Jon: (Ok, now what?)

  After a few seconds of stillness, an idea comes to him.

  (Status!)

  |Scanning… Scanning… Done|

  |Unknown|

  (Then, what's the point of you.)

  (Waste of points, now I have to eat ants again.)

  Trying a few more times with the same result, he decides to check what he can buy.

  (So, I have a status that is my information then, this has to be the status of the muscle,organs and whatnot then.)

  As he looks it over again, a voice calls his name and Phill walks out.

  Phill: “Come on, buddy. It's time to go to the store.”

  Jon: “Store?”

  Phill: “Yes, that right. Let's get going.”

  Picking him up, moments ter a sting strikes Phill.

  Phill: “What the hel~, hello friend.”

  Flicking away the ant that bit him, he gnces over his shoulder to see Grandma fast asleep.

  —sigh— “That was a close one.”

  Walking over to her, he nudges Crey awake and tells her she should go y down in a bed instead of out in the hot sun.

  Crey: “You can be nice?”

  Phill: “If I let my mother-in-w die from the sun then I'll most likely get divorced and jail time.”

  “But, if you die of old age, then it's not my fault.”

  Crey: “TCH, thought you grew a brain.”

  After a couple of minutes of bickering back and forth, Phill finally leaves for the store after dressing Jon.

  15 Minutes Later

  Pulling into the parking lot, he parks in the middle, grabs Jon out of the car seat, and heads into the store.

  Phill: “Now, son. Let dad teach you, what you need to build a basement.”

  (Showing my son how a man builds — it's worth it to work in construction.)

  Jon: “Build?”

  (I hate, acting like a baby.)

  Phill: “Yep, now let's get down to it.”

  Walking through the store, Phill writes down the name, type, and quantity of the items he needs.

  “Going to have to get some help. Moving all this by myself is not good for my body.”

  “Lucky, this store has moving services, heard theirs a discount for a certain amount spent though.”

  Writing down things like concrete, rebar, gravel, and a vapor barrier. After a few hours of double-checking his list and getting the right services, they finally leave to go home.

  It takes them a few minutes to get home. Pulling up the driveway, they see Crey pnting flowers in the front yard. After a brief, half-hearted greeting, Phill brings Jon back inside, and a 4 months pass by.

  …

  Throughout the months, underpinning takes pce.

  Phill and his crew from work dig small sections under the house at a time, making sure the structure stays supported and doesn’t colpse. Inspections happen regurly after each step to ensure everything is safe. Utilities like pipes, wires, and other services that are in the way are turned off, removed, or relocated as needed.

  Phill: “I am happy the permits were not that hard to get. This was very tiring.”

  “Thanks for the help, Jack, and Riche. Would take a lot longer without you.”

  Jack: “Well, you have always been there for me in my life and work. The least I can do for you.”

  Richer: “Mhm.”

  Jack: “Anyway, how you even afford this?”

  Phill: “This is combination of savings, tax returns and a raise, along with other stuff.”

  Jack: “Oh, yea. You did get one at work.”

  A few more days pass, and they finally finish the work.Shortly after, a truck pulls up, ready to start the next phase.

  *Beep* *Beep* *Beep*

  Phill: “A little further, keep coming. Ok, stop.”

  Several trucks follow behind — dump trucks filled with gravel, a concrete truck, and another carrying rebar and other materials. Many hours ter, the first part of the outer foundation is finally set.

  Days pass as they start on the walls, slowly removing the supports that held up the house. After a few days, the walls are finished, and they begin ying the waterproof materials.

  More days pass as the inner foundation is poured and left to dry. The crew reconnects the utilities they had removed, moves or repces pipes and wires, and fills in the holes they had dug. It takes a couple more days to check that everything is working properly and that the structure is safe.

  Phill said, “Finally, that's all done. Now let's go get my lovely wife and son from their friend's house.”

  Saying that, he drove about an hour away, arriving at a tan house made of concrete with bck shingles covering the roof. A little garden gnome stood by the walkway, giving a mechanical wave and a creepy smile.

  Phill muttered, “Ugh, I hate these little guys. So creepy.”

  After knocking, he walked inside and found Amber sitting on the couch, watching TV.

  “Where’s Jon?” Phill asked.

  Amber replied, “He's outside, pying with Grandma and El.”

  Phill grinned. “That old coot can still move?”

  There was no answer — just silence, heavy and sharp enough to tell him Amber wasn’t amused.

  “Come on, honey. I don't mean it — it’s just a joke,” Phill said, trying to lighten the mood.

  Amber crossed her arms. “Well, it’s not a funny joke.”

  Phill kept trying to charm his way out of it, and though Amber kept up the act, a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

  Backyard.

  El and Grandma called out, “Come on, throw it to El! Throw it to Grandma!”

  Two figures could be seen in the backyard, trying to get Jon to toss the ball to one of them.

  Jon threw the ball hard — it flew through the air and smacked El straight in the face. She stumbled backward, barely catching herself just in time before a pyful tackle came out of nowhere.

  El ughed, “Get off me, you sour patch kid!”

  A pyful struggle broke out as Grandma stood by, watching with a smile.

  “You sour patch kid,” Jon repeated, grinning as he got the upper hand.

  “Well, at least I don't eat my greens one day and then act like they're poison the next,” El teased.

  A sudden movement caught Jon off guard as El tickled him in the ribs.Still pying, they didn't hear the call from the screen door leading to the backyard.

  Amber called out, “It's time for dinner!” but was completely ignored.

  Trying again, this time louder, she finally got their attention. Both Jon and El stopped and turned to look.

  Both of them responded after dusting the grass off their clothes. They walked inside to find a table set with forks, knives, and steaming dumplings, with sides of corn, green beans, and carrots.

  *Cnk* *Cnk* — the ctter of silverware echoed throughout the dining room.

  Amber asked, “So, how's the basement coming along?”

  Phill replied, “It's done. After a few final inspections and a couple of days to make sure everything's in pce, we can move back in.”

  “Home?”

  Phill: “Yep, that right buddy. We get to go home.”

  "Yaaaaa~"

  A child's ughter could be heard right after, causing everyone else to ugh along. After a few minutes, they calmed down and finished eating.

  The days and nights passed by in the blink of an eye as they packed everything up and got ready to leave. It took a few hours to move their furniture back from storage, but finally, they were home again.

  Phill stretched his arms wide and said, “Home, sweet home. No more awkward interactions.”

  He grinned. “And no mother-in-w to bother me.”

  *Cough* *Cough*

  Phill quickly corrected himself, “It… was great having her stay in our home.”

  Amber shook her head with a smile. “I'm going to go get Jon,” she said, heading toward the car.

  She scooped Jon up, but as soon as she set him down, he immediately ran inside — straight down the stairs leading to the basement.

  “Hey! Don't go down there — it's dangerous!” Phill called after him.

  “I told you to lock the door,” Amber said sharply.

  “Sorry, I forgot,” Phill replied.

  They both raced down the stairs, only to find Jon standing alone in the middle of the wide, empty basement. He wasn't moving — just staring off into space, as if mesmerized by the new addition to the house.

  “Cool,” was all Jon said before he suddenly took off, running around the basement.

  To the adults, it just looked like he was having fun. But in truth, Jon was imagining a world of his own — a pce where he could finally do anything he wanted without anyone watching.He had always been alone down here, building whatever he dreamed: secret SCP experiments, tough workouts, or even just a pce to be himself.

  With the basement finished, life settled back into its normal rhythm.Jon was off to daycare, Phill and Amber returned to work, and Crey spent her days alone in her own home.The days passed uneventfully — until one afternoon when Jon was outside, pying in the sandbox.

  (Well, the basement was kind of a letdown.)

  (Can't even be down there by myself. I thought I could finally test my limits, but that's hard with someone always watching.)

  (Even at night, Mom checks on me sometimes. Probably still worried after… the incident.)

  (Whatever. Let's just—)

  *Meow*

  (Huh?)

  Turning around, Jon blinked in confusion.Sitting at the edge of the sandbox was what looked like the front half of a cat — but the back half was completely missing, as if it had been cut clean off.And yet, somehow, it was still alive.

  (Fucking hell. Not again.)

  A heavy silence fell over the backyard as Jon panicked, his eyes darting in every direction, waiting — expecting — something to happen.

  Any second now, armed agents could burst through the door, drag his parents away, and cut him open just to see how he ticked.

  But nothing happened.No gunshots.No screaming.No Phill trying to fight them off.Just silence — until a small cry broke it.

  Meow. Purr~

  The strange cat rubbed against Jon’s chest, as if saying, “Pet me.”

  (Fine.) he thought, giving in.

  He began to pet her gently, the soft rumble of purring rising up now and then. Taking the peace in, a sudden reaction dons on him.

  (How did she even get here? No... that's not important. Did someone see her come to my house?)

  (That could be really bad.)

  With that thought, he scooped Josie into his arms and brought her inside, slipping past Amber without a sound.

  But the cat let out a meow, causing Amber to freeze and turn around, stunned.

  Amber: “Excuse me, mister. What are you doing with that?”

  (Shit. Wait… does she not see half a cat in my hands but a full one?)

  Amber: “Hello? I'm asking you a question.”

  Jon: “Mine.”

  Amber: “Yours?”

  Jon: “Yes.”

  Amber: “Well, did you ask me if you could have a pet?”

  Hearing the conversation, Phill walked in — and froze just like Amber had.

  Phill: “Well, I don’t see a problem with it.”

  Amber: “Phill, he can’t take care of a cat.”

  Phill: “Hey buddy, can you feed it, give it water, and clean the litter box?”

  Jon nodded. “Yes.”

  Phill: “See? He can.”

  Amber folded her arms and turned away from both of them. “Well, I don’t agree.”

  (Well… here goes nothing.)

  Jon looked up at her with big eyes and a trembling lip.

  Jon: “Please~”

  Amber: “No.”

  Jon: “Please~”

  Amber: “No.”

  Jon: “Pretty please?”

  Amber sighed. “Fine. But you will take full responsibility for it. Understand?”

  Jon lit up. “Yaaaa~”