"Are you sure you want to do this?"
"I'm sure. Don't go easy on me, okay? I can take it. I want to win. No excuses. Come on."

Black Wolf grinned, but the look on Miss Planner's face was deadly serious. They both knew it wouldn't be a fair fight. Black Wolf's entire body was a weapon constructed out of psychically enhanced metal and ceramic. He had no vulnerable areas anywhere. He was a walking tank. Miss Planner didn't stand a chance.

She was no pushover, of course. She'd modified her tiny body thoroughly, packing it full with super-powered internal organs, invincible metal bones, and muscles reinforced with hardened carbon fibers. There wasn't a part of herself she was aware of that she hadn't improved to near perfection. But none of it would make a bit of difference. At the very most, her meticulously crafted little body would let her survive a blow or two before she'd be forced to call it quits.

Even so, Miss Planner wanted to test herself. See where she was lacking, see where she was powerful, see where she had a chance to improve. She had to get stronger quickly. She didn’t have a choice if she wanted to live to see her dream come true.

Elder Omen's prophecy weighed heavily on her brilliant mind.

“Your life will end when the sky is dark above your head, when there is nothing to guide your steps and when you are alone.”

“If you continue to neglect your inner self, your fate is sealed. Yet there is still time to prevent this tragedy. Strengthen your spirit.”

Miss Planner wasn't the sort to accept defeat gracefully. Her whole life she'd worked hard to become the best. She'd never known any life other than throwing her full effort into achieving more than everyone else around her. So she asked her strongest puppet to take her on with his full power.

"Well, you’re the boss. I'll start by smashing your skinny little legs to pieces. Then I'll rip out your hair."
"Hehe. You're welcome to try."

The two combatants squared off in a tiny padded training room on the second floor of the Tower of the Chosen. Miss Planner held her combat knife out with one arm and guarded her face with the back of the other. Black Wolf didn't bother taking a stance. He just stood with arms crossed, smiling maliciously at his employer and master.

"Why is it that short people always think they can fight? I could knock you flat with one hit."
"Oh, please. I could tell you to kill yourself right now and you'd do it without even thinking about it."
"Hahaha. Yeah. That would be funny, wouldn't it?"

Black Wolf lowered his hands to his sides and took a single, casual step towards Miss Planner. He was fully capable of ending the contest instantly with a single strike to the neck, so he decided it would probably be a good idea to go ahead and try to do that before Miss Planner got scared and called the whole thing off.

"Hyaaaaaaah!"

The tiny tyrant yelled a battle cry and charged forward, holding her knife forward like a spear.

'Command. To your knees.'

Miss Planner tripped and fell mid-stride. But she quickly broke free of Black Wolf's psychic control and rolled back onto her feet with psychokinesis, brandishing her blade all the while as though anticipating a surprise attack. Her movements weren't exactly elegant. She looked more like a frightened animal fighting to stay upright than a woman of skill and power. Black Wolf smirked.

"Come on. Get real. Use your powers.”

The tiny Miss Planner closed in, knife leading, eyes fixed intently on her foe. Black Wolf maneuvered around her and smacked her hand with great force, forcing her to drop her weapon. Then he punched her square in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her. Before she could fill her lungs with air and vocalize surrender, he followed up with a brutal palm strike to the nose.

The tiny woman collapsed in a quivering heap. Black Wolf didn’t let her catch her breath. He stomped her chest with his heel. It was a vicious blow and Miss Planner cried out in pain.

"You're just a scrawny little girl."
"Nghh..."

Miss Planner reached out for her knife. Black Wolf stepped on her hand like a punishing bolt of lightning, then kicked her to the other side of the room like a piece of garbage.

"Still don't feel like getting serious? How about you just die, then?"
"Oogh."

Miss Planner pushed to her feet with an audible grunt and wiped her bleeding nose against her forearm. The sight of the crimson stain brought fresh fury to Miss Planner's face.

"Did that wake you up? Hahaha. You can't even touch me."
"Ugh. Yeah. You're right. I'll use 'Soul Snake.' Just... just to keep you... from getting too full of yourself."
"Go ahead. Try it. It's not going to work."

Black Wolf grinned again, showing a lot of teeth this time. He was going to pay her back for every humilating little task she'd subjected him to since turning him into her slave. He wanted to see her beg, whine, and sob like the weak little coward she was. Even if she directly commanded him to stop, he'd resist her with all his being until the very last possible moment just to hurt her even a little bit more. 

'Soul Snake.'

Miss Planner's aura condensed into the form of seven thick ropes which slowly circled around Black Wolf from every direction. He had no way of avoiding them. The strands of intangible energy wrapped around his limbs, torso, and neck and exerted tremendous pressure. Black Wolf replied by pushing out his own aura and forcing his way through the invisible prison of psychic energy as though it was made of paper. His tiny little boss shuddered, drawing a sharp intake of air through gritted teeth. Black Wolf laughed and smacked his fist menacingly.

"You're nothing. You're a weak, worthless little worm."
"Guh!"

Miss Planner tried to stand tall. She tried so hard that it made her whole body vibrate with effort.

'Soul Snake.'

Trying something different, she gathered her aura together into one big, flexible column. It swirled through the room with the speed of a rushing river and smacked against her puppet's head with a dull thud. He was unharmed and unaffected but his face contorted into a scowl nonetheless. Miss Planner looked down and saw her skinny little legs wobbling under her like stilts.

"Ngh... hehe..."

'Command. To your knees.'

Miss Planner obeyed instantly. She slid her athletic shoes back across the mat and fell. Her mind was strong, but her body couldn't resist.

'Soul Snake.'

'Command. Stay down!'

Miss Planner cried out in pain and frustration as she slammed her forehead against the mat.

"Give up, Planner."
"Guh! Nghh!"

"I said give up. This is pathetic."
"Ngh... gah..."

She didn’t have any fight left in her, but she didn't declare her defeat. She didn't use her powers to command him to stop, either. She wanted to keep going. Miss Planner had a will of steel. But she was only human in the end. Soft. Weak. Vulnerable. Black Wolf considered smacking her around a little more, maybe even breaking a bone or two. 

“Ggghhh...”

But as he looked at her frail little form, he was reminded of something. A familiar sense of shame welled up in the pit of his gut.

The woman he killed in the Animal Mansion was tiny like the tyrant, cute and pretty, with a nice little body, delicate features, and soft white flesh that was satisfying to tear into with his teeth. She resisted him with all her strength for almost an hour, screaming, crying, threatening, all to no avail. Finally she broke, and her pathetic cries morphed into a strange moan of relief as he ripped her chest open and tore her guts out. He licked his fingers clean like a hungry beast as she bled and shuddered on the floor, twitching spasmodically until her pulse faded and her body finally gave in.

He remembered the way her warm body felt pressed against his own, the way her chest rose and fell as she made cute little gasps, and the way her raw, wet gore clung to his hands and face. He remembered the dirty smell of her innards and waste. He remembered feeling sick to his stomach for days and days afterwards.

He hated himself so much. Hated what his hunger, his anger, his desire to dominate had made him do. He hated how much it hurt to look in the mirror every morning, knowing who he used to be. And most of all, he hated the fact that he still enjoyed hurting people. Whatever it was that drove him to kill that woman never left him, no matter how many years had passed.

He could see her now. Her pale body shuddering with terror and humiliation. Her tiny pink lips mouthing empty pleas while blood leaked from her broken nose and spilled out onto her chest. The image lingered in his mind, a repugnant smear of memories that forced its way into the front of his mind and stayed there.

"Ahhh..."

Miss Planner cried in an exhausted, pitiful little voice. The way she trembled, the way she wept, the helpless little whimpers of fear that escaped her lips, were more than he could stand any longer. He had reduced yet another woman to a crying, bloody mass. Black Wolf felt disgust bubbling up inside of him. He was sick. Sick and ashamed. He felt a bitter chill seep into his artificial skin. 

"Can you stand up?"
"Mnn... oof."

Miss Planner struggled to rise to her feet, but her arms were too weak. She just wiggled her little butt in the air until her knees buckled and she slumped forward.

"If you can't stand... I'll carry you."
"Uuuunh..."

Black Wolf reached down and scooped up his pathetic little boss like a stuffed animal. She didn't resist. In fact, she leaned her weight on him and let her head drop into the cradle of his neck. She smelled sweet. Her shampoo, maybe. Or her body lotion. Her soft, sleepy murmurs echoed through the puppet’s skull, reverberating painfully like nails against glass. He carried the woman to her office, then pulled out the blankets from her closet, laying them down over her trembling body. Miss Planner's eyelids closed and she began to snore gently, softly. Black Wolf sat beside her. He held his head in his hand and sighed quietly as his eyes wandered around the room.

His mind swam with memories of happier days when he didn't know the tiny woman's true nature. Back when he considered her his savior. His only friend. The only person who ever truly cared about him.

“I'm so glad I was able to save you."

“I'm the friendliest and nicest girl in the entire world. I'm not going to hurt you. Not ever."

“Unfortunately, her soul wasn't as strong as yours. She passed away... but if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have the knowledge to create your new body. So her death wasn't in vain.“

But he knew now that it was all just a shallow ploy. A false display of humanity to manipulate him into becoming her tool. He should've learned his lesson the moment the Brotherhood turned on him. He should've known that genuine affection and love didn’t exist. That friendships were temporary, disposable things that served their function but never had the potential to last.

"I'm getting a bigger office. Yep. Planner's really moving up in the world. It's a corner office on the thirty-fifth floor. Great view of the city.“

He had nothing but resentment for her, now. Resentment, envy, and anger. But as much as he hated her, he couldn't bring himself to harm her anymore.

"Damn it... I should just kill her."

He whispered inaudibly to himself as he sat there staring up at the ceiling. The little woman was asleep, breathing peacefully. She looked so small, fragile, and cute, with her long blonde hair splayed across the blanket and her lips pressed tight in a gentle frown.