Hazel and Klunk (An RnC Subnautica AU)

Chapter 9: Hatching Enzymes

 I returned to the other vehicles with Percy and packed up.

"Anything useful?" Sally asked.

I shushed her. "Shh. Man on a mission here."

I didn't pay attention to what was going on in the background. I had seen the Ghost Weed somewhere while foraging in Maria and Percy. The maps we had made via the scanner room designated the area I was thinking the Ghost Weeds were found in as the Ghost Forest. The "trees" were large woody stalks with branches tipped with blue bulbs. Among the roots of the trees were the Ghost Weeds I was looking for!

It took me a bit to actually collect the goddamn seeds because the Ghost Weeds kept disappearing! The Brine didn't help because I had to go into it to actually get the damn things. I wondered if the plants were just randomly dying in front of me and disintegrating in the brine or the heat of the nearby vents. Maybe I was so intent on my mission I was hallucinating the plants.

"Yes!!!! Got 'em all! Hang tight, Hazel, we're coming to get you!" I turned Maria around and pushed her as far as she could go. Hazel had warned me that the fastest setting was for emergencies only, and to me, this counted.

I had been told that overheating the engine by overusing the fastest setting would set fire to the engine, but I broke the record for the longest setting hold without overheating the engine during that trip from the Ghost Forest to the Junction of the Lost River—a sector of the Biome that leads to the various other sectors—where the base was located.

As soon as Maria was docked, I scrambled out and into the fabrication area. The nearest fabricator started producing a vial of the enzymes as soon as I set the materials inside. I was experiencing a mix of emotions: fright, excitement, worry, panic. I could hardly comprehend them all.

"Gadget?" A tiny, hoarse voice echoed from the bedroom. I turned around.

Hazel.

She. Looked. Miserable. Her skin under her fur was probably about five shades paler than it should've been. Her violet eyes were losing their luster and color. Her hair was a mess. Her nose was snotty and her breathing was raspy. Worse than the lack of color in her cheeks were the lesions. In the time I had been gone, it appeared some of them had doubled in size and more had formed up her neck and onto her face. There was even one on the end of her sensitive nose!

"Oh my god. Hazel."

"Good morning..." she mumbled, dragging a blanket along behind her.

One step was taken before she collapsed into my arms. She was right to say "good morning" I later realized. It was now day forty-seven.

"Did you just wake up?" She asked, groggily.

I shook my head no. "No, Hazel. I left yesterday, day forty-six, for the Primary Containment Facility. I found the Sea Emperor. She's the key to the cure we need. She wants to help us if we help her and her young. It's day forty-seven. I haven't slept in twenty-four hours, but we can't rest now. C'mon. I have the enzymes I need to complete this whole flipping journey." I scooped her up, awkwardly snatched the enzymes and loaded up for the trip back down into the depths.