Vera's eyes opened slightly. The room was dark. Something felt... wrong. She wiped her eyes to clear them. Or she tried. Her arm wasn't where it should be.

She blinked her eyes clear and rolled them around. This wasn't her room. The ceiling was far too high, for starters. The lights were large fluorescent tubes. Her head lifted enough to work down the walls. Medical charts lined them with notes here and there. Machines whirred and beeped softly around her. At a desk at the far end of the room, a shadowed man was bent over a book, scrawling down notes. He was lit by a plain desk lamp that hung mostly on his work and stretched out over his lab coat faintly. Lab coat. She was in the labs.

Just as the certainty that she had never left the lab crept upon her, just as a horrid realization that she'd never had all that power she'd built slid over her mind, her eyes followed lower. Her arms were gone, ending in bandages at the elbow. Her legs similarly disappeared at the knees. Her torso was covered in a white sheet. Tubes and wires vanished under it. Fluid passed through some of the tubes, flowing in and out of Vera.

The scientist snapped his notebook shut and stood up. He turned towards the door, the stopped and reached back to turn off the light. For the briefest moment, Vera thought she saw pity etched in his features. The light clicked off. The door opened, letting a line of illumination into the room that the man passed through, and then it was closed.

Alone in the dark, just another experiment that had run its course, Vera opened her mouth to scream but the breathing tube silenced her.

Vera's eyes snapped open. She was in her room, everything just as it had been. Almost everything. There was a note on the floor beneath the doorway. Written in a strange yellow-brown medium that looked more like paint than ink, it requested her presence deep in the basement near the furnace that heated all the water and rooms in the school in order to get familiar with one of the detention monitors, a Miss Steel, and to establish a system of information sharing on delinquents. A map of how to get there, including a couple of hidden shortcuts only someone in Vera's position would be priviledged enough to know, was scrawled on the back.

Nothing was more terrorfying than finding out that her life was a lie. The only thing that made the sensation worse was knowing that this island could very well do such a thing to her body without needing a reason or warning. It was painful being nothing more than a lifeless husk merely existing on a lab table, completely helpless and unable to change her fate.

When the door shut, she tried struggle and free herself of these machines. But her body was too weak or sleep paralysis was keeping her from moving. Her world was nothing more than a sliver of light beneathe the door and the sound of machinery around her. Vear's heart pounded in her ears as she remained there living in a nearly vegatative state.

A sharp breath brought her back to reality. Her eyes regain their focus, finding herself back in her suite up in the tower. The faint orange glow of the still rising sun pierced the darkness through crack of her curtains. Taking a long deep breath, the Head Girl sat up brushing hair away from her face and shoulders. 'I've been on this island too long,' she thought to herself.

Already up and not wishing to test her concept of reality with another dream, Vera slipped out of bed and moved to prepare herself breakfast. On her way there, she noticed the small note waiting for her at her doorway. Seems the school had tasks ready for her when she wakes up.

Taking the note, she continued with her meal while checking over her e-mail on the computer. Despite the countless technological advances this island had, the ways messages were sent to her still fell back to the basics or even the arcane. Perhaps it was a matter of preference or perhaps they were simply concerned about hackers on the island.

Looking at the message, the writing was legible but was in an odd color. Blue or black was the standard of most businesses but this was a yellowish brown. It really made her question if this was ink at all. Vera found herself wondering who this detention monitor was. Miss Steel, a rather normal name one would find on a person. But everything else pointed to otherwise inhuman things. The strange ink and the location deep in the heart of the basement. Despite being familiar with that area, it was hardly comforting to know that her options would become limited once she reaches the heart of the abyss.

She had no choice in the matter. To refuse a job would only mean punishment and taking the task anyway. Vera cleaned herself up and got dressed in the standard school uniform. Her light blue sash hung loosely around her waist. Once made presentable, she made her way to the school and the basement.

Despite the corridors looking the same and being barely lit, the directions on the map were accurate and easy to keep track of. The strange short cuts made the letter seem more legit that this was someone who worked for the school. The Head Girl had no complaints for cutting down her travel time and soon found herself at the door to the furnace room. She knocked and waited for permission to enter before doing so.

The door flew open and clanged hard against the wall. A blast of heat washed over Vera in a rush, then subsided. At first, all she could see was the outline of a tall figure against a bright, orange glow. Something hissed and the heat and light subsided. In the doorway was a woman over 6 feet in height wearing only dark grey shorts and an open, matching vest. Her eyes, acid-green and slit vertically, glimmered with the light wrapping around her gray-skinned face. She frowned down at the student for a moment, then brightened and stepped back.

"Vera! You're here earlier than I expected," the gray woman said, glancing at her bare wrist as if to check a watch that wasn't there. "Come in. We'll caffeinate you. Did you sleep?" The woman stepped back into a large chamber dominated by a massive, roaring furnace with a forge built into its side. The walls were intermittently covered in hand-made metal work of varying sorts and small alcoves stuffed with the most random things. The starkest was a nearby nook overflowing with tennis-ball sized mechanical spiders that swarmed over massive webs, dismantling and reshaping them continually like a colony of ants. At the center of the swarm was a thick cocoon which the spiders avoided as law. The cocoon shook slightly.

"This way!" the gray woman said, gesturing to another cavity in the chamber with a wrought-iron table and chairs. On the table was a china tray bearing a fine tea pot with rose designs curled about its body and a pair of delicate, matching cups. The room was still hot and almost painfully dry from the continually roaring furnace. The woman pulled out a chair and offered it to Vera with a pleasant smile.

"What sort of tea do you prefer, dear?" A gray hand slapped into its paired forehead. "How rude of me. I'm Miss Steel, if you hadn't guessed. Again, I'm glad you've made it down here in such a timely fashion. Now please, sit. Let's make sure you're properly awake before we get to business." With that, the monstrous lady slid away from the offered chair and went to sit in the one opposite, which happened to be the one between the door and where Vera would sit.

Vera cringed away a bit as near searing heat rushed forth to greet her entrance to the furnace. The blazing fire and heat made the place look like one of the layers of hell rather than an ordinary room. When the flames died down, the Head Girl was able to have a better look at the detention monitor. Slitted green eyes and having metallic colored skin gave the signs that this woman was not human at all. It was no surprise as the staff did take advantage of how skilled the monsters were at punishing and toying with students.

"I slept fine, thank you," she replied, "My apologies, I did not realize you were still preparing for my arrival." Miss Steel seemed rather pleased of the student's arrival The metallic woman seemed a bit off though but all monsters had that tendency. Vera stepped into the room, taking note of the various metal items hanging on the walls and inside the alcoves. She blinked at the strange metal spiders that seemed to be constantly working on a giant nest of webs. They were most likely Steel's pets. Her eyes narrowed at the cocoon, wondering what may be squirming inside.

The monster's voice brought Vera's attention back to another area of the large room. The amount of effort and preparation put forth for her arrival was impressive. Nearly everything was made out of some sort of metal. Miss Steel kept to her name it seems, taking advantage of the forge and heat available to craft whatever is needed.

"Any tea you have is fine. Green tea may work better with this heat," she answered before giving a slight bow, "Please to meet you Miss Steel. You already seem to know but, I am Vera Matsumoto." With the greetings out of the way, the Head Girl moved to accept the offered chair. Already the heat was showing it's effects on her. Her pale skin showed the slight glimmer of sweat. With the chairs being made of iron only added to the discomfort as the heat they already contained seeped up through her skirt. Nonetheless, Vera kept herself composed. She sat properly as she waited for Miss Steel to take her own seat and move on to the reason she was called here.

"Green it is, then." A thin, cord-like chain snapped out and plucked a thin sliver of red-hot iron fron the forge. The gray woman lifted the lid of the pot just in time for the burning metal to fall into the china. Steam rose in a puff as the lid was replaced. Gray fingers dipped into the vest and came back with a pouch of leaves and an infuser.

"It's not too warm for you, is it? If you need to shed some of that covering, don't be shy," the gray woman continued as she measured out leaves into the mesh ball. The metal ball snapped close and slid into the pot to steep. The other hand slid quickly into the other side of the vest and set a pocket watch beside the pot. It ticked erratically, keeping nothing like accurate time. vera caught a glance of the face. There were no hands.

"Ahh, but you're not down here for tea and pleasantries, are you, Ms. Matsumoto? You probably want to be back upstairs with the others of your kind pretending my kind don't exist. Well, the simple fact is-" She cut her words short and looked down at the watch. "Tea's done." She plucked out the mesh ball and set it aside, then poured out the brilliant jade fluid into a pair of cups. It smelled faintly of roses and mint.

"Ahh, is that green enough? I can make it greener. Where was I? Oh, yes!" Steel was charging ahead with the conversation, hardly giving Vera a chance to answer her query. "What I've called you down here for. I'm afraid I'm somewhat uncertain of what your side of the equation looks like, and I'd so love to establish some sort of agreement to get my claws into the more delinquent students. Mother would have wanted them punished, but Mother isn't here, so I feel I must step in and cover for her in her absence."

The Head Girl watched the metallic woman as tea was prepared before her. Though the methods were a bit unorthodox, the standard steps of boiling water and applying herbs were still there. As she waited she could already feel her body becoming drenched in sweat. Though the offer was made, Vera chose to remain in her full uniform. Taking them off before this creature could be seen as an invitation.

No matter how ordinary the monster's actions were, Vera could not help but pick up the things that were just off. Using glowing hot pieces of metal to boil water. Using a watch with no hands or measured tempo of ticks to decide when the tea was ready. Even the green tea itself seemed a bit too green. Even while the tea was made, the creature seemed unable to focus on single points. It was similar to ADD that some humans were known to have.

Despite these strange facts, things were gradually moving along to the reason she was here. The monster wished to work with her in dealing with the more troublesome students. It was doubtful reasons for doing such a job were the same though. Miss Steel seemed eager to get her hands on more students, whether they broke the rules or not. The metal woman was somewhat reasonable with the request and Vera could always use help in breaking those students who wish to fight the system. The mention of Mother was disturbing. Did this creature have a mother or was it merely a title to another being? Or it could very well be some mental issue.

Vera gently sipped the tea, thanking the woman quietly. "I see," she began, "You are not the first monster to have questions about my role here in the school. But since you have a specific focus, I will speak of what I do with the other students. Prefects and staff members make note of all issues with students they come across. Breaking rules adds demerits to that student's records. Throughout the week, Head Girls and at times Prefects will deal with these troublemakers in any way they see fit. For minor offenses it may be mere tasks such as cleaning a classroom or picking up trash. Greater offenses tend to lead to more... sexual punishments. I am certain you are aware of some of the punishments that happen in the basement. Others may be spared of coming down here and being made into servants for a Head Girl's personal desires."

After letting the tea cool a bit more, she took a deeper drink. The warm fluids did little to cool her already burning hot body. Her pale skin glistened with sweat as she took deep breaths. The dry air seared her throat and lungs, wearing her down gradually. But the Head Girl remained focused. Even if this monster was after something more, she was called here to provide this information so she shall do so.

"Occasionally Head Girls have been known to work with some of the creatures on this island," she continued, "It does not happen often but enough to be considered and option. Calling on the creatures tends to have risks involved as you can understand. But as a detention monitor, doesn't the school already provide you with a number of troublemaking students, Miss Steel?"

"A sharp young woman! You've already reached the heart of my problem. I have, in all honesty, no idea whatsoever how that demerit system gets students to me. Occasionally, I receive a note to expect a delinquent at an appointed place and time, and I deal with them as I choose for the duration of their detentions." The gray woman sighed forlornly as she lifted her teacup from its saucer and held it still. She continued, "additionally, it's been many months since I've been in the loop, as it were, and I worry they cut me out of rotation because I stopped getting notices of delinquents when I stuck to my fires instead of tending to a few young ladies that needed attention."

Steel sipped her tea delicately and smiled down at it. "Ahh. A good brew. Now, I do hope you'll excuse the interruption in flow, but you said something far more curious to me than the machinations of our benevolent bureaucracy. Do you... punish students as well? My, that's the most wicked idea I think I've ever heard of. Replacing those lesser monsters with other students, yes, that's... that's almost poetic. Now if we could just replace some of the students with monsters, we'd-"

The cocoon shook hard and swayed where it was stuck. The spiders scattered from it to the darker corners of the recess.

"No, Father! That's highly inappropriate! She's our guest!" the gray woman said sternly. Her teacup clattered back to its saucer as she started to rise. The cocoon silenced itself, though the spiders kept back into their alcoves.

Miss Steel sighed as she sat back down. "My apologies for that. Father's not quite well. Now, back to this splendid idea. I find myself intrigued deeply at the idea of you tormenting one of your own kind. Tell me, do you enjoy it? Have you learned to feed on their suffering and fear? Would you like me to teach you?"

Miss Steel presented herself well. The students was already accepting the odd quirks about the lady and just accepting it as is. If it were not the fact she was boiling on a metal chair, she could almost call the discussion pleasant even if the conversation had turned dark.

The monster had taken interest in her primary role as a Head Girl. The thought of higher ranking students punishing the rest of the student body sent Miss Steel off on her own little thoughts. Before either of them could speak though, the skittering sound of metal spiders brought their attention to the strange cocoon. Things grew much stranger as the metallic woman yelled back at her... Father? She was not about to ask what that thing was.

With things calm, the questions about punishing students flew one after another from Steel's lips. Vera sipped her tea, setting it down on the saucer. "As you called it before, I punish and correct the students. Even if they are to call it torture, my goals remain the same. I ensure the students learn that they have no choice but to follow the rules of the school and that their rebellious actions will only lead to more punishment," she began calmly though a bit winded from the heat, "But, to answer your question, yes I find a certain rush in showing my power over another student. Only those who cause trouble have any idea what I am capable of behind closed doors while the rest of the student body remains ignorant of what I do. There is a certain amount of reward watching a once rebellious student fall and kiss my feet in forgiveness. Perhaps that fear makes my job easier."

She saw no reason to hide her own desires. Being on this island for so long had the tendency to awaken certain urges and needs that become more and more difficult to satisfy. Though her position was for keeping her a bit safer from graduation than the other students, Vera could not deny that she enjoyed being in power even if that power is only useful against students and minor situations.

"But your offer is a strange one, Miss Steel," she continued, "I am already familiar with many of the devices and chemicals down in this basement. To teach me how to be more effective in my efforts would only take more prey away from you, would it not?"

The gray woman smiled and sat back, taking up her own drink again for another small sip. A dark grey tongue rolled over gray lips to collect a stray bit of the green fluid. Steel sighed gently.

"You misunderstood my offer, but I spoke over you in the first place and assumed your answer to the previous question was 'no'. Clearly, I was wrong, at least in part." Her smile broadened ever so slightly. "No, I know you need no help working your devices to your own satisfaction. I just thought that, perhaps, you weren't sucking up the delicious energy your kind release when they're being abused. If you're getting that rush, though, you're as far along as any instruction would get you." The gray woman nodded, sending her hair wavering slightly atop her head.

"And it's quite a strange idea that prey is some sort of limited resource that we've fully tapped. I mean, a victim does not have some thin sliver of availability that must be rationed. Humans are a rather renewable resource." She set her cup back down and clapped her hands together.

"Back to business then! For those you cannot break, I should hope you'll keep me in mind. Did you say that others had made similar offers? Have you seen them break someone? Is there some sort of application process I need to submit a shattered psyche to?" Steel bent forward as her questions built up, a serious expression taking over her features.

In a way, it was a limited resource. There were many students on campus but only a small population are introduced to the monsters on the island. To expand further would make it more difficult to keep things a secret. But, it was not a point to argue especially against one of those very monsters.

With Steel satisfied with her response, things returned to the main topic. Vera was thankful as she was unsure how long she could stand being in this unrelenting heat. "Others who came to me did not come for the same reason you did. They merely had questions which they asked while... well you know," she answered, "There is no process that needs to be done to qualify. I have no issues with working with you, Miss Steel. I am more than willing to send various students to be corrected as long as the damage is not permament to their bodies and they eventually return to class. If that is satisfactory then I merely need a way to contact you in the future. Seems you already have your ways of reaching me."

Vera forced herself to take a deep breath. The dry air continued to wear away at her, forcing her to take another drink of her tea. Warm or not, she needed to continue supplying herself with fluids lest she shrivel up before this meeting could end.

"Oh, that's easy enough. You just fill out a detention slip and get my attention," the gray woman said with a pleasant smile. "Then I'll give it a look and prepare to accept our guest at the appointed time. I think I can deal with even the most rebellious of young women."

At the corner of Vera's vision, something red bloomed in the cocoon and it began twitching again. The crimson spread slowly in the white, staining it. Steel didn't notice.

"Now, the only question is how you should go about getting my attention. If you had some sort of runner you could send to me, that would be nice, though then I worry you'd send me a cute one." As she spoke, something white and streaked in red jabbed its way out of the cocoon and began sawing back and forth with its inch or two of length. "Then you might not get her back for a- FATHER!"

Steel rose so fast her chair scattered behind her. She stormed over to the cocoon and made a disgusted look at the thin slit cut into it.

"Father, I told you before, she's a guest and I will not kill her! Give me that!" A gray hand snatched the white thing away, a few flecks of crimson spattering aside. A smaller hand, tanned, smeared in blood, and quite human, stretched after the gray woman. Steel shoved it back into the cocoon as if stuffing wadding and snarled. Yellow-green eyes swiveled around as mechanical clicks and whirrs hissed from metallic lips. The spiders surrounding the gray woman responded by swarming up over the cocoon to repair the damage.

Steel frowned and padded back to the table on bare feet. "Let's go outside. Father is being very rude and you shouldn't have to put up with her. On this way," she said, gesturing succinctly to the next alcove, which apparently served as a little foyer with a plain doorway. The gray woman moved ahead and stepped into the next room, which was significantly cooler than the previous, though furnished only in a flat metal table and a pair of folding chairs. Pipes ran along the walls and ceiling, dripping water that hissed when it fell to the concrete below. The tea was left behind, but the gray woman pulled a pair of simple cups from... somewhere within her vest and set them on the table, then poured Vera a glass of water from a spout on the wall.

The white thing clattered onto the smooth metal. It looked like a small knife carved in bone, except that it bore no marks from being carved. The red lines of fluid on it were most definitely blood.

"Sit and we can get back to business without all those interruptions."

The conversation continued with little difficulty. Miss Steel remained calm, answering her questions directly and with little issue. But the thing in the cocoon had other thoughts. The wet slurp of the bone white blade piercing out of the webbing quickly grabbed Vera's attention.

Steel reacted quickly, swatting the weapon away while calling her minions to deal with the tear that was cut. Vera watched the white hand reaching out, drenched in blood as the crimson fluid dripped onto the hot concrete floor. Her jaw clenched at the sight. She was still human and this was a very disturbing sight to see for an ordinary one.

Agreeing with the monster's suggestion, Vera rose to her feet. She smoothed out her uniform as best as she could. The Head Girl half expected her clothing to burn away any moment now. Giving a final look at the bloody cocoon, she moved join Miss Steel in the next room.

A soft sigh of relief left her lips as cooler, saturated air greeted her glistening form. She was still boiling but the feeling of the air around her was refreshing. The creature seemed to have already noted what the heat was doing to her and offered her some refreshing water. Accepting the cup she took note of her surroundings as she drank deeply. With the many water pipes, this was perhaps how they provide the school with hot water. With the forge it could also be used to help cool the metals that were apparently being worked on here.

Vera took a seat before the plain metal table. This room was not lavished with a fancy tea set like the room they were just in. It looked more like an interrogation room than any place to talk business. But she could not expect much down in the basement. After having her drink she returned to the mention of the question that was interrupted.

"I currently lack many Prefects to act as messengers to the creatures of the island," she said calmly, brushing strands of hair away from her face and shoulders, "Most dealings with other beings I have had to do them personally. If it is necessary then I shall come down here to ensure the more troublesome students are dealt with. Though I am not sure about being held against my will for long periods of time. I am a busy woman."

"If you're busy, I won't make you run down here yourself. You don't have messengers, but I do," the gray woman said evenly. She clicked softly back at the sealed door and smiled as one of the mechanical spiders clambered under the frame and skittered up onto the table.

"This is-" The name was a strange series of whirrs that Vera was rather certain no human could properly pronounce. "You can call him Chromey. Feed him a drop of blood and hold the slip up to him and he'll let me know, if you're agreeable to such an arrangement. He goes into standby when he's away from me for an extended period, so you'll need to settle him somewhere out of the way." The gray woman smiled grimly. "Or you can get him a bit more blood and whisper simple commands to him if you need the help of a little friend." She sat back in her chair and pointed out the mouth of the creature.

"If you agree to these terms, to seek my assistance for thorough delinquents and feed Chromey blood when you need my attention or assistance, then go ahead and give him a drop of your blood." Steel reached into her vest and pulled out a gray cloth. She wrapped the bone knife in it and rubbed it clean, then held up the white weapon to the light of the bare bulb in the room.

Vera watched the spider that was called crawl up onto the table. She did not dare try to repeat the series of metallic whirrs and clicks that made up the small creature's name. The spider looked like a useful messenger but the student was uncertain if it will listen in on what will be said in her room. Then again, if Miss Steel wanted to spy on her it was doubtful it would be difficult to do so without such underhanded tricks.

Blood was the medium for this agreement. It made it feel like she was making a deal with the devil or some sort of occult demon. Refusing would only annoy the metallic woman and Vera could use help in dealing with the many students troubling her. Being a Head Girl eats up much of her time.

"Very well," she replied, "I accept your terms and thank you for the messenger you will provide." The Head Girl accepted the blade, taking a moment to inspect it herself. Ensuring the blood from the cocoon was not on it, she brings the knife to her finger. Making a small cut, she squeezed out a drop of blood letting it fall into the mouth of Chromey.

The gray woman smiled broadly at the Head Girl's acceptance. Chromey clicked and drank up the droplet happily, sucking it off the table with a miniscule slurp. Steel gestured grandly and held her hand out for the knife.

"It's done, then! May our friendship bring suffering on our enemies and joy to our accomplices. And most importantly, may all those of your kind who have done wrong suffer for their transgressions!" the gray woman intoned, standing on the ceremony. She was smiling somewhat manically at the whole affair and apparently pleased as she ever could be.

The moment the knife came back into her hand, she cringed ever so slightly and turned to look back at Vera. The grin on Steel's face turned sinister, and her eyes narrowed hungrily.

"All those of your kind who have done wrong," she repeated. Bare feet pushed the folding chair back with a horrid scrape and brought the gray woman into the center of the room. The dagger rose in her right hand and pointed at Vera.

"You're a traitor. You've turned on your sisters for personal gain, and you feed on their suffering like a foul beast." The mania from earlier was creeping further into the gray woman's voice and adding a dangerous edge to itself. "You deserve to be punished."