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Alice

"I'd be happy to show you what true pain is."

0 · 4,639 views · located in The Tundra

a character in “Hiraeth”, as played by The_Queen

Description

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❝Do you know why a rose is beautiful? Because you pluck it before it withers.
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ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#FF92BB ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #C6C3B5

|| [url=SONGURL]songname || artist[/url] ||







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{☛ ⒻⓊⓁⓁ ⓃⒶⓂⒺ ☚}
EXP#: X42759

{☛ ⓃⒾⒸⓀⓃⒶⓂⒺⓈ ☚}
Alice || Named after the famous book character from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Little Bat || An affectionate nickname given to her by the boy who declared himself her older brother.

Princess || A tease referring to her sometimes spoiled attitude.

{☛ ⒶⒼⒺ ☚}
15

{☛ ⒼⒺⓃⒹⒺⓇ ☚}


{☛ ⓈⒺⓍⓊⒶⓁⒾⓉⓎ ☚}
Bisexual, she swings both ways.

{☛ ⒻⒶⒸⒺ ⒸⓁⒶⒾⓂ ☚}
Krul Tepes || Owari No Seraph



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❝Tell me, what is a heavier burden? The world, or a heart?❞
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{☛ ⒽⒺⒾⒼⒽⓉ ☚}
Doesn't know, doesn't care.

{☛ ⓌⒺⒾⒼⒽⓉ ☚}
It's rude to ask a lady her weight.

{☛ ⒽⒶⒾⓇ ⒸⓄⓁⓄⓇ ☚}
A lush, lavenous cherry blossom pink.

{☛ ⒺⓎⒺ ⒸⓄⓁⓄⓇ ☚}
As red as the fresh blood of her victims.

{☛ ⒷⓄⒹⓎ ⓂⒶⓇⓀⒾⓃⒼⓈ ☚}
She has several body markings. On her back are scars around the little pair of wings that fold neatly against her skin. On her neck is a barcode tattooed where it is easily accessible.


{☛ ⒼⒺⓃⒺⓇⒶⓁ ⒶⓅⓅⒺⒶⓇⒶⓃⒸⒺ☚ }

Standing at an unassuming 5'0 with large Bambi eyes and a cute button nose, one would never suspect that lurking behind that cute smile is a certified killer. Her skin is soft and pale, with various scars marking marring her body. Protruding from her back are a pair of unbecoming bat wings that look as though they're too small to carry anything. They seem to serve no purpose aside from perhaps decoration and folding up neatly against her back. The wings are not the only similarity Alice shares with a bat. She has piercing red eyes the color of blood; they are rumored to have turned so after going crazy and drinking the blood of her first kill but in reality, Alice was born with eyes that color. Her hair is a lush pink often likened to the pink cherry blossoms that grow in the spring. She has teeth like pointed fangs and ears that give her an almost whimsical faerie like look.
Alice may be small, but she is mighty. Her strength can match that of a full grown man, although she isn't the strongest in their prison. No, not by far. She is fast and light on her feet, built for speed and destruction more than anything. Alice is often likened to a wrecking ball, leaving nothing but a trail of damage in her wake. Alice has a bit of a problem, that being she hates clothing. When she first set out, she was given a uniform and once that was in tatters, Alice would wear little more than underwear and a jacket. Now that she's in another government run facility, when she refuses to wear clothes they will either shock her until she is incapacitated long enough for them to wrestle her into an over sized shirt, or they will lock her in her room until the issue is resolved.

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♙"Because you are there, in a world where my existence holds no meaning, I can laugh."♙
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☛ ⓁⒾⓀⒺⓈ

❥ The Dark || Alice feels safer in the dark, the light makes her feel exposed.
❥ The Taste of Blood || She isn't allowed to actually drink it, but sometimes she'll lick the blood of her victims off of her fingers.
❥ Water || Alice has always found water fascinating. She would like to learn to swim someday, if she doesn't end up dead or in the basement.
❥ Meat || Alice loves her proteins.









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❝I'm endlessly caving in and turning inside out.❞
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☛ ⒹⒾⓈⓁⒾⓀⒺⓈ

⌦ Pain || Alice has a very low tolerance for pain.
⌦ Restraints || Both leather and chains, Alice hates the mark it leaves.
⌦ Cages || When they're bad, they lock them in cages. Alice tries to be good, but it's so hard.






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ⓆⓊⒾⓇⓀⓈ
Touch || If you reach out for her or attempt to touch her, Alice will flinch away instinctively.
Shiny || Due to one of her animal attributes, Alice is easily distracted by shiny items. The glare of a light on the window, a mirror's reflection, the catch of silver in the light. She will also chase laser pointers; it isn't uncommon to find someone teasing her with one.
Nervous || When Alice gets nervous she has a hard time sitting still. She needs to get up and pace, lest she'll bite on her thumb and sometimes draw blood.




ⓌⒺⒶⓀⓃⒺⓈⓈⒺⓈ
Lungs || Unlike the others who were born with faulty hearts, Alice was born with faulty lungs. It's a constant fight for Alice to get the necessary medications as she hates needles. It normally ends up with her tied to a bed somewhere.
Body || Humans weren't meant to have animal DNA. Without the weekly injections, Alice's body would begin to reject itself and shut down. She doesn't like them though and will quite often fight her caretakers despite the fact that she knows she needs them.
Distant || Alice seems to be very distant. She has a hard time making friends and staying in packs like some of the others. In truth, Alice is very shy and she has a tendency to say the wrong things at the wrong times, making others hesitant to form bonds with her.
Fire || Alice has an unfortunate history with flames that she wouldn't like to recount.




ⓈⓉⓇⒺⓃⒼⓉⒽⓈ
Agility || Incredibly flexible and light on her feet, Alice has all the grace of a dancer. She moves without a sound, easily leaping and turning when needed.
Strong || Alice is not the strongest by far, but she is stronger than most grown men. She doesn't mind using it to snap bones and tear limbs.
Stealth || Alice is very good at avoiding her treatments.
Strong Will || Alice has the will to live. She doesn't know about reforming, but she definitely doesn't want to be sent to the basement.




ⒻⒺⒶⓇⓈ
Pyrophobia || When Alice was a wee thing, she was housed in one of the facilities in the mountain range of Norway. One day while in training the facility caught fire. At first she was entranced by it, but after a few minutes, Alice realized she was trapped. She had to run through flaming hallways, navigating the smoky paths and nearly dying from smoke inhalation. Thankfully the burns she suffered fully healed, but it was a close call.
Autophobia || The fear of isolation. Alice is a social creature; she may be shy, but she likes to be around others.
Rejection || Alice has a terrible fear of putting her trust in someone and ultimately being betrayed or rejected.

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♙"To hate something that you used to love is such a painful thing."♙
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{☛ ⓅⒺⓇⓈⓄⓃⒶⓁⒾⓉⓎ☚}

{| Curious | Shy | Rebellious | Easily Excitable | Perpetually in Motion |}

A puppet dancing on strings tugged by those around her. She is constantly moving to the beat of someone else's tune, always in line, eagerly waiting for the next kill. When they took this from her, X42759 had no identity. They ripped her from the battlefield with a claw from the sky, using tranquilizers to quell her rage until she compliantly let them take her to the place that would teach her to be human. It was here that she began to bloom as an individual, gaining a sense of curiosity that would have the staff deem her as "Alice" for the curious girl who fell into a rabbit hole and discovered Wonderland. While Alice's existence isn't quite as quaint as the story book character, she does find that her curiosity gets her into far more trouble then good.
Alice is incredibly wary of others, it's only natural being part animal that she wouldn't quickly take to other genetically modified beings. It took quite a bit of counseling to get the girl to use her words rather than her fists and even then she sometimes forgets and bites before she barks. It is for this reason that Alice seems to have no friends, although she doesn't mind. She finds comfort in being alone, or perhaps this is simply her way of attempting to console herself for her lack of fellows. In truth Alice is terrible lonely; she has only learned a handful of emotions and is usually very excited by the discovery of something new.

Everyday is another adventure, another lesson. She is currently teaching herself to read and write, the facility taught her the basics, but never really delved into such things. Alice is trying her best to be good, but trouble seems to find her wherever she goes. Although she isn't quick to snap, once she does, her rage is unquenchable. There are usually a few telltale signs that she'll snap though, so there is usually plenty of time to get her to calm down or contain the situation. There are a few other things to be wary of, such as Alice's affinity for the taste of blood and her desire to crush any enemy that gets in her way. Learning to be human hasn't been easy and there are a number of things that she still has trouble with such as keeping her clothes on, or communicating properly. Still though, Alice is learning, albeit a bit slower than expected.




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❝Have no fear of perfection, you will never reach it.❞
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{☛ ⓅⓁⒶⒸⒺ ⓄⒻ ⓄⓇⒾⒼⒾⓃ ☚}
Her Mother came from what was once Germany, her Father came from the United Federation of States.

{☛ ⒻⒶⓂⒾⓁⓎ ☚}
Echo Smith || 34 || Mother || Willing Donor || Alive
Jax Taylor Smith || 35 || Father || Unknown || Alive

{☛ ⒽⒾⓈⓉⓄⓇⓎ ☚}
Alice's beginnings were a bit different. Her mother was a willing donor, an employee of the project that wanted so desperately to leave a legacy that she signed away the life of her unborn child. As soon as Alice was born her mother regretted her actions and attempted to take her daughter back, but it was too late. As Alice was ripped from her arms, Echo could do nothing but scream as her daughter went around the corner, never to be seen again. Alice was a bit different from the others due to the fact that her Mother was a willing donor. Her heart was beating, there was no need to resuscitate the child. She appeared to be a perfect specimen, at least until they realized that the child was struggling to breathe. As it turns out, Alice's lungs didn't work; so they replaced those as well. There was no special treatment from the higher ups. Alice was one of their puppets, laced to dance to the beat of someone else's drum. The only different between Alice and the other soldier's was that she had a resentment for clothing. As soon as she could, Alice would strip and while it certainly kept things interesting, it only served to infuriate those above her.
It was on the battlefield that Alice met her Father. He had been back on leave, inside their home with her mother. Echo recognized Alice immediately, but the child was too far gone. She would have killed her own parents without a second thought had an order not been given for her to stop. They were under the protection of the government and so Alice wasn't allowed to wring their necks. She was disappointed of course, but later rewarded for obeying like the animal she was. Why did they chose Alice for the project to reform? Many of her kind were abolished rather than sent to the facility. They had created far too many child soldiers and there weren't nearly enough resources to keep them all alive. Perhaps they chose her due to her quirk of stripping, or maybe they saw something in Alice that the others didn't have, maybe her humanity was still intact.
{☛ ⓄⓉⒽⒺⓇ ☚}






ⒸⓄⓅⓎⓇⒾⒼⒽⓉ: ⓉⒽⒺ_ⓆⓊⒺⒺⓃ



So begins...

Alice's Story

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Alice Character Portrait: Vittoria Character Portrait: Lucy Character Portrait: Ambrose Character Portrait: Lucky Character Portrait: Fey
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❝Do you know why a rose is beautiful? Because you pluck it before it withers.


ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#FF92BB ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #C6C3B5

|| [url=SONGURL]songname || artist[/url] ||







"Leave!" A shrill scream rang down the hallway of floor 10. She took a sharp corner, scanning the hall for exits. Behind her, orderlies pounded down the path, as burly as elephants and as graceful as gorillas. Alice whirled around, facing a wall, this hallway was a dead end and to go back would mean getting caught by the pink elephants on parade. So she went forward, opening the janitors closet and climbing the shelves, hiding behind a pile of extra towels and sheets. Slowly their footsteps drew closer, the door handle jiggled and one of them stepped into the closet. The other two pushed the first one further in and together they searched. Alice was already gone, digging her nails into the ceiling and lowering herself quietly in front of the door, locking the three inside. Triumphant, Alice wiped her hands and made her way to the dining hall, free of the clothing she so hated.

"Stop right there!" Shoot, Alice had forgotten about the fourth one. She ran to the left, taking a sharp right at the corner and skidding to a stop in front of the lunch room. Just before Alice was to enter, she felt the zap of the collar around her neck. Her eyes rolled into her skull, her body dropping to the floor and convulsing, little black wings fluttering.They collected Alice's collapsed form, she felt as though she were a fish on dry land, struggling to move and gasping for air. The orderlies easily whisked her away, back to her room where a fresh uniform would be waiting. Alice knew because there was a fresh uniform for everyone left on their bed every morning.

"How many times am I going to have to ask you to keep your clothes on?" In response the child growled, receiving another shock from the fancy new collar. "You know in the real world, you're going to have to use your words." Another low warning growl began to resonate in her throat, sounding a bit like a hiss. Once more, Alice was shocked. "Use your words 759," he tsked and opened up the door to her room, revealing the inside. It was a shared room of course, because there were only so many beds for the reform project, it was also supposed to encourage relationship building. Once inside the room she was instructed to change quickly, since she had missed breakfast performing this little stint and it was now time for groups.

In groups they spoke about therapy, goals, what sort of people they had killed, their favorite parts of the world that didn't include destruction, etc. To Alice it was a completely boring waste of time, but it was required of them to go. Sometimes the groups would break off into partners and play games, others times they would simply sit in circles and say something they were sorry about. When Alice arrived, they scanned the bar code on her neck, "You're late," the guard frowned. "Typical you, last to arrive." Alice gave him a grin that could have possibly meant pride. "Your group room today is the library wing." Alice nodded her head and walked down the hall to the library wing, a large library with plenty of comfy chairs and amazing views of the tundra. Alice really was the last to arrive it seemed and she took the only open seat on one of the plush pillows thrown onto the floor. "I'm here!" She pipped in, remembering to say something to announce her arrival. [/center]

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❝From the moment I was born I have never failed and yet, all I receive are punishments.❞

ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#B272A6 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #BE2625

|| [url=SONGURL]songname || artist[/url] ||







Lucy had been awake since sunrise, the bottle of alcohol she had been nursing all night now sucked dry with not single buzz. Her tolerance for alcohol was becoming far too high for her liking and she grumbled irritatingly as she made her way out of the vent and replaced the grate, stashing the empty bottle under the crook of a sleeping orderly's arm. They weren't stupid the orderlies, they were commissioned from the military, expert snipers, trained in hand to hand combat and knowing how to intercede should one of them prove to act up. Even with all of the precautions and heightened security, Lucy managed to get out. It was never far, but enough away that she could get drunk in the stash of alcohol that she had hidden in the snow. Thankfully, alcohol didn't freeze and with the frosty air there was no reason for ice. Unfortunately, if she didn't get back by sunrise, they would go looking for her.

As of late, the facility had been installing extra security measures to keep them in. Lucy had a tracking device on her shock collar now and whenever she grew too close to a window it would zap her with enough power to knock her out. There was nothing graceful about a body convulsing with electricity while you drooled due to loss of motor control. This morning though, Lucy had thought she had gotten a breakthrough on how to get out of this when she discovered that the vents led to the outside, only, you would have to risk going through a very large fan that whirred at a speed faster than any super human could get through. So she had stuck to sitting in the vent by the cool air of the van and drinking herself numb until sunrise, then taking a nap past breakfast and awaking with a terrible hangover.

When Lucy awoke, she felt as if she'd been hit with a two ton trailer, which wouldn't be the first time. She had been run over by a truck once and it had put her out of commission for several weeks. Today there was no trailer, just the wobbly movements of attempting to bathe and get ready for morning therapy. As Lucy went through the motions and arrived at the library wing, she realized she was first. With a shrug of her shoulders she picked the most comfortable seat, a nice lounge chair with arm cushions and a throw pillow. The facility was supposed to look like actual spaces that they would see in the human world in order to familiarize the monsters with other places. They would look cruel to have confined all of these children to the normal, sterile, buildings where they were created. No, the world had its eyes on the children inside, many citizens were anticipating to see what they would come out as. Some hoped to connect with their long lost children, others were protesting allowing them to reintegrate to society. They should be tried as criminals and hanged, they exclaimed with their pitch forks and blood seeking rage. Lucy couldn't blame them and quite frankly, she wished they would kill her already.

Now she had to endure this; group therapy, attempting to play nice, attempting to appear human. Sometimes it was far too overwhelming. Lucy gathered her legs together onto the chair and hugged them close, drifting off to sleep only to be awoken by the others gathering for group therapy.
[/center]

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: [NPC] Bartender Character Portrait: Alice Character Portrait: Vittoria Character Portrait: Lucy Character Portrait: Ambrose Character Portrait: Lucky
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ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:##617f95 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #a2d5f9

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"Oh..Zaika..Little Zaika, how low you have fallen are you feeling a little better today?" "NO!" He blurted out into the dawn of the morning. Afraid he may of woken up his cellmate he reduced himself into a little ball in the foetal position, underneath his blankets he let slip a few tears and tried to breathe. He thought about allowing himself a little while to sleep more or maybe just an extended time to think about how today would play out, therapy was usually as painful as it sounds filled with little monsters trying to work out these strange feelings that not even the therapist would understand, a lot of violent outbursts you would consider the orderlies trigger happy but considering the abilities of the inmates you cant be to careful.Today wasn't a good day, he could just tell it from the moment he woke up, he could probably request more medication but the pain just reminded him he was alive...thank god for that.

Getting to his feet he shuffled a little, looking to the end of his bed he saw his assigned clothes for today a nice new set free of any blood stains like his previous pair..He had, had a little accident with his cutting again and had almost bled out over the night the orderlies had to remove him while they cleaned the bed and stitched him up, over his little arms he recited the words that he had scrawled into his skin.дышать Breathe Плакать Cry Жить Live , he had gotten into an altercation the previous night where he had almost been attacked of course the voices inside him told him to fight back but instead he restrained and left to go and reflect, this was usually the result. He slipped the clothes on making sure to pull the long sleeves over his hideous arms, he sighed a little as he looked at him self in the cracked reflection of a glass shard pushing his wispy hair back he made his way to morning therapy.

As he trailed down the corridors he let his fingers dance across the walls he tried to walk as slowly as he possibly could delaying the inevitable, he felt weak in his group statistically that wasn't true he had strong wolf DNA coursing through him, and of course the other animals factored into his genetic make-up made him just as much as a threat as the others but despite the voices inside his head screaming to fight back and kill all those who even dared to laugh, he still had the innocence of a child he had killed but he didn't want to ever day was a horrible fight between two sides of himself. Soon enough he found himself at the entrance of the library maybe a few people had already wondered in by now but he didn't really notice, he faltered over to the corner taking a small pillow and leaning again a bookcase until the session started he closed his eyes listening to the conversation around him, he held his arms crossed over his front to prevent anything from happening. "Oh..Zaika..Little Zaika, Dont worry you are safe..At least for now little one"

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Alice Character Portrait: Ophie Character Portrait: Gaige
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❝"Hey, do you wanna play a game with me? We'll laugh and have loads of fun!"❞
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ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#A0522D ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #ED9121

|| Utsutsu no Yume || Diao Ze Yong ||








Something I'm sorry for, huh?

The idea was laughable. What was Ophie ever really sorry for, anyways? Wasn't her whole motto to live live to the fullest, without any regrets? These stupid orderlies didn't even figure that out yet? It almost made Ophie want to laugh pitifully at their stupidity - as if they had the audacity to think they could try to reform a monster like her? All in all, it was a pathetic display. And now she had to pretend that she had stuff she was sorry for?! While it was definitely not going to be difficult to think up lies, it was a bothersome, annoying task that she rather not waste her time on. There were more important things to do - Ophie had to think of the next best way to flirt with and mess with Vittoria, or possibly play more games with Crux and Fey, or even pry into Ambrose's duplicitous head to try and figure out what the heck this Amber thing even was in the first place! So many tasks, for just one little girl. How could she possibly do it all?

That was when Gaige turtled himself into a protective position. Ophie stared intently, before realizing it probably wasn't worth trying to provoke him in front of everyone. She shrugged, uncaring, and let her mind wander.

Was was the point of libraries, anyways? Full of books filled with random unintelligible symbols that was obviously invented just to make life harder on people. Why the heck would anyone bother wasting time learning how to read these stupid hieroglyphs, anyways? Aren't there many funner things one could spend their time on? Already Ophie could feel the gland in her wrist twitching - she desperately wanted to practice making web figures again. She already has a web model of Vittoria hidden away under her bed - built to specifications and even painted to look like her as well. Why waste time with this dumb group thing, anyways?

"Why don't we start with you, 734?" One of the idiots pretending to be a doctor said in that horrible faux-friendly way. "I'm sure you'd be a good opening for this session."

Stupid reformation. What Ophie wouldn't give to paralyze him and slowly torture him with her claws until his slow and ever so painful death. Unfortunately it was out of control, as the uncomfortable weight on her neck proved. One wrong move and electricity'd ruin her day yet again.

"I'm here!"

Great, it was that bat weirdo. Ophie feigned interest with a cheerful wave and a beaming smile at Alice as she sauntered in, the last of everyone to arrive.

"Well, I'm sorry for a lot of things, sir! Ophie turned on the wide tearful-yet-iinnocent eyes with the perfect mix of pout and puffed cheeks to accentuate her child-like stature. She hugged her yellow teddy bear for emphasis, cradling it gently against her body. "Ophie wishes she knew how to read, so she could read all the books in this library! Ophie's sure it would be very fun!" She put on her best sad smile, tilting her head ever so slightly.

What a waste of time.

"But it's so difficult, sir!" Ophie added the slightest touch of a whine to her voice. If only people could see the grin spreading on her inner face. That rhino girl from before would be proud for sure. "Ophie isn't smart enough to learn to read by herself... it makes Ophie so sad that these stories are still so far away for Ophie...!"

She then started to cry in earnest - the wet hot tears dripping far too easily from her eyes than normally possible. She contracted her body to be as small as possible, looking truly and utterly dejected.

"Ophie's sorry... Ophie will try harder, promise... please don't be mad, okay?"

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Alice Character Portrait: Ophie Character Portrait: Lucy Character Portrait: Ambrose Character Portrait: Fey Character Portrait: Poppy
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#, as written by catgirl
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Ambrose was standing in a field of corpses, many of identified faces. More were stacked together like the piles of unname casualties he had seen in the war, nearly forming a mountain. And on the top of the crimson red mountain was a silhouette of a boy looking exactly the same as himself, his back stained with the image of splattered crimson. Ambrose watched as he turned back, their eyes locking for a second. The boy’s eyes were the same color as the one he saw in the landscape, in the bleeding sky. As Ambrose took a step back in surprise, the boy’s smile widened into a bloodthirsty grin.

“Amber?” Ambrose opened his eyes before immediately shutting them as the bright sunlight hit his face. Yes, Ami? For a second, Ambrose could have sworn the light fell on the frame of a boy with piercing red eyes, lounging against the wall in a manner that radiated an air of boredom. Yet, it only took a blink, and his imaginary friend was gone, as if an illusion by the sunlight. You ought to get going you know. Injections and all. Amber warned from inside his head, and Ambrose rubbed his eyes blearily, slightly disappointed that he had to be woken up by Amber of all people. He yawned, stretching before his eyes landed on the uniform. That’s right, reformation. It was such a foreign concept, and he could almost hear Amber growling in annoyance as soon as the thought entered his head.

Getting into the bath, Ambrose flinched as the water hit his wounds, before letting his body relax in the hot water. It was probably the only time of the day he enjoys, to wash off the blood clean his injuries in the water. However, before he could fall asleep again, the impatient cough of a guard snapped him back to attention. Muttering a soft apology under his breath, Ambrose got out of the water with some reluctance before changing into the uniform waiting for him on the bed. All done. Time to meet the so called ‘therapy group’. Ambrose managed to arrive early enough to get breakfast, though that was consumed with his mind still in a half awake state. He would have fallen asleep on several occasions, if not for Amber pushing his conscience to keep him alert. Ambrose was awfully sluggish in the mornings.

The guard showed him into a library, where there were already several others. There was Gaige, Ophie, Lucy and… Fey. Though that subject was in a rather unconventional position, Ambrose could sense his presence from his ability to sense heat and vibrations. All part and parcel of the DNA of snakes they had injected him with, whether that was a good thing or not. Ambrose had made an effort to learn names instead of numbers, since it’d be more polite that way as he had found. Giving a small wave in greeting, he sat himself down cross-legged on a cushion, appearing to be quite relaxed though wary at the same time. Just in time for the adult that seemed to be a doctor to smile and ask them to talk about something that they were sorry for.
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Oh god. They're really trying, how pathetic. Why don't you go choke him Ami, it'd do us all some good. Peace and quiet, a tempting idea is it not? Ambrose ignored him rather resolutely as Amber let out a mock sigh. Something he was sorry for… Concentrate. It was hard to think of one, since Ambrose highly doubted his capacity to be sorry anyway. This was asking a bit too much of him, though he was reluctant to lie as well. They never told him what to think of this. They never told him what to be sorry for. What was he sorry for? Ambrose clutched at his head for a second, feeling a sense akin to frustration sat in as his eyes threatened to turn red. Letting Amber out now probably wasn’t the best idea, especially since there was a supposed psychologist present. Ambrose doubted that all of the facility members had heard of Amber, but he wasn’t about to get any chances as he bit his lip firmly, squeezing his eyes tightly shut and forcing the red to recede.

He listened a little lethargically as the doctor asked Ophie to speak first, noting the tears and Amber’s little hmph of approval. Amber had always been quite impressed at Ophie’s acting abilities after all. Ambrose couldn’t really tell when she was acting and when she was not, but that was probably the point of her act in the first place. He looked on in interest as she continued feigning to cry, seeing the doctor’s react in a nearly flustered way as he attempted to console the girl. Such a standard reaction. It was something he had to learn. Ugh. Kill him already, I’m bored.
Amber was bordering on the edge of impatience at this point. It was only a matter of time before he relinquished control if the questions continued like that, but all Ambrose could do now was to grit his teeth and hope that his mood didn't become conflicted enough, though that might be easier said than done.

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Characters Present

Character Portrait: Alice Character Portrait: Ophie Character Portrait: Lucy Character Portrait: Ambrose Character Portrait: Fey Character Portrait: Poppy
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❝ Isn’t this red just the loveliest ever? ❞

ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя: #CC6666
тнσυgнт cσƖσя #993333



Morning had come and she was meant to be somewhere; she was meant to be somewhere with the other children within her group, and undergo another therapy session as always. It was almost a regular thing now and Poppy was growing use to it over time, so much so that she was always up and readily anticipating the next meet-up, whenever it was announced and requiring her immediate presence. With that said Poppy was already coursing along through the halls and corridors, and calmly made her way to the room where she ought to have been. Thankfully however it was the library; filled with books and order, and somewhere she could at least feel some degree of familiarity with and perhaps even to a certain extent ease.

The group was already more or less gathered by the time she had arrived at the location; sat on cushions and huddled closely together with an adult who would assumedly lead the session, from what she could gather. Poppy had silently strolled into the area and settled on top of one of the pillows that lay scattered on the floor; despite preferring a chair in favour of it being a cleaner option, she gripped the ends of her dress, if only slightly, when hooking one foot over the other and gracefully allowing herself to flop down upon the cushion and into a basket-styled position; the rest of her dress trailing off in every direction around her.

Eyes partially open and crimson orbs dully scanning over the group, Poppy took a note of all the faces presented to her, yet was neither embracing nor rejecting of them as she merely sat and waited for the last few to appear. Amidst her silence however and oblivious to what occurred around her at that moment, the girl dug deep into a pocket and produced a small, crimson marble in the palm of her hand, before grasping it tightly between two of her fingers and holding it into the air before her. Its bloody-like reflection grasping at her intrigue briefly, her mind off on a momentary wonder until the voice of another broke her train of thought, so to speak, and the white-haired girl immediately turned her attention to the other female who spoke. Although the voice alone was not as interesting as the stuffed teddy that was clutched in the girl’s hands and cradled like a child, and admittedly Poppy found herself eyeing it occasionally, somewhat curiously.

Another girl arrived shortly after, announcing her presence aloud and plopping down onto one of the cushions like the others. Unmoved by the tears of the prior, and unsure of the late arrival, Poppy remained sat and perfectly still atop her pillow while mentally raking her mind for an answer of her own; on the assumption that she too would be asked to speak at some point, though as to what she would offer in response was another thing entirely. Was she sorry for anything? Not particularly, but then that was only because she rarely did anything that would make her feel such a thing; being one to stray on the good side of most, it was not often Poppy found herself having to be sorry, which only made this particular moment all the more difficult and harder.

With a subtle shake of her head, as if answering her own question, her snowy white tangles dropped freely against her shoulders in a smooth mess of hair. Then, while hunching over and setting the marble against the cold floor, and with a slight flicker of her wrist, she watched as the tiny orb spun on the ground and looped in a circle; her eyes mesmerized and drawn to it, as if the little thing would somehow offer the girl an answer.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Alice Character Portrait: Ophie Character Portrait: Lucy Character Portrait: Ambrose Character Portrait: Lucky Character Portrait: Fey
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❝Do you know why a rose is beautiful? Because you pluck it before it withers.


ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#FF92BB ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #C6C3B5

|| [url=SONGURL]songname || artist[/url] ||







As late as she was, Alice was surprised she hadn't been the last to arrive. She flopped onto her stomach on the pillow, her legs kicking at the air as she listened to the girl called Ophie whom she shared a room with get tearful over the things she supposedly was sorry about. Ophie? More like Oaf. Alice thought and rolled to lay on her back, watching the group interact from her upside down position. Their therapy leader cleared her throat and looked awkwardly around the circle as though attempting to relieve herself from the awkward position of listening to Ophie sob her heart out about things she obviously was not sorry about. "Alright, your turn, what are you sorry for?" Of course her gaze and pointing finger landed on Alice. The girl rolled back into a sitting position and tapped her finger against her chin thoughtfully. "Nothing," Alice admitted honestly. "I was made to be a monster, I served my purpose. If anything," Alice straightened as she spoke, a bit of venom in her voice as she spoke. "You should be sorry for making me."

The circle had gotten awfully quiet, or perhaps that was Alice's imagination. "Well maybe there are some things you are sorry about, why don't you tell us about those?" Alice looked around the room for inspiration, or perhaps help. "Not killing more people?" She tried, earning a frown. This was clearly not the answer the therapist was looking for and so Alice dug around in her mind to pull out things she could possibly have regrets over. "Oh! I am sorry for something! Not taking more chocolate from the abandoned houses." Alice didn't actually eat the chocolate, she just liked to have it in her pocket as she found it was a substantial bargaining chip among other hybrids.

"Okay, I think therapy is over for today. Why don't you all reflect on your actions and we'll try again tomorrow?" The therapist pushed her seat back from the circle and tapped her clipboard with her pen twice before leaving them all in the library. "I think that went well," Alice rocked back and forth slightly, gripping her feet together in the criss-cross-applesauce position; they had a free period now which could be used in a number of ways before the hybrids were required to go to various classes to help them assimilate into society. Not that anyone paid any attention to what they were taught. Quite frankly, Alice found numbers to be useless and history to be dreadfully depressing.

Alice was only familiar with a few of the people in the circle. Fey, who she had spent a week locked in a room with, Lucy who had taken every chance she could to criticize Alice's actions, Ambrose, who was kind and patient enough to help Alice with her reading, and Gaige who had been weirdly friendly among this mix of hostile creatures, and finally, Ophie and Poppy whom she shared a room with. So Alice decided to attempt using some of the social lessons and strike up a conversation with those in the circle. "I don't think I've met you all," Alice was trying to be really good about remembering to use her words and today she had only bit one person so far, which was probably some sort of record. "My experiment number is X42759 but my chosen name is Alice." When put into the reform program, they were given the option to chose a name. Alice hadn't picked hers, rather she had been dubbed it due to her natural sense of curiosity. She was often warned not to get too curious lest she fall down the rabbit hole.

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[center]❝From the moment I was born I have never failed and yet, all I receive are punishments.❞

ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#B272A6 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #BE2625

|| [url=SONGURL]songname || artist[/url] ||







Lucy rolled her eyes as Ophie burst into tears at the mention of possibly being sorry for something. Lucy didn't think that Ophie had ever felt sorry, much less for her actions. She didn't know what it was like to fully realize the weight of what you had done, to hear your father scream bloody murder because you had killed the woman that you hadn't known was your mother. No, if she was thinking of that, then the alcohol must have been wearing off. Lucy was tempted to seek shelter in the vents and wait out the headache that was beginning to explode inside of her temples, but things were just getting interesting here. Crux showed up, then Alice, then Lucky. Just when nearly their entire therapy group was in attendance, the therapist quit and told them all to think harder for next session. It was hard not to scoff at this ridiculous proposition, you could never get a monster to feel sorry for being itself.

Alice was being chattier than usual, Lucy noticed. Usually the pink haired girl was more interested in observing than contributing, but perhaps her outburst during their little session had given her a stroke of bravery. None of them were truly brave, Lucy had realized a long time ago. No, they were all cowards who would strike others from the rear given the chance. Sneak up in the night when their victims were least suspecting and the most susceptible and take everything they loved. A chill crept up her spine, even with the alcohol, Lucy was far too lucid for her liking. The buzz had worn off a few minutes after her arrival to the library and it seems she would have to attempt to sneak out tonight or bribe a guard if she wanted more since she had finished her stash in the vent.

Lucy debated on introducing herself. Most of the faces in the circle she already knew, but since they were being polite and all she may as well partake in the festivities. "My name is Lucy and I find it odd that we've all been gathering here and yet I only know a handful of names." It wouldn't matter in the long run, she would probably forget them all by tomorrow. To Lucy, the other characters in the reform program were unimportant. She didn't focus on getting to know any of them, knowing that they were all as terrible as she. There could always be a few good apples among the rotten, but Lucy highly doubted she would find any of them in this building.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Alice Character Portrait: Ophie Character Portrait: Vittoria Character Portrait: Lucy Character Portrait: Ambrose Character Portrait: Lucky
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VITTORIA
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díαlσguє cσlσr ◆ "#42F7F7"
thσught cσlσr ◇ #4242F7

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Honestly, this was the worst. Having the wake up early wasn't a problem, in fact, she was already awake by the time the little group session was scheduled to start. No, what was the worst was having to deal with the incessant noise, the lights, practically anything that she could hear or see was overwhelming. Vittoria had taken her glasses off purposely, lessening the effect that everything had on her, at least sight wise. Of course, she'd have to squint so hard her eyes would nearly be closed just to see something.

But no, the noise was still a problem. Thankfully, no one was being overly obnoxious, but seeing how some people acted it was only a matter of time before something happened. For the most part, Vittoria was well behaved, certainly a lot more than the others were. Though even she had her outbursts, but those were few and far in-between. As long as she kept getting her daily injections, she was pretty much fine.

She massaged the bridge of her nose lightly, hoping to take the edge off her current migraine if only by a little. From the moment she arrived at their little gathering, Vittoria had been silent. Speaking, or doing anything else for that matter would probably only help in making her migraine even worse. She was hoping that this would go by smoothly and she could just return to her little room and hopefully sleep for the rest of the day, though the chances of that happening were almost nonexistent.

From how things were going so far, she was getting a little hopeful that she could get through this without her migraine getting any worse. Though that was shot down almost immediately. "I'm here!" the little voice rung out and Vittoria cringed at the sound. She didn't necessarily have a problem with Alice, no, only a problem with the sound she had just made. It was like one of those days where every little noise that someone makes irritates you, they're chewing too loudly, clicking their pen repeatedly or tapping their fingers on a hard surface. The only difference was that Vittoria had one of those days too often for her own liking, and today just so happened to be one of those days, unfortunately.

After Alice's' arrival, the therapy began, and Ophie was chosen to go first. If there was anyone in this whole facility Vittoria had a problem with, it was that little arachnid. Ophie was always trying her best to get under her skin and she was probably the most vexatious person on the planet, at least in Vittoria's world. And Ophie's response was nothing short of vexatious, just the sound of her whining and crying grinded against Vittoria brain and only make her migraine worse. 'God, just shut it already.' It was unbelievable that some of the doctors and guards actually bought into her childish charades, though it was equally as annoying as it was amusing to watch the staff get flustered.

What was even worse that Ophie herself were that the others were deciding to go along with her game as well. Vittoria didn't care much to know the name of the man, all she knew is that he was probably going to start something. Though it was a double edged sword, whatever he was about to do would probably cause a lot of irksome noise. But that also meant that she would probably be able to sneak out and leave this gathering sooner than she was hoping for. Then maybe she would finally be able to get away from everything, if only it was for a few minutes before she was eventually forced to leave again.

From there, she'd tried her best to ignore Alice's and Lucy's voices and basically any other noise that was audible, just focusing on trying to keep herself from getting anymore irritated that she already was. Though one thing she was interested in hearing was that therapy was finally over, and she would soon find her way back to her room, not worried about introductions or anything.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Alice Character Portrait: Ophie Character Portrait: Vittoria Character Portrait: Lucy Character Portrait: Ambrose Character Portrait: Lucky
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❝"Hey, do you wanna play a game with me? We'll laugh and have loads of fun!"❞
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ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#A0522D ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #ED9121

|| Utsutsu no Yume || Diao Ze Yong ||









Ah, playing around with the guards was just far too fun for her own good. Honestly, was there possibly anything better than tricking people and seeing their reactions? If only Ophie was allowed to actually, y'know, kill them to follow it up. It was such a sweet feeling - brutally murdering someone after they firmly believed you to be a sweet, innocent little girl. The look of absolute betrayal and hatred as well as self loathing in their eyes as in their final moments, they realize the harsh, cruel truth. They were played for a fool. Still, it was sadly obvious that the other subjects didn't really buy her game - yet that was to be expected. It takes a monster to recognize a monster, no matter how hard they tried to pretend that they were reforming.

"Hey, don't cry." The doctor said, obviously flustered. "I'll teach you, is that okay? Maybe you just need extra time."

If anything, private tutoring sessions could only make it easier to get into his head. How ironic it was that a therapist would be the one having his mind prodded and poked into rather than the other way around. Ophie couldn't help but want to giggle - though clearly, she suppressed it, continuing her crying facade. The assortment of reactions from the others was almost a sweet nectar to the girl. From Lucky's cry of "Boring!" to Vittoria's look of irritation, Ophie felt a sense of elation.

It doesn't really get much better than this, huh? Man, I wish I was allowed to kill my fellow subjects. I really should ask Fey or Crux for some sort of alliance, maybe...

The best reactions were, of course, those of her two most interacted-with people in this dump of a facility. The strong, silent, yet almost childishly violent Fey that Ophie wasn't sure if she hated or loved about the man. When Ophie watched him walk in, she had a satisfactory mental grin as she saw the hint of a laugh behind Fey's face. Fey was her number one enemy - Ophie would love a chance to fight him if she could, yet she also cherished his presence in some way.

Whatever, Ophie didn't want to think about it for too long.

"Hey Doc, this really isn't your day. We have one sweet little girl in tears..."

That was when Crux walked over with that familiar arrogant grin on his face. If it was possible for monsters to get along with one another, Ophie and Crux fulfilled the role of true friendship, in all the ways that it really meant anything, at the very least. Ophie couldn't count the hours she wasted away just chatting with this man - if there was anyone she felt she could be actually, y'know, honest with, it'd be him. They were far too similar for anything other than friendship. Ophie pretended to flinch away from the finger that brushed the tear off her face. This symbiotic relationship of theirs - he made her look even more childish and helpless, and she made him appear to be just a tiniest bit more human so the doctors would give him an easier time than they usually would. Everyone benefited - it was perfection and deception mixed into one awesome spider's web. "And another bored out of his mind. Have to say, I am too. So, why don't we make this quick?"

Ophie rested her head against Crux's shoulder, as she listened so her roommate respond to the doctor's question. While Ophie didn't really like the girl, she couldn't help but mentally applaud Alice for her answer. It was hilarious to watch the doctors left, with almost a quizzical expression on her face. Credit where credit was due, right? In any case, Alice drove them off and gave them Ophie's favorite time of all - free time.

"I don't think I've met you all," Ophie stared at Alice again, almost rolling her eyes once she was sure the workers weren't watching her. Introductions, really? While the spider did appreciate the sentiment of knowing the others, did it really matter in the long run? She couldn't think of a more pointless and superficial way of getting to know someone. In an introduction, people would only show the side of themselves that they wanted to present - you couldn't get into their inner thoughts and fears this way. No, there were much better, much more intimate ways of getting to know someone. "My experiment number is X42759 but my chosen name is Alice."

Next was that weird tall girl with the angsty face. Lily? Lory? Ophie almost shrugged, not really caring too much.

"My name is Lucy and I find it odd that we've all been gathering here and yet I only know a handful of names."

...

See? That wasn't any useful information at all! What the hell was the point of that, huh?

Ophie tilted her head to the side with a playful, almost feline grin, as if her crying had never even happened in the first place. The more people she annoyed the better - especially that one girl, Vittoria. The perfect toy to play with. Sadistic glee was almost bursting through the seams.

"Ophie is Ophie!" Ophie's voice was laced with venomous sugar, and it was quiet, almost inaudible. She then trained her eyes directly on Vittoria who always did seem sensitive to loud noises. Joy was hard to find, yet Ophie knew she was about to attain hers. In a much louder voice - "And that's Vittoria! She's Ophie's girlfriend! She's really shy, though, so be nice to her, okay?

A facility full of monsters obviously had those that were probably far too antisocial to say anything. Two of them sparked in Ophie's mind and she felt the spontaneous and sadistic urge to introduce them both. The spider then strung together an arrow made of webs in a split second and lazily pointed it at Poppy, who seemed focused entirely on her marble, as if shutting out the world. Almost as a precaution, she discretely attached a web to Teddie to make sure no one could grab it from her. It was time to introduce her other roommate...

"That's Poppy. She probably was ignoring us, so if you want her attention, you'll have to steal her marble there. She thinks it's much more interesting than the rest of us, right?"

Finally was Fey. Most likely, he'd utterly refuse to do anything, and hell, Ophie wanted payback for their last little spat where he got the better of her and she couldn't think of any kind of response to win it. It still irked her and she wouldn't just let it end. She had to be superior over him in whatever way she could.

"The tall blue guy there's Fey." Ophie aimed the web arrow at him with almost twisted glee that she masked as playful childishness. Ophie could only hope that Crux enjoyed her little game. "He's shy too, but he's really super nice and friendly! Just talk to him a lot so he'll get used to you, okay? If he tries to chase you off, it's only because he's embarrassed!"

Ophie was almost certain no one would fall for the bait, but it was still fun nonetheless to watch Fey's reaction to her words.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: [NPC] Bartender Character Portrait: Alice Character Portrait: Ophie Character Portrait: Vittoria Character Portrait: Lucy Character Portrait: Ambrose
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Cold | Resolute | Sardonic | Loner
|| Burn it DownReady, Aim, Fire ||
EXP# - G98294 Speech - #0000AD




Fey watched with sharp eyes as each person entered the room from his place atop the bookshelf; he really did like being high up... too many tree-climbers in him, that's what it was. That, and people almost never look up. He leaned forward to watch as the councilor walked in and took her seat right in front of the shelves without looking at him, and started the meeting off with Ophie.

She didn't notice for several minutes; right up until she was about to begin speaking, and a guard motioned to behind her. The woman turned a bit, and then started when she noticed him, leaning over the shelves a bit to peer down at her, a tiny smirk twisting his lips. The woman shivered and pawed through her papers a bit until she found the one with his picture.

"Er... F-Fey is it? Please get down from there and take a seat normally."

Fey didn't move. She stared at him for several long moments before starting again as one of the other patients suddenly woke - he had previously been sleeping - blinked a couple times, and then shrieked about how the scientists had drugged him again. Fey let the tiny smirk widen in amusement before it disappeared as the councilor brought things underway again.

"Er... right then, let's continue..." The councilor attempted, turning back to the main group. Fey gave Crux a weird look as he touched Ophie to wipe her fake tears away.

Crux replied without seeming to have heard her. "Hey Doc, this really isn't your day. We have one sweet little girl in tears, and another bored out of his mind. Have to say, I am too. So, why don't we make this quick? Shall we...?" He trailed off in question to the other Experiments.

Fey met his gaze and gave a small nod, to communicate his plans to do the same. "Be patient Crux. Good things come to those who wait, as they say." He warned; if Crux went for the kill too fast, all the fun of the hunt would be spoiled.

At hearing his voice, the councilor's head whipped around to him. "E-er, why don't you go next then? What are you sorry for?"

Fey gave the woman a strange look, and honestly thought the question over out of pure curiosity - was there really anything he was sorry about, other than not being able to resist them, and getting trapped in this place because of that?

Perhaps that this woman wasn't already dead? She should be, asking him an idiotic question like that. "I don't like idiotic small talk, woman. Ask something that actually has some intelligence behind it and I might not gut you and leave you for the crows. I'm sure they would appreciate the meal."

The woman paled and stuttered, "R-right... let's move on then, Alice- your turn, what about you, what are you s-sorry for?!"

Alice seemed to think for a moment. "Nothing. I was made to be a monster, I served my purpose. If anything, you should be sorry for making me." Alice growled. Fey internally gave her a nod of approval; she was completely right. Fuck'n humans; always so greedy. Creating beings such as them, and then taking it all back; well it was too late. They existed now, and it was all their fault. They could try to change it or try to pretend it never happened all they wanted; to would never change the reality. Humans did this, and they deserved to pay the price.

"Well maybe there are some things you are sorry about, why don't you tell us about those?" The councilor tried again, even more visibly nervous than before.

Alice blinked at her, thinking again. "... Not killing more people?" She seemed to guess, still contemplating. "Oh! I am sorry for something! Not taking more chocolate from the abandoned houses." Alice finally decided, smiling.

And that was the last straw with the woman, who looked ready to pass out. "Okay, I think therapy is over for today. Why don't you all reflect on your actions and we'll try again tomorrow?" The councilor rushed, standing quickly and rushing from the room. It was silent for a moment.

"I think that went well! I don't think I've met you all. My experiment number is X42759 but my chosen name is Alice." Alice put in cheerfully. Fey already knew her; they'd once been locked in a confinement cell for an entire week together, caged like animals as they awaited shipping. Not much talking went on, but he'd caught a few things here and there. But really, why would she give her identification number while introducing herself? Only the scientists cared about that crap.

"My name is Lucy and I find it odd that we've all been gathering here and yet I only know a handful of names." Lucy replied. She had a good point; not that he would reply. Small talk was even more useless than the facility guards.

"Ophie is Ophie!" The girl said in her usual childish tone."And that's Vittoria! She's Ophie's girlfriend! She's really shy, though, so be nice to her, okay?" Ophie demanded, before launching a small attack at Poppy. Fey wondered why she would do something so pointless; Poppy was too quiet to be much fun, at least in the way Ophie did things; she wouldn't make a single peep without that marble; Fey was willing to bet she wouldn't even scream if you hurt her. Which now he thought of it, could actually be really fun; screaming always did kind of get on his nerves, it was too loud, no matter how much he enjoyed liked ridding the world of more nuisances.

"That's Poppy. She probably was ignoring us, so if you want her attention, you'll have to steal her marble there. She thinks it's much more interesting than the rest of us, right?" Ophie continued, and then in a darting movement, launched a projectile at Fey himself with a twisted smile; not bothering to try and miss like she had with Poppy. Fey rewarded her with the slightest change in expression; a sarcastic look that told her just how futile the action was, as he simply leaned to the side to avoid the attack.

"The tall blue guy there's Fey. He's shy too, but he's really super nice and friendly! Just talk to him a lot so he'll get used to you, okay? If he tries to chase you off, it's only because he's embarrassed!"

... Wait, what?

Nice? Friendly? Talk to him until he gets used to you? Embarrassed?? Oh hell the fuck no. She was trying to get people to make small talk with him! God damn that chick!

... Well at least if people believed her, there would be plenty of clueless victims to prey on. The next person to approach him while smiling was gonna get their arm torn off. But that was besides the point.

"Die." He growled with deadly calm, fixing narrowed eyes in the girl, internally analyzing what blood spatter patters would result of hitting the sadistic loli with a train. As soon as those guards were gone...

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Alice Character Portrait: Ophie Character Portrait: Vittoria Character Portrait: Lucy Character Portrait: Ambrose Character Portrait: Lucky
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#, as written by catgirl
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Ambrose wasn’t listening to the discussion altogether when Fey spoke, instead his green eyes focused on a head of white. Poppy? “Ah!” His eyes widened in recognition, seeming to ignore the other subjects altogether as he smiled brightly at her. “Poppy, right? You made it! It’s so nice to see you again!” He had seen her a few times when the passed each other between experiments, but their first meeting, though not the most pleasant, was enough for Ambrose to develop a sense of gratitude toward the girl. He was genuinely happy that she managed to get in the reformation program and was not put down, or at least it was what he seemed to have felt from his enthusiastic greeting. Poppy? Ah yes, that girl. Amber spoke those words with a sneer, unamused. Hmph. She might be good to kill time with at least. Ambrose winced inadvertently, he had little idea of what Amber does when he was the one in control.

It was Alice’s turn then, and Ambrose snapped back to attention, listening to Alice’s answer with some appreciation. She was honest, you could say at least that much about her. It was partly why she reminded him of himself, perhaps. Even Ambrose could tell that it wasn’t the answer the people were looking for, but Alice seemed to have no idea of that, innocently saying that it went well. There wasn’t much he could complain about of course, she did leave them with some free time after all.

"My name is Lucy and I find it odd that we've all been gathering here and yet I only know a handful of names." The older subject spoke then, introducing herself to the rest. So her name was Lucy? Ambrose was about to introduce himself when Ophie spoke first, causing him to fall silent once again. It was impolite to interrupt someone when they were speaking, or so the many manners and etiquette lessons drilled into his mind. Integrating into society had quite a rigid set of rules to follow, but Ambrose was coping rather well so far.

"Ophie is Ophie! And that's Vittoria! She's Ophie's girlfriend! She's really shy, though, so be nice to her, okay?" Girlfriend? So many questions that Ambrose didn’t know the answer to. Not that he was curious enough to try, Ophie was someone he’d really rather keep his distance from. Amber approved of her completely, which did nothing but to make Ambrose a little more wary. The people Ambrose likes usually resemble him in terms of personality, Alice is a rare exception for now. As Ophie continued speaking in her sickly sweet tone, Ambrose found his attention drifting off once again. There wasn’t anything much for him right now, and there were no orders to listen to the other subjects.
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It was too late when Ambrose realised that Amber had been awfully silent ever since Ophie began talking about Poppy. “Taking away her marble makes her notice us? Yeah, I’ll try that.” Ambrose’s usual cheery smile widened into a near feral grin as Amber spoke, his eyes flickering a shade of crimson just as they closed immediately. Even Amber understood it’d be bad for the still present guards to notice their switched state. Neither of the two much enjoyed the sharp hypodermic needles that the guards injected the boy with, and his tightly closed eyes didn’t affect him much anyway. Amber could still ‘see’ the outlines of people with the heat radiating off them, and he had figured out the distance between Poppy and himself anyway.

With a fluid movement, Amber closed the space between the small girl and himself, swiping the marble out from under her eyes. “It’s such a pleasure to meet you again, Poppy~” Amber sang cheerfully, waving the marble just out of reach as if taunting the girl. He wasn't too concerned as far as his behaviour goes, it was free time after all, and from afar it looked like harmless teasing between children with Amber’s ever present smile.

Setting

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Character Portrait: Alice Character Portrait: Ophie Character Portrait: Vittoria Character Portrait: Lucy Character Portrait: Ambrose Character Portrait: Lucky
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❝ Isn’t this red just the loveliest ever? ❞

ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя: #CC6666
тнσυgнт cσƖσя #993333



More bodies spilled into the room over a handful of time however, Poppy kept her gaze drilled to the floor without giving so much as a bat of an eyelid to the commotion that developed around her at that particular point. Straightened white locks hung down and framed over the curves of her face like a shielded veil; blocking out the movements around her as those crimson orbs honed in on the floor beneath all too expectedly.

And yet, despite efforts to drift her thoughts elsewhere the familiar voices, though only a few coupled with some others, chimed in her ears and the girl found herself unknowingly listening with some interest albeit small. Her roommate was next to speak following the little display of no other than her other roommate no less. Although the whole scene itself was short and somewhat sweet, and the supervising adults departure following suit, Poppy only then and there acknowledged the fact that the therapy session had come to a close and time was now theirs for now.

Despite appearing disinterested on the front while amongst the group, in all matters of truth Poppy was glad for the company, even if she hadn’t shown it much on her own face. Alice was the first to introduce herself to the group, followed on by the older girl who was revealed to be Lucy. Ophie was next to sound off her name, before going on to introduce one of the other girls, who was known as Vittoria. When her own name was called Poppy barely flinched to the remark; a blink and rolling of her head back given to signify her acknowledgement, as she refocused on the marble before her that was gradually losing its momentum. Lifting both hands and dropping the tips of her sleeves back just slightly, and setting both on either side of the small orb, Poppy quickly gave it another flick with her fingers and set the tiny ball spinning once more, only faster.

Fey was yet another name to flood the air shortly after, and another one Poppy would need to remember, though such a feat was hardly difficult for one such as the girl herself who possessed an incredible memory. Although... just as easily as they had come her thoughts all at once dispersed into nothing, the swiping of her marble tugging at the strings of her focus, as Poppy almost immediately shot a near bewildered look to the figure that stood presently before her and possessed that which she held dear.

”--!” Her mouth opened yet not a word dared to fall out; an empty gap with her words restricted by what could only be described as an invisible barrier. In one swift motion Poppy pushed up onto her feet and stood off from the pillow, the ends of her dress swaying in frantic rhythm of her movements as she placed herself directly in front of the taller boy. ’H-Hngh.’ Grasping at her thoughts, it wasn't long till she recognized him; of course she did, even earlier when arriving into the room however, only now when faced with Ambrose was Poppy robbed of the chance of a fair greeting. Or rather Amber, who had made certain of that and seemingly enjoying it from what she could tell. ’Give it back,’ was the only thought to pass through her mind; a couple of times in fact as she offered a curious look to the boy that held her marble. ’Be careful with it.’ She mentally hissed with a pang to her chest, a sense of worry rushing through Poppy just then.

When reaching for the marble it became apparent that it was out of reach, and only irksomely beyond her grasp as delicate fingers stretched to their limit, and a hand thrust forward in effort to snatch back the orb; but to little avail. Matters only proved more difficult due to the inability to speak, which was more self-inflicted than anything. ’Give it back,’ she internally pleaded once more, crimson eyes wide and beaming up to the boy.

The recurring thought pinged again in her mind, prompting the girl to set a foot upon the boy’s shoe with some force, while leaning her petite frame forward and reaching up to reclaim that which was hers; the other hand meanwhile clinging to Amber’s arm for additional support, lest she wished to fall back and topple the pair over to the ground.

Setting

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Character Portrait: Alice Character Portrait: Ophie Character Portrait: Vittoria Character Portrait: Lucy Character Portrait: Ambrose Character Portrait: Lucky
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❝Do you know why a rose is beautiful? Because you pluck it before it withers.


ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#FF92BB ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #C6C3B5

|| [url=SONGURL]songname || artist[/url] ||







Alice was surprised that the others were actually being civil and getting along, introducing themselves. She rocked back and forth, sitting criss cross on the pillow and waiting for the introductions to end. It never got to that point though. An explosion rocked the building, the ceiling shook, plaster raining down on top of them. Lights flickered, on and off, finally settling for darkness. Alice was more comfortable this way anyways, she stood, looking towards the door that remained closed. She moved quickly, her eyes adjusting just as fast. Being part bat, Alice was made for this sort of element. She tugged on the door, discovering that it had locked. Most likely an emergency mechanism that turned on in case they revolted. The floor shook again; books began falling from the shelves. Another explosion sounded, this one closer. "We need to get out," Alice went to the window and pulled her arm back, swinging forward and punching with all of her might. The glass didn't even creak, they were trapped in the library.

Another explosion, this one right beneath them. The floor disappeared from underneath her, Alice slid back, hitting her head hard on the floor and causing stars to explode in her eyes. There was a coppery taste in her mouth and as she flew with the second explosion, she hit a bookshelf, causing books of all shapes and sizes to topple on top of her before the shelf itself came down, going with her through the ceiling and landing on top of her, making it seem as though the girl was pinned beneath. It wasn't the bookshelf that kept her in place on the ground, rather it was the metal bar impaling her through the shoulder. Thankfully, it didn't seem to have hit anything important, but it hurt like crazy. Bits of the ceiling rained down, blood was running into her eyes and blurring her vision. The remaining security guards that hadn't been in the blown up parts of the building surrounded them, whether it was to protect or kill them Alice wasn't sure.

Alice wouldn't find out until much later though as the blood loss was making her sleepy and she gave in quickly, wanting the pain to stop.

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[center]❝From the moment I was born I have never failed and yet, all I receive are punishments.❞

ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#B272A6 ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #BE2625

|| [url=SONGURL]songname || artist[/url] ||







Lucy spent the next few minutes attempting to refrain from rolling her eyes. She sighed and shook her head at Ophie and Fey's feud, wondering why those two even bothered. Suddenly an explosion rocked the building, then another, and finally, two that hit the library. Lucy fell through the floor, landing on a pile of debris. Instantly Lucy was on her feet, dodging falling pieces of the floor that had once been above them and attempting to seek shelter in case of another explosion. Soon the shaking stopped, there was a gaping hole in the building. In fact, most of the wards had been blown up. The basement was still safely tucked beneath the ground and only one section of the building remained. Guards flooded the area they were in, seeing as how majority of the other areas had been completely blown away. Lucy's legs began to shake as her PTSD returned with a full frontal assault.

She got to the ground, hugging herself in an attempt to warm up. All those things she avoided thinking about rose to the surface; the explosions, the rocking of the buildings, the shackling of chains, and then the torture. She couldn't have a break down here, not in front of all of the others. Her breath was visible in the cold, instead, Lucy focused on that. She was rather unharmed having fallen through the ceiling into something that softened the blow of the ground beneath. Some of the others weren't so lucky. What remained of the medical staff were running around, attempting to save whatever children they could. Lucy turned away, her stomach heaving. She closed her eyes, head tilted towards the sky in an attempt to breath in something other than ash. A security guard stepped forward, draping his jacket across her shoulders.

Lucy had no idea what they were going to do, the med bay was the only piece of the building still standing. Most likely hundreds of civilians and children were dead, buried beneath the rubble of what was once their temporary home. Lucy couldn't help but feel as though she were going to cry, wherever she went death and destruction followed. Who would bomb a home full of innocents and children? Her eyes widened as she realized just who they may have been dealing with. The cult, the same one that had kidnapped her what seemed like years ago; what if this was their doing? The thought made the shaking worse. One of the security agents managed to get Lucy on her feet and led her to a room in the med bay where the children who didn't need immediate medical attention were to wait so that those who were most injured could go first.

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Character Portrait: Alice Character Portrait: Ophie Character Portrait: Lucy Character Portrait: Ambrose Character Portrait: Fey Character Portrait: Poppy
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❝"Hey, do you wanna play a game with me? We'll laugh and have loads of fun!"❞
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ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#A0522D ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #ED9121

|| Utsutsu no Yume || Diao Ze Yong ||









Ophie observed the exchange between Ambrose (Amber?) and Poppy with amusement. Taking the marble, and Poppy's futile and pathetic attempts to get it back - it was pure comedy gold. If she could, Ophie would be throwing money at the performance for such a job well done. Everything was simply-

And then everything went upside-down. Ophie stared at the upside-down world, wondering why everyone else was standing on the ceiling and why she felt blood rushing to her head.

If Ophie had been standing where she was when the explosion hit, she most certainly would have died a horrible and bloody death. As it was, though, the instant it arrived, her spider reflexes kicked in, and almost without thinking, Ophie leapt to the ceiling in a single bound, claws digging into it as she clung, desperately, against the shaking of the building. This evasion attempt more or less allowed Ophie to stay out of sight of the guards for now - they swarmed in and started bundling everyone up. It was utter chaos - and while Ophie was fine with it, she didn't necessarily want her toys being broken by someone else. They were her toys, not for some random idiotic bomber to kill, but rather, herself.

Rage filled Ophie's mind, shuddering.

If I ever find out who did this...

Ophie would do better than make the culprit one of her toys. She'd paralyze him with her toxins and drag him into the dephts of despair. She'd hunt down everyone the bomber ever cared about and slowly kill them as painfully as possible in front of him as he lay, helpless to resist or help. She'd then allow him to live - but blind and limbless, to suffer for all eternity, trapped in the hell of his own mind. Ophie couldn't help licking her lips in pleasure at the idea. Not many deserved this kind of fate, but Ophie didn't mind being a monster that hunted worse monsters.

And someone who hurt someone else's toys definitely counted as the worst of the worst.

The first thing Ophie did was string up a chunk of the ceiling to prevent it from falling. It was directly above Fey's head, and well, she wanted the guy to owe her. Not that he'd honor it, but so that she'd have something to hold above him. The thought pacified Ophie just a slightest tad. Overdosing the chunk with webbing had an almost cathartic effect.

That was when Ophie saw her roommate, Alice, impaled by what looked like a large metal rod. Ophie was infuriated - how dare someone else hurt her toy like this? Only she (and maybe Crux or Fey) were allowed to do such a thing! She dropped down in the middle of a group of guards debating yanking her out of it, the imbeciles.

"Um, move aside, please." Ophie's voice squeaked timidly. "I want to help, okay?"

"Hey, wait, 734-"

Ophie ignored the inept security guard. They were only ever good for one thing - killing practice with Fey. Everything else was a waste of air and space She stared at the large metal rod sticking through Alice's shoulder and calmly waited for the girl to pass out. Sensing she was unconscious from the blood loss, Ophie quickly strung up a complicated series of webs around the pole, the ceiling, herself, and Alice. With a careful yank, the steel pole was removed and blood gushed anew. Ophie then strung up the wound as best as she could, preventing the blood flow from worsening.

What? Ophie took good care of her toys, that's all. It's not like she really cared or anything.

With that, the arachnid girl followed everyone else to the med bay, nudging at Fey to carry Alice, since she didn't trust the guards to do a good job of it.

She then saw Lily? Lori? That tall lion chick in what seemed to be the throws of trauma. Ophie half wanted to just ignore her, but she knew she had an opportunity to forge some kind of bond. A guard ushered the lion girl into a room away from the injured, and Ophie followed. With the barest of reluctance, she webbed Lucy's eyes shut, preventing her from seeing the chaos.

"Lion girl, shh. Stop shaking, okay?"Ophie's voice was sugary sweet, devoid of the usual hint of venom. "It's gonna be all right. You're scared, right? Ophie's here for you. Ophie will block your ears too, if you want. Just take the webs out once you calm down, okay?

With that, Ophie conjured more webs, this time plugging the lion's ears. With that, she sat herself down at Lucy's feet, overwhelmed by a sudden wave of exhaustion. She lazily and sleepily curled up beside her, with a satisfied, catlike grin.

Look how human I am now, you idiotic scientists.

Ophie pretty quickly felt someone scoop her up in their arms. It was Crux of all people, and Ophie trusted him more than anyone else. She grinned childishly at him through the bleary exhaustion, and he lightly stroked her cheek in return. Crux had his wicked arrogant grin plastered on his face as he fought his way out of the medical room with little to no effort. Ophie blinked a few times but couldn't really muster the strength to help much. It was fine though - she felt more than happy as she was snuggled against her best friend's chest.

"Ophie, we're getting out of here." Crux seemed to have a plan in mind, and Ophie was more than fine with that. Escaping this prison - allowing to be able to wreck havoc yet again in the real world? Ophie was more than happy to oblige. "Just trust me, babe. We can take over the world once we're out. Sleep tight, princess."

Princess. Ophie liked the sound of that. She lazily allowed Crux the honor of killing the guards in their great escape, barreling through the halls.

"Ophie trusts you..."Ophie's voice was a sleepy contented purr and she curled herself closer to Crux's chest. The blood mixed with debris from the explosions only made the whole thing funner. If things got bad enough, the arachnid girl might just decide to join in on the fun. She was still exhausted from recent events though - she really did get lazy, huh? During the war, Ophie could last for hours stringing up an entire city inside her webs, yet now she could only last a few minutes? Pathetic.

It wasn't long until the two were outside. That was when Ophie realized that something was very, very wrong. Her best friend, Crux - what was he doing? Ophie wriggled as best as she could but was pinned by Crux's stronger arm. Crux was presenting her to the insurgents that had attacked the facility - Crux was handing her over to the fuckers that dared to hurt her toys!

"Just sit still, princess." Ophie shuddered, and not from the freezing cold of the tundra. Crux's voice wasn't the teasing yet almost brotherly timbre it usually was. Instead was a cold, calculated smug-like hiss as his snake-like qualities shone. Ophie shivered yet again. "Hey, take this girl. As long as she's restrained, she's powerless. You can make her into an amazing weapon, or a perfect, adorable little slave to abuse however you want. In return, I'm leaving this joint. Deal?"

Ophie was about to be handed over like a prize, and there was nothing she could do about it but glare at her former best friend with hurt and hatred - the spider girl couldn't differentiate which emotion was stronger.

"I trusted you!

"Aren't you a fool to trust a monster?

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Character Portrait: Alice Character Portrait: Lucy Character Portrait: Ambrose Character Portrait: Poppy
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#, as written by catgirl
That girl was persistent. But of course, if she wasn't that'd be too boring. It was what made it worth taunting her, after all. She doesn't give in even if she doesn't retaliate most of the time, like she was trying to fight back silently. It was amusing, if not annoying. "Why won't you speak?" He asked as she stepped on his foot, her force meaning nothing to the sheer power Amber could reach. If he really wanted to he would have already crushed the marble. "Hey, say something won't ya? You want this back don't you?" Amber asked curiously, shaking off her grip on his arm as he reached out and shoved her to the ground again, rather roughly. "Come on, make this more interesting for me."

"Huh. That's no fun if you can't sp-" Amber was going to finish his next sentence, but then the room shook, interrupting him and causing him to fall back. Growling in impatience, Amber gripped the red orb tightly with one hand and pulled Poppy's hand instinctively with the other. Thank god Ambrose wasn't there, he'd probably stay there and wait patiently for instructions until something fell on him and killed him. Speaking of which, Alice was already pinned to the ground by a metal rod, causing Amber's eyes to narrow with rage. Oh the things he'd do to the people who dared to do this to them. Still, Ophie was already attending to her, and out of all the subjects Ophie was the one he put his faith in the most. What was important now was his own escape from this crumbling room.

"Fuck." Amber snarled as he pushed away a piece of falling debris, sharp red eyes now completely alert and scanning the area. His fingers were still around Poppy's hand, she reminded him too much of how Ambrose was going to react to leave her completely alone. This was chaos all around him, no matter where he looked. There were officials, sure, but when did they ever do something beneficial? Kicking shelves and furniture out of his way, Amber managed to clear a path for them to get to the med Bay, where he released Poppy's hand, sitting down next to her. His eyes were half shut once again, in the presence of those troublesome Guards. Not all of them were there, they were still missing Fey and Ophie, though that was none of his business.

The current objective was to keep himself alive, everything else can come after that. "You can have it back." Amber stated as he pushed the marble back into Poppy's hands, feeling disinterested in her lack of ability to talk. What's the point of torturing someone if they don't scream?

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Character Portrait: Alice
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❝Do you know why a rose is beautiful? Because you pluck it before it withers.


ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#FF92BB ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #C6C3B5

|| [url=SONGURL]songname || artist[/url] ||







Living hurt, it hurt so very badly that the entire being of her existence cried to be released from this languid body. Alice wasn't that much of a coward to give up so easily, she wasn't going to let something like a pole sticking through her body get in the way. The child was on so many pain medications she eventually began to feel numb and her head was swimming. "I want chocolate," Alice groaned. She was fading, she could hear the nurse yelling to someone. Then the woman was petting her forehead, telling Alice to stay with her. There was beeping, an invasive sound in her peaceful sleep. Then, a shot of something cold and her heart began to race. Liquid adrenaline to get her heart going once more.

When Alice finally managed to pry her eyes open, she was in an isolation room in the infirmary. Her arms were strapped down of course and the pole had been removed from her body. Heavy sedation drugs were running through her system and yet she found the will to tug against the leather straps; Alice felt desperate to get out and find whoever did this to her so she could smash his skull. Fury wasn't getting her anywhere. The pink haired girl took a deep breath and began pulling. She had gone through more pain than this and so all this meritted was a mere grunt. Her hands were bleeding, the skin on her hands torn. The next thing Alice did was disconnect the IV from her central line, it wasn't the first time she had tubing in her chest and it certainly wouldn't be the last. The wound had been stitched closed and wrapped and her clothes cut away. There was an empty blood bag and on the tray beside the bed was a syringe of something for pain. Alice tore up the blanket, wrapping her hands in cloth and going to the door. She had no authorization to release the lock and so Alice went to the back of the bed, unlocking the gurney and running it into the glass. Like she had thought, it would take a bit more force. Alice tried again, this time using all of her might. The glass shattered and Alice remembered to grab the syringe of pain medicine before going through the broken glass, knowing she would need it for later, before looking for some clothing due to the fact that she was naked.

Somehow, Alice managed to find a dress with a bit of color. She quickly pulled it on over her head, figuring it was some sort of procedure gown and knowing she didn't have enough time to care. If Alice wanted to catch these bastards, she had to move before they left. So down the hall she went, leaping over obstacles such as fallen walls and debris. Alice grit her teeth, determined to kill anyone who crossed her path. She was hunting for blood and blood she would have. The first person she came upon was wearing a gas mask and pointing a gun at her head. He pulled the trigger and Alice went down, sliding like she was going for home base and crashing into his legs. He dropped the gun as she climbed on top of him, ripping the gas mask off and punching him, over and over. The satisfying crack of his nose, the feel of blood on her hands. It was all so satisfying. "Don't die yet," Alice giggled with glee, "I want to play with you more." He was curled up in pain. Alice looked around, noticing some exposed pipes and ripping one out. "I'm going to make you suffer, but I don't give you permission to die yet." Alice said before putting the pipe in his mouth and pushing down until he screamed. She pushed down a bit harder, savoring the way he writhed before giving a final push and allowing the release of death finally take over the body. "Aw, you gave up so quickly." She threw the pole away, kicking the body aside. "Coward."

Alice left a trail of blood in her wake; she was full of energy now, licking the blood of her victim off of her fingers. Here they wouldn't let Alice drink any blood, much less kill, but now, now that she was free she could drink all the blood she wanted. Alice moved as though dancing, spinning and leaping as if she were moving to music. Alice managed to get a hold of three more. Each time they suffered death through some sort of pipe or pole being stuck through their body. Each time Alice giggled in delight, telling them to hold on until she got bored and broke them. The girl was stalking for her next victim when a sound came from behind. Alice whirled just in time to get whacked in the head. She recovered quickly, hissing and jumping, clawing at the human's eyes. He howled in pain, grabbing out his knife and waving blindly. The girl retreated, attempting to figure out a way to disarm him. He was temporarily blinded and so she decided to sneak up from behind, crushing his wind pipe. Soon his struggles ceased and Alice picked up the knife curiously, touching the point.

"Ouch!" She yelped, throwing the thing forward so it stuck into the wall. Alice turned to continue on her merry way when faced with another opponent. This one though, threw a smoke canister. Unlike the others, it was Alice's lungs that were broken. She choked, grabbing her neck as she went down, coughing. Alice wasn't going to allow something like this defeat her, she army crawled out of the smoke but he was waiting there. She back flipped, barely missing the odd pen-like device he was wheeling. He lunged at her once more and Alice kicked his hand, knocking the device away. From there it was a race to see who could get it first. They grabbed and kicked and pulled, until finally, Alice had it within reach. "Aha!" She yelled, triumphant. He was on top of her then, grappling for the weird pen and knocking it out of her grasp. Another race ensued, this time he leaped on top of Alice, clearly more than twice her size, and grabbed it, shoving it into the back of her neck and pushing down.

A scream erupted from her spine. He got to his feet, watching as she writhed in pain. "What-what did you do to me!" Alice screamed. It felt as though her whole body had been doused in gasoline and lit on fire. "It's a stimulant to heighten your sense of pain. Even the smallest gust of wind will feel like needles against your skin." As though to emphasize his point he gave a light tap to the wound that had just been sewn shut on her chest. She screamed, arching her back as the pain intensified. "Don't worry, it should wear off in an hour or two. In the meantime you'll be taking a nice long drive."

"Don't touch me!" He tried to get close and she swiped at him, hissing like a feral cat, gnashing her nastily sharp teeth. "Whoa there tiger," He gave Alice a nudge to her ribs, causing her to howl like a banshe. She grabbed his leg, sinking her teeth into his pants. It was his turn to scream, he attempted to shake her off but even with the pain, Alice was stronger than a normal human. He kicked her head against the wall, over and over, until finally, the pain became too much and her grip loosened. The human pounced, pushing his boot into her windpipe. "You're a tough little thing I'll give you that, any human would have passed out by now." He watched her struggle as he cut off her oxygen supply. Alice attempted to lift his boot off of her throat but she was weakened from lack of oxygen. He was laughing now and right before she passed out he lifted his leg and allowed her to breathe. "Now, be a good little pawn and stay still," Alice was tied up and lifted, he carried her like a sack over his shoulder, throwing her into the back of a truck. Finally, the nerve stimulant was beginning to fade and she ripped the ties, wincing at the pain in her chest since the pain medicine had worn off. She reached for the syringe in her pocket, plunging it into her leg and sighing with relief, it was going to be a very long night.

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Character Portrait: Alice Character Portrait: Ophie
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❝"Hey, do you wanna play a game with me? We'll laugh and have loads of fun!"❞
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ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#A0522D ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #ED9121

|| Utsutsu no Yume || Diao Ze Yong ||




[Co-written with The_Queen]
A Bat in the Spider's Web






Every move hurt, the slightest gust and draft caused extreme pain that made her shriek and arch her spine as she attempted to make it stop. Her eyes were closed, her hands clawing at the fabric that covered her body that was already tearing. Finally, finally, it began to fade and Alice was able to relax. It was as though someone had taken the weight off of her chest and she could breathe once more, Alice sighed in relief, finally prying her eyes open and looking at the door that kept her from freedom. She had yet to realize that there was another in the truck and so Alice pushed against the doors, using the needle from the syringe to make small pock marks in the metal, but it hardly did much more. The needle snapped in two, rolling underneath the door and into the cold oblivion that was the tundra of Serbia. Alice sighed and leaned back against the doors, it was freezing in the back of the truck and the only thing in here were metal cages and a few tarps covering them. Making a snap decision, Alice pulled off one of the tarps and wrapped it around herself, her dress was torn to bits anyways and she would rather look stupid than freeze to death. What Alice hadn't been expecting, was that there would be someone underneath the tarp, laying in one of the cages. "Ophie?" Alice questioned, blinking twice to ensure she hadn't seen things wrong.

"...I kinda liked the view." Ophie mumbled in a low, tired voice. She was far too annoyed to even try acting cute and for once her facade was completely gone. Honestly, how could she just act as if everything was fine when locked in a cage in what seemed to be some stupid truckthing? It was infuriating that she let her guard down. She could faintly remember killing Crux off, and everything - she even remembered entertaining the idea of attacking Fey just for fun, and everything else was just a blur. And this was where she woke up - in a cage with that half naked bat. The only good thing was that she got to see a nice show. The bad part was that... well, they were probably going to die unless they did something.

"...Y'know, I don't think that syringe was gonna work." Ophie had a bitter grown on her face. "Mind getting me out of here? I... can't really move. Cage is damn small."

They didn't really get along or anything, but Ophie was smart enough to know that cooperation might be the only way to get out of this mess.

"So they got you too?" It was almost funny, arch enemies/roommates having to share a space once more inside the back of a truck possibly taking them to their doom. Alice knelt down to look at the padlock. It was an easy pick, she pulled a bobbypin out from her hair, normally Alice wore it in twintails that had the assistance of a few bobby pins she managed to sneak into their room from the infirmary. It took a few minutes, but Alice picked the lock and opened the door, moving back so Ophie could crawl out. "Do you know where they're taking us?" Alice figured that Ophie would have about as much information at her, but it was worth it to at least ask.

Ophie shook her head, still annoyed yet also reluctantly thankful. Which annoyed her even more, that she had to have relied on someone she really didn't get along with. This whole situation was just irritating as a whole. Honestly, when she first woke up, she could've mistook Alice for a succubus - she certainly looked the part with those wings. Sadly, she was mistaken.

"...No. I just woke up in here." Ophie murmured sarcastically with an unhelpful shrug of sore shoulders. With a long and heavy sigh she stared at where Alice should've had a wound - all nice and bandaged up. How irritating!

"...Shouldn't have helped you back there." Ophie grumbled under her breath before turning back to the moving vehicle they were in. There was just the smallest crack that she might've been able to stick webs through, though she wasn't entirely sure what purpose that'd serve. The arachnid narrowed her eyes, stretching as best as she could. "...So, what do we got? Anything useful?

Alice narrowed her eyes, she wasn't sure what Ophie meant by helping her. She couldn't recall Ophie ever doing anything that was beneficial to anyone, much less herself. Even though she didn't know it, Alice did agree on the fact that in this situation they would have to assist one another if they wished to get out. "No, not unless you can make something of all these cages and chains." At worst, they would probably end up attempting to lock one another in a cage or possibly using the chains to beat one another, at best, they would devise a strategy to jump on their captors as soon as the doors opened. "I don't think we're going to be getting out of here anytime soon," Alice said helpfully. She stood, a bit wobbily now that the pain medications were wearing off. The pain in her chest was intense, but Alice wasn't going to give anything away; she could not allow her enemy to see her weakened like this. "But we can try to get the jump on them next time we stop."

Ophie sighed, sitting herself back down. Clearly they weren't going to accomplish anything for the time being. So instead of doing anything productive, she decided to do something a little more fun, perhaps as a reward of sorts for Alice pretty much showing off all the yummy bits for her eyes to save to HDD and store in permanent storage, for science purposes, obviously. She forced a grin, trying to clear out the discomfort she felt being so close to Alice, as well as the whole being locked in a truck thing. They had no real way of knowing how long it'd take until their next opportunity, so...

"Hey, I have... a story to tell you. Y'know, to pass the time." A mischievous smirk danced on the spider's features as excitement rose within her. And thus, with all the detail she could muster, Ophie recounted the story of how Crux died, with all the gorey details. Though, of course, giving herself far more credit than she actually deserved, and leaving most of Fey out of the picture to begin with. She wanted the glory, of course.

Alice listened eagerly and with wide eyes, excited to hear the details of Crux's death. "I never liked that two timing back stabber," Alice muttered in between. For the most part she was quiet, taking in every bit of the delicious details and savoring in the warmth of blood even if it was imaginary. Halfway through the story, Alice noticed a scratch on Ophie's forehead, it was bleeding a bit, but it was nothing to be worried about. She was mesmerized by that glistening blood though and waited for Ophie to finish the story before standing up and walking over. Alice leaned over and licked the blood off of Ophie's forehead without even giving it a second thought. Her touch was gentle, she wasn't sure how hurt Ophie was and this was no situation to injure her further. "Sorry, you had something on your forehead," Alice murmured before going back to her side of the truck and pulling the tarp over her once more.

If there was something she prided herself on (well many things, but one in particular) it would be that Ophie was a sadist. She was the one who was supposed to put in the effort to mess with others and ruin their day. Entertainment at everyone's expense was her motto, and it was something she did well. But when the tides suddenly turned, and Alice of all people decided to come and lick her head in a way that made Ophie's body stir in ways that they honestly weren't supposed to, especially not about this weirdo, she simply paused and blinked a few times in an absolute stupor. Nothing happened for a few moments. Then, something between rage at being a toy and fury at being looked down on burst. A combination of a tackle and webs later, Ophie was on top of Alice, pinning her limbs down.

"...Really?" Her voice was high and shrill. "Is this a joke? I'm the one who's supposed to - you just seriously piss me off, you know that? Why? Why did you just come and - I -"

Her voice trailed off as her thoughts were interrupted yet again. If she was the master at infiltrating people's minds, why exactly was her own being messed with? This was beyond ridiculous. It pissed her off more than Crux's betrayal did. Everything about Alice always did rub her the wrong way, after all. But words wouldn't form so she simply scowled as deeply as she could, knowing full well she was failing to be anything near intimidating.

That bit of blood was enough to satisfy her desire to mutilate for the moment. She had been looking down at her hands, debating sucking off the blood of her fingers when Ophie attacked. "What are you doing!" Alice screamed, the two rolling, tumbling into walls and cages. Alice had the jump on her at first, but that stupid chest wound ensured Ophie's victorias. The pink haired girl was pinned down to the floor, webs ensuring she would stay down for the moment. Ophie was sitting on her torso, the tarp that had been covering Alice's exposed body flung to the side. Alice glared, this was the reason she hated Ophie, the girl could be so... So... Infuriating! Alice just wanted to kick her across the room and suck her dry. "I'm a vampire bat, what do you expect!" It was her nature to be attracted to blood, to crave it like a human craved water or a dog craved a big juicy steak plopped down right in front of them. "If anything, you're the one that's tormenting me! Just letting the blood roll down your forehead so casually like, like you don't even feel it!"

The prey was caught in the web. That skin was exposed and her body was immobile - Ophie was free to do whatever she wanted. Yet despite everything, she didn't feel the rush of victory that she normally would have. If anything, straddling the bat to the ground like this only pissed her off even more. Ophie was restless - she wanted to tear Alice apart; she wanted to stab into her eyes and gush over her innards. Yet she knew that that still wouldn't give her the satisfaction she was craving. Any thought of their captors was completely gone - Ophie focused single handedly on one of the biggest headaches of her life. And then, a thought came to mind. A sinister smirk - did she finally discover the string that'd make Alice dance? With as much grace as a spider could muster, Ophie slid one of her claws across a vein in her wrist, letting blood flow out. She then put the wrist to Alice's mouth with an expectant smile.

"...Well? You like blood, right?" She giggled maliciously. "But even think about drying me out and I'll strangle you, got it?"

If she wasn't surprised before, Alice sure was now. Alice couldn't tell what game Ophie was playing and so she was guarded, knowing that she was currently at the mercy of the spider. Both of them were weakened, but Ophie had the upper hand, she was holding the key to victory in her fingertips and could make Alice dance like a puppet on strings if she wanted to. "What do you think you're-" Ophie suddenly sliced open her wrist, holding the dripping vein over Alice's mouth. Instnatly, greed and lust for blood overcame her. She sucked on Ophie's blood greedily, careful not to take too much. Any blood was good blood, but Ophie's had a certain flavor to it that made it almost pleasant, sort of sweet, like chocolate. "Why did you do that?" Alice only thought ask then, once she had already drank from Ophie's wrist. The way they all regenerated, Ophie would have been healed from such a small wound already.

The sensation of Alice sucking her blood was peculiar. Honestly, Ophie enjoyed it in many ways, the most important of which was knowing that Alice was now her toy. A plaything for her to use as entertainment. If Alice craved blood, Ophie'd be able to extract favors in exchange for a nice bloodletting sensation. And it wasn't like she particularly minded the cutting - it was nothing but a bee sting compared to the kinds of things she and the other experiments have suffered. For such a tiny price, and Alice tamed, Ophie was more than satisfied.

"You're mine now." Ophie had her candy-like voice on yet again, giggling with childish flair. "I really hope you never forget that, okay? Between you and I, Ophie's the superior one. And I always will be!"

Ophie then climbed off of Alice's body and gave it one last lust-filled stare before using her claws to cut through the webbing freeing her. Of course, she remained on guard just in case the succubus wanted to attack and try to claim dominance. Still, it wasn't as if Ophie was just going to let that happen.

"...Now, we should work together to get free, shouldn't we?"

Alice thought about it, blood for a favor? From that view point, it didn't seem like a bad exchange. "Fine," Alice agreed, although she made it seem as though she weren't willing. She didn't want to give Ophie the satisfaction of thinking she had won. The truck stopped then, the doors being thrown open almost instantly and letting the cold in. Naturally, bats needed humid/warm climates to thrive in and so she hissed and clawed at the cold as though she were allergic, grabbing the tarp now that she was free and pulling it over her head. It did nothing to deter the stupid humans, Alice was scooped up easily, as though she weighed nothing. She dug her nails into the floor, satisfied at the screech her nails on metal made as the human attempted to drag her out. He dropped her to cover his ears and Alice pounced, throwing away the tarp and jumping on him like a bat out of hell. She slashed at his throat, figuring it was the fastest way to get them out. "Come on!" Alice grabbed Ophie's hand and jumped out of the truck, tugging the girl with her. Brb, cookies. There was a gate at the other end, if they could make it there, they would be free.

The cold was sudden and unlike Alice, Ophie didn't have a tarp to grab or anything. As she blinked, many things happened in a split second - and before she knew it, Alice had grabbed her by the arm and dragged her along. Ophie wordlessly tore the bat's hand off of her, but grabbed on with her right hand - freeing her left wrist to be aimed behind her. At this distance, she couldn't really pin their captors down, but she could shoot her silk out to intercept any tranquilizer darts that may be fired. With the deftness of a marksman, she more or less snagged a few out of the air, as the two girls rushed towards the gate.

"...Too bad you didn't kill him more painfully." Ophie said with a slight snappish tone to her voice, though silently allowed Alice to take the lead. "Hey, can't we just fly or something? Those wings gotta be good for something, right?"

Ophie was cold. She had a headache. She just wanted to sleep. She stifled a yawn, forcing herself awake with another slash at her arm with her claws - pain to stay awake and alert. She wasn't going to get caught yet again. And, hopefully, her new toy would escape with her. There were too many uses Alice would be good for for her to just die to a random human asshole. Only Ophie was allowed to kill the bat - and she fully intended to, once her use as a toy ran out. But for now, allies would be a fine enough term.

Alice grit her teeth, she was sensitive about her wings because they were useless, they could only carry Alice a few feet off the ground since she had begun practicing. "I can only carry one and they're attached to me. So if I go over the fence, you'd stay here." They weren't much use not on her body unless Ophie was thinking of using them to decorate or something. Alice wasn't going to just let her take them though, she would fight tooth and nail. "We're almost there, just stay up a few seconds longer," they had reached the gate and the shots didn't come from behind them, but rather, above. A tower shadowed over them, guards shooting everything they had. Alice hissed as a dart clipped her shoulder, landing on the ground directly behind her. She pulled the tarp off of herself and shielded Ophie under it, "they should bounce right off of that." Alice climbed the fence, reaching the top where the barbs were. "Toss me the tarp!" She was planning on throwing it over so that they could use it as a guard and climb over, but before Ophie so much as had a chance to respond, Alice was shot. It was in her chest wound, the dart sticking out. Alice was determined though, she was running off of adrenaline and blood. "Quickly!" Another two darts, one in her wing, another in her leg. "Damn," the pain stole every other sense as the stimulant worked its way into her system. She fell from the fence into the snow, her entire being twitching in pain as she screamed, the pain intensifying with each second. One shot had been enough to incapacitate her for nearly an hour, there was no telling what three shots would do. "RUN!" Alice managed through grit teeth, her fingers brushing Ophie's ankle. A scream ripped from her body once more, the little action causing her nerves to fire off.

Ophie was beyond furious. Her possession, Alice, was twitching in the throes of agony and it wasn't her who was the cause? Despite how tired she was, this was unforgivable. Unacceptable. She let out a hiss and a click of the teeth and turned to stare down the approaching guards. She's yet to have been hit by a dart - even with her exhaustion, she'd be more than enough to kill them off and escape with Alice. Any other outcome was unacceptable. Ophie was created by these damn humans as a weapon after all - and what else was she good for if she couldn't kill a few pests that threatened to touch what was hers?

"I said you're mine! I don't leave behind my toys, okay?

Focusing as hard as she could, Ophie launched herself at a snow bank. She almost let out a scream as the snow and frost bit at her skin but she needed the cover. Within an instant, she burst out of the bank at a different angle, taking down one of the attackers. She immediately paralyzed him with her fangs and used him as a shield to block against more nerve darts fired at her from in front. With a few quick moments, the man was writhing as pain traveled throughout his body. Ophie smirked as she stabbed down between his legs and dashed to her next target. However, she overestimated her speed and instead barreled right into him, knocking them both to the ground. Being a spider, she recovered quickly from the fall - but not quick enough that she get procure another meat-shield. For a split second, she didn't feel anything but bewilderment. And then she felt the pain pulsate through her body in waves that only seemed to escalate over time.

Still, before she lost control of her body altogether, Ophie had one last thing she had to do. A man's scream echoed throughout the compound as his eyes, throat, and stomach were torn apart by claws in a flurry of snow and blood.

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Character Portrait: Alice Character Portrait: Ophie
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❝Do you know why a rose is beautiful? Because you pluck it before it withers.


ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#FF92BB ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #C6C3B5

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When Alice could finally stand to pry her eyes open, she was laying in some sort of cell. It was almost like the one in the rehab center, only in the rehab center, there were no chains keeping them connected to the walls. Her shock collar was buzzing, humming as though it were ready to deliver a finishing blow at any moment. Alice was gagged, a cloth wrapped firmly around her mouth to ensure she couldn't release any sound that wouldn't be muffled. The pink haired girl looked around for the spider, somehow comforted by the fact that they were in the same cell. The white washed space smelled of lemoney fresh floor cleaner, but Alice could detect the undertones of what they were attempting to disguise.Terrible things happened down here, no doubt. Was this the basement? Had she been bad? The thought made her shake. She had been doing so well, learning to read, limiting her biting, even sometimes remembering to put clothes on. The shaking ceased, replaced by rage; she growled, a low, guttural, inhuman sound.They would pay for this, Alice would be certain to tear their throats out, to impale the humans and chain them so they knew what it was like to be treated like an animal.


For someone like Ophie who used her voice as a weapon of manipulation, being gagged and immobilized was probably one of the worst possible things that could happen. She was truly and utterly powerless - not to mention the still persisting yet somewhat fading pulsations of pain from whatever drug she'd been injected with from the dart.She idly glanced to the side, surprised yet oddly angered upon seeing the bat in the same cell. Sure, she was injected, but couldn't she have at leasttried to have escaped while Ophie charged at the assailants? That washer opportunity to at least attempt to flee. And now her toy was probably going to end up tortured, if her sense of smell wasn't lying to her. Heck, Ophie herself probably was, as well. Unfortunately, after she revealed her abilities to the insurgents, methods were put in place to neutralize her most effective tool. Ophie grunted and moaned in a disgusted tone as her two hands were clasped together and encased in what seemed to be a large singular steel glove, chained shut. It was heavy and weighed down each of her movements. Yet she knew that even trying to struggle was useless. So she shot Alice her best annoyed glance,trying to figure out why the bat didn't at least try to get away during Ophie's distraction.

Alice simply gave Ophie a smile as she sawed through the straps with her claw-like nails. It was fraying, Alice could feel it; finally her hands were free, she pulled the gag from her mouth, but as soon as Alice stood, the shock collar humming with electricity went off, no longer a buzz but a shriek. Alice grit her teeth, with each step a shock volted through her body, but Alice was determined. Should she attempt to gut the collar, it would shock her fingers and so Alice gave up that angle, hoping that by escaping the cell the shocking would stop. Before Alice could get far though, one of the humans came downstairs. "Thank you for volunteering," he said and came towards the cell. The shock collar ceased it's relentless tirade of pain, allowing for Alice to release a breath before the human grabbed her. Instantly, she pulled herself up by the arm he had grabbed her and bit into his wrist. He hardly seemed to mind Alice's bite, he brushed it off as though he had been bitten before. "Let me go!" Alice kicked him. She twisted from his grip, running like a rat through a maze around the odd devices and towards the exit. Before Alice could reach it the collar went off again, the shocking intensified. She didn't want to stop, but had to pause and the small gap in motion made him leap like a lion on its prey. He pinned Alice, lifting her by her hair and dragging her back towards the cell. Only, they didn't go inside. Instead, he stripped off whatever was left of her dress and tied her so that she was in a position withher arms above her, her ankles pressed and tied together. In his hand he held a whip. "One lashing for every sin."

"I'll kill you," Alice hissed. One lashing, it wasn't so bad, like a sting that only lasted for a few seconds. "Do it again and I'll snap your neck!" She threatened, the whip hitting her again. Was this what Lucy had gone through? Alice thought the huge deal the girl made was stupid, this was nothing compared to the pain she experienced by the hands of her creators. The human seemed to realize that this wasn't working and so he called upon his two friends, enlisting them to hold her wings open so that he could poke needles into them. "When I get my hands on you...You... You're going to be sorry you existed!"

Ophie heard the lashes resounding through the halls, as well as Alice's shouts of futile defiance. It was disgusting. Alice - her toy - was struggling and fighting and it was at someone else's hands. Yet, wasn't it idiotic to try and resist? Over the years, she learned that in these kinds of situations, acting helpless was the way to make the pain end as quickly as possible. The more you tried to fight, the more they'd hurt you. Why couldn't Alice understand that simple fact? It boiled her insides. So Ophie had every intent to simply sit still and not bother.

Well, until the sounds continued and refused to stop. Whatever was happening, it was her job to do it to Alice, not random filthy humans who thought they owned the world. What kind of monster could she be if she just let them have their fun, huh? Especially if their fun involved touching something that belonged to her? Ophie's feet were still free and with the kind of twisting of limbs that most humans would be unable to accomplish, the claws on her toes managed to sever her mouth from the gag, giving her access once again to her silver tongue. It was almost a relief as the strap dropped to the cold floor. Still, she didn't have her webs, but the steel glove would be a fine enough bludgeon, wouldn't it? And so, that's exactly what she did - following the noises, she dashed behind the breathing scum and bashed one of them in the back of the head, with a crack and a spilling of grey matter.

"That's my toy." Ophie insisted, shivering with both rage and stupidity. "Only I'm allowed to hurt her, you stupid humans! Filthy humans! Just get out of our lives already!"

She forgot about the collar around her neck. And before Ophie could take a step to another breathing slime, she felt the currents tear through her body. In a heap, Ophie collapsed, twitching, biting as hard as possible into her cheeks to prevent from screaming- but instead drawing blood and a heavy chunk of cheek flesh. She spat it out at one of the guard's faces in a show of useless defiance. Why again did she bother trying to do anything? How stupid could she possibly be?

They had blindfolded her, taking away one of Alice's most vital senses. The stabs of pain came from everywhere, but the ones in her wings were the worst. Alice heard it though, a sound she couldn't miss. The girl struggled to break free once more; she was a bat, bats had a fantastic sense of hearing and so Alice knew she wasn't mistaken. One of the human's seemed to think that something Ophie said was a fantastic idea; he presented her with the whip and gestured towards the other experiment. "Why don't you do the honors then?"

With a twist of a key and a releasing of metal, Ophie's hands were now free. Yet, she really wished that they weren't when the whip was presented to her. Her face twisted bitterly at the humans around her, feeling incredibly disturbed and uncomfortable. When she hurt a toy, it was something sacred, something precious. It wasn't some sport for these insects to watch and jeer at -it was special intimacy between her and her victims. It gave her all the control to do as she pleased. Like this, Ophie was as much of a rat in a maze as Alice was. Unfortunately, no amount of rage would allow her to escape with her webs - they were for the next few hours, utterly useless.

"Disgusting. Scum. Useless trash. You all should eat my shit and die in a hole." Ophie whispered, feeling more blood pool in her mouth. She let it drop onto her arm and gave herself another slice - deeper and as painfully as she could, as if out of penance. The sanguine liquid oozed into the steel glove as if it were a bowl, and she knelt down to pick it up, handing it to Alice. One of the guards tried to intercept but she bared her fangs and it was enough to make him rethink this once. Clearly, it wouldn't work again.With as much empathy as was possible for a monster, Ophie gestured at Alice to drink. "...Sorry."

She then started lashing Alice with the whip - red welts and long x shaped streaks began to form with each strike. Yet as Ophie stared at the succubus's body, she only felt a need to puke as well as an insatiable desire to commit genocide on all humans for invading on her sacred ritual like this.

"O-phie?"Alice could hear her, but she was blinded by the stupid mask over her eyes. Her tone was innocent, far too pure for a monster who killed others for fun. Then there was warm liquid, it was sweet, dripping down her throat like the nectar of the Gods. Alice could tell it was Ophie's blood and she drank it greedily, the same as before. Did this mean it was over? Had Ophie gotten them out. No, it wasn't, it seemed. Another lashing, then another, her back cut up and dripping.The ends of her pink hair had been turned red, dipped in her own blood as it ran down her back and splattered against the stark white floor. Alice would not give them the satisfaction of her screams. She would not show the pain they were causing her out of sheer stubbornness. The only thing Alice could do was tune it out, pretend she had gone deaf as well as blind. It was was much easier to swallow the pain that way, by pretending it wasn't happening at all. When it was over Alice's arms were freed. She couldn't move, her back was raw and red,the only positive factor of the situation being that they didn't seem to mind Alice's hate for clothing. In fact, they took it off themselves. Unfortunately, they made the mistake of releasing her arms. Even without her eyes, Alice leaped, landing on the closest human. She ripped the mask off of her eyes,wrapping it around his neck and turning it, twisting it tighter and tighter to squeeze off his oxygen supply. Someone pulled her off before his face even turned purple. She scratched the other human across the face, he drove a finger into the still-dripping wounds. "Alright, enough of this. Throw that one back in the cell, it's the spider's turn." For some reason, that made Alice even angrier. She wanted to choke the life out of each and everyone of these humans, but Alice wasn't given the chance. Instead, she was thrown back into the cell, her arms retied behind her.

Before Ophie allowed anything else to happen, she tore her thumb into her left wrist -this time dangerously close to the artery. A little wrong movement and she'd easily die. She knew they wanted to hurt her next, and she also knew that they'd only be able to do so if she was alive. As such, she had all the power, if only temporarily. Alice was gone and safe for now, though she was still clearly suffering, if the blood left behind was any indicator. It was her own fault for being idiotic - and Ophie knew that trying to cooperate with the bat might be the only way to make any headway in this new hell she found herself in.

"Do as I say, or I'll kill myself and ruin your fun. Electrocute me, and I'll make sure to kill myself - and you can't have as much fun with only one captive,since now she's gotta recuperate."

She was met with silence and significant side glances, but the two remaining humans made no other move. Satisfied, Ophie angled her arm to drip a heavy sample of blood into the glove yet again - much more than the previous slash. After a satisfactory amount was donated, she gestured to one of the scum to lift it up.He did so, in a way that made Ophie want to kill him for daring to touch it,despite it being her order. "Let me see you give that to her. I'll cooperate with whatever you want with me after that."

As such, Ophie was marched (with heavy supervision) back to the cell and was only allowed the briefest sighting of the guard handing over the glove before she was dragged away. She didn't struggle - she already resigned herself to her fate. Unlike Alice who'd fought and tried to claw her way to freedom, Ophie knew that her best option was to play her game as quietly as possible. The least amount of noise - the less resistance - the better, right? She was brought into a different room entirely, filled with various instruments she couldn't even fathom the use of, as well as a heavy stench of old dried blood mixed with some kind of smell freshener that failed to freshen the smell whatsoever. With an expressionless face Ophie was strapped to a table with all four limbs spread, stripped of her clothing unceremoniously. As such, her own torment was about to begin.

Alice was told that if she behaved for now, they would bring her water. She was so desperately thirsty that not even Ophie's blood quenched it. Water, Alice needed water. So for now she lay still as they dressed her wounds, the point of the torture wasn't for them to die, as strange as it seemed. They were trying to inflict as much pain as possible without physically killing the victims, they didn't want to be deemed hypocrites, they were just trying to teach the monsters a lesson.When the wound was finally dressed, Alice let down her hair and used it to cover her chest. She was still in that same little room when they pushed a mini bottle of water in and Alice drank it down almost as though it were blood. She sighed in relief, throwing the bottle against the wall boredly. In reality, she was straining her ears, attempting to pinpoint Ophie's location. "If they hurt her too.... They'd better hold on to their hats those disgusting humans." Why was Alice feeling so protective? Most probably for the same reason Ophie was. Alice was the only one who could inflict pain on other experiments, not these impure humans.

To everyone's favorite spider, torture was more of a mind game than any sort of physical trial.Whoever broke first - be it the sadist or the victim - was the one who lost.The sadist had to think of creative ways to keep the victim on their toes,while the victim had to steel themselves against any sort of attack through sheer mental fortitude and willpower. Eventually, one side would break - and Ophie was determined to win in that regard. She'd won in the sadist's role plenty of times, so it'd make sense that she'd also win this game, too, right?As her tormentors laughed and jeered, and started beating her with what felt like rods after injecting her with the nerve agent yet again, Ophie desperately kept her mouth shut - scarlet ichor filling her mouth as she bit down on her cheeks yet again.

Beating itself would've been fine - painful, yet tolerable - but adding the nerve agent almost brought Ophie to the brink of breaking many times over. Ophie knew it wouldn't be long until her first bone broke, but she also knew that with her rapid regeneration, broken bones would heal back relatively quickly regardless. She did her best to not move a single muscle as her body was battered and stricken ad nauseum. Finally, things seemed to have slowed down - the only sound anyone could hear was Ophie's labored breathing as she regained her strength. Was it over? Was it done? Or was it simply another trick to fool with the victim's mind?

"You're not very fun." A human voice sounded, not that Ophie could see anything to really confirm it - she was blindfolded after all. "Yeah man, she should at least cry or something." It seemed they were discussing things. If that was the case, then the battle still wasn't won just yet. Ophie wouldn't give in. She had to outlast the siege in whatever way she could. "Earlier, the two freaks were protecting each other or something, weren't they?" That was when the spider knew the game was lost. A few dreadful seconds later..."Hey, scream and beg for us. If you do a good enough job, we might let you hurt her again for us, how does that sound? Course, if you want us to do it instead, you can just stay quiet like always."

With her prides wallowed and a sensation of needing to protect her plaything, Ophie sang the song the filth were wanting to hear the entire time. And as she sang, the attacks grew more energetic and enthusiastic - as if her voice were charging them even more. After some time passed that she couldn't hope to guess at,Ophie felt herself being carried like a sack of potatoes by one of the guards, before being tossed - arms restrained by the steel glove yet again - back into the cell with Alice. The spider's entire body was quivering and she collapsed immediately once placed on her feet - falling face first onto the ground with no strength left, more akin to a ragdoll than a monster.

"Have fun in there." One human taunted. "We'll be back later for more games!"

Ophie let out an odd strangled sound from the back of her throat that sounded suspiciously like "Teddie" as she stared with glassy eyes in front of her.

Alice had finally been given water. She was so desperately thirsty and they wouldn't allow the female the use of her own hands. Someone tipped the cup into her mouth and as she drank, water spilled down her front, causing blood to mingle and run as well. Alice had no desire to drink her own blood, the blood of others was sweet and addicting, her own, not so much. When Ophie was shoved inside, Alice could tell that something wasn't quite right as soon as the doors closed behind the spider. "Ophie, are you alright?" Her legs weren't tied, the stupid humans hadn't been smart enough to think of such things, it seemed, so Alice could move and sit beside Ophie, noticing the glassy look and hoping that they hadn't broken her. "You have to hang on, we can't let them win," Alice wasn't even sure if Ophie was listening, or perhaps she was saying it for her own benefit, as though there were some magic in speaking thought words.

Everyone had something that they relied on. That Poppy chick had her marble, Alice seemed to enjoy stripping even if it meant exposing your weak and delicate bits, Fey had his Fey-ness... and Ophie had her teddie bear that she always latched onto whenever she felt overwhelmed. After she looted it from a little girl's room a few years ago (after killing her, of course), it's been her main source of comfort in hard times. Perhaps it was a crutch - and worse, perhaps it was a sort of attachment only scummy humans really used, but it wasn't as if she could help it, or anything. She was allowed one flaw, wasn't she? A combination of losing Teddie somewhere in the facility, being naked, and most grave of them all, losing the mindgame of torture, the spider felt completely and utterly defeated. Sure, the fractures and such would heal over time, but she had no idea how mental damage seemed to work. Most of her victims died after their sessions, after all.

I... protected you..." Ophie whined, sensing in some unconscious way that Alice was around. In a childish, spoiled fashion, it was as if she was looking for some sort of recognition. It was a feeling she never really felt before. "I d-don't want them to touch you...! And I... She shivered, her whole body twitching with more pain as she did so. In a much weaker, quieter voice, "I want my teddie do you know where she is?"

Alice frowned. She had seen Ophie's Teddie, the two shared a room, but Alice hadn't really thought anything of the stuffed bear that sat on the girl's bed. It wasn't uncommon for them to latch on to something in the outside world and bring it with them to the rehab facility when they were captured. Alice didn't have any sort of comfort object, but she did understand the purpose of it. "No, I haven't seen Teddie." Alice replied, shaking her head. She couldn't stand having her wrists behind her and so Alice uncomfortably brought her arms forward, hesitantly putting them around Ophie. "I'm not going to let them get away with this," Alice assured her. For now it seems they were leaving them alone, albeit with a warning that they would be back. She could pounce, but it was dangerous and it could put Ophie at risk. Alice was wondering why she suddenly cared so much, perhaps due to the fact that they were in this hell together that she felt the need to cling to someone.

The two had been through worse though, Alice was sure. Judging by what she had seen in the human world while on her path of destruction, she doubted Ophie really encountered anything that different. "Maybe if we pretend to behave they'll bring us real food." Alice would give hers to Ophie, she decided. The bat could sustain herself off of blood alone for a while, so she could hide the food for later in case things became worse or they changed their minds. "That's right, we just have to wait."

She didn't understand her, did she? Ophie never lost before, even when the scientists were trying to break her. She never once gave in - it wasn't as if she was a stranger to pain or anything. And perhaps it was frustration at not being understood that gave her the fury to blink away the glaze from her eyes. A new burst of energy was mixed in with a burst of aching stings that had once felt somewhat distant. It was fine now, though - even if she couldn't exactly move, she could persevere. It was an odd, disgusting emotion within her that needed to somehow have Alice understand. Perhaps it was because Teddie spoke to her and understood her when they talked in the late nights when everyone else was asleep, but without her, she was left with the bat. Disregarding her hunger for now, Ophie decided to directly address what was bothering her.

"...They said to sing for you, Alice. For your sake. I never sang for anyone before. I never lost before. You know how I am... don't you? Desperation and anger were both intertwining with each other and it was hard to keep them both in check. "I'm not supposed to lose the game, I'm supposed to be the one to make them sing! Don't you get it?"

Unlike some of the others, Alice wasn't intellegent, she had never believed herself to be so either. She couldn't read or write, do basic math, Alice had no practical functions aside from killing, so of course she didn't understand what Ophie was saying. "But we're not on your playing field anymore," Alice spoke softly. Losing was new to her as well, the first time Alice had lost had been to the claw in the sky when it came down and scooped her up from her nest of bones and blankets she had stolen from houses. Of course she had fought the claw, but ultimately it had won and whisked her away to Siberia, where it was so cold that the simple act of opening a door could make one freeze to death. "We're dancing to their tune now," Alice whispered, unraveling herself from Ophie and sitting across from the spider. "These people, they're playing on a different level. We're pawns they can sacrifice, we always have been. The game masters are men playing God, the ones who created us, and now we've been stolen from one set and placed on another." It was the only way Alice could think of explaining it and she hoped that Ophie understood what she was trying to say.

So was what just happened a smaller game inside of an even bigger game? If that was the case, then perhaps failing in one small game didn't mean the whole game was lost just yet? Ophie didn't know what she meant by a pawn, but she did formulate a large playing field with many different pieces, two of which were the bat and the spider in captivity. If there was a game, then there had to be a victory clause, right? It was a game of a different level, according to Alice - so it was more than the usual games Ophie played involving songs and minds. Ophie was a spider for a reason - figuring out these sorts of things were supposed to be her strong point, right? She took a deep breath before painfully and with much exhaustion, scrambled herself back into what seemed to be a sitting position.

"So in this game, we're on a same team, right? And we're against these people this time. We're losing right now and that's bad..." Ophie scowled bitterly at the idea of losing but shoved it out of her mind for the time being. She had to try to organize her thoughts however she could and hope the vampire bat was on the same page. "...If they wanted us to fight for them, they would just have to save us from the cold facility, right, and then put us... where they want things to die. So that's not the plan..."

Oddly enough, as her mind raced, the spider found herself to almost be having fun yet again. Her bodily pains temporarily left her to allow her to rummage through any hints and clues thus far.

"If we want to win, we have to find out how they win, and then stop it." The spider then gave Alice a bit of a grin before continuing. "The humans at the cold place won by turning us human. So these ones don't want that, because they attacked those humans. But they don't want us as weapons either, right? And they were doing... stuff to us. What do they win from trying to hurt us, Alice? What good happens for them to leave us alive?" She then nodded her head at her cellmate, giving her a chance to try and add her own theories into the strategy meeting.

Alice listened, not sure if she really understood where Ophie was going with this. Alice had to hand it to her though, Ophie was really good at twisting words and findind a deeper meaning behind them. She furrowed her brow, thinking long and hard about what these people could possibly want for them. "Maybe the truck was all a show and we're really in the basement?" Alice tried. "Or they could be trying to break us so that we'll do their bidding." Those were the two most logical responses Alice could figure out and Ophie seemed to really be one for logic.

The basement. It was a place Ophie was always curious about, but never really wanted to find out. All of the experiments heard the rumors - once you were put in there, you'd never be let out. No one was ever seen again after being sent to the basement. And, well, considering which people were usually put there, it did make some sense. Ophie was a complete monster - and she loved it -, so perhaps the scientists found out about it. And, well, Alice was always annoying so perhaps they just tossed her in because of it. Though to be fair - and she did appreciate the irony - Ophie didn't mind Alice too much, as they were on the same team now.

"So, this might be the basement..." Ophie took a cursory glance of the cell and let out a small sigh, almost as if her sights confirmed the small suspicion. "...This room is kinda like the ones they put us after being bad, right? So it could be the basement. That... makes sense." The brunette then did something she thought she'd never ever do - especially not to this one person who was always a thorn in her side in the past. "...Ophie sends Alice an alliance request to survive. Does Alice agree?" She had a playful, inviting smile on her face, temporarily reverting back to her childish words in an attempt of normalcy. She stuck her arms out in a handshake attempt - but then saw the steel glove thing and frowned again.

Alice was curious, the basement was the unknown forbidden space, it was the ending of every story, but there was no way she was going to allow her's to come to such a conclusion. For some reason, knowing that their comrades, note, not friends, were above them, made Alice feel even more determined to return. She wanted to be the one to survive the basement and live to tell the tale, with or without Ophie. Her head snapped forward when Ophie spoke; she may not like it, but the spider was currently her only company so Alice may as well listen. She was sending a request for a temporary alliance, now that was unexpected. "Alice agrees," the bat nodded her head, wondering why she had suddenly referred to herself in the third person. Footsteps came from behind them and dread settled into her stomach. "Time to play!" The human sing songed, the most evil smile Alice could possibly envision riding their lips. "Lucky for both of you, you're going to the same room." As soon as he lifted Alice she reflexively kicked, the pink haired girl hated behind touched and his hands were invading her skin. The human dropped her, giving Alice enough time to run to the corner and hiss as though this would detere him from trying again.

With almost no time to rest, yet another game was about to begin anew. Ophie even wanted to laugh at Alice to copying her sentence structure - and then the damn humans came back to interrupt the fun. Still, at least now they had possible information - if this really was the basement, then they were still in the facility. Whether or not that was good or bad didn't really matter, the important part was that there were stores of the serum around in case she needed to escape. With the enemy's potential victory clause put aside for now, Ophie still didn't really have a plot for victory other than survival. Though perhaps that was as good as any.

"Ophie doesn't want to play." She replied in a voice matching the first man's lyrical quality. As Alice backed away into the corner with a hiss, Ophie took her opportunity to slam her metal glove into the second man's throat, forcing him to buckle to his knees in an attempt to catch his breath. And as expected, an electric shock pulsed through her system a second time - but before she herself could collapse, the arachnid pressed the glove to the human that was approaching Alice with sadistic glee, sharing the electricity with him as well. Of course, she filled the glove with as much webbing as she could to protect her gland from the current. If this was going to be an escape attempt, she'd need use of her webs. Both Ophie and the singer were thusly incapacitated, though Ophie managed a weak grin at Alice and brought herself back to her feet. Luckily, being a monster, she could recover much more quickly from a shock than any old human.

"Should we try to get out? Do you think it'll work?

Alice nodded her head, "Let's try to find an exit." She was determined to get out of here, "We'll probably need some clothes." As much as Alice hated them, if they were still in the icy wastes of Siberia they were going to need some incredibly thick clothing to keep them from freezing. They were going to need the anti-rejection meds as well, no doubt they wouldn't last long without them. Which reminded Alice of something very bad, neither of them had, had their meds yet today. They gave them out at lunch, which they had missed due to the fact that the building had been dismantled rather abruptly right after therapy time. "Shit," Alice cursed, knowing that it would probably be a few hours before she would feel the effects of rejection. As they left the room keeping them captive, Alice looked around for any signs of an infirmary, medical room, or even a drawer with syringes. Alice spotted a cabinet and opened it up, finding saws of different sizes. She quickly closed it, her wings fluttering and she wrapped her arms around herself protectively. "Not in there," maybe they should focus on the exit first and worry about the medicine later. No doubt the human would call in back up and then they would be royally screwed. "Do you see anything?" Alice whirled around, looking for Ophie amongst the different torture machines.

Ophie held up her wrists in a rare moment of genuine helplessness, though perhaps it wouldn't really matter to Alice at all that she was still essentially neutered offensively. Even if escape was a thing, what was the point if she couldn't go back to killing as she pleased? She needed her hands free, one way or another. She observed as Alice searched around a medical area - presumably for the medication - but was only met with saws. The spider didn't really understand why the bat seemed to recoil away from the saws a little - they were a tool Ophie was very familiar and comfortable with. Well, most of the time she was the one holding it, so perhaps that was the issue. ...And clothes were definitely going to be needed, and not only for the cold. She didn't enjoy how the humans seemed to stare at the two of them, fully exposed. It made her feel both disgusted and outraged. Honestly, Ophie wished she could use all of these instruments. The pear was fantastic in particular, although Ophie did enjoy the idea behind the rack and the breaking wheel as well. Unfortunately, it wasn't as if she could carry the tools with her.

Still, it was fun to look at and imagine the ways.

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Character Portrait: Alice Character Portrait: Ophie
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❝"Hey, do you wanna play a game with me? We'll laugh and have loads of fun!"❞
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ɗιαƖσgυє cσƖσя:#A0522D ♙ тнσυgнт cσƖσя #ED9121

|| Utsutsu no Yume || Diao Ze Yong ||




[Co-written with The_Queen]
In Darkness, a Lily Blooms





"I don't know how to get this off my wrists without a key." Ophie confessed, looking slightly away. Sure, they were allies, but would Alice really care enough to help out? For some reason, Ophie had a feeling her cute act wouldn't work on Alice, so decided to not bother attempting in the first place. Instead she simply gestured it towards Alice's face. "I can't help much in a fight until these get off, you know?

Alice had worked off the bindings only moments before, using the saws she had at first recoiled from. "This should work," Alice picked up a wide toothed saw and hacked at the lock on the metal gloves until finally, they came off. They lost too much time already, the humans were stirring, getting onto their feet. One of them was bleeding and he didn't seem to be too happy about it. "Come on!" While it didn't seem like they were going to make it out in this moment, they could at least attempt to find the exit for next time. In an act of desperation, Alice grabbed Ophie's hand and began running down the hall, away from the screams coming from behind closed doors. They were looking for signs of an exit; stairways that led up, doors marked with bright red signs, even a relatively small marker like an arrow or fire extinguisher that would tell them which way to go. The halls were seemingly impossible to navigate though and somehow they ended up right where they started. Frustrated, Alice went back to the saws and picked up two, sliding one across the floor to Ophie. Animalistic instincts were beginning to take over, Alice let out a low guttural sound resembling what could have been a growl. She wove her way past machines and through various equipment to where the humans were, swinging the saw as though it were an extension of her arm and hitting the first human hard.

With her hands free, Ophie gave Alice the briefest kiss on the cheek before immediately latching her silky strings over the walls and pipes and everything she could find - thin enough to be invisible to a careless eye. This truly was her expertise - in close quarters, with no room to move or mobilize, the spider queen reigned supreme. The humans began their pursuit, and Ophie heard the growl from her companion, so she subtly twisted her wrist. It was almost like a work of art, or perhaps, dominoes, as all the webs and strands interacted with each other to create a latticework-type trap, wrapping around the human's throats and suspending them up into the air. The webs themselves were heavily supported by many others, preventing them from breaking under the weight. As the scum struggled and died of being hung, Ophie wanted to stay and watch and admire her artistry. Unfortunately, she couldn't, as there was something much more pressing at hand - finding an escape from the basement and then escape and be allowed to prowl freely once again. If only Teddie could've been brought along as well.

As Ophie was dragged by Alice through the maze like halls yet again, she made sure to spread her webs around yet again, placing yet another hanging trap for humans to get caught in. Her eyes scanned the surroundings for any possible sign of an exit. Even if escape was impossible at this junction, any extra information could only be helpful. Ophie had a devilish grin as she completed another elaborate yet nearly invisible trap of strings and followed after Alice, admiring the bat's own work.

"At least be more creative when beating them or something." Ophie snickered, gladly letting her take the lead.

"Fine," Alice huffed like a child being scolded by their mother. The next human they encountered Alice jumped on, flipping the man nearly twice her size to the ground. "I don't think you need this arm," Alice was wearing a maniacle grin as she twisted it backwards, reveling in the sound of crunching bone. "Oops," She relished in his screams when she pressed saw upon skin and quickly cut through his arm, shoving the torn ligament into his mouth and using it push through the back of his skull. "There, does that make you happy?" The Bat turned towards the Spider, her eyes widening at the flood of oncoming humans. "I don't think you've got enough webs to catch all of them," It was two against a flood and it seemed they stood no chance. Metal doors came down on the section the girls were standing in, the compartment flooded with noxious gas. Alice choked, knowing that with her weak lungs, there was no chance of her escaping this, even as Ophie sucked air in for a shared-air kiss. Suddenly Ophie's lips were on her's, pushing air into her lungs. "What are you doing?!" Alice asked frantically, it was a stupid risk and as soon as she spoke the words more gas was sucked in and the world spun. The saw dropped from her hands, Alice cursed herself for having fun and taking so long with a kill in such a dire situation as she fell to her knees, the world quickly fading out.

When Alice awoke, her limbs were stretched. She felt dizzy and short of breath, her stomach resting against a table. She craned her neck around frantically to look for Ophie and to catch a glimpse of where she was. Alice's eyes were met with a silent plea from the spider for her to remain as calm as possible. The humans were speaking to one another. They were wearing gloves and white gowns, surgical masks as well. A tray with a small medical saw was wheeled up and her eyes widened. "Don't you dare!" Alice cursed, gnashing her teeth, but even her worst threats couldn't stop the human from holding the saw against one of her wings. "Stop! No! Stop!" Blood curdling screams rang through the air as Alice begged them to leave her wing intact. She writhed around so much that other humans came to help to hold her down. Blood ran down her back, stinging the wounds from the whip that had been inflected upon her earlier. Alice wasn't allowed to pass out, if she so much as showed any signs of fluttering her lids they slapped her awake or dumped ice water over her head. They dragged it out for an agonizing hour, stopping periodically to wipe away the blood or to take breaks. She was never allowed to drift away and they timed the administration of the nerve agent to ensure it wouldn't fade. When the wing was finally off one of the humans placed it on the tray in front of her face. "You bastards! I'm going to kill you! I hope you're ready to die! And when I'm done with you, I'll go after your spouses and children. Oh how they're going to suffer-" she was cut off, not even allowed to describe their mortifying deaths. Instead, a rag was shoved into her mouth and she was carried back to that dreadful room where they would make her wait until they wanted to inflict more pain on her; her entire body shaking from the slightest touch and the fact that she had just had her wing severed from her body.

"Stupid humans." Ophie grunted once Alice was gone. She was horrified, and it was obvious to everyone in the room. She coudn't even try to mask her fear, and she knew full well what part of her body would be singled out. An Alice without a wing is as pitiful as an Ophie without a gland to create her threads. The dead wing laying on the table was a grim reminder of what was to come. "What are you trying to accomplish? What's your win condition? What do you get from hurting us?" Her arms were roughly grabbed and spread out - and the nerve agent was administered. She had to work quickly, whatever it took. If she was going to lose it, she at least had to go down with a struggle. "You idiot humans!" The spider cried, twitching with terror. "You were the ones who created us, and now that we won the war, we're just playthings for your amusement? Is that the game?" Instead of a response, Ophie was instead given a question.

"Which hand has the gland?"

Ophie gulped. So now she had to try and outwit the humans, right? Betting against hope, she answered. "My left."

The scum huddled together, as if deliberating. After what seemed like far too long a time, they finally got to work on Ophie's right hand. Internally she felt relief but she made sure to scream and cry and plead as much as she wanted in order to appease the insects. After what felt like ages, her stump was cauterized by a red hot iron rod, flesh sizzling and steaming from the heat, and all Ophie could muster was a pathetic whimper. But finally, it seemed there was one silver lining. The enemy's win condition for thius game was revealed.

"You'll suffer for your sins, and repent until they're repaid."

Once back in the room they had originally escaped from (she noticed a few added security measures) Alice curled up into a ball facing the wall, she hadn't cried the entire time, but Alice could feel herself beginning to break down. There was no way these damn humans were going to see her weakened though. Not now, not ever.

Alice was much worse off than she was, was Ophie's first thought upon rejoining her comrade in the room - making sure to notice the added security measures, as well as already trying to devise potential plots on how to break free. If anyone was going to manage to escape the basement, it'd be these two. And from what she saw, for some reason, Ophie felt a sort of obligation to bring the succubus out with her as well. She was now a one winged devil, and in her asymmetry was perhaps twice as irresistible in some strange way. Still, Alice was in pain, and Ophie wanted to alleviate it if at all possible.

"Go to sleep." Ophie's voice danced in Alice's ears. "I'm sorry. At least in dreams, you'll be free for a little, okay?" Her voice had a somewhat pleading tone, as if she was begging for Alice to be whisked into the safety of unconsciousness. Now that her wrists were free of the glove (the idiot humans thought they got her webs after all), Ophie clamped one gently around the bat's throat, with as gentle a smile a monster could make. "You'll be safe in there, I promise, okay?"

Alice had no will to fight back. She struggled a bit as though to give Ophie a show, but really it was to convince herself that she still cared. "Running... Out... Time..." Alice managed to gasp as slowly the struggle stopped, her hands fell to her sides and her head lulled to the side. Perhaps there was hope of her wing growing back, she was part chameleon after all and their tails always came back when cut or stepped on? There wasn't much time to think about it though, Alice quickly slipped into darkness, her body going limp, her breathing no longer ragged. Despite how hard she tried, Ophie had seen her tears, she had seen the human part of Alice; the weak side that the Bat worked so hard to keep contained. By the time she woke up, she and Ophie would need their injections. Unless of course, these humans had it and were just holding out on them.

When Alice awoke, she was still facing the wall. The room was silent aside from the sound of breathing. She sat up, her mind spinning from blood loss and her tongue feeling like sandpaper. It seems that Alice conveniently awoke when they pushed two bottles of water through a slot in the door. Standing hurt, but if Alice crawled she knew they would take it as a sign that they had won and so she stood, nearly collapsing in front of the water and sending one Ophie's way. Her hands shook as she uncapped it and drank down the contents, sighing in relief and leaning back against the wall after downing half of the bottle.

"Good morning, princess. If this counts as morning, anyways." Ophie shot Alice a wry grin, gladly accepting her battle with her dominant left hand. Truth be told, she was exhausted and wouldn't have been surprised if she had horribly dark circles under her eyes. She'd spent the last few hours staring idly at Alice, as if trying to make sure she was at least at peace in her dreams (as well as the view, but those thoughts are best unsaid). It was as if she were keeping a careful watch on the bat the entire time. "They came and looked a few times, but nothing happened since. Hope you regained some strength for today..."

"You should get some rest," Alice wiped her mouth on her arm. She was covered in blood and dirt so the water left streaks. Ophie wasn't looking any better, albeit she was a bit cleaner since the other girl's clothing had lasted her longer. "Or at least drink, no doubt we're both dehydrated." Alice fiddled with the cap of her water bottle. The humans would probably be back soon to torture them some more. There was no telling what they would do next judging by how things were progressing. At least Ophie didn't seem to be in too much pain and she seemed rather pleased about something. "Do you think we're going to die in here?" The question had secretly been at the back of her mind the entire time. To be honest, it wouldn't be so bad; what was life for a bat with only one wing? Her hands balled into fists and Alice looked at her lap. She wasn't going to cry, no, nothing so lowly as that, but she certainly wasn't happy either.

Ophie stared at Alice for a few moments, pondering the question. She couldn't really think of an answer off the top of her head that'd really satisfy Alice, so instead, she took a nice long satisfying drink of water. It was a nice reprieve at least, for the torments in store for them. Truth be told, Ophie didn't really want to reveal her innermost thoughts with Alice. If her theory was correct, and the men really did want to simply hurt them with no other real goal in mind, then there wasn't much wiggle room Ophie could think of to procure a victory. Furthermore, everything had been effecting her as well - though she used her acting to hide the worst of her fears and anxieties from Alice. There was no point in adding her own burdens to the succubus.

"...I think we might, yeah." Ophie said in a sweet yet somewhat comforting tone. "But would that really be so bad? We were born monsters, Alice. I don't think there was a happy ending in store for us in the first place. But... um...." Ophie turned her face slightly away, and spoke in a much quieter voice, as if slightly embarrassed. "...But if we can be together in the end, I wouldn't mind it too much..."

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Character Portrait: Alice Character Portrait: Ophie
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❝Do you know why a rose is beautiful? Because you pluck it before it withers.


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Before

Alice's head snapped up at her words, she had never thought she would hear such a thing from Ophie. Alice smiled, it was a small, sad smile. "Thank you," she said quietly, her words meant only for Ophie. "For a while, when we were living in that rehab center, I kept thinking that if I at least got to live, it wouldn't be so bad. Learning to read, doing all of those things, because I was convinced we may still have a shot at the future." Alice crawled towards Ophie, taking the Spider in her embrace. "I'm glad that if I had to get caught, it was with you."

The brunette flinched almost reflexively as the pinkette reached in for the embrace. She made sure to keep her stump of an arm safely away from contact and did her best to embrace her back with her one good arm. It was peculiar, but it was nice. It felt right. The two of them in that cell, for that ephemeral moment, it was as if they were the only ones in the entire world. Ophie forgot entirely that anyone else even mattered, for that one split second of peace. She never expected Alice to be the one to make her feel this way, but Ophie was glad to have something she cared about before the end. A part of her loftily, naively thought that if she felt strongly enough, then this strange bond would give her some sort of meaning, if such a thing was even something worth wanting. A purpose. It felt nice to think about.

"Whatever happens, let's take out as many humans as we can." The spider giggled childishly with a hint of tenderness. "Even if we die, we won't let them break us. We'll be strong to the end, won't we?"

When Ophie pulled away, Alice nodded her head in agreement. "Let's make those bastards pay for what they've done." Alice would make them regret the day they were born. If not for her wing, then for Ophie's hand. Did they think they were doing the world a favor? Torturing children who had never known a kind mother or loving father? If anything, the humans in this weird cult were the real monsters. Alice's hands balled into fists in determination. "I just thought of a fun game!" If anything, it would at least allow them to plan for their next break out. "How many fingers can you collect and shove into different orifices?"

Perhaps Ophie was feeling exhausted. But all of a sudden, she felt a strange impulse to shove her entire left hand into her mouth. She failed, only getting it as far as the three middle knuckles before giving up. With silent confusion, Ophie tilted her head at her ally, wondering exactly what she meant. Her head was pounding and it was steadily becoming unbearable, though she did her best to look as fine as could be on the surface. She then helplessly grinned in self deprecation at the succubus.

"I didn't mean our fingers," Alice shook her head, a slight smile on her lips. She looked up with a devilish smile towards the human walking past their door. Soon they would be coming to "play" again. This time they would be prepared though. They could saw off her wing, beat her, and make her bleed, but they couldn't take Alice's spirit. If anything, this just made her feel more determined to escape. Well that and they had left one of the body's in their little "cage." Alice wasn't sure if he was alive or not, but he was laying face down, his arms at odd angles. Alice knelt by the body, ripping off his fingers slowly. Yup, definitely dead. She handed one hand to Ophie so they each had five fingers to use.

Now understanding, Ophie smirked at the man she'd beat in the throat seemingly hours before. There he was, unmoving - dead as they came.. It was a bit of a shame, and the spider wanted to make sure he felt what was about to happen to him. However, that didn't mean it wasn't going to be fun, of course. She eagerly took the offered hand into her own and using her teeth - the lack of a right hand was really going to make things difficult - she ripped the fingers out, enjoying the blood and flesh taste in her mouth. Spitting the fingers out, she then wrapped her legs around the man's head, twisting it all the way around. Flipping him over was too much work, after all. Though it took some work - like all the best things in life - Ophie eventually managed to fit the fingers into a single eye socket, as well as move the eye into the man's mouth. For good measure, she also tore out the man's tongue, just for fun.

"And that's true art." Ophie had a smug look on her face as she admired what she did.

"It looks good," Alice nodded her head in approval. She ripped off a finger, jabbing it into the ear canal far enough that it began to bleed. She plucked the other fingers off of the hand gingerly, savoring the crunch of bone and the sight of torn ligaments as Alice tied two fingers together almost in a bow, placing them on the head of the dead man. "All dressed up and no where to go," she snickered. Once more, Alice became carried away. She was having too much fun in a place that allowed nothing of the sort to happen. Little did she know what they had endured so far was child's play compared to what was coming. When the humans returned, their expressions made dread settle into the pit of her stomach.


But of course, peace never lasted. Ophie and Alice were summarily whisked off by the humans for another game that they thought up. Both strapped down to tables again, Ophie shot Alice a glance in an attempt to get her attention. "Be strong, okay? We won't let them win!" Of course, it wasn't as if Ophie didn't have a plan. These humans seemed to be more emotional than anything else - it would be of no surprise if they could've been goaded into accidentally killing them. Though, most likely, only one of them would get the luxury, leaving the other experiment behind to suffer for a much longer time, all alone. Now, Ophie always was a selfish monster. But she wanted Alice to be the one who got to die. She had half a mind to end it for her once they were next in the cell - but that line of thought would have to wait.

"You killed a lot of our friends, spider." One of them men said directly to Ophie, grabbing her attention. She smiled innocently at him - a strong facade to help satiate the succubus. "We're going to have a lot of fun making you repent."

"I'm thirsty." Ophie said in a sweet childish voice. "Can I have some water?"

The humans then shoved what looked like a rubber tube into her mouth. Before she had the chance to spit it out, Ophie saw that it was connected to what looked like a giant water tank. Were they trying to drown her? Ophie, confused, was almost feeling curious and wanted to see what would happen. Of course, this unknown was also terrifying as she had no idea what to expect. And slowly, water poured into her mouth. Ophie pondered for a few seconds to simply allow herself to drown - but she didn't want Alice to be the one left behind to continue suffering. So instead she gulped it down steadily as the water rushed in. Around this time, Ophie felt an injection in her side - the nerve agent was in play yet again, preventing her from falling into the hands of unconsciousness.This went on for what felt like hours until Ophie's whole body felt slow, heavy, and utterly waterlogged. Her belly was swollen - as if she'd pop like a balloon. Her instincts screamed, begged for her to puke the water out, to save herself from this intense pressure. Worse was when one of the humans roughly grabbed at her stomach, pressing down lightly. The extra pressure seemed to spurt some of the liquid out with a peeing sensation - and then Ophie understood. The man started pummeling her stomach with his fists - water expelling from her urethra, stretching it as it burst out and Ophie's whole body was agony. A mixture of chokes, screams, and splutters escaped from her mouth until finally the tube was tossed to the side and the extra water had left her. The arachnid girl lay there, panting heavily, trying her best to calm herself down - trying to focus on anything other than the knife-like pain where she peed. Every breath made it twinge in horrible ways.

"That man - he was our friend, you know." Another of the captors said, in almost a sad tone. "Lewis. He always loved card games. What did you to to him in that cell?"

Ophie forced a grin to show Alice that she was okay - that she was still strong. "Look for yourself, scum. It's art, isn't it? I'll do the same and worse to all of you!"

"Tore off his fingers, an eye, and his tongue, huh?"

Before Ophie knew what was happening, fingers grabbed into her eye sockets. By the time she realized what was happening, it was already impossible to prevent it. It was a struggle but eventually her eyes were clawed out of their sockets and Ophie writhed and whimpered as the darkness overtook her. The nerve agent was only making things worse. Ophie then immediately shut her mouth as tightly as it would go - knowing what would happen next. She tried to force herself into a happier place - bringing the image of Alice's scrumptious body back into view when she realized, with a pit of despair - she was never going to be able to see Alice ever again. Grubby human hands at her jaw - someone shoved a finger that felt as if it were her own - maybe from her right hand? - into her eye socket and dragged the claw against the bone, drawing another desperate cry from the spider. "Alic-" Ophie tried to desperately shout one last thing to the bat but it was too late - her tongue was grabbed, and torn out of her mouth. Blood gushed, but soon Ophie felt the remains of her tongue sizzling with heat and steel - the wound was being cauterized. She was going to be forced to continue surviving. Sightless, soundless, Ophie finally broke - pathetic girlish sobs echoed through the room. Ophie had lost. In a closed off, delirious part of her mind, the spider wondered if the bat thought she was weak and useless now. The idea made her wretched crying even worse. It was official now, though. Ophie had finally, totally, utterly lost.

"Hey, look at this, bat." One of the men taunted in a bright voice. "Look at your friend now. We're artists too, aren't we?"

Alice wasn't allowed to look away. She felt nauseous, but there was nothing to heave aside from the water she had drunk earlier. One of the human's grabbed her by the hair, forcefully turning Alice's head so that she had to watch as they mutilated her friend. Her eyes widened as they gouged out Ophie's eyes, ripped out her tongue, shoving fingers into the sockets. It made her sick, not because Alice hadn't done anything like that before, she certainly had, but because it was happening to her fellow and who Alice now considered a friend. "You're sick." Alice's voice was even, far too smooth for someone who had just witnessed her only friend's violent torture. It made the room freeze, the air becoming frigid.

"Are you proud? Torturing children? I bet you'd kill innocent puppies too." She felt far too calm, as though she had run out of anger. "You're not human. You're worse than monsters, you're worse than us. You humans are always so selfish, justifying your actions by dumping the blame on someone else."

"I've had enough of your chatter Bat," the human who seemed to be leading the torture said. He pulled something out of a fire, a red hot poker or something of the sort. "Flip her," Alice didn't move as they turned her over so that she was facing the floor. He pressed the brand into her shoulder, her flesh sizzling as they seared some sort of emblem into her skin. Alice wouldn't give them the satisfaction of a scream. She was resigned to her fate, closing her eyes as he pushed it further into her shoulder, attempting to get some sort of rise out of her. "Get me the biggest needle you can find," the other human flipped her over as the first brought the needle close. They taped open her right eye, the needle hovering an inch or so above it. While they weren't watching, Alice had worked her hand out of the cuff by working the joint out of the socket of a few of her fingers. She punched the human in the face, standing on the table and pushing the joints back in. She undid the other cuff on her wrist and growled, launching herself at the first human. She grabbed the needle out of his hand, stabbing him in the eye over and over before leaving the needle in there and kicking him in the stomach, launching him into the fire the pokers were in. He screamed, the smell of burnt flesh growing stronger.

The other human lunged, swinging one of the brands. Alice ducked, sweeping his feet out from under him and rolling under the table, landing on the other side and unstrapping Ophie's hand. Would it be a mercy to kill her? Alice wondered. She could do it, snap Ophie's neck and end it all. Alice was selfish though, even if Ophie couldn't see or speak, Alice didn't want to be alone. The humans regrouped, she had taken too long to make a decision. She looked at the door, drawing their gaze that way. They ran towards it, Alice ran the other way, towards the vent. She ripped the cover off of the wall and poked her head inside. There was a fan waiting there. It would be a quick death if she jumped. No, she couldn't just leave Ophie here at their mercy. One of them came after her. Alice played a bit of leap frog, jumping over his back and pushing him into the vent, kicking his legs through so that he fell, his screams cut short by the fan chopping him to bits.

"John!" The other human screamed, falling to his knees. Alice walked towards him, eerily calm. There was a scratch on her eye, blood running into her vision and only allowing her to see through one. With no depth perception, she leaped. The sound of a bullet rang through the air and Alice gasped in pain. The human that had called out to his friend John quickly scrambled to his feet, grabbing a needle and plunging it into her neck. The nerve against caused her to scream, the pain of the bullet wound ten times more intense. "Stupid monster," the human strapped her back down to the table, shoving his fingers into the wound to bring out the bullet. "Can't get it," he muttered. His friend stood guard as the human grabbed a pair of pliers and dug them through the wound in an attempt to grasp the bullet. Finally, after an agonizing five minutes, he pulled it out and placed it on the table beside her. "You're damn lucky that didn't hit anything vital, otherwise we'd just throw you in the fire and let you burn until you bled to death."

"Is that the most comforting thing you could come up with?" Alice asked as they rebound her hands, this time even tighter. They were cuffs that went around her wrists and ankles this time, this time in a place Alice couldn't slip her wrist out. "Stand up," the human ordered, placing Alice on her feet. Instantly she collapsed into a heap on the floor, not from pain, but because her legs wouldn't support her. "I told you to stand!" The human barked, placing one foot on her rib cage. "I can't!" Alice screamed in return, realization hitting her.

"I can't feel my legs." The bullet seemingly had made a clean entry, but the extraction was what caused it. Alice was paralyzed.

They were thrown back into the cell. This time, Alice couldn't move. She dug her chin into the ground to drag her body forwards to where Ophie was, causing her chin to bleed. "You were so brave," Alice whispered, unsure if Ophie could hear her. Alice grasped the finger sticking out of her friend's ear gently in her teeth and pulled it out, spitting it in the other direction. "Ophie..." Alice spoke quietly.

"Do you want me to kill you?"

They say that upon losing a sense, your others grow stronger to compensate. Unfortunately, pain was one of them, but her hearing was sharper as well. Ophie heard the whole struggle pretty clearly as Alice fought. She wanted to scream and shout and tell Alice to stop fighting - that it was too late and to just give in before anything worse happened. She wanted more than anything else, in those moments, to be able to somehow convey to Alice that she'll only suffer even more if she continued to struggle. It was already too late for the spider to really do anything now - she didn't want something similar or worse to happen to her only real friend, if monsters could have friends. As she struggled to somehow grasp the situation, she then heard the words that ruined everything. With Alice paralyzed, both monsters were truly broken. Even the ability to struggle had been taken from them.

Alice's voice poked through the darkness of Ophie's new reality, and she was grateful for it. For at least some sort of connection between them that was yet tangible. How long would it last, though? How long until they were both unseeing vegetables, waiting to die, unable to communicate or even know if the other was still living or not? Ophie didn't know. Millions of thoughts raced in the spider's mind that she wished she could convey to the bat. She wanted to apologize for not being friends sooner somehow, she wanted to thank her for suffering alongside her throughout this ordeal. There was even a four-letter human word Ophie thought applied but she couldn't tell that to Alice, either. So many words, and Alice would never ever hear them.

Then Ophie realized that there was something still within her power to do. It was Alice's question of a mercy kill that gave her the inspiration. There was one last thing they could do. Ophie used her gland to produce as many webs as possible, spraying throughout the room. This allowed her to get a vague feeling of the room's structure and the vibrations in the air affected the strings, allowing her to sense movement. If either of them were going to die, it'd be Alice. At least Ophie could still move in some capacity - so she could slit her own throat with the claws on her left hand. If Alice really were paralyzed, she'd be forced to live on. A brilliant plan formed in Ophie's mind. She'd kill Alice and spare her future misery. And when the humans returned, Ophie would then slit her throat in front of them, so she could hear their voices as they lost the game once and for all. Judging on where Alice's voice was, Ophie formed a mental image of the bat girl in her mind, and placed her claws on her throat, ready to slice.

And then Ophie felt fluid leaking from her sockets. Tears. Even with all that had happened, she didn't want to hurt Alice even more by killing her. So instead she made her intent clear with another press of the claw, awaiting the bat's response. At the very least, Alice deserved to say her final words before the end, right?

There was no clear answer. Ophie sat up, they obviously didn't see the need to restrain the girl since she was blind and mute, but spiders had other ways of seeing and Ophie quickly filled the room up with webs. Suddenly the girl had stuck her hand underneath Alice, positioned above the jugular vein in her throat. "Out of all the endings, I never imagined that this would be it," she shook her head, sort of in denial that this was the way she was going to go. Not with a bang, but with a whimper. It was humiliating and for some reason, it made Alice laugh. Perhaps she had finally gone crazy, or maybe she had run out of other emotions. They were taking away everything, her wings, her legs, Ophie, but she would not allow them to take her life. No, Alice would live if only to spite them. So when Ophie offered to kill her, Alice shook her head. Then she remembered Ophie couldn't see it.

"I don't want to die yet," Alice admitted to her. "Maybe I'm just a coward," she closed her eyes for a moment, as though to think. "But if you want to..." She trailed off. There was a banging on the door, a warning that if they didn't quit fooling around then they would come in. Water rained down from the ceiling, they had turned the sprinklers on in an attempt to wash away Ophie's webs. "At least they've already taken everything, so we can't possibly lose anymore." Maybe now would be their final moments. There was nowhere for the water to escape and it began forming puddles on the ground. After all that, they were going to rely on such a pitiful method to kill them? If the water rose up too high, Alice wouldn't be able to keep herself afloat. Her hands were tied behind her and she couldn't move her legs.

Ophie would at least have one arm and both legs, so she would at least survive this. Unless some unexpected human decided to grow a pair and tell the others this was wrong and save them from drowning. That wasn't likely to happen though, not when brainwashing cults were involved.

The spider was at a loss for once. Even during the tortures, she always had some sort of plot being schemed in her head - some sort of way to gain a small advantage or something. But Alice didn't yet want to die, and Ophie didn't want to leave her alone here, either. Then her sense of the room became warped and she felt the precipitation from above. Was it raining? Were they somehow outside now? It didn't make sense - but she knew the water was rising, subtly at first. If Alice was completely paralyzed, she was going to drown. At the very least, Ophie could cling to a wall with her claws or something. Still, was there even a point in struggling anymore? Even if they continued living, what else was there? The thought of letting Alice and herself drown was incredibly tempting. But she knew Alice didn't want to die yet - and if they were allies in this game, Ophie had to oblige. She made a guttural noise in an attempt to communicate -trying and failing to say Alice - and gripped at where she thought the bat was with her legs, toe claws trying to be as gentle but firm as possible. With her other claw, Ophie dug into the side of the wall, using some of the webbing still remaining to get higher up until they were higher up for the time being. Perhaps there wasn't a point in anything - and Ophie knew it was hopeless regardless - but she still wanted to at least help the bat in her futile struggle. If that's what friends were for, then perhaps it was fine.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Alice Character Portrait: Ophie Character Portrait: Vittoria Character Portrait: Lucy Character Portrait: Ambrose Character Portrait: Fey
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#, as written by catgirl
This post co-authored by The_Queen, Ninja Bunny, Skykoko, and Catgirl
Obligatory Anticipation of the Actual Start to the Adventure



"Please still be alive," Lucy muttered as she listened for a heartbeat in Ophie's chest. It was there, but it was faint. Lucy knelt down by them started chest compressions on Ophie in order to get the water out, pushing down on Ophie's chest in even compressions. "Come on," Lucy begged, pinching the bridge of Ophie's nose and forcing air into the spider's lungs. "You damn spider, don't give up living just yet." Lucy looked back at Fey, "Don't just stand there! Take care of Alice!"

Fey continued just staring. "... Why do you assume we were taught CPR at the First Academy?" He asked cynically, instead walking back to the doorway to keep watch. A glance at the other girl told him that she was breathing on her own, though shallowly, and he could still hear her heart beating, though it was rather slow and faint. But it was still beating. After that, he focused his senses outwards rather than inwards, opening his mouth slightly to draw the scents in more, recognizing Ambrose's among the many weaving around in the room, and glanced around until finding it's source before dismissing it and focusing on the hall.

Ophie stirred, sensing that something had changed. Someone was touching her cold slimy skin and yelling at her and all that mattered was that it wasn't Alice. Whoever it was, Ophie figured it had to have been a threat. She felt around desperately for where Alice might've been but found nothing, shivering. Still, her left hand was still an option - claws and webs available for use to face the threat. She braced to attack - one last struggle, perhaps.

"Ophie? Can you hear me? It's Lucy, hang on, we're gonna get you out of here." She tucked her hair behind her ear, clearly thinking. Ophie was naked, she would need to be wrapped in something. Lucy stood and rummaged through a closet, taking a blanket out.

And then she finally recognized the voice. It was Lucy. Ophie couldn't see or speak, but she had to somehow make sure Alice was safe - that Alice was being taken care of. More important than her was the bat - she had to be the first priority, right? Still, Ophie had to at least try to communicate. She pulled the lid of her left eye open, showing the empty socket. She then gestured towards her mouth and opened it where a tongue once was. She then grinned wryly and mouthed "Alice?" with a tilt of the head, before suddenly realizing just how cold she was.

Fey blinked at the girl on the ground, and then smirked. "Finally. I've been trying to get you to shut up for years. And now all that wishing on stars has finally paid off."

The arachnid girl's ears perked up as her worst enemy made a quip. She opened her mouth to retort - at least spiders are cool, then she remembered that that was pretty much an impossibility. Instead she immediately scowled and gave Fey her favorite finger in her favorite hand gesture in a direction she assumed Fey was standing, judging on his voice. She then mouthed an insult about his sword size and turned away.

Lucy felt any hope sink into her stomach. Ophie's eyes were gone, there were blank sockets and her tongue had been cut out as well. "Fey has Alice." Lucy attempted to reassure, seeing as how Fey could be a bit cruel at times. She wrapped the blanket around Ophie's body carefully, swaddling up the smaller girl similar to how one would wrap a baby and picking her up.

Although Ophie gladly accepted the blanket, she wasn't satisfied. She knew Fey - and she didn't trust him to be as gentle with Alice as she needed. She was like a porcelain figurine in the spider's mind, and if at all possible, she'd be the only one allowed to touch her. Given the situation, that was impossible though - but still, anyone but Fey. Anyone but Fey. Though she felt immensely grateful, Ophie still scowled and shook her head, mouthing Alice again. She then stretched her arm out again in a desperate attempt to get some sort of hint at where she was. It was as if Ophie had become dependent on her now - but she supposed that it was fine. They were monsters, right?

Lucy was glad that Ophie seemed to be alright, although it was a bit concerning that the girl suddenly seemed to care for another. Maybe she had hit her head? Lucy turned, seeing another familiar face. "I'm gonna put you down for a minute, don't worry, I'll be back." Lucy reassured Ophie and put the girl on a table away from the water. She walked across the room to where Ambrose was, sealed into one of the glass tanks as well. His wasn't full of water though, thankfully. Lucy took the man's hand that she had taken before and placed it against the palm scanner, the door to Ambrose's cell sliding open. "Ready to go?" She asked the boy with a wink. There was no telling what horrors he had gone through in this cult circus.

Ambrose looked up in wonderful disbelief. They were going to escape now? He had thought it'd never be over, that they'd be trapped in the hands of the humans forever, ever since they were made different. His body was covered in bruises and burns, though he still managed a bright smile. Lucy was here now, so it means that things were at least getting better. "It's nice to see you again Lucy!" Despite the circumstances, his voice still had a cheerful ring to it, hearing another quiet sigh at the back of his head.

Ophie whirled her head at Ambrose's voice and gave him a weak, forced smile, hoping she actually was aiming it at him and not somewhere vaguely above him.

"It's great seeing you again too in mostly one piece. I'm gonna need your help though." Lucy muttered the last part.

"Of course! What do you need me for?" Ambrose asked, though his smile dropped immediately when he spotted Ophie. "Oh god." His eyes widened fractionally at her lost hand and empty eye sockets. "What did they do to her?"

"What does it look like? They failed at killing her, obviously. I mean, they, what? Ripped her body apart, and yet she still ain’t dead? Humans just... they just fail so hard..." Fey answered, half thoughtfully and half disappointedly.

"I don't know," Lucy admitted. "We just got here," Lucy wrapped Alice up in a blanket and handed her off to Ambrose. "I just need you to hold her for now. We're gonna go to the getaway car." Lucy picked up Ophie gently again, making her way out of the room.

Fey kept a few paces ahead of the small group, wondering exactly why he was here with them anyway... Ah, right, pranking that idiot who wanted them to be his pets, by taking his weapons. He tracked their way back to the surface by following Lucy's scent from before, not bothering with the ladder - again - and merely leaping up from below to the ground above, the freshly cold air stinging his face for a moment... only to be facing down an entire encirclement of cars, brilliant lights focused on the trap door to the ground, momentarily blinding his sensitive vision, the next of the Experiments hopping up after him a moment later.

Ophie heard the surprise in Ambrose's voice. Was it that bad, that her eyes were like this? Suddenly an impossible urge rose up in her body and she widened her left eye, putting her finger in it and swirled it around - as if she herself were gauging it out. Hoping it disturbed him, she let out a soundless cackle of pleasure.

It disturbed him alright. I'm going to fucking MURDER them. Amber hissed darkly as Ambrose's hand went to his own eye, a shiver running through his body. He took Alice from Lucy gently, but when he felt her missing wing it was the last straw. A red mist seemed to take over his green eyes as he followed Lucy.

Lucy turned, she could see the change, but didn't know what it meant. "Stay with me Ambrose," Lucy hoped her voice would bring him back.

"Don't worry your pretty little head over it, lady." Amber said, his voice was bored yet filled with bloodlust. "Ami isn't going to be back unless you find something to knock me out, you know."

"Shouldn't be all that hard actually." Fey muttered under his breath, going fairly unheard thanks to the engines of the cars and shouting humans.

"Anyway," Amber continued, "I have a few people to kill in the most painful of fashions."

The spider knew the change in tone and what it signified. Ambrose's weird split personality had come out. She didn't really understand it, but she knew that if he wasn't going to carry Alice, it'd have to be Fey. She locked eyes with what she hoped was Amber and drew a claw against her throat as a threat, mouthing the name Alice again. There is absolutely no way that tall sword thing is ever touching her bat.

Amber stared right at the eye sockets, smirking as Ophie made a threat. Rather useless, granted that she had lost a hand and her eyes at least. Amber was rather sure her tongue was missing too, Ophie was one of the most talkative subjects and he doubted that she would be silenced without ripping off her tongue. "Admirable effort. You really have grown quite attached, miss muffet."

"What the fuck is a muffet?" Fey asked, but the question went unanswered.

"Always been a fan of your acting by the way, dearie. Regardless, Ami would never talk to me again if I killed Alice here."

"This is the hard part," Lucy had led Ambrose to the ladder. Or was it Amber now? Not even Lucy could tell. She tied the blanket around her middle, turning it into a makeshift sack so that Ophie was tied to her back like a child to a mother. With her hands now free, Lucy climbed up the ladder quickly. Now that she was out, she felt much better. It was like taking a breath of fresh air, being outside made the shaking stop and Lucy untied Ophie from her back. It was freezing out and Ophie was naked. "Stay warm," Lucy said and walked towards the car.

Amber followed Lucy's example, tying the blanket that was carrying Alice around his back securely before he headed up the ladder after Lucy. The air was chilly out, and he felt the wounds on his back sting whenever a cold blast hit him. But if anything, cold was something he could take.

Vittoria unlocked the car for them, or maybe it was the scientist. Lucy got into the front seat, thankful that she had thought to steal a winter coat while they were down there (she took it off of the dead guy). Fey gave her an odd and suspicious look as he slid into the front seat, calmly turning the engine and shifting into gear, then checked that everyone had their heads down so they wouldn’t get whiplash. After confirming they did - even the scientist, who was looking panicked squished between Vittoria and Ambrose. Ophie wasted no time in locating and touching every bit of Alice to ensure all of her was there and that she was alive. Gun shots rang out behind them. Lucy had ducked down, strapping herself in this time now that she wasn't in a rush to fly out the windshield, and Fey hit the gas, jolting the car forward and sending dirt spraying behind the wheels, again having to lean forward against the wind thanks to the missing windshield. There were surprised shouts from the humans; they were totally surrounded, but these guys just all calm-like get in the car and drive off? They hadn't been expecting that. The human was shrieking his head off though as Fey twisted the wheel from one side to another, jolting the car's occupants back and forth as they dodged through the people and around cars. "Someone shut the human up dammit! But don’t break him!" Fey growled, aggravated by the annoying sound.

Alice awoke gasping for air. She felt someone clinging to her and turned her head to make out a figure in the dark. "Are we dead?" Alice asked, confused. If they were, then why didn't Ophie look back to normal? She reached out to hug the spider, noticing that they were entangled in blankets. Ophie smiled a smile that only the most innocent of children could try competing with, immediately smothering Alice with her own body and trying to locate her lips to place a kiss. She tried to somehow gesture that they were rescued and that they had won at last with excitable, unintelligible hand movements. "We're alive?" Alice somehow managed to gather from Ophie's flailing. Ophie was rubbing her face against Alice's and the pink haired girl was very confused. Suddenly Ophie's lips connected with her's and the spider kissed her deeply, there was a sort of hunger to it that made her stomach feel as though it had butterflies.

It was then that Fey chose to look in the rearview mirror.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" He screeched. "What the hell are you doing in my car?! We're being shot at, and you guys just wanna... the hell is wrong with you, I mean, we're insane but that's just..." He shook his head, not having the words to say what he was thinking, the wind carrying the words to them loud and clear.

Following Fey's voice, Ophie didn't know whether to try to glare or to try to infuriate him more. She decided on both - giving him a venomous smile as she gripped Alice closer to her with her one arm, allowing him to get an eye full of their insane relief. She cackled soundlessly and turned her head back to where she remembered Alice was. Her left hand somehow found one of Alice’s and she intertwined their fingers together as tenderly as she could. Alice looked down at their intertwined fingers, unfortunately, Alice was pretty clueless as far as other people went. She wasn't very good at sensing moods or emotions either. "Don't worry, we're gonna get you a new hand, a better one." Alice wasn't sure if they could actually do such a thing, but she was hopeful. "Maybe we can get this white coat to get you some new eyes too?"

Ophie tilted her head, confused. Sure, that was a concern too, but she was hoping to have somehow transmitted her emotions to the bat. She huffed in frustration before going for yet another kiss - a little more forceful, as if that magically made things more clear. She rested her hand on where her heart was beating, and then moved it to Alice's - missing it and instead grabbing a mound that she really had no intention of touching, but decided that she enjoyed the accident. With a semi apologetic smirk, she adjusted the position to Alice's own beating heart, doing her best to make sure she understood. Ophie was the first person that Alice didn't flinch away from when they reached out to touch her. She didn't really understand the significance of Ophie accidentally grabbing Alice's breast, so she brushed it off. Ophie placed her hand on her heart, then on Alice's. Suddenly the girl understand. She collapsed Ophie's left hand in both of her own, "I like you too." Love was not a word that came easy, it was something Alice was taught to mistrust and use against others, therefore using it would feel... Wrong.

The spider's cheeks burned hot and she nodded enthusiastically at the word, glad that finally the bat understood. She returned the word 'like' as best as she could, then rested her head against Alice's, glad they were of similar size, ignoring everyone else in the car as if they no longer mattered. Alice closed her eyes, her head tilting to rest on Ophie's shoulder. If someone hadn't put her down sitting up, Alice probably would have rested her head on Ophie's lap. Alice didn't think she was ever going to be able to fall asleep again, not after all that had happened in the cult's headquarters. Next to her friend though, she managed to relax despite the unpredictable driving of Fey.

"Real Glad Ami isn't here to see this." Watching Ophie and Alice, Amber sighed dispassionately before clenching his fingers around the scientist's throat, alleviating his boredom as the scream was cut short into desperate gasps of air.

Deciding to simply deal with it later, Fey swerved to avoid another car, and then they were home free, past the lines. Lucy looked between Fey and behind them, back at the line they had just passed. She couldn't help but raise a fist in the air in victory, despite the fact that she had done nothing aside from assist in the rescue of their comrades. "We're free!"

"Of course we are. I decided we would be." Fey murmured to himself. "Why is it always like this? Why is everyone surprised I can do anything except kill people? I'm trained dammit. I can do other stuff."

"It's not that we think you can't do things, it's that we're relieved that you can." Lucy attempted to explain, hoping that she didn't confuse him. Fey frowned at her.

Lucy turned to the back seat and pointed at the scientist. "Amber, don't kill him. He's the one who's gonna make the serum to keep us alive."

"Not going to. Maybe close to death, but not completely." Amber said, a little disappointed that he was stopped.

"Alright, just make sure he can still use his arms."

"No, stop. I need him unharmed. For a reason." Fey interceded, tossing a glare over his shoulder at the younger Experiment.

"Afraid someone else would steal your prey?" Amber asked innocently, though he lightened his grip on the scientist's neck anyway. It was only out of sheer grudging respect that he did so, since Fey was technically older and more senior than him.

"Not specifically, but he can make the serum, if you crush his voice box he wouldn’t be able to tell someone else it and the knowledge would die with him. If he died somehow we would have to go back to captivity. See? Reasons." Fey explained, and then shifted gears and slowed the car to a stop next to another one a small distance from the cluster of humans, knowing they would be after them any moment. He vaguely recognized to model to be a Jeep Commander from some idiotic Army car show a couple of years ago. Either way, ti would do.

"Since when were you that good at thinking of them, hm?" Ophie managed an incomprehensible noise that sounded something like appreciative, mocking laughter.

"I always have reasons. You're just not always smart enough to understand them." He countered easily, getting out of the car.

A flicker of rage came into his red eyes. "That's it, we're going to fight once we get out of here and I'm going to crush you." He pulled a face at Fey's statement, but though he meant what he said he spoke in a casual tone. It was as if he was simply asking Fey to play with him instead of fight.

Fey ignored him as the doors to the other car flung open, revealing a small troupe of humans, most likely rookies judging by their shaking hands. "Oi! We're commandeering your vehicle, shove off!" He ordered the humans. The one who had been the driver squeaked, and lifted his gun, but before he could shoot Fey had buried a foot in his gut, forcing him to drop the gun and double over. Fey looked at the other humans, who wore various shocked expressions. "I'm an evil monster made by the government that can jump twenty feet in the air and kills people for fun, if you don't let me have your car I'll pull your spine out through your mouth and cut your lungs out after you can't move anymore." He stated calmly.

The humans all screamed, two dropping their guns, and they took off across the tundra towards the group of humans in the distance. Fey calmly picked up the one still on the ground by the back of his shirt and took the keys from his pocket, then dropped him and picked up the three guns off the ground, shoving one into his sword sash and handing the other two to Lucy.

Lucy got out of the car, standing a bit behind Fey in case he needed help. As expected, Fey had it under control and so Lucy prepared the others to transfer. She rolled her eye's at Fey's use of an archetype evil government weapon. She raised an eyebrow at his rather unorthodox methods, but said nothing. Maybe it was better to preserve life than kill? Nah, there probably was just no point in killing them if you couldn't take your time to make it agonizingly slow. Lucy took the guns, tucking one into her waist band and handing the other to Amber. "Let's move it!" There was no time to waste, Lucy ran to the trunk, grabbing both Ophie and Alice by their waists and switching them into the new car. Ophie grabbed at Alice's hand to make sure she didn't lose her during the transfer, giving Lucy a grateful nod. Now they were on actual seats rather than on the ground. Lucy jumped into the passenger seat, turning the heat up all the way. It was too gosh darn cold outside.

Fey got into the driver's seat, untying the ribbon from his hair and then re-tying it tighter as everyone piled in - the wind had completely messed it up, and a few of the strands had been getting in his way. One of the most annoying things in the universe, that.

Alice was no longer sitting up, but laying down. She moved so her head was on Ophie's lap and turned so that she was looking up at the spider. Alice reached up to brush a strand of hair out of Ophie's face, tucking it behind the spider's ear. Ophie felt the touch of Alice's hand against her ear and she beamed. In response she sensed the bat's head on her lap and playfully patted her head, ruffling her pink hair. Already, Ophie was excited to be able to see it again. The head in her lap felt almost soft and delicate - like something she had to protect from everything else. Once she had her senses back, she'd make sure Alice was safe forever. "Everyone is precious to someone," Alice whispered, they were words meant only for Ophie. The spider put a finger to her lips and then brushed them across where she hoped Alice's were - instead accidentally poking her in the eye. She reflexively scowled and slapped herself in the face. "Don't hurt yourself!" Alice scowled, grabbing Ophie's hand to prevent the girl from doing it again. "I'm fine, see?" Alice ran Ophie's hand over the eye the spider had poked. It had been closed anyways, that eye was nearly glued shut with dried blood.

Amber took the gun, looking a little curiously at the barrel before pulling the door open and slipping next to Ophie. Alice and Ophie were up to something again, so it seemed. Amber didn't know exactly what, but it did seem like the two of them were happy. "Now what?" He asked, swinging his legs to kick the driver's seat for Fey's attention.

Fey glanced over his shoulder with his level four glare in place; he reserved the level five for only the most horrible of humans. "What." He asked flatly, starting the engine.

"-is what I'm asking you." Amber was relatively unaffected by the glare, though Ambrose would probably be silenced by the intensity of it. "Where are we going anyway? Do you have any idea? Since when did you even know how to drive? I'm pretty sure we're in bad hands here."

"Obviously I know how to drive. You think they would send me to advanced military weapons class of I didn’t know how to drive a car? Helicopters, tanks, dude. Yes, I know how to drive. Though that doesn’t mean I know how to drive safely, slow is boring."

"Definitely in bad hands." Amber repeated it as if solidifying it as a fact. He ran his hand through his hair, the golden matted with dried blood from when they almost cut his head open just to see what was going on with his personality. It left a pretty deep wound, but it was worth it in the end, what with him crushing the heads of four of them before they could get him to stop.

"Girls, girls, you're both pretty." Lucy sighed at the boys's antics, shaking her head. They were acting like such children and then they wondered why they got reprimanded all the time. "Fey, please tell me you have a plan?" Lucy asked, turning to face him. She turned to face the back, where the scientist was sitting next to Vittoria. "And you, do you have a plan to fix them?" She asked, gesturing towards the three who had just been saved from the clutches of the cult. Upon hearing that, Ophie pointed insistently at Alice, wanting her to be the first healed with a fierce frown. "Don't worry Ophie, I'll make sure it happens." Lucy nodded towards the spider, then remembered she couldn't see it. Of course Ophie was going to go first, Alice didn't even appear to be that injured and Ophie really needed it. With a smile at the lion, Ophie went back to idly playing with Alice's hair, toying with one particular strand.

"Are we still worried about plans at this point? Is anyone else concerned that he's going to crash into something? Just me?" Ophie yanked hard on where she figured Amber's hair was to shut him up and not make Alice worried. She pulled out a few hairs and nodded satisfactorily.

"Hey." Amber turned back to Ophie with a piercing glare, having half a mind to pull her hair out as well, but desisted at the last moment. It's just no fun playing with a victim that couldn't fight back. Ophie was banged up bad enough as it is. Ophie delivered a tricksy mischievous smile and put a finger to her lips in a 'hushing' motion.

Fey watched the land disappear behind them, staying close to the side of the building, zooming across the open spaces and into the area that had the more important labs. They wouldn't dare use anything too strong here, not with all the important things so close, so he kept close to the wall. "Go to the right at the next turn," the scientist spoke suddenly. "There's a way to the basement labs. The password for the loading dock door is Essentials, but in numbers." He explained. Fey gave him a strange look, wondering at the human's sanity. Was he seriously trying to help them?

"Fine, it's not like we have anywhere better to go." Ophie couldn't resist making a strange attempt at a snicker, pointing at Alice's leg (that she located through extensive touching) and grinned excitedly. Alice nodded her head in understanding, "I know, I'm excited too." They pulled to a stop in the underground garage, Lucy got out of the car, opening up the sliding door for them all to jump out. "Can you walk?" Lucy asked the pink haired girl, who shook her head.

"They took it from me," she spoke quietly, referring to the ability of standing on both legs.[/color] Lucy frowned and picked both of the girls up.

"Ambrose you too," Lucy gestured for him to follow.

"I'm Amber. Thought you should have noticed by now." He stated calmly as he jumped out of the car and strode next to Lucy, occasionally glancing at the two girls in her arms. Both of them must have been through a lot, having limbs amputated and everything. He was mildly surprised that they were even alive, but experiments must have better endurance than most.

"I'll go get supplies. Where's the kitchen? And make sure you bring plenty of serum ingredients and anything you need for it back from that lab with you." Fey ordered the scientist, who nodded quickly. "Once you leave the parking garage there's two sets of double doors, take the left one - the right leads to the labs -, and go all the way down the left hall till it dead ends, then right. Third door of your left." He explained quickly. Fey nodded and took a hard right into the parking lot, barely not scraping the entrance since the turning radius was so small from close to the wall. The car tilted down as they went into the underground lot, but only for a moment or two, and he pressed the gas to shoot the car forward to the other end of the lot, parking it right in front of the first set of double doors, and shut the car off, everyone opening the doors to leave the car.