The Man Behind the Glass (Lalnable Hector x Reader)

Chapter 7

"I completely understand where you are coming from," began Xephos who appeared as troubled as you were, given the recent event,"but Rildenstern should have visited him before you. He should have been sedated." 

You sat in the chair in front of his desk, your legs feeling weak after the encounter. "He did nap a lot while I fetched his food for him, but as soon as I tried to reach for the plate to get it back-" 

"Why were you taking the plate from him in the first place?" At once, Xephos's eyes narrowed. "You should have waited for him to go to the other side of the cage, U/N." 

"I-I didn't think much of it," you replied, a fresh wave of embarassment flooding over you. "His demeanor wasn't hostile at all." 

Xephos was silent for a moment. His vibrant, blue eyes never left yours, and that enough encouraged you to look away for a brief moment. 

"The previous caretaker did the exact same thing you did," Xephos forewarned with a low voice, "and he left the Cloning Wing on a gurney. I believe you saw the situation when you snuck into the sector for the first time." 

You got a faint flashback of you catching a glimpse of a being stained red with blood. Though it was a faint glimpse, you remembered the horrified look upon the testificate's faces that directed the gurney out of the sector. 

"I will let you have a break from caring for Lalnable. You may take the day to assist other scientists in the Cloning Sector, but only for one day, I'm afraid." Xephos rose to his feet from his desk. 

You felt a pang of fear fill your being. "I have to stay in the Cloning Wing?" 

The look Xephos gave was apologetic. "I cannot spare any more workers from the other divisions, especially since several of them are out due to injuries. You are required to stay in the Cloning Wing, U/N, and I gurantee you I will try to make it as comfortable as possible for you. With that in mind, I will have a new way of providing food for Lalnable adjusted and perfected so that no other events like this occur. However, I must call this meeting to a close," Xephos spoke as he rose to his feet. "After your day off, I want you to continue tending to Lalnable, but you will be accompanied by another scientist so you're not alone." 

You opened your mouth to reply, but couldn't find your voice to rebuttal. The whole experience felt as if it was just being waved off. 

This isn't the Tech Wing, you mentally scolded yourself. Things are different here. Yet, not even the small mental note really comforted you. You would just be back in front of Lalnable within a day, so there was not a whole lot of confidence present with you at the given moment. 

"Now, if you do not have any more questions," said Xephos as he grasped a sheet of paper off of his desk, "I do have some work to tend to, as do you." He rested his hand on your shoulder for a brief moment, catching your attention. "Now, I want you to learn from this, and to be more careful. This is a whole different sector compared to the Tech Wing as you may have noticed, and I just want you to be more thoughtful of your actions from here on out. Understand?" 

You shifted slightly in your place of resting before standing up. Xephos withdrew his hand from you. "Yes, I understand," you answered, though you did not at all feel happy about the given news. 

~                              ~                              ~                               ~

After the meeting with Xephos, you found yourself making headway for the halls of the Cloning Wing. Though you had no exact place to be, you decided you would attempt to help out as much as you could and ask around to see who required the assistance. 

It was upon entering the hallway near Lalnable's cage that Gosencrantz caught your eye. He was surrounded by other scientist's, who appeared troubled as they gazed down at where Lalnable would reside. You felt your skin crawl as you made your way over to the group.

"Hello," you greeted Gosencrantz as you turned to face the cage below, and was shocked to see Lalnable being escorted out of it. 

Possessing a straightjacket and a mask that covered his face, Lalnable was practically dragged out of his holding cell, his boots scraping against the marble floor as his head fell slack to the side, which gave you the idea that he was heavily sedated. 

"Hello," Gosencrantz returned. "You're just in time to see Lalnable getting ready for his checkup. Also," he turned to you as the surrounding scientists departed further into the Cloning Wing, appearing happy upon noticing that Lalnable opposed no severe threat in his current state, "I heard what happened. Glad to see you're okay." 

"I appreciate the kind words," you returned, eyeing the cage below, "but I am less than thrilled to hear that I still have to care for him." 

"It may appear that way," he began as the two of you moved down the hall towards the common area of the Cloning Wing, "but I assure you, with the new feeding measure we're putting in, taking care of him will be a breeze from here on out." 

"That's...nice to hear, I suppose," you spoke quietly. "What is it like?"

"It's a transporter. Think of an Ender chest, but everyone has access to it. The device will teleport Lalnable's food to him so the caretaker does not risk serious injury by sliding the food in manually." 

"That does sound easier," you commented, receiving a faint feeling of relief for your prize. The idea behind not risking the last mistake really made itself present to you, and in a way, it comforted you. 

"We are also debating whether or not we should allow him to speak to the caretaker." 

Now you were perplexed. "What do you mean?" 

"We're thinking about...'muting' his cage, but this is still early in the development." Gosencrantz stopped walking upon entering the lobby of the Cloning Wing. 

"I see," you muttered, but for some odd reason, Lalnable being unable to speak did not really sit right with you. It just seemed...wrong. With a brief thought, you pictured yourself unable to speak. Not only that, but the idea behind just floating above the darkness in a cube-like structure was beyond panic-inducing. 

You were snapped out of your thoughts upon seeing the state of the common area. There were a plentiful amount of scientists that sat around and did little to nothing that resembled contributing to science, and some were even napping. 

Must be a very slow day, you  thought to yourself, but Gosencrantz gave a defeated sigh. 

"Something bothering you?" You inquired of the man, who's fist was clenched at his side.

"This," Gosencrantz grunted, nodding to the sight before you. "No one here really works. They're nothing but lazy here, and to be honest, I think that's why Xephos brought you over here." 

Before you could reply, Gosencrantz made headway over to the rather large group of scientist's, specifically the one boasting about his accomplishments during an experiement. 

Snatching a newspaper out of God knows where, Gosencrantz rolled up the newspaper as he approached the scientist from behind and reeled back. Prepping with the fury of Israphel himself, he swung the newspaper and made contact with the scientist's head. 

The scientist let out a yelp of alarm before scrambling to his feet. Eyes narrowing, the struck scientist reeled on Gosencrantz, but upon seeing who had struck him, he went pale and his eyes widened with fear. 

"Look at you!" Gosencrantz barked while waving the newspaper around to point at every individual. "This is Yoglabs! We are reknown for our hard work and success! What do you call this!? Just a sad bunch of zombies just lying around waiting for someone to do their job for them!?"

You watched as each and every scientist flinched from the sudden rude awakening, and without as much as a second thought, scrambled to get work done. 

Gosencrantz looked to you with a look of exasperation. "Amateurs," he grunted.