Dakota scurries to the forest, he's looking for berries and other forageables. He's so happy! He's busy finding some plants and flowers that they can eat. Not the best food, but it still works! He's just happy to use his knowledge.
Spider is also in the forest hunting. She caught a rabbit and quickly stashes it before continuing.
Joey slowly enters the forest. Among the colors of the forest, he notices a spark of firey hair. He took his glasses off, cleaning them and putting them back on. It was him! He found Dakota! He tried to silently cheer himself on, but it was very audible.
Dakota turned in the direction of the noise. "Hm?" Oh fuck. Fuck! Dakota froze in place, dropping all the things he collected. "Uhm, wolf.. person. We have to get out of here! Now!"
They hear him and trot over in the direction of the two, their fur bristling when they see Joey. They don't recognise him but can tell he's not good news.
"Fucking run! Go!" Dakota tried to run, but he seemed to be stuck in place. He didn't know what to do. Maybe he's crying again.
Joey starts to walk as quickly as he could towards them, he's not going very fast. "Don't you run again! I have you this time!"
They snarl threatingly putting themselves between Dakota and Joey yay protective instincts
"We can.. We.. We can outrun him! I shot his leg, he can't run!" He sobbing actually now. He's got himself to move from his position. "Just go!" Dakota tries to gently pull them along.
They grumble and start to run making sure they don't accidentally loose Dakota.
Dakota runs as fast as he can, he's freaking out though. He keeps looking behind him to see how closely Joey is following him.
It's not close at all. He can't even run with the condition he's in. He actually ends up tripping over an exposed root, losing his lead on Dakota. Defeated, Joey returns to the lab. He needed a better plan.
---
Joey was on the main floor of the lab, trying his best to desperately clean it. It was a disaster, especially after all the things that had just happened.
There was a knock at the door.
Seriously? How did anyone even find this place? Joey grumbled, getting off of the floor he was scrubbing and walking to the door. He had some sort of system set up, speaking through to the outside without needing to open the door. "Who are you? What do you want?"
The man standing on the other side of the door was a 6,1 red head with a brown hat hiding most of his hair. He was wearing a beige shirt with a brown vest with 2 low hanging holsters that rest near his hips with revolvers holstered inside of them and brown eyes to top it all off. He rested his hands on his revolvers, his voice is deep with a small country accent. "I heard you needed some help findin' someone. "
"Well, yes, you've heard correctly. " Joey quickly fumbled with his complicated security system, opening up the door. "Come in, quickly. Ignore the mess."
Andrew stepped in slowly, his boots lightly thudding against the ground. "Seems someone really doesn't like you. " He chuckled deeply.
"Oh, no. Trust me, he absolutely adores me. " Joey rolled his eyes, shutting the door and locking the many locks behind Andrew. "I'll ask again, who are you? Why do you want to help me?"
"Excuse my lack of manners, I'm Andrew and I just thought that it would be somethin' to do, ya'know?"
"Okay, okay. " Joey shrugged, walking over to one of the many counters in the room and grabbing a stack of papers. "I need help looking for Subject 843, or 'Dakota', as he prefers to be called." He handed Andrew some papers.
"This has important information, his description, his history, the nature of his being. You'll need this if you're going to be looking for him."
Andrew took the papers and nodded as he tipped his hat. "I'll keep a look out for him, you have my word. "
"Thank you, will you be needing anything else from me? Money? More weapons? Backup?" Joey pushed up his glasses. "He might look weak, but he can do a number on you if you aren't careful." He points at his clearly wounded leg.
"Do you have any armor? I have more then enough fire power, and no offense to you, but I like my legs." Andrew chuckled lightly.
"Yes, yes, I should have something.. It might be a little outdated, but it can still work for armor. Follow me." Joey waved him over, walking towards the elevator.
Andrew followed him, while holding the papers close to his chest. Joey brought them down a LOT of floors, down to his main experiment floor. He led him down a hallway, into what he considered was his 'lost and found' room.
"I should have some armor in here. Probably from the.. 80's? 90's? I hope that'll work. " He pulled out a few different kinds of armor, all looking somewhat dated and used. Not the best, but it was all he had. "Take your pick. "
Andrew picked the one that looks the least used and put it on his brown vest.
"Thank you, I'll be lookin' for him tomorrow. "
Joey nodded. "Alright, thank you for your assistance. Let me bring you back up and send you on your way. " Joey starts to lead him down the hallway again. It was quite grimey, probably hadn't been cleaned in years. There's lots of rooms with big windows, filled with two or three subjects each. Some are either dismantled in corners, in the middle of malfunctioning, or just wishing they were being let out. They also passed by 'The Zoo', a more open area filled with the more high-tech, better functioning subjects. Most of them ran to the edges of the enclosure to see who the new person was, more specifically to see if it was another subject. "Pay no mind to them, they don't deserve the attention. ".
Andrew looked around with a neutral expression, "Right." They reach the elevator again, Joey basically pushes Andrew inside and sends them back up to the main floor. It takes quite a while.
"843 is severely malfunctioned. I gave him quite a lot of chances, but he's managed to break the rules each time. You've got a lot on your hands. "
"I'll be able to handle him, I'm a sharp shot and quite the charmer, he'll never know what hit'em." Andrew winked as he adjusted his hat.
"Well, I wish you luck nonetheless. " Joey grinned at him as they reached the main floor. "Report back to me anytime you need to, and bring him back to me as soon as you get a hold of him."
Andrew nodded and tipped his head with a smirk. "Roger that." Andrew headed back over to the doors he came in through. Joey scurried over, undoing the many locks and opening the door for Andrew.
"Good day, I hope you do well." Andrew muttered as he walked out, "He'll be mine."
And, Joey's plan was officially in action. :)