[3rdPOV]
Lady woke up and found she had become a slave. Her? The girl that did everything in her power to not be in this position in life, found herself under the control of some man.
A very handsome man but a slave is a slave regardless.
She was furious, which anyone might be.
How many people had she killed to keep her freedom? To not be used like some toy? To live life on her terms?
Too many!
She could only think one thing looking at her new "master"...
'I want to kill him...'
That phrase repeated itself with every step she took with him.
But she couldn't. The collar around her neck was serious business.
She had seen it many times when a collar detonated and popped someone's head right off thier shoulders.
She wanted to live. She didn't want to die so pitifully like her parents did. Weak and powerless to save herself.
It was the majority of the reason she joined the Action Gang. And the promise of security in a vault was what brought her to side with Axel and help him kill the former overboss.
She wanted to live in the vault so she could always be safe just like her parents said they were before coming outside and becoming settlers.
'Idiots why would you leave such a safe place?' She would think when thinking back on her parents.
Sure, she had heard that some vaults had cruel experiments in them.
Those rumors had been whispered by migrating settlers and caravans coming from several places these days.
Even still, Lady dreamed of living in a vault. To live an easy life underground where nothing is trying to eat you and there isnt a bunch of radiation or diseases that could end your life early.
She had worked really hard to acquire the skills she had with a blade. She practiced throwing her knives until her arms went limp, until she could grab and throw them faster than a person could draw and shoot.
She loves using knives. The shock value they brought to her enemies gave her a twisted pleasure, before she ended them.
She had a side arm but only used it when the situation called for it.
And with everything she had done to get a comfortable life, she was now a slave.
'What kind of shit this?'
Frankie Winter.
That was the name of the man who currently held her leash.
She couldn't make heads or tails of the man. One minute he is making a joke with that shit eating smirk of his, and the next he is commanding her like some kind of king commanding his subject.
He was both charming and intimidating at any given time. And that's what worried her.
She had to keep her anger alive or she might find her self falling into his rhythm.
She didn't know what exactly he wanted her for. Obviously she assumes he wants 'that' like all the other men that have approached her.
And his offhand comments made her think that's what he wanted.
But there was something off. Something unspoken and dangerous about the whole situation.
Her instincts flared when looking down the hatch he commanded her to climb down.
Like, if she went down, she would never come back up.
So she tried to hold her ground.
But in the end she was powerless. Like her parents were...
Then, she saw it.
A vault door.
The thing she has wanted to see for so long. The place she had wanted to call home.
She took another look at the man, his value to her going up a notch.
If she could live in a vault... she might not mind whatever this handsome stranger does to her.
"Take off your clothes."
'This bastard! We barely stepped foot in here and he's already making a move?' She though indignantly as she removed her clothes, not forgetting to glare at him with all her resentment.
'At least he was nice enough to give me this gown. But why the hell is there no ties to close the back?'
Then there was the needle. A vaccine, he said. She didn't trust him. But what choice did she have, but to obey.
And then... black.
Then...
"Ah! You're finally awake."
She was scared and angry. The straps holding her down were too strong and nothing she said was getting through to the guy.
'Am I gonna end up as a vault experiment like the rumors? Was I an idiot to want to be in one?' She thought the whole thing was ironic but that didn't mean she gave up on life.
She threatened and yelled then begged and pleaded, but Frankie didn't relent. Nothing she said stopped his actions.
A helmet was put on her and her instincts flared up again. His words about projects and experiments sent new waves of anxiety through her.
And then he started counting down... she didn't know what would happen so her whole body was filled with fear.
"Please..." she said with one more desperate attempt but when his countdown ended, everything went white.
Lady couldn't fight the flashing light, she couldn't look away no matter how much inner turmoil she was under.
The light became everything and she began to feel... content.
'Floating... it feels so nice...' she thought. She felt like she was floating through clouds made of pure light.
Her feelings and emotions being cut away detached from her memories.
She didn't forget, she just began to stop caring.
Her mother's warmth that used to fill her with comfort and love, her father's patience and care that gave her feelings of security, the anger she felt when her parents were taken, the thrill she shouldn't have had the first time she killed, and many more memories were now nothing more than 'just events that happened'.
She no longer felt anything about her experiences. The only thing that mattered now was that light...
More time passed and Lady was no longer scared or angry when she next saw that man. He asked questions and she answered. There was no reason not to, right? The light is all that mattered.
But after he put the helmet back on and began "phase 2", a lingering fear returned, accompanied by a thought.
'Am I going to disappear?' A single tear rolled down her cheek before the light returned.
Except this time... something was different.
He entire being would feel euphoric every time the light brought a message.
Obey
The message repeated followed by a face.
'I know him... right?'
Frankie Winter
'It feels good... to obey?'
The light continued to display messages and images into her mind.
Everytime an image or a message was sent into her brain, the light was bring her a pleasant sensation.
And over the span of three hours, the idea that serving her master was a good thing was imprinted into her psyche.
She couldn't resist. No... she no longer wanted to resist.
Unbeknownst to her, everytime the light flashed and she saw his face in her mind, her brain would release dopamine.
And dopamine is a neural transmitter, a chemical messenger that signals pleasure, motivation, and reward, influencing movement, emotions, and behavior.
At this point, Lady didn't have any motivations other than serving the man whose image was seared into her subconscious.
She wanted to be useful to him. To do everything he wanted her do, just to get his praise.
She was no longer the female raider with a troubled past.
Now? She was a loyal tool.
One that was happy to live and die for her master.
Because her very brain chemistry had been altered.
All that is left is a slave... in her truest form.
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A/N this one is a little shorter than others but I wanted to tell her side of things and how the procedure worked from her viewpoint. Idk if I did a good job but I'm moving forward anyway. Also there are some last minute edits to the last chapter so it will be uploaded later. I have many things on my plate and hardly had time to finish it. Thanks for reading.