Chapter 140
The Madness of Mesto
The lab was baked in a dizzying purple glow. Rows of tables laden with heavy equipment packed the space, leaving only the narrowest of alleys for which to pass through. There was a faint pulsing sound just behind the walls, a testament to the machines that droned tirelessly just beyond their sight. Dozens of vents belched out cold, artificial air, leaving a sterile chill that clawed at their skin. Each breath they took condensed into a fleeting mist, vanishing into the cold haze that enveloped them.
Unconsciously, the trio packed closer together. Beneath the shuffle of their footsteps, Sonic was aware of a distant wailing. Each time he tried to focus on one sound he was distracted by another. Somewhere, something was thrashing faintly against one of the tables, the sound muted by the high pitched clanking of metal chains, and the bubbling of a boiling liquid.
Gawain led the way, his rifle primed against his shoulder, his finger ready on the trigger. They were forced to wind back and forth through the many lanes of tables. Some of the equipment was familiar to Sonic. There were microscopes and x-rays and various types of scanners. But there were also machines that he did not recognize. White machines with dozens of attachments, each seeming to end with a razor sharp point.
Sonic turned and saw a metal tray covered in a white towel. Set upon it were a series of small instruments. A knife, a twisted screw and a saw. Each tool was covered in dried blood. Gawain stopped suddenly. He turned to the table directly adjacent. Something was covered beneath a black curtain. Gawain moved to remove the cover. Sonic wanted to scream at him to stop, but his voice caught in his throat.
Gawain threw back the curtain to reveal the head of a feline male with long white whiskers. There was a long pause before Gawain revealed the rest of the body. Sonic and Shadow both exhaled through their teeth. The body had been cut open. Its chest broken apart and the organs within removed. Gawain could not endure the sight for long and quickly covered it back up.
They pressed forward without a word. Sonic looked back and saw that there were claw marks cut into the table near where the victims hands had been. A shiver ran down Sonic's spine. The hazy illumination gave off a nauseating reticence, and he felt dizzy. A sensation which only accelerated as they continued.
Mesto's experiments were horrible, and Sonic could hardly even endure looking at the aftermath. The captured souls who had been given over to the Science Officers had suffered a fate worse than death. As they ventured deeper into the lab, the more bodies they found. Some had been vivisected, others had their limbs removed and crudely replaced with the limbs of another creature. Many bore the signs of having been injected with various diseases and pathogens.
Their swollen, mangled bodies were displayed in glass cages which hung from the ceiling. Not even women or children were spared. The smaller bodies were stuffed into jars and simply left openly on the tables. Drawers filled with removed teeth were left ajar.
Sonic's stomach had twisted into knots. He tasted bile in his throat. He felt dizzy and on the verge of being sick. His heart beat painfully inside his chest. A horrible crushing sorrow, pressed down on him, threatening to crush him into pieces.
However, that was only the beginning. At the end of the purple lab, they stood in front of the entrance to a cold storage locker. Strip curtains blocked their progress, but Sonic could see that the exit awaited them through the long walk-in freezer.
None of them wanted to go on. They stood silent and still, unsure of what to do. Going back would mean passing through the horror of the lab, but to go forward would mean to experience more torment.
"What is the point of all this?" Shadow said quietly. His eyes were narrowed and filled with red veins. It was clear that Shadow had chosen rage as his emotional response. "What are they even trying to learn?"
"Mesto is no scientist," Gawain offered solemnly. "These are not the experiments of one who seeks knowledge. Mesto does not believe in such systems, he is an alchemist."
"I thought alchemists just wanted to make gold out of iron?" Sonic asked.
Gawain shook his head. "Alchemy is the art of reforming the world. It is a rejection of what is, in favor of what could be. It does not seek understanding, in fact, it rejects the very concept. A sorcerer is not bound by fundamental laws. They believe that reality itself is only a trick, an illusion. Mesto believes that everything is malleable, that everything can be changed, and that the power to do so is attainable if one has a strong enough will."
"Another evil lunatic," Shadow surmised.
"Mesto is not insane," Gawain said firmly. "He knows exactly what he is doing. Evil is a concept that means nothing to him, it is merely a slogan used by the weak. If one has enough power, they can transmute good and make it evil, and turn evil to good as easily as they turn iron to gold."
"Might makes right," Sonic added.
"Or is it the other way around? Mesto does not believe he is right because he is powerful, rather he is powerful because he is right. When you or I see iron we see something that is in its base form and cannot be altered. Mesto, however, believes that there is no such foundation. All things can be altered, shifted, and reversed. The changing of metals is associated with alchemy because it symbolizes the alchemist's desire for control. It is why Mesto is so intent on making the people of Soleanna into monsters. He wants their devotion, he wants to change us into creatures that are like himself. The spectacles that he puts on, the theatrics he employs are his spells. He will create a world in which the good triumph by the murder of the innocent, a world in which barbasim is considered strength, truth a lie, deceit, honor. It will be an upside down world." Gawain stepped back and pointed up towards the threshold of the cold storage locker.
Strange characters were written there which Sonic's translator quickly translated. "As above, so below."
"Then we will just have to kill him," Shadow spat. He pushed past Gawain and entered the freezer. Sonic followed and was immediately hit by a wall of frosty air. His fur stood on end and he shivered as a word of metallic blue walls materialized around him. It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the hazy light.
Once he had, Sonic wished that there was no light at all. The freezer was full of hanging corpses. Most were covered in black bags, but some hung uncovered from hooks along the walls. A majority of the victims were humans, victims taken from earth and brought here to suffer Mesto's cruel experiments. Curious as to the anatomy of this new species, the humans were cut and carved in all manner of increasingly cruel ways.
Sonic's tears froze as he struggled not to look at the mangled faces, each stuck in an expression of unutterable torment. Mesto and his scientists had made no distinction between men and women, or children from their parents. The humans had all alike been strung up, carved, and their organs and limbs taken and rearranged.
At the end of the freezer, they faced another door with a neon purple outline. Sonic waited as Gawain and Shadow forced it open. His eyes drifted to the right, bidden by some horrible instinct. A girl hung eerily a few inches off the ground. Her face was swollen and icy blue. The eyes were missing. Sonic's breath hitched. A voice whispered out of the darkest pit of his heart. "Where were you?" All the earthlings echoed that question with one, horrible voice. "Where were you?"
Sonic trembled. He closed his eyes and tried to shout down the voices. The creeping cold slipped into his veins. His lungs compressed and he struggled to open his throat to breathe. "Sonic? Sonic?"
Sonic returned to himself as someone grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. He opened his eyes and saw Shadow standing in front of him. "Come on, we need to keep moving." Shadow's voice was steady, but Sonic could see that there was pain in his eyes as well.
Shadow and Gawain had managed to open the purple door. It led on to a room burning beneath a streaking pink light. Sonic collected himself and took a deep breath. He went on, and the whispering voices died as Gawain slammed the freezer door shut behind them.
They were now in a spacious warehouse. The pink light was not coming from the tiles on the ceiling, but seemed to originate from within the air itself, filling everything in the room with a blinding pink hue. They walked forward in a tight formation.
On either side of them were rows upon rows of large cylindrical tubes. These proved the source of the pink light. Thick black tubes ran from the tops of the cylinders into the floor and system of pipes along the ceiling.
Inside the first tube they found a feline with black fur. It floated ominously in a vat of clear liquid. A jagged red rock was stitched crudely into its chest. The body within twitched, but was otherwise completely imobile. Gawain stepped towards the console in front of the tube. He inspected the description.
"It seems Mesto was testing Sol Gems. He was trying to synthesize the rocks with organic tissue." Gawain looked around, his face twisted into an expression of deep disgust.
Sonic walked over and checked the console. Inscrutable words and figures flashed on the screen. "Subject A45, class feline. Synthesis 17%. Failure." His translator read the contents and transcribed them to Sonic.
"This is what they did to Zero," Gawain said. "It must be. That is how he got so powerful."
Sonic tapped aimlessly at the console. The screen changed and brought up a recording. Sonic watched as the feline test subject was strapped to a metal table. Scientists in black robes brought out a Sol Gem. A harness was placed over the feline's chest, and the Sol Gem was set within it. There was a grinding sound as the harness activated. A machine punched a serrated blade into the feline's chest. It screamed and writhed as the harness crushed the Sol Gem. The red powder filtered into the blade, sawing directly into the feline's blood.
Sonic turned away as the screams crescendoed and the feed turned blank. "It's pain," Gawain said, his voice thick with disbelief. He read the tiny labels that were plastered at the bottom of the cylinder. "That's how they are binding the Sol Gem to the body. The cells are under such extreme duress that they bind with the energy of the Sol Gems."
"That ruby, on Infinite's chest…that must be the source of all his power," Sonic winced as his mind split at the idea of feeling sympathy for Infinite.
"If Mesto has made more monsters like that…" Gawain shook his head, the thought too horrible to express. "Come on, we should hurry."
They proceeded through the warehouse. At each cylinder along the way they stopped to check on the test subject within. Mesto had experimented his design on all manner of creatures. A majority appeared to be Thirteens, but some were imperial soldiers. The binding procedure changed with every test. Some subjects were left with missing limbs, some had their tanks flooded with molten Sol Gems. None had survived the unity. Mesto's methods became increasingly cruel, perhaps due to his frustration of not finding any suitable candidates. The suffering inflicted on the prisoners was difficult to fathom.
"I don't think Robotnik knows about this," Shadow said quietly. They stood in front of a cylinder filled with wax. The subject within had been burned until their skin was left pink and raw. It was impossible to even discern what species they were. "Eggman is evil…but this…this is something else."
"When Eggman arrived at the battle at Castle Town, Infinite vanished," Sonic recalled suddenly.
"Perhaps, Mesto is hoping to keep him as a failsafe in case the emperor turns on him," Gawain suggested. "That would explain why Mesto is going through so much trouble to create another super soldier."
The trio reached the end of the warehouse. None of the subjects had reached a synthesis percentage higher than fifty. They could only hope that Infinite had been the only survivor of Mesto's twisted experiments. A door with a white outline led them out of the warehouse and into a circular room. It was eerily similar to the chamber they had entered when they first arrived at the tower, only instead of twelve passages there was only one.
The door at the end of the chamber was illuminated in strips of glowing rainbow light. They walked towards it, each cautious in case something emerged to halt their progress. There was a console beside the door that illuminated as they drew nearer. A single word flashed on the screen.
"Iblis…" Gawain breathed. "This must be it."
The door slid open. Inside was a small black capsule filled with pulsing yellow machinery. "This must be the transporter," Shadow said. "It is similar to the one Eggman had back on earth."
Sonic stared at the flickering characters on the screen. His translator remained silent, unable to decipher the letters.
"We must go," Gawain insisted. "We should tell the princess what we have found and come back with our full strength."
"I'm not running," Shadow scoffed. "We've come too far to go back now. I'm going up there."
Gawain whirled around to face Shadow. "You can't! Blaze ordered us to return if we found the transporter. We should only strike when we have our full strength available to us."
"I don't take orders from anyone," Shadow sneered. "We may never get a chance like this again. I'm putting a stop to this Iblis right now."
Gawain turned to Sonic. "Speak sense to him! For all we know, Mesto will have Infinite up there standing guard!"
Sonic bit his lip. He didn't know what to say. He shared Shadow's desire to rush up to the space station and destroy Iblis right there and then. It was very unlikely that they would ever make it back here. At the same time, he was in no rush to ignore Blaze's order. He had seen first hand what the princess was capable of. If anyone could defeat Infinite it would be her.
"We might have a better chance if we were all together," Sonic started. "With Blaze and Silver with us, we would be at our strongest."
"Hah," Shadow shook his head. "I never thought I'd hear you call for a retreat. We have all the power we need right here."
"You don't understand," Gawain pressed. "If Infinite finds you, he will destroy you. And once the empire knows that we know about Iblis they will move this transporter and we won't get a second chance."
"I'm not afraid of anyone," Shadow insisted. "Sonic and I together are more than enough on our own." Shadow's eyes darted to Sonic, clearly expecting him to agree.
Again, Sonic felt torn. It was difficult to even conceptualize an enemy more powerful than Sonic and Shadow both. Yet, as he stood there, the image of Infinite grew like a shadow in his mind. Could we beat him? "Shadow…we should listen to Gawain. Infinite isn't like anyone I've ever fought before. I've already lost to him twice. He destroyed a Chaos Emerald, I didn't even know that was possible."
"Hmph," Shadow shook his head in abject denial. "I am the Ultimate Life Form. I won't be scared into inaction. I am going. You two can run back to your precious princess if you want."
"Fool!" Gawain raised his rifle and aimed it at Shadow. "If you give us away, we will not get another chance. I cannot let that happen."
Shadow did not try to hide his amusement. He smiled brazenly right into the barrel of the gun. "You should have shot first."
Gawain's eyes narrowed and his finger slid down towards the trigger. Sonic swiftly stepped forward and placed himself between the two of them. "Enough!" He turned to Gawain. "We won't convince him to stay. I will go with him."
"Sonic I- That would mean risking all-"
"There's no other way," Sonic said firmly.
Gawain glared at Sonic. His opal eye shimmered beneath the falcon's signature lens. However, the Knight of the Sky did not argue. He slung his rifle over his shoulder and shook his head. "Very well then, do as you must. I will return to the others. Perhaps the princess will have a plan." Gawain turned aside and started walking towards the exit. Before going through the door, he stopped and turned back towards them. "Good luck, and may the blessing of Solaris go with you." He put his fist across his chest in a sign of respect.
Sonic returned the gesture. Once Gawain had left, Shadow scoffed. "Now can we finally get moving?"
He walked into the small capsule and Sonic squeezed in beside him. They stood awkwardly crammed together for a few seconds. Each was looking for the button that would activate the transporter. "Move a little," Shadow protested. He reached his arm up and jabbed at a random button.
"Don't just press-"
There was a loud pulsing sound followed by the whirring of a dozen machines. The yellow light intensified. Everything started to spin and Sonic's vision blurred out of focus. A second later, everything was still. He exhaled as the world around him reformed. The door to the capsule slid open to reveal an all white room.
Sonic and Shadow wrestled their way out of the capsule. They walked forward cautiously. A glass window greeted them to their right. Sonic and Shadow approached it and looked out at a sea of absolute darkness. Shadow pointed down and Sonic saw the looming shape of the planet of Arvana. They had been transported into outer space, onto the emperor's space station.