"They are not going to cut me?" I ask, hesitant. The car we are in is stopped outside of a big building, the 'Doctor's Office'. Mom shakes her head, her smile back. Her hair is different from Gaster's and Joey's, thick and with… braids, she called them.

"No, Joey, they're not going to cut you." She assures me. I hum, uneasy, but eventually agree. Joey had 'errands' to run, so mom said she would take me to everything we needed to do. To comply with the blue boys, we still had to talk to the Bounty Agency, but mom said we needed a recent physical examination first. Also, a circlet.

I am excited to get this circlet. I wish to take pictures!

"Okay. I am prepared." I say, and Waffles yips in my lap. Mom gently takes him into her arms, and Waffles begins to lick her face, which causes her to laugh. Mom has a nice laugh, and Waffles has gotten over the fear she had instilled in us before.

"Alright JJ," she says, what she had taken to calling me, "let's get to it." She puts on 'sunglasses', and a 'hat'. We both open our doors, and step outside. Her car is smaller, but much more comfortable than Joey's!

I flatten my ears, as it becomes far more loud than it was in the car. There are lots of voices, and people are all around us. Cars drive past us on the road, with big buildings towering over us. I feel small, insignificant, which makes me uncomfortable.

Mom gestures for me to follow, as people walk around us in large groups, entering the building and leaving it. I lick my lips, the overwhelming urge to devour filling me. But I promised Joey I would not eat people, so I follow mom as she walks towards the building. Waffles squirms in her arms, his own ears flat and his nose sniffing the air.

The doors slide open, and the area inside is somehow even louder then outside. I look up, moving stairs leading to different, higher sections of the building. Mom however, ignores everything and walks up to a big desk with several humans and nuans talking to people. I stand beside her, and mom holds my hand.

Pleasant.

Wiggle.

The human who greets us is female, with short pink hair. She smiles, looking between me, mom, and Waffles. "Hello!" She says, her voice very friendly. "Do you have an appointment with one of our offices, or is this a walk in?"

"I called earlier on the phone, for an appointment with Doctor Farley." Mom replies, and the female nods, tapping on something in the air. I look curiously, but don't see what she is interacting with. Oh, but her circlet is glowing green!

"Ah yes, the three o'clock for Mrs. Brooke Gruschwald?" She asks, and mom nods.

"Yep, that's me! Though I'll also need an appointment with an RE Veterinary Office, for this little girl." She says, holding up Waffles who yips excitedly, straining out of her arm to lick the female. Mom's grip is tight though, so Waffles ends up only licking the air. The female laughs.

"Hey girl! Boy she's friendly, isn't she?" She greets, then resumes typing on the air. "Alright, it looks like we have a few slots open today. Would four work for you?"

"Yep, that should work perfectly, thank you so much."

The female nods again, before tapping her circlet. She looks at me, still smiling. "I see he doesn't have a circlet. Would you like to register for a new neural plant today as well with Dr. Farley?"

Mom gently squeezes my hand. "Not yet." She says, and I frown.

"But the circlet!" I protest, and mom shakes her head, bending down to whisper into my ear.

"A neural implant involves an incision." She murmurs, and when she notices my confused look, purses her lips. "A cut."

Oh. I vigorously shake my head, and the female nods.

"Alrighty. I've just sent you a few forms to fill out, and if you wouldn't mind taking either the escalator or the elevator to the third floor, someone will call for you shortly."

Mom nods, pulling my hand and we walk away to step onto the moving stairs. Another fascinating human invention, it conserves biomass, even if only slightly. "Mom, if…" I trail off as I see mom staring at me, her eyes going wide behind her sunglasses. "What?"

Mom shakes her head, smiling as her eyes grow a little wet. "Nothing hun. You can call me mom if you want to."

I frown, tilting my head. "Is that not your name?"

She opens her mouth, then closes it, before she laughs again. I must be amusing, people laugh a lot when I talk.

"No JJ, my name is Brooke." She clarifies, and I finally understand. Gaster called her mom because that was his term for Creator. "Did you think my name was mom?"

I nod hesitantly, and Brooke laughs again. "It's okay." She says quietly, still smiling and squeezing my hand. "You can call me mom if you'd like."

I think about this for a few moments. I was used to referring to her as mom, but… "Would it make you uncomfortable if I called you mom?" I ask hesitantly, and she shakes her head.

"No hun. It's more than okay." She answers, and I nod.

Mom. The feeling is pleasant.

Wiggle.

We step onto another area, the 'third floor', and mom lets go of my hand as we walk to a couple of chairs. People are sitting and standing around, a couple looking at us curiously. They smile when they see Waffles, then return to their own things. Just as we are about to sit down, a bald male in blue clothes walks out of a set of doors, looking around for a few moments.

"Brooke Gruschwald?" He calls, and mom readjusts her hold on Waffles.

"Come on, that's us. Now Joey said that you don't like being touched, but they're going to have to, alright?" She asks, and I nod. As long as they don't attempt to cut me. I shudder as I remember the physical examinations the Creator conducted.

"Hello, if you wouldn't mind following me."

We fall in step behind the male, who leads us past the doors and down a hallway. We enter a room with two chairs against a wall, and a longer, strange looking chair in the middle of the room. I frown.

Stolen novel; please report.

I don't like the 'Doctor's Office'. It feels like the bad room, where parts of my body were removed. But mom said I would be safe.

"Alright, did you fill out the forms?" The male asks mom, who nods and taps her circlet. The male also taps his circlet, looking into the air for a few moments. "Okay, looks like we've got a… BA physical exam?"

Mom nods. "Yup! JJ was never registered, so we were hoping to do that today." The male nods, smiling as he looks at me.

"Alright then, you can have a seat ma'am. JJ, if you wouldn't mind sitting on the examination bed, we'll go ahead and get started." The male gestures towards the long chair in the center of the room.

I comply, and he brings out a small device. He holds it against my arm for a few moments, nodding as he taps on the air. He then presses it to my neck, and I barely stop myself from growling. I push out my mind, sensing the male's thoughts. The neck is a weak spot in human anatomy, but… it will be okay. I do not sense any intention to harm from his thoughts. I pull my mind back.

He nods, then holds his hands up. "Alright, your temperature is abnormally high. Do you feel sick at all? Light headed?" He asks, and I shake my head.

"I increased the blood flow in my vascular system, and altered my heat transfer design." I say helpfully. "I should be twenty percent hotter than a standard human anatomy."

The male raises his eyebrows, before nodding. "Alright, so a result of your mutation. I suppose it's within normal-"

"I am not mutated." I interrupt, frowning. Mutations were the inferior form of Gifted, as Joey said. I have had my Core since my creation!

The male's eyebrows raise, and so do mom's. He looks at me curiously, studying my ears and tail. "It's okay, some people are in denial about their mutations for the first year or so, it's a normal psychological res-"

"I am not mutated." I insist, and mom purses her lips.

"But JJ, your ears and tail. And your tentacles, they are all signs of mutation." She says patiently, and I finally understand.

"I developed the canine auditory nervous system, and the caudal terminal appendage, to improve upon the human anatomy. And tentacles are superior additions to combat. Very versatile." I clarify, and they both look confused for a few moments.

"Could you demonstrate, please?" The male asks, and I shrug, complying.

[Remove canine auditory nervous system, develop human auditory nervous system, remove caudal terminal appendage]

I frown as my senses become lesser, and shift uncomfortably, holding my hands out to my side to steady my sudden lack of balance. Hmm… I should perhaps become used to balancing without a tail. If it is ever crippled during combat, I will suffer moments of weakness before I can repair it.

Mom and the male's expression's have become different. Interest, in the male's case, while mom's is… excited.

"JJ, you're Gifted?" She asks, her smile bright, and I nod.

"I have had my Core since my creation, yes." I say happily, and allow them to bask in my superior form's presence. "These changes were made recently, to better assist in combat."

Mom's smile dims, her eyes darkening. "Oh… I see…" She says. Oh, an interesting new expression. Like a mix between sadness and concern.

"Hmm…" The male nurse hums. "Well, in that case, I don't think there is a need for further physical examination."

Mom nods slowly, scratching Waffles around the ears, who pants happily. "No point for a complete Category One?" She asks

The male taps his circlet. "Right. Doctor Farley will be here momentarily. It was nice meeting you both." He says, nodding his head before walking out. When it is just the two of us in the room, I look at mom.

"Mom, what is a category one?" I question, and she smiles.

"Well, you'll learn more about them in depth at school… shoot, which starts in a couple of weeks. We'll have to get you enrolled." She taps her circlet. "Joey? Hey, could you swing by Gaster's new school while you're… oh, thanks sweetie. I guess you already thought about it. I love you too, I'll see you later." She returns to looking at me, while I stare jealously at her circlet.

It even allowed her to communicate with Joey at such a large distance? Maybe… maybe I could take a little cut…

"Sorry hun. Where was I? Right, Cat One. So, people with Cores have abilities. But each ability is different. Well not all the time, a lot of people have the same or very similar abilities, but anyways. These abilities are varied, but generally they fall into different archetypes." I nod along as she explains, eager to learn.

"Well, these archetypes are called Categories. Cat one is what we refer to as body modification and shapeshifting. They allow the Core User to alter their bodies to produce various effects. Some are only partial, like being able to transform their arms into weapons, or their blood into poison, things like that. Others, like yours, are more complete."

I hum, processing this. But I have another question. "So if someone has more than one Core abi-"

The door opens, interrupting me, and we both turn to look at a nuan woman with pale grey hair entering the room. She has the same structures on her face that Gaster does, 'glasses'. She has on a white coat, strange devices hanging outside of her 'pockets'. She looks at me, then at mom.

"Brooke! It's so good to see you, it feels like it's been forever." She greets happily, and mom smiles widely. Her voice is different from humans, strangely. It is slightly more pleasant, like the 'music' that came from Gaster's game.

"Hey Evelyn. It has! Oh, Joey was thinking of hosting a barbie next week. Can I count on you wrangling up the gang to bring them?" Mom asks, and I realize they are friends!

"You most certainly can. Anything we should bring?" She asks, taking a device out of her pockets and bringing it up to me. "Hey buddy, what's your name?"

I smile. If she is a friend of mom, then she must be a good nuan. "My name is Joey Waffles, and I am very polite!" I greet, and she laughs.

"Joey huh, that's a funny little coincidence." She hums, and Mom nods.

"I've taken to calling him JJ, Joey Junior. It helps a bit." She says, and Evelyn's smile widens.

"Well alright then JJ, I'm just going to have you look at this light right here." She says, and I comply as a red light flashes in my vision. "Good, good. Alright, and the other eye… very good." She turns to look at mom. "So, I see he doesn't have a circlet. The receptionist downstairs said that you weren't interested in getting him a neural implant?"

Mom nods hesitantly, looking at me. "JJ had a… rough, childhood. He doesn't do well with being touched or cut." She explains.

I think about the circlet. About the pictures, and the games, and the calls.

"I…" I say, taking a deep breath. I must not show cowardice! "I will allow myself to be cut, if it means I can acquire this circlet."

Mom looks at me with surprise, while Evelyn nods. "That's very brave of you, JJ." She says softly, and I smile. Evelyn is a nice nuan. She has acknowledged my lack of cowardice! She turns to look at my mom, opening her mouth, and I push my mind out. I am curious what a nuan's mind feels li-

Predator.

I freeze, the fear coming back as I observe the new woman, Evelyn. She has stopped, looking at me curiously, though a small smile is on her face. A terrifying smile.

"Well, that's interesting." She says quietly, and Mom looks between me and Evelyn in confusion. I shift, lowering my eyes.

"What is? JJ, what's wrong?" She asks worriedly, and Waffles whines. They can't sense it. This woman is even more of a predator than mom is.

I hear Evelyn's voice come, more gentle. "It's okay JJ, I'm not going to hurt you." She promises, and I look up fearfully. The terror is gone, but I know I only have to push my mind out again to feel it. It is strange. When Mom didn't have any intention to harm, even when I observed her with my mind, the instinct did not warn me that she was a predator. But this woman…

Evelyn is still smiling, and her posture is non-threatening. Mom continues to look concerned, and Evelyn glances at her. "The nurse that was just in here, Mike. He said that JJ was a cat one?" She asks, and Mom nods hesitantly. Evelyn's eyes crinkle as her smile widens, and she looks back at me. I swallow.

"Well, that might be a bit incorrect." She says, putting her hands in her pockets. "I think JJ here, like me, might be a Category Six."