Maestus was in the middle of her usual routine, walking around aimlessly while she had nothing assigned to her or anything to interest her, when she began hearing a quiet ticking sound. Looking in every direction around her, she couldn't find the source of the noise, thinking that it was always coming from right behind her no matter where she looked. Suddenly, her vision shut down in an instant, causing her to extend her claws and swing wildly at nothing. The sound of other students freaking out at this random aggressive act was only present for a moment, as her hearing shut down just as quickly as her vision. She tried to scream out at whoever she thought was attacking her, but she couldn't even hear her own voice shout the words, "Where are you?! I'll ruin you!" She wasn't sure if she was feeling an intense and strange variant of rage, or if she was experiencing fear for the first time.
She was starting to wonder if resisting at all would be worth the effort until a voice echoed through her head, seemingly coming from the inside of her sensors. "Hello, 'Maestus.' It's good to finally talk to you again. It's time for another assessment. Is now a good time?" Maestus's rage began to very slowly fade, hearing a familiar voice but not being able to remember who it was or why they were talking to her. "You don't remember me? That stings, M! Well, for now you can just call me your judge." Startled, Maestus would've backed away, but she didn't know which direction to move away from. Considering that this person could read her thoughts, Maestus began to try talking to her with just thoughts. "What is this? What assessment? Where have we met? What do you know about m-" "There's only so much I'm authorized to tell you, but I can show you what the assessment is in just a moment. Fun fact, you've actually been unconscious since you lost your sense of hearing! It's been about... forty minutes?"
A bright light suddenly forced it's way through the blackness that replaced Maestus's vision, blinding her for just a moment while she came to her senses. As her vision returned, the area around her revealed itself as a large, rectangular, white room with no ceiling to be seen. "Now let's see... Oh! Alright, so in front of you, see that little golden circle on the ground there? Stand in the middle of that." Maestus looked down at the floor to see a white circle with a golden rim directly in front of her, a couple inches off of the floor with several smaller shapes just like it surrounding the largest one. "I'm not doing that." This had to be a trick, right? Every red flag that could exist was flying right now. First, she was suddenly and perfectly kidnapped without being able to resist. Second, there was no way she could be able to figure out where she is right now. Third, everything about this screamed the word 'trap,' and stepping on that circle was the trigger. "You can say no, I guess. You'll just have to stay there. I mean, you have all the time in the world, being who you are. The only thing you're doing is keeping me from getting my lunch, since I have to watch you at all times while you're here."
The voice was right. Maestus had no idea how to get out of this place, and where the academy was from here. Doing what she was told seemed to be the only solution to this problem. Being as cautious as possible, she stepped up onto the circle, waiting for something to come at her or attempt to harm her. "Alright, M. This is the worst part of the assessment, but I promise you that the rest is child's play, alright?" Before Maestus could respond, every circle surrounding her on the floor shot up to her head level with a slight metal grinding sound, startling Maestus. In response, she attempted to jump out of what she thought was going to be her new prison, only for one of the cylinders to stab into her right hand, pulling her down as the others began to move incomprehensibly fast. Maestus couldn't tell what they were doing, but she felt sudden pressure on her forearms and hands. Just as quickly as it had begun, the machines stopped, pulling themselves back into the ground and revealing their work. Maestus's claws had been forcibly extended, it's normal metal edge replaced with a serrated blade made out of some unknown material, golden in appearance.
"What did you do?! Where are you?! Fix this! Now!" As Maestus screamed out in fury, she swung outwards with one of her hands, causing her claws to make a soft metallic sound, somehow pleasing to the ears, almost like a note played on an instrument. "Alright, we're going to give you a target real quick. Let's see how your new claws work, okay? Then you can decide if you want to keep them or not." As the voice spoke, one of the walls far ahead of her began to split open like an elevator door would, allowing an unfamiliar person to step out, wearing some sort of heavy metal suit and wielding a large blunt weapon, like a bat. As Maestus took a step towards the figure, it began to sprint towards her, waving it's weapon like a mad man. Although Maestus had some doubts about fighting someone she didn't even know, she figured that she didn't have a choice if she wanted to escape this place.
Her claws delved into her target as if the person was made out of paper, but she felt no warmth inside the being as she pushed the blades through him. Pulling her claws out of the thing, she found no blood, bone, or anything alive, much to her relief. Despite the sudden kidnapping and involuntary testing, the new claws started to make it seem like all of this was worth it. "I'm keeping these. Bring me back to the academy." The voice that had been testing Maestus for all this time let out a small giggle, before saying, "It was good catching up, Maestus!" After hearing the familiar voice say her name for the last time, Maestus's vision and hearing cut out once again, only to come back later, revealing her dorm room around her. Maestus simply stood there, looking around and wondering if she was going to be kidnapped again. Probably waiting there for a day or two.
She was starting to wonder if resisting at all would be worth the effort until a voice echoed through her head, seemingly coming from the inside of her sensors. "Hello, 'Maestus.' It's good to finally talk to you again. It's time for another assessment. Is now a good time?" Maestus's rage began to very slowly fade, hearing a familiar voice but not being able to remember who it was or why they were talking to her. "You don't remember me? That stings, M! Well, for now you can just call me your judge." Startled, Maestus would've backed away, but she didn't know which direction to move away from. Considering that this person could read her thoughts, Maestus began to try talking to her with just thoughts. "What is this? What assessment? Where have we met? What do you know about m-" "There's only so much I'm authorized to tell you, but I can show you what the assessment is in just a moment. Fun fact, you've actually been unconscious since you lost your sense of hearing! It's been about... forty minutes?"
A bright light suddenly forced it's way through the blackness that replaced Maestus's vision, blinding her for just a moment while she came to her senses. As her vision returned, the area around her revealed itself as a large, rectangular, white room with no ceiling to be seen. "Now let's see... Oh! Alright, so in front of you, see that little golden circle on the ground there? Stand in the middle of that." Maestus looked down at the floor to see a white circle with a golden rim directly in front of her, a couple inches off of the floor with several smaller shapes just like it surrounding the largest one. "I'm not doing that." This had to be a trick, right? Every red flag that could exist was flying right now. First, she was suddenly and perfectly kidnapped without being able to resist. Second, there was no way she could be able to figure out where she is right now. Third, everything about this screamed the word 'trap,' and stepping on that circle was the trigger. "You can say no, I guess. You'll just have to stay there. I mean, you have all the time in the world, being who you are. The only thing you're doing is keeping me from getting my lunch, since I have to watch you at all times while you're here."
The voice was right. Maestus had no idea how to get out of this place, and where the academy was from here. Doing what she was told seemed to be the only solution to this problem. Being as cautious as possible, she stepped up onto the circle, waiting for something to come at her or attempt to harm her. "Alright, M. This is the worst part of the assessment, but I promise you that the rest is child's play, alright?" Before Maestus could respond, every circle surrounding her on the floor shot up to her head level with a slight metal grinding sound, startling Maestus. In response, she attempted to jump out of what she thought was going to be her new prison, only for one of the cylinders to stab into her right hand, pulling her down as the others began to move incomprehensibly fast. Maestus couldn't tell what they were doing, but she felt sudden pressure on her forearms and hands. Just as quickly as it had begun, the machines stopped, pulling themselves back into the ground and revealing their work. Maestus's claws had been forcibly extended, it's normal metal edge replaced with a serrated blade made out of some unknown material, golden in appearance.
"What did you do?! Where are you?! Fix this! Now!" As Maestus screamed out in fury, she swung outwards with one of her hands, causing her claws to make a soft metallic sound, somehow pleasing to the ears, almost like a note played on an instrument. "Alright, we're going to give you a target real quick. Let's see how your new claws work, okay? Then you can decide if you want to keep them or not." As the voice spoke, one of the walls far ahead of her began to split open like an elevator door would, allowing an unfamiliar person to step out, wearing some sort of heavy metal suit and wielding a large blunt weapon, like a bat. As Maestus took a step towards the figure, it began to sprint towards her, waving it's weapon like a mad man. Although Maestus had some doubts about fighting someone she didn't even know, she figured that she didn't have a choice if she wanted to escape this place.
Her claws delved into her target as if the person was made out of paper, but she felt no warmth inside the being as she pushed the blades through him. Pulling her claws out of the thing, she found no blood, bone, or anything alive, much to her relief. Despite the sudden kidnapping and involuntary testing, the new claws started to make it seem like all of this was worth it. "I'm keeping these. Bring me back to the academy." The voice that had been testing Maestus for all this time let out a small giggle, before saying, "It was good catching up, Maestus!" After hearing the familiar voice say her name for the last time, Maestus's vision and hearing cut out once again, only to come back later, revealing her dorm room around her. Maestus simply stood there, looking around and wondering if she was going to be kidnapped again. Probably waiting there for a day or two.
