Trigger warning(s): pain, sedation

Grian heard the door behind him open and the clicking soles of two pairs of shoes. He grinned.

Show time.

"Heeeey!" He cooed, straining his neck to see their faces. "Thank god someone's here! I was getting lonely"

The footsteps halted, and Grian assumed the two people were sharing a look.

Suddenly something cold met the nape of his neck and he shivered.

"What are you doing?!"

His question was answered immediately as scissors began to cut away at the white fabric, removing Grian's shirt and exposing the base of his wings.

"Aren't you going to buy me dinner first?" Grian teased, flexing the few muscles that he had.

He chuckled to himself, knowing how red Mumbo's face would be if he saw the brazen act he was putting on for his captors.

"What's wrong with this one?" one man said. He had a rather high pitched voice, but not in an annoying way. It was bright and cheery, as though the situation was amusing.

"I don't know" said the familiar voice. "The avian is a dying breed. Maybe this is why"

"Or you hit him too hard when you took him" the other scoffed.

"You did" Grian piped up, pouting even though they couldn't see him. "You need to be more careful. If you had missed your mark you could have ruined my pretty face"

The cheerful one laughed.

"I like this one! Can we keep him after the process?"

"No! Scar! Stay focused!" the familiar one said.

A thought occurred to Grian.

"Wait a second. Were you the one in the vex mask?"

"Me?" Scar asked.

"No, your angry friend"

There was silence for a moment before the familiar one gave a low throaty chuckle.

"I wasn't aware that my voice was so discernible"

Grian felt his flirty, annoying facade fade as panic clouded his mind

"What did you do to my friends?"

"I swore I wouldn't hurt them, and I didn't" the Vex snarled. "I just took you and the girl, and let the other idiots go"

"You took... where is Stress?!" He felt anxiety rise in his chest.

"Stress? Oh you mean your pretty Keeper? Is that her name?"

Grian could hear  him smirking.

"Don't worry" Scar said soothingly. "Your Keeper is perfectly safe. She will be joining my team of healers once she has recovered her strength"

He sounded as though he were trying to calm a dog, but Grian had no choice but to trust him. Besides, he had other questions.

"My Keeper?"

"Do your kind prefer the term owner?"

"Owner?!"

"I'm sorry! I don't know what you prefer-"

"Scar, don't argue with animals" the Vex said, cutting into his misplaced apology.

"Sorry Cub. You're right"

"Cub?" Grian said, barely stifling a laugh. "What, like a bear cub? I got kidnapped by someone named Cub??"

"Shut up half-breed!"

"Hey, if you're a bear cub, then can I be Goldilocks? Scar, do you want to be the mama bear?"

"Enough!!!" Cub yelled.

Grian screamed as the collar around his neck sent wave after wave of electric shocks through his body. This was definitely longer than the first time, and even after the pain subsided, Grian could feel his hands and feet twitching.

"Serves you right for speaking out of turn, half-breed" Cub said. Grian could tell from the direction of his voice that he was standing over him. "No wonder your leader wanted to get rid of you"

It took a minute for his words to sink in.

"What? Xisuma didn't want to get rid of me. He just needed fire wood"

"Oh right, of course he needed you to get wood for heat even though you can burn coal more easily" Cub said sarcastically.

"Well..."

Grian bit his lip. It was true that coal was easier to burn, and lasted longer. They had a bunch of it too, since the engineers used the super-smelter so frequently.

No. No! It was just a mistake Grian thought, trying to squash his doubts deep in his chest.

"Well what, half-breed? Finally out of clever words?"

Grian swallowed.

Never let them see you cry

"Weeeeeeelllllll" he said, stringing out the word in the whiniest tone he could muster. "Burning coal is bad for the environment"

There was silence for a moment before Scar spoke up in a tiny voice.

"He's right you know"

"SHUT UP SCAR" Cub roared. In one swift movement, he grabbed the cloth tied around Grian's wings and yanked his upper body off the table a couple inches. He grabbed Grian's jaw and twisted his head so he could look into the avian's face.

Grian tried his hardest not to cry out in pain, but a whimper managed to escape his lips.

Now that he could finally see the face of his captor, he felt conflicted.

Cub was certainly older than he expected. His grey hair and beard looked rough to the touch, and he was balding on top. His delicate features and clear skin would have made him handsome if his face wasn't currently beet red and screwed up in rage.

All in all, he was scarier with his mask on, but that didn't calm the sense of dread in Grian's thumping heart.

"What are you staring at half-breed?!"

Don't say it, don't say it, you'll get in trouble if you say it.

"You're pretty strong for an old guy"

Cub squeezed his face so hard Grian thought his jaw might break.

"Cub, maybe you should step out for a moment and calm down. I need to start the process" Scar said from the other side of the room.

Grian turned to study his physician.

Scar had certainly earned his name; a large dark line of discoloration ran down his left cheek and just under his chin. This did not however sully his radiant smile or soft brown eyes. Grian would consider this person friendly and approachable if he weren't holding a needle that was the size of his own hand. He shuddered as the dark liquid sloshed inside of it.

Cub let out a breath and let go of Grian without warning, making him bang his head on the metal table. He groaned in pain as Cub exited the room.

"You know, you really shouldn't tease him, half-breed" Scar said as he made his way over to Grian. "Don't incur unnecessary wrath"

"What's in that needle?"

"The situation will make itself clear in a moment. Now don't move"

He stuck the large needle into Grian's spine. Grian hissed and tried to wriggle out of his restrains but quickly found that moving around with the needle wedged in his back caused far more pain than just laying there and taking it.

"I said not to move" Scar muttered gently.

The dark liquid, whatever it was, burned as it made its way quickly through Grian's neural passages and bloodstream. Luckily, the pain subsided quickly and he relaxed himself against the table.

"There we are" Scar said patting him on the head. "That wasn't so bad was it?"

I'm not a baby Grian thought to himself. He was going to open his mouth to point this out, but for some reason was unable to unlock his jaw. When he tried to move his hands to help, he could not move them. Frantically he tried to kick his feet but they did not move an inch.

Breathing heavily, he tried to scream, but all he was able to omit was a faint groan.

He heard the scrape of wheels against the floor, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Scar pushing over a small tray covered in metal instruments. He must have noticed Grian's panic-stricken eyes, because he smiled and leaned down to rub circles on Grian's back in a calming manner.

"Shh shh shh, it's ok. I just need you immobile while I conduct my experiments. It will wear off in five hours"

Five hours?!  Grian screamed inside his head.

Scar had moved down his body and began to unwrap his wings. He was rough, and pulled surprisingly hard, meaning he either didn't know how sensitive they were, or he didn't care. Once unwrapped, the beautiful golden wings swayed slightly before falling to hang limply by Grian's sides. They ached after being tucked away for so long, and Grian longed to stretch them out. Obviously he couldn't move them anymore than the rest of his body, and thus they stayed crumpled, like two dead birds.

Scar smoothed out and studied the feathers closely, even yanking one out to take a better look at the base.

Grian wanted to cry but refused himself this simple weakness. He would force the tears back down of he had to.

Never let them see you cry.

"Now I'm afraid I can't provide you with anesthetic" Scar said in the same 'I'm talking to a child' voice that he had used before. "There are people in our urgent care who need it more, and to be honest, your comfort is not really of high priority on Cub's list"

So Cub is in charge  Grian thought.

"That being said" Scar continued, "I still need to conduct my experiments. I will be taking some samples of blood, skin tissue, spinal fluid, and bone marrow. After that, I will do some electro-stimulation on your wings to see how they move, and possibly some light pain tolerance testing. Cub likes to know those sorts of things before he takes half-breeds in for questioning, which will happen tomorrow by the way"

Tears threatened Grian's eyes, but he pushed them away.

Not the time he thought. Have to concentrate. Have to make it through.

Though the paralyzing agent worked well, Scar had been right. It did nothing to dull pain as Grian lay there for hours being poked, prodded, and cut into. Had his vocal chords been working, they would have been ripped to shreds, and the entire hospital would have heard his screams.

However, Grian kept his word to himself; tears never escaped his eyes.

I hope you guys enjoyed this rather bleak chapter. If you did, please consider leaving a like and a comment. I love hearing what you think!