"We need to take him out of there." Mare says through gritted teeth, frustrated with repeating himself for the fifth time.
"Later." The same response Mad has given the last two days. It takes a few more twists before Mad grins and with an uncharacteristically gentle pull, he removes the arm off the unconscious cyborg laid out in his lab, holding it aloft and staring at it in awe. "Would you look at that?"
"Twenty minutes. That's all I'm asking." It's hard to attempt to reason with someone who's name is literally Mad, but this is starting to get out of hand. "You promised you wouldn't go overboard with this."
Turning to glare at Mare, Mad tosses the arm a bit more carelessly to the side, it lands on a nearby wheely table that rolls a little at the sudden weight. "He'll be fine, Mare. Why do you have such a fucking conscience all of a sudden?"
"I don't. You-"
"Then shut up and let me work!" Mad turns back, leaning in to take a better look at where the arm had been attached to the human body marvelling at the fusion of technology and flesh laid bare before him. Mad's already removed the leg and as soon as the external life support is set up, he'll make a start on the chest. That's where the good stuff is. Things that Mad has only seen talked about in theory, he's almost giddy at the prospect of seeing it in practice.
Mare goes silent but continues to silently stew from the side. He doesn't care what Mad says, the cyborg needs to come out of his active nightmare soon or there's gonna be problems. Mare's normal nightmares are like jumpscares, initially scary but as time goes on you realise how stupid you were to have been caught off-guard by them. Active nightmares though, the longer you're left in them…let's just say there are consequences.
I mean, sure, the cyborg's active nightmare was pretty fun to put together, and the opportunity to dick with Dark's new golden boy is hardly one Mare was gonna pass up, but Mare knows what it's like to be trapped, and even with the tactical advantages of keeping the guy compliant and unconscious, he's hardly going to get far without his arm and leg attached.
Mad though isn't reasonable at the best of times and now that he's got what he's wanted for a long time, he's reluctant to let it go even for five minutes. The meticulous study of the cyborg continues. Two days turn into three, the external life support is set up and still Mad refuses to let Mare wake him up. Keeps saying about how he's too deep, up to his elbows in new information , how there's still so much to learn before he can take a break.
Three days turn into five and Mare is starting to flicker, his form becoming unstable in his anger as he starts to argue louder, though Mad has never been afraid of the spirit, laughing off his very real threats. One of the disadvantages of threatening someone who got stuck in a restaurant when it burned down, who also happens to be a maniac, nothing you say holds any weight in their eyes.
A few more days and Mare has given up trying to maintain his corporeal form around Mad. Too much anger, too much frustration to hold it together and so, in his pure spirit form he watches, eyes locked on the cyborg's face as Mad continues to work. The cyborg is still sound asleep, not a peep having been heard from the moment Mare put him to sleep, but yesterday tears started falling over his cheeks from under closed lids. He's been in there too long and Mare can see his need for revenge against Dark for what it is.
For now he's playing the waiting game. Some point soon Mad is going to have to stop. It's been a week and like a kid with a new toy, he hasn't eaten or slept, forgoing the essentials, fuelled by his excitement, and Mare can see the weariness beginning to drag on him even as he continues to look and study.
There's a small pile of journals growing beside Mad, each one packed with everything, every little detail that Mad has observed, every theory disproved, everything that turns out to actually work. So much new information, but it's still not enough for him. That's why he's pushing his limits. It's what he needs to make sure nobody ever underestimates him again.
Another couple of hours pass before he just has to stop, his eyes dragging themselves closed and making it so he simply cannot go any further. Reluctantly he leaves to sleep, knowing that as long as he's in this room, he'll still be compelled to work.
This is Mare's opportunity. He has to act fast.