A Horrifying, Yet Miraculous, Absolution
Ch. 15
[×]
The problem was the boy. He could teleport. Fly. Follow. Was hyperaware of organic lifeforms within his sensory range. To 'sneak out' was impossible against him. The Project was designed to be thee apex predator, after all.
But, as the genius that Gerald was, he had a solution.
Shadow was unaware of the events and plots being preplanned and executed right before him. To the child, everything was going per the normal: Maria had come back with some food ["Do you… have a subordinate called Dr. Alicia Cotes?" No. Why? "Just… a funny feeling? Like your face." But Gerald's face was expertly crafted at the moment to only give her warmth and comfort as thoughts of murder played on the fringes of his mind – he didn't understand what she meant by that…], the two humans shared a meal as the 'Mobian' watched on in content [as figuring out what the Project was willing to eat was still a guessing challenge], the three played yet another board game of wit [a short one that Shadow purposefully lost once again], and then his granddaughter was tucked into the folds of her sheets [where he once again told her everything was fine – he was not upset at all]. As per the established routine, the Ultimate Lifeform slowly left the tent and walked to his creator, who was sitting on one of the benches with two books: one about work and one recording said work.
"Come here, Shadow," he beckoned. The schedule had to be adhered to. "Tonight, we're going to be talking about 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin and others in the family."
The ebony and crimson form closed the distance until he stood off towards the adult's left. As normal, Gerald only brought up topics that dealt with that day's labor. He temporarily placed the books aside, grabbed the boy around the waist, ignored the grunt and faux 'displeasure' that was cut off by the human's movement, and placed Shadow on his lap after brushing those appendages towards the side.
That black nose begun to move. Twitch. Recognized something – it was what Gerald was depending on.
The boy took hold of the scientist's left hand. It was the same one that the human had started to slowly brush back against those quills. "You still have leftovers deep underneath your fingernails, Professor."
He had left just enough to get Shadow's attention. "Oh. Thank you, my boy. It must have been too little for my cleaning station to catch with its chemical detectors." His sentence wasn't technically a lie.
In short order, the child let go of each other's indexes.
A nodded slump eventually arose as crimson eyes fluttered towards halfway open. Gerald knew by know exactly where to comfort to submit the child into lax, thanks to Maria. [Shadow trusted him far too much.] "No worries," the hedgehog begun as homosapien hands kept to the display of affection [and it was genuine – the boy was his- his good s-]. "Parts per million wise, it's not enough to cause harm, and my body will neutralize it. I would have missed it if I was farther away, anyhow. Such a low dosage..." The voice got softer the more he relaxed in his creator's arms.
The scientist opened the tome about dangerous toxins, dioxins, and chemicals, and went on in an excited manner as he bounced passage after passage with the Project. Details about chemical compositions, the exact structure each molecule represented, and the strength of the bonds passed in Gerald's kind lecture. He would quiz the boy [whom, unlike Maria, had no official teacher] and would give positive affirmation at the correct answers. Unlike topics that related to technology and robotics, the Ultimate Lifeform had a berth of massive innate interest in this field of chemical curiosities – especially anything dealing with nerve gas/neurotoxins and/or applications to medicine. A figment from the old testing days with the embryo? Knowledge that was written within the 'Mobian's' Chaotic neurons? In the end, whatever the case, the result was the same: odd, but exactly what was needed for tonight.
Because when Shadow did ask in a mumbled murmur as to why Gerald had TCDD, he was able to honestly say that it was for his next job tasking. The answer was accomplished in such a gentle manner that there was no suspicion.
The Ultimate Lifeform did not need to sleep, but would under the perfect conditions. The blissful haze of comfort was irresistible when the Project felt safe and secured – when told by a Robotnik that everything was alright and to take a well-needed break. White gloves slid from the book on page eighty-nine: the illustration of the liquid state of copper (II) acetate triarsenite [a stunning green that was the same hue of being within the hypothesized Chaos Control] the last thing the boy saw for the next few hours.
This whole evening…
Totally normal and routine.
[He was sorry and guilty, Shadow and Maria, for manipulating you two. However, where Gerald was to go was a location that they should not follow.]
[Both of the children should only know Dr. Robotnik as a kind and caring man.]
[x]
The ARK was as busy as it always was.
With Project: SHADOW having been completed, the amount of work needing to be done at night hours should had lessened somewhat. Alas, the Major General's deadline, coupled with Maria's and Shadow's deep distrust [at best], prevented the needed rest and relaxation. Busy work was added instead: the regions dedicated to medical research ballooning in scope. It was a bit of malicious compliance, honestly – since the "new 2.018" was to be officially labeled physically weak with slow reaction times, but still a medical miracle, he needed to have the labs ready to go after The Great Farce. G.U.N. should be happy that Gerald plans on sharing his medical discoveries – aside immortality, he's hesitant on admitting that about "2.018" [assuming Shadow truly is incapable of death] – with them on ways to heal their soldiers!
However, medical healing wasn't tonight's goal.
He was to do the opposite.
Burning white lights splayed out three versions of his glooms against the ground as Gerald entered one of the research and developmental laboratories. Every single one of the specimens underneath Project: SHADOW underwent trials of fluids and solids that the military had concocted for war. What was the point of a biological weapon if it was weak against the very thing their own side used? This one in particular, 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, was a clear and transparent crystal menace specifically chosen for potential fights against Mobians. The idea was simple: you crushed the crystals into dust and suspended it in a carrier. Mobians had large eyes, mouths, or both, and those were the soft, sensitive places where the agent could enter. It would attack every single one of their organs, burned them apart from the inside, and would create cascading failures until not even their own digestive systems could be trusted.
And if the Mobian was, say, a hamster-like type? The ones that had naturally built-in high resistance? Then TCDD could be mixed with another chemical and be used as a powerful herbicide to devourer all their nations' plant life. The ecological disaster would leave no food. Unsafe water. Carcinogenics everywhere. It was a death sentence for many swaths of the Mobians. The entire southern half of the world could be turned into a lifeless husk whereas the human countries could flourish.
Because, isn't it ironic? Certainly, TCDD was dangerous to humans, but compared to animals and Mobians… it was to such a far less degree. While the non-human entities had their own professors and researchers, none had the political or fiscal capitol of what the United Federations were willing to create. The only saving grace was the fact that weapons of such nature weren't meant for present day use: they were for the 'what ifs' and 'hopefully never in the futures.'
[Gerald was glad he didn't make that particular compound – especially now when the boy was modeled after them in appearance. Maria would only be devastated.]
Fingers glazed over the logs. 463.98 pounds/210.46 kilograms of the clear/white crystals, all brought from G.U.N.'s storage section on the ARK. 430 lbs were sectioned for PSUL high dosage exposure and injection testing – the very Test 617 that Shadow's embryo form had fought against and won. Of course, he had scrubbed the files of the occasion in order to pull out more dioxin in the first place, which technically meant he needed to test Shadow again-
[-horrible contortions were the expected results based off 2.003 and subjects beyond, but 2.018-BD just accepted more and more and more without movement or struggle or even acknowledgement – proof that they had absolute immunity-]
He banished that thought.
34 pounds of TCDD, and layers of Chaos Drives to cover them, were stacked into a satchel with a large, thick strap to distribute the weight more efficiently. The circular-mixed-radioactive-like logo of Project: SHADOW sewn right onto the flap made his getup rather normal for the head of the researchers. He wasn't going to display it out in the open for long – just the distance to walk calmly and collected from this lab to the entrance of the reactor room's subterranean area. Being an expert on Chaos Energy and the Drives, his excuse was that he finally made time to check on what could be the cause of the rail's fluctuations. Sensitive errors were best cataloged and analyzed when at the lowest possible energy drawn hours.
The walk over had no one stop or dialogue to him.
Something about his aura made the few scientists move up and actively out of his way…
[x]
The underlying maze of complex machinery churned as modernism slowly faded into the designs of ancient ruins. Water infused with Chaos Energy blasted like sirens to the eardrums while also paradoxically filling a heart with calm. The percentile of Chaos to water was skewed more to the dihydrogen monoxide side, but when the completed Eclipse Cannon eventually contained the full gambit of the Emeralds, the conduits would burn gold and green. Falling into any of the cooling or collection ponds for the reactor as of this moment was not a death sentence – unless the victim couldn't swim, of course. At least, right now. When alit with more than two Emeralds, injury was to occur. At five or more, death was rather swift and painful to all the creatures of the Earth.
The items and beings wrought from the head of Project: SHADOW weren't from the glittering planet that Maria watched in awe from her glass castle.
Gerald's eyes glanced around the chambers adorned with his faux angel ore. One after the other, the mist that hovered dominated all and only allowed vision so far. One couldn't see it from this location, but the gentle thud-thud, thud-thud of the 'heart' of the ARK was all too audible. Like a specter that understood Death had arrived, the noise increased in volume the deeper the scientist walked along the catwalks. His reflection upon the waters sparkled against his glasses; left shoulder going a little numb from the weight of the bag.
Eventually, he stopped right at the start of the deepest series of pools. The water here was entwined with the faintest hints of gold, but that did not allow Gerald to ignore that… feeling. What was coming was inevitable. He coughed once, aware he was going to have to address the beings within. "I assume your desires," he spoke with caution and careful utterance, "are to ensure my safety: first and foremost."
The turquoise eyes of each Artificial Chaos submerged within the fluid blinked all at once in uniformity. The metal that designated as their heads begun to slowly rise from the depths, and they got right to the edge. However, none dared to get closer than sixteen feet to his body.
Interesting, Gerald pondered. He knew the AIs were stationed in this area to defend the sensitive ARK's interior, and was expecting himself to be watched, but not an actual response in real time. Assuming that was one…
"Well, then. I appreciate your dedication but will be going." The P-1s have never given the scientist any problems. Why would they now? If they were so unstable that they were going to attack him right here, then the whole point of being subtle with the Project was out the window.
He lifted his right arm to rebalanced the heavy load-
One of the Artificial Chaos moved as Gerald did. Hesitantly, a needle of water shot out in slow, careful movements. Robotnik understood instantly it was done as to not-
As to not scare him.
The blue 'hand' wrapped around the strap on his shoulder and lifted it up and away, taking the physical stress of 40+ lbs with it. "FaThEr," the culprit croaked out as the processor and buzzers within the 'skull' attempted to give sound to what would not have had voice. "WaTch. CarE."
Oh. This was… highly unexpected.
He was still; frozen in mid-step.
"CaRRy." It wasn't a request.
Human fingers pushed back his own spectacles to the bridge of his nose. Water droplets clung onto a gray mustache. His mouth struggled between going from amazement to depression. "Oh. Yes. Of course. You may carry it." He wasn't sure if he stuttered.
A hum arose from the crowd as Gerald's shoes squeaked back into movement. Every so often, he glanced back – there they were, about ten of them, all following closely. Every stalker was a P-1. Didn't that military individual earlier mention that that type was the one that had not broken down in comparison? The most independent? The scientist had theorized it was because those were not as complex as the larger P-100s, of which the operating system ran to near breaking point just to juggle all the 'servants.'
Perhaps he was wrong, and it was the P-1s which were closer to Shadow's mind – enough to take his knowledge of vocabulary and the wish to prevent bodily harm to Gerald.
The signs of them being a collective consciousness were… quite high. [Maria had, indeed, discovered something amazing and frightening, he told himself again!]
Eventually, the mass of blue with a sole white dot made it into the heart of the large chamber. There, sleeping on a dial-like platform surrounded by the deepest golds of Chaos infused water, was the Prototype. Orange flesh screamed to all onlookers; the body towered over everything; tail as long as a small tower wrapped around itself; head burrowed into its own chest. Gills on the side fluttered with soft movement – a mockery of the action of snoring. Green metal tubes were still connected to the mouth, all run into a glowing yellow orb at the top of the lizard's back – the life support system that fed and supported the Prototype continuously.
Memories of making the support system in such a short time frame rung. The Biolizard was not given the proper, clean way to live on: there was only enough time to-
The rat-tat-tat of guns blared throughout the chamber. Bullets plinked and ricocheted off metallic columns and synthetic angel ore floors. Screams of men that spoke of missing arms; legs; severed heads. Rivers of blood mixed with the collection pools as, in the background, members of Project: SHADOW desperately set up waterproof walls to prevent the contamination from spreading. In a heartbeat, Gerald was shoved back by a nameless SecFo individual when the Prototype's tail rose and slammed onto the ground-
-survive.
He had wanted to spare it. It was the Prototype, after all, and – crucially – was ageless. What if there was a cure inside that body for Maria? he was haunted by, even though there were many families back on Earth that begged to ask why their sons had to perish so a young girl could live-
[-because those men volunteered for G.U.N., whereas Maria was born without a chance to make her own choices for the future! Thinking about 'right' and 'wrong' reminded Gerald of the many lines he burned to just get one step closer to the cure-]
No time for frivolous idealism – he had Shadow, now.
Failures were no longer required.
Maria had spoken.
The scientist turned to motion for the bag, still gripped within that certain P-1's 'grasp.' "… May I take it back-?"
"HeAVy. PrOtEct."
Gerald exhaled. "I see."
He shifted his eyes towards the target. There were certain steps to accomplish in order to bring down the Prototype for the Ultimate Lifeform.
The first was climbing above the back of the Biolizard, straight towards the Chaos life support system. He had to terminate the connection the machine had to the Cannon's, and by relation, the reactor's, water. Well aware that he was no longer in his physical prime, Gerald carefully started to scale up the green, metal conduits. Fingers dug into the slick sides as his shoes excavated into the reptilian flesh. Such a climb would be folly if the Prototype was awake, but until it received his command, in stasis it would remain.
SQUELCH. He left his imprints on that orange hide as he slowly gained altitude – heart pumped hard as cardio was not his strong suit. Gerald could feel those eyes watching his every step; every muscle; every movement. Was he grateful for the fact that he knew if he fell, they would catch him?
[-had called him 'Father,' which felt odd. There were only three boys that he wanted to call him that title, and the AI were not part of that close group-]
Eventually, the scientist reached the top. A bright red light – a warm pyrrole in opposition of the cool hues of the successor – shone with Chaos Energy. It casted elongated silhouettes across the chamber he was within: his ghostly image looked more like a bastardized creature than human in the mixed lighting. A monster, even. In the background, Gerald noted that the ten Artificial Chaos that had followed casted their own shapes on the walls-
Something caught his eye off towards the left. Above him.
Something black.
Gold.
And Alizarin.
But when he turned, there was no Shadow nor Maria. Just the roar of the Chaos infused water rushing towards the different regions where they would enter the rail network.
"Did any of you see that?" It was better to verify. He did not want the successor to see the murder of the Prototype – didn't want either of the children to even think that the boy could possibly be replaced the exact same way-! [Which Shadow couldn't be! He was too… Too prefect! Too pure! Modeled after Maria's heart, how could Gerald ever entertain the thought of hurting him? It would be like stabbing his own granddaughter-!]
The Artificial Chaos didn't respond. At least, immediately. "DeFeND. ReAcTOr. NoTHinG. UnWaNteD. ExcEPt. TorTuREd. SoUl."
Gerald maintained his gaze on the crew of P-1s beneath him; their turquoise eyes doing a returned response. "… Then come closer, please. If you want to help, there's a part that will go by faster with your assistance."
Almost effortlessly, they glided up towards the life support system and got into a position of a ring around him. The AI closest to him still had his bag wrapped tightly in the 'arm.' There, they simply awaited orders.
Step two.
The scientist pointed to the glass. "It needs to be broken-"
There was a soft hum. A dull warning. The Chaos Drives within each 'skull' flared to life as the weapons executed their directive. The sound of air being ionized – sharpened sting of ozone mugged nostrils – as yellow lasers rained from the Artificial Chaos. Like a small sword, they begun to cleave slowly and methodically into the thickened glass. The reload and recast times were three seconds after each blast, and it took a solid minute for the heat to output enough damage to cut into the transparent barrier designed to withstand high levels of Chaos Energy.
Gerald had to wonder: did they help because the scientist asked or because Shadow's subconscious wanted the Biolizard to perish away?
Well, he'll find out if it was a one-way communication or not with the P-1s if the Project were to suddenly appear.
He'll run into that head on if it comes up later.
Step three was the destruction of the pipes that could interface with the backup supply lines hastily created within the walls of the chamber.
Step four took a little more time. He had to access the electronic guts of the life support system. Wires and cover panels were carefully placed as Gerald went to work; limbs expertly recalled which wire did what and where.
The Prototype still was in stasis.
Finally, the human sat back with a singular nod. He had, with the help of the AIs, had wrestled the system into an isolated closed loop. And now, he was going to add a new ingredient…
His eyes took in the hole the Artificial Chaos had burned within glass. Already the thick, honey like fluid of concentrated Chaos Energy dripped as the pressure within the system finally had a way out of the Prototype's body. Unlike Shadow, whose very form, 'blood vessels,' 'neurons,' and 'muscles' were all fashioned with Chaos itself, the Biolizard was infused with it. The Prototype could still bleed red, feel gnawed hunger, and experience excruciating pain – things that the life support system granted no relief from as it was designed to only keep it alive. The energy from Chaos was injected right into the man-made organ Gerald had specially created for the creatures of Project: SHADOW [except the boy, whom got his Chaos skills from… outside forces that were more – and terribly less at the same thing – stable]. This mass of matter was such so that the scientist's biological creations could have their minds/brains/bodies be capable of absorbing Chaos and use it.
In the lizard's case, the organ was a red, cancerous like growth at the base of her neck. Rather exposed.
Gerald waited.
Bid his time.
The pressure had to be removed.
The scientist just kept his gaze on that golden, viscous fluid. The Prototype's survivability faded with each drop that echoed in the mist-filled chamber. It wasn't fast. It wasn't painless. If stasis were to be removed right now, the lizard would have thrashed- Flown its body around and scream animalistic screeches as the pain registered with its brain- Move every limb into seizure as the decay would start from within- Would be assaulted with the knowledge that there wasn't going to be the minimal numbing relief of weak Chaos Energy being pumped with its body- There was actually a high possibility that the Prototype knew it had started the process of expiration but was incapable of movement in a desperate bid for living just one more day-!
How funny that it was the opposite with Shadow. The boy was so in tune with the source of his power that he needed to be inhibited to be able to think, but his body could still go on even if those Rings were removed…
Successors were named that way for a reason, were they not, Prototype?
Failures were not needed.
At last, the honey stopped oozing. Its breathing had increased in tempo, going from deep, relaxed tones into shorter, sharpened ones. That golden fluid had dribbled down the sides of the lizard's back and onto its face. The yellowed mess was stuck onto the creases and burrows around the sightless eyes – another thing similar and, yet, differed from the Project. It made the Prototype appear depressed, as if it knew-
Nonsense. This lizard had only known one thing: aggression.
"I'm going back down."
It went easier than up. The strain on his knees increased, but his heart didn't pump as hard. The tradeoff was worth it, just like the exchange he was doing tonight. Golden footprints marked his travel, but the Artificial Chaos soon ran over it with their own bodies. It had made the tracks appear as streaks – anyone whom stole a glance would assume a far worse attack than he had accomplished…
Or better, an outsider would assume the Biolizard attacked itself. Wouldn't be the first PSUL1-series to do so.
At some point, he reached the final step of the plan. The red organ at the base of the neck moved in shallow, uneven movements that seemed like inhalation and exhaust. It desperately tried to absorb more Chaos Energy since the life support system was no more. In and out, like breathing. At the time of creation, the Prototype was the strongest organism capable of using that mythical power – could create deep Dioxizine Purple orbs with lilac afterglows that had enough energy output to eviscerate a platoon of soldiers.
He had seen them, after all, severely damage the core that wasn't made with synthesized angel ore. Holes in the metal barrier dumped out oceans of water; the floods wiping out all the habitable areas near and around the future nose of the Eclipse Cannon. About 34 people died.
[-had it been only four hours earlier, Maria would have been in that hallway, looking for him for dinner-!]
The knife stabbed into flesh before Gerald even realized what was going on. The sharpened blade – meant to dissect the failures that slept in his laboratory – dug into organic compounds. Sparks of lavender streaked against the hilt as if to stop the human's assault, but no damage was actually accomplished. It was only a threat, a reaction; a predisposition that wouldn't save the Prototype from his wrath. More and more the now-blunted edge dug, until all that was left was an entryway into the organ's core. Like a spiral, one could see the nerves and blood vessels attached to the middle, where a dull, sienna light – lacking vibrancy to be even considered gold – glowed.
Red was all over his sleeves. Coat drenched in vivid color.
"Bag," Dr. Gerald Robotnik ordered the P-1.
There wasn't a delay or rebuttal to that command. The scientist soon felt his own fingers pull out the 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, vial by vial. Like diamonds, they scattered the sienna light from within onto the Chaos infused water below.
["TCDD is strange. In certain carbon-based lifeforms, the addition of the dioxin can stimulate the feeling of hunger. The body of the animal is incapable of feeding itself and the needs for nutrition overrule self-preservation. In the end, the unfortunate receiver literally wastes away in anorexia. Its not fast, either. It can take anywhere between one to six weeks," Gerald lectured the child as he flipped to another page. On it, the illustration of a simple gecko from a rainforest seemed to smile despite being so close to passing. This was the 'Before.' 'After' was two pages away and locked downstairs.]
The Prototype could survive 33.98 lbs of TCDD mixed right into the Chaos organ. It wasn't a death blow.
Instead, it would force the Biolizard's body to require more and more Chaos in order to fight it, but with the life support system annihilated, there would be nothing there to grab onto. The Prototype would simply grow weaker over the days and die a painful, sad death in the haze and mist of this room. TCDD was only an accelerant to remove the failure before anyone could come and ask questions from outside his immediate researchers.
Mercy was letting the failure stay locked in stasis.
And he granted it.
Gerald made sure to thank the Artificial Chaos for their assistance. He had already replaced his dirty lab coat with a fresh, clean spare he had brought along. He fixed his ID badge back straight. He cleaned the specks off of his spectacles. He dropped something that was on his face that Maria seemed to be worried about.
Footsteps left the chamber; echoes died over the minutes as the rushing water faded it away into the background.
Up in the rafters, something shifted.
It wasn't a hedgehog or a young girl.
[x]
"What's wrong, Shadow? You look pretty down this morning," Maria asked as her voice filled with worry.
The boy moved in his chair at the camping table the trio were having breakfast at, saying nothing. The smells of cafeteria food wafted: pancakes with chocolate chip smiling faces for his granddaughter; toast, an incredibly strong black coffee, and eggs for a scientist; Gerald's book of toxins in front of the 'Mobian' with a bookmark at page 123.
Maria waved her fork and gave an encouraging smile. "Remember what I said about talking about your feelings more often – at least with us?"
Shadow seemed to contemplate that and relented. "I just feel… strange. Not sure as to why." There was a mixed flash of emotions – confusion, betrayal, depression, and acceptance – but none of them matched the face before and the face after. In fact, the boy still looked calm and at peace, surrounded by the things he likes.
"Strange?" his granddaughter wanted clarification.
White gloved fingers rubbed the area where his neck met shoulders. Digits traced a line as if the Ultimate Lifeform had received a cut. Red eyes flashed down to check the fabric, but there was nothing there. Not a singular splat of Shadow's ebony 'blood.' "It's probably because I'm not used to relaxing like this for so long," the child mused. He hadn't seemed to believe his own words, but also lacked context as to why he felt that way.
Context that the eldest had suddenly clarity at knowing.
Gerald paused mid bite.
Then excused himself to hurl in the bathroom.
[x]
[He hoped desperately that the boy wasn't struck with thoughts of being stabbed by Robotnik's own hand; that it was just phantom pain from being interconnected via Maria's theories – because that was the better option.]
[x]
He was ill the rest of the week; filled with nightmares. It was of his granddaughter. She was watching him as he was tied up in chains and slumped over on a hard chair. A broken expression cracked on her features he had never seen on humans before. Her skin was paled, hair a mess, a burst of Alizarin on her blouse, and her whole appearance spectral.
She never said anything. Never moved a muscle save her eyes: dull, judging, sad ocean depths that made it seem like she was dead-
And he would wake up, gasping in his room.
There was no chance for breaks. Work had to continue.
It was as if the universe was telling him Maria's time was getting ever shorter.
[x]
The date became 20Sep.