These are the stories that take place in
The Forum, a part of the wRHG Canon I've been writing. So far there aren't much but in due time there will be a lot.
At the center of the large room is a l
arge, circular table with ten seats, nine of which are occupied. The leader, dressed in a formal coat of white and blue, puts down his magazine as he begins his briefing.
"I've called you all for this meeting to discuss an urgant matter." He declares, the authoritative tone of his voice is reflected in the seriousness expressed by the other eight people listening to him. "Denmark has found recent information, he should be here right about..."
Almost on cue, the door opens and another man comes in, this time wearing a dark blue trenchcoat with a spider-like insignia at the back. He is holding a cup of coffee as he makes his way to the vacant seat.
"...now. Denmark, you're just in time."
"Hey Azure, sorry for being late." Denmark replies, sitting down beside Azure. Upon sitting down, he continues where he left off.
"As I was saying, Denmark and his agents have identified the presence of a particular illegal artifact." he informs, pointing towards the former CIA agent. Attention shifts towards him as he clears his throat, mentally recounting the points he is going to express.
"So, there's this machine that poses a sizable risk to us and it also endangers the lives of many, some already are." he explains, "It is particularly unstable, from what I gathered and it seems to have a connection with The Anomaly. I also have reports of disappearances of many people, it's horribly unlikely that is coincidental."
He takes a break from his speech to gulp down some of his coffee before he continues.
"The Watching Eyes, with a little bit of help, have determined it's location and we'll be intercepting it soon. Is anyone familiar with the Proteus Project?"
A pink-haired woman in a red and blue lab coat suddenly stands up, slamming her hands down on the table. She angrily roars "What the hell! That is impossible! I destroyed that heap of failure with my
own bare HANDS!!" as her tail lashes violently a couple of times. Denmark raises his hand and retorts "Izzy, what you're referring to is the
Prometheus Project, I'm talking about the
Proteus Project; the one you thought was an April Fools joke."
The realization makes her sit down in embarrassment. In an attempt to make up for her outburst and contribute to the discussion somehow, she meekly asks "So...how do we approach this matter?"
"That's why we're here." Azure answers, "At least two teams will be sent, one is to confront the suspect and the other is for helping out the victims. Of course, this is a big issue so I'm allowing you to bring volunteers; they could use the adventure." He smiles faintly before continuing, "Anyways, Denmark has already finished making the assignments. As usual, noncombatants like Oliver and those who aren't willing will be left out while Golgriam is needed in the retrieval team in case of casualties."
Denmark raises his hand to attract attention, taking a couple of sips from his own coffee mug. Before he can further elaborate on the mission, the lights in the room suddenly flicker into darkness.
"Damn, that's the third time this week," Azure groans, "However, we will continue this discussion informally outside the door."
[/spoiler]
Characters Involved: Denmark Rollins
It is a quiet evening and the streets are surprisingly empty as Denmark is walking down the sidewalk. As he turns around the corner he sees someone on the other side of the road. He is wearing a trenchcoat and talking to someone on a mobile phone, telltale signs of a man Denmark has been targeting for a long time. Thoughts of revenge cloud his mind as he walks down the pedestrian lane, careful not to make any loud steps. He looks around for a brief moment and notices how isolated they are, perhaps it could be another work of The Anomaly.
As he gets closer, he examines the unaware man at a distance. His back is turned towards him, facing the wall and obscuring his face but already his identity is confirmed. Sneaking up on the unsuspecting schmuck, Denmark pulls out a triangular dagger from his trenchcoat. It has a black blade with green circuitry that glows faintly. Without a hint of hesitation, he stabs the man in the exact middle of his upper back, where his spine would be. The knife makes a soft hiss as it injects something into his bloodstream. He wheezes cold air and tumbles as his skin slowly starts to turn pale. Denmark stands triumphant at his kill and puts the knife back into his trenchcoat. With a strong tug, he flips the dying man over to examine it closely and gets surprised at the revelation.
The man he killed looks far from the one he had on his mind, despite the similarities in body structure and hair color. Feeling frustration and a mingling sense of guilt, he kneels down to place his hand on the soon-to-be corpse's frigid cheek. After a brief moment of pondering, he takes the pink cellphone lying on the ground and attempts to finish the call by imitating the voice of his victim.
"Sorry about that Casey, I just got carried away talking to someone." he apologizes, "Don't worry, I'm fine but tell your mother that I'll be coming in late. The traffic is dreadful and I might be around by 11 o' clock."
Afterwards he returns the cellphone to the dead father's pocket and pulls out his own, putting 'Golly' on speed-dial. He sighs for a brief moment before getting his call answered.
"Hey Golly, are you there? Yes...again. I need you here quickly to reanimate someone and perhaps wipe his memory of being killed out of nowhere, it wouldn't make a good story for the family."
---
Another man has been watching him unheeded from the corner of the street. He walks away afterwards with a smile on his face.
"He's been at it for years, Lyle." the man says to himself, "He'll never realize that I'm just a red herring, just like all his other targets."
A visitor is in a laboratory's well-know
n lobby, searching for interesting reads from the nearby bookshelves. He is wearing a white and blue attire and has an air of formality with him. Before he settles on obscure classical literature, he spots a thick pile of old newspapers on the lowest level and nothing else. Out of curiosity, he picks it up and skims through the front pages.
Gene Splicing Backfire! Over 20 scientists and 30 civilians dead!
Massacre at the Laboratory - "The ambition of one ruined the lives of many"
When Science Turns Bad: 'Artificial Hybrid' turns berserk, also responsible for other atrocities
Survivors in Shock! Has Science Gone Too Far?
Maverick scientist still missing - "Good riddance"
Mizatoire Banished From Scientific Community - "That was the last straw"
The front pages are intriguing and mysterious, his attention is slowly drawn into the articles themselves. He can't help but read them, investigating their details. He decides to take the nearest seat to have an easier time reading but he is suddenly interrupted when a female voice calls out to him.
"Azure,
stop." she commands, the serious tone of hers being unusual. He turns around, confused at how she would talk in that manner. Sensing something wrong, he greets her hoping to lighten the mood.
"Good day Izz-"
She swiftly interrupts with a plea, her voice quivering, "Please, just...give them to me. Those papers, I'll handle them."
He notices something off about her, as if she is revealing a part of her unseen by the many. He can see it in her face, just as well as her tail that's lifelessly hanging behind her. This is not the sort of sadness where she just pouts and says "Oh well!" but a look of
genuine sorrow. Like a widow crying about her dead husband, like a child's dreams crushed before him, like a man's career ruined by a colleague, and...like a discredited scientist forever in exile. Out of empathy, he walks over to her and puts the newspapers into her arms.
"I...you know what? I'm
sorry, Izzy. I'm just plain sorry." he apologizes solemnly, "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or know how much those meant to you."
"No,
I'm sorry, I should've placed them somewhere hidden." She looks away out of shame, her emotions getting the better of her yet again. "I'll be on my way, you may leave."
She turns around and starts trudging towards the door, clearly dragging her feet from the weight in her mind. She wonders why she even bothered to keep the pile of newspapers when she clearly wanted to forget the past. Before she could pass through the doorway, she feels a pat on the shoulder.
"Don't make it too hard for yourself...please."
[/hr]Izzy is inside a laboratory room with the lights turned off. Other equipment is turned off as well, the only illumination is provided by liquid glowing faintly inside glass containers and the laptop in front of her. The newspapers she asked for earlier are scattered around her along with her lab coat. She is quietly sobbing, her head is resting on the table and her fingers lay static on the keyboard. On the screen reads what seems to be an unsent confession letter disguised as a bedtime story.
Once upon a time, there was a brave little scientist. She wanted to explore the unknown, push boundaries and discover new frontiers. However, the other scientists picked on her due to how radical she was. They were right in a sense, she was the scientist equivalent of a loose cannon. But such thoughts didn't faze her for doing 'cool scientist things' was in her blood ever since childhood. She was always up to something, creating gadgets and finicky contraptions. She wasn't exactly right in the head, as some of her experiments are ethically questionable. It's as if she was nothing more than a grown-up child reenacting her favorite experiments seen in cartoons, which is actually what happened most of the time. At least the results can be hilarious on occasion.
One day she was tired of seeing how magic and science were always divided and so she had the genius idea of melding them together. How? By splicing herself with an ancient dragon. The idea alone was foolish enough and carrying through with it risked drawing the ire of everyone. Knowing our brilliant heroine, of course she proceeded with it. After all, it was for science.
How she got the resources for the experiment was a mystery for the ages. Where did she find that dragon? How did she obtain it? Was it dead all along or only on arrival? Maybe it was still alive? Did such a dragon even exist? How could she figure out which one to hunt anyways? It never mattered in the end, she had the dragon and science will resume. It wasn't as big as expected, it seemed more like a drake or even a whelp but it was loaded with magical energy, really loaded.
The operation took place in a major city. The other scientists and personnel were carrying it out begrudgingly since the head scientist was also the test subject and cannot participate. After three grueling hours, the operation was a flawless success yet another two hours was spent to complete the success since the subject needed rest. When she woke up she found herself with pink hair, permanently stained from the inherent magical energy of the dragon's leftovers. She also had a cute pair of horns and a spiked tail. Basically, she became an Otaku's monster girl fantasy come to life, with an added scientific flavor. It seemed like a triumph at first, they thought she was on to something and the doubt surrounding her was fading away. It was all good until she decided to tap into her new innate powers without any time to adjust and adapt.
It was a disaster.
The flow of energy was unstable, and she felt some kind of ferocity consuming her mind. Before she knew it she became feral and broke free. She went on a rampage, killing virtually everyone she could see. Some were unlucky enough to have their organs ripped out (and some of those were even eaten). When she finally exhausted herself she finds the local facility absolutely devastated. After a not-so-brief moment of realization, she fled from the area.
The incident shook the town and the scientific world. Science as a whole was once again scrutinized by an act of an individual. The horrifying act was seen as an atrocity comparable to the cruel acts of the past. People took the event as a bad omen and the city became very suspicious of any scientific developments. As for the scientist-gone-rogue? She was last seen in a small town called Everglade before disappearing from the face of the earth. A few months later, the town itself disappeared after her just like a bad omen.
No one exactly knows what happened then but she did spend a long time in solitude. She was lost and miserable, living in the cold mountains of god-knows-where. She was regretful over how stupid she had become and wanted to redeem herself in anyway she can. She wanted a second chance, she wanted forgiveness. She wanted the pain to end. And so she reinvented herself, she cut her hair and changed her name. She put on the facade of an energetic and brilliant individual. She was taken in by a person who was oblivious to her plight. She could be free, she can move on. She swore to forget her inner potential and swore to continuously work on technological trinkets like she used to. She blocked out as much of her past as possible, erasing any traces of the past in her mind. However hard as she tried, there was still that one tinge of guilt and memory deep inside her. And she gathered a small pile of newspapers as remainders of her old self. A keepsake to remind her of her errors.
So who was that scientist? Who was the little girl so bold and foolish?
Her name was Issetium Venecian Mizatoire.
I am Issetium Venecian Mizatoire. 'Izzy Vin-Mizzet' if you will.
I am the dumbest scientist in the whole world. I am the little girl so arrogant and blind. The one who would recklessly endanger everyone just to satisfy herself. I killed a lot of men and I was in danger of killing a lot more. I am so pathetic, as to rely on a mask to save my face and not have the bravery to simply confront it with you all.
(Author's Note: The self-deprecations here were supposed to be more severe and greater in number, but I don't have the heart to write any more. \_(╥﹏╥)_/ )
I'm sorry, please forgive me. Suddenly the fluorescent lights on the flicker to life. She wakes up from her trance and flinches from the brightness. She sees Azure and eight others standing nearby, all of them deeply worrying about her. She slowly gets up and adjusts her seat. She finds herself too depressed to speak and instead simply stares at them with dull eyes.
"Izzy, I told you to take it easy on yourself. Look at you, you're falling to pieces." he says, helping her get up alongside a man wearing a blue trench coat with a black spider symbol.
"We care for you, Izzy. We support and stand for each other. At the very least you can talk to
me." a woman advises, dressed in a white and green robe.
"We don't care about your past, if I was told about it I would forgive you on the spot." a different woman adds, covered in a green cloak with black streaks.
They all try their best in cheering her up but after several minutes her dull expression remains the same. Azure turns to the a man in a black and white tuxedo, and tells him that Izzy will be unavailable for contact. As they prepare to leave the room without her, she speaks out loudly.
"
Wait! I'll go, take me with you."
They look at each other.
"If you really accept me, please..." she begs, tears in her eyes and arms wide open.
The man in a blue and green lab coat is the first one to walk back to he
