Post by nocturnal on Aug 18, 2014 1:37:36 GMT
aranya
-Species -- shiny ariados
-Gender: -- female
-Nature -- unstable
-Ability -- Insomnia
-Egg Move -- electroweb
-special -- n/a
nineteen
female
asexual
hunter
THE INFERNUS HOUNDS
shiny ariados gijinka
who's behind you
-Species -- shiny ariados
-Gender: -- female
-Nature -- unstable
-Ability -- Insomnia
-Egg Move -- electroweb
-special -- n/a
diggin' deeper and deeper
When you pass aranya on the streets, or if you see her hanging around somewhere, she looks (personality wise at least) like any other normal person. nice and sane.collected. calm. Heck, when you first meet her, you will probably still think that for a bit. she smiles when she needs to, laughs when its appropriate, gives her sympathy when it's wanted. However, after awhile you will start to notice things. She only laughs when others do, never leads it. Her smiles seem a bit strained if you look closely. Her empathetic words are only face deep, repeated out as if they were rehearsed in front of a mirror for hours at a time. Because for Aranya? Well, they were.
Aranya doesn't think like most people. Her brain works differently, in such little ways that it makes all the difference. Ara has a mental disability forcing her to have unbelievable amounts of concentration for little tasks, completely ignoring anything else around her. Because of this, people think that she ignores them when the reality of the situation is that she can't hear you. Most people call it 'the zone' or something along those lines. When she reads, she has to only use short stories or else she will sit down with her head in the book until it is absolutely and completely finished, whether it takes a few minutes to hours upon hours. This causes her to be good at many things. Her job, for one, which requires her to use her spider webs to sense vibrations that occur within them, her prey in her trap. She is rather good at stacking cards, playing chess/checkers, and a multitude of other things. Though, she has always had issues 'fitting in' with society and other people.
Though, it isn't really the disability that makes her unfit to be with civilization. Aranya is mentally unstable, bordering on psychosis and plain insanity. what Ara loves, more than anything in the world, is violence. She adores the feeling of hunting down her prey, whether it be pokemon or human, and watching them struggle as hard as they can to get away from her. to see the fear in their eyes, the pleas in their cries, the pain in their bodies. It makes her feel good, immensely so, to realize that she is the one who caused her prey to feel that way. that the last thing they thought of was her. To see the absolute terror consume their very soul as they see her retractable mandibles protrude out of the sides of her jaw. gape in disgust and horror as the twin yellow and bright blue 'tails' on her back spin the almost translucent threads around them. All with a smile on her face. Aranya thrives while on the hunt. Hunter and hunted. kill or be killed. she blossoms while she lays out her webs, her traps, her threads, and waits for her poor and unfortunate target to wander a little to close. Aranya is merciless, not caring if her aim is to catch children, newly hatched pokemon, priests, or even people who have done absolutely nothing wrong. Why should she care? She's not the one who was kidnapped, killed, or captured. She is the strong one. Survival of the fittest.
This is mainly why she chooses to stick with THE INFERNUS HOUNDS. As long as she does what she is ordered, her job is borderline assassin. Not hunter. Though she still does have some kidnapping jobs here and there. Who cares if she is being blatantly used? They let her do what she desires with the unlucky ones who need to be removed from existence. They allow her to be as physically violent as she wishes, and that is all she cares for. Don't get her wrong and assume that Aranya is loyal. No. She can betray her 'allies' on the turn of a dime and completely and utterly stab them in the back with no regrets later. The Infernus Hounds are the only one's who let her do what she wants, as long as she gets the job done. No one else would allow her to do what she pleases otherwise. That is the only reason she is with them. She doesn't have to have the constant mask of kindness and compassion on when she is with her fellow hounds, for most of them are as violent as she is. THe Infernus hounds is the only place where she can be herself.
However, Aranya is not a complete and utter monster. she does tend to be nicer to her companions than most people suspect, taking out her extremely aggressive nature on her prey instead of her partners. ABusing her own pokemon is something even she wouldn't do. If you abuse yours? Bah. Who cares. If you harm her Pokemon? You will be hunted down and given the same treatment. Only slower. much slower. Also, Aranya is an avid art fan. She considers her own webs, which are like her children to her, a form of artwork. The intricacies, the preciseness, the way each one is completely unique from another. Her traps are her passion. Her inspiration. She aspires to seek beauty within the silk-like threads, with each strand having its own purpose. If you are an artist, she will like you. Even strive to have a nice conversation about the different forms. The artists of the past and present. there is also a part of her, very small and very very deep down that realizes that she is out of control. that she is insane. that she basically needs to be stopped. if you manage to dig that part of her out, and that has as much success as winning the lottery, then you will see a human part to her that she thought had died long, long ago.
aranya is, as stated above, incredibly unstable. if you manage to find out about sundan (you will learn more about him in the history) and bring his subject up... well, that's like playing russian roulette. you never know if she will be perfectly fine or will flip batpoop and go all psycho on anything and anyone. it does not help that her ability insomnia, along with a possible and slight case of ptsd, causes her to be unable to fall asleep. thanks to the pokemon in her, along with those who have this ability and are unable to sleep naturally, her mind is somewhat safe from it. however, this makes her very easy to crack. blame her past.
'I love to be hated'
Aranya doesn't think like most people. Her brain works differently, in such little ways that it makes all the difference. Ara has a mental disability forcing her to have unbelievable amounts of concentration for little tasks, completely ignoring anything else around her. Because of this, people think that she ignores them when the reality of the situation is that she can't hear you. Most people call it 'the zone' or something along those lines. When she reads, she has to only use short stories or else she will sit down with her head in the book until it is absolutely and completely finished, whether it takes a few minutes to hours upon hours. This causes her to be good at many things. Her job, for one, which requires her to use her spider webs to sense vibrations that occur within them, her prey in her trap. She is rather good at stacking cards, playing chess/checkers, and a multitude of other things. Though, she has always had issues 'fitting in' with society and other people.
Though, it isn't really the disability that makes her unfit to be with civilization. Aranya is mentally unstable, bordering on psychosis and plain insanity. what Ara loves, more than anything in the world, is violence. She adores the feeling of hunting down her prey, whether it be pokemon or human, and watching them struggle as hard as they can to get away from her. to see the fear in their eyes, the pleas in their cries, the pain in their bodies. It makes her feel good, immensely so, to realize that she is the one who caused her prey to feel that way. that the last thing they thought of was her. To see the absolute terror consume their very soul as they see her retractable mandibles protrude out of the sides of her jaw. gape in disgust and horror as the twin yellow and bright blue 'tails' on her back spin the almost translucent threads around them. All with a smile on her face. Aranya thrives while on the hunt. Hunter and hunted. kill or be killed. she blossoms while she lays out her webs, her traps, her threads, and waits for her poor and unfortunate target to wander a little to close. Aranya is merciless, not caring if her aim is to catch children, newly hatched pokemon, priests, or even people who have done absolutely nothing wrong. Why should she care? She's not the one who was kidnapped, killed, or captured. She is the strong one. Survival of the fittest.
This is mainly why she chooses to stick with THE INFERNUS HOUNDS. As long as she does what she is ordered, her job is borderline assassin. Not hunter. Though she still does have some kidnapping jobs here and there. Who cares if she is being blatantly used? They let her do what she desires with the unlucky ones who need to be removed from existence. They allow her to be as physically violent as she wishes, and that is all she cares for. Don't get her wrong and assume that Aranya is loyal. No. She can betray her 'allies' on the turn of a dime and completely and utterly stab them in the back with no regrets later. The Infernus Hounds are the only one's who let her do what she wants, as long as she gets the job done. No one else would allow her to do what she pleases otherwise. That is the only reason she is with them. She doesn't have to have the constant mask of kindness and compassion on when she is with her fellow hounds, for most of them are as violent as she is. THe Infernus hounds is the only place where she can be herself.
However, Aranya is not a complete and utter monster. she does tend to be nicer to her companions than most people suspect, taking out her extremely aggressive nature on her prey instead of her partners. ABusing her own pokemon is something even she wouldn't do. If you abuse yours? Bah. Who cares. If you harm her Pokemon? You will be hunted down and given the same treatment. Only slower. much slower. Also, Aranya is an avid art fan. She considers her own webs, which are like her children to her, a form of artwork. The intricacies, the preciseness, the way each one is completely unique from another. Her traps are her passion. Her inspiration. She aspires to seek beauty within the silk-like threads, with each strand having its own purpose. If you are an artist, she will like you. Even strive to have a nice conversation about the different forms. The artists of the past and present. there is also a part of her, very small and very very deep down that realizes that she is out of control. that she is insane. that she basically needs to be stopped. if you manage to dig that part of her out, and that has as much success as winning the lottery, then you will see a human part to her that she thought had died long, long ago.
aranya is, as stated above, incredibly unstable. if you manage to find out about sundan (you will learn more about him in the history) and bring his subject up... well, that's like playing russian roulette. you never know if she will be perfectly fine or will flip batpoop and go all psycho on anything and anyone. it does not help that her ability insomnia, along with a possible and slight case of ptsd, causes her to be unable to fall asleep. thanks to the pokemon in her, along with those who have this ability and are unable to sleep naturally, her mind is somewhat safe from it. however, this makes her very easy to crack. blame her past.
'I love to be hated'
a little background check
The child who would be later known as Aranya was born without a name. Sold by her alcoholic father and druggie mother five months before she was even born, the infant was given to a now forgotten laboratory. They were satisfied as long as they had money for booze and various suspicious types of... um... flours. Yep. 'flour'.
The girl was one of hundreds, all infants, whether they were created from test tubes or collected throughout the many regions, and all for the same purpose. To further understand the growing interest and complexities in Gijinka operations and procedures. All the research conducted was for the sake of the corrupt Kingdom. Dubbed fgb-73 from the moment of her birth, the small experiment was given the bare minimum of everything, just enough to keep her alive. For the first three years of her life, that is what it was like.
When the subjects turned four years old, they were split into groups of two. These pairs were told that to one another, they were each others only companion. Their only friend. The only one they can trust. fgb-73 was paired with a shy looking boy, fidgety and always glancing to the floor. mgb-26.
Every day was the same for the experimental duo. They would wake up at 5am sharp and file into the massive mess hall for the first 'meal' consisting of a gray blob filled with nutrients and vitamins. Perfect for the test-subjects' health, horribly bland in taste. From there they would go into classes. There they were taught everything they needed to know. How to use poisons. How to incapacitate an opponent in as little time as possible. How to make a weapon out of anything. The anatomy of Pokemon and Humans alike. At noon exactly they were taken back to the mess hall for another gray blob filled meal, exactly ten minutes to eat. From there they were taken to a large gymnasium like room and pushed as physically hard as possible. Gymnastics. Self defense. Attacking. Fighting dirty. using any weapons available and making their own. All the basics. After seven hours of intensive training, the experiments were herded back to the mess hall and given their dinner. Gray blobs. They would then be filed into a mass shower chamber, cleaning themselves within five minutes. After that, they were returned to their rooms, the partners each sharing a plain white box room with two cot-like beds, with No pillows or blankets, by nine. On the weekends, their days were filled with tests of all sorts. From simple puzzles to complex written exams and everything in between. After years of living like this, fgb-73 and mgb-26 blossomed under the training, growing into a fairly strong team. The girl specialized in ranged weaponry, specifically razor wires, and the tests. The boy showed exemplary results in hand-to-hand combat, eventually shedding his shy and innocent nature into something more fearsome, and strategic thinking. They were a force to be reckoned with, even if they were still young.
The test-subjects were not allowed to behave like children. No room for arguments or rebellion. After all, what sort of 'freedom' had they experienced in their lives? They had been with the laboratory since they were born. They didn't know anything else. The laboratory 'raised' them. Trained them. Made them into the perfect soldiers.
It wasn't until the children were ten years old that the purpose of the partners really became needed. They had learned the basics of combat, graduated to the more difficult courses in their studies. Now, it was a competition. It was announced that only the top fifty subjects, only twenty five pairs out of the seemingly endless amount in existence, would survive long enough to be chosen for the ultimate honor. A chance at freedom.
That word was new to the experiments. Freedom. The concept of no longer being held in the plain white walls of the laboratory was strange to them. A foreign entity that no one was sure of. However, as the new regimen began, it was what they aspired for. It was what they needed. Freedom.
It started with the meals, if you could even call them that. The subjects noticed immediately, that some were getting a few scoops of gray mush while a noticeable amount of them were getting gray blocks the size of a pea. At first, the ones who had the measly amounts simply accepted it. But as the weeks past, as hunger set in and made them desperate, fighting began. It was slow at first, only one skirmish here and there. Then it evolved into more. Dozens of pairs fighting against dozens of others, brawling for what food they could get. The weak were beaten, taken away by the scientists and never seen again. The winners got more food and grew stronger. fgb-73 and mgb-26 were one of the teams that won their battles, definitely not the strongest team but hey. They weren't to shabby.
The next thing that changed were their training and studies. Gone were the simple classes, replaced with stressful and beyond difficult courses. The tests given in the classrooms were judged with a fine tooth comb, and the worst five teams that scored the lowest of that week were taken and used for other purposes.
during training, which had also increased in pressure and strenuousness, they now were taught how to end beings without remorse. They would practice on the failures of the tests earlier that week. At first, no one could do it. Eventually, they became numb to it, or at least were able to partially stomach it. When they ran out of the samples, they would fight each other. Team against team. Only one would make it out.
it wasn't long until the pairs of subjects thinned out. By the time the experiments were around thirteen years of age, only twenty five pairs remained. Of course fgb-73 and mgb-26 were among those as well. As promised, the scientists congratulated them on completing their training. It was a wondrous achievement, and they "Couldn't be more proud!" The experiments just stared blankly at them. What was this 'Pride' they spoke of? What was the big deal of surviving? They were the strongest. They lasted the longest. it was only Survival of the Fittest, and the others were too weak to live in their environment. That is what the remaining teams all thought, and this made the adults beam.
the experiments were herded into separate rooms, different from what fgb-73 and mgb-26 were used to. it was bigger, more spacious in both width and height. the ceiling was so far above their heads, it was as if this single room took up two floors. however, even with all of this space the room appeared cramped, filled to the brim and overflowing with machines of every kind. in the two back corners, there were two plexiglas boxes. one, on the right, had a houndoom snoozing in the corner. as if it didn't care that it was trapped, lazy thing. the right, however, was the prison for a struggling ariados. it screeched at the humans in its own insect like way, making both of the fresh teenagers wince as it gurgled up acid, throwing it up against it's container as it tackled into it. it unnerved both of the experiments who inched away from it.
the scientists didn't care if the subjects were frightened of the spider. "it's weak," they lectured, forcing the pair apart and putting them on the hard metal beds beside each of the boxes. the boy was with the houndoom, the girl with the ariados. "if it was strong, it wouldn't have been captured. if it was strong, it would have escaped by now."
for some reason, those words resonated with the two children. escape. to slip or get away, as from confinement or restraint; gain or regain liberty. they both knew the definition, but it had never occurred to them that they could 'escape'. they were too weak. they are too weak. the two of them needed more power. 'stronger,' the word echoed in both of their minds, and their gazes locked one last time before the operation masks slipped down over their faces.
the girl's eyes were open. she couldn't close them, only able to stare blankly at the boy, his own eyes glazed over just as much as hers. the scientists were scurrying about, slipping ivs into them both. she could feel it, the liquids invading her system. flowing through them both. she couldn't move.
she couldn't move.
doctors came into the room and mixed with the scientists, telling the subjects things with far away voices. how they needed to remain conscious for... something. how they wouldn't need to eat or drink, since the things being dripped into them took care of that. once it started, the assistants would close their eyes, but they couldn't go to sleep. that would mess with the results. again, the ivs would prevent it. the doctors apologized- why were they so sorry?- as the nurses lifted their heads and turned them straight. the last sight that the girl saw before they closed her eye was the white, such an unrelenting and harsh color, of the ceiling. the pain started almost instantly.
every day.
it hurt.
tired.
so tired.
it hurt.
it hurt a lot.
so tired.
it hurt.
after two years, 370 grueling days, 24 blurred weeks, their eyes finally opened.
it was bliss, not feeling anymore searing pain that constantly wrecked their bodies. now it was only a dull ache, at least that's what it seemed compared to the dark agony they felt for the past two years. the doctors came in one last time, studying them from afar, watching them like fearows from above, as if they were mere caterpies and metapods. after gazing at them for a minute or two, just laying there on their 'beds', they nodded. one came towards them and the others left, the single doctor stepping between them.
"you two are successes." the man's voice was emotionless. as if he was a robot. "from now on, you will have names. aranya," he looked at the girl, "and sundan." his attention turned towards the boy. without another word, the man turned and left. the children, no- teenagers, turned their heads to each other in amazement. a name. a name. smiling to one another, they couldn't help but feel happy.
after a few weeks of recooperation, being moved to actual beds and allowed to rest, the pair discovered some things on their own. mgb-2... no, sundan had grown a tail. his brown hair had turned raven black with red tinges amongst the locks. two little bumps barely protruded out of his head, a failed attempt at horns. his eyes were most noticeable. they had become brilliant crimson color, as if blood had pooled in them. aranya had less mutations. her blond hair turned bright blue, almost neon, along with her once green eyes. when she flexed her jaw, she discovered that retractable mandibles slid in and out of her skin through tiny slits around her jawline. ugly black and purple splotches littered on her stomach and across her back with the two yellow and brilliant blue appendages sticking out, much like on an actual ariados. with a lot of aching practice and encouragement from sundan, aranya was able to manage curling the leg-like tails so the tips pointed forwards. the first time she accomplished this, she was so excited that gooey, silk-like threads shot out of them... and right on sundan's face. the fifteen year olds stared at each other for a moment before bursting out into laughter, having to lean their shoulders and hold on to one another's clothes just to keep standing. it was the first real moment that they acted their age. like they were normal humans with normal minds and normal lives.
for the next year, the pair were trained and pushed to their very limits every single day. they were fed real food, given real beds, allowed personal time. aranya gained a hobby of making patterns with her threads, intricate and fragile looking, focusing on only her craft until it was complete. sundan was used to it by then, her tendency to zone out whenever she was given a task or had something to do. he took the silence happily, indulging himself in books and literature. they would discuss their favorite authors and artists often, just enjoying each other's company. they were given a life. well... more of a life than compared to what they had before.
overtime, aranya and sundan grew closer. they were the only ones who would guarantee that the other mattered. that their lives meant something. the trainers and scientists never treated them like humans. no longer were they experiments, no. they were tools. weapons. their lives had no value in their eyes. they were only kept alive because of all the effort that was put into their creation and upbringing. why waste it? the more days that passed, the more weeks that flew by, the more months that came and went, aranya and sundan depended on each other more and more. what they felt wasn't love... love is such a human emotion. what they felt was obsession. obsessed with each other's company. addicted to each other's words. engrossed in each other's company. aranya needed sundan, and sundan needed aranya. more than anyone should ever need another. in all honesty, it was unhealthy for them to be so attached. and they weren't the only ones. each team that were able to remain together,
the scientists realized this problem. not because it would be bad for their overall well being or mental state, but because it made them weak. weak to each other. they needed to be the perfect weapons. the ultimate super soldiers. so, they came up with a plan.
the remaining ten teams, those who had survived the operation and rehab or hadn't ended themselves due to their partner's expiration, were gathered in the old mess hall. a single scientist stood in between the groups.
"we only have enough room for five gijinka. any more would be a nuisance. tomorrow individuals will fight each other. one on one. the winner will be able to continue surviving. the loser shall be eliminated. you will face your opponent tomorrow at noon. until then, get some rest. survival of the fittest."
unfazed, the weapons murmured the motto back to the woman who was walking away. survival of the fittest. without another word, they left the mess hall obediently, going to their rooms and getting some much needed rest.
the next morning, before all the pairs were split up and sent to the individual waiting rooms, aranya and sundan faced each other, their faces serious.
"good luck." sundan's strong voice interrupted the silence.
"you too," aranya smiled, though it looked a tad forced, "don't die."
huffing, sundan rolled his eyes. "i won't. Promise."
seconds later, they were separated.
it felt like hours until the security guards grabbed her out of the room, putting her into the old gymnasium like room. large white pillars rose up all around, imitating the trees from forests that she had seen in pictures. maybe after this fight they would let them go outside... she had never been before, spending her whole entire life inside of the laboratory building. sighing, she got to work, spreading her spider web across her area, waiting for the starting alarm. smiling as she worked, aranya truly enjoyed herself as she laid her traps. she idly wondered if sundan was as excited as she was to see the sky in person. what color was it again? oh, yeah. blue. as soon as she laid the last thread, she chuckled, jumping onto the center of the web which easily held all her weight. after another minute, the shrill alarm bell rang, signaling the start of the fight.
no thoughts entered her mind as she focused on sensing vibrations in her web. a dull hum constantly echoed through her, into her fingertips, as the ventilation system ran through the nearly transparent strands. she could feel the dust in the supposedly sterile air brush against her web, the gentle caress of the little particles as they stuck to the sticky fibers.
suddenly, a portion of her web shook violently, signaling that her prey had been caught. eliminate. sending a shockwave into her trap, electroweb, she didn't hear anything. she was too busy concentrating. why should she listen to her prey's pleas anyways? they were weak. that's why they were trapped. walking along her web, balancing on the threads nimbly, aranya suddenly fell as it suddenly became lose, as if it snapped. she could smell the burned ends of her precious web. gasping as she stumbled, her vision blurred as a figure rushed to her side in a tackling manor. jerking her head to her opponent's direction as her fists suddenly glowed a bright, sickening purple, she attacked with a cross poison. there was a yelp, she heard it and it sounded familiar, but aranya couldn't afford to hesitate. twisting her body, the ends of her leg-like appendages glowed a brilliant green, the two heads shooting off in a pin missile, hearing the slam as it connected with her opponent. the ending alarm screamed from the loud speakers. she had won.
after a moment, when the shock of the surprise attack ended, she turned towards her fallen opponent, freezing instantly. his black hair seemed a bit more red than usual, his tail lying limply beside him as he wheezed. sundan.
"no."
in an instant, the usually composed and calculating weapon was gone, replaced by a panicking, hyperventilating little girl. "no no no no no no nononononono!!!" her breathing became sporadic as she collapsed and crawled towards him, reaching out to grab onto her partner, her only friend, with a single hand. "don't die! you can't just die!! you promised!!!" the teenager- they were only teenagers- screamed.
sundan chuckled tiredly, aranya's constant attacks really taking a toll on him. stretching a shaking arm down to her, he grabbed her hand and held it for a moment, shaking his head as if to say "i'm sorry".
men came, security officers and scientists. they surrounded the pair, their faces passive and uncaring as they separated the two, aranya screaming and crying and struggling as she tried to get out of their arms and go to him. they were going to eliminate him. she would never see sundan again. never hear his laugh. never have her existence proven, told that her life actually meant something. never feel his arms around her as the faces of those she had removed terrorized her already frightful and rare sleep. she needed him. she wouldn't exist without him. they were taking him away. and she could only watch as they dragged him out of her sight.
the next few months, aranya's condition quickly deteriorated. her insomnia worsened. it was hard for her to fall asleep before, but now she couldn't even close her eyes without sundan's limp image searing through her mind, let alone sleep. she refused to eat, her stomach throwing up any food that was forced in her, attacking anyone who came near her. when the higher ups came in for their biannual inspection of the progress of the gijinka soldier program, they were disappointed to find two of the five in such a fragile state, while the other three had ended their own lives due to the stress of fighting and ending their beloved and precious partners... lets just say they weren't happy. not at all. after all, there were nine massive groups, each with one hundred children exactly. nine hundred test subjects were given, and two utter failures were the result. so, in layman terms, the laboratory and the program were abandoned, shut down. the scientists, assistants, and anyone who worked there were either eliminated for their massive deficiency or spared because they were still useful in more... roundabout purposes. it was the kingdom, after all. they could do whatever they wanted.
aranya and the remaining gijinka, a scolipede girl, were sent to the fighting rings. if they couldn't be useful to the government, at least they would be useful to entertainment. that's something, at least.
they had no time to register their transition from the laboratories to the indoor fighting arena. the people who had transported them probably used sedatives of some sort, knocking them out. because when they woke up, it was on a dirt floor surrounded by a cage.
the seventeen year olds were in the same containment cell, with two plates of inedible looking food in front of them. looking down at the food, aranya was planning on refusing to eat before the other gijinka spoke.
"... you know..." staring at the girl with dead eyes, aranya didn't really have a choice in refusing to listen to her. "starving ourselves won't bring our partners back... won't bring oso back..."
'... oso must have been her's...' the ariados gijinka thought offhandedly, turning her attention to the food.
"they were weak... that's why they died." the girl murmured, defeated.
"we were weak, so we couldn't save them." aranya whispered.
"survival of the fittest." both girls spoke in unison.
survival of the fittest.
the girl's looked at each other before nodding, grabbing the plates and digging in.
they regained their strength quickly, and for an entire year they fought in the death matches. with every opponent she ended, a part of aranya died. with every life she departed, she felt better. it terrified her at the beginning. liking to end a life was wrong, even for her. it was disgusting. it was scary. but the more fights she participated in, against all kinds of species and ages, she eventually stopped caring that she liked it. she didn't mind when she started to love it. it felt better than being in constant pain. even though she still couldn't sleep, and she would probably never sleep again, it eased her mind. made it clearer. with each departed opponent, she felt invigorated. the scolipede and the ariados gijinkas didn't speak to each other after that initial conversation. they had nothing to talk about. one day the scolipede girl didn't come back from her fights. aranya didn't care. more space for her.
a while after her eighteenth birthday (ariadoses have an impeccable sense of time) the corrupted, kingdom owned fighting arena was attacked. a group of people broke away from the fighting, going to each cell and asking a simple question. "do you want to join us, or do you want to die?"
tilting her head, aranya gave the stranger a cheshire's grin, sending shivers down his spine. "do i get to end people?"
"as many as you can handle."
laughing, a loud, abrupt sound, aranya gave the soldier a crazed grin. "sign me up!"
"then welcome to the infernous hounds."
she hasn't looked back since.
The girl was one of hundreds, all infants, whether they were created from test tubes or collected throughout the many regions, and all for the same purpose. To further understand the growing interest and complexities in Gijinka operations and procedures. All the research conducted was for the sake of the corrupt Kingdom. Dubbed fgb-73 from the moment of her birth, the small experiment was given the bare minimum of everything, just enough to keep her alive. For the first three years of her life, that is what it was like.
When the subjects turned four years old, they were split into groups of two. These pairs were told that to one another, they were each others only companion. Their only friend. The only one they can trust. fgb-73 was paired with a shy looking boy, fidgety and always glancing to the floor. mgb-26.
Every day was the same for the experimental duo. They would wake up at 5am sharp and file into the massive mess hall for the first 'meal' consisting of a gray blob filled with nutrients and vitamins. Perfect for the test-subjects' health, horribly bland in taste. From there they would go into classes. There they were taught everything they needed to know. How to use poisons. How to incapacitate an opponent in as little time as possible. How to make a weapon out of anything. The anatomy of Pokemon and Humans alike. At noon exactly they were taken back to the mess hall for another gray blob filled meal, exactly ten minutes to eat. From there they were taken to a large gymnasium like room and pushed as physically hard as possible. Gymnastics. Self defense. Attacking. Fighting dirty. using any weapons available and making their own. All the basics. After seven hours of intensive training, the experiments were herded back to the mess hall and given their dinner. Gray blobs. They would then be filed into a mass shower chamber, cleaning themselves within five minutes. After that, they were returned to their rooms, the partners each sharing a plain white box room with two cot-like beds, with No pillows or blankets, by nine. On the weekends, their days were filled with tests of all sorts. From simple puzzles to complex written exams and everything in between. After years of living like this, fgb-73 and mgb-26 blossomed under the training, growing into a fairly strong team. The girl specialized in ranged weaponry, specifically razor wires, and the tests. The boy showed exemplary results in hand-to-hand combat, eventually shedding his shy and innocent nature into something more fearsome, and strategic thinking. They were a force to be reckoned with, even if they were still young.
The test-subjects were not allowed to behave like children. No room for arguments or rebellion. After all, what sort of 'freedom' had they experienced in their lives? They had been with the laboratory since they were born. They didn't know anything else. The laboratory 'raised' them. Trained them. Made them into the perfect soldiers.
It wasn't until the children were ten years old that the purpose of the partners really became needed. They had learned the basics of combat, graduated to the more difficult courses in their studies. Now, it was a competition. It was announced that only the top fifty subjects, only twenty five pairs out of the seemingly endless amount in existence, would survive long enough to be chosen for the ultimate honor. A chance at freedom.
That word was new to the experiments. Freedom. The concept of no longer being held in the plain white walls of the laboratory was strange to them. A foreign entity that no one was sure of. However, as the new regimen began, it was what they aspired for. It was what they needed. Freedom.
It started with the meals, if you could even call them that. The subjects noticed immediately, that some were getting a few scoops of gray mush while a noticeable amount of them were getting gray blocks the size of a pea. At first, the ones who had the measly amounts simply accepted it. But as the weeks past, as hunger set in and made them desperate, fighting began. It was slow at first, only one skirmish here and there. Then it evolved into more. Dozens of pairs fighting against dozens of others, brawling for what food they could get. The weak were beaten, taken away by the scientists and never seen again. The winners got more food and grew stronger. fgb-73 and mgb-26 were one of the teams that won their battles, definitely not the strongest team but hey. They weren't to shabby.
The next thing that changed were their training and studies. Gone were the simple classes, replaced with stressful and beyond difficult courses. The tests given in the classrooms were judged with a fine tooth comb, and the worst five teams that scored the lowest of that week were taken and used for other purposes.
during training, which had also increased in pressure and strenuousness, they now were taught how to end beings without remorse. They would practice on the failures of the tests earlier that week. At first, no one could do it. Eventually, they became numb to it, or at least were able to partially stomach it. When they ran out of the samples, they would fight each other. Team against team. Only one would make it out.
it wasn't long until the pairs of subjects thinned out. By the time the experiments were around thirteen years of age, only twenty five pairs remained. Of course fgb-73 and mgb-26 were among those as well. As promised, the scientists congratulated them on completing their training. It was a wondrous achievement, and they "Couldn't be more proud!" The experiments just stared blankly at them. What was this 'Pride' they spoke of? What was the big deal of surviving? They were the strongest. They lasted the longest. it was only Survival of the Fittest, and the others were too weak to live in their environment. That is what the remaining teams all thought, and this made the adults beam.
the experiments were herded into separate rooms, different from what fgb-73 and mgb-26 were used to. it was bigger, more spacious in both width and height. the ceiling was so far above their heads, it was as if this single room took up two floors. however, even with all of this space the room appeared cramped, filled to the brim and overflowing with machines of every kind. in the two back corners, there were two plexiglas boxes. one, on the right, had a houndoom snoozing in the corner. as if it didn't care that it was trapped, lazy thing. the right, however, was the prison for a struggling ariados. it screeched at the humans in its own insect like way, making both of the fresh teenagers wince as it gurgled up acid, throwing it up against it's container as it tackled into it. it unnerved both of the experiments who inched away from it.
the scientists didn't care if the subjects were frightened of the spider. "it's weak," they lectured, forcing the pair apart and putting them on the hard metal beds beside each of the boxes. the boy was with the houndoom, the girl with the ariados. "if it was strong, it wouldn't have been captured. if it was strong, it would have escaped by now."
for some reason, those words resonated with the two children. escape. to slip or get away, as from confinement or restraint; gain or regain liberty. they both knew the definition, but it had never occurred to them that they could 'escape'. they were too weak. they are too weak. the two of them needed more power. 'stronger,' the word echoed in both of their minds, and their gazes locked one last time before the operation masks slipped down over their faces.
the girl's eyes were open. she couldn't close them, only able to stare blankly at the boy, his own eyes glazed over just as much as hers. the scientists were scurrying about, slipping ivs into them both. she could feel it, the liquids invading her system. flowing through them both. she couldn't move.
she couldn't move.
doctors came into the room and mixed with the scientists, telling the subjects things with far away voices. how they needed to remain conscious for... something. how they wouldn't need to eat or drink, since the things being dripped into them took care of that. once it started, the assistants would close their eyes, but they couldn't go to sleep. that would mess with the results. again, the ivs would prevent it. the doctors apologized- why were they so sorry?- as the nurses lifted their heads and turned them straight. the last sight that the girl saw before they closed her eye was the white, such an unrelenting and harsh color, of the ceiling. the pain started almost instantly.
every day.
it hurt.
tired.
so tired.
it hurt.
it hurt a lot.
so tired.
it hurt.
after two years, 370 grueling days, 24 blurred weeks, their eyes finally opened.
it was bliss, not feeling anymore searing pain that constantly wrecked their bodies. now it was only a dull ache, at least that's what it seemed compared to the dark agony they felt for the past two years. the doctors came in one last time, studying them from afar, watching them like fearows from above, as if they were mere caterpies and metapods. after gazing at them for a minute or two, just laying there on their 'beds', they nodded. one came towards them and the others left, the single doctor stepping between them.
"you two are successes." the man's voice was emotionless. as if he was a robot. "from now on, you will have names. aranya," he looked at the girl, "and sundan." his attention turned towards the boy. without another word, the man turned and left. the children, no- teenagers, turned their heads to each other in amazement. a name. a name. smiling to one another, they couldn't help but feel happy.
after a few weeks of recooperation, being moved to actual beds and allowed to rest, the pair discovered some things on their own. mgb-2... no, sundan had grown a tail. his brown hair had turned raven black with red tinges amongst the locks. two little bumps barely protruded out of his head, a failed attempt at horns. his eyes were most noticeable. they had become brilliant crimson color, as if blood had pooled in them. aranya had less mutations. her blond hair turned bright blue, almost neon, along with her once green eyes. when she flexed her jaw, she discovered that retractable mandibles slid in and out of her skin through tiny slits around her jawline. ugly black and purple splotches littered on her stomach and across her back with the two yellow and brilliant blue appendages sticking out, much like on an actual ariados. with a lot of aching practice and encouragement from sundan, aranya was able to manage curling the leg-like tails so the tips pointed forwards. the first time she accomplished this, she was so excited that gooey, silk-like threads shot out of them... and right on sundan's face. the fifteen year olds stared at each other for a moment before bursting out into laughter, having to lean their shoulders and hold on to one another's clothes just to keep standing. it was the first real moment that they acted their age. like they were normal humans with normal minds and normal lives.
for the next year, the pair were trained and pushed to their very limits every single day. they were fed real food, given real beds, allowed personal time. aranya gained a hobby of making patterns with her threads, intricate and fragile looking, focusing on only her craft until it was complete. sundan was used to it by then, her tendency to zone out whenever she was given a task or had something to do. he took the silence happily, indulging himself in books and literature. they would discuss their favorite authors and artists often, just enjoying each other's company. they were given a life. well... more of a life than compared to what they had before.
overtime, aranya and sundan grew closer. they were the only ones who would guarantee that the other mattered. that their lives meant something. the trainers and scientists never treated them like humans. no longer were they experiments, no. they were tools. weapons. their lives had no value in their eyes. they were only kept alive because of all the effort that was put into their creation and upbringing. why waste it? the more days that passed, the more weeks that flew by, the more months that came and went, aranya and sundan depended on each other more and more. what they felt wasn't love... love is such a human emotion. what they felt was obsession. obsessed with each other's company. addicted to each other's words. engrossed in each other's company. aranya needed sundan, and sundan needed aranya. more than anyone should ever need another. in all honesty, it was unhealthy for them to be so attached. and they weren't the only ones. each team that were able to remain together,
the scientists realized this problem. not because it would be bad for their overall well being or mental state, but because it made them weak. weak to each other. they needed to be the perfect weapons. the ultimate super soldiers. so, they came up with a plan.
the remaining ten teams, those who had survived the operation and rehab or hadn't ended themselves due to their partner's expiration, were gathered in the old mess hall. a single scientist stood in between the groups.
"we only have enough room for five gijinka. any more would be a nuisance. tomorrow individuals will fight each other. one on one. the winner will be able to continue surviving. the loser shall be eliminated. you will face your opponent tomorrow at noon. until then, get some rest. survival of the fittest."
unfazed, the weapons murmured the motto back to the woman who was walking away. survival of the fittest. without another word, they left the mess hall obediently, going to their rooms and getting some much needed rest.
the next morning, before all the pairs were split up and sent to the individual waiting rooms, aranya and sundan faced each other, their faces serious.
"good luck." sundan's strong voice interrupted the silence.
"you too," aranya smiled, though it looked a tad forced, "don't die."
huffing, sundan rolled his eyes. "i won't. Promise."
seconds later, they were separated.
it felt like hours until the security guards grabbed her out of the room, putting her into the old gymnasium like room. large white pillars rose up all around, imitating the trees from forests that she had seen in pictures. maybe after this fight they would let them go outside... she had never been before, spending her whole entire life inside of the laboratory building. sighing, she got to work, spreading her spider web across her area, waiting for the starting alarm. smiling as she worked, aranya truly enjoyed herself as she laid her traps. she idly wondered if sundan was as excited as she was to see the sky in person. what color was it again? oh, yeah. blue. as soon as she laid the last thread, she chuckled, jumping onto the center of the web which easily held all her weight. after another minute, the shrill alarm bell rang, signaling the start of the fight.
no thoughts entered her mind as she focused on sensing vibrations in her web. a dull hum constantly echoed through her, into her fingertips, as the ventilation system ran through the nearly transparent strands. she could feel the dust in the supposedly sterile air brush against her web, the gentle caress of the little particles as they stuck to the sticky fibers.
suddenly, a portion of her web shook violently, signaling that her prey had been caught. eliminate. sending a shockwave into her trap, electroweb, she didn't hear anything. she was too busy concentrating. why should she listen to her prey's pleas anyways? they were weak. that's why they were trapped. walking along her web, balancing on the threads nimbly, aranya suddenly fell as it suddenly became lose, as if it snapped. she could smell the burned ends of her precious web. gasping as she stumbled, her vision blurred as a figure rushed to her side in a tackling manor. jerking her head to her opponent's direction as her fists suddenly glowed a bright, sickening purple, she attacked with a cross poison. there was a yelp, she heard it and it sounded familiar, but aranya couldn't afford to hesitate. twisting her body, the ends of her leg-like appendages glowed a brilliant green, the two heads shooting off in a pin missile, hearing the slam as it connected with her opponent. the ending alarm screamed from the loud speakers. she had won.
after a moment, when the shock of the surprise attack ended, she turned towards her fallen opponent, freezing instantly. his black hair seemed a bit more red than usual, his tail lying limply beside him as he wheezed. sundan.
"no."
in an instant, the usually composed and calculating weapon was gone, replaced by a panicking, hyperventilating little girl. "no no no no no no nononononono!!!" her breathing became sporadic as she collapsed and crawled towards him, reaching out to grab onto her partner, her only friend, with a single hand. "don't die! you can't just die!! you promised!!!" the teenager- they were only teenagers- screamed.
sundan chuckled tiredly, aranya's constant attacks really taking a toll on him. stretching a shaking arm down to her, he grabbed her hand and held it for a moment, shaking his head as if to say "i'm sorry".
men came, security officers and scientists. they surrounded the pair, their faces passive and uncaring as they separated the two, aranya screaming and crying and struggling as she tried to get out of their arms and go to him. they were going to eliminate him. she would never see sundan again. never hear his laugh. never have her existence proven, told that her life actually meant something. never feel his arms around her as the faces of those she had removed terrorized her already frightful and rare sleep. she needed him. she wouldn't exist without him. they were taking him away. and she could only watch as they dragged him out of her sight.
the next few months, aranya's condition quickly deteriorated. her insomnia worsened. it was hard for her to fall asleep before, but now she couldn't even close her eyes without sundan's limp image searing through her mind, let alone sleep. she refused to eat, her stomach throwing up any food that was forced in her, attacking anyone who came near her. when the higher ups came in for their biannual inspection of the progress of the gijinka soldier program, they were disappointed to find two of the five in such a fragile state, while the other three had ended their own lives due to the stress of fighting and ending their beloved and precious partners... lets just say they weren't happy. not at all. after all, there were nine massive groups, each with one hundred children exactly. nine hundred test subjects were given, and two utter failures were the result. so, in layman terms, the laboratory and the program were abandoned, shut down. the scientists, assistants, and anyone who worked there were either eliminated for their massive deficiency or spared because they were still useful in more... roundabout purposes. it was the kingdom, after all. they could do whatever they wanted.
aranya and the remaining gijinka, a scolipede girl, were sent to the fighting rings. if they couldn't be useful to the government, at least they would be useful to entertainment. that's something, at least.
they had no time to register their transition from the laboratories to the indoor fighting arena. the people who had transported them probably used sedatives of some sort, knocking them out. because when they woke up, it was on a dirt floor surrounded by a cage.
the seventeen year olds were in the same containment cell, with two plates of inedible looking food in front of them. looking down at the food, aranya was planning on refusing to eat before the other gijinka spoke.
"... you know..." staring at the girl with dead eyes, aranya didn't really have a choice in refusing to listen to her. "starving ourselves won't bring our partners back... won't bring oso back..."
'... oso must have been her's...' the ariados gijinka thought offhandedly, turning her attention to the food.
"they were weak... that's why they died." the girl murmured, defeated.
"we were weak, so we couldn't save them." aranya whispered.
"survival of the fittest." both girls spoke in unison.
survival of the fittest.
the girl's looked at each other before nodding, grabbing the plates and digging in.
they regained their strength quickly, and for an entire year they fought in the death matches. with every opponent she ended, a part of aranya died. with every life she departed, she felt better. it terrified her at the beginning. liking to end a life was wrong, even for her. it was disgusting. it was scary. but the more fights she participated in, against all kinds of species and ages, she eventually stopped caring that she liked it. she didn't mind when she started to love it. it felt better than being in constant pain. even though she still couldn't sleep, and she would probably never sleep again, it eased her mind. made it clearer. with each departed opponent, she felt invigorated. the scolipede and the ariados gijinkas didn't speak to each other after that initial conversation. they had nothing to talk about. one day the scolipede girl didn't come back from her fights. aranya didn't care. more space for her.
a while after her eighteenth birthday (ariadoses have an impeccable sense of time) the corrupted, kingdom owned fighting arena was attacked. a group of people broke away from the fighting, going to each cell and asking a simple question. "do you want to join us, or do you want to die?"
tilting her head, aranya gave the stranger a cheshire's grin, sending shivers down his spine. "do i get to end people?"
"as many as you can handle."
laughing, a loud, abrupt sound, aranya gave the soldier a crazed grin. "sign me up!"
"then welcome to the infernous hounds."
she hasn't looked back since.
behind the glass mask
nocturnal
⤷Vocaloid ⤷Hatsune miku ⤷aranya
