Chapter 16: The Lab (1)

With his somewhat vague statement being spoken he turned to Wilson, placing his hand on the man's back. He closed his eyes and a split second later, the man vanished, leaving Otis and Liko all alone in the vast arena.

Then, he reached his hand toward Liko, however, it simply passed through the air as the man backed away from him, having a cautious expression on his face.

Otis huffed slightly, a smirk on his face, however, it wasn't a full-blown one, signaling he wasn't as amused as he had been by the man's early reluctance.

"I'm not going to try anything. It's just like I said before, I know a great doctor so I'm taking you to her."

Liko started to say he didn't need one, but right as he opened his mouth, inhaling he winced in pain.

His lungs felt like they were on fire. He couldn't say for sure, but he assumed a part of his lung was crushed, as where he felt the most pain at the moment was from the side Wilson had hit with his hammer.

He took a slow step toward Otis, gritting his teeth from the pain as well as annoyance at complying.

Now Otis' slight smirk fully developed, a content expression laying on his face before placing his hand on his shoulder and just like that, the pair vanished from the arena floor.

They suddenly appeared, in a different environment, one completely new to Liko. He turned, scanning the large room he found himself in.

All around there were stone tables, each one having something unique on it.

One table held a large cyclops' eye in a display case while the table next to it had a monster wolf's corpse with the head missing from it.

Another held a large canine-looking tooth the size of a small child. There were a couple of tables with herbs and plants as well as purple fruits on them.

As Liko was taking it all in, Otis started walking, throwing his hood up over his head, concealing his face. "You coming?" He questioned.

Liko turned back toward Otis, quickly trailing behind him. Urgh. Every step hurts. He thought to himself.

His face was completely straight-laced, however. For the most part, he could conceal his expression, masking how much pain he was truly in.

Otis came to a halt when reaching a door toward the tail end of the room.

The door was wooden, having a symbol imprinted onto it. The symbol was reminiscent of a claw mark of a beast, however, there were three and inside the gash it was red.

"Wait, isn't that the symbol of the Legion Army?"

Despite standing right next to the man, Otis didn't respond to him. He simply lifted his hand before knocking on the door three times.

Liko tried his best to bite his tongue, holding back his contempt at being given the silent treatment.

Without a word, Otis opened the door, walking through it. Liko followed behind and just as he started to open his mouth, to reiterate his curiosity, he saw it. Or rather, them.

In the room they just walked in there were about three people in immediate view.

All three of them were wearing lab coats that covered them from the neck down. Two were holding a wooden clipboard in their hands, standing a couple of feet back from the other individual.

They were analyzing a certain thing, a big tree planted in the middle of the room. It was extremely large, appearing to continue far past the ceiling upward. The leaves on the tree were yellow, having a strange vibrant glow to them.

The one lab worker without a clipboard was up close, having a magnifying glass as he focused his gaze on different parts of the leaf. He muttered some things, the two with clipboards writing whatever he said quickly. He then grabbed the leaf, rotating it as he continued speaking some more.

"Excuse me, can we help you?"

The pair turned to the source of the voice, it was a woman. Clearly another lab worker from her coat and voice oozing authority. She was hidden from their view upon initially walking in as the tree and three workers were the first thing they'd seen.

Otis spoke. "Yes. I'm with the organization. Here to speak with Lady Yura."

The woman's eyes widened with understanding. "Alright you just follow me then."

The two did just that with Liko's eyes lingering a bit longer on the room though.

He'd never been in a research center quite like this one. He wasn't the type to gawk at things, wanting to keep his composure at all times but it was still intriguing.

Also, a part of him still longed for an answer to his earlier question, which was still conveniently unanswered.

He thought to himself. A beast-like claw mark with a red imprint inside it. That describes the symbol of the Legions perfectly. If that's the case though my only question would be where this place is, or rather who this "Lady Yura" is. If she's affiliated with Luna, then things might get interesting.

The group of three had been walking for a while but they, once again, reached a door. The lab worker turned to them.

"Last time I heard Lady Yura was doing an experiment with some new monsters so I'd tread lightly." With that, she turned around, walking toward the lab room they'd just come from.

Otis scratched his chin, in silent thought. His back was to Liko but when he turned to face him a wide grin was plastered on his face. He pointed behind him toward the door.

"You should open it."

Liko gazed at the man through squinted eyes. The tone Otis used didn't befit a request or suggestion, it came off as more of an order. He was tempted to rebel and say no, but he didn't think it would get him far so he gave in.

Upon opening the door the first thing he saw was a person. They were too far away to gleam details but the thing more pressing than their identity or gender was their current safety. Three beasts with the outlines of a bear all surrounded them, slowly creeping closer and closer.

He rushed forward. "Hey! What's going o-" before he could continue he felt an itch on the back of his neck. In an instant he ducked, feeling a forceful gust of air swipe above him.

He quickly leaped forward, going further into the room. He turned to see a creature, one completely foreign and unfamiliar to him.

It was decently sized, having a wolf's body yet its paws were replaced with gecko-like feet which kept it stuck to the wall above the door where he'd just passed through.

The tail of a scorpion extended from its bottom; being long enough to touch the floor. He realized it must've attacked him using the tail.

The creature started to snarl at him, releasing its hold on the wall, and landing on the ground. He watched carefully as it slowly crept ever so closer to him.

He clenched his fists, before opening them, and his nails grew longer, revealing a sharp edge to them.

"Alright. Just take one, more, step."

"Hey! Stop that Alto!" A voice calling out from behind threw him off. He glanced back, seeing the person from before, but now the three bears which had been encircling them were all laying down, back on the ground. A hand was brushing their furry belly, as they were in complete glee at the gesture.

In an instant Liko felt a burst of wind go past him, seeing the wolf-like creature Alto, skipping over happily. It quickly joined the three bears, falling down on its back to get a belly rub of its own.

A chuckle emanated throughout the room. Liko could tell by now the chuckle, that noise which annoyed him so heavily, was owned by Otis. He stopped next to Liko, his lips curled into a pleased smirk.

"It's a pleasure to see you again. You're looking lovely as always Lady Yura." And then, he got down on one knee, lowering his head respectfully.