"I think we need a key for the gate," Danny tells her. "I'm fairly sure it's in the examination room I was in. I was in the process of looking for it when I heard some steps- your arrival."

The two hadn't made it far at all. Of course, a large gate blocked them from passing through the hall to continue on to the exit. The doctor, however, had already anticipated this.

Ray follows him into the room, mulling over the chances of his presence in her head. Surely it can't be just a coincidence that he would be here, right? For her, and her therapist, to end up in this same hellish situation… who could be responsible for this?

Not to mention she doesn't like the idea of the killer from the floor below somehow finding his way up here. The elevator had seemed to stop functioning once she had reached B5, but could he reactivate it?

She doesn't want to find out.

"Go ahead, look around- it has to be here somewhere," Danny instructs her, moving off to scour some shelves. Left to her own devices, she eyes the room, hesitantly beginning to scan it for signs of the key.

It seems no different than any ordinary hospital room. An untouched cot sits in the far right corner, hidden away by a divider. Regular medical equipment as well as some medication sits collecting dust in a glass case nearby, and when she moves to inspect it, the doctor stops her.

"This equipment is old," he informs her, frowning a little. "It's a good idea to keep your hands off it. You don't want your eyes to get hurt, right?"

She nods, a little perturbed by the strange comment, but takes his word for it. She'd be no help to anyone if she got hurt.

His comment about eyes, however, makes something about the room painfully obvious. While she looks high and low for the key, more and more similarities to the equipment and procedures start connecting.

All of this equipment and research, it seems to be for… eye surgeries? All of it has something to do with eyes…

It's a little creepy, to be frank, but she attempts to pay it no mind. She digs around near a small metal desk with another computer on it, and something shining on the seat catches her attention. The key.

"Nice job, Rachel. I'm pretty sure I was sitting there." Without warning, the doctor comes up behind her, nearly causing her to jump. She turns around to look at him, and he reaches out to take the key, placing it into his pocket.

"You didn't try to escape?" She blinks, the question slipping out before she can stop it. His brows knit together, but he offers a smile.

"Well, I was worried about you… Besides, you've got a good head on your shoulders. I knew you'd make it this far. Come on, let's get that gate open, shall we?"

Danny's already pulling her along before she can say much at all. Still, the way he spoke sounded so… odd. Like he had been expecting her to arrive. But that's not possible, right?

He woke up recently he said, and- wait… Didn't he say he had the key in his pocket before it had been lost? A lot of confusing questions light up in her mind, but she swipes them away, trying to make the most out of such a negative situation. At least he's someone she's familiar with, and can trust. That's what matters. Doubting him like this isn't going to do anything but make her more paranoid than before.

Now in front of the gate, the therapist dips the key into the lock and gives it a turn, easily opening it. He smiles at her, replacing the key into his coat and extending a hand her way.

"Maybe the exit is further toward the back? Let's proceed... With caution," he tacks on.

"R-right." She nods, and lightly takes his hand in hers. His large hand encompasses hers easily, in a grip a little too tight, but his friendly gaze stops her from protesting.

They walk in silence down the hall. They pass by doors in the fluorescent light, but he makes no motion to stop and check them. They make it halfway down the hall before he comes to a stop in front of another corridor. She doesn't understand why until she takes in the bigger picture- a giant, thick glass panel covering the entire open entry leading to the other half of the walkway. Danny chuckles low to himself, in a mirthless way that feels a tad hollow.

"We're glassed in. As fate would have it... you and I are trapped," he confesses.

Don't say that, she pleads internally. Please don't say that. I don't want to be down here forever.

They move toward the side corridor, but it proves just as fruitless; another metal gate keeps them from moving forward. The doctor lets out a little sigh and shrugs his shoulders a bit, glancing down at her once more.

"...This way seems to be locked, too. Perhaps we should… look elsewhere, for now?" His brown eyes peer into hers, prying a bit more than she likes as he speaks.

At her clear discomfort, he squeezes her hand a little more, trying to be reassuring. "We'll be fine. If we stay together and take our time, maybe it'll lead to something good? Something good for the both of us!" he beams.

Good? Ray's skepticism flourishes in her thoughts, instantly disbelieving the very idea. How could something good come of anything in this place? And something good for both of us? What would possibly make this experience any less frightening?

"Come now," he tugs her hand slightly, toward the nearest closed door. "Let's check the other rooms for the key. It was my mistake for passing them by in my haste, but- oh, I was in such a hurry for your sake."

"Alright…" Her agreement sounds completely fine to his ears, but she knows she's starting to become even more disturbed with every moment she spends down in this place. But wouldn't he know what's best? He was her therapist, after all. Doctor Danny must be confident they can escape to be so calm right now. That's what she chooses to believe, anyhow.

Walking into the first room, Ray comes face-to-face with a large coiled wire wall. It stretches from one end of the room almost to the other, leaving just enough of a space to leave a door-sized entrance. Otherwise, the room itself is rather barren. A bed sits in the middle of it, and it's surrounded by thick steel rails - like it was to keep someone contained within.

"This must be a private room," Danny comments, seeming uninterested.

"For patients?" she asks.

He pauses.

"...Yeah. A special one," he murmurs after a moment.

He offers nothing further, so she drops the subject. Together they explore the room, but there's little to note. An emergency button sits in the corner, but it seems to have been pushed in too hard- it's broken and unusable. Blinking camera sit in the corners, a familiar sight after all this time. Still, it sends a little chill down her spine.

The only thing of interest in the entire room happens to be writing dug into the wall, reminiscent of some of the graffiti she'd seen torn by someone on B6.

'Do you know what your heart wishes for?'

The opening line draws her closer, and she scans the passage, eyes narrowing in thought.

'...Is it desire? If that is your impulse, then there's no point to resist. For being here, you possess no such essence. However, every wish has its price.'

'—Just don't break the rules.'

Ray tilts her head. "Rules…?"

The doctor taps a finger against his chin, thinking hard. "There must be rules for this place," he ponders. "For instance- that guy chasing you hasn't followed you all the way here, right? There's gotta be some set of rules this place follows."

His deduction comforts her a little, but still feels hollow. Still, what he says matches up with what she already knows, from reading another note down below. Does this mean that scythe-wielding demon won't come for her after all?

If only I could be so lucky, she frowns.

Pointing out another sentence of the message, she glances at him. "...'What do we wish for?' What does that mean?"

Danny's face grows a little colder, and something changes behind his eyes that sends a little sliver of ice through her bloodstream.

"Well, different strokes for different folks, I guess," he jokes, though the effect of it is lost by her discomfort. "For me, that would be… A set of beautiful peepers."

His gaze burns a hole through hers. However, before she can begin to ask the question that jumps to the tip of her tongue, he's already answering it, like he can read her thoughts.

"I got a bad eye, you see," he explains, pointing toward his right eye- the one that felt so off to her before. Now it makes sense why it was giving her such an unnatural feeling. "Don't care for its color either. But, Rachel…"

His smile grows a little wider, and for just a moment, she feels that predatory instinct she had encountered when she ran into that crazed killer on B6 as he talks.

"...If I had peepers like yours, that would be oh-so lovely."

Eyes… like mine?

Ray has never felt her eyes were anything other than ordinary. She recalls her reflection in that mirror on the very first floor she'd been on, the way her blue eyes had stared back at her. They're a light cornflower blue, nothing especially remarkable. What would he want with eyes like hers?

It's not easy to understand his words, but she knows it makes her even more uncomfortable than before.

"Come now- clearly the key isn't here. Let's check the other room," Danny suggests, ignorant of her confusion.

The two trek out and around to the room beside it, entering a space lined with hospital beds along the walls in clean order. Dividers separate the beds a little unevenly, some pushed aside. The dark blue tile beneath their feet is worn, seemingly having seen quite a bit of use.

The room is empty, devoid of human life, but Ray feels the hairs on the back of her neck stand up for some reason. Danny catches her uncertain look, and lightly pats her shoulder.

"This is a patients' room," he explains. "Don't be scared, Rachel. It's just a bunch of beds."

It might be just beds, but the air in here is stifling, she can't help thinking. So musty and thick with the scent of antiseptic and chemicals…

They start scouring the room, looking for the key once more. Ray wanders toward the far end where four windows peek outside. However, upon trying to see the outside world, she finds the windows are fake. The glass has nearly no depth, simply a fixture against the wall, like part of a dollhouse.

We're underground, so having windows in here doesn't make sense. These are so creepy.

One of the windows has long, jagged scratch marks embedded into the glass, like someone had dragged some kind of claw or their nails into it in desperation.

"Rachel," Danny comes near, inspecting the marks and glancing at her with a small smile. "Do you know what these markings are?"

Upon her silence, he continues. "Here's a hint- patients made these scratches. So… what is their significance?"

She doesn't know what he's trying to point out, so she answers truthfully. "...Beats me."

He stares at her a moment, then chuckles under his breath, gently patting her head. "That's okay. Markings made by patients are no consequence to you."

Her eyes narrow, but she says nothing, choosing not to question his growing oddness. The more Danny says to her, the less she understands of it all- and he seems to be enjoying how little she knows.

Starting to feel like they two of them will never find anything to help them, she moves toward one of the beds to check it for clues when she recognizes something written haphazardly onto the wall on its other side. However, she can hardly make out what it says; it's covered in dust, practically illegible.

If I can wipe away that dust, maybe I could read it?

Ray reaches out to smear away the dirt, but Danny seizes her wrist before she can touch it, his grip suddenly iron-tight. It's almost painful how hard he grips her, keeping her from moving any further.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" he says, his voice lower. Meeting his eyes, she shrinks back a little from how intense he's become. "You'll get something in your eyes!"

Realizing he's moved and frightened her, he quickly releases her hand, allowing her to withdraw it and hold it against her chest. He replaces the intensity with a stiff smile, shaking his head.

"I'm sure it's just some patient's frivolous whimper," he tries to reason. "Just a regular Joe's psychological gripe, that's all."

If she didn't know better, it would seem that the doctor's trying to hide the message from her or something. Or maybe he really is just scared for her to hurt her eyes somehow. Either way, he had shocked her into a moment of silence.

"...Can you make it out?" she asks, not wanting to try to clean it off again for fear he'd stop her once more.

"Nah. I have a bad eye, remember? It wouldn't do much good to try and read it," he states.

"But the dust-" she mumbles, tentatively lifting a hand.

"Stop right there. You don't want to get anything into your eyes." The ferocity is back again, and his stern expression easily crushes any thoughts she had of trying to read the message. Still, his own odd eyes soften a little at her disappointed look.

He reaches toward her, and his cold fingertips touch her cheek, grazing her skin like she's made of porcelain and gazing into her eyes. She can see into the dark depths of his eyes, his false orb glittering surreally in the lighting.

"...Take care of those beautiful peepers," he murmurs. "...Those beautiful, beautiful peepers of yours…"

Catching himself, he straightens up and lets his hand fall from her face. His touch left this stinging sensation across her skin, like an itch, and she barely keeps herself form vigorously rubbing the spot to remove it.

"...Oh yeah!" he says suddenly, his features lighting up. He fishes into his pocket, and to her disbelief, he withdraws a brand new key that she hasn't seen before.

"Come to think of it," he notes, "I had the key that leads to the back. Maybe we should head that direction? It really has been a pleasure being with you, though."

Ray can't help staring at him in confusion as he twirls the key in hand and wanders off already without her. He- he had the key, but didn't use it? Wait, why… why did go looking for it then? I don't… I don't understand…

Realizing she's being left behind, she grips her hand in a fist at her side, and runs after him to catch up.

.x.X.x.

Once Danny had unlocked the gate, the two of them walked down the hall and entered the only room at the end. He hardly said much to her, but at this point, she wasn't ready to start up smalltalk either.

He swings open the door, and her immediate reaction is to lean away. The wafting scent of antiseptic is extremely strong, along with a mix of other chemicals. An operating table is in the center of the room, and cabinets and counters line the walls filled with varying medical equipment and medicines.

"...An operating room?" she observes.

"Yes, Rachel," Danny affirms, moving further into the room and turning toward her with a smile.

She swallows hard, not liking the look in his eyes. That predatory gaze again… it keeps coming back. "I'm… a little scared."

His smile melts away quickly. "Scared? Why?"

Before she can answer, he perks up with some new thought, reaching out to take her hands in his and giving them both a light squeeze. His dark eyes peer into hers, like they pry into her soul. "Hey, Rachel. Your peepers, can I… admire them forever?"

Her brows knit together at the odd request, that same terror beginning to send waves of icy chills through her bloodstream, but he's already let go and wandered away again, seeming upbeat and giddy, like a child given a new toy.

"Oh, Rachel," he says, facing her once more. His expression, at first excited but upon seeing her awkward and scared face, falls considerably. "Your peepers are so beautiful… but they're stricken with fear. Reduced to such dullness… it saddens me."

He smiles again, but it's more toothy this time, raising his arms on either side of him in a sweeping gesture.

"...Show me the true beauty of your eyes. If you awakened from this nightmare, would it restore the beautiful tranquility of that blue moon in your peepers?"

He leans closer to her. Her feet are rooted to the spot now, her confusion and mounting fear keeping her in place as he again strokes her cheek. Those odd, unnatural eyes gaze deeply into her own frightened blue through the thick lenses of his glasses.

"Rachel," he whispers, his touch loving against her warm skin, brushing his thumbs just underneath her eyes. She wants to cringe away from the coolness, her skin crawling with repulsion at this point, but she's helpless to do anything but stare at him unrelentingly.

What is wrong with him? Why is he acting like this? Why… why does he obsess over my eyes like this? And why am I… so scared of him now…?

"I-I… I long to live beside those peepers," he murmurs, edging closer.

Finally, finally, she regains some of her composure and will. She tugs her face out of his grasp and takes a step back, her hands knotting into tight fists at her sides.

"...Doctor?" she says in a slightly hoarse voice.

He's quiet for a moment, hands still extended as he gazes at her, but then he smiles to himself and tucks his hands away in his pockets for now. An unreadable expression lights over his features, and he turns away from her.

"Let's take a minute to look around here," he says, as if nothing happened out of the ordinary at all. "Maybe I'll find something. I left something very important around here- I've gotta find it."

His eyes glance at her from his peripheral and he chuckles low under his breath.

"...Maybe you'll find peace of mind, too, Rachel."

With that, he wanders over to a pair of cabinets to the left, brushing his fingers along the countertop and humming to himself. She's left to stand there, uncertainty filling her chest.

...I almost wish I could run away. But there's… nowhere else to go. The only path I could try would lead back to… to B6. Where that killer is. Aren't I supposed to be safer here, with Doctor Danny?

"Now, where did I put it?" Danny mutters audibly, checking a drawer in search of something. "It was such a darn good piece of work, too."

She edges around the other side of the operating table slowly, peeking at him to see if he was noticing her movements. A doorway leading to another room in the back seems tempting for her to put a little distance between the two of them, but when she goes to walk through, he calls her name.

"...Are you going further?" he asks her, as if he'd been watching her every move even while seeming distracted. When she nods, he smirks. "...Be careful. It's dark in that hallway. If you find what I'm looking for, please bring it to me."

She tilts her head, apprehensive. Her fingers curl into the edges of her jacket. "...What are you looking for, doctor?"

He seems disappointed by her question, sighing. "Did you forget?"

He raises a hand and gestures to himself. "Look at me with those beautiful peepers, Rachel. I know you'll remember."

Remember? I can't think of anything that he might want. His request does little to assuage her concerns, and she nibbles her bottom lip. What if she brings him the wrong thing and he gets upset…?

Seeing her troubled expression, he chuckles again.

"Here's a hint. 'My eye is alexandrite'," he comments in a sweet tone.

He offers nothing more. Left to ponder an even more confusing hint than the request itself, she heads into the room to locate it.

What is this place…? The first thought that enters her mind as soon as she's stepped foot inside.

The room is lined with a few hundred jars on shelves. A counter and cabinets are at the end of the room with a small closed chest sitting in front of it, and as she takes a few more steps inside, she can see a big cylindrical container of some kind of liquid, with something floating inside it. Some varying medical equipment that seems to be for eye surgery lays strewn over the countertop.

Is what you're looking for really around here, doctor…?

She can see some labeling on the shelves nearby. An entire section dedicated to 'Blue', another dedicated to 'Green'... But for some reason, she shies away from actually examining the containers. Even from here, she can tell small, circular objects are packed into each container.

She inches closer to the counter, and notices a large filing cabinet nearby. Inspecting it, she pulls open a drawer and is greeted with many pairs of eyes staring back at her. She squeaks, taken off guard by the sight- but realizes quickly that they're all fake. She reaches in to touch one, a smooth blue orb, and it's cold as ice under her fingertips. She's surprised by how realistic and lifelike it seems, sitting in her palm.

'My eye is alexandrite,' he said? What color is alexandrite? I can't remember. Maybe if I bring him some of these, he'll find which one he's looking for? In the back of her mind, she does remember something about 'alexandrite' and it feels like a foreign color to her. Named after some kind of gemstone, perhaps?

Taking three- one of each color in the locker, red, blue, and green- she starts to turn around. She can't help noticing the odd array of specimens in the green-filled liquid tank nearby.

All of those eyes in there, are they… real? Hurrying back out from the room, her thoughts are filled with concern.

That tank was… filled with blue eyes…

Upon re-entering the room again, she finds him glancing over at her, pleased at her return.

"Do you remember what my face used to look like?" he inquires, touching a specimen bottle with deft fingers aimlessly.

She shake sher head, and he becomes a little more intense, admiring the bottle and then glancing at her. His fingertips stroke against the glassy surface.

"We used to have sessions outside your counseling," he says, and something about that feels wrong- like it threatens to return a memory she doesn't want to remember. "...Secret sessions."

She swallows. Those secret sessions… she doesn't recall them, and something in the back of her mind is telling her not to ask for more detail. "...I've no memory of seeing you anywhere outside the hospital, Doctor."

"Ahaha!" he grins and sets down the bottle more, seeing how despite her best efforts her expression twists into a grimace. "Don't look at me like that, Rachel."

Returning to the matter at hand, he glances down at what she holds in her hands. "Did you find it?"

"...Maybe." She moves a bit closer to him and offers him the green first. He raises a brow.

"Oh? This color… Did I slip into your subconscious?" he asks, smiling. "You're close, but that's not right."

Close, but not right? He didn't outright say no to the eye, so he must mean one of these. Why would he want one of them? Does he have a special eye he has as a keepsake of sorts…?

"...is it this one?" she asks, holding up the red.

Danny admires the eye for a moment, but shakes his head. "Red… I do fancy this color. Still, not quite right."

The only one left is the blue, so she slowly extends the azure orb toward him, nibbling the inside of her lip.

Immediately his own eye brightens with amusement, and he laughs softly.

"Blue? You know I adore blue eyes. ...Much like yours," he adds gently. "But I don't need a blue one. Compared to yours, this one pales in comparison. For peepers of blue, all I need is you," he says, his voice lilting and nearly sing-song as he grins.

Another chill rolls down her spine, but now she's out of eyes to give him. How could those all be wrong?

"Oh! Rachel!" He suddenly exclaims, clapping his hands together. "I was so careless, and after you put in so much work to find it for me. I completely forgot that my eye is in a place that's locked away."

His… glass eye? But isn't he using the glass eye right now?

"Annnnd…" he pats his breast pocket. "...I had the key with me all along! Here…!"

He withdraws the small key and drops it into her hands almost impatiently.

"Huh…?" she utters in disbelief.

He had the key in his grasp, pulling that same stunt a second time and playing her as a fool like this… What is he trying to do? Why is he acting like this?

I don't understand. Why have me go looking for something so valuable that you knew, all along, I couldn't locate? What are you thinking, doctor…?

"If it's alright with you, Rachel," Danny says quietly, gently curling her fingers around the key and dropping his voice. "I would like you to find my eye. Won't you do that for me…?"

She has nothing to say, simply glancing away. If she looks at him, she might betray how much trouble he's causing in her thoughts.

"Please hurry and find my eye," he urges her.

"Doctor… why won't you look for it yourself?" she can't help saying, flashing her eyes back to his.

"Well…" He taps a finger against this chin, adjusting his glasses. "I'm curious to know if you remember what my eye looks like. No need to worry, though," he smiles. "I'm sure you'll find it in no time."

He ushers her into the other room without another word, watching her leave, and she walks back to where she had found the several glass eyes, trying not to feel uncomfortable. Replacing them back in the shelf she'd gotten them from, she ponders what 'locked' place he had put his eye, glancing back at the doorway like he's going to follow her.

There's quite a lot of eyes in this cabinet, she notes, scanning it. Just as she predicts, she sees that a drawer near the top has a small keyhole.

...Here.

Twisting the key into the lock, it pops open with a resounding click in the empty silence. She softly pulls open the drawer and stands on her tiptoes, retrieving the only thing hidden inside. Wrapping her small hand around it, she pulls it out- and nearly drops it in shock.

It's another glass eye, surely- but it's much less realistic and surreal as the last. No... it's completely unnatural, almost monstrous.

Inside the small orb, she can see two eyes crushed together within, tightly fit into the little space. One green eye, and one red, the two irises nearly pressed together. The pupils seem to stare directly at her, and she has to fight off the urge to just drop the eye and run away from it. It repulses her, and while it has no wetness, it's cold to the touch and makes slight sloshing noises when she moves it too much.

T-this— is this truly the eye he wanted…?

"Rachel…"

She turns around to see the doctor himself walk into the room, gaze trained on her calmly. That same strange, fluid smile stays fixed upon his kindly features.

"Doctor…" she mumbles, meeting his gaze, her hand frozen around the eye. His own eyes slide down to her clasped grip around the object, and understanding lights over his face.

"Ohh," he says, walking over to her slowly. "You found it. That's what I was looking for."

She swallows. "Is this… is this glass eye yours…?"

Ray is almost too afraid to ask that question, not truly wanting the answer, but it slipped before she could stop herself. He simply nods.

"It sure is," he replies, gesturing with a hand. "Does it not make you feel anything? Or… remember anything?"

The question feels double-edged, cutting into some hidden away part of her memories, but even with his prying nothing surfaces. She shakes her head, and Danny's face falls. A sour expression settles over him, and he frowns deeply, disappointed.

"...You must be dreaming still," he remarks quietly.

He takes some steps over to her, and reaches out a hand, beckoning her.

"Do you mind if I borrow that?" he asks, lightly laughing under his breath. "I'm just… not myself if it's not in. I must have it in for the both of us, you see."

There's something underlying in his tone, and she's hesitant to hand the object over to him even though it repulses her so.

"Rachel.." he presses her.

"...Yes," she relents. With reluctance she places the nightmare-fueling eye into his awaiting palm, and he's quick to hide it in his grasp. His smile returns, wider than before, like she's given him a great gift.

"Thank you… Rachel," he says softly. "I'm going to put this in now. Could you… go wait for me in the room outside for a bit?"

Ray quickly nods her head, not wanting to witness such a sight. However, as she's walking away, she hears him mutter something else, something that feels lowly threatening.

"You mustn't run, now."

Hastening her steps, she nearly jogs into the other room and comes to a stop beside the operating table. With a hand balancing herself against it, she bites her bottom lip anxiously.

That's funny. He's… really acting strangely. Her thoughts race, and she can feel every muscle in her body tense up. I'm… really scared. Is it safe for me to wait here for him?

...No. No, it's not. I need to get out of here. I have to get away. He told me not to run, but I don't trust him. I need to escape now.

With that alarming warning in her mind, and that look in his eyes burned into her mental retina, she hurries over to the door. She gives the handle a jiggle, and then a push. It barely budges under her weight.

...It's locked! Doctor, did… did you do this-?

He must've known she'd try something. Her worries now increasing, she looks around the room, trying to find anything to help her.

I've got to get away from him. Something is incredibly wrong. I need to find something to open the door. She's painfully reminded that he most likely has the only key, leaving her simplest option crossed out.

Maybe she could smash the door lock? Or-

A fuzzy mental image appears in her mind. Earlier, when she'd been talking with the doctor by those sets of cabinets, hadn't there been something there she could use? What was it… a crowbar?

Rushing over to check, she finds the object nestled behind some of the medical apparatus, pulling it out. The metal is cool to the touch, but it's solid.

This ought to take care of that door, she musters her determination.

Bringing the crowbar up in front of her with both hands, she wedges the tool into the crevice between the doorjamb and the frame. Using every bit of her strength, she shoves it back, hearing the wood begin to splinter with her efforts.

It's rigid, but if I put just enough force into it-!

The sounds of her prying apart the door fill the room. She's being louder than she intends, but her mind is focused on the task at hand. Her small arms burn with her strongest attempts, and her shoulders are clenched tight with exertion.

Just… a bit… more…!

With a creaking groan, the door finally parts from the lock, cracking open and freeing her. She can't help the tiny smile of triumph on her face at her small victory.

"...Rachel. Where are you going…?"

The most intense sensation of goosebumps travels down her arms and raises the hairs on the back of her neck. Like prey trapped by her predator, she whips around and finds herself face-to-face with Danny. The sight of him causes her throat to close with fear, words unable to form past the sudden restriction.

His… His eye…

That mutation-like glass eye has replaced the dull brown he had once before. The emerald and ruby irises stare at her, like monsters of their own, as he looms over her. Like this, he appears a madman- nothing akin to the doctor she thought she recognized.

This man… he is truly a psychopath.

"I-I… Umm…" Excuses try to fall from her lips, but they're hopeless in the face of such insanity.

He seems extremely disheartened by her, tsking under his breath.

"Didn't I tell you running was a bad idea?" he clicks his tongue at her, a twisted smile starting to appear over his thin lips.

"...This is my floor."

H-His floor… then that means… he must be one of them…!

A… killer…

"...Do-Doctor," she feebly murmurs, meek and frightened.

"If you run off to another floor, then I can't treat you?" he demands, his tone beginning to become angrier. "—Now can I?!"

"No… no, Doctor-!" Ray tries to take a step back, but he reaches for her, gripping her wrists. She struggles, but his own grasp is vise-like around her small hands.

He stares down at her, his eyes clouding with something that seems all too familiar- that she had faced head-on on B6. Bloodthirst and madness, colliding.

"My wish was just to gaze into your living peepers…" he utters slowly, his fingers tightening even more and eliciting a small squeak of pain from her. "But no…! This won't do! Your living peepers are exactly what the doctor ordered."

He leans in, closer to her, practically nose-to-nose. Her mouth feels like cotton, dry and thick.

"That's why… I've got to ask you, Rachel," Danny whispers. "Can I have your peepers?"

He yanks her forward, nearly pulling her right off her feet in his powerful movement, and she squeals. He's relentless as he forcefully drags her over to the operating table. She puts up a fight, wriggling as much as she can to try and free herself, but no avail. He's much bigger than she is, and easily overtakes her.

"No! Let go of me!" she cries out to deaf ears. He's completely intent on his task, pinning her to the operating table and securing her hands and feet with the thick, tightly holding metal clamps.

"No… never… never!" he maniacally laughs, closing the last binding over her waist and standing back to admire her sprawled over the table.

The surface is hard and cold underneath her, and she futilely tries to slip her hands out from the restraints. All she manages to do is chafe her wrists. The sense of hopelessness and fear that coalesces over her like a tidal wave, along with her weak, prone state in front of him like a specimen to be examined, drowns her in its intensity.

"Doctor!" she pleads, hoping to find some small speck of humanity within the crazed therapist. However, all she is rewarded with is his admiring smile. He leans over her, glancing along her tiny figure with prodding eyes.

"...Ohh, Rachel..." he coos, drawn again to her wide blue eyes. "...Your face…"

"Stop it! Let me go!" she shakes her head and yanks at the restraints again, facing away from him so she doesn't have to stare into that repulsing orb once more.

His cold hand takes hold of her face and forces her to look back at him despite her effort, and she finds that sickening sight too close to her.

"...The exuberance I once loved is no longer in your peepers… It saddens me so, Rachel," he frowns, thumbing along her chin gently.

"...Can't you remember? Why it is you're here? Why this is happening to you?"

She presses her lips into a thin line, squeezing her eyes shut and trying to jerk his hand off of her. He sighs, then mumbles low under his breath.

"If you could, you would redeem yourself."

...Redeem myself?

He must be crazy. Why is he doing this? What does he mean? What does he want from me? I don't want this, I don't want to be part of this, please let me go-!

"Let your peepers regain their luster, and come live with me, Rachel," Danny softly tells her.

Live with him? Never! I don't care what he wants, I just want to get out of here!

Her answer is to continue struggling with her harsh restraints, and his once-friendly face contorts into a grimace.

"...No?" he says, upset. He tsks again, and wanders to the foot of the bed. Fearing what he might do, she forces herself to speak.

"Please, Doctor! Please, let me out of here!" Her voice breaks at the end, and his unhappy expression only deepens.

"Rachel. Still… your peepers are more breathaking than any other person's- by far," he remarks proudly. His complete disregard for her fear and pleading tips her over the brink of what composure she had.

She screams, desperate now in her frantic wish for escape. "Let me go! I want to see my mom and dad!"

Finally, her words create a response in him- but it's not what she hopes for. Instead of compassion or reason, she sees only an odd sense of amusement.

"There there," he reassures her, to her confusion. "You'll see your mom and dad in good time. They're waiting for you…"

A harsh laugh rips from his throat.

"...in hell!"

In-

In hell?

What does that mean?

No-

Something chimes in the back of her mind, and his words release some kind of floodgate of locked memory. A harsh, red mist, and moonlight. A hollow moon that brought destruction.

Ray feels something in her mind splinter and break, and no longer does she feel fear.

"Okay, Rachel," Danny says, unknowing of the sudden change in his favorite child and toying with a nearby set of medical tools. "Give me your peepers..."

Her mind is buzzing, relentless with images and sensory reminders. The tangy scent of blood, the sight of red. The dripping sound of something liquid puddling onto wood.

A part of Ray seems to close off then, and she feels her struggles cease against her restraints. She lies limp against the table, her eyes downcast to the floor.

"...Rachel?" Now beginning to notice something is different, Danny drops his equipment and rounds to gaze at her.

I… understand now. I remember.

I…

Taking a moment to stare at her, something akin to the dawn breaking over the doctor's face lights up his full expression. Giddy and full of glee, he touches her face, his smile brilliant and happy.

"Rachel!" he exclaims in wonder. "Oh my! Your peepers are so beautiful! It never ceases to amaze me!"

Backing away, he claps his hands together and reaches over to undo the restraints. "Here! I'll release you right now!"

Once her arms and legs are freed, she is allowed to move once more- but she doesn't try to run. She simply stays quiet while the doctor basks in his cheer.

"Alright! Let's go, Rachel!" he says, throwing out his hands. "Oh, I'm as happy as a lark!

...happy…?

Before either one of them do anything more, a heavy thudding sound draws their attention. The door of the operating room flies open, kicked in by a familiar figure. She can partially see him over the doctor's shoulder, but that's all it takes to recognize the bloodstained hoodie and the gleam of the scythe.

"...You?!" Danny chokes in shock.

That crazed, overly excited laugh fills the room, and the therapist has no room to move or run before the killer from B6 jumps forward and slashes him with inhuman speed. The sharp scythe cuts down and rips into the doctor, blood spewing forth from the open cut and dripping onto the floor. With a squeaky groan of pain, the doctor collapses, the crimson liquid puddling underneath him.

She doesn't know what to say or do, but somehow, the sight doesn't faze her at all. Ray gazes at his lifeless body and the strange way the blood seeps into the cracks in the tile, while the murderer giggles with pleasure.

"Hey, Danny," the hooded figure pokes Danny's motionless head with the point of his weapon, grinning ear to ear. "What're you so happy about? I couldn't take that anymore, so I slashed you!"

He then turns to her, and she meets his gaze. From this close, she can see straight into his bi-colored eyes.

Brown, and gold… how strange.

"Hey, little missy!" he says in greeting, beginning to move over to her. His scythe is perched against his shoulder, and his mouth quirks into a cocky smirk.

"Goin' after you got me in a hell of a mess," he comments, tilting his head. He fills his next words with his bloodlust, gripping his scythe handle tightly in both hands. "Do you wanna live? Then run! Run and squirm! Cling to your hope!"

He raises the weapon and touches the cold edge of the blade against her neck, taunting her. "Time to get slashed!"

Ray does nothing. She simply closes her eyes, stays completely still so he won't miss, and waits for the cutting blow.

I wonder if dying would hurt much.

The hooded murderer stays in place for a moment. As time ticks by with no signs of a response from the girl, his amusement fades quickly.

"...? Shit," he says, a low growl rumbling in his chest with outrage. He lowers the weapon, now frowning openly at her. "Yawn- what a dull reaction."

Ray's gaze flickers to him once more. He takes a step back and stuffs a hand in his pocket.

"Even with my blade pressed against your neck, don't you have the will to live?"

The will to live, he says?

Of all the things she thought he might say, that wasn't on the list. If she was anyone else, she might've laughed, but…

...Supposedly, he's not wrong. If she had the will to live, she would've tried to run away.

Her quietness and lack of any kind of facial reaction seems to only perturb him further, and he runs a hand through the messy black lcoks peeking out from under his hood.

"...I'm a respectable male adult, so I'm not into shredding emotionless dolls," he grimaces.

A sudden bell chiming overhead makes both of them look up to the ceiling. Static and feedback run through the intercom system, before words spout forth.

"Betrayer Alert! The 6th floor's master has betrayed the 5th floor's master. This is a violation of the rules."

The mechanical words are interlaced with the feedback, creating a rather painful rasping on her ears, but the next sentence does surprise her a bit.

"Along with Rachel, the betrayer also is now hereby a sacrifice."

The bells chime again, signalling the end of the message, and after a few beeps, silence once again fills the room. It's quickly ruptured again by the killer's angry yell.

"No fuckin' way!" he curses loudly, swiping some of the tools off the counter in his disgust. "Shit- I better run for it."

Without giving her a second glance, he hops over Danny's body and rushes out the door, leaving her behind. Ray picks herself off the table and brushes off her jacket.

...Oh yeah, she remembers, the realization dawning on her almost like a gentle reminder.

I'm… not meant to live.

I'm supposed to be killed by these people, isn't that right?

...I wonder.

Ray sidesteps past Danny, giving him a small look but quickly waving off any notion of checking to see if he's alive. After that fatal cut, she doubts he could survive it.

But… I should check to see if he has any keys on him. Leaning down, she rifles through his pockets fairly quickly, and finds several keys. Only one is one she doesn't recognize, so she takes it and places it in her purse.

Following the hooded man's footsteps, she leaves the room. Seconds after entering the hallway, she hears the sounds of glass shattering into many pieces from below.

Is that from that person? Did he break the glass wall?

She picks up her pace and finds her assumption to be correct. The thick glass pane that had separated her from the other elevator has been ripped through, a gaping jagged hole in the center. Thousands of small glass shards litter the floor beneath her.

This had to be his doing. She follows the trail of glass and then the muffled noises of swears being thrown around to find the man pacing back and forth in front of the elevator.

"Shit! It won't budge!" He slams a fist into the solid steel. "Not even if I beat on it! What the hell am I gonna do…?"

He presses the button a bunch more times, and she refrains from saying that he'll most likely break it with that kind of assault. Instead, she approaches him slowly, and he takes notice of her presence. Turning around to face her, he sneers, pointing his scythe at her.

"...Who the hell are you?" he demands, walking up to her. She can tell that his frustration toward the immobile elevator is being directed at her. "What're you doin', showin' up here like you own the damn place?! Huh?!"

He starts to raise his weapon menacingly toward her, but she just looks at him without flinching.

"...Umm," Ray begins, quiet. At his bewildered eyebrow raise, she continues. "...I've got a favor to ask."

She's fairly sure that she's never seen someone look so entirely confused before. The man seems to nearly drop his weapon in surprise.

"...Huh?" he says, for a moment taken completely off guard.

She raises her hands in front of her gently and clasps them at her chest. She meets his multi-colored eyes.

"...Please," she speaks calmly.

"...Kill me."

He takes a second to register what she said, by how determined and completely serious her eyes are. Then-

"Oh god- ughf-"

He turns away and stumbles over to the corner, where he proceeds to empty his stomach of whatever he'd eaten today. After he's finished vomiting in disgust, he looks back at her, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Don't- Don't ask me to do creepy shit like that," he commands her, repulsed. "I got no time for crazy bitches like you! If you're just gonna spew out creepy shit like that, how about gettin' this door open?"

Ray ponders a moment, then shrugs her shoulders.

"You got it," she says, turning from him and already heading off on her mission. Behind her the man stares holes into her back, the most puzzled look on his face he might've ever worn.

"...What the hell was that about?"

.x.X.x.

"I think it was… here."

Ray places the key she'd found on the doctor's body into the door she'd found near the first elevator. She remembered seeing it while walking with him earlier, but hadn't given it much mind. Now, however, after a bit of searching, she's fairly sure this is the room with the elevator control in it.

It fits perfectly, and she's able to enter. It's an unremarkable room akin to the one she'd found on B6, with two cameras in the corners. She approaches the lone switch standing out against the pale wall, and presses it.

It's not as loud as the last one, a simply thunk and then silence.

I think that did it, she nods to herself. I'll go check back and see.

She heads back to where the hooded figure was. Ray can already tell that it worked because she can hear his noises of victory from down the hall.

When she turns the corner and he spots her, he moves over to her, pointing his index finger toward the elevator.

"Hey, are you the one who opened this elevator?" he asks.

She nods. "...Yep, that's right."

He gazes at her for a moment, then busts out in laughter for a few seconds. She fails to see what he finds so funny about it, but watches him until he's finished.

"So it was you, huh?" he says in disbelief, draping his scythe across his shoulder again. He turns away, seeming fairly amused. After another moment, though, and he asks another question.

"Hey. Didn't you say earlier you wanted me to kill you?"

"Sure did," she says without hesitation.

He chuckles under his breath, then faces her again, casual now.

"I'm such an idiot. So yeah… let's work together to get the hell out of this place," he tells her, an expression over his face she's not sure she can identify. "Then, when you're frollicking outside with a goddamned stupid grin... "

He grips his scythe tighter and grins wide.

"... I'll kill you."

It takes her a second to realize what he said. Her eyes widen.

"...Really?" she says, unsure.

"Well, that is, if you behave," he jibes, shrugging his shoulders.

So, if I help him escape from here, he'll kill me?

Considering every option… it's the best she has. Her wish will be granted after all.

I suppose it can't be helped. I think this will work fine, actually. Once he's free, I… will be killed, like I'm meant to be.

Killed by this person…

"Alright," he says, smacking his hands together and rolling his shoulders to loosen himself up. "Now let's get the hell out of this place."

He starts to stroll onto the elevator, but stops and glances at her.

"Hey," he starts, raising a hand and sticking two digits into the air meaningfully. "I got two rules. No fuckin' around, and no prancin' around all merry-like. I got a big problem with fuckers who look so happy. Whenever I see 'em… I can't help but kill 'em."

She blinks, but shrugs.

"...Whatever you say," she agrees.

He meets her eyes and then rolls his own, flicking his black bangs out of his face.

"Well, with that dead look in your eyes, I probably ain't gotta worry."

He moves onto the elevator, and ushers her in too. She glances back into Danny's floor for a brief moment.

Then the doors close on them both—

Ray, and this new unexpected ally she's forced to make.


A/N: Unbeta'd.

Hello friends. First off- sorry it's sooooo long. This was completely unintentional. I really did not think it would become this monster chapter buttttttt it did. So here you go my dudes. I hope you like it and I hope it was okay.

So here we are with chapter 4! Now Zack and Ray have officially teamed up! :3 It only gets bumpier from here. (I also made Danny a bit more pedo because he felt really pedo in the game.) be prepared for more of that kind of thing in the future!

Next up- tackling B4, hohoh. Hopefully with a shorter chapter omg. They're not all going to be this long. And I'm kinda surprised I'm keeping a kinda normal update schedule for this. It's pleasing, actually.

Alright, anyways- I'm gonna let you do you. Thanks for reading! Leave a review if you like or dislike or just wanna talk about it. I appreciate it immensely!

Read on~!

~disclaimer~ I don't own Danny, nor his pedoness. I just like writing AOD.