Exiting the Chief’s security room, you continue your way to reach what seems to be more of the server room, with one key difference.
‘Wow…’ you think with awe.
Green crystals…everywhere! On the floor, on the walls, even the ceiling! Every single one of them extends from the black goo. You can’t but gaze at the crystals in wonder…how do these crystals work? You have seen one from that device the Chief wolf was using. Do they grow them using black latex?
You look down to see the very black goo you are stepping on, pondering about the strange properties it has. Every creature you have met is made with this…latex.
You lift your foot, taking note of how it seems to stick to your foot before snapping back to the floor. You note how it does seem to function something akin to latex. It’s an…odd name to give it but it somehow feels right. Way better than just referring to these things as ‘goo’.
Latex or not…whatever this thing or these creatures are called doesn’t matter, what matters is getting your answers and getting out of this building alive.
With newfound vigour, you press on. Along the way, you notice some oddly placed cones by a vent near one of the servers. Suddenly, thuds can be heard as something crawls closer and closer to the vent. White goo then starts pouring through it as a figure begins to form. It’s a white pup!
The pup immediately sees you and barks in excitement. But as soon as it takes the first step, the cones shoot out spikes towards the pup, warding it away. The pup yelps in fright and retreats back into the vent.
‘Yeah…no thanks…’
You decide to stay clear of cones from now on.
Reaching yet another room, you find more servers and more crystals than before with the room coated in black goo as well.
‘All of the rooms so far are coated in that black latex goo, am I in another wolves’ nest?’ you wonder.
Suddenly, an object lands on the back of your head startling you as you tumble to the ground in shock.
“AHH!”
You feel something long and slimy gently wrap around your neck as a familiar white mask peer down at you at an upside-down angle. It is a black latex beast! However, this one appears to be a bit bigger than a latex pup with a very long tail wrapping around your neck and a tiny set of wings sprouting its back, a small dragon perhaps?
The small dragon gives your face a lick before bellowing a tiny roar as it jumps off and bolts towards an open box, flipping it upside down to hide under it, leaving you unharmed.
‘Ok…that just happened.’
Bewildered by the sudden ambush you pick yourself up, take a breather to calm your racing heart, and step forward… only for the box to move towards you.
You immediately step back only to see that the dragon in the box moves back as well. Curious about this, you decide to experiment by moving around and discover that the dragon in the box moves in a reflection of your actions.
Using this you manage to get past the box without getting too close to it.
‘Why was he doing that?’ you wonder.
You then hear a high-pitch roar and turn to see another small dragon peeking out of its box to wave at you before quickly going back into its box with the others.
‘Guess they just want to play a game.’
With the situation figured out, you go on to accept their challenge.
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At long last! You had been eager to meet this human when he came into your pack’s nest. That dragon from earlier came and told everyone in the nest of his impending arrival, so everyone went to prepare their games for him. You are too excited about this and wait by the door, eager to meet him.
When the human finally enters the room, your eagerness gets the better of you and you jump onto the human’s head as he tumbles to the ground. The look on the human’s face is hilarious, he’s so surprised when you latch onto his head! You roar in excitement and give him a lick on his nose before running into your box to start the game. This will be so much fun!
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After careful planning and a few ‘resets’ of the puzzles, you manage to solve and beat the latex dragons’ game. The small latex dragons all look at you with sad expressions, upset that their game has ended. You give the latex dragons a smile and a nod before leaving the room. Inside though, your heart is breaking at the act of leaving all those hopeful dragons without someone new to play with.
The next room contains four small white latex pups. Three of them notice your arrival while the fourth one is oblivious. The pup nearby grunts with annoyance and whacks him with its paw and then points at you with its paw, alerting him of your presence.
You can't help but feel suspicious about these white pups. Are they supposed to be here? Something tells you that you should get out of here. Quickly, you rush back through the door and see the white pups giving chase. Out of the corner of your eye, you spot the oblivious pup slipping and comically face-planting into the slippery floor. You would have found it funny if you weren’t running for your life.
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Slumping in the comfort of your box, you became sad about the fact that the human has won the game so soon! Why couldn’t you get to play more with him? It’s just not fair!
But to your amazement, the human came back! Did he come back to play another game? You run around him in excitement. He looks very panicky though…
Suddenly, four white latex pups came after, chasing after the human. The white latex! You and your pack always disliked your white counterparts. They don’t like to play games like your kind does! No fun at all!
You block the ‘leader’ of the pack as he tries to reach the human. You and three other latex dragons surround the latex pups, boxing them in. The white latex pack is not too happy about this and shoves you and your friends back. In response, you call for backup.
With a roar, all the dragons in the boxes come to surround the white latex pack and to show you mean business, you call in the dragons hiding in the servers as well. They join the outside of the circle, looming over the white latex pack.
The white pups, terrified of the sudden increase in numbers, huddle together and cower in fear. You then feel something scratching behind your ear, it’s the human! Petting you in thanks for saving him.
He asks you not to hurt the pups, to which you nod in understanding. You and your pack friends are not that cruel at all. Finally, you watch the human leave the room, hoping to see him another day.
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You are relieved that the latex dragons came to save your life, though you do hope they don’t hurt those white latex pups too badly, something about their terrified expressions struck you on a deep level.
Entering the next room, you find an empty pillow along with a box of crayons and a few pages scattered everywhere. You then see a white drawing board with a few drawings.
The first drawing seems to be a lone wolf separated from a group of other wolves. The lone wolf barks and tries to communicate with them but it seems to fail according to the big ‘X’ next to it. The group of wolves then leave the lone wolf behind. The lone wolf has a sad look with ears drooping.
The lone wolf then tries to reach out to the wolf, but it barks angrily at him with the words:
“No touch!”
The next picture shows the lone wolf in front of what seems to be a giant dragon. The dragon is presenting the lone wolf with a crystal. The dragon in the drawing says.
“You can talk now...like human. Your name is now Puro.”
The lone wolf seems cheerful as if he is thankful for the gift. The next picture seems to be the lone wolf presumably named ‘Puro’ talking to another wolf that seems somewhat uncomfortable, still keeping its distance from him.
The next drawing shows the wolf, curled up in a ball crying.
The next picture shows the wolf talking to the large dragon who has a question mark above him. The wolf seems to be talking about…a human, judging from the stick figure in the speech bubble with a question mark next to it.
The large dragon responds by saying:
“Learn humans. In the library.”
The last drawings show the wolf hugging a book with a heart over it and another picture of the wolf travelling to a door with the word ‘library’ over it.
“No one accepted him, so he left to live on his own…” you murmur sadly to yourself.
With your mind wrapped around that heartbreaking story, you leave the room wondering what he’s doing now.
A black latex wolf in the library suddenly sneezes away from his book (Aha! The book ruination was averted!… this time).
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The next room contains numerous amount of crystals and a few black latex dragons that can fly. They all take notice of your arrival, and twirl in the air with excitement. One dragon barks to grab your attention as it waves at you with its paw.
You don’t understand why it’s waving at you until it holds up a screwdriver and mimes using it on the ceiling… Ah! That one.
Chances are, that’s the same dragon you met before in the computer lab. He must have spotted you back then and told everyone about you. Of course! So that's why the dragons here all know you’re coming. At least they aren’t just pouncing on you like those silly yet terrifying white latex…
‘Well…technically at least.’ You think, remembering the mischievous dragon.
Waving back in response you take a step forward but end up sliding across the slippery floor instead. All the dragons move a bit. Curious about this, you take a step, and they all move in response.
You make a hypothesis that the dragon’s goal is to catch you but only by moving whenever you take a step. Testing this you step away from them, and they all move towards you. You try sliding across the slippery floor, and they all move a bit as if you had only taken one step.
‘So, I can slide across slippery parts of the room to gain distance from them.’
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You look around the room with this new information, smiling as the path becomes clear.
‘Let’s do this.’
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One game and a sore behind later, you reflect that maybe you shouldn’t have assumed slippery floors meant easy-to-cross-without-falling floors. The next room is filled with far more of the latex dragons than before, already in their starting positions.
Trying to find the right path for this game you realize there isn’t an easy answer this time. Whenever you think you have it, another dragon waves and you realize that spot is covered.
Truthfully, you don’t feel confident about this game, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to give up already! The black dragons have only ever given you games you could win, so why would this change now? Taking a deep breath, you decide to give it your all.
Keeping track of so many dragons at once is difficult. The safe route constantly shifts every time they move, so even as you go you’re forced to stop and plan out every new step. And then everything goes wrong.
Sliding across the glassy floor, you hear a quiet squish sound behind you. There…surely there isn't a dragon behind already is there?
You turn just as it reaches out to touch you, and that’s enough to set your brain into panic mode.
Jumping in fright, you accidentally step on a blob and feel it give into your foot for a moment, before suddenly you’re flying through the air with a scream. Moments later the floor crashes into you with the sensation of goo splattering everywhere. Dazed, you remain still while you try to recover from the sudden launch.
While recovering you feel something poke your cheek as you raise your head to see a young dragon, worried for your wellbeing.
“What…happened?” you cough.
The dragon points towards a blob of goo. You give it a sceptical look, unsure of what they are trying to say. One of the dragons then walks towards the blob and jumps on it, propelling them into the air! The dragon does a front flip and lands in front of you with confidence. It’s a bounce pad!
Suddenly, one of the young dragons squeaks to grab the others' attention. Soon after, all the dragons look at each other and then collectively nod as if they are all in agreement with something. One dragon helps you up as you watch to see what the others are doing.
One of the adult dragons is carrying an even larger bounce pad while another pair pulls an absurdly large bean bag cushion into place near it. The dragon that helped you up, nudges you towards the bounce pad in an inviting gesture.
Nervous, you try to decline but are met with pleading eyes from the young dragons as they crowd you, begging you to give it a chance. Unable to withstand the pleading eyes, you reluctantly agree. One of the adult dragons then runs and jumps onto the bounce pad, performing a front flip and landing easily on the cushion.
A young dragon goes next, launching itself onto the bounce pad as it twirls with its wings unfolded and glides onto the cushion. You are up next. Uncertain, you look to the dragon to your left who nods in encouragement.
Starting small, you jump onto the bounce pad and launch yourself towards the cushion to get a better feel for it before performing any tricks. Landing on the bean cushion, you find to your relief that it catches you better than you expected.
Getting up, you see another dragon launch itself into the air, performing an onslaught of aerobatics and landing onto the cushion without breaking a sweat. The dragons that took their turn motioned you to join them for another jump onto the bounce pad.
Taking a quick moment to consider this, you notice how much fun the dragons are having with the bounce pad. Not only that, but they are also so welcoming and friendly towards you despite you not being one of them. Why should you decline such an invitation? With a smile and a nod, you follow close behind the dragons as you eagerly wait for your next turn.
What follows is a fun game of seeing who can perform the best tricks and aerobatics while landing on the cushion safely. For every jump you make, you feel braver and braver as you perform more daring tricks as the dragons cheer you on. One of the young dragons decided it didn’t have to wait for its turn and landed directly on your stomach, knocking the wind out of you. You playfully glare at the mischievous dragon while it smiles innocently.
“You’re very lucky you’re that small and cute…”
“Roar!” The little dragon agrees.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end as you and the young dragons eventually tire out from all the excitement as you all rest on the cushion, taking a moment to catch your breath. One annoyingly familiar young dragon even rests on your chest as you get comfortable. You pay attention to the feel of its scales and notice that they don't feel like scales at all…more like smooth, warm approximations of them. Eventually, you get up from the dragon-piled cushion. Their masks all turn to you.
“Thank you…this was…amazing!”
The dragons gently growl in response as they all proceed to doze off on the large cushion. You carefully navigate your way through the leftover maze until you reach the exit, then pause to consider what just happened...
It strikes you as odd. Not long ago you were waking up from a cryopod and running away from latex, and now they’d turned that into something fun.
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Opening the next room, find yourself in a large office filled with desks and their dragon occupants. Looking to your right, you see a series of floor-to-ceiling windows with sunbeams streaming through.
“Bark!”
You turn to find four young black pups running towards you and freeze. All of them then quickly hide behind your legs and then nudge each other to stare up as they come to the realization they’re hiding behind a human. Suddenly an adult dragon runs from around the corner and the pups huddle closer into your legs, apparently deciding that you’ll serve as protection from the big scary dragon.
The dragon pants in fatigue before widening its solid white pupils when it finally sees you. Quickly trying to cover up its fatigue, the dragon brushes itself off as if it weren’t just chasing four pups around an office and losing to them.
You are still confused when the dragon offers you a handshake that you dazedly accept but as soon as you do that, the pups immediately run and scatter around the office. The dragon notices and growls in frustration before slumping its wings in defeat.
Looking back up at you, the dragon motions you to follow before marching off into the office. You fall in behind him, not really knowing what else to do. Looking around, you notice the strange crystal computers all the dragons are using.
There’s no mouse and keyboard, just two crystal handrests that they hold in each paw. The displays are holographic projections and the physical part is a strange lattice-work of various alien materials. The text on some of the screens is equally indecipherable.
The strange mix of the familiar office setting and alien detail makes you feel like the world itself is slanted just so slightly while everyone pretends it doesn’t exist.
A pup runs past the dragon, and he growls in annoyance. Stopping beside a large window, the dragon points downwards, gesturing you to wait here as he flies off to chase the elusive pups with the help of a few freshly enlisted office worker dragons.
Deciding to take a breather, you look through a window. Outside, you see a multitude of large geodesic domes nestled into the main facility’s buildings. You also spot what seems to be the building’s logo…
‘Exiome Labs?’
You can’t remember anything about this place, but notice a city skyline in the distance. Taking a deep breath, you close your eyes and just… enjoy the feeling of sunlight. You stay like this for a while as a black shadow-
*THUNK*
You yelp and jump back in fright. A gooey splattered crow smears the outside of the window in front of you. Slowly, almost reluctantly, it slides its way down the window and out of sight.
As if on cue, the dragon bashfully returns. You look behind him to see three other dragons trying and failing to catch the pups. The dragon gets your attention again, marches forward with a growl, and gestures for you to follow.
Out of respect for the dragon, you ignore the loud crashing sounds behind you as you reach the end of the office.
The dragon opens the door and motions you to go in. You nod your thanks to him and enter, only to be stopped by the sight in front of you.
It’s a giant black dragon, except his mask has a pair of horn-like spikes growing out the back of it. Unlike the others, this dragon has a white chest and massive green-webbed wings. The dragon seems to be sitting in a meditative posture within a semi-circle of glowing green crystals.
Some sort of elder dragon? You feel very nervous but the dragon guide places a paw on your shoulder in an assuring gesture. It helps, just not enough to face a dragon elder three times your height.
Either way, you step closer and closer to the elder dragon even as your sense of dread grows stronger and stronger. You stop in front of the dragon, legs shaking, unsure of what to do. The crystals dim. The elder dragon’s emerald eyes open. You feel the dread melt away…replaced by a sense of awe. The eyes…feel as though they contain endless depths of intelligence and wisdom.
The dragon smiles warmly as he sees you. Then, a powerful voice rings throughout the throne room.
“Colin. It has been long…”
Colin…? Wait…that’s your name! You completely forgot your name! But how did…why…
“But…how do you know my name?”
The dragon’s smile fades away, finding your response puzzling.
“But I have known your name for a long time, what happened to you? Where were you? You disappeared during the attack, we assumed the worst had happened.”
“Attack? But I don’t remember any attack…what happened?”
The elder leans back as he hums in response.
“Colin…do you remember nothing at all?”
“No I… was frozen…”
“In a stasis pod, I assume?”
“Yeah…but I don’t understand! I have so many questions! How do you know about my name? Where am I? What do you mean about an attack? Where is-“
The elder raises his hand in a halting gesture, stopping you from pressing on.
“Colin…”
The elder leans forward.
“I understand that you have so many questions…but there is only so much I can answer for you. If you truly want these answers, you must remember what you have forgotten.”
“But how?”
“I have…conducted tests on the amnesia of cryosleep, and believe I know enough now to cure a human of it. The process is not entirely certain but it will give you the answers you seek.”
A chance to regain your memories? Of course you’ll take it!
“Yes! Please! I need to know! So much of my life feels like it’s just… missing! I don’t want to go on like this!”
The elder dragon smiles as he places his hands together, his eyes and the crystals glowing intensely. When his hands move away, they reveal a shard of a green crystal.
“A wise decision Colin. All I need you to do is touch the crystal, and we may begin.”
You feel slightly nervous about the crystal but you need all of the help you can get. If these dragons have these strange powerful crystals, then they may be your only chance to get your memories back. Reaching out you grab the crystal as your whole body buzzes upon contact. You feel the world around you fade away as you begin to fall, the elder catching you before you hit the ground.
“Why…”
“Don’t worry Colin…you are in safe hands.”
That was the last thing you hear before your world fades to black.
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The elder sighs as he feels Colin fall unconscious in his hand. This is concerning…has Colin truly lost all of his memories? Very possible, he didn’t even recognize him. This is more serious than he thought, at least the young dragons made him more approachable for Colin in the long run.
Gently bringing Colin closer, the elder brings his empty hand on top of Colin and closes his eyes, concentrating as the crystal he gave Colin glows in response. The elder’s vision shimmers as he takes in the sights before him…Colin’s memories…
Sifting through the memories, the elder first investigate the events that lead up to Colin’s stasis…what he finds…
“Oh no…”
Pain…so much pain…the things Colin witnessed… what they did… what their species did as a whole…if he were to remember it all…
“No…I cannot…”
It would be too much for Colin to bear…he is not ready, not yet. He needs to start again with a clean slate, so he can see everything that Changed. But the elder doesn’t want Colin to lose his memories forever, it’s not right.
Using the crystal’s power, he reaches out to the recess of Colin’s mind and manipulates his memories to start reforming but slowly. Colin will be given a chance to learn and understand the others by the time his memories return.
“Let’s see what happened after the stasis.”
Sifting through Colin’s memories again, the elder listens to Colin’s thoughts…his confusion as he takes in his surroundings, his encounter with a latex puddle, the wolf and a cat. A sense of betrayal when he learned about the cat’s true identity.
“Even without his memories, he still cares for creatures.”
He goes further, seeing how his luck defies the odds of eluding the wolves, reaching into the Chief wolf’s office. Seeing him eavesdrop in the conversation with the Chief and-
“HAHAHA! Classic Dr. ‘Killjoy’”
Something about how the doctor and the wolves are busy searching for the human when the human was actually right behind them the whole time seems so amusing.
Oh well…he returns to the playback of Colin’s memories. Speaking of which…
“Hmm?”
That’s odd. Colin discovered a whiteboard in his travels. They seem to be from…
“Puro?”
Ah yes, he remembers the poor wolf. The elder feels pity for Puro, having isolated himself away from his kin, doomed to be alone forever in the library…but now that Colin is here…
“Yes, this is perfect!”
Rising up from his meditation, the elder carries Colin in his arms towards the entrance of the library. Moving through the door, the elder sets him by the grass underneath the tree and creates a note for him, can’t leave him in the dark after all. But before he departs, there is one more thing he must do.
The elder heard reports from the dragons and the young wolf cubs that they are unable to communicate with Colin via telepathy. This simply will not do. If Colin is going to meet the others of his kind, then he must at least have a clear means of communication with them. Gently, the elder opens Colin’s mouth to allow a drop of black latex to fall in and then closes it.
This, the elder felt, was the start of something new…
This was the start…
…of Colin’s awakening.