The Record of Unusual Creature

Lily, who finally regained her human form swayed about by the Reconfiguration Chamber. It was almost like she was sleep walking. She was testing her balance. Hao Ren was the same when he got out of the chamber pod. He feared that the alien technology had inadvertently screwed him over, giving him some odd new quirks; a typical response froma country bumpkin.

Hao Ren walked up to her and enquired, “Feeling better?”

“Yeah, pretty good!” Lily seemed to have returned to her usual jovial state and smiled brightly. She jumped on the same spot to prove that she had full control of her motor functions. “You see! I’m not shaking anymore. And I can hide my ears and tail again!”

By then, the other two pods had opened up. Vivian and Y’zaks were waking up from them. It looked exactly like one of the scenes from Biohazard. Hao Ren shook his head to rid himself of the nonsensical thought and greeted Y’zaks first. “Yo, do you understand what I’m saying?”

He was using Mandarin. It took a while for Y’zaks to muster a response because he realized that his language issue had been resolved. He gasped. “This thing sure is convenient! I finally don’t have to struggle with a dictionary anymore.”

“Oh Doggie, you’re back to normal?” Vivian lithely leapt off the chamber pod. She still kept her distance from Lily at that moment. She only got close after confirming that the latter would not bite her. “Still remember what you almost did the other time? You went straight for my jugular!”

“I didn’t really bite you did I…” Lily shifted awkwardly. “I was a patient then. Can’t you just let it slide?”

Hao Ren quickly interjected to play the peacemaker. “Alright, stop being a powder keg. You just met again. Lily, you too,. When you were down, Vivian was worried you know. Sides, the food that you eat at home is prepared by Vivian most of the time. Can’t you two just play nice for once?”

Raven 12345 glanced at the four who were busy greeting each other after getting out of the pods. She did not deign to interrupt the lot. She casually fiddled with the controls and as the pods were retracted back into the ground, a holographic image appeared in front of her. On it were pictures of Vivian, Lily and Y’zaks along with the reports of their scan. She stared at Vivian’s report for a some time before moving on. Lily’s report on the other hand, left her with a dumbfounded look. However, no one saw her reactions.

It took a long while for Hao Ren to calm the two walking powder kegs down. Not long after that, he caught Raven 12345 signaling them to leave. He took a glance at the hologram and asked, “Is this the report for their health check-up? …I don’t understand a single thing and it doesn’t look like a health report as well…”

“Of course you wouldn’t understand. This is for experts,” said Raven 12345 as she turned off the holographic projector. She then gestured Hao Ren to keep his distance. “Alright, lets go back to my office. I still have things to tell you guys.”

“Eh, wait up, Lily and Vivian’s portraits are labeled number ‘1’ and Y’zaks is marked as number ‘2’. Does that mean…” Hao Ren quickened his pace to question Raven 12345 but that lunatic of was already out of earshot. He could only shake his head in resignation and followed.

As they entered Raven 12345’s office, Lily was the center of attention.

“Your status is currently stable and you will be evolving in the next few days. I reckon that the process will take about two to three hours. You’ll be conscious during the process but you will not have control over your transformation, aura and special abilities. So, you’ll need a place without any inhabitants nearby. Raven 12345 explained with a disclaimer. “Provided that I did’t press the wrong button or misread the manual.”

Hao Ren instinctively ignored Raven 12345’s last sentence. He quickly went for the most pertinent question on everyone’s mind. “When will that be?”

“Theoretically it should be during a full moon.” Raven 12345 appeared unsure. “You know, like in the story books where werewolves transform under a full moon? And this lass here is affected by moonlight… so a full moon it is.”

Vivian nudged Hao Ren in the arm and whispered, “…Is she reliable?”

“Nope… but we don’t have anyone else.” Hao Ren responded with a resigned look.

“I can hear you the both of you, you know… Don’t think just because you’re whispering that what you say can escape my ears… Forget about it, you’re not the first to say that anyway. Hao Ren, I suggest that you pay The Plane of Dreams a visit again. The plane has been active as of late. May be somewhat easier to communicate. Just stick to what I thought you, it’s guaranteed safe.”

Hao Ren filtered out the last two words and nodded in ascent to her suggestion.

They had concluded their business there and figured that the goddess who ate cup noodles would not be preparing dinner for them. Hence, they left the place right after they reconfirmed the details of Lily’s impending transformation. For once, Raven 12345 played nice and sent them off.

Lily and Vivian were the first ones to step into the teleportation gateway. As Hao Ren and Y’zaks prepared to leave, Raven 12345 suddenly popped a question. “So, you plan to live out your days like this? You’re sure about not going back at all?”

“There’s no need for that. Y’zaks turned around and gave his signature, scary smile. His voice however, was earnest. “I’ve tried and failed. It can only mean that my methods were ineffective. I’ll let them choose their own path. Time will tell anyway.

Hao Ren knew that it was wrong to eavesdrop on private matters but, he was curious to know about the demon’s past. He could not help but ask, “Say… what’s Y’zaks’ story anyway? He seems to have people after his head.”

“Him? I guess you could call it a failed career.” Raven 12345 shrugged. “He was a big boss back in his own world, with money and influence. However, his methods of doing business differed from the rest. As he got a foothold in the market, others pretty much ganged up on him. He pretty much lost everything including his life to his rivals. He was getting beaten to a pulp when an administration observer passed by. I think this left a black mark on him, a BIIIGGG one.”

Hao Ren was lost for words.

“Sorry, you know how I am.” Raven 12345 smacked herself on the head. “Just leave it at that.”

Y’zaks did not speak or prevent Raven 12345 from telling his story. He only protested slightly at the end. “The part where I got beaten to a pulp could’ve been left out…”

“Oh right, you were actually strung up and beaten.”

Y’zaks was speechless.

Hao Ren could not bare to listen anymore and indicated that he understood as much as he needed to about the demon’s past. Both of them then leapt into the gateway.

As Raven 12345 gazed upon the closing gateway, she was deep in thought. Finally, she muttered to herself, “Can we really rely on this bunch of ragtags?”

Of course, the group could not have heard what the goddess thought of them. They were on the sole, rickety bus back to the Southern Suburbs.

The first thing they were going to do upon arriving was to clean the floor.

Y’zaks had used two packets of soy sauce to make a roughly three-meter wide teleportation circle. The smell was overwhelming to say the least. A good scrub was in order. This was something you would not see often: a group of protagonists scrubbing the floor upon reaching home…

After they finished cleaning up, Lily’s stomach growled in hunger. Her ‘consultation’ with Raven 12345 had already taken up a good half of the day and the goddess did not even offer them water. It was already late noon and Hao Ren would have doubted the treatment if Lily was still not hungry by then.

Seeing that the wolf pup had recovered and returned to her usual lifestyle of eating, sleeping and playing, Hao Ren could finally relax.

The rest of the day went by with nothing out of the ordinary. Soon., night arrived and it was time to pay The Plane of Dreams a visit.