958 The Second System
After his trip to Ruin City, Dean returned to the lab to continue his work with Rickle. Their projects didn’t always require Dean to be around Rickle constantly.
Sometimes, there were even weeks between projects that involved stopping the vampires and werewolves from colliding. Rickle, after all, was a founder of NIRV, and they still had multiple projects to work on. It made Dean wonder if Rickle ever slept.
So, returning after a day or two wasn’t a big deal, and Dean thought it would be the same this time.
Entering the lab, it took only a few moments for Rickle to notice.
“What’s wrong? What happened this time? Did you get into an argument, or did you go back home to your wife and kids? I told you that would be a bad idea.”
“The work we’re doing is incredibly dangerous. If it were found out, they could target your family, and we could be away for a long time. You’d have to continuously break their hearts and put them in danger,” Rickle said.
Dean had gone back home, but not to the home Rickle thought he had visited.
“I didn’t go see them. I just looked from afar,” Dean answered.
While exploring the lab, Dean usually looked around or went into the city until he received a call from Rickle with information.
What he noticed, however, was that in the large vat of liquid in the room, where a large floating piece of fur was usually present, there was nothing inside.
Dean rushed to the glass and placed his hand on the outside. It really was gone.
“My fur... the werewolf fur. Where has it gone? What happened to it? Did you destroy it?” Dean asked.
“Don’t be absurd,” Rickle replied. “Since the two of us have been working together for a while now, I’ll be honest with you.” Rickle jumped from where he was and went to one of the large consoles, starting to hit several buttons in a way that would be impossible for Dean to imitate. It wasn’t any simple sequence, that was for sure.
“Your fur from day one has been Plan B, or maybe more like Plan X or something, since many plans have already failed,” Rickle mumbled the last words to himself.
A projected screen appeared in the air, and Dean wondered what he was looking at. It displayed information about werewolves: the different classes they could have, information about the full moon, blood lust, and more.
Dean remembered that he had provided nearly all of this information to Rickle, answering endless questions when Rickle claimed he wanted to help remove the fur in the first place.
Off to the side, Dean also saw levels and experience points, like in some type of game.
“There’s a good chance that our plan will fail,” Rickle continued. “The werewolves and the vampires won’t fight forever. Eventually, one side will win, and one side will lose.
“But I told you before, we’ll need the strength of the werewolves in the future. I’m certain of it. Otherwise, we’ll be in for a tough time, and I might have to start working on Plan Z,” Rickle explained.
Dean somewhat understood. His fur was going to be used as a way to revive the werewolves somehow, to prevent them from going extinct. But why the need for all the information?
“That’s a great question,” Rickle said as if reading Dean’s mind. “Think about it. If someone suddenly became a werewolf, they would struggle immensely. They wouldn’t understand why they felt a certain way or know how to get stronger.”
“Which is why I had to create a system 1! Or maybe I should call it System 2.0 since she created that shambles of a system. But 2.0 also makes it sound like there might be more in the future,” Rickle started to mumble to himself.
“Wait... but that doesn’t answer anything. Where is the fur currently?” Dean asked. “I somewhat understand the purpose you’re using it for, but where is it?”
“Why do you want to take it back?” Rickle asked, and Dean wasn’t sure if he was joking or not.
“Anyway, right now I’m transporting it through NIRV facilities. The product, let’s say, has been completed. But as all secret plans need to be, they need to be stored away.”
There was nothing left for Dean to ask. Instead, he moved closer to the console projecting information about werewolves. He was trying to understand how it worked and how the system would function.
As he was reading the information, a flashing signal appeared on the console.
Rickle lifted his arm and tapped around his wrist. His eyes widened, and when he looked up at Dean, his eyes were glowing red.
“What did you do?” Rickle asked, his voice growing menacingly. It was the first time Dean had seen him so angry.
“What do you mean? I didn’t touch the console!” Dean replied. “I just looked at it. I didn’t do anything.”
Rickle walked forward and moved to the console, starting to tap away again.
“I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about this!” Rickle slammed his hand on a button, and the projection changed.
It now showed a feed from a security camera inside a NIRV building—one they weren’t in, but another location.
Workers were busy at their tasks until suddenly, the door was blown off its hinges and flung into the room.
Moments later, a number of people began pouring into the room. It didn’t take long for some of the scientists to transform as they were Altered themselves.
That’s when Dean saw it: those who had rushed in began to transform, their bodies changing into werewolves. They were running everything in the lab, and were fighting against the researchers but seemingly keeping them alive. It even looked as if some were questioning them and asking questions.
“Now tell me, what did you do?”
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