I do not own the world of darkness setting.
I make no profit out of this.
It's among my first fanfic so I would enjoy a review, whether it's: "keep up the good work!", "Write a sequel!", "It could use some amelioration", "your grammar sucks" or "don't ever touch a keyboard again!"
That being said, enjoy.
This is the story of a werewolf who wakes up in a DNA lab after succumbing to frenzy.
Trapped
Aaron Peterson regained conscious. How long had it been since he fainted, he could barely remember what he had done in the course of his frenzy. As usual, there had been a red haze and a stupid urge to kill whatever moved near him.
He had already fainted after frenzy, after its first change, five years ago, when he wasn't use to it and three years ago, after putting up the fight of his life against five black spiral dancers.
But those where the only two times and frenzy was getting something common to him, the three street thugs that triggered this particular frenzy could hardly have hurt him enough to make him faint.
The important question right now wasn't so much how he got there but more: "Where the hell was he?"
He was floating in some sort of giant aquarium; a mask on his face allowed him to breath through a tube and shielded his eyes from the water.
His hands where bonded by large steel manacles, six inches tick! Whoever had locked him in there knew he could shift to Crinos form. The manacles where attached to the top of the container he was in and kept his hands apart in a crux like stance.
Strangely, he was covered in a thin plastic sheet, which left him dry even in this water thank, what were they hoping, that thing would burst as soon as he would shift to a larger form.
He couldn't help but noticed there where a few wire connected to him, two at his temples and one near his heart, whoever putted him in there cared about his life signs. All he could see beyond the glass cage was a computer console to which the wires where connected, the rest of the room was an aseptic white, like hospital rooms.
It was the least of his current worries, but he was naked in that goddamn aquarium. The clothes he had been wearing had been dedicated, so they would not tear to shreds when he shifted, it was obvious he had them back after his frenzy, so whoever putted him here took them off on purpose. On a side note, his fetish gun was gone too.
Well, he was in a glass aquarium bound by steel manacles, now the real trouble was how to get out.
Shouldn't be too hard, Aaron, Alley-Fang, for other Garou was born under a new moon, he was a ragabash and as such, he knew gift that made escaping from that kind of situation a breeze.
He focused on the manacles, there had to be a lock of some sort on these and so, the aptly named gift "open seal" would unlock them.
Nothing happened.
Ok, it doesn't always work on the first try, he had to pierce the gauntlet which seems to be tick around here; he would get it eventually.
After five minutes, he was still trapped.
If he couldn't pierce the gauntlet for a simple gift, stepping sideway was right out, especially without a mirror.
The water wasn't scaring him, he could hold his breath for a long time, but he felt like these might be reinforced glass, and these manacles probably wouldn't burst during the Crinos shift. Trying to claw his way out was risky at best.
Of course, as and homid fostern, he could use the "jam technology" gift on the mechanical systems, but that would likely jam the breathing device that kept him alive.
Well, whoever was behind all this wasn't working for the Wyrm, else he would be dead by now, and wanted him alive. Better wait and see what happens.
After a while, a door opened in the small room outside the aquarium and a young woman dressed in a white blouse came in. This was neither time nor place, but Alley-Fang couldn't help notice that she was very pretty, with curly brown-black hair and hazel eyes.
"Can you hear me?" the woman asked in a microphone in the computer console, the sound came right to Aaron's ear through headphones integrated in the breathing helmet.
-Uh…yeah, and you can hear me?
-Perfectly, I have some question to ask you.
-That's funny 'cause I was about to say the same thing.
-You are in no position to ask anything, cooperate and no harm will come to you.
-My, my, threats already, you could try to ask nicely you know.
-The only reason you are here and not on a dissection table his because I convinced my superiors that I could learn about your condition from interviewing you, if you prove me wrong, you might not live long. The woman was obviously making efforts to sound threatening, but she wasn't very convining.
-And of course I'm gonna be released with no harm done if I do cooperate with you…
-Well…
-Though so, so this is how it works, either I cooperate and get dissect later or I tell you to go to hell and get dissect right now, is that close enough to my situation?
-Quite close yes, I must admit you got little reason to talk to me if you put it this way.
-Since getting dissect for no good reason seems kind of dull, lets work out a deal. You ask something, I answer, then I ask something and you answer.
The girl looked at Alley-Fang in disbelief, but after a while she answered: "All right, let's play this little game of yours, but don't try lying; you're plugged on a lie detecting device so I will know."
-Ok…how do I know you're not lying?
-You don't, now if I may ask my first question.
-Go ahead.
-What are you?
-Seeing all those precaution you took, I though you had a clue, I'm a werewolf.
Ok, that was a veil breech and as such a violation of the litany, but this girl obviously knew something about his shape shifting nature, why takes so many precautions to keep him in this glass tank?
-Ok, I knew that much, although we refer to it as GLS.
-How did you come up with such a stupid name for a werewolf?
-I am going to assume that was your counter-question, GLS stands for Genetic Lycanthropic Syndrome, the name we gave to the sickness affecting you. Know tell me…
-Wait, you think being a werewolf his a sickness?
-It is, now answer my question, what do you remember before waking up here.
Great, mad scientist thinking a half-spirit creature is a genetic mishap and trying to "cure" it, could this get any worse?
This question gave Alley-Fang some time to rethink about the event that led to his frenzy. He had been walking in the slums alleys, looking around for some homeless people to bring back to the bone gnawer caern, as his tribe elders had asked.
He was sent alone because his packmates were recovering from grave injuries. No matter, Aaron Peterson was a street wise survivor long before he joined the bone gnawers, or gained the ability to become a nine foot tall killing machine.
He didn't find homeless people, but he ran into three street thugs who were harassing a young woman with clearly wrong intentions. The young werewolf took his glabro form and engaged the three guys in a fierce fist fight
His ability to regenerate damage and his enhanced strength and resilience made short workout of the first two, but the third one took out a gun and shoot him straight in the chest.
The wound didn't kill him, but the pain sent him into a berserk frenzy, next thing he knew, he was in this water filled cell.
-I remember getting shot in the chest by some asshole.
-And you decided to rend him and his friend to pieces?
-I'm the one who gets to ask now, but I'm a nice guy so I'll answer this one, I didn't decide anything, my rage took over and I went berserk, it unfortunately happens to the best…and the worst of my kind.
Alley-Fang noticed she was taking notes on a clipboard.
-Now for my question, where the hell am I?
-You are in a DNA lab, a scientist organisation dedicated to studying and eventually eradicating GLS
-And by eradicating I assume you mean finding a cure to the "werewolf sickness".
-Precisely. Now tell me, why were you in these Alleys?
"My friends sent me out to get some hopeless people and bring them back to our lair." could be misinterpreted in many ways, so alley-Fang answered: "Just taking a stroll"
-Your lying.
Those lie detectors weren't a "truth of gaïa" gift; he could fool it by remaining calm and acting as if he believed what he was saying himself.
-Ok, your right, I was out looking for food, but not humans, in case the though had crossed your mind.
-The though had crossed my mind.
-Well, now for my question, what's that aquarium you're holding me in?
-A holding tank especially meant to hold GLS infected people, its reinforced glass, titanium manacles and pressure sealed. The great thing about it remains the water.
-How so?
-Its saturated with silver powder, should there be so much as one small tear in the plastic envelop around you, you would feel like a human in an acid bath. So think twice before shifting.
That explained why piercing the gauntlet was impossible, he couldn't tap in his gnosis, he was bathing in silver (literally)!
-For my next question, how long have you been infected?
-Might as well tell you right now, I was not infected, I was born this way.
-Analysis shows that you are a GLS-1H; you were a normal human before manifesting the symptoms.
-GLS-1H, symptoms…wait, I get it, that's how you refer to Homid werewolves.
-Homid?
-Werewolves born in human form, we call them Homid.
-Ok… that hardly answers my question though.
-I had my first change about five years ago.
-First change? Is that how you refer to the first time you transformed?
-Yep, but now it's my turn…
A plan had formed in the ragabash's mind, that girl believed him to be a public danger, a sick person who needed to be helped, eliminated or studied, she probably wouldn't let him escape in that mindset. But he was in part human, and he wished no harm to that misled woman or the other scientist in this complex, if he could make her get that point, she might set him free.
-What's your name?
The scientist was…startled to say the least.
-What kind of question is that?
-Well, you asked me a bunch of personal questions, now I want to know your name, surely you have a name.
-If it's going to take that to make you cooperate, it's Sarah.
-That's a start, I'm Aaron, but other werewolves call me Alley-Fang.
-Other werewolves? There are more like you in this city?
-Yes, my turns, how old are you.
-What does that got to do with anything? She sounded exasperated.
-Just curious, you seem awfully young to be working on werewolf interrogation.
-I'm 22, now can I ask a question?
-You just did, it's my turn. How did you end up working here?
-No wait, it's my turn.
-now can I ask a question, that's a question, I answered, it's my turn.
-That's not fair! It was funny how she had suddenly lost her composure and was now sounding childish.
-Now, now, just answer my question and be careful what you say.
-My father works here and he introduced me to the boss, thinking my combination of animal care and psychology training could benefit DNA. Now tell me where the other werewolves are.
-How about no?
-Hey, you're supposed to answer my questions!
-But you asked none, you gave me orders
-All right (the game was getting on her nerves), can you tell me where the other werewolves are?
-No! He answered in a sneering tone.
-Guest you're not a man of your words.
-Yes I am, I answered your question. I can't tell you because you would then go and hunt them down, put them in glass prisons and interrogate or dissect them. I wish that to no one. On a side note, it's nice you referred to me as a man.
-Don't make a habit out of it. The frustration in her voice was palpable; she was getting bored of being outwitted by a test subject.
-Fine, fine, ask me another question, I'm running short on ideas anyway.
-The claw marks on the corpses suggested you used the wolf-man form. Yet after snipping you down, the hunting team found you with clothes on, how is that possible?
He could lose her on this one…
-Well...you don't believe in magic do you?
-Of course not!
It would have been too good to be true.
-Well I'm afraid I have no logical explanation to the phenomena for someone who does not believe in magic.
-Then I'll ask another one, why are you carrying a weapon that's lethal to yourself?
-Your probably referring to my gun's silver clip.
-Precisely.
-Well, I don't know what you managed to dig out about us, but we are a race at war.
-I don't like the fact that you insist on referring to your fellows as a race, but go on.
-There are two kinds of werewolves, the Gaïan, those who try to control their rages and protect humanity.
-How does rending people to pieces help humans?
-Like I said, we try to control ourselves, but some things, like being locked in a bath of silver, can get on our nerves.
The girl was trying to keep a cold stare, but she was obviously nervous.
-The other faction are those werewolf who deserve the title of monsters, those who loose themselves to the darkest impulse known to man or wolf, we call them the black spiral dancers.
-And you said GLS was a stupid name.
-Well, I could explain you why their called that way but…
-But what?
-You don't believe in magic…
Aaron could swear he saw a smile on Sarah's face seconds before an alarm rang, now what?
-That's only the beginning folks, if I don't receive highly negative reviews, I'll write chapter two, which will involve less talking and more fighting.-
JP0305
