MIDNIGHTS REQUIEM

Volume 1: The Dance of The Damned: Chapter 26

The testing continued. Once a week they would induce unconsciousness. Catha would awaken securely strapped down to the same stainless steel table. It had become a routine. Week after week had made this her new normal.It is amazing what a body can adapt and adjust to. Now, she refused to scream. Regardless of what the sick sadistic bastard did to her she would acknowledge it with only a grunt of pain and effort at self control at most.

Washing his hands , preparing to put on the surgical gloves. Must not contaminate the subject after all. Set could feel the weight of her gaze upon him. The sheer fury and hatred rolled off her like invisible storm clouds. The way she stared at him in silence had begun to haunt his dreams. She would stare at him in silence, biting her tongue, clenching her teeth until they were shattering from the force. At most she would occasionally grunt. Whether that was from pain or an involuntary response Set could not discern. The malevolent intensity of her gaze induced a growing fear bordering on sheer terror.

A period of time came that every single night Set was awakened by nightmares. Nightmares of his test subject strapping him down and performing the vivisection on him. Other times, he was performing the procedure and it was his wife or young daughter on the table. Set would come awake screaming in bewildered terror.

This joyous group of personal experience motivated him to accelerate the program. Set noted that apparently, the subject could withstand and recover from the examinations an unlimited number of times. He now, wanted to get the tests over with so that he could escape her gaze of fury. Set began to keep the subject sedated into unconsciousness at all times. Consciousness was not required for this phase of testing. This turned out to have two distinct results. First, the nightmares reduced to only occasionally, and then nowhere as vivid. The second was that he did not spend hours feeling her rage focused upon him. Both were of a tremendous benefit to his state of mind.

The next phase was quantum mapping of the molecular structure. Set hoped to use entanglement and the spooky aspect of quantum transposition to reproduce samples of the test subjects functional genetic structure. This was to serve multiple purposes. One of which was replicating the genetic structure in a living test subject. The other , to reveal the functional methodology in the incredible healing ability of the subject. So far, only complete molecular destruction by acids or flame had proven to be beyond the ability of an Aos Sidhe to heal.

Tissue samples were secured and prepared. Set would be producing partial clones of the subject. Cloned tissue samples, copies right down to the molecular structures duplicated with precision. The program failed until two samples from the subject were mistakenly used. An assistant had mistakenly inserted the quantum cloned trinary DNA into the subjects live tissue sample. This error would prove to have devastating consequences.

It was a bit of a shock to realize the tissue samples had thrived and began growing. This was fascinating. The subject was now being kept completely sedated at all times. Set looked forward to the time he would not have to endure the tedious process. Moving on to the next phase had brought amazing results. In a few weeks, when the clones had developed fully, the original test subject could be destroyed. Set would be greatly relieved once the testing was completed.

Where am I? The thought echoed through Catha’s thoughts, her dreams. For some time now two voices had called out in her mind. Catha began focusing upon those voices, voices she had been fighting to deny and ignore. Acknowledgment was the path to insanity she told herself. Until that is, the voices became louder, more insistant, intrusive. When Catha could no longer deny the voices, she listened. That led to the discovery of two minds connected together. Three if Catha were included. Weeks passed, Catha had found kindred spirits. In time the similarities became obvious. When voice number one began telling Catha things dreamed, dreams that were Cathas memories. She wondered if this was it. Insanity would be natural all things considered. Soon both voices were telling Cathas most sacred memories! The voices report sense of body. Which clearly was not Cathas own. The trio soon had morphed into an unconventional union , an entirely new thing.

This new thing began to discuss aspects and individual identities. Catha had fragmented, dissociated from her sense of Identity. Together they declared that they had become three. A triune being connected on a subcellular quantum level had been created. In time, the trio came to understand the capabilities they possessed. The connection created real time sharing of thought, memories, sensations. Quantum entangled heart, mind and souls. The connection so complete that the three began to have difficulty discerning individual identities. They began to plan. Blood and vengeance became the dual goal and purpose. Inflicting agony and destruction became the only purpose to existence. Escape was not a thought shared or considered between them, only fury and vengeance.

Set was unaware of this development. Much to his surprise later. None of the Fomor had any idea of what they had inadvertently created. Had they suspected a fraction of the reality, they would have fled off planet nuking the lab sight behind them. Instead, the experiment continued apace. With the subject in a safe unconscious state and the clones confined to the growth chambers until full growth was achieved, the security precautions had become somewhat lax. This provided opportunity. A certain Weakness waiting to exploit.

Catha no longer thought of herself as that person. The innocent daughter of hope, Catha had been murdered by the Fomor lab technicians. Badb had been born in her place. Badb and her sisters, the three who are one. Newbornes deserve their own names. After deliberation it was decided between them. Badb, Macha, Nemain. They are the Morrigna. Vengeance, fury, and madness were their purpose, their identity. Biding time until their bodies were fully formed. They plotted and planned between themselves. Taking joy in their anticipated vengeance. Reforged in the fires of fury.

Macha opened her eyes. Vision was blurry at first, as her eyes adjusted to the light she lay in silent stillness. She had been removed from the growth tank. The artificial womb that had sustained her. A technician was disconnecting the feeding tube from her stomach. Listening she could hear similar sounds from across the room. Her sister self was undergoing the same treatment. The time to act was now, before they were isolated. Now when they were strongest and could support each other.

Nemain surreptitiously watched the technician work. Pretending unconsciousness until, the technician lifted an eye lid to shine a pen light into her eye.

Nemain opened both eyes wide, locking gaze with the technician commanding, consuming the technicians will. That was all it took. The Fomor was enthralled. Pheremone triggered programmed response one of the control mechanisms enginered into the Fomorii. Moments later the same occurred with Macha. They now had two thralls. Two obedient if unwilling servants.

Sitting upright for the first time was interesting. Their inner ear, unused to any motion gave confused signals. Dizziness, nausea, a sense of falling all at once. It took a few minutes to gain control, to adapt. Their minds, fully formed, held memory of reflexes, skills their bodies had never acquired. Their minds knew what to do, the body held no muscle memory. They had not anticipated that.

Looking about the lab, they searched for clothing, something to disguise their identities. As they realized there were no options, they also realized, there was no way to disguise themselves. A full head taller than the fomor technicians, that were of average size. The trio were only redhaired giants in the lab to be sure. A glimpse would reveal their identity. Macha whispered instructions to her thrall. The male fomor walked to a cabinet and retrieved two white sheets, bringing one to Macha, giving the other to Nemain. Nemain gave her thrall instructions. The female turned, punched her access code into the door panel. An electronic whine followed by a click, the door slid into the wall as the technician stepped through it, then the door slid silently back into place.

Macha had located the tray of surgical instruments. A cold burst of rage engulfed her. With no thought, Macha leapt across the room to the tray, snatched a scalpel and rib spreader off of it before returning to her thrall. A quick slash into the thralls chest and the insertion of the spreader caused the thrall to fall back onto the exam table. Macha opened his chest wide enough to reach in to the cavity and snatch the beating heart out. With a feral snarl Macha bit into the quivering organ. Nemain watched in approval.

A few minutes passed and the door opened, a stretcher was wheeled into the room by Nemains thrall, and a different fomor. When the door had closed, the sheet was cast aside and Badb sat up on the stretcher. Nemain and Badb fell upon their thralls, tearing into the fomors chests to retrieve and consume their living hearts. Macha watched in approval. The retribution had begun. The trinity dismissed the idea of stealth. They would openly tear into the heart of the beast to devour it from within. Vengeance, Fury, Death, incarnate rage, madness, fear. The unholy trinity was unleashed, nightmares born to reign in terrors glory.