damned_institute | Night 66: F1-F10 Hallway

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Night 66: F1-F10 Hallway

[ F2 ]

True enough, the intercom sounded off like clockwork. The doctor spoke, all pretenses were shed, and Orihime sat in her bed feeling simultaneously refreshed and nauseated by it, by the fact that they were little more than caged animals scrutinized beneath an indifferent eye. After spending the better part of the day distrusting strangers (the nurse that had followed her, the infamous head doctor), it was both a relief and a dread to witness the reality of it for herself – to understand, with an uncharacteristic yet self-aware sort of bitterness, that she had more than enough reason to dislike these people straight off the bat.

Orihime listened, fingers pressing indents into her mattress and trembling as she kept her composure, as she refused to let the careless message (if you don’t die) get to her. It was, still is, a learning process: she learned how to worry without so much of the weeping and the unnecessary bemoaning wails, the prying when she figured that her presence would be more of a hindrance than a help. And so it occurred to her that she should say something, to try to reassure Flora-san before she headed out (a high-five, perhaps? thumbs up?), but there wasn’t very much she could – can – do.

There wasn’t very much to say, was the thing. How horrible and what a heartless person were on the tip of her tongue, but she had no confidence that her voice wouldn’t shake (stammerwhisperbreak) if it committed to such loaded statements. Instead, she jumped out of bed the moment the door unlocked, grabbing her flashlight from underneath her pillow and pulling open her closet for a pair of sneakers, swallowing down the uneasiness that had clumped in the middle of her throat. The cold sweat was unavoidable though, even as her sweatshirt served as some form of comfort, even as she pretended that it was OK to let herself get away with it – with the sense of new hero empowerment that came with the responsibility she had assigned herself for the night. Pretending she didn’t know better.

“I’m sorry I can’t stick around. There are some people waiting on me,” she said, keeping her tone perfectly neutral even as she wondered to herself when exactly she’d picked up such a nifty trick. “But we’ll meet back here later, right, Flora-san? We will, and then we’ll-“ We’ll have a slumber party, we’ll have a pillow fight, I’ll teach you the secret of playing Monopoly.

Because we’ll be alive and okay.

She smiled, facing her new roommate. “We’ll get to know each other even more.”

With her flashlight in hand and her pins tucked along the right side of her hair, she ventured forth, opening the door and heading out into the hallway without a faltered step, a hesitant look back, even as the darkness swallowed her whole.

[ to here. ]

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Maneuvering around the room in a wheelchair was harder than she'd thought it would be. Soma got one of the wheels stuck on the edge of her bed twice, and she was pretty sure she'd damaged something back there by trying to pull free.

Still, at least she had somewhere to put her pistol that wasn't the waistband of her pants, and she could hang things on the wheelchair handles, like her radio and her bag of supplies. The matter of where to put the katana was a little trickier, though she supposed she could just give it to the Once-ler again, if he still hadn't found a weapon yet. It'd be easier to move their supplies around once they'd seen Rapunzel, anyway.

And Lingormr would be coming soon, too. Soma paused, then returned most of the supplies to her closet, leaving the holster and pistol on. Better to let him think she'd be staying in her room tonight. She doubted he'd approve of her running around with her injuries still healing.

That was definitely new, or not new as it were.

Idly looking around her things after dinner had led to the discovery of something she'd never quite expected to see here, of all places. One of her outfits from back home, looking just as it always had, not a single thread out of place. Of course, she'd seen some of the other patients wear different clothing during the night, but Leanne had never really bothered to ask where they'd gotten them or how. But if this was how...

Well, that was just another mystery to add to the list.

Still, passing up the chance to actually wear some nice clothes was something she wasn't about to do. Quickly changing into them once night fell, she gathered her things and, shooting a smile and a quick wave at Soma, stepped out the door.

Maybe it was just too much nervous energy, but Leanne couldn't bring herself to wait inside this time.

_{[from here]}

There were a lot of people Tsubaki was concerned for, especially given how many of them were sick, but only knowing one or two room numbers made it difficult to get to everyone. The only thing she could do with the time she had was to focus on Leanne for now and pray things were going all right elsewhere in the hospital.

Turning the corner into the next hall, she noticed a splash of white and blue that didn't belong to the Institute's normal decor. A person? It looked like someone was wearing quite nice clothes in comparison to the regular hospital outfit... It took her a moment longer to realize that the figure was actually Leanne, not just some stranger standing in the hall.

She looked so different somehow! Real clothes seemed almost strange after a month of uniforms.

"Leanne, that's you, isn't it?" she confirmed, making her way closer.

Sooner than she expected, the sound of a voice drifted over to her, instantly recognizable as that of just the person she was waiting for. Leanne immediately whirled around, grinning as soon as she realized just what Tsubaki was asking her.

"Yeah, it's me!" she answered, a laugh escaping her. She looked down at herself, before pulling slightly on one of her sleeves. It did feel good to find something to laugh about in a place like this, didn't it? Having her own clothes with her just made it all the better. "I guess the clothes are different, huh? But it's me."

"They look nice," Tsubaki said.

They did. Somehow Leanne looked better, healthier almost, as if the personal touch had given her a second wind. Tsubaki supposed it had been the same way for her, finding her ninja outfit in the closet all of a sudden. Something that was hers and not just something the Institute had provided her.

"Did you find them in your room?" she went on, coming to a stop next to Leanne. The way they were fitted, it seemed like the outfit had to belong to her.

"Thank you," she said softly, smiling. The fact that she was rather fond of her own clothes wasn't something she could really deny, and a compliment on them was certainly nice to hear.

If Tsubaki knew about how she'd gotten them though... Leanne hadn't failed to notice several other people wearing different clothing at night, Tsubaki included, but she'd never thought to just ask outright, figuring it was something that came with time in the Institute. But did everyone else just find their clothes the way she had?

"Yeah, I did." She nodded. "How'd you know? Did you... Did you get yours that way, too?"

"Yes, they just appeared one day out of the blue," she answered, glancing down at herself as she spoke. "It was a little unexpected, but... well, it's nice to have your proper clothes back, isn't it? Heh, you have an extra glow!"

Even if the clothes were meant as some kind of back-handed gift, anything that took Leanne's mind off of her illness and the uncertainty of the situation was a plus in Tsubaki's books. And in a way, it was nice to just... see someone in their natural state, instead of dressed up and behaving the way the Institute wanted.

Strange, though, that they'd both found something unexpected in their rooms.

"Actually, I..." Tsubaki trailed off for a moment as a young man approached; stepping to the side, she let him pass by, then glanced back at Leanne. "Actually, I founded something in my room tonight, too, and I know they weren't there this morning." From a fold in her outfit, she produced one of her new throwing knives, twelve inches of black steel with a cord-wrapped handle. "That's kind of a strange coincidence."

Leanne raised an eyebrow as a man she didn't recognize approached and entered her room, after Tsubaki moved aside to let him pass. He must have been a friend of Soma's, she realized, remembering what her roommate had told her about her plans for the night. If Soma trusted him though, he was probably an okay guy.

Thoughts of her roommate's acquaintances completely flew out of her mind, however, when Tsubaki pulled out her knife. Leanne took a step forward, leaning down slightly to get a better look at it. "You, too? But that's..." She shook her head, frowning. "But why tonight? Why'd they give us all this stuff tonight? Is... Is something going to happen?"

It wasn't hard to imagine Landel had something planned; even nice gifts seemed to be all part of the Institute's larger game. But what were the chances it was all just a coincidence? What did clothes and knives have to do with each other? If there was a pattern, Tsubaki didn't see it.

"I don't know... Sometimes it just happens and nobody knows why," she replied, turning the knife over in her hand. A moment later and she had slipped it away again, securing it back in place under her clothes. "I wouldn't worry about it meaning something will happen! In so many cases, it seems to lead to nothing."

There was also a chance the things they'd received could be rewards for something, as often happened. Tsubaki knew a little about that. What she and Leanne could possibly be rewarded for wasn't exactly the most optimistic road to go down, however. Landel had some unusual ideas about what constituted success.

"A little touch of home can't hurt, anyway. And I know how to use throwing weapons, so they'll come in handy. It's a pretty nice surprise, when you think about it! The night will go by easier with this stuff."

That didn't sound too reassuring either. If it led to nothing, if there really wasn't an underlying reason, why bother to give them things like that in the first place? Was this Landel's idea of a game, a way to throw them off balance? It'd be just his thing too, wouldn't it, finding a way to make even gifts seem sinister.

Still, Tsubaki was right. The new things would come in handy. There probably wasn't any point in worrying too much about it anyway. "Yeah, I guess it really is nice to have things like this again," Leanne finally answered, folding her arms behind her back. "Nothing's gonna stop us now."

She grinned, gesturing at the dark hallway behind them, before taking a step in that direction. "Ready to go?"

[to here.]

Edited 2012-10-18 21:22 (UTC)

[from here after Leanne has left F9]

The Once-ler paused for a moment when he saw two young women, neither of whom was wearing the patient outfit. Lingormr hadn't been wearing it when he had been brainwashed, and the former businessman wasn't looking to have another encounter like that, let alone with two patients. Then again, Sora had also been wearing something other than the uniform, and he had helped out that night. The two women didn't seem to be under Landel's control; they looked to be having a friendly conversation. Still, the Once-ler slipped past them with a slight increase in speed.

As he had thought, F9 was the second room down. The Once-ler knocked and waited for a moment, then tried the door itself. If Soma's room was any thing like the Once-ler's, a wheelchair probably wouldn't be the easiest thing to move around in. He opened the door just enough to poke his head in.

"Hey," he greeted. "Our rooms are pretty near each other, aren't they? In a matter of speaking."

Soma raised her head slightly at the sound of knocking. "Come in," she called, and was gratified to see the Once-ler poke his head into the room.

(The question of how Lingormr would react when he saw the two of them very clearly not planning to stay in for the night could wait until later. Although going to visit Rapunzel was a fairly good excuse in and of itself, so there was that.)

"Closer than most, yes," she agreed, offering a small smile of greeting. He was still on his crutch, she noticed, and she indicated it with a small inclination of her head. "Did you get here all right? Close or not, it must have been difficult to walk."

The Once-ler nodded and let himself in, flicking the flashlight off. "It was uneventful, not that I'm disappointed about that. As for walking?" He shrugged. "So long as I don't move too quickly, it's not that bad."

He leaned against the wall. "I'm up for going to Rapunzel, if you're ready to head out now. I'm tired of this crutch, and you're probably not having much fun in that wheelchair either."

Soma nodded. It seemed a little hypocritical to tell him not to overexert himself when she was in a wheelchair. Besides, if luck was on their side tonight, neither of them would be injured for much longer.

"Actually, could we wait a few minutes?" she asked. "Lingormr said he'd stop by and drop off a few books. I can't imagine he'd take very long."

"Oh." He hadn't seen the other man since breakfast yesterday, and was not disappointed about it. Lingormr couldn't really be held responsible for his actions that first night, the Once-ler reasoned, but first impressions were always hard to shake. Especially ones driven in painfully via knife-point.

Still, breakfast had been civil, if a bit tense. "Yeah, that's fine," the Once-ler answered. "Actually, while we wait, I can copy the map." It would be a productive way to pass the time.

Soma nodded once. The Once-ler's apparent reservations about Lingormr were understandable, she had to admit. They hadn't exactly met on the best of terms. Still, given everything Lingormr had done for her, it was hard not to feel a little disappointed. They'd see eye to eye eventually, she was sure.

"That's a good idea," she said, pulling out a drawer and opening her journal. "The second floor isn't complete--I haven't gone up there a lot--but I'm sure you can find someone who has."

She handed it over, rolling back a little so he could use her desk.

"Thanks." He accepted the journal and opened his own, setting them on the desk. The man studied Soma's copy of the map briefly, getting the gist of the layout. It was basically a rough floor plan, and he had some experience with blueprints.

The Once-ler whistled at the scale while retrieving the pen he'd brought. "It's a pretty large building, isn't it?" he commented as he began to copy it into his journal, starting with the northwest portion. "I didn't realize it was this big."

"That's not surprising, considering they only ever let us see a fraction of it during the day."

Soma looked down for a moment, unsure of what else to say. Small talk had never been her forte, and she didn't know enough about the Once-ler to ask for details. What little he'd said about his life before arriving here made it sound as if he wasn't entirely willing to elaborate.

"There's more of it outside, too," she added after a moment. "A ruined town not too far from here, and some mines to the north."

The Once-ler worked fairly quickly, omitting a few details. There wasn't much need to draw in each individual patient room. He had made quite a bit of progress on the patient wing when Soma spoke about the area beyond the institute walls. The man stopped and turned to look at Soma, frowning in confusion.

"Wait, outside? You've gotten outside the building? But...." he trailed off. If she had gotten out, why was she still here?

It made a certain amount of sense, he supposed, that at night's end the patients all blacked out and reawakened in their beds, so long as they were inside. A sleeping gas of some sort to knock them out so the staff could drag them back to their rooms, maybe. But that wouldn't really work outside the building, would it? Yet it was clear that, somehow, being outside the institute when night would not prevent the blackout and recapture.

"So even if we escape the building, we're not free," he stated softly, shoulders sagging. The Once-ler had just assumed it was only a matter of leaving the institute grounds themselves. "Has anyone ever actually escaped this place?" He doubted he was going to like the answer.

"...but we end up back here in the morning, no matter how far we go," finished Soma. "There's a town several miles south of here--you have to drive to get there in one night, unless you can teleport. But even that isn't far enough to get away."

Her mouth twisted upward. "Nobody that we know of. People disappear all the time, or they die, but when they appear again...they're not the same."

As he thought, the answer wasn't one he wanted to hear. Briefly he reached into his pocket and gripped the seed; it was comforting to have it with him, at least.

The Once-ler withdrew his hand after a moment. "Well, there's gotta be a way. We were all brought here somehow, so there has to be a way back, right?" He returned to copying the map down. "Just got to keep looking for the answers," he muttered, half to himself.

That drive had helped to keep him going out in the wastelands of the valley, before he'd arrived here. It would have to be what kept him going here, too.

[From here]

Loki arrived at Soma's room, still moving along at an easy pace. He paused outside her door, noting the murmur of voices, though he couldn't quite tell who was with her, other than knowing that the person in question was male.

Interesting.

He knocked on the door.

"That's all we can really hope for at this point," she agreed. She had never been much of an optimist, but considering the idea that there not even be a way home was too much to ask of her. If Landel had brought them here, there had to be a way back.

She paused at the sound of a knock on the door, and her hand drifted to her gun for a moment before she realized, a little sheepishly, that anything that posed a threat in this place probably wouldn't knock.

"Lingormr?" she called. "Is that you? You can come in."

The Once-ler nodded and turned his attention fully to his work. He had made a decent amount of progress when the knock on the door came. The man lifted his head slightly as Soma invited the knocker in.

Lingormr might not be expecting Soma to have company, the man realized. He bit his lower lip slightly and hunched over his copying. Apology or no, he still wasn't entirely comfortable around Lingormr, and felt it would be best for Soma to do most of the talking.

Loki let himself into the room and gave Soma a smile. He immediately recognized the other occupant - the Once-ler. Not someone he was overly concerned with one way or the other, than.

"As promised..." he extracted the two rather large books from inside his coat and offered them to Soma. "I apologize for my tardiness."

It was Lingormr after all, and Soma returned his smile as she wheeled herself closer to the door.

"You don't need to apologize for anything," she told him, pulling the books into her lap. "Thank you for coming."

She glanced down: a volume of Shakespeare and a collection of Sherlock Holmes. They were both familiar to her--the lieutenant colonel had had both in his library--but she'd never had the opportunity to read either. If Rapunzel wasn't free tonight, maybe she'd get the chance to.

"I'm sure you have plans for tonight," she added, her smile fading slightly. "I've kept you from them for long enough. These will be more than enough to distract me tonight."

The Once-ler glanced up when Lingormr entered, and gave the other man a slight nod before continuing to draw, half-listening to the conversation. From the sound of it, Lingormr believed Soma meant to stay in her room for the night, and that the young woman had no intention to otherwise enlighten him. Which was probably for the best, he reasoned. The former businessman had brought up both the idea of visiting Rapunzel and that the stuck book would only be accessible at night, and Soma would have likely stayed in had he not mentioned either.

As for why he himself was here? Copying her map was a valid explanation. If Soma didn't plan on telling Lingormr what she actually meant to do, the Once-ler would not let on that he was involved in anything besides getting himself a map of the institute.

Loki nodded, but then his eyebrows went up. He could tell when he was being shuffled off. He'd had that done to him by the best, and Soma wasn't an overly subtle player by nature.

"I hadn't really," he said. "I thought to wander a bit, perhaps refresh my supplies in the medical wing. Have I interrupted something?"

Soma resisted the urge to wince. She hadn't really meant to be that obvious, or--worse--seem ungrateful. And she did feel guilty for keeping Lingormr from any plans he might've had. He'd already saved her life; he hadn't needed to get her reading material, too, and she appreciated the time he was taking.

"Not really," she said. "We were planning on checking on Rapunzel, though. I haven't seen her today and her room's not too far away."

And hopefully she could get them up and running again, but that probably went without saying.

And there went any plans of keeping Lingormr in the dark. The Once-ler paused in his work and glanced at Soma as she explained.

When she had finished, the man added, "She might be able to help us out with our injuries. I actually tried to see her last night, but," he lifted the crutch up, "as you can see, that didn't pan out."

Belatedly he realized it might not have been the best idea to indicate his leg so openly. Lingormr had caused this problem, although he had been brainwashed at the time.

"Ah, I see. Knowing that the lady might be able to heal you, that seems a good idea. And she is pleasant enough company." He smiled crookedly. "I hope you two do not tire her overmuch. I have heard magic is much more effort in this place."

He smoothed down the front of his coat. "Well in that case, I shall let you get to it and not be in your way. I still must offer the lady an apology in person, but now would not be the most appropriate of times, it seems."

"We won't," Soma assured him quickly. "The last thing I want to do is take advantage of Rapunzel, and if she's too tired, we won't ask her."

She contemplated offering to tell Rapunzel for him, but decided against it after a moment. It would probably look better for everyone involved if he apologized to her himself, as he said. Lingormr's apparent unpopularity, while not entirely surprising after his SC run, continued to frustrate her, and the more he succeeded at turning that around, the better.

"Have a good night, then," she offered, smiling a little. "Or as good a night as you can have in a place like this. Thank you again for the books, and stay safe."

Loki nodded and offered Soma a warm smile. "I hope Rapunzel is able to help you. I shall see you on the morrow, Soma."

He let himself out of the room.

Just as well. He had other tasks to accomplish with his night.

[To here]

Edited 2012-10-24 18:58 (UTC)

The Once-ler added the last of the details to his copy of the map as Lingormr left, then stood up and offered the originals back to Soma. "I can copy the second floor map later. You ready to go?"

He was more than ready to be rid of the crutch. Even if he didn't intend to leave his room after being healed, he would at least be rid of that crutch.

Soma nodded, dropping her journal into the makeshift bag hanging from one of the wheelchair handles and putting the two books away in her drawer.

"Let's get going," she said, carefully maneuvering her way out into the hall. "The sooner we find Rapunzel, the better."

[to here]

Edited 2012-10-25 03:11 (UTC)

But maybe some of you should watch your backs when you least expect an attack.

Yomi couldn't help smiling at Landel's piece of advice. Yes, of course he would say something like that.

Once she had changed and armed herself, Yomi didn't wait to push the door open. Admittedly, she was interested to hear what Albedo had to say, having missed out on the details of his meeting with Landel the night before. How many people were targeting the sick prisoners? For what price?

It was a bloodthirsty game, and it made her curious.

_{[to here]}

Edited 2012-10-06 18:22 (UTC)

No one had replied to her message. At least not before she'd nodded off on the couch, and she hadn't had a chance to check it before being steered to her quarters.

Either no one was as worried as she was, or they were too fixated on their own goals to see it. The basement, or some other trap. Or there were too few left to mount a defense, which was an option she was refusing to consider. If she didn't think too hard about it, it might not be true. Besides, if it was, there was nothing she could do about it. Except die in the attempt to stop everyone from massacring everyone else. In which case it would be inevitable, and thus, dying in the first wave slightly more pleasant.

A voice in the back of her head pointed out that perhaps they didn't trust her, but how would they know? They didn't look at her and see a monster, so why should they? All they saw was someone who wasn't ill, and could prove it.

Either way, she wasn't going out unarmed. Throwing star, stunner, and claw. The materia clacked against the stunner when she tossed it in the bag -- just because she still wasn't totally comfortable with magic didn't mean she was going to leave behind her greatest asset. And the earrings needed to go on before the claw, oops. There was more than one kind of way to lose, and losing sight of what mattered was one of them. The radio and flashlight could stay; she wasn't interested in games tonight.

[to here]

Edited 2012-10-08 01:28 (UTC)

The intercom sounded. She listened. How frank. Would that she could be happy for the honesty, but a denial of illusions was nothing refreshing when the one doing it was still every bit as horrible when pretending otherwise.

The door unlocking was as a starting gun, and while she disliked the thought of possibly moving to the beat Landel's drum, the fact that what she was going to do do something to help was a comfort. Switching her slippers for shoes, Flora then grabbed her flashlight from under her pillow, and then took the case. Orihime, rightfully, looked upset, and Flora wished there was more she could do for her, but they both had things to do, goals to accomplish. Maybe getting them done was what they really needed. Still, she should have been able to do something. She shook her head kindly. "Don't be sorry. Good luck to you all. Please, take care of yourself." There was a weight to the words, they meant more than just something said when seeing someone off. She wanted Orihime and everyone with her to stay safe and unharmed.

Flora smiled, brow furrowing in mock-apology as she did. "I wish I had some nail polish on me. Slumber parties aren't much without at least a little making over but we'll find some way to manage, I'm sure."

She clasped her hands in front of her, promising herself as much as she did the other girl. "Yes, we will. I look forward to it."

She stepped out not soon after, flashlight and pillow case in hand. Time to start her little trip.

_{[To here]}

Edited 2012-10-09 19:23 (UTC)

_{[From here]}

Flora turned the door open. She entered none too quickly and shut it behind her, slumping against it immediately and shutting her eyes.

"Made it." Now she sighed, and what a sigh it was. Her heart beat relentlessly, and the hand not holding her spoils trembled for a few moments. She was used to stressful situations, but this was just something different. So new. Only here in the (relative) safety of her room could she think of that entire excursion, and how scared by it she'd been.

She took trembling steps to her bed and sat down on it, setting her pillow case carefully beside her before running her hand through her hair. A moment, she just needed a moment. She missed her friends, more than ever, now. They were always around, a team in perfect sync that watched one another's backs.

And they weren't weren't here.

It was hard not to think that something of her wasn't here as well, with them absent. She'd had to watch her own back, with only a pittance of her power. Thinking on it, she's not sure how she managed to go out like that, but a part of her thought she was crazy for it. This was so foreign to her and so unwelcome, but the alternative was having them here, and she didn't want them suffering alongside her.

But maybe if they were, they could all get out, together. There wasn't anything they'd come across that they hadn't managed to overcome, together.

Flora just didn't know, either way. Maybe it wasn't something worth thinking on.

Breathing out, she waited for everything in her to steady before carefully taking out all of her new goods and putting them on the floor by her bed, if not outright under it. Now that she had her tools and supplies, it was time to use them. Her work was not yet finished.

A flask, tube, and funnel were gathered along with her flashlight and knife before she headed out, once again.

_{[To here]}

Edited 2012-10-27 03:56 (UTC)

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Night 66: F1-F10 Hallway

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