A door slid open as Carver walked back into an observation deck.  While his scientists were keeping an eye on the consoles that stood in front of them, he looked through the glass to see Midnight squirming on the table.  His wrists and ankles were locked against it as he was being injected with the same energy that changed his life.  The turret that hung nearby was firing a constant beam of the unknown energy.  Carver held a malicious grin on his face as he watched his experiment suffer once more.  One of his men turned away from a console and faced him.

"Sir, his vitals are holding steady."

"As expected.  Any new changes in his genetic or physical structure?"

"Negative sir."

Carver growled to himself as the beam of energy slowly stopped and the turret rose back to the ceiling.  Midnight was completely silent, knocked out from the torture.

"I am sorry sir, but you really should consider stopping this experiment.  We have had this subject for three years and the only progress that was made was his physical transformation."

"That was eighteen months ago.  You also seem to forget that he has been quickly adapting to the lifestyle of a soldier.  If you don't see that as progress, then you don't deserve to be working under my command."

"Sir, I am just being honest with you."

Carver suddenly pulled out a revolver from his pocket and pointed towards the scientist.  His eyes widened while the other scientists tried to avoid noticing the confrontation.

"I would recommend that you shut your mouth before it gets you in a worse predicament.  I did not allow you to join my research team to simply argue with me."

"But sir-"

"Quiet!  Now...you have ten seconds to get out of my sight.  I'll see to it that you are assigned a position that is more suitable for you.  Go!"

The scientist shot out of his chair and left the room.  Carver laughed to himself as he placed the revolver back into its holster.  He walked to the glass window and stared at Midnight.

"I know that he is the one.  Never have we been so close to creating the ultimate soldier.  We must be patient.  Continue to gather any new data from today and we'll continue tomorrow."

"Affirmative."

Carver turned to the side to look at one of the armed guards that stood near the entrance.  "Sergeant, once Midnight is awake, prepare him for his exams today.

"Yes, sir."

"In the meantime, I will be meeting with the commander this afternoon to discuss the current status of the project."

Carver turned around and left the deck, leaving his men to gather any data from Midnight's body.

A couple of hours passed by before Midnight was ready to take the marksmanship exam.  He was escorted by one of Carver's men to the firing range.  Midnight scanned the range in front of him, seeing a few recruits already firing down the range.  The sounds of their rifles echoed into the air.  He became hypnotized while watching the soon-to-be soldiers knock down several targets at varying distances.  Midnight's instructor came to him from behind and tapped his shoulder, interrupting the trance.  Midnight instantly turned himself around and faced his instructor.  In his hands, he held a M16 assault rifle.

"Good morning Midnight.  Today is the day that you will be taking your marksmanship qualification exams.  You will be using the weapons that were determined to be the best of you during your training; assault rifles and pistols.  The first test will take place out here with the M16.  The goal is to hit at least 35 of 40 targets to obtain your certification in assault weaponry.  The first twenty targets must be fired upon from the hip.  The last twenty must be attacked while in either the crouch or prone position.  Have I made myself clear?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

"Good.  We shall begin then," the instructor announced as he gave the rifle to Midnight.

Midnight proceeded towards the empty station and took aim down his section of range.  Trees and hills decorated the area in front of him.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes sir!"

"Then begin!"

A target silhouette shot up from its back and stood over one of the hills.  Midnight turned his rifle and fired a single shot.  The bullet flew through the target's head before falling back.

"That's a hit."

Another target appeared, slightly concealed by a tree.  Midnight took careful aim before firing another perfect shot.  Looking through his binoculars, the instructor confirmed the second "kill."  One after the other, targets appeared at every possible location, only to fall again to the steady accuracy of Midnight.  Once the twentieth target fell, the instructor lightly clapped his hands.

"Nice work.  Get into the next position."

Midnight did as he was told and placed himself into a crouching position.  He also took a moment and reloaded the rifle with a fresh clip.  The next target appeared, farther than the previous ones.  He still managed to shoot it in the chest.  The remaining targets were also further than the ones in the first half of the exam.  Midnight took a couple more seconds to guarantee a good shot before firing.  The clip in his rifle was finally empty when he downed the final target.  His instructor released his binoculars, allowing them to just hang around his neck.

"Fantastic job! Your accuracy is of the same quality that our Special Forces provide.  I am proud to announce that you will receive the highest marks in your certification.  Congratulations!"

"Thank you, sir!" Midnight responded while he stood up.

"We shall now move to the MOUT course for your pistol exam.  We will also use it as an opportunity to obtain your certification in efficient urban combat.  The course has been prepared and you will be supplied with a M1911 pistol and three flash bang grenades.  You must utilize these weapons to successfully complete the course in the shortest time possible.  Follow me."

Midnight followed the lieutenant back into the closest building.  He made his way to the entrance of the course while his instructor climbed into the observation booth.  The mike was turned on and the instructor tested it to make sure that it worked.  He waited for Midnight to gather his things before asking "are you ready?"

Midnight raised his hand in the air and gave a thumbs-up.

"Alright.  The timer will start.  Begin!"

Midnight pulled out one of his flash bang grenades and lobbed it through the doorway.  The flash of light erupted, covering the entire room for a brief second.  Midnight charged inside and shot several bullets into the cardboard "terrorists."  He ran through the next door way and shot a few more enemies.  Midnight took a moment and reloaded his pistol before tossing another flash bang into the next.  The familiar bang was heard before Midnight made his move.  He rushed in, only to see that the room was clear.  There was a ladder that led below the surface.  He climbed it into a dimly-lit tunnel.  He was forced to crawl through it.  Once he climbed back out of the tunnel, he leaned against a nearby wall before tossing his last grenade into the next room.  The flash appeared and vanished within a second.  Midnight rushed in again and cleaned the room of the remaining enemies.  He left the course and sprinted towards a painted circle on the ground.

"Time!"

Midnight turned his head towards the booth.

"Fifty-eight seconds!  You were just a second or two shy of the course record, but a very impressive run nonetheless.  You have passed the exam!  You are now free to go to the mess hall for some grub.  Report back to me at the obstacle course in 40 minutes!  Dismissed!"

1400 hours.

"Okay Midnight, you will now be taking your final exam for the day; the physical fitness exam.  Honestly, I don't see you having any issue with this."

Midnight grinned at the remark.

"Anyway, you must navigate through the obstacle course, and then you will run one and a half miles through the woods to the finish.  You are aware of the par time, so I'll let you do a little stretching before we begin."

Midnight took the opportunity and performed some exercises to stretch the muscles in his arms and legs.  He also moved into a few stances to stretch them even more.  He did this routine for around five minutes.

"Ready to go sir."

"Get into position."

Midnight knelt down on the ground and got into his starting stance.  His tail wafted in the breeze as he took a deep breath.

"Ready...Go!"

Midnight launched from his position and dashed towards the course.  He swiftly ran through the slalom.  Midnight then leaped over the next few wooden arches.  A barbed wire fence was next.  He got onto his stomach and crawled underneath.  The mud was rather thick, slowing his pace.  He soon got out of it and approached a wall.  Midnight gripped the rope and scaled the obstacle.  He carefully went over it and descended back to the ground.  After climbing up a few stairs, he began to cross over a pit of mud with the bars that connected two parts of the course together.  He swung with ease, keeping momentum as he made it to the other side.  Midnight cautiously walked down a sloped balance beam and hopped back onto the ground.  The final obstacle was a pool filled with water and mud.  Midnight used a long jump to get as far as he could into the pool.  He proceeded to swim through the filth, keeping his mouth shut during the swim.  The mud reeked, but this failed to slow Midnight down.  He was out after a few seconds and he began to run down the dirt path into the woods.  His eyes were fixed on the path as it twisted and turned.  He moved to the side whenever he some larger rocks in his way.  Midnight also repeated a chant to go along with his cadence during the run.  His tail bounced around as he picked up speed.  His breathing also increased.  However, he soon found the finish line and his instructor waiting beside it.  Midnight forced himself into a final sprint.  The instructor clicked his stopwatch after Midnight passed him.  Midnight slowed to a stop and then placed his hands on his mud-stained knees.  He took deep breaths to try to get his wind back.

"You didn't disappoint Midnight.  Your just set a new course record, and pretty easily too."

"Thank you...sir," Midnight managed to say in between his breaths.

"I'll let command know about your success today.  Go ahead and take some time to rest.  Just don't forget about your survival training course later today."

"I won't sir."

"Excellent.  You are dismissed."

Three hours later, headquarters.

"Take a seat captain," Commander Jacobs recommended as he watched Carver enter his office.

Carver took his seat in front of the desk.  "Why did you arrange this meeting, sir?"

"I have decided to put an end to your project."

"What?!"

"I was never very supportive of your experiment in the first place.  I find it sickening to be honest.  While I will never understand why the last commander allowed you to do this for three years, I do know that your project has failed to produce the results that you said you would have obtained a long time ago.  Sure, somehow Midnight transformed and adapted to our way of life, but the cost is unimaginably high."

"Sir, him surviving all this time is progress!  According to his instructors, he has also proven himself competent in working for our forces!  This is what we-"

"All at the costs of innocent lives.  I don't care if the creatures you used were feral or not.  You used them and tortured them to just obtain something we don't even need."

"Torture?"

"Don't play mind games with me!  One of the scientists that you removed from your team came forward and told me a lot about your way of handling the specimens.  I am all for the advancement of science and technology, but what you are doing is just inhumane."

"SIR!" Carver yelled as he slammed his hands against the desk.  "I know and I apologize for what occurred, but sacrifices have to be made in order to make progress!"

"Sit down captain!"  Carver gave Jacobs a cold stare before sitting down again.  "I will not take that kind of behavior in my office.  Project Midnight is done.  He will be released from the base and that is final.  Also, I am stripping you of your officer rank.  The only reason that I don't have you escorted off these premises is because of your past contributions to the organization as a whole.  Do I make myself clear?"

Carver was silent.

"Do I make myself clear Carver?"

"...Yes sir."

"Good.  You may now leave.  I'll inform your men of the project's termination and assign them new positions.

Carver didn't respond.  He got out of the chair, left the office and slammed the door behind him.  Commander Jacobs just shook his head.

One hour later, Survival Training.

"And that is all we will be covering today.  Remember, we will be taking you out this weekend for the survival exam.  I hope you are ready for the challenge by then.  You are all dismissed!"

Midnight finished taking a couple more notes down before getting out of his chair.  He closed his notebook and began to walk of the building.  Outside, the other recruits were chatting about the upcoming weekend.  Not in the mood to talk, Midnight continued to walk away.  He only got a short distance away from the building before hearing a voice say "Midnight."  He turned his head.  When he saw Commander Jacobs, he instantly went into the position of attention and saluted him.

"At ease Midnight.  I have news for you."

"What is it sir?"

"I am stopping Project Midnight and your training is complete as of now.  I am terribly sorry for all that Carver did to you.  I know that there is no way I can repay you for what has occurred over the course of the last three years, but I can at least help you leave on the right foot.  Report to headquarters for at 0900 tomorrow."

"Yes sir."

"As you were then," Jacobs said as he walked away.

Midnight was frozen.  Thoughts began to race through his mind.  These thoughts would make Midnight unable to have a good sleep that evening.  His dreams were of various scenarios that he thought that could happen to him, but he had no idea of what to believe.

Next morning, eastern gate.

"I wish you well Midnight.  Hopefully the supplies that I gave you will help you find a new purpose in life."

"What will become of Carver?"

"You don't need to worry about him anymore.  The proper actions have already been taken."

Midnight nodded his head.  "Thank you, sir."

"Good luck out there.  I'll be sure none of my forces cause any trouble if they see you."

Midnight took one last look at the base interior before finally stepping outside the steel walls.,  The gate door slowly slide to a close as he examined the land before him.

"A new life...no more Carver.  Let's see if fate has anything else planned for me."

Meanwhile, Carver was back in the lab that the experiment took place in.  He was looking over a nearby console with one of his men.

"Just because that commander states that the project was a failure doesn't mean he is right.  Look at these final results.  Shortly after his physical form changed, his strength is just as good as some of our best soldiers.  His intelligence is very high, which would easily explain how quick he was able to adapt to our way of living and the mastery of the English language."

"Yes, but the brain pattern is the most astounding thing about this.  As you can see, while he has become as sophisticated as a human being, he maintains his natural instincts.  Such instincts would prove to be very effective on the battlefield."

"Agreed.  He was definitely a special case.  A shame that he is now gone."

"Not exactly."

"Sir?"

"I am not going to explain anything right now.  Things will change around here, but it is going to take a little time."

"I don't follow."

"There is no need to at the moment.  When the time arrives, I'll let you know."

"Yes, sir."

"I won't let that prized specimen just vanish.  My student will return to me and become the ultimate soldier that he was destined to be."