A flaw in the plan! While in the middle
of a heated battle, clone trooper Charmy lost
his senses and killed a Shinobi General.
Seeming to have no awareness of his actions,
Charmy's health began to deteriorate rapidly.
Fearing the illness was linked to a Separatist
plot, Shadow the Hedgehog has dispatched Captain Fang
and ARC Trooper Mighty to escort Charmy back to
the cloning facilities on Soleanna
for an intensive evaluation...
The Republic shuttle landed in the hanger of the capital of the Soleanna. Fang and Mighty exited the shuttle with Charmy on the gurney and went toward a waiting Elise. They entered the halls of the facility "You will have to say goodbye to your friend now" Elise told Mighty who nodded. As Charmy was taken away Lara-Lee walked up to the two clones "Captain Fang. Mighty, it's good to see you again" "Thank you, General" Mighty said. "I'm going to need you to come with me" "With... with all due respect, General I can't just abandon Charmy". She started walking with them "You must let the doctors do their work. Don't be afraid. Your friend is in quite capable hands. Elise is the chief medical scientist on Soleanna. She was one of the primary engineers of all the clones". "I'm surprised Elise bothered to deal with it herself. I would have thought they would have just getting the doctors do deal with Charmy" Fang said. Lara-Le nodded "I was curious about this too but I'm sure she has her reasons. I'd be more worried if one of our hedgehog troopers were in Charmy's place. Right now, we must take care of Mighty". Might was confused "Me? There's nothing wrong with me, General. I'm perfectly fine" Mighty said. Lara-Lee turned to him "We can't be sure of that until we've completed a full exam. If a virus was the cause of Charmy's breakdown, you have more than likely been exposed to the contagion. You haven't entered the advance stages yet, as Charmy has, but any information we can gather from you could help to find a cure for Charmy". Mighty sighed "Alright, General, if it'll help Charmy" "Captain Fang, General Shadow has ordered you back to the war zone. You are to leave immediately". Fang nodded "I'm sorry, Mighty. I wish I could stay, but duty calls" "It's fine, sir. Fighting a virus is a nice change of pace from all those niks". Fang put his hand on Mighty's shoulder "Take care of yourself and Charmy".
Lara-Le entered the medical bay were Charmy was with Elise and two medical bots. Charmy was now in his octopus form so they could work on him "Let's begin the tests". Mighty was watching through a the window of another room while he was on his own operating table. He watched them inject something into his chest and he started to writhe on the table "What're they doing?". The medical robot went up to him "Please remain calm" "Out of my way!" he pushed past him. "What's going on, General" Mighty yelled through the glass. Lara-Le looked guilty before she used the Force to push a button. The Window darkened stopping Mighty from watching "No!" "Please return to the examination table". In the other room Elise coldly watched Charmy in pain "The reaction will subside. He must be awake for the next round of tests" "I am not fond of these hyper tests" "Yes, but they do give us all the information we need in a timely fashion". She checked a scanner "There does not seem to be any sign of infection in the blood. How curious. The subject has tested negative on all accounts. This clone seems to be in perfect health". Charmy stopped screaming and calmed down. Lara-Le pondered "We must be missing something". Charmy's eyes opened "Why am I here?" he then saw Lara-Le "Follow orders! Kill Shinobi. Kill Shinobi" he said angrily. "Are you finished with your tests?" Lara-Le asked Elise, "For now". A robot that looked like a gold version of a Gamma injected Charmy with a tranquilizer.
Lara-Le stared at him suspiciously "It appears this clone has orders to kill a Shinobi. Perhaps the Separatists found a way to brainwash him". The golden gamma entered Mighty's room "Is Charmy going to be alright? Have they found anything out?" "Please sit down" the gamma asked. Mighty did so, "We are using hyper-test so we should be getting the results very quickly. We need to complete more procedures on you. Sorry" "For what?". The Gamma injected something into his neck and took a blood sample "Ow! Hey!" "I said I was sorry. You must understand, organic beings are so much harder to analyse than robots". He went over to a computer terminal and checked the computer "Everything seems normal" "Great. Can I go now?". The gamma walked back over to him "I'm afraid that is not possible. You must remain quarantined until we have pinpointed the exact cause of the other clone's breakdown. We cannot risk any further casualties". Mighty was getting annoyed "Look, I'm not a threat, and neither is Charmy" "Are you certain?". Mighty sighed "Eh. You're just a robot. You don't know about real duty, about what it's like to have a brother" "I am sorry. I've always wanted to understand the emotions of organic beings, but I do not. Goodbye" the Gamma left the room.
Later the tests on Charmy were continuing "Maybe whatever is causing his aggression is psychological. It seems to be an isolated case. The other clone has yet to display any symptoms". The machines started to beep and Charmy screamed in pain. Lara-Le looked concerned "I need an answer now. This isn't just a physical manifestation of psychosis. We must have missed something". "Might I suggest a second brain scan, an atomic level brain scan?" the Gamma said. Elise shook her head "This is unnecessary. The phase one and two scans we did are sufficient. He's too weak for a phase five atomic level scan" "I calculate the beneficial knowledge we could gain from a phase five scan would be worth the risk". "The only way to discover what has happened to this clone is to terminate him and do a full-scale autopsy on the molecular level". Lara-Le turned to her "We must be cautious. I do not believe this is a physical ailment, but a mental condition caused by possible Separatist's brainwashing" "I don't agree. This is a virus of some kind. I am in charge of this examination, and I will decide what is best for my patient". "Actually, since the Republic and the Shinobi commissioned the clones is our responsibility to oversee their care". Elise stared blankly at her "Every clone and their genetic makeup is property of the Soleanna government. Now, as a client of ours, I will respect your wishes, but as to the fate of this clone, I will speak to our king". Lara-Le nodded "And I will advise the Shinobi Council on the atomic level brain scan and see how they would like to proceed".
Mighty was waiting when Gamma entered "What's going on?" "CT-0395's condition seems to be deteriorating". Mighty scowled "Charmy. His name is Charmy" "Charmy? What is a Charmy?" "Charmy is my friend. He's not a number". Gamma turned to him and tilted his head "Yes he is. We all have numbers. My name is ISC-345211896246498721247. His number is CT-0395". Mighty shook his head "Wrong. He has a name. No clones use their number, not anymore" "But you are a number. CT-06-1993". Mighty crossed his arms "No. I am Mighty. Call me Mighty" "Oh. The difference is minimal" "Not to me and not to any clone". The Gamma stared at him curiously "How did you get your name". A smirk formed on Mighty's face "A friend of mine, Ash, gave me it. I ran out of ammo on training session once and tried to punch a Pawn…. I broke my hand. Later he called me Mighty as a joke, but I though fit me". The Gamma pondered "Your friend gave you a name? Could you give me one?". Mighty stared at him in surprise "Uh, sure… Um, let's see. ISC…. Isc. Isaac?". The Gamma lifted his head slightly "Issac. Hm, I like it".
Elise entered a room where the King was sitting down "It appears there has been a pre-emptive execution of clone protocol 06". The King looked concerned "How did this happen?" "I don't know as of yet. However, I recommend we terminate the clone and do a full autopsy to discover how the inhibitor chip was activated". The King nodded "And what of the Shinobi?" "The Shinobi Lara-Le is proposing an atomic-level brain scan. She has gone to the Shinobi Council to seek their approval before proceeding". The King nodded and stood up "We must contact Lord Enerjak". They walked through the halls of the city and entered a circular room with a holo-unit at the centre. Dimitri appeared wearing a cloak with his face being covered "I've been expecting your transmission. I have heard of the malfunctioning clone. How widespread is the problem?" "It seems to be an isolated incident. However, this is a delicate situation. We need to terminate the clone as soon as possible in order to extract and examine the chip". Dimitri nodded "Very good. Terminate the clone immediately. However, send the chip to me for analysis" "And what if the Shinobi ask for the chip and the results of the autopsy?" the King asked. "You must remember the chip is a safeguard against betrayal from rogue Shinobi. Master Chip was the only Shinobi who knew of this. But with his passing, we alone know of this secret, and you must keep it that way". They both bowed "Yes, Lord Enerjak". They cut off and left the room "These Shinobi are a curious cult" "Too spiritual for my taste. I will terminate the clone immediately".
Lara-Le was in her quarters speaking to a hologram of the Shinobi Council "The Soleannans have suggested that we terminate the clone and do a rigorous molecular autopsy to discover the virus. I believe this solution is ill-advised. My belief is that Charmy has been brainwashed by the Separatists using some new process we do not yet understand". Merlin looked concerned "Brainwashing? How could that be possible?" "General Shadow reported Charmy missing on the space station, but after five rotations, he turned up again. That event preceded this episode. Perhaps he was compromised at that point". Merlin nodded "We must find the truth behind this situation, or we could find many more clones turned against us" "I would like to implement a level five atomic brain scan to see if his thought processes are still functioning normally". Espio leaned forward in his chair "And what do the Soleannans think of that?" "They feel Charmy is so weak that the brain scan will damage his neural tissue and possibly kill him. Their approach would terminate him, thus leaving the brain fully intact for the autopsy". Espio pondered "Bring clone trooper Charmy back to the Shinobi Temple". Blaze nodded in agreement "Yes. We shall examine him with the Force and unravel this mystery". Lara-Le bowed her head "Yes, Master. I'll bring him back immediately".
Mighty was getting impatient "No. There's too much procedure here. Charmy is a soldier, he risks his life every day, and I know he would risk it now if it means finding a cure for what's wrong with him". "I recommended an atomic brain scan, but that request has thus far been denied" Isaac said. Mighty shrugged "Then we have to get the results of that brain scan ourselves" "But that's against protocol" Isaac said worryingly. Mighty smirked "Think about it. It's your duty to save the patient, right? And you recommended this atomic brain scan as the best way to save patient, right?" "That is correct" Isaac answered. "So, by not performing this scan, you're letting the patient die, willingly". Isaac paused "Impossible. That is against my programming" "That's not the way it looks to me". Isaac sighed "I cannot perform the atomic brain scan without disobeying orders" "Check your programming. I thought saving the patient at all costs was fundamentally your highest order". Isaac pondered "You are correct" "Right. Then let's get to it". They went through to the other room where Charmy was sleeping alone still in his octopus form "Okay, let's get to work".
A cylindrical scanner was lowered down and Mighty pushed Charmy inside. Isaac and Mighty checked the screen "Everything seems to be normal. Wait". Isaac went over to a terminal "It appears this clone has developed a tumour". Mighty went over to him "Is that even possible?" "I have never witnessed anything like this in your kind. I cannot be sure what it is without a biopsy". Isaac removed Charmy from the scanner. Mighty then heard someone coming towards the door and he quickly hid. Isaac got in front of Charmy's body as Elise entered "Hello, Ms Elise" "What do you think you're doing?". Isaac backed away "I was only following protocol. Save the patient. I have something form the scan. It appears to be a tumour. Perhaps you should take a look". Elise angrily turned to him "You performed a second scan without my authorization?" "As I stated, I was following my programming". Elise went over to a terminal "Then you are like this clone, defective. You will be put on report for deactivation" "But the tumour, it appears to be blocking neuro-impulses from communicating within the brain. We should scan the rest of the clones to see if this is a problem with their base genetic model or a mutation in the current models". Elsie turned everything off "There is no tumour. Your scan is incorrect. This clone clearly has a virus that remains undetected, but I will find the cause once he is terminated. Now leave". She had her back to the door and Isaac stepped outside along with Mighty. They went back to their room "I can't believe it. They're going to kill him" "In a case like this, it is the logical course of action". Mighty angrily turned to him "No. We were not created to be disposed of this way" "Perhaps you were. CT-0395 will be terminated so that others like him could survive". Mighty banged his hands against the examination table "There aren't others like him! Charmy doesn't have to die. You found a tumour. I'm sure that's the cause of all of this. It's the only thing that makes sense. We an do your biopsy. I'm sure what you find will prove Charmy does not have to die". Isaac was nervous "But Elise said-" "We're not going to Elise with what you find. We'll go to the General, to Lara-Le. She helped me once as a cadet. I know she values the life of a clone". Isaac was struggling with a response "But… we will be disobeying direct orders" "Yep for the second time today. Can you hack into the medical centre's mainframe?" "I do posses that ability, yes". Mighty smiled and put his arm around Isaac's shoulders "Alright. Well, here's what you need to do".
The King of Soleanna king enters Charmy's room where Elise is waiting "It will be a painless death. Soon, all our questions will be answered". Elise was about to inject something in Charmy when an alarm went off "Intruder alert. All nonessential personnel report to a safe room for lockdown". They all quickly left the room leaving Charmy alone. Mighty heard this from his room "Good work, Isaac. Let's hurry before they find out it's a false alarm". Isaac went over to the window and cut through it with a torch. They entered Charmy's room "Do we have any shifting inhibitors?" "No. I'll have to act quickly before the one in him wears off. You might want to turn away from this part". Mighty turned around and began to hear a drill.
Lara-Le entered the command centre "I want a report". An eagle clone came up to her "It appears to be a false alarm, triggered from the medical bay". Lara-Le was surprised "Medical bay? It's Mighty. Come on" they ran back out".
"Is it done?" Mighty asked as he turned back around. He saw that there was a small device on Charmy's head and Isaac was now holding two small pieces of glass with a the small tumour between them "It is now". Elise entered "What have you done?" "I've saved my friend's life. This tumour is the cause of his illness". Elise tried to grab it from him "Give me that", Mighty stopped her "You can't be trusted" "Stand down, trooper". Mighty saw Lara-Le enter "General, I have evidence. It's right here" "I'm free" they then heard Charmy say weakly. They turned and saw him slowly turning back to his bee form "The mission…. Free" "Charmy?" Mighty went over and held his brother's hand. "Brother, what mission?" "You… you know the one. The mission, the one in our dreams that never ends" the other clones in the room looked between each other. Charmy's face dropped "Oh, brother. This is the end. Forget the mission. The nightmare. I'm… free" his eyes clones and his head fell back onto the bed. Mighty rested his head mournfully on Charmy's body "No, no. I thought I saved him".
Solaris was in his office speaking to a hologram of Lara-Le and Elise "Sir, the clone CT-0395 has died" "Such a tragedy" Solaris replied half-heartedly. "I recommend we do further tests on this tumour at the Shinobi Temple to see if it is the cause of the problem". Solaris' eyes twitched slightly before he turned around "Or even better, have the tumour sent to the Grand Republic Medical Facility here on Mobotropolis" "The Shinobi Council requested the clone". Elise stepped forward "I think the Chancellor is correct. The Grand Medical Facility is state of the art. If we are to find the answer to this puzzle, we will find it there" "We are in agreement, then?". Lara-Le reluctantly nodded "Yes, sir". The holograms cut off and a sinister look formed on Solaris' face.