IV: Abschussen im Dunkeln

[Nayt]

IV.1: Failure?, part III

"Okay. I'll wait around if you're not here."

Following Zeto and Kremnaes's departure from the room, time passed. A long, long time passed. Kremnaes might have all the time he needed to commit to blood work, even. Of course, he'd not find anything. Not much, at least. There was something, but it was minor, something as minor as, say, low blood pressure, but still a little odd. Shin Shiden's blood contained high levels of oxygen. There could be thousands of reasons why. If this was a symptom, then it was a symptom that wasn't going to tell anyone too much. Nonetheless, there was still a high level of oxygen in his blood-- unnaturally high.

This passing of time would, perhaps, come to an immediate stop, as Zeto made his return to the main portion of the facility-- and the second floor, with the utmost haste.

"K-Kremnaes!" Zeto's voice carried through the hall. "KREMNAES!"

There was a vehement sense of urgency to his voice. He raced down the hall, running faster than he ever had before. He came to a skidding stop when he reached the room of Shin Shiden's, in which he immediately looked for Kremnaes-- but it didn't really matter if Kremnaes had returned to it yet or not. He'd hear him. If they were on the same floor, he'd hear him.

"Kremnaes, it's Master! Something's happened to him!"

[littlebean]

A lot of time passed, just enough time for Kremnaes to carry on his blood work. He'd have done test after test, and each of them showed nothing, which under any circumstance would be perfect. He liked to see nothing was wrong, but when something was clearly out of sorts and there wasn't any answer why, it was nothing short of frustrating. This time around, there was something. It was something minor, but compared to all that nothing it was a find he may appreciate.

There was a -lot- of oxygen in Shin's blood, which of course was unhealthy. Anyone else would be showing signs of oxidative damage to their cell membranes, collapse of the alveoli in the lungs, retinal detachement,seizures and all sorts of trouble, which was what Kremnaes was looking for. Now, with the blood test completed he stood over Shin in his room, trying to use his antennae to locate any illness or abnormality, this time paying special attention to Shin's heart and lungs. If he found anything, it could at least explain the cause of the seizures.

Nothing, just like the first time he tried. Maybe the test was wrong? If he went around worrying and doubting all the tests he'd be redoing them all over again and wasting time. Just to be safe, he checked the ventilator to make sure the oxygen levels in his blood weren't his doing, but everything seemed to be fine. Perhaps there was no cure or answer? It could be possible maybe if he ju-

"ZETO! ZETO I'M COMING!" He'd like to say he was coming quickly, but his actions hardly matched the urgency of the situation, briskly walking towards Zeto and Sturm as fast as he could, shouting panicked down the hallway. Shin could never wake up from his coma, he wouldn't care.

"NYARH!" He yelled to nobody in particular. Emotionally he felt rushed, he wanted to be by Sturm's side instantly but his legs didn't feel the same way. Never in his life had he been so impatient and anxious, dreading what he would find. What if he was gravely injured? What if he was dead? He tried to erase negative thoughts like that out of his mind and chalked it up to panic and worry. Out of everyone in the city, Sturm had the brightest mind, he created everything around them. Nothing could bring him down, not if Kremnaes could help it. If Sturm was hurt when he arrived, he'd fix it, if it was anything worse...he'd see what he could do.

He arrived.

[Nayt]

"Come on come on come on," Zeto whispered in a rushed tone.

Zeto-- a socially awkward man to be sure, but again, far from a rude one. He did all he could to avoid insulting another person. Sometimes it happened on accident. It was impossible to avoid insulting people sometimes. But here and now, he didn't seem to care if Kremnaes was insulting by Zeto rushing him, however quietly he was doing it.

And it was unlikely that he'd be all that insulting with it at all, actually. Truth be told, Zeto had an intense expression of worry. In fact, his eyes seemed watery; red and puffy, even. His cheeked were puffy, too. He sniffled a bit by the time Kremnaes reached him. Yes-- yes, as a matter of fact, Zeto had been crying. Whatever happened, it was serious. Zeto wasn't a masculine man in the slightest (in fact, it was easy to confuse him with a girl if he wore the right clothes), but he wasn't the type to cry over something menial.

Without even thinking about it once Kremnaes was with him again, Zeto took him by the arm and started down the hall as fast as he could. He'd have run, if Kremnaes could have followed him, but as it was unlikely, he simply walked very briskly-- not with authority, but with desperation.

It wasn't a half an hour after the two Ersatzshad were gone that Shin Shiden's muscles would begin to move again; his eyes might soon flutter, and consciousness might soon return to him. It was going to take time, but he had that time. No one would be around when he awoke, in the rather awkward and drained position he was in . . .

[littlebean]

Kremnaes wasn't insulted by Zeto.He may have been in any other situation but this time around Zeto was only voicing Kremnaes's exact thoughts. In fact he had been muttering the same thing to his legs, "come on come on" as he tried his best to hurry to the scene. Now wasn't the time to be offended, any insults thrown his way would slide off his slimey back, he couldn't be anything but worried.

In fact, Kremnaes was going to be following Zeto's example, eyes beginning to water and gloss over, tears beginning to swell. When he saw Zeto's reaction, sniffling and sobbing even (something he couldn't imagine Zeto doing) it only confirmed any notion he had about whatever was happening being absolutely and completely awful. A painful lump began to form in his throat, "Wh-what's..." he could barely whine out his question. He wanted to know what was happening, but before he could even ask, he was grabbed and almost dragged off by Zeto.

It was the fastest he'd ever walked. Certainly not anything close to a light jog, but it was the briskest pace he'd ever gone before. He struggled to move his legs quicker, even more so than when he was travelling with Shin, speeding along in fear that a slow stride would upset the human. The mission or Shin wasn't his priority anymore. "Sturm!? Sturm!?!!" He called out, hoping he would be well enough to respond.

[Shin]

It was a the calf muscles first, Shins most honed and powerful muscles, that began to twitch. It started not a moment after Kremnaes exited the room. The twitch spread, from his calf up his thigh, over his tone stomach, chest and then down his individual arms. The process repeated itself several times, taking many many minutes.

Twitching became flexing as Shins eyes opened a slit, the bright light in the room was painful to Shins eyes. Conscious of his body above all else Shin flexed each muscle, making sure it was in proper working order. Eventually he brought a hand before his eyes, his vision still blurry, and made a fist, tightening it and loosening it.

Soon he sat up, taking in his surroundings. Time was meaningless to Shin right now, he was in a daze...not exactly sure what happened or where he was or even who he was at that specific time. He sat on the very uncomfortable table and stared around at the different objects in the room.

"...Sturm?" Shin asked, his voice barely above a whisper and incredibly scratchy and dry.

Shin had no way of measuring how much time he had spent sitting there, staring into nothingness his mind lost in no particular thought. He did become aware of the things connected to him and what he was wearing. Someone had undressed him.

He looked around for his clothes then...no real plan forming in his mind other then to get dressed.

[littlebean]

There would be no reply from anyone. The room had been empty, but it was clear Shin was not alone, and hadn't been alone for some time, it was common sense. Someone or something must have put him where he was, pieces of their work were scattered all over the room. Between the moment at Isac's house, to his current location, during those many hours of blackness he had been monitored and cared for in the hospital.

Shin wasn't in his normal outfit, but instead tucked away under the covers in a thin flimsy hospital gown, his usual clothes conveniently place on a small table near the bed, freshly washed and folded. Getting out of the embarrasing getup and back into normal clothes would be as simple as rolling out of bed if it weren't for one thing. Tubes, lots of them. Tubes forced uncomfortably down his throat, breathing for him, tubes delicately placed up his urethra, draining his urine for him, tubes placed in his veins, feeding him nutrients and hydrating him, everything carrying out every body function for him the way it had been for the past month or so.

They were uncomfortable, the tubes in his throat would make it nearly impossible to speak correctly and feel like a choking sensation, as for the tubes elsewhere, the sensation would be unpleasant as expected. Even though they had been keeping him alive all this time, now that he was awake they'd be unneccessary. The kicker was, unless Shin wanted to cause irrepairable damage to himself, he wouldn't dare dream of just tearing them out, but there weren't any nurses around. Just a hastily dropped pile of test sheets(tests performed without leaving a single mark) and loud yelling in the background.

"MASTER!" Voices in the distance cried out.

[Shin]

All the different tubes in Shin weren't as painful as they were annoying. There were so many in fact that once he became aware of them he wasn't sure if he even wanted to move, but his own stubborness wouldn't simply allow him to sit still.

The process would be a long one and extemely painful at times, but Shin would remove each and every tube that was connected to him. He wasn't dumb enough to simply rip them out, knowing full well that if he did that it could result in some serious damage.

Once Shins tubes were removed he stood on two wobbly feet, using the table for support. Gradually he made his way to where his clothes were and would dress himself. The entire process from removing tubes to dressing himself and finally going through many, many stretches could very well take hours.

[Nayt]

Footsteps.

They came about the time that Shin began his stretches. They carried no panic, only a slow and methodical approach from side of the hall to the intended other, coming from the far end where two Ersatzshad frantically left to, unbeknown to Shiden, an hour and a half ago.

The footsteps were light, but not too light; they perpetuated in rhythm until at last Shiden's open door was reach, whereupon the individual stopped walking.

Shin would see him, though it was unlikely that he would see Shin. The man was stopped, but his head was not turned to Shiden; he simply remained there, unmoving, for a second. Shin would see him perfectly clear--a man in a hooded jacket, not a coat like the Enigmas he knew, but a jacket of similar design, leather, black, with a noticeably gray zipper and larger hood, enough to conceal the wearer's face entirely. He wore a black hakama beneath, black tabi socks, and dark sandals as well. His hands were shoved into his jacket pockets. He wasn't a tall man; in fact, it was likely that he was shorter than Shin Shiden himself, at least by an inch or two.

Without a word, the man stepped forward again, and continued down the hall once more.

[Shin]

Shins movements were slow and awkward as he began to stretch out his legs; it was then that he heard the foot-steps. It was the first sign that he wasn’t in an empty building but he had yet to decide if that was a good thing.

He listened intently, focusing on the sound as the person got closer and continuing his stretching during this time as well. When the door opened he paused to regard the individual, of course there wasn’t much to look at being as the person was covered from head to toe.

It wasn’t until the individual turned to leave that Shin acted, his throat was still extremely sore and he hadn’t had any water to drink. That wasn’t to say he couldn’t talk but doing so was painful, instead he rapped rather loudly against one of the metal carts carrying equipment that was near him.

[Nayt]

Of course, part of the being's covering was something Shin was familiar with--the first time he might have seen such a thing since entering the dark world. A hakama, a traditionally Cizokian article of clothing for the legs, usually worn by warriors of many classes.

The knocking on the metal brought his footsteps to a stop. The figure turned its head slightly, perhaps having an ear out for the source of the sound, but it was likely that it knew where it was coming from--and clear that it knew that it was either no threat or nothing to be concerned with. In the end, the footsteps began; the figure continued down the hall, towards a pair of doors at the very end of it. In seconds, it pushed through them, and began its way down the next hall, one nearly identical to this one.

Shin had the option: remain put or pursue him.

[Shin]

It wasn't really much of an option, Shin had no idea how long he had been lying there. He also didn't know if anyone else would be coming anytime soon, to Shin his choice wasn't a choice at all.

Shin followed behind the cloaked Cizokianish character, he didn't know where he was being lead but he figure that anything was better then sitting alone in a doctors office. As he followed, at a safe distance, he tried to remember the last few moments before he blacked out.

Unfortunately there was not much to remember, a shooting pain, some weakness, vomiting and then collapsing and blacking out. While those were definitely serious things Shin was trying to remember something that could have possible caused all of that and nothing came to his mind.

Other then recovering from stiff and sore muscles Shin felt alright, he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary and so he let it go. Maybe it was a fluke? Or maybe it was something this place was doing to him? He paused only a moment to think about it before pushing through the pair of doors at the end of the hall, and the continued to followed the cloaked man.

[Nayt]

Crisis averted. An experiment went wrong, and Sturm was injured--but all went well, it seemed. At least, as well as it could go. Tyrian Sturm required only medication, a certain medication that he, with the assistance of several nurses, created. It temporarily increased muscle performance. Since, of course, the issue was one of muscle failure, a counter-balance was required, however immediate it may have been. The crisis, nonetheless, was over; their Master was safe, and required only a bit of rest (though, not quite sleep) in order to recuperate for further operations. The man had an impossibly strong drive to forge on, but perhaps with reason. Without him, the Ersatzshad might not know exactly what to do.

When Zeto and Kremnaes returned to Shin Shiden's room, however, they discovered that Kremnaes's task was extremely . . . gone. Missing. Vanished without a trace.

Of course, Kremnaes would find this before Zeto; after all, Zeto followed behind Kremnaes, and had a habit of staying outside of Shiden's room, anyways. He didn't quite trust humans, and with good reason. They hadn't been quite the kindest people to the Ersatzshad, in the past.

[littlebean]

The area around Kremnaes's eyes had faded into almost a ghostly pale grey, bloodshot and glassy, body riddled with twitches and ticks as he walked up the hallway, doing his best impression of a person who was totally fine. He felt ill physically. It wasn't something he ate, or a cold or flu, but seeing what he saw caused his stomach to lurch and chills to creep down his body. He saw what the others saw, their master weak and injured on the floor, in dire need of medical attention. The image was frightening of course, but the scene was more than just a body on the ground. As if his master had been completely transparent he saw muscles, bones nerves and the organs, slowly failing and shutting down. Masters body was littered with drug upon drug, and didn't seem to have an adequate amount of sleep in quite some time.

"Master, are you sure you wish to do this?"

"--it's ready."

"This is extremely dangerous!"

The idea of his master being in any kind of danger didn't sit too well with him. The staticky messages from the communication device played back and forth in his head and he wondered if what he heard had anything to do with masters current condition. If things continued on with the way they were going master could very well....He erased the idea from his mind. Already in his head Kremnaes was working to come up with possible cures for masters ailment, but above all else master needed rest. When he woke up he would ask him about it later. Slightly ahead of Zeto, he walked briskly towards Shin's room, grateful that his back was to him, otherwise he'd question the expression he wore on his face.

There was a job to do still, ideally Kremnaes would like master to wake up to a job well done,

"Shin? Shin!? Geezes..."

But it didn't seem like it would be happening anytime soon. Somehow in some way Shin wasn't in his room. Even if he had woken up from his coma, the recovery wouldn't (or at least shouldn't) be so instant. He would have gradually gained awareness over the course of a few weeks, and suffer from dysphasia. Either Shin miraculously recovered or somebody stole him. Kremnaes did not like that at all, like clockwork he began to panic all over again.

"Zeto Shin's missing!" Finally he turned around to Zeto and poke with a sigh, leaning his hand and head against the wall, obviously tired. " I have to go find him." How was a completely different story. Basically his idea consisted of walking around blindly until he hopefully showed up somewhere.

[Nayt]

"What?" Zeto asked with a quirked brow and tilted head.

With his arms over his chest--and still appearing to be a bit fatigued from having run all over hell's creation at many a nurse's command--Zeto poked his head into Shin's room, and indeed, he found that there was no single trace of Shin Shiden in the hospital room.

Initially, he figured they might have just come to the wrong room. Going off of that, he checked the room to the immediate left, and upon finding a much blanker space than the previous room, he checked that of the immediate right. Upon further investigation, he noticed a few traces of equipment that Kremnaes was using before. Well, that was the human's room all right, and he was certainly missing . . .

"Hm . . ." Zeto hummed aloud.

He was less concerned about this human than he had been for Tyrian Sturm. He had absolutely no attachment for this other human, and nothing but distrust of humans that weren't his creator, and rightly so: Zeto's experience with them was far from flattering. That didn't mean he couldn't help Kremnaes out a bit, though.

"Let's check the Eyes," Zeto rationalized, "If he's anywhere in here, or in the city, then we'll find him there . . ."

[littlebean]

He didn't even realize. Raising his head from it's spot against the wall he looked at Zeto, eyes widening on his chest in sudden realization. Of course, how could he -not- think of that? Why he thought it was a good idea to just chase after Shin was beyond him.

Lots of things were beyond him, and his power by now. Shin could get lost for all he cared. The only reason Kremnaes cared so much was because Shin seemed to hold some kind of mysterious value to their master. If it weren't for that, he wouldn't be anywhere near that lunatic, if it weren't for that he'd be at home, and if it weren't for that he wouldn't be bothering Zeto so much.

Even if Zeto had offered, he still felt terrible. During their short time together he had been an invaluable partner, and most of the times Kremnaes felt that Zeto was doing a better job than he was. Because he'd be too shy and nervous to ask, he'd never had asked Zeto for a favour like this, foolishly he'd attempt to do it alone. With or without his extreme caution and training as a nurse, the eyes were something that were above his skill. Thank goodness Zeto had offered.

Like always it took awhile for him to accept the offer. The guilty feeling sitting heavily in his stomach prevented him from taking the offer right away. First, like always he'd ask Zeto if he was sure.

"A-are you sure? Y-you don't mind?" He asked. He'd have to add Zeto to his list of people he owed great big thank yous to.

Offtopic: Recipe for a crappy post: Just add painkillers and 2 hours of sleep.