'Licht is alive, and he's in a coma.' Leila thought.
She felt so relieved, her legs felt like they would give out.
'He's alive! But-'
A sudden trepidation came over her, knowing that he might not be in the best condition.
'We have to find him before it's too late!'
"Why are you three huddling in there?" Ray said as he walked in, his hands on his hips and Mina not far behind him. "I told you to call me when you found something."
"We found a file of everything we're looking for." Subaru informed.
"Everything we need to know about the orphanage is here." Nalalie added as she handed over the folder and Ray took it quietly.
Subaru, Nalalie and Leila looked at each other, waiting as Ray and Mina skimmed through the files.
"This is..." Ray trailed off as his eyes ran rapidly through each page until he stopped and leaned back, Mina doing the same as she somehow managed to keep up.
"So all our assumptions have finally been given proof." Mina said.
"Yes, we were right about most things." Subaru said.
Ray grit his teeth.
"This is the cause of everything that's happened to us. How could they even approve such a research proposal?" He said.
"Ray..." Leila spoke his name, but trailed off as she didn't know what else to say.
"There's something we call ethics. This isn't even debatable. They clearly treated us like animals."
Subaru, Mina and Nalalie didn't say anything, but they clearly look upset.
'Do they feel the same?'
"Nobody's happy about this, old man." Mina muttered as she folded her arms over her chest and Ray hissed out a frustrated groan.
"It's no use complaining. He's dead." Subaru said.
"Yeah, and we're out here, dying." Ray said.
Leila bit her lip.
'I know it's wrong, and I can't speak for everyone. But... The only thing Silas Ackerman did wrong was think he knew best.'
"Let's look on the bright side." Leila said. "At least we're far from where we started."
"You're quite the optimist." Mina said.
"Is that a bad thing?" Leila asked.
Ray finally chuckled.
"Nah, it's part of your charm." Subaru said. "Even in a desperate situation like this, it's refreshing to hear something like that."
"How is that charming?" Leila asked. "Aren't you supposed to look for the silver lining in everything?"
Ray set a hand on her head, tousling her hair.
"A lot of people can say that, but they're not as convincing." He said.
'Is he saying that am?'
She couldn't help but smile.
'That's good to know.'
"What do we do now?" Leila asked.
Ray stepped back, placing his finger nose in thought.
"I'd say finding Licht is our top priority now." Mina said and Ray nodded.
"The experiment is no longer a mystery." He said. "Now, about Licht... Do you have any clues as to where he could be?"
Leila hummed in thought.
"I would say a hospital, but considering the circumstances, that doesn't seem likely." Nalalie said.
"Yeah, no normal hospital is going to take in someone who's in a coma from some crazy experiment." Ray agreed.
"Which means there's a high chance he's in the orphanage." Mina said.
Leila thought back to the room where they first met Licht in the Nightmare World.
'If I remember correctly, there's a door at the back of the records room leading to another room.'
It was then that she realised that given their current location, the room where they found Licht should be right around there. But all she saw in front of her was a wall with no door in sight.
'Something's strange about this wall...'
Leila gently placed her hand on the wall where the door was in the Nightmare World.
"Something feels off about this wall..." She said, voicing her thoughts.
She knocked on the wall. The areas where the door should've be seemed to make a different sound.
"I knew it. It's hollow on the other side. There must be a room!" She said.
"Huh. A hidden door." Ray said. "Now that think about it, this is where Licht was in the Nightmare World."
Mina gave the wall a kick, and the door opened with ease.
"Father must have made modifications after the fact." Subaru said. "Guess there's something really important back here."
'Something important. That something must be...'
Leila felt her heart jump in anticipation.
'Licht is on the other side!'
She tried to take a step, hoping to find who she was looking for. A familiar scent hit her nostrils.
It's the room they found Licht in. The only thing that's different was that there were medical supplies and equipment lying around.
"It smells like a hospital in here." Ray commented.
The group of five all looked around and found shelves with different medical equipment.
"Guys." Subaru said, gaining their attention.
At the corner of the room, they saw an occupied bed.
"Is that... Licht?" Leila spoke hopefully.
They drew closer to see a young man with dark hair and pale skin. There were numerous tubes attached to his body, his face half-covered with an oxygen mask.
A surge of emotion came over Leila as she recognised him.
'It's you! Finally, I found you...'
The corners of her eyes started to burn, and Leila gripped the bed frame to keep herself from falling. She tried to reach out, but Nalalie intercepted her wrist.
"Careful." She told her.
Nalalie let go of her and Leila clasped her hands together close to her chest, feeling the ache as she watched Licht's chest rise and fall with each breath.
Mina walked over to Ray as the two of them focused on the wires attached to Licht's body.
"He's been kept alive all these years." Mina spoke, her voice surprisingly soft.
"Do you think he's okay?" Leila asked.
"Well, his heart rate is normal." Ray said as he looked at the others from over his shoulder.
"His breathing seems regular too." Mina added.
Her medical expertise might be with animals, but it doesn't mean she doesn't know a thing or two about how to treat a human or check their vitals.
The two of them then proceeded to check the other machines, clicking on the screens to see if there's some else it can tell them.
'I'm relieved Ray knows how to deal with these things. Mina too.'
"That's odd." Mina said.
"What is it?" Subaru asked.
"The recent records show some heightened activity." Ray said. "We'll have to access older data from the EEG to compare if his brainwaves have been this active."
"EEG?" Leila asked in confusion.
"Electroencephalogram." Mina replied simply.
Ray pressed a button, and the machine started to hum softly. Not a second later, some paper started printing. They could see the lines clearly going above and below the margin. It doesn't take an expert to know what it means.
"He might've been asleep all this time, but his mind's been awake." Ray said. "In fact, he might actually be listening to us right now."
They all took a moment to look at Licht.
Leila's heart sunk.
'He's in peaceful slumber, but who knows how much pressure his body and mind have been under after all these years?'
"Go ahead." Ray said as he put his hands in his pockets and nodded his head to the side, as if telling her to go. "I think he'd appreciate some comfort right now."
She chuckled, if only to stop herself from crying, then leaned close to the bed.
"Hey..." Leila said as she reached out, taking Licht's warm hand in hers. "I'm here."
'He looks like he's going to wake up any minute, but he's trapped alone in the Nightmare World.'
The thought of it made her feel helpless, and she gripped Licht's hand to help fight back her tears.
"We're here, Licht. I'm here." She called out to him, but there was only silence.
'It's not like I was hoping for a reply... I'm just glad that we finally found you. You've been fighting for your life here this whole time.'
"Is there any chance of him regaining consciousness?" Nalalie asked.
"I can't say, but we can try waking him up." Ray said.
Ray went over to the bed and took out a flashlight. There's a beam of light as he clicks it on and uses it to examine Licht's eyes.
"Nystagmus... His oculomotor nerve is damaged." Ray said.
"So it could be an Aneurysm." Mina said.
"No... What should we do?" Leila asked worriedly as she gripped Licht's hand tighter.
"Subaru, try pressing a pen on his big toe." Mina said as she tossed the younger male a pen and he caught it perfectly before doing as he'd been asked.
"Give it some more pressure. We need to find out if he'll respond to pain." Ray said.
Subaru nodded, poking into Licht's skin, careful not to cause any real damage.
'There's nothing.'
"He's unresponsive, Leila..." Ray said.
'No...'
"As you can see, he's currently vegetative. Medically, there's nothing we can do for him."
'Nothing we can do?'
Leila felt like her world had suddenly gone dark.
"Looks like our only hope is to end the nightmare as soon as possible." Mina said.
"If that world disappears, Licht's consciousness will be forced to come back to ours. In theory." Ray added.
"You're probably right. We can't give up yet, Leila." Nalalie said as she placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Licht is still here, alive and breathing. Now all I have to do is accept my memories, and we're good." Subaru said. "I'll do my best..."
"Subaru, Nala, Mina, Ray..." Leila spoke, subconciously using Nalalie's nickname, which the younger girl didn't seem to mind.
'I'm so glad to have you guys.'
"You're right. We've still got hope." Leila said. "Let's make a future where we can wake up in this world again with smiles on our faces!"
"Atta girl." Mina said.
"That's the spirit." Ray said. "But this isn't good. Silas was the one looking after him, right? That means he was left here alone after Silas died."
Ray then began looking around the room in search of something.
'What is he looking for?'
"What's up, Ray?" Leila asked as she watched him curiously. "Did you need something?"
"Yeah, I-" Ray paused as he opened a lower cabinet and looked at her. "I need an IV bag."
Ray's eyes went to the IV drip. Leila followed his eyes to find the bag of fluids was empty.
"So that's what you were looking for." Mina said as she too eyed the bag. "I'll see what I can find."
"I'll help too." Leila said.
"Nala and I will go check that side." Subaru said.
Subaru and the three girls all moved about the room and Mina found herself going to the nearest thing to her- the fridge.
It's huge and rusty in some spots, but surprisingly, she opened it easily.
'It's got to be in here somewhere.' Mina thought.
Inside the fridge there were heavy bags filled with dark, reddish fluid that Mina knew had to be blood. Upon closer inspection she realised she was correct.
The next shelf seemed to be stacked with bags containing clear fluids. She took one and read the label carefully to make sure.
"Here we go, saline solution." Mina said with a smile as she held up the bag. "Hey, Ray, here's-"
She called out to Ray as she turned around, but her breath caught in her throat as she looked at him.
Ray hummed in question, but he wasn't looking at her.
He focused on his wristwatch, the time ticking away as he ran his thumb against the IV drop controls.
Ray stood tall, looking professional. A stethoscope hung over his neck, and he bobbed his head up and down to check the conditions with care.
'He certainly looks like a real doctor right now.'
Mina couldn't help but find herself attracted to his intense gaze.
'I bet he'd look good in a lab coat.'
"Did you find it?" He asked as he slowly turned to Mina, his eyes as soft as his smile.
"Yeah, here." Mina said as she rushed over to hand him the bag, and he took it gently.
Ray checked the contents of the bag and looked at her.
"Not bad, for a veterinarian." He lightly teased.
"Oh, shut up. We're not that different." Mina replied with an eye roll, though she couldn't help the small smile on her face.
Suddenly, she felt his hand run through her hair.
"Thanks." He told her as Leila came over to them. "Leila, help me out here. I need you to hold his hand."
"Okay." Leila replied as she did as she was told.
Mina smiled softly at him.
'Yeah. Ray will be a great doctor.'
A/N: Another chapter for my lovely readers! I hope you all Enjoy!