Collaboration with Glorifiedscapegoat.
"Not you today," Lab Coat said as he circled around Shion's cage like a bored zoo patron.
Shion had stood from his cot the moment Lab Coat came through the door. It was a reflex, since, being the newest addition to the S-class menagerie, he was the only subject Lab Coat had been seeing lately.
His sessions with Lab Coat so far hadn't been more than uncomfortable or nauseating, and Shion bore them because he could sometimes finagle updates on Nezumi from the doctor if he were "well behaved." But evidently, the doctor hadn't forgotten his other subjects.
Rin, Aki, and Hitomi had grown accustomed to being ignored since Shion's arrival, and so even though they still bristled whenever Lab Coat walked into the room, they had lost the sense of immediate panic. Fear was hardwired into the body, however, and the moment they realized that Shion was not the target today, the other occupants had no trouble remembering the terror elicited by Lab Coat's undivided attention.
Shion's heart rabbited as the man stopped in front of Hitomi's cell.
"Hello, my dear," Lab Coat purred. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
Hitomi's whole body trembled. The tiny, incessant shivers rooted her to the spot as Lab Coat unlocked her cell and walked in, smiling gently, his cold, bleak eyes reflected in Hitomi's mask. He sauntered in leisurely, without his lackey or a sedative in sight, and that made it all the more repulsive—he knew Hitomi's power was useless with her face obscured; he knew she was petrified of him and would be powerless to fight him past her terror; he knew that they'd all have to watch as he took her by the elbow and steered her toward the hated exam room like a sheep.
Shion felt sick with horror, and outrage, and his own impotence. Of all the people in this hellhole, Lab Coat had zeroed in on the one who was the least resilient to his probing. The atmosphere in the room dipped and darkened, and Shion felt his power writhing at the base of his skull. He wanted so badly to shove Lab Coat away from Hitomi, to throw him across the room and hear his skull crack on the concrete. He let the urge flow forward, but then, of course, it hit a wall of resistance. Bile pressed at the back of Shion's throat and he tamped down his power, shoving it to the back of his mind until the nausea receded.
But the hatred that surged in to take its place was just as sickening.
"We won't be long," Lab Coat called to the group. He had a hand clamped around Hitomi's delicate wrist, dragging her a stride behind him like a stiff automaton. "You'll have your lady back before you know it."
Shion's eyes followed them across the grey expanse before locking onto Rikiga hovering by the exam room door. He wore the usual miserable expression and hunched posture of a man suffering, but for once, Shion didn't pity him. The cleaner was a large man, if a bit overweight; if he wanted to, he could have taken Lab Coat down. The doctor's leaner, sickly-looking constitution would be nothing for him, and Rikiga had the advantage of being in the position of trusted, subservient associate. He could help Shion and his friends if he just found the courage and sobriety to do so.
But he had done nothing, and had done exactly that for years.
When Rikiga noticed the hatred and censure burning on Shion's face, the man flinched and curled his shoulders tighter.
Hitomi turned her head back just before Lab Coat tugged her through the door, and Shion knew that behind the mask her eyes were large and wet with terror. An icy spear of agony lanced through his chest, and then the door slammed closed between them.
"Dammit," Shion hissed. "What is he going to do with her?"
"It could be a routine test," Aki said, his voice smokey with regret. "It's been awhile since she had a one-on-one. It could be nothing."
Dread pooled in Shion's stomach. "As opposed to?" he asked, though he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.
"Anything but," Rin growled. "He could be trying a new drug on her, or fitting her for a new mask. Or fucking touching her." They clenched their teeth and whirled around to give the metal leg of their cot a kick. "Fuck. I hate it when he takes Hitomi."
Rin kicked the bed again, hard enough for Shion to hear their toes crack. They dropped their foot down gingerly, but the look on Rin's face was pure fire. Their hands kept clenching and unclenching, their mouth pulled into a taut, pained line, and Shion realized that Rin's pyrokinesis must also be flickering behind the prison of drugs Lab Coat had pumped into their bloodstream.
"She'll be alright. She's stronger than you think," Aki said, but worry shadowed his face. He ran a hand down his long, wispy beard.
"I know she's strong," Rin snapped. "But she shouldn't have to be strong. She shouldn't have to be locked up, and pricked, and poked like a goddamn lab rat! I wish I could just—" A strangled growl escaped their throat. "That's it. I'm sick of just sitting here and letting him walk all over us. I'm going to try and use my powers."
"Rin," Aki warned.
"I'm going to melt this goddamn glass, and if I fail, I don't care. I'll throw up everywhere, and then that son of a bitch weasel cleaner will have to mop it up." A fine sheen of sweat formed on Rin's brow as they clenched their fists at their sides.
"Don't," Shion said. "You'll hurt yourself."
Saying it felt like cowardice, though.
Rin ignored Aki and Shion's cautions. Their face had turned a deep shade of red, and soon their body started to tremble from the strain. A minute or two in, and smoke began to wisp out of the crevices of their fists.
Shion's heart leapt in excitement. "Rin—" Blood streamed out of Rin's nose and over their chin, staining the front of the tired green jumpsuit. Shion's hope turned to horror. "Stop!"
Rin blew out a breath, tottered for a sweaty, nauseated moment, and then vomited. Aki gave a wearied huff and Shion turned away from the dripping glass with a sigh of intermingled defeat and disgust. Thankfully, the prisoners were not fed enough to make for too much mess, but Shion didn't envy Rin being trapped in their tiny cell with the putrid evidence of their failure.
"Damn," rasped Rin. They swiped at their nose and mouth, then checked their jumpsuit sleeve. "Singed a cuff, though. So… Yeah. Alright. Puking has calmed me, and I realize now that that was probably not the best idea."
Shion smiled ruefully at them. "I'm sure Hitomi will appreciate the, uh...act of protest?"
"Oh my god, no. She's gonna be so grossed out." Rin laughed, then rubbed their throat. "Ugh. The worst. But you know what? Horizon Lab's gonna have to clean this up, so fuck 'em. It was worth it."
"Hitomi wouldn't be happy to hear you cursing so much," Aki chided. But he was smiling a little, despite his tone.
Rin waved a hand. "She can give me an earful when she's back. In the meantime, I'd love to hear your plan for how we're gonna to break out of here."
Shion startled when Rin's dark eyes landed on him. He had spoken at length about the outside world and how much he missed it, but he hadn't yet pitched the organized escape attempt to his fellow VCs. Shion glanced at Aki.
"We've been talking together when you're away," the man said. "We're all on board."
"Even scaredy-cat Tomi," Rin added with a sharp nod.
"Are you sure?" The question slipped out of Shion's mouth reflexively. He wanted to break out, and he wanted to take his friends with him, but revolution was a dangerous game, one you must be all-in to play.
"Quite sure. What have we got to lose? We're already 'dead,' after all." The old man's face wrinkled in a soft smile.
Shion glanced between Rin and Aki. Fiery youth on one side and jaded experience on the other, and both were looking to him for salvation. He couldn't let them down.
"I have an idea," Shion said slowly, and quietly, in case Lab Coat came out in the next few minutes, "but it's risky. And in order for it to work, we have to get Rikiga on board as well."
Aki glanced at the exam room door, his brow furrowed. "That may be difficult."
"I'll say," scoffed Rin. "The guy is a gutless turd. The minute he hears we're planning something, he'll run to the mad doctor and snitch."
"I don't think so," Shion said. "I've been watching him, and I think he's sympathetic to us. He hates working in the Lab—you can see it every time he comes down here. But he doesn't know how to get out, and so he just keeps going, pretending like he doesn't see how terrible things are and drinking to keep the guilt at bay.
"But I think if we could get him alone and pitch a solid plan to him, he'd be willing to try it. He wants to be free just as much as we do; we just have to show him the way." Aki and Rin appeared contemplative, so Shion decided to push on with his idea. "We need to get Rikiga to cooperate, because he's the only one who can give us access to our powers."
Rin and Aki were all ears after that. Shion explained the details he'd been able to work out for the preparation of the escape. He wasn't sure about when they'd strike the blow, or what the plan was afterward, but he had formulated a decent strategy for the groundwork.
"Could work," Rin mused after Shion had finished. "I think I know how we can get the cleaner alone." They glanced at the drying puke on the side of their cell, then flashed a smile at Shion. "Already I'm making key contributions to this plan. You're welcome."
Shion scoffed in amusement, and was only half surprised to see Aki shake his head and roll his eyes behind Rin.
The exam room door opened, and the light mood evaporated. Shion drew in a sharp breath when he saw Rikiga carrying Hitomi back toward the cells. Her head was up, so she appeared to be conscious, but her limbs were limp. Shion thought she might have been woozy from some sedation; that was the best-case scenario.
Lab Coat followed behind Rikiga, his face angled down toward the tablet he was tapping on. He looked up briefly to shove his spectacles up the bridge of his nose and press a hand onto the glass to unlock Hitomi's cell, but then went back to whatever he was writing.
Rikiga placed Hitomi down on her cot gently and retreated. Shion and the others surged toward the wall separating them from their friend, and Aki asked quietly, "Are you alright?"
Hitomi nodded once and sat up. Her hands were twisted in the baggy front of her jumpsuit. "My hair," she mumbled in a sick, broken tone. "It needed to be shaved again…."
"She was a very good girl," Lab Coat interjected. He flashed a quick, polite smile over his tablet, like a nurse offering pleasantries to longtime patients he couldn't care to remember the names of. "Didn't turn a single thing to stone. Though, of course, she was strapped down so she couldn't look at us even if she tried." Lab Coat tilted his head as he stared at Hitomi. "But you wouldn't have tried to kill us anyway, would you, 198? We're old friends by now."
Hitomi made no acknowledgement that she heard him, but Lab Coat's conversations rarely ever required his subjects' participation.
Lab Coat lowered his tablet. "I'll have a general check-up with each of you this week." He looked at each of his prisoners in turn, settling at last on Shion. "And I've got an exciting gift for you planned. Should be ready in a day or so." The doctor's pale eyes warmed with anticipation. A chill rolled down Shion's spine.
Lab Coat and Rikiga turned and began to walk away.
"Hey," barked Rin. Both men drew to a stop. "Cleaner guy," Rin clarified, and gestured to the mess in the corner of their cell. "I puked."
Rikiga wrinkled his nose and clicked his tongue.
Lab Coat took a few steps back toward the cages, a frown tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Are you feeling unwell, 301?"
"Nah," Rin said, their eyes darting to the man's face only long enough to utter the syllable before returning to Rikiga. "Just tried to use my powers again. I get antsy, you know?"
Lab Coat sighed and raised his tablet again. "You're a strange creature. I'm beginning to think you like being ill." He tapped something on his screen.
Shion ears pricked as a soft hissing noise began, somewhere above him. He raised his gaze to the vent in the ceiling of the cell and swallowed.
"Aw, shit. Couldn't you—? Shit."
Shion turned just in time to see Rin pull the front of their jumpsuit over their mouth and stumble toward their cot. They managed to get halfway onto the bed before they slumped face down onto the mattress, legs crumpled beneath them.
Lab Coat waved a hand at Rikiga and headed for the door without a backwards glance. "The VC is unconscious. I've given you half-an-hour access to operate the cage door. Clean up, lock up, and then you can clock out."
"Yessir," Rikiga mumbled. He was positively glaring at the back of the doctor's head. Shion wondered if he were swearing in his mind as viciously as it looked like he wanted to.
Rikiga collected the necessary cleaning supplies from the closet and opened Rin's cage. He gave the prone child as wide a berth as he could and, with a sound of disgust, began spraying and wiping the vomit off the glass wall with a rag.
Shion stared at Rin's unconscious body, draped like a ragdoll over the cot. It wasn't right. This whole thing was fucked up. But this was his chance to get Rikiga on their side.
Shion approached the glass, carefully. "Mr. Rikiga?"
The man had been absorbed in his work, and when he realized Shion had moved right up to the glass, he startled so badly he nearly toppled over. Shion threw up his hands and took a step back.
"Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you."
"No. I, uh… It's…OK." Rikiga stared, wide-eyed, for a drawn out moment. Shion could make out the deep purple bags under Rikiga's eyes, and the faint tremor of his hands. No doubt the man was eager to be out of here and home with a bottle of something hard.
Easy, Shion warned himself. Go slow and work your way up.
"Sorry about the mess, too," he said, offering a contrite smile. "Rin was worried about why Hitomi was taken, and they reacted the only way they knew how. They weren't trying to make more work for you; you probably have enough work around here already."
Rikiga's brow furrowed as Shion spoke. The expression was one of confusion, rather than suspicion. Confusion about what, though? That Shion was speaking to him? Whether this was some sort of trap?
Whatever the reason, it's not a bad reaction, Shion decided. I have to keep going. Before the momentum is gone. His heart pounded as he tried to formulate what to say next. So much relied on the next few minutes and the pressure turned his stomach. He had to get Rikiga on their side. He had to.
He wished Nezumi were here. Nezumi would know just what to say to charm this man—and even if he somehow failed to do so on the merits of his honeyed words and lovely face alone, he had his power to nudge the man's sympathies in the right direction. All Shion could do was appeal to Rikiga's humanity and hope for the best.
The cleaner didn't look like he planned to respond to Shion's comment, so Shion continued. "Thank you, by the way," he murmured, his voice tremulous with nerves, "for coming to check on me the other night. It's… It's been hard for me being here. I miss my mom and my friends, and I can't sleep most nights without having nightmares. So I was really grateful when you asked if I was alright."
Aki and Hitomi were watching him steadily, showing no sign of emotion. They were all holding their breath, keeping still as statues, doing their best not to spook their link to freedom. Trusting Shion to know the right things to say to bring them a victory.
"I know…" Shion wet his lips, swallowed. "I know it's hard for you, too. Being here. Helping him."
Rikiga fisted his hand in the damp grey rag he had in his hand. "You don't know me, kid." His voice was low and uneven, as though it didn't get much use. There was no threat in the tone, but there was an underlying warning.
"No," Shion said, dropping his gaze. "I guess I don't, really. But I do know you've been listening to my stories. I saw you the other night. You were crying. Weren't you?" He hazarded a glance up.
Rikiga's jaw shifted. He snatched up the cleaning solution, sprayed the glass, and began scrubbing again. "I was drunk," he grumbled, shrugging one massive shoulder. "I cry sometimes when I drink. It just happens; there's no particular reason for it."
Shion crouched down so that he would be at eye level with the man. Rikiga's gaze flicked over to him, his mustache twitching nervously. Shion could see that past the heavy bags and bloodshot whites, the man's eyes were a muted hazel.
"I don't think that's true. I think you cry because you're a good man, Mr. Rikiga." Shion spoke slowly and gently, with every bit of hope and sincerity he had within him. "I think that's also why you drink."
Rikiga's forehead pinched. He swallowed and swallowed and avoided eye contact, but Shion could see the truth. His heart ached at the pain he saw buried in the deep creases of the man's face, the flush of shame blossoming in his cheeks.
Shion reached out and pressed his hand against the glass where Rikiga's hand had stilled mid-wipe. Rikiga stared at their palms matched on either side of the glass, Shion's pale and small compared to his large, work-worn hand. The man's eyes glistened.
"You're not like the other Lab employees," Shion said. "You're not a monster—you care. You know what they're doing to us is wrong. I can see how much it hurts you to be a part of it."
"Look, I… I'm sorry. I'm sorry you're trapped down here, kid. I want to help you, but I can't," Rikiga whimpered. "The people here are crazy, and they're always watching. Why do you think I haven't left? Because I can't. You can't leave Horizon Labs once you've started." He swiped at his eyes with the back of his free hand. "I'm a coward, OK? I can't help you. I don't know how."
"Would you help us if you did know how?"
Rikiga sniffled. The lost, confused look had returned to his face, but a faint trace of interest had sparked in his eyes at Shion's question.
Shion's stomach flipped. They were on the precipice now. Rikiga seemed honest and willing, but could he be trusted? Could this self-professed coward handle the stress of deception without tipping off the doctor?
Shion shuffled closer to the glass and said in a voice so low it was nearly a whisper, "I have a plan. A plan that can get us all out of Horizon Labs, forever. But it can only work with your help. The only way we all escape is if you can be brave. Can you do that?"
Rikiga chewed his lower lip. His eyes went to the door out of the room, as if he expected Lab Coat to be there, peeking through. The room was silent as he considered the measure of his willpower.
"If it means I never have to see this hellhole again, I think I can," Rikiga said.
Relief flooded Shion's chest. Suddenly it seemed like the air in the room had been restored. Aki and Hitomi moved, exhaled, smiled.
Shion smiled too. "Thank you, Mr. Rikiga," he breathed. Tears pricked at Shion's eyes and he had to pull back to rub them away.
"You're a good man," Hitomi said, her voice thick with emotion.
"Well." Rikiga made a gruff sound in the back of his throat, his cheeks flushed with the attention. "I mean, I'll try my best, but… Well, what is the plan? What do you need me to do?"
Shion glanced at his companions. This was it. Finally, the plan was in motion.
Shion pressed himself as close to the glass as he could get without fogging it. "I need you to stop giving me the power suppressors."