Chapter Text
The girl would really like to know what the fuck is going on.
Firstly, she wakes up in a glass tube with no memory and no idea where she is. Then she gets attacked by a weird duck guy. Then she finds a friend and learns that both he and she were made and that they have crazy superpowers! And-
And…wait what was the last thing? Hold on, she’d remember it in a moment…
Oh, right!
The world had ended…and she’d missed the whole fucking thing.
But let's back up a bit on that list of ridiculous things. First: Waking up in a tube.
…
She couldn’t breathe. That’s what woke her up. Now that didn’t entirely make sense as the girl usually didn’t have any trouble with not breathing. But of course, she hadn’t needed to breathe until now. But nonetheless, now she did and she couldn’t.
Naturally, she panicked.
Immediately the girl’s eyes snapped open, big wide things to take in her surroundings and figure out what to do.
Water. And a lot of it.
Well, that would explain why she couldn’t breathe. The whole room seemed to be full of water in fact, floor to ceiling. That didn’t bode well for the girl’s long-term health. She began to thrash a little and found that the room was a lot smaller than it seemed, solidified air right in front of her little pointed nose. No, not solid air.
Glass.
Okay, so the room was a lot larger than the girl first figured, she just happened to be trapped in the part that one could drown in.
She started with a slam on the glass-open palm. The dull sound of it rang out and the girl got a quick first look at her hand. It was green, with tan palms and short, dull claws. Something about this told the girl this was normal.
What wasn’t normal were the rings. One on her index and pinky. Not that people couldn’t wear rings, but it did seem bizarre that she’d wear them in this drowning tube. Right, back to drowning.
She pulled her hand back and slammed it again, the tube shuddering but not opening, the water preventing the girl from getting enough force to pop it open.
The girl’s lungs began to throb, her eyes beginning to bulge out of her head as her body screamed for air, she didn’t know much…or anything at that moment, but she would’ve liked to live long enough to find out.
She pulled her hand back again, curling it into a fist, her rings tightening perfectly like her hand was shaped for the movement. The girl’s eyes narrowed at the glass, darkness creeping at the edge of her vision as unconsciousness threatened to take her.
With her remaining strength, the girl threw her fist forward hoping to either pop, crack or break the glass entirely. Her hand moved sluggishly through the water, but she had to pray that there was enough force.
Her hand got within an inch of the glass when everything shifted.
The girl’s ears flicked as she heard a double beep, then there was a green light from overhead, illuminating the tube and-
The tube’s glass door opened.
A rush of water escaped the tube, taking the girl with it, she floundered for a moment, paddling as her mouth opened and she gasped her first breath of fresh air. The water rolled her around before it flowed away and she landed on her back, limbs starfished out. And she spoke for the first time:
“Fuck.”
With effort, she moved into a sitting position. It was more difficult than she would’ve figured. Her first thought was that she was weak, but there was also weight in her limbs, like just waking up, which she supposed she had. The neurons in her brain still practicing making connections.
Large eyes blinking away the water, the girl turned her head, examining her surroundings.
The room was dim, but not dark. Weak lights fill the space with gloom. Cold steely-gray tile covered every wall and floor. The center of the room dipped ever so slightly, the last of the water swirling a drain. A few wires crisscrossed the walls, coming from everywhere and heading in a direction behind the girl. Turning her head a little further, she spotted her drowning prison, a coffin-sized tube, completely black leave for the glass window in front, and a bright, green LED light shining above. A monitor was connected to it, via an arm, a string of information streaming across it.
The girl’s eyes narrowed slightly, trying to get a better look at the monitor and-
BANG!
The sound was loud and metallic, a slam of some kind. And it sounded angry. A torrent of emotions filled the girl. Shock, fear, confusion, even curiosity. Were loud, metallic, angry slams good? Her instincts told her no.
And it was all coming from the door.
She didn’t even spot the door at first. Made of the same gray tile, and flush with the wall, it blended in. Only a door handle, a gap in the tile, and a small window showing it to be a door.
Something moved beyond the window.
“Hello?” The girl asked, quiet filling the space after the single slam.
SLAM! SLAM! SLAM!
The change was instant. There was no longer a question, the thing outside was angry…and it wanted her. Instantly, a shiver went up the girl’s spine, and her heart started to pound, blood pumping as her eyes widened. She was afraid, yes. But she was also…excited? Adrenaline overpowered her fear, her nerves lighting up like…like lighting. Her hindbrain told her to be afraid, but somehow…a smile appeared on her face.
“Who’s out there?! You want to challenge me?” She didn’t really know what she was saying, but her mouth spoke for her. The thing outside responded yes by pounding the door more vigorously, the door starting to bend inward. The girl’s smile widened and she got ready to fight the thing when she realized two things.
One: Except for her rings, she was completely and totally naked except for a medical gown…no wonder the room was so cold.
Two: Her legs weren’t working.
“Uhhh, don’t come in!” Odd timing, considering she had moments early wanted it to and now it most certainly did too, but hey, a girl deserves some privacy, especially when she can’t walk and is basically in her birthday suit. The girl quickly decided that making sure her legs worked was more important and started shaking them like they were asleep. “C’mon, girls! Time to get up and go.” She wasn’t sure she wanted them to run or fight, but something in the girl said both. Either way, they needed to work.
Her legs did not respond.
The door crashed open, swinging wide and smacking into the wall as something stumbled forward. It wasn’t particularly graceful, crashing to the floor in a heap. At first, the girl thought it was dead. And then it started to rise.
It was completely purple. From its head to its feet it was a metallic but muted and sickly-looking purple color. Leave for its red eyes which stared down with an empty hunger. It started to pick itself up off the floor, slow and sluggish, but consistent. The girl began to use her arms to back away, putting distance between herself and the…thing.
It looked kinda like a duck, but between the weird metal coloring and rather flamboyant clothes it was wearing, the girl couldn’t be sure.
“S-stay back! Or…or I’ll take you down you eggplant-looking mother fucker.” The girl still had no idea where this energy came from, but she was pretty happy with the insult. The duck however did not seem dismayed and continued to get up, moving towards the girl. It was on its feet now, arms extended, random sounds and grunts coming from it.
She continued to back up hoping to put distance between her and-
She hit the back wall. Keeping her eyes on the duck, she fumbled around behind her, feeling for a way out, but only felt a smooth surface. The duck was closing in, eyes dulled but still locked onto her.
She had no idea how she got here. Who she was, or why this was happening. But it didn’t seem to matter…this was the end.
Then a second loud double beep sounded. Then a green light flicked on…
And once more the room was filled with water.
The girl had actually been leaning against a second large tube, which door opened, shoving the girl forward, a flood of water flowing over her and smacking the duck off its feet again. The girl sputtered as the water quickly receded from her, swirling around the duck as it tried to move past the drain.
She looked at the whole situation, something in her brain telling her this was the time to act. It was now or this was the end of her very short story. The water was flowing into the drain, the duck was quick to move back up. The girl’s hands tingled, something running up and down her body, needing to get out. The girl’s skin tingled, her insides beginning to hum and vibrate with energy.
Almost subconsciously she stuck her hand into the last of the water, the hand shaking at this point. And then there was a zap, a big jolt of her body as electricity ran down her arm, into her hand, momentarily concentrating on her rings and then…into the water.
The power instantly went through the water, in which the duck was still standing in and it lit up like a holiday tree. The girl’s eyes went wide as the duck shuddered and groaned, it's entire being convulsing. The power in the girl’s hand died and the water finished flushing away and the duck collapsed in a heap on the ground, like a puppet with cut strings.
“Oh…Chaos…” The girl flopped to the ground, feeling like she just had her energy drained, suddenly feeling very weak. So weak in fact, that she had no energy for when the second body dropped right next to her.
…
The boy would please like to know what is going on.
He’d been sleeping, rather peacefully in fact when his whole world had shook, literally. He’d been asleep, in a big tube of some kind when all of the water flooded out. He’d managed to stay standing, even with his knees weak.
Not for long, but long enough for there to be a bright flash of light, the whole world seeming to hum with electricity. Then his knees gave out and he flopped to the floor, his nose smacking painfully against cold, wet tile.
“Owuh…” He whined, picking his face up and rubbing his snout. He managed to stand after a moment, his legs feeling like jelly beneath him, shaking as he stood and took in himself and his surroundings.
He appeared to be a blue fennec fox. This was odd for a couple of reasons. Firstly, he didn’t realize fennecs came in blue. And two, he didn’t remember being a fox. Or blue, or a boy, or…well anything really. He didn’t remember at all.
However, he ultimately decided that didn’t matter. The room he was in mattered more. It was cold and lifeless, with dark steel tile making up the entirety of the room's floors and walls. Besides that, all that was in here was two large tubes with monitors beeping and making notes of data, each with the message: SUBJECT PRODUCTION COMPLETED across the screen. And then there were the two bodies.
One was a bizarrely colored platypus, its skin and even clothes covered in a viscous-looking metal coating, the metal seeming to flow and move. The metal, while still attached to the platypus, stretched…in the direction of the boy…wanting to get to him.
The boy decided he didn’t want that. The platypus also seemed…and the best way the boy could put this…was dead. There was no rise and fall of its chest, no subtle twitches or shifting, it was a collapsed being, cold and empty. But a hunger radiated from it. The boy took another step back, his foot colliding with the other body in the room.
She was a green tenrec. A nearly naked green tenrec at that, the boy slapping his hand over his eyes to preserve her dignity, before quickly realizing that he too was naked…and yet that didn’t bother him as much.
Weird double-standard aside, the boy figured the girl deserved as much to decide her dignity on her own terms, not while she too seemed conked out. The boy also felt drawn to her. Like it was part of his existence to be tied to this girl, but for what reason he couldn’t be sure. From what he’d quickly grasped before blinding himself, she seemed scary. Large, strong hands, and a head full of spiky quills. But she certainly was better than the platypus on the other side of the room.
The boy floundered a little more before his hands clasped onto something large and flat-the monitor attached to the tube. Double checking that he couldn’t see the tenrec, he opened his eyes and looked at the monitor.
Tapping away the completion screen he found himself looking at a UI rendering of…himself. Various data and statistics about his strength, skills, intelligence, and…purpose were available for viewing through different menus. The whole thing was weird, and frankly…unnerving.
Clearly, he’d been made, or at least designed. And the monitor showed that most of his personality and identity had already been set. His fate sealed. That was…depressing. But one tab showed red…it’s duty not yet fulfilled.
The boy clicked on it.
At the top it read: Experiences
Most of the work has been done. Their base personalities are ready to go. Once they emerge from their tubes all that will be left is their training…In more ways than one. They will learn to fight, yes. But more than that I will give them drive! I will pave over what remains of their old selves if any and then they will want what I want them to want and will do what I want them to do. Unfortunately, these things are not instinctive and can only be granted by nurture rather than nature. Luckily, I am both. Either way, it should be easy enough, the tough part is over.
The note closed out with a date and time that the boy had no context for. Was it recent? Was it a long time ago? It hardly mattered now.
With a sad sigh, the boy closed the tab, unsure of what to think. He was about to walk away altogether when one final message appeared. It wasn’t a tab, more like a drop-down. A large button glowed that read: Accessories. Well, who could resist that?
Upon pressing it, the tube overhead whirred and from the center a hatch opened inside, lowering a small platform. On it were a few things. The boy recognized them from the UI of himself. It was his clothing. A pair of rain boots, some cuffs, gloves, and a backpack. The last of which was supposed to help him with his ability of hydrokinesis. An idea that made the boy roll his eyes. There was no way he could actually do that.
And yet his brain ran him through the steps. The identifying of water molecules, the link between nerve centers, the brain, and vibration of all of these things. It…might be possible, but no way…well…
The boy shook off the thought and put on the gear. It all fit perfectly. But that made sense…it was designed with him in mind. With it on he moved over to the other tube with the other monitor. Looking at this one felt like just as bad of an invasion of privacy as looking at the girl, but he had to.
Finding the same button as before, the boy pressed it, and the same platform lowered, the girl’s clothes descending. He gathered them up, maneuvered as best he could while looking directly up, and placed them in front of her. Then he moved to the far side of the room and proceeded to face the wall.
…
The girl woke up with a groan. She didn’t know how long she’d been passed out, but it certainly hadn’t been long enough. Her limbs still felt sluggish, her eyelids more cooperating with the force of gravity than with her muscles. Still, she managed to look up through a curtain of her quills and spotted a neatly folded pile of clothes in front of her.
And then there was the boy. He was between her and the duck(thankfully still unconscious), and he was sitting, cross-legged, facing the wall.
“Heeeey…” The girl dragged out, eyes narrowing more with confusion than suspicion at the boy. There was a pause, the boy’s head stiffening at her words, then shaking as if he didn’t know what to do, and then relaxed.
“Hello.” His voice was high-pitched and quiet, but there was a ragged sharpness there. Like an aftertaste, that acted as an echo for his voice. The girl looked at the clothes.
“Are these mine?” There was another pause.
“Yes.” The girl nodded to herself and moved, relieved to find her legs were now working…at least somewhat as they didn’t fully respond, causing her to temporarily struggle to put the pants on. At last, she was left with one thing. It was a band, similar to the ones she now had around her wrists, but it was larger and she wasn’t sure where it went.
“Hey, kid.” The boy stiffened again, his head turned slightly, as if he wanted to look at her, but snapped back, looking straight forward again. “What am I supposed to do with this big band?” Another pause.
“It…it holds your quills up.”
“What?” The girl didn’t fully understand and despite the fact that she asked him, now she was curious how he knew. The boy didn’t elaborate, nor did he stop looking at the wall. “You can look at me now.” The girl groaned. “I’ve got my clothes on.” The boy turned and the girl, with eyebrows creasing realized something. “Wait…did you look at me while I was asleep?!” The girl felt more angry than violated, this kid was a brat!
“N-no!” The boy held his hands up in surrender and looked away once more, his eyes squeezed so tight, the girl thought he might pull a muscle. His tone made her think he was lying, but whatever he’d seen was ultimately accidental. The girl just rolled her eyes.
“Whatever, what am I supposed to do with this band?” The boy was slow to move, but after realizing that the girl wasn’t going to attack him, he moved over and then directed her attention to one of the monitors attached to the tube she’d emerged from. Glancing from the boy to the monitor the girl realized she was staring at an image of herself. Same fur, same eyes, same hands, even down to the exact outfit. Leave for the quills, which were done up high with a band.
She copied the image.
“What…what is this?” She asked the boy.
“It’s…you. The you that someone else made.” He shrugged sadly.
“What…what does that mean?” The girl scoffed. The boy looked at her for a long time. He was younger than her, she could tell. But he already carried a heaviness with him, even beyond the big pack on his back.
“It…it means someone made what we are…what we can do…who we are…” The boy’s voice got quieter as he went on, and he just looked on at the monitor, not meeting the girl’s gaze.
“And…what do they say?” The girl didn’t feel like reading all the words on them, and more than that…she didn’t really want to know. The boy pointed to the one with a picture of him on it.
“It says that I’m Kitsunami the Fennec. And that-” He pointed to the monitor right in front of them. “You’re Surge the Tenrec.”