E-1

"What in the hell...!"

Randolph gulped as several dozen Amora appeared on the stage, charging the six-headed dragon. His eyes were wide. Had she been going to Cassinamora? That was the only explanation for her having so many Amora.

"Will she win?" asked Silvia.

"Perhaps," Randolph whispered.

Even some of the Headmasters and Headmistresses looked away as that dragon tore apart every single one of the Amora, though they were no weaker than high-tier.

This battle wasn't going to end soon. Both had trump cards hidden up their sleeves.

~

Asha's heart was torn. Quetzico was not hers, but the person who'd given it to her was very dear, though he was no longer in this world.

As she was distracted, Asha failed to dodged a kick to her neck, sending her off her feet and slamming into the arena floor, hard, the right side of her body aching as a cool, sharp blade pressed against her throat.

"I thought you'd grown stronger, Allu. I was wrong."

"Can it, Arae," Asha snarled. He was standing over her legs, the tip of the sword at her throat. Careful not to move the top half of her body, she lifted her legs and kick straight up, nailing him in the chest and sending him stumbling back. She rushed him, driving her elbow into the back of his neck before he could recover, lacing her fingers over the back of his head and driving her knee into his face.

Asha stepped back, watching Arin stumble, blood dripping into the floor of the arena. She tensed as he looked up, one of his gold eyes turning red with blood. Asha'd nailed him in the corner of the eye, and it looked like she'd popped a blood vessel or a bone fragment had pierced a vein.

"Brutal as ever. Isn't this what you did to your caretaker the first time you met him?" Arin asked, wiping the blood leaking from the corner of his eye. "When you admitted into the Facility, I mean."

Asha's blood went cold, her fingers twitching. "I don't know what you mean," she said.

Arin laughed. "Of course you do. After all, he was like the father you never had. The caring older brother who left you for dead."

"Don't you dare--!"

Arin's lips curled into a cruel, wild grin. "But he died, all because of you! Your Seven died because of what you are!"

SNAP!

The arena was silent before an explosion of wild, buzzing black particles burst out, unruly, as they gouged parts of the arena, even disintegrating the enchanted glass wall between the judges' box and the arena.

The black particles swirled in a tornado, widening its grasp until the eye of the storm covered the whole arena.

~

Daniel watched the screen, wide-eyed.

"What just happened? What did he mean Facility?" Blyke asked.

"What are those black dots?" Tim asked.

Daniel swallowed. "Those... are Oblivinite particles."

"But that doesn't make sense. None of the Amora she showed have the ability to control Oblivinite," Amelia said.

"Hey-- the silver braces are gone from her gloves," Rosaria said suddenly, sitting up straighter.

Daniel looked at the screen, noting Rosaria was right.

"She's moving!" Ethelyn warned.

Asha raised her hands to her mouth, pulling the gloves off with her teeth, letting them fall to the ground. Within seconds of her gloves being removed, the skin from her elbows down faded into thick, jagged scales. Her hands were covered in the scales, and her nails were six inches long and sharp as a blade, the tips filed to a fine point. Asha's hair seemed to come alive as it rose around her, revealing the back of her neck, where two snakes made of Oblivinite burst from her skin, hissing and spitting.

"What in the name of Hell...?!?!" Blyke exclaimed, recoiling in horror.

Asha's eyes were feral, the pupils narrowed into vertical slits, fangs bared. She let out a wild scream as she launched herself at Arin, even faster than before. She was almost discernible from the fog of Oblivinite as she swiped and bit at Arin.

Wounds appeared on Arin's body as he did his best to defend. A gash on his arm, bite marks on his hand, and even parts of his flesh starting to erode away from contact with the Oblivinite.

"...ven. S...ven. Wh... re yo...? Di... ou... eave m..., to, Sev...?"

"W-what is it saying?" Amelia asked.

Blyke was the one to respond, though he looked away from the screen. "Ash-- it's saying Seven. Over and over again. 'Seven, don't go.' 'Seven, did you leave me.' 'Seven. Seven.'"

"What is Seven?" Rosaria asked.

Ethelyn answered, "I don't think it's a what, Rosaria. I think Seven is a 'who.' My question is how he's important to Asha."

"He said caretaker. Maybe Seven was Asha's adoptive father?" asked Tim.

"He also said Facility. I'm going to have to go ahead and assume here, but I think Asha... was a resident of an Asylum Facility," said Ethelyn gravely.

"That explains so much," Amelia said.

Everyone agreed. They didn't mean it in a mean way, but they'd all felt that Asha was a little... off.

"She's winning," Daniel said. He hadn't taken part in the conversation, too absorbed in what was happening on the screen. Her control over the Oblivinite was both amazingly complex and chaotic. But he also noticed that, by the way she moved with it, this was not her first time using them.

"Isn't that a good thing?" asked Rosaria.

"I'm not sure anymore," Daniel whispered.

~

"This is the newest patient. A bit feisty. I'm putting her under your care, Seven."

"This is the patient? She's so young," Seven replied, frowning at the small girl with the long black hair and gold eyes. She couldn't have been older than eight. "File," Seven said.

"Subject E, Female, Five years old. Found on the border of the Oliram and this territory."

Seven was even more shocked. "What was a child doing in the Likariniam Fief?" he blurted.

The person glared at him. "Continuing file. Missing left eye, several breaks and fractures in bones from her feet to her elbows. Found unconscious in puddle of blood. Blood confirmed not related to the patient. Body found a mile out, thrown into a river." The person gave Seven one last look. "Begin treatment immediately."

The little girl was shoved at Seven, falling to the floor.

Seven's heart went out to the little girl, Subject E, as he watched her struggle to stand on shaking legs. "Cone on," he said sharply. "Keep up." He began to walk away. Seven's only job was to follow the orders from the higher-ups. Emotions like pity had no use in his way of work. "Escape from the Facility is impossible, so I suggest you don't try anything funny--" Something hit him sharply in the back of the neck, making him fall to his knees, before his head was forced down, his right eye introduced to the knee of a five-year-old.

Guards rushed into the hallway, grabbed the girl by her hair and dragging her off, into the room he'd been walking to.

Seven got up and followed, hand still covering his eye. He watched the guards as they threw her against the metal table, fastening the manacles over her wrists and ankles.

Before they could clamp the last iron manacle around her leg, she kicked, nailing one of the guards in the mouth.

He growled, raising his fist and punching the girl hard in the head.

"ENOUGH!" Seven shouted, rushing forward, shoving the guards away. He stepped towards the man who'd punched E, causing the man to retreat for every step he took, until his back was against the wall. "You have no right to brutalize the subjects! If she has any permanent effects, I'll be sure to take one year of your life away for every word the higher-ups say to me. Got it?"

The guard nodded, terrified. Seven was known as the kindest and most timid of the scientists in the Facility, but suddenly he looked just as terrifying as Three.

"Now get out of my sight. If I see you again, I'll be sure to put you on the metal table next." Seven watched wrathfully as the guards rushed out of the room, waiting for the door to close before near-running to the little girl, who was passed out on the table, both sides of her head bleeding, one from the blow directly, the other from her head slamming into the table from the force of the blow.

Seven's hands carefully brushed over the girl's hair, rubbing her head. How many patients had he had over the last year? But none of them had been able to affect him like this little one. But he was still obligated to start the treatments. "I'll protect you," he said. "I promise. If you can endure, I will take care of you. I swear it on my Amora." That was all he could offer, because he'd stopped caring about his life as soon as he joined OHRF.

-

"Spectacular," the boss said, watching through the glass as that little girl, not as little as before, walked closer to the man tied to the chair, who was struggling with all his might to break free of the ropes binding him.

"No! Stay away from me! Stay away, you monster!"

Seven stayed silent as he watched E near the man. Monster. Demon. Devil. The people who'd sat in that chair shouted many insults, but not matter how much they shouted and screamed, in the end, they all ended up the same.

"Begin experiment," the boss said.

"Target everything except the skin," Seven instructed, pressing the glowing red button on the dashboard in front of him.

E nodded silently, the clamps on her gloves snapping open, the heavy things hitting the floor with a thunk. She crossed her arms in an x in front of her, her skin starting to change into scales, nails growing into claws, hair rising until it was a living, writhing thing, and the two snakes tearing through the skin of the back of her neck, snapping and hissing as they writhed in the air.

"Control is excellent. And the transformation took less than five seconds. Remarkable," the boss said, eyes glued to E.

Seven just looked at her, face like stone. Once she looked over at him, he pointed his thumb down. "Finish it," he said.

E nodded. The two snakes lunged forward, their bodies seemingly endlessly long, as they bit on either side of the man's neck, black, malevolent particles rising from E's skin and scales. She blinked.

The boss was practically salivating as the man inside screamed and thrashed as the particles rushed into his body through his mouth and eyes and ears and nose, turning his blood, his veins, his muscles, and his bones into nothing.

Three seconds.

It took three seconds for a fleshed-out human being to be reduced to a skin bag that deflated into a pile on the floor.

E just stepped back, picking up her gloves and looking at Seven expectantly.

'She's waiting for me to lock them again,' he realized. He obeyed, pressing the button a second time, the clamps fastening tightly around her wrists.

"Subject E officially cleared. Subject name is going to be changed to E-1," the boss said. "What are the statuses of the Anima?"

"Anima are serpents. Normally just two, but so far up to a dozen can be summoned from the site of the treatment. Back of the neck chosen by Researcher Seven and full six weeks of treatments were used. So far, they can stretch up to ten meters, but the length increases every day. Rate of increase is one to two meters every day after practice. Condition is stable, and markings do not seem to be growing like failed experiments," Seven reported, reading off the file held by the clipboard he always carried.

"Congratulations, Seven. You have officially created the first stable Executioner."

"Sir," Seven said suddenly. "Do you think E-1 can talk?" he asked.

The boss just looked at him like he was crazy. "Now, why would I care about something like that?"

Seven realized what he'd just said and bowed hastily. "Very sorry, Sir. My mouth ran ahead of my mind."

"It sure did. Watch it, next time."

Seven breathed a sigh as the boss left. He walked into the room, crouching in front of the little girl in front of him, rubbing her head. "You did wonderfully, E-1."

-

One year later.

"Seven. I see your experiment is just as antisocial as ever."

Seven's eye twitched in annoyance at the drawling voice. "What is it, Three. I don't have time to waste on your poisonous tongue."

Three walked up to Seven, giving a nasty grin. "If anything, I'd say it's your experiment with the poisonous tongue."

Seven whirled around to face Three. He was half tempted to backhand his colleague into the wall, but before anything could be done, E-1 leapt between the two, barely a second before Three's experiment jumped in. "Stand down," Seven said, reeling in his temper. "E-1 is still more powerful than E-5. If your not careful, I'll have her put her poisonous tongue to good use." Seven reached out, patting E-1's hair. "Come on, E-1. I wanted to bring you someplace nice."

E-1 looked up at the kind caretaker with the strange forest green hair and yellow eyes, just a shade paler than gold. She liked his eyes.

"Come on."

E-1 followed obediently, walking through the halls and a huge pair of doors, where she was met with a strange bright light. It wasn't harsh like the ones in her room, but it was warm somehow. Made her feel good. 'Sunlight,' she thought. 'It's been so long I forgot what it felt like.'

"Follow me."

E-1 walked after Seven. Was he not afraid she would bolt at any second? But she just followed him a ways away, to an outdoor flower garden.

Seven watched her eyes widen as she took in the scene before her. He smiled slightly. "Let's take a look," he said.

E-1 just went to his side as he started explaining what each flower was. Her eyes took in the vibrant colors, her nose the vivid scents. Her hair was down and she wore a scarf that hid her markings, so she was just one more small girl enjoying the flowers.

E-1 reached out hesitantly, wanting to touch the petals of a pretty red one with sharp thorns on the stem. But just as her hand neared it, the metal braces around her fingers and wrist glowed white.

[Executioner, please step away from the living organism. You have ten seconds. If you do not obey, punishment will be given out.]

Everyone around Seven and E-1 suddenly backed away quickly.

"An Executioner."

"I can't believe one had the audacity to show itself here."

"How could you bring that monster here?" a mother shouted at Seven.

"Ma'am, please. Everyone has the right to look at the flowers," said Seven in defense.

"But putting the rest of us in danger is acceptable?!" another parent demanded. "What is she blows up and kills us all?"

"That won't happen," assured Seven. But nobody would listen to his reasoning. Instead, one parent charged at Seven with a pocketknife.

"No!"

A small figure darted past Seven, jumping and kicking the blade straight out of the man's hand. "You can't hurt him," E-1 said, her voice hoarse and rough with disuse.

"E..." Seven said quietly. He reached out, picking her up around the middle and lifting her up to sit on his shoulders.

[Executioner, please step away from the living organism. You have ten seconds. If you do not obey, punishment will be given out.]

"Oh, shut up, you piece of junk," Seven muttered, taking the necklace from under his shirt and using the key to unlock her gloves, turning off the security procedures. "Let's go back, E-1."

-

"Catch them! Don't let them get away! Kill the scientist, but don't let a single scratch befall the Executioner!"

Seven had E-1 in his arms, running through the hallways, scattering his movements to confuse the shooters behind them. "Everything's going to be okay, E," he whispered. Seven winced as a bullet grazed his arm, shifting E closer to the center of his chest. "Almost there."

"Stop right there, Seven!"

One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Eight, and Nine all blocked their exit, their Executioners already summoning the Oblivinite from their skin.

Seven slowed, trying to determine what was more dangerous. Half of the lab's residents chasing behind, or the Executioners in front. He sped up again as he chose his path. "Quetzalcoatl!" he called, the huge winged serpent appearing ahead of him. "Frozen Field!" The Executioners and scientists froze suddenly. It was only for a few seconds, but it was long enough for Seven to slip by, sending Quetzalcoatl to knock them over.

"Listen, E. No matter what happens to me, you need to run. God it?" he asked, still running, though more bullets raised down on them. He groaned in pain as Oblivinite tore gashes into his skin.

"I'm not leaving without you," E said quietly.

Seven's heart throbbed at her words. 'You might have to,' he thought sadly. He'd genuinely enjoyed the years spent with the little girl, and it pained him to part with her.

"Stop right there, you traitor!" Three and his Executioner appeared before Seven, shocking him. "We've been improving the Executioners. You're so starry-eyed with yours, you refused to let her take the treatments."

Seven stopped where he was, already knowing he would get no further. "Stand down, Three. E-1 can take you and your Executioner down any day of the week."

"It's too bad she won't go all out because she's worried about you, though, isn't it?" Three said, lips curling into a cruel smile. "Goodbye forever, Seven. You were always too soft for this job."

Seven's eyes widened, but all he could do was hold onto E-1 as the guards who'd caught up fired. He coughed blood, the crimson dripping from the corner of his mouth as he fell to his knees.

E-1's eyes widened as she tumbled from his arms, which went limp. "Seven," she whispered. "Seven."

Seven rasped a breath. "So sorry, E, but it seems we must part ways," he said. His body jerked as more bullets went through him.

"No, no. You can't die. Please don't go, Seven. Please don't leave me."

Seven just smiled. "E isn't a proper name. Once you get out of here, you're going to have to have a name, right?"

"What are you talking about? You're not leaving me."

He laughed. "I'll call you Asha, because it seems that your world is in gray and black and white. One day, when you discover your true self, maybe you'll start seeing in color again." He patted her head once more, a familiar gesture, before forcing an hourglass in her hands. "Go, Asha." Then he fell, the light leaving his eyes.

"About time," Three said. He pointed his gun at the Executioner. But his eyes widened as the braces on her gloves started to glow. "Run!" he shouted as they burst open. He barely had time to turn around before the wave of Oblivinite turned him to nothing.

It took thirty seconds to raze the Oblivinite Human Research Facility to the ground.