Night 51: Main Hallway 2-West
[From here.]
With the door shut behind, Sechs took in a few cautious glances around his darkened surroundings. The corridor of the second floor was eerily quiet and unnervingly empty; he must have been one of the first prisoners to arrive here so far. For the first time that night Sechs noticed just how hard his heart was pounding inside his chest. He didn't think it could have been because of the stairs, he didn't have as much trouble climbing them like last time. No, it must have been his body reacting to the memories of this place. He took a moment to allow his burdened body to relax a little as he scanned the hall with his flashlight. Nothing out of the ordinary so far... except for that nightmarish patch of darkness to his left...
A deep, black fog was pouring out from the farthest hallway, the same place Sechs discovered to be where those horrific experiments took place, including the one he himself was forced through. It was also the same area where the drug nearly tricked Sechs into killing Fai and Kibitoshin. The doppelganger that only Sechs could see was standing by the entrance of that cursed corridor. It just stood there, its sharp teeth gleaming through a beastly grimace that glowed off the creature's black face. A negative copy of Sechs' former cyborg body, the illusion emitted a snarl that sounded like Sechs' own in the midst of battle. The tendrils surrounding the shadowy form surged forward towards Sechs, their intentions clear in their greedy blot-like limbs.
This was it. Sechs wasn't letting that doctor's experiment get the better of him again!
Trembling from the increasing cold in his body, Sechs lowered the axe off his shoulder guard and gingerly laid it blade first to the floor, allowing the weapon to lean on his leg. He turned to face his doppelganger and the charging vines. With one hand free, Sechs took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. It was time to put his plan to the test.
To stand by himself on the second floor in such a vulnerable position threw his instincts into a frenzied state of high alert! Leaving yourself open to attack was the worst thing a warrior could do in a dangerous situation -- unless it was part of one's strategy...
Sechs gritted his teeth and began to focus. Light. He needed light! The Replica projected the mental image of a luminous beam filling up his blind vision as hard as he could. At first all he could see was the darkness beneath his eyelids. The drug's cursing and taunting sharpened and crackled like chaotic voltage. No doubt the poison was planning to disable and even kill Sechs again! He could hear the tendrils slithering closer! Dammit! It wasn't working! He had to think harder!
Heart racing and muscles clenched with panic, Sechs fought to keep his twitching eyelids closed. Fight, Sechs! FIGHT! He tried to think of the light of Kibitoshin's ki energy, even adding an imaginary picture of a kinder, gentler sun rising over the Scrapyard. He combined those two elements into his mental projection, willing their life-giving attributes to fill up every nook and cranny of his consciousness.
Still, his efforts seemed to make no difference. The cold touch of the drug's tendrils could be felt slithering up his legs and arms while the terrible voice grew more deafening within his skull. No! NO! If the drug disabled him again...
He could die right there. Alone and vulnerable to whatever monstrosities may be lurking on the second floor. He would never be able to find Alita, or any means of escape. He would fail, just like what the drug was always telling him...
Then something changed. The stolen voice that the drug used suddenly faltered. The icy coils that were molesting his limbs began to loosen their grips. Without thinking, Sechs clamped his free hand upon the back of his neck, willing the heat of his blood to pump into his palm and carry warmth into the chilled skin of his back. Another flash of inspiration came and Sechs began to imagine light coming out of his hand and into his neck, like plasma burning out from his fingertips. He was pushing the Dark side of the Moon out of his mind! Herding the drug's negative influence away from the surface of his consciousness and back into the crevices of his spine! Light! Light! Get out of my head! LIGHT! GET OUT NOW! LIGHT!!
Suddenly, Sechs jerked back into the present with a gasp. For a second he was bewildered to find himself on the floor upon his knees. He took in another deep breath, feeling as though he had just returned from a deep meditation. Sechs quickly glanced around himself. The mental darkness had faded and the negative voice was forced into a distant corner of his mind. Sechs could still feel the disgusting liquid inside, but he didn't care -- he had finally been able to fight it off!
"Like I said before!" Sechs shouted into the darkness, not caring if the doctor who injected the poison into his back in the first place could hear him or not, "You'll NEVER break me!"
Returning his axe upon his shoulder guard, Sechs staggered to his feet and entered the next corridor.
[To here.]
With the door shut behind, Sechs took in a few cautious glances around his darkened surroundings. The corridor of the second floor was eerily quiet and unnervingly empty; he must have been one of the first prisoners to arrive here so far. For the first time that night Sechs noticed just how hard his heart was pounding inside his chest. He didn't think it could have been because of the stairs, he didn't have as much trouble climbing them like last time. No, it must have been his body reacting to the memories of this place. He took a moment to allow his burdened body to relax a little as he scanned the hall with his flashlight. Nothing out of the ordinary so far... except for that nightmarish patch of darkness to his left...
A deep, black fog was pouring out from the farthest hallway, the same place Sechs discovered to be where those horrific experiments took place, including the one he himself was forced through. It was also the same area where the drug nearly tricked Sechs into killing Fai and Kibitoshin. The doppelganger that only Sechs could see was standing by the entrance of that cursed corridor. It just stood there, its sharp teeth gleaming through a beastly grimace that glowed off the creature's black face. A negative copy of Sechs' former cyborg body, the illusion emitted a snarl that sounded like Sechs' own in the midst of battle. The tendrils surrounding the shadowy form surged forward towards Sechs, their intentions clear in their greedy blot-like limbs.
This was it. Sechs wasn't letting that doctor's experiment get the better of him again!
Trembling from the increasing cold in his body, Sechs lowered the axe off his shoulder guard and gingerly laid it blade first to the floor, allowing the weapon to lean on his leg. He turned to face his doppelganger and the charging vines. With one hand free, Sechs took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. It was time to put his plan to the test.
To stand by himself on the second floor in such a vulnerable position threw his instincts into a frenzied state of high alert! Leaving yourself open to attack was the worst thing a warrior could do in a dangerous situation -- unless it was part of one's strategy...
Sechs gritted his teeth and began to focus. Light. He needed light! The Replica projected the mental image of a luminous beam filling up his blind vision as hard as he could. At first all he could see was the darkness beneath his eyelids. The drug's cursing and taunting sharpened and crackled like chaotic voltage. No doubt the poison was planning to disable and even kill Sechs again! He could hear the tendrils slithering closer! Dammit! It wasn't working! He had to think harder!
Heart racing and muscles clenched with panic, Sechs fought to keep his twitching eyelids closed. Fight, Sechs! FIGHT! He tried to think of the light of Kibitoshin's ki energy, even adding an imaginary picture of a kinder, gentler sun rising over the Scrapyard. He combined those two elements into his mental projection, willing their life-giving attributes to fill up every nook and cranny of his consciousness.
Still, his efforts seemed to make no difference. The cold touch of the drug's tendrils could be felt slithering up his legs and arms while the terrible voice grew more deafening within his skull. No! NO! If the drug disabled him again...
He could die right there. Alone and vulnerable to whatever monstrosities may be lurking on the second floor. He would never be able to find Alita, or any means of escape. He would fail, just like what the drug was always telling him...
Then something changed. The stolen voice that the drug used suddenly faltered. The icy coils that were molesting his limbs began to loosen their grips. Without thinking, Sechs clamped his free hand upon the back of his neck, willing the heat of his blood to pump into his palm and carry warmth into the chilled skin of his back. Another flash of inspiration came and Sechs began to imagine light coming out of his hand and into his neck, like plasma burning out from his fingertips. He was pushing the Dark side of the Moon out of his mind! Herding the drug's negative influence away from the surface of his consciousness and back into the crevices of his spine! Light! Light! Get out of my head! LIGHT! GET OUT NOW! LIGHT!!
Suddenly, Sechs jerked back into the present with a gasp. For a second he was bewildered to find himself on the floor upon his knees. He took in another deep breath, feeling as though he had just returned from a deep meditation. Sechs quickly glanced around himself. The mental darkness had faded and the negative voice was forced into a distant corner of his mind. Sechs could still feel the disgusting liquid inside, but he didn't care -- he had finally been able to fight it off!
"Like I said before!" Sechs shouted into the darkness, not caring if the doctor who injected the poison into his back in the first place could hear him or not, "You'll NEVER break me!"
Returning his axe upon his shoulder guard, Sechs staggered to his feet and entered the next corridor.
[To here.]