Before you read, you might want to keep in mind, this chapter is gonna be a bit gruesome. Well, actually, very gruesome. If you thought the last chapter was graphic, you're in for it. You're warned.

CHAPTER 15: Weapons in the Wrong Hands

"What have you to report this time, Black?" demanded the sinister figure that rarely left the shadows.

"Well Master, we've begun testing of It on some of the slaves, and the results are quite significant," Black said nervously. He was always nervous in the presence of his master, for good reason.

"I shall go have a look soon," the figure said. "What else?"

"Your plan worked as always, Master." Black looked up in the hope that his master was pleased, but he couldn't tell due to the large chair in the way. "The old driver was fired and our spy is now in place. We now have the tool we need to draw the pink hedgehog right into our grasp when the time comes."

"Excellent," laughed the shadowy figure.

"It gets even better, Master!" Black was getting more comfortable by this point. "We have been monitoring the phone lines of the targets, and we now have an idea who took out #34! Also, the pink hedgehog is growing closer to the primary target, so when it comes time to kill him, you should have no trouble luring him into a trap. None whatsoever!"

"Good."

"And, we've completed a tool I think is quite interesting. It allows us to feed thoughts into sleeping peoples' minds and force them to think what we want them to at the subconscious level. We tested it recently, and the results were a complete success. The white bat who lives near the primary target seems to be attracted to the red echidna guarding the Master Emerald. With some further prodding in the right direction, we'll be able to force dreams into his mind to lure him away from the Emerald anytime you want. Stealing it will be easier than anything we've done so far!"

"Hm," the figure began. "All this good news... As pleasing as it is to hear, it seems to be too much good news at once. I wonder if fate doesn't have something planned to ruin it all."

"How could it, Master?" Black couldn't believe his master's confidence would waver over good news.

"Never you mind, Black. Go and fetch two slaves and take them to Testing Lab Delta. One male and one female. Hedgehogs. Preferably the most useless two you can find. Go. Now."

"At once, Master!" Black bowed low, stood up, and backed from the room. The figure in the shadows hit a button on its chair.

"Blank! Bring my cloak at once!" the figure commanded.

"Yes Master!" another voice on the other end of an intercom replied. The figure turned the intercom off and rested its chin on its hands, which were propped up in its lap.

"I sincerely hope for these fools' sake that It works..."

Garbed in a straight-black cloak with a hood that also covered the face with a thin layer of cloth, Black's master appeared to walk among its servants as the Grim Reaper. Ironically, this was not far from the truth after how many innocents had suffered and died at its hands and on its orders, and how many more were destined for the same fate. The figure in the cloak stepped behind a sheet of bulletproof glass, so that it could see into the next room. Within a minute of stepping into this observation room, a young blue hedgehog of about twelve was shoved forcefully into the room. He looked about, scared to death. His heart rate had tripled, especially after having watched his parents killed by Black when they tried to stop the robot taking him. The boy was dressed in a dark green tunic that was two sizes too small, but it had grown so filthy that it was black. As soon as the poor boy saw the figure in black standing in the adjacent room, he shrank back as far into the corner as he could and dropped to his knees. Black stepped into the room at this time.

"Please Master!" the boy begged. "Please, I've served you well! Please don't do this to me!" He didn't know WHAT was about to happen, but he knew he would die if it happened, and that his death would be drawn-out, painful, and all-around horrible. Black stepped up behind his master and gave the boy an evil look.

"SHUT UP!" he bellowed at the child. The boy covered his head with his arms and slumped forward, crying. He was going to die, and that was all that he knew anymore.

"Was there a specific reason for choosing this one, Black?" the figure asked, not turning its head.

"He is similar to the primary target, save for being smaller and weaker," Black replied with an indifferent shrug. The figure narrowed its eyes behind the hood.

"Return him to the living quarters and bring me a slave who is closer to adulthood," it ordered. "I want the female to be older than this as well. I want mature specimens. The young ones have yet to become useful, but when they reach the proper age, they will more than make up for it."

"Yes, Master," Black bowed and backed out of the room yet again. "I had to kill the child's parents to bring him here, though..." He feared a reprimand, but he got no reply and assumed it didn't matter. He ordered one of his subordinates to remove the boy from the room on the way out. Several minutes later, the figure watched as a new hedgehog was forced into the room, already sobbing, and devoid of clothing: Black evidently knew this poor soul would be adequate and decided to save a perfectly good set of rags from contamination. This time it was a female, a white one. She was in her 20s, and already knew she was to die. Only children returned alive from the testing labs, if anyone. She looked through the window at her executioner, but didn't bother to shrink back. There was no need, she would die either way. Black stepped in beside his master again.

"She is in such good health considering she's been here since the beginning," the figure mumbled. "This is good, I want to see how the virus works on healthy specimens. How can it be administered? Injection, inhalation, epidermal contact?"

"All of those, Master." Black said. "We've decided to administer it through the sprinkler."

"Good." The figure reached out and pressed a button on a panel in front of itself. A fire sprinkler in the room with the hedgehog activated, spraying the room and dousing the doomed specimen with cold water. A moment later, the figure deactivated the sprinkler and waited. "How long does it take?"

"It'll begin in a few seconds," Black replied. "It'll last several minutes. I'm certainly glad I cannot feel sick, otherwise I would have left the room."

"Now is your chance." Seconds later, the suffering began. The white hedgehog dropped to her knees and grasped her throat tightly, making sick gagging noises. She fell over on her side and began writhing on the floor in pain, still making the gagging noises. Seconds later, blood began pouring out of her mouth, nose, and eyes, staining her beautiful white figure scarlet. Her hands fell away from her throat and wrapped tightly around her torso as she felt her lungs begin to corrode inside her. Her heart rate was so fast that her heart was on the verge of exploding. She began to swell slowly as her body vainly tried to fight off the infection. Her internal organs also began to corrode, and blood mixed with fluids that may have been reproductive organs began to gush forth from her vagina in torrents, all over the floor. These fluids were mixed with urine as her bladder seized up and contracted involuntarily. Runny feces began leaking through her anus as her liver contracted without absorbing any of the water from the mix. Soon, she let out a gurgling noise as her corroded lungs and blood came pouring out of her mouth. She seized up, in the fetal position. Her body seized so hard her vagina was blocked by her legs enough to prevent fluids from coming out. They just built up inside her, quickly making her appear as if she was dying pregnant. Once she got too big, her abdomen burst open and sprayed fluids all over the glass separating her room from the observation room, also allowing more torrents of blood to escape her body. She should have been dead by now, but the infection wasn't done. Her muscles began to corrode even more quickly than her lungs, including her cardiac muscles. These too flowed forth through various holes in her body, as well as her liquified brain and brain fluid flowing out through her nostrils. She was dead at last, which was merciful, because her flesh began to corrode at the same pace. Her once beautiful body was fast turning brown and slimy, and her skin began to fall into her now-empty body cavities in large portions. When this process was finally done, Black spoke up again.

"Total time elapsed since infection: seven minutes. Time subject was alive after infection: 6 minutes." He stated, reading off a built-in timer.

"Intriguing," the figure in black said. "Almost amusing. So slow, yet so horribly painful. And even better, the victim's own mother wouldn't recognize her. Excellent. Clean that mess up and bring in the other tub of shit when you're done."

"Yes Master," Black said, bowing low and backing out. Outside, he ordered four of his subordinates to clean up the remains of a once-beautiful young lady. He himself went off to fetch another male.

"At least R&D has come up with something worth showing off," the figure in the cloak said to itself. Several minutes later, another blue male hedgehog was forced into the room, which had been quickly cleaned out considering the mess that had been inside. This hedgehog was also completely naked, and was also in his 20s. He was also in relatively good health, which was why he was picked.

"Here is the other subject, Master," Black said. "He was the last victim's spouse, so it appears as though they'll be together again soon. In Hell."

"Good. Initiating the experiment now." the figure pressed the button to turn on the sprinkler once more, and turned it off after the hedgehog was soaked. He began to cry as he discovered what had happened to his wife, and that he was about to suffer the same horrible fate. Sure enough, within seconds he was on the floor, clutching his throat, making horrible gagging noises. Scarlet blood began flowing from his eyes, nose and mouth, just as his wife had happen to her. He then clutched his chest as well, heart nearly pumping fast enough to explode and lungs corroding. As before, he swelled up, his internal organs contracting and melting at the same time. His penis began to swell as the infection attacked it, and through this pseudo-boner came shooting a mixture of semen, blood, his liquified testicles, and urine. As with his deceased wife, he had diarrhea worse than anything he'd ever had. By this point, his lungs were corroded and were running out through his mouth. The hedgehog's penis exploded at this point, sending fluids flying every which way. When he seized up, his abdomen didn't begin to swell from trapped fluids: the hole left behind by his penis exploding was too big. Also, when his legs locked together, fluids trapped inside his scrotum were squeezed tightly against the skin, and it burst open, further spraying fluids around the room. By this time, his muscles were corroding, and when he finally died and the fluids leaked out, Black had seen all he wanted to see. However, he kept watching for the sake of timing the process. Finally, the hedgehog's skin finished corroding and large chunks began to fall off into his cavities. Black found his voice once again and read off the timing.

"Total time since infection: seven minutes twenty seconds. Time subject was alive after infection: six minutes 20 seconds." he read off. "His larger body and increased muscle size must have made up the extra time."

"Indeed," the figure in black said. "Clean this mess up. I am not to be disturbed for the remainder of the night unless it is important. Understood?"

"Yes, Master," Black bowed low.

"This time, there will be no escape for him," the figure said with a laugh.

THAT was just plain sick, was it not? Well, on the bright side, the two subjects died and weren't forced to live with the pain after the experiment. This mystery person is one sick fuck, is he not? Anywho, R&R please.