Echo of a Friend

Part 10

H- Isaac came and went - and with him the day. Time passed in a mixture of being far too long and far too fast at the same time, all while being impossible to tell from within these walls.

WHen next the door opens, it is with a cheerily whistled tune. Weasley trots into the room, and Isaac follows stoically behind him, armed with that gun from before.

"RIse and shine D-67~" the collector trills, far too enthused. "Its a very special day for you today~"

C- Daki hadn't slept at all that night, and his food remained untouched. He hadn't move from his spot. He was exhausted. He merely looked up at the collector with disgust. "My *name* is Daki Embyre. You think you're so smart but you can't even say my fucking name right?"

His jaw clenched, but the vigor in his words was all but there. He was just tired and afraid, and all he wanted was to disappear.

H- "Oh, silly me." he chortles. "I do apologize, *Davey Empires*" he sneers with that sick grin of his. He isn't sorry at all.

"Stop playin around, doc" Isaac drolls as if bored.

"Ah, All work, no play, makes the day a dull one, my dear Isaac." the collector sighs in disappointment as he worked to get the surgery table cleaned and sanitized and set up a much smaller table next to it for all his jars and tools.

C- Daki was too tired to retort or give the collector any satisfaction of a response. At least Isaac was sort of keeping him in check. But that didn't change the outcome.

Daki's eyes followed the collector's actions, visibly paling further, making the bags under his eyes and the puffiness of them stand out more. His heart raced.

H- "While I tidy up, can you go get the tub from upstairs? We'll need it for the heart." The collector requests, gently teasing the edges of his blades to see the sharpness in them.

Isaac obeys stiffly, trodding back up the stairs to return shortly after with a plastic tub in tow, it sloshes vaguely as it thumps down each step.

"Ahhh, thank you." he purrs.

To Daki, he shakes his head, feigning sympathy. "You look *exhausted* dear. But don't you worry - we're about to fix that ~"

C- Daki's breaths quickened through his nose, eyes fixed on the tub, then his eyes returned to the collector. He was shaking subtly, but kept his mouth shut.

H- "Look at you~ Shaking from anticipation~" he unlocks the cage and steps inside, well aware of the boundaries given."I bet you're just as excited as I am~"

Isaac looks over at Daki, then away. Was that...guilt? No. It couldn't have been. He raises the gun and fires the dart at the camo'd giant.

C- Daki's breaths quickened. His eyes flitted between Isaac and the Collector, finally showing their full range of fear that was previously hidden.

As soon as the dart hit, he flinched, alarmed by the suddenness of it. He couldn't think. He couldn't... move... he slumped over onto his side with a clanging of chains. Blackness danced over his vision, barring the bleary figures of the ones who sealed his fate. He wanted to fight it so bad but... his eyes rolled back, then finally shut.

H- The collector whistles, impressed. "That stuff really works, huh~"

Weasley steps over the tape and towards the giant, kneeling down next to him as he fumbled in his pocket for those jingly keys. "You're kinda cute like this - all tuckered out and vulnerable...Like a puppy. Ah...I remember my first puppy-"

Isaac pales. "Don't. I don't want to hear it again."

The collector giggles. "We all have to start somewhere Isaac~ I'm surprised that story still upsets when you've seen and done *much* worse."