Men and Monsters: Metempsychosis.

For once since her capture, Pinkamena got to sleep on an actual bed. It was tiny, clearly meant for one person. The sheets were a bright blue, the blanket covering her the same color. The headboard and post of the bed were both a dark brown, more than likely made from wood. The pillow was a simple white one, big enough to hold her entire head. Discord was sitting in a wooden chair beside her, waiting for his subject to awaken while reading a small book.

The room she was in was very different from the kind she had gotten used to recently, looking more like something in a mansion that was reserved for guests. Instead of a cold, hard floor like she expected, there was a red carpet, looking like it was recently cleaned. To the right of the bed was a bookshelf, seeming to be the only real thing in the room. It was filled top to bottom with books of many varieties on tons of different subjects. On the opposite side of the room was a white door with a golden knob. To the left was a similar-looking door, except with a bronze doorknob. She wasn’t sure where that one led, the bathroom maybe?

Pinkamena had been asleep for three days. Discord had completed the main transition, but her body had to recover the process by going into pseudo-hibernation. Bones had to set, muscles had to regrow, tons of things had to be done to re-adjust her body. But, as his notes have shown, three days is usually the wake-up time. And since this is going to be her final test, there’s no need for her to be chained up anymore. She’s going to need all that time to prepare herself, and her father strictly ordered he wanted her at her best. Discord would inform her everything about the final test, as well as what she was now. Now, their special little killing machine just needed to wake up… any minute now...

Almost on cue, Pinkamena began to stir. Her eyes slowly opened, almost fluttering. And when she was no longer groggy, she quickly rose, taking in her new environment with a shocked expression.

“Ah, good! You’re awake,” Discord greeted, closing his book and placing it back on the shelf. “You may feel very stiff for a while, so try not to move. There’s a lot we need to talk about.”

Glaring at the scientists, she looked down to survey herself. Pinkamena was adorning a black shirt and some thin jeans. Tugging the color, she was surprised to find a bra concealing her chest. Before she could say anything, it dawned upon Pinkamena how dry her mouth was. Her blue eyes widened, only now noticing that she was severely dehydrated.

“W-water!” She wheezed, clutching at her throat. Discord swiftly pulled out a bottle of water from his pocket without so much as changing his expression before handing it to Pinkamena. She promptly snatched it out of his hands, ripping off the lid and chugging it.. After the bottle was empty, she put it between her legs and tried to catch her breath as Discord observed her.

“Sorry, my dear. Completely slipped my mind that you’d probably feel very parched,” Discord noted with a sly grin. “Now, on to business!”

Pinkamena kept quiet, her icy gaze fixated on the deeply disturbed doctor, saying nothing. Whatever news the doctor was about to deliver, she would handle it.

“To start, we have both good news and bad news. The good news is your transition was a complete success!”

The ex teenager tilted her head, arching an eyebrow quizzically.

“Well… more or less,” Discord cleared his throat. “Your body has adapted quite well. Your sense of smell, sight, and hearing will be increased. You’ll be a lot quicker and stronger, your healing factor exceeding beyond that of a normal human. I could shoot bullets into you, and the wound would close up in a matter of minutes! The only real downside is that you’ll be a lot more ravenous. You’ll have to eat more meat to replenish your strength, which shouldn’t be too hard given the sharper canines I’ve implanted.”

Pinkamena cautiously opened her mouth to run her finger over her teeth, noting that they were, indeed, more pointed. She winched, accidentally poking her incisors, a tiny bit of blood. Her eyes wandered over to her arms, noting the hint of muscles when she squeezed her hands tightly.

If what Discord said was true, Pinkamena had practically become a superhuman hybrid with different animal DNA. And somehow, her youthful human appearance remained intact. To think that one man’s deranged obsession could become a reality.

Pinkamena addressed the doctor with a shaking voice, “...and the bad news?”

Discord responded with a sigh.

“The bad news is, while your body is maturing for its primary transformation, your mind has not. Human emotions always seem to get in the way of progress.” With a roll of his eyes and pursed lips, he lifted up a clipboard from the shelf, a chart attached. “Still, there’s much work to be done before you’re ready to take on your final test. Even with your super healing and heightened senses, you’ll need to-”

“Where’s the bathroom?!”

Discord nearly jumped at how angrily she poke, looking back with an astonished face. He didn’t expect a response like that, Pinkamena had usually been composed. He pointed to the door across from him, and no sooner did she jump out to rush into the bathroom, tugging off her shirt frantically. The doctor watched intently, curious as to what she was doing.

Her eyes dilated upon looking over her bare flesh through the mirror. Thanks to the transition, her body was no longer riddled with scars, not a single cut on her pale skin. She looked the same as three months ago as if nothing had happened. Her breathing quickened, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

“No… No,no,no,no! NO!! WHERE ARE THEY!? WHAT DID YOU DO!?” She spat, running her hands all over her body. Sneering, she turned back to Discord, marching up to grab him by his collar, earning a startled yelp.

“Give. Them. Back!” She demanded through clenched teeth.

“Give what back?” The strangled doctor asked in confusion. He didn’t take anything from her. On the contrary, he gave her something far greater than anything her father probably provided! Did Blake steal something from her while he was ‘preparing’ Pinkamena?

“My scars and my necklace! I want them back?”

The doctor only deepened his bewildered frown.

“Now, why would you ever want your scars? Such a beautiful, flawless form should remain unruined by such hideous blemishes!”

Her glare hardened as she tossed the doctor into the bed, a weak groan resounding as he staggered to stand up.

“Scars aren’t just injuries you can remove,” Pinkamena sneered. “They’re a part of you! They hold stories and show what you’ve endured and gone through to get where you are! They show exactly who I am!”

Clutching his side, Discord continued to gaze bewilderingly at his subject, struggling to understand such a mentality.

“Look, I’m sorry, but it’s impossible to return what was taken from you. Even if we reversed the process or put you through everything again, it’s unlikely you’ll bear any marks or scars with the healing factor I implanted.”

There was that fatal flaw again—human emotion. Always the one dent to his armor he could never fix, no matter how hard Discord tried to rid it with all his experiments and test subjects. Which was a shame, as he had grown to like Pinkamena. Her expression softened slightly upon realizing the effect was irreversible, letting out a deep exhale.

“And my necklace?” she asked as she walked back into the bathroom to retrieve her black shirt, sliding it over her torso.

“You… didn’t have a necklace when you were assigned to me,” Discord stated. “The only thing that was with you was your clothing. No necklace or jewerly.”

Her back remained facing the doctor, shoulders slightly hunched. Discord tilted his head, hoping he didn’t say anything to provoke her. Instead of more spiteful language, a giggle answered his ears. Not a pleasant or happy sound one does during a funny situation. The sound that parted her lips was bitter.

“Of course,” she spoke softly, a slight grin to her lips. “Blake probably took it while I was asleep. Either as a bargaining chip or some sort of trophy to keep. He must want me to come for him…”

Discord rose to his feet, perplexed by this development in Pinkamena’s behavior. While she spoke of Blake fondly, there was a hint of maliciousness in her words. Whatever the reason, that necklace was valuable to her.

“Erm… might I ask why it’s so important to you?” He politely requested, earning a sharp turn of her head, her icy eyes narrowed.

“Why do you care?” she asked bluntly.

When Discord couldn’t form a proper response without sounding callous. Pinkamena turned her head away from him, looking down at her feet. With a low sigh, she decided to humor the doctor.

“It’s a silver necklace with a golden heart and a red jewel in the center,” she began explaining. “Inside of it is a picture of my sisters and me. It belonged to them before they were… killed. I found it with their bodies. It’s pretty much the only thing I have left of them. That’s why I want to get it back.”

Discord detected a rare hint of sadness in her tone, something he assumed had long been dead through her trials. Since knowing her, all he got from her was sarcastic quips, haughtiness, and the occasional angry or sadistic threats. Never had he heard Pinkamena sound utterly broken. Though given all she’s been through, it was rather impressive for someone still as young as her to hide her emotions for so long.

“You mention a final test,” Pinkamena spoke up, her usual demeanor returning. She looked back to face him, arms folded into her chest. “Didn’t you say I was done after my ‘transformation’? Or were you lying?”

Discord did his best to keep a neutral face. As demonstrated earlier, Pinkamena could quickly kill him if he said or did anything that might set her off. He may have helped mold Pinkamena into a killer, but she had yet to take an actual human life. And as much as he despised playing on emotions, he was determined to make sure he didn’t become her first victim.

“Yes and no,” he elaborated. “Technically, your test isn’t over. But I wasn’t lying! The completion of your transition was the last hurdle involving your development. Now all that’s left is one last test. Before I go into details, I’d like to finish my explanation from earlier. You need to understand why these emotions are holding you back, alright?”

Pinkamena remained silent, only nodding her head, much to the doctor’s relief.

“Now, as I was saying,” Discord resumed, pulling up his clipboard. “Your body has adjusted and is ready for the first of three transformations. In each state, either activated willingly or through emotions, is what you are now. While you have the advantages of the animals I spliced into your genetic coding, they’re immensely increased when you transform. Your DNA has been combined with dozens of animals, be it mammal, reptile, avian or amphibian.”

She gazed quizzically at him before looking down at herself.

“Don’t worry, you won’t actually change into a lizard or something,” the scientist assured. “It’s more like you make certain parts of your body transform to those kinds of creatures to possess their abilities. For example, you could grow scales over your skin for better protection and cool your blood to adjust to temperature changes better. You can’t, however, cover yourself completely in scales. That’s not possible.”

“And here I thought you liked challenging the impossible,” Pinkamena scoffed.

“Yes, but alas, The human body can only handle so much before it mutates into gelatinous biomass,” Discord shrugged. “Now, back to the transformation! This is the only exception to a complete body transformation. You will have to take advantage of the animals you’re combined with. Sure, you’re faster and more robust, but you’re also susceptible to damage. It takes a massive toll on the body, pain beyond unimaginable. You’ll be exhausted for weeks if you exhaust yourself, kind of like a college student. Sleep would be out of reach, and that's not even going into the possible side effects of hallucinations, mood swings, internal bleeding, etc. Just mind how frequently and long you shift your body around.”

The young woman considered the risk presented. It wasn’t like she had a choice, much like how Pinkamena was thrown into this whole ordeal. Like most things in life,, you had to take what’s been thrown at you. Being aware ahead of time what the consequences of her ‘transformations’ was beneficial, but meant very little considering she didn’t have any more choice in using them than anything else in the past few months.

“I will now go over the three stages; each one different in appearance and performance,” Discord continued, lifting over a page. “Stage One: Changes will be slightly noticeable. Your nails will grow longer, your teeth sharper, your eyes a different shape and color. Most likely a wolf or bear’s pupil for better vision, but there has been variation before where it is much more reptillian. You can stay in this form for up to three hours without suffering any consequences. Stage Two: The changes are much more significant. This is where you start to become more animalistic. Hair or scales will begin appearing on your skin. You may grow both, but I’ve heard it’s highly uncomfortable. At this point, a tail may grow, possibly at length longer than your body. Your size will increase as well, making you slower but more substantial. Your nails are practically claws at this point, with teeth on par with a tiger’s.”

“Your eyes will stay the same, as will most of your facial features. But at that point, verbal communication will be difficult. You’ll be more in tune with your primal instincts. Your sense of awareness may be hard to keep hold of. You might even forget the reason for transforming in the first place. All you’ll want to do is kill and devour your enemy, whoever that may be. You can stay in this form for one hour before suffering those nasty drawbacks.”

Pinkamena clutched her arms together tightly, unable to imagine how excruciating it would be to even pull off a first-stage transformation.

“Finally, stage three: It would take a lot of willpower to tap into and even greater resolve to snap out of. You’ll be like a feral beast at that point. You’ll have no sense of awareness. Whoever you were will be gone. All that will remain is an apex predator. There isn’t even an accurate description of what you’ll look like! Whatever drives you towards entering this state, I pray it’s for a good reason.”

“So… I’m basically like a werewolf?” Pinkamena asked once Discord was finished with his explanation.

“Mmm, kind of. You’re more of a weaponized chimera than anything, really. The differences are as noticeable as the similarities. Still, my point stands. Stage three is perilous, and if you stay like that for longer than ten minutes, whatever humanity you have left will be gone…” The scientist snapped his fingers. “... just like that! I can’t tell you what’ll happen after that point, but I doubt you’ll live long.”

“Hmph…”

“Now, do keep in mind, these are just the likely results, and not everything I’ve said will be accurate. You could develop abilities I have no idea about. It’s impossible to predict what could happen. While certain kinds of capabilities will always occur, other ones may change. Right now, there’s no way to know what ones you’ll have until you have them”

“Then how am I suppose to prepare for this ‘final’ test if I don’t know what I can even do?!” Pinkamena growled in frustration. The doctor simply shrugged.

“Sorry, dearie. I have been ordered not to share with you any more information until after the test. Is there anything you have questions about, or shall I continue?”

Pinkamena thought back to everything she just heard, from the depictions, side effects, and how long she should manage each form. She looked up to Discord before shaking her head.

“Marvelous! Now, to fully become what you are, you need to feel an intense emotion, something that will trigger your body to activate those spliced genes—rage, depression, grief, something powerful. My bets are, you will experience something like that during your next test. But, again, I must advise caution when it comes to human emotions. If kept unchecked, you might sprout a mangled wing or unnecessary limb that’ll hinder you. Or worse, get yourself killed.”

“Got it. Now, what’s the test?”

“You will be thrown into a pit against the best the Syndicate has to offer. We’re talking mercenaries, assassins, bounty hunters, spies! Ok, maybe not that last one. Think of it like a gladiator fight, pick whatever weapon you want, and kill your way through all the competition. It’ll be the culmination of everything you’ve been through!”

“Keep in mind, they are being paid a hefty price to kill you. So do what’s necessary to survive, be it through trickery or outright slaughter. If you make it out alive, you pass. Igneous, Blake, and I will be observing, so do keep us entertained. We’ll be watching, writing down the final results. If you do pass, and if Blake does have your necklace… I’ll see about giving it back to you. Sound fair?”

Pinkamena wore her vacant expression, yet her eyes brightened upon the promise of her sister’s memoir being returned. She couldn’t trust him to keep his word, nor why he would offer given his evident repugnance for empathy or sentiment. She lowered her head, long pink hair hiding her face.

Discord turned to leave the room, opening the golden knobbed door before looking back to the human-animal hybrid. “Take the rest of the day to prepare. Rest, strategies, I’ll even bring you some food to eat. Good heavens, you must be starving! If you need anything, ask the guards outside the door, and they’ll bring it to you. But come tomorrow, you better be ready. I’m counting on you, Pinkamena.”

With the last bit of encouragement he could muster, the deranged doctor proceeded to leave until her voice stopped him.

“If I pass… there will be no consequence for killing them?” Pinkamena asked, her tone dripping with sadistic glee. “I can do whatever I want with them?”

Discord turned with a curious look. Pinkamena was still hanging her head down, but through the small curtain of pink hair, he could faintly make out the outlines of a smile. It was quite an unnerving sight.

“Y-yes…” he answered uneasily, quickly closing the door before she could ask anything else. Lifting her head up, she relaxed her posture and laid back down onto her bed, her smile still stretching widely across her cheeks.

Tomorrow would be a big day, and Pinkamena could hardly wait to see all those anguished faces when participants realized how badly they were screwed. She planned to turn their competition into a total massacre—a statement for the entire Syndicate.

Discord had mistakenly claimed that going into the dreaded third state would strip her of her remaining humanity for what wisdom and information he could provide. To Pinkamena, that was the biggest load of shit she heard since taking part in this trial.

No. For when the test was over, and Pinkamena stood victorious over the corpses of every agent and assassin in that pit, no one would recognize her as ‘human.’