@cupsraised (Lani) sent: “Pain is weakness leaving the body”
20. after a nightmare
Rarely was it obvious that Eight was dreaming, but it was obvious then. Their head turned slightly as a muffled hiss escaped their closed jaws, and their claws twitched. Their nostrils flared, and a shudder ran through their body as they hissed again, which turned into a low growl. As fearsome as they were, not even they were free from their mind turning against them.
Their nightmares were usually primal. They were the hunter - a beast made to survive and kill and come out on top - but, in their mind, they were now the hunted. They were wounded, but how and where, they didn't know. Their blood pooled around them, leaving a trail as they struggled to run, and they could feel the hot breath of their pursuer on the back of their neck. Their heart hammered, threatening to burst, yet no matter how they tried to get their limbs to work, they felt as though they were trudging through tar. Their limbs were stiff and heavy, with each movement an awkward lurch as they tried to keep going, but they couldn't go faster. They couldn't see anything around them, either, just blurred grays in what might have been a hallway, but they knew they were being followed.
They could hear it. Whatever it was, its footsteps thudded behind them, growing louder and louder, with its hot breath seemingly filling the air and choking it from their lungs. It was large, whatever it was, though it hardly mattered if it was a human, mutant, or dinosaur, because Eight knew if it caught them, they were dead. They needed to keep going. They needed to run, to get out of there, to--
Just as the beast roared behind them and they felt a sharp pain dig into their sides, they woke.
Eight suddenly lurched up with a noise mixed between a panicked crocodilian hiss and a bellow, and their jaws snapped furiously at the air as they twisted around to face their attacker.
It was only Lani.
Their sides heaved with each breath as they panted - the pupil of their working eye narrowed into a thin slit. Their body was rigid, their muscles tense, and they clicked their teeth together a few times with another hiss. It took them a moment to come to again, to realize where they were, and, slowly, they allowed their body to unwind before they gave themselves a hard shake.
Still, their attacker's breath choked Eight's lungs, heavy with the scent of carrion, and they snorted and shook their head. Almost immediately, they felt... guilty, and they took a few shaky steps back as their head lowered. Had they scared her? Did... did they hurt...?
"Sorry," they said, their voice as clear as always and free from the panic that had gripped them. It sounded like one voice, at least. "Sorry, Lani. It..." They hesitated, and slowly sat down. "Bad dream."
Although intelligent, Eight... wasn't immune to making impulsive decisions out of sheer curiosity. They often stuck their snout where it didn't belong just to check something out, though, so far, they managed to avoid any serious trouble. At least, until they decided to stick their snout into a metal barrel to figure out what was at the bottom, and got stuck.
With a startled, muffled hiss, Eight tried to jerk their head free, but staggered back with the barrel still stuck on their snout. They reared back and shook their head, unsuccessfully, to try and get it off, before they began to claw at it instead. The metal scraped and screeched beneath their claws as they tried to get a grip, and with another hiss, they backed up and shook their head again. No luck.
Well, this was humiliating.
They landed on all fours and shook their head again - a furious bellow echoing from the barrel as it smacked against the ground and caused them to reel back. "Help," they whined, their voice coming out clear from the electrolarynx on their throat, and clawed at the barrel again as they sat to keep their balance. The rim of the barrel was close to their eyes, and they kept their good eye squeezed shut to avoid irritation, though they couldn't see if anyone was actually around. "Please?"
Eight hissed again, and... promptly flopped down with a huge, melodramatic sigh. If their fate was to have their snout stuck in a barrel, then they might as well accept it now.
Zhaan smiled as the other responded to her, though it faded a bit to hear the being inside say that biting was bad. "Is that your own decision, to refrain from biting? Or did someone tell you it was bad?" she asked, wondering if what she was hearing was conditioning or a person choice. She knew all too well what it was like to resist one's own nature for the sake of peace. It was difficult and sometimes painful, and she felt that it should only ever be a choice, not something that was thrust upon someone.
"What a magnificent creature you are. Some sort of lizard-derived being, I presume?" Zhaan asked, peering into the small opening with genuine admiration and curiosity. She loved life and all the multitudes of forms that it could take, and whenever she was privileged enough to meet a being she had never seen before, it always evoked in her a childlike excitement. When she saw their snout press against the opening, Zhaan lifted the backs of her fingers to it, letting them smell her if they so wished.
"InGen?" Zhaan asked, her brow furrowing as her head canted. "No, I'm not. I don't know what that is. I am... a consultant, if you will, of the Avengers." At least that had been the best way she could think to describe what it was she did for them. "That is where you are now, at the Avengers training facility." When they asked who she was, in her own voice, Zhaan laughed a bit in sheer amusement at the other's ability to mimic. "That is very good! You sound just like me," she praised them, not at all weirded out by it or taking it as a threat that they would choose to emulate her voice. "I am Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan. You may call me Zhaan," she replied with a smile.
Again, though, her smile faded and a look of sympathetic concern replaced it. "Oh, I am so sorry you are hungry and hurting. I do not have the authority to release you myself, but I will go right now to ask if that would be permitted," she said. "I will be right back." As she turned, though, she was faced with one of the Avengers, Tony Stark.
"If what would be permitted?" he asked, looking at the transport cage.
"This creature is hungry and thirsty and is in far too small a containment vessel for their size. They wished to be released and I quite agree that they should be," Zhaan said.
"Yeah, well... it hasn't been cleared yet. We're not sure if it's dangerous," Tony said.
"They have promised they will not be difficult. I will take responsibility for them," Zhaan said.
"Just saying that doesn't make it true, and taking responsibility only means you're gonna feel the guiltiest if it chomps down on someone the second it's let out..." Tony said.
"Please? They are sentient and appear to be thinking rationally. They have been nothing but polite since I've been here speaking with them," Zhaan said. "Let me take them outside."
"Wow, you can't just... It needs to be cleared first," Tony tried again to explain. "It's not leaving the building."
"Very well," Zhaan said. "Do you swim?" she asked the creature. "We have a large pool."
"You wanna put it in the pool?" Tony asked, blinking.
"They need to stretch. They are to cramped inside this vessel," Zhaan insisted.
Tony sighed. "Okay. Sure. Why not. We can seal off the pool and let it... stretch."
"Them," Zhaan corrected.
"Huh?" Tony asked.
"You keep saying 'it.' That is incredibly depersonalizing," Zhaan said matter-of-factly.
Tony blinked again. "Sorry."
"It's alright, now you know," she said.
"Okay, let's... We'll... move them... to the pool," Tony said, turning to get the ball rolling in that regard. "But if something goes wrong, you're helping us get them back in the cage."
"Thank you. I understand," Zhaan said. She turned back to the creature. "Just a bit longer while we move you, and then you may swim all you wish." She called after Tony. "They are also hungry and will need water that does not contain high levels of chlorine to drink!"
Eight let out a low warble in response - puzzled by her questioning. They tilted their head and remained silent for a few, long moments as they mulled it over, and clicked their teeth together in thought. "Yyyes," they said, their voice catching on the word. "I was told biting is... bad, but I don't want to hurt everyone." Everyone, because, to them, there were some out there who deserved it. Because there were people they had bitten and would do so again in a heartbeat, and those they wouldn't hesitate to tear apart. But it was in their nature, coded in their very DNA, and it was something they sometimes struggled against. "I don't want to hurt anyone here."
But as their conversation turned to Zhaan complimenting them, Eight purred in response as they seemed to hold their head a little higher. At least, as best they could in their cage, and warbled again. "I am... part of the hybrid trials," they said, their voice switching to a man's deep voice - someone they once knew, back on Isla Nublar, though they couldn't remember his name. But he had been kinder than most, even if his voice didn't reflect that. "I am made of several genomes," their voice changed again, this time similar to that of FRIDAY's, even though they hadn't figured out what FRIDAY was, "though my base genome is from a Utahraptor." They pressed their snout back against the bars as she held the backs of her fingers against them, and sniffed, still puzzled by her scent. It wasn't like any warm- or cold-blooded animal they'd smelled before, and they could only describe her scent as earthy. Not unlike that of plants. "I know they used Deinosuchus DNA, too," they continued, and their voice switched again. "They used DNA from Therizinosaurus, agalychnis callidryas, psittacus erithacus, annnnd-" their voice caught "-homo sapien. But there's more I don't know of. I think those are what have been pronounced the most."
They shook their head as they pulled away from the bars, and lacked their front claws against the cage floor as they tried to stretch as best they could. They yawned - their jaws stretching wide. "InGen is a bioengineering corporation made to recreate extinct animals." Although it wasn't FRIDAY's, they spoke with an AI-sounding voice, repeating the explanation they had heard several times around the island. Eight shook their head again. "I don't know the Avengers. I don't know much of why I'm here other than InGen had some sort of... contract, I think." Not that that meant much to them to begin with, but maybe it meant something to her? "But I was made to become a weapon." Eight's voice changed again, and they began to mimic their former handler. "An experiment funded by theeee military. They wanted more of us." But they were the only one that made it, and it left a hollow feeling inside of their chest.
They decided not to talk more about it.
But they perked up as Zhaan laughed, and they lifted their head back up to the bars as she praised them. A pleased purr-like noise rumbling in their throat as pride bloomed in their chest. Oh, they definitely liked her now, and they decided to keep mimicking her voice. "I'm HT-Eight-Three-One," they offered back to Zhaan, "but you can call me Eight. Most do." They flexed their claws again as they shifted awkwardly inside the cage, and gave themself a brisk shake.
"You will?" Eight paused at that, before they stared at Zhaan. "Really?" She... wasn't bothered by the idea of them out and about? She was willing to ask for them if they could be let out? They clicked their teeth together excitedly, and shifted again as renewed energy began to buzz through their veins - eager to be able to stretch and move around properly. "Tha-ank you! Thank you!" Their voice changed to one of the agents involved in their transport. Though, another scent quickly caught their attention, and with a warble, they peered out between the bars as they watched Zhaan turn to someone else, and they warbled again. That seemed to be a sound more well-received than most of what they could make, so maybe it'd work with him?
They slowly trailed off into silence as Zhaan and the newcomer began talking, but a sudden, loud crocodilian-like hiss broke through as they shifted in their cage. Their body tensed as their claws clacked against the floor. "I'm not it," they hissed. "I am alive. I am not a thing." Zhaan quickly backed them up on that, and they snorted against the bars before they lowered their head, and glowered out at him through their good eye. At least someone seemed to care about them, which was more than they'd been shown the past few days during their transport.
"I swim," they said, and this time, decided to mimic Tony's voice. And, at the talk of swimming, Eight seemed to relax again, and perked back up. "I like swimming. Can I?" The thought alone had them itching to get out and to dive into the water, and they snapped their jaws together impatiently. "Please. I need to get out. I won't bite." Did it matter what they said? Would he listen to them? Was Zhaan the only one who would listen? "I promise."
Eight felt a flare of hope as he finally agreed to move them, and with a rattling trill, they bobbed their head before they pressed their snout against the bars. "Thank you!" they said, and went back to Zhaan's voice. "Thank you! I'll be good, promise! I can swim!" About time, really, though they were far too excited at the prospect to think much of how long it had last been since they'd done much of anything they wanted to do. "I can wait!"
Eight slowed to a stop as they floated beneath the water, and their tail dipped below - only the ridges on their head and their eyes visible above the surface. A human, how curious. A part of them was tempted to dive down and swim as far away as they could, but... this human looked strange. Something they didn't think much of, because they understood, to an extent, there was much about the world they knew nothing about. What they knew... came from their handlers and from enclosed spaces in isolation.
The stranger seemed to have noticed them, since they realized he was looking their way, but he didn't seem frightened. Was he curious like they were? Were they a threat? They breathed out through their nostrils, forcing a stream of bubbles to the surface, and dove down. As much as they knew it was safer to get away, their curiosity got the best of them. And if there was one thing they knew about humans and other creatures, was that food was usually a good way to get someone's favor. They liked it, at least. Maybe a fish would show they didn't mean any harm?
They swam toward the bottom of the river, which wasn't too deep, fortunately, and snatched up a large pickerel before it could swim away. The nearby fish quickly scattered, and despite the hunger in their belly, Eight swam back up with a powerful sway of their tail. They crested the surface again to make certain the stranger was still there, and with a rumbling low, they ducked their head beneath the water, and--
Eight surged up and swung their head - tossing their catch over at the stranger, and just narrowly missing him as the fish landed beside him. They didn't notice that they'd almost hit him, and they swam closer toward the shore as their spines broke the surface. The top of their head broke the surface as well, and they snorted as they took in a deep breath. But they didn't get too close to the shore, and didn't reveal more of themselves as they stared at the stranger. Now that they could breathe, they realized... something about his scent wasn't quite human.
Fortunately for them, their electrolarynx was designed for underwater use, even if the sound came out rather distorted.
"For you," they warbled, and splashed a bit of water in the direction of the pickerel they had thrown. "I don't want to fight anyone." They would if they had to, but if the stranger decided to show signs of aggression, they would sooner swim off than retaliate. The last thing they wanted was to do something that could alert InGen or BioSyn to their location.
"Is this your territory?" Humans had territory, right? Was he human? Regardless, they weren't certain how other creatures handled territories.
The scent of the forest caught Eight's attention, hidden beneath scents they didn't know by name, but scents they vaguely recognized from previous handlers. Something almost sweet smelling. Something earthy and floral. And beneath all of that was something... alive. They knew some humans enjoyed using artificial scents - what was the word? they couldn't remember - but was that all? Something about this scent was... different, in a way they couldn't place, and they chattered curiously as they sat up awkwardly once more to peer through the slats.
Shadows moved to block the light from the slats, and as this stranger peered in, Eight turned their head and tilted it upward to peer right back through their good eye. They snorted softly, and offered a pleasant warble as she said hello back - rather pleased that someone had bothered to respond. "I ammm... used to it," they said - their electrolarynx catching as their voice changed again. "I think it's been long. I won't bite. Biting's bad." Although their speech reflected that of a parrot, repeating words not fully understood, they knew exactly what they were saying, and meant each word.
They blinked slowly as the stranger remained close, surprised she was not quick to flinch or cower back like some, and they lowered their head. With another low warble, they shook it, and shoved their snout against the slates curiously. It was far from aggressive, though they didn't understand that doing that could be frightening. "You're not InGen, are you?" Their voice changed again, and this time, it sounded like her. "Who are you?"
What they hadn't expected, however, was for her to ask how they were. Eight drew their head back in surprise as they stared at her through the slats as best they could despite the obscure view, and clicked their jaws together in response. They... didn't know how to respond.
"Food," they decided finally. "Water. Please. I don't know how long I've been in here. It's starting to hurt." Their unused muscles began ache the longer they remained stuck - their body screamed at them to stretch. To run. To swim. To simply move. Their head wasn't hurting for once, at least, so maybe the tranquilizer hadn't been as potent as it had been before. Did she want reassurance they'd behave? Would she listen, or ignore it like their handlers? "I won't be difficult. I promise."
What... was a promise, anyway? Something about the concept puzzled Eight, but they figured they used it correctly.
Eight's ability to mimic voices is both programmed into their electrolarynx and their parrot DNA shining through. It's a form of enrichment for them, especially when they're locked away, but they don't mean it to be cruel or mocking.
Claire struggled to get a good look at whoever was speaking, but she’d recognize that voice anywhere. Since unveiling he still lived, Wesker had taunted her just as much if not more than the Ashfords. If she’d been armed, she would’ve tried to kill Eight right then and there. Instead, she crossed her arms and gritted her teeth.
“Oh, believe me, I know,” Claire scoffed. “He’s probably trying to kill Steve right now. I have to get out of here.”
The rattle of the chain had her on edge, and she took a few steps back. Had this person just changed their voice? They sounded exactly like her, though they didn’t have her unique vocal mannerisms or slang. It unsettled Claire, and she tried to make out their figure in the darkness.
“What the fuck?! How the hell did you just do that?” They didn’t know Chris. Truth or lie? Wesker must’ve spent time monologuing about him, so they couldn’t be completely unaware. Maybe they knew of him rather than knowing him. “I’m Claire Redfield. My brother is Chris.”
The chain around Eight's neck was short, and for a good reason, and it pulled taut when they tried to go too far. Their frustrated, crocodilian-like hiss filled the room as they jerked against it to test it, even despite knowing it wouldn't work, and reluctantly circled back. And as they turned, their tail slowly slung into view, their claws clacking against the floor as they slipped back into their corner. They circled once, then twice, before they settled back down, and stared in the direction of the stranger.
"Who-oo... is Steve?" Their electrolarynx hitched, catching on a word as their voice switched once again. "Good luck trying to escape." They shook their head in discomfort - rattling the chain again. It pressed against their scales uncomfortably and pinched the softer spots on their throat, and their jaws ached to stretch open again. They shook their head again.
Eight lifted their head and tilted it. They warbled curiously in response, and shook their head. "I can only talk... with an electrolarynx," they said, this time using Larson's voice, although it wouldn't be familiar to the stranger. "It was programmed to carry a voice but I can-" their voice changed again, "-mimic others because of my DNA." They paused. "So I was told." In truth, they didn't... fully understand what it all meant, but it made sense to everything they had observed back with InGen.
"Redfield," they echoed, and their voice switched back to Claire's. It wasn't done maliciously, but out of curiosity. A means of entertaining themself after being trapped down there for... however long it had been. Far too long, for certain. "He... has spoken of you both." Once again, they used Wesker's voice. "But I don't know who you or your brother are. I barely know who Wesker is. I know..." A growl rumbled from their throat as they shook their head, and their voice changed to another's. "He was Umbrella. I know... that much, but I know little else."
Identifiable Marking(s): long scars down their back and side; bite scars around their throat; three scars across the right side of their face; scarred and blind right eye; large scar on their left shoulder
Associated Item(s): thick leather collar covering an external electrolarynx
Notable Habit(s): cocking their head; tapping their sickle-shaped hind claws; scratching their jaw; clicking their teeth together
Personality Traits:
positive: clever; protective; observant
neutral: curious; loyal; cautious; stubborn
negative: volatile; cynical; reckless
Bonus: pinterest; spotify
Background:
tw/cw for: experimentation, abuse, death (human and animal)
InGen couldn’t ignore how the world was changing, nor could they ignore the shift in the focus of their investors. Recreating dinosaurs was growing old, despite the popularity of Jurassic World. They had done something incredible, but some of their investors wanted something more useful. Something… not made for entertainment. And it was not long until the military offered a handsome fee for something that could help them. They didn’t just want animals, they wanted soldiers.
The offer was too great for InGen to pass up, and they got to work. They kept a focus on dinosaur DNA, believing certain predators to be too great to dismiss with such a task, but… began to hit wall after wall. Experiments were failing, and investors were growing restless. But some scientists, with influence from BioSyn, kept pushing, and began to make things work. Only to an extent at first, but… it was a start. They could stabilize and combine DNA of creatures extinct and alive, and it wasn’t long until they began to look into adding a more human element. Soldiers were needed, and animals were not going to cut it alone. If they wanted the perfect soldier, they would need to make sure they could obey.
The Hybrid Trial got off to a rocky start. Embryos would stop developing before they became fully viable, but it was still enough to keep investors fascinated, and the push continued. Trial one was an utter failure, as were trials two and three, but they found success in trial four: the embryos began to survive longer, and were closer to viability. By trial seven, they had a single successful asset: HT-7-1-1. It was a male, to the surprise of all involved, and was labeled a Protoraptor - a creature with the genome base of a Utahraptor, and a hodgepodge of genomes from various prehistoric and living creatures. The scientists involved used the same DNA from Seven, as they began to call him, and moved forward with their final trial - successfully producing four more assets. Only two, however, would survive outside the embryo chamber. Still, the three living specimens were enough to satisfy investors, and the Protoraptors became the first step in living weaponry, and would later become the inspiration for Indoraptor.
HT-7-1-1, HT-8-3-1, and HT-8-2-2 were raised together as siblings, with their handler, Dr. Monroe Larson, determined to raise them as a pack, although HT-8-3-1 (soon known as Eight-One), was notably weaker than their siblings. They were sickly and struggled to keep up with Seven and Eight-Two, and wasn’t expected to survive past their second year. However, when both survivors from trial eight grew ill, it was Eight-One that survived despite it all, while Eight-Two passed away. Eight-One recovered and grew stronger, and began to easily keep up with Seven, something they had struggled with previously. The relief felt, however, was not for their survival, but the survival of InGen’s profits. As far as Dr. Larson was concerned, the survival and growth of the Protoraptors ensured that the military would keep investing in InGen, and would allow them freedom from the restrictions and needs of more public investors, such as Verizon and Pepsi. But, because of military involvement, the Protoraptors were kept secret from the public and most of InGen - only those with clearance knew of the projects, and were sworn to secrecy and held to a strict NDA. While they could not help drive up attendance, they could secure further funding, and as far as Dr. Larson was concerned, that alone was worth the trouble.
It was his idea to introduce Seven and Eight-One to juvenile Velociraptors. He believed the military would benefit from it - that the Hybrids would take control of the pack, and the Velociraptors would replace the men and women on the front lines. An idea InGen would later try out without the Hybrids, but an idea that, at first, was hesitantly accepted. The four juvenile Velociraptors, all unknown to each other to avoid an existing pecking order, were placed in an unfamiliar enclosure, and the Protoraptors were quickly introduced in the hopes it would prevent the Velociraptors from becoming territorial.
However, despite the precautions, it was doomed from the start.
The four juveniles were quick to turn on the Protoraptors - clearly recognizing they were not of the same species - and snapped and snarled at them to stay back. Seven retreated when he realized they were outnumbered, but Eight-One, however, continued to push. They had proven themselves to be far more stubborn than their brother - something only weighed out by their dog-like obedience - but their stubbornness gave way to recklessness. In their attempt to assert themself as the head of the pack, the juveniles turned on them, and a fight broke out. Seven jumped in to protect his sibling, and numerous handlers rushed to take control of the situation, but by the time the tranquilizers took hold, the outcome was bleak: two Velociraptors were dead, the third severely injured and unlikely to survive, and the fourth having disappeared further into the enclosure. Seven and Eight-One were also in critical condition, yet would both somehow survive their injuries. Yet, the relief was short-lived. The disaster resulted in the program getting cut, and the military lost faith, although the interest was still there. And Dr. Larson… found himself with two injured Hybrids he could not introduce to the public, nor find use for. No one wanted them. They weredangerous - unpredictable. As obedient and intelligent as they were, it was clear that… InGen was afraid.
Unbeknownst to InGen, that was the opportunity BioSyn needed to draw Dr. Larson to them, although he remained an employee for InGen. But with influence from BioSyn, and a lack of care for the Protoraptors he helped create, he began to experiment on them further. There was something to be found with them, he felt, that could help future projects, and got to work. Oblivious to the brewing hostility between Seven and Eight-One (though they were going by Eight more often than not those days), and the increasing hatred Eight felt toward any human involved. In fact, Dr. Larson had been overlooking the fact the Hybrids were… showing an emotional and mental intelligence similar to that of humans - far more than originally anticipated. Their human DNA was to influence the African grey parrot DNA, but not override it. And as he continued with his experiments, that intelligence only twisted to go against him.
Eight recognized that he had implanted a tracking device into the left shoulder, and promptly dug it out - heavily scarring themself in the process, but destroying the device specifically in front of him as if to send a message. The vocalizations of both Hybrids were growing stronger, and it wasn’t long until it became obvious they were speaking. It was rough speech and difficult to make out, but… like a parrot, they were beginning to talk. Eager to influence this, and seeing it as a way to regain the military’s attention (and money), Dr. Larson implanted a permanent, external electrolarynx in both Protoraptors, and used a thick, leather collar on both to keep it in place and to protect it. And, just as he envisioned it, it allowed the Hybrids to speak. Both Seven and Eight were able to communicate clearly with those around them, including each other, and it became all the more obvious that their intelligence rivaled that of a human - they understood and responded to various stimuli better than that of other dinosaurs and that of parrots. However, while Seven remained obedient, Eight began to push back. They refused to participate in Dr. Larson’s experiments and trainings, and with their newfound speech, began to talk back as well. Their resentment of their treatment and growing restlessness was beginning to get the better of them, and they began to act out - something that was swiftly punished. Like any other dinosaur, twelve amps were discharged onto Eight with any act of disobedience, and when they continued to “be difficult”, they were deprived of food and water, and left in a cage with barely room for them to pace. A muzzle was made for them when they began to snap at their handlers, and when they took to ramming the sides of their cage and actively trying to escape, they were soon chained to the floor to keep them in one place.
Then, everything changed when the Indominus Rex escaped. BioSyn was quick to help Dr. Larson escape with their other employees, and took with him both Protoraptors. Eager to see what he had done, and eager to replicate them. He presented Seven as the perfect result - a Hybrid not just with great strength, but emotional and mental intelligence as well. And, when asked about Eight, he requested they be destroyed. They were not worth the risk, he asserted, and their disobedience was proving to be a liability. And when BioSyn went to do just that, Eight snapped.
In a primal rage, Eight broke free of their restraints, and killed the two BioSyn personnel sent to euthanize them. As BioSyn scrambled to get Eight under control, they continued their rampage, and killed several more employees before they managed to escape containment. However, before they could get far, they were tackled by Seven, who had been released by Dr. Larson, and the fight between the Hybrids proved deadly. They were vicious with neither willing to back down, but their constant movements proved difficult for BioSyn to take aim at Eight, with Dr. Larson screaming for them not to shoot Seven.
Although Seven was bigger than Eight, it was Eight that won out in the end. They managed to take hold of Seven’s throat after their brother had pinned them to the ground, and ignoring Seven’s shrieks as he struggled to free himself, Eight tore open his throat, just before going after Dr. Larson. The bloodbath did not last long, but as Eight escaped into the wilderness surrounding BioSyn’s remote location, several employees were dead, including Dr. Larson, and Seven could not be saved.
And as monstrous as they accepted themself to be, Eight would experience a very human feeling of guilt.
A low purr rose from Eight's throat as they slowly heaved themselves to their feet. Their posture hunched as they remained on all fours, and lifted their head as they sniffed the air. A caged muzzle tight around their jaws - a chain locked around their throat. "He will kill you," they said - their voice changing from Wesker's to an InGen handler they once knew as a juvenile. "He may not make it quick."
They shook, rattling the chain, and slowly crept forward from the darkened end of their cell. Their good eye gleamed as it reflected the light. "Brother?" they echoed, rather curiously. "I do not know." They paused, and in a voice that belonged to the stranger, "Who are you?"
v; the next step in playing god - any threads pre-Jurassic World
v; welcome to jurassic world - any threads during the events of Jurassic World
v; asset out of containment - any threads post-Jurassic World
auv; off to distant shores - crossover verse
auv; a mess of politics and money - mcu crossover verse. The hybrid trial was a blend of InGen and SHIELD resources, though Eight was handed off to SHIELD after InGen contemplated destroying them. SHIELD, in turn, kept them hidden from the world, but when SHIELD fell, Eight fell into the hands of the Avengers to remain under watch.
auv; mutations and viruses and renegade scientists - resident evil crossover verse. After the failure of the hybrid trial, Umbrella bought Seven and Eight from InGen for a handsome fee, and accepted any and all responsibilities of the hybrids in the process. But when Seven is infected and all hell breaks loose in Raccoon City, Eight is forced to kill their brother before fleeing.
((When I say Eight can change voices, I'm mainly thinking of the Prototype from Popp.y Pla,ytime, and you can hear a few audio clips here and here. Spoilers for the recent chapter and tw/cw for references to abuse!
dededos
annaxmalina
discoholicmusic
baratheonpilled
ellievsbear
izzy806
2087
