> Men and Monsters: Metempsychosis.
>  by Perfectly Insane
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Prologue: Silence.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Silence.

Upon entering the main hallway through school, a dreadful silence hung in the air. Every student stopped whatever conversation they had to gaze at her in alarm, some inf fear. Pinkamena kept her head to the ground, walking through the onlookers in a dark hoodie and jeans, a far cry from her usual colorful attire. She had her hands in her hoodie pocket, in an almost casual way. But her sudden appearance was anything but casual.

“T-that’s her, right?”

“Didn’t she die?”

“I thought so? I-I she a ghost?!”

A low growl sounded from her clutched teeth, trying to ignore the remarks from the fools that had already grieved for her ‘passing.’ Reports of her death came from a week ago, so imagine everyone’s shock to find the her alive and well. 

Except...different.

No longer was her fashion sense bright and cheerful. No longer was her hair curly and bouncy.

The woman, shoving herself through the crowd, wore dull colors, her hair silky and straight. The gleam of her eyes was icy cold. Yet everyone’s reaction remained the same.

Silence.

No chattering amongst themselves, no burst of tears or joy or anger. Just utter, intense silence.

Sunset Shimmer and the rest weren’t present in the halls. Some didn’t have the will to move on; others couldn’t take the pain and just took a break from school. The rest were just unlucky not to be in the halls at the time. The sound of sneakers rubbed against the floor as the ghost of Pinkie walked into Celestia’s office, the door opening and closing behind her. When the conversations and rumors started, some chatting amongst themselves, others trying to find Sunset or others familiar with Pinkie. Nothing could have prepared them for the truth, the truth they’d most likely never know.

If they had learned what she'd become, they would have preferred it if she really had died.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The sound of furniture smashing resonated in the house of the Pies, only two of the dysfunctional family alive. Maud remained calm while confronting her sister’s rage, or that was at least the impression she gave since her face rarely ever had an expression on it. Next to her was the thrown table, glass and utensils shattered and scattered on the floor. Pinkamena's chest rose and fell with each harsh breath.

“Three… months, Maud,” She seethed. “Three fucking months of being tormented and psychologically fucked! For three months, you knew about it and did jack shit to help me! In fact, you even supported it! Lied to my friends, their families, the police… Hell, I bet you lie to yourself to feel better about it every single day!”

She loomed over the older grey woman, droplets of blood sliding down her fingers. For anyone else, the sight of those blue eyes staring death through the dark veil she cast would be terrifying.

“... what kind of person does that to their own sister? Their own flesh and blood?!”

Maud sat there with her usual stoic face, staring blankly at her sister; she was used to her vibrant sister expressing herself in  sometimes obnoxious ways. After Maud got the news that not only did Pinkamena survive the test, but she had become the leader of the family business, she went to school to clear things up and then came home, where Maud was waiting. While she didn’t look it right now, the pink woman was quite good at keeping her composure. Maud was just one of the few people she would show her emotions to.

“Pinkie, as smart--”

“Pinkamena! Don’t ever use that name with me again! I am not that person anymore...”

“Pinkamena,” Maud corrected herself. “As smart as you are, even you should have known this was inevitable. Everyone in this family must go through this test. Dad did, even I did. Even Marble and Limestone had to--”

“No, they didn’t! None of us did! If it weren’t for this ‘family tradition,’ both of them would still be ALIVE right now!!”

The two shared a knowing look in silence. No matter the mask the Pie siblings wore, both could never move on from their sisters’ deaths. They simply weren’t fit for the tests, but that didn't make what happened any less tragic.

“The point I’m trying to make, sister, is that the test was going to happen no matter what. There was nothing you, me, or anyone else could have done to prevent it from happening. If I had tried to stop it, and believe me, I came very close, then not only would they have killed us both, but probably your friends at school to. Try to bury what they'd consider a 'failure' and try to erase us from existence without a trace. So go ahead, hate me, blame me for everything as long as you want. But if given another chance, I would have made the same decision if it meant you and your friends get to live. I’m your sister Pinkamena; I’ll always choose what’s best for you, even if you despise me for it."

The silence hung in the air like fog, though the expression Pinkamena bore wasn’t melancholy or spiteful. It was one of understanding. She walked over to the door pausing before she could pass through. She looked back at Maud’s emotionless face, her blue eyes showing slight signs of forgiveness.

“I’m going out to clear my head for a bit, get the spare table in the garage. When I get back, we need to talk.”

Maud tilted her head, no noticeable changes on her face except a tint of confusion behind her eyes. There hadn’t been anything business-related planned for a month. One of the rules was to give the new leader a month to get used to their new life and set everything straight. Then again, her case was a bizarre one, not even mentioning how chaotic things were compared to normal.

“What sort of business, if I may ask?”

Pinkamena turned away, already taking a step through the door, gripping the handle tightly.

“With The Apples, I'm gonna go have a little chat...”
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“‘Personal business?!’ Are you KIDDING ME, PINKIE?! You’ve been gone so long; you were declared dead!! You can’t seriously expect things to work like this on short notice!” 

It had been about an hour since Pinkamena had made her appearance; pretty much the entire group had shown up except for Rainbow Dash. She had been absent about a week after Pinkie’s disappearance. No one knew where she’s been; she just up and left without a word, something incredibly uncharacteristic of her. Pinkamena had been outside in the courtyard when they showed up. It was lunch break, though she wasn’t particularly famished. So, she went out and put her hood on and sat against a wall behind her. Anyone who tried to talk with her and figure out what happened was immediately scared off by a single glare, she was not in the mood for socializing.

That all changed when Fluttershy tackled her to the floor, crying and mumbling incoherently while sobbing into her shoulder. Unlike before, Pinkamena didn’t want anyone hugging her. But someone like Fluttershy was an…exception. Despite her messing up her hoodie, she let her cry into hers; she had others. Then, after Sunset saw her, she screamed at her with a face almost as red as the streaks in her hair.

Everything stayed the same after Sunset’s little outburst. Fluttershy was still crying into her shoulder; Rarity was trying to pull her off, saying she was making a scene and that she was messing up her makeup, selectively not paying attention to Pinkamena. It was like she didn’t want to admit she was angry, which was arguably worse. Applejack remained quiet, having walked over to her instead of rushing. She was eerily calm about the situation; it was nearly impossible to tell what she was thinking. Pinkamena had a good idea of why.


Other World Twilight wasn’t here, having decided to return to Equestria and figure out a spell that would work in the human world. She hadn't come back yet, and if she gave any updates to Sunset through the book then Pinkamena didn't know about it. Meanwhile, the human world Twilight has been spending countless nights of isolation, trying to find out where Pinkie was and how to find her. She probably hadn’t gotten the news. Everyone else had decided it would have been better to leave and let them talk it out. Not a single student or teacher was present in the courtyard, given how serious this was, which says a lot considering how much high schoolers couldn't get enough drama.

“You’re right; I don’t. So here’s what’s going to happen.”

Pinkamena shoved Fluttershy off of her, sending her tumbling into Rarity. She then fixed her clothes, putting the hood back over her head and her hands in her hoodie pockets.

“As of now, We’re not friends, not anymore. You’re going to leave me alone and stay out of my business. If you call me, text me, or anything, I’m not going to respond. If anything, I’ll just block you. I appreciate that you guys were worried about me, but I’m alive and well, as you can see. I’m fine. So, find someone else to be your comic relief; I heard Trixie’s trying out as a circus performer. But if anyone of you tries to reach out to me, I won’t hesitate to hurt you more than I need to. So for your sakes, please. Go away.”

With her warning stated, Pinkamena turned her back to her former friends and walked towards the exit, shoulder checking Sunset her way out. The only one who didn't react was AJ, the two glaring at each other as she passed. Everyone remained silent; even Fluttershy stopped crying out of shock, struggling to comprehend what just happened.

The only one who showed any emotion was Rarity, her face burning brighter than it ever had before. She was about to shout at her the same way Sunset did, but AJ stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. She whispered to Rarity that there wasn't a point. However, that didn’t stop Sunset from marching after her.

“No, This isn’t right!” Sunset barked. “What the fuck happened to you!? Who took you, who made you this way? What happened to Pinkie?”

She managed to grab at Pinkamena’s arm, pulling her around to face her. Sunset’s eyes widened, tears streaming down her cheeks. The party planners called a friend only gave a snarl before headbutting her, knocking the human unicorn down to the floor.

The others called out to Sunset in alarm, rushing to her side to help her up. Everyone looked up to the hooded women, a menacing face leering down at them. A face no one would expect to see on Pinkie Pie. All they could do was stare in distraught as Pinkamena left them with a final statement.

“I lost my Laughter.”
> Chapter One: Survival of The Insane.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

There were many things about Pinkie that made her special: her personality, her innocent appearance, her parties, her optimistic attitude, and the overall wonderful person she was. She had many friends, both close, and people she was friendly with. But, none truly knew anything about her real life. No one knew about her past, what her parents were like, or why her siblings disappeared—no one except for Maud. And, especially, no one knew why she always tried to stay positive; the truth was much more bleak than any of them could have guessed.

Her relationship with her family was superficial at best, knowing next to nothing about anyone that wasn't her siblings or parents. Abruptly, she soon found out that her family would take her away for ‘family business’ when she reached eighteen, not waiting more than a few hours after her birthday party to do so. Her father terrified her, always wearing an emotionless face, no matter what it was he did. At least she knew where Maud got it. His yellow eyes never harbored any emotion; his suit and black pants were always adorned, no matter the occasion. Always having his hat on to cover his spiked, gray hair. He never looked different, despite how little Pinkie actually saw him, other than his clothes, seemingly immune to aging.

Her mother was… distant, to say the least. When she looked at any of them with those cold, blue eyes, it always put a foreboding sense of dread into Pinkie and her siblings. With the exception of Maud, she strangely never gave her such glares. She usually wore something fancy like a dress, or just something that would be more suited for a ball, despite whether or not she planned on leaving the house. She also kept her hair in a bun, even when she slept, resembling a person sized doll rather than a human.

Before they disappeared months ago, she’d always enjoy sleeping alongside her siblings. They would spend all their time together, playing and gossiping like all sisters should. Then, their birthday came. They were fraternal twins, but they were still as close as twins would be.

When their birthday came, and they turned eighteen, Igneous Pie, their dad, came and took them away. He never showed up unless it was something important, or, at least, what he deemed necessary. Cloudy Quarts, their mother, was always around the house but never treated them like she was their mother. She didn’t cook, didn’t clean, didn’t help her daughters with homework or boys. She didn’t do anything a normal mother would.

They never returned. Not once did her sisters come to visit or send letters, they simply vanished. Pinkie tried her hardest to find them, looked everywhere she knew about them. But she never did. Maud said they were just helping dad with something, but Pinkie wasn’t as ignorant as her demeanor would suggest. Everyone at school asked where they’d been and when they’d be back, but Pinkie simply just made excuses, as she didn’t know herself. Then, recently, her eighteenth birthday came up, and she found out the hard way exactly what the family business was.

Like any other day, she went to school, talked to her friends, and made plans for the party. All of her friends came to her birthday party, even Maud tagged along! After the party was over and everyone said their goodbyes, Pinkie began to clean up the aftermath.

But before she could finish, Igneous came to the house and took Pinkie the same way he did her sisters. Neither Maud nor Cloudy tried to stop him, well aware this day would come. He always had two bodyguards near him whenever he went out, wearing the same clothes Igneous did, except with the additional accessory of glasses. She never knew why, as there was almost no reason to have any. There was rarely crime or muggings or anything, and when there was, it usually happened up in the city, not way down in the suburban where they lived. Pinkie didn’t try to resist, as she wanted answers, and resisting would just cause more problems. They took her into a car they had parked in front of the house, a standard, black van with tinted windows. Basically, it was the kind of car either people in business have or criminals.

As they drove to wherever they were taking her, Pinkie tried asking both the guards and her father questions. Where were they going? When would they’d be back? Is she going to see her missing sisters? The guards remained silent, her incessant questiong stopping when Igneous told her to stop in an authoritarian tone. Eventually, after hours of driving and traffic, they got to their location. Though, Pinkie didn’t really know where, as she had fallen asleep long ago, being too bored to stay awake.

What they stopped at was a landing pad with an active helicopter in it, no one else was there except the helicopter’s pilot. As the bodyguards let Pinkie out of the car, she noticed they were wearing body armor and had gun holsters with pistols in them. This was scary for Pinkie as she had never seen a gun outside of movie, so much as heard one go off. She doubted either one of them would use them, hopefully.

Igneous was the first to get into the helicopter, then Pinkie, the bodyguards sitting beside each of them. He said something to the pilot, but Pinkie couldn’t hear it because of the loud whirring. The pilot nodded at Igneous before pressing buttons to get the helicopter off the ground. After talking to the pilot, Igneous reached into his side pocket and pulled something out. Pinkie couldn’t see what it was as he concealed it the second he pulled it out of his pocket, his eyes staring at her like cameras as he watched her suspiciously. 

“Daughter, come here for a moment.”

The tone in his voice was hollow, referring to her like she were a complete stranger. The few times he referred to her he’d call her by her name, her real name anyway. She preferred to be called Pinkie. Nervously, she did as he said, walking closer to him.

“What is it, dad? Did you get me something? Oh, is it a present!? I love presents! Don’t you love pr-”

Before Pinkie could continue, Igneous injected a needle into her neck, a sharp pain in her neck followed by a darkness that consumed her vision. He kept that stoic look on his face through the whole thing, his guards not reacting in the slightest.

“I’m thankful you’re gullible, Daughter. Your sisters were much harder to sedate. We can’t have you know where we’re going; it’s far too risky. Hopefully, the dosage is enough to shut you up. Could never stand your annoying antics! It astonishes me that you’re even my daughter. You don’t take after your mother or me!”

Pinkie’s eyes slowly closed, as the last thing she saw was the blank look on her father’s face. He had one hand behind her head and the other behind her back, making sure she didn’t get hurt or anything. Igneous had to make sure she would be at her best. While he cared little about her wellbeing, he’d prefer that she’d survive. Because if she didn’t, he’d have to choose Maud as his protégé. And out of all of his children, she was the one he despised the most. Now, that wasn’t to say he didn't dislike Pinkamena; he found her insufferable. But compared to Maud, Pinkie’s ecstatic personality was at least manageable and far more predictable. 

So unlike the other girls was she. He could never get a read on that mare, her mask better crafted than his own due to how terrifyingly real it was. Igneous insisted she was only meant to be an assistant; that’s all she was trained for. She wasn’t prepared to be a leader or go through the same kind of test, the one she had gone through was like comparing a popquiz to the SAT's. And Igneous certainly didn’t want to have more children to wait for another eighteen years, the odds of him living that long weren't very favorable.

Falling asleep wasn't quite the way to describe what happened to her, more like the time that passes simply did not register to her. One moment she was filled with terror and confusion, the next blinding sunlight and a searing headache overcame her senses as the bodyguards from earlier were carrying her off the helicopter.

“Careful! I don’t want a scratch on her! Even the tiniest of cuts could be infectious out here, and I'd rather not lose another daughter. So it’ll be on your heads if this test is jeopardized!”

She woke up to the sound of her father barking orders, only able to make out every other word. It was rare for him to raise his voice so loudly, even when addressing her whenever she got in trouble. Though Pinkie woke up, the effects of the drug still lingered. Her movements felt heavy and sluggish, parts of her were still asleep. She could barely open her eyes, only growing more confused when she did.

They were in a forest, a vast one from the looks of it. They were surrounded by tons of trees and bushes; the helicopter was landed on a rather large clearing. Either they cleared this themselves, or mother nature was a very impulsive creator. After setting Pinkie down, the guards rushed back to the helicopter and sat on both sides of their boss. Pinkie had been watching them this entire time, expecting them to say or do something to indicate this was just an elaborate prank. But the only one looking back at her was her father, a grave expression etched on his face that almost seemed like it was stuck like that.

Then, for the first time in her life, she saw a smile graced her father’s uptight lips. 

Pinkie had tried multiple times to get him to smile, but it never worked. It wasn’t a smile that showed his teeth, just a simple uplift of his lips. Combined with his narrowed gaze, the smile made him look evil. The few times Pinkie saw that look was when Sunset Shimmer transformed into a demon, Or when The Dazzlings were running the school. She had hoped to never see a smile like that again, to see it on her father’s face deeply unnerved her. More than her mother’s glare, more than any villain she’s previously faced, more than she thought she was capable of feeling.

And just like that, his smile was gone, returning to his default expression. The fear didn’t leave even after the helicopter was long gone. Pinkie just laid there, emotionally distraught, physically fatigued, and afraid. It took her a while until she could get back up, the urge to sleep weighing down her. Her head was killing her, her body felt frail, and she had no idea where was. As Pinkie was able to stand, a note fell out of her pocket. It was a simple white piece of paper that was already open and was written in her father’s handwriting. She reached down to grab it, clutching at her aching head, before reading the paper’s contents out loud.

“Pinkamena,

Today is your eighteenth birthday, and as tradition, it is your turn to partake in our trial. This is what your sisters went through and what Maud will go through if you fail. I’d imagine you’re deeply confused with what’s going on. This is a test. You must fend for yourself in these woods for one month. No help or outside interference. If you do this, I’ll be more than happy to tell you anything you want to know. Who knows, you may even find your sisters. Though given the vastness of this forest, that’s very unlikely. Now, if you’re smart, which is also unlikely, you may be asking, ‘how will I know where to find you?’ The night before your birthday, I had Cloudy put a chip into your body while you were sleeping. This chip allows us to keep track of both your heart rate and your location. If you wander near any kind of civilization, we will send several shocks through your body. If you try to flee the forest or make contact with anyone, we will kill you. I leave you in fate’s hands now, daughter, for better or worse.

Igneous.”

After reading the letter, Pinkie just stood there for a while, slowly lowering herself until she sat on the ground. She wasn’t really sure how to feel; for those few seconds, she sat there numb. Then, it all came at once. Fear, betrayal, anguish, shaking her to the core. The letter slowly floated to the ground when she dropped it, losing any common sense, as she screamed as loud as she could. Not really wanting to get anyone’s attention, just not knowing what else to do, the realization of everything hitting her hard.

That’s when it sank in; this wasn’t a prank, this wasn’t some elaborate joke. This was real. Pinkie was betrayed by her family, kidnapped and drugged, taken to a forest in the middle of nowhere, left to the mercy of nature. She gripped the ground tightly, her breathing erratic and frantic, her heart beating rapidly. Eventually, her breathing slowed down as she looked up at the sky; the scenery calmed her down.

That drug must have lasted a long time, as when she was knocked out, it was late and dark, but now it was early, and the sun was bright. If she had to guess, she’d say it was around eight; her friends were probably wondering where she was right now. She had managed to go all year without any absences; it was so close to the end of school, too, there were only two weeks left. It was still spring; there was only one more day left in school before testing was going to start, seems she would miss it. If she survives by some miracle, she at least could say she had a wild summer.

She wanted to hurt him. But, not before she could figure out precisely what happened to her sisters and why. They couldn’t be dead; he’s not that cruel, right? Pinkie wiped her face, getting rid of any tears that were threatening to fall, and suddenly stood up, regaining her animated personality. If she was going to get her revenge, save her sisters, reunite with her friends, and live her life, then she needed to stay positive and get out of this alive. But, for now, she had to indulge him. She had to survive for one month in this forest.

When she was younger, she went through a Bear Grills phase; she watched all the episodes well more than once. Hopefully, she wouldn’t have to go as far as to drink her own pee, which would become a detriment very quickly. She also talked to Fluttershy about animals; since she had so much experience with them, it would make sense to ask her what to do if she encounters any feral ones. She had everything she needed to survive out here. Pinkie just really hoped she wouldn’t have to kill any animals; Fluttershy would hate that. And neither she nor herself would ever be able to forgive such an act.

“Well, I guess I’ll have to start by finding a shelter before it gets dark! Ooh! Maybe I’ll run into some friendly animals or something, that’d be awesome! Then, I could keep them as pets and have them watch for me when I’m sleeping! And then-”

Suddenly, there was the sound of a twig breaking from a bush not too far away from Pinkie, making her shut up and filling her with fear. The sounds stopped, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t something there. When Pinkie screamed, it could have attracted a nearby predator, and she really didn’t want to deal with that. Her memories of peaceful ways to deal with wild animals were hazy, at best. She slowly began to back away from the bush, intending to get as far away from that clearing as possible; being in plain sight for as long as she has was a bad move.

When Pinkie got away from the clearing, she started to run as fast as she could. She avoided any loose branches or anything, as tripping could get her killed, or something broken, which would eventually end with the same result. If something like her arm or leg became broken, which were essential to anything she would need to do to survive, she wouldn’t last a week, so much as a month.

She took a sudden left and went behind a tree, out of breath from the sudden running. That was stupid of her. If you rush your heart like that without building up to it, you’ll get tired a lot faster. She held her breath and closed her eyes, trying to hear if anything was following her or any other noises that would indicate anything else. If there was, it was hushed; the only sound was the chirping of birds and the wind.
Not many people know this, but, despite almost always talking and being loud, she could be reticent if she wanted; it’s how she could sneak up on her friends or set up pranks in the school after hours. When she was younger, she would play hide and seek with her siblings; she was rarely found. She was just good at hiding and staying quiet when the situation required it. This was a significant advantage in nature because if she could remain hidden whenever a predator was around, then she might just make it out of these woods alive.

Pinkie looked at the tree she was leaning on, noticing how high up it was. She decided that if she wanted to survive. She would need to learn a bit about her surroundings. She began to climb the tree, making sure to only get on branches that were big and could handle her weight. It took a long time, around thirty minutes, but she got to the top. She was tired and covered with leaves and other things; she didn’t really care at the moment; she was too mesmerized by what she saw.

“Where did they take me?”

Pinkie muttered in utter shock and confusion. There were miles upon miles of woods, with the occasional mountain in the distance. Wherever they took her, it was far from the city; she couldn't recall any city nearby this vast. It would take her a month just to get out of this place!. There wasn’t a single human-made thing insight, not any buildings or anything. It would be hard to survive in these woods; it would take more than a month just to navigate them, she wasn’t even going to waste the effort of trying to find civilization. Her only chance was to find an area with water and stay there. Without water, she had no chance.

She began to pay more attention to the view, trying to find any sign of a water source. A river would do, maybe even a cave. Occasionally, there can be water sources in caves. But, she wouldn’t be able to see a cave entrance from here, so she wasn’t going to look for one. Then, she noticed a spot with a lack of trees. This wasn’t the clearing she woke up in; that was in a completely different direction. There didn’t seem to be any reason for this, as, past the spot, miles of woods continued onward. The only reason why this would be is if there was another clearing, or there was a pond!

Pinkie’s face suddenly changed into a smile as she began to climb down the tree. She got a bit excited and rushed down, which caused her to scrape her foot against the tree. She gasped out at the sudden pain in her foot, biting her lip to avoid making a sound, afraid she might alert any nearby animals.

After waiting a few seconds to see if she was noticed, she continued to climb down the tree in a more cautious manner. Almost immediately after she got to the bottom, she began to sprint towards the direction of the clearing she saw. She knew that she would get tired sooner, but the dismissal wasn't that far away. She kept a concentrated look on her face, remaining quiet while maintaining focus on her surroundings. Pinkie had to make sure that she didn’t make too much noise or run into anything.

When Pinkie was younger, she went through an athletic stage. It was either to compete with Rainbow Dash or to try to get her father’s attention; she wasn’t really sure. She practically signed up for everything: track, basketball, soccer, football, baseball, everything the school had to offer. She kept in sports until middle school when she and her friends had a falling out. But, muscles don’t just disappear, especially not with a metabolism like hers.

She was nothing compared to what she used to be, but she was still in reasonably good shape. She couldn’t run as far or as long as she used to or hit a home run so far they had to get a new ball, but she could win an endurance fight or outrun her opponent if push came to shove. Animals might be a different story. If she ran into a pack of wolves, for example, there was no way she could fight them or outrun them. Hiding was the only option in that scenario.

After what felt like an hour of running through bushes, jumping over loose tree roots, hiding behind trees at sudden sounds, and eating berries that Pinkie was ninety percent sure weren't poisonous, she could finally see the clearing. It wasn't far; it only took so long because she kept getting tired, or it was more distant than it looked. It was a huge waterfall that fed a small pond. She couldn't see where the water was coming from, as it was too high, probably from a river or a stream.

It was barely big enough to fish out of, but, hopefully, it had fish in it. She couldn’t tell; the water was too dense to see through. Around the pond were rocks and mud and such, surrounded by cattails and other plants. This was good; she could set up a shelter around here. The shelter would be more for storing food and waiting out the weather, no other real purpose. Sleeping in such an open area would be a bad idea.

She walked forward and smiled out of satisfaction; this was perfect, this would work. This was a great, practically endless water source, and the surrounding area is pulsing with edible plants and berries. This made her smile stretch even further. Having both water and a food source was crucial for survival, and she had both of these things in one, somewhat safe area.

All she needed now was a shelter of some sort to protect her from the weather, and she could sleep in if she needed to, something that could be easily made and efficient. Not a wooden cover, she needs a shelter that doesn’t take too much time to complete. Not a cave; she really didn’t like enclosed areas. What she needed was a moss shelter. They keep heat stored in a small space, they’re easy to make, can protect from rain and snow, and provide a fair amount of cover. It was the perfect shelter for her!

At that, she began to gather up moss in the surrounding area and pile it all up to use for the shelter. When she thought she had a sufficient amount of moss for her makeshift home, she began gathering branches. Some she could find on the ground, others she had to tear off trees. This is a similar process to what she would need to do for a wooden shelter, except this takes a lot less wood. Wooden shelters can’t contain heat as well as moss shelters do and can’t protect from weather like rain or snow. While there are environments where wooden shelters would be the better choice, this wasn’t it.

Pinkie would need about twenty decent sized branches and one log to hold them all together. It was hard to carry all these branches back and forth into one pile; it was even harder to find a log big enough to hold all the branches in one place, but, luckily, she did. She had seen it lying between a few trees, probably the remains of one that fell over. She couldn’t carry something that heavy, so she rolled it over to the pile.

By the time she was done getting everything she had needed, Pinkie had two piles. The pile of moss to her left, which was almost as big as she was, and the pile of branches, plus the log to the right of her, she still felt like she forgot something, something important.

"Let’s see; I’ve got the wood, the moss, the log, what am I missing? Oh, yeah! Rocks, lots of them!”

To keep the branches standing up without falling over, she needed to surround the branches’ base with rocks, which there were plenty of. She would also need to save some stones to make a campfire, but she won’t be making that until she was done with this. Pinkie began to gather rocks in the area near the pond and the ones beside the trees. When she thought she had enough, she put them in a similar pile beside the moss one. Then, when she was positive she had what she needed to make a shelter, she began to build it.

First, She got the log and lifted it up. It was cumbersome, and she was barely able to get it off the ground. A look of strain was on her red face, but she did her best to angle it to where one part was leaning against a tree, and the other was pushing into the ground. Next, Pinkie rushed some rocks into a pile around the base to prevent it from collapsing. She got the branches and did the same thing with them that she did with the log, except the branches were leaning on the log, and the piles of rocks around their base was smaller.

There were ten branches on each side of the branch, making it both even and able to support their own weight. Finally, Pinkie got the moss and put some on top of the log until it covered it from top to bottom. She did a similar thing with the branches, except she had to do it vertically from head to toe, or it wouldn’t have stayed in any other way. She did this with all twenty branches until they were all covered. 

Pinkie stepped back covered in dirt, moss, and sweat, but still had a proud smile on her face. It was decent sized, had rocks at the base of all the branches, enough moss covering it to make it seem like the wood was green, and was obviously hastily made. But it would have to do for a home. As Pinkie was bathing in pride at her creation, she noticed something dangling from one of the branches of the tree the log was leaning on, something familiar.

It was a necklace, a silver necklace. Pinkie’s face went from joyful to worry at this; she didn’t come here wearing a necklace. She walked over and slowly grabbed it, not wanting to break it. Pinkie had no idea how long it had been there, it was covered in dirt and other things showing it's had to deal with the elements for a bit. She took the necklace over to the pond and dipped it in, using her hands to clean it.

It took a few minutes to get all the muck and such off, but, eventually, it was clean. It was a silver necklace with a matching silver chain. The chain wasn’t entirely silver, as evident by the small coats of rust. Which didn’t necessarily mean it was old, just that it had been out in the open. It was still in a reasonably good state.

At the bottom, there was a gold pendant with a little red jewel at its top. It was also hollow, most likely one of the necklaces that opened and had a picture in it. This was good! This meant there were other people in the woods with her, maybe even someone she knows! Technically, she wouldn’t be breaking the rules if she talked to someone already in the woods. There might have been hikers or campers who may have gotten lost in the woods as big as this. In the excitement that she might meet other people, she quickly opened the pendant to look at the picture inside, but it wasn’t what she was expecting.

What was inside the pendant made Pinkie gasp, a sense of dread filling her. It was a picture of her, Limestone, and Marble. Though she always referred to them as Inkie and Blinkie since she had trouble pronouncing their actually names when she was younger and did called them that instead, which is where her nicknaming habit came from. The photo was taken two or three months before Marble's eighteenth birthday, right before they disappeared. This was the necklace Limestone always wore. Because if she was ever sad or scared, she could look down and see her sisters’ smiling faces. It’s been so long since she’s seen them, she forgot all about it, which made her stomach drop in guilt. The picture was taken during her eighteenth birthday. The necklace was a present from Blinkie, who swore she’d never take it off. If something this important to her was here, that meant she either lost it, some bird picked it up, or...

“No! I can’t think like that! I have to stay positive! Thinking like that isn’t going to get me anywhere.”

Pinkie shook her head and quickly stood up, not wanting to feel the worry and dread creeping up. She hated emotions that took away people’s smiles, which was ironic considering hatred was one of them.

“Just because this is here doesn’t mean she’s dead! She just can’t be! I-if anything, this means she’s somewhere in this forest!”

Pinkie said to herself, not really having anyone to talk to like usual. She had no other choice, she never was an inside thinker, she preferred to voice her thoughts. She closed the pendant and put the necklace around her neck. After all, someone has to give it back to her. Pinkie looked down at the heart-shaped pendant, the water glistening as it slowly rolled off of it. 

She was filled with determination.

Pinkie had to see them; she just had to. It’s been almost a year since she’s ever even had contact with her sisters. She nearly jumped in joy at a chance to see them. She couldn’t wait to catch up with them, tell her about new and old friends, about the Elements of Harmony and magic, all the drama in her life, all sorts of things.

Pinkie smiled, guessing at what her sister's reaction would be if she told her sisters she and her friends had sprouted ears, ponytails, horns, and wings, and used magic to defeat a demon who was now their friend. It would take a lot of convincing, but she was more than happy to try, and had plenty of time to.

Then, suddenly, her stomach loudly rumbled, reminding Pinkie she’s had nothing to eat, save for a few berries. She blushed in embarrassment at that, glad no one was around to hear that. Then, she looked over to how many rocks were left, and there were just enough to make a campfire. She gathered some nearby wood and the stones she left in a pile and started to put the rocks in a small circle. It was just small enough to cook something decently sized but not big enough to make a lot of smoke, as that would attract unwanted attention from nearby animals, be predator or prey.

After she was done making the circle of rocks, she put many twigs and such into the middle, making enough fuel to last a fire a couple of hours. Now all she needed was food. Not necessarily a big animal; it could be a frog or a snake or something. As much as she hated having to kill something, she understood nature’s laws for predators to eat prey, which didn’t make it any less tragic. She hated to admit it, but she needed to kill and eat an animal. It was starting to get too late to go out for berries. Plus, she was too tired from making her shelter to go too far. She had no choice.

Pinkie began looking near the pond, hoping she might see something she could catch with her hands. Like a frog or a fish, just something she didn’t necessarily have to kill to catch. Usually, if you didn’t have a makeshift fishing rod, you’d use a spear—a long piece of wood with a sharpened rock taped with lots of grass to keep it there. But, considering how much she had already gotten done today before sunset, Pinkie was too tired and afraid to do anything else.

After a few minutes of looking, she saw a fish near the edge of the pond; it seemed to be just staying there, no indication it was even alive except for its tail moving back and forth. From what Pinkie knew about fish, which was only from the occasional conversation about them with Fluttershy, it was most likely a Bluegill, considering the size and environment. Bluegills were relatively small and not very nutritious, but it’s still better than having nothing to eat.

She started to walk over to the area in front of the Bluegill, remaining quiet to make sure the fish wouldn’t get scared and swim away. She most likely wouldn’t have gotten another chance like this. The closest she could get was just on the edge of falling over, making it very hard to keep balance, but not impossible. She slowly leaned down towards the Bluegill, making sure not to make any sudden movements or sounds. It could cause her to go to sleep hungry tonight.

The Bluegill remained in the same place as before, either not noticing or not caring that something was leaning closer and closer to it, until Pinkie suddenly grasped it, successfully capturing her target. The Bluegill, being suddenly attacked in its environment, squirmed violently, trying to escape its hunter’s grasp.

Pinkie had kept a good grip on it, despite how wet and slippery it was, because if it got back into the pond, there was no chance of her getting it back. She threw it as far in the opposite direction as she could, making it land a few feet behind her, flopping in every which direction, trying to get back to a water source. Pinkie didn’t want to kill the fish, at least, not directly. She was going to let it suffocate. It may not have been the most pleasant death, but it was better than her having to kill it with her hands, she was pretty sure fish couldn't feel pain anyway. 

After she was done making sure every last drop of slime and water was off her hands and on her clothes, she walked over to the no longer flopping fish. Which, while Pinkie was cleaning off her hands, had stopped flopping about, gills flexing slowly. She noticed this and just stood there with a sad look on her face, knowing she still killed it.

It sat vertically on the ground in front of Pinkie, opening and closing its mouth, in a last, desperate attempt to live. Pinkie felt terrible for it; the fish had done nothing wrong. It was simply born, lived in the pond, probably had fish friends, and was suddenly taken from it’s home to silence her growling gut.

"I’m sorry little guy; I don’t WANT to do this! It’s just berries won’t keep me full and healthy, and it’s going to be getting dark soon. I don’t want to risk going in the woods; you were just the closest thing I could find. I Pinkie Promise, I will make sure to eat every last bite of you, so your death doesn’t go to waste! Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a cupcake in my eye!”

Her face changed from a sad one to a joyful one as she made the gestures of her signature promise, the fish still opening its mouth, not responding to Pinkie’s declaration in any way. Then the fish stopped, its body no longer showing signs of life. Pinkie, realizing the fish was now dead, lowered her hand from her eye, her face going back to her depressed.

“Goodbye, Mr. Fish.”

She then walked over to the campfire and started the fire, using the simple stick method. As she put the slightly on fire twig under the woodpile, she went over to the fish as the fire slowly spread to the rest of the wood, still in the same place as she left it.

Pinkie picked it up, ignoring the remaining slime and other disgusting stuff on it. She put a stick through the fish, making a disgusting squishing sound that grossed her out more than the slime did. Then, she planted the stick into the ground at an angle where the fish was right over the woodpile so that the fish wouldn’t get over or undercooked.

As she waited for her dinner to be cooked, she walked over to the pond and began to wash her hands, not wanting to get any more gross stuff on the clothes she’s going to be wearing for the rest of the month. As she was washing her hands, she had a blank look on her face. Then a sob suddenly came out of her, it was short and the only one she did, but it was full of emotion.

Pinkie had never taken a life before, human or otherwise. Not even as a kid did she ever kill a fly or anything, despite how they might bother her. She always believed, no matter how different two things were, they’re both alive. Whether it was a fly, a fish, or a person. No matter how advanced humans may be, they’re no different than animals. Everything deserves just as much reason to live as anything else. She understood that animals and insects were killed by people daily around the world, but that didn’t mean she had to be the same.

She also understood that it was necessary to kill that fish, or she may not have had the energy to get food, but she still hated it. She broke the rule she made to herself so long ago, which both made her disappointed in herself, and hate towards her father, who put her in this situation. True, she didn’t have much choice in killing the fish. But, if he hadn’t put her in these woods, then she never would have had to kill it.

"Why? What's the point of all this?"

Pinkie suddenly slammed her fists into the water, making some of it splash onto her face. But her face was already wet with tears before that. It wasn’t just the fish that made her cry, nor was it the anger. It was the combination of knowing she’s most likely going to have to take the lives of many animals, knowing her sisters most likely had to do the same thing despite them making a similar promise, that her own father did this to her, that her friends will be worried sick about her and there’s nothing she can do about it, and that her mother and sister simply didn’t care. Many feelings ran through her core. Dread, rage, spite, depression, and betrayal. Most of these emotions are ones she’s never felt before and had no idea how to deal with them; no one could deal with all these emotions simultaneously, especially not one so positive.

Frustration was at the surface of these emotions, she didn't understand the point of all this! Why did she have to be put in these woods? She didn't understand.

Pinkie bawled her eyes into her hands, no longer caring how loud she was being or if she attracted any attention from predators. She just couldn’t hold it in anymore. Tears of anguish fell down her face, landing into the pond in front of her.

After a few minutes of letting out some of her emotions, she began to wipe her face of both water and tears. She then got up, turned around, and began to walk over to the fish she nearly forgot about. By now, it was cooked enough to eat, despite her obvious disgust. She sat down in front of the campfire and began to eat her meal. Pinkie gagged at almost every attempt to swallow it, not because it tasted terrible, but because of how horrible she felt eating it.

By the time she was finished eating the fish, she had felt like she was going to puke. Sometime during her meal, it had turned dark. The campfire was now the only light source in the night. Pinkie threw the bones of the fish into a nearby bush. She then started to walk over to her moss shelter, both too physically and emotionally exhausted to do anything more for the day.

As Pinkie began to walk-crawl in her shelter, with a sad look on her face, a sudden sound rang through the forest that filled her with fear: howling. Now, she understood that this was normal, as wolves would howl for many reasons. The problem was this was how close it was. This wasn’t the kind of howling you would hear in the far distance and shrug off, thinking it was an echo. They were close.

Panic settled in. A wolf had an acute sense of smell, meaning it probably already had her scent. Or worse, a whole pack of them.

Pinkie slowly crawled out of her moss home, looking in the direction where the howl had come from. She could feel the adrenaline from the fear starting to rise up. If they were visible from where she was, that meant she was in danger and had to hide. If they weren’t, that meant she still had time to run, maybe lose them or climb up a tree; she was pretty sure wolves couldn’t climb trees.

Pinkie squinted her eyes in the direction of the howl, it was dark, and there were lots of bushes and such blocking a clear sight, which meant if whatever amount of wolves hunting her had a dark enough coat that they blended into their surroundings, she had no chance of surviving. Then, suddenly Pinkie saw it, a wolf.

It had a dark gray coat that made it very hard to see it. If it hadn’t been so large, Pinkie probably wouldn’t have. It had golden like eyes, which were looking around for tonight’s prey. Pinkie’s eyes widened as two smaller wolves came behind it, one with its nose to the ground as if it was tracking a specific scent, which it probably was. The other remained beside the first one, appearing to be searching for any other predators in the area.

This was bad! Really bad! They must have smelled the cooking of meat when she put the fish over the campfire and followed it here. The wolf tracks must have been trying to pinpoint its exact location, which would lead them to the campfire if they’re as good as trackers as Pinkie had seen and heard of in the documentaries.

Pinkie slowly crawled back into her home as she weighed her options. She had three choices; the first was the stupid choice, fight them. Which shouldn’t even be considered; these are predators. Creatures who spend every day hunting their food and killing other predators, Pinkie hasn’t even been in a real fight; that wasn’t an option. The second option was to make a run for it, where the wolves will most definitely notice her. She might outrun them. She wasn’t as fast as she once was, but she was still quick. Besides, humans can run longer than any animal, so she didn’t have to outrun them, just outlast them.

But, considering it was this late at night, she would probably run into objects and fall, which would slow her down. Even if one wolf fell, the others would keep going, and with their vision more adjusted to the night than hers, they wouldn't fall. Which left only one option, hide. While it was true they could track her down, it didn’t matter if she hid to the point where they couldn’t find her. Considering this one was most likely to work, and her only real option left, this was the one she was going to choose.

She began to look around for a hiding spot, dense bush, a tall tree, anything will do. As Pinkie looked the wolves slowly got closer and closer to her spot. She couldn’t see this, of course, but she assumed they were. She seriously doubted they were just standing there. Her eyes eventually fell onto the pond; she was seriously considering just going under and holding her breath. Then she noticed something she hadn’t seen before.

At the back of the pond, where the waterfall was, the walls seemed to get smaller the closer they were to the waterfall. There was something back there. Pinkie looked as closely as she could at a waterfall at night, trying to notice any details. And then, she saw it; there was a cave behind the waterfall! This was perfect! Not only would the water mask her scent so the wolves couldn’t smell her, but the wolves wouldn’t go so far for their prey as to swim through a pond, into a cave, and adventure through it just to find her, probably.

Pinkie then slowly began to crawl toward the pond, hoping she’d get there before the wolves found her. The wolves had been continuing their hunt, remaining slow. They still weren't if any other predators were around. Pinkie was also going slow, but she was closer to the pond then the wolves were to her. By the time she was at the edge of the pool, the wolves were mere feet from her shelter, and they were still getting closer.

Pinkie felt hesitant. If the wolves did notice her in the pool and jumped in themselves, she would have nowhere to go. But, if they didn’t, she would still have to swim through water filled with fish. Then, the wolves noticed the campfire and the shelter and began to speed up, getting closer to seeing her every second. If she didn’t jump in soon, they would most definitely see her, and then option one will be her only remaining choice. Pinkie then slowly got into the water, trying her hardest not to make any noise.

The first thing she saw when she was underwater was fish; lots of fish. Some on the pond floor eating plants and algae and such, others hiding in holes in the pond’s wall and sleeping, or, at least, the fish version of sleeping. She then began to swim towards the waterfall, noticing the cave entrance from where she was. It was hard to keep her eyes open as the water started to burn her eyes. But she had to, so she could make sure where she was going. What bothered her most, though, wasn’t her eyes or having to hold her breath, it was more the fact she was basically swimming in a fish sewer, and they lived there.

‘Fish both defecate and urinate in their home, as they don’t have the brain capacity to do it in a specific place or time, so, they just do it when and wherever they are.’ Pinkie had learned this from a documentary on the ocean she had seen a few years ago. This fact disgusted her then, and it still disgusted her now.

Eventually, after what felt like hours of stinging eyes, burning lungs, and putrid feelings, Pinkie made it to the waterfall. After climbing into the cave, which was hard with the waterfall’s pressure weighing her down, she found rest.

The second she got into the cave, Pinkie took sharp breathes coughing her lungs out. She really hoped the waterfall’s roaring was louder than her coughing because if it wasn’t, then the wolves most definitely heard her. She drank some of the water from the waterfall, the fish from earlier making her thirsty.

Pinkie noticed the wolves arriving at the campfire, trying to sniff out her scent. She wasn’t worried, positive the water had washed her smell. Even if one did find her, there was no way they could follow her up here.

The wolf tracking her sniffed around the campfire while the alpha male was investigating the moss shelter. The third one was watching for other predators. Pinkie sat and watched as the wolves tried to find her, smiling triumphantly. Her smile faded, however, when something unexpected happened.

The wolves began to gather at the moss shelter, and they all went inside. They cuddled together and began to sleep, with the alpha male on top. This filled her with distraught. They weren’t just looking for food, they were looking for a place to sleep, and Pinkie provided them with one. Not only did this mean she had to stay in the waterfall all night, but that the wolves would now know of her shelter and might come back to sleep there while she’s asleep. This certainly wasn’t good news, but still, it was better than being eaten alive.

Pinkie decided she might as well explore the cave; she had nothing else to do since the wolves were now residing in her shelter for the night. The first thing she saw when she had turned around was darkness, lots of it. Which made sense, considering it was a cave; they tended to be dark. Though, since Pinkie had been out in the night, and she was pretty good at adjusting to things. She could see, not as well as in the daytime, but enough to make out large objects or anything she could get close to.

Pinkie was tired, but not tired enough to immediately go to sleep, not with all the fear adrenaline running through her veins, which would probably leave her exhausted when it’s gone. She decided, since this cave was such a great hiding place, had a clean water source, and she was able to see incoming predators without them seeing her, this would be her new, better shelter. While she did say she didn't like enclosed areas, this cave wasn't as surrounded as most. But, it would be stupid to make this cave her home when she hasn’t even explored it, even for her. She waited a few minutes for her eyes to adjust to the darkness better and began to explore.

As Pinkie was exploring the cave, making sure to watch out for bats or anything of the like, her thoughts began to put more fear into her than the wolves did. Not too long ago, she and her friends decided to watch a movie, then they all started voting in the genre. Fluttershy voted on an animal documentary; Rarity wanted to watch "The Notebook," which Pinkie had already seen tons of times. Twilight and Sunset wanted to watch one of the Star Trek movies. The genre that got the most votes, though, was horror. Rainbow, Applejack, and Pinkie voted on a scary movie.

After some bickering between the six of them, with Fluttershy just trying to hide behind her hair, not wanting to get into an argument, they finally got them to at least watch it. The horror movie they had agreed on was the one that was making Pinkie scared now, "The Descent." To sum it up, the film was about a group of girls who get lost and find an unmarked cave, and due to human curiosity, they explore it. What they did find in there were humans who had devolved into something primal and nocturnal. The creatures were cannibalistic, having eaten or killed all of the girls except for one. This would set up a sequel, but they didn’t watch that one, as the first one was horrifying enough.

But now that she was alone in a cave, the thoughts of those creatures emerging from the darkness frightened Pinkie. She was a Christian; that’s how she was raised. Though truthfully, her siblings helped raise her more than her mother did. She didn’t believe in evolution or any of that stuff, so she just assumed that whatever those creatures were, they couldn’t be human. She thought they were all blind, albino, hairless monkeys who bred together and made a whole bunch of their kind, and, for some reason, decided to live in the cave. Fluttershy said it was improbable but possible.

The idea of one of those things popping out of a nearby rock and attacking her in the dark made Pinkie much more terrified than a whole pack of wolves did. But, this was a cave behind a waterfall, not some unmarked cave in the woods. So, she laughed away her fear, thinking how funny it would be if her friends were here.

Rainbow Dash would have acted all confident and nonchalant, while Applejack would be trying to calm her down instead of waking any possible bats. Fluttershy would probably be hiding behind someone, afraid of the cave. Twilight and Sunset would probably be trying to find the solution to all of this, and Rarity would be throwing a fit because the waterfall messed up her makeup.

The thought of being with her friends again put away her fear, replacing it with confidence. She had to get through this so that she could make her fantasy a reality. She put the idea of cave creatures in the back of her mind and replaced it with the smiles of her friends. If she let the fear keep her from doing the things she needs to, then Pinkie would never get out alive.

She needed to see her friends, to let them know she was okay. She needed answers, why her father did this, and what happened to her sisters. But, most of all, she needed to live. Pinkie was too young; there were too many things she needed to do. With that notion in mind, she continued through the cave.

It wasn’t as deep as it looked, not even close. It was actually relatively small and wasn’t very cave-like. There was barely any water, other than the occasional dripping from the ceiling. And, as far as Pinkie could tell, there weren’t any bats or anything. Her eyes had further adjusted to the dark about as well as they were going to, but only to the point where she could see distant large objects and shapes more clearly.

She had seen many rocks and such on the ground, so Pinkie could vaguely tell when one was in the distance. This is why when she saw two objects on the floor at the end of the cave, she could tell by their size and placement that they weren’t rocks. Not just that, but there was a...stench, a rancid one that got stronger the closer she got to them. It wasn't one she recognized, so putrid her eyes watered and the feeling of near puking was returning.

She wasn’t sure what they are. They looked like sleeping bags hikers left behind. Whatever they were, they were either inanimate or dead, as they hadn’t seemed to move an inch.

“Hello? Anyone alive over there?”

Pinkie called out, trying to see if it might have been people who lived here and were sleeping. She hadn't seen any signs of that around the pond, but maybe that was on purpose? Pinkie hoped they weren’t corpses. Other than funerals, she never wanted to come anywhere near a dead body, let alone two. With a nervous gulp, Pinkie approached the motionless shapes.

Pinkie couldn’t make out a lot of details about either one of them. Both were turned away from her. She could make out long hair, possibly concluding them as female, though she couldn’t make out their colors. The hair looked dry and rigid too, easily the unhealthiest hair she'd ever seen. Both bodies were covered in dirt, muck, and other gross things, making it hard to tell their original hair color.

Dark as it was, Pinkie could vaguely tell what kind of clothes they were wearing. The one in front of her had a dark gray shirt. Pinkie wasn’t sure if that was its original color or if it had faded with time. It was also wearing long, dark blue jeans, which were covered in dirt and mud. The thing that stood out about it the most, though, was it was wearing a rainbow-colored bracelet on the arm that was resting on its right leg. Her sister, Inkie, was wearing a similar bracelet when she disappeared. 

Pinkie shook her head, thinking it was just a coincidence. Inkie wasn’t the only one to have a bracelet like that; it was possible this person just happened to have a similar bracelet. She diverted her attention from the body/person in front of her to the one lying to the left.

It laid similarly to the one opposite from its position. Its hair was longer, definitely making this one a girl. It was wearing a dark blue shirt, though, it might have been bright blue before, with a matching skirt.

After examining what they looked like, Pinkie needs to find out if they were alive. She slowly placed her fingers onto the neck of the body closest to her. No pulse. Frantically, she turned over the other body, placing her fingers on its neck. No pulse. She pulled away, unable to deny the fact facing her as her eyes watered. 

Both of these people were dead.

This wasn’t like the fish Pinkie had to kill for survival. These were people who had friends and family wondering where they were. Who were probably still in high school and had much of their life ahead of them. And, despite how much Pinkie wanted to avoid thinking about them, she probably knew them. Even if she didn't, they still reminded her what could happen to her.

Pinkie knew everyone in high school and a lot of people in and around the city. She seriously doubted her father took her that far away from the city. From what she knows about him, he doesn’t have that much patience. This could have been someone from her school who went camping or something and ended up getting lost in the woods. Though Pinkie didn’t like it, she knew it was possible. There was only one way to check.

She had to flip them over; it was the only way. The bodies were at the end of the cave, parts of the bodies were touching the wall. There was no other way. There were lots of reasons to find out who they were and see if she knew them. To find out who they were, so when she got out, she could tell the families and many other reasons. But, none of them could justify what she was about to do, no matter how good the reasons may have seemed.

She had to fully touch them. She hated the idea, but there were families out there who had missing children and needed closure. This could provide it for them. Pinkie put away the hesitation in her heart, thinking whoever the families of these two are, need closure more than her.

She slowly put her right hand on the body’s shoulder in front of her, doing the same with the other body with her left hand. The feeling of their cold, dead bodies sent shivers down her neck, but she ignored it. She was already traumatized by this harrowing experience. Pinkie might as well go further to help someone identify their missing daughter or son.

She closed her eyes and began to count, intent on flipping both the bodies simultaneously.

“One.”

Her grip on the bodies tightened as she filled up with confidence. Thinking of her friends, their encouraging smiles.

“T-two.”

Pinkie’s voice got shaky, a sudden thought crossing her mind. Sure, a family member going missing was terrible, but being told they’re dead was worse. If you know they're dead, then you know they're never coming back. You’re never going to hear their voice, see them smile, get to tell them how much you loved them, or any of that. But, if they're just missing, in her opinion, that was better.

If they were missing, then there was still hope. They could have amnesia and be living somewhere as someone else, they could just be lost somewhere, they could be held hostage, and the kidnappers were holding them for ransom somewhere. If they're just missing, then there’s always the chance they're going to show up one day on your doorstep. But, if instead, someone came to your doorstep telling you they were dead, that hope is gone.

“Three!”

Pinkie acted before thinking, despite the internal battle she was having with herself. Some part of her wanted answers wanted to know who these people were. Perhaps it was human nature to be curious in these kinds of situations.

After hearing the sounds of the bodies being turned over and quickly pulling back her hands, she slowly opened her eyes. The second her eyes had readjusted to the dark, and she saw who they were, pain shot through her chest.

A loud gasp escaped her throat, pushing herself away from the truth. Pinkie clasped her mouth, trying to hold back the sobs.

She found her missing sisters.

The clothes and some of their facials features made it obvious, though it was almost hard to tell. They had clearly been dead for a long time, decomposition having long set in. There was very little of them left, only patches of skin left showing the skeleton beneath, the teeth had already fallen out and the eyes gone, leaving holes where they used to be. 

Her sisters were both dead by her feet. Both victims to her father’s cruel test, dead for a reason she still didn't understand.

Pinkie felt numb, her body still pushed against the rock behind her. The cave’s warmth was lost to her, the water freezing to her touch. And yet, she couldn’t tear her eyes away from her sister’s lifeless bodies. Thrown into the forest, abandoned by their father, all for a reason they would never know. They didn’t deserve this; there was no reason they had to die.

They were just as innocent as Pinkie was. Limestone was much like Rainbow Dash. She was athletic, outgoing, confident. They probably would have been competitive rivals, but good friends. Marble was twice the violet shrink Fluttershy was! Anti-social, kind, and extremely shy, but a good person.

Both her sister did not deserve such a merciless fate! They had friends, hopes, dreams! And because of Igneous, none of that would ever come true.

Before Pinkie’s thoughts could fill her heart with rage, one of the bodies moved, or more specifically, Blinkie’s mouth. It had shifted a little, just barely. 

Pinkie was about to go forward until she saw why her jaws moved, all hope dying. A black rat came out of Blinkie’s mouth, slowly crawling out, and began to climb on other parts of her body. Pinkie was about to scream until she saw what exactly the rodent was doing.

The slight movement of the rat moving under Blinkie’s shirt caused it to fall to the cave floor, and what was under it made her eyes dilate to unimaginable levels. The rat wasn’t alone; it had a family, lots of them. Pinkie hadn’t seen any rats in the cave because they were living in their home. Or, more accurately, their food source. If Pinkie had to guess, something caused Inkie and Blinkie to try to use the cave as a shelter as Pinkie had, but they weren’t as lucky.

The rats had attacked them, and being the disease carriers, they were probably infected with something that they didn’t have the medicine to protect themselves from and killed them. Rats were extremely adaptable scavengers who use whatever they need to survive, whether horrible or the unimaginable. Since rats don’t particularly like water, they would choose any other option than to deal with it. And that’s precisely what they did.

They used Blinkie’s body for food and shelter. Inkie’s too. Rats were crawling out of her shirt, making it slip off and reveal a similar view as Blinkie’s, but not as bad. The rats had decided to eat through Blinkie and Inkie’s skin, leading to their organs and other internal body parts. They had been eating away at her, eating her organs, skin, muscle, anything they could find in there that was edible. Anything that was left wouldn’t go to waste. However, it seemed they liked their new homes, even if their was no food anymore.

This was more gore than Pinkie has ever seen in any movie, more than she’d ever want to see. Her mind shattered. Not only had she found out her sisters were killed by her father, but she had seen the exact gruesome way they had died. 

Pinkie began to chuckle, while slight tears started to fall down her face. Then, it escalated into full-blown laughter; tears rained down her cheeks like a waterfall. Her mind and sanity were shattered, going from an innocent person into a fractured mind, similar to that of a war veteran who’s seen things no one should have to. Except, her mind was much weaker and more innocent than any average person. fragmenting into shards like a broken window.

Her father sent her to the forest for reasons that couldn't be justified, leaving her to the cruelness of mother nature, having her take life to survive, and knowing she most likely will have to do it more. Seeing her siblings dead, and seeing the horrible way they died, and many other things that put pressure on her piled up in the back of her mind, waiting for the perfect moment to push, and it did.

Pinkie didn’t care if the rats noticed her. She didn’t care about anything at that moment. She was overcome with all the emotions she had pushed away, the same feelings that broke her. The immense grief for her siblings, the dread of all the things she’ll have to do to survive, the pure rage she felt for her father. But most of all, the depression Pinkie felt, knowing for the rest of her life, she’ll never be the same after this.

For a few minutes, she just sat there, laughing insanely as tears rained down her cheeks. Slowly, her laughter died down, as did her crying, until she sat there, blankly staring with lifeless eyes similar to her dead siblings.

They moved around inside the bodies, settled in for rest. For an unknown amount of time, Pinkie sat with her back against a rock, staring with lifeless eyes at her siblings. There wasn’t a single noise in the cave, from the rats or Pinkie. After hours of sitting there, she got up and walked out of the cave, not caring about anything anymore.

She ignored everything, her feeling of grief, her anguish, everything. She focused on one thing, one emotion that kept her moving forward, the one feeling that gave her reason to live: rage. Rage for her father, rage against the world for letting such innocent people die in such a painful way. A fury that no one, not even her friends, could hold back. She was going to kill him. No, she was going to murder him.

From the day she was born, she was taught that killing was wrong, that no one but God should decide when someone should die. But this, this wasn’t right! He killed her sisters, probably tons of others, and tried to do the same to her! At that moment, Pinkie remembered a saying; she couldn’t remember where she heard it but recognized how much it fits this situation.

No one deserves to die, but some people don’t deserve to live.

Pinkie made a promise to herself, a promise made on the spilled blood of her sisters. She was going to kill him; she didn’t care if God put her in hell for all of eternity, if there was a God. What kind of benevolent, all-powerful, all-knowing deity would let something so horrible happen to people who didn’t deserve it? Even after Pinkie had left the cave, the water making her hair straight, her hair never went curly again, neither did she want it to.

Pinkie noticed when she walked on the land, she had been in there longer than she thought. It had been morning, sometime around six. She looked forward, looking for the wolves, which she found sleeping in the different place she had left them. Apparently, they left the moss shelter and slept in the open, in a similar dog pile that they were in before. She slowly walked toward the wolves, being quieter than when she was trying to catch the fish.

When she got right beside them, looking at their faces as they slept, she felt rage. Not as potent as the rage for her father, and not nearly to the same extent, but rage. THEY had made her find them! THEY had forced her to leave her home, causing her to stumble upon the horrible sight of her siblings. She picked up a large rock to her left and raised it over her head, hatred blinding her every thought.

She slammed the rock onto the head of the closest wolf, smashing its skull and brains, killing it nearly instantly, bringing a smile of satisfaction to her face. Then, the other two wolves began to wake up, noticing their dead packmate. Pinkie didn’t want to give them the chance to attack her, so she tried to slam the boulder on the other wolf’s head, but it quickly moved away. Luckily, it wasn’t fast enough. The rock hit against its paw, making it impossible to proceed with most of its right leg trapped under the rock. Then, suddenly, the Alpha wolf, noticing what's happening, pounced on their attacker.

Pinkie, still crouched over from her recent attack, wasn't expecting the attack and was on the ground in seconds. The Alpha wasn’t just more prominent than her. It was strong. Pinkie was trying her hardest just not to get hurt; the Alpha was clawing back and forth. The only thing keeping the wolf at bay was her hands, pushing against it as best she could.

With its paws being pushed back, it tried to bite her, snapping its jaws down at her, while Pinkie was trying to avoid her face getting bitten off. Saliva is going everywhere with every snap, mostly on her face. Slowly, her strength was leaving her, making her regret no longer working out. She knew, eventually, she was going to die.

This wasn’t some fight in school that the teachers would break up. This was a life or death battle against an experienced killer. Whereas Pinkie, other than the fish, has never taken a life. This was bad; she was outmatched, her opponent had the advantage of strength and experience.

She was going to die here, is what the old her would have said. But the new Pinkie, the less innocent, more rage-filled Pinkie, wouldn’t accept that. After everything, the things she had to do, the things she saw changed her. She had to live, not for her friends or her human needs for self-preservation, but for her revenge. That’s what made her different than the rest of its prey, they tried to survive to live, but she’s trying to survive for death.

Pinkie put all of her strength into her right hand, flipping the wolf over with her on top. Before the wolf had the chance to counter, she began to beat it hard. Punch after punch on the wolf’s face, slowly turning its growls into whimpers. All the while, Pinkie imagined her father in the wolf’s place. The thought of him broken, battered, bleeding, and screaming brought an insanely wide smile to her face. She keeps going, even after it was dead, not wanting to lose the feeling she was getting from this new experience, a sense of… bliss.

But, like all good things, it had to end. Though, Pinkie didn’t stop herself. While she was beating the long-dead dog, she was bounced from the back. It was the dog Pinkie had trapped, which confused her. She looked over to the boulder, thinking it had somehow pushed the boulder or pulled it’s paw out or something, but neither of these was the case.

That saying, ‘A wolf will bite off its own paw if it means survival.’ Was much more true than she had thought. The wolf had bitten of its crushed paw to survive or save its alpha; there was no real way to tell. Pinkie knew this because she could still see the wolf’s paw, a pool of blood coming from under the boulder—a trail leading straight to her, with blood on the wolf's teeth. The wolf was at a disadvantage.

Snarling, the wolf strikes back. Pinkie used her left hand to keep its left paw away from her, and her right hand was trying to push the wolf off. The howling beast snapped its jaws from its right, nearly catching Pinkie off guard. Her head flung away from its snout, grazing her neck to draw blood.

This enraged her; she didn’t want a pathetic creature like this harming her or anyone. Pinkie always had high confidence and self-esteem, even after her mental transformation. This encounter with death changed her in a lot of ways, physically was just one of them. Now, if she survived everything and killed her father, she was going to change the way she lived.

She was going to take more chances, live life more dangerously. But first, she had to get through this before she got the opportunity to do anything else.

Pinkie’s smile slowly contorted to an angrier looking grin. She rammed both of her knees up as fast as she could, slamming the wolf’s stomach, throwing it over. The beaten canine landed on its back, panting, wheezing in exhaustion, struggling to stand. This was Pinkie’s chance.

“Not so tough now, are you!?”

Pinkie spat with a mixture of sarcasm and disappointment in her voice, basking in her temporary triumph to forget the despair that would plaque her for the rest of her life. If she was going to take on her father, she needed to be prepared. She wanted whatever challenge nature sent to her, no matter the risk. If she couldn’t handle a couple of mutts, she couldn’t dream of killing him.

“Such experienced hunters, nearly killed by a teenage girl! You’ve gotta be kidding me. If dad thinks this will do me in, he’s got another thing coming! I’ll show him! I’ll kill him!”

Rage and bloodlust consumed her old personality. That night, Pinkie was no longer the joyful, outgoing, caring person people came to love. Instead, in her place was a violent, sadistic, bloodthirsty soul, ready to share her scorn with the world—a shattered youth, in her deranged state, settled on her birthname: Pinkamena.

“Come on, you filthy dog! Attack me! Only one of us is making it home alive!”

The wolf stood on whatever paws it still had. It started to growl at her, trying to be as intimidating as it could. It made its move, rushing at her, ignoring the pain in its chest and paw. Though, it was pathetic compared to what it was before, making it extremely easy to avoid. Pinkamena simply sidestepped quickly, making the wolf smash into the ground. She kicked it in the chest, really breaking a few ribs this time.

She played with it for a little while, putting pressure on the place where its paw should be, kicking her a few more times in the chest until the wolf didn’t have anything left to give. Pinkamena decided this was no longer fun, figuring she’d just kill the thing, eat its flesh, and sleep.

Eventually, she found the branch she had thrown when she was gathering her moss home. Before, this branch was quite sharp and wasn’t big enough to be used in the campfire, tossing it aside. But now, it had a reason to be used. 

Pinkamena glared back at the wolf, the whimpering creature trying to crawl away. It was just a few inches from where she left it, unable to get very far. Pinkamena put her foot on her neck, not enough to stop it’s breathing, but enough to prevent it from moving. Pinkamena raised the branch over its head, as whatever scrap of her consciousness begged her to stop. Then, like an executioner’s guillotine, Pinkamena slammed the branch down into the wolf’s head, instantly killing it.

And, along with the animal, the last of her innocence died with it.

Pinkamena slumped to her knees, her smile spreading as far as it could, and she let out a deranged cackle. No tears were pouring down her cheeks this time. Just pure, unhinged laughter. The sunlight had wholly faded, leaving only cold bitterness. The only thing that mattered to her now was getting through this, finding her father and taking his head. Focusing on the rage for as long as she could, it was the only thing that distracted her from the emptiness carved into her.

For one month, she lived in those woods. Killing predators and prey alike, out of either necessity or just wanting to. She ate everything she killed; whether Pinkamena was hungry or not, she hated being wasteful. Whatever time she wasn’t spending killing animals, she would exercise. She needed to be stronger. She had to be to survive in the woods.

And strong she was, pushing herself as much as she could before being exhausted daily. She had abs, a superficial six-pack, and muscles. Pinkamena felt she was ready by the time the month ended for whatever her father threw at her. Just like Igneous said, a helicopter dropped down after a month at the clearing where he had left her. To her disappointment, there was no sign of her father on board.

Then, without warning, tall men in suits, similar to the ones she saw with her dad, came out of the helicopter. Pinkamena tried to fight back, but they had tasers and numbers. While it’s true, she was strong; she’s only ever fought animals. When they finally got her down, one of them injected her with a syringe, similar to the one her father gave her.

She felt the effects immediately. Passing out into the arms of the bodyguard in front of her. They took her back to the helicopter and flew off. While unconscious, the poor girl had no idea that her test was far from over. And no amount of survival and killer instinct could prepare her for what happens next.
> Bonus Chapter.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After she was subdued and taken back to the main base, Pinkamena was given immediate treatment from the best doctors and nurses they had; Igneous made sure of that. Any injuries she had were cleaned out, stitched up, and left to heal. Though that was kind of pointless considering the kind of monster she'd be left in the care of soon. 

When the medical team’s head doctor reported to Igneous that treatment was complete and they did all they could, he dismissed them and went to his office. There was much he had to think over: Pinkamena had already proven what she was capable on her own, but there was more she needed to learn than simple survival skills. She needed to prove how much she could take. She needed to prove her endurance.

His office was a small one, the door a well-crafted mahogany wood, with many carvings of various signs. Swirls were around the corners, lines going down the edges, and a circle around the knob. Igneous didn’t request this; he was a more straightforward and classic person. The door had belonged to the previous leader, who ordered it to be crafted like that. It wasn't his taste, but he didn't think it was an eyesore either.


Upon opening the door, he looked around his office, a desk presented in the middle. Made of the same kind of wood as the door, but without the signs of age. On one side, a laptop, pencil case, and lamp stood over the surface for business purposes.

And on the opposite side was a simple picture frame. It was a family photo, taken two years prior, though Inkie and Binkie’s faces were crossed out with red marks. Igneous didn’t bother with a funeral as it would raise too many questions, not that he cared enough for them to consider one.

Behind the desk were three drawers on each side. They were made to hold papers and documents and other various things. The chair behind the desk was also wood, except it was made of oak instead of mahogany. It was painted black; Igneous's favorite color. To the left of the room was a bookshelf that took the entire wall. Covered top to bottom with books.

Some of the books were about myths; others were personal journals by the previous leaders of The Syndicate. He couldn’t make proper time to read all the books and personal journals. On the right side of the room were three rows of televisions. When you live a life such as this, trust issues were guaranteed. So, he decided to have cameras in every single room at headquarters, even the bathrooms.

The cameras were well placed as no one, not even Igneous, knew their exact location. The people that installed them made sure the entire room was in view. Each camera has two pairs of batteries in them and a battery charger. So while one is being used, the other is charging. When the pair that is being used runs low, they switch out. Basically, the cameras are almost always on, except when the batteries switch out. But, the time in between that switch is roughly three seconds. No one could get through a room that quick.

But he wasn’t focused on the screens, or the books, or anything really. No, he had more pressing matters. Igneous walked over to his desk and sat down, putting the laptop into one of the drawers. He opened one, pulling out a file with nothing on it. But he knew of its contents as each file had a unique mark Igneous had imprinted to know which file was which. This particular file had the top right corner slightly bent, anyone trying to steal it would think it was just a regular file, but he knew better.

Recently, a problem had arisen in the Syndicate. It had started with a criminal named Jason Tunes being shot while robbing a store. Tunes robbed convenience stores weekly, killing anyone who didn’t cooperate with his demands. The Syndicate did nothing to stop him, as criminals not allied with them were considered neutral.

This case was widely known, both by the police force and citizens. But Jason was smart enough to conceal his identity with masks and gloves, always having a new weapon for each robbery. Tunes made finding evidence against him all the more daunting. Still, investigators and locals suspected him and tried interrogating Jason, but not much could be done without proof.

But that all changed as one day, Tunes got shot during his weekly raid. No one in the store had a gun on them, not the cashier nor the customers. No one even seemed to have heard the gunfire. The only indication Jason Tunes was shot was the bullet hole between his eyes. The bullet had been found on the other side of the store, apparently going straight through his skull.

A sniper was the only logical suspect, explaining the lack of sound. What was strange about it, though, was the bullet itself. It was taken back to forensics, but they didn’t come up with anything. Apparently, the shell didn’t belong to any sniper rifle; it wasn’t even shaped like any kind of bullet a sniper would use. And it only got stranger when they couldn’t find any gunpowder residue. If it weren't for the range, there would have been nothing indicating it was even a sniper that took the shot.

The most common theory about who shot Tunes was that one of the police officers investigating him had truly believed it was him. But frustrated that due to not having enough evidence, they weren’t able to arrest him. So, the officer had decided to take matters into their own hands. They had taken a sniper rifle from the police station and followed Jason Tunes until he was caught redhanded. And the bullet was strange because the officer had bought it from somewhere else, as a way to not be found out.

Many believed this theory. It got to the point where the police began a thorough investigation, and what they found debunked the theory. Every officer who had believed Jason to be the suspect had been accounted for at the shooting time. All sniper rifles had been found and checked, and none had any signs of recent use. They even went as far as to check every officer's recent purchase history, and while some things did raise questions, none were out of the country purchases.

This case would have been forgotten, falling into the rest of the many cold cases if it hadn’t continued. Criminal after criminal had been killed in the same way, no gunshot, an untraceable bullet, and no suspects. Whoever had been doing this was killing criminals daily, rarely having any connections to each other. After the fifth one, the NYPD had opened a case into it, calling it ‘The Silent Killer’ case, that’s what the mysterious sniper was nicknamed.

The Silent Killer was good at more than just sniping; they were good at staying hidden too. The cops had checked every building around the areas the criminals were shot at, even checking ones that were beyond range. But, no trace was found suggesting that anyone had shot from the buildings, and none of the residents heard any gunshots. Either this person was ex-military or taught exceptionally well.

This case had started a month ago and was continuing to this day. Originally, Igneous nor the rest of the Syndicate wanted to get involved with this case. Whenever someone in the Syndicate committed a crime, it was always organized and planned out beforehand. The offense is often committed near flawlessly; no one is caught or even suspected. But on those infrequent occasions, where one or more of them is detected, it’s considered a failure to the entire Syndicate—a hit to their reputation.

But, everyone there is well disciplined and doesn’t say anything. The only real bad thing out of failing is losing a few members; no information is given. Sadly though, the Syndicate wasn’t the only significant organization in New York. They were definitely the biggest, but others weren’t threats. In fact, the reason they were now on this case was their main competitor, The Apple family.

What started off as one of their old relatives committing crimes evolved into something else. They became one of the most prominent organizations out there, and they weren’t happy. As The Syndicate would label them, some ‘Apples’ were killed for crimes that often got in the way of the Syndicate’s plans. The current head of the family was Applejack.

It made sense; the Silent Killer was effective and untraceable, something the Syndicate specialized in. And the Syndicate was impressed. Whoever this sniper was, they wanted them, but not badly enough to risk war. It took a lot of convincing and nearly some bloodshed, but Igneous managed to convince her it wasn’t them. But that didn’t make her any less angry. In fact, it seemed to make her even more furious. She wanted to kill whoever it was that killed her family, and now that she didn’t have a suspect, it infuriated her.

Applejack wanted a target, someone to put all the blame on, The Syndicate specifically. Applejack said that if she didn’t find out who the Silent Killer was, she’d assume it was them and declare war. Usually, Igneous would have killed her right then and there for making such a claim. But, that would have assured action, and he couldn’t have that. Yes, they would win, but not without casualties. But Igneous also couldn’t go fight for a different reason; Pinkamena.

He didn’t want to take any risk while still in the middle of her test, especially if she managed to pass. The risk of him dying and her failing would make Maud next in line. And if that happened, the Syndicate would collapse in on itself. Igneous couldn’t have that; there was too much at stake. So, he accepted her deal and began to look into the case.

For the last two weeks, while Pinkamena was still in phase one, he gathered essential information. Criminals, ex-military, possible sniper rifles, the killing schedule, anything connected to the case was in this folder. Slowly, he opened it, mentally preparing himself for the countless headaches he’d have to endure.

The moment the pages parted, the head doctor he had dismissed earlier ran into his room. Immediately, Igneous shut the folder and put it back in the drawer, not wanting to risk anyone knowing what he’s working on. Igneous was about to cave the doctor’s head in for rudely barging in, but the look on his face halted any action. 

The head doctor was a white male in his mid-thirties. His name was Melvin Haines. He had short brown hair, which was flat and spiked forward. Like most doctors, he wore clear white glasses. He had a pointy nose under them, which is why he usually didn’t have to push them back up. He always wore a black shirt with matching jeans, with the signature lab coat most doctors wear. His face was scrunched up, with his eyebrows both curved down at the spot in between them. His eyes were wide with shock and worry; panic was written all over his face. Igneous would allow this intrusion, as there was obviously an important reason for it.

“What is it, Melvin?” Igneous asked calmly, laying his elbows on the desk, hands intertwined. Before speaking, the doctor quickly shut the door behind him, not wanting to alert anyone. As soon as he did, he looked at Igneous, swallowing the lump in his throat.

“I-it’s your daughter, sir. P-Pinkamena’s is waking up!”

Igneous's calm demeanor fell for a second as shock filled his eyes before recomposing his visage. “Well, that’s surprising. The drug that I injected into her was supposed to keep her knocked out for several hours. It’s only been four, how is it she’s waking up now?”

Was it possible she built up an immunity to the narcotic? Unlikely for someone out on their own for a month. Whatever the reason, Igneous didn’t have time to ponder. If she woke up and tried to break free, then they’d have to subdue her.

“Well, inject her with more! She needs to stay asleep until phase two can commence.”

The doctor stared at him in astonishment. Both knew the consequences of using a higher dosage.

“But if I do that, she might-

“Just. Do it!” Igneous ordered firmly. He didn’t need to raise his voice to let the doctor know how furious he was. Yes, the drug was adequate, but it had a catch. If the narcotic is used on the same person twice within twenty hours, it’ll increase the nervous system, making the patient far more receptive to pleasure and pain. A pinch would feel like someone was stabbing you with a butter knife. A spider bite would feel like a bunch of maggots digging into your skin.

With enough dosage, a person would be driven insane if the side-effects didn’t kill them. Though it does make it feel worse, the injury itself was just exaggerated. Melvin was about to protest until letting it go under Igneous’s hardening glare. This was a non-negotiable decision.

With a nod, he walked out to carry his task. Alone again, Igneous opened the drawer and pulled out the folder, resuming to read the contents inside. As he opened the folder and began reading, he had a massive smile on his face. The same grin he gave Pinkamena before he left. Smiling over his own realization.

Igneous had not only made phase two ten times harder for his daughter, but it was guaranteed she’d be broken by the end of it. The effects may only last five hours after waking up, but it would be the most excruciating five hours of her life. This wouldn’t be a test of endurance; this would make her skyrocket through them. It’s good that sanity wasn’t a requirement. Because by the end of her trial, Pinkamena would be labeled clinically unhinged.
> Chapter Two: Pain.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You sure about this, Igneous?” A man with a heavy accent asked near the doorway of the office. “I mean, don’t get me wrong; Your daughter’s crazy hot, and I have no problem roughin’ her up a bit. But to do it while she’s under the effect of Zania? No telling how mental she’ll be.”

Blake was the main ‘interrogator’ of the Syndicate. He was of average size, somewhere around five foot ten, had short, spiky, bleach blonde hair, obviously dyed that way. He had dark blue eyes and a pointy nose, which made him strangely alluring. Other than that, his features were reasonably typical. He wore a leather jacket with a black shirt underneath, wearing black pants with chains around the pockets, along with matching black shoes and a golden skull necklace around his neck. Unless someone were to pay close attention to his hands, it would go unnoticeable. But, he had a pain tattoo on the knuckles of his left hand, with a gain tattoo on his right. He was also somewhat built, noticeable by the cut sleeves on his leather jacket, revealing his muscles and the many tattoos on them. He had skulls, dragons, demons, and many other numerous things on his arms. Whether there were stories behind them, or he just got them because he thought they looked cool, were something only he knew. 

“Oh, believe me, I’m sure,” Igneous responded without a hint of remorse. “I want Pinkamena to go through all this. After all, no sane leader has ever led for long. Considering the circumstances, we wouldn’t really have a choice. The real question here, though, is, are you ready? You will be torturing her every day for a month. That could be quite taxing, even for you. And I know how you like to use a different method every time. But you’d have to come up with at least thirty. Are you sure you’re ready for this?”

The older looked over the younger, hoping he wasn’t making a mistake. Igneous had called him here about an hour before Pinkamena would wake up. He wanted to make sure he had been adequately informed of the job. Blake sat across from Igneous’ desk, keeping that smug smile on his face almost like it was stuck that way. This was the type of person Igneous wanted. The kind who could smile despite the situation. It meant they took no problem seriously and were never afraid.

“Am I ready? You serious, mate?” he scoffed. “This will be my biggest score yet! I’m going to love having her to myself for a month. There are so many things I can’t wait to show her! So believe me when I say I’m ecstatic to torture her! The only question is, how far am I allowed to go?”

There was enthusiasm in his voice, his smile and eyes showing just how excited he is. His eagerness similarly made Igneous smile.

“As far as I’m concerned, you’re free to implement any punishment you like. Break her, rape her, cut her, mentally get under her skin. As long as you don’t do anything that’ll kill or inseminate her, it’s all fair game. Just ask for it, and any tools you want will be given to you. You will, of course, be paid handsomely, but I doubt that’s why you’re here.”

Igneous instructed this with his usual calm demeanor, But his eyes betrayed the excitement he rarely felt. Blake nearly jumped out of his chair, laughing out with ecstasy. Never in his life did he look forward to a month like this.

“Great! When do I start!?”

“In about an hour,” Igneous reminded him. “Just go to the room, get the tools you need, and wait. Pinkamena will be brought to you in about ten minutes before she wakes up. She was given a small dosage, so the side effects will very much still be active. The only thing I ask is for you to wear your mask. It adds a certain element of horror. Unless you want her to recognize and be traumatized by your face. It’s only a suggest--”

Before he could even finish his sentence, Blake ran out of the room, unable to sit still anymore. Igneous collected himself, understanding the excitement all too well. Honestly, he knew the room was soundproof, but he was hoping he could hear the screams. The thought of all the things that were going to do in there almost made him wanna join. Except for the rape, of course. When Pinkamena wakes up, a very…interesting month will happen, and Igneous couldn’t wait to see the results.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________



Pinkamena slowly began to wake up, the sedatives finally starting to wear off. The first thing she noticed was where she was and just how bad it looked. A wall, checkered black and brown, surrounded her. To her right was a table. It was like one of the ones at the hospital. Small and silver, with wheels on the bottom, so that it can move around. Instead of medicine or other medical stuff, the top of it was covered with various tools. This slightly scared her, she was sure most of those tools had no purpose other than to inflict harm on others, and she was probably that other.

She couldn’t see what was on her left, but from what she could tell so far, she probably wouldn’t want to. Then again, the room was very dark; she might not even be able to see that far anyway. The only source of light was a lamp on the ceiling, dim, at best.

Pinkamena tried to move but found she couldn’t. She looked at her hand to see what was stopping her, and it seemed to be shackles. She appeared to be on a vertical metal table, which she only recently noticed how cold it was. Pinkamena wondered why it felt so cold. While her clothes were cut up and ripped, they would still protect her somewhat. She looked down at herself to see what was wrong and was almost immediately filled with embarrassment and fear. Her clothes were gone! She was completely naked!


Her breasts were exposed, pink nipples erect, womanhood bare for anyone who walked in. But, that wasn’t the most noticeable part of her body; it was her scars. Pinkamena’s body was covered in scars and wounds that weren’t there before. All of them came from her time in the wilderness and her many encounters with its inhabitants. She had scratches, bite marks, bruises, cuts, and many other various injuries, some still healing. Whoever stripped her didn’t even give her that much. Her face went incredibly red with embarrassment and anger.

She began to violently shake, hoping to get somehow loose and get some clothes. But the shackles proved too strong; she wasn’t getting out anytime soon. Still, she kept thrashing about, not because Pinkamena thought she could free herself, but because she didn’t want to sit still. She had to try.

“Whoa there, love! The party hasn’t started yet, and you’re tryin’ to wiggle your way out?” A cold voice came from behind, startling her to cease her movements. “If you want, I’ll give you a reason to really squirm, hehe~.”

Pinkamena lifted her head back, gasping as a figure stood over her. He seemed to be her height, maybe a little shorter. He was hard to see, wearing all black and nearly blended into the surrounding darkness. Except for his face, he was wearing a mask, a skull mask, the kind a bunch of kids would wear Halloween. This mask had aged like he had been worn out from years of use. The white was faded and even gone in some parts, but it still very much covered his face. The mask covered his entire head; she couldn’t even see his hair. But she felt his eyes looking her up and down; he was checking her out, much to her dismay.

“Y’know, for only being so young, you got the body of a model,” He complimented mockingly, his fingers trailing down her side, causing her to tense up from the contact. “Ya got perky tits, though not too big, a slim stomach and some very lovely hips. A shame that I’ll have to cut you up in a few spots.”

“S-Shut up, fuckface!” Pinkamena growled, thrashing her bound body in an attempt to get out of his grasp. “Don’t f-fucking touch me! Slimball like you have to resort to this shit because you’re too pussy to approach a girl properly!!” The enragement overcame her flustered state. People like him didn’t deserve to see her embarrassed. 

“Oh ho! Quite the month on you,” he crowed. “Should have expected that given ya been in a forest for so long. The experience surely damaged you, made you more... Vulgar. I like that; it makes it more fun when I put that filthy mouth to good use!”

He was no longer looking at her body;  but into her eyes. While still angry and spiteful, he could see just how different she was. During Pinkamena’s time in the woods, Blake had decided to look into her. He watched a couple of videos on her, asked about her friends, claiming to be a cop, and looked into her record. She was the very definition of a high school sweetheart. All her friends liked and missed her, saying just how much of a great person she was. But even if she was a sweet piece of ass, Blake wasn’t a fan of the idiotic, bouncy, cheerful personality attached. Just wasn’t his type.

But the person beneath him was completely different.

Pinkamena was strong, ruthless, didn’t hesitate to kill, didn’t hold anything back. She was almost the exact opposite of what she used to be, and he loved it. Not only that, she looked much more appealing this way. Blake could see how subtly toned, and curvaceous her body was, despite the many scars and wounds on her body, though in his opinion, that made her all the more attractive, ridiculously well built. But, his favorite change about her wasn’t anything about her body; it was her eyes. They were dark, full of passionate hate, and they were beautiful. This girl was perfect, and he hadn’t even started on her yet.

“Y’know, I have never been more excited to torture someone more than you. And believe me, I’ve tortured lots of people!”

The way her expression shifted for a moment, showing a twinge of fear behind that angry scowl—God, how he loved it.

“Your daddy wants me to make sure you’re properly prepared, love. And to do that, we need to see if I can break you down. Whether you’re brainwashed or broken by the end doesn’t matter much to me. I’m just happy to have a playmate for myself for the next four or so weeks!”

The giddiness in his voice rightfully disturbed her, but upon knowing who was responsible for her impending doom only rose her anger to new heights.

“So that piece of shit doesn’t even have the balls to come down here and torture his own daughter!? What a pussy!!” Pinkamena spat. “Rotten bastard!! Get him down here! If I’m going to suffer, I WANT HIM TO WATCH, SO HE KNOWS HOW MUCH I DESPISE HIM! GET HIM DOWN HERE! NOW!!”

Pinkamena resumed struggling against her shackled, much harder than before. This intrigued Blake; he didn’t think he would find her trigger so easily. He could use this, but first, he has to show just who’s in control here. He walked over to the area right in front of her, grabbing her attention and making her stop squirming; she was still very much enraged.

“I see ya got some daddy issues, huh? Wanna talk about it? We’re going to be spending a lot of time together. Might as well let it out.”

“FUCK YOU!”

Pinkamena spit in his mask, trying to get into the eye sockets, but he simply just wiped it off with his gloves, not even slightly bothered.

“Oh, I will. Don’t you worry about that,” Blake chuckled. “It doesn’t matter, really. I read up on you; It’s not that hard to understand why you hate him so much. Not my place, though, as that’s not why I’m here.”

Blake turned to his right, fidgeting with some of the tools on the table. Pinkamena couldn’t see what he was getting, but she really wasn’t liking the sounds. Then, he turned around, holding something in his hands. It looked like a mouthpiece, but it was bigger and wooden. It also seemed to have a part on the front of it, almost perfectly matching her mouth.

“Now, I looked multiple times through your dental records and carved this just for you. You should feel special; I don’t do this for most of my victims. Only the ones who I know are going to be in excruciating pain.”

Before Pinkamena could reply, he took the few seconds her mouth was open to put it in. It tasted like a piece of wood, bland and nearly tasteless. Somehow, it fit perfectly with her teeth. It felt reasonably comfortable. However, she wasn’t able to talk, just bite. Dread returned as the reality of her situation settled in. Whatever he had planned, it was going to hurt—a lot.

“I do love your fighting spirit. Sadly, though, I’m going to have to take that out of you. Here’s hoping you’ll be broken in soon. One month is a terribly long time to relentlessly condition your mind to obey our ways. So… enough chit chat. Let’s see how long you’ll last!”

Strangely, instead of taking one of the various tools on the table, he pulled a sewing needle from one of his pockets. This greatly confused Pinkamena. It didn’t make any sense to use a needle on her. Unless he had some specific intention for it, like sticking it in her nose or stabbing her eyes, she earnestly hoped she was wrong. Then, without warning, he cut across her stomach. The pain was immense. Her stomach burned and hurt like no cut she’s ever gotten before. It felt sharper than any knife or fork; she nearly cried at the immense pain. Her body was screaming at her brain, telling her that her body was severely damaged and that she needed to stop the pain from continuing, but she couldn’t. The pain was so quick and excruciating that she bit down on the wood piece on her mouth almost instantly. She immediately regretted it. The wood was hard, hurting her teeth when she bit down on it so quickly and with so much pressure.

She’s bitten down on hard things before, mostly candy, and it’s never hurt this much. Her teeth felt like there were a bunch of miniature hammers banging against them at once, and it got worse every second. She looked down at her stomach, expecting she would see a deep gash on it and a pool of blood under her. However, to her surprise, there was almost nothing. The only indication that she had been injured at all was a bright, red scratch mark cutting across her stomach, not even deep enough to draw blood. Despite the fact that the pain was fading, it was still immense, confusing her more by the second, and it showed on her face. After ten minutes of just standing there and taking in her discomfort and confusion, he decided to speak.

“Hmm, not as arousing when you don’t know why things hurt so badly. You must be so confused about your body, so let me explain. Basically, the drug we used to knock you out, while effective, has risks. If the drug is used on the same person twice within twenty-four hours, the nervous system goes into hyperdrive, increasing your sensitivity to both pleasure and pain. It lasts for about six hours, which isn’t very long. But, don’t worry; I fully intend to make it the longest six hours of your life!”

Pinkamena could tell he was smiling smugly under that mask. Her face, though, had paled. She could feel the drug overwhelming her senses, the cold of the table now burning against her skin. Whatever fear she tried to hide was now as open and exposed as her youthful body. Pinkamena resumed her struggling, tears threatening to pour from her eyes. She wouldn’t cry; he would want that.

“That’s it, girl. Keep up the good fight! This is gonna be an extraordinary situation!” Blake stated excitedly. “I’ve never experienced it for myself, but I’ve heard stories. It’s said to drive people insane, pain far beyond what the human body could handle. Almost as if the threshold never existed while under the influence and torment. I’ll have to give it a  shot one of these days! But this ain’t about me right now. I’m far more curious about what your mentality will be like when the drug wears off!”

Without warning, Blake lunged forward. This time, instead of just cutting her once, he did it multiple times. He cut wildly with the sewing needle, with no specific pattern or area. Just swiping randomly, like an artist with a paintbrush, and she was the canvas. The pain was indescribable, burning and cutting all over her entire body. Pinkamena was unable to focus on anything else. She was trying her hardest to endure it; she wouldn’t cry. Her long nails digging into the palms of her hands, cutting so deep blood began to roll down her hands, slowly but surely. She was biting much harder into the wooden mouthpiece, making her teeth ache in pain. She didn’t care; it was nothing compared to the pain on her body. After finishing his assault, Blake slowly stepped back, admiring his artwork. All over her body scratched, some deeper than others. But, not all of the scratches were on an exact part. Some of the scratches hit her scars, reopening some of them, causing her to bleed and cry in pain. Blood was all over her body, not because the cuts were deep, but because there were so many. At least she was warm now.

“Bloody brilliant! What an exquisite face! That’s a face similar to when I would maim someone, yet your injuries are so minuscule! It is amazing just how sensitive you are!”


Blake exclaimed all this with laughter, still holding the now bloody needle in his right hand, and she hated it. Pinkamena was livid. She jolted forward, making him jump back in surprise, dropping the needle in his hand. Despite all the pain, all the cuts over her body, she ignored all of it. She didn’t care; she only focused on one thing, him. Still, she couldn’t free herself from the shackles, being unable to do anything but look at her tormentor. Blake took a moment to collect himself before chuckling. “You must be in so much agony, yet you continue to fight! You’re a real piece of work, love, I’ll give you that. But the fun is just beginning.” Blake leaned over Pinkamena, the troubled girl able to see his gaze through the sockets. This wasn’t like the stare before though, he wasn’t leering at her body. No, it was like he was looking at an animal at a zoo, intrigued and curious.

Without warning, he moved his hands above her, towards the shackles. Then, Pinkamena heard a metal sound, and she felt the bonds get a lot tighter. She couldn’t even move her hands now; they were actually so tight, she was slowly losing feeling in them. Then, he crouched down and did the same thing with the shackles on her ankles, giving them a similar sense. Pinkamena was utterly restrained. The only parts of her body she could move were her stomach and her head, and she couldn’t move her head very far, like the way she was positioned prevented her from doing that. Blake stood up again, looking her in the eyes.

“There we go, good and tight! Gotta hand it to you, girly. I didn’t think you’d keep resisting this long, considering the intense amount of pain you’re going through. It’s beautiful, really. You’re beautiful.”

Pinkamena said nothing. Even if the mouthpiece wasn’t there, she had no words for him. All she wanted to do was struggle until she could break out of her shackles and kill him. But she was slowly losing more and more feeling in her limbs. barely able to even wiggle her toes or fingers now, all she could do was glare back at him intensely.

“Such fire in your eyes,” Blake continued to compliment, taking off his gloves to stroke her cheek. She tensed, feeling those big, pale hands trace along her jawline. “So hot and welcoming, wanting to hurt me. The feeling’s mutual, love. I want to hurt you too...”

Her eyes expanded as he trailed his fingers down her neck, along her collar bone, just a few inches away from her breasts. Pinkamena began to sweat profusely, understanding where he was going with this. A muffled sound came as he clasped her right mound in his palm, squeezing roughly.

“Y’know, I bet a lot of boys at your school would kill for a chance like this. A whole month to do whatever I want to this nice, soft body. Fuck… The more I think about it, the harder it is to hold back~!”

Blake walked around her, his other hand groping her left boob, causing Pinkamena to wriggle uselessly, unwanted pleasure and pain burning through her chest. While she had lost all feeling in her hands and feet, the rest of her body felt on fire. Her back and legs stinging from the cold steel while her body arched uncontrollably under the touch of her masked torturer. Hot tears streamed down her cheeks, unable to stop her crying. Before the drugs had subsided, she would be violated in every sense of the word. Six hours of unimaginable pain awaited Pinkamena, the rest of the month to experience worse.

After fondling the girl’s perky breasts, Blake slid both his hands above her knee, slowly moving up. Groping and grabbing all the way, his cold hands making her body shiver, both in pleasure and from the cold. She didn’t want this, not with him, not like this. If Pinkamena could, she’d stop her body from enjoying the touch from such a sick person, but she couldn’t. Pinkamena wasn’t sure if it was because of her sensitive system or because she hadn’t been ‘touched’ in a long time, but it felt good, terrific. Better than anyone before, and she was mad at herself for it. Her mind was screaming at her to make him stop, not to enjoy this. But, her body was saying otherwise, enjoying the sensation but not understanding the situation. 

Blake was going ever so slowly, both making her irritated and grateful. But, when he got to her thighs, gripping a bit harder than before, she felt nothing but self-disappointment. She couldn’t stop herself from moaning. This caused him to tense up, his head moving up and looking towards her, but she couldn’t bring herself to look at him back.

“Getting all excited for me, aren’t you? Maybe it’s not just the drugs making you overstimulated.” Blake teased before looking over her untouched womanhood, fingers tracing over her folds, earning another ungrateful shudder. “Such a pretty little pussy! Let’s see how many digits I can fit!”

Suddenly, he plunged his index into her folds roughly, making her eyes bulge out of her head. Her screams were muffled, the feeling absolutely horrible. Since she was a virgin, her vagina was tight, making it hurt even more with how roughly he poked his finger in and out. Pinkamena could no longer hold back; she began to sob as the pain became unbearable, but that didn't slow him down at all. If anything, it seemed to make him go even more profound. He plunged his ring finger in too, not caring how hard he had to be to get it in. Her sobbing increased, becoming little by little louder, seeming to motivate him to go harder. This went on for a few minutes, the pain seeming to multiply every second. She was barely able to stop herself from throwing up from the pain, as she would only have to swallow it again.

“Aww, c’mon now, love. I barely shoved a finger in you, and you’re already bawling your eyes out? Don’t worry, I have something that’ll make you feel much better!”

Blake said eagerly as he pulled out his large, throbbing, six-inch cock. She gazed at the phallic gland hatefully, shaking her head back and forth as he smacked his girthy rod against her vaginal lips. 

“Get ready, love! I'm about to plow you like a field of soil,” Blake groaned, grinding his hips into hers, loving the way Pinkamena’s lower body quivered in need despite her apparent protests. And with a quick aim, he unceremoniously shoved it straight inside, making a loud slapping sound as it entered. His cock tore through her hymen almost instantly, sheer hot pain flaring through her core. She burst into tears right there; the agony was beyond words at this point. There was nothing she could ever even think about doing to him that could be more painful.

Blake pulled out his dick to the very tip, then slammed it back in at full force. Such a large penis destroyed her womanhood, making it bleed and sore, her body crying in agony, unable to stop it. He seemed to enjoy the blood soaking his cock, seeing it as nothing more than a lubricant, seeming even to arouse him even more. He grabbed Pinkamena’s left breast with his left hand, grabbed her right butt cheek with his right hand, and enjoyed what he was feeling. He grabbed hard, so hard that his nails were digging into her skin, drawing blood and pain. But Pinkamena didn’t even notice it, the agony in her loins blocking everything else out. She was now screaming at this point, her tears falling down her red face like a waterfall, one that wouldn't stop for a long time.

For what felt like hours, the agony was Pinkamena’s world. She could focus on nothing else, think about nothing else, feel nothing else, except for the pain. For twenty minutes, Pinkamena screamed, at least, as much as she could with a piece of wood in her mouth. Her face was blood red; her eyes dilated to tic tacs, her body covered in sweat and blood. This was true hell. But, after a while, she just stopped. No more struggling, no more screaming, no more nothing. She simply sat there with a blank look on her face, her only movements shaking, which was only because of Blake.

Then, suddenly, he pulled out of her. He then pointed his cock at Pinkamena and began to jack off; it only took a few seconds before he ejaculated, releasing a burst of semen all over her face and body. Despite this, she still didn’t respond. She simply stared blankly, not at anywhere specifically, just stared. Her eyes were blank and lifeless. The fire she had in her eyes was now gone; he had broken her.

Blake zipped up his pants, walked up to her, and looked into her eyes. Then, he stroked her cheek, slowly, seeing if he could get a reaction. When he didn’t, he said nothing. He then reached into his pocket, pulling something small and pointed, a needle. Still, Pinkamena did nothing; she didn’t even watch. She did nothing as he walked up to her and jabbed the needle in her arm; she just stared.

“Relax, love. It’s not the same drug as before. This one takes time to kick in.” Blake explained. “I only used it because I want to talk to you. Now it hasn't been six hours, but I'll let you off early since its your first day.. But I gotta say, girl, I’m very disappointed. All that fight snuffed out the moment I skewered you like a pig. You may be the first who I’ve tortured with the drug's effects, but I’ve had girls much stronger than you! I expected better from you, but eh! Can’t complain too much. You breaking in so soon makes my job easier! Now, there’s a lot more I want to talk to you about, but time’s up. Better get some rest while you can.”


Pinkamena had listened to his words but didn’t react in any way. The only time she did anything was when her head dipped down quickly. That was the drug kicking in. The last thing she saw was her torturer and rapist looking at her, and she knew for sure his mask hid an awful smile underneath.



______________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Pinkamena didn’t dream, nor did she have a nightmare. It was just black. For a few seconds, nothing. Though, it was probably longer in the real world. She didn’t really care though, after some of the things she’s been through, she would probably just have terrible nightmares. But, despite how horrible it may have been, it wouldn’t even compare to the hell she was living now.

She had woke up on the ground staring up at the ceiling, her body sore and beaten up, and still naked. But, unlike before, she didn’t really care. Honestly, she didn’t care for anything anymore. She just felt…broken. It was a strange feeling, but she didn’t dislike it. She didn’t really feel like lying on the cold floor naked and thinking about her situation, so, after an internal struggle with herself about getting up, she decided to sit up and look around at her new environment.

The first thing she saw was a wooden door, a big one. It was as tall as the roof but not very wide, brown and black. The door had a window with bars close together to keep her from reaching her hand through them. She tried to look through the window, but there seemed to be a metal panel on the other side, and as far as she could tell, it could only be opened from the other side. Overall, the door seemed like a cell room. Which meant she was in a cell room, and she was the captive.

Pinkamena stood up and decided to look around. If this was going to be her new home, she might as well get used to it. The roof was made out of concrete, a dark grey with blotches of color randomly spread out, most likely from age and use. The floor seemed to be the same, except there were many more blotches of color. The walls were also identical and seemed to have fewer blotches, for whatever reason. The room itself was relatively small; it was a two by two-room, with nearly nothing in it. The only other thing was an old, rusty bucket in the corner, which, she imagined, was to be used as a bathroom. It may have been unsanitary, but at least they gave her something. It’s still better than the floor.


Pinkamena noticed there was no bed or even a mattress. Either she was expected to sleep on the floor, or she had to earn it somehow. At the moment, sleep was the last thing on her mind. She’s been unconscious too many times for too long. Besides, even if she could, she wouldn’t sleep. There were too many things preventing her from adequately sleeping: hunger, her sore body, her emotional issues, just too many factors to sleep for long, if at all. Then again, after her time in the forest, she’s learned how to sleep with pain or hunger. That was different, this wasn’t the cruelty of nature. This was the cruelty of humans. Something much different and much worse. Though, she was both too mentally and physically exhausted to deal with anything.

All she wanted right now was to be left alone to her thoughts, despite how useless that would be. If she still had any fight in her, she would probably be using the bucket to try to break down the door, which wouldn’t work. But, she didn’t have any fight in her, she didn’t feel depressed either, she just felt…tired. She didn’t even feel like walking. She crawled to the corner opposite of the one the bucket was in, got into a fetal position, and just stayed there. Not crying or sobbing, simply just sitting there, catatonic.

Pinkamena couldn’t tell how long she was there; there were no windows in her cell to let her know whether it was day or night, but she was reasonably sure she had been there for at least an hour. And for that time, she just stayed in the fetal position, cold, hungry, tired, and alone. She probably would have stayed that way too, but someone had come in. She didn’t look up to see who it was; she didn’t really care. She just listened, as whoever came in unlatched the door, opened it, shut it behind them, and walked in front of her. She knew they were in front of her because she didn’t hear any more footsteps after they stopped in front of her, and whoever they were, they did nothing but stare at her for a few minutes until they finally said something.

“Look at me, love; we still have more to talk about. Well, I’ll be doing the actual talking, but you get the idea.”

Pinkamena was already familiar enough with his voice to know who it was. She looked up at Blake like he asked, she didn’t want to go against him. She really didn’t feel like dealing with any more pain at the moment. He was wearing his almost entirely black clothing, with his hands in his black jeans’ pockets. The only thing different was his mask. It wasn’t there. When she looked at his face, she saw his piercing blue eyes looking at her, none of his other facial features sticking out as much as them. His look wasn’t one of lust, nor was it one of dark curiosity. It was a look of pride. She could only imagine he was prideful because of what he did to her, and looking at her body reminded him of that. This should make her angry, but, for some reason, it didn’t. Even if she was, she was in no shape to do anything to him.


Blake said nothing as he kneeled down on one knee, now face to face with her. She didn’t flinch or tense up; she just stared back. He smiled as he started to speak.

“Well, look at you now! I wasn’t expecting to see you so obedient. There’s a good girl,” he chuckled. “But I hope you realize that nothing you say or do is gonna get me to stop. Every six hours of the day, I’m gonna have you on your knees or your back, screaming for me while I come up with new ways to better hurt and humiliate you. And I can be very creative, as you’ll find out. And by the end of the month, I’ll have you properly disciplined, so you don’t ever try to go against your father or us.”

For a second, Pinkamena flinched. The mention of her father still bothered her, almost enraged her, making her entire body tense up. But, this was temporary and only lasted a few seconds. But, having been looking her in the eyes, he noticed this spark of anger, and it made his smile even more expansive.

“Ahh, there’s that spark! And here I thought you didn’t have anything left. Looks like daddy’s still a sore spot for you, huh? Tell you what, love. Since you were such a good sport last time, I’ll let you in on a little secret. Something Igneous doesn’t want me telling you, but I want to say anyway.”

Pinkamena’s eyebrows raised for a few seconds, curious as to what this was. While she knew it would probably be something she wouldn’t like, she couldn’t help herself. The way he was saying it made it seem like something important, something she should know. Blake leaned closer to her, his voice lowering so that none could make

“While I was watching you in the forest, I noticed something. After you went into that cave and saw whatever you saw, which I don’t know what it was, you came out a totally new person. Your entire personality changed! You weren’t that goody two shoes who cried over a fish. No, you were something better! I don’t know what you saw in that cave, but it changed you. And the way you butchered those wolves! Bloody hell, I don’t think even porn has even turned me on that much! It was sadistic, dark, and by god, it was hot! I know that side of you isn’t gone; it can’t be. One night isn’t gonna completely break you. I can see it in your eyes, and you know it! Life will be better like this, love. After I make you obedient, I’m going to help you change even more! You’ll be sadistic, merciless. And after all the torture I’ve inflicted, I can guarantee you’ll be masochistic too. I’m going to make you stronger than you can believe! And by the end of the month, you’ll be unstoppable! A real killing machine!”

Blake put his hand under her chin, making her look directly into his eyes. His eyes were full of exhilaration, and Pinkamena couldn’t deny that some part of her was too.

“You’ll be just perfect~,” He said with confidence, the smile on his face never leaving. But, before Pinkamena could say anything, he kissed her. It was sudden, but she could feel the passion behind it. She didn’t like it, not one bit. But she didn’t try to stop him.

Then, as soon as it happened, it stopped. Blake stood up and straightened his jacket,  walking toward the door. Pinkamena wasn’t sure whether this was some trick or if he genuinely liked her. But it didn’t really matter; he wouldn’t tell her even if she asked. No matter what it was, she was still disgusted with him. She hated him, everything about him. She just didn’t resist because she knew she couldn’t. What’s the point of trying to do something if you know you’re just going to fail?

As he opened the door, he suddenly stopped, reaching down to the left of the other side. She couldn’t tell what he was doing, but he seemed to be picking up something. Then, he threw a pile of something over his shoulder, not caring where it ended up. Pinkamena couldn’t tell what they were, not until they landed. When they did, she was mostly confused. They were clothes, she honestly hadn't expected him to just give them to her. She didn’t expect to wear clothes again for a while, especially not under the circumstances. But, she wasn’t going to complain; she wasn’t going to thank him either.

The shirt was a short-sleeved black t-shirt. When she put them on, they fit her perfectly. She wasn’t going even to ask how he knew her size; she really didn’t want to know. It was pretty painful to put clothes on, as it hurt for anything to touch her wounds. But she worked through it, she was slowly getting used to it. The panties were bright pink with multiple colored balloons all over them; those were straight from her room, she wasn’t sure whether to feel flattered or disgusted. The pants were black and soft and very comfortable. It felt…nice to be in clothes again, considering she hadn’t been in any real clothes since she had first gone into the woods. They felt warm; they were recently cleaned. She was still tense, though; there must be some catch.

“Oh, and before you ask, consider those a gift for being such a good fuck. I don’t do this for just any girl. But don’t get too comfortable with them. If I catch you wearing them when it’s time to torture you, I’ll rip them off. So you better leave them before and after our daily sessions. Check your pockets; I left you a present. Found it after you were taken away. Someone will bring you food in an hour. See you tomorrow, love.”

Blake shut the door behind him, humming happily as he walked away, probably going to set things up for tomorrow. When he left, she put her hand in her pants’ left pocket, searching for whatever ‘present’ he left her. When she didn’t find anything on her left, she did the same thing to her right. Strangely, it made a jingling sound when she did. There weren’t a lot of things that she could think of that would make that sound. She pulled it out quickly, wanting to know what it was. When she saw it, she nearly sobbed.

It was her sister’s necklace, the one she had found in the woods. Honestly, she hadn’t expected to see it again. She expected Igneous to burn it or something, but he didn’t. This was the last thing she had of her sisters, or probably ever will. She understood why he gave this to her, he knew this would drive her to revenge, and he was right. She would make him pay for what he did, no matter what. Pinkamena held the necklace to her chest, sobbing quietly to herself at the memories of her siblings and how much they didn’t deserve what happened to them. She wasn’t broken, not entirely; she was just in shock. She realized that now. But, she was going to pretend like she was, until either the months over, or he actually breaks her. But, she was going to try her hardest to resist, no matter what it took. She was going to make them pay, all of them.


She might let him change her; she wouldn’t be able to do it herself. She needed someone else to change her, someone capable, someone like him. Pinkamena decided to sprawl out on the floor, holding the necklace to her chest and sobbing until she fell asleep. What she was unaware of is what really awaited her. The month ahead will change her, no doubt. But the month after, when she’s going to be left to the mercy of a mad scientist. He wouldn’t just put her through pain and experiments; he would change her physiology. She wouldn’t be human anymore, nor would she be a monster. Before people call her a party animal, they’ll be half right after everything happens in the next two months. But that would be an understatement. An animal is something mother nature would make. What she would turn into would be human-made, unnatural, an abomination. But, in their minds, she would be the closest to perfection humanity would ever get.

And after everything, she will too.
> Chapter Three: The Results.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So what was it you wanted to talk about, boss?” Blake said nonchalantly, a smug grin plastered on his face. The last few weeks had been nothing shy of glorious for him, having spent them thoroughly breaking and rebuilding Pinkamena. While it took longer than Blake expected, he considered his efforts an enormous success. He had pretended to have romantic feelings for her to help develop and feed her masochistic quirks. She had become even better than he hoped for, and he still had so much more planned for her.

Right before he could get to work, Igneous had called him into his office. When he entered, Igneous was sitting behind his desk like usual. His hands interlocked in front of him, looking right at Blake. He didn’t seem to be in a bad mood, but he wasn’t in a good one either. Blake, not entirely sure what he was here for, sat in the chair in front of the desk. 

“Well, Blake, it’s been a month, so I want to-”

Blake immediately jumped out of his chair before slamming his hands on the desk, a panicked expression written on his face like he'd been given grave news. Igneous didn’t even flinch; this response was expected. 

“WHAT?! There’s no way it’s already been one month! There’s still so much I need to do! Some techniques I need to teach her! Please, Igneous, I need more ti-“ Suddenly, Igneous quickly sprang up from his chair. He put one hand on the back of Blake’s head and another on his left arm before smashing his face into the desk, with his left arm behind his back and his right still on the desk. Igneous had no emotion on his face when he did this, no anger or annoyance, just a grimace that spoke more than words could. 

Blake though had a glimpse of panic, surprise, and fear on his. 

“Blake, I’m only going to say this once, so listen closely. This isn’t just some little pet project for you. This is deathly serious. This affects the entire Syndicate, so I won’t make any exceptions. I have everything going according to plan with how little time we have, and I won’t allow anything or anyone to mess it up! Your job, as of now, is finished. And since you had ‘much more planned’ for my daughter, I’m considering your job failed. I’ll just have to pick up where you left off. The only thing I want to hear from you is the status report, so I can specifically know where and how you fucked up. Do you understand?” 

Blake was sweating bullets, struggling less and less the more Igneous spoke with the barest hints of anger. The longer he talked, the stronger his grip. There weren’t many things he was afraid of, but Blake knew better to cross Igneous, especially when it concerned business. 

He managed to nod his head a little, earning his contractor’s release. Igneous sat back down as he did before, watching Blake collect himself before he did the same, fear-filled eyes staring back into cold, calculating ambers. No noise was made in the room; Blake too afraid to say anything.

“Well?!” Igneous spoke up, his tone grave with irritation. “Are you going to tell me what happened, or do you plan to look at me like a pissant? Speak up!”

If he wasn’t pissed off then, he definitely was now. Blake hadn’t seen him this angry for a long time, though he suspects it wasn’t entirely directed at him. With all his experience, Blake’s been very good at reading people. And he could tell something else was causing all this anger to bubble up like this. 

“Sorry boss, just… don’t know where to start, y’know?” He awkwardly chuckled, trying to ease the heavy tension, slowly slouching down in his chair. His cool demeanor returning, doing his best to smile back at his boss.

“I mean, you were right about how defiant she was. I thought she would likely last three days, give or take. Surprisingly, she endured a whole week before I got to her! Pretty impressive for a girl her age. The last person I played with didn’t make it to five days, and he was a trained merc! Hard to pinpoint what exactly drove her. Whether it was hatred for you, me, or wanting to see her friends. Whatever it was, I haven’t seen willpower like that sin-”

Blake’s excitement during his explanation faltered at the sound of a long, annoyed sigh.

“Jesus Christ, you can’t even deliver me a simple report properly. This is just not your day, Blake,” Igneous scoffed. “I didn’t ask you if she was strong-willed. Of course, she is! Everyone has a strong will until you’ve broken their resolve with the right tools. I don’t care how you did it. What I want to know is how far did you go with her? Don’t leave out any details, and do try to stay on the subject, please.”

Blake gulped, once more uneased by Igneous’ ruthless attitude. Something definitely happened to get the old man riled up. But he couldn’t waste any more time pondering questions, not when he needs to give answers.

“It’s wasn’t anything special,” Blake insisted, clearing his throat. “I treat her the same way I do all my victims. Rape, abuse of all forms, coming up with new ways to torment her each day. I even injected her with a few non-lethal diseases to soften her up. Hell, I even gave her a high dose of arginine one day and left her there until it wore off. Probably what helped make her more cooperative.”

Igneous expression remained stern, but his perpetual glare wasn’t as harsh as before.

"Once we passed that step, I did exactly as you said. Despite my love for mentally and physically fucking up teenagers, I wanted to see just how far I could go with this one. Though, once I did… Things got weird.”

Igneous’ brows furrowed at the change in Blake’s tone, a skeptical look replacing his usual scowl.

“How so?” he asked.

Blake took a deep breath, rubbing the back of his neck and wiping some of the sweat off his skin. 

“Well, you said you wanted her stripped free of her innocence and put together as a different person, and you got it. Admittingly, I had an idea in mind of who Pinkamena should be. A sadomasochist, a leader, an opportunist, a manipulator,  calm, someone good at coming up with solutions through observation. Someone smarter who could act childish or dumb to gain advantages. It was the most specific and hardest job anyone’s requested of me in a long while, and I was up to the challenge!”

“When I started breaking her mind, it was…strangely comfortable. I was starting off with less complex traits, like masochism. I understand why that was easy, considering how much torture she already went through. It was probably easier for her that way. But, I’ll be honest; I wasn’t expecting Pinkamena to change that quickly. It was almost like she already enjoys people suffering. She learned and adjusted so promptly like everything just came naturally to her. And she wasn’t acting; I did tests afterward just to confirm. I don’t know how else to explain it!” 

Blake sounded irritated, but he remained seated under Igneous’s precise gaze, nervously waiting for his response. 

“I’m failing to grasp the problem here,” Igneous said calmly. “Even before you started doing your work, Pinkamena was already adapting to her abuse? That’s to be expected, as many from the family have become moldable people, well before their tests.” 

“That’s what I thought too! But keep in mind, Igneous, most people don’t change like that without experience. She spent a month in the woods in solitude and came out extremely hardened. I know you’ve seen the tapes. We both know any normal cheery high school girl wouldn’t survive that. And yet, she did. I don’t think anything broke during her time in that forest. I think something was awoken that has been dormant until now. Call it a gut feeling, Igneous, but we might have a real monster on our hands.”

Blake was leaning forward in the chair, his eyes wide with excitement. His arms gripping the armrest tightly, almost like he could barely hold himself back. Igneous didn’t react, but not even his stone façade could hide the fire in his golden eyes.

Igneous leaned back in his chair, shifting his posture to rest his arms behind his head, closing his eyes to momentarily think.

“Is there anything else I should be aware of about her?” Was his response, deflating any thought or feelings Blake had.

“Well, overall, Pinkamena has all the traits requested. But, I didn’t focus on each individual one. So, some of them are strongly implanted into her mind, becoming a huge part of her personality. Others are barely holding on, if she’s shaken up a bit, they’ll fade away. But given enough time, she’ll become accustomed to all the trauma she’s suffered. Probably take a few years, but hey, the human brain is a complicated, unpredictable thing. Though, then again, we won’t be calling her human for long, right?”

Blake gave Igneous his signature cocky grin, even though his employer said nothing in response. His eyes remained closed as if refusing to acknowledge the elation Blake was going through describing his craft.

“What else,” was his response, earning a soft sigh.

“I think it’s a safe bet that she won’t become what you want,” Blake continued. “There are a couple more issues, like the sparks of defiance still burning within her. She seems fine with me or anyone else. I’ve tested to make sure. She behaves however I want her to and doesn’t try to defy me anymore. But, the second you’re mentioned? Any discipline I’ve taught her disappears, replaced with bloodlust and rage. The girls built up a lot of animosity towards you. On one test, I picked up someone that looked near identical to you and put them in the same room as Pinkamena. And… well, let’s just say they never came back out in one piece.”

A subtle twitch of Igneous’ mouth was noted by Blake, quirking an eyebrow.

“Gotta say, boss. Whatever she found in that cave did a real number on her psyche, awakened something almost… primal. No matter how much I try to suppress it, it keeps coming back… waiting. The bloke didn’t die but, he would have if I didn’t step in. But yeah… That’s the last I have to report.”

Blake put his hands back in his pocket; all the tension in his body disappearing. Hopefully, Igneous got what he wanted to hear because he had lost interest a while ago. What was the point in a conversation when everything was selective? Still, he was curious about what fueled the old man’s temper. Like Blake, Igneous did everything in isolation to preserve his secrets. So if anything of recent importance happened during his month of ‘playtime’ with Pinkamena, he hadn’t a clue.

“Good,” Igneous finally said. “Then there won’t be too much to deal with. I do have one more request from you, Blake. I want you to tranquilize her, or however it is, you prefer she be knocked unconscious. Make sure she’s clothed and on a gurney; you’ll find a couple in the storage room. Take her to the lab and leave her there... it’s his turn to play with her.” 

Blake’s eyes dilated at the implications of who Igneous was referring to. Indeed, he was talking about their lead scientist. That deranged lunatic was the textbook definition of depraved when it came to his experiments and lab tests. All in the name of profound science.

Blake didn’t bother with a retort as he rose from his seat. He knew there was no point in trying to convince Igneous to reconsider someone else. He didn’t even respond when the old bastard cracked a smile. Blake just walked out of the room, heading back to where Pinkamena would be waiting for him, ending their time together.

The second Blake left the room, the smile on Igneous’ face disappeared. He quickly opened the drawer to his bottom right, revealing rows of yellow files with tabs onto to indicate their purpose. As if he instantly knew where it was, he pulled one random file out, pushing some stuff aside on his desk.

Igneous sat down and opened the file, scanning through the results of everything that happened during the month. One page contained a profile of someone, with three additional pages dedicated to describing them in detail. The first few paragraphs were theories and notes about who they were and their location, nearly identical to professional police reports.

Igneous skimming through his notes, looking for something specific before finding it on the last page. A large photograph, paperclipped over the top of the page, depicting a figure over the rooftop at night. Motion blurred the image, making the darkly dressed person even harder to identify. The only thing that could be recognized was a sniper rifle in hand, its shape almost blending into the figure’s cloak.

Drawn over their head was a red circle, a line branching towards the words ‘SILENT KILLER?!’. Below the picture was the last confirmed sightings, Igneous putting down the files as his mind raced with his own theories over the killer’s identity.

Blake had been wrong. Igneous wasn’t mad about what happened today. Moreso over the events that occurred over the last three months. At first, the killings had only been one or two every week. Then, for whatever reason, they spiked up in quantity and frequency, their targets more specific. Whoever the Silent Killer was, they had it out for both the Apple’s and the Syndicate.

Igneous was beyond livid. Never had anyone managed to kill members until now. The Syndicate prided itself on its intelligence and skilled mercenaries. And this anonymous assailant was making a mockery of everything he helped build. This was personal. 

A smile cracked his features again, teeth clenched together.

“Oh, you’ll get what’s coming to you, I promise,” he spoke coldly to the photo. “I’ll make sure Pinkamena’s good and ready to find you. I want to see your face. I want to see the fear in your eyes when she tears you into pieces.”

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Blake walked up to Pinkamena’s cell door, dread filling him for many reasons. He wanted to finish her; he hated unfinished projects. But he was mainly concerned about giving her over to ‘him.’ All the imaginable torture she already endured would be nothing compared to what that madman was planning. If Blake had succeeded in mentally changing her, ‘he’ would physically change her. 

As Blake reached the door, he looked down into his right hand, a small syringe in it. He had decided to inject her, not in the mood to knock her out himself. He put the syringe in his right pocket before pulling back the slide on the door, looking in before entering. He didn’t see anything but darkness, but, honestly, he didn’t expect to see her. If he did, he would have been disappointed in himself for not teaching her right. 

He slowly opened the door, fully expecting her to jump him. But, for once, Blake wasn’t smiling. He made sure to leave the door open, letting light pour through. His frown hardened. Usually, she didn’t take this long. But she does this sometimes. Blake gave a sharp whistle, something he knew she would always react to. 

After waiting a few seconds, he could see Pinkamena out of the corner of his eye. The first thing he saw was her hair. Her long, silk-like hair. It had grown longer over the last month. Then, her face, her beautiful face. There were many kinds of scars on her face. Burn, cuts, you name it: some fresh, some old, but all permanent. 

Blake looked into her blue, almost lifeless eyes. The fire in them burnt out, replaced with an abysmal emptiness. The final, and most important thing, was her smile. It was a widely stretched, sadistic smile, almost reaching both sides of her face.

The rest of her body slowly came out of the darkness, covered in the same scars as her face. It was all kinds of scars. It was almost hard to tell what wasn’t covered in scars. The more she came out of the dark, the more he became aware of her. She was on all fours, her body arches to show off her curves, like a cat. He couldn’t deny that he found it arousing, and as much as he wanted to, he didn’t have the time for that. 

Her smile seemed to stretch wider the closer she got, making it harder for him to resist smiling. She came close enough for him to touch, which he wanted to, but he fought. He couldn’t give in, not now. 

“Master! You’ve returned.” She said excitedly, seemingly happy that her tormentor was back. To assert and keep dominance, Blake inserted a master-slave relationship. And like everything else, she adjusted quickly. “Is it time for you to play with me again? You must be very eager if you got here early~! How do you want me today, master?”

Pinkamena talking with such enthusiasm about her impending torture like it was a date was too much for Blake. He couldn’t take anymore, unable to hold back the longer she kept talking. He quickly pulled the syringe out of his pocket and injected it into her neck. She gasped quickly, not expecting something like that. He was always direct with these things. 

“Master?”

The last thing Pinkamena saw was the sad look on Blake’s face before passing out on his shoulder. He clenched his teeth, gripping the back of her head tightly. He wasn’t going to let her change, not after all his work. No matter what is done to her, she will always be his. He would make sure of that.
> Chapter Four: The Discordant Doctor.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When next Pinkamena woke up, she was strapped to a table again. She learned this the moment she opened her eyes and jolted forward, hitting the back of her head in recoil. In doing so, she ended up giving herself a headache. The first thing she noticed was that the table’s surface. It wasn’t cold steel, but a texture Pinkamena assumed was similar to plastic. 

It was also vertical, as when she looked straight ahead, she only saw a ceiling. The most significant difference was the number and material of straps binding her, being belts instead of shackles. And while weaker in restraint, the multitude of them made it difficult to move. Some were in the same places as before, one on each wrist, and one on her ankles, though the one on her forehead was new. But, there were straps every few inches going down her arms and legs. One smaller strap was around her neck, three large ones on her torso, and the rest spreading over the rest of her body.

To her shock and relief, Pinkamena found herself wearing clothes. After spending a month under Blake’s rules and abuse, it felt alien to be wearing a shirt and pants again, almost wrong. But outside of the tight feeling around her limbs, she couldn’t make out the rest of her surroundings. There was no source of light, leaving her in complete darkness.

Not that it scared her or anything. Like most of her other emotions, fear no longer resided in her. After all that she’s experienced the past two months, fighting off predators, suffering from monsters with human faces, Pinkamena found it hard to believe anything new could make her afraid anymore. She was a completely different person now.

“Master? Are you there?”

Pinkamena whispered in the darkness, not sure what kind of response she would expect. Anything would have been fine; she just needed to know if this was Blake’s doing or someone else. But nothing happened—no new sound or whisper. For whatever reason, Blake drugged and dragged her here. She knew it wasn’t the same drug they used before; her nervous system was not overly sensitive in any way. Which meant two things; either Blake was doing a scenario to test her, or someone else was.

There was the thudding sound of a door opening, causing her to tense up. She couldn’t tell where it had come from, but it sounded close. Try as she might, she couldn’t make out anything in the darkroom. Only the impending sound of footsteps approaching.

There was a sudden flash of light before the entire room was lit up. Pinkamena’s eyes dilated, the sudden harshness nearly blinding her. She reflexively closed her eyes to adjust, not having been in direct contact with much light ever since Blake started ‘training’ her. So it took a few minutes before the glaring light overhead was less painful to her irises.

She began scanning the area as best she could now that the room was fully lit, which wasn't easy with her head strapped down. It was different from the one Blake kept her in, much cleaner. It was similar in size, the walls seemed to be the same distance apart, but that was the only way they were identical. The color of the walls was different, not just from Blake’s room, but different in general. Pink and orange, two combinations of colors that shouldn’t go together, were in the form of both spots and stripes on the walls. It must have been hard to paint, and it was harder to look at. Pinkie wasn’t artistically talented or even knew anything about art except what colors were suitable for parties, but even she knew those two colors were disgusting together.

There were a variety of machines in the room, none of which she'd seen before. Then again, she hasn’t seen a lot of devices. They were big, well above the height of an average person. There were buttons all over it, wires seeming to come out from all around. There was a slot on the front of it, kind of like the ones in arcades where the tickets come out, but bigger. Whatever it was, it looked complicated; its purpose a mystery to her.

The wires lead to a corner of the room, connected to a desk with a giant computer. It looked super-advanced, like something NASA would have. The purpose of it made her curious. Whether it was made to torture or educate her, a part of her wanted to know which would happen.

Then, shifting her gaze to the left of the computer leads her to the culprit. He wasn’t tall, but he wasn’t short either. He was average height, probably five feet nine inches. But everything else about him was anything but average. His hair was a bright gray, spiked up with blue tips. He had a long, skinny goatee that was the same shade of gray but without the blue tint. The sclera of his eyes wasn’t the usual white. Instead, they were yellow. Which probably wasn’t natural or healthy, to go along with it, his irises were red. She was partly expecting some part of his vision to be orange. His skin was especially pale, borderline gray. She wasn’t sure whether that was because he was unhealthy or these were side effects from constant chemical experiments. He was wearing glasses, small, clear ones, similar to ones a doctor would have. His clothes were somewhat strange too, he was wearing a long-sleeved lab coat, extending down to the point of covering his legs. But instead of being the typical white, it was brown. Hands were in his pocket, his body  relaxed, his shoes were dark black, and his clothes were made from different materials stitched together like a Build-A-Bear.


“Sorry about that, just had to shine a light on the situation.” He spoke comically, his voice in a very non-serious tone. A grin on his face, either from his mood or because of the pun he made. She wasn’t sure whether to chuckle or insult him. He slowly began to walk towards her, the smug smirk still on his face.

“I’ve heard a lot about you, but I prefer to meet people myself. A shame they’ve requested you be tied up for this because I’d offer up a handshake!”

Pinkie remained unmoved by his sense of humor. His hands stayed in his pockets as he looked down at her.

“Anyway, let me introduce myself. My name is Giles Hue Mallok, the Hue and Mallok part isn’t my actual middle or last name, but I changed them myself. I wanted to sound more…exotic. I’m what you’d call the mad scientist of this place, but I don’t really do a lot of science. I’m more of the borderline legal, inhuman experiments type. I’ve gained a reputation for myself. Now, since Blake’s time with you has expired, you’re under my care. Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of you.”

He smiled sadistically at her, and while it was nothing compared to Blake’s or Igneous', there was a specific aspect to it that… unnerved her. Pinkamena already had mixed feelings about this guy, but she couldn’t begin to imagine the plans he had cooking up with that smile.

“Giles is a bit of a mouthful. So, how about you call me by my well-deserved and fitting nickname? For the next month, you may call me... Discord~.”

Silence hung in the air, Pinkamena unphased by the silly name the doctor described himself. A few seconds passed before he sighed.

“Yeesh!  No sense for the theatrics. Like father, like daughter, I suppose,” he shrugged, though noticed that her eyes lit up at the mention of her father. “Well then, let me explain why I’m here.”

He walked behind her over to the machine, followed by a shuffling noise as if he was looking for something. She could only look so far while strapped, keeping her head pinned to the steel table.

“There are many kinds of doctors that specialize in many kinds of things. Dentists, paleontologists, even a psychologist is a doctor. But for me? Well, my profession is a bit frowned upon and illegal in almost every state. Human biology~!”

The shuffling noises stopped, making her tense up. Discord leaned over her with a helmet of sorts in hand, reminding her of a bicycle helmet but seemed to have a more grey metallic texture. Multiple holes were in it; its purpose was a mystery to her like most else in this place.

“Now, you might be wondering; ‘How could research regarding the human body be illegal?’ Well, I’m glad you asked!”

Discord walked forward, placing the helmet right behind the back of his subject’s scalp. When it touched Pinkamena’s head, she pulled back. The sudden coldness of the object made her flinch. When he tried again, she didn’t resist. It would happen one way or another, no point making a fuss of it. Besides, she was kind of curious about what it was for. Curiosity remained one of her biggest vices. 

The doctor helped put her hair into the helmet, which was strange. She hadn’t expected that. The helmet was cold and somewhat heavy but surprisingly comfortable. His smile seemed to widen at her willingness; at least Blake was good for something.

“I’m interested in what the human body is capable of. Not in terms of functions, but what it can do beyond limitations.”

He went behind her again, this time returning almost instantly. She could tell by his footsteps, but, for some reason, he stayed out of her line of sight. He seemed to be doing something with the helmet. She heard a scraping sound, seemingly putting something in one of the holes. Then, moments later, she felt a sharp pain in her head. It made her gasp from how sudden it was, but the pain didn’t bother her that much. Then, as sudden as it came, it left, as if nothing was there to begin with.

“Humans are very adaptable to pretty much anything. If exposed to something enough, we gain resistance to it. The same diseases won’t affect the same person the same way twice, if at all. But, that’s not exactly what I look into.”

The same pain had kept coming back in different parts of her head each time. If she had to guess, he was putting something in the holes on the helmet, needles or such, and they were going into her head.

“I want to see how moldable it is, how much the body can be changed, and if it’s still considered human. And I’m not talking about adding an extra limb or anything. I mean changing your physiology altogether. Your DNA, your genetic sequence, everything! Blake might have warped your brain, but I will morph your body. When I’m done with you, you’ll have the perfect body to match that ‘fantastic’ personality~.”

The pain kept coming back and leaving in different places, but she decided to focus more on his words. The way he said it made her both worried and excited about what he was going to do to her.

“There we go, good and tight. Everything’s in place!” Discord exclaimed in eagerness. “You see, for as long as mankind has been sentient, we’ve wanted one thing more than anything else; power. To be the strongest, smartest creatures above anything that walks on earth. And, in a way, we’ve achieved that through advanced technology and wealth. But, there’s one thing we’ve yet to achieve… creation.”

She heard the sound of footsteps again, but he didn’t seem to walk that far. She listened to the sounds of buttons being pressed, probably on the machine behind her. She figured whatever things he put in her head were connected to the device.

“Millions of animal species live and have lived here on earth. Whether it be through evolution or God, they were created. Humans have discovered, invented, built, bred, and destroyed. But we’ve never created something of our own, not really. Not when it comes to a new breed of animal life. And that’s where I come in; I wish to create new forms of animals~!”

The sound of a machine starting up filled the room, like the sound of a generator. It was coming directly behind her, which meant the engine was on. He moved over to the computer in the corner of the room, turning it on but not bothering to sit down. The sound of the whirring machine and clanking on the keyboard filled the room.

“Now the question is, what will I do with you? So many possible combinations of genetics and spliced DNA. Overwrite what is weak until the new gene codes slowly become apart of you. And once your body adjusts to these new changes, you will be my greatest achievement in science! Hopefully."


Discord pulled out a strange device from one of his more oversized pockets. “This beautiful little thing is called the Crisper. It manipulates genetic tissue on a microscopic level. Usually, it’s only supposed to be used on fetuses when the DNA is at its most adaptable. But I found a loophole! Trust me, took a lot of trial and errors to find~.”

“This was probably why government scientists haven't found out about this; the method is quite inhumane. If the body is in a particular state of instability, then it’s possible for it to properly bond with them. You have no idea how long it took for me to figure this out.”

He spoke with the giddiness of a child, a complete contrast from Blake’s tone whenever he was excited. He may seem like some looney scientist, but Pinkamena had been deceived by initial appearances before.

“Of course, even when I properly bond them, there are still complications. Different blood types, incompatible DNA, sometimes even a broken bone could make a difference! I learned I need to get the right animals and a stable state of being for my subjects. So many factors to consider, so many different variables; it’s a very time-consuming process. Fortunately for you, I’ve already finished my preparations while you and Blake were ‘bonding.’ But the result, when done right, it makes me prouder than a father after his son just won a baseball game.”

The sound of the keyboard clicking stopped, replaced by the sound of footsteps. Pinkamena looked up at him nervously, unsure how to feel towards this guy. Unnerved? Angry? Impressed?

“People often label things that they can’t understand as demons, monsters, cryptics, among other names. But I think it’s far more beautiful than just some ‘Chimera.’ It is a combination of multiple animals, which is as close as I can get to what you will become. Well, might become. Even with all the preparation and considered factors, it’s not a guarantee. This could easily kill you! And if it does, it will be beyond painful. But, should you survive, then the outcome will be worth the risk. For me, at least~.”

Discord looked down at Pinkamena with a surprisingly serious look on his face. One hand was in his pocket, while the other was behind his back as if he was hiding something. She looked at him back, a neutral look on her face. She had learned a while ago not to show what she was actually thinking on her face; it’s better to keep them guessing.

“I would love to tell you more, but I rather we get started. It will take a week or so before your body will be in the proper state, then your metamorphosis can begin. Now, since this may be your last moments of consciousness, I’d like to give you the chance to speak any last words. Go ahead! Don’t be shy~.”

Pinkamena narrowed her gaze, not expecting the doctor to give her such an opportunity. Honestly, she’s never thought about last words before; the thought just never occurred to her. So taking a deep breath, Pinkamena thought about what she wanted to say before opening her mouth.

“I’m not going to die. I’ve come too far now. And after everything, I’ve had to go through? After everything that’s been done? I refuse to let this be where I die! I could give less of a fuck about your sick desire to turn humans into animals! I’ll live through this because I need to kill him! So do your worse, doctor. Can’t be worse than the shit Blake did to me.”

Her chest rose and fell with each breath, venom flowing off her tongue. Blake may have changed her, but he couldn't change the impotent rage she felt for her father. It was going to take more than physical torture to get rid of that. Once he was certain Pinkamena was done with her response, Discord smiled.

“I like you~! Such spunk and defiance, even in the face of potential death. Let’s cross our fingers and hope you make it through this because I can’t wait to see what you become! Now… Let’s get started~!”

Discord pulled out a remote control from behind his back, a variety of buttons on it. She assumed it was meant to activate the machine behind her.

“Your body will have to be in a deranged state before I can start. This means I’ll have to do many things to get the right...stimulation. Maybe a few signals throughout your body will help expose you to new elements!”

He looked at the remote in hand, fidgeting with the buttons as if he was going to turn something on. He then looked up at her, a cocky smile on her face.

“Heh, I guess you could say this will spark some chemistry between us~!”

The doctor pressed one button, and the whirring of the machine sped up. It sounded louder and like it was doing something else now. Pinkamena understood what he meant. Then, the helmet started shaking. The electricity suddenly attacked her body, pain flooded her entire system. She could feel it in every area of her body; it was like the tingling sensation when your arm falls asleep but magnified by ten thousand! It hurt immensely! She’s been shocked before by Blake, but not to this extent. Her body bucked against the straps; it was practically steaming from the heat inside her body the electricity was causing. She wanted to scream, but she was afraid if she tried to open her mouth, she’d end up biting off her own tongue.

Discord watched in amusement, curious to just how much of a pain tolerance Blake put on her. The voltage wasn’t that high, but the needles inserted into her head were made to make the brain think more. It was just tricking the brain, which wasn’t as hard as you’d think. The brain was actually relatively easy to deceive, or maybe that was only because of his experience. Either way, this would be very interesting to see if she’d live up to his expectations. When Igneous went through this, he showed incredible endurance, and the results were terrific. This was his daughter. She had high expectations, both by him and Igneous.

After a few minutes of Pinkamena thrashing against her straps and her body steaming from the electricity, he decided to turn it off and see how she was doing so far. He pressed one of the buttons on the remote, and the machine went back to its usual whirring. Her body stopped thrashing, but there was still some steam coming from her singed flesh. Pinkamena remained motionless as if knocked out.

“So… how are we feeling now, my dear?”

She didn’t respond. Her eyes were still closed, only breathing steadily. Discord felt a twinge of dread that she was dead until a smile crept across her face as her eyes fluttered open slowly. She moved her head to the left to look at him, a look of defiance in her eyes.

“... Is that the best you can do?!”

Pinkamena sounded arrogant, her smile going from ear to ear. The scars on her face were very evident. A feeling of nostalgia filled Discord. That look on her face, the tone in her voice. It reminded him of how Igneous behaved when the doctor tested him during the trial. His own grin widened, intrigue glimmering in his sickly eyes.

“Not even close~!”
> Chapter Five: Metamorphosis.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It has been one week since Discord started with Pinkamena, compared to the month with Blake, it was nothing. While it may not have been as painful as what Blake did, it was certainly different. To get her body to get to the state of balance he needed, she was exposed to multiple kinds of torture, some Blake didn’t even do to her. Waterboarding, oxygen deprivation, being exposed to extreme heat, electrocution, but nothing fatal. Other than a few burn marks, none of the torture left any scars on her, not like Blake did.

Unlike Blake, he wasn’t very serious when he did it. He made puns and jokes every now and again and tried to strike up a conversation either before he starts or in between. She didn’t have any problem with it, it was just different than what she was used to. After he was done with her for the day, she would be escorted to the room she used to stay in before. Except for this time, Blake never came to pick her up, it was Discord. She was fed and watered like normal, and she still had the habit of being naked. Discord didn’t seem to mind that much, but he preferred her with clothes, so he usually brought some. 

“So, how do you feel?”

She was now strapped down to the same table, but with a calm look on her face. Over the week, they had developed a strange relationship. It wasn’t the master-slave relationship she had with Blake or pure hatred like the one she had with Igneous. Despite the torture, they had a very casual relationship. She wouldn’t go as far to say friends, more like friendly acquaintances. 

“The same as I felt a week ago, am I supposed to feel different?”

She asked curiously, she’s only gotten the gist of everything so far. Supposedly, she’s already gone through mental and physical preparation for passing this test. Now, she’s going to be physically transformed into something more than human. Or maybe he’s just crazy and is torturing her? He could just be senile and nothing he’s said is true, there’s no real way to know. 

“Hmm, sort of. The results can be different every time, it’s impossible to tell. To be honest, it doesn’t always take a week for your body to enter the state anyway. You could enter it after the first day, but I wanted to do it for a week, just to be sure. So, no, it’s not impossible for it to be done without it, it’s just a good sign.” 

He wasn’t looking at her as he was talking, like every other time, he was writing something down in a journal. She was curious what was in it, but she probably wouldn’t get the chance to find out. After writing whatever it was he was writing, he closed the journal and put it in his pocket. He then pulled out a syringe from the same pocket, the first time she’s seen him pull something out of his pockets that wasn’t a journal. It was a fairly large syringe, filled with a strange dark green liquid. He flicked the end of it, making sure the needle was in good condition. 

“This is what you’ve been waiting for, this is the thing that will change you. It took me years to successfully make this, and even longer to figure out the right conditions required for it to work. Now, in a few moments, I’m going to inject this into you. It won’t be immediate, but you will feel your body molding and changing. That’s the process that’ll probably kill you, not anything before. I won’t describe to you the exact details of what will happen if you survive, it would probably just be a waste.”

Discord walked over to her, putting his hand on her arm to find the vein. After finding it, he gently hovered the vaccine over the vein, but stopped, and looked at Pinkamena. 

“Are you ready?”

For the first time, there was concern in his voice. Whether it was because he had genuinely cared about her, or her surviving the test because Igneous had more planned, or if it was just an act, who knows? But, she did think about it. While it was highly likely all this was just some ruse, there was a slight chance it was real. That she would be transformed into something beyond human, that she would be powerful, that she would have the strength for revenge. And that possibility was too much the pass up. 

Pinkamena took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and spoke. 

“I’m ready.”

Discord nodded and injected the syringe. Slowly, he pushed down the plunger, injecting whatever liquid was in the syringe into her bloodstream. It wasn’t particularly painful, just uncomfortable. The liquid had a very strange texture to it, making it to where she could feel it enter her system. But as soon as it did, she couldn’t feel anything. He withdrew the needle from her arm, putting the syringe back into his pocket. 

He sighed and pulled a chair from behind her, one she didn’t know was there. He put it in the spot he usually stood in, sat down in it, and leaned back. He then pulled out his journal, but his gaze never left her. He was intently watching her as if expecting something. But, she felt indifferent. No pain, no changing feeling, nothing. She felt the same as she usually did. 

“Is something supposed to-“

Pinkamena suddenly bucked forward, the sound of bones cracking and being broken coming from her. Her arms and legs snapping in half, bending in such a way that would dislocate her knees and shoulders. The reason was because they were expanding, they seemed to rapidly be growing, her muscles and fat doing the same. Something could be seen under her skin, almost like something was moving. Her arms and legs stopped growing after a point, and seemed to shrink, adjusting to the body’s size.  

Her eyes seemed to be flashing in color, both the pupil and sclera, seeming to be going through every color there was. Blood was flowing from her eyes, she tried to blink, but because of what was happening, she was temporarily blind. Her mouth was also bleeding, her teeth were growing in size and sharpness, especially her incisors. They were growing and sharpening more than the others, beginning to look more like snake teeth. Both her jaws had dislocated due to her teeth growing in size, they were not able to contain them.

Her ears were bleeding too, her eardrums were changing size, her ears growing along with them. She couldn’t hear anything, not even her own screams. The chest was convulsing rapidly, the sounds of her ribs breaking evident more than most sounds. Organs were being moved around and thrashed insider her body, the bones that weren’t broken were taking a beating from this. The skin on her body seemed to be morphing, changing in colors and texture. Some parts were a dark green color, seeming more like scales than skin. While others were a darker brown, making it look like some kind of fur was growing on her. 

Her face was morphing into a more animal-like look, her cheeks stretching and expanding, the rest of her face following. Pinkamena was in more pain than she could ever imagine, and she couldn’t even see or hear. Discord watched intently, worry on his face. This transformation was a bad one, usually, only certain parts of the body would begin to change first. When those parts were done, they would move on to different parts. But this time, the entire body was changing, which meant the process must have been extremely painful for her. 

But, he said nothing, there was nothing to say, she wouldn’t hear him anyway. For thirty minutes, the room was filled with the sounds of bones breaking and snapping, muscles, fat, ligaments and tendons being torn reattached and torn again, and screams. In that time, her body morphed and changed multiple times. Her body going from a scaly texture to one similar to fur, then to leather, and many others. Eventually, it stopped. The sound of bones breaking and screaming was now gone, Pinkamena had passed out. Her arms and legs were noticeably bigger than before, but not to the point of abnormality.

Her skin seemed to be a darker shade, and while it felt tougher, it had the normal texture of skin again. Her teeth had gone back to normal size and sharpness, except for her incisors, they were somewhat bigger and sharper. Her ears were also bigger, but not immensely like her arms. Her eyes were no longer flashing in color, they were now the dark blue they were before. Blood was still on her face from before, but now it had begun to dry. 

“Finally, the metamorphosis is over. That was surprisingly short, it’s usually longer than that, hours, actually. But, I suppose her spending so much time in the woods made her more…. adjusted to nature. Which, considering what it does, makes sense. Now, for the moment of truth.”

Discord lifted her arm, and put two fingers on her wrist. He waited patiently, holding his breath, feeling desperate for a pulse. And, after what felt like hours, he felt it. A smile stretched across his face, it was a success. But, somehow, he wasn’t surprised. He was sure what it was, but something in their genes made them strong-willed people. Everyone he’s met in their family so far has been like that, it really was quite amazing. 

After writing something in his journal and putting it in his pocket, Discord stood up and began to walk out towards the door, but suddenly something grabbed his arm. He quickly turned around, surprise and astonishment on his face, it was Pinkamena. 

“Going to…leave…already? C’mon, I thought you were going to give me answers? I’d sure like to know what the hell you just did to me.”

Her eyes weren’t open, she probably still couldn’t see yet. But hearing wouldn’t be surprising, that didn’t usually take that long. She was breathing rapidly, her body seemed to barely be functioning. 

“Amazing, it usually takes hours, sometimes even days before waking up. But you only woke up in a few minutes! Do you have any idea how remarkable that is!”

But Pinkamena didn’t respond, she seemed to have fallen asleep. Which wasn’t surprising, her body just went through one of the worst things possible. Discord’s look of wonder left him, a smile replacing it. 

“Of course, it was just a moment of consciousness, there’s no way anyone could be awake after that, not even Igneous. Speaking of, I know I said I was going to give you answers, but you’re not really conscious of them. Igneous would want me to report the success, which I will do.”

Discord turned around and walked toward the door again, this time opening it before stopping. He looked at Pinkamena again, half expecting her to wake up. But, she didn’t. She was going to need that sleep, while she had successfully survived the transformation, she was still going to need to learn how to control it and how it works. Especially considering how Igneous would want to test her, she was going to need to learn. 

“Pinkamena, you impress me. Igneous was the only one who has done what you have, you deserve your answers. I hope you have sweet dreams, because after you wake up and I explain everything, you will have your final test, and I can’t wait to see how you do.”
> Chapter Six: Different Body, Different Person.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

For once since her capture, Pinkamena got to sleep on an actual bed. It was tiny, clearly meant for one person. The sheets were a bright blue, the blanket covering her the same color. The headboard and post of the bed were both a dark brown, more than likely made from wood. The pillow was a simple white one, big enough to hold her entire head. Discord was sitting in a wooden chair beside her, waiting for his subject to awaken while reading a small book.

The room she was in was very different from the kind she had gotten used to recently, looking more like something in a mansion that was reserved for guests. Instead of a cold, hard floor like she expected, there was a red carpet, looking like it was recently cleaned. To the right of the bed was a bookshelf, seeming to be the only real thing in the room. It was filled top to bottom with books of many varieties on tons of different subjects. On the opposite side of the room was a white door with a golden knob. To the left was a similar-looking door, except with a bronze doorknob. She wasn’t sure where that one led, the bathroom maybe?

Pinkamena had been asleep for three days. Discord had completed the main transition, but her body had to recover the process by going into pseudo-hibernation. Bones had to set, muscles had to regrow, tons of things had to be done to re-adjust her body. But, as his notes have shown, three days is usually the wake-up time. And since this is going to be her final test, there’s no need for her to be chained up anymore. She’s going to need all that time to prepare herself, and her father strictly ordered he wanted her at her best. Discord would inform her everything about the final test, as well as what she was now. Now, their special little killing machine just needed to wake up… any minute now...

Almost on cue, Pinkamena began to stir. Her eyes slowly opened, almost fluttering. And when she was no longer groggy, she quickly rose, taking in her new environment with a shocked expression.

“Ah, good! You’re awake,” Discord greeted, closing his book and placing it back on the shelf. “You may feel very stiff for a while, so try not to move. There’s a lot we need to talk about.”

Glaring at the scientists, she looked down to survey herself. Pinkamena was adorning a black shirt and some thin jeans. Tugging the color, she was surprised to find a bra concealing her chest. Before she could say anything, it dawned upon Pinkamena how dry her mouth was. Her blue eyes widened, only now noticing that she was severely dehydrated. 

“W-water!” She wheezed, clutching at her throat. Discord swiftly pulled out a bottle of water from his pocket without so much as changing his expression before handing it to Pinkamena. She promptly snatched it out of his hands, ripping off the lid and chugging it.. After the bottle was empty, she put it between her legs and tried to catch her breath as Discord observed her.

“Sorry, my dear. Completely slipped my mind that you’d probably feel very parched,” Discord noted with a sly grin. “Now, on to business!”

Pinkamena kept quiet, her icy gaze fixated on the deeply disturbed doctor, saying nothing. Whatever news the doctor was about to deliver, she would handle it.

“To start, we have both good news and bad news. The good news is your transition was a complete success!”

The ex teenager tilted her head, arching an eyebrow quizzically.

“Well… more or less,” Discord cleared his throat. “Your body has adapted quite well. Your sense of smell, sight, and hearing will be increased. You’ll be a lot quicker and stronger, your healing factor exceeding beyond that of a normal human. I could shoot bullets into you, and the wound would close up in a matter of minutes! The only real downside is that you’ll be a lot more ravenous. You’ll have to eat more meat to replenish your strength, which shouldn’t be too hard given the sharper canines I’ve implanted.”

Pinkamena cautiously opened her mouth to run her finger over her teeth, noting that they were, indeed, more pointed. She winched, accidentally poking her incisors, a tiny bit of blood. Her eyes wandered over to her arms, noting the hint of muscles when she squeezed her hands tightly.

If what Discord said was true, Pinkamena had practically become a superhuman hybrid with different animal DNA. And somehow, her youthful human appearance remained intact. To think that one man’s deranged obsession could become a reality.

Pinkamena addressed the doctor with a shaking voice, “...and the bad news?”

Discord responded with a sigh.

“The bad news is, while your body is maturing for its primary transformation, your mind has not. Human emotions always seem to get in the way of progress.” With a roll of his eyes and pursed lips, he lifted up a clipboard from the shelf, a chart attached. “Still, there’s much work to be done before you’re ready to take on your final test. Even with your super healing and heightened senses, you’ll need to-”

“Where’s the bathroom?!”

Discord nearly jumped at how angrily she poke, looking back with an astonished face. He didn’t expect a response like that, Pinkamena had usually been composed. He pointed to the door across from him, and no sooner did she jump out to rush into the bathroom, tugging off her shirt frantically. The doctor watched intently, curious as to what she was doing.

Her eyes dilated upon looking over her bare flesh through the mirror. Thanks to the transition, her body was no longer riddled with scars, not a single cut on her pale skin. She looked the same as three months ago as if nothing had happened. Her breathing quickened, her chest rising and falling rapidly. 

“No… No,no,no,no! NO!! WHERE ARE THEY!? WHAT DID YOU DO!?” She spat, running her hands all over her body. Sneering, she turned back to Discord, marching up to grab him by his collar, earning a startled yelp.

“Give. Them. Back!” She demanded through clenched teeth.

“Give what back?” The strangled doctor asked in confusion. He didn’t take anything from her. On the contrary, he gave her something far greater than anything her father probably provided! Did Blake steal something from her while he was ‘preparing’ Pinkamena?

“My scars and my necklace! I want them back?”

The doctor only deepened his bewildered frown.

“Now, why would you ever want your scars? Such a beautiful, flawless form should remain unruined by such hideous blemishes!”

Her glare hardened as she tossed the doctor into the bed, a weak groan resounding as he staggered to stand up.

“Scars aren’t just injuries you can remove,” Pinkamena sneered. “They’re a part of you! They hold stories and show what you’ve endured and gone through to get where you are! They show exactly who I am!”

Clutching his side, Discord continued to gaze bewilderingly at his subject, struggling to understand such a mentality.

“Look, I’m sorry, but it’s impossible to return what was taken from you. Even if we reversed the process or put you through everything again, it’s unlikely you’ll bear any marks or scars with the healing factor I implanted.”

There was that fatal flaw again—human emotion. Always the one dent to his armor he could never fix, no matter how hard Discord tried to rid it with all his experiments and test subjects. Which was a shame, as he had grown to like Pinkamena. Her expression softened slightly upon realizing the effect was irreversible, letting out a deep exhale.

“And my necklace?” she asked as she walked back into the bathroom to retrieve her black shirt, sliding it over her torso.

“You… didn’t have a necklace when you were assigned to me,” Discord stated. “The only thing that was with you was your clothing. No necklace or jewerly.”

Her back remained facing the doctor, shoulders slightly hunched. Discord tilted his head, hoping he didn’t say anything to provoke her. Instead of more spiteful language, a giggle answered his ears. Not a pleasant or happy sound one does during a funny situation. The sound that parted her lips was bitter.

“Of course,” she spoke softly, a slight grin to her lips. “Blake probably took it while I was asleep. Either as a bargaining chip or some sort of trophy to keep. He must want me to come for him…”

Discord rose to his feet, perplexed by this development in Pinkamena’s behavior. While she spoke of Blake fondly, there was a hint of maliciousness in her words. Whatever the reason, that necklace was valuable to her.

“Erm… might I ask why it’s so important to you?” He politely requested, earning a sharp turn of her head, her icy eyes narrowed.

“Why do you care?” she asked bluntly. 

When Discord couldn’t form a proper response without sounding callous. Pinkamena turned her head away from him, looking down at her feet. With a low sigh, she decided to humor the doctor.

“It’s a silver necklace with a golden heart and a red jewel in the center,” she began explaining. “Inside of it is a picture of my sisters and me. It belonged to them before they were… killed. I found it with their bodies. It’s pretty much the only thing I have left of them. That’s why I want to get it back.”

Discord detected a rare hint of sadness in her tone, something he assumed had long been dead through her trials. Since knowing her, all he got from her was sarcastic quips, haughtiness, and the occasional angry or sadistic threats. Never had he heard Pinkamena sound utterly broken. Though given all she’s been through, it was rather impressive for someone still as young as her to hide her emotions for so long.

“You mention a final test,” Pinkamena spoke up, her usual demeanor returning. She looked back to face him, arms folded into her chest. “Didn’t you say I was done after my ‘transformation’? Or were you lying?”

Discord did his best to keep a neutral face. As demonstrated earlier, Pinkamena could quickly kill him if he said or did anything that might set her off. He may have helped mold Pinkamena into a killer, but she had yet to take an actual human life. And as much as he despised playing on emotions, he was determined to make sure he didn’t become her first victim.

“Yes and no,” he elaborated. “Technically, your test isn’t over. But I wasn’t lying! The completion of your transition was the last hurdle involving your development. Now all that’s left is one last test. Before I go into details, I’d like to finish my explanation from earlier. You need to understand why these emotions are holding you back, alright?”

Pinkamena remained silent, only nodding her head, much to the doctor’s relief.

“Now, as I was saying,” Discord resumed, pulling up his clipboard. “Your body has adjusted and is ready for the first of three transformations. In each state, either activated willingly or through emotions, is what you are now. While you have the advantages of the animals I spliced into your genetic coding, they’re immensely increased when you transform. Your DNA has been combined with dozens of animals, be it mammal, reptile, avian or amphibian.”

She gazed quizzically at him before looking down at herself.

“Don’t worry, you won’t actually change into a lizard or something,” the scientist assured. “It’s more like you make certain parts of your body transform to those kinds of creatures to possess their abilities. For example, you could grow scales over your skin for better protection and cool your blood to adjust to temperature changes better. You can’t, however, cover yourself completely in scales. That’s not possible.”

“And here I thought you liked challenging the impossible,” Pinkamena scoffed.

“Yes, but alas, The human body can only handle so much before it mutates into gelatinous biomass,” Discord shrugged. “Now, back to the transformation! This is the only exception to a complete body transformation. You will have to take advantage of the animals you’re combined with. Sure, you’re faster and more robust, but you’re also susceptible to damage. It takes a massive toll on the body, pain beyond unimaginable. You’ll be exhausted for weeks if you exhaust yourself, kind of like a college student. Sleep would be out of reach, and that's not even going into the possible side effects of hallucinations, mood swings, internal bleeding, etc. Just mind how frequently and long you shift your body around.”

The young woman considered the risk presented. It wasn’t like she had a choice, much like how Pinkamena was thrown into this whole ordeal. Like most things in life,, you had to take what’s been thrown at you. Being aware ahead of time what the consequences of her ‘transformations’ was beneficial, but meant very little considering she didn’t have any more choice in using them than anything else in the past few months.

“I will now go over the three stages; each one different in appearance and performance,” Discord continued, lifting over a page. “Stage One: Changes will be slightly noticeable. Your nails will grow longer, your teeth sharper, your eyes a different shape and color. Most likely a wolf or bear’s pupil for better vision, but there has been variation before where it is much more reptillian. You can stay in this form for up to three hours without suffering any consequences. Stage Two: The changes are much more significant. This is where you start to become more animalistic. Hair or scales will begin appearing on your skin. You may grow both, but I’ve heard it’s highly uncomfortable. At this point, a tail may grow, possibly at length longer than your body. Your size will increase as well, making you slower but more substantial. Your nails are practically claws at this point, with teeth on par with a tiger’s.”

“Your eyes will stay the same, as will most of your facial features. But at that point, verbal communication will be difficult. You’ll be more in tune with your primal instincts. Your sense of awareness may be hard to keep hold of. You might even forget the reason for transforming in the first place. All you’ll want to do is kill and devour your enemy, whoever that may be. You can stay in this form for one hour before suffering those nasty drawbacks.”

Pinkamena clutched her arms together tightly, unable to imagine how excruciating it would be to even pull off a first-stage transformation. 

“Finally, stage three: It would take a lot of willpower to tap into and even greater resolve to snap out of. You’ll be like a feral beast at that point. You’ll have no sense of awareness. Whoever you were will be gone. All that will remain is an apex predator. There isn’t even an accurate description of what you’ll look like! Whatever drives you towards entering this state, I pray it’s for a good reason.”

“So… I’m basically like a werewolf?” Pinkamena asked once Discord was finished with his explanation.

“Mmm, kind of. You’re more of a weaponized chimera than anything, really. The differences are as noticeable as the similarities. Still, my point stands. Stage three is perilous, and if you stay like that for longer than ten minutes, whatever humanity you have left will be gone…” The scientist snapped his fingers. “... just like that! I can’t tell you what’ll happen after that point, but I doubt you’ll live long.”

“Hmph…”

“Now, do keep in mind, these are just the likely results, and not everything I’ve said will be accurate. You could develop abilities I have no idea about. It’s impossible to predict what could happen. While certain kinds of capabilities will always occur, other ones may change. Right now, there’s no way to know what ones you’ll have until you have them”

“Then how am I suppose to prepare for this ‘final’ test if I don’t know what I can even do?!” Pinkamena growled in frustration. The doctor simply shrugged.

“Sorry, dearie. I have been ordered not to share with you any more information until after the test. Is there anything you have questions about, or shall I continue?”

Pinkamena thought back to everything she just heard, from the depictions, side effects, and how long she should manage each form. She looked up to Discord before shaking her head.

“Marvelous! Now, to fully become what you are, you need to feel an intense emotion, something that will trigger your body to activate those spliced genes—rage, depression, grief, something powerful. My bets are, you will experience something like that during your next test. But, again, I must advise caution when it comes to human emotions. If kept unchecked, you might sprout a mangled wing or unnecessary limb that’ll hinder you. Or worse, get yourself killed.”

“Got it. Now, what’s the test?”

“You will be thrown into a pit against the best the Syndicate has to offer. We’re talking mercenaries, assassins, bounty hunters, spies! Ok, maybe not that last one. Think of it like a gladiator fight, pick whatever weapon you want, and kill your way through all the competition. It’ll be the culmination of everything you’ve been through!”

“Keep in mind, they are being paid a hefty price to kill you. So do what’s necessary to survive, be it through trickery or outright slaughter. If you make it out alive, you pass. Igneous, Blake, and I will be observing, so do keep us entertained. We’ll be watching, writing down the final results. If you do pass, and if Blake does have your necklace… I’ll see about giving it back to you. Sound fair?”

Pinkamena wore her vacant expression, yet her eyes brightened upon the promise of her sister’s memoir being returned. She couldn’t trust him to keep his word, nor why he would offer given his evident repugnance for empathy or sentiment. She lowered her head, long pink hair hiding her face. 

Discord turned to leave the room, opening the golden knobbed door before looking back to the human-animal hybrid. “Take the rest of the day to prepare. Rest, strategies, I’ll even bring you some food to eat. Good heavens, you must be starving! If you need anything, ask the guards outside the door, and they’ll bring it to you. But come tomorrow, you better be ready. I’m counting on you, Pinkamena.”

With the last bit of encouragement he could muster, the deranged doctor proceeded to leave until her voice stopped him.

“If I pass… there will be no consequence for killing them?” Pinkamena asked, her tone dripping with sadistic glee. “I can do whatever I want with them?”

Discord turned with a curious look. Pinkamena was still hanging her head down, but through the small curtain of pink hair, he could faintly make out the outlines of a smile. It was quite an unnerving sight. 

“Y-yes…” he answered uneasily, quickly closing the door before she could ask anything else. Lifting her head up, she relaxed her posture and laid back down onto her bed, her smile still stretching widely across her cheeks. 

Tomorrow would be a big day, and Pinkamena could hardly wait to see all those anguished faces when participants realized how badly they were screwed. She planned to turn their competition into a total massacre—a statement for the entire Syndicate. 

Discord had mistakenly claimed that going into the dreaded third state would strip her of her remaining humanity for what wisdom and information he could provide. To Pinkamena, that was the biggest load of shit she heard since taking part in this trial. 

No. For when the test was over, and Pinkamena stood victorious over the corpses of every agent and assassin in that pit, no one would recognize her as ‘human.’
> Chapter Seven: Meeting Of The Mad.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Alright! So when’s this party gettin’ started?"

Blake asked bluntly, his obnoxiously cocky tone very present. The room he was in was spacious, made to hold up to ten people; with three currently occupying chairs. Unlike most of the rooms, they made this warmer and much more welcoming. This was where the higher-ups observed the battles within the arena. 

They often used the room as a lounge, where people gathered to hold bets. But since this was a test and not a pseudo-gladiator fight, Igneous reserved the room for himself, Discord, and Blake.

Outside the chairs and table, a refrigerator sat near the door containing alcoholic beverages. A white cabinet hung above, filled with snacks, sandwiches, tableware, etc. There was normally only one fight a week, so food would need to be replenished before expiration.

The walls, floor, and roof were all made of dark oak, the same as the chairs and table. Thus, the entire room was a dark brown. The light sources comprised a white lamp on the betting table, some ceiling lights, and the spotlights for the arena. There were two spotlights, both on the other side of a long, metallic glass window. This was used to watch the battles, but the room was nearly pitch black since nothing was currently happening. 

Blake was leaning back in a chair, his hands behind his head and his feet propped up on the table. He wore his usual outfit, except now donning the silver necklace with a golden heart. Discord was sitting in a chair on the other side near the glass window, his back facing the wall. He had a laptop in his lap, though wasn’t typing anything. Just focusing on the screen as if he was watching something. Igneous was laying his back against the wall across from Blake, eyes closed in thought and arms crossed.

"Be a little more patient,” Igneous grumbled tiredly, having been days since he slept properly “There’s not much time left, and we can't afford any mistakes. Besides, it's good we have this chance to talk. Things have been distant between us ever since this whole thing started. I understand why, though. Blake You've been busy setting things up with The Apples since they've been angsty. Discord’s been occupying his time fine-tuning the process. And with me engrossed with hunting down our silent friend, it has been an eventful summer."

After this test, he planned to let his cohorts run things for a while; just so he could take a long nap.

"Yeah, it’s been pretty crazy around here, but also really fun!” Blake exclaimed loudly. It was obvious he’d been waiting for this for a long time. But Igneous had waited for much longer. 

“Torturing your daughter, dealing with The Apples, trying to find out who the Silent Killer is. Sure, it's aggravating. But it's nice to have something difficult for once!"

"Heh,” the older man scoffed, a slight smirk to his lip. Blake was slightly unnerved by how relaxed Igneous seemed as of late. Discord remained fixated on the screen, but he listened in silence.

“I'd be lying if I said I didn't agree,” Igneous spoke. “Whoever this person is, they've killed dozens of criminals. Some of our guys, others from the Apples. It’s gotten to the point the entire city doubts The N.Y.P.D. They’re elusive, but I appreciate the challenge. After all, it's not like they're a threat to the Syndicate. And as long as they’re not a threat, might as well enjoy it. Opportunities like this are pretty rare."

"These last three months have been very productive,” Discord casually spoke, not tearing his gaze off the computer. “By watching the tapes of Pinkamena in the woods, I was able to figure out the requirements for the met conditions. Mmm, scratch that! It's more like I understand them a little better now. It should help us a lot in the future! Her surprising amount of durability and endurance allowed me to test those limits. Remarkably, she's gone through so much and still has the willpower to continue. It reminds me a lot of you, Igneous."

His statement caused the old man’s grin to widen. Blake's smile also grew, though for a different reason.

"Oh, stop it! You're making me blush!” Blake declared proudly. “I improved that pain tolerance! It took a lot of creativity to last a month, but the results speak for themselves. I doubt anything can really hurt her, minus the transformation. But even then, it doesn't compare to what I did to her. She persists because she wants to see me again! Practically made her my slave."

Igneous narrowed his amber eyes towards the arrogant brit. The mad scientist addressing Blake with a severe expression.

"That’s… not quite true. I think you’re sorely exaggerating your effect on Pinkamena. After examining the tapes, it became apparent she went through traumatic events. Pinkamena went from crying after killing a fish to having a smile on her face while slaughtering three wolves. You might have enhanced her pain tolerance, but I sincerely doubt you’ve done anything else.”

A scowl replaced Blake’s smile as Discord went further into details of his examination.

“And all that willpower? Not because she wants to get back to you. In fact, I don't think she feels anything for you at all. Her sole motivation is revenge against Igneous, not because of some weird ‘master/slave’ relationship you diluted. If she’s ever acting that way, it’s likely to lower your guard, so it’ll be easier to kill you."

Igneous noticed the drastic change in Discord’s voice, like he was livid about something. Though what that implied couldn’t hold a candle to how vividly pissed Blake looked at that moment.

"You fuckin’ questionin’ my job!?" He yelled, earning the doctor’s sigh as he closed the laptop, putting it aside. Then, pushing his glasses closer to his eyes, they glared at each other. 

"No, I'm questioning how good you think you are at your job,” Discord corrected. “Yes, you've proven good at manipulation, but this is not that simple. Before you can break and repair someone, recognize where they are, which you failed to do. Because of your inflated ego, you overlooked that fact and didn't bother to consider that maybe your way isn’t the right way. As always, you rush into things like a barbaric mongoloid."

Blake thrust out of his chair and seized Discord by his coat collar. Igneous remained passive as he watched his cohorts become more aggressive. 

"That’s a lot of shit you’re spewin’, mate,'' Blake hissed through clenched teeth. “Are you asking to get your teeth kicked in?!” 

Discord gave a smug smirk of his own, not even flinching from Blake’s aggression. “No. I’m asking to wager with you. Y’know, put your ‘work’ to the test.” 

Blake released his grip as the look of anger on his face now had signs of curiosity.

"You wanna bet? Never pictured you as the type to gamble. Alright, what is it you want?"

"Well, since you’re so confident about Pinkamena, I'm willing to bet she won't pass the test without transforming, which would prove my efforts to offer more results. But, if she gets through it without needing to, then your claim would hold merit."

Igneous was listening intently, albeit more confused than curious. Discord was never a betting man. If there was an outcome he couldn't predict or calculate, he didn't take it. Risk was something he always avoided, so if he was making a bet like this, there must have been something he, or someone else, wanted. 

Blake, however, wasn’t deterred, smiling eagerly. 

"Alright. I’m game. What happens if your little ‘theory’ ends up correct? What do you win?"

Discord’s smile deepens as he stated, “The locket around your neck.” 

Surprise overtook Blake’s face as he cautiously held it into his palm.

"Why? What would you want with this?!"

“And here I thought you weren’t the type to ask questions.” The scientist chuckled slyly. “Not that it’s far more valuable in my hands than yours~.”

Blake snorted. "Alright, fine. And what do I get when I win?"

"Should you win, I'll provide you with all the scientific tools and gadgets you want."

This certainly got Blake excited over the possibilities. In Discord's lab, there were things he used to set the conditions for the transformation. The mercenary had played with a wide variety of torture tools, but Discord made a lot of unique devices. Some were multi purpose; others had functions he couldn't comprehend. Nevertheless, he would kill for a chance to use them, and this wasn't an opportunity he could afford to pass up. 

"Alright, Dissy. I’m all in." Black said confidently, stretching his hand out towards the scientist, who shook it to seal the deal. Igneous shook his head with a sigh, trying to figure out why Discord would encourage a one-sided bet like this.

His amber eyes locked onto the necklace around Blake’s neck, frustration bubbling over. Igneous knows he's seen it before, but he couldn’t place where and when.

"Say, Blake. Where did you get tha-"

A ringed sound interrupted the older gentleman, drawing his gaze towards Discord’s pocket. The mad scientist sported a cheerful expression, pulling out a phone. And after a couple of taps, the ringing ceased.

"What’s up, doc?"  Blake asked curiously 

"Oh, that was just the timer I set earlier."

“Signifying what?”

Before Discord could reply, Igneous spoke up, already having a good idea what the alarm was for.

"Pinkamena's on her way."
> Chapter Eight Apex Predator, Part One.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pinkamena lays in her bed, lost in thought. She had been resting this entire time, trying to comprehend everything that's happened and will happen. But, almost immediately after Discord left, she became extremely famished. She hesitantly asked the guards for food, preferably meat. And for the next three hours, she did nothing but eat. Meat, vegetables, fruit. Anything they gave her, she ate it. Not even when she was dealing with growth spurts did she eat that much. Maybe it was the coma? Or perhaps the transition took that much of a toll on her body? 

Pinkamena moved her hand in front of her face. Like everything else, it looked vastly different. It was like Discord said; she had heightened senses. Her sight had been altered; It used to be she could see better out of her right eye, and her left was borderline lazy. But now, she could see equally out of both eyes, even better than before. Pinkamena could see stuff further away, and the closer things were, the more details she noticed. She could see all the differences in her skin, even vaguely being able to see the veins inside of her. 

Her hearing improved as well, allowing her to hear every noise in her room, even the heartbeat and breathing of the guards right outside the door. She could smell and taste better, too. When the guards brought her food, before it even got to the hallway, she could smell it. Everything tasted different, too; the taste and texture of the food were in more detail than she ever noticed before. Her teeth were very different too, being more prominent and sharper, causing her to bite the inside of her cheeks and lip multiple times, causing wounds and drawing blood. She quickly adjusted her chewing, and they healed, so it wasn't a problem for long.

She was more sensitive also, whether that be because of the transition or the drug was anyone’s guess. Everything felt different, the warmness of the covers, the hardness of the floor. It was like she was in a foreign body, with the memories of who she was. If she had been like this in the woods, things might have been very different.

Suddenly, there was a violent rapping on the door, making Pinkamena sit up.

"Hey, better be ready! Your test will be starting soon."

The room had been deathly quiet for so long, the sudden loud noise nearly startled her. Pinkamena hadn’t had time to think ever since she got out of the woods, and now that she does, she was exceptionally on edge. 

She sighed, realizing there was nothing else she could do. There wasn't any time left to prepare and think. All that was left was the test. She hopped off the bed, begrudgingly walking towards the door without making a sound. She suddenly opened it, startling the guards this time, an impatient look on her face. 

"Well? Let’s go already,” she demanded. Usually, any outsider that treated members of The Syndicate like that would be beaten unconscious. But this was an exception. They had specific instructions, and if they weren't followed detail by detail, they'd never find the bodies. 

Igneous never took well to mistakes.

"It’s just down the hallway. Oh, and don't bother trying to escape,” the other guard said bluntly, lacking any tone or emotion in their voice. “There’s no way out. Just the room you were in and the one you’re heading to."

They looked identical to the guards around Igneous, the exception being the one on the left had darker brown hair. She didn't say anything, only nodded. They turned their backs to her and walked down the long, dark hallway leading her to the end. 

Pinkamena felt fearless, like there was no weight on her. She only felt acceptance as she realized this was what everything was building up to. This was the big finale. The woods, the torture, the experiments, those were all prepping her for a battle royale, and she was as ready as she’d ever be.

They led her to the end of the hallway, a steel door waiting for her. Not a new one, either. It looked old and beaten down, stains covering it up and down. Some rust, some blood, the rest were indistinguishable. It was the kind of door she’d see in a torture dungeon, covered in the blood of the multiple people who have suffered on the other side. 

Any normal human would have been afraid, terrified, even. The sight of blood and everything that's happened should have shaken her to her core. But no, Pinkamena wasn't scared. She was both excited and afraid. She could barely hold back a smile, and it was hard for her to say why. 

One guard opened the door, gesturing for her to go through. The other side was dark, but she didn't hesitate. She walked through the door, allowing herself to be swallowed in darkness.

Silence hung in the air for the longest time before, suddenly, a loud clicking noise and a bright flash of light, making Pinkamena flinch and close her eyes. She slowly opened them, revealing the room in front of her. The first thing she could compare it to was a gladiator ring, but bigger. Somehow, this was more modern, like it was made just for this era. 

It was huge, undoubtedly the largest room Pinkamena's ever seen. The walls were a dark brown, scratches of silver spread out on the walls. The floor and concrete were made of concrete, making gray, brown, and silver the only colors of the room. Well, except for the bloodstains, most varying in old and new ones. Dents were on the walls, bone fragments and skin pieces could be seen on the floor; this wasn't just a gladiator pit. This was a graveyard. 

She looked around more, noticing the emptiness. The room was the same, except for one thing; a bunker. Sort of, it had the structure of one, but if she had to guess, it was used to see the bloodshed inside. The size was ridiculous, going from one side of the wall to the other. It was made of dark metal, almost black. But, compared to the rest of the room, it was new. There were no bloodstains or dents, nothing showing its age. 

The light source for the room was spotlights on top of the bunker. They were massive, easily two or three feet bigger than herself. It was impossible to tell the color or details. The light they were emitting made it challenging to focus on them. Several of them spread on top of it, providing most of the morning for the room. But Pinkamena noticed spotlights on the roof, giving light to areas that usually couldn't be lit.

The most noticeable thing about the bunker, other than its cleanness, was the window. It was gigantic, stretching across both sides of it, practically confirming Pinkamena's assumption of it being an observation room. Unfortunately, it was tinted, making it impossible to see if anyone was inside. 

But she knew he was. Pinkamena could feel those eyes piercing through her soul. Igneous was on the other side of that glass, watching her, eager to see what she’d do. Blake and Discord probably were as well, but she couldn't feel their stares. Either because they weren't, or their gaze just wasn’t as strong.

She was considering going up to the glass and trying to look through it, but she didn't have to. A sudden disembodied voice spoke into the room,

"Hello, Pinkamena."

It was loud and echoed from an intercom somewhere. Most likely behind one of the spotlights, or maybe it was hidden elsewhere, it didn't matter. The intercom didn't matter. No, the voice that was coming out of it did. That familiar deep, monotonous tone. That was Igneous' voice. He was so close and yet so far.

"You’re looking a lot different from when last I saw you in the woods,” his voice said tauntingly. “Yeah, you’re far from being that broken teen racked with guilt over her poor, weak, dead sisters." 

Pinkamena ground her teeth, clenching her fist as her nails dug into her hand, drawing blood. She could feel her blood boiling like she could explode with rage at any second. 

"Quite the intense stare, daughter. Good. Let that hatred burn into strength. You’re going to need it for all the big battles up ahead."

Suddenly, a new sound entered the room. The sound of something mechanical. It came from above her; she looked up with a curious glare. Something was lowering from the roof. From where she could see, it appeared to be a small, wooden platform, almost a table without the legs. It had chains attached to both sides of it, which led back up to the roof. Pinkamena walked toward where it was lowering too, curious what its purpose was. 

"Tonight, you will face many enemies. Each of them with advantages over you. These mercenaries have honed their instincts to become natural-born killers through battle experience, various skills, or techniques. And unlike you, they kill with motivation. Whoever succeeds in killing you will be rewarded a million dollars by proof of your heart in their hands."

He carried a sadistic tone now, similar to Blake's. It was like he wasn't taking it seriously, trying to provoke her. Pinkamena had made it to the spot the platform was going to be. She stood there patiently, waiting for it to arrive. 

"Now, I know this must all seem unfair. You've hardly killed more than feral mutts. But don’t worry, daughter. You’ll be given something to even the odds a little. A weapon of your choosing."

As if on cue, it stopped above the floor. Right under Pinkamena's stomach, hovering above the ground. She looked down at it, revealing everything on top, making her eyes widen. First, to the left was a machete. It looked brand new; the handle looked clean and polished, while the edges looked sharp, like just touching them would leave a deep cut. In the middle was a small, black pistol, similar to the ones the guards had. There was nothing special about it, no attachments or markings, nothing that made it unique. It was just a tiny, black pistol. 

To the right, there were, technically, two things. A small pair of brass knuckles, something Pinkamena never expected to see outside of TV. Like the pistol, there was nothing special about it. Most would have indentions or something on them, but no, this one was completely blank. The one thing all three had in common was how new they all seemed, to where there was nothing on them. They were all in mint condition, waiting to taste blood. Only special because they weren’t.

"Each of these weapons should be more than enough to assist you during the test. The machete has been cleaned and sharpened, able to decapitate someone in a single swing. The pistol has been taken apart and thoroughly cleaned, but, counting the one in the chamber, is limited to ten bullets. Of course, your opponents won’t know that, so the option for mind games is also available. Then again, you’ll be up against a few marksmen, so that might not be so helpful. Unless you're desperate enough to club them with it instead.”

“The last weapon in your arsenal is straightforward; brass knuckles. Put them on your fist and beat your opponents until they stop moving. Pretty messy, blood and teeth will be splattered everywhere, but oh so satisfying. Keep in mind that you’ll only be selecting one weapon. This wouldn’t be a challenge if you could simply take them all. Once you’ve made your selection, the test will begin immediately. But take too long to decide, and you can start the trail with no weapons. So I suggest you choose wisely, daughter. You have sixty seconds."

Pinkamena felt her rage boil, his taunting voice making her want to scream back at him. But she couldn't. It wouldn't do anything, and she apparently couldn’t waste a minute. She glanced down at the weapons in front of her, sweat beading down her face. She had to think about this carefully. Whatever she chooses could also decide her fate here. 

Any of these weapons could help her. But, at the same time, they could cripple her chances of survival. The machete was durable and could easily cut through flesh and bone, but it took a lot of energy to swing it hard enough. At the same time, it could quickly get stuck in her enemies, which would leave her vulnerable. The pistol is the easiest one, each bullet capable of killing. But after those bullets run out, it becomes useless. Even without that, Pinkamena has never shot a gun before, so it's more than likely she'll miss some shots. 

The brass knuckles weigh almost nothing and take little energy to use, meaning she can attack quickly. But brass knuckles are made for long, drawn-out fights, not to kill soon. Maybe in a one-on-one, it could work, but she had no idea how many she'd be fighting. Pinkamena was sweating, realizing no matter what she chose, she'd be taking a massive risk. She examined each item, trying desperately to think of some way to cancel out the con. 

Her eyes darted between the three weapons, trying her hardest to think of something. The gears in her head were turning desperately as she felt each second slip by. 

"Come on, come on! There has to be something I'm not thinking of, something I can use!" 

Pinkamena mumbled to herself desperately, her eyes darting all over the platform. Pinkamena was sweating profusely as she examined every detail of the forum. She could feel their eyes on her, watching eagerly as she struggled. She was paying attention to everything, hoping there was some detail she missed, something between the cracks. The wood, the weapons, the craftsmanship, the chains, the m-

"Wait… Yes!" 

Pinkamena suddenly exclaimed, grabbing the machete impulsively, like an inventor who just came up with a brilliant idea. Then, suddenly, there was a loud clicking noise. The moment she made her choice, little black claws came out under the weapons, clutching themselves around them.

"That's fine,” Pinkamena said almost smugly. “All I need is this machete."

Pinkamena said casually, determined to keep composure. She carefully touched the edges, testing its sharpness. It cut the tip of her finger, drawing crimson. It was sharper than she expected. She smiled. 

"Good! Now, for the moment of truth." She mumbled to herself as her grip tightened on the machete. She pivoted around, hitting the chains to the right of the platform. And just as Pinkamena had hoped, it cut through cleanly. The sound of the platform hitting the ground rang through the room. The right side of the platform fell to the floor, the chains no longer supporting it. There was a loud clanking sound as the chains dropped on top of the platform. The rest hung from the ceiling. Pinkamena tossed the machete to the side, landing it a few feet away. She no longer needed it.

Pinkamena walked up to the platform, grasping the chain with both her hands. They were attached to a small ring embedded in the platform, but she was about to fix that. She pulled on the chain, ripping it from the platform, the ring still attached to the end. Her smile widened, having found her perfect weapon. Not only was it extremely light, making it to where she needed little energy to swing it, but it had multiple ways to use it! She could use it to pull enemies closer, wrap around their neck and kill them. Or whip them with it like slaves, or wrap it around herself for protection. There were dozens of ways she could use this! 

Pinkamena wrapped the chains around her hands a few times, making her grip on them stronger. She wore her sadistic smile, swinging the chains in a circle to her left. She was ready!

“Ooh! How unexpected,” Igneous voice spoke up again, chuckling lightly. “No one’s ever thought to utilize the chains in such a way before. I must admit, daughter. I admire your ability to be innovative. But will that help you in the long run? As you’ve proven, those chains aren’t exactly sturdy. Sure, it might work against the first three or four enemies, but for the entire trial? I guess we'll have to see, won’t we?"

The smile left her face, and her eyebrows furrowed as her grip on the chains tightened. She felt her body tense up. The bastard could hide there and spew his shit all he liked. In the end, it would be his heart in her hands. Pinkamena would kill him, no matter how many people stood in her way. Or die trying.

Suddenly, another loud noise filled the room. It sounded like a drawbridge opening, but smaller. Then, directly across from Pinkamena, the walls began to open up. It started to split in the middle, one side going left while the other went right. It was too dark for her to see into, but it was probably a secret room meant to hold people. This was where the thugs being paid to kill her were. 

The walls stopped moving, showing just how large the room was. Pinkamena peered into the darkness, looking for anything. As if on cue, three human figures started stepping out of the evening. It wasn't long before they noticed Pinkamena.

"Really? You’re what’s worth the big bounty?! I was expecting some big-shot criminal, not some frail, teenage girl!"

The one on the left exclaimed, a sarcastic and surprised tone in his voice. His voice had a weird pitch, somewhere between a pubescent teen and a forty-year-old woman, making him very annoying to hear talk. He was somewhat short, looking to be around five-six for his height, and had no muscle to be seen. He had curly brown hair. It poked out in multiple directions, meaning he didn't care for personal hygiene. He had no facial hair. Nothing on his face seemed to stick out. His eyes were a dark brown; the pupils were very constricted, he probably took something before coming in. Strangely, he was wearing a t-shirt and jeans, as if this was something casual for him. 

"Pft! Not like your little punk ass would've been able to kill them. You should be happy; this’ll be the easiest million you've ever made."

The one on the right said in a more obnoxious tone, evidently bigger than the other, probably five-eleven in height, with noticeable muscles. His hair was long and blonde; it looked like it spent hours being groomed, which perhaps happens daily. Piercing blue eyes and no facial hair were the features that poked out the most. Like a certain someone Pinkamena despised, he was wearing a black leather jacket with a white shirt underneath, a long pair of black jeans to go with it. His voice was normal, lacking the heavy British accent that made him appear like a carbon copy of Blake.

"Yeesh! You two act like this is some dick-measuring contest. And spoiler alert; I win! But who gives a shit if it's a cocky asshole or some chick. We're getting paid to kill'em. That’s all that matters.”

The guy in the middle barked. His voice boomed over the others. He was massive, at least six-five. His arms didn't look normal at all; they looked like giant tree trunks! He wore a small, sleeveless black shirt, revealing his massive body size. His jet black hair combed back, the rest of his face was completely open, something she intended to use later. The behemoth of a man had a broad, obnoxious smile on his face, which irritated her to no end. He was wearing long, black boots and black gloves to match. All of them reminded her of Blake in some way. It was likely Igneous chose them to try to provoke her. And to her annoyance, it was working.

Pinkamena wore an angry grin. The immense hatred subsided any other emotion burning in her heart, and she couldn't help but smile. She tightened her hands around the chains, her eyes constricted. She was starting to forget why she was afraid to kill in the first place. 

"Well, come on, then! You boys don't want to keep a girl waiting, do you?"

Pinkamena proclaimed sarcastically, taunting them into attacking first. And just like that, she could see anger forming on their faces; they didn't like that.

"Damn. Most girls in this situation just try to run. But you’re standing there, a big smile on your face, swinging that chain like a jump rope. I can tell you’re going to be fun! Go on, boys, get her! I wanna see what else she’s got before I get in on that action~."

The one in the middle commanded, acting as the top dog, which seemed to fit. With no hesitation, both rushed towards Pinkamena. One went on the left, the other on the right, while the one in the middle just watched her, like a predator to prey. Pinkamena remained dauntless, her smile widening. 

The one on the left suddenly lunged at her, his hands outstretched in front of him. She expected that. While he was still in the air, she threw the chain towards him, intending to wrap it around his neck. However, the chain was more brutal to throw than she expected, so she didn't throw it as hard or as high. The only experience she had with this was throwing a handmade rope around animals back in the woods, so she was prone to messing up. But she still wrapped it around his right hand, making it just barely a success. After the chains tightly wrapped around his hand, Pinkamena violently pulled down on them with both of hers.. With an expression that went from surprised to fear just as quickly, he slammed face-first into the ground below him, right in front of Pinkamena. 

"Forgetting someone, sweet tits?!"

The other one was faster than she expected. He was now only a few feet to her left. He swung at her, not even acknowledging the other guy on the ground. She was barely able to move out of the way in time, having to let go of the chain to do it fast enough. She cursed herself for only focusing on one of them. Pinkamena smiled. During her time with Blake, he burned into her some facts about human anatomy, things she'll never be able to forget. A few were meant just for torture, but most were intended for combat, whether he told her to use it that way or not. 

Pinkamena ducked under his arm, punching him on the right side of his body, causing him to clutch his side and cough up blood. 

"Oh, not at all,” Pinkamena responded like the cute sadist she was. “That was your liver, by the way. If hit hard enough, it can cause rupture and internal bleeding. And while you're busy choking on your blood, I’ll be moving on."

Using her other hand to uppercut him under the chin, Pinkamena struck hard enough to send him flying across the stadium, tumbling onto his back. He laid unconscious, blood pouring out from his mouth into a small pool.

"Phew! Well, that went better than I expected, considering I was mostly improvising. Now, what about tha-”

Suddenly, a hand from behind grabbed Pinkamena's ankle and pulled her down, causing her to fall forward on the ground. Luckily, she was able to catch herself by putting forward her hands, leaving her unharmed. But before she could look at whatever pulled her down, she felt a hand pull her head up by her hair and slam her into the ground. She groaned in anguish, pain searing throughout her face, already knowing it was going to bruise. She heard the drips as the blood came out of her nose. Her vision blurred after being stricken. She turned her head to the left, the hand on her hair not stopping her. 

"STUPID BITCH! DID YOU THINK THAT JUST BECAUSE YOU KNOCKED OUT THAT DIPSHIT, THAT'D YOU WON!?"

The ugly one she thought was incapacitated yelled at her, face bulging with anger. A bruise on his forehead showed she had hurt him, just not enough to knock him out as she wanted. Instead, he was crouching over her, one hand holding her hair, the other clenched in anger. His head was bent down to the left side of her face, screaming into her ear. She could feel the spit flying out of his mouth, hitting her face.

"What, got nothing to say now that I've got you in my hands?"

Pinkamena mumbled something, but it was too quiet for him to hear. 

"Hey, speak up! I want to hear your last words!!"

He leaned in closer, his ear moving towards her mouth. When he was close enough, she suddenly lunged forward, latching her mouth around his ear. She sank her teeth in and ripped off a chunk; blood poured from what remained. He screamed, releasing her hair, letting her head fall to the ground. He clutched his ear, blood seeping through the cracks in his hands. Pinkamena spits out the flesh on the floor, taking this opportunity to pounce on him. She slammed his head against the ground, knocking him out cold. 

She played on top of him, sitting on his chest. His arms were spread out on both sides, his left hand covered in blood from putting his over what remained of his ear, which was still gushing out blood. With no hesitation, Pinkamena put one hand under his chin and the other on the back of his head, getting a tight grip on both. She quickly twisted the head at an angle, pushing it farther back than the neck could go, snapping his neck, killing him instantly. 

That was how she killed animals, either when they hadn't noticed her or when they were suffering. That was different, though; this wasn't to prevent the unnecessary suffering of animals. She just snapped the neck of a human being and took his life. But somehow, it didn't seem to matter. She knew she should feel something, regret, rage, satisfaction, something. But nothing really best described how she felt outside of astonishment. Whatever the case, it didn’t matter. 

She wasn't even close to done. 

Pinkamena walked over to the other unconscious guy on the floor; she crouched down, put her hands on the back of his head and under his chin, and snapped his neck like the other. The sound of clapping filled the room. Pinkamena stood up and looked toward the source. She had blood coming out of her nose, blood on her mouth, and no emotion on her face, and this was just getting started. 

"Congratulations! You managed to kill two complete nimrods! I hope you're proud of that because now, you're going up against me!"

The guy in the middle was the source of the clapping; he had a massive smile on his face as if he had just watched his son win a baseball game. He walked toward her, his body tensing up, an ear to ear grin on his face.

"Aww, what's wrong? Don’t tell me getting a little beat up made you lose your nerve? That would be disappointing since I was looking forward to a fight."

He spoke in a taunting manner, wanting to provoke her into attacking first. He gestured to her with his right hand, almost teasing her. Pinkamena stood her ground, slouching down like a predator about to pounce on her prey. He moved closer to her; the smile widening. Pinkamena lowered herself down more; she was now on all fours. She could feel it; her instincts were coming back, the feeling she hadn’t felt since the woods. 

In those woods, she had to give in to her primal instincts. She had to forget everything she thought about surviving; she had to forget herself in the jungle. There were no morals, no conscience, no choosing what animals got to live or die, nothing left of the person society created. There was only one rule in the wild: Adapt, or die. So, with the sole motivation of killing her father, she changed. She learned how to be a predator; she realized when to be the prey, but most importantly, she learned how to fight and hunt. 

“What the fuck is this?!” the man scoffed. “What are you, some kind of cat or something?”

Pinkamena was on all fours, similar to how a tiger would be when they're about to pounce. She was showing her teeth, growling at him like a feral dog. She was digging her nails into the ground; her body was tense, she was giving in to what the woods burned into her. 

He stopped moving, standing maybe two feet in front of her, his hands at his sides. He was looking down at her curiously, but at the same time, joy. 

"Heh! Somehow, you’re even cuter like this,” he chuckled. “Kinda reminds me of when I had a sick dog once! And you know what happens to sick dogs?"

He took a slow step forward, knowing she would pounce. And like a snake lunging towards a mouse, Pinkamena jumped up off the ground, using her arms and legs as springs. She was off the floor now, getting close to him. But, faster than she thought he could, he quickly raised his leg up and kicked her. It caused her to bite down hard. She even had one of her teeth come loose. The kick hit her under her jaw, causing her to flip back on land on the floor, hard. 

"They get put down!"

He slammed into her chest, pushing his foot hard down onto her. The pain was agonizing. It felt like getting hit by a truck. She could feel her ribs cracking, but she held back her screams. She wouldn't give him that satisfaction. 

"Come on, babe! Cry for me! Let me hear those sweet sounds~!”

He pushed down his foot harder onto her chest; he could hear her ribs breaking, cracking underneath his boot. His smile grew. She could see the delight in his eyes. She put both her hands on his ankle, using all her strength to push his foot off her. But he wouldn’t relent or budge.

"You know," He began before lifting his foot off her, kicking her hands away as he did so. He then grabbed both her hands with one of his, pinning them above her as he leaned down at her, leering at her with malicious intent.

"Money sounds nice and all, but after seeing a hot girl try pitifully to fight for her life? I feel like I deserve a special bonus. So, before I kill you and get a shitton of cash, I think I’ll have a little fun first~."

He spoke huskily as he moved his hand under her shirt, grasping her breast roughly. She could feel his erect cock through his pants, rubbing against her leg. He leaned closer to her, licking her neck with his tongue. Pinkamena wriggled with disgust, but she couldn't stop him. Pinkamena was weak, and he had her pinned. There wasn’t a chance to catch her breath. She tried moving away, but all she could do was move her face. Then, suddenly, he aggressively flipped her over, keeping her hands pinned behind her back, tightening his grip.

She could hear his hand fumbling with his zipper and hear his erratic breathing on her neck. Her eyes widened at the sound of his pants unzipping. Something hard and warm flopped onto her stomach. With his free hand busy unbuttoning her pants, his hold on her hands was less strict. She might be able to break loose.

Pinkamena couldn’t help but shudder as he pulled her pants down enough to expose her pantie-clad tush, feeling him rub his engrossed erection between the curve of her cheeks.

“Damn. For a girl your age, you’ve got such a nice ass!” he complimented cruelly, rubbing her right cheek before giving it a smack. “I bet you’ll be nice and tight for me, won’t you~?”

Before he could tug down her underwear, Pinkamena loosened his grip and slip her hand free and elbow him in the gut. Then, taking his momentary distraction, she used them to push her body upward, head-butting him and causing him to stagger. He stumbled to his feet, flaccid penis hanging out of his pants. She turned around, laying on her back. She put her hands on the ground; and pulled back her legs. Then, like a spring, she sprang forward, almost jumping off the ground. Both her legs rammed into his chest, knocking him onto his back. She was barely able to land on her feet; her chest was still in immense pain.

But she couldn't hesitate. Pinkamena had to take this moment! She ran over to the chain on the ground, trying her hardest to ignore how much her chest burned. She turned around, dragging the chain behind her as she began to walk toward him. Somehow, the pain seemed to be dulling, faster than it should. She's never had her ribs fractured before, but there's no way the pain could just start to go away like that. She could almost feel her ribs mending inside of her like the injury wasn't that serious. Not just that, but she could feel herself getting stronger, like she was slowly gaining her stamina back. Now that she wasn't in battle, even if it was just for a few seconds, her energy was slowly coming back to her, faster than usual. Her primal instincts kicked in, causing her smile to return.

"We're not even at round two yet, and you’re already knocked out! You don't want to leave a woman dissatisfied, do you?"

Pinkamena purred sarcastically, knowing full well he was conscious. She stopped moving towards him, standing a few feet away with her chains behind her, that signature smile on her face. He got up, wiping the blood on his face. He let out an elated chuckle while tucking his cock back into his pants, zipping them up.

"Wow, you’re more feisty than I imagined! But don't worry, babe. I ain’t no one pump chump. I’ll have you begging for more once we’re finished~!"

There was no anger in his eyes nor lust to have her body. Just a look of pure excitement. This fight was going to be much different, she could tell. They circled each other, Pinkamena swinging her chains again, and he held his hands at his sides, his fist clenched. This was now a battle of two predators, determined to make the other their prey.

They circled each other for minutes, waiting for the other to make the first move. But this time, there were no words or gestures, no attempts to provoke the other. There was just patience, waiting for others to make the first move. This time, it was he who attacked first. He sprinted forward, ramming straight into her. She tossed her chain towards him using one hand; the other held on to the string to keep it straight. He crowed as he dodged it with ease, dashing to the left. 

"You already used that trick already! C’mon, you’ve gotta have something else up your sleeve!"

He mocked, gaining his balance back as he continued to run towards her, now only two feet away from her. But Pinkamena wasn't afraid; she said nothing. Instead, she only smiled as she pulled on the chains roughly with both of her hands. 

"I've got you now, girl!"

He reached forward, so close to tackling Pinkamena. But when Pinkamena pulled on the chains, it caused them to come back towards her violently, wrapping around his neck from the back, knocking him to the ground. He rose up, on his knees in front of her, clawing at the chains that prevented him from being able to breathe. He couldn't say anything; Pinkamena was tightening the chains. He couldn't breathe properly, so much as speak. Pinkamena giggled sadistically, knowing she had already won. She walked in front of him, enjoying the look of desperation in his eyes. 

"I hear people have a fetish for being choked," Pinkamena commented sardonically, smiling as he struggled for his life. “Are you one of those perverts who like holding onto their last breath? Let’s give that a whirl~!”

She stuck her tongue out in a sultry manner, licking the blood off his nose. It tasted different, almost...good. It was strange. She vaguely noticed it when she bit off that guy's ear, but this was different. She was ingesting the blood directly, and it was almost intoxicating. It tasted like a mixture of vanilla and pure sugar, something she was somewhat familiar with before. But there was something else to it, something she couldn't explain, something that made her want more. Maybe it was because the transformation she went through changed the rest of her body. It would explain why the food tasted so different, so much better. Is this how human blood always tasted? Or was there more to this? That was something she was going to explore later after she got out of this shithole. But now, she had someone to deal with, waiting for her. 

Pinkamena stood up straight, looking down at him. She could see his face slowly turning blue. She went behind him eagerly, gripping the chains tightly. 

"Oh! Here, let me help you with that!"

Pinkamena kicked him down as she pulled on the chains, making it squeeze his neck tighter. He struggled desperately, clawing at the chains around his neck, his face now turning a dark shade of purple. Pinkamena pushed him harder against the ground, pulling the chains as tight as she could. Her eyes were widening in excitement as her smile widened slowly. Soon enough, his struggling stopped. He no longer moved at all. He was dead. 

"...Hey...I did it...woo!"

Pinkamena panted, feeling fatigued. She was injured, even if it was healing at a steady pace. She loosened the chains from her victim’s neck. Slowly, she tried to catch her breath, knowing it wouldn’t be long before the others showed up. She sat on the ground, chains in her lap, her hands on the basis, her head tossed back as her eyes closed. 

"Exhausted already?” Igneous’s voice rang through the room, putting Pinkamena back on alert. “We haven’t even started yet, daughter. There are still so many fresh faces that are dying to meet you!”

She snapped forward, standing up with chains in her hands. She wasn't sure if she fell asleep, or they were just that quiet. But there they stood in front of her, the twenty-seven others being paid to kill her. They were all of different shapes and sizes. Some looked intimidating, and others seemed almost pathetic. Most looked like mercenaries, but some looked like soldiers who had just come back from war. Pinkamena gulped, a little frightened by this. She knew there would be a lot of opponents, but seeing so many experts and veterans at once? It was demoralizing; it made things hopeless. 

"What's wrong, little girl? Already wetting your pants?!"

One of them said mockingly, causing a few of them to chuckle. That got rid of Pinkamena's fear, replacing it with a familiar rage. She couldn't lose hope, not now. She knew the odds when she walked in here. Seeing them will not make her change her mind! With blood on her face, a sign of newfound courage. Then, quickly within her hands, Pinkamena rushed towards the group of mercenaries, prepared to fight until the end.
> Chapter Eight: Apex Predator, Part Two.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pinkamena lay on the ground, beaten and raped. There was blood all over her body, mostly her own. Multiple bones in her body were either fractured or broken, one of her eyes were so swollen she couldn't see through them. They had the courtesy to put her pants back on her, but they left her to die after that. She tried her hardest to fight them; she even managed to kill one or two of them, but she never had a chance. There were just too many of them, and they had way more experience than she did. They eventually beat her into submission, and most had their way with her, one by one. The ones who weren't interested just watched, some enjoying it, others just out of boredom. 

It felt like hours before they stopped, most hit her while they were raping her. She wasn't bothered by being raped, that stopped bothering her after Blake, even though she knew it should. Maybe it was bothering her, but what she was feeling now was overshadowing it, overwhelming defeat. She lay there in pain, unable and unwilling to move. 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In the bunker, it was a very different atmosphere. Blake was banging on the window, his face was a dark red in rage, the veins on his face popping out. He had been rooting for her before, saying how well he did on her. Then she went to fight the crowd of them, and when they started beating and raping her, Blake went ballistic. He started screaming about how it was unfair, and that they couldn't do that to her because she belongs to him, crying he was going to kill them all.

He did that the entire time they were beating her, even as the men out there walked up to the bunker and began banging on windows, saying things like: Is this it? And where's our money!? Even though she wasn't dead, just unwilling to fight, it was nitpicky, but that was the job. They needed to kill her, not beat and rape her until she couldn't fight back. Though, the way it was looking, she was going to die from her injuries. And if that happened, the money would have to be split up among them, which would cause a variety of problems. 

Discord was watching almost eagerly, in the beginning, a smile on his face as he internally rooted for her. But when she was getting beaten, the usual smile left his face. He turned his head away, not wanting to see what they were doing to her. Eventually, he pulled out his laptop, using it as a distraction. He ignored everything, Blake's screaming, the sound of the thugs beating on the windows, everything. He focused on what he was doing on the laptop; he couldn't watch her die. 

Igneous' reaction was the most unchanging, but he was upset. His face remained unchanged throughout most of it, except for when she killed the first three. It seemed to relax for a few seconds as if he was surprised or impressed. But he returned to his usual neutral face as if nothing had happened. He stayed like that for a few seconds, his arms crossed as he watched her fight, until she started getting beaten. Then a scowl crawled into his face, his eyebrows furrowed as a look of disappointment and anger formed on his face. He ground his teeth; he gripped his arms tightly, he needed this to go right. With everything that's been going the wrong lately, he couldn't afford this to go wrong. 

There was way too much time and resources put into her for her to just die here, she may not have had the ability to transform, considering she needs a catalyst, but he would have liked to see that at least once before she died, just to know there was some point to all this. Honestly, he needed something to go right, or all this built up stress and frustration was going to kill him. He was considering just letting Blake in there and joining him in killing them, at least then they wouldn't have to waste the money on them. But, that would've harmed their reputation, and that wasn't something they could afford right now. 

Igneous sighed, begrudgingly putting his finger in a small box with a button on top in front him. It was a little, wooden box with a speaker on the front; it was connected directly to the intercom, allowing him to speak to anyone in the room. He was about to speak into the intercom, telling them that they'll have to wait until she's dead first, ignoring both theirs and Blakes screaming. But the sound of gasping and a chair hitting the ground caught his attention, causing him to turn around quickly. 

Discord had suddenly stood up, knocking down his chair. He seemed to be surprised by something; his mouth was agape, his glasses were falling off, revealing his dark red, constricted eyes. His was still holding his laptop in his hands, but it was closer to his face, leaning his face down towards it as if he was looking closely at something he couldn't believe was there. 

"This..this is amazing! This is the first time I've seen it heal such injuries to this extent and rate! And to do so suddenly, whatever emotion she's feeling is stronger than anything I've seen before!"

Discord exclaimed, astonished at whatever he was looking at on the computer screen. Even Blake stopped his tantrum to turn around and see what was happening, though he was still furious. At any other time, one of Discord's usual outburst would have made Igneous curious about what prompted it, but with how things have been and Igneous' mood, it only irritated him. 

"Discord...tell me what you're talking about, now!"

Igneous said coldly, the scowl on his face only deepened as he said that. But Discord didn't seem affected by this, he barely even responded. He quickly put the laptop on the table beside him, facing it towards Blake and Igneous, allowing them to see what was on the screen. It was similar to the monitors hooked up to patients in hospitals: Temperature, heartbeat, blood pressure, etc. But there was other stuff, in the top right corner, was the image of a human body. It was entirely gray, like on a diagram. Well, not entirely gray. The face, the upper torso, and both the legs were red, with spots of orange and yellow spread out the rest of the body. Most of the time on stuff like this, the colored area were injuries. There was other stuff too, in the bottom left corner was a long list of organs, beside them were two variations of conditions: Stabilized, and critical, most were critical. The rest was a bunch of stuff either Igneous couldn't tell what they were or were too small to make out. 

"This is my custom monitor; I use these on all my patients to know, in detail, exactly how they're doing. This is, of course, Pinkamena's. But I attached this one to her while she was in the woods since she caught my interest. I've been paying close attention to her ever since, even now. I want you to look carefully at her injuries and organs, and you'll see what I mean." 

Discord said excitedly to both of them as if waiting for a particular reaction. Igneous paid attention to the injuries, while Blake went back to watching the men outside, no longer interested in whatever Discord was talking about, nor was he angry enough to beat on the windows again. Igneous looked carefully at the body, paying close attention to the injuries, which was hard to do since there were so many. At first, there was no change; the injuries stayed the same. But then he began to notice it; the spots were shrinking! Not only that but as they shrunk, the color was changing too. The red was slowly changing to orange, the orange to yellow, and the yellow turned to gray, meaning the injury healed. 

These weren't just the minor injuries either, that would make sense with her accelerated healing factor. These were injuries that would still take hours to heal, broken bones, collapsed organs, severe wounds that no average human could survive if left untreated. But these many critical injuries, spread out so much? It was fatal; there was only one explanation for this. As Igneous came to this realization, a smile stretched across his face, the seemingly permanent scowl now gone. 

"She's transforming! Entering the first form as we speak! The timing is horrible, but this is the first I've seen someone transform so spontaneously and heal so much! If only I could tell what emotion or mix of emotions caused it, maybe if I could recreate-"

Discord began talking to himself excitedly, watching the computer for any further changes as he did so. But when he said transform, it immediately caught Blake's attention. He quickly turned around and ran towards Discord, picking him up by his shirt, he had a look of anger and disbelief. 

"What do you mean 'transform'! Have you seen the state of her body? It couldn't possibly survive turning!"

Blake screamed in his face, spit flying out of his mouth onto Discord, which he wiped off. Discord's face wasn't one of 
fear, more surprise, he thought Blake would be happy she wasn't going to die. 

"Well, yes, normally, you'd be right. But the very first time is different, the body hasn't adjusted to change like that. So in the first transformation, the DNA and the venom mold together with the bones, muscles, and organs. Both making them stronger and healing any injuries. I thought she'd transform during the first three out of anger, but I guess I was wrong." 

Discord said disappointedly; he wasn't usually wrong about things. Blake dropped him, but the anger was still evident on his face. 

"You were wrong about when she'd transform, why not if she's transforming at all? With all the stuff she's been through, how do you know her body doesn't already heal quickly?"

Blake questioned, not wanting to accept he lost the bet. 

"Because it doesn't work like that, you idiot!"

Discord and Blake argued, Blake desperate for Discord to be wrong. Right now, Igneous didn't care. He watched through the window, his hands behind his back, a smile still on his face. He looked past the men outside, focusing on the beaten and raped body of his daughter. And if he looked close enough, he could see the steam coming off her body. Any second now, she was going to get up, he just had to wait. 

_________________________________________________________________

She had lost. 

There were no words for what Pinkamena was feeling right now, nothing she can think of that could truly express it. Her father was the leader of a massive criminal organization and wasn't there most of her life, if at all. Her mother was distant and cold, rarely paying attention to them except for when she had to. Her only real family were her three sisters, they were who raised her, and her best friends. But Maud has become similar to their mother, cold and showed almost no emotion. And her sisters were practically kidnapped, abandoned in the woods and left to die, and all in the name of some test. Now, she'd been abandoned, tortured, beaten, raped, experimented on, and now she was going to die. 

Through this whole experience, Pinkamena has rarely felt something other than rage. But now that she lay here, her right eye so swollen she can barely see, beaten and broken on the floor, she felt something else, fear. Not only fear for herself, but Maud as well. She felt disappointment in herself, for not avenging her sisters she loved so dearly. She felt hatred for her father, for forcing her to go through all this and just watching her die. Sadness for her friends, she'll never get to see them again, and they'll never know what happened. But there was one feeling that was stronger than the others, one that she hated, powerlessness. 

She was powerless to stop her father from murdering her sisters, and from doing the same to her. She was too weak to keep fighting and avenge her sisters, even after everything. This wasn't the first time Pinkie's felt weak and powerless; she's just never really thought about it. She couldn't stop Sunset from mind controlling the entire school; she couldn't stop The Sirens forcing her and her friends to fight, her friends could have died, and she couldn't do anything!

This wasn't going to just magically work out like that though, no, this was different. She was going to die here; then Igneous would force Maud to go through the same stuff. And she too would die, then, to erase her existence, he would kill all her friends, all because she was too weak. Pinkamena felt something new, but familiar at the same time. She felt a burning hatred, but not for Igneous, this time, it was for herself. She was so angry at herself for being so powerless, for being unable to stop her father from killing the people she loved, Pinkamena couldn't believe how ignorant she was before this. For being so naive and ignorant, thinking nothing was wrong, and the world was a fair and great place. But most of all, she felt angry that even after everything that's happened to her to make her stronger and better, after being transformed into something better than human, she was still so weak!

Pinkamena's body began to burn intensely, steam rising off her body, mainly from the spots where her injuries were. But she barely paid any attention to it, compared to the consuming rage and hatred inside of her, it was nothing. She grits her teeth, not out of pain, but out of anger. She wasn't going to die here, she couldn't die here! Pinkamena slowly lifted up her fist, steam still rising from it, and hit it against the ground, her nails digging so deep into her skin that it drew blood. 

She thought of the faces of her sisters, pale and dead; their last moments must have been agonizing. Then she thought of Maud with that same look, and her friends, something that she never wanted to see! Pinkamena began to rise slowly, her injuries almost done healing, but she ignored the pain. Her body began to morph, similar to when Discord first injected her. Her teeth were growing larger and sharper, while her nails grew longer, resembling claws more than nails. 

But she would not submit! Maud was not weak, her friends were not weak, she was not weak! She was not going to be powerless and let her father kill the people she cared about! Pinkamena began growling fiercely, she was nearly on her feet at this point, the steam now only coming from the places her body was morphing. Her body was getting larger, mainly her arms and legs. She could feel her skin getting tougher too, becoming more of a leathery texture. Her eyes had changed color; they were now a crimson red, matching the color of blood on her body. 

Pinkamena no longer looked human; her teeth seemed like the kind that would belong to a predator, larger than usual and sharpened, prepared to tear apart meat. Her nails had grown a few inches; the tips looked sharp as knives. Her body had become noticeably larger, but not to the point of abnormality. Her skin looked the same but had a much tougher texture now. She held out her hands in front of her, looking down as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing. She touched her teeth; they felt unfamiliar in her body, and yet she knew she'd adjust quickly.

She could feel the power coursing through her; she felt stronger, faster, like she could kill them all. But that wasn't what she was focusing on; she was focusing on the urge. She could smell their blood, hear their heartbeats; she allowed her bloodlust to consume her. Filled with her newfound power, her unyielding rage, her desperation to kill her father, and pure insanity, she smiled. She got on all fours, similar to before when she pounced on one of three, but this time with a smile. She began to slowly crawl forward, as she felt herself become consumed by her instincts. As she smelt the sweat and blood from the many men in front of her, she remembered the taste of blood from earlier. 

It was intoxicating; she could feel her mouth watering, craving for the taste. She would have stuck her tongue out, but she probably would have bit it off. The sound of their heartbeats got louder the closer she got; it soon became the only sound, other than her thoughts. She began to lose herself, in the lessons she learned from the woods, in the teachings burned into her by Blake, in her new animal instincts, in her broken mental state, she was becoming trapped in her sanity. And the more she lost her self, the faster she got, she was practically salivating. 

Everyone was gathered at the bunker window since they lost interest in her, they assumed she was dead and wanted their award. None had noticed the one they thought was dead had got up and was running towards them. One of the ones in the back heard the sound of her hands and feet hitting the ground, and slowly turned around to see what it was. His eyes widened and his mind filled with fear, as what he saw terrified him. It was some monstrosity of a person; the teeth looked like they belonged to a lion! And the nails looked like claws that of a wolverine! Her injuries from before were none existent; her clothes ripped from where they were. Her eyes were so wide and red; they had so much hatred and bloodlust behind them, even more than before. But it was too late; there was nothing he could do but scream. 

"What the hell-"

He desperately tried to scream, attempting to warn the others of the threat. But before he had time to finish, his throat was ripped apart. As soon as he noticed her, Pinkamena leaped forward, jumping off the ground towards him with her mouth open. Before he had the time to finish his sentence, Pinkamena pounced on him, digging her nails into his shoulders and biting into his neck, knocking him down to the ground.

She tore into his neck, biting through the meat to the bone, almost like she starved for it. Within seconds he was dead, she had lost herself in the addictive feeling of taking a life in such brutal way, and the intoxicating taste of blood. For a moment, she forgot what she was and lost her sense of control; blood covered her mouth and the floor as she ripped through his neck, nearly decapitating him. She would have entirely eaten through his neck if one of the others hadn't kicked her off of him. She lost her self so much in the taste, her grip on him had almost entirely loosened, so she got knocked back a few feet. 

"What the fuck are you!? Some monster!?"

One of them yelled at her, fear and anger in his voice. They had noticed as soon as they heard his scream and his body hit the floor, but they were too late. They would have acted sooner, but they were too in shock at the abomination they were seeing. But when the blood hit one of the closer one's face, the shock left him. Most of them were looking at her; a few were looking at what was left of the body right beside them. The ones who were looking at the body were either still in shock, or were disgusted and couldn't believe what they were seeing. Around twenty of them were looking at Pinkamena, their fist clenched, and sweat ran down their faces. Most were disgusted, some were angry, but there was one thing they all felt, which was fear. They didn't know what they were looking at, and that terrified them. 

Pinkamena lay on her side, slight traces of steam came from the side of her face where they kicked her, healing the injury. The smile on her face was gone, replaced with a grimace, she didn't like being interrupted during a meal. She slowly began to get up, not looking at the crowd of men in front of her. She didn't have to; she knew her answer.

"A monster? No,"

Pinkamena stood up, a smile stretched across her face as she looked at the crowd of men in front of her. Her teeth were a dark red, blood dripped from her mouth onto the floor, making her malicious smile even more terrifying. 

"I'm an animal!" 

Pinkamena screamed as she began running towards them, the ones who were looking at the body now joined them. They started running towards her, intent on beating down whatever this thing was. But when they met, Pinkamena outstretched her arms and quickly jumped forward, slicing open the throats of two in the front, they didn't even have time to react. 

One on her left tried to punch her, but she easily dodged it, grabbing him by the arm and throwing him into one of the others, her smile, if possible, seemed to widen. Discord was right; her senses were so much better in this form! She could hear the joints and bones moving in their arms and legs, allowing her to know that she was about to be hit without even looking! She could smell their sweat and blood, but best of all, she could smell it! Their fear!

"I'll kill you!"

Someone behind her screamed, trying to hit her from behind. But she only smirked, quickly leaning down and putting her hands on the ground. She lifted her legs off the ground, pushing her body upwards and kicking him in the jaw, she could hear the satisfying sound of his neck snapping. She landed on his chest, enjoying the sound of his ribs cracking. Right as she landed on him, two men leaped at her, one from the front and one from the back. She bent her knees and jumped up, causing them to jump into each other. For a few seconds, she was above the crowd of men. 

And thanks to both her improved eyesight and her killing high, she was able to focus those few seconds. She could see it on their faces, they were afraid! That fear in their eyes, some of them were even shaking! Just a little more, and they'll lose their will to fight. Pinkamena looked down for her next target, eager to taste the deliciousness of blood again. She landed on one of the men, her mouth wide open as her sharp teeth poked out. She chomped on his face, avoiding his mouth so he could hear his screams. 

Her teeth sank into his upper face, biting into his eyes and part of his nose, his screams were deafening, but they only filled Pinkamena with glee and arousal. She bit deeper, causing his screaming to stop and his body to go limp. She slowly detached her teeth from his face, tossing his body to the floor like it was nothing. There was a gigantic hole in the front part of his head; it looked like the result of a brutal animal mauling. She bit deep, almost biting through the bone. The muscle was all that was visible, covered in blood and other liquids, little shreds of skin stuck out. The eyes sockets were almost empty, the optical nerves sticking out of them like cables out of a computer, except there were still parts of the eye on these. Blood flowed from his face, making a puddle on the floor around him. 

Pinkamena's face was covered with blood, to the point to where it looked like that was her skin, which made her eyes almost seem natural. She visibly gulped, swallowing the juices of the eyes and the meat, as she had torn them apart with her teeth. Then she started moving her tongue around in her mouth as if something got stuck in her teeth. She turned her head to the side, spitting something small and white out. It landed at the feet of one of the thugs to her left, he picked it up and examined it, but threw it to the floor when he realized what it was. It was bone, probably a part of his skull. 

"So,"

Pinkamena whispered, but everyone around her heard it. She was in the middle of the crowd, men surrounded her, but they did nothing. They could only watch in terror as she devoured his face, and tossed his body aside like it was nothing. She looked at the men in front of her, but it was evident she was addressing all of them. She outstretched her arms in a welcoming manner, her palms open, though her hands still covered in blood. Her smile was broad and sadistic, her teeth a dark red with blood, parts of flesh in them. Her pupils constricted as she slightly lowered her head, taunting them to attack her, her eyes practically glistened. 

"Who's next?"

Her words were a catalyst, enhancing the immense fear in each of them. The crowd dispersed, almost all of them going to the bunker. They all went around her, not even one bumping into her, she stood completely still. They were filled with overwhelming fear, crowding around the windows and beating on it desperately, screaming to be let out and that they didn't want the money anymore, but it was in vain, Igneous had no mercy. But not all of them left, there were still three in front of her. They were shaking, they were just as afraid of her as the others, yet they stood their ground. They were either stupid or were relying on their anger to fuel them. She didn't care. 

"So, you're the guys with the big balls, huh?"

Pinkamena asked sarcastically, standing straight up and tilting her head curiously. She stuck her abnormally long tongue out of her mouth and moved her right hand to her face, licking the blood off her hand, making one of the men shiver. Her smile widened, her eyes constricting again, as she got on all fours, her tongue still hanging out of her mouth. 

"When I'm through with you, you won't have any!"

Pinkamena leaped forward, as she slowly succumbed to the bloodlust. 

_________________________________________________________________

"Jesus Christ."

Blake whispered to himself, in shock at what he was seeing. After hearing the scream from one of the men, he stopped arguing with Discord and looked out the window, just in time for the carnage. But instead of his prideful smile, he usually had, his face was that of terror. He's seen gore before, hell, he's seen men tear each other apart in some of the most gruesome ways he could imagine. But this was different; there was no motive behind the way she killed, she was toying with them. Usually, this would make Blake proud, since he contributed to making her like this. But there was something about her change, something he didn't make. He may have given her a push, but somehow, he felt like she either was already like this or was on her way to be. Not only that, but this was the first time he's ever seen one of Discord's 'creations' in action, it almost made him jealous. But now that he's seen it, combined with something he created, it was unnerving. 

Discord was mesmerized, his glasses were slipping off, but he didn't seem to notice. He had a smug grin on his face, almost identical to the one Blake usually has. He too was focused on the events outside the bunker, the one-sided massacre happening just in front of them. But, unlike Blake, he knew this would happen. He expected it, though he second-guessed himself for a little bit. And while he could do without the...brutality, this had surpassed his expectations. He's seen the first transformation dozens of times, and most of the time, they survive it. This test was harder than most, but the chimeras usually survive, even if just barely. 

She wasn't just barely able to fight them off or having trouble adjusting, it almost looked natural. She used her new form so flawlessly like it was an old glove she hadn't worn in a long time. It was marvelous! This was better than he could have ever expected, than any chimera he'd ever seen! Before he realized it, Discord quickly took out his brown journal from his pocket, never taking his eyes off what was happening in front of him. He began to immediately write down everything he was seeing, being able to write it without even looking. He wrote down every visual detail, also writing down reminders for later, he needed to know everything. 

Igneous's reaction was the most out of character, but at the same time, it fit perfectly. Igneous was shaking! Not out of fear of his daughter, or because he was angry that they weren't killing her, but because he was excited! He had been desperate for results, for this to go right, and it did! This was amazing! Not only did she turn out to be the person he needed her to be, but she was a killing machine! She wasn't the same immature child he dropped into the woods; she was a different person! He wasn't sure if it was something she learned in the woods, something Blake or Discord did, or if what just natural! But the way she was psychologically manipulating them, the way she used her senses to fight, even the way she acted and talked was impressive. 

It took him years before he learned any of that. And she seemed like she already knew it all! Her emotions weren't holding her back, but she wasn't just letting her instincts control her either. She was thinking about everything she did and enjoying every second of it. Igneous had goosebumps; he couldn't stop shivering! This was his child! He made this! At first, he thought he would need a boy to be a proper heir, since the first two died, and Maud wasn't capable. But now he knew she was perfect! She was precisely the win he needed, now all he could do was watch and wait. 

Igneous stood, his hands clenching tightly, a wide grin on his face. None of them said nothing; there was nothing to say. They just watched, as their creation tore apart men like a fox in a hen-house. She killed the three who tried to fight her efficiently, their deaths meaning nothing. She spared no one, not even the ones too afraid to confront her. They were still crowded up at the bunker windows, begging to be let out, but Igneous wasn't going to. It was almost pitiful, watching her kill them so quickly. Most of them weren't painless either; she didn't seem to be one to do something so merciful. She either ripped them apart, bit through their faces and necks, or broke their spines and left them to die, or to finish later.

"Come on! Fight back! It's no fun if you just let me!"

Pinkamena yelled, after tossing another body aside like it was nothing. She still had that sadistic smile on her face; her crimson eyes thirsted to kill. The fresh blood began to mix with the dried, as it began to deeply stain into her clothes, something that would never come out. Despite her request, the men continued to crowd around the windows, begging for freedom desperately. 

"Welp, I tried."

Pinkamena mumbled disappointedly, pouncing towards the now small amount of men. Igneous shuddered at her words; she just got better every second. For what felt like hours, Igneous, Blake, and Discord watched, each for different reasons. She finished those men like they were cattle, except she didn't wait until they were dead to start eating them. Her hunger seemed to be satisfied, as she wasn't eating their bodies or drinking their blood. Bodies and body parts spread throughout the entire room. Blood almost covered the whole floor, the parts that were visible, anyway. Most of the bodies had something taken off or out of them, bite marks on most. 

Pinkamena didn't seem to mind the carnage, in fact, she almost seemed proud. She looked around her surroundings, down at the bodies and blood, no emotion on her face. Then, unexpectedly, she got on her knees. Her arms dangled at her side, blood dripping off of them. She looked up at the roof, hanging her head back as she did so, allowing her pink hair, which had splotches of blood in it, to flow behind her, something she had never really done before. Her face looked calm, almost relaxed. Her eyes were closed in a peaceful way; the smile disappeared, she almost looked like she was asleep. 

For a moment, Igneous questioned whether she was conscious. She didn't move at all, except for her chest, indicating she was still alive. The adrenaline rush was beginning to leave him since there was no one else for her to kill, he regretted not getting more guys. 

"Come on, do something, don't tell me your fighting spirit was temporary."

Igneous mumbled under his breath; he needed her to do something. Sure, what she did was impressive. But sometimes it can be the effect of their first transformation or first kill, temporary insanity if you will. He needed her to keep behaving the way she was, to know that it wasn't just something temporary. 

Pinkamena, of course, didn't hear him. For a few more minutes, she was utterly still. Igneous could feel the annoyance and frustration creeping up on him, feelings he was all too familiar with. But Pinkamena, knowing it or not, was about to please him. She suddenly opened her eyes, her smile quickly returning. Her right hand grabbed a nearby decapitated head, digging her nails into the eyes. She stood up immediately, get into a position similar to a baseball pitcher.

She pulled her right arm back, lifting her right foot off the ground slightly. She gripped the head tightly, then she suddenly slung her arm forward, her foot stomping onto the floor. She threw the head with accuracy and strength, it splattered against the window, almost seeming to stick before it fell to the ground. The blood covered the window, but not enough to where they couldn't see through. 

"Is that all you got, dad!? I've got at least two hours left, are you going to make me sit here and wait?"

Pinkamena asked impatiently; she was still eager for blood. And just like that, Igneous could feel it again. That rush, that excitement to fight, the need to kill. He needed to sate it; he needed a release. And at the same time, he needed to test her thoroughly, and then break her. Igneous smile insanely, as an idea entered his mind. 

"Discord, what's her condition?"

Igneous said calmly, the emotion in his voice nearly opposite to the one on his face. Discord didn't respond; he didn't even seem to notice. He was reading the notes in his journal, mumbling to himself incoherently. Blake didn't seem to be in shock anymore, but he remained silent. At some point in time, he had walked over to the table. Blake sat down in the chair, looking out the bunker with a blank look on his face. He had the necklace in his right hand, moving it around between his fingers. 

"Discord!"

Igneous shouted, snapping Discord out of his trance. He looked at Igneous shakily, more out of surprise than actual fear. 

"Y-yes?"

Discord asked slowly, not knowing whether he asked him a question or not. 

"Her condition, what is it?"

Discord quickly walked over to his computer, which was on this entire time. He put his journal back in his pocket, leaning down and looking on the screen. 

"Well...she's fully healed, no physical injuries. From the looks of it, I would say-wait a minute, this is strange."

Discord started out normally, but his tone became more suspicious and confused. He began to examine the laptop as if he was looking for something.

"What is it?"

Igneous said, his voice showing how irritable he was. He had his head turned to the right, looking at Discord with one eye. His hands were still at his sides. 

"Her bones, they're strange. Usually, in the first form, the bones change to adjust. But looking at her body, not all of them have. Some parts have, like her arms and legs. But most of her bones haven't changed, if at all! Most have stayed the same, but some changes in size or density, maybe even longer. That's not all either, some of her teeth haven't changed, mostly the ones used to bite are the only ones that have.

Her eyes have stayed the same size, even the pupils have stayed human. As far as I can tell, the only change is the color of the pupils; I have no idea whether it's even affected her vision or not."

Discord exclaimed, he was becoming frustrated at not understanding what was happening here. 

"Wait, I thought you said she had successfully transformed."

Igneous turned all the way around, both eyes facing Discord. Another body part hit the window behind him, causing more blood to splatter. It seemed Pinkie had started playing catch with the windows, except the ball was body parts. 

"She has! I guess she's in some partial transformation like she only focused on certain parts of her body changing. I know it's possible to change the skin to scales or fur on certain parts, but this is very different! Her eyes can only change color in a full transformation! At least, they're supposed to. It should be impossible only to change particular parts like this, something she shouldn't even be able to do yet!"

Discord's voice was panicked and erratic, trying to come up with any explanation. 

"Are you telling me she was able to do all of this without even fully transforming?!"

Igneous nearly shouted, disbelief written all over his face. 

"Well, yes, but there's one problem."

Discord almost whispered, knowing bad news wasn't something Igneous wanted to hear right now. 

"What?"

Igneous asked impatiently. 

"Since she thinks she's in her first form, that means she isn't doing this intentionally; I doubt she'd even know how. And since this is something I've never seen before, all I can do is make assumptions. There are three possibilities why this happened: One, her emotions were high, but weren't strong enough for a complete transformation, resulting in this. Two, her feelings were strong enough, but her body wasn't. Certain parts were ready; some others weren't, so only the parts prepared changed. 

Third, this is something unique to her. Every chimera has their trait, something only they have because of their genetic sequence. Sometimes it's access to specific animal abilities, or it can even be something like being able to stop and restart their own heart. I've never seen something like this before, but with chimeras, anythings possible. 

But, the cause isn't the issue. The real problem is stability."

Discord said worriedly like he knew something was going to go wrong. 

"Stability? Why's that a problem? Isn't the first transformation always stable?"

Igneous asked, dreading the answer. 

"Yes, it almost always is. But since this is something completely new, I have no idea how the body is dealing with it. If the body is stable than I have no idea what the length of this could be, or if she even can revert it, assuming she knows how. 

But, with the chemical imbalance, the body not used to certain parts being heavier than usual, and there haven't been any chances for it to rest since she's been constantly moving, it's very likely her body's unstable. Which means..."

Discord didn't finish his sentence; he seemed almost afraid too. Igneous looked at him expectedly, the realization slowly creeping into his mind. 

"Which means what?!"

Igneous yelled at Discord, he already knew the answer, but he needed to hear it.

"It means..."

Discord hesitated, he sighed as he took off his glasses, a look of worry and fear was on his face. He closed his eyes; he couldn't look at the computer anymore. 

"At any given moment, her body could collapse, most likely putting her into a coma. And if she does, I'm not sure when she’d wake up, if at all."

Discord didn't say anything else; he kept his eyes clothes and hands on the table, he didn't want to talk anymore. Igneous's face changed to anger, as he turned back to Pinkamena, who was still throwing body parts at the bunker window, that smile still on her face. Igneous watched her, his anger burning inside of him. He ground his teeth, his hands clenched, nails digging into his skin. 

"Would fighting speed it up?"

Igneous asked, no anger or fear in his voice. Discord didn't say anything for a little bit; he didn't want to. 

"No, it wouldn't affect it, as long as she isn't too badly injured."

Discord answered, the words out of his mouth softly spoken. Igneous looked out the window; he was considering doing something drastic.

"Fuck it!"

Igneous suddenly yelled, slamming his hand against a button on the wall beside him. He ran out towards the door of the room, opening it quickly. 

"What are you doing?!"

Discord asked, not understanding what he was going to do. Igneous stopped halfway through the door, looking like he was in a rush. 

"Getting results."

He ran out the door, slamming it behind him, saying nothing else. 

_________________________________________________________________

Pinkamena threw an arm towards the window, but it didn't seem to leave much blood. 

"What are they doing in there? Are they even paying attention to me?"

She mumbled to herself, a bad habit she still had from her time in the wilderness. Since she's killed all the men, she assumed she would move on to the next part of the test. Unless  that was the entire test, then she would be very disappointed. She decided the best way to get their attention was to start throwing body parts at the window. And, surprisingly, it worked. 

The gates that the men came out of slowly began to open, causing Pinkamena to toss aside the leg she was about to throw, an eager and excited look on her face. 

"Alright! It's about time! So, what going to be my next ch-"

Pinkamena immediately stopped where she was, disbelief on her face. Igneous walked out of the darkness, not with that same brooding look on his face, but with a prideful smile. 

"You've seemed to have taken care of these guys fairly quickly, ready for an actual challenge?"

The words came out of his mouth smoothly; he was acting so calm, more than usual. In seconds, Pinkamena filled with burning rage, so much so she couldn't even say anything. She began running towards him, not thinking about what she was going to do; she was running on her rage. 

"Just going to rush in like that? Seems a bit reckless to me."

Igneous said smugly, not even flinching when she took a swipe at him. He dodged it quickly, his movements surprisingly fast. She took another swing at him, but he avoided that one too. Faster than she could react, he moved forward and kneed her in the face, knocking her down on the ground. 

"These guys may have had more battle experience than me overall, but I've fought chimeras before, most of them in this very room."

Igneous said to her, his calm demeanor still present. Pinkamena jumped off the ground towards him, launching a kick towards him from the left. This time, he didn't dodge. Instead, he caught the leg with his hands, holding it with a firm grip. Without hesitation, he spun around, taking Pinkamena with him. He tossed her across the room, causing to land on her side with a grunt. 

"I know your limits, your speed, and your strength. So, as long as I remain calm, fighting you is not that hard. Especially when it's one like you, allowing their rage to consume them."

Pinkamena slowly got off the ground, looking towards her father, the color red began to blur her vision. She roared as she ran towards him on all fours, no longer able to think. 

"There you go again, rushing in without thinking. That wouldn't be too bad if you were competent."

Pinkamena began to desperately attack him, swinging her nails at him again and again, trying to land even a single hit on him, but he was dodging them with ease. Eventually, Igneous grabbed her arm and kicked her in the chest, knocking her down on the ground. He then firmly stomped his foot on her chest, still holding her arm in his hands. 

"Strength and speed mean nothing if you're stupid, you have to think about everything you do, every hit has to have a meaning. I wonder, maybe some pain will teach you this lesson."

Before she could react, he quickly twisted and bent her arm, causing it break almost instantly, making a loud snapping sound. Pinkamena felt the immense sharp pain through her entire arm, causing her to nearly whimper. But she bit her tongue; she couldn't let him hear her pain, she wouldn't allow it. He let go of her arm, steam rising from her arm as it began to heal itself. She held it close to her body, trying to let it heal. 

"You're as pathetic as your sisters, do you expect to avenge them being as weak as you are?"

He asked blatantly, looking down at her with pity in his eyes. Pinkamena tried jumping towards him, but she could barely get off the ground. He didn't have to try that hard to avoid it, he just slightly sidestepped. She hit the ground with a thud, landing on her still healing arm, causing her to grunt. Igneous kicked her in the stomach, barely doing any damage. 

"You are a disappointment; I should have just went ahead and got Maud. This was a waste of time, If only I had a son instead of four girls, maybe then I wouldn't have such a pitiful bunch of children."

Pinkamena tried to get up, but Igneous kicked her again, hard enough to crack her ribs. He put his foot on her head, slowly pressing down. Pinkamena was in a lot of pain, but there was nothing she could do about it. 

"You know, I have the video of them dying. They were too scared to leave the cave, afraid of whatever animals were waiting to eat them in the woods. So they starved, holding onto each other in the end. But, Blinkie made Inkie make a promise. That if she died, Inkie would eat her to survive, and the same vice versa. Well, Blinkie starved first. And Inkie? Well, I'm not sure if she was too weak to do it, or strong enough to resist, but she starved too. Their bodies didn't go to waste; the rats made use of them."

There wasn't actually a video of them; there was no camera in that cave. He was goading her, hoping to force her to transform entirely. He didn't look down at her as he talked, he was curious to see if she would suddenly get up and attack him, but she wasn't. 

Pinkamena was sobbing, not because of the pain, but because of her sadness. Her rage slowly began to face, as her almost forgotten feelings of grief returned. She pushed her face into the ground, hoping to stifle her crying, tears rolled down it.

"Honestly though, it makes me curious. If they had made it to this point, which I doubt they would have, I was going to make them kill each other, instead of the usual test. I would have liked to-are you crying?!"

Igneous asked aggressively, looking down at her with an angry look on his face. She didn't respond; she just continued crying. 

"At first, I just felt pity and disappointment looking at you like this. But now? It makes me  sick!"

Igneous pulled back his leg; then he let it go, kicking Pinkamena in the stomach again, causing her to cough up blood. He kicked her pretty hard, it lifted her off the ground and sent her flying a few feet. She probably would have gone farther if she hadn't hit a wall, she tried to stand up, but she couldn't. Her arm and ribs were still healing, and now so was her back. She could only sit up with her back against the wall, at least until she could get up again. 

"The moral of that story was that the weak and cowardly die. And what are you doing? Being a coward! You're sitting there and  crying! I thought you said you were going to kill me?! But now you sit here, broken and pathetic!"

Igneous screamed at her, trying to push her. She had stopped crying, but that didn't mean she was angry, he was just going to have to push her harder. 

"I'm sorry!"

Pinkamena screamed, tears threating to fall again. 

" You're sorry!? I killed your sisters, and your apologizing to me!?"

Igneous asked rhetorically; his voice boomed in the room. He appeared to be angry, and partly was, but he was trying to provoke her in any way he can. Pinkamena didn't respond. 

"Not only did I kill your sisters, but I tortured you for months! I spent so much time and money on you, made you better and stronger than the pathetic child you were before! And yet here you are, making empty threats, stronger than you ever were before! But you're too stupid and weak minded to do it!"

Pinkamena clutched the sides of her head with her hands, tears going down her face. 

"Shut up!"

Pinkamena screamed, her voice breaking as she did so. 

"Now you're not even fighting anymore! You're sitting there and screaming at me like a child having a tantrum! What would your friends say if they saw you now? It doesn't matter; I'm going to kill them after this. Not because I have to, but to punish you for being such a failure!"

Pinkamena's nails began to dig into her head, blood dripping from it. Tears began to flow down her face; her emotions began to overcome her. 

"No! Please! Not them!"

Pinkamena begged, her friends and Maud were all she had left, she couldn't afford to lose them.

"Stop begging me, it's pathetic! You need to fight for what you want! You want to stop being powerless and weak? Then prove it! If you don't get up right now, I'm going to do something so bad to your friends; it'll make what I did to you look like a joke!"

Pinkamena felt fear coursing through her, fear for herself and her friends. But at the same time, she could sense her rage. But somehow, it was different. It felt stronger, and it burnt differently, almost like it wasn't hers. Pinkamena slammed her fist against the wall, slowly standing up. Her anger and resolve temporarily forgotten, but slowly coming back, stronger than before now that the main reason for them is right in front of her. 

"There you go! Come on, show me that fire in your eyes!"

Igneous demanded, his excitement slowly began to overwhelm him. Pinkamena looked up at Igneous, her eyes brimming with anger. The pupils were morphing, changing size and shape. Steam was irradiating off her body; her rage began to consume her. Her hair was almost flowing, the steam coming out of her body so rapidly, it began to cover her body. 

"I'm not weak! I'm not powerless!"

Pinkamena said, either to herself or Igneous, he couldn't tell. Her hand dug into the wall, actually slightly denting it. Her teeth were showing, steam coming out of her mouth from her teeth, she seemed to be snarling at him. 

"You are! You can't do anything right! You couldn't even protect your sisters; you didn't even look for them! You never wrote, you never looked for them, did you even care at all about them?! Do you even care about your friends?! It's their lives on the line too, and you don't seem to be trying too hard for them! Or are you just so weak that you can't?!"

He could feel it; he was getting close. She was right on the edge.

"SHUT UP!"

Pinkamena slammed her hand against the wall again, causing a dent. The steam began to come out more rapidly; it began to clot up around her, making it hard to see her. But there was one thing Igneous could still see clearly, her eyes. They seemed to be an even darker shade of crimson than before; the pupils looked barely human. Her voice was distorted, sounding like hers, but also the sounds of other animals. It was almost hard to tell what she was even saying. 

"Why don't you come an make me? Or are you  afraid?"

Igneous taunted her, gesturing her with his hands. That was the final push, Pinkamena could no longer stop herself. Pinkamena's eyes expanded, the pupils changed to slits, similar to a snakes. Her mouth opened, showing her carnivorous teeth. Her body got slightly bigger, and the parts that stayed the same before also grew. Steam exploded from her, as she killed the fear in her heart, and replaced it with rage. 

A roar filled the room, coming from the spot Pinkamena was in. It sounded like a combination of a lion and a bear, but it was slightly distorted. Igneous knew what that was; he's heard it so many times, that was the roar of a chimera. Igneous smiled, she had finally transformed. 

The roar pushed the steam forward, like a strong gust of wind. The steam was hot, not enough to burn, but enough to make someone sweat. It was strong enough to knock the hat off of him, but he didn't put his hands up to stop it from hitting his eyes, he didn't have time to. 

"The very first transformation is usually explosive, but this one, in particular, seems to be more so, interesting."

Igneous mumbled to himself, his hat seeming insignificant. But another roar filled the room, this one louder than before, making Igneous's ears ring. This caused another gust of steam to burst forward, this one stronger than before. It hit Igneous's eyes, the sudden pain causing him to close his eyes for a few seconds. When he opened them again, Pinkamena was in front of him. 

She was midair, off the ground in front of him. Her eyes were still a dark crimson, looking more like black mixed with red, her pupils making her look inhuman. Her teeth were obvious, large, sharp, and tinted with red. And, for just a moment, Igneous forgot who he was looking at, he only saw a predator, hunting its prey. 

She swiped at him, faster than before, this time she was aiming for his face. He was barely able to dodge it, both because she was faster, and he didn't have time to react. Even though he was able to avoid it, she almost hit him, cutting off some of his hairs. Igneous was about to make a snarky remark when she hit the ground, but she didn't. Faster than he expected, she put her left hand on the ground, using it to spin herself around, kicking him in the side. 

It hit him in the side, causing him to grunt more out of surprise than out of pain. But, he was able to stand his ground. He put his right arm around her leg, not intending to let it go. But, instead of struggling to get out of his grip like before, she just smiled. She used the left hand to swipe towards him, knowing he wouldn't be able to dodge this time. Igneous noticed this but also realized he wasn't fast enough to entirely avoid getting hit. He let go of her leg and moved back as quickly as he could, but he wasn't fast enough. 

The tip of his nose was caught off, and some parts of his face were scratched. Deep claw marks were on his face, red. Igneous grunted loudly, his face burned with a hot pain, blood running down his face. Steam began to rise off his face, his wounds starting to heal. The problem was, the steam was clouding his vision, making his eyes water, which was affecting his sight. 

Pinkamena was satisfied, she finally hit him and got that smirk off his face. Not just that, but with that steam coming off his injuries, she finally got confirmation that he was also a chimera. But she wasn't done yet; she wanted to make him suffer. Before he could fully heal, Pinkamena leaped forward, taking quick swipes at him. Igneous was unprepared; he could barely see. But he heard her moving, in response, he moved to the right, but still getting grazed. He focused on what he could listen to, dodging her attacks the best he could. The first few he didn't entirely avoid, causing him to get cut along his body.

But, he was a fast healer, the wounds on his face were quickly closing. He was getting his vision back, meaning he could dodge her attacks better. He was no longer getting grazed; he was now dodging pretty easily. But he couldn't go on the offensive; he wanted to wait until his wounds fully healed. As he was dodging, he noticed her attacks were different before. They were almost too easy to avoid, it's almost like she wasn't even aiming to hit him like she was just swiping at him with no real intention of actually hitting. 

"Are you even trying to hit me? Or are you so pathetic that you can't even-"

Before he could finish his sentence, he tripped. He looked behind him to see what on, his eyes widened in shock at what it was. There was a reason she wasn't trying to hit him, she wanted him to dodge her. She was placing her attacks in a certain way and direction, so he would have to dodge her a certain way. She had been leading him over to the bunker, continuously attacking him so he wouldn't notice. And since he wasn't paying attention to he was moving, he tripped on one of the bodies. Pinkamena smiled sadistically; her plan had worked. Pinkamena jumped forward, but instead of trying to cut him with her nails, she clenched her hand. She was going to hit him, hard. 

"Clever girl."

Igneous mumbled as Pinkamena punched him in the face, slamming him against the ground. He bounced off the floor, Pinkamena slammed her foot against his chest, causing one of his ribs to break. He winced as she did, causing her smile to widen. Now, she just has made him transform, and then beat him, permanently demoralizing him. 

"Get up; I'm not done with you. You're going to fight, you're going to try your hardest, and then I'm going to beat you. And while you're at you lowest, I'll break you as you did me!"

Pinkamena screamed as she pulled back her arm. She brought down her arm, aiming for his face, hoping to break his nose. But before she could hit him, he caught her fist with his hand, like it was nothing. His other hand grabbed the foot on his chest by the ankle; his grip was stronger than before. He slowly began to get up, quickly lifting her off the ground. There was a broad smile on his face, his teeth bigger and sharper than before, his eyes slowly beginning to change from yellow to red. Steam was rising off his body; he was transforming!

"You wanted it? Well, you got it!" 

Igneous said sadistically, his voice demonic. Pinkamena's smile was gone, her face changed to that of shock, and slight fear. Is that what she looked like? Igneous threw her across the room like a ragdoll, but she was able to catch herself midair. She landed on her feet, sliding as soon as she did, her hand against the ground trying to slow herself down. 

"This is going to be your first time seeing the transformation, burn it into your memory!"

Igneous's distorted voice boomed in the room, as he slowly began to get up. His body was slowly changing in size; the steam started coming off of him more rapidly. His eyes slowly began to change shape and color, the nails extending to claws, the teeth getting bigger and sharper. The transformation was so different to look at than to experience, almost entirely different. It nearly had her hypnotized, nearly. 

"Heh, you idiot, you did exactly what I hoped you would."

Pinkamena smirked to herself; she had already won. Pinkamena stood up, pulling something out from behind her. It was the machete she had tossed earlier, during the steam explosion, she grabbed it. She hid it in her pants since she didn't have anywhere else to put it. It was uncomfortable and made it hard to move around without it cutting into her, but it paid off. Igneous didn't seem to notice her; his transformation distracted him. As soon she fully pulled it out, without hesitation, she threw it at him. In seconds, it went through his chest, exactly where she wanted to. In the woods, she learned how to use things like spears and bows and arrows, her aim drastically improved. 

Igneous's transformation was stopped in its tracks, his body slowly reverting to its original form. Igneous looked down at the blade in his chest, coughing up blood as he did so. He fell to his knees, trying to put his hands around it to pull it out. 

"Why...did you...do that?"

Igneous choked out; he was barely able to breathe, so much as talk. Both because of the pain, and his lungs took a major hit. Pinkamena walked towards him with a swagger, her smile reached both corners of her mouth. Igneous was slowly pulling out the machete; he almost had it out. 

"Because,"

She put her hand on the end of the machete, pushing it back into him. Igneous grunted in pain, as he struggled to push it out, but he didn't have the energy to. Steam was coming out of the hole, trying desperately to heal it, but it couldn't with the body still inside. 

"I wanted to see the fear and pain in your eyes as I killed you."

Pinkamena said coldly, using her other hand to grab his face and raise it up towards her so that she could look him in the eyes. 

"Y-you can't kill me!"

Igneous said desperately, using all of his strength just to speak. 

"Obviously I can, I missed your heart by two inches, so that I can watch you die face to face. Unless there's some other reason?"

She said suggestively, pushing the machete in deeper. 

"You..don't know how to lead this organization! You'll have questions, and I'm the only one with answers!"

Igneous was desperate; he had too many things to do, he couldn't die here!

"I'll improvise."

She pushed the machete in deeper, enjoying the sight of him wincing in pain. 

"Don't you want me to...transform? So, you could beat me at my best."

Igneous was trying his hardest not to cry out in pain; he wasn't going to let her hear that. 

"I just said that to make you transform and give me an opening, which you willingly did. I don't care how you die, as long as it's painful, and I'm the one to do it!"

Pinkamena said sharply, as she suddenly twisted the machete. It was poking out of his back now, causing him to wince again. Igneous was getting pale, his body getting weaker every second from the immense blood loss. 

"I'm...not afraid of you."

Igneous whispered, barely able to speak now, as he was slowly losing consciousness. 

"Oh really?"

Pinkamena asked, skepticism in her voice. Unexpectedly, she pulled the machete out of him, tossing the blood covered thing across the room. But before the wound had time to start healing, Pinkamena shoved her hand in the hole, making a loud squishing noise as she did so. She wrapped her hand around his heart, not squeezing, just holding it in her hand. Causing Igneous to gasp, his eyes fully open, he was now entirely conscious. She let go of his face, putting that hand on his shoulder, using it keep him from passing out. 

"How about now that I literally have your life in my hands?! Are you scared of me yet?!"

Pinkamena screamed in his face, Her eyes constricted and a broad, sadistic smile on her face. The fear in his eyes was evident; she terrified him. Igneous didn't respond, either because he couldn't, or didn't know what to say. He was defeated. 

"Please...have mercy."

His words were quiet and weak; she broke him. Pinkamena scoffed. 

"Mercy? Why would I have mercy on you? You practically said it yourself, for the weak and the powerless, there would be no mercy."

Pinkamena said mockingly, using his own words against him. 

"I...created a monster, more than I ever imagined."

Igneous muttered, the life in his eyes slowly drained away. Pinkamena smirked at him, almost happy those are his last words. 

"No, daddy. You didn't create a monster; you just unleashed one."

Pinkamena leaned forward and whispered into his ear, the last thing he would hear. She then ripped out his heart, the light in his eyes faded, he was dead. Pinkamena stood up and kicked him, his lifeless body thudding on the ground. Pinkamena looked down at the warm organ in her hands, blood trickling from her hand. As the adrenaline and rage left, her body began to revert back to normal slowly. Which, surprisingly, wasn't as painful as she thought. Before she knew it, her body was back to normal. She was still covered head to toe in blood, mostly dried, but she was normal. 

Looking down at her father's heart, she wasn't sure what to feel. Suddenly, her sight got blurry. The ground, the heart, her hand, everything looked like it was far away. Her arms, no, her entire body began to shake. She dropped the heart, her hands unable to hold it anymore. Her ears began to ring painfully; she couldn't even hear her own breathing. Along with the ringing, a major headache came without, borderline migraine. She couldn't think, she could barely move. She put her hand up to her head; her eyes were drooping. 

"Whu-"

Pinkamena blacked out; her body hit the floor with a thump. As soon as she did, the gate opened to the room, Discord and Blake running out of it.
> Epilogue: The Final Change.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hook her up to the monitor, clean her, get her new clothes, and check her condition! In that order! Now! No questions!"

Discord ordered two nurses and a doctor in the room, pushing Pinkamena in on a gurney. His face was red, the same color of blood he had on his hands from where he had picked up Pinkamena and put her on the stretcher. Pinkamena, still covered in mostly dried blood, lay there unconscious, her face almost peaceful. 

"Why? Who is this perso-"

The doctor tried to ask, not recognizing the person. But Discord interrupted him. 

"I said no questions! Now do what I said, that's an order!"

Discord screamed louder than before, causing the nurses and doctor to flinch, they'd never seen him so angry before. Hesitantly, the doctor gestured the nurses over to one of the beds, picking up Pinkamena and bringing her over to the table.

"Discord! Answer me! Is she going to be okay?!"

Blake ran into the room, almost screaming. He had a worried look on his face. This nearly caused the doctor to drop Pinkamena, but luckily, he didn't. 

"Shut up! I have enough to worry about trying to comprehend everything; I can't deal with your pestering right now! I'm going to get some Neurontin; she's experienced enough pain. If you're that concerned, then you can stand here and make sure they don't fuck up!"

Discord yelled, talking to Blake, but glancing at the doctor, almost as to warn him. He ran out of the room, slamming the door as he left. Blake looked at Pinkamena, sweat beading down his face, visibly shaking. He walked to the table beside her, looking down at her body with worry and dread. 

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Pinkamena was afraid. 

She was in a white room, not like the cushion rooms in asylums, it was just...white. She lay crouched in the fetal position of the room, staring at the other side of it. The entire room was white, except for the wall on the other side, the one she was looking it. It looked bad, like someones threw a bucket of black paint on the wall. It was spread out, and, it might have been her imagination, but it looked like it was spreading, like an infection. 

She wasn't even sure why she was afraid of it; it's not like just touching it would cause it to spread to her, right? Well, she'll never really know. No matter how much she tries, she can't make herself get up. Even if she tries to get up, she's overcome with terror and fear and sits back down in the fetal position in the corner. What confused her, is why she would be in a room with something she was so scared of. 

Now that she thinks about it, how did she even get in here? She noticed there were no doors or windows, no entrances or exits of any kind. What kind of room was this? How did she get in here? She tries to remember, but her memory is blurry. She can't remember when she got in here; she can't even remember how long she's been in here. The last thing she remembers was walking into a room, a huge room. She wasn't sure why she was walking into the room, what happened after, or what happened before. All she remembered was a big, steel door, and the feeling of rage. She didn't remember why she was so angry either; she just remembered the distant feeling. 

She tried to remember the things that happened before entering the room, but those were blurry too. Trees, someone dies, grief, pain, that's all she could remember, nothing substantial. And from the way it felt, that might be a good thing. But remembering anything before that? Easy. She could remember it. It was her eighteenth birthday party, and everything was great! She had invited all of her friends; it was one of the best parties she's ever planned! But then her friends left, and the party ended. And whenever she tries to remember what happens after that....that same rage returns. 

Somehow, it seems like remembering whatever she was forgetting would be bad. And yet, there was this massive nagging feeling in the back of her head, like there was something she had to remember. Like despite how painful it was, sheneeded to know it. 

As Pinkamena tries to remember the details, she was losing focus on the black splotch on the wall, slowly forgetting about it. As she lost focus, it began to retract, becoming an even smaller spot than before. Before she knew it, she had forgotten all about the black spots, or even whatever she was trying to remember, that nagging feeling in the back of her head was beginning to fade. She lost herself in her good memories, going in a borderline catatonic state. She sat unmoving, thinking about her thoughts, forgetting where she was and all her problems. 

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"It's been a week Discord, what's happened to her?"

Blake said solemnly, sitting in a chair beside Pinkamena, a worried look on his face. She was in one of the beds of the infirmary, hooked up to the monitor. She had the same kind of clothes on before, except this time they were all pink. She looked...healthy, surprisingly. She wasn't pale; her injuries healed, she was completely clean of blood. It looked like she was just peacefully sleeping, and could wake up at any moment. But, she wasn't. 

"I...don't know; I'm just as confused as you are. Yes, I did say her body would collapse, but only if she didn't fully transform. She did, so, there's no reason this should have happened. It's possible her body had just exerted itself too far, and it needed to shut itself down to rest. But then she would only be like this for three days, and there would be physical signs. But, there aren't."

Discord said in a defeated tone, he had never been in this kind of situation, and probably never felt so...useless. Blake's face seems to sadden; he hated feeling like this. 

"So, then what could it be?"

He looked over and Discord and asked, begging with his eyes for an answer. Discord closes his eyes, there was an idea he had been toying with, but he wasn't sure if he should share it. It might make things worse, but, another opinion would be helpful. 

"It...might not be a physical thing."

Blake looked at him confusingly; he didn't understand what he meant.

"What do you mean?"

Discord sighed and crossed his arms, thinking of the best way to word this. 

"Pinkamena has been through a lot of trauma, experiences that would break anyone. She was abandoned in the woods, found her sister's bodies who she loved and cherished, tortured, beaten, and raped. And the one thing that pushed her through it, the single emotion that allowed her to endure her pain, was her rage for Igneous. But now he's gone, and she has no distraction. When she killed him, it all came crashing down, and she was forced to deal with everything. Her body wasn't what shut down; it was her mind."

Discord didn't want to look at Blake; he didn't want to look at anyone.

"So, she put herself into a coma, so she doesn't have to deal with the world?"

Blake asked a tinge of anger in his voice. Discord shook his head in response. 

"Not...exactly."

Discord walked to the front of the bed, looking down at Pinkamena, frustration, and disappointment on his face. 

"Now, I'll repeat this, I'm not a psychologist, so this is pretty much a guess from what I've learned from talking to actual psychologists, and my experience with my patients. But, I think shutting herself down is temporary. No matter what someone may go through or how much they want to die, the human body will try its hardest to stop that. Even if she wanted to die, I doubt this is how she'd do it. 

I think she's erasing the memories of everything that's happened to her, or, at least repressing them. Sure, physically she would never be able to live a healthy life. But she probably thinks if she forgets what she is and what happened to her, then it'll be like it didn't, which won't work.  But, she doesn't know that. Her reason for her rage is gone, now she's just left with the aftermath. Rather than deal with the pain of it, she's choosing to forget it."

Discord gripped the bed railing tightly, angry both at her and himself for not expecting this. Blake looked at him in disbelief, but seeing how serious he was, he believed him. For a moment, Blake felt angry at her. But, it faded, replaced with worry and fear.

"Is there....anything we can do?"

Blake asked quietly, not wanting to tear his eyes off Pinkamena, afraid she'll wake up at any moment. 

"No, there isn't. Except, no, nevermind."

Discord dismissed whatever thought he was having, regretting even mentioning it. But Blake jumped at this, literally and figuratively. He jumped out of the chair and grabbed Discord by the collar, knocking the chair down. 

"What?! What is it?! I don't care what you have to do, just do it!"

Blake screamed in his face; desperation filled his voice. He shook Discord back and forth, slightly lifting him off the ground. 

"Ok! Just put me down, you oaf!"

Discord replied angrily, hitting Blake's arm. Blake hesitantly obeyed, putting Discord back on the ground. Discord fixed his collar, and then looked at Blake. 

"I didn't mention it because it's risky, more than it usually would be. It's something that needed to be done anyway, but with her mental state being how it is..."

Discord stopped talking; there was no need to finish.

"Discord, I could literally not give a fuck how risky it is. Our leader is dead, the one who's going to be our leader is in a fucking coma! And when she wakes up, if at all, she won't even be able to lead! Whatever the risk is, it's better than the alternative! I'll take responsibility for whatever happens, just do it!"

Blake screamed at Discord, trying to convince him the best he can. Discord looked down at the floor; his eyes closed in thought. He looked into Blake's eyes and sighed.  

"Ok, just...wait here."

Discord said solemnly, walking out of the room. Blake put the chair back up and sat in it, watching over Pinkamena. After a few minutes passed, Discord returned. He was holding a strange device in his hands, similar to the metallic helmet he used on Pinkamena before. Except it was bigger and had something different coming out of it, spread around on top of it were dozens of small, vials, filled with a thick, white liquid. 

Inside of the helmet were tiny needles, if there weren't so many of them, they would have been impossible to see. 

"What...is that?"

Blake asked as he cringed, he couldn't get the image of all those needles going into his head out of his mind.

"This is plan b, and right now, our only real chance. Usually, when someone passes the test, the leader teaches and prepare them. But, Igneous is dead. Luckily, a contingency was made for a such a scenario. I think it's only ever been used three times, both because it rarely needs to be, and because when the person the memories is injected into dies, the memories have to be extracted. That comes with risk and cons of its own, which is why there's an emergency copy of them. Don't ask me how that works; this was made far before my time, I barely understand it."

Blake looked at him and the helmet in confusion, he didn't quite understand what it was, he was almost positive memories don't work like that. 

"So, what, they'll enter her mind, and wake her up with the knowledge to lead? That's deus ex machina if I've ever heard of it."

Blake said almost sarcastically; this seemed stupid to him. 

"Sort of. They will wake her up; there will be too many memories to erase, she'll have no choice but to wake up. But the knowledge thing will be different; it won't be like she gains just the knowledge. She'll be gaining their experiences, their personalities, their way of thinking and perspectives, it'll all mash with who she is. That's the price for this knowledge, so far, everyone who's went through this has had an identity crisis. And assuming they didn't have any before, they had mental disorders. But, surprisingly, it didn't affect their leadership skills at all. Despite their psychological issues, they were all great leaders.

Now, I could sit here and explain all of the risks and side affects, or how this works, but I don't think that would do anything. All that would do is waste time, and I don't know when she'll wake up. So, this is it; this is the only chance of waking her up with memories intact. Are you willing to take responsibility for whatever happens? Whatever person she becomes, whatever she does, or even if she dies. The choice isn't mine; it's yours."

Discord said, the tone of his voice serious and questioning, the grip on the helmet tightened. Blake looked at the helmet, then up at Discord, skepticism on his face. He then looked back at Pinkamena, refusing the idea of her never waking up. Hesitantly, he looked back over at Discord, his mouth opening and closing, as if he wanted to say something. Eventually, he spoke. 

"Do it, before I change my mind."

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The fear returned. 

At some point in time, Pinkamena fell asleep or passed out; she wasn't sure. All she knew was, at some point when she was trying to remember something she forgot, she lost consciousness. She didn't feel tired, so she must have passed out for some reason. That wasn't the main concern though; it was what she noticed when she woke up. 

The black spot spread, a lot. Like mold, it covered the surrounding walls, even the one behind her. Except for the small corner she was in, it remained white, though the blackness is threatening to consume that too. This already terrified her, what made it worse is that it didn't stick to just the walls. Some kind of fog filled the room, a thick, black fog. She couldn't see through it; she could barely see in front of her. It may have just been her fear and paranoia, but she could've sworn she saw figures in the fog, human figures. She couldn't make out specifics; she could just tell it was human. 

And...voices, coming from the figures. It wasn't something she could make out, it's probably something she didn't want to hear. It was all whispers, dozens of whispers overlapping each other, reminding her of the lunchroom cafeteria. Despite coursing with fear, something motivated her to speak. 

"H-hello?"

She spoke quietly, barely able to talk with her body shaking. The voices didn't respond, but they did react. The whispering got louder, beginning to sound like there were more, and that it was directed towards her. It became deafening, the whispering grew louder and louder, slowly becoming more of a buzz. Pinkamena put her hands over her ears, trying to block out the noise, but it didn't work at all. Despite her ears being covered, the sound got louder. She crouched down again, clenching her teeth as a major headache set in. The whispers filled the room, becoming the only thing in the room. She couldn't think, couldn't speak, couldn't move; she couldn't do anything. 

But then, suddenly, it just stopped. There was no decrease in intensity or sound, it just...stopped. Pinkamena opened her eyes, slowly moving her hands away from her ears, wondering if this was some trick. The whispering didn't return, for a few moments, it was just silence. But the silence didn't last long; a new sound ended that.

"Hello? Is there anyone out here?"

"I-is there anyone to help us?

Two voices spoke, ones she's heard before. Pinkamena jumped up, looking forward to where the voices came from. In the fog, there were two people, ones she hasn't seen for months, her sisters. They looked normal, the same as the last time she saw them. Blinkie still had her hair down covering one eye, her shy personality making her a taciturn person. Inkie still had short hair, her tomboyish features still there. 

Pinkamena almost ran forward towards them, happiness filling her. But she couldn't bring herself to touch the fog, even with her happiness and joy to see her sisters again, something about that mist terrified her.

"Inkie! Blinkie! I'm over here!"

Pinkamena shouted, tears at the corner of her eyes. But they didn't seem to hear her; they didn't even flinch when she spoke! They just continued standing there, shouting into the darkness. 

"I'm over here! Can't you here me?"

Pinkamena screamed, waving her arms back and back and forth. But still they didn't notice her, it's like they couldn't hear her. This confused her; this didn't make any sense. Past the fear and joy, Pinkamena felt something else, something wrong. It felt like dread like something was wrong, that they shouldn't be here, that something was going to happen, and she didn't know why. 

Suddenly, a third figure appeared behind them, their father. But he looked...different. He had claws and teeth; his eyes were red instead of yellow, he looked more like an animal. He snuck up behind them, an evil smile on his face. Pinkamena started panicking; they didn't notice him, she had to warn them!

"Behind you! It's Igne-"

She tried to warn them, but it was too late. In an instant, he moved his claws to their throats and swiped his claws across them. Their throats were ripped open, blood gushing out. They both tried covering it up with their hands, but the blood just seeped through, it was too late. They gasped for breath desperately, Inkie fell to her knees, Blinkie collapsed on the floor, her blood creating a pool underneath, it wasn't long before Inkie joined her. In seconds, they were dead. Igneous looked down at them, a satisfied look on his face. The bodies began to break down, turning into specks of black dust, joining the fog in the room. 

Pinkamena was screaming; tears went down her face, she had just seen her sisters murdered by her father. But before she could do anything else, Igneous looked straight at her, that same smile on his face. Pinkamena jumped back, hitting the wall behind her, full of fear. Igneous began walking forward, blood dripping from his claws. But before he could take his first step, squelching sound filled the room; a hand had punched through his chest from behind, holding his heart. Igneous looked down slowly, moving his hands towards his chest, as he coughed up blood. 

He fell to his knees, looking down at his heart, his arms dropping to his sides. Igneous looked back up at Pinkamena, fear in his eyes. 

"You did this."

He whispered as the hand pulled out of his body, taking the heart with them. Like Inkie and Blinkie, his body began to break down into black dust. But this time, he looked straight at her as it did. The person behind him had their hand stuck out, the heart still in their hand. They crushed the heart, black dust falling from their hands. 

"You didn't think you could run, did you?"

A voice spoke, sounding like hers, but distorted. Pinkamena was in shock; she could barely comprehend what was happening. She looked up at the person who spoke, her eyes expanded as she did, her mouth agape as she wanted to speak, but she couldn't. It was herself! But different, she was barely recognizable. Her hair was long and straight, parts of it were red, and she didn't think it was highlighted. Her eyes were a crimson red, an unrecognizable look in them. Her teeth were larger and sharper, looking like they belong to a predator. Her nails were the same, almost like claws. She wore a T-shirt and jeans, and, despite not having any injuries on her, they were cut and torn to pieces. What scared her the most wasn't any of those, it was the blood. Her clothes, her skin, everything was stained with blood. 

"Forgetting is easy. Running? Heh, impossible."

She said again, looking directly at Pinkamena. But she couldn't respond, she was too afraid and in shock. In a moment without even moving, she appeared in front of her, looking down at Pinkamena maliciously.

"You let your sisters die because you were afraid and weak,"

She said bluntly, no emotion in her voice. 

"W-what are you talking about? I di-"

"and then you killed Igneous in a fit of rage and pain."

She interrupted her, not waiting for any responses. Pinkamena flinched, flashes of memories started coming to her. The woods, her sister's bodies with their organs hanging out, Igneous's body in front of her, his heart in her hand. As this happened, the blackness began to spread again, the wall behind her slowly becoming engulfed.

"I never did that!"

She shouted, trying to push the memories away. 

"You were forced to kill, raped, and tortured. All in the name of a test."

More flashes came into Pinkamena's head, along with a major headache. Wolves, a man raping and torturing her, being left in a room naked and alone, strapped to a table and experimented on. 

"No! Shut up!"

Pinkamena screamed, crouching down on the floor with her hands on her ears, trying to ignore everything. The whispering returned, coming from behind her look alike.

"You're trying to forget everything, so you don't have to live with that pain, and that'll work, for about two weeks. Then something will trigger it, and it'll be like experiencing it all over again."

More memories flashed, none of them pleasant. 

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"

Pinkamena repeated, not wanting to remember anymore, now she knew why she forgot them in the first place. The darkness had covered the wall behind her, the only spot that hadn't been consumed was the one Pinkamena was on.

"Look at you, acting like a child, trying to ignore all your problems until someone else fixes them. What happened made you who are you, and turned you into something more than human. You can blame it on the brainwashing, your father, or whatever you like. But this is what you've become now; you can't forget that."

The darkness grew closer to her feet every second, only inches away.

" We won't let you!

The voice became demonic, even the whispering stopped. The darkness sped up, consuming Pinkamena.

"No! Stop!"

She shouted, struggling to get the blackness off of her, but it didn't work. She lay on the ground, trying to fight it, but it was useless. The darkness began consuming her body, her entire upper body covered in it. 

"After all,"

Whatever it was, it no longer took the appearance of Pinkamena. Black mist came off of it, as it began to morph and change shape. Pinkamena looked up at it, her upper face the only thing yet to be consumed.

"I have so much planned for you."

The voice changed to a masculine one, causing Pinkamena's eyes to widen. Her right eye was consumed, she looked up at the figure in front of her with one eye. As she was consumed, she looked at the person it chose to take the form of, the one she hated more than any: Igneous. 

"I have high expectations for you, please don't disappoint."

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Blake lay anxiously beside Pinkamena's body, waiting for something, anything to happen. It's been about an hour since Discord put that helmet on her, it was only five minutes ago he took it off, the white vials empty. He said he'd be right back, that he'd take the helmet back and he'd return as soon as he could. He also said that it was too early for anything to happen yet, so all Blake had to do was watch over her, which he was doing. 

Pinkamena looked the same as before, no changes at all. He was beginning to think this wasn't working; all this waiting was making him anxious. 

"....don't...forget..."

Pinkamena whispered, barely audible. Blake's heart jumped, he looked at her surprisingly. 

"What-what was that?"

Blake asked, excitement filling him. He saw her lips move, but he couldn't tell what she was saying. He stood up and leaned down towards her, his ear near her mouth. As soon he did, her eyes snapped open, and her right arm shot up, picking Blake off the ground by the neck. She threw him across the room, causing him to slam against the wall.  

She got off the bed, her legs wobbled a little from lack of use, but she managed to walk over to him. She was temporarily stopped by the IV in her arm, but she quickly pulled that out of her arm without hesitating. 

Before he had time to do anything, she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, picking him up and slamming him against the wall. There was no anger on her face, no spite or sadistic smile, just a look of blankness. Blake, on the other hand, was smiling. 

"Guess that coma left you well rested, and violent."

Blake remarked, looking Pinkamena in the eyes as he did, but she didn't respond. 

"You have something of mine, give it to me, now."

Pinkamena demanded, her grip tightening. 

"Yeah, I figured this is the first thing you'd want, not sure why though."

Blake put his hand into one of the pockets, pulling out the necklace she found in the woods. Without hesitating, she grabbed the necklace out of his hands, dropping him to the ground as soon as she did. She walked away from him, standing in front of the bed she was in, holding the necklace in front of her, watching it twirl as she kept it in the air. She wasn't sure why she still wanted it either. 

"Did anything new happen Bl-, oh, appears I was terribly wrong."

Discord burst through the door, looking at the situation in front of him. Blake was pulling himself off the ground, looking both annoyed and happy. Pinkamena was awake and staring at the necklace in front of her, looking like she didn't even notice him. 

"So, Pinkamena, how do you feel?"

Discord asked hesitantly, putting his hands in his pockets, grabbing a syringe in his left. Pinkamena didn't answer his question; she was still staring at the necklace. She decided to put it around her neck, tieing it and letting it drop down to her chest. She looked down at the necklace, opening it with her hand, looking at the picture of her sisters in it. She closed her eyes and shut it, in the very back of her head, it was hushed, but she could hear it, the whispering was there. A smile stretched across her face, her eyes opening slowly as she looked at Discord. 

"Alive!"