Nira just finished checking on all the patients in the ward.
"Finally," she mutters to herself as she heads out for her break.
As she's walking, she sees someone coming toward her - Nathan.
"Hey, Nathan. Did you fall asleep in your office again?"
But he doesn't respond. He just glances at her coldly and keeps walking down the hall.
"That was rude," she thinks. "What could've happened that has him in such a bad mood?"
"Hey-hey, Nathan!" she calls out again, more frustrated this time.
No reaction.
"He's acting very strange today..." she thinks as she continues on her way.
---
Nathan and Sera are checking every room they come across, hoping to find the unknown entity.
"Find anything, Sera?" Nathan asks.
"Nothing here. You?"
"Still nothing," Nathan says. "I just hope no one else has run into it yet."
They continue racing through the halls of the Aether Institute.
Jace, on his early patrol, spots them running toward him.
"You guys are here pretty early," he says. Then he frowns at Nathan.
"Wait... how did you get here so fast? I just passed by you a few minutes ago. I guess you're quite the athlete."
Before he can say more, Sera cuts in alarmingly:
"Which way was he heading when you saw him?"
"Oh-uh, I think he turned into one of the engineering sectors. Room Four, I think."
"Thanks," Sera says, glancing at Nathan. They immediately sprint off. Jace hurries after them.
"Hey-what's going on?" he asks.
"We have to get there before he leaves. Hurry!" Nathan says.
---
They reach the room and hear footsteps and equipment clattering inside.
Nathan pushes the door open.
The Nathan imposter doesn't even flinch. It just continues searching through tools and devices.
Jace freezes, staring between the impostor and the real Nathan.
"Who... who is this guy?" he whispers.
"It's a long story," Nathan mutters.
"Hey-hey," Sera calls to the imposter. It grabs one last piece of equipment before slowly turning toward her.
"Okay, I'm gonna need you to drop that and come with us. Do you understand?" she says, trying to reason with it.
It stares at her for a moment-then suddenly punctures a gas cylinder beside it. Smoke blasts out, clouding the entire room.
"What the-where did it go?" Jace coughs, rushing forward blindly.
A door slams behind them.
"Oh no you don't," Nathan says, sprinting after the entity. Sera and Jace follow.
As Nathan runs, another sharp headache hits him. He slows down.
"Aagh..." Nathan groans. There's a whisper in his head - faint, distorted. He can't make out the words.
"Another headache?" Sera asks.
"Yeah... and it's getting worse."
"Well, just bear with it a little longer. We're close."
They're catching up - almost within reach - when suddenly-
"Aaaaghhhh!" someone screams.
"What was that?" Jace says, glancing back.
"I don't know," Sera says, eyes still locked on the entity.
"Maybe someone's in trouble... or maybe they saw my emotion lookalikes," Nathan says worriedly.
"We have to check," Nathan insists.
"But-we almost have it!" Sera says as the entity gains distance.
"Go. I'll follow the scream," Jace says, already turning.
"Alright. Come on," Nathan says, running with Sera toward the sound.
She watches Jace sprint away before following Nathan.
---
They reach the source and find Nira lying on the floor, crying uncontrollably.
"What happened?" Sera asks, kneeling beside her.
But Nira's sobbing too hard to form words.
Sera hears faint, warped voices coming from the room where the machine and emotions are kept. She stands, ready to check it out-but Nathan stops her.
"I'll go first. You stay with Nira."
"But Nathan-"
"I'll be fine. Just help her," he says firmly.
Sera nods. Nathan walks toward the room.
---
Inside, he finds Joy, Love, and Guilt lying on the ground, glitching heavily.
"What happened here..." Nathan thinks.
Then he sees Grief, standing alone near the wall, back turned.
"Hey... Grief," Nathan says cautiously.
"He's not glitching like the others," Nathan notices, uneasy.
He walks up. "Can you tell me what happened-?" he says as he gently turns Grief around.
Nathan's blood runs cold.
Grief has no face-only rippling static where one should be.
Nathan stumbles back.
"Grief...?"
Grief steps forward. His head glitches violently.
Faces flash across the distortion-people Nathan knows. People he knew. People he lost.
Each one appears for a fraction of a second before breaking apart again.
Nathan's breath shakes.
Voices erupt from the glitching static:
"Nathan?-"
"Don't leave me-"
"Why did they leave-"
"Everything keeps slipping away-"
"It's not our fault... is it?" Grief asks, voice warped into something inhuman.
Memories Nathan thought he'd buried rush up violently.
His headache spikes hard. He staggers but manages to stay standing.
"Hey-hey! Snap out of it!" Nathan says, grabbing Grief's shoulders, shaken by the voices.
"N-Nathan..." Joy says weakly as he tries to stand.
"What happened to all of you?" Nathan shouts.
"I don't know... but it's nothing to get worked up about," Joy says, forcing a wide smile.
"Don't worry! We're fine. Right, guys?" Joy says, glancing at Guilt and Love still on the floor.
"See? Just fine."
His eye twitches violently. His form glitches like static breaking apart.
Nathan steps back and turns to run-
But a massive pulse of pain hits him.
"Aaargghhh!" Nathan screams, collapsing just as he reaches the door.
A voice-his own voice-echoes in his head.
"Nathan..."
But it sounds like multiple Nathans whispering at once.
---
Sera helps Nira stand-she seems to be stabilizing-when she sees Nathan collapse outside the lab.
"Nathan!! What happened in there?" she cries, rushing to him.
"We... we need to leave. Now," Nathan says weakly.
As he says this, Sera sees something behind him.
Grief.
Walking toward them.
Face glitching horribly.
And Joy, following behind at a slower pace, smiling unnaturally wide.
Sera's heart jumps. She helps Nathan up, but he can barely keep his balance.
Nira sees the danger and runs over to help them lift him.
"A-are you okay?" Nathan manages to ask her.
"I think so," Nira says, steadying him.
Joy's voice rises:
"Don't go yet... the fun's just starting," he says, grin stretching unnaturally as his body flickers rapidly.
Nira slams the door shut and locks it.
They rush down the hall, escaping into another room.