All chapters have been edited by my rockstar sister. She is Thepsychoticchef on Tumblr

Chapter 4

Waking up the next day has not been fun for Hermann. The experience was somewhat akin to the worst hangover he had ever experienced. He finds himself having difficulty remembering what had happened the day before, but as it all pieces together; he realizes he can't remember the drift.

Clearly he was compartmentalizing, or his mind has done it for him. Some part of him concluded that his mind couldn't handle the full effects of a drift on subpar equipment where one third of the drift was kaiju. He can recall flashes of what he experienced post drift. He can even vaguely recall the hellish nightmare he had just woken from; kaiju being ripped from his skin were tearing him to pieces.

He supposes his subconscious now has plenty of material to torture him with for the foreseeable future. It also appears he had gotten a small nosebleed while he had slept; a few dots on the pillow, nothing more. He should probably go to medical, and yet some part of him seemed vehemently opposed to going to sit in an enclosed spaced and let someone with a medical doctorate examine him.

Why does he feel this way? Could it possibly be some strange drift side effect? A slight bleeding between personalities?

Gutte got. Wasn't it enough that he saved that idiot man? He can imagine, with a vague sense of dread, Newton standing in a clean pressed shirt, his mouth in a thin line with one eyebrow raised. The image makes Hermann shudder. Newton was barely tolerable as Newton, let alone as Hermann.

He was dwelling when really; he wanted to get to the lab. The rift may be gone, but he can still study it. He can study how it collapsed; how it had appeared; whether the rift might open again.

He heads for his chalkboard in the lab, for there is always safety in numbers. An hour or two passes, alone with his equations, where he's able to forget that his leg hurts from all the running he had done.

Then, Newton walks in.

Well, stumbles in.

Hermann loathes tearing himself away from the formula he's working on, but he turns anyway, and Newton is…well, disheveled was a kind word. Newton had managed to dig up a leather jacket; it was a bit big on him, and it didn't quite cover the stain on his shirt. His hair was as tangled and messy as the rest of him. Hermann opens his mouth to speak.
Memories of the previous night flitted through his mind; memories that aren't his. He reddens and turns away. He's almost afraid that Newton might want to compare notes. Instead, Newton is…quiet. Hermann watches from the corner of his eye as Newton looks at him, then turns away to wander unsteadily towards his desk. He practically falls out of his chair while trying to sit in it, and once successfully seated, did nothing but stare at the floor for a full minute before moving.
The words tumble out of his mouth before he has a chance to consider them…another Geiszlerian moment. "Are you drunk again, Newton?" The question hangs in the air for a long moment. Newton doesn't look at him, and after a couple of seconds, he finally responds.
"Noooope," he raises a hand like he is going to gesture with it, but seems to change his mind and clutch it back. His movements are slow; another oddity for Geiszler, considering the man usually seems to be running at twice the speed of everyone around him. Nowthe dial has been turned all the way back, and Hermann has seen him after parties. This is a whole new level of...

Newton seizing on the floor.
Two drifts.

Oh god Hermann is an idiot. He feels odd after his one drift, identifying actions and traits that don't belong to him, and he hasn't even begun to allow himself to think about the kaiju. What would happen if he started acting like them?

And Newton drifted.
Twice.
Oh no.

He grabs his cane and hobbles across the room as Newton turns to look at him, his expression alarmed.
"You need to go to medical," Hermann states, not leaving any room for suggestion.
"No, you need to go to medical," Newton replies, not unlike a child. Hermann grips his cane tightly. He does not like having this conversation, nor where it might go.
"Newton, you drifted twice on junkyard equipment with a kaiju. You need to be examined."
"No way, dude. I'll take some Tylenol, or whatever," he flaps a hand, but Hermann sees the tremor in the movement. Newton watches as Hermann's eyes follow his hand and makes a sound.
"Dude, its fine, look" he crumples up a piece of paper and lobs it at his trash can. It misses by several inches.
"See? Look at that. That is way closer than usual. That is a win, Herm, and also I'm fine. Go away." Newton says casually, his speech speeding up as he talks. Towards the end, it sounds almost normal. And yet Hermann is angry, because Newton is most probably very far from fine. Miles from something remotely even close to fine, and naturally that idiot would refuse something sensible like medical care. And maybe…
Maybe...
Maybe there's a slight possibility that Hermann could make himself go to medical if he was with Newton? Why in heaven's name does he think that? He has no independence from this insufferable man who is currently smiling up at him, looking worse than he has ever been before, and so utterly complacent?People are supposed to get along after the drift, but of course with someone like Newton, they would only get worse.
He exhales through his teeth, his breath sounding more like a hiss than normal human breath, and quickly turns away, praying that Newton didn't notice how very kaiju-like it had sounded. He wonders what kafka-esque scenario might play out if a medical professional does not intervene, and he feels a deep unabiding terror for what a doctor might tell them rise within him.

Wow I almost didn't get this out...it might suck a little...I really don't know where I'm going with it but I have ideas...and like...man I don't know medicine...I kind of figure Hermann is mostly going to get over this like one would a bad hangover or migraine...unless he is pressured in some way he is mostly ok but I think Newton might be almost bipolar for a bit. He might go through phases where he is really slow and tired and possibly depressed and then he will have his manic periods too...I said brain damage earlier but that was Newt guessing and well...Again I'm not a doctor