(Minor Note: Hardystonite (Hardystone) is one of my other OC's. I've decided to release this story earlier, despite it being far down the timeline of all of my characters-AvT)
Hardystone sat in her chair, thinking on various matters. Separating her and her test subjects was but a simple pane of strong glass, nothing much for gems, of course, but for humans, it was almost unbreakable. To her left was a constantly expanding pile of blood, organs, as well as a pile of various minerals and gems, harvested the human way from dense jungles. She had been down here for at least a week or two, constantly testing her theory, constantly attempting to make something that the world had never seen. That even Homeworld had never seen. 8 test subjects later, she felt like she was getting close. "Those earlier humans...they were too weak...they couldn't handle the serum...couldn't handle the power that we provided them..." She sighed, banging her iron mask against the wall a few times. She felt like it helped to clear her mind, focus on the problem. She returned to the actual lab area, a mix of beakers and bottles brewing something that could change everything in warfare. She was getting close to finally making a breakthrough, and it would only take a few more tries, a few more dead humans to get it right. If it worked, she would control the world. "I can't fail here...you two didn't, didn't you? You didn't give up, you kept trying to recreate your greatest success...your pride and joy...even though they were WEAK. They had no gumption...no drive to improve, or think. They were a war machine being played by Homeworld...you two decided that giving it intelligence was a terrific idea...you were wrong...so very wrong..." She looked at the decapitated head of Unity, hanging high above her shelves, hanging like a pinata. She smiled, as it reminded her that she was doing the right thing, that she was managing to succeed where they had failed. "You're watching the next step in how we fight our battles...all thanks to you..." She turned the lights off in the lab, and returned to her station, preparing for subject number nine.
The human who Hardystone forced out was a bulkier one, one that had a level of upper body strength that Hardy hadn't really seen before. She forced them into the chair, and strapped them in, the human weakly struggling in an attempt to escape from something he didn't understand.
"Please, I have a wife...and a child...I need to find that child, please!"
The human started crying, and all allure that Hardy had before that moment evaporated within that instant.
"This child that you had, dark gray hair, bright blue eyes, that one? He's been dead for a month, human. He made the mistake of wandering into my lab, and that was not going to fly with me. You just can't seem to accept the inevitable. Now pipe down, I still need to prepare a few things."
She took out the serum, and injected it into their arm. The serum consisted of many things, and if the logic was sound, and the science was accurate, it would recreate a gemstone inside of the human, at the same time allowing Hardystone to control them with simple, verbal commands. She smiled, and walked behind her safety glass, allowing herself to take a small breath. The human had started to go into convulsions, as all of them did, as the gemstone started to grow inside of them, shaping their body to allow its power to spread throughout. The human struggled against the restraints, shaking wildly, making mass movements that looked like someone was cooking them on hot coals. She noticed instantly that something was different about this human. Their skin color started to turn a pale white, as their body parts started to extend and contract at random. Their face formed to become a single, glaring cat's eye shape, staring directly at her. She clapped, and started to take more notes. The human started to stop shaking, as the gemstone appeared on their right shoulder. They definitely weren't as clean as gems that Hardy had seen. Their right arm was a deformed claw, one that pulsed with oddly colored veins and patches of the clothing that they were wearing moments ago. Their body had become slightly bulkier as a whole, and their left arm, by far the most "normal" limb on their body looked massive. Hardystone spoke into the loudspeaker.
"Good, Number 9. Now, stand up."
The thing looked at Hardy again, and easily stood up, breaking the bonds in a few moments, as if tearing a piece of paper. Hardystone congratulated herself, or at least, she wanted to, before the large claw arm broke through the safety glass. Hardystone was knocked backwards from sheer surprise, and she hit her head on the wall, slowly crawling backwards as the deformed monster that she had created started to charge at her, a pure, unending hatred growing in its single eye.
The abomination started to stumble forward, its two oddly shaped legs barely managing to keep themselves standing. Hardystone took out their rings, basically her gem weapons which allowed her to send shockwaves through the ground or through other gems, and got back onto her feet, before the abomination started moving oddly faster. It knocked her into the wall again, and started hitting it's heavy hammer like arm across her body, almost as if nailing a board into the wall. She knocked it's arm away with her rings, and started to push the thing back down to her lab. The arm of the abomination mutated again, becoming almost like a spiked bat. The sharp edges of its arm barely managed to miss Hardystone's body, as she stepped on the outer edges of it's swinging arc. She waited for her golden opportunity, and managed to kick the thing in the eye. It made a noise that she perceived as pain, and stumbled backwards, finally falling on it's back. She quickly used all four of her arms to toss the thing into the emergency cell she had built, and shutting the door. It's massive body slammed against the thick metal door, luckily not making a dent in it at all. Hardystone took a deep breath, and cleaned herself up, considering she was all cut up from the various bruises, glass cuts, and other things. She swept the lab silently, occasionally looking back at the door, making sure they hadn't escaped.
"Fuck...what the hell was that even...why did it stop listening to me? ..."
She started to hear an odd noise in the room where her other test subjects were, and she quickly made a motion to that room. What she saw, was highly unexpected. The abomination had been giving the other subjects the serum, and now standing before her were 17 different, yet equally frightening, abominations, all staring at her.
She couldn't even react before one of the abominations started to charge at her. She knocked it aside, and it flipped over, it's legs moving downward to allow them to continue walking. She dashed out of the test area, several of the abominations tumbling after her. Hardystone dove into her lab, activating the emergency lock down button she had prepared for such an event, sealing the entire area in the tough steel that blocked the door earlier. She heard the banging of several different creatures at the same time, before she moved quickly to the front entrance of the facility, currently hidden under a rocky formation far from the beach. She quickly regained a thought.
"Shit.." She spoke with a mix of fear and anguish. "It seems that I've forgot my journal..." She made a mad dash back down to the lab, and swiping the dark grey data-pad off of the counter. As she started moving again, she heard the banging get louder outside of the cell area, where she thought she sealed the first creature. There was something odd about this banging, however, and it sounded more focused, less like a mindless meat-sack hitting a brick wall. More like slamming in certain spots. Her eye focused upon the door, as the next hit made a massive dent in the door. She started to step backwards, both terrified and intrigued at this new development. The banging hit again, and the door left one corner open, the hinges having been broken from the impact. She took another few steps backwards, her heels touching the staircase, as the next impact finally bust open the door, allowing the mass of abominations piling through the entrance. "Oh fucking hell..." Hardystone quickly doubled back up the stairs, the disgusting sounds of wet flesh echoing up the stairs. They were getting faster, more refined in their movements, almost like a baby learning to walk. At the top of the staircase, Hardy activated all of her rings, and sent a shock-wave through the ground, causing the entire place to collapse in on itself. The noises finally cut off, aside from the sounds of rocks that continued to fall, and Hardystone allowed herself to take a breath. She took out her data pad, and started typing. She had decided what to name these things before she had even started the experiment, thinking of a name that would inspire fear into all who challenged her. Obviously, they inspired fear in her alone.
"Death Offspring. Failed Experimental Gem/Human Hybrids. Capable of learning, mild intelligence. Disgustingly fast. Horrifyingly strong. DEAD."
She put the data pad back into the side of her mask, and moved quickly back to her own cave. Unknown to her, however, was the disgusting, pale hands that started to rise from the rubble behind her...