The rest of Kanoe's stay at NICE Labs had been exhausting, to say in the least. Her ever-demanding hostess, the good doctor, had remained as demanding, as voracious as ever, in the pursuit of scientific data from the student. Their nightly romps in Dr. Steiner's bedroom were equally as taxing, the older woman pushing her to the edge each and every time.

It was only after Dr. Steiner had grown satisfied with the wealth of information she had extracted from Kanoe that the young woman was finally allowed to leave. It had been a week since her freedom from the confines of NICE Labs, from all the grueling tests and physical exertions, though she would continue to find her memories somewhat fragmented, remembering much of what she had gone through, but the more intense experiences had been blanked out entirely, the doctor not wishing for there to be any lasting impact on her psyche, not wanting anything to disrupt the commands she had implanted within her mind. Commands that she had yet to use, in fact. They remained buried within Kanoe, a delayed bomb, awaiting only the activation of the trigger.

Thus, a week after Kanoe had left NICE Labs, Dr. Steiner finally made her move. A week of rest, she believed, would be more than ample time for the young woman to recover both physically and mentally, as well as allow her unconscious mind to properly digest the commands she had been programmed with, ensuring they would trigger without any resistance, any and all attempts to fight or deviate taken out of the equation. She would be her puppet, her plaything, hers to do with as she wished.

Once she had received confirmation that Kanoe had returned to her dorm room and was alone, Dr. Steiner arrived a hour later, wearing an elegant black dress with slits along her legs and high heels, her usual lab coat set aside. Neither did she appear as she normally looked, having altered her physique to that of a young woman in her early 20s, lithe and slender. Even her hair had been changed from black to a light brown and her eyes from green to hazel. Indeed, she wished to catch Kanoe off guard with the element of surprise, knowing that keeping her off balance would enable a smoother transition. Only then did she knock on the door, fixing a smile on her face as she waited.

It was difficult to fathom what wall happened those many days over in NICE labs. Kanoe knew she was over there though she had no clue how she got there in the first place. She knew they wanted to learn more about her magic though it was unknown for what purpose. The inhibitors have proven strong enough to completely suppress her if necessary. Resistance was met with punishments so vile and cruel that her mind refused to recall the details. As if that was not enough, she was threatened with the loss of her powers numerous times to ensure her cooperation. Even when cooperating, there always seemed to be things that go wrong and she would be to blame. The constant verbal abuse let her know she was nothing but a test subject to these labcoats, an object to be used and studied.

She could not remember being released. The witch was in a daze as she returned to her dorm room. The next thing the student remembered was waking up in her bed, finally free from the torment. Her entire body ached and her head throbbed. She had missed alot of class though she was not punished for it. Apparently NICE labs informed her teachers of her situation which only revealed that it was not all just a horrible dream. Would she be called back in for more experiments in the future? It was too painful to think about it. She may not know all the details but she knew that she never wanted to return there again.

The rest of the week was spent sluggishly recovering from it all. Unfortunately, there was no rest for the dark witch. She had numerous assignments she had to make up in all her classes, keeping her busy throughout the next several days. The only good thing was this helped take her mind off her suffering and torment if only for a little while.

While working on some classwork, a knock came to her door. This was perhaps one of those days where she did not want to see anyone, even her own apprentices. Dressed in just a black robe with a revealing v-cut down the middle, Kanoe sighed and answered the door. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw the absolutely gorgeous woman standing before her. She could not help but feel terror as this woman looked rather familiar though everything seemed to be a bit off. Not only that but this woman was dressed as if she was about to go to a fancy dinner with someone rather than going to college much less visiting a student's dorm room.

"I... You must have the wrong room," Kanoe said quickly, "I was not expecting guests..." Part of her wanted to just close the door and return to her solitude. But, she was not going to just slam the door on this woman's face. She just had to hope this woman would leave her be.

The reaction she got from Kanoe once the student had seen who it was that knocked on her door was nearly enough to make her smirk openly, but she kept herself composed. No need to ruin the facade so early, not when she wasn't properly prepared for the shock. Just as her physical form had been altered, Dr. Steiner spoke in a different voice, softer and more alluring, one of her favorite tones. "Oh, I doubt that. You're Kanoe, right? No, I came to see you..." It was a voice, while Kanoe had never heard before, that had been used for reprogramming the young woman's mind a week earlier. It would trigger no commands on its own but it would certainly carry influence with the student, almost hypnotic really...

"May I come in?" Dr. Steiner smiled at Kanoe, well aware that she would be plagued by confusion and perhaps even fear. Here was an unknown, someone she had never spoken to, much less seen before, and yet she seemed vaguely familiar in a way she couldn't make sense of yet. "I've been hoping to speak to you for some times now, actually. It's rather important, I promise." It was not simply just her control over Kanoe she sought to test. She had, in fact, come armed with a number of new abilities, positively dying to try them out on the young woman and see how they performed. It was the result of her research on Kanoe, after all. "Please?"

The woman's voice flowed through her like melted butter. Every word left her mind tingling as the witch found herself hanging on every word. "I do not know why you want to speak with me so badly," Kanoe began, "But, fine." The student stepped to the side, opening the door a bit more to allow the mysterous woman into her room. The sooner this was over with, the sooner the woman could leave or so Kanoe thought. This beautiful woman could very well be another monster in disguise. She could only hope that was not the case. Then again, it would not matter if this was a monster, the creature would find a way in anyway.

"Have a seat," she said as she closed and locked the door behind her, "Would you like something to drink? I do not have much besides water or tea." There were plenty of open chairs around the table where they could sit and talk. On the table were some candles along with various books on subjects she was studying in class. This was perhaps the first time she was actually focusing on class work and not her own magical studies. Once the polite formalities were dealt with, Kanoe had a seat as well. "Now, why do you need to speak to me so badly Miss..." she had no clue who this person was beyond a vague familiarity so she had no name to refer to this woman by.

Settling into one of the chairs around the table, Dr. Steiner smiled at the offer of something to drink. "Tea would be wonderful, actually." Beyond that, she did not ask for much else, instead allowing Kanoe to carry on with the formal duties of being the hostess. Once she had seated herself as well, she opened up with the question of her guest's presence. Well, no time for small talk, apparently. That suited Dr. Steiner just fine. "Heh, straight to the point. Fair enough, I suppose you're allowed to be curious given how strange this has all been so far. My name is Tara." She introduced herself, using a false name she had already settled on beforehand.

"I came here because of what I've heard about you. They call you a witch, that you dabble in some pretty dark stuff. Normally I wouldn't believe it because people like to talk about others, but... You're really a witch, aren't you? I can tell." She smiled, a knowing gaze at Kanoe as she took a sip of her tea and placed her chin in her other hand, attention entirely focused on Kanoe. "I could sense others with some magical ability when I came here, but there was one that really stood out. You, of course, stood out." She then gave the younger woman a look over that came with another smile. "In more ways than one, apparently."

Kanoe provided some tea before sitting down with a cup for herself. It was hardly curiosity but more just wanting to know what business this woman had with her. She could not help but feel uncomfortable in this woman's presence. Tara's reasons for being here varied very little from what other students come here for. But, the answer was still rather vague. Then the woman looked Kanoe over before giving a small compliment of other features that impressed her.

Heat rose in the witch's cheeks. Again, the voice felt so soothing as it tickled parts of her brain. Kanoe did not let herself get distracted though. "You still have no explained why you have sought me out, Tara," she replied, "What does it matter if I am a witch or not? What do you hope to gain from knowing if I am truly capable of casting magic?" With Kanoe's attire and demeanor, it was not like she was hiding the fact she was a witch to anyone. But, she was not going to admit anything unnecessary if she did not have to. Tara claimed she stood out though that could just mean she was the only one with magical ability around at the time. Either that or she was simply stronger than the other potentials out there which was a high possibility as well.

'Tara' merely smiled at the question. "Because it just so happens that I myself am in possession of certain abilities. Abilities that you may find intriguing. I could have gone to any of the others, of course. But they seemed... inexperienced. I suppose you could say I'm not interested in little fishes when the big one is so much more appealing, if you get my drift?" She smiled again as she helped herself to some more tea. "And of course, given that you have more potential than the others, surely you can understand how attractive that makes you."

Then she set the cup down on the flat surface, giving her hostess a pointed look. "Then again, there are 'those' things, lurking around the island. I've seen them at work, attacking students. I imagine someone like you, you've seen more than your fair share of attacks too." Then her gaze softened somewhat, though she gave Kanoe another smile. "Of course, they haven't managed to pin me down. They haven't the chance, thanks to my abilities. I could give you a little demonstration, if that would make you take me more seriously?"

Without waiting for a response, the woman released her hold on the cup entirely and held her hands together, giving Kanoe an amused look before she uttered a single word. "Evanesco." Then... Tara simply disappeared, as if she had never been there at all in the first place. The command word she had used, as it were, was more or less a situational one, but a useful little utility in times like these. She hadn't actually vanished from sight, turned invisible, or anything like that. It was simply Kanoe that no longer saw her, her eyes no longer perceiving the woman in front of her, as if she couldn't be seen with the naked eye. Then, the cup of tea rose into the air, tilted slightly as 'Tara' took another sip. "Difficult to attack what you can't see, wouldn't you say?"

So far it seemed more that Tara had something to offer Kanoe rather than being here specifically for her knowledge. The woman certainly seemed confident in this fact as the explanation continued. So this was being mentioned to the witch because she was perhaps the only one who could make use of it? That was quite the claim when there was no further knowledge of Kanoe's abilities. She may have alot of raw power but it was limited to only two elements currently.

Kanoe's eyes narrowed at the mention of having been able to avoid monsters. Minor creatures she could understand as such things even she could stand up to. But, she has had plenty of experience with other monsters and beings to know that students were powerless to stop them with or without magical powers.

Tara decided to give an example of her powers. With a single word, she vanished without a trace. Kanoe's eyes were still seeing the woman but her brain simply did not register the woman's presence. Tara's voice revealed she was still in the room and even lifted a cup to show she was infact invisible. The dark witch closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again, allowing herself to see threads of mana in the air and in objects. Her eyes widen slightly at what she saw or rather what she did not see. There was no threads of mana at all that could be from Tara's body. There was only the elements of the chair, the air, and any other trace elements that made up the world. Tara was essentially invisible to both forms of sight or so Kanoe thought. She did not even feel the faint tingle of mana that came from sensing someone casting a spell. There was just nothing. Tara was there then she was not. It was well beyond anything the witch could muster.

"That is rather impressive," Kanoe said softly, "But if you are so skilled, why bother coming to me then? It is apparent you do not need my help and it is doubtful someone who can avoid monsters could use anything I have or know." This bothered the witch. She could not learn anything about this 'magic' being used before her. Usually she could see the threads and develop theories of how a spell is done. But here, there was no visual or sensory information to go over. "That would be a useful skill to have to survive this place," Kanoe added, "But what about creatures that do not use their eyes?"

"For the same reason you've been taking other girls who show even the slightest degree of potential under your wing. Safety in numbers and all that. However, I have to admit even with all my optimism, I don't quite see how useful they can be. You on the other hand, you have considerable potential. Plus, in all honesty, you know more than I do, even if it isn't much more." The cup tilted again as more of the tea disappeared into the unseen mouth of Kanoe's guest. She was clearly content to remain invisible, perhaps even finding it amusing where she was, or wasn't, sitting. "That said, I've never been one to waste opportunities."

A sigh then followed the woman's last remark, the cup moving back down toward the table. "Of course, there are those that doesn't quite hunt by sight. They certainly come in all sorts, don't they? But this is just one aspect of my ability. Going further, I can seal off smell and sound too. Then, I need only give them wide berth and they wouldn't have the faintest idea at all. Of course, it's certainly something that can be learned. The study is simply demanding. Hence, I sought you out, the one with the most potential. Why would I go for someone weaker? That would just be a liability and you can't afford to have such a thing in this place."

Most students that come for Kanoe's helps knew nothing about magic to begin with. Most did not have much of a spark, limiting their ability to learn greatly. It was true that there was no hope for any of those new apprentices. What the dark witch knew took her years to even learn how to channel mana and even then it was using improper methods. It was unreasonable to expect other students to reach Kanoe's level in a matter of months. There were at least a few students who came to the island already knowing their art of magic but most have gone missing in one form or another.

"So you are here because you wish to teach me these spells?" she asked. Tara already made it clear what her reasoning was. This was just to ensure at least the strongest mages will at least survive. Of course, it was already too late for Kanoe due to certain persistent monsters. But, having powers other did not have was too enticing to refuse. "Very well," Kanoe said finally, "I am interested in learning this magic. When do you wish to begin? From what you say, this may take a long time to learn and master."