Chapter Text
The moment the Aranara helped the children break free, Dottore knew that the remainder of the whole research would become a complete and utter nuisance. No wonder his Omega segment was unable to fix the issue by himself.
After all, how's one supposed to investigate and exploit a subject that cannot be seen by adult eyes?
Come on, he's not that cruel- Dottore positively meant to return these children after he had gotten the Aranara. Of course after erasing their memories from the whole matter via tampering with their Akasha terminals. Nothing more, nothing less.
(Besides Pierro warned him that he couldn't possibly spirit away that massive amount of children without anyone noticing, therefore alerting the entirety of Sumeru about Fatui hazard)
No use crying over spilled milk, though. Still Dottore wasn't easily defeated by such a trivial contrivance. Science means trial and error, and success in the long run is fruit of patience and perseverance. The doctor certainly had a lot of that for his experiments, but for his peers, not so much.
Still, they say that necessity is the mother of all science, and Dottore's sudden necessity to rip apart the entrails of an Aranara gave him enough will to think for another way that couldn't quite include abducting children like Hamelin's piper.
There comes the obvious reasoning: oh dear doctor, if you need a child then why don't you create one the same way you do with these wondrous segments of yours?
Answer is that nothing is ever as easy as it seems.
To summarize, segments are quite literally a personification of a time in Dottore's life, having the same point of view the doctor himself had back on said time, but deviating from his current self and developing their own personalities depending on trial, tribulation and experimentation. That's to say, their starting point were traits that had been true to Dottore himself once upon a time, now housed into a Prostheses of human flesh.
And there comes the question: why in the world are children validated to see and interact with Aranara when nobody else is? Is not exactly for their age but the development of their mental faculties. In a basic human being, their brain development would be rather stunted until reaching an specific age in which they're capable of releasing certain chemicals from the pituitary and such, they mature both physically and mentally. Lacking that maturity, children have plain views of the world surrounding them whole. They're innocent, and that innocence is what opens their eyes to the Aranara.
Now, applied to his segments...
Prostheses in human flesh. Even if one of them looks the part of a child, their mental faculties will come to be the one applied unto the DNA deployed to create them in the first place. Something he personally liked to dub as genetic memory.
As much as Dottore would like to gloat about his segments being his victory over life itself, his samples only go as far as his early teenage years. A child with the bite of an immature teenager Zandik doesn't sound quite convincing, and the doctor must admit that back then he wasn't the most balanced individual, let alone an innocent kid.
Okay, plan B it will be.
Most his segments tend to deviate from Dottore's actual self and develop their own points of view; however these are anchored to traits that are true to Dottore himself. For example There's Lambda, who would represent the doctor's rationality. Delta may be his curiosity, and Sigma his disdain.
And Omega. Oh! His Magnus Opus. Omega may come out as his efficiency above everything. The little gaps and failures usually expected unto experiments are seized and quite literally vanish under his command. No foot in the wrong place, every piece falling in order like a crossword puzzle designed and crafted by his own hands.
However though, Dottore always found it preposterous how his pseudo colleagues would boast on how he lacks an ounce of sympathy, innocence and benevolence. But now, lacking these qualities may come out as detrimental to this particular research.
Dottore cannot recall having ever been innocent like a child. That's time gone by, buried under a thousand feet of time sand.
Thus how's he supposed to create an innocent child when there's no innocence to be found in his segments and himself as well? He can't simply pull out these qualities from the ass!
Well, plan C.
Mix and match. Even when his segments lack innocence as a such, by taking several samples from a few of them, he can create a mixture of qualities that give birth to innocence. So, what's innocence made of?
His first guess may be curiosity. Children are undeniably curious in their journey to explore a world outside of their mother's womb, and for starters, is a quality Dottore himself excels at rather prominently. So, that point has been covered.
His second guess comes out as sympathy, but quickly rationalizes it as empathy instead. Children tend to be sympathetic because they're empathic to other's feelings, given that they find themselves affected by someone else's sorrow, or pain, or distress even if they can't quite comprehend the complexity or cause behind that behavior in the first place.
Dottore can't quite talk out loud about his own sympathy, but he quietly remembers how a few of the very first experiments he ran started into a senseless bout of childish empathy.
(He still recalls his wistful boyhood, his endless journeys through the land of clear water and boundless blue skies, and that particular day in which a child version of himself found a dying rodent crying out its last prayers beside the river bank. His childish empathy drove him to selflessly scoop the wounded creature into his arms, carrying it to somewhere safe.
It's miserably pathetic, to recall his own tears when the little mouse died by the next day, but a sudden surge of curiosity had him slicing apart it's entrails just to find out the reason behind its death, the unsalvageable wounded heart hidden under flesh and fur and liquid red just like his own eyes)
Empathy, curiosity, maybe covet? Tenacity? Anything that could build a frail heart, he tried to gather by picking apart several samples from his segments, having Omega by his side all times. After all, he's the one to conduct the Aranara research once they manage to build up a perfect child. Which is to say that Omega's gonna be the kid's Nana for quite some time, no questions asked.
They dubbed it "Project innocence" the incessant research to find the unblemished core of a child's purity.
Easier said than done. The first attempt was a complete and utter fiasco, as the child segment didn't develop his skin pretty well. The thing was kind of a mushy, liquid concoction of slippery skin housing barely formed organs and no bones.
The other segments were even if a bit scared upon watching the writhing mass gliding through the floor with obvious difficulty, but pretty much alive at that. Well, he wasn't expecting to get it right in the first try, considering he was trying to project into the child a dash of foreign qualities of a time that never was.
The second wasn't that much better, either. This one had bones but no skin, and the organs had grown in a bizarre layout; scattered all over the nervous system, veins mixing and matching together like copper wires, and the housed organs somehow arranged in an inherently wrong motion. What with his stomach being where his heart should have been.
Oh, and it had no head. Not a problem considering that his brain was located in the pelvic cavity, but that would surely stunt his mental faculties so this one had to be discarded as well.
Dottore wondered if the memories of his youth were as disturbing as these infantes terribles.
And so he kept on trying several times, over and over but the clones always developed some form of anomaly while at the incubation pod. Some lacked limbs, some had paper thin skin and transparent organs, some became gigantic all of the sudden.
The doctor was seriously losing his mind. At this rate, he would rather kidnap one of Tartaglia's siblings to use during the Aranara research. It wouldn't be so difficult, a little blackmail regarding his relationship with Morax would surely do the trick.
But before he could begin scheming once again, the cry of a child disturbed his thoughts. So, the latest one had been freed from the pod.
Omega was rather mesmerized examining the kid on the vivisection table- that's right, an actual kid this once. Not a writhing mass of mushy limbs, not a barely human creature with horse like arms and legs, not a headless skinless nightmare. Dottore had to remove his mask just to make sure his eyes weren't playing folly instead of the bittersweet reality.
So, their many attempts- their fifty failed attempts finally paid off into an actual child! Dottore couldn't help but feel a twisted grin morphing his features as he took a step closer to examine the infant.
However, it's easy to notice the obvious unease within the Omega segment beside him as they examined the apparently "normal" form of a feeble, scrawny child.
"This one came out too fast. His bones are too frail to have him walking around for an stamina test, and his brain faculties might be a bit stunted due the sudden abortion from the pod. He might take a while to develop a proper psyche as well"
A bit afar from them, Delta took note of everything on a whim- every now and then glancing back towards the still form of the kid. Or what they believed to be a kid, one couldn't be sure.
And then, the doctor's train of thoughts were unceremoniously disturbed by a hellish wail that shook their very senses to the core. Dottore is pretty sure his ears haven't bleed this much ever since Arleccino tried to sing along with Columbina, about a few years ago. At least this seems to point out that the child's lungs are working correctly, although the voice itself sounded more like a banshee than an actual kid.
"Chronic pains are to be expected when his bones are so frail. As of now, one can summarize that the subject is in complete and utter agony"
That much was obvious, though Omega's speech (his voice obviously raised to make sense among the noise) is mostly for Delta to document it all. Now, Dottore has never been one to get along with children, but he had the sudden necessity to have this kid stop wailing as if he were being gutted alive- or rip his ears altogether, whichever came out easier to stop that dreadful noise that would surely end up shattering a good amount of glass within the lab. He already felt like mourning for the thinnest vials stored in the backroom.
Yet, a part of himself kind of realized that his discomfort didn't exactly steem from the pained noise, but also due to an outrageous sense of pity towards the small version of himself. A very sorry, pitiful, and ugly version of himself, with a frame so small and feeble that one could easily trace every bone down to his navel, ashen pale skin like undefiled snow and wide red eyes that teared thick, salty droplets down his round cheeks. Atop his head, there was nothing but a small tuff of blue hair growing like fern, his toothless mouth never ceasing to vocalize the child's pain. The way his short limbs trembled ever so slightly from pain and cold, and the overflowing tears that won't stop are something he's never had to deal with before, the other segments were resilient if not outright unfeeling, designed to have an stamina above the average, but-
This was just a little, defenseless child. His child.
And a child who took fifty fucking attempts to come out correctly. Hell if he's going to be as wasteful as to allow the kid to die once he's come this far.
It surprised both Omega and Delta when the prime doctor strode forward, and boldly lifted the child's shaking frame with careful hands. The kid's arms fell to his sides like ragdoll's, almost a dead weight who despite the momentary awe didn't stop crying for a single second.
"Be careful, sir. He might break something if you're to add enough pressure"
Inquired Omega's serious voice, which could barely be heard above the static filling their ears due the endless wail.
"Can't you sedate him or something?"
That one was Delta, who stopped writing to cover his bleeding ears. Though, as his eyes were visible through the half mask, Dottore could recognize that, like himself; Delta felt a primal form of pity towards their subject.
"The usual painkillers would be useless in this case. Perhaps a dose of oxycodone would be in order, but I'm not sure how his organism would respond to such a strong drug this soon"
Delta took note on that as well, but Dottore kind of droned out Omega's speech for just a short while, the gears of his brain spinning wildly until they came to a sudden halt.
Despite himself, he laughed, which of course took for surprise the pair of morons.
"Can't yo two see it? It's normal for a child to cry when they're born, as we just ripped him apart from the fleshy thread feeding life to his system"
In a swift motion, Dottore used his teeth to rip away the leather glove from his right hand, holding the bawling infant with the left.
"I'm not completely sure about this one"
Mumbled Omega, watching carefully per usual but not daring to inch closer.
"He's suffering so much, and we can't assure that pain is going to fade away any soon. It would be an act of mercy to put him to rest"
It was almost baffling, the way Delta began to nod in tandem as well, apparently them all displaying a form of uncharacteristic mercy towards their subject.
Sentimental goons, the lot of them. Probably after failing so many times with this particular experiment led them to project unto the child he's holding right now, and the many that came before him. If these hideous things can even be labeled as children to begin with.
"Nonsense"
The doctor muttered, daring to use his naked hand to brush a tear from the kid's unblemished face, twisted in sheer pain and anguish beyond comprehensible terms.
And then, silence like no other. The child segment stopped crying all of a sudden, still wheezing ragged breaths and muffled half sobs, but the quietness that followed is infinitely better than the outrageous, visceral noise. The three of them must admit how that unexpected change in the toddler's behavior surprised them beyond relief. At least, until Dottore's chuckle pierced through the cold walls of the dimly lit lab.
"See? The blood calls. He recognizes me"
Omega and Delta looked at each other with dumbfounded expressions, but Dottore paid them no mind. His eyes were set into the success of this particular grievance, the innocence of a humbled child housed in human flesh like his own. The innocence he never had before displayed and braced into his arms.
The victorious grin plastered across his features could have been unnerving, outsettling or outright scary, but the child segment on his hold didn't react to it. He was barely breathing, if anything.
"Innocence. That's your name from now on, little one. Look at me"
Much to his segments' disbelief, the child's lost pupils focused directly on the doctor's naked face. Scarlett and Crimson meeting under the platinum light for the first time.
"From now on, I'll be your father. Dear Innocence, you still don't understand a single word I'm saying, but someday you'll comprehend that you've been blessed by a love bigger than any of us"
Maybe the child wouldn't understand right now. Heck, not even his segments would understand a single thing he's saying as of now, but one day it will become clear how such measly chemical reactions delivered by his still very human brain worked into this renewed success, materializing in front of him a childish perception of himself that had been erased so long ago, or even yet, maybe it never existed until now.
With that in mind, the doctor turned on his heel and motioned Omega to follow. Delta stayed behind, probably trying to figure out how to clean the mess of getting the child out of the incubation chamber. Something for the other goons to deal with for the remainder of the day (night? Midday? He had been bottled into the lab for so long, his perception of time felt screwed at best)
"Shall we prepare another incubation chamber? The child's limbs are useless on his actual status"
Dottore raised a single finger, effectively silencing Omega then and there.
"His name is innocence, not 'The child'"
Turning his head again towards the dozing toddler, it was correct to assume that his limbs weren't appropriate for walking or moving around with no help, seeing as they dangled like sodden noodles hanging from a pinched fork.
"And you may be right about his limbs, but going back to a pod might as well turn his anatomy into an unstable mess if his body were to reject the nutrients like our previous attempts did"
It had happened several times already. One second the child was nice and dandy on his pod, then he would start to mutate and reject the offered nutrients, his internal organs becoming stunted all of the sudden.
Mind note: never ever tamper with the segments' DNA, at least not to the point of mixing them all together. Creating that many child monsters hadn't been his favorite experiment in particular, even when this victory is sweeter than the fabric of dreams.
Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Dottore weighted down his options like the oddly calm child on his arms, coming up with the decision to take the long road this once.
"I think Innocence is due to a few sessions of good old rehab. He'll learn how to walk eventually, and the exercise may surely mold his stamina into that of a genuine child"
Omega nodded, albeit unsure. There's this popular saying that goes like; 'every road leads to Irminsul' , and it's somehow right but this time around Dottore wanted to ensure success over having to raise monster children again; as much as he's endlessly smitten with the wonderful machinery of ruin guards, the biological disaster of a fleshy mass with a dubious childish mentality is something he'd rather not indulge in the following years. It takes a lot to sterilize the lab as well, so creating more is a no go.
(There's also the issue of the Regrator severely wanting to discuss his latest spendings on this particular project- Dottore has been ghosting the man for a good while now. He probably won't be happy to know that the dent on his treasury gave life to a few biologically incorrect children. Forty-nine of them to be precise)
Rehab will take longer than the usual amount of time spent inside the incubation pod to stabilize his system with vitamins, but at least this way they could control the process manually.
"He doesn't seem to be in pain right now, but we might as well sedate him every now and then. Suffering from chronic pains all day long might put a damper on the development of his psyche"
The doctor couldn't help but chuckle again, Omega seemingly not very convinced that he said something funny at all.
"Don't you worry about that, Omega. Something as intangible as the concept of childish hope and pure Innocence can only be born in someone who's faced true pain, just like a prayer is preached by someone who aims for happiness amidst despair. It's a basic human principle that you wouldn't be able to understand, considering that none of you is capable of mustering any real form of pain"
Of course, Dottore would now. He built them all for that very purpose, because his segments aren't bound to suffer the same grievances a human tends to face at least once in their entire lives. They're made to provide point of views of ages long gone in Dottore's life, without the basic strain of being trapped in a prison of sensitive flesh with a limited amount of blood.
But Innocence in particular needs to feel, to be able to understand both pain and bliss and sorrow and happiness to gain the mentality of a proper child.
"Are we introducing him to the others so soon?"
At the question, Dottore scoffed nonchalantly. The other segments (clowns, the lot of them) would surely come by and start asking shit soon enough, so there's no reason to delay that nuisance any longer.
"Hmph. What do you say Innocence? Want to meet your older brothers?"
Both him and Omega turned to see the child- who had passed out and was drooling all over Dottore's Lab coat. Unacceptable in usual terms, but since this is a literal kid he'll let it pass.
"I guess it's a good time for a nap, then"
Concluded Omega, arms crossed and a slight smile crossing his features. And much to his awe, Dottore himself yawned rather loudly, almost in sync with the child.
(He wouldn't admit that he lost track of how many days he's been awake ever since this whole project started)
But maybe, maybe and just maybe Omega is right this once. A short nap couldn't probably hurt.