damned_institute | NIGHT 64: M-A BLOCK HALLWAY

[From here]

Though he had been moved to a different room, the layout of the patient blocks did not differ from one another. Seishin made his way through the hallways, finding the door leading out of the patient block without any difficulty.

[To here]

[From here, and for Badd.]

He didn't go far from his room before he stopped, but not because the middle of the block hallway was a great place to wait for Badd. It was doubt and anxiety that gave him pause, and for good reason.

What if it wasn't safe to be around Badd? If Landel's threat was true... I-it wasn't like he could ignore this rash hiding under his suit jacket forever, as much as he wanted to. What if he became a monster tonight? He'd be putting his best friend in danger and, even if Badd was strong enough to take care of himself, that wasn't something Byrne wanted his friend to deal with. The way the nurses had changed the night before--would he change like that?

...Sigh. Should he just go off on his own tonight, then? He had no idea what he'd be doing (other than avoiding the Medical Wing at all costs), but it might be better off for the people he cared about if he did...

[From here.]

Too late.

"Byrne!" Badd jogged up to him in the hallway and touched his shoulder, as if trying to confirm that he's really here this time. With the delusions it was hard to be sure what was real at night. "Good. Don't have to waste time hunting you down."

Eep. Byrne should've figured that standing around in the open for too long was a bad idea. Now it would be pointless (or at least more difficult) to avoid his partner after he'd been spotted by him. Wonderful.

Ah, well... Who knows, maybe it was better this way. What would he've done wandering around this place by himself, anyway? It was safer to stick with someone he trusted. (As long as certain threats didn't come true, anyway.)

"Yeah." The prosecutor smiled awkwardly and tugged on his scarf with his non-rash-covered hand. Yeah, good job showing him you aren't nervous, Faraday. "So uh. Where to tonight? The Medical Wing's way too suspicious to visit after a broadcast like that."

Byrne had said he was clean. Badd trusted him. "There's a theory I want to test. They come and get us after we pass out every night, even if it's in Doyleton or the road there. I want to find out what happens if we get somewhere they can't get at us before the sun comes up."

As he spoke he dug into his coat and offered Byrne the customary lollipop. He wasn't suspicious, so of course it wasn't for luck. It was for...something. Tradition. "Up for a hike?"

Get somewhere free from the Institute's influence, huh? That's...that's what Kay had done to escape back before security tightened up around here, or so Byrne believed. The military was gone, but that didn't mean Landel loosened up as far as security went. It would be tough - but not impossible, if Kay had done it.

The obvious question remained, then. "Sure, but where would we go?" Byrne asked, taking the offered lollipop while staring questioningly at the older detective. Surely, Badd had to have some sort of idea if he seemed confident about this theory, right? Byrne could only think of Doyleton and the road to go to, but neither of those places (as far as he understood) were safe.

Badd flicked the lollipo out of his mouth, gesturing behind Byrne. "Head for the hills," he said, almost smiling. "Or the mountains. If we lose ourselves in there badly enough they won't be able to get us, especially if there's caves we can huddle in. I'm not saying it'll work, but I want to see if it's possible."

And he wanted to do it tonight, before the witch hunts started. Someone would 'turn into a monster' tonight. Whether or not that actually happened, someone was going to die. He'd been a detective far too long to trust other human beings.

Head for the hills. Yeah, it sounded like a doable plan. Byrne felt a twinge of excitement just thinking about it. Hiding in some cave somewhere, running so far out into the wilderness that even Landel couldn't find them - is that how Kay made it out? Could they do it, too? Would there be anyone (or anything) out there to stop them?

Only one way to find out.

"Right, then. The sooner we're off, the better. Lead the way, Detective." The prosecutor gestured with one hand for Badd to start walking, his awkward smile becoming genuine as thoughts of finally getting out of this damn place filled his head. Perhaps a local hospital would be able to treat this illness, too. Everything might just turn out okay.

[To here]

[From here.]

As they reached the end of the hall, Sora took a left, which was really the only direction to go. "As you can see, there are lots of other patients like us who are being kept here," he said, referring to the other doors that they'd passed.

They continued down the hall and neared a door on the right. "That's the bathroom," he explained. Usually there wasn't much reason to go there at night, so he kept moving until the exit door came into sight. "And that's where we're heading!" he said, pointing ahead. "It'll take us into the rest of the building."

It was always pretty confusing to wake up at night rather than in the morning, which was why Sora was glad he was here to help Link through it all. He still didn't feel very good, but the idea of finding a way to fix it was motivating him to move forward.

Link frowned slightly.

"Yes, sorry, I thought... there might be something more to it than just 'they randomly appear,'" he said with a bit of a laugh. There really wasn't an explanation for much of anything, was there?

He followed Sora down the hall, looking around as the younger boy spoke and taking note of the various locations pointed out to him.

[To here]

Edited 2012-06-24 23:21 (UTC)

[From Here]

What was this place...?

X's legs had started to agree with him, at least to some degree, holding up his full weight (his much, much lighter weight. Really, where was his armor? Why did he look so...so human? How could he breathe? How could he...?) even while they shook with each step.

Yet another long hallway. Blocks of rooms, and now this.

X's legs shook, fingers touching along the walls as he scaled them, not trusting his eyes nor the dulled feeling in his ears.

Ears.

Nothing was working; it was as though he was never installed with any of his functions at all.

It was almost as though...

Calm down. Keep moving. There'll be answers to your questions if you just keep moving.

...he was human.

No, that couldn't be. There was no way. Even if his legs weren't working the same way, even if all of his senses felt like they had a dark tarp wrapped over them, that didn't mean that he was something other than himself.

Think about it. You're breathing. Your legs feel like they're not even yours. You can't speak properly. Even if that's not the case, something happened. The only thing now is to find out what.

His legs buckled, and he fell onto his knees on the floor again with a groan.

Come on, work! I know how to walk, this shouldn't be so hard.

[from here!]

As far as Harpuia could tell, this was some sort of dormitory; the room he'd woken up in opened up to a hallway lined with identical doors. He didn't bother searching them; the most probable situation was that each would be identical to the room he'd started from. He chose to take it slow for the time being, making his way down the rows of doors at a careful, unhurried pace. Anything to help him adjust; everything about him felt too dulled, too solid, like every movement was happening a half-second slower than it ought to. It had him feeling almost too self-aware; even something as simple and mindlessly done as walking felt foreign, required a little bit of self-monitoring just to keep him moving seamlessly.

He could only assume that it would be better to be cautious, anyway; given how dark and empty the hall was, it was probably safe to guess some sort of curfew was meant to be in effect. It was unlikely he'd run into someone who could clarify his situation if that was the case, but at the very least, he might be able to locate a map, an exit, or... anything that could give him a better idea where he was.

It was a little early to assume, however, that he was alone. A dull thump and a groan up ahead pulled him out of his thoughts, quietly cursing the dullness of his sensors. How had he failed to notice that sooner? More importantly... was this a human? All he had to go by was the back of a head of dark brown hair, and the very same oddly old-fashioned gray clothing that Harpuia himself was wearing -- his instinct was to assume this wasn't a reploid, but then again... with bodies this organic-looking, maybe that wasn't such an easy distinction to make anymore.

Uncertain which he was dealing with, he opted to keep his tone neutral. "You. Are you injured?"

Another person...?

X glanced up and turned his head around, squinting his eyes to adjust to the lack of light, blinking them several times for focus.

There. There it went.

Yes, it was another person. Of Asian descent from the looks of it, and of mid teen-age, dressed in the same clothes that he himself were wrapped in. X groped in his mind for any sort of sensor, any sort of--

--no. Nothing was there. Of course, nothing was there; he'd tried many times, and nothing had come from it.

He truly was completely out of his element. Still, with people he could ask questions, and questions he desperately needed to ask.

"No, I'm okay." X coughed, the feeling of phlegm foreign as he made an attempt to clear his throat. "...No. I...I'm just having some trouble walking, that's all."

And to punctuate this, X turned his head back forward and struggled to stand, forcing his body upright with all the power he could.

There. He was standing. Better than nothing, he supposed. He turned back around, hand still on the wall, giving his companion a weak smile.

"Thank you, though, for your concern."

"You're..."

...No way.

No, that couldn't possibly be right. The low lighting was playing tricks on his sensors. That had to be the explanation. His instinct had been to avoid using the flashlight he'd found in his room as much as possible -- being born into one of the most severe energy crises in recent history had impressed the importance of rationing onto him, especially since a reploid shouldn't have even needed to rely on it in the first place. Still, he turned it on now, uttering a soft apology for the sudden brightness.

It stung his eyes a little (also strange; his optics should have adjusted instantly), but it was more than enough light to verify that he wasn't mistaken: the eyes looking back at him were green, not red or blue, but this was a face he definitely knew. Harpuia nearly dropped the flashlight entirely as the force of the realization hit him. It shouldn't have been possible, but this... it had to be...

Immediately, he dropped down to one knee. His throat seemed to have knotted itself up; he swallowed hard (a very uncomfortable sensation -- since when had he been able to do that?), voice almost quavering in a strange mixture of reverence and shock. "Master X! Is that really you...?!"

"Waah!"

X squinted his eyes almost on instinct at the sudden blinding glare that assaulted him. He held up a single hand over his face, also instinctual. His eyes weren't adjusting to sudden light, either.

Things but stranger and stranger.

But this...

Was not what he had expected. Perhaps an exchanged pleasantry or two, some tossed questions back and forth, and with luck, some answers that X very much needed, considering his situation. Finding a young man in a hallway in a place he wasn't familiar with would usually yield such an exchange, one that would have benefitted the both of them, had this person been in the same situation as himself.

But this?

How does...I've never seen this man before! How does he know my name?! And why is he calling me...?

X felt his stomach knot at the sight. He opened and closed his mouth, trying to will sound to come out, to say something.

It wasn't until the third try where he managed to get it to agree with him.

"How...How do you know my name?" It was almost a whisper, carried by a tone of curiosity, shock, and surprise. "Who are you?"

Edited 2012-06-24 22:56 (UTC)

The situation was confusing to begin with, but this... well, this simply didn't make any sense. Why didn't X recognize who he was? He wouldn't have admitted it out loud, but... that stung, just a little.

It couldn't have been a case of mistaken identity; this man looked more human than machine, yes, but he clearly responded to the name X. Another copy, maybe? No, there would have been no point building one who didn't know something as basic as the identity of his Guardians. Some sort of alteration to his memory banks? But what would that accomplish? One by one, he ran through possible explanations, and one by one, he shot them all down as irrational.

"My name is Harpuia, Master X. Formerly Sage Haruia, one of the Four Guardians of Neo Arcadia." Formerly! What a bitter, painful word! This conversation already didn't sit well with him. Nothing about it did. He remained in a kneel, decorum still ingrained into every inch of him, head bowed down to the floor. His expression remained rigidly fixed into its usual stern poker face, but nevertheless, he kept his eyes averted -- not just in acknowledgement of a superior, but as a precaution, lest his eyes betray any of that inner turmoil. "My life was spent in service to you. You're certain you don't know me...?"

Edited 2012-06-24 23:35 (UTC)

"Harpuia..."

Four Guardians? Neo Arcadia? That was nothing that X had ever heard of before; if he had four...vassals? Was that the proper term? If he'd had such people under his service, he would have certainly remembered that. Even if he had led the hunters for the short period of time he had, he was still nothing more than a B-Class Hunter, taking up the reigns because there were too few left to do so.

But this? Kneeling down to him, calling him 'Master'...

This was all too strange. And yet this man was clear in his intent and forthright in his story. He had no reason to lie to him. What would he have gained from this story, considering their circumstances?

Nothing.

But even then, if that was the case...

"I...I don't know what to tell you. My name is X, but I don't know anything about Neo Arcadia or any Guardians. I'm just a B-Class Maverick Hunter, nothing more."

...Who also was the leader of the hunters for a short period, but he wasn't exactly going to mention that.

That did nothing to allay Harpuia's confusion. Quite the opposite, in fact. Neo Arcadia may have continued the legacy of Maverick elimination, but the Maverick Hunters had been disbanded before he had even been built. For X to not only claim ignorance of Neo Arcadia, but call himself a Hunter... he would have to be missing centuries' worth of memory. Had his memory banks been tinkered with when he'd been moved into that eerily human shell? If that was the case, then why was Harpuia's memory still intact? He had a complete mental record from the time of his activation to the time of his death.

Or was this maybe some sort of punishment? If Harpuia had been the type to believe in that sort of thing, he might be tempted to note the cruel, all-too-fitting irony of the situation. In life, he'd been a traitor to Neo Arcadia, and now... he didn't exist in his Master's memory at all. It was too cutting a thought for him to entertain it for long; he pushed it aside quickly, focusing instead on the rational, probable outcome. If X was talking about an organization that had existed hundreds of years ago, then...

"Master X... I know the question seems strange, but... exactly what century is it?"

"What...century?" X blinked. What in the world did he mean by that? "That is a strange question. Last I checked, it was 21XX. Why?"

It was certainly a strange question, X wasn't going to deny that. Calling him 'master', then acting as though he was his vassal (as though X was someone important, even) and asking about the year. The century, in specifics...

But assuming anything wasn't going to get him anywhere. X didn't know where this was going to go, but he'd answer his questions. Maybe by giving this man answers, he could give X some coherent answers. It was a thought.

Edited 2012-06-25 08:09 (UTC)

Ah. There we go. Harpuia raised his head, any traces of uncertainty gone from his face. There was still a lot that he didn't understand about the situation, but one facet had been puzzled out, and that much, at least, could be called progress.

"Because you're off by approximately 200 years. I was not built until the 24th century. The Maverick Hunters no longer exist. The Neo Arcadian government, which you once lead, are the sole upholders of justice." ...Were, not are. Past tense. The Guardians were no more, and even if Omega had perished, Neo Arcadia had still been Weil's when Harpuia died. He couldn't attach a word like "justice" to anything that man conrtolled.

Harpuia rose from his bow, shaking his head. "...It is, however, entirely possible that it's no longer 23XX, either. I can't begin to guess how much time has passed between my death and my awakening here. It's difficult to place on estimate based on the technology alone. Some things appear ridiculously archaic--" Harpuia nodded down at the flashlight in his hand, "--while others... nobody would ever presume to build a body this human-looking in my era. I can say that much with utter confidence."

Edited 2012-06-25 22:13 (UTC)

...well this "Harpuia" certainly gave him answers!

Unfortunately, with those answers came a whole lot of questions that sat in X's stomach and wrenched there (such a strange feeling), glaring up at him with such intensity that it was hard not to shrink back from the force of his own absolute confusion.

So, what was learned so far:

Harpuia was a dead Reploid (who looked extremely human -- possibly was human, considering X's own circumstaces) from the future. In which X was no longer a Maverick Hunter, but a ruler of some society called "Neo Arcadia".

It was insane, implausible, and about as likely as Zero and Vile suddenly becoming best friends...

But...

As though everything else so far hasn't been insane. I've woken up in a body that isn't mine -- and works just like a human's does -- am in a place that I've never seen before in my life, and now I meet someone who claims to be from the future. It's crazy, but he seems so earnest...and really, what reason does he have to lie to me?

That thought alone caused X's thoughts to stop in their tracks.

This 'Harpuia' had no real reason to lie to him.

If he'd wanted to trick him to gain his trust, wouldn't he have said something closer to X's own timeline in which to get him to believe him? X didn't quite buy his story (who would?), but he seemed trustworthy. He most certainly wasn't attacking him, nor did he seem to wish him any harm.

Yes. X would trust him.

"I wonder if our bodies were built at all." X said after a few moments.

"What are you saying...?" Harpuia wasn't a particularly dense reploid; he could grasp what X was hinting at with that remark. In fact, it would explain a lot: the lack of armor, the seamless layer of too-soft skin where there should have only been metal, the feebleness of his sensors and absence of programs he'd usually relied on... it simply didn't make sense to make a reploid body that lacking.

That didn't however, mean that was an idea Harpuia could easily accept. The technology did exist to implant a human consciousness into a mechanical body, yes -- that much had been seen in the punishment of Dr. Weil after the Elf Wars. To do the reverse, on the other hand, was a very different matter entirely. The technology was, simply put, still too lacking to accomplish something like that.

And for very good reason: the idea was ethically abhorrent. A mechanical body could easily be built to order, but obtaining a human body to implant a consciousness into... that raised the very uncomfortable question: if this body hadn't been built, then how did someone get their hands on it?

"...something that shouldn't be real." X said.

It all pointed to it, though X himself didn't want to consider it.

How was it possible? Why would someone do that? The ethical implications of someone taking a Reploid 'soul' and shoving it in a human body was beyond abhorrent; it was worse than murder. To destroy someone's own identity, just to replace it with someone else's. Whether it be done to a human or Reploid, such an act was...

But what else was there? His body reacted like a human's. He didn't have any systems or scanners, and his senses weren't at all what they were supposed to be.

What else could he be...?

X's mind whirled at the thought. His head grew hot, almost lightheaded at the idea, but he shook it off. Time for shock was later. Now was the time for answers. And how to find those answers...

He glanced around him, then to Harpuia.

"Do you have anything sharp that I can use? I want to test something before I make any real assumptions one way or the other."

"I'd feel much more at ease with a weapon, but unfortunately, my Sonic Blades appear to have been taken with the rest of my armor." Not that he'd seen any pressing need for a weapon; this place was unsettling, yes, but nothing had presented an immediate threat so far. Even if the flashlight in his hand might be able to serve as a crude weapon in a pinch, it was hardly suited to the task, and Harpuia felt oddly off-balance and vulnerable with only one hand occupied. Nevertheless, purely as a precaution, at least one blade would have been a welcome item.

Just... maybe not for the reasons X was considering.

Again: not a particularly dense reploid. Fefnir or Leviathan might not have questioned it, and Phantom may have been too faithful to speak up... but this was Harpuia, and "Do you have anything sharp? I want to test if I'm human or not" was a plan that raised all sorts of red flags as far as he was concerned. His expression remained as rigid and unchanging as usual, but his stare was very firmly fixed on X.

...Better not to jump to conclusions. Master X, after all, was a wise leader. Surely he wouldn't do anything short-sighted or hasty. The very fact that he didn't want to make any assumptions, even in light of the changes to their bodies, was a testament to the patient and rational mind that had built Neo Arcadia up from nothing.

"If you want to look for something sharp, then I'll help you search."

Sonic blades? Then Harpuia, wherever he was from, must have fought similarly to Zero. But he looked so young...would X really have allowed such a young Reploid out on the field of battle? Perhaps it was merely his frame, but the thought of a child fighting for any reason made his stomach turn.

It was wrong.

Still...searching would take time. Though X supposed he could try...even if he didn't use it for what he was intending, a weapon would be handy, however small.

Just in case.

He glanced around him, scanning the floor for any cracks.

...Nothing.

X glanced to his side, noticing a single door. Hobbling towards it, X looked towards his companion.

"Let's look in here. Maybe we can find something."

[To here!]

Edited 2012-07-02 23:15 (UTC)

From Here!

X's hand was smarting, but he still followed Harpuia back into the hallway. He could walk easier now, thankfully (perhaps he was getting used to his new movement?), though his eyes still rebelled against him; everything was just nondescript shapes.

Were human eyes really this weak?

He shook the thoughts out and touched his hands along the wall. Easy...easy does it...if he kept his hand on the wall, then surely he'd be in a safer position than if he just walked in the center of the hallway.

He squinted his eyes and stared forward.

...Was that...?

"Harpuia," X stopped to turn to his companion. "I think I see something like a door over there. Let's go through it and see where it goes."

It was better than sticking around here, that was for sure.

Harpuia turned the flashlight in the direction that X had indicated. He'd decided it was better to keep the light on; though he still had his doubts that they really were human, it was difficult to deny that their optics alone were too weak to navigate this place quickly and efficiently. Important though energy conservation may have been, he was in no mood to waste time on stumbling his way through the dark, hoping his sensors would kick in.

Sure enough, X had guessed correctly. The light rested on a door, presumably leading deeper into this... whatever this place was. It wasn't like they had the luxury of selectiveness, anyway; as far as Harpuia could tell, the only other options were to head back to the washroom or continue to wander the dormitory hallways that they'd first emerged from. No other choice but onward, then.

Harpuia spared a look over at X, double-checking that the hand on the wall was merely due to the poor lighting conditions and not a sign that his injury was worse than it appeared. Deciding that X was still doing okay, Harpuia nodded silently, keeping the flashlight trained forward as they moved further into the Institute.

[To here]

Edited 2012-07-08 04:18 (UTC)

[From here]

Wild Tiger was good enough to stop and wave his flashlight around the intersecting hallway before he deemed it safe to actually traverse it. Again, he noticed how few people were passing through the hallway. The murmurings of a few patients could be heard, the flicker of lights seen, but enough to warrant the amount of rooms in this block. Or they just all ran out faster than he did. Wow, that didn't make him feel old or anything.

"Kids..." he muttered sorely as he continued to inspect the corridor around them.

Barnaby threw a sideways glance at Kotetsu, but didn't press the issue anymore. It wasn't hard to see that his partner's reluctance to talk didn't completely stem from not wanting to be overheard. To be honest, he wasn't sure whether to feel angry about that or not. On one hand, they needed to be practical about when to set aside a good time and place for it. On the other, he didn't want to deal with any needless stalling, either, especially when he now understood that Kotetsu was perfectly capable of prolonging the inevitable for as long as it suited him.

Regardless, they were in agreement that they needed to look into this "clue", even if Barnaby suspected they were both getting something different out of it. At least Kotetsu had put his maps away, even if the notion of him drawing anything for the man was too ridiculous to even acknowledge.

Allowing Kotetsu to lead them out of the block for now, he hovered his flashlight beam over the map in his hands. "It looks like the medical wing might be on the east side of the first floor," he remarked in an effort to stay on task. As he spoke, they passed through the threshold leading into the next hall.

((To here.))

NIGHT 64: M-A BLOCK HALLWAY

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I'm so sorry for editing so much ^^;

Pfft, that was hardly any edits at all!

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Apologies for the short tag.

It's fine!

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After the bathroom fiasco...

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