บท 6: Chapter 6: The Crimson Checkered Road
"So how do you plan to infiltrate this building for this…artificial blood...Did I get that right?" Muzan affronted the silent and stoic Chris. Sounding half confused and half amused as he strived towards Chris's form.
'Yep, that's what we're here for.' Chris responded slightly livid, but tempered enough to sound almost polite.
"What makes you so sure this is gonna work?" Muzan inquired teasingly.
'Because…well it's still just a hunch, but I have two very strong reasons. One, the sun kills me, similar to a vampire. Two….I think I puke up anything that my body can't handle digesting.' Chris responded hopelessly. That and his other hunch turned out to be spot on unfortunately.
His brain tried and failed to dodge the memory.
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*Flashback*
"Did you get it out yet?"
Chris choked
At some point of his rooftop jumping, he had keeled over in pain. The feeling was foreign as he had felt nothing but hunger before.
He began choking and puke sputtered out of his mouth. Chris wondered what he did to deserve this.
Then he remembered the Fugly burger and dad's warning made all the more sense.
He never should've eaten that burger.
"Here let me help you."
Chris suddenly felt a current of bodily fluids push up against him. Some bursted from his mouth uncontrollably. He had to stop himself from completely falling over.
The feeling lasted for only a few seconds until something finally erupted from his airways and out from his vessel.
The thing in question was what he had suspected. The Fugly burger. In all its atomic glory.
Despite it residing within his gut for a solid hour or so. It wasn't as foul smelling as he had thought. Nor was it as digested as it should be.
"Ohh….I was worried about that."
'You knew about this?! Why didn't you say anything before?!'
"I kinda forgot that time. My apologies. But now we know."
'Know what?'
"Our new body is incapable of taking nutrients from normal sources. Such as burgers and fries and stuff. Meaning that…"
Chris's face morphed into a look of horrific annoyance.
"Why did I have to be right?"
*End of Flashback*
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"Ahhh good times."
'No they weren't. Stop lying. Actually ya know what. Now's not the time for that, we need to remain focused on the task at hand. Survival.'
"Alright, fair enough. Before I ask what the plan is, what did you gather from the newspaper?
'It had some insight into that car accident. Turns out they were some ABB thugs that had just robbed a store. There were 3 boys. A little older than me. Names were Ichi Tota, Ni Vail, and Kevin Satou. They've been detained and sentenced to life in prison.'
Their lucky the cops got to them before he did.
"Hey, why didn't we go to the blood center? Wouldn't they have more on hand than the hospital?"
….fuck…that was a good point. Why hadn't they thought of that earlier.
'Why didn't you bring it up sooner?'
"Because I just thought about it and it came to my attention."
'Suuuuuuuurrrrrrreeeeeee.'
"Anyhowwww. Since were already here. What's the plan?"
Chris had been wheeljacking a plan together for the past few minutes. Ever since their arrival to one of the many building roofs surrounding Brockton Bays central hospital. Despite that supposed elevation advantage, the hospital dwarfed them expenotially.
'Alright, so step one is to get inside of the hospital. I'm still trying to figure out how we will do that.'
"I can help!"
Chris looked back at Muzan with a pissed off 'Don't talk to me look.' He who had dared to look had a surprised look on his face.
"Why are you so serious all of a sudden? This really isn't like you."
'Because, I realize now that it isn't just my life on the line anymore. It's yours too.'
"And that girl?"
'...and the girl.' He replied back honestly.
"Awwwww."
'Shut up.' Chris turned around to concentrate.
Muzan finally decided to provide an answer. After he had already turned around to concentrate.
"How about we shapeshift?"
'I thought about it but that wouldn't work. They'd ask too many questions I couldn't answer properly. I could act but…i think it'd be out of place right now. It wouldn't be authentic enough and-'
"You're overthinking it again. But that's fine. We'll try something different! Why not try pushing your shapeshifting powers to the limit. Turn into a bird."
Chris finally looked back at Muzan
'Therianthropy? How can we even do that? We're too big to fly.'
"How do you think?"
He was confused for a second until he realized exactly what Muzan meant.
'Physics don't worm-work like that! How would that even compute within reality?' He stumbled in complete shock.
The law of the conversation of mass dictates mass basically says mass can't be changed in an object. It can be constant, and proportional. But never altered from its previous mass…..at least that's what he thought it was from that book.
"Our blood is kinda weird." Muzan replied simply.
'Does our blood transcend physics or something? Is that why I'm all over the place?'
"Maybe. The body does work in mysterious ways."
'Then how does it even fun-'
Muzan got up and patted his shoulder intently. Before sassily replying "It's a little more difficult than regular shape shifting. So it's okay if you can't do it."
'...Did you just try to gaslight me?'
"Uhhhhh…..No….why would I ever do that?"
'To a prophet and to a witch. Look at the audacity on this bitch.'
"Child, I'm only trying to help."
'And I appreciate that, but this is sorta a 'do or die' type situation right now.'
"I was dead serious about that."
'Then I ask you, show me.'
"As you wish."
Muzan soon began morphing his body, the bones and muscles making weird sounds as they mangled and disengaged to different parts of the body. He grew feathers, a beak, his eyes split to opposite sides of his body as his head began turning into a plump, feather covered pear. To Chris's surprise he grew smaller and smaller until he was just that.
A common street pigeon. The dove still had those red, reptilian-slit eyes. However, that was the only thing that would tell him this was still Muzan. Before they too turned to circular, red, dove eyes.
"Are you convinced?"
'HOW DOES THAT EVEN WORK!?' He commented on the change in form. It was much more impressive than the shapeshifting he was doing before.
Now he wondered if other supes were like that as well. Or they were and he just never bothered to notice it amongst all the other strange things heard in school.
"I told you, it's very difficult, I encourage you to at least give it a shot. If not then we'll just do whatever other idea you come up with."
Chris nodded towards the now birdied apparition of his other self. He closed his eyes.
He started to clear his head of any wary thoughts, suspicions, and feelings. He thought of the classic city pigeons that would casually take a quick dump on his fathers vehicle before swiftly escaping…..
'I miss you dad.'
Grey, black, and white. Feathery. Beak. Wings. No arms. Feather ears. Pear head. Whatever eyed. Bone legged. Tiny, literally the size of his palm. 4 toes, 3 in front, 1 in the back. Fang.
His bones molded themselves violently as they shrunk. His legs grew as skinny as a stick and his toes fused into 3 fang ended prongs on his feet. With one last one folding itself into the back to create the signature pigeon footprint.
His eyes twisted towards the opposite direction and his curls twirled in on themselves as they melded with and around his body. The curls went from licorice to iron as they fused and took hold on his body.
His back arched awkwardly as it accommodated his anthropomorphic form into an avian stance. His hair transformed into sharp feathers, made to both flow and cut through the air itself.
His eyes soon found themselves into fixed locations as they were positioned alternatively to one another, he could tell as his scope of vision changed. He could see nearly all around his area on top of the building.
His arms soon found themselves fixed to his body, literal wings protruded from his vessel. Feathers covered his form.
Once he felt his body no longer shifting in weird motions, he looked down at Muzan.
'How was that?'
"You forgot to shrink."
Pigeon Chris squeaked in surprise, all with the grace and sound a giant, human sized pigeon could muster.
'Uhhh…how do I shrink?'
"Just think to be smaller, try to force your body and mind to…a lesser point."
Chris followed the instructions down to the letter. He thought of an ant, one of the smaller creatures he could think of at the moment.
He thought of how small, weak, and somewhat insignificant it might be to exist as one. Billions on every continent except Antarctica or something. But what they had as weaknesses they made up for with insurmountable positives. They rely on each other to survive. Day by day. As a one, cohesive, working unit. A family. A-
"Okay…good job, but you kinda went too far. Try to bring yourself up to my size now."
With Muzans words, Chris reflected to reality, and realized that everything wasn't how it was meant to be. Pigeon Muzan was gigantic now. The sides of the roof were now humongous walls.
He thought to be as big as a pigeon. Similar to an ant, but not as small or technically abundant. He tried to avoid the existential philosophies associated with it this time.
"Okay a little big again, let's try to shrimp it down a notch okay?" Muzan said with a small fit of giggle associated with it.
'Are you seri…..w o w…you actually almost got me.' Chris opened his eyes at the 'demonic' being in front of him. Perfectly leveled with each other.
Muzan burst out laughing at Chris. He found himself at almost the exact size as his counterpart.
But he didn't give a single fuck about any of that.
'Okay, now that I'm actually in position. How do I fly?'
"Uhh…I'm not sure how to explain flying. It's more of an experience. Borderline self taught. Even I don't know how to fly properly." Muzan explained. It was mounded in logistical reasoning. Birds were born with the innate senses to fly. And even then, it wasn't always a one way score to it. Some chicks failed to commit flight when the time came. Some were too scared.
'Hey I have a question?'
"Shoot your shot."
'Do we have any other abilities? Besides the whole regen, shapeshifting, and in enhanced senses? Because it still feels like there's more. Like this still isn't it. If that makes sense.''
"...yes." Muzan hesitated for a moment, but still finished it nonetheless. The pause confined Chris for a moment. Before it struck him like a blizzard in December.
Muzan was technically only a day old. He was born from him. His trigger. His mind. Which meant he might know about the other weird stuff…
"How do we have so many abilities?" Chris asked quietly and curiously. He'd grown tired of mentally speaking.
"Perhaps you triggered twice?" Muzan said more out of curiosity than confusion. Like he wasn't being put on the spot.
"Is that even possible? Has anyone ever triggered twice? How does that even happen?"
"Maybe, I mean, lots of data would come in, some good, some bad. However, if enough trauma were to occur past the normal limit. I could see you triggering multiple times as a result."
That probably described this whole situation to him in a poetic yet chaotic manner. Especially since Muzan still had that same pop star outfit on.
That and he apparently had more abilities at his disposal. Was every trigger really like this? No, they don't have to deal with an alternate persona interjecting in their lives-or what's left of their lives.
Who knows, maybe Armsmaster had a sadistic side that loves to torture the innocent when no ones looking. Maybe he had this 'double trigger event' or whatever.
Some bullshit….
Or maybe it isn't tied to your physical body, as his friends said. He'd be proof as he was still a child and throwing around Armsmaster. Who's probably around 500 lb because that suit has to have some stuff put into it.
But then again Armsmaster is built as fuck, so maybe a different example would apply? Or is it spiritual in nature?
Or perhaps all triggers weren't made equal. On that line of thought. He wasn't too religious, but he did believe that god did exist. Jesus died on a cross for his sins and what not. Not a die hard Christian. But not an atheist. It was healthy to have a religion. Much simpler that way. At least that's how he viewed it.
Was it god who made these trigger events? Or was it some other being? At least by that logic, the triggers had to have come from somewhere. Or maybe triggers were the next step in human evolution.
It'd explain where the powers come from. But that wouldn't necessarily explain the endbringers, or Sci-wait…didn't Scion appear around the time the first human triggered with superpowers?
That was very suspicious. He'd have to double check that to make sure.
Damn it! Now he was intrigued!
He'd have to set aside that line of thought for another day. Perhaps under better circumstances he'd go hunting for more answers. Surely he wasn't the only one who noticed these things….or had that nightmare-vision bullshit with the cosmic space worm.
He couldn't be the only one….that'd be narcissistic nonsense. Hyping him up as something new in the superhuman society.
Which he was not. Muzan can say what he wants but he isn't going to change. Not for anyone…except maybe his dad. But that's it. The only exception to the rule….
He missed when everything was simpler.
"Are you done mulling over this life again? Because I think we need to get going." Muzan rushed as he 'attempted' to fly towards the edge of the buildings.
The attempt was more of a glide if anything really. He nearly crashed into the building itself before even reaching the endpoint.
Chris tried to walk but found it basically useless. Each and every step was tedious and nonsensical, wasted energy and time. He was barely going anywhere.
He decided to copy and paste what Muzan was doing. Finding themselves hobbling awkwardly across the rooftop. As the strangest pigeon duo.
The sound of an ambulance came driving by as they finally arrived at the edge of reality. Neither felt tired.
The immortal zombie vampire was undefeated in his power scheme afterall….
How did he ever get this far?
Chris caught Muzan staring in intent silence at the expanse of the bays hospital parking lot. His eyes zoned in on a small batch of birds just chilling under night at the lot.
A gray Chevy Cruze came through the lot. Scurrying the formation of pigeons for their nightly activities. They scattered in a clear practiced sweep as they sliced through the air.
Muzan fell straight off the side. Not even caring that he was currently diving a few stories down.
"Hey wait!" Chris shouted out aloud in a cacophony of strange squawks. Unwitting on a pigeon of his stature.
He unfurled his wings, allowing for his primary feathers to flow out. From there he flapped and flapped disgruntledly. Until he even himself out and found himself increasing in elevation.
From there he elegantly flowed through the air as if he was born to do it.
"Now it's your turn!" Muzan forwarded. Clearly sensing Chris's hesitancy.
Chris, despite his recent ventures, was by no means willing to throw his life away. Sure he would make a joke for the moment. But this….this was suicidal.
"Oh come on. I did it. We're the same person, remember?"
'This is not the same thing.'
His rationale spoke that this was a bad move. His instincts just….were nonexistent. It was like they had no clue to the dangers of falling off a 3 story high building.
He'd literally be a platter of blood and bones!
If he was a vampire or a demon, or some special special case 53. It was time it showed itself. Otherwise he'd gladly take that invitation to the afterlife.
At least he tried….that doesn't feel right to think about either.
He would give it his all until the sun blows up!
"See! There you go! You beat up Armsmaster, don't let this stop you! Now go for it!" Muzan's voice boomed in the distance.
He leapt from the roof, emulating Muzan's beautiful performance to the best of his ability.
He felt the wind rustling between his feathers, he expected to fall super fast, but was more so….flailing in the air.
He regained his composure. Adjusting himself until he was flat out. Similar to how Muzan achieved it. He felt every bone pop and snap as they locked into position. It was the refreshing kind of pop that airs out your bones than the reconfigurable rejuvenation he got from morphing himself.
Now he was gliding, the wind flowing through him was uplifting. It was like a roller coaster version of the car air system. A lot stronger, and in a way straightened him out without having to do it himself.
he flapped his wings a shit ton at first, until he realized that it was hindering his attempt at elevation.
He did it a little more sparingly. Like he was swimming. Keeping a constant motion. It helped to level him out more so than the wind itself.
"Watch out!"
Chris looked up to see a red, blue striped helicopter that had appeared out of seemingly nowhere. It was one of those hospital helicopters he had read about, called an air ambulance or something corny.
He narrowly avoided being plastered to the front window of the flotation vehicle.
The copter was booking for the landing pad on the roof as fast as its rotors could muster.
Who got hurt so badly they needed to be airlifted?
"Not important, we need to find a way in."
'I think I just found it.'
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"Hurry up! He's losing blood here!"
The emergency responders were shuffling violently towards the doors as the opening wall was swung open by more medical professionals.
The man in question had been severely burnt. To the point his skin had fused with his clothes. The smell of burnt skin reminded him of dads barbecue.
He hoped that guy would get better soon enough.
By the time he did make it onto the roof, the people had all been rushed inside of the building. With the only exception being the helicopter operator. She was currently trying to settle it down to join the others in within the air conditioned enclosure.
She never noticed singular, dark skinned pigeon with beady red eyes appear on the side of the landing pad.
He scanned the roof silently, observing any possible entree points to exploit.
A vent.
Easy heist. Now he just needed to get over there to the air vent.
'Muzan any ideas?...uhh….hello, Earth to demon king wannabe.' He turned around to observe where he might've gone, however Muzan was gone. Nonexistent.
'Lord have mercy-fine, i'll do it myself.' He thought annoyingly. Of all the times to pull a disappearing act. Now seemed like a good time?
Chris pusher past that negative motion and began brainstorming positive ways to enter the hospital.
He could turn into a rat…actually he liked that idea. He just hoped that if he is seen it doesn't affect the hospital that badly.
He began thinking of a basic sewer rat. The kind found in trash and the likes. He began envisioning the musk, the size, the shotty eyesight, the insane sense of smell. The fur covering its body.
It took a few seconds for him to register the new being he was. Gathering himself under the newfound perception of the world. He stepped forward, one hand in front of the other.
It took him a few stumbles before he was moving as fast as his fellow rodents under the city. Luckily the copter operator was still preoccupied with the machine.
He crawled through the vent determinedly. Wasting no time with his newfound burst of speed. Weaving and turning through the labyrinth of air ducts. A mismatch of smells flooded through his nose, none sticking out to him in any sort of fancy way. His only friends were the various spiders and bugs that would sparsely appear throughout the 'dark' metallic cave.
After silently exploring for what felt like a few minutes, he finally reached a 'destination'.
He smelt the blood, but he wasn't looking for anything authentic. He was looking for that sweet, refrigerated blood.
If he remembered correctly, blood was kept at around 2-6 degrees C. Because it decreases the amount of calories spent to stay alive. Allowing it to last longer for future use and storage.
In retrospect, that was probably why he couldn't smell as easily as he had hoped. Which means he might have to actually look for it.
His best guess was that it was in the central storage room. But for all he knew that could've been anywhere.
He stopped moving. If he couldn't figure it out by himself, then maybe he needed a 2nd perspective…
'That's your cue…I swear to-WHERE ARE YOU AT!?'
He fireworked to himself in suspending silence. Practically fuming at the fact Muzan just left him to hang and dry. He felt like stomping in annoyance.
'Ya know what?! Since Mr Kibutsuji is being a little bitch, I'll find the blood, all by myself!'
'…That was a bit harsh, sorry about that, if you want to take a break, then go ahead. I'll take it from here.'
He decided on the next best course of action. If he couldn't find it by himself, then he would need….a responsible adult.
A rarity. But not an impossibility. Like that one girl he met a few hours ago. Still some decent people in the city.
With that in mind, how does one approach a healthcare professional for a genetic resource without explaining why they need said genetic resource?
…..goddammit. Maybe he had the right idea before about it. Or maybe it's not the idea itself, but the execution of said idea.
Then perhaps that will be his next main thing to work on. He really hoped he would be convincing enough to get it done.
Now he just had to find someone, someone not too knowledgeable about the staff here. Or just get lucky.
He looked through the vent to notice someone in a large, super white hood and scarf. As white as him. Difference being this person had a red cross on the back and on the side of their fit. Perhaps one the most recognizable capes in the bay, in his opinion.
Panacea! Sister to Glory girl….At least that's what his friends told him.
She would be perfect, she must know where the central storage area is at. Now it's time to not botch this whole thing up.
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Another person. Done and over with.
Today her patient was in a car that collided with a semi-truck moving at 60mph. Then it exploded. He somehow survived and was airlifted to the hospital. Said patient was now sleeping peacefully with no semblance of a burn on his body. As if he hadn't been rammed, and blown up.
Some thought it was a miracle. That he had survived at all.
Miracles…
Broken bones, charred skin, the works. All mended with little to effort on her part.
Because she made miracles happen. That's what she could do. Yet the act failed to make her feel anything substantial from it. Again and again. She'd commit acts akin to Jesus, but to no avail. She gained nothing from the act of preserving life.
Even as she walked down the monotonous hallways of the busy hospital, she seemed to question herself more and more.
The thought of hurting people antagonized her more and more. Yet she always found an urge, no matter how hard she tried to push it down, it still reemerged.
The urge to cause harm.
It was thought she'd been grappling with it for a while now. She knew it was wrong, but….
She heard steps from behind her, very quiet steps, like someone was sneaking up on her. She slowly turned her head so that an eye could see for herself.
"Ummm…..hello." A lavender haired boy showed himself, flinching all the while as he stared into her eyes. She could feel the enthusiasm dripping off the kid.
And the smell to a much greater extent. Did he clean the bathroom or something?
He tried to walk forward while opening his mouth to say something. But before he could reach that point in the interaction, he nearly tripped and hit his head on a medical supply cart. After stumbling for a moment, he was right in front of her. He dusted himself off in an attempt to look more presentable to the heroine.
"You should…watch where you're going." she replied stoically. Fully content on continuing her life.
"Yeah, Ummm….i'm very clumsy, sorry. And uhh sorry to bother you. But…do you know where the storage area is? I kinda need some blood for…."
The boy was fitted in the most basic hospital fit she had ever seen. No creases in his black form, no dirt. He looked severely young, perhaps an intern. With lavender hair tied back into a man-bun. Definitely younger than her. Almost disheveled look to him, like he hadn't gotten any sleep in a long time. His eyes were bloodshot red, he also smelled rancid, and his hairline was distinguished to say the least. She noticed cut marks on his face.
Clearly he didn't come from a good upbringing, if those scars were anything to go by.
She fully turned to look at him tiredly, his lavender eyes flew across her form and for a few moments, was slightly taken aback. He quickly regained himself as he finally stared at her eyes, with a semblance of slight admiration most tended to veer towards her. He looked clean. Despite smelling anything but clean.
"Oh! Uhhhh…..sorry, I didn't mean to distract, sorry…." He began timidly apologizing, blushing all the same.
She slowly points at the corner of the hallway behind her form.
"It's around that corner from where you came from, then hit the right and then left. Then you'll see a sign saying 'storage room'." She aired back tiredly.
He turned around in the direction she pointed in. He began slightly shaking, she could tell by his hands also shaking. Was he that nervous?
He began walking towards the direction she spoke of.
"Alright! Thank you Panacea, I hope you have a good da-"
The boy had accidentally tripped over the cart he had nearly ran into before. He attempted to get up, but to no avail. He probably bent something in his foot, she could tell already. His legs were fine, but it was around his feet where the issue lied.
Panacea sighed with as much exhaustion as an olympian shouldering the weight of heaven. Silently making her way over to the stubborn boy. She was mildly surprised he hadn't screamed, even a sprain should have gotten something out of him.
"No, I'm fine. Don't worry about me, I have a job to do." He tried to laugh it off. However it all just came off as weird to her. It was fake. He must be hurting and was trying not to show it.
"No you're hurt, I'm not going to let you do your job with a sprained foot. Now sit still, i'll-"
"No! I'm fine okay, I appreciate the concern but there are others who need your attention more than some random person like me." The boy spewed intensely, still struggling to stand up properly. The look on his face said that he was more surprised than pained by the pain. Most would be on the ground but he's just champing forward. Unless that was a mask…
She almost didn't want to help him because she was so tired and over it. But he was potentially hurt and trying to do a job while injured is not good in the long run. It'd be wrong to leave him if he was hurt. That and she might be able to reverse that smell that seems to plague him.
She continued up to him, her nose scrunched up in disgust as the rancid smell of the boy began assaulting her nostrils. She pushed through it, she smelt worse before. Much worse.
Placing her hand on the shoulder. A jolt of energy strung through her body methodically as she attempted to connect with his bodily systems. She blinked for a moment in blissful remembrance.
This is what she's good at, this is what she's good for.
…What?
This boy's body is…..why it was soooo….strange?
The blood felt like it was glowing. Like it had a mind of its own. However there seemed to be something toxic about it.
His stomach felt like a bottomless pit of black. Pure darkness. An all consuming void where things go in, but nothing ever comes back out. The stomach acids were different as well, they technically were the same, but were weakened to the point where they had to be unable to digest normal foods. It was more acidic and potent than before, yet it was still considerably weaker.
His muscles were erratic, mangled towards a different point than it had started. It was shifting in very uncomfortable ways, yet they still seemed to settle as if they were normal. Even though they clearly weren't.
His nervous system, to put it simply, was inhumanly numb, how he had a sense of touch was beyond her. Maybe there was something to it, but her power wasn't picking up on it.
She also noticed that his entire urinary system, was completely
It was mind boggling. Her power gave her an innate understanding of whatever living being she touched, but it was drawing too many blanks. It was like he wasn't alive, yet he was.
His brain was also sending some weird signals.
As if there was-
"Hello, Panacea, or Amy Dallon, or as I should be calling you, Amelia Claire Lavere. Though I doubt you recognize that name."
Amy whipped her head around so faster her hoodie nearly came undone, only to be face-to-face red eyes.
She thunderbolts backwards, stunned by the sudden appearance of this man dressed in a stylized black tuxedo, white dress pants, and fancy shoes.
In her scramble to try and draw distance, she realizes that the boy isn't there anymore. The hospital seemed warped from the clean white ground to a vermillion floor. To having distinct blood splattered on the walls, entrails hanging from the ceiling, and guts hanging in various positions around the floor. Random mouths with fanged teeth adorned the walls, the inside of the fanged abominations lead to an empty black void where light dared not to shine. Eyes appeared at random at any point where they saw fit. The ground, the ceiling, the walls, the carts, they were merciless in their spawns. The hallway looked torn up in certain areas, as if an endbringer had come through and passively wrecked shop.
Startled, she ran about-face, towards a door down the hall. She sprinted as fast as she could, yet she felt she was going nowhere. It felt like she was running a marathon.
"Your first response is to run away? I thought you were a hero." The voice mocked, each step he took made a massive sound, as if the earth was shaking. Like the building was going to fall apart. Each step is distinct and loud. So loud it made her ears ring, and her eyes began to tear up. It felt so absurdly hot, like her skin was about to melt right off her bones.
After running for what can be imagined as a few hours, she reached her destination. Believing the entity was hot on her heels. She throws open a door down the hallway and slams it shut as quickly as she locks it. She turns around and observes that she is in some sort of office. She spots a chair and desk. She swiftly snatched the desk and moved it over to the door, then put the chair in front of it.
Once she settled, she further examined her surroundings. She couldn't bother to remember who it belonged to but it was certainly a large room. The room itself looked normal, a far cry from the body horror she witnessed earlier.
After discerning it was safe, she ran for a corner to call home, grabbing a pen she found on the floor. She reached for the emergency phone she always carried on her for when she had to call her sister. Only to find nothing was in the pocket.
Dammit, was it in the other pocket?
A hand came over and firmly grabbed Amy by the shoulder. It gently massaged her methodically and sent shivers down her spine. She couldn't move no matter how much she willed it. She felt her skin both boil and freeze as the hand of death glided across her back.
"It is quite large. Don't you think so?"
Then suddenly the feeling vanished. She turned around, only to find the wall she trusted to guard her back. She turned back around, and saw the stylish man had appeared in the room. Cardinal red spreaded across the ground and up the walls in vine-like symbols, before eventually it covered the entire room in scarlet.
"You're meant to be one of the top healers in this country, yet you carry yourself with so much self loathing hatred. Why?"
Amy couldn't say anything as the demented force of nature summoned a comfy recliner to sit on. Plopping himself down, he made an identical copy appear before her.
"Is it because of your family? Or is it because of your job? Or maybe it's your morals, regardless, that doesn't matter in this conversation."
"W-what do you want?"
He smirked.
"Sit. Down."
She immediately found herself following his commands without stutter or failure.
The chair was perfect, it was comfy, made perfectly to the way she would like it. She almost wanted to sink into the recliner. It was disturbing how comfortable it was. It almost made her skin crawl in anxious worry.
"I want what we all want. A luxurious life filled with money, food, safety, women."
She flinched. That felt targeted towards her, was that an attack?
"So, it's my job to figure out this little tidbit. Why did you touch us?"
She was urged to respond immediately by some unseeable force.
"He fell over, hurt his leg, I think he pulled his achilles tendon when tripped over the cart."
"Well you certainly know your stuff. But I think it's because you wanted to do something to get that smell off of him. Am I right?"
"No! I only wanted to help him!"
"How do I know for certain? I know you've been having second thoughts about your power usage. I know you don't just heal, you can manipulate the human body, down to the cellular level."
She seemed agape someone could figure out how her power actually works.
"It's why it takes a few minutes for the effects to kick in, they're not immediate. My other half isn't as knowledgeable on biokinesis as I am, but he is learning, and quite quickly if I might add."
"It's also why I stopped you from messing with him, I need him. Otherwise I, and many others, will have to pay the ultimate price. Human. Although you wouldn't understand that just yet."
The amount of vitriol that echoed with that delivery tells there's more going on under the hood than she realized. Something she could only assume as sinister.
She has to call her sister.
She quickly reached for her other pocket. A red, sharp whip snatched her arm. She barely caught herself as the red thing held on tightly. She tracked where it had come from, to find it came from the man. His arm extended. His smile wide and bright with life.
She tried to shake it off, but she could tell it wasn't working in the slightest.
"So allow me to ask you this, why should I ever allow you to tamper with our body?"
'He's so fast! And he's strong. Too bad he played himself.'
What this villain failed to realize was that her power worked on anything organic and living. She was gonna give him obesity for the rest of his life!
She delved towards activating her power.
Where was he? He was touching her. Why can't she find anything?
Her power registering the fact a tentacle was strangling her arm. But it wasn't letting her change the amino acids.
why? He's clearly alive? Or maybe..
He's dead?
No, if he was dead, then he wouldn't be recognized by the power.
Did he have some arbitrary counter to her powers then?
Something howled in the distance, a demonic bend of the wind in the hellish hospital.
"What was that you said earlier? 'Too bad he played himself?' You don't know a thing do you? Poor child." He continued to mock her attempts at trying to configure his body. Changing his voice to sound exactly like hers just to provoke her ire.
Her flames were stoked for a small while, but found herself calming as she analyzed about the man in front of her.
Somehow this guy knew about her on a personal level. He even knew how her power worked. That she would go for her phone. He even read her mind! Did that mean he….No…
Who was he?
"Now. Allow me to reiterate for the 2nd, and final time. Why should I allow you to tamper with our body?"
"Your right….I shouldn't have ever touched him."
The stylish male raised an eyebrow at the response.
"You say that now but how do I know you won't just go ahead and start messing up the body the moment I let you leave?"
"I promise to you. I won't."
He stared long and hard at her for a long time with judging eyes. She felt like her skin was combusting under his glare.
At some point during the infinity glare, he looked back at the door leading the hallway, then back to her. He groaned with a mighty 'ugh'.
"...Fine, I can tell your response was genuine. I'll let you go."
The man in fancy clothing yawned boringly at her. His tendril snapping back to his arm as it formed into a proper hand and sat comfortably on the lazy boy. She felt her hand, it wasn't hurting anymore, and not from her doing as well. She quickly reached for her pocket, only to find the phone wasn't there.
"Wha-how? I always keep it in on me!" She felt her body for if maybe she just wasn't paying attention.
"Oh? You mean this phone?" He gestured to the phone he grabbed from in the chair.
She looked up in horror. Her nerves were ecstatic in panic.
He tossed the phone towards her, taking delight in her panic. If that shit eating grin was anything to go by.
He looked at the random watch that had seemingly manifested onto his wrist.
"Well it looks like that's all the time we have today. You're about to wake up from this little mental session." He stood up. Another wave of panicked will took hold of her inconsiderately.
"Wait! Where am I? Who are you?"
"Me? Oh. Our name is Chris Teel. However, You can call me. Muzan Kibutsuji. And I already told you where we are."
Her eyes lit up in recognition. She recognized both however she remembered her sister talking about fighting a new cape. One capable of taking on and defeating Armsmaster. The PHO sparkled over the new cape, the PRT has not given an official name to him yet, however people already had a name in mind.
"Your Abaddon!"
"Sure I am, but you? Amelia, are never going to speak of this to anyone, ever.
It's time for you to return to reality."
Muzan perked his head up at the strange name, however he brushed it off, they were bound to be called something besides demon child eventually.
Abaddon was a weird name still, weirder than Muzan. It was also one he didn't recognize, maybe Chris knows?
However beggars can't be choosers. But they certainly would choose, as beggars implied they were poor, weak humans.
This moment didn't call for bias however, this would show his other half that people were not as receptive as he might think to a wolf in sheep's clothing.
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She floated, in drunken space, as she slept thoughtlessly through the void.
"h e y !"
She wondered why things were the way they were. Why people had powers.
"hey!"
Light was approaching, something mellow was there.
"Hey!"
Words echoed in her head, words that weren't hers, but words she recognized.
"HEY!"
Panacea's eyes finally opened. Only to find the lavender haired boy looking down at her worryingly. Her head resting in his arms.
"Thank goodness, you nearly hit your head on the ground. I barely caught you."
A voice echoed in her mind.
"Touch us again, and you will suffer. In ways you couldn't possibly imagine. Human."
She got up quickly and backed up from him. Pushing his hand away from her. A look of confusion spread across his face.
"Get away from me!" She screeched. Muzans warning echoing in her head.
"What's wrong! Are you okay?" He asked back. Pure confusion spun onto his face. Why was she so scared of him all of a sudden?
"Don't touch me!" She whipped her phone out. Backing up all while she tried to dial something into her phone.
That's when two people came rushing in from behind him.
"What's wrong?" One if the men asked.
"That's Chris Teel! Call the PRT!" She screamed terrified.
The one of the two whipped out a walkie talkie.
"Security we need-"
'Shit my covers blown! How'd she figure it out! By just touching me? I thought she could just heal people? Fuck that actually makes sense!'
He quickly ran past her and down the hall. Following her previous instructions down to the T.
He rounded multiple corners, the air popping as he moved swiftly through the tunnels. Weaving through doctors and patients alike. Until he came across it.
The storage room.
Salvation. Behind this door was the key to his continued existence in this world.
He could taste the blood just waiting to be eaten by him! His heart was pumping in excitement! His skin jumped in joy and his body steeled in anticipation.
That deep dark feeling will finally leave! And be replaced with high bliss!
He ripped the door to shreds. His blood jumped for joy as each step felt energized with purpose.
He ran through a few random boxes. He couldn't tell as all he saw was a crimson red.
There it was. The fridge. It was here that he'd finally cure himself of this annoying ass hunger, the voices in head, the annoying feeling he felt whenever he looked at something living. It would all go away soon.
His vision turned red. His ears rang in delight. His sanity remained, although he could feel it slipping. This time however, he felt confident in the concept of control. If he knew the body as what it was, his body, then it would follow his command.
This time would be different. He wasn't hurting anyone. He was helping himself! He was no monster, only a boy struggling for some air!
He ripped the fridge open l, intent on consuming the contents of juicy donation.
"Where is it….where is it!" He screeched in horror.
He went to another fridge. Empty.
He went to another one. Empty.
And another. Empty again.
Another one. EMPTY.
Again. EMPTY.
"Ohhh this was not what I was expecting."
"WHERE IS THE BLOOD!?"
"I…don't think they have any Chris….."
No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no. No. No. NO! GOD FUCKING DAMMIT! W H Y!
'Why can't things go my way just once, that's all I ask…..'
Tears fell from his eyes, he banged his head in the ground as saliva flowed out his mouth expectantly. His body agonized in rejection as his stomach decided now was the perfect time to start withdrawing from something he hasn't even tasted yet.
"Why is this happening to me!" He roared in pain. The cry shook the room as boxes and various equipment fell.
He didn't want to live in the first place! Now life was just bending him over and violently ripped apart his family, life, and even his being! What part of this was fair.
The fact he got to go onto the next day!? He couldn't even see the next day before his ass got set on fire!
He was traveling some bullshit yellow brick road he never even wanted to be a part of! Being something that fairy tales and myths would sing in ancient times! With a passenger whose seemingly fragmented himself away from reality!
What hope is there in a world where he couldn't even enjoy pizza anymore? PIZZA!
What was the end point to all this? To fulfill some prophecy, in hopes of reaching something that was in fact unreachable?
This wasn't even living anymore…..this was surviving. In the worst possible way…..
Dad wouldn't have wanted this…and he sure as hell doesn't have to put up with this…life.
"Don't say that now-"
"Bitch shut the fuck up! Where were you? I coulda used your help trying to find this place. And now that I'm here, I find it was just a big waste of fucking time!" He threw the fridge like it was a paper weight. It collided with the wall, leaving a sizable indent in it.
"Let's…just go. It's not worrying over spilled milk, we'll find some. This I swear."
Muzan put his hand over Chris's shoulder. Gone was the lavender haired boy. Now with his original, red slotted, curly haired self. His skin pure white as the hospital floor. His clothing reflecting his mood. Tattered and bruised.
Chris looked up, as vulnerable as the moment he crawled himself out of death's reach. The hospital lights humbuzz filled the air with an odd sense of uneasy tranquility. He began to slow his breathing, and his heart.
"What do we do now?"
"We regroup, we find some other way to find blood, before the sun rises."
It wasn't even a proper plan, but he didn't care, he just wanted to leave this place before another accident occured again.
"Fine."
He turned into a rat and ran for the vent shafts. From there he smelled his way to the outside. With much more ease than it was to find the room itself. Most of the scents of hardworking people or injured individuals have moved out of the building.
They evacuated because of him. Don't they understand he wasn't going to hurt them?
No…no they wouldn't, they weren't him, they didn't have to suffer the way he had to now.
2 days without food, he's never gone that long without food. As broke as he's been, his dad had always made the effort to put something on the table for him.
He was the only one who truly did understand him at the end of the day. And he was gone…
Something pushed him from behind, violently and suddenly, he almost went straight through the metal wall. A pale hand came from behind and turned him around roughly.
"Now's the perfect time to not do that. We need to leave. Now! No weakness! Alright? Spill your tears for when we make it out of this maze."
"How?! The building probably already got cops swarming the area, they'd notice us if we tried to pigeon out!"
"Then we leave through the area they least expect."
"The toilet?"
"No, the front."
"WHAT! But that's!...You're a genius, you know that?"
"You mean we're a genius. Dumbass."
Maybe there was hope at the end of the road for them. Now he just had to somehow make this work.
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He never thought the day would arrive, where he'd be in the presence of, perhaps one of the most recognizable heroes in the bay. He knew her, even before his friends taught him about cape culture. Seen videos, news articles, press reports, pictures, and even toys about her.
Glory Girl. New Waves, pride and joy. Well she might as well be from here.
The famed 'Alexandria package' or whatever it was, was certainly in effect. He felt the presence of her, even from here. It felt overwhelming in ways he hadn't before since the weight of his transformation had settled in.
It almost offsetted his growling stomach, almost. In fact, he was getting a little excited…
"She's having a mental effect on you."
'Clearly. But how is the real question? I always thought she just flies around super fast and is basically invulnerable?'
"Well I am closer to your body than you are in a sense. She's projecting the factors akin to intimidation. It's strong enough to have a slight physical effect. To normal humans, they might feel fear. We feel…challenged."
'So it's kinda like how I made that girl freeze up. Or how Panacea fainted-oh it's making more sense now!'
"Something like that."
'As much as these powers make me want to rip my head out, it's actually kinda fun figuring these sorts of things out.'
"Didn't the PRT have classifications for these sort of things?"
'Yeah, but I can't be bothered to remember them. Plus Eddy never did go in depth on their specific meanings. So I'd rather not act like I know them.'
"You sure you still don't want to be a her-"
'Muzan. There's a time and place for everything, now is not the time for that.'
"Ahhh. I see how it is. I'm not going to forget about that, plus I'm sure you have plenty of questions for when this is over."
'Huh, what gave it away.'
"The fact that I'm you and can mentally hear your thoughts. Even if I didn't want to."
'Oh! Im sorry-'
"I'd be suspicious if another personality popped up in my head and titled himself after the late demon king of japanese folklore. No hard feelings."
Chris breathed a nonexistent sigh of relief.
'Thank god! I was worried that was the reason you weren't talking.'
"When have you ever known us to be that sensitive?"
Chris had a small laugh at that. 'Good point. I shouldn't be so self conscious about myself.'
Muzan smiled at him with a toothy grin, it was funny how despite not being in a rat form, he was small enough to the point he had to look up at him.
He turned towards the entrance of the hospital.
"Well, what's the plan?"
'I think…..I might fight Glory Girl.'
"...I'm sorry what?"
ความคิดของผู้สร้าง 
EndoSlayer
EndoSlayer And that's that! Reaching the end of the introduction part of the story. At least to me.
Hopefully this is legible, and actually conveys the themes I wanted to convey. Hopefully Panacea isn't insufferably ooc or whatever the term is.
Another night job. So hopefully this isn't too hard on the spelling errors. I went back and fixed most of those, but I'm sure they still exist in some dark corner somewhere in the paragraphs.
I also have this other fic idea I'll run up when the next chapter drops. It's a Naruto crossover fic with something futuristic and dystopian, or just modern in general. Haven't figured out what it'll be but I was thinking something like Fallout, Transformers, The Boys, or even Mortal Kombat.
It is still in its idea stages, but i think it will be really cool, plus its on a character that for the most part has been shafted in terms of potential. Especially in fanfiction. Makes me shiver when I think about it.
Anyhow, hopefully yall enjoyed it. And hope y'all have a good night. Sweet dreams!
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