Chapter 1) Death repeats itself

Otto sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly, trying to stop himself from going to sleep. He was sitting by a wooden desk, pieces of metal and electric components littered all across it. Outside the lab shone a bright crescent moon, and according to Otto's clock, it was nearly 3am. Sleep was a very tempting prospect for the scientist, however he needed to finish building the inhibitor chip, and he needed to do it fast. He had no idea how long he would be able to fight off the voices in his head, the terrible voices of the tentacles. They kept hissing to him, telling him that he was making a big mistake, that he didn't want to rebuild the chip.

But Otto did want to rebuild it; he wanted to drown out these horrid voices for good, to stop them taking over his mind. The last time it had happened they had forced Otto into becoming a dangerous criminal, hurting anyone who got in his way. Otto wasn't a monster, and he certainly wasn't a criminal. Once he gained control of the tentacles once again, then he could go on and try to get them removed.

Of course, this wasn't proving to be easy, as the tentacles didn't want him to gain control again. They kept rising from within his trench coat, infuriated that he had covered them over even when they weren't in public. However Otto was resolute, and with a furious glare he kept them at bay.

Eventually however, Otto had to accept that he was exhausted, and if he tried to work anymore on the chip then he was probably going to make a mistake. Otto couldn't afford to make any mistakes; he'd had enough trouble finding the pieces he needed as it was. So, with a weary groan Otto pushed back from his desk and stretched, his spine clicking straight again painfully.

With a grimace Otto put his hand on his back where the pain had come from, and felt the metal of the tentacles running up his spine. Shaking his head, the scientist rose to his feet and carefully picked up all the pieces of the chip, placing them carefully in a box. He locked the padlock on the box and put the key in his shoe. At least if the tentacles tried to open the box, they wouldn't be able to get the key without waking him.

Yawning widely, Otto walked over to a corner of the lab and gently slid down onto the floor, his tentacles curling around his waist as he did so. The exhausted scientist placed his hat on his head, and pulled it down low before closing his eyes. His mind was racing with calculations for building the chip, and in the end it was several hours before Otto finally fell asleep.

In his dream Otto stood alone in a vast grey desert, a starless sky looming overhead. There was no light, not even a moon to brighten the eerie emptiness that surrounded him. And yet, strangely, Otto could see everything perfectly, not that there was much to see in the first place. All the same, he could see the sand beneath his feet and the black sky above him as clear as crystal. Slowly, Otto turned to look behind him, a cold wind billowing through his trench coat and kicking up icy grains of sand. Nothing, There was not a thing to be seen for miles in every direction, and Otto realised that he was alone.

Sighing, the scientist shook his head and rubbed his neck, not sure what he was supposed to do next. However, as he ran his fingers up and down the top of his spine, Otto quickly realised that something was different. His eyes widening with surprise, Otto quickly took off his trench coat, despite the cold, and looked at his back. His tentacles were gone, and there was no sign that they had ever been there at all. Hardly daring to believe his luck, Otto took one last look at his bare back and put his coat on once again.

"What are you looking at sweetheart…?" A gentle voice whispered close to the scientist's ear. Whirling around, Otto's dark eyes fell on a beautiful woman standing before him. Her long brunette hair fell in waves down her back, and her bright blue eyes shone brightly despite the lack of light. Staring in disbelief, Otto's voice wavered as he finally spoke. "R...Rosie? Is that really you?" Tears fell from the man's eyes as he looked at his wife, his wife who had died one month before. She had been killed by a falling pane of glass, and yet here she was, standing before him more beautiful than ever.

Smiling sweetly, Rosie nodded and stepped forward, blue eyes shining. Raising her hand to Otto's face, she stroked his cheek softly. "Yes, it's me… I'm here…" Tears of happiness fell from Otto's eyes as he looked at his wife and smiled. He took Rosie's hands in his and stepped closer to her, kissing her forehead. "I thought I'd lost you…" Rosie laughed lightly, her gentle voice ringing like music through the desert. She rolled her eyes and kissed Otto on the lips. "You always did worry too much about me." Rosie replied with a gentle smile. "That's why I love you… But I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere…" She whispered softly, running her delicate fingers through his dark hair. Smiling in return, Otto sighed and leant forward to kiss his wife.

Suddenly, a burning pain ripped through his spine, causing Otto to yell out in pain and surprise, and he fell on his hands and knees to the floor. Gasping, Rosie leapt forward and knelt down next to her husband, her eyes full of fear and concern. "Otto… Otto was is it?" She asked in distress, putting her hand on his shoulder. Convulsing in pain, Otto yelled hoarsely as four metal tentacles ripped through his trench coat and rose up like snakes from within his back. Swaying slightly, the tentacles opened their jaw-like claws and lunged forward at Rosie. Turning his head, Otto screamed as the appendages wrapped around his beloved wife, squeezing the life out of her. Tears rolled down Rosie's face as she looked at Otto. "Why…" She asked weakly, before the tentacles snapped her spine and she screamed in agony. "NO………!" Otto roared, watching helplessly as his wife's lifeless body fell with a thud to the floor, bloody slowly seeping from her body….

Otto continued to scream as he woke up, cold sweat dripping down his forehead. Looking around him with wide, pain filled eyes; Otto ripped off his hat and glasses and stood up. Tears rolled down his cheeks as the image of his dead wife flashed across his eyes, and Otto cried into his trembling hands. He could feel his tentacles rise slowly from under his coat, cautious but curious. Looking down at them through his hands, Otto's eyes burned with fury. "You… This is all your fault; you took my wife from me, turned me into a monster, and made me almost kill a train load of people." He growled in loathing and disgust. His tentacles rose up angrily and hissed in defiance, telling him that he himself had killed his wife, it was his experiment which took her life when he failed to realise that he had miscalculated. We had nothing to do with it, they told him.

"SHUT UP!" Otto roared, and lashed out, grabbing a tentacle in his fist. "Now you listen to me…" He said dangerously, glowering at them. "I don't want to hear another thing from any of you, or so help me, I will take a chainsaw and rip you all apart…" This seemed to hit home, as the tentacles gave one last hiss and retreated back under Otto's coat.