Born of Blood: Jack the Ripper

Perfection

How much time passed by? 5 maybe 6 years? The conditions had improved but it would be incorrect to say that they were living. They ate, slept, trained together, the two had become inseparable. Since that day they became Solidus' private pet projects. Specialized training, rigorous tests, merciless brutalization. Even now this was another example.

*Slap*

A hand struck across Jack's face, cheek stinging from the aggressive wake up call of the Soldier in charge of their current situation. Locks of white hair covering his vision, dripping with ice cold water. His body stripped of almost all clothing, skin covered in bruises and deep lacerations, adding to the many old wounds already there.

Compared to when he first arrived his body matured, grew, yet even now he was powerless. His wrists tied together with rope, arms forcibly extended above him, body carried by a meat hook. He hung nearly a foot from the ground. With his eyes peering beyond his hair, he saw Yorha in a similar position, her eyes looking at him. When he was awake, so was she.

They were only a meter away in distance. She too was tortured in a similar way. Her hands, abdomen, and feet slashed, gouges of flesh missing, tainting her once pure skin. Blood pooled beneath both of their feet. At first the training they had undergone was simple. Stamina and strength training. Then weapon training, they learned to use guns, learned to properly wield knives. After that was combat, Solidus himself trained them. Beat them down without mercy, the times they returned with fractured bones became too many to count.

Finally for these last 3 months... Torture endurance an area Jack already had experienced. Nearly 24/7 around the clock torture for the past 90 days. Although the previous training was difficult, the two always had a place they could retreat. Now such a luxury ceased to exist within the 9ft by 9ft room they now resided in.

A hand grabbed onto Jack's hair pulling his scalp causing his head to raise. The plain black half face mask the soldier wore failed to show any of the man's features underneath. Whether the man was smiling during the torture was up for debate. Not that it really mattered.

Jack watched the soldier extend an arm to his right. Sitting on a large rolling table were various instruments the pair had become familiar with. Pliers, wrenches, knives, all were used in their "training." The previous torture session ended only an hour ago, by this time both knew what the Soldier's first choice would be. Jack moved his wrists, hands grasping on the back of the hook tightly, body tensing. It took half a second before he was struck in the abdomen with a tire iron. During this not once did Jack's gaze leave Yorha's. Once his turn was done it would be hers. They both knew this...

One swing, two... three... the number kept increasing and so did the strength behind the strikes. At one point his bones would have shattered by the first strike, however, 3 months of this constant pain had it's benefits. Though this resistance still faltered at times, the chuckles that came from his mouth were proof of this. These noises causing Yorha's eyes to narrow, he could see it, the hate hidden beneath her steel gaze.

 Soon the soldier's exhaustion had started to show. The swings decreasing before the soldier stopped entirely. Back turning to Jack and to face Yorha. A minute maybe two passed before the tire iron once again found momentum. The metal striking against Yorha's flank. She had gotten much stronger, more resistant to pain as well. Jack's own tolerance in witnessing this, however, had been degrading over time.

The torture carried on like it usually did. 3 hours of punishment followed by an hour of rest. During this time the two would sleep but neither could despite the exhaustion they felt. Yorha wouldn't because Jack wasn't asleep and Jack wouldn't if Yorha was awake. Though that was only part of the reason. For three months not once had Solidus visited them in this room, no, rather the reason for this training was lost on both of them. Combat training was enough to test their limits, raise their pain tolerance, this was something else...