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damned_lounge2010-11-01 12:14 am
see-my-back.livejournal.com) wrote in damned_lounge2010-11-01 12:14 am
Entry tags:
Oktoberfest '10: "The Game"
Title: The Game (no, not that one)
Author: Mika
Beta: Kame, Tia, Hina
Word Count: 7275 (I AM SO SORRY)
Rating: R for language, gore, lots of blood, character death, maiming, torture... really unpleasant. :|
Character(s): Yue, Sakura (CCS), Haine, Sai, Naruto, Sakura(Haruno), Sasuke, Kurogane, Fai, and guest starring John Kramer. :|b
Summary: Dr. Landel decides to let Jigsaw run MU for a night.
Notes: Uh. I apologize for any maiming of character interpretation... also I am not original enough to think up cool traps on my own so some are from the movies, as are similar plotlines and elements, but dangit I tried so hard to research it properly ;o; Also there's some pics... since I'm not so great at describing all the traps.
Disclaimer and whatnot: Ack, sorry it is so rushed. I would've liked to work on the timing and spacing and maybe not have written a freaking novel until it's actually november, but I hope you enjoy anyway. Sorry again to anyone who's characters I've butchered...
Waking groggily after being knocked unconscious was not a feeling Yue was familiar with before arriving at the institute. After a couple of weeks though, it was worrying how accustomed he'd become to it.
Tonight was different; he knew that much just from the cursory glance about the bare room. Not a room he recognized, but nothing that stood out as immediately dangerous. Save for the single figure seated behind an old desk. Maybe the room had once been an office, but that was the least of his worries now that he had the figure to focus on.
Surprisingly, nothing bound his arms, legs, or wings. He pushed himself up from the ground with an easy grace, bare feet sliding quietly on the floor. To the figure, he said nothing, but sent a cool glare in its direction. No reason to address it, whatever it was, it was likely behind his capture.
"Hello Yue," came the man's calm, raspy voice. He spoke easily, at his own pace, unhurried. "You don't know me, but I know you."
The guardian's wings twitched uneasily behind him, his blue eyes narrowing. While the man before him sounded nothing like the doctor he'd met in the colliseum, he'd yet to discern if this was friend or foe.
A hint of a smile crossed the man's lips. He seemed indifferent to the other's icy stare, his hood falling back to reveal nothing but a frail-looking, sickly old man.
"I'd like to play a game."
A television monitor lit up, illuminating the dark room with a pale bluish light. The picture was monochromatic, old even for Yue's standards, and crackled every so often with a loose connection here or there.
"Hello? Is... is there anyone there?"
The voice was immediately familiar. A child. A girl. His master. He took a few hurried steps to stand before the screen, eyes darting between the man in the room and the girl displayed on the old television. She was trapped in a room somewhere. Nothing immediately dangerous perhaps, but he didn't like not knowing where she was in case something did happen. He was supposed to be there. He was supposed to keep her safe.
"Where is she?" Yue finally spoke, eyes narrowed and dangerous.
The man only sighed, a slow almost pained breath, as a smile crossed his lips, "in good time."
Yue's wings rustled, a quiet tensing, the only outward sign of his irritation.
"What do you want?"
"I already told you that. You're not listening Yue."
Another flicker of barely concealed frustration appeared as Yue glanced around the rest of the room. A door, there had to be a way in and out. And from there, a way to find Sakura. Red paint (or at least what he hoped was red paint) decorated the black walls in strange patterns and half-finished pictures. Arrows pointing this way or that, spirals and splatters that made little sense. The was, however, a door. The way out? A way to Sakura?
"Someone? Hello? Please, can you tell me where I am?" the small and frightened voice on the television only served to push the guardian further on edge. Was this man responsible? He had to at least know where she was.
"Up until now, you've spent your life protecting others. Saving them from danger, from themselves. But tonight I ask you to face that obsession. Several lives hang in the balance. Can you learn to let go... so that they can truly be saved?" the voice rasped, speech slow and methodic, almost rehearsed.
"Tell me where she is," Yue said flatly, ignoring most of the man's practiced speech. He knew nothing of the cloaked person or why he spoke in riddles. Face his obsession? He was a guardian, that was the reason he was created. Of course he would save others from danger. It wasn't an obsession, he reasoned, it was simply his purpose. If the man had such a problem with it, he could take it up with Clow himself.
"I want you to listen," he repeated, "from the time you start, you have just one hour until the game is over. Beyond that door is-"
Beyond the door. That was all he needed to hear. Standing around doing absolutely nothing was unbearable. Even if the path was unsure, as long as it would lead to Sakura, that was all that mattered. He would leave the old man to his muttering and speeches.
A flutter of wings and the fast pattering of feet over the cement floors was the only sound as he cut off the man's monologue and pulled at the door, startled by the bright lights that came on suddenly in the next room. His hand went to shade his eyes as the door slammed shut loudly behind him.
- - - - - - -
Haine Rammsteiner was no stranger to the death and darkness. He'd experienced it firsthand more times than he could remember; or maybe that was just another gift from his loving mother. The dark wasn't so bad, but the sudden light that came after was enough to bring him around from drug-addled stupor he'd been rolling around in.
He groaned, the lights already bright enough to blind him behind his eyelids, narrowed his eyes and tried to turn his head, but the motion brought with it a sudden pain and his hand shot to the back of his neck.
The Cerberus spine was clunky and difficult enough, its metal ring a constant reminder of what he was and where he'd come from, but as his fingers felt along the back of his neck, there was a lot more hardware. Metal joints, thick and rusted, gripping his spine, from the top of his neck down. A small red string at the base of his spine trailed off elsewhere in the room.
"What the fuu-" his voice was gravelly, thick with the drugs they'd used to sedate him, but his attention was drawn almost immediately to the pictures on the walls. Photos, dozens of them, of a place and time he wanted only to forget. Giovanni. Lilly. Mother.
It wasn't so different from this place; walls everywhere, closing them all in, subject to someone else, someone unreachable and their every whim.
"'the fuck is this?" he growled, taking a few predatory steps forward. The string broke, pulled free by the sudden movement, triggering the start of a pre-recorded voice.
- - - - -
"Yue, the person behind the glass is in terrible need of help. With the metal bars running through their spine, it's easy to see this person as a victim," the voice, that man's voice continued as Yue approached the glass window. Just as he'd said, there was a man stuck in the room with some sort of metal contraption digging into his back. While he knew just how disturbing the experiments done her could be, the thought of viewing one personally was unsettling. Worse was the thought that by the time he found Sakura, she might be in the same position.
There was a small pool of blood on the floor of the stark white room as the person behind the glass woke up, immediately yelling a series of profanities.
"but if you were to See As I See, you would find a killer, who has ruthlessly slaughtered countless others. Just as you were created to protect, Haine was created with no greater purpose than to destroy. A man undeserving of the life he currently idles away. A guardian should protect, but I ask you to walk away."
Yue's hand pressed to the glass, watching as the other examined the photos in his own half of the split room. Could he not see Yue from that side of the glass?
- - - - -
"Hello Haine. I want to play a game," the voice began. Haine scowled at the room, tearing up pictures right and left as he tried to find an exit.
Nothing but a large mirror (probably one of those one-sided glass windows, the sick bastard...). Seeing the device on his back reflected at him didn't do anything to calm the unsettling feeling in his stomach. Shit looked like it could rip his bones right outta the skin, let alone the whole spine thing.
"When you were young, someone made you out to be a monster. You were stronger then, you fought to survive, but it ended in tragedy. Rather than make yourself stronger for your loss, you let years of apathy cripple you. Death hardly makes a difference for you, does it? So I've put together a very special piece of equipment for you."
Great. Because he hadn't been through enough already, some psycho wanted to make sure he valued life? Was this It's a Wonderful Fuckin' Life? Because when he got back to Seneca Falls, he'd half a mind to set it on fire and piss on the ashes.
"From the time this message ends, you will have two minutes to find a key hidden somewhere in your own body. It's a pity you heal so quickly; there's no convenient scar to show you where to cut. Your hint can be found in one of the photos, but be quick, there's not much time. Live or die Haine. Make your choice."
Digging up demons from the past, my favorite, Haine thought as he heard a timer begin ticking somewhere along his spine. As if he could actually feel the hand moving a second at a time, shaving off his life like sand in the hourglass. He was in some deep shit if it was one of the pictures he'd already shredded.
Still, for a man condemned, he moved quickly. Adrenaline pushing him on in a rush that he hadn't felt in years. Fail this and there was a chance he might actually die and stay dead. Maybe. Maybe he'd find the key and get fucked over anyway.
A full minute gone and still more pictures he hadn't even glanced at. At least he'd managed to find a scalpel. Convenient. Save him the trouble of ripping himself up with his own hands. His breath quickened; red on the edges of his vision.
- - - - -
On the other side of the glass, Yue was looking through pictures too. Though perhaps not with the fevered hurry of one who's life was on the line, but unlike the photos in Haine's room, the ones here were all the same. All of Haine, all covered in blood, but there was red permanent marker, circling the same place in each one.
Could it be, the photo he was looking for was here? That Yue had to step in and help? Not that he planned on following along like a sheep with what the man asked of him. He banged on the glass with his fist, surprised when it cracked in a few places. It was that weak? Maybe he was meant to go through it after all.
Drawing his bow, he gathered enough of his magic to fire and arrow, shattering the glass and drawing Haine's attention. The prisoner raised the scalpel in defense, but Yue held up the photograph, "here! It's here!"
Luckily, Haine didn't seem to have a problem with inserting the scalpel directly into his side, cutting open a gaping hole at least an inch deep before fishing his hand into it. Seconds ticked by before a metal clink was heard, the blood-soaked key on the cement floor. Yue hurried to retrieve it as Haine held the wound closed. Given the limitations on how quickly he healed here, the wound might be a problem, but better to have found the key than not at all.
Yue tried to turn the key. He twisted until the metal nearly bent between his fingers, but the key clearly wasn't meant for the lock on his back.
"Shi-!" was all Haine managed before the timer ran out. The device jerked all at once, like a bear trap given a sudden jolt of electricity. One snap and the man's spine was on the floor, crushed beyond all saving, separated entirely from the body, which gave a few twitches, then lay still.
Yue was left with only the bloody key in his hands. They'd played the game, but then why? Was this man really so sick and twisted that he'd give them false hope, only to watch them maim each other and die horribly? The thought made him ill. As he clasped the key tightly in his fist, his eyes caught the photos still remaining on the wall. They were different from the ones behind the glass. These ones were of children, all in some kind of uniform, but still acting like children. Drawing pictures together, eating, playing... it was a moment before one caught his eye. It stood out from the rest, circled red with permanent marker.
The sick feeling in his stomach only worsened when he saw the location marked in the child's picture.
There were two keys, he realized silently. Two keys. One of them correct and the other just a fraud. And in interfering with Haine's search, he was responsible for them seeking out the wrong one.
A red timer lit up in the far corner of the room, displaying 45:17 and counting down the seconds. One hour, the man had said. One hour before something like this happened to Sakura too. He would have to deal with the consequences of his actions later. For now, saving her came first.
His hand closed around the door to the exit, but found this one locked. A quick glance down at his bloodied hand was enough to assure him that at least this would be the right key. Sure enough, it turned in the lock, bringing him to the next room.
- - - - - - - - -
In the flickering light of yet another room; nondescript, four walls, this one looking a bit worse for the wear, though it may or may not be due to the lighting. Four figures, one on the ground, the others sitting, on an old rusted wheel, not unlike the ones his Sakura might play on in the park, next to the giant penguin. However, this wheel had seen better days. It creaked slightly in the dim light, and Yue was once again separated from those in danger, those who needed protecting.
On the wall nearest was an old tape player, the words "play me" written in permanent marker on a scrap of masking tape. Hardly elegant, but effective enough. He'd learned firsthand that in playing this twisted game, the most important thing was apparently to follow the rules. The blood staining his hands was proof enough of that. But what would playing the tape set into motion? A shaky sigh escaped his lips as his eyes were drawn to the red-lit countdown timer that seemed to be set to continue through each new room.
43:40. No time to waste.
"Hello Yue. Before you are four children. Or so they might appear. None of them are over eighteen and yet, they were all raised to be killers, assassins, and have put those skills to use. Do they deserve to be saved? I submit that if they are old enough to take a life, they are old enough to have their own taken away. However, that is not for me or you to decide. They must be the ones to judge this time.
Will you allow them to save themselves? To truly be free? Live or die.
Remember, the choice is theirs."
There was an irritated rustling of wings as the room's lights were brought up at the end of the message. Barbed wire blocked his path this time, separating him from the children on the other side of the room. On his portion, a red line of paint led to the next door, marking his path. The words "See As I See" smeared on the exit.
The children were just starting to wake as the carousel wheel began to spin slowly, stopping every so often at the same point. In the light, he could see now, a double-barrelled shotgun, poised at the ready, with some kind of mechanism attached. The children, all famliar, though he'd met none of them in person, were all other patients, which came as little surprise. Two with dark hair, they could almost be brothers, another boy, blond, and a girl with a short cut of vivid pink.
The boy on the floor began to stir, though it didn't take Yue long to figure out that he was without his sight. There was a flash of red eyes as the boy sent a glare in his direction, but his attention was drawn immediately to the three people on the carousel. Another section of fencing divided them further, keeping the fourth boy from the other three.
It was only a matter of time before he stumbled over a tape player of his own, just as the other three began to wake.
"Sasuke...kun?"
"What the hell is going on!? Oi! Sasuke! Hey! Hey you bastard, did you do this? Come on, what is this!?"
"Shut up, I don't know, just shut up!" the boy hissed as the tape began. The chatter died out, but not before Yue missed the first few words.
"Hello Sasuke. Before you are the three people still living who value you and your friendship the most. They have given up everything to save you, some to the point of obsession. Some would call this noble, heroic. I call it narrow-minded. A waste. Can you bear the weight of their friendship and all it entails? Are you deserving of what they've tried over and again to give you? Or will revenge once again cloud you?"
"Hey!" shouted the blond, "what's it talking about? I don't get it-"
"Since even losing your sight was not enough to keep you from revenge, I'll have to describe the objects in front of you. In front of you is a device that your three teammates have been strapped to. It will slowly rotate them until they face a high caliber rifle, aimed directly at their chest. Dr. Landel informed me that guns aren't available in your world, but be assured, they can still kill you in this one quite easily. To save them, all you have to do is place your hand into the metal contraption in front of you. Reach far enough and you'll be able to hold down a button that will keep the rifle from firing on the intended target. But you'll have to pay a price."
Yue was torn. After the last task, should he help? Or continue on to the next room? What if there was a clue here to find Sakura? What if he could save the children? The gaps in the barbed wire were probably large enough for a person to fit through without being scratched up too much, but with his wings it was near impossible. Then again, having once experienced this man's sick and twisted mind, maybe that was exactly what he wanted.
"Be warned. Judgement comes to all eventually. Life or Death Sasuke. Make your choice."
Suddenly the machine hummed to life, turning the children as the rifle began to lower to chest level. There was no warning, no time to plan, and if the bristling of Yue's wings wasn't obvious enough a show of his frustration, the shaking fists at his sides said more than words could. Slowly, and carefully at first, he put his hands to the barbed wire.
- - - - - -
"I'm afraid the bindings have been masterfully crafted," Sai tried to explain when Sasuke demanded to know why they couldn't just free themselves from the deadly device. Knowing the ninjas and their predisposition for slipping out of any and every knot in the book, their captor had taken many precautions when it came to making sure they didn't simply escape the trap he'd made for them. A jingling of metal scraping metal was enough to verify it. Even if Sai were to dislocate his thumbs, the bindings wouldn't budge.
"We can't use our chakra, we can't get out of these, just what the hell are we supposed to do?!" Sakura said helplessly as the small wheel continued to turn them, slowly as ever.
"This sucks!" Naruto added, mostly just to have something to say. He felt just as trapped and helpless as the others, but this wasn't something they could get out of just by putting on a brave face and doing their best. "Hey! Sasuke! Bastard, you better push that button!"
"I know already!" came the angry hiss as the wheel ground to a stop, the gun clicking into place in front of Sai. Even if he'd never seen a weapon of that nature in their own world before, he'd learned enough here to know it wasn't going to end well if that trigger was pulled.
"If you wouldn't mind," he said calmly, dark eyes trailing over to where Sasuke stood at the other machine. The exact nature was uncertain, but with the saw blades and the voice's warning, he had little doubt that the rogue ninja would escape unharmed if he did in fact attempt to save them. Sai had his doubts, but if ever there was a time to see proof of these bonds in action, now was it.
It was just a pity it'd fallen on him first.
Sasuke inserted his hand into the metal contraption and pressed down hard on the button. It took a bit of reaching, but he managed, only to hear the high-pitched whine of the saw blades as the were switched on, feel the air churning near his hand as it came closer and closer with each passing second. What he couldn't see though, was that his pressing the button had also caused the rifle aimed at Sai to skew, rising from where it aimed at his chest and heading slowly upward to the ceiling.
"That's it!" Sakura called out, her voice all hope and optimism. Of course they would get out of this. They were still a team. Breaking the rules and laws of their village was bad, but failing one's team... if Kakashi had taught them anything, it was that the team came first, no matter what.
"Aaaagh!" came a gutteral cry as Sasuke withdrew his bloody hand, pinky finger torn up and held together only by a few remaining bits of skin and tissue. Blood trailed down his wrist in steady pulses and the remaining team members watched in horror as the button clicked up, the rifle came back down, and the trigger fired, all in a handful of seconds.
Just a little longer and Sai might have been saved. The rifle fired on its way back into place, catching him in the jaw and blowing out the back of his head, leaving Sakura and Naruto to feel the wet spray of blood and bits of their teammate's brains on their backs. The carousel started again, this time with the slow dragging of feet on the ground.
"Sai? Sai, what the hell happened?!" Naruto was the first to break the silence, squirming furiously in the trap. Sakura, having only glimpsed the wound, knew already that even with medical textbooks and miracles, Sai was already dead. If her hands were free, she might've tried to piece the boy back together, but all they could hear from the pink-haired ninja was the sound of her weeping softly, a blatant violation of shinobi rule 25; never show your tears.
Sasuke felt a thrill of fear run up his spine in what'd probably been years. As he clutched his bloodied fingers, all too aware of the death on his hands, he could hear the device start up anew. So this was the game; sacrifice something of his own to save them. The blade would start again the moment he tried to save another life, tearing up his right hand one finger at a time. It would weaken him, undoubtedly; the strength he would lose in his sword and the arduous task of learning jutsu one-handed could take him weeks, months of training to regain. It wasn't just a finger or two, it was a sacrifice of his strength. Whoever was putting him through his hellish task wanted to know if his former teammates were worth that.
"Sakura-chan! Don't worry, it'll be okay!" Naruto's voice was enough to draw Sasuke out of his logical thought process and back into the moment. So Sakura was the next target?
"I don't care if you don't think I'm worth it, but if you let Sakura-chan die, I'll come back and haunt you and bite of every one of your fingers, you hear me?!"
Sakura was useful, he reasoned, especially here where her strength was actually on par with the others, nevermind her medical expertise.
The rifle clicked into place.
She could probably help heal him up after this, or have some kind of solution for his injuries.
The carosel creaked to a halt.
"Dammit!" Sasuke swore through teeth already ground tight, slamming his hand down on the button once more and cringing as the saw blade started up anew, taking off what remained of his little finger and biting into the next. The ring finger came after, but he held firm, keeping the button down with just the two that remained until finally he heard the rifle fire, sending the round into the ceiling instead of the unyielding flesh of their teammate.
"Sasuke-kun! Sasuke-kun, it's alright, you can stop!"
Much as he'd told himself he didn't care, it was an unbelievable relief to hear her voice as the screan of the saw blade died down. He'd managed to save one.
One remained.
- - - - -
Yue pushed forward as soon as the first shot fired. Too late to save the first boy, but as he struggled in the wire, it became more and more apparent, he was only going to be caught in the deadly wire. His wings were raw with new cuts, red staining white fluffy down, hands, and feet as well. Strands of silver hair fell to the floor beside drops of blood.
The second shot fired and he froze once more, but no, the girl was safe, alive, at least for now. One more life to save, unless the sick and twisted mind that created this cruel game chose to keep it going.
He wasn't going to make it in time. Even if he freed himself from this maze, how could he get to the children to save them? The machines were built solid, sturdy, and without access to his full strength, the magic he used to wield, he had no chance of just destroying it.
The last shot fired and with it, distant screaming, agonized breath, and tragedy coated the air. Had the last boy survived? Even if he had, what of the other? The one who would carry a permanently disfigured hand after this game? The wires that held him captive fell slack, freeing him, save for a few more cuts and scrapes.
His eyes were drawn to the timer, glowing red as it ticked down the seconds; 28:15, 28:14, 28:13...
As he made his way to the door, pride and body wounded, he could hear a tape echoing in the far corner of the room.
"Hello Sasuke. If you're hearing this tape, you've judged those closest to you. Now it is your turn. Step into the device before you and-"
- - - - - - -
Once again, Yue had to shield his eyes as a bright light turned on the moment he entered the room. Just a little over 20 minutes left on the clock.
This time, however, there were no bodies, living or dead. Not within sight at least. Just two windows, a small room on the other side of each. Two identical syringes hung from the ceiling in either room, filled with a greenish liquid. Some kind of poison? Medicine?
As he stood waiting, two televisions flickered on, the same black and white static appeared, quickly focusing into a more defined image. Both different, both familiar. As much as he'd wished against it, it seemed Sakura wasn't the only person he knew personally who would be dragged into this.
Fai and Kurogane. Yue's frown deepened. Whatever the task, he couldn't sit idly by on this one. At least two had died already; people he didn't know, but lives all the same. And now two more might be next.
"Hello Yue," the familiar voice rasped. The images on screen flickered and became the same; a disturbing puppet with a pale face and black eyes. Red swirls that might've once been sweet and playful dotted the doll's cheeks.
"Have you begun to see? Or have you learned anything at all from these lessons? Time will tell..."
- - - - - -
Fai stirred, head pounding at the sudden bright light in the room as the heavy sedation began to wear away. He was somewhere new, somewhere in the institute he hadn't visited before.
As he pushed himself up from the cement floor, there was a dizzy feeling that remained, but he ignored it, the single blue eye still left to him glancing hurriedly around the room. There were 3 walls and one clear window. Across from him, it seemed Kurogane was just starting to come around too. He could see through the glass, but as he approached, it was much too thick to break with physical strength alone. Magic perhaps, but he hardly had the will to use it.
The wall directly in front of him at least seemed to have a door, but how to open it was anyone's guess. A contraption of sorts was near the entrance, effectively blocking it.
He tapped a few times on the glass, smiling and waving at the other. Hardly appropriate, but it didn't keep him from trying to stay in good spirits. Or at least keep up the pretense.
It wasn't until the voice sounded over the intercom that both men turned.
"Hello Kurogane. Fai. I'd like to play a game."
A game? He shrugged over at the ninja. A game didn't seem so bad. Even one of Landel's games. They'd made it through before. Besides, something like this... it usually meant they were on the right track.
"Both of you have a valuable lesson to learn. Cherish your life. Do you understand what it means? Each of you is guilty of taking the life you've been given for granted. Whether you let your past rule you or you simply keep everyone at a distance, you have been judged as unworthy."
Fai let his hand rest against the glass, smile fading into a look of concern. Kurogane's scowl appeared even more severe. Just what was going on? Who was it? Neither seemed to recognize the voice, but if he knew about their pasts, knew enough about them...
"I have injected a powerful toxin into your bloodstream. It takes approximately twenty minutes to kill the average man, which means... about fifteen remain to you. How will you use your last moments? Will you fight to survive? Or let yourself die? That choice, I leave to each of you.
If you wish to live, you need only make it through a series of doors to find the antidote. Do you trust one another? Three buttons will greet you at each door. Red, yellow, or green. Green will place all of the pain on your partner, but be careful; if both of you press it, you'll both feel the pain of your selfishness. Yellow is the safest route if you still remember how to share. But if you'd rather take it all yourself, Red will do the trick. Unfortunately, only one of you can select this one.
Live or die gentlemen. Make. Your. Choice."
Fai glanced over to the door, their first task, but not without catching a glimpse of the glare of warning Kurogane shot at him through the glass. Don't do anything stupid, it seemed to say. Unfortunately, they both had very different ideas of what was logical and what wasn't.
Kurogane made a show of walking to the door and pushing the yellow button, then nodding at the magician to do the same. Fai looked with some indecision at the buttons, then chose the same, yellow. A metal plate about the size of his hand rolled out of the machine in front of the door, complete with a hand-shaped outline, as if it were one of those finger-print reading machines. Only this one also had a leather strap, to hold down one's wrist. The punishment most likely.
He strapped his right hand in, watching as Kurogane did the same. There was a metal cup just big enough for each of his four fingers, once he'd set them on the plate, and they tightened for a moment before he heard a tearing sound, followed by a pop as the first fingernail was forced up and torn off. He let out a strangled cry as the second followed, then the third, and finally, the last. Once finished, there was an unlocking sound as the door swung in, just a bit.
Fai freed his hand, clenching his teeth until the pain subsided enough to push his way through the door. If the blood trailing from the ends of Kurogane's fingers on the other side of the glass were any indication, he'd endured exactly the same punishment.
- - - - - - -
Yue watched the exchange with something like relief. They'd both hit yellow.
As long as they continued that way, they'd make it through. If you followed the rules, you survived. He hated sitting idly by as it happened, but there was little else he could do. If he broke into their trap, like he had with Haine, there was a chance he might keep them from finishing. But at the very least, from here, he could see enough to know what was going on.
- - - - - -
The next test seemed a little more obvious, Fai thought, unable to keep from cringing when he saw the device. It looked to be loosely based on some sort of old torture, with thick spikes on the top and bottom that would lock together as they met in the middle. The buttons, of course, were just beyond it; where one might reach a hand in to decide their fate.
Once again, Kurogane went first, pressing the yellow button and giving the other a look that urged him to follow the example. The spikes, Fai was certain, would dislocate the arm bones at the elbow, if not completely crush the joint. Kurogane's right arm was for his sword. If this was all it was, it was better that he take the punishment himself, then they could both advance.
He coughed a couple of times, feeling that heavy, dizzy feeling once more that couldn't be anything but the poison taking its toll. Not a lot of time left, was there? Fai reached in and pressed the red button.
- - - - -
That idiot! Yue's bloodied wings flared up a little the moment he saw the decision. Why would he take it all on himself?
The picture was grainy, but he could see it well enough to tell that the spikes had closed over Fai's arm, crushing the joint at the elbow. Kurogane's device, on the other hand, hadn't moved. The ninja had made his way over to the glass and was pounding on it though, hardly able to keep himself from breaking his own hand again anyway, just trying to get through. Before the spikes would ease up enough for Fai to remove his arm though, a flame started up next. Of course, right in place to burn the magician's arm where it was being held. He could see Fai struggling to pull himself free, but it wasn't until the arm was blackened and burned that it finally loosened, leaving him with a bloody mangled and melted piece of flesh in place of his arm.
- - - - - -
Both doors clicked open to the final challenge. Just beyond them, the antidote. But once again the door, the three buttons, and this time, a metal collar, right above shoulder level.
Fai nearly lost his balance, leaning heavily on the glass as he walked into the next room. When Kurogane slammed on the other side, he looked up, shaking his head. He didn't have to read lips to see the man mouth "I'm fine."
Fine. Hardly. It was difficult enough just to concentrate on his breathing and not on the searing pain running up his arm. Sweat trickled at his brow and it was hard to tell if the feverish heat was from the fire moments before, his own exhaustion, or the poison nearing its end.
The last task. Fai stumbled forward, not bothering to look to see what the other would choose. It didn't take long for Kurogane to figure out what Fai was up to. Always taking things on himself...
The ninja bolted for the buttons as well, both of them going for the red in the same moment. Who had hit it first?
- - - - - - -
Yue didn't waste another moment. Before either of them were dumb enough to get themselves strapped in for the last trap, he glanced from one to the other, deciding Kurogane must have hit it first. He was less injured, faster, even if the gap had been a bit further, he had to have hit the button first. Yue shattered the glass window, grabbed the antidote, and hammered on the door, then tugged frantically at the lock.
The lock.
The rooms had only been locked in one direction. Yue felt a sickening cold in his stomach as the door gave easily beneath his fingers. He pulled it just as Kurogane finished strapping himself into the last device, red eyes focused forward, unafraid.
"Wait, stop!" Yue called out, catching Kurogane's attention just long enough to see something fire at Fai in the glass room across from them.
He could've saved them all along, the voice in the back of his head whispered. You just believed this man's lies, you let him trick you!
As Kurogane pulled his collar loose, Yue was almost afraid to look, to see what'd happened in the other room.
Fai had put on the metal collar, that much was apparent, but what he hadn't expected, was the metal rods that burst through the wall behind him, sticking out haphazardly from his side, his chest, shoulder, thigh, none of them vital points, if only just missing them.
Yue startled forward, preparing an arrow and firing it at the glass, only to have it fizzle out and do nothing. Fai raised his head for a moment, smiling through the pain. That was it, wasn't it?
Yue turned to go to the door as a final metal rod pierced Fai's chest, this one larger, thicker, and much more devastating than the others. Blood trailed from the wound and dribbled thick and deep red from the corner of his mouth as his head fell forward and his body went still.
Wordlessly, Yue placed the antidote in Kurogane's hand and continued back the way he'd come.
- - - - - - -
A haunted, uneasy look set upon the guardian as he looked at the timer outside the final door. 3:02. He'd made it, with only minutes to spare. Sakura would be waiting. Sakura was counting on him. Even if he'd failed the others, he wouldn't allow himself to fail here. He pushed the final door open, instantly glancing about for the next task.
Before he had a moment to react, a shot fired from the door, catching him low in the gut. Very unlike the other traps, he couldn't help but think. But it wasn't until he looked carefully about the room that he realized just where he was.
Sitting at the desk was the same hooded figure. A smile crossed the old man's lips, amused, or perhaps just pitying the creature in front of him.
"You..."
"It's unfortunate," the old man rasped, hood lifting just enough to see a pair of darkened eyes. "If you'd just waited..."
As the timer counted down the final seconds, the man walked to the front of the desk, opening a hidden panel. Sakura lay within, tucked away and just out of reach.
"I want you to listen, from the time you start, you have just one hour until the game is over..." the man's message replayed in his mind. The rules.
They'd been set from the beginning. He'd tried to tell him from the start.
As he lay bleeding, he watched with some measure of relief as the girl's eyes fluttered open, large and innocent. It was only a moment before they fell on him, worry marring her childish features.
"I'm sorry," Yue told his master quietly, unable to stand a moment longer.
"It's alright," the old man told her, tugging down his hood just far enough to offer her a gentle smile. "He'll be alright, come morning."
He reached out a hand, crouching to her level, "before that. Why don't you and I play a little game?"
Author: Mika
Beta: Kame, Tia, Hina
Word Count: 7275 (I AM SO SORRY)
Rating: R for language, gore, lots of blood, character death, maiming, torture... really unpleasant. :|
Character(s): Yue, Sakura (CCS), Haine, Sai, Naruto, Sakura(Haruno), Sasuke, Kurogane, Fai, and guest starring John Kramer. :|b
Summary: Dr. Landel decides to let Jigsaw run MU for a night.
Notes: Uh. I apologize for any maiming of character interpretation... also I am not original enough to think up cool traps on my own so some are from the movies, as are similar plotlines and elements, but dangit I tried so hard to research it properly ;o; Also there's some pics... since I'm not so great at describing all the traps.
Disclaimer and whatnot: Ack, sorry it is so rushed. I would've liked to work on the timing and spacing and maybe not have written a freaking novel until it's actually november, but I hope you enjoy anyway. Sorry again to anyone who's characters I've butchered...
Waking groggily after being knocked unconscious was not a feeling Yue was familiar with before arriving at the institute. After a couple of weeks though, it was worrying how accustomed he'd become to it.
Tonight was different; he knew that much just from the cursory glance about the bare room. Not a room he recognized, but nothing that stood out as immediately dangerous. Save for the single figure seated behind an old desk. Maybe the room had once been an office, but that was the least of his worries now that he had the figure to focus on.
Surprisingly, nothing bound his arms, legs, or wings. He pushed himself up from the ground with an easy grace, bare feet sliding quietly on the floor. To the figure, he said nothing, but sent a cool glare in its direction. No reason to address it, whatever it was, it was likely behind his capture.
"Hello Yue," came the man's calm, raspy voice. He spoke easily, at his own pace, unhurried. "You don't know me, but I know you."
The guardian's wings twitched uneasily behind him, his blue eyes narrowing. While the man before him sounded nothing like the doctor he'd met in the colliseum, he'd yet to discern if this was friend or foe.
A hint of a smile crossed the man's lips. He seemed indifferent to the other's icy stare, his hood falling back to reveal nothing but a frail-looking, sickly old man.
"I'd like to play a game."
A television monitor lit up, illuminating the dark room with a pale bluish light. The picture was monochromatic, old even for Yue's standards, and crackled every so often with a loose connection here or there.
"Hello? Is... is there anyone there?"
The voice was immediately familiar. A child. A girl. His master. He took a few hurried steps to stand before the screen, eyes darting between the man in the room and the girl displayed on the old television. She was trapped in a room somewhere. Nothing immediately dangerous perhaps, but he didn't like not knowing where she was in case something did happen. He was supposed to be there. He was supposed to keep her safe.
"Where is she?" Yue finally spoke, eyes narrowed and dangerous.
The man only sighed, a slow almost pained breath, as a smile crossed his lips, "in good time."
Yue's wings rustled, a quiet tensing, the only outward sign of his irritation.
"What do you want?"
"I already told you that. You're not listening Yue."
Another flicker of barely concealed frustration appeared as Yue glanced around the rest of the room. A door, there had to be a way in and out. And from there, a way to find Sakura. Red paint (or at least what he hoped was red paint) decorated the black walls in strange patterns and half-finished pictures. Arrows pointing this way or that, spirals and splatters that made little sense. The was, however, a door. The way out? A way to Sakura?
"Someone? Hello? Please, can you tell me where I am?" the small and frightened voice on the television only served to push the guardian further on edge. Was this man responsible? He had to at least know where she was.
"Up until now, you've spent your life protecting others. Saving them from danger, from themselves. But tonight I ask you to face that obsession. Several lives hang in the balance. Can you learn to let go... so that they can truly be saved?" the voice rasped, speech slow and methodic, almost rehearsed.
"Tell me where she is," Yue said flatly, ignoring most of the man's practiced speech. He knew nothing of the cloaked person or why he spoke in riddles. Face his obsession? He was a guardian, that was the reason he was created. Of course he would save others from danger. It wasn't an obsession, he reasoned, it was simply his purpose. If the man had such a problem with it, he could take it up with Clow himself.
"I want you to listen," he repeated, "from the time you start, you have just one hour until the game is over. Beyond that door is-"
Beyond the door. That was all he needed to hear. Standing around doing absolutely nothing was unbearable. Even if the path was unsure, as long as it would lead to Sakura, that was all that mattered. He would leave the old man to his muttering and speeches.
A flutter of wings and the fast pattering of feet over the cement floors was the only sound as he cut off the man's monologue and pulled at the door, startled by the bright lights that came on suddenly in the next room. His hand went to shade his eyes as the door slammed shut loudly behind him.
- - - - - - -
Haine Rammsteiner was no stranger to the death and darkness. He'd experienced it firsthand more times than he could remember; or maybe that was just another gift from his loving mother. The dark wasn't so bad, but the sudden light that came after was enough to bring him around from drug-addled stupor he'd been rolling around in.
He groaned, the lights already bright enough to blind him behind his eyelids, narrowed his eyes and tried to turn his head, but the motion brought with it a sudden pain and his hand shot to the back of his neck.
The Cerberus spine was clunky and difficult enough, its metal ring a constant reminder of what he was and where he'd come from, but as his fingers felt along the back of his neck, there was a lot more hardware. Metal joints, thick and rusted, gripping his spine, from the top of his neck down. A small red string at the base of his spine trailed off elsewhere in the room.
"What the fuu-" his voice was gravelly, thick with the drugs they'd used to sedate him, but his attention was drawn almost immediately to the pictures on the walls. Photos, dozens of them, of a place and time he wanted only to forget. Giovanni. Lilly. Mother.
It wasn't so different from this place; walls everywhere, closing them all in, subject to someone else, someone unreachable and their every whim.
"'the fuck is this?" he growled, taking a few predatory steps forward. The string broke, pulled free by the sudden movement, triggering the start of a pre-recorded voice.
- - - - -
"Yue, the person behind the glass is in terrible need of help. With the metal bars running through their spine, it's easy to see this person as a victim," the voice, that man's voice continued as Yue approached the glass window. Just as he'd said, there was a man stuck in the room with some sort of metal contraption digging into his back. While he knew just how disturbing the experiments done her could be, the thought of viewing one personally was unsettling. Worse was the thought that by the time he found Sakura, she might be in the same position.
There was a small pool of blood on the floor of the stark white room as the person behind the glass woke up, immediately yelling a series of profanities.
"but if you were to See As I See, you would find a killer, who has ruthlessly slaughtered countless others. Just as you were created to protect, Haine was created with no greater purpose than to destroy. A man undeserving of the life he currently idles away. A guardian should protect, but I ask you to walk away."
Yue's hand pressed to the glass, watching as the other examined the photos in his own half of the split room. Could he not see Yue from that side of the glass?
- - - - -
"Hello Haine. I want to play a game," the voice began. Haine scowled at the room, tearing up pictures right and left as he tried to find an exit.
Nothing but a large mirror (probably one of those one-sided glass windows, the sick bastard...). Seeing the device on his back reflected at him didn't do anything to calm the unsettling feeling in his stomach. Shit looked like it could rip his bones right outta the skin, let alone the whole spine thing.
"When you were young, someone made you out to be a monster. You were stronger then, you fought to survive, but it ended in tragedy. Rather than make yourself stronger for your loss, you let years of apathy cripple you. Death hardly makes a difference for you, does it? So I've put together a very special piece of equipment for you."
Great. Because he hadn't been through enough already, some psycho wanted to make sure he valued life? Was this It's a Wonderful Fuckin' Life? Because when he got back to Seneca Falls, he'd half a mind to set it on fire and piss on the ashes.
"From the time this message ends, you will have two minutes to find a key hidden somewhere in your own body. It's a pity you heal so quickly; there's no convenient scar to show you where to cut. Your hint can be found in one of the photos, but be quick, there's not much time. Live or die Haine. Make your choice."
Digging up demons from the past, my favorite, Haine thought as he heard a timer begin ticking somewhere along his spine. As if he could actually feel the hand moving a second at a time, shaving off his life like sand in the hourglass. He was in some deep shit if it was one of the pictures he'd already shredded.
Still, for a man condemned, he moved quickly. Adrenaline pushing him on in a rush that he hadn't felt in years. Fail this and there was a chance he might actually die and stay dead. Maybe. Maybe he'd find the key and get fucked over anyway.
A full minute gone and still more pictures he hadn't even glanced at. At least he'd managed to find a scalpel. Convenient. Save him the trouble of ripping himself up with his own hands. His breath quickened; red on the edges of his vision.
- - - - -
On the other side of the glass, Yue was looking through pictures too. Though perhaps not with the fevered hurry of one who's life was on the line, but unlike the photos in Haine's room, the ones here were all the same. All of Haine, all covered in blood, but there was red permanent marker, circling the same place in each one.
Could it be, the photo he was looking for was here? That Yue had to step in and help? Not that he planned on following along like a sheep with what the man asked of him. He banged on the glass with his fist, surprised when it cracked in a few places. It was that weak? Maybe he was meant to go through it after all.
Drawing his bow, he gathered enough of his magic to fire and arrow, shattering the glass and drawing Haine's attention. The prisoner raised the scalpel in defense, but Yue held up the photograph, "here! It's here!"
Luckily, Haine didn't seem to have a problem with inserting the scalpel directly into his side, cutting open a gaping hole at least an inch deep before fishing his hand into it. Seconds ticked by before a metal clink was heard, the blood-soaked key on the cement floor. Yue hurried to retrieve it as Haine held the wound closed. Given the limitations on how quickly he healed here, the wound might be a problem, but better to have found the key than not at all.
Yue tried to turn the key. He twisted until the metal nearly bent between his fingers, but the key clearly wasn't meant for the lock on his back.
"Shi-!" was all Haine managed before the timer ran out. The device jerked all at once, like a bear trap given a sudden jolt of electricity. One snap and the man's spine was on the floor, crushed beyond all saving, separated entirely from the body, which gave a few twitches, then lay still.
Yue was left with only the bloody key in his hands. They'd played the game, but then why? Was this man really so sick and twisted that he'd give them false hope, only to watch them maim each other and die horribly? The thought made him ill. As he clasped the key tightly in his fist, his eyes caught the photos still remaining on the wall. They were different from the ones behind the glass. These ones were of children, all in some kind of uniform, but still acting like children. Drawing pictures together, eating, playing... it was a moment before one caught his eye. It stood out from the rest, circled red with permanent marker.
The sick feeling in his stomach only worsened when he saw the location marked in the child's picture.
There were two keys, he realized silently. Two keys. One of them correct and the other just a fraud. And in interfering with Haine's search, he was responsible for them seeking out the wrong one.
A red timer lit up in the far corner of the room, displaying 45:17 and counting down the seconds. One hour, the man had said. One hour before something like this happened to Sakura too. He would have to deal with the consequences of his actions later. For now, saving her came first.
His hand closed around the door to the exit, but found this one locked. A quick glance down at his bloodied hand was enough to assure him that at least this would be the right key. Sure enough, it turned in the lock, bringing him to the next room.
- - - - - - - - -
In the flickering light of yet another room; nondescript, four walls, this one looking a bit worse for the wear, though it may or may not be due to the lighting. Four figures, one on the ground, the others sitting, on an old rusted wheel, not unlike the ones his Sakura might play on in the park, next to the giant penguin. However, this wheel had seen better days. It creaked slightly in the dim light, and Yue was once again separated from those in danger, those who needed protecting.
On the wall nearest was an old tape player, the words "play me" written in permanent marker on a scrap of masking tape. Hardly elegant, but effective enough. He'd learned firsthand that in playing this twisted game, the most important thing was apparently to follow the rules. The blood staining his hands was proof enough of that. But what would playing the tape set into motion? A shaky sigh escaped his lips as his eyes were drawn to the red-lit countdown timer that seemed to be set to continue through each new room.
43:40. No time to waste.
"Hello Yue. Before you are four children. Or so they might appear. None of them are over eighteen and yet, they were all raised to be killers, assassins, and have put those skills to use. Do they deserve to be saved? I submit that if they are old enough to take a life, they are old enough to have their own taken away. However, that is not for me or you to decide. They must be the ones to judge this time.
Will you allow them to save themselves? To truly be free? Live or die.
Remember, the choice is theirs."
There was an irritated rustling of wings as the room's lights were brought up at the end of the message. Barbed wire blocked his path this time, separating him from the children on the other side of the room. On his portion, a red line of paint led to the next door, marking his path. The words "See As I See" smeared on the exit.
The children were just starting to wake as the carousel wheel began to spin slowly, stopping every so often at the same point. In the light, he could see now, a double-barrelled shotgun, poised at the ready, with some kind of mechanism attached. The children, all famliar, though he'd met none of them in person, were all other patients, which came as little surprise. Two with dark hair, they could almost be brothers, another boy, blond, and a girl with a short cut of vivid pink.
The boy on the floor began to stir, though it didn't take Yue long to figure out that he was without his sight. There was a flash of red eyes as the boy sent a glare in his direction, but his attention was drawn immediately to the three people on the carousel. Another section of fencing divided them further, keeping the fourth boy from the other three.
It was only a matter of time before he stumbled over a tape player of his own, just as the other three began to wake.
"Sasuke...kun?"
"What the hell is going on!? Oi! Sasuke! Hey! Hey you bastard, did you do this? Come on, what is this!?"
"Shut up, I don't know, just shut up!" the boy hissed as the tape began. The chatter died out, but not before Yue missed the first few words.
"Hello Sasuke. Before you are the three people still living who value you and your friendship the most. They have given up everything to save you, some to the point of obsession. Some would call this noble, heroic. I call it narrow-minded. A waste. Can you bear the weight of their friendship and all it entails? Are you deserving of what they've tried over and again to give you? Or will revenge once again cloud you?"
"Hey!" shouted the blond, "what's it talking about? I don't get it-"
"Since even losing your sight was not enough to keep you from revenge, I'll have to describe the objects in front of you. In front of you is a device that your three teammates have been strapped to. It will slowly rotate them until they face a high caliber rifle, aimed directly at their chest. Dr. Landel informed me that guns aren't available in your world, but be assured, they can still kill you in this one quite easily. To save them, all you have to do is place your hand into the metal contraption in front of you. Reach far enough and you'll be able to hold down a button that will keep the rifle from firing on the intended target. But you'll have to pay a price."
Yue was torn. After the last task, should he help? Or continue on to the next room? What if there was a clue here to find Sakura? What if he could save the children? The gaps in the barbed wire were probably large enough for a person to fit through without being scratched up too much, but with his wings it was near impossible. Then again, having once experienced this man's sick and twisted mind, maybe that was exactly what he wanted.
"Be warned. Judgement comes to all eventually. Life or Death Sasuke. Make your choice."
Suddenly the machine hummed to life, turning the children as the rifle began to lower to chest level. There was no warning, no time to plan, and if the bristling of Yue's wings wasn't obvious enough a show of his frustration, the shaking fists at his sides said more than words could. Slowly, and carefully at first, he put his hands to the barbed wire.
- - - - - -
"I'm afraid the bindings have been masterfully crafted," Sai tried to explain when Sasuke demanded to know why they couldn't just free themselves from the deadly device. Knowing the ninjas and their predisposition for slipping out of any and every knot in the book, their captor had taken many precautions when it came to making sure they didn't simply escape the trap he'd made for them. A jingling of metal scraping metal was enough to verify it. Even if Sai were to dislocate his thumbs, the bindings wouldn't budge.
"We can't use our chakra, we can't get out of these, just what the hell are we supposed to do?!" Sakura said helplessly as the small wheel continued to turn them, slowly as ever.
"This sucks!" Naruto added, mostly just to have something to say. He felt just as trapped and helpless as the others, but this wasn't something they could get out of just by putting on a brave face and doing their best. "Hey! Sasuke! Bastard, you better push that button!"
"I know already!" came the angry hiss as the wheel ground to a stop, the gun clicking into place in front of Sai. Even if he'd never seen a weapon of that nature in their own world before, he'd learned enough here to know it wasn't going to end well if that trigger was pulled.
"If you wouldn't mind," he said calmly, dark eyes trailing over to where Sasuke stood at the other machine. The exact nature was uncertain, but with the saw blades and the voice's warning, he had little doubt that the rogue ninja would escape unharmed if he did in fact attempt to save them. Sai had his doubts, but if ever there was a time to see proof of these bonds in action, now was it.
It was just a pity it'd fallen on him first.
Sasuke inserted his hand into the metal contraption and pressed down hard on the button. It took a bit of reaching, but he managed, only to hear the high-pitched whine of the saw blades as the were switched on, feel the air churning near his hand as it came closer and closer with each passing second. What he couldn't see though, was that his pressing the button had also caused the rifle aimed at Sai to skew, rising from where it aimed at his chest and heading slowly upward to the ceiling.
"That's it!" Sakura called out, her voice all hope and optimism. Of course they would get out of this. They were still a team. Breaking the rules and laws of their village was bad, but failing one's team... if Kakashi had taught them anything, it was that the team came first, no matter what.
"Aaaagh!" came a gutteral cry as Sasuke withdrew his bloody hand, pinky finger torn up and held together only by a few remaining bits of skin and tissue. Blood trailed down his wrist in steady pulses and the remaining team members watched in horror as the button clicked up, the rifle came back down, and the trigger fired, all in a handful of seconds.
Just a little longer and Sai might have been saved. The rifle fired on its way back into place, catching him in the jaw and blowing out the back of his head, leaving Sakura and Naruto to feel the wet spray of blood and bits of their teammate's brains on their backs. The carousel started again, this time with the slow dragging of feet on the ground.
"Sai? Sai, what the hell happened?!" Naruto was the first to break the silence, squirming furiously in the trap. Sakura, having only glimpsed the wound, knew already that even with medical textbooks and miracles, Sai was already dead. If her hands were free, she might've tried to piece the boy back together, but all they could hear from the pink-haired ninja was the sound of her weeping softly, a blatant violation of shinobi rule 25; never show your tears.
Sasuke felt a thrill of fear run up his spine in what'd probably been years. As he clutched his bloodied fingers, all too aware of the death on his hands, he could hear the device start up anew. So this was the game; sacrifice something of his own to save them. The blade would start again the moment he tried to save another life, tearing up his right hand one finger at a time. It would weaken him, undoubtedly; the strength he would lose in his sword and the arduous task of learning jutsu one-handed could take him weeks, months of training to regain. It wasn't just a finger or two, it was a sacrifice of his strength. Whoever was putting him through his hellish task wanted to know if his former teammates were worth that.
"Sakura-chan! Don't worry, it'll be okay!" Naruto's voice was enough to draw Sasuke out of his logical thought process and back into the moment. So Sakura was the next target?
"I don't care if you don't think I'm worth it, but if you let Sakura-chan die, I'll come back and haunt you and bite of every one of your fingers, you hear me?!"
Sakura was useful, he reasoned, especially here where her strength was actually on par with the others, nevermind her medical expertise.
The rifle clicked into place.
She could probably help heal him up after this, or have some kind of solution for his injuries.
The carosel creaked to a halt.
"Dammit!" Sasuke swore through teeth already ground tight, slamming his hand down on the button once more and cringing as the saw blade started up anew, taking off what remained of his little finger and biting into the next. The ring finger came after, but he held firm, keeping the button down with just the two that remained until finally he heard the rifle fire, sending the round into the ceiling instead of the unyielding flesh of their teammate.
"Sasuke-kun! Sasuke-kun, it's alright, you can stop!"
Much as he'd told himself he didn't care, it was an unbelievable relief to hear her voice as the screan of the saw blade died down. He'd managed to save one.
One remained.
- - - - -
Yue pushed forward as soon as the first shot fired. Too late to save the first boy, but as he struggled in the wire, it became more and more apparent, he was only going to be caught in the deadly wire. His wings were raw with new cuts, red staining white fluffy down, hands, and feet as well. Strands of silver hair fell to the floor beside drops of blood.
The second shot fired and he froze once more, but no, the girl was safe, alive, at least for now. One more life to save, unless the sick and twisted mind that created this cruel game chose to keep it going.
He wasn't going to make it in time. Even if he freed himself from this maze, how could he get to the children to save them? The machines were built solid, sturdy, and without access to his full strength, the magic he used to wield, he had no chance of just destroying it.
The last shot fired and with it, distant screaming, agonized breath, and tragedy coated the air. Had the last boy survived? Even if he had, what of the other? The one who would carry a permanently disfigured hand after this game? The wires that held him captive fell slack, freeing him, save for a few more cuts and scrapes.
His eyes were drawn to the timer, glowing red as it ticked down the seconds; 28:15, 28:14, 28:13...
As he made his way to the door, pride and body wounded, he could hear a tape echoing in the far corner of the room.
"Hello Sasuke. If you're hearing this tape, you've judged those closest to you. Now it is your turn. Step into the device before you and-"
- - - - - - -
Once again, Yue had to shield his eyes as a bright light turned on the moment he entered the room. Just a little over 20 minutes left on the clock.
This time, however, there were no bodies, living or dead. Not within sight at least. Just two windows, a small room on the other side of each. Two identical syringes hung from the ceiling in either room, filled with a greenish liquid. Some kind of poison? Medicine?
As he stood waiting, two televisions flickered on, the same black and white static appeared, quickly focusing into a more defined image. Both different, both familiar. As much as he'd wished against it, it seemed Sakura wasn't the only person he knew personally who would be dragged into this.
Fai and Kurogane. Yue's frown deepened. Whatever the task, he couldn't sit idly by on this one. At least two had died already; people he didn't know, but lives all the same. And now two more might be next.
"Hello Yue," the familiar voice rasped. The images on screen flickered and became the same; a disturbing puppet with a pale face and black eyes. Red swirls that might've once been sweet and playful dotted the doll's cheeks.
"Have you begun to see? Or have you learned anything at all from these lessons? Time will tell..."
- - - - - -
Fai stirred, head pounding at the sudden bright light in the room as the heavy sedation began to wear away. He was somewhere new, somewhere in the institute he hadn't visited before.
As he pushed himself up from the cement floor, there was a dizzy feeling that remained, but he ignored it, the single blue eye still left to him glancing hurriedly around the room. There were 3 walls and one clear window. Across from him, it seemed Kurogane was just starting to come around too. He could see through the glass, but as he approached, it was much too thick to break with physical strength alone. Magic perhaps, but he hardly had the will to use it.
The wall directly in front of him at least seemed to have a door, but how to open it was anyone's guess. A contraption of sorts was near the entrance, effectively blocking it.
He tapped a few times on the glass, smiling and waving at the other. Hardly appropriate, but it didn't keep him from trying to stay in good spirits. Or at least keep up the pretense.
It wasn't until the voice sounded over the intercom that both men turned.
"Hello Kurogane. Fai. I'd like to play a game."
A game? He shrugged over at the ninja. A game didn't seem so bad. Even one of Landel's games. They'd made it through before. Besides, something like this... it usually meant they were on the right track.
"Both of you have a valuable lesson to learn. Cherish your life. Do you understand what it means? Each of you is guilty of taking the life you've been given for granted. Whether you let your past rule you or you simply keep everyone at a distance, you have been judged as unworthy."
Fai let his hand rest against the glass, smile fading into a look of concern. Kurogane's scowl appeared even more severe. Just what was going on? Who was it? Neither seemed to recognize the voice, but if he knew about their pasts, knew enough about them...
"I have injected a powerful toxin into your bloodstream. It takes approximately twenty minutes to kill the average man, which means... about fifteen remain to you. How will you use your last moments? Will you fight to survive? Or let yourself die? That choice, I leave to each of you.
If you wish to live, you need only make it through a series of doors to find the antidote. Do you trust one another? Three buttons will greet you at each door. Red, yellow, or green. Green will place all of the pain on your partner, but be careful; if both of you press it, you'll both feel the pain of your selfishness. Yellow is the safest route if you still remember how to share. But if you'd rather take it all yourself, Red will do the trick. Unfortunately, only one of you can select this one.
Live or die gentlemen. Make. Your. Choice."
Fai glanced over to the door, their first task, but not without catching a glimpse of the glare of warning Kurogane shot at him through the glass. Don't do anything stupid, it seemed to say. Unfortunately, they both had very different ideas of what was logical and what wasn't.
Kurogane made a show of walking to the door and pushing the yellow button, then nodding at the magician to do the same. Fai looked with some indecision at the buttons, then chose the same, yellow. A metal plate about the size of his hand rolled out of the machine in front of the door, complete with a hand-shaped outline, as if it were one of those finger-print reading machines. Only this one also had a leather strap, to hold down one's wrist. The punishment most likely.
He strapped his right hand in, watching as Kurogane did the same. There was a metal cup just big enough for each of his four fingers, once he'd set them on the plate, and they tightened for a moment before he heard a tearing sound, followed by a pop as the first fingernail was forced up and torn off. He let out a strangled cry as the second followed, then the third, and finally, the last. Once finished, there was an unlocking sound as the door swung in, just a bit.
Fai freed his hand, clenching his teeth until the pain subsided enough to push his way through the door. If the blood trailing from the ends of Kurogane's fingers on the other side of the glass were any indication, he'd endured exactly the same punishment.
- - - - - - -
Yue watched the exchange with something like relief. They'd both hit yellow.
As long as they continued that way, they'd make it through. If you followed the rules, you survived. He hated sitting idly by as it happened, but there was little else he could do. If he broke into their trap, like he had with Haine, there was a chance he might keep them from finishing. But at the very least, from here, he could see enough to know what was going on.
- - - - - -
The next test seemed a little more obvious, Fai thought, unable to keep from cringing when he saw the device. It looked to be loosely based on some sort of old torture, with thick spikes on the top and bottom that would lock together as they met in the middle. The buttons, of course, were just beyond it; where one might reach a hand in to decide their fate.
Once again, Kurogane went first, pressing the yellow button and giving the other a look that urged him to follow the example. The spikes, Fai was certain, would dislocate the arm bones at the elbow, if not completely crush the joint. Kurogane's right arm was for his sword. If this was all it was, it was better that he take the punishment himself, then they could both advance.
He coughed a couple of times, feeling that heavy, dizzy feeling once more that couldn't be anything but the poison taking its toll. Not a lot of time left, was there? Fai reached in and pressed the red button.
- - - - -
That idiot! Yue's bloodied wings flared up a little the moment he saw the decision. Why would he take it all on himself?
The picture was grainy, but he could see it well enough to tell that the spikes had closed over Fai's arm, crushing the joint at the elbow. Kurogane's device, on the other hand, hadn't moved. The ninja had made his way over to the glass and was pounding on it though, hardly able to keep himself from breaking his own hand again anyway, just trying to get through. Before the spikes would ease up enough for Fai to remove his arm though, a flame started up next. Of course, right in place to burn the magician's arm where it was being held. He could see Fai struggling to pull himself free, but it wasn't until the arm was blackened and burned that it finally loosened, leaving him with a bloody mangled and melted piece of flesh in place of his arm.
- - - - - -
Both doors clicked open to the final challenge. Just beyond them, the antidote. But once again the door, the three buttons, and this time, a metal collar, right above shoulder level.
Fai nearly lost his balance, leaning heavily on the glass as he walked into the next room. When Kurogane slammed on the other side, he looked up, shaking his head. He didn't have to read lips to see the man mouth "I'm fine."
Fine. Hardly. It was difficult enough just to concentrate on his breathing and not on the searing pain running up his arm. Sweat trickled at his brow and it was hard to tell if the feverish heat was from the fire moments before, his own exhaustion, or the poison nearing its end.
The last task. Fai stumbled forward, not bothering to look to see what the other would choose. It didn't take long for Kurogane to figure out what Fai was up to. Always taking things on himself...
The ninja bolted for the buttons as well, both of them going for the red in the same moment. Who had hit it first?
- - - - - - -
Yue didn't waste another moment. Before either of them were dumb enough to get themselves strapped in for the last trap, he glanced from one to the other, deciding Kurogane must have hit it first. He was less injured, faster, even if the gap had been a bit further, he had to have hit the button first. Yue shattered the glass window, grabbed the antidote, and hammered on the door, then tugged frantically at the lock.
The lock.
The rooms had only been locked in one direction. Yue felt a sickening cold in his stomach as the door gave easily beneath his fingers. He pulled it just as Kurogane finished strapping himself into the last device, red eyes focused forward, unafraid.
"Wait, stop!" Yue called out, catching Kurogane's attention just long enough to see something fire at Fai in the glass room across from them.
He could've saved them all along, the voice in the back of his head whispered. You just believed this man's lies, you let him trick you!
As Kurogane pulled his collar loose, Yue was almost afraid to look, to see what'd happened in the other room.
Fai had put on the metal collar, that much was apparent, but what he hadn't expected, was the metal rods that burst through the wall behind him, sticking out haphazardly from his side, his chest, shoulder, thigh, none of them vital points, if only just missing them.
Yue startled forward, preparing an arrow and firing it at the glass, only to have it fizzle out and do nothing. Fai raised his head for a moment, smiling through the pain. That was it, wasn't it?
Yue turned to go to the door as a final metal rod pierced Fai's chest, this one larger, thicker, and much more devastating than the others. Blood trailed from the wound and dribbled thick and deep red from the corner of his mouth as his head fell forward and his body went still.
Wordlessly, Yue placed the antidote in Kurogane's hand and continued back the way he'd come.
- - - - - - -
A haunted, uneasy look set upon the guardian as he looked at the timer outside the final door. 3:02. He'd made it, with only minutes to spare. Sakura would be waiting. Sakura was counting on him. Even if he'd failed the others, he wouldn't allow himself to fail here. He pushed the final door open, instantly glancing about for the next task.
Before he had a moment to react, a shot fired from the door, catching him low in the gut. Very unlike the other traps, he couldn't help but think. But it wasn't until he looked carefully about the room that he realized just where he was.
Sitting at the desk was the same hooded figure. A smile crossed the old man's lips, amused, or perhaps just pitying the creature in front of him.
"You..."
"It's unfortunate," the old man rasped, hood lifting just enough to see a pair of darkened eyes. "If you'd just waited..."
As the timer counted down the final seconds, the man walked to the front of the desk, opening a hidden panel. Sakura lay within, tucked away and just out of reach.
"I want you to listen, from the time you start, you have just one hour until the game is over..." the man's message replayed in his mind. The rules.
They'd been set from the beginning. He'd tried to tell him from the start.
As he lay bleeding, he watched with some measure of relief as the girl's eyes fluttered open, large and innocent. It was only a moment before they fell on him, worry marring her childish features.
"I'm sorry," Yue told his master quietly, unable to stand a moment longer.
"It's alright," the old man told her, tugging down his hood just far enough to offer her a gentle smile. "He'll be alright, come morning."
He reached out a hand, crouching to her level, "before that. Why don't you and I play a little game?"