Inferius carries the lifeless body of nathan inside and lays the feline down upon the table, restraining him as much as he can with the shackles. "Time to wake up, kitten." He said quietly, pressing a button on his gauntlet.
Nathan gasped roughly, like a drowned man coming up for air. His chest heaved and he lay awkwardly on the table. He coughed up a small amount of blood and tried to wipe it from his lip, only to find himself restrained. With a guttural snarl, he lashed against his restraints in vain. When they would not break, he roared at Inferius, trying to defy the chains and tear him apart.
Inferius chuckled and picked up an odd looking tool, though one should be able to guess what it was for. It was shaped oddly like the curved beak of an eagle. He held it in front of Nathan's face. "Do you know what I use this for, my feline friend?"
"Desperate attempts to reassert your masculinity?"
Nathan retorted, utterly uninterested in finding out what purpose that tool served.
"It is a tool commonly used for removing skin and muscle tissue from the bone."
Inferius explained, bringing the tool closer for Nathan to see. "I believe it would be most beneficial for the experiment if your skin was not in my way."
Nathan drew back and shuffled himself across the table as much as he could under his restraints away from Inferius. "I like my skin where it is, thank you," He snarled.
"Nonsense. It will be much simpiliar(sp?) without it to get in the way."
Inferius replied and grabbed a hold of Nathan's face, covering his mouth and holding him down at the same time. He brought the clawed tool in close to the feline's right eye. "I think I'll start here."
Nathan snarl of fear was muffled by Inferius's hand, his body writhing in a desperate attempt to escape his grip. His eyes widened at the sight of the wicked blade so close to his eye.
A grin of devious curiousity crossed
Inferius' face as he pressed the hooked blade into the skin of Nathan's face. He watched the eyes of this feline creature carefully as the hook snagged on a vein. He felt the resistance and gently tugged on the instrument, waiting for Nathan's expression of pain
Nathan's eyes watered and widened in pain as he screamed into Inferius's hand, trying to open his jaws and sink his teeth into his gauntlet. Searing pain emenated from his face, although he wasn't clear at all on what was actually going on.
In a swift and fluid motion,
Inferius wrenched the hook knife from Nathan's face, tearing the flesh and veins from his face. Inferius' other hand glowed a ghastly(sp?) red as he prepared to cauterize the wound. He wanted the feline to feel the pain before he seared the nerves away first though.
Nathan gave one long howl, his chest heaving as he tried to cope with the pain. Blood gushed from the open veins as the stringy muscle of his face was revealed. His body writhed on the table wildly, hardly even aware of his own movement.
With a roar of cheer amusement,
Inferius slammed his glowing hand onto the feline's face. The heat radiating from his own flesh seared the nerves and wounds of the young man's face. He sealed the wound quickly to avoid the loss of too much blood. There was far more work to be done to this specimen to have him die so soon...
Nathan almost couldn't breathe, the heat was so intense. He felt a searing pain, and then a deep, penetrating numbness that somehow didn't relent the pain. He gasped under Inferius's grip, unable to properly breathe with his hand over his mouth. He bit at it desperately, hoping to get it off of him.
Inferius wrenched his hand free and smiled smuggly at his handy work. The specimen did not look as he was, but he would live for now, that's for sure. His tongue flicked out of his mouth quickly, as if tasting the air, the scent of burnt flesh and blood was thick in the air. He leaned down and looked into Nathan's eyes. "When you are ready, we can continue."
Nathan's chest heaved as he sucked in air, groaning at the pain in his face. He stared up hatefully into Inferius's eyes. "Go to hell," he hissed hoarsely.
Inferius laughed and proded the charred flesh of the feline's face. "Interesting. The Cauterization worked nicely. Can you feel that?" He dug the nail of his finger into Nathan's cheek slightly, wondering the extent of the nerve damage.
Nathan jerked away at Inferius's touch, seeing his hand descend on that side of his face. When he felt nothing, his eyes widened in horror, and he could feel panic rising in his chest. He said nothing.
"Very interesting indeed."
Inferius said and picked up another instrument. It looked much like the hook blade, but on a larger scale. "How about we try a larger extraction? Hmmmm but from where?" He ran the cold metal blade down along Nathan's back, settling on a place between his wings.
"Hahh!"
Nathan shivered at the icy blade on his back, trying to calm his heart, which threatened to break through his chest and fly away like a terrified bird. "You bastard," he breathed haggardly, a mixture of terror and fury knotting his face into a horrible snarl.
Inferius smiled wickedly and made a small incision along the feline's spine, slowly sinking the blade underneathe it's skin. He slowly sliced his way downward, archingt he incision just above the cat's hind-quarters. With a horrendous tear, he severed the skin from the creature's body.
Nathan ground his teeth together in a futile attempt to suppress the roar of pain that was building inside of him, but the sheer agony of every nerve in his back crying out as his flesh was thrown into the stark, cold air was too much for him. His talons shrieked against the cold steel as he thrashed. He almost hoped he would go into shock, maybe slip into a coma, anything to get away from this pain.
Inferius laid the hide down on the table beside them watched as nathan screamed and kicked in agony. He would have to cauterize the wounds once more, but the creature's torment entertained him for now.
Nathan tried to curl into a fetal position, but his bindings kept him from it, and he could only gasp for breath as the massive wound on his back trickled a rapidly growing pool of blood. He felt lightheaded and parched, and his whole body trembled. He didn't feel as if he had the strength to speak anymore.
"That's enough of that. Wouldn't want you to bleed to death."
Inferius told him as his hands glowed. "Time to cauterize." He looked at Nathan evilly. "This
will sting."
Nathan spat like a cat, all of his bravado and courage gone. He flinched, wishing like hell he was somewhere else, anywhere else. He cursed the school, he cursed his family for sending him here, he cursed himself for getting on the stupid ship when he didn't need to be here at all. Most of all, he cursed the naga at his back, the monster be damned all to hell.
With that said,
Inferius reached down and pressed both of his glowing hands to Nathan's back, instantly searing the flesh, burning the nerves to ash and sealing the wounds quickly. He removed his hands and relished in the horrid stentch of burning flesh. He backed away from the table and slithered over in front of nathan. "I believe it would be most profitable if I allowed you some rest now. If you lose much more blood, you will not survive the rest of this process and that would honestly be a shame."
Nathan choked on the searing pain and gagged at the scent of his own charred flesh. He could manage nothing but to glare hatefully at his torturor, pressing the untouched half of his face against the cold metal, hoping to distract himself. His breath was labored and his eyes shut as he tried to cope with the pain.
Inferius chuckled with delight and he moved over to examine the feline pelt he had laid on the other table. "Truelly a fascinating specimen." he murmered as he ran his fingers across the coarse, yet fine, pelt of fur. He looked over at nathan and grinned. "Rest now, feline. Rebuild those blood cells, so that you won't be so close to death when we proceed."
"Go to hell,"
Nathan managed, his voice shaking with pain and fury. He couldn't stop himself from trembling, shivering slightly and aching to press his cauterized wounds into the cold steel for some form of releif, but they burned, burned, burned, no matter what he did.
"I could turn you over now. Seeing as there isn't really much left to work with on this side anyway."
Inferius offered him coyly. "But naturally, if I undid your bounds you would attempt to attack me. That would be most unwise in your present state."
Nathan let out a low hiss and tested his limbs. Everything tugged at the torn skin on his back, sending vivid splashes of pain behind his eyes. He wasn't quite sure he could attack him even if given the chance. Mentally he weighed this against the trauma of getting impaled. They both only fueled his intense hatred towards this monster. He lay still.
Inferius grinned. "Interesting. So you would allow me to turn you over eh? I assure you, that steel table is quite cool and it would help you relax a little bit." He inched forward, not really nervous that this feline could harm him, but just cautious. He really did not feel like regrowing his windpipes again.
Nathan didn't do so much as twitch a muscle, staring dully ahead. He waited for an opening, any opening, to take his chances and try to wound Inferius somehow. Not even his tail twitched on the cold steel table, though his face and back still felt like they were aflame.
Inferius leaned in, looking at him. "It would be foolish to fight right now. You are in no condition to even move. But you must. There is more work to be done and there is no more skin to pull on this side."
"Fuck you,"
Nathan snarled, now determined not to move. Every muscle in his body clenched against the idea.
"Foolish creature. I gave you a choice."
Inferius told him with a maniacle(sp?) laugh. "Do you really think that I would not turn you over myself?"
"Choice?"
Nathan repeated. He began to laugh. "
Choice?" Great peals of laughter shook his chest now, loud and bitter and maddened.
"Yessss a choice. Choose to turn over on your own, or be forced to do so."
Inferius explained as he moved over to the table. He took a hold of the back of Nathan's neck, grasping him tightly and firmly. "My way would be a hundred times more painful than if you took the time to turn yourself."
Nathan barely heard him. When he grasped the nape of his neck, he coughed and his laughter faded into sickening giggles. He snapped at his hand, a foul grin on his face.
Inferius roared with laughter as he quickly released the restraints and effortlessly spun the feline creature over onto his scarred and tender back. He reapplied the restraints and gave the creature a few moments of ease on the cool steel table.
Nathan drew his claws sharply across Inferius's face as he spun, leaving bright, vivid lines. He convulsed violently under Inferius's grip and against the constraints, determined not to give him a still subject to work on.
Inferius hissed as the feline's claws raked across his face. "I see you will be taking some extra measures this time." He grabbed a syringe(sp?) from the tabletop and slammed it quickly into the creature's leg. "A little bit of this should be more than enough to subdue you."
Nathan snarled viciously, the expression on his face relaxing as the drugs hit his system. He fell limp on the table, robbed of his control over his body, but the drug did nothing to anesthetize him.
"There. That's much better."
Inferius told him, a wicked grin across his face. He took up the skinning tools again and continued the "experiment"
The experiment stretched on for what felt like an eternity. It could have been hours, or days, or months,
Nathan would not have known. He lay there motionless, screaming inside his own head as the pain got worse and worse and the fires grew and licked at his wounds, and over it all, a hatred fueled by pain and fear. He didn't know how much of his skin remained. Everything hurt, whether Inferius touched it or not. Soon it would be over, he told himself as his blood spilled onto the floor from the steel slab. Soon I'll be able to eat him alive.
Inferius set down his tools and stood back, admiring his handiwork on the feline creature. "Phase one complete." He grinned evilly and hoisted Nathan from the table. "Back to the cell with you."
Nathan slumped limply from the steel slab, in mind-numbing pain. Shallow breathing moved his throat fractions of an inch as he was dragged away.
At the last second,
Inferius changed his mind. He plopped Nathan down on the floor of the lab and slithered out, locking the door behind him as was habitual by now.
Kurt slammed into the door, busting the old and rusty lock open with sheer force. "Big Red, you in here?" He called, knowing full well that the name aggrivated Nathan. He looked around and was horrified by what he saw. There was massive amounts of fur and skin lining the walls and floor, blood was sprayed everywhere and the stench of seered flesh filled his nostrils. He immediately bent over and wretched the contents of his stomach onto the floor. After a few moments of collecting himself, he tied a piece of his shirt around his nose and mouth and called out for Nathan again.
Tom ran in after Kurt. He tried to stop when he saw the skin and blood covering the walls, but he slid and skidded in Kurt's vomit, landing on his back in a pool of blood. He shivered and got up almost at once, slipping in the blood once or twice in his haste. "Oh... god..." Tomb groaned, staring around at the walls and thanking whoever it was that he couldn't smell anything right now.
Kurt turned and saw Tom slip in his vomit. He could almost laugh, if it wasn't for the fact that the guy landed in blood. He felt like he was going to vomit again..."Dude, you're so lucky your nose is broke..."
Steam was still rising from
Nathan's wounds. He tried to stand, but every move felt like rending gaping holes in his charred flesh. Faintly, he heard Kurt call his stupid nickname. "H....here.." He growled weakly in reply.
Kurt coughed again and held the scrap of cloth closer to his mouth as he looked in the direction of the reply. He moved over to Nathan slowly and his eyes shot wide. "Good lord....Nathan
...what did he do to you???"
"Hurts," Nathan said weakly. "Hurts everywhere." He looked up at Kurt, seeing his expression. "How bad is it?"
"Let's just say that calling you Big Red would be rather inappropriate from now on..." Kurt said quietly. He really did not want to tell him how bad it actually was.
"Hahh," Nathan shuddered, letting his head settle down on the floor again. "S'okay. You can still call me Big Love." He stared at the blood around him for a moment, then let his gaze rest on Kurt. "Is he dead?" He asked, his long teeth glinting between a weak snarl.
"Not yet. We're saving him for you, Shedu." Kurt told him with a nod. Nobody deserved to take that bastard down mroe than Nathan and if Kurt had anything at all to say about it, he was going to make sure that he was the one who got to make the deathblow.
"Cool," Nathan said lamely. Tom suddenly caught his eye. "Hey," he said hoarsely. "Hey, how'd you get out? Are they out too?"
"You didn't think I came alone, didja?" Kurt asked him in disbelief. "In case you missed it, I got zapped too. I'm as powerless as the rest of you guys."
"Sorry," Nathan replied, moving his shoulders to a more comfortable position and wincing as he moved. "I was...preoccupied." He looked up at Kurt. "S-so, what happens now?"
"Me and broken nose over there are gonna get you the hell outta here. As slowly as we can move yah." Kurt told him with a confident nod.
Tom groaned as he got up and winced as he gazed at Nathan "Ow...." he mumbled "Vot wass he tryin' to do? Cook yo?" He went over to Nathan slowly, being careful not to slip or touch Nathan.
"Don't I smell delicious, though?" Nathan replied. "I could just eat me up." He moved his legs slowly underneath him and started to try to stand.
Tom looked around, spotted some sheets and grabbed them. They were flimsy and plastic, but cold and smooth as well. They would hurt less than if Tom grabbed hold of Nathan. Carefully laying a sheet of plastic against Nathan's side, Tom attempted to help him stand, not caring about the blood coating him as he did.
Kurt followed Tom's example and grabbed a sheet of plastic and laying it across Nathan. "Slow and steady Nathan. You don't need to get any worse, alright?"
If they looked, they could see Nathan's charred muscles flex and contract as he moved, gliding over white bone. He only nodded, his face twisted up in pain. "Just get me out," He whispered, leaning against them as he took an unsteady step, then another.
Tom stiffled a grunt under Nathan's weight, the big kitty was heavy. He wasn't going to give out though, powers or no he was helping Nathan.
Kurt had the same mindset as Tom. He wasn't going to leave him here. Even without his powers, he couldn't give up. As Nathan shifted his weight onto them, Kurt let out a grunt. The guy sure was heavy in this form...
"My powers, my powers, a kingdom for my powers" Tom managed to say, laughing gently and sharing the weight with Kurt "A horse would do, really."
"I AM feeling a little hungry," Nathan wheezed as they trekked slowly through the desperate halls of Aztrentos.
"You can eat the snake" Tom grunted, slipping slightly in some blood but managing to find his footing again.
Stumble!