Miranda's Wrongful Experiment...(Featuring ~Cicilia~)

“Subject has entered the building. Waiting for further orders.”

“Lock the doors. Quarantine the area. Do not let anyone near the factory. That is all.”

“Quarantine? Miranda I’m only one person! There’s no way I can-*”

Miranda cared so very little for her subordinates’ protests, and simply turned off her radio device. She moved faster than usual, excited to see the results of her experiment and what new knowledge or advantages could come from it…as well as the guest she had invited along to sit in for a second opinion. Normally, Miranda had very little interest in others…but she understood the opportunities that could come from a little networking.

With an elegant wave of her hand and the flick of a switch, multiple screens came to life on her monitor. Each one held a different view of what was inside the factory. Miranda had installed cameras inside the facility long, long ago, a logical choice due to her line of work. She had feared a possible police raid one day, and as a precaution installed secret battery powered security cameras…simply to have a bargaining chip to use against others or to save herself. Turns out, they gave her a great view of what was soon to come.

One camera was very, Very Special. It lay inside the body of a seated mannequin, which was wrapped tightly in a trench coat, hat, and scarf. Its clothes were littered with dust and cobwebs, and its face was hidden within shadows. It hid a box inside its body…a box that gave the mannequin an inhuman ability.

When the camera was activated, the mannequin grew a dull, angry red eye…an eye that lay squarely on the boxer, as she moved silently through the factory. Was she aware of how its head followed her movement? Or the broadcast it forced her to take part in?

Miranda’s cocked as she heard the silent click of the door knob turning ever so slightly. The silent foot steps of a person hesitant to enter the dimly lit room, or the sharply dressed woman who held a ghostly visage as her face was illuminated by the screens. Only Miranda’s bright red eye seemed to cut through the darkness with no assistance from the light.

“So…you finally arrived? Good, we are just about to begin.”

--

The cold bit at Kassidy’s nose, the air smelling like a mix of rusted metal and damp clay. It seemed like every other step led to Kassidy spotting some new form of death that seemed to linger about this place…whether it be the strange bugs that died from starvation, or the rat’s rotting corpse in the corner, its neck long since broken. It looked half eaten, either by the bugs, or the numerous rats that still scurried around the factory. It really was fitting in a way, with the factory appearing at least somewhat clean and straight, but check any corner, and you will likely find a rotting stench that wasn’t meant to be there.

Kassidy had been sitting in this hell hole for the past two days. She had learned all of the sounds that rang out in this accursed place, the creatures that inhabited it without care. She knew the sounds of the outside world could worm its way inside and create strange moans inside the factory, especially when it was a deadly quite as it had been. The hunter knew what sounds were what. She knew what sounds were a trick of the mind, and what was real.

So what came next was no illusion.

“Hello? Is anyone there?”

The Mannequin sat, staring at Cicilia, its voice raspy and high, like a young girl on her death bed. It could not, would not give up Cicilia’s exact location. It would simply inform the hunter someone had entered her training ground. The puppet had done its masters will, and it projected the boxer’s image for the masters viewing pleasure. It held no fear, for it was already dead.

The Puppet had Done its masters will:

Kassidy’s head sharply turned towards the direction of the voice. Who was in here? Who was stupid enough to enter a place that practically screamed the word “Unwelcomed”. Kassidy flicked her knife open once more, but did not return it to her sheath. Her ears perked up, listening for any sounds of movement, of life. Her heart beat steadily in her chest, the steady thump and the overpowering sound of dead, cold quiet overtaking her.

“Hello?” Kassidy shouted, her words echoing out into the darkness, bouncing off the hard metal and retreating back towards her. Her location would be difficult to track, but it may illicit a response from the intruder, “I’m here. Where are you? I’ll come to you, just let me know where you are!”

The words echoed once again, the hunter waiting for a response. She moved silently, each step as quiet as a creeping spider, slowly retreating into the machinery’s shadows, melting into the darkness and disappearing from sight. The Crooked Collector was quietly heading towards that voice, hiding from sight. Kassidy was careful not to reveal herself to the light, sticking to the damp darkness. She needed to know who had walked into her lair, as she very much doubted it was jut a sick young girl as it sounded. Kassidy was sure it was something much more sinister.

"The hell am I... a horror movie...?" She kept talking to herself, quiet enough so that her voice would not carry through this cold, dark emptiness... It helped keep her mind off the void of junk and ancient factory parts and gave her some kind of sound to focus on in this place's seemingly infinite silence. Despite it's apparent emptiness, however, that did not mean this place lacked in stench... The smell of ancient rusted metal and old dirt was prevalent throughout these rooms as the boxer walked through them. "I hate my fucking life... Fucking... hate it..." Anger, surprisingly, kept her grounded... far more than the fear and growing paranoia crawling on her back. It was as if everything was watching her from every direction... Everywhere she wasn't looking seemed to be another eye, another murderer in the dark observing her every step...

Little did she know, there WAS someone watching... Someone more dangerous and scary than any murderer... a monster of the kind Margaux was a part of... A little gremlin rested somewhere among the shadows, his glowing red eye obscured by the surrounding dark as it observed everything for Miranda. Upon the command of it's master, the creature let out it's siren song... attracting both women...

Cicilia's skin practically crawled right off her as the raspy cry of a little girl echoed throughout the factory...

"What...?" She whispered to herself silently, slipping on her knuckles. "...There's someone else here...?" Confusion turned to hatred as the juggernaut came to the conclusion that this girl... she must've been placed here as bait for her... someone to lure her into the spider's den if she didn't move fast enough herself... "That bitc-"

Cicilia fell quiet as Kassidy's own voice rung out soon after, calling for the girl herself! What...? She didn't know she was here either...? How...? Wasn't she a part of all this...? The German moved quickly, but silently through the dark, slipping through the shadows towards the voice she had heard...

As much as she wanted to find this little girl, take her to safety, she couldn't help her now... not until the murderer was incapacitated... As Cicilia rounded the corner and into the next room, she saw her... Creeping JUST in front of her and with her back to her, the German very nearly ran RIGHT into Kassidy! The dark had hidden her well... well enough Cicilia couldn't identify her until they were this close! The German very nearly gasped in shock, nearly gave away her position... but not quite...

...But she didn't attack either... she didn't... she didn't know what to do...

Where the hell was this little twerp?

Kassidy had doubts that it was a little girl in the first place, and her lack of an answer to her calls, and the still silence on solidified those doubts. If it was a girl who had miraculously found her way inside this factory of nightmares, there was little doubt she would be trying to find any kind of living being possible and get out of here. Kassidy was a cruel, hateful person, but she was not stupid. Having a lost kid snoop around would simply cause trouble for her employer, and in turn, her. She wanted the kid out…but nothing in her life was ever so simple. There was no way this was just a lost kid. It had to be something else.

Kassidy tightened the grip on her blade, worried about what else was hiding in this place. There were countless places a predator could hide, even if there was fifty people searching. Kassidy was alone, and had no idea how many people had crawled inside her employers’ grounds. She would have to be smarter then them, quicker. She knew all of the ins and outs of this place, so long as she used her experience, she could get out of this just fine, possibly raise an alarm if the need be.

Suddenly…something…was behind her. Kassidy didn’t notice it at first. There was no noise, no strange feeling of a presence behind her like in those strange horror movies. Instead, it was a very small bit of wind that gently tickled the very end of her hair, held up in small tail. The small wind gave her a slight tickle on her skull…and then it struck her. What caused such a wind? There were hardly any windows, and what few there was were all closed. No creatures that scurried on the floor would create such a gust, so...

How could she deal with this? What if they had a weapon? Japan had a huge pain in the ass process to legally own a firearm, but that did not mean someone who just broke into a factory did not have one. Just one bullet in the right spot, and she was in for a rather painful end.

Why didn’t they do something? Was she wrong? It was possible that there was actually no one behind her, but…She did not want to turn around and possibly get killed as a result. Well, there was really only one way to find out.

The hunter reached inside her coat with her free hand, hopefully with enough speed and nuance as to not arouse suspicion. Her hand found what she was looking for immediately, her head shifting slightly, listening for whatever was behind her. Her heart was pounding, the next move could decide if she died or lived… or make her feel incredibly stupid.

“Who goes there?”

She pushed forward, darting out from the darkness like a bat out of hell. With practiced grace, Kassidy turned in midair, tossing a freshy sharpened throwing knife into the darkness behind her, looking for any silhouette that could have been hiding behind her. The hunter had dozens of blades on her, hopefully enough to take care of however many freaks were hiding around her territory.

Cicilia BARELY had enough time to crane her head out of the way of the incoming knife, the blade nicking her cheek as flew past and clattered off into the darkness behind her! Kassidy knew she was there... there was no point in trying to hide herself... not anymore. Just as how the crazy killer had stepped out into the light to attack, so too would Cicilia, her sanguine eyes cutting through the darkness as she pushed through each layer of shadow! The demon that Kassidy had feared in the gym had followed her all the way home... and if he knew anything about demons, she would know that running rarely was the tactic to escape a malevolent creature's wrath!

"...I do." Cicilia responded flatly, bringing a thumb up to the cut on her cheek, brushing away the blood that had started to pool there. "...You utter scum... How DARE you..."

Kassidy might've thought that Cicilia was referring to the mark upon her beautiful features... No. She was not so vain. If she were, she would've never gotten into fighting! That poor woman... that trainer... She would KILL her for this! How DARE she take her life!? HOW DARE SHE HURT HER!? WHAT GAVE KASSIDY THE RIGHT!?

"I'm going to make sure you pay for everything you did... Every. Thing..."

Darkness seemed to warp around the boxer, laying and squirming upon her skin as if to protect her from any more of Kassidy's hidden knives. Her eyes held nothing more than a gateway to the pits hell Kassidy would soon become familiar with, a hell of never ending retriubution... for the woman she had slain callously in her hospital bed. The boxer stared quietly, her fingers twitching in their pockets, eager to get around the throat of Kassidy...

"...you fucking murderer..."

Kassidy was not really sure who she expected to see behind her, if anybody. Part of her was hoping her restless nerves were starting to get to her and that she was jumping at shadows, with only herself and the rodents that infested this place to keep her company. Sadly, that was far from the case. She could see a shadow within the darkness react to the blade that came flying towards it, moving ever so slightly as to avoid the sharpened metal that seemed to just barely graze its darkened form. Someone was definitely in the shadows, and if they were lurking in there…well, that was closer to the behavior of an enemy rather than a friend.

When the shadow finally steeped out of the darkness and into the light, the Crooked woman sincerely wish it hadn’t. Cicilia De’Reignhardt…the demon dressed in human flesh. Kassidy refused to believe in such things as gods and devils, but she still had many stories from her childhood dancing around her psyche…fantastic stories of angels creating miracles, and the violence of the demons that gave her younger self night terrors.

“If you sin, the Demons will get you, and drag you down to where there is no warmth or light. No love or joy…only suffering and torment.”  

That was what Kassidy’s mother had told her when she thought her daughter was lying… and her words never seemed more real then right now. The demon had come for her in this dark, alien factory. Already, Cicilia promised retribution for what Kassidy did to her, back at the gym and maybe even just now. The German looked ready to rip the Hunter apart…and Kassidy just wanted to run away and hide.

She’s here? Why is she here? Cicilia can’t be here! Where are the others? HELP ME WITH THIS FREAK! She’s going to kill me. Brain me. I don’t wanna die. The Demons will get you, you dirty little sinner! I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING TO YOU!!! What would someone else do? I don’t wanna be here! You should have repented, Kassidy. You should not have gone against god! You were always a naughty child! Leave me alone…please…….

“You bitch…this wasn’t how it was supposed to go.” Kassidy’s shoulders began to shake just like they did before she fled their first encounter, her eyes practically glued to Cicilia’s feet as she was too nervous to look into those eyes that promised only suffering and hate.  It would take the hunter an extra few seconds before her red eyes crawled up to the boxer’s face. All of her features were contorted in anger and hate, like Kassidy was a punching bag waiting to be destroyed.

“You shouldn’t have come here Cicilia…I know this place, almost inside and out. You won’t get me… When you disappear, no one will say they saw you enter this building, and if anyone comes looking around for you, they have a good chance of disappearing too. Its honestly kind of scary what she is capable of. You will be a ghost, who walked into the night and never came back…I hope you got to kiss your lover one last time before you said goodbye.”

In an instant, two more blades sailed through the air, both of them aimed at the center of Cicilia’s body, looking to bury themselves in her flesh. The owner of the throwing knifes was right behind them, moving in with a quick, sideways slash with the blade she kept in her hand, her eyes manic and frenzied, like a trapped animal fighting for its life.

"How else could it have gone?" Cicilia responded sharply, taking a step towards the fearful psycho. "Should I just let you get away with this...? Killing someone who tried to help me...? Are so so entitled that you think you can just take someone's life and walk away without Karma taking a piece of you for it?" The German pulled a single hand from jacket pocket, revealing the steel knuckles that covered her hand... the hand of god. He will give you a lot of fucking slack... but eventually, he will take it all away and leave you with a BIG HOLE where there used to be something... something important. She was his instrument tonight... and by his will would she tear out this woman's black heart and show it to him as a sign she had completed her task.

Kassidy dare to threaten her, not especially smart for someone in HER position. Every advantage she thought she had meant NOTHING when up against this relentless pursuer, the Juggernaut only fueled further by her rage!

"And I hope you kissed your ass goodbye, freak..." Cicilia retorted dryly, pointing at the twisted image-of-a-woman before jerking her hand down in a thumbs-down. "...Because I'm going to kick it so hard, your guts will splatter the FUCKING CEILING!" Cicilia rose her voice so LOUD on those last two words, they seemed to bounce off every empty wall of this factory MULTIPLE times... but it served more of a purpose than just to express her burning desire to end Kassidy...

...It was to jar her... to paralyze the girl in utter terror! There wasn't any hint of doubt in her voice... no room for debate! Kassidy would get hers... It was just a matter of time and resistance...

Speaking of, the response of the girl was to hurl a pair of knives Cici's way, intending to end her life right there! The German had planned for this... or something like it anyhow and had kept close to the corner that lead to this room! The boxer stepped back behind said corner and let the blades clatter off into the dark much as the first one had, stepping back once again as soon as she saw Kassidy come after her! The twisted freak was right on her tail, however, slashing like a wild jester trying to do a knife-trick! The woman's eyes were completely wild and feral, like a dog making a last stand... It only proved how weak she was. Cicilia, on the other hand, her eyes were burning pits of anger... but controlled if only just. Cicilia restrained herself only to make her attacks and defense MEAN more... because when one was up against an opponent with a blade, one fuck-up meant you get fucked up. The scars along Cicilia's eye and body proved it to be so.

The German wasn't about to try and stop the blade, instead shifting back and allowing the cold, edge steel to cut before it's target! Cicilia could sense it's edge ever so lightly graze her jacket, not cutting it-persay... but very nearly doing so...  In response, the German's hand shot out like a viper, aiming to GRAB Kassidy's knife-wrist and WRENCH it to the side, leaving her belly open to an utterly hateful UPPERCUT from the JUGGERNAUT! The Boxer finally pulled her other hand from it's pocket, it's fingers curled into fists around the grip of the knuckle-dusters as her fist FLEW at the murderer's gut!

...She hoped she coughed up blood when this impacted... She wanted her to bleed.

Human beings, like most creatures on this planet, are creatures that can experience fear so intense that whatever rational they had previously because but a fleeting image of what they once were. The feeling of utter helplessness, and the icy cold feeling of the possibility that death may be there cuts apart any strategy, and pride one may have in a situation and drives them to get away. To flee from such a dangerous feeling and live again for another day. If pushed far enough, people in fear will do whatever it takes to survive, even if it is at the expense of themselves or others. If trapped, an animal will knaw off the limb simply to get away, or a human would use the simplest of tool to rend their flesh from their body in the hopes of survival. Fear is a sickening feeling when one is consumed by it entirely, much as Kassidy was.

The Crooked Collector, the Hunter, and the most dangerous of the Wrongs, all names Kassidy had earned due to her cruel efficiency, her sharp wit and cunning, and her penchant for cruelty against the ones she considered prey. She was far an away that woman now. She knew what no one else seemed to. She knew Cicilia was a complete and utter monster that slid on a young girl’s skin and danced around as if it too were human. The demon spoke to Kassidy in some form of gibberish…fear gummed up the working of Kassidy’s usually devious mind. Eve her body, as taught and durable as steel trembled at the thought of being ripped apart and punched thought by Cicilia’s burning hate. She wanted to run-WAS about to run, find someone who could help- but Cicilia howled out her demonic language! She wanted Kassidy’s guts! Wanted to smear them across the wall……she said it so LOUD!

Kassidy snapped.

If she ran, Cicilia would give chase, and Kassidy did not want to die in a corner. Not if she could help it. A part of her trembling mind tried to rationalize her actions, thinking that if she cut Cicilia enough, possibly immobilized her, she could flee the area, find someone who could finish the German off…preferably with a flamethrower. Kassidy doubted she could kill Cicilia…not after what she saw in those red eyes at the gym. Cicilia could have a hole punched through her chest and she would keep clawing her way back just to tear into whatever infuriated her next.

Kassidy just wanted her to go away! To leave her be! The blade in her hand came slashing around with blinding speed, cutting the air and only the air with a lovely melody of swishes and stabs. The movements of the knife were erratic, dangerous, but ultimately useless. Cicilia move forward and grabbed onto Kassidy’s wrist with a grip of steel, wrenching it so hard to the side the Hunters wrist audibly cracked. Kassidy tugged at her arm, thrashing about in an attempt to escape the hold as well as the proximity of this vile creature that had her in her grasp.

Kassidy noticed Cicilia’s movement, her arm sliding out of her pocket… Dear god, Kassidy just realized she had done this all with one hand… Her fist had something in it. She recognized that type of tool immediately. She hated those knuckles, to the point she refused to use them herself. They were too brutal, too inefficient…and secretly, she never wanted to experience one of their bites. In a way, Kassidy must have thought that if she never touched one, those knuckles would never come around to biting her. Her cold eyes widened open like she was about to be thrown into a great white’s mouth!

“N-No! Wait! Please! Don’t-”

It was foolish pleading with a devil…she knew that, but her body tried anyway. Well, Cicilia’s fist came anyway.

Kassidy’s body was muscular, but still fairly thin, and she caved into the blow like a broken length of wood, her body curling around the fist and the knuckle duster that surrounded it. Cicilia had stepped into that uppercut, and was so close Kassidy’s head practically rested on her shoulder. Everything was pushed out of Kassidy’s mouth; air, saliva, and the tiniest bit of blood as the half breed slumped against the German, her hand releasing the blade, with only the strap around her wrist keeping it from falling to the ground.

One hand was trapped, and the other was trying to pry Cicilia’s fist from her guts. Kassidy had nowhere to go, completely scared and defenseless. Prey in the claws of a predator. She was an animal waiting to be slaughtered for Cicilia’s amusement…but her body still functioned.

Like something out of a horror movie, Kassidy opened har jaws wide, with only a silent “Haahh,” to give away what she was doing next. Her head rushed down, looking to lock her jaw filled with pointed teeth down on Cicilia’s shoulder in a life or death bite! The jacket she wore would protect the boxer at first, but Kassidy was scared, and still very powerful, her jaw muscles working overtime to tear into Cicilia’s body, to cause this monster pain so she could get away from its deadly grasp.

"'No, wait please don't'...?" Cicilia repeated as Claudia slumped over her fist, the Boxer almost outraged that she'd beg for her life! "...What gives you the right to ask ME for mercy...?" Her voice dripped with utter hate, her eyes pools of liquid flame... In the dark, Cicilia's hateful, inhuman glare was the only light... her iron grip, the only material... It was as if a mad human and a true demon battled in the void... intent on destroying the vessel of the other. "How dare you... Did she beg when you killed her? Did she grovel at your feet for her life when you ended it? What makes you think you deserve any better? What makes you think I'll show you any mercy?"

The Juggernaut wasn't a killer at heart, unlike this filth practically sobbing with fear before her. She might threaten her, pound her into bloody red but even that would still have a pulse when she was done. Tonight, however... reflecting off ,what she perceived to be, a frenzied killer's darkness, new depths of her own were revealed to her... dances of utter maddening and untamed rage within the boxer.

A new circle of hell to be seen within the previous 9... a circle within the depths of Cicilia even Dante would not venture... and it was dark down there... Cicilia's rage often illuminated what she would do to someone when she got her hands on them, a nice little warning for the target and a guideline for Cicilia... This new rage, though... this complete lack of self-control that was held back only by the boxer's principles... Even she didn't know what she'd do if she cut loose... If she let it all go... And she didn't intend to find out either. Kassidy might've been afraid that Cicilia would take pleasure in ripping her to pieces... but she would not. She was NOT a sadist... But it was something that needed to be done. Something irrefutably necessary...

"Give up... Break..." She whispered into Kassidy's ear, digging her fist ever deeper into her belly the more she pried at it. She didn't dare offer her the hope of salvation from her... but if she did beg... CRY for release... Cicilia would give it to her in the form of the police. After all, Kassidy did attempt to kill her 3-4 times now by the amount of knives thrown at her thus far... knives that were not of legal size in Japan.

However, Kassidy was utterly frenzied, desperate to escape the demon that held her in her grasp! Like the cornered beast she was, the halfbreed BIT into Cicilia's shoulder, easily hard enough to break skin and dig into muscle! She howled in agony, her fist retracting from the murderer's stomach and, instead, prying at her hair, trying to YANK her head from her shoulder! Blood was already seeping out between Kassidy's teeth but the German would keep pulling... Harder... HARDER! She'd scalp her if she had to if that's what it took to get human TEETH out of her shoulder!

The hot liquid gushed in between Kassidy’s teeth as she clamped down around Cicilia’s shoulder like a bear trap. The whole thing was like biting into a watermelon, with Kassidy’s teeth just getting through the thickness of the boxers clothes and skin, her efforts rewarding her with the sickening taste of copper in her mouth and the Demons shrill shriek of anger and rage. That only served to double Kassidy’s efforts, putting even more pressure on her jaws so they could make further progress into the Boxers musculature.

Progress was made in a way. The Demon’s fist retracted from her abs, and instead began to claw at Kassidy’s hair, the Juggernaut trying to pry her foes jaw from her shoulder. The sudden movements, jostled Kassidy’s head, tearing deeper into the boxer’s shoulder and squirting a fresh warm spray of blood into her mouth. The taste was so disgusting it made the Hunter want to vomit! The salty copper rolling across her tongue and staining her teeth with such a pungent odor made it feel as If the entire factory was covered in blood. The only comfort she took was the fact the Cicilia could indeed bleed. The young girl’s flesh was still a weakness for the demon within.

With one of the demon’s arms restraining one of Kassidy’s wrists, and the other currently tugging at her hair to prey the Crooked woman off, that left Kassidy with one free arm to do with as she pleased, and at that moment she wanted to get away from the monster’s grasp.

Kassidy’ free arm quickly slid into her jacket, and retrieved yet another blade. Despite her frenzied state of mind, she had kept careful track of how many blades she had left, starting with twelve and tossing three so far. That left her with nine…only nine blades to use against this Hellspawn. Would that really be enough?

For now, she would settle with freeing herself. She finally opened her jaws and let Cicilia pull her off, using her new blade to swipe quickly at her hair, slicing it free from the Boxers grip as Kassidy kicked at her stomach. Her vice like grip was strong, but hopefully the sharp kick to gut would be enough of a shock to free Kassidy.

“She…?...killed? What the fuck are you talking about, you freak?” Kassidy’s voice was a bit strained, like her throat was sore, but her movements were still sharp and swift! Her fear was pushing her abilities further than before, hitting harder and with razor point brutality.

If Kassidy found her salvation, she would not hesitate to beat a hasty retreat, flinging her fresh blade towards the boxer’s face as she fled back into the shadows. Her large switchblade was still wrapped around her wrist, but she seemed to be ignoring her offensive capabilities for the moment.