The lab was a room that was filled with highly advanced machinery, with monitors and panels all around. Each of said monitors displays information that Lec honestly could not be bothered to read. In the middle of the lab was a large pod that he felt a strange calling to.
Shaking his head, he'd watch as his fake sister left his side and approached a snoring man. The man looked rather old with a shiny bald head and an extremely big mustache. 'I didn't even know mustaches got that big...' He shuffled uncomfortably at the thought. 'I'd rather not have a mustache that big when I get old.'
The young girl eventually reached her grandfather and gently shook him awake, the man in question jumping from his position mid snore and looking around in a panic before his eyes rested on his granddaughter. "Ahh, Maria. How are you doing today?"
'Maria? So that's her name...'
The blond girl just stared at the old man with a pout before dramatically exhaling. "I'm fine, Grandpa Gerald." Glancing between the two, Lec couldn't help but sweat drop at the interaction.
Turning to him, the older man's eyes lit up, a look of fatherly love crossing his face. "Lec, exactly who I wanted to see." Turning to Maria, he'd tell her to go play with the other children, to which she hesitated for a bit, glancing at Lec and walking out of the room.
Lec could only stare at her retreating figure, a myriad of emotions going through his mind. 'She looks like Lyra so much, yet acts nothing like the Lyra I know...'
"Ahem." The good doctor waited for Lec to return his attention to him before speaking once more.
"Now that Maria has left, let us speak about something rather important."
***
The two had changed positions, opting to stand near a window looking out onto the vast expanse of space. Out through the window, Lec saw a vast and broken land that was shrouded in darkness. 'So this is what the Dream Realm looks like from space, huh?'
Lec had never heard of anyone who had managed to view what he assumed to be the entirety of the Dream Realm from space, so for all he knew, he was the first. That should have been exciting, at least in a situation where his heart wasn't filled with dread.
Staring at the older man, Lec only felt sadness in his heart for him. In an instant, it looked like he had aged 5 years, with more wrinkles appearing on his face. "Doctor...what did you wish to speak of?" Lec tried to put on his best serious voice, and in all honesty in came out decently good.
From what he had gathered from his conversation with Maria, he wasn't usually a very joking person. Not unfriendly, just not very social.
"Lec, Maria's condition is worsening." The doctor's voice cracked in the middle of his sentence, as his legs staggered, Lec immediately rushing to hold him upright. 'Shit, what am I doing. I shouldn't be getting close to anyone, I might have to kill them later, after all.'
The thought of killing someone, even if they were supposedly illusions, didn't sit right with him. Lec had stolen countless things in the outskirts and had probably committed so many small crimes that the charges could add up to a life sentence, yet he had never tried to take another human life...except for one time.
Gathering his thoughts, he helped the old man calm down as he continued speaking, a soft smile on his face. "I-I'm sorry, Lec. It's usually the father that's supposed to comfort the son, not the other way around."
'What?'
And just like that, his mind broke. Lec stared at the older man, absolutely bewildered at his words. His kind words. Lec had never known his parents, as they had abandoned him and his older sister shortly after he was born. Yet here was this man, a creation of the Spell no less, calling him his son, with such ease no less.
'L-lies!' Forcing himself to calm down, he'd train his eyes on the older man's face, hoping to find anything that betrayed the sentiment. Yet he could find nothing, 'Are the illusions created by the Spell this good?!' Clenching his fists, he'd lead the doctor to a chair near the window.
"Thank you..." The old man relaxed on the rolling chair, his face blank as he stared into the vast expanse of space. His eyes momentarily gazed at the broken-up view of the Dream Realm, a look of anger replacing that blank look, but only for a moment.
"As I was saying before, Maria's condition has been getting worse."
"Her...condition?"
"Ah, you don't know?"
Lec instantly cursed himself. How could he, of all people, make such a foolish mistake? Actually, it wasn't that much of a surprise, but still. He quickly glanced at Gerald's inquisitive expression, but quickly became calm as it soon turned into a look of understanding.
"I assume you've never heard it, especially with how much Maria is embarrassed about it...Yet, I could've sworn I told you soon after you first woke up. Maybe I'm misremembering things; I am getting up there in age after all." The good doctor motioned to his head, yet Lec was too distracted by something to pay it any mind.
'When I...first woke up?' The meaning of his Aspects description suddenly started making a bit of sense. 'Your body is overflowing with a strange energy, yet through science, it has adapted and acclimated to your biodata... So, I'm an experiment of sorts? Like Frankenstein's monster? What the hell even is a Frankenstein?'
Trying to take the chance to learn more, Lec suddenly spoke up. "Doctor, what exactly am I made up of?" Taken aback, the good doctors face scrunched up.
"Well, you are made up of the DNA of a myriad of things, but the only thing worth knowing is that your genetics give you the instinctive ability to utilize chaos energy." Slightly leaning forward, Lec pushed for more. "And what is chaos energy, doctor?"
Suddenly, a light shone in the good doctor's eyes, unlike any Lec had seen until now. "Well, Lec, I am glad you asked!" The old man suddenly stood up, his eyes shining with an unparalleled amount of enthusiasm. Lec stared as the doctor approached a cabinet and opened it, revealing a safe. And after speeding through the password, so much so that Lec only saw a blur of numbers, the safe opened to reveal a large briefcase.
The good doctor had a wild smile as he pulled out the briefcase, all the aging from before suddenly being reverted; in fact, he might've looked younger?
'The hell???'
"These, Lec, are the Chaos Emeralds." Lec watched in awe as the case slowly unlatched and opened, colors upon colors leaking out of it before eventually flooding the whole room. 'Pretty...'
In front of him were palm-sized and brilliant-cut gemstones in the following colors: Green, Red, Blue, Yellow, Purple, Cyan, and White. They looked perfectly cut, as if a godlike jeweler had polished the equally godlike gems.
"The chaos emeralds are the largest concentration of chaos energy to ever exist, outside of the master emerald, of course. Chaos energy is the product of the gem's ability to transform thoughts into power!" Gerald shouted, a shit-eating grin forming on his face. Lec just listened in awe as he stared at the gems, nothing but reverence encompassing his entire being.
"Chaos energy is an unimaginable source of power, great enough to give someone enough power to power an entire planet, no, the entire universe! When used in conjunction with the emeralds themselves, the abilities they grant are second to none, capable of bending reality to achieve feats nothing short of miracles if one focuses their thoughts enough." With each word, Lec's eyes became wider and wider, until he was forced to close them from how dry they were becoming.
The doctor picked up the green emerald and held it next to his eyes, the gem glowing brighter than before, if that was even possible. "Applied at its most basic level, it is capable of powering machines, and when further developed through science and technology, it can be used to create nuclear weapons and laser beams...Although the real power of the emeralds is revealed when given to a living being with the capacity to utilize them."
The old man suddenly grew somber as he stared at the emeralds with sadness. "That's why I created you, Lec. A being immune to all disease and capable of protecting my granddaughter. So I granted you the ability to use the strongest power known to man, maybe even the gods..."
Lec stared at Gerald. This was clearly a man who would go through great lengths for his granddaughter, a man who would do anything for their family. 'Something we share in common, I suppose.'
"Pathetic, is it not? All this genius, for what? Nothing, that's what. Would the innovations, the awards, the prizes matter if my granddaughter isn't by my side?" Placing the Emerald back into the briefcase, Gerald's face adopted a distraught expression.
Staring at the older man with a suppressed look of sadness, Lec would try his best not to let anything show. 'T-they aren't real.' Pressing his lips together, Lec began to speak. "What are you trying to say, good doctor?" He already knew, of course. He just needed confirmation.
"Nothing I can do is capable of curing Maria, Lec. Even after tinkering with your DNA, I just can't..." The doctor's eyes became glossy as he bordered on the edge of tears, yet he quickly rubbed them away with his gloved hand.
"I'm sorry..." Shocked, Gerald could only look at Lec with a bewildered expression at the sudden apology. "What are you apologizing for?"
Lec stared at the older man, the sadness in his eyes escaping in the form of tears. He looked down at his feet as he continued, his fists clenched at his side. "I failed at my one purpose, and now she's going to die. Because of me...because I can't save anyone." And then, the dams began to break.
"I-I can't save her, father, I can't even save myself." Falling to his knees, he'd barely notice the word he used to describe the man before him; instead, he was more focused on the hot streams currently leaving his eyes. 'A-Am I crying?'
Unexpectedly, a presence suddenly appeared over the sobbing boy and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay...It's okay. It doesn't matter if you failed your purpose, Lec. You've become so much more than that...You, me, Maria, we've become like family."
He repeated the last word in his head so many times to make sure that he hadn't misheard him, and when he was sure, the tears came down even harder.
The two of them stayed in that position for a few more minutes, the good doctor waiting for his best creation to let out all of his pent-up emotions.
After picking himself up, Lec had a lot of things to talk about. 'Gahhhhhh, that was so uncool! I haven't cried that hard since... never mind.' Staring at the old doctor, the young boy couldn't help but release a little smile. 'I guess what they say is true. Show a dog kindness, and you'll receive its undying loyalty.' Even with that thought, he just couldn't stop smiling.
"I'm sorry about that, doctor..."
Shaking his head, the old doctor couldn't help but feel a little disappointed at his creation's line of thinking. "You should never be sorry for showing emotions. If you ever need a shoulder to lean on, Maria and I are always here. Okay?"
"Yeah..."
'Oh, how I wish...'
***
The talk with the good doctor had gone better than Lec was expecting. Granted, the other option was being eaten alive by a monstrous Nightmare creature.
Thinking back on the entire conversation, he couldn't help but feel a bit ecstatic. He had learned a lot more about his Aspect and what it could truly do. It was a lot more than just basic energy manipulation like he initially thought. 'I probably should have gathered that from the name, Chaos Vessel...'
Still, he had no clue if he was capable of utilizing any of the amazing Aspects' abilities without one of those really pretty emeralds. His life was still in danger after all.
Sighing, he'd turn a corner and immediately spot a smiling Maria. "Lec!" Running up to him, she'd practically force roller skates into his hands. "Cmon, let's go!" Dragging him along with her, he'd barely have enough time to register what was going on.
His life was in danger indeed.