Chapter 28: Shattered Life

Irene

Braig’s Lab

 

“No…oh, Goddess, no! What have I done?!” I dropped my bow and ran over to SlashAngemon. “SlashAngemon! Please…please don’t die!”

“Irene…do not concern yourself with me…” SlashAngemon, though he was gasping for air, was smiling. “I would never…hate you…I love you…you’re like a daughter…to me…and you…deserve all the happiness…in the world…” SlashAngemon breathed one last time, and then lay silent on his back, silent and lifeless. His data flew away, one small piece at a time. I became once again enveloped in a bright light, turning back into my original form.

“What have I done…?” I fell to my knees and screamed. What have I done?! I just murdered the closest person I ever had to family! Oh, Goddess, what’s wrong with me?! I ran out of the room, ran as fast as I could away from the room until I bumped into somebody and fell to the ground.

“I thought I heard somebody scream; are you alright, Irene?” I looked up, and through my tears, I saw Abigail. “…You did your job, didn’t you...” I nodded slowly, picking myself up off the ground. “Poor thing; that was too big of an assignment for you…” Abigail began wiping the tears off my face. “I’ll have to speak to the master about this; you’re far too gentle to be doing such horrid things…” Abigail continued to wipe away my tears, and as she did so, I flung my arms around her waist and cried uncontrollably. “There, there, sweet child…it’s all over now. You’re one step closer to achieving your desired goal…finding your dear mother…” I continued sobbing onto the front of Abigail’s shirt. My face was pressed up against her soft and comfortingly warm belly. “Please, don’t cry, sweet Irene…our dear little BioAquarimon…”

“What…should I do…? I can’t…go back to them…not after what I’ve done…”

“Don’t worry, dear; Auntie Abigail will take care of everything. Everything will be fine…”

Braig

A Valencian Prison

6 Hours

 

“What brings you here today, Sir Braig?” a prison warden asked me, beaming with pride, most likely due to the fact that I, a high-ranking knight, albeit a scientist, had chosen to visit his military prison among the many that stood throughout Yew. Whatever the reason, I didn’t care. All I was interested in was finding a new…guinea pig. And this prison, specifically made for military deserters and traitors, was the perfect place to find one.

“Oh, nothing special…I just have need of a prisoner for…a special experiment,” I looked through the list of prisoners and their information the warden gave me.

“A special experiment, eh? Well, who’s the lucky bastard, then?” the warden asked.

“I haven’t quite decided yet…” We were passing through cell after cell, each filled with prisoners who glared spitefully as we passed. Each and every one of them had been a knight at one point in their lives. “The one that’s all alone here…Clive…why is he alone?”

“He was sentenced for life without parole for serial rape and murder,” the warden said. “His main MO was rape, but all he said about the murders was ‘accidents happen.’ He was secluded from the other prisoners for their own protection, sir, as well as his own. Other prisoners have been known to attack sentenced rapists like him.”

“Take me to see him,” I said. “I believe I’ve found what I’m looking for…” the warden led me down a hallway and through a door into a room containing a single cell, with but a single man inside. Clive smiled at as we walked in; an eerie smile, one much creepier than my own; one so eerie, it sent chills down even my spine.

“Good day, gentlemen…what can I do for you today?” Clive asked.

“Knight Errant Clive Howell…serial number 12384…wanted for the rape of countless innocent women…shall I go down the list of your…special playmates?” I read aloud Clive’s profile, and began reading aloud the incredibly long list of the names of his victims. “…Amelia Fox…Victoria Kasuto…Amy Crown…”

“Is there a point to your visit, sir?” Clive asked.

“You’re being released,” I said. “Well, not quite…released from this prison, but you will be taken into my custody.”

“…Whatever you say, Chief,” Clive grinned at me as he was let out of his prison cell by the warden.

Braig’s Lab

1 Hour

 

“May I ask why I have been let out of prison, sir?” Clive asked.

“Sure; you’ve been chosen as another test subject for one of my experiments,” I replied.

“…What kind of experiments?” Clive asked. I turned around to face the taller man.

“Well…If all goes well, you’ll have the ability to turn into a Digimon! Isn’t that exciting?!”

“A…Digimon?” Clive gave me an odd look. “That’s…not possible, is it?!”

“Oh, it most certainly is; I’ve already had six successes, although one ran away from me quite some time ago, and one is still recuperating. I just fixed him up a few days ago, so he’ll still need a few days to rest.” I led Clive into a room in the back. It was a large and empty room, save for the bed in the middle of it surrounded by large stasis tubes.

“And…if all doesn’t go well?” Clive asked.

“I’ve only had two failures so far,” I admitted. “They were both trapped in their Digimon forms, unable to return to their Human forms like my successes. Worst case scenario is your death, but if you died…” I fastened the straps on the bed around Clive’s arms, legs, and torso. “Well, who would miss a rapist like you, eh?”

“Wait! I could die from this?!” Clive asked.

“It’s possible; likely even, but you needn’t worry,” I said. “I’ll be careful; real careful. My boss needs as many able-bodied pawns as she can get.”

“No, wait! I don’t want to do this! I don’t want to die!” Clive began struggling in the restraints, to no avail.

“You don’t have a say in the matter, Mr. Howell,” I held a syringe up against his arm. “The Digimon you become is also random; not sure how it’s decided. Anyway, the Digimon my subjects turn into might have to do with the subject’s personality. I’ll have to look into that one of these days…”

“NO! I DON’T WANT TO DIE!!!”

“Too late, rapist.” As I inched the syringe closer and closer to the vein in Clive’s arm, the entire thing became encased in ice. “What the hell? What just happened?!”

“I’m afraid I can’t let you kill this man.”

“Who’s there?! Who said that?!” I looked over at Clive, who was grinning at me. “What did you do?!”

“Oh, let’s just say I sold my soul to the devil.” The restraints on Clive also became encased in ice, and he snapped them off easily. “I met him when I was first locked away in that dingy cell…”

“What’s going on?!” The entire room was slowly and gradually becoming encased in ice.

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that,” Clive said. “Very soon…it will all be over for you.”

“Wh—” Before I could speak, I, too, became trapped in ice.

“Thanks so much for freeing me, sir,” Clive began walking out of the room. “I promise, I’ll make your death a swift and painless one.” I tried to talk, but my entire body was trapped in the ice. It all happened so quickly, that I didn’t have time to notice the chill the ice brought, my inability to breathe, my own panic. Clive snapped his fingers, and instantly, the ice shattered, and with it, my body.

Clive Howell

 

“There, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” I looked down at the shards of ice and man on the floor, amazed by the lack of blood. I then looked down at my shadow. “Thanks, Satan.”

“I told you not to call me that, asshole! Would Satan freeze people to death?! No! He’d fucking burn them!”

“Regardless, I appreciate the help. Now, how do I get out of here…?” I began wandering aimlessly around the laboratory until I somehow managed to find my way out some ten minutes later.

“Just to be safe, I’ll freeze over the entire place, to make sure they don’t take you back. I can’t have my vessel dying on me, after all.”

“You do that…” I turned my back on the laboratory as my shadow encased the entire building in ice.

“It will be impossible to melt this ice, even with a fire attack from the strongest Digimon!”

“Fascinating…now, where should I go…?”

“Hey, you!” A man taller than me carrying a large poleaxe walked up to me. “Did you just ice over our entire base of operations?!”

“No, my shadow did,” I said, not bothering to look at the man.

“I am not your fucking shadow! That’s just where I happen to live for the moment! Get it right, asshole!”

“…Nicely done. I see you’ve recently been released from prison. Would you like to come with me?” I glanced over at the man. “My name is Magnus; I could give you work…if you’re interested.”