[log] Event: Breaking Down [open]

[snowblindmods]

Characters: anyone pulled into the Escherverse
Location: Escherverse
Date: Morning 220 - Night 221
Summary: All alone/Even when I was a child/I've always known/There was something to be frightened of
Warnings: general horror, violence warnings; make sure to put more specific warnings in the subject lines!

Comments

[rubikscomplex]

But how does it feel, moron? You're not actually dying.

[He wishes he had his tablet to try to get a snapshot of Stephen. As long as the other man stays where he is, though, House will keep to his own place.]

[thewarningafter]

I'm pretty sure --

[His words are drowned in gurgles, and he has to gasp and hack his way through a transition before he can clear the blood from his throat to finish speaking.]

Pretty sure I'm aware of what dying feels like. This is that. This is.

[He's losing his train of thought. He grits his teeth, tries to get it back on track.]

This is how things are now. You and me in this moment. Endlessly.

[rubikscomplex]

[The words strike a note of fear in House that has been simmering beneath the surface.]

No.

[He leaves off the other questions.]

I can walk away. And so can you. So amscray, Stranger Danger.

[thewarningafter]

No.

[Things slot neatly into place for Stephen in this moment. He remembers why he's here, what he needs. What is rightfully his. His tone is more confident now as he stands, his body momentarily a cloud of fragmented flesh and bone as he steps around the pillar, his voice that of a teacher lecturing a student on a lesson he still hasn't learned properly.]

I've come to bargain.

[rubikscomplex]

I didn't.

[House retreats, using the pillar as a shield. This is an incredibly childish way to avoid the Stephen anomaly. But like hell does he care about appearances right now.]

Go bargain with someone else. Maybe a used car salesman.

[thewarningafter]

[He's whole again, body coherent as he keeps stalking his way around the pillar toward the retreating House, patient enough to tolerate the slow, childish chase. His arms hang limp from dislocated shoulders, his head at an unnatural angle. Just this edge of scolding:]

Doctor House, I've come to bargain.

[rubikscomplex]

Anyone ever tell you to get some new material? I think you need it, doc.

[The slow chase continues, House too fascinated to leave, even with the terror eating at the edges of his mind.]

What are you bargaining for?

[thewarningafter]

[He's asking for terms after only two iterations. What a pushover.]

Give me the light and promise to never steal another. Then I will release you.

[rubikscomplex]

Well, that's not happening. Why do you want my light?

[thewarningafter]

They took mine. You know, I can do this forever.

[He's terrified that he'll have to do it forever.]

[rubikscomplex]

Good for you. [House is terrified of getting trapped in a loop, as well, but he can recognize some of that as an external fear, not his own.] Not interested in giving up my light. What else do you want?

[thewarningafter]

You know what I want.

[Stephen is infinitely patient, but that doesn't mean he won't try to go about it another way. He keeps his voice even, keeps moving as steadily as he is capable until the last second before putting on a sudden burst of speed, bladed hands outstretched ahead of him, reaching for House.]

[rubikscomplex]

Christ! [House jerks back and then turns and scrambles when he goes down to one knee.] No means no!

[He manages to evade for now and takes off at a sprint, running for what looks like a door up ahead that leads into one of the columns.]

[thewarningafter]

[Stephen's neck rolls back into place only for the bones of his legs to snap as he surges after House. He's screaming in pain now but doesn't slow, the bones grinding audibly together with each step. He just needs one touch, just to lay one finger on the bastard --]

GIVE ME THE LIGHT!

[rubikscomplex]

Let's try no!

[Just one touch is, House is aware, all it takes. Adrenaline lends him speed where six months in a snowy hell have stripped away most of his energy and reserves. He doesn't look back as he makes it inside and slams the door on Stephen.

Only to find himself back in the real world, falling over as he leans up against nothing. No Stephen anomaly in sight.]