(Warning, this post is for mature readers only. If you are not 18+, you should not be reading this. You have been WARNED.)

((This is inspired after the battle with Issy, Hex, Calix, and a few others to list in Live RP. Thanks for the fun guys! Go check out their stuff. Tis awesomesauce))

For two hours now, she stared at the window of a grocery store in Stars End... And for two hours through the night, people have walked past her, and wondered why she was staring so intently at a sign that read: Closed.

Some had the common decency to even walk over to her to ask the poor woman, who looked she hadn't taken a bath in two weeks or even changed her clothes since god knows when, if she was okay... But of course, their concern vanished, when they spotted the left, mechanical claw, with its deadly finger-blades... And her blood stained clothes.

Her rust coloured eyes, had remained unblinking for that length of time, and, as she stared, her mind was a mess of images of her distant past, with very clear and violent images of a battle between a woman clad in black leather and an entity that looked like a machine mixed into the confused conundrum.

She had started to wonder if what had transpired hours ago, was even real. That it even happened...

Her gloved right hand lifted to cover her face, her fingers sprayed out across the flesh, her eyes gazing between the gaps, still at that closed sign, as a sharp, stabbing pain at the front part of her head, had started to develop.

The more she thought, the more it hurt.

There was something else, as well... There were other fights with other faceless and nameless people ? not too long ago, in fact... But, why could she not remember what had happened? Why could she not remember the place she used to go to ? the place with chains ? the glass box, where a man in metal stood before her...

And a man that had freed her...

What was this memory?! It seemed fake and yet at the same time, she could just about remember the blurry details!

Her fingers clenched into a fist, and gently she struck her forehead as the pain only increased. The more maddened her mind became, the more desperate she wanted to remember... Tears flowed down her cheeks; and she wasn't sure why. For she could not feel any emotion ? she could not feel any pain. She was at peace.

But still... She wept for something.

All of those events ? her memories was quickly thrown to the wind when she felt a hand touch her shoulder. Then, as she turned around, she saw the smile of a man, her hand lowering to her side, as rust coloured eyes gazed up at his sincere smile. He looked to be in his forties, but still, he was quite handsome for his age.

?... Are you okay? You look a little lost. Is something wrong??

The man's voice, had blanked her mind in that very instant. She no longer remembered why she was standing there, and no longer remembered the reason for her tears that kept on flowing...

She said nothing. She just simply stared.

?Hey, don't cry ? look if your lost, maybe I can take you to the nearest Watch outpost? They can find you where you need to go... Are you, drunk?? The man chuckled a bit, ?Or maybe on some drugs? It's okay, I used to be like that too...? He fed an arm around her shoulders, and gently guided her from the window, and down the street, ?Come on, I won't hurt you, we'll find someone to look after you... What's your name??

She had no idea what was going on, or even where she was being taken. But she followed the man's guidance. Then, as she was asked the question, her eyes turned from him, and stared straight ahead. ?M...M...?

Why did this word she could not say, come to the forefront of her mind? She's never heard of it before, but it pulsed along with her headache, and it longed to be spoken; dangling upon the tip of her tongue, as she turned her sight to the side and onto the windows they past.

It wasn't her reflection standing next to the man she barely knew. It was something else...

A large, bulky, armoured mass... Slouched forward, with a faceless; eyeless helm, and... It was staring right back at her.

?Manticore...? She finally whispered. Her gaze remaining on each and every reflection they passed.

The man's arm squeezed her a little tighter to him, ?That's an unusual name ? ah look, the Marketplace is up ahead, maybe we can find the Town Watch there??

Without a care in the world, she followed the man while making every effort to try and spot that strange bulky armoured mass in each and every reflective surface ? for she feels, she has seen, or met this thing before. She seems to think... That it was someone close to her. Or, perhaps... A piece of her, that could possibly solve the puzzle of her mind.

It was when she was in her own little world did she not realise that the man had guided her into a building ? an apartment of studio flats for those without so much money. He guided her upstairs, and into a hallway with ten doors, all with their own number.

Number 13 was to be their destination, and, as he clicked open the door with a turn of the key, he finally spoke once again, breaking her out of her daze.

?Here we are, safe and sound... If you wait here, I can go fetch someone. It's better than standing out on the street, right?? Still with his arm around her, he gently pushed her into his tiny apartment that possessed barely any belongings...

Just a bed.

As her wandering footsteps took her into the middle of the room, the door locked behind her, and slowly she turned around to the fast moving image of the man who was seeking to help her, wielding a bat. And he swung it good and true right to the side of her head.

That was when all became black. Her mind, was clear; there was nothing to think about. She was in a state of peaceful limbo that felt neither physical or mental pain. There was just darkness... A great void of soundless harmony...

She wanted to stay in this place, forever...

But it was not meant to be.

Eventually, she could feel her eyes fluttering - slowly but surely, her vision blurred back, beating back the darkness and bringing with it a terrible pain at the side of her head.

It was bright and sunny, and the white curtains did barely anything to stop the sunlight from pouring into the room.

For some reason, she was on the floor, face first, sprawled across the ground, and she could feel a hot, wet, sticky liquid clinging to her flesh, staining it dark red.

She stirred soundlessly up to all fours, her head shaking from side to side to shake out the cobwebs and confusion, just as her vision returned to her fully. She could see her hands, stained in blood, and there was a large pool of it just where her head was laying...

Falling back onto her rear, she realised for the first that she was almost completely naked. Her rust coloured eyes inspected her bruised and battered body... And, just as she was about to push herself up to stand, she realised, something else was amiss.

Pausing, she lifted her left arm, and realised, that her gauntlet was no longer present. Just a stump, where a gauntlet should had been. She looked to her right hand, and noticed that the glove she wore last night was still present, and that her socks were still on ? even her boots...

Her clothes however were torn and strewn all across the floor, and her eyes looked over just how torn up they were. As if they were ripped from her body.

Then it all came flooding back like a painful memory ? for that man that guided her here struck her in the head with a baseball bat, and it was at this point in her attempt to remember, that she lifted her gloved fingers and touched her head, and felt the bloodied gash where the bat had connected.

What came next amongst the chaos of her mind, was a blurred vision, that had her mouth falling agape.

Something else came from the mess that was her mind ? the image of a body, pressing up against her. A Sweaty, hairy body that groaned and snarled like some savage beast...

She dropped her eyes and hand down to between her legs. She felt there, and winced. It was sore. Really sore. Her bottom lip quivered, as she whispered to herself; her voice trembling ? fear now present in her face as she stood up, and looked to the bed, ?... Not, again...?

That man, was laying there, naked, with a serene smile upon his face... A look of satisfaction. And the bat, was laying just next to him, covered in blood. Her blood.

She stumbled back until her back pressed firmly into the wall just next to the door, her head shaking; her eyes wide with... Something. Those dull rusted eyes, were trying to display complete and utter despair, but it barely registered. Only her quivering lip, and quick-falling tears was the only evidence of her sorrow.

Whirling suddenly, her hand grasped at the door handle, and yanked at it, hoping it would open. But it was locked. And the noise, was just loud enough to cause the man to stir from his slumber, and watch as the woman helplessly pulled at the door.

He grinned at her, as he called out. ?You know... I thought you would be dead by now... I swung pretty hard. But it seems you got a lot more life in you yet... Manticore.?

He leaned up in bed, and grasped at the handle of his baseball bat, slipping onto his feet moments later, ?Or should I say... Renna? Nice try trying to pretend to be someone else, you monster, but... You can't hide who you are. Your face is burned into everyone's memory; did you honestly think you could fool me??

She turned to look back at him. That name, again! Why do they keep calling her that?! She lifted her right hand to smack against the door, hoping someone would come to her rescue.

?You might not remember me, but I was in the Town Watch a few years ago. I was going places. But then you showed up... You killed my friend in front of my eyes and then broke my leg! You ended my career you bitch!? He stormed forward, and grasped into Renna's greasy, blood stained hair, yanked her head back, and then smashed her forehead onto the door.

Dazed, she was allowed to fall back onto the floor, her hand lifting now to cover the offending area that crashed into the wood of the door. Her rust filled eyes, once dull and emotionless, was now wide with terror . Still they streamed with tears, as fresh pain assaulted her scrambled mind.

?P-Please... Stop...? She whimpered, finally, ?Master... Stop...?

?Stop?!? The man howled in disbelief, ?Don't go thinking you can fool me with that Master crap ? you bow to no one! I know you well, Betrayer!? He pointed at her with the bat accusingly, ?Hundreds of murders, countless lives enslaved to you ? you desecrated the dead with your foul magic ? your villainy knows no end! But it will end...? The man lifted the bat high above his head with both hands.

Renna lifted her arms out to him, begging him to stop. ?I don't know, what you're talking about! I-I'm just... Just a slave, to my Master's will ? please! Master, please believe me!? She wept, ?I don't know what I've done wrong but please spare me!?

?I'm going to enjoy this...? The bat came down once, and it broke Renna's left arm. He enjoyed bringing her pain as finally, she let out a yelp. ?Scream you bitch! Scream like those you yourself have hurt in the past!?

Up the bat went again, and down it crashed into her ribcage... Up it went again, and down it crunched onto her shoulder, dislocating her right arm... His attacks grew gradually quicker and desperate, until he was beating her so much that the bat broke.

The man panted hard, rubbing the sweat from his brow as he stood back, and looked down without an inch of pity at the broken woman laying in a pool of blood.

Her legs, her arms... Her ribs... He almost broke half of the bones in her body, but yet she still lived, and somehow he managed to miss her face ? the one thing he wanted to mess up the most, and he missed.

Disappointed that she still did not scream enough for him, he merely lifted his foot, and pressed it against her neck. Locking off the airway, he put all of his weight onto her throat until he heard a satisfying snap, and gargle...

The man took several steps back, and admired his handy work.

?... I have to say, I admire your resilience.? The man stepped over the body, and sighed, falling back onto the bed with his hands covering his face.

He did it. He killed the bitch... He finally got the revenge he so longed for... And now, Renna, The Betrayer was dead. He did the city a favour ? he did what no hero could do. He lured her home, abused her, and destroyed her like the animal she was.

Lowering his hands from his face, he turned his head to drink in the image of a dead criminal that she had been put down years ago...

But there was no body...

An icy grip, took a hold of his heart.

?Where did she-Grah!? His body shook violently on the bed, as blood spewed and foamed from his mouth, as his hands snapped to rake his fingernails at his chest, seeking to dig out the pain that was rising up within him.

Then, from under the bed, the mechanical claw ripped through his back, and erupted out from his chest, holding shards of his still twitching heart...

As the hand pulled back down through the gaping orifice it made right through him and the bed, two claws reached out from under it, and grasped his ankles, pulling him down onto the ground.

Fortunately ? or unfortunately if you look at it from his perspective, he was still alive for the last few seconds, as he was dragged under the bed, and into a gaping mechanical maw, that resembled the rotating blades of a horrific mincer...

The dying eyes of the man, widened at the abomination, as his hands helplessly clawed against the ground. "No... No! NO! NO!"

As each portion of him was dragged under the bed, his screams became a wonderful ballad of torture as bit by bit, his body was ground up into a pulped mass for the Manticore to eat.