Her breath came in panting gasps, her chest heaving from the effort of inflating her lungs. Pain stabbed through her with each breath, a sharp stabbing pain that seemed to linger even after it had faded, only to be renewed with each gasp. She fought to stay alive though; each breath, each moment of pain, served only to remind her that she actually was.

If not for the agonizing pain in her chest she might have believed herself to be dead already or asleep and dreaming. If this could be termed as a dream; reality would name it a nightmare. As tears slipped down her cheek she found that she had to agree. It was a nightmare, and the person that she loved more than anyone else was at the center of it, his cackling laughter a counterpoint to her gasping sobs.

Then it was as if a switch was flipped. What she had thought was agonizing pain was in reality nothing compared to what surged through her body as his hands descended to her again. A scream tore itself from her throat, and his laughter mingled with it. A moment later she screamed again, the sound cut off as his hand slammed over her mouth. A needle and thread were dangled in front of her face, a sadistic grin on his face as he lowered his lips to rest beside her ear.

"I can't concentrate with you shrieking. This is an elective surgery, after all, so the patient should have been prepared." There was no malice in his tone, nothing to suggest that this could quickly turn fatal.

"Franken! Stop this!" her voice shrieked out when he released her mouth. He just growled and the needle pierced her lips.

The first stitch was in.

She screamed, and his hand caught her chin, forcing her to remain still, his body pressing against hers as he placed the rest of the sloppy, hastily done stitches in her lips. He scowled down at the stitches, his hand on her chin to tilt her head from side to side, "Those are so sloppily set a first year med student could have done them. I'll make sure that the rest are done with all the precision of a professional."

Tears streamed down her face as she struggled to breathe through her nose. A scream rose up, muffled by her own lips, as the scalpel slid into her stomach without the aid of any anesthetic. Red blood pooled on her skin and he retrieved a rag that he used to mop it off of her pale skin, a smile on his face.

Her breath came in a staccato rhythm through her nose, her own tears threatening to drown her as she twisted her back to try to avoid the scalpels descent. His hand grabbed her side roughly and his face was suddenly in front of hers, the scalpels cold metal edge pressed against her skin.

"I need you to stay still," his voice was rough and cold, "or you may cause my scalpel to slip. I pride myself on the quality of my work; I will not have you damaging that pride."

She whimpered.

He smirked, his eyes lost in madness as the scalpel descended on her writhing form again.

Blood dripped from his scalpel and onto the floor as he drew back, staring at his patient. A large incision ran from between her breasts and down to her navel. The woman was still conscious and the man standing above her just tittered as he realized that.

His bare hand slipped into the cavity he had opened on her, and he relished the scream that the stitches on her lips muffled. It was exhilarating, much like the feel of the organ that his fingers were brushing against. He closed his eyes, fixating on the feel of the organ as he felt her body trembling in agony behind him.

"1 by 3 by 5 by 7. Let's see… between the 9th…" his hand moved and she screamed again as she felt something push against her side from the inside, "and 11th ribs." A sadistic grin split his face as he realized what his fingertips were gently caressing. "I'm holding your spleen in my hand."

She screamed as he squeezed, some of the stitches in her lips ripping open. Blood streamed down her ruined lips and chin, resting in the hollow of her throat. A light touch wiped it away and she panted, realizing suddenly that his hands were no longer inside her.

A moment later she wished that they still were. The scalpel slid up her body, enlarging the cut that stretched from her naval, stopping just shy of the hollow of her throat. Her vision turned black and she fought to stay conscious, his name flying to her lips even as blood still ran down from the tattered remnants of them.

"Fr-fraaaann… ken…"

"Well, if I can't keep you quiet by stitching your lips closed, would you prefer if I removed your tongue or severed your vocal cords?" Stein's tone was jovial, and she just pulled away from him.

"I'll be quiet… Franken…"

He leaned in, his lips brushing against her ears, "I don't know why you keep calling me Franken. I like it though. I give you permission to scream it."

The scalpel plunged into her stomach and the woman screamed out wordlessly as he burst into laughter. "That was just your spleen, you don't need it. I told you, this is elective."

Her eye rolled up into her head as Stein severed the connection of her spleen and removed the organ, placing it in her restrained hand.

"I think I'll take your gallbladder next."

There was a terrible ripping sensation and she shuddered, her body finally shutting down and forcing her mind to release its hold on consciousness.

The scientist chuckled quietly, happy to finally have some quiet for his surgery. Skilled hands delved deeply into the woman's abdominal cavity, blood and other bodily fluids splashing down her sides and onto his lab coat. Her gallbladder was sat into her other restrained hand a few moments later.

Her breathing was coming with longer and longer gaps, and something started to click with the scientist. He peeled back the skin on her chest, enlarging the original incision, and looked down at the cage her ribs made. He reached for a rib spreader, wanting to see her lungs in action, a smile on his face, but something stopped him.

Even unconscious she was moaning something, making noise. Angry he leaned in, his ear to her lips, and his body froze as he heard her whisper.

"Franken… I… love… you..." Stein sat there frozen, a sneer on his face, and realized after a long moment that with each breath she was continuing it, almost as if it were a mantra.

"I… I'll… sever…"

"love… you…"

"sever the vocal…"

"I… love…"

"cords…"

"Franken…"

The scalpel fell from his hands, and one reached up to twist the screw in his head. Her blood coated the hand, and it slipped, leaving a smear of blood on the screw. Stein just grabbed it again, this time managing to get it to twist, desperation marking his movements.

She lay mangled and broken, barely breathing as the screw turned over, Stein's head clearing. Even as it registered what he had done she took a shuddering breath and was still.

"No, damnit!" Stein's scream tore through the lab and a moment later she was in his arms, the scientist rushing her to a surgery area.

His skilled hands flew over her body, repairing the damage that he had done, a breathing tube in her throat, pumping oxygen into her lungs and through her body. He injected atropine and adrenaline into her heart, feeling more than a little religious when the organ began to pump blood through her body again.

His hands were trembling from exhaustion by the end of the surgery, the doctor at the end of his rope as he placed the last stitch in her skin. He collapsed beside the operating table, blood-stained fingers stroked her face lightly, drops of liquid trickling down a face that didn't know tears as he repeated her name in broken whispers over and over.

"Why? Why didn't you flee? Why didn't you run? Marie…"

A/N: This was based on my one word prompt for the day from TheAUWalker. The word? "Flee." I hope that you enjoyed. I don't own Soul Eater.