Mage's Best Friend - SCP Foundation

Why is he so sad?

A small Yorkie Pomeranian tilted her head at a small crying boy, her Master. He held, in his hand, a letter which she could not read, with a familiar wax insignia having previously held it shut. Bella knew this insignia well, she had seen it adorning many important papers on the wall and many Magic Sticks had it on the bottom. Bella did not speak German well but her master's mind was repeating the words 'Mage's Academy and 'failure'.

Poor Master, please don't be sad!

Bella nuzzled up against Master and felt his hand petting her. Bella did not let anybody but Master pet her because Master summoned her and she must protect Master. Other humans in this house are gross and smell like bad things. Master does not like them, and therefore Bella does not like them.

The rhythmic petting eventually lulled Bella to sleep.

Bella was awakened to yelling. Master's Parents were the Yellers. The Yellers had the Letter from earlier in their hands, and they were yelling at Master for some reason.

Bella looked at Master in confusion, and back at the Yelling Parents. Master's mind was hard to understand. There was too much Sadness and Anger. Words flew into Bella's mind, too fast to understand. Words like 'Bad Son', 'Failure', 'Magicless', 'Disgrace', and finally, like a shout in her mind, the word 'Disowned'. Bella's German was very bad, but these words shot like bullets into her mind, so much so that she had to look away.

When she looked back, she felt a shock of empathetic pain jolt into her neck. Master was being choked by his Father. His Father was a Bad Man. Bella knew this but she didn't know how Bad of a Man he was. Anger pulsed through her tiny frame.

Protect Master.

Bella's shape pulsed and began to grow.

Protect Master!

Bella grew more, but too slowly. Master needed to be saved now! The Bad Man's Bad Wife looked over at Bella in confusion.

PROTECT MAST—

The Bad Woman waved her hands, creating Red Sparks which drilled into Bella's skull, pulsing into her brain with the singular command, PAIN.

Bella writhed, the words twisting into her brain across all of the nerves in her body. Her concentration wavered, and she reverted to her Yorkie Pomeranian form. The Bad Man threw Master to the ground and gave a cruel grin towards Bella. Suddenly, her vision was obscured by his large boot, kicking into her face. Bella hit the wall with a loud thump. She panicked and her fight or flight instinct kicked in.

Her body shrunk, the fur shifting into an exoskeleton, her eyes splitting and segmenting into small red hexagons. Bella flew as quickly as possible, past the Bad People, and out of the open window.

I'm so sorry Master, I couldn't help you.

In her weakened state, she couldn't hold her form for too long and collapsed in a park only a few hundred meters away. She crashed into the ground, a Pomeranian once more. Her eyes darkened and closed…

In her dreams, she saw her Master. She remembered him crying when he managed to finally use the magic to summon her. She remembered the word 'Friend' pulsing through his mind. Bella's purpose was to protect her Master.

She failed today.

Bella woke up to her Master wandering the park, crying again. He looked very hurt. In many places he was bruised, bleeding, and he was nursing a slight limp in his left leg. Worst of all were his eyes. Both were purple and swollen shut. He had to grab onto trees, benches, and anything he could to keep himself moving even in his blinded state.

Coming unsteadily to her feet, Bella walked up to the hurt Master. She gave him a sharp yip, which to her meant "Master!". He looked around, confused. Bella rubbed against his leg to let him know she was with him. He painfully knelt down to one knee and picked her up. When his hand touched her back, a shock of Blue Sparks emerged from his hand. He didn't notice, but Bella felt her connection with him grow.

"Master?''

"Bella? Is that you, Bella?"

"Use me as your eyes."

What?

Your eyes don't work, concentrate on me and use me as your eyes, please.

Master looked confused, but as he picked up Bella, the Blue Sparks got brighter and concentrated around both of their eyes.

I see it, Bella! I can see again!

Bella didn't respond, she just led her eyes to where he should go. They eventually settled on a park bench, as far from Master's house as possible. Master fell onto the bench, hurt but gaining some respite from the much-needed rest.

Master closed Bella's eyes.

It had been several days. Master's eyes were better but he still used hers sometimes to look into places that he couldn't. He was getting better. But both of them were hungry. So, so hungry. They got lucky a few days ago and found some food which had been thrown away mostly intact, but that was a while ago. Bella had been carrying whatever scraps she could back to Master, but he seemed weaker. He needed something.

Master's eyes fell onto a restaurant nearby.

"Don't do it, Master, if they catch you, you could go to jail."

"Hungry."

"How will you even get in?"

"Magic.

"No kidding. How about you open the door and I'll get the food? If I get caught, it's okay, I can escape."

"You're too short to get to the counter. I'll be careful."

"No! You're going to get in trouble!"

Master closed the link. Bella was shocked. He had never done this before. Master began walking towards the back of the restaurant, to the service door. He tried the door. Locked.

Bella reopened the link.

"It's locked, we can find food somewhere else, let's just go!"

Master closed the link again.

Master's hands erupted into Blue Sparks, which he put into the doorknob. A moment passed. The lock clicked a bit. Another moment passed. The door swung open quietly. Master dropped to one knee in exhaustion from the effort on his bruised and starving body.

Bella heard voices from the other side of the alley. Looking over, she saw three people in chef's attire, staring with slack jaws at Master. Breaking out of their confusion, they ran towards Master.

"Why are these people calling me a thief?"

"You're trying to steal things."

"I don't want to go to jail, Bella!"

"I'm not going to let that happen."

Bella turned towards the running chefs. Familiar energy washed over her as she began to grow. She grew, reshaped, and recolored into a large Eurasian Brown Bear. She towered over the chefs, who just looked at her, confused. Bella summoned all of her breath and let out an earsplitting roar. The chefs began to run.

Adrenaline coursed through Bella's body and she ran after the chefs, the rage which had built up in her little dog soul pumping through her mind as she chased the men. She caught up quickly. With a wide swipe, a swath of blood painted the walls of the restaurant alley and the man fell, screaming in pain. The next chef morphed in her mind into The Bad Woman, the last runner becoming The Bad Man.

HOW DARE YOU HURT ME! HOW DARE YOU HURT HIM!

Bella put on a fresh burst of speed and she was caught up the two remaining. She swiped up the person who she believed to be The Bad Woman. Bella held her in the large bear arms. Bella thought the word PAIN and crushed the woman like a grape in her arms.

The Bad Man was last. He stood at the end of the alley, aghast at the bloodshed, unable to move out of sheer fear. Bella lumbered up and grabbed him by the throat, holding him up. As Bella was about to squeeze the life out of The Bad Man, she heard a familiar sob behind her.

"BELLA NO! STOP! PLEASE!"

The red faded from Bella's vision. The man who she thought was The Bad Man was just a random chef, terrified and choking to death in her paw. Bella looked at the carnage behind her and released the man unconsciously.

"Master, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so so-"

A large dart appeared on Bella's neck, followed by two subsequent ones. The driver of an unmarked van, a man in a militaristic uniform with an odd-shaped gun, had emerged from it. Bella dropped like a sack of rocks, transforming back into a normal Yorkie Pomeranian. Several more men ran out and began packing the carnage into more vans, grabbing her along with it. The last thing Bella saw before her eyes closed again was Master being hoisted up by the arms, and loaded into a van, unconscious.

Bella woke up in an unknown kennel. She was surrounded by all manner of strange dogs and dog-like creatures. She was muzzled and her body felt slow and sedated.

"Bella? Are you awake?"

"Yes, but I don't know where I am."

"I don't know where I am either."

"I'll find you, I swear."

"Thanks, Bella. It's lonely here."

"I know. At least we can talk though."

"Yeah. At least we still kinda have each other"

"At least…"

"I'm feeling tired now. I'm gonna go to sleep. We can escape in the morning right?"

"Of course. I love you, Master."

"I love you too, Bella."