damned_institute | Day 71: Cafeteria

Al was happy enough to let his brother run off to fill his plate. It was good luck that it was a buffet today; hopefully Edward would be able to get the extra food he needed. It was a real necessity, not just his brother having a big stomach.

Al loaded up on a little bit of anything that looked or smelled sweet (and a few savories as well) before finding a place to sit. His mind was all on plans to get to the third floor, or find out if anyone else had, as he set into his food.

[Lloyd~]

All while he'd been talking to Albert, Lloyd hadn't really been paying attention to the time. Not that there were any clocks he could look at to check, but this early in the morning his body should have been giving him clues that time was passing and he hadn't been taking care of basic needs like food. Even once he sat down with a plate of food, though, his stomach only made a halfhearted acknowledgment that he hadn't eaten since yesterday evening, and that hadn't been all that much. He should have been starving.

But he wasn't.

It's just a stomach bug or something, he tried to tell himself as he poked listlessly at his pancakes. He didn't want to think about alternative explanations, because the biggest one was sitting there right on his hand, covered by bandages, like a poisonous spider lurking in its web. If it was already affecting him...

No. No, he had to believe he had more time. Shoving a forkful of pancakes in his mouth, he forced himself to chew, then swallow. He had to eat. He needed to beat whatever this was. The food didn't taste like much, even drenched in syrup, but he told himself that was just because the nurses probably weren't good cooks.

Even with his determination, though, he only made it through half his pancakes before it just felt like too much of a chore. His speed slowed until he was really just poking the food with his fork, and his attention wandered. It didn't take much, just a flash of blond hair and a familiar face, before Lloyd lost interest in his food completely. Leaving his tray, he headed over to where he'd just spotted Al.

"Hey," he said. "How're you doing?" The last time he'd seen Al, the other boy had still been recovering from the monster that had attack them and Ed.

Al grinned up at Lloyd when he came over. "I'm doing a lot better now. Brother and I managed to get into the chemical storage along with some of our friends from home, and we've got a few tricks in case things get hairy now." He shoveled a few more bites of french toast into his mouth and gestured for Lloyd to sit down. "Mmph. How about you?"

"Oh?" Lloyd perked up a little bit, his interest piqued by that remark. "What kind of tricks? Anything you can share?"

Of course, once the conversation was turned back to him, it wasn't quite so easy to answer. Awkwardly, he shrugged his shoulders. "I'm... okay, I guess." Physically, he was healing up pretty well. The threat of the false Key Crest was a different story, though, but... should he go into that with Al?

He probably shouldn't. At least, not right now. Fishing for something to change the subject to, though, his mind latched onto something else.

"Hey, have you ever seen a picture that was painted without any paint? I mean, no brush strokes or anything, it's all just one smooth picture?" Damn, he wished he could show Al. It was hard to explain. Unfortunately, there hadn't been time to grab the photograph before his nurse had bustled him out of his room.

He shrugged. "Stink bombs and improvised flashbangs to distract monsters if we get away. I was tempted to try and make something to set the monsters on fire, but getting away is more important than killing them. We only were able to make five of each for the both of us, though. I'm gonna start making things for people, though, so if you get more of the chemicals I can make a few for you."

Lloyd's hesitance to answer made Al frown, but he did look okay. It might have been some emotional impact he didn't want to share with so new a friend. Al could understand that.

The question about pictures, though... "You mean photographs? We have those back home--they're made by putting a light-sensitive chemical on paper, then putting it in a camera to take the picture itself. That's done by flashing light onto the paper very, very fast with the use of a shutter that's designed to open and close when you press a button." That brought back memories of Hughes, and all the pictures he would take of Elysia...they wouldn't ever have a chance to hear him chatter on about her again.

Lloyd hadn't had much to feel cheerful about in a while, but this? This was more than enough to bring a small grin to his face. "Those sound awesome," he said, enthusiasm unfeigned. What kind of chemicals do you need?" Never mind that he wasn't the best for knowing what kind of chemicals things had. Al could probably tell him what to look for, he was sure.

...and hopefully he'd be able to keep it simple for Lloyd, because the teen's eyes were already glazing over a little in bewilderment as Al described the process of making a photograph. He shook his head, then cut through the explanation to what was really important. "That sounds really complicated. Is it possible for someone to fake it? I mean, used that to make a picture that didn't ever happen?" Because that photograph had to be fake.

"The stink bombs use sulfur, and...wait, hold on, let me write it down for you," Al said, fishing out some paper and a pen from his pocket. He scribbled down the scientific and common names that had been on the bottles, each under a list of which bomb they were needed for. "Here you go--just take the bottles that have names matching to these. If you run out of time, just grab what you can, and I'll figure out something useful to make with it."

He bit back on a chuckle at Lloyd's confusion, but his next question was actually rather interesting. "...hm. I know I could change a photo with alchemy, but I'm not sure how they would have pulled something like that off. It could be this world has the technology to alter a photo, or create one without needing to take a picture of something real."

He took the paper and read the names, lips moving as he silently tried to pronounce each word. A lot of the words were unfamiliar. Some didn't even look like words, just weird strings of letters. Still, he trusted that Al was right that the bottles would be labeled. That only left one question.

"Where did you find this stuff?"

Folding the paper, he tucked it into the pocket of his pants. He didn't know how incriminating it looked, but he figured it'd be better if the nurses didn't see what was written on it. His mood picked up considerably as Al went on. "I knew it," he said with satisfaction. "I knew there was no way it could be real." He paused, realizing that Al wouldn't know what he was talking about. "I found a picture in a box of stuff that was supposed to belong to me," he explained. "Well, Nigel Clarke, the 'me' they say I am. But I didn't remember that picture ever happening. It showed me and... and my father, and we never had a picture painted like that."

"It was up on the second floor, near the morgue. We went into the decontamination room, and from there we got to the room that had the chemical storage. I think it was labeled 'experimental treatments'?" Al frowned a bit. "We were in a rush at that point--it was about time that we'd all be passing out and brought back to our rooms when we got there."

He grimaces in distaste. "More of the fake pasts they gave to us? Maybe they need that in case there are inspections on the facility, to justify us being here." It's about the only practical reason he could think for the farce, considering there wasn't much effort made to get them to accept it as reality. "Where did you find that, though? Were there any other files or stuff with it?"

"The morgue?" Lloyd echoed the words, looking more than a little disturbed. "It's not... not too close to the morgue, is it? You don't have to go inside it, do you?" An uneasy shiver ran up his spine at even just the thought of going into a room where people's dead bodies were held. "Could you give directions for how to get there? I don't have a very good map of the second floor. Nothing's really labeled."

He paused then, blinking. It hadn't occurred to him that the Institute might have to justify anything to anyone. The doctors didn't seem like they cared about anything like that. "You really think there's people who check on them like that?" He shook his head. "I found it up on the second floor, too. It was..." He frowned, then grabbed a napkin, tracing his finger along an invisible path. "Say this is the second floor and this is where the stairs are. If you go down the hall like this, then take a left, it was the last door me and Tsurugi found on the right. The room was full of boxes with people's fake names on them. But I didn't find any records there." He moved his finger again. "There's a room across from that one, though. It had lots of stuff that looked like records, but I couldn't find my name in it. My real name or my fake name. I don't know what kind of records they were."

"No, it was before the morgue--that's at the end of the hall we went down. The door we went in was about half-way down." He traced the path on a napkin as well. "It was the first hallway in, counting from the side of the building. At the end of the first part there's a locked door, and the first doorway along that hall led into the area we found. That door and the door to the chemical storage were locked as well."

Alphonse shrugged. "It's always a possibility. These could be a small group of scientists that are acting outside of whatever code of ethics the government around here keeps. If that were the case, they would certainly want to have a cover story for what is going on here."

He frowned, nodding as he followed Lloyd's directions. "It might be worth checking out again. The second room, at least. Do you know anything about the third floor?"

Lloyd followed the line Al traced, trying to commit both it and the directions to his memory in case he had a chance to head there tonight. It was only marginally reassuring that he wouldn't have to go to the morgue. It sounded like the room would still be pretty close to it, and ghosts didn't always just stay in one place. The news of locks, though... He frowned again. "How'd you get through the locked doors? Was it something you could break through, or did you have to have a key?" If they were some of the stronger doors, Lloyd didn't see how he could get through them by himself. He'd have to find someone to go with him, like when he, Flora, and Lee had broken through the front door. Maybe they'd be up for doing something like this...

His frown turned into an outright scowl. "There's no way I can believe a whole world, or even a whole country, would be okay with something like this place. If we see an inspection, we should tell them to check this place at night. I don't care how good the doctors think their cover story is. Nobody would believe it if they saw what happens then." It would be hard to get that message to them, though, if they thought all the patients here were insane. Maybe if Lloyd could smuggle that nurse's uniform out of his room he'd have a chance. Only if there was an inspection that day, though, and only if he could change in time. So many 'if's'.

But a chance was still a chance.

Lloyd ran a hand through his hair. "I've heard about it, but I don't know where it is. You don't know, do you?" Someone had to, or else how had people found out it existed?

"Scar was able to break the doors down. He's really tall and strong, though, so I don't know how hard it would be for you on your own." Al grimaced in sympathy--there were a lot of things about being in the armor he was definitely going to miss. "Brother's intending to make a set of lock picks tonight--I could ask if he wouldn't mind making a set for you, too, if you know how to use them?" Making the second set wouldn't take that much more energy, especially compared to the sword for Scar.

Al brightened at Lloyd's suggestion. "That's not a bad idea! Hopefully whoever it is would be willing to listen, and would be somewhere we could talk to them as well."

He shook his head. "No, I don't have any idea, either. It's gotta have some sort of secret staircase or elevator up to it, if it hasn't been found until now, but to comb over all the areas up there, and at night..."

"I'm stronger than I look," Lloyd said, deciding to leave it at that instead of explaining what it was Exspheres could do. Whoever Scar was, if he could break through the door, Lloyd figured he probably could, too. But that train of thought quickly derailed, his eyes widening just a bit. "Ed can make lock picks?" What a lucky break! "I know how to use them, but I broke mine last night. How soon could he make a new set?"

He pursed his lips, wanting to feel optimistic, but also knowing that his idea had its own set of traps. "We'll have to be careful not to get caught..."

Damn, though. Lloyd had been hoping that Al would know something. "It might not even be on the second floor, either. What if the staircase is on the first floor, or down in the basement?" It wouldn't be the first time Lloyd had found he'd had to go down before he could go up. "Do you know where the basement is?"

"We can have a new set ready for you by tonight," Al said, deciding to make them himself if Ed was a grump about it. He had a bit of spare metal left over still. "Brother's gone through plenty of sets back home, so he's had practice to get the tools right."

"Yeah, especially with the nurses hanging around all the time. But we can't really plan something like this--it would probably be announced the morning of the inspection to keep us from figuring out a way to use it to our advantage."

"That's a good point, actually," Al said. "I was told the entrance is in the refridgerator room, in the corner under a trap door. There's a monster guarding the way to it, though."

The promise brought a grin to Lloyd's face, one he didn't even try to restrain. "Oh man, thanks. Tell Ed I owe him one! I mean it. If there's anything I can do for you guys, just let me know, okay?"

And with that to boost his mood, his optimism bore through. "We'll figure something out," he said confidently. "Or we'll find a way out of here on our own first."

He had to pause, though, and give Al a brief, confused look. "Refrigerator?" he echoed. "What's that? And where is it?" Coming from a world with only the barest level of technology, something like a refrigerator was completely foreign to him. Cold cellars, sure, lots of people had those, but with no context to clue him in to what a refrigerator was, he had no idea what to compare it to.

He nodded with a grin. "No problem! We all need to work together here, after all."

Al smiled and nods, then chuckles a bit when Lloyd voices his confusion. "Sorry, I thought you would have known what that was. It's a room or sometimes just a box that is kept cold inside by a machine. The one I'm talking about is over that way," Al pointed over Lloyd's shoulder, "in the kitchen."

"Definitely," Lloyd agreed. Even that sentiment made him feel more positive, striking so close to the first of the Dwarven Vows. "Now if I could just get my hands on a real sword, or even two would be better. Then I'd really be set." Where did people get weapons in this place? There had to be some somewhere, or else Claude couldn't have given him that dagger. Maybe if he got lucky, he'd find it tonight while he was searching for the third floor stairs.

"Oh, so it's like a cellar." Only... a box instead of a room underground? He followed Al's gesture to the doors at the end of the cafeteria. That was where he'd seen nurses come out sometimes carrying food. It didn't seem like it would be a difficult place to get to, but... "Did they mention what kind of monster it was? Or how hard it is to fight?"

"If you can scrounge up the metal, I can transmute you one like I did mine," he said. "I put up a note about a crafting club on the bulletin--someone I met yesterday said she knew people from my world that had been here before, and they had a similar policy. I don't see why I shouldn't keep that going."

"I think Link said it breathed fire? It was some kind of large beast, at least." He shrugged. "I haven't had a chance to go look for myself at night, yet."

Lloyd blinked at the mention of the sword. He'd almost forgotten about that. "That's right, you said you made that sword. With alchemistry, right?" He was still a little vague on what alchemistry was. That was about when that monster had attacked them, before the brothers had much chance to explain. "All you need is metal? Shouldn't you at least work with good iron or steel?" That was one of the basic things his Dad had taught him. In order to make good quality items, you had to work with good quality materials. "I think I missed your note. Sorry. Do you want me to go sign up for it?" Assuming it was still there. Al hadn't said when he put it up, and Lloyd had noticed that notes from the day before weren't there in the morning the next day.

That news brought a definite frown to his face, though, tinged with more than a little worry. "That doesn't sound good. I don't think I could face something like that by myself. Maybe if I had my swords and all my strength and abilities back I could do it, but I could barely fight that monster that went after us. I'll have to figure out a way to prepare before I try to go down there, or find people who can go with me." Which meant time. Which meant he probably wouldn't try to make it to the basement tonight.

"Alchemy," he corrected, smiling. "And it's fine, I put the note up after you left the note about the map. And you don't have to leave a note up there--I'll just make a note for myself about it later in my journal." He didn't want to leave too many notes for the nurses to see hanging around, after all. "And I can change the metal from one type to another. Technically I could change dirt into a metal by messing with the atomic composition, but it's going to be a lot easier to use something that's already a similar element. That takes a lot less energy."

Al nodded, frowning as well. "Yeah, but I think you would want a group going down to the basement with you anyway from what it sounds like. Brother and I could give it a shot with you at some point, but I think he'll want to keep looking for the third floor right now."

"Alchemy. Got it." For now, at least. Technical terms weren't something Lloyd had an easy time retaining, but as cool as alchemy sounded, Lloyd figured he'd remember this. "Man, alchemy sounds awesome," he enthused. "I wish I could do something like that! Just change stuff to make it whatever I needed it to be!" It was entirely too bad that Ed had mentioned you had to be good at chemistry.

Using lots of energy, though, that he understood. "So the closer the metal is to what it needs to be, the less energy you'll need?" That made sense, and he found himself nodding at the idea. It was too bad he probably wouldn't be able to get his hands on any stock iron or steel, but lots of things were made of metal... "How much do you need? As much as there is in a sword?" That was a guess he thought made sense, but he wasn't sure how Al's alchemy worked.

Unconsciously, he rubbed the back of his hand, then flexed his fingers a little. The tips were tingling, like they were starting to fall asleep. Probably not even related, but it was enough to remind him of his more immediate priorities. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. I need to do some of my own searching tonight, though, so... Yeah, another night."

He paused then. Hesitated. The temptation to ask for Al's help was strong, but he still wasn't sure how much to say. How much was too much? How much would Al need? Lloyd trusted him. He'd already decided that much. Just something about the younger boy made him feel like someone Lloyd knew that he could count on, even for something dangerous. But Tsurugi had warned him that he didn't need to tell people everything, that scaring people wouldn't serve any purpose.

Maybe he could just ask and see what he got. Worry about what questions Al would ask when he asked them.

"Hey, Al? Can I ask you a favor? Do you... remember what I had on my hand the night that we first met? The stone and the metal crest?"

Al smiled and nodded--he was quite used to that reaction, even from people in his world. "It really is useful, in a whole lot of ways. Brother's always been more the scholarly type about it, but I'd like to study medicinal alchemy at some point."

"The mass needs to be equivalent, yeah. It doesn't all need to be one piece, though, so if you yank off a couple locker doors or something like that, I can fuse them together." He frowns a moment, making a few mental calculations. "Don't worry too much if the metals you get are of different types, or if there's rust or something on it. It'd be easier if it were all one type, but it's such a small difference it's not too big of a deal."

He watched Lloyd flex his hand, frowning a little when he mentioned the crest. Was this what had been bothering him when he first sat down? "Sort of. What were they, anyway? I don't remember if you explained that or not."

Lloyd tried not to sigh at that single word confirmation that alchemy would probably never be possible for him. Study. He hated studying, especially the 'scholarly' type. "I bet he'd get along really well with my friend Genis. He loves studying, too. His sister's our professor back home. She's really smart - practically obsessed with books." Among many other things. "So you can use alchemy for healing?"

He nodded, making a mental note to figure out how big a sword he wanted so he could estimate the metal he'd need. "That's good to know. About the rust and the types of metal, I mean. I don't know what happens at night to make everything rusty and old, but if I don't have to worry about rust, that'll makes things a lot easier." It also meant he wouldn't have to be too picky about where he got his metal from, or spend any time trying to figure out what kind of metal it was.

There it was, though. The question he'd known Al would ask. He would have asked the same thing if their positions had been reversed, he knew, but that didn't make it any less uncomfortable trying to figure out how to answer it. But he could trust Al. If he couldn't trust Al, who could he? He swallowed, then decided to just bite the bullet. "The metal plate's called a Key Crest. The stone is called an Exsphere. Exspheres... It's really complicated, but they can boost your strength and your power and let you use your mana in ways you normally couldn't. If you don't have the Key Crest, though, they'll make you sick. If your mana goes out of control, it's... it's not good." He drew a breath and let it out. "They took mine. Two nights ago. They took my Key Crest and Exsphere and gave me someone else's Exsphere instead. They gave me a Key Crest, too, but it's a fake. I need them back. The other Key Crest, too, if I can find it. Could you, you know, keep an eye out for them?" He was still trying not to alarm Al too much, but he couldn't keep the edge of fear from his voice.

Al nodded with a fond grin. "What sorts of things do they study? And sort of. Alchemy can boost the natural regeneration of the body to heal faster, but the most common use is to create medicines that are too difficult to create by normal means."

His frown deepened as Lloyd explained--this was really dangerous, that much was incredibly obvious. "I'll keep an eye out for it. I wish I could try and make a new one for you, but from what you're saying I don't think I could with just alchemy." His mind was already racing, trying to decide where the scientists might have stored the stolen Exsphere and Key Crest. "...is your mana going out of control something you can can be held off? Or is it just...how the sickness progresses?"

Day 71: Cafeteria

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