I Want to Break (You) Free [Closed]

My cell was quiet. Dark. I - had been hanging here for some time, again. I'd given up on ever actually keeping track of time - all I had to count by was my heartbeats,, the rise and fall of my chest as I breathed in, and breathed out. They were the only things that happened with any kind of regularity. Everything else came and went on its own schedule, its own time, and completely at random. Of course, that was the way my ‘hosts’ preferred it. If I knew any kind of rhythm, then that would have given me some measure of comfort in the life they had painstakingly created for me. And they couldn't have that, not yet. Not when I still held out against their attempts to condition me into their perfect little soldier.

This cell, for example. It wasn't like there was much in it. I had a little bed, anchored to the wall to prevent me from getting it free somehow. The bed itself was little - barely five feet long. When I laid on it - which was an infrequent occurrence in the first place - I always ended up with my feet hanging off the end into the air. Which didn't hurt - but it was uncomfortable and unpleasant. To make it worse - the ‘bed’ was little more that sheets stretched across a metal frame, not even a shred of padding.

You know if you accepted one of us, breaking out of this place would be so easy. It was a deep voice, sounding almost like rocks falling against each other. I closed my eyes - fairly unnecessary in the darkness. I took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. I didn’t remember the name this one had given when he showed up - replacing the soft sound of flowers rustling together that had once spoken to me with his deeper, darker voice.

“I suppose. But why would I? There’s nothing for me out there.” A drunken, alcoholic father who had spent every dime he and my mother had saved up. A life of being a thief, to try to feed his addiction. I was ignoring the fact that by now, I was old enough not to be ‘indentured’ to him anymore. Hell, I didn’t even know if I was. I had lost track of time in this hell - the experiments, the training, the lengths of time in this cell, it was all done at random, so I never knew what was coming next.

The rocky voice in my head let out a loud growl, and then a snort, and left. It was always a bit odd when one of them left - like there was a hollowness suddenly, a realization that something that should have been there wasn’t, like poking your tongue in a spot where a tooth should have been, but wasn’t. I ignored it, like I always did. Until, that is, my star reached out to me in the darkness.

’Ron are you there?’ Her voice was soft, breaking through the silence. She sounded nervous, more so than usual. She normally had a more positive tone to her voice. Even in the recent years where she had became more and more docile. Almost as though she was slipping. I didn't know her circumstances, or where she was. She kept quiet on that. But I knew it was not an ideal home life - if she was even real, and not just another voice in my head like the rest. Still - she talked to me, and her voice was the one I was most familiar with. I smiled in the darkness of my cell - a smile that soon faded.

I'm here little star. What's up? She hadn't sounded nervous in a long time.

’I am scared. I think...I did something I should not have. I heard them talking. I’ve done bad. Real bad. I do not comprehend what I have done wrong.’

Talk me through it my star. I'm sure whatever it was couldn't have been all that bad. There had been a few times where she had ‘done something bad’ and been afraid afterwards. I wondered, absently, if it was some kind of projection of my own fears, of my own succumbing to the training that they were trying to force onto me here. It would tie in with the fact that she, the voice that kept me sane, was getting more submissive - after years in this hell, they were slowly wearing down my resistance. Indoctrinating me, I suppose.

’I...I picked up something that I heard drop. It felt like a coin and I got this image and I said that the man his wife was sleeping with gave it to her and she gave it to him. Why is that bad?’ My eyes went wide st her rather odd message. Wait - she was saying that - it took me a moment or two to process it. The man who had dropped the button was a cuckold. That - ah.

Because - because it hurts him, to know that his wife was with someone else. He probably didn't know, and is angry at you for it. Damn. I didn't remember the last time I had seen a cheating spouse. I suppose, thinking about my father had made me think about couples again. Damn - I couldn’t even remember a happy time to escape to, instead I pulled up fucking cuckolding. Disgusting. My inner thoughts were disrupted abruptly when Esther shouted in my head.

’They are coming! Oh… I - what, no get off me! What is that sound? What is -’ Her words were cut short and a violent and aching scream echoed in the corners of my mind. My eyes snapped open wide, ignoring the darkness around me. Because her scream - it wasn’t just in my head.

It was in my ears. Echoing down a corridor. My star was real. And trapped in this hell with me. That hollow sensation vanished, a gust of wind swirling around me as I tilted my head back, straining at the manacles that held me down. Damn it, damn it she needed me - she was REAL and she needed me! The fuckers - they knew I was stronger than I once had been, and they had gotten reinforced iron manacles, meant to handle my strength. NO! LET ME GO!

Use me, you fool!

No longer alone in her prison the woman was chained down heavily, her face covered by thick metal sheet which curved around her small head. Blocking out any ability to see. Normally a second one would cover her mouth but it lay discarded on the floor next to her screaming and writhing body.

“Fuckin’ genetic mutation of a bitch.” The voice growled. Esther felt a hard kick to her stomach. Her scream died down into a choked cough as she curled over and tried to pull her hands to her stomach but they were chained down and she was left without relief. She felt a boot press on her abdomen. “The fuck you doin’ prying into my fuckin’ life you cunt? What do you know of my wife?” Esther wheezed and tried to speak through dry cracked lips but no sound came out; only a series of gasps and squeaks. “Fine. More shock therapy for you..”

She heard the telltale crackle of electricity before her body jolted and she screamed again, a loud shrill scream that echoed through the darkness.


“Hey, stop. Her flowers getting all brown. Didn’t they say that meant she was dying?” The second voice was calmer. It was one Esther recognised. Jira, that was his name. He was what was called a ‘scientist’ and he was the one who’d come in and often ask her questions and feed her vile concoctions. He injected her with things that her feel both violently sick and completely numb. He sounded like the calm voice of reason.

“I don’t fucking care. Let the bitch die!”

“Reign yourself in Mark! We’ll be next to die if she expires here. She’s due to be shipped out tomorrow.” There was the sound of a pen tapping against a clipboard and the shuffle of papers. “Experiments 1-15 have expired. 16,17 and 19 are currently recovering. 18. Expired. 20 through to 23 are already on the cargo bay. 24 is being packed up and we need to get 25 suited and ready to go before nightfall.”

“Tch..” Mark spat toward Esther, a glob of spit landed on her exposed abdomen.

The pain stopped and her body fell limp on the floor. A pool of bloodied drool fell from her lips to the floor. She could smell a faint burning and knew it was her own body. The pain was horrible, she wanted to die to cry out but her voice was gone.

’Ron...Ron...they’re ta-taking me somewh-’ Her link to him began to fizzle out then it broke and Esther hiccuped. The one friendly voice she had spoken to all these years...it felt like it was gone. Instead of a warm familiarity there was what felt like static.

Had….had she made this Ronnel character up this whole time? Where all those years of everything just figments of her imagination? Esther hiccuped. Her eyes stung with tears that she could not blink away. All this time she had been raised to serve them.

She didn’t remember her family or where she came from. And now she didn’t have his voice. Tomorrow - she’d be shipped off, to who knows where. All she knew was darkness, pain and the feeling of blood against her skin. She knew she’d have to hurt again.

A cold feeling of acceptance began to settle in the pit of her stomach as she realised this is all she’d ever truly know.

She felt two sets of hands drag her nearly nude body upward and felt the cold metal press against her mouth once more. Silencing her. Not that it would matter. She barely had a voice to begin with.

“Hold her there while I prepare the sedation.” Came the soft voice of the scientist.

Sedation. That meant that she would fall into blackness. A timeless void where she lost consciousness and would always wake up groggy, but it was one of the only reprieves she ever got from her eternal hell. Esther remained still and compliant as Mark and Jira muttered quietly to one another. If they wanted her to fight for them… she’d continue to do so - and if she showed some sort of exuberance for it maybe…. They’d offer her more freedoms. Like being able to see again. A proper meal. Anything but this crushing reality.

Take me in now! There is no more time! The voice snarled, echoing in my mind. It was Ventus, that angry bastard who swore up and down he would show me how wind was meant to be used. And - and with her scream echoing in my mind, in my ears - MY EARS, I gave in. Because she was here. And she needed me. Needed me to be more than just a voice in her head. So I gave in. I let that dark, suffocating wind fill me. I screamed, loud, as my body cracked, snapped, shifted.

My skin tore and stretched. My bones were ripped apart and stretched out. It felt like every fiber of my being was being twisted and tugged wide and out. It hurt. It hurt worse than anything they had done to me in the years in this dark shithole. My arm was the worst. It felt like more than my bones being separated at the joints - no it felt like the bone itself was being separated, sliced apart in many, many placed. My eyes shot open wide - and I could see, just barely. One arm was normal - for the most part. I was taller, thinner. I seemed almost - ethereal, like I wasn't there, but was? Not quite a ghost, but more like - fog, or smoke, forced to look like a human. The other arm though - it was decidedly inhuman. Monstrous. It was a whip, coiling and twisting, and I could move it however I wanted. And the flat edges were sharp, terribly, terribly sharp. Good.

There was more than pain in this transformation. There was satisfaction. A deep, filling satisfaction, like I had finally done something I should have years ago. I just - had never had a reason to, I hadn't cared. Hadn't known the voices in my head were real. I thought - had been told so many times - that they were figment of my imagination. But she was real - and hurting. And she needed me. If she was real, they were real.

ESTHER! I'M COMING! I bellowed out in my mind, Ventus’ roar echoing my words. I was - weaker, I could feel it. But different. I didn't need the muscles I had been grown and experimented on into having - no, here, now? This was me. This was Ventus. And our arm, was sharper than the bonds they had made to hold me could withstand. They were nowhere near strong enough to hold me now, to keep me from her. The thin, whiplike appendage snapped out and sliced through the metal, shearing it from my legs and my other arm. I fell to the ground heavily - the first time I hit the ground of my own free will in years. Ventus bellowed in triumph, and I let out a roar of my own. This place - these men. They would not hold me any more. They sure as all the burning hells would not keep me from my star.

Wind swirled around me, surging as Ventus and I worked together. We lashed out - wind and blade smashing into the door of the cell, and it trembled for a moment. Again, and again we chopped, tearing through the heavy wood door, until finally, finally it split. Light spilled into the room, and it hurt my eyes for only a moment. I didn’t care. A strong surge of wind shot from my right hand, blowing the shattered remains out of the doorway. My wind - our wind. It was different. There was no chill, cool feeling. No, this wind was hot, almost boiling as it left me - and it carried a weight mine never did when I used it. I had focused on sharp, cutting, biting cold winds. Ventus, working through me, used heavy pressure and heated winds. It was odd, feeling myself contort the element I used in such a different manner.

Bursting out into the hallway, my head snapped back and forth. I had to find her - I would find her.I saw motion down one hall. Winds carried the words to me.

“Damn, that girl can scream loud, can’t she? I was surprised at that - thought she couldn’t even make noise these days. That stare of hers is so weird.” I snarled. Esther. Once, she had told me she was quiet in person - which I had thought was my mind dragging up the conditioning that these fuckers were trying to instill in me to be silent unless giving a report. These fuckers - they knew where she was. My legs blurred as I charged down the corridor, towards the voices.

Two people - a man, and a woman. The woman had been the one to speak - so the man died. Literally - my left arm shot out, and pierced through his throat, driving into the wall behind him as I crashed into his still-standing corpse. I ripped my hand free from the wall, snapping his blood off my arm, and turned my red eyes towards the woman.

”The Girl. Where is the Girl.” My voice was not my own - distorted, an echo of Ventus’ howling winds overlaying my words. Still completely understandable - and entirely inhuman. The woman was staring, frozen, at the slumping corpse of the man she had been talking to seconds ago. I reached out and grabbed her - and noted idly that her flesh was oddly pressed upon my the shifting surface of my right hand. ”Tell me where the Girl is now, and I make your death painless. Don’t tell me, and I’ll give you a taste of the hell I’ve endured here for years.” I saw her start to scream for help - so I ripped the air from her lungs. She gasped - her eyes went wide - and I let her breathe again. Trembling, she stared at me - and spoke. When she was finished giving me directions - I drove my bladed arm into her forehead. I dropped her to the ground and let out a deep breath. I knew now, where she was.

I ran past the other cells, other experiments. Other prisoners. They didn’t matter. None of them mattered - like I wouldn’t have mattered to them. There was only one person who mattered to me right now, in this hell of isolation and experiments. My star was flickering, fading, and if I didn’t get to her now - it might be too late.

I got to her cell; dark and surrounded by iron bars. She was being held up like a rag doll from a man wearing a soldiers uniform, he had his hand pressed around her neck. Her head was sagged and there was a flower that was...wilting - my eyes went wide. She’d mentioned once, that she hoped her flower never died, because it would mean she was. My star - Esther!

Then the other man, he had atray next to him with a series of syringes - one was in his hand and he had picked up her arm to inject her with it. I let out a roar, a bellow of rage and hate - and wind slammed into him, ripping from my lungs as I shouted. The scientist staggered backwards, the needle flying from his hand to shatter against the wall.

My left arm shot out. Blade bit through flesh, and the hand that dared to touch my star was severed. The soldier reeled backwards, his good hand clutching at the bloody stump. Both men were staring at me with wide, terrified eyes. I moved swiftly - and the soldier backed away as I stood in front of Esther.

“Wha-what are you?”

”I am the one who assumed the facade of a monster. You tried for years to make me do this - well, now I am. And you will die for hurting my star.” I cracked the whip that was my arm - once, twice, picking up speed as I spun the natural weapon. The soldier tried to run - tried to get away. He was too late. Terribly sharp bonemetal sheared him in half, as my arm snapped down, bisecting him from head to toe. I ignored the corpse as it fell, and turned to look at the scientist who was now retching in the corner of the room. ”What were you bastards going to do to her.” It wasn’t a question - it was a command, to force him to answer me. I didn’t know enough to know what these medicines would do to my star.

Unlike the soldier the scientist knew when he was beat. “Sedation. Shipment. Experiment 25 is part of our telekinetic experiments, one of the few successfully fused participants.” His voice shook. “Rogue experiment. Hostile. Cell 25. Kill on sight.” Orders? He was giving orders?

“Experiment 25 initiate command FSR-1-”

My blade smashed into his throat as soon as he was speaking. Damn it - damn him. They must have some kind of communication system - or NO! I snarled as I lifted him from the ground. I realized now what he was doing. He was trying to make my star try to kill me - I just hoped I had been in time.I flung the carcass, gurgling blood, out into the hall - and moved away swiftly, body shifting as I prepared to avoid whatever Esther tried to do to me under the thrall of the command, if I hadn’t succeeded.

Shouts. Screaming. Gurgling..and the feeling of blood against her bare skin. Esther slumped to the floor as the soldier let her go. She had no way of moving. She had always been bound tight, movements restricted. She lifted her head at the sound of the command.

Suppress and capture.

The wilted flower on her head expanded then released a large cloud of spores, a cloud of purple that would paralyse anyone who breathed it in for a short period of time. She would obey them. She would be good.

Wind pressed against her, blowing the spores back and away from her and the other person in the cell. Warm, almost hot, like a desert wind flowing across her skin. ”My Star, please. Please.” A voice. Distorted, inhuman.

She tilted her head to the side. Star? Only one person called her that, and it was an incorporeal voice inside her head. ’Ron?’ It was difficult, and nothing but static filled her head. It hurt so she stopped trying to call out to him. This couldn’t be that same entity.

There was a sound of cracking, a guttural groan of pain. The sound of ripping, tearing, snapping. Then the voice again - human this time, more human. “I’m here, my star. Esther.” The winds now, blowing against her, were cool, a drastic difference from the hot winds that had been there moments before. And - not in her head. The voice was not in her head, but in front of her.

If she could blink, or talk or do anything aside from shuffle her body she would have. The voice in her head, the thing that kept her sane for years… was real. He was real. Esther desperately wanted to reach out to the sound. To touch whatever it was. To see, to have physical confirmation that this was real and not some drug induced illusion. ’You are real...you are here....’ then a feeling of dread quickly replaced her elation. ’Go. Leave. You cannot be here!’

’My star. I will leave this place. With you. I - I’m so sorry, Esther. I’ve been here - and I never knew you were trapped here too. I didn’t care to leave because - because I didn’t care if I was in this hell.’ His voice - it was Ronnel’s voice, the static gone. The wind was blowing closer now - and was centered on her flower, keeping any more spores at bay. She felt hands, soft, tender, delicate touches, against her skin. She heard groaning metal - and the band on her right hand was free. The manacle itself was still there, but the chain was broken. She felt a hand pry away the metal sheet that covered her eyes.

She strained. There was a dim light in the room and even that was too much. As her eyes clenched shut - that hand slid down and she felt those fingers pull away the covering over her mouth. She winced against the light then slowly opened her eyes. They were puffy and the whites bloodshot. Thick dark circles told that she rarely slept. Two coloured eyes stared up at her savior, a brilliant blue and a soft red. She blinked once. Before her knelt a silver haired man, staring at her with obvious concern in red-hued eyes.

A cough fell from dry lips then a strained voice, a whisper barely audible as she reached out to him. Her shaking fingers danced over his face and wiped tears away from his crimson gaze. “R-Ronnel?” He was warm. He was real. Esther hung her head and hiccuped. Her hands fell away to the floor, barely capable of the strength to keep them up.

“Esther. I’m so sorry. I should have come for you sooner.” He reached down and she felt him take her hand in his. “I - I should have come sooner.” The sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway.

Esther winced. [i]’They are approaching. Many of them.’[i] She barely had the strength to speak again. So instead switched to the way they had always spoken. She much preferred to hear his voice from his own trembling lips but she? She just did not have the strength. She could barely lift her arms let alone stand.

Knowing he was real was enough for her.

“Well. Then we should be gone.” His voice turned a bit harder. Certain. She felt the air get colder - then the sound of metal shrieking reached her ears. The bindings on her fell away, the chains torn. “You - can’t stand on your own. Alright.” Ronnel turned around in front of her, and she felt him take her arms and loop them around his neck. He pulled her closer. This warmth...Esther latched to it. To him. She didn’t want him to ever leave her side.

’You are taking me with you? I cannot fight. This is a detriment to your primary objective.’

“Of course I am. I don’t care if you can fight or not - I’ll be your muscle. You’re my star.” He stood up, and she was hanging on his back, his left arm tucked beneath her, holding her up. He let out a deep breath. “I am not leaving you in this hell for one more day, Esther. I have a reason to live, and to leave, now.” He began walking, ignoring the blood and the bodies on the floor.

She pressed her head into his back, her flower still sending off the paralytic spores in the air. They were caught up in the swirling, cool wind, and danced almost hypnotically around the moving duo. Never close enough to affect Ronnel - but never more than a few feet away.

“Ok.” She whispered coarsely against his skin. She shut her eyes. Moments ago she had given up. She had only ever known this place, and it was scary and horrifying to know there was a world outside that she would see and experience. A part of her wanted him to leave her behind. To leave her with what she knew but his warmth and his voice. His physical voice, it made her want to push forward.

To leave this place and to be someone more than Experiment 25.

She was - safe. I didn’t know what the hell the spores that she kept emitting were, but they were in the air around us, and I had them caught up in small eddies of wind. She’d released them when that damn scientist had ordered her to kill me - so I was not taking any chances with breathing them in. But - I had wind magic, wind control, and that meant that this? This worked nicely. They would be an unhappy surprise for whatever fucker got too close to us, because I could give them a dose of what they’d tried to make her do to me.

“Alright, Esther, my star. I - can feel fresh air coming, so I think I can get us out of here. Then - then there’s a whole world that I need to show you. It’s - deep sands, I can show you things, not just tell you about them.” I was trying to distract her, to reassure her. I was also straining my ears, turning down corridors to avoid ones where I could hear the sounds of running feet. I didn’t know what the hell these fuckers would have planned for ‘Rogue Experiments’ but I didn’t want to find out unless necessary. It helped, though, that when I had gotten to Esther’s cell, I had been working with Ventus, so they had no idea which Experiment I was. I paused and turned back around a corner, pressing Esther up against the wall and holding my breath. A moment later, three figures ran by, sprinting down the corridor that I had almost turned into. Fuck - they were moving quickly. I looked down after them, to make sure that they weren’t turning around - no, they were running on. Good.

I took off, moving down the hallway that they had come from. I hadn’t been lying to Esther - I could, faintly, smell desert air, the dry, dusty smell of sand and heat baking off of it. It might take some time -

Fuck. There was a man, staring at me. His eyes went wide and he started to shout - and he received a dose of Esther’s spores right down his mouth. He let out an odd, gurgling noise and his body crumpled to the floor. His chest still rose and fell. He was alive, and his body was twitching. HIs eyes wide and staring at us as he gave a silent scream. I strode over to him and planted one foot on his chest - and ripped his falchion from his belt holster.

’He is stunned. Paralysed. It will wear off in approximately 5-10 minutes’. I paused, and tilted my head back to indicate to Esther that I was listening to her.

“Right. Well. Can’t have him giving away where we are by shouting for help. My star - please, cover your eyes.” I waited until I felt her move, then I slid the blade into the man’s neck. His dark skin parted with ease, and his eyes, which had been wide and staring at me with terror, went blank, then lifeless. I knelt down and closed his eyes, then stood up. “Alright. We have until they find his body for them to know which way that we went. Hold on, Esther.” I doubted she had much strength to hold on to me with, but it was more to give her warning that I was going to be moving again.

She tightened her grip on me. ’I am used to hearing screams when I kill.’ Her words were so nonplussed.

“Does it bother you he died silently?” I was moving again, walking swiftly, following the scent of fresh air. It was - an odd statement, and an odd question. It made sense that they’d have made her kill. I hated the thought - my star shouldn’t have to be sullied with blood - but at the same time. What had he called her? One of the few successful participants? Of course they’d use that. They hadn’t used me yet, because I was still resisting their indoctrination. But - almost the entire time I had heard Esther’s voice, she had been here, I think. And that - that had been over a decade, now. My arm under her tightened against her legs for a moment.

’No. Target is dead. It does not matter how.’ I felt her press her lips into my neck and inhale. ’You’re efficient Ron.’ I shivered at her kiss. Oh. Her dry, chapped lips, chafing against my skin as she breathed in. I - that was a new sensation. I shook my head sharply.

“I - thank you, Esther. Try not to kiss me right now, dear, it’s a bit distracting.” I doubted she knew what a kiss was - but… She had been in my head for years. I told her everything that happened to me. Finding out she was real - that my oldest, closest friend, was actually real? And now, pressing against my back, the only thing between us the tattered clothes we were both wearing? Her smooth skin against my scarred skin, her stomach against the thick scar on my back as I saved her from the hell we’d both been in for years? I was pretty sure that once I sorted out my feelings from the shock and disbelief, and the terror - that I would need to figure out where I stood with her. She’d been in my head for a long, long time, knew me better than anyone out there ever could hope. I paused as I saw two men arguing. Both were scientists. Right. Emotional revelations later - getting my star out of here, now.

’It felt right. You smell and taste nice.’

I shivered. That - sounded very intimate in my head. I slid Esther off of my back, and pressed my lips to her nose. I had almost kissed her forehead - but I had seen the wound there, where they had been working on her. I wanted, desperately, to kiss her directly. But - not yet. As much as I might want to, I shouldn’t. I would wait to get out of this hell to give her the affection she deserved, what I wanted to show her.

“I need to go deal with the scientists, my star. They’re in our way.” Her head tilted up towards the touch, and it looked like she had wanted me to kiss her. Damn.

'If you show them images of their loved ones dying, they scream louder.’ I let out a soft, soft laugh and shook my head. I ran one hand along the edge of the blade I had acquired.

“I’ll leave that to you, Esther. I’m - more physical. And wind, I can do that well.” Actually - that was a better idea than trying to kill both of them with the falchion. I closed my eyes - and the air around me chilled as I took control. Then - with a flash of a smile at Esther - I took off, charging down the corridor. The scientists, lost in their argument, started to turn towards me as it became clear that I was running towards them, the sound of my bare feet thumping against the floor finally breaking their concentration. Too late - for them. I sprang forward, twisting my body around in a tight arc. The falchion slid through their necks with ease. Kill shots, on unprotected, unsuspecting targets. Neutralize their ability to scream for help. They hit the ground, their hands clutching at their throats - until I plunged the stolen sword all the way through the neck wound, ending their lives.

I wiped the falchion clean of blood on one of the coats of the man, then hurried back to Esther. She had her arms held out towards me - reaching up for me almost like a small child. I set the blade down and picked her up, cradling her in a hug for a moment before I shifted her onto my back again. I kicked the blade up into the air and caught it with my left hand - my right now serving as a support for my star to sit on against my back. “We should press on. We’re getting closer to the exit.”

The exit.

Words Esther never thought she’d hear. She had been shipped off to places before - but she had always been sedated. Always had her vision blocked unless fighting. Unless using her powers to injure those around her in brutal and twisted ways that left no scars on the body.

’It is bright...it hurts my eyes’ Esther mumbled into Ronnel’s mind as she pressed her face against his back. I do not remember the last time I was able to see such bright things

“Don’t worry Esther, I’ll make sure you’re comfortable and clothed. I won’t let anything happen to you anymore.”

Esther shifted her body, her joints hurt and the manacles around her swollen wrists and ankles bit into her skin with every bump against her body. Clothes...such a strange concept. Esther nodded into his back, silvery hair rubbing against the skin of his neck. ’I might need something to shield my eyes. I get headaches and hear things if I keep them open too long.’

He paused. “Alright, dear. I can find us something to use as a bandana for you.” He was calmer. Softer.

A small mumble came from her lips, an incoherent yet content noise as she clung tightly to Ronnel’s form. He twisted left then right up a flight of stairs - then Esther winced as a bright light hit them both.

They entered what looked like a small preparation room. There were lockers with names on them dotted along the far wall. Benches to sit on, a table littered with fruits and nuts. It was the first entry point before the cells and laboratories below. Esther shuffled and Ronnel let her slide off his back. Along one wall was a set of windows, covered in thick bars. A bright light was filtering through it.

Her feet didn’t touch the ground. They hovered single foot above it. The broken chain scraped against the concrete floor as it was dragged across it. This was a normal sensation for Esther. She didn’t pay it any mind as she drew her hands to cover her eyes. ’What is this? What is that heat?’

Ronnel had moved to the lockers - and began smashing his fist into them, cracking them open and rummaging through them. He found a black shirt in one - which he promptly tore one sleeve off of. He was pulling the rest of the shirt on when she spoke into his mind, and he had turned his red eyes in her direction, checking what she was talking about. “Esther?” He was slowly walking towards her now, and ripping the fabric in his hands up so he could - do something with it.

“Oh, my star.” His voice was soft. “That’s the sun. Here - let me tie this around your head.” His touch was soft, but his fingers swift as he brushed her hair back to let him tie the black fabric around her face, covering her eyes up.

’Be careful of the flow-’

“Ah.” The soft exclamation came from her lips, a small blush colouring the otherwise white hue of her cheeks. His hand had gently grazed her petals and it felt...odd. Esther reached up to her face and lifted the headband so it was on an angle. Revealing a single blue eye she peered up at him curiously. Ronnel had an odd expression on his face, as his fingers delicately brushed one petal of the flower.

’W-what do you think you’re doing. That feels really strange. It…. Esther shuffled her body and reached up to wrap shaky fingers around his wrist.

“I- Sorry, my star. I - that was…” He gulped, and his pale skin went to a red hue. ’That sound you made was beautiful.’ He looked away abruptly. “I - we should… get you a coat then get out of here. I’m sure one of these lockers has one.”

Esther had heard the words in her head. She found it odd that he hadn’t said them out loud. ’Beautiful? That sound?’ She reached up to let her fingers graze against the petals. The sun felt pleasant on them. A warmth that trickled down her spine and to her toes. ’If you want...you can touch it again but- not now. Now our main objective is to leave. Correct?’

Ronnel’s eyes had gone wide. “I - oh dear. Uhm.” He cleared his throat. “Yes. We need to get out of here. Now. We can - live, once we are free.” ’Live together, I hope.’ He was moving away - another unintentional thought, sent to her? He was moving through the lockers again, searching them for a coat. When he finally found one - he paused, his eyes wide, staring at it. His fingers brushed against it. The locker it was in looked dusty, like it hadn’t been opened in years. ’Mom?’ He blinked, closed his eyes - then snatched the coat and carried it to Esther.

“This one should fit you.” His voice was rough.

Esther pulled the coat over her bare shoulders. It was a little long at the end. Its back dragged against the very ground she was still hovering above. Not thinking about anything Esther picked up the coat and shifted - floating over toward the table and picked up a small knife. She began to tear through the bottom of the coat with it. ’This will fit once I have torn the bottom off. Thank you. We can live together if you like.’ She turned to look up at him, still tearing through the coat. ’What is a mom?’ The word sounded familiar but she couldn’t place it. Esther finished tearing off the bottom of the coat and dropped the bottom of it onto the table.

Her one visible eye stung as it got used to the light. She groaned as she rubbed it. ’This is detrimental to me operating effectively.

“No one, now.” His voice was hard, and a bit sad. “Sh- a mother, or mom, is the woman who gives birth to someone. It - doesn’t matter for now. We need to leave before they figure out where we are.”

Esther nodded and pressed forward, her feet gliding above the floor till she reached him and climbed onto his back once more. ’I agree. Let us leave and as you said. Live together.’ Esther pressed her head into the crook of his neck and inhaled. She enjoyed the close proximity with him. She enjoyed his scent and his voice. ’I want that.’ It felt almost as though he were designed to be her perfect partner

The exit was ahead of us. We were - almost out. I had shivered and blushed - thankfully she was not looking at me at the time - though I don’t know if she would know what I was blushing about. I hadn’t realized that I had been pushing that thought out. I - I did want to live with her. ’Neither of us has a home, so we should be each other’s home.’ That felt -right. That we were supposed to be together. She had been hanging onto my shoulders still, and every so often, her tongue would flick out and brush against my skin.

It was - affecting me. I was distracted. I - was finding it hard to believe that she was real, and here. And apparently craving contact with me. I swallowed. We would be out soon. Once we were, out, that was when we could figure out what we meant to each other. She - had said she wanted to live with me. That made me feel very, very warm inside. I blamed the distracting flickers of her tongue and lips on my missing the soldier in front of the exit.

He was large. Burly, dressed in heavy armor. In one hand, he carried a large, very large, blade. One I recognized intimately. Because that blade was the one that had left the scar on my chest, , piercing through me from back to front. I snarled. I knew this man. He was brute force, unrelenting pressure and hate. And completely, totally obedient to those bastards. I despised him.

’Experiment 71 I fought with him. Connection status: Fail. Project 25-71: Terminated. I believe we were meant to fight together but did not achieve the success rate they wanted.’

“I’m glad you’re not with him, my star. He doesn’t deserve you. 71 - you watery bastard!” Wind against water. They’d loved making the two of us fight. The large man snorted.

“87. Should have known if someone went rogue, it was you. You think you can beat me this time?” He lifted up that greatsword and leveled it at us. I set Esther down gently. When I turned to look at him, my eyes were hard as I dragged the falchion out of the sheathe I had appropriated.

“And you’re taking my 25 away?”

“She is not yours.” I snarled, fury ripping through my voice. This was - a dangerous match up. My natural strength was not enough for this fight. I needed - different. I needed - what the hell?

He grinned and chuckled darkly. “Oh. Then why can I do this?” His green eyes shifted to Esther. “25- Execute order T-1.” My eyes shot to Esther, wide, and terrified. No - not another order. She’d attacked me last time - what now?

Her eye widened then closed. She lifted her hand up to her head, she looked as though she was in pain. She turned to me, but I heard nothing. She shook her head and pointed from hers to mine then crossed two fingers over each other to signal that she could not communicate with me anymore.

Call me. We can beat him. He doesn’t know us, like he knows you. Ventus’ voice whispered, roared through my head. 71 was laughing, long and hard, as the demon in my head enticed me. I threw my head back and let out a loud snarl of rage.

“Try it, little man. You know you aren’t strong enough to beat me! I kill you for going rogue - then I take her back!” He let out a dark, ugly laugh. So I gave in again.

“Esther - look away.” I barely had time to say this, before I let Ventus in. The wind spirit ripped into me - and my body twisted and contorted. It happened in moments, before the wave of water from 71 reached me. My body lengthened, turned wispy - and I shot out of the way of the strike of water, flowing on insubstantial legs as 71’s eyes widened.

“What the hell, 87? You’ve been holding back?”

”Always, asshole. We never had a reason to go all out.” Our voice was a terrible, echoing snarl. ”You have no idea what we are like. And this is just the tip of the dune.” The water the bastard had unleashed curled and shot towards us - and we swept our right hand, holding the falchion, around in an arc, swinging down. A wave of pressurized air smashed into the water, and scattered it. 71’s eyes narrowed.

The playing field was more even now. No - it was in my favor. 71 didn’t know everything we could do. But I had always pushed him, hard, in our fights. I knew what he could do. My normal wind suffered against his water, because slicing the water just ended up making it into smaller, separate strikes. But now, the heavy, crushing air that Ventus and I used - it scattered the water too much for him to use his normal strategies. And - my whip, my arm. It was - an advantage. I narrowed my eyes, and let out an echoing growl of rage.

”For years, you fuckers tormented me, tortured me. I never fucking cared what you did to me. Why the hell would I? All I had was the voices in my head.” My eyes slid to where Esther was sitting on the floor. Intently watching us. Almost as though she was monitoring us. I returned my eyes to 71. I darted to the side, faster than this fucker could have anticipated, and brought a sledgehammer of wind around into his side. He skidded across the ground from the blow, thrusting his sword into the ground to not going flying. ”Then I learned that the most important of them, my star, was real. And she needed me. So now - now you bastard, I have a reason to end you, so I can show her a world outside of this hell.” I rushed forward.

In this form, I didn’t have my strength. Ventus’ muscles, our muscles, were not right, didn’t agree with the experiments that had enhanced my form. Instead, I was fleet, fast, shifting across the floor towards him faster than I ever had. I was keeping my left arm as a surprise, holding the muscles rigid so it mimicked a normal arm. My falchion flashed, and I was forcing him back - not through strength, but through speedy, fast slashes that were making him guard himself. It was - good. Because I had always been forced to try to overpower him, and had never been able to. So now, relying on speed instead of strength, I had turned the tables.

“ENOUGH!” Water burst from his form and knocked me away. It felt - odd, like it had started to cut through me, but had instead slammed against me and sent me flying. I hit the ground and bounced to my feet. 71 was bleeding from several small cuts, a longer one tracing up his arm where my blade had slid off of his greatsword and gouged out a piece of his flesh. He was panting, heavily. “I’m going to kill you, then take 25 for myself. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll remind her of you later, so she knows how close she came to freedom.” My eyes went wide as his hand twisted - and I felt water coil and wrap around my legs, immobilizing me. Shit - shit! He charged, his heavy blade swinging in an arc, meant to cut me in half.

Esther felt conflicted. She had worked with 71 on multiple occasions. They had even been forced to copulate to further manifest their ‘bond' he had been rough but Esther came to expect that from the man. It was an order so she obliged. There were no real feelings between the two beyond that of an order. Now he was fighting Ron. someone she had some sort of attachment to. Someone she felt she wanted to protect.There was a connection to Ron. One that was far stronger than her forced connection to 71. Esther was meant to support the fighter class. But she had been locked out of her own mind. There was no way to support or aid either one of them. Her mind had heard the order and without her will, obeyed.

She was frustrated by those orders; there were series of them, number and letters; all who once were shouted at her she’d have to enact upon them. Mental conditioning, serums and unholy experimentation all made it so she could not escape those orders.

There was a clatter against the hard concrete floor which broke Esthers train of thought. She squinted at the two as they fought in the harsh afternoon sunlight. The few chairs that were around the table had been scattered across the room. The floor was soaked and splashes of crimson marked the otherwise bare, white walls.

A sword looked as though it was about to knock out Ron, and slice right through him. Esther stood on shaky feet and called out to him. Or tried to. No words left her lips.

The blade slammed into Ronnel, and hung up, the silver haired man crumpling over it. Blood leaked down his frame, falling towards the ground. She felt something inside of her burn. She was failing. Ron was the one she needed to protect and he was dying, if not already dead.

There was a soft, distorted voice, speaking so low she couldn’t hear. Ronnel coughed up blood, and it splattered against 71’s chest. “What was that, little man?” 71 sounded amused. Confident. Like he had already won. “You’re sorry that you can’t save that stupid little girl? Let me tell you - she’s a dead fish anyway, not worth the time it takes to lay between her legs.” Ronnel’s head snapped up, and even from here, Esther could see that they weren’t glazing over in death. Then there was the oddest, cracking sound, like metal groaning and buckling.

She took a shaky step toward the two. She would assist him. She would. Esther stopped as his voice boomed.

”I said, YOU WON’T TAKE THE SKY FROM MY STAR!” Ronnel bellowed, the voice distorted, inhuman. That odd, echoing sound like wind howling to match the words. 71 started to laugh at the defiance - until that odd, metal sound happened again. The large man’s eyes seemed to realize something was wrong, very wrong - because Ronnel had straightened up, and while he had a gash on his chest and stomach, it was not the deep, deep deathblow it should have been.

Now revealed was the fact that Ronnel’s left arm had extended, almost snakelike, and had wrapped around 71’s sword. Edges of his arm, which was curiously flat, had sunk into the metal - and there were cracks appearing across the surface of the blade. With a wordless cry, Ronnel ripped his arm back - and the greatsword shattered, flying apart in a spray of metal.

Esther shielded her face from the flying strapmel and it bounced off of her leather jacket sleeves with ease. “R-ron?” Her voice croaked with concern. He - didn’t look at her. Because he was staring at the chunk of sword that was buried in his thigh. He let out a weak chuckle - then his arm lashed out, slicing through 71’s neck. The man’s head, mouth gaping in surprise, flew upwards, then landed with a wet smack on the ground. Ronnel gripped the metal in his leg - but didn’t pull it out. He gave her a weak smile - one that steadied up.

“We - should leave. Before they get another of their pet Experiments out here.” Then, with a gasp, he ripped the metal out, and his form flickered, becoming real. The wound that had been serious was - lesser, but still bloody. It looked painful. He ignored it, and stepped to her. “Come on, my star.” His voice was a bit strained, but he scooped her up into his arms. This time, cradling her in his arms against his chest, not carrying her on his back.

Esther nodded and pressed her head to his chest. She couldn’t communicate with him through words but she could show him her appreciation through touch.

Esther lifted her head and pointed to the coat. Trying to signal there was more in there. She had felt it when she pressed against him. It felt like piles of paper on the inside the coat.

He shook his head. “Later my star. First let us get out.” He carried her past the table and winced as he pressed their weight against the door. Esther braced herself as the heat of the sun hit her back full force. She groaned and wrapped her arms tighter around Ronnel. As he ran.

She wasn't sure how far nor how long they had travelled. She was hot and sweaty and wanted nothing more than to curl into a ball and sleep.

‘I am tired. I need rest.’

“It's good to hear you again. Even if it's in my head.” He held her tighter. “There's a few houses up ahead. Let's head there, the nights are ferociously cold.”

Esther nodded. Then - she felt cooler, not a lot, but at least a few degrees chiller. They reaches the edge of the tiny hamlet soon after - and found that it was mostly empty. In fact - animals were the only denizens, there was no sign of human inhabitants. A ghost town, swallowed by the desert sands.

Ronnel kicked in the door to one of the buildings, shoving through the sand that tried to keep it shut. He carried her carefully inside, and soon found a bed. It had seen better days - but it was still serviceable. He settled her down on top of it, then brushed his fingers against her face delicately.

“Alright my star. I'll be back shortly - I need to make sure our tracks are obscured.” He vanished, moving swiftly back out of the bedroom, leaving her - mostly alone. His voice echoed into her mind. ’We- we are free, my star. From what I know, none of the other Experiments are skilled trackers. I stirred the sands behind us as we left, so they should be lost as to where we went.’

Soon enough he came back, and he hesitated before dragging a chair near the bed he had placed her on. He looked between chair and bed a few times, obviously indecisive.

’Please join me. It will be cold we need to stay together. Oh…’ Esther reached into her jacket and pulled out a yellowed file, handing it to him. ’ We can burn this and use it for warmth..the woman who had this was terminally ill, and she bore another life inside of her.’