Kid was rudely awoken by a hard kick to his stomach. He curled up tighter reflexively and gasped in pain. He looked up. He was bound by his arms with rope, and he was sitting against the wall. He tried not to panic as Rem set a strange contraption on the table. She knelt in front of him. What was she going to do to him?

"Had a nice rest?" Rem taunted. "It's time for our first torture. Shall we?"

"As you like," Kid replied smartly. "I only have one request."

"Huh?"

"If you cut me on one side, I'd appreciate it if you kept my body symmetrical and cut the other side too."

"You brat!" Rem cursed at him and took a lock of his hair roughly. "Fine, I'll make you symmetrical. But first, I want to make sure you wish you were never born."

Tortured Soul; Breaking a Changing Soul?

Okay, this chapter is just a day of sadistic torture for Kid. There is a non-graphic summary at the bottom if you want to skip. I won't be offended; you don't have to be brave if this isn't your thing. I just wanted to put in all my skills I've honed as a writer. Okay, see you at the bottom. Owo

She pulled him to his feet and pushed him towards the table. His restraints magically shifted from his arms to his ankles at the table. Kid looked at the metal contraption with confusion.

"What is this?"

"It's a device designed to remove finger nails," Rem replied. "Each nail torn off will distinguish your sin. Isn't that clever?"

Kid didn't reply. Rem frowned.

"The best part is the victim did it to themselves," she continued. Kid paled. He could handle being tortured by a separate person, but mutilating himself was disturbing. Rem saw his hesitation and took a chance to mess with him. "If you don't, I could always lure Ame here. I'm sure she'd have the courage. She'd probably bring your friends, too, like that dumb girl you found in Brooklyn."

"Fine, I'll do it," he said quickly. Rem smiled once more and began tying the leather straps over Kid's arms. He began to shiver. He did not want to do this.

"The first nail will be for your smart mouth," Rem declared. "Just put your first fingernail in at metal piece there and slam your fist down on the lever."

Kid hesitated. Sweat was dripping from his forehead and dribbling on the table. Kid tried steadying himself. He slipped his index finger into the metal bit of the contraption and balled his opposite hand into a fist. He raised his fist to get some momentum before bringing it down on the black lever. He flinched. With a horrible crunching sound, his nail was torn clean off of his finger. Blood pooled in the vacant nail bed. He instantly regretted any smart-mouth statement he'd said to anyone. He'd never do it again, he promised himself. He blinked tears out of his eyes and turned to Rem.

"Rem," he whimpered. He had to suck up at least, otherwise Ame could be in the same danger he was in. "I hope you can forgive me."

"Kid," Rem's voice was cold. "Are you going to back down now? Are you going to chicken out? Will I have to find someone braver to do this?"

"No!" Kid snapped at once. "I can do this. This doesn't hurt at all."

"Alright then. The next nail will be for Madness. You have it, yet you deny it."

Kid brought his fist down on the lever again. He bit his tongue. It hurt so much.

"I don't deny it," he said. "I am full of madness."

"Right," Rem nodded and folded her hands under her chin and rested her elbows on the table across from him. She was enjoying this. "Your third nail will signify your lies. You lied when you wrote that note to your friends. You weren't going to be home soon, were you?"

"No," Kid whispered. He felt pathetic. Rem smirked.

"Atone, sinner," she spat. Kid remained still and Rem raised her head. "Hesitating, are we? That will be your forth nail—disobedience."

"No more."

"Huh?"

"Please, no more," Kid whimpered. "Just do it to me yourself!"

"Don't make me bring Ame here," Rem growled. Kid cringed and turned back to the vile contraption.

He put his trembling ring finger in the metal bit. He raised his fist and brought it down. Unwanted tears blurred his vision and he missed the lever by one half inch. The metal rip slipped, only tearing the nail off halfway. Kid stared in horror at his mishap.

"Do it again," Rem commanded.

"I have to do it again?" he breathed. He closed his eyes, shaking his head. "No! No! I can't do this anymore! Please just kill me already!"

Rem frowned. "You will pay a greater price for your cowardice."

Kid felt a familiar burning sensation in his eyes. He collapsed to his knees and put his free hand against his face.

"No!" he cried. "No, please! I'll do it, just don't!"

"It's too late for remorse," Rem sneered. She motioned to her wolf servant, who blindfolded Kid. Rem moved to stand next to Kid and put his nail in the rip. She put the trigger down and Kid let out a scream.

Soul Eater

Rem tied Kid's body to the center of a low horizontal beam in the middle of the room. His feet were an easy two feet from the ground. She tied his forearms securely, perhaps a bit too tightly, with old rope. The blindfold was still over his eyes; she didn't intend to take it off anytime soon. He'd been through so much already, and she had to tear off his finger nails so he wouldn't try clawing at his neck. Silly boy.

"Kiddo?" she murmured softly. "Can you hear my voice?"

Kid remained still. Rem became angry and slapped him sharply across the face.

"I'm talking to you!" she yelled. Kid gasped, raising his head immediately. Rem smiled. "I'm going to start again. First off, let's get you tied up."

Despite his already being tied up, Rem positioned an iron stake over the palm of Kid's right hand. Rem had a hammer in her other hand; raising it slightly, she brought it down forcefully on the head of the spike. Kid let out a gasp of pain.

"It looks like you're still half asleep," she noted, taking another spike in her hand. She put the tip against Kid's other hand. Kid whimpered, closing his eyes under the blindfold as the bones in his hand snapped. Rem smiled. "That's more like it."

Kid felt his shirt being torn from his chest roughly. Not only was this person sloppy, but she had no respect for his personal preference of symmetry.

"There, you're prepared," Rem said. "Now, this torture is simple—it's hardly even a torture, really. I'm going to cut you with these tools, and then you're going to scream as loud as you can for me to stop, okay?"

Kid swallowed hard, trying not to get sick. Fear sliced through him.

Kid felt a sharp object cut deeply into his wrist. He curled his fists around the stakes that bound them to the wood. The blade seared its way through the skin, overlapping the same areas repeatedly. Kid felt blood trickling from the vital artery once it was carved.

"Oh, and we must be symmetrical, correct?" Rem giggled.

Kid felt the same burning sensation on his opposite wrist. Curse his insolent tongue. He moaned in pain, throwing his head back and biting his lip. No, don't scream.

"There," Rem nodded to herself, tossing the old knife aside. Kid flinched as it crashed onto the table. He heard Rem shuffling a few things around before returning to her project.

Rem hacked at the center of his stomach with the hook-bill of a hatchet. A scream escaped him as she did so. She smiled and lifted the machete higher above her head, bringing it down harder. Blood splattered across her dress and face. Kid let out a full scream this time.

"If only I had a mirror," Rem sighed wistfully. "I'd love to call your daddy and make him watch this."

Kid flinched at the mention of his father.

Rem dragged her hand across the wound, trying to clear the excess blood away so she could see what she was doing. She smiled demonically, laughing slightly as she took in the severity of the wound. She stuck one hand inside the cut, eliciting another scream from her victim.

"I can rearrange your organs to be symmetrical, if you like," Rem volunteered.

"No! No—don't!" Kid shrieked. He felt a sharp, fiery pain in his side as Rem made several small cuts to his organs.

"Internal bleeding," Rem scoffed. "I don't know if I should regret that; I've never done it before, so I guess it was kind of sloppy."

"Sloppy?" Kid choked. "Everything you've done to me is sloppy!"

He instantly regretted his backtalk to her. He felt her grab a lock of his hair tightly and forced his head up.

"Watch what you say, you spoiled brat," Rem snarled, tucking the blade of her dissection tool under his chin. A small stream of blood rolled down the side of his neck from the small incision.

"Ame!" Kid prayed once. He recoiled and the other laughed.

Her laughter was cut short, however. Something didn't feel right. She turned back to her table, counting the tools. She frowned.

"Wolf!" she called. The Kishin wolf that had been standing guard outside quickly slunk into the dimly lit room. "Watch him; I'll be going out. By no means let him escape or be rescued, you understand?"

The wolf nodded. "Consider it done, Master."

Rem stole one last glance at her half-dead victim before taking her leave.

Poor Kid :( He had to tear his fingernails off, then Rem drove metal nails through his fingers, then she stabbed him. But, there was one last important thing at the end. Kid's prayer. Didn't Ame say that all prayer is transferred to her?