The gray woman slammed the door behind herself and strode quickly towards the heart of the furnace. The heat of the place singed the torn, tattered clothes in her hands, which she threw into another door. Her nest was coming along well, but she had no time for that now. They were overworking her tonight, it seemed. She considered, briefly, that someone in the administration was trying to torment her for demanding so much of them with her next task.

She'd given them a specific girl, a specific time, and a specific place to have her. She'd been adamant about all of this, and had suffered none of the normal procedures for such things. She'd even insisted they find their own transgressions instead of doing her own surveillance and discovering what the student had done recently or inventing her own transgressions.

What she had done was study the girl, intently, since she'd dragged her lover down underground weeks ago. That fledgling mage had been a treat, a delicious morsel, and she had made the girl a promise that she intended fully to honor.

Twenty minutes and three seconds after the door had slammed shut behind her, it slammed shut again as Miss Steel strode the other way. The chamber that Kanoe was to be brought to was mostly prepared, already swarming with her chrome spiders and coated in thick webs that hid the door she'd walked through almost completely. The gray woman dumped the things she'd forged specifically for the young woman beside herself and folded her arms to stare patiently at the door. If things were on schedule, the witch was due within the next 83 seconds.

After her last encounter with a possessed doll, the dark witch knew how the basement acquired it's reputation. The cruel being had threatened and tortured her body with various devices. How a school could get away with having such things in their basement was beyond her. But, their island is full of monsters and most do not seem to care about that either. She could only hope that her punishment was done with and return to the dull life in the classrooms.

The hope was short lived as each of her instructors continuously harass her about her uniform. There was no ways she was going to wear the short revealing skirt and tight fitting blouse for everyone to glaze their eyes over. Despite her last punishment, Kanoe continues to wear a more conservative form of the school uniform of the colors red and black rather than the blue and white of Shokushu.

The woman's heart sank towards the end of her last class when the teacher handed a slip of paper and told her to go to the basement. She nearly protests but knew that no one would believe that a wooden doll was down there, just like they do not believe in the other monsters that exist here.

Her body tenses up as she began walking down the steps to the lower floor. The footsteps echo off the concrete floor as she follows the direction of the note. Every part of her body was telling her to run away. But, where would she go if she ran? Grinding her teeth slightly, she continues down the dimly lit hall until she found a rusted sign that had the room number she seeked barely readable. Taking a long deep breath, Kanoe could only prepare for the worse. She lightly knocks on the door before opening it and gazing inside.

The industrious, mechanical creatures continued to skitter and tend to the thick webs across all of the walls. In the center of the room was a plain metal table with a basic chair on either side. From the ceiling, there hung a short series of bare lightbulbs and a smattering of manacles with the slightest hints of webbing clinging to their upper reaches. Beside the table was a bundle of... something... wrapped up in plain gray piece of rough linen.

In the center of the room, the gray woman stood calmly with her arms folded under her generous chest. Her yellow-green, vertically slit eyes settled on Kanoe as she stepped into the room, and she nodded towards the chair across the table from herself, spilling a few wisps of thick, gray hair over her shoulder.

"Come in, young lady. We have the rest of the night to get to know each other, so I see no need to rush right at this moment. Have a seat. We need to talk. First but not foremost, what's this about you disobeying the uniform code? Do you think the rules don't apply to you, Kanoe?"

As she spoke, Miss Steel pulled out her own chair with the scrape of hollow metal on smooth concrete, then pushed the opposite seat towards the girl with her foot and another scrape.

Darkness surrounds the small circle of light that illuminates the metal table and chairs. She could not help but feel unease of what may lie hidden in the shadows. Just like her first time in the basement, every instinct was telling her to turn and run away. Her eyes fell upon the gray woman. This one seemed to be alive and not an evil spirit. That still did little to comfort her.

The screech of metal grinds across the concrete sends a shiver down her spine as the woman spoke to her. The school was paying more attention to her and now making her pay for her small offenses against the rules. Kanoe lets out a long sigh as she lightly flicks the upside cross hanging around her neck. The student steps forward and takes a seat across from the other woman. Brushing her long raven black hair behind her shoulders, she could only imagine what ignoring these appointments to the basement would do to her. Spending a night down here? What is with this school?

"You have seen our uniforms correct?" Kanoe replies cooly, "Blouses that are far too tight and skirts that leave nothing to the imagination when one bends over. I am here to learn not put myself on display for the teacher's leering gaze."

It took a rather distinct presence of mind for the gray woman to keep herself from slamming the door and latching it behind the girl. Her eyes flicked to the entry, winced ever so slightly, then returned calmly to Kanoe's. At the witch's comments on learning, Steel's inhuman eyes glimmered with interest, and she leaned forward excitedly.

"Ah, but there's the second reason you're here tonight. What, indeed, are you intent on learning here? I know the schoolwork itself doesn't intrigue you greatly. No, no, the things you want to learn, if I am not mistaken, are things that can only be properly taught in places like this."

The gray woman gestured around the room, and the dim light gently built up to fully expose the glimmering webs and the shining, terrible, mechanical spiders amongst them. The lights subsided as the gesturing arm stooped to pick up the gray package. The thing landed on the table with the muffled clatter of metal on metal, and the gray woman popped it open and began gently removing things.

"I would be a terribly remiss monster if I didn't do my damnedest to encourage the study of evil things, so I have for you some small gifts. I am somewhat unfamiliar with your specific school of study, so I apologize if I have misjudged what might be useful for you. First, a proper pair of boots."

The creature withdrew a straightforward pair of black shoes that would hold Kanoe's ankles comfortably, reinforced over the toes with a thick bit of steel that reached out with a pair of sharpened spikes.

"Second, a simple brazier, so that you might work with flame without setting the dorms on fire."

The thing wasn't precisely 'simple'. It was a relatively small but ornate incense holder marked on its round sides with four arcane marks for different dark entities, and what appeared to be tiny spiders cast crawling amongst them.

"Third, a tome, albeit one I found by chance and not of necessarily greatest interest to you."

Miss Steel lay the book beside the other two in front of Kanoe. The dusty, hard-bound cover of the relatively small work read "Techniques for the Focusing and Calming of the Psyche".

"Those three I offer to you as a token of goodwill, and hope they might aid in teaching you things no human should ever know. The fourth gift is more of a deal I will offer you. I will answer for you any questions you have, truthfully, completely, and immediately. Anything. In order to get your answers, though, you will have to convince me that you are willing to seek the truest darkness. You will have to take these," the gray woman said as she drew a pair of thick, metal manacles from the cloth, "and immediately find your Clarice. Then, you must restrain her, bring her to me, and assist in delivering the cruelest torments I can imagine upon her. If you hesitate for a moment on your way there, I will have you brought back here, and you will get no answers. If you refuse to perform any of the things I ask of you, you will get no answers. I will give you thirty seconds to decide, starting..." The manacles clanged unnervingly as they were set right in front of Kanoe. The vertically-slit eyes fixed directly upon the young woman's, calm, serious, and slightly hungry.

"Now."

The chair screeches across the floor once more at the sight of the spiders surrounding the entire room. The witch was on her feet, not daring to sit down with such creatures around her. They seemed to be metallic much like this woman before her. Does the school use some of the monsters to keep the students in line?

The muffled clang of metal brings Kanoe's attention back to the table. Her eyes narrow to a cold glare as the grey woman speaks of her intentions. It would not be the first being that wished to assist her in learning magic. The school must already know about her studies. Was that the reason she was down here now? But, this strange woman seemed intently focused on the much darker of arts. Whatever the intention, she doubts this grey being was here for her favor.

Kanoe did not show much interest in the strange pair of shoes besides the initial shock of seeing the spiked toes on the end. Not something she would wear unless she really had an urge to kick someone to death. She thought the woman was mocking her until she saw the second item. The incense holder was not something one could find easily. The ornate design fitted perfectly with the path the witch was willing to walk. The question of why continued to surface in Kanoe's mind as the woman pulls out the book, laying before her with the other gifts.

The woman's true colors showed as the deal was explained. Kanoe's jaw clenches tightly at the mention of her lover and what she must do to her. How did she know about Clarice? Her fingers close into fists as the manacles fell onto the table. This woman seems to only want to focus on one aspect of darkness. No matter her path, she was not going to have Clarice involved directly, especially not by some monster's request.

"No," She replies coldly, "I have no need nor interest in proving myself to you. If you wish to help my magic, torturing her will not help me. There is more to darkness than cruel pointless tortures. I accept your gifts but I suppose I still cannot leave this room yet."

Though she does not trust any of the monsters here, Keemari's lessons did help in explaining herself somewhat. Of course she would never admit that to him. This being was strange compared to the others. Perhaps due to it being the first monster that she could recall that brought her gifts. Her paranoia and hatred for these creatures only led her to believe this was just another way to manipulate. She will have none of it.

The gray woman smiled mischievously as her offer was denied. She had watched the woman's responses patiently, belying her comprehension and the thought's racing through her own mind, taking quick notes. The anger the witch showed drew a wider, hungrier grin across her lips.

"Pointless? Your little slut was one of the most delicous pain batteries I've ever encountered. Half these spiders are made from the harvest I took from her." Yellow-green eyes lit up at the slip. "Ahh, but I've tipped my hand. That, then, is the third and foremost reason you are here."

Miss Steel went to stand and tipped the chair unintentionally back. Before it crashed to the floor, a thin strip of living, writhing metal snatched out after it from under the loose vest, caught the thing, and righted it. Throughout it all, gray hands rested comfortably on the table as if nothing abnormal had occurred.

"I spoke with Clarice." From her tone, the word 'spoke' clearly implied other things. "I made her an offer, similar to yours but different at its crux. She could give you to me, let me torment you for a night, or I would visit things ten times worse upon her. She could give you to me, or she could die."

One hand flicked out at the door, and it was thrown shut and locked by hundreds of mechanical horrors. Calmly, the gray woman stepped around the table counter-clockwise, the fingers of her left hand trailing on its smooth surface.

"I had certainly met a number of girls worth killing for, but I wondered what someone worth dying for was like. As an added bonus, you get to see what sorts of wonders you can do with a ready source of pain and anger."

The trailing hand settled on the cuffs and lifted them gently from the table.

A breeze began to flow about the room causing her long black hair to sway and lift slightly off her shoulders. Kanoe's blood was boiling as she felt her mana burn like molten lava flowing in her veins. If it were not for the dampening field, there would no doubt be dark energy crackling about her body.

"You..bitch," She hissed, barely able to contain herself.

This thing took Clarice, tortured her to produce more of these vile spawn. The witch's eyes blaze with hatred as the woman slowly walks around the table. Wisps of darkness caress along her uniform and slither down her arms. She has seen what monsters have done to her lover and regretted never being able to do anything about it. Now it was too late. Did Clarice really give her life for her own? The one thing that matters to her beyond her magic was taken away.

"I'll kill you!" She growls.

Harshly spoken incantations left Kanoe's lips as her hands now visibly crackle with dark energy. The wisps of shadow gather and swirl into a large sphere in the witch's hands. She was no longer concerned about her safety as she channels as much as she could to the pitch black orb. She had to do this, she had to kill the one who took Clarice away from her. With a loud scream, the orb blasts from her palms. The student nearly fell over from the backlash as the large jet black orb of condense threads darkness flew towards the grey woman. On contact, the orb will burst in a large concussive blast along with a strange chill of death and decay.

Miss Steel's eyes went wide with unrestrained glee as energy flowed through the woman before her. She let go of the manacles just before the attack struck her full in the chest. When it exploded, the gray woman was flung hard enough against the far wall to send a shower of dust and particles and pulverized webbing into the air around her. As it cleared, she sat, her legs parted and her arms limp at he sides. A stream of yellow blood ran down her face still frozen in that horrible, hungry smile. Her lips began to move despite the rest of her body being completely motionless.

"Oh, Gods, I think I came. See what your hate can do, even unfocused and wild? If you could direct it, there'd be a hole in me now. If you could siphon it from three other girls, I would be a thick goo."

Rubble cascaded softly down around her as the gray woman settled a hand beside herself and began slowly to rise.

"I suppose I should be upfront with you, though. Not even that would kill me." She shifted a foot under herself. "If you study properly, you can someday hold enough power to take your vengeance upon the things that harmed your love." The creature gasped and wrapped an arm under her chest, muttered something about broken ribs, and began to rise on unsteady feet. "You can protect her from us, but you'll have to become one of us." With a soft, shuddering moan, the battered and bleeding woman took a single step forward, her expression nothing but bliss.

The witch was still burning with hatred. Hatred was the only thing dulling the stabbing pains going through her arms for using such a large amount of energy at once. The being was still alive though obviously wounded. Is this all she could do to it? The thing seemed happy that she wounded her. Did it like being hurt? Such a disturbing concept. Fingers twitch as she tries to gather energy once more.

"Sh-Shut up.." She gasps out, "You wanted me to harm the one I want to protect."

Flames began to lick about her fingertips as she began to chant once more. Her voice was not as loud or as harsh as before. She had a huge amount of mana but lacked any control over it. Even the most basic spells use up alot of her strength and reserves. Grimacing in pain, she forces her fingers to spread fully apart and swipe both her arms infront of her. Long wisps of flame lash forth from her fingers, all converging at the wounded monster.

"I'm not done with you.."

The flames seared over gray skin, cauterizing the wounds and burning off most of the blood. The clothing over Miss Steel's body was rent away by heat until she stood completely stripped before Kanoe.

"Mmmm, cleansing," the gray woman muttered with an uhindered shudder of lust before dropping againt o her knees. "Hate me. Do it and do it again." She shook her head slightly and focused intently on the witch before her. "Hah! I would have done more than make you hurt her. I would have made you break her down until she was malleable as putty, then I would have helped you bind her to yourself. She would have been yours, body and soul, a claimed possession." A long, gray tongue slid out and lapped away a bit of lingering yellow at the corner of the creature's mouth. "But I see now that you're too weak for such a thing. You're just more offal from this place, battered and broken already. Instead, I'll teach you to be like her, to be meek and frightened."

Fingers clenched into fists and relaxed again at her sides as Steel began to rise slowly and carefully again.

"That is not for you to decide.."

Her fingers were slightly singed by her own flames. The thing was still coming though. The grey skinned woman seemed to be enjoying Kanoe's attacks more than actually being damaged by them. She could not turn back now. Everything had to be put into destroying this thing before her. Kill or be killed they say.

The witch holds her palms outwards. Her arms quiver in a mixture of pain and fatigue as her first fingers and thumbs touch forming a diamond gap between her hands. A flame began to grow and swirl within the small space as more spidery words of magic fill the room. A long stream of flames shoot forth from her hands, aiming to pierce and burn the rising woman once more.

She kept channeling the spell with every ounce of power she had. Sweat glistens her brow as her knees wobble and grew weak. After several moments, the flames began to sputter as her mana began to fall to dangerous levels. Her vision blurs as the spell finally fails. The young witch falls to her knees, steaming hands falling to her sides. Even if she did become a monster, she was not about to let someone else decide how she should treat her love.

"Even monsters can still make choices.." She says faintly.

The spell scorched and dug at the creature's chest, and a piercing scream ripped from her lungs. She collapsed forward against the ground, smoldering and panting hard, a moment after Kanoe fell to her knees. A small pool of clear juices spread from the gray woman's lap as she lay against the cold concrete.

"You're half right." The words were croaked, and a soft whisp of steam escaped from gray lips as they were spoken. "Only those with power can enforce their choices."

One weak, twitching arm wavered in the air. Steel's other limb was trapped beneath herself. There was a resonating slap of hard flesh meeting the ground, and then the creature began one more time to rise on her arm. Her eyes wavered and unfocused as they sought to find purchase on the spent caster before her. A glazed, blissful smile clove her face in two as she freed her other arm and continued to carefully make her way back into a kneeling crouch. Where she'd been struck, there was now a charred pit that seeped a small trickle of smoke. A few spiders, each the size of a pea, left the walls and clambered up over her gray skin to settle themselves into the wound.

"For example, you chose to kill me, yet here I am."

Kanoe pants heavily as the adrenaline began to leave her. A wave of fatigue washes over her aching body as she watches the grey woman push herself back onto her knees. Her heart pounds hard inside her chest as she gazes at those slitted eyes that threaten to devour her. Her arms shake but she could not summon the strength to lift them much. That was all she had and it was not enough. The witch was frightened but it felt dull. Perhaps she was used to failing time and time again. She could beg for mercy or try to crawl to the door. But none those matter now. Only the strong were allowed to make decisions here. It was a cold hard fact that was becoming the norm on this island.

"What...What will happen now?" She sighs.

She hopes to remain strong for Clarice. She knows her love would not beg over a defeat like this. It was her own weakness that left her like this. Now, she will pay the price for it.

"Now?" The spiders in the gray woman's wound stitched themselves together and melded away the scorch as she set one foot on the floor. "Now I punish you for your arrogance. Now I make you whimper and cry and beg, just like she did."

She finished rising, took one quarter-step to restabilize herself, then glared sternly down at Kanoe. That grim, dull resignation was not what Miss Steel had been hoping for. It tasted bland and flat to her, and she resolved to instill some proper terror when the chance arose. Fingers wrapped back over the chain linking the metal cuffs and scraped them off the table as Steel stepped up to what was now just more spent prey.

"One more choice for you. You can give me your wrists, or I can force you down. Submit freely and I won't have to crush you as much."

Her hands clicked open the restraints and held them out towards the girl, waiting to see if she would comply.