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Xenobiology

Chapter 6: A Great Legacy

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

2 Years Later. July 14th.

“Senkuu-channn… please tell me this trip is going to be worth it!” Gen complained in a moaning voice, dragging his feet in dirt-covered gym shoes up the barren path to the lighthouse that the young scientist was dead-set on making it to, regardless of his two travel companions' ability to keep up with him. The mentalist was wearing what he thought were the most hideous khaki shorts in the world and a lavender dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, but even the regular summer attire he forced himself to bring on this hike up the cliff wasn’t enough to battle the humid torment of the sun's rays combined with the nearby moisture of the sea evaporating in the air. It practically felt like a sauna, and the fact that the others were wearing even more clothes than he was and still managing to out-pace him was shocking to say the least. “It’s sooooo ot-hay! I’m going to dieee…”

Tsukasa, who had become the other's bodyguard for the duration of their time together, had on blue jeans and a white undershirt with a flannel jacket tied around his waist, which he had only removed to free up the range of motion for his arms and not because of the heat. The junior MMA fighter seemed to be dealing with the summer weather just fine even though he was also carrying heavy science equipment and thoroughly-used notebooks on his back with him, making the mentalist and his academically-inclined friend seem lazier than they actually were. He paused to make sure Gen didn’t fall too far behind, and grinned awkwardly when that seemed to make the scrawnier male slow down and change his already exhausted expression into one of distraught, trying to communicate his discomfort.

Senkuu was a few feet ahead of the both of them merely because of how enthusiastic and somewhat angry he was while stomping up the hill free of bags to weigh him down, and didn’t see how the strongman in their troupe offered a hand to the scrawny magician out of courtesy. “It’s okay, Gen. I’m sure that this scientist Senkuu told us about will be hospitable enough and offer you a cold drink.” he smiled warmly and lifted Gen up to his full height with a firmly-placed arm underneath his shoulder, smacking him lightly on the back to invigorate the dying spirit within him. The shorter male made a strangled noise when he was smacked, but since the gesture was friendly and the words were optimistic, he couldn’t really be mad about it, so Gen merely grumbled frustratingly and tried to catch up with Senkuu.

“I highly doubt that, Tsukasa.” the young scholar yelled out right before pausing his ascension up the hill and turning back around to face the other two musketeers on his journey, a scowl painting his face as he crossed his arms and huffed. “Dr. Wingfield is notoriously anti-social in the medical research community, so I don’t think he would cater to our lackluster efforts to be friendly as much as he would be inclined to kick us all off his property like the grouch he is. I’ve been trying to get in contact with him for months, but all my avenues have been blocked and my emails unanswered, so this is our only choice.”

Senkuu sighed and tapped his foot impatiently on the ground while deep in thought, the green rain boots that were one size too large and the lab coat on his back making him look childish and small in comparison to his actual proportions, even though he was a now recently-turned legal adult. He bent down and dusted off the specks of mud and dust that had collected on his black pants, scolding himself for choosing a dark color to wear today when debris could easily show up on it, since he wanted to look as presentable as possible when facing the man whom he anonymously looked up to. “Even if he refuses to see me and we have to walk back to the hotel empty-handed, all I can do is try again tomorrow. I’ll knock on his front door for as long as I need to, for as many days in a row as it takes.”

The fact that Senkuu was being ignored for the first time in his life and not met with compliments or awe like he usually was almost felt personal, but from talking to other researchers in Dr. Wingfield’s publishing circle, they all said the same thing, that he only responds when he feels like it and that it could be months before he hears anything from him. But Senkuu didn’t have months, he needed to know how that man synthesized such a powerful drug in only two years as soon as possible, or else he would fall behind on preparing for his own personal research on the Ebola virus, which he would soon be traveling to Africa to do at the end of his summer.

Dr. Wingfield’s work in the realm of mental health medications and curing literal insanity was beyond groundbreaking, and would forever change the magnitude and importance of developing drugs in record time given that he apparently started from nothing and managed to improve thousands of people’s quality of life. He came from a long line of doctors, Senkuu knew that, but none of them specialized in cognitive alterations of the mind on the scale that he did, with miles upon miles worth of papers that granted him as much fame and fortune as he could imagine. But for whatever reason, he had been living here for the past two years presumably by himself, on the coast of Washington state in a quaint little town atop some previously abandoned and non-operational lighthouse.

It took way too long and cost way too much money for Senkuu to get here since he was warned every step of the way to not approach Dr. Wingfield, and was explicitly told just to wait for a reply like everyone else by his staff members, but Senkuu was tired of waiting and his patience had worn much too thin. The only way that he managed to get his hands on the man’s address in the first place was by bribing one of his superiors with cash he got out of his adoptive father’s bank account, and that was how he ended up here, being joined by his two best friends from high school on his way up a steep hill on possibly the brightest, hottest, and most humid day of the year.

“Y’know, this guy refuses to make public appearances for questions and has never published his methodology for developing the drug, only the applications, meaning there’s no possible way to figure out how he came up with the chemical formula for it. As far as the world knows, it could’ve come to him in a dream and he constructed it for testing on a whim, which then proved effective and is now being mass-produced by big pharma in laboratories all across the country. He’s saved countless lives, and refuses to tell anyone how.” Senkuu mentioned off-handedly with a shrug as his expression became lighter, knowing that he would get his answers no matter how hard this Dr. Wingfield character refused to give them to him. “Doesn’t matter though, I’ll figure out how this guy made that drug so quickly if it’s the last thing I do!”

“So you can also make drugs quickly?” Tsukasa chuckled, realizing the implications of his friend’s use of the word ‘drug’ and teasing him with a similar statement.

“Ten billion points for the big man! Methods and processes of scientific development are just as valuable as the results. There’s no telling what this guy could be hiding, and I know he’s keeping some kind of secret since that’s the only reason as to why he would decline to talk. Now I plan to find out exactly what that secret is.” Senkuu snapped his fingers and pointed to the taller male, his gaze then drifting lower to his side in the direction of his other accomplice who was now standing tall and seemingly feeling much better than before.

Gen hummed to himself and put an inquisitive finger on his cheek, finally managing to catch his breath when Senkuu stopped for long enough to allow him. “Now that I think about it, I heard a rumor from the locals that our mystery man allegedly fixed up the town when he first came here two years ago. The gloomy guy who owns the convenience store said that for some reason, there are tons of fish communities and a huge underwater ecosystem surrounding this place that wasn’t there before he got here, and it’s completely changed the fishing export and market value of this town in such a short time, making it tens of times more wealthy in the process.” the mentalist took a step towards Senkuu as he spoke and waved his hands around in disbelief, trying to decipher for himself what parts of what he was told was the truth and what was just a mere coincidence.

“It’s hard to believe, but a girl who had lived here her whole life in the trailer park even said that when he first arrived, there were no roads connecting to the rest of the state at all, and they had to use boats to travel from one place to the next. She mentioned that the only reason she lives in a nice house now is because she was able to find good work off of all the tourism that the roads brought.” Gen’s tone changed with a sneer and he rubbed his hands together, letting the mystery-loving side of him show and begin to question what the locals had told him as fact.

He could easily tell when someone was lying, but uncovering the actual truth versus what people believed to be the truth was intriguing for someone like him, and he was strangely entertained by the notion of a straight-laced doctor having motivations to isolate and protect his new home from outsiders. The more important question for Gen to answer on this trip was the ‘why’ and not what Senkuu would probably claim it to be, the ‘how’. “I do know for a fact that this town used to be impoverished though, since the hotel we’re staying in was built within the last year and the docking stations are brand-new too. But is it just a coincidence that the timing aligns with his appearance, or did he really contribute to the revival of this own-tay turned esort-ray?”

Senkuu crossed his arms and shook his head at the mentalist's sly wordage, knowing a cat about to be killed by curiosity when he saw one. “Actually, it wouldn’t surprise me if this guy’s knowledge of medicine could contribute to his ability to change an entire aquatic ecosystem, so those locals could be telling the truth.” he laughed to himself, watching how the black and white haired male slouched in defeat after the possibility of anything ‘fishy’ going on here was shot down, other than the actual fish.

“I actually heard something interesting like that myself…” Tsukasa piped up all of a sudden, redirecting the other two hikers attention to his steel-like arms that rubbed the back of his head curiously, trying to remember what he had been told by a local, similar to Gen’s story. “An older woman who manages the docks mentioned to me that the waters around here used to have a shark problem, and one day, it just stopped. All of the previous sightings and incidents have apparently been recorded by fishermen nearby, and there hasn’t been a single one for two years.”

Senkuu hummed to himself after listening to Tsukasa’s concerned claim and noted the possibility of the doctor having something to do with that too, since the general timing of all these events were too close together to be mere coincidence. “I dunno about sharks, it sounds like a bunch of cryptid mumbo-jumbo to me, but Dr. Wingfield could be spreading false rumors to make people afraid of coming near the lighthouse so he can work in peace. I wouldn’t put it past his reputation honestly, but who knows, given what this guy researches, he could be ten billion percent crazy.” the young scientist scoffed and gave Gen a pointed side-eye, obviously trying to rile him up and poke fun at his nerdy enthusiasm.

“Oh, are you sure you want to scratch that idea, Senkuu? He could be a literal mad scientist, y’know?” Gen practically sang to him, holding up his hand and shaking it back and forth like a tutting parent. “It sounds, oh what’s that word you love to use, exhilarating?”

“All jokes aside…” Tsukasa loudly cleared his throat and approached the two giddy schemers with a serious expression on his face, trying to get them to snap out of their little fantasy where there was some crazy man holding the power of the ocean and they were the ones to confront him. “For our own safety, there’s a certain amount of risk we need to account for when meeting strangers who want to be left alone, especially the ones with shady backgrounds. Gen is here for negotiations and I’m here for protection just in case, but we need to ensure that nothing goes sideways in the first place, or we might bite off more than we can chew.”

Senkuu and Gen lowered their heads upon realizing the real weight of Tsukasa’s words, knowing that he was right and that they really didn’t know what to expect when it came to a total stranger who had only been talked about in a mysterious and distant context. Dr. Wingfield could be a total quack and unwilling to even open his door to them, or he could be the most intelligent researcher in his field that the 21st century had ever seen and completely willing to help. There was really no way for any of them to tell which conclusion they would draw until they actually met him and had the time to talk, but they all still hoped for the latter of the two. “Speaking of safety, on the way up the hill, I could’ve sworn that I sensed something in the woods.” Tsukasa’s voice trailed off as he spoke the ominous words and warily looked around, his head turning from side to side a few times before he stepped closer to Senkuu and Gen to speak at a lower volume in closer proximity.

“I sensed… bloodlust…” he punctuated the words with a wide, fixated stare forward, where he felt the presence of something that had followed him all the way up the hill at the same speed at which he traveled, stopping right where the lighthouse stood. However, even though he could only sense the strongest concentration of ill intent right in front of him, Tsukasa could technically feel it all around the pathway, as if whatever had been watching him and his friends had amplified its presence to where they were heading in an effort to ward them off. It made him feel uneasy, and it instinctively caused adrenaline to pump through his veins, similar to how his body would prepare itself for harm or injury when entering the ring.

“Bloodlust, huh? You mean like a shark’s bloodlust?” the young scientist quoted in a mocking tone, obviously trying to quell the anxiety bubbling up under his skin with the implication that Tsukasa was joking and just trying to scare him and Gen with the empty claim that they were being taunted by something dangerous. However, the look that the junior MMA fighter gave him and the mentalist after a moment of letting their words hang in the air in silence was beyond serious and stone-cold legit, meaning that whatever Tsukasa felt, bloodlust or not, it was definitely real enough for the seasoned fighter to show concern over. Senkuu was startled from that realization to say the least, but he took Tsukasa's words with a grain of salt to maintain his cool and shook his head at Gen to somewhat comfort his slightly-jittery attitude, sharply turning on his heel with a loud huff to finish their lengthy trek to the lighthouse at last. “Whatever. Let's just go meet this ‘mad scientist’ already.”

Senkuu rolled his eyes and his accomplices followed dutifully behind him up the hill like sheep being led by a blind shepherd over a cliffside, the terrifying reality of what would happen to all three of them within the next few days being unknown to them. Their naive understanding of what was really possible in this world would be crushed by what they would witness, and the culprit, the thief of their innocence, would forever remain as only a name that had haunted everyone who had heard it with either curiosity or fear until now. The same as it had done decades ago and had been doing for the past two years, under very specific orders from a man who held its leash and had unearthed many things in his lifetime, a truth, a cure, an entire town, and a monster.

—————————

Ignorant to the events currently unfolding outside of his home, Xeno stood calmly by himself in the main hallway of the lighthouse right outside of the door to the bathroom. He was merely waiting in silence for the sound of water flowing out of the tub’s faucet to stop, signaling the moment in which he would note the exact time and remind himself to come back downstairs eight hours past then. The sound of a creaky metallic handle then echoed off the bathroom's tile walls and reached his ears, quickly followed by the familiar jingling of a man’s belt buckle and zipper being pulled up only a few feet away from him from behind the door. He pulled back the pristine white sleeve of his lab coat and looked at his watch, doing a quick mental calculation and thinking to himself that this procedure had taken much longer than the previous ones, and if that was a good thing or not, he didn’t know.

The door hinges squealed from the humidity as Stanley’s frame became visible to him after exiting the steamy room, and the doctor wanted no time asking him a very important question as the shark hybrid pressed a dry towel to his forehead and wiped the sweat off his bare chest. “How many this time?” Xeno asked as he tried to not stare too hard at the way his lover’s jeans hung low along his waist line and drooped even though he had a belt on, knowing that it must have been on purpose since Stanley knew that his master had a soft spot for eye candy.

“Thirteen, but one was too small, so technically twelve.” the hybrid obediently replied as the final drops of perspiration left his form and were soaked up by the rolled fabric, quickly tossing it over his shoulder into the bathroom to clean up later when he did his daily evening chores. The number he was referencing was the number of eggs he managed to lay this time during his rut, making sure to specify to Xeno how many of them would actually be of use for his experiments since he could tell when one was too small or too oddly-shaped for the very specific criteria the doctor demanded of him. Stanley smiled and closed the door behind him, feeling both invigorated from the motivating higher number and exhausted from the strain of pushing them all out on his own into the bathtub, which was now filled with deionized and pure water from the custom-built filtration tank underground. “It’s a new record, anyways. That drug you made after my last rut must be working now.”

Xeno replicated the taller male’s grin and wrote down the number on a small note pad in his lab coat’s pocket, clicking his pen a few times lethargically as he contemplated the probability of success in his upcoming studies given that he had both more samples to work with and consequently, more risk of variation. “Excellent job. I’ll extract your DNA from them when they’ve soaked up enough water in eight hours, and we’ll probably have enough to vaccinate the developing community of red-bellied piranhas that have recently migrated here.” he decided to mention the purpose of this round of eggs to Stanley instead of keeping him in the dark about it, which was what he usually did, mostly because he felt that he could trust him with that kind of information now that he had cooperated with his wishes for so long. The fact that he managed to give him more data than usual in the form of his reproductive embryos was also a plus too, since Xeno was pleased by his efforts to expel them alone without too much complaint this time.

Upon seeing his benefactor’s approval of his abilities, Stanley grew a bit more confident than normal as he usually did when receiving compliments, and decided to close the distance between him and his lover with a firmly-placed elbow above his shoulder and a hand sat near his waist, pressing his lithe frame up against the wall but still allowing him room to escape if needed. The doctor noticed the attempts to get closer immediately and raised an eyebrow as his smile dropped, but he made no effort to reprimand the hybrid or move away, resulting in Stanley’s recently-deflated arousal being brought back to life once again. “Piranhas? Don’t you have enough friends with sharp teeth, doc?” he said in a low voice, leaning in closer to kiss Xeno square on his lips and not offer him a chance to respond yet, wanting to taste him as soon as possible and make the flavor of his indifference last forever on his tongue similar to how a masochistic person would savor the spiciest of peppers.

“Not nearly enough.” Xeno meagerly responded with a brief hum under his breath after the first smooch, allowing his pet to indulge in the small bit of heaven that was his mouth for only a split second before he felt rough, worn fingers drag from his side to his back and then trail up his spine, teasing the surface of the permanent scar on his neck as a loving and cold reminder of their first night together, during which event the doctor was marked by Stanley and his teeth. A tad upset with the spontaneous fondling, Xeno quickly separated them with a light shove on the other’s chest before he could do so much as open his mouth in protest, and the hybrid moved away a little bit slower than the researcher would have liked, probably because it had been over a month since they had sex and he was growing impatient. It didn’t matter though, since he knew that Stanley wouldn’t dare to do anything without his explicit and clear permission nowadays, a stark contrast to two years ago where he wouldn’t have reeled back from his touch so easily because of the instinctual pain it caused him to be rejected by his mate.

Stanley then yawned as he stretched his arms above his head after Xeno slid by his muscular stature and began to make his way towards the staircase, leaving the taller male behind him and waiting for literally anything to happen other than being met with silence. It was never said out loud if he would be welcome to join his master up on the top floor of the lighthouse in his bedroom tonight, since he mostly stuck to sleeping in various places out in the wild including the cave, his cabin, and the forest nearby where he would take the occasional nap under a tree, but Stanley still hoped that he could be allowed to stay close to Xeno regardless. “Doc, can I sleep in your bed for a bit?” he asked innocently, trying to catch up to the man’s pace before he placed one foot on the bottom step with a quick jog down the hall.

Xeno turned around as soon as he heard the heavy footsteps approach him from behind and knew from past examples of Stanley’s demonstrated behavior that he would want to closely follow him around for at least a day or two after his ruts, grinning to himself and not letting his smugness show to the hybrid as he accepted the polite request. “That’s fine. I need to water the algae anyways, so you won’t be in my way.” he said with a lax tone, expecting to see that invisible tail of Stanley’s wagging back and forth excitedly once again, something he had learned to look forward to every time he showed mercy or gave his pet the gift of his presence. However, instead of a sheepish smile and fidgety hands, Xeno only saw hesitance in the hybrid's expression and his fingers were shoved deep into his front pockets, making concern grow in the scientist's mind for only a moment until he recalled what events usually followed this kind of body language.

Stanley made eye contact and was giving him a look now, that one look that was always accompanied by a sucked-in lower lip and batting eyelashes, two things that Xeno was unfortunately and shamefully weak to when it came to giving his lover what he wanted. “Do you need attention?” the scientist asked with a lidded gaze, closing the distance in between the two of them on his own this time and stepping away from the ascending stairs, since he knew what kind of headspace Stanley was currently in and therefore he could predict his actions better than usual.

The hybrid nodded and then instantly looked down at the floor, embarrassed and flustered from the fact that Xeno knew he didn’t only want attention, but needed it, like he needed to eat, breathe, and sleep. His eyes fluttered closed when he felt his master’s hand come up to scratch the top of his head and thread his fingers through his silver locks, pushing the group of bangs that usually fell over his forehead behind his ear for a moment to let the other palm caress the whole side of his face. Both of his lover’s hands were on him now, which was rare since he was usually doing something that required at least one of them, so Stanley became slightly overwhelmed with the warm feeling of his digits massaging and playing with his body in any context, even from something as innocent as a pat on the head.

“You know I’m more than happy to praise you after a job well done, but only if you ask me elegantly.” Xeno sighed lovingly, tilting his head to the side in anticipation for what his pet would decide to do when given a command like this, since his instructions were rather vague to say the least.

Stanley had been given so many tasks by Xeno in the more recent parts of his life, tasks to go fetch things for him, to move or lift heavy objects, to scare people away and even draw blood on another living creature for various reasons, but his favorite orders to obey were the ones that required him to get creative. The taller male looked only an inch or two down at Xeno through his thick eyelashes and pulled his hands out of his pockets, a risky move in of itself, but one that could be made up for with undying loyalty and obedience. He pulled one wrist behind his back with his hand and clasped tightly around it, keeping his hands bound with cuffs made of his own free will. Nothing was more powerful as a rope than trust, and Stanley would happily restrict himself with it as many times as his mate told him to if it meant he got to be treasured by him in this way and got to stay by his side for all eternity.

He followed up putting his hands behind his back with another similar gesture, and maintained eye contact with Xeno as he sank down onto his knees and sat on his bare heels, which was a little difficult to do in his jeans but still not the most uncomfortable thing he had ever done to show his ability to predict what the intellect wanted. Speaking of, he must have done something right when he decided on this response to the undetailed orders, since he could have sworn he saw a shiver run up the researcher’s spine when he nuzzled his head into his smooth hand and stared up at him with wide eyes. He wasn’t told to ‘beg’ like a dog exactly, but he knew that going above and beyond for Xeno would guarantee a verdict of ‘elegant’ for him nonetheless, so he lowered his head below the man’s waistline and treated the scientist like the genius he was in hopes of being granted a blessing like a devout worshiper praying to his god.

“So good for me… I’ve trained you well…” Xeno mumbled as soft as a whisper while his favorite experiment melted into his grasp and shivered from the praise which he had sought so adamantly. “You worked hard to push out all those eggs didn’t you? I bet you wanted to lay them inside me so badly, yeah?”

Stanley was silenced by the truthful coos of utter desperation and inhaled sharply, finding himself unable to do anything but hide his face in Xeno’s hand and kiss his open palm since he couldn’t find a suitable enough verbal reply. He wanted so badly to just stand up, wrap his arms around his mate, and nibble at his neck until it was dotted with splotches of irritated skin from his kisses and tiny scratches from his teeth, but he knew that kind of thing would get him literally licked out of the lighthouse for a few days, so he resisted his carnal urges and let out a low moan to quell some of the aches that grew in his heart and loins. His nude chest was rising and falling more rapidly now from the heavy, desire-filled breaths he took, and the air in Stanley’s lungs hitched when his master leaned down to pull his face towards the hybrid’s ear and kept a firm hold on the side of his face all the while, ensuring that he wouldn't get any funny ideas or try to kiss him.

“If you’re extra good for me tonight and do exactly as I tell you…” he taunted as he licked a clean stripe up the shell of Stanley’s ear and teased him with a kiss right behind it, savoring the visual of watching the man’s muscles strain from the bruising grip he had on himself behind his back and observing how the powerful limbs tensed and relaxed under such mental pressure. The battle for an animal to stay put against its instinct was a tough one to win, but Xeno was confident that his stray mutt turned guard dog could withstand the primal voices in his head as long as he was motivated by rationale and just enough lust. “… I’ll let you do it next time, okay?”

Stanley opened his eyes at last, not knowing at what point they had closed, and pulled slightly away from Xeno’s hand so he could look him in the eyes and respond to him as directly as possible. The researcher drew away his body and took all of the warmth with him, but a kind, pleased smile curling his lips onto his cheeks was enough to ignite the flames within Stanley, and he swallowed the saliva that had collected on his tongue as the scientist put his hands in the pockets of his lab coat and awaited the words he knew he would hear. “I understand. Thank you.” the hybrid recited those rehearsed words like a spell and forced them out with a huff, his pupils blown wide and the blush on his cheeks traveling up to the top of his ears and down to his bare collarbone. Xeno signaled him to stand up with a scoff from the dramatic claim and a firm jerk of his head upwards, so Stanley let the non-existent rope around his body fall to the ground and free his limbs from confinement, noticing how slow and careful he had to be when coming back up to his full height to make sure that Xeno didn’t get surprised or scared by his eager actions.

“You’re welcome.” the academic punctuated the end of their short scene with a sudden rough yank of Stanley’s jaw towards him and a soft kiss on his lips as soon as he was stable enough to stand up straight, making sure to remind his lover of the reason why he should tolerate such treatment and exactly why he remained so possessive over his freedom. “Good boys get longer leashes. Don’t forget that.”

Once they had both calmed their elevated heart rates and managed to get all the way upstairs to Xeno’s bedroom without the worry of somebody getting pounced, Stanley flopped right onto the twin bed and cuddled up into the sheets that smelled like his mate. Meanwhile, the researcher himself smiled at the mental image of a content and peaceful shark lazily collapsing in the wild and snoring loudly underwater, even though he wasn’t too sure about the actual slumber habits of such predatory aquatic creatures. All that he knew was that it had taken a long time to train his hybrid accomplice in this way, and there was a steep learning curve for both of them when it came to navigating the world of romance and intimacy. But they had both mutually learned their lessons over the numerous months of cohabitation, knowing when it was okay to stay the night and when it wasn’t, making sure to avoid certain parts of their bodies, and even realizing just how reliant they had become on each other. At this point, Xeno wasn’t sure if he could live without Stanley, since he had technically become the hybrid’s ‘mate’ from their first night together and now was unable to be away from him for too long.

It was a mysterious predicament filled with odd conditions and far too many emotions, but at long last, a whole two years later, they were unbelievably happy. Xeno had his career and passion for experimentation to look forward to for years to come, and Stanley didn’t require that much aside from someone to help him through his ruts and the general peace that was brought to him by being near the love of his life. The former doctor had doubted it for a long time, but he was genuinely satisfied with his current life and had no problem living like this until the end of his days. God knows he had enough money to guarantee it since he could technically afford to buy all of the land on the whole cliffside, and so long as no unforeseen interruptions came his way, he would have enough reason to stay in this town and never leave as well.

Xeno sighed when he could see one of Stanley’s eyes close while half of his face stayed buried in his pillow, and the academic turned around in his swivel chair to pick up a spray bottle with distilled water inside that way he could start to give his indoor algae plants their daily dose of hydration. He stood up and walked over to the left of his desk, where right in front of the window and underneath a ray of sunshine, stood a collection of 12 small potted plants arranged in neat rows and elevated up to waist height. He sprayed each one with a full pump’s worth of water and made sure to note any changes in comparison to how the samples looked one day ago, since the higher-concentrated spores he engineered with Stanley’s help now lacked any hallucinogenic side effects and could potentially be used as a home remedy for migraines and blockages in the brain’s minuscule blood vessels, so long as they stayed stable.

There was no more of this algae growing in the wild now, since the two of them had scoured the coast in search of it and scooped up every last bit they could find for two reasons, so that it would no longer negatively affect the wildlife and also so Xeno could keep it all to himself for studying and refinement. The general blue, fuzzy characteristics had stayed the same, but Xeno had selectively bred different samples of it to control how it would grow in smaller patches at a higher rate of maturing, that way he could save space and it could be harvested more often. Ever since he sold the formula for a practical miracle drug just a few weeks ago and wrote a novel’s worth of theses on its capabilities and artificial construction, Xeno’s work hadn’t ended in the slightest, and his formulas and ideas kept coming the more he learned about Stanley’s DNA and the unique, restorative properties that different strains of the algae had. Of course, it was all tested at home with the help of a few ‘volunteers’ that Stanley had brought to Xeno under orders to keep their home safe, which he felt little guilt about since the lives of a few nosy nobodies far outweighed the good he would do for the world of medicine.

Regardless of the dark reality Xeno found him easily living in with no huge weight on his conscience at all, the sun still shone over the massive trees every morning and the ocean still sang with mother nature’s blessing of life, all thanks to him. He hummed to himself as he finished spraying the last potted sample and took an admiring look outside his wall of windows, proud to have such good karma from how many lives he had improved at the little cost of making a few people mysteriously disappear forever. Today was especially a good day, he thought, since nothing could possibly ruin the positive energy he gained from Stanley laying more eggs than usual and his own efforts to improve the surrounding ecosystems with the town’s avid enthusiasm, knowing that if he was ever in a pinch when it came to the law or otherwise, the kind folks who he had known for the longest time would all back him up and provide a perfect, fool-proof alibi on his part.

It took a few tries to convince the non-tourists to get on his side, but it was just so nice to be part of such a wonderful and hospitable community full of patrons to his work, since everyone would benefit from his research in the end, or at least, everyone who deserved to.

“Hm?” Xeno made a questioning noise when his line of sight drifted and he saw the distant shapes of three figures walking up the path to his lighthouse, unable to distinguish exactly who they were until he put on his glasses and looked through a pair of binoculars he always kept on his desk, since his eyesight had somewhat deteriorated from countless nights spent awake at his computer running calculations and typing up his work for print. He could tell they were all strangers without even looking too hard at them and immediately frowned, knowing what had to be done and thinking that it was such a shame to get his hands dirty on such a hot day. He didn’t want to take his work outside, but he had to do this to protect him and Stanley, also keeping in mind that the locals wouldn’t have intentionally guided them here unless they were nosy or too suspicious. Xeno looked behind him and felt bad about waking up the hybrid for dirty work since he just barely got the chance to relax, but it would all be over before nightfall anyways, so he could promise the chance to stay the night if he managed to get it all done by then. “Stanley, we have ‘company’ again.”

“Oh yeah? What kind?” Stanley immediately got up out of the bed the moment he heard Xeno say his name, more than ready to tackle whatever situation that was thrown at them.

“Just a few rowdy teens it looks like…” the researcher replied, gazing through his binoculars again and seeing three young males of various sizes come up the hill with determination in their step. It didn’t surprise him to see those whom many would deem to be curious troublemakers at first glance, since that was the batch he usually got, but what did surprise him was that they all looked like foreigners.

The largest of them all had long brown hair, a mean face, and was far too muscular for his experiments since he could easily give Xeno a hard time, so Stanley would likely make the judgment call on his own to take that one out as soon as he could. The one with black and white dyed hair that gave off a weird vibe looked rather unfit and terribly out of breath, but he had an average stature and a good look to his face, so the scientist thought that he could definitely find some use for him. Although, when he gave the boy a second glance, Xeno realized that he would have to be disregarded since he appeared to have a body that was mirrored, a rare condition called Situs Inversus in which the organs were on the opposite sides, meaning his drug experimentations could potentially be flawed. “Don’t bother grabbing the tall one or the one in the lavender shirt, they aren’t worth my time. Scare those two off the best you can or get rid of them if necessary, but don’t leave as much of a mess as last time.” Xeno commanded in a proud and clear voice, making sure that Stanley understood who was valuable to him and who wasn’t before he left to do his part of the job.

“Roger that.” the blue-eyed male replied, pulling one of his discarded shirts over his head that he happened to leave up here a few days ago during the last time Xeno allowed him to stay over, which was folded neatly on the man’s dresser and awaiting his return. He grabbed a dark-colored jacket that hung on the stairs railing just so he could disguise himself among the shadows better and pulled it over his arms, not looking forward to how much he would inevitably sweat in it and probably stink it up more than usual. He paused before he finally made the descent below to make sure Xeno didn’t have any final comments or instructions for him, and watched how his master intently gazed out the window with his binoculars at the strangers as if purposefully trying to make them feel the pressure of his gaze all the way from up here.

Xeno could feel the hybrid loyally waiting to be dismissed behind him, just as he should be, and hummed pleasantly to himself when his eyes landed on the third and final stranger to bless the cliffside with his virgin arrival. He had green and platinum blonde hair sticking up towards the sky, owned blood red eyes twinkling with a thirst for knowledge, was approximately five foot seven, seemed to be an average weight for someone in their late teens, and appeared healthy despite a lack of typical muscle mass. He was interesting enough on his own to Xeno, but the young one was wearing a lab coat of all things and was giving instructions of some kind to the other two when they all paused along the path together, making the older man think that he must have some kind of elegant presence to him since he could feel it radiating through the glass like toxic waste.

The boy was probably Japanese given Xeno’s best attempt at guessing from where he stood several meters away, and there was a small chance that he was the bright, youthful scientist that had been trying to message by email him for months, only to be ignored since he was asking about his methodology and beginning to get too smart with him even through a screen. Xeno knew from what kind of questions that this kid asked him that he was far more intelligent than the average teen by a long shot, and it hurt him to ignore such a promising future, but he had no choice since the desire to protect his home and loved one was a thousand times more powerful than his desire to educate the next generation. It really did pain someone as generous as Xeno to ignore the messages, but he needed to stay hidden from the spotlight at all costs and keep his research and experimental procedures a secret for obvious legal reasons.

What was the name that had plagued his inbox for so long? Snakuu or something like that? Well anyways, whoever this kid was, he was handsome, clearly intelligent, and most importantly, unable to resist because he was so weak. He was absolutely perfect, and Xeno had to have him. “Stanley, bring the one in the lab coat to your cabin. I’ll meet you there.” he smirked at his lover as he lowered his binoculars and began taking off his own coat in favor of eventually putting on a worn-out rubber apron he would fetch from the kitchen on his way down, since he felt like things could get messy in one way or another and he wouldn’t want to ruin his newer, more expensive garment. The hybrid gave him a firm nod and left the researcher’s sight, leaving him behind on his own to make a few more necessary preparations while he took care of the disposal of two targets and the capturing of one.

“He’s awfully elegant, isn’t he? Almost too elegant to let go.” Xeno asked himself rhetorically in regard to his newest guinea pig whom he would fondly call subject number 39, pulling open a drawer on his desk and reaching for one of the full syringes of diluted numbing agent he extracted from a tranquilizer that was sold at the local gun shop. He screwed on a fresh needle straight out of a sterile plastic wrapper and flicked the end of it to get rid of any debris at the end, putting on a protective cap and concealing it within his back pocket so he didn’t stab himself with it or expose it to anyone by accident. “I guess I’ll just have to keep him for a while, I suppose.”

Notes:

So TECHNICALLY... wait for it... this is the 'start' of the horror universe, and the fic kind of works as an open-ended prequel to the story of three protagonist teens wandering into the woods and being chased by a cryptid legend and a mad scientist as antagonists hehe ( ^ - ^ ) I first imagined this version of the story in my head and then I thought it would be cool to write it from the villains perspective to explain how they became so *ahem* murderous and horny lmao

Anyways, what became of Senkuu and his friends? You decide, I leave it to your imagination on purpose. That's the point of an open ending, I think? XD

Fun fact: the day the chapter takes place, July 14th, is National Shark Awareness day!

Another fun fact: the reason Xeno decided to call Senkuu 'subject number 39' is because the numbers 3 and 9 in Japanese are 'san' and 'kyu' which sounds kind of like Senkuu. Or maybe that's just the number of victims he's had... hehe...