Chapter 174: 172: A Company of Fools: Forbidden Research IV
For the longest time, I floated through an endless abyss, no light, no sound, no sensations other than floating. It quickly turned into one of the most boring experiences I ever had. With all the times I have been knocked out over the last few months, I figured I wasn't dead, but the fact floating in a void meant I wasn't conscious.
[MASTER? MASTER? MASTER?!] A familiar voice suddenly called out into the abyss. I looked around or rather tried to look. As I tried to spin around, all I did was start twirling uncontrollably. It took several moments for me to correct myself.
[MASTER!] The voice exclaimed happily.
I suddenly yanked through the darkness until I came to a doorway. It looked exactly like the one that was on the fifth level where KC was held. I reached out to touch the door, and it evaporated into a grey mist at my touch. Before I could register what had happened, I was pulled into a room. KC's room on the fifth level or rather a mental recreation of it.
In the center of the room sat KC with an evo sitting in its lap. I had to take a double take because I almost didn't recognize the evo. It was the thradiz, except it looked like an infant version of the evo. It sat happily chirping and hissing up at KC, who giggled and petted the evo with abandon.
[Zazzy!] KC exclaimed and pulled the thradiz into a tight hug. The thradiz let out a long contented hiss and held onto KC tightly.
[Master, so sorry. Couldn't save you…] The thradiz hissed softly. KC patted the evo on the head and smiled.
[Case saved me! Gwot me to my mama and dada!] KC exclaimed happily.
[Case?] The thradiz repeated. KC nodded, then looked up and saw me standing in the doorway, and his eyes practically glowed with happiness.
[CASE!] KC exclaimed, then pointed at me. The thradiz turned and saw me, and the happy infantile expression changed to one of pure anger and aggression.
[YOU! THIEF! ABODUCTOR!] The thradiz roared
The thradiz abandoned its child-like form and grew to its full height, terrifying KC in the process. It stood between me and KC and roared, baring its fangs and claws.
[STOP! YOU'RE SCARING KC!] I yelled and motioned to the boy.
[YOU WON'T TAKE THE MASTER!] The thradiz roared and flew at me.
[OH SHIT!] I exclaimed as I flew back, falling right back into the dark abyss. I saw the thradiz rapidly approaching when I felt an overwhelming amount of mana flood the space. I looked behind the thradiz and saw KC standing in the center of the room. He had tears streaming down his cheeks and his farm crystal glowing a bright blue color.
[ZAZZY STOP!] KC Yelled. A wave of mana shot from KC and slammed into the thradiz before continuing and slamming into me. I felt like I had been struck by lightning as every muscle screamed in agony.
[Lil' Chaser….] I groaned before I felt my consciousness being pulled out of the space.
***
"KC!" I roared as I jolted awake. It took me a couple of seconds to realize I wasn't in that dreamscape abyss anymore. I quickly found Iris and Haws standing over me, Iris eyes red with tears and Haws looking worse for wear.
"CHASE!" Iris yelled and hugged me so tight I thought my head would pop off.
"Iris! Can't! Breathe!" I gasped. She didn't let go regardless of my pleas.
"Okay, girl, calm down before you kill him." Haws said and pulled her off me. I took a few deep breaths and sat up.
I was lying on a white medical bed with three other beds on both sides of me. On the far wall across from me stood a large glass cabinet that was stocked with bottles of pills and medicines.
"Where are we?" I asked and looked over to Haws, who was still holing Iris at bay.
"Level three medical bay." Haws replied. "After you got injured, we stopped fighting the thradiz and took you here immediately. The staff that was hiding here refused to help you until your evos got…persuasive."
Haws pointed further into the medical bay where Jiggles was standing in the center of a large archway into the deepest part of the medical bay. I could see several people cowering against the wall in Huddleston past him. Jiggles was keeping a watchful eye on everyone inside and didn't even flinch when he heard me stir. He was dedicated to making sure I was in a safe environment to heal.
"Your other evos returned to your Farm crystal Chase. Empress said that you must be low on mana after healing Haws arm, and they were going to supply you with theirs." Iris reported, after having finally collected herself.
I could sense Bone-lasher, Alpa'nagia, Grimm-Guard, and Empress all inside my crystal funneling mana into me. Oddly enough, the four of them focusing on supplying me with mana created a feedback loop that increased all of my evos mana generating abilities as well as my own.
I looked down and was happy to see that my arm and leg had grown back. Though I wasn't in my own clothes. My jeans and shirt had been swapped out with a pair of blue medical scrubs. I frowned and then looked up at Haws.
"I changed your clothes while you were asleep. They were torn up in the fight and covered in blood, so I figured you wouldn't want to be left in them." Haws said. I narrowed my eyes at Iris and then looked to Haws. Haws followed my eyes and smirked. "She wasn't looking when I changed you."
"There is nothing on you that I want to see Star Child!" Iris snapped. I rolled my eyes and swung my legs over the edge of the medical bed.
"How long was I out?" I asked.
"Bout four hours." Haws replied. I stood up and took a few seconds to test my arm and leg to make sure they were regenerated correctly.
"Got it…well I think we might have to change our tactics." I said, then looked at Haws and Iris. Haws frowned and crossed his arms.
"What do you mean by that?" Haws asked.
"The thradiz, attacking it might nor be the best idea." I said as I stretched. Haws nodded in agreement
"Yeah, that thing is strong. Plus all those that thrads it controls makes everything worse." Haws said. "It's actually managed to find more in other production floors. Its numbers have more than doubled what it was before." Haws explained.
"You learned something while you were unconscious, didn't you?" Iris asked. I nodded and frowned.
"Earlier, when I tried to control the thradiz, it fought back. It said I wasn't it's master. While I was out, I got pulled into its dreams and saw who was its master…KC." I said. Iris and Haws eyes widened as they looked back at me.
"BUT HE'S TWO!" They both bellowed.
I nodded in agreement but then explained in detail what I saw while I was unconscious. Haws was wholly lost, but Iris understood what I had experienced or at least knew that such experiences were possible.
"…So basically, because you made a connection with the thradiz and you already had a strong connection with KC, you were able to highjack the little telepathic meeting they were having…probably without KC knowing what was going on." Iris summed up.
"How is such a thing possible?" Haws asked.
"A strong splicer can converse telepathically with an evo they have a bond with. They can even enter their farm crystal mentally and talk with them inside their biome. With a truly strong bond, you can talk in your dreams…but KC is so young…he couldn't possibly be that strong…." Iris explained.
"The fact it was happening in their dreams is the only way I can explain how the thradiz managed to make itself look like a toddler smaller than KC. Or why didn't KC recognize it when he saw it in real life." I said
"So how does this change things?" Haws asked.
"A lot, actually..." Iris said. "…if they are bonded enough that they can meet up in their dreams even when they are miles apart its possible that killing it could have an effect on KC."
"Affect KC how? Could it hurt him?" Haws asked. Iris nodded and crossed her arms.
"It's why most countries have laws about the minimum age for splicers to take their first evo. Usually, it's eight or ten." Iris said.
"FUCK!" Haws exclaimed
"We're overthinking it you guys. The thradiz isn't trying to kill KC, it wants to protect him. So we let it do just that." I said. Iris and Haws frowned at what I was insinuating.
"Are you saying we just hand KC over to the thradiz?" Iris asked.
"What? No!" I exclaimed then shot Iris a look like she was crazy. "We let it decided to protect KC"
Iris and Haws looked at each other with a confused look then turned to me and scowled.
"That makes no fucking sense Chase." Haws said.
"It will in a bit." I said
I asked over the mental link.
Louie proclaimed over the mental link.
Sin snapped.
I said casually
Louie, Sin, and Haws snapped. I smirked at Haws who looked like he was about to have a coronary.
I asked again.
Louie replied.
I said.
Louie snapped.
I said.
Louie roared.
Iris, Haws, Sin, and I yelled. Iris, Haws and I all grabbed our heads and rubbed our ears.
Sin asked.
Louie snapped.
I replied plainly.
Louie snapped.
I said.
Louie snapped.
Iris explained.
Louie said sorrowfully.
I said.
Louie exclaimed.
I said.
Louie groaned.
Sin asked.
I said.
Louie exclaimed.
I said. Several seconds of silence followed with Iris and Haws looking at me the with mist cringy looks on their faces.
Louie grumbled.
I said. Once again silence only those lasted a longer than the last break in communication.
Sin said.
I groaned and looked to Iris and Haws. They both flashed me knowing looks that told me they anticipated this outcome.
I said. That declaration was left unanswered and silence once again fell over the mental link.
"Well that's a little hurtful…" I said aloud then turned to look at Iris and narrowed my eyes at her. "…speaking dying to protect someone…."
"Oh fuck…" Iris grumbled under her breath.
"Oh fuck is right. Iris…why didn't you use the mana-lock?" I asked, my tone low and stern. She stiffened at my tone and looked at me defiantly.
"I didn't need of resort to using such a archaic and mundane device to win." Iris said, pompously looking down her nose.
"My two severed limbs and disembodied gut says otherwise!" I barked. Iris and Haws both flinched at my voice and Iris visibly staggered back. "If I hadn't grabbed you when I did you would have been slashed in half before that spell was cast!"
"I was fine Chase!" Iris snapped and stomped her foot on the ground.
"YOU WERE NOT!" I roared and took a few steps towards Iris. Haws jumped between and placed a hand on my chest to stop me.
"Chase calm down." Haws said in a stern voice. I groaned and turned around and sat down on the medical bed. The three of us stayed silent for several seconds, it was starting to become awkward with the three of us looking back and forth between each other when Iris finally spoke up.
"I can understand why you are upset Chase, you nearly died tying to protect me but you have to understand that my pride as a splicer is more important than your feelings." Iris said defiantly.
"Is your pride more important than Jane's life?" I asked. All the defiance and air of superiority that Iris seemed fo have over the use of my mana-lock seemed to disappear. Almost like the air rushing out of a balloon.
"W-what does that have to do with anything?" Iris stuttered.
"Wrong answer! Is your pride worth more than Jane's life?" I repeated.
"Nothing is more important than Lady Jane's life!" Iris proclaimed confidently.
"THEN WHY THE FUCK DOES YOUR PRIDE MATTER WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR LIFE?!" I roared and slammed my hand down on the medical bed causing her to flinch. "What is it with you nobles and treating every new fucking idea that comes your way like a personal insult to you? The mana-lock is a tool! If it increases your chances of survival who gives a fuck what it is?!"
"Because I am a guardian to Lady Jane. My job in life is to protect her and do nothing to sully her image!" Iris yelled back. She stomped around Haws and got in my face.
"Her image means nothing if she's dead. And before you try the line that you'd use the mana-lock of Jane's life was in danger, if you wouldn't use it when your own life was in danger how would you think to use it when someone else's was in danger?!" I asked.
"I-I-I…." Iris stuttered.
"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW I FELT! SEEING A EVO NEARLY TEAR YOU TO PIECES?!" I roared, my voice cracked a little as the memory flashed before my eyes as well as the memory of my grandmother's death. "I DON'T CARE WHAT I HAVE TO DO, WHAT I HAVE TO SACRIFICE, WHAT TOOL I HAVE TO USE, I WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO MAKE SURE THOSE I CARE ABOUT SURVIVE! FUCK MY PRIDE! FUCK EVERY SORRY FUCKER THAT COMES BETWEEN ME AND THEM?! YOU, JANE, BO, AND EVERYONE ELSE ARE ALL THAT MATTER!"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Hutexa_The_Djinn
Hutexa_The_Djinn Rush Job....Sorry, no fact or Archive today.
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