…5 Years Old…
Deep in the forests of Vale lies a camp made up entirely of Faunus. Fire pits were scattered around the campsite with some faunus trading tales, others were maintaining their weapons, and some were sleeping soundly in their tents.
On the other side of the camp were rows of shoddy cages with human prisoners inside. Grall, a lion Faunus with an ebony mane was chucking food rations at the prisoners. He grumbled about wasting supplies when a deer walked up behind him. Ivory, named because of her antlers the color of her namesake.
"Hey!" Grall kicked the cage's bars, "Prisoner 5421135-2, wake up! It's time for your food! Ungrateful little brat."
"Why do you have to be so mean to them?" Ivory asked.
"You know what they did to us." The Grall growled, "Have you forgotten what they did to my sister? Your husband?"
"I know that it wasn't THAT little girl!" The Ivory snapped, "Look at her! We fight to free our people from cages, that justifies putting them in there instead?!"
"Why not?" The Grall shrugged, "Gives them a taste of their own medicine."
"So, you saw this child kill your sister?" The Ivory asked crossing her arms, "Her specifically?"
"If you don't like it, transfer to another division!" The Grall roared throwing the portion of food onto the dirt just outside the cage.
Then Ivory rolled her eyes, "He knows I'm right. He just won't see past his anger." She picked up the portion and wiped the dirt off, "You may be a human, but you didn't do anything to me."
The girl in the cage held her stuffed bunny as she cried in the corner. She opened his eyes just barely to see the Ivory place the food portion inside the cage. Ivory frowned when the prisoner didn't move, she sighed, and walked away. The girl only ate half the portion, not knowing when the next would come, if it ever did. She hid it in her pocket and fell asleep in the corner.
Later that night, the cage started shaking and she grabbed her bunny and looked around. It was Ivory trying to break the lock, she forced the door open and wrapped Prisoner 5421135-2 her in her arms.
"We're leaving!" She told her and started running, "I overheard what they want to do to you. I won't let that happen!"
As Ivory was running, the sounds of dogs barking filled the air. She cursed and began running in wild directions to throw them off her trail. Then she saw the spotlights, they were getting closer. She kept running even when her body wanted to give out, her aura was spent keeping her legs moving. She reached a river, she stopped to catch her breath when a single gunshot was fired.
Ivory didn't feel anything at first. She looked down and saw the blood on her hands. The girl fell out of her arms, the now blood- stained bunny rolled into the river. Ivory looked down at her chest and saw more blood oozing out of her. Dizzy from fatigue and now blood loss, she fell face first into the river. A dog came over and sniffed the girl, then it stared barking wildly.
"Still alive huh?" The Grall kicked the girl and scoffed, "Just barely, you've got some fight in you, don't you? Well, we've got lots of fun things in store for you. If you survive, we'll release you back into civilization. So, don't die on me now, you're going to see your family again! Come on, there's something to live for, right?"
…12 years old…
Prisoner 5421135-2, she'd forgotten her name some time ago, all that was left was what they yelled at her. She looked to the side of her cage and saw that another one hadn't returned. Everyday one of them leaves, and every night it would be a guess if they came back or not. Her normal routine was abysmal to say the least, eat the ration they give you or the one you were smart enough to save, defecate in the corner and throw it out of her cell with her bare hand, then pray that they don't pick you. But if they do, pray that it'll be the last time…
"Prisoner 5421135-2!" The Grall called out, "You know what today is? Today is the seventh anniversary of the day you first arrived here!"
The prisoner didn't answer, praying he wanted to tease her and not open that door.
"Aww." The Grall pouted, "Don't be like that, come on we got something special planned for today!"
Two more White Fang grunts dragged the prisoner out of her cage. She tried fighting back the first couple of times, the consequences of fighting back were severe. She was stupid and she tried again thinking they couldn't be any worse…she was wrong the depravities she was subjected to still haunt her dreams and after a year, she'd given up. The two picked her up by her elbows as her feet dragged along the ground. Grall whistled a happy little tune as the two grunts restrained the prisoner in a reinforced chair. Grall pulled a surgical cart in front of him and unzipped a leather bag full of syringes.
"I whipped up something special for today." Grall explained as the two grunts retrained her to the chair, "So you have four limbs, right? I'm going to inject a different venom into each one and see what happens!" Grall giggled with a twisted glee as a vitals monitor was hooked up to her, "First up is Deathstalker Venom, that'll go into your left arm. Second is Lancer Venom, for your right. Your left leg is getting Manticore Venom. Finally, your right leg King Taijitu venom, from both heads. I personally think they have different kinds of venom, but my colleagues disagree. So, let's find out. Right into the veins like always."
Grall summoned one more grunt so the forth shot could be injected simultaneously with the others. They all waited for Grall's signal, once they were prepared, he nodded, and they all pushed the plungers down. The grunts stepped back, but Grall pulled out a note book and began writing as Prisoner 5421135-2 began to sweat uncontrollably.
The machine's alarms started blaring as she thrashed against her restraints. They were quick to restrain her jaw closed so she couldn't scream, it didn't stop her from trying, however. Grall was enthralled as he watched her aura try to heal the damage as fast as it was coming, only for it to eventually succumb.
"200 hundred?" The tiger examined the heart monitor, "I was hoping for something a little higher."
Eventually the prisoner stopped thrashing and passed out. Grall groaned as he opened her eye and shined a flashlight in it. He backhanded her and she let out a small weak whimper.
"She's still alive." Grall was disinterested because his fun was over so soon, "You know the rules." He sighed and started back toward the door, "Make sure she gets back to her cell, and don't make a mess."
The grunts undid the restraints and the prisoner fell out of the chair and began to drool onto the ground.
"Do you remember who's turn it was?" One asked.
"I don't." The other shrugged.
"Does it really matter?" The third bent her over the surgical cart.
"Suppose you're right." The first one pulled the prisoner's pants down and dropped his.
…16 years old…
It is said that an unloved task slows the passage of time. An eternity passed within the confines of Prisoner 5421135-2's cell. The other prisoners had all died, she was the only one remaining. She began to categorize the days of the week with which torture she would be enduring…
Skin flaying? It must be Monday. Tuesday was strapping a bucket to her belly with a rat inside. Wednesday a car battery was pinched to her cheeks or her nipples, never her womanhood, that they saved for themselves. Thursday was old school they strapped her to a chair and simply took turns punching and kicking her around. Friday was a heat lamp that never turned off, guess they really like shitty puns along with torture. Saturday a bag was placed on her head and forcibly shoved into a bucket of electrified water. Sunday was the day to relax and heal up before the week began. Then came the nights, even on Sunday nights someone came into her cell, sometimes more than one, but it all ended the same way: using her as their own personal sleeve.
The worst day had to have been when they unlocked her aura…
For it is in your chains that you are enslaved.
Through them you become an object of our will.
Finite in distance and bound to your cage.
I bind your soul to our will, by our hands, we enslave you.
Grall gave his men specific instructions not to get her pregnant. Then he would rub it in her face like he was doing her a fucking favor. He never used her, he got off in a different way, watching her squirm and writhe in that damn chair.
"Got any plans for your sweet sixteen?" Grall asked tapping the bars on Prisoner 5421135-2's cage, "I don't really know if it is your sixteenth birthday. But wouldn't that be something? I just know it's been eleven whole years and you're still here! I mean the others, they died not even going through half the shit you have. I know I say this all the time, but I have something different for you."
She was brought back to the familiar chair. The restraints didn't hurt anymore. In fact, if she wiggled into the right position the chair actually became comfortable. What was going to be the procedure today? It was Wednesday, but she couldn't find the car battery? We're they going to improvise? Grimm venom? Haven't had that in a while? Liquified dust? Nothing makes you wish for death faster than your blood going Absolute Zero. None of the above, Grall pulled out three syringes filled with a strange blue liquid.
"We stole this in our most recent Atlas raid." Grall explained as he and his grunts took a syringe each, "Now of course we wouldn't use this on one of our own. And we don't want to waste it on some weakling. According to the manual, the smaller ones go in the base of your neck, and the big one goes in your spine."
The grunts injected the two in her neck, and Grall expanded the chair into an operating table. He lifted her rags they called a shirt and injected the spinal. He quickly returned it to a chair and waited for the results. Only nothing…at least, nothing that they saw.
Prisoner 5421135-2 on the other hand, she saw herself? Hallucinogens? That was different. The hallucination her looked down with disgust. Easy thing to do when you're not the one in chains. The hallucination shook her head and gestured at the ones watching her. The prisoner watched as the hallucination butchered them all. The prisoner clenched her fist wanting, yearning, NEEDING to do the same. The hallucination stepped forward and phased into her.
"Well, that was anticlimactic." Grall was sighed disappointed, "She's all yours." He left the room.
"No wonder these things weren't guarded." The first grunt undid her restraints, "They don't even work!"
Oh, how wrong they were…
Her eyes shot open, her pupils shrank as she looked frantically around. What was this? Adrenaline? She didn't move her body, if she did, they'd tase her again. She had to wait for the restraints to come off before she made her move.
Once the final restraint was off, they began to lift her out of the chair, once she was in a prime position, she grabbed the first one's crotch. He began to laugh and dropped his pants. With newfound strength, she ripped his erect member from his body.
"HOLY-!" The second one tried to yell before the prisoner shoved the bloody member in his mouth and held it there. He thrashed against her grip before she twisted and snapped his neck. The first one had passed out from shock, but rather than take a chance she delivered a full stomp on his neck.
She peaked her head out, the other Fang members were around the campfire. She crouched down and began moving as silently as she could. She looked in different tents looking for anything useful, a weapon, disguise, a scroll. That's when she found the "armory" or a very pitiful excuse for one. She tore off the prisoner rags and saw a black suit in the corner.
It was VERY loose, it had to have been made for someone three times her size. Beggars can't be choosers, the helmet looked like a giant fishbowl with two giant red eyes. She sighed and threw it on too.
"Welcome to the Atlesian All-Terrain-Multi-Purpose-War-Machine-Battle-Suit!" The suit spoke to her, "Scanning! Adjusting to users body type!" The prisoner gasped when the once baggy suit became skin tight. Although the helmet remained fishbowl sized, "Scanning! Target user is extremely malnourished, dehydrated, sleep deprived, high muscle atrophy, switching to ICU Mode to compensate!" Unlike the previous times, when the needles entered her skin, she felt relief, "Vitals stabilized. Recommend seeking proper medical facilities immediately!"
"Wait!" She said, "Can you locate a lion Faunus first?"
"Scanning!" The suit responded, "One lion Faunus located! Approximately 300 feet from current location."
"What weapons do I have?" The prisoner asked as two blades came out of her forearms.
"Error!" The suit proclaimed, "Main power supply not found! Ocular Plasma Beam offline! Resorting to emergency back up power and mono-molecular blades!"
"Good enough…" she growled, "Take me to him now."
The prisoner stepped out side and the suit turned invisible? She followed the suit's GPS to the Grall's location. Her hands were trembling as she entered the tent. He was sleeping like a baby in a fully made queen sized bed. A flash of anger went up her spine and her heart began to race.
"Warning adrenaline levels spiking!" The suit warned.
"What the?!" Grall woke up.
All she could hear was a high-pitched whine as she started screaming. She began stabbing him through the covers. She couldn't hear herself screaming, the suit telling her he was dead, she couldn't feel the blood covering her body, nor see how drenched the sheets were getting. She couldn't even remember when or how she ended up in the woods…
"Accessing local satellite coverage!" The suit said, "Closest medical facilities are 68.7 miles from current location."
"Better start walking…" the prisoner sighed.
Twenty-three hours…she walked without stopping. The suit advised her to slow down, but she ignored it and forced herself to get as far away from that camp as she could. Eventually the suit stopped advising her to stop and started administrating painkillers and adrenaline to keep her going. She finally made it, for the first time in over a decade she saw the lights of civilization. She cried as she reached out to touch the skyscraper, unaware she was walking in the middle of the street and was hit by a car…
"Oh shit!" A man slammed on the brakes as the prisoner bounced off his car.
"Jesus Junior all you had to do was drive!" Another man with orange hair stepped out of the car.
"Scanning!" The suit announced, "Target user unconscious! Multiple contusions detected!"
"Hey! I know that suit!" Orange hair pointed at the prisoner, "Yeah! That's the suit the White Fang wanted to steal isn't it?"
THAT got Junior's attention, "It is? Well come on Roman, yank it off and throw it in the trunk!"
"That won't do." Roman shook his head, "It's DNA encoded to the one who first put it on. Now the question becomes: "Who's in the suit?" I know for a fact the White Fang encampment is in the middle of nowhere."
"What are you thinking?" Junior asked.
"I'm thinking we just found an ace-in-the-hole." Roman smiled and loaded the prisoner into the back seat, "Come on, let's get back to the club."
Junior and Roman parked in the back and dragged the prisoner upstairs to his office. He laid her on the sofa and got the helmet off. They gasped at how pale she was, how tightly her skin was wrapped around her bones, her eyes looked like they caved into her skull. They were able to get the suit off and found out how bad she really was.
"Uh Junior?" Roman pulled out one of the blades in the forearm of the suit, "This is blood."
"Close the club, get everyone out now!" Junior ordered his men, "You two!" He pointed at the Malachite Twins, "Call in every favor we got. We need hospital equipment and a doctor right now!"
The twins rushed out of the room while Roman collapsed in the chair in the corner, "What did we just step in?"
…A few hours later…
Dr. Lilo Stormcloud, M.D., PhD, winner of the Lasker-Bloomberg Public service award for sustained and effective frontline responses to health emergencies, winner of both Robert Koch Medal AND Award. Suffice to say, he is a monumental and well-respected doctor in all of Remnant. He had his own private practice while also consulting, operation, and teaching at Vale General Teaching Hospital. What's a man like that doing on Junior's speed dial?
Well Dr. Lilo had a private off the books works consisting of sewing up shot up mobsters and bikers. They did pay a lot more than the hospitals, plus it was all cash on the barrel head. He went in with the mentality of going and fixing however many goons had gotten shot under Junior's employ. He was not expecting the V.I.P. Lounge to be converted into a makeshift hospital and was certainly not expecting a young woman barely clinging to life lying on the bed.
The doctor sighed, "She'll live." Roman and Junior released the breath they were holding, "Gods be praised, I knew the White Fang were evil, but this? She can come back from this, but it won't be pretty, and it won't be easy. The suit can do most of the work for her, but we don't want her relying on it. I suggest a day in the suit and a day out of it. Then ween her toward two days without the suit, then increase it until she can function without it. The IV will stabilize her for the moment, but she will eventually need solid food again. It'll be difficult for her to swallow, and her jaw may be-no, there's not a doubt in my mind it is weak too. A nasogastric tube would be my first suggestion. Soft foods to start with, applesauce, protein shakes, stuff like that. Then move onto bread, whole pears, then move onto more solid foods. P.T. is going to be the most brutal thing for her. That's…" the doctor swallowed hard, "Gods that's just the beginning…She's been sexually abused. Aura can heal the psychical damage…"
"Can't aura fix all of this?" Junior asked.
"It can't grow muscle." The doctor shook his head, "Otherwise everybody would be jacked up. Back to the seriousness, her mental and emotional state are going to be horrendous. There's no easy way to put it. I'm not that kind of doctor, but I suggest keeping her away from Faunus and men. I don't know what could trigger her. I have a colleague that specializes in mental health, would you like her number?"
"Yes please." Roman took down the number.
"Final thing." The doctor held up a file, "When I ran her blood. A missing persons case over a decade old was flagged. Do you want me to call the parents, explain the situation?"
"You'd better do it." Junior nodded, "I wouldn't even know where to even begin with this."
"Hello?" The doctor used the phone in the office, "Is this Golga Scarlet? Hi Golga, my name is Doctor Lilo Stormcloud. Yes, THAT Dr. Lilo Stormcloud, listen, I have a Jane Doe patient with me here in Vale. This is going to be a lot to take in, but when we ran her blood. It matches your daughter that went missing eleven years ago. Y-Yes, she's alive, we're in Vale. I can have someone meet you at the airport? Okay! We'll see you when you and your husband land!"
"So?" Junior asked.
"Go to the airport, they're coming on their private jet." The doctor said.
"Private jet?" Roman asked looking back at the prisoner, "Just who the hell is this girl?"
…Another few hours later…
"What is this?!" A man with olive skin and curly black hair demanded, "You said you were taking us to our daughter!"
"I-I am!" The goon tripped on the dance floor.
"Then where is she?!" Golga demanded.
Junior let out a high-pitched whistle, "Golga Scarlet?" She nodded, "My name is Hei Xiong, most people call me Junior. There's something you should know first."
"What is it?" She asked.
"Your daughter was a White Fang prisoner…" Junior decided to tell the whole truth, "She's in…very bad… doesn't even come close."
"J-Just tell me where she is." Golga was already in tears.
"Upstairs." He pointed to the VIP Lounge, "We converted it into a makeshift hospital."
"Why didn't you take her to a real hospital?" The father asked.
"We have evidence that makes us think she killed her captors." Junior rubbed the back of his head, "Even if they did kidnap her, it's still murder…"
"I doubt a jury would say guilty for someone escaping captivity." The father said.
"Murder is still murder as far the faunus are concerned." Junior didn't relent.
The father grit his teeth, he didn't like it, but Junior was right. They quickly ran up the stairs and saw the plastic tent. They held each other and stepped through the plastic folds. Golga burst into a guttural sob as she ran to her daughter's side. She took her hand, and immediately put it down. It felt so fragile, almost like it could break with ease.
Dr. Stormcloud stood up and extended his hand, "We spoke on the phone."
"Yes." The father limply shook his hand keeping his eyes on his daughter, "Leo. I'm glad someone like you is looking over her."
"You're welcome, Leo…" the doctor coughed, "As I told Junior and Roman. She'll live but the road to recovery will strenuous and brutal."
"Can we take her home?" Leo asked.
"I wouldn't recommend traveling." Dr. Stormcloud shook his head, "Junior has already closed down the club. The dance floor is being turned into a therapy floor as we speak."
"Gods be praised…" Leo ran his hands through his hair, "Fine."
"Fine?" Dr. Stormcloud asked.
"Whatever it takes to get her healthy again." Leo sighed, "If we have to move to Vale, then so be it, and you Doctor. Whatever you need just ask. Money is no issue."
"Okay." Dr. Stormcloud nodded, "Can I have her name?"
"It's Pyrrha." Leo joined his wife, "Pyrrha Nikos."