Al continued to struggle in her suit of chains as more lab coat-adorned men arrived in her prison. They mulled about, unbothered by her furious protesting while hooking up alien and horrifying equipment to her body. Al tried a few times to burn them, but she wasn't able to because of the pieces attached to her flame pipes. She tried working those out of place, but the more she did, the more her jaw ached.
"You really should relax. Struggling like that is only going to make this more difficult for everyone here." Bartholomew taunted.
"Shut up!" Al barked angrily, "When I get out of here, I am going to rip you in half!"
"How ironic. I'm hoping to do the same thing with you."
"Wh-what? What are you talking about?"
Bartholomew smiled and signaled to his men. A group of them, then, wheeled in a large machine the likes Al could hardly comprehend. It was more-or-less a giant mass of diodes hooked up to a kind of steel core. Whatever it was, it radiated a terrible energy; something that made Al's very souls shiver with apprehension.
"Do you know what this is?" Bartholomew asked playfully. Al went quiet. Frankly, she had no clue, but she didn't think she'd like the answer. Bartholomew explained anyway, "Our forefathers specialized in manipulating the soul. The very first experiments of our great leader, Cottonmouth, involved controlling dragons using a plant. Through manipulation of the mind, we learned that we can just as easily bend the soul."
"I'm quite aware of the results of those experiments..." Al muttered, "A lot of them are in my care."
"Right, of course. So you know we are able to split souls apart." Al was frozen. Suddenly, a massive pit formed in her stomach. Bartholomew mused, "You yourself are quite the unique specimen, for you possess two souls. One of a dragon and one of a human."
"Y-you're not- You can't! You don't have that kind of power!"
Bartholomew smiled devilishly and said, "Do I not? I see you finally understand your position, monster."
"No! Stop it! I won't let you!"
Bartholomew snapped his fingers, and, on that command, his men rushed in and applied the diodes to Al's head and body. They were like mites, moving so quickly and silently. They were completely unfazed by Al's struggles and screams.
"I wonder what will happen if we separate you two. So many outcomes, you know? Maybe your body splits apart as well, and you go back to being a girl and her dragon. Maybe you don't even survive to that point."
"Please! Don't do this! Somebody help me!"
"Aren't you even just the slightest bit curious? I guess, in the end, it doesn't matter. You've lost. You are now one of my precious subjects. And, now that you aren't out there, wreaking havoc on dragon hunters, all those men out there that I've brought together will reclaim this world for humanity, starting with the island where you have been harboring my experiments. Dragons will return to their natural place in the hierarchy, as our inferiors, and I will make sure you stay alive long enough to see that, including the part where I used my K1-B0 to obliterate all of your subjects."
Al couldn't even speak. Her mind was so cluttered with fear and anger that she couldn't let out more than a wail. It wasn't but a minute or so before Bartholomew's scientists had her all hooked up to the mechanical nightmare that was sure to do something unspeakable to her very form. And, what that could possibly be caused Al to start panicking. She desperately wanted Garett to wake up. She wanted Toothless or even Pat to come and save her from this horror. She would have even settled for Truth and her bitter, snide comments if it meant she could go back home, safe with all her dragons whom she loved so dearly. She wanted to be back with Keebo, her most loyal and sweetest companion. That had been what she was after since the start of all of this, to see him safe and back at her side. She couldn't even chuckle at the irony that it was that desperate desire that had gotten her trapped in this cruel fate.
"Alright, I say the people have been waiting long enough. Wattson-" he addressed the shorter man in goggles who had been standing silently at his side this whole time. On Bartholomew's command, he began booting up the soul splicing machine. He locked eyes with Bartholomew as soon as he said his name. He, then, commanded him, "Flip the switch."
On that mark, Wattson flipped a brass lever that caused the machine to whirr in a way that felt not of this world. Not long after, Al felt horrifying pain shoot through every neuron of her being. The scream she unleashed could be heard throughout the entire encampment and beyond, a deafening wail that was just as unnatural as the sounds being made by the source of her anguish.
•••
Within the forest nearby, Toothless, Truth, and Pat could hear it loud and clear, and it chilled them to their cores.
"Is that... Al?" Toothless asked fearfully.
"That's..." Pat shuddered. Something wasn't right. A lot of things weren't right about this situation, but something in particular sparked a primal fear in him. It wasn't just Al's scream. That alone was pretty disturbing, but it was what surrounded it. Pat could sense her souls. He could sense the anguish of them, and he could sense them changing, warping, breaking even. It was a sickening thing for his senses to process. He started feeling nauseous.
"My lord, are you ok?" Truth asked as she let him lean against her.
"Th-they're breaking her..." he muttered, close to throwing up, "They're breaking her souls... I can sense it- it..."
"You can-?! We need to do something!" Toothless blurted.
"If we go down there, we'll be killed immediately." Truth retorted sensibly.
"But Al is in danger! If we keep waiting, she will die!"
"And what good will we be if we end up dead long before helping her?!" Toothless paused when Truth said this. She then continued, "Hermes will come back soon. We won't leave her behind."
That gave Toothless further pause. He'd never heard something like that out of Truth before. It was no secret that she detested Al Pha and her way of doing things, but the fact that even she recognized her plight here really struck a cord with Toothless. He calmed down and nodded, knowing she was right. Now, he just hoped Al could last long enough for Hermes to report back with a proper rescue plan.
And, then, it happened. An indescribable image stained the retina of every living thing in Deadend Barrow. Toothless and Truth. All of the hunters camped out in the open field. Hermes. The scientists. And Bartholomew "Cottonmouth" the Fourth, who had wrought a monstrosity even he could not fathom.
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Cover Credits
:blue_heart: Al Pha :blue_heart:
Belongs to Al Pha (Me)
Design: School of Dragons & Al Pha(Me)
Breed: Human & Hideous Zippleback Fusion - HtTYD Franchise
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Comments (1)
Now it's giving His Dark Materials. I love this story!!