Chapter 4:

The door to the filing room trembled as something on the other side crashed into it. The force was sudden, yet something within Lyner told him that it was just a test. And that the next time would not be as lenient.

A set of sharp, dark claws suddenly splintered the wood. Raked through it in a desperate to get in.

Lyner and Lazarus shared a brief look before they abruptly dropped their files and bolted further into the filing room. Behind the book cases and upturned filing cabinets. But there was nowhere for them to go. There was only one way in and one way out.

They reached the furthest back corner of the room. Where they found an old table with a cabinet slanted to the side leaning against it. There was nowhere for them to hide. The table did not offer them much coverage.

A loud crack caused the two of them to whip around, Lazarus unconsciously standing in front of Lyner. Neither of them said a word as they prepared themselves for battle with the only weapons they had – themselves and their elemental abilities. For it was clear that whoever or whatever was breaking into the filing room with them was one of those 'units' that had been sent to find them.

A battle was the last thing they needed, however. If it was one of those units, then their attacks were only going to attract more. There had to be another way!

In desperation Lyner looked frantically at his surroundings once more. And his gaze drifted upwards. Toward the ceiling.

Where he found a small beacon of hope.

Lyner grabbed the back of Lazarus' shirt and tugged on it sharply to get his attention. When the other blond glanced at him, uncharacteristically skittish, Lyner simply pointed toward the ceiling. Where a piece of the ceiling panelling was slightly ajar, revealing an open area just beyond.

Lazarus did not need further explanation.

He hastily shoved Lyner toward the table, and in a scramble, they both climbed upon it. And with the added height of the collapsed filing cabinet, Lyner was able to reach the ceiling with ease. He shoved the panelling aside and hefted himself up into the open ceiling space. Though dark, with dangling wires and cobwebs, it was a much better option than what could be charging into the filing room.

Lyner crawled out of the way of their makeshift manhole and turned around, lying flat on his stomach to balance his weight against the roof. He was not sure how strong it was. And the last thing he wanted was to crush through just after finding potential, if temporary, safety.

Knowing that there was not much time left, he offered Lazarus a hand up if he needed it. And Lazarus immediately took it, grasping his hand tightly with his right, as the other gripped the edge of the ceiling. He lifted himself up and wiggled his way into the ceiling space, much like Lyner had done.

Just as the loud sound of breaking wood was heard below them.

Lazarus rolled onto his side, away from the manhole, while Lyner quickly took the same panelling and replaced it, covering up their escape route. Hoping to cover up their tracks.

They both than fell still and silent.

Whoever had broken into the filing room, however, was anything but. Several loud noise, like someone grabbing random pieces of furniture and throwing them in a fit of rage, was heard. It started off distant. But it soon found its way directly beneath them, prompting both Lyner and Lazarus to wince. For Lyner, he instinctively held his breath, something Lazarus probably did out of caution, too.

All they could do was hope that it did not inspect the ceiling next…

After one loud crash, something Lyner imagined to be a bookcase receiving a hard shove and crashing to the floor, everything went silent. A very still, eerie silent. After so much noise and chaos, such stillness and quiet was unnerving. Suspicious, even.

Neither Lyner nor Lazarus dared to speak yet.

"I…I think it's gone," Lazarus whispered after a couple of minutes of complete nothingness.

"Y-yeah," Lyner murmured. "Safe to say, that was one of those, ah, 'units'."

"Oh yeah, definitely." Lazarus sighed and fell to lay on his back, slowly relaxing his posture. "Looks like we're stuck up here for a while."

Lyner rolled over onto his side and spent a moment looking at their new surroundings. The roof space was open, with very little restrictions and barriers. There were few, of course. Support beams, air vents, and other structures. And the height restricted them to crawling on their stomach and elbows. But they could move about freely, potentially reaching any section of the floor they wished.

They just needed to be careful.

A slight light anomaly not far from where they rested caught his attention and Lyner squinted his eyes. Was that an air vent? Maybe they could use that to get a visual on whoever or whatever was now hunting them.

"Laz," Lyner whispered, quickly gaining the other's attention. "I think there's an air vent."

He carefully crawled his way over to the light, desperate not to make a sound. It seemed that he was right. It was an air vent, angled over the corridor. Lyner paused at the edge of the vent, close enough to peer through the slates. Lazarus crept his way next to him, shuffled close to his side and reached his arm over him to rest his hand on the other side of him. To balance his weight.

The two of them waited, their breaths slow and quiet.

A red blur darted under the vent, which caused Lyner and Lazarus to wince. Lyner's breath hitched in his throat and with Lazarus so close to him, he felt him do the same. Whatever that thing was, it moved quickly. And was likely the very thing that was hunting them.

A figure in red abruptly appeared directly under the air vent. Lyner and Lazarus instinctively slinked back, but they continued to watch. To inspect their likely stalker.

Somewhat similar to those shadowy entities, but with obvious differences. The torn rags were a crimson red, hanging from broad shoulders, and arms that were covered in ratty black bandages, where fingers became gnarled and draconic. No legs to be seen, allowing for it to move quickly and silently, gliding effortlessly. A crimson hood covered its head and a featureless mask covered its face, if it possessed one.

The crimson entity stayed beneath the air vent and under their increasingly unnerved gazes, looking left and right. Frantic in its movements.

It was looking for them.

Please don't let it look up…

The crimson entity snapped to the right and darted off. Silently and in a blur. Moving so quickly that it was frightening. Running from it, from a horde of them was not something he nor Lazarus could do.

Lyner released a slow breath, and felt Lazarus do the same. Lazarus then pulled away from the vent and Lyner did the same, the two of them quietly moving to a dark, quiet area. They had to crawl slowly, soundlessly. They had gotten a visual of what they were dealing with. And it was not exactly good.

"What do we do now?" Lyner asked quietly.

Rather grimly, Lazarus shook his head. "I don't know. We might be safe up here for now, but it's only a matter of time before they start searching up here, too."

And they could not properly defend themselves in such a cramp place. Not to mention, as soon as they used one of their elemental attacks, it would allow all of those things to narrow in on them.

They were not in a good place.

"Lyner, listen. If those things corner us, I want you to run and hide. I'll be the distraction."

Lyner furrowed his brow. "What?"

"I know I only exist in that World of Souls," Lazarus began. "You exist elsewhere."

"That doesn't mean I'm going to just abandon you," Lyner snapped. "So, you only exist in the World of Souls? That doesn't mean you can't exist elsewhere. Or that you deserve to be some maniac's experiment."

He was insulted that Lazarus thought Lyner would just up and agree.

Lazarus shook his head, the corner of his mouth twitched into a half smile. He opened his mouth in some fruitless attempt to reply, only for a loud crash nearby to interrupt him. Both he and Lyner instinctively snapped their attentions toward the direction they estimated the sound resonated from.

Thankfully, light did not flood the open ceiling space. But it was a sign that their stalkers were growing restless and frantic in their search for them.

They were running out of time.

Lyner was also growing increasingly worried for Ayatane and the others. Where were they? Were they safe? Did they have their weapons and armour? Were they as vulnerable as he and Lazarus were? Or were they in a far worse state since the maniac in charge was only interested in blonds?

Not knowing anything was the worst part.

He really hoped Ayatane was ok…

Lyner was abruptly pulled from his thoughts when something broke through a ceiling panel.

And latched onto his ankle.

Shit…

"Lazarus, don't move!" Lyner managed to get out before he suddenly found himself ripped back and through an open panel in the roof.

The next thing he knew was that he was thrown onto a bed by his ankle. He landed on his back, and though the mattress was nowhere near soft nor comfortable, he still bounced from the force of the impact. And he uttered a strangled gasp in surprise at being thrown so easily. The rickety hospital bed creaked and groaned under his weight, and it rattled violently when a crimson entity suddenly snared his wrists and pulled them up over his head, pinning them there.

They were probably attempting to confine him to a bed again. He was not going to make it easy for them!

He had no choice!

Lyner kicked one crimson entity in the face with his heel, while he focused his lightning energy toward the one that wished to restrain him to the bed. His lightning attack immediately caused the entity to convulse violently before white smoke seeped out from behind the mask, and much like what would occur in the World of Souls, it seemly disappeared into the ether.

He wasted no time rolling off the bed, narrowly avoiding the flailing claw of another entity. Just as he placed his feet on the ground, he felt a rush of strong wind next to him. He instinctively glanced over his shoulder, in the direction the wind was aimed in, and watched as a crimson entity was slammed into a row of cabinets.

That was his cue to finish it off.

Lyner quickly conjured a ball of lightning and aimed it toward the entity's chest. And like the previous one, it reacted violently, before disappearing after a puff of smoke. He remained vigilant as Lazarus hopped down from the ceiling.

It was probably best that he exited the roof under his own strength. Better than being hauled out by his ankle like Lyner was.

What about the order of being detained unharmed? That certainly wasn't gentle!

Lazarus immediately darted to his side and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "You in one piece?"

Lyner looked down at his ankle and noted that it was already beginning to bruise. "You could say that."

"Can you run?"

"Oh, I'd be able to run on a broken leg, if I had to."

Somehow, Lazarus managed to smile at him and patted him on the shoulder. "Good, because that's what we need to do. Let's go!"

"Where should we go?!" Lyner asked as the two of them just ran.

"The stairs!"

That was probably their best bet. Ayatane and the others were not on the same floor at them. They had to be on another floor. Hopefully, after they heard that announcement, they had reached the same conclusion. And were enroute for them, too.

As they rounded a corner, the two of them careened to a stop. A horde of Crimson Entities were waiting for them. In desperation, they both spun around to return down the path they came. Only to find that blocked by yet more enemies. And soon, others appeared from the open doorways and rooms.

Lyner and Lazarus found themselves standing back-to-back. With nowhere to go.

They were surrounded!

Damn it!

It was just as Lyner feared. As soon as they used their elemental attacks, the other 'units' were able to narrow in on them. There was no way they could take them all on.

"Ah, Lazarus?" Lyner murmured.

"Yeah?"

"I don't suppose you have any ideas, do you?"

"I'm afraid not, no."

He was afraid of that. Lyner was out of ideas, too. Should they attempt to fight? To see how far they could get before capture?

"Surrendering isn't my thing," Lazarus muttered. He, however, sighed loudly, his shoulders dropping in defeat. "But I can't see anything else we can do."

"Let's…let's retain our strength for the true threat," Lyner consoled. "The head doctor is the real mastermind behind all of this."

"That's true." Lazarus suddenly sighed dramatically and held up his hands in a display of surrender. "Well, it has been fun running around an abandoned hospital playing hide and seek, but I guess it's time to see the man in charge. Well, chop chop. Time to escort us to your master."

Despite himself, Lyner felt a half smile twitch onto his lips as he held his hands up in surrender, too.

Miraculously, the Crimson Entities understood what Lazarus had said. Instead of rushing forward to attack or to capture them, they held back. Allowing only two entities to float forward. One to grab for Lyner, to take his arms and to twist them behind his back to ensure his surrender and capture. And for another to do the same for Lazarus.

Again, those entities did not seem to understand the word 'unharmed.' They were not exactly gentle.

They dragged them through the darken hallways of the hospital until they began to take corridors that Lyner did not recognise. But the entities moved quickly, so it was possible that Lyner simply did not have to chance to properly inspect his surroundings.

He could have sworn he saw the words "Resuscitation Ward 1" written on one of the walls, though.

After what felt like minutes, they finally reach an ominous set of black doors. Ones that the Crimson Entities threw open without hesitation. To reveal a large room. One that seemed to hold no place in a hospital.

It was spacious and empty. Saved for a viewing platform above with two circular podiums located in the middle of the floor. And it was there that their crimson captors steered them toward. As Lyner and Lazarus staggered upon the metal contraptions, they were abruptly released by their captors, just as glass tubing suddenly descended from the ceiling over them. Entrapping them.

It…was the same glass confinement used in scientific experiments.

"You've kept me waiting," an unknown male voice chided.

Lyner instinctively raised his hands and pressed them against the glass. Though he knew it was entirely fruitless, he pushed against his glass prison as he glared up at the man that stood upon a raised platform. Created for the sole purpose to lord over them, over his victims, no doubt.

That man, elderly, with short white hair. He had a beard with a moustache, both of which were neatly maintained and purposely styled in a sharp, pointed manner. He wore a three-piece suit, with a monocle in his left eye. Yet, over that suit he wore a white coat. A medical coat, no doubt.

"You're Edwald Renfield, I assume?"

The fine doctor himself.

"Indeed, I am," the man replied. "I take it you have heard of me?"

"Nothing good, if that is what you're asking," Lazarus returned, unwilling to show even an inch of his uncertainty.

The man, Edwald, did not get angry, though. He sighed aloud and shook his head in dismay. "Some people simply do not understand the geniuses of others, I am afraid."

Lyner rapped at the glass of his new prison with his knuckles. "What is the genius behind this?"

"It's for the sake of humanity. I am helping them to evolve."

"By killing them?" Lazarus retorted.

"We found your ledger and medical files," Lyner added. "With all the names of your victims."

"They are merely the results of a weak society," Edwald replied just a smoothly, but without any emotion, certainly without any remorse. "What I am doing is making the perfect soldier. The perfect fighter. Make them flawless on the field and in the air."

Lyner and Lazarus shared a quick look. Though it was short, it conveyed so much. They were both unsettled. They both knew that they could not talk their way out of the situation. Their attacks were rendered useless due to the glass containers they were imprisoned in. And the man that stood before them, lorded over them, was not a rational one. Any rationality he once had was long gone.

Their only chance, their only recourse was to stall for time.

That was their only hope.

"What is it that you want from us?" Lazarus asked carefully.

Edwald unexpectedly pointed toward the ceiling, prompting both Lyner and Lazarus to instinctively look upwards. Where an amazing and ancient artwork covered the entirety of the ceiling. Of beings in long flowing robes with large white wings, descending from clouds and bright, celestial lights.

But what did-?

"They say angels are created in the likeness of the Almighty God," Edwald began. "Holy beings of light, who battles against darkness and against death itself. Who are fearless and benign, who are perfect and flawless. That is what I am trying to emulate."

…He was trying to create angels?

"Why should this God only grant his angels the gift of wings?" Edwald continued, his voice a near growl, showing a small hint of emotion for the first time since he started speaking with them. "Why am I forbidden to do so?"

"You think of yourself as a god?" Lyner asked as unease settled in the pit of his stomach.

"You want to force us to bear these angel wings?" Lazarus also questioned, doing very little to hide his scepticism.

"The Angel Project, yes," Edwald replied smoothly. "You two will be my ultimate success."

He must not realise that they were just souls at present. Too caught up in his goal of 'advancing humanity.' Yet, Lyner did not know what kind of damage could be done to a soul. And whether it could be transferred to his physical body once he returned to his home world.

If he or Lazarus survived the experiment, of course.

"Then I volunteer to go first," Lazarus suddenly stated.

Lyner bristled, immediately thinking back to what Lazarus had said to him previously. "Lazarus!"

The other man immediately turned to look at him, his expression uncharacteristically serious. "I'm not budging on this, Lyner."

"You don't deserve to go through this!"

"And your world can't afford to let anything happen to you!"

"I can handle it!"

"Don't go martyr on me!"

A deep, low chuckling, ominous in nature, caused Lyner and Lazarus to immediately tense and to whip around to face the doctor that lorded over them once more. The man's face, though wrinkled and grey, appeared…thrilled. His eyes wide, his lips pulled back to reveal a twisted grin.

"Yes, you two are perfect!"

A light, white mist suddenly rose up from the bottom of Lyner's glass prison. It curled around his ankles before it rosed up around him. A sickly-sweet smell touched his senses and it quickly registered to him what it was.

It was sleeping gas. A powerful one at that.

Lyner felt himself begin to fall under the hold of the sleeping gas almost immediately. His vision waned and his knees weakened beneath him. He…was the one to go first, it seemed.

Lazarus must have reached the same realisation that Lyner had as his eyes abruptly widened and an expression of true fear appeared on his face, something he had never seen on the blond gunner's face before. He banged on the glass of his own prison with his fists and shouted his name in alarm and in panic.

Lyner's hand squeaked over the glass of his prison, his vision fading on Lazarus' fearful face. All he could think of was how he should apologise to everyone before everything went dark…