Warning! This chapter includes a depiction of torture.

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"We should be able to replicate decreased nerve refractory period throughout the rest of the 08 line, even if it isn't as effective as it is for 313N," Syuen smiled at the news. "The effect should be artificially induced, meaning that there will be little need to deal with the aggressive personality shift."

That was even better news, and exactly what she wanted to hear.

"It seems that Wardress performed most admirably," it was a shame to pull them out of the field, but they needed to keep 313N in one piece, and they were the best option for such a task.

"It was considerably more problematic than Mihara would like to admit. It took Yuni disabling 313N's motor functions before we could start to run tests," Syuen found her eyebrow-raising. Mihara's ability to swap her senses with any target of her choice should have been more than sufficient, even if 313N tried to circumnavigate her NIMPH. The pain 313N would have inflicted upon itself should be sufficient enough to incapacitate it.

"How did 313N manage such a feat?" Syuen asked. Certainly, doing so had not been an easy task by any measure.

"Well."

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Children? They were willing to send children? I knew something was wrong with these people, but that they were willing to sink to such lows as using children as living shields? How amoral were people? Maybe I shouldn't be surprised that they would be willing to stoop to such lows. They did God knows what with my body. Without my consent, should I add? I didn't sign up for any surgery! I didn't sign any papers to give me breasts! Never mind whatever the hell else they've done to me!

I hadn't eaten in days, yet I didn't feel the slightest bit of fatigue. I was too stressed to sleep either, figuring that they would send in thugs the moment I tried to rest my eyes, but I wasn't feeling any of the side effects that came with sleep deprivation. And despite my thin frame, I was still easily able to lift a 200-pound man with minimum effort. A feat that I certainly would not be able to accomplish previously.

There was one problem. There were moments when my body simply wouldn't listen to me. I hadn't figured out an exact pattern, at least, not yet. But as far as I could tell, I couldn't hurt people. At least, not severally. Either with my fists, or any weapons. I couldn't even throw them that hard. It was, disgusting. I couldn't describe the disconnect, where your mind wanted to do something, and yet your body just refused.

I couldn't even use firearms all too well. I just had to close my eyes, aim low, and hope for the best. Anything that was intentionally hurting another human being was an act my body now refused to allow. Accidently? That was a completely different matter. If we were outside, and I had a shovel, a knife, an axe, and an abundance of tree branches, I'd make sure they'd be in for a world of hurt.

But instead, I'd been backed into a box, more or less a holding cell. The microphone outside was rarely turned off, if ever, so I heard all sorts of voices. I was unsure where exactly I was. A laboratory was the obvious answer, but there had to be more of it than that. But I'd heard several, including that brat-sounding person who appeared to be in charge, call me a Nikke. I wasn't a stranger to Greek mythology, so the name being similar to Nike, the Greek Goddess of Victory drew my attention. What that could mean, I wasn't exactly sure. There had to be a connection, or at least, there should be one, but I was too stressed to think about what those were.

Which turned me back to the two strangers. The aforementioned child was short, with short black pants. Her shirt was white with long sleeves, with what could pass off as a small red tie, but a portion was covered by a black band that started at her belt and went up to her chest. Her inexplicably pink hair was done up in twin tails, with red bows. The concerning part was her weapons. While the whip could be explained away if one was willing to stretch things for what they were worth, there was zero reason to hand a child a rocket launcher! Seriously, how was she even able to carry that on her back?

The second was even odder. The white coat she had wasn't even slung over her shoulders, though with her outfit, the fact she had something to cover herself made perfect sense. It looked like black, glossy, leather, from her stockings to her short skirt, to what could generiously be called a minimalist tank top. Thin bands ran between each portion of her outfit, all the way up to her chocker, which had a silver chain attached to it, making it closer to a collar than anything else. She had long black hair, and I could see the stock of a gun over her shoulder, meaning she was also armed. At least she was older, probably closer to my age, compared to the child standing next to her.

I clutched the rifle I'd managed to wrangle away from one of the guards. They were armed, and that was a statement in and of itself, but at the same time, they weren't doing anything. Were they this Wardress the brat threatened me with over the intercom? And why was one of them a child? This was the torture I'd been threatened with?

Frankly, I was seeing only one reason not to start spraying and praying. And that reason was likely not what they thought it would be. I had no interest in hurting a child, no matter how desperate I was to get away from these lunatics.

"Look, just let me go, and," I didn't get to finish, as the whip in the young girl's hand suddenly lashed out. I didn't think much of it. I could lift a full-grown man with ease. What was a whip going to do to hurt me?

The next thing I knew, I found myself flying backward, pain screaming in my chest. My back hit the wall with a crack, concrete crumbling in a blow that should have broken my spine. It didn't, but still hurt. I managed to land on my feet, my legs still quaking from the pain.

Then they suddenly fell out from under me, as they went numb. My chin hit the floor with a loud crack, though the pain was surprisingly dull, as the taller woman seemed to rub her chin.

"Are you done yet?" It was the tall one who spoke first, her voice smooth, but there was a glint in her eye. I tried to push myself up off the ground, but my limbs refused to obey their commands. All I could do was glower up at them like an animal, and I didn't even have the dignity of being able to fight back.

"Fuck. Off!" I snarled though I knew it wasn't going to do me any good. I could barely feel my arms and legs, much less move them. How was that even possible? What did they do to me? It was like when I couldn't hit someone, except, even more drastic.

"Did you hear that Yuni? She still wants to play!" The tall one spoke again as the pink-haired girl smiled, drawing a pistol and pointing at the taller woman. What was she doing?

BANG!

There was a screaming voice echoing in my ears.

It was, mine?

How? She was the one that got shot! So why did it HURT so much? How did it hurt? How?

I couldn't even move my arms to cradle my stomach. All I could do was scream, my mind struggling to process the pain. I hadn't been shot. But I felt it, the raw pain as the bullet passed through what should be my stomach, even if it wasn't there.

BANG!

This time, it felt as if the bullet tore its way through my lungs. My breathing studdered, my lungs believing they had been pierced by a projectile. My screams of pain became faint, but if I could scream louder, I would.

CRACK!

This time, the pain didn't come from a gunshot, but rather my knee felt like it had been completely shattered. I howled in pain, my voice returning to me, even though I wished it had stayed gone. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the tall one grab hold of her leg, twisting it again. The pain came back, as tears continued to pour out of my eyes from the agony my body was going through.

It hurt it hurt it hurt IT HURT!

Then the pain stopped. The memory lingered, but the worst was gone. The tall woman smiled down at me. But the receding pain gave me time to think. When she was hurt, I felt it. The pain she should be feeling. But did that mean she would take on the pain I would otherwise feel?

I couldn't move. There was no way I could injure myself enough to matter. Bashing my chin against the floor would hurt, but it wouldn't stop her. Breaking my jaw would take too long when I was in agonizing pain. There was a way, but would it work?

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I felt something beneath me. Something wet. Was I bleeding? I couldn't look down, as it hurt to even think, much less move, but I think I was bleeding. Then I might be able to, well, I couldn't win. Even if I somehow managed to incapacitate these two, what was I supposed to do? Hostages could have use, as much as it disgusted me to even consider such an option, but the moment whichever of the two it was that could stop me from moving I was cooked.

Frankly, the only option in play was to make them lose just as hard as I did. It sucked, it really did, but even if I could make my way past them, I'd have to fight my way through any remaining security measures. And then beyond that, who knows where I was? Probably somewhere far away from any civilization, as there is no way this crap could even be remotely close to legal. So this had to be someplace where the government didn't have eyes or ears.

"You know, Yuni and I can keep this up all day long," the tall woman grinned, a look matched by her partner in both it's pure maliciousness and glee. "So just give up already and be a good little 08."

"Put a sock in it, you sadist lunatic," I ground out, my voice raw with pain. Still, I smirked, despite myself. "This is to the pain."

I had something in my sleeve, one of the many changes to my body I had noticed. And this one, it seemed, was not intended by the freaks who did this to me. I could move faster, and react quicker, even more so than I already was, on command. There was a downside. I could only maintain it for a few seconds before it started to hurt. Badly. As if someone had set the base of my skull on fire. I didn't know how long I could push it, or how bad the consequences would be if I tried. Given the pain, it was very worth the risk.

But they didn't know about the side effects. It wasn't like I was going to tell them. Why was I going to tell them anything at this point? They weren't intent on listening. Cruelty was the only game they had, and unfortunately for them, I was more than willing to play.

"To the pain?" The woman cocked her head in confusion, before stepping on my head, heel first, digging into my flesh. "Do you not understand who you're dealing with here?"

"Careful Mihara. Syuen doesn't want her dead," Yuni frowned, and I could practically hear the yet in her voice. Mihara huffed, taking her foot off my head, before kicking me in the face. "Besides, do you think she can take much more of this?"

I scowled at them, but I did my best to keep my mouth shut. Keep glaring at them in clear defiance.

"We'll find out soon enough."

Click.

The moment the hammer on the gun came back, I activated the power they had found so valuable. Time slowed down as my nerves sped up.

BANG!

I watched as the bullet came out of the barrel of the firearm. The moment it began piercing Mihara's flesh, I came to a realization. I hadn't thought this through. I hadn't thought this through at all.

It hurt. The pain from feeling the bullet push through my body was, beyond words. I felt it, inch by inch, as it tore its way through my body. It HuRt.

One second.

BANG!

A second bullet began tearing into my shoulder, while the first still felt as if it was somewhere in my lungs. AgOnY. I couldn't tell if the buzzing my ears were my muted screams, or if my voice had completely broken.

Two seconds.

BANG!

I couldn't even tell where the bullet hit me. It could have been anywhere. My whole body hurt, the pain was EvErYwHeRe.

Three seconds.

Despite everything, I knew. Through all the pain, I knew. Three seconds was my limit. Pass that point? Was when things started getting dangerous.

BANG!

This time, there was no pain. Through the fog, I watched as Mihara staggered, trying to reach something at the back of her neck.

"Mihara! Are you okay?" Yuni's voice sounded panicked, as the taller one continued to sway.

"You!" Mihara ground out, glaring down. "What are you doing to me?"

I tried to open my mouth, but the pain was too much.

Four seconds.

"Answer her!" Yuni kicked me in the face, sending my limp frame into a wall. Despite it all, I smiled. Even if I could talk, with my body like this, I don't think she could understand a word I was saying. Mihara screamed, clawing at the back of her neck, trying to dig out what was causing her pain.

I grinned slowly, a faint scent making its way to my nose. The smell of something burning.

Five seconds.

"Fuck. You."

Suddenly, the pain from bullets was gone, replaced by a sensation of fire, overriding the pain with a blazing inferno of hot agony.

Then darkness.

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"Thankfully, we were able to put out the fires before they could cause further damage to 313N," the man said. "We always knew there would be heat issues, but we didn't realize that they would be severe enough to make for a suicide switch. This will be rectified, in both an improved heat sink and hardwired restrictions on how long the decrease in nerve refractory can be used for."

Syuen sat still, stunned. Yes, one could argue that the matter was simply one of hindsight and that the matter provided valuable data on how the ability of 313N worked. But that wasn't what she was focusing on. 313N could have killed Mihara. Nikke's being destroyed, even the unique ones was their purpose, yes. After all, technology marched onward, and those who couldn't keep up would eventually be left behind.

But that was not Mihara's time, not yet. The Nikke still had more value to give to Missilis. And 313N tried to rob her and the company of that value. She wanted to destroy the rebellious mass-produced model and be done with it before now. Now? Death and destruction were simply too good of a fate for it. To clean. To simple. It defied her, it defied Missilis, and it nearly destroyed a resource much more valuable than itself in the process.

That was something she could not, would not, stand.

But what exactly to do with it? It would take time to get the new models ready for production, as well as see if the older models could be refitted with such advancements. That alone would make Missilis a significant amount of money. Showing it off the military as a demonstration of the new 08's abilities would be nice, but given its rebellious nature, it would certainly try to make a mess of that, which would reflect poorly on the company.

Sending it off to Crow had it's appeal. Exotic would tear it apart. But sending out a mass-produced model to the Outer Rim could blow the group's cover. Or maybe its rebellious nature would cause the group to strain more against their bomb-laden collars. Giving it a unique body would solve the former issue, but at the cost of money Syuen was never going to sink into it.

Keeping it as a test subject for the M.M.R would certainly make 313N suffer, but it was clear that without Yuni around, they probably wouldn't be able to run tests on anything but 313N's head, and that would limit any findings.

"As such, we had to use Yuni's power to restrain 313N constantly. 313N, despite everything, wasn't willing to kill itself, so we were able to at least get some more data out of it," the scientist went on. "We were able to modify 313N's base body so it wouldn't be able to push beyond three seconds, as an added security measure."

The man's words gave Syuen an idea. Sending 313N to a third party was out, for various reasons. And it couldn't just be placed in any squad, either. It needed someone willing, or able, to hold it on a tight leash, to make sure it obeyed.

"Do you think it would be possible for Mihara to swap the nerves of two other people?" Syuen asked, crossing her legs. "Without using herself as an intermediary?"

"It's, hypothetically possible, though I don't see what that has to do with 313N," the scientist said, giving her a confused look, as Syuen shook her head.

"You said that 313N managed to do significant damage to itself by nearly melting its protective casing around the brain, did you not?" Syuen smiled, partially grinning ear to ear. The scientist's eyes widened.

"You do wish for a way to shut off the safety measures as well?" He asked.

"One for Yuni or Mihara, if you don't mind," Syuen knew that Wardress wouldn't exactly like the third wheel. But it would either die to a Rapture, or Yuni and Mihara would make it fry its brain to bring down Chatterbox.

That would be sufficient recompense for the trouble it caused her.