(Well, this place is a thing...)
Currently, I was walking through what looked like a gallery filled with hundreds upon hundreds of cages made of glowing energy, each being a different size and shape. The contents of these cages were sometimes simple, being just a container for whatever creature was inside. However, there were also cages that were truly massive and filled with entire biomes and ecosystems.
How had things progressed to this point you may be asking? Simple, after we had walked into the building in question, we had immediately been approached by what appeared to be some kind of eldritch-looking tentacle monster in a lab coat. I couldn't understand a word it was saying mind you, it was speaking in some kind of creepy language that made my head hurt just to listen to.
Thankfully, however, the mentors seemed to be able to understand, so we were quickly let in. Afterwards, the creature sent a link to our systems that allowed us to access the breeder's store page, so to speak. We were then brought here.
Honestly, I wasn't really paying attention to what everyone else was saying or doing right now. Even the memory of being attacked at the arcade had all but sunk to the back of my mind. Why? Because right now I was in full biologist mode. I was taking notes and pictures using my system apps, mumbling to myself as I looked into various cages. I was completely lost in my own world, so to speak.
"How does it fly...? Maybe some kind of... no... no, that's not it..." I muttered to myself in thought.
I was presently looking into one of the enclosures, inside was what appeared to be a diamond-shaped entity with metallic plates covering sections of its body. The gaps between the plating was filled up with mostly muscle and multicoloured glowing eyes. The thing didn't have a mouth, from what I could tell.
"I'm thinking too simply..." I mused, shaking my head slightly as I pulled up information from the system store page. "Ah... I was right... I was definitely being too narrow-minded..."
"Still... I wasn't expecting it to be using some kind of magnetism... the outer plates are probably... yeah... yeah, that would do it..."
(How truly fascinating...) I thought as I continued to note down my observations.
"C-Carmen?" Sapphire said from behind me, although I didn't really hear what she was saying, or what anyone else around me was saying, for that matter.
"Don't bother, she's completely locked in now," Lucius chuckled.
"It definitely would seem to appear that way," ED72 said, his mechanical voice sounding as monotoned as ever.
"Brain brain." (-_-)
"At least she has calmed down I suppose," Iris hummed, and everyone else could only sigh in agreement.
I spent the next few minutes just walking through the gallery while observing what I could, although there were some things I saw that rather unnerved me to say the least. This mostly came in the form of intelligent, sentient beings, most were being held in a kind of stasis, but some were just left fully awake and aware, in rather mixed conditions.
Honestly, if I were a little more oblivious, I might have tried to help them, but I'm not so naive. Even if I got them out, there was absolutely no guarantee I'd be able to get them somewhere safe. There was also no guarantee that the others, like Decker, would support me. While yes, the mentors had been kind to me so far, it was still not enough for me to forget that they were powerful beings with their own agendas, beings that I couldn't fully trust to stand by me no matter what.
(Huh, I didn't have my hopes up, but they actually do have Yautjas for sale.) I thought as I flicked through the information displayed on my system panel. (You can buy them with all their gear as well.)
I was really trying hard not to acknowledge the fact that I was actually planning on buying sentient beings as I continued to think to myself. (They're cheaper than I expected, but compared to some of the stuff here... well, I guess that makes sense.)
"Hey Carmen, what are you looking at?" Iris asked as she and Sapphire walked up next to me and looked into the enclosure I was standing in front of.
"Hummm? This, I'm looking at this," I muttered as I pointed inside.
"What is it?" Iris asked curiously.
As for Sapphire, well, she was slightly mesmerised by the creature within, to put it simply. "It really pretty..."
Inside was a large, open, cave-like biome with something glowing brightly in the darkness. There, wrapped around a stalagmite, was a serpentine creature with a bird-like head and a long proboscis like that of a mosquito where its beak should have been. Additionally, its whole body was draped in crystalline fins of sorts that glittered and shined like stained glass windows.
"According to the information I'm seeing here, it's called a Stained Reaper. Apparently, it hypnotises its prey using its glowing fins, and once they are close enough, it liquefies and then drinks their nervous system through their eye holes," I explained with grim enthusiasm as I accidentally began to ramble. "Apparently, it does this to help in its reproductio-"
"That's more than enough information, thank you very much," Iris coughed to cut me off.
"S-Still pretty..." Sapphire said, though that didn't stop her from taking a step or two backwards away from the enclosure.
Before we could continue our conversation, however, a loud and familiar voice cut through the air. "What in God's name are you buying now, you brain-hungry savage?!"
"Brain brain brain, brain." ¯\_( •̀ ᴗ - )_/¯
"What are they doing now?" I sighed as the three of us turned to check out the source of the commotion.
What I saw was everyone else standing around Gringus and Brain, who were looking into one of the cages. (What are they all looking at...?) I asked internally as we walked over.
"Oh... so that's what they're looking at," I said, somewhat taken aback when I saw what was inside.
(Well... that's definitely not what I'd consider a pleasant sight.) I thought, recoiling slightly at the sight of a massive amalgamation of rotting flesh stitched into a somewhat humanoid form.
"Brain brain brain, brain brain, brain brain!" ( • ̀ω•́ )
"It most definitely has quite the visage," ED72 hummed in fascination.
"It's not that fucking bad. Remember the 'rotting planet' incident?" Decker huffed, causing all the mentors, except ED72, to shiver in clear disgust at whatever memories had flashed through their minds in that moment.
"Ewww, please don't remind me of that. It took weeks to get the smell out of my fur," Anna gagged, the crystals covering part of her body glowing a much paler colour than normal.
(I don't want to know.) I thought, deciding not to ask, and judging by the looks on the faces of my fellow pupils, it seemed they made the same decision.
Suddenly, Iris, who had been looking at the creature with confusion, finally spoke up in recognition. "Wait a second, is that a... you know?" she asked. I nodded along with Lucius, who also seemed to recognise the creature.
"Yep, that's definitely an Abomination from WoW," I answered with a shake of my head.
(Thank god these energy fields are blocking the stench, because I really don't want to know what it smells like.)
Things were relatively mundane after that. I mainly just continued what I had been doing previously, walking around and taking notes and pictures of the different entities. I did end up buying several Yautja as I had planned on doing. It cost me around one hundred thousand fragments for thirty of them with all their gear, and another sixty thousand for a hundred without any equipment except for the most basic of clothing. While it was pricier than I expected, it wasn't so bad. I was even able to haggle the price down a bit with our eldritch guide, although Decker had to translate what they were saying for me.
Eventually, I was talking to Anna, the large feline curled up on the ground next to me on the ground as we looked into one of the more bleak-looking containers. It was just a simple room made out of metal. There was barely anything in it except for a large, four-headed bird thing eating something from a feeding container in the corner.
Honestly, its rather poor living conditions pissed me off to no end, but there was nothing I could do for it. After all, it was way too expensive for me to just buy on a whim. In the end, despite finding this whole place fascinating, I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable, no matter how hard I tried to suppress such emotions.
"I hate feeling helpless..." I grumbled to myself.
"Helpless about?" Anna asked. I wasn't at all surprised she heard me, even though I had said that quietly.
"Nothing. Just pretend I didn't think anything," I muttered, shaking my head slightly.
(There's nothing I can do about it now, so there's no point moping over it.) I thought with a sigh.
"By the way, what exactly is it eating?" Anna hummed. Although the question was not actually directed at me, it was just her speaking out loud.
"I don't know," I hummed, as I hadn't really been paying attention to that until just now.
"They look like worms, but their blood is glowing orange," she purred with curiosity.
(Why does that sound familiar...?) I thought as my senses focused in on the strange worm-like creatures in question.
"Wait a minute..." I muttered as a memory of a certain fictional creature filled my mind.
"What?" Anna tilted her head at me, but I was no longer paying her any attention. My focus was now fully on the worm-like things currently being eaten by the bird like thing.
(Are those what I think they are?!)