Username: james.
Name: T-E4404 (404)
Gender: male
How did they receive the mask? And/or why?:
It started with just a nose crinkle and an audible gasp, but it quickly turned into loud wheezing and choking. It was the first time that the experiment was allowed out from behind the thick glass of his room, and if the two scientists couldn't find a way to keep the fumes from his mist under control, it would be the last time. With a raspy shout and a feral growl, Lucrecia didn't waste any time shoving the experiment back into his room and slamming the heavy metal door shut. He looked betrayed, but the female wasn't phased by that at all. All she cared about at the moment was the burning and aching in her lungs.
"What the
hell was that about?" She lurched back and spun around quickly to face Lazarus. "I wasn't told his mist was harmful. Why haven't you looked into that?" When she was angry, she was far from pleasant, but just like the look of betrayal on the experiment's face didn't phase her, Lazarus was completely un-phased by her outbursts at this point. The two had been partners for a very long time. He was
forced to get used to her volatile switches.
"Stuff like this takes time, Lucrecia. You know that. Now we know why the chemical compounds reacted the way they did, yeah? I wasn't aware of any toxins in his body. It can't be that he's producing the toxin itself. It could be something as simple as calcium in his body turning into a toxin once it hits the mist. I can't be sure unless I get a sample of the mist itself."
Snarling, the female glances back at the viscet behind the glass before facing Lazarus again, eyes narrowing into slits. "Once you figure it out, he needs to be deprived of the source."
Lazarus can't help but release a sarcastic laugh at the notion. "Are you serious? We can't deprive him of nutrients. He'll wither up and die, you know better than that. What you need to do is go relax. Clear your head. Get a drink of water. Maybe go outside and take a walk. I would ask to run tests to make sure the toxins won't cause too much harm to your body, but you're stubborn."
She doesn't respond with the spoken word, only with a low growl and a shake of her head before walking past him and out of the lab. Lazarus understands her frustration — he would have been frustrated too if he had been the one to inhale a belly full of toxins. But that isn't necessarily why the outburst happened. If he didn't prove to be poisonous, she would have found something else to cause a fuss over, and
that was the frustrating part. No matter what had happened, she would have found an issue and Lazarus, as per usual, would be the one to blame.
The only thing on his mind now was whether to stay in the lab with the experiment, or join Lucrecia in the main building and try to help come up with a solution. He chuckles again.
'Help. When has she ever needed or even accepted my help.'At that thought, he came to the answer on his own. It was hard to look up at the male behind the glass, the look of surprise and hurt still written on his features, but he had to. If he didn't, he would only hurt his feelings more. Since when did he start to care about the feelings of others?
Especially the feelings of experiments.It seemed to happen a little more each time. At least with the mutated ones. When Lucrecia brought in viscets without any mutations, Lazarus couldn't care less about them. It was the ones with mutations that went through the same thing he did. Perhaps that's why he felt so different about them. He was no better than his keeper by being apart of the experimentation of these mutated viscets... But there was no turning back.
"Four-oh-four." His voice is quiet and soft as he steps closer to the glass, green eyes meeting vibrant purple. "Were you excited to be free of the room for a little bit?" Knowing he wouldn't answer since he never did, Lazarus doesn't wait for him to respond. "I'm sure you were. I would have been too..." He figures that it's best if he doesn't talk about his time in captivity. The good doctor never allowed him out from behind the glass, but he found his way out alright. He sure did. And he didn't show a second's worth of mercy. "I don't know if you understand what happened, but it seems that your mist is rather toxic. To us at least. I'm going to assume you're immune to it, which makes sense..." Lazarus trails off, his ears swivelling forward at the sound of footfalls making their way toward the door.
He already has his head turned and eyes on the figure once the door is opened.
"Lazarus," Lucrecia calls to him, voice droll and monotone as it usually was when she said his name. "I need you with me. I may have come up with a solution." He offers the caged viscet a small nod before making his way toward the female. He was ready to comment on how little time it took for her to think of something, but she would only scoff.
She was a super genius. Of course, it took no time at all.
"It seems we won't need a sample of the mist. It wasn't hard to figure out what's causing the toxin once I took another look. It all makes sense now." The two left the room, leaving the disappointed experiment to his own thoughts. There wasn't too much going on in his mind, but he knew he was confused. He was confused as to why his presence seemed to hurt them, but he wasn't harmed at all. Lazarus had attempted to explain a little bit, but none of it really sunk in. He understood the part about his mist being toxic, but why? He thought maybe they made him this way, but that wouldn't make sense at all since she was so surprised when it had happened. So, he was naturally toxic? That was the part that didn't make much sense to him... But there was no use dwelling on it. That was a difficult task though. When there was nothing else around to distract him from his own thoughts, it was incredibly hard to focus on anything else. Once an idea popped into his head, that was it. It was stuck there for the rest of the day.
"Mm..." He mused to himself, allowing the noise to vibrate his teeth and escape his maw. He didn't talk often. Well, not to the others, at least. He enjoyed speaking. He enjoyed hearing his own voice if only to remind himself that he indeed had a voice, and he was allowed to speak if he wanted to. He just felt that they didn't deserve to hear his words. They wouldn't care anyway.
"I'm poisonous to others, but not myself..." He repeated what was floating around in his head and driving him deeper and deeper into a bout of anger. "Am I cursed to be feared then? Am I cursed to be alone until the very end?" Just as quickly as it built up in his gut, the anger dissipated instead, and he collapsed onto the cold ground of his room. Or as he liked to call it, his jail cell. With his belly on the floor and his legs stretched out completely, he was completely flat, allowing the coolness of the metal floor to calm his inflamed nerves.
"Alone isn't so bad... Is It?" The question rang only in his ears, but before he could answer his own inquiry, the heavy doors of the lab opened again, and he was back on his feet in no time. He didn't like being vulnerable around them, even if he was behind thick, impenetrable glass.
"T-E4404." She spoke his technical name, and he can't help but perk up from behind the glass. It wasn't often that she actually acknowledged him, let alone used his name. He was suddenly interested in everything the two of them had to say, though he didn't show it much. Instead, he tilted his head with a bored expression on his face. Curiosity got the better of him though, and he couldn't stop his eyes from glancing down at the device she had in her paws.
"Amazing, isn't it? And it was so easy to make, you'd be surprised." She seemed so proud of the low complexity of the device, but he honestly didn't care about that. What he cared about was the purpose and the function. Lazarus, understanding this just by the look on his face, manages to side-step his way in front of Lucrecia to take the device from her paws.
"You've had a very long day, darling." Sweet talk only worked a good 70% of the time, but it was the chance he was willing to take in order for 404 to feel more comfortable. He was aware that the viscet didn't like either of the scientists, but he had a feeling that he disliked Lazarus a little less than Lucrecia.
"Why don't you stand back and just watch. You don't want to risk another incident with the fumes do you?" Much to his surprise, Lucrecia nodded slowly and handed him the device with a sigh before heading toward the door of the room to watch what would happen. If the device didn't work, she was closer to a quick escape from where she was anyway. She could swallow her pride for that.
If there was one thing Lazarus hated about the experiment, it was that he could sense fear from a mile away. It didn't matter if he walked in with a grin on his face and no obvious sign of distress, 404 somehow still knew. It wasn't that 404 grew more aggressive on purpose at the first sign of another's fear... It just scared him when others were afraid of him. It made him feel unsafe himself and caused his emotions to go into overdrive.
Lazarus understood that. But just because he understood, didn't mean he could change how he felt. Fear was a basic instinct and he wasn't able to just stamp it out on command.
"Alright, Four-oh-four." It doesn't take long for Lucrecia to sigh audibly from her place behind him and near the door. She hated giving the experiments actual names that were different from their technical names. Correction; she hated when Lazarus did that. It's something she never did and will never do as long as she lives.
'You're going to get attached if you keep calling him that...' Her voice echoed in his head whenever he used the nickname, and he wasn't sure if he was subconsciously playing the message in his head as a reminder, or if she had just said it so many times, that it was impossible for him to forget it.
Shrugging the feelings away, Lazarus continued where he left off: "Lucrecia will explain what's about to happen, but I'll be the one to do it, alright?" He took another step toward the glass and locked green eyes with purple. "Is that alright?" Again, he heard Lucrecia sigh, but this part was vital. The fact that she didn't understand that was exactly why none of the experiments ever trust her. It was exactly why he was always able to get information out of them that she couldn't even if she tried for one-hundred years straight.
Once the viscet behind the glass nodded slowly, Lazarus exhaled a relieved sigh. That made his fear dissipate, if only a little bit. A little bit was better than nothing at all, and he was thankful that it looked as though 404 felt a bit more at ease as well. He could have been imagining it too, but either way, it helped him with what he was about to do.
"T-E4404, this mask will allow you a chance to step outside of your room and have a taste of freedom for a limited amount of time. I haven't yet found a way to permanently rid you of the toxins within your mist, but this will do for now. Lazarus, all you have to do is fix it to his muzzle and fasten the straps in the back. It's relatively easy, but make sure you hold your breath while you're in there." Reverting her focus back to the experiment, she continues on: "It will take a full ten minutes for the nutrients within the reservoirs to balance out and snuff out the toxins, to put it in layman's terms."
The nerves started to rise back up inside of Lazarus, but it wasn't because of her mentioning him going inside of the cage, but rather because of how he might react to the mask being put on his face. He just didn't want to cause 404 any more psychological harm than what they have already, and something as simple as this could be traumatizing to an already traumatized viscet.
"Does all of this sound okay with you, 404?" If Lucrecia sighed, he didn't hear her. All he was concerned about was the experiment's safety and consent, so all of his focus was on him. Once again, all anxiety was flushed away when the other nodded his head, almost excitedly. He understood. He would have been excited too.
"Alright, I'm coming in now. You don't need to do anything except stand there. I promise this won't hurt, okay?" He probably should have asked Lucrecia about side effects of what was in the reservoirs of the gas mask before he promised something like that, but as he walked into the room after taking a deep inhale, he realised it was too late for questions.
The moment Lazarus stepped into the room with the experiment, his eyes began to water. The stinging in his eyes from the toxins in the room nearly made him lose the breath he inhaled, but he was determined. He probably should have turned around and left, demanding a mask for his own face so he could do this, but this was a good way to show the other that he really wasn't afraid of him — at least not by choice — and that he would do basically anything to earn his trust. It was also a good way to go blind, but that would be a concern for a later time.
Fortunately, 404 is incredibly cooperative and it takes no time at all for Lazarus to fasten the mask to his muzzle, allowing him to make a quick escape out of the room, eyes squeezed shut and ears ringing.
"Ah," Lucrecia comments between light chuckles, "it probably would have been a good idea for me to get a mask of some sort for you as well, hm?" Lazarus refuses to humour her smart remark and only glares at her, tears sparkling in his eyes from the poison. Once his vision has recovered and his eyes no longer burn, Lazarus turns to face the glass again in order to watch the viscet. He's both surprised and relieved to see that the other viscet doesn't seem the least bit phased by the mask fastened to his muzzle. Instead of reaching up to feel it with his paws, or jolting his head from side to side in an effort to get it off of his face, he's only waiting patiently for the ten minutes to pass.
This was a big moment for Lazarus because he knew, deep in his heart, that the reason 404 wasn't making such a fuss about the mask on his face is that he trusted his word when he promised it wouldn't hurt. When he promised it would be okay. 404 trusted Lazarus, and he hoped and prayed that he could keep his impulsive promise. He hoped that nothing bad would happen to the experiment. He hoped that the fumes inside of the reservoirs wouldn't hurt him.
After the world's longest and grueling ten minutes, Lucrecia finally spoke up to announce that the time had passed. Lazarus felt as though he didn't breathe that entire time, and he rushed to open the door so that the other could come out of his room. 404 is extremely hesitant to come out, but with the gentle motions from Lazarus, he manages to find the strength to step outside of the room once more. This time, there isn't any coughing or hacking. He wants to smile, but he's afraid that any emotion he shows will be used against him somehow, so instead, he distracts himself by walking around the bigger room and investigating everything there was to investigate. He runs over to the shelf on the far right wall to pick up some of the journals and breakable instruments lying lazily about, before putting them right back where he found them. He runs to every corner of the room just because he can. With his paws, he feels the difference between the metal in his cage to the metal in the outside room. There isn't much of a difference, but it's still new to him, so he enjoys it.
He never goes near Lucrecia though, and much to his relief, she keeps her distance as well. Even though he doesn't take the time to investigate her up close, his eyes barely leave her, but in fear that she might do something.
Lazarus though, that's a different story.
404 is hesitant, but he seems captivated by the strange tufts protruding from the others arms and he can't help but to reach out and touch the strange wing-like tufts with wonder. Lazarus, though also hesitant, allows him to do so.
"They're mutations," he explains in a soft voice, "just like the mist on your back and the fins on your arms and tail. Mine are a bit different, but they're mutations nonetheless." At that, 404 looks up at Lazarus with a different expression on his face. A new expression. He looks up at him with a strong sense of familiarity, and it's both comforting and confusing. This couldn't be the first time he's seen his mutations? They see each other every day, so why is now any different? Perhaps he had to touch them to believe they were real.
"Can you believe this, Lazarus?" Lucrecia speaks up in a hearty tone, breaking the moment between Lazarus and the experiment. "This is a breakthrough, don't you understand? I single-handedly came up with a solution to a problem that very well could have done some serious damage. With just a few more weeks of research and tests, I know I'll be able to create something better. Something that will allow him to have a bit more freedom. Something permanent." It's then that she decides to walk toward the masked viscet, but it's apparent that he isn't impressed in the least... But he allows it. Knowing that she's the one who made it possible for him to be outside of his cage if only for a little bit, he allows her to lead him back to what he considers his jail cell. He allows her to take off the mask. With a melancholy gaze, he allows her to shut the door to his cell, and he's back to staring out from behind the glass, longing for something more.
Required Extra:
4 JulyI should have started this journal sooner. I should have started it when he hatched, but I was afraid that it would make me similar to my previous keeper if I did that... Yet here I am anyway; writing in a journal. It's silly, but I'd like to record everything I can about this astonishing viscet. Lucrecia will only jot down the technical garbage or focus on the negative aspects... Or both.
Probably both.But I want there to be proof of
everything in case something happens...
We call him 404. His technical name is T-E4404. (Also goes by Terror. T-E4404 = TERROR... no? ok.) I don't know why Lucrecia went with such a mouthful for a name, but I'm sure she has a clever and scientific reason for it, just as she does for everything else.
Moving on...
404 was an accident. Well, his existence was intentional, but... not like this. As it stands, without the mask he's basically a weapon of mass destruction. We've been working to find a way to permanently neutralize the poisonous mist along his back and tail, but for the time being, we can only do so for a limited period of time with the mask. Thankfully, he's immune to the poison, but unfortunately, we aren't. Lucrecia learned that the hard way.
We're protected from the toxic fumes when he's in his room and behind the glass, but I won't lie... Part of me wishes he didn't have to stay behind the glass. Lucrecia couldn't care less.
When he thinks we aren't watching, 404 seems to zone out with a melancholy expression. Like he's deep in thought, and that alone is amazing. It wasn't like that until we moved him from the front room and into the back. It was my idea. I thought he could benefit from looking out the tiny window in the other room. Lucrecia wasn't thrilled at first, but she caved.
He spent a lot of time looking out the window and even grew a bit obsessed. He would try to climb up the wall in order to get a better look; admittedly, it was heart breaking to witness.
He doesn't seem very interested in the window anymore, but I believe it's because a glimpse of the outside world expanded the little imagination he had. He doesn't need to look outside anymore because what he has created in his own head is so much bigger and better, or so I believe. When I catch him in his melancholy trance, I'm quite positive he's daydreaming.
Fascinating, isn't it?
I've kept all of this to myself until now. Lucrecia wouldn't approve of something so 'childish' like daydreaming...
When 404 isn't staring off into space, he's rather hostile and explosive. He's been rather violent on more than one occasion — that much is obvious just by looking through the glass and at the inside of his room. Deep claw marks everywhere... Especially the glass. Lucrecia believes that he's just an angry and violent viscet... I believe he's
scared.Actually, I know he's scared.
I also know that he's bored and lonely. He's starved of any social interaction. He has zero social skills and at this point, it's a little late to teach him. Besides, I know she wouldn't approve.
He seems to have taken a liking to Jill, however. They sport the same mist and her cheek fins are similar to the ones on his elbows and tail. She isn't afraid of him either, which makes him feel safe when she's around, which brings me to another fascinating discovery:
He doesn't
want to be feared.
I'm sure he understands that his behaviour paired with the poison on his back and tail are something to be feared, but it isn't anything he can help. He behaves the way he does because he doesn't know any better, and he only seems to be explosive when he's kept behind the glass. When he's allowed his thirty minutes of freedom, he's cooperative, he listens, and he's actually rather pleasant to be around. I feel as though he would have an enjoyable life surrounded by viscets who care for him and only want what's best for him if it wasn't for that damn mist.
Part of me feels like Lucrecia has already found a way to neutralize it permanently ... She always warns me about getting too attached, but she's the one who should heed her own warning. Her attachment is of a different nature. It's more like obsession over what she considers an object. She doesn't consider the experiments to be works of nature; she created them, they're her property. If she were to neutralize the poison for good, then she would lose yet another experiment.
Of course, that's all just my own paranoia talking. I can't see her being able to keep such a secret for this long.
Anyway, before I end this for the day, I'd like to jot down a few more notes on 404...
In the room: explosive, volatile, hostile, scared, melancholy, curious
Outside of the room: calm, cooperative, content (???), skittish, curious, cautious/scared
I can't tell if he's 100% content once he's out of his room, but the difference is still astounding. He's far more happy than when he's behind the glass. The melancholia disappears the moment he knows it's time for his 30 minutes of freedom.
404 is a naturally curious viscet, inside of his room or out. He tries not to let it get the better of him when he's behind the glass, but as I said... Naturally curious. He loves to learn.
It's only normal that 404 is cautious, and maybe even a little bit scared when he's outside of his room. As much as he hates the thick glass, it's still there to protect. Mostly us, but him as well. And I think he understands that. He more than likely feels a bit vulnerable without the glass there to protect him.
I feel the rest is rather self-explanatory with the information I've provided, so I will stop here for the day. There's always work to do, after all, and Lucrecia would have a fit if she saw me writing in a journal instead of doing work.
—
Lazarus XIIIOther Extras:
Lucrecia the SinisterThere were security cameras in most of the rooms in order to watch the experiments in their down time. Mostly to keep an eye on them and make sure there was no funny business going on. 404, however, was the exception. It surprised Lazarus, but Lucrecia didn't feel the need to keep an eye on 404. Sure, he had his outbursts and he periodically attempted to claw through the thick glass of his cage, but she never felt that he was serious about an actual escape.
He was too afraid to go that far. Not afraid of the consequences of his actions, but afraid of hurting anyone. He knew he could cause some serious damage with just the mist on his back and tail, he knew he could be a killing machine if he really wanted to, but he wasn't morally capable of something like that.
So, when Lucrecia changed her mind and decided to install security cameras in 404's room, Lazarus was confused.
"I thought you said it wasn't necessary." He growls through gritted teeth.
"I changed my mind." Her response is spoken in a fine tone, as per usual. There was always this subtle 'I do what I want, and I don't care how you feel about it' attitude underlying her every word. The worst part about that is it was the truth. Lucrecia does absolutely anything she wants, no matter what.
"What do you mean you changed your mind? There haven't even been any incidents with him in the past couple of weeks. I want to know why you went ahead with this?" He doesn't want to look at the security feed, but his curiosity gets the better of him; even more so when he sees a very familiar viscet appear on the screen. "Wait..." he pauses his tirade, eyes blinking curiously first at the screen and then at Lucrecia. "What is Jill doing there? Why wasn't I informed?"
Sighing, Lucrecia points at the feed in a silent demand that he remove his eyes from her.
He complies.
"
Experiment One is here because I'm testing something. He seems awfully calm when she visits, even when he's in his room. Which is unusual, don't you think? I'm sure you've noticed it as well."
Of course Lazarus noticed it. He made note of it in his journal not too long ago. Paranoia began to eat away at his gut, despite how pleased he was that Lucrecia was making positive observations for once instead of negative. Had she found his journal?
No... she wouldn't be this calm about it had she found it. But then again, she was a super genius. She had ways of playing others and manipulating them without them being the least bit suspicious. Lazarus was smart too, though. Not smarter than Lucrecia, but smart enough. He decides to wait a few more days to see if she'd make any other mentions of the notes in his journal. For now, he wanted to focus on what was happening in the feed.
"Are you feeling okay today?" Jill's voice was slightly distorted coming through the feed, but it was still understandable.
Lazarus watched as the other viscet tilted his head and shrugged. To him, it was more of an answer of 'I don't know', but apparently Jill knows his body language better than him.
"I understand," she replies, her voice as soft and gentle as ever. "But do you at least feel better now that I'm here? Do you feel a little more relaxed?"
404 tilts his head to the other side, but instead of shrugging this time, he walks toward the glass and places his paw against it. Lazarus swears there's a smile against his maw once Jill places her own paw on the glass to match his.
'This is obscure.' He can't help but to think to himself. 'I've never seen him do anything like this before...'
"I'm glad. It makes me glad to know that I help you. Jack was the same way, you know that? He's gotten a lot better, even when I'm not around! I know you'll get to that point too."
404 smiles once more at the gentle words and this time, Lazarus can't keep himself quiet.
"Lucrecia. This... This is incredible! This is such a breakthrough! With her, we could really get somewhere with him, don't you think?" It was too late to take back the words, but he realised what harm he just did. His words were innocent to him, but she would find a way to twist them into something sinister... it seemed as though she already had.
"Yes..." She speaks, venom dripping from every word, "yes, we could use her. She will definitely come in handy, Lazarus. I'm thrilled you see it that way as well."
He swallows hard, but doesn't say another word. He only walks away casually, seemingly without a worry in the world. But the anxiety inside of him told a very different story.
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credits and wordcounts:Lazarus belongs to me.
Lucrecia belongs to me.
Jill belongs to me.
Jack belongs to milo.
explanation of mask: 3265 words.
required extra: 1039 words.
extra: 830 words
extra: art
