#subjugate

His golem lay broken and smoking, a heap of useless scrap metal. Red lights flickering in a machine's death spasms, only intensifying the headache pounding inside his skull.

The failure did not deter him, no. An outdated design, he had meant to improve on it anyway. No matter. He grit his teeth in cold anger, controller gripped tightly in one hand. Pale eyes alight with hatred stared up at the shadowed figure before him, a grimace crossing the biomancer's features.

With a click, the augmented bodies strewn across the floor seized. Electricity enervating weakened muscle, predatory orbs rolling forcibly back from beneath closed lids. He clicked again. And again. More electricity, more erratic movements. A yelp of pain, and one of the creations rose. Then another. All bloodied flesh and battered metal.

"Pointless creatures..." He hissed, madness overflowing in his tone. "You don't get to rest."

Results. He needed results. And he would get them, no matter what. Even if he had to get them himself.

Useless. Useless. Useless.

He knew he could not kill the abomination, but he had no need to. All he needed to do was incapacitate him long enough to transport back to base, and then he'd make himself an immortal puppet. He would show Vloxx the real value of the beast. No hero, no idol, no myth - just a well oiled weapon.

But no such thing would happen. He could feel magic wrap around his ankles, locking him in place. Instinctively, he glanced downwards, cursing as the inky black chains squeezed painfully, bruising flesh through armor. Before he could so much as entertain any form of retaliation - he realized he could no longer move his hands, either.

The biomancer thrashed in his restraints, gripping his controller desperately. The antimagic apparatus fitted into his gear did not respond, overwhelmed by sheer power. The Commander continued his approach, indifferent to the asura's furious writhing.

"Five! Seven!" Sebb yelled impatiently - with great surprise finding his voice cracking. What... was this feeling? Fear? No. A statistical improbability, these fetters would not hold for long - surely..!

"To me!" A clawed thumb pressed obsessively, silver eyes darting between the cyborg raptors who, for whatever reason, refused to move. Red armor flashed like a fire alarm, more and more jolts of electricity sending the animals' brains into overdrive. Froth bubbled between sharpened teeth. And yet they failed to move, like broken dolls.

Useless. Useless. Useless..!

It was then that he felt the magic constrict. An involuntary yelp of pain escaped him, along with more curses at the lich who dared so insult his pride.

"You can stop pressing that button." Maelmordha spoke, indifferent blue eyes gleaming like ghostfire.

"Why, you..!" Sebb growled, before realization hit him. Five and Seven, snarling and biting the air - stood so eerily still, snared by the same trap that held him. The scientist attempted once more to wriggle free, but the magic only squeezed tighter. He let out a hiss of abject agony, registering the feeling draining from his digits. Frantically sending mental commands to his power armor, he awaited the familiar ping and the spell releasing - but no such sensation came. Instead, the coldness continued to spread. His gums hurt from the way he clenched his jaw.

The lich spared a passing glance to the pathetic creations squirming in the background, before the gaze of twin flames returned to him with its full, scornful force. It was undeniable, now. Fear proliferated through his nerves like an eager parasite, seizing control of his breathing and heartbeat. The biomancer swallowed, fighting against himself. A haze of panic clouding his senses even as he pushed himself to think...! Just think, you damned fool...! This couldn't be how it ended. Him and Vloxx were going to build a new world, carve a new path that somebody like Maelmordha would never understand. Not the monster that he was. Stagnant and dead. Condemned to remain unchanging for millenia. A thing like him could never understand true progress...!

He tried to open his mouth to speak, but it was as though his tongue had gone numb. And so, he could only stare confusedly, heart beating out of his chest, as the Commander - this husk of a creature - raised one hand. But the sword did not strike, instead levitating leisurely at his wrist.

"Congratulations. You pissed me off." The undead necromancer's tone was morgue-cold. "So here's a little something before you die."

The shadows following the mage seemed to come alive on their own. Darkness crawling from beneath, a pool of inky blackness at his feet. And then, six blue eyes, like fireflies in the night.

"...I want you to tell me how it feels."

He blinked in bewilderment - and then the smoky demon invaded him through the nose and mouth. A scream lodged in his throat as an overbearing coldness seized his senses, and he felt his limbs move. The chains snaked around his joints, extending into the ceiling like umbral strings. And his body followed along. His arms rose, and then his legs. All the while, the crushing pressure only intensified.

"What are you..?" The asura gawked, ears falling flat against the sides of his head. His voice, the sole thing he was allowed to keep. "Alchemy..."

He could... just barely recognize the movements. Methodical, melodic. The bindings - and the entity within - moved him to an unheard rhythm, spinning him once and twice in a macabre pirouette. Right hand extended, as though courting an unseen partner. In his left, the controller. A device he could no longer use, nothing but a biting chill in place of stripped autonomy.

"I'd take my time, but I have more pressing matters to attend to." The lich's words were a mockery in his ears. Still, he silently pleaded for his armor to free him. For the living mercury to cast out the foul spirit toying with his frame. No. This was preposterous. Absolutely unacceptable. Fear and adrenaline flooded his brain. Him and Vloxx were...! There was no way, just no way he would submit to the likes of..!

"I don't know what the Director sees in you." Sebb laughed, chemicals muddling his thoughts. His eyes reflected that same spectral hue. "You're completely insane."

But the Commander did not grace him with a response. And perhaps that was what hurt the most - the twisting dagger in his already mangled pride.

In the end, he meant nothing.

A blast of death magic from the lich's palm knocked the breath out of his lungs. He jerked backwards abruptly - feeling so distinctly each joint that snapped in the hold of spectral chains. His prison finally relented and he flew like a discarded ragdoll, slamming into the wall of the chamber and falling to the tiled floor unceremoniously. Dark tendrils extended out of his skin before coalescing once more into the six-eyed glob of darkness, which then began its slow shuffle back towards its master. The pain of it all was... overwhelming. Like dimethylmercury razing his nervous system. Movement was no longer an option. And so, he lay there, broken, a heap of useless meat.

Unless...

In the corner of his throbbing vision, there it was. The controller, just barely within reach. Maybe, just maybe.... even if he had to crawl like a worm... even as the vision of his glorious new world faded from his eyes, replaced by the sole, primal directive.

I want to live. Fuck this all. I can't die here. No, no no no no -

Dragging broken limbs, at least his fingers still worked.

"Five! Seven! Finish them!" Sebb screamed, throat hoarse.

The controller... was broken.

And the broken creatures were no longer snared. Red eyes fixed on his prone form, saliva mixed with blood dripping from between cruel fangs. Broken. But not quite enough to rest. Oh, this - they would enjoy.

"N-not me, you mindless fools!" He howled, but it was far too late. Suddenly, the air itself felt like the crackling force field of a pen, the callous straps of an operating table. And their fangs descended like scalpels.