damned_institute | Day 63: Bus 1

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Day 63: Bus 1

As soon as Anise achieved wakefulness, the Head Doctor's words from the previous night immediately came floating back into her mind. People were getting sick. They were going to turn into monsters. That thought alone was chilling enough, but it was nothing compared to the terror that struck her when she sat up and saw her own hand. A red blotch covered the back of it, extending upwards to the wrist. Where did that come from?

The signs are already showing. That was what Landel said.

It couldn't be. Not her. If it was really true, then her life was as good as over. No... it had to be a mistake. Maybe the Head Doctor's words had scared her to the point that she was attributing random things to his threats. She was being paranoid. That was all it was.

And yet, no matter how many times she told herself that, she feared what might happen.

A nurse came to her soon, bearing an outfit for her to wear on the field trip. The striped shirt and gray skirt weren't particularly appealing to Anise, but the purple coat she was given wasn't so bad. It was a little big on her, but it was a nice, feminine color... and the extra long sleeves served to cover most of the strange rash. Anise didn't want to look at it, and she sure as heck didn't want anyone else seeing it.

When it was time to board the buses, Anise quietly took the lunch bag, climbed aboard, and sat down. She didn't look anyone in the eye. Even after sitting down, she merely stared down at the contents of her bag. The muffin didn't look the least bit appetizing - not while her stomach was busy twisting itself into knots, anyway.

[free!]

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"Yeah, really," Luke agreed wholeheartedly. You got real spoiled when you had your own airship and pilot at your beck and call. Then again, it wasn't like they had very much time to just cruise and enjoy the scenery anyway. "But I guess, well... This isn't so bad..." he mumbled looking out the window beside Guy. "I mean, it's faster than a carriage, but you can actually see stuff and not just the clouds..." He was pretty sure Keterburg was really pretty but who would ever know since it's always clogged clouds!

He was grateful for the change in subject after he had admitted to something rather odd. Not that Guy would hold scenery-gazing against him, but it sounded kind of stupid in words.

"Things have been fine, I guess--" A memory hit him and he began laughing. "Though, ha! I did meet this one girl! She was really weird. She thought she was a horse and then she got in a fight with my roommate--It was really bizarre..."

It was good to see that Luke had gotten to a point where he could appreciate things rather than just complaining. There was almost always an upside to things, and this bus was no different. Well, Guy had never had a bad thing to say about the vehicle in the first place, but Luke had never shared his interest in fontech. Which was a shame, really, but he'd moved past that. At least he had some friends and acquaintances here who he could talk to about those things.

He had to admit he was shocked when Luke related a story about someone he'd met. To tell the truth, Guy just wasn't used to Luke making friends in general. There were the people they'd traveled with and become close to over the years, but they'd all ended up in that situation by circumstance. Maybe Landel's was the same, but it was still good to know that Luke was branching out and relating to others.

Guy couldn't help but be proud. Luke had come a long way. A few years ago he probably wouldn't have given any of the people here the light of day. "A horse, huh? Well, for all we know she might actually be one. There are some people here who... well, let's just say they don't look the way they're supposed to. But what's your roommate like?" Guy hoped that Luke got along with whoever it was, but he realized that others might not be as lucky with roommates as he was with Okita.

"She seemed a little surprised at being alive." That was an entire battalion of dump-trucks full of understatement. Yomi had been completely freaked out, and sRose didn't think she'd been that crazy before she died. Not that she'd met the girl, but there had been a distinct lack of screaming and flopping around like a fish in the Sun Room or other communal areas.

"Knitting needles." It wasn't the most dignified strife specibus, when put so plainly. "Anything long and pointy will work, in a pinch." She'd convinced a set of pens to deign to be wielded, her first night out. "I take it you use something a little more esoteric?"

"I think it would be quite surprising to wake up after being dead," Allelujah replied, although he didn't have any practical experience in that area. "Dead is supposed to be dead." This place just kept breaking all of the rules.

Knitting needles sounded fairly reasonable really, or at least they did in the Institute. "Giant robot," Allelujah replied and then shrugged. "At home anyway. There's a shortage of them here though. But I can use most things as weapons. I've found bottle of acid and glassware quite useful here."

That morning, Tsubaki woke up to an acute sense of disappointment. Night had passed way too quickly! She scrubbed her eyes blearily, half-hoping Sora was still nearby so she could… well, she didn’t know. Talk to him. Watch over him in case his symptoms really were connected to the Head Doctor’s scheme. Keeping an eye on him wasn’t out of fear of him, per se… more like fear for him. And he had to be scared, too, right? Who wouldn’t be?

Landel trying to take away people’s identities--people like Sora--and turn them into creatures that would hurt others was just horrible. It was too much like kishin.

Please, please don’t let Sora be one of them!

But as strong as Landel was, they had to have hope. Even if his plans to make monsters succeeded, it wouldn’t last forever. Or at least that’s what she told herself as she went about getting ready for the field trip with her nurse’s assistance.

It didn’t take long for her to get dressed and head out to the buses. She was eager to check in with everyone; once they got to Doyleton the prisoners would be scattered all over the place, making finding people extra hard. Thankfully, Rapunzel was someone she didn’t have to worry about too much. The other girl had seemed no worse for wear that morning…

The older guy seemed pretty relaxed, thankfully. He wasn't being a creep or poking fun or anything. Utena breathed a little easier as she answered: "I dunno, it looks like a decent number to me." She gazed out at the seats in front of them, wondering if the buses back in this guy's home world were bigger, or if she was just missing something.

A friendly hand was extended, and Utena took it. "Tenjou Utena. Nice to meet you, Locke," she said. "And yeah, I've been there a couple times now. It's a pretty relaxed town — during the day, anyway." Utena shivered as unpleasant, zombie-filled memories surfaced in her mind. Eugh.

Brook was probably right about the time. If Anise didn't notice a rash at the start of the night when she was putting on her gloves, and Brook noticed his late into the night, then they had to have appeared sometime in between... while the intercom was going crazy.

It was the answer to her latter question that she had trouble swallowing. "No... skin?" She furrowed her brow, trying to understand, though she couldn't help but be a bit skeptical. Maybe Brook used to be some kind of strange-looking alien, like a few others at the institute were... but what he was describing made him sound like some kind of walking skeleton. And that would just be weird. "... How does that work?"

Well that assignment went well.

Not.

Sonia had only been awake for a few seconds when the 'nurse' came in to tell her to get ready. She and the other 'nurses' looked excited, almost, and the princess thought she knew why. Nearby town? Money? They were going on a field trip?

The clothes that were handed to her weren't to her taste (seriously, what made these people think she'd look good in light blue? Anything was better than gray, but dark blue looked much better on her), but they were cute. Suited to the weather, too. Not the outfit she would've picked, but... oh well!

Her mind was really on the day ahead of her. She wanted to see as much of the town as she could today, not to mention a look at the area surrounding the prison. Maybe she'd find out more about this world and the reason she and the others were here. Had Landel and Aguilar really tricked the town into thinking the prisoners were 'patients'? Was that why they were going on this trip? To stop people on the outside from getting suspicious?

And when the prisoners escaped, how far would they have to run before they found shelter? Unless there was an exit inside the building.

With any luck, she might even be able to make contacts in the town. Sonia hopped on to one of the buses and took a seat next to a window, rifling through the coupons they'd given her. '1 free manicure'? '1 free facial or massage'!?

...Whose side was Landel on, anyway?

"I see." Giant robots were thin on the ground around the Institute, this much was true. "Adaptability is a great asset. Perhaps I should cultivate it." She hadn't tried to do more than vary the exact parameters of what constituted needles, but it didn't mean she couldn't carry other things in her hands.

"I haven't been dead before, but I'd been anticipating it. Temporarily, I mean. It's part of how the game works." It wasn't supposed to leave her with a healing hole in her chest, from what little she'd gleaned in the haze of a dead-end dream. But they hadn't dared test the hypothesis, not with only two of them left. "That I'm awake again is the first sign I've seen that this is part of the plan, rather than some kind of malfunction."

PvP combat hadn't been mentioned in any of the reviews, but none of the reviews had actually understood what Sburb was, due to its reality-altering nature and the not-yet-immanent demise of the planet before the official launch. Combat between sessions seemed even less likely, but there had been something linking their own session with the trolls even before her arrival here. If it had, she might not have been as excited; it was the worldbuilding aspects she'd claimed interest in. Life, not death.

"Hey! My mom is the most awesome of moms," said Rainbow in a faint huff, crossing her arms. She would have stuck out her tongue as well, but... Heck, why wasn't she sticking out her tongue?

Ah, there it went.

After Rainbow's mature response, they moved back into the meat of the conversation. She was ready with an easy response to Freakin' Fuckin's first question — clearly her speed and agility were going to help her get past any guards or obstacles, even in human form! His second question, though, through a wrench in the works and caused her to falter for a moment.

"Well I... You just gotta get far enough away, duh! And no one can move as fast as I can!" Rainbow answered, though her tone held a waver that she couldn't quite stamp out.

"Sorry to hear, man," Scott answered, voice nearly croaking from its lack of use over the previous day. "...How long have you been playing?"

He paused for a moment, then corrected: "Been here. How long have you been here?"

The kid didn't sound so good, but Gren was certainly not one to judge someone's mental state. Maybe he'd be okay. Maybe not. It wasn't as if he really had a chance of fixing things, regardless.

"Two weeks today," he replied with a wry little smile. "Which is exactly two weeks too long." It seemed so much longer when he wasn't doing the math. Too much shit, too quickly. Sometimes he wondered how the hell he was sitting there, managing to sound like a sane person.

Scott nodded. Two weeks was a hefty chunk all right. He kind of didn't want to say that he had been here longer; this wasn't supposed to be some kind of misery-off. "We're all in this together" and all that something something.

Instead, Scott gave a deep, sympathetic sigh. "Exact-o-rama," he said. After a moment, he finally glanced up at the other guy. Looked like he had the long-haired anime bishounen thing going, but with a more world-weary look to his face than any fangirl bait would have. Whether that was thanks to the Institute or from back in his home world, Scott couldn't tell. Probably didn't matter, anyway. Getting worn down was getting worn down, no matter where it happened. He wouldn't have been surprised if it had been a little of both.

"I'm Scott, by the way," he said, nodding again, this time in the older guy's direction.

There was a certain sharpness to his smile when he responded to that. "I've always been adaptable," he said easily. "It''s what keeps you... alive." Alright, that did sound rather tasteless considering the situation that Rose had found herself in. Accurate, but tasteless. "I know some places that might be of use, if you want some help," he added quietly, suddenly awkward after that little misstep.

Anticipating it? That made him raise an eyebrow, peering at her curiously. "What game?" he asked, lips pursed together. This was a brutal game perhaps, but he got the impression that this was not entirely what she was speaking about. He did wince though. "I'm not that keen on plans where death is the most likely outcome. Things get messy."

He paused, considering that statement. "Well, when I'm supposed to be the one to die anyway." The other side was always going to have casualties. Perhaps it was callous, but even after everything, he valued his life slightly higher than theirs. Or maybe that was Hallelujah.

It sucked, watching this place wear people down and knowing he couldn't do anything to help, other than than listen and commiserate. It was all right if he was feeling pessimistic and abused by the situation, because he was used to it. But to be surrounded by so many other people stuck in the same position, and not being able to do anything... that was just frustrating in the extreme. More and more, he kept imagining what he'd do if he could ever get his hands on Martin Landel.

"I'm Gren," he replied, and tried for a reassuring smile, if only to keep his own frustration from showing through.

"It's called Sburb. It was widely put forth as fated to be the Game of the Year." Game Bro was not exactly Rose's first choice as supreme arbiter of taste, but popularity contests had never understood great literature. She had idly contemplated the lofty fathoms to which she would show them all, one day.

"It might be considered cheating to give it that title when the rest of the year was pre-empted by the end of the world. Then again, that was part of the game, so one could call it a winning strategy." Her voice was remarkably calm. "Dying was only permanent if we did it twice."

She hadn't woken on Derse once since she'd arrived; her dreams had been dreams, simultaneously surreal and mundane. "Immortality was within our grasp, but I was still working out the mechanics of that. She'd barely started scaling her echeladder -- jumping straight for the top rung was John's folly, not hers. "We could safely die once, and come back to life, as long as certain conditions were met. I'm not sure if I've used up my chance or not."

She tilted her head and considered Allelujah. "Are you sure you'd never let yourself be caught doing something heroic and self-sacrificing?"

"Ah," Allelujah said vaguely as she supplied the details of the game. "I've never really had much time for video games. Always had other things to do." The closest he'd come were training simulations, virtual reality battles to help one adjust to using a Gundam. The rest of the game sounded very strange indeed. "Brilliant marketing strategy I suppose," he said, not sure how exactly to take the idea of a game that led to the end of the world.

"Where I'm from, people just die and tend to stay dead." He felt a pang of renewed grief for the loss of Lockon, swallowing thickly at the memory. "I don't think this place works on any normal set of rules though." It brought people back as though it were nothing.

He frowned slightly at the question, biting his lip as he considered it. "I'd rather be heroic while surviving. Self-sacrificing is all well and good, but what about everyone else who has to pick up the pieces? What about the people you die to save? How would they feel knowing you held their lives as of more worth than their own?"

"Trust me, I'm not about to go flying off the handle at the slightest provocation." Any suicidally missions would be as well-thought-out and considered as her other actions.

She pursed her lips, pondering the question. "I think they'd feel alive, for one, which is a key prerequisite to feeling any other emotions." Even as she said it, though, something in her stomach sank. Lily would blame herself. Ilia would, too, but in a self-servingly maternal way, and Rose was less inclined to feel guilt over that. Lily, though, had some serious self-esteem issues, which would be exacerbated by watching Rose die to protect her. Had been exacerbated. She hadn't been in the room at all this morning, so Rose hadn't even been able to explain not being dead to her.

"Would you change your mind if, instead of saving a person, you were saving an entire universe?" Rose still had high hopes for a timeline in which no one had to be brutally dismembered or otherwise annihilated while midwifing an entire reality, but scale was important. It wasn't exactly saving so much as creating, but not-creating was kind of like killing.

He thought about that for a moment. Wasn't that what they were doing in the end, trying to stop their world destroying itself with warfare and division? Even if their own all too human reasons kept getting in the way. "Where I'm from..." he began hesitantly, because she seemed very young and he didn't know her so well, but she was older than he had been when he'd become a killer. He sighed, leaning his head back against the seat.

"Where I'm from, I work for an organisation attempting to bring an end to war before humans destroy themselves. Even to save a universe, I think I would fight to the last breath. I cannot imagine going quietly or willingly. I'd try to drag every last one of them down with me at least."

"I didn't say anything about quietly, did I?" Rose smirked, and straightened up in her seat, even though it sent a lance of pain through her chest. "Trust me, I value myself quite highly."

There were just things so much larger than herself. She'd set it all in motion by a childish, selfish desire -- Jaspers, alive and well, if as an ephemeral spirit. And yet it hadn't been her choice to start things at all; it had been foreordained by the creation of her entire universe, building to the point where one Rose Lalonde's mother had adopted a small black cat, and Rose had found one thing she had in common with her maternal parent. They'd both loved Jaspers unironically, and perhaps they'd both mourned him just as unironically. She was still sorting out how she felt on that one.

"I'm still optimistic that we can win. How many times do you get the chance to be asked if you want to be a god?" She'd quoted Ghostbusters, if obliquely. John would be over the moon. Good thing he wasn't here.

Something about the way that she said that made him smile, a lopsided expression. Maybe he could understand, at least a little. Hadn't he been prepared to die for Celestial Being, even if he had never planned to do it purposefully. Perhaps... perhaps dying willingly for a reason was better than dying aimlessly for none, or through neglect. "Good choice," he said, and there was a glint of gold in his eyes, a sharp twist to his lips that hadn't always been there. Maybe Allelujah had been terrible at valuing himself, but Hallelujah had always made him survive.

"A god?" he asked curiously. "Literally?" Or the way that they had been at first? Powerful beyond the measure of earth's technology.

"If creating a universe counts, yes." There were other technicalties -- there was a slot at the top of her echeladder that looked promising, but the details had not yet come into view. Or into View -- being a Seer seemed to involve a bunch of extraneous Capital Letters. Words imparted with special meaning, senses overdubbed with mystical powers. "We will still be as nothing to the denizens of the Furthest Ring, but we should make a decent showing."

Less annoying than the trolls, that was for certain. Could you even imagine what kind of universe they'd create? The very thought was depressing.

"I'm not sure," Allelujah admitted, "I never really thought about theology or... creating a new universe." Not in the way that Rose seemed to be talking about it anyway. Helping usher a new world order into being was rather different he assumed.

His head was starting to hurt again, or it had probably never stopped but he was just starting to notice it again. What the hell was the Furthest Ring? "Just be careful while here then," he said, tight-lipped. "I don't think it's part of your game or anyone's game except Landel and he is not on our side."

"True. I'm entirely in agreement with you as to his good intentions, or lack thereof." Sburb had proved itself to have tentacles twisted throughout her life and her world before; ithis being part of the game still wouldn't surprise her, but assuming anything, rather than hunting down the truth herself, had proved fickle.

"I think I already violated your rule, though." She brought her hands to her chest, framing the heart on her sweater. "I'll endeavor not to die again. Next time I might not have as much luck."

"I almost preferred the military," he said with a sigh. "At least they were honest about what they wanted. Sort of." He didn't expect that even they had told the whole truth, but they also hadn't pretended that they were anything other than weapons to be used. Certainly hadn't pretended to want to help them.

"Luck is helpful, knowing to kill them before they kill you helps too." Rough perhaps, but he had never claimed to be a pacifist. Defense only lasted for so long.

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Day 63: Bus 1

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