It was her. Over all the years of torture, over every helpless humiliation he had experienced, there had never been a greater test of his will and self control as when he stayed silent and still when he heard her voice. He lifted his head, but kept every other sign of recognition from his face. Hopefully, they wouldn't know he knew.

He went over the words again in his mind; their familiar cadence helped calm him. He hated that something so intimate was going to be recorded and studied; but he would say it to Susan first.

He waited for some time, he assumed because they were preparing Susan ahead of him. Then he was led into the room, and his hands were cuffed together and secured above his head. Not tightly; his elbows could still bend. He fought only superficially, not managing to even dislodge the grasping hands. But then they left him alone in blindfolded darkness. He shifted his aching feet and stood quietly.

There wasn't a sound. Was she unconscious? Gagged? Or was she even in here at all? What if it was all a trick and they had already taken her away? He listened carefully, but there was some kind of background hum, maybe from air conditioning. He couldn't detect the presence of anyone. If only he could see.

William had a thought. While they were walking, the orderlies had stopped him from lifting his hands to the blindfold. Now, maybe he could lift the blindfold to his hands. He flexed his arms. He would have to be quick, and he would probably have only a brief glimpse. He felt around his bonds with his fingers. The thick, belted cuffs were connected by a thin chain, which was then held by what felt like a locked carabiner, perhaps attached to the ceiling by a another chain. Maybe it wouldn't hold his weight and he could try running. But he seriously doubted it.

Taking two long breaths through his nose, William gave himself a quick countdown. Three, two, one. Then he grabbed the carabiner with one hand, lifting himself smoothly off the ground with one arm. The fingers of his other hand brushed against his forehead; so close-- his arm started shaking as he lifted himself just a little higher. He managed to get his fingers under the bottom edge of the cursed blindfold, then let his arm relax. As he thumped back the floor, the blindfold was yanked free. He held it in a clenched fist.

The first thing he saw was Susan, tied to a chair a few feet away. She was gagged. Her eyes were open but unfocused and dazed. There was no one else in the room. This was his chance, but she had to snap out of whatever they had done to her, fast. Once they saw what he had done, they would be back in here, soon.

"Susan?" he asked with soft urgency.

   Susan fought to focus on William, her head lolling from side to side seemingly of its own accord. The blow to her temple had made her ears ring, adding to the raging noise the angry tear inside of her was making. How on earth was she going to focus?! She was so angry at her sanity for breaking, so terrified all the time. How desperately she wanted him to hold her, to feel safe and loved. And he was there, he was right there! She blinked hard, and heard his voice say her name. It was a soothing balm and an electric shock all at once. She looked at him again and saw that his blindfold was off. Her shoulders heaved with the intensity of the emotion that welled from her chest. She smiled as much as she could around the gag, tears springing to her eyes as she made a soft sound of relief.

   She searched his face intently, her eyes wild and desperate. She twisted her tied hands in futility, panting sharply through the gag as she attempted to calm her breathing.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:15, Fri 20 Sept 2019.

At her smile, an answering smile bloomed on William's face. Tears sprang to his eyes, her struggle making his heart ache.

"Susan, I made something for you. It's a song. Or a poem, since there's no music. I'm going to recite it to you while we're alone. Okay?" He cleared his throat, oddly nervous. He swallowed past the lump in his throat, and gazed into her eyes as he started speaking, the words in a cadence.


"I can see every tear you've cried
Like an ocean in your eyes
All the pain and the scars have left you cold
I can see all the fears you face
Through a storm that never goes away
Don't believe all the lies that you've been told

I'll show you how to live again
And heal the brokenness within
Let me love you when you come undone."

A room away, doctors consulted their notes and went over their instructions. None were closely watching the screen depicting the two subjects. They were both where they were supposed to be.

"I'm so desperate just to see your face
Meet me in this broken place
It's hard to stand but we won't bow
We won't bow tonight."

William tried not to rush through the words. He knew that time was running out, but was amazed that he had gotten so far already. He would say it all to her.

"I'll walk through the fire
Just to feel you next to me
Hold on to desire
You're the only hope I see
I hate what I have been
Falling apart within
Dying to be unbroken..."

It took two or three glances at the monitor for someone to notice that W. Blake had somehow removed his blindfold. Shock and confusion, shouted orders for orderlies. Then resignation. The experiment would have to be reworked slightly now that he knew S. Black was the other subject. Grumbling, they ordered the orderlies to gag the boy and bent over their notes again.

"Come and find me in the dark now
Every day by myself I'm breaking down
I don't want to fight alone anymore
Bring me out
From the prison of my own mind
I need a hope I can't deny
In the end I'm realizing
I was never meant to fight on my own."

Orderlies walked in and headed toward William, one of them carrying a gag. He saw them, and tucked his head securely between his arms. They reached him and pulled at his arms, but he fought them, kicking and twisting. His voice rose as he kept reciting.

"Every little thing that I've known
Is every thing I need to let go
You're so much bigger than the world I have made
So I surrender my soul
I'm reaching out for your hope
I lay my weapons down
I'm ready for you now."

He was almost finished. Just a few more lines... the hands of the orderlies were reaching for his face, pulling at his arms. They didn't strike him. They must be under orders.

"I don't want to be incomplete
I remember what you said to me
We don't have to fight alone."

He flashed Susan a huge, triumphant smile, and let his arms be pulled away from his face. He was gagged roughly, but the joy and satisfaction in his eyes didn't dim.

   Susan sat absolutely still and listened to every word, her heart in her eyes. Only William could make her feel safe, loved and worth saving while they were kept apart. She hadn't felt this warm in so long. The angry chasm inside of her was quiet and still, and she couldn't stop smiling at him. She didn't cry, didn't tremble. She luxuriated in the peace that only William could bring, wanting to hold him and thank him for what he had just given her.

   She extended the thumb, pointer, and pinky fingers of her left hand while keeping her two middle fingers curled to her palm. Hoping he knew that it meant 'I love you', and wishing for a more eloquent way to express how much she truly loved and needed him.

It took William a moment to remember what that gesture meant. Then he smiled back and signed the same sign back at her. It had helped her. He could see it. No matter what they did now, he had given Susan what he had made for her.

They were left alone in that room for ages, just looking at each other. William's hands gradually went numb. His burned feet ached. He didn't care. He knew this was going to be bad, and wanted to drink in her presence, the sight of her, for as long as he could.

Eventually two orderlies came in. One of them took the gag off of Susan, but they left William as he was.

   Susan sat stiffly for a few silent moments after her gag was taken out, unsure and flighty. She decided it was worth the risk and said quietly, "Thank you, Will. I missed you." she kept her eyes on him and smiled tremulously.

The orderlies remained where they were, silent. A moment later, Dr. Horrible walked in, his eyes on a neatly stapled printout in his hands. He stopped close to Susan, flipped a page, and kept reading.

William took a deep breath through his nose and stood still, actively trying not to shuffle uncomfortably. His eyes flicked between the doctor and Susan, his dread plain to see.

   Susan refused to look up at the doctor, her own gaze sliding from Will to the floor down to her right. She pressed her lips together and tried to slow the quick pounding of her heart. A whimper was trying to claw its way up her throat, and she swallowed hard to keep silent. She looked back to William through her lashes, her hands slowly clenching into fists.

The silence stretched on and on. Finally, Dr. Horrible smirked at his papers, and glanced up at William. "Am I correct in assuming that this... poem... nonsense is what you were scribbling on your wall?"

William blinked, looked at Susan, then looked back at the doctor. He shook his head.

The doctor raised an eyebrow. "No? Well then. I suppose our agreement still stands. I brought you to her. Now you tell me what they meant."

He nodded to an orderly, and the man stepped around behind William and snapped off the gag. William opened his mouth wide for a moment, stretching his sore muscles. First he looked at Susan, gave her a quick, tight-lipped smile. Then his dark eyes moved back to the onerous doctor.

"They were for you," he lied. "What I said to Susan was just to comfort her. You see, I realized something. This place... you, all you've done... it's all made me who I am. And she loves me. Perhaps despite all that, but still. She loves me." He smiled at her again, this time a big, full-faced grin.

The doctor seemed to accept this, and impatiently tried to move William along. "What do they mean? These symbols for me?"

"I used them to help me remember," he explained. "Words. Phrases. Do you want me to recite it for you?" William did have some words for the doctor. They roiled blackly in his mind, laden with bile and bitter hatred. He smiled emptily at the doctor, eyes blank. He had to be careful.

   It was hard for Susan to describe the feeling she had. He had bargained in order to see her. He had given her a poem from his heart. He knew she would need help, he had been where she was and that gave her hope. She didn't take her eyes off of him, living for each smile. She smiled back in response to his big grin, but couldn't stop the nagging worry at the back of her mind. What was he going to say? She could see the look in his eyes, and while it made her immensely proud, she still worried about the aftermath. She still refused to look up at the doctor, the gaping tear inside of her threatening to rise up at scream at him. So she kept her eyes firmly fixed on William.

The doctor huffed impatiently. "That's what I've brought you here for, isn't it?"
William forced himself not to glance at the orderlies. He wondered if the doctor would let him finish, or if he would get mad. Before fear could stop him, William smiled and started speaking.

"Milk us for all we're worth
Make sure you get them first
The apple of your eye
The rotten core inside."

Dr. Horrible folded his arms, a dissatisfied sneer growing on his lips.

"We are all prisoners
Things couldn't get much worse
I've had it up to here
You know your end is near!"

William spat the words out, and a wild joy threatened to send him into gales of insane laughter at the look of incredulous disbelief on the doctors face. He fought the impulse and kept speaking, locking his head between his arms again as the next few words brought color to the doctors face and he motioned the bouncers forward.

"You had to have it all
Well, have you had enough?
You greedy little bastard, you will get what you deserve
When all is said and done
I will be the one--"

A bouncer punched him in the gut. He was tensed for it, but it still knocked the air out of him. A few more blows and they were able to get his arms away from his face and put the gag back on. William dissolved into helpless laughter at last. The doctor stood stonily silent for a few seconds before taking angry steps forward, getting right up in William's face.

"Think this is funny, do you? Your girlfriend is tied to a chair, you're shackled to the ceiling, and you think this--" he pulled a scalpel from a pocket and shoved it before William's eyes, "Is funny?!"

William couldn't stop laughing. The threats took his breath away, but the fear just made the laughter come out harder. His legs were threatening to collapse, he was laughing so hard. Finally, white hot pain snapped him out of it, as the doctor cut him, his anger making the movement quick and savage. The scalpel opened a shallow wound from the top of his shoulder to the top of his chest. William gasped, the laughter finally stopping.

   Susan had watched with her mouth agape and her heart pounding, not realizing that she was leaning as far forward as she could in the chair. She had moved her mouth several times, but no sound had come out. When the doctor cut William with the scalpel, a strangled gasp escaped her and she strained as she leaned toward him. The blood on his chest jolted her and Susan found her voice, "He's right." she said, finally looking at the doctor. Fear was roiling over her in heavy waves, but she wanted to get the words out before the gaping tear inside overwhelmed her again, she could feel it opening up to swallow her whole.

    "Your time is almost up. Asshole." She was shaking, and chilled, but she had said it with the hope that it would help William feel that he wasn't alone.

Dr. Horrible's head snapped around to Susan, splotches of red on his gaunt cheeks, his thin lips pressed together so hard they were almost invisible. Then the corner of his mouth twitched in a little smirk. He cut William again, the blade slowly gliding along the line of William's collarbone. The doctor kept his eyes on Susan, watching for her reaction. More blood stained the front of William's shirt red. For William's part, he squeezed his eyes shut, but made no noise.

   She knew what he was doing. It frightened her because it was working. An iron fist closed around her heart in a hot, painful manner. The tear inside of her came awake with a deafening roar that shook her to her core. Susan flinched, her hands clenching tighter as she watched the blood on William's shirt spread.

   "No." she said simply, as if she had been asked if she liked pickles. She started shaking her head, and found that she couldn't, or wouldn't, stop. "No." she repeated, shivering in her seat. It felt as though the tear had turned into crashing waves, buffeting her from the inside in a wild bid for release, her skin the only thing keeping her together.

The doctor stepped away from William and gave a short, calming sigh, feeling once again in control. "Now. What are we going to do with you two? Hm?"

As William watched Susan shake her head, he desperately wished he could speak. The lines of hot pain drawn by the scalpel barely registered; he could see her sinking.

"Subect S. Black? Any suggestions?" Dr. Horrible stepped to her as he spoke, lowering the scalpel towards her face. William's stomach froze in terrified ice.

   With a shudder, Susan fell still, her eyes focused on the scalpel. She couldn't hold onto any thought for more than a moment, they slipped from her grasp like shards of ice. She looked past the small blade to William, her eyes reflecting her desperation. "My name is Susan." was all she could think to say, and it came out quietly, "I hate you." she glanced at the doctor harshly, before looking back to William with a softer expression, "And I love him." she shivered under the doctors oppressive crowding, "And you hate us, because you'll never understand that. Or have it."

   The doctor's left hand shot out and roughly grabbed her by the jaw, the anger back in his eyes. Susan cried out weakly, suddenly feeling overheated, yet somehow still cold. The scalpel hovered over her eyes, steady in his grip, "Perhaps it's possible to cut it out of you." he mused ponderously.

   Every muscle in Susan's body was clenched, and she couldn't help the stifled sob that came out past the doctors pale fingers.

The scalpel's cutting edge brushed against her cheek, but didn't bite. It lingered there for several long moments, scraping slowly across her skin as his eyes followed it hungrily. "Much can be learned through vivisection. Cut it out and study it." Finally, the doctor leaned back and removed the scalpel, but didn't release Susan's jaw. He nodded to an orderly near the door, and the man left. "I suppose it'll be up to you. Our experiment today requires your input, after all."

The orderly returned, pushing a wheeled tray with three pieces of black cloth draped across it, covering three separate objects. He stopped it between William and Susan. With one last cruel squeeze, the doctor let go of Susan's face and turned to face the tray. "Three options. Three ways for Subject W. Blake here to prove how much he loves you. Or that he doesn't love you nearly enough." The doctor smirked at William, who returned his attention with a cold glare. The fear was still in his eyes though, shrouded, but there.

Dr. Horrible walked around to the other side of the tray. "And you, lucky girl," he said, pointing at Susan. "Get to choose. Option one." He placed his hand on the first square of black cloth, covering something lumpy and solid. "Option two." When his hand touched the middle object it squished a little. "Option three." The cloth covered something with hard angles, and when Dr. Horrible touched it, there was a faint metallic clink when it wobbled on the metal tray. He then met Susan's eyes, his sick glee dancing on his face. "Choose. Keep in mind that if you don't choose one, I will happily use all of them. Definitely an attractive option, my dear." He chuckled and reached out to touch the third object again in anticipation.

   Susan looked at William with uncertainty, her eyebrows drawn together. Whichever she chose, she knew it would be painful. Would he even use the one she picked? Would he use them all anyway? She didn't have the faintest idea of what was under the black cloths, but the way the doctor touched the third one made her shrink back. She was silent for a few seconds, feeling that if she didn't say anything quickly, he would just use them all. She swallowed nervously, looking at William again before turning her gaze to the doctor to see what his reaction would be.

   "Option... two." Susan murmured, thinking that the choice she had been given was an illusion. They were going to hurt anyway, no matter what she picked.

The doctor flicked the black cloth away from the tray with a grin. Beneath it was an IV bag filled with black liquid.

"There are five doses of this compound in this bag. You will both be hooked up to it, and one of you will be given control of who gets how many doses." As he spoke, orderlies came forward with tubing and an IV stand. They hung the bag from it and moved toward Susan with a needle.

William shifted as he watched the tray get wheeled away, wondering what was under the other cloths. They left the tray off to the side.

"No matter what, one of you will get at least three doses. We've never tested it beyond two. The data will be edifying."

William kicked as the orderlies tried to get near him with his needle. He was frustrated and frightened; why hadn't he kicked Dr. Horrible when he was within reach? But the orderlies grabbed his legs and zip-tied his ankles together. If he was crafty he could get one more kick in. He'd save it for the doctor.
The orderlies held his head still and inserted the needle directly into his neck, then taped it in place. He barely felt the pinch, trying to keep his heart rate down. This was going to be bad.

   Susan cringed away from the orderlies, wishing she could move farther than the restraints allowed. One nurse held her trembling shoulder still while the other inserted the needle in her right arm. Memories of the last few weeks were flashing before her, exhaustion, pain, needles, shocks. She took a few deep breaths, they were unsteady, but they helped her calm down slightly. She looked up at William, blowing a strand of hair from her face, her hair was starting to curl now that it was growing out. She smiled nervously at him, but couldn't keep it up and ended up biting her lip to keep it from trembling.

Dr. Horrible fussed with the IV bag as the orderlies brought the tubes connected to the subjects back to him. He connected them to the release mechanism, then consulted his watch. This experiment had been severely delayed already, and it was getting late. Each dose would take several minutes to administer fully, but S. Black had chosen. Plus, it would be delicious to watch.

He stepped back toward Susan and pulled a quarter from his pocket. "Now, to determine which of you will be in control of the dosages. Subject S. Black? Who will heads be? Who will tails be?" The doctor smiled cruelly as he watched Susan's face, her distress amusing him greatly.

William could barely swallow past the fear in his throat. He tried to smile back at Susan around the gag, and gave her a reassuring nod. He hated that Dr. Horrible was forcing her into all the choices, as if trying to blame her for the suffering that would come next. William would never shift the blame away from the shoulders it so solidly sat on. These sick games just further confirmed his hatred.

Would it ever end? No. Again, the thoughts that had darkened his mental doorway during the last psyche test returned. Let her die? Stay behind? Was this his chance? William doubted it. He didn't have enough information. Besides, he couldn't. Couldn't make that choice for her. When she had first come here she couldn't believe his willingness, even eagerness, to end his own life. She just didn't understand it.

At the thought that she might understand it now, tears welled in William's eyes. No! She had such passion for life. He didn't want that to be gone! But there was nothing he could do now. He had given her what he could, at least. More than he should have been able to. So he stood there and silently cried while the doctor tormented her. Odds were, they would both survive this experiment and be subjected to countless more.

   Susan glared up at Dr. Horrible, burning with hatred and fear. She shook her head and pressed her lips together, turning her face away from him, "No." she said tightly, shaking her head. She giggled, for only a moment, at the thought of telling him where he could shove the quarter. She closed her mouth again quickly when she saw him move toward her out of the corner of her eye. She flinched when he grabbed a handful of her hair and forced her head back, "I'll be tails!" she said hurriedly, closing her eyes.

The doctor released her hair and handed the quarter to one of the orderlies. With the ringing sound of fingernail on metal, the quarter flipped into the air.

William's eyes were glued to it as time seemed to slow. He prayed for heads. Heads, and all the pain would be his. It was selfish, but he didn't care. Tails, and it would be up to Susan. He didn't want all the pain to be hers today. He coughed out a laugh. He wouldn't share but she should? The double standard rang in his ears like the noise the coin made. But it wasn't up to him. Yet. Maybe it wouldn't be at all.

The orderly caught it and slapped the quarter down on the back of his other hand. The slap made William flinch. The orderly held out his hand toward the doctor, who smiled.

"Tails."

   Susan closed her eyes with a heavy sense of finality, feeling both dread and relief. She knew what she was going to do. She opened her eyes to look at William, and knew that they both thought the same way. The corner of her mouth twitched up in a faint smile and she sighed. He would've taken it all. She felt angry at him for thinking of doing something like that, and yet a small part of her warmed at the thought of the kind of protection he gave her.

   Raising her chin, she swallowed and took a fortifying breath, "I'll take it." she said, looking away from William out of fear of losing her resolve. Her hands were clenched so tightly her knuckles turned white, "What does it do?" she asked, the tear inside of her swelling in anticipation of the pain and anger.

William sagged, resting his head on his left arm in a posture of defeat and dread.

Rather than answer Susan's question, the doctor just smiled cruelly as he placed a simple remote in one of her hands. There were two buttons labeled 1 and 2.

"Pressing one will administer a dose to you. Pressing two will administer it to him. And since you have control, my dear, I have no compunctions telling you that taking all five doses will most likely be lethal. Oh, and should you drop the remote at any point," he said gleefully, "Control will default to Subject W. Blake. When you hear the tone, you must choose a button within thirty seconds or a dose will be distributed to both of you." Cackling, he started walking toward the door. "The experiment will begin momentarily!"