Chapter Text
???, ???, 2074.
Unknown location, North American.
[Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!]
Buried hundreds of feet beneath the surface laid a hidden laboratory, a labyrinth of long corridors and linking ladders. Its walls bored the "BL" designation in stark red and white, the designation for this place.
Deeper within the facility, a group clad in hazmat suits crowded around a bank of monitors beside an observation window.
At its heart, a colossal glass and metal tube loomed, accessed by a single bridge. Messy cables snaked from the ceiling to its top, while its base was bolted to a grated floor, partially submerged in a man-made pool.
Inside the tank?
Bubbles circulated around an onyx-colored creature, suspended unnervingly as if by invisible strings. It was a horrendous amalgamation, a crude mockery of nature's design—a 'spaghetti monster' of tubular arms with curved traction spikes sprawling haphazardly against the glass. A lamprey-like mouth, bristling with rows after rows of sharp teeth, dominated its center, and armored, bleached ivory scales covered its entire form.
Yet its most unnerving feature is several tennis-ball-sized eyeballs scattered across its body at random points. Their white irises glow a subtle, vibrant rainbow, just like the starry sky at night.
[Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!]
The chief scientist couldn't suppress a groan as he stared at the bio-monitor. For the past day, he'd been plagued by an uncontrollable eye twitch, and now he understood why. The monitor he stared at was an electroencephalogram, meticulously measuring the brain's electrical activity via electrodes placed on the scalp—or, in this creature's unique case, directly on its monstrous form. For as long as they had been here in this shithole, the machine had displayed nothing but a flatline. Then, mere minutes ago, it had inexplicably jolted to life, catching them entirely off guard. They immediately notified security, activated the floodlights, and armed the hidden turrets surrounding the central tube, bracing for the possibility that the tank's occupant might turn violent.
But nothing happened. The source of their creeping anxiety remained utterly lifeless as if it were still the inert corpse it ought to have been. Only the electroencephalogram's slow, increasingly rapid beeping hinted that things were not as they appeared.
"Damn it," the chief muttered, "we're certainly not paid enough for this shit, man." He then turned to a nearby colleague. "Could somebody give me a report on the EEG, please?"
"Well, boss, I hate to say it, but I've run multiple system diagnostics, and everything seems to be in perfect working order. So... either the electrogram itself is that faulty," the other scientist paused, glancing at the tube behind the observation window, "or our ol' big, ugly friend there is enjoying messing with us by playing dead."
"Or waiting for its moment," the chief grunted, a comment that drew several gazes. "What? After all the tests we've run on this supposed corpse over the years, it's finally waking up, and now it decides to play the quiet kid?!?" He added. "You call me pessimistic; I call myself rational."
"But isn't this thing supposed to be at its weakest right now?" A female scientist asked, frowning. "I mean—" she scratched her head, scanning the data on her screen, "—according to these logs, its last recorded activity was... fifty-four years ago? Back during the Fourth Corporate War."
"Yes," the chief nodded grimly, "but the creature's known to be extremely adaptable to whatever's thrown at its supposed corpse," judging from our previous testings. And there's something the logs didn't tell you—didn't tell any of us." He exhaled slowly. "Worse yet… because of this—today's event—I found out just now."
That last line brought the entire room to a standstill.
"The logs that we were provided... It's fake, okay? You heard me right. This creature right here didn't get nuked or anything. They found it like this—already dormant—from the beginning. It just happened to be near the craters."
Then, behind the glass, an eye twitched at that moment. Its pupil contracted, then curled unnaturally inward. None of the scientists noticed, caught up in the mounting dread of the conversation.
"Wait, what?!" someone burst out, staring at the chief.
"We've been deceived," the chief growled. "All of us. You, me, every single person working in this godforsaken bunker, we all've been played like a damn fiddle. And before you ask why—remember this: to them, we're just disposable. Pawns. Expendable nobodies in the name of profit and secrecy."
Silence.
The chief sighed. "The least I can do now is stay with you all. We'll get through this—together. So quit whining and—"
[Ba-bump.]
The room froze. A single, heavy thump echoed through the chamber. All eyes turned to the containment tank, nerves taut, breaths held.
The creature still lay motionless… yet they had all heard it.
"…Everyone else heard that, right? Or is it just me?" The chief asked, voice worried.
"Yeah."
"I heard it, too, Boss."
"Sounded like… a heartbeat? But the vitals show—"
[Ba-bump.]
[Tink-tink-tink-tink!]
They backed away from the observation window. Inside the tank, the creature's pale ivory scales began to glow with a blinding white light, accompanied by prismatic, rainbow-colored reflections. One by one, they flaked off, drifting like ash to the bottom of the containment unit.
"What the hell is it doing?! What triggered this?!"
"I don't know! Run diagnostics—check for anything abnormal in the tank!"
[Ba-bump. Ba-bump.]
Its old armor cracked away, shedding, revealing a new layer forming beneath: sleek, obsidian-black plating stretched over its flesh, with pulsating blood-red glowing beneath the surface. The creature's arms slowly extended, mimicking how a person might stretch their fingers after a long sleep. Then, without warning, they curled inward, forming a tight, circular shape as its entire body began to pulse.
Its strange eyes rolled back and vanished beneath the skin as flesh grew over them, swallowing their gaze whole. The creature now resembled something cocooned, yet very much alive—evolving.
"Jonathan, freeze it—now! I don't know what's coming next, and I don't wanna find out!" The chief scientist shouted, yanking down a lever. Heavy metal shutters groaned to life, slamming down over the observation window.
"Are you insane? We can't just flash freeze—"
"I'm not taking chances with this shit, alright?! Worse—what if it's aware? What if it thinks, feels, remembers, just like us? How do you think it would feel, knowing it's being treated like a damn lab rat all this time?" The chief's voice cracked with desperation. "We either risk unleashing something that could level this facility—hell, this country—or we flash freeze it now and pray that's enough!"
The scientist didn't need another word. Pale and trembling, he quickly slammed his fist against the blue button. The tube was bathed in an icy blue glow as warning lights flickered on.
[Ba…bump.]
Silence descended as the scientists watched a colossal, pulsating mass—resembling a monstrous heart—until frost began to bloom across the glass. The room's temperature plummeted, vapor curling in the air. Within moments, the tank's interior was entombed in thick ice. The creature was still.
Motionless.
And for now—contained.
A collective breath was released. Relief swept through the room like a quiet tide.
"Alright, if anyone needs a change of pants, now's the time," the chief deadpanned, a tense chuckle escaping a few others. "Honestly, I wouldn't even blame you if that happened."
Their brief respite was shattered by the synchronized thud of approaching footsteps. The laboratory door hissed open, revealing a squad of armed soldiers.
[KA-CLI-CLI-CLICK!]
A wall of firearms immediately levelled at them, prompting every scientist to raise their hands.
"Any attempts to resist will be met with lethal force," a dispassionate, staticky voice declared from one of the armed figures.
Their military gear and color scheme instantly clicked. "Militech—?" one scientist blurted, surprised, before a bullet grazed his cheek, cutting him off.
Unknown to everyone, a slight crack formed on the ice of the frozen containment tank.
"Speak only when permitted," the unit commander said flatly. "Next time, I won't miss."
None of the scientists dared move.
The officer tapped a button on his helmet. "Raider-1 to Motherhen? Facility secured. Awaiting orders, ma'am. Over."
With a raised hand, he pointed at the scientists. "Everyone, line up against that wall. Hands in plain sight unless you're eager for a bullet. Half of you," he commanded his soldiers, "maintain watch. The other half ensures the specimen is fully secured."
"Bioweapon? Do you even know what's in that tank?!?" the chief scientist cried out, his voice raw with terror. "One wrong move and you could unleash hell!"
The captain of the raiding squad scoffed, dismissing the man's obvious ploy for time. He eyed the frozen tank with contempt. "My job doesn't involve asking questions, only following orders."
Imperceptibly, the existing crack in the frozen glass subtly expanded, creeping further up its surface.
"But we've done nothing wrong. Why kill us for simply doing our work?" a woman pleaded, her voice cracking.
One of the soldiers grunted. "Nothing personal. Just orders."
"So much for 'only you know about this place,' my ass," the chief muttered, watching the soldiers complete their assessment of the creature and turn back to face them.
"Trust me, I don't want to do this," the captain said as the scientists were quickly ushered against the wall, out of reach of any lab equipment. "But it's my men or you. You'd make the same choice if you were in my shoes. Don't worry, we'll be quick. Everyone, positions."
[Click-ca-click, click, click!]
The scientists could only stare helplessly at their impending demise.
[Ba-bump.]
The newly woke entity could barely process what was going on around them. The sensory input was overwhelming initially, but still, it could see, hear, and smell what was in the next room.
Heat. Motion. Beating. Metal. Biomass.
F̵̯̙͉̄̇̒͑͝ŏ̶̻̱̞͙͓͛̏͆̄͗̆ő̶̧̨͙̬͓̥͚͘͠d̷̢̡̨̫͓͇̑͠͝.̴̩̣̪͎̳̦͂̈́̾͘
"Fire."
[BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!]
The gunfire echoed for several seconds before stopping, the tips of the soldiers' rifles glowing red from the heat.
…
…
…
"…What?" One of the stupefied soldiers stammered, staring at the trembling scientists who were miraculously still alive and completely unharmed despite a full salvo being fired at them.
All the bullets… for some inexplicable reason, had stopped midair precisely before the very eyes of the scientists. They hung suspended for a moment before clattering to the ground.
"What… just happened?" Another one whispered, just as awestruck and confused as his comrades.
"What is inside that tube?!" The captain demanded, following the researcher's gaze through the metal grates towards the containment tank, still covered head to toe in ice.
<WARNING! CONTAINMENT'S HULL IS AT 80% INTEGRITY!>
"Nothing important since we're all going to die anyway," the chief scientist said bitterly.
His eyes widened, and the captain turned his head as various objects around the lab vibrated.
Meanwhile, inside its icy prison, what little of the entity could still move unimpeded by the ice compressed its flesh inward, then pushed outward.
[BANG!]
Everyone jumped as the frozen containment tank suddenly lurched to the side, its metal base protesting loudly. Cracks spread across the glass from the impact, a violet light shining through the thick ice. The scientists watched in awe as the raiders turned their rifles at the window.
<WARNING! CONTAINMENT'S HULL IS AT 40% INTEGRITY!>
"Tell us what's inside, now!" The captain demanded as a second impact caused the containment tank to lurch again. The frozen pool beneath the unit began to crack from the strain, and the vibrations of the smaller objects in the lab intensified, as if a localized earthquake were hitting the space, even though the room remained stable.
"Drop dead and go to hell, fuckin' shitstain!"
"If you won't talk," the captain growled, reaching for his sidearm, "then I'll make you—"
But he never got the chance. Mid-motion, his body jerked violently upward as if yanked by invisible strings. He clawed at his throat, eyes wide with panic. Then came the sickening cracks—first, his fingers twisted the wrong way, then his arms, his joints snapping and contorting until his limbs turned backward like a soaked rag wrung dry.
[BRRRVVVVVVMMMMMM!]
Everyone's attention whipped toward the containment tube, horror spreading across their faces. The air around the tank distorted—rippling like heat haze—while a jagged crack spidered from the center of the glass. But the fracture didn't stop at the tank. It reached beyond, out into the open air, reality itself warping as if it were being funneled—condensed—into a weapon aimed directly at them.
"Everyone down!"
The chief scientist didn't hesitate. Driven by pure survival instinct, he threw himself sideways, barreling into his colleagues and knocking them flat just as the creature's energy discharged.
<ALERT! CONTAINMENT BREACH'S IMMINENT!>
The glass exploded. Steel tore apart like foil. The observation window blasted free from its frame. The scientists, now prone and below the blast line, were spared the brunt of it. Their bulky hazmat suits shielded them from the whirlwind of debris that followed—an indoor hurricane of metal and shrapnel.
The soldiers weren't so lucky.
Gone—shattered bodies reduced to twisted wreckage. Their armor had folded in on itself; their limbs were mangled beyond recognition. Even without seeing the gore leaking from the suits, the outcome was obvious. No one could survive a blast like that.
The scientists still flattened against the floor, slowly looked up—only to see the thing clinging to the wall above the ruined window like a living net. Its tentacles shot forward, the ruined corpses of Militech soldiers and dragged them, one by one, toward its gaping maws.
[Crunch-crunch-crunch-crunch.]
The sound was unbearable. Tendrils pulled metal and meat alike into slithering maws that formed and vanished across its surface. Armor plates screeched against one another before crumpling like tin. Bones snapped. Wet, fibrous tearing echoed as organs were reduced to pulp. Blood splattered across the floor in thick, arterial waves. The monster devoured everything.
Some surviving scientists collapsed outright—knees buckling, eyes glazed, mouths slack. A few sobbed uncontrollably, unable to look away. One screamed until his throat gave out. Another vomited in his suit.
And then it turned toward them.
The room plunged into chaos. Screams. Pleading. The shuffling of boots against the tile. But then—
"WAIT!"
The chief scientist—pale, trembling—stood with one trembling hand raised. Against all odds, the creature stopped.
It looked at him.
Something inside the chief clicked. Not courage—a gamble, a deal.
"Y-you want biomass? F-flesh, right? F-food! YES, food!" he stammered. "I—I know where you can get it. This facility... there's plenty. Just let us live."
The tendrils withdrew slightly. Listening.
"E-eight floor," he said, pointing downward. "We're on the ninth. Just go up. There's a project—genetic modification. Dozens of test bodies. Humans. Animals. Hundreds. Smalls and larges. Both alive and dead. M-meat! That's what you want, yeah?"
He fumbled at his belt, yanked his keycard free, and tossed it toward the creature. It snagged the plastic from mid-air.
"Level 3 Clearance. T-that'll get you through almost every door here. J-just... let us live and go. Please."
The creature dangled the keycard before its mass as though examining it. Then, slowly, it reached toward the scanner by the exit door.
[Beep.]
[Access Granted.]
The doors slid open with a hiss. It then launched forward with a blinding surge—tentacles snapping outward, using the walls and ceiling as leverage as it tore down the corridor like a storm. An instant later, the building shook. The walls moaned. The floor lurched. Then—
[BOOM!]
An explosion tore through the hallway outside. A colossal black tendril—thicker than a man's torso—erupted through the concrete wall, pulverizing everything in its path. The monster punched through the ceiling, vanishing into the floor above as screams echoed from somewhere up there—high-pitched, desperate, brief. Dust rained from overhead. Lights flickered. Another boom, then another. Like something enormous moving with reckless force. Then, overhead, the intercom crackled to life with a sharp, synthetic buzz. The hallway was bathed in red emergency lights as the automated voice cut through the carnage.
<ALERT! UNKNOWN BIOLOGICAL THREAT DETECTED. SITE LOCKDOWN'S COMMENCING.>
Heavy blast doors began sealing sections of the corridor. Somewhere distant, an alarm wailed like a dying animal. The scientists inside the observation chamber huddled together, wide-eyed and speechless. The chief—face pale, lip trembling—finally collapsed to his knees. He didn't scream. Didn't sob. Just stared at the floor, eyes wide and haunted.
"...Fuck," he said.