Cats and Rats

Chapter Two: Pact of Salvation

It was odd, knowing the passage of time.

Really, it had been so long without any real way to tell time, that the place had become almost timeless. The only thing that had kept Rattmann knowing that time existed was his growing hair and beard. Now? He has some timer counting down on his sunken palm. It had been almost fifteen minutes since the mark appeared, and now he'd been running with some boy who he had made his partner.

This was too convoluted to be a schizophrenic figment of his mind. This all had to be very, very real. Neku looked to the ragged man. "Something up?" The boy asks.

Doug shook his head. "N-… no. I'm fine. Just… let's keep going." He says raspily, as they continued their brisk walk.

The young Player gave a shrug. "If you say so. But if there's something I can… uh, do. Well, I'm your partner for the week. Let me know. We gotta' trust each other."

The rat man gives a blank stare. He stared off into the corridors after that, and pondered on what Neku said. Sure, he was able to function when it came to surviving, but those were instincts. Any animal can follow those, but now some kid with surreal characteristics and fantastical powers had told him that he has to trust him, and vice versa.

The fact he could muster anything besides his mutters and ranting was something that had crept on him. He hadn't been able to express such for a while, and now he'd just held up something of a conversation. Not much of one, but one it was.

The boy stared up at the tall man with a quirked brow. He'd been quiet for a while; the only sounds made were shallow breaths and footsteps. Neku had been running a thumb over the pins on his body, looking around cautiously.

They reached the next room, just an empty space filled with white tiles. The only way out was a small exit on the other side of the room. Doug squinted his slightly mismatched eyes, and saw a man in a red hooded jacket. Neku seems to have seen it, as well, but he didn't seem to react much.

The younger player crossed his arms. "That's a reaper. Looks like we'll have to do something to get rid of the wall."

The rat man tilts his head. "Wall?" He rasped.

Neku nodded. "You'll see." He said, as they both headed towards the exit. The 'reaper' looked to the both of them and gave a nod.

"Want past this wall? Get rid of the noise in this room." He gave no further input, not even a gesture to indicate where any of it could be.

This perplexed Doug. Noise? The room seemed to only be occupied by the other two and himself. He looked to Neku, and gave an inquisitive brow lift.

The orange haired boy took out another pin. It was black, like the one he found in his pocket. He looked to Doug and held it up. "This is the Player Pin. It lets the others know we're in the Game. It also scans, and protects us from scanning. It does other things, but I'll explain it later." He grasped the pin into his fist, taking a deep breath. "But right now, we'll focus on scanning. We can do it to find Noise in the area, along with the thoughts of other people without these pins. Just… focus your senses and focus on the pin, and then everything around you." He gave an awkward expression, his tone of voice not the most sure. It seemed it was hard to explain.

But the rat man tried as he was instructed, anyway. He took in a deep breath, focused on the pin, shortly after his concentration spread to everything around him. His eyes closed, but he could still somehow see thing s around him. He could tell where these… Noise are. He heard Neku, the boy seeing a change in the gangly man's face. "Alright. Focus on pulling those in. They'll manifest, and we'll be able to erase them. Well, when you're ready."

The scientist pulled together what courage he had, and pulled the noise to him. He opened his eyes, and found him and his partner surrounded by several more animal-like creatures. A tall, wolf-like creature stood on two legs with a snarl, along with a blue frog with tadpole creatures around it.

Neku clenched his fist, before he lashed his hand out once more. Fire began to gather and then enveloping the wolf-creature. But before Rattmann could see whether or not it finished the job, he found himself beset by the frog. He flung his hand out in front of him in an instinctive defensive motion. He focused on another pin, and found himself shooting bullets of light at the frog.

The beast flinched slightly as the energy connected over and over again, but by the time the pin needed to reboot, it still found the strength to begin its charge at the scientist once more. He quickly focuses on another, a bolt of lightning crashing on its head, but now it seems to be reeling from Neku suddenly rushing it and swiping at it with a glowing hand. It stalled for even longer, this time. Neku kept up another barrage while saying, "If we attack as a team, we lock the noise up. Don't hesitate!"

The Aperture employee blinks, before responding with a nod and concentrating on his pin once more. He readies several lightning strikes, striking by the time Neku had begun his next assault. The frog had soon vanished in a flash of static, the orange haired boy facing where he had before. Rattmann turned to find the wolf-creature, at that point just then breaking out of some icy prison, roaring and looking to Neku.

The wolf charged at Neku, as the boy gritted his teeth and unleashed a salvo of light bullets, the ragged man closing his fist and focusing on his fire pin. He held out his hand and focused the flames onto the wolf-like creature, soon becoming enveloped in red flames once more. The noise stalled for longer with each alternating hit dealt to it, still able to hobble to Neku during the assault.

It raised a claw and began to let it crash down towards the boy. The rat man widened his eyes and clenched his hand again. In the heat of the moment, the wolf had lost the wreath of flames and had become tombed in ice. The orange haired boy looked to the gangly man with a nod, and leapt back. "Alright… just use the bullets once more. That's all we'll need."

Doug held his palm out again, and began to unleash a round of high energy force rounds, the younger player mimicking the action. The forces of light collide with the wolf, alternating between Doug and Neku's bullets. Soon, the beast faded in another burst of static, the battle finally over. The man in red gave a nod, and stepped aside. "Objective met, wall cleared."

Neku started to walk towards the exit, as the rat man followed, the scientist giving the reaper a polite nod. The man in red gives a snort, as he faded from Doug's peripheral vision. He heard something about a '…weird relocation'.

The orange haired player kept his stride, looking to the Aperture employee from time to time. He gave a weak smile from under his absurd collar, and started to speak. "You know. I haven't really met a player who uses psychs like I do. Other people focused on one type of thing, but you use the pins like I do. Diversity. It's kinda' cool to find people who fight like I do."

Doug gave a quirked brow, mismatched sized eyes focused on the boy. "…I've never fought. I've never given a thought towards it." He rasps, as he pondered the fact that this is a teenager who'd seem to not really mind this prospect. The fact that he could easily confront what he does is almost disheartening. He's trapped in some game, in his Hell, doing things the scientist could barely manage with ease.

Neku broke the silence brought upon the tall man's train of thought. "Well. It's something I had to adapt to, or be erased. I don't know if it's a comforting fact to say that you'll get used to it, but… you will. Or you become erased." He gave a slight nod, scratching the back of his head. "But that's one reason we have a partner."

The two eventually found an opening past this hallway, a door that lead somewhere else. Neku took the doorknob and pulled the door open, finding a complex room filled with platforms, a large blue beam, and a pit full of sickly dark green sludge.

And then it occurred to Doug. This is a test chamber.

The circular door at one end of the chamber opens. Out came a woman with tan skin, tank top, and orange pants. In her hands was a Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device. Doug's eyes widen.

It was her. His Angel.

No. No, anything but this. Doug couldn't face her, not after everything he's done. He was fine staying far away. Surviving, helping from afar, leaving his mark. Seeing her face, though, he didn't want this. He couldn't bear to see the face, the endeavor, the pain that he put her through.

Neku had been staring at Chell, who'd been dissecting the test chamber with her eyes. He then looked up at Rattman with a quirk brow, as the scientist marinated in his own sudden guilt. Rattmann pulled at his mangy hair, his breaths had become faster and seething through gritted teeth. The ragged man collapses to his knees, head resting against the wall beside him.

Neku gave a headtilt, walking over to the man huddled up on the wall. "…Doug?" The young player asked tentatively. He looked to his palm, though, and saw that the mission timer faded. He let out a sigh of relief, but looked to the ragged man once more. He reached out to touch the rat man's shoulder, what little time the hand spent on the gaunt frame let him gather that he was quaking, afterwards the broken man pulling himself away. The young player briefly looked out once more and saw the woman starting to place portals, as if she didn't see the two at all.

But Neku did hear something else. He heard the whimpers of the Rattmann, barely coherent ramblings hidden under choked sobs and gasps. "It's m-… my fault, my actions. I cast the angel to Hell to save myself…"

The orange haired boy gave a blink, before he let out a sigh. He sat down next to the gaunt man. He placed a hand on his arm, taking a deep breath. "You don't have to put all of this guilt on yourself. If you want to make whatever you did up to her, you can help her. I'm… not sure how, but if the game master is telling us to go to her, then we have a chance."

The Rat man could only shudder, and mutter to himself. "Avarice, repining o'er his pelf… Mean Cunning, lover of himself…" He shook visibly in his curled position, rasps of muttering unintelligible pouring from his lips.

Suddenly, a chirp is heard, Neku taking out his phone and opening it up. 'Salvation'. A meme, without anyone else saying it before hand? The mission is over, but he's receiving one anyway, and a specific one at that. Someone's helping him.

But Neku could see the player pin in the scientist's pockets. He gently snaked his hand inward, and took out the pin. The Aperture employee didn't seem to notice, or care, thankfully. Neky focused on his own pin, and looked to Rattmann. He scanned Doug's mind, a cornucopia of doubts, ramblings, and regrets. He then decided to imprint the word 'Salvation' into the scientist's mind, slipping the pin in the jacket right after.

Doug blinked, as if he had been hit with an idea. "…Salvation. I can be her salvation. If I am the jailor, I… I'll set her free, as well, and I will win this game. I just want to tell her that I'm sorry. This is my fault that she's a part of this Hell. So I'm going to drag her out."

Neku gave a smile, and pushed himself up. "That's the spirit. We have six days left, now. It'll only get harder, but it'll be worth it if you want it to be." He held out a hand to the gaunt man.

"Thank you, Neku. You…" He gave a raspy cough, as he took the boys hand to pull himself back to his feet. "…You are wise beyond your years." He rubbed at his face, eyes starting to dry after his sobbing.

Neku blinks. "Mind if we go grab a place for sleep? I mean… it won't matter if we keep up. The next day, we wake up where the game master decides to wake us up at."

The rat man gives a short tilt of his head. "Of… course. I have a few places." He looks out, as Chell had finally solved the puzzle. She walked into the exit door to head towards the next chamber. "We'll have to get down there, though."

The player gives a shrug. "I… think I can manage that. The telekinesis pins we have might be able to do the job." He took it out, and… actually leaped. He closes his eyes, as he started to float. He did this briefly, until he reached the exit door himself. He looks down onto the ground, and to the exit with a mild shocked look. "…I honestly just winged that."

The gangly scientist gave a haggard sigh, before backing up to get a running start, and charging out of the door. He activated his pin with his will, and started to shakily float towards the exit. At the last few feet, his mind gave out and his psych faded. Neku widened his eyes and held out a hand, the Aperture employee stopping where he was, as Neku pulled his hand closer to himself. The gaunt man followed closely, landing on his stomach safely onto the platform.

Doug Rattmann gave a few gasps, before pushing himself back upward. "That… was a bit of a risk." He said, as he shook his head. "Thank you once more, Neku. You're… a reliable partner." He gave a weak smile from under his ragged beard.

The orange haired player blinked, but nodded. "Thanks, Doug. You're not too bad, yourself. Lead the way."

Doug gives a nod, and starts walking. The automatic door opened, the two passed through to the next chamber. It seemed Chell had solved it, already, with no way for the two to get to the ledge on top, other than portals or an absurb amount of telekinesis. A momentum challenge, it seemed. But the rat man found an opening in one of the panels. He crawled through, and motioned for Neku to join him with an arm. The boy crawled through as well, the both of them finding a den that the scientist had already occupied.

The orange haired player looked around, mouth agape at what he saw. He looked and saw the various scrawlings. Some of a cube with pink markings, some of a woman not unlike the person at the last chamber made appearances. Though, with the picture, there were disturbing scrawlings of desperate words. 'Stop watching me', 'Help'….

Neku looked to Doug, and gave a tilt of the head. "Is… this what you did?"

Rattmann gave a nod. "Yes. I… did these. They focused my mind. Kept me from going… well. More insane." He tugged at his overgrown beard, sitting against the wall.

The other player walked around the room, a hand pressed at the various drawings. "These… are really cool. They're kind of creepy, at some points. But they look really… like you poured yourself into what you drew." He looked back and gave a grin. "You'd do some pretty cool things outside of this place."

The scientist gave a small shrug. "…To be honest. I never thought about my life outside of this… place. This is all I know."

Neku blinked. "Well… I'm sure we could find a way to make use of this. Where I'm from, creativity will get you far. Maybe we can get you there when we get out."

The rat man shook his head. "If…" He rasped.

The oranged hair shook his head. "When. We're going to win ,and we'll get you out."

Doug snorts. "I'm not leaving without her."

Neku blinked, and walked over to the ragged scientist. He sat down next to him, leaning against the wall. "We'll find a way. Six days. We'll do this."

"There's a reason for this game. We'll get through this as a team."