Chapter 3
"Magenda's Laboratory"
The Warriors of Ciboro are now heading north to look for Baba Matuwa, but no one has encountered or known her since the tragedy.
"Where are we going to find the great Babaylan?" Harris raises a question.
"Maybe this kid knows where she is," Tatukwe pointed to Ahn-ahn.
"She's not just a kid, she is our sister. Anyway, Wamaro, how are we going to find her?" Jrazm wondered.
"I don't know either. The best thing we can do for now is to find a safer place," responded Wamaro.
"And please keep in mind the food as well," added Harris.
They stared at each other, realizing that they needed something to eat and a temporary place to stay.
"We were going to stay here for a night," Wamaro told everyone.
After a few hours of traveling, they all agreed to stay in this forest. Apparently, while the siblings were searching for something to eat, they encountered strange creatures here in the forest.
There are real HaO who are born like that, while these are just fake HaO, experimented on by Doctor Bharit. He transforms them into his henchmen.
Bharit's creations involve blending human and animal genes simultaneously, and most of the victims are infants. The result of this experiment is beings that are half human and half animal.
His followers were instructed to find and collect the crystals and children of Ciboro. Coincidentally, they were near one of Doctor Bharit's laboratories, in the Magenda Forest.
He has four species there and twenty-four hours watched over by his disciple, Julivic, the woman with a distinctive talent. It is also one of Doctor Bharit's works that she can turn and sustain herself like a chameleon.
"Wow! E20A, your level of vitality has upgraded to the next level. I will check on you tomorrow." She automatically presses the auto-button, and then the lowdown computerized hutch closes itself.
***
While resting, the Warriors of Ciboro are experiencing dynamic fatigue. In the past, Wamaro looked for a way to eat in the forest.
"I notice that food is not enough. I'm going to find meat," Wamaro said. Then he started sniffing inside the forest.
Anyhow, Harris and Tatukwe made their temporary shelter.
"I'm hungry," Harris gently spoke.
"I know! That's why we need to fix it, then we will help Wamaro!" exclaimed Tatukwe.
"Make it fast. Almost cooked the grilled fish," Endang told everyone.
Therefore, Jrazm prepared roasted purple sweet potatoes and the fish they had brought from the island. Only Ahn-Ahn was acting strange, looking around and walking towards the woods. Soon, someone talked to her and noticed this strange behavior. Her siblings became worried and reflected on it.
"Jrazm, see that kid. She's a weirdo!" grasped Tatukwe.
"Shut up, Tatukwe! That kid has a name. She is Ahn-ahn, and she is our sister," angrily responded Jrazm.
"Isn't she cute?" spoke out Endang.
"Ahn! Come here, we're going to eat now," shouted Harris.
Afterwards, Ahn-ahn brought it out and went to the four gathered. She talked to them and then articulated.
"What? Do you speak with that insect?!? Tatukwe yelled.
According to a small worm she spoke to, it warned her that while they were close to a laboratory site, they could be harmed physically and mentally.
Plenty of kinds of animals and insects have abandoned this place, and only very few remain. The main reason was the strange effect of the laboratory in this forest.
"You're so exceptional!" exclaimed Harris, amazed. Then he hugged Ahn-ahn. The others joined in the hug, except for Tatukwe.
They were astonished by Ahn-ahn's unveiled ability, except for Tatukwe, who was not convinced by what Ahn-ahn announced and warned them.
"Maybe this kid is right, but Wamaro is still not here," expressed Tatukwe.
Even so, Tatukwe agreed to leave the forest. However, they couldn't escape immediately because Wamaro had not yet returned. It was decided to wait for him to come back. They waited and held back until it was dark, but he still did not return.
"Where are you, Wamaro?" worried Endang.
"Let's wait for a few more minutes," said Harris, taking a bite of roasted purple sweet potatoes.
They were already terribly worried and couldn't decide what they should do. Until Harris suggested the next step they should take.
"Any better ideas?" he asked.
"No, but we need to find him as soon as possible," Jrazm responded. She then handed everyone one of her arrows and prepared to go in her direction.
Harris proposed that once they locate Wamaro, all they have to do is throw Jrazm's arrow into the air, so they can immediately go to that location.
Harris headed south, Tatukwe chose to go east, Jrazm situated himself towards the north, Endang's direction was to the west, and Ahn-ahn remained where their belongings were.
***
"I'm going to transform into a pixie, so it's easy for me to see him from the skies," Endang talked to herself.
Endang, capable of shrinking and growing super-sized, decided to head to the western part of the forest. However, in her search, she was hindered by the presence of the large trees of Balete.
"OMG! This is such a strange feeling," she exclaimed, feeling dizzy.
She felt nervous and trembling because someone seemed to be dragging their feet for her.
"You're always like this! You only think about yourself. You make us worry! I will beat you when I see you," Jrazm yelled.
She headed north, furrowing her brow and hoping she could track down Wamaro right away. This was the destination Wamaro had gone to earlier. He had walked a long way.
"Wamaro! Wamaro! Is that you?" she shouted.
She was in the middle of the forest and appeared to be nervous because she caught sight of intense eyes.
***
"What the heck is this place?!" screamed Tatukwe.
On the other hand, Tatukwe is on the east side of a very treacherous road. Apart from being rocky, it is covered in murderous grass and as tall as a coconut tree. Some trees on the island are as massive as houses.
"Wamaro! Wamaro!" he roared.
"If you are on the other side, make a noise, so I can come to you. If not…" he added.
"Anyway, you're the strongest of all of us. I know you're just pranking us again, like always. But this time, I'm gonna win!" he said to himself while beating the grass in his way.
As he mowed them one by one, he stopped when his sword eventually struck a kind of grass that was rough and raspy.
***
"Why is it always like this? I'm still starving," complained Harris.
He preferred to go south and was also determined to find his older brother, Wamaro. As he hadn't walked far, he noticed a large river.
"Wow, maybe Wamaro comes here to fish," wondered Harris.
He saw something on the other side of the river and thought it might be Wamaro.
"Hey, Wamaro! We need to leave this place!" he exclaimed.
He continued along the river until, suddenly, it felt as if someone had pulled him and carried him downstream. Fortunately, he was able to hold on to a rock, or he would have fallen down a very high waterfall.
"Wamarooo! Help me." he shouted.
***
"I already noticed that this will be a bad idea. Next time, I will suggest something different, hoping that Big Bro Wamaro will be okay." — sentiments by Ahn-Ahn while firing stuff.
She turns off the extinguished flames they used for cooking, while the food she had prepared for Wamaro is put inside the vehicle. She neutralizes the equipment and rearranges it inside the spaceship.
"Until now, they have not returned." — she worries.
She proposed earlier that they use this ship to easily find Wamaro, but her siblings did not permit it. They had valid reasons for their decisions.
According to them, they need to protect it so that it doesn't get damaged. Once it is damaged, they will have nothing to use for their journey. Therefore, Ahn-Ahn decides to wait for the indication of her siblings.
***
(••Inside Magenda's Laboratory••)
Once in a while, Doctor Bharit visits there. He observes if there is anything wholly new with his experiment. It takes a couple of days to see the development, so Julivic is always on the lookout for it.
"What's the new progress, Julivic?" he asked gently.
"Here's the record for all the reports from your last visit," responded Julivic. She handed over the tablet with the reports on it.
"Okay, I will be back again next month," said Doctor Bharit, and in the blink of an eye, he vanished.
Julivic hails from the town of Kitcho, ruled by Madremontes. She was only six years old when she arrived under the authority of Doctor Bharit. Ever since, only Doctor Bharit showed his value, she did not hesitate to come along and serve him.
Julivic made a significant contribution to Doctor Bharit's work. Considering her natural ability and the bits of help from Doctor Bharit, her ability grew and became stronger. She was a nerd-psycho and also fond of inventions.
As she was calculating the new formula, one of the experiments they were observing abruptly woke up.
"New progress!" she cried out.
"I will let Doctor Bharit know about this new feedback," she said to the mirror.
She was so happy with what she saw after a while, she immediately injected it with stimulant medications and then fed it the black medicines she created.
Afterwards, she drank a vial of human blood. There was excitement, so it flew with delight and fidgeted all around.
Julivic calmed it down so that nothing would break the equipment and other important documents. She had control over it, so this creature did not form and voluntarily obeyed.
"Oh, it's cute," amazed by the creatures inside the room.
***
"Where am I? Maybe my siblings are apprehensive now. I've gone back and forth to this area many times! I'm running out of energy," Wamaro said breathlessly.
What Wamaro is searching for is the same as in another part of the forest. He helped a snake that was dying since it was attacked and injured by four wolves.
"This is a dangerous place to stay. I hope my siblings are all okay. This place is insane!" he murmured.
He drove them away without hurting them. With the little fire he made, the wolves got scared and then left. As he supported this huge wounded snake, there was a mixture of nervousness and fear that he might be bitten by the snake.
"Don't worry, my big boy. I will warm you up. Just chill," he spoke to the snake.
What Wamaro doesn't know is that his siblings have been looking for him for more than eight hours. He thinks it was only twenty minutes ago that all that had happened.
He suddenly backed away when he spoke, and not only that, he even changed form.
"What the… Oh! Come on?!" he was thoroughly shocked.
The massive snakes evolved into an old man with long hair and a beard. Wamaro asked his name, but he did not identify himself. He explained what had happened and thanked her for rescuing him.
"Thank you, Wamaro, for helping me," said the old man.
According to this old man, those wolves have been chasing him for a long time because they think he killed their Supremo.
As Wamaro listened to the story, he was amazed because he did not think there was such a creature. He was learning new things that Alexander had not taught them, as they had been stuck on the island for a long time.
The old man offered him something to eat before leaving. He had prepared black rice and other black fruits as well.
"Highly appreciated for these strange foods of yours, Sir," thanked Wamaro.
"Eat now. Eat," the old man told him.
Fortunately, he remembered that his siblings were probably hungry too, and he would rather not be the only one eating. So, he asked the old man if he could bring it so that his siblings could also eat.
"No! You must eat it!" the old man yelled at him.
Wamaro wondered at the old man's actions, but it did not force him to stay in that place. Since he could not get out, he asked the old man for help on how to escape. Suddenly, the old man disappeared.
"What is happening here?!" he growled.
So Wamaro got angry and he screamed everywhere. He was startled when his voice echoed.
"Waahhh!!!"
🫴💨
Curiosity turns into madness and the unforeseen…
"What is this?" he exclaimed angrily.
He was triggered, awakened, and galvanized. His eyes turned the color of flames, and a small fire ignited on his index finger. Soon, his entire body was engulfed in flames. He blew a blast of fire, causing the box he was in to explode.
He stepped out and surveyed the broken glass caused by his fiery outburst. The surroundings had changed; earlier, he had noticed that he was in the woods, but now he was shocked to find himself inside a cave.
"What is this place?" he murmured to himself.
He noticed a variety of glass boxes with growing tubes connected to them (Computerized Hutch).
Wamaro felt hesitant about where he had ended up, even though he had been in the forest recently. What he didn't know was that he was now in the custody of Doctor Bharit's Magenda's Laboratory.
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