"I don't like it any more than you do Nic, but something's got to give on the shower beatings because they don't have any kind of security in there!" That had been what Dr. Sorensen said about installing cameras in the community shower room. Nic had been against the idea, even when the Doctor had shown him the records of what exactly had been happening in the last month alone.
"Fifteen different cases, almost all of them drawing blood in fights and gang-ups on multiple types of pokegirl here, I said it had to be done, I didn't say I liked the idea but it's for their own safety..." Finally Nic had given in to the Doctor's orders, mainly to keep everything safe and halfway sane around Bramble View. At the moment, Nic was using the security in there to further confirm what he had seen not only in the woods the day before, but also in Alex's eye; The scar. She was currently showering and his focus was zeroed in on her scar. There was no doubt in his mind this was Atlas, as she had been called back in the day. After she got out he briefly paged her on the radio system they had given all the staff to get her where he could discuss a few questions he had. As she walked in she obviously didn't suspect anything. At least not until he motioned for her to sit in the giant armchair from her lessons. He then did something she didn't expect, as he pressed the door switch for the security room, locking them inside with no way out until the switch was pressed again. Her grip tightened on the armrests of the chair as she seemed to try to squirm deeper into the cushions. Nic turned and began playing what little footage he had kept of her fights, at least the least brutal ones. Then he showed the shower footage of her facial scar and said,
"You wanna explain to me what's goin' on, Atlas?" He said calmly.
"What do you want...?" She said quietly, fearing the worst.
"I just wanna know how you wound up here, that's all... I've been worried about what had happened to you for twelve years now, never sure if you were even still alive, but then again that's a relative term..." Nic said, keeping with the same quiet, calm tone so as not to spook her further. She turned the chair to slightly face away from him and placed her legs up on the cushion in a fetal position, completely unsure if what he was saying was true, that he really had worried about her. Her mind began to drift back to the fateful day that her first (and at that time only) friend had been smashed by her own attack.
"Everything was going to be okay... We were going to leave and not have to be slaves meant for fighting... Killing..." She mumbled, shuddering at the last word as if it chilled her to the bone. Her head sunk between her knees as she started to cry, trembling all the while.
"Hannah would've wanted you alive, even if she wouldn't have made it herself... I'm sure she understands it was a mistake that you couldn't keep from happening, but here's the thing..." He said pausing to make sure she was listening.
"Sooner or later you're gonna have to tell Dr. Sorensen about this, it's not good to have kept it to yourself this long, remember what happened with the Panthress last night? You might get carried away again, 'cause that's what happens when you keep things like this bottled up so long..." He said, expressing deep concern. Suddenly it occurred to her she had heard this voice before, from somewhere at the ring...
"Mr. Security...? Is it you...?" She said, calling him by that same name as she had all those years ago.
"Who do you think had the guy beat up that told his psychic type to pull that cheap trick? That wasn't even fair in a fight like the one you were in, no way in hell..." He said, further proving to her he was who he said he was.
'You made the camera say 'yes' when it was okay to use the bad moves, and 'no' when it wasn't... I always knew you'd keep me safe, whatever choice you made..." She said, referring of course to the ability he possessed, making the camera nod 'yes' or shake 'no' in order to let her know the time was right to use her specials.
"I can't tell Doctor because I don't know what he would think... He might not like me after I tell him I killed people..." She said, her voice thick with worry and insecurity.
"Even if he had known, all he would've made him do is try to help you get through that whole mess even more, I'm sure of it... I'm not gonna be the one to tell him, don't worry about that, but sooner or later he's gonna find out... That's all I'm sayin'." He said, trying to comfort her with the fact that he wouldn't spill the beans to Dr. Sorensen. He reached over and tapped the button to open the door, allowing her to leave as quietly as she had when she came in. He breathed a sigh as he pulled his cap over his eyes and began to sleep. It had been quite a day already, and it was only still morning.
...
Dr. Sorensen eventually stopped at Fio's room given that he had something to surprise her with. As he walked in he saw she was asleep, but no sooner had he turned to walk out did he hear her stir in her sleep, crying softly. He couldn't help but walk over and listen to her mumbling.
"Why... They're gone... Why didn't I listen...?" She said, obviously talking about her attitude that had led all her previous Tamers to their ultimate demise. Suddenly as Dr. Sorensen leaned over to her she snapped awake and somehow pulled out a revolver and placed it to his head, causing him to freeze in place. She immediately dropped the weapon upon realizing what she had done, placing it under her pillow where she apparently had pulled it out from.
"Fio, Shhh, shhh it's okay... it's okay it was just a dream..." He said as she grabbed him tightly, crying on his shoulder.
"They're all gone... *Sniff* I didn't protect them... I didn't care, just because I thought they were going to be okay anyway... I'm a broken bunny Dr. Marx, I'm stupid... So stupid..." She said, gripping him closely, angered at her past inactions.
"You're not stupid, Fio... You're just going through a lot of pain, and I told you the day you came here that I wouldn't rest until you were able to walk out the front doors of this place with a healed heart and a smile on your face, remember?" He said encouragingly. She sniffed back some leakage a few more times and wiped her nose on her sleeve. He then called to someone outside to bring in something for her, and one of the staff members brought in a flat, but wide white box.
"What's that?" Fio asked, curious if it was a gift for her from him.
"New clothes, you see Fio I figured the best way to bring you around was to cater to your basic needs... Nic requested your help on security, and he thinks you might have a few new ideas for security in mind... would you care to take a look?" He asked her hopefully, praying to whatever god there was she wouldn't reject another attempt to get her out of her room for the first time since 5 years ago. She stared at him for a second before holding her hands out for the box, carefully taking it and unwrapping it, finding inside a business suit that she immediately recognized the design of.
"You got me the top brand of hitman's suits...?" She squeaked, displaying a vast amount of interest at the neatly pressed and dry-cleaned black uniform, complete with red and white candy cane striped necktie.
"Is it okay? I got it so you wouldn't look like you're in prison when you're walking around to view all the new security... Do you like it?" Dr. Sorensen asked her. She immediately gave him a big bunny hug and shooed the men out to try on the new present. After a few moments, she knocked on the door to be let out, and what the Staff member and Dr. Sorensen saw was a complete stark contrast to her timid, meek and sad manner from before; The colour was starting to return to her face already and she was actually walking out the door on her own, without being forced to! She stood a little awkwardly, as she hadn't exercised, let alone flexed her legs much since her arrival. She was also wearing a pair of sunshades that had come complimentary with the suit, giving the eerie impression she knew exactly what she was doing.
"First off Dr. Marx, I'm rusty, so are my guns, so I'm gonna need a little time at that Gun Range I've heard tell of... Sound good, doc?" She said, taking a cigar and lighting it, taking a few puffs to get it lit properly, afterward pinching out the match's flame with a licked thumb and forefinger.
"You heard the lady, Jim, Let's get her fixed up good and proper!" Dr. Sorensen said, displaying his keen interest to see just how good she still was. He knew that she was still coping, but in the meantime this would help her to do so.
"Therapy through violence, who would've thought it could be done?" He thought to himself with a smile, though one nowhere near as big as Fio's.
Chapter 9: ATLAS, The mover of planets, and Fio's coping habits.
"I don't like it any more than you do Nic, but something's got to give on the shower beatings because they don't have any kind of security in there!" That had been what Dr. Sorensen said about installing cameras in the community shower room. Nic had been against the idea, even when the Doctor had shown him the records of what exactly had been happening in the last month alone.
"Fifteen different cases, almost all of them drawing blood in fights and gang-ups on multiple types of pokegirl here, I said it had to be done, I didn't say I liked the idea but it's for their own safety..." Finally Nic had given in to the Doctor's orders, mainly to keep everything safe and halfway sane around Bramble View. At the moment, Nic was using the security in there to further confirm what he had seen not only in the woods the day before, but also in Alex's eye; The scar. She was currently showering and his focus was zeroed in on her scar. There was no doubt in his mind this was Atlas, as she had been called back in the day. After she got out he briefly paged her on the radio system they had given all the staff to get her where he could discuss a few questions he had. As she walked in she obviously didn't suspect anything. At least not until he motioned for her to sit in the giant armchair from her lessons. He then did something she didn't expect, as he pressed the door switch for the security room, locking them inside with no way out until the switch was pressed again. Her grip tightened on the armrests of the chair as she seemed to try to squirm deeper into the cushions. Nic turned and began playing what little footage he had kept of her fights, at least the least brutal ones. Then he showed the shower footage of her facial scar and said,
"You wanna explain to me what's goin' on, Atlas?" He said calmly.
"What do you want...?" She said quietly, fearing the worst.
"I just wanna know how you wound up here, that's all... I've been worried about what had happened to you for twelve years now, never sure if you were even still alive, but then again that's a relative term..." Nic said, keeping with the same quiet, calm tone so as not to spook her further. She turned the chair to slightly face away from him and placed her legs up on the cushion in a fetal position, completely unsure if what he was saying was true, that he really had worried about her. Her mind began to drift back to the fateful day that her first (and at that time only) friend had been smashed by her own attack.
"Everything was going to be okay... We were going to leave and not have to be slaves meant for fighting... Killing..." She mumbled, shuddering at the last word as if it chilled her to the bone. Her head sunk between her knees as she started to cry, trembling all the while.
"Hannah would've wanted you alive, even if she wouldn't have made it herself... I'm sure she understands it was a mistake that you couldn't keep from happening, but here's the thing..." He said pausing to make sure she was listening.
"Sooner or later you're gonna have to tell Dr. Sorensen about this, it's not good to have kept it to yourself this long, remember what happened with the Panthress last night? You might get carried away again, 'cause that's what happens when you keep things like this bottled up so long..." He said, expressing deep concern. Suddenly it occurred to her she had heard this voice before, from somewhere at the ring...
"Mr. Security...? Is it you...?" She said, calling him by that same name as she had all those years ago.
"Who do you think had the guy beat up that told his psychic type to pull that cheap trick? That wasn't even fair in a fight like the one you were in, no way in hell..." He said, further proving to her he was who he said he was.
'You made the camera say 'yes' when it was okay to use the bad moves, and 'no' when it wasn't... I always knew you'd keep me safe, whatever choice you made..." She said, referring of course to the ability he possessed, making the camera nod 'yes' or shake 'no' in order to let her know the time was right to use her specials.
"I can't tell Doctor because I don't know what he would think... He might not like me after I tell him I killed people..." She said, her voice thick with worry and insecurity.
"Even if he had known, all he would've made him do is try to help you get through that whole mess even more, I'm sure of it... I'm not gonna be the one to tell him, don't worry about that, but sooner or later he's gonna find out... That's all I'm sayin'." He said, trying to comfort her with the fact that he wouldn't spill the beans to Dr. Sorensen. He reached over and tapped the button to open the door, allowing her to leave as quietly as she had when she came in. He breathed a sigh as he pulled his cap over his eyes and began to sleep. It had been quite a day already, and it was only still morning.
...
Dr. Sorensen eventually stopped at Fio's room given that he had something to surprise her with. As he walked in he saw she was asleep, but no sooner had he turned to walk out did he hear her stir in her sleep, crying softly. He couldn't help but walk over and listen to her mumbling.
"Why... They're gone... Why didn't I listen...?" She said, obviously talking about her attitude that had led all her previous Tamers to their ultimate demise. Suddenly as Dr. Sorensen leaned over to her she snapped awake and somehow pulled out a revolver and placed it to his head, causing him to freeze in place. She immediately dropped the weapon upon realizing what she had done, placing it under her pillow where she apparently had pulled it out from.
"Fio, Shhh, shhh it's okay... it's okay it was just a dream..." He said as she grabbed him tightly, crying on his shoulder.
"They're all gone... *Sniff* I didn't protect them... I didn't care, just because I thought they were going to be okay anyway... I'm a broken bunny Dr. Marx, I'm stupid... So stupid..." She said, gripping him closely, angered at her past inactions.
"You're not stupid, Fio... You're just going through a lot of pain, and I told you the day you came here that I wouldn't rest until you were able to walk out the front doors of this place with a healed heart and a smile on your face, remember?" He said encouragingly. She sniffed back some leakage a few more times and wiped her nose on her sleeve. He then called to someone outside to bring in something for her, and one of the staff members brought in a flat, but wide white box.
"What's that?" Fio asked, curious if it was a gift for her from him.
"New clothes, you see Fio I figured the best way to bring you around was to cater to your basic needs... Nic requested your help on security, and he thinks you might have a few new ideas for security in mind... would you care to take a look?" He asked her hopefully, praying to whatever god there was she wouldn't reject another attempt to get her out of her room for the first time since 5 years ago. She stared at him for a second before holding her hands out for the box, carefully taking it and unwrapping it, finding inside a business suit that she immediately recognized the design of.
"You got me the top brand of hitman's suits...?" She squeaked, displaying a vast amount of interest at the neatly pressed and dry-cleaned black uniform, complete with red and white candy cane striped necktie.
"Is it okay? I got it so you wouldn't look like you're in prison when you're walking around to view all the new security... Do you like it?" Dr. Sorensen asked her. She immediately gave him a big bunny hug and shooed the men out to try on the new present. After a few moments, she knocked on the door to be let out, and what the Staff member and Dr. Sorensen saw was a complete stark contrast to her timid, meek and sad manner from before; The colour was starting to return to her face already and she was actually walking out the door on her own, without being forced to! She stood a little awkwardly, as she hadn't exercised, let alone flexed her legs much since her arrival. She was also wearing a pair of sunshades that had come complimentary with the suit, giving the eerie impression she knew exactly what she was doing.
"First off Dr. Marx, I'm rusty, so are my guns, so I'm gonna need a little time at that Gun Range I've heard tell of... Sound good, doc?" She said, taking a cigar and lighting it, taking a few puffs to get it lit properly, afterward pinching out the match's flame with a licked thumb and forefinger.
"You heard the lady, Jim, Let's get her fixed up good and proper!" Dr. Sorensen said, displaying his keen interest to see just how good she still was. He knew that she was still coping, but in the meantime this would help her to do so.
"Therapy through violence, who would've thought it could be done?" He thought to himself with a smile, though one nowhere near as big as Fio's.