Information

Jekyll
Legacy Name: Jekyll

The

Steamwork Kumos
Owner:

SpookDoggy

Age: 15 years, 2 days

Born: April 30th, 2009

Adopted: 4 months, 2 weeks, 5 days ago

Adopted: December 14th, 2023

Statistics

Level: 161
Strength: 370
Defense: 344
Speed: 314
Health: 436
HP: 436/436
Intelligence: 119
Books Read: 119
Food Eaten: 0
Job: Part-Time Test Subject

He was leaning over the precision scale, meticulously measuring out 3 grams of salicyclic acid when the door opened with a flourish. This was a common occurrence in the lab; after all it was the only one for 40-odd chemistry-addicted students. But something was different; the usual undertone of Jekyll's fellow students had died out. Intrigued, the young chemist carefully measured out the last of the white powder, placed his platinum ladle on his workmat and looked up. And, like the others, he couldn't help but fall silent and simply stare.

She was standing in the doorway, her luxurious grey fur fluttering in the wind coming from the dark corridor. Her deep pink eyes, wide with wonder, roamed around the brightly-lit room filled with machinery and glassware until they fell on the awestruck Jekyll. Quickly he ducked and stared down at his feet, his cheeks a fierce red. I can't believe I just did that. Oh God. I am such a dweeb.She came in, her velvety paws tapping gently on the cold tile floor. Carefully skirting a glass-enclosed workspace set in the middle of the room, she made her way towards Jekyll. Oh crap, she's coming towards me. Crappity crap. I should do something. Um. Smile, Jek, smile! He raised his head and smiled very timidly, his bashful eyes meeting her's. But she was looking... behind him? Confused, Jekyll spun around and saw the lab supervisor behind him, waving at the lovely young Tigrean.

Despite that quite embarrassing event, Jekyll was smitten. Right after his experiment was over, he rushed to the school office, planning to find out everything he could about her. After some sleuthing and some careful flattery, he found out that her name was Agnes Raine Pinna and that she had just transferred in from the Omen Islands. Her parents were prominent Islanders who had decided, on the spur of the moment, that their precious daughter needed a mainland education. And so, here she was, fresh and unbiased.
Jekyll sat down at his usual table, his head in the clouds. His friends were already there, chatting passionately about the properties of 2-benzylpyridin. Normally, this was a subject that much interested Jekyll but, at this moment, he only had one thing on his mind.This is your moment, Jek. She doesn't know who you are, she doesn't have any biases. Just go talk to her! But yet he didn't get up. Finally, after much inner turmoil, the young Kumos grinned at his friends, stood up and headed over Agnes, who was sitting alone at a table, as befits the new girl. Breaking into his approximation of a confident stride, he walked over while mentally practicing his speech.
But, at that very moment, Enfield, one of the most popular guys in the school, walked up behind her and said something to her. Something funny, apparently, because it warranted a bright laugh from her. And so, he couldn't. Not after that. For who could compare to that? Richard Enfield was one of the best quarterbacks of Centropolis and has a bright future in front of him. And Jekyll was a gawky awkward Kumos with wire-trimmed glasses. Smiling wistfully, he backed up and ran back to his friends.

Graduation came and went. As expected, Jekyll raked in all the science awards. As for her, she was named 'most likely to become a movie star' and everyone who was anyone wrote in her yearbook. He would've loved to scribble a short note but, to her, he was invisible. Nonetheless, he found her gorgeous that day; smiling and laughing, her deep blue robe complementing her dusky fur perfectly. Her eyes, those eyes that Jekyll would recognize anywhere, sparkled with joy.

-Test #57. Experiment led by Doctor Jekyll H. Wardhen, first-year biochemist at Chemblack Industries.
The microphone buzzed, picking up every little sound Jekyll made. Backing away from the recording apparatus, he gingerly continued his verbal report.
-Today's test tube is Variola vera mixed with Chemblack's so-called Liquid Death.
He let out a snort of derision. Death, my ass: that's just a cocktail of relatively harmless bacteria. Adjusting his white rubber gloves one last time, as well as checking the airtightness of his mask, he went on:
-Will the recording please note that I do not have official permission for this experiment. However, all my calculations have been proven to be, beyond a doubt, correct. Let it be said that I have disabled all safety protocols as water would just aggravate the problem, if ever there be any. Furthermore, I have found myself a witness so, in the unlikely event something goes wrong, Human Relations have this recording and a witness to absolve themselves of all blame. Said witness is...

After having covered his tracks and those of his company, Jekyll nodded tightly at his witness, who gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up. Well, here goes. If all runs correctly, I should be making one of the biggest breakthroughs in medical history since Louis l'Amour's cures. Exhaling audibly, he gripped an Erlenmeyer flask and launched the experiment. A palpable tension stretched throughout the room, broken only slightly by the buzz of the TV that was left on at all hours.

It was now 3 hours into the experiment. So far, everything was going quite well. But the hardest was to come: Jekyll now had to pour the tube of Variola vera into the concoction he had so far and then quickly follow with several extremely powerful neutralizers. Speed was essential here and, usually, he would’ve had at least 2 lab technicians to help him with this delicate step. But the young scientist didn’t want to get anyone else in trouble and so persevered on his own.
After having lined up the various flasks containing the neutralizers, he carefully but rapidly poured the deadly contents of the test tube into his solution. As efficient as ever, he added the first neutralizer and, just as he held the second flask, his brain snapped to attention over something from the TV:
-Breaking news from Star Watch: Claude Tyler, owner of Claudius Incorporated and husband of the socialite Agnes Pinna-Tyler, has been spotted at the Amberlight hotel. This establishment is notorious for its low-price adult entertainment… facilities. Tyler’s PR has been cont-
Wait. Tyler. That’s Agnes’ husband, right? How dare he hurt her like that? I knew that he di- OH NO! But it was too late. Foaming furiously, the Erlenmeyer bubbled over and out of the contained zone. Sirens started to blare as Jekyll backed up quickly, the second flask still in his hand. Standing at a safe distance, he unnervingly tossed its contents into the liquid mess that had overtaken the station. There, crisis aver- no no! I disabled the sprinklers! No, no, no! Water seeped into the sterile zone, reacting with Jekyll’s experiment.
A dark grey gas filled the glass-enclosed room. Inside, nothing could be seen.

Jekyll stared glumly at his hand. Already he could see the effects of his newly-created disease: his fingers were pockmarked and felt extremely gritty. I don’t have much time left, I’m dying faster than I thought. Heaving a deep sigh, he turned his attention back to the news article that had been occupying his mind ever since he regained consciousness in the hospital. The headline was loud and glaring: CLAUDE TYLER FOUND DEAD IN HIS SPORTS CAR: HEART ATTACK OR MURDER?
I can’t believe they’re accusing Agnes of poisoning her husband. So what if she seems to be MIA? Her husband just cheated on her, for Iltallo’s sake! She’s probably deep in her bed, sobbing her eyes out. I have to get to her. Yes. She needs me. His face resolute, Jekyll grabbed a screwdriver and linked two wires together. His creation was starting to take form; it was beginning to look quite distinctly like a Kumos. He only had 4 days left to finish, after that his body would be too disfigured to continue.

4 days later, a nurse carefully packed up Jekyll’s sheets. Tutting out loud, she spoke to the janitor disinfecting the room:
-That poor Kumos! What a terrible way to die!
-Did they ever find his body?
-No, he just disintegrated away in that sterile lab we has set up for him. Someone seems to have cleaned up there already, all his tinkerings are gone. What a strange case he was!
Just outside the hospital, joints creaked mechanically.

Jekyll trotted down the street, his gears clicking in a steady beat. His consciousness had transferred wonderfully and his new body, whilst a bit thrown-together and still missing some parts, served his purpose. Okay, Agnes, here I come! Running as fast he could, he crossed Haunted Hollow hastily and turned onto Crescent.
Suddenly, he stopped. Was that… no. It couldn’t be. But those eyes? Spinning around, he loped back to the crossroads and to a shifty-looking Darkmatter Tigrean sitting by a wall. Incredulously, he asked:
-A-agnes?
The lithe Tigrean turned around hastily and hissed, its eyes a malevolent purple:
-I am Agrippina. Agnes is no more.
Oh. Agnes. What happened to you? Sadly, he let his mechanical gaze wander over her body. That’s definitely her. Those eyes. I could never forget those eyes.
Smiling wistfully, he nodded his farewell and left.

Agrippina slept fitfully, her paws clutching an old sack that clattered with her every movement. She looked thin: her face was gaunt and her fur lackluster. Stepping very quietly, Jekyll crept up next to her and dropped a couple of old apples by her side. Next he shrugged off an old tarp that he found by an old airport hangar and draped the Tigrean in it.
His left leg dragging because of the extreme cold, Jekyll staggered discreetly into a bush situated a few metres away from Agrippina. Closing his eyes wearily, he whispered out loud:
-I’ll always take care of you, Agnes, no matter who you become.

-Profile and story by