Chronicles of the Resistance - Caretaker

by IntergalacticFlyingToast

After escaping the Advent mega-city of New Providence, a scientist buys his way into a resistance cell operating within the City-23 Contagion Zone. Hoping to avoid further contact with his former viper creations, the man is thrust into a role that could very well change his outlook on vipers, and force him to face a ghost from his past. (see tags inside)

14. A Day in the Life

Staying Connected:

Curious about what goes on behind the scenes? Join me and other XCOM fanfiction authors in The Viper Pit Discord server: www.*discord.*gg / PBFpc4g (edited link to avoid fanfiction filters)

Chapter Specific Warning(s):

Danger noodle(s), shenanigans

Opening Notes:

Apologies for the extended delay between chapters. A couple of life events took precedence over writing and my vision for this chapter continued to expand once I actually started writing it. As a warning, this second look into the past is about twice the length of a regular chapter and will therefore take quite a bit longer to get through despite being broken up into sections. Nevertheless, I hope that it entertains, so...

Enjoy!

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XIV: A Day in the Life

New Providence: [Redacted]

Date: [Redacted]

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The Doctor

Adrian was currently having a less than stellar Friday morning. While one would usually be ecstatic about the fact that the workweek was finally almost over, the doctor's duties were far from it and he had a run of bad luck that started as soon as his feet touched the cold, non-carpeted floors of his poor excuse for an apartment.

The Elders in their infinite wisdom had seen it fit for him to live in the dumpiest part of New Providence while his all too coveted penthouse encountered setback after setback due to the revolving door of halfwit contractors left to the task. He just hoped that none of them would end up embedded in one of its walls once the accursed thing was finally completed.

Sadly, this only left him with a glorified broom closet that hadn't been remodeled in ages and just so happened to be without running water the same fateful morning. Given his employer's…cleanliness standards, this left the man with two options: ask a 'friendly' neighbor and risk getting shanked with some manner of rusty spoon, or use the shower facilities at work. At least for Adrian, the choice was obvious, especially since he could stash away his extra clothes in his office.

However, in his haste, he also forgot his identification papers and was therefore condemned to face a pat-down at each security checkpoint as he sluggishly made his way towards the center of the city. Naturally, the almighty maker always saw it fit to assign a viper rotation to conduct such operations whenever he made such blunders. While not usually a problem, recent events and his failure to wash away the scent of his assigned vipers made the checkpoint guards add an additional layer of discomfort to the already invasive searches.

After being shook for loose change for the umpteenth time, he found his way into the relative safety of the Advent Intraspecies laboratories, which had recently become his home away from home, due to what had occurred just a week or so prior in Unification Park. In the end, he and his songbird had made it out relatively unscathed, alongside her Advent guard that was assigned to the event. Fortunately, a quick trip to the local clinic was all that it took for him to earn a clean bill of health. Unfortunately, the coordinated attack on their convoy gave his superiors the reason that they needed to temporarily bar the inconvenient baggage from seeing their favorite caged bird in person.

After a brief window of recovery, Advent's Amaryllis was carted around the region, touting to the rest of the civilized world the bravery of the Advent peacekeepers that had ultimately come to her rescue. She also condemned the actions of those marked responsible.

In typically Advent fashion, additional civilian restrictions were soon implemented and a special Advent task force was assembled to investigate the matter. A fresh wave of quartered soldiers was also administered to the area, where compliance was mandatory and deemed to be for the betterment of society. After all, the bogeyman that was the vilified XCOM had apparently resurfaced, choosing to make calculated strikes within the heart of Advent to throw the entire region into chaos and disrupt the lives of its hardworking people. While he had heard the rhetoric many times before, the getup of the men who had attacked him in the flower garden that night did suggest this to be the case, however, he figured that it was better to suppress such thoughts and bury his head in his work until such matters blew over.

The Elders would bring about order from the chaos, as they had done so countless times before.

Besides, it wasn't all bad. Adeline had evidently twisted a few arms in order for Marmalade to accompany her to the main event at city hall, where his favorite yellow viper got her chance to shine, receiving a medal for her valiant efforts to protect one of the Elders' chosen mouthpieces and saving their favorite prospect. As for him, he was left to watch the televised broadcast from the safety of the labs, which had become a hive of activity thanks to the sudden spike in human dissidence. Luckily, his most recent position afforded him access to the secondary entrances, which largely allowed him to slink around the larger pockets of security in an effort to make it to the labs with as few inconveniences as possible.

Finally reaching his objective, the man slowly opened the large door in front of him, looking back momentarily to ensure that the long hallway he had just traveled down remained vacant. With the coast clear, the little doctor scurried his way into the spacious locker room, which was intended to be used by the viper test subjects under armed guard. Since their lives were heavily regimented and they'd no doubt be confined to the containment area, he'd have free rein to quickly freshen up before returning to his office.

After he raided the supply closet and set his change of clothes down on a corner bench, Adrian stripped bare and made an attempt for the shelf of white towels nearest the showers. Unfortunately, his small size was once again pitted against the fact that such facilities weren't designed with humans in mind. Indeed, the matte black benches were sparse and the scarlet lockers made him feel more like a child. Through great effort, he eventually persevered, grabbing hold of one of the oversized towels and then made his way into the designated wash area. All the while, his shower shoes squeaked across the checkered floors.

Two rows of stalls then stood before him, each separated by semi-transparent dividers and varied in size based on the assigned viper. Given the fact that all of the housed test subjects were of the feminine persuasion, he had up until now chosen to distance himself as far as possible from this level in particular. Nevertheless, he'd be in and out quick as a wink, and the typical occupants would be none the wiser.

Waddling his way over to the smallest stall available, the man opened the faucet and allowed a torrent of refreshing water to cascade over his body. He then took hold of a gobful of viper-friendly body wash, which was actually just glorified, tear-free baby shampoo. The Elders truly spared no expense when it came to making sure that their genetically engineered killing machines smelled of lilacs and rich herbs.

The panel divider soon fogged as he began to brush away the grime that had dogged him since he first left his ramshackle apartment. Much to his relief, all of the vipers currently housed in the labs had long since been augmented to regulate their body temperature, which gave Adrian the ability to take one of his beloved scalding hot showers.

It didn't take long for the man to start to hum the latest operatic piece of his beautiful nightingale, tapping a rubber heel against the liquid film beneath his feet. Sadly, the Lord had not gifted him with the same vocal range as hers, and their attempt to harmonize always left something to be desired. However, he allowed happiness to overtake him as he continued to jiggle his hips and project his voice through the symphonic mist. His singing voice was downright rubbish, but he could definitely dance circles around any overstuffed tosser at the disco.

Lost in wondrous bliss, Adrian made an absentminded grab for the body wash but instead knocked it straight off the ledge and caused it to slide underneath a raised heel. As a consequence, the doctor suddenly felt himself tilt backwards in freefall, cartwheeling his arms through the air in an attempt to brace himself and letting loose an unbecoming yelp as the back of his head descended towards the sharp tiles below. However, Adrian's momentum unexpectedly slowed until his entire body became encased in a purple haze and hovered on what felt like a cushion of air. He remained suspended in place momentarily and then settled softly onto the ground.

Before he had a chance to recover his bearings, he was yanked back to his feet by a wall of white and decorative silver. A pair of worried eyes, which were still glazed in a rich hue, soon met his own. Their owner then released him and wiped a trail of yellow blood from their dappled snout. The usual brazen attitude remained surprisingly absent throughout the course of their short interaction.

"Oh, thanks for the save, Sprout." The human patted a snow-white shoulder and then turned back to pick up the displaced bottle of body wash that now sat at his feet, only to stand bolt upright as his mind finally registered the fact that he was still bare naked and in the presence of one of his vipers.

"Sprout?!"

Practically giving himself whiplash, the human twisted his head to acknowledge his savior's saurian visage. The tinge that enveloped her eyes disappeared and the purple diamonds returned to their natural hue. They then shifted down to his exposed posterior, followed soon after by a characteristic smirk and a low whistle that suggested that she very much liked what she saw. Of course, his reptilian tormentor had also shown up wearing one of his white undershirts, where a very different kind of diamonds cut through the thin layer of fabric, which only made his cheeks burn even brighter.

"W-what are you doing outside of your room?" He quavered, attempting to formulate a complete sentence without sputtering out the syllables. "And why aren't you wearing your psionic inhibitors?"

Sprout shrugged her scalloped shoulders and looked behind her to gauge whether they were still the only two occupants in the shower facility. Seizing the opportunity, Adrian stemmed the flow of water and quickly wrapped an oversized towel around his body in an attempt to obscure himself from her predacious eyes, which turned back and narrowed to the size of pinpricks. She then made herself as large as possible, earning herself a couple of extra inches over him. An icy mist escaped her maw as she continued to bear down on him in an accusatory fashion. After all, she had been caught wandering the building alone and would be less than thrilled if he were to tattle on her for having committed another one of her daring escapes.

At this point, it was clear that Sprout had tailed him after raiding his office, much like Eight had done a week earlier. Unfortunately, the vipers had a way of showboating amongst themselves that often led to repeated…incidents, which had only increased in intensity since Eight escaped into the city. If his superiors were to find out that another test subject had managed to slip through security unnoticed, they would come down on Sprout even harder than they did with Eight, who was still suffering the consequences of her actions.

While Sprout was no stranger to harsh disciplinary action, he'd be remiss to have another viper fall under the scrutiny of his superiors, who were already furious at the fact that their most promising prospect had injured itself outside of the labs. As for the silver viper in front of him, she was a pain in his ass in more ways than one, but he was still her primary caretaker.

Adrian sighed, returning his hand onto Sprout's armored shoulder and giving it a short squeeze. "You can quit it with the theatrics. Your secret is safe with me, but you really have to stop breaking out of your room. One of these days, someone other than me is going to find you and I'll be unable to cover for you after the fact."

His response earned him an unconcerned snort as she moved to flex her muscles and pushed her snout into the air in a show of supreme confidence. However, the fallout of last week had shown him a side of her that she very much liked to keep under wraps, given that she was also no longer allowed to see her partner in crime. In fact, he was now carving out larger and larger portions of his day to play clinical psychologist to creatures that could snap his minuscule body like a toothpick.

"Oh, quit it, you big buffoon." Adrian made sure to stress her favorite word and give her a playful shove. "No one likes a showoff."

Sprout pouted at the last statement but failed to suppress a series of tail wiggles that suggested a wave of giddiness had flooded her system. In truth, he knew what it was like to almost always be the smallest person in the room. However, especially with her species, such words seemed to work wonders on their overall morale. Unfortunately for him, the rowdy viper responded to his light shove with a heavy one of her own, sending him flying back towards her silver-streaked tail, which propped him up as she continued to snicker at his misfortune. He then saw the gears turn inside of her head and another one of her devious smiles spread across the entire width of her maw.

"Sprout, I'm going to need you to…" Adrian trailed off as the viper above him suddenly shed the white shirt that she had borrowed from his office, confirming that she had also forgone wearing one of the undergarments that he had recently requisitioned for her, which was one of the many essential…duties that hadn't shown up on the original job description. She slowly stretched her upper body, which was dotted with esoteric glyphs and thin groupings of concentric rings.

"What in the world are you—mmph!" A large section of her tail wrapped its way around his mouth while the rest locked him in place. He attempted to pry the thick muscle away from his face but soon realized that he was trapped like a mouse. Sprout was known for her peculiar antics and had yet to physically harm him, but that signature smile of hers always served as a bad omen for her comparatively delicate caretaker.

He continued his muffled protests and squirmed within her mass of coils, but the snake above him only turned to him unabashed and wagged a clawed finger to scold the disruptive child. She then presented him with her exposed backside while she manipulated the water control valve, finding the right temperature, which nearly matched the one that he had selected before she had so rudely interrupted his morning. Afterwards, the deranged female went to work on washing her lithe body, leaving him to throw up his arms in exasperation while still stuck within her silver embroidered coils.

Clearly, his earlier use of the facilities compelled her to do the same. She was doing everything in her power to stall their return to the containment area and he was supposed to just sit here while she went about her business. Still struggling within her grasp, the man pulled with all his might in the hopes of reaching the towel along his waist, only to be rewarded with an extra layer of scales that were purposely brushed against his inner thigh. Stupid, overconfident, domineering—an idea suddenly popped into the doctor's mind, causing him to go limp like a wet noodle.

Sure enough, the set of purple diamonds turned back in alarm but narrowed as soon as she figured out that his inactivity was only due to a lack of effort. After placing a clawed hand on both sides of her hip, Sprout let out a cacophony of irritated burbles and sent a wave crashing through her tail in an effort to get her prey to struggle once more. However, he had long since become wise to her methods, holding steadfast and muffling a declaration of defiance through the wall of scales. After the third attempt, the viper let out her own exasperated groan, rolled her eyes, and loosened her coils to allow him to speak his mind.

"Ha! Not so high and mighty now, I know all of your dirty—"

He was immediately smothered by the white tail, whose owner continued to grin at his discomfort. She then proceeded to mimic his earlier gestures by swinging her haunches side-to-side and pretending to sing the same tune. Water cascaded down her hood and ran through the valley between her modest set of breasts, which bobbled as a result of her exaggerated movements. The purple chevrons on her abdomen stretched as she arched her back in a dramatic fashion and sang to the heavens. Sprout was dedicated to the role and he couldn't help but laugh at her accurate depiction of his previous foolishness.

She responded to his muffled laughter with a wink and an exaggerated bow once she righted herself.

There was a time when he had thought that she only mimicked him out of malice and ridicule, however, it was recently brought to his attention that the viper had a habit of performing similar gestures in front of the mirror in her room. When pressed for an explanation, she quickly had him pinned against a wall out of annoyance for having been filmed without her permission and her being caught in the act, however, it turned out to be just that, acting.

Sprout was infatuated with the idea of becoming a famous actress, which was likely planted in her head after she received encouragement from Adeline, who continued to influence his vipers in his absence. Nevertheless, after a few destroyed cameras and peace offerings in the form of Shakespearian plays, the snowy viper finally chose to open up about her ambitions. However, their last couple of daily checkups had dissolved into her assigning him different roles as they read through a play of her choosing. They were currently working through The Tempest, with him stuck as Ferdinand, Ariel, and Caliban's crew, while she got the more influential roles like Prospero and Miranda.

To make matters worse, Sprout was next in line when it came to getting a vocal tune-up, which meant that there'd soon be a voice to go along with her spunky attitude. At this point, he was afraid that she'd tear his arm off and beat him to death with it if he picked out the wrong one for her. Although, it'd be rather hilarious to give her something akin to a helium-induced, high-pitched voice.

His thoughts were interrupted as the budding actress suddenly let out a pained exclamation, clutching the implants that crowned her head. Sprout's body then collapsed to the ground in a disheveled mess, freeing him from her scaly clutches. A telltale stream of yellow blood seeped from her snout and continued to swirl past an Advent logo entrenched in the floor.

"Sprout!"

Adrian was immediately on his feet, nearly tripping on his oversized towel as he hurried to cut off the flow of water and lift the viper's head onto his lap. She was burning up and the hue in her eyes continued to flicker through various shades of purple. Her long body then began to violently convulse as the consequences of her earlier actions took hold.

She was going into psionic shock.

He carefully set her on her side and rushed to an emergency kit on the wall, prying it open and prepping a large syringe meant to deal with such situations. Even while her psionic chip remained on standby, Sprout's episodes continued to hamper her at every turn and were often triggered by the instability of her psionics, which she had been readily using against his wishes.

The doctor returned to his patient and administered the shot using an injection site on her arm. The silver hoops lining her raised arm shimmered alongside the overhead lighting. While her convulsions soon diminished and the natural shade returned to her reptilian eyes, the viper remained unresponsive with her menacing fangs on display and her lavender tongue lolled out.

It appeared as though he had acted too late.

Adrian sighed as he continued to cradle her head. "A real shame. I guess that we'll never know if Prospero makes it back to Italy, or…" He couldn't help but smirk as he continued to feign ignorance. "If Miranda weds Ferdinand."

A spark of life found its way back into Sprout's eyes, which quickly turned into a set of sharp daggers. He had successfully called her bluff and knew exactly which hand she was trying to play. After getting the reaction that he wanted, the doctor moved to gently tap the side of her speckled snout. "Awake, dear heart, awake. Thou hast slept well. Awake."

Sprout pulled her purple tongue back into her maw and huffed at the line, begrudgingly following it up by burbling her own. He then offered the viper his hand, which she immediately swatted away in defiance, instead choosing to right herself back onto her tail without any assistance. The human moved to match her gaze.

"A good attempt at playing dead after the fact, but I'm afraid that mouth-to-mouth wasn't necessary. Also, your acting skills still need a bit of work." He reached for the white undershirt that she had tossed aside in earnest. "Regardless, I warned you of what would happen if you were to shed those psionic inhibitors outright. You need to stop pressing your limits unless explicitly told to do so."

She yanked the shirt out of his hands and turned her back to him, an icy mist escaped her lips as she held it close to her chest. They both knew that she was like this because of Advent and because of him. However, Sprout loved that she had been handpicked from her batch due to her psionic potential and did little to hide the fact that she craved power and influence over those that had come to mock and berate her for her physical shortcomings.

He placed a reassuring hand on her nearest shoulder. "You're not invincible." He then looked to a set of holes that marred the outer edge of the viper's hood—scars that she had recently earned while protecting his Adeline. "So do me a favor and stop acting like it."

Sprout placed her opposite hand on top of his, gripping it tightly in an effort to pry his hand off of her, however, the smallest of smiles and her hesitation to release him from her talons betrayed the gesture. Her purple diamonds met his emeralds but then lowered towards the floor. She released another snort, raising both of her scaly eye ridges as the smile quickly morphed into a wily smirk.

Adrian frowned at the expression. "What in the world is so funny, Sprout?"

The viper responded with another low whistle, which the doctor followed all the way down to his waistline—now fully exposed thanks to a towel that sat between his ankles. He released a high-pitched squeak and moved to cover himself, earning a series of additional snickers from the silver serpent.

"Not funny! You wouldn't like it if you were caught with everything hanging out," he stammered.

Sprout's expression turned downright devious as she pivoted to face him and spread her arms wide in another shameless fashion. She sashayed her wide hips and allowed her breasts to jiggle in place for added emphasis, still wearing a knowing smile that confirmed her earlier suspicions. He reached down to resecure the towel around his waist, however, Sprout's tail acted quicker and wrenched it into her free hand. She then proceeded to dry herself off in front of him, her gaze never faltering in another quintessential show of dominance.

Adrian sighed at the brazen display. Sometimes he really questioned why he had chosen the Viper race to be the center of his research. The constant push and pull to be the most threatening female in the room was something that he'd probably never get used to. At least Sprout had chosen to escape while sufficiently clothed this time.

"Yeah…probably a stupid thing to say on my part."

Sprout tossed the towel back to him, her earthy tones and the heavy mix of lilacs flooding his senses. He swiftly transferred it back around his waist, knowing full well that Sprout now had dirt that she could use against him when it came to the other vipers. Once she had her voice, the snowy viper would surely turn into a blabbermouth.

"Tell you what, let's just keep what you saw on the down-low and…" The man cringed at the thought. "I'll let you pick out your new voice."

He immediately regretted his decision as the serpent's visage morphed one final time, obtaining a level of smugness once thought unachievable. She pulled his white undershirt back over her head, getting it stuck on her hood but eventually finding success once he came to her assistance. Afterwards, Sprout checked to make sure that he was also sufficiently dried off, tugging his arm into hers, and then directing the smaller human towards his change of clothes. She had finally gotten the upper hand over him and would ride out her high for as long as possible.

Once clothed (under her watchful eye), she pulled him back against her body, refusing to let him wander off towards the exit without her in tow. He groaned at her persistence and controlling nature. If he knew Sprout as well as he thought he did, she was likely going to pick the voice of some deceased porn star.

"Damn it…"

[—]

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Luckily, Sprout had managed to keep herself out of trouble until they made it to the entrance of the viper containment labs, yanking him along once she saw the rising sun over the skyline and deciding that a scenic route was their best option. Unable to reset her psionic chip until they returned to her room, he was more or less along for the ride. She was sure to make it a point in fact that they were holding hands throughout the entire journey while she babbled about what he believed to be the outside scenery, stopping occasionally to make sure that he was paying attention and smiling when he attempted to decipher her words.

As he noted earlier, the Advent Intraspecies facilities sat in the heart of New Providence. The building itself was gilded in deep reds and matte blacks and towered above most structures as a show of strength to the area. Just like the shower facilities, everything had to be scaled up due to some of the housed test subjects, namely those originating from the mutonic template. With that said, much of the lab space was situated on the upper floors, with the containment labs encased within the building's hardened core. Each of the template species had its own wing, with a given scientist assigned a set number of test subjects that directly related to their area of expertise.

His current research dabbled with some of the other alien templates, but his primary focus related to his allocated vipers, which were already a handful when left unattended. And while this didn't prevent him from interacting with scientists from other areas of the facility, there was…something of a competition between the different departments, at least that's how many of his fellow scientists saw it. As for him, he tended to keep his head down and let his work speak for itself, especially since those who ran their mouth tended to disappear very quickly.

Upon reaching the last set of guards, he was forced to explain his way out of the fact that Sprout wasn't wearing her armor. He used his typical excuse, claiming that their designated 'walks' were essential and that the added weight of her armor would hinder his research. After he reassured them that his genetically engineered serpent was still plugged into the network and unable to tear them limb from limb with her psionics if they were to misspeak, the sentries took the bait and gave him a simple slap on the wrist. The budding actress was smart enough to act out her role, nodding her head in obedience and giving off a submissive posture when he was required to demonstrate the fact. She played them for fools but did not overplay her hand, and their general incompetence and laziness when it came to following protocol worked to their advantage.

He'd definitely be more cognizant of her tells in case she decided to turn them against him in the future.

However, staying true to her nature, the snowy viper immediately fired off a series of obscene hand gestures once they were allowed past the armored door and the guards turned their attention away from them. He was sure that if she possessed a middle finger and a voice, she'd be shooting them the bird and spouting profanities as well. Given the crumpled 'art' pieces that she and Eight tended to leave scattered around his office, he knew that she had a colorful vocabulary lurking just underneath the surface, especially when it came to how she felt about the other alien races.

After the scaled deviant gave them her version of The Five Fathers, the little doctor finally had had enough. He quickly grabbed her closest hand, interlocking their fingers and forcing her hand back to his side. He was already on security's bad side thanks to his vipers' decision to chew through their supply of cameras.

"Sprout quit it!" He whispered. "You promised me that you'd behave until we got back to your room."

The viper turned her attention back to him, sticking out her forked tongue and daring to blow him a raspberry. Damn his beautiful songbird for having taught her that as well. Frustrated, the human retaliated with his own, which was quickly countered by an icy appendage that was sent straight into one of his eyes.

"Ow, what the hell was that for!" He pivoted away from his tormentor, rubbing the cold saliva out of his eye. "I'm serious, Sprout. If we're not careful, they could punish you severely for another infraction. I don't want you getting locked away again."

The viper rolled her eyes but nodded her head afterwards. She then tugged him into one of the large service elevators at the end of the T-intersection that overlooked the Advent laboratories designated for his department. Once inside, she made sure to stand at the back and lazily coil the rest of her body in front of him. After they were both situated, he closed the door and they began their slow descent towards the labs below.

More elevated walkways encircled the enclosure and were manned by a healthy dose of heavily-armed guards and Advent MECs. The area behind the main lab space was devised into three corridors that sectioned off the two blocks of reinforced containment cells.

Each holding block was further divided based on the caretaker assigned to the area and was originally meant to consist of ten cells and a sizable gathering area between them, however, several of the vacant cells were eventually repurposed into office spaces or auxiliary labs. While this meant less legwork for the 'lucky' scientist assigned to them, it also meant that their assigned vipers had an easier time meddling with their personal belongings and being an overall nuisance once the recreational period rolled around, despite still being sealed off from the rest of the facilities unless given advance notice.

After they reached the lower level, the pair walked (and slithered) towards the central corridor, where Marmalade, Jara, Sprout, and Eight were all stationed. Fortunately, the buzz of activity throughout the labs left many of the other scientists unaware of their presence. After all, the events of last week had given their superiors all the reason to ramp up efforts. While he remained a senior caretaker who still had another couple of rungs to climb before he'd achieve the all too coveted Artificer role, for the first time in his life he didn't envy the man who answered directly to the Elders and consulted across multiple departments.

There was word that something big was going to flow down from the top in the coming days, but he had heard similar rumors countless times before and paid the hearsay little mind.

Sprout broke his train of thought as she suddenly tightened her grip around his hand, moved to shield him with her larger body, and let loose a surly hiss that was tipped with a set of exposed fangs. Looking ahead confirmed that they had arrived in front of their living space. However, another viper covered in turquoise scales blocked their path. Small dorsal fins covered the length of her tail and she lacked the traditional hood of her native species. She was also over a head taller than Sprout and looked to be even less amused at the sight of the other female. Both vipers appeared to be sizing each other up and making themselves as threatening as possible.

Before things came to a head, another human in a lab coat cautiously poked his head out from behind the larger viper. He appeared to be thoroughly embarrassed but moved to speak anyways.

"P-please Jade, you didn't have to come with me. I'm sure that Dr. Fairchild can offer a sound explanation as to why you're—"

"Quiet Toby, wish to guard you and will ask small human myself," Jade interjected, forcing her caretaker behind her once more and winding the end of her tail around one of his ankles. She then shifted her yellow eyes down to the other scientist. "Dr. Fairchild, Jade has problem. After last shed body feels different and there is odd smell. Toby help mask with fragrance and comfort me but unsure what else to do."

Dr. Loughty, or 'Toby' as she put it, had recently replaced Jade's original caretaker after another 'unfortunate occurrence' in the workplace, which had supposedly left Jade in a neglected state. And while the larger viper had surprisingly taken a shine to the new scientist, Toby was used to working with sectoids and was therefore completely out of his element. With that said, he very often came to Adrian for advice on how to handle Jade's unique…mannerisms.

He attempted to walk forward but was immediately pulled back into Sprout, who let off another warning to the neighboring female. He sighed. Problem was that his vipers always got so possessive while in the company of another scientist's test subject, with Sprout often hovering on the extreme end of that spectrum. He tried to ignore the scales rubbing against his own legs and focused his attention on Jade.

"I'll try my best, Jade. However, I'm afraid that you're going to have to be a little more specific," he responded, only able to smell the lilacs that were radiating off the wall of white that refused to give him a chance to escape her winter's bite.

Jade rubbed her chin with a sharp claw, taking a moment to think of the best words to describe her predicament. Her caretaker continued to hold his tongue despite the uncomfortable look on his face. He appeared to be too afraid to speak of the matter in her presence.

"Well…smell comes after scales get itchy. What smell like? Smells like…Ah! It smells like fish and originates at the base of my—"

"Tuppence!" Toby coughed, his outburst earning him an annoyed look from the female above him. Nevertheless, the hint was enough to make Adrian's eyes go wide as saucers. Sprout began to giggle uncontrollably as she too connected the dots, which caused Jade to give the other female a death glare and Dr. Loughty to go red as a tomato. The poor man had no idea what he signed up for.

"Oh! I see…uhm, it's probably just a minor infection that can be rectified with essential oils and a thorough washdown of the offending area." He turned his gaze to the poor soul behind Jade. "I can send you a quick list once I've returned to my office. Also, I'd advise scheduling another trip to the shower facilities, which I believe should be vacant at the moment. Jade may need your assistance, otherwise, you could have one of the guards—"

"Not necessary, Toby will help like promised," Jade cut in, smiling down at her caretaker. "You have our thanks, Dr. Fairchild." She then gave Sprout one last dirty look before dragging her new favorite toy off towards the neighboring living area. Dr. Loughty carried a pleading look with him but offered his thanks before disappearing behind the protective barrier of scales once more.

Adrian shook his head and chuckled. He was glad that he could hold his own against the whims of his vipers. A nearby snort drew his attention back to Sprout, who wore another deviant smile on her maw.

"Don't get any ideas, you're spoiled enough as it is."

The snowy viper rolled her eyes in response and forced his hand back into hers. She then began to drag the little doctor towards her living area.

[—]

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Adrian sat behind his desk and stared at the working document on his monitor.

Sprout had since been returned to her room in order for him to answer some emails and to send Toby the information that would aid him in his latest…endeavor. Luckily, his own morning endeavors hadn't resulted in him missing anything important other than the request for a final submittal of the tactical readiness report that was meant to be completed the night of the attack. Things changed and he was now required to submit additional information on what occurred. While he was already interrogated over the matter, such events ended with him being told to keep his mouth shut and to go through the proper channels until further orders trickled down from the top.

He continued to browse through the dossiers of his assigned vipers. First up was Sprout, who was currently housed directly across from his office. The doctor let his eyes scan down the page.

The subject is prone to extreme fits of anger when recognized for her small stature. Avoid these terms if at all possible…

An exhaustive list then followed. He had to laugh at how much red text and warning labels littered the page. The little deviant had a storied history of getting into trouble, however, she had mellowed out somewhat once she was dumped at his doorstep. Indeed, Sprout was his first viper and a true first test when it came to seeing whether or not he was up to the duties that came with the role. Surprisingly, he still carried a pulse and had all of his original limbs attached to his body, even once Marmalade entered the picture and the stunted viper had to learn to share.

Adrian scrolled to the next viper, whose scarred visage hinted at the years of service committed to the Elders' vision. While she was older than him, she remained a child at heart and proved to be a giant derp in the end. She was also Adeline's favorite, but he'd never disclose such information to his other vipers.

Marmalade's room was situated next to Sprout's, a fact that the snowy viper very much detested, especially given the way the larger viper snored at night. However, every time Marmalade was confronted by Sprout on the subject, she'd merely shrug her shoulders and get distracted by the wonderful world around her, often to her detriment.

Just this week, she nearly crushed a sectoid on accident after one of the guards thought it funny to direct a laser pointer in her direction, got her head stuck in the HVAC system because it was 'making a funny noise' and 'required further investigation' in case XCOM operatives had successfully infiltrated the building, and nearly threw out her back because Jara apparently challenged her to a lifting competition and to back down would mean that she was a 'scary-cat.'

He ended up having to give her a back massage to relieve the pain and was once again left without feeling in his hands for the rest of the night. While there was no question that Marmalade was endearing, she was one such viper that would've never survived the culling without the aid of the psionic network.

The caretaker shifted his eyes to a highlighted comment within his working document that he had yet to accept as a revision.

The subject's psionic chip proved dysfunctional during initial field trials. It comes as a strong suggestion to requisition a replacement in order for the subject to fulfill the necessary duties once returned to the field.

He had toiled over the idea of whether to include such a statement in his report. While Marmalade exhibited questionable behavior in the theater before the attack, she proved more than capable once the asset protection protocols kicked in. Hell, she even saved his life in the flower garden and he was eternally grateful for that fact. The man closed his eyes in thought. Given present circumstances, it would probably be better to be safe than sorry. He could always forgo installing the chip once it arrived at his office.

Adrian opened his eyes and then clicked approve, adding the additional set of statements into his report.

He then scrolled down even further, only to find Jara's menacing presence taking up most of his screen. She was the first viper under his care to be fully sanctioned for heavy augmentations. While Sprout could cut him in two with the aid of her honed psionics, Jara could do the very same with the two cannons strapped to her body. Indeed, she was a one-woman demolition crew, who had more muscle in one of her arms than he had in his entire body. Even after the vocal tune-up, he was hesitant to be around—a call buzzer situated on his desk suddenly lit up, displaying that one of his vipers required attention.

Given the fact that he had long since put Sprout and Eight's buzzers out of commission due to a never-ending stream of prank calls and false alarms, this left him with a fifty-fifty shot of getting it right.

Adrian locked his computer and pushed himself out of his seat, grabbing his trusty lab coat off the rack, and then shuffled towards his office window. He cautiously parted the blinds to gaze across the living space, which included giant beanbags and a large gathering table. The area was used only during recreational hours since the test subjects were typically kept in their rooms or carted to the other facilities located closer to the ground level. They had a designated firing range, a military obstacle course, a gym area, and even an Olympic-sized swimming pool, although he was still wary about directly partaking in such activities, especially anything to do with water.

For the most part, the vipers' regimented lives gave them little in the way of downtime, however, Fridays and the better part of the weekend typically saw them confined to their rooms while their designated caretaker was allowed to catch up on the more menial activities that furthered their research. After all, creating highly-specified super soldiers didn't happen overnight. Also, a bored viper tended to look for ways to get into mischief and mayhem, as was the case with Sprout this morning.

Even after a thorough search of her room, he still had no idea how the scaled Houdini escaped this time around.

Adrian continued to look across the living area and into Sprout's containment cell, which was actually closer in appearance to a university dorm, well…if one were to shear off the front entryway and replace it with reinforced concrete and bulletproof glass. Despite the rigid entrance, royal purple and silver rivulets covered the walls, plush cushions dotted with white crowns sat upon boxed shelves, and furry rugs littered the floors. The stunted viper thought herself a princess worthy of attention and wanted to be pampered as such. Unfortunately for him, she always seemed to get her way in the end.

The viper in question was sprawled out on her bowl-shaped bed, still wearing his white undershirt, which she had decided to keep as a souvenir and was now perusing through the mound of plays that he had requisitioned for her. He internally sighed, their next checkup was likely to be just as unproductive as the others, especially since he had further incentivized her while they were in the shower facilities.

He shifted his gaze to the next room, which was covered in all manner of cat décor.

Marmalade loved animals of all shapes and sizes, but if the crazy cat gene truly carried over to other species, she was the viper posterchild. While cats were forbidden within the lab facilities, the yellow viper had tried on multiple occasions to adopt a stray from off of the street. In an effort to make up for the fact, he drafted a request for ten stuffed animals in its likeness. The order was eventually approved, but someone in the requisitions office messed up and carried an extra decimal place, resulting in a hundred cat plushies being delivered to her room. Suffice to say, the giant viper was pleased and he didn't have the heart to tell her no once she managed to bundle every last one of them in her arms.

Marmalade was currently face-planted into her sheets; a mountain of cats was spread across her enormous body as her long arms spread the entire width of her bed. Her heavy chest continued to rise and fall while she counted even more cats over the leaf blower that was her snoring. The buzzer behind him sounded off again, which only left one possibility—Jara was currently requesting his assistance.

Adrian released the blinds and took a deep breath. He could put up with Marmalade's size because of her dorky personality but was still uncomfortable around Jara, who had yet to fully open up to him despite being given a voice to outwardly express her thoughts. Nevertheless, he had a job to do and her desire to speak with him in private could be due to some emergency. With the decision made, he set off, leaving his office, meandering his way around the living area, and then planting himself in front of the cobalt viper's room.

The doctor took a moment to mentally prepare himself and then slipped his keycard through the locking device. A red light flickered to steady green, allowing the heavy door to swing open and granting him access to Jara's room. Adrian stood at the threshold, noting the plain walls and lack of interior decorations. There was the standard bowl-shaped bed, a worn footlocker, a mirror, and a collapsible partition that predominately served as a changing station and allow the vipers some measure of privacy. However, nothing inside the room could be considered unique or defined as hers.

He had recently tried to sit down with Jara to procure items that would make her room more livable, but she persisted with her stonewall behavior, which in the end resulted in a military barracks setup that made her seem more like a prisoner than anything else—a fact that his wife had berated him about after the attack.

"Hello, Jara? It's Dr. Fairchild, I came to check on you after you buzzed my office."

He received no immediate response.

"Uhm…Jara?"

A set of orange eyes suddenly poked out of the top of the tall partition but disappeared soon after. Adrian then caught movement as the viper shifted her vast body behind the flimsy barrier.

"Sit." Jara's powerful voice reverberated off of the walls. Her unexpected command threw him off guard and he took a step back out of instinct. As if sensing the sudden tension in the room, the viper stuck her head out again. Her wide hood bumped into the partition and nearly knocked it over. "Please sit, Doctor."

The doctor nodded his head and cautiously situated himself on the edge of the bed, turning to face her. Seemingly satisfied, Jara disappeared behind the divider once again. Her shuffling continued for some time until he heard the tearing of fabric, which was quickly followed by what sounded like a string of curses. A destroyed fitness uniform was then hurled across the room with a frightening amount of force.

"Is everything alright?" He stood back up and looked towards the exit. "If this is a bad time, I can always come back—"

"No!"

A cobalt mass pushed itself out from behind the partition and an impossibly thick tail was slapped against the floor to block his path, shaking the entire room while a pair of heavy globes came to hover just above eye level. The speed at which she accomplished these tasks forced him back into his seat, making the height disparity even more pronounced. He quickly shifted his attention off her steely abdominal section, past an overworked sports bra, and straight into her burning gaze.

Jara's orange tongue flicked back and forth out of irritation, but the fire in her eyes died upon registering the human's reaction. The viper before him then backed away, adopting a more submissive posture as her pointed snout dipped towards the ground and she lowered herself closer to the ground for his benefit.

"Apologies, I was frustrated and didn't mean to startle you."

Adrian allowed himself to relax. "It's okay, you just caught me off guard with how fast you moved." He looked to the destroyed uniform hanging from one of the upper crossbeams. "I can turn around if you wish to change into something else."

Jara shook her head. "I'd probably just ruin another one." She pushed herself towards the vaulted ceiling with the base of her tail and reached the destroyed piece of clothing with ease. "In fact, I've likely outgrown them all."

"You've been doing that a lot lately," Adrian acknowledged, watching the viper shrink back down and dispose of the uniform into her wastebin. "You're also shedding much more frequently."

He was surprised at how well she was articulating her sentences, given her relative radio silence up until this point. With vipers, it was currently hit or miss as to whether they'd be able to immediately vocalize and understand the languages provided to them by their psionic chip. He glanced over to the organized stack of books next to her footlocker. It would appear that she was also working through the exercises that he had supplied her.

Jara had been a test subject since birth and carried with her a unique hormone that promoted excess growth similar to how Acromegaly affected human development. However, unlike humans, the viper genome was much more accommodating to this fact and only seemed to accelerate the process during adulthood. Also, any minor complications that would've existed throughout the later stages of adolescence had been closely monitored and rectified immediately. Of course, he'd recently begun to pump her veins with additional concoctions to stimulate further growth and muscle development after correcting the muscle atrophy that Marmalade had suffered and at the behest of his Advent overlords.

However, based on how quickly Jara was chewing through her articles of clothing, it seemed as though their current methods were proving to be a little too effective. He'd likely have to bring this fact to the attention of his superiors. As improbable as it would seem, the last thing he wanted was for her to outgrow her room.

"Sorry," Jara responded.

The sudden apology surprised him. Again, she usually projected herself as the strong, silent type but was now coming off as uncharacteristically anxious, which was making him nervous as well.

"I fail to see how this is your fault." He followed her gaze to the exit. The air of awkwardness continued to permeate throughout the room. "Perhaps it's best if I just return to my office and see if I can get a new set of clothes requisitioned for you."

He made a move to stand once more, but Jara intercepted him with a hand that spread across his entire chest. Long claws poked into the corners of his lab coat, causing his muscles to stiffen and a bead of sweat to trail down his neck.

"Please…stay." Her worried eyes betrayed the powerful voice as a matching tongue continued to flick in his direction. "I wish to speak with you further."

He could've easily told her no, because funny enough, Jara was the one viper under his care that followed orders without question, even when her psionic chip was placed on standby. However, this was the most that he had ever heard her speak in a single sitting, so leaving now would be foolish if he truly wished to better understand her.

He sighed. "Alright, Jara. What did you have in mind?"

Again, the cobalt viper gripped one of her wrists in a very uncharacteristic fashion. "May I sit?"

Adrian looked at the remaining space on the bed. "Uhm…sure, this is your room after all. There should be enough space if you just…"

Jara had since turned herself around, shaking her haunches before planting the base of her tail onto the bed. The mattress immediately cried out under her immense weight and its heavy springs compressed towards the earth, pulling him into its gravity well until pale skin met blue scales.

"Sit immediately next to me," he finished.

The viper above him shifted the end of her bulky tail to the entrance of the room, confirming that the door had been fully sealed and then moving to change the opacity of the glass.

"Jara, what in the world do you think that you're—"

"It's just so we can have our privacy."

His nervousness returned. "Surely that won't be necessary. After all, we'll still be on cam…" He trailed off as he noticed that another article of clothing currently enveloped her room's camera, completely obscuring it from view. "Jara, why is one of your bras covering the security camera?" He squeaked out, suddenly feeling extremely vulnerable.

He pushed against the serpent to add further distance between the two but was forced back into a sea of blue scales by a large hand, which then gently latched on to his wrist. "Uhhh…I accidentally got it caught up there and damaged the camera when I was changing this morning. I forgot to tell you about it when you walked by earlier." The orange eyes then found his smaller form and were followed closely by her pronged tongue, flicking through the air at an ever-increasing frequency. "You're…not scared of me, are you?"

He shifted his attention to the meat hooks that currently grazed his skin and then back up to their owner, who wore an apprehensive expression across her face.

She was really afraid of what his answer would be?

He allowed the built-up tension to leave his body. "Of course not, you're the most well-mannered viper under my care, but…" His sentence fizzled out as he thought twice about saying the second half out loud.

"But?" Another wave of worry entered her eyes.

"Well, you're over five times my weight and have surpassed nine feet in terms of height, and…I kind of feel powerless because of my small stature."

Jara smiled at his admission as the surge of anxiety evaporated from her gaze, leaving behind a momentary air of relief. She let go of him and then pushed her scaly palm against his. Both of them noted how the tips of his fingers didn't even reach the base of hers, which sprouted out even further and were each tipped with a wicked black dagger. The serpent also couldn't resist basking in the difference in scale, because at the moment, Jara was the most powerful person in the room and they both knew it.

"I appreciate the compliments." Jara straightened herself up and moved as much of her armored body into view as possible—she wanted him to see how large she had become. "But I'm a child of the Elders and have been created to serve." Her long fingers then collapsed to form a protective cage around his hand. "And in that service, I'm devoted to protecting even the smallest of males."

Adrian couldn't help but smile at her word choice. Even though she was ping-ponging between how she wanted to portray herself, he was starting to figure out her true personality. "This defenseless male appreciates the gesture, Jara."

His answer caused her eyes to balloon in size and her mask of scales to shift into one of embarrassment. The heavily augmented viper next to him quickly transformed into a stuttering mess. She released him from her protective hold and turned to look at the ground, catching her breath before trying again. "A-apologies, my blood demands that I project myself as the biggest threat in the room. I didn't mean to suggest that you were defenseless or incapable of—"

"Hey, it's okay. I'm just happy that you're using that new voice of yours."

"Happy?" The tip of the viper's armored tail began to wag uncontrollably. "I've done well?" Jara asked as if she required further confirmation.

Adrian raised an eyebrow. "Yes, you're doing exceptionally well using your new voice, especially considering the short timeframe. Why, were you afraid to speak your mind before today? You're not scared of a small human, are you?" He failed to suppress a hearty laugh.

Her eyes drifted to the end of her long body. The tail froze in midair as the giant viper huffed, pushing out her chest in a faux show of confidence. "I could've spoken whenever I wanted to, I was simply waiting for the right moment. Also, one such as myself has little to fear from a cu—curious male. Oh! Uhm…sorry. I mean, yeah…" She apologized and offered up another nervous smile.

"Uh-huh." Adrian was now confident that he had her figured out. It was clear that she had no idea how to talk with someone of the opposite gender in a private setting, even if they were from an entirely different species and this was probably her first official go at it. He actually found it somewhat endearing.

"So, instead you chose to deceive your caretaker and trap him within your room." He looked back up at the covered camera. "One would think that such a viper carried ulterior motives, ones that a caretaker would say even go as far as being…traitorous."

A low whine escaped Jara's maw and she covered her eyes out of embarrassment. "I-I can assure you, Dr. Fairchild, that I would do no such thing! I love the Elders, and living and growing under your care these past couple of months have only strengthened my resolve to—"

He quickly reached an arm around her thick torso to quell the built-up anxiety. "Please calm down, Jara. I was just joking around. Based on your past actions, I know without a shadow of a doubt that you're loyal to Advent and would do no such thing."

The viper looked down at the small human still glued to her hip, narrowing her eyes once she was able to catch her breath. "Then why would you joke about such matters?!"

He gestured around the room. "Because you've turned your room into a military barracks, despite my recent efforts to help you fill the area with things that you like. Believe it or not, there's such a thing as being off-duty within your home." The doctor then looked back up. "Also, I'm worried that you've been hiding your true self from me—personality I mean," he corrected, turning a shade red as he momentarily stumbled himself.

The viper scanned his eyes for any signs of deceit. "And what if being myself isn't good enough?"

"Good enough for whom? Me, our chief scientist, or the Elders themselves?"

"All of the above, of course."

With his arm still around her, he attempted to bob her lower torso back and forth in a show of support. However, all he managed to do was pull himself back into the mountain of muscle that sat beside him. "Trust me when I say this, you're more than adequate on all accounts, so do me a favor and stop pretending like you're not."

Jara hesitated but a smile soon found its way onto her face. "Then I consider myself to be very lucky." She then matched his gesture, warming the entire side of his torso as she pulled him tightly against her body. "The truth is…I want nothing more than to serve as the Elders' chosen and to bring honor to the Viper race. And it frustrates me to see how the others choose to squander their gifts."

Adrian nodded his head. There were definitely more than a handful of her kind that failed to make it this far into the project, which didn't even consider the countless vipers who were never given the chance in the first place, being relegated to the lower rungs of the Advent hierarchy or being deconstructed as a means of starting over. As for the 'others,' she was no doubt referring to Sprout and Eight.

"Don't you see the hypocrisy in that final statement though?"

"No, I don't," Jara replied tersely. "I have no gifts other than the strength and size that your research has given me." She released him and laid her long arm across the base of her tail in order for both of them to study its hardened contours. A hefty bicep bulged soon after for added emphasis.

"No other gifts? I don't believe that for a second." He then looked back up at the camera that she claimed to have destroyed. "So, how about you uncover that camera and tell me what really happened."

Jara appeared ready to protest the request but nodded her head in the end. The viper shifted the last section of her tail around the edge of the bed and used its dexterity to open her footlocker. She then presented him with a plastic dome that must have been separated from the rest of the camera. "I removed that from the camera and…decided to take other pieces of it apart. I then covered up what remained after I accidentally scratched the dome with one of my claws."

Adrian inspected the piece in his hands further, turning it over and confirming the long trench that blemished its surface. If she were to do the same to him, he would've likely bled out in less than a minute. "And what possibly compelled you to do something like that?"

Jara looked away as she attempted to hide the tightening scales around her face. A heavily augmented serpent over four times his size and packing enough muscle to smother him out of existence now couldn't even maintain eye contact at the simplest of questions. "Because I was curious on how it worked and…" The orange eyes closed in anticipation. "I like to tinker with objects in my room while on standby. Up until today, I've managed to put those objects back together unnoticed. I actually find it to be quite relaxing."

The doctor smiled at her admission and the slight tail wiggle that hinted at the excitement buried just underneath her hardened exterior. "You thought I'd be upset about something like that?"

Jara's reptilian eyes opened and again fell to him. "Yes! I willingly tampered with Advent property, destroyed it, and attempted to cover it up once I realized my mistake." The slits then shifted to the large undergarment on the wall. "I'm no better than the other vipers," she finished, deflating considerably.

Adrian scratched his chin with a free hand. "You know what I think?"

The viper looked back in defeat. "What?"

"I think you need to let your hair down and stop comparing yourself to the others; enjoy the little aspects that make you, well you."

"Hmpf. There's no such thing as a hairy viper and there's certainly nothing 'little' about me." The edges of Jara's mouth tugged upwards. "But I do see the wisdom in your words." She then snatched him out of his seat with a single arm and placed him directly onto her lap, collapsing into him afterwards in a tight hug. The warmth that radiated off her massive body would have set him at ease if it wasn't for the pair of medicine balls that were now firmly pressed against the back of his head.

"Thank you, Dr. Fairchild."

"D-don't mention it."

An alarm above their heads suddenly sounded, followed by a rotating beacon. The heavy latches on Jara's door soon released, causing it to swing open and granting them access to the living area outside—recreational period was now upon them.

Jara pushed herself off the bed, holding the small human high in the air as she turned him around to face her. A giddy smile soon found its way across her face as a sudden realization dawned on her. "You're so light!" She failed to suppress a husky tremor that came across as a squeal of delight.

"Jara…" Adrian's fear of heights took over and he snapped his eyes shut.

"I knew you humans were light but this is…it's absolutely adorable." She began to bob him up and down like a doll.

"Jara, please stop."

"I could use you as a dumbbell and wouldn't even break a sweat," she cooed, now holding him out to perform a set of experimental arm curls, which threw his sense of balance into complete disarray.

"Jara!" He opened his eyes to see her large hood cocked at an angle.

"What?"

"P-please just set me down…"

The mask of scales around Jara's muzzle tightened. "Oh, uhm…sorry about that." She gently maneuvered him back to the ground and then backed away, her scales jittering in a fit of trepidation. "I just got a little carried away." Her orange tongue flicked through the air and she tilted her head to the other side. "Are you alright?"

Adrian steadied himself on shaky legs and took a moment to gather his bearings with the aid of the heavy bed frame. "It's fine, Jara. You were just a little overzealous is all." He then retrieved the plastic dome off the bed as a means to distract his thoughts and shifted his attention to the surveillance device above them. "Now, let's see what happened to the rest of that camera."

Jara gave him another nervous smile but nodded her head in acceptance, slithering over to uncover the remains of the camera. Sure enough, the curious viper had ripped out its innards, leaving behind an empty shell. She then turned back to face him, still dangling an old bra that was positively tiny compared to the rest of her frame. The one that she currently wore also looked like it was at risk of bursting open at any moment. He would definitely have to rectify that before he left the building for the day.

The viper above him cleared her throat. He quickly tore his eyes off of her chest, causing Jara to raise an eye ridge. "S-sorry…just noticed that I'll probably have to speak with the requisitions office about getting you more undergarments as well. I'd hate for you to be stuck with inadequate clothing on all fronts."

Jara looked down at her sports bra and gave it an experimental poke, causing the healthy globes to stretch the over-encumbered straps even further and a sheepish expression to appear across her face as it finally dawned on her that a sudden wardrobe malfunction was a very real possibility.

"I-I'd really appreciate it, Dr. Fairchild." She then disposed of the undergarment in her claws and slithered back to her footlocker, opening it up and retrieving the actual camera, which appeared to have been disassembled and reassembled perfectly, despite the scaled mitts that she had at her disposal.

Jara slithered back to him, casting her shadow and holding the device out for him to take. However, her shyness had fully returned as she struggled to maintain eye contact, directing her attention to an inconsequential spot on the plain floors beneath them. "But I can understand if you're still upset with me. Sometimes I let my strength get the better of me, but I promise that neither instance will happen again."

Adrian shifted his attention down to the remaining piece in his hands. The trench that cut through its center still on full display. He moved to relinquish Jara's burden, bundling the pieces of the camera in his arms.

"The only way you would've upset me is by lying to me and pretending like your voice doesn't matter in this relationship."

The edges of Jara's maw tugged upwards once more but were quickly replaced with another wave of apprehension. "What will you do with it? Should I expect disciplinary action from security?"

Adrian grinned and then shrugged his shoulders. "I'll probably just add it to the pile in my office that your smaller sisters created throughout these last couple of weeks. And as for disciplinary action, consider having to open up to me as punishment enough," he joked, skirting the parameter of her thick tail and taking a quick note of what else lay within her opened footlocker. "I'll smooth things over with security before I leave today." He briefly looked around her barren room. "In the meantime, I want you to think about how we can better decorate your living area. To be frank, the place is an eyesore, and I can't rightfully sleep at night knowing that the place remains sterile of anything that you could call your own."

With that, the doctor made his way towards the door.

"Wait."

The end of the tail curled inwards and corralled him back towards its owner. He turned back to face her.

"Yes, Jara?"

The viper tapped her claws together, seemingly deciding whether or not to further speak her mind. "I also like to read about military equipment and…weapons, specifically those that we're allowed to use at the firing range."

Adrian nodded his head. "I did notice that you had a manual for your original service rifle stashed away. I'm afraid that I know nothing about weapons, but would it interest you if I were to try and scrounge around for additional reading materials and something to hang on your walls?"

"Yes!" The armored appendage next to him crashed against the reinforced windows with a frightening amount of force before it was quelled by its owner, who quickly adopted an apologetic expression. "Sorry. I mean…that would be most adequate."

He almost failed to suppress a laugh. "I'll do my best and will let you know what I uncover. With that said, is there anything further that you'd like to get off your chest at this time?"

Jara shifted her attention away from him and towards the far windows, the thoughts that flowed through her mind remained an enigma to him. "No, I believe that covers everything that I wish to—"

A loud bang against the bulletproof glass interrupted their conversation and ended with an all too familiar mass of yellow sprawled out across the room's threshold. Her snout scrunched into the ground and long arms tipped in talons fell to her front and rear.

Adrian let out a sigh and turned back to the other viper. "Jara, can you please hold on to these for a minute while I assist Marmalade?"

Jara nodded, offering her wide tail as a surface for which to place the pieces of the camera. He quickly set the objects down and approached the yellow viper, who remained face-planted into the ground. Adrian grabbed hold of one of her arms, lifting it to confirm that Marmalade was only dazed as a result of her latest brush with gravity.

"Come on, Marmal, let's get you back onto your tail."

Both he and Marmalade grunted as they worked in tandem to right her upper body, eventually finding success with her head once again brushing the top of the doorway and his eyes immediately tracing the shiny medal that she continued to wear out of pride. Behind it sat a giant cartoon cat that was plastered across the entire front half of her shirt. One of its fuzzy ears canted inwards while a pink tongue stuck out endearingly. Shifting his attention upward confirmed that the viper's forked tongue was currently doing the same.

The scars around Marmalade's muzzle tightened as she appeared to finally register what had happened and sucked in her tongue as though it were a string of pasta. "Am sorry…wasn't watching where slithering. Still sleepy after short nap."

Adrian laughed at her poor excuse. "I don't know too many people who'd define sleeping in as a short nap."

"Is true. Rested head for short while then woke up because recreation alarm." Marmalade glared at the rotating beacon above their heads.

"Says the viper that's still in her favorite pajamas and who was buried underneath the exact same mound of cat plushies that I helped set up for her the night before. You're not lying to me, are you?"

"No…"

He narrowed his own gaze.

"Maybe…" Marmalade shifted her attention to Jara, who had since crossed her arms over her chest. The yellow viper then looked back at him. "But muscles still sore after lifting too much," she whined and made it a point to flail her arms out in a dramatic fashion as her hood sunk towards her shoulders. "Hurts even after body massage that small doctor gave for pain."

"Wait, Dr. Fairchild gave you a body massage?" Jara cut in with a voice tipped in a heavy mix of concern and curiosity.

The sail sprung back to life and the misery drained from Marmalade's face, replaced by that of a conceited expression. "Yes, small doctor used hands to massage scales after asked him."

Jara glared at the other female, slithering forward while still managing to balance the pieces of the camera on her tail. "So, he let me carry him and agreed to help decorate my room."

Marmalade huffed and matched Jara's posture, boxing him between the two barriers of muscle. "Bet Jara was scary-cat and small doctor made suggestion instead."

"It's scaredy-cat, and so what if he did?" Jara pushed herself even closer, focusing all of her attention on Marmalade, who also refused to back down despite recently losing her status as the largest viper under his care. Their usual battle for supremacy about such topics continued to unfold.

"Scary-cat sounds better. Also, have nickname and Jara dragged tail too long." A long claw was then directed towards the orange feline on her pajamas. "Already given room decorations and official cat matriarch." Marmalade then made sure to adopt a regal stance and allow the light to shine across her polished medal.

Jara balked at the illustrious title, which he had jokingly given Marmalade after she had managed to name and memorize every single one of her stuffed animals and promised to take care of them equally. However, he had misjudged how important the term 'matriarch' was to their species. "Hmpf. The viper before me claims to be a matriarch, but she can't even speak the human languages correctly," Jara fired back, sticking her own snout high into the air.

"But small humans have funny words and rules, especially the French." Marmalade allowed concern to enter her eyes. "French humans also mean to cats."

"What? No, they're not."

"Is true."

"How so?"

"Put them in throat when unable to speak correctly," Marmalade replied in disgust. She also made sure to splay her menacing set of jaws to support her claim, pointing at a pink tongue that guided his attention down her gullet.

"Avoir un chat dans la gorge?"

The yellow viper closed her maw and placed a hand on her hip. "Am serious, Jara."

Jara frowned and switched back to English. "That's just an idiomatic expression. Also, you do realize that the English have a similar saying but with a frog instead?"

Marmalade pouted. "But French humans still make up funny rules with their grape drinks, putting letters where shouldn't and then not using them. Advent should ban French so easier for everyone."

"By easier, you just mean for yourself. Also, the language or the people?"

Marmalade took a moment to work out the details in her head.

"Yes."

Jara brushed a hand over her pointed snout at the audacity of such a claim and the other viper's resolution on the matter. "This is why you'd make a terrible matriarch and should just leave diplomacy to others."

Marmalade tightened her gaze and then stuck her snout even further into the air. "Jara is just jealous of title and of body massage from small doctor."

Adrian's cheeks burned at her continued desire to reference what occurred just a day prior.

"I'd never stoop so low as to demand such treatment from Dr. Fairchild," Jara declared, pivoting her tail to appraise the canvas of blue and freckled orange. "I respect him too much."

However, a yearning expression soon made its way across her face, which drew even more heat to his own. He now loathed his hidden talent that he originally shared out of concern for Marmalade's health. The doctor made a move to get the vipers' attention, but at this point, Jara and Marmalade were only a few feet from each other with him sandwiched in the middle and left to be dwarfed by giants as they continued to trade blows from within the clouds.

Thankfully, their burgeoning argument was soon interrupted by a pillow that sailed through the air and smacked into the back of Marmalade's head. A series of annoyed burbles followed afterwards, causing Marmalade to trace her eyes off her rival and towards their source, who immediately pelted her with a follow-up shot. Leaning around the yellow viper's large body confirmed that Sprout had finally decided to address the commotion that came from outside of her room.

"Ow." Marmalade attempted to rub the pain away from her wounded snout. "Not now, Sprout, try to explain to Jara how small doctor give good back massages."

Sprout's irritated expression drained and she discarded the final pillow in her hands. Her purple eyes shifted down to him and her frown was swiftly replaced by another one of her signature smiles. The snowy viper then feigned ignorance by cocking her head to the side and giving Marmalade a questioning look. Despite her continued struggles with the English language, the yellow viper was surprisingly well versed in deciphering Sprout's warbles, at least when she chose to pay attention.

"Curious?" Marmalade perked up even further. "Well, small doctor first asks to undress to whatever comfort, then after lay on chest there's special oil that he spread with little hands across entire—"

Having finally heard enough, Adrian violently coughed, jumped into the air like a flustered child, and waved his arms frantically in order to break Marmalade's train of thought. "I don't think either Sprout or Jara wants to hear about such things, Marmalade!"

The yellow viper finally traced her eyes down to him. "Oh!" She abruptly backed off towards the exit, bowling over Sprout in the process and pivoting away in mortification. "Forgot that small doctor was here."

A quick glance Jara's way revealed a positively flustered viper; however, Sprout's angry burbles soon demanded everyone's attention as the snowy viper remained sprawled out on her back like a downed turtle. Skinny arms lined with silver hoops flailed about while the poor viper tried to recover from her daze but was left to greedily grasp at the very air that had been forcefully knocked out of her.

"Uhh...am sorry." Marmalade offered an innocent smile and a four-fingered hand to the downed viper, who quickly swatted the gesture away in favor of a five-fingered one that followed soon after.

"Are you alright?" Adrian asked once Sprout was hoisted back onto her tail. He moved to look her over, but she refused to sit still once all of her attention was shifted back to Marmalade. She proceeded to cuss the other viper out in her jumbled language, leaving the remaining occupants in the room to watch her tirade run its course until she ultimately ran out of steam.

Marmalade had since pulled her heavy tail away from the clutches of the other viper, pooling it next to her into a careful bundle and latching onto her closest arm in a show of regret. "Please forgive. Sprout is small and forget own size sometimes."

Unfortunately, her poor word choice only served to reignite Sprout's fury. The angry viper propelled herself towards Marmalade with her claws raised and fangs extended. He quickly moved to intercept the silver bullet by wrapping his hands around her waist while digging his heels into the ground to cement them in place. Thankfully, she had listened to his earlier advice by donning the psionic inhibitors that ran along the backside of her hood, making it easier to wrangle the livid serpent.

"That's enough, Sprout! You've more than made your point." The edge of Sprout's hood smacked him in the face as she turned to him, a red tinge still lining her eyes. "I'm sure that Marmalade didn't mean to bring your size into question." He looked to the other viper. "Isn't that right, Marmal?"

Even with her shoulders slumped and hood drooped, Marmalade managed to loom over them all the same. "Is true. Words for doctor and other cute mammals, and forgot not to use on Sprout." She then smiled as a sudden thought entered her head. "Can discuss more about body massage if Sprout like?"

Marmalade's peace offering cooled off the other viper in an instant, who adopted a wily grin of her own after looking down at the human hands clasped around her body. He attempted to release his hold but a pair of clawed hands shot out to keep him in place. She made sure to wiggle her generous hips and press the back of her tail against his body for added effect, transferring any excess heat that once fueled her rage directly onto his cheeks. The burbles that then spewed forth from Sprout's mouth didn't require deciphering thanks to the way that Marmalade's sail propped itself back up in anticipation and how Jara moved to cover a burning muzzle once again.

"Like said earlier, doctor takes special oil in smooth hands but too small and require assistance to climb on base of tail. Am ticklish, so when slowly travel up length of body to reach back, tremors caused small doctor to accidentally—"

"Marmalade!"

"What?" The yellow viper cocked her head innocently, although, the sudden edge to her voice suggested that she was becoming slightly annoyed after having been cut off from telling her story for the second time in a row.

"Please keep such matters between us," he responded, finally finding success in moving his hands off the base of Sprout's tail. He briefly appraised the shallow welts left behind thanks to Sprout's eagerness to keep him in her talons. "I'd rather you not share personal details that come with our daily checkups and give anyone in this building the wrong idea."

"What idea? That gave massage and do good job?" She clutched the medal hanging from her sinuous neck. "Wouldn't want to share achievement with others?"

Adrian raised an eyebrow. "You really think that highly of my handiwork?"

Marmalade nodded her head in earnest, her sail fluttering through the still air. "Is true. Good with hands and give floaty feeling when remove pain from body. Make feel good and extra tingly."

The doctor trained his eyes off of the overly honest viper to read the rest of the room. Jara continued to shield her muzzle from him but her curious eyes told him the full story. And one look at Sprout was all that he needed to know that she was a lost cause and would find out eventually. It appeared that Pandora's box had been officially opened on the matter and he was likely destined to utilize his hidden talent again in the near future.

He rubbed the creases on his forehead and let out a final burst of air. "Fine. You can share the rest of your story with your sisters…" Marmalade's smile widened and she opened her mouth to continue. "But you can do so only once we've figured out how we want to spend the rest of the recreational period together." He glanced at the overhead clock. "If my memory is correct, it's also your day to choose, Marmal."

The yellow viper's eyes lit up in renewed excitement as she began to mull over their options, which were typically extended stays at the other facilities on the lower levels, Advent approved cinematography or board games that he originally argued would aid in their overall tactical decision making. Of course, such scientific claims were a load of crap, especially noting that the viper in question tended to favor Advent repurposed games like Burger Land and Adders-and-Ladders, where landing on a 'friendly' serpent tile would advance the player towards their objective, while a ladder tile would bring bad luck and slide the player towards the bottom. Naturally, he'd get trounced anytime bragging rights were on the line, which the vipers held in very high regard.

Marmalade rubbed her scarred snout as she thought long and hard about her decision. "Hmm…can play poke-her instead?"

"Poker?" Adrian responded in surprise. "Uhh…I don't think that's such a good idea, Marmal, especially after what happened last time."

They had played poker a week earlier after Sprout eavesdropped on a pair of guards and twisted his arm until he agreed to fill in the gaps and allow them to play. Unfortunately, things quickly got out of hand after Marmalade decided to ingest a poker chip and then later proposed that the person with the worst hand would shed their clothing instead. However, the vipers neglected to fill him in on the new set of rules after he returned from his office and failed to acknowledge the fact that they were all wearing a few additional layers. He eventually caught on, but only after Sprout began to deliberately play the worst hands possible in an effort to embarrass him.

"Why not? Was fun and want rematch against Jara. Maybe small doctor sore loser after turned funny color in the end."

Marmalade's keen observation caused Sprout to snort and Jara to crack a smile.

"Careful, Matriarch, you'll just lose a second time or accidentally swallow your winnings," Jara warned.

The yellow viper let out a challenging hiss. "Can take this time. Am bestest viper and will prove shortly."

"Sorry, Marmalade, but I can't take any chances this time around, especially after you decided to change the rules and didn't inform me after I was forced to remove the rest of the chips from the field," he managed to cut in before the two vipers could exchange further blows.

"But small doctor didn't provide a solution before trip to office, so took initiative like good matriarch," Marmalade answered with a healthy dose of pride woven into her voice.

"Under normal circumstances, I'd be proud of you, but you indirectly convinced Sprout that it was okay to strip down to her birthday suit on the last hand."

He immediately regretted his word choice as Marmalade tilted her head in confusion. "But Sprout had the suit of hearts on last hand, not the suit of birthday."

"I mean that she took off all of her clothes after losing the last round," he attempted to clarify.

Thanks to her final hand, he was also made keenly aware of the fact that greased pigs had nothing on an unruly viper who refused to put her shirt back on, and that was before he was forced to reel in over ten feet of wriggling serpent.

Marmalade lowered herself on her tail to reach his height, compressing the cartoon cat against her chest as she looked him over in concern. "But that is how game works, Sprout confirmed with other humans." She then noted Jara's discarded undergarment on the floor and allowed the gears to turn inside her head. "Maybe all start without clothes this time?" She offered as a compromise.

"Absolutely not!" Both he and Jara interjected, turning to each other in surprise before Sprout proceeded to let out a series of excited warbles and made an attempt to remove her shirt. Luckily, it got caught on her hood again and allowed for him to come to her rescue by seizing the hem of the garment and pulling it back down. "Keep your shirt on, Sprout. We haven't decided anything yet."

The snowy viper made sure to give him a quick piece of her mind that somehow ended in a wink. He couldn't help but roll his eyes and tried his best to disregard her continued hand gestures as he turned back to Marmalade.

"I'm sorry, Marmal, but I believe that we have two people who'd rather play something else."

Marmalade glared up at the larger viper. "But wanted to play last time and had best hands?"

Jara shrugged her wide shoulders. "That's because I listened to the actual rules and followed them without fault. Victory was assured before the first card was dealt, even after Sprout deviated on her own path. Now, I simply wish to avoid such a game altogether for…reasons."

"That makes Jara a scary-cat."

"Hmpf. I'm certain that I'd beat you at any game we play. I…just don't wish to reveal myself to Dr. Fairchild," Jara countered.

"Says viper currently in tight bra and pointy bits showing," Marmalade replied, nonchalantly.

"What?!"

Jara shifted her gaze down to inspect her feminine assets and was horrified to find that indeed a pair of hardened diamonds had pierced through its thin veil. A sharp whine immediately followed as she moved to pivot away from the only human in the room.

"I-I knew this was a mistake. Please take the camera, Doctor."

"Huh?"

"I said take the damn camera from me!" Jara practically dumped the remains of the device into his hands before tearing off the top layer of blankets from her bed and then hastily retreating behind the tall partition, which she knocked over several times in the process. The echoes of her latest wardrobe battle were only outmatched by the sound of her sisters' snickers. Eventually, she was met with success and cautiously slithered out with a patchwork of blankets draped around her upper body in a manner that closely resembled a toga. She also made sure to cross her arms over her chest as an additional safeguard.

The bashful viper made sure to dip her head low as she approached him. "You have my apologies, Dr. Fairchild." Jara then narrowed her eyes at the snowy viper. "Sprout has a way of sucking all of the warmth from a room and my body must have responded accordingly."

"Wah?" Sprout responded with a chilled breath, sticking out her tongue in a mocking fashion and then sharing a knowing glance with Marmalade, who was about as smug as he'd ever seen her.

"Jara just proved point and scared of—"

"I'm not a scaredy-cat!" Jara bellowed across the room as she pushed herself to the very limits of what her tail could offer her, which compelled even Marmalade to acknowledge the other viper's strength and lose ground in favor of the exit.

Despite her sudden rage, Jara's large hood quickly fell and the rest of her body deflated along with it. "I'm just not…comfortable with those aspects of my body."

Adrian nodded his head and turned to Marmalade and Sprout. "I think I've heard enough. Can you two please go pick out a board game for us to play instead and get it set up in the living area? Jara and I will meet you both out there shortly."

Marmalade made a move to protest but he immediately cut her off. "I'm using my caretaker veto power, Marmal. Please do as you're told, and I fully expect to discuss this matter with you in private at a later time."

The matriarch nodded her head and gave her larger sister one last look before shifting her attention down to her smaller one. "Come, Sprout. Have couple of ideas. Can tell about body massage along the way."

Sprout voiced her own protests but acknowledged her sister's request in the end. She moved to grab her displaced pillows and then both vipers slithered out of the room to give Jara and him some additional privacy.

Once they were alone, Jara's towering form was further cut down in size as she lowered herself into the bed. Her large tail was then placed between the two, no doubt in another attempt to wall herself off from the rest of the world. Nevertheless, the little doctor set the remnants of the camera down and vaulted over the barrier of scales, placing himself directly in front of their owner.

"Sorry for scaring you," Jara whispered.

Adrian patted her long tail. "You have nothing to be sorry about." When he received no answer, he shifted his attention upwards to find that Jara still failed to meet his gaze. "May I sit?"

Jara looked at him briefly and then bobbed her head. With her silent confirmation, Adrian allowed himself to be sucked into the bed's crater until flesh once again met scales. He then placed his hand on top of her nearest arm, which flinched immediately on contact.

"Want to talk about it?"

Jara turned to gaze back at her reflection in the mirror. "Not really."

"Do you remember what I said earlier about you having a voice in this relationship?"

"Yes, but this viper wishes to speak no further on the matter," Jara fired back but failed to mask the nervous tick that made her armored scales jitter across the mattress.

Adrian thought for a moment about how his nightingale would've handled this situation. He shrugged. "Then I can't help you and you'll be left to wonder what could've been if you'd simply chosen to speak your mind."

The remark earned him a scowl and an annoyed hiss.

"I'm not allowed to speak my mind. As a soldier of Advent, it's not my place to question the will of the Elders or to deviate from the path that's been set for me since birth. Everything we've spoken about today is simply a distraction that gets in the way of my service to Advent. Regardless, I'm destined to serve until death and there's nothing more to it."

Adrian scoffed at her stubbornness. Jara was indeed the complete opposite of the smaller vipers when it came to such topics. "I don't believe that for a second, and who said that you'd be deviating from the will of the Elders? I'm simply asking for you to tell me how you really feel."

The serpent tore her gaze from her reflection and then looked back down at him. "Promise not to…to laugh or get upset at me." Her large hood sunk an additional measure towards her shoulders.

Adrian shifted his hand down the contours of her arm, the muscles within tensed in preparation for his answer, which came as he landed his palm safely within hers. "You have my word."

Jara took a deep breath and cautiously closed her giant hand around his. "I don't want you to think less of me or…to be cast aside because of some shortcoming and left without a purpose in this world."

She had hinted at this fact earlier, but it appeared that its roots went far deeper than he'd originally thought. Questionable behavior as far as the Elders were concerned to be sure, but at the moment, her mind remained undiluted by the psionic tethers that made her so effective while out in the field.

"Jara, nothing you say or do will make me think less of you." He moved his free hand on top of hers and noted the platinum band wrapped around his finger. "After the events outside of that park, Adeline and I consider you and the rest of your sisters as family. With that said, your purpose in life goes so much further than simply being the biggest and strongest female of your kind. Besides, you've more than proved your worth so far, so how about you give me and your fellow sisters a chance?"

Jara offered a small smile but shifted her attention towards the far windows, which were still opaque yet failed to diminish her gaze. "I guess what I'm also trying to say is that I don't want to end up like her."

He sighed at her final confession. "Jara, you and I both know that she's a special case. You'd really have to go out of your way to enrage those who are in charge of this area, and to be frank, there's too much of a good noodle buried underneath all of that muscle to ever warrant such negative sentiments."

"Good noodle?" Jara parroted back. Confusion momentarily riddled her face but the tail that had come to form a close arc around his legs began to wag uncontrollably, brushing against the pair as the rest of the giant viper failed to suppress a series of deep thrums. She adjusted the blankets around her torso and then fell into him, forming a tight hug as her internal motor went into overdrive and a muscular tail enveloped his entire lower torso with ease.

While Jara was about as gentle as she could be, he couldn't help but squirm within her clutches. And the sheer weight that she wanted him to bear quickly reminded him of how much power had been instilled into her over the past few months and how glad he was that she remained his ally. Fortunately, his tremors quickly died out and went unnoticed by the woman who had encircled him.

"T-thank you."

Jara released him from her grasp soon after, lifting him back to his feet in order for him to catch his breath and bundle the camera back into his arms. Once situated, he looked back briefly to acknowledge the wide smile plastered across her muzzle as she stretched higher and higher until she reached her full height. She then moved to loom over him out of what was likely instinct. All things considered, he now felt quite safe living in her shadow.

"Now quit showing off. I'm going to make a quick trip to my office and then we can relax and have some fun."

[—]

---

Adrian set the remains of the camera down in his office, taking a moment to inspect how Jara's handiwork differed from that of her sisters. While hers was the result of harbored curiosity and a mistake, some of the others were cleanly split in two or singed as the result of psionics. Sprout's temper tantrums were the stuff of nightmares if she was allowed to become fired up without an immediate release, but even she knew which boundaries to push and which never to cross.

He turned his attention to a final set of cameras, which all appeared to have been melted down into a soupy mess or ground into dust through the use of a powerful tail. He was later informed that one guard was killed during the escape and another left without a limb after it was scorched from his body. The venom responsible was potent stuff and made their owner a standout prospect from the very beginning.

Adrian shut the storage container and returned to his desk, where he allowed himself to sink to the very depths of his leather chair as he stared at the space between a set of bookshelves on the opposite end of the room and then into a blank monitor. At the time, he thought the stories were greatly exaggerated and the truth would be somewhere in the middle.

In the end, she killed six resistance members the night of the attack before she even made it to the flower garden, where she claimed an additional set of equally gruesome marks. Even now, he could hear Preacher's ghoulish screams register from the darkest depths of his mind.

The doctor shook the memory from his mind and logged back into his computer to review his tactical readiness report, scrolling past Jara's image to once again gaze into the azure eyes of his final test subject. Despite being an older photo, her hood remained underdeveloped alongside the rest of her. However, what she lacked in size was readily made up for by her unique genetics.

Indeed, Eight was truly one of a kind when one considered that her genetic scorecard was a blank check for which to cash. She had the deepest well of psionic potential to pull from, incredible tolerances to genetic splicing, unmatched visual acuity, the ability to absorb information like a sponge, and would very likely come to serve as one of the Elders' elites.

She was the perfect viper for which to augment, yet her prickly personality and complete disregard for those whom she thought were beneath her made Eight impossible to deal with at times. He was never told why, but Eight held a deep-seated disdain for humans in general. She also saw the other alien races as competition—even members of her own kind.

She largely hated Marmalade and Jara, but chose to confine herself in Sprout, which he figured was mostly because their external struggles were more or less aligned. Of course, the only matter that Sprout's lips were sealed on had to do with her private interactions with Eight. For a time, Sprout's influence over Eight was the only lever that he could use to get the ebony viper to do something that went against her wishes.

Nevertheless, over time she learned to begrudgingly accept his presence and the influence that he had over her life. Unfortunately, the scaled duo that was Eight and Sprout tended to gang up on him and raise the stakes each time one of them was met with success. He also feared that Sprout's deviant personality had fully rubbed off on the younger viper, who saw it fit to torture him at every turn, yet also hold a dangerous arrogance that almost got her killed by the men who attack them in the flower garden.

Adrian looked down at his hand and noted the faded red lines that resulted from Sprout's earlier persistence. Again, Sprout knew his limits and would never intentionally harm him. He then ran his hand across the back of his neck and slowly trailed it down the length of his back until it met a series of interlapping scars that were signed by a very different author, one that evidently decided that it was in her best interest to escape from her room after they'd left for the theater.

He let out a tired breath of air.

The cruel antics and otherwise annoying shenanigans were one thing, but Eight crossed way too many lines that night and was now suffering for it. And the worst part of it was that he couldn't help but blame himself for thinking that she wouldn't try something after she was rejected from serving as protection alongside his other vipers.

But Eight actively chose to be an outsider and receive low marks on every social quotient test that would've granted her such an opportunity. Regardless, her decision left Sprout without a partner in crime, unsettled the others, and would likely come back to—an urgent email notification suddenly popped up on his screen.

Adrian looked at the sender and was immediately surprised to see that it was from a certain Dr. Holdren, who was one of the select Artificers under the Elders' employ. He steadied himself and then expanded the email.

Dr. Fairchild,

I've been duly informed that staging for the Mercury Project has been officially sanctioned by the Elders with Subject X3-88-0088 remaining as its chief candidate. As an extension of the written report, you've been formally requested to present your readiness evaluation to the Triade next week.

I've already added a Monday meeting to your calendar to review the final revision. In addition, expect a short discussion on the document that I've provided as an attachment, which holds information that will become very important down the line…

Adrian paused to open a preview of the attachment, which included embedded links listed under a network path that he'd never seen before and all referred to something by the name of 'Installation Four,' which served as an arrowhead above what looked to be the arctic.

Unable to draw any conclusions, he closed the attachment and found his last place in the email.

Also, I'd like to review the latest biometrics of all test subjects under your supervision before we present our findings to the Elders—each will serve its purpose and I want to make sure that we have our bases covered before that time comes.

With that said, despite recent events and the setbacks that occurred in other areas as a result, the scientific gains that could be had in conjunction with this project could also grant you a permanent position within the upper echelon of Advent—take heed and know that your progress will be closely monitored moving forward.

Do not disappoint us, and glory to the Elders.

Adrian closed the email and was immediately faced with the azure eyes of his least favorite test subject. Startled, he abruptly pushed himself away from the monitor, catching his breath only after the battered wheels beneath his chair came to a grinding halt.

He chuckled at his reaction. "Afraid of a pair of eyes. What's next, Adrian? Going to start believing in ghosts?"

Getting ahold of himself, the doctor pulled himself back towards his desk and directed his thoughts back to the email. He already anticipated staying late to complete the report, but now he was supposed to present his findings to the Elders directly?

His heart began to race once more as his mind finally processed the implications of what he just read. While he was thankful for the connections that had led him to his position thus far, now was the time to truly make a name for himself and cement his place at the top of Advent. And in a weird twist of fate, it could all come about through her.

Was Eight really supposed to be his magnum opus?

Adrian shook the hazardous thought from his mind. Despite what he currently thought about Eight, she still had a soul attached to her and he refused to think of her as an object to be dissected and picked apart for personal gain. Regardless, he'd once taken an oath and was sworn to help others reach their full potential in life, right?

A series of raspy knocks at his door sucked him back into reality.

"I-I'm coming."

The doctor locked his computer and shuffled towards the entrance to his office. A quick glance through the blinds revealed an all too familiar orange feline with a canted ear and derpy smile stitched across its face. He took an additional set of breaths to calm himself and return his heart rate to normal, which was something that his vipers could easily register and would seek to call him out on. With his vital signs in order, Adrian straightened his collar, opened the door, and then craned his neck to address the yellow viper waiting just across the threshold.

"Uhm…yes, Marmalade?"

Despite his best efforts to hide his earlier distress, the viper's red eyes were immediately filled with concern as a pronged tongue continued to flick around his head like an angry gnat. "Has small doctor hit head again and forgot about game?"

"I didn't forget, Marmal. Also, that was one time. And I distinctly remember it being because a certain yellow viper thought that it was a good idea to interrogate a beehive."

Marmalade bobbed her head in acknowledgment. "Bees created nest on Advent property and wanted them to leave in peace. Forced to protect small doctor from danger after sting many times."

Adrian offered a genuine laugh. "By throwing me over your shoulder like a sack of potatoes, downing the entire tree with a single swipe of your tail, and then igniting the surrounding area with your rifle while continually demanding that they stop resisting."

The viper adopted a conceited appearance. "Is true, was good rescue and minimized casualties of tiny insects even though small doctor shout like neonate with toothache. Should be thankful."

"Well…you nearly started a forest fire and then dropped me afterwards, which is how I ended up hitting my head and losing my memory for a couple of days."

The mask of scales around Marmalade's face tightened. "Oh, forget that part…am sorry." Her eyes then narrowed. "But no bees this time and still forget."

"Right, no bees this time…"

He leaned out into the living area to find that Sprout and Jara had since situated themselves around the large table, which currently housed the game of their choosing—mouse trap by the looks of it, which was one of the few games that Eight actually enjoyed. Based on Sprout's gestures and Jara's embarrassed expression, the snowy viper was currently tail deep into retelling Marmalade's story, despite the cobalt viper's earlier reservations.

Adrian internally sighed. Even though said discussion would likely mean future muscle soreness be transferred his way, he was happy that the two managed to make amends so quickly. However, he soon found himself distracted as he focused on the two remaining beanbags and the folding chair that was specifically reserved for the small human. He also noted that Eight was once again unable to join them.

Despite all of her shortcomings, he still believed that she was deserving of a second chance and a member of their little viper posse. He turned to look back into his office and towards the sturdy set of bookcases.

He was just afraid of what the future had in store for all of them.

"Is small doctor okay?"

Adrian gazed back up into a concerned set of eyes. "Honestly? I don't know, Marmal. I just got an email that could very well change all of our lives," he answered truthfully.

"Change?" Marmalade tilted her head and then rubbed a hand across her scarred muzzle. "Move lot and see change over years. Bad places in life and very sick, but find that change can bring good from bad." She then gave him a warm smile. "Met small doctor who make feel better and give purpose."

He hadn't forgotten about her origins and their first few weeks together. She was a quartered soldier who'd been starved and left to rot after she was too weak to defend herself. A patrol later found her half-dead in an alleyway, surviving off of rainwater and leftovers out of a nearby dumpster. Advent eventually shipped her back to a processing facility, where she was to be formally disconnected and then disposed of due to her advanced age.

However, as fate would have it, a clerical error resulted in her information being shuffled into a pool of applicants and which ended up being the very last entry that he reviewed. Having never met her in person before that time, he only saw her as a set of numbers, which when strung together created the ideal candidate to be used as an important stepping stone in the advancement of the hybrids that were one day destined to replace her.

"You really believe that?"

Marmalade was a true relic of her species, who could've easily been lost to the sands of time. And despite passing her official expiration date and having to make an arduous recovery under his care, she persevered and even came to save his life in return—she now even had a medal to prove it.

"Is true, just have to look forward instead of always glancing back," Marmalade replied, holding her smile.

Despite being an absolute derp who always found new ways to get herself into sticky situations, there was a measure of wisdom in her words and in the experiences that were carved straight into her body. The viper's positive energy was also infectious and he soon found himself matching her tone.

"Thank you for the wise words, Matriarch."

Marmalade responded with a soft coo and pivoted herself away from him. He followed her gaze to the blue and white vipers in the distance. Jara had since pulled herself into her cocoon of blankets while Sprout appeared to still be recounting the valiant efforts of a certain human trying to scale a mountain that refused to sit still. Marmalade looked back at him and smiled.

"Jara like story too. She just scared like neonate during first shed."

He nodded his head. "She'll come around once she's ready." His thoughts immediately went back to the email and the situation surrounding Eight. He quickly noted the time remaining for the recreational period and then turned back to Marmalade. "I…need to do something in my office real quick. Could you please hold down the fort out here a little longer and I'll be sure to join you in about ten minutes?"

Marmalade's shoulders drooped at the thought of a further delay. "But already wait for small doctor. Can do funny doctor things later?"

Adrian felt a pang of remorse for the viper's sudden misfortune, but he had since made up his mind. "I won't be long, Marmal." He pivoted on his heels with the intent of crossing the threshold to his office, but a yellow tail moved quicker in an effort to halt his progress.

"Uhh…small doctor has to make wager first."

"Wager? What are you…" He spun around to immediately find three sets of eyes on him, all reptilian and all drinking in his features. Marmalade faltered for a moment but recovered after quickly glancing Sprout's way.

He ran an exasperated hand across his face. Of course, this was how they were going to go about it. "Alright, let's hear it."

"If small doctor not show up again for time to play full game, has to give Marmalade, Jara, and Sprout full body massage during private sessions."

He raised an eyebrow. "Did you just say a full body massage?"

Marmalade adopted a regal stance but failed to hide the giddiness that was now coursing through her sinuous body, one that he'd evidently be stuck massaging from snout to tail if he were to take extra time in the present. "Must agree to terms as said, no funny changes."

"And what if I just say no? Are you going to kidnap me and then hold me hostage?"

Marmalade traced a claw down her neck and then inspected its edge against the overhead lights. "If not comply, will have to get creative." The yellow tail behind him slapped the ground as the viper shifted more of her bulk around him.

"Uh-huh." He shifted his attention to Sprout, who gave him a wink and a wave with her own tail. While Jara shielded herself from him with a hand, she also moved as much of her tail into view as possible and refused to come to his defense—so much for what she had said earlier. Nevertheless, it appeared as though the snowy viper had successfully weaponized the others against him and in record time.

"Alright, if I'm not back to allow sufficient time to play our game, I'll be required to give each of you…" He couldn't believe that he was going through with this. "A full body massage."

"With special oil, so scales extra shiny," Marmalade demanded.

Adrian groaned and again cursed his hidden talent. "Fine. With special oil, but I expect you to be on your best behavior once the deed is done. Does that sound fair?"

Three hoods nodded in approval and a yellow tail shifted to allow him safe passage.

"Is fair, am happy, and will wait with others." Her mask of scales then morphed into a smug expression. "Small doctor is free to take time though."

With that, the cartoon cat in front of him departed alongside its owner, who made sure to exaggerate her hip movements as she carried a noticeable spring in her slither, which continued until she situated herself on one of the oversized beanbags and turned to smile back at him. He released a defeated burst of air—so much for holding his own against the whims of his vipers. Also, taking his time only benefited them in the long run. Thankfully, with the path to his office now clear, only one more barrier stood between him and his objective.

However, as Adrian moved to secure the door between himself and the outside living area, he couldn't help but hesitate and lean onto its frame for support. His heart began to race again at the thought of presenting his findings to the Elders. Sure, he had covered his bases thus far and doubted that he'd outright fail to give them what they wanted, but they also had a history of…his thoughts wandered back to Marmalade's earlier advice, drawing his attention to the pair of bookcases ahead of him, or more specifically what lied between them—a secondary entrance.

Adrian pushed himself off of his support and made his way towards a palm scanner abeam the nearest bookshelf. Taking a final breath, the man placed his hand over the scanner, holding it in place until a sweeping red line turned steady green. The sound of pneumatic locks being released resonated around him, followed closely by the steady groan of a reinforced door falling inwards.

The doctor proceeded to take his first step into the neighboring auxiliary lab, observing that its main entrance remained under armed guard by a pair of Advent heavy MECs, which were immediately alerted to his presence. However, a quick wave of his ID badge was all that he needed to placate them. He then turned to gaze upon the same spot that Jara had looked towards while opening up to him earlier, but now from the added perspective of being able to see past the room's concrete walls.

A large stasis chamber stood before him, its black matte frame contrasted the white walls and supported a set of metal doors, which encapsulated its sole occupant and featured Advent's signature logo at its center. An array of tubes mounted into the chamber's back were currently in the process of circulating various fluids to and from the area.

Adrian walked towards a nearby table, noting a line of sanitized medical tools and the two halves of a very peculiar object. He lifted the two pieces and then fit them together, appraising the claw marks that ravaged its surface and matching them to the shallow cuts that lined the inside of his arm. While furious at the time, now he couldn't help but chuckle at how much of a fight she put up even in her injured state.

The doctor set down the molded cast and positioned himself in front of the stasis chamber. He then punched in the security code on its main display panel, granting him access to the exterior door lever, which he pulled immediately afterwards. After a timed delay, the Advent logo split in two and the doors peeled back, revealing the sleeping dragon herself. Well...minus the horns and sharp quills.

"Hello again, Eight. It's me, Adrian."

While her azure eyes remained hidden behind black folds and her serpentine body held in a suspended state thanks to the viscous fluid that permeated the chamber, she could still hear him and had some sense of the world around her. Her current stasis did an excellent job of hiding her poor temperament, which had resulted in another round of injured guards who thought it wise to move her back to her room in his absence and after her arm had fully recovered. At least to his superiors, her actions were deserving of another 'cooling-off' period that had so far spanned the better half of the week.

"Marmalade, Jara, Sprout, and I are about to play a game of mouse trap."

Regardless, he still carved out portions of his day to visit her and hold one-sided conversations like he'd done so many times before. In the far past, he made sure to always place a reinforced barrier between himself and the angry little serpent who hated his guts.

But as time moved on, she eventually accepted the fact that the equally small doctor was an inescapable annoyance that she had to put up with regardless of how she felt.

"But I figured that I'd stop by quick and make sure that you're alright. I...miss seeing that smile of yours every time we set that game up."

In the past, she'd just narrow her eyes at him as though he were bluffing about such statements and would've probably done so now if she were in full control of her body. Before the attack, she had actually become quite the good listener, tuning in to what he had to say from behind the glass. Of course, this was all an attempt to make up for the fact that the value on her head heavily limited her ability to leave their containment wing. However, sometimes he felt like his visits were more for his benefit, given that Adeline was often unreachable and he was left without someone to share his more personal feelings with.

Indeed, he often spoke about his wife and how he missed her, current events related to Advent and city-life in general, and even about some of the anxieties that kept him up at night.

"While it frustrates me to see you still locked up in there, I've just received news that has the potential to change both of our lives."

And despite largely being held against her will, she was the one who had actively sought him out that night. Perhaps it was just another weird twist of fate, but the exact reason as to why still perplexed him. Sure, he was now one of the only humans in the labs that she didn't attack outright, but she had every opportunity to escape New Providence and to start over, whatever that even meant to her.

"But I'm scared, Eight—for me and for you. The Elders do not look kindly on failure and I feel as though both of us are about to be thrown into the deep end."

Adrian looked down at the digital readout for the chamber, which let him know that she was still cognitively aware. Although, whether she actually cared to remember what he had to say was still up for debate, especially after she broke out of her room against his wishes.

"And if we're talking about a sink or swim scenario, I'd very much like for both of us to be on the same page and learn to work together."

He placed an open palm on the glass.

"The others miss you as well, but hopefully you won't be in there for much longer."

Regardless, he'd make sure that their private 'talks' continued until she was allowed back into her room, which at the moment was in an even worse state than Jara's. But time would hopefully change that as he slowly got through to her as well.

He looked up at the clock, officially reaching his allotted time before his muscles would bear the full responsibility of his tardiness.

"I…need to go for now, but I promise to be back later and will let you know the results of the board game. Once you're out, I'll be sure to let you have first pick during our next recreational session together. It can even just be the two of us if you'd rather slowly work your way back into the swing of things—whatever you're most comfortable with."

Adrian allowed the subtle hum of stasis chamber to take over and then shifted to close its metal doors. However, the glass above him unexpectedly clinked, drawing his attention back to his hand, which now had a four-fingered one pressed against it. Though the hand was smaller than his own, the talons that sprouted from it more than made up for the difference.

The doctor traced his eyes from the ebony hand, across a scraggly arm, and into a black mass surrounded by an endless sea of blue, which fluttered in and out of view as the viper began to stir once more. He looked down at the digital display and found that her readouts were now off the charts.

"Eight? How in the world did you…"

The black mass suddenly collapsed into a narrow slit and a purple hue boiled across the ocean's surface, causing the glass between their hands to crack and spider in all directions. Adrian moved to peel his hand away but immediately found that an outside force now kept it fastened to the glass, which began to leak uncontrollably along with the rest of the chamber.

The control box next to him then exploded, spraying a shower of fragments across his back and knocking him to the ground. His suspended arm twisted against his frame in the process, provoking a sharp cry and leaving him temporarily dazed. Thankfully, he was able to recover quickly and left with no permanent damage, at least as far as his adrenaline-fueled body was concerned.

The lights above his head flickered and the clamber of heavy footfalls reminded him of the heavy MECs that were stationed inside the room. However, pivoting his body in their direction only rewarded him with a front-row seat to their destruction as their armored shells collapsed inwards and the twisted remains of their weapons brought a swift end to their attempt at resolving the situation with force.

He tore his eyes off the incapacitated MECs and back to their aggressor.

Her reptilian slits locked back onto him, but the viper made no move to silence his life as well. Yet she also refused to slow the mounting tempest that began to pull stray objects across the room. The purple hue then turned a shade darker and the barrier between them splintered further, now threatening to shatter entirely and impale anyone unlucky enough to be caught in its path—him.

"Damn it. Eight, please listen to me! You need to stop this at once or you're going to kill us both!"

However, as the viscous fluid continued to drain from the stasis chamber and her head left its shallow depths, a fresh pair of streams formed through the shards of glass, ran down the edges of her charcoaled muzzle, and coalesced with the yellow stains of her blood. The color immediately drained from his face.

She was no longer in control.

"Hold on, Eight. I'm going to get us out of this."

Adrian grabbed hold of his frozen hand and pulled in a renewed effort to free himself, only managing to cut his palm further and smearing the chamber wall with his blood. The man quickly swore under his breath and tried his best to ignore the blistering pain, frantically looking around for something that would aid their escape. But the switch to raise the alarm remained well out of reach, along with the operating table and anything that could temper her unstable psionics. Adrian ground his teeth at his uselessness but soon came to terms with his fate as his body began to succumbed to blood loss. He then turned back to the source of all his suffering over the past few weeks.

He looked right into her azure eyes.

"It's...going to be alright, Eight. I forgive—"

Adrian's world faded to black as the stasis chamber finally collapsed and then bloomed outwards, hurling his small body across the length of the room until it kissed an uncaring cement pillar that awaited him on the other side.

[—]

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Closing Notes:

This ended up being a fun chapter to write all the way through. We also finally got to see some of the other unfiltered viper personalities that I've been saving up since chapter eight. The real question now is just where the hell did they all end up in the present? Expect there to be a couple more glimpses into the past before we reach the end.

Thanks again for the support, and feedback is always welcomed!