The Academy Laboratories were a loosely held secret. Most people vaguely knew of their existence, but as it did not impact their day to day lives, no one bothered with thinking about it too deeply.
Like the store of knowledge under the Academy library, the labs had been initially constructed to preserve the scientific discoveries of humanity and revive some of the research that was lost in the dark times.
However, over the years, the studies took a more practical turn, with many of the most top secret projects being moved to a "remote location"—which Noble suspected was actually below government headquarters, even though she had no proof.
These days, any Awakened could request access to the facility with a reason, and a permanent staff member of the Academy could gain entry to the lobby without prior notice.
Getting past that, well, depended on who you knew.
And Noble knew a lot of people.
'I probably should have checked if he was here today.'
The elevator's slow, rhythmic creaking was overlaid with a familiar song that she hadn't heard in a while.
'Griffin's music will never get old.'
A half minute later, the doors opened into an empty lobby, though the white walls and overpowering light made it look more like a hospital operating room. A few couches were pushed up against one wall with a single fake fern.
Behind a desk, a lady looked up before opening the polymer partition. She smiled at her unexpected guest.
"May I help you?"
There was a short exchange before the window slid shut.
Noble only had to hover over the white couch for a couple of minutes before a young man opened the door next to the receptionist's desk.
"Professor Noble!" He welcomed her, genuinely pleased.
Clad in a white lab coat, the man had glistening skin and damp hair that seemed to be in an eternal negotiation with gravity about which way his part would fall across his eyes. Tucked inside his wavy locks was a pair of goggles, which were already gathering condensation inside the lenses.
Noble stood and shook the man's hand. "Awakened Yoa! I am glad to see you. I apologize for showing up unannounced. I hope I'm not interrupting."
"Don't worry; you caught me at a good time." Yoa smiled. "What brings you here?"
"I wanted to ask a little favor." Noble paused. "My son is building a prototype of a possible way to use the geothermal energy of Ravenheart to produce electricity in the Dream Realm."
"Your son sounds like an outstanding youth. How can I help? Do you need me to meet with him?" Yoa's offer was very kind, but Noble shook her head.
"He is in the Dream Realm and mundane. I don't think you plan to go to Ravenheart any time soon, do you?"
"I do not, though maybe I should." The Awakened researcher chuckled. "What can I do for you then?"
"His project needs a Soul Shard, and I don't have one to give." The professor rubbed the back of her neck.
"And this time of year, those shards are in high demand. You are wondering if we have any lying around here that you might be able to use?" Yoa sighed. "I am afraid not."
"It doesn't have to be high quality, and I am willing to pay..." Noble stopped as the young man held up his hand.
"It isn't that. We just simply aren't working on anything that requires shards at the moment, at least I am not. If you have time, I can show you around. You'll quickly see what I mean." Yoa waved Noble forward, welcoming her to join him.
The professor was a little disappointed, but the prospect of learning something new was too good to pass up. She followed Yoa through the door and into the strange world known as research and development.
The lights here were even brighter than in the lobby. Even though her eyes could withstand it easily, Noble felt the need to squint.
Many of the rooms had polymer windows or even entire walls that allowed the pair to peek into different experiments in progress.
In one room, men and women in white jumsuits were beating what looked like a metal wall.
"What are they doing?" Noble tried to make sense of the scene.
"Ah, they are trying out materials for durability, resilience, and overall wear-and-tear. If we can improve on our defenses, we will be able to repel higher-level Nightmare Creatures when they come to our cities." Yoa nodded.
Noble knew that truly powerful creatures would be able to push through anything. She had seen it in North America with her own eyes. But perhaps they would still make a breakthrough that would help tip the scales in humanity's favor.
Another room seemed to contain a machine that was running a series of tests on the newest Sleeper Pods. Next to it, Noble saw a man tinkering with a sword. Strings were coming from his hands as he worked intently on the weapon lying on the workbench.
"Is that...a Spellsmith?" Noble's eyes opened wider.
"He's on loan from Clan Valor. We were delving into Memory replication, but we hit a snag. He was supposed to help us figure out where we went wrong, but..." Yoa tried to find the right words. "Well, Master Snow gets quite absorbed in his own work, even forgetting to eat or sleep. I am not sure he always notices when we are in the room. Anyway, none of us can do what he does, so we will have to move in another direction once he leaves for Bastion."
Noble glanced at the focused Master. She could feel his emotional signature through the glass. He looked and felt famliar, but Noble couldn't quite place him.
'Must have run into him in the Dreamscape,' she concluded. Despite being a replica of the people who entered it, sometimes things were ever so slightly distorted. So when Noble met people in the waking world or the Dream Realm that she had come up against, the feeling of vague familiarity was often present.
'Interesting.' Noble pulled her eyes away from the Spellsmith to view what else this hidden place had to offer.
Most of the experiments were mundane ways to improve the lives of Awakened. Others were ones that could not be done in the Dream Realm due to a lack of modern technology. Still others were on the bleeding edge of discoveries that not even the scientists fully understood.
How had Noble never bothered to explore this area before? Of course, she knew why. Her research did not require the use of the laboratory's technology.
Besides that, the Academy simply had too many interesting places to be fully aware of everything that went on in every single one.
Places like this lab and the Dreamscape simulator were only used by her when she needed something.
That's just how things were.
Finally, Yoa came to a stop outside a room that had no windows. His smile grew as the moisture on his glistening skin seemed to grow denser.
"This is my lab. Are you ready?"
As the door swung open, Noble realized her answer.
No, she was not.