The sound of banging on the door broke any kind of silence that may have been created within this hell. Honestly, it was probably better, he'd come to prefer the noise in these situations rather than the silence. The silence was worse...dangerous. It left one with their own thoughts, memories, that was far worse than going face to face with those...things. While at first glance, this place looked much like the hell of STEM that he was familiar with...but it wasn't. There was no core, no linking of minds other than one. If anything, it was merely more of a glorified simulation put in motion by those bastards.

It was to push the subject...to study them like a lab rat, something he'd sadly become more accustomed to. How long had it been now? Just about three years he supposed, three years since he'd been a normal detective and fallen into something he never could have dreamed of. It was all so surreal still, he remembered being shot...sure he was going to die, risking his life to try and protect someone who could have very well ended up being their downfall. Next thing...he was in the labs, where he'd remained until now. MOBIUS, the monsters behind the scene, it wasn't surprising they had no intention of simply letting him walk away after that. At the same time, he wasn't honestly surprised they hadn't killed him either.

As much as they sang of wanting to use the STEM reserch for the 'good' of mankind...there were always other uses for it. MOBIUS had proven more than once they had little trouble with using darker means, especially against those who crossed them. It was not a stretch to think they might possibly think of weaponizing it. They were interested in the affects it had on a subject...and unfortunately he seemed to have become their favorite to toy with. In the original system, he had come to learn that there was...something...lurking inside of his mind, his being that he did not want to address. He was well aware of the growth of it since then, but fortunately keeping it at bay was manageable, due to the intense desire to survive and to get out that had taken up root within him. Long ago most would have given up hope and after the hells he'd been through, he probably should've as well...but...something refused to let him break that far.

Another strike and the door splintered a bit. A pair of glowing white eyes behind a deformed face looked through, an inhumane growl directed at him. There was no more denying it...no more remaining here safe behind the blocked wood. He wouldn't be surprised if they had been purposfully pushed in his direction...since the whole point of this was to force him into combat. Glancing down at the gun in hand, he slipped the clip out to check it. Seven shots...he was going to have to make it count. Taking a deep breath, he looked up and raised the gun, aiming it at the door beyond. With another rush, the door broke and the first one breached.

He didn't even hesitate, pulling the trigger so the bullet flew across the room right between those eyes. The first fell but was soon replaced by two more. They made a move for him, but he was able to dodge out from under and move towards the door. Tensing, he saw the chainsaw comming and managed to drop into a roll just as it sliced right where he'd just been and lodged itself into the doorframe.

"Dammit..." he pushed himself up and took off down the street.

Those things all around, already coming out of the scene and taking to chasing after him. This was to out in the open, he'd never have decent cover here like this. Turning off the main street, he headed down the ally. As odd as it sounded, he was aware there was a graveyard nearby. A terrible idea...but at least better cover. Pushing open the gates, he could hear the mass of growls and sounds growing behind him. He turned on his heel, raising the gun to fire at one that had gotten uncomfortably close. It dropped, but four more were bursting through the gates themselves.

One had a gun themselves, aiming a shot in his direction. In order to avoid it, he ducked behind a large statue of an angel missing its head...how fitting. The shot chipped at the statue to his side, the moment in pause allowing him to turn out and take out the holder of the gun. Unfortunately, he didn't see the one rushing from the right in time. It dove at him, hitting him hard in the side. The two went crashing down to the ground and down the side of a hill. The air knocked out of him, it took a moment for his eyes to refocus, a cough leaving him as he lifted his foot to kick at the creature now clawing at his other leg.

He stood, with every intention to fire his gun...only to realize he no longer had it. Glancing around, he spotted it a bit aways...right where a series of those things were sliding down the hill.

"Great..." weaponless...not good at all.

"You know...it wouldn't be as hard if you simply quit wasting both our times and let me out" the voice sent a chill through him.

Up upon a large mausoleum, a far to familiar face sat casually with crossed legs. The face...was his, but those eyes. They shone in the moonlight, cold and icy...with nothing left of humanity within them. The man gone...only the cold and calculating monster left behind.

"Never" he snapped, only to have the other chuckle at him.

"Then you'll get us both killed" was the answer, before he was gone.

However, at the base of said mausoleum, something caught his eye. A slight glint, lodged in the wall...an axe. Not his preferred choice, bad memories, but if it served for now.. He ducked to the side, he just needed to reach it. A hand closed around the handle, it felt far more sturdy than many of the others around. He pulled with all his weight, slipping it out of the wall and turning just in time to catch the side of one of those thing's heads. Blood sprayed from the wound, but by now...he was sadly used to such getting on him.

It fell to the ground, his heart pounding within his chest. Frowning, he caught sight of the others advancing. Fine...if this was what was needed... He placed a foot on the body, before pulling up on the axe to dislodge it from the skull. Gripping onto the handle with both hands, he didn't even hesitate to move forward and make use of the weapon to his advantage. In truth...he felt much better hacking away at those things, the anger and annoyance that had built up within him exploading forth for the moment. They should've been far more afraid of him than he was of them at this point.

The final one falling, his breath was in a series of pants now, and the weight of what had just happened was slowly sinking in as the high faded. Blood streaked across his glasses, he stepped back from the body and fell back against a gravestone. Almost ripping off his glasses, a hand moved to his head as his eyes closed. Dammit...when would this stupid trial end? He glanced at the glasses and slowly a softer gaze replaced the darker one in his eyes. He moved them to his shirt, cleaning them away. He knew they were not the real ones...that resided outside on his body...but still, it was a sense of normalcy in this hell.

Standing, he replaced them, he just needed to keep going a bit... He tensed, feeling the presence of something behind him. He turned, fully prepared to see one of those things behind him, but what he saw caught his breath.

"Sebastian..."

The form of the other stood across from him in the moonlight. It was clearly him...but the pulsing sores and trails across his skin clearly akin to that of someone affected like back in Beacon by that madman. The other took a few steps closer towards him.

"Why did you have to get in the way like that...You weren't around when I needed you...when I needed my partner" the anger and venom in the voice made a slight chill run through him.

He took a slight step back, "I...I didn't..."

The other raised a gun in his direction, "you abandoned me...you dissappeared and let me blame myself for everything!"

A shot fired, it raked across his shoulder. Letting out a surprised yell, a gloved hand clamped around the wound, the sting of it bringing him back to reality. The 'Sebastian' couldn't be real...no...this was a ploy, they were playing with his head again. Anger once more welled up inside of his chest, mixed with guilt and a deep pain. No...he was NOT going to allow them to use the other like this. Turning, he moved as another shot was fired at him. He backtracked, running against the bullets that more than once got to close for comfort.

There, he saw it from before. His gun laying on the ground, he dipped down to pick it up and turned. A hand clamped around his neck, caught off guard by it as he was turned and slammed against the nearest tree hard enough to daze him for a moment. How had the other gotten so close so fast? He saw those eyes, all the kindness gone from them...this was not the man he'd once known at all.

"Now you will pay..."

He saw the gun rising, well aware that it would be aimed at him and the last thing he would see if he did not react now.

"Sebastian..." the name left his lips with a bit of strain due to the hand around his neck.

He had no time to hesitate, moving his own hand to slam the handle of his gun down at the other's face. A angry yell and the other stumbled back enough to drop him. A hand moving to rub his neck, he watched as the other turned back to look at him. The side of his face cracked...almost like a mask, exposing one of the glowing eyes beneath. No...that wasn't Sebastian...and yet... As it chagred at him and he raistd his gun...

"I'm sorry..." Joseph pulled the trigger.