[EVENT] ▫ แล้วสอนว่าอย่าไว้ใจมนุษย์ มันแสนสุดลึกล้ำเหลือกำหนด... ▫

[jivitadana]

Who: Seta Souji [eatsyourscience] and Arisato Minato [jivitadana]
Where: Second Floor [The Asylum]
When: Saturday, March 22, 2014
Rating: PG-13 to R for violence and other questionable medical treatments
Summary: Souji and Minato find themselves in the asylum, then find themselves falling into certain patient/doctor roles.
The Story:

This time was a first for Minato as he was experiencing just how complicated Wonderland could be. All of a sudden, the whole world had changed, shards of different universes smashed all together, and yet neatly separated into sections or compartments. It was more than what Minato had originally thought Wonderland was capable of, though he shouldn't have underestimated it in the first place.

The playground was fun. In the beginning Minato had been apprehensive, thrown back to a place in time that part of him didn't want to remember, but after being in the company of the friends he made here, he slowly began to open up and realize that it wasn't so bad. He wasn't alone, and he didn't have to be. Even the Carnival that played tricks on him, showing him fleeting visions of people he hadn't seen in a while and hadn't quite wanted to see, wasn't something he couldn't handle either. The dreams and traversing through them was also more fun too, especially as a little boy who never got to see anything so fantastical or do something even so simple like playing with a best friend.

By now, he had his share of exploring outside. Now it was time to see the other transformed parts of the Mansion. Souji had accompanied him as they made their way through the building, as it was always better to travel as a team instead of by one's self. It was safer.

They discovered at the second floor had changed to what looked like a hospital of sorts. It was quiet, perhaps too quiet. The further they went, the more Minato had the suspicion that this wasn't an ordinary hospital.

He indicated down the hallway. "How much farther do you think this goes?"

If it were anything like the hallways of the Mansion itself, it might've gone on for what seemed like forever.

Comments

[jivitadana]

Minato saw how Souji was touching the coat he was wearing. The coat was a bit long, but lots of lab coats were like that.

"... Like how you have to be patched up?"

Glass broke, and Minato summoned Thanatos. His eyes met Souji's once he commanded the warrior death god to attack Souji with Pralaya.

[eatsyourscience]

Souji had time to realize what was happening, but not enough to do anything about it. Izanagi absorbed some of the damage, but the force of the blow still forced Souji backward. The arm of the chair behind him bit into his lower back.

"Minato..." He brought a hand to his stomach and it came away sticky with blood. "What..."

[jivitadana]

Minato didn't dismiss Thanatos, needing him to stick around for now. Souji would most likely protest and get out of hand. That needed to be taken care of.

"You're late for your session."

He commanded Thanatos to unleash Vorpal Blade at the other boy in front of him.

[eatsyourscience]

This time, Souji managed to raise his arms, crossed, in front of his face, but it didn't offer much protection. With the chair right at his back, he couldn't easily retreat--the attack nearly knocked him back over the arm completely, leaving him off balance.

"Stop this..." A thin split across his cheek opened as he spoke through his teeth and blood dripped down his jaw.

[jivitadana]

"I will if you cooperate."

Minato stepped forward now to try and get Souji into the chair now that Souji was weakened. He would probably have to fight him to get at least the wrist straps buckled and in place.

[eatsyourscience]

Souji went down into the chair easily enough, though he was intent on not staying there.

"What's this about?"

He didn't want to counterattack, not when Minato was probably acting under this place's influence, but he had no idea what might happen next.

[jivitadana]

Minato brushed some nonexistent dust off his labcoat. If he had glasses, he would've adjusted them by now, and made up for it by tightening the straps around Souji's wrists.

Of course Souji wouldn't remember why he was here. He was so stubborn.

"They aren't real. It's all inside your head."

How could anyone think that they could call on various mythological and divine beings and have them do their bidding? It was ridiculous.

[eatsyourscience]

Souji's limbs felt cold as he tried without success to free his arms, pulling at the straps and trying to twist his hands back through the cuffs. Nothing worked.

He could still summon, but he didn't. He wouldn't unless he had to.

Swallowing, he forced himself to calm down and looked up at Minato.

"What's inside my head?"

[jivitadana]

Minato poked his finger at Souji's forehead.

"Those things that you insist are inside your head. We have ways of getting rid of thoughts like that."

With that, Minato gave Souji a smile before checking some of the drawers for something he could use in case Souji protested any more.

[eatsyourscience]

Souji flinched and turned his head to watch Minato when he moved away. Maybe he could keep him talking and avoid any more attacks.

"You mean my Personas? You just used yours, though. You know they're real. You have them, too."

He kept his voice calm and reasonable, and despite the situation, the irony that he was the one who wasn't functioning under some delusion wasn't lost on him.

[jivitadana]

Minato found several items that were useful. He set them out on a silver tray nearby, and did bring one of them over, hidden in the pocket of his labcoat.

"Hallucinations and delusions. Did your condition worsen?"

He shook his head as if disappointed more in himself than with Souji. Then after using his Evoker to summon Thanatos once more, he dropped Morning Star straight down on Souji. He spoke as if nothing had happened.

"Your argument didn't work the last time." And it wouldn't work this time. Minato wasn't the one who was sick, after all.

[eatsyourscience]

Morning Star wasn't an attack Souji could shield himself from, either on his own or with Izanagi's help. He gritted his teeth against the pain, and even when the light had dispersed, his vision was bleached out and blurred, like an over-exposed photograph.

He let his head hang between his shoulders, gasping, only conscious by a thread. He couldn't endure another attack from Minato--even something as innocuous as Agi would probably send him spiraling into unconsciousness. Arguing wasn't a viable response--clearly. He had to try something else.

He swallowed, gathered himself, and spoke again. His voice came out hoarse and soft, not as composed as he'd hoped.

"...How will you treat me?"

[jivitadana]

That was more like it. Minato put his Evoker back in its holster.

"It appears that pain is the only way to get through to you."

It was fine with Minato if Souji was now asking for it and needed the help. Souji bleeding out though wasn't all that helpful for his recovery, and therefore Minato switched to Jack Frost to cast Dia on Souji.

"Tell me more again about how you supposedly have those things appear."

[eatsyourscience]

If they were supposed to be delusions, wasn't talking about them just validating his belief in them? But Souji didn't voice that thought. Dia had only stopped his bleeding--it hadn't done much else, not even dull the pain. He didn't want another of Minato's strongest attacks leveled at him again.

"...I grab the cards that appear in front of me."

[jivitadana]

Minato nodded, making mental notes to himself, and they would've appeared as frenetic scribbles on paper.

"After you grab them, then what happens?"

Details, Minato wanted all the details of Souji's hallucinations.

[eatsyourscience]

Souji raised his head to look up at Minato. He was finally catching breath.

"...A Persona appears."

[jivitadana]

Minato had been waiting for that. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

He held down Souji's hand, giving himself enough leverage before jamming the scalpel he had in his pocket straight through the back of that hand and had it protrude out of his palm.

"Try it now."

[eatsyourscience]

Souji's breath stuck in his throat. Blood slicked the arm of the chair and dripped onto the floor.

His fingers twitched, but wouldn't move quite how he wanted them to. The scalpel had severed something important.

[jivitadana]

Just for an extra precaution, Minato did the same to Souji's other hand with another scalpel.

"Still believe that they're there?"

[eatsyourscience]

Souji clenched his teeth.

"...Stopping me from summoning them doesn't mean they stop existing."

[jivitadana]

But to Souji, they still existed, which meant he needed more treatment. For that, Minato went ahead and healed Souji more with Dia again, to lock the scalpels where they were. He could always inflict more damage again by pulling them out with a good twist.

"I'm not doing enough for you."

To ameliorate that, Minato inspected the machinery nearby. He figured out a way to power it on, and somehow, he knew how to operate the device. It'd spark nicely, that's what it would do.

[eatsyourscience]

Souji wondered if he should have lied. But Minato, even Minato influenced by the Mansion, could probably tell when he was lying, even after only a few weeks.

He looked with concern at his healed but still impaled hands until he head the machine power on again and craned his neck to see what Minato was doing. Somehow, he paled as he began to realize what that device was for.

"...Then let's keep talking." He had to do what he could to avoid more pain--and to avoid Minato having to live with causing more pain. "Let's talk about the difference between delusions and reality."

[jivitadana]

Minato paused, and turned his head slightly over his shoulder. Now Souji wanted to talk? But why? It was because he was trying to avoid treatment, that was all.

It didn't stop Minato from continuing what he was doing, setting everything up so if he had to send a shock through Souji, he could. He didn't really think about the scalpels in Souji's hands and how they would affect him, but it wasn't really that important either.

"Tell me then what the difference is."

[eatsyourscience]

Souji didn't try to evade it when Minato put the electrodes on him, though he did tense.

"...Delusions aren't real, even if I think they are. Reality is what's actually real."

[jivitadana]

"Your perception of reality is distorted."

How would Souji know what a delusion was versus reality then? That was part of the problem.

"Do you have a better explanation?"