Power of the Mind - Children of Chaos

[Doom]

"Great! Alright. There are eight pins in this pincushion. The head of each pin is coated in kerosene. I want you to focus, and burn the head of each pin for two seconds one by one. After the two seconds on each, extinguish the flame." After he concluded, a small camera protruded from the table and hooked around to view the pincushion closely. "Give it a go."

[Jay]

Hystia giggled. Such a silly, easy, task. She lit the first one, putting it out after two seconds, and moved onto the next. The only hard part was the task beforehand.

[Doom]

"Good. You seemed focused enough. Now comes the hard part. Continue this, while this is being played." He pressed a button on the dashboard, and an ear piercing recording of a woman screaming sounded over the loudspeakers at a terribly loud volume.

[Jay]

Hystia jumped, the gears in her head turning viciously fast and hard. It hurt. Her eardrums felt as if they were going to burst. But... the pins! She had to focus. Her eyes kept focus, the flames became noticably weaker, but kept their timing, maybe a few going off by one or two seconds.

[Doom]

The recording halted. Then, Lance's voice sounded over the loudspeaker once more. "Your focus is impressive in harsh conditions. You successfully lit all the pins in a more or less perfect timing. Now, I have one final test for you today." The table retracted, and the floor closed once more. "Be warned. This test may tax the very limits of your sanity. If you aren't prepared for difficulty beyond what you've likely ever seen, then hold up a fist to signify a yes."

[Jay]

Hystia shook her head insistently. She was ready. She was craving more. Her eyes looked as if they had flames in them. Sanity? Who needed that boring thing? It was a limitation, in any case.

[Doom]

"Very well." Lance flipped another switch, and a wax mannequin was placed in front of her. It had no head and was a simple frame. "Alright, I need to focus on this wax dummy. Don't melt it just yet. Restrain yourself, and put every ounce of your concentration into this dummy. When you've completely focused, yell. Be prepared. This may be a little...painful."

[Jay]

Hystia nodded, keeping her concentration, as it wasn't hard to gain, but easy to loose. Once she was sure she was at a maximum focus, she called out, preparing for the worst.

[Doom]

At that, Lance stood and induced a Nightmare Brain Wave over Hystia. "Learn to face your fear, and you'll pass the test."

[Jay]

Hystia's eyes widened as flames burst everywhere. She screamed, swatting them away from her. Did she do this? She was in a panicked frenzy.

[Doom]

"Focus! The target is still intact! Don't fear that you will lose control! You can do it!" Lance was still focusing his Nightmare Wave on her whilst he spoke into the mike.

[Jay]

Hystia stopped, wincing and cocking her head. The target was intact? Was this some sort of cruel illusion? She tried to think of where it may be, then sighed, shutting her eyes tightly, willing her flames at the spot she thought most appropriate, and hoping for the best. She was definately scared out of her mind. She couldn't loose control now.

[Doom]

The pristine wax dummy collapsed into a a molten pile of slag. Lance stopped projecting Hystia's fear and applauded her. "Good work! You passed the final test! Outstanding. Simply outstanding. If you wish, you are welcome to stay the night in this facility while you recuperate. Really, that was very impressive." The elevator opened while Lance continued rambling.

[Jay]

Hystia's eyes widened as the flames disappeared, she sighed, her knees trembling as she bit her lip. Her heart was racing in the aftermath. It was so frightening.

[Dokeshi]

The men grinned again, snapping an arm of the captive in the bag, Loki let his mind slip a bit, revealing the intense sensation of pain, but added a bit of murkiness, to try and replicate a drug. He screamed, and it was real pain, and his idea, of course Dreamcaster could only hear the voice of his dear little sister screaming out in agony. "Now...you really want to try and threaten us again Dreamcaster? I don't think your poor little sister can last much longer.