PATIENT # 6945

NAME: ATEM MUTO

GENDER: MALE

AGE: 18 MONTHS

SPECIES: WEREWOLF

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Atem laughed and ran from his little brother Yugi. He was chasing him and growling playfully. Yugi was trying to get him for pouring water on his head. Atem just laughed and continued to run. A young man in a white coat came into the room the two were in. They stopped chasing each other. After looking at each other they walked placidly up to the man and held out their arms. The man was taken aback by this action but quickly gained control of himself. These werewolves seemed used to the scientist's presence and made nothing of them. They merely assumed that whenever one came in they were due for their shots. He should have expected this. These werewolf cubs had been raised in the facility and therefore thought that everyone dressed like this. The man took their hands and gently led them out of the nursing den they had been raised in. The two got nervous as they approached the door. However when they were on the other side they seemed quite curious. The clean white corridors and labs seemed to intrigue them. Atem pushed his brother playfully toward one of the doors. Yugi yelped in surprise then laughed and pushed his brother back. The man smiled ruefully. They came to a break in the corridor. Other scientists came and took one each, placing gentle but firm hands on their shoulders. Atem and Yugi got a bad feeling. They backed off from the scientists. Sensing this they used it to direct them down the different hallways. The young man knelt down beside them both.

"It will be all right. You'll see each other again. You're going on a little trip." They didn't seem to like being separated but no longer made it difficult for the scientists to lead them down the hallways. Yugi was taken to the werewolf observation center where they might be able to learn more about their behavior. Atem however was taken to the genetics department. They were trying to combine werewolves with vampires. Atem didn't understand what the restraints were for but when he saw the shot he held out his arm like he had been taught to do. The vampire blood turned his veins cold. He was very confused by how sleepy he felt. Everything was fuzzy. The scientists sighed as he fell unconscious. He was reacting to the new DNA well, maybe he could be the answer. They clipped a red tag to his ear that had an ID number on it. It read: 6945. This would allow them to recognize him and keep track of his movements. Then they picked him up and put him into an isolation den. He wasn't used to his new surroundings and it would be better to have the other werewolves inspect him before he joined a pack den.

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It didn't take long for Atem to wake up. Whether it was the vampire DNA speeding his recovery or just his reaction they didn't know. But they would find out soon. They sent in the first pack. The group entered. The werewolves took one sniff and completely ignored him. Atem was curious. He tried to come closer, tried to sniff their hair, but the werewolves growled and snapped at him. Atem backed off into a corner and whimpered. They let in a different pack, this one also chose to ignore him. One by one the packs rejected him. Then the last and most dangerous group was allowed inside. Atem stood in a corner, not really paying attention to who was let in or not. There were three werewolves in this pack. A spiky haired blonde named Marik, A brown haired teen named Kaiba, and a snowy white haired boy named Bakura. The werewolves sniffed the air. They circled him, inspecting him in every way. They seemed to get along pretty well, but Atem was shy around them, afraid they would snap at him like the others. The werewolves started to ignore him. They sighed, it looked like it would be another loner. But then something unexpected happened. In a fit of boldness Atem went over and bit Kaiba's ear. Kaiba yelped and immediately growled at the young werewolf. Atem just smiled happily and if he had been able to shift would've been wagging a tail. Kaiba snorted and ignored him. The other two however took this as a sign. Hey re-approached the cub with new interest. While Bakura was sniffing his hair Atem bit his ear playfully. Bakura yelped and Marik chuckled. They let the boy sit down beside them. Even though Kaiba disagreed on it he tolerated the young cub's growling and nipping. The scientists were full of mixed feelings. It was good that he had found a pack, but it was with the most dangerous werewolves they had. They decided to just let the cub be with them and see how things turned out.

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It had been a few months. Atem was getting along with the werewolves and seemed to be acting as a sort of leader. Kaiba who was the current alpha male disapproved of this and was always engaging n fights with the boy. Kaiba would end up winning through his size. But Atem had skill, and his small body made it easy for him to maneuver quickly. He put up quite a fight. This earned him respect from the others. It was clear to them that Atem was likely to become a dominant male or even an alpha. They ran tests on him every day along with inserting more vampire blood. Atem saw the tests as games and toys and tried to finish them in as little time as possible. The scientists were astounded. At the age of two he had an IQ over 150! Werewolves were smart compared to beasts but it had never been known for one to be as smart as a human! Yet the boy couldn't speak. He yipped, growled and barked like all other werewolves. They led him back to the pack den. He ran inside and jumped onto Marik who yelped and tackled the cub. He giggled as Marik growled and began to play with him. The scientist sighed and left. The boy would be showing signs for his first full moon soon. And after that the vampire blood would kick in.

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"Marik! Marik! I beat my time!" Malik looked up from his dinner only to have the boy tackle him. Marik growled and began nipping at his ears. Atem laughed and bit back with his young teeth. Marik looked at the scientist. They hadn't discovered their language yet. That was good. Like Atem, Marik, Bakura, and Kaiba also had high intelligence for werewolves. They kept this fact hidden because they were afraid that the scientists would start to test them the same way they did to Atem, hence their secret language. It was fashioned after regular barks and growls to throw them off the scent. But they could all speak it fluently. Atem stopped wrestling with Marik and looked at what was there. "Is that goat?" He said hopefully. Marik growled.

"You're not getting any of mine. Your dinner is over there." He pointed to a plate that had a lumpy red looking thing on it. Marik expected it was liver. Atem yipped happily and began to eat. A small bag of blood was beside it. Atem used his unique long canines to puncture the bag and suck out the blood like he was still nursing. This always struck Marik as funny. He had never known any creature to do this. But there had to be more than what was in their den. Maybe Atem was a different breed of werewolf, but there wasn't anyone like him, at least….not any that he knew. "So you beat your time?"

"Yep! I don't know why they keep on making such a big fuss over it. Those games aren't that special." He tossed the bag away. "I wish I had some sort of game to play. Like that card game their always having me do only different. Unique." He sighed again, toying with a piece of liver, staining his hands red with the blood. He absently raised a hand and licked it off. He also didn't understand the strange attraction to blood. I mean sure Bakura liked blood, but he didn't drink it. He shook his head. No reason to think about it. Atem wasn't hurting them. And it made his head hurt. He didn't like that. Marik yipped softly to show his sympathy. /I wonder how long it will take them before they realize that we use our own language?\ He mused. Marik yawned and laid down. Atem had finished his supper and would be wanting a nap. Even if the boy was genius like all those scientists said he was still only two years old. Sure enough Atem yawned and curled up against his chest. This time however his hands looked a little furry. /He must be getting ready for his first full moon.\ He thought. Marik groaned in sympathy for the boy. Your first few moons were not a pleasant experience. It was more painful than a growth spurt and less painful than puberty. Still was hell though. He counted the days in his head. Six more days till the full moon. They'd better get ready.

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Atem howled at the moon. His body felt like it was on fire. The skin tightening, muscles tearing, bones breaking!! He curled into a ball, hoping the pain would go away. His body hurt, but slowly it faded. He got up unsteadily. For some reason the world looked different. The ground was closer to him then it had been before. He looked down and yelped. His reflection stared back at him. Only it wasn't his, it couldn't be. He wasn't in the shape he remembered. He looked like those things he saw in the pictures of the books he read. Animals, yes that was it. He looked like one of the animals. His tanned skin was covered in soft black fur that faded to a mahogany red. Deep golden streaks adorned his paws, tail, and the center of his forehead. Three others like him came into the place where he had been led to. One had blonde fur that was coarse but had a sort of sleekness to it. The fur was raised and slightly spiked, as if it was constantly raising its hackles at you. The second one had fine deep brown fur. And the third had rough, coarse and matted white fur. He sniffed the air. /That's strange. They smell like my friends….and Bakura does have a bad habit of not grooming himself.\ The blonde one came up and sniffed him. He snorted and then spoke.

"I should have known. Why else would they bring us to the moon training dens?" It was Marik. Atem was confused.

"Moon training dens?"

"It's where they put young werewolves until they learn how to control their shape. I never really like the moon training dens. But then I had a rough time in dealing with it since I was originally a loner." Atem was very confused now.

"Werewolves? Controlling my shape? Loner? What are all those things?" Marik sighed.

"We are werewolves. Basically it means that we have the ability to change our shape from that of a human into a wolf. And while we can control it we have to stay in our wolf form on the full moon. I don't know why though. Anyway, a loner is what the scientists call werewolves who are rejected by all of the established packs. I used to be a loner. But every once and a while they take all the loners and put them in a group. If you react well to each other you're a new group. I believe there are over fifty now." Atem stared at Marik with his purple wolf eyes.

"Werewolf….I like it. It seems to fit what I am. A half wolf." He stared at the moon for a while. "Hey Marik?"

"Yes Atem."

"Will I change back when the sun rises, or will I be like this until the moons no longer full which is in three days?"

"You can change back in the morning if you want. But you'll just go through the same process tomorrow tonight. I'd stay in this form if I were you." Atem shivered and curled next to Marik.

"I think I'll change back. The entire reason I'm here is to learn to control my shape. I don't see much point if I maneuver around it and don't try." Marik nodded and curled up around him. The silvery moon watched them. Marik wondered why they had to stay in this form on the full moon. But he guessed that was just a mystery.

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That morning the vampire blood began to take over. Atem had never been one for early starts, but now he simply despised them. While the sun didn't hurt him physically he was rather weak. Marik was worried. So was Bakura, even Kaiba, though he wasn't going to admit it. Marik stayed by his side the whole day. The scientists came around noon and gave him a shot of blood. This seemed to help him. He was able to withstand the sunshine and actually enjoy the day. That night Atem sprouted a pair of leathery vampire wings. At last they knew what the scientists had done. They had injected Atem with vampire blood to make him stronger. The blood was now fighting for which traits would be the most dominant. This was why Atem liked blood, his vampire half needed it. Marik felt sorry for him. Vampires and werewolves had never really gotten along. So their blood could really harm him in their battle for dominance. It might even kill him. But somehow Marik knew that wouldn't happen. At the end of his third full moon the blood had ended in a stalemate. Atem was still a werewolf, but now his fangs were both longer and sharper. He needed blood, but could go without it for months on end. He could go outside in sunlight, but it pained his eyes and he was never as strong. He still had to change every full moon, but could change back during the night if he had to. At long last Atem was finally ready to leave the moon training dens. They were going to start introducing him to the others next. Marik was eager to go back to the grounds. But Atem was nervous. He had never met any other werewolves except for those in his pack. Bakura would play tricks on him and get him riled up. Marik always had to stop Atem from trying to kill him. But the days were peaceful and the nights were serene. There was nothing to worry about. Or so he thought.