Last Savior

Number Four stood there quietly as if he hadn't moved at all. But at some point, his previously shut eyes had opened wide, fixing Lucas with a bloodthirsty stare. There was nothing in that gaze except an animalistic warning: the moment Lucas made so much as a wrong move, Number Four would leap in for the kill.

Lucas clutched his aching chest and slowly got to his feet, glowering at Number Four.

"Kid… listen…" Old Gadget's voice was shaky now, as if he were running out of breath. "Compared to a normal mouse, I've lived over fifty years—way past my expiration date. Maybe, by providing my knowledge and personality to Number Four, I end up getting absorbed by him. But from another angle, it's like borrowing his body to keep living. Everything I've experienced will become part of his memory, and my personality will regenerate in his neural pathways, lying dormant in his brain. Maybe one day, when you're strong enough, you'll come back and separate the two of us again. Then you can find me a new body."

"Don't resent Number Four. He might have been created to be a killing machine, but that was never his own choice. I hope… that once he's absorbed everything from me, he'll figure out how to protect himself—avoid living out the same tragedy as Number Thirteen…" Old Gadget's voice grew weaker, a shadow passing over his face.

Lucas had to focus hard and listen carefully. He knew there was a good chance he would never see this old mouse again—the one who had loved hearing his stories and taught him so many things. Ever since Lucas got here, Old Gadget had given him so much… and asked nothing in return.

"Once I merge fully with Number Four," Gadget went on, "I'll leave this place right away. In Room #14, I left you a little parting gift—I'm pretty sure you'll like it. You can take that gift and look for Dr. Adam from Noah… He's the one who created me. Tell him… I miss him."

Lucas frowned. "You sure this Adam guy will agree to see me? I don't even have a proper ID right now. Won't I just get arrested the second I set foot outside?"

Sounding wiped out, Old Gadget replied, "You'll have to figure it out yourself… You've learned enough that you should be able to blend in by now… Though honestly, I can't guarantee anything. After all, I'm just a mouse who's been hanging around a cave for fifty years…"

Lucas forced a laugh and said, "Yeah, you've taught me so much… But if it meant you could stay longer… I'd rather not have learned anything at all."

"Time…" Gadget let out a faint chuckle. "My time is up. That's it, then. Once you get outside, make sure you fix your robot… She's special, and you might see some unexpected benefits. Goodbye, kid…" With that, Old Gadget closed his eyes.

Lucas stood there, numb, while Number Four's cold eyes slid open. He slowly pulled shut the skin flap across his chest, sealing Lucas away from the old rat forever.

Rising to his full height, Number Four shot Lucas a distinctly chilly look. Without a word, he made for the deeper recesses of the shelter.

Lucas suddenly jumped up, shouting, "Wait!"

Number Four stopped. His face showed no emotion, but the glint in his eyes was like a rattlesnake sizing up prey, as though he might lunge at any second.

Lucas instinctively backed up a step, then drew himself upright. "I know I don't stand a chance against you right now… But… I want you to stay alive, keep yourself safe, so you'll be here when we meet again!"

Number Four said nothing, but there was a flicker of confusion in his eyes. As a conscious entity newly exposed to the world, he couldn't process what Lucas meant.

Taking a deep breath, Lucas raised his voice. "Because your life isn't just your own now! You have my friend's life in you, too. Someday, when I'm capable, I'm coming to free him from your body!"

Number Four nodded slowly, but his eyes suddenly gleamed with lethal intention. Even if Lucas was too weak to threaten him now, that steadfast declaration struck him as dangerous. To this newly awakened mind, snuffing out every possible threat straight away was the smartest move.

Yet Lucas refused to look away. A trickle of cold sweat ran down his back, and his legs shook uncontrollably. Inside, he regretted those big heroic words—he couldn't just swallow them again, though, so he had no choice but to stand his ground.

At that moment, a muffled voice sounded once more from behind Number Four's abdomen. "Kid, you really need to dial back that attitude… If Number Four and I hadn't agreed on certain conditions, those words you just snapped out would've gotten you pulped into fertilizer by now… Anyway, this is really it. Take care of yourself…"

As Old Gadget finished, the murderous spark in Number Four's eyes faded. Without a backward glance, he turned and walked deeper into the shelter.

Lucas stayed frozen for a long time. Finally, he yelled with all his might into the empty shelter, "Old man… how could you just leave like that? I have so many more stories to tell you!"

"…tell you… you… you…" 

The echo of his voice bounced across the cold walls, and the tears he'd held back slipped down his cheeks.

Number Four was gone, taking that crotchety old rodent friend with him. Left behind were a stunned Lucas and Aurelia, still lying on the ground.

Who knew how much time passed before Aurelia suddenly stirred? Amid a flurry of whirrs and squeaks, she stood up. Naked, she stepped toward Lucas, studying him. "Why are you crying?"

Lucas gave a rueful half-smile, wiping his face with the back of his hand. "Plenty of reasons. But if I had to sum it up in one sentence… I'm just really sad."

Aurelia paused, softly replying, "Human emotions are complicated. I can't fully make sense of them…"

Lucas shook his head. "That's okay. I'm sure someday you'll understand."

Walking along the tunnel, hand pressed against his hurting ribs, Lucas muttered, "Damn old man, taking off with no instructions for how I'm supposed to find Dr. Adam… And ow, my ribs. Feels like they might be broken."

He pushed open the door labeled "Room 14" with a painful shove—and froze. The room was roughly the same size as the others, minus the two stone platforms, but in the center stood a gigantic cylindrical stasis capsule, thick enough that it would take four people linking arms to circle it. 

From the floor to the ceiling—and beyond—it rose up like a massive tree trunk. The entire chamber was filled with some kind of green fluid. Bubbles gurgled from the bottom and vanished at the top.

"Uh… Old man, did you think I was Superman? How am I supposed to lug this thing out of here?" Lucas muttered to himself, circling the stasis capsule. As he leaned in to examine it, he suddenly clenched his fists with a gasp. "What the… am I seeing things?"

Right in the middle of the cylinder, floating inside the green fluid, was a creature roughly the size of a fist. In contrast to the tank's vastness, that living form was tiny—each bubble from the bottom was even bigger than it. If you weren't peering in at just the right angle, you'd never notice it at all.

Lucas's excitement stemmed not just from spotting this creature but also because it looked so familiar, practically a miniature copy of another being he'd seen daily for the last month.

A little white mouse!

Identical to Old Gadget!

It drifted in the green liquid, bobbing along with each cluster of bubbles.

Lucas marched around the tank excitedly, arms flailing, then realized there wasn't a single button or panel he could use to open it. He turned to Aurelia. "Hey, Aurelia? Come check this out—any clue how we can open it?"