A Man Made Outbreak

"Don't freak out! If I wanted to harm you, I wouldn't have alerted you!" The undead quickly stated when the group entered an alarmed fighting stance.

"How in the dogs fart are you talking right now!" Robert asked with much alarm.

"You know, it's been bothering me this whole time. You don't curse do you?" Connor dropped his guard and turned to stare at Robert.

"Cursing makes me uncomfortable." Robert shifted uncomfortably.

"Damn." Connor replied as he turned his attention back to the undead. The undead stood, patiently waiting in his full doctor's suit.

"I truly mean no harm." He repeated.

"Okay." Connor fully lowered his guard and stood staring blankly at the undead, Ivory doing the same.

"Uh... the reason why I came up to you was because of, well, you. How are you so friendly with this undead girl?" The undead pointed between Connor and Ivory.

"Her name is Ivory." Connor replied.

"Ah, of course, excuse my rudeness. I am Brian, a man made Lich." Brian greeted.

"Liches are skeletons." Connor responded with a dismissal tone.

"Right, but I am man made. And no ordinary Lich. The full name given to me was 'Supreme Arch Lich'. Though I started as an ordinary doctor." Brian explained.

"Yeah, experimenting on kids!" Mina heatedly joined the conversation.

"Oh, heavens no! I was a normal scrappy skinned undead up until a few decades ago! As a matter of fact, I do believe I was a doctor during the outbreaks. I only remember gaining back my sentience thirty years ago. A massive amount of undead were present in this very building.

I only remember bits and pieces of information regarding the atrocities conducted on the upper and lower floors. I was a minor project of the mid level floors. The upper and lower floors were much more important." Brian corrected.

"So you remember life before the outbreaks?" Robert inquired curiously.

"Oh yes indeed. I was almost seventy by that time, in fact, I remember time before the Phenomena. But I digress. You've come here, for information on the experimenting, correct?" Brian asked the group.

"Yes. I was in the orphanage that fronted this organization." Connor stepped forward.

"Ah, yes. You must have been one of the lucky ones chosen to leave this place then. When word came down about authorities conducting a search, many children, part way through experimentations, got pulled at random. I've been researching their works for the past eight years. When that black lizard broke the barriers and unleashed hell in this building.

It was actually mere days after they pulled you children, when this building fell to chaos. Tell me, what is your name?" Brian asked.

"Connor W. Michael." Connor answered. Brian's eyes widened.

"'W.' you say? You must have been very important then, the children with a middle initial were very hush hush. 'The Basement Experiments' is what they were called. Alas, very few could get into the basement, and most of the only one within the building at the time, was most likely on the top floor. I'm terribly sorry for being unhelpful." Brian apologized.

"No need. Where's the basement entrance?" Connor asked.

"Oh, right over here. Down these stairs." Brian walked over to the right and pointed at a staircase. Connor shrugged and headed for the stairs.

"The door was built to withstand even the strongest of attacks, the walls behind the concrete are of the same metal." Brian explained as Connor headed down.

"Its all good." Connor answered. Mina and Robert sighed in unity.

"Is he always like this?" Brian asked the two.

"Yes." They both said unanimously. Connor stood before a deep blue metal circular door.

"Gate metal. This is quality stuff. Found only in gates ranked B and up. It can be harvested with super high grade magic. There must have been experimenting way before the outbreaks. If this facility was only used for experimenting after the outbreaks, this wouldn't be here." Connor muttered to himself. At the side was a scanner, it looked like it was still operating.

'No way...'

Connor pulled the badge he took from his pocket and placed it against the screen. A beep sounded and the door slid back two feet and then rolled to the side.

[Interest Gained from a luck goddess.]

'Now one shows interest. I was beginning to wonder if I was the god of luck.'

"Your luck is uncannily good." Robert shook his head as they all entered. The door shut right behind them and locked. What spread before them was rows of dusty 7 foot test tubes. 5 rows of 5, except on the last row, a 6th tube was present. Brian went around the cabinets and pulled holofiles out and began to read them in earnest.

The others began to roam around the tubes. They were awfully dusty and dark. But, Connor could hear a faint mechanical whirring noise. Meaning the tubes were still in operation.

"Found it!" Robert announced as he flicked some switches. The Lights under the tubes turned on, and the overhead went from dim to bright. Connor blinked and turned to look back at the tube he was next to. A faint shadow could be seen floating inside.

Connor wiped the dust away and peered inside. A foot was clearly seen. He began to wipe higher until the full body of a small child was revealed, he was connected to all sorts of tubes and wires. Connor looked around and found a screen and wiped it off too. A medical monitor showed a steady heartbeat.

"By gods..." Connor said as he stepped back. Connor looked at the monitor again and read; 'Gregory .J. Fendle'. Connor went down the row, discovering each one had a living child inside. The initial went perfectly through the alphabet.

"What even is this?" Connor leaned against another tube as he stared at a young girl. Her name was Alexandra .N. Graystone.

"Whoa, this is intense... wait... They're still alive!" Robert started out thinking they were dead, but then saw the monitors.

"Indeed! From what I've read so far, upto N, Alexandra here, was being used to conduct research on the effect and use of liquefied magic crystals... as a replacement for blood. From what the results are, it seems it worked, quote; '..but it has caused a crystallization within her body. Though it remains a fact that theoretically, she could move unhindered. Further studies will be conducted at a later date...', end quote." Brian explained.

"Magic crystals, liquefied and used as blood? How did they liquefy crystal?" Robert asked.

"A use of Dragons blood. Not a high ranking one of course. Just a lowly red dragon." Brian pointed.

"Connor! You're gonna want to see this!" Mina called out. Brian, Robert and Connor headed towards Mina in the last row. She was standing in front of the only empty tube. She was pointing at the monitor, which read; 'Connor .W. Michael'.