In a dimly lit room, a girl in a uniform stood motionless, with an expression of pure anxiety. Slowly, she got to her feet, her gaze sweeping the place.

"Where am I? Is anyone there?"

Only silence answered her. Just a moment ago, on her way home after finishing club activities, the normal life she knew had vanished. The world had become blurry, and now, upon waking, she found herself in a completely unknown place. Next to her, the backpack she was carrying and her cell phone lay on the cold floor.

"There's a door... but it won't open... And... what's this? A table...? On the wall... a television...?"

She walked over to the room's only door and pushed it hard, but it remained closed. She tried to turn the handle, but it was completely blocked. With a sigh of frustration, she looked around. The room, a bit smaller than a normal classroom, had a large table in the center and an equally large monitor on the wall, but there was nothing else—nothing to give her a clue to her whereabouts. The cold air and the impersonal atmosphere of the place made her feel even more alone.

"Ugh... how did I end up like this...?"

She was never a strong-willed person, and at that moment, tears welled up in her eyes. Just as a sob was about to escape her lips, the room was illuminated with a sudden glow. A light turned on in the monitor, casting a blinding glare into the darkness.

Just as she was about to get lost in her thoughts, the room was filled with a sudden, cold and inhuman voice coming from the monitor. It sounded synthetic, emotionless, as if a robot were reading a report.

"We are beginning our sixteenth experiment. The participant is a 17-year-old high school student, named Momoe. She is a member of the rhythmic gymnastics club and has the best grades in her class. Although she is a bit shy, she is in good physical and mental health, and fully meets the most important requirement for this experiment: physical flexibility."

Momoe's body shuddered upon hearing her own name. Terror took hold of her, and a shiver ran down her spine. Her knees were trembling and tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Huh...? What?! An experiment... and my name and my club... why...?"

Momoe couldn't hide her surprise; her eyes went wide upon hearing her personal information. It was then that, with a metallic hiss, the door burst open. Several men in gas masks and long black coats entered the room. Their movements were cold and calculated, like those of predators.

"Who are you? Stop! It hurts! Let go of me!"

They approached Momoe without making a sound. Panic took hold of her, and she tried to back away.

"Subject 16 is resisting, anesthesia will be used."

One of the men held her firmly while another stuck something resembling a syringe into her neck. The robotic, emotionless voice she had heard before resonated in the room.

"Huh...?! What is this? No...!"

She screamed in denial, but her protest vanished into the air. The world went blurry, and her body felt heavy.

"I have no strength...."

Her strength left her, and in the blink of an eye, she collapsed. In the midst of fading away, a final image was imprinted in her mind: a flash of something that seemed to be a hat.

"Ugi!, Gigigi!"

A sharp cry, similar to a monkey's, pierced the darkness, waking Momoe's consciousness with a start, dazed and confused.

(Hmm... what is that...? An animal's cry...?)

Her mind was still blurry, trying to identify the source of the sound. Suddenly, a wave of memories came back. The robotic voice, the men in black coats, the prick in her neck. Her panic grew as she tried to look around, but for some reason, she couldn't move her neck. In fact, her entire body didn't respond to her commands. She was completely immobile, as if petrified.

(What is happening...!?)

Just as fear was about to consume her, a soft hum filled the air. The dead, cold, and emotionless voice began to resonate in the room again.

"We have confirmed that Subject 16's brain is awake," the emotionless voice resonated. "Following the manual, we will inform you of the current situation. Currently, you are only a brain. Our technology has allowed you to think."

(Only a brain...? What does that mean!?)

"It would be faster if you could see it yourself," the impassive voice replied. "But right now, you don't have eyes."

At that moment, the masked men brought a large mirror from somewhere, their steps cold and measured. When they placed it in front of her, what was reflected horrified her. It wasn't Momoe's face. Instead, what greeted her was the image of a pulsating brain, floating in a tank filled with a transparent liquid.

(What is this...? A brain in a tank...? It's reflected in a mirror...? So... this is me now...?)

Momoe screamed in denial, fighting against the reality before her.

"That's right, that's your new form."

However, despite Momoe's mental state, the voice responded without any kind of emotion.

(Lies! This can't be happening! Where is my body!?)

"To help you better understand the situation, I will attach a camera that moves according to your thoughts."

(A camera?! My body is more important than that!... Huh?)

When the men in gas masks attached a camera to her, her vision suddenly expanded. Her mind connected to the new mechanical eye, allowing her to see her surroundings for the first time. It was a sensory shock. The room seemed even bigger than she remembered, cold and empty.

Looking around, her gaze stopped at a nearby cage. Inside, a figure struggled violently. The dull thuds coming from the cage were audible even at a distance, resonating in the oppressive silence of the room.

(Could it be that someone else besides me was kidnapped? Run! You'll end up like me!)

Momoe, feeling a powerless despair, pleaded with it, but at that moment, the cold, emotionless voice resonated from the monitor again, responding to her thoughts.

"It's useless to call. Although you can think, you have no vocal cords, so you can't speak. Your thoughts will simply appear as text on our computer."

Upon hearing those words, a shiver ran down her. She tried to scream, but the only sound she produced was the silent echo of her own thoughts. At that moment, the terrible truth settled in her mind: no matter how much she screamed, her voice would never come out.

(I... I really am just a brain... I hate this...! Where is my body...? Give it back to me! Help me... Mom...)

Realizing that she was truly just a brain, Momoe's heart, or what was left of it, was on the verge of breaking.

"Do you really want to see it? Then, there it is... I will bring it closer so you can see it better."

At those words, the men in gas masks carried her floating tank toward the nearby cage. When her camera's vision focused on the figure inside, her world completely collapsed. An image of pure horror greeted her.

"Gyaaaah! Gegggggggggggg! Agh!?"

(Lies... Me...?)

...She saw herself. Completely naked, with blank eyes. A somber expression of pure malice twisted her face, and saliva dripped from her open mouth as she roared like a caged monkey, tearing apart everything in its path inside the cage.

(What is this?! Ah... no...! Why am I like this!?)

"I will answer that question," the voice said in response to Momoe's confusion. "After extracting your brain, we transplanted one from a modified creature, similar to a monkey. As expected, your body is capable of withstanding some intense movements without breaking."

As the voice spoke, Momoe watched in horror as her body, once gentle, emitted harsh and unthinkable screeches that completely clashed with its former appearance. Observing her skin closely, she noticed the bruises that covered every inch of her body, a result of its violent struggles in the cage. Even so, her mind, in a final and desperate attempt to cling to reality, found a cruel and ironic detail: thanks to the flexibility she had gained from years of rhythmic gymnastics, no bones had been broken despite the brutal treatment.

(No way, no way, this is a lie, haha)

The thought repeated in her mind, more like a hysterical echo than a genuine denial. Momoe's brain, unable to accept the image of her crazed body, escaped from reality. Her mind sank into a protective darkness.

"You've gone insane, haven't you? In that case, I'm afraid we have no other option but to get rid of you. Take her to 'that' room."

With the order, the men in gas masks took her brain to another place. Meanwhile, in the cage, Momoe's body, now an empty, soulless husk, continued to move by pure instinct, bouncing aimlessly and banging against the walls to the sound of its own shrieks.

Unable to bear any more, Momoe's mind was shattered. However, her torment had not yet ended...

(Where am I?)

Momoe's brain was taken to a more open area than the previous room. She could see that the men in gas masks had left, leaving her alone in the darkness. Despite the horror, her mind clung to a last thread of hope.

(This is a dream... When I wake up, my mom will be waiting for me with a delicious meal.)

Shy and reserved, Momoe had always depended on her parents, and after losing her father in an accident, her attachment to her mother had become special. Her mother had a youthful face and a maternal figure; they were often mistaken for sisters, and in the neighborhood, they were known as a beautiful mother-daughter duo. Even now, in high school, they were close enough to bathe together from time to time. The image of her mother, her sweet smile and her affectionate hugs, was the only thing that gave her strength in this situation.

But as if fate were mocking those hopes, a figure appeared before her.

(What is that...? A person on all fours...?)

It was a human figure, but with chaotic movements that seemed like those of a crazed creature, more like an insect or an animal than a human being.

(Huh...? No way, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.)

Momoe tried to desperately deny it, but as the figure got closer, her heart shattered.

It was a familiar face.

It was a familiar voice.

"Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!"

It was... her mom.

However, her behavior was anything but normal. The face that had always given her a reassuring smile was now as distorted as a Picasso painting. Her tongue hung from her mouth, her eyes were blank, and she shook her head violently, causing a mixture of saliva and pink residue to fly everywhere. Her voice, which had always called Momoe's name with sweetness, now emitted dirty and incomprehensible barks. She got down on all fours, rubbing her large breasts against the floor as she slowly approached. Perhaps she was excited. As she passed, a sticky liquid dripped from between her legs.

(Haha, even Mom has gone crazy, hahahaha, Mom, Mom.)

Without her mother, who was her last and only emotional support, Momoe's mind completely collapsed. Screaming her mom's name, pleading through unwilling laughter, the cry of her shattered soul became audible even to herself.

"Bop!? Nby~~~♡ Meow!"

When the figure of her mother found her brain, she pounced on it with a lustful and lecherous smile. The tank tipped over and, with a wet sound, Momoe's brain spilled onto the floor. Then, the mother grabbed it and began to devour it, sucking it up with horrendous pleasure. The brain transplanted into her body was that of a brain-eating monster developed by the organization, a horrible creature that enjoyed eating human brains. Momoe's brain, the person she loved most in the world, was now being devoured by her own body. Momoe's mother, with her voluptuous breasts and buttocks shaking with pleasure and a horrible smile on her face, devoured her beloved daughter's brain while juices and jets of love continued to gush from her intimate parts.

"Squeak! Squeak! Nbyoooo~~~♡!"

Drool mixed with brain matter dripped from the corner of her mouth as she screamed, her mouth so wide open that her facial muscles seemed about to burst. Her kind-hearted mother had disappeared, and in her place was a monster whose only thought was to eat brains.

(Oh?! Grrrr! Mommy.)

"Aghhhhhhhh♡♡♡Bip♡Bipbep♡"

With more than half of her brain devoured, Momoe could no longer think clearly. The last thing she was going to see was her beloved mother's naive smile as she reached the climax... or so it was supposed to be.

But then, an intense golden light emanated from nowhere, stopping the mother's convulsive movements dead in their tracks, just before she could devour the last fragment of Momoe's brain. At the same time, a wave of calm flooded Momoe's shattered mind, allowing her to regain a faint clarity in the midst of the horror.

(Mo...mmy...?)

"....."

Upon arriving at the Thunder Claw lair, Goldie had immediately sensed the faint cries for help from a tormented soul. Floating through the labyrinthine corridors, the golden straw doll searched for the source of that pain until she finally found Momoe's brain, scattered and vulnerable on the floor.

"....."

Gently, using her telekinesis, Goldie returned it to its containment capsule, restoring its vital fluid. Then, for an instant, she observed the mother's body, with its grotesquely contorted face, and also lifted it into the air with her mental power.

CRACK!

But at that moment, the wall was shattered with a loud bang. An imposing figure burst into the room: a wild boar monster with black fur bristling like steel quills, yellowish and twisted tusks protruding from its snout, and small, bloodshot red eyes that radiated a savage fury. A deep scar crossed its left eye, giving it an even more menacing appearance.

"Hahahaha! I found one of the invaders!" he bellowed with unpleasant pride, his voice a guttural growl. "And I'll destroy it here and now!"

The boar monster lunged at Goldie with surprising speed.

".........."

FLASH!!

"WHAT?!"

But at that instant, Goldie unleashed a blinding golden glow that filled the room. Her usual form as a golden straw doll vanished, revealing a childlike girl covered by a red cloak that waved like a tunic.

"......."

Thus, and in silence with a surprising impulse, a monstrous amount of light energy concentrated in her small fist.

"Justice."

BAAAMMM!!

"Aaaargh....!!"

In the blink of an eye, Goldie was in front of the boar monster, punching him in the face with such force that it sent him flying across the room, shattering all the walls in its path.

BOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!

"What's broken... gets fixed!"

Without looking back, Goldie whispered with a quiet determination, leaving the room while carefully carrying the capsule containing Momoe's brain in one hand and her mother's unconscious body floating in the air, a bit calmer after releasing its rage.