A/N: Before you say anything, yeah I know it's a bit of a plothole for Taker to be the ninth specimen and his backstory to make sense, but just roll with it okay? It kinda has to be this way for things I'm planning later.

"The threshold of consciousness," I read aloud, staring at the sign in thought. "Hmm, why do I get the feeling that things are about to get really weird?"

"Because they are." Taker remarked helpfully.

"Oh, well I guess that makes sense then. Lucky for whatever we're about to encounter, I like weird things. Mostly because I'm one of said weird things, if you hadn't noticed."

"I noticed."

Sure enough, something pretty weird happens as soon as I took a few more steps. The room blackened completely around us, until it's as though we're standing in a void. But there's something up ahead. Cautiously I move towards it.

"Why, hello there."

"Wah! Talking cat! ... Talking pink cat." I don't know why this freaked me out so much. I mean, I'd just recently seen all sorts of things that would give a grown man nightmares, and yet this is what scares me? But talking animals weren't usually seen outside of cartoons, and I was okay with that. I mean, it's hard to eat bacon when a pig walks up to you and asks about the weather. But now, here was a talking cat, sitting right in front of me. Could she be Specimen 7? I doubted it, though I wasn't sure why. Even though I had Taker to give me some info, I still wished I ran into that computer again, outdated as it was. Maybe it would let me view more entries now?

"This place can help those who are ready. You seem more ready than the ones who came before you." The Cat continued, ignoring my outburst.

"If by 'ready,' you mean knowing what the heck's happening, then yes. I am ready. ... Wait, ready for what, exactly?"

"Please come forward." There seemed to be something ominous and somewhat final in that sentence, but I didn't really have a choice. So, I keep going. The Cat disappears as I do, and the blackness goes away along with her, only to be replaced by a reddish fog. Then, I got a whiff of the worst smell I'd ever smelled in my life. Think about the smells of rotten eggs, sour milk, sweaty feet, red hot chilly peppers, vomit, and blood. Then add them together and multiply it by a thousand. That comes

close to what it smelled like.

It was all I could do not to throw up. "Oh good lord! What is that?"

"Look behind you."

I wasn't sure whether to chastise Taker for using a line we'd encountered earlier, or discover what the heck was stinking so bad. My rational side ended up winning, and I turned around. There, slowly making its way towards me, was a wall that looked to be made out of a bunch of bodies crammed and squished together like McDonald's chicken nuggets. I guess that made sense, after all you wouldn't expect something like that to smell good. But... bwegh!

I decided that since what I assumed to be Specimen 7 was moving pretty slowly, I could settle for a jog rather than a full on run. As I jogged, I wondered how I could possibly convince a wall of flesh to join my team. It might not even think or be alive in the same sense we associate with the human experience. I gotta hand it to Spooky. Intentional or not, she sure does make starting a rebellion against her pretty darn difficult.

I was just about to say 'let's just skip this one and run,' when something weird happened. The smell in the air began to change. It now smelled like... burning teeth. I'd recognize the smell anywhere. And... a dentist drill angrily screeching behind me like a poisonous alien insect. I do not like dentists, so this admittedly did freak me out a little, but my euphoria over seemingly figuring out what this specimen's deal was mostly drowned out the feeling. "Oooooh!" I say in victory. "So you're a mental specimen, huh? And unlike Specimen 5, you actually show me what I, in particular, am afraid of. Do you take requests?" No reply, but I expected that. "I won't go as far as to suggest you to turn into something cute and happy, but could you show me a specific one of my fears?"

I close my eyes and concentrate, doing my best to telepathically show the specimen what I have in mind. I know I shouldn't really have to make any effort since the whole mind reading fear feeding thing is this one's whole deal, but it's surely appreciated, right? Sure enough, I get what I want. But the next few seconds don't go at all as planned.

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

SMACK!

"Oh, crap!"

Just as planned, 7 transformed from a dentist into a wasp. My goal was to catch the wasp in my hands like I saw my grandfather do. I thought that if I could face a bunch of supernatural specimens, surely I could deal with a little wasp, right? ... Wrong. As soon as I saw the thing coming towards me, I proceeded to panic and kill the wasp. And presumably, Specimen 7.

"Oh gosh! Oh crap! Oh no!"

"Oh, excellent job, Zoe. If it is still alive, Specimen 7 will surely join us now."

I was just about to lecture Taker about how it's not okay to make people feel worse about accidentally murdering someone, when—

"Indeed we will."

The room goes dark and The Cat appears once again. It might be my imagination, but she looks happy and proud. She addresses me. "You are the first one to make such progress in a long time." No, she is happy and proud.

"Um, progress? We? What? Could you explain a little?"

"In some situations, running is the advisable thing to do. However, running aimlessly with no end in sight will get you nowhere. We will help you achieve your goal. You also faced your fear, good job. Oh and do not worry, you didn't harm my other half in any way."

"Yes!" I shout, pumping my fist in the air. Finally! I managed to recruit one specimen to the team! I know it's hardly enough and I still have a long way to go, but I take a moment to celebrate this victory. "You were saying, Taker?"

"...Excellent job."

"Yeah, okay."

The Cat then turned to Taker with a serious expression. This was one of the rare times I got a chance to see two specimens interacting, but I felt like what The Cat was about to say to him was going to be a little personal. But my curiosity got the better of me, and I pricked my ears, while trying to look like I wasn't really listening.

"You're trapped in more walls than those of this mansion. You may wish to consider expanding some of them a bit." Oh, nevermind. Just another vague and cryptic... message? Warning? Who knows? Taker might, in fact he seems a bit bothered by The Cat's words. I decide not to question him on it though, because again it's probably something personal.

There is something I'd like to ask though. Something I'd wanted to ask for quite a while now, but hadn't gotten the opportunity. I was either running for my life, or arguing with ghosts, or choking on peanut butter. But all this talk about mentality and goals really got me thinking hard about it, and I knew I couldn't put it off anymore. So a few rooms later when the euphoria had pretty much worn off, I turn to my specimen companion.

"I need to ask you a question." I tell him, as seriously as I can say anything. He seems to pick up on the seriousness in the atmosphere as a whole, for he takes a few moments to respond.

"Yes?"

I decide to get right to the point. "Why haven't you, not once, tried to kill me again since we first met? What's your goal in following me like this? You've got to have one, you don't seem like the person to do anything aimlessly."

An even longer pause this time. Is he not going to answer? Is he backing out on me? "...You... surprised me."

"Yeah, I surprise a lot of people. Mind being a little more specific?"

"Before you, no one has ever survived the endless hallway. They also never used such... unorthodox methods. None of them so much as attempted to discover what was really happening here. Too busy trying to survive. Unsuccessfully trying, that is. But you... there is something different about you, Zoe. I'm not sure what it is, but I believe that you have a greater chance than all who have come before you to not only leave this place alive, but end it entirely. Which is what I want. I've wanted it ever since she killed me."

"Sorry, what?"

"Take a look at my database entry. You will be able to access it, as well as all of the others now."

I glance around the room. Wow, how did I not notice we were in the computer room again? I guess I was really preoccupied thinking about all this crap. It seems to be the exact same room too, since the computer is still in the mostly bloodless state in which I had last left it. I guess the mansion shifts around from time to time like the labyrinth in the greek mythos. But no time to think about that now, I've got an entry to read. I'd been curious about it ever since I'd first found this computer, and had been wondering when/if I'd get to see what it said.

Specimen 9

A small skull shaped mass of clay that seemed to gain more form as subjects were TAKEN TAKEN TAKEN TAKEN TAKEN TAKEN

Specimen was deemed too hard to contain and was killed and dismantled by GL Labs.

"Hey, did you edit this? Agh!" And of course he's right there behind me, just like the last two times.

"I know you got more out of it than that."

I nod, back to being serious. "That I did. For one, it's strange that Spooky cares about containing specimens all of a sudden. I mean, she didn't seem to give a crap about it with Specimen 3, so why would she with you?"

"The short answer is, she didn't. That was simply a coverup because she didn't want to admit that she couldn't keep someone from stealing her souls."

"Okay, you're definitely gunna need to elaborate on that."

"Soul harvesting organizations have been around far longer than Spooky has so much as existed. Different reasons, different methods, but the same at their core. I have always been indifferent about them for the most part. I never participated before this one. What I do care about however, is being held against my will, and then having most of my memories, power, and body stolen from me in order to build a science defying mansion. If that weren't enough, when I try to take a couple of souls in hopes of replenishing some of it? Smashed with a sledgehammer! It ended up being ineffective yes, but that doesn't mean it wasn't painful!"

I sit there, mouth probably hanging open. So the clay skull wasn't always just a clay skull? And wow, he's really passionate about this. I mean this is the most (and loudest) I've ever heard him talk. I'd probably be mad in his place too, but still. "No wonder you hate Spooky. I hated her because of the whole soul harvesting thing as you called it, but your reason is perfectly valid too and I respect it. Although... three hundred and sixty two isn't exactly considered a couple."

"It's better than becoming a mindless monster or... I'm not sure what to call what Spooky does. The point is it's painless, and they go straight to the afterlife. It's not as though they had a chance of survival anyway."

"But you just said-"

"You're different."

I sigh, defeated. Well, almost. "Look, not to be that person who makes this stupid comment, but there's gotta be another way to at the very least restore your body. I'll sculpt you one myself if it comes down to it. Don't know where I'll get the clay or a big enough kiln, and my sculpting skills could do with some improvement, aaand I don't know how I'll attach it, but I'll certainly try."

That took Taker out of his ranting mood real quick. He didn't seem to know how to respond, probably not used to people offering to help him. Being a soul-eating monster can do that, I suppose. Finally, he settled on. "I... appreciate the offer, but I doubt it would work."

"Well I was mostly offering so you wouldn't take my soul once this is all over." I remark, only half joking. I'm not dumb, I know this is a possibility.

"Killing you would be... a waste if you succeed."

I smile. "Yeah, I'm glad we're friends too. But y'know, you really need to stop trying to scare me. I have enough people doing that already. The next time you do it, I'm gunna throw something at you."

"Yes, of course you are."

"I'm not kidding!"