Christophe stared at the rust stain across the other side of the vehicle. It was a fixed point. Well, almost. The transport vehicle was jerking around as it moved, and it was all Christophe could do to keep his brother comfortable. Staring at the spot gave him something to focus on, and he needed it to keep him from freaking out.
The policemen had shoved all of the pirates into the dark enclosure in the back of their vehicle, and then they'd started moving. Christophe had no idea where they were now. None of them did. They'd had their weapons confiscated, and now their only defence would be Mahad's strength, or his younger sister's Seijin powers. And yet they couldn't use them, and hadn't, because of the promise of help for Cortes.
Christophe was suddenly beginning to doubt they would get that. As soon as they made the mistake of letting him out of here…
The vehicle jerked to a stop, there was the sound of one its other doors slamming, and then the door to the enclosure opened. Light streamed in through the open doors, and the pirates had to squint.
All Christophe's thoughts of fighting his way out vanished as he once again realised he still had Cortes in his arms, and had to look out for him.
"You can get out now if you'd like. Just behave yourselves alright?" The policeman named Jack stood at the vehicle's doors.
"Where are we?" Dahlia asked. No one was prepared to exit just yet. They didn't know what was out there, and they were all more worried about Cortes than getting some fresh air.
"We're at the hospital…"
Christophe blinked, unsure whether to believe it or not. "Can someone give me a hand here…"
Mahad and Dahlia both jumped up, helping Christophe half assist, half carry Cortes out of the vehicle.
"Look… I'm really sorry about Julian…" Jack started. "I'm not sure what got into him… but I've been talking to Andrew and Lizzie, and some of the other people on the bloc who know what's going on… we think he's hiding something…"
"I'm not really interested in your bloc's politics right now!" Christophe snapped. "Can't you see my brother needs help?! Are you letting us go, or what?"
"I don't believe Julian. I know you didn't attack him… so I'll let your brother stay here, yes. He can't go anywhere anyway; he looks pretty beat up…"
"Alright, then I'm staying with him."
"Jack…" Daniel growled, sidling up beside the other man. "You know we're going against the mayor's orders here. I think something's going on too… but we have to be careful…"
"I know, I know." Jack turned back to Christophe. "I can't just let you all go. Julian will know something is up…"
"I am not leaving my brother…" Christophe growled.
"It's alright…" said Dahlia. "Jack, can you please let Christophe stay here with Cortes? He won't give the game up; he just wants to make sure his brother's okay. We'll all come with you, and we won't cause any trouble, I promise."
Jack nodded slowly. "Alright. I just hope Julian will assume we brought you all back…"
"One more thing…" said Dahlia. "Julian got you guys to lock up a small boy from our ship. Do you know where he is now?"
"Yeah… he's in our cells where we were going to take you. He hasn't been hurt; I promise. He's just a little scared of when it gets dark…"
"Well, there's another reason for us to go with you," nodded Mahad.
"Hey, Aran… did you hear that? We know where Cheng is…" said Christophe gripping onto his brother tighter and shaking him ever so slightly. "Aran…"
"He'll be alright, I'm sure…" said Jack. "Just get him inside."
Daniel had already run up to the hospital's front door, had just knocked, and was now quickly talking to Andrew at the door, pointing back to Cortes.
Andrew's face was grim, but he nodded to the policeman, disappeared back inside the hospital, and then returned with a stretcher floating behind him.
"Get him on there," Andrew said to Christophe.
"How's he look?" Christophe asked.
"Once I get a good look at him, I'll tell you. Now, if you're staying, you can tell me what happened. It might help."
"I still think we're going to get ourselves in trouble with Julian…" Daniel muttered.
"Something's not right, Daniel," said Andrew. "I've suspected that for awhile and I know you have too. Perhaps we're going to have to get ourselves into trouble."
Christophe cleared his throat loudly.
"Okay, give me a hand getting him inside," Andrew said to Christophe. They both guided the stretcher up the hospital steps, and inside.
"I hope he's going to be okay…" said Mahad.
"Yeah, me too," Lena agreed.
"Alright," said Jack. "Get back in the cage you guys. I'm sorry we have to do this, but we can't afford to let Julian get suspicious."
Dahlia nodded. "Fine. But I hope once you get us to your station you'll explain to us exactly what is going on around here."
"I'll explain as much as I know, deal," Jack nodded. "Now get in the cage."
----
"Cheng!"
Cheng was sitting in the corner of his dimly lit cell. The lighting was artificial; no one wanted any moonlight in his cell, so he'd been put in one with no windows. He didn't really mind so much.
It was Lena's voice that made him look up, and the creak of his cell door opening.
"Lena… what are you…" Cheng began, but was cut short as the girl ran up to him and threw her arms around him.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
"I'm fine…"
Dahlia and Mahad came in after her, and then the two policemen did as well.
"They didn't…" Dahlia started, then tossed a look over her shoulder at the two men, then decided she didn't care. "… do anything to you, did they?"
Cheng shook his head, and extricated his arms from around Lena, who sat down beside him. "No… they've actually been kind of nice."
"You're positive he can't change in this cell?" Daniel whispered to Jack.
Jack elbowed him, glaring. "You wanted to know what was going on?" he asked.
Dahlia turned back to the two men. "Yes, we do," she said firmly. She paused. "We'll also tell you what we know. It might be useful for both of us."
"Okay." Jack rested his back against the doorway and slid down, and Daniel sat down next to him. Mahad and Dahlia also found a seat.
"As you know this whole trying to avoid the werewolves business has been going on for quite awhile. Generally, it's accepted as fact. But a few of us have grown suspicious. We're sure there's something out there, but not sure the level of fear the Julian instils is warranted. We've tried suggesting finding more out about this threat, but Julian has remained firm. Lately…" he paused for a moment, as if deciding whether to continue sharing or not. "Well, he's been stubborn to the point of resisting completely logical arguments. One might be tempted to think he's resisting for some reason completely removed from the safety of the people of Marquis. We've tried getting Andrew and Lizzie, the bloc's doctors, to talk to him. He respects them more than us. And still nothing. We're more suspicious now then ever. And especially after seeing what happened to day… I highly doubt you pushed him to set that garbage 'bot on you."
"We didn't," said Mahad. "He tricked us into going into that garden, where we couldn't escape, and then he set Nessie on us! He was trying to kill us! If I hadn't…" Mahad paused, not quite yet sure if he should share his supernatural abilities with them. "… we just barely managed to destroy it, and look what it did to Cortes."
"I'm really sorry about your Captain," said Jack.
"We should have known something was up with that machine before," Daniel growled. "I always knew there was no way something with so many sharp edges and a bloody flame thrower was just a garbage 'bot."
"Wait, what happened to Cortes!?" Cheng asked suddenly.
Lena put a hand on his shoulder. "Julian set this machine on us… it hurt him. But he's in the hospital; he's going to be okay…"
"Lizzie and Andrew are very good doctors," said Jack. "He'll be okay, I promise."
Cheng nodded, chewing his lip. He could remember his own pain when the werewolf had torn into him, and he could only imagine if the machine had done something similar to Cortes. He couldn't just heal himself like Cheng had been able to once the virus took affect. Cheng wasn't sure which of them had it worse.
"Okay," said Dahlia, "so you think Julian is hiding something…"
"Yes," said Jack.
"Okay, you're turn," prodded Daniel. "We've told you what we know."
"Well then, we can tell you you're absolutely right," said Dahlia. "Julian is up to something. Last night, we… well, Mahad found a Sphere facility on the other side of your bloc. They're creating the werewolves, and Julian is providing them with subjects."
----
Christophe sat on a bench in the hallway outside the room Cortes was in. The two doctors had let him stay until he explained what had happened, and then chased him outside. Christophe was sure they were perfectly capable of taking care of his brother, and the best place for him probably was outside the room. But that didn't stop him from worrying.
It didn't stop him from thinking either. His mind had quite clearly drawn the logic that he'd assisted Natasha in her endeavours to create the werewolf soldier for the Sphere. That had caused all the trouble on this bloc… and that had all led to his brother getting hurt. Then there was what had happened to Mahad, and Cortes' adopted son. Christophe hadn't even met the boy, yet he almost felt worse for him than for Cortes. It's not completely your fault… not directly. Christophe snarled at the thought and pounded a fist into his leg. Yeah, right. Stop lying to yourself, Christophe. Aran hates you already, how is he going to react when he finds out you helped with something that hurt his kid?
The door to Cortes' room slid open, and Lizzie stepped out, startling Christophe.
"How is he?" Christophe asked as he stood up.
"It's okay, hun. I think he'll be alright. But he's got several broken ribs, and he's cut up pretty badly. He needs to rest."
Christophe nodded.
"You can go in and see him, but he's sleeping so don't wake him up."
Christophe stepped into the room, pausing in the doorway. Andrew was still by the bedside, hooking something up to a drip. Cortes lay on the bed, completely unconscious, his chest moving up and down as he breathed. His chest and parts of his arms were wrapped in bandages.
"I'll leave you alone," Andrew said, stepping away as he finished with the drip.
"Wait…" Christophe grabbed the man's arm as he stepped past him. "You have to stop this…"
"What…"
"Whatever's going on here… your mayor's in on it too."
Andrew nodded. "We've suspected as much. Don't worry; we are going to do something about this. We should have earlier. Perhaps then your brother and his son wouldn't have gotten hurt… for that we're sorry. But we are going to fix this, I promise you."
"If there's anything I can do to help…" said Christophe.
"We'll let you know," Andrew replied. "Just stay with your brother for now."
Andrew left, walking down the hallway with his wife, leaving Christophe alone with Cortes. Christophe stared at his brother for a moment, and then sat down on the chair at his bedside. He carefully took Cortes' hand. "Aran… it was just business… I was just…" He sighed, and his shoulders drooped. "Little brother, I'm sorry."
----
Wayan hovered in the Mosquito around the rocky outcroppings. The little ships readouts showed there was nothing in the area but rock and hardy plant life. But then, the Mosquito's systems were hardly state of the art, and there was no doubt in his mind that the Sphere base would be well hidden.
"I've got to find it…" Wayan growled. He was sweating, and he wasn't sure if it was from the virus or simply because he was apprehensive. Wayan didn't normally find himself so angry, but he was positive this would be where he would find those who had created the virus that had affected him. Maybe they could fix him. He'd find them, and make them fix him. And then he'd make sure they couldn't harm anyone with their experiments ever again.
"Where are you…" he growled again.
Suddenly, something appeared in front of the Mosquito. Another ship? Wayan tensed, gripping his controls and letting his finger hover over the weapons trigger. The thing in front of him was some sort of machine. It was just a little bit bigger than the Mosquito, like some sort of metal pterodactyl.
Wayan waited, but the machine did not attack. It seemed to stare at him for a moment, its eyes flashing from red to green as its systems ran some sort of scan on the Mosquito. It looked at him for a moment more, and then swooped away.
"What was that about?" Wayan watched the machine fly off. Then his eyes caught on a rocky wall nearby. It was sliding… open? Wayan suddenly realised it was a concealed shipping bay. The flying machine seemed to have been directing his attention to it.
For the briefest of moments, Wayan wondered why he was being let in. But that was what he wanted, he could figure out the details later. With that thought, he guided the small ship downwards and cautiously into the docking bay.
The bay walls were rusting; the place obviously wasn't used much. One of the walls had a large energy burn mark on it which looked fairly fresh, it had cut through the rust and dirt there, and turned the metal wall a shiny purple colour. There were no other ships in the bay, just a few old shipping containers. The place could have been deserted, except for the presence of the blast mark, and the facility opening for him.
Wayan opened the hatch of his Mosquito and stepped out cautiously. He slung his rifle from his shoulder, activated it, and swung it around the bay as he searched. There appeared to be no sign of life anywhere.
At this point, Wayan would normally have decided that whoever, if anyone, was here was waiting for him to walk into a trap. He was sure there would be someone here, waiting for him. But the virus had messed up his life. It'd made him hurt Cheng; it'd made him infect the boy with the very thing that plagued him. It didn't matter what danger he was walking into. He had to try and find a way to set things right. Besides, if they realised he was a werewolf, they'd be scared of taking him on, right?
Wayan took what looked to be the main doorway out of the docking bay, and began to explore. He crept down corridor after corridor. Many of the rooms appeared deserted. Wayan found himself growing more desperate. He knew something was going on here.
Finally, he came across a room that looked like it was being used. It was a laboratory. It was cleaner, and more in use, than the one he and Cortes had explored in the original Sphere base, but the size and layout of the room was similar. Wayan couldn't help but feel this was where all his trouble had begun. He suppressed a shudder, and walked into the room.
"Ah, I see you've found your way, perfect."
Wayan swung around at the sound of the voice. His gun rested on a woman in a lab coat.
"Don't be frightened…" she said with a smile which did anything but alleviate Wayan's fears.
"Who are you?" Wayan growled.
"My name's Natasha," the woman replied. "I'm a Sphere scientist. Well… I was… they'll accept me again when I prove I am right. Something you're going to help me with."
"You know I'm a werewolf," Wayan stated. "That's why you let me in."
"My scout detected you had the virus, yes. I am curious as to how came across it though. You're not a subject I remember and the virus is not just something you come down with."
"I picked it up at your old research station," said Wayan. "Are you behind all this? Did you turn me into this!?"
"Settle down," said Natasha. "How can you blame me? I had no intention of infecting you. Pure random chance, just the same as how you pick up a cold."
"You created this," Wayan snarled, advancing on her with the gun.
"Created, no. Revived, yes, I did."
"You had no right to do that. Look what it's done to me. I attacked a kid. I gave him the virus, and I could have killed him!"
"So what? Now you're going to kill me?"
Wayan stopped advancing, thinking. "No, I want you to fix me. And stop what you're doing here."
"That's a big ask. My life's work is nearly complete. I can't let you stop me."
"I don't care, fix me!" Wayan raised the gun again.
"I thought you weren't going to shoot me?"
"We can wait around until it gets dark and I turn into an uncontrollable monster, if that's what you want," Wayan spat out.
"No. You're no good to me then. Listen to me…."
"Wayan."
"Wayan. Listen to me. There is no cure for the werewolf virus. But I can make it possible for you to control it. My last subject ran away, but before he did I was able to I realise the version I had given him was controllable. This is what I was trying to achieve. I can give you that version of the virus…"
"I think I know who you're talking about," Wayan growled. "Don't pretend like that's any better! I am not going to let you hurt anybody else. I want you to fix me, and if you can't then find a way. And I'm sure as anything not helping you make the Sphere's perfect soldier. Do you think I'm an idiot? You don't want to help me; you just want to finish off your experiment because Mahad ran away!"
"Well, you've just got me all figured out, haven't you?" said Natasha. She looked up, at a point slightly behind Wayan. She nodded.
Wayan started to whirl around, but before he could two spiked metal clamps had grabbed him by the shoulders, holding him in place. Wayan let out a yell, but then bit back on it. It hurt like anything, but knowing his body could heal, it really wasn't that much of a problem.
"Too bad. You're going to help me anyway."
Wayan pulled against the clamps, hissing as he further tore up his flesh. He still couldn't get free. He tried to wring his head around to see what had him.
There was a click of gears, and the head of a metal beast, supported on a long segregated neck, swung around over his shoulder to look Wayan in the eye. The machine opened its mouth, revealing a small flame, and then shut its mouth again with a loud metal clang.
"Just hold him there," said Natasha. No longer threatened by Wayan's gun, she had wandered over to one of the benches and picked up a large syringe. She connected a vial of liquid to it, and then walked back over to Wayan.
Wayan tried to struggle again, but the machine only dug its clamps in harder. "You can…" Wayan gasped. "Do what you want. Make me your perfect soldier. But don't expect me to work for the Sphere or help you!"
Natasha held the needle up in front of him, and smiled. "I've actually got a solution for that…" With that, she plunged the needle deep into his chest.
Wayan jerked, contorted, and then slumped in the machine's grasp.
