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TWENTY THREE - anchor

"Thomas is in surgery," Corey reads the message over Mason's shoulder.

"We should..." Liam rises but hesitates, looking around the room. "I mean, I could-"

"We'll go," Mason finishes, holding his hand out for Corey and squeezing Liam's shoulder as they pass him. "Make sure they rest up and keep them enclosed away from Thomas and Minho just in case. Let us know if you move."

"Good luck!" Corey tosses at them as they leave.

Liam turns wide eyed at the previously missing duo. The two look at each other and he knows he's missing a conversation. Amelia slumps back into the couch and slides down onto her back as Theo sighs and rises. He stretches and Liam's eyes wander without his permission.

"You mind if I raid your food?" Theo asks, already moving to the kitchen.

"Sure... wait!" Liam scrambles over, pushing Theo out of the way as he searches the cabinets.

"Hey!" Theo says, surprise and slightest hint of hurt in his shout. "What was that fo- what the hell is that?!"

"This," Liam says, holding a black cat in his arms that he pulled out from the cereal cabinet. "Is Void. Newest addition. We found this little guy when we were looking for you two."

"You replaced me with a cat," Theo says, blinking at the cat that stares at him. "You traded me for the hideous little creature."

Liam hugs the cat to his chest like a baby, "He's not hideous. He looks just like you."

Theo stares but huffs, pushing past Liam and searches for a snack.

"I wouldn't replace you," Liam insists after a moment, leaning against the wall with Void in his arms. The cat's trying to escape but Liam refuses to let the cat go in case it goes to attack Theo like it did him when he first met it. "No one can."

Theo glances at Liam for a moment but looks away as he reheats some old leftovers Liam left for dinner, saying instead, "Why 'Void'?"

"Thomas found him late at night. Said he popped up out of the shadows and was a void for light. He was dramatic but the name stuck."

"Huh," Theo doesn't look at Liam, but Liam's watching the boy and notices the moment his knee buckles the slightest bit when the microwave goes off.

"What did they do to you?" Liam can't help but ask, slamming his mouth shut when Theo glares at him. The chimera doesn't respond, just grabs an extra plate and adds a small serving to it, disappearing from the kitchen and reappearing quickly without the plate.

"You want some?" Theo asks as he grabs some forks. Liam shoots up, setting down Void, and Theo wordlessly passes a fork over when he reaches him. They eat in mostly silence, Liam does not eat much since he wasn't hungry, leaving most for Theo who devours the food, and watches Void make his way back to the cereal boxes.

"They were like the doctors," Theo whispers eventually. "They opened my skin, poked and prodded."

"And you didn't heal because...?" Liam asks gently, trying to understand the situation.

"The doctors wouldn't let me. They wanted me to be awake for the pain, you know this."

"I didn't," Liam shakes his head in denial. "You never told me."

"Oh," Theo swallows roughly, Liam's eye following the motion and lingering on the tightening of his lips as they move into a strained line. "The uh new guys – WCKD – they wanted information on the supernatural, so to keep them away I... pretended to be more human. It was instinctive all of it. I don't remember making any decisions except escaping."