Year: 771

A little more than 3 years after the Cell Game

Following the plan

A few hours had just passed.

When 17 returned to the boat at the first light of dawn, he was surprised to be greeted by Ruri, who had woken up earlier than usual. She was sitting on cushions and had brought a blanket and hot coffee with her: obviously she had gotten up very early and had been waiting for him for a long time.

Without a word, she approached him and asked him if he had had a good evening. Then, when he had answered her "Yes", without more explanations, she had smiled to him and had asked him to follow her, saying loudly "Well when Mr. 17 will have finished having fun, he will perhaps agree to continue the expedition!"

She hadn't asked him anything about what he had done, or why he was away. They had spent their morning analyzing the characteristics of the next monster they would have to study, as if nothing had happened.

This future dive was going to be very different from the previous ones, and for the first time it was going to be necessary to venture into great depths. 17 was not particularly apprehensive about this idea as far as he was concerned, he had already tested his resistance to high pressure in the very first days of their journey on the ocean. But he knew that for a normal human being, the danger was real. They had to make sure their equipment was effective and that they would know how to use it at the right time. So he had let Ruri lock herself up in her laboratory to do some tests, while he took over the controls of the boat to go further north, towards the last known location of the beacon n°4.

It was only after a few hours that Ruri finally joined him. After sitting next to him, she stretched and exclaimed:

- GOOD! Well, I think I'm done. Normally, everything works! I don't regret having invested such a budget. It's really top of the line. It changes me from my old equipment. But at least my chances of coming back to the surface alive are considerably increased.

- Cool.

- Your enthusiasm about my survival is comforting 17.

- Can you remind me how deep we will have to go ?

- Between 1000 and 4000 meters.

- And you're really sure it's that dangerous? I mean, a jellyfish?

- Not just a jellyfish.

- Yes, I know, a giant jellyfish. But still...

- It is not only giant, its venom is of great toxicity. But before talking about the dangers of this animal, you should also be careful of everything around. The bathypelagic fauna is not only composed of nice and harmless fish. Food is scarce in the abyssal zones, there will be a lot of other animals ready to devour us. And don't forget that it is absolutely dark down there. And also that I might die because of the water pressure. Tons and tons of freezing water ready to crush every single bone in my body if my suit ever had a single tiny leak.

- A real walk in the park, except for a human, 17 answered with a wink.

- Very funny.

A short silence followed during which 17 and Ruri exchanged amused glances, before the young woman resumed the conversation:

- Oh, by the way, while I was testing the equipment, I was listening to the radio.

- And?

- You won't believe it, a dolphinarium was attacked last night.

17 then turned to Ruri.

She looked at him with a huge smile. Everything in her eyes indicated that she knew it was him, but that she preferred to pretend she didn't know. It looked like a game, which 17 was also playing.

Trying to appear as innocent as possible, he replied:

- Really?

- Yeah. It's crazy, right? And we talked about this yesterday, it's insane. And you know what's even crazier?

- No.

- The surveillance cameras could not see anything. The police is freaking out since this morning. They can see objects moving, but no one appears on the images. It's as if the attacker was so fast that the cameras couldn't follow him.

- Unbelievable.

- Clearly. He managed to free all the animals in the ocean, and we're talking about some very, very large animals. Probably a tough guy, don't you think?

- I think he must be awesome, in fact.

- Haha yes, at least ! The owners of the dolphinarium are furious. All their animals have evaporated in one night.

Upon hearing this, however, 17 could not help but become serious again.

- Do you think they survived? You said yesterday that animals that were not born free might not survive in the wild.

Ruri stopped laughing and looked at him. Although his gaze was once again fixed straight ahead, she could read a real concern in it. 17 cherished freedom more than anything else and probably didn't regret his choice: he had wanted to save them from the suffering of captivity, knowingly, but he was sincerely concerned about the fate of these animals.

She casually put her feet up on the dashboard, and replied softly:

- I wouldn't worry too much about them if I were you. News travels fast in the animal defenders network. Maybe it's possible that by pure chance, Iris was warned, and that she spoke about it. And maybe it is also possible that since that night, many scientists have already found the animals. It is even also possible that they are watching them from afar to make sure that everything is fine. I don't know, of course. But it is possible.

17 did not take his eyes off the horizon, but smiled in turn.

So that's why Ruri had gotten up so early. She complemented him, understood him, and acted accordingly.

"You're really amazing, little human," he thought as their boat continued on its way, towards ever more isolated and inhospitable waters.

After several days of searching, they finally determined a perimeter in which the beacon should be located. Indeed, the beacon was too deep to be picked up by Ruri's instruments.

It took them several more days to get close enough, but they were able to determine its exact position, at a depth of more than 3000 meters. To 17's delight, they were finally able to use the submersible to reach it, as the journey was too long for Ruri to make without exhausting herself.

After hours of sailing, they reached the edge of a cliff that seemed to sink into the center of the Earth, and, following Ruri's radar, began a near-vertical descent. The further they went, the darker the water around them became, until soon not a single light could be seen. Their submarine continued its way in a heavy silence. Finally, an alarm went off, indicating the proximity of a surface on which they could land.

A landing, as there were many in the depths, made of rocks and sand.

- We must not be far now, Ruri remarked.

- Are you sure the giant jellyfish is around?

- The jellyfish is the pelagic form of cnidarians. It is impossible to freeze the location of such an animal. The beacon was probably placed where there are polyps.

- This may be the first time I've fully understood one of your scientific sentences.

An expression of incredible pride flooded 17's face.

- You're a very good student for a man, I must admit, Ruri replied as she stood up to put on her suit.

- Is that half a compliment?

- Sort of. So, from now on, the real work begins. Are you ready?

- Absolutely.

- Great. Let's go!

As soon as they left the safety of the submersible, they both stopped talking. They had had plenty of time to prepare all aspects of this dive in such a hostile environment. For although the depth and temperature had no effect on 17, he was nevertheless deprived of another of his senses: sight. No light reached this place. The cameras he had were of no use to him, he was just as blind as Ruri. So they had agreed to move close to each other. Underneath him, Ruri held on tightly to the arm that 17 had placed on her hips, using the other one to move and try to sense any possible threat that might arise from below.

After advancing a few meters, Ruri grabbed several miniature capsules she had carried in her belt and scattered them on the ground. The activation mechanism clicked and the capsules lit up, flooding the rocky surface with a faint whitish glow.

- From now on, be extra vigilant 17. The light attracts creatures from the deep. We will be spotted very quickly.

- I know. Don't worry about it. Do what you have to do, I'll take care of the rest.

The young woman nodded, and began to search the area as quickly as possible, without worrying about 17, who did not leave her for a second. It took Ruri only a few minutes to find what she was looking for, but this time was enough for a gigantic green-eyed shark to appear. It appeared almost out of nowhere, leaving 17 only a few thousandths of a second to react. With a gesture, he deflected its trajectory and pushed it further away, without however hurting the animal.

The shark continued to circle around them, but he did not insist for long and eventually moved away.

- A sixgill shark, Ruri explained as she resumed the digging. Big, but not dangerous. It shouldn't come back. Here, come and see, I found the beacon.

Indeed, the device was well there, hung on the rocky ground and lost in the middle of a carpet of strange almost transparent plants.

- These are polyps, right? asked 17, looking at them.

- Absolutely!

- They look like the picture in your book.

- All polyps look a bit alike indeed.

- And so, huge jellyfish can be born from such small things?

- Yes often jellyfish are born by strobilation. But it is a little more complicated for this species. The big abyssal species are often viviparous, although for this one I am not sure.

- Ah.

- You haven't read the chapter on reproductive modes yet, have you?

- No.

- I'll explain later but yes, that's basically it.

- So if jellyfish are born from polyps ...

- Now we just have to go straight up and we should find them.

And so they did. 17 took Ruri in his arms again, close to him, and both of them started to take the way to the surface by positioning themselves at the vertical of the beacon.

They had collected their lights, Ruri keeping only one in her hand to ensure a minimum of light around and above them. They passed several fish and creatures along the way, most of them blind, which 17 had no difficulty to push away.

But one specimen more singular than the others caught his attention. Covered with spikes, this fish of about twenty centimeters sported a long appendage on the front.

- Did you see that thing? he asked Ruri, pointing to the animal.

- It's an anglerfish. It's ugly, you have the right to say so.

- Let's just say... yes. It's ugly. I don't know how else to put it.

- She's going to get offended, beware.

- How do you know it's a female?

- The male anglerfish are very small, only a few centimeters. The funny thing is that in fact when he mates with the female, he ends up merging with her. Their bodies become one.

- WHAT ?

- Look closer on the back of the female, we see the little male there!

17 squinted and watched more carefully, before distinguishing another tiny fish whose body looked almost dissolved in that of the larger one. He shuddered with disgust, which did not escape Ruri. The young woman spoke again, teasing:

- I can feel your male pride taking a little hit, am I right?

- Not at all! But why? What is the purpose? It is stupid!

- No, it makes sense. If you think about it the males really only have one real interest. The female anglerfish keeps it with her so she can directly take the only really useful thing you have to offer.

- What is it?

- Don't you have a little idea? Why do animals mate?

- To reproduce!

As he said this last word, 17's face froze. He seemed to suddenly realize something very important. Guessing what his thoughts might be, Ruri turned to face him.

- And suddenly the cyborg remembered how humans reproduce. And he's thinking that it's stupid to remember that AFTER having sex with me. Am I right?

17's silence and wide eyes of amazement were more clear than any sentence he could have uttered. Ruri laughed, large air bubbles escaping from her mask, before she continued:

- Relax, tin can. Good thing there's a brain in this duo. I take the pill, dummy. Iit's useful when you're diving.

- The what?

- I can't believe it! You have a twin sister who's going to have a baby ! Don't worry, that means I can't get pregnant. As long as I take it, everything is fine.

- I don't understand it all but can we still have sex?

- What? Uh, yes, that's it.

- Good.

17 tightened at once his embrace on Ruri, He seemed to have recovered his spirits. In his eyes there was a glimmer of desire, which almost made her faint when he touched her. Suddenly, the reality invited itself in their dive. She realized that his body, this body of man so solid, was very close to hers. She could feel the strength of 17's hands on her hips again.

"Oh my god, cyborg, it is really not the moment for that" she thought without managing to chase from her thoughts the memory of his kisses and his caresses. She wanted him. And 17 read it with delight in his eyes.

- You will die if I take away this combination, right ? he asked her by touching with the end of fingers the contours of this clothing which married to the perfection the curves of the body of Ruri.

- Yes, she answered in a breath.

- Too bad... I guess we have to postpone.

- That would be more reasonable, indeed.

Punctuating his answer with a wink, 17 then resumed his ascent:

- Let's finish this quickly, human!

- Yes. Let's do that.

Ruri's voice was calmer, though still slightly troubled. Fortunately for her, she soon had something else to think about. The lamp she had brought with her formed a light bubble around them just big enough for them to see what was a few centimeters away. 17, despite his joke, was not moving fast at all. On the contrary. In this absolute darkness and because of the nature of the animal they were tracking, it was impossible to hurry, at the risk of putting Ruri in a very dangerous situation.

When he saw a very thin white filament on his way, he stopped dead in his tracks.

- There, straight ahead, he whispered at once to Ruri.

- Well seen, she answered him.

17 understood from her serious tone that the danger was now maximum.

Stygiomedusa Hypnosa.

A very rare variant of another species of giant deep sea jellyfish. Rarer, but also much more dangerous than its counterpart. Ruri had explained to him the exact nature of the abilities of this very special kind of sea monster.

Where the "classic" stygiomedusa only had 4 long thick arms that could easily be avoided by a human, this subspecies differed by its larger size, but especially by the extreme danger of its hunting tactics. It had indeed countless very fine tentacles which it let drift with the current and whose length (at least 15 meters) allowed it to cover a very wide perimeter. These filaments were harmless, but they were used by the jellyfish to detect its preys. Very sensitive to movements, they had the capacity to wrap themselves around any animal which would have the misfortune to touch them, to bring them back, in the manner of a fishing line, towards the 4 arms of the monster. And it was then that the most formidable weapon of the giant jellyfish came into action: its arms were punctuated with innumerable poisoned stings.

The venom of the stygiomedusa hypnosa was not deadly. It was worse: it plunged its victims into an immediate and especially irreversible torpor. Hence its name, in reference to the God of sleep.

The members of the second expedition had been surprised by the trap of tentacles of the monster, and one of them had not been able to escape the fatal sting. If his companions had succeeded in freeing him, he had never woken up, and had lived for many years in a coma. As for the last expedition, prudently, they were satisfied to study the polyps without trying to meet the jellyfish.

Ruri had every intention of just see the smaller models, but she was very anxious. She knew from previous experiences that her suit was not strong enough to protect her from stingers. The presence of 17 near her was of course a precious asset, but it did not completely reassure her.

- It is the moment to make the test, she said to him while 17 operated a light movement of retreat to see better his target. After that, we'll have to go fast.

- Okay.

Following the plan they had made together, 17 activated a capsule containing the corpse of a fish they had caught in preparation. Then everything went very quickly. He threw his bait directly onto the filament. In a fraction of a second, the filament wrapped itself around the body of the fish and pulled it to the right at full speed. Activating his barrier to protect Ruri from other tentacles that might be around, 17 threw a ball of energy to propel himself and follow the fish. Thus, they located the jellyfish without any problem.

It was indeed gigantic, the diameter of its parasol being at least 5 meters. Of a very dark gray, it would be impossible to see without the help of a light source. It moved very slowly, with short spasms, without emitting any sound.

Inexorably, the lifeless body of the fish was directed towards her.

Ruri started to take pictures of the slow digestion of the fish and then she approached the articulated arms of the monster to study them. On her side, 17 watched in silence.

It was only then that he understood how terrifying this animal could be.

No fangs or claws.

No screaming.

No.

It was a real ghost, an imperceptible being. But capable of killing almost instantly.

A silent death. Unpredictable. Relentless.

- Fascinating... he murmured.

Ruri had said that the stings of the jellyfish were capable of piercing the strongest of suits? But he was more resistant than that. A very toxic venom. But how much toxic?

Innumerable questions invaded his mind. An insatiable curiosity.

He didn't want to be a mere spectator of Ruri's research anymore, he too suddenly had theories that he wanted to test the veracity of. Glancing at the young woman, he saw her as he liked her to be: concentrated, serious, scientific. Confident, facing her fear because more than anything she wanted to have answers to her questions.

"I have an idea, and I know you're not going to like it at all..." he said to himself suddenly, and the thought amused him greatly.

He had tried very hard to completely erase who he had been in the past, immature, inconsistent, and acting without thinking. But now he felt a great excitement at the thought of trying something. "Just like before". That thrill of danger, of battle. And despite his best efforts, he couldn't suppress the urge.

"Come on, just this once..."

And suddenly, he deactivated his barrier to advance his left hand directly towards one of the poisonous arms of the jellyfish, which immediately closed on him.

- WHAT ARE YOU DOING? cried Ruri, horrified.

- Don't move. I'll handle it.

- HOW WILL YOU DO THAT ?

- Wait a minute. Wait a minute... Here it is! I got it !

17 withdrew his arm, in which a single stinger had been sticked. It was the only one that had managed to slightly nick his skin, all the others having shattered on contact.

- Are you done, Ruri? asked 17 to the young woman who, still in shock, could only stammer out a "yes" in which anger and surprise could not be separated.

- Okay. Let's get out of here then.

Reactivating his barrier, 17 was able to use an energy wave again to come down as quickly as he could, returning in a few minutes to where they had left their submersible. Knowing that his speed was greater than that of the craft, he decided to stow it in his capsule and swim back to the ship.

During the whole journey, Ruri did not say a word, but he felt her agitated in his arms. She was mad with rage, he was sure, and he expected her to explode with anger every second. But she didn't, and he was almost a little disappointed.

However, no sooner had they reached the deck of the boat than Ruri grabbed him by his right arm and dragged him towards her laboratory.

- Get over here immediately, cyborg!

17 smiled, amused to see himself being ordered around by this human who didn't care at all that she had no way of making him obey. But he agreed to do as she asked. After all, Ruri's reaction was quite logical considering what he had just done.

The young woman pointed to an examination bed and he lay down on it, holding out his hand on which the stinger of the jellyfish was still stuck. With the help of a pair of forceps, she removed it and carefully examined 17's skin, who remained silent.

- It looks like the jellyfish didn't manage to sting you completely. Your skin looks too tough to have been pierced.

- Cool.

- We cannot be sure that venom didn't enter your body. Hold on, I'll try to check.

She rummaged in a drawer and took out a kind of camera connected to a screen which she put down and slid along 17's arm. She did this for a few minutes before speaking again.

- I don't have the equipment to examine you properly. And I'm pretty sure you got some venom anyway...

- What is this thing?

- This is an ultrasound machine. I can't see inside your body with it, but it allows me to distinguish shapes. And here I see points of light in your arm. Pffffff...

With her eyes still glued to her screen, Ruri let out a long sigh.

- Why don't you tell me what you really think?

- I want to insult you in words that don't exist yet...

- My sister usually used "idiot" or "kid".

- Which shows that she knew you well! Well, you're completely ... can you explain to me what was going through your head ?

- I expected you to be angrier than that.

- I am beyond angry I think. And don't change the subject! We had a PLAN! A plan that took us days to build!

- But I followed the plan.

- ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

- Let's just say I "pretty much" followed the plan.

- PRETTY MUCH ?

- I just thought it would be a good idea to bring back a sample of the jellyfish's venom in addition to the pictures.

- And you haven't found a better tool to use for this than your own body?

- Exactly.

- I'M SERIOUS !

- Me too. The shot makes you fall asleep instantly, right? Yet I don't sleep. I am resistant Ruri, much more than any human object. I'm sure I don't risk anything.

- How can you be sure? You yourself don't know the extent of the changes Dr. Gero has made to your body. How do you know that you are more resistant to poisons than humans?

- Let's say almost certain then.

- 17 !

- You know you're cute when you get mad?

Ruri was really angry. 17 had taken a very big risk, and above all he had not warned her of what he intended to do. Probably because he knew that she would not agree.

What particularly infuriated her was that he didn't seem to be taking their conversation seriously at all. On the contrary. He seemed to be laughing at it.

Indeed.

He looked very happy at that moment. Happy as a child in front of a toy store. In fact, he seemed to be having a lot of fun with the situation. The more she looked at him, the more Ruri wondered how long it had been since he had worn such a frank smile.

Seeing him like this, after having seen a few days before the extent of his inner suffering, filled her with an immense happiness that began to overcome her irritation.

"And he's so cute when he makes that face too... The worst part is that he knows it!"

Feeling that he was winning the game, 17 continued:

- Imagine what you can do with jellyfish venom. Your article will be even better. And maybe you'll find a cure to wake up the human who was stung.

- Is that why you brought it back?

- To be honest, no, I'm just thinking about it now. So, do you forgive me?

Ruri hesitated for a few more seconds when she had an idea of her own. The opportunity was indeed too good to pass up.

- Only if you allow me to examine you. I would like to see if with the ultrasound I can observe some of your changes. For science.

- You want to study me as a guinea pig?

- I think you owe me that much.

Amused, 17 looked at her, wearing a small satisfied smile on the corner of his lips:

- Yes, it's true. That's fine with me. Is there any part of my body you would like to examine first?

As usual, Ruri blushed immediately. But she did not let herself be destabilized for very long. She wanted to hold his gaze, and not be intimidated anymore.

- It is your whole body that interests me, she says to him in return.

Delighted by this answer, 17 responded with a gesture, inviting her to continue. Slowly, Ruri moved the camera along his torso, over his belly and then his legs. The ultrasound machine was not the ideal instrument, but it did give her a better understanding of what cybernetisazion was. 17 had kept an almost "ordinary" body, composed of biological tissue. Blood flowed through his arteries, his heart was normal, as were most of his internal organs. On the other hand, countless objects reacted with the ultrasound machine and were highlighted on its screen. Connected to each other by long lines that she identified as cables, they constituted a network of perfectly complementary metallic additions. Below his chest, a larger, brighter object had caught her attention.

Probably his generator, although 17 cannot confirm this.

There were no scars on his body. It was impossible for such objects to have been inserted into his body without opening his flesh. 17 reminded her that the final step in his transformation had been the injection of a liquid that had "repaired" his wounds.

A cellular modification, in addition to the addition of electronic compounds? No doubt.

He also explained that at the beginning he had a way to connect to Dr. Gero's mainframe via a hole in his neck. This function had been used to download training programs or to receive data about Goku for example. But Gero had finally removed this possibility, which became useless after a few months.

- Is your curiosity satisfied now? finally asks 17 after a good hour of examination.

- Mmmmm

- Damn.

- Hahaha I admit I have even more questions now actually. But it's getting late. We should rather ...

- Going to bed?

Understanding perfectly the implication of 17, Ruri pretended to be annoyed:

- Don't even think about it, tonight, rest. I don't know if the venom won't work, so I would like you to avoid strong emotions. At least for tonight.

- If I'm still alive tomorrow, will that be good for you? replied 17, amused.

- Yes.

- I guess I don't have a choice?

- No.

- Okay. Okay. Do you want to eat something?

- Good idea. Here, why don't you go into the kitchen, I'd just like to take a shower before I eat. I need some quiet time.

- Why?

- Even if my wetsuit is made to avoid deep-sea sickness, the decompression was a bit fast, and my ears hurt. A little relaxation and the warmth of the shower will do me good.

17 nodded and went to the kitchen to prepare dinner, leaving Ruri to go to the bathroom, where the young woman locked herself in.

She had just lied to him, but he hadn't noticed.

She opened the water to cover the noise, and picked up her phone, which she had taken with her.

"Hello, Iris?

- Hello sweetie ! You want some news?

- Is everything going well?

- Next time tell your boyfriend to go easy on the dolphinariums ! Don't worry, everything is almost under control.

- Great.

- But that's not why you call, is it?

- I don't really know why I'm calling you...

- Because you have managed to approach the jellyfish, and therefore, there is only « it » left.

- ... yes.

- Did you talk to 17 about it?

- About the dragon? I'll do it tomorrow, I always tell him about the monster we're going to study.

- That's not what I'm talking about. Did you tell him the rest?

- ... no.

- Why?

- I don't know... It's too hard...

- Just listen to me. You don't have to tell him, okay? Everyone has a secret place. If it's too hard, that's fine. But I do want you to be sure of one thing.

- What?

- You know very well that I disapprove of this expedition from the beginning. It is too dangerous. It is even suicidal. I recognize that I have never met anyone as powerful as 17 and that with him you have a chance to succeed. But being strong is not enough. Your advice and your knowledge of monsters help him a lot, without that he wouldn't be able to protect you effectively.

- And?

- And you're still afraid of the dragon. Of what it represents. You have the right not to tell 17 why you are afraid, but you must be sure that this fear will not paralyze you once you face the monster, and that you will always be able to guide him. Otherwise, you'll both be in grave danger. Did you hear me right? Do not go down there if you have any doubts. Do you understand?

- Yes. You are right. But I...

- Don't put pressure on yourself. There's no rush. You have weeks maybe before you find it. So just think about it. And you can call me anytime, okay?

- Yes.

- Especially since, apart from your text message, I didn't get any more details than that about your great night of love, I expect you to give me a complete and exhaustive description!

- IRIS!

- You will see that I am even worse than the dragon. Okay. I've got to go, we've still got some work to do to fix your lover's foolishness. You gonna be okay?

- Yes, I think so. Kisses.

- See you later!"

Entering finally under the shower, Ruri remained there long minutes to think.

Why was it so difficult?

Why was it so hard for her to tell him?

She then thought about everything 17 had told her. He had never told anyone about anything that had happened to him. It must not have been easy for him to confide in her.

So why?

Why couldn't she do it?