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Zar hadn't been sure what to expect as they had arrived, but he had had hopes and dreams.

He should have known better than to dare to hope it would be something greater. Some answer he'd been looking for - this wasn't an answer.

He forced himself to watch it all, even when his every instinct screamed at him to look away, that he didn't want to see this. It was true, he didn't want to see what it looked like as someone was forcibly altered, changed into something that was -he realised in the face of all this machinery - fundamentally unnatural.

But some things in life you had to see, whether you wanted to or not.

It was a sight that would be committed staunchly to memory for the rest of his life, however long that might be. His grip on Rin got tighter and tighter as it went on. As it wound down, he looked away with a frown, inclining his face towards Rin's shoulder but not daring to bury his face against her the way he might have wanted to.

"I can't do it. I can't. " he said quietly, only loud enough she could hear him. "Not today."

Not while there was that thread still binding him to Nuru, not while there was still something back there to live for. Not while he was afraid.

Mei could only watch in horror as the siren stepped into the machine. He went willingly--why would anyone agree to something like this? The thought of what was to come--what was happening--it made her ill.

That was it. She couldn't watch this any longer.

"I've seen enough of this..are we done here? Or did you have something else planned as well?" She asked, wanting to leave this room as soon as possible. She didn't care if she was back in that stuffy cell or not. Anywhere was better than here right now. If she stayed here, she was going to lose it.

It was as if everything was in a haze as Miss Israfel returned. The machine was letting out unnerving hums, altogether too clear as to what was happening but with a thin overlay of denial clouding Yin's judgment. What was more difficult was to see Miss Israfel make her way to the machine of her own accord. No force, just her walking.

The hiss as the door closed seemed to jar him out of his stupor. No, this was wrong. Even if a ghoul chose this route it was wrong. But it had already started. His fists clenched, clawed fingertips biting painfully into his palms, though even in that movement he lacked his usual strength.

He too felt that it was only right to watch. The first time he had see. This, he had only experienced this during the trials as he had been taken first. Watched as Miss Israfel's body began to do things it was not, eventually shredding apart entirely until all that laid there was...no, that weapon was not Miss Israfel. He scanned the area futilely, as if maybe it was an elaborate hoax, though it quite obviously was not.

No, not this. He turned, not really caring that he was in the hunter's facility or that he was feeling weakened. He had to get out of here. Away from the machine and away from that...that thing.

There was an exit, and Yin was going to at least try to make it out.

The door opened and he felt a chill come over him. This was his choice.

This was the end.

The machine hummed and the siren could feel it. Artificial. There was no song being sung, no music. A sound. Just a static sound of his choice, his fate. His destiny as some might have called it. All things were destined to die, but rarely did they get the choice of how. Of when, where and why. Israfel was an exception. It was all his choice. From the first step into the chamber to his last breath, his last thought, it had all been his choice.

Choices were his and now, there was little left. The door closed and a moment of fear. Visceral and real, he didn’t know what would come next. Would he forget, would he become heartless, cruel? That scared him. That unknown. A look to those watching, a smile. A tiny smile to try and hide that fear. Mouthing the word just as the pain lanced his body. Every part of him hurt, every part of him felt like it on fire, frozen, ripped and flung about. Nothing but pain, blinding hot and white.

Nothing. The flash of red wings, the encouragement to fly. The touch of something smooth on his face, ticking, searching as a sweet scent filled the air. A blush, a shy smile as someone mentioned a name. The sound of drums beating with the thrum of a guitar. A slap on his back and a laugh, robust and strong. A kitten, little mittens on it’s feet. The smell of cider and the lull of worry fading with the warm liquid running down his chin. A leech, wiggling in his hair and then in his hands. A ghoul so prim fretting over a pumpkin.

Laughter. Smiles. Warmth.

The feeling of a cloud wrapped around him, a smile and a soft kiss, shy and new.

It was gone.
All of it.

Never would there be that warmth, those smiles or laughter. All of them were going to be left behind. He’d never see them again. It hurt. Inside, outside, everything hurt. No more, No More, NO MORE.

Cool. The sound of sand and water, the smell of salt and brine. It washed over him. Soothing the hurt. Soothing the pain. This was okay. It would be okay. This had been his choice. He didn’t want to fight, he wanted to help. To teach. To show. He wanted to be free to choose his destiny.

He hadn’t chosen poorly. He’d been chosen. He could help. This was what he could do. This-
The sound of waves crashing on the beach, he smiled. Somewhere, he smiled, tears came but he smiled. He help them, save them. He’d been chosen to do so.
He’d chosen to do so.
It would be okay.

This would get better.

He’d make it okay.

Zar folded his wings and nervously wrapped his tail around his ankle, taking a step back from Cael to almost edge behind Rin. He shook his head, tried to repeat his earlier statement of how he couldn't do it, not then, not there, not after seeing what happened, but no words came out.

Instead he just kept right up the head shaking and squeezed her hand in the hope she could say it on his behalf.

The Death lead gave Rin his full attention, sharp and very possibly irate.

"Are you willing to take full responsibility for their actions?" It was less a threat in the his tone and more of an annoyance. Or perhaps Caelius had not filled his trainee suffering quota for the day.

"And because they are frightened we should just <******** let them be, is that correct." There was no missing the sarcasm. "Then I would think very carefully the next five days about consequences."

For a second, he leaned in a little too close, the only time he was ever that close when the Death lead was very much armed with a sharp and rather dangerous - if not slightly sadistic - weapon. The movement was sudden - as if lunging instead of just threatening - though for some reason, he simply moved past, turning on the weapons conversion standby behind the group after a quick series of activation digits.

"Rin, Madison, you are dismissed. The two of you will be on duty later tomorrow with the rest of the trainees." He turned to the two techs, one of them who immediately sat up the second he even so much as looked their direction. "Escort the specimens back to Interrogation Room A. I will meet you there in five minutes."

BAM.

The door slammed open as his truly exited, something else clearly on their mind.

"This way then." The lab tech nudged the rest of the students forward and when that failed, summoned his weapon, giving the students a very strong nudge forward. "Show and tell time is over, time to get back, you got some new company too right next door, pretty busy day." There was something muttered under their breath about drama queens and heart attacks and short life expectancies and whatnot.

As the students left the room, for a second, they might have heard something else.

A soft song accompanied by the crashing waves of the ocean.

Obviously, the death lead was displeased with Zar backing down from his..'offer'. Well, what did he expect after that?

Normally, she would have loved to see hunters getting strips torn off like how Rin was. But right now, all she could think of, was from this day forward, they would never see Israfel again. He was gone, and he wasn't coming back. With Zar having backed out of it today, she only hoped that there was still a chance to convince him not to follow through with this insane idea. They had already lost one, no way did she want to lose a second.

Watching as Caelius left the room, Mei glanced over at the others before letting her gaze fall upon the tech as he pushed them to leave, only to summon his weapon when none of them moved. Tch..hunters. They were nothing special. Take away their weapons, and they were just ordinary humans. It was her, and her kind that gave them their power. Like Israfel.

Responding with a glare, Mei followed the group down the hall and back to their cell. When hearing that there was another one of them next door, Mei could only wonder who it was they had locked up in there. Whoever it was, her thoughts were with them.

As soon as they were alone--or alone as they ever would be--Mei turned to Zar almost instantly. "Please tell me you've changed your mind!"