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Chapter Five - Capitulation

I don't remember landing. I only vaguely remember falling. After breaking through the red Jello barrier, I dissolved in the air and re-materialized inside of a dank, dark room, on my back, staring up at the thick-beamed wooden ceiling. The moss-covered stone walls holding up the roof gave the room a pleasant, forest-like aroma. The room's nominal dimensions were somewhat smaller than the SOS Brigade club room. They reminded me of my guidance counselor's office.

I sat up and braced my back against the wall. If this was the medieval prison cell Haruhi's mind had conjured up for me, it was pretty basic. As my eyes grew accustomed to the dim light, a checkerboard style wrought iron metal door came into focus. I would not have chosen this type of door for a prison cell, but then again, I wasn't Haruhi Suzumiya.

I examined my hand. My skin had lost its violet glow. Also, my arm looked larger. I scanned the rest of my body. How about that? I wasn't naked anymore. Instead, I had on some sort of black leather garb. An open vest covered my torso, and a kilt hid my lower regions. Heavy boots encased my feet.

When I reached to scratch an itch on my cheek, my fingers hit a leather mask. What the hell? I got to my feet and spun around in search of a reflective surface of some sort. Nothing. Just that gloomy, dank wall. I pushed my finger through the mask's mouth opening and scratched my cheek. Further analysis revealed the mask formed the front of a hood that encapsulated the top and sides of my head, a one piece Batman-like cowl without the ears molded to my head. Fortunately, it had spacious holes for my eyes and a nostril gap underneath the triangle that covered my nose.

But why? Why had Haruhi placed me in this tiny room?

I shouted, "Hello." Actually, I gave it my best shot, but my lips wouldn't move. It was as if they'd forgotten how to form words.

I opened wide and tried to yawn. That worked. I spit on the ground. No problem.

I tried to smile. That didn't work.

What in the world was going on? Why would Haruhi make me mute in here? You'd think she'd get off on hearing me scream.

Another thought came to mind. How could I talk her out of all this nuttiness if I couldn't talk?

When I walked toward the door, I felt strange. I felt like a much larger person, yet I also felt lighter. It struck me that my arm wasn't the only thing bigger on me. I'd become a much larger human being. Yet I moved around effortlessly.

By this time my eyes had fully adjusted to the room's gloomy dim lighting, so I stopped to take inventory of my new body.

Damn. My arms hadn't just gotten bigger. They were enormous! And my legs looked like tree trunks. I pulled open my vest. My abdominal muscles were large, solid, and well defined. I looked exactly like one of those enormous steroid-popping professional wrestlers, bigger than The Rock, and it felt awesome.

I continued toward the iron door. I was a massive motherfucker, strong as hell, who could likely break down that door.

Fortunately, I didn't have to break it down. When I pushed, the door swung forward on its own. I stepped through the doorway into a larger space lit by several torches hanging from the sidewalls.

Aha. So this was the torture chamber. Directly ahead I spied a flat table sporting chains and shackles, and a wheel at the end. I recognized it as a stretching rack.

On the other side of the room stood a wheel that reminded me of a miniature carnival Ferris wheel, its lower half submerged in a trough of water. I recognized this device as a water wheel. A torturer straps a poor soul to the wheel and spins them so they're submerged for some terribly uncomfortable length of time. They come up gasping for air. If they come up at all.

Further down, a chain extending from another fixed wheel rose up to the ceiling at an angle where it threaded through a metal loop. Two shackles dangled from the end of this chain. I imagined a good torturer could think up several fun uses for this device. Someone could get strung up by their wrists. Or their ankles. Of course, there was the ever-popular strappado position where a person got pulled up with their arms connected behind their back. It pleased me to see an array of whips nearby as well.

What the fuck? Why did I know all this stuff? Why was I pleased to see it? Was Haruhi trying to torment me?

Then my eyes spotted something more, well, conventional. I remembered it from a matinee the SOS Brigade attended one Sunday. The movie touched on topics including kidnapping and drug smuggling. It included several torture scenes. I was looking at the solid metal chair featured in this movie. Shackles on the armrests encircled a prisoner's wrists and two more shackles at its base held their ankles. Next to the chair stood an electric panel complete with fasteners, clamps, and probes.

Yes, I knew exactly how this thing worked from the movie. People opposing the cartel got stripped, clamped, and shocked. The process looked quite painful. Of course, that had been a movie, and the people were only acting, but… what the fuck? What was this electric torture chair doing in a medieval dungeon? I guessed Haruhi wasn't concerned with historical accuracy. Her goal was maximizing pain.

It shouldn't have surprised me. After all, Its-Yuki had mentioned the presence of a guillotine and that thing didn't get heavy use till the French Revolution. I also remembered the guillotine to be an outside contraption, usually perched high on a platform so crowds could watch the show.

I heard some rattling sounds–metallic clanks from chains. I spun toward the source of the noise. While I'd been taking an inventory of this dungeon room and its features, someone had been watching me–someone lurking at the opposite end of the room, hidden in the darkness far from the light of the torches. As I approached, my eyes once again readjusted to the dimmer lighting. I perceived another space, separated from the main room by a row of thick vertical bars.

"You've got to be the absolute lamest dungeon master on planet earth," a familiar voice chided.

I stopped at the edge of the jail cell. Before me stood Haruhi Suzumiya. Well, a version of Haruhi Suzumiya and she wasn't exactly standing. Like me, her body experienced some upgrades. This version had the muscular physique of an Amazon warrior princess–full large melon-sized breasts, a strong toned abdominal region, powerful muscular legs and matching arms.

Don't misunderstand me. Haruhi did not look female-bodybuilder-ugly in the slightest. Her upgrades put her somewhere between that extreme and the beautiful high school girl she'd always been. My untrained eyes told me I was gazing at perfection.

Shackles about Haruhi's ankles and wrists held her glistening nude body in an upright "X" position. By the way, did I mention Haruhi was completely naked?

"Do you think it's cool to keep a girl waiting for over an hour? Butt naked, chained up like an animal?" Her muscles flexed as she tugged mightily against her restraints. "While you hang out over there in your office? Well, it didn't faze me one bit, you big stupid asshole. You don't scare me."

I moved my face between the bars I was gripping and shouted, "I'm not trying to scare you, Haruhi. I just want to talk."

I enunciated the sentences clearly–in my mind. However, when I tried to voice the words, my lips wouldn't budge.

Damn it.

Haruhi's eyes widened when I smacked one of the iron bars with the base of my fist. Damn it again. I hadn't meant to do that. It wasn't my intention to scare her.

But scare her, I did. I think. At least I shut her up. Closer inspection revealed that Haruhi's expression wasn't one of fear. Actually, it mirrored the crazy look she'd given me after I'd spanked her ass a bright shade of red.

I wasn't sure what the look meant when I was in the SOS Brigade club room, but in here, I could read it perfectly. She'd shot me a combination expression, if such things exist. While her eyes asked, "Are you going to hit me again?", the rest of her face said, "I won't mind if you do."

I glanced to my left. A key ring hung from a peg on the wall. I knew the ring held the key to the jail cell door as well as the key to a larger door to my right that I assumed led to the outside world.

My confusion evaporated. In my core, I knew why I'd been summoned here. Haruhi Suzumiya and I had unfinished business, and neither of us would leave this closed space until we completed that business.

As you may have surmised by now, Haruhi didn't bring me into this closed space to torture me. She brought me here to torture her.

"I won't recant," she shouted, shaking her chains. "I don't care what you do to me. I'll never give in to a scumbag like you," she growled. "You lame-assed, lowlife, dungeon-dwelling pig." Though she said these words in anger, I didn't miss the glint of joy in her eyes. Haruhi was having a great time, especially now that her dungeon master had arrived.

I crossed my muscular arms over my massive chest and turned to the torture devices set about the room. Haruhi had thrown down a challenge. It was my duty to break this girl, and I wasn't getting out of this place until Haruhi Suzumiya capitulated.

What the fuck?