The Scientist

Vexs

Zedaph pov:

The sound of my hooves clicking on the cold, sterile floor echoed through the hallway, a rhythmic reminder of the tension that hung in the air. Alongside that sound was the constant flapping of tiny wings as Scar fluttered beside me, his pale blue form casting faint, ghostly shadows on the walls. I wasn’t entirely sure if I should have trusted these little flying creatures—they looked almost too fuzzy and innocent, but there was something about them that felt... otherworldly.

As we walked, or rather, as I walked and Scar flew, I couldn’t help but cast glances at him out of the corner of my eye. He seemed so different from any creature I had encountered before, his pale blue color giving him an ethereal appearance. He was small, but there was an undeniable energy about him that hinted at something powerful beneath the surface.

“So, Scar,” I began, my voice echoing slightly in the corridor, “you mentioned that you and Cub have bodies somewhere in this facility. What did you mean by that?”

Scar flapped his wings a bit harder, zipping ahead of me before doing a quick flip in the air, as if trying to put his thoughts in order. “Our bodies, yeah… It’s kind of hard to explain,” he said, his tone light but tinged with something serious. “We’re not exactly like the other subjects here. We’re more… projections, or extensions of those bodies. The real us is kept locked away, hidden from prying eyes.”

I frowned, trying to wrap my mind around the concept. “So, you’re not entirely physical?”

“Not in the way you’d think,” Scar replied, his voice carrying a hint of mischief. “We’re connected to our real bodies, but we can exist like this, outside of them. It lets us move around and interact with the world in a way that’s… well, more flexible.”

I nodded slowly, still not fully understanding but willing to go along with it. “And you said one of you would stay with Tango, while the other led me to these bodies. Is that part of your deal?”

Scar grinned, a playful glint in his eye. “Yep! We’re nothing if not fair. Cub’s keeping Tango company, making sure he stays safe, and I’m here to show you where we’re kept. If we help you, maybe you can help us too.”

As we continued down the hallway, the security level of the facility increased noticeably. The doors became more reinforced, with heavy locks and security cameras monitoring every move. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my all-access card, a small piece of plastic that was my only key to navigating these parts of the facility. Scar watched with interest as I swiped the card through the reader next to a particularly heavy door. The light on the reader blinked green, and with a low, metallic groan, the door began to slide open.

Scar, however, didn’t wait for the door to fully open. He flitted right through the gap as soon as it was large enough, his small form easily slipping through the narrow opening. I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy at how easily he could move through barriers that were meant to keep others out. As I stepped through the doorway, the sound of the door sliding shut behind me sent a shiver down my spine.

Scar led the way through another long corridor, this one even more heavily secured than the last. The lighting here was dimmer, casting everything in an eerie, bluish hue. The walls were lined with reinforced glass panels, each one revealing a small chamber beyond. Inside those chambers, various creatures and subjects were contained, their eyes dull and lifeless as they lay in a state of suspended animation.

“Here we are,” Scar announced, his voice cutting through the oppressive silence. He hovered in front of one of the glass panels, his wings fluttering with excitement. “This is where we’re kept.”

I stepped closer, peering through the glass. Inside, I could see two figures, much larger than Scar and Cub’s current forms. They were humanoid, but with distinct features that marked them as something other than human—pale blue skin, glowing eyes, and wings that looked like they had been plucked straight from a myth. These were the real bodies of Cub and Scar, suspended in some kind of containment field.

Scar floated beside me, his gaze fixed on the figures within. “We’re more than just these little forms you see now. " He says putting his hand on the glass of his body. He looked like he was asleep" how am I supposed to help? I'm just a scientist...." I mumbled a bit

Scar glanced at me, his glowing eyes reflecting a hint of sympathy. "You’re more than just a scientist," he said, his voice soft but firm. "You’ve got access to this place, knowledge, and a willingness to help. That’s more than most people here."

He hovered closer to the glass, his hand still pressed against it as if he could somehow reach his real form through sheer willpower. "We’re trapped like this, separated from our true selves. The scientists here don’t fully understand what we are. They think these bodies are just vessels, but they’re more—they’re a part of us, our essence. Without them, we’re incomplete, weaker, and easier to control. We need our bodies"

Scar’s words echoed in my mind as I took in the rows of containment tanks, each one holding a different hybrid creature—beings who were more than just the sum of their parts. The realization of what had been done to them, to Scar and Cub, made my stomach turn. These weren’t just experiments; they were living beings, trapped and stripped of their identities, their essence.

I turned back to Scar’s tank and caught sight of his real face, a face that stirred a memory. It hit me like a punch to the gut—Scar wasn’t just some random hybrid. He was Mumbo’s friend, someone I had seen in pictures, heard stories about. The recognition made everything feel even more personal, more urgent. This wasn’t just about freeing some strangers; it was about saving people who mattered to someone I cared about.

As I moved away from Scar’s tank, my eyes scanned the room, taking in the other creatures trapped within. One tank in particular caught my attention—a guardian-human hybrid, its large, watchful eye following my every move. The creature’s gaze was intense, almost unnervingly so, as if it could see right through me. The label on the tank read XB44-5.

I approached the tank cautiously, feeling the weight of the guardian’s gaze on me. Its body was a blend of human and aquatic features—scales glimmering under the dim lights, fins subtly twitching, and a single, large eye that seemed to pierce through the glass. There was something almost tragic about the way it watched me, like it was trying to communicate, to reach out in a way it couldn’t.

“What did they do to you?” I whispered, more to myself than to the creature. The sheer number of hybrids in this room spoke volumes about the facility’s twisted practices. I couldn’t help but wonder how many others were out there, how many lives had been altered, stolen.

Scar floated up beside me, his small vex form quiet as he followed my gaze. “They’ve been here a long time,” he said, his voice somber. “Most of them were like us—taken, experimented on, and left to rot in these tanks. They don’t know who they are anymore. We barely do.”

My heart ached at his words. The thought of these creatures being reduced to nothing more than test subjects, their identities erased, filled me with a deep, simmering anger. This wasn’t just wrong—it was cruel beyond measure.

I placed a hand on the glass, feeling the cool surface beneath my fingertips. “We need to help them,” I said, my voice firm with resolve. “Not just you and Cub, but all of them. We can’t leave anyone behind.”

Scar nodded, a spark of hope in his eyes. “That’s why we need to find that control device. If we can shut it down, we can free everyone.”

I took a deep breath, the enormity of the task ahead settling in. This wasn’t going to be easy, but it was necessary. If there was any chance of saving these hybrids—of giving them back their lives, their freedom—I had to take it.

“Then that’s what we’ll do,” I said, determination hardening my voice. “We’ll find that device and shut it down. We’ll get everyone out of here.”

Scar gave me a small, encouraging smile. “Thank you. I knew we could count on you.”

I turned away from the tanks, my mind already working on how to proceed. This was just the beginning, but I was ready to see it through. No matter what it took, I would find a way to free these hybrids and bring this nightmare to an end.

As I started back toward Tango’s room, Scar by my side, I couldn’t help but glance back at XB44-5, its single eye still watching me. There was a silent plea in that gaze, a desperate hope that I wouldn’t forget them, that I would come back.

And I would. I wasn’t going to leave anyone behind.