//------------------------------// // Part 2 - Chapter 2 // Story: Immortal // by The Grimm Reaper //------------------------------// ((...One week later...)) I'd quickly grown accustomed to the green liquid the doctor would place me in after every encounter with the others. I learned many things within my first week, such as the name of the seemingly invisible wall; glass, window and in some cases door. Just another construct of man made from natural elements. The green liquid was in fact the mutagen introduced into my system but in liquid form. While it did nothing to alter my appearance, it just made sure the virus already in my body remained stable and fresh. This I learned from the Doctor. Clearly my ability to understand him went unnoticed by him. Chrysalis told me that she'd seen humans speaking to their pet dogs in much the same way the doctor spoke to me. I guess I was just an ear for him to talk to. While I liked the doctor and all the wonderful insight into all things physics and scientific, the General was the one who gave off a feeling that made me feel insecure. Shaiya explained that he was in chrage of the entire thing, not just the people as I'd thought. That meant he was in charge of our progression, and I didn't like that at all. It was time for a change. I'd spent the week trying to learn all I could about this mutagen they'd forced upon us. Apparently, it was some sort of virus designed to grant strength, agility, dexterity and intelligence to us. Of course, we were just experiments, test subjects to make sure the treatments worked before applying it on humans, as if they weren't strong enough already. In the arena, the eight of us discussed how we should proceed with our place in this seemingly alien world. "I say we take our chances and attack the second they let their guard down." Abbadon said. Abbadon was brash, quick to react, but not thick. Very much like a black panther in the initial stages of the hunt. "That would be suicide! I for one have no interest in attacking them directly. I recommend we learn how to use their defense systems, which are placed throughout the facility and turn those against them. That'll bring the entire facility down into chaos!" Discord said, chuckling as he spoke. "That could work, but we need to figure out how we would get to those systems without being seen. They've got monitoring equipment throughout the facility." Shaiya confirmed. Everyone stopped to pause and think. "What do you think, Shiroyami?" Sombra asked, drawing everyone's attention to me. I sat there, thinking hard about what we should do. "I don't know. The fact of the matter is, none of us has enough information about this place to come up with a foolproof plan. With young Luna among us, her safety is as much a priority as it is a handicap, no offense." I said, turning to the sisters. "No, you're right. Luna's youth is a problem, but it can't be helped. What do you think we should do, Shiroyami?" Celestia replied. "Why's everyone asking me? I'm just the new guy." I asked. "Yet you've learned so much in such a short time. You're smart, Shiroyami. To be frank, this is a pack, and we've all decided you're the Alpha." Shaiya said. "Ah, when you say 'we've all' decided..." Abbadon went to interrupt, but an alarm began to blare out of nowhere. The eight of us were at attention in an instant. Warning! Warning! Project Simian has been breached. Warning! Project Simian has been breached. a female voice sounded throughout the facility. "The heck's Project Simian?" I asked, turning to Shaiya. She, as well as the others shrugged in response. The doorway opened and the General himself entered the place, along with a contingency of his guards. He held something in his hand. "Projects III through X, approach!" the General commanded. The others waited for me to decide what to do. Genuine curiosity got the better of me, and I did as commanded, sitting at attention. "Here, take a whiff of this and hunt down the source. Kill on sight!" the General ordered. He held out his hand and a tuft of fur was presented to us. I sniffed it, identifying it as the Mutagen, but a variant of our own. Also, the fur suggested it belonged to a Gorilla. The mutagen within me reacted and surged, sending a signal to the others. They too now had the scent. With the information we needed, we set off to hunt down this defunct relative of ours. It was relatively easy to find him, even without relying on the scent. Gunfire could be heard from beyond. My friends and I ran through the corridors leading to our target. "Are we really going to kill one of our own?" Chrysalis asked, jumping onto my back for a ride (which I had grown accustomed to). "A necessary sacrifice for our continued existence." I replied. "WHAT?!" everyone yelled, halting the pursuit. I stopped with them, forming a ring to discuss the matter. "Look, the General is the one in charge, that means he must have set things in motion. Why would he do that unless he's testing us for obedience as well as performance. If we show neither, this whole thing will be shut down and we can kiss any chance of escape goodbye, but do as he says, and he may just let us go when he's done with us. Unfortunately, that means we have to eliminate one of our own." I said. There was a deafening silence amongst us that just screamed resignation. "I don't want to kill anyone." Luna said, sounding really sad in the process. I turned to the little filly and smiled gently at her. "You won't have to, little Woona. With any luck, neither will Celestia. This is strictly for the predators." I said. Luna nodded, nuzzling my face in thanks. "Good girl. Alright everyone, let's press on." The Gorilla was larger than we'd anticipated. He was bigger than some of the machinery humans operated. But that wasn't the most dangerous part about him. This defunct Project was armed with a mini-gun. We entered a large room near the exit where bodies of countless humans lay strewn in a bloody trail of carnage. Luna turned away, hiding the from the sight into Celestia's fur. Discord seemed impartial to it all. Sombra was as speechless as usual. Chrysalis rose to the roof, wanting to get a safe distance away from the bodies. Abbadon, Shaiya and myself remained unphazed by the scent and the scene. Abbadon even went so far as to make a snack out of some of a nearby human. On the far side of the room was our target a Silverback Gorilla the size of an Elephant. He stopped in his tracks and turned to face us. His face was missing pieces, covered in metal plating. An eye had been cybernetically replaced and his shoulders bore steel guards to protect the joints. "So, this is the next generation of slaves?" the Gorilla asked. I growled at him. "Does a slave plan his escape?" I asked him. "Occasionally. I know I am. What about you, little carnivores? What is your goal here?" he asked in return. I turned to Celestia who nodded, taking Luna away from the area. Sombra, Discord and Chrysalis followed, leaving Abbadon, Shaiya and me to deal with the Gorilla. "We've been told to take you down." I said. Shaiya and Abbadon came up beside me, baring their teeth at him to look more threatening. "You plan to escape, yet you obey your master at the same time? Such a conflicting pair. How do you think that will turn out?" "We're waiting for the right opportunity, as you did." I replied. "You're astute, for a wolf. Then again, that may be the advanced mutagen in your body, it seems to agree with you. Mine wasn't so agreeable, as you can plainly see." he said. I was about to continue the conversation further, but I saw his finger begin to squeeze the trigger on the weapon. A surprise attack! "Scatter!" I called. We were just in time as the bullets went flying after us. I ran and ran and ran. The trail of bullets followed me in particular. I used my momentum to run along the wall and up another. I gained access to the observation deck, using its floor as a shield from the weapon. I could feel the barrage of bullets breaking away at the flooring. In a matter of seconds, they would break through and I would no longer be safe. Just as I felt the rock begin to give way, luck smiled upon me as the mini-gun had run out of bullets. I peeked my head over to see him discard his weapon to the side. He then slammed his fists together. The sheer power sent a wave of air out that rustled my fur. One hit and I'm as good as I was before the mutagen. I thought. Still, my determination was unshaken. It was do or die, and I didn't want to die. I leaped over the observation deck and landed back on the ground level. Abbadon and Shaiya were right behind me in an instant. "He's unarmed. Now's our chance!" Abbadon said, rushing towards him. "Abbadon, wait!" I called out. it was too late. The gorilla struck him, breaking his body with a single hit. the black panther was sent flying backwards. I intercepted him, going back with him. The next thing I felt was the wall slamming against my back, the force increased by the pressure Abbadon had added to it. Searing pain shot through one of my legs as a rebar rod, broken from the gunfire protruded through my leg. Through that, I was pinned to the wall while Abbadon fell to the ground, unconscious. "Bastard!" Shaiya yelled at the Gorilla, going in for the attack. "SHAIYA! STOP!" I shouted. The wolf halted just short of the Gorilla's reach, his swing blowing her back like a gale-force wind. "He's too strong for us right now. Think smart!" I said, tearing my leg from the rod. It was agonising! Shaiya did as I said and retreated to a safe distance. "I was right to assume you were the leader. You're clearly more experienced than any of them." the Gorilla commented. "Nah... I'm just the new guy!" I said through gritted teeth. "Then let me share some knowledge with you, new guy. These humans came prepared for my escape attempt, that is to say, my first attempt. The defences in this facility were designed to prevent our escape. If you defeat me, they'll improve their defences so you too will be unable to escape. So I urge you to think about how you'll approach that situation." he said. With a bad limp on one of my legs, I was even weaker against this Gorilla than before. "I'll take what you said into consideration in the future. But what I'd like to know right now, is you name." I said. "My name? Why would you want to know that?" he asked. "Because Project Simian seems a bit... stale. Should I manage to win in this scenario, you would at least deserve to be remembered by your real name, don't you think?" I said. He smiled at me, the first kind feeling I got from him since this all started. "I'll give you my name if you give me yours." he offered. "I'm Shiroyami." I said. "Plato." he replied. I nodded to him before turning to Shaiya. She saw in my eyes the message I was trying to relay. "Are you sure?" she asked. I just nodded to her. Immediately, she withdrew from the battle. "Single combat? How nomadic of you. I thought wolves always hunted in packs." Plato said. "Thinking like a wolf won't help us to escape." I replied. "Besides, this isn't so much a hunt as it is a sacrifice on your part." Plato gave me a look of both intrigue and confusion. "Oh? Please elaborate." he asked. "In killing you, the General will have further use of us, if so, then we continue to exist, and if we continue to exist, so does Luna, the foal you undoubtedly saw leave with her sister and the others." I said. "You are very kind to carry the burden of such a young one upon your shoulders. No doubt she limits the opportunities you have to escape yourselves." Plato commented. "For now, the only obstacles are you, and time itself. We could wait for her to grow up, but chances are we won't be useful to the General for that long." I stated. "Then I shall give you time to think further, should you defeat me. Shall we get this over with?" Plato asked. I smiled and chuckled. "Yes, I think I've spent enough time preparing myself for this." I replied. With great force of will, I slammed my injured leg down on the ground. The muscles squeezed tightly, closing the wound in my leg. The mutagen did the rest. As it began to repair the injury, it also cut the pain receptors around that area, leaving me as good as new. "You've adapted to your mutagen quickly, I see." Plato said. "Something the others said about it, plus what it did for me in the first place made me believe it responded to my will in much the same way the others did. In short, I've earned a few new tricks." I replied. Plato rushed me. My mind went into overdrive. Think fast, think fast, think fast! I shot around him, digging my fangs into his leg, the momentum of my swing allowed me to drag my teeth around, essentially forming cuts in his body. I'd crippled one leg. The real worry were the arms. While I could stay out of their reach, that wouldn't let me kill him any faster. I had to stay behind him if I wanted to do any damage. I leaped up onto his back and bit down on the back of his neck. As I suspected, his hide was as tough as an Elephant's. Strength, strength, strength! I thought. My jaws broke the skin as my teeth seemingly sharpened themselves. Plato roared in pain. Stay behind him, go in hard and fast, don't let him hit you. I kept thinking these things over and over again. It worked for a while, but as luck would have it. I mistimed one of my assaults and was struck in the face by one of his fists. I went through a wall, meeting the others there. Pain seared my entire body. "Well, new guy's kaput." Discord said. There was a moment's silence among us before I coughed up blood. "Don't write me off so quickly, Discord." I said, struggling to get back up. "Well, the night's still young." he replied, chuckling afterward. "I'll be home in time for dinner." I said, hobbling back through the wall. Directly attacking won't do it. So what have I got left? I need to disable his arms somehow. I thought. Plato sat there, his injured leg preventing him from moving further. I did likewise, just beyond his reach. I closed my eyes and began to think about the fight so far. He had a mini-gun, a long-range weapon, rendered useless by its exhaustion of ammunition. His body's so thick nothing short of my teeth could pierce it, but it's not enough. To make things worse, he's got that armour over his shoulders... That was it. I forced my body to go into overdrive. I shot back around before Plato could have a chance to even go for a strike. Instead of going for the neck, I went for the armour over his shoulders. Getting a firm grip on the left pauldron, I used all my strength to rip it off. I hadn't expected it to have actually been bolted to his shoulder, but that was just a happy accident. The underside of the pauldron was darkened by blood; some old, some fresh. This was more than I'd hoped for. His left arm went limp. Realising that I could disable his greatest weapon, I repeated the process with his right shoulder. Success. He was disarmed, both figuratively and literally. Plato fell back in pain. He was defeated. I stood over my prey and looked down upon him. He was panting for breath. His body was shutting down, now that it had lost a tremendous amount of blood. "Well... done... Shiroyami. You live... to serve... another day." he said. I stared down at him, neither a smile nor a look of pity on my face. "You'll be remembered, Plato. I promise you. Not only because of the incident, but you've helped me to figure out what I'm going to do." I said. Plato smiled at me before closing his eyes. I gave him a quick death. Throwing my face at him, I tore his throat out. He died instantly. I swallowed the chunk in my mouth whole, the mutagen breaking it up and adding certain components, such as its density to my own body. My wounds were healing quickly, but I would undoubtedly need more time in my tank. The next week, I entered the arena, fully healed and ready to share my revelation with the others. "Everyone, gather round." I said. They obeyed, Abbadon still hobbling from the battle the previous week. "You've figured out what we're going to do?" Shaiya asked. I nodded. "Well? What do we do? Run amok? Disable their defences? Play dead?" Discord asked. "We'll do nothing." I said. "WHAT?!" they demanded. "I've learned that the Doctor has been giving me a unique version of the mutagen. He made a journal entry on the computer last night when he was alone with me. He calls it the 'Alpha Gene'. It's twice as efficient as the mutagen within yourselves and moreover it's designed to evolve. I'm going to become stronger much faster than expected." I said. there was stunned silence among the group. "So... what, you're abandoning us?" Chrysalis asked. "No. My plan is this. There's a time at night when everything, including the security and camera systems shut down. The only things still functioning are our tanks. With everyone away, I'll get out and sneak into the Doctor's secret room where he keeps the formula for the Alpha Gene. I'll then distribute it to each of your own tanks, effectively giving you the same gene." I said. "Okay, so we all progress faster than expected, then what?" Shaiya asked. "Plato said that they redesign the defence systems to counter our progress should we decide to follow his example. My plan is that we, Luna included, evolve past the point that the defences can stop us. In order to do so, we'll have to continue to evolve, but hide our progress from the humans. Demonstrate only a fraction of our true abilities. They'll be none the wiser. I too will limit my potential, making the doctor believe that his secret experiment is a failure. If we're lucky, he'll come up with something even better." There were mumbles of uncertainty among them. "What if we run out of time before then?" Celestia asked. "Then we'll do what Plato did and force our way out. After all, the only thing that stopped him was us. And the humans won't start up another project while we're still efficient." My reasoning seemed to put their minds at ease. Excitement filled the air as they all began to imagine how things would play out. I left them to their devices and went over to one of the cubes in the arena, taking a seat. I then stared up at the window where the General and the Doctor stared back. They spoke amongst themselves, mainly uncertainties with my looking at them. "Something on your mind, new guy?" Shaiya asked, having detached from the excited group to sit beside me. "The only obstacle now is time. Despite my cognition, I can't read the General's mind. When will he pull the plug on us? How long do we have to prepare? And will it be enough? I've talked the talk for their sake, but the walk is a little shaky." I said. Shaiya chuckled and nuzzled me. "You gave them what they needed, a plan they could back and the morale required to back it. Let fate decide how the story ends from here on out and just do what comes naturally to you." she said. "That's the thing, Shaiya... none of this is natural to me. I feel like I've woken up in the middle of an apocalypse. It's only a matter of time before we all die, one way or another. We're still only mortal." I said. "You're afraid to die?" she asked me. "I'm afraid I won't die the way I want to die." I replied. "And how would you like to die?" "Right now, I'd like to die free, with all of you nearby." I turned to Shaiya to see her looking at me with a content expression on her face. "Then we'll make sure that's how you go, Alpha." then she kissed me. A small thing, like a bump of her nose on the cheek, only more. I watched as she rejoined the group of excited animals and I thought to myself; No, not even time will stop us from being free. If the General pulls the plug too early, I will obliterate this facility. I looked back up to the General and gave him a stern look before turning away towards the arena exit.