He wanted to scream.
O' how bad he wanted to scream.
But he couldn't.
It felt like a bubble in his throat refusing to leave or pop. Valeo felt everything the mad doctor did to him, from ripping out his organs to sawing off his limbs , surgically or not it didn't matter to Fillain as he continued to remove every part of Valeo's being, laughing in glee while doing it. His role, his curse, Mitosis kept replacing the missing parts and the cycle begin anew.
Valeo realized his role can only regrow one or two at a time, the most important taking the priority leaving the rest neglected, Fillain took full advantage of this draw back and made Valeo suffer more from it.
Blood painting the operating table as the mad monarch continued with his 'research'.
"My my, what we discovered dear creature is marvelous, your organs are three times larger than a regular living being and twice as productive. Ho ho, this simply magnificent." Fillain let out a sigh.
"But sadly your body seems to also reject the tiny presents I tried to give you.
"Such an ungrateful monster."
Fillain said walking to a sink to rinse the blood that managed to splash on his wrinkle visage, Valeo couldn't make out what the doctor was saying as the ringing in his ear drowned it out.
Minutes passed by, Valeo's body still not responding to him but thankfully he had all his limbs back and his garb. The doctors and Fillain talked about the implications of his body, Valeo droned out the conversation, he didn't care what they think, all he can think about was the helplessness he felt as they dissected and mangled for his body for their sick examination.
"Prepare a schedule for his organ harvest, and take him back to his cell." With that Fillain left his footsteps echoing, after the doctors flipped through some papers and nodded to each, they waved down someone as the room began to move for Valeo as he was carried away back to his cell.
* * *
The guards finished locking the shackles on the paralyzed teen and walked out the room.
"Valeo?"
"Little one?"
"Please say something."
"ANYTHING!"
Laylana got more restless the more he didn't respond. Sobs echoed throughout the room
"No..."
"No no no no...not again."
Her voice caused something to stir in the paralyzed Valeo, all the times she comforted her Valeo neglected the fact she had problems too.
Was he truly that insensitive, he was supposed to name after a hero and yet he let her suffer in silence.
"A brave person for the fearful, a strong person for the weak, someone who rises for the fallen."
Those words echoed in his mind, that distance memory he forgotten.
The humming of two people reached Laylana's as her head shot up to Valeo staggering to sit up, still humming.
"She needs us, we need to be strong...for her."
Laylana smile was so bright it could've lit the entire room, she began to her head left to right just he did so long ago. This warmed Valeo's heart, even after what he just went through, only Laylana could do things like that.
But Valeo stopped and looked at Laylana, confusing her.
"What do you 'ean...'not again'?" The question made her silent, Valeo didn't like the silence, her blank face unnerving him as the seconds went by.
"Let me tell you a story."
"There once was a mother, she wasn't a very kind mother, her daughter every day and every night tried to get her attention but the mother ignored her, for years this cycle continued until one day the daughter vanished, the mother finally noticed and went to search for her, when the mother finally found her."
"She was dead."
"Iches away from the flower her mother loved, hoping this tiny peace of life would finally make her dear mother notice her."
Valeo couldn't form words, the story felt like a punch to the gut and he didn't know why, thats when Valeo realized and his eyes widen in silent horror.
"Y-your the-"
"Yes, I was the mother, that is my greatest sin and regret."
The hollowness in her voice made Valeo uncomfortable not ever hearing this side of Laylana before.
"Why?" He had to know, he had to know why she would do such a thing, it was so unlike her.
"She reminded me of my.... husband, it hurted me to see his eyes on her face every day, but now..." Sobs racked her body as Laylana looked down.
"Now I'll never see those eyes again."
Valeo wanted to hug her, to comfort her, but he can do is watch as the woman who was practically a mother to him cry and wallow in regret, she managed to calm down enough to talk again.
"That's why...I don't make that mistake again."
"You didn't." Valeo said bringing a hollow smile to Laylana's face.
* * *
Valeo couldn't fall asleep, even when Laylana hummed her melody it proved fruitless, everytime he closed his eyes the memories of the incident with Fillain flashed and he would shoot straight back up, eventually Laylana fell asleep leaving Valeo to his own thoughts.
He began to wonder what the outsides looked like, Laylana didn't tell him that much about, although, her use to being blind explained why but she did say it was green. Then he wondered how she knew that and how she saw her daughter, maybe she wasn't originally blind.
Valeo ended falling asleep from the brainstorming he had, the last thought before he fell into slumber was that of a question.
"Can we call her .....mother?"
* * *
Valeo woke to the noise of the cell door opening followed by three sets of footsteps echoing in the room, opening his eyes Valeo saw Fillain with his son joined by someone new, a figure wearing a black robe, it's stride full of purpose and elegance, almost ghostly.
Laylana's reaction of shaking violently went unnoticed by the figure as it drew closer to her.
"The map....where is it?"
It's voice matched it's haunting presence as it grabbed the scalp of Laylana with a bone claw.
"I w-wont b-betra-"
The robe figure grabbed her mouth halting her defiance, Valeo shot up in rage. Like a rapid animal Valeo thrashed and snarled at the figure, the chains holding him back were beginning to groan in protest the more Valeo moved.
Calmly standing the figure turned to the feral teen who was mere inches away from it, lifting its arm the world went silent, then, with a flick of its finger Valeo's body was embedded in the wall denting the metal surface, Valeo's body hit the ground with a thud.
"VALEO!" Laylana screamed.
"Is he...important to you?"
The figure looked to Laylana seeing the reaction that it's action got, it slowly walked to the groaning Valeo and lifted his head to face her.
It's hand covered in a black smoke aimed at Valeo's neck.
The same projection of the sphere appeared in the middle of the room, the figure dropped Valeo and inspected the projection.
"Your deed will be rewarded." The figure said to Fillain and his son who were smiling greedily. The figure stood up and left the room with the nobles.
"Valeo I'm so so sorry." Laylana apologized to the recovering teen.
Before Valeo could say anything the Fillain and his son walked into the room, standing in front of Laylana the both looked at her with distant and sick pleasure.
"Since your usefulness is at an end it's time to part ways don't you say? It was fun, I really enjoyed our time together but unfortunately you take to much resources tsk tsk." Fillain said shaking his head at the end.
"You undead always had greed streak, take and take without giving back." The son chimed in brandishing a dagger from his coat.
Before Anyone say anything, the son plunged the dagger into Laylana's stomach, she coughed blood on the son's arm making him shreek and pull his arm away, the dagger left in her stomach.
"YOU FANGED WENCH, HOW DARE YOU RUIN MY COAT!" The son kicked the dagger shoving in further in making her cough more blood. Valeo was couldn't move, Laylana, the one he was beginning to see as his mother, her blood decorating the floor while the son continued to beat on her, but she remained calm for some reason.
She didn't scream nor fought back, her attention was solely on Valeo as the teen stared in horror, she began to mouth words to him he'll never forget.
"Valeo, get the map before it does, survive, be the hero you were meant to be, I love you."
Those words cut Valeo in ways he couldn't describe, but before the boy could say anything to his mother figure the son of monarch stomped on her neck with all his weight.
A snicking crack echoed through out the room.
Time stopped for Valeo.
"Aksal, you need to tone down your just anger, your an Apex not some beast." Fillain chastised his son who was yanking the dagger from the dead woman. Before the nobles say anything more a sense of dread washed over them, they turned around to see a monster straight from their darkest nightmares lunge at them.
Valeo slammed into Askal sending him to the floor, jumping on the fat noble Valeo started to tear him to pieces, chunks of flesh and blood flying as Fillain watched in horror.
"My role, WHY ISN'T MY ROLE DOING ANYTHING, THE COLLAR SHOULD'VE ACTIVATED, WHY ISN'T IT?"
The crys of help from his son not budging him an inch as Valeo mauled him into a pile of mangled flesh, Valeo finally turned his attention to the one who caused this, the reason why the rest of Laylana's life was spent in misery.
The one who caused them so much agony.
Fillain saw the look Valeo was giving and finally moved, running out the cell forgetting to close it.
"GUARDS!"
Fillain didn't make it far as Valeo grabbed his head from behind and lifted him up, guards rushed in from both sides of the hall they were aiming some weird object at Valeo but again he didn't care, he couldn't think properly either as the only thing in his mind was making this man suffer a brutal death.
"PUT LORD MONARCH DOWN!"
"PUT HIM DOWN!"
Valeo didn't pay any attention to the guards warning as he made Fillain face him, for the first time since he met this man, Fillain's face was full of fear.
The satisfaction it gave Valeo was a new sensation and found it quite enjoyable but it was quickly ruined by Fillain's voice.
"PUT ME DOWN YOU MONSTER, I AM THE MONARCH OF HUMANITY, I AM YOUR MASTER AND I DEMAND YOU TO PUH-" Valeo's lower arm gripped his jaw and ripped it off. Valeo wasn't finished as he jabbed his fingers into Fillain's eyes making them into a disgusting paste.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH." Fillain's screams echoed as the guards watch in horror at the sheer brutality, Valeo decided to end Fillain by snapping his neck and tossing him at the guards, not expecting their monarch's body being thrown at them it crashed into several of them sending them to the ground.
Taking advantage of this distraction Valeo ran through the rest making them join their comrades on the ground. Valeo didn't know where to go, he just ran and ran down the stone and metal halls until he made it to a rusty beaten up door.
"It's 'etter than nothing." Valeo said kicking the door down unknownly setting off silent alarms, upon entering the smell invaded his nostrils first making him gag and step back.
" 'y the code." The horrendous smell almost made him on not going down this path, but the footsteps sounding behind Valeo convinced him to push forward. He rushed down the stairs and ran down the damp and smelling hallways of this labyrinth, the footsteps behind him getting louder and the shouting along with it.
Then he saw it, a blinding light down one of the various hallways, he stared at it mesmerized by its appeal, that was until a bolt of energy passed by his head.
"IT'S OVER HERE!" a feminine guard shouted continuing to fire at Valeo, running the opposite way of the light Valeo made sure some of the guards were following him as he turned a corner.
"Huh?"
"Where'd it go?"
Valeo slowly emerge from the filthy water behind them wrapping his arms around the two unsuspecting fools and snapping their necks, Valeo dropped the corpse and walked away slowly, he didn't if they were more or not and he wasn't taking his chances.
Not when he was this close to freedom.
But what freedom if it costed the life of his mother figure, the one light in his darkness. With dull eyes Valeo spotted the light once more and made his way to it.
There was a gate blocking his only chance at freedom and it didn't seems to budge when Valeo tried to open, the events of his life flashing before his eyes, each memory being lifted as if he was being reborn, the brutal death Laylana lingerd and probably always will gave him the strength to roll the gate off it's rusted hinges.
Throwing the gate on the wet ground Valeo stepped out into the outside world since forever, the world slowly unravel itself before him as the blinding light dim down.
He felt the sun rays hit his pale skin and it felt, good, felt free. lush green grass and trees greeted the teen as the world he only heard from Laylana was right in front of him.
"You were right, It's so....green."