Chapter Two: Disaster the Woods and an Amazing Result
Miles didn't know what troubled him more, that he might be walking into a mountain lion den or that there might be something else out in the woods, potentially something or someone even more dangerous than mountain lions. If they could really stand on their hind legs and move like humans did, but had features of cats, what else might they be able to do?
But Miles grabbed his notebook and pen and followed along behind Stan, heading deep into the woods. They were going deeper than they usually did. They were starting to find unusual plants and animals. Miles was more in the animals, looking at them and taking notes on their behavior.
"I think one of the cat people noticed me last time. I hid before they could look around and they didn't really continue searching for me. But I'm sure that I saw them around this cave here. The cave smelled nice inside, like flowers or something, I dunno. I'm not the botanist. Ford is." Stan said.
They looked around, not really hiding themselves. Miles looked at the different animals, seeing how they reacted to the cave, seeming to avoid it. Miles found that interesting.
"I'm gonna go into the cave for a little while. See what's going on in there. It seems like the animals don't like it." Mile said.
"Maybe they have a good reason for that. Don't go in there." Stan said.
"Nah, it's probably just a strange smell that affects animals, but not humans." Miles said, walking into the cave, immediately smelling what Stan mentioned. It was a smell, but not quite flowery. It was sweet and powerful, but he couldn't quite place what it was. Maybe whatever water system fed this cave's aquifers, for he heard the dripping of water and the cave was quite warm, suggesting there was a hot spring in the cave somewhere.
He took notes on the little animal life that was in the cave, mostly mice and other small vermin.
Stan on the other hand was looking around when a woman leapt down from the tree.
"What are you doing here, kid?" She demanded.
"Oh! Wow! There really are cat people in these woods!" Stan exclaimed.
"Hey! MILES!" Stan called. Miles was too busy with his own exploration.
"We do not go by that name! We are the Lysnuck, and you are not welcome in this area! Children so young especially should not be here!" She commanded.
"Hey! You Liz Nuck… Are you like, half-cat, half-human?"
"No! We are our own people. We have lived independent… Wait a minute… You look familiar. Who is your father?" The woman demanded.
"Um… Um…" Stan breathed, getting anxious now.
"Mason Pines, but his friends all call him Dipper cuz of some dumb birthmark on his forehead." Stan said.
"So, Dipper has sent his children into the woods to reap the same benefits as he got from the caves." She said, her eyes immediately darting toward the cave entrance as she heard a scream and a splash.
"Zanut!" She snapped, rushing into the cave.
"Hey! Wait! Where are you going?" He asked, trying to chase after her. She rushed into the hot spring chamber and found Miles crawling out, his notes ruined, his clothes soaked.
"Whoa! Stan was right! There are Cat People in these woods!"
"You! You are Dipper Pines' other son?" She asked.
"Y-yes… You know my father?" Miles asked, wiping his shaggy hair out of his eyes.
"He bathed in this hot spring along with his partners and his sister almost 200 moons ago." She said.
"200 moons… That would be… Over… 15 years? I didn't realize Dad was that old. How many months does your calendar have?" Miles asked.
"We do not use months. We measure time by the moon. There are 13 full moons in a year for us. Now, we need to get you dried off. The water is not toxic, but it has other effects that, for a child as young as yourself, will severely hamper your life." She said, grabbing him and carrying him to the village. She allowed Stan to follow.
"Elders… I, Prrnrrkmor seek your counsel." Prrnrrkmor said politely.
"Speak. Why is this boy dripping?" One of the elders asked.
"He fell into the Eternal Spring of Sacrifice and Pain." She said. Miles tensed up. Was he going to die? Was he going to suffer forever? What did the spring do?
"Child, how old are you?" The elder asked.
"Thirteen, Sir. Are you a Sir?" Miles asked.
"Gender is less important amongst the Zyltranaeir than it is to humans, but yes. I am what humans consider male. Is 13 considered an adult by human standards?"
"No. My dad says when I'm eighteen and an adult, I can do whatever I want with my body, but until then, I can't get a tattoo." Miles said.
"Oh, you wouldn't even be able to handle the first needle prick!" Stan laughed, shoving Miles.
"Would too!"
"Would not!"
"Would too!"
"Enough! I assume you two are siblings?"
"Half-siblings. We have the same father but different mothers." Miles said.
"I see. Is that common amongst your people?" A female Elder asked.
"Not uncommon. Divorces happen." Stan shrugged.
"But our parents aren't divorced. Dipper is married to Pacifica, but in a relationship with Wendy. They all know about it and are cool with it as far as I know." Miles said.
"I see. What is your name, Child?"
"Miles Pines." Miles said.
"Miles. We have no way of averting what is to come to you. But you shouldn't worry unduly. You will not die and you will not suffer in any acute way that we can think of, though loneliness may become an issue for you." The male Elder said.
"Why?"
"Please, do not scare the boy. We have not tested these waters in many, many years. How long did you bathe in the hot spring?" A third Elder asked.
"Ummm… A minute… At the most? I fell in and was pulled out by Prrnkrrmor. I can swim just fine, but she pulled me out and brought me here."
"I see. Well… Usually those who gain the benefits of the effects stay in for longer. Your own father and mothers and aunt I suspect the brown-haired woman was, spent hours in it over multiple sessions. But from what we understand, a single session is enough to impart immortality and regeneration onto the bather. We cannot say for certain how long is required in the hot spring for these effects to happen. Perhaps the fact that you did not strip and dry off immediately means that you've bathed in the water long enough. Either way, the hot spring is likely to have at least short-term effects.
"Regardless of what effects it has or doesn't have, I recommend you don't test out the effects until you're sure that you truly have it." The Elder said calmly.
"We'll have Mrrmrrfrrmrr escort the two of you back to your settlement." A male Elder said. Miles nodded. He'd been taking notes on the catfolk.
"Can we come back so that I can ask some questions about your people? About your society? Customs?"
"If you are who you look like, your father has already extensively catalogued our culture. He has promised to keep it secret though, and we ask that you do the same." The male Elder said. Miles nodded.
"Of-of course." Miles said, going with Mrrmrrfrrmrr.
"So, what does your name mean, Mrrmrrfrrmrr?" Miles asked.
"It approximately means Prideful King Basking in the Sun, though it's difficult to translate my language to yours." He said.
"Interesting." Miles said, taking notes. Stan laughed.
"Nerd." The older sibling teased.
"Here we are. I recommend you tell your parents right away what happened. But I can't tell you what you have to do." Mrrmrrfrrmrr said. Miles nodded, going inside.
"Wendy? Where is Dad?" Miles asked. Wendy had said that the kids could just call her by her first name. It was so much easier. To call her Wendy and Pacifica Mom.
"Probably downstairs, working with Great Grunkle Miles. The old man has apparently come up with a new idea and want's Dipper's help on it." Wendy said. Miles ran downstairs, pounding on the laboratory door.
"Come in." Dipper said, putting away his tools. Miles rushed in.
"Dad! Dad! Stanny and I found the cat people! They said their name was the Lysnuck and one of them saved me!" Miles exclaimed.
"Saved you? From what? Did a mountain lion attack or something?" Miles asked.
"No! I uhh… I fell into a hot spring. I was exploring the anomalies in that area. It seemed like small vermin and other animals avoided going into those caves and I was curious about why. So I went in and I fell into the hot spring. This cat lady, she called herself Prrnrrkmor, said that I was immortal now. Though the elders weren't exactly sure how immortal I was, given that I was only in the hot spring for 30 seconds at the most.
"They said that I might be immortal because I was still soaked after I got out. But they hadn't experimented with the limits of the spring's abilities." Miles said. Dipper nodded, seeming deeply concerned.
"I see… I won't experiment to find out how immortal you are. But nobody can escape getting hurt all the time." Dipper said.
Miles was determined to test out his abilities though.
"They said that you, Mom, Auntie Mabel and Wendy went in the hot spring." Miles said. Dipper nodded.
"We did. And we are immortal, though we try not to talk about it too much with you kids. We didn't want you going in. At least not just yet. We felt you were too young to be immortal." Dipper said. Miles was only thirteen.
"And I don't want you testing out your powers deliberately either." Dipper said. Miles nodded, though he knew he was lying. He went back upstairs and grabbed a knife. His parents had bought a high-end set of knives so that Stan, who was a really good cook, could have all he needed to cook. Stan was also hoping to join the Chef's Club at Crystal Lake Academy.
"Isn't Crystal Lake the camp in the Friday the Thirteenth movies?" Stan asked Wendy. Wendy laughed.
"Yeah, but Crystal Lake isn't exactly trademarked and it's not the only place in the world called Crystal Lake." Wendy said.
"What did you need to talk to Dipper about?" Wendy asked.
"I uhh… I accidentally fell in that hot spring in the woods. The cat people think I might be immortal now." Miles said anxiously.
"I don't know about that. But if you start healing wounds quickly, tell us." Wendy chuckled.
"That's it, Wendy! Take this knife and stab me!" Miles said excitedly, handing Wendy a butcher's knife. Wendy gasped.
"What! No! I'm not going to stab you!" Wendy protested.
"Why not? If I'm immortal and regenerative, I'll heal. If I'm just immortal, at least I can't die." Miles said.
"Because you're my son. Just because you might be immortal doesn't mean you can be reckless!" Wendy said.
"I'll stab him." Stan said.
"You will not! Stanley Pines II. If I find out you've stabbed Miles, you'll be grounded until you're 18! Got it?" Pacifica said firmly.
"G-got it, Mom." Stan said. He put the knife away and went outside with Miles.
"She never said anything about chopping you." Stan said, getting out an axe. Miles flinched at just the thought. He knew he was supposed to be immortal and regenerative. But this just seemed stupid.
"I-I don't know about this. What if I can't regenerate? What if I'm permanently scarred?"
"What's life without risk?" Stan asked. Miles would have laughed. Would have said this Stan was a lot like Stan Pines I.
"Well… That's true… But… Well, okay… But if I don't heal, you have to bring me to the lab to be healed." Miles said.
"And if you do heal, you have to take me to the hot spring to become regenerative like you." Stan said.
"Deal." Miles said.
"Deal." Stan said, tightening his grip on the axe and bringing it down on Miles's side.
Miles roared in pain, trying to bite back the scream, but failing. Fortune seemed to be on Miles's side though, because while blood was soaking the side of his shirt, it seemed to be slowing down already.
"Wow! Lemme see that!" Stan exclaimed, ripping open Miles's shirt and watching as the wound formed scar tissue. It didn't heal all the way. Apparently, Miles's healing wasn't as great as Dipper's was. This was partially because Dipper also had nanomachines and was beginning to experiment, alongside Miles, with femtomachines.
Femtomachines were smaller than nanomachines and were able to invade the cell's nucleus and hijack their function, causing them to function with near perfect efficiency. This enhanced healing further, it made cancer all but impossible due to cells almost always (with about 99.99999% likelihood) splitting cleanly. The downside was that it resulted in fewer mutations of the cells, which meant that if it was widely disseminated, Evolution would likely slow down significantly.
Ford and Dipper were working on creating a version of Femtomachines that would control Evolution rather than stopping it. The possibilities were nearly endless. Human regeneration, superhuman strength and intelligence, removal of disease from the gene pool. Miles's excitement overwhelmed his sense of the potential ethical dilemma that it could cause.
Stan watched as Miles's wound healed and formed a relatively light scar along his side.
