A Dangerous Game

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"If I remember right, you two both met for the first time with him hating you." Fredrich mused, smiling softly to lighten the mood. "Just like then, I have a feeling that all you need to do is be there for him and he'll come around." Before he could get any response, the detective moved his glasses off his face and to the bedside table. "For now go rest. We'll visit a certain doctor tomorrow and get more information."

 

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"Yes, sir," mumbled the blonde as he stood, planting a kiss on his mother's head before leaving the room. His heart still hurt all the way into his bedroom, and flopping onto the bed, he couldn't even close his eyes. Julian was alive, and he hated him. He couldn't do this all over again. He couldn't hurt like this again. It would end up killing him.
Meanwhile, Ellery turned back to Fredrich and moved closer, suddenly craving his partner's touch. "We aren't really going to go see that man tomorrow, are we?" he asked, one hand on Fredrich's arm.

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"There isn't much choice." Fredrich responded lightly while staying in place. "Decius may hate everything about us, but he cares about Julian. If we tell him that Daniel's found him then he's sure to at least listen without chopping our heads off." He turned his head to look at the smaller man, his dark blue eyes almost glowing from the moonlight reflecting off of them. "Do you want to stay here?"

 

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"Like I'll leave you to handle him by yourself," snorted the designer, taking great care in his movements as he moved ever closer to the man. Ellery reached up to touch Fredrich's cheek tenderly, sighing quietly. "I just hope that Daniel doesn't end up getting hurt."

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"I'm afraid even I don't know what'll happen." the detective frowned. He turned to face Ellery and wrapped his arms around his waist like earlier, holding him close. "Whatever happens, we'll be there for him." he whispered as his eyes closed once more. If something happened to Daniel, if he got hurt, what would he do? Plan for a revenge? Punch a wall until it crumbled? Or would he end up like Cameron, a shadow of his former self. Fredrich knew that if Liam and Cameron weren't immortal then they would've died from lack of sleep and starvation days ago. He understood. He wouldn't be able to sleep or eat with the constant worry of how his son was holding up if he was in their position. Thankfully Hayden agreed to visit them daily and make sure they were okay enough to carry on.

Fredrich stared up at the looming building ahead of them. Northwood Asylum, a hospital that was closed long ago and taken as Decius's personal home and lab. It was a couple hours' drive from their own home. The grass was a bright green color, almost yellow with death from heat. The building looked as its reports said: abandoned. Windows were blurred and cracked, moss climbed the walls, and rust at away at the doorways. Inside, however, Fredrich knew it was completely different. There were probably thousands of poor souls trapped inside the many rooms of the asylum, each one deformed and kept under watch by the asylum's new warden.
Taking a deep breath, the detective looked over at Daniel and Ellery. "You both have the candy, I presume?" he asked. It'd be difficult to talk Decius down from attacking them, but candy would definitely help.

 

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An exasperated Ellery held up his massive tote bag, filled tot he brim with candies. He was tired, having stayed up all night the night before, just laying in Fredrich's embrace and thinking about the coming storm, and currently wore dark sunglasses in an attempt to shield his tender eyes. God, even the sun was giving him a larger headache than usual. It was like he was hungover, but worse.
Daniel nodded as he carried the candy in his arms, looking up at the large building. "This all feels like a bad idea," he murmured, subconsciously moving closer to his mother.

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"Either way, it's the only plan we have." Fredrich reminded. He gave the two a reassuring nod and stepped towards the asylum. His long coattails billowed behind him, and at the right angle someone could see the handgun he had tucked away behind him. Just because he didn't have his gloves didn't mean he was completely defenseless.
Fredrich stopped at the front of the door. He turned halfway to face the two and made a motion for them to stay where they were, a few feet away from him, then turned to face the doorway again. His knuckles scraped against the door. Although the asylum was huge, the knock still held an echo to it. As he waited for the door to open, Fredrich looked around the asylum again. Crows cawed from the trees that stood behind the building's rusty gates. When he looked somewhere quickly, he thought he saw a glimpse of a figure. It was no doubt one of Decius's creatures on patrol, and he knew that Decius knew they were here long before he knocked on the door.
He didn't have to wait long.
The door creaked as it opened slowly, and Friedrich turned to greet the scientist...
... To see a circular saw fly his way.
Instincts quick, Fredrich jumped back just in time to dodge it. The doctor, red eyes glowing with insanity, giggled in delight as he charged towards the duo, saw raised.
"Decius!" the Austrian yelled as he dodged another strike. "Calm down! We don't want any trouble!"
"Trouble is what you have always been having, my friend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Decius chimed as he persistently swung his saw at the taller man like a baseball bat.
Just as he suspected, Decius wouldn't listen to reason. Fredrich looked to Ellery and Daniel then to the scientist. "Look!" he said while pointing towards the two. "We brought candy as a sign of peace!" The magic word uttered, Decius paused his attempt at slashing and turned to smile at the other two. If he was lied to, he wouldn't hesitate to strike at them too.

 

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Daniel was frozen in shock at the attacking madman, fearing for his father and his own life. This was a terrible idea, he knew it! Now Decius was going to try to kill them all, and before they could even tell him that Julian was still alive! Oh, where were Liam and Cameron when he needed them. This just sucked, it really did. Why couldn't he be part of a normal fam-
"Here." Ellery stepped forward, unafraid as he held out the practically bursting bag. A few bits of candy spilled out, hitting the ground with a hard smack. He set his free hand on his hip, hard eyes staring at the crazed scientist. "We got all your favorites, too. Just calm down and put the saw away before the candy goes bad." His tone was calm, but firm. This was no day for him to deal with a childlike crazy person.

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Sunlight reflected off of the candy wrappers and gave it a glorious shine. Licking his smiling lips, the doctor abandoned his saw - which vanished as soon as he let go of it - and dashed for the candy. He crouched down besides it and buried his gloved hands into it to find any taffy.
Fredrich took the time to dust himself off. "If you wouldn't mind," he told the doctor, "we'd like to tell you something important. I'd rather we talk inside." Decius hastily nodded, much more willing to listen now, and hefted the bag over his shoulder as he walked into the asylum that had screams for help coming out of it.
The detective watched him walk away, ignoring the cries for help that he, as an officer, was obligated to help with. He turned to smile at Ellery, then caught Daniel's pale expression. "What?" he grunted. "You think I can't hold my own because I'm old? This isn't the first time Decius has tried to kill me." He smirked at his son then turned and walked into the darkness inside the asylum, casually putting his hands into his pockets.

 

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The green-eyed songwriter cocked an eyebrow at his lover, unable to hold back at smile. That settled it, the detective was definitely going to get laid as soon as they got home. If there was anything that got Ellery randy, it was witnessing how perfectly manly Fredrich was. Catching up, he hooked one arm through Fredrich's left, smirking up at him. "Why, Detective Waltz. I'm afraid you're being very sexy right now," he teasingly scolded, licking his lips.
Daniel stood with a slack jaw, surprised at his father. He really did still have it. Shaking himself from his thoughts, he rushed forward to catch up to his parents, cringing at the dialogue. "Gross. Can't you wait until you're behind closed doors?"

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"Is that a problem?" Fredrich chuckled down at the brunette, flexing his arm to tease the man. He glanced over when he heard Daniel and chuckled.
The hallways reminded the detective of a police corridor. The rooms each had their doors closed tightly, some of them having disfigured creatures banging and screaming at the impenetrable windows. It was an image that no longer haunted the assassin. At first he was severely bothered, almost to the point of not being able to walk in or talk to Cameron, but it faded away fast. It was like learning about a juicy secret, the urge to gossip about it was strong, but after a while one would manage to contain it.
Finally, they reached Decius's main room. It was a good-sized lab, where a spotlight shined down on a hospital bed with restraints. Three similar ones rested against the wall with curtains separating them. On the other half of the room stood a large cabinet the Fredrich remembered held most of Decius's chemicals, and the drawers had extra clothes for when the scientist switched personalities. Next to the closet, separated by another curtain, was a wall of TVs. There were about ten, five of them on important rooms while other would switch to another room every other second. There were more TVs in a different room, but these were here since Decius was almost always here. Speaking of which, when Fredrich gazed forward he saw the doctor sitting at his desk across from the security section, the bag on his lap and chocolate smearing his face. He looked like a child. A psychotic, smiling child.
"What is it you are wanting to be telling me???????????" Decius asked once he was done eating his handful of sugary sweets. Fredrich looked to Daniel. You were the one who found him, you should tell him about it, his gaze said.

 

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"Oh!" Ellery giggled despite himself, gently squeezing the flexed muscles he'd been enjoying greatly since they first started going out, and even before. "I'll answer that question when we get home~" Ellery's steps were lighter than his husband's and his son's, although his gaze remained on that of his partner's. Still a bit more humane than the other three, Ellery was disturbed by the moans of pain and the horrible conditions of these poor creatures, knowing there was nothing he could do to help them. He had to stomach it, though, and did so by focusing on his lover's handsome face.
Upon reaching the main room, Ellery managed to perch himself on the edge of a stool, legs crossed and back straight. Just because he didn't like where he was, that didn't mean he couldn't be dignified.
Daniel stood near his parents, nervous despite his usual cool demeanor. Opening his mouth, he poured out the information he'd discovered the night before, not holding back a single scrap of information. He spoke in detail of Julian's appearance, his hair slowly growing back and vacant eyes that didn't recognize him, and how he seemed to believe that Daniel had tried to kill him.

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Decius listened throughout it all, occasionally taking a bite out of some random candy he plucked out. Although his smile never faltered, his eyes showed how concerned he was.
Silence filled the room when Daniel finished talking. The walls were soundproof, so the wails of his test subjects was completely null, and even if it wasn't Decius would only smile in pleasure. He stayed seated across from the trio, his hands digging around the candy bag every so often, the rustling the only noise that was made.
"The answer you are seeking is of a simple difficulty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he finally chimed in happily. "Finding him is what you are to repeat!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then we will take him to the place that is here by using the force!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Are you saying that we kidnap him?" Fredrich raised an eyebrow at the doctor, who nodded eagerly in response.
"The result you will be receiving if you are leaving him in the area that is there and not here is more of the emotion anger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he explained, saying that if Julian stayed with Nobutaka any longer then all he'd do is believe that Daniel's more and more of a monster.

 

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Ellery sat completely still, lips pursed and nose scrunched as if he'd smelled something awful. Leaning closer to Fredrich, he whispered in a horrified tone: "Oh my God, I think I understood him." He placed a hand over his heart, not sure whether this was a good or bad thing. He'd never really understood Decius in the past, trying to keep their meetings limited to Rieux's side of Decius' personality, but it seemed that he'd been exposed just enough.
On the other hand, Daniel stepped closer and held up his hands in confusion. "But how?" he asked, attention solely on the doctor. "Finding him the first time was pure coincidence. I couldn't find him a second time easily."

Meanwhile, a purple-haired doctor sat in bed wearing his pajamas, although he looked as if he hadn't changed in a day or two. His hair was matted and tangled, skin pallid and sallow, and clearly hadn't eaten or slept in weeks. His body attempted to repair itself constantly, although his exhaustion and hunger frequently reversed its work. The bags under his eyes would disappear, only to reappear minutes later, his vacant eyes staring out at the bedroom he hadn't left since he'd lost his son a second time. He couldn't see anything, wouldn't speak except for in incoherent babbles, and had presumably lost his mind.
Again.

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"But finding you for the time of the first is what he has done simultaneously!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Decius giggled delightedly. "Hunting you in the area of the meeting of the first time you had is what he will be doing of a higher frequency!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He smiled wider than normal and pointed at Daniel. "The creature you are owning that was made by me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She owns the capability of making the search we are having easier!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
As the doctor giddily formed a plan, Fredrich glanced sideways at his spouse. "Might as well get used to it." was his advice. "Soon enough you'll be able to understand him as well as his sane side."

Cameron just sat in the living room, staring numbly at the TV that wasn't even turned on. His clothes were disheveled and had stains from food that was baby fed to him; his chin was covered in both drool and stubble; all his muscle mass had vanished as his regeneration focused on keeping his stress-induced ulcers under control. When he first got the ulcers he happily welcomed them, because the pain was the only thing he could feel.
Now even that was numb.
The door clicked open, but the officer barely noticed it. Officer, he couldn't even be called that anymore. The Chief suspended him, telling him to come back when he was better. That meant he was fired.
"Still, uh... Still watching TV?" a voice said. It could've been familiar, it should've been familiar, but it wasn't. Cameron's brain didn't recognize anything anymore.
The man that now stood near the couch looked almost Cameron's age, though he was at least a decade older. He had semi-long brown hair pulled into a ponytail, and concerned green eyes on the breathing skeleton. Seeing that he would get no response, Hayden sighed to himself and walked towards the bedroom, spotting the slumped figure in the sheets. "Liam? You doing okay? You hungry?"