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This familiar scenery of Sakura Hospital has been the only thing Seth had been grateful to bear witness to as he sat down in one of the hospital's waiting room chairs and looked down at his knees, haplessly swinging them back and forth. As the silence dragged on, the young Serval boy could almost hear the idle chatter of the orderlies and nurses with the help of his long ears, almost as if they were practically a gift from the gene pool he descended from. Looking around the room, Seth could tell Sakura wasn't all that bad for a general hospital. In fact, it seemed the opposite, it could almost feel like a children's hospital--on his left, he was met with lovely little cartoon posters that displayed happy messages and, on his right, took notice of a few small cubs and hatchlings in the hospital's play area, having the time of their lives.

All around him, Sakura was painted a bright pink with yellow designs all over. However, Seth still kept his attention to the cubs playing as he still held his knees together, a single teardrop rolling down his cheek.

_'Oh, how I could be just like them,' _he thought as he immediately remembered his current predicament; unfortunately, he had to come here to try and help save his Antelope friend who had sustained such serious injuries from having been scratched and thrown down the balcony at an open house gathering, along with her mother. That very moment had haunted the poor Serval kid in many ways than one, mostly because Lloyd's very existence and his custody of him was the only way the other kids knew of Seth Balenciaga--he was Lloyd's kid as well as the only heir to his fortune.

This little discovery led the little Serval to become more isolated amongst his peers as they only seem to pay attention to all of his foster dad's worse points instead of the fact that he was the sole owner and founder of two businesses and a hospital, accumulating bountiful riches along the way. Now, this was going to be proven that it will be harder than it looked because of how the event that transpired on that very night. As the memories rushed back inside his head, Seth found himself cussing under his breath, wishing and praying multiple times for time to turn back.

Amidst his silent brooding, a tall tortoiseshell cat nurse came out with a disappointed look on her face and taking off her face mask. Stepping out, she noticed that Seth was still there in the chairs, waiting. "H-Hello? Seth Balenciaga, right?" She called for him, causing the serval to perk his ears up.

Seth straightened himself up and he looked deep into her lime green irises. "Y-Yes! That's me!" He replied hurriedly, "is Nikki okay in there? W-What about her mom, Mrs. Welker? Are they alright, any good condition!?"

The poor serval boy couldn't help but ask incessantly as his bushy tail thrashes in discomfort by the intense and negative energy building up. "Please, nurse!! How are they!?"

Calmly sliding off her mask and grasping it in her hands, the tortoiseshell cat nurse gulped a knot down her throat and answered in the most sincerest way possible as she walked over to the boy and placed a hand on his shoulder. She sighed deeply and said, "I'm sorry, Seth. It seems that the blow that both Nicolette and her mother have sustained were in very critical condition as a 50-foot drop from that balcony had fractured and bruised them internally, as well as a rough blow to the face and head, resulting in a concussion. What I'm trying to say is that there was nothing we could do to fix it. I'm sorry..."

Immediately, as if the world had fallen apart, Seth felt his legs grow weak as he slowly placed himself down on his knees and let out a silent sob. Tears streaming down his green eyes and staining the floor, Seth's sounds went from sobbing to outrageous crying in a matter of seconds, alerting the attention of everyone present. His hand paws clenched and tightened into fists, he allowed tears to fall as he was gently being embraced and comforted by the nurse before him.

"Would you like to say your goodbyes to them?" She asked calmly, her furry arms wrapped around the serval's shoulders. Having ceased his crying, Seth nodded and was soon escorted to the room both his friend and his unfortunate science teacher were in. Despite already envisioning the horrid physical condition they were in, Seth still worked up the courage to pass through that door and see them one last time.

---

Inside the hospital room, two individuals laid in their beds, completely immobile and almost on the brink of death. Nicolette Welker--or just Nikki and an Antelope--had bandages on both her snout and left ear as she looked like a ghostly apparition, her fur color almost fading and eroding into a shade of white, originally a beautiful light brown with some blue markings. Another on her right was her mother, Aria Welker--a much older Antelope and a science teacher at Bloodstone Junior High--was resting comfortably beside her own daughter, looking completely dead and unmovable. As she laid there breathing, her chest was heaving up and down in a skip of heartbeats, trying her best to catch more breaths of air. Despite the silence of the hospital room, the only sound made was the visible monotonous beeping of the heart monitor and the silent wheezing of the two mortally wounded Antelope.

Seth entered the room with a hobble in his step, his legs wobbling fearfully as he took notice of the two girls brutally injured in their beds, the images of IV tubes going through their flesh and bodies. Just by the sight of the result of his father's violent outbursts, the Serval couldn't help but gasp lightly and cover his mouth, almost to the brink of tears. He walked up right to Nikki, gently pulled the covers off her face, and placed a soft hand paw down on her cheek. The boy took a deep breath as he stared into her beautiful aquamarine eyes, those orbs no longer showing any source of light or life. A simple whimper escaping his lips, the boy couldn't help but cry and sob at this horrid sight.

The undying regret that Seth felt from watching his classmate let alone his friend badly bruised made millions of scenarios pop into his head as he remembered why his father did this. With a short sounding whimper, Seth silently said, "Nikki, if you can hear me, cough once."

A long pause. No answer. It felt as though this possibility of seeing her breathe again shook the serval boy to the core and almost made him break down completely, but stopped when he heard a single whine from the antelope's feeble body. Surprised, Seth perked his ears up and looked deep into her beautiful eyes and almost formed a smile across his yellow sun colored muzzle. "S-Seth...?" Nikki croaked, her voice raspy and in pain.

"N-N-Nikki... Nikki, it's me, Seth!" The serval boy chirped. "A-Are you doing well?"

Nikki shook her head slowly, frowning. She kept her eyes glued solely on her feline friend. "No... Your f-f-fucking dad... H-He did a number... on me... and my mom..."

The young antelope motioned her ear to her middle-aged mother who stood as if she was frozen in ice. Seth almost choked on his own spit as he landed eye contact with his soon-to-be dead science teacher. He allowed a single tear to run down his cheek as he brought his attention back to his classmate who, with all of her remaining energy, raised a shaking hoof and firmly grasped a hand on Seth's arm. The serval was caught by surprise, keeping his attention to the little ungulate.

"Seth..." She gasped. "Just know... This doesn't affect how I feel... about you..."

Seth's eyes widened like saucers as he hears Nikki's dying words.

"You're the most... smartest, most coolest boy I've... ever met... I love you..." One last time, Nikki gave Seth another sweet smile and allowed a tear to fall, followed by the loud, droning of the heart monitor, alongside her mother. Seth's eyes widened even more as he witnessed death for the very first time. And to add insult to injury, it was a friend _and _a classmate! As if everything is happening all at once, Seth witnessed a few nurses rushing in and quickly escorting him out of the room, the voices of the orderlies shouting and barking orders. As their voices echoed and faded, all Seth could do was walk. Walk straight to the exit, where his uncle is expected to wait for him in the parking lot.

The events that transpired had happened so fast for the little serval boy to the point where he felt like breaking down completely, and break down he did. As loud and hard as he could, Seth aggressively slammed a hard fist down onto the hospital walls and began bawling loudly, his tears now pouring and soaking his once clean yellow face. As onlookers took notice of his public mental breakdown, a few other nurses came to his aid and wrapped comforting arms around him in hopes of healing all the emotional wounds he carried. Constantly cursing himself out and screaming, Seth was calmly and quietly escorted outside of the hospital, where he can continue his inner and outer turmoil.

---

** Nine hours earlier**

Bloodstone Junior High had held its annual Open House celebrations at a fancy ballroom building in downtown Moonstone where they often held parties and large gatherings to showcase the works and achievements of their students while their parents would oftentimes ogle and become amazed by how hard their children worked at school. The building was packed to the brim with a lot of Pantheran parents showing up in their fancy outfits and casual clothes with their little cubs, kits, and hatchlings following suit. Each desk was a designated spot for the art students, whom Seth seemed to be a part of. Thankful for the opportunity to show his large caracal father, the serval was hoping that he at least noticed.

Much to his surprise, Lloyd somehow noticed a drawing his son made and smiled, patting him on the head. "Good boy, Seth," he chuckled, showing a sharp fanged grin. Happily reveling in his adoptive father's attention, the serval boy continued walking with his father in this large crowd of Pantherans big and small, causing the socially inept lavender caracal cat to grimace and snarl whenever he made just the slightest contact with them.

If anything, Lloyd showed so much pride in his own son that sometimes he thought about why he enrolled the boy into this, as he calls it, hick school. Lloyd steadily eyed each and every parent who crossed his path akin to a hawk eyeing its prey. _'These feeble-minded nobodies,' _he thought bitterly. _'A bunch of spineless numbskulls they are, thinking that they'll somehow ever accomplish anything. There own empty heads filled with their own little hopes and dreams, constantly blinding them and making them unaware of the harsh reality that this world has in store for them instead. Huh. How pointless.' _

"Oh my gods, it's Lloyd~!" A familiar voice shouted from amidst the crowd of parents and children, startling Seth and disappointing his dad. Much to his chagrin, Lloyd noticed a tall middle-aged antelope with glasses over her snout and a large set of antlers. She seemed to have a lighter brown color on her fur with a hint of gray streaks going through her long dirty blonde hair. In contrast to the caracal's elegant dark purple general's outfit with dazzling badges and other assortment of his achievements, the woman wore a beautiful silk green dress, the color of a katydid.

"Oh, hi, Mrs. Welker!" Seth chirped, waving a hand at the antelope. "Dad, this is my science teacher, Mrs. Welker. She's also the mother of famous theater kid Nicolette Welker!"

Aria chuckled at the mention of her daughter's name and dismissively waved a hand. "Oh now I wouldn't say she's famous, she's only been the main role of two of our school plays."

"Yeah, dad! Remember when I told you about the time when we did a musical adaptation of The Dumb Adventures of the Hyper Boys? Nikki was the character Rosie! The good thing was that Tom and Katie were there and they actually liked it!"

All Lloyd could do was scoff and kneel down to his son's shoulder length and said in a snarky tone, "well, that's not as impressive as the time Seth here won first place in the spelling bee _and _the science fair, two things that are a lot more impressive than some cosplayer singing and dancing on a platform in front of a bunch of people."

This statement caused the serval boy to chuckle nervously and his science teacher to be taken aback by that. Aria cleared her throat and looked down at her student, a friendly air picking up between them. "Anyway, Nikki has told me nothing but good things about you and how you helped her land the main role for the school's next play!"

Lloyd scoffed. "Yeah. Helped her land the main role by stealing it from him."

Seth shot a dirty look at the caracal as he checked his phone and chuckled at the reaction he had gotten from his son. He returned his gaze to Aria and sighed. "I apologize for my dad here, he's not used to being around people."

"Oh, don't apologize, Balenciaga. Geniuses can feel that way all the time!"

"Yeah, but I didn't expect you to understand," the lavender caracal shot back, his tone now aggressive and a bit cold. "No one can comprehend my mighty intellect or my son's! He is the greatest kid I have amongst this... this pack of drooling, messy, flea infested neanderthals!" Lloyd motioned an arm to the whole crowd of Pantherans around him, a snobbish energy about his movements. "And I could be doing better things with my time than lounge around with these peasants..."

It's official. My dad has lost it, Seth thought as he facepalmed himself out of embarrassment and apologized once again to Mrs. Welker. As the two continued their talk, Lloyd himself decided to walk off to where the snack table was, his mind completely drifting away from the main focus of this shitshow. He couldn't stop scowling at the crowd, knowing full well that these people were the sole reason his son is the way he is currently. It almost made the caracal sick to his stomach as he walked right out to the balcony of the building and looked down at the busy night streets beneath him, watching as the zooming lights of cars go by.

Digging through his pockets and taking out a pack of cigarettes, Lloyd flicked his lighter and lit one, hoping it at least eases the pain of being amongst these filthy beasts. He shifted his attention away from the streets to the moon, mentally counting the millions of stars in the sky. It always made him wonder why he even bothered coming to events like these, but the only good thing out of all this was that he got to be there to witness his only son's personal and academic achievements.

There was always something about Seth, he just knew it. That little serval he adopted was special, and he was the only one who knew. Finally, a smile spread across Lloyd's sullen face as he now came to a heartfelt realization that Seth would be the one and only heir to his fortune, soon to be inheriting his riches and wealth when the serval becomes of age. But that won't happen just yet because he has a job to get done here. Smoking his cigarette and allowing the smoke to flow freely in the wind, the caracal doctor heard the echoing sounds of Aria Welker again, making him pin his ears back in irritation. Turning around, he noticed Seth was still talking to that antelope woman, lost in conversation.

"So my father's attitude doesn't phase you?" Seth asked, his voice calm and understanding.

"Of course, it doesn't. I've met people like him before, and I can tell you it's just another way of being envious of my notoriety, haha!"

"Yeah, maybe you're right..."

With the effective use of his improved hearing, Lloyd barred his fangs and let out a low hiss, unsheathing his claws and sharpening them against the marble balcony. The sheer mention of him in that conversation was enough to flare a few negative emotions inside him to the point of no recovery. He couldn't believe what he had just heard let alone witness! Him, envious of that grass eater!? How absurd! Thankfully, Lloyd took this time to not confront her about it as he simply let it slide for a few minutes, trying to let his anger go.

"You're not envious," he told himself, "in fact, you're the best at what you do, Balenciaga. You found the cure to the Keseichu parasite, you dissolved world hunger, you cured blindness, and you certainly cured quail pox! You're the best, no one else!"

Turning around and watching from afar, he noticed another antelope walk up to Seth who seemed like a younger version of Mrs. Welker. This must be the little girl the boy mentioned earlier. Dressed elegantly in her dark blue sleeveless dress, she playfully tapped the serval on the shoulder and hugged him from behind, startling him.

"Ah! Hey, Nikki! What's up?" Seth chirped, his smile becoming brighter than ever.

Nikki. That was her name. Lloyd made sure he kept all his eyes on her so that she didn't do anything suspicious with his son as opposed to all the other girls his son seemed to be hanging around with. It almost made the caracal researcher sick to his stomach as he took another cigarette and smoked that one as well, hoping to shake off the nerve of this little antelope. If there was one thing Lloyd tried his best to shield from his own son, it was the female race of Pantherans. It was an attitude like this that has earned the feline his societal position of "Panthera's least likable person". Not that he cares.

It mostly comes down to the fact that he looked feminine, despite saying otherwise; lavender colored fur, long black hair, and a headband were all the three things that made others mistaken him for a female at first. He tried not to make a big deal out of it, though.

Meanwhile, Seth and Nikki were busy chatting the night away and hanging around with Aria as usual amidst the chaos with the two kids sharing and joking amongst each other. They were seated at a table with plates of snacks and drinks, laughing away at their own expense.

"So what'll be for the next play of ours?" Seth asked, placing two paws under his chin and waving his tail playfully. "Have any ideas, Mrs. Director?"

Nikki chuckled. "Oh I haven't decided what it will be, Seth. It's hard when it comes to being a writer and a director, especially when you're thinking of doing it in front of a whole crowd of people just watching... and staring..."

The serval placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and purred. "Well, don't stress too much on the matter. I think you're going to do great!"

"Thanks for those words of encouragement on me as well," Mrs. Welker stepped in as she took a small brownie and ate it in one bite, "poor little Nicolette gets her social anxiety from her father. Huh. But I try my best to help her throughout this whole thing, and that's why I admire your father, Seth. He's lucky to have raised such a genius!"

Seth only chuckled nervously but then darted his eyes downward nervously at the floor, small beads of sweat trickling down his forehead. "Well, I guess you could say that," he continued, "but I don't know if any of that is true. I mean, he may have raised such a genius like me because he carries the smart gene of our family, but does that mean I have to grow up to become... hateful and selfish like him?"

Taken aback by his reply, both Nikki and her mom turned to face the young man, their eyes wide like saucers and mouth agape. This was surprising, especially if it came from the serval boy himself because for as long as the antelope remembered him, he wasn't always like this. Nikki scooted up next to Seth and wrapped a comforting arm around his shoulder.

"Seth, it doesn't matter who or what your adoptive dad was or still is, you'll always be your own person!" She consoled, her voice low and soothing. "I understand this school year hasn't been great for you since people either tend to stay away from you because of your father or only want to speak to you because of how rich you are. Well, I don't care about any of that because I like you just the way you are!"

Seth gave his friend a sideways smile and hugged her in response, muttering a "thank you" to her. With a keen sense of hearing, Lloyd soon snapped back to reality when he heard those final words being uttered by the antelope, his lips curling back into a malicious snarl. Putting out his burnt cigarette with two fingers and flicking it off the balcony, the caracal walked back inside to head for the bathroom, hoping to shake his mind off this whole thing. On his way to the stalls after walking past a large group of people, this whole event made Lloyd wonder what could even be so special about his son actually finding a friend. He always knew how this ended, and it ended in them leaving the poor boy after learning that he was in a position of wealth.

It made his head hurt, but the lavender feline tried his best to ignore these thoughts as he entered the bathroom, absentmindedly being met with two of the staff of the school his foster son attended. One was a tall male St. Bernard dressed in a casual looking dark blue jacket and black pants while the other was a small feral rooster wearing a generic red necktie. As they both exited the stalls, the St. Bernard's eyes were caught on Lloyd, eliciting an excited chuckle from him.

"Hehehe, hey, Lloyd! Long time no see!" He exclaimed, pointing two fluffy fingers at the caracal and smiling widely, catching his attention. Lloyd turned and almost felt a smile form when he noticed the familiar figure before him; the St. Bernard was an old friend of his who went to the same school as the caracal doctor did in his youth. His name is Marlin Kori, Bloodstone Junior High's gym teacher and former wrestler. The St. Bernard was Lloyd's best friend and has always been there for him whenever he needed him most, especially after the incident.

Lloyd came in to give Marlin a hug and nuzzled his cheek. "It's been a hot minute since I last saw you, Kori!" The caracal chirped happily, detaching himself from the minute long embrace, "how have you been?"

"Oh, nothing, dude, just the usual: teaching the kiddos, roundin' them up, disciplining them, nothing more. Say, your boy Seth is a great player I gotta say."

Lloyd chuckled at his friend's reply and began to run the faucet and splash some water on his face while the St. Bernard took out a flask and drank from it. "So, how good is my son in your Phys Ed class?"

"He's been good, actually," Marlin replied. "He's been putting forth the effort and I even made him Captain of his dodgeball team! Whoo boy, did he strike out the opposing team like a speeding bullet!"

"Hah! Just what I'd like to hear!" Lloyd laughed, sticking a thumbs-up. "Not only is Seth a genius, but he's just like his old man--strong and tough! We've got our own personal gym back at the mansion as well as sporting events I hold for our guests! That little serval knows how to build strength!"

As the two men conversed amongst each other in the bathroom, the Rooster cleared his throat and straightened his tie with his feathered fingers. It was quite obvious that while the St. Bernard and his best friend were still talking, his fellow school worker gave the caracal doctor a stern sideways glance. Grabbing a stool from under the faucet and hopping onto it to wash his wings, the rooster asked, "so how are your days of financially exploiting people, Dr. Balenciaga?"

"Melman, that's not very nice, man!" Marlin shot back. "That's my man you're speaking of!" The bird simply scoffed as he dried his hands in the towel rack.

"C'mon, Kori. You really can't expect this so-called 'doctor' to be of any good to society as a whole, he kills people for a living! And I should know because I'm his son's English teacher. All the things he's written about you, Mr. Lloyd Balenciaga, are false!" The words from Melman had struck the lavender colored caracal cat like a lightning bolt. From deep within, a surge of anger had risen inside him as he listened in on the rooster's rambling, his hands shaking and his claws unsheathing themselves. Lloyd tried his best to contain his anger, much to the expense of looking good in front of two staff members from his own son's school.

"I can't guarantee, without a shadow of a doubt, that maybe this _murderer _is the entire reason Seth is so mentally disturbed!" Melman crossed his wings and looked smugly at Lloyd, his orange beak tilted upwards into a smirk. "I have evidence he does these things!"

As awkward silence settled over the boys' bathroom, Marlin rolled his eyes and sighed. "You've been reading this conspiracy theory articles, haven't you? Man, I told you those are fake, people will do anything for attention online!"

"Y'know, for an English teacher, you're not very good at knowing what's real and what's fake," Lloyd sneered, crossing his arms. Emitting a low growl, Melman barred his beak at the caracal before leaving the bathrooms, storming back out to the celebration downstairs. Lloyd simply watched the rooster leave while Marlin turned and apologized. "Sorry for Mr. Whitlock there, he's a bit paranoid... And a little crazy."

"I understand. People get like that when they see me, but they only think that because of how Shiver Hospital looks on the outside." After the party of two finished their conversation, the St. Bernard left his best friend to go back and enjoy his time. Stepping back out into the upstairs lobby, Lloyd was reintroduced to the irritating scenery of the crowd again. His tail twitching angrily, he went back to clear his thoughts at the balcony, but was soon stopped by the voice of the principal. Perking up his ears and turning his head around, he watched as Principal Olson--an elderly Barn owl with a light gray ring around her face--tapped a microphone and received some feedback from it, causing the entire crowd of parents and children to respond painfully to the sound by clamping their ears shut.

Olson quickly cleared her throat and fixed the mic. As she finished, she finally started her spoke. "Welcome, parents and students!" She announced. "Thank you all so much for coming out tonight! We the administration and staff of Bloodstone Junior High would like to congratulate you all for coming on down and admiring the hard work of your own children, including us. As we are here to commemorate the open house celebration and the work of our school body, we will be doing our annual nomination of awards. We will be going on with the list of our recipients, so listen closely. If you hear your child's name, let them step up."

Lloyd listened in closely as he anticipated for his son's name. He looked up weary eyed at the Owl principal and yawned. From the distance, a small wiry gerbil with dark brown fur scurried up to Olson's shoulder with a large list in his mouth and waited for his partner to take it from him. The elderly Barn owl took it out from his maw, unfolded it, and read it carefully. Her glistening dusty blue eyes looked up at the crowd, her voice loud and proud.

"Whimsy Fowler," she announced over the mic, wherein a female rotund lion cub with creamy white fur walked up to the principal and was handed an award. The whole audience erupted into a collection of applauses and hurrahs. Meanwhile, Lloyd simply gagged silently to himself at the cub's appearance. _'What did she get awarded for?' _He thought darkly. _'How many snack cakes she can eat in one sitting?' _The caracal doctor chuckled at his own joke as he drew another cigarette.

"Aiden Kawasaki." Upon hearing that name, a tall male shoebill stork hatchling came walking up to receive his award. As the list of recipients start to shrink and almost a handful of students received their awards, the same gerbil from earlier scurried up and gave principal olson a golden colored envelope. Just by the tension of the crowd, Lloyd threw away his cigarette and looked on with curiosity, his long ears flicking with the intensity. Olson swiftly opened it up and pulled out a pink piece of paper.

"Now, for the moment you've all been waiting for," she spoke through the mic, rustling her own feathers like mad. "This is the ultimate award that will go out to only one student--a student who has displayed a great deal of effort to make our school the way it is today through helpfulness and boldness, a student who knows no boundaries and goes above and beyond! As we go down to the last hour, let us all wait as I read this... Drum roll, please..."

The whole ballroom erupted in a small chorus of rumbles made by the rough footwear of the guests, eliciting a groan of annoyance from Lloyd. Reading the name of carefully, principal Olson cleared her throat once more. "Aaand the recipient of this year's top student goes to..."

_'They better give my son this award, I swear to Wicked Mare...' _

"Nicolette Welker!!" The owl finally declared, causing the whole crowd to soon explode in a cacophony of cheers and hollers. Staring wide-eyed, Lloyd's jaw dropped in disbelief as he watched the small antelope accept her award and blew a kiss to the crowd. Now shaken, the caracal let out short sounding growls from his throat and clenched his fists tighter than usual, almost allowing his claws to sink deeper into his flesh. This can't be happening, he thought to himself in a fit of rage. Why didn't Seth get this covered award? He is a genius, why did they pick a stupid cosplaying little pansy!? This isn't fair! His mind and soul blinded with rage, Lloyd turned around and looked down at the bottom of the balcony, cackling menacingly to himself.

All of a sudden, he felt a soft hand touch his shoulder. The lavender caracal cat turned to see his foster serval son looking up at him, his eyes filled with regret. "D-Dad? I'm sorry I didn't win this year," he said. "Maybe next year...?"

Looking down at his young son menacingly, Lloyd's demeanor immediately shifted from one of anger to one of calm as he knelt down and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. "Don't sweat it, little buddy," he cooed, "just know that I'm still proud of you, no matter what. Maybe tomorrow we can celebrate all your other achievements with some ice cream. How does that sound?" Lloyd playfully booped Seth's nose, making him giggle. "Okay, dad. Sounds good to me."

As the father-son duo embraced each other for a very long time, the caracal took notice of Mrs. Welker and her daughter walk out to the balcony where they were, making him seethe even more as he slowly dug his claws into his son's back before releasing. Standing up, Lloyd glared at the two antelope girls while Seth was more than thrilled to see them.

"I'm so proud of you, Nikki!" Seth chirped as he ran in to hug his friend tightly. "Congratulations!"

"Oh now don't forget that you helped me," the little antelope girls chuckled as she clutched onto her trophy. "After all, it's also your prize as well."

"It's honestly too bad that you didn't win, Seth, dear," Aria said as she placed a hoof on the serval's dad's shoulder. "Maybe next year will roll around. If not then--"

As if in just a few short minutes, something inside Lloyd broke completely; all that rage he built up since the start of the awards' ceremony started to burst open and come out in the blink of an eye, causing the world to go blank around him. Before he knew it, he lost total control of his movements and found himself unsheathing his claws. With a swift blow, Lloyd raised both hands up into the air and slashed his glistening sharp claws against the faces of both Mrs. Welker and her daughter, causing them to fly out onto the rough patch of cement.

Time had frozen as Seth had witnessed this random act of violence against his friend and his teacher unfold. His eyes widened like saucers as he saw the two girls' faces bleeding from the impact, traces of blood pouring down their snouts. Both their eyes were given nasty gashes across them as they started breathing heavily on the ground, trying to regain their composure. From afar, Seth stepped up and held his hands out.

"Dad, stop!!" He cried, "what are you doing!?"

"...If you can't get that award, then no one can!!" Lloyd barked as he started grabbing two of the antelope by their necks and lifted them up to display their weakened bodies to the rest of the world. He strode up to the side of the balcony and looked down, examining how high they were from where he stood.

"Why do women ruin everything!?" Lloyd hissed angrily as he gathered all his strength and, with just a thrust of his arms, threw both of the girls down, sending them straight to their immediate demise. As their terrified shrieks echoed from the 50-foot drop, Lloyd listened on as he heard the sounds of bones shattering and organs bursting upon impact with the ground. From behind him, Seth looked on with horror, shivering at the sight of his father's accomplished crime. For as long as he lives with Lloyd, he always saw his foster dad as a role model and someone he wanted to be, but this was possibly what the caracal meant by that. His lips quivering, Seth allowed tears to fall as he tried to speak.

"D-Dad... W-Why did you do this...?" He croaked, sniffling and sobbing. The lavender caracal stood straight up and cackled. He brushed his hands against his pants and looked his son in the eyes, albeit unapologetically.

"It was for your own good," he responded dryly. "I'm your father and whatever I do or say goes."

"But dad, you killed Nikki and Mrs. Welker!" The serval boy shot back, his voice changing from sad to absolute outrage. "This is not okay! We are in a public sector, someone could've seen you!!"

"This is to teach those plebians some respect for me and you!"

"This is _wrong, _dad, and you know it!!"

In just a few seconds, collective gasps were heard from below the balcony as the party of two looked down in surprise to realize that a few onlookers saw the splattered dead bodies of the antelope. Each of them exchanged looks of horror while some were on their phones calling for an ambulance. Seth clung to his father as they both watched, silently crying again. Lloyd, on the other hand, kept a blank expression on his face as he gently strokes his son's hair, bearing witness to the millions of students and staff members crowding around the cadavers.

In the blink of an eye, the entire building became empty as everyone rushed out to find the sounds of blaring sirens and the appearance of paramedics. The once dark night now flashes of red and blue lights as police cruisers and ambulances appeared, with two doctors draping cloth over Aria and Nikki before shipping them off to a nearby hospital. Much to Seth's horror, he knew how awful this situation was because his father, a man he looked up to, caused this. And all of this over a trophy?

Amidst the confused chattering of the crowd, Seth slowly fell to his knees and looked on, feeling his own heart sink deeper. He glances up at his apathetic father and then down below the balcony. There was only one thing that crossed his mind after a night like this: Nikki, his best friend, and Mrs. Aria Welker, his science teacher, are both dead, having been killed at the hands of his adoptive dad. And to add insult to injury, he stood idly by and watched it happen.

To perfectly summarize, it was all Seth's fault. He is the one to blame.