Blood To Bleed (Vigilante Squad)

Pat listened to Luke, and only partially believed him. Metahumans were a thing after all, so it was possible that one could have visions of the future, though not very likely. Matt appeared to assume that he wanted to be brought up an Asylum, but Pat had an idea where they wanted to go, aside from an asylum. ”Alright you, let’s go to the happy home.” He said, sitting into the passengers seat, waiting for Lukas to go about driving to whatever Asylum. ”So, do you even know where this asylum is?”

"You aren't coming?" Lukas asked Matt when he heard the response. Yeah sure it was crazy, but Matt was just going to cop out again? It was understandable considering he got blown up just a few weeks ago but jeez, back a brotha up. Whether Matt went or not though, Lukas had to go. He was prepared to go alone really, but nothing could go down if he did. For this to happen how it was supposed to, he knew these two had to be with him. He didn't know how he knew that, he just did.

"Yeah..... I did some research. Scared the fuck out of me. It's all abandoned in an equally desolate part of town." Lukas said, driving off no matter who remained in the car. He was nervous, scared, yet somehow excited. It was a weird feeling really. Maybe he really was going crazy. Heck, maybe this was all an illusion and his friends were taking him to the asylum to get committed. Either way, he had to go there.

It took awhile of driving through some seriously questionable neighborhoods to find the place, but they did. It was a large stone building, vines and plant overgrowth everywhere, even blocking the entrance. It looked like something out of a cheesy horror flick, yet it was more real then anything around. It looked just like how he saw it.

"Alright...... This is it. Let's pray we don't get killed by some maniac ghost or raped by a hell hound, or something." Lukas mused as he got out of the car and looked up at the large fence, daring himself to enter. Why was he doing this again?

"Luke...Fuck man. I'll meet you guys there. I gotta drop by home real quick. Make sure you keep your GPS toggled on Pat." He said before letting them go out towards the "Happy Home" or wherever it was they were really going. He started walking a little bit before punching a couple buttons on his cellphone and making a few comments. Hanging p and tucking the phone away, Humanity simply walked to the curb and waited for 10 minutes before a vehicle sped around the corner, stopping on a dime and automatically opening the door for him to get in.

He struggled as he got out, moving to his house as the car consolidated into the form of a man and walked, a long nanite-fiber trench coat it's clothing.

"Might I suggest taking your full arsenal?" The "man" said as it followed in Humanity's wake.

"No, I can't risk them finding out. Where is the knife?" He asked, the man in his company vanishing quite quickly with a burst of air before returning with a rather strange looking wrapping. Humanity took the wrappings and sighed. He had no idea why this would be helpful. He hated this accursed thing. Granted it wasn't actually cursed... well...not that he knew of. It just had severe sentimental value.

"Might I suggest that you conceal that?" He asked.

"Uh, you might suggested. Already did that thought." Humanity said as he dropped the cloth, revealing his "magic-trick" to make the contents disappear. The man scanned over him with literal scanners before it's mechanical plates over its eyes shifted and slighted downwards.

"I cannot find it. I've scanned you thoroughly..."
"Well if you found it I wouldn't have hid it well, now would I? Hurry up, get me to the warehouse." Humanity countered as he took a few other useful gadgets in case of emergency.

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He arrived not long after them, rolling in silence as he tracked the footsteps of Pat and Luke. He could faintly hear Luke's voice.

"...-ghosts or raped by a Hellhound." then immediately Matt dropped to his knees, a powerful forced slapping his shoulder and pushing him down to an execution styled position. Laughter roared through the air.

HA! Ah that's priceless. Ahaha...what? That doesn't tickle ye? Not even a wee bit? Ah... it's sophisticated humor lad. Fucking the fourth wall a third nostril... well; actually in this case it might just be seeing the future. After all, you see the future and you can spot irony anywhere.... Well now, c'mon lad. Let's hurry up and meet your friends. I'm sure they'll need saving REAL soon...ehehehehahaaaaa. The voice was all too familiar though there was no one there. From where he was hearing it though he could almost pin-point where they'd be. They ended off, the laughter fading as they turned the corner of boxes. There it was he heard Luke's footsteps.

Humanity hurried, though proved to be the silent type as he turned corners and navigated, following the damp sneaker prints from them walking through the water from the dripping pipes. Eventually he heard them and gave his signature little "I'm here" noise to let his compatriots know it was him and not someone creepy coming up to do Hellhound things.

"Hey, let's get to the security office. I can pretty much run this place from there. We'll toggle Bluetooth and start on this search for....well...whatever." He suggested once he was certain his friends knew of his presence. He still spoke in a hushed tone, as almost afraid to alert any speeky or scary things to their presence.

Luke had an idea where they would be going, so Pat would let them do most of the driving while his own attention was settled on staring out the window. Part of him knew he should be nervous, and yet the sensation was rather subdued compared to how he should feel about going to an abandoned asylum. Maybe he wasn’t expecting anything due to the abandoned portion, but the claim about having a vision of this place produced some apprehension; just not a lot. Soon enough they would reach the place, choked with weeds and for the most part rather trashy looking. Sure lives up to the abandoned title anyway. Pat thought to himself, hands buried in his pockets as he considered the ruined building slowly.

There was something about it and yet he could not put his finger on it. A primal discomfort that bothered him at the back of his mind, much like the fear of the dark that many people held or rather what the shadows hid. ”Who knows, we might get raped and then by some ghost hellhounds.” He noted with a shrug, still internally debating why he was even here and if whatever was in here was worth investigating. That was when he heard a familiar sound, turning on his heels to see what looked to be Matt.

A soft smile played across his lips, faint but there. ”Sounds like an idea.” He said with a nod, turning back around to look at the building, scanning for a gate in the massive fence and then approaching it, finding just a rather thick chain with a lock to stop them. ”Guess the lockpick lessons will pay off.” not that they were official but he had considered knowing how to break a lock rather useful. Pat removed what looked to be small tools, leaning over slightly as he got to work. It didn’t actually take longer than a few seconds, and the chains clattered to the ground.

”Done.” he said, forcing the gate open with an open palm as he stepped through and walked onward. Finding the security room should be easy once he actually entered the building.

Where Pat learned how to pick a lock Lukas had no idea, but it was convenient. Drifter probably would have just broke it or something. It's not like anyone was watching this place. Heck, it was going to be smashed to nothing in just a few weeks. Regardless, the chain was gone and they were free to walk in, Matt showing up just in time. Lukas honestly thought he might not come, not that he could blame the guy. But he was pleasantly surprised to see him.

"Right." Luke said, taking out his phone and toggling his bluetooth function. He then put it away and was the first to step through the door. What he found was what one would expect from a creepy asylum. A long dirty once white hallway with supposedly calming pictures on the walls that In reality only served to scare the shit out of you. He kept his walking slow, scanning the area. There was medical equipment, chains, post cards, broken glass, and a host of other things scattered around. It looked like a crazy bomb went off. Through all the rubble he found a half burnt floor map on the ground, and gave it a quick once over.

"Alright..... This map says the main security room is upstairs. Guess we'll go there." Lukas said once everyone walked in. Just after they did though, the door behind them slammed shut, and the sound of locking could be heard. They would find the door pretty much immovable if they tried to open it or break through it. They were sealed inside unless they could find another exit. Drifter himself was pretty freaked out, eyes wide and adrenaline pumping. Looks like his hunch about this place was right. He pulled out a handgun and cocked it.

"I knew something was wrong here...... Don't bother with the door. Let's figure this out. Something clearly wanted us here." Drifter said. Yes, he still sounded crazy. But what other conclusion could you come to when seeing the exact same place you were now trapped inside in a dream?

Humanity couldn't help but recognize the door was rather immovable. He heard Luke say not to try. Not that he wanted to disagree, but he went up and placed his hand to it. Immediately he felt a cold shiver run down his spine as a sudden vibration reacted and made him twitch back a bit. "I-If you guys say so." He said, still playing the newbie in training. Fucking supernaturalism...good thing I'm cloaked. He thought, remembering his immunity from supernatural sensory. The one thing Divinity did well for him.

"I'm gonna set up shop somewhere...We can use these to keep in touch?" He offered, seeming like the eager beaver and producing three candy-corn looking ear-buds. Perfect for covert communication. In truth he wanted to put some space between them and maximize his efficiency. Of course it didn't exactly make sense to break off here. Of course it could easily be written off as nerves.

So now they had Matt going along with them, though part of him wondered how well their friend would actually help. Unless he were secretly some manner of trained killer, or whatever then they might just have someone proving to be an annoyance more than anything else. Not that he would really voice that thought, but it was something that went through Pats head nonetheless. Once all of them stepped through the front door, it would shut without anyone actually doing the shutting. ”Okay, check the self shutting doors on the freaky shit to happen in an asylum list.” He muttered to himself, frowning as this quickly began to grow less than advantageous.

”Whelp, something tells me we’re all dead. If slasher films are anything to go on, it’s usually the ones that start screwing that die first though.” He noted with a shrug, the statement within itself having no real purpose than to alleviate a sort of desire to run his mouth. Luke’s use of the phrase something told him that he believed it wasn’t someone, and that only began to give credence to the crazy theory. Kneeling down, he removed what looked to be some manner of concealed firearm, nine millimeter but it put holes in things well enough.

Matt seemed tuberous and honestly he couldn’t blame them right now. They would produce interesting looking earbuds, one of which pat took and planted into his right ear. This would seemingly be the method they could stay in tough through within this strange, now darker place. Despite how scared he actually was, Pat kept the fear in check well enough or at least enough not to visibly shake. Anything that meant hesitation, that had to be kept in strict control, and so he did what he could. ”Yeah, we can use these.” he said with a small nod, giving their surroundings a quick scan over before looking back to his friends.

”but lets get to that main security room first. That was the whole plan, right?” He asked, not really waiting for a response before following the dusty, cracked signs that would lead them to said room.

Lukas was honestly impressed Pat was carrying. He didn't think the guy would after accidentally shooting someone. It was a nice surprise. Maybe Pat was finally getting a thicker skin. But beyond that, the destination still seemed to be the security room. Honestly Drifter didn't want to go up there just yet. He wanted to take a look around, let Matt do his thing to, among other things, make sure no one decided to drop by and charge them with trespassing.

"No....... Just have Matt go and set up. I need to check this place out. Pat, we should split up and look around while he does what he does." Lukas suggested, then didn't really wait for an answer as he walked off, casually letting the gun swing by his side as he strolled along. He started to peer through each room he came across, eventually getting pretty far away from Pat. In fact, the entire style of the building seemed different the longer he was away. Like he stepped into another world.

That's when the weird stuff started happening. It started out innocent enough, drop of water here, sound of a light flickering there. Then it got progressively less excusable. A door slam, chains rattling, the sound of metal on flesh, and then, laughter? It was the sound of a child echoing down the hall, followed by a flurry of quick and light footsteps.

"Hello?! Who's there?" Lukas said, the hair on the back of his neck standing up. He could feel a chill now, which just added to the spooky nature of what was going on. He followed the noise, slowly. As he did, he heard cuts, grunts of pain, more child-like laughter, more chain rattling, water.........

He rounded the corner, fearing what he would see inside the open cell. A bulb flickered over the grey room, illuminating the sight of horror that unfolded before him. The dull grey room was bathed in blood, chains suspended a familiar face upside down. He was barely alive it would seem. And the culprit of all this, a boy, a mop of blonde hair down to his chin. He had a wicked smile on his face, which was covered in the blood of the man he was digging into with what looked to be an ice pick. He was giggling madly with each wound he inflicted.

"H..... How? W-why? Why are you....?" Lukas stuttered. He couldn't find the words for what he was seeing. It was Khan, and the boy, that was the son of a bitch's murderer. His real murderer... The boy looked to Drifter, excited. The sadistic smile still dominated his face.

".....What? Not a fan of your handiwork?" His younger self said with a giggle. He then stabbed his ice pick into the back of his victim, tearing out whatever he could with it.

"Just.... Hold on! Stop! Why are you doing this? He's dead! What the hell are you doing?" Lukas screamed, running up to the boy and grabbing him by the shirt, disarming him in the process.

"Please, don't..... I was never...... I was never like that. " Lukas said, whispering to himself more then anyone. And not the perversion that he was staring at. The boy cackled.

"You are now though. You always had the potential to be, and that's all that matters!" The boy jumped and fidgeted in delight even as he was being held by Drifter. Lukas was utterly mortified. He let the boy go and backed up to the wall, looking at the suspended man as his younger self picked his tools up again.

"But..... But he deserved it." Drifter whispered.

"Mmhmmmm." The boy said, getting back to work.

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Pat would see nothing for quite a long while. He may have even felt like giving up and going back to the group at times. It would feel like one of those lame haunted house shows where nothing happened. Sure a door slammed, but that could have been anything, right? Wrong. Eventually he would begin to hear whispers, too low to make out. The room he stood in would shift, becoming nothing but black until a few candles lit up in the distance. They moved at a very slow pace, and whispered to themselves as they sauntered along.

Illuminated by each flame was the face of someone Pat knew. His friends, His family, Luke and Matt. They kept on walking, from one side of the room toward him. But when they arrived, they wouldn't move off track. They would continue walking, eyes locked on their destination. They wouldn't say a word. They wouldn't respond to being touched or their vision being obstructed. They just kept moving forward. The whispers continued, but no matter how close Pat got he wouldn't be able to make them out. He was being totally ignored.

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When Matt got up to the security room, he would find the camera system was still intact, but was not turning on. It seemed despite the lights working that there was no power to the surveillance systems. It didn't matter anyway, he wouldn't be able to see what the others were seeing, not conventionally. It was all in their heads. It seemed the room was pretty much useless. Sure he could set up his own stuff, but he could do that in any room. There was nothing special about this one. Well, that is until the door slammed and a faint, muted orange light briefly moved over the walls before disappearing completely. Matt would find he was sealed in the room, similarly to how everyone was sealed in this asylum.

The screens flickered to life, and Matt would see every room in the building. He would also see the illusions going on in the heads of his friends. A haze fell over the room, the sound building and building until the point where it would have become unbearable, then it stopped. Then, in a flash of light, a man appeared in the room. He wore a black suit, his eyes were a dark brown, almost matching the clothing, and a orange light faintly swirled around his form. His presence seemed to cause the feeling of intimidation, but also snuffed out any kind of dread. It was more the feeling of being protected more then anything. He scanned Matt up and down, a curious look on his face. It looked as if he were looking at a downed horse, or a man striped of everything he had.

"Watch." was all the man said. He knew the routine, the questions. He figured he would just skip that. He looked at the two men on the screens, sadly almost.

"Dreadful, how the human mind can rip itself apart, isn't it?" The man said, looking to Matt from the corner of his eye.

Matt took the time to set up his monitoring system, though unfortunately it wouldn't prove to do much good. The security office wasn't important because of its location mind you....Matt had an alternative motive for being here. Unfortunately, whatever was in this Asylum seemed to be here with him as well. Matt looked up from his monitor, jumping up a little bit when he heard the man's voice. True he half expected this, but let's be truthfully honest...this followed so many tropes that if you didn't see this coming you were either blind or wasted.

 "Dreadful, how I'm tearing your friends apart, isn't it?" The voice was clear as day. Humanity looked over his shoulder strands of silver hair meshed in and hidden beneath dark brown and black. Just kidding! HAHA!!!! The look on your face kiddo...the look on your face... Then he immediately forgot what he had just seen. His mind was playing tricks on him, playing games again. This had been very prevalent before, especially during his time as Sin. He recalled his inner world, meeting all of those strange people, the souls, spirits and essences inhabiting those artifacts...Inhabiting him...

     The monitors flickered to life and soon, the illusions were seen. Matthew stepped forward a little before lowering himself down and into an old cushioned seat. A flash of light stealing his attention as he was held in a bit of a suspended state. Feeling intimidated but feeling somehow goverend over. Your'e. Fucking. Kidding me.... was all that came ot his mind as he began to observe the man. The black suit was nothing special, except if Supernatural taught us anything it was that all bad guys wear suits.... The faint orange glow surrounding his visage told Matt everything he needed to know though.

   "Watch." He said as he looked to the victims of the illusions. HIS victims.

  Eh...heheh.... I'm sorry....did you just....did you just tell me what to do? Tell ME!? The voice in the back of his head, masquerading as pride badgered at him. His fist clenched, but soon enough he forced himself to relax. The vice grip was released and the hands were flat on the table. He looked to the monitor, his glasses flashing with the light of the illusions. Matthews hand shifted ever so slightly as he clicked a button on the desk and on the remote.

  "Well their sanity wouldn't be unraveling itself if you weren't making it." He accused. He knew full wel that that wasn't exactly the case. This wasn't the doing of the man before him, well... "man". it was something else altogether. It wasn't him...it was where. "Drifter, Withdrawl! You need to snap out of this! We've got to get out of here! This is just in your head! Listen to me!!! Guys!?" He barked over his ear piece. He had a sinking suspicion in the time it took him to set up shot he was too late. His communication with them wasn't going to help. They were too deep in....

  "GODDAMNIT!"" he roared as he threw the earpiece and started towards the door. He didn't have time to deal with this thing.

Luke would suggest the whole splitting up thing, so while Pat was not for that he would go along with it in the end. Their little group would split, Pat walking down one of the hallways which appeared to go nowhere. This pace looked like nothing more than some spooky haunted house, maybe with some spooky scary skeletons to pop out. The hallway would eventually give way to darkness, illuminated by small candles that gave some solace within the otherwise impenetrable murk. ”Okay, there might be some truth to this whole haunted thing.” He muttered to himself,  keeping a finger on the trigger of his weapon as he slowly walked along.

Rising form the silence were whispers, voices he could not quite make out that spoke words he did not understand. Pat chewed on his lower lip, keeping the weapon level as he continued. If this was something supernatural, then how much good would his gun really do him? Faces would then appear, people he knew most of all. Family, friends and most of all Luke as well as Matt. That relief he felt was short lived as they would begin to walk, seemingly ignoring him with these dead eyes as they moved. ”This is…probably the weakest attempt to scare me ever.” Pat noted, grinding his teeth together audibly.

”I’m not stupid.” He rolled his eyes, reaching out to grab a candle from one of the people, seemingly ignored as they walked. Now with light source in hand, as well as a weapon he would continue to walk. Something told him this should affect him, and yet he couldn’t really care.

With one last stab straight through the heart, the boy pulled his tool out of the now dead man and wiped it off on his blue and black striped shirt, creating a streak of red across it. He then tossed the ice pick aside and let the chains drop Khan on his head, snapping his neck with a loud crunch. The younger Drifter couldn't help but laugh at that as he walked over and started poking at the exposed bone and Khans face, making a 'boop' sound each time his finger made contact.

Lukas was understandably horrified at the sight of all this. Yet, for some odd reason he couldn't bring himself to stop the boy. For one the kid was obviously too crazy to talk to, and for two well, Lukas had done exactly what he was seeing done before him. Sure it was less sadistic, but Drifter couldn't deny that in his heart, he enjoyed it.

".....What happened to you?" Drifter asked, wincing as he watched the boy continue to mess with the corpse. It was disgusting.

"HAHAHAHA! What happened to me? I think you mean what happened to us. Come on dude, why would i be appearing in this vision if the problem were anything but you? The symbolism is pretty clear, haven't you ever read a Steven King novel? I'm what you've always been in the dark, not just what you've become." The boy said, now pretty much painted in red. He took a step toward Drifter, who was now sitting against the wall, utterly terrified.

"No..... No that isn't true! I was a good kid, innocent......" Drifter shot back. This just brought on more laughter in the boy and kept the sick smile plastered to his face.

"Maybe on the surface......... But i was abandoned. Not just by Mom and Dad, by you too. You thought you cured yourself of all your issues, but you were just lying, and you let me burn just like they did. We were supposed to break free, to live the life we always wanted. But here you are, a sadistic murderer, thinking he's doing some good for the world but in the end is only trying to give himself purpose. At least i admit what i am." The boy said, now only a couple feet from Drifter's face. Tears rolled down Lukas' face. He didn't know how to feel right now. He felt sorry as well as horror and guilt, but there was a part of him that even felt like this thing in front of him was right.

".....I'm sorry..... Things don't always work out the way you want them to, no matter how much you plan." Drifter said softly. He didn't know what else he could say. He couldn't argue with the kid. Everything he said was true.

"You sound like Dad. I know that, I'm not stupid! I just want you to admit it, to embrace it. Stop pretending to be a hero and do what you really want. Cut loose, let off some steam, get even with this hell hole." The younger Lukas said, smiling still. He dropped his hand down to his older self as if to help him up, but also as a gesture of agreement. Drifter stared at the hand. He was actually having trouble here. Was everything he did for nothing? Was it all just so he could get his aggression out? Was he lying to himself when he said he was making the world a better place?

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All the lights went out, including the one in Pat's hand. A cold chill ran over the room, if it were even a room at all. All that seemed to be in the area was darkness, yet Pat could see a few feet of the ground in front of him. What he would see was blood, a trail of it that got thicker and thicker as he walked down it. Grunts of pain would be heard as he got closer, and eventually, a golden lighter would illuminate a pale white face.

"Pat....... Pat is that you?" "Drifter" would say. If Pat were to look closer at the downed male leaning up against the wall, he would see a pipe was shoved through his chest, and he was bleeding, badly. You could tell he only had a minute or so left, as his skin was nearly blue.

"Matt..... He..... He didn't make it...." Lukas said, gesturing for his friend to come forward. Unlike the illusion this clearly looked like an actual human being, one that was dying.

"Don't think i will either....... But....... But we had some good times right?" The illusion said, a tear rolling down his face to his chin. He coughed and upchucked some blood.

"This place is evil....... What a stupid idea, coming here........ You need to get out." Lukas said. And that's when the room shifted back to normal, and Drifter's eyes rolled back into his head. He was losing a lot of blood, and the contrast of the illusion made this seem more real then any of it.

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"Me? No no no, son. I'm not doing anything." The Warden said, still staring blankly at the screens with a soft shake of his head. He looked quite sad, seeing the two of them falling deeper into their visions. Soon they wouldn't be able to break free until it all resolved within their minds.

"....You cannot help them, not like that. They have to do it mostly themselves. If they are removed from this place without going through it's trials, their minds will never return." He said, pulling up a chair and pointing to another for Matt to sit as well. He had a certain calmness about him, his words showing no panic or fluctuations, just stability.

"Welcome to the Asylum, the only place where my counterpart is stronger then I. You're friends have unfortunately fell into the middle of a feud between things beyond them. The scales have been tipped you see, and the weak are vulnerable, all due to one little anomaly.........." The man said, trailing off at the end and mostly speaking to himself before finally turning his attention back to Matt.

"This is new to you, being powerless?" The man said, not intending to insult the Matt, but really asking a question. The fact he tried to leave the room despite knowing he couldn't help his friends spoke volumes about his character. The Warden knew Matt was more then he let on, because he couldn't see him, not like he could everyone else.

Matthew wasn't sure how he was supposed to deal with this honestly. He had several ideas, but in the end he knew that there was something else that needed to be done. Unfortunately his friends would continue to be the sacrifices he partially had to make. Granted, in the end if he had to choose between his friends. their health and sanity...or capturing and ending this "Warden" and his counterpart then he would choose his friends. He hated to admit it, but they really were one of his biggest weaknesses... and truthfully that's the true reason he never wanted them to do this. Because if they were out here, like this....then he'd never stop worrying about them.

     "This is new to you, being powerless?" The words echoed for a moment and something deep inside Matthew churned. Powerless. Powerless. It was at this moment....it was written....The Warden would pay the price for such a comment. He would see just how "powerless" he really was. The fleeting feeling was nothing more than a distraction, though it was one that was slowly rising his ire. This was truly beginning to force his hand.

  "No, I'm used to being powerless all the time..." Matthew said as he sighed and began to contemplate the situation. It made no sense for the Warden to be here, especially if his "counterpart" was strongest at this location. Especially when his friends had fallen under it's illusions. "Just stay there... I've got to figure this out." He said as he began to contemplate it all, taking it in one thought at a time.

Light faded, even the one within his own hand as this darkness felt as if it were clawing away at his mind. His eyes fell upon what looked to be...Luke bleeding out against a wall. ”Shit.” he sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose as he walked over to the male and kneeling at them. ”Yeah, it’s me.” He said with a nod, letting his eyes flit towards what looked to be something within their chest. If this was an illusion, it was a pretty real one, all he had to do was feel them to see that.

They said something about Matt not making it, something that more than anything made him feel...highly angry. ”He didn’t? Well, Guess that makes sense.” His fingers curled around the protruding pipe, giving it a small wiggle before a harsh twist. ”First the cyanide and now this, you really hate me don’t you?” He ripped the pipe, and jabbed it where the heart was approximately, before twisting it even harsher. This brief anger that flashed through him was brief, brilliant and painful, yet when it faded all he felt was...cold. ”Or maybe no one died at all. Knowing this place, well I guess that might be the case.”

He wiped away a few of the droplets of blood on his pants, standing to his feet and walked away, beyond the veil of darkness that likely stood in his way.

Drifter kept on staring at the hand presented to him, he didn't know whether to take it or whether to knock it way from his face. He was at a loss, he was folded in on himself mentally. Soon his younger self just sighed, and he looked like he was about to give Lukas another bitch session. But that's when he stopped, and slowly, a smirk played across his face. He looked like he had a secret he was just dying to tell, and he indeed would.

"Well would you look at that, i don't even have to lie." The boy said. He then stepped forward and touched Lukas on the head. Drifter flinched a bit, as he didn't know what was going on, but soon he realized he was being shown something. It was Pat, stabbing what seemed to be an illusion of him out of anger. Apparently he still held a grudge for the whole cyanide thing. Well he hadn't shown it before, the two faced dick.

".....That.....that son of a bitch!" Drifter said, standing up quickly, clearly in anger. His younger self was in a fit of laughter.

"Seeeee? These guys don't care about you, just like no one else does. What good are they to you anyway? You try your best to be their friend and to protect them and then they just fall into the same crap our family did. How much of this are you going to allow?" His younger self said. Drifter still didn't know what to think, but he wanted to say so much to Pat right now, he wanted to let him have it. He barged out of the room as the illusion of his past continued to giggle.

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The shock on the illusions face was quite clear, this was betrayal. It was some sick form of retribution apparently. But then again this is what the illusion wanted. It wanted to exploit the anger Pat had for Lukas, it wanted to bring out the damaged part of his mind that was so hurt by something he didn't even seem to understand that he would kill his friend in cold blood.

The room started to shake, and it morphed, shifting into a large white room. It was roughly the size of a basketball court, and looked to be some sort of solitary confinement chamber. No one resided in it, nothing was there but white, except for a very angery blonde guy that had experienced his own shift in surroundings. Drifter and Withdrawal were together again. A silence was fell over the area as Drifter stared his friend down, before finally speaking.

".....I don't even know where to begin...." Drifter said, now walking from the other end of the room to Pat, deliberately slow so he could get his words out before they met.

"Act like my friend while you have an issue with me that is strong enough to warrant my murder? Wait until I'm vulnerable to get your pissy little revenge? Because god knows you couldn't contend with me while I don't have a pipe through my chest. You know what you are? A goddamn liar, a two faced fuck, a man with such low self esteem that any knock against it or any small 'betrayal' makes the person doing it your enemy. " Lukas said, now about halfway to Pat. A faint yellow danced over his pale grey eyes, but it could have just been the lighting, right?

"You're pathetic is what you are. You can't stand someone pointing out how much of a failure you have become, or how much your friends have risen above you. Well, I'm done with you. I've been through enough. I shouldn't have to deal with a fragile minded little cunt wanting to kill me for trying to protect him, or for getting him a little angry." Drifter now got very close, getting in Pat's face. The yellow in his eyes was more prominent now, like a thin gloss over his normal eye color.

"You were family, you were my friend. I confided in you and Matt as people i could relate to. Now i see you're just like the rest." Lukas said, pulling a switch blade from his pocket and ramming it toward Pat's stomach. This unfortunately was not the intent though, as Lukas knew when adrenaline started pumping and the rush of a knife being involved hit you, even if you caught it you were off balance.  He would use a Jiu Jujitsu technique if the blade was caught, grabbing the catching hand with his other to use it as leverage to swing his body and send his legs flying toward Pat's, intent on a sweep. If successful, Drifter would end up on top of Pat. If Pat evaded the knife all together and stepped back, Lukas would draw his gun and fix it on his friend.

--------------------------

"What's to figure out?" The Warden asked quizzically, turning in his rotating office chair. A small smirk was creeping onto his face, not one of confidence or any kind of mockery, but one of contempt. He sighed loudly before speaking.

"This is a moment that is key, it sends this world down a path to something i don't entirely understand. But looking at these two, they don't seem to be what will cause it. The only missing piece, the only other person involved, is you. That's why we're having this conversation." The Warden said, standing up from his chair and closing a little distance between him and Matt. They were now about ten feet away.

"So, what will you do to change that for me? What will you do to save your friends?"

He's toying with you. You aren't going to let him do that, are you? A voice whispered in his ear the slight pressure of gentle fingers on the opposite shoulder. An invisible person peaked around him, looking into his eyes with a growing smile, both ravenous and refined. The invisible person pushed him farther a bit, his staggering steps forward bringing them to an 8 foot length.

"...What would I do?" Humanity asked as he pulled his blade from it's hiding spot. The small blade was nothing special, of course until one recognized Yamm's insignia upon it. "Let's see if I can make a point..." He said as he flourished the dagger, it twirled it through the air before gripping it steadfast. He may have lost all the true divinity of his former powers, but the relics....these were eternal. A blade forged from the solidified blood and bone of the Old God's oldest form. His eyes fixated on the Warden.

"I'm going to educate you... and then I'm going to break them from this trance. You pulled these people into a mess that I'm going to have to clean up....all for what?" He sounded more irritated more than anything. "The God of Primordial Chaos, Madness and the Seas.... so what am I willing to do? I'm willing to save them. But to save them...I'm going to have to go back. Back to the depths of Madness, back to the depths of chaos and depravity... On the way I think I'll teach you something....and maybe that thing that keeps lurking in your shadow.... Schools in session."

"You may be the Warden....but I'm the Goddamn King baby!" He said as the entire area around them began to shift slightly, to display the inner confines of his mind. Daekness, chains and horrorific distortions of space, shadows cast in a horrific manner. He stoos there with his knife, walking towards the Warden with a smile on his face and a murderous look in his eyes. Any attempts to teleport or move away were neglected.

"What is this? I can't...leave?"

"Of course not....you didn't ask 'Father may I?'" He said, leaving the Warden to react a whole different way.

The blood would spread from the wound, blending with the darkness until that darkness gave way to brilliant light. Within this new room was a familiar face, one he had only seconds ago plunged a pipe into. Another illusion likely, but then again  that was the running theme of this place. It didn’t take much thought on his part to place the gun into his hand, fingers tightening around the handle as his eyes focused intensely on Drifter. They would talk, as he expected they would and they would spout words meant to tear him down. It was a lot easier to steel oneself against insults when they were expecting it.

Revenge, well that was an interesting way of looking at things, but he actually didn’t care now. They would talk, and talk as they closed the massive distance until they were in his face. He was ready, tensed for any movement that Drifter would likely make and move they did. It was first with the knife, something that was easy enough to avoid with the time he had as a vigilante. Honestly, as far as he knew, he has been working longer than Luke so they were delving into a disparity of experience. The positioning of his movement was forward, the knife managing to cut his side and yet not doing the damage it could, while his free hand lined the gun up with Luke’s thigh, letting off a round as he would quickly move back, as the blade would cut a bit deeper and release a small flow of blood.

Pat bit back the pain as he kept the gun pointed towards the male. A soft chuckle slipped through his lips, descending into chuckling and then a sort of manic laughter. ”You really are an idiot aren’t you?” He said half breathless, eyes narrowed in anger and portraying a hint of bemusement. ”I don’t ever remember you rising above me, only dragging me down. I’ve been successful far before you decided to do your little stint into vigilantism.” His eyes rolled as he kept his weapon trained upon Drifter. ”And if you think I killed that illusion for something trivial as poisoning me due to your own gross incompetence, that’s not it at all. They died for the same reason you would, for failing to protect the only thing that actually matters to me. Compared to that, everyone else is expendable.” He growled this through clenched teeth.

So with that he fired off a few more rounds aimed with a surprising amount of accuracy at Drifter.