Chapter Text
Plunkett squinted as his eyes scanned through the titles and outline. Nothing new, just like any ordinary scientific report. Well, sort of.
PROJECT ██████
huh, weird.
OBJECTIVE: making use of the regenerative effect of various fungi spieces and alkaloids to resurrect creatures via biochemical reaction.
Head researcher: dr. Lexington Morris dr. Thomas Morose, Philip Maude (assistant, tester)
Subject: Warren D█████
Note: the subject volunteered to be part of the project. Researcher Morris discovered the spieces of mold that is compatible for the body heat of mammals, and was later on used to create subject 143 (Warren)
Holy shit
Howard grimaced, instinctively hunching his shoulders as if he could hide from Mycelium. Or should he call him Warren? Would he get mad? Who is Morris, and why was he removed from the project so suddenly?
Looking up, the dark haired man found himself struggling to start a conversation. To select his words carefully so that he wouldn't offend the delirious figure before him.
Mycelium, on the other hand, was busy talking to the emptiness in front of him. Absolutely sane!, he reassured himself, he knew what Howard was up to, Philip had mentioned the lad before with that sugary sweet, dreamy tone, he shuddered. That cat, Knowhere, did too.
And so did Nox.
"Subject 143 was exposed to various mixtures of fungi...and later on became infested..." Howard mumbled as he grazed the report, his mind drifted to those books he'd read in the span of eight years. Of course he's still a tiny bit petty, so he did what he does best: study. Books to books, documents to documents...in hope that if he's ever gets recruited, he can finally reunite with his dear friend, to say that he didn't mean what he said in a fit of anger.
So they can be by each other's side once more...
Subject 143 was a success, being reportedly put itself back together after being flayed alive. Researcher Maude recorded signs of trauma from the subject. On the other hand, it expressed extreme compatibility with members of cordyceps and a few mushrooms spieces.
Dr. Morris reported the subject breaching containment and absorbed the failed subject ████ into its body. The results were surprising - the previously deceased creature was brought back in a "shadowed" state, as observed after we introduced some hallucinatic spieces to Mycelium's body.
This is a total breakthrough in the field of medicine. With subject 143, we can process to inspect and harness its ability to heal and resurrect.
I can finally resurrect you, Samantha.
Plunkett shivered, he could never fathom the feeling of watching his body being hollowed out surgically, then having those writhing organs crawl back into his torso. Mycelium survived it. He thought. The guy probably wished he had died right there.
The image of mycelium strands stuck to his mind. To have the very thing that destroyed you rip the relief of death from your hands... tragedy, indeed. And worse, to be infested with mind-controlling fungus, your body nothing more than nourishment and breeding ground for a parasite. Howard shivered at the thought of brightly coloured stalks breaching his skull.
The rest of the document was stained with questionable brown-ish substances that he would absolutely get into trouble if questioned, and Philip's own panicked scribbles. He's sure of it, he recognized it.
Philip Maude's personal log:
I did it. I intentionally left the ventilation system unattended. Warren escaped, bringing a failed subject along. They must have known each other. It was horrific seeing a presumably "whole" person fall apart chunks by chunks and slithered right through the vents.
I hope he find peace in his failing mind. He offered to take me along, what does tha-
The last few pages were abruptly ripped out by force, as if somebody had done it in a state of fury.
"Oh, Philip..." Howard sighed, his fingers carefully brushing the jagged rip of the paper. "What happened to you after this? Are you safe? Are you..." He jolted as the folder was yanked out of his hands.
"Oh no no no no, Plunkett no!"
Mycelium held it in his calloused fingers, and Howard watched with wide eyes as black mold engulfed the document within seconds. "You aren't supposed to read that, it's rude! So, so rude!" He pouted and stomped, seemingly putting on an exaggerated act.
"Mycelium, please! It's my only clue of Philip after all these years!"
The brown-hatted man yelled and reached out, trying to retrieve the document. Or what's left of it. His voice grew frantic and shaky, as the last bits of whatever's left was consumed by rot.
"P-please..."
Mycelium abruptly stopped, his arms slung to his sides as he loomed over Plunkett. His smile dropped, the look on his face shifting drastically within seconds.
"I know your pain, Howard. You lost someone dear to you." He looked up and met the white haired man's eyes. They were downcasted, he can see the melancholy bleeding through them. Grief. He could name it. And oh so, so sane... As if the poor man had mustered up all what's left of his decaying mind for one moment. "That I did, too."
"This is the only thing left of me, of him, of us." He paused, letting the silence stretch. "I have much knowledge to give, of The Doctor, of Maude, as long as you don't overstep my boundaries."
"Now wipe your eyes, and sit aside. We have all the time in the world."
"Ri...right." Howard sniffled, wiping the moisture from his eyes. He didn't expect tears at that moment, but they fell anyway. So childish. So immature. He hated it.
The white haired man only watched, staring straight into the other's eyes. "Any questions?" He broke the silence. The faint moonlight lit up the decayed side of his face, highlighting each writhing veins underneath.
"I will give you answers, before I fall into manic once more." Mycelium chuckled, an attempt to alleviate the situation. Which did nothing if not made it worse.
"Go on, Plunkett, don't be shy."