Diverging paths

Fixed

26/1/2043

Wing leaned, harshely, against the patterned wall.

Images of violence, cycled through their mind, pain etched in flesh by a knife of sorrow and sin.

As they ran their fingers across their bloodless wounds, their own self harm, shame rived it's way into their soul, embedding itself.

They thought themselves to be alone but Headzo loomed near, with a kind smile across his face.

"Follow me." Headzo beckoned.

Curious, wing followed on into a slightly dim room, with walls decorated of tools and nails with a circle of work benches.

In it's centre, a table, similar in look to a dental chair but more mechanical.

Stood, unimpressed, were Wingzo and Finzo.

"Lay down." Headzo instructed, patting gently, on the centre table.

Wing obeyed, laying their body across the metal.

A wave of dread and fear consumed them, causing their hand to begin to shake and tap quickly on the table.

Having noticed Wing's stress, Headzo took their hand, holding it tight.

"It'll be fine, I'm just going to fix these scars and finish the engineers' work." Headzo spoke calmly and softly. "Both of you, keep them calm and settled."

Finzo moved, instantly, next to Wing, sitting close and placing his hand upon Wing's shoulder.

Wingzo placed herself near to Wing's head and began to feel Wing's somewhat long hair.

They beginning to understand what Headzo saw, that they couldn't.

They began to see the scared child Headzo had referred to.

"Let's begin with those scars." Headzo spoke with urgency as he released Wing's hand and roled up Wing's sleeves. "Now then this should work." Headzo spurted out, whilst picking up a surgical scalpel.

The sight of the tool brought back the experiences of pain and constant abuse Wing had endured, thus causing them to clench up in fear.

Noticing Wing, Finzo felt an ounce of overwhelming compassion settle in his mind.

"Wing." Wing turned to meet Finzos eyes. "Relax, it will be quick and obviously painless."

These words did little to sooth Wing, but they still unclenched, due to their strong trust in Headzo.

Headzo moved closer, slowly he made a clean cut along Wing's arm, before removing the phony skin and revealing the metal casing underneath.

Steadily, he did the same to Wing's other arm.

Wing closed their eyes, fearing for what they'll see.

Seeing this fear, Wingzo began to play, softly, with Wing's straight black hair, even proceeding to adjust Wing's bright-pink  lavish bow, in hopes of soothing Wing's mind.

Headzo then pulled out a pair of skin-textured sleeves.

Headzo didn't wait long  before covering Wing's metal shell with their new fresh skin.

"Let's try and keep these ones in a bit of a better state this time." Headzo knew his pleading was pointless, but still felt he should try.

Wing still refused to open their eyes.

"Okay then, I guess we should sort out the electrics on those knives of yours." He knew Wing was scared, but still believed that they would be pleased by the end.

Headzo moved his hand against Wings arm, at a slow, careful pace, trying to find the groove that held the knives.

With a very simple press, inwards, the groove opened to reveal the knives, blunt from overuse.

Finzo copied Headzo in an attempt to help, before handing to Headzo the second blade, the handle towards his hand.

Headzo moved to his desk and began to tinker.

He proceeded to turn tiny thrusters on and off, finding the perfect power for the knives to return to Wing as efficiently as possible.

He continued to tinker with the handle and once wiring had been connected and fixed, he ran his fingers along the blade, finding ridges and small, blunt bumps; clearly worn from use.

With their eyes still closed, they couldn't help but listen to the clanking of metal, as Headzo sharpened the knives.

Fear and stress began overwhelming Wing, as they were left without the knives, that had brought them strong comfort through years of pain and murder.

They were coming increasingly closer to a panic attack, but was luckily stopped by Headzo's hand, placing the blades back in their rightful place.

"Feeling better now?" Headzo questioned not expecting any answer.

Wing nodded slightly to reply but felt an overwhelming worry for what would be next.

Headzo knew Wing would hate the next part, but still had to finish the work on their arms.

Wanting Wing to feel at ease, Headzo placed his hand, gently, onto Wing's face.

"You'd feel better if you opened your eyes." Headzo pleaded.

Wing tried to move their head from the embrace, but moved it back in place, longing for some sort of affection.

"Please, for me." Headzo pleaded.

Wing gave in, finally opening up their eyes to meet Headzo's.

"Thank you. Now your hands are meant to be very strongly magnetic, to hold the blades in place." Headzo began to explain. "But currently they are quite weak. Obviously they are induced magnets because having them on all the time would be pointless."

Headzo moved to admire Wing's palms, before unscrewing a small metal pannel on theur wrist.

Inside was a series of different coloured wires, some of which not connected, explaining the low magnet strength.

"Activate the magnet for us." Headzo asked Wing, as the magnets required testing.

The newly strong magnetism, forced Headzo's arm to attach to Wing's palm.

"Now deactivate." Headzo instructed.

Wing did as ordered, allowing Headzo freedom from the attraction.

"Okay, now only one last thing." Headzo continued, "show me your wings."

Finzo and Wingzo both moved back, expecting the transformation.

Wings body turned inwards, revealing the moster beneath.

Their wings opened wide, the red of the membrane moving gently against slight breeze.

The wings were obviously unfinished; gaps in the skin sat clear.

Headzo examined the apertures  before beginning to sew the slits together, completing the overall procedure.

"We're finished." Headzo soothed.

Wing sat admiring their wings, thankful it's all over.

"I also completed the wiring on your blades, they can now join into a sword, which should make your defence much stronger." Headzo spoke with a smile.

Wing gave only a simple nod.