"There you are."
Hardly a greeting as I step into the cold building. I shiver slightly, glancing nervously around as I try to figure out where the voice had come from. Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, there they are standing in front of me.
"Pick your jaw up and follow me. Are you always this late to new jobs?" They tilt me backwards with their finger, causing me to lose grip of the papers I'm holding, then turn around and start walking down a hallway.
"No sir- I'm sorry-" I scramble to pick up my papers, quickly following.
We walk in silence. It's unsettling, only hearing footsteps in a cold and empty white hall. I almost sigh with relief when Dr. Four stops and turns into a room. I stand at the doorway, watching as they sit down on their chair and move around some papers. They then turn the office chair around to face me.
"So. We never got to properly meet over the phone. Now would be a good time before I send you off. You know what I wrote on the paper, but I would be Four Demon. You?"
"X Variable, sir."
"Just call me Four." I nod quickly.
"Now that that's out of the way, take these. Your office is three doors down the left, should have the number 2763 above it." They shove a small stack of papers in my hands, all stapled together. I nod once again, not wanting to seem rude, then back out into the hallway.
I walk as quickly as I can without sounding like I'm running to the door they mentioned. I look up above the doorway. Yep, 2763. The door opens without a fight, and the inside looks just like Four's office. I slowly walk over to the chair and sit down, setting all the papers down on the desk. I put the ones I brought to the side- they're really just notes for me from my friends- and hold up the ones Four gave me to read.
Guidelines
1- Watch over the objects.
2- Make sure the objects do not get into trouble.
3- Keep your own actions in check.
4- In the case of other lab assistants, keep them in check.
5- Make sure the objects do not get too close and/or learn of the concept of romance.
6- Do not get too close/attached to the objects.
7- Do not disobey my orders.
8- The objects are to stay with me for the first few days. Do not interfere.
More guidelines will be made if deemed necessary.
Dr. Four
I stare at the paper in confusion. Objects? I haven't been told anything about objects. Why would Four keep a secret from me? Aren't we working together now? I flip over to the next page in the stapled stack to take my mind off the worries racing through my head.
The Experiment
I have been working on the creation of living objects for many, many years.
The reason is for me to know for the time being. All you need to know is that you will be helping me in the keeping of these living objects- if they work out. Some will not come out correctly, but there are ways we can deal with failures. Those who do end up right will remain with me for the first few days, then handed off to you.
When you receive them, they will have tape of a certain color on their body somewhere. Do not remove it and/or pick at it, for it is very important.
I stop reading for a moment at that line. It sounds really suspicious, and just generally reading the paragraph is giving me second thoughts about this job, but I shake it off. I need money, and I should do whatever I can to get it. I blink at the paper for a few seconds to regain my focus and start reading once again.
Most of them, if all goes well, will be given to you with the knowledge, personality, and mental capacity of a fully grown human. Some may turn out differently.
You are to follow the guidelines, especially the ones regarding the objects.
If you have any questions about this experiment, ask me.
Dr. Four
That was.. Short. I still have some bad feelings about what Four will be doing with these objects, but I have to follow through with this. It's the best chance I have at a real chance to earn money. Besides, maybe it'll be good for me. These objects can be my friends maybe? Wait, no, the guidelines said not to get too attached to them.
Maybe it'll be fine if I just bend the rules a little.. Right?
-
"X."
I jerk my head up off my desk. I had laid my head down on my arms after reading the rest of the papers in that packet and must've accidentally fell asleep- ohno- is Four gonna be mad- is-
"Yes?" I manage to keep my voice from shaking as I tiredly turn my chair to face them.
"Take these two. I assume you've read the packet and know what to do." They signal for me to hold my hands out. I do, and they place two objects in my hand. A lemon leaf and a.. Fire? I stare at the fire in confusion.
"His limbs don't burn you. Make sure not to touch the actual flame." Four then calmly walks out of the room.
"Alright then. I guess I'm supposed to take care of the two of you now- Why didn't Four tell me they made objects already-" My mind starts racing as I stare at the small living objects in my hand.
"Don't worry about it! We can take care of ourselves, but friends are always nice to have around!" The leaf smiles at me, "What's your name?"
"I'm X! How about you two?" I find myself smiling back.
"I'm Leaf, and he's Fire!" Leaf points to the flame standing behind her.
"Nice to meet you two!" I move my hand to my desk slowly, placing the objects down on the hard surface. I don't want to be paranoid about Fire burning me the entire time they're in here. Leaf tries to climb back onto my hand, but Fire just stands there in silence. Not much of a speaker, I guess. On the other hand, Leaf has been talking almost nonstop. Remembering the thing about tape on the objects, I take a closer look at the two. Leaf has green tape on her side, hard to see against the green of her body. Fire has orange tape wrapped around his leg, most likely because Four couldn't put it on his body without it burning.
"Hey X, do you know that Four person who brought me and Fire in here?" Leaf asks out of the blue.
"Oh! Yes, I do, I'm actually working for them as a lab assistant."
"Huh. They seemed really off to me, but I hope I can be friends with them!" Leaf smiles widely. Why is this girl so obsessed with friendship? Is she friends with Fire? I hope so, from what I've seen on the papers they'll have to be around each other for a long time. As if sensing my thoughts, Leaf turns to fire and grabs his hand.
"Hey Fire, you haven't said anything in a while- are you okay?"
"Wha- Oh yeah, I'm fine Leaf."
"Why haven't you talked much?"
"Just tired, that's all."
"Oh."
Why did Fire talk to Leaf, but not me? Maybe he just doesn't trust me yet- that seems reasonable, he just met me after all. Maybe he'll warm up to me over time. He seems to be okay with Leaf, so that's what matters.
As I watch the two objects start to talk to each other, a realization pops into my head-
These two are gonna be here a long time, and me along with them.
-
1,332 Words
woo chapter 1 here we go
Hope this was enjoyable! I'll try to make future chapters longer
The 'Guidelines' and 'The Experiment' parts were supposed to be center aligned but wattpad ruined it >:(
Of course, since new characters were introduced, I have to give designs!
Here are Firey and Leafy, dubbed Fire and Leaf for this AU
Have a good day/night/any other time you may be reading this!