Day 54: Recreational Field

[martyrs]

Well, that was the most exhausting lunch Elena had ever experienced. And she didn't get around to eating very much either. Her headache was a least somewhat bearable now, but as the shift ended, she realized how stupid it had been to not get something in her system before the shift ended. But that apparently wasn't in the cards. In fact, just as she stopped panicking long enough to try and get some food down, her nurse was sweeping to her side.

"Shift change, m'dear." Like she hadn't noticed everyone getting up out of their seats and leaving the cafeteria. "I'll take your tray for you, and you make sure to get out to the field on time."

"On time?" Her blank expression must have given away more than she realized, because the nurse was giving her yet another sympathetic look.

"You slept thought a lot this morning, I'm afraid. I'll explain along the way."

By the time they had reached the Rec Field, the nurse had explained most of what had happened with the food fight, and the tear gas, and it only served to damage her calm yet again that day. Of course she slept through something like this, and of course the boys and girls were split up this shift, and of course Elena would have to wait around for some uniformed man to call out her fake name before she could get to Stefan.

At least her last name was near the stop of the list.

"Bailey, Samantha-"

"Here! I'm here. Can I go back inside now? Please?"

Though she didn't even wait for an answer before turning back and heading for the building. As far as she was concerned, she did what she was told, and there was no good reason why she couldn't make her way to the Sun Room right this very second.

[to here]

Comments

[hairraising]

Okay. Okay. Talking with Kairi had helped some. That was good. Rapunzel could breathe a little easier, especially after getting some food in her stomach. That said, "a little easier" was far from being totally relaxed about all this. There were still so many questions buzzing around inside Rapunzel's head that she was feeling the beginnings of an actual headache coming on. Going to and from the board full of notes had answered some of them, but then raised just as many others. So it was common for people to have their gifts taken away here? So that meant there were other people in the world with gifts like hers, some even more a part of who those people were? So those in charge of taking all these gifts were powerful enough to steal even from mechanical men and gods? So gods were real? (Maybe? Rapunzel still raised an eyebrow at that.)

She supposed it made sense that the woman she had called "Mother" would be in league with people like this. If she knew about Rapunzel's hair, then she might have known about other kinds of magic, as well as other people who possessed it. Maybe she had just wanted to avoid going to them unless it was necessary? That made sense, she thought. It would be a pretty extreme thing for "Mother" to try, especially if she were so desperate to keep the power of Rapunzel's hair all to herself. Perhaps this was just the only way to make certain the outside world never touched her again.

Rapunzel bit her lip and glared at the empty air in the Sun Room as she finished another note. Well don't be too certain yet, Mother. I promised I would go with you, but only if you promised to let me heal him! How do you expect me to feel if I can't even remember whether I did it or not? You think I'm just going to sit here quietly if you don't tell me what happened?

Apparently not. Around then, Nurse Alice came to stop her from sitting down again. It was almost time to go outside, she said, handing Rapunzel a coat. "Outside?" Rapunzel blinked, surprised that that was even allowed. She didn't get much time to wonder, however, before something sounded overhead. She jumped at the sudden noise, then listened to what was apparently a disembodied voice arguing with someone from the ceiling. Where was that coming from? Why was it so loud? The nurse assured her that it was just the "intercom." Whatever that was, it freaked her out.

After that little scare, sure enough, she was lead outside onto a big open field. It was cold, but the coat helped her to stay warm. Even if she hadn't been wearing it, she might have been fine anyway. Being outside in cold weather was still as new and enticing to her as escaping out into that warm day with Eugene. She was tempted to take off her shoes and let the prickly grass tickle her toes, but the moment she made a move to reach down, her nurse stopped her, insisting that she line up for roll call.

Roll call, as it turned out, involved standing in a line with a bunch of other girls and responding to names as they were called out. Why they had to do that, Rapunzel didn't know, but she wasn't about to question the scary men in uniforms. And so she stood rocking her heels back and forth uncomfortably inside her shoes, waiting to be called on.

"Blumenthal, Amanda!"

After a few moments of silence from Rapunzel, Nurse Alice touched her on the shoulder. "That's you, dear."

"What? But I told you, I'm not—!"

"Blumenthal, Amanda!" the soldier barked louder, the snap from his voice hitting Rapunzel in the chest like a small brick.

"H-here!" she squeaked in response. Satisfied, the soldier moved on to the next name on the list. Rapunzel breathed a shaky sigh of relief. She really thought the man might have hit her if he had been any closer.

[hairraising]

When that was all done, the women were free to do whatever they wanted on the field, it seemed. Rapunzel was at a loss for what to do. On the one hand, it felt so weird being expected to just... have fun in the midst of all this. At the same time, though... outside, oh my gosh. She couldn't help but be a little excited. Just a little.

To start, at least, Rapunzel wandered in the direction of a small building after her nurse left her. Was that the shed Kairi had mentioned before? The one that held the "baseball bats"? Other nurses were taking various pieces of equipment out of it as she watched, mainly balls of varying colours and sizes. She looked from the shed to the building doors, already starting to plan a way she might be able to get out here after nightfall. Barring any encounters with giant bees, anyway. Gulp.

[Free]

[madeinthehrl]

So that was that, then. Out of five girls, LDGC was down to two--maybe three, if they were lucky and Hokuto was just feeling under the weather. And with no idea where Meche and Falis had gone, either.

Soma was in no mood to listen to her nurse after Senna's revelations, but the cold stares of the soldiers lining the halls deterred her from shrugging off the woman's guiding hand and making a break for it. She'd learned to spot a fight she couldn't win. Not that it meant she was giving up anytime soon--but this was a less than opportune time to rebel.

As it turned out, all that she'd been directed to the rec field for was a simple roll call. It was almost reassuringly straightforward, except for the part where she had to answer to a name that wasn't hers. Still, a life in the military had conditioned her well, and the shout of "Medvedeva, Maria" received a crisp "Present" in response.

That business finished, Soma headed back toward the Sun Room, but her nurse stopped her short with an admonishment to make some new friends now that Rose and María had been released. It was all she could do to withhold some angry response, but she held her tongue and scanned the field for a vaguely familiar face before shaking her head and turning back to the doors.

That went over well less than she hoped it would. "How about Amanda?" asked her nurse, guiding her toward a girl about her age, with golden hair even longer than Soma's own. "She's just arrived, and I'm sure she'd be happy to make a friend!"

There was nothing for it. She took a few voluntary steps forward, which was enough for the nurse to finally release her. "Soma Peries," she offered by way of introduction, her expression serious but not entirely unfriendly. There could be advantages to meeting someone new. "I'm guessing your name isn't Amanda."

[hairraising]

And before she could get very far, another nurse was already approaching her. Rather than usher her to a new place, however, this one was here to give her some more company. The staff here were pretty big on the prisoners making friends, weren't they? At least they were friendly jailers. Sort of.

"Ah, yeah! Yeah, your guess would be right. I'm Rapunzel," she answered, feeling self-conscious with the other girl being so professional with her. Her hands folded awkwardly in front of her. "I've only been here an hour or two so far. This is all still completely overwhelming..." She brushed a lock of hair behind one ear. "Have you been here long?"

[thatdemonbitch.livejournal.com]

Truth be told, the accidental message over the intercom did nothing to soothe Ruby's apprehensions about the institute. Whatever these militarized individuals had given Landel to help him out technologically -- something to dampen those pesky powers, maybe? -- it meant that having them around was way more serious than anyone had been taking things. Score one for the non-rioting crowd for being smart enough to not fuck with that.

Her attention was irrevocably fixated on trying to figure out just how royally screwed they were with the big boss in town. Sure, Landel had gone and made a fool of himself, but something told her that was only going to get 'the General' further up their asses. It was less funny when she had that impending, doom-y feeling that shit was going to roll downhill and bury them for what her brilliant peers and even wiser captor had accomplished.

One more item on the docket for her heart-to-heart with Sam when night fell. The y-chromosome deficient portion of the patient became to make their way, at the nurses' behest, toward the recreational field and Ruby gave one smirk and half-chuckle for show at Landel's botched intercom transmission, despite the endless apprehension it brought her, before she got to her feet and headed out that way with them.

The more sadistic portion of her mind -- which, let's face it, she was short on the less sadistic parts -- took the time while they did their gallows walk to imagine what the General might be doing to Landel for screwing it up like he had while the I.R.I.S. system had done its substitution job.

Outside was cold -- colder than she'd been hoping, but not as cold as last night, which left her prepared for it. She clenched her jaw instead of raising her arms to hug herself and checked around to try and keep tabs on all the uniforms who were playing guard dog out there. She'd learned her lesson about not keeping her guard up well enough when the tear gas exploded into the cafeteria that morning.

The line they formed up on the field was eerily reminiscent of a firing line, though any idiot with half a brain could tell it was an intimidation maneuver over a real threat. If Landel or his boss wanted any of them dead, they'd be dead. Simple as that. They'd given no indicator that they were in the business of screwing around when they wanted something done, and they were by no means short on ways to do it. Ruby's name was pretty high on the list, so it didn't take her long to get annoyed by the guy barking off names.

"Alighieri, Kristen!"

Sigh. They didn't seriously expect her to keep responding to that crap, did they?

"Alighieri!" Trying to hold back the way she was rolling her eyes, she finally shot one hand halfway into the air, looking obviously unimpressed by the entire deal. Roll call? Where the hell else would they be scampering off to right about now, anyway? The place was chalk full of guards, surely they didn't think anybody was getting past 'em. Or that any of them were stupid enough to try -- rioters aside.

"Yeah, I heard you, I'm right here. Maybe you should just leave the attendance up to one of the nurses, buddy. You know, the ones who actually got some idea what we look like?" There was a snide edge to her voice, and after the ensuing reprimand, she straightened up, realizing maybe it was time to learn to put a cap on that smart aleck mouth of hers. At least until she wasn't tied to her vessel and those guys weren't packing some kinda heat. The rest of the roll progressed, and she turned over her shoulder to look at one of the nurses when it was through and the crowd began to disperse.

"Think I can get on the express train back inside? Not exactly looking to improve my tan during my stay." That, and the sun room had worked for her before -- no reason not to trust it this time around to get her in touch with somebody useful. It would sure as hell mean more face time than some crappy sport. With an amicable look, the nurse led her back into the institute.

[ to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1037822.html?thread=75604990#t75604990) ]

[autophoenix.livejournal.com]

Claire stared for a long moment, transfixed on the intercom. Were they serious? They were getting holed up in this institute and the mastermind behind it all wasn't even smart enough to realize he'd turned the intercom on? Of course, by the sound of what had accidentally been broadcast, it was safe to assume that Landel wasn't the top of the food chain. Considering they'd named the Institute after the guy, you'd think he'd be a little further up than to get reamed for some rioting and making a total idiot out of himself.

Apparently, that wasn't the case. After the shock of the intercom message wore off, Claire slowly shifted her gaze to the nurse that was heading over to begin ushering the girls to the recreational field and the boys toward the greenhouse. As exciting as the rec field sounded -- lord knew she wanted to stretch her legs after sitting with a certain degree of stiff anxiety all day -- she had somewhere else to be.

"Come on, you've got to go with the other girls to line up for roll," the nurse persisted, and Claire slowly let herself be led from the room towards the recreational field, though there was a visibly bewildered look on her face. Her brow wrinkled in confusion and she shook her head.

"Roll call? Seriously? Since when--" Unfortunately, the nurse wasn't going to let her finish.

"Now, now, let's not worry about that." Actually, it was more or less exactly what Claire wanted to worry about. That combined with the skittish way the staff had been acting all day … it was starting to seriously wear on her. No answers, just questions on top of questions, and things changing that had even Landel acting like a deer in headlights. As much as she wanted to hope it was good news for the patients -- an enemy of my enemy and all that -- she had this sinking feeling that it was just going to make things for them much, much worse.

"Look, I just want to go back to the sun room, I'm not gonna start flinging chairs or attacking people, I'm not --"

"Once we're done with roll call, I'll show you the way back." As if she didn't already know it by heart. Claire's lips pursed together, obviously unsatisfied with the dismissal of the conversation, but not about to turn down the offer to get her back to the sun room where, hopefully, she'd be able to catch up with Pete. Filing out onto the recreational field for roll call, she followed the nurse's directions to form an orderly line.

The names began to get called off and by the time the uniformed official got to the D's, Claire was already sure she was asleep on her feet. It was hard to get downgraded in the alphabet when she'd expected her name to be one of the first few called, so she almost missed it -- or, she would have, if it weren't for the military guy's booming voice.

"De Luca, Emma!" She nearly jumped out of her skin, straightening up immediately and clearing her throat.

"Uh. Here. I think." Mostly. Was Emma De Luca really there? No. Not in the slightest. But, Claire Bennet was supposed to be her, and she'd managed to show up, so she might as well cover Emma for now. Playing possum was the only way she was going to get back into the sun room to talk to Pete. Despite pleading looks in the direction of the nurse that she'd convinced to bring her back to the sun room, Claire had to wait until the rest of the names were called to make her narrow escape.

[ to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1037822.html?thread=75588606#t75588606) ]

[melodists.livejournal.com]

She kept the lunch conversation to the vault in her mind and threw focus into the present, to the ongoing drama behind and beneath the intercom. What had occurred between the Head Doctor and the silent unnamed individual was easy to figure: an argument and a difference in opinions. From the tone of Dr. Landel's voice, he was likely strained, desperate, and angry. As with Tear and a vocal group of patients, the man had found nothing beneficial in the events at breakfast. In fact, was on the verge of punishment himself.

The details remained anyone's guess, but Tear had an idea. Despite varying worlds and philosophies, she knew military. She knew the single-minded factors that can result in a group dedicated to "defense". The blood that congealed after the first strike.

They had called the females to the recreational field for roll call, regardless of wants. Tear was no exception, but unlike most, she remained unfettered. It wasn't as if she had never been a cadet; this was really going back to the basics. Just a review, more or less. Thus, while uncertainty filled the air, Tear watched in silence as memory took hold of her route and perception took in the uniformed officers.

"Roe, Helen!"

"Here!" Tear called out, ensuring her voice came clear and audible. There was a brief pause for voiceless acknowledgment from officer, and then the teenager turned, heels clicking. Her business was done here.

[To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1037822.html?thread=75592190#t75592190).]

[fourstonewalls]

So that was the infamous IRIS. An automated intercom system. That was anticlimactic, after the bits and pieces she'd heard. Clearly, there was more to the story. Time to find someone who'd been here a little longer.

She declined the nurses harried offer to get her coat; she didn't plan on staying on the field longer than necessary. Still, she was shivering when it was over; while she might not have come from an L.A. summer, winter chills were less common than 70-and-sunny in December. She wrapped her arms around her body and tried not to shiver.

Technology here was a mass of contradictions. One step forward and two back, in the most unlikely places, even setting aside the inexplicable. Automated intercom systems that did a remarkably good job. A video store that was wall-to-wall DVDs, in what was ostensibly 2008, but the video games were years older. Like a bad alibi, the closer you looked, the more glaring the inconsistencies became.

Precisely. A bad alibi, or a Global Studios made-for-TV special with more emphasis on the hero's rugged good looks than on why a samurai would be wearing sneakers on the long shots. The things she watches, honestly. It was a cheap imitation of reality, put together by a madman with an agenda. Book copyrights were easy; someone had stopped too soon. Or gotten too greedy, picking a crackerjack team of eyes to run through his little scenario.

Lana dutifully stepped forward when they called out for Shirley Franklin, just after Franklin, Rosalind. The roll call, as much of a hassle as it was, wasn't something she'd mind making a permanent appearance; she could double-check on Ema without doors slamming, or worse, the uncertainty of not knowing where she was.

[to here]

[lastlovesong]

No matter how well-behaved in the cafeteria that morning, she and Ritsuka ended up getting tear-gassed with all the other patients. Unfortunately the side-effects of tear gas caused more problems for Chise, she was stuck with a constant runny nose that lasted throughout the second and third shift. The nurses had to bring in a medical doctor to diagnose the problem halfway during the lunch shift. In the end, the doctor wrote it off as a mild allergic reaction and gave her a couple of pills to stop the sniffles. By the time fourth shift came around, her nose had stopped dripping mucus as she waited for her fake name to be called.

"Maya, Chelsea?"

"H-Here! And I'm feeling better now..."

Before she could head towards the building, a nurse caught her arm and insisted that she should stay outside. With no intentions of being pumped full of drugs, Chise complied with the nurse and found herself sitting underneath a tree.

[free!]

[sortaheadstrong.livejournal.com]

The day had drug on following the morning with Celty doing only as much as she was able. By Lunch she'd at least been able to breathe properly again, and somewhat recognize food that had still been more blur than sustenance. For that reason she'd only eaten a little. Or mostly for that reason - the other was because the blurry light brown strip had not tasted all that great. Hopefully the Dullahan would be more coherent the next time she was facing the same kind of food so that she could put a non-blurred image with the list of "things not to eat again".

Not that she'd started an actual list like that. Who could have with a journal soaked through in orange juice?

The last shift was, thankfully, outside in weather that Celty felt refreshed stepping into. A cool breeze was just what she'd needed, but when the nurse was suddenly nudging her into lining up alongside fellow patients Celty could not help but wonder what was going on. After hearing a few names called, she understood that it was a roll call and waited patiently to hear her name. If they wanted to know everyone was there, then that was fine.

As she waited, Celty noticed a lot of the women were taking their time in answering to names called, so when the name "Kerrigan, Fiona!" was shouted, she was not surprised that no one answered immediately. Again the name went called without a response and Celty hoped the person not answering wouldn't get in too much trouble. Her head turned to look down the line, the Dullahan curious, before someone began shouting in her ear about, "Answer when you're called, woman! I don't have time for you to be daydreaming!"

Hands clasped over her ears before Celty looked to see the soldier glaring down on her. Panicking, she looked both ways down the line before blinking and pointing a finger at herself.

"Kerrigan, Fiona!"

Celty started and held her hands up before her, shaking them fiercely. She wasn't that person! Why was he getting so mad at her?!

"She's here, sir," a nurse suddenly intervened, setting a hand to Celty's shoulder from behind, "This woman has difficulty speaking, and her writing journal did not survive the morning. Now just give a nod, dear," she told Celty in hopes of avoiding problems with these men.

Though she was still confused, Celty didn't protest the request and gave a slow nod at the soldier who only snorted at her. When he moved on to the next name, Celty sighed hard out of relief. As many thugs she'd tracked down on Izaya's errands, she should have been more used to misunderstandings, but something about this place made her feel more powerless than her usual self. It was frustrating, and a little bit scary.

"Honestly..." the nurse sighed, then started directing her patient to the field, "Now, Ms. Kerrigan, why don't you try to make some friends here while I look into getting you a new journal? That young lady over there looks like she could use some company."

Socializing was the last thing on Celty's mind that moment, but since the nurse had saved her from that man's shouting, Celty felt somehow obligated to at least try to do as suggested. Because of that, she found herself wondering over towards the girl sitting alone beneath a tree. Maybe, like the girl from breakfast, they would be an understanding without too many words.

[lastlovesong]

In the midst of spacing out, Chise was suddenly interrupted by the presence of another patient. This time it was a foreign lady who appeared to be just a tiny bit older than Chise.

"Ah, hello, I'm Chise. Sorry for asking, but how long have you been here?"

If the woman was a new patient, Chise might have a tough time convincing her that not everybody was crazy enough to unleash catastrophic food-fights every morning.

[avengingfists.livejournal.com]

As fascinating as lunch as been, Guy was not the only Auldrantian Ilia had plans to meet with today. Shortly after a disturbing message from Landel and the I.R.I.S, she was ushered on to the Rec Field along with the rest of the women and lined up. She kept her eyes open for Anise but knew better than to fidget while under the gaze of the officers. Standing there and waiting made Ilia feel like she was in basic training again. This could get tedious. Her "name" was early enough on the list that she didn't have to wait too long to respond.

"Curtis, Elaine!"

"Present!" Ilia stepped forward, heels together, and nearly saluted before she caught herself. The officer seemed a little surprised by her prompt reply but didn't let it affect her speed for role call. She kept the names moving along promptly and Ilia took this time to scout for Anise along the ranks and around the field.

Part of her worried Anise might have gotten caught up in something earlier that day that could have made it hard for the girl to get around, but she wouldn't let herself worry. Anise was a soldier too. She could take care of herself. That's what Ilia chanted in her head, though her stiff jaw belied her restlessness.

[gald_digger]

I.R.I.S.'s voice was probably one of the last voices Anise expected to hear today. Anise never thought they'd use her (it?) on purpose during the day. In any case, it was kinda nice to also hear Landel get taken down a peg, so she decided to just be satisfied with that for now.

The way the soldiers lined them up in the Recreational Field reminded Anise of the officers' school back at Oracle Headquarters, where she was expected to stand at attention at any given moment. The good news was that she had any easy time falling into line here, and the soldiers didn't feel the need to give her more than a passing glance.

"Haze, Dolores!"

"Here!" Anise raised her hand. She knew that wasn't really standard for role calls like this, but right now she was a civilian, right? So it was okay to act cute, so long as she didn't get in anyone's way. The soldier seemed to think so too, merely glancing in her direction and ticking something off on a clipboard before moving on to the next name. That meant she was free to go!

Maybe Ilia was finished, too. Anise walked away from the line a little, looking around the field. It didn't take long to spot Ilia, and so she quickly bounded over to where the woman was. "Hi! You didn't wait long, did you?"

[avengingfists.livejournal.com]

There really wasn't a lot of females in the institute despite the fluctuation of the population. Males highly outnumbered them, which would have concerned Ilia had this been a normal institution. As it was, the low numbers actually made the wait for Anise much shorter than it might have been in an all women's facility.

"No, not long at all." Ilia turned to Anise with a smile, glad to see she was just a bight-eyed and bushy-tailed as their first meeting. She must have been safe from the gassing and drugging that occurred this morning. Ilia probably felt more relieved than she should have; she needed to put more faith in her young friend.

"Glad to see you're looking well today," she continued before glancing about the field. Hopefully the aching of her wounds would lessen with a little exercise before dinner. She looked back to Anise, gesturing to the field as if to say she could choose whatever activity she wanted to indulge in first.

By way of conversation, Ilia decided to stick with a topic that wouldn't get them immediate attention from the uniformed officers still in earshot. "It got a little crazy this morning, didn't it? I can't imagine what that man was thinking, inciting a riot like that."

[thatdamnedninja.livejournal.com]

"We have to do a roll-call?" Yuffie hissed.

"Yes," Plucky replied, in a terse undertone. "Please, behave yourself. You've been in more than enough trouble already today, Hanna, and I'd rather not ha—"

"I get it, I get it," Yuffie interrupted, hands on her hips. "Good thing I've got an appointment with a pal this afternoon; I don't have time to play around." No matter how much she may want to, she added, silently venomous. These guys all looked like a Frisbee to the head—stuck in the head—would make a massive improvement…

"Bloom, Hanna—!"

"Totally not at your service," Yuffie responded promptly. When the soldier glared at her, she grinned sharply, and tacked on a, "Present," just in case.

A minute later, once they were trekking through the all-too familiar hallways on the way back to the sun room, Plucky sighed and shook her head. "I thought I told you to behave yourself…"

"Haven't you ever heard of being grateful for small favors? My old man'd be checkin' to see if I was a clone…"

[To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1037847.html?thread=75610391#t75610391).]

[vitale.livejournal.com]

Oh god, the Recreational Field. The thoughts that instantly came with that name reminded her of gym, and she hoped to whatever evil god was inhabiting the place that she would not be forced to play volley ball or soccer or some other potentially life endangering sport.

However, the sun felt nice, so she left it at that.

"Can I go see Edward after this?" She asked her nurse quickly, instantly remembering that she probably wouldn't respond to his actual name. "Er, I mean ... Christopher?" Whenever she didn't see Edward for the day, she got ... somewhat antsy. Today was even worse, considering what they had done last night; she would resort to begging if she had to. Maybe crying a little if things weren't looking in her favor.

"I'm sure Christopher is fine, Kate," her nurse replied instantly, causing Bella to frown. "After all, his friend was released last night! I'm sure he's very happy for him, being able to live on his own now. Hopefully, once home, Mr. Lant will be able to dye that crazy hair of his back to his natural color! Others will not take kindly ..."

But she wasn't listening to the nurse anymore. Edward's friend was released last night? Crazy hair color ...

Oh no, Bella instantly knew who the nurse was speaking of. Her face paled slightly, a frown crossing her lips. Not Venom. How was Edward going to react to that? One of his only friends - she thought they were friends, at least. After all, they had traveled together quite frequently ... - had been taken, put who knew where. Would he be happy? Sad? She was leaning more towards sad, for obvious reasons. And now that Venom was gone, how was Edward going to get the blood he normally had gotten from Venom?

It didn't take Bella long to begin formulating a plan, and in her thoughts, she almost didn't realize that someone was screaming her real name. " IRVING, KATE!"

"Oh, uh, here!" she shouted back, the person saying names giving her a rather sharp glance before moving on to the other names.

Instantly, she went back to thinking. How was she going to do it? Surely Edward would vehemently refuse; so it had to be in secret, and she had to be alone. She would have to think up a lie, one he would believe.

I can do this, she thought to herself, lifting her face to the sky, eyes falling shut. I have to.

[shorttank.livejournal.com]

Leela hadn't heard that automated voice before, and wondered for a crazy minute if it was a robot. It couldn't be, could it? That would be proof they weren't in the time this time was pretending to be, which was confusing enough just to think about.

Betty insisted they had to go outside for a roll call, so Leela followed her out. There was still a chance the rebels might show up, she told herself, but she couldn't help but feel they were pretty inefficient rebels, to have missed the distraction the poor patients had bought them with the sweat of their brows… or snot of their noses.

She got in the line with the other girls and women, feeling mutinous. For supposed mental-health-care professionals, they sure lacked any ideas about psychology. If you treated people like misbehaving brats, you'd get misbehaving brats. Which was why, when Leela heard, "Townsend, Lisa!", she used her two-eye-roll expression again. "Not really!" she called. "But here," she added hastily, which sort of ruined the effect.

She decided to stay outside, and, aware of Betty's watchful eye on her, and the not-DOOP guys' eyes on everyone, didn't go too close to the fence in her walk around the field.

[free!]

[willing-sheath.livejournal.com]

Tomoe had barely eaten anything at lunch that day, but at least this time it was because she had been getting somewhat helpful information instead of just flat out refusal for a lack of appetite. Soon enough Anna was on her elbow again, clicking her tongue over the fact that she hadn't eaten more of her lunch.

"Come on dear, we need to get you to roll call," and soon she was being shuffled off in a new direction and actually outside for the first time since she'd arrived. By now she was no longer surprised by how odd everything appeared--in fact she would likely be shocked if anything appeared familiar by this point. This was also the first time she found herself in a group of all women, however, and pointedly glanced down the line to take in the other faces--("Arisugawa, Miyuki.")--as the personnel began calling out names.

She turned her attention back on the field, certainly curious over the carefully mowed grass--("Arisugawa, Miyuki.")--and the flat terrain. She took note of the angry, frustrated tone the woman calling out the list had... and also the fact that she seemed to be pointedly glaring directly at Tomoe.

"Arisugawa, Miyuki!"

And then it hit her that it was supposed to be her 'real' name--though even if it was how on earth she was supposed to realize it was beyond her with the way the woman was utterly garbling the syllables. 'AR-ee-suu-GA-wa MEE-yu-ki'. She blinked with the realization, holding back the urge to snort. If they were going to try to place a false identity on her the very least they could do was figure out how to pronounce it right.

"Here," she answered coolly. She looked about, seeing that many of the others were requesting to return inside. She pondered doing the same for a moment, then thought better of it. Apparently they had free reign of a sort out in this little field and it would likely be in her best interest to take advantage of that and at least get an idea of what was out there for future reference.

And so, without further pause, she started moving out into the field, planning to make at least one circuit of it, joining another woman that seemed to have a similar idea.

[shorttank.livejournal.com]

Leela gave the young woman who came up to her a smile, glad she wasn't stuck with another kid. She wasn't sure she had any more patience for them right now, and someone who seemed composed and sensible would be a nice change.

"Hi," she said. "So, what's really your name? Mine's Leela." She'd heard one of the not-DOOP guys giving the girl a hard time. Or maybe she'd been feeling rebellious about answering to a fake name, too. "And I'm ready for this day to be over, how about you?"

She looked toward the wall, but nothing seemed to be moving out there. Maybe that was a good thing. If she couldn't see anyone coming, neither could the nurses or the soldier guys. By this point, though, Leela sort of didn't trust the rebels to have much stealth, her mental image of them having shifted from rugged (and ruggedly good-looking) freedom fighters to about the equivalent of the New New York Mets infield scrambling after an easy fly ball and concussing themselves while it bounced away.

[scientist-skye.livejournal.com]

After the food fight, Ema had spent the next two shifts doing her best to blend in with the scenery and alleviate the headache all the noise from the foodfight had caused, yet another reminder of the experiment that had been performed on her days ago. It was bad enough that she was probably going to be punished alongside the people whose fault the food fight actually was come nightfall. The last thing she wanted to do was make herself an active target because of any wrongdoing on her part.

Besides, that gave her the chance to observe and take notes on the soldiers and everything that was being broadcast over the course of the day (and, she had to admit, feeling everything in the greenhouse and taking notes on the differences in texture before a nurse told her to cut it out). Ema was all but willing to scrap historical discussions with Renamon in favor of discussing the day and preparing for the night. She could use the sounding board to tease out her own observations and theories regarding everything; also, she wanted to see if Renamon knew anything about the men or I.R.I.S. They could exchange less pertinent information later.

One of the advantages of being Franklin, Marie and not Skye, Ema was that the former name came much earlier in the alphabet, allowing Ema to sound off the required, "Here!" before scampering back inside. She wanted all the time she could get.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/1037822.html?view=75630590#t75630590)]

[36-24-35.livejournal.com]

Tifa felt like she had a cold. Her head was stuffy (lying headfirst in the padded cell will do that to you) and every action was sluggish. It took her nurse several tries to catch her attention and lead her outside onto the recreational field. The brunette was lined up with the other ladies, swaying rather dramatically. She couldn't even be bothered to lift up her head once her name was called.

"Blanton, Rachel!"

After two more missed calls, one of the soldiers (probably one that had hit her) came to stand in front of her and asked again. She didn't have the where with all to actively defy anyone, but he took her slow reaction as such.

"Blanton! Maybe a few laps will clear your head." He pointed to the field behind her. Groaning, Tifa did as she was told. She hated running, or at least running without her own bra. This wasn't a punishment, this was a humiliation! What was wrong with a few push-ups? The young woman kept her gaze pinned on him so he could receive her best death glare. He simply smiled back while his eyes kept wandering further south.

After three laps, he relented and waved her back in. "Close enough, Blanton!" She grumbled something in passing and the soldier laughed. That masculine laugh that all men had when they talked about certain topics of interest. It wasn't worth getting sent back to solitary over something so common and base.

Without prompting from her nurse, Tifa stormed back inside so she could get as far away from these men in uniform as possible.

[To Sun Room]

[giftofstars.livejournal.com]

When the nurse told Sakura that the girls were going to the recreational field next, Sakura felt excited. First, they were taken to the greenhouse and now they got to play games outside? What kind of things did they have? A jump rope? A baton? A volleyball? Today was proving more and more nostalgic of Tomoeda Elementary for Sakura than any of her previous days at the institute, and the young girl welcomed that change.

Although the recreational field was a welcome change, the roll call was not. Sakura quickly found herself herded into a line on the recreational field for a roll call by the scary-looking soldiers. They were still here from this morning? Maybe they were being especially careful since there was a food fight this morning.

"Kamei Eri!"

"Here!" answered Sakura, raising her hand and stepping forward. Even though Sakura still didn't like being called Eri, two weeks of being called Eri rubbed off on her, and now Sakura was answering to both Eri and Sakura. That would probably be a little strange once she went home, but for now, she answered to both to keep out of trouble.

After getting a brief nod from a soldier, Sakura headed over to the activities shed, hoping to find a baton to twirl around. She was probably pretty rusty from not practicing for two weeks, but if she was going to get better, she might as well start practicing now. To her dismay, there were no batons. She tried to twirl a baseball bat as a substitute, but it was too heavy to twirl properly, so she set it back. What to do then...?

[Free]

[thecamellia.livejournal.com]

A blend of anxiety and reluctance had dogged Tsubaki all day, and continued into fourth shift in the form of a lukewarm agreement to head out to the recreational field. Not that she had much of a choice; it was either that or stick around the Sun Room, and she did need a healthy dose of exercise.

However, her nurse insisted that she head outside first, whatever her decision, which was a little strange… Tsubaki realized what the fuss was about once she was out there and the black-clad men began lining the women up for a roll call while one man at the front shouted out their hospital names. If there had to be a roll call, she supposed those were the only names anybody connected to Landel’s was going to use, but why were the soldiers the ones taking attendance? The entire experience gave her a bad feeling, and since she was close to the end of the list, she had to stand and watch everyone go ahead of her, some clearly struggling to rectify themselves with their “real” identity.

When it was her turn, she gave her name like she was expected to, but it was with a strong desire to avoid the soldiers as soon as she could. As far as her plans went, it was hard to get up energy to do more than that. All these mysteries--most already dangerous without armed men invading the building by day--were wearying. And she hadn’t even gotten around to asking about Marc yet…

Mostly Tsubaki just wanted to sit and wait for dusk to fall, but that was her brooding voice speaking. Getting some blood flowing would do good, so she forced herself to wheel around and head toward the shed that her nurse always happily reminded her housed activities. A little running and stretching wouldn’t be bad, either--in fact, maybe better. Still, once she saw who was nearby, her mind was made up.

“Sakura-san!” From a distance, Tsubaki gave her roommate a friendly smile and a wave. Dinner shift was well on its way, but if there was a chance to catch-up even for a minute or two, she’d take it.

[giftofstars.livejournal.com]

Upon hearing her name, Sakura turned to see her roommate from a distance. She returned the greeting with a wave and shouted back, "Tsubaki-san!" It was a pleasant surprise to see Tsubaki this shift. With Utena, Sakura always saw her from a distance, but the only time they were ever able to talk was during dinner. Maybe with Tsubaki, they could bridge that gap and talk as more than just roommates.

Sakura walked over to close the gap before continuing. "Are you here to find something to do too?" the younger girl asked. There were definitely a lot of things they could do individually, but if Tsubaki wanted to play with her, they had a wider selection of things they could do. Besides, Sakura was having trouble deciding on what she wanted to do, so maybe Tsubaki could help her decide.

[thestormishere]

While Lightning's time in solitary confinement did eventually come to an end, there was very little that could have prepared her how, after they had dragged her out and managed to clean her up, they would do nothing more than continue to coddle and insist on taking up the day's schedule again. Lightning was pretty sure she'd finally secured herself a place on the list of people to be executed for their troubles, but they didn't even seem to care at all. The facade of the mental institute continued on as if nothing had happened, exactly the same.

Except for the continued, tense present of the soldiers and obviously beaten-down state of various other 'patients' here and there amongst the population, of course.

Had the young woman not been sedated to the point of losing track of herself completely for the first few hours, perhaps she would have found that far more disconcerting. For the time being, however, she was still fighting an artificial haze that made thinking too much an ordeal. Whatever drugs they used on her had an unusual effect, fogging her mind and making moving from place to place particularly disorienting. Maybe that was part of the point, though, considering it made her much easier to guide around, when she was partially too confused to object.

However, while they could forcibly calm and drag her around without much difficulty, when it came to showing up at the rec field amidst the disorganized mess that they called a roll call, Lightning refused to bow. She was not this "Elysia Veton" person, and so when the name was called, she merely stood there, staring at the ground, and then glancing up only very slowly.

The soldier that appeared in her face soon afterward wasn't impressed, though Lightning really wasn't either. "Stay away from me," she said, distasteful, but still absolutely even despite her spinning head... and the next thing she knew she was sitting on the ground, wincing in pain from her injured arm and shoulder catching part of her weight. She glared up at the man who had shaken and shoved her over, and who was now arguing with the nurse who had brought her.

"She's ill and you men beat her!"

"This woman attacked--"

... And so forth. The tense voices were giving Lightning a headache, and while they were busy fighting she just closed her eyes, waiting for them to finish. She really didn't care about any of their crap- they could just hit her again and lock her up in the room by herself again if they really wanted to.

Or at least, that was the aloof impression she wanted to give off. She knew she was already walking a thin line here, and whether or not it worked was up for debate, but eventually, the consensus was that she was too unwell to even be outside at all. She was soon pulled up to be led back in to the sun room, scowling all the way.

Finally.

[ To here. ]