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Narration:
As they open the door to Dr. Lazarus' office, they both see a figure sitting at his chair. Lazarus recognizes it as the other ghoul he kept in his autopsy room. It has the same glow in its eyes as Bridgewater's body did when Bridgewater's ghost was inhabiting it.
"Welcome home, Dr. Lazarus," it says, curling its lips up in a rictus. Both notice it holds several scalpels - at least a dozen - in its right hand.
((ST Note: Initiative for Dr. L and Heathcliff))
Words could not describe the outrage and anger Ith Lazarus felt at seeing his former ghoul sitting in his chair. However, such feelings were being quickly consumed by a lingering fear of seeing this was not yet over.
"Al Sterns..." His name was all Lazarus could say at the moment. His voice was heavy with contempt.
initiative
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Heathcliff eyes the apparition, and the instruments he's controlling, warily, and quietly asks Lazarus, "You're...not exactly a people person, are you, Doctor?"
Initiative
The ghoul at the desk sweeps its right hand in front of it, leaving a line of scalpels floating in midair. "Not Al," it says. "Al left this vacant, so I took it over." It gestures, thrusting out two fingers, one each at Heathcliff and Dr. Lazarus, and a scalpel flashes forward toward each. Both find flesh, biting deep.
(ST Note: 1 L damage to Heath and to Dr. L)
The sting of the scalpel was a grim reminder to the doctor that undead as he may be, he could still die. Barely audiable, it sounds as if he snarls in anger -- or is it pain? Ith Lazarus needed to end this madness now, he did not care whoever or whatever was inhabiting Al Stern’s hollow carcass; the only objective now was to get rid of it. Remembering the effective application of nightmare eariler in the autopsy room, Lazarus looks to the animated body and locks his yellowish, bloodshot, eyes with it.
((Dr. Lazarus uses Eye of the Beast))
Narration: Dr Lazarus unleashes the power of Nightmare upon Bridgewater's ghost... and finds it somehow boomeranging against himself.
((ST Note: Dr. Lazarus has to roll to resist his own use of Nightmare))
Bridgewater chuckles... a truly ghastly sound... and says: "I'm a fast learner, Dr. Lazarus... and my mastery of fear is growing by leaps and bounds."
Which was more frightening: having a dead carcass laugh off your most potent attack, or having it reflect it back on you? Which ever one of the two it was, Dr. Lazarus felt his undead heart sink at its words. It took a good amount of concentration to ward off his own discipline's effect, but Ith Lazarus was also skilled with fear.
"Yes," Lazarus snarled "but I'm already a master."
Heathcliff looks down at the blade jutting out from his dead flesh in disbelief. "Again, with the stabbing?" he asks himself, before coming to his senses and takes a heavy swing at the ghoul's jaw.
Narration: Heathcliff lands a solid blow, which rocks the creature's head back. As he does so, the line of scalpels slashes toward him, but he manages to evade it.
"It is hard to believe Dr. Lazarus has friends," Bridgewater growls at Heathcliff. "Do you really think he'll care when I destroy you?"
The fire in his eyes flares... and as the fire flares, Heathcliff's view of the ghoul and of the office changes... instead, he finds himself in his old home... he feels and tastes blood on his mouth, and sees it on his hands... and looking around, he sees Beth and Rachel, lying there, pale, their eyes staring upward, bite marks livid on their necks. On some level, Heathcliff knows this can't be real... but he can't convince his emotions of that. Dr. Lazarus sees only that Heathcliff appears frozen with fear, shaking…
"Don't you understand, Doctor Lazarus? You can't destroy me. I'm already dead. And you can't frighten me. Fear sustains me now, and this place is dripping with it, decades of it... much of it due to you. I'd thank you for making me so strong, if it wasn't your fault I'm dead!" Bridgewater snarls.
Bridgewater's ghost did have a point, Dr. Lazarus would not give a damn if Heathcliff was slaughtered tonight; it would be an unfortunate loss, yes, but nothing worth fretting over. What Lazarus was concerned about, however, was the physical damage to the body of Al. That body is needed for research, not for a punching bag. But that was the least of concern now, as Mr. Staley appeared to be caught up in some sort of horror not unlike some of the advanced uses of nightmare.
This was going to be ended now, and Lazarus knew that Bridgewater had spent so many years in these walls that he knew the rules. Fear would not win this battle, but the institution would.
"I'm going to have to ask you to behave yourself, Mr. Bridgewater." Lazarus says calmly, yet there was still that inkling of worry that this wouldn't work.
(Lazarus activates Institutionalize 2, Social Censure)
Narration: The Bridgewater-ghoul looks confused for a moment, and then Dr. Lazarus sees Bridgewater's ghost step out of the body and walk through the door, on his way out of the Doctor's wing. As Bridgewater's spectre walks toward the exit, it slowly becomes translucent and fades from view. As the spectre leaves, the ghoul cadaver slumps to the floor, and the scalpels clatter to the floor as well. To Dr. Lazarus, it appears to take less than a minute, but to Heathcliff, haunted as he is with the image of having murdered his family, it seems to take forever to shake off this terrifying vision.
Seeing Bridgewater get up and leave was a relief for Ith. Social Censure was an excellent display of the true power of an institution. The doctor knew it's application forced its victims to behave according to their role inside an institution -- and as a ghost, Robert Bridgewater was both an unwelcome entity and in an off-limits area; he had no choice but to leave.
Now it is time to strike back...
Taking back his desk and sitting down, Dr. Lazarus began making phone calls within the asylum. A total of three inmates were called in to security, each one remembered by Lazarus to be an individual afflicted with mad faith -- more specifically faith which could be used in an exorcism.
"...nononononothey'renotdeadthey'renotdeadthey're notdeadthey'renotdeadnonononono..." Heathcliff whimpers audibly as unreal images of his home, his real home, his real family, fade from his vision.
"Mr. Staley, if you'd stop standing there babbling to yourself, and pick up the mess in the hallway" Lazarus gestures outward toward the scattered scalpels and the body. "that would be most appreciated."
The chilling voice of Doctor Lazarus reaches Heathcliff just as his Nightmare fades. "Wha-what? Oh. Of-of course," he stammers, getting up and dusting himself off.
Heathcliff has that feeling of being fragile, like he's been woken from a dream too soon, and he's still a part of it. He goes out into the hallway and kneels to clean up the instruments, a tremendous sadness weighing upon his spirit. He handles each object with a gentleness it has likely never known, as though they were pieces of Rachel left strewn about the floor...
While Heathcliff cleaned up the mess in the hallway, Lazarus continued to make the inter-asylum phone calls arranging for certain inmates to be escorted down to his basement wing the next evening. There was still about an hour until sunrise, so Ith figured his asylum could be exorcised tomorrow -- tonight he needed to rest.
Mr. Staley will need to rest as well...
Getting up from his desk and staring at Heathcliff down the hallway, Lazarus speaks loud enough that his ragged voice is heard. "Mr. Staley, I will be retiring for the day. Tomorrow evening we will be preforming an exorcism of Bridgewater's troublesome spirit. If you would like to go to your haven then return, that is fine. However, if you would like to stay here for your daytime sleep -- that is fine as well. Harold will be arriving back shortly, I will notify him that if you are here when he returns to give you a cell to stay in and access to feed." The doctor goes to close the door, stopping midway he looks back to Heathcliff. "You can place the body and the other supplies next to the supply closet, Harold will take it from there."
Without waiting for a reply, Dr. Lazarus slams his door closed. If Heathcliff were to be listening carefully, he would hear the sound of several deadbolts being locked -- an odd noise considering that Lazarus' door has a keycard electronic lock. And then Mr. Staley was all alone in the basement of Amber Hill -- all except the occasional scream of the mad.
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