Cordayl awakens multiple times on his journey to his captors. He awakens briefly at the exchange, seeing the dragon speak to a dark figure.
He awakens again as he lies on his back, being pushed through a dark hallway. And he awakens a third time as someone puts his hand into a restraint.
Some more time passes before Cordayl eventually wakes up. Still a little discombobulated from the knockout gas, he tries to wipe his face only to notice that his arm is restrained.
Cordayl looks up to see his hand surrounded by a metal sphere. Not only that hand, but his other hand and both of his feet are also contained. Upon further inspection, he sees he is elevated, with his hands attached to these giant links of metal hanging from a very tall ceiling.
Unimpressed, Cordayl yanks on the chains to test their strength. He feels them budge, but only a little bit. Cordayl makes a noise and continues hanging out, which seems to be all he can do. So he closes his eyes.
With his eyes still closed, Cordayl asks, "You like what you see?" Opening his eyes, he sees a cute blonde girl in a lab coat staring at him with a looming curiosity in her eyes.
"I do." The girl pushes off of the lab table she was leaning on.
As she walks up to him, Cordayl warns her, "I wouldn't get too close. I do bite," he says, eyes never leaving her.
The girl pauses at his words but smiles as she continues to get closer. "Ooh, a feisty one! I like that. And what is your name?"
"You've been trying to capture me for months, but you don't know my name?" Cordayl responds.
Now that the girl is closing the distance, Cordayl can see the unique look of her eyes. Just like a cobra's.
The girl smiles wide, "A smart ass too? I don't like that."
"And I don't like snakes," Cordayl states.
Suddenly, the girl is in his face with silent quickness. She leans in and kisses him. A long, passionate kiss, too. She pulls away and flips her hair back, wiping her mouth as she stares at Cordayl with a smirk.
Cordayl spits a green fluid out of his mouth, looking up at the girl with disinterest. "Poison huh? Sorry, snake, it'll take a lot more than that to kill me."
"Oh, we have plenty of methods we are going to test, Cordayl, " the scientist from earlier says as he slowly walks into the lab. The blonde girl winks at Cordayl as she gathers her hair and puts it into a ponytail.
Completely conscious, Cordayl knows 100% now that he wasn't tripping earlier. There is no doubt about it as the scientist walks up to the table to turn on a computer.
As the scientist logs in, opens a few windows, and types a few notes, he finally turns around and confirms Cordayl's confusion.
The scientist is no other than Pa, Cordayl's adopted father.
Cordayl stares at him, confused and wanting answers. Instead, he says, "I'm glad to see you are well," but his eyes speak the opposite.
Pa smiles slightly at the sarcasm. "Are you really? I have to say I'm glad to hear you say that, but I don't believe you. Come on, I know you're dying to hear how we ended up here."
"Nope, I think I know what happened," Cordayl replies.
"Do you?" Pa asks, surprised.
"Yup. It's obvious that after that day, they flew you back to this kingdom, patched you up, brainwashed you, and turned you to the dark side. I've read about it happening before. I just have to knock you upside the head and show you pictures of your family until your memory returns. Here, let me out so I can help you." Cordayl says sarcastically.
Pa laughs genuinely at hearing Cordayl's conclusion. His laugh is jolly enough to get the blonde snake to laugh with him.
Taking his glasses off to wipe his eyes, Pa repositions them back onto his face. "Son, you always knew what to say to get me to laugh," he says, still chuckling.
Cordayl's jaw tightens with anger. "Don't call me son again."
"Why not?" Pa asks, still trying to regain his composure.
"Because clearly, I don't know how we got here, you being some doctor and me about to be your test subject, but I know the truth will be one of betrayal," Cordayl says, eyes locked on Pa.
"Maybe a betrayal in your eyes, but I have betrayed nobody," Pa states. "Allow me to fill in the backstory. You see, Cordayl, I was a scientist for the kingdom of Youtound way before I met you.
"I specialize here on those we deem "special." Experimenting and testing their limits to better know their abilities and better understand their genealogy, all for the betterment and survival of the kingdom and, ultimately, humanity.
"I use my research and a few of the specimen's bodies to contrive the most beneficial and powerful medicines and technology this world has ever known. My work has won me honors and privileges only those of the highest nobility have acquired.
"A decade ago, our soldiers found us a rare subject and set him up to be tested and experimented on, but to our ignorance, nobody knew exactly what his strength was.
"It was reported that he had somehow managed to influence a number of the soldiers to fight beside him. The only thing that led to his defeat was that he ran out of bodyguards and was eventually captured. Well, once alone, I had the misfortune of learning what this ability was firsthand.
"It was mind control. I walked into the lab, and suddenly, a voice I had never heard whispered inside my ear so gently, just asking the most random of questions, thoughts I had never conceived or fathomed.
"The moment I started to agree to these silly notions, though, I felt his presence take hold of me. Before I knew it, I was unlocking his restraints, and I sat there and watched as he walked out of the laboratory, twirling my keys on his finger. Only when he was miles away was I free of his clutches.
"But what was worse than being controlled was I began to go through a complete mental breakdown. I suffered a painful insanity right here on this floor." Pa taps his foot.
"The guards, hearing me scream my pain out, sedated me, and I was hospitalized for 3 months, unable to even speak. When my mind returned to normal, and it was invaded with fear that my mind might have been damaged beyond repair. Worse, that my career might have been ruined.
"The king showed me mercy, though. He told me to return to my estate and stay there until I was ready to resume work. A kindness I was so thankful for.
"Fast forwarding, I was at home for 6 months, rehabilitating through the love of my family, when on one random snow day, I was surrounded by snow wolves. And although I was afraid that me and my son were about to die a gruesome death, a young warrior came and saved our lives.
"When I saw that after all you had sustained battling that pack of beasts, not one scratch was visible on your flesh, I knew that my passion for my research had returned.
"But I was not about to make the same mistake twice. So, instead of capturing you, I took you in and watched you up close with my own eyes. Studying your uniqueness from a front-row view.
"I had experimented on those who could heal themselves. Tested on those with tremendous strength and speed. People who could breathe underwater, fly, control elements, even those with multiple lives. And I knew from the moment I saw you control gravity without batting an eye, punch a wolf out of the forest, feel pain that would cause death, and not bleed! I knew that you would be the trophy of all my experiments. That you would bring me boundless glory.
"And for the first time in my life, I saw the humanity of one of my subjects. I saw you live, I heard you laugh, I watched you sleep, I hugged you… I even loved you." Pa pauses to look at Cordayl, who doesn't feel any empathy right now.
"When I returned to the kingdom that day, I was given top priority in the hospital and was operated on and saved. The King issued the death of the general who shot me as an apology, but I didn't care about that. After healing, the only thing I knew was that I was ready to get back to work.
"Of course, that's precisely what I did. I have continued my work for ten years, picking up as if I had never taken a day off. You helped my passion return Cordayl!
But the subjects I was working on seemed to be lacking something. As they all came and went, I couldn't figure it out. It was starting to drive me crazy.
"What was wrong with these superior beings, far surpassing the everyday man, that fell short of my expectations? Was it that they weren't strong enough? Failing to live past the expected expiration date? Were they just lackadaisical? Being no more special than a dog that had learned to walk on its hind legs? Repeatedly, I found myself disappointed in these subjects, and I took on a feeling of melancholy, as I knew that this subject would be no different from the last disappointing one.
"Then one day, just out of the blue, after another failed subject, I saw you in the background of a live news feed. That's when it dawned on me. The reason why my work seemed… unsatisfying, was for the simple reason that they weren't you.
"You, Cordayl, are the one I have been waiting on for so long. Now that we are finally reunited, I can genuinely say that my heart is bursting with joy and anticipation. Because the fact of the matter is… I'm just dying to see how strong you are.
"You see, I'm a scientist, not a torturer. My experiments are merely those that test your limits in hope of finding your weakness and possibly more of your strength, so that I may harness that factor into one that will benefit not just a select few, but all of us.
The problem is that in orderto get my research and develop whatever else data I might need, I must take you all the way to the door of death. And if you are as strong as I know you are, Cordayl, unfortunately, by the conclusion of these experiments, you're going to be begging me to leave you there." Pa says with a smile on his face, as if he has delivered that line plenty of times. And loves to say it.
"Doubt it, but feel free to try," Cordayl says.
"As you wish," Pa says, walking away to talk to the computer monitor.
"Experiment one was merely a poison, and by no surprise it failed. Moving on to experiment 2." Pa says, walking away from the computer and back to Cordayl, who has his eyes glued on him.
Pa stands there for a second, just staring at him. Then, with no hesitation, he raises his gun and shoots Cordayl right in the head.
"Experiment 2 was a failure. The bullet ricocheted off of the subject's skull and nearly killed my assistant.
"Experiment 16 was a failure. Subject rejected the poison, resulting in a black vomit." Pa says while the blonde girl is mopping up the mess.
"Experiment 25 a failure. Subject is unable to be drowned." Pa reports.
"Experiment 51, failure. Subject extremely resistant to electricity."
"Experiment 64, failure. "
"Experiment 68, failure.
79, 88, 91, failure.
"Failure.
Failure!" Pa repeats over and over again.
Slamming his hands down hard on the table, Pa sits there with a small smile. His frustration is a weird one, as he is happy at the same time. He knew Cordayl would be tough to crack, but he never imagined him being this strong.
"Shall I prepare experiment 92?" the blonde girl asks.
"No. It's been 49 hours now. Let us call it a night. He will be here tomorrow," Pa says, looking back at an unresponsive Cordayl. "Come now, I'll buy us dinner," Pa says, making his way toward the lab exit.
His assistant puts a few supplies and tools away, but before she leaves, she walks up to Cordayl and puts her hand on his face. Looking at him with pity, as all this time Cordayl has accepted every experiment dealt upon him, with no refusal.
The blonde says to him, "Come on, Wild Child, I know you have more fight than that. He's been looking forward to this for so long. Please don't disappoint him." she says before leaving to follow Pa.
As the door shuts and the room grows dark, a dim light in the background activates, giving the room the glow of a gas station bathroom. Cordayl sits in the dim room, his eyes barely open, suspended in the air.
He's there physically, but his mind withdrew into itself 70 experiments ago.