For the second time in 24 hours, Dusty grappled toward consciousness. His eyes opened more easily this time, and saw immediately he wasn't in a stone cell. Unfortunately, he was in Dr. Mindbender's lab. It wasn't just the scattered equipment that led him to that conclusion; it was the stench. A sickening miasma surrounded the machinery, lending as much to the atmosphere as the low-wattage light bulbs that were the only source of illumination.

Dusty groaned and tried to sit up. Unfortunately, he found he was shackled—wrists cuffed together, and then tied to his feet. He surveyed his surroundings more carefully. The room appeared to be deserted. No guards, no Mindbender. At least that was something. He wondered how long he had been out. Not that it mattered; he had long since lost track of time.

He rolled onto his stomach, and struggled to get into a low crouch. He couldn't move very fast, but managed a slow duck-walk toward a counter at the back of the room. Water was his first priority; lack of it was as inhibiting as the cuffs on his hands. It took several minutes, but the soldier managed to get a chair in front of the sink. He clambered up, reaching backwards for the faucet's handle. He let out a sigh of relief when he heard the splash of precious liquid into stainless steel.

He turned and started to duck his head toward the flow. The stench hit him again, more strongly. He closed his eyes and refused to look into the bottom of the sink.

Dusty managed to drink slowly at first, and let the first mouthfuls settle in his stomach before taking more. When he judged he had had enough, he awkwardly climbed back to the floor. He left the water running. Maybe it would cleanse away some of the smell. What now? He wondered. I can't take on any guards tied like this.

Before he could decide on a course of action, the distinct sounds of an alarm pierced the stillness. He tensed, hidden in the shadows of the room. Nothing happened. No guards came. He waited.

The commotion was drawing closer, whatever it was. He could hear Mindbender's voice clearly above the din. "You have just earned yourself top billing in my show. The Commander wanted you executed immediately, but I convinced him my methods were…more satisfactory."

He must be talking to Lady Jaye, Dusty thought. God I hope she did some damage before she was caught. Then it hit him. The men he had seen in the cells… Mindbender was going to use the machine on her. The thought hit him like a blow to the stomach. And here he was, helpless.

Dusty pulled frantically at the ropes tying his feet. He twisted the metal cuffs on his wrists, and with a final desperate jerk separated the bonds. He had just managed to stand when Mindbender came into the room.

He was followed by two Crimson Guardsmen, each with a hand firmly locked around Lady Jaye's upper arms. "Go lagaí galar tógálach do thóin bheagmhaitheasach," she cursed, pulling at her captors.

She saw Dusty and froze. "You okay?" She asked him.

"So far. You?"

"Aside from the obvious, yes."

"Much as I would love to give you time for a little reunion," Mindbender interrupted, "I do have work waiting for me." He turned to Lady Jaye. "Namely, you."

She visibly paled; she was aware of his reputation. She put on a brave face. "I hope you work fast. The other Joes know your base's location now. They'll get us out well before you can get any information from me," she spat defiantly.

Mindbender merely smiled. "We'll see about that. Cobra Commander knows you contacted your team. He's anxiously awaiting their appearance, in fact."

Dusty took in this information with a sigh of relief. Lady Jaye must have gotten out of the cell some time ago. If she had managed to get to the communications center and contact the team, they might just survive this. The sickening thud of the Cobra Trooper's head against stone echoed in his mind. Doctor Mindbender had said the man had been attached to the machine for only six hours… How long would it take for the other Joes to get here?

The doctor started fiddling with a panel of controls nearby. "It's a shame you killed the guards at the communications area-- the Commander would have given them to me for sure after such an abysmal show of weakness. Not that he's overly happy with me for leaving your cell door open." He turned one last dial and faced Lady Jaye. "Either way, I still have a test subject."

Hands still shackled, Dusty could do little other than throw himself at the Doctor. "Jaye! Get out! Do whatever it takes!" He fell on top of Mindbender and rolled to the floor. Standing quickly, he saw his teammate bring her boot down on a captor's knee. The man crumpled, and Lady Jaye brought her free hand around to connect with the other guard's throat. He, too, fell in a heap.

Lady Jaye headed for the open doorway and Dusty followed. He managed only three steps before an arm closed over his throat from behind.

Mindbender's voice roared in his ear: "Stop! Your friend dies if you take another step!" Dusty felt a gun touch his temple.

"Run, Jaye!" He screamed, watching her hesitate. He closed his eyes. The shot didn't come.

His teammate had come back into the room, hands held in front of her in surrender. "Fine. You can hold us for now. We're still getting out of here today."

Oh, God, she didn't understand. She didn't know what was about to happen. "Jaye! Leave me, please!" He tried again.

The desperation in his voice obviously scared her, but she stood her ground. "Dusty, the other Joes are on their way. We'll be fine." She looked at him in concern, then spoke to Mindbender. "Put the gun away."

Dusty was shoved roughly to the ground. He watched helplessly as the recovering Crimson Guardsmen renewed their hold on Lady Jaye. She didn't struggle, but only glared at Mindbender defiantly.

Mindbender motioned to a table nearby. It was crisscrossed with straps and dangling wires. He then waved the gun at Dusty. "Into the cage in the corner of the room. You get to watch." The doctor's tone held wicked delight.

Dusty considered his chances. Getting shot wasn't going to help either of them. He walked through the opening in the bars; the door slammed shut behind him. He watched with despair as Lady Jaye allowed herself to be restrained on the table. She looked wary, but not frightened. Not yet.

Please. Let her survive this, Dusty prayed. She was caught because of me. Let her be okay. He continued this mantra as Mindbender supervised the administration of restraints.

When he was satisfied that everything was in place, the Doctor began to place small electrodes at Lady Jayes temples and wrists, humming tunelessly as he worked. She had closed her eyes and was breathing deeply, summoning calm, using the method taught to the team by Snake Eyes.

Mindbender finished and stepped back from the table. "I must boast about my work before I begin," he started. "Genius, even for me." He rubbed his hands together and explained his machine's origins.

"I have done extensive research into the brain's activity at the moment of death. It seems that the same set of neurons fires in a certain pattern, every time. This pattern only occurs at the moment that the body becomes aware of its condition; when the internal mechanisms begin to shut off, one by one.

"It took a bit of experimentation to replicate the pattern—the Commander kept me well supplied with 'volunteers'—but I succeeded." Mindbender stopped and leaned over Lady Jaye's inert form.

"This will have very little effect on you physically. Your brain, however… I am about to convince it that you are dying."

Lady Jaye's eyes widened as she took in the implications.

"I've had three men…survive…this treatment. They seem to have experienced much the same thing. The brain receives a signal that it is dying; it needs to supply a reason. It reacts…It tells the body that something horrible must be happening—basically it is being tricked into 'thinking' it is dying. And from the deep recesses of the subconscious, the brain dredges up a supply of nightmares and fears. The body remains intact, but the brain invents the details and supplies the pain to go with it. You will feel as though you are dying—every moment as real as if it were truly happening—in whatever manner your brain fears the most."

Dusty watched in horror as Lady Jaye finally began to struggle against her bonds. But it was too late. Mindbender walked to the bank of controls.

He paused in his narration long enough to give his captive one last malicious grin. "The Joes always seem to think they're braver than our own soldiers. Let's see how you stand up to your worst nightmares." He flipped a switch.

Dusty gritted his teeth, watching Lady Jaye's reaction. Her body stiffened, then relaxed. Maybe it's not working, Dusty hoped. Then she began to scream.