damned_institute | Day 66: Breakfast

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Day 66: Breakfast

What Guy had seen on that scan resulted in some mixed feelings. While he had expected to find something in Claude, seeing how he was sick, it hadn't been quite the same as what they'd seen when they had scanned that other ill patient two nights ago. What did that mean? It was possible that the shape of it just looked different because of where it was in Claude's stomach, but Guy couldn't help but feel that there was a deeper meaning to it.

Yet another thing that he didn't understand, then. With a sigh, he got himself up out of bed and went searching immediately for the single leaf that he'd taken from the X-ray room last night. It was stored carefully in his possessions box, which meant that he didn't have to worry too much about that.

While he wanted to quickly sketch the leaf's general shape to post on the bulletin, Guy wasn't given that chance, as his nurse showed up before he could even grab for his journal. He had to relent and let her lead him to the cafeteria for breakfast. While Guy considered stopping by the bulletin to leave a note, that could wait until after he ate. He suspected that Anise or Luke would try to find him as soon as possible to tell him about their findings, so leaving a note for them would be redundant.

He did need to ask about the clue from last night and see if anyone else had further insight on it, but that might be something Claude wanted to do, seeing how he had a better idea of who that baptist was and what it all might signify.

After collecting a small amount of food onto a plate, Guy took a seat near the cafeteria's entrance, keeping an eye out for any of his friends so he could flag them down as they walked in.

[For Anise and Claude.]

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That possibility was certainly where Skulduggery had been heading with his train of thought. The problem was, any sorcerer from his world who'd lived even a little longer than the average human didn't really believe in God. It was just absurd to imagine from the viewpoint of someone who might be considered a god themselves by said average human. Skulduggery had never really cared one way or the other, but given that the Faceless Ones' existence was more or less a fact now, he was leaning towards atheism himself.

Gabe clearly wasn't interested in talking about it, so Skulduggery let it slide for the moment. All that was clear right now was that they came from different realities, anyway.

There was a wry smile in Skulduggery's tone as Gabe joined him on the other side of the table. "My instincts are a little rusty," he commented. A few centuries could do that to a person. "But please do." It would have been difficult to say no to a face like that even if Skulduggery hadn't needed the demonstration.

Link continued to eat, eyebrows slightly raised as Flynn's nurse loomed over him far longer than necessary. His almost child-like disgruntlement about the situation was amusing.

"It's fine, they're all kind of like that-" Link paused upon realizing that his ears had once again become the fixation of a new acquaintance. Were they really so bizarre? He wasn't offended, but he was certainly bemused.

The world was so much larger than he had thought.

"You've... never met a Hylian before, have you?" He didn't want to leave an awkward silence, so he might as well address it directly. As if to confirm that he was on the same page as Flynn, Link reached up to scratch an ear. He frowned slightly, noticing for the first time that they had even taken his earrings. Was there a reason for being so thorough? Perhaps it was all part of the puzzle...

"Eh, it's their job. Maybe." Murphy shrugged. "I dunno. It's pretty easy to ignore them as long as they're not talking to you." They were just like the COs and guards back at Ryall. A part of the scenery, and only something to worry about if you did something to draw their attention. At least he was good at not drawing any attention.

"So what are you..." he almost said 'in for', because as his breakfast companion had been thinking, old habits died hard. "Where are you from?" he amended. He didn't really know what the standard conversation opener in 21st century hell was.

Vriska placed her chin on her hands. "Yeah. It was all grey. Oh yeah, and I had horns too. I'm not whatever this species is, but originally a troll."

When he made such an outrageous pose, she thought it was a bit ridiculous. For some reason it kind of pissed her off, but at the same time she thought it made him look dumb. When he mentioned the food, it was probably true he had a point, but at the same time she had also thought that these people might have slipped something into it. Not to mention, she was still angry about being stuck in this whole situation, and that seemed to pretty much kill her appetite. "So, if I threw it on your face, that would be a waste?"

She also thought of what kind of ability they must have used to simultaneously knock out and bring patients back. Even if they happened to have made it outside. "It sounds to me you work fast. Faster than maybe your companions. Maybe they probably have something to instantly knock us out and drag us all the way back. But, while we're talking about this, tell me what a 'jutsu' is."

"They really aren't," Flora agreed with a nod. It was a fact that she knew very well herself, one that had been both a curse and a blessing on a few occasions.

"I had a run-in with one yesterday, myself. Its welcoming skills could have used some work." Flora grimaced. She's fought monsters for years, has even done it without her powers, but this environment was incredibly different and she didn't have any of her friends here that she'd seen. This was a different game altogether, and she'd have to play it smarter.

Flora drew a quick breath and raised her hand to close to her mouth in shock. She didn't even have time to reply before Lingormr went on, saying something that struck a chord with her. Her face fell into the deepest sympathy, voice softening. "I'm so sorry, that must have been awful for you." Flora hadn't been controlled like that before, but she'd been on the receiving end when Bloom had. There hadn't been anything to forgive her for, of course, it wasn't her fault at all. Flora could have only imagined what she went through, but she saw plainly how much being robbed of control of her own mind and made to attack her best friends tore at her at the time.

A fresh wave of concern, then anger rose inside her. This place posed as a hospital, a place of care and healing, but all it did was hurt everyone inside with one horror after another. Maybe she could do something about it, though."This sickness, it's not fatal is it? What are the symptoms?"

Flora took a hold of her cup, but didn't drink from it. "I've seen it happen a lot, myself. I wish it didn't, but it does. Sometimes, people just don't understand how their actions can and do hurt others and just need to shown that, somehow." Flora smiled gently, and her faith in other people was the light in it. It felt moments later, and her eyes hardened slightly. "But some do. And in my experience, those people who enjoy it and don't regret their actions always get their dues in the end." Her voice rang with her certainty. It was as much something she believed in as it was a reminder of what she needed to do when she left this place.

"You mentioned that you could think of several potential methods for revival...what are they?" That kind of magic capable of that was almost non-existent. And they'd lost what they had, but maybe....

That made Gabriel want to ask, very badly, just what Skulduggery had been if his physical instincts were so forgotten. He had obviously been human, but wasn't any longer. So what could he have turned into? With alternate realities, it could have been a great many things more than Gabriel might have considered.

But asking ran the risk of drawing attention back to the fact that Gabe wasn't human either, and Skulduggery might have asked in return--a question Gabe wasn't willing (or able) to answer directly.

So Gabe only smiled instead and took Skulduggery's hand, raising it to his own throat. He watched the other man's face as he swallowed, a few times and with decent timing in-between to give Skulduggery a chance to compare each one.

Edited 2012-09-17 01:41 (UTC)

Goku woke up with a pounding headache that could crack the earth in half. It was hard to tell if he felt any better or if the painful throbbing in his skull simply masked the rest of his woes for the time being. For once he wasn't on his feet by the time the white witch came for him. It was up to her to peel him off the bed and get shoes on him before pulling him to the cafeteria.

By the time they hit the doors to the Sun Room, the young boy had perked up from the smell of pork. Of course, all too soon Goku realized they were serving those poor pig wieners again. It was hard to protest when they smelled so good and his stomach was so woefully empty. Goku made sure the woman got him extra bread and fruit to counter balance the guilt he felt for these martyred pigs before moving elsewhere behind his nurse.

Of course the first person he recognized was Taura. She stood out of a crowd even while sitting down. Without asking, he climbed up onto the chair in front of her and waited for the woman in white to set his plate down.

"Hi!" he greeted, as if nothing was wrong.

A picture of someone's death? That sounded more like a threat than a clue. What were they supposed to get out of that? Anise was starting to understand why her friends hadn't learned much from it.

The leaves, however, at least seemed like they ought to have a use. "So you don't know what kind of plant it is?" That made it really hard to figure out what it meant. "Maybe someone else in the institute would know... like if someone made a sketch and put it on the bulletin board?" There were experts of all kinds of weird things around them, from what Anise had experienced. It couldn't hurt to ask.

It was just a suggestion, and maybe making a sketch wouldn't be feasible. But if they were supposed to take those leaves as some kind of hint, figuring out what the heck they were seemed like a good way to start.

Another one, huh.

After so long in the Institute, Aidou had almost stopped being surprised at finding himself surrounded by weirdos and creatures that had no right existing. It was an aspect of prison life that one had to get used to. Considering his own disposition, he didn't think the claim was crazy--merely regrettable in the sense that there was yet another person who professed to be more than they seemed.

"A machine," he repeated dully. "How many of there are you? You must be in the same club as Aigis, I suppose."

Lee's large eyes widened even further. Grey skin, and horns. Sounded like some sort of oni from a story, but Vriska did not seem scary enough to be an oni. "That is amazing! I have never heard of such a thing! I am a human, though! And that is what you look like now!"

He nodded emphatically. "It would certainly would be a waste. Go on! Eat! It is good!" She would surely not be making such a mess if she actually tried it. And he was honest before when he said she should eat for energy. With how much activity he had done the day before, plus fighting the monster that night, he hadn't gotten even a wink of sleep in.

"I am known for my speed and efficiency back home," he gushed, beaming at her compliment. He liked being fast at everything he did. Haste could often lead to problems down the line, but at the moment it always seemed like a good idea. He took a sip of water, clearing his throat before he explained. "A jutsu is a skill! Where I come from, we shinobi have three types of jutsu we are taught to manipulate; ninjutsu, attacking skills that require chakra and manipulate various elements, genjutsu, illusionary skills meant to befuddle enemies, and taijutsu, attack skills that rely on one's own physical strength and speed. I am a taijutsu master!"

Loki's mouth twisted into a crooked smile. "I thank you. It was not an experience I wish to repeat."

"We know not if the sickness is ultimately fatal, though the implication is that it turns those infected into monsters. So perhaps in that case, death would be a mercy. Those afflicted are fatigued, nauseous at times, I think... most visibly they have a rash upon one of their hands."

He laughed softly. "If the cruel get their comeuppance in the end, you must life in a far more just universe than I can imagine."

Loki idly traced a little pattern on the tabletop with one finger. "Most would have to deal with manipulating time itself, though I am aware of spells that can take a spirit from what realm it retreats to upon death. For those, constructing a body for it to inhabit is really the simplest part."

"I suppose that's true," Seishin said, though he did not entirely agree. Then again, maybe the nurses had never really bothered checking whether this man's bandages were still in place because they assumed he was prone to self-destructive behaviour. But that was not the man's fault, was it?

"...I'm from a small village in Japan," the novelist responded after a small delay, purposely excluding the village's name. His breakfast companion wouldn't have heard of it, regardless -- Sotoba had been isolated from the rest of the world, after all.

"What about you?" he asked, moving the subject away from himself by returning the question.

A lot of tears and sweat? Sora thought that over for a moment, but he honestly hadn't realized just how important sports could be. But with the way Tsurugi talked about it, soccer sounded like it was a life or death situation. Or maybe Tsurugi just took it really seriously? Some people were like that.

Before he could ask any further questions on the subject, Sora had to contend with a few of his own. It was rare to travel around the way he did, especially since he had moved between worlds, which wasn't really supposed to be allowed.

"Yeah, there's a reason. It's kind of a long story, but basically, my world was put in danger, along with a lot of other ones. I ended up with this weapon called the Keyblade, and it became my job to use to that take down the monsters that were threatening those worlds." Now that he'd brought up the Heartless, there was no way that he couldn't draw it all back to the previous night.

Sora looked down at the table again. "What I turned into last night, that was a Heartless... One of the things I'm supposed to fight."

So Guy wasn't the only one who'd thought of sketching one of the leaves for the other patients to see. If they could just identify that plant, it really might help them get to the bottom of this.

"I wanted to do that," he told Anise, "but I didn't get a chance before the nurse came and got me this morning. I didn't get a very good look at the leaves last night, so I'm not sure I could just draw it from memory." Or at least not with the accuracy that would be needed to identify a plant like that.

There was a small chance that one of the nurses would let him return to his room for a brief moment and he could do it then, but Guy didn't want to rely on that. Which left...

"We'll have to keep an eye on the bulletin, too. I bet other patients saw the clue, so people will probably be talking about it." It was frustrating that so much of this relied on the knowledge of others. Guy would have rather taken it all into his own hands, but Landel wasn't making it that easy. No surprise there, really.

Different worlds? ... Now that was surprising. Kyousuke wouldn't have thought to think on that scale, or that it was even possible. It was almost difficult to wrap his mind around what Sora was saying, but he didn't see any reason he'd lie about it, and there were plenty of unfathomable things in the world. He'd seen enough to know that.

"... I see," he responded after a moment, deciding to accept it without pressing into it. That could be why they seemed to get along so far—they both had things they needed to protect.

Then things got tense again; it looked like he'd led the conversation back around without intending to. Heartless... That black, shadowy creature. He was curious about it, but it wasn't prudent to ask right now, so he let things fall to silence again. ... If he could say everything would be fine, he would have.

"But it can't be all bad, traveling like that," he said, pressing on. It was side-stepping a lot of issues, but moping around wouldn't change the situation for either of them. That was just reality.

Karkat was very tempted to respond to that with an exasperated DUH, but again he was stopped by the condition of the other man. Damn injured adult making this difficult on him...

He could at least make a simple correction, so he pointed at Castiel and said quite plainly: "TROLL-napped. And quite frankly violated. This isn't my body and I'd kind of like the other one back. This is stupid." Stupid was an understatement, but he was at a loss for what else to say for once. How was he even supposed to handle this mess?

Getting a more detailed explanation from this human looked like an impossibility at the time, however.

The first thing the former skeleton noticed was that even though swallowing was supposed to be an activity that forced food down, something in Gabe's throat was bobbing up. The Adam's Apple, presumably. It wasn't helping. The second thing he noticed was that each time Gabe swallowed, his breathing momentarily stopped. That, Skulduggery chided himself, should have been obvious; but something about the realization clicked. It almost shone through on his face, causing his eyes to widen slightly.

The whole process was an automatic reflex, but initiating it was what had been causing trouble. Skulduggery just needed to stop thinking in terms of operating a mannequin - as he did his skeleton - and let natural brain functions take over. 'Instincts,' as Gabe said. Skulduggery no longer knew every nook and cranny of his body, and right now, maybe that was for the best.

With that in mind, Skulduggery took his hand back and returned his attention to his plate. Cutting off a piece of sausage was the simple part now, especially after working with so many fiddly bits of string the day before. He hesitated with the fork just outside his mouth, giving it a look as if he was silently threatening it, before he tried eating it.

He didn't swallow immediately; first, the detective tried to pick out any unfamiliar taste or texture. That was difficult, considering any taste would probably be unfamiliar. But even after a few moments, Skulduggery was still swirling the food around with his tongue. The taste had finally hit him, and... Skulduggery didn't mind taking a moment to savor it. He'd missed this, he realized with a small jolt. Even after all this time, he still remembered the taste of sausage.

After that, swallowing was laughably easy.

Tsubaki looked at Leanne, a touch of solemness in her gaze. As much as people might have liked to, escaping the 'but' was a hard thing to do.

"I convinced you to come and it was my responsibility to help you make progress," she said. "For that, I apologize. I wish we could help the both of you. After what's happened, though, I know he and everyone will take extra precautions."

"Aigis?"

X had never heard that name before. There were others like him, Zero, and Harpuia in this place? Logically, that would make sense; why would Landel only take them? Surely he would have taken others to this...this...

House of Horrors, he supposed.

"I've never heard that name. Other than myself, the only...ex-machines, I guess you can say, that I know here are Harpuia and Zero."

X paused a moment, tapping his chin as he spread his journal and its contents in front of him.

"Then again, I haven't been here very long. Only two days."

Kratos breathed an inward sigh of relief as he watched Lloyd sit down - he and Lloyd were not on the best of terms, but at least the boy would still listen to him if asked properly - and then nodded as Ishida introduced his friend and classmate.

"Go ahead." Ishida was the more loquacious of the two of them, and frankly, Kratos had long since tired of giving newcomers the obligatory "welcoming" speech. It was almost mind-numbing to go over the particulars now, that they were trapped, powerless, and at the whims of a madman who on one hand cast them as insane and on the other subjected them to sufficient nighttime ordeals that they might as well all go insane.

Shortly after he'd agreed to Ishida's offer, though, out of the corner of his eye, he caught Ishida's friend - Inoue giving him...actually, he wasn't sure what she was doing, only that it was slightly unnerving and reminiscent of Raine's Ruin Mode (Oh. No.), and that it had only started after Lloyd had mentioned the twin worlds--speaking of which, of course, Lloyd had to continue on talking about things that, while not exactly top secret, Kratos had still been working incredibly hard to keep from public knowledge. Thankfully, though, Lloyd served to distract him, however momentarily, from Inoue's bobbing--nodding--whatever she was doing.

"I wonder why," he said mildly, raising an eyebrow. "Perhaps if I wasn't able to do as I wished, as in, perhaps I don't have access to that kind of power at the moment." He continued firmly focusing on the slight sense of frustration he felt, trying to let it build so that it could also overwhelm the ridiculous urge to just take Lloyd aside, abandon Ishida and his bizarre friend, and do something that would approximate to a confession. Control. He had to remain in control of himself and this situation, and maybe, just maybe he could come out relatively unscathed. "I'm sure you discovered that earlier, judging by--"

"Ishida-kun, don't you realize, you've befriended aliens!"

Never mind.

Kratos stiffened. The alien concept was not so foreign to him; he had even entertained that train of thought before. It was different, though, when someone directed so much attention to the fact in such a blatant manner, so much, in fact, that his unnerved feeling from earlier was swiftly evolving into full-blown discomfort.

He turned away from Lloyd to direct a flat, uncomprehending stare at Inoue. "...what?" That was about the best he could manage, giving the circumstances.

Though he'd had quite a trip to get that flashlight for Scar, the Scarecrow wasn't at all upset by the fact the former lion had been given a replacement, so glad to see him well that everything else seemed insignificant. His nurse had been right in that seeing his friend would brighten his mood- even the infection didn't seem as bothersome at that moment. Scar had been gone fourteen days and returned! Why, if he could do it, who was to say the others couldn't? Abe and Depth Charge and Mele and even Kaiji? It was a small glimmer of hope, and with the way it had been dwindling in the past few days, the Scarecrow was ready to take any good news that came his way.

"I'm not sure," the Scarecrow answered honestly, reaching for his glass of juice, "but one of my friends who has had a lot more experience at being a human than me assured me that there was nothing to worry about, and that my body would right itself out if I just gave it time." He smiled and nodded, having a swallow, the liquid feeling like fire in his throat. While he usually liked to think things through for himself, he was willing to put his trust in what Sangamon said, optimistic he was right in his assessment.

The light of realisation in Skulduggery's eyes was so bright as to make Gabriel beam back at him. He let Skulduggery take back his hand, and to keep the man from feeling as though he was under a spotlight the Archangel pulled his plate over to resume his own meal. Suddenly, he felt hungrier than he had been.

Quite happily Gabriel dug into his breakfast, keeping an eye on Skulduggery just in case the man had any trouble. But apparently the demonstration had helped, because Skul didn't at just one experimental bite. Gabriel grinned at him. "Better?"

It was obvious the man had been having trouble, and now he wasn't. Gabe had felt satisfaction in a job well done, and pride in a student learning well, but neither had before left that warm glow in his stomach before. They were nice feelings, in a human body.

Whatever Lloyd might have said to Kratos was derailed in a heartbeat by Inoue's remark. His head jerked up in startled confusion before he hesitated, sharing a look with Kratos. "...we're aliens?" He was completely oblivious to the way that, in that moment, he almost seemed to mirror the way that Kratos held his head, the slight widening of his eyes before his eyebrows pinched down just enough to furrow above the bridge of his nose.

Then he frowns and the moment is lost. "I'm not an alien. At least, I don't think." Unlike with Kratos, the concept wasn't one Lloyd was really familiar with. The idea of another world had been foreign to him when Sheena had first explained that she wasn't from Sylvarant. Even now, knowing that the elves had come from... somewhere else, it hadn't really occurred to him to pin a label of "alien" on anything that wasn't from his world. "I don't think Kratos is, either, unless being an angel counts."

Speaking of which...

He turned his frown back on the angel in question. "What do you mean, you can't use your power? Did something happen to your Exsphere?"

"Yes." There was still a modicum of surprise in his tone, but Skulduggery was already trying a sip of water now. It was harder than swallowing food - mostly because he'd worked out a pattern of biting and chewing beforehand - but at least now he knew how to avoid that painful coughing fit from before. Skulduggery had also forgotten just how bland and tasteless the clear liquid was, and that didn't help.

He did notice how the water almost instantly began soothing the inside of his throat, though. Almost like one of Professor Grouse's healing touches, when the sorcerer felt like admitting to Skulduggery that reducing his pain was possible. The detective had no idea how parched he'd been until that moment; but then, he hadn't had a single sip for two days now. It was another thing he really should have realized, but at least he was making progress.

He swallowed down another small sip, fervently hoping that anything unexpected in the food was a thing of the past. "Thank you."

Even though Sora got the feeling that Tsurugi had never seen a world beyond his own until now, content to work hard on playing soccer in most of his free time, he didn't react in any noticeable way to the mention of multiple worlds. Sora had long ago given up on "world order" since arriving at Landel's. He didn't think even Donald could blame him for that.

Tsurugi didn't comment on anything to do with the Heartless, which Sora was thankful for, even if he recognized that it was probably for his sake. But they'd made a silent decision to not talk about that incident any more than they had to, so Sora tried to push on.

"It's not bad at all," he said with a shake of his head. "I love getting to see new things and meet new people and help out." While there had been some heartbreak along the way, in the end it had all been put right, hadn't it? But then Landel's had come along and disturbed all of that.

Well, if Sora tried to see this as just another adventure, if a much longer one, then it became a little easier to swallow. He had made new friends here; he couldn't deny that.

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Page 7 of 10

Day 66: Breakfast

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