Sweet Venom Arc 03 Ch. 03

*

A fierce sigh hissed from between Scyler's dagger-like teeth as he walked the length of the pristine white corridor. Several small dragonfly drones were flying up and down its length, cleaning the surfaces with relentless vigour as they scanned the corridor with bright blue lights.

He tugged at the collar of his uniform, stretching his neck out as the fabric clung to his skin a little too snugly for his liking.

"This is shit. I hate these scratchy bloody things."

He stared out of the corridor's glass panes and over the station. Another annoyed sigh escaped his lips.

"Too small here. Stupid fucking Jace. You know what? Fuck this. I need some stress relief."

He turned on the spot and quickly made his way back towards the anomalous labs. Every lab he passed by was either dark or only had one or two people finishing up some late night projects. Those who spotted him waved a quick hello as he passed by.

Before long, Scyler arrived at the heavy security door that led to the 'stress relief' in question. A single guard in traditional DA armour was stationed outside, and waved him over.

"Hey Scyler. Late night work, huh?" The guard mused, tapping on his gauntlet to activate the door controls.

"Yeah. Feeling itchy."

"Reason for visit?"

"Reason?" Scyler cocked his head, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, Evangaline is keeping track of why people are visiting the lab, nothing you need to worry about." The guard shrugged, seemingly unbothered.

"Hmm. Morale enhancement. She'll know what it means. You know if anyone is in the observation bay?"

"Nope. I think it's completely empty, the team cleared out a few hours ago. You'll have the place to yourself. You want the defences online?"

"Please. Camera's off, too."

"You got it. Have fun." The guard smiled and opened the doors behind him.

Several tons of reinforced metal rolled back to reveal Plasia, still strung up like a puppet. She didn't seem to have moved. The laboratory lights flickered to life automatically upon Scyler's entry. The room was silent aside from a small machine sat in front of Plasia, whirring away with a mechanical determination. It appeared to be hooked up to her veins, with a couple of needles fastened into her wrists.

Plasia weakly raised her head to look at Scyler as the door locked behind him, and the cameras around her died. She seemed unfazed, however, and let her head hang limp again.

The dragon's eyes looked over her defeated form with a wicked intent.

"Good evening, Plasia."

She didn't respond.

Slowly, he approached the pump machine in front of her and glanced over its slightly shaking body as it whirred away.

"Horrifying little thing, this." He remarked. "Under normal circumstances, this would be little danger. Posing absolutely zero threat to anyone, nevermind a creature like yourself. But here, now? This little thing is slowly draining your life away. One pump at a time, draining your blood in a slow, constant drip. Such a tragic, awful way to go. Beaten by a syphon and a bit of electricity. Leaked to death. Does it drive you mad to know that? To listen to the life being sucked out of you for hours upon hours, alone in the dark.? No less than you deserve really, is it?"

I agree.

He continued., despite her silence.

"What an absolute piece of work you are. What you did to those poor nomads... I mean, wow. Two hundred people?! And that's just your personal body count. Those prostitutes, I can't recall their names -"

Mina and Tani...

"-You bought them out, deceived them and corrupted them. All by your little loathsome self. The worst part was, they were likely enjoying themselves, until their bodies broke under the weight of your degenerate disease."

Suddenly, his shocked demeanour broke and a sly cackle erupted from him.

"Still, I'm so glad I recovered you. This condition you have is the real deal, we're making breakthroughs already - nothing that would cure you, but... all-in-all, very good things. There's real potential there."

Maybe you'll learn something that saves lives. Maybe I'll have contributed to something good before I die...

"Don't get your hopes up, though. It's looking pretty bleak for your victims at the moment. This corruption is persistent once it infects someone."

...I'm better off here... I can't do any more damage locked up in here. I will not corrupt anyone else, ever again.

Suddenly, Scyler's scowl returned, more intense this time.

"Rotten sack of pig-foul. Because of you, my field work has been suspended. I'm stuck aboard this station with you for the next year."

I don't understand why he's blaming me...

His temper rose again; Plasia hadn't moved, hadn't reacted, hadn't even acknowledged his presence since he'd first entered the room. Angrily, he placed a hand on the pump and turned the dial up, just a little. The machine groaned and whirred as its pace quickened.

She didn't even flinch.

His eyes scanned over her closely, watching her face, searching for any sort of response. His eyes twitched at their corners as he tried to figure out what to say next. Suddenly, a brief grin spread across his lips, and he turned the pump back down.

"You didn't deserve him."

Plasia shuddered in her restraints.

"There's no way in hell he'd have ever accepted you. Not after what you did. You're a fucking monster."

Her eyes flickered open and met his scolding stare, tears building in the corners of her giant sapphire orbs.

"Oh wow. Wooow. You really are that self-absorbed? I'm here, telling you about the two-hundred nomads that you personally raped and corrupted, and you just sit there, not giving an absolute shit. But then I start talking about your precious little lover-boy and suddenly, oh boohoo, woe is me! You really don't give a shit about anyone else but yourself, do you?"

"Shut up! Stop it!" Plasia suddenly cried out, her bottom lip wobbling as fresh tears streamed down her face.

"You think you're the 'good' half, but you're just fucking awful. Selfish."

Her cry broke into a deep, wrenching sob, her chest shuddering, her restraints shaking slightly.

"There we go! Ahh!" Scyler smiled, repositioning himself against the far wall. "Anyway, I'm just here to remind you that you murdered your boyfriend in a fit of jealous rage. His blood, your hands."

"Please... stop... just - just..."

"He died on Barru X after your little performance, in the arms of another woman he loved more than you. Don't want you forgetting that either."

Plasia's eyes slowly drifted down to the floor, she tried to form noises from her throat but nothing would come. Slowly, her head bowed again, broken and defeated. More crystal tears dripped down her face, pattering against the sterile floor.

The room fell quiet. The persistent churn of the blood pump throbbed in both their ears.

"Sigh. You're boring me. Let's speak to your other half."

Scyler pressed a series of buttons on the door panel. The vents in the ceiling opened, and a low hiss emanated from within. After a few seconds, a familiar, intoxicating scent filled the room. Sweet, rich and dark.

Plasia briefly shook and struggled in her restraints, then her body jolted, stiffened, and relaxed, and she was calm again. When she opened her eyes, her round irises were gone, replaced with those predatorial slits, sharp and intimidating, and staring straight at Scyler through the lab's mellow lighting.

Scyler walked back over to the pump and began to fiddle with it, turning his back to Plasia as he idly played with the machine.

Slithering out from her parched throat, Plasia's tongue slowly emerged between her lips and began to snake its way towards Scyler, reeling up in the air to strike him.

Just before she could reach him, a high-powered amber laser beam erupted from the corner of the room and struck the tongue, causing it to rapidly retract. A gurgling growl escaped Plasia's throat.

"You know, for her supposedly unpredictable side, you are disappointingly predictable." He sighed, turning back around to face her.

She met him with a furious scowl, twitching in her restraints.

"Am I immune?" He asked casually.

"Why don't we find out?" She hissed back, bearing her blunted fangs at him.

"Hah. I like that. You're much more fun than your other half." He'd asked the same question in every 'interview' he'd held with Plasia to date, and was yet to get an answer.

"You lie to her. Other me. Tell her I KILL pretty lizard. Why? NOT MY HANDS. NOT MY HANDS!"

"Because it's fun. You're a murderer all the same, what's the harm in one more?"

"You LIE and LIE. Maybe you LIE about pretty lizard!"

"He's dead, Plasia. He's dead, and it's your fault." Scyler smirked as Plasia fought against her restraints.

"BREAK FREE AND FUCK YOU! BREAK UNDER ME, UGLY EEL MAN!"

Scyler laughed. "Wrong. Wrong, wrong, and wrong. You're going to die in this lab."

"DO IT! STOP WASTING-WASTING-WASTING-WASTING TIME!"

"You are going to die in this lab... when we decide so."

Plasia hissed and tugged harder on her mechanical bonds. The machinery began to creak.

"And it gets better! You know your weak other half? She is glad that you're both dying in here, because that means you won't get to hurt anyone ever again. So she doesn't fight back, she doesn't resist, because she thinks this is the best thing for both of you! I know you like to think you're the one in charge, but I think she still has her hand on the controls. She's holding you back! It's brilliant, I think."

"STOP THIS!"

"Bah. You sound just like her."

"EAT YOUR TEETH! SNAP YOU!!!"

A guttural, stomach churning roar emanated from the captive alien and she gnashed her teeth together furiously, snapping them together repeatedly as her eyes glared at the dragon with an unblinking death stare.

"Whelp! I feel much better after that. See you tomorrow! Remember, you'll only die when we decide you're no longer useful. Remember that, czarite. Byeeeee!" Scyler turned gleefully back towards the door. The mechanism parted and allowed him to exit as Plasia continued to gnash her teeth furiously, and shake in her restraints.

"Looks like you got some pep back in your step, Scyler!" The door guard remarked.

"I do indeed, my good man! Feeling refreshed! Right, I have some late night reports to do..."

The two continued talking as the door locked behind them, sealing Plasia back within the lab. The lights flickered off, and she was enveloped in darkness again.

But, she wasn't alone. Not completely, anyway. From within the lab's observation room, a single occupant stood in the dark, clutching onto her lab notes, absolutely horrified.

She knew she wasn't supposed to be there. More than that, she knew she wasn't supposed to have seen any of that.

She didn't even know what that was.

But she knew it wasn't right.

Her golden wheat-coloured wings wrapped around herself as she stared down at Plasia's trembling form as Leech's scent evaporated from the room.

Her eyes were wide and her body quivered in her self-embrace. A tear formed in the corner of her eye.

That was awful! Just awful!