Chapter Text
I ran a hand through my hair as my eyes scanned patient records, it was past the time I should've left as I looked up and transferred the information from paper to digital filing. The sound of typing filled the small medical room on the east wing of Hadal, I took a sharp inhale as my wrist ached loudly, stopping my movement a low groan leaving my throat as I rubbed my aching muscles. My eyes scanned over the two other papers I needed to transfer before I stood and put them away within my cabinet, the doors making a soft creak as I opened and closed its metal drawers.
After gathering my belongings, which wasn't much I unlocked the security door of the medbay. My keycard was standard clearance, blue in color with white lettering reading my name and MEDBAY across the top. I breathed heavy as I pulled the door open, the pain in my wrist making me wince before It stopped, door closing with a hiss behind me as it locked again automatically. I felt the weight of my exhaustion weigh on my shoulders as I made my way through doors before stopping, I listened closely nearby, hearing a soft cry. Turning to it's direction, I managed to catch the slightly ajar door, beeping in warning of being left open with a placard displaying in bold black simple font 'Z-317' and I felt something tighten in my chest at the sound of the cries from within the room.
Despite my better judgement, which followed the same path with every thought, 'I'm not supposed to be here, this is just a shortcut.' 'what if I get caught?' however my feet carried me onward as my hand made direct contact with the doors cold surface and pushed with little effort. I've walked by this room so many times during night duty without fail, the door was always closed with no noises beyond.
The room shifted to smell sterile, more so than the medbays cleaner I was used to, It smelt like straight up bleach. My nose wrinkles as the smell assaults me, making my eyes close as I wince. A soft gasp leaves my throat as I spot a large tank, my hands gripping my water bottle in a vice grip turning my knuckles white. Inside the way too small tank was an almost pitch black bullshark, the cries were apparent now as the shark seemed to.. shake? I looked around the room now, noticing the monitors hooked up to the sharks vitals as a soft beep signifies the heartbeat.
I felt something pulling at my mind as I set my stuff down on a nearby desk, walking past lines of tape on the floor reading 'DO NOT CROSS' without a care to it. The soft sobbing was clearer now, cries of pain, of need for help. My mind was flooded with mixed emotions, anxiety rising as I stood now merely 6 feet from the glass the shark was contained by. 'Is this what hedal is doing?' was the first and most prominent thought to occur as my mind swirled, It the only thought that seemed to be my own as I rested my hand against the glass softly, taking care not to tap my nails against the warm surface. I watched in horror as multiple green eyes opened from the bullsharks body, I was stunned by the intensity of the green and X-shaped pupils which seemed to stare at my very soul.
A whine emanated from everywhere, nowhere? inside me? as the shark pushed it's giant head against the glass, the respective eyes on top of it closing as it grazed against where my hand would be. When it sobbed within me upon finding no palm against it's rough skin I felt something within me snap, eyes wide and full of tears as I seemed to be it's only source of comfort. Separated by 4 inch thick glass and water.
"shh, I know I know. I'm sorry." left my mouth without thinking, words low and almost whispered. However the shark seemed to hear me, understand me even, as It moved to circle back, all eyes trained on my still form. I looked over it's body instinctually, noting mentally the heart monitor sensor as an extreme contrast to it's coal black body. I looked intently over it again as it swam about lethargically, catching sight of an exposed bone on it's back, I grimaced before I moved to a desk displaying vitals and other assorted information. I sorted through papers and tabs before finding what I was looking for, a list of current medications, a few things I didn't understand as they were above my clearance but I found a pain management section. Looking for the vial in a cooler nearby I walked shakily as I held it up, noticing instantly the way the shark seemed to panic at the sight of it within my palms.
"It's ok, it's ok. This is a pain med, I uh, wont dope you up but it should help.. I hope" I said with a shaking voice, suddenly realizing just how massive this creature was compared to me. Swallowing the knot in my throat I double checked the vial, making sure the paper I held in my off hand matched a dose for something like this. I tried not to think too hard on the fact they even had this as a treatment, I felt my heart break regardless as I loaded the vile into the metal bottom to the tank. Closing sliding door I entered the dose, times and frequency before hitting enter. The vile was taken into the innerworkings of the machine below, I heard a faint POP as the tab on the vial was broken, the faint color of blue medication seeped into the tank.
I noticed the shark was hesitant to allow the medicated liquid near it, I placed my hand on the glass where the color floated as she rounded the glass again, my mind was flooded with warmth and words of affection and thank you as she slid past allowing the medication to hit her spines wound. A smile hit my face before I heard the door open behind me, my blood running cold as I heard a gruff voice shout at me to stop moving and get behind the line. I moved out of fear, hands above my head as the outline of a flashlights beam haloed me, the shark seemed to become aggressive as I was handcuffed and walked out, two doctors rushing in as a green light filled the room and an emergency was called overhead through the speakers.
I spat blood onto the white floor as I looked back up at the guard above me, right eye blocking some of my view of him as it rippled in purples and black colors. He grunted and wiped his hand on a provided towel as the man across the steel table watched with no emotion.
"What did you give z-317." his voice rang out again, I sighed out a choked sob as I spat more blood onto the floor from my nose dripping into my mouth. My lip curled as a snarl ripped it's way through my sore throat "I already fucking told you, I medicated it with a provided vial listed in the pain management section. You stupid insignificant fucks were letting it suffer, alone-" a fist grabbed my hair and yanked me backwards making my head connect painfully with the metal chair. I whimpered in pain, wincing as the guards fist raised again, aimed at my already broken nose before the door to the room opened. A woman with blonde hair enters handing the doctor in front of me a document before leaving, not even sparing me a glance.
The guard let go of my hair and stood next to the seated doctor, both reading over the document. The doctor hummed before snapping the folder closed and looking at me with oddly warm eyes and a smile, "I see, we'll. You might not have lied, but you have disobeyed several direct orders, being in a restricted sector for one." he said as he stood and rounded the table, I flinched as he sat in front of me on the table, looking down at me like I was just some misbehaving animal. Tears escaped my eyes as the doctor I had once seen as a mentor look at me like I was nothing. The normal warm smile on his aged features now replaced with one lased with malice and power. "And you've seen too much, you understand, right y/n?" he tilted his head to the side with the same smile plastered on his features.
"We take pride in keeping everything under wraps, Y/n." He tilted my chin up sharply with his thumb and pointer finger, my eyes locked onto his cold gray with my own reflecting hate and fear. I spit blood in his face causing him to flinch back and grip my chin tighter as I spoke "You're a fucking monster, Chris." with as much venom as I could muster, I felt my cuffed hands ache to reach for his throat as I shook with adrenaline. The guard walked behind me, taking the towel and handing it to Chris before gripping my hair again, making my already abused scalp ache as I swore under my breath.
Chris cleaned off his glasses and face with the once pristine towel, glaring at me as the towel came down to rest on the dirty floor below, causing my body to try and shrink under his gaze. He stands now above me, the light in the ceiling causing some sort of sick angelic halo. Before I could react his fingers grabbed my face while his free hand snapped my nose back into place, I screamed as I tried to thrash away from him, but the guards hold kept me still as a while hot pain spread through my face into my nervous system. Tears falling clearing tracks of new and old blood alike down to my chin where it dripped on my white lab coat.
"After all I've done for you." he said darkly before moving away, the last thing I heard before the door closed was a sentence that made my heart stop,
"Get him ready for injection, might as well make use of him."
My back ached as I felt another silent scream rip through my throat. I tasted blood as my bones popped with rapid growth, eyes rolling into my skull as I tried to fight off fainting again. It felt like hours passed as I take gasping breaths to look down at my prone form on top of a feeble plastic mattress, my fingers had elongated, my legs slowly fusing and growing into a tail that mimicked a.. snake? no, axolotl? I couldn't tell. I turn my arm slowly, crying from pain to see fins with razor sharp nails breaking through the skin, the pale pink covered in blood as the beeping of a heart monitor became white noise.
It's been god knows how long since Chris decided I was worthy of his and UrbanShades wrath and experimentation. The days truly blurred together with pain and skin tearing and the sick crunch and popping of joints and bones. They, the doctors and chris, were not gentle in my transformation. Injecting me with several vials of varying DNA spirals two at a time and watching on with clipboards at the ready for when another transformation occurred. They learned the first time to move me into a blocked off room, thick ballistics glass separating them from me after I had proven a fighting spirit with the trachea of a doctor who got too close to me during my first injection between my sharp needle like teeth.
I whined as the spine along my arm finished ripping at my skin and seemed to shift in place, the long fin stretched from my mid bicep to the knuckle of my middle finger on both sides. I felt exhaustion consume me once again as a sweet smell filled the room, lavender? lilacs? my brain and vision swirled as darkness took my vision and the faint sound of a thick door unlocking resonated within the room.