Chapter 7: Birth
STATUS: Taking Form
TIME REMAINING: approx. ½ days
Donovan looked at it and turned away. He stepped into a cold room where the temperature was barely above 0 degrees Celsius. He pulled the lid of a safe, which looked more like a black fridge, and reached for a test tube containing reddish-orange liquid. Though it was placed in the cold room for a long time, it remained boiled. Wearing plastic gloves to insulate him against the heat, he carried it with him and headed towards Megido's cylinder. He took hold of the edge of its massive lid and lifted it slightly to allow the solution from the test tube to carry its course into the green liquid in which Megido is submerged in. the solution dissolved slowly and the liquid in the cylinder glowed orange and crimson instead of the usual yellowish-green. Again, Donovan grinned devilishly. That superheated solution was none other than one of his crazy inventions. He gazed up at the creature's face.
Some of his underlings had noticed and informed him that its head did not look one least bit like a crocodile's, its horn at the rear of its head did not look like a goat's. Donovan was not surprised, though. He knew exactly what he had done, he had lied to the reporters who interviewed him. Not even his underdogs knew the exact constituents that made up the complete form of Megido. Long before he began his work on his creation, he had assigned Christie on a mission via e-mail after the 3rd tournament, along with a bodyguard and a scientist to help her along the way, to two places, the long-forgotten cities of Tairon and Dworku. Her objective was simple, she was to extract DNA samples of the red dinosaur-look-alike monstrosities that Rachel the Fiend Hunter and even Ryu Hayabusa the legendary ninja himself had slain 2 years ago. Donovan had intended them at first to travel to the caverns leading to the depths of the Palace of Zarkhan but recently, some miners have accidentally detonated a bomb there and resulted in a cave in. the carcass of the fire dragon which Donovan had targeted was buried under the massive rubble forever. He also wanted the dragon's firepower but since he had the red solution and Omega's magical hands, the problem was solved.
Donovan checked its status one last time, took a quick glance at the monster, and left the laboratory.
Hayate woke at seven and left his room. Upon looking a distance in front of his room, he saw Ayane, along with 2 other ninjas, sitting and chatting among each other. Ayane turned to face her brother, so did the rest. He gaped in disbelief.
"Morning, Hayate. How's the night? Sleep well? Telling from your expression, you don't look quite well."
"Ayane, have you let strangers in?"
She shot him a dirty look, "I presume that was an insult, Hayate. You know well never to aggravate me in the morning, right?"
Then tell me, who the heck are they?"
"These are two of the best ninjas in our clan." Ayane's eyes narrowed even more.
"I've heard you're the new leader of the clan after Genra, Hayate. My name is Etsudo Matsudaira." The taller man stood up and bowed deeply.
"And I'm Kimura Suigetsuro. Pleased to meet you." The stocky ninja did the same. Hayate bowed back and soon, Ryu, followed by Kasumi, joined in. they sat down and Ayane began to take her speech, "Etsudo, what was it that you wanted to say? Now that they're here, you can now share it with us."
Etsudo cleared his throat and started, "Two days ago at 12 midnight, I spied Donovan and listened to what he called a 'private meeting'. And it seemed that both of you, Ayane and Hayabusa, are in danger." Ayane and Ryu looked at each other but kept silent to allow him to continue, "He is sending a white-haired woman named Christie to join a tournament which I guess all of you are participating in. It seems Donovan intends to capture both of you on order to contribute in his clone-making madness. But Christie may not be able to take action unless you lose, to take advantage of your condition, that is. So I suggest you plan on your tag teams and be on your guard. And no matter what, you must not lose."
Hayate mulled over this new piece of information and an idea was brewing in his mind, "Okay, everyone. Here's the plan..."
Back in Donovan's lab, the scientists were once again back to work. Two scientists assigned to study Megido checked on everything making sure it was ready to compete in the tournament.
"Something seems strange here. This is not its usual pattern; it's beginning to make a change. The DNA structure... is showing some kind of ... mutation?" one said to the other.
"Oh no, I think you're right. It's really starting to evolve. Look! Those hands have turned to eagles' claws. That's one evidence. We'd better not tell Donovan, he wouldn't be pleased to hear about this." His partner looked surprised and what he said but tried his best not to panic and keep his composure. He agreed to keep it from their master. Before they could say anything else, their eyes were set on the status monitor screen where they caught sight of something moving. The words shown were flashing repeatedly.
STATUS: Completed
TIME REMAINING: 0, 00 seconds
The duo watched fearfully as Megido's hands twitched and its eyes showing colour. They marveled in sheer awe as the red solution was absorbed into its body, what was left in the cylinder was the yellowish-green liquid. Its body pigment changed too, from dull green scales to crimson. Its eyes glowed a blinding yellow before slamming its palm on the glass cylinder, forming a crack. The scientists snapped out of their dreamy gaze and rushed to push a button to drain the liquid. When it was partially down to Megido's chest, it knocked its fist to the glass, causing the crack to widen more. By the time the water level reached its waist it gave its final blow which broke the glass into numerous pieces. The remaining liquid gushed out and splashed violently onto the floor. The scientists at work backed off as they witnessed what was going on. The creature took in the first breath of air and hopped out of its platform and landed on the floor softly, its body drenched. It shivered and vibrated before spreading its broad wings, releasing more drops of water from its wet body. Megido surveyed its birthplace, the secret underground laboratory of the anti-Douglas faction in DOATEC. After giving the room a thorough scan, it gave a high-pitched roar which made the workers' hairs stand on end. Tomb-like silence filled the air. They cowered as they beheld the sight of the beast.
"Bravo, bravo." A voice broke the silence. It was Donovan, leaning his side against the doorway with arms and legs crossed in a bossy manner, "Such strength. He's even broke the toughest glassware DOATEC's technology has ever manufactured." He had watched everything from behind the scenes. Megido swiftly jerked his head at Donovan's direction aggressively and gave him a low growl. Donovan sauntered in and stood before Megido without further ado.
"I have injected my own cells into its body, so it should recognize me by now." Donovan stretched out his hand to Megido and commanded in a low voice, "You shall obey me for I have created you." The monster rested its eyes on Donovan for a moment, then lowered its head and knelt on one knee before him, signaling its obedience. True enough, Megido saw Donovan as nothing but its brother and creator, for they shared the same blood now. Donovan was bursting in pride at the sight of this, then announced to his employees, "My men, I, Victor Donovan, am truly gratified to say that this project has been named... a success." The workers gazed at both their employer and the result of the project specimen, and one by one, they smiled in a self-satisfying way. The room was filled with applause for a few seconds, then the scientists shook hands with each and every other colleagues.
"Celebration's over. Megido, time for your first training." Donovan beckoned it to follow him.
"Yes, master." Megido growled.