Well guys, here's the gift/surprise I was talking about. I was debating between a new chapter, and a short story about how Lunare gave Schatten his jump jets, but decided that since I don't actually have the short story written out and since it's later in the day, I decided a new chapter would be the better gift. I hope you all enjoy the chapter, and I'll see you all later!
Disclaimer: Drugs are really bad. Lewis does not make the best decisions in the world, and I do not condone the use of any drugs, be they gateway, or hardcore. Just because Lewis does them does not mean that they are good. Thank you and have a nice day.
Lewis sat unencumbered on his bed. Half a dozen scented candles burned throughout the room, casting both an eerie glow in the otherwise unlit room, and a noxious scent that only Lewis and Ryler seemed unaffected by. He took a deep draft from his joint and exhaled, his eyes crossing slightly.
"So allow me to get this straight," Tiberius said. "You have no idea what happened this weekend, and you still think today is Saturday?"
Lewis looked up. "Yeah man, I must've been on one serious spirit journey."
"If that was indeed a 'spirit journey', I would prefer it if you refrained from ever having one again," Tiberius said. "You have left our entire floor sleep deprived, the cafeteria completely trashed, and forced me to go to the most shady part of town just to buy the drugs you are now smoking!"
Lewis looked at the joint in his hand. "Well that certainly explains the poor quality I got here man. You have to go find the high class dealers to get the good stuff."
"You had better be grateful" Tiberius seethed. "Lunare and I got mugged on the way back."
"Oh please, Lunare fought them off with his disruptor. You didn't even get your suit dirty," Schatten said from outside the room. His Faunus heritage made him extremely susceptible to strong smells. He had excused himself when Nick had lit the half dozen candles within the room.
Lewis finished the joint and tossed it into the trashcan. "So, where's Daniel and Dakota? I haven't seen those dudes since yesterday."
The group shifted nervously and looked to Lunare, the only team leader among them. Lunare looked back at them, then spoke, picking his words with extreme caution. "Lewis, we don't know where Daniel and Dakota are. Do you remember the documents Professor Ozpin gave Daniel to have filled out?"
"Yeah man. Then Goodwitch caused me to lose all of my stash," Lewis answered with a tinge of remorse. "I had some brownies in there. They were some good brownies to."
"Well Daniel needed his father's fingerprint to complete the final form. So I took both him and Dakota to acquire the needed fingerprint. We were successful, but were arrested and split up. Daniel and Dakota left Professor Glas but never arrived at Beacon."
Lewis shivered. "Man, something don't sit well with me and Professor Glas right now. I feel, cold. Man, I never feel cold after lighting up."
"Well, you did go for his throat in his office," Ryler offered. "And some of the things you said kind of sounded like you were talking about him."
Lunare looked up at this and pushed his glasses still broken glasses up as he did so. "Lewis, have you ever had one of these, episodes before?"
Lewis shrugged. "How should I know man? No one seems to want to tell me what happened whenever I have a blank spot like this. You guys are the first."
"I wonder why," Tiberius muttered.
Lunare shot him a warning look. "It could be that your subconscious is attempting to tell you something. Perhaps it has realized what is going on but is incapable of informing your conscious."
"Or it could be the spirits man," Lewis said hopefully.
"Oh please don't start again," Tiberius moaned.
Lewis stood up unexpectedly, an emotion flashing in his eyes that they others had never see there- irritation. "Listen man," he said, "I respect your opinions, so the least you could do for me is respect mine. I know what I know, and you know what you know. Can we stick to that?"
"Not when what you 'think' you know is incorrect beyond even the shadow of a doubt," Tiberius shot back. "Tell me, what will it take to get it through your drug addled brain that there are no spirits talking to you!"
"Man, you need to calm down a bit" Lewis said. "I am not appreciatin' your attitude towards my lifestyle."
Tiberius began to stand, but was held back by Lunare. Lewis likewise was restrained from further action by both Schatten and Nick.
"Enough," Schatten ordered, wrinkling his nose at the smell of the room he just entered. "Arguing about whether or not spirits exist is not going to help us find Daniel and Dakota. The only person that may know anything is Professor Glas, and we can't ask him anything until tomorrow. We've all had a long day with barely any sleep to work off of. Team LSTR will go back to their room, and Team DDLN will stay in theirs. Agreed?"
The two teenagers glared at each other for a moment before both nodding in concession. The two teams separated and LSTR left for their room.
"I will join the rest of you shortly," Lunare said to Schatten as they exited. I still have repairs that must be finished for Nieh Mier to be combat ready once more."
"You do realize combat practice isn't until Thursday, right boss? Schatten asked. "You can always finish tomorrow."
"I feel uncomfortable being completely defenseless," Lunare answered. Schatten snickered in amusement at this. "Besides, I have a feeling that like it or not, we will all need our weapons before Thursday.
Daniel woke up in what was most definitely not his bed. He was pretty certain his bed didn't have straps holding his appendages down.
Confused, Daniel looked around. Wherever he was, it was dim. And quite cold. In fact, whatever he was on was freezing, especially his backside, which was in contact with the metal surface. It was like he was wearing a hospital gown and on a Doctor's examination table.
A doctor's examination table
In an instant, everything came flooding back to him. The break in, the fight, the subsequent arrest and release; it all came back in a massive rush. And then he reached the point where Professor Glas revealed that he knew Daniel's secret. And he knew what had happened to him. He began jerking around in an attempt to free himself, crying out for help. But not only was he bound to the table, he was also firmly gagged, letting nothing more than a muffled yell out.
"So you're awake then," a voice said in the dim.
Daniel lifted his head as much as he could to see what who it was, but they were out of his sight. The person saw this and laughed. "Don't worry," he said. "You are firmly secured to the table. You can't hurt yourself, or me."
A lightbulb flicked on, shining brightly in the darkness, illuminating the small room that both he and Professor Glas were in. As the table suggested, they were in a doctor's office. But unlike the few doctors' offices that Daniel had visited, which had been extremely neat and tidy, this one was cluttered beyond belief. Tools lay everywhere without any real purpose, supplies hung out of open cupboards, it all looked like Lunare's garage.
Professor Glas noticed Daniel's wandering eyes and blushed with embarrassment. "I apologize for the clutter, but I simply wasn't ready when the opportunity came up to bring you," he said. "I was working on the operating room when I was notified of your arrest. I still haven't even found a suitable third candidate."
Daniel frowned at this. 'Third candidate'? He wasn't even aware there was a second candidate.
As if on cue, something on his right next to the wall groaned. Daniel turned his head to see Dakota lying on a similar table, bound, gagged, and in a hospital gown.
"Ah, Mr. Harding. So nice of you to join us," Professor Glas said with a grin, as if Dakota had just walked in on a tutoring session between the two of them.
Dakota in return strained against his bounds, screaming what Daniel could vaguely make out as a very long line of intricate and connecting insults. To Daniel's surprise, his bonds were showing signs of giving.
"Oh dear, that would be your semblance wouldn't it?" Professor Glas said worriedly. "I'd better get your system flushed before this becomes an issue," Professor Glas moved to a cabinet and pulled a box of syringes out. "While I don't have the necessary equipment set up for the procedure, a mild sedative should suffice for the present."
Dakota strained even harder as Professor Glas filled a syringe with a clear colorless liquid. As he approached, Dakota actually managed to get his right arm free of the strap. He immediately went for the strap holding his left arm, but Professor Glas caught mere inches away. Dakota tried to continue, but Professor Glas' thumb found a point on his arm and pressed, hard. The room was instantly filled with the muffled screams of pain from Dakota, giving Professor Glas the opportunity to jab the syringe into his arm and press the plunger down. Dakota's strength instantly weakened and Professor Glas was able to remove his thumb from the pressure point, letting the arm flop lifelessly to Dakota's chest.
"There, now that wasn't so bad, now was it?" Professor Glas asked as he patted Dakota's arm. "Not to worry, you'll remain fully conscious to listen, but you'll be unable to escape."
Professor Glas replaced the broken strap and fastened Dakota back down once more. "Now that we're all calmed down, we can talk," he said.
"Talk about what?" Daniel wondered. It wasn't like he could speak or anything.
Professor Glas pulled up a swivel chair and sat down in it. "I imagine you have many questions, Daniel. Can I call you Daniel? It seems to me that we've progressed far enough for me to call you that."
Daniel didn't answer, which Professor Glas took as a confirmation. "Well Daniel, since I can't have you screaming since it would be very distracting to my work, I'll have to keep your gag on. This means that I will have to guess at which questions you may have. Fortunately I am a very good guesser. For starters, I imagine you would like to know where you are. You are in a warehouse at the edge of the city. As to what is happening, that answer is even more simple," he leaned in closer to Daniel and whispered, "We are creating history Daniel; you and I. Together we are going to finally solve the mystery of Aura and the Grimm in one fell swoop. With my knowledge and your truly unique characteristics, questions that have been confounding Remnant's top scientists and doctors for centuries will finally have answers. All we have to do is dissect your body and find out what is preventing you from generating an Aura."
Evidently Daniel's panicked screams through his gag signaled to Professor Glas that this was not the desired outcome for Daniel. His smile faltered slightly and he asked, "What's wrong Daniel? Your sacrifice will save millions of lives! We could be rid of the Grimm forever! This is an even greater calling than being a Huntsman! I have the procedure all planned out. Look!" Professor Glas stood up and excitedly strode over to where he was sitting when Daniel had woken. He grabbed a rolled up paper and pinned it to an easel. He then grabbed a pointing stick and pointed it towards the chest. "This is where we'll start by cutting in to view the major internal organs of the chest in action. We'll then move to the stomach, followed by the-"
Daniel paid him little attention. He was too busy keeping his panic down. What was happening? How could this be happening? This man, the first person he had truly trusted in what felt like forever, was going into great detail about how he would dissect Daniel. This couldn't be real; it had to be a dream!
"Daniel? Daniel? Mr. Grigio, are you listening?" Professor Glas was asking, just as he did whenever he caught someone napping in his class. Daniel responded by giving Professor Glas a rare middle finger. He was rewarded with a slap on the wrist from the pointer. "No obscenities during lectures Mr. Grigio," Professor Glas admonished. "Now, as I was saying, due to the importance of these tests, we can't risk having anything interfere with the results," Professor Glas looked at Daniel and Daniel could see a hint of regret in his eyes. "It is therefore my unfortunate duty to inform you that we will not be using any sedatives, pain relievers, or any other drugs beyond those required to keep you alive throughout the procedure. You will be fully conscious. I imagine it will be extremely painful."
Daniel lost it at this. He screamed for help. Harder than he had ever done so before. His muffled yells became hoarse within minutes. Soon he had lost his voice completely. And yet he continued to scream, tears running down his face.
Professor Glas waited patiently throughout this. Waited until Daniel was too exhausted to continue on. When he was satisfied that Daniel was finished, he continued with his speech. "If there were any other way Daniel I would use it. I feel sorry for you, I really do. But there is no other way for me to get the data I need to save the world. I can assure you that your sacrifice will not be forgotten."
At that moment, the computer on the table beeped with a notification. Professor Glas looked at it and said, "I have to go now, classes start soon. You won't go hungry, you both are hooked up to IVs. They will give you the nutrients to survive."
Professor Glas removed his labcoat and strode out the door. Just as he was exiting, he popped his head back through the door. "And if it is any consolation to you Daniel, you won't go through this alone. I require a control group to compare your results to. Mr. Harding will be part of that group, as will a third participant once I find the correct candidate."
The door closed, and both Daniel and Dakota were left alone.
Daniel struggled against his bonds. Desperate to escape. Desperate to not be dissected alive. It was no use. He couldn't even rub his wrists raw in hopes of contracting an infection and dying before this horrible calamity befell him; Professor Glas had padded the restraints. Defeated, he slumped against his bonds and began crying once more. This wasn't fair. Life had screwed him over so much, he had truly thought that he had escaped it when he came to Beacon and found his friends. It looked like life was going to screw him for one final time.
As he lay on his cold metal table, one more horrible thought struck him. Professor Glas had mentioned a third participant; one to round out the control group. That could mean only one thing.
Some poor Faunus was about to be kidnapped to be dissected along with them.
Yikes. That got a little dark, didn't it. Actually, that was really dark, especially for the day after Christmas. Ah well, it was next in line to be posted.
Well, I've got to get going. I taped the Dr. Who Christmas special last night, and I'm finally getting to sit down and watch it. If you enjoyed the chapter, please drop a comment. If you want to see more, please don't hesitate to bookmark. I'll see you all in two weeks!
-Wrench
ns 15.158.61.8da2
