He stared at me as if I had done something wrong. I wasn't even sure if I had done anything wrong besides not informing him that the rooms were soundproof. I looked back at him, keeping the most stoic expression I could manage.
"Hey… uh, I never got your name. Negotiator? Um… the rooms are soundproof if that's what you're here for. I thought someone else came to tell you."
That didn't seem to work.
He gave me a smile. A smile I'll never forget. A creepy, cynical smile—the kind of grin that only fits the face of a killer.
"Oh… it's not about that. However…"
He suddenly slammed his fist into the door as if trying to force it open. I kept my foot wedged against the bottom of the door to stop it. It hurt like crazy, but I couldn't lose my composure. He knew it hurt.
"I would like to come in and discuss something with you."
He kept smiling, leaning his weight against the door as he tried to push his way inside.
"I'd rather you just discuss it out here…"
My stability began to drop slowly as he continued trying to force his way into the room.
'The Ultimate Nobody'
Stability 8%
He kept pushing against the door as he spoke.
"You know I can't do that… there are ears everywhere. Isn't that what Eli said?"
I tried to maintain my composure. I knew what he was doing. He was trying to push my stability down until I died so I wouldn't be a nuisance to him anymore.
"Now are you going to let me in before you die… or are you going to keep fighting this?"
The more I resisted, the more my stability would drop. I couldn't let that happen.
So reluctantly, I began to let the door swing open. Or at least I would have—if he hadn't slammed it open first, the edge of it striking my face and sending me stumbling backward. He walked in calmly and closed the door behind him as if he hadn't just made an entire commotion trying to break his way inside.
He glanced around the room before casually taking a seat. Meanwhile, I was still on the floor, trying to compose myself. Suddenly, my stability indicator rang out an alarm loud enough to echo through the entire facility. The sound was deafening for a moment before it abruptly stopped.
'The Ultimate Nobody'
Stability 5%
WARNING. SUBJECT STABILITY CRITICAL.
"Now before you end up dying," he said casually, "I would like to know a few things."
"First… why are you here?"
He asked the question while pulling out a small cup filled with tea. Did he make it? It didn't matter. I needed to find a way to raise my stability—fast.
"What do you mean?" I asked. "I'm here for the same reason as everyone else… right?"
It didn't matter what I said. I had the feeling he would twist my words no matter what. After all, he was the Ultimate Negotiator.
"See, I thought so too," he replied calmly. "But you don't remember anything. Not even your own name, Subject 16. So I'll ask you again."
He leaned forward slightly.
"Why are you here?"
He repeated the question like I was supposed to know the answer. But I was just as confused as everyone else here. I stared back at him with an emotionless expression, trying not to show weakness. At the very least, I was trying to keep my thoughts together.
"I don't know what you mean by that…"
He sighed and stood up, setting his cup of tea on my bed.
Then he walked over to my desk.
My stomach dropped.
He grabbed my injector and walked toward me with it in his hand. I tried to crawl backward, but I was bound to hit the wall eventually.
"Alright, second question," he said calmly. "What Ultimate did you ask for? We all asked for something. And to be frank, it was something meant to better ourselves."
He crouched down beside me, raising the injector toward my neck—but he didn't inject it yet. He just hovered the needle there as he waited for an answer.
"I don't remember what Ultimate I wanted," I said quietly. "I don't remember anything beyond my first memory of being in the glass tube."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Ah, right there… that's my next question."
"You remember being in a glass tube. However, none of us remember anything like what you're describing."
He tilted his head slightly.
"For all I know, you could be in this experiment purely by choice. And that stability marker above your head might mean nothing to you."
He smiled again.
"Why don't we find out together…"
'The Ultimate Nobody'
Stability: 3%
I tried to keep my composure, but how long could that possibly last? If he injected me, it would be over. I wouldn't be able to hold back whatever side effect that serum carried. I wouldn't even know what it would do to me… or whether I could stop myself if it pushed me to kill someone.
I shut my eyes, tears beginning to well up despite my best efforts to hold them back.
Then—
A loud knock suddenly pounded against the door.
The Ultimate Negotiator glanced toward it before looking back down at me on the floor, his expression twisting into something almost amused as he noticed the tears forming in my eyes.
"Looks like you live today… unfortunately," he said calmly.
He turned toward the door but paused just long enough to look back at me over his shoulder.
"But remember this… you're a nobody. You don't deserve to be here with the rest of us."
His smile returned.
"So let's keep it that way from now on."
"Stay in your room… and try not to exist."
He walked toward the door, only to stop and speak quietly with someone on the other side. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but it sounded like the two of them had discussed something before he came to my room.
After a moment, he left.
And just like that, I was alone again.
I tried to stand up, but I couldn't. My composure was gone… and so was my will.
Whatever his objective was in coming here, he had accomplished it.
I looked up at my stability.
1%.
Is this where I die?
Do I perish here on this spot as the injection inside my body finally takes hold?
I lay there for what felt like an eternity, waiting for the number to drop to zero.
But it never did.
How much time passed while I stared at that number?
An hour?
Three hours?
I couldn't tell.
Eventually my eyes drifted toward the injector lying on the floor beside me, still full.
I crawled over to it slowly and stared at it for a long time.
"If I do this… I'll be safe," I whispered.
"But then I might kill someone because of the side effects…"
"Is that really what I want?"
I slowly raised it to my neck, pressing the blunt end of it against my skin. My thumb hovered over the button that would release the fluid into my body.
"I'll be able to stay with everyone longer…"
"But… do they even want me to?"
I thought about it for what felt like years.
But I couldn't bring myself to do it.
No matter what happens…
I know I'll have someone by my side.
The next thing I saw before my vision faded was the door slamming open.
Two people rushed to my side. Their voices echoed around me as my hearing began to fade.
Is this what happens when stability reaches zero percent?
I didn't know.
Everything slowly began to turn black.
"Shit… is it going to work?"
The voices started coming back.
A female voice.
Sora?
"I don't know… just wait for it…"
Someone else was there too.
Eli.
"Fuck… how did this happen? Why didn't I just stay here with him?"
They were arguing about something.
But I couldn't make out what.
My hearing kept fading in and out, their voices distorted like they were underwater.
"Fuck it… just do it. The worst thing that can happen is he doesn't remember us, right?"
I tried to move my arms to stop them from doing whatever it was they were planning.
But my body refused to respond.
All I could do was slur a few broken words.
"I don't want to do it to him if he doesn't want it!" Sora screamed.
The two of them scrambled, trying to figure out what to do.
"We don't have a choice! He's going to die otherwise!"
Eli grabbed my injector and started walking toward me.
I could barely see it through the haze clouding my vision.
Sora stepped in front of him.
"Stop. If this is something he doesn't want, we can't force it on him."
I knew they were going to start fighting over it.
I had to stop them.
With everything I had left, I forced my mouth to move.
"S… stop…"
The word barely left my lips.
But Sora heard it.
She immediately dropped to her knees beside me.
"Ren! Ren, your stability is at one percent! Please… tell us to use the injector!"
I tried to speak again.
But there was nothing left.
Every bit of strength I had was gone.
All I could manage was a small nod.
Eli and Sora looked at each other.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Then Sora took the injector from Eli.
She knelt beside me and gently lifted me closer to her.
I felt her hands trembling.
With a quiet sniffle, she pressed the injector against my neck.
"I'm sorry, Ren…" she whispered.
"Please… don't do anything rash…"
The needle pierced my skin.
I felt something surge into my body.
A pulse.
Then another.
My heart began to beat faster.
Stronger.
My vision slowly cleared.
The darkness faded from the edges of my sight.
I could feel something moving through my veins.
Changing me.
My eyes shifted.
The dark brown faded away, replaced by a bright, unnatural green.
Something inside me had awakened.
Something new.
Something wrong.
I knew it instantly.
I wasn't going to be the same anymore.
Not after this.
THE NEXT DAY
Sora and Eli stayed in my dorm all night, I don't know if they took shifts to stay up or if they both stayed up the entire time. All I remember was waking up to that dam sound of Dr. Leo informing all of us that night time has passed and we are free to roam around as we see fit.
I tried to sit up but I was grasped by Sora. It seems like she wouldn't let me go at all. she is knocked out. I look over at Eli who is currently messing with some cards on my bed and beside him a turned over tea cup spilled across my bed leaving a dark stain.
As I was about to say something I see an Empty injector on the ground my eyes widen and I reach for my neck... Yup, they injected me last night... So it really wasn't a bad dream. I was freaking out and they came to save me...
*Why did they come to save me? Why didn't they let me die? They must want something from me.*
What the hell? Why did I just think that? Was that the side effect?
I look up at my stability
*Ultimate Paradox*
*Stability 99%*
Woah... I didn't expect it to be that effective. But... What does that mean? Ultimate Paradox?
Just as I asked myself that question a hologram appeared in the room and spoke with a loud boom
"Greetings Subject 16 or should I call you ren?"
It scared the hell out of Eli and Sora as they jumped from their positions. However I wasn't scared at all. it's almost like I was expecting it.
"What do you want?"
I spoke with the confidence of the negotiator who walked in my room last night and broke my sprit. As I began to stand Sora tried to help me up in the process. I didn't need it. I felt better than I have in ages.
*I don't need their help. They will just hold me back*
Those thoughts again... Dam it I just need to suppress them.
Dr. Leo spoke again this time with Sora and Eli now in the picture he referred to them as well
"I see you have taken the liberty in allowing your comrades in this experiment to inject you with the stability serum. Good, good. How do you feel? Ultimate Paradox?"
As he said that Eli and Sora looked up and they both gasped
"Oh shit..." Eli muttered as he looked at my new ultimate and stability
Sora was at a lost for words covering her mouth either in terror or in awe
I walked up to the hologram
"I feel... Great. Is the injection supposed to feel this good?"
Dr. Leo wrote something down in his notes as I gave him my response. He then took of his glasses and looked at me
"The Sirum is supposed to have a side effect of some kind. we are not entirely aware of what side effect it will contain. however it seems with you seeing as how your ultimate injection failed, it looks like it just needed an extra boost to activate."
He wrote something else down as well as he was speaking as if getting data on the situation with how we are reacting.
Sora was looking at the hologram of Dr. Leo with anger
while Eli was looking at me with concern.
I was simply looking at the hologram with a stoic face. no emotions crawled over me as he was talking. it's as if I was taking in everything all at once
*The hell is the point of him taking the notes? He knows that I'm going to die anyway, I'm going to be a target. We will be a target*
My face went from stoic to confusion. That thought again. but this time it felt like there was something else saying that. I know I didn't think that on my own so what was that?
Dr. Leo caught my emotion change and he looked at me
"Well Regardless this will be an interesting pool of data that I will need to collect. Please do not die so soon"
His hologram began to fade, Just as it was beginning to fade Sora tried to speak up
"Wait! What happened to him? What do we need to do to-"
She stopped midway in her sentence as the hologram vanished knowing it was a fruitless effort. With just the three of us left in the room Sora and Eli looked at me, both very confused. And very concerned.
Sora was the first to speak as she walked up to me.
"So uhm... you feeling alright?"
She put a hand on my shoulder trying to comfort me.
*Placing her arm there... We can break it easily with a twist of the wrist and a well placed knee to her elbow.*
Putting the thoughts aside I try to smile to make myself calm in a situation where this side effect is trying to tell me to hurt people. It's not even making me want to hurt people it's just thoughts in my head that wont go away. Like an itch that won't quite go away until you scratch it.
"I feel okay... I feel better than I did before?"
I look up at my stability it's still sticking at 99% that's good at least
Eli speaks up
"So what does that mean? The Ultimate Paradox? you like glitch or something?
He give a concerned look as if he just saw someone get stabbed. I supposed I technically got stabbed with words but besides that.
"I feel fine... I don't feel any different than what I felt before."
I look at him with my green eyes which begin to glow.
*He is holding a card in his shirt pocket that looks like will explode if thrown with enough force. Be careful with him*
Why do I know that? How do I know that? I look at Eli and he gives me a concerned look before I could ask anything about that card Sora came to my side and gave me a hug, Although her strength was apparent It felt like she wasn't really squeezing me all that hard. Or if she was then I wasn't feeling it.
"Well as long as your fine that's all that matters. I am sorry we had to inject you but you were dangerously low to subject rejection. I didn't want to see you die that way."
Speaking of that I was Curious as to how they knew I was at 1% But I knew that eventually someone was going to come looking for us so I decided to ask while we walked I looked at the door and began to walk. However I could feel something was off. It was almost as if...
*Someone is outside the door*
I shook off the feeling and looked at both Sora and Eli
"Someone is outside the door. I think they are trying to listen in on us"
Eli and Sora look at me as we are all about to leave the room confused.
"How do you know? We kept watch all night no one else came by."
Eli mentioned as they pointed out the playing cards he left on my bed.
"I don't know... I just have a feeling someone is out there..."
*He is waiting for you to leave... Send the Dojo fighter to kick open the door*
My mind was racing with these thoughts of using people but I couldn't do that I looked at sora
"Sora? Can you please kick my door open?"
I couldn't use people... But if I asked people in a positive manner that could work too... to subside these thoughts.
Sora gave me a concerned look but then it turned into one of a pure fighters instinct. she walked over to the door and cracked her neck before doing a full roundhouse kick on my door. With that the sound of someone yelping in pain can be heard as my door is kicked wide open.
"That door will need to see better days soon..."
Eli said as he walked over to see who was listening in on us
I walked over myself as well I was curious and as we got close we saw that it was the Ultimate Engineer. He laid their rubbing his forehead with his palm as he looked up at us he started to back up
"Hang on I can explain. I know this looks bad but I am here under orders"
I look at him as he is trying to explain his way out of this situation but those thoughts come back to me
*He was putting something on your door. Look at it*
Without much thought I look at the front of my door and see a small machine placed on one of the corners of my door. I rip it off and see that it was a small adhesive that was holding it to the door. it took quite a bit of effort to rip it off the door.
I look at him on the ground as he grows pale as I show him the device planted on my door
"Then why don't you explain this?"
He tries to find the words as I was about to throw the machine away those thoughts came back
*Break the machine over his head. Show him that you mean business now. He wont want to mess with you if you are aggressive to him*
I Grip the device tightly in my hand nearly breaking it but I refrain from wanting to go along with those thoughts. I toss it over to him and he runs away from the three of us.
Sora gives me a look of concern as he is running off down the hall
"Hey Ren... Are you gonna be okay? I don't want them bothering you too much. If something is going to happen again I want to be there to help you"
I look at sora and we continue to walk
"I should be fine if they come to mess with me again it won't be pleasant for them I can promise you that."
As we are walking I look over at Sora who is keeping an eye out for anyone who is trying to watch us
"Hey Sora I have been meaning to ask. How did you know that something was wrong with me? I thought the rooms were sound proof we even checked ourselves"
She blushed a bit at the thought of checking on me and she looked at Eli who was looking around for anyone. She seemed to embarrassed to recall it.
"Well technically we all heard it. That alarm that went off signaling that someone was running low on stability echoed everywhere even in our rooms. When I left my room to check anything out of the ordinary I saw Sora burst out of their room and they dragged me to your room. We saw subject 01 and The Survivalist leaving your dorm so we tried to get into your dorm"
He recalled the events as if it were only just mere minutes ago
"The door was locked somehow so Sora busted it down and well..."
Eli looked at my new Ultimate hovering over me
"We had an argument about what we should do in terms of how to help you and ultimately we decided that the best course of action was to inject you with the serum."
We made it to the Cafe where we sat down and continued our discussion.
"After everything was said and down we 'Technically' Took turns and kept watch. But Sora just wanted to be by your side to make sure you were still breathing. Hell she even wanted to go after The Ultimate Trauma Surgeon."
He looked over at him who was sitting with the group of 5 on the other side of the cafe who all seemed to be listening to The Ultimate Negotiator talking
The Ultimate Cartographer
The Ultimate Engineer
The Ultimate Artist
The Ultimate Survivalist
as well as The Ultimate Trauma Surgeon
"Even if we had him come take a look at you before we put that injection into you. I don't think he would try very hard, no matter how much we coaxed him. We had very little choice at the time"
*Of course you had a choice. There is always a choice. You just went for the easier option*
Those thoughts again... I looked at Eli
"Well thanks. both of you. If not for you guys I probably wouldn't be here eating with you guys"
Is what we would be doing but it looks like we missed breakfast time so no food was out for us. Was I really out for that long?
We all took a moment before we decided to walk around for a little more it was better to walk around than to listen to The Ultimate Negotiator spout his nonsense.
Eventually all of us wandered to the gym where we saw the a few other subjects talking and exercising with someone else we had not seen before. This person was behind some thick glass and was doing stretches while the other subjects followed suit. She was dressed in aerobic attire but she was clearly a scientist of some kind, she had put aside her lab coat on a nearby chair inside the thick glass room she boxed herself in.
The Ultimate Data Savant
The Ultimate Biochemist
The Ultimate Vocalist
Were all talking about something we couldn't quite make out from the distance we were at from them. all the while
The Ultimate Psychologist
The Ultimate Strategist
The Ultimate Pyrokinetic
They were following the instructions of the woman who was in the glass room following exercises and stretches. We thought about wanting to join in before Sora looked at me with those eyes again. The eyes of a fighter
"Hey Ren lets spar. Maybe that new Ultimate you were given might even give you an edge in fighting? I really just want to fight and no one here has been wanting to give me a chance"
I look at her with hesitance but then that voice came back...
*Spar with her. It will give us a new look into our abilities.*
I want to say no but I am also curious about my new abilities. No one has seen what "The Ultimate Paradox" can even do so this will be nice change of pace.
We walk over to the sparing arena and announce ourselves
"Sora Zona The Ultimate Dojo Fighter"
I look at her as the Sparing arena opens up for her and above the sparing arena a glowing light of text reads
"Awaiting sparing partner"
I look down and with a sigh I announce myself
"Subject 16 Ren. The Ultimate Paradox"
The room goes silent as the instructor who was exercising with the subjects stopped and told them to watch even the people who were in the window above, I was able to see their silhouettes all shuffle around and hover around the glass.
The Sparing arena opened up for me and the text lit up above us
"The Ultimate Dojo fighter VS The Ultimate P̴̡͓̊̎̒a̶̯̔̕r̵̛̛̰̟̤̊͋̿ą̷̯̻̤̞̃̏̚d̶̖̠̩̼͒̃̌͂͠o̴̧̹͍͙͆͆̈́̎͒x̴̝̍"
A strange thing occurred as those words filled the top of the arena. My Ultimate was glitching. as if it couldn't quite figure out what to do with my new Ultimate. I looked at Sora who was jumping in place to warm herself up.
"Alright Ren don't hold back on me I want to be able to see what you have in store for me"
And with that the countdown began for our sparing match. Everyone watched us sharply as the count down went from
5
4
3
*Her weak point is her knees. aim for them, She will likely throw a jab to measure distance. Back up after the first jab*
2
1
SPAR
Sora kept her guard up as she moved her front foot forwards twice to close the gap she threw a jab towards my mid section I stayed still, the jab was close to hitting me but it wasn't quite there and like the voice said I backed up to avoid the second jab and the right hook that was about to hit me. I kept my cool and distance Sora tried to close the distance again by moving her foot forward again.
"Well you clearly saw through my jab combo lets see what else you can see through"
She rushed up with three jabs two the left and one to my right I blocked both to my left but the right caught me off guard and it landed a clean body shot to me. As she landed that clean shot to my body she tried to sweep my front leg with her own I lifted it out of the way just in time only for her to round house kick my side. I barely blocked it with my arms
She came up again with another jab I saw it coming this time and my eyes began to glow a bright green, my Ultimate changing as well.
"The Ultimate D̴̡̧̛̙̻̪̅͊̐͗ô̸͈̪̗̰͘͜ͅj̸̗̜͌̾͘ȏ̸̺̺̻̿͜ͅ ̴͎̹̍̐̓F̴̛͙͔͇͌̔̑̾̅ì̴̢͓̘̣͇̩̂͒̓g̶̙͐̈́͌̈́̓̋ḫ̴̯͆̌̓ť̸̝̮̤ȅ̸̗͐͑̈̒͜r̸̯͑"
I use my arm to push her jab to the side and I grabbed her neck area I pulled her to the ground and I was ready to throw another punch to end it right then but I couldn't
*What are you doing? You need to end it now, if you don't she will take advantage*
I let go of her neck ignoring the thoughts that were rushing through my mind and I help her up.
"That good enough for you sora?"
I say with a smile she accepts my hand and stands she looks up at the window of people watching
"I resign"
and with that the text above us lights up signifying me as the winner
"Winner Ren Subject 16 The Ultimate P̴̡͓̊̎̒a̶̯̔̕r̵̛̛̰̟̤̊͋̿ą̷̯̻̤̞̃̏̚d̶̖̠̩̼͒̃̌͂͠o̴̧̹͍͙͆͆̈́̎͒x̴̝̍"
My Ultimate changed back as well...
We both exit the arena and the first person to greet us outside wasn't Eli but instead The Ultimate Strategist.
"Impressive... How did that happen? Yesterday you were a nobody, now well..."
He stands there pondering before I can say anything Eli comes up from behind
"Maybe his Ultimate took awhile to take effect, I mean look at him his eyes are green now"
Eli tried to push the Strategist away and after awhile of staring me down he shrugged
"Maybe your right. I don't know much about the situation of our injections other than they give us our Ultimate's."
He walks away but out of the room while everyone decided to stick around.
Sora looked at me with a sparkle in her eye.
"That was pretty cool. I thought I was a great fighter, but whatever you did made you an even greater fighter"
She couldn't help but drag me back to the arena unknowingly
"We have to fight again, I didn't think I would have anyone to fight or Spar with you are the perfect buddy to do that with now"
Eli saved me thankfully by grabbing my other arm
"Umm Maybe another time, we should probably just keep walking around for a bit."
And so after a bit of coaxing Sora did agree that we should just walk around for a little bit and chat. We left the gym area and began walking around some more.
"Did you feel any different when sparing with Sora?"
Eli asked me as he looked up at my Ultimate and stability which was still the same
The Ultimate P̴̡͓̊̎̒a̶̯̔̕r̵̛̛̰̟̤̊͋̿ą̷̯̻̤̞̃̏̚d̶̖̠̩̼͒̃̌͂͠o̴̧̹͍͙͆͆̈́̎͒x̴̝̍
Stability: 99%
while he looked at Sora which her stability went up by quite a bit
The Ultimate Dojo Fighter
Stability: 78%
"I feel like myself. I didn't feel any different I guess the only thing I felt was... that I kind of just knew what to do. It was as if my body took control of itself and moved on it's own"
Sora and Eli looked at me a bit concerned
"Well hey as long as you are still yourself at the end of the day then your fine in our books"
Sora said with a smile as she walked ahead of us her hands behind her back.
we continued walking around until we reached the bathhouse Sora looked over and jabbed me in the abdomen gently with her elbow
"Hey lets take a break yeah? I think we deserve it after everything that happened."
I looked at her with a confused look
"The bath house isn't Co-ed is it?"
Eli looked at me like I was crazy
"No The locker rooms and the showers aren't but the spa itself is"
Sora said with a bit of blush
"You weren't thinking of seeing me naked were you ren?"
Eli and I blushed a bit and Eli dragged me along to the male lockers
"AND THATS ENOUGH OF THAT COME ON REN LETS GET CHANGED"
Sora couldn't help but giggle as she went to the female locker room.
Eli and Myself went into the male locker room.
"You know I have seen my far share of woman liking guys but Sora is on a whole other level for you"
I look at him like he is delusional
"I think she is just excited that she has another person to spar with"
Eli's eyes widen as if I was crazy
"Come on dude, there is no way you don't see it, you know when we heard that alarm go off last night we were scared of what happened sure. But Sora she practically dragged me out of my room. I think you should give it a shot with her."
I give Eli a shrug
"I don't know maybe if we weren't in this dam experiment I could have a shot with her but right now I think I just want to-"
We open get to the male locker rooms and my breath was taken from me.
In front of me was someone's locker open and water spilled everywhere but not just water... Blood...
We see someone laying on the ground with their eyes wide open bloodshot and a needle sized hole on either side of their necks. alongside this we see them clutching at their neck as if they were choking. Blood spilt all over their body and the floor surrounding them as if they were coughing it out.
The Ultimate Strategist is dead...