[Log] How do you tell evil from good? [Closed]

[equal_shots]

Characters: Kid, Stein, and Watson
Location: Aquarium
When: Day 180/181
Summary: Norfinbury does things to eyes, and Stein wants to look at them. And then night comes, and Watson is smarter than everyone.
Warnings: Eye horror, gore. Probably swearing.

The key thing about good and evil
Is each man has to choose--
Heaven and hell is a hell of a gamble to lose

Comments

cw: eye horror - Stein and Watson

[equal_shots]

[circumsutus]

Watson, [Stein calls, from the bathroom.] Can you come in here for a moment?

[He's stepped out of the way, at an angle to be behind the man when the other doctor walks in. Then it will be simple, a measured blow to the temple. When Watson crumples, it's the work of a moment to slip one of the buccal tablets of Fentora into the man's mouth.]

[jumpthegun]

Hmm? [John comes easily, willingly. He's been distracted since the morning when they'd been trapped inside.] Are your hands-

[That's as far as John gets after stepping into the bathroom before Stein's blow falls. When he comes to, everything feels heavy, and his brain is wrapped in cotton.]

Dr. Stein...?

[The name is slurred.]

[circumsutus]

Watson. [He responds, chipper and conversational. His knife is dull, but he's sharpening it.]

You shouldn't be up yet. Not that you can move anyway, so don't try. You've got a concussion, and you're heavily drugged, and I've got you tied up.

[jumpthegun]

[Well, once you say don't move, it's instinct to do so.]

Wha...? What?

[John starts to struggle, but everything is sluggish and he can feel himself fighting against restraints. He's drugged and concussed, as well, as mentioned.

What the hell is going on? That's what John wants to ask, but he can't quite for all of the words to make it there.]

...Why?

[circumsutus]

Have you looked at yourself in a mirror recently? You shouldn't be able to see, but from the looks of it you're doing just fine.

[jumpthegun]

Mir... mirr... [He can't get that word out properly, but his head lolls to the side, looking up toward the mirrors. It's belatedly that he realizes he's on the ground. And then it clicks together. Mirrors, his eyes, the knife.

When he speaks, it's painfully slowly, tongue twisting around even the easy words.]

No. God, no. No, Stein.

[circumsutus]

Don't worry, it won't hurt. [He doesn't feel anything but curiosity. There's no hesitation, no remorse. He presses the knife to Watson's cheek and drags it down, blood welling up.]

Well, it might hurt. If it does, scream for me.

[jumpthegun]

[John hisses in a sharp breath, though the sedatives are taking a marked amount off of what he should be feeling. The doctor tries to raise a hand, to kick, to do anything to stop Stein. Is this what Rhys had felt? Helpless like this. It's a feeling John's not unfamiliar with, given the number of times he's been kidnapped, but usually they don't threaten to pull out his eye. It's just death threats and a general sort of beating.]

Stop. Nngh!

[He tries to raise his voice, but it's weak for now, groggy.]

Syl... lar! Sylar.

cw: eye horror - Stein and Kid

[equal_shots]

[Kid only saw the aftermath of what was being done to Watson. The sounds of a scuffle. The vague shape of a body being laid on the ground. Grunts of discomfort. Then, silence.

He was dizzy, drowsy, his thoughts foggy--his head spinning and dazed. But that doesn't stop him from muddling through the process of getting to his feet, walking up to the doctor and standing behind him, a feverish hand grabbing for Stein's arm. Kid's grip is still strong despite the overdose of cough syrup he'd taken (been encouraged to take, had taken because he trusted Stein and if a little bit of the medication helped then why wouldn't more?) and he pulls hard at the doctor's sleeve, his voice a hiss of anger and anxiety.]

What the hell are you doing?! That-- [When Kid was able to see the eye on the counter, Kid took a startled step back, his stomach lurching. An eye. Human. Sliced open, neatly dissected. He could appreciate how symmetrically dissected it was if it weren't so horrifying.] --Stein!

[circumsutus]

[The eye is human, just barely. It's distorted and mutated, twisted in ways that should make it impossible to see or function. And yet, Watson had been able to see clearly. The knife in Stein's hand is dull, but serviceable, and he pulls apart the layers of tissue with a sudden burst of attention.

But then, Kid pulls on his sleeve. Kid, who stares up at him with confused, glowing eyes.]

Kid. [He responds, voice calm.]

[equal_shots]

[The eerily calm tone of Stein's voice sends an unwelcome chill down Kid's spine, but he refuses to back down.]

You--you didn't--

[Maybe if he denied it, if he was wrong, if he jumped to conclusions--if, if, if.

Kid does two things in very quick succession, neither of which he thinks very hard about. He tugs on the arm he's holding, hard, in an attempt to move Stein's hand and knife away from his newest dissection. And he steps closer to the mad professor to give himself a bit more leverage with which to do such things, hoping that he could actually move the taller man away from his "work".]

Dr. Watson has...he's helped us!

[circumsutus]

And he's still helping! [There's no hint of concern or remorse in Stein's tone, just that same careless energy he can't shake. And looking down at Kid, he... he just wants to dissect. Kid has the other variant of the eyes, and Stein grabs Kid by the shoulder.]

You shouldn't be up. Go lay down.

[He hasn't slept in days, he doesn't trust himself. He isn't letting go.]

[equal_shots]

You should rest too. How will your fingers heal?

[The chill in his spine has spread through his chest, leaving him stiff and frozen. Stein's grip on his shoulder is strong enough that Kid can't easily shirk him, and something--everything--about his tone is screaming that this isn't right.]

Let go.

[circumsutus]

No. [His grip tightens, and the pulsing ache in his hands just intensifies the surging bloodlust rushing up through his mind and soul. He's spun out of control, that much is obvious, but he's riding too high on impulse to even consider reining himself in.]

I don't think so. Why don't you sit down, Kid?

[equal_shots]

[Stein is so much bigger than he is, towering over him by a foot and a half easily--it's hard enough for Kid to resist him, even if he had been taking good care of himself and weren't drugged on cough syrup. As it is, Stein is able to move him to a seated position easily despite Kid's attempts to push back. He almost falls backwards when he's pushed to the floor to sit, already dizzy from the MN poisoning.

He's an easy target.]

No--no, no--stop, Professor! [Instinctively he's trying to use his own soul to push Stein away. That won't work here.] Get off! I should check on Dr. Watson and you should--

[Not do this. Anyway, now he's wriggling in full force. Because forget this, he's going to do everything he can to get away.] I said get off!

[circumsutus]

No. [He's past caring, and he slams an open-palmed strike into Kid's chest. If the boy's lucky, it won't break his sternum.]

Do you know how long I've wanted to get my hands on a god?

Returning the keys

[equal_shots]

[After being awake for a few minutes on Day 181 and knowing that he is not dead and does not have a massive bleeding wound from his neck, Kid creeps towards the bathroom. His heart racing, he cracks open the door, his one remaining eye peering in warily. He has no idea if Watson is still acting strangely, no idea if his eye is still drawn, no idea if a trek into the bathroom is asking to be murdered a second time in twelve hours--

His fingers tighten around the door.]

Dr. Watson?

[Kid steps into the bathroom, but does not move closer than the door. He reaches into his pocket, fingers wrapping around the key he'd been given the night before.] I hope to find you back to yourself this morning.

[jumpthegun]

Kid...? [John's one eye is back to normal as he squints toward the bathroom entrance.] It's... it's gone. Whatever was- your eyes. They're still glowing.

[equal_shots]

[Kid freezes in the doorway, alarmed. Still glowing? His head snaps towards the old mirror and, sure enough, is met with the reflection of a single glowing golden eye.

He swallows hard and pulls the key from his pocket, closing his left eye to block the luminescent glow.]

I have the key you gave me last night.

[jumpthegun]

Thank you. Thank you for holding onto that. How... how did you fare last night?

[equal_shots]

[He hesitantly steps towards Watson, the eye Stein had left untouched falling on the handcuffs still locked around the doctor's wrist. Pointed avoidance is Kid's answer to Watson's question, but the teen does nervously fidget with his collar, just below where Rhys had very efficiently sliced his neck open.

Kid hands the key to Watson, determined to remain calm.]

I...am here now. You are able to unlock the handcuffs yourself, with one hand?

[jumpthegun]

[John drops his eye away from Kid as soon as he has the key. His wrist is sore, but it's no longer bleeding like it was late last night when he'd been fighting the cuff more and more.]

Yeah, I can get it.

[There's just the sound of metal clinking before the lock releases and John pulls his hand out of the cuff. He unlocks the other cuff from the piping--it's repaired itself overnight, as well--and pockets the key and cuffs together.]

Let me... your eye. That must hurt. I have pain killers you can use.

[equal_shots]

[Kid returns to his position by the door in a flash, tense and uncertain. He watches as the doctor frees himself in silence and wonders how far away he might be able to get before the other man can move.

At the mention of pain, the empty socket beneath his poor bandage job begins to throb again. He tightens his fingers around the wood of the door lock and shakes his head weakly.

Guilt swirls anew in his stomach. He should have noticed that Stein had been behaving st strangely--even strange for him. If he'd stepped in, things might have been different. He deserves none of Watson's kindness now.]

No! No--I'm--it's all right.

[jumpthegun]

[John stays sat where he is, trying to look as non-aggressive as humanly possible, not wanting to spook Kid any more than he already has.] I can put in a prescription to the Admin, if you'd prefer. Have her give them to you directly after you're off and away. I know it's gotta hurt, Kid.

[Because his eye and that side of his face hurt, and John his a fairly high pain tolerance.]