Finished [Location: West Empire; Vicinity Unknown; Underground Facility "Monster Factory"] - The Easiest Job in the World

[Mephisto]

---

Dr. Hector Amon
Height: 5' 8"
Weight: 140 lbs
Occupation: mad scientist, West Imperial government (?) worker, jerk
Text Color: #7abd3f
Mentions: Metty​

---

Many dark experiments exist in the world. Some are right under the noses of most folks, who live their lives without even knowing that they go to work, take their children to school, and sleep in beds situated right above something vile. Dr. Amon only works eight hours a day in a laboratory in the West Empire. He's not breaking the code to new potions, inventing ways to alchemically change materials into something of value, or fighting infectious diseases. No, Dr. Amon wakes up and brushes his teeth to prepare for what he's always done.

He's responsible for maintaining something that the West Empire has sanctioned for use on old, injured, or otherwise unwanted slaves as well as political prisoners and creatures or humanoids of the like. These "Monster Factories" spring up from time to time, never lasting too long due to their secrets going public. They're technically legal, but highly immoral, and many contest the usefulness and actual productiveness of them. They're responsible for churning out artificial beasts for any number of reasons. Perhaps there are large populations of dangerous creatures that require quick extermination, then a nearby Monster Factory makes an expendable form of fauna control. Other times they're commissioned by local governments to create superweapons.

Under the growing threat of war from most borders on the continent, this became the primary reason for their existence at all.

Therefore, Dr. Amon settled into his seat knowing he had quite the lofty position. He knew that the checks would keep rolling in so long as he produced results. When a draconian beast approached the facility knowing full and well about its purpose and history, the security around it seemed confused. But Dr. Amon just shrugged and allowed her inside. She craved power, but that wasn't his primary or even tertiary concern. He may have lied about what the facility entailed but - again - it didn't matter to him. She seemed confident enough, and if she could survive being a guinea pig for their various experiments it wouldn't be any skin off his nose.

If anything she was a free test dummy for what they could reliably produce elsewhere.

The stonework of the tunnel leading down into the heart of the laboratories extended deeper than many realized or estimated. A veritable bunker, the construction had many ebbing and winding hallways that housed living quarters, food depositories, material storage, and - of course - many wings of actual scientific hubs, labs, and operating rooms. Dr. Amon would lead Arashi down into one of these hallways, going through the motions about the reasons why this facility existed in the first place.

"It's all a vast network of brilliant people who were lucky enough to get paid the right amount of money," he waved his hand around nonchalantly, his round glasses concealing any measure of human emotion or limitation.

"We're funded by the local government so this is basically free for you to engage in,"

He'd lead her into an operating room. This far down, the smell of oil lamps and chemical concoctions were indistinguishable in the thick air.

"So, just have a seat on the table here and we'll get you set up for your... upgrades," he tilted his head, leaving the room with the guards that followed them inside.

On the opposite side of the wall, he revealed a hidden switch and pulled it down, sealing the room and releasing a gaseous quick-acting sedative that would infiltrate Arashi's lungs and put her to sleep long enough for them to actually bind her to the table. The guards waited for about ten minutes before donning filtration masks and heading inside to do just that. Considering her abilities, they'd include a tight muzzle with her bindings.

---

 

[Metty]

Stormbreaker
She felt weak, at least what happened with Miiya and the fact she thought back to what happened with her own people. Thrown aside for being too weak. She couldn't defend anybody like this. When she heard rumors of a mysterious group, she had to investigate. Stormbreaker's travels led her to some organization, which she asked them for power. She didn't quite know what to expect, but she was willing to pay for it with what little money she did have. As she was led down the hallways down the facility, she didn't have much to say, other than continuing to walk on in her full armor. Stormbreaker looked around the area she was taken to, only to raise an eyebrow.

This doesn't seem suspicious at all. At least it isn't like that cultists and how dirty the place was there. What is the worse that can go wrong? Maybe if I... Then she heard the hiss of gas and the area being sealed off. The draconian began to panic internally at what to do. She knew the only way out would be likely be blasting the hell out of the this place and that's what she intended to do. Fire should do the trick. She lit her hand, trying her best to not inhale the gas but it was hard. Her helmet did help much, but the second the gas hit it however... she got hit with an explosion that knocked her out immediately, the sedative and the explosion did a number on her, leaving her armor broken and she herself injured.

Mephisto

 

[Mephisto]

---

Dr. Hector Amon
Height: 5' 8"
Weight: 140 lbs
Occupation: mad scientist, West Imperial government (?) worker, jerk
Text Color: #7abd3f
Mentions: Metty

Dr. Edward Thatch
Height: 5' 10"
Weight: 180 lbs
Occupation: assistant "mad" scientist, West Imperial government (?) worker, not as much of a jerk
Text Color: #776697​

---

Dr. Amon was already approaching the stairwell to the observation deck. He gripped the walking cane he cradled as if it were his only lifeline left. His thin wisps of grey and white hair clung to the sides of his head, revealing his wrinkled scalp to the buzzing lights. His glasses rested on his chest, clipped to his button-up shirt. He sighed as he looked at the steps involved with making his ascent... and chose to call the elevator instead. He licked his dry lips, trying to knock the taste of that morning's breakfast out of his mouth.

"Too much oil.." he griped, holding the cane close.

When the elevator did finally come to his level, a group of researchers and guards exited before he entered. They all exchanged greetings and Dr. Amon departed for where he was needed. Meanwhile, the group walking towards the door to the operating room were not aware of what was happening inside. Dr. Thatch, responsible for golem development, walked alongside his mute assistant - the scarecrow known affectionately as Bob. The lumbering giant stood more than eight feet tall and was possessed of a monstrous strength thanks to its mysterious construction and eldritch bindings.

Dr. Thatch, Bob, and their cadre of nameless guards were close to the door now. He was fascinated by the prospect of an actual dragon - even if she was humanoid. Some room for error had to be calculated, but if he could convince Dr. Amon to give him even a single pint of her blood it would expedite his golem projects a hundredfold! He wanted to catch a glimpse of her as she went under, and so instructed the guards to open the door.

"It'll be fine, we'll be in and out before the old man gets to the observation deck," Dr. Thatch remarked, surprised that the guards were unable to open the door.

Had Dr. Amon locked it from the inside? He tilted his head and went to go try his hand at fixing whatever wrench there could have been in the machinery but was stopped when Bob outstretched his large arm.

"Feeling up to a little exercise Bob?" Dr. Thatch smirked. "Alright then, have at it,"

He waved the scarecrow forward and the guards stepped back. Bob took the handles to the doors in each hand and started to pull.

He didn't get another second to capitalize on what he was doing.

The doors buckled outward, a thousand pounds of steel popping and snapping like a soda can. Bob was vaporized by the impact right down to his concrete skeleton, even then with parts of it blasted apart to reveal the rune-etched steel rebar making up the deeper core of his being. Dr. Thatch went to ground. The guards fell down into fetal positions. A hot wind rolled over them all, catching stray pieces of fabric on fire.

That's when the emergency lights came to life, roaring and screeching in a fire-related alarm. The anesthetic gas valves were shut off before the flames spread into their source and lit the whole damn place like a match.

Dr. Thatch was the first to stand up following the deafening blast, his ears still ringing from the doors exploding outward. They each became missiles, impaling themselves firmly into the wall behind them. If Bob hadn't been standing there, Dr. Thatch and every other guard in the hallway would have been reduced to red smears.

"Oh my word, Bob!" Dr. Thatch screamed out in abject horror, holding his precious golem's bare bones. "Speak to me!"

Bob couldn't speak.

"Right, sorry. We'll get you repaired, buddy, don't worry,"

He spent a few seconds trying to smother rogue embers lighting the remains of Bob's straw exoskeleton.

Meanwhile, Dr. Amon finally managed to take his seat in the observation deck. He settled into it and looked rather pleased with himself knowing he managed to get an honest-to-science dragon to...

"Wait a minute,"

The deck was in complete chaos with technicians communicating back and forth with maintenance down in the belly of the facility. His beady eyes darted around and he stood back up again, tapping the floor with his cane.

"What's going on here? We have surgery to conduct!"

"Sir, she set off a fire bomb before passing out. Damage control is having a hell of a time trying to maintain order," one of the attendants commented.

Dr. Amon sank into his chair and grumbled. "Well she shouldn't be so flippant about what she wants. She wanted to be improved, but literally tries to blow up our whole operation! How ungrateful,"

There was a pause as he sat there amidst the alarms and - admittedly - less hectic situation. He adjusted himself and spoke again.

"Send her to solitary - and put a damn muzzle on her,"

His words were carried out like law. When Arashi would wake up, she's be in the deepest part of the facility in an isolated cell far underground. The only light came from the dim lamps, and she was bound in heavy chains from her ankles to her wrists... and for some reason her tail was also weighed down by an iron ball. Most notably of all, she had a muzzle keeping her from breathing any sort of fire.

Strangely, it wasn't as much a means to keep her mouth shut. It possessed a series of runes along the surface of the metalwork. She could very well speak, but casting magic would come with its own set of unique consequences.

Since she was of an affinity for Fire, the jailer responsible for keeping her down here saw fit to give her a Dousing Muzzle. Simply put... each time she tried to use her fire abilities, it sprayed her in the face with a mist of anti-magic water and made an offensive "PSST" sound.

As if being unable to actually use her abilities wasn't bad enough.

 

[Metty]

Stormbreaker
Her head hurt as she woke up. She didn't quite understand where she was, but she was in pain all over. Had she died? No, she hadn't. As she opened up her eyes, she tried to glance around to where she was. All she could see is the dimly lit room and then she looked down at herself. Armor gone. Thankfully she still had most of her clothes bar her armor. And most of her all her scarf, that was important to her. Nobody could touch it. But where even was she?

This is a bit much for somebody that doesn't have super strength. I'm not a damn animal... especially with the muzzle. I can't bite somebody's arm off. She tried to move her body, only to find it heavily restrained. Stormbreaker looked around the cell, trying to figure out a way out of this before it got much worse. "I'm not afraid of you! Come and fight me! You'll regret the day you come to restrain Stormbreaker!"

Mephisto

 

[Mephisto]

---

Mentions: Metty​

---

"Eh?"

A voice replied to her objections from quite some distance away. A trio of jailers were playing cards, their game illuminated by a single lantern. One of them stood up and walked over to the source of the dragon's shouting, quickly lashing out with a blow from his baton against the bars of the cell.

"Quiet! Boss man says you caused trouble, so now you're down here. Boss man also says that you blew up one of his new operating rooms. Very naughty!"

He heaved with the motion of a particularly brutal strike from the baton, causing the bars to echo and rattle.

"You gonna stay down here like a good little prisoner until boss man cooks up something special - and you made him mad. He gonna get you good, just you wait,"

The jailer smiled a grotesque grin and laughed through the missing teeth.

Arashi's surroundings were derelict to put it lightly, with solid stone making up all but the cell door. There were three layers of security - a padlock, a sliding lock, and a thick chain. She could easily burn through it all if she wanted to. The smug guard in front of her and his pals would surely go up in flames.

He was certainly asking for it. He taunted her and teased her as if she were a child. They obviously revered this Dr. Amon as some sort of profound leader, or were perhaps entranced by a deeper and darker attitude Arashi just hadn't seen yet.

---

 

[Metty]

Stormbreaker
Was that an attempt to scare her? Although a very poor one, it wasn't exactly... great. Stormbreaker didn't really flinch at them throwing their batons at the cell. It was... so stupid. She had been intimidated by people far worse than this, these guards were nothing more than lowly grunts. They were nothing more than fodder in her eyes. She could very well use her fire magic on them, but she didn't want to kill them. She wasn't a killer, she wasn't like most people who could kill. She froze at the thought of killing a person quite often.

"... Was that supposed to scare me? You are both just pathetic. Do I really care about what geezer thinks? Not really." She glared at the guards who kept banging on her cell. "I don't care. You can bang all you want, I'm not shutting up. Make me. If you really wanna make me shut up, make you should inject me with more sedative or knocked me out for longer."

"Well, what are you waiting for, you dumb criminals? You gonna come and fight me, you cowards!" She really wasn't afraid, glaring at them and activating [Intimidation Tactics], pulling at the chains in an attempt to break them. She tried to move her tail, but couldn't do that even. She wasn't afraid yet and wasn't gonna to show that weakness, not this soon.

Abilities Used:

• [Intimidation Tactics] | [Perception F], [Intimidation F], [Interrogation F] | F Grade | 0 Post Cooldown
  • The user intimidates the foe and interrogates them.

Mephisto

 

[Mephisto]

---

Mentions: Metty
​

---

Arashi might have been a prisoner, but she had quite the bark to back up her currently muffled bite. All three of the guards were now gathered around the commotion, huddled so that they caught the terror of her rage in the form of a wall of sound and anger. One of them bounced on the floor, clutching his baton desperately in order to defend himself. The others remained upright, though one seemed braver than the others and knocked some sense into them - literally. He had a bowl cut and snarled at Arashi.

"A wise gal, eh?" he spat on the ground. "We have ways of dealing with wisenheimers around here,"

The one that fell - a bald man - made some strange noise as he stood back up, wiping his face in agitation.

"We ain't gotta fight ya! Boss man already put you in solitary, so solitary's where you're gonna be stayin'!"

The last one, his bald head framed by plumes of curly hair, chuckled in a agreement. "Yeah that's right! You're in there, we're out here. You can't do nothin'!"

The fact of the matter with them being in control of the situation didn't do much to alleviate the shivering in their voices. Their knees were even knocking around in fear, despite their big words.

They seemed to be quite the trio of stooges.

---

 

[Metty]

Stormbreaker
Stormbreaker let off an angry growl as she became disappointed that these three weren't replying to her bait. They didn't seem to want her to fight her. So she stayed there, trying to break the chains using her strength, only to give up after 5 minutes of relentless pulling. She wasn't happy, only going to sit down and just... sulk. She felt defeated, disappointed even. She couldn't figure out a way to get out of here. It was disappointing. I can't... even break out of this. I'm too weak for any of this. If only... I were strong enough to break free of this, I might have been able to overpower this and get out.

She kept glancing around the cell, just sitting down and uncomfortably trying to sleep off the rest of what was going to happen. She needed her energy. Trying to resist wasn't going to help, if anything it would made her angrier trying to break out. Whatever this person that captured her, wanted to do, she needed to be strong enough to fight them off.

Mephisto

 

[Mephisto]

---

Dr. Hector Amon
Height: 5' 8"
Weight: 140 lbs
Occupation: mad scientist, West Imperial government (?) worker, jerk
Text Color: #7abd3f
Mentions: Metty
​

---

Two days.

For two days, the Stormbreaker had weathered the constant darkness. She would grow accustomed to it. She would become hardened to the hunger and strict meal regimen - just enough to keep her alive. She kept from moving too much. The water they gave her with her meals was precious. This too, she became strengthened against. Sometimes the shadows emerged from the corners of the wall, oozing from between the bricks, and became shapes in the night. They spoke to her, whispered sweet nothings of freedom if only she would obey their hidden master. How much she could trust these was impossible to discern as of this moment.

For now, she could only wait. She could only endure.

But on the third day, she had an opportunity for freedom. She was being moved somewhere. They didn't tell her where, but the sudden transition from near-total darkness to the well-illuminated hallways would sting her senses. When or if she asked, all they would tell her was that Dr. Amon wanted to see her. These were not the guards from before. These were hulking men, charged with unnatural strength under their taut and sinewy skin. Even the slightest and most insignificant of details in their musculature were rigid and wrought like iron. They held her in place, forcing her to walk without the use of her powers, and brought her inside an operating room.

Here, Dr. Amon welcomed here with an emotionless glare. He didn't seem to be in the mood for anything other than results. The beauty of having a dragon such as Stormbreaker was that she was as durable as the experiments placed upon her. She wouldn't have feasible limits so long as Dr. Amon and his staff didn't impose them upon her. At least, that was the working theory. The fact that she was standing in front of him, defiant as ever, was as much proof of that concept as he needed.

He moved aside. The operating table stretched out before her and the guards forced her to lay upon it. Still bound and chained, she couldn't do anything but look into the blinding lights that were held in place above her body like stars. Dr. Amon watched as his henchmen strapped her down.

"Stormbreaker. You came to us. You endangered our work. Do you know how deep this facility runs?"

He bade the guards to leave. A team of medical technicians replaced them, barricading Stormbreaker's desperate view of the exit with a wall of surgical gowns and faceless masks. Dr. Amon tapped her crest and forehead with his fingers.

"We are sitting on something worth more than gold. With your DNA as an asset, I can manufacture things that could topple kingdoms and reshape nations. Things that can never die. Things that were never meant to see the light of day,"

His true colors were on full display. He wanted to drag her into this laboratory for his own means, telling her beautiful tales of how he could make her stronger for her friends and loved ones. He saw right through her. He could tug on her heartstrings, pull her along kicking and screaming - but still in the direction he wanted her to go.

"But the best experiments are those done in the dark. They're the ones that push the boundaries of science and medicine. They're the ones that test untested laws, of both man and God,"

He popped the cap from a skin marker and started making dots along Stormbreaker's brow.

"And the first step I often take... is finding out what makes my subjects tick. Piece by piece, layer by layer... it won't be easy. It will be painful - more painful than you can imagine. I wonder how much you can endure before you beg me to stop,"

He snapped a mask over his face and went to go wash his hands. A technician approached with a swab to sterilize her scalp. Anesthesia hadn't been provided yet. She was awake as the cold fluid cleaned her head, dripping past her neck and onto the sheet underneath her. They'd isolate what Dr. Amon wanted to operate on with a sterile sheet, which stuck to her face in a claustrophobic manner.

Dr. Amon hadn't finished washing his hands yet. Even now, Stormbreaker could see the tools being prepared on either side on grandiose carts. There was no end to them. A nurse went to her forearm. The backwards approach to the procedure was intentional as one of the first steps to surgery had become the last: a medical IV. She poked and prodded with her fingers, finding a suitable vein to puncture for infusion.

"Dr. Amon has requested that you only receive local anesthetic. You will be awake for this procedure, but you won't be able to move. Consider this a punishment for your own wrongdoings~" she recited calmly and almost musically.

---

 

[Metty]

Stormbreaker
Despite it all, she felt annoyed. She was used to eating a ton of food after all, as she had to because of her race. Giving her less would be a bad thing, as her body depended on it. She seemed confused at the fact she was seeing stuff in the darkness; it felt like they were dosing her with something to break her will. Felt like more an annoyance than anything else.

At the end of the day, it didn't feel much worse than what she had experienced in her previous life. She had to do an insane amount of training and she often up ended seeing shit just from exhaustion. So being tied up like this in a room with almost zero darkness was probably good considering she could at least sleep.

The day she was moved was different. She wanted to run that day, but didn't have the strength to do so. Not having a full amount of food wasn't good for energy levels and strength. She could tell that they usually weren't the guards she had to deal with. They were much stronger, maybe even enhanced. What on earth was going on in here?

As she tried to resist, they pushed her upright to walk. She felt weak, unable to really fight back against people that were obviously stronger than her. Then they took her into the operating room and this motherfucking scientist was standing in front of her. Big boss guy. Also a geezer. Really annoying. I wanna punch him. I would if I could. Then she strapped to the table, and this guy started his fucking monologue.

"Ah yes, because I panicked when I heard gas. Didn't know it was explosive. How was I supposed to know this? It's normal human behavior to panic, isn't it?" Then he started his typical mad scientist dialogue. This felt like right out of an anime or video game. "I'm not your damn lab rat to do as you please, geezer. You can't expect to truly hold down a dragon here, do you? My kind would rip you to shreds. I didn't ask to hold down and treated like an animal. I didn't ask my food to be dosed with drugs either."

Except me. I can't do that. I'm just the weakest of my entire tribe.

"I've faced villains that nearly killed me that forced me to nearly die from trying to stop them. I've burned my entire body alive. I'm not afraid of your weak experiments. I'm not going to listen to you. Seriously, go fuck yourself." She said in defiance, trying to act tough despite what was going on. She had to and what little strength she had. She tried to break free of her restraints on what little strength she had left.

Then Stormbreaker's entire demeanor changed with the whole IV thing. Stormbreaker froze in fear from it. She wasn't great around needles, and this wasn't ideal for her. She was more afraid of them. "Keep needles away... from me. Don't... you dare." She tried to say it was evident she lost her confidence and was trying to fight back but her fear took over. She was terrified of that type of thing.

Mephisto

 

[Mephisto]

---

Dr. Hector Amon
Height: 5' 8"
Weight: 140 lbs
Occupation: mad scientist, West Imperial government (?) worker, jerk
Text Color: #7abd3f
Mentions: Metty
​

---

Stormbreaker seemed obviously unnerved around needles and from getting her forearm punctured with the necessary tools for an IV drip. The nurse didn't hesitate to record this mentally. She injected the dragon with more than enough paralytics to keep her from moving, but not a drop of painkillers. Those were only applied to her scalp, injected through the flesh to numb the initial cutting surface.

"Dr. Amon has requested that you don't feel anything until we cut through the bone. Then you're free to be in as much pain as you'd like to express~" the nurse chatted remorselessly, stepping away to help dress the doctor in surgical gear.

He appeared before Stormbreaker and observed her now that the paralytics kept her from speaking. An anesthetist pried her mouth open with a curved tool meant to pull her esophagus open. He mumbled something to Dr. Amon as he inserted the breathing tube straight into Stormbreaker's windpipe, starting the artificial breathing process while she could feel every ounce of what was happening. She couldn't move. The involuntary twitches from her arms and hands were the result of nerves coming to a complete stop - the last muscle spasms before total unconsciousness.

Yet there were no anesthetics on board. She could very well feel everything they were doing, down to injecting the local so she would have no choice but to sit and wait for when they cut into her actual skull. Dr. Amon vanished from view. He went to her scalp and started slicing through the softer scale and flesh with a scalpel. The cuts were quick and precise, nothing too interesting. The saw kissed her skull. That's when she could feel it.

The sudden sensation of pain crawling from the bottom of her spine all the way to the top, pulsations of agony firing like shotgun shells in her belly. She couldn't retch. Her stomach was paralyzed. She couldn't fight back. Her limbs were numb. She couldn't scream. Her lungs were moving independently of her.

"Remember, Stormbreaker, there are always consequences to your actions. Weakness begets death. Death begets suffering. How do you know that you're not in your own personal Hell?"

Dr. Amon started the saw. The teeth were small, sharp beyond any sword, and worked at a dizzying speed. The air became thick with the smell of burning bone and powdered calcium. He persisted, chewing through to what he wanted to see. A technician held the scalp. Soon it popped off, revealing what Dr. Amon desired. He took in the sight of the pulsating, quivering mass of fatty tissue and electronic impulses. He didn't dare touch it at first - not without his tools. The technician cradling her skullcap placed it elsewhere, keeping it on ice to prevent the blood vessels from dying.

"Darling... sweet... Stormbreaker," Dr. Amon clicked his tongue, impressed with what he saw.

"You're a unique one aren't you? Yes, a beautiful specimen. Not... quite from around here, are you?"

He was handed two probes and eagerly started to dig into her brain matter, curious about what he would find. He could see what she was seeing through a nearby monitor fitted with a wireless attachment for the probes.

"A bird girl. Some other adventures. No, no, this won't do. You're someone else under this mask,"

He dug deeper, prying past her memories as part of the world they inhabited. He wanted more. He needed more. There were secrets to the reality he lived in that he wanted answers to. If manufacturing raw power wasn't enough, then he would force the doors open. He had worked alongside various governments across many nations. They were hiding something.

He found a glimpse of it.

A different world, one full of heroes and villains fighting for survival. His grip on the nerve didn't hold and he dropped the connection, cursing to himself as he slowly tried finding it again.

"I'll make you relive those days - they're gone now. All that matters now is that you're a slave, one that I will shape into a monster. Do you hear me, Stormbreaker? You shall be my perfect weapon."

---

 

[Metty]

Stormbreaker
Stormbreaker wanted to scream hard at the sudden amount of pain going through her body. It felt like hell. She wanted to cry, she didn't want any of this. She just wanted to be away from this all. She couldn't help but feel terrified, and for the first time, she wanted to curl into a ball and be scared for her own life.

Stormbreaker couldn't breathe, she couldn't move a sudden inch of her body in any shape or form. She wanted to lash out in that moment to stop the pain. The draconian was mad, upset and all around in agony. She wanted to kill him. The dragon wanted to tear him apart for even harming her in any shape or form.

Get... out of my head. Get out. She screamed through her thoughts as he rummaged through them. Get out. She wanted nobody to find out who she was. Her real name. So forth. That much was sacred. She knew fighting this was hopeless, but she didn't want to lose her sense of self.

She had no way of fighting off the intrusion. As he dug deeper, it brought up rage. Miiya was someone Stormbreaker wanted to protect. For a madman to find out who she was and use that against her. Stormbreaker was so close to losing it, then he found about the other one.

Her home. Japan. Or at least used to be her home before she died. She had failed to fight off that those villains that attacked her that day. Stormbreaker thought she was above it all. She thought she would win. She fought with all the rage she could, but it was hopeless in the end. Arashi had let everybody she cared about die that day, including her husband and her daughter, because of her arrogance. She was a failure in many people's eyes. All that upbringing with a powerful power got to her head.

It wasn't even the first time she had nearly lost it all. She nearly died fighting another villain 11 years prior and nearly killed herself through self incineration in the process and exhaustion.

If there is one thing about rummaging through her memories, is there was one thing. She never gave up. No matter what. She was tenacious, a trait she clung to even in the new universe, almost worthy of admiration.

I'm... not yours. I never will be.

Mephisto

 

[Mephisto]

---

Dr. Hector Amon
Height: 5' 8"
Weight: 140 lbs
Occupation: mad scientist, West Imperial government (?) worker, jerk
Text Color: #7abd3f
Mentions: Metty
​

---

The pain kept her awake. The acceptance of it spiraled her mind and senses into unconsciousness. One errant twitch of Dr. Amon's hand and she was awake again, her eyes rolled back into her head in something between agony and a dream. She dreamed of home. She dreamed of faces. She dreamed of anything to separate her from the woman on the operating table. She surrendered to oblivion, but was dragged back each and every time like a fish on a lure.

She felt her mind wander. She felt the same feet under her that carried her from the supermarket back home. These were familiar roads. The streets became tangible. The people weren't there. She knew that she wasn't meant to be here either. But the fog lessened now and again. At least she could pretend that she wasn't afraid. At least she could pretend that she wasn't... weak.

Aozaki stood in the frame of their porch. His face was obscured. They needed to change the lamp bulb. She knew it was him, though. She knew. Their daughter Sato was inside. She had to be. The sun was going down. She would be home from school by now. Stormbreaker would walk beyond the property line, wanting desperately to follow her husband. He made dinner. She could smell it from out here. He was a talented man. He loved her so much.

He reached out his hand. Stormbreaker couldn't approach him. This wasn't right. He tried coming closer. Storm... Arashi refused and moved away. The dream was fading. He touched her hand. It all vanished in a blinding sheet of white.

"Paralytics on board," Dr. Amon commanded the anesthetist.

"She'll come back down, just a spasm,"

"Good,"

He lifted a membrane, prying nerve after nerve. She wasn't letting him see certain aspects of her previous life, but this much... this much had to be torture just to remember. He forced her to walk inside. He forced her to hold her husband's hand, to kiss her daughter's hair. It smelled of strawberries, she used the conditioner Stormbreaker picked out for her. Sato was watching television - something about the news. It fizzled into background noise.

He forced her to remember the taste of her husband's cooking. He used garlic and spring onion for a soup, one he meant to pair with a delicious cut of fish he seasoned and grilled for her. The rice was fresh. He even made lemonade from scratch. The glass had just begun to condensate. He remembered her schedule well. He loved her so much.

Again, Stormbreaker seemed to react more than Dr. Amon wanted. Her spasming when he prodded her brain in such a way caused him to groan and roll his eyes.

"You're being quite uncooperative," was his only comment.

In her dreamlike reality, the lemonade tasted strange. Aozaki couldn't have put anything in it by accident. Then why...

No, it was fine. The bitterness cut through the sweetness. Though... she couldn't help but feel... did he put a pill in there? Was he that worried about her, that he would spike her drinks with ibuprofen? Or... was it...

She snapped back to reality again, the nerves in her brain and body screaming at her to wake up. But it was too late. The memory had been tainted, stained by the presence of something Dr. Amon injected into the memory center containing her love and family. It would be something that she would associate with those pleasant times, a bitter medicine that ate away at her iron resolve like a corrosive acid. Given enough doses, she would be useless - a mentally inept puppet with the flesh and body of a heartless beast. That is what Dr. Amon wanted from her.

And so he poisoned her love with the first inoculation.

Her skullcap was stapled back on. Her skin was stitched shut. The surgical interrogation had lasted for over eight hours. They didn't have to probe her brain physically again. From now on, she had a lingering addiction to the drug swirling around in the back catalogue of her most precious memories. Among the smell of strawberries, the taste of her husband's cooking, and the warmth of their skin... was the artificial and bitter familiarity of that venom.

---

 

[Metty]

Stormbreaker
Her dreams felt like hours. Stormbreaker tried her best to fight off. She wanted to stay there; she wanted a place to belong. It wasn't on this operating table or controlled by a madman, it was there. At home. It was pleasant all the while, but she couldn't remember faces. Was it the side effect of being under? Was it because she was being operated on? It couldn't have been right? Surely that wasn't the case.

At the very least, she got to see her family again. Or what could she remember about them now? It was different from what she had expected back in her universe. She wasn't this close to her family. I... this isn't my current reality. I... She didn't dare fight the dreamlike reality. It just made to think of what could have been. Her family, her actions... all of it was worse because of it. She chose to abandon them.

It was pleasant until she tasted the lemonade. Something was off. Something was very wrong. Was it normally that bitter? No. She remembered Kenzo making it oddly sweet. This isn't right. None of this is. Wake up.

Her body refused to wake up. Every inch of her willpower screaming at her to wake up. She needed to before it got worse. She couldn't let that happen. Arashi couldn't.... she had to be strong for their sake. For everybody's sake.

When she did wake up, she couldn't focus for too long. The pain felt unreal. She was drifting back into unconsciousness for god knows how long. Unable to wake herself up fully from this stupid nightmare. She was tired, beyond tired. Stormbreaker wanted to sleep it off, hoping she'd at least wake herself up eventually from the nightmare. It felt like hours, maybe even days, since she was drifting in and out.

Whenever she was asleep, she tried to sleep with decent dreams in mind. Anything and everything to get her mind off this.

Mephisto

 

[Mephisto]

---

Mentions: Metty
​

---

She would dream of nothing that she could remember the next morning - or whatever passed for morning in the deep, dark cavernous prison. She had no concept of time. She had no concept of sunlight. Everything she was given was strictly monitored. The food was more than likely laced with the same drug Dr. Amon wanted her to form a dependency on. The guards were rotated, meaning the stooges from before wouldn't be seen again.

The threat she posed meant there was to be no room for error. She was a ticking time bomb as far as the personnel were concerned. People barely spoke to her and never stayed long enough for her to converse. The darkness and loneliness compounded.

The shadows started to lengthen again.

A hand emerged from between the stonework. Slathered in the stretchy membrane of its origin point, it quickly became solid. It bent as if bones were present. It reached back into the cracks and started to pull something out. A head, then shoulders, and then the pinstripe suit.

He smiled at her - whatever he was.

"You're sick, aren't you?" he laughed.

"Make a few mistakes and you're out with the trash. That's just how it is. Want my advice? Skip the middleman,"

He made a gesture with his head towards the general upstairs surgical area. This thing wasn't real. He couldn't possibly be here, not this far down without anyone noticing. His voice carried and echoed as if he were standing right in front of her, though. His pallid skin stretched as his strangely joyful expression tightened.

"I won't lie to you. You're in a heap of shit right now. It was hilarious at first, but now it's just pathetic. Crying to yourself in the dark won't help. You've got something I want. I can get you out,"

Those teeth of his were razor sharp.

"Or, better yet... how about some easy revenge~?"

He didn't extend his hand. The guards were making their rounds. He walked backwards, returning through the brick wall. The last thing Stormbreaker would see was his utterly vile grin.

"Think about it~"

And then he was gone.

"Prisoner will stand," the forwardmost guard shouted at her, pulling her cell door open and forcing her to stand with a hefty grip on her restrained arm. "Dr. Amon wants you on the operating table again,"

---

 

[Metty]

Stormbreaker
Stormbreaker wanted to just sleep. She was sad, depressed and just overall a mess. She wanted to get out of this. To just rest but... that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. At least not now.

Stormbreaker didn't want to eat, not after she suspected the food was laced with something. But she had no choice, given she was already weak enough as it is. Her tail scales were evident of that as they were heavily dulled due to lack of the correct food. It didn't helped being treated like crap. Not one bit. She was lonely, exhausted and tired.

Her mental health wasn't too great as she swore she started seeing things. Then she saw something move in the shadows. She swore it was this type of halluncations. It spoke to her about about multiple things leaving her to ponder.

Does that mean that I'll be thrown away and killed if I'm not good enough...? I'm... good enough. I'm revelant.

You can't even lift your head up. You can barely talk. You really think your good enough? They will kill you before you think otherwise. Came the other voice in her head. Kill him. He harmed your memories. Take that shadow up on the offer. How can you refuse?

She was left to agrue with her own thoughts until a guard came into her cell and dragged her out. Stormbreaker barely had the strength to resist. She knew that meant that Doctor needed to see her again to run more experiments on her.

As she was dragged into the operating room again. She looked way worse than wear as she looked way weaker than before. That same defiant look in her body wasn't as much as before but replaced with nothing more than a look of hatred. She hated him for whatever he had done.

"What have you have done... to me? You bastard... I'll kill you. I'm... not yours." Stormbreaker did her best to speak but she was clearly weakened and it did a toll on her. This was all wrong. She was a hero that didn't kill and yet... the words felt foreign to her but her rage and mental state torwards this all was taking over. She wasn't thinking clearly.

Mephisto

 

[Mephisto]

---

Dr. Hector Amon
Height: 5' 8"
Weight: 140 lbs
Occupation: mad scientist, West Imperial government (?) worker, jerk
Text Color: #7abd3f
Mentions: Metty
​

---

Stormbreaker was strapped down to the table again, but this time it was different. Her shackles and chains were undone, even her muzzle, and discarded onto the floor. Dr. Amon stood next to her, vulnerable as a newborn sparrow. He stared coldly at her.

"Kill me? Perhaps - if you summon every ounce of your remaining strength,"

He cradled her face, glaring directly into her eyes. He felt nothing. There was no joy, no anger, no sorrow. He simply did this because he felt like it at the spur of the moment. He could do anything and it wouldn't phase that granite expression of his.

"Then what? You'll die before you step foot outside of this room. Your organs will be harvested. Your life will come to a dreadful end. Yet your soul will linger on. It will reincarnate somewhere. But then... so will I - in a way,"

He stood up again, reaching across his scalp and peeling back his skullcap much in the same way as he did for Stormbreaker. Yet this was permanent. This was a self-experiment of maddening design, and he exposed his brain for her to witness as it glowed and twitched in absolute dominance of its own biological limitations.

"I am not the first. I will not be the last. I am Amon! And Amon means me! Quiver, mortal fool, for your threats cannot shake me. But I know what can shatter your formidable resolve,"

He left his brain exposed as he started to reveal syringe after syringe. These were carefully labeled and equipped with fiendish needles. He injected her with one almost immediately, not even explaining what would happen.

He didn't have to.

The effects began to simmer within her flesh like boiling water.

Her muscle and skin bubbled and deflated, an agonizing series of gaseous ruptures occurring throughout her bloodstream one after the other. She'd feel this as if her circulatory system was exploding inside of her body, popping and reforming without restraint. This would move onto her flesh as muscle fibers were forced apart, ripped to pieces, and stitched together in a regenerative maelstrom that had no feasible limit.

"You pride yourself on your recovery speed - yet even that I can take away from you,"

Her body was twisting against her, snapping bones and shaping them back mercilessly. It was as if she were clay, malleable and suffering.

 

[Metty]

Stormbreaker

"I'm not being transformed into somebody I'm not. I'm not losing my humanity. I'm not letting you turn me into some mindless experiment you can control. I'm still human." She spoke coldly. Stormbreaker kept holding out on whatever was left of her humanity all these years ago, not giving into the behavior relating to her race. She didn't feel the same superiority, and aggression like her species did. She felt more human than anything else. Stormbreaker wanted to hold onto that. She was Arashi. She wasn't a beast.

Even with her all her restraints off, she knew she didn't have the strength to fight back fully. Her magic wouldn't be as potent nor as effective due to her requiring food to be converted into magic energy which is lacked currently. As she had was weak level strength from being drugged and alot of tenacity, might be slightly less but her will to fight was still there.

"I didn't ask to be cursed with regeneration for my failures but the gods decided to punish me for my wrongdoings."

Then came the typical mad scientist talk. She just stared at him, raising an eyebrow not even concerned. She had seen this type of shit before in video games. So much video games and anime that it was normal. Mad scientist boasts about something, hero breaks free. They defeat him. This felt too video gamey in the way there was stats, skills... etc. Could anybody else see them?

Wait... am I the hero here? Like. Possibly I guess? But not even I could break free from this.

Then he had syringes suddenly and Stormbreaker's reaction changed to one of dread. Not this shit again. Are they using my own fear against me? No no...

As it was injected into her, she tried to grit her teeth and prevent herself from screaming but her body began to tear it's itself apart. It was painful. So painful that she began to cry and tried her hardest to not yell as she tried to fight the pain. She wanted it to stop.

"I didn't ask for this..."

Mephisto

Fixing up title.

 

[Mephisto]

---

Dr. Hector Amon
Height: 5' 8"
Weight: 140 lbs
Occupation: mad scientist, West Imperial government (?) worker, jerk
Text Color: #7abd3f
Mentions: Metty
​

---

Dr. Amon rolled his eyes.

"You deserve this more than anyone,"

He watched as the regenerative mutagen ran its course, eventually dispersing into little more than an awful memory. He took up another needle. He didn't say or allude to what it was, nor did he let Stormbreaker get a glimpse at the label.

"You knew the risks. You rolled the dice no matter how bad the odds became. You risked everything - and lost. Now you're here with the consequences. That sounds like it's entirely your fault to me,"

He injected her with the mysterious fluid, stepping back to admire the results.

Soon, the reverberations of her force d regeneration were replaced with a devastating muscular tension. She would feel as if every muscle in her entire body was tensing at once. It would feel like fire, but it was not the end of this particular test.

Crystal growths forced their way out from under her skin, embodying empty vessels for the potential of elemental manipulation. Some managed to collect embers of her beloved fire magic, turning from amethyst purple to a gorgeous lavender-orange. These, Dr. Amon forcefully harvested from her very skin.

The pain would be similar to having a hardened scar reopened or a toenail suddenly elevated.

He sent the fiery crystal away for examination as the side effects began to work their way out of Stormbreaker's body much like the first vial.

"I'm not asking for much. Apologize. Beg for forgiveness and I'll show you mercy,"

He lied through his teeth.

---

 

[Metty]

Stormbreaker

My fault? It wasn't my fault that I died... it wasn't my fault those bastards killed them. I wasn't fully up to strength that day. I should incinerated them and myself with my quirk like I did with that ice bastard.

She gritted teeth through the pain, tempted to get angrier and angrier while enduring the pain. Stormbreaker wasn't sure how long her body would even last in this condition but she had to endure. She had to. Or maybe it was better that she died. It would at least put her soul to rest.

It wouldn't erase the mistakes she made. It wouldn't change the past nor fix it. She couldn't fix that. It was beyond saving. Maybe the gods wanted her to atone, but cursing her like this? Horrific. It was a test of character.

As she was injected with something else, Stormbreaker did her best to endure the pain and the suffering that came along with it. She wanted to give up, to surrender to what was happening. She couldn't focus. Stormbreaker was trying to sleep despite the pain in her body.

I want this to end. It should end... I ... can't keep going on like this. I can't keep fighting a never ending fight.

"... just. Get it over with already. Get to the point. Your wasting my time with this. You've taken enough from me. If your going to turn me against everything I stand for, then go ahead already. I'm exhausted. I just want to sleep."

Mephisto

 

[Mephisto]

---

Dr. Hector Amon
Height: 5' 8"
Weight: 140 lbs
Occupation: mad scientist, West Imperial government (?) worker, jerk
Text Color: #7abd3f
Mentions: Metty
​

---

The mad doctor's faced scrunched into an unsatisfied expression. He seemed disappointed in her. He didn't even bother with the last syringe as he forcefully peeled the last crystal from Stormbreaker's scales and shattered it against the floor.

"No," he sighed.

He didn't seem angry at all. He seemed almost bored now, giving himself over to the casual acceptance that she would never break in the manner he wanted. She would choose her own morbid way, even with open wounds and an empty stomach.

She would rather starve than admit defeat.

He admired her in a strange way. He obviously despised her. He perhaps viewed her as a stubborn experiment gone cold long ago, yet still thriving enough to collect data from.

He thought for a moment. He pondered injecting the remainder of his medicinal arsenal into her veins and seeing what would happen but came to the conclusion that this simply wasn't the time.

She wouldn't react how he wanted. The pain and suffering wasn't enough. She needed to scream for it, howl in anguish, but be unable to escape the torment. She could still mentally check out. She could still find ways out of her predicament.

She could still... sleep.

"No, I... I don't think you will,"

He skipped straight ahead to something in his coat pocket. It was an unlabeled syringe, one he affixed a fresh needle to.

This was a more permanent toxin, one that ate away at the neurons controlling fatigue. He forced it directly into her spinal column between the vertebrae in her neck.

She would never require sleep again.

But she also couldn't achieve it.

It was a self-fulfilling cycle of just enough energy to stay awake, and just enough rest to never gain full, sweet unconsciousness.

"Take her back to her cell," he commanded the stoic guards.

"Basic rations once every three days,"

With these words they brought her back to the darkness of her isolation chamber so that she could experience her new and complete inability to sleep for the first time.

Here she would spend another two weeks - alone, forgotten, and kept frail and weak in impenetrable black of her forced insomnia.

---

 

[Metty]

Stormbreaker

Stormbreaker couldn't sleep. She tried to, but couldn't. She felt so frail, weak and... just awful. She felt so much pain from through her wounds. The experimentation on her body wasn't helpful. Then there was that injection that made her unable to sleep. She couldn't bear it anymore. She just laid there on the floor, trying to find any ounce of ability to sleep.

She heard guards walk about the cells and then one stopped to have a glance at her almost 13 days later. She had been left alone mostly, they kept watching her. Making sure she ate her food and was alive.

"That's the one the Amon was having trouble breaking? She seems weak and pathetic. Heard she blew up the operating room. Doesn't look like much now." Came the voice of the older sounder guard. The guard opened the door, walking along to inspect her.

He then kicked her hard in the ribs hars and all that came out was a weakened whimper, as he inspected her body. He noted how dirty her clothes and body was were as they were covered with dirt and grime. "Dirty. We can't have that in a sterlie enviroment, can we? Time for you to hit the showers."

Showers? I can't even look after myself let alone shower, I'm too weak to do that. She thought to herself.

The older guard picked up the weakened dragon, trying to get her to stand but she couldn't even do that due to her condition and he was forced to pick her up fully. Stormbreaker felt like she had passed out in that instance.

Then the next second, she was woken up by a huge amount of cold, soapy water being drenched on her body. It jolted her awake, for the guard to be standing over her with a hose and a bucket of soapy liquid on the cold floor of what seems to be a shower room of sorts. They sprayed her with more water trying to get the soap over her body but it was insanely cold. The cold you feel in the mountains or outside.

"You're finally awake." the voice of the guard shouted at her as she was cleaned fully, against her will and with cold water nonetheless. They at least made the effort to dry her and her clothes with towels so she wouldn't die from hypothemia, kicking her harder in the ribs which caused her unable to breathe for a second or two afterwards. It was painful. But she was lifted back to her cell afterwards. She felt like shit. Then guard dropped her onto the ground, leaving her alone and helpless again.

She had been left alone for a while but they dragged her ass out for the showers again. This happened every day or so. They wanted her to be clean at least. It was better than nothing but the cold water was.... painful. It stung her body everytime, her body was left shivering in the cell as she heat herself up everytime from it.

Then came the guards one day. It seemed different. She didn't know when it was or... what time of day it was. But the one thing she knew for sure, is this time was different.

This was a different guard from the last time. He came in with a few guards and they gestured across at her. "Hold her down, this will be easier on us and her if so."

The two guards went to hold Stormbreaker down, her unable to fight their grasp. "This is for your own good. Don't try and resist this."

Resist what? What am I resisting- she thought to herself as she tried to glance at what was happening, but couldn't see anything but the feeling of herself on the floor. Then she felt her arm being cleaned and the pain of her IV line in her arm and whimpered loudly as it was placed it into her arm. She didn't notice somebody else there that put the IV in, but they sure felt it.

Stormbreaker felt fairly weird after it was inserted into her arm and she felt... quite docile compared to her behavior before. They stepped back, letting her go as she got barely onto her feet, noting the IV stand and the IV line in her arm. She watched what seemed to be a medical professional bandage up her arm. She didn't have the strength to take it out nor resist very much.

She knew what it was. Stormbreaker didn't want to admit what how badly she needed it, but they just had to up her dosage to this. Maybe it was some way of getting her even more dependent on them. She just wanted to scream. They left her alone afterwards, but... for the remaining time, all she could do was curl up into a ball and at least hug her scarf and just cry. It was hopeless but it was the only comfort she had now.

Mephisto

 

[Mephisto]

---

| Metty |
​

---

Stormbreaker had reached a point where all hope seemed lost.

She would never again see familiar faces, or feel the warmth of the sun. She would be down here, forever, until her body finally gave up - and then what? This experience would haunt her regardless of what she did to forget it.

No amount of reincarnation could scrub away the guilt and pain, not unless she wanted to also throw away those precious memories that were irrevocably stained. True enough, the darkness crept in. She had no shoulder to cry on save her own. The bones showed through the skin and scales, her body weaker than it had ever been.

Her mind wandered. The guards forgot about her except for when they were authorized to humiliate her. She had no one to speak to. She had no one to confide with.

One night, when the witching hour was struck, she felt a presence. It was familiar enough to be intriguing... or haunting. His voice echoed down the hall as he hummed a tune. It was most assuredly someone who hadn't hurt her - at least not yet.

He promised her a way out once. He promised many things. But above all, he promised revenge. Easy revenge.

The shadows lengthened as he crept to her cell door, leaning against it and pressing his face against the bars.

"Goodness gracious, you look terrible! I'm honestly surprised you've made it this far. Bravo!"

He clapped his hands to the accompaniment of an invisible crowd cheering for her through the thick field of strange magic he conjured from everywhere... and nowhere.

No light escaped from the dense static. He walked through the cell door, gave his hand a twirl, and changed the interior of the isolation chamber into a comfortable office. He gave Stormbreaker a couch to lay on and sat in his chair, surrounded by nameless books and with a radio playing something fanciful and upbeat in the background.

He took note of her many scars and infected sores. She looked less like a noble dragon and more like a shambling corpse. His smile never faded. In fact, it might have become more pronounced.

"Name's Mephisto - that's M-E-P-H-I-S-T-O. Have you given my offer a bit more thought? I'm afraid you don't have much time left to consider the deal,"

He waited for her response. Whether or not she was too sickly to speak didn't matter. Amon might have broken her body and violated her mind, and yet this being had the power to undo all of that.

But everything had a price.

"All you have to do is shake my hand," he extended his long limb.

"And we can be the best of friends~"

---

 

[Metty]

Stormbreaker

She was lost in her own thoughts for a while. It was the same routine daily. She didn't know what to think. It was until she heard that stupid voice again. That same voice that haunted her a few weeks ago about her getting out. She thought on it long and hard since then. She wanted to ignore it, hoping it was a dream or just a side effect of the stuff they used on her. But no, this was a real thing.

"You're.... real?" She managed to choke out with her weakened voice. Surely this is all some bad dream right. She didn't react much if anything to her surroundings, just barely able to lift her head up to even talk. She tried to summon her strength to talk. "Revenge... what does that consist of?" she was feeling her anger coming back at what happened against her. She was upset. She wanted the doctor to suffer, but not easily, she couldn't kill him because she would be dead if that happened, she knew this.

She thought long and hard on it. Make him suffer for what he did. He shouldn't be treating you so poorly. You should kill him like you nearly did with Frostbite after what he did to your dad. Villains shouldn't be left alive, you know this. They don't deserve redemption. They deserve to suffer. Make him suffer.

I'll make all of them suffer for what they did. I'm going to burn it all... to the ground like I always done. What other choice do I have? I'm not suffering anymore under that madman. Nobody is going to control me.

She had no choice. It was either take this offer or suffer longer. Stormbreaker was going to break through this at all, she already suffered enough. She suffered back in her old world when it came to her own quirk, it destroyed her body whenever she used it over the limit. But here... she can use it without it harming her body the same way. This world... would allow her to transcend her old limits and become better, stronger than she could ever be. To do that though.

There was no hesitation when it came to her shaking his hand. She needed to get out of here at whatever cost.

"I'll be dead... if I kill the bastard who does this. Want revenge... but I don't... kill." She spoke out loud.

Mephisto

 

[Mephisto]

---

Stormbreaker in...

"Jailbreak Jamboree"

Starring:

| Metty |

...as herself!
​

---

The "Fae" devil's smile widened. His expression of pure hellish glee tightened across his pale face as he wholeheartedly embraced the dragon's withered hand. He could have devoured her whole. He felt a great hunger from her soul. The desire for revenge burned like fire. He could admire that, and helped her to her weakened feet. He held her with his uncanny limbs, refusing to see her wallow in the muck again.

She had his attention now.

"Who said you had to?" he replied to her statement with a slight tilt of his head.

She didn't want to be the person holding the knife. But desperation apparently made it reasonable to get someone else to do it. He whisked his hand through the air and in a cloud of red smoke, the room shifted around in a magical cyclone. He gently shoved her down into a comfortable chair and imps immediately set about giving her food and drink - enough to satisfy her undoubtedly immense hunger and thirst.

"Don't worry about it being drugged," he gave her a boop on her snout. "We're friends, you and I! I can't have my friends dying on me before they get their wishes,"

He spun on a heel. The chair levitated in the air on slilts for legs. The cell burst open and the parade of shadows emerged from within, sending the prison complex into chaos. Mephisto hummed something and it carried through the air like a disease. Prisoners who never spoke to Stormbreaker before or even knew she existed suddenly walked out of their chambers and started to accompany the abomination in his diabolical showmanship.

"Hope you like musicals darling," he remarked towards the walking chair containing Stormbreaker.

The guards were very much aware of the commotion, but couldn't do anything. They were stuck in place as Mephisto took his cane and jumped onto their card table, kicking their drinks over and dancing without a care in the world. The guards were forced into standing as if they were being commanded by a puppeteer. Their limbs moved with some measure of resistance, but for the most part they were marionettes on strings.

"Because you're the main attraction~!"

He laughed as the guards screamed in terror, their bodies unable to react to the prisoners lunging at them with balled fists and vicious strikes. Mephisto kept dancing to the song playing from the walls, even as blood splattered and organs squelched around him. There were prisoners who were crying. They begged him to stop. They didn't want to eat their captors. They wanted to go back home and see their families. But the "Fae" devil didn't listen. He made their throats convulse around the lumps of warm meat.

There was backlash. Some purged. Others gagged, unable to fully retch. He kept smiling.

"Oh come now, where's your sense of adventure? Where's the bloodlust? Where's the madness?!"

He laughed, sweeping his finger through the air. Their throats were lacerated by invisible strings, the heads left afloat as the bodies collapsed. Stormbreaker's chair descended and Mephisto loomed over her, but gave her noggin a soft bonk with his cane.

She vanished and reappeared at the head of a long table lined with all sorts of guests she didn't know. There were living dolls, talking animals, and clockwork things that moved and acted like people. They were drinking tea, eating pastries, and gave her a round of applause as she appeared in a puff of red smoke.

"Hello there! How do you do?
Have you come for drink?
Have you come for food?
We have plenty!
More than we can eat!
You look hungry
Have you slept at all?
Plus you really stink"
​

The crowd of strange things fell into a hush as Mephisto emerged from the center of the table, bursting from the distended belly of a roasted pig. He flicked some entrails from his pinstripe suit.

"Now now, my friends
That's no way to expand our venue
She's someone we must defend
From the cruel, unfeeling world
There's safety in insanity!
Like a banner unfurled
Telling all you see
That you're not on the menu"
​

The music swelled as he walked along the tabletop, kicking whatever and whomever got in his way. A small velveteen rabbit made a pathetic screeching noise as it flew away into the dark depths of the scarlet forest. The wailing became something horrendous as the wolves started to howl and snarl. Bones snapped. Blood sprayed onto the trees.

"In this world it's kill or be killed
It's not like your other world at all
There were rules, guidelines, limitations
But throw those out the window!
You don't need them!
Nothing matters so long as you're thrilled
It's all a madhouse, so have a ball!
The only order that matters... is mutilation!"
​

He existed in two places at once. Perhaps he did so on multiple planes, on multiple occasions, simply because he felt like doing so. Nothing existed without his consent. Everything existed within it. Without his words, without his songs, there was no purpose to his reality - and therefore, there wasn't any purpose to the rest of this place. If he could not sing, if he could not find pleasure in the havoc that he caused, then the comedic value of his existence would simply fade away.

And so would he.

Like a piece of flesh in a riverbed or a bloodstain on the maw of a giant bear, it all faded in time. Hunger drove evolution. What that hunger was depended on the organism wanting to survive in the cruel world around them. Mephisto simply hungered for the sake of it.

He sought out individuals with similar tastes, similar urges. Stormbreaker desired to be strong - at least at first. It was a simple desire. It was clean. Yet over time, she was corrupted by other forces. Her hunger was perverted. It became twisted into a starvation. She was starving for something beyond strength.

She was no longer clean. Violated by surgery and chemical science, she had no choice. She fell into the clutches of a devil.

She fell into the clutches of Mephisto.

And he danced with her in the pale moonlight, making her watch as he swept through the halls like a ghost. He walked through walls, pulling men of flesh and blood into the stone. He crushed them under the weight of the facility, their screams muffled by the foundation they worked to maintain as well as the blood being squeezed into their lungs. Strings cascaded this way and that, collecting the heads of his victims.

He left them howling in pain, striking only when it suited him. He made them follow his footsteps. He made them laugh. He made them sing.

"So they say, and so it goes
We can feel it, oh hey oh
From our heads down to our toes
It's the oldest story that's ever been told
A lesson worth it's weight in gold
Of how revenge is a dish best served cold"
​

The decapitated heads floated along. He indulged in his butchery. Stormbreaker had a front row seat from the tea table, the broadcast giving her whatever closure she wanted from the senseless killing.

Meanwhile, Dr. Amon had to send the facility into a red alert status. The lights became dark crimson, steering whoever was still alive into emergency exits. But the shadows were already long. Those who found open stairwells were little more than toys, their organs ripped from their bellies as Mephisto continued his routine. Some ran. Others accepted their dark fate. There was nowhere to escape to.

The entire Monster Factory was caught in the midst of One Hell of a Show!

---