Wade

The silence that followed that was the scariest time of my life, face to face with someone who thinks I'm the same thing that has killed hundreds to thousands to maybe millions. All I could do was look around the room. The gray-white walls were splattered in blood and in the corner, untouched, I wanted to get up to grab it, but every time I moved, Balastine moved in a hostile way. After a few minutes of us just staring at each other, I stand up quickly, startling her and she throws a… knife? Dager? Some sort of short sharp object. The knife nicked the side of my hair and stuck to the wall. She started to yell at me to "Not move" but I ignored her and walked to the corner where the metal arm is to pick it up. 

As soon as I knelt down to grab it I heard The Creator "On your left" I moved right and Balastine came flying over my shoulder and came at me as soon as she hit the floor and The Creator guided me on where and when to dodge. "Down. Jump. Left. Right. Jump."

After a few minutes of this, I had no cuts on my body and we both were exhausted; Balastine clearly pissed off at me. I stand up straight and walk back to where the rod is. When I bend down to grab it, my hands become ice cold. I quickly stepped back while holding the metal in my hand, Balastine pulled her knife from the wall and walked closer to me, it was all black, black metal, black hilt, the seith for it was even black. I sat back down in my seat and examined it. "*Um, sir, can you please give me that vision thingy that I had in the battle with my dad?*" almost instantly I had holograms pop up in front of me explaining what this was.

It said it was steel, but it looked like the black metal from the Nightmares. I took the shirt off my arm; now perfectly fine and a huge scar ran down it elbow to wrist. Once it was off I cleaned the blood that was still dripping from it. It just looked like a silver bar, just like steel.

I looked back up at Balastine and asked "Does this look like I'm a Nightmare?" I toss her the steel. "That came directly from my body, I don't know how I have metal growing like that, but I'm not one of those freaks. So don't compare me to them." My voice sounds shaky, even for me. A boy, only 17 fighting monsters and seeing my dad 'die' before my eyes.

When I stared into Balastine's eyes, they were cold and bitter, like how you would see in an Apex Predator. "I wasn't comparing you to the Nightmare, I said that there was a possibility you could be one, or at least turning into one." She stood out of her chair and walked to the door. She grabbed the handle and looked back at me for a second, like I was a lost dog. "You coming?" She said annoyedly, "Let's take you to see your dad. One last time."

* * *

The elevator was very small, me and Balastine were shoulder to shoulder. It felt odd to be this close when it wasn't in combat or the need to survive. I tried to strike up a conversation… but it was always shut down. It was nice to note that she was somehow harder to talk to than a brick wall. Everytime she spoke, it was like google or alexa was talking to him "Yes", "I am not able to speak", "Why do you talk so much?" Once the elevator door opened and we walked out, I felt relieved, scared, shocked, and every other emotion. The room was massive, white marble floors, big rooms; glass fronts with different creatures in and around them, when we walked, we passed by three Nightmares strapped to tables with doctors of sorts around them. Then a flesh monster that looked like godzilla's play thing, a 100 armed creature that half of the hands were making things and the other half were playing games or some other thing. We passed a Cyclops, probably 30 feet tall, and I felt very uncomfortable with its one big eye on me.

When we got to the final stall, the lights were off and a yellow hue was left there in the middle of the room. Then I heard, "Test number 368, electric shock therapy. 3… 2… 1" and I saw 15 thousand volts of power surge into my father.

I could feel the pain lightly in my chest, a burning sensation that spread through my whole body. It hurt, but I didn't dare show it because Balastine was watching me like a hawk and any movement would trigger her. Through the energy's light, the metalic body was hyper-extending and the excess flesh was flapping around. When I looked at him, I felt… Numb. I knew this wasn't my father, just a murderer that hijacked his body.

I turned to Balastine and asked, "Can I go see him in full, preferably with the light on. She looked very hesitant but she eventually agreed and walked me to the cell door.

Once we got up to the doors where two guards in gear similar to what I have seen so far; black combat pants, vest, and cloke with the same sigil as Balastine. They bowed as we walked up to the door and Balastine waved her hand and told them to leave us be and they complied without a word. When we walked inside, the lights turned on and the sight reminded me of the lab; smoke and steam sizzling from the flesh cooking, the metal was now red hot, but it was still trying to move out of its restraints.

"Kill him and I can bring him back, all you have to do is trust me." The Creator said now agitatedly excited.

I turned towards balastine and asked "How do you guys kill the thing?"

She looked very annoyed, like I should know this already. "A very rare ore that can barely be melted, called Cymnnite, was mined to extinction over 4 eons ago. That is the reason why we struggle so much against them, we now have to fight amongst ourselves for the weapons in a battle. We are able to trap them, like you see here, but not kill sadly. Only the greatest of Janus are granted these weapons." 

I walked towards the Nightmare and leaned over it as it was shaking and struggling, the smell was the worst thing I've ever smelled before. I reached my arm out to touch it bc at the end of the day… This was my dad still. Hopefully there The Creator can truly save him, I would do anything for him back. Wouldn't you do the same? When I touched its arm, I felt a shock go through my body, not like an electric shock, but a… spark between a father and his son. My breath was so shaky and all I could think about was getting my family back together, hopefully I can even get my brother back from the depths of Hades.

I felt a tug on my shoulders and I went flying to the wall, making a perfect body dent in it, feeling a shock and falling to my knees instantly, looking at the floor trying to collect my thoughts. When I look up, I see Balastine painting; hand sticking straight out with blade in hand, there was something wrapped around her arm. Black metal that looked like a claw and as I continued to look, I saw something stick out of the black abyss of Balastine's clothing. A shine. Then I hear it, Rip, splat and see her body go limp and thrown to the ground. The Nightmare looked at its legs still strapped down and it cut them; turning its head slowly towards me, the sizzling of the flesh still clear as ever. It swings its legs off the table and stands up in ideation, I run to the door right next to me. As soon as I get to the door, a spear-like projectile is launched past my head into the keypad on my right side. Once I turn around again, this time much quicker, it's still standing there ideal.

"*Sir, is this your doing?*" I ask The Creator.

"No, I don't know what is going on." he replied back "But I do know you can't take him in your current state."

He was right, I was in no way going to win and reinforcements were locked outside. It was just me and the Nightmare in here.