The Madame was furious.
She had promised President Snow a heartless monster, encouraged him to put the girl to the test. Not only had her Black Dahlia project failed in the field, but she had gone completely rogue and taken a whole squadron of loyal peacekeepers out with her. In the end, it took the combined effort of ten men to subdue her but the death toll was substantial and growing more by the minute. All this chaos brought on by a few simple words and a pathetic flower pin. Weeks of hard work and gruelling training undone in a single moment. Snow would not be happy with this disastrous outcome and the Madame was not willing to endure the consequences.
"Prepare the machine immediately." She commanded urgently, storming into the dingy chamber with angry marching steps. The bustling scientists and doctors were startled from their duties at the woman's sudden and enraged appearance, glancing to one another for what to do next.
One brave woman managed to find her voice and spoke out in protest, "We need authorisation from President Snow."
This was evidently the wrong thing to say. The Madame's anger, already at boiling point even before entering, seemed to have been pushed too far and desperately needed a release. Unfortunately the closest target for this inevitable outburst just happened to be the very woman who had triggered it.
The entire room halted in place as the scientist's throat was slit with such force that her blood splattered violently across the grey walls like a broken sprinkler. The Madame stood above the fallen body, eyes blown wide with resentful fire and face smeared with droplets of blood. Her lips had curled up into a vicious snarl and the roar that had left her throat as she butchered her prey reminded all those nearby of a predator killing simply because she can. Simply for the enjoyment.
Unaffected by her erratic actions, she turned to face the frozen doctors and menacingly hissed through her teeth, "Does anyone else wish to seek permission from our dear President?" No one dared to argue back this time. Fearing another unpredictable attack, they abandoned their tasks and immediately got to work on preparing the mind-wipe machine. Though her eyes were narrowed in scrutiny at each individual scrambling to follow her orders, the Madame tilted her head in approval. "That's what I thought." She muttered bitterly, striding forward to continue barking orders in their ears. "Get ready for the Black Dahlia's arrival. I want her memories fried. And this time, make sure you do it right!"
As the Madame pressured the doctors and scientists to work faster than ever, Dahlia was smirking triumphantly as the peacekeepers forced her down the corridor. She didn't care what punishment was awaiting her for this act of disobedience and treachery. She was just glad she had made the Capitol bleed while she could.
She couldn't help but laugh out loud manically as the peacekeepers yanked her into the familiar yet dreaded room. The already tense scientists and doctors shrunk away from the mad woman who looked even more terrifying at that moment than the Madame. With the dried blood covering her from head to toe and the sinister cackle escaping her lips, they feared that an angel of death had truly descended among them, ready to claim their wicked souls for all the evil deeds they had committed. That harrowing sight alone was nearly enough to frighten them into surrender.
"Hello, Madame." Dahlia greets the visibly fuming woman with a smug grin and taunting tone. Even as the peacekeepers continued to drag her harshly to the machine, she maintained her cheeky expression and called over her shoulder, "Fancy seeing you here?"
The Madame's fists clenched at Dahlia's nonchalant attitude. She had always craved the power of having full control over people and the best way to do that was through fear. But this girl was openly disrespecting the reputation she had built for herself and now the Madame's minimal patience was at its end.
"You clearly do not understand the situation you find yourself in." The Madame spat out, only stalking closer to Dahlia once her limbs were strapped securely to the chair.
Dahlia stared up at the Madame, refusing to be intimidated by the woman who'd been tormenting her for weeks. Instead, her blood-stained cheeks curved her lips into a smirk as she relaxed into the chair and slyly replied, "Oh, I understand perfectly."
Suddenly a loud crack echoed around the cavernous room and Dahlia's head whipped viciously to the side. Irritated by Dahlia's arrogance, the Madame had slapped the girl so hard that she could taste the metallic liquid pooling in her mouth. "You are not the one in control here, little flower." The Madame sneered quietly, her voice laced with malice as Dahlia's demeanour grew more serious. "Don't test me! I hold your life in my hand. And I can break you down just as easily as I did before."
"You didn't break me." Dahlia scoffed scornfully, never breaking eye contact with the infuriated woman. "All you did was make me stronger. That's all you can ever do and one day it'll come back to bite you in the ass."
Snap!
Once more, Dahlia's cheek was struck and her head spun to collide vigorously with the back of the chair. This time she wasn't as quick to return her gaze to the Madame, leaving her head hanging limply on her shoulder. Taking this as a sign that Dahlia had been beaten into submission, the Madame found herself smirking in satisfaction. Leaning over the girl, she hovered just above her ear and whispered, "You're all bark and no bite."
But then Dahlia surged to life and knocked her forehead into the Madame's, sending the woman stumbling back with a shocked groan as her hands flew up to her nose. With blood seeping through her teeth and dripping down her chin, Dahlia threw her head back in manic laughter. Between fits of giggles, she managed to retort, "Seems like you're the one with no bite."
Growling in frustration, the Madame recovered her dignity and charged back over to Dahlia with a hardened glare. "I am the only reason you have lived this long! I could kill you now if I wanted to and not feel one ounce of regret--"
"But you won't." Dahlia interrupted the Madame's vengeful rant, staring back at her with an equal amount of fury. "You need me."
"No, I don't." The Madame protested quickly, shaking her head while fighting to keep the sneer off her face. "I need your name. Your reputation. Those... rebels have their precious Mockingjay as the face of their doomed revolution. Snow insisted the Capitol needs a symbol as well." The Madame's disgust was clear in both her expression and her voice, needing to force the word 'rebel' out of her mouth. "To defeat a monster, you need a monster of your own."
"Katniss isn't a monster." Dahlia argued back, dark eyes narrowed as she prepared to defend the girl Alaric had died believing in. The girl she had risked everything for. The reason she was parted from her Finnick.
The Madame's face twisted into a vile grin as she remarked, "But you are." Dahlia didn't reply which only caused the Madame's satisfaction to grow. "Even you can no longer deny what you truly are. What you've always been."
Dahlia stared ahead, taking deep breaths in an attempt to remain calm and prove the Madame wrong. But the woman was like a bloodhound, sniffing out even the slightest scent of conflict and turmoil in someone's mind. She was going to bend the Black Dahlia to her will and, this time, she'd ensure it couldn't be undone so easily.
"You've known what you are all along, haven't you?" She questioned rhetorically, noting the way Dahlia refused to make eye contact anymore and how her fists were clenching as the seconds ticked by. "Everything you touch gets destroyed, everywhere you go chaos follows... And everyone who loves you is dead."
That made Dahlia's head shoot up in fear as her guarded nature was dropped completely. "But... Finnick? He's-- Is he..." She stuttered out, never quite being able to fully form the words. She'd only been able to survive this long because she believed that Finnick was alive and well, fighting with all his strength to get to her. Now she was beginning to assume the worst. What if he'd been gone all this time?
"You think that boy has ever loved you?" The Madame scoffed out mockingly, watching as the doubt began to cloud Dahlia's mind. As the Madame peered over the girl and Dahlia seemed to shrink under the harsh statement, she hissed out her final blow, "After all, who could ever love a monster?"
Dahlia's face dropped as she felt the fears she'd always repressed flood back in full force. Anyone who got too close to her had eventually ended up dead, that was a fact. So maybe she was a monster? A cursed creature draining the life and love out of good people, tainting their innocence with her darkness and cruelty. No wonder they found it difficult to love her.
"You're..." Dahlia murmured uncertainly, desperately trying to convince herself that the Madame was wrong about her. "You're wrong."
The Madame smirked at the hesitation in the girl's voice and cryptically responded, "Am I?"
As Dahlia's spirit finally shattered at her heartbreaking revelation, the Madame signalled for the machine to be activated with a sickening smile. Dahlia could barely notice as the device whirled to life around her, eyes glazing over sorrowfully even while the crackling panels were brought to her temples. As her head experienced the familiar squeezing sensation of the unforgiving metal, Dahlia felt a tear slide down her cheek. She knew this would happen. She knew the Madame would strip her of her reclaimed memories and identity. Yet it felt so much worse this time, because she knew what was coming. And a souvenir of Finnick couldn't save her now.
"Doctor," The Madame announced smugly, folding her hands behind her back as she prepared to watch the show. "You may begin."
Then the pain started. Her whole body went rigid, hands gripping the arm of the chair for stability as she felt like her skull would be crushed from the force. If her legs hadn't been restrained, she would've been kicking madly to match the anguished screams leaving her throat. The procedure was invasive, extracting the memories from her unwilling and protesting mind. But the more she fought, the more she writhed in pain. They didn't care how much she suffered, her brain would be wiped in the end.
However the Madame decided to ensure the Black Dahlia would be the ultimate weapon against the Rebellion, by turning her against the person she loved more than anything. Now the real pain was starting.
"Finnick Odair betrayed you." The Madame proclaimed as confidently as if it were fact. She sounded so sure that anyone would believe her words to be true. But Dahlia, in her weakened state, tried her best to shake her head in denial through her tormented cries. "He left you behind to die--"
"No!" Dahlia yelled through gritted teeth, body convulsing as the electronic pulses shot down her limbs.
The Madame continued as though there had been no interruption, "You mean nothing to him. He doesn't care about you. He never has--"
"Stop it!" Dahlia screamed out through the torture, thrashing wildly in her restraints as she tried to hold on to her mind.
"You are the Black Dahlia." The Madame asserted loudly and firmly. "You feel no pain. You feel no emotions. You feel nothing."
As the relentless bombardment on Dahlia's mind showed no sign of ceasing, the effects of its attack began to show. She was beginning to forget who she was... or maybe who she had been? Her teeth were clenched in pain, beads of sweat dripping down her face from exertion. Tears clouded her eyes as she desperately clung to any memory she could. But the Madame's voice was echoing louder than her thoughts.
My name is Dahlia Blossom...
"You are the Black Dahlia."
I was the Victor of the 66th Hunger Games...
"You are a heartless killer."
I am the daughter of Joule Blossom and Alaric Silvers...
"You have no family."
I am the sister of Lavender and Rosie...
"You are no flower, you are a monster."
I am Finnick's... Finnick's...
Who is Finnick?
"Finnick is part of the Rebellion."
"He is a traitor, not just to the Capitol, but to you."
"He is the reason for all your suffering."
And then her emotions turned off...
Finnick Odair is my enemy.