I could see the golden gleam of the sentinel hovering over 7 feet off the marble floor.

The golden orb whirringly screamed and it came so close to my face that I nearly flinched.

I could see my face rather unflatteringly reflected upon the spheres.

The curved distorted image of the room, blurred slightly and then it shifted to a perfectly crystal clear reflection.

I saw myself yet again but this time the room wasn't behind me.

It was me and only me without any background.

The image was rather strange.

My eyes for starters were the wrong color.

They were a pale periwinkle blue and my forehead was at least 2 sizes smaller and I had a mouth that reminded me of Emily Browning.

The skin was was so washed out and ivory toned that I almost looked like I was dead.

I liked what I saw but it just wasn't me.

It was another version of me and perhaps those sentinels knew that's what I wanted to see especially when I was in front of a mirror.

It wasn't real it was just a image that the sentinel thought would appeal to me.

It was certainly appealing and it definitely spoke to my vanity if I ever had any.

It was pretty, it was striking, stunning and most importantly it was attractive.

I wondered if that was who I was inside.

Perhaps in my heart I was a absolute knock out.

The likable image faded in a pixelated fashion which struck me as odd since everything here was state of the art technology.

The Sentinels backed away from me and it buzzed down the hallway and I could hear it inside my head, the word Follow stood out most.

I felt like I was blindly following something I knew I shouldn't.

I couldn't resist a challenge.

I couldn't just say no to something that could slightly be too close to the edge and could possibly send me over a cliff of danger and possible death.

I was a thrill seeker deep down and if something was dangerous or down right deadly I somehow was always drawn to it.

I think that's why I enjoyed being here in the home of a almost former mass murderer.

Sure I'd like to claim that I don't have that sick way of thinking but unfortunately

I'm not just attracted to dangerous people but rather I'm attracted to the danger itself.

I could say no, I could refuse to put myself in danger but what would be the fun in that?

I have a life motto that Life is awfully risky so life is worth the risk.

You couldn't live life without risks.

If it was without risks it wouldn't be living after all.

Why was I thinking like this?

Had I been thinking like this all along?

I recall thinking this way before but being in such a grim and isolated place had made me really question myself.

I was so buried within my thoughts that I was barely keeping track of where this golden sphere was going.

I was now blindly following the sound of that contraption that was now humming instead of screeching mechanically.

So I was blindly following after all.

I needed to focus.

There was a burst of silver that seared through my vision.

I nearly cowered from the sight.

The silver door radiated with a shimmering metallic glow.

I was almost too afraid to go near the thing let alone reach out and touch it.

The last time I let my guard down in this place I ended up with nearly 3 degree burns and I slept for 3 days.

Where would this end up sending me in a stretcher leading straight to coffin?

Maybe I'd end up in one of those crypts that lined the marble hallways.

Perhaps I'd even end up in a more secretive place like the catacombs.

Did this place even have a catacombs?

I'd never even seen a catacomb so I didn't even know what one was.

All I knew was that it was usually underground.

Oh I wasn't looking forward to this.

It wasn't the door that was so daunting but it was what lay beyond the door that unsettled me.

He was on the other side.

I imagine him towering above me all oppressive and intimidating.

I dreaded his iron gaze and that grey lipped and sick smirk he had as if he was imagining what my insides looked on a operating table.

Why was I so afraid?

It was the confrontation; the anticipation I had in my heart that told me that he could destroy me without even trying.

I could hear a strange humming thrum sting the air.

It felt like a weird kind electricity but instead of shocking me it warmed my fingers as I placed my hand around the door knob.

"Well it certainly took you long enough".

He appeared unimpressed despite that he was slightly smirking.

It wasn't the usual smirk that made my insides twist up but it was a humorous one, the kind you'd make if you said a subtle joke.

The room had grey granite walls and pink crystal floors.

However between the stone walls there were square cubby holes where there were silver sentinels lined up in row after row.

The rows of sentinels extended above on the ceiling as well.

"It's impressive isn't it?"

I almost didn't answer since I was still taking in all the details of the room.

"I'm- I'm- I'm speechless".

"Yes I can tell.

I wonder...why is it that you hesitated before coming in?"

"I don't want to let my guard down that's all.

The last time I did that I ended up passing out for 3 days.

Is it so wrong to be a little cautious?"

"Cautious yes, that I can understand but fearful no.

You yet again surprise me Miss Glory, for It is a rarity for you to be afraid of anything, let alone of a simple door".

"You seriously think I'm afraid of a stupid door?

I wasn't fearful of anything, I was just nervous that's all."

"Nervous from what exactly?"

His tone bit the air like a dog's jaw.

"I don't know.

It's just a door but every door has something on the other side and I had no way of knowing what was on the other side.

It could have been dangerous, who knows I could have died.

I don't know what the big deal is but it's not the door itself it's just the uncertainty of what lays beyond it that makes me a little bit nervous.

So can we please move on?"

My usual dark studious voice had somehow gotten hysterically high.

I don't think I was very convincing.

"This is very unlike you.

It's also quite strange since you seem to be awfully high strung for someone who claims to be neither nervous or fearful.

Tell me what is that you fear Maggie?"

" How many times do I have to tell you?! I fear nothing!

I don't fear anyone!

I don't fear these silver contraptions, I don't fear this room, I don't fear this whole gold darned house if horrors you call a mortuary and I certainly do not fear you!

Why don't you just drop it!

Better yet I'll show myself out.

Don't bother to follow me".

"Rambling again are we?

Very cute, why it's almost endearing how desperate you are to convince me of your fearlessness.

You may go but I'd prefer you to stay a little while longer.

After all you are not a prisoner here, so I have no right to hold you here against your will.

Before you depart from this place I'd like to add that it greatly disturbs me that you didn't have the heart not to the mention the courage to tell me what it is that you fear."

"Why should you care?

The only reason I'm here is because it was convenient for you.

I am a just another convenience to you.

I'm useful to you so you keep me around.

Sure it's refreshing that I'm not some stolen corpse to add to your collection but you know I'm only interesting to you cause I have a good mind and a free will.

The fact I'm so stubborn I'm sure must be amusing to you.

I'm entertaining, I'm a amusement to you and If I weren't for this case you'd probably have nothing to do with me.

Better yet if this case wasn't wide open you'd be examining my insides right now on a operating table.

So to tell you what it is that I fear is not really a smart move.

If you knew what I fear you'd most likely use it against me.

You'd use it to keep me here.

Then I'd never be free.

So no I won't give up my freedom for the sake of honesty.

It's not worth it."

I could feel the corners of my eyes moisten with fearful tears.

I hope he couldn't see them but the soft watery appearance of my eyes most likely gave me away if not for the tiny tears that hid in the corners of my eyes.

His harsh face was now placid and instead pallid, his face had a soft moonlight glow.

The glow was warm with a attribute that I was not even aware he had, it was warm with compassion.

"You mistake me for a villain.

It may be a comfort to you to know I know longer practice such atrocities.

There was a time long ago where i tortured and killed without thought but then i grew a conscience.

I became aware of the destruction and chaos i was causing.

I knew i had to change.

There were too many mistakes that had been made.

So much had been lost, entire towns, entire cities, entire families, they were either ravaged by fire or the plague.

It was entirely my fault.

If I couldn't change myself I know I could change what I had done.

So I erased my deeds from this world and the next one.

I rewrote the timelines so that my legacy of blood would not be remembered.

There are a few that remember what I did, these individuals will not forget what was done.

I've tried to erase the events from their minds but as some sort of survival mechanism they clung to these horrors that I was the creator of.

That is why it is essential to destroy this creature.

There is no removing such secrets from his psyche.

However my point is that the many atrocities I have committed are far behind me.

I am no longer a murderer of the masses.

I gave up that way of life a long time ago.

So I shan't harm you if that is what you fear".

His voice was no longer harsh and gravelly, it had smooth quality that I'd never heard before until now.

I couldn't help but feel at ease because he seemed like he was being genuine.

I knew when people were lying to me and I could tell by just looking in his eyes that he was telling me the truth.

"Why are you so on edge?"

I looked down at the pink crystal floor so I wouldn't have to deal with his unwavering stare.

The intensity was making me mighty uncomfortable.

"Baron and I had a little tiff."

"In other words a fight".

"Well not exactly.

It was more of a disagreement.

You see i remembered him leaving when i was 13 and he though he left me at 16.

It's not so much about dates and times, it's more about how he left when i needed him the most and also the fact that he never reached out to me after he left.

So I'm not very happy with him right now."

"You should sort that out with him."

I noticed for the first time there was a mahogany desk that he casually leaning on.

He wasn't just leaning on it, he was using it as some sort of chair.

It was the plainest desk i had ever seen in my life and the longer i looked at it the more i realized it was actually just a cheap plywood desk with dark mahogany paint sprayed on it.

It seemed sturdy enough since it was supporting his weight but still i wondered why I hadn't noticed it before.

Jebadiah stood up he firmly waved his hand in the direction of the sentinels.

The sentinels separated and the Stone cubby holes moved with them.

I could hear the stone crunch it's way across the walls and eve tilt the stones and sentinels cleared away into a rectangular formation.

They had created a rectangle and they all surrounded a bare strip of wall.

The wall which they had left behind i came to realize was really not a wall but some sort ultra thin movie screen.

There was a image of Jebadiah who stood over a operating table.

There was a lurker on the Table and he had a strange motorized blade, that had dangerously sharp spikes and a circular saw in the center.

There was yellow splatters that smacked the wall and his starchly pressed suit.

I could hear the hollow crack of bone.

I saw him gently remove a considerably precise section of the skull, he held a strip of bone and flesh in his hands that was sticky and spattered with yellow.

I saw his hand reach into the front of the skull to which he took out a dark pink mass.

This brain was rather strange because it was roughly the size of my palm.

It looked even smaller in his hands since he had bigger hands than i did.

He took the brain and placed it inside a metal sphere which lay open on a steel table beside him.

"Why are you showing me this?"

"You were wondering why this place was haunted.

Now I'm showing you why".

"Okay maybe you could explain just a little bit so i know what I'm looking at."

"Certainly.

What you just saw was a minor operation i used to perform.

You see my slaves a long time ago were once human, however i had them genetically altered and modified to be smaller and far more resilient especially amongst higher temperature.

I however would have to remove the brain of my subjects and the replace it with a artificial one that i designed myself later in another lab.

During this exchange i would put the real brain into one of my sentinels just as it is seen here.

You are very fortunate to witness such a procedure.

I very rarely showcase this procedure to anyone.

It has in fact it had been a very well kept secret until now.

I've kept this a secret for many long years.

However i think i can trust you.

So i trust you will keep this a secret"

"Of course.

I'm still rather confused how this makes this place haunted".

"Simple.

Every single one of my sentinels contains the brain of every one of my victims.

Every sentinel has the mind of every life i took, every person i murdered, they are all here, to remind me of what I've done.

It's haunted by those who's lives were lost by my hand.

Does that make sense to you now?"

"Perfectly. You know it's really great that you trust me but i still don't really understand why you showed me that."

"You mentioned to your friend you were planning on retiring from your work.

You saud you might even stay here permanently.

Well i have a proposal to make, a business proposal if you will.

When this is is all over and I'd like to offer you a new job."

"A Job?

A job to do what?"

"I'd like to offer you the job of becoming my assistant."

"Assisting you do things like that?"

I pointed to the screen with disgusted horror on my face.

"I could teach you do so much more Magenta unless of course that display of my work was frightening to you".

"No... I'm not frightened...by all that.

I've seen blood,ive seen gore i I've seen my share of violence, I've even seen a quite few autopsies.

I come across dead Bodies nearly everyday.

So trust me this is nothing.

It sure doesn't scare me but I'm no surgeon, I'm not a big important doctor like you.

So I'd never be able to do something like that.

So no i can't be your... assistant.

I don't have the education, I'm very under qualified for that particular job."

"That won't be a problem.

I can educate you, i can teach you exactly what you should do.

You have the right mind to learn, you have the mind which can absorb information quickly.

You underestimate yourself greatly.

You are capable of far more than you could ever possibly imagine".

"So you want to go through all the trouble of training me and educating me just so i can i stay here to be your servant?"

"No you are not to be a servant.

You are to be my assistant, there's a difference."

"Just another convenience.

It's all about what i can give you and what i can do for you isn't it?"

I tried to come at him nose to nose but he was so tall i only came slightly above his neck.

"No you're wrong.

You are not a mere convenience to me.

I don't just keep you around because you're useful to me.

You are not a amusement to me nor are you a source of entertainment.

I will not only provide you ultimate security and a home but i shall also offer you freedom.

Freedom to explore this entire universe, from this world to the next.

Imagine what you could do if you could venture beyond this realm of reality.

You could move between worlds.

You wouldn't have to be confined to this tiny town.

I know you want more than this world can provide you.

I'm not asking for service, I'm practically handing you unlimited power for free.

I don't normally offer this to just anyone.

You wouldn't just be my assistant Magenta you would be my companion."

"I thought i was just your room mate."

My mouth was rather stupidly hanging open.

"Yes and you still will be in a sense.

So what do you say?

Will you join me?"

Jebadiah was cheerier than i had ever seen him.

He was almost trying to smile instead of giving me his usual sinister smirk.

I wanted to say yes.

I didn't want to say no.

"Yes i want to join you but I don't know if that's what i should do.

I'm not sure if it's right you know.

Right now, i feel like I'm stuck right in the middle of a storm, I don't know where to turn.

Usually I'm so sensible.

I always know what to do but now I'm not certain of anything.

I suppose I've always been like this, stuck between two choices, stuck between two worlds.

I've never felt i was part of either world.

I didn't think i was part of any world at all to be honest but maybe there's a world where i do belong.

Maybe I'll finally be able to find it."

"So is that a yes?"

"I think so.

Yes I'll be your assistant.

After this is all over, if i make it that is, I'll retire from my detective work and I'll live here hopefully forever.

I'll leave this world... with you and i hope it's permanently."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure.

I am absolutely sure this time."

I couldn't believe i was saying this but it came out so naturally.

It was like i was meant to say those words.

I wasn't being coerced into saying them, i had wanted to say them.

Although my mind did feel a bit fuzzy.

I felt that some of my personality was slightly missing.

Was i in a trance?

I saw my face reflecting back from the strange stone tv screen.

It was the same face I'd seen in tbe sentinel.

Was that really me or was that just another illusion?

It was that beautiful woman i had always longed to be but it couldn't be real.

"That's not me.

I've seen that before... before i came here...the sentinel showed me but it's a trick, it's an illusion, it can't be real.

I don't look like that."

"No it's not an illusion nor is it a trick.

What you see in that screen is real."

I could see my vision go fuzzy and grey, then that grey went to black.