Project n00k summary: in this AU of Animal Crossing, Tom Nook, Isabelle and many of the other character are victims of Redd co., a company preforming secret experiments to combine human and animal DNA. This AU was created by divorcelawyerpip and king_magppi on TicTok (more on this in the author's note at the bottom). I take no credit in the creation of this AU, or in Animal Crossing in general.

However, the plot lines, dialogue, and descriptions are mine, unless otherwise noted in the author's note at the end of each chapter.

POV
.../ human

The human should have realized that a storm was brewing on the horizons. I should have been paying attention, they thought to themselves as they hurriedly started their sailboat. That's what I get for messing around out here and pushing my luck. They tried to get their boat back to the mainland before the storm hit. But in their afternoon of fun in the sun, they hadn't realized how far out they were, and the storm seemed determined to keep them out at sea. This was bad, very bad. The sea and sky seem to one solid mass of angry grey foam and water. The instruments in the boat seemed to not be working correctly during the storm as well. Maybe something was damaged? Instead of getting to shore, the human now focused on just keeping their tiny seacraft afloat.

They didn't know how long they fought against the storm. It was late into the night, but the adrenaline was keeping them wide awake, as they searched for some sight of land. Amide the water and wind, the human suddenly saw flickering light. That pattern, is it a lighthouse? The human was past caring what shoreline it was as long as it was some kind of land. They grappled with control of their boat against the storm and tried to maneuver the sailboat in the direction of the light. With whitened knuckles on the wheel, they fought against the gale outside for every knot that they gained. The boat steadily made progress, and the human finally thought that maybe they would weather this storm intact.

That was until the boat was dashed against the rocks. With the unpredictably nature of the swells and troughs of the waves, they had been thrown against the rocks near the lighthouse. Oh, right, probably should have known that heading directly towards the light wasn't a good idea. They had been thrown forward against the wheel and front monitors. The boat was listing badly and they didn't have to check what instruments that were working to know that the boat was badly damaged. They could sense the boat settling in the water—which was never a good sign— and they knew they needed to get off. Now. The human dashed to the back portion of their boat, and grabbed an emergency pack, before heading to the side. Their boat was too small to support a lifeboat, but the human did at least grab the lifejacket and buckle it on. The shore isn't too far, was their thought as they jumped over the edge. The lifejacket will keep me afloat. The storm was still angrily raging, as if it was upset that it had not claimed the human's life yet. But humans are made of sterner stuff then most creatures realize (including the humans themselves). Paddling with one arm, and kicking with their legs, they fought back against the storm slowly and surely. They could feel the swells rising beneath them and helping to push them to shore, as if the storm had grudgingly decided to let them go. The human was exhausted but was beginning to feel a quiet satisfaction at almost reaching shore. They just wanted to get to shore; they needed to get to shore.

The human realized that they had been steadily moving faster, as if they felt some instinct or intuition telling them to do so. They had to get to shore, and they needed to get there right now. Even though they were covered in water, the human felt goosebumps rise up that had nothing to do with being cold and wet. As a deep fear settled in the pit of their stomach, they felt like they were drowning, not in water, but in fear and anxiety. Get to shore; just get to shore now, the words were a mantra in their mind. A strangled whimper of relief broke through their lips as one final breaker pushed them forward enough for their feet to find purchase against the sand. But their instincts were screaming now, more so than ever, to just get out of the water! They hastily and clumsily unbuckled the lifejacket, while still drudging up out of the water. Finally free of the cumbersome vest, they flung it back and half swam, half ran up the final stretch of water.

Just as they were breaking free however, they felt, more so then heard, something in the water behind them. On instinct alone, they swung the emergency pack down and pack, and felt it collide with something with a sickening clang. At the same time, they felt something catch on their left leg. But rather then grasping their leg, whatever it was dug a deep scratch from knee to ankle. The human stumbled out of the surf, and while trying to favor the injured leg, raced into the forest at edge of the beach. They didn't stop running until they were enclosed in the trees and brush. Only then did the human stop, but mainly because they couldn't see in the deep cover of the trees. They didn't want to risk tripping or falling in the dark. Pressing their back up against a tree so they could face the shore, they took deep shuddering breaths. What was that? The shuddering gasps were a mix of leftover fear and exhaustion, and they struggled to regain composure.

"Hm, excuse me. Are you alright?"

They jumped at the sound of the voice, turning sharply. They scanned the dark forest, but didn't see anything. Blinking, they noticed what looked like two glowing eyes, but that couldn't be right, the eyes were much too high above the ground to be an animal. With a shock, they saw that the eyes were moving closer. A crack of lightning lit up the sky just then, and the human could see that the glowing eyes belong to what looked like some kind of raccoon-man dressed in a raincoat.

This was too much for their exhausted mind to handle, and it made the executive decision to take a break. The human passed out.

POV
Tom Nook / tanuki

Tom wasn't sure what was keeping him awake. Sure, the storm was bad, but this wasn't the worst storm he had gone through on the island. But every time he tried to lie down, he felt antsy and jittery. Restless. He finally got up and checked the door and windows; no, everything was fine. The town was far above the rivers and beaches, so there was no chance of flooding. As quietly as he could, he cracked open the door to the twin's room. No, they were sleeping soundly tonight; not even signs of nightmares.

Well, one thing he had learned on this island was to not ignore his instincts, not matter how crazy. Pacing in the house was getting old very quickly, so grabbing his yellow raincoat, he moodily shoved it on. It would keep the majority of him dry at least, but his tail would be soaked. Rain boots felt kind of pointless at this point, so he decided he would just go without them. He flicked the hood of the raincoat over his head at last second; the hood bothered his ears, but the rain on his head-fur bothered him more. The storm was blocking out the light from the stars and moon, but this was less of a problem then what it used to be. Giving his eyes a moment to adjust to darkness, the town slowly seeped out of the darkness. He easily maneuvered though the town and headed out into the woods. He stayed close to the trees, trying to avoid most of the rain as he headed for the shoreline.

He had always liked rain, even as a regular human, but he could appreciate it so much more now. The smell of the rain water was much stronger now, and it was mixed with the organic musk of deteriorating vegetation and soil. He could also hear the different splatters of the rain against the different types of leaves, soils, and rocks. Occasionally, he could hear the brush of life in and along the forest floor. Sure, the rain was wet, but it was alive, and he could never really tell that as just a human.

He got to the shoreline, and keeping in the trees, walked along the edge. The ocean was angrily crashing onto the beach, as if the ocean itself was raging. He could see scattered shells being tossed up onto the beach. I'll ask Tommy to go get them in the morning. He likes to be outside more than Timmy. He absently was heading in the direction of the island's lighthouse. Tom had never even seen a boat or ship (besides the ones from Redd co. of course) from the island, so the lighthouse was more for decoration then practicality. But still, the residents of the islands found its light comforting. As he got closer to the lighthouse, he noticed between the swells of the angry sea, there seemed to be lights. Oh, no, surely no one would be stupid enough to try to escape. Especially during a storm like this. Tom started to run along the sand. They won't make it in this weather. As he got closer, his eyes picked out the details of the craft. With a shook, Tom saw that it wasn't a cobbled-together raft from logs and tree branches, but an actual small sailboat. We don't have the resources to build something like that. Why would Redd co. send a sailboat, especially on a night like tonight?

Between the storm and the waves, he was having a hard time picking out the details of the craft. He did notice that it was getting closer and closer to the rocks near the lighthouse. He didn't like Redd co. but what if they were dropping off supplies or a new…friend.

Tome cupped his hands up to his mouth. "Hey! Ahoy, there, the dock is farther south! There is nowhere to dock up here!" Tom knew as soon as he yelled though, that the storm was too loud. There was no way anyone could hear him on the boat. He watched in growing dread as the boat got closer and closer. With a sickening crash, he saw the sailboat get slammed into the rocks. The boat listed to one side, and Tom could tell that it was firmly caught in the rocks. Tom winced. Well, there goes that, poor souls on board. Redd co. will be here in the morning to help them. Tom knew that no one on the island would want to swim out to the wreckage to check on them, not even if it was a clear night. Tom couldn't really blame them, not with knowing what lurked in the water.

Tom moodily sat on the beach, with the rain thumping into the sand around him, and watched the waves crash into the boat. He remembered that he used to be a decent swimmer in the past, but with his thick tail now, it would weigh him down and make swimming too cumbersome. And if the SEAGULL found him…

That's all he needs. The excuse of an escape attempt to bring me back into the Lab. Tom idly traced a pattern in the wet sand. I'm never going back there. No one is.

A crack of lightning split the sky, and Tom blinked his eyes to allow them to adjust back to the darkness. But in the second of bright light, the side of the boat was clearly visible. It looked just like a normal sailboat. In fact, it looked completely normal, missing the Ginkgo leaf symbol of Redd co. Wait, are they not from Redd co. after all? Is this truly an outsider? In his peripheral vision, he caught sight of something moving in the surf farther down the shoreline, catching his attention. Maybe something from the wreckage fell off? It took Tom only a second to realize that it wasn't an object. Oh my, it's a person! For the second time, Tom ran along the shore, but stayed close to the trees. His ears perked up and shifted toward the ocean, listening for any sighs of the SEAGULL in the water. Tom knew that the cyborg typically wouldn't come on land, but that didn't mean that he couldn't.

The human-looking was in the act of throwing their lifejacket behind them, and struggling to get out of the surf. Tom finally caught the tell-tell glimmer of what little light there was reflecting off something in the water. It was cutting through the waves against the movement of the storm and tides. Tom picked up his speed. Come on, you are almost there. Don't get caught now.

Backdropped by a wave, Tom saw something rising out of the water. Even though the darkness covered most of the detail, the glowing red eyes were a dead giveaway to what it was. Tom wanted to help the human, but he knew that in the water, the SEAGULL held all the advantages. The cyborg reached out with one claw tipped hand to grab the human.

The human suddenly swung something back toward the cyborg, catching him on his hand, and causing him to miss. Tom saw the human stumble in the water, but they pushed on, and raced out of the surf. As they ran, Tom could tell that they were injured though.

The SEAGULL knelt in the surf, eyes tracking the human. Then the glowing eyes slowly turned and looked directly at Tom.

Tom glared back, and he felt his lips pull back from his teeth, exposing his canines. Yes, that's right. I'm here, and if you come onto my island, you will have to deal with me. Tom could feel the fur on his shoulders rise under his shirt in response to the adrenaline in his system. Tom honestly didn't know if he could take the SEAGULL in a fight on land. The cyborg was designed for primary an aquatic environment, not terrestrial. If he came ashore, Tom wasn't sure how it would end, but he knew that he wouldn't give up anyone on the island without a fight.

Slowly, the SEAGULL sank back beneath the waves. Apparently, it decided the human wasn't worth the hassle right now. Tense and alert, Tom watched for a few more seconds, just in case it was a trap, and then slowly moved after the human.

The trail the human left was easy to follow; even Timmy or Tommy could have followed it. Tom's night vision easily picked out the footprints and broken branches in the forest. Although, the human wasn't as deep into the forest as Tom would have expected. Why did they choose to stop there? There is much better shelter—oh, right, they might not have good night vision. The being's chest was heaving, and Tom could hear their ragged breathing.

Tom cleared his throat. "Hm, excuse me. Are you alright?" He saw the being jump and turn in the direction of his voice, but the eyes slid over him, frantically searching the dark. Most have really bad night vision. Tom moved closer, and he saw their eyes finally catch the movement as they locked onto him. Tom moved slowly; you never know how a new human-hybrid mix would react to seeing…someone like him. Before he could ask another question, lightning split the sky, and Tom saw the eyes widen in shock, as they finally saw what he looked like. The human froze up, and then feel forward in a dead faint.

Tom dove forward to catch their shoulder to prevent them from striking their head against the ground. As he did so, his nose also caught the sickly-sweet, metallic scent of blood. He shifted his stance, and saw the human's left leg. He felt his heart freeze at the sight of it. His mix wasn't a carnivore, so the blood didn't trigger his animal instincts, but the amount of blood was alarming. I need to get them some help. Unfortunately, there was no true doctor on the island. They did have someone with multiple degrees and a doctorate however. He would have to do…At least he will be awake at this time of night.

Tom gathered the human up in his arms, and jogged through the forest. He tried to be as gentle as possible with them, but speed was becoming a bigger concern. Finally, he broke through the tree line and ran up to the lighted museum.

Because of the storm, the doors were closed and locked. Using his tail for balance, Tom leaned back on one leg and kicked the door with his heel as hard as he could. "Blathers! Open up! It's an emergency!" The human's breathing was becoming ragged and Tom was very conscientious over how much blood was dripping off their leg. He kicked the door again. "Blathers!" It was probably only about a minute later, but it felt like forever to Tom, when he heard the jangle of keys on the other side of the door.

"Alright, Alright, I'm coming; no need too ruffle your feathers." The door swung open to reveal a man dressed in a brown argyle vest with a green bowtie. He had on large thick glasses that made his already big eyes seem massive. "Tom, what—oh my! What happened!"

Tom pushed past Blathers and headed off to the laboratory section of the Bug Exhibit. "I'll explain later; they need help."

Tom hurried up the stairs, but Blathers wasn't encumbered by carrying anything, so he was able to slip past Tom into the laboratory room first. He hurriedly moved jars, beakers, and papers off a movable table. "Here, Tom, place them here." As Tom laid them down, Blathers opened up a cabinet, and started to grab towels and vials of solutions out of it. He tossed a towel to Tom haphazardly. "Press that intoo the wound as best yoou can, we need too slow down the bleeding."

"Tom, Blathers, is everything alright?" A new voice called upstairs to them. Tom glanced over his shoulder to see Isabelle coming up the stars. He could tell she had dressed quickly; underneath her raincoat, her hair was pulled up slightly more messily then normal, but she was alert. "The yelling woke me…" Her voice trailed off as she caught sight of the being on the table. "Oh my, Tom, who is this?"

"I don't know. They're new."

Isabelle made a growling sound in the back of her throat. "What are they thinking, dropping off a new hybrid in the middle of this storm?" Tom didn't have to ask who she was referring too.

"I don't know; the boat crashed. The SEAGULL tried to stop them." He decided to keep his suspicions that they were an outsider a secret for now.

"I'm not surprised in this storm." Blathers said dismissively as he used a pipette to move some of the blood into a beaker with a solution. With speed that only comes from practice. He dumped the mixture in a petri dish and shoved it into a compartment hooked up to one of the computers. "Analyze," Blathers ordered the computer, as he turned back to the being on the table. "They will need a blood transfer from how much blood they have lost, but I don't want too risk it without knowing what hybrid mix they are. I'm glad you are here, Isabelle; this will be much easier with three people."

Tom moved over to allow Isabelle to get closer. "What should I do," she inquired.

Blathers screwed the lid onto a wash bottle filled with a clear solution, and handed it to her. "Tom, I will need yoou too press firmly on both sides of the wound too hold the edges toogether. Isabelle, this is a cleaning solution, I'm going too need yoou to pour it all over the wound before I apply the flesh sealant. We are going too have too be quick about this once we remoove the towel." Blathers twisted the cap off the tube of self-adhering sealant he was holding. "Right, everyone ready? Go."

Tom removed the blood-soaked towel as gently and quickly as he could, and starting at the knee, pushed both palms against their leg, pressing the sides of the deep cut together. As Isabelle poured the solution on it, Tom could see that even though the cut was deep, at least it was a clean cut. There shouldn't be much of a scar, if any. Blathers reached across from the other side of the table, and squeezed the thick, clear, paste-like substance onto the wound, causing it to stick together. The three of them worked in silence as they moved down the being's leg, sealing up the wound to their ankle. Finally, it was done.

"Jolly good," Blathers breathed as he finished. "At least they aren't losing anymore blood." He tossed to tube into a trash bin. "Tom, yoou can use the towel too mop up most of the fluid before yoou also toss it in there. Yoou can wash up at the sink afterwards." Blathers gently turned the being's head from side to side. "How odd. They aren't showing any abnormalities." Tom and Isabelle knew what he was referring to. Most hybrids displayed some of their hybrid mix's characteristics around their ears and neck. It was a typical side effect of the process.

The computer quickly beeped, gaining their attention. "Analyses complete," it intoned. "Specimen genome: Homo sapiens. No other species detected." The computer beeped again, signaling its message was complete.

Dead silence filled the lab, as all three being stared at the human on the table. "A human," Blathers said breathlessly into the silence in amazement. "A real, honest-too-goodness, pure human." All three stared in wonder at them. The two eyes, the smooth skin, the smallish human nose, the (only) two ears on the side of their head; all the features and proportions marked them to just be an ordinary human.

"Only human." Tom agreed quietly as he reached out with his right hand, and mindful of his claws, gently stroked their right cheek. They didn't have any fur or hair to speak of around their eyes.

Tom head Isabelle make a shuddering gasp. He glanced at her and saw that she had both hands pressed against her mouth in delight, and she had tears coming from her eyes. "They're beautiful."

"Right, they still need the blood transfusion." Blathers seemed to come out of the daze first, no doubt due to his practical nature.

Isabelle leaned protectively over the human, towards Blathers. "But do you have any pure human blood?"

"Of course not, we have no need of that here," Blathers retorted. He was fishing though one of the other specially marked cabinets. "But I do have plasma. That is a base solution; it shouldn't trigger any type of reaction." He pulled out a couple of the bags, and hooked a hand around the IV in the corner. "I promise it won't hurt them, Isabelle," He said kindly. He hooked everything together, and as gently as he could, inserted the needle of the IV into the back of the human's right hand. "There, that should start to get them back to normal. I think I'll give them a boost of antibiotics and steroids, just in case though." He went back to his medical cabinets.

"Tom, how do you think they found us?" Isabelle asked quietly.

"I don't know. We will have to wait until they are awake to ask them."

"Do…do you think they are part of Redd co.?" Isabelle asked reluctantly.

Tom shook his head. "I am pretty sure they received that," he pointed toward the sealed wound, "from the SEAGULL."

Isabelle made a disgusted growl in the back of her throat, signaling her displeasure.

Blathers came back over with two syringes and some moist cotton balls. Tom's nose told him that it was rubbing alcohol on the cotton, the strong smell causing his nose to wrinkle in disgust. Blathers cleaned the human's arm, calmly inserted the first syringe, and administered the contents. Not for the first time, Tom was grateful that Blathers had stepped up to be the island's emergency doctor. Because of his studies, he had a basic understanding of so many creatures. He was the best shot of, well, not killing anyone in malpractice. He proceeded to the second syringe. When he administrated that one, however, the human took a deep shuddering breath, and begin to stir.

"Oh, here we go. Everyone stay calm, yes?" Tom took a step back and motioned Isabelle to do the same. "We don't want to scare them anymore than they already are, hm?" The human finally opened their eyes.

POV
…/ human

The human felt absolutely terrible. They felt sluggish and slow, and oh, so tired, they wished they could go back to sleep. But now that they were awake, their body decided to notify them of everything wrong currently, and everything that hurt. The largest pain was in their leg; it felt like it was on fire, but other bumps and bruises also were clamoring for their attention. There was also an annoying stinging pain in their arm.

They also could feel that they were lying on a cold hard surface, which did not match what they last remembered. They were on their boat…

No, wait…the storm…the ocean….the thing in the water…

The human finally opened their eyes, mainly to reassess where they were. And that's when they noticed the three…beings…standing around them in a nervous half-circle.

The one closest to them, on their left side, was a raccoon-man. They thought at first that he was wearing a mask, but then they realized that it was a patch of dark fur around his blue eyes. The fur color blended closer to his skin tone the farther away it went from his eyes, until it faded away, about half-way down his face. He had human ears, but he also had two other raccoon ears on the top of his head, the fur on them matching the fur on his face. The human had had their share of pets growing up, so they could tell from the minute movements and twitches in them that these were real ears, not some head accessory. He shifted his feet and the human caught sight of what could only be called a dark-colored tail behind him.

The being standing next to him made even less sense. The young woman had a dog-face in quite the literal sense. She had her thick, blond hair pulled up into a loose head knot, but the hair on her head blended into the hair on the dog ears that hung down on each side of her face. Her face was covered in fine, pale gold-colored hair with a white patch surrounding her mouth. She had large, dark puppy dog eyes, and her nose had the shape and color of a dog's nose. Noticing that the human was looking at her, she gave a small smile and reached up to push some of her blond hair out her eyes, showing that the same fine gold hair was also on her arm and the back of her hand.

The last being coughed uncomfortably, drawing their attention. He had large glasses on his face, and his dark eyes seemed to fill the whole lens. Alex couldn't tell if it was the magnification of the lens, or if it was his eyes, but they were huge in proportion to his face. The rest of his facial features seemed small and nondescript compared to the other two. But in his hairline, they could see small feathers spouting. Also, his ears were higher then normal on the side of his head, and seemed to be more pointed. The small feathers clustered there as well before fading down his neck.

The human felt themselves staring in shock, blinked, and stared again. But their eyes refused to correct the images into something believable. After a few tense seconds, they cleared their throat. "Um," their voice sounded raspy to their ears, "did I hit my head?"

The one standing closest on their left, the raccoon-man from the forest she remembered belatedly, cleared his throat. "No, not unless it was when you fell off your boat. Do you remember that?"

"Yes, I remember crashing onto the rocks." But the boat crashing was a minor concern right now. "Are…are you a raccoon?" Nope, that question sounded just as stupid out loud as it did in their head.

He chuckled softly. "Technically, I'm part tanuki, but there is no way for you to know that unless you are from Japan."

"Um, okay." They looked over to the dog-woman. "And you are a dog?" The statement was made into a question by their tone.

"Yes, a Shih Tzu." She smiled and they could see her sharp canines. "I'm Isabelle."

"Hi," they said quietly. I am having a normal conversation with animal-people. This is fine. Everything's fine, they told themselves. They looked over to the last individual. "And you are an owl?"

"Yes, I am part owl. It's a pleasure too meet yoou." The human could hear the slight British accent, but it was slightly disoriented by the prolonging of the "oo" sound in his words. It reminded them of an owl's characteristic sound. "My name is Blathers. And yoou are?"

"Alex." They said softly. "My name is Alex." They turned back to the rac—correction, tanuki—man. "But why… how did you all get like this?"

He chuckled humorlessly. "Each one of those stories is a long and tragic tale, and best told at a later time, don't you think? You must be worn out, hm?" Alex nodded reluctantly, and he glanced over at Isabelle. "The campsite is open. Our guest can stay there for the evening." And until we figure what we are going to do, Isabelle could see the added thought in his meaningful glance.

"Of course, Mr. Nook." She traded places with him, and slipped an arm under Alex's shoulder. "Take it easy; there's no need to rush. Blather's push the IV over here please."

"We will talk more tomorrow, Alex." Mr. Nook said as Isabelle helped them off the table. "It sounds like there is a lull in the storm, so you best get to the campsite now. Blathers and I will stay here and clean up everything."

The going was slow, but Isabelle was stronger than she looked and very patient. She supported Alex's weight on their left side to help the injured leg, and she maneuvered the IV as well. Even though the storm had lessened to a light drizzle, she insisted on Alex wearing her raincoat, even after Alex had pointed out that they were already soaked through because of their late night swim in the ocean. It was still dark out, but Isabelle led the way with confidence, so Alex just followed her lead.

Alex decided that "Campsite" was an accurate name to the structure Isabelle brought them to. It was a tent, but Alex could see that it had the basic necessities on the inside when Isabelle turned on a lantern. Most importantly, it had a cot, which was just about all Alex cared about at this point. Isabelle reached into a pack set into the corner of the tent and pulled out a towel. "Here, you should at least dry off a little. There are some spare clothes in here, but they look a little big for you. I'll bring you some better ones in the morning."

"I'm fine. Thank you," Alex mumbled as they scrubbed at their hair with the towel.

"Alright then, I'll see you in the morning." Isabella headed for the door, turned back, started to say something, but stopped. "Goodnight, Alex," was all she ended up saying.

"Goodnight, Isabelle." Alex responded. Once Isabelle zipped up the tent as she left, Alex collapsed onto the cot, bundled up in the blankets, and thankfully went to sleep.

()-()

[Beginning transmission.]

Unknown vessel sighted at starboard (east) side of The Island. Did not respond to hail, and did not make port. Crashed onto rocks 3.5 fathoms off the shore, near the lighthouse. Unknown being swam to shore. Status of being is unknown. Could not visually identity. Did not pursue due to presence of hostile Islander (Nook). Will await orders before proceeding.

Strategic Environmental Assessing Guard Unit and Learning Lifeform: Gulliver

01:45 hours

[End transmission.]

()-()

POV
Alex/ human

Alex woke up slowly in stages. They realized first that it was the light that was waking them up; they could feel it on their face, and could see the red haze on the back of their eyelids. They rolled over and threw and arm over their eyes, but they made the bad choice of rolling onto their left side, which set out a wave of painful protest from their leg. With a moan, they rolled back the other direction…

And unceremoniously rolled right off the cot onto the floor. Alex considered just lying on the floor in a state a rebellion to getting up at this point, but was finally starting to actually wake up. They remembered bits of what had happened last night. The storm was the clearest thing, and they knew that they had hurt their leg from…whatever that was last night. Then they had woken up being medically tended to by three…beings.

Mr. Nook.

Isabelle.

Blathers.

Their names came back now. Alex wasn't sure at this point if they had some crazy drug-induced dream, or if that last part had actually happened. But the ache in their leg was letting them know at least part of what they remembered happening had, in fact, actually happened.

Didn't I have an IV at some point, they though ruefully. They finally opened their eyes and looked at the back of their right hand, although with all the tossing around they just did, they knew they would have probably jerked it out by this point. Yup, no IV now. Just a bandage.

They sat up and noticed that there was a note taped to the inside of the tent by the door. Plus, there was a neatly folded pile of clothes by the door as well. Alex slowly stood up and pulled the note off to read it.

Morning, Alex!

Blathers and I came by to check on you, but you were still out cold. He said you should rest as much as you can. He changed out your IV (something about "dehydration", and "extra fluids" and "nutrients"). I brought you some spare clothes like I promised! There is a shower stall behind the tent if you want to get cleaned up. I'll come back to check on you later.

Isabelle.

And then a little farther down on the note.

Afternoon!

We came back, and Blathers removed the IV. Blathers said it's normal for you to sleep this long and I shouldn't be worried. You were sleeping with your left leg hanging off the cot, so he went ahead and wrapped it up for you. Alex looked down to see. Yes, he had wrapped it. Sorry, if that was an invasion of privacy or something. I'm surprised you didn't wake up! Anyway, I hope you wake up soon.

Isabelle (again).

Alex placed the note on the cot. It was sweet of Isabelle to leave them the note. And yes, they definitely felt like a shower. The seawater had dried into a crusty mess on their skin and hair, and a shower sounded amazing. They gathered up the spare clothes and tentatively unzipped the tent door. They stuck their head out glanced nervously around. The area around the campsite was deserted at least for the moment, so Alex hobbled as fast as they could to the backside of the tent. They didn't feel quite up to interacting with anyone quite yet.

The shower stall was minimalistic, but well stocked with a towel, a washcloth, soap, and shampoo. Alex stripped down, but decided to leave the bandage on their leg. They washed as quickly as possible, and redressed in the spare clothes. They towel-dried their hair, but in the afternoon heat, Alex knew it would soon be dry. They knew it must look like a crazy mess now, but they would fix it later. Draping the towel around their shoulders, they pushed the door to the shower open and—

"Afternoon, Alex!" Isabelle greeted enthusiastically, causing Alex to nearly fall back into the shower stall. "Oh, sorry," she smiled apologetically. "I'm just glad you are finally up. I was really starting to get worried; I think I was getting on Blather's and Tom's –I mean, Mr. Nook's—last nerve. So, how do you feel?"

"Pretty good, I guess," Alex responded. Getting over their shock, they straightened back up. They couldn't ignore their "dream" from last night anymore. She looked the same as they remembered. Except today, she was wearing a coral-colored shirt and white skirt. "Thanks for the clean clothes. What should I do with my old ones?"

"I'll take care of them; I'm just happy to help." She smiled. But then she glanced away and rubbed at her neck awkwardly. "Um, if you are up to it, Mr. Nook wanted to speak with you. But he will understand if you aren't feeling well enough yet," the last part was said in a rush, like she was afraid that they would feel like that they had to go talk to him.

"No, it's okay. I feel well enough. Just sitting in the tent won't make my leg feel better." Besides, I have so many questions. Isabelle went to their side to guide them, and Alex could sense that she was ready to help them walk if they needed it. Now that it was daylight, Alex could see that she had a Shih Tzu tail as well. It's a lot smaller then Mr. Nook's though. Alex forced themselves to look forward and to not stare at it.

Isabelle didn't really talk as she led the way next to them, for which Alex was grateful. So much had happened, and they were still trying to come to grips with this new reality. She led them on the clearly marked dirt path through the forest, to an open field area. Alex could see houses and what looked like shops in neat rows. There was also two larger buildings, one which Alex remember from last night, and the other one was a very official-looking building, complete with plaza and flag. The official-looking one seemed to be the one that Isabelle was leading them to. Isabelle moved slightly closer as they neared the village, and Alex could see her ears turning slightly as they approached.

Alex glanced into the shops as they walked past. The first one was a clothing shop, which was nice, but not really important right now. The second one looked like a general goods store, which seemed much more practical. Alex stopped to look through the windows more closely. There seemed to be a hodge-podge of items in the windows: seeds, flooring, wallpaper, and what looked like bags of medicine. It really was a random assortment.

They heard Isabelle clear her throat. "It's rude to stare," she said kindly, but Alex could hear a gentle rebuke in her tone. Alex glanced over their shoulder to ask what she meant, but they caught sight of the half dozen pairs of eyes now looking everywhere else except at them. Oh, right. I guess I should have known that Isabelle, Tom Nook, and Blathers weren't the only…unique individuals here. With Isabelle's words still ringing in their ears, they tried not to stare at any of the other…beings. Each one seemed to have different animal traits. It made Alex felt like they needed to speak with Mr. Nook as soon as possible.

Alex turned back from the window, and started to follow after Isabelle. She opened the doors to the official-looking building and held it open for them. "Welcome to Resident Services, Alex."

Alex could tell from a quick glance around that if you needed to get things done, this was the place to do it. Almost every available space with filled with something, but Alex could see that there was an order to the chaos. It wasn't disorganized with objects throw haphazardly around; it looked more like someone was way too busy, and needed everything to get the job done.

Mr. Nook looked up from his work area as Alex stepped inside the air-conditioned building. "Aw, good to see you up and about, Alex," he greeted. He looked behind them to Isabelle. "Any trouble?"

She shook her head, causing the bells in her hair to jingle. "No, everyone kept their distance, just like you asked."

Tom nodded. "Good. You should probably go talk to them though. I'm sure they have additional questions now."

Isabella hesitated, clearly wanting to stay, but she just nodded. "Sure thing, Mr. Nook." She gave Alex another soft smile, "I'll see you in a bit." She stepped out, shutting the door behind her, leaving Alex alone with Mr. Nook.

He came and sat down at one of the counter spaces, and motioned to the chair in front of him. "Please Alex, have a seat. We have much to discuss, yes?"

For some reason, Alex suddenly felt very nervous. It was a feeling they associated with being called out of class to go down to the Principal's office, or being called over the intercom to come to your boss's office after a particularly hard week. Maybe it was just the seriousness of situation. They walked over though and sat across from him.

Mr. Nook's eyes shifted down as they walked. "How's the leg feeling this afternoon?"

"Pretty good, I guess. It's still hurts, but it's not bad."

He nodded again, and laced his fingers lightly together on the table. "Good, good," he said absently. Alex could see that one hand looked normal, while his right hand had the same dark fur-hair from around his eyes. The hair extended to about midway between his hand and elbow. The dark "fingernails" on his right hand were also much longer and thicker, and reminded Alex more of claws then true fingernails. "Ms. Isabelle let it slip during her morning announcements that there was a human visitor in the campsite, so add that to…everything else going on this morning…and, well, my day as been hectic so far."

There was a moment of awkward silence as the small talk ended. Alex could feel Mr. Nook analyzing them. Alex was acutely aware of the fierce intelligence in those blue eyes. Ideas and possibilities were running at a lightning pace behind those calculating eyes, before deciding on the best course of action.

"Well, first off, I guess an explanation is in order. Have you ever heard of the Redd Company?"

"You mean Redd Biogenetic Tech? That's one of the largest companies engaged in cutting-edge biogenetic therapy and research."

Mr. Nook snorted and rolled his eyes. "Oh, is that what he's rebranded it as now? That sounds about right." He exhaled. "Anyway, Reed co. has been involved in biogenetic research for quite some time, just some of it is not as open to the public as other projects are. One of the side projects has been trying to merge the normal human genome with other species' DNA, to give humans extra abilities. Trying to 'help guide human evolution', was how it was originally presented to me."

"That sounds very dangerous. And unethical."

Oh, it was very, very dangerous and equally unethical. At least the way they were going about it." He sighed, "Everyone on this island was a product of that project. Everyone was misinformed or misled in what medical procedure they were partaking in, or–worse, still— were 'volunteers'. Once the scientists are done with you at the Lab on the mainland, they toss you onto this island. This is their rubbish heap, their garbage pile. Everyone here is considered a 'reject,' or 'mistake' or 'failure.' This is where you end up, when the scientists don't want to bother with you anymore."

"I'm sorry," Alex murmured quietly, not because of guilt but because of empathy. "I feel like this has an obvious answer, but I have to ask anyway. Why don't you all just leave?"

"The obvious answer is correct; because we can't. We are far out from the mainland, and we don't have the means of transportation to go back. We don't have a boat, or the means to really build one that would make it to the mainland. The island is guarded by several cyborgs, such as the one you encountered last night," he gestured to their leg. "Any craft we would try to build would be destroyed once it was in open water. And any unfortunate passengers onboard would be taken captive and returned to the Lab to be 'recycled'." Alex shuddered. "Yes, it is something that no one wants to go through. Anyone that has come back, if they come back at all, are even more scarred and more of a cobbled-together mess then they were before they left.

"We do have a plane. But it's a small two-seater, and not practical to move everyone off the island. Plus, the compass and other instruments on the inside were damaged, so our pilots have to rely on themselves to fly from one place to another. There are hundreds of smaller islands in the area, but I wouldn't trust them to leave anyone on one. No disrespect meant to them, but they have the absolute worst sense of direction I have ever seen. If they left you on one of those islands, there is a good chance that they would never find you again."

"It does sound like you are truly stuck." Alex rubbed at their arm. "But I can leave, my boat—"

"Oh, your boat is gone." Mr. Nook calmly interrupted.

"It's what?" Alex stared in shock. "It was caught in the rocks; it wasn't that damaged!"

"At first light this morning, several larger ships from Redd co. showed up to confiscate it. They searched it, patched it, and took it away. They were very efficient; they were finished and gone by noon."

"But that was my boat!" Alex was aware that their voice was rising. "Why didn't you stop them?"

"How, exactly?" Mr. Nook's voice was calm, but Alex could hear the cold steal in it. "Tell them that it belongs to the unconscious human that we currently have at our campsite? Think, Alex! We were all just humans once. Have you ever heard of any of this before? Do you think Redd co. would just let you go on your merry way once you knew about this? I have no doubt that if we handed you over to them, you would be back on this island in six to eight weeks.

"But you wouldn't just be human anymore." His words were like a bucket of cold water being dumped on Alex; it calmed them down. They were still upset about their hard-earned sailboat being taken, but they couldn't ignore the larger issue here. "I am sorry about your boat," He said gently, "but count your blessings. They didn't seem too interested in your whereabouts, just removing the boat so we couldn't use it. They didn't pry too hard on where you were."

Alex put their head in their hands. "So what happens now then," they mumbled.

"Well, we can get you situated here in the village, of course." Mr. Nook said, and Alex could hear the mental shifting into a role he must have played a hundred times. "We can get started on building a house for you right away, if you want. You don't happen to have anything of value on you that could be used as collateral, do you?"

"Not since my boat was taken," Alex spit out as civilly as they could. They knew that it wasn't really Mr. Nook's fault, but they were still mad about it.

"Thought not," he nodded. "Regular currency doesn't work here anyway. Our economy is based on trading, so we exchange everything through trading tokens call 'Bells.'"

Alex looked up. "What?"

"Bells are a currency that can be exchanged for goods or services here. You can exchange items for Bells and then you can use Bells to buy items." He raised an eyebrow, "Or, if you prefer, you can trade in the old-fashion way, and exchange, say, eight apples for one flimsy wooden shovel?"

"Nope, trading with Bells sounds easier."

"Precisely how we felt about it. Bells are much less cumbersome, and it is an easy concept for everyone to grasp. Of course, there's still the problem that you don't actually have any…" Alex was extremely suspicious of the conniving glint that seemed to be in those calculating eyes. "Well, no need to worry. I have special program for you to earn Bells." He pulled out a list from underneath the counter. "By simply living your best life here on the island, you can earn miles from me. Miles can be used to acquire special items from me, or can simply be exchanged for Bells."

Alex glanced over the list: pull up weeds, gather fruit, chop down trees, collect bugs, catch fish. It was Alex's turn to raise an eyebrow to Mr. Nook. "'Living my best island life'? This looks an awfully lot like a glorified chores list."

"No, it is the Nook Mileage Program," He assured them. "The fact of the matter is that nothing in life is free, and I need everyone on the island to do their part to help make this into a working community. As unfortunate as your circumstances are on arriving here, I simply do not have the resources to support freeloaders and moochers."

He leaned back slightly, and rubbed the fur between his eyes absently. "This town held together by sheer will and being too stubborn to quit," a tied edge was in his voice. "I have tried my best to make this island into a semblance of the lives we all lost back on the mainland. But some of the hybrids, they can't stay in a community with the others. I can't have the carnivores trying to eat the insectivores or herbivores, not to mention the competing animal instincts which always seem to be at each other's throats. Or some of them aren't social animals, and prefer to live solitary lives deeper in the forest.

He sighed. "I have lost count of how many villagers we have had come through; Isabelle would know though. She is a wonder with the other animals. I can't tell how much of that is just her personality, or if it is the empathetic nature of her dog instincts. She told me once that she has always worked in Human Resources of some kind, so I guess it's ironic that that is her role with animals now. The petty quarrels and territory feuds have decreased dramatically since she arrived." He looked up and gave Alex a knowing look. "You can probably tell that I am not much of a 'people' person. Never really have been. I much prefer the business side of business; the books, sales, numbers and economics. The 'boring stuff' as she would call it." He chuckled ruefully. "I apologize if I seem indifferent to your situation, Alex, but the truth is you have a better chance of living here than the majority of residents here already. You have no idea what they have gone through, and how it has changed them. You are only human, yes, but you are still yourself.

"But back to business," he seemed to some back to the present. "About your house, look around the village and chose a plot of open land for it. Come back to see me when you have decided. We will discuss your bill then, hm?" Alex nodded, and took the list. "Go see Timmy and Tommy at the shop. They can get you situated with anything that you need get to started here on the island. Oh, and you should go see Blathers this evening as well to check on your leg. You don't want to risk an infection, yes?"

"Yes, I don't want that." Alex stood up to leave, and fidgeted with the list. "Um, thank you, Mr. Nook for helping me, last night and today. I really do appreciate it."

Mr. Nook waved their thanks away. "Don't worry about it, Alex. I want everyone to have their chance to simply live their life on this island." Before Alex opened the door to leave though he called out. "Oh, Alex, I almost forgot," Alex could sense the serious urgency in his tone. "Don't wander too far away from the village. Like I alluded to earlier, some of the mixtures of the hybrids make them unstable. And I don't mean just physically. I don't know how they would react to a normal human, and because you just a normal human, you don't really have the natural means to defend yourself if they become aggressive." He made a point of showing his right hand with the claws and his own elongated canines. "And stay out of the ocean. I don't think I need to elaborate why," he shot a look at their leg.

Alex shuddered. "No, I get it." Alex opened the door to the sunny afternoon, but turned suddenly back to Mr. Nook. "Don't worry, Mr. Nook. I understand I need to do my part, and I'll be someone you can count on!"

Mr. Nook smiled as they left. "I certainly hope so, Alex," he murmured into the stillness. "I hope so…"

()-()

A gentle knock sounded on the office door. Mr. Redd, President and CEO of Redd Biogenetic Technology, didn't bother to look up from the documents on his desk. "Enter." The assistant calmly shut the thick door behind him, and walked across the plush carpet to the almost regal desk. When he stood in front of the desk, only then did Mr. Redd look up. "Ah, Mr. Lyle. What news from the 'situation' at the Island."

Mr. Lyle adjusted his glasses and opened a folder on the smart tablet he was carrying. "The boat has been taken care of as ordered; it's safely stored in one of Island's warehouses. It belongs to an 'Alex Smith'. Young adult, worked minimum-wage jobs on and off, not really connected or tied down to anything or anyone. Hasn't really accomplished anything. The only thing that they have really accomplished was buying that sailboat. Seems a bit directionless."

"A common enough occurrence in today's young adults," Mr. Redd said coolly as he leaned back in his leather chair, fingers pressed together in front of this face. "Family connections? Anyone going to start asking questions if they disappear?"

"Their parents are still living, but with the sailboat, it implies that Alex is a bit of a drifter. Not sure how good of a relationship is there between them. No job at the moment, so no one will be bothered there."

"Best to be proactive then. Notify the parents that we found the boat crashed in our waters, no doubt because of the storm last night. No one was on board, so we assume the worst, but we will continue to search for young Alex. Of course, we will update them on our progress. Be sure to send them our deepest sympathy for their lost, and we will be more than happy to pay for the memorial service in Alex's honor, if it should come to that."

"Really?" Mr. Lyle asked skeptically.

"If it means the family will move on from prying into Alex's whereabouts, then yes. It will be costly, but it is better to avoid too many prying eyes. Besides," he shrugged, "think of it as an investment. Alex could prove to be very useful on the Island."

Mr. Lyle frowned. "You are going to leave them there?"

"For now. Alex is an unbiased outsider. They have no preconceived notions of the Project or the Island inhabitants. It will be an interesting social experiment to see how they respond to it." He chuckled darkly. "Perhaps, in two weeks, they will be running to the beach, screaming to be picked up.

"It will also be interesting to how Nook and his 'villagers' respond to a complete outsider on their island. They haven't had contact with anyone in quite some time. I wonder how those failures will handle having a normal human in their midst. At the very least, it will give Nook a few more grey hairs and sleepless nights, so I will consider it a fair exchange for the expense."

"Should Gulliver be given any special directives concerning them?"

Mr. Redd pressed his fingers to his lips as he thought. "No, I think not for now. Same guidelines as for anyone who tries to leave the island; bring them in. As for our other hybrid employees, it will also give us a chance to see how they interact with a normal human as well. Don't tell them who Alex is. Just inform them that we 'think' there might be a human castaway on the Island, and we want to determine who it is. But we don't want to provoke a confrontation with the Islanders.

He chuckled darkly. "I want to see how far Nook is prepared to go to protect this human. Or will he cast them off if it jeopardizes his fellow hybrids under his 'protection'. Give them a few days to get acclimated to the island, before we send our next 'visitor,' to the island. Send Leif if you can. He has a working relationship with some of the freaks and seems to get along decently with most of the others. Plus, he knows how to gather information discreetly.

"Yes, Sir." Mr. Lyle made a notation on his tablet. "What if Alex's presence turns into a problem?"

"Well, Dr. Shrunk has been telling me that he thinks he has perfected the formula of the Serum as much as he can without further testing on an individual. If Alex turns into a problem, then we won't have to look very far for our next volunteer." He waved a lazy hand. "Like I said, an investment."

Author's note!

First off, thank you for reading all that! I know that this first chapter covers quite a bit of ground. That being said, I would really, really appreciate reviews. Partly, because I see this as practice for my writing. So if anyone sees any typos, grammar mistakes, confusing sentence structure, ect. please tell me. Also, I like to see what others think of my story, good or bad.

Next, Credit to where credit is due!

Once again, this AU is not my idea. It was created by divorcelawyerpip and king_magppi on TicTok (and I believe that they go by the same names on Instagram as well). I really enjoy TikTok, and get a lot of inspiration from it. However I suck at drawing and cosplaying, so the written word is my creative outlet of choice. Please check them out though, and the tag projectn00k, to see what I was referencing.

The descriptions of Tom, Isabelle and Blathers are based on the drawings by divorcelawyerpip. I was really inspired by their work, so I decided to use the drawings as models for my characters. No attempt to steal work or ideas in meant here! ! However, as a general rule, I will be staying away from their story/plotline. So don't expect me to follow along with what they do.

Thanks again for reading this. I plan on writing this as a series of one-shots, with a loose over-connecting arch. I have no idea now long my fickle brain will entertain this story, so I hope you enjoy it while it lasts!