"Approaching 15 milliamps." The nurse said, a low humming slowly rising as whatever the machine was gathered more energy. "Nurse, please begin the test."
Summer narrowed her eyes behind the blindfold, and a moment later they shut from the extreme pain that shot through her head.
"Ah!" She shouted, her scream muffled by the gag. Electricity was being shot through the things attached to her, and her limbs twitched and spasmed. What hurt the most, however, was her skull. It felt like pole of hot iron were being thrust through to her brain.
"Peak has been reached. Begin sending the message." There were a few clicks and the pain started again, but this time it came with very strange occurrences.
'Who are you?' Thoughts were being forced into her head. How was something like that even possible? 'Who are you?' The question repeated itself.
Her body went through horrific seizures, the muscles throughout her limbs contracting far shorter than she was used to. Several seconds passed before anything changed.
"No response. Begin second attempt."
Another click, another forceful pain through her skull. She gritted her teeth, chattering against each other noisily.
'Do you understand us?' The words were bouncing around her head, and in that moment she knew they were trying to reach Nemesis. If the spirit responded to any of their questions, most likely she'd be in danger of being harmed. Summer hoped the spirit knew that it wasn't her trying to talk.
'WHO ARE YOU?' A thundering voice shattered Nemesis' peaceful sleeping state, and she shied away from the noise. The existence around her was highly charged, tiny shocks bursting in the air around her. What on earth was happening?
'WHO ARE YOU?' Again, the voice rumbled the space she occupied, and her eyes closed.
'How dare they disturb my sleep?' She thought, anger rising. Searching outside of the host's body, she took in the whole twisted scene. The girl's body jolted and spasmed as a strange contraption whirred in the background. Small white wire were placed around her head, and she looked to be in great pain.
Receding inwards, Nemesis was assaulted by yet another voice.
'DO YOU UNDERSTAND US?' Her eardrums would be damaged before long, and she was quite irritated with the meddlesome mortals that continued to threaten her existence. Who were they to do as they so pleased?
Deciding to take things into her own hands, she began gathering the charged particles around her.
"Ah!" There was an explosion somewhere, but Summer's only focus was the constant pain that surged through her body. "The machine has been destroyed!" The nurse shouted, and the smell of smoke quickly became apparent. The electricity that had assaulted her body slowly reduced itself into small shocks every few seconds. Her breathing was heavy. The machine had kept her heart stationary for the extent of the test. Her legs were numb and tingly, but as the blood rushed back through her system things returned to feeling normal.
A hot liquid dripped from her nose, and she realized it was bleeding. The room started growing hot, and she had trouble breathing. Why? Oh right, the smoke. Her chest heaved with a series of coughs, but she was still trapped to the cot. She couldn't hear anyone in the room, but a pair of hands began undoing the things on her face and the straps that tied her to the bed.
"Keep low." He said, and she fell to the floor. Her muscles still wouldn't respond to any orders her brain tried to give. It terrified her, honestly. She hoped it wouldn't remain as permanent damage.
The guards essentially dragged her out of the room, tossing her into the clear air of the hall outside. Her back hit the opposite wall and she lay limp on the ground. Her body hurt. She didn't want to move.
She must have blacked out, because the next thing Summer was aware of was waking up in her room. She searched inwards to try to find Nemesis.
'Are you there? Are you alright?'
"Yes, I am well. Your body has taken many volts of electricity. You may still feel spasms occasionally."
'I'll be alright. What was even going on during that experiment?' She asked, curious to know what Nemesis had been thinking at the time.
"It felt as if the sky was thundering and the earth shook. My head almost burst from the unbearable noise. Whatever result they had hoped to achieve, it only served to make me retaliate."
'You shorted out the machine?' She'd instinctively known Nemesis had something to do with it, but she didn't know what.
"Is that what happened? I simply sent the energy they gave me back to wherever it came from. It had no use in your body." Summer felt a hint of sarcasm in the warrior's words, but she didn't say anything.
"I want to know exactly what went wrong!" Doctor Mundy shouted, pacing back and forth in front of the three nurses. They looked at the ground in shame, Penelope still holding her covered hand. The blood had soaked through the whole rag she was using to stifle the blood. None of them spoke. He stopped, turning towards them. "Well?" He prodded.
"Something…shorted out the machine." Nurse Williams muttered, not meeting the older man's eyes.
"What are the possible causes of such an occurrence?" He questioned, restraining his anger. "How could this have happened?"
"We don't know!" The other nurse burst out.
"Well, why don't we look at the reports and analyze the data?" Doctor Mundy asked. The nurse shook his head sadly.
"All the papers were lost in the fire. There is no data."
"Of course there's no data! That's just how it had to be, hm? We haven't gotten any data within the past six tests we've performed, all due to botched execution!" He was walking a fine line between hysterical and mad, and finally realizing that irrational side was beginning to show, he cleared his throat and smoothed down the front of his lab coat. "All of you, go to the infirmary for medical attention." His voice was a lot lower than before.
All of them nodded before hurrying off to do as he said. Leaving the mess of burnt machinery and debris to the clean up crew inside the room, Max made his way back to his office.
"I can't believe it." Law muttered, viewing the jolly roger through the periscope in the navigation room. From seeing the mark before, he quickly confirmed it was indeed who he thought it was, and that made his very happy indeed.
"Should we go after them?" Bepo asked, watching the sub's directionality and making sure they remained on course with the eternal log pose. He glanced up at his Captain.
"I think we will." He purred, stalking off to retrieve his sword.
"Prepare for battle." Law's voice came over the intercom system, and everyone's ears perked up.
"Battle?" Shachi asked, setting down his meal and rising from his seat. The rest of those in the mess deck did the same, going to retrieve their weapons.
"Are we under attack? I didn't feel anything hit us." Penguin added, hurrying off to get his weapon.
The crew gathered back in the mess deck, where Law was waiting for them. He was equipped with his own nodachi, Bepo standing behind him, grinning sadistically.
"What's going on, Captain?" Scott asked, and Law turned towards him.
"We've stumbled across the ship of Summer's captor. Viper-ya's ship is sailing perpendicular to our current course. We should meet up with him in fifteen minutes."
"I'm gonna kill that guy!" Blake announced, causing an uproar of angry shouts and promises of great harm upon the man.
"I need you all to be prepared!"
Law left the room with the cheers of his crew behind him. In a matter of ten minutes, his bloodlust had soared beyond compare, simply at the thought of tearing that man limb from limb.
'Summer will be quite disappointed to know she won't get to kill him herself.' He smirked. He'd have to figure out how to make it up to her later.
The quiet in Summer's room was disturbed by her door being unlocked. The door opened, revealing the intruder as the Doctor. He had his hands clasped behind his back, and he paced forward towards her. She only stared, not bothering to give him the attention he so desperately wanted from her.
She knew how he worked now. He wanted her to scream, to cry, to beg. Her pleads were his pleasure. Well, she wasn't up for playing by his rules anymore. Killing and maiming his subordinates was one way to do it. Ignoring him face-to-face was another. And she would gladly implement both.
He raised one arm, holding a strange remote device, towards the hidden camera. A click sounded, and the beep of the machine turning off. Her eyebrows furrowed. What was he up to?
He approached the bed, staring down at her sinisterly. She looked back at him, not a hint of fear in her eyes. Instead, this look of disgust and hatred and that sickening determination met his own cold fury.
"You've failed many tests." He ground out hoarsely. She said nothing, just shrugged. Of course, she didn't care what he said.
"There are consequences to failure." He stated, and in that instant, he reached out and yanked her by the arm out of the bed.
She grunted, body flying out from under the blanket and hitting the ground with full force. She wore nothing but the thin, white garment given to her the first day of arrival. It gave no protection against his booted kick to her side.
Her small voice cried out, arms moving to block his assault. The cold room, and the spontaneous way in which he launched his attack, caused her reactions to be slower than normal.
"Why…won't…you…give…me…results!" He shouted, planting his boot in her ribs with every word.
"Argh!…Ah!" She writhe on the ground under the hail of blows to her body. She writhed, trying to get away from his attack.
'It hurts!' She thought, and Nemesis sent pity to her brain.
"I'm sorry, child. I cannot assist you."
Max's legs were beginning to grow sore, and so he picked her up by her arms, dragged her over to the wall, and threw her against it. Her head knocked against the tile, making her dizzy and confused.
Max knelt down, his hand going to her throat. "I know she's in there, I know you can talk with her! Tell me what I want to know! Show me her power!" Summer clawed at his hands, her attempts growing weaker and weaker.
"I'll…kill…you" She gasped, gritted her teeth and pushed at his hands around her throat. Breathing was difficult and her vision began to swim. When reflex tears leaked from the corners of her eyes, Max seemed to find himself. He pried his hands away, standing up away from her.
Summer curled into a ball, coughing from the sudden burst of air flooding her lungs.
"Be prepared for another test tomorrow. It won't be easy." He warned, clicking the camera back on and walking outside. Summer was left on the floor to regain her strength.
ns 18.68.41.179da2
