Skyfall Chapter 16
16 Kato and I made it back to the others fairly quickly. Caliber seemed shocked to see me, and was having a hard time hiding his disappointment, while Misha remained oblivious. It was difficult for me to act the same around him now that I was waiting for his inevitable betrayal. A small part of me clung to the idea that he wouldn't tell Hale, but at this point I trusted Kato more than I trusted Misha. We loaded up the horses and began to walk back to the lab after a short meal break. The rest of the walk was a complete daze to me. Misha sensed something was wrong, and he brushed his hand against mine. He expected me to reach out for him, but I refrained. His worried eyes kept wandering to mine, and I avoided them at all costs. I hated his worried eyes. Before, I couldn't resist them, but now they just made me feel sick. We stopped once nightfall hit and rested for a few hours. Kato stayed awake and sat guard. Neither of us could sleep, so I sat in silence next to him. His golden eyes were icy when he looked at me. The rage and sorrow they held back was unnerving. I wanted so badly to calm him down, but I knew he was furious at me for not leaving when I had the chance. "It's fine." I said to him quietly. "It will be fine." "I've been down there, Decipher." Kato whispered, "It won't be fine." I shuddered at Kato's warning. "We don't know he'll betray me." I said softly before we fell into tense silence again. Instead of replying, Kato kept his eyes on the darkness ahead of us, scanning the area for something to kill. A very small part of me still had faith in Misha, still believed he wouldn't harm me. I recalled the first day I met him, when I was bound to a wall and lied to. There were warnings even then that he couldn't be trusted, and yet I clung to the idea that he would protect me...that he cared about me. Part of me felt obligated to try and protect him as well. My mind searched for any alternative to explain Misha's behavior...maybe Doctor Hale holds something over Misha? There was still so much that I did not know about Misha, but the more I learned, the more afraid I became. I don't know why I couldn't just shake myself out of it and stop fooling myself, but I couldn't, and now I had to face the consequences. Eventually, I fell asleep for a short while. It wasn't long before Kato woke the group to begin walking again. Kato must have been exhausted, but he didn't show it. As we walked everyone kept to themselves. Caliber would occasionally shoot me a disappointed look, and Kato ignored me completely. The stony silence of the group made my mind panic, but the walk somehwo went by relatively fast. The only notable event that happened was Caliber shooting a giant spider that had attempted to attack one of the horses. The beast was three times the size of the draft horse, but Caliber swiftly landed an arrow into it's massive eye and it fell instantly. We hardly stopped at the scene before moving forward once more. It seemed everyone was eager to go back to the lab. Soon, we were out of Skyfall and riding the horses once more. We were so very close to the lab now; it was too late to run or change my mind, but the thought surfaced in my mind. As soon as we approached the lab courtyard, I dismounted my horse and vomited. I felt only slightly less nervous afterwards. Misha ran to my side and asked what was wrong, but I had to shove him away. "I'm fine." I said as I wiped my mouth off. "I just feel a bit ill. I think I just need rest." "Okay." Misha said, "Don't forget to turn your paperwork into the information desk as soon as you can." "SHIT." I heard Kato say as he dismounted the other draft horse. "I forgot to give you your paperwork." "It's not a big deal." Caliber said, still riding the painted horse, "Why don't you just fill it out after you get yourself settled in?" "He has an appointment with Doctor Hale this afternoon." Misha said, staring off into the distance. "I forgot." "Alright, Decipher." Kato said, "Go to your room, shower, and rest until a guard summons you to Hale's office. Once you're there, take the blank paperwork and fill it out with Hale. Blame it on me. Tell him that I, your trainer, forgot to explain it to you. I'd help you now but I have to go get ready for a meeting of my own." I nodded. The last thing I wanted to do was meet with Doctor Hale alone, but I didn't have a choice at this point. Kato handed me an envelope of papers. I took it and headed to my room to shower. It felt surreal as I stepped out of my shower and looked into my mirror. I cleared the steam off and stared at my eyes, studying the ring of rust around my violet iris. I realized my eyes carried the same violet as the Goddess's wolf form I had seen in my vision. I didn't have time to think about that, though. I collapsed in my bed and fell asleep. My mind was exhausted, and being alone felt relaxing. Not long after I had closed my eyes, I heard a knocking on my door. How much time had passed? I glanced out the window. The sun was beginning to fall now; it must have been nearly dinner time. I slept for a few hours. Regardless, I still felt exhausted. I quickly slipped some clothes on and opened the door. A guard fully dressed in his helmet and armor was waiting on the other side of the door. "Number two-fifty-seven." He said with a slight echo from the helmet. "Doctor Hale is ready to meet with you." Oh, good. I was referred to by my number. I thought. I snatched my blank paperwork up and followed the guard out the door, accidentally slamming it on my way out. "Did you have a good trip?" The guard asked in an attempt to make small talk as we walked, but I was in no mood to talk to him. "Yes." I lied. My tone must have clued him in on how I felt about talking, because he didn't say anything else as we descended the stairs. We wandered towards the large, metal doors that hid the tech center. The doors opened and revealed the dark room lit by blue glows. The guard led me down a few hallways and tapped at a door. "Two-fifty-seven here, Sir." He said before walking away. I waited for Doctor Hale to open the door. My stomach was in a knot, and I probably would have vomited again if it contained something other than bile. When he opened the door, he was wearing the same black and red uniform I had seen when I first met him. The red symbols seemed to glow against the dark silhouette of the jacket. His deep eyes scanned me as his narrow features held the hint of a smile. He gestured me inside the room. I nervously stepped inside the room. It was brighter than the hallway, and I was able to see that Doctor Hale's eyes were dark, bloody red. They looked liquid, as if when he blinked they would splatter. My heart raced as I remembered he had strange energy powers I did not understand. I took a few moments to mentally lock the memories I did not want him to see, particularly conversations with Kato, in case he tried to probe me for information. "Misha tells me there were complications." Hale said as he slipped into a chair behind his desk. "You were unable to get your paperwork filled out? Why don't you work on that." I sank down in the chair across from him and took the pen he handed me. I glanced at the paperwork. It had questions and blank lines to fill in such as "Method of kill" and "Describe the scene". "You look awful." He commented as I began to work on the paperwork. I was so very tired of hearing that phrase, but I remained focused on the paperwork. This was the first time I had written. My hands moved the pen awkwardly at first, but soon I was able to draw the symbols clear enough to be recognized. I considered myself lucky as I shakily jot down my answers. I carefully described the fight between Sheila and I, and wrote Misha's name down under the section titled "Witnesses". After I was finished writing, I slid the papers towards Hale. My eyes were narrowed as I looked at him. He was smiling at me with a strange look as he took the papers. He glanced down at them and his smile became a grin. "You don't waste time, do you, two-fifty-seven?" He asked, leaning forward. "You were injured quite badly, though." I nodded, "Yes." "Misha tells me that Kato used some magic to heal you before they brought in a local healer, is that correct?" He asked, glancing at the paperwork again. "What do you remember?" "Not much." I said quietly. I knew he was trying to get me to confess what really happened, and it seemed Misha had lied on Kato's behalf. I sighed and tried to come up with a believable lie. "After I killed Sheila, I had lost a lot of blood. Misha and I staggered back to the inn and that's where I lost consciousness. All I remember is pain." "Interesting. Well, that's all I needed from you." Doctor Hale said as he leaned back in his chair. I got the impression he was aware of everything that had happened, and it worried me. "It's a shame, I think you would have been a wonderful assassin..." Doctor Hale sighed, "but it seems we have other plans for you after all." My stomach lurched. I Kato had been right, and I wanted to run. I gripped the sides of the chair nervously as I realized Misha had betrayed me. At least he saved Kato... I thought. "Calm down." Hale said, more of a command than a request. "We just want to run a few tests and ask you some questions. I've heard from Misha some interesting things about you. You can help us enhance our knowledge of DNA! We've heard of your kind coming down and stealing our creatures to experiment on them." He stood up and towered over me, and I was too afraid to move. "Now it seems we get to play with one of you." I shook my head, "No, that's why I left!" I shouted in a panic, "I never wanted to be like them! I had no idea they had even made it here before..." My mind was racing, he knew about my people? They had been here and taken beings? How was that possible...I was so far away from their territory when I fled! "You are quite fascinating, and I would love to discuss this further." Hale sighed, "But I have other employees to see." Doctor Hale's grin remained as he walked around and placed a hand on my shoulder. My muscles felt weak from his touch and ached when I tried to jerk away. "What wonderful irony." He whispered in my ear as he removed his hand and left the room. I was still frozen in the chair. My muscles burned and I couldn't use them properly. Two guards walked into the room and lifted me onto my feet. I panicked and fought against Hale's invasive energy. I was able to slam one guard up against the wall, but before I could hit the other, Doctor Hale was in front of me. "Now, now." He said with a soft smile. I was starting to hate the expression. "If you don't come quietly, we'll just swap you out for your phoenix friend." They knew how to get me to behave. My ears fell and I whimpered as one of the guards placed bonds around my hands. "Good boy. We know about everything, two-fifty-seven." Hale said as he stroked the side of my face. I wanted to tear his hand off, but I didn't dare move. At this point I was sure he knew what really happened in Eldon. "Take him to his new room." Hale said as he turned away. The guard who I had shoved up against the wall slammed me in the back of the head with a hard object, making me dizzy. I staggered forward as they dragged and shoved me. We walked through the main entrance, where I saw Caliber and Kato. I wanted to cry out for help, but I also didn't want to get them into trouble, so I remained silent. Caliber noticed me and reached for Kato, but I shook my head furiously. Caliber seemed to understand, and didn't bring my presence to Kato's attention. The guards shoved me as I caught one last look at Kato's frustrated face as he walked towards the tech center. I tried not to think of Kato as the guards led me down. We descended some stairs and went into the basement. They brought me into a dark room that resembled the one that poor werewolf had been imprisoned in. I was pushed down onto a metal table and my wrists and ankles were bound to the sides of it. Everything was happening so fast, and I had no chance to even think about escaping. The two guards also strapped a thick, leather band around my arms and chest and tightened it so much I could hardly breathe. I did my best to relax and remain non-threatening, but they worked so quickly I doubt they would have noticed if I had done anything. Soon, the two guards left and I struggled against the bonds in attempts to get comfortable. I looked around the room as the door slammed shut. I heard the lock click and echo in the silence. The room was dark, and the bright light above me blocked out most of my vision. I was also exhausted and having a difficult time breathing against the bonds, so I didn't waste too much energy trying to focus my vision.
After a few moments of maddening silence, I slipped into an uneasy sleep. The rush of adrenaline had exhausted me, and despite my panic, I couldn't remain conscious. The lack of oxygen didn't help, either. It wasn't long before the door opened again and startled me awake. A young woman appeared; she wore the same lab coat Misha often wore and carried a clipboard. She looked up from her board to lock the door behind her before turning to face me. She looked sad as she peered at me through some glasses. Her eyes were a bright gray that resembled an overcast sky, and her brunette hair was pulled back behind her face. I looked away and avoided eye contact as she approached. She placed a hand over the bond that was constricting my chest and sighed. I flinched involuntarily. "I'm sorry." She said as she loosened the strap. "The guards are always very cautious, but I know you aren't too much of a threat. Is that better?" I nervously took a few deep breaths and nodded. The strap was still tight, but allowed me to breathe comfortably at least. I felt more awake when I didn't have the bond constricting my chest. "My notes say you can speak? I think I've seen you around, in fact." She asked as she flipped through her papers. I remained silent. "Misha said you have a name...but I can't remember it. What's your name?" I closed my eyes at the mention of Misha. I couldn't quite wrap my head around the fact that he had done this to me yet, so I ignored her question. My name? Why would she even care? I was a number now. Two-fifty-seven, a number that had been burned into my arm as a reminder. I closed my eyes and my mind wandered back to Misha. Perhaps Doctor Hale forced the answer out of him. It seemed Misha had attempted to lie about Kato, so maybe he tried to lie about me as well. At this point I was just clutching to false hope, and I realized that. Still I wasn't sure who I hated more, Misha or Doctor Hale. I wasn't sure who deserved my hate more at this point. "My name is Doctor Fleur." She said, "Or just Fleur. Are you going to tell me your name?" When I remained silent, Fleur wandered over to a cabinet and flipped on a light in the corner of the small room. She unlocked one of the cabinets and pulled out a few vials of liquid. I felt uneasy about them and decided to go back to staring at the blinding light above me. "I'm going to give you a few injections to help you sleep while we run some tests." She explained as she drew out the liquid into a large syringe. "Okay?" I felt sick. Was she pretending to ask permission? I didn't know how to react, and I ended up blurting out, "No, it's not okay." "I'm sorry." She sighed, "I have to." "What will happen if you don't?" I asked, still avoiding her eyes as she towered over me with the long needle in hand. She didn't reply, but instead slid the needle into my vein and plunged the liquid into me. The familiar sting of the needle hit me and a wave of exhaustion came over me. I felt the world spin around me as she injected a second dose of something into my bicep. I wanted to fight the drug and stay awake, but my willpower wasn't strong enough, and I slipped away into a forced unconsciousness. When I was awakened by the sound of shattering glass, I did not feel like I had rested at all. I had no idea how much time had passed by this point. "Damn it." An unfamiliar male voice said. "Calm down, Fin." Fleur's voice chimed. "Fuck you!" He shouted at her, which caused me to open my eyes. The man shouting also wore a white coat, but had his sleeves rolled up. His hair was short and messy, and his face had an expression of pure anger on it. "I spent three days mixing that serum, and now it's all over the floor!" Fin shouted again. My vision was blurred, and I couldn't tell what he was doing, but I saw Fleur move closer to me. I watched Fleur roll her eyes as she walked passed Fin, "That's why you always make extra." She said, hiding her smirk from him when he glared at her. "Anyway, you woke up two-fifty-seven here. Do you at least have the serum Doctor Aras prescribed? I think we are about ready to begin." I struggled a bit at the mention of "Doctor Aras". I had never heard Misha referred to as that before, but it made me uncomfortable. I was beginning to dislike all the "doctors" on this planet. I still was having a difficult time believing that I had just returned from Eldon. I didn't think more than a day or two had passed since my return, and yet I was laying here strapped to a table, already loosing track of time. I wondered how Kato was doing and hoped he wasn't too worried about me. Fin's grumbling shook me out of my thoughts. "Yes. Fine. It's on the counter in the other room." He mumbled, "I was just really looking forward to testing it! Two-fifty-seven presents the perfect opportunity!" "Please, Fin." Fleur sighed, "If it failed, which it undoubtedly would have, Hale would be furious with you. Wait until he's gotten the answers he wants before you go disobeying him." The conversation these two were having made me ill. I tried to avoid their eyes every time they looked at me, but Fleur seemed to make an effort to stare into my eyes with her cloudy gaze. She seemed fascinated by me, which only made me angry. Fleur came up beside me and unstrapped the leather bond around my torso. "Come help me with this." She said to Fin, "I don't want him hurting himself if he tries to escape." Fin rushed over to my side and towered above me, "Don't even think about it, alien." He said, "You'll never make it, and if you do something stupid enough, Doctor Hale won't hesitate to bring Kato down here in your place." "Fin!" Fleur said, "Be nice. He's clearly scared." She said with a glare towards Fin, "You'll be fine. We're going to move you into another room where we'll be testing some substances that will alter your DNA. Will you cooperate with us?" I didn't see myself having much of a choice, so I just nodded with a blank stare. They unstrapped the bonds from the table and helped me sit up. The black, metallic bonds still hung around my wrists, and my head was spinning. I couldn't focus on anything. I staggered off the table with Fleur's help, and Fin kept his hands on the bond on my arms. He pinned my arms behind my back as I tried to walk, which caused me to stumble and nearly fall over. "Fin!" Fleur shouted at him again, "He can barely stand. Give it a rest already!" Fin shoved my arms away as I caught my balance again and sighed, "Fine." He said. "But when he escapes and kills you, it's your own fault." They took me into another room. On the way in I thought I saw two guards standing outside of it, but everything was dark and my mind was hazy. I had no idea where I was besides the basement. There was another metal platform like the table in this room, but it stood vertical, with bonds for hands and feet like the last. Fleur led me over to it and attached the bonds so that my arms were above my head. I hung limply against them, too exhausted to keep myself up. In all honesty I might have been able to fight the drug, but I had given up. I felt ashamed of myself, knowing that I had done this, and now if I tried to escape, Kato would be put here in place of me. It was entirely my fault. "Two-fifty-seven?" Fleur asked. I cringed at the number I had become. "We have a few questions before we begin. First of all, why did you come to this planet?" "I was running from my home." I sighed, unsure of how to explain it. "I was sick of the corruption and pain that my people were causing. They refused to change, and the council ordered the elites to end my life, so I ran. I fled as far as I could before my craft became unable to fly, and then I crashed here." "The council?" Fleur asked as she jot down notes. I glanced over at Fin, who was digging through a cabinet and seemed to be preparing an injection. "Can you tell me about that?" Fleur asked. "They control all the big decisions." I said with a monotone voice. "What planets we visit, who is allowed off planet, those sort of decisions." Fleur turned to Fin as he approached me with a large syringe. I hung my head again as I remembered the werewolf I had seen, and the notes Misha had left on his chart. Condition: Serious and declining. That would soon be me, wouldn't it? I whined softly as Fleur reached up and slid the needle deep into my vein, this cause much more pain than the last. My dead eyes looked down at hers as she plunged the liquid into my blood. I felt it mix into me and begin to eat away at the body I had created. She seemed to give me a sad look before she slowly dragged the needle out of my skin. Fin stepped onto a stool and wrapped a bandage around my arm to stop the blood that began to leak out. "While we wait for that to take effect, why don't you tell me more about your people?" She said as she scribbled down a few more notes. "Why do your people take beings from other planets? What sort of experiments do they perform? What do they hope to learn?" I began to pant heavily. My heart was racing and I felt like my body was going to dematerialize. The feeling was similar to the way my molecules seemed to break apart during magical transportation, except this caused extreme pain. I tried to focus on her question. "Everything." I said through grit teeth. "They seek to answer everything. Much like you do here, trapping beings and using them for whatever knowledge you wish to gain. They seek to answer every foolish question that never needed to be asked." I hissed as I glared down at her. Fleur seemed to be taken aback by my answer, as if she didn't realize she was doing the same thing that my people were being criticized for. She took a step backwards as she recorded my answer. How foolish they are here...they live happily in ignorance...How foolish I was to stay here and assume I could trust any of them. My thoughts gnawed at me. I let out a pained yell as my left arm burned. I glanced over at it to see the dark lines that created the pattern in my fur bleeding. The black seemed to ooze out of them, and they glowed with a faint, sea-green light. The pattern flickered and began to change as the drug took effect. I feared the drug would force me into my true form. "Fin, take note of that." Fleur said as she rushed to my arm. She unbound my left arm to take a closer look at the changing lines. She put on a pair of gloves and touched the raw markings. I screamed in pain. "What are these?" She asked me. "They're...from my true form!" I tried to say, but the words that came out were jumbled with words of my own kind. It must have sounded like gibberish to her. She gave me a frightened expression as I squirmed in pain. "Two-fifty-seven." Fin said, "Answer us." I couldn't. My words caught in my throat and clicks and trills came out instead. I had no idea what I looked like at this point, the drug might have forced me back into my form. I couldn't see anything anymore. My vision was blocked by a screen of code from my internal scanner, which was chaotic and confused due to the drug attacking my internal system. At this point, I was having a difficult time even remembering what I once looked like. This wolf body felt like mine. I had been wearing it so long, my mind had a difficult time separating the DNA, or maybe the drug was confusing me...I couldn't quite tell. "He's become unable to talk." Fleur said as she prodded at the markings on my arm. I winced and growled in pain as she did so. The markings felt raw and her touch sent jolts of pain through me. In my true form, those markings were storage for energy. They held a reserve of energy for myself, my internal scanner, and also sent out waves of energy to interact with others around me. I hadn't used them since I was on my planet, since these beings did not broadcast energy like my people had. Fleur's energy was very violent, though, and that's why her touch caused me so much pain. Her intent was to harm me, whether or not she realized it. Finally, she stopped probing at my arm and let me catch my breath. I felt faint and dizzy as I hung from the bonds above me. When I looked at myself, most of my form was still intact to my surprise. The only thing that I could see had changed was the markings. The fur had fallen out around them and left glistening trails of streaked lines. Blood also leaked from them, but not as much as I had expected.
I breathed heavily as my body seemed to calm down. Blood poured from my mouth like drool as I panted. My mouth was damaged from the drug as well, but I still felt like my form remained. That was good. At this point, I was afraid to go back to my original form. If I was forced into it, it would most likely harm me. I would need time to adjust to going back to my original form, especially since the last time I was in it I was damaged. Fin and Fleur had been talking, but I was too exhausted to interpret what they were saying. My mind was still thinking in my own language. "We'll let him rest for now, but I think moving him is a bad idea. Send a progress report to Doctor Aras." Fluer said. Fin approached me and strapped my bond back above my head. I wished they had let me lay down; my arm ached from me hanging from it. It didn't matter too much, though, seeing as how I would soon pass out regardless. I decided that no more than two days had passed since I had come back to the lab. Two days, and already I hung lifeless from a metal platform. My thoughts swarmed with questions and worries. Doctor Aras...would I even see him here? Did he care at all that I had been imprisoned here? How long would this last, and would they ever let me out? I was beginning to wonder if I had never escaped my home, if this world was some sort of imagined plane of existence that I dreamt of. Perhaps it was a personal hell I sent myself to as a result of becoming comatose, or dead. Maybe they were experimenting on me back at home, and I came here in my head to avoid them...but now that things were getting intense my dream world was collapsing. Or perhaps this world was created to punish me, perhaps my true punishment was to come live out this existence. Already I was losing touch with reality. I didn't doubt any possibilities at this point. I felt like I deserved everything that had happened to me by now, and with that thought I once again lost consciousness.