As Caine and Bubble plotted their next move, Ragatha led Pomni through the corridors, seeking refuge in the room of another subject. Meanwhile, Caine and Bubble began to search for the new subject.
Pomni was grabbed by the hand as Ragatha scuttled down the narrow corridor. Her centipede legs silently tread the white-tiled floor, but her legs moved fast like the needles of many sewing machines.
“What's happening? Where are we going?” Pomni queried as she warily looked left and right, and then behind her.
“Shh! We're going to Jax's room,” Ragatha whispered firmly as she scuttled quicker.
“Jax? Who's Jax?” Pomni whispered back.
“He's a lab experiment just like me… Well, he's not a half-centipede, but he got experimented on too. Like I said, you and I aren't the only ones here.”
“How was he experimented on?” Pomni's question wasn't answered because Ragatha was already knocking on Jax's door.
The door was pulled open to reveal a tall, slender periwinkle rabbit with black antlers protruding from his head resembling a jackalope, along with black spikes jutting out his shoulders and ankles.
“What is it now, Dollfa--” Jax paused as he saw Pomni. “Who’s this sucker?”
“Jax, she’s in trouble!” Ragatha asserted as she barged past the door.
“Don’t get your legs tied up in a knot, Rags,” Jax replied with his snarky, yellow smile.
Ragatha quickly shut the door while she tried not to slam it to avoid drawing attention. Jax's room looked just like Ragatha's, bare asylum walls and all. He, of course, had different bedding and a nightstand.
…
For Professor Caine and his assistant Bubble, they began to approach Ragatha’s room door. Caine knocked on the door, but no answer… so they knocked again, still no answer.
“Subject R173, we know you’re in there!” Caine shouted, turning towards Bubble. “Now are you sure you weren’t just fibbing nonsense to me?”
“No, Boss,” Bubble promised, backing away in fear. “I heard Ragatha talking to an unfamiliar voice through the door, I swear!”
"Alright, but if she or this new subject is not in there, you and I will have problems..." Caine threatened.
He reached for the doorknob. Bubble gulped nervously as the eager, impatient professor swung the door open. There was nobody, not a single being in sight. Caine’s eyes narrowed in fury as he turned towards Bubble.
“I should’ve known you’d lie to me, you meddling parasite!” He got closer to Bubble.
“B-Boss, I’m not lying to you! I swear the two were here!!” Bubble winced. “They could be hiding somewhere else!”
Caine floated back a bit and took a deep breath. He contemplated plan B. He responded with, “Okay… I guess we need to search every room then, but you’re coming with me.”
Bubble exhaled with relief. “Okay.”
“If I tear these corridors down piece by piece, so be it!”
With that, they took off to investigate.
…
Back in the other room, Jax looked back and forth at Ragatha and Pomni. “Alright, spill it, Dollface. What’s going on?”
“Okay, um… So this is Pomni, and she had just appeared in the lobby from the real world,” she responded. “She’s scared out of her mind, Jax. We need to protect her from the maniacal clutches of our Professor!”
Jax raised an eyebrow, smirking at Ragatha. "Well, well, isn't that a surprise? A new gal stumbles into our little hellhole. Lucky us." He turned to Pomni, sizing her up. "Welcome to the madhouse, kid. Don't mind the experiments and the eccentricities, it's just another day in the weird and forsaken world of Caine's creations.”
“What happened to you?” Pomni questioned as she studied his antlers and spikes.
“I’m now a jackalope, courtesy of Professor Caine's antics. He manipulated my genes with proteins of a virus, which turned me into this.”
“D-did it hurt?”
“I felt ill for a while, but after that, I was stuck like this. I’m tellin’ ya, that nut job professor always has some bizarre experiments planned that meddle with people's bodies and minds.”
Pomni stepped back and began to hyperventilate. Ragatha rubbed her hand on her back to console her.
Jax chuckled, "Easy there, kid. Take a deep breath. You'll get used to the insanity around here."
“Jax, you're not helping!” Ragatha responded.
“What? Caine's going to find her eventually. He's stubborn until he gets his way.”
“Well, you're going to help Pomni whether you like it or not!”
Jax rolled his eyes, "Fine, fine, Dollface. I'll play babysitter for our new friend here. But if things go south, I'm not taking the fall.”
…
Meanwhile, in the corridors, Caine and Bubble intensified their search. The tension in the facility thickened as the pursuit continued. Caine knocks and enters each subject's room. Each of the other subjects stated they did not know the presence of the new subject. Door after door, Caine did not give up until this new human was found.
Soon, Caine and Bubble arrived at Jax’s door and knocked.
“Subject J12410, could we come in?” Caine urgently asked from the other side of the door. “It's important!”
“Wh– what am I going to do?!” Pomni whimpered.
“Get under Jax's bed!” She whispered vigilantly. Pomni did so as Ragatha concealed her by pulling the blanket down and then sat on the bed.
Jax unlocked his bedroom door and answered, “Yes, Professor?”
“A little bird told me that there is a new subject around here… Have you seen her?”
Jax paused as he looked at Ragatha and then back at Caine. A smirk slowly grew on his face. “She's under my bed, sir!”
“JAX!” Ragatha yelled. Caine floated off to Jax's bed and lifted the blanket. Pomni screamed as her cover was blown.
“So the lie is true! A new subject has entered my laboratory! Haha!” Caine smiled. Pomni crawled out from under the bed and began to sprint for her life.
Caine soared after Pomni as Ragatha began to scuttle after to try to shield her. Pomni turned every corner, but Caine knew the way of the facility, even in his sleep. Ragatha yelled, “Professor, PROFESSOR! Please stop! Please don't hurt her, please!”
With swift precision, Caine extracted a remote, triggering the electric collar on her. Ragatha convulsed violently on the floor, consumed by the relentless shocks.
"Sorry I have to do this, R173, but I can't have my plans interfered," Caine declared, his words cutting through with ruthless intent.
…
After a long pursuit, Pomni ran into a dead end. Caine and Bubble floated towards her as she whimpered.
“Please don't hurt me, I beg of you!” She pleaded, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Professor Caine pulled out a tranquilizer gun from his lab coat. “Ah, don't fret… How about you take a nice, long nap…”
Caine steadied the tranquilizer gun, aimed carefully, and pulled the trigger. The dart flew through the air, striking Pomni right in the neck. Almost immediately, she began to feel the effects of the tranquilizer. Her senses grew distorted, and her speech became slurred and incoherent. Slowly, her legs gave out, and she collapsed onto the cold, hard floor. Caine moved quickly, lifting her onto his shoulder, and carrying her to his laboratory.
YOU ARE READING
The Freaky Digital Lab: A TADC AU (15+)
FanfictionProfessor Caine owns a digital lab inside a forsaken PC. He experiments on every victim that emits into his lab. He puts his mutant experiments in asylums, or Caine simply euphemizes them as 'rooms." Caine has his files and secrets generated to caes...
