Psychosocial Threat[Prologue SL](Moonie)

The clicking and un-clicking of a pen rang out in staccato, blending with the rough hum of servers and the drone of florescent lighting. Soft, grayish-lighting illuminated a slouched figure in a rolling chair, still all but for the clicking of said pen, its presence melting into the glow from the monitor screens before it. The wall was covered with them, surrounding a larger central screen with a map of the facility with labels and designations used for tracking statuses of the test subjects and personnel within. It was a fairly new edition, and an imperative one for monitoring and safety. It was a rough year for the Harmonious Initiative project, yet they all knew this day would come. Puberty. Children made ideal test subjects because their development could be molded and training instilled to the very core of their psyche. Their minds were like little sponges, absorbing everything they came into contact with, but young adulthood was a rough time. All those hormones charging through their bodies, their brains undergoing vast changes had explosive and unpredictable results. Many of the subjects grew astronomically in strength, breakthroughs abound!

...but it had come with a significant cost. Three deaths in the past two months, and those were just the researchers. Two more test subjects were lost in the same period, one of them having to be put down after attempting escape and the other dying in an experiment gone awry. A little boy with a spear which housed a minor lightning spirit. They had been testing his capabilities to channel conduction without suffering injury when he had begun to absorb the electricity as a transistor would. The resulting discharge fried his tiny little body and damaged a significant portion of his research lab. It served as a frightening precursor to this accursed year. The anticipated surge in power and temperamental moodiness was expected and planned for, but still continued to be highly dangerous. However, if they could weather this storm the benefits would be tremendous! At least, that's what one researcher had told himself.

Vincent Cain, the youngest researcher on the Harmonious Initiative project at the age of 27, sat in deep pensiveness, clicking his pen over and over as he read over the latest monthly report from his assigned test subject. Their results were impressive yet troubling, a trend with this particular subject.

Subject ID: 39

Common Name: Zayasu Ritsuko

Item: Monthly Progress Report

Bio-Chemical Analysis:

With the onset of puberty Subject #39 continues to undergo normal growth for her age with limited exceptions. Progesterone production is abnormally low from sampled blood tests as well as prolactin, estrogen remains at normal levels. Will recommend supplemental progesterone shots if this continues in the following months. Serotonin levels recorded within the subject are dangerously low and could possibly cause problems with memory and behavior if this is not rectified, prescribing an anti-depressant trial in order to fix this. Will leave this up to Vincent to tackle without compromising the development of the experiment.

Behavioral Analysis:

Subject #39 continues to show behavioral problems continuing from last month and worsening over time, as anticipated. Continued refusal of compliance observed from last month has worsened from hesitance to negative responses. Subject has also begun to use violence against her researches, but only when provoked through physical contact and only in isolated incidents. She's becoming more reserved and less willing to speak to others, at times refusing to conduct psychological evaluations. Dr. Paula has suggested talk therapy although this could be dangerous and undermine the behavioral conditioning. Hypothesize that subject is seeking more attempts at self-expression and individualization, observed behavior shows a marked increase in playing self-composed songs which is favorable to our research as well as less unhealthy negative symptoms. At least she stopped biting her nails to the skin.

Mental Analysis:

Mental acuity and short-term memory are above average as always, although some effects on long-term memory are being observed, possibly from the lack of serotonin. As always, subject only desires to learn things she cares about. Will fail certain tests on purpose when we're aware she knows the answers, an oddity, this will need to be studied further. Subject also shows rudimentary knowledge of her Demon, although they have never spoken, giving credence to the Telepathy hypothesis. This is recommended for future trials. Recommend a change to philosophical literature and teaching during this period. Begin "The Art of War" unabridged by Sun Tzu for preparation for combat trials in the next bi-annual.

Vincent was worried. As his team's neurochemist it was ultimately his responsibility to regulate her serotonin levels. The project lead demanded it. He knew it would compromise the experiment if he put her on anti-depressants but Agular wouldn't have it. Today was the day the trials began, it left the thin blonde man a nervous wreck. He had been prescribed anti-depressants himself to keep his emotions in check around the musical witch. In his opinion she was the most dangerous. The other subjects were capable of great feats, but physical ones. Zayasu could get inside your head. It was standard protocol to cycle out researches for her on a monthly basis. Vincent had been assigned to her for four months in order to understand her brain chemistry and be present for testing. It was beginning to fray him at the seams.

The man nearly fell from his chair as the door behind him thunked open. Trudging footsteps found their way among the groaning music of servers and lights, replacing the clicking pen as the researcher wiped his thin hair from his face and stood hesitantly. But there was something else. Soft, padded footfalls, almost imperceptible hid among the noise. Before him stood a short, portly fellow with a graying beard and lab coat similar to his own. Edmundo Agular-Ruiz, his project lead. He stood with that expectant scowl as he always did, hands on his hips waiting. But beside him... crouched a metal monstrosity. A canine of deadly sharpened metal and wire. Vincent recognized it as your run-of-the-mill K9 defense unit. It would be soon that he would be performing his procedure.

"Vincent," the portly man nodded.
"S-Sir," the tall blond stuttered. He turned his back to his project lead to gather his mission case filled with vials and monitoring equipment as his boss spoke.
"You're aware of what's on the table, today?"
No shit you old hack, I must be getting my equipment ready for nothing.
"Yes, I-I'm aware."
"Then hop to it. You're a smart man, I've faith in you. But hurry up, I've more subjects to see today." Agular then gestured to the automaton beside him.
"This is our newly ordered patrol and facility defense unit, K9-Q36i, designation 'Selenus'." Vincent raised an eyebrow toward the two of them.
"D-Designation?" he stammered with a bit of annoyance. His stutter hadn't really developed outside of the last few months, it worried him about his exposure to #39.
"That's correct, designation. This canine unit is state of the art with an advanced AI. It's smarter, tougher, and more capable, worth every penny. The extra brainpower behind it should condition it to notice when subjects are going to be a threat before it happens and act accordingly with tact and appropriate measures."

The rotund gent nodded, before moving his head towards the soulless machine.
"Selenus. Why don't you introduce yourself? State your mission objectives."
"Unit K9-Q36i, t-take me t-to Block Gamma-2, S-Section 8, Subje-ect Number Thirty-N-Nine," the younger scientist interrupted, pulling his mission case from his desk with frustration.
"I'm a chemist, not a s-s-security officer. L-let's just g-g-get this over with." Vincent Cain spat his retort as he filed out of the room with quick, angry steps, leaving the two more important beings in his wake.

It was late night. Mother had told Selenus to obey the men in white coats, and so Selenus listened. Surely Mother knew what she was doing. Mother made no mistakes.

He walked along with the man designated "Agular", paying close attention to the instructions that were given to him. Apparently he was to sefaguard a child designated "Ritsuko Zayasu". Children were curious things to Selenus. They grew following only the code of their DNA, paying no mind to what their progenitors willed them to be, yet their progenitors accepted them anyway. It was as if they accepted imperfection. The only child he could accept would be one carefully designed and planned before being concieved, such as the only child he knew. Regardless, mother instructed him to listen to the men in white coats, and this man in white coat instructed him to be polite and friendly to "Ritsuko Zayasu", so that is what he would be. He would not want to displease Mother.

Eventually, Selenus and the man stepped into a new room, where another man awaited. Within only a second of being in front of him, Selenus could tell most about this man. Sweat, nervous ticks, accelerated speech... this man was weak-minded, unfit to work in a facility dealing with test subjects such as these.

The first man instructed Selenus to state his mission objective. He followed orders. "Monitor and safeguard subject: "Ritsuko Zayasu. Additionally, safeguard other test subjects I am to come across." Selenus felt empty as he finished speaking. What he'd said felt too much... like what a regular K9 would say. Mother didn't spend so much of her designated time before cessation of organic functions on developing Selenus for him to be another K9. "I have also decided to add a third directive myself: "Soothe Zayasu Ritsuko". Reason for adding objective: Reports of her manipulative tendencies have lead me to believe she is a Psychosocial Threat. Threats must be eliminated, with or without the use of violence. However, violence has been de-prioritized in this mission, hence the nature of the third objective." He felt this would be enough that Mother concieved him better than the rest of K9 units.

The weak man asked Selenus to accompany him. Mother would be dissapointed if he disobeyed the men in white. He obeyed the man in white.

Echoing footsteps rang throughout the mostly barren hallways deep below the earth. The concrete walls and low ceilings painted in white bore markings and lines, making it appear more akin to a fallout shelter than a research lab. It had been designed to survive turmoil from within, not an external attack. Their subjects were the next step of human evolution, beings of the highest caliber... and also incredibly dangerous. None could be allowed to leave until the project was completed and experiments could reliably be controlled. The devastation on the American populace should one turn rogue would be ghastly. Agular didn't think they could afford that level of a cover-up. Too many variables, too much of a threat. It made him quite curious over their presentation of it all, PsyOps would need to perform fantastically to accept individuals that had been spliced with Demons. They couldn't remain a secret forever. Personally this test cycle was going to be a hard sell, only a promising handful of subjects were in any sort of deliverable state, one of which being their subject of today's current endeavor. But her mental health was troubling. If she continued to be disobedient and neurotic in the coming years it could place the program in jeopardy.

The commanding project lead scratched his thick, bearded chin in pondering. This could be a golden opportunity... or one of terrifying consequences. A unit designed to both secure and give companionship to their precious little girl could do wonders for her mental well-being and quite possibly get her to come on to their side... but at the same time it could horribly backfire. "Soothing" Subject #39 would be highly up to interpretation within the mission, the nature of their work was upsetting enough by itself let alone some of their behavioral therapy methods. A rogue AI could cause a block purge and set them back a decade, and that wouldn't do at all. Still, an empathetic machine could show promise in safe care for and psychological development of the children.
"You are correct in that regard, Selenus. We would be loathe to lose such an enterprising candidate. Although I am sure you understand the gravity of that directive?" the portly researcher quizzed.

Vincent had already been waiting in the elevator tens of meters ahead of them, tapping his foot impatiently. All the blocks were separated by layers and layers of earth and concrete and metal, the only access being the main freight elevator and a set of express elevators for emergency situations. What a pain in the ass. Moving to the lower blocks took two personnel and a damn eternity. If he had his way he'd do it all himself instead of having rely on his prick of a supervisor and his new pet. This was bullshit. There was work to do. Formulas and dosages ran through Vincent's head as he begrudgingly waited for his colleague and metal mutt to click their heels. If he fucked this up it could mean getting transferred, which might be for the best, but it could also mean getting fired. It was something to think about. Well aware he was of what close proximity to the Demon girl meant and his heart began to pound in his chest as he broke into a cold sweat. Associative panic. Greeeeeaaaat. The blond neurochemist set his mission case down and began to collect himself with deep breathing. The sting of her psychic assaults began to drive him to darker and darker places. Needing to see a therapist and subsequently a debrief researcher was just salt in the wound. Hopefully he'd make enough money from this to retire for a few years. Maybe he'd go on a relaxing cruise...

"Come on, come on! We haven't g-g-got all day!" the younger scientist complained, drumming his fingers quickly on the railing of the freight elevator. The older gentleman gave his inferior a stern look.
"Vincent we are on my time schedule so I suggest you set your watch!" he commanded, shrinking back the taller one with a scowl on his lips. With practiced calm Agular turned toward the terminal and insert his badge into the slot.
"Harmonious Initiative Project Lead Edmundo Agular-Ruiz, authorization level December Omnicron." The frazzled younger man edged his way past the stout man to place his own badge in the same slot.
"G-Gamma Block Neurobiologist Vincent C-C-Cain, authorization Dec-cember Omnic-c-cron." After holding his breath a moment, the tonal sound chimed and the doors closed. His stutter normally made it so more than one attempt was necessary to activate the freight elevator, luckily for him he wouldn't be chagrined before Agular's newest "hobby". Vincent began to fume as he input the various passwords and terminal information while his superior had a casual chat with a soulless machination.

"Selenus, I would like you to elaborate on your mission objectives after aggregating them with our own. Your... host suppliers touted your machine learning to the nines, and I would like to witness it firsthand." That was both a truth and a lie. The larger researcher did want to put his newest acquisition through its paces, but more importantly he wanted to ensure that this wouldn't be a colossal mistake on his part.
"Here you've been assigned security detail for Gamma Block, our most hazardous endeavors. There are no human security forces on Gamma Block due to the danger they present to life, and we are leaving it in hands such as yours to establish order and prevent harm, both to our subjects from outside sources and from our subjects to our researchers."

The gears of the elevator began to grind loudly as it hummed downward, the static wall lights basking them in flickering shadow.
"Bear in mind that to soothe Subject #39 you must do so within a limited capacity, so as not to conflict with our own behavioral therapies and psychological tests. You must also not interfere with any actions on the parts of our researchers and follow their orders, as they are helping develop Zayasu according to the program. They hold seniority to you in this regard, as they are tops of their field and have been involved in researching spanning years and planning covering years to come, understand Selenus?" Agular rested his rotund from on the railing of the elevator as he spoke, feeling not as young as he used to be. This visit would be trying to him as well, but not as much as for others.
"There will be times when our scientist will upset Zayasu, either because their method is upsetting as you will see today or through behavioral therapy. Her mental well-being is paramount, but without the capacity for obedience our project will become a failure, she will need to be disciplined from time to time in which case you may be present to ensure the disciplinarian is not harmed. Subject #39 is incredibly dangerous, particularly to the human psyche. There may be times when she will attempt to harm others, including yourself, and you must act accordingly within lockdown protocol and higher echelon action, is that understood, Selenus?" Machine learning could be quite the boon indeed, but only if it could learn what they wanted it to learn. It was useless to them otherwise, a glaring liability.

"I am aware that the actions I plan on following through may affect the subject's psychological record, which would be counterproductive to the experiments that require my safeguarding." Selenus began "However, based on the data on human psychology that I have been provided by my software team, it is immediately observable that a balance between comfort and various other emotions - even negative ones - is more than possible with the right behaviour and conditions, ultimately minimizing the chances of a subject-related accident while maintaining the work of your scientists intact. If, despite this, you wish me not to proceed with directive #3, I shall erase it from my directive array. Effective immediately." Selenus saw no reason for which to call off the third directive, but if his superiors saw one, then it was not his place to question their expertise. Selenus knew he could double over the experience these researchers had in these subjects in less than a 100th of the time they took to reach such expertise if he was given the appropiate materials and conditions, but as it stood, they were above him in this field.

Selenus followed the men in white coats into the elevators, expecting further briefing as they descended down into the unsafe levels of the facility. "Elaboration: Directive #3 comprises of easing the psycholgical pains of Ritsuko Zayasu so as to lower the chances of a rebelious attack and addition of harm to the facility employees, yet not to the point where it would begin to undo the psychological modifications that the employees themselves have put in place in the psyche of the subject. In specification: Apply short-term means of comfort so as to soothe the subject, but refrain from applying long-term means of comfort that would permanently affect the psyche of Ritsuko Zayasu. Is my elaboration to your satisfaction?" He had to make sure that the man was content with his request, lest he risk being reprimanded and dissapointing Mother.

"I advise you not to waste neurons worrying." One of the lights on the elevator shaft rose past them, making Selenus's weaponry shine as if on cue. "As I am sure you know, I am outfitted with state of the art combat technology, a body made of various super-compressed inconel alloys, and combat knowledge derived from various animals and human strategists alike. Keeping the subject at bay will not be a problem. Level of violence to apply: Non-lethal." Of course, if it came down to a life or death situation, the foundation would be able to instruct him in which lives should take priority over which others.

Selenus nodded in confirmation of understanding to the following two briefings, but the second one was the first thing that had bothered him since he had come here other than that weakling he had met earlier. They were going to discipline Ritsuko Zayasu? Understandable, but even if Selenus could understand it, it set off a literal part of him that he detested: The Emotion Drive. Psychorobotic projects such as him relied on their human-like structure to help build their human Psyche, but since Selenus did not have a human-like structure, his emotions (Which were a very recent and very, VERY scarce development, since he was new to the world) were animalistic and out of control, acting only on self-preservation and desire. To remediate this, Selenus's Mother had to modify his Papillon Heart to remove its capacity to create emotions, and embedded within Selenus a device known as the Emotion Drive, which took over for this duty of the PHs, but created humane emotions exclusively as opposed to the emotions of whatever body it was put into that a Papillon Heart would create. The thing is... Selenus disliked emotions greatly. They made him weak. Selenus would have a habit of disabling the ED voluntarily whenever he could, only to be chastised by Mother and forced to turn it back on. After a stern talking-to from Mother, Selenus agreed to only deactivate it when the emotions he felt were critically detrimental.

So what does this have to do with Ritsuko Zayasu being disciplined? Well, Selenus had only two people he would dare to call family: One was Mother, and the other was the very reason why he dreaded the thought of seeing a child hurt. Imperfection or no, he was cursed with a human psyche, and the psyche made unusual associations, such as that of an imperfect child to a perfect one. If things got out of hand, Selenus would be quick to turn off the ED. He wouldn't be able to take it.

Project Lead Agular rubbed his hand along his beard pensively as the soulless machination verbalized. It knew its position and responsibilities already, but that wasn't too hard. The more primitive K9's were programmed to be subservient, after all. What had pleasantly surprised him was how quickly it was able to learn and align its directives with the task at hand. Pleasant... but still troubling. Artificial intelligence was always a risk. The brightest minds could form a working, powerful mind and the most skilled coders could put block after block, rule after rule in place and yet the computers would still learn as they wanted to, never as designed. It left a great amount up to chance and cognitive psychology, a pseudo-science in the man's eyes. But it could be invaluable if the process could be refined. A handful of the experiments couldn't be safely handled by human personnel, Subject #39 included. With careful practice and behavioral therapy the goal was to wrest them under control before they became powerful enough to do them harm, but it was a flimsy method full of holes. They would need all the assistance they could gather to make a turnaround, to achieve the final product of years of research...

Agular concluded it was worth the gamble. If this testing phase proved fruitful it would revolutionize their method. No more loss of life, superior acumen in dealing with possible outbursts from the subjects, and a chance to sway them onto their side. Most children were kept in isolation so as not to pose a danger to their peers or run the risk of combining forces, a gentle voice at their side could have great benefit in getting them to cooperate. It it failed... the outcome would be catastrophic. But the portly man was sure in his idea. This was the next step forward, barring the preliminary trials. It would need to succeed before implementation went underway, although he was already certain it could benefit their program.
"No no, Selenus, that will suffice just fine. You are cognizant, of course, and all our employees have to undergo a screening interview to make sure we're on the same page based on our shared expectations, hmm hmm!" he chuckled, speaking to the new security unit as he would a friendly acquaintance. Part of it his natural-born charisma that landed him his position, another part the cold, cunning, manipulative bastard that lay beneath the warm facade...
"Of course I would need to quiz you on your directives, can't have employees out creating their own job titles now, can we? Why, if I held that kind of power I'd be Lead Cruise Researcher, bwa ha!"

The younger blonde researcher would stew in his own head at the idle chit-chat from his superior. He knew full well how much work his project lead did. How many days he spent offline and far from that hell hole, his many advertised golf outings he bragged over, how much credit he took for being ring leader of this entire circus... Vincent cracked his knuckles in frustration and tapped his foot as the elevator ground to a halt. He couldn't wait to leave the project behind for good, it was an exercise in his ever-shortening patience and peace of mind. Day in and day out enduring long hours, psychic assaults, and deplorable assholes. Every morning when he awoke he questioned his life decisions. Was it all worth it? All that study and effort and toil for a legacy someone else would steal out from under him. That wasn't what he'd worked for. Today was his chance to change that.

A cacophony of screeching, grinding metal echoed outward as blinding lights flooded inside. The hallway just beyond the door was brightly lit, with runoff vents along the floor, a camera in each corner. The walls of the mantrap spanned apart a good twenty feet or so, a security measure of course, with computer terminals at either end and a robust steel hatch in the center like a bank vault. It ensured two-person integrity. The two men split up as they walked the length of the hallway, each taking a terminal.
"I am certain you will use your best judgement, Selenus. Hopefully we won't need to resort to that, any form of violence against our experiments could be potentially be detrimental to their physical, emotional, and psychological well-being. Time may heal all wounds, but one never knows would will imprint on a young mind." The rounder researcher unsnapped the badge from his coat as he neared the computer on his side of the door, Vincent performing similar motions.
"Harmonious Initiative Project Lead Edmundo Agular-Ruiz, authorization level December Omnicron," stated the man in charge once more.
"G--GGamma Block Na-neurobiologist Vince-cent C-Cain, authoriz-z-zation Dec-cember Omn-n-nic-cron."

The machine buzzed with a loud, ear-splitting blip.

"ACCESS DENIED."

Agular scowled at the taller blonde man, the neurobiologist looking mortified.
"...once more, Mr. Cain..." growled the project lead. The younger researcher began to sweat and cleared his throat. Three mistakes would trigger a lockdown, and it would take hours for them to quarantine.
"...G-Gamma B-Block Neurob-biologist Vincent Cain, authorization D-...December Omnicron."

"..."

"...ACCESS GRANTED."

A familiar piercing grinding filled the air, reverberating off the walls as the horrible noise emanated from behind the imposing entryway. Sirens began to blare as the overhead lights pulsed a fierce red in warning. The two men stood in silence, the more neurotic researcher holding his ears to shield him from the piercing sound before silence once more hung thick and the door snapped open with a sudden thunk.
"A thing of beauty, isn't it?" Agular mused, "This containment facility is state of the art, the next step in security technology! Inside the many feet of hardened concrete is a spinning metal cylinder controlled by TPI passcodes. Only one door can be physically open at a time, and it requires multiple authorizations to make that a reality. Makes the chance for an unauthorized breach as close to zero as humanly possible..." An electric hum buzzed like a mosquito as the three crossed the threshold into a much larger, circular room of the same makeup as the mantrap hallway, although this time there were eight doors. As soon as all had entered the steel bulkhead slammed shut behind them and the grinding began again in concert with the warning sirens.

"I must have you wondering how this is relevant," expounded the project lead, the echo from his wingtips bouncing off the walls in concert with his partner's and the metal canine's, "In truth there will be times when you are left down here to patrol alone. You will need to radio for assistance should you need to leave for any reason or require extra personnel. You'll be all alone down here with the subject, for safety of course." The scraping of metal on metal ceased as the trio reached their next stopping point, yet another large steel door with white spraypaint beside it.



As the alloy snapped open the hallway beyond appeared much different than Selenus had previously seen. It was more mundane, a bright clear luminescent white with checkered tiles with branching rooms and a bevvy of windows peering in, more reminiscent of a hospital than a research lab. Although, key differences were definitely striking. The clicking of claws on tile could be seen as a robotic hound much like Selenus slowly approached them. A haunting song could be heard emanating throughout the hallway, a melancholic tune tinged with flecks of fear and woe. It carried with it a heavy, pressing weight on the mind, forming lumps in the backs of the throats of the two men as a wave of anxiety washed over them...

Pain and Suffrage:

The lumbering metal beast sat on its haunches before the group, still as a statue before a crackling voice broke through the melodious background.
"STANDBY FOR RFID PROCESSING," it commanded in a vaguely threatening tone, whirring slightly as its monstrous head turned to each intruder within its domain.
"GOOD MORNING AGULAR-RUIZ, EDMUNDO... GOOD MORNING CAIN, VINCENT..." The beast's empty gaze stared transfixed at its kin for longer than was comfortable before answering its final greeting.
"GOOD MORNING, GUEST. RFID IDENTIFICATION COMPLETE. STATUS: SUBJECT 39, NOMINAL. VITALS: STABLE. EVENTS TO REPORT: NONE." The mechanical creature rose to its legs once more to return its lonely walk up and down the hallway as the men continued along their path. Through each large window were different rooms with nameplates sticking away from them. Labels such as "Fitness Center", "Medical Bay", and "Lavatory" written in both English and Japanese. The rooms themselves fit their purpose, of course, with exercise equipment in the "Fitness Center" and whiteboards in the "Classroom" among such items. Each room held a curious style to it, with a blend of American and Japanese elements such as straw matted floors within the "Practice Room" but metal chairs and desks in a utilitarian style. Of these rooms two stood out with frightening connotations: "Holding Cell" and "Combat Range". The "Combat Range" room held a variety of dummy weapons, mannequins, and other fare central to a martial arts studio or military training bay. The "Holding Cell" had no window looking inward, but a CCTV control monitor embedded to the wall overlooking a padded room with a strap-down table in the center.

"...and you will come to find, Selenus, that this is the reason you have been assigned here. Do you hear that music? You may not be able to feel or understand it, but such songs can influence the mood and behavior of sapient creatures. As you may be able to gather, the underlying tone to this song is 'sadness', demonstrated by Zayasu from a serotonin deficiency. Which is why we are here today." The portly researcher frowned, his tone of voice low, reflecting the harmony in the air. He was not immune to her effects, it seemed, and it was always troubling to come down here to be reminded of the mental trauma it was necessary to cause in order to enforce obedience and meet their goals. Vincent was as nervous as ever, appearing more and more distraught the closer to the end of the hallway they came.

"Dormitory"

The last room on the right side was different from the rest. It was personalized. Within that room the walls were a different color, a calming robin's egg blue, and the walls were covered with paper at a low height of children's drawings and letters in both English and kanji. Many of these drawings hinted at a troubled young girl, with most of the self-portraits depicting a frowning expression or angry scowl. The phrases and poems and self-written songs that also covered the walls were similarly concerning from their content, and a great amount of them talked about death. As worrying as the decorations were, the remainder of the room was noticeably cheerful. Clean and organized, the bedroom was brightened by homely bookshelves filled with numerous titles, stuffed animals bordering the violet-sheeted bed, a desk with art supplies, and more things to keep a minor occupied. There were no chairs outside of the swiveling stool attached to the desk in the corner, but several cushions to sit on lined the floor. On one of these cushions rested the occupant: a small girl with soft Asian features, an electric blue guitar much too large for her cradled in her arms as she plucked at its strings. Her eyes were blank and shadowed, dark circles underneath hinting at problems with sleep, chestnut hair framing her face with a length just above her shoulders. She was clad in a plain, vibrant yellow t-shirt and forest green sweatpants, lacking shoes or socks as she strummed on her guitar from her cushion. Her hands were noticeably rough looking, with many colorful band-aids on most of her fingers.

"K-K9!" sputtered the younger scientist in a cracking voice. Sharp clicking of metal on tile accompanied the order, the automaton rushing to sit before its master.
"YES SIR," it crackled.
"I will n-n-need you to accompany us into th-the chamber, is that underst-st-stood?"
"UNDERSTOOD."
"I will leave you to your own judgement and directives after our procedure is finished here, you will be assigned to patrol duty for the remainder of the day, is that understood, Selenus?" the portly gent more-or-less commanded as he pulled his badge from his coat to beep against the reader, a resounding click from the door halting the sound of the music.



When the door swung open the little girl was standing, shivering violently with her guitar hugged to her chest. Her expression was one of primal fear, gaze focused away from the troupe that walked in, breaths so panicked they could be heard from the middle of the room.
"Good morning, Ris-chan. Did you enjoy your personal time?" Agular quizzed sweetly with a false smile, shadowing his true feelings of unease. The subject did not respond, swallowing hard and shrinking backward ever-so-slightly behind her instrument.
"I asked you a question, Ris-chan." His tone this time was much less friendly, more akin to a disappointed father than the scientist he was. Zayasu shuddered and twitched her head up in down in a frightened nod, but did not meet their gaze.
"Good, very good. Now, please put down your guitar. I have a new friend I would like you to meet, and Dr. Cain is here to perform your checkup."
...again, Zayasu did not move or respond, just stood there shaking. Agular pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Ris-chan, you are misbehaving right now, Dr. Cain needs to give you a checkup and he is unable to do that while you are holding your guitar. If you continue to misbehave you will need to be punished, do you want to be punished Ritsuko?" Zayasu trembled in place for a few moments before shaking her head from the left to the right in silent answer.
"No...?" the project lead questioned with raised eyebrow, "No to what, Zayasu?"

...
......
.........I don't wanna put down my guitar..."

Agular sucked his teeth in irritation. This was the disobedience the report had covered in full swing. Only a year ago she would do as ordered immediately and without having to be told twice. Now she found it within herself to be rebellious and deviant. Such developments were troubling. Too little reinforcement would see her doing as she wishes and ignoring her researchers entirely, too much could threaten her psyche. It was a delicate balance for certain, and every spoken word or action was vital to her responses in the future. Agular would respond in such a way that would teach her who was in charge, and who should be listened to.
"Subject 39!" he barked, causing the little girl to jump with a yelp, "If you do not cooperate you will be forced to cooperate, is that clear?!" The subject shrunk further behind her guitar, her eyes beginning to become wet.
"Zayasu, is that clear?!"
"Yes sir!" she shrieked back, squeezing her eyes tight.
"Put down your guitar this instant!"
"Yes sir!"
"DO IT!" At his insistence, Ritsuko quickly crouched down and placed her instrument at her feet, returning to a position of attention to quiver and tremor in terror.
"You will follow the rules or you will be punished, do you understand?!"
"Yes sir!"
"Say it!"
"Y-yes sir!"
"SAY IT!"
"UNDERSTOOD SIR...!" the tiny girl's voice broke as she screeched her response. Her chest began to rise and fall as she sniffled, but it was apparent she was too terrified to outright cry in front of the man yelling at her. The older scientist sighed and attempted to calm down. The stress had gotten to him, and his delivery wasn't as he intended it to be. Agular strode over to the crying child and gingerly placed a stubby hand on her shoulder, Ritsuko flinching as he did so.
"*haaah...* I'm not angry with you, Ris-chan, and I don't want to yell at you, but you need to be a good girl and do as you're told, okay? We want what's best for you and I know you don't understand right now but it's important that you listen, okay?" The timid girl returned to usual method of response by not saying anything, but he wouldn't press the issue.
"Look Ris-chan! I've brought a new friend for you to make," the project lead gestured toward the newest K9 unit with forced enthusiasm, "His name is Selenus. He's just like all the other K9 units protecting you, but he's much, much more intelligent, just like a person!" With that, Agular would motion for Selenus to come closer and introduce himself. If anything it would distract the subject from the medicine Vincent was preparing from his mission case.

“If nothing else, the technology of this facility is commendable. Current stationary opinion: Impressed.” While it was true that there were a million things Selenus loathed about humans and their society, he had to give credit where credit was due: Without them, no modern technology, not even him, would exist. The fact that they could train their organic, non-perfect brains to achieve such levels of intelligence was astonishing in its own right, and was one of the very few things about them that Selenus respected. Of course, some humans were exempt from this judgmental mentality, such as Mother. It may have been only because Mother ordered him to be nice to the men in white, but it was around this point that Selenus decided to open up (although very slightly) to the researcher guiding him through the facility.

Upon stepping into the new room, Selenus wouldn’t think much of it. The design of the room was sleeker and thusly more pleasant to his senses, but other than that his Emotion Drive remained inactive. That is, until another K9 made its way towards the group. The moment the other robot entered Selenus’s line of virtual sight, his Emotion Drive began to flood his CPU with two very specific emotions: Contempt and disgust. Selenus couldn’t stand other K9 units, they were all so dumb and insufferable, always acting as little more than children’s toys when it came to intelligence. They were eons behind Selenus in terms of technology, design, and every other aspect imaginable. Being associated with them was beyond humiliating, it was downright unbearable to the perfection-obsessed automaton. Yet, they were all Mother’s creations, and as long as she lived he would respect them if that was what she so desired. Thusly, though Selenus was appalled on the inside, his exterior would show no change whatsoever. He remained quiet as the K9 inspected him, and resumed walking the second it was out of his way.

Eventually, the sound of music would reach Selenus’s auditory receptors. Music… he’d certainly heard it and of it before, but he wasn’t yet at the point in his mental development where he could comprehend it like humans could. Sure, he could process the audio, the notes, their strength, their tempo and their pitch… but he couldn’t process what humans call “the melody”. To Selenus, listening to music was like hearing somebody speak in a foreign language: You could hear them speaking, and provided that the accent wasn’t too strong you could probably write down what words you think they’re saying (give or take some spelling errors) but the message behind the words would be completely lost. For now, all he knew was that there was something about music that humans could comprehend but he couldn’t, and that it had the intrinsic property of being able to directly affect the human psyche. Though he couldn’t comprehend what made a sad song sad, he understood perfectly well that it could make humans and animals with enough brainpower sad.

When Vincent summoned the second K9 to accompany him into the dormitory, Selenus involuntarily let out a scowl, albeit a very silent one. “Understood.” Selenus would reply dryly after Agular made sure he was paying attention.

At last, the moment to commence procedures had started. Selenus wiped his Emotion Drive’s cache and slowly approached the subject. If she cowered upon him moving towards her, he would stop until she calmed down, then resume. Eventually, upon being half a meter away from her, he would stop. Now that the time had come to actually interact with Zayasu Ritsuko, he wasn’t quite sure how he should proceed. He remained silent for roughly three seconds before he figured out what he needed to do and spoke to himself inside his mind.


“Good evening.” Selenus began as he sat down in front of the child. “My name is Selenus. What is yours?”

This is a waste of an effort. Foolish old man, why can't he learn to show some faith in the judgments of his own board? But no, everything has to go his way for better or worse. Decrepit misguided prick. I've suggested and suggested time and time again that we do not influence her serotonin levels until the subject is at least the age of 16! Her brain is still developing, I will not jeopardize my career because some blowhard wants results faster than time can allow! Put that in your SCRUM you haughty bastard!

Vincent had been quietly stewing as he prepared his mission case with the requisite "dosage" for Subject 39. For weeks he had been analyzing neurotransmitter levels over the course of the past few months and looked into several methods of treatment for serotonin deficiency. This was one step of the experiment they couldn't afford to get wrong, unlike so many others. Dumbasses. Their methods were hasty and pointless at best, destructive and compromising at worst! It was made ever worse through the project lead's refusal to listen to their child psychologist. Lola knew better than any of them what had to be done, but Agular was too focused on indoctrination over a sound mind and it was leading them to disastrous results. Why in the fucking world would he believe that influencing a preteen's neurotransmitter levels wold be a good idea unless she was an immediate danger to herself? This could easily be sorted out through a change of program. Or it could have been if the old man hadn't fucked himself over time and time again along with everyone else on his team. So Vincent had done the logical thing and made the winning move.


Through his examinations he had discovered that this sort of behavior is simply that: behavior. It should be treated the same, not remedied with the quick fix of expensive drugs. Not that he minded, it kept him employed. But he would no longer be employed anywhere if their flagship effort was a failure! So instead of designing a treatment plan involving proven beta-blockers and SSRIs, Vincent brought saline. No one would know the difference. No one bothered him in his lab. Agular would be satisfied with seeing obviously self-biased results of improvement and would leave him alone when this all sorted itself out in time and Vincent could take his time off. He'd made the required precautions just in case. The treatment plan he'd crafted involved medicine from vials he'd erroneously marked as sertraline and citalopram also filled with saline in case of his absence. He'd done the research. They would do nothing even if they were able to get new medication. With his mind weary of the emotional tax that was being in close proximity to the witch, the neuropharmacist would flick his needles a few times as he prepared to fill them with his placebo. Idiots, should have never underestimated his intellect...



She didn't like people in her room. Every time someone came into her room something bad happened, especially when she wasn't expecting it. It was always something odd and uncomfortable or scary, like when she had to dress up in her gown and see a doctor or when they wanted her to solve puzzles or quiz her on her lessons or make her play for hours. Ris always had to stop what she was doing and she didn't like that very much. The medical stuff was always frightening because she could never know just what they were putting into her or doing but she knew it was something that affected her body or her brain. Everything else was just annoying until she couldn't remember an answer to her lectures or figure out one of those strange puzzles and then she was yelled at or punished and she never knew why. Dr. Agular-Ruiz liked to show up to her room unannounced and bring strange people in that would ask her weird questions and it always made her nervous because she never knew what they wanted to hear and that's all that mattered. Sometimes Dr. Agular-Ruiz would coach her on what she should say but other times he wouldn't and that's when she messed up and that's when she got yelled at. Just like now.

Dr. Paula said she could have free time after her psychotherapy which was just a lot of talking about what she thought about things and what sort of problems she was having. At first that was kinda nice until Ris started noticing things that she learned about in class and how people ask questions. She used to think that Dr. Paula was taking what she said and was telling all the other doctors that they should change their own behavior until she realized she wasn't really on her side. Every time she brought up a problem with how she was treated Dr. Paula always talked her back into accepting that's how things just happened to be, that it was best that way, that it wasn't so bad. Ris knew better than that. Aoide told her so, and she seemed to care a lot more about her than any of the doctors did. Psychotherapy got her out of drills and... practice... but it was another lie. All of it was. Aoide said she wouldn't help her until she figured how far the lies went and who she could trust but Ris was no longer certain. So she started getting into trouble to see what they would do. Sometimes it was confusing because she wasn't punished but they paid a lot more attention to her, other times they did weird medical tests that either scared her half to death like the CAT scan machine or asked her very odd questions. She was pretty sure that they were attempting to figure out why she was doing what she was doing but the reasons why escaped her.

It was said that she was receiving lessons and being studied so that Ris could fulfill "a very important purpose for humanity" and she knew that it was to combat Demons when she got older, that's just what Arms Masters did, but all she really knew is that she was frightened and didn't like her training or know just what it was for. From what she'd read and been told the stories didn't line up, Aoide had told her that this isn't how people were treated even if the doctors told her that she was special and needed this special treatment. She was told that the studying of herself was so that she could receive better instruction but it made her think. Aoide had hinted that the doctors were really more afraid of her than she was of them and it made a little sense, but she wasn't certain why that was. Ris thought about it a lot when she was bored of her lessons or mentally left during practice or she got free time but she still couldn't understand it. Just like now.

When Dr. Agular-Ruiz and Dr. Cain had entered her room with the new K9 unit she felt as if her heart was going to explode. Ris wanted to go crawl under her bed and close her eyes and cry until everything went away but she knew she'd be dragged out and punished. She tried that before. It never went away. The robot scared her, she'd overheard Dr. Cain calling them "nothing more than mindless killing machines" before and it made her pulse race. She was sure this was some sort of sacrifice like she read about in her religious books but there was nothing she could when she was trapped in her room! The little girl shook like a leaf while standing at attention as the terrifying robot slowly padded its way toward her. Her eyes began to blur with tears as they bore into the ground in front of her, expecting a shock or a needle or worse. The girl would begin to softly whine as it drew closer, shaking with even greater intensity until her knees were almost knocking together. She didn't answer it's question, instead leaking tears onto the ground. Ris was afraid to.

She was afraid she'd say the wrong thing and her voice caught in her throat as she quietly shuddered and mewled. Agular raised a concerned eyebrow.
"Ri-"
"Subject number 39, Zayasu Ritsuko...! Ah-"A" class Arms Master callsign Siren, sir...! Designation to control, contain, and neutralize supernatural threats a-and... a-and to...! *hiiiii!*" There was more to it, she knew the words. To control, contain, and neutralize supernatural threats and to safeguard humanity's life and interests through force, manipulation, and tactics. But she couldn't finish the rest, Ris was too terrified to keep speaking.
"Not quite, Ris-chan," Agular interrupted, "For one the title goes at the end when you address a superior, you know that." Ris softly whined as he continued. She messed up big time. She'd probably get arms out for this. Ris hated arms out.
"For two you should use the phonetic class denomination, "Alpha". I will speak to Prof. Cartwright about your Communications lessons today so that you may focus on proper speech." Ris quivered even harder, powerfully enough for her head to rock on her shoulders.

Dr. Cain's footsteps were quiet as he approached from behind, not that he intended for them to be. His natural gliding steps rarely made any sound at all, and he was loathe to interrupt this little exchange in order to do his job. He was here to work, not exchange pleasantries with a demonic little girl and an intelligent toaster oven. The blond man had been doing this a while and he'd had relevant experience in a psych ward, he knew just where the needle needed to go. Placing his hand on her shoulder, Vincent swiftly placed the syringe in the side of the subject's neck, 2 inches below the jawline and aligned with the outer edge of the ear. Ris yipped and jumped nearly a foot off the floor, not expecting the stinging pain from the needle. The needle broke off the syringe and stuck to her neck as the little girl dove toward her Demon Weapon in a full panic just as she'd been conditioned to whenever she sensed threat. Aoide would save her. She didn't wanna die. Crying and sputtering, she cradled her guitar in both arms as she tried to line her fingers up on the frets...

The moment Ritsuko broke the needle of the syringe being injected into her, Selenus knew what to do. Quickly, Selenus deactivated his limiters and entered Orgia mode, enabling him to approach Ritsuko at speed similar to that of a race car. Before she would be able to take notice, Selenus was already had his tail wrapped around her body with enough force to suspend her movement and keep her away from the guitar, but not enough to cause serious damage. “Remain in your current position and pain will be minimized.” He uttered as the wires on the tip of his tail wrapped themselves around the needle stuck to Ritsuko’s neck and promptly plucked it out. Then, he would remain in the binding position until Ritsuko’s heartrate wound down. “If you do not perform any further violent acts, I am not instructed to hurt you. Remain calm and cooperative and no harm will come to you.”

Once Ritsuko had calmed down, Selenus would slowly and surely unwrap his tail, ready to wrap it back around her at the first sign of aggression.

OOC:

The prototype, true to its creator's promise, operated at a capacity high above that of the other K9 units. Before the other soulless automaton had even registered that there was an emergency situation in the first place Selenus had reacted to and neutralized its objective according to protocol. Ris was snapped into the air just before her fingers graced her savior, protection just out of arm's reach. The constricting metal cable wound tightly around her chest, keeping her off the ground and a safe distance from her weapon as she kicked and struggled against her captor.
"Let go of me let go of meeeeeEEEE!!!" shrieked the experiment as she smacked and clawed and bit at her bindings, desperately scrambling to grasp her guitar. The air began to buzz, swimming with twisted fear and anxiousness as Subject 39 fought her restraints.

The machine's fierce charge had caught Dr. Cain unprepared and he'd stumble backwards to avoid the metal monster, falling on his rear as the little girl's screams broke the air.
"K9 unit! Who g-gave you authoriz-zation to-!?"
"Ooooh ho ho ho!" the project lead interrupted with an uproarious guffaw, "See now, Vincent? Now what did I tell you! State of the art, money well spent!" The older gentleman jiggled with prideful chortles as the neurochemist scowled and the child swam in the robot's grasp. There was a powerful gnawing at the back of the blond man's mind, an itch, an urge to shut the both of them up permanently. It preyed on his weakness of mind, chewed at his falseness of fervor... but it didn't take hold. Dr. Cain dragged himself to his feet and readied to prep another syringe as the portly gent ranted and raved in his own narcissism. The chewing was at the back of his mind as well... but his was much different. It sang self-praise to where he stood, high up on his pedestal far above the others. And as the screaming intensified so too did the air grow thick.

The atmosphere choked itself with fear and loathing and desperation and rage as the girl's screams grew louder and longer with her own frustration.
"AAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"
The air around her began to shimmer and twitch, her hair flattening into an inky black mass. Strangling smoke as dark as pitch began to waft from her mouth with her screeching and her discarded guitar began to hum with a piercing note as she fought to reach it. Her eyes clouded over, replaced with a dark void, a lone, golden star shining from her right socket. Agular's laughter tapered off into silence as Vincent quaked where he stood, their minds unable to process or act against this unknown phenomenon nor the psychological trauma that permeated the air.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEE!!!"
Tiny hands clawed at the mechanical beast's tail and slowly, powerfully, she began to inch his metal prison off of herself with unknown strength. Her look of fear had been replaced with an intense grimace of white hot fury as her eyes leaked smoky pitch, little by little prying her way free with a hand outstretched toward her instrument. With every moment her fingers grew closer to her Demon Weapon. To safety. To the power to fight back.