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Please do not read if you are under 18! The following contains mature content not suited for general audiences. You have been warned.

Whip-bearing hero of Asphodel, Lethe, gets lost in his thoughts on the walk home, and ends up meeting a strange figure in an alleyway he can't remember ever seeing before...

TRIGGER WARNING! Contains: Hypnosis, dronification, bondage, sensory deprivation, drugs (light, not explicit), nudity (light), villainry, violence (light), police (light), military rally

Lethe is an original character owned by Finchphobia.

By PseudonymousUmbreon. If you wish to use or reference my work and/or my characters, please contact me first.

*****

What We Do in the Creepy Alleyway

Commission for Finchphobia

"Thanks again, Lethe! We always appreciate the work you do!"

"No problem, officer!" Lethe left the police station with a smile on his face, satisfied with another day's work well done. The crow practically skipped down the sidewalk as his happiness carried him down the street. This was the third criminal captured in as many days this week so far, and the streets of Asphodel were already feeling much safer for it. At this rate, Lethe figured, he'd run the criminal scum out of the city by the end of the month and be able to move on to saving more cities.

Lethe's midnight-black feathers ruffled in the light breeze that danced through Asphodel's sagging skyline. Out of any city Lethe had resided in throughout his lifetime, he loved Asphodel; the city told such an entrancing history that Lethe had been taken by as soon as he'd moved in. Every brick and crack in the wall of these ancient buildings told its own story.

Lethe ran his right wing along the crumbling frame of the apothecary that sat at the end of the block. A layer of white, chalky dust caked his wingtip and sent shivers down his spine as Lethe marveled at the impermanence of such an impressive structure. The building was likely older than he was, and could easily be erased if one were determined enough.

Chilling.

Brushing his wingtip along his cargo shorts to clear the dust, Lethe's wing collided with his whip that hung loosely coiled from a belt-loop. The golden spiral of rope swung back and forth a few times before Lethe steadied it back against his thigh. He took a deep breath and kept walking. Lethe knew the streets well enough that he could walk almost on autopilot and allowed his thoughts to wander.

The recent rise in crime in Asphodel had led to the local police station taking on Lethe as a "partner" of sorts. A frequent practitioner of vigilante work, Lethe had led to many criminals being captured by the police--though only as an entity outside of the law. Now that Lethe had partnered with the police, he was much more free to do his work, albeit with the frustrating side effect of having to do paperwork. Slower? Yes. Less dangerous? Also yes. Not that danger was necessarily Lethe's primary concern.

"Hey. Hey you." A hushed voice had cut through Lethe's thoughts from the right, presumably belonging to a pair of glowing golden eyes peeking out from a shadow that lurked in a nearby alleyway. Lethe examined his surroundings and found himself unable to place his exact location. Had he taken a wrong turn? The eyes widened at his sudden alertness. "Yeah. you. Over here."

Lethe rested a wing on his whip. "Who's there?" He stood stock still, glaring into the shadow, trying to discern some semblance of form. He thought he saw a long, slender tail flash against the wall, but it could have been his imagination.

The eyes darted nervously around the area. "Come here. I can't show myself. Not now." Their voice sounded almost desperate.

They need help...? Lethe softened, though he remained on high alert so as not to appear gullible by any means. "What's wrong?" He tiptoed into the alleyway, taking care to stay out of the shadow.

The eyes trembled. "You have to help me. Please. Ma-He's going to find me. I only barely escaped. I don't have anywhere to go. It's not--not safe." Their voice sounded on the verge of breaking. "Please..."

Lethe's forehead creased with concern. "Who's going to find you?"

"I... I can't say. It's not safe. It's not... not safe." The eyes shrunk back against the wall.

"Well, what's your name? I can take you to the police station. We can get you help." Lethe held out a wing. "Don't worry, you're safe with me. I'm ruthless with this thing." He patted his whip with a smirk.

"I... I c-can't... N-no, I can't go to the police, he'll--he'll take you too. I can't endanger you. Get away, get away--" They shuffled, restless.

Lethe shook his head. "Whatever it is you're dealing with, you don't have to handle it alone anymore. We can help you."

He reached forward with a wing and tried to offer them a comforting pat on the shoulder, expecting to meet fur or feathers. Instead, his wing met a cold, rubbery surface. Gasping, he withdrew, unable to hide the shock on his face.

The creature in the shadows hissed. "No, no, that's how he marks you, you can't... you're not safe anymore, he's gonna--You have to hide. Get away. Move to another country. Save yourself..."

Lethe examined his wing. He couldn't see anything there. Was this guy crazy or something? "Look, if you just come with me, I can help you. Really."

The eyes shook wildly back and forth. "I've already told you too much. He's gonna--" They were suddenly cut off as they tensed and convulsed rapidly. A grotesque scream sliced through the air, the eyes disappeared in anguish, and all at once, their obscure form melted into the shadows, leaving nothing behind.

Lethe recoiled in horror. He looked down at his wing once more, doubting his own sanity. "I gotta report this to the police," he muttered, when he was overcome with dizziness. Lethe stumbled back up against the wall to try and regain his balance, only to fall back against the ground. "Shit..." he grunted, before everything went black.

*****

Lethe awoke to a pristine-looking room. Everything was annoyingly white, from the walls to the floor to the bed he was laid on. In fact, the bed appeared to be the only prominent feature of the room aside from the door and a small camera that sat in the corner of the ceiling. The walls were devoid of windows, and the window of the door revealed only a vacant, blank white hallway.

Lethe sat up and immediately felt dizzy. With no measure of time, there was no way to tell how long he'd been out for. Impulsively, he reached down to ready his whip, only to discover it to be missing. The dizziness only increased as the revelation set in; he had no means of defending himself and he was, for all intents and purposes, completely cornered.

Shakily, he stumbled out of bed, feeling horribly light-headed. Lethe made his way to the door and found it to be unlocked--which only managed to make Lethe even more nervous. The hallway outside was as unremarkable as the room before, lined with several doors and bending at either end. He had barely left the room when a silver wolf in a smooth white lab coat rounded the corner and spotted him. The wolf grinned and hurried toward him.

"Ah, you're awake! How are you feeling?" The wolf held him up, his face morphing into one of concern. "Goodness, you appear to have taken quite a beating."

Lethe rubbed his forehead, trying to clear away the dizziness. "I don't... I'm not sure what happened... Where am I? Who are you?"

"Don't worry, you're in good paws here." The wolf flashed a warm smile and started leading Lethe down the hallway. The wolf's blazingly green eyes caught Lethe's attention, appearing to spiral within his irises. "This is an underground drone factory, and I happen to be the owner here. I'm Doctor Romulus."

Lethe blinked. "D-drone factory...?"

Dr. Romulus nodded. "Indeed, my feathered friend. Rest assured everything we do here is completely safe and secure." Lethe wasn't sure why, but he felt like he could trust the doctor--and his eyes were quite... pretty...

"So... you make those... those little flying things?" Lethe shook his head to try and clear it.

The wolf laughed. "No, my good bird, not that kind of drone." Was it Lethe's imagination, or was the swirling in the doctor's eyes speeding up? "No, we erase people's identities and turn them into sex drones." Dr. Romulus turned to directly face Lethe. "And you're going to be one!"

That set off the alarm bells in Lethe's head. Before he could respond, however, the wolf put a finger to Lethe's lips. "Just look me in the eyes, Lethe. You're safe with me here, can't you trust me on that?"

The question of how Dr. Romulus knew Lethe's name was immediately dismissed as the bird nodded. "Trust you..." he muttered. The dizzy, lightheaded feeling had almost taken over at this point, it was just so hard to think...

"Good boy. Now, with me." The doctor led Lethe to a surgical-looking room containing an intimidating table with leather straps and several devices surrounding it. Lethe's eyes widened at the display, but a glance at Dr. Romulus's pretty, swirling eyes assured Lethe that he was certainly safe here.

"Clothes off, then. You don't need those." Lethe once again nodded and promptly started pulling off his clothes. Inwardly, a small part of his mind screamed that this was wrong, that he needed to escape, but why would he do that? After all, he was safe here, wasn't he? His shirt and pants were tossed to the side and promptly forgotten about. Lethe didn't need them.

Dr. Romulus brought Lethe over to the table and promptly started manning the controls of a nearby panel. A screen flickered to life, revealing a display of many official-looking windows filled with various data values. "Alright, I'm gonna have you put these on," the wolf muttered, more to himself than to Lethe, holding out a pair of headphones.

Upon donning the headphones, a deep droning hum cut into Lethe's hearing. His dizziness transformed into a splitting headache, causing him to double over. In an instant, Dr. Romulus was at Lethe's side and helped him to the table. "Here, lay down--it'll ease the pain," the doctor assured him, "I know it hurts, this always happens..."

In response, Lethe laid on the cold metal surface. The wolf's amazing, swirling eyes managed to soothe him, to the point that whenever he would look away, Lethe felt the pain almost double in its intensity. Thankfully, Dr. Romulus stayed in his field of view as he felt the firm leather straps close around his wings, legs, and waist. He was completely immobile as a result, but with the doctor nearby, Lethe knew he was safe.

"Lethe, I need you to take a deep breath. I'm going to blindfold you. To keep the pain away, I need you to look into my eyes, okay?" The doctor didn't need to ask twice. His eyes were all Lethe could focus on. "Good bird. Now. Let these spirals imprint themselves on you. Even with the blindfold on, they won't go away, won't they?" Lethe shook his head. Of course they won't. "Good! On with the blindfold, then..."

Dr. Romulus produced a black strip of cloth from his coat pocket that he then placed over Lethe's eyes. The cloth was pulled tight, but Lethe still saw the doctor's eyes, just as he had promised. The mesmerizing spirals now consumed his entire field of view, and Lethe loved it.

"Now then." Dr. Romulus's voice crackled to life in the headphones. It was as if he was speaking directly into Lethe's brain. "First we have to deprogram you. To do so, I want you to gather up everything you are within your mind. Everything you've ever done, been, experienced... everything except what you need to survive. Have you done so?"

Lethe nodded. He had it all there, his memories, emotions, personality, identity... I was all in a ball in front of him, sitting in front of the spiral. Everything that had made Lethe, Lethe.

"Good. I'm going to count down from ten, then. With each number, I want you to picture everything you've gathered being pulled away from you, into the spiral of my eyes that I have given you. Once I hit zero, it will all be completely gone. Ready?"

Lethe nodded once again, prepared to let go of himself. He had to do this for the doctor. The doctor counted ten, and already, the crow was so prepared to follow his orders that he could feel his memories of what had happened before he came here slipping away from him. It was almost exhilarating, the feeling of wiping himself away.

With nine, Lethe's golden whip had vanished into the abyss. No longer was he some masked hero of Asphodel. He didn't need to fight crime, it wasn't that important in the end. After all, the police would do their job just fine without him.

Eight. Seven. With his hero persona went the city of Asphodel itself, its old, worn brick buildings and the alleyways and streets he had learned so well. Or perhaps Lethe had never learned the streets of Asphodel to begin with...?

Six... Five... The numbers kept counting down, and the crow understood less and less about himself. Gone was his old life or any memory that he had an old life; in its place was... nothing. A void. A blank slate. He lost track of the numbers as he became less consciously aware of what each one meant.

Eventually, the word "Zero" had sounded in his head. But ultimately, not much else really mattered at that point. His entire world had been taken up by the spirals that existed perpetually in his mind, and the words that snuck into his ears via the headphones he wore.

"How ya doin', birdie?" The voice, filtered through the microphone and speaker system, sounded almost robotic, but confident enough to draw in the bird's focus. He felt it was something worth his attention, not that he had many other options.

"...Empty," the bird responded, truthfully. With no capacity or reason to lie, what else could he say?

He could almost hear the sadistic smile that came through as the voice crooned, "Gooood. I think it's time you recognized me as your Master, then."

The bird hesitated, though any thought of resistance was instantly swept away by the wonderful spiral that pushed away his thoughts. "Sir, yes Sir!" he stated, simply and clearly. Like his Master had programmed him to do.

"Let's get you off this table then, birdie." The restraints that had been holding him down were removed, slowly, and the bird was suddenly blinded by a swath of impossibly bright light as the fabric was removed from his eyes.

Due to the headphones blocking out anything but his Master's voice and the low, droning hum that kept his brain obediently quiet, the bird hadn't been aware there was so much going on around him. Crowds of drones marched past him in perfect step, some in latex, some with visors, some with the headphones like he had. It was beautiful, seeing so many bodies that would serve his wonderful Master.

Master laid a claw on the bird's shoulder. "Welcome to the ranks, L37H3. L3 for short," the wolf said with a wink.

L3 grinned. His own designation! He couldn't wait to obey with the other drones, he had to go and meet some of them, he--

"Turn around."

L3 immediately snapped to attention, noticing that the others had gathered in the giant, auditorium-like space. He pivoted on the spot and watched as his drone siblings gathered in one perfect rectangle of obedience, gathered in front of himself and their Master. He glanced at Master, unsure of what to do, but the wolf ignored him and spoke into the megaphone L3 hadn't noticed Master had been holding until now.

"Drones! Salute!" All at once, hundreds of them moved to salute their Master. L3 joined in and turned his attention to Master, beaming. The wolf nodded approval. "Hear my words!"

"We have hidden in the shadows for much too long. Our progress has been annoyingly impeded by a local hero, but today, that hero stands amongst our ranks as our new strongest member!" Master motioned to L3, who just blinked. Hero? What hero?

"Tonight, then, will be the night we strike!" Master turned and handed L3 a golden-cord whip. It felt familiar in his hands, and instinctively, he snapped it into the air. Master laughed in response. "Asphodel's hero will lead us to its downfall! You've been given your assignments, we move out tonight. Soon, the world will serve me, your Master!"

"ALL WILL OBEY OUR MASTER!" L3 found himself saying in time with his companions. In his bones, he felt it to be true.

*****

Asphodel's police station had been quiet that day. Thanks to Lethe's work, it almost always was at this point--the captain always joked that Lethe would put them out of a job one day. But the officers couldn't complain; for them, it ended up being another day of hanging around the coffee pot.

The mundanity was broken by the sound of shattering glass and the distant sounds of marching. In an instant, three were out cold at the hands of a fierce, golden whip. The gunfire was quickly stifled.

The army of drones saw no resistance from the city of Asphodel.