A Dark Night

"Nnngh... ughhh... So....lis? ...No, please!" Fulgur twisted, painfully in his bed, still clinging to the first sleep he'd had in over 60 hours. A handful of words intermingled with the usual groans of pain and terror he awoke from. "So...lis... So...nny." he twisted more, physical pain now matching the emotional as his nerves stung from an unwelcome position. "SONNY!?"

Fulgur spilled out of bed, catching his body with one arm and a knee and pushing himself up to a straight standing position. His vision exploded with light as his entire body stiffened from the pain his spine and nervous system felt. Regardless, he managed to control his mind enough to activate his IIs and view his camera feed into Sonny's room. The broad man was calmly playing video games, still awake and laughing in the hours between night and morning, seemingly not a care in the world about the fight they'd had the previous day. The groaning and gasps for air suddenly came into Fulgur's hearing. He'd been in so much pain that he hadn't noticed how loud he was being. Arms grasped one-another at the forearm, and he desperately struggled to keep it down as the pain increased rather than subsiding like usual. That same warning flashed in his IIs as it always did when he left power saving mode to use his cynets properly.

Energy levels critical. Maintenance urgently required.

He tried to lift his hand to his temple, desperate to reenter power saving mode and prolong his life, but the pain increased once again and he instead curled forward in anguish, knees buckling as he collapsed on the floor. There he curled up into the fetal position, knees up to his chin and hands gripping eachother tight for some form of stability. The groaning only got louder, quickly becoming a sporadic shout then anguished scream between gasping breaths. The burning that began in his spine quickly spread to every nerve he had, his entire body burning from within. In his IIs he watched The Officer continue to play video games, a running commentary about sushi coming out of his mouth as he blew a headcrab off of a man with a shotgun. Out of power-saving mode he could atleast shift cameras and so he began searching through the house, desperate for anything to distract his mind from the pain. In another room The Thief slept soundly, sprawled out on his bed with one leg hanging off to the side. Finally he saw The Psychic, laying comfortably in his bed, staring directly at the camera, one eye softly glowing as it watched him curiously. That one always managed to creep him out. He knew he hid the camera well and there was no reason to stare so intently at a spider plant.

A ring came from his door. He'd made sure to sound proof his room to protect the others from the noises he made at night, but let them have a way to reach him if needed through an intercom and doorbell. The thought suddenly flashed through his mind like a bullet, if Noctyx are all in their rooms, then who was ringing his bell? He fought through the pain to switch cameras once more and view the updoors hallway. No-one was there. Glitch, was all he thought as the fire in his veins began to cool. The pain was finally subsiding and his screaming was returning to pained gasps through gritted teeth. Carefully, slowly, he released his grip on each of his forearms and began to reach two fingers up to his temple. He got his hand in front of his eyes before another burst of pain made him scream once more and his body went rigid, straight as a line on the floor. Once again the doorbell rang as his IIs still showed him the empty hallway plastered in his vision.

Fulgur's left hand felt something cool and metal against the sparse flesh of his hip. His fingers circled around it and grasped at the cylinder, squeezing tight to the netjack in his hand. It was soothing like an ice-cube against the raw burn of his cynets. Thoughts filled his mind. Dark thoughts that he'd had more often than not recently. He ripped the netjack up to his neck, belt loop tearing as he placed the crimson tip against his throa2. Several more gasps escaped his mouth as his whole body shook violently, the pain still refusing to subside. Noctyx were safe. They didn't need him. They were better off without him. He could go back to sleep.

The doorbell rang again and Fulgur didn't even bother to open his IIs. He simply slid his thumb across the metal of the netjack and focused his mind on one thing.

"-Fuufuuchan, are you okay?"

The voice made him open his eyes wide, attention diverted at the last second. Fulgur gasped, each breath coming as fast and shallow as his heartbeats. He couldn't get enough air to respond, let alone fake a normal tone of voice.

"You don't have to say it out loud. Just think it," the soft voice of The Psychic said.

Why is that one's timing always so bad!? He thought, struggling to catch his breath.

"Actually, I think you'll find that I came at the perfect time." The voice was light and airy, gentle as the flower for which he was named, and now, Fulgur finally noticed, it wasn't coming through the intercom, but rather it was directly in his head. His IIs showed him the hallway once more. Still empty. Then he looked at The Psychic directly and found him still in his room but up on his feet, staring into the camera as before.

Did you hack my equipment? Fulgur demanded, pain giving way to anger. He was used to talking to people non-verbally in his time, but never against his own will.

"No, I'm using my power to connect with you. I've never been able to do this with someone who didn't come from the same institute as me before, but for some reason we've had this connection since we met."

You've been reading my mind since we met!? Fulgur lowered the netjack, gasps of breath slowing down and becoming more of an angered growl. What the fuck is wrong with you!?

The Psychic laughed, his face on the screen softening into a gentle smile. "Asks the man watching me through a camera pointed at my bed."

Fuck, how much did he hear? How much does he know!?

"I've known everything since before we even met Fuufuuchan," the voice answered. "I think I got to this time a bit before you. I felt it when you arrived. Heard your panic when you thought you were falling to your death. Saw your relief when you caught yourself, and your excitement to see a world filled with life. I felt your wonder as you explored the city and came across trees planted on every street. Your joy as you discovered weeds sprouting from cracks in the pavement and your utter elation when those cats curled up to you in the rain." Fulgur clenched his fist around the netjack again, not sure what he was feeling right now.

"Yes, I know you brought them here. Who do you think has been feeding them when you can't get out of bed? You can bring them inside you know, there's no rules against pets here."

Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up! That's not even what I meant when I was thinking-

"I know."

What do you know?

"Everything Fuufuuchan. Everything that you know, including the things that you're just discovering. I didn't know them before you, but what you just remembered about Sonny, well Solis, and what you remembered about Albie as well."

Tears began to well in Fulgur's eyes but his vision of The Psychic didn't blur. It was just a nightmare, he told himself. There's no way something like that had ever happened to him.

"It was real," The Psychic confirmed in the face of Fulgur's denial. "You had forgotten, but those memories are real."

How would I forget something like that!? ...How could I survive something like that?

Silence filled the room and it was only now that Fulgur realized his breathing had returned to normal, his heart still beating like a drum despite his lack of physical pain.

"That you've known for a long while Fuufuuchan. Even before you came to this time. You just have to ask him. I don't think he'd lie to you if you asked. The same way you couldn't lie to him if he directly asked."

"FUCK YOU, YOU FUCKING FREAK!" Fulgur tapped his temple twice with his two fingers, returning all his cynets to power saving mode. His vision returned to his room in near comple darkness and he lay there in silence, netjack still in hand.

"I'm sorry... for being a freak." The Psychic's voice echoed in his mind even without viewing his room and without his face visible to his IIs. While it sounded neutral, Fulgur could feel with the voice an immense sadness that carried across their connection. No words, just an immense well of pain. Tears finally flowed, unending down his face. The sadness he had felt from The Psychic wasn't even pain from being called a freak. It was heartbreak when he realized he'd made Fuufuuchan uncomfortable.

Fuck... me.