Manta's memory fragments...
I was lying on the floor, curled up in a corner between two walls, my back to those electric bars that formed the cell door. There was nothing inside that little cubicle but my litter box I used for my necessities, I slept on the cold floor and at that time I didn't even know what a bed was. I also barely wore clothes, just a hospital gown big enough to cover my privates, but nothing underneath. It was a cold, lonely and depressing place…
I had noticed the scientist's approach even before he reached my cell, I recognized his scent from a distance, and of course… I had also heard the sound of footsteps in the corridor. He was carrying a clipboard and making some notes when he stopped in front of the door.
"… Number 05…? Are you awake?" asked Faust.
I tried to stay as still as possible, pretending to be asleep, but my heart was racing against my chest. I was gonna wait for Faust to open the door to try to escape. Of course, I always tried the same thing and had failed in every attempt... But I couldn't give up. One day I could escape that hell.
"Will you be a good kitten today? I'd hate to have to leave you without lunch again…"
Faust pressed a button that made the cell's bars disappear. Upon hearing that characteristic sound, my ears twitched and pointed straight up. At that same moment, I tried to dash towards the exit… But, once again, I couldn't do it in time. Faust was very smart, he must have guessed that I would try the "play to be asleep" tactic again, so he already closed the door when entering. I managed to brake before touching the bars, falling sitting on the floor, feeling very wanting to cry. My tail was all ruffled as I turned back and faced the scientist, I quickly started jumping from one wall to the other, grabbing the ceiling with my nails.
"L-LEAVE ME ALONE!" I screamed with hate.
That didn't seem to bother Faust, who simply pulled a kind of metal rod out of his coat and stretched it out, turning on the switch that made the end of it emit an electric current, lifting his face and smiling at me.
"… Number 05, you're making me depressed… Will I really have to use this on you again…?" The length of that metal rod reached the ceiling, that's why he always carried it with him. "Besides, your little butt is showing…"
I lowered my ears with a very scared expression and cringed all over. I was terrified of anything that gave off electricity, as I had already touched the cell bars several times trying to escape, and they were not pleasant experiences… I started to descend from the ceiling slowly, but I huddled in a corner away from Faust and stared at him.
"Good, we're getting along…" Faust put that rod back in his lab coat and came over to me, crouched down and took one of my wrists, the other hand he used to check my claws, realizing that they had grown quite a bit since the last time he cut them "we need to make these claws and give you a bath… Today the tests will be to test your immunity and stamina."
Those words terrified me… I didn't want to be tested, I hated taking tests! It was painful, so much so at times it felt like I was gonna die! I curled up even further, until I was sitting on the floor, and hid my face between my knees.
"N-No baths…" I muttered.
"Don't be mean… I'd hate to have to pull your claws out for disobeying me… They'd never grow back" normally he just trimmed them, but I knew that if he pulled them out it would cause me a lot of pain "… Will you behave, Number 05?"
I didn't say anything for a while, I didn't even move, I just kept curled up with my face hidden.
"… Why do you hate me?"
Of course I still didn't understand anything that was going on. I was born in that place, being tested and experimented was the only life I knew, and I just knew I didn't like it because it hurt. I had no idea what those experiments were for, so I thought Faust purposely mistreated me, because he hated me.
"… The specimen 05 is questioning about hate. His emotions seem to be more apparent and sincere since the last experiment…" He let go of my wrist, grabbed a tape recorder and started recording that, like it was a very important note.
I lifted my face and looked at him curiously. I remember that I was always very intrigued by that object… At first, when I was younger, I thought it was just a box, and that Faust was talking to himself for some reason. But then I got it into my head that it was some kind of "magic machine" to communicate with someone. But… Who was Faust talking to? And why did he always say the things I did? It made me very confused… But the times I tried to ask, Faust just ignored me.
"Again he pretended to be asleep to try to escape, this seems to be an elusive trait in his personality that needs to be fixed…" He turned off the recorder and took a collar out of his pocket, putting it around my neck, activating a small blue light "… Try to escape and this collar will give you a crippling shock" he rose again and pressed the button to make the electric bars disappear. He looked at me over his shoulder and said "follow me".