Night 49: Group Therapy Room 2

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[Stumbling in from here.]

The knob turned and Sechs pushed the door open. As he exited through, the Replica bowed his head, expecting the thunderous weather outside to greet him with an instant downpour of rain. Instead, a brief sensation of falling startled Sechs before he felt his mind crash into an impossible set of new senses--

"Wha--?"

He didn't find himself within the soaking darkness of the recreational field, but instead he had somehow stumbled into a near pitch black room...?! Blinking almost comically, Sechs' vision scrambled to catch up with the new layer of darkness. The surprised android jerked his head around in every direction his neck would allow. His wolfish eyes nearly bulged as they took in the new room, but his brain was a few seconds late to catch up on all the new data. So far he could spot only a few chairs and tables about, nothing terribly interesting. Was this some kind of office? But weren't they going outside just a second ago?!

There didn't seem to be any danger in the small room either, but the Replica's brain was still reeling from the abrupt change of environment, sending his bewildered system into high alert. Once his senses got a firm enough grip on what just happened, Sechs could only determine that for some crazed reason, he had just ended up inside some room instead of the recreational field outside.

He could really have cared less for that particular conclusion.

"Alright!" Sechs snarled, his eyes still darting around for a more sensible answer. "What gives here?!"

Then a chilling thought came to mind. Shit! What if this was just the drug screwing around with him again?! Sechs couldn't see the usual living shadows swirling throughout his vision yet, but he could never be sure... Not moving from the spot, Sechs checked over his shoulder to see if Forte had ended up in the impossible room as well. It was the only way Sechs could think of to discern if this was all just in his head or something else...

"Forte...?"

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It was especially disorienting jumping from rushing down stairs to a level floor, and as he realized it, Forte stumbled a bit before catching a chair.

So here they were... "Back where we started?" Well, after finding the secret passage, that was supremely disappointing.

"At least we can warm up before we leave again."

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"The basement, eh? Let's take a look then!"

By now Sechs was accustomed to the sensation of traveling between these seemingly random rooms. Back as a cyborg, dangerous acrobatics went hand in hand with his formidable battle skills. Spinning and jumping like a gyroscope was a cinch for the Replica to deal with, although it took a little longer to adapt with in his organic body.

Too bad all those abilities didn't help him choose their next destination. "What?!" Sechs barked, just as disappointed as Forte, "You kidding me?!"

Suddenly, there was another piercing cackle inside Sechs' psyche, followed by an icy stab into his back. A soft grunt escaped him as he hunched over towards the nearest chair. "Yeah, uh... Let's do that," he grumbled as he painfully collapsed into a couch, losing his fight against his body's reaction to the cold. The room's warmth seemed to be doing nothing for the chill that was swiftly growing throughout Sechs' flesh.

Shivering, he set his axe down against the chair while he propped the flashlight on the armrest. Sechs was sure there had to be a pattern to this whole misadventure with the doors, but he was losing the fight to channel his concentration. The flashlight beside him was starting to fade, just like what happened that other night, and his spine had gotten so cold that he was beginning to feel unbearably numb all over his back.

It took little time before Sechs felt himself bow to the cold. He slumped to the side of the chair, knocking his darkened flashlight to the floor with a clatter. He was starting to lose all feeling in his shoulders now, while his breathing turned into quiet wheezing. The cold was getting so bad now that he was surprised to not find any mist flowing out from his mouth.

Clambering to fight off the side-effects, Sechs shut his eyes so tightly that he could see faint stars explode beneath his eyelids. While Sechs focused as hard as he could to repel his shadowy tormentor's grip, he began to lose track of everyone and everything around him; which after that night he nearly killed Fai and Kibitoshin, was the last thing he needed...!

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Forte looked around the room again, shivering a bit as he recovered. Hopefully, Sechs was warming up to.

Looking over, though, he was looking even worse. "Whoah, Sechs... are you okay?"

He wasn't responding, and looked like he was in pain, falling into one of the couches. Didn't Zex say that they Sechs had been taken a few nights ago?

"What's wrong? What did they do to you?!"

Looking frantically around the room, he spied the rug in the center, and kicked the table over to get it.

"Here," he tossed the rug, soft side down, over Sechs as he closed his eyes. He grabbed Sechs's shoulder as hard as he could, digging his fingers in, hoping to snap him out of it.

"It's okay, we're safe here! There's nothing else here!" It was all he could think to say, not knowing what was happening to his friend.

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The frigid darkness was closing in fast. He could feel the muscles in his arms seize, compromising the grip he had around his torso. More sparks flashed within his vision as his ears became overwhelmed by mental static and the horrible voice that sounded just like his own.

"Running around in circles!" the toxin roared inside his throbbing skull, "Like vermin in a trap! You're pathetic!"

Shaking fervently within the chair, Sechs fought back with his own inner voice, "No! Shut up! Stop it already! STOP!" His own thoughts rang loudly with the dark poison's, but it was easily swept away by the drug's power. Sechs desperately willed the cold out of his spine, but his efforts didn't seem to make any immediate difference. If this kept up, Sechs feared he would become frozen on the inside. It didn't matter if he was physically or mentally freezing, all he knew now was the biting ice and the strident attacks against his will power...

Suddenly, a new voice snapped Sechs out of his inward battle. Something had fallen upon his back, while he could feel a hand gripping into his shoulder. The darkness that had engulfed the Replica instantly scattered like dozens of cockroaches. For a few seconds, Sechs was nearly delirious, his amber eyes darting about as his breaths came out in heavy gasps. It was as though his mind was still in free fall; nothing made any sense to him until...

"Wh-what...? Forte?"

The storm finally began to reside, restoring feeling and control into his arms and torso. His shivering lessened, but he could have sworn he felt frost melting down his back underneath his suit. Having only caught Forte's last sentence, Sechs gazed about the room, which looked far lighter now that the worst of his episode had passed. Even his fallen flashlight's beam could be seen trailing down the length of the room. They seemed safe for now.

Seeing the concern on Forte's face, it was then Sechs realized just how visible his struggle must have been. For the first time that night, warmth started to fill up his face, but it was the kind that stemmed from shame. Bowing his head, Sechs pulled the makeshift blanket closer around him.

"Shit...! I... Um..." He wanted to explain away his problem and keep up his tough stance to the fellow fighter, but he was at a total loss for words.

Meanwhile, the "Dark side of the Moon" laughed on from the far back of Sechs' mind.

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Forte was starting to panic, not knowing how to help. He could deal with some kind of monster that he could attack, but it was like something was attacking Sechs from inside - in his head, or in his body.

Fortunately, the other fighting 'bot was starting to come out of it. "Shit, are you okay? ...what the hell did they do to you?" Color was returning to his face too, after paling from panic.

It must have been triggered by the cold in the fridge, he realized, and he totally missed it, too wrapped up in his own stupid problems to see there was some serious crap going on.

"It's fine, don't worry about it," he reassured Sechs at his protest. He'd been worried about looking weak in front of Sechs, but there was obviously something more dire than hurt feelings going on here. He kept his grip tight, in case that was what had brought Sechs back to full consciousness.

[sixth-attack.livejournal.com]

Ever so slowly, Sechs' breathing returned to a steady pace while his body straightened up against the chair like a plant recovering from a nasty bout of winter. The negative consciousness backed off for now, but it seemed quite pleased with the weakening episode it just dragged its host through. The disgusting creature certainly knew the right times to break Sechs down...

Forcing himself to focus on what was going on outside of his head, Sechs glanced up to find his ally still close by him with a reassuring hand on his shoulder. The battle android felt relieved to see no disgust or scorn on Forte's face, but it did little to ease Sechs' growing aggravation with himself. He was supposed to be stronger than this! All because they ended up in that stupid fridge! ...Although, the drug always got worse as the night aged... Still, Sechs had been so determined to keep above the toxin's influence; it was beyond disappointing to see himself fail that goal all over again!

Sechs looked away, reluctant to answer Forte's question. "They fucked me up! That's what!" Sechs growled, his voice on the verge of shouting. Now that the worst of the fear and pain had subsided, there was a tremendous amount of anger that took their place. His hands clenched tightly into the edges of the rug as his narrowed eyes gleamed in the darkness.

"That BASTARD doctor thought it'd be a great idea to shove some dark poison into my back...!" After blurting those words out, the fury in his voice suddenly faltered. It was hard enough experiencing the side-effects, never mind talk about them! His words trailed off for a little while. By the time he spoke again, his voice was quieter, if not strained. "It's at its worst at night..."

Despite whatever good intention Forte had behind his reassurance, Sechs' battered ego flared up at his support. "No! It's NOT fine!" he snapped, more furious with himself and how screwed up the night had gotten than anything. Sechs made to stand up, but his muscles were still too stiff, sending him back down into the couch with a frustrated grunt. "Urgh! Crap!"

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Forte listened silently as Sechs explained. It was partly a matter of respect, and partly because he had no idea what to say. He'd never dealt with anything like this, neither the poison that was disabling an otherwise strong fighter, or just trying to provide comfort. What could he say?

He had felt weak since being brought to the institute, true, and even like his body was fighting against him - but it was nothing like what had just happened to Sechs. All the robots had had to deal with that, the cyborg included, but that looked like he was actually attacked.

It was terrifying to think that the doctors could do something that insidious, not just because of the possibility that they could do it to Forte. He'd been counting on Sechs since they met up, to help him find trouble to make, and to remind him what he should be like - to make Forte feel like himself again, instead of feeling sorry for himself. And now Sechs was the one that looked like he was beating himself up because of something this Landel guy did. So, what could Forte do? What would he want Sechs to do if he was sitting in the chair?

Finally, he let go of Sechs, and picked up the flashlight on the ground. "You're right, it's not fine. This is bullshit."

He tossed the light into the other fighter's lap. "So get up. We've still gotta find this guy, so we can force him to take it out, or just kick his ass. Hopefully both."

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The Replica found himself glaring down at the flashlight. He brooded over Forte's words, while the drug scoffed at the mere suggestion of finding the perpetrators. The last time Sechs tried to find the doctor who tortured him didn't work out so great. He did find the hallway where the experiments took place, but in the end he hit a dead end - and nearly killed Fai and Kibitoshin in the midst of the drug's illusions. By now Sechs was given the impression that finding Landel or any of his employed doctors was impossible, along with finding a cure towards the terrible consequences of being one of their guinea pigs. So far it seemed hopeless...

But Sechs wasn't a quitter. He didn't learn that perseverance was one quality of a true warrior for nothing! Finally, Sechs gave Forte a stern nod and grabbed the flashlight. He rose up from the couch with better success, flexing his recovering muscles, before bending down to relinquish his axe.

"I've tried to find him before..." he said, a look of grim determination on his face, "But I'm not the type who quits on the first try!"

Feeling his tenacity and some healthy warmth return to him, Sechs made his way towards the door for the second time that night. "Maybe if we figured out a pattern to these places that the doors keep dumping us in..." he mused out loud, "We could find the bastards who run this place!"

Sechs was about to open the door when he paused. He looked over his shoulder towards Forte. "Just warning ya... But, if it" Sechs gestured to his back, "starts acting up again... I don't really know how to totally snap out of it yet but... You can try hitting me or something..."

Sechs turned his gaze back towards the door as he grimly added, "And if that doesn't work, stay outta the way..."