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The Gate-Way: Chapter 16 - A Step Forward

Shawn swallowed nervously and gazed out over the operating room. Bright lights shone down from over each of the dozens of tables and operating areas. According to Leo, there was enough room to work on a company of troops; even more if things were moved.

Only two of the tables below were occupied. On one Shawn could see the doctors working quickly to set the broken bones and seal the bleeding in Matt's chest and arm. Far more surgeons were working on Jake.

Jake's table had been wrapped in a large plastic box. Each of the furs inside were wearing hazmat suits. As they worked diligently to try and turn back the transformation, a profusion of tubes and wires were connected to Jake's chest. A nearby screen monitored everything from his heart beat to brain function. Strange fluids pumped into Jake in an effort to halt and reverse the chaos that had been unleashed upon his body. His body was strapped down, though this was rendered moot by the drugs keeping him in a coma for the duration of this trial.

One of the technicians stood close, adjusting the tubes as new concoctions were tried. Shawn stirred from his thoughts as a paw rested on his shoulder. Shawn's gaze drifted up the stripped paw and arm, meeting Max's gaze with his own of deep concern and worry.

Max gave Shawn a knowing smile, sad yet full of understanding and fatherly love. A few grey hairs already mixed in with the black of his head fur. A fur that could only be Max's husband stood next to him. Allen rested his chin on Max's shoulder. His arms wrapped around Max's waist as the three watched over their fallen companions. Allen's lion mane was well groomed but puffed out making him seem slightly taller.

Both clearly spent a great deal of time at the gym as they had a great deal of muscle. In the lowlights of the observation area glinted from his wedding band, a translucent pearl marking its center. Allen stood taller than Max, though both towered over Shawn.

The love of the two furs made Shawn smile weakly, their love for one another burning brightly regardless of the trials and heartache they had gone through. Shawn turned his head as he heard a quiet cough, the sound swallowed by the dead air of the observation room. Kyle stood holding a tray of coffee motioning to the trio that they should take one.

"It's going to be a long night, and you guys look like you could use it." The otter said. Holding his coffee by its rim, he dragged a chair up next to the window and plopped down brooding.

"Thanks," Shawn said quietly as he sipped the bitter and hot drink. Finding himself a chair to sit in as Allen and Max cuddled up together on the couch, holding each other as they looked out onto Jake.

Shawn stared quietly into his cup, watching as the liquid swirled, lost in thought. He opened his mouth to speak but stopped and continued to think. The only sound was the quiet sipping of coffee and the the gentle hum of the air system.

Allen lay drooling on the arm of the couch, sleeping snugly in Max's arms. The tiger passed the time by grooming his husband's mane. Kyle dozed with a book in his lap. Sometime into the second hour of their vigle Jason had showed up and brought with him some food for Jake's guardians.

There were no longer any doctors monitoring Matt, Leo had come and gone to let them know the fox would be fine and was resting comfortably. He had given Kyle a quick kiss before returning to watch over Jake.

Kyle jerked awake as the book fell from his lap with a thump. Allen stirred as well, wiping the drool from his forehead and maw. Trevor yipped and tumbled off the couch as Allen's tail swatted him as he stretched.

"Sorry sweety, where did you come from?" Allen said picking the fox up off the floor, pulling him close to snuggle with Max.

"Leo said he didn't need me and that I should come up here." Trevor said quietly, curling up tightly, still upset over the events of the last few hours.

"How's Ethan? I haven't seen him since the raid." Max said watching the little fox in his husband's arms.

"He's in his room, he said he wanted to be alone for now. He was really upset with everything that's happened." Trevor mumbled. "Leo can explain later."

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Leo finally entered the observation room once more, sighing heavily as he sank into one of the cushioned chairs. The other furs stirred at the sound and sat up, watching expectantly, waiting anxiously for the red panda to speak.

"So?" Trevor asked impatiently, his tail flicking nervously.

"So what?" Leo asked, exhausted.

"Is he going to be okay?" Trevor questioned.

"Honestly, I don't know. We've done everything we can...but we've never dealt with a situation like this before. Our last experience even remotely close to this was the first research team to go through the Gate, and they were already dead when we found the-"

"Wait wait wait! Does someone want to tell me what the hell is going on here? What happened to Jake?" Shawn interjected.

"During our last mission Jake's environment suit was ruptured." Trevor said as his ears drooped.

"So?"

"So he became exposed to the environment of that dimension. When that happened the atmosphere of that world twisted his DNA in an attempt to bring it in line with that universe's existing fauna. Clearly, wolves do not exist there as they do here." Leo explained in a matter-of-fact kind of way, fatigue edging his voice.

"But wait shouldn't he just revert back to his normal self now that he's back to his own universe?" Shawn asked.

"It's not that simple. A change that drastic has a traumatising effect on one's biology. Quite simply his genes were damaged badly by the process. There is a big difference between our lovable boss, and the feral down below. He is still him, but so much was twisted and changed on a molecular level. This affected his very DNA. The shift might kill him if it happens again in reverse."

"You mean he might be stuck like that?!" Shawn exclaimed. The rest of the room seemed equally shocked. Tensions grew thicker as Leo continued. "Unless I can figure out a way to reverse the process in a way that doesn't kill him...yes..."

Allen shook his head and closed his eyes as Max took a shuddered breath imagining that possibility. Trevor's ears drooped and his eyes widened horrified.

Shawn's head was spinning. Just as he'd thought he had learned all of the surprises this life had in store, more were heaped on him. One nagging thought pushed its way to the surface.

"Why not me?" Shawn said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Leo asked.

"Why hasn't that happened to me? Why didn't I become some kind of prehuman, a neanderthal or something?" Shawn demanded, feeling upset, entirely unjust that such a brave fur as Jake was to suffer yet he could live.

"It could be because there was never a human species in our universe, or potentially you have some kind of immunity." Leo said trailing off. He hadn't considered that. Shawn was definitely not of this world, and yet here he was perfectly human without any assistance from an environment suit. "Shawn...Would you permit me to run some tests?"

"What for?"

"I believe you may have stumbled on our solution without realizing it. Something about you prevents you from changing despite being in our universe. If we can figure out what that is...I might be able to turn that into a cure for Jake."

All eyes were on Shawn, and the human wasn't sure what to do. He'd not known Jake as long as the rest of them, but he couldn't just let the wolf stay as is. Kyle stepped over and squeezed the human's shoulder.

"Let's do it." Shawn said, looking up at Kyle and flashing him a weak smile. "Anything that will help Jake."

"Excellent! Follow me!"

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The operating room doors slid open as Ethan approached. He didn't need anyone to tell him where Jake was. Shakily, the wolf made his way to the far end of the room where his friend lay unconscious. The doctors and surgeons had long since gone, unable to do anything further for the great beast.

Approaching the plastic casing around Jake's table, the steady shrill beeps of the heart monitor met Ethan's ears. The thought that the feral wolf before him had once been his leader was more jarring than he was prepared for. He placed a paw on the plastic separating them.

"Heya Jakey..." Ethan's voice sounded frail and weak. "You've seen better days...but then so have we all I guess..." As his eyes lost focus on Jake, Ethan caught a glimpse of his reflection in the barrier in front of him. His fur was matted with blood and slick from his tears having not bothered to clean up yet.

"We uh...we've been through a lot together haven't we Jakey..." Ethan continued, talking more for his own benefit than Jake's. "We've seen some pretty horrible shit...and yet...here we are...still alive for the new little tortures life keeps throwing our way..."

The heart monitor beeped on as Jake's breath rattled in his chest, the only sounds in the otherwise lifeless operating room.

"You more than any of us know what it means to survive...so I know this will be just one more time you surprise everyone with how strong you are..." Ethan paused trying to find the words to say next.

"Jake...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..." Tears began welling up in Ethan's eyes as he spoke, his knees began to shake and his legs threatened to collapse. "I should've...I should've known about Br...I should have known about him...What he was plotting...It's my fault...my fault you're like this! I should have..." The wolf hung his head and blinked, tears splattering against the floor.

"Jake...you have to be okay...I don't know what I'll do if you don't pull through..."

Ethan slumped against the floor next to the plastic casing and hugged his knees, as the steady noise of the monitors lulled him to sleep.

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Leo led Shawn quickly through the corridors of the mansion to the medical lab. The path they took along the corridors was a far cry from the grandeur of the main mansion. Bare concrete surrounded them, lit by fluorescent bulbs that cast a harsh glow along the corridor.

The lab was a sterile environment. As they approached, two double doors slid open sealing shut behind them as they stepped into a small square room. A cool metallic voice informed them decontamination was about to commence. Gradually a thick, mint-scented mist filled the room and Shawn felt immediately cleaner. Moments later a wall of light passed back and forth over them and the same voice spoke again.

"Decontamination complete"

Fans kicked in, dispersing the cleansing mist from the room, and a second set of door granted Shawn and Leo access to the lab. Microscopes, test tubes, computers, and machines lined the walls the likes of which the human had never seen.

"This is incredible," Shawn gasped.

"I love to discover new things and uncover new ideas. The other scientists and I have made so many great discoveries, cured so many diseases. Our society has leapt forward, most of it thanks to our reverse engineering of the Gate-Way."

Leading the stunned human through the laboratory Leo paused only to pick up a pair of gloves and a strange, translucent sheet of paper. Finally they stopped before a large round platform set against one wall. A large white disk sat on the floor and above on the ceiling.

"Take off your clothes and please stand in the center of the disk," Leo said calmly as he began putting on the gloves.

Shawn blushed slightly and swallowed nervously. With a deep breath he quickly complied. The human shivered as the bare metal of the disk touched his feet.

Leo glaced and nodded, smiling appreciatively at the human's figure. Taking the piece of translucent paper between his paws he stretched it out and tapped its surface before letting go. The paper floated, suspended in midair as it began to glow. Lights, dials and controls began to appear as the nanofiber transmitters interfaced wirelessly with the scanner.

Tapping in a few quick codes Leo looked up as the machine began to hum. A thin cylinder of light slowly began to descend from the upper recesses of the machine, the pale white light gliding over the human's form.

"You're going to feel a slight pressure while the machine takes a pheromone sample. When I begin the internal scans you may want to close your eyes." Leo said as he snapped on a pair of goggles. "It can get a little bright."

Shawn gasped as he felt himself begin to rise in the air, suspended between the two glowing plates as the thin cylinder glided up and down his body. He felt a slight discomfort as it passed, a deep heat as though a match was being past swiftly over him. The sensation grew deeper as the cylinder began to change colour, darkening to a reddish colour.

"The machine is now scanning your internal structure, right down to your individual nerves and capillaries. It will scan your cells next."

Shawn supressed a shudder as the heated feeling intensified. His stomach felt like it was being compressed. The glow changed to a strange dark green colour, sliding up and down his body. He could see his skin had reddened from the passing of the scanner.

"Normally the machine has to scan the skin of our patients through their fur. I'll make sure we add a calibration setting for humans next time. I can give you a quick pill to kill any pain or discomfort you may be feeling." Leo said matter-of-factly, watching the read out on the paper floating before him.

Shawn relaxed slightly as he felt the machine return him to the platform, jumping with a yelp as something stabbed his foot.

"Oh sorry, I forgot to warn you about the tissue sample."

Shawn grumbled and rubbed his foot before putting his clothes back on. Leo plucked the filament paper from the air and motioned for Shawn to follow as he fiddled with the buttons and information floating before him.

Stopping before a second machine much like the last, Leo placed the paper in the air before the machine. He flexed his finger before placing his palms together and spreading his paws apart. Before them a perfect duplicate of Shawn appeared, hovering in the air much like Shawn had been. Shawn blushed at the sight of his duplicate's nakedness.

"With this I can study every molecule, every cell and organ that you have," Leo explained, flicking his fingers slowly to make the Shawn copy rotate. Deftly moving his paws and fingers, the copy raised its arms and spread its legs.

"You can go if you want. Not everyone is very comfortable seeing themselves picked apart. Shawn nodded and slowly made his way out. As he turned to offer his help with anything else he was greeted with a shocking sight. Leo had somehow removed his copy's skin and was observing as he directed the copy to flex its muscle groupings.

Shawn shuddered and quickly left Leo to his work.

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Shawn slowly returned to his room. The mansion was eerily quiet, the silence only broken by the sound of quiet sobbing from down the hall in some of the other bed chambers. From the living room the gentle crackle of burning wood and the clinking of glasses.

Shawn sighed and closed his door quietly. Rummaging through his chest he pulled out a pair of shot glasses and a bottle of whiskey. Shawn quickly filled both before placing the bottle on his end table. Picking up the glasses he approached the mantle and set one of the glasses down before the picture of his brother.

His twin smiled up at him, frozen in time, free of cares, worries or pain. Shawn swallowed a lump that formed in his throat and raised his glass.

"To the fallen," he said quietly, knocking back his shot.