--=Male Reader's POV=--
Where am I?
You find yourself in a forest. It feels like the middle of summer, judging by the hot breeze of air, passing through your left arm's fur.
Your fur...
Your... body...
You remember who you are now . But you still don't know what you were.
Suddently... it's cold.
So cold...
The leaves fall off the trees around you, like clothes being torn off someone's body. The trees collapse, the sun's light is gone, and the floor shakes violently, splitting in two.
Panicking, you fall... but fall into what? ... an endless void, perhaps...
Feeling nothing but... despair...
You open your eyes.
It's dark. The room's light turned itself off... At least you wouldn't be reprehended by K for wasting power.
Doctor K...
The button. Should I call him?
If you had a watch, or a phone, you'd check the time... but looking at the dim, dim light peeking out of a nearby window outside his room, you realize it's probably 4 or 5 in the morning.
He did say to press the button if you couldn't sleep... You weren't going to sleep after that, anyways.
You look at the red button behind your bed. Pressing it, you feel a very tactile feedback... and a not-so-distant noise that you could only assume to be coming from Doctor K's room, in the same corridor as yours. Quick steps can be heard as he rushes into your room. He turns on the light.
Dr. K - (Worried) What happened? Are you OK, Pur- eh... What was your name agai-? shuffles through random paperwork on his table
You (Tired) - Calm down, Doctor. I'm fine... just couldn't really sleep.
Dr. K (still worried) - sighs, and keeps looking for something You scared me. Finally, after leaving his table a complete mess, he reads an A5 sheet of paper he holds in his hand.
Alright... AA0107, I'd administrate you a dose of melatonin, but it's currently... checks the time 5:12 AM, and you're supposed to wake up at 8. If I gave you said melatonin, you'd sleep until 11 AM. smiles warmly I can offer you my company, if that pleases you. I usually wake up at 6, so don't worry about me, I'm fine.
You - Thanks, K. I'd... appreciate your company, yes.
K drags a chair from the back of the lab you never really checked. With a quick glance, you see it's quite big for its purpose - it would easily host 3 more rooms like his and still have enough space for the white wolf's computers and physical folders (Who still uses those?) to lie comfortably on his table. Why so much empty space?, you think, not realizing the face behind the mask already sat down, yawning, with a tired look on his face, despite what he claimed earlier.
K - So... what bothers you?
You - Well... I had a bad dream... You cringe at your own voice, sounding like a 4-year-old telling his parents he had a nightmare.
K (with a worried expression) - Do you remember it? Perhaps telling it to me would easen your mind.
You (making an effort) - Not a lot... thinks I remember something about... being in a forest... and then I was falling into nothing... thinks harder, but sighs in frustration I don't know, I can't remember very well.
K (writes down) - Well, that's enough, I guess... scribbles down on his notepad Some people say that dreaming of nature means that you want freedom. looks up Falling into a void is common between teens or children's bad dreams, actually - usually interpreted as feeling like you have no control over your life.
An uncomfortable silence falls between both of you, as you think about what he said, as Lin understands your need to be free. His warm smile disappears, leaving behind a sad face.
Dr. K - I... I can't let you leave. Not yet.
None of you say a word after. You weren't exactly happy with your imprisonment, but if they found a way to fix you back, he wouldn't mind staying some more time.
After what felt like hours, but were mere minutes, in fact, you decide to break the sad, uncomfortable silence by chnaging the subject. Seeing your only friend sad wasn't properly pleasing.
You (nervous voice) - You called me something else, when you rushed into the lab. Puro, was it? Who is he?
His face stays unchanged.
Dr. K (quietly) - Yes. He looks like you, actually. silence He tried to escape the facility a couple days ago. long pause He's responsible for your... eh, transformation.
You - Transformation?
Dr. K - Yes, transformation. I shouldn't tell you this... but yeah. He isn't exactly well-behaved.
You - I see.
If there are more of me, maybe they already found a way to cure us?
But then, they wouldn't have to keep us in, and this whole situation... wouldn't have happened.
Why was he here? Why was he transformed by this "Puro" thing? Did I do something bad to him? I don't remember eating his lunch... yet, I don't remember anything at all.
Dr. K - Hey, uh, I think I haven't given you a mirror yet. You're not exactly ugly, nervous laugh but it can be a shock for some people to see themselves right after what happened.
You - Alright... Sure, send one in. I hope I'm not that bad-looking.
As K looks for a mirror, you can't help but to wonder who this Puro guy was. Maybe he wasn't that bad after all, and was just tired of being fed KitKats and having nothing to do.
You remember your Cat Encyclopedia, laying next to your bed. Maybe he liked cats as well? You could bring him a book, and perhaps become friends with him? You can't really stay mad at Puro, since you're not here because you want to. What if he became one of... whatever you were, and was revolted by his own fate?
The sound of a plastic object interrupts your train of thought. Standing there is a violent pink-toned mirror. Clearly it wasn't new, since it had some... bite marks?... on its handle. Part of the glass was held by transparent tape.
You're afraid of picking the mirror up after hearing what K said - was it that bad?
Doctor K notices your reluctance, but says nothing. He didn't want to make you do anything.
The hell with it. At least, he wouldn't have to be afraid of one thing for the rest of his life.
You pick up the mirror. With a deep breath, you close your eyes, hoping for the best and not preparing for the worst.
You open your eyes and...
You look... different.
Black fur covers your whole face, and over it is a white mask, kind of like a Carnival festival-themed thing. You reach for your mask, but Dr. K interrupts your move.
Dr. K - I wouldn't do that if I were you. Your mask gives you life. If you remove it... you won't live to tell the tale.
You sigh.
You - That fate looks more appealing than my current situation. You move your hand aside, and decide to throw the mirror with the other, falling down to the floor yourself, almost crying, clumsily laying down as you cursed your fate.
You feel terrible. Sure, you look cute and all, but... you had no memories, nothing to hold on to. Ignoring Dr. K alarmed expression and questions, you sink even further in your thoughts. There was no point in hoping for a cure. If they hadn't found it yet, it wasn't happening any time soon either. There probably isn't a cure at all. What's the point?
You start banging your face in the cold, hard floor, hopeless, only wanting to end it all. If the mask was keeping you alive, then you had to break it to be free from this shitty destiny.
Dr. K panics, and draws a tranquilizer gun hidden under his lab coat. He presses a button under his desk, and the wall forms a hole... no, was that a hidden door?, letting him in. He shoots your back twice, and as you stop banging your mask, affected by the morphin, the last thing you feel is K's warm arms dragging you to your bed.
You fall asleep.
[REDACTED] is another day.