The welcome back party for Fei Chuan and his detail was a little strange, to put it kindly. Before the landing, what looked to be the entire lab had piled up onto the landing decks, straining their necks as if to somehow see the passengers of the starship through several inches of vibranium.
Then, like the proper researchers they were, the first thing one of the lab technicians asked Fei Chuan was whether or not the Delant Outpost's funding had been cut. The Three Empire's Military Conference had been broadcasted to every station with a signal. It wasn't surprising, then, that the Delant researchers had seen what went down with Project SPOTS and were now besieged by worry over their own projects.
Fei Chuan shook his head, and the entire lab seemed to breathe out a sigh of relief. That relief twisted in on itself almost immediately when a mop of messy brown hair poked itself out of the starship's exit. A glance at the unnaturally long fingers clasped around the starship's hull for support, or at the feather-like scales protruding near the boy's collarbone, and there would be absolutely no doubt who he was.
The boy-hybrid gingerly shuffled down the stairs that were almost too small for his feet, and quickly reached out for Fei Chuan's outstretched hand.
Following the conclusion of the investigation at the International Conference, the boy-hybrid had reawoken, and was confused to see himself behind glass again. Fei Chuan, feeling an inkling, had asked the starship officers to give the boy-hybrid free reign until circumstances necessitated that the privilege be taken away.
If those officers felt anything off putting about letting a Zerg hybrid wander about their ship unhindered, they had poker faces remarkable enough not to show it. The boy-hybrid, however, proved himself to be an apt empath; he stayed clear of nearly everyone and attached himself to Fei Chuan like a limpet. Fei Chuan, in turn, ended up feeling a strange sort of fatherly protectiveness he could only ever claim to feel for the [Villain]. It might have been the same feeling that prompted him to set the boy-hybrid free in the first place.
When the boy-hybrid settled into his side, curling up and ducking his long neck as if to make himself look smaller, Fei Chuan found his attention called away by the clearing of a throat.
His supervisor looked at him and his tagalong hesitating. "Is this Project SPOTS, Dr. Vinyard?"
Fei Chuan shrugged. "In truth, he's more of a prototype--"
His response (and the boy-hybrid's general lack of) seemed to give the rest of the audience the cue they needed to ask their own questions:
"You really managed to combine Zerg and Human DNA?" (Yes.)
"Why does it look more human than Zerg?" (He was intentionally designed this way.)
"Are the long limbs also designed to be that way?" (No, that was more natural.)
"Why does it have feathers?" (The parent Zerg was an avian whose primary purpose was scouting.)
"Does it eat human or Zerg food?" (Both.)
"Did you name it yet?" (Him. And no.)
"Why don't you just call him SPOTS? It's convention, isn't it?" (Once again, he really is more like a prototype--)
Eventually, the outbursts began to put the boy-hybrid on edge, and Fei Chuan reached over, squeezing his hand to stop him from tensing. "I'll have to ask you all to leave this for another day. You're giving him too much stimuli, and it's disturbing him."
The remaining scientists obediently quieted their clamor; all of them knew that there was nothing quite as soul-crushing as your experimental data being discarded due to "external stimuli."
Fei Chuan sighed. "Thank you. Come along with me." The second part was directed towards the boy-hybrid who looked like a lanky teenager but was almost half a head taller than the tallest human present. "We'll get you settled in."
******
In the end, for reasons varying from the inane to the malicious, the name "Spot" stuck. Some people rattled it off the way one might read a barcode on a product, or the tag on an experimental body. Others sneered it, called it like they were bringing a puppy to heel. It was probably just something they used to smother their own fear, but that didn't stop Fei Chuan from removing them from the department in one way or another.
Then there were the people who said it warmly, like an extension of friendship. As new people came in and Spot continued along without triggering a single cause for alarm, that third subset of people grew.
Fei Chuan was part of a fourth subset, an extremely small group of people who thought that Spot deserved better than a name to half-heartedly given. He could very well be alone in this regard.
Actually, Fei Chuan had been pouring through baby books in search of a kinder name, but by the second week "SPOT" was already being used institute wide. The boy hybrid, whose empathy allowed him to understand the significance of names and his new name in particular, had been shown a picture of a friendly researcher's new puppy (a dalmatian named "Spots"), and decided that he really didn't mind the association.
And that was that. "Spot," he was.
******
One thing to know about Spot was that he was quiet, and it suited him. He liked clothes with muted grays, had a quiet smile, and rarely spoke. The loudest he'd ever be was deliberately shuffling his feet so that the officers wouldn't get startled if they caught him in their peripheral. There were some close incidents that did not bear repeating.
For the most part, Spot liked to stick close to Fei Chuan. The running theory was that Fei Chuan was the one he imprinted on; either that, or he was the one who was most mentally welcoming. Some of the more motherly receptionist ladies pouted at that, but guiltily did not make any claims otherwise.
"What's....that..?" Spot asked one day, from his curled position on the ground. He'd been picking human speech patterns rapidly, able to formulate entire essays if he weren't given a time limit.
Fei Chuan did everything he could to encourage that growth, but it did surprise him to hear Spot express an interest where he was previously content to stay silent. "I'm developing another embryo," he said, watching the bubbles in the containment chamber. Somewhere in all that nutritional fluid, there was a cell rapidly replicating and dividing itself. "This one will also have a mix of Zerg and human DNA."
"A...hybrid...Like me..?"
"Yes. Would you like to see?" Fei Chuan gestured for him to come closer. Spot unfolded himself and braced himself against the floor to get up. He trotted over to where Fei Chuan was, and peered into the glass curiously.
"Why...a-no-ther...?"
Fei Chuan had never lied to Spot, and wouldn't start a habit of it anytime soon. "We originally began this project hoping to make another Zerg Queens, because humans saw Zergs as a threat and needed a way to control the Zergs."
"Me?"
"Not quite," Fei Chuan said simply. "You don't have any Zerg Queen DNA in you. Your genetic code is combined form that of a normal Scouting Zerg and a Beta human's DNA."
Spot blinked thoughtfully. "Oh....So you...need another."
"Yeah," Fei Chuan drew his attention away from the glass, and turned to Spot. The boy was a whole head taller, which made for some awkward angles. "Are you hungry, Spot? Would you like to get something to eat?" Belatedly, he wondered what time it was. It wouldn't be the first time that the two of them skipped lunch because Fei Chuan got too engrossed in monitoring the growth process.
Spot made an unwilling noise. Weirdly enough, he was the one that looked transfixed, all of his attention on a small, indistinguishable point in the fluid. "...later? Not....too hungry."
"Sure," Fei Chuan agreed, before a small buzz distracted him. A message from Sebastian showed up on his Net, composed of nothing but a string of curses. Fei Chuan raised an eyebrow.
He turned on his Net to check his notifications, and suddenly remembered that he hadn't heard much about the [Protagonist] lately. Or anything, to be completely honest. Remotely contacting the system revealed that all but one of original male leads had their favorability rating completely dropped. Moran Corona, who had seemed to be developing an interest in Whiting, had dropped his interest back down to a dismissive zero after Whiting disappeared off the map. As the Empiric Advisor to the Lennon Empire, it'd make sense. Corona needed to be politically savvy to remain in office, and associating with an controversial Omega seemed to be the best ticket out of it.
Hunter's love meter remained inactive. Figuring that there was not much he could do, Fei Chuan put away his Net and turned his attention back to the project.
Later, when Spot was in the middle of slowly chewing iron ores and scrambled eggs, he suddenly perked up. Fei Chuan put down his own fork, and waited expectantly.
"Spotter," Spot said triumphantly. "Synonym of scout! My name is Spot!"
Fei Chuan didn't resist the quirk of his lips. "I guess so. Very coincidental, isn't it?"
Spot, quietly beaming, went back to his meal of edibles and inedibles.
******
<<MEGASTAR STELE IN DANGER OF MAFIA>>
"Two days ago, on the eve of the twenty first, Sebastian Stele was accosted by several men in black, and nearly manhandled into a van. Luckily, an anonymous witness called the police, and Stele's bodyguards delayed the abduction attempt long enough for..."
>>>Fresh Off the Network:
hear, hear, who's the blessed soul that saved Stele's life? y won't they speak up??? Dragoson101 404k likes
I, too, would like to know. There are many gratitudes in order. Sebastian Stele 400k likes
******
Sebastian unceremoniously dropped in one day, sporting a split lip and fury in his eyes.
Fei Chuan saw him and immediately felt his mood go sour. Spot looked between the two of them, bewildered when Fei Chuan ran a gentle finger over the broken skin.
"Was it Hunter?"
Sebastian scoffed. "Who else would be this fucking obvious? Jesus fucking Christ, if he was going to be this cliche he might as well try blackmailing me into having sex with him."
Fei Chuan managed a smile, biting back to urge to tell Sebastian to watch his language. "But what would he blackmail you with? You're shameless."
Sebastian grabbed the hand caressing his lips and put them on his own hips, in front of Spot and thus effectively proving exactly how shameless he was. "Aren't I," he purred, unnecessarily, letting go and wrapping his arms around Fei Chuan's neck. Closer to his partner's ear, he whispered, "I think he was after you, at first. That's why he didn't make a move until now. But you barely ever leave this place," he sound a little displeased at this part, "and your security has been tightened several times over. Guess he decided to switch targets."
Fei Chuan tensed.
Spot chose this moment to speak up. "You're not mad at him," he realized, addressing Fei Chuan. "You're mad at....Hunter?"
Sebastian unlooped one of his arms, and proceeded to lean against Fei Chuan. "And who are you, kid?"
Spot brightened, no longer confused now that he knew how to sift through primary guardian's conflicting emotions. "I'm Spot! And Mr. Vinyard really likes you!"
"He does, huh?" Sebastian smirked at his host smugly, before turning to Spot, suddenly intent. "Spot, you say?"
"Spot," the boy reaffirmed, seriously.
"Huh. He's kinda cute." Sebastian reached over, and ruffled Spot's hair. "Hey kid, could you excuse Mr. Vinyard for a second? I need to tell him something private."
Spot nodded quickly, and made his way out of the office, thoughtfully shading the blinds and locking the door in the process.
"I thought I only had one thing to tell you," Sebastian said, dryly, watching the boy leave. "But it appears that there are two."
Fei Chuan waited for him to continue.
"The first thing is that the Protagonist is still wandering about in the borders of the Freedom and Lennon Empires. And I might or might not have driven Hunter out of the Underworld and right to him." Sebastian shrugged nonchalantly. "I mean, I spent the last year or so building a criminal empire for a reason, you know? And Hunter was pissing me off."
"Good." Fei Chuan was only distantly aware that Sebastian was even considering building a criminal enterprise, and even then that was only because of a throwaway comment Sebastian had made when they first entered this world. Still, he wasn't surprised. "And the second thing?"
Sebastian smirked again. "Well, I have a very curious case of an person with no background data at all on them."
Fei Chuan flicked his eyes towards the locked door. "Spot?"
"That's the guy," Sebastian confirmed, deceptively mild, before his eyes narrowed into satisfied slits. When he spoke again, his voice was hushed, secretive. "There's data for even the smallest NPC, even if it's just a name. Hell, I've got data for your little blastocyst in the tank over there. But not a single word on Spot. As far as the [They] are aware, he doesn't even exist."
Fei Chuan stared at him, eyes wide, before a surge of emotion overcame him and he felt the intense need to have his mouth on Sebastian's mouth, stat.
Sebastian welcomed it with more vigor and tongue than was proper.