The Missionary just stared down at Ash like he was nothing. The boy had stopped struggling, paralyzed with fear as his situation sunk in. His mind raced furiously, as he tried to think of an escape.

"NOW," the man wearing the burlap sack casually grabbed the gag around Ash's mouth. The boy shivered as he felt the still-warm blood touch his face. What had this...this guy been doing before they came in?

"WHAT WERE YOU GOING TO SAY?" with a sharp tug, the gag was ripped off Ash's mouth.

The boy gasped for breath, but didn't answer. His head hung low, trying not to look at the Missionary.

The man in the bloody smock was not pleased. Grabbing his hair, he forced the boy to look up. "LOOK AT ME WHEN I SPEAK TO YOU!" he roared.

It suddenly hit Ash what the Missionary's voice sounded like. It was like someone in an amusement park, making what he thought sounded like a snarl to frighten little kids. It was almost comical...but Ash couldn't bring himself to laugh at this situation.

In the other chair, Adrian was just whimpering.

"WHAT. DID. YOU. WANT. TO. SAY?" the missionary demanded, clearly annoyed. However, when he saw Ash glance at Adrian, he calmed down. "WAS IT, 'THANK YOU, WALLY'?"

Ash gasped. "What?! N-no!"

The Missionary tightened his grip on Ash's hair, making him wince in pain. "YOU SHOULD THANK HIM. BECAUSE OF HIM, YOU GOT A CHANCE TO BE A PART OF SOMETHING. TO SEE THE WORLD FOR WHAT IT TRULY IS."

Ash scoffed, despite the pain. "Yeah, right."

The Missionary let go of Ash's hair, unimpressed. "THEY ALL SAY THAT AT FIRST." the huge man remarked, turning his attention to Adrian.

"AND YOU. I REMEMBER YOU. SISTER HOLLOWAY TELLS ME YOU FORGOT YOUR LESSONS."

Adrian shivered uncontrollably. "No...no...I...I remember."

"THEN SAY THEM."

Adrian gulped, stammering for a few seconds. Then he started reciting something, as quickly and as clearly as he could manage. "'I-in the Buh-beginning, people had Nuh-nothing. Their bodies a-ached, their huh-hearts held nothing but hatred...They...they fought endlessly, b-but death never came..they despaired, stuck in the eternal...the eternal...um...'"

The Missionary growled.

"Quagmire! Quagmire, the eternal quagmire!" Adrian gasped. "A man offered a...a...a...reed to the-"

"NO!" The Missionary snarled, backhanding the helpless child. "THAT'S WRONG, YOU WRETCHED LITTLE BRAT!"

Ash couldn't take it anymore. "Leave him alone!"

Adrian just babbled "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

The man in the bloodstained smock turned around, laughing scornfully. "YOU BE QUIET. YOU'LL LEARN NOT TO QUESTION YOUR BETTERS."

Ash snorted. "Hitting a kid who can't hit back? You're not strong." he had to take his attention off Adrian. He could handle what this lunatic had.

The Missionary paused, before remarking sourly, "YOU'RE IN NO POSITION TO LAUGH AT ME."

"You're just a..." Ash forced himself to laugh. "Just a bully."

That got the Missionary's attention. In the space of a second, the giant was looming over Ash, his bloodied gloves pressing into the boy's bound wrists.

"YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHO I AM! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO CALL ME A BULLY! I SWEAR TO YOU, WRETCH, BEFORE THIS NIGHT IS OVER, YOU WILL BE AT MY FEET BEGGING FOR RELIEF FROM THE...Pain..."

That was when the Missionary noticed something. Ash's face was contorted in pain, real pain, but he wasn't doing anything to do it. The only thing he was doing was leaning on the boy's hands...

An idea struck the Missionary. The boy's hands were in fingerless gloves. Were they a fashion statement? Or was he wearing them to cover a wound?

Intrigued, the giant pressed into the back of one wrist. Nothing. The other one...Ash tried to hold back an exclamation of pain, but he couldn't hide the way he winced as the pressure on a certain wound increased.

Ash could imagine the Missionary smiling under that burlap sack. "HEHEH...WELL, MIGHT AS WELL GET STARTED." he chuckled with that guttural voice as he turned away from the two boys.

On the wall nearby was some sort of cabinet, holding several tools of...Ash shivered at the thought of what they were used for. Placed most prominently were two giant switchblades, each roughly the size of an adult's arm. There were clubs, rods, whips, what looked like a head sized box, things with nails jutting out of them...

Ash thought about the Executioner's collection back in Mashura. At least then, the nightmarish instruments could pass for things a butcher would use in his job. Different size cleavers for different kinds of meat. But here? Everything in the Missionary's cabinet had one purpose, and it was to torture. One way or another.

The Missionary passed over some of the mode elaborate tools in favor of a metal rod. He then stepped towards Ash, casually slapping the metal against the palm of his hand.

"HERE'S WHAT WILL HAPPEN, FIGHTER. I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU JUST A SMALL TASTE OF WHAT I CAN DO. THEN WE'LL SEE WHAT YOU NEED TO ACCEPT THE LIGHT OF TRUTH. YOU WILL ACCEPT THE TEACHINGS OF OUR ORDER. ONE WAY OR ANOTHER."

Ash tried to scoff, but he didn't see any chance of getting out of here. All he could see was that metal rod, and all he could think about was how it would hurt on that burn of his...

Relishing the child's fright, the torturer grabbed the edge of Ash's glove. Not wanting the fabric to cushion any of his blows, the Missionary tore it off...

And froze.

For a second, he just stood there, staring at the uncovered back of Ash's hand. Ash was confused for a second, and then it hit him.

Pyramid Head's mark.

"WHAT?!" The Missionary screamed, trying to get a closer look at the burn scar. In his haste, he yanked Ash's hand towards his face, almost wrenching the boy's arm. The iron rod clattered to the floor, forgotten in the torturer's shock.

Bringing it right up to his face only confirmed his suspicions. "The Halo of the Sun..." he breathed, his guttural growl completely gone. "But...but how?! Why would he give it to..."

The burlap sack spun around, and Ash felt the Missionary looking right into his eyes.

"You..."

The pure hatred spoken through that word surprised Ash. Did this guy...know him? It was like the Missionary had only just recognized him now...but he'd never...what was going on?

Suddenly breathing very hard, the Missionary let go of Ash's hand. He ran back towards the cabinet, laughing like a demented child. "Heh...heheh...hehehehehahaa..." Gone was the snarling attempts at being intimidating. In their place was a twisted, hateful, almost childish glee that was genuinely frightening.

Suddenly, Ash realized something. His hand was free! Spurred by adrenaline, he set to work undoing the bonds around his other hand.

The Missionary rifled through his tools, chuckling as he sorted through painful instruments of brutality. "I can't believe it, I'm going to enjoy this so much..."

Ash couldn't waste any time, and with both his hands free, he undid the ropes around his ankles.

The Missionary finally found what he wanted. It was a rather complicated machine, built to house someone's head. There was no chance of anyone surviving the slow, painful death it inflicted. He had been saving this for a special occasion. Here excited Missionary turned to see its recipient...

Only to see an empty chair. "WHAT?!"

Ash ran over to Adrian's chair, and worked furiously on the child's bonds. The boy was completely confused. "Wha-what's-what's-"

Ash shook his head as he untied the kid's hand. "Don't worry, we're getting out of here, just-"

Adrian screamed and pointed behind Ash. The boy whirled around to see the Missionary swinging one of the huge switchblades at his head.

Faster than he thought he could, Ash ducked and the blade whizzed over his head. When he glanced up, he saw that the torturer was wielding two of the blades, and had the other one coming down onto his head.

Ash quickly rolled away and got back onto his feet. He didn't have time to look behind him before the Missionary roared and tried to take another swipe at him. Ash barely dodged this attack, nearly losing his arm.

He heard a young voice say Something. It sounded like Adrian.

RUN.

So he did. Spinning around in his heels, Ash bolted for the door. Screaming with rage, the Missionary chased him and nearly skewered him on his blade. Ash had to leap into the doorway, grabbing the handle and twisted it in a swift motion.

Miraculously, it was unlocked.

Ash sped down the hallway, not looking behind him to see the Missionary topple through the doorway and get his blades caught in...something.

Hearing the Missionary roar like a wounded animal behind him only made him run faster, praying that he could outrun this monster. Ash ran into the dark halls of the water tower, not knowing where he was going but never stopping.

So it begins.