Night 57: Infirmary

[antiheroed]

[ from here]For as direct as they were being, Riku understood how much of this section of Landel's remained unexplored. They were so focused on acquiring the drug that it hadn't occurred to them to stop-or, if it had, it was a thought stopped by his frustration with his partner for the night. To think he pushed off some old man because he thought he

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[sixth_attack]

The telltale signs of the black inky tendrils were emerging from the shadows that framed Sechs' vision. Beneath the beds came fingers of black goop which slowly crawled over the tiled floor. The M-U's effects were invading the Replica's senses once again, and the cold in his back continued to spread into his shoulders. Wincing, Sechs forced his way to the crowded table, giving no regards to those who surrounded it. His focus had turned into a state of tunnel vision, desperately searching for an end to his torment.

Upon reaching the table, Sechs' frustration grew when he was met with an assortment of medications. Pills, vials of unknown liquids, and much to Sechs' chagrin, syringes.

Sechs glared at the small pile of drugs before him, which one was he supposed to take? He doubted pills would help with his condition, so his options shrunk down to the vials and needles. Maybe if he asked Ritsuka to inject a needle into his spine...

Now Sechs was visibly shaking. The very thought of having needles coming near to any part of his body gave the Replica's gut a sickening wrench. He couldn't take a syringe, whether he did it himself or had someone other than a nurse do it for him. Both his body and instincts strongly detested it, even if a syringe had a better chance of purging the parasite, he just couldn't do it...

Sechs' was snapped out of his moment of inner distress when Ritsuka spoke up in the darkness. Forcing down the fear and pain he was experiencing, the former battle android looked to the other patient and gave a grim shrug.

"I'm not sure..." he answered, his tone dull and hesitant as his gaze returned to the drugs sitting on the table. It looked like his last option would be to take one of the liquid tonics then... but which one?

As the bleak illusions which only Sechs could see thickened around him, the android fought to keep his focus on the vials before him, scanning each one for any clues to which was made for his ailment. The glass containers were unmarked, and each had differing types of liquids inside. Sechs' face hardened as he pondered over his options.

It was only after a long and painfully tense moment, did Sechs' eyes finally rest on one particular vial. Compared to the other tonics, most of which appeared thick and came in different colors, this one contained a clear liquid, pure as water and almost glowing with an oddly ethereal light. If there was an antidote that was the polar opposite of the black poison that was forcefully injected into Sechs' spine, this was it!

"I'm taking this," Sechs finally said, plucking up the small vial with his large fingers, his grip upon it trembling slightly. He stepped away from the table, keeping his back to the other patients. "I don't know what it'll do..." he muttered, realizing just how dry his mouth had suddenly become as his adrenaline levels reached a new high, "...but it looks to be the most promising stuff for what I need..."

With his heart pounding in his ears and the unnatural darkness crowding into his vision, Sechs made a decision that was more desperate than reckless; he popped the cap off the vial with his thumb, and after a second of hesitation, Sechs finally threw his head back and downed the crystal-clear medicine in a single gulp.

[forgot_it_all]

Squeezing past the others, Ritsuka followed Sechs until he got a closer look at the table. There were all manners of drugs here, none of them labeled and none of them likely very sterile after having sat out here for so long. Ritsuka's eyes slid over the capped vials, the pills in cups and finally came to rest upon the neatly arranged rows of syringes. It was like a morbid rainbow of potentially fatal substances that the patients were willingly downing one after another. There were no warnings about mixing drugs or even anything that cautioned against allergic reactions or side effects. People were simply---

Sechs didn't seem to know either and Ritsuka's ears and tail drooped, worry evident in the way he furrowed his brow. Maybe this wasn't so smart after all. Maybe a cure wasn't worth the risk. The taller man picked up a clear liquid vial and even while expressing doubt that it would work, he downed it before Ritsuka had a chance to protest. "Wai--!"

No! What if that was wrong? How could he have known that was the right one when he didn't even know what he was looking for?!

But it was too late now and Ritsuka could only stare up at the self-proclaimed former cyborg and hope that whatever he took wasn't going to make him worse. "...A-Are you okay?"

[sixth_attack]

Tasteless and lighter than water, the medicine trickled down the Replica's throat with little ease, surprising him with what little effect it had as he swallowed the rest down with an audible gulp. He had been expecting some sort of burning sensation as he downed the tonic, yet instead he might as well had just swallowed drinkable mist. It was uncanny...

With a quiet gasp, Sechs brought his head forward, tossing his messy hair over his face. He could have sworn he heard Ritsuka say something beside him, but all Sechs could hear was the jeering from his poisoned subconscious. "Hah! That's no cure you just drank there!" the inner voice taunted, "You'll see soon enough!"

A shiver rattled throughout Sechs' body as the living drug's laughter echoed into silence. Meanwhile, the mass of black tendrils slowly withdrew back into the shadows beneath the row of beds that filled up the room, their wiggling forms no longer vexing the Replica's vision. The M-U effects seemed to be diminishing, but had it been because of the potion he had just ingested? Sechs knew how the drug in his spine claimed to know more of what was going on beneath the surface of things, not to mention all the times it liked to play cruel games with him as well... Sechs could feel much-needed relief from his ailment, but he was unable to take that deep breath of comfort he had been yearning to enjoy for so long. He could never celebrate too soon...

A soft, anxious voice gently brought Sechs out of his brief episode, and he slowly gazed down to see the concerned Ritsuka looking up at him. "Uh..." Sechs dropped the empty vial, his face darkened with uncertainty as the glass bottle softly clattered on the table, "I... I think so... I'm not feeling any major changes..."

Raising a gloved hand up to his neck, Sechs pressed his fingers into his skin and was dismayed to feel the cool presence of the drug in his spine. Disappointment dropped into his stomach like scrap metal falling down from Tiphares. Did this mean that the drug wasn't gone then? Was taking this potion all for nothing?

However, Sechs' tiny shred of hope pipped up, reminding him that the illusions had faded away and that the medicine probably just needed time to fully cure him. On the other hand, Sechs' cynical side brought up the fact that if the concoction really was working, the parasite should be screeching like that time when Kibitoshin used his Ki energy against it...

As long as the tonic didn't make anything worse, Sechs had no choice but to move on. At least the M-U effects had calmed down for now, and Sechs wanted nothing more than to take advantage of that.

With his disappointment and uncertainty boiling down into bitter irritation, Sechs brusquely turned away from the table and made his way back to the door, leaving the empty vial behind him. He didn't want to deal with this mystery medicine crap any longer.

"C'mon," Sechs said grimly, glancing over his shoulder at Ritsuka, "Let's find you some of those medical supplies. I got what I wanted here..."

[To here.]

[forgot_it_all]

Ritsuka was worried for Sechs when he seemed to shiver and curl in on himself, but a moment later and he seemed to be back to normal. He wanted to pretend that the medicine simply tasted bitter or disgusting and that had birthed such a reaction, but... Ritsuka couldn't lie to himself. He was terrible at lying in general and so when he saw the vial roll empty across the table, he frowned. "Well, drugs take awhile to have any effect on people so..."

But his words fell on deaf ears because soon enough, Sechs was turning away from the table and hoofing it toward the door.

"Ah--!"

He was hurrying off to help Ritsuka find what he needed, but there was a part of him that was still attracted to the table. He hesitated as Sechs headed out the door. Time to make a decision and make it quick. Either he trusted the Institute who had done nothing but lie so far or he gave up what could be his only chance at uncovering the truth about himself. He had to try...

Before running after Sechs, he grabbed a small cup of pills, dry swallowing them as he followed after the cyborg.

[forgot_it_all]

[to here]