Chapter Text
"You're telling me you wouldn't pay top dollar for an nature witch?" The silvery, calm voice of Heagin Nathaniels asked the Grey doctor who happened to be in charge of the research laboratory in which Oni had been brought too. The Grey, though Oni hadn't seen him yet suspected the doctor looked like all the rest of his kind with thin limbs and an enlarged head that seemed unlikely to hold itself upright with what seemed like an even larger set of eyes that lacked emotion.
Her suspicions were correct as she spotted the doctor pass by the crack of the door that had been left ajar ever so slightly. This Grey was roughly taller than her capturor , Heagin Nathaniels, who stood rough about 5'6. Greys from what she knew weren't large even know this one proved to be a little different with an increased height and an ashen grey coloring that might have been a sign of increased age. Either way, this grey did in fact look like all the rest she's seen and Oni could have easily lost him in a crowd of others like him if not for the lab coat. An odd , human things for a Grey to wear.
"I pay high units , terran-dweller." Terran-dweller, a commonly used named for species from earth or its sister planets.
Heagin's exhausted sigh was heard from inside the room. "It was a figure of speech-"
"-Your terran language formalities mean nothing to me, terran-dweller. The requirements for maximum units dispensed for a nature hex are that they must be of reproducing age and come into full potential of there energy. This one you have brought me is neither." Oni perked , hopefully that this grey would refuse Heagin , surely if Heagin was turned down yet again for her then he'd be forced to let her go. What else was there to do with a Hex that had yet to come into her powers but to wait and none of the buyers were interested in waiting.
She heard the man curse before his voice lowered beyond on what she could hear. Her sea green eyes looked down to the metal clasp that held snugly to her wrist and was connected by an energy beam to the wall, Oni pulled at the connection, moving back as far as the energy would allow before her wrist ached with pain. There was no point in trying, time and time again she'd tried getting free of her bonds and time and time again they'd failed. Her wrist seemed to be permanently bruised when the rare chance she was allowed to have the clasp taken off and the sensitive area was painful to the touch.
Oni flinched and scrambled over to her position by the wall where she had been told not to move from as she heard the two inside shuffle around before stepping out. A feeling like she had to vomit formed in her gut as the young girl watched as the Grey reluctantly shook Heagin's hand in what could only be an agreement. That was it, she'd been bought, despite what she had hoped and prayed for she'd been bought by the one place she had feared on going too. The Academic Limitations of Species was a place of fear by many who had been captured, being bought by them was basically a death sentence.
Heagin looked towards Oni, gruffly bearded man with his thick arms and leathery tanned skin gave a two finger salute as he started off in the direction they had came. "Enjoy your stay here, little one." His eerily calm voice stated.
Oni panicked. "No , please! Please Heagin I don't wanna stay here! Anywhere but here please!" She pulled until she reached the end of her connection, wrist thumbing in protest.
"What's done is done , little one. Grew strong for them and you might just survive."
"Heagin! Please!" Oni felt the hot tears streaming down her cheeks as her pleas fell silent , a cold clammy hand gripped harshly to the back of her neck. The Grey touched a nondescript place on the wall as the energy holding her to it released, the metal clasp deactivating and falling free to the fall. Having but a moment to only rub at the harshly colored bruise on her cocoa pigmented skin before pushed forward down the corridors towards a set of large steel doors.
Once past the doors that seemed to open on there own Oni was confused. The hallway was starch white and brightly lit, almost so that her eyes squinted to not be pained by it. From what she could tell it seemed to stretch on forever, a narrow channel that didn't look to lead anywhere different except straight until they came upon a passageway leading off to the left or right only after they were standing directly in front of it. But as she peered down the halls that broke off even those looked to keep going forever. It was only after they made a right turn did she noticed that everything looked the same, nothing was out of place to distinguish where one actually was, a labyrinth.
She wanted to cry, she felt more hopeless now than anything that had happened. Even the day she had been abducted while playing outside of her mother's village seemed not to compare knowing she was doomed to remain in this place.
"Escape is impractical." The Grey said simply, not even bothering to look down at her. "The building was designed to be impossible to escape unless you know the correct number of steps, turns and which doors lead into which areas."
Oni stayed silent. "You should be honored to have been purchased by our foundation."
She looked up. "W-why? You hurt p-people."
"We study species, some tests involve pain while others do not."
"Why?"
"The reasoning is information not available to residents." The Grey grew quiet again, leaving Oni to work up the courage to question the being further.
"Am I allowed to ask questions?"
"Of course, though the questions in which you long to know may or may not be available. One can only ask."
She took that as a sign to ask. "Will I be here forever?"
"The answer is undetermined. Completion and total corporation of the trials set forth by the foundation will reveal if you may leave."
Oni's mood slowly turned positive. "You mean if I just do all the tests I can leave?"
"The answer is undetermined."
That wasn't a no! And from what she could gather if all the tests were completed there was a chance they'd let her go. Surely this was a good sign, perhaps there was someone in charge she could talk with that would be better at letting her know what was expected of her.
The two turned yet another corner but Oni winced as the cold grip of the Grey's hand tightened on her neck, stopping her from walking on. Blinking in surprise at what stood there in the middle of the hallway was a being she hadn't seen before. It was tall, perhaps six foot or larger with lean muscles hiding just bunched and tense under the white set of a shirt and pants. Below the surface of its rich mahogany skin that on certain areas turned to a cream color showed scars big and small, a couple of bad healed slashes were placed on his neck. It's eyes held a fierceness to them, like blue flames trapped behind shards of glass as they glared towards the Grey doctor.
A low menacing growl bubbled up from its chest, odd crab-like appendages equipped with threatening tusks flexed and flared to reveal and inner set of teeth. Even the beings tube like hair that surrounded just below crown seemed to flare in agitation at seeing the doctor. In all the creature was definitely pissed and Oni felt herself shrinking back , scared of what he would do.
"Anath, you're not supposed to be out of the common rooms...or out of your room to be frank." Anath said nothing, the hallway seeming to fill with tension so thick.one could have cut it with a knife. "You're frightening the newcomer now is that what you want, Anath?"
The blue eyes snapped to Oni, noticing her for the first time before he switched his gaze back. They leapt, knocking the Grey down onto the floor while scrambling up and barking some at Oni. She moved away from large being , staring fearfully at it as it's mandibles moved as an odd series of clicks and grunts sounded.
The two stared at one another for only a moment before they narrowed his brow ridges at the young girl before snarling and taking off at a sprint. Once they were alone the grey lifted himself up from the ground, dusting himself off before continuing as if nothing happened, oddly enough Oni was allowed to walk without the male's clasp on her neck.
They turned and entered into a room that was arranged much like a regular doctor's office would, a lifted bed with a sink and countertops laid inside. The Grey motioned for her to hop up onto the bed and she did so.
"What happened out there?" She eventually asked when it seemed the doctor wouldn't even explain, its back turned to her as it searched through one of the drawers.
"A rather vexatious resident here. Pay him no mind, once his purpose is served he'll be eliminated."
Oni's mouth went dry. "E-eliminated?"
"Killed."
Her cheeks flushed. "I know what it means."
"Then why the question?" The grey pondered, turning as he held up a singular device that looked to be the size of a pea.
"I mean, why not just, you know, let him go home?"
"Allowing someone of his species to return home is forbidden, to avoid military action tests on his kind must remain anonymous."
"Oh…"
"You do not agree?"
Oni said nothing, merely watching as the Grey crosses the room and tilted her head to the side. She flinched at the unnatural feeling of the tiny metallic device being pushed into her ear. Once whatever had been inserted in the doctor turned, pulling out a holographic pad and began working.
"You did not run."
"Huh?" Oni questioned before wincing in pain as a sharp shrill rang loudly into her left ear where the device had been out. The grey work quickly to adjust the noise before entirely cutting it out.
"When Anath knocked me down you had a chance to run. You did not."
The girl tried to smooth down her frizzled and poofed mess of red kinky curls that stood out oddly against her dark colored skin as a way to soothe her nerves a bit. "Y-you said if I was good I could maybe go home right?"
"Discussions with my superiors will reveal further information on that. Complete detachment from our foundation is highly unlikely but supervised living else where can be an option. Again, superiors must address the issue."
Hope once again raced through her mind. This was it, if she could make it through the trials they needed from her and behaved then there was a chance she'd be allowed home. She'd be allowed to see her family once more.
"When can I meet the people in charge?"