damned_institute | Night 57: West Wing, South Hall 1-B

[from here]

Seemed like another hallway. She was almost glad for the darkness; true, it made it a great deal more difficult to figure out precisely where she was or where she was going, but it meant less strain on her eyes. Every little bit that eased the hurt was a welcome bit.

Perhaps she should have been scared of the dark, or of the unfamiliar. There were a lot of things the girl should have done or should have felt, had she known better. Maybe she would have stayed in her room until sun-up, or at least bothered searching enough to find that hidden flashlight. These were things she could come to regret later, when she knew of what lay behind her, and what ahead. For now, she was more concerned with the labyrinths of her mind than those of the institute. If she woke up here, she figured, it made the most sense that she fell asleep here. These clothes were probably her clothes, that room probably her bedroom. This was a big place, where she lived, and it seemed neither unusual nor ordinary. How could she tell?

Walking forward was quickly thwarted by a wall, which probably shouldn't have surprised her. Wouldn't, she thought, if she could actually remember the layout of this place. Surely she had to have walked these halls before, right? If she lived here? Even the texture of the wall was unfamiliar against her fingers as she dragged her left hand against it, following it south. Partially for navigation, but the steady hand would be able to catch her weight if dizziness overtook her. It would suck if she got turned around and got lost.

Then again, she thought, how could she get lost? She knew neither where she was nor where she was going. Was there a point to worrying?

Without a word she kept moving, boots carrying her on the sound of her own footsteps.

[to here]

[From here.]

The main corridors proved empty except for a young woman, whom Nigredo ignored in favor of his injuries. Walking without tearing out the stitches in his leg was a task he had no experience in, and a part of him wondered if it might have been more ideal to bring along that ancient mobility device. Even with the rate of healing in this world, he obviously wasn't moving as nimbly as he hoped after just one day. The stupid chair might have helped, in the end. Too late now, as they were already hallways away from M96.

He kept his vision straight ahead, glancing occasionally for the presence of his roommate. Nigredo hated the very fact of keeping tabs; he would rather continue without much care. The boy, however, had familial agreements to uphold, and that, in the end, was more important than this temporary truce with those he hated.

Speaking of which... "Your 'friend' is coming, isn't she?" he asked, tone bordering apathetic.

The fact that Nigredo was being compliant meant they were able to move through the hallways without any trouble. The lack of trust was mutual, however, as he kept his focus sharp in case the latter decided to take a shot after all. But the temporary silence was broken at the other's question; one that was somewhat unexpected.

"What kind of question is that?" While he was in his roommate's peripheral, there was no denying the wide grin that spread across Sync's lips. He had to admit, that little stunt Erika pulled last night made it hard for him to hold back his roaring laughter even now. He'd break her arm before she got the chance to do it to him, but for now he was fine finding entertainment at Nigredo's expense.

"If anything, she needs us to get to the other side of the basement. She'll be there."

With that he moved through the set of doors that led to the next hallway.

[To here.]

This hallway was always better traveled, yet it still seemed bleakly empty as Aigis roved by. Perhaps something had changed tonight, other than the drug test. She wasn't sure, but she would do what she could to find out.

She picked up the pace a bit. The fear of being waylaid by a monster or a vampire or anything lurking in the shadows caused her to push her limit of speed. She could not miss this appointment. Not for anything or anyone.

Edited 2011-07-15 06:32 (UTC)

[From here]

Scott had stocked one thing more than the usual with him tonight. Along with Senna's sword and the usual bits and pieces in his coat pockets, he was also carrying his old bat. He wasn't planning to dual wield or anything (though, he figured it would be pretty sweet if he managed to do so). Still, he figured that it couldn't hurt to have a backup weapon in the face of what could potentially be the biggest and baddest monster fight any of them had yet seen. Not that one extra bat was a huge advantage, but Scott was going to take what he could get.

To free up space in his hands, he had left his flashlight and radio both in the room, figuring that he could rely on the others for those things once he got to the meeting spot. The only disadvantage of heading out without a flashlight until then was that he was pretty much forced to trail behind the flashlight beams of other patients moving out ahead of him, which forced him to move a little slower than planned. In particular, he followed a pair of younger, shorter guys, and it was all he could do not to shout at them to move their stubby legs so that the taller people could get moving already.

[To here]

Edited 2011-07-15 06:18 (UTC)

[ from here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1132990.html?thread=78838462#t78838462) ]

She really did need a weapon though, she realized, as she scurried down the hallway. She wasn't as strong as she used to be and neither was her webbing, and if the monsters that were lurking about did come and attack, she wasn't quite sure how she'd defend herself. Jessica chewed on her lower lip at the thought, letting the beam of her flashlight sweep the hallway as she passed the doors and turned a corner.

There was her roommate up ahead so Jessica kept back, making sure her pace was slow and kept close to the walls. Other people were passing too, she noticed, but none she recognized. But even trying to pay attention to them was hard enough, too distracted by the General's words still. But that had to be an ordinary thing.

(Geez, the military uniform was uncomfortable. She missed the spandex.)

The company around her though, seemed to know where they were going, determined pacing, even. So she slowed, gripping her flashlight tightly and keeping herself alert so she wasn't spooked.

[ to here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1133540.html?thread=78839012#t78839012) ]

Edited 2011-08-13 18:43 (UTC)

[from here]

This seemed like a good place to meet. Here, there were more signs of people passing through, which meant it was relatively safe. Anise could also see anyone passing to, from, or by the girls' block, so there was no way she could miss Claude or Guy.

The girl stood across from the F-Block entrance with her back against the wall. Between her dark hair and black clothes, she was probably hard to see in the dark, so Anise kept her flashlight on so that no one would bump into her by mistake.

Edited 2011-07-15 19:55 (UTC)

[From here.]

And who was waiting for them other than Anise herself? The minute that Guy saw the girl he did his best to smooth out his expression. While he could have told her about their almost-encounter with Sync, it would just rile her up needlessly. Hopefully Claude would keep quiet too.

"Hey," he greeted her as he moved toward the door, still keeping his distance from Anise herself. He had no other option, after all. He didn't know if they would be taking Anise with them to go run Claude's errand, but he figured that was up to her to decide.

"I guess Claude already explained, but he just has to take care of something and then we can go."

Whatever it was Sync had up his sleeve, Claude knew he didn't like it. Still, it was probably good to witness what the rings actually did. He still hadn't forgotten about the one Guy had found in his room. Just as he was about to bring it up, though, they saw Anise waiting for them. Since he'd seen her just before dinner, Claude already had confirmation that she was okay today. Even so, it was always good to see her.

When Guy mentioned he had something to do, Claude decided to put his anger at Sync aside for now. They had other things to focus on, after all, and there was no use in upsetting Anise now. "Yep!" he said with a grin. "I'll be back in a jiffy."

With that, he turned and headed toward the women's block.

((To here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1136244.html?view=78891380#t78891380).))

Anise's face brightened when she saw her friends come around the corner. She turned to face the two men, and greeted them with a smile. "Hi!" She nodded when Guy mentioned Claude's errand. "Yeah, I know. No problem!" She already had a basic idea of what was going on from talking to Claude earlier that day, so this was pretty much what she expected.

"So, um, how'd your day go?" she asked Guy once Claude left them alone. Anise had a number of things she could tell him - especially the part about meeting the Colonel - but she wasn't sure it was a good idea to bring up something heavy like that when they had limited time to talk. She'd definitely have to say something eventually, though.

It seemed that Claude was willing to finish the errand on his own, which Guy figured was probably the best plan. There was really no threat to consider in the patient blocks and this also gave him a chance to chat with Anise, at least briefly.

"It was... all right. I don't know if you watched the movie that they showed, but if you didn't you made the right choice." He offered a sad smile and shrugged his shoulders, not sure if he wanted to explain more than that. It would probably just upset Anise to be told the conclusion of that movie.

"How about you?" The day hadn't been all that eventful for him, but with the visitors and everything else, it could be a whole other story for Anise.

"Me? I've been keeping busy," Anise replied with an uncertain grin. "Lots of good and bad stuff, I guess. I'll tell you all about it when we have more time." She managed to keep smiling, even though she suspected Guy might worry. To keep the tone of their conversation from turning grim so soon, she quickly added, "Oh, and Claude drew my portrait earlier! It turned out really good. You should see it sometime." Maybe Claude already mentioned it to him, but either way, it was something positive that came out of the day, so that was something!

"I ended up missing the movie, though. What was so bad about it?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. Guy's reaction made it seem like something really bad happened, but that just made her more curious.

((From here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1130130.html?thread=78896018#t78896018)))

Walking at a brisk pace, Claude caught sight of Guy and Anise standing right where he left them. He'd done his best to hurry, so he didn't think they'd been waiting long. It was good to see nothing had happened in the meantime, though.

"Okay, finished with all that!" he brightly said. "Thanks for waiting for me." Hopefully he wasn't interrupting anything.

As nice as it would have been to exchange pleasantries now that they were all together, though, Claude knew they couldn't afford to waste any time. They needed to figure out where to go. "How about we try going through the Sun Room tonight?" Crossing the Recreational Field sounded good in theory, but Claude still remembered what had happened the night before.

Good and bad stuff, huh? Guy figured that was usually how days here went, although he was glad to hear that there had been any good at all. There could have just as easily been only bad things that Anise had gone through, and they needed to appreciate every bright point here.

He wanted to hear about it now, but he knew that was impossible. Instead, his eyes widened as she mentioned that Claude had drawn a picture of her. "No, he didn't mention it. I didn't realize he could do that." It seemed like Claude just had more and more tricks up his sleeve. He could write, he could draw...

Guy really didn't want to get into the details of The Great Escape right then, though he was luckily saved by Claude returning. He glanced over to his friend and shook his head. "It's not a problem."

He couldn't argue with the suggestion of trying the Sun Room this time. Both paths were likely equally dangerous, but not having to go out into that cold or climb that wall was probably for the best.

[To here.]

[from here]

A young woman was waiting in the hall; she couldn't have been older than Ema, and even that would be pushing it. Lana didn't think she'd ever get used to that. Sure, she'd seen children convicted of startling things, but she could still be startled. And behind every case was a story.

This didn't have a story, not even a tragedy. It was monstrous, but underneath it all was a farce. What if that was the answer? No rhyme or reason to the choices of who came here at all. Just an exceedingly improbable sequence of coincidences. With every passing day that seemed more plausible, but that could be despair speaking.

If there was no pattern to it, there was nothing to prove. Nothing to learn, no answers, no truth at the bottom of the well.

[to here]

[From here.]

As he trekked the usual path toward the main hallway, Guybrush stopped just short of the corridor leading to the F-blocks. While he wasn't sure Morgan would be keen on trying strange drugs from a questionable source on the shallow promise they'd be rewarded with a pin and potentially other benefits- when he put it that way, he was sure she wouldn't be thrilled by the idea- he felt he ought to ask if she wanted to come along. He hadn't seen her since their escape attempt and that miserable failure of a fight. The chances that she was sulking and licking her wounds were pretty high.

Even better was the chance that reminding her of their botched escape attempt would just make things worse. She'd come around and see that he had a plan. If anything, Guybrush had tenacity. Perseverance. Stubbornness! All would help him get out... eventually. Hopefully in time to stop anything that might ruin the rest of his life.

Also, he didn't know Morgan's room number. In the end, that was the determining factor that kept him moving past the F-blocks and into the main hall.

[To here.]

Edited 2011-07-19 22:40 (UTC)

[from here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1130130.html?thread=78839698#t78839698)]

Belatedly, Lily realized that she'd left her only map on Rose's bed, but when she turned to go back to the room, every door looked alike. It might be possible to navigate her way outside by memory, but last night she'd been so confused and excited by all of the newness to pay much attention to the actual structure of the building. She considered asking someone for directions, but what if the person she asked was like Japan, and she had to do something bad?

It wasn't worth it. She'd find her way.

[to here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1133540.html?thread=78961124#t78961124)]

Edited 2011-07-20 14:05 (UTC)

[dashing in from here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1136674.html?thread=78985250#t78985250)]

Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn. it. Of all the nights, of all the times...Niikura didn't believe in karma, but right now, he sure felt like changing his mind. All those times he'd gotten all his plans to work out to perfection back home, and now all these times where everything just went to hell the instant he stepped outside his room: he just wanted to scream in frustration and blow up the nearest thing he could find.

It didn't help that he was already in a bad mood.

[to here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1133540.html?thread=78986980#t78986980)]

Edited 2011-07-22 06:41 (UTC)

[From here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1143203.html).]

And here, Zero instinctively switched the flashlight off and paused along the wall, watching carefully.

...He must have been sleeping in a quieter area of the building, then. Here were a couple others that moved through the hallway with purpose in their stride. Most carried flashlights, though a few had items that could be used as weapons. All were human, all wore the same outfit Zero did, and none seemed to be particularly interested in his presence. Clearly these were not enemies, but instead people who were likely stuck in the same situation as him.

Part of him wanted to go up to these people and ask them what was going on, but he had a stronger desire to remain quiet and observant. They all seemed to be occupied with their own business, anyway. And that business involved something in the direction Zero was facing. They all knew where they were going, that much was obvious. So what was in that direction that was so important?

The Reploid-now-human began curiously following the others, keeping his flashlight off for now. The darkness wasn't as bad now that his eyes were a little more used to it.

[To here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1133540.html?thread=79003620#t79003620).]

Edited 2011-07-23 19:20 (UTC)

[From here. (http://damned.livejournal.com/1136244.html?thread=78989940#t78989940)]

She grew bolder as she moved forward, taking her time to study the crevices with the light from her torch. The whole place was rather unimaginative, wasn't it? All very box like in design. Lazy construction, hospitals.

Adam's smile followed her, painting itself in every wall the beam hit. Aaron. Adam.

Aaron and Adam.

[To here. (http://damned.livejournal.com/1133540.html?thread=78991844#t78991844)]

Edited 2011-07-22 10:07 (UTC)

[from here]

It reminded her of how Mobodoon had looked without the Power Stone. Maybe these guys were using a similar type of energy. What if there was a connection between the power being on and how they woke up in their rooms each morning?

[to here]

[From here.]

Edgar indicated the second door to the left, which came into view from the beam of his flashlight almost immediately. His pace quickened.

"As of last night, the rebel seems to be in an alliance- however questionable it may be- with Landel. One thing is clear, especially from tonight's announcements: Aguilar and Landel are not currently on the same side."

"So we're currently supposed to be on the same side as the guy that brought us here? That's great."

Locke moved walked forward, opening the door Edgar had indicated for the both of them.

"So, not a lot changed when this Aguilar guy took over, just became a bit more strict? At least, that's what I picked up on. Seems strange by coop standards, but, I'm no expert."

"In a sense," Edgar replied. "More militaristic might be a better way of putting it. We're definitely treated now as subjects being groomed for some unknown purpose rather than as patients, as was fitting of the hospital facade they had before."

He nodded habitually in thanks to Locke as he passed through the door.

[To here.]

[From here.]

"How are our friends, then?" Edgar asked, keeping his eyes ahead of him, refusing to betray his feelings. He was all too aware of how well Locke could read him. "After Kefka's fall, I mean."

A part of him was genuinely curious for an answer, especially should Celes' name come up; another part couldn't help but wonder if Locke had been bewitched, new memories forced into his mind the same way they were for the brainwashed patients.

Locke didn't necessarily like the fact Edgar was obviously avoiding his gaze, but, he didn't press it; it was probably a lot to process anyway. It was weird enough for him to know Edgar didn't remember a lot of what he did, but, he could only imagine what it must be like to be told what you were missing.

"They're fine. At least, they were when I left them."

A thought crossed his mind that left a bad taste in Locke's mouth and his expression darkened.

"Of course, so where you."

If Edgar was here, and for so long, when Locke had only just heard from him, what did that say about any of his other friends?

Locke's dark statement was met with silence. Edgar, who, as far as he knew, hadn't yet lived the events Locke described, had been fine when the thief was captured and brought to the institute; however, Locke didn't seem to recall his ever being at Landel's in the first place... just as other returning patients hadn't known, including Edgar himself. There was no telling how much brainwashing was going into play now.

Or was there any brainwashing at all in this case? Why would Locke appear at the institute having been captured from around the same time as Edgar, disappear, and reappear a few days later with a whole new batch of memories of events yet to come? How did this fit into the military's plans for the patients, and in their work overall? What was their ultimate goal? Were the patients to be useful, or would those in charge really spend so much effort into breaking their wills?

They were questions to which he wouldn't find the answer- not anytime soon. The powers running the show had every patient at their mercy, whether their captives knew it or not. Such an utter lack of control... it stoked the fire in him. They were never going to know all the answers— the king was coming to terms with that— but it was the lack of foresight into their goals that gave him the most trouble. The unpredictable enemy was the most dangerous of all. He knew that much from first-hand experience.

Edgar swallowed the lump in his throat. "As were you when I last saw you... when you were here before."

Locke felt the shock run through him like water.

"...W-what?"

That made no sense. Out of everything Edgar had told him about this place, the people in it, what they did here, everything, he could make it all make sense somehow.

Even with Edgar's memories, as much as it confused him and even hurt a little that there was so much his friend didn't remember or hadn't lived through, it was different when they were his own memories. He realized he probably had an idea now of how Edgar must have felt learning there were things he'd gone through and couldn't recall.

"How....how long ago? What happened? I can't..."

When he tried to think of this place he couldn't see anything past the last day or so.

"...I can't remember..."

Edgar turned to face Locke, a pause standing before he put a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder. "You're not the first it has happened to. I doubt you'll be the last, either. There are several who've disappeared, only to return a short while later with no memory of ever having been here."

He arched an eyebrow. "I can't say they all come back with a new set of memories— in your case, of the future— but the important thing is that they do return. As long as you're here, that means you're not wherever they send those who have been successfully brainwashed, robbed of their lives without even knowing it."

His voice took a grim tone on that last part. The thought that his brother was somehow among those numbers still clung to him.

Locke shook his head slowly, a quite, but, bitter laugh escaping him. This place just got more messed up the more he learned. However, this wasn't the time to try and process it all. At least for Edgar's sake, he just needed to go with it and not hold them up; he could dwell on it later when it wasn't just his time he was wasting.

"...Let's keep going and...no getting brainwashed, okay? Memories are all we have sometimes, got to keep them straight if we want to get out of here."

Locke smiled up at his friend, trying to recover a lighter mood, if only to make things seem a little more pleasant. As it was, Edgar had enough dark thoughts going on in his head, that much Locke could tell, the king didn't need him adding to it.

[From here (http://damned.livejournal.com/1130130.html?thread=79148946#t79148946)]

Zeroing in on Fai’s magic was far easier tonight than it had ever been, since Mokona had arrived in this world – but then, her friend was far closer to her room than she’d sensed him before! Maybe he was coming to meet her, like she had when she’d found her way to his room, the previous night.

The little creature picked up her pace, the beam from her flashlight bouncing as she hurried through the halls. He may be nearby, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t save him part of his journey!

[To here. (http://damned.livejournal.com/1133540.html?thread=79151332#t79151332)]

[from here]

Gumshoe jogged faster as he got further away from his room, mainly because his flashlight was officially dying. He didn't know how much longer it would last at this rate, so here was hoping the Medical Wing was pretty well lit up by those who arrived there first. Hitting it against his palm wasn't working as well as it had yesterday, which gave him no choice but to leave it to luck. Why hadn't he just borrowed the new guy's batteries? It was too late to turn back now.

[to here]

[From here.]

"Huh," was his only response at first. He wasn't exactly surprised to hear about his first official disappearance, but there wasn't much he could do about it at this point. Had he even learned her name? Not that he could remember. Maybe she went back home.

That was a nice thought, compared to being eaten or something.

"Indiana said something about that. Apparently the turnaround rate around here is pretty fast." Which only fueled his idea of a blood factory, all right? Even if he hadn't seen a vampire around besides the usual suspects. And not that he knew why vampires would want to raise and create... giant bloodthirsty cats. Not even tigers or something. House cats. Thank god his ring prevented him from an eternity of a tombstone that marked him as the latest victim of Mr. Bigglesworth.

He knew the general direction, so he didn't hesitate on moving back into the female block. Convenient set-up, really. "Which room did she move to?"

[going here]

Night 57: West Wing, South Hall 1-B

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject