18 00 hours, Pacific time, 600 kilometers beneath Europe
Holly Short sighed, as she walked through the ruins of the research lab, the stealth ore walls closing around her like a claustrophobic coffin. Her footsteps echoed on the cement floor, bouncing off walls, making a sound where no one had walked for months. In front of her, were dust-covered panels. No footsteps. No one had walked these halls, in months.
They had found the location inside Opal Koboi's diary, hidden within files and source code, behind encryption and code words. Supplies of magical reagants, cloning equipment, gene-splicing, supercomputers, and human captives. Yes, human captives. Opal had been kidnapping people from above the surface, and bringing her underground. Really, she shouldn't be surprised, but her heart went out to the people in Koboi's clutches. Too late now. They were probably dead.
The facility was powered by a nucelar battery, but the entire facility was in darkness. Foaly had cautioned her against turning on the lights. "Remember, this is Koboi labs" he had said, pointing to the map schematics they had found. "I don't know what they have inside, but don't. Touch. Anything. I know you're going to touch something, and lead off to a chain of events that would put us in months of paperwork and have more run-ins with that Fowl boy, but let it be on record that I tried." Holly had nodded, and assented to his advice. Foaly looked unconvinced.
The static crackled within her helmet. This deep within the facility, there was no way of getting signals in or out. Holly was alone, with section 8 staff now strained and overstretched with the recent fiasco caused by Turnball Root and Vinyaya's death. There was no reinforcements. If she was injured here, or taken prisoner, no one would know. Her orders, were to carry out a single inspection, and then get out of dodge. No heroics, no crazy plans, they said.
Click, clack, the sound of her boots echoed in the gloom. Then a beep in her helmets, sounding almost like a gunshot. The motion detector. Something was moving here, within 200 meters of her. Something. Holly's breath caught in her throat. What... was in here with her?
Terrible scenarios went through her mind, helpfull filled in by mud man horror movies, conspiracy theories, late night stories by the LEP and her own experiences. Perhaps a troll? Maybe it was some kind of abomination, made via gene-splicing technology and cloning vats, set loose after lack of maintenance released its cage door? Perhaps it was one of the humans, now gone feral and mad, wandering the facility in search for human flesh. Or maybe that blasted pixie had been conducting experiments of a more esoteric sorts. Maybe right now, there was a ghost coming in for her, arms outstretched, mouth wide-open in a silent scream...
Another beep. 50 meters. No more time for fantasizing. Holly unslung her Neutrino, its size and solid grip reassuring in her hand. A whine was produced, as she activated it. Thumbing the controls, she set it to stun.
I spent my career saving creatures. You must do the same. Destruction cannot be my legacy.
20 meters. Right in front of her, to the left. Her enhanced auditory microphones could pick up sounds, now. A deep growl, and the pitter patter of feet. Something was coming, and it wasn't friendly. Deep within the facility, the schematics were hazy and inaccurate. Inside the winding tunnels, it was quite possible for her to be ambushed and killed before she was able to pull the trigger. Or accidentally walk right next to the creature, separated by a single steel wall. Or perhaps suddenly meet it, face to face, since the blasted stealth ore played havoc with sensors. She dimmed her lights, and turned on the night-vision. No sense giving it advanced warning.
Nothing.
Then... a growl. Right behind her. Holly twisted about, Neutrino humming with power. Something struck her heels, and she leapt back. The blasted sensors had chosen to fail at this moment. Looking down, she could see something leaping from the ground on top of a pack of crates. No matter. Compensation and aiming enhancing software activated, and she fired a single blast, capable of sending a troll reeling backwards, struck the creature and sent it flying through the air. A yelp, and it flew several feet, landing on the ground with a thud.
Holly sprinted forward, Neutrino at the ready. finger on the trigger. She turned on the lights at full power, and began scanning. Life signs were fluctuating but still there. DNA is composed out of... pixie? She approached the creature. Or... child. Now that she was this close, and in the lighting, she realized her error. This was no creature.
This was a child.
The limbs were weak and thin from malnourishment, the hair matted and raggy, and far too long. The hands, covered in calluses and in fingernails that were jagged and way too long. The skin and face was filthy, emaciated, and basically in a bad need of a wash. But this was a child, all the same. But why would a pixie girl be in this facility, so far from civilization?
No matter. She creaked her neck, and chanted one word. "Heal." Sparks flew from her fingertips. After that moment with the oak tree, the troll, and the boy genius, she had always gone to the Ritual regularly. And now she was running hot. Sparks flew from her hands, and entering the girl. The neutrino burn on the girl's torso was healed in an instant, sparks converging on the burnt skin like snakes. Then they travelled to other places, until the girls' body was covered in glowing, shifting sparks.
The girl began to stir, and then started sobbing, hands moving up to teary eyes. Holly fumbled through her pack, searching for what she needed. Ah. She held out a nutri-pack to the girl. A nutri-pack was a package of food, basically a thick paste or soup, easily digested and fortified with magic. Combat rations, for high-tempo operations. Normally, she would not do this. But... the girl was starving, and had obviously been stuck here for a long time. The girl grabbed onto it with both hands as if it was a life line, and began to look at it, and Holly suspiciously. She sighed. Moving as gently as she could, she tried to soothe her. "Here... its good. Just drink it." She opened the seal, and placed it to the girl's face. "Ah." She said, imitating those mothers she had seen.
The girl took one sniff... and then started to drink the nutri-pack, gurgling it down in great gulps. She began to choke, coughing and hacking. Holly patted her on the back, trying to soothe her. The girl shot her another suspicious glance, and looked at the belt where the nutri-pack had come from. Holly gingerly took out another packet. Another new invention. A bottle... with a small cover with magical properties that basically acted like a bottle of 2 liters. She held it out to the girl, and she grabbed it. She did the same thing as the nutri-pack, drinking the water in great gulps, spilling at least half of it onto her face and the floor, turning it into mud.
Holly sighed, and took out a tissue paper, and started to wipe the grime from the girl's face. Look at me, she thought. Acting as a nanny to a girl in the middle of a defunct lab.
With a clank, the bottle went empty. The girl looked at it, glaring at the empty bottle, as if willing it to become full again. Holly just smiled at her, as reassuringly as she can. The girl still looked at her suspiciously.
It must be the helmet, she realized. What do I look like in full uniform to a pixie that had probably never seen another member of The People? Some kind of strange monster. Slowly, ever so slowly not to startle the girl, she removed her helmet, showing the girl her face. Red-haired, with nut-brown skin and a cherubic face. The girl looked at her, still suspicious. But there was an element of trust. There was some recognition there.
Holly took out another nutri-pack, and waved it at the girl. Trust, she thought. I have to establish trust. I have to show her that I can offer her good things. First thing with started civilians. Make yourself a source of comfort.
The girl looked at her, eyebrows furrowed. Then... she slowly extended her hands. Holly put on her best smile, and then gave the nutri-pack over. The girl ripped off the cover, and began to inhale the paste, eating it, making sure not to choke this time. Then she sat down, empty pack falling from her hands.
Then she closed her eyes.
Holly sighed, exhausted after spending nearly all her magic and the entire debacle. She grabbed the girl by the shoulder and hefted her up, taking care not to disturb her. Damn, she was heavier than she looked. She would need to do the ritual after this. She held the girl, in a princess carry, attaching a piton. Immediately, the weight was reduced to a sixth. She would have to bring her to a hospital. Feral children weren't unheard of, even by the People. Unfortunates who fell through the cracks, or wandered and got lost into the tunnels... most didn't survive. But this one did. She had to get her out. She spoke the keyword, and the helmet attached to her belt heard it, and activated the muscle polymers in her suit. She began to sprint out of the place, child in her arms, the child's head resting on her shoulders.
If she had been wearing her helmet, she would not have been as helpful. Or enthusiastic. A beep occurred, and a window popped up, telling the wearer the results of the automated facial recognition system.
Opal Koboi
30 days later, 0900 hours, Haven City, Section 8
"Really now, we should be expecting this. Possession? Heavy duty magic? Genius? And now creation of souls? We shouldn't be surprised."
The girl was sitting on the chair, feet dangling from the edge. She swung them back and forth, as she ate a snack, looking at the adults about her discuss.
"Foaly, I'm all very interested in the specifics. But what I'm asking, is this." She pointed to the girl, sitting on the chair, and was now watching them. "Is she a clone of Opal? Does she contain any personality? Is this Opal Koboi reborn, or some random innocent?"
This time, the girl had noticed that Holly was paying attention to her. She looked at her, and began smiling. "Gah," She said, waving one chubby hand at the Captain. She had been on IV the first 5 days, then spent the next 10 on milk and gruel. Then, she had been introduced to the wonders of mushroom burgers and Nettle juice.
Commander Kelp had said that he had never seen such a tornado of destruction. Except when Grub had found chocolate bars.
Foaly adjusted his glasses, and stamped his hooves for emphasis. "No, she is not. Yes she had the genius. Yes, she has the genetics. But no, this is not Opal Koboi. She is, in all senses, another person."
The Council had been in an uproar, knowing that there was a sentient, younger clone of Opal running about. They had asked for her to be thrown into solitary confinement, or put into a coma. After the previous escapades, they were no longer so permissive and willing. Barely, they had avoided that fate for the clone. With the help of Commander Kelp, Holly, and Dr Argon, and several esteemed warlocks, the Council had been barely kept from punishing the innocent little girl.
Funny. They hadn't even named her yet.
"But here's another problem." Said Foaly, opening up several windows. "What do we do with her now?"
Holly was about to recommend sending her to an orphanage or an adoptive couple, when she stopped. She could see reports and videos on the screen... what the, was her first thought.
Holly had stood by the clone, while she was recuperating. She was there, when the clone had woken up from the coma, IV still stuck in her arm. She was the one who reassured the girl, and tried to tell her, through body language and gentle words, that the thing stuck in her arm wasn't going to hurt her. She was the one that had sung the girl lullabies when she had nightmares, doubtlessly from the darkened hell the clone had woken up in. She was the one who taught the girl how to walk on 2 legs, instead of all fours. The girl's steps were unsteady and slow. But walk, she did.
She was the one who dressed her, ignoring her growls and attempts to tug it off. She was the one who introduced her to solid food, and watched as she devoured several plates of junk food, then put her to bed when she fell into a food coma. She was the one who taught her how to open doors, and start speaking her first words. The girl had Opal's genius, and after several days, she had started to talk.
It had been long, it had been busy, and she had to do it. Ethics and the fact that the lack of children amongst The People meant that everyone was loathe to neglect children, the acting commander had ordered her to do so. "You found her. Your responsibility" he said, noting also that no one was quite willing to stay near a clone of Opal.
All through it, the clone had been... remarkably well-behaved. Smiling, grunting, eating a lot, but generally she tended to waddle up to her and then sit on her lap and then sleep. Privately, Holly thought she was adorable. Lately, the girl always made a cry of happiness whenever she came near, and went to her for a hug.
Which was why she was shocked by the events on the screen. The girl was screaming, throwing tantrums. She was picking up plates, and throwing at some poor person out of the camera's view point. Biting hands, feet, faces... whatever. She was picking locks, opening doors, and generally making a mess. She was kicking, screaming, kicking... at people reaching out to her. LEP medics, nurses, aid workers. She was hiding in closets, under beds, or just plain hiding in corners. And she was crying. A lot.
"What on earth? Foaly, what's happening here?" She asked, not daring to take her eyes off the screen.
"Surprised, aren't you? Well, that's basically what happens whenever you leave the room." Foaly's tone was apologetic. "She bites, she screams... she basically reverts to a feral state. The closest we ever got her to calm down, was when we showed her pictures of you." Then view on the screens shifted, showing the girl sleeping in a cot, holding a framed photo of Holly Short. It would be charming if it wasn't for the fact that Holly felt her heart break.
"We've basically run out of people willing to take her. Remember how she's got Opal's smarts? Well, she managed to put a dozen staff in the hospital. They're not dead, but they're not going to want to work near her again."
"So now, what's the ruling on the Council? What are they going to do?" Holly asked, voice barely a whisper. They had barely avoided execution or permanent incarceration. If the clone was continuously unmanageable, the Council might change their minds...
"Well, its simple, really. The doctors have already prescribed a course of action." Foaly tapped a button, and a doctor's report appeared on-screen.
The girl is obviously traumatised from the neglect and events at Koboi Labs, it read. The darkness, lack of food and safety and security, as well as the lack of early contact, had caused damage to the girl's ability to interact with other beings. From our analysis of Captain Short's reports and subsequent monitorings, it seems that the girl has associated Holly Short with safety, food, security, and emotional warmth. See how she hugs her, and the far more calm and welcoming behaviour she exhibits. Contrast this to the times when Holly Short is absent. It seems that in associating Holly Short with safety, the subject #12284 has associated all other beings that are not the good captain to be dangerous, suspicious, or antagonistic. Re-integration within Fairy Society, is not counted as possible at this rate. Recommendation is for Holly Short to act as caretaker, then use her as a gateway to more interaction..."
Holly's eyes glazed over at that. Then she looked at the centaur, hoping that she was a joke. There was silence, interrupted only by the beeps and notifications of the equipment within the Section 8 room. Then Foaly sighed, and pulled his hands over his face. "Yes, that is true. The girl's been in out of it. Did you know she bit Grub when he tried to pet her? He's been crying for it for a week."
Holly sighed. "So... what now?"
"The girl's obviously not going to reintegrate. Probably, she'll end up in some horrible couple's hands, or shuffled about in the system until she reaches of age. What happens next... is not pretty." Holly shuddered. She had heard bad stories about it. Fairies going mad, dying alone and poor due to horrible mental disorders, derangement, and etc. A life full of loneliness and failure, due to no one being there for them at the start. Some were simply admitted to mental asylum or prisons, them finding the regimented lifestyles there better than the chaos of a fairy society that they could never truly reintegrate into.
She knew what to do.
I spent my career saving creatures. You must do the same. Destruction cannot be my legacy.
Coral Short had died saying those words to her daughter. And her daughter was going to live by them. Even if she was probably going to tank her career, her life, and probably, all hopes of romance. No one will court her, especially if they have to take on the additional burden of a child. A child, that is the clone of Opal Koboi.
"Coral." She said.
"What was that?" asked Foaly, somewhat confused.
"That girl is not subject #12284. Her name is Coral Short. Remember it."