Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The daunting mechanical whirring of the machine filled the tight atmosphere of the dark room. Otto paced around the room quietly, glancing back between Noone and his apparatus, stopping occasionally to check every inch of the machine. He had spent too many sleepless nights working on it and he wasn't going to let his own carelessness ruin this now. The machine was set to the top of his priorities when he first considered the idea. For all Otto knew, it was the closest he's gotten to finding his sister in decades. Noone stirred in her sleep, causing Otto to throw his head over his shoulder to stare at her. 

In the past she had expressed discomfort with testing equipment caused by whatever those 'cruel' doctors did in her earlier years. Blatant refusal to anything medical related being used on her while awake was frequent. .

..better to not wake her now. 

Noone ran her fingers over the thin sheet that had covered her, blinking open blurry eyes as her mind tried to draw her back to sleep.

"...Otto..?" She murmured, narrowing her eyes at the dark figure that stood a few inches from her bed, fumbling a device out of her view. It took her a second to recognize his figure, his featured blacked out in the dark of the night.

"...shh... go back to sleep..." Otto responded, his attention not being drawn from his own contraption in front of him. Noone attempted to lift her hand, only to be restricted by the tug of wires plugged into her skin. She gritted her teeth at the familiar sensation, looking back at the counsellor with half lidded eyes.

"..You..promised me no wires-" 

"Shh."

Noone furrowed her eyebrows, her vision clearing to lock her eyes to the machine that stood in front of him. It resembled the ones that used to line the edges of her old hospital bed. The ones that had be cleared out when big camera crews came to record her. She shook the thought from her head, sitting up and bringing her hands to her eyes. She gathered the fabric of the 'blanket' that covered her the edges riding up slightly as she repeated, 

"..Otto?"

She frowned as her question was met with no answer, annoyance settled within her as she spoke up again. "I said no tests...why..?" Still, Otto responded with silence. Noone leaned forward, trying to see the thing that Otto seemed so utterly captivated by.

Before Noone had enough time to even comprehend what was in front of him, the screen on the front of the machine blared to life, bringing light to the pitch black room that shot at her eyes. 

"An Eye..?" She barley heard Otto mumble eyes still locked on the screen.

She threw off the covers, practically ripping the wires from her head.

"what-?!" She was cut off as the screen grew brighter, blinding and deafening at the same time. Her hands shot up to cover her ears, squinting to see the image on the screen but failed as the mix of static made it hard to see without her eyes burning. 

Every sense felt overstimulated, the room felling as if it were about to collapse in on itself. Even if it was unbearable, Noone approached the screen,

why did she feel like she had seen this before...?

Without really noticing, her hands felt the hot surface of the glass, hearing someone shout from behind. The skin on her fingers burned before they felt that they had gone numb. A calloused hand pulled on one of her wrists but before she could shoot a glance at Otto behind her, her hands phased though the glass and drew her to it like a magnet. She struggled (although hesitantly) to regain her grasp but it only pushed her closer. 

As gravity felt like it disappeared, all went black.

Rain beat against the cold city streets, running through weathered and eroded pipes that connected to the apartments that proved no actual shelter to anyone trying to survive in this city. Wind ran past as Otto sat up, feeling his back ache as if he hadn't moved in hours. He groaned, his breath contrast to the cold air fogging up his cracked glasses. He tilted his head, eyes darting around for sight of Noone as his feeling of panic returned as well as the memory of the previous events. 

After scattering over his whole surroundings he found Noone, not far off from him. The girl gasped when she eventually awoke. Her back shot up staring at the wet ground. Noone rested her hands against the street, tiny bits of rock clinging to the palms of her hands.

She inhaled, taking in the damp air that lingered around her, attempting to gather her bearings as she did so. Otto managed to get to his feet, he stumbled over to Noone. Kneeling to her level, he put a hand in her shoulder.

”N...Noone?” He questioned, the rain beating against his skin. The action enough to wear down the slight delirium he was stuck in. It took Noone a moment before her vision focused on the counselor in front of her, backing away instinctively. “Noone.”he repeated more firmly, trying to ignore how familiar the sight of fear in Noone’s eyes was.

Otto took his hand off the cool fabric of Noone’s torn hospital gown, reaching for his own coat. He slipped it off, wrapping it around Noone. The wind brushed against his undershirt. He payed no mind as his hand closed around Noone’s, pulling her to her feet.

Noone managed a “Where are we…?” Otto sighed in response, equally clueless.

There was a sinking feeling in the back of the both of their minds that they did not belong to this place. A feeling that made them feel targeted, eyes on their back. 

Vulnerable.

Something knew they weren't supposed to be there.

…

Yet.

Chapter Text

A glint of moonlight, or a small discolored glimpse of something cradled in his fingers, held so tight it must have imprinted in his palm. Noone hadn’t noticed it enough to mention it. The silence in the air held still, neither of the two had wanted to admit that they were both to blame for the situation they had found themselves in.

The tail of a small spiral necklace dangled from Otto’s hands, being fumbled between each finger. It served as the only thing to occupy his thoughts other than the clicking of his shoes against the concrete, a sound that felt weirdly out of place.

The atmosphere pressed eerily against the two, rain falling in a constant, repetitive rhythm. Something was just off about it, unable to place what felt odd.

It didn’t take long for Noone’s attention to be drawn to anything other than the monotonous streets that stretched on past the horizon. As she made one of her occasional pauses in her steps for Otto to catch up once again, (whether the difference in speed was from the loss of his glasses, or just mere hesitation, she didn’t know.) she noticed the grey piece of plain jewelry against his palm. The charm of the necklace was hidden beneath his fingers.

”That,” she spoke, her words cutting through the thick mutual silence. She raised her arm to gesture to his hand, 

“Hmm?”

”The necklace, in your hand.”

Otto raised his eyebrow in acknowledgment, nodding his head as he unraveled the piece of jewelry. The spiral slipped down the length of the chain, now visible to Noone. Her face creased, remembering the source of familiarity she felt at the sight of it.

“..Where do I know this from-“

Otto cupped the chain in his palm, “Uhm- ah, one of our previous sessions- if I do recall correctly,”

“For what?”

Otto cleared his throat, his tone uncertain,

”..Hypnotherapy, regrettably turned out to be another one of our failed ‘methods’ within the sessions we’ve had..”

”‘Our’?”

“…Our.”

Noone’s eyes narrowed, stepping to return to Otto’s side. 

“Why do you still have it on you?”

” It… important,”

”And why isn’t it on?”

”It's not mine,”

Before Noone could continue her barrage of questions, something in her mind clicked as she settled on Otto’s implications. She shot her glance back up to Otto, eyes averted away from hers. Noone huffed, shaking her head as she murmured ‘Cici?’ words barely audible to the person they were directed towards.

Noone was surprised by the lack of response she got in return,

considering she mentioned the only thing Otto cares about.

[——|~|——]

Enough time had passed for the two of them to be desperate for shelter, warmth, or really anything that couldn’t be granted by just walking. Noone was glad her legs hadn’t given out at that point, so when Otto had rested a hand on her shoulder it was hard enough to keep her balance. Otto held his free hand out, gesturing to a small building in the distance. Noone lit up, her eyes darting over the front of it. She rushed to the clearing, glad to find some kind of escape from the dark streets. 

She stepped over the worn pieces of discarded cloth littered across the concrete floor, listening to the footsteps that accompanied hers. The items in the rooms were stained and dull, save for a lone hint of yellow that drew Noone’s gaze. 

She scuffled over to the center of the barren shack, pulling her attention to making sure she didn’t trip from misplacing her step on the washed up piles of clothes. Noone cleared the space around it by kneeling down and brushing away the things around it. 

She pulled it into her fingers, inspecting the miraculously dry fabric of the raincoat in her hands. She pushed up the triangle shaped hood that had been hanging off the side, letting it fall down as she heard the footsteps behind her skid to an abrupt stop. 

Otto could feel his muscles physically tense, pulling his fingers to the middle of his palm in response. His look hardened as he observed the sight in front of him, his composure wavering as his vision fixed on the raincoat held loosely in the girl’s arms. His breath hitched in his throat, exhaling quickly, his breath visible in the cold air.  He considered grabbing it from Noone immediately, but his body betrayed him. He managed to barely reach out a shaky hand before pulling it away again. 

Noone stared back curiously, raising the raincoat in her hands hesitantly. Otto grabbed it, clenching it in his hands and turning away. 

It’s nearly the same as it was.

She’s here.

Here.

Chapter Text

Noone allowed herself to lower to the ground. She rested her back against a cold damp cardboard box hidden in The corner of the room, eyeing the outline of Otto a short distance away from her. Otto wrapped his fingers tightly around the raincoat, stretching the fabric in his hands. He pulled his lips into a thin line before tucking it under his shoulder. He tried to shake the ever-growing thoughts of worry that lingered for longer than he would like. Noone pulled her knees closer against her body, hearing the small taps of rain on the ground before her. She stared curiously at the break in the ceiling, noting the mysterious light source that beamed through to the space at her feet.

She tilted her head toward the silhouette of Otto in the light, huffing as she noticed the fact he was more fascinated by the raincoat than his own ‘patient’. That had been something she had grown to expect. She pushed up on her legs, readjusting her arms inside of Otto’s coat. Otto jerked his head around to the sound of Noone standing up; his fast movements were a result of being slightly on edge. 

"Can we get going?" Noone asked sternly, her tone indicating that it was more of a statement than a question. Otto seemed to be pulled out of his haze by Noone's words. He nodded in response as Noone grabbed his much larger hand and practically yanked him outside to a clear opening, opposite to the one that they had entered through. Otto slipped his hand out of Noone's grasp with noticeable force. He continued forward as Noone managed to keep up with his quickening pace. 

"Sure," Otto muttered roughly, his voice tinged with unfamiliar sarcasm. Noone rolled her eyes, not wanting to engage in conversation with a person who barely attempted to make eye contact with her.

Noone let the air around them stay quiet for a moment. She looked down at the ground as she sped up out of habit, or maybe it was the fact she was getting increasingly more irritated with the fact she had so many unanswered questions. The fact she was so used to that feeling only pushed her frustration. 

"What's with the raincoat?" 

Otto's breath cut short at Noone's words. He considered staying silent to avoid admitting the reason he still had it. More to himself than Noone. "I said—" Noone repeated before being interrupted.

"It's mine." 

"You didn't have it when we came here." Noone exhaled, "It's your sister's-"

"What do you know about my sister," Otto responded, his gaze hardening as he turned to face Noone. He tilted his head down to stare harshly at her, the way he moved casting his face in nearly total shadow. Noone almost jumped back a step, her guard rising.

'Don't get doctors mad.' was a mantra she was used to repeating. Noone's frown deepened as the thought continued to repeat throughout her mind. The tension felt like It was suffocating, Otto clenching his jaw as Noone withdrew from him further. Noone watched Otto as he took a few steps in front of her. She noticed her breathing becoming unsteady, a feeling of nervousness creeping up her spine.

Noone turned her head away from Otto before snapping it back at the sound of him grunting as he slammed into a wire fence in front of him, hand shooting up to adjust glasses that clearly weren't there. His eyes faded back into focus as he looked up at the building that loomed over them, a dauntingly large schoolhouse. 

Just the sight of the building alone was enough to make Otto feel half his size. The tension in his jaw dropped as it quickly went slack, he attempted to digest the view in front of him. 

"it reminds me of the school I used to attend outside the borders of the counties." Noone recalled the reason the building seemed to resemble something from her own life, the memories associated with it following as she did so. Her attention was ripped away from her experiences as she heard the sound of the wired fence being shifted around as Otto interlocked his fingers into the wire loops. He soon attempted to climb over it, pushing himself up and reaching for higher bits of fence to grab, consequently landing on the other side ungracefully. 

Noone stared at Otto's gesture with a puzzled expression, watching as he adjusted his legs to stand up straight. Noone shook her head before crouching down to crawl through the break she had been eyeing in the fence. She stood up, wiping the water that stuck to her hands on her dress. Otto had already begun walking forward, closing the gap between what Noone could make out to be a set of double doors at the front of the school.

Noone caught up with Otto. She approached the set of doors, jumping back as Otto's hands tightly around the handles. He heaved, pulling it back with force. When the door wouldn't give, he placed his foot above the right handle and pushed off. The doors flung open and hit the sides of the walls behind them with a 'THUD'. The both of them were met with a wall of dust as if the door hadn't been opened in years.

Noone stepped through the open doors, her footsteps reverberating around the empty hall as she continued down. A second set of footsteps became audible behind her, signaling to Noone Otto hadn't run off for something else. She squinted her eyes at the sight of half lockers that lined the halls, many left uncovered or unlocked. The boards creaking under her feet sounded like screaming in comparison to the vexing silence that surrounded the both of them. 

The ripped ruins of paper planes and broken pieces of discarded chalk were scattered along the hallway. Crude and almost indiscernible drawings littered the sides of the walls. Deeper into the hall, it eventually split off. No one moved slightly to the side, inviting Otto to choose which direction. Otto kept on straight, barely acknowledging Noone's presence. Noone let out a scoff, setting her brow. Otto snapped his head back to Noone to mutter, "Pardon?"

"You don't need to act like I don't exist."

"I'm not acting like anything."

"Really?"

"I am NOT," Otto said, his voice at the end of the sentence rising. Noone heard his words echo down the hallway. Before she could respond, a shrill shriek emitted from the dark end of the hall. Noone froze and started to back away, another set of footsteps began padding down the hall. A figure was soon visible at the far end of the hall before Noone sprinted down the hallway. She was jerked back as Otto wrapped his fingers around the collar of her dress, pulling her back until she was in line with him. 

Otto's feet slammed against the wood floor as he bolted into a frantic run, his pace only becoming faster as he looked back to what must have been a monster chasing behind the two of them. With his vision blurry out of panic, it was hard to view exactly what he was running from. From what he could see, a neck? The thought was disturbing. 

Noone's breaths became shallow, legs threatening to buckle from exhaustion and the grip around her neck did nothing but slow her down. She managed to yank herself away from Otto, her head spinning around just long enough to see the figure that had been chasing them. It had traveled significantly closer, an outline of a distorted neck was visible before Noone whipped herself back around. 

The door in the distance appeared into view, Noone not drawing her eyes away from it. Not until she heard the sound of Otto stumbling on a stray board eroded enough to trip over. Noone didn't turn back, her attention focused ahead of her. A loud 'BANG' from something being slammed against the lockers on the walls could be heard right before Noone was able to exit the building. Not long after, Otto appeared in the doorframe. Noone could see he was visibly stumbling but the presence of the monster across from the two concerned her more.

Noone slid down the wall her back was pressed against, taking breaths in a feeble attempt to calm her own heart. Otto staggered closer to Noone before leaning his back against the same wall with worrying hesitation. He moved his hand down to touch a piece of the ripped fabric of the pant's leg hidden from Noone. He flinched, turning over his hand to the blood that covered the tip of his fingers. He let out a distraught sigh while carefully dropping down to the floor as well. 

He urged his arms to rest atop his knees while Noone eventually turned her head to him. Her eyes first landed on the displaced section of his leg before tracing over the large outline of a blood-covered gash that covered most of his lower calf and was exposed by the lower section of his pants framing it like a curtain. She gasped, catching Otto's attention. 

"..What..?" He murmured, somewhat begrudgingly. He turned his gaze down, inhaling sharply as he caught a glimpse of his lower leg. His head shot back up as he tried to avert his eyes from the sight. "that's... great." He let his head roll upwards and his jaw lay open as he took in a breath of air.

Noone felt a wave of unexpected concern for Otto. Possible solutions that bordered on irrational ran through her mind, choosing one to vocalize. 

"..Aren't you a doctor..?"

Otto scoffed, rolling his head over to Noone. "A pediatric psychotherapist."

"And..."

"--And I just broke my leg." 

Noone simply nodded before slipping Otto's coat off her shoulders. Otto practically snatched it out of her hands, folding it and tying it around his leg. Noone watched this action before slumping back once again. 

Noone shivered as the relentless cold air ran over her, eyeing the raincoat held loosely in Otto's hands with increasing jealousy. Otto surprisingly took note of this. He reached his hand over to Noone, letting the coat slip into her lap. Noone's eyebrows raised in curiosity. She didn't care to question the out of character action. She uttered a slight thanks before wrapping it around herself. Thankfully, it was perfect fit. She relished its warmth whilst choosing to ignore there the nostalgic look in Otto's eyes that felt off-putting.

Otto couldn't ignore how she looked so similar.

Cici

I'm sorry.

Chapter Text

thsi fic is being discontinued after the release of little nightmares 3, 

sorry to everyone i just cant write this anymore