"It was you, wasn't it? You're the one who reprogrammed Psi and Alexander! How could you Gryphon? We trusted you. You were our friend. We've worked together for so long. Why would you do something like that to us?"

  "I ... I didn't mean to. I was just so angry. I never meant ... I never meant for any of this to happen."

  "It's your fault. My god Gryphon. Matthew is dead! It's your fault he's dead! He loved you like a brother. What did he ever do to you? What did he ever do to anybody? What did he do to deserve what you did to him?"

  "Please, you have to believe me! I was just trying to make you proud of me. I only wanted to help. I've never been able to help. I want you to be proud of me!"

  "Damn you Gryphon for what you've done! You've killed one of us. We never should have welcomed you into our home. You don't belong here. We should have known you would do nothing but disappoint. That you'd only hurt us!"

  "No. I ... please, no. I didn't want this to happen. I'm sorry. I am so sorry. Please forgive me."

  "He's dead Gryphon. Matthew is dead and you killed him."

  "NO!!!"

  Gryphon's eyes shot wide, veined with cracks of red. His pupils dilated quickly as the bright lights overhead pierced his vision. He shot his gaze back and forth, panic joining the fear as he realized he was secured fast to a cold and metallic table. His biceps bulged as he fought against something tightly wrapped around his wrists. The skin of his legs burned, pulling at the shackles far below as he struggled vainly to move his head. A small blanket was pulled over his bare waist, the last remnants of his shrinking attire torn away and gone.

  "Well, well."

  He went still, breathing shallow. The voice was unfamiliar, cold and punctuated with the laconic curl of a Eastern European accent. As he listened, he heard the soft whir of machines, the simple beeps of nearby computers. A small shadow fell over his face and he darted his eyes to the silhouette that appeared out of the glare.

  It was a small man, relative to Gryphon's own giant body, but he had him under his complete control and that granted him a sense of power that made him menacing. His face was sunken, deep with cracks of age and toil. The white hairs that crowned his skull were wispy and made his gaunt appearance seem all the more ghastly. But his smile, his smile was one of malice; a toothy and dirtied grin that completed the sharp features of his face.

  "It looks like our 'little' science experiment has regained consciousness."

  He leaned in close, his fetid breath wafting over Gryphon's nose. He placed a bony hand atop Gryphon's forehead, just below the metal clasp that held him down. His fingers could barely cover half of the skin above the steely eyes and his touch burned as icy as the restraints.

  "A very interesting subject; and such size. Do you know that it took four of my assistants just to get you onto the examining table? Lucky we keep this one special for subjects like you. You are now over ten feet in height, why you've grown over an inch taller since we strapped you down. Now why is that?"

  Gryphon suddenly jerked, fighting against his bonds once more as his body hardened under the strain. He heard someone gasp, out of his field of vision, as they took a sudden step back in horror of the battling monster. But the man remained in his place, his smile unwavering. Gryphon fell back against the table, the straining muscles of his chest and arms relaxing.

  "Who are you?"

  "Me? Why I am Dr. Moby. We are going to get to know each other very well, you and I." The doctor turned away, moving towards a small shelf near the end of the examination table; Gryphon's feet were longer than the good scientist's head. "Such a healthy and feisty subject. And a good thing for you as well; I'm surprised, most subjects wouldn't have survived a shock such as the one the soldiers gave you."

  "I'm very resilient."

  Moby turned back around, an exacting finger pointed in the air.

  "So I've noticed. Do you know that your skin has extremely high tensile strength? It's made collecting a blood sample very difficult." He brought down the extended finger and pressed a button on a small panel before him. Power began to pulsate in a machine to Gryphon's left. He turned his head and found a small camera descending to his face, the lens rotated as it focused on his sweaty visage. But that was not what was purring with electronic life.

  By his leg, lengthening down from an arachnid assembly hanging close above him, was a metallic alien arm. It unfolded toward his thigh, a sharp and spiraled tip slowly extending from it's end. It shined with crystal sharpness, thin and dangerous. It glistened once as the light caught it at the right angle and stopped just above the pale skin near his knee. Gryphon found himself breathing faster, his arms shaking in their bonds.

  "What ... what the hell is that?"

  "We have to get this examination started somehow my good subject."

  "Please ... please stop calling me that."

  One of the unseen assistants moved to the wall, working with the far off computers. A lever was pulled and the engine turned itself on. The diamond edge suddenly blurred, spinning at an incredible speed. The force of it's relentless turning didn't jostle the arm it was connected to in the slightest. Gryphon felt his heart pound in his chest, the blood thundering in his ears. It drummed in horrific time with the purr of the drill.

  "No! You don't have to do this! I'll ... I'll cut myself if you need blood!"

  "We just can't risk that. Don't worry yourself, we'll get what we need in our own way."

  Dr. Moby moved around the table, nodding in appreciation at the thin, yet muscular, legs that were almost as long as he was tall. He looked down at the soft flesh he was about to cut into and smiled that smile again as he set dark goggles over his steel eyes. He slowly turned back to Gryphon, whispering his words above the sounds of his instrument.

  "I'm just ecstatic that you are conscious for this. I have always been fascinated by the human reaction to pain. It's really quite fascinating. Don't hold anything back, I'd like an accurate account of everything you are feeling my good subject."

  A red light suddenly flashed on the camera by Gryphon's face. His mouth went wide in horror as he fought against the chains that held him fast. Dr. Moby nodded and the drill began to descend.

  "JESUS!!! OH PLEASE GOD!!! STOP!!!"

  There was a sharp whine as the drill pierced his thigh. The engine slowed for a fraction of a moment, then roared back to full power as it forced it's way deeper through the fibrous muscle. Bright red spray erupted into the doctor's face, splattering thick against his goggles as he continued to smile.

  The pain was fire.

  The pain was all.

  "YIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!"

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