"Guess this hangover isn't one that'll be going away real soon, huh?"

The voice was audible though Kaethus already had suspected he'd never truly woken up after the earthquake. It was different here and it made him feel sick staring at the green colored door. Trepidation had somehow crept into his core and there was that moment of hesitation. One that probably wouldn't have existed save all of this crap had happened.

But it did. A bitter voice answered him while his hand moved out to the knob.

There was a squeeze of the handle and images flooded him. A smile moved to his face as they attacked his mind. That first night when Aaron had carried him back to the Prison and things had started. Nostalgia filled him while his eyes filled with tears. Even then things had been so much simpler. The attack on the undying, moving through ranks, meeting Monica... and then the s**t they'd had to go through when he was blinded and Aaron carried him around. Or the Casino when he'd played blackjack... and then further into the mists. Judas too, he wondered now what happened to him. The poor guy had been on his own too.

The memory of an embrace happened then, and he saw Judas there and Aaron...

"Aaron."

His brother, his protector. His family. Where was he now? There was a sorrowful pang in his body. How he hoped so badly that he wasn't here. "Sorry Aaron." He said as the door pushed in. "I couldn't stop it."

It felt like a crawling inside of his mind and he winced at the sensation as he stirred. Or did he? Sensations were different now. What was he? They? It?

Legacy.

The word repeated in his head. Yes, that was the answer. The virus. They were the virus. Memories - had they belonged to him? Nothing was sure as words moved around him. Infection had to continue, they had to spread that legacy. Memories, that was what it was. A part of it. That was what he was, they were, it was all there was now. All there-

SNAP

The sound was loud and there was a loosening feeling around him. "Uhn..." It really did feel like a hangover now. Almost immediately he could feel that something was wrong. There was nothing there. Not a hand or a leg and he let out a cry of anguish from the realization.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" Was the voice internal or external? "Aaron... Aaron I'm scared." Memories flooded him and he felt something stir, swirling around his formless entity. Vines moved through him and around to hold some sort of form. "Unn.." If he knew where his head was he'd be holding it as he dragged his vine body upward. It was a sickening green color and he looked to the corridor.

There was a frantic energy as he forced his mass forward. This isn't me, I have to find me... There were a few wobbling "steps" forward. A hope moved through him and he squirmed, focusing into the vines. "Eh?!" There was something there, a face. Was it his face? Was it his body? For a fleeting moment there was happiness.

And that was gone when the face disappeared and his memory hit him like a ton of bricks and he groaned. "Damn it." If he could feel the pain now he'd remember the ripping of his hair as a tiny girl had moved him. Was it a girl? He let out a sigh. Despite hurting him by accident she had tried her best to get him to safety. Plus she was kind of cute after all.

With a wave of his... hands? the vines moved away and he reached forward, taking the petite girl into his arms. "Don't worry." Man he wish he could feel his face to tell if he was actually smiling or not. It was a slow movement as he walked through on his vines, feeling others move away from him as he went down the stairs. Occasionally a piece would fall off and he'd keep going, looking at her.

"Not sure who or what you are but I hope you get out of this alright." There was something therapeutic about talking to her. More vines fell as he moved through, finally coiling down near the bottom of the stairs. There was something there though. People? No, it was something else.

They feel whole still.

Kaethus felt more like a worm now, using the pieces of vines to shove the rabbit girl out, watching as the shadows swarmed her to carry. One or two complaining at how heavy she was. "Good luck." He repeated, rolling himself back to the stairs and up, the vines merging back into form slowly.

There was a stumble as he brushed against another and that sorrow filled him again. This time there was no getting out. Often Kaethus had gotten into trouble but he'd gotten out. "Because Aaron was there." The voice said, his voice.

He had to see him, at least one more time. At least to have a moment to tell him everything. But how to find him in this mess?