Finally kill Mother Miranda? Was this what he wanted all along? Heisenberg had brought it up before, but Circe thought he was only joking. She never thought he was actually hoping she could do it, mostly because the idea seemed entirely impossible. She couldn't fathom anything ever being able to compare to her. Mother Miranda was the true force to be reckoned with, she knew this. So why did he sound so confident that she would be able to give him what he wanted?

Was this the only reason he was being so nice to her?

"Wh-what?" she choked out, her head cocking to the side ever so slightly. "You think...I can kill...Mother Miranda?" She was horrified and she wasn't trying to hide it.

His laugh was almost like a rustic melody. "I'm practically positive you can." He removed his hands from her shoulders to make himself a third drink.

She stared at him before suddenly downing the rest of her beverage, and holding out her glass. "May I have some more, please?"

He indulged her, smirking as he did so, by pouring it for her. He continued on. "Thought you said you weren't a wimp?. Obviously, you'll need to prepare, so it won't be anytime soon. Geez, you've only met her once and you're already terrified."

"The energy emanating off of her during the meeting was enough to let me know how powerful she is," Circe breathed. Mother Miranda's power had been radiating off of her in giant waves then; chilled, thick, and suffocating. She brought the glass to her lips.

"Okay, yeah. Guess I shouldn't sugarcoat it," he admitted, but he still had an amused look on his face.

Circe was concentrating on her now; eyes unseeingly staring at the floor. The alcohol helped her handle the conversation a little better. It was sending a buzz throughout her entire body, but it felt more prominent in her head and arms. She didn't feel it in her throat, however, and soon it was all finished up. She forgot to respond.

He watched her for a moment, then looked away in thought. "Hey, listen," he murmured.

Circe only moved her eyes to look at him, letting him know that she was.

"Mother Miranda's preparing isn't just for some party to welcome you to this fuck-show of a family," he was looking seriously at her now. "She's preparing to probably hack you up and put you back together."

Circe's eyes widened and looked back at the floor.

"Or something like that," he waved his hand. "All I know is she will definitely conduct some kind of fucked up experiments on you. Just like she did to me, and Donna Dummy, and Fish Fuck, and Lady Pompous Dick," a knife from somewhere flew across the room.

She could hear it stab, what she guessed was the wall, but she didn't react.

"Are you still listening?"

She nodded.

"Do you want to be just another experiment?"

She shook her head.

"Then Miranda needs to die," he reiterated. "Because she's never going to stop until she is dead."

Circe, of course, already knew this at the mention of her being hacked up. Already knew that Mother Miranda would have to be destroyed if she wanted to be free; if he wanted to be free. The thing was, did she want to risk the altercation? Only to likely die in vain? Or did she want to be hacked up and pieced together again? Contextually knowing that, before she had forgotten it all, she was already some sort of an experiment helped her with the decision.

She would rather die than spend the rest of this new life being poked and prodded.

"Will you be with me?" she asked, voice barely above a whisper.

In her peripheral vision, she saw Heisenberg flutter his eyelashes at her for a moment. He appeared to be startled. She had probably pulled him from some deep thought, and he had also drunk a considerable amount.

"Wh-what're you askin' exactly, darlin'?"

"Will you be there with me?," Circe turned to face him again. "Does whatever plan you have about me killing Mother Miranda include you being there with me when I do it?" Her eyes were locked with his now. "Or are you sending me alone to die?"

"Oh!" He let out a breath he had apparently been holding from his mouth, then laughed. "That's what you were asking."

What did he think was so funny? "What else could I have been asking?" she questioned.

He merely chortled. "Nevermind it. However, to answer your question," he looked into her eyes once again. "I would never miss an opportunity to see that bitch put down."

Circe relaxed.

He must have observed this, because he gave her a look of mock hurt. "Awh, you didn't think I would just let you off the leash all on your lonesome?" He gave her a pat on the head. "You must think so lowly of me."

She allowed herself to sheepishly smile at him. "I only know what I'm thinking. You have to tell me what you think or I won't know."

For some reason, this caused him to pause. His hand had frozen on the top of her head. It was warm. She couldn't help but close her eyes for a moment.

"How about I tell you more tomorrow."

Circe opened her eyes when she felt his hand leave and watched him suddenly get up and stretch.

"I'm beat. Gotta get some sleep," he yawned.

She looked up through her lashes at him; the corners of her mouth angled in a small frown. She still wanted to speak with him.

Heisenberg smiled smugly. "It'll be a lot easier to talk when I'm well-rested," he told her, then he held out his hand for her to take. "Come on."

Circe glanced at it, then back up to him, before taking hold of it; letting him pull her up from the sofa.

The alcohol had affected her more than she realized once she got to her feet, and it took her a whole second to process it was the reason her legs felt numb when she moved them. Then another whole second to realize she was falling. And another for her to notice warm arms around her.

Heisenberg had caught her before she fell. His bourbon breath fell over her face as she looked up. His eyes locked with hers, no glasses there to hide his emotions.

Why were they so intense?

Her gut was jumping.

"You good enough to walk now?" He asked suddenly; after a moment of perfect stillness.

She nodded expeditiously; cheeks heating a considerable amount.

The walk there was quiet. With the exception of Heisenberg's yawns ahead of her, the only sound they heard was their footfalls. Small lights lined the edges of the walkway, giving an eerie glow to the makeshift fenced walls.

The distance from his room to hers was considerably shorter, and she was becoming quite pleased with how much she had added to her mental mind map of this place.

When they arrived at the door, Heisenberg turned to her. "Here we are."

"Will you be in the forge tomorrow?" She asked.

He gave one short nod. "That's where I tend to spend a lot of my time. There and...," he trailed off.

"And?"

He wiggled his finger at her. "All in due time."

She sighed. "What time do you normally get to the forge?"

"Noon-ish. I have to go and see Mother Miranda in the morning. She wants daily updates on you," he rolled his tired eyes.

She nodded solemnly. "I'll meet you there at one if that's okay?"

"That's fine. For now...goodnight, sweetheart," he reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Get you some good sleep. You'll need it."

She hoped the lights were too dim for him to see her cheeks. "Okay. You, too."

And with that, he tipped his hat at her the same way he did the night before and left.

She didn't sleep well. She didn't sleep at all, actually. Though the alcohol had made her move slower- as if she were lethargic- she still felt wide awake. This was troublesome because she knew that sleeping was important, but no matter how many times she tossed and turned she never fell asleep.

She couldn't bear just laying down and doing nothing. She felt like she was wasting time, and her brain just kept thinking about stuff she didn't want to think about. What could she do? She could bathe, but she was already clean. She had eaten the beans before she attempted to sleep, so she wasn't hungry anymore.

She did not want to think about Mother Miranda. She did not want to think about whether or not Heisenberg was being nice to her because he wanted to, or just because he wanted something from her. And she didn't think about how she wanted to please him. She didn't want to think about the flips her stomach tended to do when certain things happened between them. No, she must find something, anything, to do.

She resigned herself to reading. Once she started she found she quite enjoyed it. The first one she grabbed was about manners and etiquette. It was a simple read and was absorbed in a short time. It may have been half an hour. Feeling accomplished, she continued reading with a fever. An art book about classic paintings, which was one of her favorites, and various cookbooks. The last book she hadn't read yet was called The Notebook.

It was about a husband who was reading a story to his wife. The story he was reading to her was actually all about her life, and how they met to fall in love. He was doing it because she didn't remember. She had something called Alzheimer's. It was a disease that made her forget everything, but her husband kept reading to her. He was desperate for her to remember their love; his love.

It was a sweet book, and it had moved Circe to tears.

Circe looked at the clock after wiping her tears away. It was only three o'clock. She grimaced. She wasn't even a little tired still. She was hoping that reading so much would have made her want to go to bed, but now all she wanted to do was keep reading. Now that she thought about it, she wouldn't mind being able to write down her thoughts, as well, but she didn't have anything to do it with.

She made a mental note to ask Heisenberg if he would get her a notebook and something to write with. Then she could start a journal. Then she could have something to learn who she was if she ever forgot again. If that happened, she hoped someone might read it to her like some kind of weird version of The Notebook. She stopped herself from thinking about Heisenberg being that someone.

Circe did quite a few things while she waited for time to pass. She ended up finding some cleaning supplies underneath her kitchen sink and scrubbed everything until it was spotless. She was able to be much more meticulous than she was with Heisenberg's room since she had more tools this time; making sure she scraped out every grain of filth on the floorboards. Made her bed up so nicely it had looked like it was from one of the paintings in that art book. She put her clothes away in her dresser.

By the time she finished, it was still early, only seven, and it felt like time was moving on forever. She still had five hours to go until she wanted to start getting ready to meet Heisenberg at the forge. She sat on her bed for a moment; unsure of what to do. Eventually, she just plucked the books that were her favorite from the shelf and read them over and over.

Finally, the clock struck noon. Circe put The Notebook down on her bed and went over to her dresser. She took her time getting ready; letting the water run over her back soothingly, washing off the chemical smell from the cleaning earlier, slowly detangling her hair. She wore the same clothes as the first day she woke up. She helped her feel like herself, but she did add a black hoodie from the rack. After, she still had fifteen minutes, so she used this time to pick something from the fridge. There was some sandwich-making stuff, and she made herself one to eat. Then she was on her way.

As she strolled along, she was finally allowed to think about her relationship with Heisenberg. She had accepted his proposal to help him get rid of Mother Miranda, so that meant they were, at the very least, but she felt more close to him than that. She felt like she owed him her life in a strange way. Honestly, he was the only central figure she had in her life at the moment. He had given her more choice than anyone has.

It was decided then. Even if he was only being so good to her for her power, she would serve him. She would do whatever he wanted. Maybe after that, he would see. Maybe instead of pretending to like her, he would actually start to like her. Maybe they could grow to be friends.

Circe nodded to herself confidently.

The doors to the forge were open this day, and Circe saw Heisenberg placing a haul of parts on display on a table. She knocked on the door and stood there so as not to surprise him like she did yesterday. Heisenberg looked up and grinned at her. "Right on time, sweetheart. Gotta tell you what Mother Bitchiest said," and then he walked past her, waving his hand for her to follow him.

Heisenberg finished up on his report quickly. He told Miranda that Circe could talk now, but said she hadn't remembered anything yet. He also didn't tell her about Circe's abilities. He said he wanted to keep as much from Miranda as he possibly could. "To keep ahead of the game!" he had said. This also meant that Circe would have to lie to Miranda and go by Zero for a little while when she was outside the factory.

He let her know that one of the nights this week she had to spend with Lady Dimitrescu. Miranda had said she wanted Circe to get used to her new "siblings''. Circe didn't know how she felt about this. The woman seemed like she would break her in half for the slightest reason, and now Circe was going to have to lie to her, as well.

"But don't you dare lie to me," he said. "You've been good so far; done everything I've asked of you. Told me about your memory, and hell, you even cleaned my room," he stopped suddenly and turned to her. "So don't fuck up to get on my bad side. You're lucky I even took you in. I could have killed you the moment I saw you."

She had stopped with him, taking his words in. Though they sent a shiver up her spine, similarly to the time when she first met him, he was right. He could have killed her. He could have smashed her head in with his hammer and just left her body in the forest, but he didn't do that. He let her live and now he is keeping her safe. In a way.

She fought to keep the drunken memories of when he had caught her from falling at bay so her cheeks wouldn't heat.

When she looked him dead in the eyes and smiled, it wasn't hard for her to say confidently, "I would never lie to you."

He stared at her for a moment before muttering, "Good," but giving her a small smile in return. Then he turned and continued on.

Heisenberg had taken her deeper into the factory than she had ever been before, and she couldn't help feeling a little queasy when they just kept going down different staircases and ladders.

Eventually, they made it to a massive elevator. The sight of it caused Circe to stop short in her tracks. She didn't like it. Not at all. She wanted to run away from it.

Heisenberg had already gotten on it and turned around, probably thinking that she was right there with him, but when he noticed she was frozen he gave her a look of confusion.

"You comin'?"

Circe tore her eyes away from the elevator to look at him, but she didn't say anything.

"You remembering somethin'?" He looked like he was about to go for her, but he stopped.

She shook her head. She didn't know why she didn't want to go on the elevator.

He huffed. "This is the fastest way. The other ways are a bit more...complicated," he waved his hand lightly.

She was finally about to let some words pass through her lips. "I-I d-don't think I c-can," it was barely a whisper.

Now Heisenberg sighed. "You're a lotta work, Circe," he said, but walked over to her and put his hands on the sides of her arms. "Do you trust me?"

She nodded.

"Then we're gonna try something," he suddenly twisted her around so she was no longer looking at the elevator. "Now. Close your eyes."

She obeyed.

"Are they closed?"

She nodded.

"Atta girl. Now. Do not open your eyes for any reason other than when I tell you to."

This was an order. A command.

She nodded.

"Good. Now let me lead you."

And she did. Circe let him move her, and even though she had no idea what was in front of her, she didn't worry about hitting anything. She was guided to stand in one place, then she heard the click of something. A jolt through the floor made her squeak in surprise, but hands were powerful hands caressing her now. One on her shoulder and one on her head, stroking her hair.

"Just be still, Circe," she heard him say. Was he behind her?

They were quiet for a moment before she felt his hand move from her head. Then she felt a tickling on her scalp. Was he playing with her hair?

"Mind if I...take a look at your mark?" he asked gruffly.

"S-sure," she stammered. She felt him move her hair out of the way. This was only a few seconds, but it felt longer than that. Then her hair fell back on her neck, and his hand went to her other shoulder.

Another shudder went through the floor, and Heisenberg squeezed her shoulders when she started breathing heavier. "Everything is fine. Just keep those eyes closed," he told her.

Then she could hear distant screaming. Not normal screaming, either, this was something more. These were hungry and rabid sounds.

"Wh-what is that," she whimpered, unable to stop herself from reaching up to his hand on her shoulder and grabbing hold of it. "L-lord Heisenberg, I-"

"Don't worry, Circe," he assured her, his hands tightening their hold. "Nothing will hurt you here. You're with me, remember?"

Circe couldn't help a weak noise from escaping.

"Remember?"

She nodded slowly. He didn't say anything more before she felt him urging her forward. They kept going for a short distance before he stopped her and removed his hands. She heard stepping.

"Okay. You can open your eyes."

Circe found herself looking at Heisenberg standing about two feet away from her. No elevator in sight.

"Thank you," she murmured.

He gave her a charming smile, one that made her heart palpate for some reason. "It worked out well, 'cause you're such a good listener," then he reached up and tapped his finger on her nose.

Circe immediately flustered up.

Heisenberg chuckled. "Let's get going, sweetheart."

They walked through intricate halls until it started looking like they were underground. The roaring and screaming was only getting louder, and Circe couldn't help but try her best to stay as close to Heisenberg as she possibly could without actually touching him. She could already tell she wasn't going to like this, and her fears were proven when he stopped to speak to her.

"Okay, listen. There's gonna be a lot of them, and they are...unstable. But they won't hurt you. I won't let them."

Circe looked at him with wide eyes. "Th-they? H-how many are th-there?"

He hummed, his hand on his chin now as if trying to figure out the answer. "Over a couple of thousand."

Circe shivered.

"Look! Don't freak! You probably smell somewhat like me, you've been living in my factory for long enough," he then walked to her to take a sniff. "Well. Now that I got a whiff of you...um..." he seemed dazed.

"Oh no."

"O-okay, okay, I got this!" He shed his jacket and held it open for her. "Put this on."

She let him slide the jacket on her arms then fastened the button. It smelled of smoke, worn, metallic leather, and his musty soap. It calmed her down in a way, even though the noises from the other area were growing louder.

"Now, they definitely won't hurt you. Not that I would have let them in the first place," he said as he tipped his hat. Then he put his hand on her upper back and guided her through the tunnel. They took a right and the end was near.

Around the corner was a vast opening. They were on a ledge up above, and Circe could see makeshift bridges and bedding all around. Then she looked over the side. There were hundreds of...beasts? They had humanoid shapes, but they were definitely not human. They all generally looked the same, and she watched them growl and fight at each other. All of their clothes were tattered, some of them were even naked.

Circe was speechless and not in a good way. She didn't like what she was seeing. She didn't like how it appeared they had no sense of self like they were running on only base instinct. They all scattered about with no purpose.

"These are my lycans," Heisenberg said proudly while holding his hands out in praise. "They build up most of the army I started to get rid of Miranda. Made them myself."

Circe couldn't respond. She was too disgusted. So Heisenberg was doing his own experiments. The reason didn't matter to her. It made her sick. Who had these people been? They probably had mothers, husbands, and children, but here they were. Shells of bodies that only hold the minds of the ravaged.

The look on Circe's face must have made her inner dialogue clear because Heisenberg had backed out of her view now.

"You don't like it... Guess I should have known," his voice was low. "I was hoping you wouldn't react this way, 'cause it was to help destroy her." It wasn't angry, but almost...deflated? Disappointed? He didn't exactly sound surprised, but it was like he was hoping she would have been okay with it.

But how could she? Merely being an experiment was the reason she was in this predicament in the first place.

But she had already made up her mind, and she understood his reasoning the best way she could.

"Were they...at least...bad people? Like Mother Miranda?" she asked in a whisper. She was chewing on the inside of her cheek now.

"Some of them...but not all of them," he admitted, then stepped into view. He took her shoulders to face her towards him instead of the ghastly scene below. "I only made the army to kill that bitch. I had to get enough power to be able to grind her up like she deserves to be," he was trying to convince her now.

Circe waited for him to finish. She would never purposefully interrupt him, even if her image of him had changed. "Lord Heisenberg...I told you...I wouldn't lie to you, right?"

"Yes, and I appreciate that. I really do." He hadn't let go of her.

"You're right. I don't like this," she chewed on the inside of her cheek some more and averted her eyes. Her teeth were sharp. She tasted blood. "But...you are my Lord. That is one of the few things I feel like I have chosen for myself, and I don't have a lot of things to choose from," she felt out of breath. She inhaled. "I chose to be with you no matter what. You've given me more than anything I can remember anyone ever giving me," she chuckled darkly at her own joke.

Circe met his eyes now. He either knew she was going to keep going or he didn't know what to say, because he was only watching her through his glasses now; all of his attention was on her. It was like there wasn't a cacophony of the damned raging around them.

"So no. I don't like it, but I understand. I wish they would have all been bad

people, but..." she smiled now. "I have no say. You are my Lord, and honestly," she almost choked, but she held it together. "You are the only important person in my life right now."

Heisenberg looked almost disbelieving. It took him a moment to gather himself and when he did he sounded confused. "You make no damn sense to me, Circe," he hands lifted to remove his glasses to look at her now with a furrowed brow. "You want to stop Miranda from doing experiments, you fucking hate the idea of experiments even, and you already have extreme power yourself, but you want to follow me like a servant?"

Was he challenging the depth of her loyalty? Did he expect her to turn from him now?

She nodded immediately. "Yes."

He stared at her for a moment then let out a laugh. "You're too fucking good, Circe. You gotta toughen up." His tone was lighter now as he looked over his creations. "Guess you don't wanna see the rest of 'em."

Wrong. "No, I want to. I need to know who our...allies are."

Heisenberg snorted and shook his head like he was brushing off the thought, then brought out a fresh cigar and put his glasses on. "We'll go through them quickly."

It was like Heisenberg said, but there were so many different types it took longer than Circe had anticipated. They went along the ridge and into another tunnel that led to other ledges like the one before. Each one had a different breed of beast. Some of them had what looked like blades on their hands, and others looked like they had drills. They all gave Circe a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, but she made sure she was paying attention when he explained each one.

In no time at all, they were done and Heisenberg guided Circe through the elevator with her eyes closed, back to through the intricate factory, and at the entrance to her room. The night lights were already on; illuminating the hall with a faint glow. She was confused, though. She thought he would take her to his room so that they could talk like they had the previous nights. It felt like a routine at this point.

"I'm gonna kick the bucket early tonight," he explained, without her having to ask. "Got a lot to think about, and I gotta get up earlier than I usually do in the morning."

Though she was sad about it, she nodded. When she was about to say goodnight, she remembered something. "Lord Heisenberg? You've given me more than I've ever asked for, but may I ask for something?"

"How could I deny you after you've been such a good girl," he chided, then he lifted his hand to brush the side of her cheek softly before bringing it down again.

She had to inhale to speak again because his words and actions cause the air from her lungs to expel itself. "I-I was wondering if you could get me something to w-write with," she was playing with her hands now. "I want to have something to be able to read if I forget who I am again."

His expression softened. "Yeah, sweetheart. I'll get you some stuff."

"Thank you. It means a lot. I wish I would have had it last night when I couldn't sleep," she sighed.

"Did...did you have nightmares?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No. I just couldn't sleep. At all. I wasn't tired even a little bit."

Now he was perplexed. "You didn't sleep at all? And you were up all day? You must be exhausted now, right?"

"I'm a little tired now," she said sheepishly. "But I'm not exhausted."

He had that look of bewilderment on his face again. "So one night of sleep is enough for two days of you being awake?"

Circe shrugged. "I-I don't know. I guess so?"

He shook his head at himself. "Yeah, I got a lot to think about," he said again. "Maybe you can get some sleep tonight, 'cause you gotta wait till tomorrow for your writing stuff."

She gave him a smile. "I'm sure I'll be able to sleep tonight." Her body definitely felt like it needed extra rest.

"Alright then, sweetheart," he brought his hand to her face again, but this time he caressed her cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow. I'll come get you."

"O-okay," she whispered, wanting to lean into his touch again. "You sleep w-well."

"I will. Goodnight, Circe," then he placed a light kiss on her forehead, ignored the sharp intake of her breath, and then turned to leave.

"Goodnight, Lord Heisenberg."

"Oh, and," he suddenly spun around to peer over his glasses at her. "You can call me Karl."

Then he was gone.