The room was dark, and while it seemed as big as a warehouse, the feeling of oppressiveness and general negative energy made the room feel like a closet. A dingy naked lightbulb hung from the ceiling, splashing a small part of the room in dirty, off-white light. There was nothing else in the room, save for one metal folding chair.

On that chair, Orion sat hunched over, his elbows on his knees, his face pressed into his hands. His eyes were closed and the only thing that marked him as alive was the fact that he had worried his lower lip until it had bled.

Orion was trying his hardest to keep from curling into a fetal position and rocking back and forth. It would do him no good in the long run, and they would just use it against him.

Dammit! Orion swore to himself. Why did I agree to come here? I could've tried to make a run for it... no, they'd find me. They always do. I can't run away from my problems anymore. I can't. I promised I wouldn't. But... why here? Why of all places, here?!?

Oh, Orion had been in this room before, years ago. It was exactly the same; the stale musty air, the dingy light, the terrible coldness of the room. Even the damned chair was the same. Orion knew this because he had seen the scratch marks he had left on the metal surface of the chair the last time he had been here. He had never wanted to come back here. Sometimes in his dreams, or when he wasn't drunk enough yet, he would dream of this place. No... dream wasn't the right word. Nightmare was. He had nightmares about this room. Years of them. And they always sent him either screaming awake or retching in front of the john. And having nightmares of this room always brought nightmares about something else.

Felicity.

Orion bit his lip so hard that he could feel the blood running into his mouth.

Felicity's death had been the first time he was brought to this godforsaken room. Orion had gone slightly crazy after Felicity's death, drinking everything in sight, then trying to kill himself to follow after her. It hadn't worked though, and when Orion had woken up with the worst hangover in his life, he had woken up in this room. Orion idly wondered if they had ever managed to get his bloodstains out of the floor tiles, or if they just didn't bother.

"Hello, Orion." The voice was tinny over the speaker that was located above his head, imbedded in the wall. It was a voice that Orion remembered too. He never met the person the voice belonged to, but the voice was frightening enough for him.

Get it together, man! He told himself. Hold yourself together! It took him a little while and several deep breaths before Orion wearily raised his head and answered in a shaky voice: "Hello."

"How are you today, Orion?"

"I *was* good. Now I'm... not."

"You have a sense of humor this time. That's progress, Orion."

"Whatever."

"Do you know why you're here, Orion?"

"No."

"Really? Are you sure, Orion?"

He snapped a little and yelled at the speaker. "I said that I don't know why I'm here! And stop saying my name all the time! I'm the only one in the room, so I know you're talking to me!"

"Two minutes, Orion. It's only taken two minutes of talking before you got angry. The last time it took 15. But, we'll just chalk that up to the fact that you aren't wasted this time."

Orion suppressed his memories of "the last time" and snarled, "Are you just going to keep insulting me, or are we going to get to some kind of point?"

A soft chuckle filtered through the speaker. "Such spirit, Orion. We were very impressed about how well you cleaned yourself up. In fact, we weren't expecting you to last this long. Especially not with your charge, Orion."

"Huh?"

"Isn't obvious, Orion? Your current charge is the Otaku Mercy, isn't it?"

"Yes..."

"Well, doesn't she look like someone familiar, Orion? You very nearly violated Policy for her, and you don't remember what she looks like? What kind of 'love' is that, Orion?"

"Don't you dare talk about Felicity like that!"

"Oh. Was that her name, Orion? The one you tried to follow, but failed miserably?"

"..."

"We had such high hopes for you, Orion. You were at the top of your class, with such potential. But, like most angels, sometimes you reach to high and end up falling out of Paradise. Let me ask you something, Orion. Why do you object to your name being said often? We were under the impression that you liked your name being said."

Orion felt the temperature drop several degrees. "Wh--what are you talking about?"

"... Orion..."

A different voice filtered through the speaker. It was obviously a recording, but it didn't make it hurt any less. Pain was etched across Orion's face and he shut his eyes as he placed the voice.

"... Orion... Orion... where are you, Orion? ... Orion? ... it's dark, Orion... I can't see anything... Orion?... you said you'd be there for me, Orion... where did you go, Orion... Orion...?"

CLANG.

Orion screamed as he smashed the folded chair against the wall in front of him. Tears streamed from his eyes as he continued to smash the chair against the wall.

"BASTARDS!!! How dare you... she... she... it wasn't my fault, dammit! She... I... you !@#$ %^&*( !@#$%^& !@#$ %^&*( !@#$% ^&* #$%^&* monsters! It wasn't my fault! It wasn't! I was doing my job! I... AAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"

CLANG. CLANG. CLANK. CLANG. BANG. BANG. CLANG. WHUMP. CLANG. CLANK. CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG. SMASH. THUD.

Orion collapsed to the floor, the chair a twisted wreck in front of him. Tears streamed from his eyes, but he continued to stare at the sight of the naked lightbulb above him. His memories were foggy, but he was sure he had tried to hang himself from that bulb...

"I hope you got that out of your system, Orion," the voice came back on, still tinny and grating over the speaker. "Now... I'll ask you again. Do you know why you're here, Orion?"

Orion hung his head, and answered in a cracked voice...

"... yes..."

"Very good, Orion. Now we can begin."

TBC...