Hello everyone.
I apologize for the enormous delay. I just did not have the drive to write until now.
I do not expect to update as often as when I first started but I hope not to create such massive interruptions again.
Anyways, I hope you like the chapter and I'll see you next time!
Also, here's the map for the third floor:
ricartelit deviantart com/art/Rockies-Floor-3-679229600
Just add the dots.
-(December 30th - 1:00 AM)-
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-(3rd Floor Storage Room)-
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-Nagisa(P.O.V.) & Akari (in person)-
With Ritsu's control over the facility's electronics we were capable to easily crawl around the vents towards Floor 3. Through her guidance we managed to make our way to our first chosen destination: the special high clearance storage room. We hoped to get an idea of what exactly was being done in this facility besides the obvious antimatter experimentation.
We carefully moved around, inspecting each and every machine, tool and sample stored inside. There were many things we could not divine the purpose of, like a strange hook like tool which when turned on seemed to emit a strange frequency, barely audible to the human ear but quite uncomfortable, or a big machine with several... input? ports which seemed destined for some of the liquid containers stored around us. All in all, pretty lackluster considering our lack of knowledge. Ritsu might be able to shed some light on it later. Apart from that we just found the usual antimatter injections with the corresponding injector machine, semi-recognizable measuring devices and a mountain of other little things which were of little consequence.
I looked at Akari and with a nod of agreement we moved back towards the vent, being careful to put everything back as it was before.
"So, what should we go next?" I asked, hoping Ritsu could give us advice about our next goal.
"Considering the fact that in order to reach Subject 02's containment area we will need to cause chaos with the knowledge that they will eventually become aware of the infiltration, you should deal with the archives before attempting it. I'll guide you through the vents and fool the camera inside. Do be careful though, there is a guard right next to the door on the outside."
"Thanks. We're moving towards it. talk to you again when we get there."
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-(Physical Archives)-
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We quickly arrived at a big room filled with safes embedded in the walls. Everyone labelled in ways neither of us could understand like "Experiment log 02-45X" or "Incident report G05-C03". Deciding that Ritsu probably had a better idea Akari spoke up.
"Hey Ritsu, do you have any way of understanding this file sorting method?"
"With access to the mainframe, I do. Want me to explain, or to just point you towards the most advantageous ones to investigate?"
"A bit of both, I'm curious about the way they do things here. Might be useful for future reference."
"Ok. First things first, there's the obvious, the words describe what kind of files are stored inside. Nothing hard in there. Then comes the first number/letter mashup, it refers to the individual the files pertain to. Just numbers means an experimental subject, G means a guard, S a scientist and O some other random individual. The second code is where it differs between file types. For example, in incident reports the letter has to do with the danger/damage associated to the event, which ranges from E to S in ascending order of danger, while the number just grows with the number of incidents. The experiment logs are different though, the number is the same thing as the incident reports but the letters mean something different, X means physical interaction/experimentation with the subject, Y means psychological experimentation/attempt to communicate and I pertains to injection or exposure to different chemicals." Nothing else matters much in these files. Try to dig up as much as possible from the incidents related to Subject 02 and as varied a sample as possible of all different types of experiment logs. That would be the best way to efficiently use the time we have."
Karma spoke up too, worried. "Be extra careful. The more I hear about this the more fearful I become of what would happen if you two were caught."
Akari smiled at that. "Thank you Karma, don't worry we'll manage to do this and get out quickly!"
I too added my own two cents. "Indeed, we'll make it out safe and sound. Thank you too Ritsu for the explanation."
Ritsu's avatar smiled. "You're very welcome."
With the plan decided Akari and I started to unlock the safes and scanning as many files as possible, making sure to read a bit of them ourselves. After a good 45 minutes of doing the same thing over and over again we had amassed a good amount of information and a whole new idea of the horror of Yanagisawa's experiments. The things done to the person who used to be Subject 02 are unspeakable, from what could be considered repeated physical torture, to emotional manipulation, and the horrible concoctions injected into him/her... No wonder it tried to escape so many times.
There was also an interesting tidbit of information that jumped to my attention due to how often it appeared. Subject 02 was often associated with something they called the "Organization". Any other details were always censored but it appears as if the subject wasn't kidnapped by coincidence... Much like the God of Death... They wanted him/her for some reason, either personal of experiment-related. It would be useful to investigate further into the role of this "Organization" in the bigger scheme of things.
Sobered by all our discoveries we made our way back to the vents while talking to our friends outside.
"The only remaining goal is the subject itself. It should be time for your distraction Ritsu."
"Right, you still have a few of the little explosives don't you Nagisa?"
"Yes, two or three, why?"
"Ok, good. Do what I tell you. Crawl to the vent in the stairway between Floor two and three. Once there I'll instruct you to plant two of the explosives in specific locations on the wall. Wire the little receiver to my frequency."
"Very well, what do I do after I finish planting them?"
"You'll rendezvous with Akari in the vent, right next to the Main Lab."
I joked a bit to clear the previous somber mood. "Instructions received! Will proceed to target location."
Akari giggled a bit so I counted that one as a victory.
We moved towards our objectives, Akari directly towards the lab and I to do what Ritsu told me.
We squeezed each other's hands for a bit before separating.
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-(Vent - Main Lab)-
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It had taken 10 minutes to finish the placement of the little bombs and another 5 to meet up with Akari, we were now waiting for Ritsu to do whatever it was she planned on doing.
"Everything is ready, prepare to move quickly once the chaos settles. This is the only chance you'll get."
"We're ready, do it!"
And the loudspeakers inside the walls of the facility started blaring.
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-General P.O.V.-
A loud warning sounded throughout the third floor of the facility, surprising all the occupants and causing many of them to stumble.
"Warning. Toxic Gas leak on the third floor. All personnel are to evacuate the third floor in an orderly fashion. Those on duty in the main lab are to secure Subject 02 and escape along with all other staff."
The words kept repeating, causing all employees to start evacuating according to the orders given. Scientists first, after following the correct procedure to ensure Subject 02 wouldn't escape with the chaos, then guards taking the rear.
They were approaching the stairway when the sounds of an explosion reverberated throughout the stairs. The ones in the lead could see a continuous gout of flame blocking the way upwards. With the stairs inaccessible and the looming danger of the toxins, they all decided to take the bigger risk and use the giant cargo elevator.
Using the right security clearance card they made their way inside and activated it. The elevator started ascending and it seemed as if their misfortunes had ended. As always, life does not agree. All the lights went out and the ascension stopped. It elevator was unresponsive. No probing from the personnel managed to get it to continue moving. They were trapped.
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-Nagisa & Akari(P.O.V.)-
Ritsu's distraction seemed to be working, though we were still waiting for her signal to move out. I hoped it all went well.
"The stairway is now blocked and the staff trapped in a paralyzed elevator. You're free to move out. I'll disable all cameras. At this point there is no need for subtlety."
"How did you do it?"
"There was a gas pipe inside the stairway's walls. I simply detonated the explosives to set it aflame. The rest was simply a matter of disabling the electronics."
We quickly opened the vent and dropped into the lab. It was quite an unnerving sight. So many machines, all of them obviously used to poke and prod at the creature who stood miserably hunched in a corner of the glass-like cage situated in the center of the room. It was truly different from the lab in Paris... At least Nagisa wasn't likely to have a panic attack in this one.
I hooked one of the "wireless Ritsu" devices to the lab's main computer and let her do her work while Nagisa and I investigated the subject.
We both approached it cautiously. The cage did not appear to have any holes apart from tiny ones made for breathing purposes and what looked like open-able entrances fro researchers and machines. We neared the corner where the creature was huddled from the outside of the cage. As we approached we started hearing it's ramblings. At first it seemed like senseless mutterings from someone long driven insane but the closer we got the more we understood. It ranged from things like "I failed" and "Please forgive me" to "Make it go away!" "End it, please end it.". Whoever the subject used to be, it seemed like it was long driven to insanity. It's tortured voice sounded so... lonely, so... desperate.
I looked at Nagisa which prompted him to do the same to me. I could see the sad look in his eyes and I bet he could do the same in mine. It was just too pitiful. To be driven to such extremes.
"So... what should we do?" I asked, a bit hesitantly.
"I think we should do what it wants, to free it. To leave it like this would be torture. No one deserves this."
From the way he spoke, I knew he wasn't speaking about letting it roam free.
"By freeing it, you mean...?
"Yes." He answered, somber.
The moment he said that I steeled my resolve and made a decision.
"You took the burden for us last time. I won't let you do so again. I will share it with you."
"B-but-"
"No! I have decided. Nothing you say will make me go back on my choice."
He was going to try and convince me otherwise again but a look at my eyes was enough for him to give in. "I-I... Ok. I'll be here for you if need me after. You know that right?"
I couldn't help but smile at his words.
"I do. Thank you."
He handed me the little gun, loaded with the lethal dart.
"Ritsu, open the door to the cage."
"Ok. Be safe Akari."
The door slowly opened, though there was little reaction from the subject. Taking a deep breath I made my way in.
Now standing right next to it I could see it even better. I could understand better the atrocities done in the name of science. Yanagisawa's science. Seeing this made my desire to see this entire project through even bigger. We would not fail. We would end this and make him pay.
I take another breath and lift the gun, pointing it at the human part of the creature. It wasn't a perfect meld between antimatter and person so it should still die to the poison. With only a moment of hesitation I shot.
The dart hit and emptied it's contents. For a few seconds nothing happened and I feared I had failed, that maybe the poison did not work. My worries were cleared as the subject stopped moving completely, with no more ramblings but what I believe was a last "Thank you" before passing away.
I had done it... I killed it. I killed another living being... No matter how much of a mercy it was, it still left a bitter taste in my mouth. It's too bad it was an imperfect meld or Okuda's cure would probably have worked. Well... I could deal with my feelings later. Right now we had to leave.
I turned to Nagisa.
"Let's go, we have to leave" I told him, tonelessly. I guess I'm too spent for emotions...
"Are you-"
"Later." Yes, later. Right now wasn't a good time to get distracted
"Ok, later then." He agreed with only a moment of hesitation.
We quickly made our way into the vents. We had to escape quickly, they would soon get the elevator working again.
Nagisa went to the storage closet on the first floor to grab what we left behind while I made my way to the exit directly, where I waited for him for about 10 minutes. The moment he arrived we departed, hiding in the vegetation, towards the vehicle we used to get here. The guards were frantic, they obviously already knew there was an intruder, but we managed to evade detection. With our hearts and minds a little heavier we drove to the motel.
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-(As Akari entered the cage)-
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-?-
It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!
Pleas- huh? There is something new? What is new? Is it person? Is it more pain?
It moves... maybe person. But some pain also moves...
It is near me (what is me?). It has pain looking thingy in hand. Please no more pain.
I feel little pain and- huh? I... what is this... I feel sluggish. I- I remember. I remember who I am...
The girl... She isn't one of that monster's people...
Was it mercy?
No matter... I can now rest. Finally it will end.
Only one thing left to do.
"Thank you."
And I embraced the void.