Thana's Vision

Thana you hear rain trickling down all around you. It must have woken you up, because it is so dark here, but you can smell the water… sea water. You get up and find your legs are sluggish in their movements. You fumble in the darkness, and then see a pale blue light illuminate the room around you. Sterile, cold and clean - a Simic experiment room. The sound of trickling water seems to increase around you, and you feel a sudden pain in head. The pale light flares into painful brilliance, and you stumble forward, against a cold hard wall. There is a window here, and you can see the form of rushing water plunging down into a Zonot lit by the glow of pale blue drift globes.
The pain flares again, and you hear a door open and a voice behind you speak, "I'm afraid we've reached the limit of conventional treatment. You are going to have to consider the alternatives."
You speak, but not in your voice, "I haven't exhausted all the psychotropic options yet. I believe there is a way to harvest glands from a Golgari Longleg and infuse them into my system to create some kind of equilibrium… we just need…"
"I disagree, and so does Balvot. We need to move ahead with the direct operation," the voice says. You recognize it. It spoke to you in the menagerie, so long ago.
Your knees buckle under you and the pain spreads from your head and into your chest. You gasp.
"You see. The progression can not be halted," the voice says.
"I… I still have control…" you mumble in your alien voice. But then another gasp and you say, "That smell, excrement from Necroshell beetles. Who are those dead? My skin why does it feel… no… I…"
"You what?" the excited voice says. "Do you see her? Where is she?"
"No, it's side effects from the drug. That's all." you reply, fear rising in you.
"I doubt that. The longer you try to shield her, the worse it will be when we attempt to reverse the process. Balvot has calculated -"
You cut the voice off, "Balvot doesn't know what he's talking about. It's my body. My soul! His theory is based on data he didn't collect."
Silence as your pained ragged breathing continues. The pain is easing back bit by bit, but it will return. The voice says, "There is only so long this will remain a decision you can control."
"Balvot has his contingencies ready to spring. I know."
"Not just he. But if you are suffering and breaking down - she is too. And soon she will come to take what is hers."
You shake your head. "She's smarter than that."
"She's Golgari now. Logic and reason replaced by instinct. We saw it in person with those cultists. She will come for you with her Ochran, and we will not be able to help you. Unless you help yourself."
You laugh, "Oh yes. Balvot cares so much about me."
"You are quite valuable to him."
"Of that I have no doubt."
The pain becomes a wave emanating from your head and coursing down into your body. You scream in agony and fall to the ground. But it is the familiar ground of your lab in the safehouse. The sound of trickling water is gone, but the pain remains.