Skulduggery Pleasant (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
skeletonenigma) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
damned_institute2012-05-30 04:42 pm
skeletonenigma) wrote in damned_institute2012-05-30 04:42 pm
DAY 64: CHAPEL
This time, when the darkness faded and the next thing Skulduggery became aware of was that same bed underneath him, he didn't take the time to absorb the jarring feeling and sort out what might be going on. He leaped off the bed immediately, almost stumbling in the process - damn balance - and took a moment to realize that his eyes were burning and he could barely see a thing.
The room was blinding. The light itself wasn't an issue; it was the fact that Skulduggery's eyes had to slowly adjust to it, a sensation he hadn't experienced in ages and had never expected to experience again. He had a hand pressed to his forehead and was blinking rapidly when a woman knocked on the door and came in.
She was... cheerful. Everything was cheerful, from the bright light and noises outside to the intercom announcement that interrupted the woman's sudden spiel. It was such a startling change from just a few minutes ago that Skulduggery found himself lost for words while the... nurse... nodded brightly at him. She'd said something about a mental hospital, something about a man called Erik, and something else about 'not real' and 'getting better.' With Skulduggery's mental prowess - even operating at less than its usual efficiency - it was easy to work out what she meant.
He studied her openly once the light wasn't so blinding. "You're either a very convincing liar, utterly insane, or a psychopath. Let me find out which one." His head tilted. "Would you believe me if I said there was a woman last night who had been mortally wounded, but who was still walking around?" He cut her off before she could answer. "No, obviously not. And I don't think you're a psychopath who murders people for fun. A convincing liar, then. That doesn't clear anything up in the slightest, but I suppose it's something."
"Mr. MacAuley, you were sleeping all of last night. Are you sure you didn't just have a nightmare?"
Skulduggery wanted to point out that as a skeleton, he didn't sleep, and he certainly didn't have nightmares. The blurriness at the edges of his vision, however, reminded him with a jolt of his mysterious transformation to human. Suddenly, annoyingly, the nurse was making much more sense.
Was it... real, then? Everything with Yomi and the chapel - had that all just been a vivid hallucination? Had his entire life just been a vivid hallucination, like the woman was insisting?
In a slight daze, Skulduggery asked to see the chapel. He was standing there alone now, examining the fountain carefully for any sign of its demonic visage from before. But now it was just a fountain, the water was just water, and despite Skulduggery's best efforts, the water didn't respond to his Elemental magic. It remained stubbornly in its basin without so much as a ripple, silently mocking him.
Skulduggery sat down heavily on one of the pews, mystified. He wasn't insane. He joked sometimes that he was, and it might partly be true, but he wasn't insane on a level like this. He didn't just make up his whole life as he pleased.
[Free! But be prepared for a barrage of questions.]
The room was blinding. The light itself wasn't an issue; it was the fact that Skulduggery's eyes had to slowly adjust to it, a sensation he hadn't experienced in ages and had never expected to experience again. He had a hand pressed to his forehead and was blinking rapidly when a woman knocked on the door and came in.
She was... cheerful. Everything was cheerful, from the bright light and noises outside to the intercom announcement that interrupted the woman's sudden spiel. It was such a startling change from just a few minutes ago that Skulduggery found himself lost for words while the... nurse... nodded brightly at him. She'd said something about a mental hospital, something about a man called Erik, and something else about 'not real' and 'getting better.' With Skulduggery's mental prowess - even operating at less than its usual efficiency - it was easy to work out what she meant.
He studied her openly once the light wasn't so blinding. "You're either a very convincing liar, utterly insane, or a psychopath. Let me find out which one." His head tilted. "Would you believe me if I said there was a woman last night who had been mortally wounded, but who was still walking around?" He cut her off before she could answer. "No, obviously not. And I don't think you're a psychopath who murders people for fun. A convincing liar, then. That doesn't clear anything up in the slightest, but I suppose it's something."
"Mr. MacAuley, you were sleeping all of last night. Are you sure you didn't just have a nightmare?"
Skulduggery wanted to point out that as a skeleton, he didn't sleep, and he certainly didn't have nightmares. The blurriness at the edges of his vision, however, reminded him with a jolt of his mysterious transformation to human. Suddenly, annoyingly, the nurse was making much more sense.
Was it... real, then? Everything with Yomi and the chapel - had that all just been a vivid hallucination? Had his entire life just been a vivid hallucination, like the woman was insisting?
In a slight daze, Skulduggery asked to see the chapel. He was standing there alone now, examining the fountain carefully for any sign of its demonic visage from before. But now it was just a fountain, the water was just water, and despite Skulduggery's best efforts, the water didn't respond to his Elemental magic. It remained stubbornly in its basin without so much as a ripple, silently mocking him.
Skulduggery sat down heavily on one of the pews, mystified. He wasn't insane. He joked sometimes that he was, and it might partly be true, but he wasn't insane on a level like this. He didn't just make up his whole life as he pleased.
[Free! But be prepared for a barrage of questions.]
no subject
Behind his tacky black mask, the older man glanced up at the patient's face briefly and realized it was no one he had talked to before. His thoughts immediately turned back to his problems as he adjusted his mask fretfully. This piece of crap did not fit so well against his face. It itched and chafed the way his domino mask was smooth and light, almost forgettable. There had been times when he had actually forgotten to take it off before, but his partner was usually there to remind him.
His thoughts once again came full-circle back to the blond, as they usually did. They really needed to find a way out of here before they were forgotten.
no subject
If Chopper had still been there, the little boy would have known what to do about all this. So many patients were ill now. Just the kind of thing for a Doctor that wasn't enslaving them. Then again, Brook hadn't seen Chopper sick before, and with Landel's horrible sense of irony, he'd probably have been as sick as the rest of them. Wouldn't have stopped him though. Still, Brook was thankful that none of his crew were there. They didn't need to be there.
Through his distant thoughts, Brook let his eyes wander over the room, hoping to find the source of the music, but instead found that he had been seated next to someone. Whether he felt bad or not, it would have been rude not to introduce himself to his seat-mate. "Good morning, sir," he provided with the best smile he could get.
no subject
"Oh, hello!" Wild Tiger greeted right back with a sharp smile and a wave of his ruddy, rash-covered hand. He felt awkward calling the other man sir, so he just left it off. Hopefully the other man wouldn't be offended by his loose manners. Barnaby never seemed to be. "So, uh, is today a holiday or something?" He was more than a little disappointed he had to put his munching on hold for something he didn't even believe in.