Soap blinked open an eye and found himself strapped to a some sort of board on his side. His body shook, probably from whatever drugs were in his system, and he felt that his tail was between his legs. It took his ears a moment to cease their incessant ringing, but when they did he heard the sound of his own quiet whining. He noticed fingers tangling into the fur on his back and gently scratching.
"Sh, sh, sh. Easy Puppy."
Rudy?
He sounded okay. He whined a little louder, he wanted to see him, but he was facing away.
"We're right here, Soap." Alejandro's voice told him, "A bit stuck right now."
Stuck? Why were they stuck?
Soap looked around, feeling a little more coherent and now realized that there were metal bars surrounding him. He was in a cage? Maybe a crate?
Rudy must be reaching through the bars. He let out a little yelp. He remembered Gaz was with them before. He wanted to make sure he was okay.
Gaz was apparently quite attuned to Soap's wants in this form, because he spoke up from somewhere else in the room, "I'm here too, pup. I'm okay."
So it was just the four of them. Ghost and Price weren't here. As much as Ghost's presence would have comforted him, he was glad they weren't here right now.
"They gave you more drugs than the rest of us since you had shifted." Rudy explained, "We were worried they had given you too much. It looked like you had a seizure while you were out."
Soap huffed. No wonder he felt like shit.
He rumbled a questioning noise. Why were Rudy and Alejandro together? He was glad they were, but why exactly? The rest of them were separated. He doubted they just ran out of cages.
They didn't get a chance to try and interpret Soap's noise when a door creaked open. Soap felt his pupils shrink as he was coated in yellow light from the doorway. A man stepped in, backlit for a moment before the light inside the room flicked on.
"Sorry to keep all of you waiting." He said, not sounding sorry at all.
A growl rumbled out of Soap's chest, and he bared his teeth around the strap keeping his mouth shut.
Makarov.
"You have a lot of nerve walking into this room unprotected." Alejandro practically snarled.
Makarov chuckled, "With you all caged, I am not concerned."
"Some of us don't need to be free to hurt you." He shot back.
"Ah yes. Your little boyfriend." His eyes slid over to Rudy, "That voice won't help him now. You all have brand new accessories." He tapped the back of his neck, "And unless he wants all of you to be shocked into unconsciousness, he'll behave."
Soap growled louder. Makarov startled him by kicking his cage hard.
"Quiet dog! You've forgotten how to act in our time apart." He stood up straight again and straightened his clothes, "In any case, it is good to have three of my pets back. And one new addition as well."
"You didn't seem keen on keeping him before." Alejandro continued, challenging him about Rodolfo. He clearly remembered if he knew he was a siren.
Makarov sighed and paced around their cages. Soap hated that he occasionally dipped out of his line of sight.
"Your little team has been looking into my work. And as much as I hate to admit it, you aren't stupid. I'm sure you've been wondering why I go for the young monsters, or the parents. Well, it's the very same reason you two are sharing that cage. The very same reason I was "selling" your siren. He said selling in air quotes, as if that hadn't been what was happening at all.
"I've been studying you creatures for a long time. I'm always learning new things." He looked at Gaz, "Which pesticides can kill a dryad, and how long they last when deprived of water." He looked down at Soap, "What happens when a vestigial organ is placed within a creature who doesn't possess one." Finally he stepped a little closer to Rudy and Alejandro, "What happens to a siren when you use their tears without being able to feed."
Rudy let out an involuntary whimper that had Alejandro boxing him in protectively.
Makarov snapped his fingers and pointed, "There. Right there. That is why I do what I do."
They all looked at him confused. What the hell was he talking about?
"One of the first things I noticed about all of you monsters," He spun around and gestured at them all, "is that you are all so dependent. Humans are terrified of you, and rightly so, you're vicious. But the one thing you all lack is the ability to be truly alone. Even solitary creatures like vampires must seek out the living to feed. To survive."
"Werewolves need a pack, dryads need other plants, sirens need... love." Makarov settled into a nearly peaceful smile, "All of you horrifying creatures can't get by without the stuff. It's just so... easily exploitable."
"So what's your point?" Gaz asked finally.
"My point is, Little Weed, I understand how to make all of your rules work in my favor." He faced Alejandro again, "If I want a steady supply of siren tears for my men, I need someone to care for my siren. I had hoped whoever I sold that one to would fall head over heels and then I'd take them both back. I was quite upset when I learned that both the buyer and my men had been killed, my siren lost. But I suppose it has all worked out in the end. And I'm excited to learn what exactly you are."
"I don't understand." Gaz said again. Makarov was making everything sound more complicated than it probably was.
Makarov rolled his eyes and turned to face him again, "You're a little slow for a dryad. Let me spell it out for you. The reason I take parents and children, or give children to other monsters, is to preserve the longevity of my assets. The adults protect the children, care for them, and make sure they don't die after my experiments. They love them. They keep them going longer. Which is why..." He leveled a finger toward Alejandro and Rudy, "they are so perfect. I can take as many tears from that siren as I want. Because as long as that other one is with him, he won't let him wither."
Silence fell over the room. None of them had a witty comeback to throw at him. Because he was right. No matter what happened, Alejandro would never let Rudy dry up. He would always feed him.
Makarov really did know how to exploit their rules.
He stood up straight and shrugged, "From there, my research teaches me how to best kill you monsters, while also teaching me how to keep you in line. Imagine it, a whole army of monsters at my beck and call that only I know how to destroy. It's perfect."
He grinned before heading toward the door again, "We're just finishing your cell arrangements, so we'll get you into your rooms soon enough."
Soap gave one last snarl and slight thrash, hoping he was still somewhat menacing like this. Although, based on Makarov's unimpressed face, he really wasn't.
"I'll see about finding a fresh pup for you to protect, I'm sure threatening a child would be enough to mellow you out. For now though... I'm thinking a cellmate might do you some good. I'll see what I can find."
The lights flicked back off and the door closed behind him, leaving them in darkness once again.