It is said, or demanded, that no thought exists that has not been thought of before you.
Which is a fancy way of saying I used other peoples ideas.
I think it's the way you plagiarize that makes it new.
"Just what is…" Weiss began, her voice trailing off as a meaty ka-lunk reverberated in the room. Sounding much like massive gears had engaged. They all rocked slightly as the room shifted.
"There's a gap at the floor." Blake said surprised, her feet slightly unsteady, as if the room was rocking like a boat. With a scraping of steel she looked up to see a slab of iron sliding down from the roof. It hit the floor covering the wall and door with a heavy thrum, the vibrations made Blake do a quick black up.
Yang wasted no time, launching across the room to attack the steel wall, her gauntlets blasting as her blow landed.
"It's at least two inches thick!" Yang irritably shouted only putting a small dent into the wall. The room began tilting as gears fully engaged. The trashcan tipped and rolled to a new location and Ruby and Weiss grabbed the table as the rooms tilt seemed to accelerate.
When the room was at a forty five degree angle the roof started sliding back. Rows on rows of blades were above there heads. As the troop watched they began to spin, blurring quickly with speed.
"What the Hell! Yang cursed as the room continued tilting to a ninety degree angle. "A meat grinder?!"
"Is this an illusion?" Weiss cried out over the sounds of the whirling blades.
"I don't want to find out." Ruby told her. "The tables not moving, everyone over here." The chairs had shifted and were now laying on the far wall. Blake did a short jump landing next to a table leg.
"The tables steel." She called out getting a good grip on the leg. Yang nodded jumping as the room tilted into the danger zone. The chairs rolled and tumbled, shattering on the blades with the slightest of contacts.
"What now! We can't stay here." Blake yelled over the noise of the chairs splintering below her. As if to empathize her point one of the table legs shifted. The concrete around the base where it was held by bolts, the concrete was flaking and falling free to the now floor. A loud clang filled the room when a larger piece of concrete hit. By now the chairs and waste can were completely shredded. Rubys team shifted away from the loose leg, then the other side shifted, breaking free of the floor.
"The tables steel. Think it can stop those blades?" Yang yelled out over the slight wind the blades were starting to kick up. The noise from the winding up motor started filling the room.
"How can we break all these legs at the same time?" Weiss asked over the noise. Ruby didn't say anything, her scythe was growing in her hands and the blade extending. Her team stared at her.
"Any with a better idea?" She demanded eyeing them with a frown. Yangs eyebrows went up into her hairline in surprise at her sisters tone. "We jump at three." Ruby told them. "Weiss?" Blake called over the growing noise. Weiss nodded and readied her blade. "ON Three!" Ordered Ruby.
When Ruby hit one Weiss manifested four floating snowflake platforms. On two everyone but Ruby jumped. Crescent Rose sliced the legs, her blade moving with a blurring flash. Rubys strength fueled by the need to live. Her body swirled into rose form and did a quick circle around the room. Before settling on a platform next to Weiss. The table dropped, crashing into the blades. Where the table all but danced, and was chipping and bouncing away at the blades slightest touch.
Weiss moaned distressed, then did a what am I thinking, and manifested a red snowflake over the table. It rammed itself into the spinning maelstrom. The blades took chunks out of the table before jamming to a stop. The electric motor sparking underneath the blades, with a loud snap of arcing electricity it started smoking. With a collective sigh that it was over everyone jumped off the snowflakes to the edges of the room save Yang who landed on the table and wedged it into the blades backed by a haymaker to keep it there.
"I am going to beat…" Yang started then quickly turned her head. The wall apposite the door noisily shifted free before lowing slowly. Seawater spilled into the room. "Are You shitting me?!" Yang yelled.
Faster the seawater spilled into the room as that wall lowered. Then something bumped into the wall a large shape in the other room.
Water had passed Yangs waist when an eight foot shark rolled over the lowing wall into the room. "No way." Blake said in denial. "That's, a white tip." Then she sloshed to the side shooting at the shark. Yang frustrated with it all wound up and all but knocked it across the room. "Something to hit." She told everyone.
Ruby looked into the other room seeing it was like theirs, complete with a door that hadn't been walled off. "Weiss!" Ruby pointed. "Door!" The Schnee waded pulling herself over the wall then pushed off and swam, making it to the door as the lowering wall completely vanished under the floor, yet the room kept filling.
"The rooms still flooding!" Blake yelled borderline with panic. She quickly slashed then dodged the shark who like the rounds and punch seemed more inconvenient by it. "It's auras unlocked." Blake yelled again getting a better angle.
"Blake! With Wiess!. Yang! Shark!" Ruby yelled. With a nod Blake dove into the now almost filled room. The shark snapped at her but choked only on shadow. She surfaced near Weiss her head pressed on the ceiling gulping in a last breath as the seawater filled the room's completely.
Weiss couldn't see any hinges so she knew the door opened out into the hallway, like there's did. A fearful thought blossomed so she grabbed the knob and turned it, the door didn't move. Locked, or barricaded. Frustrated she banged on the door with a fist then readied Myrtenaster.
Blake swam underwater seeing what Weiss did. Blake pointed at Myrtenasters blue chamber then made a chopping motion with her blade. Weiss half smiled and nodded. They swam back a bit and Weiss froze the door. Blake doing a moon slice, X pattern, right after Weiss. They both hoped this worked, holding your breath while fighting, your air they found went quick, like it or not, underwater or not, they were going to start breathing soon.
Yang squared off with the shark. "Aura huh." She half mumbled taking a swing. It shot forward eyes rolling back as the mouth opened Yang saw it was going to pass just to the right of her. It's going for my arm. Yang realized. It thinks? She focused, saw the scars on this shark, some were deep, it had seen, she feared, a lot of fights. Yang for the first time in her life, hesitated.
A flash of red announced Ruby doing a flyby on the sharks tail, rake slashing with Crescent Rose, its aura flared from the blow, but didn't break, it was enough to throw off its bite. Yang yanked back her right arm and swung up with the left as it passed, hitting it in the soft stomach. It was like punching jelled flesh. The shark seemed to spasm and with a quick flip of the tail swam in a half circle to face the two.
The shark again shot away from them doing a tight circle and faced them. Yang watched and frowned, puzzled by the odd behavior, then spotted it. The water was clear enough for her to see the door icing up and Blake winding up for a swing. Yang did a quick motion to Ruby and pointed to her head then to the shark. A muffled crack like breaking branches reached the sisters. The room again shifted, or more accurate, the water started to flow out of the now blasted door. Weiss, Blake, Shark, then Ruby and Yang in that order started being sucked toward and through the door or pulled to the other side of the room.
Yang grabbed part of an intact leg on that ruined table. Then snatched Ruby as she started to pass her. The current of the water started tugging on Yangs hair blinding her but Yang knew what was happing with the shark, it had started swimming as soon as the water tugged on them. It would hit the doorway, possibly be a plug for a bit and it would wait for them to come to it. Yang didn't know if this was tactical thinking on her part, or just paranoia, but she held on like Rubys life depended on her.
Weiss and Blake were not ready for the massive pull of the water. They both knew the water would drain out the door once they destroyed it, but didn't think the current would be this strong. Even hanging onto the doorframe they were drawn through with little hesitation. Weiss hit the drain first, then Blake on top of her forcing out her air. They lay on a large opening grated with five iron bars up and down and another five going left and right. The water flowing pined the two with a giant hand. Weiss tried, but her lungs were already afire before the wind was knocked out of her. Chest heaving for air and the world growing dark at the edges of her vision Weiss tried to breathe.
Blake turned her head as Weiss's eyes started to bug out and her belly and lungs fighting for air. She knew her landing on Weiss was hard. Doing the only thing she could, a learned thing on fish island. Blake grabbed Weiss's nose put her mouth over hers and shared a breath hoping it was enough. Blake wasn't expecting Weiss to draw out all of her air.
It was momentary panic for her. Blake could see Weiss looking right at her, they were so close, the waters rush pinning them Weiss blinked and exhaled, almost forcing out her air, the two breathed sharing one breath, the air growing hotter with less effect on each quick gasp. Then Weiss did a wide eyed muted scream lifting up Myrtenaster despite the waters heavy rush.
Blake saw something large coming and her semblance kicked in. Blake ported to the side as the shark landed on Weiss, almost tail first, flopping onto its side as the center of mass was drawn to the grates center forced by the waters escaped through the grating. The setting on Myrtenaster hadn't changed and the shark from the middle section froze, the ice expanding outward, without thinking Blake slashed to the left and right where she thought Weiss was, hope is all she had at this point. Then with burning lungs, despite all her will she couldn't keep hold of her weapon. Almost as an afterthought Blake took a breath of water.
Weiss's weapon felt heavy as it slipped out of her hand, she saw as the world dimmed at the edges, the shark icing up, and felt the cold wet of her dust. "Gotya." She mouthed, giggling a bit on how scandals and uncivilized she had become since her arrival. Breathing water Weiss found is not a peaceful thing, they lied. Weiss found her body took control completely from her trying to get real air. Aura had slowed the drowning, but now, that was gone. There was only water, though she could see the surface a bit. The shark and rushing water still pinned her. The world grew darker and her mind jibbed down the path that had led her to this point. Weiss found she regretted as blackness closed around her sight.
Blake tried to straighten up as the surface touched the top of her head, but her legs, arms, and body didn't want to obey, dreamy like, as if slowly waking from a deep sleep, she didn't want to awaken, she had given everything she had, to cut that shark, there was simply nothing left. Yet this was comfortable slowly drifting as the water drained. Blake felt weightless as the wall or floor was felt only slightly as her feet touched. She felt herself rocking comfortably in the waves. Something noisy and splashing came next to her rolling her over. Blakes eyes opened, tracking wildly then she coughed up water, shuddering a bit before going completely limp.
"Yang! Let go!" Screamed Ruby. As her head broke above the water. Yangs only answerer was a tightening around Rubys waist. Ruby coughed letting spittle fly and drew in a large gulp of air. "We have to help them, they're still down there!"
"They could be washed away, and there's that shark." Yang answered in a normal voice. Ruby stopped struggling surprised by Yangs calm demeanor and watched the shark. "It's just, swimming?"
"It's waiting for us." Ruby blinked surprised at Yangs words. "Waiting?" She asked taken aback. "But, it's a shark?"
"With aura sis, it went for my arm and changed its speed when it attacked so I couldn't counter it, you stopped that thing from taking my arm, now look at it. We can't help them if we die."
"This isn't a class, it's a death pit." Ruby scolded at no one, then looked around. "Yang? Did the room shift?" Yang blinked then cursed in frustration. Ruby was right, the water was almost completely out of their room, yet they still were hanging in the air. The ceiling/floor was now the wall. It was a straight drop to the other rooms shattered door. "They must have shifted us when the room's filled up." Ruby offered.
"Glad I jammed a chunk of table into these blades." Yang whispered. "Ruby when it's tail goes into the doorway I'm going to toss you to the far side of that room. I'll fallow soon after. Go rose petal when the shark tries to bite, I should land on the other sided by then and can put a few rounds into it." Yang felt more then saw her sister nod, and wished she had something else besides fire dust to use. "I need an upgrade." She muttered as Ruby shifted down her arm hanging on with two hands. "Lets get it." She told Yang.
Yang waited swinging Ruby almost lazily back and forth. The two sisters watched the shark move, tracking them. "This is creepy." Yang heard Ruby mew.
When its fluke fins were past the door. When the other room was half empty of water. Yang launched Ruby. The shark thrashed out of the doorway its head coming out of the water. "Fuck!" Yang yelled past gritted teeth and jumped, pushing off the table to obtain more speed. Ruby had gone rose petal as the shark came up over half way out of the water, then it twisted almost doing a spin.
The shark reacted twisting around for Yang, like it expected this. At the last moment Yang used her shotguns to change direction, lightly kicking the sharks head as she flipped by. Yang hit with an almost back flop splash, hearing Rubys sniper rifle cracking in the enclosed space. Yang didn't try to hit it, just got under the shark, and pushed it into the air. Then shot it with her missile dust. Ruby had landed on the damaged tables edge, with one arm clutching a table leg and the other foot braced on the wall, the other knee braced on her rifle, one hand loading her single shot.
With water at less then chest level the shark landed. Water splashing, blinding Yang with the spray. Yang pushed into a corner and hoped the shark would do a straight line where she was. Nop. To Yang it seemed to swell up in size as it came mostly out of the water, time slowed for Yang seeing an opening mouth the rows and rows of teeth, twisted ones at the mouths edges. That dead white eye rolled back. How the water moved around and through the gills. The water being flung about by the trashing tail, and the whirlpool of the draining water. Feeling the hairs on her neck rise she felt afraid, it was a cold fear, a primal fear. Something went snap in her mind. Clarity like lightning struck Yang and she knew what had to be done. Fear took a back seat, replaced by a need, and a will a want to live.
Shotguning her way at the shark Yang used a chunk of her remaining aura in strength. A blast from Amber to get to the side, and a punch to the eye, discharging Celica as the blow landed. As it thrashed in pain, Yang submerged getting under it, then Yang pushed the front half out of the water, fingers digging into it's scales she muscled its body pointing the tail to the whirlpool the draining room created. Giving it one last heave when the tail went in. With Ruby distracting the shark by shooting at its head and mouth the whole time. It finely was caught, the draining water twisting the eight foot long flopping shark a half turn before sucking it through the doorway Rubys final shot as it went down broke it's aura.
The two didn't even get a breath before a small amount of ice came bobbing up as the last of the water drained out of the room. Gasping the sisters moved as one. They were alive is all the two knew and still fighting the shark. Two blue-white flashes lit the waters they could see in the watery doorway.
By the time Ruby reached the shattered doorway the water was half gone in the hallway, a large splash of red stained the water. Rubys breath hitched in shock before her mind caught up with her eyes. The shark was in three pieces, the red was its blood, poring out of the shark almost as fast as the water drained. Blake was facedown in the water rocking slightly by the waves, her weapon had been drawn to the drain and was laying over the bars, Blakes black ribbon still on her wrist, Ruby scrambled. "No! nonono." Rapid firing from her as she jumped next to Blake. Turning her over Blake seemed in shock the way her eyes rolled about, then she puked water, added a shudder before going limp.
Yang slightly behind Ruby was also stunned still for a few moments. Ruby had Blake that left Weiss, eyes darting about Yang found her, pined by the draining water and the sharks body. Splashing down into the now hip deep water Yang wasted no time. Weiss eyes were open as was her mouth, but she wasn't moving or blinking. Yang struggled to get the over sized slice of shark Blake she assumed made, off Weiss. It finely rolled off her as the water was all but drained.
Ruby had her hands full, Blake was larger then her by almost a foot. She managed to get Blakes stomach and lungs above her mouth, trying to drain the water out of her. She knew when the water completely drained she could do proper aid and CPR, but not in hip deep water. The height to the door was too much for her to reach, her own aura levels had dropped to near nothing trying to keep herself from drowning. She saw Yang literally using the last of her aura pumped into strength to get Weiss free. Blake again puked, as Ruby struggled to keep what little she had left in instead of barfing herself in sympathy.
As the two worked on there teammates one fact kept rolling around in Rubys head. They were harsh, here, Beacon would never do something even close to this, yet here it seemed it was a given. You would think an instructor or medic would show up, but no, this was left up to them. "Grims Bane kills grim, the only requirement is to be a hunter." Isaac had once told her, now with Blake laying all but dead on the floor, Rubys thoughts derailed. They were on the Ceiling, again. When had the world turned? Shaking her head at the amount of gravity dust being used Ruby concentrated on Getting Blake breathing. Her heart was still beating, now Ruby just had to clear her stomach and lungs.
Weiss woke with hitching breath her ribs sore, laying on her side, with her arm raised up as a pillow, Yang holding her shoulder. Weiss was hacking and spurting as her lungs tried to expel the remaining water. It seemed to go on forever, she could hear Blake coughing like her as she was recovering. Her teammates kept up a banter, making her think, when all she wanted was sleep, to rest from all of this. Yang had done CPR on her. Weiss thought Yang overdid it, and guessed by the lack of sharp pain when she breathed that no ribs were broken, Yang just bent them compressing her heart.
It took some time. They were tired and sea wet, the place smelled of dead shark and blood and every new position brought about a new round of coughing.
Finely they were ready to travel. Readying weapons and making sure everything was good to go, fully loaded they started slowly walking down the corridor.
It would be normal if they didn't have to walk around the ceiling light fixtures. Ruby took some shell casing, to judge the strength of the gravity dust. Every time, even when place at her feet the shells fell to them, up. They tried a few doors, jumping up to get too the latch, only to find it would not open or a stone or steel wall was on the other side.
"This is a night terror." Weiss complained her voice still sounding horse, but their aura's were coming back and that eased the pain. "How long have we walked? Ten, twenty minutes? No building has corridors that long. Look, the hallway is going on until you loose sight." Yang made a scoffing noise. When Weiss looked at her Yang shrugged with a smile. "I've seen the -House- you lived in, sooo, yep." Weiss harrumphed and swinging her arms like Yang remembered when she first arrived Weiss quickened her pace.
They walked. Traveling but four more doors when ahead someone opened a door and that man who had interview them walked out. Facing the room he said clearly. "You can move and talk now." Then he closed and locked the door. Shuffling some folders with his head down he took a few steps towards them. "Yo." Said Yang folding her arms across her chest.
The adult stopped, looking up at them. Then partly turned to look at the door he left before looking back at them. "Your, on the ceiling." He said clearly.
Weiss wanted to burst, but restrained herself. She was not about to lose her upbringing again. "Yes we are. We would like to come down. Please." She could half hear the smirks coming from behind her. The adult stared for a bit.
"Ok." He answered rather simply and put down the folders. Stood below and almost next to Weiss and held up his arms. When Weiss clasp his hands and he started to pull he told her in that authoritarian voice of his. "You should really consider pants if your going to be in this class."
To Weiss the world twisted, up was down, left right, even still, and on her feet her ear was telling her she was moving, car fast. She felt a wall at her back. "Try to keep your lunch down." Was all the advice the adult gave.
Yang who was next in there line sounded unsure. "Um, is there another way down, like a stair?" Holding up his hands the adult said in a dead pan voice "No."
Weiss kept blinking until her vision cleared, just in time as Ruby, the last in line more grasp the tips of her finger to the adult. "Is this painful?" A simple no was the reply. Then he pulled.
Ruby to Weiss turned into a blur of distorted shapes, for a few blinks it looked like she had six heads and they all faced different directions. A blink later and Ruby stood on the floor shaken, being leaned into the wall for support. "Try to keep you lunch down." He had said those exact same words to all of them.
"Dust never did that." Weiss groaned. "That was not dust." The adult replied walking past her then picking up his folders. Weiss eyed the top one a bit surprised as he unlocked and opened the door he had just left. It was a simple motion like a butler asking one to enter. Weiss moved on auto pilot with the rest shuffling behind her into that room Ruby being more guided by Yang.
"You may want to straighten up your, um, combat skirts?" The adult said closing the door. A soft click told them he locked them in.
"I don't care said Yang sitting down." The room looked exactly like there first one, the flooded one. "I hope nothing more is done today, a stiff wind could nock me over." Yang sighed aloud.
Blake sniffed the air. "Did someone throw up?" Like a switch. Now they could all smell it. Ruby whispering "No way." She more stumbled then walked over to a white washed trashcan and looked in.
"I don't believe this." Ruby picked up the trashcan. "This was, is mine, I think."
Shaking her head Weiss could only support her. "Those folders? On that interviewer? Rubys name was on the top folder." In the silence of the room Blake softly said as she quietly sat. "Wow." Then snickered a bit. "You two should straighten out your skirts, you're flashing us."
"Ya spoiled it." Scolded Yang. "I wanted to see how long it would take them to get a clue." Weiss turned in interesting shade of pink and Ruby turned red as they folded down and straightened things out.
"How did that even happen? One of the layers in her underskirt was rolled, all the way up. And why until now did I not see, or at least feel that?" Weiss continued all but ranting as Yang started punning them. Until someone walked through the wall the water had come from. Of average height with a hard light clipboard and a lab smock. He looked, well, neutral. The kind of person one would forget about seconds after you saw them.
"Ok, I think this is enough for today. I recommend the festal. Harvey is performing in about and hour and a half, that's enough to get something to eat, and he's a must see act." He turned and with out a back glance left, passing through the wall leaving ripples on the surface like water as he passed. There was a loud click at the door making the team jump a bit.
"I need a good stiff one." Yang said after she thumped the wall that guy had walked through. It was solid. Ruby hand chopped on one of Yangs short ribs. "A drink, a triple I'm thinking." Yang shot back.
Sighing Blake stood and opened the door. Sounds of traffic and birds, the noise of people and technology greeted them. Blake slowly walked out wondering aloud. "They're not even going to give us an explanation?"
Yang not to waste time fallowed her. "I'm betting the experience is what they're shooting for. Just how much was real, and not. I mean, did we time travel too?" With a hands up shrug Yang yammered on. "That guy seemed surprised seeing us. And what in all that is dark happened when we were pulled off the ceiling. Did we twist into living pretzel's? It looked like we did. So what happened?" Yang continued walking saying over her shoulder as her strides lengthened. "I want a drink, come on, I'm buying." Blake blinked as that thought became a reality and gracefully stumbled after Yang.
With a deep breath and half sigh Weiss started for the door. Once passed the frame, she was convinced, this was the outside, she could even see the entrance they used to enter the building. Yang and Blake were making a straight line to a corner pub calling its self the Spinning Tumbler.
"What ever it was, it's standard training." Weiss whispered to herself eyeing the sign, before fallowing. She could hear Ruby catching up her boots clomping on the sidewalk.
With a turn of the head Weiss saw Rubys unsure look as she eyed everything around her. "Relax." She consulted to her worried partner. "At least for a bit." She offered. "Class is out for the day, anything more and it's the real." Catching up Ruby mumbled.
"Is it? We could still be in there, and we couldn't know." Weiss sighed she had a point, but. "Ruby if we are and it is, don't worry, here at least no ones trying to kill us." Ruby shot her a glare.
Weiss smiled as if with a simple secret. "When did your dress dry out?" She shushed Ruby before she could answer. "Think, recall the event, and all the background. Use that as information. I was dry when I woke up, but I did not realize it until we walked outside, I still feel half drowned, but I was dry." Ruby looked down a frown of concentration knotting her eyebrows. Then she slowly nodded. "Dental, illusions can't fill in everything." Weiss nodded with a smile, Ruby had reasoned it out.
Looking up and with a slight smile Ruby stated. "I think, like Yang, I need a stiff one too." Weiss stopped in shock, scowling as Ruby started laughing heading for the pub. With a slightly larger smile.
Weiss shook her head and whispered. "Your getting as bad as your sister." But she had to admit, something, anything to smooth the edges, right now is a good idea.
A thought crossed her mind. Maybe that adult was trying to do them a favor? Weiss didn't trust reality right now, and maybe never would again. With a sigh she pushed open the doors and held one for Ruby. "Least it's a nice place." Ruby commented. The walls were festooned with old remnants of the past, cleaned and touched up, from dolls to traffic lights, old add signs and bottles, scattered about the bar and tables. They decorated the walls and lined shelves, were hung from the ceiling.
Memories
"D12735 describe your situation." The watchers voice sounded strained and somehow that gave him hope, he was worried.
"I'm face down, on the path. Hands grabbed me, spun me about. I have to open my eyes."
"Negative." Was the quick response. "You looked off the path twice, the third one and we loose you, your almost to the door, camera feed showed it clearly. D12735 keep your eyes tightly closed and lift your head, we will use the camera in your mining light to guide you."
D12735 slowly lifted his head. He could hear them, all around. Stirring the leaves and brush in there passing. He needed to keep his head, in the dark, in a black wood, black trees and bushes even the sky was black, no stars shown, yet a luminous light beamed through the trees and fog like mid afternoon of a misty day. His eyes wanted to open, he needed a distraction. "Watcher, do, do you have the time?" It seemed stupid but there it was.
After a pause he heard. "1342." He felt like crying, time, something that just didn't exist here. Now he had an anchor, something to focus on. "I'm panning to the left." He told the watcher.
Another long pause. "1344. Stop and pan to your right. Bushes are in front of you, I believe you are sideways to the path." D12735 half nodded turning his head slowly right.
"1346." Said the watch. "Confirmed. You are sideways to the path, move slowly to your right, the exit, distance appears to be thirty feet." D12735 didn't respond, he crawled. Once the watch told him he faced the right direction D12735 moved up to using his hands and knees.
The things in the forest kept knocking him down, turning him over and trying to remove his safety helmet. Other then a water bottle and a hard tack for food D12735 didn't have anything to stop them. One o'clock in the afternoon stretched to four o clock heading towards evening. All the while the watcher kept saying the time, it helped, he could not afford to panic, no mater what happened around him. Eyes closed D12735 doggedly reoriented and moved towards his goal.
The Black Forest was a door in a standard doorframe, assigned to his containment facility because of its dimensional rift ability's. SCP 1957, it had a single key in a tumble like lock, 1957-A, and you needed to turn or unlock the door and keep the key with you. Trials had found the key if left behind ended the D class who went in almost immediately. The rules for this wood were sadly, for D class, still being explored.
A formless black that even the spotlight's couldn't pierce greeted you when the door opened. Passing through to find oneself on a dirt path winding through a wooded glen that someone had painted shades of black. If one died in the wood 1957-A would reappear in the keyhole. The briefing was a simple one. Keep on the path, don't look at the wood. The examples and recording's convinced D12735 to never even think about it, yet he had. His first one was not even ten minutes into his walk.
A blast of wind and feet charging towards him and D12735 went into a defensive stance. Facing the side of the path. A black form of mist passed through him and continued on. That had been his first mistake. The second was an irritating howl, a half scream that would eat at your inner ear. The path curved going up a winding slope of a hill, he had looked up keeping his eyes straight, thinking he could see on the peripheral what ever was screaming, but the path had curved. A tall thin humanoid in black, wrapped in a black cloak stood next to the path, goat like horns reached above its head, a skull of an animal with blue glowing eyes. It looked right at D12735 and it seemed amused.
So to keep from seeing anything else, he asked the watcher if he would guide his steps. It had worked, until within sight of that damn door. Hands and claws had griped spun, and twisted him about. Even as he crawled D12735 was attacked, grabbled and dragged away from the door he could almost reach. Hours had passed just within a rocks throw of that door. Half crying he had screamed. "You're breaking your own rules, you're on the path!"
It stopped, everything had just stopped. In the quiet the watchers voice sounded like a yell. Standing D12735 panned left, then right, then unimpeded slowly walked over uneven ground as a blind man would.
"D12735. Your heart rate is over 180, you must calm yourself or you may pass out. 1722:." D12735 nodded, bent to grab his knees, taking slow deep breaths. This was almost too much, the door was but a few steps away, his muscles were shaking even drinking some water didn't help. This had been an on your nerves walk as a blind man, with things constantly dragging you from the door. Now he was but a few steps and the watcher was telling him to stop?
This was to be his last run. D12735 was almost to the day he would serve his sentence and be released. D12735 wondered if they wanted him dead. Some of the guards were blatant about it. Saying letting a child killer back into the world was a bad idea, that the Black Woods was a perfect death sentence, no one had made it to the end. They had laughed a lot, taking him to the containment room. Then saying goodbye like it was a goodbye.
Now he stood but steps from the door, the key still in his sealed pocket trying to get his breath and heart under control. Someone started playing the gagoren chant over his head set, the guttural Omm buzzing in his ears covered up that scream that never seemed to stop for a breath and did more to calm him then the exorcise the watcher had given.
"D12735." Came the watchers voice. "You ready to make history? Just a few steps, turn the key and walk to freedom. No one but you has made it this far. You ready? :1802." Nodding relived that it seemed the watcher wanted him to make it D12735 took the steps.
"I feel the door." He couldn't keep the tremor from his voice. "Permission to unseal key 1957-A."
"Permission granted. You may unseal SPC 1957-A. :1805." Nodding D12735 griped and broke the plastic seal on his leg pocket, took off his glove, and fished out the key. Finding the doorknob then the lock was just below. "D12735 your heart rate is approaching 170, but keep going, your almost there. :1811."
D12735 turned the key. A click of tumbles, a sudden quiet that seemed to echo across the land. Opening the door D12735 asked. "Door is open, permission to enter event horizon."
"Granted, good work D12735 :1812."
Moving forward a hand on the door the other on the frame D12735 opened his eyes facing the black of the door. Something grabbed his head and turned it before he could blink, then hit him, staggering D12735 tried to regain his balance. Something was at the door walking partly through it. That smile as it looked at him and pulled the key from the lock, inhumanly long, past the ears. Like wax it shifted into his form, looked just like him down to the broken seal on his pants leg and passed into the black of the doorframe. "Good to have you back D12735." Said the watcher.
Something seized him, dragging, almost throwing him into the wood. It was too late he knew, still, he refused to open his eyes even as he started screaming when what ever it was started eating him alive.
Isaacs eyes snapped open. His breathe coming raggedly to his ears, his mind sluggishly struggling from the nightmare. Pulling the sweat soaked sheets back and draping his legs over the edge of the bed. Isaac rubbed his face and eyes. "Doppelgangers." He muttered. Standing he ditched his wet PJ's heading for the shower. Half stopping, remembering Yang and Rubys team was here, he checked to make sure he was the only one up.
Showering helped to wake up, dim the dream, and take stock, and come down from what ever he dreamed. Save this one, nothing ever worked. More sleep? That was a fantasy, it would be a long day today.
At this point his mind like the other times would keep spinning around that fact, he remembered something being dragged off the path as he returned to his world, it wasn't human, but Doppelgangers are telepathic, can mold themselves and become what they mimic, it's complete, even passes a telepathic scan, a key or phrase or situation would be the only thing that could snap them out of the role taken. More then once he wondered to himself. "Did I die in the Blackwood?" Or was the doppelganger being punished for failing? Keeping Isaacs mind locked with his as he died? It had entered the path to turn his head, were there any rules there?
There was no answer that Isaac knew. He had never told the watchers. He would be killed, just as a precaution. It was one of the major reasons why he had stayed. Never joined the strike teams or accepted any promotions or advancements. In case he was a Doppelganger, he wanted to be around people who could take him down.
Drying off and getting ready for the day after that dream was all he could do for now. Isaac understood that only when he died or the key was given would he truly know, and it would still be the same end, he, this personality if you will, would be dead. Of all the terrors he had seen, and survived, this one was the worst he had to admit.