Project S.T.A.T.I.C. Part 5: The Asylum

Jake and Rebecca shared a look as they pushed the doors to the operating room theater open. They’d made their way through the labyrinth of the decrepit hospital together and survived the copious horrors that Murray had concocted and designed for them. Her experiments had created a living nightmare for each of them. From the basement floor, the entryway, the courtyard, to the upper floors, the asylum halls had been riddled with creatures, creations, patients, and other horrors to stop them. Despite all of it, including being separated, they’d managed to reunite and overcome the odds to get to this point.

“Psst, hey, Sal,” Beth called to her aunt as they filed in through the double doors, “Catch.”

Beth tossed her heavyset aunt an extra clip for the handgun she’d given her moments ago. Sally, who looked more disheveled and haggard than Beth had seen her in years, caught it with a pudgy hand. The loose fitting shirt and stained scrubs she had on were being pushed to their limits of their elasticity. Still, Sally tucked the spare magazine into the waist of her pants and gave her niece a nod. Beth locked eyes with Addy before pulling out one of her larger knives and tossing it to her. They weren’t the most heavily armed group, but something was better than nothing. 

Having armed the two newest members of their group, Beth fell back to help her girlfriend. Rage had dispersed and returned to Pam, but she was moving slower than usual with slightly haphazard and stumbling steps. She reached out and put an arm around her waist to help steady her. Pam didn’t fight her or argue as she draped her arm around Beth’s shoulders. Truthfully, Pam was glad to have Beth close by once again. She’d been worried that her temperamental firecracker might have gotten herself into trouble on her own, so it was more of a relief to see her face to face again.

“Hold up,” Jake held up his hand before they got too far into the theater, “Pam, what’s going on with you?”

“Brompton cocktail,” Sally scoffed, earning a confused look from Jake, “It’s an expression, bird-brain. They shot her up with suppressants and sedatives that are fucking with her powers and her ability to walk.”

“My powers were already inhibited by the walls here,” Pam corrected her, “The drugs they shot into me are primarily affecting my nervous system and my ability to move and fight. I’m more of a liability in this state.”

“Do you still have that adreno stuff in your suit?” Beth asked, “Or did you have to use it on one of your missions?”

“No, I managed to pull together just enough for one more dose before we left,” Jake shook his head, digging into his utility belt, “I just hope the vial didn’t get smashed while we were dealing with that chaos downstairs.”

“Chaos is downstairs?” Addy asked while Jake dug around in his pocket.

“There’s a small army of those things down there looking for something to eat,” Beth remarked.

“No, that’s not what she’s talkin’ about,” Sally shook her head, “That massive freak in the leather coat and dress that the sick doc commands. Is she downstairs, or…”

“That’s what it’s called?” Jake asked, pulling a vial with clear liquid in it out of his pocket along with a small injector.

“Yeah, that thing is a fuckin’ force to be reckoned with,” Sally sighed, “The further that thing is from us, the better I’ll feel. I’ve seen that woman rip a full grown man in half, literally, when their little control doohickies malfunctioned.”

“I see,” Rebecca frowned and shook her head, “We never came across her while we were fighting our way here. Well, outside of when we first arrived.”

“She chased me down in the east wing,” Beth added, stepping aside as Jake approached, “Hold still, Pam, this should help to counteract whatever they shot you up with.”

“Yay, more drugs,” Pam rolled her eyes, “Just get this over with  already. I’m going to have to detox once we get out of this hellhole…”

“I’ll make sure to find you some of that tea you like,” Beth offered with a small smile before turning her focus back to the group, “The security system malfunctioned and locked her out before she could get me.”

“That’s not possible,” Addy shook her head, “The systems they use here are all state of the art and top of the line. They made sure to keep the filthy aesthetics of the original hall, but they updated the wiring, systems, and more when they moved us here. Everything that happens here is by design.”

Jake walked over to his blonde friend who held out her arm and closed her eyes. “Do you really think it wasn’t a glitch?” he asked as he injected the adrenaline cocktail into Pam’s arm.

“Even if it was, that bitch could easily have smashed a shutter and a wall,” Sally shook her head, “Addy’s right, though, the odds of that shit happening are slim to none. You’re missing the point, bird-brain, as always. There ain’t nothing in this place that happens by accident. Everything that happens in this place is straight out of the mind of that psycho.”

Pam winced as she felt the medicine start to pump through her system. It didn’t take long for her to feel the effects of the adrenaline working against the sedatives that the nurses had shot her up with. She clenched her fists and rolled her neck as she felt herself start to steady and stabilize. “You think that she’s waiting for us up ahead,” Pam surmised.

“Makes the most sense, don’t it?” Sally shrugged, “It’s the kind of shit that I’d pull if I was wanting to fuck with someone. I’m pretty sure it’s the type of shit that tall, dark, and creepy over there would pull too, ain’t it?”

“First, I resent that description,” Rebecca huffed, “Second, and I can’t believe I am agreeing with someone like you, yes it is exactly what I would do. Combine it with her practically inviting us into her inner sanctum, she clearly plans to throw the proverbial book at us.” 

“Then we make one final stand before we go to our deaths,” Addy sighed, “I for one have no intention of going down without a fight.”

“Have you two been in here before?” Beth asked, watching Pam as she tried to steady herself without help.

“A handful of times,” Sally shook her head, “Open area with a viewing room up above the main operating floor. Place has been different every time that I’ve been here. Sometimes there’s tables and slabs for stiffs to be messed with, sometimes it’s clear and clean, but it’s always brightly lit and fucking huge.”

“You’re forgetting the cages she has strung up from the ceiling,” Addy sighed, “The ones that she keeps her favorites in.”

“Not forgetting, I just try not to think about them,” Sally shuddered, “That’s where she’s gonna be holding Kait.”

“Most likely Jason as well,” Addy added, “He’s likely been used as bait to lure you four here. Everything that’s happened up to this point has been by her hand and her design.”

“I doubt she meant for us to free you two,” Pam said, rolling her neck as she began to feel more like herself, “You can call her all-knowing and wise, but the fact is that she isn’t a Goddess or a God. I’ve worked with people that pretend to be those things, and there is no accounting for the falsehoods they claim to spout. No offense, Rebecca.”

“I would say that none was taken, but that would be an unfortunate lie,” Rebecca frowned, “However, I concede your point. The fact is that she will likely play these things off as some sort of means of giving false hope, but she cannot account for every variable that we have thrown at her. Do not let her get in your heads. We still have at least one trick up our sleeve.”

“And what’s that, spooky?” Sally asked.

“You’ll see soon enough,” Rebecca rolled her eyes at Sally’s incredulous nickname for her.

The intercom rang out and a brief series of static noises filled the air for a second. Murray’s voice came over the loudspeakers as it cleared, “Come along, children, I’ve opened the door and invited you all in, yet you continue to make your host wait. The audacity is truly inspiring, but perhaps some incentive will get you all moving. Kaitlyn, say hello to your old friends.”

The sound of electricity humming came over the speaker before a pained scream rang out through the halls. The tone was familiar, but neither Jake or Beth could recall the last time that they’d heard Kaitlyn the Conqueror scream in agony. They could hear the pain, the anguish, and the tears in her scream as it tore from her lips. “Mistress,” Addy whispered and broke into a sprint, “Hold on, I’m coming!”

“Stupid girl,” Rebecca scoffed as her former disciple sprinted past her, “She is going to get herself and the rest of us killed.”

“Give her break,” Sally frowned, purposefully slamming her shoulder into Rebecca’s as she stormed past her, “Girl has been through hell over the last year, and she’s hooked on the woman that’s being tortured up ahead. What would your crazy ass do if it was bird-bitch over here? No offense, kid.”

“Yeah, no, offense taken,” Jake frowned, moving alongside Sally, “Point taken, but you don’t have to be a dick about it.”

“S’not like I’m saying anything that ain’t true,” Sally chuckled and shrugged, “You simped for her even after she bit the big one, or was Beth pulling my leg after that big battle we had downtown?”

“I mean, she’s not wrong,” Ashley chimed in for the first time since the debacle courtyard.

“Really, this is when you decide to chime in?” Jake shook his head, “You haven’t said a word in almost twenty minutes and now you choose to speak up.”

“I am simply agreeing with what is undoubtedly a true statement,” Ashley shrugged, “My apologies, would you prefer me to simply be a silent companion?”

“You know that’s not-” Jake began before shaking his head, “This really isn’t the time, Ash.”

“Fine and fair, I suppose,” Ashley huffed in his ear, “There are more pressing matters to tend to than your foolish pining over a dead woman.”

Jake rolled his eyes and turned his focus back to the task at hand. Addy had charged ahead, but they could see that she’d stopped at the end of the short entryway. Jake rushed past Rebecca to join Sally as Beth and Pam started to job behind. Rebecca was the last to rejoin them. Ashley’s chiding tone fell silent as he approached the end of the hall and stopped beside Addy. He could immediately see why she’d stopped in such a sudden and abrupt manner.

The theater was a large open area with dirty, dingy, and gray tiles littering the floor. There were several stone pillars arranged in a strange circle almost like an alter of sorts. Unlike the floor, the columns seemed cleaner than the floor and the rest of the room. There were ten in total that were spread out around the room with a single metal operating table in the center of the circle. It reminded Jake of something out of the castle ruins from Citiville. There were chains that were dangling from every other column, but what caught their eyes were the cages hanging from the ceiling.

The ceiling of the theater was higher than almost any of the rooms they’d been in thus far. There were six cages that were hanging suspended from it. Long chains hung from the ceiling and were attached to a large cage with jagged metal bars surrounding an operating table. Each cage was tall enough for one person to stand in, and there were two people that they could see standing in two separate ones: Kaitlyn and Jason. 

Jason had been stripped of his usual attire; his trenchcoat, kevlar vest, and jeans were all gone and replaced with a bloody hospital gown. He was still wrapped and bandaged, but it was clear that some of those bandages had been used for more than just suppressing his radiation. He was sitting with his back leaning against the backside of his cage. He looked more exhausted than angry which was a first for him. There wasn’t a doubt in Jake’s mind that there was still fight left within his cantankerous ally, but he’d have to break him out first. 

Then there was the cage dangling opposite of Jason. This one was far more harrowing and alarming. The broken and battered shell of their former enemy turned friend Kaitlyn sat on her knees on the table clinging to the bars of the cage. Her hair was matted and messy, and her usually toned arms and legs had atrophied substantially. There were wraps and other bandages on her face, arms, and legs covering what was undoubtedly the twisted handiwork of Anna Murray having her sadistic and whimsical way with their friend. Her eyes had dark circles that they could faintly see from where they stood. It was clear that the poor woman hadn’t slept a full night in who knew how long.

There were two large steel doors on the opposite end of the operating room floor, and a viewing window up above them. There in the window, the silhouette of the mistress of the madhouse herself could be seen looking down. Her long blonde hair was tied up in a bun, and she wore a pair of red rimmed glasses as she stared down at them with an almost giddy and gleeful smile. She was as at ease as she always seemed to be anytime she’d encountered the group, and it was just as unnerving as ever. She pressed a button on the console in front of her to initiate the intercom once again.

“Good evening, everyone, I hope you’ve enjoyed your stay in my humble abode. Welcome, welcome, welcome to the final stage of your little tour. Sally, Adelaide, I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s little exercise in futility. I have to say, I wasn’t expecting you two to partner up with these four as quickly and as well as you have. My calculations were slightly off, but such is the beauty and mystery of life. What are we if we are not continually learning and evolving, hmm? Pamela, my, my, you seem positively lively considering our history. I do hope you are as excited as me for us to become…intimately involved with one another.”

“Screw you!” Pam snapped, stepping forward and glaring at the glass, “I am not afraid of you, you depraved freak!”

“Haha, I do love a good show of bravado!” Murray exclaimed with a hearty laugh, “I wonder how long you can keep that up in the face of certain doom. I should thank you, truly, because of you, I have been given the greatest gift of all time. I have been awarded the posterity of examining the anatomy of a supposed Goddess that has returned from the dead and the physical limitations of the unknown and arcane. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, shall we? I am going to give you all one chance to surrender like the good little subjects that I know you can be. Fall to your knees, place your hands behind your heads, and accept your place in the new world, worms!”

The unnerving welcoming tone that Murray had been using disappeared as she finished her speech with  condescending cruelty. Jake looked around at the rest of their group to gauge their reactions. He saw Sally and Addy falter and flinch for a fraction of a second, but neither of them seemed ready to bend the knee to the sociopath above them. Jake shook his head and stepped forward, “It’s not happening, Doc,” he called out, “Your days of operating and running in the shadows are done. This ends tonight!”

“What a shame,” Murray sighed, “Because of your stubborn behavior, I’ll have to delay our more in-depth procedures while you heal. For the rest of you, I only hope that your new handlers won’t mind a little damage to their property. Oh, and as for you two, Addy and Sally, I’m afraid you two may have reached the end of your useful limits. If this is to be your final moments, show me something worthwhile so that your lives may at least have some semblance of posterity. Margaret, dear, I think we’ve been patient enough. Let’s see what Chaos is capable of when we cast off the inhibitors. Release the dolls while we’re at it, my dear.”

The doors on the opposite end of the theater unsealed and slowly opened. A large woman with a hunched back stepped out wearing a black labcoat. Her red hair was tied up in a messy bun, and her coat’s sleeves had been torn from the sides. She stood with a pair of goggles concealing her eyes and a large remote in her hands. In front of her was the gray skinned woman that had been hunting them throughout the asylum off and on since they’d first arrived. She stepped out with those thudding and heavy boots that seemed to shake the room with every step she took.

“Shit,” Sally murmured, taking a step back and trying to steady herself, “Here we go…”

A loud, shrill alarm began blaring as the doors behind them locked and the shutters around the second story rose. The silhouettes of dozens of those patients that had been mangled into monsters could be seen waiting and banging on the glass. The glass began to crack before shattering entirely as the dolls dropped down into the theater. They fell down and landed on their feet with bloody fists and feet. They rose to a standing position and stared at the six of them.

“Somebody get me out of this fucking cage!” Jason barked as the group prepared for the fight that was about to unfold, “Let me out and get me a weapon, dammit!”

“Yeah, we’ll get right on that, Jay,” Beth scoffed, drawing her guns and drawing one closed fist close to her face and the other beside her waist, “Sal, try to hold the line while Jake, Addy, and me take on the first waves.”

“I only got so many bullets, kiddo,” Sally reminded her niece.

“Then I suggest you make your shots count,” Pam remarked, “Rebecca and I will stay back with you while we can.”

“I’m going after her,” Addy said, her eyes having remained locked on Kaitlyn dangling from the ceiling, “The first chance I get, I’m getting her down from there.”

“Think before you do anything reckless,” Jake warned, “We’ve got to work together if we’re going to get out of this alive.”

“We need her,” Addy said.

“Just don’t do anything crazy,” Beth sighed, glancing at Jake, “You know as well as I do that there’s no talking her out of this, man. Addy, just try not to leave us hanging here.”

“Get them!” Margaret, the hunchback shouted in her unusually gruff voice.

The dolls moved in first. There were more than any of them could count at a glance and they surrounded them in a circular fashion. Jake, Beth, and Addy fanned out in an attempt to keep the small army in their sight lines. Pam, Rebecca, and Sally moved in closer to one another hoping to keep as many of them at bay before they got cut off. The biggest problem was the literal titan that was stomping around the outskirts, circling them with her eyes trained on their position. Margaret, the hunchback, remained close to the wall with a tablet in her hand.

The first few dolls raced inward. The first several that got close jumped and dove at them. Jake took a step back, raised his leg, and spun around with his heel aimed at the head of the doll. His boot connected with it and knocked it out of the air and sent it rolling on the ground. Meanwhile, Beth stepped forward and threw an uppercut with the barrel of one of her pistols. SHe caught the doll on the jaw to stop it short. She swung her other hand in a wide arc to slam the butt of her pistol against the side of its head. Finally, Addy leapt into the air to meet the doll nearest her. Her left leg was outstretched as she spun in a corkscrew. The top of her foot crashed into the side of the head of the doll and sent it flying as she followed through and landed on her feet.

Jake, Beth, and Addy readied themselves for the incoming onslaught, but Pam, Rebecca, and Sally were watching carefully for one of the monsters to slip past their defenses. Rebecca and Pam were still trying to contend with the dampening field, but they knew what was at stake. Pam took a deep breath to stifle the pain that she knew was going to be surging through her in a matter of seconds. She raised one arm and a series of glowing, red runes appeared around her wrist and trailed down her forearm. She winced as she forced her arcana to manifest and conjure five chains from the ground to latch onto and drag a group of dolls down to the ground.

Rebecca glanced over at her former apprentice to make sure she was fine before turning to the opposing side. There were more of those strange creatures attempting to flank Jake and the others, and that was something that she simply couldn’t abide. She narrowed her eyes and frowned as she raised one of her long legs and slammed her boot down onto the ground. A slight tremor rippled out from her foot as Rebecca searched for the raw minerals beneath the tiles. She turned her hands over, clenched her fists, and began pulling on ethereal strings. The ground near the group in the back. The tiles splintered and shattered as the earth beneath it rose up into large, jagged spikes that impaled several and blocked the remaining dolls.

Sally took a step back and watched as the rest of the group fought off and held back the waves of dolls that tried to overwhelm them. She saw the strain on both Rebecca and Pam’s face as they fought to cast their spells. She didn’t understand the mystical jargon that they threw around, nor did she know much about the technical side of what Murray and the rest of the Brunswick forces had built into the facility. However, she knew enough to understand that it was difficult for either woman to use their powers. They’d taken special care to ensure that spell casters would be at a distinct disadvantage while trapped in the nightmare factory.

Sally kept her pistol at the read, but she knew she needed to save her bullets. With only thirty-two shots between the two clips, Sally knew that every shot counted. She could have easily taken down several of the dolls from afar alongside Rebecca and Pam, but she was more concerned with the lumbering menace circling them like a shark in the water. Chaos was coming, and she’d seen what that massive monster was capable of when given the chance. Her main concern was keeping those things at bay and keeping that freakish mutant far away. 

Jake, Beth, and Addy were fighting back against the dolls that seemed to continue pouring through the open windows up above the theater floor. They’d knocked down and killed several within minutes, but it barely seemed to be making a dent. Pam and Rebecca were doing their best to fend off the hordes, but they were merely delaying the inevitable. That wasn’t the true problem, though. The real issue was the drain that the fighting was taking on them. The dolls weren’t meant to kill them, but rather to wear them down.

Addy spun around after pivoting on the ball of her foot to deliver a lethal roundhouse to the temple of one of the dolls. As the body of her target went soaring across the floor, Chaos made her move. Addy barely had time to react as the hulking titan broke from her pacing and charged forward. Chaos barreled through the dolls, breaking many of them as she did so and hurling their beaten bodies to the side or at the others. Addy rolled to the side to avoid a massive fist aimed at where her skull had been seconds ago. She swung the bar that Sally had given her out of reflex, but the steel bar all but bent as it connected with the back of Chaos’s calf.

Chaos pivoted quickly and raised her boot in a sloppy but powerful roundhouse kick. Addy launched into a back handspring to avoid the crippling blow. Chaos pivoted and threw a massive hand in a downward punch. Again, Addy managed to avoid the attack, but her fist shattered the tiles from the impact. Addy backed away from the monster before she was taken by surprise. She bumped into one of the many dolls as she tried to put distance between them, but she was quick to cut it down with a couple of lightning fast swipes of her borrowed dagger.

Chaos’ focus seemed to be on Addy as she tried to get away from the behemoth, but the sound of a couple of gunshots ringing out and echoing off the walls brought her to sudden halt. Beth had managed to squeeze off a couple of shots aimed at Chaos’ back. The bullets cut through her coat, but she was unsurprisingly unphased by them. However, she turned on her heel and glowered at Beth who was already starting to fall back. Chaos widened her steps and started to charge at Beth. 

“Any ideas on how to stop this thing?!” she shouted as she ducked under Chaos’ fist and ran in the opposite direction.

“Keep hitting her!” Jake shouted, launching what few birdarangs he had left at Chaos’ back.

“Oh, great plan!” Beth scoffed, firing another couple of shots at the monster’s legs, “How about something that might actually work?!”

Pam rolled her eyes as her friends started to argue. She knew it was partial banter, but there were notes of definite frustration that were slipping through. She wanted to join in their efforts, but her focus needed to remain on the dolls that were still falling into the arena. Her knees were beginning to shake as she continued channeling her power. Rage swirled around her in the form of crimson smoke. Pam took a deep breath as she steadied herself again and pushed her hands outward. The crimson spirit of her fury shot out in a violent twister from her body and began cutting and singing the dolls before they could get closer. Afterwards, Pam had to fight to keep from buckling and falling as her head continued to ache.

Jake had felt the heatwave from Pam’s fiery attack. Thankfully, Pam’s magic didn’t have the same detrimental effect on them as it did on the dolls. Several of their bodies were seared, scarred, and singed while he, Beth, and Addy remained unscathed. Jake frowned as he pulled two of the batons from their holster and connected them. He tried to remember his bouts and battles with Havoc back when they were still enemies as he approached Chaos. Back then, he had far more resources and tools at his disposal to even the odds. 

Jake ran towards Chaos with his makeshift staff at the ready. He slammed the base into the ground as he got closer and vaulted into the air. He spun through the air and swung his staff at her head as he got close. It connected and sent a shockwave through his arms as Chaos’ head turned to the side. Jake landed and spun around again with his staff angled out and aimed at her chest. Chaos stepped back and grabbed his weapon before it hit. She pulled Jake towards her with an incredible amount of force before Jake could let go. Chaos’ massive fist slammed into his chest and sent him flying back.

Chaos chased after Jake, but Beth raced to catch up to her. She reached into her coat and pulled out the revolver she’d taken from the alternate reality. Beth kicked her legs forward and launched into a slide in hopes of catching up to Chaos. She aimed the revolver at her legs and tried to call Saburo from the depths of her spirit. A splitting pain cut through the top of her head, but she ignored it as best she could in hopes of using her arcane power to stop the monster. The barrel and cylinder of her revolver began to crackle and flash blue before a massive blast of energy ripped from the chamber and into Chaos’ leg. A resounding explosion brought things to a screeching halt for the briefest of seconds.

A smoke screen appeared around the room. Jake had managed to catch himself and recover from the painful blow from the lumbering monster. The blast from Beth’s pistol ripped through and past Chaos and collided with the wall on the opposite end. Several more of the dolls had been eviscerated in the initial blast and the thundering footfalls had come to a halt. Pam took advantage of the momentary reprieve to steady herself, and Rebecca was waiting to determine her next move. Meanwhile, Addy had fallen into the shadows in hopes of finding an opening to either strike or rescue one of their caged friends.

The smoke began to clear as everyone waited with bated breath and nervous anticipation. The figure of a gray-skinned titan could be seen in the smoke. Her boots had been blown to shreds, her coat was singed and burned, and the dress she wore had been scorched as well. However, she remained standing, albeit stunned for the moment. In the distance, Margaret the hunchbacked assistant practically cheered in triumph, “There is nothing you can do to stop her, you fools!”

Margaret held up the tablet in her hand in a mocking gesture before running her fingers across the screen again. She switched a few settings and the tyrannical titan lurched forward. She cackled in her deep, gruff tone and pointed at Beth with her tablet. Her laughter was cut short by a singular gunshot ringing out as a bullet shattered her tablet. Her eyes widened as she looked at the fractured and shattered tablet. Her eyes looked over to where the gunshot had come from and landed on Sally who stood looking equally furious and smug. Sally looked around and took a few steps backward to put some distance between herself and Margaret.

“Let’s see how you handle her without your little remote,” Sally scoffed.

Chaos stopped and her upper body went limp for a moment. Her body convulsed and shook as the controls in her system were severed. She shook her head as she straightened up and looked around the room. She looked down at her massive hand and clenched her fists. Her eyes scanned the room, the dolls, the rest of the group, and finally landed on Margaret. She let out a guttural, howling shriek of anguish, agony, and fury before turning her large body to Margaret and charging at her. 

“No, no!” Margaret screamed, turning to try to get away, “Obey me, you useless oaf!”

Chaos  ran through a group of dolls, destroying their mangled bodies with ease, and closed the gap between herself and Margaret. One of her titanic hands shot out and grabbed Margaret by the face. The hunchbacked assistant to Murray let out several muffled screams as Chaos lifted her into the air. Chaos clenched her fist slowly and silenced Margaret once and for all. A sickening crunch and pop filled the room before Margaret’s body went limp. Chaos proceeded to toss the body of the now headless assistant to the side. She looked around and slowly turned to face the others. A look of fury and confusion spread across her face as she searched the room for her next target.

“Everybody fall back!” Sally shouted, “Regroup, ya bunch of dumbasses!”

Nobody argued as they fell back into place beside Rebecca and Pam. Even Addy returned to the tight formation. “What the hell was that?” Beth asked.

“The controller is broken,” Addy explained, “She’s free and she’s fucking pissed…”

“I can feel her,” Pam agreed, holding a hand up to her head, “There are so many emotions pouring out of her…anger, sadness, bitterness, fear, just to name a handful.”

“They were suppressing her,” Rebecca frowned, “Unfortuante, but moreover a serious problem for us. She is looking for anything living to lash out at.”

“Great, then it looks like it’s time for round two,” Jake sighed, “Stay loose, limber, and keep moving for this next bit.”

“Easier said than done,” Pam frowned, “On your mark, Jake.”

Chaos let out another guttural scream, clenched her fists, and began charging at the group. The dolls surrounding all of them that got in the way were broken and battered further as Chaos got closer. “Move!” Jake shouted, as the beast charged closer, shaking the ground with her approach.