Chapter 3:
Ayatane was not happy.
Waking up in a dark room, one littered with upturned furniture and decaying wallpaper, alone with no memory of how he came to be there would do that to a man. There were two things he could console himself with, however – he still had his weapons and his armour. He ensured that he had both things before he slowly rose from where he laid on the ground.
From how he found himself sprawled out across the floor; it felt to him that someone had just tossed him aside dismissively. Unconcerned, uncaring of what happened to him.
A slight creak in his neck was testament to that.
He pushed himself to his feet and carefully studied his new surroundings. The room offered little information, however. An empty bookcase broken in one corner, a decaying chair in another, with paint and wallpaper peeling from the walls. A simple room.
It was highly unlikely that he would find any information about his situation in such a lifeless room. He best go in search for Lyner and the others.
Ayatane kept a hand upon one of his weapons as he stepped out into the hallway. It was as decrepit and abandoned as the room he found himself in. Long and narrow, there were doors lining either side. Left and right, nothing to indicate where he was.
All he could do was choose a direction and walk.
As Ayatane walked, he paused by the other rooms and peered inside. He had found himself callously thrown into one, so it was possibility that Lyner and the others were in the same state.
For the life of him, he could not remember how he came to be in such a…situation. He remembered being tasked with gathering materials and food products. He was to work with Lyner, of course. But with Troy, York, Lazarus, Raze, Zelos, and little Vivi. Though the task was important, it was by no means dangerous or life-threatening.
Yet, something happened.
That was all he could recalled. Only that something had happened.
A movement from the corner of his eye caused Ayatane to tense. He hunched his shoulders and wrapped his hands around the handles of his weapons. He unsheathed them in a flurry when a red blur appeared directly in front of him. Harden, gnarled claws clashed with his blades, allowing for him to finally get a proper visual.
It was a reaper, ghostly like entity. Crimson rags hung off its upper body, its arms covered in black bandages, where they tapered off to revealed twisted, inhuman claws. A hood and a featureless masked covered its head. Yet, it did not possess any legs.
Interesting. A creature he had not encountered before. And he had not heard a thing. It moved so silently. And quickly. He must ensure he had a visual on it at all times.
Still, an enemy was an enemy. And he would deal with it as such.
Ayatane pushed back against the strange crimson entity and rapidly slashed at it with his blade, his weapons slicing through the chest of the being before it had the chance to react. It stilled in response before its body contorted violently, where white smoke suddenly seeped from behind the mask.
It then disappeared into the ether.
Ayatane returned his blades to their sheathes. A frown slipped across his lips. Such creatures were lurking about, were they? He best search for Lyner and the others to ensure their safety. Oh, he knew they could take care of themselves. When they were awake. But they could still be unconscious. He would feel better when they were gathered back together.
As he turned to continue his search, however, a piece of paper on the floor before him caught his attention. From the abandonment of the structure around him, it looked out of place.
He picked up the fragile, yellowing piece of paper. It appeared to be a news article from an old newspaper. It spoke of a hospital. And about a man. Someone called Dr Edwald Renfield. Someone who was had been rewarded for his work in resuscitation. Yet, there were those who criticised him, all the same. Claimed that he was toying with his patients' lives.
Hmm…
Ayatane turned his attention to his surroundings. Now that he looked closer, there were little signs indicating that the structure was that of a hospital. The guiderails, some of the pieces of the broke furniture. Ah, yes, even the beds.
Interesting.
He pushed the information to the back of his mind for the time being and dropped the piece of paper to the floor.
But as he turned to continue his way, he found himself interrupted once more. By the sound of someone's voice, someone familiar, as they yelled out an attack. He turned his head to the left, where another hallway interconnected with his.
An entity, like the one Ayatane had faced himself, appeared. It flew back, thrown back by an attack. It crashed into the wall and bounced, and much like it had done with him, disappeared into the ether after a white smoke evaporated from behind the mask. A victim of an attack.
From someone he knew, no doubt.
"Who's there?" he asked.
A mere moment later, Raze appeared from around the corner. His mana sword still activated. He immediately narrowed in on him and sighed aloud, his shoulders sagging, relieved to have found someone else.
"Is it just you?" Raze asked.
"Yes, unfortunately," Ayatane replied and walked over to him. "Are you harmed?"
"No, I'm fine." Raze deactivated his sword and frowned. "But it was close. I didn't hear it. It was lucky that I saw it from the corner of my eye."
Indeed. Receiving an ambush from such an entity could prove dangerous.
Instead of placing his weapon back within the sheath, Raze kept it within his hand. Ready to activate it at a moment's notice. His grip both tense and twitchy as he glanced at their surroundings. "We seem to be in some kind of an abandoned hospital."
Oh?
"Did you happen to find some newspaper articles, too?" Ayatane questioned.
Far from surprised by his question, Raze nodded his head idly. "A couple of them. They spoke of a hospital. One stated how it was under investigation for mysterious deaths and the other was about how the hospital was to be shut down after the head doctor, who was under investigation for being a serial killer, committed suicide."
Head doctor, hm? Could it be the same one that was mentioned in the article piece that Ayatane had found?
Ayatane held his chin. "I see. It appears to be the history of this place. It seems that we are inside the hospital mentioned in the newspaper articles."
Raze frowned. "Do you think learning about this place will help us escape?"
"Possibly." It was the only thing they had to go on. "But that will have to wait until we find everyone first."
"Right."
… … … … …
Ayatane led with his right foot and unleashed a furious attack to destroy two Crimson Entities in front of him. Behind him, he heard Raze release an attack of his own, destroying an entity or two who tried to sneak up on them.
Those entities…certainly were a hindrance.
They could move about more easily if they did not also have to do with such persistent enemies.
"What do you think those things are?" Raze asked as Ayatane returned his blades to their sheathes. "Former residents?"
"I do not know," Ayatane replied. "They certainly do not act as such."
Though, it was possible that they had been twisted and tortured, forced to act as mindless and vicious soldiers for their master. Hopefully, by defeating them, they were releasing them from their torture.
"The only thing we can do is continue to defeat them as we search for the others," Ayatane said.
So, with that, they returned to their search. It was all they could do for the time being.
They fell into a cautious silence as they moved along the hallways. The scenery stayed the same – decayed, dark, and stifling. Each room was the same. As was each hallway and corridor.
Yet, as they turned a corner, they found a slight anomaly. A twin set of doors. With windows within the wooden panelling, yet the glass was smoky, preventing them from viewing through to the other side.
Unlike previous rooms, the doors were closed. Curious.
Ayatane shared a look with Raze, a look of caution. He then turned his attention back to the double doors. He placed one hand on the door and the other on handle of his weapon. He counted to three in his head before he pushed the doors opened and abruptly stepped inside.
And they were greeted by the sight of a young man with blue hair and a katana. And that of an adolescent with white hair.
Thankfully, no one had immediately unleashed an attack in their preparedness for battle. They quickly realised that there was no threat and pulled back. In fact, there was relief from all those involve.
Troy immediately relaxed his posture and sheathed his blade swiftly. "Good, you two are unharmed," he said.
"As you are," Ayatane replied as he and Raze joined up with them, the doors swinging shut behind them. The room appeared to be that of a cafeteria of sorts. "I assume you have faced off against numerous Crimson Entities?"
"Unfortunately, yes." Troy appeared annoyed as Vivi stepped out from seeking shelter behind him. "They are a nuance more than a threat."
He supposed they would be for some of Troy's calibre. At least he was the one to have found Vivi.
"Th-they don't feel like anything I've seen before," Vivi unexpectedly revealed.
Interesting. They were not like the creatures and monsters back in the World of Souls? Perhaps they were indeed unique to the hospital, having been created by this head doctor. Dr Edwald Renfield, if Ayatane remembered correctly.
Still, he could ponder more about that later. From his estimations, everyone had awoken around the same time and immediately went in search for each other. Good. Hopefully, he would meet up with Lyner, soon. And with everyone together, they could truly begin the search of information.
Though, it would not hurt to ask, nevertheless.
"I do not suppose you found newspaper articles about a hospital, have you?" Ayatane asked the two.
Troy arched a questioning eyebrow. "We have, actually," he admitted. "They spoke of a hospital. And a doctor who was accused of conducting experiments on his patients, his accusers claiming that he was playing God."
Hm, the more that he learned of the hospital and the head doctor, the more he came to understand how the hospital came to be the state it was. And what those Crimson Entities could be.
With so many newspaper articles, there was little doubt that they were in the very same hospital mentioned. But the main question was why? How was it integrated within the World of Souls? And how they came to be trapped inside?
He supposed those questions would have to wait until everyone was found safe and sound.
The floor and walls around them trembled suddenly and a loud explosion soon followed, the shockwave causing Ayatane and his companions to wince and to grow tense. In preparation for the introduction of a new threat.
And yet, there was something…familiar about that explosion.
"Was that…one of Zelos' attacks?" Raze mused aloud.
Now that he mentioned it, the dark-hair mercenary could be rather trigger happy with his explosions on the battlefield. Especially when he was frustrated.
Another explosion was heard, yet the second did not possess a shock wave. Instead, it held concentrated heat. The crackling of flames and sparks.
There was something familiar about that one, too.
Troy pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "And that was definitely York."
Were their two companions in a tough battle? Or simply releasing some of their frustrations? The two were fairly known for their, well, fiery personalities. York, especially.
The twin doors of the cafeteria burst open, not from a fiery explosion, but by a forceful kick. And a certain black-haired mercenary stood on the threshold. Sword in one hand, his gun in the other. He did not look pleased nor concerned.
"I'm tired of fucking around!" he snapped.
Hm, Ayatane could only assume that Zelos had met more than his fair share of those strange Crimson Entities.
From behind him popped out a redhead, his expression much like Zelos'. But that smoothed out slightly, allowing a flicker of relief to appear when he turned his head in the direction that Ayatane and the others stood.
"There you are!" he said as he stalked over them. "Where have you been hiding at?"
"York," Troy said, both in relief yet with exasperation. "There is no subtly with you, is there?"
"What the hell does that mean?"
Ayatane left the two friends to bicker as he turned his attention back to the cafeteria doors. He expected to see two familiar blonds to appears, hoping mostly for Lyner's safe return, he was not going to lie. But when only York and Zelos joined them, a deep frown made its way to his lips.
"You have not seen Lyner?" he asked.
York paused his bickering with Troy to look over at him before he spent a moment to do a quick head count of the others within their party. He soon realised that two members were still missing, and he frown in annoyance. "You lot are the first we've come across."
That was deeply concerning. Lyner would have been the first person to insist on finding everyone safe and sound before searching for information about the structure they were in.
Where could he be?
"You guys discover any information about the hospital we're in?" Raze asked.
"We're in a hospital?" York returned, sincerely confused.
Ayatane resisted the urge the sigh. Well, it seemed that York's first thought was to go in search for the others. He supposed that was admirable.
But as Ayatane turned his attention toward Zelos, to ask whether he had found anything interest, he found the mercenary rolling his eyes at the redhead gunner's antics.
"I didn't find any information about the hospital. But I did find something interesting," he revealed.
"What do you mean?"
Zelos ignored the question, however. Instead, he turned and motioned for everyone to follow him. "It's best you see for yourself."
Curious.
Ayatane shared a look with his companions, yet they all saw no harm in following the mercenary. Zelos led them through the cafeteria and back out into the hallways. But he led them down a series of them, ones that Ayatane had not encountered, where they eventually reached a series of rooms that looked like consultation rooms and offices.
He bypassed several rooms, eventually motioning with a tilt of his head to a room in the middle of the hallway. One with a set of swinging doors, one of which that was purposely propped open.
It appeared to be a library of sorts. For medical files. There were tables and desks, where numerous files rested. A light layer of dust covered the area, but it had recently been disturbed. By Zelos himself, no doubt.
Something within those files must have caught his attention.
Ayatane entered the room and headed toward the files. He flipped open the first one he came across, only to encounter page after page of black markings covering the words, preventing him, preventing anyone from reading them.
He sat that file aside to pick up another. Only to encounter the exact same problem. And with every other file he picked up to inspect.
Everything had been censored. Who or what would go to such lengths? And why?
"This is interesting, but what does this have to do with our situation?" Troy asked as he flipped through his own file.
"You guys can be so oblivious sometimes," Zelos suddenly grumbled. "Look at the files properly. What do they have in common?"
"They're all Top Secret?"
"They've all been censored to hell in back?"
"No!" Zelos practically seethed. "Under patient information. What's the reoccurring theme?"
Ayatane was not entirely sure what Zelos was attempting to convey to them, but to entertain him, he re-examined the files once more. He focused his attention on the patient information, the only page that was not covered in black marker. The information found in the first few files was not anything worthwhile, but as he examined the others, he soon picked up a pattern. The one that Zelos must have discovered the first time.
"They were all blond and male," Ayatane murmured as he lowered the file in his hand to the table.
Just like Lyner and Lazarus…
"Exactly," Zelos replied. "That means neither Lyner or Lazarus are here. They're being held somewhere else."
They were patients. On another floor.
That was why Ayatane and the others were casually, perhaps callously tossed aside. They were not the ones 'they' were after. Lyner and Lazarus were the main targets.
Ayatane was through looking for information on this hospital, too. "We need to find them. Quickly."
A metallic, rather an electronic screeching sound suddenly resounded loudly above their heads. They all instinctively looked up. Just as the overhead announcing system crackled into life suddenly.
"Attention all units. Patient Number 12-25-14-5-18 and Patient Number 12-1-26-1-18-21-19 have escaped. Located and apprehend unharmed immediately. I repeated, Patient Number 12-25-14-5-18 and Patient Number 12-1-26-1-18-21-19 have escaped. Located and apprehend unharmed immediately."
With a click, it fell silent just as quickly as it had roared into life.
"That was definitely about Lyner and Lazarus," York mumbled.
There was no doubt that announcement was about the two.
Ayatane should not be surprised that the two had managed to escape wherever it was that they were held. Lyner, especially. He had always been a bit of an escape artist. But what was a concern was that they had been discovered missing. And whoever was the owner of that voice had ordered someone, or something, to go in search of them. To recapture them.
Unharmed, thankfully. But that posed another concern – for what purposed did the mastermind have in store for them?
Was the one behind the command…the head doctor mentioned in the newspaper articles?
"A-ah, something's happening!" Vivi stuttered as he hurried to hide behind Troy.
Ayatane spun around to face the doorway, just in time to witness blurs of red and black as they whipped past. A flock of those strange entities. They did not bother with them. Did not even gaze in their direction. They focused forward.
Those crimson red entities were…fleeing?
No, they were the 'units' that had been called for over the intercom system. They were the ones who were to hunt down and re-capture Lyner and Lazarus.
They needed to follow them!