Your my new test subject?

"Hmm… Just make sure that you do not… allow for that… 'generalization'… to determine your interests…" The Doctor told her, his eyes continuing to examine her. The comment was almost fatherly, in a way. It certainly was not the kind of comment that the Doctor would have made before his child had been born. He found that taking opportunities like this to 'practice' would certainly help him when it came time for Rasuca to receive such advice from a strong male figure. Or maybe he was crazy. He still doubted that he was cut out to be in such a role.

As he released the girl, and she slumped back onto the desk, one of the Doctor's hands was used on the side of her head, holding her still. Hebi began to slowly unwind itself from her, as the Doctor could see that she was quite unlikely to run away. Each ragged, shallow gasp made the Doctor wonder if something was going to happen.

"…Hmm…?" He let out, closing his eyes as he took on the sensory feelings that Yasuko was currently going through with his Snake Seal, feeling how it had adapted to her mind. He could hear the voices as well, then, his eyes snapping open. He closed off his connection to her, and the voices stopped ringing at all.

For Yasuko, though, the voices were closer now, closer. Her body was exhausted, the Doctor's Seal have reached deep inside, causing a wound which was unlikely to ever heal properly in her spirit. The Doctor's Madness Wavelength was so intense behind her, the numbness affecting her so deeply.

"That's it… just let your feelings guide you. Listen deeply, cut out the rest of the world." He told her, reopening the new connection he had formed with his latest test subject. Gradually, the voices that she could hear began to increase in intensity, the Doctor's body not moving… as at last… a single spirit began rising out of the ground before her, the same one as before. Black blood flooded from massive gashes on every side of its body, looking tired and drained, its mouth wide open as that cry shot straight to the exhausted Yasuko…

What… the hell is that…?

Hmm, hmm… The Doctor's mouth lightly coiled into a half-smile. How interesting. He recognized the soul that was screaming at her. It was something that most individuals could not have picked up… but it was something the Doctor could hear clearly. The Language of Madness. Yes, you were cast off when he died… when he was revived. The Doctor chuckled to himself, keeping those thoughts hidden from Yasuko.

The shade that was before Yasuko was one that had been formed when the Doctor's Assistant had come home from fighting against a man known as Coyote Starrk. Of course, the Doctor had had to rebuild his body. The old fake-soul that he had created with his Edotensei had needed to be dispensed of… this appeared to be where it went to. It had died, but had nowhere to go. …It's becoming clearer to me… It appeared that Rasuca had filled this girl with a spiritual sense unlike any that the Doctor or his son had.

Yasuko appeared to be visualizing something more than that, however. The Doctor was not privy to this illusion, as he could only experience what Yasuko's senses were undergoing. She has been afflicted with the pain and suffering of my discarded False World souls… Her mind likely will not be able to take the strain. I wonder if this came to her because of her disposition…? The Doctor thought this was most curious, and began to connect some dots in his head. Perhaps this is what Rasuca's strange symbiosis leads to; he takes what's already there and adds his own spin to it. In which case, this girl…

As Yasuko let go, the influence of the strange affliction that Rasuca had placed upon her finally reached her brain stem. The Doctor wondered if he should disconnect as he sensed the rushing feeling flowing through her head, but decided that if she were going to such a place, it would be best if he joined her. So he closed his own eyes, lowering his head, placing both hands on her skull.

Deep, deeper, deeper. It was so strange. The Doctor's own mental space was not that much different. He descended into her mind in a fashion which he had not done with another living being in years. Bits and pieces of the Doctor's own psyche were pulled at, weakly, but they were tugged upon. "Ah…"

He slowly began to regain his material form in this mental landscape, something came into view. He appeared to be on top of some kind of spire. The landscape around him was warping, slightly curling in on itself. Out of its base, towers had begun to rise, shooting up high into the sky. "Not a labyrinth, but a slowly warping place… And yet, it is not giving up, either… it is taking something out of it, causing it to warp as a result…" The Doctor thought to himself, causing for the words to be ejected into the landscape around him.



At last, his attention was drawn to the glowing mass in the center. Drifting up, the black cloak that he wore now billowed behind him, his body becoming a black streak in the air as he shot towards the palace.

Chaos greeted him, everything warping this way and that, entire areas convulsing. At present, the Doctor began to approach the top room of the tower, standing before its entrance, floating in the sky. He could feel the landscape pulling at him, his entire body being lifted as the tower slowly stretched higher into the sky. One hand reached outwards, causing for a scythe to appear in his hand. Turning the blade on his side, he pushed it into what appeared to be a glass window, making it part. A symbol in the form of a snake's fang appeared over the glass, and then it reformed into an open doorway.

At last, the Doctor entered into the room, looking at the girl within.

He had changed significantly in form. Gone was the ancient-looking man with the purple eyes and the snake-like skin. The one standing before her now looked considerably younger, wearing a pure black robe. His hair was neat and clean, still gray, but neatly laying atop his head. His eyes were not serpentine, and the scales that covered his body had been replaced with stitches. This was the Doctor's 'true form'; what he would have looked out without all the modifications done to his body.

"Caught in the middle of a world growing on top of a bear trap… that is your current situation." He told the girl, his thoughts echoing directly into her mind. He did not know what she was seeing right now; whether it was this space, or an illusion of her own. But his words would reach her mind, clear as day. "Now, wake up, Yasuko; you've let it go, let it grow. But if you don't wake up, accept it, make it your own and embrace it…

Your living soul will snap."

"…Come on…" The Doctor muttered to him, the most peculiar little smile tracing along his lips. This was it. This was the feeling, this was why he loved what he did. This feeling of desperation, standing between the precipice of success and failure. Yasuko's mind trying to deal with Rasuca's interference was the problem. The Doctor's interactions thus far had been the solution. Of course, the risks for failing this time… are significantly higher than any normal experiment… The smile did not leave his lips, even as the rest of the tower around him began to collapse.

"…Hurry." The Doctor told her, his body turning into that black mist once more as he flowed out of his physical form, following her as she wandered into the abyss around the remains of her soul. She had awoken, and had taken a decisive action within her own mind. "…" The Doctor was silent as his physical form manifested itself once more, standing squarely in the purple side of the room. "This affliction my son has given you… By its nature, it is not a malicious thing. It 'forced' your soul to make a choice... …I have a theory. I believe he took the 'light' that was in your soul, the small part of it that remained… and changed it. This room… is purple now, because of that." The Doctor spoke aloud. Double-guessing himself on why he was speaking aloud. He supposed it was because it would be good for her to understand, on some level, what had happened to her.

"…From the looks of things… Your soul was already collapsing in on itself. Rasuca just…gave you a push… And now, you must choose to take the power that that purple offers…" He said, gesturing to the chair and at the walls around her. "And use it to co-exist with the dark and grays… Or else, they will consume you. It also explains why my son found you… You were somewhere unusual, at an unusual hour." He told her, reaching out to one of the black dots as it changed shapes, reforming itself into the shape of the snake's fang.

"Don't depend on logic… Depend on what interests you. That is the true nature of the purple that can.. Save… your darkened soul."

With that, the Doctor looked back at her, giving her a genuine smile, though he did not show any teeth. He truly had gained some features from his time as a father. With that, the Doctor stepped forwards onto the black… and his body began to dissipate, the snake's fang gradually shifting colors as he did so, returning back to purple…

* * *

In the living world, the Doctor held onto Yasuko's head, tilting it backwards. "…Very interesting… The Desavarsit project rewards me once again…" He muttered to himself, leaning the girl back against the bedside table. He would let her rest for now, even if she looked rather spooked from the way her eyes were shock-opened wide. She had some things in her own head to straighten out…

Who knew what would wake up from that table?

…Or who she would wake up to see?