For Science!

[Hank Manson]

It won't hurt at all if you just tell me. *LaCY snakes closer to Nox, eyeing her* So just tell me. We have a few hours before Manson wakes up.

[Volume Virus]

Okay, okay! Whatever you say! Please get them away from me. *I continue to try to shrink backwards, the steel cuffs digging into my hands, feet and neck. It hurts.* What do you want from me? I'll...I'll try my best, I promise. Just get them away from me, please. *The needles scare me. Who knows what's inside them? It could kill me, I'm sure.*

[Hank Manson]

Well... Who are you exactly? What did you do before all of... this?

[Volume Virus]

Before what? My capture? I lived in one of Volume Virus's hideouts, tending to it as a sort of caretaker. Before that, I trained at the Killjoy school that your master ransacked. Before that, I was a student of Volume's. And before that, I was raised by my mother in a well-hidden bunker. We lived among Killjoys for a while, before Better Living killed them and her. *I shrug, wanting the discussion about my past to be over as soon as possible.* What does it matter now, though? Dawn will come, I will be tortured, and I will die.

[Hank Manson]

Tell me about your mother. *LaCY makes a mental note of Nox's story. It may be of great use when searching for new subjects.* I honestly would like to know more about you. There is no promise of death here. Let that comfort you.

[Volume Virus]

Not today, maybe. Maybe not even tomorrow. But sometime soon for sure. *It almost freaks me out, how nonchalant I can be about this outwardly.* When we lived underground, she taught me some things, like reading and math and where to find food in the wild. She was always really tired down there. She took lots of naps. When we came to the surface, she was a lot happier and a lot less tired, like the sun was helping her. She got kinda distant, though, because she worked for Better Living. We lived with Killjoys, though, and I don't think there was a reason for it other than that we couldn't afford an apartment in the city. But BLI thought she was helping them, and killed everyone, my mom and the three Killjoys who were just trying to survive and stuff. I only barely got out. Um...no offense.

[Hank Manson]

Underground, you said? I don't quite understa-... *Just then, the sound of a door opening is heard. Hank is back.*

Ah, Nox, you're awake. LaCY, are you two getting friendly?

*LaCY snakes back into the ceiling* No, I was merely informing the meat sack of how fat she is. You're very fat, by the way.

Good job, LaCY. *I put on some gloves and look to Nox* Are you ready for testing, dear?

[Volume Virus]

*I notice LaCY dodging the question and deduce that she's not allowed to be friends with the soon-to-be-executed people.* What do you mean by "testing", exactly? Like experimenting? If so, what kind of experimenting? Like pouring chemicals into other chemicals and seeing what happens? Or experimenting like, in the creepy way? Also, how soon am I going to die? As a rough estimate. Today or tomorrow? *I get progressively more and more sarcastic. My little tirade is cut short when a wave of heat runs through my bones and I scream, not prepared for it. I thought all the injections were done causing me pain!*

[Hank Manson]

Well, if you're going to be sarcastic, I can mean it in the creepy way. Only witness here is a robot. *I creep in, placing my hand on her shoulder, holding her down* You're merely lucky I have things to do today aside from you. *I pull out a needle and stab it slowly into her shoulder* This is a dilute salt mixture. Its purpose is merely to cause you pain. *I smirk* Call me a mad scientist.

[Volume Virus]

*I'm sure I would say something witty if I could, but I'm too busy biting my tongue hard so I don't give him the satisfaction of hearing me scream. It only works for a little while, at which point I inadvertently bite off the tip of my tongue and screech with all my might. I struggle against my metal bonds, which just causes me more pain, for which I no longer have words. My teeth are chattering and tiny little rivulets of blood from the chunk of tongue I just lost are running down the side of my mouth.* Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. *I don't even think I'm being coherent anymore; my words sound sort of blurry, like I'm underwater. There are random colors floating around the edges of my eyes, but I'm still pretty sure I'm conscious.* Please make it stop.

[Hank Manson]

*I finish the injection and laugh* Very well then. All you had to do was ask. Now, we begin the actual testing. *I undo Nox's straps and pull her over to the arena door. I push a button and it opens* Go inside. I'll give you further instructions once you're ready.

[Volume Virus]

*I physically cannot walk and collapse on the ground. I curl up on the ground and shake. My teeth chatter and I make no move to get up.* Make it stop hurting. I'll stop being a Killjoy. I promise I will. Just make it stop! *Curling myself even tighter so that my knees touch my forehead and my elbows crush into my ribs, I finally realize how much weight I've lost in these two days of not eating or drinking. Volume is skinny. I think I'm still a bit healthier than her, but I feel like a skeleton. Distracted by the pain, I hadn't noticed the yawning abyss in my stomach. I can barely feel it now, but it's there and it makes me feel pitiful.* Make it stop hurting!

[Hank Manson]

Umm... I'm going to go with... no. That sounds like a reasonable answer. I don't care if you're a killjoy, I just need test subjects. *I push a button which closes the door. Tiles begin shifting around the room, aside form the one Nox is standing on. Suddenly, platforms are raised, and some lowered. Another door opens, and gnashers are released into the room.* Keep your balance, dear.

[Volume Virus]

*I try to get to my feet. I really do. Every time I make an effort to stay upright, my legs start shaking violently under my pitiful weight and I collapse again. There are demon things that look sort of like shaven cats charging at me from the other side of the room, jumping up and down as needed to stay on top of the moving floor, and all I can do is scuttle backwards into a corner and try to use the walls to support myself. They're going to kill me. I take the time to whisper a quick prayer to the god that one of the Killjoys who housed my mother and I taught me fleetingly about, asking it to make my death quick and relatively painless.* Deliver me from evil, deliver me from evil....

[Hank Manson]

There's no god in there, Nox. I'm out here. *I smirk and push a button, bringing Nox's platform higher so the Gnashers can not reach her yet. *The cats won't kill you, love. If you don't fight, you will only suffer. Should you try for suicide, I will make your life Hell. *The wall opens up besides Nox, showcasing several experimental weapons. There is what appears to be a laser sword, a special raygun with two barrels, and an odd, white gun with claws on the end of it. This gun, however, is labelled "nonfunctional". There are also two knives with an electric current running up the blades, and a rifle marked with a nuclear symbol.* Take your pick, dear.