"Screeeee!"

Link let out a long groan and slumped over dramatically. Glancing back up at Insectosaurus, he put his arms out on front of him in defense and said, “Look, look, look, you’re making this sound way worse than it actually is.”

"Scree!"

“It’s not spying! All we want is for you to get her to say her name out loud.”

"Errrooowlgh…"

“Ugh. Alright, alright, it’s deceiving, I admit it. You happy now?”

"Grrrr…"

“Come on, Insecto. Please? Just this one time!”

"……Screee."

Link patted the large butterfly’s foot. “Thanks. I owe you one.”

Insectosaurus merely snorted. She wasn’t too keen on agreeing with this plan.

Dr. Cockroach, who had been sitting nearby with the others, had one leg over the other with his arms folded across his chest. He shot a disapproving glance at Link before turning away again in a pout. “Hmf. She’s not the only one who doesn’t approve.”

Link let out a brief sigh and gave him a deadpan look. “Okay, you guys are taking this way too harshly…”

“What we’re doing is wrong, Link. You know it.” Susan said softly.

Link’s face fell. “Aww, Susan, not you, too.” He looked over at B.O.B. and said, “B.O.B., you came up with the plan, so you’re with me on this, right?”

The blue blob just looked at the floor blankly and said, “I would say yeah, but…it doesn’t seem right, really.”

Link groaned again. “Ohhh, c’mon, guys, don’t make this hard on me, too.”

With a loud hiss, one of the doors on their side of the room opened, and in stepped General Monger, looking quite pleased. The others watched him, waiting for him to speak. Offering them a smirk, Monger called over his shoulder. “Agent Lycanthra! Your new colleagues are waiting.”

Phantom walked into the room with her head held particularly low. Her long, fluffy tail swayed behind her as she approached. Her now clean coat seemed to glow in the bright light. The shiny buckle on her harness flickered as she came up next to Monger and sat down, almost in an obedient way. She still didn’t seem all too happy about her new job. Lifting her head a bit, she looked at the other monsters with a dull expression.

The monsters smiled brightly at Phantom. They were happy she had decided to join the team.

“Wooo, lookin’ good, girl.” The Missing Link said, trying to cheer her up a bit.

Dr. Cockroach nodded, adding, “The harness is a nice touch.”

Phantom didn’t respond, she just looked from monster to monster as they spoke to her.

Feeling that he was no longer needed, General Monger said, “Your new room is over there, Agent Lycanthra. You’ll be right next to Insectosaurus.” he pulled out a small notebook and pen and handed them over to the werewolf. “Write down the items you would like to have in your accommodation, whether they be for personal reasons or pleasure. You will gladly receive them within a few days. Also, don’t forget to add what you’d like to dine on during mealtime.”

Phantom grasped the items in her paw and put them on the floor for the time being.

“I’d like that list in by tomorrow, alright?” he asked.

Phantom merely nodded, not looking at him.

With a grunt, Monger saluted the others and turned to leave.

Phantom turned, not all the way, but, turned her head and said in a flat voice, “You never told me what you did with my house.”

The other monsters turned to her in surprise. This was the first time they’d heard her talk before. She sounded young. Well, not young, but younger.

Monger turned to her, looking both amused and uninterested. “Your house, little lady, was a broken down shipment truck in the middle of the forest.”

Phantom narrowed her eyes slightly. “You still aren’t answering my question, General.”

Monger chuckled and shook his head. “We brought it to the facility to examine it. It hasn’t even been touched yet. Why? There something in there you need?”

“A number of things. Special things. Things that not even the most valuable item in the world could replace.” Phantom stated simply.

Monger nodded. “You can retrieve what you need from there tomorrow before we examine it, but your belongings will have to be checked out before we let you just walk away with them, understood?”

Phantom shrugged. “Fair enough, I presume.”

Monger nodded once and turned to the others. “Make her feel at home, and don’t press on with your mission to make her talk. She will when she wants to. Good day, agents.” with one last salute, Monger walked out, leaving the door open behind him.

Phantom watched warily as he departed, but turned around once she felt someone punch her playfully on the shoulder.

“Pretty sweet deal, don’t ya think?” Link asked her.

Susan grinned at her. “We’re glad you decided to be part of the crew.”

Phantom stood up and let out a sigh, shaking her fur. “It was the most promising out of the two alternatives they gave me.” she slowly walked passed them and headed to the other side of the room.

“Hey, where ya going?” B.O.B. asked her curiously.

Not turning to face them, Phantom simply said, “Nowhere.”  and continued walking. She stopped some distance away and laid down on the rug, resting her head on her paws.

B.O.B. looked at the others sadly. “She doesn’t seem very happy.”

“No,” Link drawled sarcastically. “Ya think?”

They all walked up to her and sat around her. She didn’t seem to notice, or care, for that matter. Dr. Cockroach patted her neck lightly. “Come, now, my dear.” he said, trying to make her feel a little happier. “Everything’s going to be just fine. You’ll see.”

Phantom just responded by exhaling loudly through her nose. She didn’t look at any of them, but continued to stare dully ahead.

After a minute of silence, B.O.B. spoke up. “What’s wrong? Don’t you like us?”

Phantom pulled her ears back and looked up at the blue mass sympathetically. Sighing deeply, she lifted her head a little and looked at the others, no emotion in her face. “Forgive me.” she said flatly. “I hold nothing against any of you. You understand the current predicament I find myself in, so, please, don’t take my horrid mood personally. It’s not you.” she rested her head again on her paws.

“We understand.” Susan said softly. “You want to go home.”

“Yes.” Phantom agreed. “Whichever one it may be.”

“You have more than one home?” Link asked.

Phantom nodded slightly. “During Summer and Fall, I stay around my house.“ she gave them a deadpan look and raised an eyebrow. “Broken down shipment truck, I believe is the term.“

They all chuckled sheepishly.

Phantom continued. “I’d spend the Winter and Spring in Montana with my family.”

Their eyes brightened. “You have a family?” Dr. Cockroach asked with a smile.

Phantom nodded. “Well…step-family. We’re not related, but they treat me like their own.”

“That’s nice.” Susan said. “Maybe we could meet them someday.”

Phantom shrugged. “That’d be okay, I suppose. If we ever can.”

“Oh, we can.” Dr. Cockroach reassured. “We have many privileges here thanks to our work.” he smiled, crossing his arms.

“Maybe you should call them ahead of time, though.” Susan suggested.

Phantom shook her head. “Impossible. I’d have to be within a few miles distance of them for them to hear me.”

The others looked at her with odd expressions on their faces. “Err…okay.” Susan said, not really understanding.

They sat there in awkward silence for the next few minutes. Finally, Link broke the silence with a snicker. The others looked at him, all wondering what was so funny. Link smirked down at Phantom. “So…Lycanthra, eh?”