A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.

A dull, nagging pain steadily forced the owner of the headache to wake up. From her lips, a quiet groan escaped, and she shifted around a bit where she was presumably sitting. Things pressed into her clothes and skin from the ground, which only awoke her more. Slowly, her brown optics blinked open as a faint light overhead met them. She squinted against it, and her headache grew slightly at the new illumination. As she adjusted to the light, she recalled what had happened. Such memories intensified the headache and caused her heart to race.

She didn't give her eyes anymore time to adapt, and they opened widely. Quickly, she scanned her environment, only to regret moving so fast. Deidre tried to lift her right hand to her temples, but she discovered that they were bound behind her back. Her eyes moved to her legs, and she discovered that they were untied. At first, she thought that she was lucky until her stomach knotted. That creature wouldn't have left them untied on accident. He had something planned, and she didn't wish to imagine how horrid it would be.

Thankfully, she didn't look to be harmed physically, with the exception of the bump on the back of her head, but she had a feeling that wouldn't last forever. She couldn't hear soft footfalls nearby, though, and she didn't hear ... Wait, she did hear breathing, but it was quiet; it was in front of her. Steeling herself and pushing herself up against the wall to give her back better support and her eyes a better view, she stared ahead, and she felt all of her go cold with concern and trepidation. "No," she muttered out in disbelief. Across the tracks from her was ... (f/ ... (f/n).

The younger woman's arms were strung up by old electrical cables, which were wrapped around sturdy-looking pipes near the ceiling. Her head and torso were leaning forward while she rested on her knees. Currently, she was unconscious, but it was quite evident that she had gone through a number of torture sessions. (F/n)'s (h/c) hair appeared clean, but there were knots throughout it. No doubt, it hadn't been brushed for awhile or even combed, at least properly. It fell in a straggled manner around her face, but that was the least startling detail.

All over her body, there was a multitude of injuries, from bruises to scars to cuts. There was no grime on her visible skin, indicating that she probably had been bathing, but Deidre dreaded knowing how those baths occurred in such a dismal place with such tormenting company. On top of that, Deidre could tell that (f/n) had been receiving less than the proper amount of food since it seemed like she had lost more than a couple of pounds from the last time they had met. She felt her internals tighten too when she noticed that (f/n) only was in a pair of pink undergarments. A chill raced up her back, and she wondered how (f/n) wasn't shivering in her sleep.

Performing a swift check of the area, Deidre made sure that the creature wasn't in the area. She wasn't a hundred percent certain, but she didn't see or hear him, so she quietly began to struggle in her restraints. Deidre would've called out to (f/n), but talking to her right now wouldn't have done either of them any good. If anything, it might worry (f/n) and freak her out since she probably didn't expect to see her in the subway with her. What was more important was trying to free herself from the bounds so that she could set (f/n) free and get them both out of the subway, along with the rest of her team.

While she attempted to loosen the cables' hold on her wrists, her eyes viewed (f/n) again, and Deidre couldn't help but think of what Nick would do if he saw her in that state. It was hard enough for her to witness the tortured body of (f/n), and Nick was much closer to (f/n) than her. If she could, she would slip off her blue jacket and wrap it around (f/n)'s form so that she wouldn't be so bare to the cold climate.

There remained the question, though, of how (f/n) even had wound up in her current condition. Had she ventured into some abandoned place during her game with the other creature and had unexpectedly run into another one? Was the other creature on his way to rescue her, or had something happened to him? From the state of her body, (f/n) must've been in the subway for awhile, and Deidre wondered if (f/n) would even be the same person when she woke back up. From the signs of the treatment she received, the older woman suspected that (f/n) wouldn't be in the best shape mentally and emotionally either.

During her struggle, though, she was pulled out from her thoughts since she heard a soft, pained groan from ahead of her. Deidre lifted her head up fully and focused on (f/n). The younger woman's eyes blinked open in a gradual manner as though they were too heavy to lift. Her chapped lips parted as a shaky breath escaped her. (F/n)'s wrists tugged on the restraints before she hung her head lower and sighed almost silently, but the sigh wasn't the end of her actions.

Descending from her (e/c) optics were droplets of water. They splashed against the tracks while the light above flickered eerily. Her (e/c) eyes didn't avert upwards. Instead, they investigated her form, and Deidre spotted a shiver coursing through her body. Her fingers curled into fists, but they didn't last long as her body shook, and the tension in her hands was released. "I hate baths," she mumbled as she managed not to stutter since her tears were silent.

When (f/n) began to look up, she scanned over the area, but her attention soon snapped onto Deidre. The older woman froze under the gravity of the younger's gaze, but her eyes weren't harsh. Rather, they held shock and terror. "D-D-Deidre?" she questioned, her voice trembling a bit. "Wh-What ..." (F/n) trailed off before nauseating horror set into her system. "Chris, Ren ... Nick ... Please."

Sorrow eating at her, Deidre shook her head. "I'm sorry, (f/n). They're here too. We ..."

Instantly, (f/n) cut her off. "Why are you here?!" she shouted, finding a new power to her voice. Maybe, it was foolish of her to yell, but her captor would be back one way or another. He always was, and he never would let her go, let them go. She doubted that Nick's team even had a slim chance of escaping without being brutally murdered in the process.

Again, Deidre tried to explain herself, but (f/n) shouted, "You shouldn't be here! Nick was never supposed to come near another creature!" She took a breather, and more tears fell down her cheeks. "I left and distracted Ether back in Faller's Grove so that all of you could live!" Deidre didn't know who Ether was at first until she had a feeling that (f/n) was talking about the other creature. Had she given him a name, or had she discovered his true one? "You can't be here! They can't be here!" (F/n) shook her head and cried all the more.

Gaze softening, Deidre wished that she could run over and hug the younger woman. The distress that (f/n) was in was immensely troubling to witness, and it tore into Deidre's heart. "He's going to kill all of you," she voiced as her head hung down and her body continued to quake. Her voice's volume had gone down, though, but it was no less alarming.

"(F/n) ..." Sharply, her head rose up, and her (e/c) optics met Deidre's. Deidre didn't say another word. Her intense stare was a bit disturbing, but Deidre could understand where (f/n) was coming from. Having endured so much torture for who knows how long and waking up to see a friend restrained by the same captor probably induced anger, fear, agony and a whole series of other emotions.

"And even if he doesn't, Ether will ... if he comes." She averted her gaze. (F/n) almost looked ashamed to be thinking of having the creature from the tunnels rescue her, if that was who she was referring to, and Deidre didn't blame her. The other creature was another tormentor of hers, and after what had happened to Laura, she probably never wished to ask the creature for help. A silence fell over the two but not for long. Tears started to stream down (f/n)'s face once more, and she croaked out, "I-I h-h-hate th-this."

Internally, it felt as though someone had grabbed her heart and squeezed it into fruit juice, only for the juice to spill and enter a vat of acid. Seeing (f/n) abused to such a physical condition was bad enough, but her mental state seemed to be in just as much disrepair. The strong woman who had sought to win her game with the creature and change her fate was gone. There was barely any fight in her left; (f/n) probably just didn't want someone else to get wrapped in the huge mess, and now that fear had come true.

"I'm sorry," Deidre finally said. (F/n) didn't lift up her head. "We should've analyzed the signs more, but we didn't know there was a second creature, and we thought that the other creature wouldn't be here for two months. He would be searching for you. We ..." Her brown orbs noted that (f/n) wasn't paying too much attention to her words, but the older woman did note that (f/n) was mouthing something to herself. I should be sorry. It's all my fault. On repeat, that silent phrase left her lips.

"(F/n), it's not your fault." Gradually, the younger stared upwards, and her lips upturned into a smile before she bitterly chuckled. Deidre pressed herself into the wall from the shock of her reaction. (F/n) looked nothing like her older self during that time period. If anything, she looked like a ghost who had surrendered and submitted herself to an eternity of melancholy.

"It is. I should've never trusted him, but I trusted ... Ether. I was ..." Her eyes averted themselves from Deidre's. She shook her head and pulled on her bindings to get more comfortable, but she winced in the process.

"Spoiled by him," a scratchy, bored voice answered, catching both women's attention and sending a horrible chill up both of their spines. He was back.