Chapter Text
A loud bang on your door stirs you slightly, but you make no move to leave your bed. You don’t want to start the day yet. You almost want to say ‘just a couple more minutes’ to whoever had the nerve to wake you up. You rub your eyes and yawn. After several more bangs, your eye twitches as you answer the door.
“Hey, didn’t you hear me the first time?” Phi asks you.
“Oh I did, alright. Don’t you know not to interrupt a man’s beauty sleep?” You snark back.
She folds her arms, eyes boring into you. “It’s already morning. We’ve got somewhere to go today.”
You squint at her. “Who the fuck is ‘we’? Couldn’t you just go by yourself?”
“Look, I’ll tell you more after breakfast,” she says, exasperated.
“Uh, okay?” You raise an eyebrow.
Phi doesn’t dignify you with a response; she walks away quickly. Part of you does wonder what the hell has her so…excited. Couldn’t she have just waited until everyone was at the dining table, though? You scowl as you change into clean clothes. Guess you’ll find out soon anyway. You walk to the lounge, passing by Luna on the way. She smiles and waves at you. She adjusts her stride to match yours wordlessly.
Everyone else is already here; they’re grabbing their food. Kyle nods at you as a greeting. You nod back with a slight smirk. Dr. Klim and Akane don’t say anything either, as they’re focused on finding places to sit. You prefer them when they keep their mouths shut. You heap some eggs and sausage onto your plate. You hate the taste of bacon, you’ve found. Luna had suggested both these foods as a protein alternative. Seriously, why did she care so much? Maybe you’ll ask her sometime soon. It’s been bugging you lately.
Other than the typical small talk, the meal’s pretty quiet. That suits you just fine. Not like you had much to say anyway. But when you all walk out of the lounge’s front door, a cackling voice rings throughout the warehouse. You hiss and jump like a scared cat. You would never forget that voice for as long as you lived.
“Goooood morning, everybunny!” Lagomorph says cheerfully.
Everyone else greets him, unfazed by his booming voice. He asks, “What’s on the agenda today, Doctor?”
Dr. Klim straightens up. “Well, er…I was going to perform some more experiments with Luna and Kyle’s assistance. I cannot speak for anyone else, however.”
“I was going to take Dio with me to investigate something,” Phi says.
“And she told me fuckall before dragging me into it,” you grumble.
The rabbit snickers, relishing in your agony. “Too bad, B.O.”
Akane turns to you and Phi, asking, “Where do you plan to visit?”
Phi finally answers your burning question. “Rhizome-4. I found some interesting records about it in our database and read all about it. I wanted to see for myself whether it was still in use. Going alone is a classic horror movie mistake, and I’m not willing to do so.”
“I guess that makes sense…protecting each other or whatever,” you reply with a roll of your eyes.
“I see. You may go,” Akane says, “My curiosity was also piqued.”
Lagomorph grins. “Oho, this’ll be fun for you kits! What could possibly go wrong?”
You glare at him. “Would you shut the fuck up?”
He laughs at you again. “It’s just soooo much fun to rile you up! Anyway, gotta go!”
With that, Lagomorph disappears from the screen. Phi walks to the warehouse door, gesturing for you to follow her. You join her and ride to the decompression chamber in complete silence. After donning your suits, you walk to the lunar buggy just outside the crater Rhizome-9 is housed in.
“I call dibs on driving,” Phi says.
“Do you even know how to?” You ask her bluntly.
“Does it really matter at this point? It’s not like you need a driver’s license for these things,” she quips.
You shrug while getting into the passenger seat. No point in arguing. She starts the engine and touches the gas pedal. Interestingly, she’s driving in the opposite direction from where you drove to Rhizome-27. This would probably be a shorter drive, then. You do have a burning question, however.
“What the hell is a driver’s license?”
Phi glances over at you. “I thought you of all people would know. Didn’t Free the Soul teach you and your cronies anything?”
You bristle at the mention of Free the Soul. “There wasn’t any need to drive on fucking highways. Isn’t it enough just to practice?”
“Th—that’s not…” Phi sighs and shakes her head.
“Oh, and let me guess, you’re gonna tell me how important it was,” you say sarcastically.
Phi speeds up a bit and says, “Actually, I was going to say your fly is down.”
“Fuck you! You made me look!” You exclaim after glancing downwards frantically.
She snickers but doesn’t say anything else. And that pisses you off. You’d fallen for a childish trick. Kyle, at least, would have the sense to keep his damn mouth shut. You can’t even begin to guess what Judas would do. No, this isn’t the time to daydream. For what seems like an eternity, you stare out the window, watching the lunarscape.
Phi parks the buggy just outside the entrance, and she steps out. You follow suit; you stroll towards the door. In the entryway, you decompress and doff your suits. That’s weird, you think. You expected some sort of security system to stop you and Phi. Either someone else turned it off, or this place is abandoned.
“Let’s split up,” you tell her.
“Yeah, we’ll cover more ground this way.” She turns to walk down the left hallway.
Meanwhile, you turn right to check the other side. Other than the typical metal walls and minimal decor, nothing in particular catches your eye. You see an unlocked door and peek inside the room. Never mind, it’s just a bathroom. Boring as hell. You keep walking, and you sweat a bit. It’s pretty warm in here. You see a couple of other doors, but upon testing them, you find that they’re locked. The second door has ‘kitchen’ written on the plaque. You could go for a bite to eat, but Phi would probably yell at you. According to Luna, Phi allegedly raided the pantry herself. That makes you snicker quietly.
You finally spot something interesting. A set of glass doors loom over you, and as you step closer, they automatically open.
You turn around and call out, “Hey! Get over here! I found something!”
Phi calls back, though her voice is fainter. “What’d you find?”
“Some glass doors, but I haven’t gone inside yet,” you answer.
“Okay, I’m coming,” she replies.
A few moments later, Phi joins you. Your eyes widen as you step inside the large dome shaped laboratory. All sorts of scientific instruments are scattered about, but fully operational. You see several glass cases housing different species of plants. You read one such panel; it contains information about the plant’s growing conditions. You’d never been super interested in botany. But the measurements are what draws your attention. It seems like this particular plant shriveled up because it was ‘growing’ in Martian ‘soil’. You start to suspect that you’re not alone, after all. By the looks of it, at least one batshit scientist like Dr. Klim works here.
You wander over to the desk. Maybe you’d find some notes. You flip over the papers, frowning. Most of the papers are blank, save for some doodles. All the drawings depict a person with long hair and scratch-shaped scars on the left cheek.
“Interesting,” Phi says while examining a tool.
“Think this is somebody the guy who drew this knows?” You wonder out loud.
Phi glances at the drawings and nods. “Evidently, he had a thing for the subject.”
You furrow your eyebrows. “As in a crush, or…?”
“Could be. Or maybe they’re already together,” she suggests.
“Huh. I didn’t think you were the type to gossip about other people,” you remark.
She shrugs at you nonchalantly. “I wouldn’t call it gossip. Just stating a fact.”
You’re about to retort when a gruff-sounding voice interrupts you. “What are you doing here?”
You and Phi slowly turn around to find the source of the voice. An older man wearing a long grey ponytail and rectangular glasses stands before you. He’s got darker skin too. He also holds a clipboard. He must be the scientist running this lab, then.
“Let me repeat: what are you doing here?” He asks.
You answer him, “Well, uh, we just…happened to drive by—“
Phi elbows you in the ribcage, and you yelp. “Ow, what the hell?!”
She glares at you as a silent warning to let her handle it. “Sorry about that. He doesn’t know when to shut up. Anyway, we came here to see the plants.”
“There was no need to sneak around. You could have just asked…” the old geezer sighs.
“We weren’t sure if anyone was here,” she admits.
“I see,” he says curtly.
After a few tense moments, you ask him, “You got a name?”
He stares directly at you for the first time since he’d shown up. “Dr. Huxley Rivera. Yours?”
“Dio.”
“Phi.”
Huxley’s gaze is creeping you the fuck out. Does he see through you somehow? You catch a glimpse of a frown before he shakes his head. He takes out a pen and writes something down. He then hands the scrap of paper to Phi.
Phi studies the paper curiously. “What’s this code for?”
“In case you wish to visit again, this is the security key. Though a heads up would be much appreciated,” he explains.
“Oh. Thank you, doctor,” she says.
You pout slightly. “How come you didn’t give me the code?”
Huxley eyes you suspiciously. “Let’s just say I know your kind very well.”
“My ‘kind’? The fuck would you know?” You ask defensively.
“Ah…sorry. I got a bit carried away.” He sets his clipboard down on a nearby counter.
Phi interjects, “Anyway, I think we’re done here for now. I’ll be sure to pay another visit soon.”
He nods to her. “Well, then. I need to eat some lunch. My spouse should have finished preparing it by now…”
“Wait, you’re married?” You blurt out.
He doesn’t answer you, but you do notice a ring glistening on his necklace. He walks out of the lab without so much as a goodbye. You and Phi glance at each other before you turn to leave as well. That was fruitful, but not in the way you’d expected. More questions than answers. You walk back to the decompression chamber and don your suits. As the two of you drive back to Rhizome-9, you can’t help but wonder about something.
“So, what the fuck is that geezer’s deal?”