If there was one thing that was absolutely vital to the advancement of scientific knowledge, that thing could be nothing less than research. Coming up with a hypothesis for problems and testing them out in order to understand how and why things worked the way they did. Only after extensive research and testing could one enjoy the fruits of their great labors.

To Dr. Katherine Steiner, nothing was as important as research. To her, it was the key to understanding the secrets of the universe. And to her, it was the key to unlocking the potential of her body.

A body that shared the same genetic material as those of the Harvesters. And it was for this goal alone that she was more than willing to use anything and everything she could to strengthen the Harvesters further. Her father and his science team had created what they saw the 'perfect parasitic lifeform'.

While this was true in many aspects, Dr. Steiner saw no need to stop there. She was interested in improving upon her father's creation, to explore their evolutionary potential. To remake them into the ultimate lifeforms.

Only then could she be absolutely perfect.

It was for that ultimate goal that she had requested a female brought to her, one who possessed unusual qualities. One who was said to be a witch, with the ability to harness the force known as 'magic'. Though she did not believe in magic, the scientist saw no need to let such an attractive lead go by without molesting it.

Whenever it was magic or something else, she would find out for sure. She was the consummate researcher, after all. As long as there were things unknown, she would always strive to discover the secrets that laid buried within them.

It was thus why she had one Kanoe Shade kidnapped from her bedroom as she slept and brought to NICE Labs, under the darkness of the night sky, drugged and unable to fight back. It wouldn't have done for her little lab rat to be harmed, after all. That and she couldn't have the student waste any of her so-called 'magic' on such insignificant little gnats. Not when her research demanded that Kanoe be at her best for this.

It was once she had everything prepared that Dr. Steiner decided it was time to enter the student's holding room, which had inhibitors installed and on the highest setting in order to completely suppress her ability.

The doctor then pushed the door open and walked into the brightly lit room, which held only a table and two chairs, both of them bolted to the floor, with only a pitcher of water and several cups. Wearing only a black form-fitting dress and her labcoat, Katherine smiled at Kanoe who had been stripped nude by the kidnappers and forced to wear only a simple white shirt and pants.

"I hope you're comfortable, Miss Shade." The doctor smiled as she seated herself at the desk, setting her clipboard and folders down, watching the student. "I do apologize for such a rude way of getting you here, but I suspected you wouldn't have come if I had asked you to."

Kanoe did not even know what hit her. She was uncertain how she even got into this predicament. Could have been an odorless gas that ensured she would remain sleeping or perhaps someone snuck in and drugged her directly. Something could have been put in her food to ensure she could not fight back as her kidnappers came and left with her quietly. With no official roommate, no one would know that the dark witch was not sleeping in her room right now.

Bright lights would sting her eyes as the woman slowly came to. She groaned, feeling groggy from whatever was used on her. The cool feel of the chair would tell her immediately that she was not in her bedroom anymore. She would have stood up then if it were not for her eyes still adjusting to the unforgiving lights. It would not be the first time she had been captured and taken somewhere. Seeing that she was not in a cave or in the basement, Kanoe could only guess this was NICE labs.

She was rather surprised that they put her in different clothes. Usually when things like this happen, they just do the removing and leave it at that. The white shirt hugged her well endowed chest and the pants at least covered her private areas. As her vision cleared, a woman's voice would speak up. Kanoe blinked, seeing a woman in a labcoat sitting across the table from her. From what she could see, the woman was just as voluptuous as she was and perhaps a little bit older than her.

"I am hardly comfortable after being kidnapped by you monsters.." she said, referring to any of the staff working on the island the same as the creatures that rape her. Standing up, the witch was going to make for the door. She was not about to sit by and let these people do experiments on her.

Dr. Steiner only smirked at the remark, as it was only to be expected from a female that had gone through as much as she had at this point. Though she doubted it covered everything, the school's records were remarkably accurate enough. Still, she had been through the wringer more than just a few times, from what the doctor could see.

Not bothering to stop the student, Dr. Steiner merely opened the folder and began looking over the facts of her research up to now, allowing Kanoe to discover that the door was locked and would not budge either. Still, all the same, it was only proper to allow her to test her boundaries, see how far she could go. As much as she loved researching, she knew that it was just as important as to allow people to explore for themselves, even if they were limited in their searches.

"Not only is it locked but the window behind me won't break easily, and the furniture is secured to the ground. And beside, we're using inhibitors to suppress your... Ah, peculiar abilities. Feel free to keep on searching for a way out. You won't find any, though, but whenever you're done, please go ahead and sit down." This, she said quite matter-of-factly, as if it didn't bother her at all.

The woman did not stop Kanoe from attempting to leave for obvious reasons. Even the student was not shocked to find the door locked. What did make her eyes grow wide was when she tried to channel her mana and not feel anything at all. She knew the island did something to hinder her magic, make it harder to channel and control properly. But in this case, she could not even feel her abundance of mana. It sent a shiver down her spine. Without her magic, she was just like the other students. She did not like feeling this vulnerable.

"Let me out of here!" she growled at the woman, "I am not going to be your little guinea pig and be hooked up to any of your machines!" Her hands clenched into fists. The labs knew well enough about her magical ability to seal it completely. Though Kanoe knew a little bit of physical combat, she would be on equal grounds with this supposed human scientist. Even if she could not escape, that did not mean the witch had to cooperate in any way with these people.

Dr. Steiner finally wrested her eyes away from the papers and looked up at Kanoe, no longer amused after the woman's outburst. "I'm afraid I can't do that, Miss Shade, and I have to say, I'm not quite fond of your attitude." She did not bother with getting up, seeing no need to, but she still did not have to take the student's attitude and let it slide.

"It's been observed that you're quite too fond of your abilities, so if you don't sit down and cooperate... I will have to make an official recommendation to administration for you to have those abilities of your suppressed completely from on now. You choose whenever you'd rather be my guinea pig or be a normal human from on now."

It was then that she had a predatory stare to her as she looked at Kanoe, one that spoke volumes about her not being willing to be screwed around with. If it came down to it, she was more than willing to use force. "Rest assured, if I have to restrain you myself, I will."

The witch stared daggers at the less than pleased scientist. She was visibly shaken by the threat. Dangling her own powers that she spent all her life learning and practicing how to use right infront of her. Her knuckles were white from clenching her fists. The doctor had proven that Kanoe was not in control here.

Not wishing to lose her magic, Kanoe obeyed and returned to her chair. She did her best to keep her eyes steady on the woman but there was no way she could hide the fear she had now. It took all she had to keep from lowering her gaze. Taking a slow breath, she composed herself as much as the situation would allow. "What do you want from me?" she asked. The student was obviously tense about the whole matter of being abducted and now being experimented on.

"Thank you." Already, the doctor was making an effort to be as pleasant as possible. She watched as the student seated herself, composing herself as she stared back, clearly not happy at all. If looks could kills, all her problems would have been solved. Still, she could detect a hint of fear, and that one fact pleased her to the point where she was feeling less annoyed. "I simply wish to understand more about your ability and to test it as well. While I could have learned about it from other reports, they are... woefully limited. It seems that those in charge of past tests simply wanted to have some fun with you, and I've never been one to stand for such sloppy work. Beside, wouldn't you like to learn more about your own limits?"

It was natural for non mages to be curious about magic once it was proven to be real and not just a fantasy. But once those in power learn that magic has other uses besides cheap card tricks, that is when various factions seek that power for themselves. Kanoe saw this as no different. This could be means to find more methods to fighting her types of magic or to use it for themselves. She did not believe in research just for the sake of science. But telling they can already completely supress Kanoe's powers, they must not see her as a real threat.

"Do not act like this will benefit me at all," she replied, "If you actually cared for my growth then you would not be hindering it with these inhibitors. What do you want me to do? And know that I am doing this expecting you to keep your side of this. Not that I have any means to stop you if you choose to take my magic anyway." It was like trying to talk to someone pointing a gun right at your forehead. Kanoe had no pull in this conversation. This was just all routine in hopes to make her come to their side.

"Now that you're being civil, I suppose I'll be open with you." Dr. Steiner smiled as she closed the folder, staring at the student and trying to decide on what precisely to say. It wasn't before long that the doctor had decided on something. Rather than saying things carelessly, she knew it would be more to her advantage if she was to at least gain some degree of trust from the student, allowing for some level of real cooperation. Therefore, it was critical for her to answer with complete candor. "This room has been ca liberated to keep your powers suppressed, yes but only to ensure that you did not lash out with your abilities. It would have been a waste of energy and compromise my research. I won't be conducting my experiments with you in such an environment."

"Instead, I'd like to allow you to explore your abilities in a room specially designed and reinforced with the best possible materials. There would also be no inhibitors within the room, so you would be able to use your full potential. However, whenever you step outside that room, your abilities will be suppressed again. Just in case you have any ideas about escaping." She hoped that the student would be able to see that this wasn't something that would have been allowed at the Labs, and that she was at least trying to compromise. "Entirely off the record. No outsiders either. Just you and I, along with a few specimens I've been working on that I would like to test against your magic, but that's for later. I've also taken the liberty of setting up personal quarters for your own use during your stay here, along with anything you would like. The choice is yours. You can either cooperate with me, then we can enjoy our... brief partnership. Or you can refuse, in which case, I proceed to do my experiments on you, and it won't be enjoyable at all."

Being kidnapped in her sleep was hardly something Kanoe could call civil. She kept her guard up even when the woman offered to be 'open' with her. That could mean anything but on this island she doubts it meant telling the truth. The doctor seemed to be unconcerned that she was a witch in the first place, saying the inhibitors were to prevent the student from wasting her mana. Already, she being seen as something less than a person and that made her clench her jaw in annoyance.

As parts of the setting for the experiment was explained, she would be lying if she was not at least a little bit curious about a place where her magic was not being hindered in any way. In the end, it would not really save her as she would be in a controlled environment and unable to escape. Once it is all done, she will be back to being nearly powerless before monsters intent on raping and breaking her. Really, things like her own personal quarters were just fluff to keep her from realizing her horrible situation. Her options were limited unfortunately.

"I do not seem to have much of a choice... Miss..." she answered finally, "Fine, I will cooperate for now."

"Very good." Dr. Steiner smiled as she watched Kanoe, truly seeing her nothing but something to examine and perform tests on. She invariably saw everyone the same way, not as what they really were, as living beings. Still, it did not bother her in the least bit. "Before we begin, I'd like to learn more about these abilities of yours. As I've said, most of the reports done on you were not... thorough. Therefore, I would prefer to hear it straight from you, especially what you think about them. As far as I'm concerned, you know the most about yourself, yes?" It was always good to get in some standard questions before beginning the experiments, after all. And beside, one never knew whenever they would be able to learn anything new about their subject. But before long, the two of them would be getting down to the experiments themselves. And she knew it would be draining, even if the student was at full power. "Also, try to not omit any details. The least bit will help conclude my research faster, and I'm sure you would like to get back to your own room."

She was not comfortable with just revealing all her secrets. But it was either talk or have it all taken away from her. There were a few monsters that were curious about her magical ability and did their own 'research'. She did not think any of those creatures were sent by NICE labs though. Kanoe crossed her arms infront of her chest as she stared at the woman. "Well, ask your questions then," she said coldly, "The sooner this is done, the sooner I can go back correct?" She could hope for that much right? Becoming a test subject for the rest of her life was not all that appealing.

"Correct, do your part, and I'll uphold my part." Dr. Steiner smiled as she moved the folder aside and looked over the clipboard, which held more papers and forms, the top one with the questions she wanted to ask. As much as she loathed the idea of using such barbaric terminology, she would have to just stomach it. "Ahem, let's see. This ability of yours, I believe my predecessors referred to it as 'magic'... Which, as a scientist, I can't really approve of. But, for the sake of expediency, we'll just start with a few for now..." Dr. Steiner then slid the paper with questions across the desk for the student. "How old were you when you discovered you had this sort of abilities? What sort of abilities have you utilized so far? What have you done to harness and improve upon these abilities? What manner of things have you done so far utilizing these abilities of yours? And lastly, under your usual conditions, have you had any successes in using your abilities to ward off... Ah, unwanted visitors?" The doctor smiled, knowing that her 'visitors' were more than just that.

The series of questions were focused and on topic. They were purely about magic and the use of her magic. It was a change from the sort of experimentation that other lab coats have done to her. "About eleven years old was when I was able to first channel my magic," she answered, "I am certain your reports have what I am capable of already but I will answer it anyway. My magic tends to focus on the use of fire and darkness elements. This can range from lighting candles to summoning a ball of flame or a tightly pact bolt of shadow. I do what I can to improve, mostly practice and studying whatever magic tomes and scrolls I can find. As I said before, mostly just attack spells to deal with the monsters on this island but I suppose producing heat and lighting candles offer more utility means of use. And no, any monster I do fend off probably could have been fended off through physical means as well. Most monsters are either capable of regeneration, resistant to my particular elements, completely immune, or simply strong enough to shrug off the damage."

For the most part, she answered truthfully. Though told to leave no details out, she saw no reason to mention using her magic to make sex far more stimulating with her partners. Everything else was true and whether the doctor knew or not would not effect her own magical ability as far as she knew.

Nodding, the scientist began jotting down relevant data onto the clipboard, listening to the student speak as she answered. One never knew whenever some of these details might be useful, and it was always better to be safe than sorry. After all, all of the data had to be gathered, whenever they were quite useful or marginally so. "And as seeing as your abilities did not seem to harm the monsters enough to force them to reconsider, did you not contemplate channeling your abilities into defensive ones? It seems to me that it would have been best to try out different options rather than just using the same one and hoping for different results..." The definition of insanity, that was.

"But I digress... I'm sure you did the best you could. Now, most abilities tend to have some sort of effect on the body, whenever positive or negative. Have you ever felt any such effects? Considering the nature of these monster attacks, perhaps there was some sort of sexual reaction from these abilities of yours? I also have it on record that you enjoy encounters with other students..." No such luck, as Dr. Steiner looked up at Kanoe, a smile on her lips. "Have you used your abilities for... Ah, 'impractical' means with other students, perhaps? Also, a fair number of monsters have reported being satisfied after their session with you, would you say that your abilities have something to do with this?"