Project Deicide

[Siren77]

Kenzo had to snicker, shaking his head from side to side with a sigh. Ofelia was always so quick to think him injured, believing constantly that she needed to be self sufficient if he was injured in the slightest. In a way it showed she cared, though it definitely was a frustrating way of expressing it. He’d take it for what it’s worth though, it was at least progress. She was beginning to trust him, and that was already a big step in the right direction.

Once all of the children were loaded up into the vents, with the instruction of staying put for now, Kenzo looked to Ofelia.

“We should look into the two lower floors below where we entered. There’s only one above us, and it’s smaller than the rest. Everything else is expansive, like a laboratory. I think it’s our best bet of finding them.”

Kenzo let off a shaky breath. Adrenaline was still surging through his veins. He was understandably on edge, fearing what would be down there and if they’d be able to handle it. But, he reasoned with himself, thinking that if the Spider had been tasked with guarding prisoners then surely it was one of its tougher creations. So with that foolish reasoning, surely whatever lies beneath wouldn’t be much worse. Flashes of the brief visage he’d seen of the Demonic Machine went through his mind, and his stomach dropped. But he chose to ignore it, refusing to give in to fear.

“We should try to find you water. You don’t look on too bad of shape, but I don’t want to take any risks.”

 

[icarusburning]

Ofelia ignored her shaking hands as she helped the kids into the vents, whispering promises to return unharmed with their friends. She wanted to urge them to run away and get out of here while they still could, but reminding them of the horrors that might get them only seemed counterproductive, and they seemed certain that Ofelia and Kenzo were their tickets to safety. So instead, Ofelia told them to stay put, huddle together, and avoid being seen. She tried not to let the implications of it dawn on her: if she and Kenzo failed, the children were doomed. The kids would remain here and wait for them until Obatala or his minions found them out. Ofelia had no choice but to succeed.

Ofelia was ready to demand that Kenzo stay back too, protecting the kids from danger and getting them out in case Obatala was too strong, but when he began recalling the layout of the facility, she realized that she had no clue where she was going. She nodded along as he spoke, recognizing that she would need his help. Besides, his words made sense, and her heart was pounding too hard to really recall the layout of the building that she had seen on her way in.

They were going to be making their way to Obatala himself, she realized slowly. She was planning on killing a God. The idea seemed absurd. The Project had been planning these battles for decades. Each Adept had been carefully selected and distributed into teams. All of Ofelia's life had been dedicated to sticking with careful plans and an intended subject. Never had she thought that she'd be anywhere near Obatala, ready to kill him. Nonetheless with a near stranger who also hadn't been intended to fight the robot God.

Deep breaths, she urged herself. They had taken down two of his beasts now. He was a God, but his strength came from his creations. If they could get to him, they could beat him. She turned to Kenzo, his words about water reminding her of how much of her flesh was missing. She could use some, but she saw his bruises and knew that he would need food just as much.

"I'll be alright for now. Let's just focus on the mission at hand," she replied, "Obatala was probably alerted about his machine being taken down, so we have limited time. Besides, the faster we can get to the children, the less likely they are to be hurt. If you take the front, I can protect you from behind. If we can take out his creations before they send alerts to him, he won't know the path we're taking."

 

[Siren77]

Kenzo nodded his head in agreement with Ofelia’s strategy for roaming the halls. Guarding their front and back was their only concern, so divvying up their attention as such would prove effective so long as they kept their head in a swivel for any surprises. It made his stomach sink just thinking of what they’d encounter down in the lower chambers, but confidence still burned in his chest. So long as he had help, they would succeed.

Wordless as was typical of him, Kenzo led the way back towards the central room where the elevators were, the only concern now being the safety of the children. So long as they obeyed Ofelia’s instruction, they’d remain isolated and hidden from any of Obatala’s creatures that might find their way up here. He had to have faith that all would be well, that they could find the missing two and return them along with the rest. Failure was not an option, he couldn’t allow these children to suffer like they had, witnessing their peers and family being slaughtered before their very eyes. Kenzo swore that the cycle of pain would end here. So, stowing back the way they came, they entered the still empty Central Room, and he’d queue up an elevator to take them downwards. He decided to start at the bottom and work their way up. There’d be a lot of ground to cover, but hopefully there’d be a sign of new experiments somewhere.

The ride was smooth, with the change in positioning hardly being noticeable. It was a little cramped with the both of them riding in the podlike lift, but they fit well enough. In silence they’d ride, until the lift came to a half and the pod door opened once again. Three of Obatala’s cybernetic slaves sat at a desk found in a room decorated with monitors identical to the others they’d been in before. Their heads would hardly be able to swivel in their direction before Kenzo Blasted them with a loud crack of electricity that fried their circuits and sent them slumping to the ground.

‘Sorry lads, can’t have you spoiling our arrival.’ Kenzo thought to himself as he stepped out and shoved their smoking bodies underneath the desk out of sight. His eyes then wandered to the monitors, looking at them all. Each was focused on a cell, some empty, others containing subject of all sorts of horrors. There was no audio, which was fortunate, as given the state of some of Obatala’s creations he doubted there’d be nothing but tortures screams echoing in those rooms. One test subject in particular had its limbs entirely removed, with a tripod of sharp limbs for its legs, and a set of arms looking to be set with rows of sharp blade, that ended in fingers similar to scissors. It was tearing itself apart as it sat idle, a mix of blood and a black liquid dripping down its body.

Doing his best to ignore the horrors displayed on the screen, Kenzo looked around, searching for the two human children that still had a chance to avoid fates such as these. His eyes came to a halt at one of the monitors, and widened at what he saw. Njeri and Tuk could be seen in a monitor labeled 47, Njeri was crying but Tuk seemed to be unconscious. Both of them looked okay, with no visible injuries to their bodies. They still had time.

Kenzo looked to the four entryways, each labeled in groups of 25 (ie 1-25, 26-50, 51-75, and 76-100). It was odd that there were so many rooms, but he had to assume some of them were for storage given that not all of them rooms had cameras inside. The hall to their right would take them to where cell47 was. If they were lucky, they could get the pair and escape without needing to engage in combat. So he nodded his head towards the hall, signaling where they’d move next, before taking the first steps into the hall. It was obvious it branched out into a larger space, built with corridors and a white light to the leftmost side of what he could see. It would only be when they drew near to the opening that they could start to hear the sounds of Obatala’s creations.

Spoiler: Obatala’s Lab

First to be heard was the clanging, banging, slamming, and chiming of metal grinding on metal. The various test subjects could be heard slamming against their cell walls, thrashing on the floor, or even tearing themselves apart as he had seen with the scissor handed subject. Next, came the screams. Violent, painful, and angry. The noises were ungodly, inhuman, and chilling to the bone. Some sounded as if they’d been screaming for years, while others anguish was fresh. It was almost animalistic, and made Kenzo sick to his stomach.

“Let’s hurry and find them. I don’t want to linger here any longer.” Kenzo whispered, advancing into the first of many corridors.

The subjects that bothered to pay attention would see the pair, and were angered by their freedom and intact humanity. They began throwing themselves at the clear door and walls of their cells, hoping to break free and destroy them. But it was all in vain. Obatala had them locked up tight, and there would be no escape for them.

Kenzo could only pray the children, himself, and Ofelia wouldn’t suffer a similar fate.

 

[icarusburning]

Ofelia felt bile rising in her throat as she followed Kenzo, each step making her more and more nervous. The halls reminded her of the underground facility she'd spent her entire life in, and the reminder of the blood-stained walls made her only more fearful. She didn't dare show it as she walked, though. Admitting to fear was the same as giving in to it. She just had to push it to the back of her mind and press on. There were more important issues at hand here, and Ofelia's PTSD hardly ranked among them.

She stepped into the lift after Kenzo summoned it, not questioning his navigation. She was sure that she could trust him with directions, and she didn't recall much of the layout of the facility at all. The lift ride was long and cramped, and Ofelia felt the need to speak to Kenzo. Should she say something? Thank him for being calm? Apologize for letting the kids get taken? She wasn't really sure. The silence was awful, though, and Ofelia felt like it was choking her. She was opening her mouth to say something, anything, when the lift stopped and the doors slid open. Hardly expecting it, Ofelia nearly jumped out of her skin as she saw the robots standing in the room beyond them. She felt her body melting in panic, trying to hide, when a zap of electricity made her pause. Quicker than she could even say her own name, Kenzo had electrocuted the enemies and was now stepping into the room.

Ofelia took a deep breath and collected herself, moving into the room behind him. She took in the arrays of monitors covering the walls, each displaying a different room. Curious, she moved closer, only to suddenly realize what they were showing. Each screen showed Obatala's horrifying experiments, blood and gore littering each room. Her eyes flickered between the grotesque images, unable to stop themselves. Finally, she settled on one, staring at a man hunched over in the corner of his room. His skin was littered in deep cuts, though he looked normal otherwise. Ofelia cocked her head and leaned closer, examining his bloody appearance. As if he knew that she was looking at him, his head snapped up to look at the camera, and Ofelia reeled away in horror. His chest was pried open, machine organs filling his body. His eyes were black and his jaw slack, blood leaking out of the corner of it. All Ofelia could do was turn to the side and vomit, the sight burnt into the back of her eyes.

Ofelia wasted no time chasing after Kenzo as he opened a new door, clearly knowing where the kids were. For a brief second, Ofelia thought that the new area would be a respite from the horrors in the other room, but then the screams reached her ears. They were piercing, horrible screams. Ofelia froze, and suddenly she was back in the hall of Project Deicide, clutching at dog tags and her sanity. There was no blood at her feet here in Obatala's lab, but as she moved towards Kenzo, she could swear that she felt the stickiness of gore under her shoes.

When Kenzo spoke, it was like a knife cutting through her fear. She remembered that she had to keep going, that there was a goal here. She needed to move. So she did, though the weight of the tags around her neck felt heavy and the ringing in her ears was almost drowning out the screams.

Then they turned into the corridor.

Ofelia wasn't prepared for the horrors along the halls, all of the mutilated subjects wailing and screaming and throwing themselves at their doors. Ofelia jumped back as they yelled at her, begging for help, cursing her out, or screeching indecipherable nonsense. They were in pain, viscera lining nearly every cell, and it took every muscle in Ofelia's body to not throw up again. Her steps forward felt sluggish, as if wading through deep water, and each one was getting harder to make. She turned and saw a woman with her skull split and horns protruding from it, an extra pair of metallic arms and legs hanging limply from her body. The woman was crying, reaching towards Ofelia with frantic hands. Ofelia's knees gave out, collapsing and ending up level with the woman. Ofelia only realized that she was crying when her vision went completely blurry, staring at the prisoner.

"I can't do this," Ofelia croaked, to no one in particular, "Don't make me do this. Let me go home."

 

[Siren77]

It wasn’t long after Kenzo had whispered his own wishes to be removed from this place that he heard Ofelia stumble and fall to her knees next to the cells. He couldn’t even blame her, not after the brief display of what they’d already witnessed Obatala had done. There were so many of them! So many lives ruined with their flesh having stripped away and creative means of metallic torture replacing it. What was the point of all this? Why experiment on so many and leave them here to suffer? Clearly some of them were failed experiments, given their cybernetic appendages hung limp, or they themselves were no moving. Why not finish what has already been started? Or at the very least put them out of their misery? He had to remind himself that Obatala, as well as any other Adept that dared call themselves a God, had long lost their humanity. They didn’t care about those they deemed themselves rulers over. They never would care. That’s why there were here, and that’s why they needed to keep moving.

As soon as he heard her go down, Kenzo doubled back and knelt next to Ofelia. Listening to her distraught mumbling, it made him think of those he’d heard softly begging for their lives in their final moments. Out of the same instinct he once shared with his now gone teammates, he’d drape an arm over top of her shoulders, holding firm to hopefully provide some comfort. It broke his heart hearing her sound so defeated, even if her typical behavior frayed his nerves. But he completely understood how she felt. Nothing had gone right for them. Instead of an Army of adepts being sent out to dispose of the Gods, it was just them. On top of their pressure, they were now bearing first hand accounts to just one of the Gods heinous acts. The reality of their role in this broken world was setting in, and it clearly left a sour taste in both of their mouths.

But, they couldn’t give up.

“Come on,” he’d say, his voice breaking through then horrific screams of Obatala’s abominations. “We have to keep moving. There’s too much at stake to give up now.” His hand lightly caressed her shoulder. “Come one. Come on, I believe in you..... I believe in you.”

He found himself echoing what he’d already said before. One would think it pointless given how she’d reacted before, but Kenzo knew all too well what support from others could do for someone who we breaking or broken. While they were clearly vastly different, humans still shared the same needs. They all need care and love, even if it’s only every once in a while. Without it, they become cold, heartless like the Gods. While as children they lacked the genuine love of a parent or guardian, they always had each other. Every face around them was someone they could trust, a friend they could reach out to, a body to hold. It was clear that Ofelia had isolated herself from these things at an early age. It explained why she was so emotionally distant, even from her own team. So caught up in being a leader that she failed to give herself a chance to be normal for a bit. As much as she always suppressed it, Kenzo knew it must her like hell to feel such a way. But, stubborn as he always was, he was going to try and change that for the better.

“Come on.” He’d repeat again. “We gotta move Ofelia.”

 

[icarusburning]

Ofelia stiffened up as Kenzo draped an arm over her, the sudden touch grounding her back to reality. Right. She was in a hall in a lab. She wasn't at Project Deicide. She wasn't among the corpses of her teammates. She was on a mission. She had a job here.

She turned to look up at Kenzo, his words ringing in her head. He believed in her? She was dead silent for a moment, staring at his face as he spoke to her. What bullshit was he spouting? Ofelia didn't care about his opinions or his belief. Out here, among the experiments and corpses, he dared say something like that? Ofelia didn't need his trust or confidence. She had her own. She could keep moving on her own. She always had, and she always would. She didn't need his comfort.

At least, that's what she told herself.

It hurt her as she shoved his arm off of her, huffing as she stood. She wanted him to keep talking, to let her know that she was alright. But the fear of being dependent outweighed her. She was the leader here. The strong one, who would keep them moving. She was in charge, she was in control. Her mental breakdown was unacceptable, and she scolded herself for it.

"Don't touch me. I'm fine," she scowled, turning away from him as she brushed the tears away from her eyes, "I'll lead us from here on out. I'll be able to slip into the cells easier, anyways. I'm much stealthier than you." She felt a pang of guilt at the harsh words, even when she knew that he was just trying to help. Everything about the situation had freaked her out, though. She wasn't weak. She wasn't scared. She was the perfect leader that she had always been, keeping a careful distance to keep her power.

Ofelia strode forwards down the hall without waiting for Kenzo, biting her lip to ignore all of the screaming and horrors on each side of her. They still scared her just as much as they did when she first entered, but she wouldn't break down again. She wouldn't look too long at the blood on the floor, or the fists that slammed against their walls, or the empty eyes that stared into a blank spot in the distance, or even the half-human, half-robot machinery that lay strewn about the cages-

Not paying attention to it was harder than she thought.

Still, she pushed onwards, shoving her tongue against her throat to keep from gagging and keeping her eyes trained on the metal grates that lined the floor.

 

[Siren77]

Kenzo huffed slightly as Ofelia came back to reality, albeit in her standard harsh fashion. It seemed like as soon as that glazed over and panic look in her eyes faded, it was replaced by the typical annoyed look that was a complete 180. So quick she’s shifted from terrified to confident, and it grated on nerves as it always did. But.... it was atleast a relief to see her attitude improve, even if it was to a different degree of concerning. He wasn’t going to give up on her though. Habits like hers would be hard to break, but he promised himself he wouldn’t give up.

Choosing a passive route, Kenzo merely nodded his head in response to her plan. Clearly that last part was intended as a bit of a jab at him, but he let it go. Now wasn’t the time to fight, or to escalate the already tense situation. He just needed to be patient, and supportive. Even if it meant getting abused a little in the process.

Once Ofelia took her desired lead, Kenzo followed up behind her, taking care to watch their rear and ensure nothing snuck up behind them. Further on they’d move through the holding cells, his eyes averting the various abominations. Eventually they all became one big blur of pain. His brain tunes out the specifics of their appearances, but it didn’t stop him from occasionally glancing up. It was hard not to look. Whether it was out of a sick fascination, or a tardy concern he wasn’t sure. Perhaps it was more that he felt the need to analyze them, scan their appearance for potential threats in the abominations that were released from this place.

As they passed the rows upon rows of cells, they’d pass a larger rooms that remained consistent onwards. Clearly they were more designated areas for testing, as most were occupied with tables and machines that the test subjects were hooked up to. Obatala clearly made rounds through this area, as there was more of the same monitors that the androids from before could access, except they looked a little more intricate. They were close, that much was certain. The two looked okay for the most part, so hopefully they could extract them and leave before anything would notice. That was best case scenario though, and Kenzo was beginning to learn that the best case was never realistic.

There was a specific room that caught Kenzo’s attention however that featured the worst of what he’d seen so far. It was just a man, a single man that was faced down toward the table. The upper half of his body was propped up by a rack of sorts, arching it upright as to be in proper view of what was behind him. His back was flayed open completely, with everything except his spinal column and rib cage having been pinned to the sides. The machine behind him that likely had done this was now carefully moving a scalpel up at the top of his spine, cutting at the little vessels flowing from his skull which would barely be seen peaking out from the large incision. The man was sobbing, clearly out of breath, and sweating profusely. Kenzo knew what he saw would’ve hurt like hell, but it looked like the pain was only just beginning for him.

The machine stopped, and a few audible beeps could be heard, as if it were confirming completion of its task. Kenzo found himself to have stopped dead in his tracks, as he watched the machine rise, tucking away its currently tools and producing a new one. The first was a drill, and a thick one at that, spanning about three inches in width. The next was a little saw with prongs. The saw whirred to life, and began cutting into the untouched flesh of the mans shaved head. He’d groan, vocal cords to fried to do much else as his skin was split and pulled to the sides just as his back had been. The pearl white surface of his skull was now in full view, and the machine removed the saw and switched to the drill.

“Wait.....” groaned the man. “Please....” the drill began to spin at an accelerating rate. “NO!!!!”

The scream that followed was going to haunt Kenzo until the day he died. Despite the fried and tired vocal cords of the test subject, as soon as the drill reached and made contact with the back of his skull, pained shrieks at cracked intervals rang out through the whole facility. Unresponsive to the subjects pain, the machine wore away at the hard skull and advanced a ways in until a sharp crack could be heard. The drill then stopped and withdrew, leaving the man sobbing as a pair of claws arose and began picking at and removing the remaining larger bits of the skull in the way of the hole it just made.

“I want to die!!!” The man cried as the machine worked, “Why can’t I just FUCKING DIE!!!??”

The mans question would go unanswered as a tube latched itself onto the hole in his skull. Suctioning could be heard, followed by a grey mass beginning to protrude from the skull. At first it moved slowly, very slowly. But all at once, after the brain was halfway out, it shot out of the skull and was sent through the tube. The mans scream had continued until the brain was fully extracted, but then he went limp. On the opposite end, a receptacle was waiting for the brain to be shot into and stored. Next to it was a large bit of machinery, equal in size to the brain, that was sophisticated and likely beyond any comprehension that wasn’t Obatala’s.

“Data transfer ready. Artificial brain to be prepared for insertion.” The machine hummed before going limp as well, clearly awaiting further instruction.

“He’s really gonna do it.” Whispered Kenzo, his eyes wide with shock at what he just whispered, still stuck looking at the organ and it’s counterfeit next to it. “He’s practicing on others, just so he himself can have it done. He’s willing to give up what little is left that makes it human, just to fulfill his own disgusting ideals.” Kenzo felt like throwing up, but at the same time his stomach felt like it was sinking. “Let’s go.” He’d whisper, wanting to look at anything other than that cell now.

 

[icarusburning]

Ofelia noticed it when the contents of the cages changed, not that she spent too much time staring at them to find out what the change was. She ignored the machines and monitors, not daring to spare them any long glances. The bile from earlier still sat heavy in her throat, and she wasn't too keen on losing any more of her stomach. Even as the screams from the experiments tore at her ears, she didn't turn, eyes fixated on the hall in front of her. Just keep moving, she told herself, just keep pushing forwards.

Ofelia felt it when Kenzo paused, his presence no longer behind her. She didn't want to stop or turn to look at him. She was doing just fine keeping up a faster pace. She didn't need to take in any more of the horrors lining each wall. But after she took a few more steps and Kenzo still didn't catch up to her, she finally stopped. Turning to see what was going on, she saw him staring into the cell of a screaming man, a drill going into the back of his head. She sucked in a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see what was going to happen to him, even if she could guess. Her fists clenched as the machine spoke up, its artificial voice ringing out when the man's screams stopped.

Ofelia hardly heard Kenzo's words, but what she did manage to hear only made her angrier. How he was still paying attention to it, how he still seemed to care. This was hell, she was certain of it, and Kenzo was examining it as if it were worth examining.

"Just shut up!" Ofelia snapped, voice echoing around the corridor, "Just stop looking! They're fucking dead, and this is all so screwed up! I don't want to see it anymore and neither do you! You can stare at them and pity them all that you'd like and it still wouldn't end their suffering. Keep walking so we can kill the bastard behind this and pretend like this goddamn torture chamber never existed." Ofelia was all too aware that the tears had started falling again halfway through her words, but she couldn't seem to bring them to stop. She rubbed at her cheeks to brush them away with an angry hand, all of her emotions a writing bundle in her chest. She could hardly sort through them to figure out what she was feeling, but she did know that she desperately wanted to leave.

 

[Siren77]

Ofelia’s sudden outburst snapped Kenzo back to reality, pulling his attention from the horrors contained within the testing cells, and back to reality. Back to her, his teammate, one of the few people he had left to fight for outside of the general human race. Clearly she was hurting, wanting nothing more than to leave this forsaken place, and he wanted the same. But that could only be done if they pressed forward. It was sad yes, and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel for those tortured souls. But…. Ofelia was right. They were as good as dead. If Obatala hadn’t tortured their minds beyond saving, or completely removed him like Kenzo had seen, they likely won’t survive their masters extermination. They were all just additional casualties of the Gods reign over the world. The only way to save them, was to avenge them.

“You’re right….” He breathed shakily. “You’re right…. Let’s, let’s just…” He looked up hesitantly towards the hall. “Let’s just keep moving. We need to leave as soon as possible.”

Not waiting for a response, Kenzo led the way onwards once more, his pace a little faster than before.

It would’ve taken their head on a swivel to find which cell the children were in, but then they would start to hear a voice. It sounded human, but had a slightly digitized tone to it that sounded unnatural. Nothing like the purely autonomous voices of the droids wandering the faculties, but it wasn’t completely human either. There was only one guess as to who it was, and Kenzo knew that it meant they were either too late or on the verge of being so. Picking up the pace to a quiet jog, he’d continue advancing and watching for the source of the voice in one of these larger cells.

“….Ages?”

“Six…..” uttered a smaller voice.

“Seven…..” said another.

“Wonderful. Are you siblings? Twins perhaps?”

“No….” Said the first small voice, which as the pair approached was clearly Njeri.

“No? Odd, I ensured that my servants select a pair of you that were blood related.” They could hear the sound of tapping. It seemed Obatala was only gathering information. There was still time. Kenzo sped up even faster, forsaking his stealth.

“We’re cousins,” the second small voice chimed in.

“Hmm, well I suppose that will work for what I require. You two are going to be a very special project of mine.”

“What are you going to do to us?” Questioned the boy.

“Tell me, have you ever heard the story of Zues and his discovery of man? The story goes, that mankind was once born with two head, four arms, and four legs. But he cursed them to be split, looking as you are now, forever wandering the earth in search of their other half. I wish to replicate what the myth told of, and see if it is plausible that the human body can actually maintain such a form, and grow along with it as well. It will be meticulous, painful even, but I assure you your lives will be all the better for it.”

Kenzo, once estimating they were in range, came to a subtle stop and tried to begin advancing slowly. But then the voice cut them off, a sense of authority behind it.

“You may as well show yourselves. I know you’re here. I’ve known since the moment you set foot in my sacred temple of science.”

The electric adept froze, his eyes widening as he came to an abrupt halt. His mind shut down, and he could do nothing except look towards Ofelia with uncertainty. It seemed their plan had gone to complete shit. So what could they do now?

 

[icarusburning]

Ofelia was glad that Kenzo listened to her, as her throat felt closed off from the lump that sat in it. She followed him without another word, angrily brushing aside the tears that were still falling from her eyes. She couldn't afford to lose water now, she thought to herself, looking towards the ceiling and blinking rapidly. She needed to save her strength.

As soon as Ofelia heard the chattering of voices, she hurried forwards, staying close being Kenzo. It was definitely the children, and they still sounded safe! A weight seemed to fall off of her chest at the realization. She pushed closer as Obatala began explaining his plans, and she winced as he spoke. That bastard. How could he be so screwed up to plan to do something like that to children?

She froze as Obatala seemed to call out for them, suddenly terrified. For a moment, she forgot how to move. Her mind was blank, horror frosting over all logic. Obatala was a god, one of the monsters that she had been warned about for her entire life. A creature that no Adept could stand up to. She had only heard legends of them, and now she was right around the corner from one. Her mind supplied her with the images of all the awful creations she had seen on the way here, reminding her of how powerful and screwed-up the man was.

But as Kenzo looked back at her, the same fear in his eyes, she knew that it wasn't the time for that. If she didn't act now, the children would be doomed. Kenzo would be as well. She couldn't just do nothing. She couldn't let fear get the best of her.

"Stay here," she whispered to Kenzo, "I'll get the kids out." She didn't wait for a response, passing by him and turning the corner.

Obatala was hideous. His flesh was cut up and rotting in some areas, peeled apart to make room for machinery, which he had carefully installed on nearly all parts of his body. He loomed over the two children, his mechanical legs giving him height that humans shouldn't have. His head made a whirring noise as he turned to look at Ofelia, a twisted smile on his face.

"Well hello," he greeted as if Ofelia were a guest rather than his soon-to-be-murderer, "I'm glad you made it on time. I mean, you came all this way to see the precious children, so they might as well put on a show." As he spoke, he pulled a tray of tools closer to him, and Ofelia spotted the knives and saws and scalpels that lined it. She grit her teeth, anger overwhelming all fear that she was feeling.

"I'm Ofelia Amador, and you'd better remember that, because it's the name you're going to be begging for mercy from in a few moments," she threatened, beginning to liquefy her body, "I'm not going to let you hurt another soul ever again."

"Oh ho ho," Obatala laughed unhumorously, "You're confident, aren't you? And what thinks you're going to stand a chance against me?" Ofelia wanted to laugh in his half-robot face as he cocked his eyebrow.

"You're a smart cookie. You know your electrical reactions," she replied, arms melting into puddles at her feet, "What happens when you pour water on open electronics?" Obatala eyed the water on the floor, not speaking as he processed what Ofelia was doing. Before he could respond, Ofelia hit the ground running, charging right at him.

"They short circuit, bitch!" she screamed, right as she collided with him.