Marionette

Skies, Chapter Fifty Four - Tenshi no Heya [天使の部屋]

The world was dark, a churning chorus of haunting memories.

Of birdless skies made of concrete, broken chorus of screams delight.

The world was mute, just as it was cold and suffocating.

If the world were to end right now, she didn't know if she would have the heart to try and stop it. To her, it may very well have ended so many years ago, and the life she'd lived was a parting dream before the black.

A bittersweet dream, ripped right from her reach the second she began to realize what it was she wanted.

If she could fade away before the nightmare resumed, she'd be fine with that.

Though luck was never on her side – Especially now.

The dull rattling and squeaking of rusted wheels echoed in the back of her head, distantly as if she were underwater.

Her senses began to slowly return to her as the cold began to drip from her body, fading from her fingers and toes at first.

Even in her current state, the deathly familiar sensations were as clear as the terror she'd felt for so long.

'Excellent, I'm pleased to see that you're finally waking up.' The dull echo of a traumatically familiar voice rung with sickening clarity. 'It's been so long, Tenth. I'd hoped for a bit of a good old heart-to-heart before the monotonous return to your home.'

The cold had faded up to her thighs and shoulders, though her whole body was numb from her control.

She wanted to keep her eyes shut, to try and fool herself into thinking that this was all inside her head.

But they opened on their own, almost as if to spite her.

The burning hot white of working lights blinded her, to the point that she could barely see the tiniest hints of black blurs in her peripheral vision. Two masses of dark blurs she could pick to be people stood over her, one standing a little back to watch, while the other tightened what she could feel to be restraints over her ankles.

'We'll have you back in your confinement tank shortly.' The voice belonging to the madman spoke, glee brimming in his voice as the silhouette standing back shifted around to stand over her head. 'We need to get you readjusted to your confinement tank before we move everything. Its easier to move the tank with you inside it than piece by piece, after all. It wastes time that could be spent on my projects, after all.'

No response escaped Amaya's motionless form – She neither had the ability, nor the will to respond.

A small chuckle escaped Toji as he straightened up on his feet.

'I have missed you, Tenth. None of the others have ever shown as much promise as you have.' He continued, gloating down at the motionless girl as he shrugged on a white lab-coat. 'Every specimen is weaker, or it lives less than the one before. Or they just don't have the endurance to hold onto the tiniest portion of sanity needed to maintain coherent life. It's problematic in all ways.'

'Katsuragi-sensei. We're ready to start.' The form that had been strapping her ankles down spoke, straightening up to face Toji.

'Yes, yes. I can see that.' Toji dismissed carelessly, waving a hand dramatically. 'I could have gotten this all done in half the time .... whatever your name is.'

'It's Tachibana, Sensei...' They responded wearily. 'I've been working for you for twelve years, now...'

'That's very nice, now go make yourself useful elsewhere. You're wasting precious time.' Toji waved the man off dismissively, earning an almost indistinguishable comment in response as Tachibana did as he was told.