Remembrance Over Solitude

Chapter 43

3 days later

Fatui  Headquarters, Underground South division

1:00 am

A shadow created by the lights bolted down a flight of stone stairs, the black, shadowy silhouette crept up the wall as it travelled and disappeared just as fast as a diminishing light, its size growing smaller as it runs further away from the light source.

My long hair trails behind me in a braid as I stealthily rush down into the basement without being seen or heard. I managed to distract the guards at the entrance by sneaking by when they least expected it so as not to create a commotion. As the lights get dimmer and dimmer and the sound of moaning and wails of pain are heard behind each cell door, my mouth curls unpleasantly.

Funnily enough, none of them beg to be let out or to have mercy on them. Perhaps they've already accepted their fate here. A smart choice, there is no hope once you're locked down here.

They are a constant reminder to anyone that this is what Master Dottore is truly capable of, his more major experiments are usually conducted down here and they are kept in solitude to keep the results consistent with his plans or so I've heard. But looking at it with my own eyes has confirmed it. 

This also inherently tells me about the danger I'm in if I slip up once. And if that happens, I'd much rather kill myself here than spend the rest of my days in a single dark and filthy room in solitude. I'll end up just like these prisoners here, strung up to be examined whenever it's the right time, having syringes poked into my skin, and having my various organs and limbs ripped apart from me and replaced with another appendage.

Never again.

I stop when I reach the end of the hall, in front of a heavily bolted and locked door which is largely similar to the rest of the ones in this place. However, the only difference is there is a sliding panel for communication while the rest contain bars. I knock on it in a specific pattern, loud enough for the one behind to hear me and after a moment of hustle, the latch is unlocked and the panel slides open to only reveal the lower half of a masked face.

"State your purpose." They say dryly.

"I have a meeting with Lord second, who has requested me to come at about this hour." 

The panel slams shut right in front of my face and the clicking of locks from the other side is vaguely heard. The door opens and I enter without a second thought. As soon as I do, it shuts with a bang hurriedly as the door's keeper returns to redo the locks. I curtseyed to the taller figure in front of me with eyes on the floor.

"Good evening, Sir Epsilon."

The segment named 'Epsilon' turns his feet to me and eyes me up and down. He acknowledges my greeting with a nod and a stern flick of his hand. "Come." He orders me briefly to follow him through the tunnel leading to the next section. Unlike the outside, this place is well-lit enough for one to see clearly. Probably because they require it for whatever goes on down here.

"You came later than we thought." He started off with a side glance. "I'm aware." "Be glad you came just in time. A day longer and one of us would have been sent to kidnap you or something."

"My sincerest apologies, sir. I just needed some time to think before I came." I apologized half-sincerely. He ignored me and looked straight at the path before us. Once we got through the tunnel, we passed through the segment's joint laboratory where the various other segments were busying themselves with their experiments, some quarrelling amongst themselves (rather violently if I might add) and some dead asleep on top of their research.

Epsilon led me to yet another room and banged on the door loudly. "Hey, Prime! The secretary is here!" 

No answer.