Subject 2763

Chapter 6

"Despite the increasing danger I cannot ask for assistance on this project. I... I can't risk Tennisball getting hurt. Under no circumstances will he be involved."

*click*

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Golfball struggled to move all the items that she had not-so-legally taken from Cloudy's collection into her lab. While Tennisball had been a great help in retrieving the items and bringing them to the entrance to her lab, Golfball insisted she had to bring the items inside herself.

As she pulled the pieces of metal larger than herself down the winding stairs she recalled the conversation that had transpired on the way back from the cliff.

"This sure is a lot of material. You must be building something pretty complex" he had asked.

"Mmhm." Golfball had answered.

"You sure you don't need any help? I have always been good with machines"

"I can assure you, your assistance is unneeded. Though, I appreciate the offer."

Tennisball always wanted to help. Golfball appreciated that. He was her lab partner. Her co-creator. Her best friend. But this was something he could never get involved in.

Tennisball was brilliant in almost every way. He was incredible with machines, a master at solving problems, and one of the most compassionate people that Golfball knew. But it was that last strength that made it impossible to involve him.

Tennisball was not anti-violence by any means. But this was far beyond something he would be ok with. Golfball knew well that her experiments stretched far beyond what would be considered humane. Tennisball simply wouldn't be able to assist her. He'd be a burden. Or even worse, he'd be against her.

That was the thing that held Golfball back the most. The idea that Tennisball might hate her for this. She didn't care what the other residents of Goiky would think. She didn't care about the very small amount of people who had noticed and cared enough about Leafy's disappearance. And as hard as it was to ignore the way her screams never seemed to stop echoing in Golfball's head, she sure as hell didn't care about Leafy. No. It was Tennisball she cared about. The thought of him turning on her was almost enough to make her drop the entire experiment.

Almost.

Golfball took labored breaths as she finally dragged the last thing she needed down to the lab. She glanced at Evil Leafy, who was still frozen in the center of the lab, standing now shiny and blue.

Golfball walked over to her tool kit at the other side of the room. However she felt her heart drop in her chest as she got closer to the subject.

A single drop of water slid down the side of Evil Leafy into a small puddle on the floor that Golfball had not previously noticed. The heat of the lab was melting the ice that incased the subject. Golfball ran to her tool kit. She'd have to act fast.

And she certainly did. Working off of the small amount of energy that her nap during the walk with Tennisball gave her and the pure adrenaline of being in a room with something that could end your existence in an instant, Golfball worked faster than she ever had before.

Sweat streamed down her face, sometimes uncomfortably pooling in her dimples. There was no room for error. She had to get this right the first time. Or everyone would be in danger.

Golfball found herself laughing at the grim thought. Everyone in danger. She didn't care. She didn't care about everyone. She cared about herself, and those who cared about her in return. As she worked she thought back on what Tennisball had told her as she exited her lab.

"Basketball and Remote and Robot Flower... we've all been talking."

She should have expected Remote and Robot Flower to catch onto her own distress. The two of them were genius mechanical minds. Intellectually unmatched. It was no surprise that they'd be able to pick up on her current state.

Basketball was unexpected, but made sense. As much as Golfball hated to admit it, Basketball was a genius unlike any other. And unlike Golfball herself, she could understand people. She always picked up on the little things. She knew when someone was in distress. And she knew when someone was hiding something. Golfball would have to be careful around her.

And Tennisball. He knew Golfball better than she knew herself. He understood everything, down to the air she breathed. He was everything to her, and she to him. She wouldn't be surprised if he could tell exactly what she had been doing down here by only reading her facial expression.

He knew her well. And that's what put him in so much danger. Tennisball promised to allow Golfball her alone time. Be if he knew how dangerous this was, he'd step in regardless. That's why she had to keep this all to herself.

Golfball sighed as she hit the final nail, signifying the completion of her device. She stepped back to admire her work. A large hollow outline of a cube. It didn't seem like much until she grabbed the plug that extended from it and plugged it into the nearby outlet.

Suddenly the spine of a box buzzed to life with electricity, creating an electric wall that Golfball was sure would contain the subject, even if it attempted to teleport away.

She temporarily turned the cell off and ran to the subject, who was still dripping with water. Using her head, she pushed Evil Leafy into the bounds of the cell before turning it back on, encasing the subject in a container of electricity.

Golfball took a step back and allowed herself to breathe. If all worked out she wouldn't have to worry about her life being at risk. As long as she was careful and the cell did as it was supposed to.

But that was one big risk to take.