[Holder IX]
The Lab - Medical Bay
Several giant cauldrons bubbled silently over three campfires being meticulously taken care of by a smaller figure. Beneath a beanie, fuzz-like antennae emerged from atop their head occasionally twitching to the loud pop of burning wood.
Gurgle. Gurgle. Gurgle.
The figure walked near one of the brews, their face shrinking back from the smell and heat.
"Are you sure you know what you're doing Lukey? Cause... I swear if you end up making something worse than the corruption and skulk I might just go ballistic."
"It-" There was a pause, "it should be fine. I've experimented with it in the past, at most it grew flowers. Mhm, Newt enjoyed it so much he ended up keeping that batch."
Lukey leaned over the counter, several spyglasses-turned-microscopes aiming at a small dish filled with pulsating, whispering moss. It was the skulk, specifically the Flos strain he'd created long ago.
Newt had given it to him plus some notes from a Keeper that had done research on it. He mentioned that it might help with the memory issues his friend was having, but to be careful. Supposedly, the Keeper was talented enough to promote it's change- an evolution of sorts. They dubbed it the Lush.
Of course, Lukey read through all the notes, but he'd rather see it himself. So, he was making his own batch from scratch and he was on the final steps.
The notes specificized that for it to achieve its new memory-recalling capabilities, the Flos strain needed to be submerged in three brews: Soulcaller's potion, the Draught of the Ancients, and Tears of the Forgotten. While the book held the recipes for the first two, the latter only had vague descriptions- but pointed towards a combination of ghast tears, ender dew, and three drops of tears from a grieving soul.
Fortunately with Aimsey's help and expertise in the odd alchemy, they were both able to gather and get the concoctions sorted. He was particularly skeptical of the last recipe and was almost resistant to crafting it... but showed up this morning with a vial. Lukey took one look at it and something within him felt like it was breaking, he pulled himself away pointedly raising an eyebrow at his lab partner.
"Secrets, it's best you not know..." Aimsey went and started to prepare it without giving him a second look.
So now they were here, all concoctions ready to submerge the strain of skulk and see it evolve right before their eyes. Lukey took a deep breath and motioned for Aimsey to bring him the bottles of potion.
"Alright. Stage 1, step 1. Pouring the Soulcaller's potion onto Flos strain. Expected phenomena: louder whispers, a hum in the air, and potential for strain to connect with mind." The ethereal, turquoise liquid poured onto the moss. It's whispers grew louder... a subtle white noise hummed in the air, barely loud enough to hear. Two pairs of eyes watched the skulk turn a greenish tint, before a hand suddenly shot up as a signal.
"Stage 1, step 2. Pour in the Draught of the Ancients. Expected phenomena: growth by doubling in size, penetration of rocks, increased intelligence for survival- actively avoids poisons, mercury, and blaze powder."
Aimsey poured the draught on top of the dish, being careful not to over spill. The brew had the consistency and looks of marshy mud... it slopped onto the moss but quickly disappeared, as if dissolved, into the the darkening green moss. Not long after, Flos started to reach tendrils towards the edges of plate, each tendril growing thicker than the last. It started to bear the look of roots.
"Now!" Lukey's commanding tone cut through the air. Aimsey immediately squeezed out the Tears of the Forgotten from a pipette. Milky, luminescent liquid- three in total- fell onto the active sample. With each drop, the activity it exuded before ceasing until it lay still.
"Stage 1, step 3. Introduce the Tears of the Forgotten at the strains most active moment. Expected phenomena: visual change from deep blue to a vibrant green-"
"Check!"
"-tendency to gravitate towards the living-"
Aimsey carefully and cautiously brought a finger a decent distance away from the dish. The moss showed signs of movement, almost magnetic, towards the exposed finger. "Check!"
"And finally," Lukey sighed and wiped off the sweat on his forehead with his sleeve, walking forward to stand next to Aimsey. "The blooming of flora similar to that of the underground Lush biomes."
As if waiting for the signal, the mossy mound immediately blossomed small pink flowers and showed signs of small glowberries growing from within the mound. Small amounts of light could be seen seeping out, a bit dull, but it was definitely there.
The two scientists looked at each other with excited eyes. They had done it, created the Lush! Perhaps they could solve the issue created by the Snails and Corruption- the memory loss, the Burden, Badboyhalo...
"But... who do we test it on?" Aimsey's voice cut through the thought process Lukey was on. Their eyes never left his, as if confirming a doubt.
Lukey smirked, "Why not ourselves? Aren't we the perfect targets? A necromancer with sealed or memories forgotten. And an alchemist who became a lab rat for Project SNAIL."
Both their eyes turned back to the Lush on the table which stayed in the dish as if dead. But they knew it yearned for more. To become one with them. To give them everything they'd forgotten and more.
In Lukey's opinion it was a perfect weapon and tool against everything they were against. To Aimsey, it was a life as precious as theirs and just as dangerous as the things they opposed.
The Lush grew a flower as they deliberated about its fate and as it bloomed into a daisy, the whispers of a memory expunged itself as the petals opened.
"It was never about the Corruption- no, they wanted power. Godhood!" It was a femme voice, one that held a scholarly tone on the verge of a major discovery. "It seems... Alpha has played them all. Highkeepers, heroes- what a bastard. I need to leave!"
The message and memory continued to repeat itself, breaking through the silence within the Lab.
