind. "And just for your information there is someone like that... but...but I trust Nicholas! I certainly am not trying to plot to get her fired..." Well, that was certainly bordering on a flat out lie. Maybe not fired... but definitely undermined. "...and I certainly wouldn't reduce to getting her high in order to "distact" her from him. That's just absurd! We're running a scientific experiment around here if you two haven't noticed and though they might not have covered this in freshman biology, pumping up your subjects full of cocaine interfered with the scientific method!" She shot looks between the two of them. "Moreau wouldn't risk wasting his investment on you because of some stupid crush. And don't fool yourself, this isn't your property."

Billy nodded, his expression blank, "Righ' then. Why don' ye go ask him yerself where I got it. If I aint welcome here in this home ye lot so
Bilious42: graciously gave me and take away constantly, then I know where I belong." That said, he turned to crutch his way towards the path that cut through hte jungle from his back yard.

"Touche," she commented, obviously not phased by the other woman's defensive rant. It was to be expected, after all. "Well considering I'm the one around her with the extensive experience with men, both sexual and friendly... I'd like to think that I've had the opportunity to test out my hypotheses on a wider sample size, and not just one. Though, I may be wrong on that little bit."

She gave Aubrey a look up and down before continuing, "What do you think would anger someone more? Having their lover..." Trailing off, she smirked somewhat, "Or rather fiancee, leave you in the middle of the night to ******** some guy he considers an equal, or someone he's utterly disgusted with?"

"Listen, I'm glad you can see that Billy can be a good man at times, but we all know his weakness for blow... And that's a pretty powerful bargaining chip if you ask me." The squirrel woman shook her head before reaching into her back pocket and pulling out the baggy, which she immediately thrust toward Aubrey before turning her attention to Billy, "Oy. Come back here! I just cleaned your duplex for you!"

"We were on a break!" she exclaimed, throwing up her hands. "And that's not why I came here. AND we didn't do anything - for Chrissakes..."

She fumbled as the baggie, taking it and shoving it in her labcoat pocket, taking after Billy right behind Antony. "Billy, please, stop!" She reached out, placing a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "I didn't kick you out that once."

He turned, knocking her arm away with a tentacle, although it coiled around her wrist uncomfortably tight, "Don' y'DARE touch me!"

"And whether you had sex or not, you still ran to Billy, shirts came off, snogging happened... I'd be jealous if I were him." She said calmly over her shoulder until the other woman was next to her again.

"Think about it, we use our feminine wiles to get what we want, why wouldn't someone bait a drug addict with his favorite white powder to get what he wanted." God this woman was in some serious denial.

At the yell, Antony cringed, stepping in between them and after a moment's thought, attempted to pull the doctor's wrist free. "Let go Billy." She gave Aubrey a chastizing look, "You're going to have marks from this." Moreau was not going to be pleased if he saw them.

Aubrey opened her mouth to respond to Antony when Billy's tentacles went around her wrist. She had to stop herself from knee jerking into screaming the sleep code, instead she just hissed something between her teeth.

But she didn't pull away... she just stared Billy straight in the eyes. She didn't think he would really try to hurt her, a fault in her own arrogance and misplaced confidence.

"My has your tune changed," she said after a moment. "What happened? I haven't spoken to you sense you visited me in the labs and now this?"

"Maybe because I was bloody LOCKED OUT O ME HOME fer weeks after our last visit!!" He snarled, a wetness edging his voice showing that his half formed ink gland was itching to give him trouble again.

Antony could both smell it and hear it, and after giving up on freeing Aubrey, she side stepped out of the projectile inking range.

"Well there you have it." She said, a bit insulted. "I'm certainly risking something being down here trying to help you. Obviously a wasted effort. Fine."

She made a flippant motion with her free hand. "Go ahead and choose Blow over the few people who still actually try to be your friend. See how that works out for you in the end."

to be continued...