A Past Worth Forgetting (*Book One*)

Chapter Eleven: A Worthy Sacrifice

The odor of blood and stagnant water rammed my nose like a hammer to the stomach. My eyes examined the lab I had not been in since I was a young child. Medusa's lab was just as creepy and bone-chilling as it had been all those years ago. Crona lead me to a chamber towards the back that had a large metal door covered in black arrows, with a snake coiled in the center.

"Lady Medusa, she's here." Crona reached a hand to his left arm, gripping it tightly.

"How absolutely delightful," Medusa opened the metal door, staring at me with a wicked grin. "I just knew you'd come, Akemi. I trust you got my message, yes?"

"Coming at me in my dreams isn't convincing. I just wanted them gone." My eyes clicked to a crimson and I stepped back.

     Medusa took hold of my arm and brought me to her experiment room, and my eyes clicked to a worrying grey.

"W-What are you doing exactly, Medusa...?" I questioned, attempting to leave through the door.

"Something I've been waiting for, darling." Medusa began waving her hands in a hypnotic motion, whispering words for a spell.

"Crona, help! Help me, please Crona!" I screamed, banging my hands frantically on the door.

"Go to sleep, Akemi. It'll all be over soon." His muffled voice came through from the other side.

     I began getting dizzy. Medusa took advantage of that, lifting my unsteady body onto an operating table, and strapping all my limbs down. My last sight was of her devilish grin and two hands holding syringes. A thick, black liquid waiting to be brought to life inside them.

   *Time Skip provided by unhelpful Crona*

     My eyes fluttered open slowly, pain radiating from every part of my body. I groaned, trying to turn my head, only to find it bound down by leather straps. I tried my best to locate any way that I could escape, and that's when she entered.

"Ah, you're with us again. Tell me, how do you feel?" Medusa smirked, leaning against the door frame.

"M-Me-Medusa..." Was all I could whisper before my body went into spasms, gnawing at my very bones with pain.

     She came over to me, undoing the leather bonds and helping me sit up. I grabbed my head, looking down at my frame. Scratches, bloody patches, and mild bruises covered most of my visible skin. I managed not to tear my clothes, though. My eyes clicked to a royal blue, and I felt tears.

"You appeared to go through what seemed to be a night terror when you went under. You fought, tearing your arms from the bonds and going crazy on yourself. Which means, though, it may be working." Medusa got me off of the operating table, and laughed.

"W-Why? Why're you laughing?" I asked, puzzled.

"Take another, longer look at your skin. Notice anything, darling? Crona! Fetch me my coat, it's almost time." Medusa stuck her arms through the sleeves of her snake skin long-coat, held up for her by Crona.

     I held up my dress slightly to get a better look at my soon-to-be scars, and a deafening shriek leaped from my lips. Oh I was bleeding, yes. But the blood was not red, it was black. My finger ran over the wound, wiping up some blood so I could bring it to my eyes. I launched myself at Medusa, outraged.

"What the hell did you do?!" I screamed, elongating my fingernails in an attempt to scratch her.

"Now, now. My darling Akemi, why don't you have Crona here help you out with something?" Medusa shot an arrow that wrapped around me, hoisting my body in the air, and carrying me behind her.