September 12, 1922 pt.2

Havel looked at his companion, who kept a dull expression on her face, as if she wasn't really there. He didn't want to put too much weight on his friend, but he was very worried about her.

In one corner, the demigoddess saw a young nurse consoling a crying patient. She didn't have the courage to approach and continued walking as if she was lost in the void.

Havel approached, pretending to look for something. 

"It's all right, Mr. Thompson," the nurse murmured. "Soon it will be your turn for the new therapy. You'll see, you'll feel much better afterwards."

The patient sobbed. "No, please. I do not want. I know what it's like there. It's dark, it's cold, and those... those voices..."

The nurse shushed him gently, casting a worried look at Havel, who pretended not to have heard anything.

Sidal's son returned to Ada and put his arm around her waist.

"There's no point in staying here," he whispered in her ear, "You're in no condition to-"

He didn't have time to finish his sentence before his friend removed his arm.

"N-no, I have to help."

"Ada," Sidal's son's gaze softened as he freed himself from his partner's hand. He led her out of the hallway, trying to smile at her.

Seeing her in that state put a lump in his throat and, suddenly, they had gone back five years. Her, a little girl scared of the world, Him, a self-proclaimed hero.

"It's okay," he whispered in her ear.

After a while, Ada stopped resisting and allowed herself to be accompanied to the room where they had appeared. She sat down on the bed in a trembling embrace and looked at Havel fearfully.

"P-please. Don't… don't do this to me."

Sidal's son crouched down and clasped her cold hands with a smile.

"Ada, I know, I know what's happening to you and I know it's because of this place. I don't want you to suffer, so try to rest while me and that other one," he grimaced, "Yes, we'll take care of it."

He got to his feet, but Ada didn't let go. "I don't want to be weak."

"You? Weak?" Havel laughed, "Let Emion blast me if I ever thought you were weak. You are the strongest woman I know."

The reaction seemed to distract the demigoddess, who stifled a laugh, "Thank you."

"Please, now rest. I'll go look for more information."

Ada nodded and waved to him as he closed the door.

Weak? If you're upset I might end up in the infirmary.

Havel shook his head and decided to head towards the hospital cafeteria. His approach was less subtle than that of his mates, but his outgoing nature allowed him to mix easily with other patients.

"Hey, buddy," he said to a lost-looking man sitting at a table. "How's the food here?"

The man looked at him with blank eyes. "Food? Oh, yes. It's... it's modest. They say the treats are for those undergoing treatments."

Havel felt a shiver run down his spine. "Treatments? What kind of treatments?"

The man looked around nervously. "We are not allowed to know. But if you're lucky, or unlucky, you'll soon find out. You must hope to be taken to the underground."

Before Havel could ask any more questions, a male nurse approached, casting a suspicious glance at the demigod. 

"Everything okay here? Time for your medicine, Mr. Brown."

The man nodded meekly, getting up to follow the nurse. Havel surveyed the scene, noting how several patients were taken away in similar fashion.

As the day drew to a close, the demigods continued their separate explorations. Shirei, increasingly suspicious, decided to stalk the nurses he had noticed earlier. He followed them through less frequented corridors, to a heavy door that led to the basement.

For something secret, they don't pay much attention to confidentiality, he thought.

After all, he was over six feet tall. He certainly shouldn't have gone unnoticed.

A group of nurses, with cold and determined expressions, were dragging some patients towards the basement door. Terrified patients writhed and screamed, their voices muffled by calloused hands or makeshift gags.

"No, please! I do not want!" an older woman pleaded, her wrinkled hands desperately trying to hold on to anything.

"Silence!" one of the nurses hissed, his eyes devoid of any compassion. "It's for your own good."

Shirei had to summon his self-control not to intervene. The mission was more important, he couldn't compromise it.

It doesn't make sense, they were swallowed up in the fault, they live this in a loop. My help wouldn't change anything.

He tried to convince himself, without much success.

With an ominous creak, the door to the underground opened, swallowing the group in a darkness that seemed almost tangible. The patients' cries gradually faded, leaving behind an anguished silence.

I can't stay here, though, he realized.

It was in the middle of the corridor. If other nurses had come there, they would surely have seen him. He began to check the doors of the rooms adjacent to the entrance, just as the sound of footsteps became more intense.

He looked at the first one, but there was a man.

The second, a woman.

The third, two women.

The sound was getting closer, they would see it.

He reached the fourth room. It was empty and he immediately threw himself into it. Nurses passed by with other patients, but did not see him.

I was close…

Shirei stood still, counting the minutes that passed. A full hour passed before the door reopened. The nurses emerged, alone. There was no sign of the patients.

He was increasingly convinced that the anchor was somehow connected to those mysterious dungeons. He waited for the nurses to leave, then left the room and attempted to use his spectral travel to reappear into the basement. To his surprise and concern, the attempt failed. 

Shirei shook his head slightly and looked at his hands, bewildered. He wondered if there was something interfering with his powers and tried calling Reno back just to be sure. The tenebrae did not respond. 

If the anchor is in the basement, could it possibly interfere with my powers?

That represented a serious problem that the demigod could not ignore. Access to the Interworld was of vital importance, with the channel inhibited he was practically disarmed.

And I cannot materialize my tenebrae.

As night fell, Shirei headed towards the meeting point. He knew that the information he had gathered could be crucial to their mission, but he also feared what it might mean for the poor patients trapped in the underground.

Arriving at the room where they had appeared that morning, Shirei found Ada and Havel already waiting for him. The girl still seemed to be very shaken.

As Shirei entered, Havel quickly moved to block the door behind him. His brown eyes scrutinized his companion's face, trying to read his always well-hidden emotions. Ada was lying on the only bed available. The tension was evident in the stiffness of his shoulders.

"Finally," the leader said, sitting up. "I was starting to worry."

Cragar's son looked at him confused, he could hardly believe it.

Havel snorted, "Yes, Purple. You are my comrade and I don't want you to be captured or die."

Shirei nodded briefly, his gaze moving between the two companions. "Thank you."

Ada leaned against the wall, arms crossed over her chest. "Come on, what have you discovered?"

For the next few minutes, the violet-eyed demigod detailed what he had seen and heard during his exploration. He spoke of the patients dragged into the basement, of the muffled cries, not failing to mention the strange interference that prevented him from accessing the Interworld. 

Havel listened with growing anger, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. "Bastards," he hissed through his teeth. 

"How dare they treat defenseless people like that?"

"What information did you get?"

Sidal's son touched his scar, "More or less the same. They were talking about a mysterious "treatment", I think it's the same thing."

"The treatment is carried out in the basement… where, most likely, the monsters who fought the demigods of the academy are locked up…" Ada concentrated on the strategic aspects. "So you're certain the anchor is there?"

Shirei nodded. "It's the only place that isn't accessible. Whatever's going on down there, it's the only source of mana I could think of."

"We need to figure out how to get in," the blond noted, frustration evident in his voice.

"We'll have to find another way," Ada interrupted. 

"Maybe one of us can pretend to be crazy and force the nurses to take him down."

"Too risky. We don't know what exactly happens to those patients. If Shirei can't use his travels, then there's no way to get in and out without attracting attention."

Reno materialized in the room, "You could try to steal the keys."