The night air was crisp, the world before Xander a vast, uncharted mystery, yet here he stood, cornered by the very people who had tormented him his entire life. A moment of silence stretched between them, a tension so thick it could be sliced apart, yet neither side moved. It was the Ugly Doc who finally broke the silence.


    "Did you not hear me?" the grotesque man asked, his voice laced with arrogance.


    Xander chuckled, tilting his head slightly. "Sorry, I got caught off guard by your ugly face. Took me a second to recover."


    Some of the guards shifted uncomfortably, but the Ugly Doc remained unfazed, merely shaking his head in feigned amusement. "It sure does like to joke," he mused, using that degrading ''it'' rather than acknowledging Xander as a person. "Tell me, did you truly think escape would be so simple?"


    Xander shrugged, unconcerned. "Not really. But, to be fair, the security and guards here are pretty shit." He smirked, enjoying the slight twitch of irritation in some of the guards. "Whoever runs this place should seriously consider fixing that."


    The Ugly Doc merely chuckled, shaking his head. "Ah, but that would defeat the purpose," he replied.


    Xander narrowed his eyes, his amusement flickering for a moment. "The purpose?"


    Raising a brow in mock surprise, the Ugly Doc grinned. "Oh? Did you not know?" His voice dripped with condescension as he took a step forward, delighting in the opportunity to monologue. "This entire scenario was designed to make escape easy."


    Xander blinked, the guards behind the Ugly Doc stirring at the strange revelation. Even they had no idea what the hell he was talking about. But Xander''s confusion only deepened as he scoffed. "The hell is your ugly ass on about?"


    The Ugly Doc''s face contorted into a twisted grin. "Think about it. No surveillance in any of the rooms. The vast distance between the laboratory and the guard room. The oh-so-convenient control panels that even a rodent could operate. The red arrows leading you straight to an exit." He spread his arms as though revealing some grand trick. "It was all designed for you to leave."


    The guards exchanged glances, murmuring among themselves, their previous assumptions about the facility''s questionable design suddenly thrown into chaos. It was true that many of them had wondered why the security in certain areas was so lax, but to think that it had all been intentional was absurd.


    Xander, on the other hand, was less enthused. "And why the hell would you want me to escape?" he asked flatly, a strange lack of his usual sarcasm in his tone.


    The Ugly Doc''s laughter burst forth again, his pockmarked face contorting as some of his boils ruptured, causing the guards closest to him to grimace in disgust. Yet, he ignored them, his focus solely on Xander. "Because, XA-777, this was the ten thousandth," he stated simply.


    "...The what?" Xander deadpanned, unimpressed with the lack of context.


    With exaggerated patience, the Ugly Doc continued, his grin widening. "For over fifteen years, among the nearly one hundred thousand test subjects, only you have survived this long. And what a disappointment that has been." His tone took on an almost theatrical lilt. "You see, even the failures who perished before you were more interesting. They screamed, they fought, they showed promise! And yet you, our dear XA-777, did nothing."


    Xander remained silent as the Ugly Doc continued his self-indulgent speech.


    "We put you through tests, basic ones at first—running, holding your breath, simple things. And then we moved on to the real fun: burning, acidification, mutilation. And yet, you failed to produce anything extraordinary. You weren''t strong, you weren''t fast, you weren''t smart or tough." He sneered. "Hell, you weren''t even lucky. You just refused to die. Always lingering at death''s door but never stepping through. It felt like that was your power but it became...annoying."


    Some of the guards shifted uneasily at the casual way he spoke about the tests, but none dared interrupt.


    "After ten years of fruitless experiments, we ran out of ideas. So, we decided to entertain ourselves with new games like testing how much force could your skeleton sustain before being crushed but that soon grew old."


    He chuckled darkly. "Finally at one point, we even considered just terminating you and using your remains to feed the others, at least until I came up with a rather amusing notion." He gestured around them. "What if, after everything, we tested the one thing we never had before? Your ability to escape."


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    Xander remained expressionless as the truth sunk in. This entire farce had been orchestrated. The lack of obstacles, the ease of navigation—every step of his ''escape'' had been planned for him. And the worst part? It wasn''t even about testing him. It was about entertaining them.


    The Ugly Doc let out a dramatic sigh, shaking his head. "And yet, you failed even in that. You simply followed the path given to you. You didn''t try to find another way out. You didn''t stage a grand explosion. You didn''t cut through our ranks with ruthless efficiency. No, you just followed the arrows like a lab rat in a maze." He tsked in disappointment. "We expected more from our little cockroach."


    The guards behind him were still processing the revelations, unsure whether to feel relieved or insulted that they had just been set dressing in some elaborate test. One of them, the same elder guard from before, clenched his fists. "Then what the hell are we even doing here?" he muttered under his breath.


    Xander, still wearing his blank expression, broke his silence. "So what now?" His voice lacked emotion, his earlier amusement completely drained.


    The Ugly Doc smiled, pulling a digital pad from his coat. "Now? Well, there''s only one thing left to do." His fingers tapped across the screen as he spoke. "Trial No. 10000, Test Subject XA-777—"


    He pressed the final key.


    "—Failure."


    The Ugly Doc stood tall, basking in the moment as he declared the trial a failure. A short silence stretched between them, the wind whistling over the cliff’s edge. Xander tilted his head, his expression unreadable before finally speaking.


    "So, what would you have done if I actually escaped?"


    The Ugly Doc raised an eyebrow, then tilted his head as if amused by the question. "Even if you passed the trial, you would never have escaped."


    Xander’s eyes narrowed in confusion. "What?"


    The Ugly Doc''s smile widened, revealing yellowed teeth, some chipped, others rotting. "Since it wouldn’t hurt for you to know now that this is the end, I might as well tell you. Everything you did, we knew. Every thought, every action, every breath you took, we knew it all."


    Xander’s confusion deepened. "You’re lying. There’s no surveillance in the corridors, I checked. The facility security is a joke—"


    "No surveillance, no prediction." The Ugly Doc chuckled, his voice oozing with pride. "We simply knew because I knew. That’s the biggest failsafe. Every thought you ever had, we could see and hear. When you cursed us inwardly, we knew. When you had your first ever thoughts of escape, we knew. When you strangled the Old Geezer and every word you said to him, we knew. When you held the pad and saw the alarm button, we knew. When you looked at the map and chose not to kill that guard, when you saw the red arrows, when you saw the night sky for the first time, and even now, as you process this revelation, we know exactly what you’re thinking."


    Xander clenched his jaw. He wasn’t just being watched—his mind itself was compromised. He had never had autonomy, never had control. His entire existence had been dictated without his knowledge.


    The Ugly Doc smirked, reveling in his turmoil. "How could we call ourselves researchers if we didn’t ensure our specimens didn’t cause... unwanted problems? You have no autonomy because you were never meant to. You were born in a test tube, a creation to be used and controlled, fulfilling your creator’s will."


    "And now, you’ve amounted to nothing but a waste of resources."


    A few of the guards behind him shifted uneasily. Even for them, this was a lot to take in.


    "Honestly, even if you had been a success, you’d still be terminated. The higher-ups want to downsize, and you’re not worth keeping around. At least we got some amusement out of you." The Ugly Doc sighed, then smirked. "And how poetic, isn’t it? Exactly sixteen years ago today, you were created. And today will be the day you’re terminated."


    A chilling silence stretched between them.


    The Ugly Doc''s smile widened as if indulging in his own generosity. "I feel a bit generous today. Why not make it official? Happy birthday, XA-777." He spread his arms as if expecting applause. "If only the other two were here to witness it. But alas, the Old Geezer is dead, and the Fat One is too busy wasting his life on harlots in whatever cesspool he''s lazing around in. At least you have me, standing here with you on this special day."


    The wind carried the weight of his words, but Xander remained silent. The Ugly Doc, expecting a reaction, waited. Surely the subject understood what an honor this was? Even the most successful test subjects never received this level of attention.


    "What? Nothing? No gratitude?" The Ugly Doc scoffed. "Didn’t anyone teach you manners?"


    Xander finally spoke, his tone light. "No, they didn’t. But if I did say anything, it’d be me asking for an apology."


    The Ugly Doc blinked. "An apology?"


    "Yeah. An apology for someone so ugly to be ranting for so long in front of me." Xander exhaled dramatically. "The air that felt nice a few seconds ago literally fell in quality just from your existence."


    A deep frown marred the Ugly Doc’s face.


    "Even now, you prove to be utterly nonsensical. We must have made an error when designing your brain."


    Xander shrugged. "Even if I didn’t have one, my words wouldn’t change. Even a dumbass could tell you’re that ugly."


    The Ugly Doc shook his head, lamenting, "Tch. Letting that fat imbecile handle your speech development was a mistake. You picked up his vulgarity instead of proper language."


    His moment of amusement over, he sighed. "Enough of this. Guards. Terminate it."


    The guards, tense and ready, raised their weapons, fingers curling around the triggers.


    But before they could fire, Xander swiftly raised his hands. "Wait."


    A pause. The guards hesitated, glancing at the Ugly Doc for confirmation. The scientist’s brow furrowed as he studied the subject curiously.


    "What?"


    Xander smirked. "I have something I want to say first."


    Silence fell over the cliffside as everyone waited for his next words.