Angel Falls - Lost Girl: Alruna's Prelude.

Darkness gave way to the usual artificial light of her liquid filled, cylindrical prison. Time, time really held no meaning to her at this point, she'd lost track long ago in this cell of breathable liquid.

Then she saw the familiar, white lab coat clad figures in front of her sitting at various consoles and the one who always stood out, a blonde, statuesque woman, something always nagged at her when she saw her. Something vaguely familiar.

Whatever it was, one thing was certain whenever the trapped, young woman saw her.

Another day of pain and suffering would begin.

"We'll begin with integration and adhesion of the void nodes at the points designated by the os frontis, the left and right Scapula..."

She lost track of the parts being mentioned, her mind preoccupied with what was about to come.

"Doctor Jona, are you sure this is okay. We had to stop on the last round of augmentations due to total system shut down on the subject's part. I don't think she can handle that sort of stress," a fellow scientist said.

The blond snorts, "That's why the defib system was installed as well as the continuous feed or nutrients and not to mention the life support system, do you think those tubes are just for show, now begin Dr. Williams or I might have reason enough to replace you, leading man in your field or not"

There was a moment of silence and a look of remorse on the admonished Dr. Williams face, whether the girl noticed this or not no one knew.

"Please no," she whimpered, though she had no control of her body feeling like a passenger more than a driver as the first electric tingles of pain poked at her mind.

The pokes became solid jabs as the hum of machines filled her ears, she looked with unmoving eyes out the tube, tears unseen and within the liquid as the scientists looked back with not a concern for her well being, but to see how her motionless body adjusted to the horrors being forced upon it.

"Please stop, I don't want this, I don't want to feel this," she tried to will her eyes closed with no avail which was the most hurtful part of this affair, to be violated, to be hurt and cut and being unable to do anything about it.

Her mental cries continued, her begging for help continued, unanswered, all the pleading, crying begging, unanswered there is nothing for her tormentors to here and so she suffers in silence a prisoner of her own body where even the escape of unconsciousness is denied her.

Williams continued to observe, his equipment monitoring the young girl he'd come to know as Alruna for any sort of life threatening or project threatening incidents, her heart rate spiking, her brain activity hitting points he knew were in reaction to pain, but he could do nothing other than what he was told. He believed in what they were doing...at least until he saw those pain filled, yet motionless eyes.

"Why is he looking at me like that, why are they doing this," Alruna whimpered as more and more pain coursed through her mind, she could tell it was coming from her limbs, her skull but she could do nothing to react to it.

"Whatever I did," her voice was child like, confused.

"Forgive me, please stop. Please stop," she continued over and over again.

Jona looked to the same readings Williams was, and sighed.

"Raise the integration rate from .80 to 1.00, let's go on and finish this, the fail safes should handle anything that happens."

Her command was met with silence save the sound of typing and a soft, yes ma'am.

"I've come this far, there's no turning back and I won't ask for you to understand or forgive me," she thought quietly despite the cold look she gave the tube and the young woman inside.

Alruna lost sense of time, the pain made sure of that, the feelings she was forced to experience went from burning, to shocking, to the feel of things boring into her flesh, her bone, her very nerves.

Then mercifully it all stopped and left her a shattered person, the pain still throbbed.

"Process complete Dr. Jona, no abnormalities observed, Alru...er subject's vitals within acceptable limits," Williams commented quietly.

"Excellent, that should do it for today, tomorrow we'll begin trials," she replied without even bothering to confirm the report as she walked off.

"Finish up here, I'll return after making a personal report to our benefactors," Williams didn't even acknowledge her as he heard her heels upon the floor then a door opening and sealing closed.

With slow steps he walked over to the tube, tinged a faint pink by the forehead and hand areas.

"I'm sorry," he muttered quietly as he went to a pad mounted into the housing and increased the flow of pain killers and nutrients.

"I'm so very sorry," he rested his hand on the glass and hung his head, staying there for a time until he was sure the pain had left.

For what it was worth, even though it was unheard, Alruna managed a exhausted, Thank you