It..had been so long since he had last used those powers, and had even touched the video one, that he wouldn't be surprised if it no longer worked. He had been forced to use it every day since he had been captured by Augustine and the D.U.P., and had used it every day since the escape, as to be sure that he could save other conduits from a similar fate.
But now that he didn't have to use it as often, he simply chose not to. ...Because he was terrified of the consequences.
He didn't want to think of what could happen if he lost control again. Yet...he didn't know what would happen if he suddenly lost the powers, right when it was needed the most. So he'd occasionally hold his hands up and wait for them to flare with those familiar pixels. That was always the furthest extent.
Now, though...now was the time that he had grown tired of seeing the same walls, day after day after day. It wasn't much of a life, and now he was really beginning to realize that.
His own dominion was beginning to feel like a simple version of Curdun Cay. And he needed to leave to be sure that it didn't just grow to morph into that sort of hell that he's trying to escape.
So he pries the door open to the nighttime sky. It was an abrupt urge, and he didn't want to bother either of his friends with details about how he had decided that, on a whim, he wanted to leave the comfort of familiarity. He couldn't say that to either of them without them pushing him further than he was willing to go.
He lets his legs guide him forward; he's studied this area more than enough times to know where everything is through the cameras, and he knows he won't get lost. He's prepared for anything and everything that gets in his way.
...Except for that one thing that led him to grow distant from everything that was familiar. And he managed to stumble back into that very virus again. He didn't think much of it at first; just brushed it off as a phantom of his own mind; something that he was just thinking up with the peak of his own paranoia. But the figure turned, and he swears he can see a grin growing on that man's face.
His legs move on their own. Without thinking, he's already running out of there as fast as his legs can get him to go. Away from that figure...away from that voice, and those horribly familiar eyes. He just needs an out, and down around the corner of the block is the best way to go.
Yet, no matter how fast he thinks he is, or tries to believe he is, he's just not fast enough. He's yanked back by his bag, and he gets his glasses knocked right from the bridge of his nose from the momentum. But they're the least of his worries when that man turns him around.
"I've been looking for you," The man announces. Eugene starts to sink back like he'll disappear into his bag. He should have called one of his friends prior to leaving. Damn it for not thinking properly.
"Y-you...you were…?" He asks meekly. He doesn't like this man. Everything about him screams evil, and it makes him uneasy.
"Of course I was. I wanted to see how well you're adjusting with the seed. I see you've kept yourself hidden away. That won't last."
Eugene swallows hard and would try to duck away if he wasn't paralyzed with fear. "What do you-"
"You know very well what I mean. Those urges? They'll become very familiar to you soon." His glasses are handed back to him, and he's too frightened to ask just how he could have gotten a hold of them when he was in the other direction. There's no way he could have gotten a those glasses without moving to get them. And at that point, even though he's blind, he would have been able to see it happen.
"Wha…?"
"Don't tell anyone of this encounter. If you do, I'll be sure you regret it to the fullest."
And with that, Eugene was released with a slight shove. It knocked him off balance, and he had to do this awkward stumble to be sure he didn't collide with the ground, or a tree nearby. When he got his bearings and adjusted his glasses into place, the man was already gone.
Damn him for wanting to go out alone. It'd never happen again.