"Maybe you don't think so..." Kayen mumbled. "But I do..."

He closed his eyes and dropped his head back against Domino's shoulder, tightening his hold a little more.

--

Nights were always boring in The Facility. Most of the children didn't sleep - there were too many noises, even though no one was making any. Too many thoughts around, bouncing between the walls.

A door slid open and the boy hovering above the floor turned to look, smiling politely at the person that approached.

"Hello, Luda," The doctor greeted in a friendly voice... he was always friendly. Full of sweet thoughts and a niceness that couldn't be faked. "Who is your friend?"

A few moments of silence passed, before the floating boy leaned into the young man on the bed, whispering, "Dolly says he can't see me and that he's testing you."

That was a bit of a disappointment as Luda had been hoping that maybe the doctor could really see the floating boy in his room just as clearly as he did. That only confirmed the steady slip of Luda's sanity, which was already at its absolute limit in this place to begin with. He pulled his hands out from behind his head and sat up- staring at the doctor coldly.

"I'm alone." He stated flatly- something that really meant more than just the absence of others in his room.

"Then who is this?" The doctor asked as he motioned to a stuffed doll that was sitting on the edge of the bed - where he had seen the floating boy place it only moments before. "I haven't seen her before."

He moved over to the computer and began to read the scans idly, checking to make sure the readings were still the same.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Luda offered. "She's not much of a conversationalist."

"That's too bad," The doctor informed as he closed off the computer and turned back to Luda. "Maybe today your father will let you visit your little brother, hm? I'm sure he would love the company."

"That's not my brother in there!" Luda hissed. "Get out! I'm tired."

He laid back down with a huff- the shifting of the bed causing the doll to fall back and lay out on the mattress just as he was.

The doctor frowned and gathered up his clip board. "Alright... good night, Luda."

With that, he pulled the door closed, leaving the boy by himself.

"Dolly says he is your brother," The floating boy informed, scooping up the stuffed toy and moving to hover over Luda's head.

"It isn't...it isn't even human." Luda replied coldly. "I thought you were here to keep me composed...aren't you?"

He cracked open one of his eyes to look up at the hovering boy that only he could see.

The boy turned over and looked at Luda upside-down. "Am I? I don't know. You made me! Why am I here, Luda?"

He lifted the doll to his ear.

"Dolly says I'm your innocence, whatever that means," He giggled. "She's your smarts and I'm your innocence and you're the rest of you!"

Luda closed his eyes again.

"Thank God." He sighed. "The last one said it was because I was lonely...what an idiot."

"Now you have me and Dooollllly~!" Glace cheered, rolling around and around above him. "Yaaaay!"

He rolled around above Luda for a little while, before finally stopping and leaning in close, hovering only inches above the other.

"Why don't you like your brother, Luda?"

"Why do you care?" Luda replied. "I don't, so you shouldn't...right?"

"Dolly says I am curious because you're secretly curious," Glace informed, pushing the doll into Luda's face. "I want to know why you don't care because you want to know why you do care!"

"I don't." Luda replied before he rolled over on his side and covered his head with his pillow.

There was a long moment of silence before he sighed and took the pillow off his head again- looking up at the boy above him.

"What do I call you?" He asked.

"Dolly says my name is Glace," Glace informed. "I wonder why my name is Glace!"

He twirled off the bed and moved to the floor, sitting cross-legged, though still hovering about an inch off of it.

"Because I...I don't know why I named you that." Luda sighed. "Your name has no known significance to me."

"Dolly says she thought it sounded pretty," Glace giggled.

--

Kayen had fallen asleep on the bed in Domino's arms after some serious coaxing. It was the firs time in a while he'd gotten actual sleep, not collar-induced unconsciousness.

And so it was rough to be awoken by guards storming into the room upon finding out he was not in his own. The machines latched on to his arms and pulled him from the bed, starting to drag him away.

"Let go of me!" He shrieked in a panic, kicking wildly and trying to pull with his arms. "Let go, let go, let go!"

He squeezed his eyes tight, shoving out with his mind, willing everything to just stop. Domino felt the pulse of energy pass through him and heard the display next to his bed crack.

The bots fell down, completely fried. The electrical system to the door fried as well and one by one they could hear the doors of the nearby rooms flying open.

"...Kayen what have you done?" Domino stared out as he saw several of the rooms across the hall slid open.

Kids started stepping out into the hall cautiously- looking around. It seemed like anything electronic in the whole corridor had been roasted in Kayen's frantic struggling. Domino hurried off his bed and helped the Albinic boy up- holding him close...protectively, as he looked around.

"Oy!" Chess cheered and hurried over. "Open door special- first come, first served. If we hurry up, we can bust outta here."

"Leave?" Domino frowned at his twin brother. "Are you insane? Don't answer that."

"I didn't mean to..." Kayen breathed, rather pathetically.

He glanced over at Chess. "Leave...? What..." His eyes widened and he looked up at Domino. "What if we did? Domino... we could be free of this place-! No more tests, no more torture... you know we're ready to kill Silvers, we can go out there on our own and fend for ourselves-!"

Down the hall, Aireio slipped out of her room and peered across into Red's. "Psst, Red! You awake?!"

The bed in Red's room was still with the form of her friend lying in it still.

"Kayen..." Domino blinked down at the boy in his quiet way. "You mean...outside? To battle Silvers?"

"I want to prove to Voskov that I'm worth it!" Kayen giggled, gleefully. "That I can do it, that I don't need any more training! I'm ready!"

"Red!" Aireio hissed, moving over to the door. "Get up!"

Red rolled over. Aireio blinked at his sweat, tortured looking face as he groaned and turned in his sleep.

Glass...and some kinda fluid...that's what he was encased in- looking out through that oxygen mask at the men in white coats as they took notes and spoke to each other...observing him like an animal in the zoo...

Domino stared down at Kayen blankly before he nodded.

"I'm with you." He said.

"D'aww!" Chess cooed.

"You're coming too!" Kayen snapped at Chess, before he made for the door.

"Red!" LiSen cried as he stumbled over, trying to shake his friend awake. "Red, wake up!"

"N-no!" Red twisted and shot up. "Out!"

He breathed a few times before he blinked and looked around- realizing he was in his room.

"Like I'd let you two ditch me in this boring ass place." Chess laughed- hurrying after Domino and Kayen.

"Red, the doors are open and Kayen knocked out all of the electric!" Aireio cried from the door. "All the guard droids are down for the count!"

There were kids running off and nearby they could hear some of them fighting down guards.

"Look," LiSen breathed as he reached up and touched his collar - the lights were dead on it.

"Take it off, take it off now!" Red said quickly. "Aireio, help us!"

"I can't take it off," She groaned. "I'd break your neck! We need someone who can use their mind to press the release inside - but first we need to get the hell out of here!"

"We have to get to the containment area." Red said.

Aireio had to wonder what he was talking about, the obvious best route was over the wall outside on the training grounds where they didn't have to worry about the security anymore. Why go deeper into the facility?

There was no time to argue, however - they could hear guards advancing and they had to make a break for it.

LiSen pulled off his bandages and Aireio grabbed Red's bed as he scrambled out of it, pulling the bolts from the wall and wielding the large object like a weapon.

As they left the room she threw it at the advancing guards. It landed heavily on a group of them and the ones behind them began to fire beams of light.

"Don't harm them!" A man yelled as the three made a break for it. "They were expensive in both money and time! Don't harm any of them or I'll take it out of your pay!"

"They're set to stun sir!" One of the men shouted.

Several of the children dropped around Red and his companions as they busted through a door and ran down the stairs.

"Shit!" Red breathed as he cut ahead of the others.

"You can run ahead of us and get out!" LiSen reminded. "Just go, Red!"

"Shut up or I'll let Aireio knock you out and carry you out!" Red snapped over his shoulder. "Four...five...six!"

He stopped and pushed through another door. They burst out into a corridor and Red looked first left and then right.

"Damn, which way!?" He hissed.

"Denum!" LiSen gasped, moving over and peeking behind a wall panel. How he had seen the boy hiding in there was beyond Red. "Are you okay?!"

"Shh!" The boy with long blonde hair hissed before pulling the three of them over as more guards came around the corner.

LSen frowned, pressing up against Denum for a moment, before he jerked away and blushed.

Pressing his fingers against the glass, watching as the figures around him rushed from the room...

LSen frowned, pressing up against Denum for a moment, before he jerked away and blushed.

Pressing his fingers against the glass, watching as the figures around him rushed from the room...

"God, you guys got out too?" Denum said hushly. "I've been pinned down for a while now."

"We're going this way!" Red ran off quickly.

"Red!" Aireio gasped, taking off after him.

"What the hell man!?" Denum blinked after them. "You're going the wrong way!"

Red ducked his head and the world blurred as his speed shot to inhuman limits. He jumped and kicked off a wall over the heads of more guards before bolting down the corridor behind them- leaving them all blinking in confusion at what had just bulleted by.

"What is he doing-!?" Aireio cried, grabbing her brother and ducking back into the wall with Denum.

"He's lost it," LiSen whispered.