Chapter Three: Reality Check

“You really don’t have any idea what your father wants to show me then?”

Sharon shook her head as they walked across the charcoal street. Adam held tightly onto the umbrella so that they could keep dry. New York seemed to like rain, the frigid droplets of liquid pounded onto the city that never sleeps. The Genesis building wasn’t too far from their current location only a few blocks away, 15 minutes on foot. Adam sighed, his jacket flapped in the wind. The last time he saw the Professor was right before he took off to Mars, just after Blue Dragon was repaired. It had been approximately 8 and ½ months since they last met. Questions continued to run through his mind expeditiously, dozens of thoughts and concerns plagued the very essence of his own existence. Since getting away from New York, Genesis specifically Adam’s life wasn’t too complex or painful. Sharon continued to stare at Adam as they treaded through the city; his head remained angled downwards at the cement.

“You ok?”

Adam turned looking at Sharon, but his eyes seemed to be focusing elsewhere. They were walking through Times Square at the moment, it had been reborn to its former glory but still the memories haunted him. Translucent MFs blazed past the buildings dueling fiercely, his memories trickled out of his brain and into a reality distorted by his nightmares. Every step was like a punch in his gut, as the images of Blue Dragon and Chimera slowly evaporated into nothing they were replaced by flashes of his friends, friends that he felt he failed; Amy, and then Sean, along with Christina, Jen and Mike. His fist curled up into a ball like a damn holding back his frustration from abruptly pouring out. He was able to get sleep the night before, the original plan was to meet up with Sharon’s dad and get it out of the way but he had to cancel due to some unknown emergency. Adam’s eyes laid open for the better part of the night and even the morning, his body twisting and turning with each passing second. He was trying not to think about the rough night he had, after all it was the first night in over half a year that he got to sleep in his own bed, a bed surrounded by hanging pictures, frozen frames of the timeline of his life so far. Each one bringing a duality of memories, joy for the time had, and pain for the friends lost. It was his birthday although it didn’t feel like it; he turned 18.

“So, are the plans for tonight still definite? I mean due to the rain and all?” Sharon asked smiley as she tightly wrapped her arm around Adam’s. She always managed to find a way to smile, or at least to break the monotony of silence.

“Not sure, I’ll have to call Heather after we get done with the meeting.”

“I see, well we should go out no matter what! It’s your birthday! So cheer up!”

“Heh….thanks Sharon.”

It wasn’t long before they stood in front of the Genesis building. Adam smiled; this was where he and Sharon first met about 2 years ago.  It had been a while since he stepped foot into it, after finding out about the experiments and the projects of the Chimera line that they developed his mouth was left with a bitter taste whenever they were mentioned. But it was hard to deny the fact that without Genesis he would never have become an MF pilot. As they entered the lobby Adam began to look around, everything appeared to be the same, the beautiful fountain that was out for display. Despite the resplendent scene that the building constantly gave off, he still wasn’t too thrilled to be standing in the lobby. Sharon placed her hand gently onto his shoulder and began to rub softly around his shoulder blade.

“I forgot, you haven’t been in here for almost 1 year and a half.”

Adam smiled back at Sharon liked it didn’t bother him, but she knew it did. She knew him well, possibly better than he knew himself. It didn’t take long until Professor Amare showed up outside the elevator to the right of the fountain. He looked incredibly pale, his eyes were borderline translucent, and his hair was nearly all gone. The wrinkles in his skin were longer and thicker than they had ever been. Adam wasn’t sure if he liked the feeling that he was getting from the Professor.

“Professor? Are you alright?”

The Professor waved his hand while trying to crack a smile. His dry insensate lips managed to break apart revealing cracked teeth and infected gums, Adam knew it then that something was wrong.

“Please, just call me Mathew.” The Professor replied.

“….” Adam didn’t say a word, he wasn’t sure if there was anything appropriate that he could say. He simply nodded and followed the Professor into the elevator. As they entered the cylindrical device Adam found himself look at Sharon. She suddenly became quiet, her eyes half opened and her face angled slightly away from the Professor and towards the ground. As each floor moved passed them she began to scratch her right arm, it was barely noticeable at first but it eventually began to become a more constant process. Every few seconds she would start scratching her right arm; each time more furiously than the last, finally Adam grabbed hold of her right arm which was covered in the ivory cloth of her shirt.

“Becareful you’re going to tear through the clothes if you keep that up.” Adam mentioned.

Sharon sighed placing her left hand deep into her pocket. Adam’s eyes slowly glanced up catching the Professor’s own eyes nearly engulfed in liquid but he quickly looked the other way.

“(Just what’s going on…)” Adam began to think to himself.

The elevator jerked as they reached the basement floor. Adam sighed while the doors slid open revealing a dull flickering light.

“We’re here. Come on…” The Professor’s voice became sullen as his feet left the elevator. Sharon smiled grabbing hold of Adam’s arm. The two walked out of the elevator but Adam had to stop. His eyes frantically looked around the darkened room and widened. The room was filled with hundreds of elongated tubes. Inside the tubes were what appeared to be lifeless human bodies floating in an eerie green substance.  His body hit the floor in terror; Sharon also seemed to be freaked out by what was revealed. Both she and Adam remained on the ground with their arms keeping them from completely laying on the ground.

“WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?” Adam screamed aloud. Sharon was too frightened to even force out any sounds. The Professor just glanced at both of them and sighed.

“Come on, what we are here for isn’t in this room.” He ignored every tube and continued to walk towards an office in the back.

“Are you alright to go any further?” Adam asked as he helped Sharon stand back up. As he touched her arm he flinched at how cold her skin was, her body was also trembling excessively.

“Yea….I’m ok….I’m ok…” She mumbled.

            The two of them slowly began to head for the office. Sharon’s face clung to Adam’s shoulder; her eyes were shut tightly refusing to look at any one of the horrors that filled the room. Adam however had managed to get over the initial shock and continued to look around at the bodies that were floating in the tubes. His eyes widened as he stopped in front of one tube labeled “C-Revision.” He placed his hands on the outer layer of glass. Whipping away the frost ridden dew away, once again he nearly fell to the ground. The abrupt movement of his shoulder from the second shock pushed Sharon away. Although she refused to open her eyes she remained away from Adam. He began to look frantically for some sort of control panel, or notice on what it was that he was looking at. Even though he knew what he was looking at the minute his eyes made contact with the tube. The Professor realizing neither of the two teens were behind him walked out of the office. As soon as he saw Adam his head began to shake.

“I’m sorry Adam…”

Adam’s head jolted back to the Professor. His right hand shaking uncontrollably.

“What the hell is this?! TELL ME WHAT THE HELL THIS IS!” Adam screamed.

“*Sigh*…are you sure the word what is appropriate in this situation?”

Adam’s right fist pounded onto the metallic power source for the tube. A loud clang rang out echoing off the walls that were hidden beneath the shadows.

“Damn it Mathew….This isn’t possible!”

“I’m afraid with Genesis’ technology and resources it is possible Adam…”

“But this isn’t right! THIS ISN’T RIGHT!” Adam screamed.

“No…it isn’t.”

“Why are they doing this? WHY COULDN’T THEY LET HIM REST?!” Adam continued to scream.

“It’s not him Adam…he died.” The Professor replied.

Adam turned away from the Professor and away from Sharon. He just stared at the strikingly familiar face that was sealed away in the tube. The young man’s long black and crimson hair floated softly in the liquid, his face remaining in a sleep like state.

“Nick…” Adam mumbled.

“It’s not Nick….it’s nothing more than his clone. Created from his unique DNA found on that battle site nearly 2 years ago.” The Professor mentioned. Adam turned around running up to the Professor in a fit of rage.    

“Why? Why make a clone of him? What’s the point? The Chimera project was destroyed….”

“It was…but Luscious got back the Chimera…he recovered it from the facility.” The Professor replied.

“He’s going to create another Chimera then?”

“No…there’s no point now. Both of the main factions of this world are already at one anothers throats. The Chimera has already served its purpose.

“What? That doesn’t make any sense, I destroyed it.”

“The true purpose of the Chimera Adam was not to defeat the enemies of the TA. Luscious is twisted; he is infatuated with his own ideals and aspirations. The Chimera forced the war between the EAP and the TA to become public knowledge to every living person on Earth. It also forced the TA to blame the EAP for the Chimera’s existence, they were too afraid of what would have happened if the people living in Alliance countries were to find out that it was them who created the monstrosity and in sequence were responsible for the deaths of their own people. He wants the Chimera now for his own body guard, a defender of his own Utopia. His left hand if you will.”
Adam sat there confused even more than usual.

“He thinks he’s a God?”

“He believes that he would be a better God for humanity then the current one. He is also trying to find his right hand to accompany his left.”

“His right hand?”

“The Dragon….you.”

Adam’s eyes widened in shock. The Dragon was built by his parents while the Chimera was built by Genesis. Essentially the two were equal in power, but the very idea of the Chimera was evil and sinned against nature.

“Me?”

“Yes you. He manipulated your parents into building the Dragon…and now he wants it back. He’s going to start coming to you, trying to get you to trust him and possibly even fight along side him.”          

“I’m not sure I follow….who exactly is he fight?”

“I’m afraid I myself do not understand what exactly it is he is trying to do, or what he is referring to as Utopia.” The Professor replied.

“Heh…he’s referring to “no where”. “ Adam replied.

The Professor smirked. “ I see, you’re aware of its original meaning.”

“Of course, it shouldn’t be that hard to decipher. I mean is it really possible to live in a place where everything is perfect?”

“No…not as long as humans are bound by original sin.” The Professor replied.

“I see….so since my brother was killed he decided to make a clone of him? Why? Why not just get another pilot?”

“There’s the tricky part, apparently during the time your brother was piloting the Chimera the two of them bounded making it impossible for any other human to pilot it.”

“I see…ok, that explains Nicks’ clone…now what about the other hundred or so tubes?”

The Professor sighed. He ignored Adam’s questioned only to walk back into the office. Adam glanced to Sharon who shrugged her shoulders and followed him into the office.

“Mathew?” Adam mumbled.

“I’m not sure….I’m not sure why he is having Genesis genetically engineer humans…but apparently the organization has been dabbling into God’s territory from the very beginning. Whether it being gene manipulation or DNA creation, Genesis has been trying to reach for the seemingly impossible to reach apple, they are dead set on eating from the apple Adam….I’m not sure why though.”

“If you don’t know why then why the hell did you bring me here in the first place? You’re just making me think about more questions!”

“I brought you here so that you could know the truth Adam. As much of it that I am aware of, it’s too late for me to go any further and it’s because of that reason that you need to find out exactly what Genesis is planning.”

“I see…. I’m not sure if I can do it.”

“You have too!” The Professor’s voice burst out, it was the loudest Adam had ever heard it before. Adam knew it meant a lot for the Professor so he agreed.

“One other thing…here.” The Professor mentioned as he tossed an envelope to Adam. As Adam opened it his eyes widened even more. He pulled out a paper with the text

“Project C-2, Pilot, Mike Aquilis” written.

“Mike? Is this some kind of joke? This thing says that Mike was the pilot of the second Chimera. But that would be impossible. He was murdered along with my other friends, Sean, Christina and Jen.”

“I’m afraid that’s not entirely true Adam…Sean, Christina and Jen were murdered because of what was said infront of you. Mike survived, he was only ruffed up and then was brought back here to finish training as the C-2. Adam, Genesis killed your friends.” The Professor replied.   

Adam couldn’t believe it, he slowly stumbled backwards tripping over a chair that was behind him. His body flung to the ground hard, Sharon then ran towards him in an effort to comfort him Just as she touched the back of his shoulder he jerked up and backed away from her. His vision became blurred and his head was throbbing.

“Get away from me! This is a joke…I know this isn’t real. I mean…come on, clones, deception, a business man with a highly religious moral? It doesn’t make any sense! If Genesis has been creating clones since the dawn of time they that means they’re probably flooding the world with them in order to further their influence….and if that’s the case….then how can I be sure? HOW CAN I BE SURE YOU TWO ARE REAL AND NOT CLONES?!” Adam screamed. He was losing his composure entirely, Sharon motioned to go after him but the Professor just held onto her shoulder.

“Adam…you have to trust me…at the very least trust my daughter…”The Professor said calmly.

“I…this…this isn’t happening….” Adam mumbled. He then collapsed to the ground, his hands dropped the sheets of paper. For the next few seconds Adam just sat there staring at his hands, his eyes then grew wider and his mouth gawked.

“I killed him….I killed my friend then…his blood……his blood.” Adam said underneath his breath. Tears slowly began to run down Sharon’s cheek, she couldn’t bare to see Adam in this condition. She ran away from her father’s grip and embraced Adam. Adam didn’t even acknowledge her for the first minute; he just rocked back in forth with his spirit broken. Sharon didn’t mind, she just continued to embrace him rubbing his back while telling him that it was going to be alright.

“I’m sorry you had to find all of this out like this Adam…but you need to be aware of Genesis’ true form.” The Professor replied.        

Adam snapped out of his trance and glanced at Mathew. As Mathew smiled back at him in the only way an old man could his eyes shot open. Blood spurt out from his chest abruptly; there was no sound, and no scream just an old man flinging through the air defying gravity as the essence of his life poured out. Adam then grabbed Sharon and sprinted towards The Professor. The bullets stopped oddly enough as soon as Adam and Sharon stood up.

“MATHEW!!!” Adam screamed while Sharon blurted out “FATHER!”

“WHAT THE HELL?! WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?!” Adam screamed out. He then turned around staring into the abyss of shadows lingering behind him and Sharon. Sharon remained clutched onto her dying father. Adam’s attention moved to the floor, now empty. The papers in regards to the 2nd Chimera were gone.

            “Good….looks like everything is going according to plan…”

“Luscious….isn’t this a bit much? I mean what if he finds out….”

“Severen shut up. Luscious knows exactly what he’s doing. And besides this is perfect, the little brat is now aware of the clones, and the Chimera. Its time to see if we were right about him…”

“Caleb? I don’t see why you have such faith in that boy…Adam?”

“Both of you stop you’re bickering. This is like chess; you need to know how to position your most important pieces before delivering the final requiem.” Luscious mumbled turning to a man that was tied heavily down to a chair. “Isn’t that right Mathew?....”