Project Echidna|| COD X OC

05: Artemis

The babies were growing fast, extremely fast. The men left for a month-long mission only to come back to toddlers. It wasn't natural, everyone noticed. The two girls were little walking babes... Well, Sissy was walking Mordred she didn't move.

Sissy stumbled into Soap the moment she saw him giggling and grabbing onto his dusty dirty pants. She babbled nonsense, cooing with that sweet smile. Soap felt a mix of joy and absolute sorrow.

Mordred on the other hand sat there blank look on her face. She was dressed in a frilly blue dress, it looked ridiculous on her and with that powerful pout of hers. She sat there stiff and unmoving.

"They shouldn't be this big," Ghost grunted out.

"We've gone get them tested again," Laswell states looking at her grandchildren, "they are against abnormally fast."

Pandora walked into the room smiling, Mordred turned to look at her whilst Sissy grabbed at Soap's face, babbling. Ghost looks over to the young Mother, she looks fuller but still rather thin.

"Pandora," she looks over, "your kids are growing quite fast." Price denotes.

"They will be twenty in five years," everyone froze, they are aging that fast? They age four years in a single year. They all looked at each other shock evident on all their faces.

"Why?"

"We'll governments can't wait for super weapons to grow up can they," Pandora says before taking Mordred from Ghost. Mordred was very silent even, It was clear she had a disability.

"How do we stop it?" Gaz spoke up. She shrugs and slightly bounces Mordred.

"Then we just have to find Jake," Soap said leaning his head back so Sissy can't put her entire hand in his mouth.

"His priority just went up," Gaz mumbled.

"Pandora," Soap calls out, Pandora looks over the smile never faded, "Have you heard of a man called Makarov?"

Pandora tilts her head closes her eyes and hums lightly, a soft smile on her face, "Of course, he commissioned Jake to create weapons... My daughters." She mused and continued to bounce Mordred in her arms. She sat down on the ground and looked at her daughter. There was this look in her gaze, hatred, and anger.

Soap felt his blood run cold and his grasp on Sissy tighten, protectively. Pandora... that girl scared him. That hateful gaze, she blinked and the rage was gone in its wake was sorrow and emptiness.

She turns to Sissy and her gaze hardens, "That child... foolish and nieve. She will grow up stupid and happy." Soap glares at her with anger. Gaz grasps him by his shoulder stopping him from doing something rash. "She will be beautiful and lovely." She smiles and looks away.

"This one will be smart, cold, and... different." She gazes down at Mordred before laughing, "She is not broken, she's perfect." The way she spoke was eerie and cruel.

Mordred looked up at her mother, eyes golden and emotionless, the two seemed to have a silent conversation. The baby looked away and with one simple movement Mordred climbed onto her feet. 

The hostility in the room lightens as Pandora laughs and claps her hands at her baby. Pandora smiled and crouched down a few feet away from her baby arms out waiting for Mordred to walk to her. Mordred pursed her lips scowled and matched forward like it was a mission. She marched forward and raised her hands in triumph.

Soap looked down at Pandora and then gazed at Gaz then at Price and Ghost. There was a silence in all four men. Sissy was oddly silent before she let out a strange noise. It wasn't a giggle or babbling nonsense, it was clear. 

"Mama," Pandora turned Mordred in her arm, Sissy had a blank look before smiling and, "Mama!" Sissy cheered and reached her arms out grasping at the air. Pandora took the baby out of Soap's Iron grip and held both in her hand.

"You hate your children," Soap folds his arm studying the girl. Pandora looks at him face blank and cold.

"Are you stupid?" She asks calmly. Soap steps forward anger in his eyes, Ghost grabs this shoulder.

"Lass!"

"Soap!" Price snaps.

"I love my child as a tiger loves hers." Pandora declares, soap purses his lips narrows his eyes, and sighs. "Soon they will speak..." She giggles looking at Sissy.

"Well more than my name, I wonder what their first sentence will be..." Her voice trails off, before laughing. "Food and glory." She walks to the crib and sets both babes down. Sissy falls over and falls back asleep instantly. Mordred on the other hand, turns to look at the men.

"Pandora... Somethings off about her." Soap turns to the rest. Gaz nods and shifts in his spot.

"Mordred freaks me out." Gaz confessed, "Something evil about that baby."

"I think Pandora has been brainwashed," Price said after a moment of silence, "She seems a little indoctrinated into Jake's..."

"Plan," Ghost finished. Ghost walked over to Mordred and touched the baby. She had this calmness this... immortal calmness.

"Mate how you can stand her is beyond me," Soap said looking at Mordred with mild disgust.

"That's not a normal baby," Gaz spoke.

"I think she's simply behaving how the experiments have done to her," Ghost spoke calmly, "I think Sissy is doing the same. I think both have some... problems."

"We should get them checked out," Price spoke calmly. "I agree with Ghost."

Like Mordred Soap felt a creeping fear with Sissy. Sissy never once cried, she always was happy. Maybe Price and Ghost were right. Maybe with all the experimentation, expecting these children to be fine was a long shot. Of course, something will be off about them.

"I suspect Mordred might have Autism, and Sissy might have Angelman Syndrome... But it may still be too early to tell," the doctor said. Everyone nodded, they had... they had a reason.

"Angelmen Syndrome, I've never heard of that one," Soap admits.

"It could explain Sissy's overall demeanor of joy, It does not mean she's a happy baby it means she can't control the smile." Soap nods solemnly.

"However," The doctor spoke, "She hasn't shown the other symptoms. She could have delayed speech, motor function problems, epilepsy, and intellectual disability, it's still too early to say." The men nodded and looked at the young white-haired baby.

"So..." Gaz mumbled, "We should look out for epilepsy?" The doctor nods.