Night 64: X-Ray Room

[damned_intercom]

As soon as the patients entered the dark room, the first thing they might have noticed were a couple of short bursts of static from the intercom. But no voices or cryptic messages greeted them.

Instead, their eyes would undoubtedly be drawn toward the strange picture of a human stomach carefully painted onto the southern wall, its paint casting an eerie green glow that cut into the darkness.

Although the artist had done their best to make the picture as clear as possible, they had apparently decided to leave a sharp kitchen knife perched on X-Ray table to compensate the patients for their troubles. Hopefully whoever picked it up would be able to make good use of it and the clue created for them.

Comments

[his_legacy]

Link was more than willing to keep talking about his home, especially if it meant distracting Sora from the grim "solution" they had discovered on the wall.

"Well, there are other humans, as well. Descendants of the Gerudo Tribe, who are from the desert, as well as people from other places altogether. And there are Gorons, people who live on Death Mountain. They're miners. Big, friendly folk with sturdier bodies than humans. And the Zora live in the West, aquatic people who can live both on land and underwater. They guard Hyrule's water supply." To him, all of these things were completely commonplace, really.

"Oh! And I met a family of yeti, once!"

[lighthearted]

From the sounds of it, Link really did come from a very interesting place! There was definitely a range when it came to the worlds people were from, and Hyrule was already falling closer to the top of the scale, at least based on Sora's own preferences. He wanted to see all the things Link was describing, the Zora (were they like mermaids?) and the Gorons and everything else.

Unfortunately, Sora had been here long enough that he knew better than to say something about how he might get the chance to see it someday. At this point, he would be happy enough just to find his way home. Holding out hope that he could visit everyone in their home worlds seemed pretty unlikely. He was still going to keep it in mind, of course, but he didn't want to get Link's hopes up.

"Wow, that sounds really neat! And I guess you've been all over, huh?" They definitely had more in common than Sora would have guessed at first. "This place... probably doesn't seem like much in comparison, but there are some interesting people to meet, at least! That's the only good part. Well, that and the food." Everything else, though? Sora couldn't say a good word about it.

[his_legacy]

"More or less... I've never seen a place like this, though. The technology is completely different." Link took another glance around the room.

"I'm assuming it's common for people from various worlds to be pulled here, then?" He was never one to shy away from meeting different kinds of people. Even across Hyrule, (as was already clear to Sora) Link had had the chance to see all sorts of different cultures and species. Perhaps once morning came, he would get a better look at the other patients.

"Good food is always a plus, though. That was always scarce on the road." He smirked at Sora, ears discreetly twitching up again.

[lighthearted]

"Yeah, the technology is pretty new for some people, but for others this all seems pretty primitive." Sora glanced around the room. They hadn't had anything like this on Destiny Islands, that was for sure. Still, after all the traveling he'd done, he'd been forced to learn fast, and so something like an X-Ray machine didn't seem that strange to him. He was more comfortable with magic than science, but...

At Link's question, Sora looked back toward him and nodded. "Yeah! Practically everyone is from a different world, but there can also be multiple people taken from one." Plenty of people he knew from home, whether it was the islands or the large variety of worlds he'd visited before coming here, had ended up in this place at some point. "Not necessarily, though, so I wouldn't get your hopes up too much," he added with a slight frown. While it would be great if Link could be reunited with his friend here, Sora had met plenty of people who were never joined by people from home. Then again, maybe that was a good thing.

It was true about the food, too. Sora had never known when his next meal would be coming when he was out traveling, and while most people had been generous, there had definitely been times when he and his friends had been forced to get creative.

[his_legacy]

Link's mouth fell slightly open in thought when Sora mentioned people coming here from the same world. He hadn't thought of the possibility before this moment since he was so focused on the task at hand. What if they brought Midna here? Or Zelda, or Ilia or Rusl, or any of the people he loved? There were monsters and disease and a madman controlling it all, and Link wouldn't be able to protect them without his equipment...

"I would be getting my hopes up that they don't show up here... I don't want any of my friends dealing with something like this." Link glanced up at the writing on the wall. "Even if it meant seeing Midna again..." She needed to be in the Twilight Realm with her own people. She had earned that peace.

[lighthearted]

That sentiment was one that was easy enough for Sora to understand. While he'd spent plenty of time hoping to see friends here, he realized how selfish that was. It was just that for him, he functioned so much better and could be so much more with friends at his side.

But that was why he'd done what he could to make more friends here. People like Tsubaki -- and even Link, now. "Yeah, you're right. It's better that they're out of harm's way." If they ended up here, they'd only remain captured or get brainwashed, after all. There were worse fates on top of that, like what had happened to Renji and Daemon, but Sora was doing his best not to think too hard on that now.

Sora glanced at the door they'd come in through, wondering if anyone else was going to find this place. He let out a sigh and turned back to Link. "So, any other questions for me? You'll get a better idea of things when morning comes, but..."

[his_legacy]

Link nodded. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if one of his friends came here and got hurt, or worse, because he had failed to help.

"Well... Why don't you tell me about where you come from?" He offered Sora a mild smile. Despite the fact that he needed to know more about his present situation, Link didn't feel like talking about it right now. At least, not with Sora. It certainly wasn't anything against the younger boy. He just seemed like the type who would rather focus on the good than the bad, and with the jarring reality that faced them upon entering this room, Link figured lighter conversation would do the Keyblade Master some good.

[lighthearted]

It was an odd thing to ask, especially when Sora could only imagine that Link was filled to the brim with questions about this place and why they were here. He'd covered some of that during dinner, but he'd really only skimmed the surface.

Still, if this was what Link wanted to talk about, then Sora wasn't about to complain. It felt surreal to be hanging out in a random room chatting about their past lives, but it wasn't like he had the energy to do much else. They'd made it this far, and that had been his main goal for the night, even though he wasn't too happy with what he'd found.

"Well, where I'm originally from is a place called Destiny Islands. It's... about as relaxed as you can get!" he explained, smiling to himself as he continued to stare up at the ceiling. "It's a small group of islands, and really, people's lives there are pretty uncomplicated. For most of my life I was just living my life there, going to school and playing with my friends, but a lot's changed since then." A whole lot.

[his_legacy]

Link honestly wasn't particularly worried about being in the institute- not yet, anyway. He'd been thrown into his fair share of seemingly impossible situations before and come out victorious. He was determined to do it again.

"That certainly sounds familiar..." Link said with a smile. He had never been to school, but he had lived life as a simple ranch hand before the Twilight curtain nearly stretched into Ordon. Then, just like Sora said... a lot changed. Link liked to think that he had grown from it all, though.

"Do a lot of people go to school where you come from?"

[lighthearted]

Familiar? So it sounded like there was even more that the two of them could share. Sora smiled, lifting his head up for a moment so that he could make eye contact with Link.

The question that came soon after made it clear that their situations weren't exactly the same, though. Link sounded surprised that he'd been to school, whereas for Sora that had just been expected. Of course, his studies had been cut short due to having more important things to deal with, and he really had no complaints there.

"Yeah, I guess so! Every kid is supposed to go until they're old enough to start working," he explained. "Our parents needed to make sure we had something to do while they were working during the day." Of course, that precaution hadn't always stopped Sora and his friends from getting into trouble. It wasn't his fault that most of his classes had been boring!

"Why, did you not go to school?" he asked in return, sitting up so that he could fix Link with a curious look.

[his_legacy]

Interesting...

"I was taught to read and write properly, but other than that, the Ordon isn't big enough to warrant having a schoolhouse. Then we can learn a trade if we find a proper mentor, I suppose. I spent my time training in swordsmanship and working on the ranch." At least, until he had left for the rest of Hyrule.

"So I guess I didn't have a formal school like you seem to. But I learned what was necessary."

[lighthearted]

What Link was describing actually made a lot of sense to Sora, and he nodded along as the other boy explained. "I think that's better, actually! I dunno, I learned a lot of stuff that... I wasn't sure why I was even learning it, you know?" Like math. Being able to add and subtract stuff was important, maybe, but past that he just didn't see the point.

Still, it made sense that different places would handle it in different ways, and Sora had at least gotten to know his friends through his classes. Then again, he figured he probably would have come across them anyway, since Destiny Islands was so small.

"So Ordon is the place that you're from?" he asked. It had a ranch, at least, and Link had been able to learn how to use a sword there, so it couldn't be too small.

[his_legacy]

"Math is mostly reserved for architects, I think... I can add and subtract and such, but nothing special." It simply wasn't necessary. A traveling swordsman rarely had to stop and calculate equations. "You never know, though. Someday you might be thankful for knowing it. It certainly can't hurt." He wasn't about to jump at the opportunity to learn something like that, though. He may be intelligent, but mathematics... weren't exactly his area of expertise.

Link nodded. "Yes, Ordon is my village. It's in a province south of the main kingdom. It's about a day's trip to Castle Town and back for trading."

[lighthearted]

Sora couldn't really think of a situation in which he would be thankful he'd learned more than basic math, but then again, you never did know for sure. He shrugged and started to swing his legs back and forth where they were dangling off the edge of the X-Ray table.

So, Link lived near some kind of kingdom or castle or something. Sora had been exposed to worlds like that, so he was getting a slightly clearly picture of what Hyrule might be like.

"It sounds nice," he said after a pause, smiling slightly. "Uhh, but... I guess no one else is coming, huh?" He glanced toward the door they'd come through and let out a sigh. Was Lingormr making trouble for everyone else? If so, why had they been let off easy? "Should we try to go through there?" He nodded to the other door in the room. Chances were it wouldn't have anything that interesting, but at this point Sora was just getting bored.

[his_legacy]

"Yes, that would probably be better than sitting around here any longer." In Link's experience, checking every possible new area always led to something good .

Link glanced sideways at the door they had entered from.

"I do hope that Lingormr isn't giving our expected company more trouble than he gave us, though..." He considered checking outside for a moment, but Link realized that that would be a foolish risk to take- especially if the possessed man was reacting violently to potential newcomers.

[lighthearted]

"I guess... if we look around everywhere here and no one has shown up by then, we can go back out and see what's going on." Sora knew that it was a bad idea to toss himself into a dangerous situation again, but the idea that there were people out there who might need his help was hard to ignore.

First, though, would be exploration. Sora pushed off of the X-Ray table and moved to the mystery door, opening it up with a creak.

"We might get ambushed by monsters or something, so stay close, okay?" he said to Link over his shoulder before stepping through.

[To here.]

[fallenbeanpole]

[from here]

The moment they were inside the Once-ler slammed the door behind him, leaning heavily against it. He tried to put Soma down as gently as possible, but with the way she was struggling he couldn’t tell if he’d accidentally dropped her the last few inches. Back against the door, he slid down into a sitting position. Now that the immediate danger had passed, he slowly – and painfully – became aware of the state he was in.

The wads of cloth that had been serving as makeshift bandages were soaked completely through; his hand came away red and wet after shifting the bunch at his waist. Briefly he stared at his hand, almost like it was the first time he’d ever seen blood, before dropping it to his side. The man tilted his head back and closed his eyes, breathing heavily.

He was starting to feel dizzy now; he had no idea how much blood he’d lost, but it was no small amount. His jaw still stung from the punch, and he just knew there was going to be an absolutely lovely bruise on his arm. The shallow cut on his side was relatively minor compared to the other two. He hadn’t even bothered dealing with it.

The Once-ler didn’t say anything. There was nothing to be said.

[madeinthehrl]

As it turned out, he had dropped her the last few inches, but Soma was in no position to care.

She lay with her face against the floor, the cool tile almost comforting against her fevered cheek, and tried to breathe. Getting up and heading back to help Rapunzel would have been her first course of action, but even supersoldiers had their limits. Judging from the way her arms and legs felt like lead, it felt like she'd reached hers.

It was a full minute before she could even summon up the energy to open her eyes, and when she did she promptly shut them again. Rapunzel was hurt--possibly dead. Probably dead. And she couldn't even move.

Maybe she could have gotten to her sooner if she'd been traveling alone. Lingormr would have hesitated to hurt her--she was almost certain of that. She could have played that to her advantage. Instead she was stuck here with a man who had physically dragged her away from her friend in some misguided attempt to find a cure.

Some part of her knew that was unfair. He couldn't have known what was going on. Not really. But she couldn't get the sound of Rapunzel screaming out of her mind. The thought that one of her friends here might have killed another of her friends, and she might have been able to prevent it.

It wasn't as if she had plenty of those to go around.

"It's not worth a cure," she said, and coughed a little as the words scratched her throat. Then, hoarsely, and a little louder: "Damn it. We have to go back."

[lighthearted]

[From here.]

The second that Sora re-entered the room and pointed his flashlight at the two newcomers, he realized just how bad things were. His hope had been that the ones joining them would be uninjured, seeing how he and Link had gotten through with no trouble, but that had clearly been wishful thinking.

The amount of blood was what registered first. What kicked in second was the fact that one of the injured people was a club member. "Soma!" Sora cried out, racing from the doorway over to where the girl was collapsed on the floor.

He took a knee and tried to move her slightly so that he could get an idea of her wounds, but it was hard to tell what was going on when it was this dark. And the other patient, someone he didn't recognize, didn't look much better. "What happened?!"

He hoped that Link had some sort of healing power, because otherwise he didn't know what they were going to do. From the looks of things, they should have gone back into the hall to check on things after all. How were they supposed to handle this? He was doing his best not to panic, but that was easier said than done.

[his_legacy]

Link grabbed his knife and followed Sora back into the X-Ray Room, jaw dropping as he saw the bloodied patients, one face first on the ground, and another limp against the door. While Sora rushed to the girl's side, Link knelt by the man. He was already in the process of taking off his shirt, cutting it into strips with his knife.

It was... painfully obvious what had happened. Link certainly didn't mention that, though.

"Is there anyone else stuck in there?" He looked up at the Once-ler as the sharp blade slid through the shirt cloth. The Hylian's expression was intense, but not panicked.

[fallenbeanpole]

The Once-ler cracked an eye open when he heard Soma’s name called once again. Two boys had come in from another room, and the younger of the two immediately ran to Soma’s side. The Once-ler noticed immediately that he wasn’t wearing the gray shirt and pants that seemed to be some kind of uniform, instead having a very unique outfit on. Just like Lingormr, actually.

“Please tell me you’re not another brainwashed friend here to stab and taunt us,” the Once-ler said. There was no edge to his voice despite the implications of the words. “I’ve fulfilled my quota for the day. Actually, make that for the rest of my life.”

He turned his focus to the other boy, who was slicing up his shirt into strips. The kid was surprisingly calm, considering the situation, almost as if this was nothing new to him. Calm and focused. That was kind of disturbing, actually. He looked barely old enough to be out of high school, let alone having experienced a situation similar to this before.

Soma’s probably not much older, he realized suddenly. It had never crossed his mind that she might not even be twenty. And that other boy next her is even younger. Should he even be in the same asylum (however questionable its legitimacy might be) as adults?

The Once-ler’s thoughts were interrupted when the older boy addressed him. “There’s a group back by the entrance to the hall that’s fighting Li, er, Lingro…” the man’s name was surprisingly difficult to pronounce, “the guy with the horns. We only managed to get here because he got distracted by them.” Well, not completely distracted, but it had stopped him from attacking the pair. “Not much we could do like this.” He held his hands out, gesturing at himself and the three separate cuts he’d received.

“So,” he continued, then blinked. “Hold on, how’d you two get here without getting hurt at all?” Lingormr had been really determined to keep sticking Soma and the Once-ler with metal objects unless they gave up.

[madeinthehrl]

Soma would have prodded the Once-ler for his comment about brainwashed friends, except moving still felt like a bad idea. She settled for a feeble glare in his general direction before turning her attention to Sora and his friend.

She couldn't deny the younger boy was a welcome sight, even as worried as he appeared to be. She grunted slightly and managed half a smile before she shuffled into a sitting position, her back against the wall. "It's worse than it looks. He needs more help than I do."

And as much as she didn't want to rat out her friend, it wasn't as if brainwashing was Lingormr's fault. "Lingormr has Special Counseling," she said, trying not to look at the bloody smears she'd left on the floor. At least her voice stayed level this time. "I didn't get a good look at everyone in the group back there, but Kratos and Castiel were there, and Rapunzel--"

Right. Voice level. Professional. Like a debrief. She could do this. "I think she's hurt."

[lighthearted]

So it was Lingormr that had done this. Sora let out a sigh and frowned as he watched both Soma and the other patient struggle to move into more comfortable positions. "No, no, I'm not brainwashed, believe me." Soma would know, but this other patient was a stranger, and he couldn't blame him for being paranoid when he'd apparently been injured multiple times already.

Link was already working on getting some makeshift bandages put together, and Sora realized that he should contribute to that. With two people who were injured, both with what looked like multiple injuries, they were going to need as many as they could get. It was too bad this X-Ray room didn't stock any.

Before he could even get started with that, though, they mentioned that there were others out there who were in the midst of being attacked. More than that, among the group were some people he knew, other club members who had probably come this way on his behalf.

The question was whether he should help them or take care of these two and make sure they were stable first. "I'll go and find her," he promised Soma, "but we need to make sure you two are all right before I do that."

The stranger had asked a question, but Sora would leave it to Link to answer that. He glanced over at the knife Link was using to cut into his clothing and made eye contact with him, silently asking if he could use it once he was done.

[his_legacy]

Link had assumed the culprit was Lingormr. Despite the fact that he had seemed to leave him and Sora alone, that may have had to do with how they had known each other... Link also needed to consider that, given the way he had taunted them, Lingormr was the type to enjoy, in some sick way, changing his patterns to watch his opponents struggle.

And if Sora hadn't mentioned going out after the others, Link would have left with his knife immediately. The younger boy had mentioned having a sort of weapon on him, though, so Link would just have to trust that he could handle himself. He looked to Sora, handing him the knife once he was done cutting up his shirt.

"Get out there as soon as you feel comfortable with conditions in here. I can manage the wrappings if you want to go help the others." He turned to the Once-ler.

"I don't know," Link responded to his question, "He taunted us, and... strange illusions of him kept appearing around us, but nothing else. There was already blood on the floor when we got in there, though." Link held up one of the strips of cloth he had just cut. "Could you please show me where, exactly, your wounds are?" There was blood everywhere. It was difficult enough to tell.

[fallenbeanpole]

The Once-ler caught Soma’s glare, feeble though it may be, and quickly averted his eyes to the floor. He hadn’t meant to imply anything with the comment, but it wasn’t surprising that it had been taken the wrong way. Maybe when things settled down he could explain himself.

Right now, though, there were other matters at hand. He sighed at Link’s explanation. “Sounds like we just got unlucky, then.” Understatement of the year. “But you think he’d already attacked someone else too? Wonder why he let you two go.”

Oh, so that’s what he was cutting up his shirt for. The Once-ler grimaced and gingerly rolled up his left pant leg, fully exposing the gash. “I think that’s the worst one, but I also got stabbed here,” he rolled his shirt up enough to show the boy his stab wound, “and had a brush with another blade a little higher up. Don’t think that last one’s too bad, though.”

He changed his focus to the younger boy. “If you’re intending to go back out there, I guess I’ll have to move,” the Once-ler observed. He frowned. “You really sure you want to do that, kid? He’s got knives, and you don’t look like you’ve got anything.” Not that having a katana had done the Once-ler any good, of course.

“What kind of sick guy puts kids in situations like this?” he asked, mostly to himself. The boy, no, all three of them had to be younger than he was when he’d first set off to achieve success. It was just wrong.