William reached the door without any trouble and put his hand up against the bright light, but couldn't see anything beyond. He turned to look back and saw Susan just standing there, hands out as if she was afraid of losing her balance. He looked her pointedly up and down, an eyebrow twitching up. "You coming?"

   Shooting an annoyed glare at William she responded, "Yes." Her gut clenching in anticipation, she took a step forward. The panel slid out from under her foot again. Dropping down with a gasp, she was able to catch herself by throwing both hands out and stopping herself before she slid past her under arms. Grunting, she wiggled herself back up as quickly as she could.

   Kneeling beside the closing panel, Susan clenched her fists in anger. Frustrated and embarrassed. Getting to her feet once more, she turned toward William and the door with a set expression. She bent her knees, and took off like a shot.
   The first panel her foot touched gave out, and so did the next. It threw off her balance as she ran, making the crossing difficult. As she closed the distance, her foot caught on the edge of a panel, causing her to trip. With a cry of surprise, she fell forward and crash rolled across the floor. That brought her to the door in a bruised and throbbing heap, her lip bleeding from where she had bit it by accident after hitting the floor.

William did nothing but make a thoughtful noise as he looked down at her. Then he turned and proceeded through the doorway. His fists were clenched, but he was not aware of that.

   Susan grimaced as she got to her feet, muttering, "Thanks for the help." She followed him through the doorway, fingering her bleeding lip. Elbows and knees burning, she raised her head to take a look at the room they had just entered.

She almost collided with William's back, he had stopped so suddenly. He was staring, wild eyed and open mouthed, at the smallish square room they had entered.

It was a well appointed little room, a well worn but clean blue couch against one wall, faint daylight filtering through the white blinds across the rectangular window above it. There was a straight backed piano against the other wall, beside a doorway that lead into a small kitchen with linoleum floors. An oval coffee table rested before the couch, on the pale beige carpet that had been flattened by years of feet, a few creased paperbacks stacked on one side. Two appeared to be romances, and the rest were fantasy or science fiction novels, the titles well known to William's dazzled eyes. There was the faint sound of traffic, the rattling hum of an air conditioning unit somewhere nearby. It even smelled right, like the caramel candles his mother lit to dampen the oily smell of the city. If he were to look back where they had come, he would see only the closed front door, the metal covering on the door handle worn away in a pattern he had memorized, both by eye and by the feel on his palm.
"My... my home," he said in a strangled voice. He moved to the large flat screen television mounted on the wall and gave it a tug. The mount squealed as it moved, and tears sprung to his eyes. He hadn't heard that sound in five years. His father had refused to oil it, claiming that the squeal was a perfect high C.
He hadn't seen this place in five years, had not even allowed himself to daydream of it for almost three. It was such a shock that he forgot where he was. He dashed to the kitchen door, screaming, "Mom! Dad!"

   Susan had stared in equal shock, but at William. She knew it couldn't be. There was no possible explanation. She reached out to grab him when he jumped for the kitchen, shouting, "Don't!" but had not caught him, her hand swiped through nothing but air. Her yell mingling with his, she followed after him to the doorway.

   Inside, she roiled at the injustice, the cruelty that was being done. Especially to William. How dare they? What was going to happen to him now? Her chest ached and her ears got hot in anger. What would happen to him? ...What would it do to her?

When she passed through the kitchen doorway there was a flash of light and a sharp ringing in her ears; when it passed, she saw a horribly familiar sight. Filthy, cracked linoleum, flickering fluorescent lights. They were back in the hospital, and several people in white scrubs waited for them, smiling.
William crashed to his knees and started howling in despair. Two orderlies pounced on him with a straight jacket ready, and two more grabbed her and dragged her into the next room.

   Susan fought the orderlies as they dragged her kicking and screaming into the next room, "William!" she shouted his name over and over until the door slammed shut. The last time his name left her lips, it turned into a tortured wail. Dropping limp in their arms, Susan bit back angry, hurt tears.

"Exquisite. The feelings between them are deepening at the projected rate."
"Yes. Showing the boy his home was a stroke of genius, Doctor."
"Yes, well. He's been here longer, and it definitely had more impact than showing the girl her past would have. Turning her empathy against her. How is the boy?"
"He's quieted down. It really did a number on his mind."
"Yes. But I know just the cure."

She was carried back to her room and locked inside. Hours pass with no changes.

Night comes. Morning comes. Bland food is deposited through her door every few hours.

Finally, she hears her door unlock. Two orderlies enter with an empty wheelchair, and Dr. Horrible walking slowly behind them.

"Sit," he orders simply, gesturing to the chair. The addition of velcro manacles to the arms and leg rests of the rickety chair is painfully obvious.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:44, Fri 13 Feb 2015.

   With dark circles under her eyes, and dark thoughts churning through her head, she stood from the corner where she had been sitting. Seeing the Dr. again brought a surge of hate through her body, catching her breath for a moment. Susan slowly stepped up to the wheelchair, "Where are we going?" she asked, turning to fall back into the seat and sit her hands clasped in  her lap.

The orderlies immediately secured her feet, then forced her arms to the armrests and secured them as well. They started along the hallway at a leisurely pace.
"We are going to visit W. Blake. William." Dr. Horrible frowned slightly, looking a little perturbed. "It seems that last test... well, he's become utterly useless. He's been one of our best for some time, and rather than see him euthanized immediately I've managed to convince the others to, ah, give him one last chance." He eyed her, calculating as coldly and precisely as a computer. "If he doesn't respond to you, I'm afraid he'll have to go."

   Susan's breathing quickened and her heart skipped a beat when she realized what Dr. Horrible was saying. She turned her head to look at him, and quickly turned away again, only seeing ice. She fought to keep calm, her mind racing ahead at a frightening pace.
   If William knew that if he didn't improve, then he would be gone. She would never see him again, she would never get out. She would be utterly alone. Compared to not having William anymore, her revenge idea dimmed drastically. She began to think about what she could do to bring him back, trying not to believe that she was being completely selfish to try and keep him in this horrific place.
   Would it be better if she let him go? She hated that thought the moment it emerged, but couldn't deny the fact that it was what he had longed for since she first met him. Hot tears stung her eyes and she quickly blinked them away.

   She swallowed past a dry throat, "What do you want me to do?" she asked roughly. She stole another look at the doctor, making sure her expression was equally as cold as his.

"Talk to him. Touch him. Beat him, if you feel you must. Anything to get him to respond. You'll only have until the end of the day, so don't dawdle."
As the doctor finished speaking they pulled up in front of a door. While one orderly unlocked the many locks on it, the other unstrapped her. When the door opened the room beyond was totally dark, only some of the filthy padded flooring visible in the weak light of the hallway. The orderly gave her a shove and she tripped through the doorway. The door slammed behind her, the locks clunked back into place. It was long seconds later before the dim lights finally flickered on.
William was sitting cross-legged on the floor, leaning against the wall to her left, a straight-jacket loosely binding his arms. He shifted every now and then, lips moving slowly, soundlessly, and his eyes were constantly moving, as if searching for something, though his head only moved occasionally, and only in small jerks. His hair was lank with sweat and hung over his deep set eyes.
He didn't react to her presence.

   Taking in the sight of William tore open a wound in her chest. A strangled gasp was covered by her hand over her open mouth. A shiver ran up her spine and she swallowed. Susan watched him for a few moments, fighting back horrified and hurt tears. She remembered the Doctors' words then, and hurried over to crouch in front of him.
   Putting her hands on his knees, she shook him gently, keeping her voice down, "William. William?" she leaned in close, watching his eyes dart erratically, "Look at me." she pleaded.

There was some slight reaction to her voice, as his eyes briefly met hers, wide and unfocused, but then they fell away and he looked down, eyes flicking between her hands.

Next door Dr. Horrible and several associates were settling in to observe. Dr. Horrible heard a few of them talking behind him, placing small wagers as to whether the boy would wake up for the girl or not.
He was very anxious about this portion of the test. All had gone perfectly according to their design, and this was one of the most critical stages. The future of the experiment rested upon it.
They could continue getting data out of the girl if they had to kill the boy, but it wouldn't be as fun. Dr. Horrible found himself rooting her on, but didn't place a bet. He didn't go in for that sort of thing.
"Was breaking him so completely really necessary?" One of his research assistants asked as he took a seat next to him. "What if this doesn't work?"
"It was necessary," The doctor said, cruel eyes on the screens. "It's part of the program to reawaken W. Blake's will to live. He must choose to go on, to keep living, and we've supplied the only reason. If S. Black does not pull him out of it after all, the experiment can go on as we measure the affects and stages of grief."
The assistant smirked. "But we'd rather not go that route, yes?"
The doctors face mirrored that expression, but it was a thousand times worse. "Yes."

   Susan rubbed his knees gently, before moving her hands to place them on William's face, "Keep looking at me, Will." she gently rubbed her thumbs on his cheeks. She smiled hopefully and brushed his hair from his forehead, "You gotta tell me that you're in there. Somehow."

William hiccuped softly, then a slight frown creased his forehead and he leaned his head back to get away from her hands. The way his neck stretched reminded her of the first time they met, when he had asked her to step on his throat. The top of his head bumped against the padded wall behind him, and rolled from side to side. His teeth clicked as he snapped his jaw shut. Air whistled as he sighed through his teeth. His eyes were still aimlessly searching, searching for nothing.

   Tears stung Susan's eyes and she sucked in a breath through her own teeth, "I'll bring you back. You won't stay away from me." she murmurs. Moving forward, she settles down to sit on his lap. She takes her hands from his face and turns to rubbing his arms, "I'm not going to leave you." she promises, Dr. Horrible's own promise gnawing at the back of her mind.

William's head drops back down after a moment. There's still no real reaction to her. He shifts his hips under her weight, and his mouth resumes moving as if he were whispering, but no sound comes out.

   Susan bites her lip and shakes her head, "Since we met, you've been rude, indifferent, and mean to me. This is the first time I haven't really been insulted upon seeing you... But, I don't like it this way." she whispers. Continuing to shake her head, she wraps her arms around him, her voice taking on a rough tone, "So why should I care about you so much?" she rocks him back and forth gently, keeping her voice just above a whisper, "You saved me. More than once..."

   As she talks to him, she studies his face, her eyes drawn to his mouth. Her own words die out quietly, and she focuses on trying to read what his voiceless lips are saying.

After a few minutes she realizes he is repeating something. It takes her awhile to work it out.
"I'm darkness. I'm anger. I'm sorrow. I'm pain."
Slowly, over and over.

   Once she realizes what he is saying, Susan puts her hands on the sides of his face again, "Will, stop it. Stop it now!" she grabs his shoulders and shakes him, "You can't let them win!" she pleads, "This is exactly what they want. You've never given them what they wanted before!"

   Susan stops shaking him and sighs. Raising a hand to gently brush his hair away once more, she leans in right close to his ear, hoping the doctors can't hear, and whispers, "That's why I love you."
   Turning her head, she closes her eyes and leans in to plant a soft, warm kiss on his lips.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:12, Thu 19 Feb 2015.

A jolt flew through William's body. His face came forward, returning the kiss quite passionately. His arms weakly fought the straight-jacket as if he wanted to raise them to her.
When they pulled apart from each other, William's eyes focused on hers, kind of. They still jittered and he seemed not quite all there yet.
"I... know you," he murmured. "You... spoke the... unspeakable vow...."

   Susan smiled at him and laughed softly, a relieved tear rolling down her cheek, "Unspeakable vow?" she asked in a whisper, her head tilting to one side. She kept her eyes focused on his, but her hands moved to undo the straps and velcro confining him in the straight jacket.

He groaned, his head slowly dropping onto her shoulder, where he whispered faintly, "I... love... you... too."

Nearby, there was scattered applause and relieved murmurs, as well as grumbles while several people handed over the money they owed.
Dr. Horrible sighed. Now they could really get started.