Archive of Our Own

Stage 1 — Observation

“You must be wondering why you’re here,” the doctor stated, his voice thin and cheerful, “but first, I need you to introduce yourselves.”

He was in the chair at the end of the rectangular table, smiling. A tall, thin, with short hair and a receding hairline man. His eyes were so blue and his skin so white that many patients suspected he never left the four walls of the asylum.

The most cheerful of the four began.

“Jinx,” and one of the guards snorted, because the file listed Powder, but the girl had personally adopted the name everyone in the institution called her.

[Object 1]

Powder, with long braids and bright blue eyes, was a poor little girl medicated against her will after witnessing her sister being imprisoned in a high-security prison following an act of violence. Just a girl born in Zaun, with mental problems that made her a little unstable. A woman who lost her entire family very early on, and saw firsthand what an army of drugs did to her uncle's and best friend's patients. Who knows what else she went through.

However, that wasn't Powder. That was Jinx. And Jinx was far from being just a poor little girl.

Jinx was the teenager who taught herself how to make bombs. Who contaminated a water well in the city's wealthy village. Who helped her uncle take drugs to the streets, where children and former classmates lived. Jinx was explosive and angry, opening her companions' doors at night to blackmail them into getting extra prescriptions for her. Who knows what else she had done away from the eyes of the doctors and nurses…

The next one spoke clearly enough to show that he wasn't happy to be there.

"Ekko," he stated, looking at the girl beside him. The guards, leaning against the wall and ready in case any trouble happened, watched him suspiciously.

[Object 2]

Ekko, with white hair already growing on his black dark skin, was the most normal one in the institution. Which didn't mean much.

His relationship with the other patients was peaceful, but with Jinx, in particular, there was something more. They were constantly getting together and then arguing. As if they were transformed into different people overnight, week after week. Everyone suspected they were dating before anything else, but sometimes they didn't even seem to know each other.

Ekko was kind and caring, as well as extremely intelligent. But, like Jinx, he knew how to make bombs. And he understood everything about the human body. In addition, like her, he had certain… fantasies. Different ideas about the world. He sometimes believed that the secret lay in the wings of an insect, because he had seen it, and had touched it, and…

Well. He could see, in a way, why they were all there.

Next, the tallest one stepped forward. The spectators who had nothing to do with the research were there not only for Jinx, who appeared strangely strong in hysterical situations, but also for him, strong even with his muscles deteriorating from the time spent at the institution.

“Jayce.”

[Object 3]

Like Ekko, he was caring. Like Jinx, he was a genius. Like both of them, he had a dangerous side.

Everyone there had something dangerous, whether to others or to themselves. But Jayce… After certain events, he, like Jinx, seemed to have split in two. There were days when he was Jayce Talis, former scientist and exemplary student.

There were days when he was… just Jayce, with his bright golden eyes and soft brown hands. Or not even that.

When he blinked, sometimes he was already on top of someone, fists ready to grab whatever was there and use it against them, even with the permanent injury he had on his leg. Not out of malice, not because he was bloodthirsty, or a psychopath or anything like that, but because he had visions, and they were horrible, and he’d do anything to get them out of his mind.

Just like everyone else there. No one was evil, they hadn't committed crimes willingly. They just needed help. He, more than anyone else, needed to return to the real world before his mind completely deteriorated.

And the most controlled of them all introduced himself last. Not because he had less conviction than his companions in what he believed, but because he was the most heavily medicated, almost lying down in his wheelchair.

“Viktor.”

The doctor stared at him.

[Patient Object 4]

Viktor, the most interesting of them all, with his angular figure and skin plastered with moles.

Like the other three, Viktor had a thirst for knowledge, a high intellect, and a need to do what he believed was right. Unlike his companions, however, he had little energy and worked much more quietly. He was the one who talked to himself the most and imagined seeing things, besides having a complex about religion, or topics involving religion, which, in today's society, included anything else — family, sexuality, destiny, death. He was so detached from certain social norms that he even let his hair grow, ignoring the banters he received from his fellow inmates.

But just because he was calm and almost emotionless didn't mean he wasn't a danger too.

Above all, Viktor had moments of implosion. Somehow, he managed to get extra prescriptions and instruments to hurt himself. Somehow, he managed to convince other patients to believe the same as him, and thus formed hordes of followers scattered throughout the hospital — unfortunately, at some point, they had to be moved to other units.

He was a genius, even having grown up in hospital beds and in his distant uncle's guest room. He always asked for more books in the asylum library, and his thoughts were comparable to those of the nurses and doctors.

However, despite everything, he had an illness that made him believe in nothing more, nothing less than...

The four stared at each other, sitting one in each corner, finally noticing each other's presence.

“Very well. Now that everyone is familiar with each other,” the doctor continued, trying to hold back a smile from widening even further, “I want you to answer me one thing. Is it true that you have seen magic?”

Report 01 — XX/XX/1962

The patients' initial reaction was as expected. Powder argued with Jayce and Ekko, then only with Ekko, and then Ekko and Jayce argued amongst themselves. Viktor seemed not to be paying attention, but occasionally made comments, provoking the other participants, demonstrating that he was indeed paying attention to everything. He is the only one who calls Powder by her correct name, and he did not provoke Ekko at any time. Jayce was particularly irritated by his remarks, as if he were confused about what to reply.

Up to this point, in their individual consultations, the four individuals have given me some information about their delusions, but with what they stated today, I can make a more complete analysis. Initially, they didn't reveal much, but as they discussed, they seemed to want to prove themselves and gave me new information.

Powder claims that she knows magic, which was given to her by ghostly beings who helped her escape the explosion. According to her, the magic is violet in color, because she “saw it on the tip of the match.” Certainly, the trauma from watching her friends being killed in front of her, added to the initial symptoms of his schizophrenia, contributed to the hallucination being confirmed as such.

Ekko claims that magic is white and grows in the trees that surround us, something also otherworldly. There are days when he searches for it, standing at his window all day, which is directed to the forest in the back of the asylum. It is curious to note that, when he enters the observation state, time seems not to pass for the boy. He can stand for hours, and the symptoms in his body are so strong that he doesn't feel pain in his legs afterward — this is a point to consider in future research. Furthermore, it is interesting to note the color attributed to magic; it may be a result of his adoptive father, a white man who helped him escape during the robbery, or due to the various prejudices he has encountered throughout his life. The color white is associated with purity, and seeing magic in this way may be a sign of internal debate in his mind.

Jayce claims that magic is blue, vast, and electric. I know he is the son of immigrants and has a phobia of cold. Thanks to his personal diaries, I also discovered that the first time he saw “magic,” a kind of alien vision appeared before him during a trip to guide him and his mother back to the city. The intense fear, the signs of hypothermia, the childlike mind, and other symptoms derived from the long journey and maternal influence must have created this illusion in his mind. Even the color can be explained; his homeland is surrounded by blue seas, the color he associates with familiarity.

Last but not least, Viktor claims that magic is magenta. And that it speaks. He didn't want to elaborate further, but, along with Powder, he has auditory hallucinations on this topic, not just visual ones. The use of medication for his physical condition, growing up in an inhospitable environment, and him being a sodomite may be causes for the development of paranoid schizophrenia. It's curious how the person closest to Powder's symptoms associates magic with such a similar color.

Although all four suffer from the same type of delusion, each has a particular view of what is correct, and therefore it is likely that they will argue amongst themselves for a few more meetings. There is hope, however, that they will realize the falsity of their claims with the better development of the group, and it should not last more than two years.

(On a piece of paper pasted next to it): Personally, I believe that the order of healing will be Viktor, Ekko, Powder, and Jayce. Viktor is a wise man, and his vulnerability makes him more malleable. Ekko is the youngest of all, and therefore also presents more malleability. Despite the intensity of the woman's symptoms, a single understanding will be enough to remove her from the illusion; as soon as she accepts her share of the blame in the factory “accident,” her arguments will fall apart. Jayce seems to me the most stubborn of the four and the one who started with the symptoms earliest, therefore the most difficult to convince.

Violet

Exhausted from so much activity, Viktor sighed before gripping the sides of his wheelchair, and was glad that Nurse Young accompanied him to the main hall — she was one of the few pleasant presences in the asylum, always calming him down after his crises and helping with the occasional extra medication that the doctor refused to prescribe. Once in the hall, he stated that he didn't need any more help, and she let him go to talk to another patient.

He knew very well why those meetings were happening. He knew about Doctor Tech's plans, but despite what everyone said, he wasn't crazy. He had been ill since childhood, but certain parts of his mind confirmed his sanity. He knew he had seen magic and, regardless of what his colleagues said — whether they were real stories or not — he knew his version well. Nothing would make him change his mind, no matter how much he planned something.

However… the doctor thought he was clever, but he didn't expect his plan to backfire. When Jayce described magic, Viktor immediately felt a connection; the descriptions weren't exactly the same, but they were similar enough, and something in the man's eyes gleamed with fervor as he explained himself, making Viktor's heart race even amidst so many painkillers.

For the first time during his stay there, he was paying attention to Jayce Talis.

Maybe he'd glanced at him once or twice — he was handsome, after all (though he always had to disguise his glances, disguise his masculine inclinations; the hospital had eyes everywhere) — but this was the first time he'd truly seen the man as someone beyond handsome and short-tempered.

So, he observed him from afar for the rest of the week. They ate far apart in the cafeteria, and since that Tuesday, Viktor had decided to sit closer to him each day — Ekko and Jinx did the same, even though their backs were always turned to them. Furthermore, he began to calculate entertainment and outing times in the sun to coordinate with the man. They did laundry at the same time, but on different days, and he decided to take his time washing his basket so that they could meet in a more secluded setting.

He realized that Jayce had gone to a meeting of physically disabled patients that Viktor attended that week, something he had never gone to before.

Stage 2 — Hypothesis

“What do you think you can do with magic? What do you want to achieve with it?”

It was one of Ekko and Jinx's good weeks, now sitting side by side, although the woman had her head down since entering the room, after problems occurred in the women's wing that none of the men knew the truth about, since they didn't linger in that part of the building (nor thought about simply asking her).

Jayce and Viktor weren't as close, but they had sat on the same side of the table, which was progress. Besides, Viktor, always so quiet, was the first to answer.

“Not to achieve. To use it to change the world for the better.”

“How?” the doctor inquired, raising an eyebrow. He knew the answers, but it was important that the others heard.

But Viktor remained silent. Jayce spoke in his place.

“If we could understand how it works, we would achieve many things. Magic saved me, just as it saved everyone here; we can start with this notion of mastering it and using it in moments of alarm.”

“I don’t want to master anything, just understand it better,” Ekko interjected, his gaze a little distant. He only seemed to concentrate when he argued or when he looked at the doctor, as if he suspected something.

Jinx didn’t answer. The doctor’s pen scratched against the paper several times.

(Draft) Report 2 - XX/XX/1962

They still don’t like each other, but they’ve grown a little closer. There’s a connection between Ekko and Powder, and maybe he’s the key to the girl’s cure, maybe even everyone’s. He’s the only one who wants to understand the reason for the collective delirium, even though he’s going in the wrong direction; maybe I can guide him in the right one in the individual sessions, if I can convince him to trust me, first and foremost.

Witnesses claim that, despite Viktor's attempts to get closer to his colleague, they haven't spoken outside the meeting room, and perhaps that's for the best. There's a clear attraction on Viktor's part, (paper ends here)

(in the middle of the other paper) which could interfere with both the research and his treatment. However, we can't keep an eye on them all the time. There are other experiments underway, and I need to record them all (...). I must get more information (...)

I will ask them to reduce Powder's medication doses at the next meetings. Increasing Viktor's would make him feel better if…

White

Viktor parked the chair in the hallway and stood up, dragging the laundry basket. He had found wheels and, with a larger cloth, created a handle to pull the basket in any direction he wanted without much effort.

“Oh, it’s you.”

Jayce, sitting in a chair right in front of the washing machine, with his cane resting briefly between his legs, didn’t initially seem surprised by his presence, until, after Viktor stopped beside him and began putting his own clothes in another machine, his eyes widened and he stood up.

“Wait, where’s your wheelchair?”

The smaller man indicated the direction it was with a slight nod.

“You’ll find this kind of occurrence ironic in this place, but the laundry room door isn’t wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair.”

Jayce almost choked.

“A-Are you okay? Do you need help?”

A click escaped Viktor’s tongue. He appreciated people's kindness, but hated appearing weak in front of them. He wanted help getting into the sea or carrying large boxes of books — in short, nothing that happened there, in a completely controlled and meaningless environment. There, in that institution, no one could help him, not physically, and it was irritating to see patients worse off than him offering something just because they thought he was more fragile. He hated being held down, being carried around, having his door opened for a visit, and being cleaned up right after—

The idea of ​​that man straining and forcing his leg to help him, however, was actually quite appealing. But he shook his head, trying to concentrate. His attraction would have to be put aside for now.

(Or forever. As he usually did.)

“No, but I know another way you can help me.” His eyes gleamed, he brought their faces close, and with a whisper added: “I need you to tell me everything you know about magic, Jayce.”

Stage 3 — Experiment

“Do you believe there are more witnesses like you?”

Jinx, already feeling better that week, answered yes.

With her medication running low, she had made an effort to meet with Ekko in the unisex shared spaces, such as the recreation room and the cafeteria, always sitting next to him. However, as the nurses and guards stated, they never touched on the subject that brought them together in that room, and Ekko's afternoons were filled with the loud sound of the girl talking about her own sister, curiosities in the formulas of her medications, her roommates and hallway mates. They still were in their good weeks, in which they seemed to have known each other since childhood, although their gazes lingered longer on each other, their hands gravitated close to each other's bodies, their understandings were quicker. Several times, Jinx had let Ekko choose the movie channel, and Ekko allowed Jinx to exchange the board game they shared with two other colleagues from the institution.

So it was no surprise that she was talkative and cheerful at that meeting. Nor that Ekko reciprocated, also stating that he knew more people had found the magic. This was good, great, the two were heading towards the right destination. All Ekko had to do was wake up from the illusion and be more convincing in her presence, and the cure would be even closer.

The other pair, however, seemed to want to run in the opposite direction.

“Not really. Most are like you, who not only don't believe in us, but also keep us here as if we were crazy for believing in our eyes.”

Jayce crossed his arms, staring directly at the doctor. Ekko also stared at him with a certain disdain, and the doctor had to remember that they couldn't join forces to plot against him. That wasn't the goal there. The experiment was serving to show the four that their madness didn't fit in with the world, it was to fix four brilliant minds that had been hurt by illness and trauma.

(Or not. Curiosity, in fact, was the biggest motivation for those meetings. What did the doctor really want with this experiment? He knew how to justify it on a piece of paper to send to the university and receive thousands of dollars as a reward, but, deep down…)

“Again, you’re not here because you believe in magic, Jayce,” his voice came out calmly, even though the man was his least favorite patient, and sometimes he just felt the extreme urge to kick him out, “you’re here because you’re ill.”

“And what am I sick with?”

A guard chuckled softly.

“We’re here because we’re crazy, big head,” Jinx turned to Jayce, and then to his companion, “but if we’re all crazy here, then who’s normal enough to say what we are, huh, doctor?”

The conversation usually gravitated like this, with the doctor letting one pull the other into a line of thought that he preferred to hear and write down rather than explain. Jayce pointed out to Jinx that she had threatened several roommates with needles, and she returned the accusation by saying that he had done the same, with a hammer instead of piercing objects. Ekko stated that he had never threatened anyone, to which Viktor finally joined the conversation and said, “not that you remember.” In this way, Ekko also exploded, accusing him of wanting to brainwash the other patients with his “nonsense about evolution.”

The doctor smiled. It was better when they disagreed. They couldn't create a war-like environment there, of course, but it was better that they felt attacked by each other than manipulated by him. So, while they continued the discussion, with Ekko feeling dizzy in the middle, and Viktor huffing at his words, and Jayce raising and lowering his torso every time he started to speak, the doctor assured the security guards with a smile that they didn't need to worry.

Not even when one of them got worked up.

“I didn't say any of that!”

Everyone fell silent and looked at the speaker.

“Jinx… What?”

The girl stared at them, confused. She was probably having a conversation with “the voices” in her head, and felt embarrassed when she realized she had answered aloud. She stood up to leave, but Ekko grabbed her wrist at the same time the doctor spoke.

“You can skip the meeting whenever you want, but once you’re here, you can’t leave early, or you’ll be punished.”

It was a rule already established among them, but Jinx had forgotten. Viktor raised an eyebrow. The girl sat back down.

“That doesn’t even make any sense.”

“Those are the rules here. At this time, if you come to this side of the building, you’re my responsibility.”

“And what would our punishment be for leaving early?” Viktor asked.

“Isolation for the rest of the day.”

The doctor responded calmly, even though his eyes had caught Jayce's hand which, during Jinx's commotion, had been hovering behind Viktor's wheelchair, against his back.

(Draft) Report 03 — XX/XX/1962

Powder has a good connection with reality sometimes, noticing the futility of her hallucinations. She is the one who suffers the most from the visions, and would greatly benefit from the treatment's outcome. Ekko, my biggest bet at times, has been more resilient this week, divided in two as happens in his relationship with Powder: sometimes he is willing to be a normal and reliable man, sometimes he completely immerses himself in his fantasy. The closer relationship between the two in this third week is beneficial, but I have to remember to observe them closely so that the bad weeks don't suddenly appear and set back the treatment.

Viktor has worsened, perhaps because of the extra medication I gave him this week. He had an entire monologue explaining to Ekko what his “glorious revolution” would be, to show his colleague that there were no shades of race or gender in his speech. He is giving me much more personal information than I have ever seen, but I suspect it's because of Jayce's presence. He's really attracted to the man, and I can't say when the approach happened.

(Cut page)

Jayce Talis remains the same as always, a little quieter. He was trying to please the other three, for some reason, despite making some mistakes — he mentioned Powder's lost sister, which led her to scream with the voices again.

It would be good to include activities that forcibly separate Jayce and Viktor from each other outside the meeting room.

Blue

He noticed.

He noticed that the doctor was manipulating their individual sessions and separating him from Jayce on purpose for the last couple of weeks. He had much busier days than usual, which left him tired and without the energy to move at the end of the nights.

But, as he watched his new roommate, a short man with glasses, move against the bed in a nightmare, Viktor reflected. And reflected. And, realized that, as much as they wanted to physically separate the two, he had never felt so close to anyone like that.

That morning in the laundry room, they talked about magic. Viktor revealed details about his past — from his poor family who struggled to get him a scholarship to school, to his stay at his uncle's house, the nights on the farm, and the apartment he shared with three other men next to the university. He spoke of when he was little and saw a magenta stone fall from the sky, which he and his uncle analyzed and, thanks to it, managed to cure his cousin. He spoke about the magic he knew, about the voices and visions he had had since then.

He said he was interested in Jayce's version.

“Only in terms of magic?” The man had asked. “Or in other ways as well?”

They couldn't do much in such a short time, so they saved themselves for Jayce's story. About his father's death too soon, his journey with his mother, the voice that showed him the right path. He also had a stone, which was stolen from him when he entered that place, which he knew contained magic and showed some secret that he was unable to reveal.

“Maybe if we combine my notes with yours…” Viktor hinted, already feeling Jayce's body close, his hand touching his arm in a friendly gesture, too close when they shouldn't even be looking at each other the way they were.

They exchanged a message with their eyes, solidifying their partnership. When a man entered the laundry room, they were already each in their own corner, bubbling with curiosity, joy, and desire.

During the following days, they exchanged formalities, saw each other in activities, and even sat close together, without giving much room to the caregivers — after all, they knew well what an environment that wanted to silence them was like. Every night, Viktor slept with his legs burning with desire, his heart sighing with excitement. He hoped Jayce felt the same, judging by the way his eyes always fell on his lips, how his hands clenched because he couldn't touch him, the good mornings and good nights that held back the words he truly wanted to say.

And, despite everyone's efforts, he found himself alone again with Jayce. The washing machine muffled their voices, and the stool waited patiently for the two of them to sit down, even though they didn't have much time.

“I brought the notes. But it would be good to have your bracelet with the stone back.”

Jayce tilted his head to the side, searching for something on Viktor.

“Ah.” He stuttered, “i-it's all in my head. I couldn't risk them taking my things.”

Jayce smiled, his face close to Viktor's. It was the first time Viktor had seen him smile, and it was contagious. He wanted to kiss him right there. He wanted Jayce to lay him down on the seat and fill him with magic and passion. But there was no time for that: there was so much to talk about, in every meeting.

Even if they tried, they couldn’t stop the two from sharing magic. Which was why, as he watched his roommate sleep, Viktor vibrated with anticipation.

Stage 4 — Conclusion

“How would those who lived with you react to the discovery of magic?”

A question that could be a trap. Which it certainly was. If Viktor revealed about his uncle, it would all be over. If Jayce, beside him, opened his mouth, he would spill too much. Ekko, in his solitude after his father's death, couldn't even answer.

“Of course they would love it. Vi would want to know everything about magic.”

The topic immediately entered dangerous territory. As in previous weeks, Jinx was feeling well, and Ekko was conversing normally with her. Jayce and Viktor were sitting side by side again, graced with each other's presence. But there was a tension between the four, as if the invisible line uniting them was about to tear.

“Wasn't Vi there on the day of the explosion?” Ekko asked, a little too quietly. Fear, a primal warning of a wrong choice, passed through him in the form of a shiver.

“Well—she…” She adjusted herself in the chair, not looking at her colleague, her long braids being crushed against her back. “She was there, but she didn’t see what really happened. It was thanks to magic that her life was saved, but she didn’t see…”

“My mother didn’t see it that day either,” Jayce interjected, his voice soft, “she was passed out from the cold.”

“There weren’t any witnesses in my case either,” it was Ekko’s turn, who, apprehensive, refused to look at the doctor, “I mean, my old man was there, but he didn’t have time to confirm. I think it’s the kind of thing you only find out when you’re alone.”

Viktor played with his fingers in his lap, but Jayce reached for one of his hands and squeezed it. A gentle smile appeared on his face, which made Viktor relax.

The doctor blinked in their direction.

“If your mother was passed out that day, how can you not guarantee that you weren’t too, Jayce?”

As if he had been burned, Jayce pulled his hand away from the other and looked alarmed at the doctor, who was calmly writing something in a notebook.

"What?"

“I was thinking about that,” he adjusted his glasses on his face, “you don’t listen to it like your colleagues do. You saw it at a moment when you could very well have been dreaming. Besides, on our first day, you shared your information after your colleagues did. I don’t know…”

The four stared at each other, and three glances turned to Jayce as the doctor murmured and continued writing in his notebook — he apologized, “I was just thinking aloud,” but the seed had been planted already.

Jinx asked if he was lying to them, making light of their experiences. Jayce almost shouted in his defense, saying that his experience wasn’t fabricated. Viktor chimed in, stating that the doctor’s insinuation was absurd. Ekko stared at both the doctor and the group suspiciously, as if uncertain of what to choose.

Finally, Viktor pulled his wheelchair away.

“The meeting isn’t over yet.”

But he mumbled something in response, shaking his head as he headed for the door.

“Viktor,” the doctor called softly, in an attempt to persuade him to stay. He signaled for the guards to stop and not follow him.

“I said: I’m not going to stay here to listen to the same old nonsense. You can punish me, doctor.”

Then he left.

(Draft) Report 07 — XX/XX/1962

After Viktor left, the three began to argue with more energy than ever. As if their illnesses had struck them all at once, they frequently distracted themselves with their own minds and threw meaningless accusations in all directions.

Powder’s symptoms worsened, to the point where she seemed to hear more than one voice arguing with her. Ekko pushed his chair away from all of us, suspecting that not only had I made the accusation to put Jayce in a bad light, but also that everyone there was in a conspiracy to find out more about him. Jayce had headaches several times, and shook his head like Powder does; the voices were talking to him too. Each accused the other of lying and pretending to know more, of not giving the correct description of what they saw, of making things up. Maybe I shouldn't have provoked them to revolt against Jayce.

It's just that… he held my Viktor's hand. They seemed to communicate only with their eyes. I can't allow him to get near my patient, my…

Note: delete this document.

Note the first part: Omit that I provoked Jayce Talis. Increase his dose, justification: exacerbated migraine and demonstrations of mania.

Viktor will be in isolation tonight. Maybe I'll visit him before they release him in the morning.

Jayce Talis must be transferred tomorrow morning as soon as possible.

Magenta

He poured out everything he had to until his eyes began to burn with tears.

Isolation always seemed better initially. Everyone, including him, thought it was easy to face, compared to facing the weirdos in the hallways, in addition to the healthcare professionals ordering them around. Besides—well, nobody needed to know. It was a secret between him and the doctor, since the beginning. But, even if the man wasn't there, the silence of isolation gave the impression that at any moment he might appear there, and a strange feeling of emptiness was taking hold of him more intensely that night.

So, Viktor sat on the mattress, always looking at the door, ignoring the meals left beside it and the image beyond the locked window. Time didn't seem to pass, and perhaps it would be better if he just slept, but he couldn't: he had to watch the door. Not that it would solve or change anything if the doctor decided to pay him a visit.

He stared and stared. The dirt beside him, on the white wall, the light that flickered every ten minutes, the doorknob worn by hands that had passed by before, desperate for a bit of air. Was there a guard outside, a nurse ready to help him in case of emergency? He doubted it. All sectors were abandoned, with investment going only to research and the pockets of the directors. Dr. R. Tech was one of them, of course. He could make exorbitant amounts of money disappear, he could make anything disappear…

At some point during the night, Viktor woke up on alert. He shouldn't have slept, but his room was dark and his back ached from having fallen asleep without lying down properly. He was startled by the prospect of the half-open door when he saw a figure beside the bed, and prepared to scream when—

“Viktor, it's me.”

Jayce's hand had covered his mouth in case he made a noise, and Viktor let out a big sigh of relief against his skin when he heard his voice. Adrenaline still coursed through his veins, and in a sudden impulse, he hugged the man as soon as he was released.

“Whoa.”

Jayce hugged him back, bending uncomfortably to reach his height below. He was warm and soft, real like nothing else seemed in that place. It wasn't the doctor. Thank God, it wasn't the doctor.

“W-What are you doing here, Jayce?”

“Jinx woke Ekko, and he came to wake me up.” Jayce indicated with his index finger in front of his lips. “Can you get up? Walk? I brought an extra cane.”

“That’ll do. But you still haven’t answered my question.”

“You’ll see. They’re waiting.”

Viktor wanted to ask more. How did Jinx get out of the girls’ dormitories and end up there? How did they walk through the hallways unnoticed? How did Jayce trick his roommate and get the keys to the isolation room?

But Jayce helped him out of bed and held his hips so firmly that the words dissolved into the back of his mind. He handed him the cane and they walked like that, side by side, their free sides touching, Jayce’s hand never leaving his side.

Silently, they left the room, crossed a hallway where one of the staff members was sleeping sitting in a chair. Viktor bent down when Jayce told him to, even if it took longer than they wanted, even when he felt his vision blurring from the pain of sneaking around. The route Jayce took was curious; he had never followed it before, and they passed through a door that led to an emergency staircase.

“Jayce. How did you manage…?”

“Jinx opened the doors for us. Come on.”

He bent down to put a cane on the ground and showed both arms to Viktor, who stared at him doubtfully.

“I’ll carry you down there.” And, with his hesitation, “Don’t worry, I can handle it. I got some extra anti-inflammatories for this.”

And with no other option, Viktor let himself be held like a bride, surprised at how Jayce could bear his weight with his leg in that state. Not that Viktor was heavy, but it couldn't have been comfortable — even so, picking up the canes again and with Viktor in hand, Jayce continued down the stairs, each step careful not to make a sound, with dexterity.

When they reached the lawn of the courtyard, Viktor almost didn't want to leave that position. With him enveloped by Jayce's arms and beating heart, he didn't care about being discovered — the face of his beloved seen so closely would be a perfect last vision of the world. For a few moments, the two stared at each other, the realization that they were crossing an irreversible line shining in their chests, and suddenly they realized that the danger of the future didn't matter. They were together. From the first day they realized this: their lives would never be the same again.

Jayce set him down on the grass, holding his waist. He handed him the cane (a little shorter than it should be) and, adjusting himself with his own (also shorter than appropriate for his height), showed him his hand.

From afar, Viktor heard noises. It was Jinx and Ekko, waiting for them at the edge of the forest, the girl now with shoulder-length hair, the boy waving to them. The fence surrounding the building had a circular hole cut into it.

“Ready?”

Jayce asked, still waiting with his hand.

“I don't understand. Why today? And your bracelet? We should have gotten it.”

Even so, he accepted the hand. Jayce nodded in the direction of the other two.

“It was either you or the bracelet. And I don't need it.”

Deep behind, hiding in the trees, something was shining, ready to burst. Viktor took a step forward, which Jayce followed.

I'm here, the light said, and all four blinked at it. Come.

And its color was…