The Man Behind the Glass (Lalnable Hector x Reader)

Chapter 4

Weeks had gone by since the small encounter within the Cloning Wing and things appeared to have gone back to the way they were, that being Xephos trusting you again. You had completed all your assignments on time, and even earned some praise from him and the dwarf. Funny enough, Honeydew would excessively praise you in front of the spaceman, which in your opinion was a contributing factor as to why Xephos put his faith in you again instead of forcing a plentiful amount of work upon you. 

With confidence restored, you had begun to put in some more work ethic around Yoglabs. New inventions, new repairs, etc. You were rather proud of yourself. You had been very productive in the last few weeks, and with that being obvious around the workplace, you found yourself having less and less stress on a regular basis. 

Yet, that changed with the notification of a new meeting date. The fact that the meeting date was assigned at 9:00 a.m today, you were rather perplexed. It being 6:00 a.m.-after a long night of inventing and not being able to sleep-you were not expecting the sudden date change. The original time for the meeting was set tomorrow at noon. 

So much for sleeping in today. You wiped at your eyes with the back of your hand. Since you had completed majority of your reports rather early, you had hoped you would have the chance to sleep in. Two and half hour nap, then.

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Three raps sounded upon your door. 

Awoken by the sudden disturbance, you made your way over to the door and opened it. A scientist stood there, his blue eyes clouded with exhaustion. Good to see you weren't the only one affected by the sudden schedule change. 

"Hey," he greeted. "Xephos wanted me to make sure you weren't late for this meeting." 

"What time is it?" 

"8:50," replied the scientist. "He had me make sure you were awake ten minutes prior. Sorry about that." 

"It's fine."

 "Anyway, I best start heading that way. See you there, U/N." 

"See ya," you replied, stifiling a yawn as the scientist moved towards the meeting area, while you turned around to get ready. 

Soon after grabbing your lab coat and changing, you closed the door before making headway for the meeting area. 

By the time you reached the lobby, you noticed a group of scientist file into the meeting room, each of them appearing drowsy. You followed, pondering what this meeting could be about. Perhaps promotions? More research topics? The list was endless here at Yoglabs.

Once you entered the room, you took a seat on the Tech Wing side-far to the right- of the the long, mahogony meeting table. Xephos was present, sitting right in the middle beside Honeydew, who was resting his head on his hand snoring away. You waited silently, watching as more and more seats were filled until none remained empty. 

"Good to see you all attending this meeting," spoke Xephos who gently prodded Honeydew with a finger to wake him up. The dwarf's eyes opened, but no other movement followed after. Honeydew just remained there, staring blankly forward. 

"Might I ask what this meeting is about?" An unfamiliar voice spoke, but due to your seating at the table, you could not see who asked the question. 

"Small changes. Specifically, to the Cloning Wing." Xephos's gaze swept over the table. "Over the past few weeks, more and more scientists have been injured, thus putting them out of work for the time being." 

You heard mumbles and whispers erupt from the news. 

"Out of work for the time being? I heard several of them have been killed," you heard a faint whisper to the left of you. Eyeing the group beside you, you couldn't pin point who said it, but it appeared you were the only one that heard it, for Xephos appeared unfazed by the voices around him. 

"To fill in for research," Xephos continued, "we may need to move some scientists from different sectors to cover for those who are in intensive care." 

"So, you want the other wings to lend scientists so the Cloning Wing can catch up in research?" a gruff voice spoke. 

"In a way, yes," Xephos returned with a calm tone.

"Even if that means the other divisions will fall behind?" The same voice returned.

"If you work hard, which I expect from all of you," Xephos's eyes narrowed slightly, "then this should not be an issue. For now, I'm only moving two scientists to see how well this transistion plays out." 

You scanned the table for a brief moment before sitting back in your chair. Hopefully after the meeting, you could get in some more sleep. You felt your mind grow fuzzy for a moment. You allowed yourself to fall into this drowsy state of relaxing. You only heard faint muffles of voices, leaving you to assume Xephos had already picked the first scientist. 

"U/N." 

You snapped to life almost immediately, which got some snickers from the scientists around you. "Sorry. What did you need?"

"You will be moving to the Cloning Wing for the time being," said Xephos, who was already scribbling down names on paper. You assumed it was him putting your name down for the Cloning Wing. 

So, even after that little incident, I'm allowed to head back there then? You noted. Good to see he fully trusts me now.

However, the thought of the Cloning Wing was not a comforting one. Many people have gotten hurt, as Xephos stated, but the details of the reasoning behind these reports are usually vague. Not only that, but you had no idea what you would have to do in the Cloning Wing. Also, the rumor that many have died, that by itself was enough to make you anxious. 

"Does everyone understand?" 

A murmur of confirmation passed through the crowd. 

"Then this meeting is adjourned. Please head back to your sectors, and for the new scientists, head to your new divisions for now and get set up." Xephos's eyes rested upon you. 

As you stood up, you noticed a figure approaching you, and upon turning to see who it was, you noticed Gosencrantz. He had a smile upon his face as he greeted you, "We meet again. Xephos has told me to show you around the Cloning Wing."

"Oh, thank you," you returned. 

"Ready to go?" 

You gave a firm nod, and with that, the two of you made your way towards the Cloning Wing, though a prickle of anxiety formed within your being. What would be your tasks? What free time would you have? How can you give your all towards a sector you barely knew anything about? 

You'll learn, you told yourself. That's all it takes.