Breaking The Shackles (GaryCato) (A Final Space Fan-Fic)

Chapter 3. On The Fence

The next morning had come, and Gary was nearing back to his healthy condition. The night before was stressful, but he felt more energetic and functional than he had expected to. Avocato was right, the scraps of food he was given did seem to help, and he wasn't as much skin and bones anymore. Now that living was less of a concern, safety was priority. He knew Avocato wouldn't kill him if he listened, and Little Cato liked him, but for how long would be be able to stay in such an environment, and if he ran, could he find another one like it?

As he stared up to the ceiling, pondering his decision to move, a question kept circling around in his thoughts. "Why would a general need money?" Considering cash was the reason he was being kept. "Maybe I'm just special, or expensive?" Gary listed to himself, but drawing no solid conclusion yet. "Humans are dirt cheap around here, I'm not special." He told himself. It was almost like he was telling himself that. Not acknowledging it.

Several minutes of pondering continued, but that came to a halt when Little Cato entered the room. That caught Gary's attention, nearly scaring him in fact. Little Cato could tell, and he chuckled. "Morning Gary. Dad isn't here right now, so you can come out to help me with chores again. Just remember our deal, and don't tell him I let out out." He explained, stepping aside from the door to let Gary out of the room. 

Gary nodded as he slid off the operating table, and passed by Little Cato. He now had to rub his eyes to adjust to the mix of florescent and Natural light, shining through the windows and illuminating the room around him. "Thanks kid, I still don't understand why you're helping me when your dad hates my guts."

"He's just a grouch, y'know? He doesn't hate you, he just sees you as less, and acts on that. But that's normal, so don't take it personal." Little Cato explained, closing the door to the room as they approached the kitchen again, to pick up on the cleaning they had done the day before. "Remember, gloves this time." Little Cato reminded, pulling out a pair and pushing them against Gary's chest to get his attention, noticing that Gary's eyes were wandering across the kitchen.

Once Gary had his gloves on, he was back to work with Little Cato. It took a while, but they finished their chore, and moved on to the next room. Near lunch, the whole house was cleaned, and not a trace of Gary anywhere. "Do you normally clean this much?" Gary questioned, as he and Little Cato were going down the stairs. 

"Nope, but sometimes things get dust, and dad says that can be bad. It's good to have a routine though, he's taught me a lot about that." He explained, guiding Gary back to the kitchen to make their lunch. 

"I see. Your dad has taught you a lot, what is he really like outside of work and, human interaction?" Gary began to find interest in whatever kind of soft spot he had for his son. He never really thought of Avocato having any kind of heart outside of a cold shell. It felt off, but it felt reassuring at the same time.

Little Cato hummed, as if he had to recall the truth. "Well, to be honest, its a little bit of the same. Though, with a smile, and he doesn't have such a pessimistic look on things. He probably thinks the same, but he doesn't show it." he opened the fridge and pulled out a sandwich. "He's a hard to read book, but it's possible with time."

"If he really were a book, he'd be a picture book with lots of guns. And angry stick figure men." Gary chuckled, imaging what he was describing as he spoke, but he refocused when he heard Little Cato chuckle.

As he tore the sandwich into two pieces, he gave a quick laugh to Gary's thought. "Yep, that's him alright. The last page would probably be burned too, since he hates books." He handed a sandwich half to Gary, then started walking off to the living room, taking a bite of his half on the way to the couch.

Gary smiled and looked at his sandwich. He noticed though that the blue veins in his wrist was a bit more vibrant than usual. Weird that it was enough change to notice, but he brushed it off almost immediately, and went to he couch to eat with Little Cato. There, the TV was on, and Little Cato was enjoying his lunch as the program played.

Avocato was watching through a security camera built into the Television screen, and he couldn't really tell how he felt. It for sure wasn't positive. "That little-" Avocato sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "That boy gets on my nerves sometimes, but I will admit, the human has some positive attributes to him. Maybe He's worth keeping." He closed the viewing screen on his monitor, and focused back on his work, trying to avoid the tab he had opened for auctioning Gary on a separate window. Gary would do his part for now, but the money would speak the results. "We will see..."

By the end of the day, Gary was back in the Operating room, and Little Cato was studying through a book of weaponry that Avocato had brought him. Avocato was on his way home now, and He knew exactly what to expect. He wasn't going to address Gary having free range around the house, but he would keep his eyes on it. He couldn't trust Gary, he was starting to want to, his son's positivity showing infectious, and rubbing off on him rather quickly. Once he was home, everything played like he expected. 

"Hey dad!" Little Cato enthusiastically greeted from the couch, not looking away from his book. "How was today?" He still felt like Avocato's mood was a bit important, that it would have a role in Gary's position. Either way, he was curious to hear of any strange activity or adventure his dad went on.

"Good, though more activity of Humans escaping their captures after our little friend caught wind through the ranks. Apparently, low life citizens truly are incapable of holding prisoners without proper assistance." Avocato looked to the door of the Operating room. "He may or may not be the start of all this, which bothers me, exposing weakness in the empire is quite embarrassing. Even when it's just civilians."

Little Cato was surprised, looking up from his book to focus on Avocato's story. "Woah, you really think Gary inspired human prisoners to escape their prisons? He's an Idol?"

"I wouldn't call him that, more of a blind crusader. If this keeps up, The lord commander wants me to exterminate every human on the planet. To set an example for other planets, and to rid this one of any future rebellion."

Gary had his ear pressed against the door the entire time, to listen to the conversation. He had to gasp when he heard about the Lord Commander's plan. That would mean he would die for sure, worth wouldn't matter over loyalty. 

"If that day comes, be ready to say goodbye to your human friend. If it makes you feel any better, I wont be the one pulling the trigger on him anyways." He walked by, ruffling Little Cato's mohawk, going into the kitchen to start the process of cooking dinner.

"That doesn't help." Little Cato mumbled, looking back down to his book and continuing to read.