Disclaimer: I do not own Grossology characters, baddies, environments etc, etc. Any OC, baddy or location not recognisable is mine.

Rating and Warning: T for the mentioning of gore. Kid Rot losing it, OOCness on both parts. Really T just to be really safe. Character death?

A/N: I decided to update this story a while ago, but then I sort of got stuck on the plot. Well… I still am, but at least now I have a part three as well.

…- Keeping up Appearances -…

Rotting everything within the apartment that could be rotted has given the parasite more power then Abby first realised.

The door is giving in, but Kid Rot is unable to slam it down from its hinges. He has yet to break through the barricade she has set up. Another hard slam against the other side of the door, and the heavy refrigerator concealing it actually moves with the impact. She can hear wood splintering on the other side, breaking under his constant physical assault. The fact that he cannot rot the damn thing away has calmed the young woman greatly. In time, he will tire himself out again. Not even rotting everything and absorbing their nutrition can help him now.

And it's still a matter of time before Grossologists will move in.

A particular hard slam and the screeching movement of the refrigerator on the ground has Abby turn her head once to observe. She steels herself again and moves towards one of the counters. A big wooden block has been her goal when she barricaded herself within the kitchen. Thankfully she had time to move the refrigerator to the door. If Ty hadn't told her once that they have wheels, and they need to be toppled slightly in order to move them she probably wouldn't have bought this much time already.

With a sharp slice the biggest knife comes loose from the wooden block, a big and relatively heavy knife with rounded edges and a bloody sharp blade. It is perfect for stabbing. This will be her first weapon against him, if only to defend herself against him. Hopefully she can distract him long enough. Another knife is added to her small arsenal, a small one follows which she straps against her leg with bandages, and hides that one partially beneath the leg of her pants.

She nearly throws herself behind the cooking island in the middle of the kitchen, ducking for cover when the door on the other side of the room finally gives and the refrigerator topples forward, slamming with the top half into the square island and remaining in that position.

There is a soft click indicating the parasite hits the light switch, but the light isn't turned on. Abby hopes she can make her way out of the kitchen under the cover of the dark room. The erratic breathing of her host quickly falls silent, Kid Rot going into stealth mode. It's scary how quickly he can become deadly silent when just a moment before he was all raging noises and sickening sounds.

Counting heavily on her own luck Abby scoots to the side and moves forward on her hands and knees. She dares to peek around the corner but finds nothing. Her hopes are to surprise him, to stab him in a leg so she can make a run for it. The parasite, though recharged somewhat has lost a great deal of power. He is not nearly as fast or powerful as he was before.

The young woman presses herself against the counter again, knowing that he must be coming from the other side. Collecting all of her courage she scoots to the other side. Her heart is pounding in her chest so loud Kid Rot must hear it too but she doesn't care. With every ounce of courage in her body she peeks around the corner of the island again, ready to strike should he have stalked close.

He's not there either.

With a gasp the young redhead slams herself against the counter again, feeling herself go extremely pale. He's not on her left, and he's not on her right. The knowledge lodges into her stomach like a solid rock. She is growing cold all over, the dread and anticipation becoming almost too much to bear as she waits for him to strike. Not to her left. And not to her right. He is on neither place.

The blade in her hands digs into her skin when she kludges to too hard. Adrenaline is starting to pump through her veins. She knows. And furthermore, he probably knows she knows. The young woman closes her eyes and inhales through her nose deeply, no longer making an effort to stay quiet. Then she opens her eyes again and tenses. He must have felt it, because she feels his disturbance above her. With a cry she moves, pushing the blade up before he has a chance to pull himself back up the counter. She doesn't know where she hits him, but she hits him. She could feel the resistance meeting the blade, the hot blood gushing over her hands and the undignified roar of anger was almost painful to her ears.

She nearly tumbles out of the kitchen, something heavy and big missing her by a hair's length. Of course he is right behind her, his presence ever powerful

With a battle cry she turns on her heels when he comes too close, swinging the blade out and nearly throwing it at him with all her might. There is contact again, the redhead knows before she loses balance and falls backwards. Her behind hurts from the impact, but she quickly recovers, still holding the blade out as if it were to stop him again if he charged for her. "Drop it." He hisses, demands, furious that she dares arm herself against him.

There is a large cut on his chest, bleeding furiously into his clothes. She now sees where she first stabbed him in the kitchen. His shoulder is bleeding, and he is having trouble moving that arm. She must have hit a nerve.

It's not enough to take him down though.

The parasite moves again, so very quick his speed is inhuman. Abby tries to stab him once more but he easily blocks it. He only cares to disarm her, to overpower her, to stop her struggling. Abby almost drops the knife when he kludges her wrist with too much force, until she jerks sharply, then he responds just as harshly. She almost topples backwards again, making him almost lose his footing. Another sharp jerk downwards and the knife almost drops. Another jerk upwards and he accidentally hits her. The hit isn't enough to harm her greatly but she goes down with a lot of force. Instinct and years of fighting bad guys have taught her that you must be able to improvise. So instead of continuing their struggle Abby responds to the hit by falling on the floor with a forced cry of fear and pain, the knife falling inches away from her. The carpet is wet against her but she ignores the smell and the sickening wetness for now.

"Abby?" The parasite falls as still as she, only his erratic breathing evident that he is still standing next to her. Seconds tick by while he tries to figure out what just happened. Shocked he steps forward and falls to his knees, hands flying up to her shoulder and her head. She has her eyes closed and feigns unconsciousness, but she can hear the shock in his quivering voice. "Abby…" He chokes out and shakes her as he can muster. The redhead doesn't move in favour of waiting this out.

It's still important she buys time.

He's shaking, his whole body is trembling with shock and exhaustion. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" His voice is awfully quiet, toning down into fevering apologies. He turns the young woman in his arms, pulling her onto his lap and cradling her delicate body. Abby tries to remain as motionless as possible, but in all fairness she is getting a little scared when he begins sobbing. There are tears falling on her face she can tell, which is greatly disturbing. Apology after apology is flowing from his lips, most of them becoming incoherent because of his breaking voice and strong sobs. He's acting like he killed her.

It's perfect really.

The parasite falls completely silent when she opens her eyes again. From the crazed look in his eyes she can tell he didn't see this coming, it's like he sees water burning. They remain silent for a while, Abby trying to keep him mesmerised as long as possible, and Kid Rot unable to do anything for a little while until coherent thoughts finally catch up with him again.

"I'm sorry I hit you."

"I know." He opens his mouth again, probably to apologise some more, a strangled sound escaping his throat. His whole frame goes ridged, a long tremble slipping down his spine. He can't move, twitching and shaking, he remains seated on his spot while the young woman backs away and crawls for safety, as far away from him as possible. She half expected him to come at her and scream and tear her head off or something.

Apparently, he is more affected by this then he wants to lead on. Furious eyes filled with shock and heartache land on her frame while she pushes herself against the wall beneath a window, pulling the little knife out of its hiding place. The blonde's eyes are wide in disbelief and anger, but he remains on his spot. A guttural whisper is creeping into his breathing, growing louder and louder with every heave of his chest. He tears his eyes away from her to look down at himself. His fingers are clutching the blade lodged in his stomach, just below his ribcage. There is a small puddle forming on the carpet already.

Growling like a monster the parasite begins pulling it out with a sickening noise, slow and careful not to damage his internal organs further. Blood which has been seeping out of the wound now begins to stream more furiously; Abby can see the droplets gushing when he finally gets back to his feet.

The ominous rasping of his hoarse throat is the final tell tale sign that he is at the end of his ropes. His eyes are bloodshot, divulging fatigue and most of all, betrayal. Abby is clutching the last knife in both her hands, her knuckles turning white and the blade digging into her hands but she doesn't even feel the pain as she crouches to a striking position. A small staring match ensues, neither of them moving, just glaring the other down. Both wait for the other to twitch.

Something nags at the back of the young woman's head. Again a little voice begins talking about Chester. About how she should try talking to him, try to lure Chester out again. It has worked a few times before, sort of, before the Kid Rot persona would completely take over again. The little voice is telling her to start talking again, about anything, just so she can at least lie down peacefully tonight, knowing she did everything she could for someone who clearly needed the help.

Her lips part ever so slightly and the parasite twitches and leans forward, ready to strike with teeth and claws. Abby doesn't speak; words simply fail to come to her. Her lips close again, then they open, and then they close again, like a fish gasping for air. She broke eye contact, lost the staring match.

Distracted.

By a little red dot on the centre of the parasite's forehead.

Kid Rot's eyes suddenly shoot up, away from her, above her, at something or someone behind her. She can't react in time when the window behind her shatters with a loud bang and clattering glass. Shards fly all around her and she can feel some of them cutting her, not deep, not deadly, but her skin and clothes are nicked and she dives to the floor. The redhead closes her eyes out of instinct and shields her head with her arms, winching at the strangled screech coming from the parasite. The outcry is cut short abruptly, and quickly after that a body hits the carpet.

A lot of noise follows, more loud bangs at every possible window, all of that glass splintering in sharp fragments. Boots hit the floor, their sound barely muffled by the carpeted floor. There is movement around her, orders are being shouted, confirms are being thrown back and forth through radios. "Target eliminated." That… doesn't feel well at all.

The youngster cracks one eye open, curiosity getting the better of her. A large boot is all she can see in her line of vision. "Abby!" Hands fall around her shoulders and lift her with strength she didn't know he possessed. Target eliminated. "Hey come on! It's me!" The Grossologist that is holding her nearly rips his own helmet off and throws it away. It clatters dully through the room. "Abby!" She still can't believe what's happening. Her brother gently grabs her hands and tugs gently at the knife, willing her to let it go. "It's over." He promises before pulling her into his arms again and helping her onto her shaking legs. Target eliminated.

"Target secured. Get him out." The barricade that was the front door has been taken down. Several of the Grossologists are moving in, others are moving out. Amidst the sea of bodies a duo of Grossologists lifts a stretcher with a large black bag secured with thick belts. When they move a large red stain appears on the wall, crimson droplets languidly dripping down without a care in the world. People start to take samples of everything in the apartment.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out what happened.

Twenty minutes later Abby has calmed down. The radio is still buzzing with orders. Grossologists are working in the area to remove everything related to Kid Rot, and are preparing for the locals to return to their homes. The body of the parasite is being loaded into a guarded chopper.

The Bureau is not taking any chances.

"They are going to move the body to a lab in the desert." Tyler offers his sister a bottle of water. She gingerly takes it and struggles it open. Her throat has gone dry from all the excitement. "Where?"

"Area 51." She snorts through her selfish gulping. The youngster lowers the bottle with an appreciative smile before brother and sister fall silent. They both stare at the chopper on top of the small building. They can't see the people moving, but Grossologists have finished preparing the body for transport. The engines of the machine are revving and soon it lifts itself from the building, quickly making its way towards the designated area.

"He didn't hurt you did he?" Ty suddenly raps out, face contorting with momental fury at the possible thought of that sick bastard touching his sister. "No." She quickly intervenes before his thoughts can become too gloomy and disturbing. The parasite hadn't tried to kill her until today. And maybe he didn't mean to kill her today either. It's not like Kid Rot to harm her. "It's not like him to attack you though…"

"No it isn't."

"What happened?" The redhead inhales, mouth opening, words forming slowly. It's all been so incredibly weird. This whole experience has been weird. "He was coming back."

"Chester?"

"The parasite wasn't feeding itself. It was weak. I think I saw Chester." Her brother casts his eyes to the ground, a deep look of contemplation on his face. Abby continues softly. "A few more days…"

"Maybe we could have saved him."

"That's what you said the last six times."

"I know but…" The young man falls silent for a moment, thinking of a good answer. "You just think it." They laugh for a bit, because it's true. Abby stops smiling when her brother stops laughing. He remains still for a moment, confusion and worry crossing his eyes as he listens to the headset still attached to his suit. Abby inhales deeply, feeling herself grow cold.

It's so obvious. Superhuman, why shouldn't it happen? The raven haired youngster slowly turns to his sister, a look of determination on his face. His voice is hoarse from the sudden strain and tension. She knows what happened even before he opens his mouth.

"The chopper went down…"

Somehow, that doesn't seem so surprising.

- End?

Should I end it here or not? Lol even I don't know yet.