Spade poked his bag, and the sound stopped. He coughed lightly and regarded Noble with a smile.
"Greetings, Professor. The pleasure is mine, though I am sure we have met. At the very least, I think we have been in the same room before."
Noble glanced at the bag. It was enchanted, though its construction was clearly modern.
'A manmade Memory!'
That was fascinating, though at present she was more interested in its contents. She nodded at the explorer.
"Well then, it is good to see you again." Noble stepped back. "Don't mind me, gentlemen. I am just here to observe."
Spade followed Yoa over to the workbench. His armored boots clicked against the tiled floor as they left the forest behind.
Spade chuckled as he pushed away droplets and set down his bag. "I see you recently watered."
"The plants love it. You know I only planted those trees a few weeks ago, now look at them! Thriving and dropping fruit like every day is harvest day. I have to cut the grass daily. New blades seem to show up every minute." Yoa held up his head high.
The progress was very impressive, and he knew it. The researcher motioned to the bag.
"Did you get it?"
Spade scratched his goatee. "Would I be here if I hadn't? They may be hard to catch, but I know how to root them out."
The bag rustled in response. Noble could hear the scratching sound of something trying to escape. The two men didn't seem bothered by the noise, so Noble decided not to be disturbed… yet.
Yoa adjusted his goggles. "I guess I should get on with it. I know how you feel about enclosed spaces."
"I'm fine," both Spade and Noble answered in unison. They glanced at each other with a bit of compassion.
"I'm staying," the explorer confirmed. "I want to see what in two worlds you plan to do with one of those critters."
'Critters...' Noble had known it was a Nightmare Creature. She could feel its hatred from inside the bag. But the diminutive term gave her pause. That was how she referred to squirrels in the waking world.
What exactly was in the pack?
Spade donned a pair of goggles, and the group was ready to go.
Using a primitive key, Yoa unlocked another compartment in his desk and pulled out a syringe filled with a clear liquid.
"It's a sedative," he explained. Yoa felt the bag from above, causing a great flurry of activity from the creature inside. The researcher touched the zipper on the top and flicked the locking mechanism to one side.
"How are you going to…" Spade's question was cut short as Yoa moved almost faster than the two others could follow.
The top of the bag came open just wide enough for the needle to be thrust inside. The plunger pressed the liquid inside the hole.
A moment later, the movement within the bag ceased.
Yoa waited to make sure the concoction had taken full effect before unzipping the container the rest of the way.
He lifted a limp ball of white fur with a satisfied grin.
Spade crossed his arms.
"Well, I'll be. Would have been nice if you had sent some of that with me when I went hunting. It's a lot easier to subdue that volatile little thing when it won't fight back."
"Is that a…rabbit?" Noble had seen a few of them growing up, but that was before the fall of North America. Even then, the furry mammals were on the verge of extinction.
This looked so oddly similar to the uncorrupted version that Noble was tempted to mistake it for the real thing.
"Don't let its cuteness fool you," Spade warned. "That little thing is a menace."
"We need to hurry before it wakes up, Yoa carried the rabbit forward and set it a dozen paces from the edge of the grass. "If you will return to my desk and the tile floor, I'll engage the barrier." Yoa ushered his companions back to the edge of the grove.
Pressing a few keys on a datapad, he enacted a polymer wall that dropped from the ceiling.
'Looks like the same material as the chamber in my classroom.' Noble mused, 'or at least how it looked before Bee Two added all of the upgrades.'
There was little time to wonder at the similarity in technology. With a growl, the rabbit-like creature's beady, red eyes popped open. It looked around, surprised by the missing cage that had once confined it. Its little pink nose pulsed rhymically as it sniffed at the air.
"I hate to ask, but won't this creature be more attracted to our human souls than the grass and trees? I've never seen a corrupted monster be a vegetarian."
Yoa squinted at the little grove.
"Don't worry, this chamber contains our scent quite well. One of the reasons we walked in the grass at all was to give it our scent and entice the rabbit to take a bite."
'But I didn't touch the grass.' Noble kept the thought to herself.
The two men had been all over the area, and Yoa had personally rained on the ground with water from his hands. That should have been more than enough to whip the little creature into a frenzy.
But the little bunny continued to sniff docilely without moving a muscle.
Was it still trying to shake off the sedative?
Suddenly, the long ears shot straight into the air. Had it heard then?
They flicked around, searching for something. Then it seemed to spot what it was after–
a ripe piece of fruit two hops away from its current position. Its large back paws hurtled it forward, covering the ground almost instantly. With its back to the humans, the little creature nibbled at the juicy meal in the quiet of the tiny underground forest.
"You…got it to eat that without having to force feed it!" Spade's mouth hung slightly open.
Yoa released the breath he had been holding. "Force feeding was the backup plan. This is much better."
The three watched as the rabbit finished the first fruit and moved on to the second, then a third. As if in response to their guest, more fruit overhead grew darker and fell among the grass blades. The rabbit continued to eat with gusto.
By the fifth fruit, Yoa opened the drawer to pull out another syringe from his stock.
"I think he has had enough. We will put him out and stick him in an observation chamber to see what side effects may occur." Yoa flicked the syringe reflexively to make sure there was no air inside.
Noble wondered how the man would catch the creature to apply the sedative. She cleared her throat lightly.
"If you would like, I could…"
Inside the grove, the rabbit gagged, drawing the people's attention. Was it choking? Had it overeaten?
The rabbit convulsed, unleashing an unearthly growl that made Noble want to cover her ears.
The sound and seizure continued for a second and a half before the lab went deathly quiet and still.
Noble blinked.
"Uh, Awakened Yoa? I think I know one of the side effects."