Forte: Ow.. My aching everything.
Beelzemon: Let me guess. your version of Goku's 'Kaio Ken' attack.
Forte: Yeah. Ow. but I pushed it too far. if you ever learn it. by some freak twist of fate. NEVER go past level twenty.
Beelzemon: How far did you go?
Forte: . level two hundred.
Chapter 1 - Secrets told.
Orion's heard was pounding by the time he got to the door of the room where the shouting came from. He was about to knock when he heard a word that caught his interest. 'Hybrid'.
"Geez. of all the people to pick to turn into hybrids, why'd you pick us?" The voice of the spiky haired guy asked.
"You guys were the only ones around. and at the time, we thought you picked those Zoids because you wanted to be the animals they represent." a man's voice answered.
Orion thought they might be insane, but he remembered his experiments in transforming people. He DID send notes to colleagues in the new field. If one of them was in there.. Orion's guilt lifted.
'I can't believe I didn't remember sooner. One of them said he was perfecting a way back!'
Then he listened further.
"You could've ASKED us."
"Sorry."
"I don't know. I kind of like being part wolf for awhile."
Orion's heart skipped a beat.
'So that guy WAS that wolf hybrid. but.'
He decided to listen some more.
"So why'd that energy thing hurt us, but not them?"
"Because when I cast the spell on them, it wasn't supposed to take affect as quickly."
Orion arched an eyebrow.
'Spell? . Could the stories my ancestors left in that adventurer's journal be true? About magic existing back then? If so, then. was that vial truly a trophy from a titanic battle between human and dragon?'
Orion was confused about the matter. Then he heard something that confirmed that part of what was being said in there was true.
"Ow."
"Are you okay Naomi?"
"Yeah. but that bullet wound Orion inflicted still hurts."
Orion gasped. Inside that room were the hybrids, most likely human now, that had stormed his Bio-dome.
'. And they didn't seek revenge for nearly killing her.'
Orion calmed down, and pretended not to have heard a word. He knocked on the door.
Tauros opened the door, and Orion was standing there, a sleepy look in his eyes.
"Sorry to interrupt. but the shouting woke me up."
"We'll try to be quiet."
"Thank you."
Orion turned to walk back to the room he left, when he was stopped.
"What's your name?" Leena asked.
Orion considered telling them the name he was known by, but he changed his mind, and told them his real name.
"Alexander."
Then Orion. or rather. Alexander. went back to the bed he had been provided.
"Alexander." Iceius repeated to himself.
Then Brad noticed something he hadn't before.
"Wait a second! He has two eyes!"
"So?" Bit asked.
"Remember! Back at the dome!"
/////////////////// Flashback. //////////////////
The demi-human heroes were watching Orion from behind crates, desks, and other hiding places. He was holding an infant, which had been the child of the cheetah hybrid, whose body lied on the floor, the bleeding just stopped. The exact words Orion spoke to the child weren't remembered, but he brushed aside a tuft of hair, and exposed an eye patch hidden by the hair. The baby had become curious about it, and playfully removed it, showing an empty socket, which had signs of his eye being gouged out long ago, since no blood or muscles were to be seen inside the socket. Orion then took the patch, and placed it back on. The words that followed were remembered like this.
"Don't do that. I don't want you getting exposed to mutilation at an early age. like me."
////////////////// End of Flashback. //////////////////
Then the others' eyes went wide. They remembered that.
"What happened to him?"
Brad thought about it.
"He was knocked into a desk with chemicals on it, right?"
"Yeah."
". You mean that he."
"Might have fallen victim to his own serum."
Bill then looked up from behind a couch. His crocodilian face had a look of concern.
"I still have a few notes from his lab."
Bill took out scraps of paper, and began to read them out loud.
"Let's see. Entry 45. ' The flaw in the serum still eludes me. I don't understand what went wrong. I added acids to weaken the cell structure enough so the change is not lethal. I properly programmed the 'smart cells' to do their job. The subject, named Allesa, has absorbed the serum into her bones, skin, and bloodstream. What went wrong? Could it be because she is one month pregnant? Have I miscalculated the dose?' Entry 48 'I have found my flaw. The serum requires an additional injection of the DNA of the mammal desired to create a hybrid of. I learned this when Allesa was attacked by one of the cheetahs I keep here for samples. I shot the beast dead, and it bled into one of her cuts. I must admit the resulting effect was quite a surprise to us. Personal note - I must remember to have the future subjects avoid tight clothing, shoes, boots, and other restrictive garments at all costs. If I didn't keep a penknife in my desk, Allesa would surely have strangled on her own clothes.' Entry 54. 'I must find a way to at least weaken the instincts of the mammals they take the form of. Allesa nearly tore me apart today before recognizing me. That was a sorrowful day for me. She had volunteered for this. I hope that I can fix this before it's too late.' Entry 55. 'It's too late. She no longer thinks the same way. I tried the formula I made to counter this lose of self, but this doesn't work if they already have become someone else in their mind. My baby sister is dead to the world because of a mistake I made. The last words she said to me before forgetting herself were 'I understood what could happen. I'm just glad to know I helped you.'"
They all felt terrible after that. The cheetah hybrid Alex shot was his own sister.
"Entry 56. My sister continues to help me. In my endeavor to restore her mind, I came across a way to change my subjects into forms other than mammals. All I have to do is 'reset' the coding of the human cells, little by little. I shall reset only the parts holding the codes for making the subject mammal. It's much easier than one would anticipate. In fact, I even did so to myself. I only wrote in codes to improve a trait I am well noted for, despite my lack of two eyes.accuracy. However, I learned that genetics, DNA, and heredity are NOT everything. I actually lost some skill from that. Since then, I returned my DNA to normal, but enhanced my strength just enough so the recoil on the Magnum I keep for safety reasons doesn't dislocated my shoulder. One of my guards was zeroing the sights for me the other day, and the recoil tore his arm off. I must remember that my strength is deceptively increased. Right now, that man has had his stump seared so that he doesn't bleed to death. I warned him the gun was strong. What an arrogant fool he is. Worse still, he got some of the other guards reading indecent magazines.' Entry 59. Well, that guard I mentioned back in entry 56 gave me a good idea. Since there are few guards, why not make THEM hybrids so they can defend this place better. I have already been experimenting with predator DNA. For each of them, they shall receive the DNA of the top predators of the sectors they will defend. Ryan was obviously the first to volunteer when he heard he could get his arm back. I visited him before the procedure. Very strange, his fascination of scorpions. He said that the only things crazy enough to mess with them were destructive, and stupid. That fits the human race to a 'T'. Therefore, I decided to give him scorpion DNA. I just hope I'm not making a mistake in trusting him."
Brad, Naomi, and Jack remembered him. He guided them out of the desert sector.
"Entry 63. The guards have succumbed to their predator instincts, with the odd exception of Ryan. Then I looked in a textbook to check on scorpions. No wonder. Scorpions feed on insect life, and tarantulas. What that DOESN'T explain is why he hasn't been chasing after prey-hybrids like the others. I've had to place force collars on them to keep them fro devouring my precious subjects. I made sure that they were guarding the grates into the dome. Ryan is a wild card though. He still thinks like a human being, and had found out how to disable the collar I placed on him as a precaution. I don't see why he had to though. I made sure every necessity was within the parameter of his 'cage'. Entry 64. I found out what he was up to. He's been plotting my downfall for one rather stupid reason, which he could have asked me for. a mate, or a lack of one therefore. I would love to comply, but I'd rather NOT risk a plague of homicidal offspring. He'll have to wait until I can control how they change. Unfortunately, since every single human being is different, so is his or her change. I can't fix it. Entry 67. I must remember to give Ryan electro shock torture for this insult. He found out the password for the desert sector was Nomad. He didn't try to kill me, which I thank him for, but he let a dung-beetle hybrid sneak up on me, and roll a giant ball of dung over top of me to insult me. It wasn't serious, but I had to make sure I completely destroyed the odor before I checked on the wolf-hybrids in the forest sector. I didn't want to be unpleasant to them. I bet Ryan's laughing his head off right now. I wish he really DID laugh his head off after this."
"So THAT'S what Ryan meant when that hybrid 'bowled his over'."
"Entry 70. Allesa is having troubles with the other cheetah hybrids. They want her as their mate, and she can't fend them off in her eighth month. She showed that she didn't completely forget me. She came to me before anyone else, including that elephant-hybrid called 'Big Joe'. From what I heard, he acts as a bouncer. Anyway, she found my measures drastic, but then again, that cheetah bugging her was riling up the water buffalo hybrids into stampeding. I lost fifteen subjects because of that, AND my sister was nearly killed. I swore to God he'd pay for that. My aim had not grown untrustworthy since the mass murder of that city in land. I believe it's used as a Zoid battleground now. Today is a day I take time to remember why I started this venture. Entry 78. My sister demands to see me about her child. It's a strange thing that her son is completely human. She demanded that I return him. I must make sure he's healthy. I told her I had to run tests. That's also true. I want him to live a normal life. She was agitated, and ready to pounce. I gave her reason not to. I told her indirectly who it was that made that city empty. I was expecting her to show me more respect. She instead tried to kill me, as if to avenge them. I had no choice but to kill her. . DAMN IT!!!! WHY COULDN'T I FIND A WAY TO RESTORE HER MIND SOONER???????????? It's my fault. I can only hope that this experiment can redeem my soul, and give me hope. if not act as penance for my sins. I pray her soul has gone to Heaven. She was guilty only of wishing to help her big brother try and redeem his blackened soul. Right now, I smell wet fur. Another hybrid wants to see me. I'll see how this turns out."
That last entry recapped the events before Brad confronted him. They had no idea he felt that way.
///////////////////////////
Forte: . Whoa. That is EASILY the longest chapter you ever wrote.
Beelzemon: Thank you.
Beelzemon: Let me guess. your version of Goku's 'Kaio Ken' attack.
Forte: Yeah. Ow. but I pushed it too far. if you ever learn it. by some freak twist of fate. NEVER go past level twenty.
Beelzemon: How far did you go?
Forte: . level two hundred.
Chapter 1 - Secrets told.
Orion's heard was pounding by the time he got to the door of the room where the shouting came from. He was about to knock when he heard a word that caught his interest. 'Hybrid'.
"Geez. of all the people to pick to turn into hybrids, why'd you pick us?" The voice of the spiky haired guy asked.
"You guys were the only ones around. and at the time, we thought you picked those Zoids because you wanted to be the animals they represent." a man's voice answered.
Orion thought they might be insane, but he remembered his experiments in transforming people. He DID send notes to colleagues in the new field. If one of them was in there.. Orion's guilt lifted.
'I can't believe I didn't remember sooner. One of them said he was perfecting a way back!'
Then he listened further.
"You could've ASKED us."
"Sorry."
"I don't know. I kind of like being part wolf for awhile."
Orion's heart skipped a beat.
'So that guy WAS that wolf hybrid. but.'
He decided to listen some more.
"So why'd that energy thing hurt us, but not them?"
"Because when I cast the spell on them, it wasn't supposed to take affect as quickly."
Orion arched an eyebrow.
'Spell? . Could the stories my ancestors left in that adventurer's journal be true? About magic existing back then? If so, then. was that vial truly a trophy from a titanic battle between human and dragon?'
Orion was confused about the matter. Then he heard something that confirmed that part of what was being said in there was true.
"Ow."
"Are you okay Naomi?"
"Yeah. but that bullet wound Orion inflicted still hurts."
Orion gasped. Inside that room were the hybrids, most likely human now, that had stormed his Bio-dome.
'. And they didn't seek revenge for nearly killing her.'
Orion calmed down, and pretended not to have heard a word. He knocked on the door.
Tauros opened the door, and Orion was standing there, a sleepy look in his eyes.
"Sorry to interrupt. but the shouting woke me up."
"We'll try to be quiet."
"Thank you."
Orion turned to walk back to the room he left, when he was stopped.
"What's your name?" Leena asked.
Orion considered telling them the name he was known by, but he changed his mind, and told them his real name.
"Alexander."
Then Orion. or rather. Alexander. went back to the bed he had been provided.
"Alexander." Iceius repeated to himself.
Then Brad noticed something he hadn't before.
"Wait a second! He has two eyes!"
"So?" Bit asked.
"Remember! Back at the dome!"
/////////////////// Flashback. //////////////////
The demi-human heroes were watching Orion from behind crates, desks, and other hiding places. He was holding an infant, which had been the child of the cheetah hybrid, whose body lied on the floor, the bleeding just stopped. The exact words Orion spoke to the child weren't remembered, but he brushed aside a tuft of hair, and exposed an eye patch hidden by the hair. The baby had become curious about it, and playfully removed it, showing an empty socket, which had signs of his eye being gouged out long ago, since no blood or muscles were to be seen inside the socket. Orion then took the patch, and placed it back on. The words that followed were remembered like this.
"Don't do that. I don't want you getting exposed to mutilation at an early age. like me."
////////////////// End of Flashback. //////////////////
Then the others' eyes went wide. They remembered that.
"What happened to him?"
Brad thought about it.
"He was knocked into a desk with chemicals on it, right?"
"Yeah."
". You mean that he."
"Might have fallen victim to his own serum."
Bill then looked up from behind a couch. His crocodilian face had a look of concern.
"I still have a few notes from his lab."
Bill took out scraps of paper, and began to read them out loud.
"Let's see. Entry 45. ' The flaw in the serum still eludes me. I don't understand what went wrong. I added acids to weaken the cell structure enough so the change is not lethal. I properly programmed the 'smart cells' to do their job. The subject, named Allesa, has absorbed the serum into her bones, skin, and bloodstream. What went wrong? Could it be because she is one month pregnant? Have I miscalculated the dose?' Entry 48 'I have found my flaw. The serum requires an additional injection of the DNA of the mammal desired to create a hybrid of. I learned this when Allesa was attacked by one of the cheetahs I keep here for samples. I shot the beast dead, and it bled into one of her cuts. I must admit the resulting effect was quite a surprise to us. Personal note - I must remember to have the future subjects avoid tight clothing, shoes, boots, and other restrictive garments at all costs. If I didn't keep a penknife in my desk, Allesa would surely have strangled on her own clothes.' Entry 54. 'I must find a way to at least weaken the instincts of the mammals they take the form of. Allesa nearly tore me apart today before recognizing me. That was a sorrowful day for me. She had volunteered for this. I hope that I can fix this before it's too late.' Entry 55. 'It's too late. She no longer thinks the same way. I tried the formula I made to counter this lose of self, but this doesn't work if they already have become someone else in their mind. My baby sister is dead to the world because of a mistake I made. The last words she said to me before forgetting herself were 'I understood what could happen. I'm just glad to know I helped you.'"
They all felt terrible after that. The cheetah hybrid Alex shot was his own sister.
"Entry 56. My sister continues to help me. In my endeavor to restore her mind, I came across a way to change my subjects into forms other than mammals. All I have to do is 'reset' the coding of the human cells, little by little. I shall reset only the parts holding the codes for making the subject mammal. It's much easier than one would anticipate. In fact, I even did so to myself. I only wrote in codes to improve a trait I am well noted for, despite my lack of two eyes.accuracy. However, I learned that genetics, DNA, and heredity are NOT everything. I actually lost some skill from that. Since then, I returned my DNA to normal, but enhanced my strength just enough so the recoil on the Magnum I keep for safety reasons doesn't dislocated my shoulder. One of my guards was zeroing the sights for me the other day, and the recoil tore his arm off. I must remember that my strength is deceptively increased. Right now, that man has had his stump seared so that he doesn't bleed to death. I warned him the gun was strong. What an arrogant fool he is. Worse still, he got some of the other guards reading indecent magazines.' Entry 59. Well, that guard I mentioned back in entry 56 gave me a good idea. Since there are few guards, why not make THEM hybrids so they can defend this place better. I have already been experimenting with predator DNA. For each of them, they shall receive the DNA of the top predators of the sectors they will defend. Ryan was obviously the first to volunteer when he heard he could get his arm back. I visited him before the procedure. Very strange, his fascination of scorpions. He said that the only things crazy enough to mess with them were destructive, and stupid. That fits the human race to a 'T'. Therefore, I decided to give him scorpion DNA. I just hope I'm not making a mistake in trusting him."
Brad, Naomi, and Jack remembered him. He guided them out of the desert sector.
"Entry 63. The guards have succumbed to their predator instincts, with the odd exception of Ryan. Then I looked in a textbook to check on scorpions. No wonder. Scorpions feed on insect life, and tarantulas. What that DOESN'T explain is why he hasn't been chasing after prey-hybrids like the others. I've had to place force collars on them to keep them fro devouring my precious subjects. I made sure that they were guarding the grates into the dome. Ryan is a wild card though. He still thinks like a human being, and had found out how to disable the collar I placed on him as a precaution. I don't see why he had to though. I made sure every necessity was within the parameter of his 'cage'. Entry 64. I found out what he was up to. He's been plotting my downfall for one rather stupid reason, which he could have asked me for. a mate, or a lack of one therefore. I would love to comply, but I'd rather NOT risk a plague of homicidal offspring. He'll have to wait until I can control how they change. Unfortunately, since every single human being is different, so is his or her change. I can't fix it. Entry 67. I must remember to give Ryan electro shock torture for this insult. He found out the password for the desert sector was Nomad. He didn't try to kill me, which I thank him for, but he let a dung-beetle hybrid sneak up on me, and roll a giant ball of dung over top of me to insult me. It wasn't serious, but I had to make sure I completely destroyed the odor before I checked on the wolf-hybrids in the forest sector. I didn't want to be unpleasant to them. I bet Ryan's laughing his head off right now. I wish he really DID laugh his head off after this."
"So THAT'S what Ryan meant when that hybrid 'bowled his over'."
"Entry 70. Allesa is having troubles with the other cheetah hybrids. They want her as their mate, and she can't fend them off in her eighth month. She showed that she didn't completely forget me. She came to me before anyone else, including that elephant-hybrid called 'Big Joe'. From what I heard, he acts as a bouncer. Anyway, she found my measures drastic, but then again, that cheetah bugging her was riling up the water buffalo hybrids into stampeding. I lost fifteen subjects because of that, AND my sister was nearly killed. I swore to God he'd pay for that. My aim had not grown untrustworthy since the mass murder of that city in land. I believe it's used as a Zoid battleground now. Today is a day I take time to remember why I started this venture. Entry 78. My sister demands to see me about her child. It's a strange thing that her son is completely human. She demanded that I return him. I must make sure he's healthy. I told her I had to run tests. That's also true. I want him to live a normal life. She was agitated, and ready to pounce. I gave her reason not to. I told her indirectly who it was that made that city empty. I was expecting her to show me more respect. She instead tried to kill me, as if to avenge them. I had no choice but to kill her. . DAMN IT!!!! WHY COULDN'T I FIND A WAY TO RESTORE HER MIND SOONER???????????? It's my fault. I can only hope that this experiment can redeem my soul, and give me hope. if not act as penance for my sins. I pray her soul has gone to Heaven. She was guilty only of wishing to help her big brother try and redeem his blackened soul. Right now, I smell wet fur. Another hybrid wants to see me. I'll see how this turns out."
That last entry recapped the events before Brad confronted him. They had no idea he felt that way.
///////////////////////////
Forte: . Whoa. That is EASILY the longest chapter you ever wrote.
Beelzemon: Thank you.