The Curse of Taloncrest Manor

Chapter 16: My Latest Creation

The horrific beast got off the table and let out a deafening roar. Dr. Octavio laughed triumphantly. "Lockwood talked much about 'dreams' and 'furthering' the scientific advancement of humanity, but he lacked true vision. That those he sought to save---ultimately--- are not worth saving. Who would have ever thought that, one day, he would be serving my purposes?" he taunted. As the hulking, reanimated husk of Dr. Lockwood began to rush towards the group, Dr. Octavio drew a hidden sidearm and shot James in the neck with a tranquilizer dart, dropping him on the spot. He then grabbed a chainsaw from a nearby workbench and slowly began to approach him. "I think the tall one will make a fine specimen. Keep the others occupied for me, won't you, Lockwood?" 

"Dang it! JAMES!" Ricardo called to his friend, trying to get him to wake up, but it was no use. And with Lockwood hot on their heels, they couldn't spare the time to rescue him themselves. 

Thankfully, Jane sprung to the rescue. "STOP!" she exclaimed as she got in between the unconscious James and the doctor. She then cast a field over Dr. Octavio which restrained him, forced him to the ground, and rendered him unable to move any further. "What.....what is this?! What have you done to me?" Dr. Octavio asked. 

Elijah looked back at Jane and Octavio. "Whoa....she can use magic, too?" "Just like that 'Melody' ghost from the Conservatory....." Cooper observed. "What exactly is going on here?" "Do not worry about him. He won't be going anywhere. Just focus on defeating that abomination! I'll explain everything later." Jane ordered. 

Ricardo nodded. "Guys, we have to think of a plan! Does anyone see anything around that could be useful?" "Maybe we could drop that on him?" Cooper asked, indicating the light fixture on the ceiling. Ricardo handed Cooper the survival knife that he had used to get everyone away from Dischord earlier. "Great idea. We'll get you up there, and you'll cut the ropes while we distract it." 

The three boys managed to reach the highest point in the lab room, and Cooper jumped from the platform to the top of the light fixture and began to hack at its ropes. However, Lockwood began pounding on the floor of the room, causing the place to tremble and Cooper to temporarily lose his balance. "I got this! You guys go grab its attention so I don't fall off! And take this, too!" he said, as he tossed the plunger gun towards them and began working.

Once they had gotten back onto the ground, Ricardo fired the plunger gun at Lockwood, but it harmlessly stuck to his body with no effect. Lockwood then grabbed the rope and spun Ricardo around before throwing him into a wall. "Ricky!" Elijah called out in panic. Ricardo dusted himself off and slowly stood back up. "I....I'm fine." 

The first of three ropes had successfully been cut. 

Next, the beast set his sights on Elijah, chasing him along the edges of the laboratory before catching him in his grasp. Thinking fast, Ricardo rushed over to James' unconscious body and retrieved the special flashlight from his pocket. Then, he headed over to the immobilized Dr. Octavio and stole his chainsaw right out of his hands. "HEY! What are you doing with that?! Get back here!" the doctor yelled. Moving back to the monster, he flashed the light right in Lockwood's eyes, stunning him and forcing him to drop Elijah. Ricardo went to check on Elijah to see if he was alright, but Lockwood attempted a sneak attack from behind. "RICKY, LOOK OUT!" Jane warned. He turned around just in time, and just when Lockwood's hand would have grabbed him, he sliced the monster's entire arm off using Octavio's chainsaw, causing the joint to leak eerie, green fluid. "NO!" the doctor cried. 

The second of three ropes had been cut. 

"You might want to start luring him towards the center now! Your friend is over halfway done!" Jane suggested. 

At this point, the zombie from earlier---the one who initially had the balcony key around its neck---also joined the fray, homing in on Ricardo's position. Then, he got an idea. "Cooper! How long until the last rope is cut?" "About.....twenty seconds, give or take!" "Perfect." 

He whispered a plan into Elijah's ear, and shortly afterward, they both took off in opposite directions, with Lockwood following Elijah and the key zombie following Ricardo. Once they had reached the far edges of the room, they turned around and quickly doubled back to the center. "This better work!" Ricardo exclaimed as both parties began to approach the middle of the lab, with the light fixture just moments away from falling. 

Just as Ricardo and Elijah made it past the impact point, Lockwood and the other zombie were just entering it. At that moment, the light fixture fell from the ceiling, with Cooper falling right behind it. 

Lockwood and the key zombie had been crushed to death, with Ricardo, Elijah, and Cooper no worse for wear. 

"NO! How could this happen?! My....my plan....it was supposed to be perfect!" Octavio exclaimed in disbelief. 

Just then, a spirit began to materialize on top of the now-broken light fixture. Most of the party exchanged confused glances, but Octavio recognized its appearance almost immediately. ".....Lockwood?" he asked softly. The good doctor turned towards his creation with a disapproving frown, and then turned to Ricardo and his team. "My thanks, heroes....you have saved me from a fate worse than death. To live a life of servitude in forced obedience to an evil such as him....I shudder to think of the atrocities I may have committed." 

Jane, seeing that Octavio was disarmed and that he could not cause any trouble, relinquished her spell on him. Afterwards, Octavio ran over and approached Lockwood. "You have wronged me, wronged all of your other creations......for so many years. Look around you! At all your failures, at all your mistakes!" Octavio said as Lockwood examined the room. His eyes scanned the glass cages of zombies who just wanted to be let out. He looked at Patches and Gorelump, Octavio's last two creatures, who were obviously steaming with anger but were prevented from taking action due to Octavio's command. "We languished, alone, for eons! We may have looked different, but all we wanted was to be treated like everyone else! But instead, you.....you cast us aside. Why? How do you plan to make that up to us?!" 

Lockwood, though, would not have any of it. "Believe me, not a day goes by that I don't regret what I have done to you, or any of my other creations. The pain lingers with me every day, although I did not truly notice it until my demise. Was my death---at your hands, no less---enough 'retribution' for you? You have no idea how often the guilt ate at my mind. You have no idea how often I wished to go back, to start anew, to turn over a new leaf, to become a new person with different ideas and morals. A doctor with compassion. But thanks to your 'intervention', I am no longer able to do so. The last thing I need is for a failed creation like you to remind me of my wrongdoings. I designed you to be the perfect, most human-like android; to be friendly and approaching, to facilitate human/android interactions and put people at ease.....but instead, look at what you have done." "But---" "No 'but's." Lockwood turned back to Ricardo's group. "There is not much time left before I ascend. But heroes, I trust you'll finish this. Please....put the remnants of my past---all of them---to rest." With that, Lockwood faded away permanently.

Dr. Octavio was shaking with anger. He had just been admonished by his creator for trying to go against his "given" directive, when in reality it was Lockwood who he believed was in the wrong. 

Cooper got off the light fixture and recovered James' unconscious body while Ricardo addressed Dr. Octavio. "You hear that, 'doctor'? Even your creator disapproves of everything you have committed. Still.....I will offer you a chance. If you give us the key to the third floor balcony and promise to stay in this basement, we will leave you alone." 

Octavio chuckled darkly, and continued doing so even as he tossed the key into Ricardo's hands. "You think.....you think you have won? You know nothing....."  He ran over to a large red button on the wall. "You can't stop this now! You can't escape!" Slamming it, he exclaimed, "I've been saving one last surprise! You will all burn with me!" 

A siren began blaring all throughout the lab facilities, followed by a computerized voice. 

"SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE HAS BEEN INITIATED."