Mission 29 - Theory
Obsidian and Jade sat down in a quaint restaurant. Both casually placed their orders and began to idly chat.
"So Rocky..." Jade said coyly, "How's the hospital? Is dad working you too hard?"
Obsidian shrugged, "No, I'm just doing rounds, not much happening for me to worry about."
Jade grinned, "Good good, I wouldn't want my dear brother to be all tense."
Another shrug from the tall lupine, "How was your day at the agency."
Jades grin morphed into a smirk, "You know that criminal we've been after?" Obsidian raised an eyebrow. Jade cocked her hand into a gun shape, "Bang." She said casually, cocking the faux gun back and blew pretend smoke from her finger.
Obsidian merely rolled his eyes. "Simple minds simple pleasures..."
Jade frowned, "What's that supposed to mean?"
The waiter dropped off their orders. Jade had pink salmon; Obsidian had a twelve ounce steak. The waiter left Jade and shot her brother an annoyed look.
"Oh simply that the only reason you do your job is for pleasure." Obsidian took in a mouthful of t-bone.
"Shouldn't one enjoy their job?" she asked dejectedly.
Obsidian laughed, "Jade, sometimes I think you'd knock off an old granny just for kicks."
Jade grinned coyly, "You're just jealous 'cause I'm so much better than you..."
Obsidian glared, picking up the challenge, "Oh really?"
"Yes, we both know dad made me better after all." Her taunting eyes burned into Obsidian's eyes.
The black lupine snarled, "Perhaps we'd like to see who's better?" the plate under the steak cracked from the force Obsidian applied to his knife.
Jade grinned and flicked her tail against her brother's thigh; "Sure," she knew exactly how to get under his skin, "You should be about as fun as any old granny."
Suddenly a foreign voce entered the scene, "Uncle Rocky?"
Obsidian was no longer with his sister; he looked across the table at his nephew. No longer at Obsidian's and his sister's favorite restaurant, but their drab office at the agency.
Damon asked again, "Uncle Obsidian?"
Obsidian stared at the concerned look on his nephew's face, "What's up?"
Damon pointed a pencil at him, "That's what I want to ask you." Damon waved his arms dramatically in the air, "You're off in La-La Land."
Obsidian let out a sorrowful sigh, "I'm sorry..."
Damon got up and walked to the other side of the table, laying his hand on his uncle's firm shoulder, "What's wrong?"
Obsidian stared at his nephew, and then the vision of the restaurant came back again. He saw Jade's smiling face, heard her playful voice. He couldn't stand it anymore, tears began to form in his eyes, but he tried his best to hold them back. Gritting his teeth and clenching his eyes he howled through his teeth. Damon closed and locked the door; soundproofing their room, then he closed the blinds in the window and shut off the lights. The room was only illuminated by the screens of their computer monitors. Damon hugged his uncle, nuzzling into his neck.
"Jade..." Obsidian gasped out. He clenched his eyes shut, trying to hold onto the memory, as if he'd forget her face any second.
Damon whimpered in pity for his uncle, the hybrid himself knew what it was like to lose a loved one. Even more so to lose on of the few loved ones you really had. Damon thought back to the execution of Wolf. He felt destroyed that day, like he was alone in the world. It must have been the same for Obsidian when he woke in the hospital and heard Jade died. Damon remembered cradling him in the hallway, and then in his room, for hours.
"At least you still have me." Damon whispered quietly, "I'll never leave you."
Obsidian continued to hold back his tears, but he clenched onto Damon. "Damon..." he sobbed sadly.
"I'm sorry I can't do more for you." Damon kissed his uncle on the cheek.
The office phone rang; Damon scowled at it, such an interruption made him angry. After a few rings it stopped, then started over again. Damon angrily ripped the phone out of the wall. He walked back to Obsidian, before Damon could embrace the emotional wolf again his cell phone rang. He picked it up and turned it off, he didn't care who it was, and right now his uncle needed him. A few more moments of quiet passed, and then Obsidian's phone rang. Damon looked sadly at his uncle, but the wolf quickly regained his composure and answered it.
"Hello?" the wolf asked without a hint of emotion. Then he sighed, and showed signs of breakdown again, he smiled weakly, "Hello Father."
Damon looked down, he hadn't even checked to see who it was. Obsidian patted his shoulder, letting him know it was alright. Their conversation ended quickly, and Doctor Zenotabi obviously never asked what the matter was because Damon caught no signals from his uncle denoting such an event. Damon looked at Obsidian, "What did he want?"
"We're going to the labs; Dad says we can talk there." Obsidian said solemnly.
Damon followed his uncle out of the elevator into the lobby. He looked around nervously, but Obsidian didn't seem to notice. Damon locked eyes with someone, he gulped loudly. Damon called to his uncle, "Can you go ahead without me, there's something I need to do. I'll walk home..." Before Obsidian had time to respond Damon had disappeared. The tall black lupine shrugged and walked outside.
Damon walked over to a tall tiger, perhaps a hair shorter than Obsidian. His muscle almost threatened to tear the suave business suit he wore. His tie matched his fur pattern, orange with black stripes. The man flashed his sharp teeth as he leaned close to Damon, "We weren't trying to sneak out were we?"
"No..." Damon said, trying not to shake from intimidation, "Obsidian got an important call and I was going with him."
"Don't give me that, you've been sloppy with MY paperwork," The tiger growled in a soft whisper, "Keep it up and I'll blow your secret."
Damon looked down at his feet; he felt as if he were that small scrawny pup in military school, "I'm sorry Chad."
Chad put his arm around Damon, "Don't worry; I left you plenty to do today."
Damon looked back towards the door, wishing there was some way to get away. He let out a soft whine.
"Tell your uncle about this and I'll make you wish you'd never been born. Not to mention letting everyone know what a pussy you are." Chad kneed Damon in the crotch while no one was looking, causing Damon to buck from surprise rather than the natural male reaction.
Damon sulked into the office, hoping he could simply go home soon. He hated this, ever since Chad found out his secret he'd threatened to blow it to the entire office if Damon didn't do what he asked. Damon had heard enough people making fun of him; he just wanted to be left alone. He picked up the stack of papers and began to sift through them, filling out things as he went. He thought of home, and how much he wanted to be there. He wished he could do something, but he felt foolish asking his uncle, yet he knew he couldn't handle it on his own. So he continued to follow the tiger's whim until a better option presented itself.
Obsidian walked through the research facility which he was once so familiar with, until he moved to live with Sirus and Damon. He had to admit that he was increasingly distant from his true father, his creator, Dr. Zenotabi. It was of norm of a young man of his age to be independent. But then again, of norm would not apply to Obsidian. He was special.
The wolf knocked the indestructible alloy door of his father's top-secret laboratory. A few moments later, the immense slab of metal slid aside, and Obsidian strode inside, trying to act as casually as he could. He was guilty for drawing away from his father, but the rat doctor didn't seem to mind when he proposed his idea. After all, it was part of Admiral Pepper's plan as well.
"Father . . . I" He began, but the rat merely stood there and smiled at him, dressed in pure white laboratory clothing. He almost seemed divine, despite the clear signs of aging. For once in Obsidian's life, he realized that his father was getting old. "I am sorry for. . ."
The rodent simple chuckled, and shook his head lightly, "Always my little boy. Don't worry about apologizing. You are getting too old for that now. As long as you know what you should do and do them, I'll be happy. With that said, I have something to show you."
"Well, yes father." Obsidian approached the doctor in a cautious manner. With his anxiety settled, the wolf began to notice a project which his father was working on. Next to the rodent was a hovering laboratory bench, with many life-supporting machines attached to its side. A thin green sheet of fabric covered the entire bench, obscuring everything beneath. However, Obsidian could easily tell the body of a reptilian person lay beneath the sheets.
Zenotabi smiled, and drew back the top part of the thin fabric, revealing the upper body of the subject beneath. It was a body of a rather young and handsome reptilian male. However, Obsidian couldn't help but let out a gasp at what he saw. He had seen this man before. The lizard was one of the Cornerian pilots that died during the horrible assault committed by Leon five years ago, using the infamous cerebral impulse interceptors. "How . . .?"
"I've been engaging myself in a new research project." Zenotabi answered briefly as he fixed the thin blanket on top of the lizard's body. "He is basic bodily functions are normal. But his mind is empty."
"So he is brain dead?" Obsidian asked, touching the lizard's neck, feeling the blood pulsing through the reptile's veins. He still wondered how his father turned a dead body back to life, but he knew his questions would not remain unanswered.
"All his brain cells are alive and normal" Zenotabi replied, "So he isn't technically brain dead."
"So how did you do it?" Obsidian opened one of the reptile's closed eyelids and watched the pupil contract due to the sudden flood of light. "I mean, wasn't this guy dead five years ago?"
"Yes." Zenotabi answered, "This is basically a clone of that man we examined five years ago. Using some recent technology I managed to speed up his growth to match his condition five years ago, before his death."
"Well, I am sure there's more to that." Obsidian said in an almost disappointed tone. "Cloning and accelerated growth isn't that big of a breakthrough, is it?"
"No, but he is not technically a clone in a politically correct term. He is a "shell", a body without a mind." Zenotabi explained.
"Okay, a brain-dead clone." Obsidian translated with a grin.
"Well, not exactly." The rat continued, "I made some modifications to Leon's cerebral impulse interceptors and attached them to his brain at the fetal stage. All of his brain cells are normal and living, so he is not brain-dead. If I had to, I can tell this guy to walk and talk and do everything just like Leon did with his victims."
"I don't see how . . ." Obsidian began, but he didn't want to offend his father. All his father had done was creating a mindless, living shell that was under his total command. The only difference between his father and Leon was the fact that Leon captured his subjects against their will, while his father created his subject in his own will.
"Well, that's just the basic part of my project." Zenotabi said with a smile, "I could start making an army of mindless clones and take over the entire Lylat system if I want to. But of course, I am not going to do that."
Obsidian smiled. For an instant he thought his father had turned against Corneria, just like Andross. "So what are you going to do with him?"
"I am trying to revive his old mind, the mind that died five years ago." Zenotabi stated. "The brain cells in this "shell" are pretty much the same as the old one, and theoretically they function the same way. But of course, I don't think the mind is as simple as a bunch of brain cells interacting with each other."
"Strange, what are they then?" Obsidian asked, halfheartedly interested in his father's idea. "What is the mind?"
"Well, physically, the mind is a bunch of electrical impulses and interaction between the brain cells. But I think there is a more metaphysical part to that, and I have proof." Zenotabi said, "In some religions, they call it the soul, or the spirit."
"Getting religious now, are we?" Obsidian chucked at the absurdity of his father's theory.
"It's not funny Rocky." Zenotabi said in a stern tone, "Need I remind you of the Krazoa Spirits and Andross?"
Obsidian was stunned. It was true. Spirits existed. But what has it got to do with Andross?
"The Krazoa Spirits are creatures like us, except they are almost metaphysical. The only thing that is physical about them is that we can see them, and they are restrained by time. Otherwise, they can pass through solid matter, defying all other laws of physics." Zenotabi continued, "The reason I brought up Andross is because he was revived. He died, and then he lived again. I am certain that the six Krazoa Spirits did something to revive Andross' old mind when they were forced to channel their power through the crystal."
"So you think it is possible to revive the mind after its dead?" Obsidian asked, "How do you think the Krazoa did it?"
"Unfortunately, Andross also died shortly after he was revived, so finding out how the Krazoa will need further investigation." Zenotabi said with a faint smile, "If by the slightest chance that I discover the way to bring back minds of dead people . . ."
"You can bring back Jade." Obsidian said, completely enlightened. A moment ago he could barely comprehend the logic within his father's words. Now those words became the unveiling of the greatest discovery of the Lylat System. No, it was the greatest unveiling of the greatest discovery in the entire Universe.
"Wish me luck son." The rat patted the wolf on the shoulder, while eyeing the mindless body which lay before them. "I'll need it."
