Asylum (Story)

## Features

### Characters

* Malice
* Unnamed nurse and doctor characters
* Lahyt *(Mentioned)*

### Locations

* Chervil
	+ Definitely not canon hospital place

## Tags

### Tags

Amnesia, hospital settings, mentions of blood and self-harm

**Asylum** was written back somewhere in 2017 and it was inspired on an MLP fanfic with a similar concept *(and title I think?)*

I got bored of this story and never got to finish it since it was meant to be quite long, but the concept was still fun!

## **Summary**

Malice wakes up in a white room away from his home, and finds out his Reaper powers are seemingly gone, and the reason for this, shocks him. Apparently his whole life as a Reaper has been a hallucination, and confronted by own mortality, Malice refuses to accept this.

## **Asylum**

### **Chapter I - Awoken**

Malice winced as the bright Sun had awoken him from what had felt like a long dreamless sleep.
He groaned, attempting to turn to his side to face away from the nagging light that had disturbed his peaceful sleep, but his body felt stiff, unable to move to a more comfortable position. Ugh, could anyone just turn off the Sun for five more minutes...?

He was hugging himself for warmth but soon realized... The light, although bright and persistent, did not compare to the warm comforting rays of the sunlight, and instead, it just felt... cold... As if artificial, and electric as he swore he almost heard a quiet buzzing noise emitting from it.

Opening his eyes, he squinted as he was met with something uncomfortably bright and pure white, annoyingly touching his face. What the...?!

Grumbling, he struggled to uncover himself from the pale bed sheets that imprisoned him and looked around, a puzzled look on his face as he blinked confusedly, trying to remember where he was. This was not the Rem Forest, of that he was certain.

He pondered for a few seconds, his mind having a hard time remembering what had happened last night. The last thing he recalled, he had slept outside in the forest, snoring by the comfort of the summer moon under the twinkling stars.

However, here he was lying on a metal bed, an inexcusably stiff excuse for a mattress kept his body from coming into contact with the cold material and the white sheets offered little to no warmth or the slightest feeling of comfort.

He scanned his surroundings, but the room around him wasn't much consolation, the walls and floors were made of the same white material, similar to a clean white mattress, soft to the touch, he figured it was infinitely more comfortable than the stiff bed he sat on.

On the white walls, a large black window sat above the door, although it was impossible to see anything through. Malice couldn’t help but feel as if he was being watched by an entity outside, a thought that he refused the entertain as his eyes fell upon the metal door below it, its highly secured appearance suggested that it was meant to keep him inside and keep anyone else from coming in...

Was this some sort of prison? The instantly recognizable smell of disinfectant and alcohol overwhelmed him, reminding him of a hospital instead. What was this place…? Aside from the buzzing sound from the light, it was pure silence, the kind that brought an intense feeling of discomfort, and made one feel vulnerable and defenseless.

An instinct to flee had ignited in him at the sight of the closed room as thoughts of crazy scientific experiments brewed in his mind. He was kidnapped, someone had kidnapped him! The great and lovable Malice! The Smiling Reaper! Just like that, he sat there, awaiting his inevitable doom.

**AS IF.** These disgusting mortals had always been curious about Reapers such as himself. They probably wanted answers regarding the Afterlife, or ask for the return of a deceased loved one, begging him to bring back the dead. Idiots. He had heard them all before, but the Reapers were just Afterlife’s tools, they simply collected the souls of the deceased and lead them to their new life. Bringing the dead back to life was simply not an option. In most cases at least.

However, following the idea that this was a hospital, instead, they could just be interested in his immortality and eternal youth, as if it was a good thing. Malice envied their ignorance, eternity was a miserable and tedious thing, especially when you longed for a humble life and had simple dreams of building a family, growing old and dying content to have lived happily with your loved ones. But they’d never understand, he was supposed to be “lucky” after all.

His internal ranting stopped as he recalled what he was trying to do in the first place. Leaving. He tried getting up but was stopped when his gaze fell upon his own arms. Long white sleeves filled with odd straps had caught his attention, but he was even more surprised to look at his own hands. Their usual ivory tone was now replaced with the lively peach reminding him of the tone that he had back when he was still alive.

He didn’t give it much thought however, he had the terrible tendency to shapeshift in his sleep, and waking up in a form that wasn't his own had become a common occurrence, but it couldn't help but feel odd in the situation he was in. He’d change later… And what was he even wearing?? A tan white shirt with uncomfortably long sleeves, dark pants, and no shoes, so no wonder he felt so cold.

He still felt the same as his hands passed by his hair, horns, and body, his mouth did feel dry and as he brought moisture to it, he noticed that his fangs and serpent tongue were replaced with normal teeth and tongue. That too felt off… In all of his shapeshifting attempts, he had never been able to change the appearance of his eyes, fangs, and tongue so those would always be a dead give away of who he was. It didn’t make him feel any less uneasy however, if anything, it only made him feel more unnerved with the whole situation.

Uncovering himself, he glanced up at the dark window and began to hover towards it, but was caught off guard when, as he leaned off the bed, gravity pulled him to its embrace as he fell with a not so graceful flop.

He groaned in pain but quickly raised his head as his ears perked up with the sudden clicking noise coming from the heavy door.

He quickly sat on the floor, hands resting on his jaw as he looked eagerly at the door, wondering who he was about to meet on the other side.

The door revealed two figures and a cold corridor outside, but Malice just blinked, trying to look as unmoved as he could, but a creeping feeling told him he was not being very convincing.

- *Hello Miles, how are you feeling?* - A kind female voice spoke but quickly gave him a look like a mother who had just caught her child scribbling on the wall - *Oh, please get off the floor, that is very unsanitary...!*

Malice did not respond, just scanning the two figures, the female, an old middle-aged nurse, pale with old but energetic eyes and silver hair, and the other, a tall strong male that eyed him threateningly, squinting his eyes as the nurse had approached and helped him sit on the bed again. Both were wearing medical attire and, somehow, the woman knew his name, his real name, which he would never use or let anyone know.

Malice eyed her suspiciously, trying to pull his arms away but her grip was surprisingly tight and he felt the male's eyes heavy on him, focusing on his every movement - *Thanks lady, but I believe I can move on my own just fine.* - He gave her a dark smile, rudely pulling his arms to himself as soon as he felt free from her grip.

The nurse simply smiled, an empty smile that reminded him of the doctors that he met in his childhood, smiling as an act to gain a child's trust with the promise of painless treatments and care, he assumed. - *Are you feeling well, dear? Falling from the bed is not good for your head, especially after the treatment.*

This caught him off guard, making him raise an eyebrow suspiciously - *Treatment? What treatment?*

The nurse and the orderly exchanged concerned looks and looked back at the boy - *Well... The doctors did mention memory loss as a secondary effect, so this must all be very strange to you and...*

Her speech was interrupted when Malice began laughing inconsiderately at them – *Ohhh! I see what’s going on here! Nice try, but my memory's fine. You kidnapped me and now want to act like I'm not supposed to remember anything... Memory loss? Really? That's like, the oldest trick in the book.* - He laughed - *Alright, just cut the crap, what did I do this time?* – His smile was mocking the two of them but was met with the same confused gazes.

- *Now there is no need to be sassy, young man. No one kidnapped you, we just took you into temporary confinement in case the treatment did not go as planned.* - Her gaze turned cold for a second but warmed up in a heartbeat – *So far the results seem promising! Now sweetie, do you remember anything that happened?*

Malice placed a finger on his lips with a smile – *Fine, I’ll entertain your game for a bit. Well... I was minding my own business, taking a casual stroll in the forest and I decided, HECK, I might as well call it a night.* - He gestured actively, getting the attention of the orderly who felt as if every arm movement could suddenly become an attack - *...And so I found this lovely spot to sleep on, in the soft grass, the stars were twinkling, not a cloud in the sky, and I had a nice nap! But then, the worst thing happened...!* - He lowered his voice, attempting to bring some suspense, a small bead of sweat appearing on his forehead as the nurse only took notes neutrally without much of a response.

- *And what was that?* - She spoke, never lifting her eyes from the paper, only to give him a casual stare.

- *…Tough crowd…* - He muttered as his annoyed smile never left his lips - *…Then... I woke up!* - A quick gesture, made the orderly step closer to him, making him flinch with an awkward giggle - *Heehee... Heh... And... And... I woke up here! All closed and isolated in this cold... ugly... place...* - He hissed as he spoke and kept his eyes in the orderly whose look seemed to grow more and more annoyed. Even his hissing sounded off.

A moment of silence was only filled with the sound of the nurse's ballpoint pen, taking down notes about this description. Malice squinted his eyes as he simply refused to lose his staring contest with the man, but that guy was just too good! He only broke from his focus when the woman snapped her fingers at him for the second time – *Focus. ...And what else can you tell me about this dream, Miles?*

He huffed at her, offended by her gesture and statement – *Dream…? DREAM?! Do you take me as stupid ma’am~?! Now if you could be so kind as to tell me what is going on, I would probably consider believing half the crap you're telling me.* - He smiled angrily as he spoke.

The woman simply sighed sadly as he spoke - *You are a patient here at the Chervil’s Mental Institution, you are being treated for your schizophrenia, delusions, violence towards others, self-mutilation, as well as other minor issues such as... anxiety.*

Malice gave her an uninterested look as she spoke, simply raising an eyebrow. As far as he knew, he was neither schizophrenic nor delusional. Sure he was mean at times but never with the intent of physically injuring others.

Self-mutilation to the point of dying became meaningless to him when living as an immortal that could regenerate his own body regardless of the situation made it so that were no consequences to whatever he did to himself.

Yes... He knew that stabbing a large scythe in his own chest and falling unconscious in a puddle of his blood was not what most would consider being... "normal", but regardless, he made himself the one exception, refusing to see it as much of a big deal. Regeneration, you know? - *Yeah, look I really don't buy that.* - He shrugged, interrupting the woman, who eyed him sternly, trying to keep an air of professionalism - *I've always been fine by my own, I don't need to be here!* - He protested.

The nurse's gaze became worried again, a hint of sadness showing in her features as he said this - *Miles, you've been here since you were a little boy...*

- *Heh, yeah Ma'am I'm probably older than you and you can take that as a compliment.* - He hissed at her - *Believe me, I'd remember if I had ever been shut down in this place for all those years!*

- *You are only seventeen...* - She spoke patiently - *You are also the first patient to get this treatment. In these first days, the memories of your delusions may get a bit mixed with reality, but if it all goes well, with proper care, you'll be able to recover just fine. If it feels odd it's because your brain doesn't really accept these memories as your own, but we are here to help in what we can.*

The woman offered a kind smile but she was met with a surprisingly upset-looking Malice, who just let out a loud a dramatic sigh - *So, not only I have "memory loss",* - He gestured with his fingers - *But I also traveled back in time? I died when I was eighteen.* - He rolled his eyes - This is stupid, *I don't need a mindfuck like this... Just tell me the truth, what do you want from me?* - He looked disappointed at them - *Who's your boss? Do I have any beef with them? Hurt anyone I shouldn't have? I kind of want to go home and eat away my problems.* - He leaned back on the uncomfortable bed crossing his legs, noticing the quiet orderly's stare still glued to his every movement.

- *You did nothing wrong, dear.* - She smiled kindly - *Now you must take your medicine and we'll be sure to bring you some lunch.*

- *So you'll STARVE me if I don't take your poison?! I'm not convinced.* - He chuckled arrogantly as the nurse ignored his remarks with a smile on her face and handed him the cup of water and the oddly coloured pills.

- *Here you go.* - She said simply but Malice just stared dully at them as if disappointed.

- *Huh. You're actually going through with this whole bit.* - He rolled his eyes, wondering how long it would take until they finally stopped with the medical act and told him what was going on - *You do realize I'm immortal, right? These won't do anything.*

- *Think of them like jelly beans...* - She smiled - *Remember how you used to call them that when you were younger?*

Malice's look only changed to become more annoyed by this comment from the patronizing nurse - *Yeah, no idea of what the hell you're talking about. Would you so kindly stop trying to be so damn patronizing? It’s really getting on my nerves.*

- *I'm sure your memories will return soon.* - The woman seemed upset but still smiled regardless - *Now you must take your medicine if you want to get better.*

Malice gave her a defiant look as she spoke – *Aha, alright. Well, what if I don't want to take it?*

- *Then my assistant and I will force you to take it.* - Her tone was lighthearted but Malice felt that she was being serious about it and shrugged. He was immortal, the least he could get was a stomach ache from that medicine.

Reluctantly, he took the pills, glaring at the two orderlies, especially at the nurse that looked annoyingly proud of him as if he was a baby that had just learned how to speak - *Good boy. I'll go get your lunch right away, you must be starving.*

He didn't respond as the water barely washed the taste of the pills from his mouth. He squinted his eyes at the nurse that left the room, a loud click echoed in the room, leaving him with the assistant who seemed to be avoiding eye contact for too long with him.

Malice couldn't help but to chuckle with his subtle glances, gazing mockingly at the orderly - *What're ya scared of? I don't bite.* - He grinned widely, but the orderly clearly ignored his words - *Tell me what you know and I'll tell you something mysterious and cryptid in return~* - Malice continued, trying to see how long until he got the man to speak, but he didn't seem to have much success...

- *Hey. Doctor? Wait, are you even a doctor?* - The boy kept rambling, but as he seemed to get the man's attention for a fraction of a second, his grin grew wider and more mocking - *Do you want to hear the exact date and time of your death? It might just be sooner than you think!*

Malice felt the man's attention begging to focus on him as the orderly tried to remain neutral to his ridiculous claim - *I promise I won't spoil how it happens!* - Malice cackled, still getting ignored by the man who, to his amusement, looked more and more annoyed. But before anything else could be said, the man then stared at the heavy door that clicked open once again, revealing the nurse that carried a tray, carrying what seemed to be... food?

To his dismay, Malice's stomach was quick to rumble, making him blush embarrassed as he glanced at his stomach in betrayal.

- *He still appears to believe in having future and mind-reading abilities.* - The assistant spoke in a neutral tone, the nurse seemingly concerned by this, sighed and gazed at the boy who stared incredulously at them

- *Rude! I was talking to you but you completely ignore me! Don't act like you know how my abilities work...* - Malice groaned.

- *We've been with you long enough to know that you're not psychic, dear...* - The nurse spoke, sitting next to him on the bed, the tray on her lap.

- *Either you guys are way into your act or you just don't know who you're dealing with...* - He muttered bitterly, but the woman simply sighed, the smile appearing on her face again.

- *We can chat better when you're not hungry and grumpy...* - She smiled, getting the bowl of soup and filling to spoon. Malice's eyes widened as she approached the spoon to him as if to feed him.

- *Excuse me but what do you think you’re doing?* - He looked baffled by this - *I can eat on my own just fine, I'm not some little kid.* - He said angrily and the woman, staring in mild annoyance, gave him the bowl as he huffed, taking hold of it.

- *You’re unusually irritable… Must be the side effects of the treatment...* – The nurse mumbled and scribbled down on her notes, but Malice simply ignored her.

He had associated it to the strange place he woke up in, but until then, he hadn't realized just how hungry he felt, which was odd as he only ate for pleasure and his body never required anything else since he had been reborn as a Reaper. He finally gazed at the soup, a sigh escaping his lips as he brought the spoon to his mouth.

Despite its bland and boring flavour, his hunger made the soup feel like the best thing Malice had ever tasted, he was surprised that's for sure but he quickly began eating the rest of it, enjoying every last drop of it.

- *Sweetie, you have quite the appetite, but your hands are shaking and you're making a mess, please let me take care of that...* - The nurse sighed with the boy's rush to finish his meal, looking surprised as he began to violently cough. She quickly placed his bowl aside and pat his back - *See what I mean, hun? You need to calm down while eating... We know you're anxious to leave but we promise you'll be okay.*

Malice just wanted her to stop talking as he regained his breath - *I'm -coughcough- f-fine! I just feel so... so... so hungry...!* - He spoke as if to himself and tried to reach for the bowl again, but the nurse took hold of it.

- *Darling, of course, you're hungry. You haven't eaten anything since the treatment, if it weren't for the nutrients and everything given to you during it to keep your body alive, you'd barely be able to move.* - She smiled, filling the spoon again - *Still! It is no excuse to make such a mess, now open up.*

Malice hesitated for a moment but then swallowed both his pride and the spoonful of soup - *...Whatever. What is this treatment that you keep talking about? What did you do to me?*

- *It would be a lot of medical talk so I doubt you'd be able to understand it...* - She spoke idly as she fed him another spoon, unaware of his burning glare on her - *Basically we made it so you would no longer have hallucinations nor believe to live in a world that isn't real. For starters at least.*

- *Sounds like a bunch of bullcrap.* - he hissed - *I wasn't this messed up in the head, I remember many things, but not this.*

- *We believe that is natural, but the sooner you accept it, the better. Which reminds me... Tell me, Miles... Do you still remember Lahyt?*

The boy's ears perked up with this question. Was the nurse talking about 'light' or...?

- *Excuse me?*

- *Your... friend, the skull ghost, was it...?*

Malice's face shifted to one of concern, he loved that little moth ghost-like a little sister or a daughter... Did something happen to her?

- *Yes...? What did you do to her...?* - his voice was quiet as he glared furiously, but yet there was a hint of fear in his expression.

- *Your friend Lahyt is not real.* - The nurse spoke sadly, noticing the boy's look grow horrified - *You used to speak to her all the time... And first, we thought you were reading stories out loud, but then you said that Lahyt was listening and not to interrupt you… In your delusional state, your mind fabricated this character, as an… imaginary friend of sorts...*

He looked incredulous at them - *Excuse me...?! She is very much real! She's about the height of my knees, as a skull for a head, orange hair, brown fur, yellow win-*

- *She's a delusion.* - the nurse interrupted - *This character never existed. When you were alone, you began creating her in your mind.*

The boy just shook his head, a look of denial on his face - *Shut it! What did you do to her?!*

- *The sooner you accept that she's a delusion, the easier it will be to ignore her presence when you do see her again.* - The nurse repeated and Malice looked down thoughtfully. He had no reason to believe anything that he had been told and stared numbly at the sad-looking hospital food that the nurse had placed in front of him, his once strong appetite had vanished the more he thought about his small moth friend.

- *Is something wrong with the food?* - The nurse looked expectantly and Malice's brow furrowed as he squinted in disgust.

- *…What exactly am I looking at in here?* - He muttered as the yellowish-brown... paste... stared back at him. He could recognize the small green circles as being peas somehow mixed in there, but other than that, it looked completely alien to him.

- *Well, that is your meal.*

With the spoon, Malice picked up a portion of the... thing, and turning the spoon on its side, he counted the seconds that it took for it to even begin to give in to gravity's pull - *You mean this is edible? I mean, I do have teeth, I don't need my food to be chewed before being given to me.* - He rejected the plate and the nurse shook her head.

- *You will have a few appointments now and there won't be any time for you to be eating until dinner. Are you sure you don't want to at least try it?* - She seemed hopeful.

- *I could punch myself in the face and be more reassured of my own health than what I'd feel if this junk passed through my body.* - He simply grumbled and the nurse sighed annoyed.

- *There is no need for that attitude! If you are not going to eat, then let us get going to see your therapist and see if there are any extra precautions to be taken related to your amnesia. Then you can return to your friends. Your real friends.*

Malice sharply glared at her, a cold shiver running through his body - *First of all, two things! It's not amnesia! And second, who are you even talking about?! What friends?! Who else is here?!* - he tried to sound threatening, but he dreaded the response he would receive.

- *You'll see. Maybe they'll help you remember. Now let us go see your therapist and try to bring your mind back into reality.* – The nurse smiled vacantly and signed for him to get up, which he did. His once strong but light body just felt heavy and tired, something he never noticed before, he just felt weak.

- *Why can’t I fly…? Did this “treatment” get rid of my powers?* – He muttered, too uncertain of his reality as he stared at his hands.

- *You never had any powers. The fact that you are noticing this is very positive, however! It means the treatmen-*

- *OH, WILL YOU SHUT UP ABOUT THE TREATMENT!* – Malice hissed frustrated and angry by his own lack of energy and power. His arm and hand were tense as his fingers curled, trembling as he focused all of his thoughts and energy to try and summon his scythe. The nurse appeared surprised by his reaction and he closed his eyes, sweating as the scythe failed to make its appearance and reassure him that he was still in control of himself. It was all in vain however as the nurse shook her head and grabbed his tense arm – *Enough!*

With this, Malice quickly opened his eyes, and, gathering as much strength as he could, he threw the nurse to the side, making her fall and gasp in surprise.

Before he could make another move, the orderly had firmly grabbed him and held his arms against his back, causing Malice to struggle more – *L-LET ME GO!* – He squirmed – *I DON’T BELONG HERE!*

The nurse got up, cleaning the dust away and grabbing a nearby syringe with a strange liquid inside, she walked to the squirming boy, who stopped moving once he noticed the syringe, his eyes having a mix of rage and fear - *…What is that…?!*

- *Keep this nasty attitude up and I’m putting you to sleep. Once you wake up and stop making such a fuss, maybe then we will talk.* – The nurse’s warm tone was gone, replaced with a cold and stern voice.

- *I don’t want to be here! Neither of you has been making any sense. I have never been here before in my life! You got the wrong guy!* – he sounded desperate to escape, slightly struggling in the orderly’s grasp.

The nurse didn’t seem convinced and sighed, putting the syringe away. Grabbing what appeared to be... belts…? She approached him again, with the help of the orderly who held his arms, Malice soon realized that he was, in fact, wearing a straight jacket, as his nervous trembling arms found themselves uncomfortably wrapped against his body – *W-What are you...?! Stop! I don’t want to be here! What do you want from me?! Just tell me!*

- *We want nothing, we are simply trying to help you. Now enough questions. You can ask Dr. Freud once you get into your appointment. If you behave until then, we might release you from your restraints.*

- *“We might release you from your restraints.”* – Malice repeated in a high-pitched voice as if mocking them, then groaned – *Yeah right. It’s some weird magic you got going on here, but oh I will find a way to leave this place. And I’ll be sure to make your souls regret ever having set foot on this world… Thinking you can mess with me like this…* - He muttered threateningly.

- *Mr. Lipsen, you are in no position to be making such bold claims.* – The nurse spoke calmly - *Unless you are looking forward to spending some time in temporary confinement, I would recommend keeping your temper in check.*

Malice huffed and rolled his eyes in defeat, making the nurse smile as her cheerful patronizing tone returned – *Well now that that is all said and done, Miles, you would not want to be late for your appointment with Dr. Freud, wouldn’t you?*

- *Hah. Yeah, I wouldn’t miss it for anything in the world.* – He muttered sarcastically.

### **Chapter II – Familiar Faces**

As the hospital like halls repeated to no end, Malice couldn’t help but to feel watched by other patients and orderlies, being forced to wear that embarrassing straight jacket to prevent him from lashing out again, he simply sighed and kept on his way.

- *Everyone’s staring at me like I’m the one who’s a freak.* – Malice huffed, receiving a disapproving look from the nurse.

- *Miles! You know we do not use that word here.*

Malice prepared to let out a comeback but refrained from doing so, taking a deep breath instead – *Whatever you say, lady.*

- *That’s very insensitive, everyone here has their own issues that they’re trying to get fixed. You might be suffering from memory loss but we also need you to be respectful.*

Malice simply ignored her whining, observing those poor drugged souls, like empty husks, some moved like children while others were even more primitive. He wondered if their souls were as sickly, or if inside their bodies lied a perfectly sane and conscious individual.
**[UNFINISHED, MIGHT GET PICKED UP LATER, BUT MOST PROBABLY NOT**]