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Phew, 5 chapters of PM and definitely more to come. This is probably one of the most important chapters of the series. Expect a lot to be unveiled; with not so many more answers I'm afraid. Without further adieu...

Now Running Data Cycle 2

Entry# 401279

Wait please...Accessing Data File...Access Complete

April 19-20, 2128

Wait Please...

As we were escaping, I couldn't help but wonder, 'Can I really do this?' I was being rewarded my freedom, our freedom, but for a high cost; I had to liberate every Project possible. Eve said there were only two more Edens, both of them somewhere on the European continent. Here's the catch, I had no fucking clue where to begin. If we were to make it out of there alive, we would be god-who-knows-where with no known contacts. And, since we were technically government property now, which government I had no fucking clue, they could use every trick at their disposal to reclaim us.

I couldn't let that happen. Not only for Eve, but for the rest of the people who, like me, can no longer return to their old lives on account of their mutations. Sure, they could live in happiness for a few years, maybe even a decade; but eventually their power would slip. They would be revealed, and dead in no time. I truly believe Eve understood this, which is why she asked me to unite the Projects. We...we would have to become our own society.

How that would work out, I couldn't tell. Even as I record this for you all, I'm unsure. Would any of you be willing to accept us? Could we really take that risk? For every problem we solved, a hundred and one new ones appeared before us.

Jesus Fucking Mary on the Cross, what did I get into here? *sigh* I guess that's irrelevant now, seeing as how what was done is done.

The moment we escaped, the moment we saw the sky once more...we were scared, and happy. Scared of what had happened, what was happening, and what was to be. For the first time in years for some of these people, only about a week for myself, we were people again. And...in the end...isn't that what we all really want?

Ending Entry# 401279

This was it, Derik only had five minutes to restore what little was left of his life. Both his heart rate and thoughts speeding up exponentially, he realized there was no time for delay, and no room for arguments.

Just as Pierce was about to ask him what the fuck was going on, the panther raced out of his open cell and screamed out into the containment room, "Anyone who wishes to leave this place, follow me! This isn't up for debate, just shut the fuck up and LET'S GOOOOO!!!!"

And so, in the words of the great Julius Caesar, the dogs of war were unleashed. Immediately, nearly a hundred confused, misplaced anthros of differing races spilled out of their cells, all looking as hard as they could through the dimly lit room for the exit. Not much to his surprise, most of the Projects were already on their way out by the time he had finished his speech.

SPLESH!!

Looking behind him, Derik saw half of Pierce's arm sticking through the head of a ferret donned in a security vest. The ferret's face was now caught on the German Shepherd's clenched fist, skull and brain matter spilling to the floor, the rest of the poor thing's skull now caving in around that inhumanly massive arm. Wishing so hard to simply vomit his guts out, the panther found himself oddly...alright.

Pierce pulled back his arm with another sickening -Pllloush! - wiped his arm off as best as he could, turned to face Derik and replied, "As you said, Dreamer, we're runnin' outa time!"

Nodding, Derik said not another word as the two of them began making their way towards the same doorway the other Projects were heading for. Deep down, however, he wanted to scream at the top of his lungs for things to just return to order.

In five minutes, no matter how this all played out, he would get his wish.

The cafeteria being the nearest room to their cell room, the Projects had congregated there in short order. The sirens finally quieting down, though the alarm lights luckily still flashed constantly throughout the facility, the fugitives had the first chance to speak amongst themselves.

The raccoon Derik recalled as Project Iron Maiden gained everyone's attention immediately and cried out with a voice as heavy as his code name, "We need to stay organized, that means no vying for power here. This is our first, and only, chance to escape this place, and I'm not about to let some arrogant, egotistical bastard fuck that over! Now that that's settled, who here knows how much time we have?"

Making his way over to the large group, Derik chimed in, "We now have roughly four minutes to escape. All the doors are unlocked and all security measures are disabled."

Nodding, Iron Maiden replied, "Right, seeing as you know the most about this situation, you're in charge."

Everyone now turning their attention towards the panther, a small grey mouse emerged, her green eyes brimming with tears of fear, and asked, "Wh...What about the Killswitch?"

"Permanently disabled. If we don't get out of here though, that really won't matter." The moment uproar of conversation arose over this fact, Derik screamed at the top of his lungs, "LISTEN TO ME!! Now...does anyone know the layout of the entire facility? I mean anything from hallways to air ducts."

In response, a snow leopard made himself known and replied, "I do."

"And you are?"

"Project Odysseus, my real name is Colt."

"Alright, Colt you're going to have to stay up front with me and Pierce. Next order of business, is anyone here disabled physically or mentally?" When no response came, the panther said, "Good, Colt, where do we go from here?"

The leopard taking his place on the left side of Derik he replied, "We're going to need to take the southern entrance, and from there turn left until we reach our first fork in the hallway."

"Right...we now have about three minutes, maybe less. Let's get going!!" That said, with Pierce, Colt and Derik in front, the Projects made their way towards freedom.

***

Sipping a small amount of red wine from her favorite glass, Trisha looked down at the still damp bikini bottom she had been wearing when Derik had fucked her senseless on the office table earlier before. A great smile appearing on her maw, the panthress said to herself, "For those long blissful minutes...you were a part of me, Derik Stone. I can only hope we will have the chance to do so again."

At that moment, like a hammer upon the glass window of her dreams, the lights in her personal quarters shut down and the large warning sirens blared throughout Eden. Frowning, she finished the rest of her wine, put the wine glass on the floor and muttered, "Derik, please survive. Live to see another day, I beg you."

***

Time was running out, and fast. Activating his neuro-HUD, Derik saw the time was 11:58:50, roughly a minute left. Shit.

Not even daring to look back to make sure the rest were following Colt, Pierce and he, the panther simply kept on running through the passageways until the snow leopard told him otherwise.

Behind him, Pierce suddenly yelled, "Odysseus, how much longer?!?"

Calm, almost frighteningly so, Colt replied, "One more left and we should be out of here." Just as he said that, the hallway forked into a left or right division, in which Derik sped up to maximum speed and made a quick left.

And found himself uncomfortably nestled in bear chest hair; the hairs' owner barely budging an inch from the impact. A tad disoriented, Derik pulled himself out of the piney, irritating bark-colored hair and looked up. Bruce.

In the times that the panther had seen Bruce, as well as his excursion with the massive bear just hours before, the guard had maintained a look and disposition of cruel smugness, an overload of superiority in fact. Now the bear was undeniably pissed. His eyes had gone bloodshot, his flesh-rending fangs easily visible from his growling muzzle.

Frantic, Derik began praying to nothing in specific that Bruce would let them escape, otherwise they would have to kill him. His prayer was answered

Uncharacteristically, the massive security guard turned around, began lumbering the same direction and roared, "Keep Moving!!" Not needing further instructions, the Projects began fleeing with increased haste. The moment Derik caught up with the bear; Bruce continued looking down the hallway as he said, "You'll make it, shitling."

Heaving heavily from the run, the panther asked while gulping for air, "Why...help us? I thought you...hated us?"

Chuckling so deeply the noise sounded more like a car bottom rusting out of place, Bruce replied, "I have my reasons. Now shut up and let's make it out of this hell hole."

Suddenly, Colt came up from behind and half-yelled, "We've got thirty seconds left! We'll never escape before we free all of the Projects!!" As the leopard said this, a blood red ladder became visible on the right side of the hallway, just feet away from them. Freedom!

The moment he, Bruce, Colt and Pierce reached the seemingly inconspicuous ladder, the panther checked his HUD once again. 11:59:59. Colt was right, it was impossible. But...Derik had promised Eve...there had to be some way to free all of them. Yet, before he could carry out another thought, the sirens went ghostly quiet, the ceiling lights returned in full force and the faint hum of machinery could be heard from inside the walls.

In but another moment, a massive, half-ton titanium wall came sliding down a barely visible pocket in the hallway roof directly in front of them. None of the other Projects would escape. It was...Over.

. The metal wall moaned furiously as something tried to deny its inevitable descent. That something was the five hundred pound bear that had helped oversee the detainment of the experiments.

Shocked, bordering on horrified, Derik ran to Bruce's side and yelled, "You'll never stop a wall of that force from coming down! If you don't let go now..."

"I'll fucking die, I know. I can buy you a minute, as most, to free them, so start hauling ass. Look, just start climbing the damn ladder, would ya? You'll come out at a small beach overseeing the Thames River, personally wouldn't recommend...going back to...London." After only seconds of holding the wall, the bear was having trouble.

The others wasted no time in setting to work. As peoples of all different races, origins and abilities began rushing towards the surface, Derik remained by Bruce's side. Confused, he asked, "Bruce...why are you doing this?"

A bone in his shoulder snapping so loud even he flinched, the bear replied, "Because I know what they plan on doing with you all. When...I first...started working here, I was told...you all would only...be documented, briefly...tested, and then released. After the first...months it became evident...they had no plans on letting...any of you go.

"Derik, Mitosis, Shitling...listen to me. You can't trust...any of them. Anyone associated with them...especially that woman you rutted with...before. Once you join them, the only...way out...is death."

"Bruce, thank..."

Growling, just in time for a bone in his upper back to snap so violently it began to protrude from the flesh and nudge at his blue security shirt, he howled, "Fucker! Mitosis, I don't need your fucking thanks. I'm not...one of those damn villains-gone-good, I'm just...me. I was hired as...a shepherd. True...I enjoyed the occasional beating...I unleashed, and...it was nice to be properly feared...by you all. The only...reason I do this...is because their orders...went beyond my job...description. Call it...the most badass resignation...you'll find around here."

By this time, everyone was past Bruce and either huddling against the left wall waiting for their turn to ascend or making their way to the surface. Bruce looked like absolute shit. The weight of the titanium wall had crushed so many bones in the bear's body; Derik wasn't sure how many more could actually snap.

And yet, amidst the unspeakable pain and pressure, he looked calm, resolute. He was a mortal Atlas holding the weight of the world so no one else would. Yes...Derik liked that description.

Another blood chilling snap echoed through the small passageway, and afterwards the massive bear, now hunched over at a meager five feet, uttered quietly, "Derik...another Eden...in Moscow."

Snapping immediately into concentration, the panther replied, "Moscow?!? How do you know?"

"Overheard...Ivanek and...someone talking about...progress of Projects...in Moscow. Also mentioned...Africa. Good luck, Project Mitosis." With a heavy sigh, followed by a quick metallic moan, the bear let go of the falling wall, whose sheer weight and force turned the massive oppressor into a massive puddle of blood, bones, organs and hair. And that was the end of Bruce.

****

Fuck. Ivanek knew what those sirens meant, as well as who was behind them. In the twenty years he had been working at Eden Alpha, the first and superior of the three Edens, the facility had never experienced a breakout; all thanks to Eve. With the master control to all of the facility's functions and equipment under his thumb, the good doctor could see any attempt before it bloomed into chaotic fruition.

So, he must have somehow lost Eve. Either she turned against him, or she was killed without his knowledge. The latter seemed nearly impossible, given the fact that he had her watched nearly every minute of the day by people wholly loyal to him and him alone.

The former sent a shiver down his spine. The old Russian doctor despised backstabbers; a fact that droopy tree bitch would find out soon enough. The moment the sirens stopped and the lighting returned to normal, the Komodo dragon stood up, secured his lab coat over his body and left his small, tidy office.

Bringing two of his most trusted guards with him, Ivanek made his way down to the garden, where he saw exactly what he had expected. The luscious grass, all synthetic, was now brittle, gray, and dying. The birds, mechanical, now lied motionless on the ground, their wings twitching every now-and-then as a faint spark passed through their systems. The massive willow tree, once vibrant and serene, now shed its mourning branches like the mythical leper* who loses limbs at the drop of a hat.

Underneath that pitiable weeping tree stood, though weakly, its smaller, more life-like counterpart, Eve. Her condition being equally as depressing as her massive model, the tree girl could barely open her eyes as she said, "Ivanek, what a surprise to see you here."

Chuckling, the good doctor replied, "And what a sssurprissse to sssee you like thisss, Eve. Sssurely you didn't think I wouldn't find out, did you?"

"I knew you would Ivanek, even a drunken idiot could put the pieces together; but, I couldn't let you torment my children any longer."

"You couldn't, or Derik Ssstone couldn't?"

Ah, right on the mark. Instantly, Eve slinked back against the dying willow tree and said, "I knew he could free them from the moment I sensed his arrival. And, I am glad to say, he disappointed me none whatsoever."

"It'sss no matter, I will sssimply activate their Killssswitch, ssstarting with hisss."

"Try it, I dare you, you bastard. You know, it's funny how simple it is to override a system based upon specific cellular markers when you overload it with millions upon millions of blank counterparts."

And just like that, Ivanek's smile disappeared. The one failsafe to keep the Projects in line was gone. His future was ruined.

Licking his muzzle worriedly, he asked, "Eve...do you underssstand what you have done? You...me...the Projectsss...we're finissshed."

"What, what do you mean?"

"He means that now that we have no absolute control over our subjects, our only method now is termination before our secrets get out."

The moment that voice hit the air, Ivanek shuddered. What was he doing here, and now of all times?!?

Turning around, Ivanek said, "Sssir, I-- A single shot, straight through the stomach.

The old-style revolver smoking heavily after the vicious shot, the man stepped forward, pushed the Komodo Dragon to the ground and said, "My dear friend, it's so sad things had to end like this, but you leave me no choice. I asked you to do one simple thing; secure the Projects. Instead, you start testing them OUTSIDE my parameters and let them escape.

"Oh and when exactly did you plan on telling me you reacquired Project Mitosis? You see Ivanek, when you lie to me, you lose my trust, and when I can no longer trust you, I have to remove you. Worse of all, when my own confidant loses my trust, I have to permanently dispose of you."

Thin rivulets of red blood streaming from both sides of his muzzle, Dr. Leo Ivanek wheezed, "Sssir, I...I thought you...would take interessst in...my findingsss."

Smiling, the man simply replied, "And so I may." Without hesitation, he drew the revolver up once more and fired three more shots into the Komodo, each piercing straight through his head.

At that moment, one of the man's bodyguards stepped forward and asked, "Sir, how shall we proceed?"

Looking at Eve momentarily, the mysterious man snickered, turned to leave and ordered, "Burn her and the Garden to the ground. Once I leave, I want all evidence of my involvement with Eden Alpha destroyed."

Their orders given, the first bodyguard and his partner called in two flamethrowers to be brought to the Garden immediately. By the time he was at the other end of the hallway, the man could hear the roaring propulsion of the flames and Eve's dying wails.

****

Everyone gathered upon the small hill to watch the sun rise. Pressing His left temple, Derik Stone saw that, according to the English time zone, it was now 5:25 A.M. The date was April 20th, 2128. Something deep within his conscience told him he would remember this sunrise for as long as he lived.

If there were otherworldly forces, A God or Gods perchance, they couldn't have made the dawn look any more majestic. Thin layers of cloud revealed just glimpses of the corona, the crown of this mighty beast, as the sun slowly rose to the heavens from behind a small range of hills on the horizon. And yet, those short sightings took the breath from nearly half of the large group.

As the minutes passed on, the reddish-orange gas ball in the sky climbed ever-onwards towards its aerial throne. The blackish color of night suddenly infused with the sun's radiant colors turned the sky a soft purple, turning more-so red when it was closer to the sun.

Looking at the others, the panther was brought to absolute shock. Out of the nearly one hundred Projects gathered upon that small hill, there wasn't a single person holding back tears. At first, his American snobbishness told him it was utterly ridiculous to cry at such a thing. It was merely a sunrise, they happened every single day, whether you can actually see it or not.

And then he felt his own cheeks, and found that they too were moistened with tears. He had only been abducted two weeks beforehand, and he reacted as such. Some of these people, he knew, had never seen the sun before in their lives; they had been born, raised and sometimes bred in that living hell in the ground. At least once in their lifetimes, these people could tell it was day not by the clocks or reminders, but by visible contrast.

So...this is what it feels like to truly know you're alive? Those bastards who climbed Mount Everest centuries ago had absolutely nothing on this. Sure they climbed the largest mountain, but for what purpose? Simply to achieve what hadn't been done before.

These brave people beside him, on the other hand, escaped from the Eden to become people once more. As far as the international government was concerned, they were all fugitives now. In his first days in the Eden, Derik had been informed by Ivanek that the organization he worked for, the company that "owned" the Projects, had men in every major country. Without a doubt, by the end of the week, information about their location would be requested throughout the world. Was it worth it?

The blazing dawn above them screamed the answer: Without a doubt! No matter what would come next, no matter what opposition they faced, no matter how their futures may turn out, giving these people the knowledge that they were free at last was worth it all; of that, Derik Stone had no qualms.

****

Memory 005 Complete

Wait Please...

*This does not imply that leprosy does not actually exist; it implies that the belief that lepers lose limbs like withering leaves is a myth.