Forever or Never

Forever or Never: 15

"Lungs, hearts, spine, brain; all your work!" Victor said while charging off and away from Igor's still confused form. He was so intently staring at Gordon that he actually hadn't paid any attention as to where Victor had gone darting off to. "All impossible without you, in fact." Victor said from off to the side with a grin on his face.

"Victor, I..." Igor started and then stopped. He honestly couldn't find the words to speak. He looked at the tubing running in and out of the creature; the thick metal which was clamped in some places, shimmering silver in the light, the fleshy colour of its skin which seemed to be slowly rotting in place. It was too much to look at really. And he wasn't alone, Mercy still hadn't ventured near. She seemed to simply be unable to. A look of minor horror was on her face, truth be told Igor was sure a similar look was on his face. It was obvious that between them they didn't think Victor's work was amounting to this. "You promised me this was all about life." Igor said finally finding his voice as he finished assessing the form in front of him.

"It's about more than that," Victor responded quietly while pulling down on a lever that he had been holding onto for the past couple of moments. He allowed Igor his moment of inspecting, it was clearly a lot to take in and he wasn't going to exactly rush him along.

From the pulling of the lever, sparking shards of electricity appeared above; running through thick coils and aiming straight to where Igor still stood close to the table. He gently reached out wanting to touch it, while hesitantly looking to the collected electricity to the side.

Being somewhat carefully shooed out of the way by Victor, Igor watched as he quietly counted down before pulling up a switch. The electrical charge which was collected slowly travelled through a few thick dark coloured tubes and straight into the body.

All the whirring noises of machines died down as both males grew closer to Gordon. Victor seemed to look at it with a pleading expression, whereas Igor hung back slightly sceptical. He went to speak only to get rather rudely shushed, Victor waved a hand at him to get the point across as he looked back to the thing on the table.

Igor looked away from him, to over his shoulder. Mercy pressed her lips into a thin line. No, she was clearly not moving from her spot. Even though Igor gestured a hand gently to her. She still shook her head, the less she actually saw the better he supposed.

Though he couldn't have the same outlook seeing as how he was right in front of this creation. So he glanced back at the whatever-it-was.

"Look," Victor pointed a finger to its chest. It slowly sunk in and then inflated. The laboured sounds of breathing rattled from the creature's chest. Each breath seemed to be as hard as the next. Yet it was laying there breathing.

If that wasn't enough, its eyes opened, a milky white eye looked blindly out at the world as it continued to try and breathe. Igor leaned away slightly, he looked that thing in the eye and he all he could sense from it was confusion. It had the disposition of pure confusion as it blindly looked about itself.

Victor seemed quite content with this though as he chuckled quietly. Not being able to avoid the obvious, Igor blatantly stated: "It's alive." Though Gordon's form of living wasn't typically like everyone else's, but there was life from something which was otherwise dead.

"Yes," Victor nodded and grinned happily at the sight of what was before him. "It's alive," he repeated Igor's words as he stood up and looked Gordon over with a new sense of curiosity.

"Victor, how?"

"It's not finished yet, the charge lasts barely an hour." Victor said as he leaned a hand against the table near Gordon's head as he looked him over before looking at Igor.

"You've created life out of nothing!" Igor said rather excitedly while waving a hand from Gordon to Victor, he turned his head to look at him. "Do you realise how significant this is?"

"Oh, I have an inkling." Victor said not at all too modest. "You're to accompany me to the college tomorrow. I will be making a presentation."

"I'll be coming to the college tomorrow?" Igor asked truly shocked by the mere suggestion. "With you? As your assistant?"

"Yes, yes," Victor replied with slow nods as Igor went on in a confused ramble. "Igor do try to not be so dim." Victor stood and looked at him sternly. "From this day forward you will be my partner." Igor's eyes widened as he let those rather simply spoken words sink in.

"I'm happy you two are happy, and have found each other...but is he in pain?"

"What?" Victor snapped his head to the side to look at Mercy. He had forgotten about her, again. He felt a little guilty for that. "What? No, no, there's no pain."

"There must be pain. It's pain which makes us what we are. Pain is essential to us living. And Gordon looks in pain." Mercy said while looking with concerned eyes to the creature still struggling to breathe. She didn't like it, him. Nothing about this she liked.

With a sigh, Victor sent a rather irritated look in Igor's direction, he shrugged and smiled awkwardly. Honestly, he could understand Mercy's unease, he was feeling it not five minutes ago. Victor ever the lacking in any emotional understanding, didn't understand. He saw her moment as possibly putting a downer on his work, and Igor had rather learned that was a line which once crossed was hard to come back from.

"I just don't like it..." Mercy said while tearing her eyes away from Gordon's stricken form to Victor as he appeared in front of her. He tentatively placed his hands on her shoulders and smiled. "I don't see how a life lived in pain is life at all." Mercy whispered while his put on good natured disposition dwindled and disappeared and he now stood practically glaring at her.

"There is no pain!"

"How do you know that?! Have you asked him? Look at him! Properly, look at him, Victor. Do you honestly think that that isn't painful?!" Mercy shouted right back while pointing to the circular piece of metal which ran around Gordon's heart. "You just shot who only knows how much electricity into him, yes? This is how you bring him to life, does that same electricity not bring nerve endings to life for a short time too? And you possibly think that that isn't painful?" Mercy said while scrunching her nose up, "You see this is as an accomplishment, and it is. But it isn't as amazing as you think if it causes agony." Mercy said quietly while shrugging his hands off of her shoulders and walking out of the laboratory. She just couldn't stand and watch Gordon's blind vision look about with such confusion and hidden pain lurking within it.

Victor slowly turned and looked to Igor. "She shouldn't have come down."

"She would've even if I tried to stop her." Victor responded. Perish the thought of telling her no. "And either way she wouldn't like what she'd seen." He said bitterly while shaking his head. Placing a hand against his forehead, he slowly sighed. Moving over he watched as the temporary life ebbed out of Gordon and he became lifeless again.