damned_institute | Day 66: Game Room (Fourth Shift)

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Day 66: Game Room (Fourth Shift)

The game room, huh... In normal, everyday life, it wouldn't have sounded too terrible, but as things were, it seemed like more of an annoyance. Games were fine, but priorities.... On the other hand, Kyousuke seemed to have hit a block in figuring out the clues to the the illness, and just thinking without getting anywhere wasn't very productive, either. At this point, it may have been best to push it aside and come back to it fresh. He had his reservations about it, especially since the end of the day was rapidly approaching, but... Frustration wasn't going to get him any closer.

He poked around what games were there with resignation, still half wondering what he was even doing and trying not feel guilty for needing a break. After a while he came across an electronic device marked "Game Boy Color" and picked it up out of curiosity. He'd heard of those before... If he was right, this thing was older than he was, by quite a bit. Flicking it on confirmed his suspicions; the sound and graphics from it spoke for themselves.

Shrugging, he took it a random seat, wincing at the pain in his ribs as he sat down. He guessed it wouldn't kill him to mess around with this thing for a little while.

[Lloyd!]

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Having managed to get through conversation without spilling his plans for the night to Tsubaki or Lingormr, Sora entered the Game Room with a sense of relief. He and Kratos could handle things tonight and then he could tell everyone what he'd done after the fact. Concern from his friends gave him strength, but that didn't mean that he needed to get them all involved in his problems.

While Sora still felt pretty sick, it wasn't to the point that he was unable to enjoy himself, which was why he'd elected to come to the Game Room in the first place. He spotted Tsurugi and waved at the other boy, doing his best not to think about what the two of them would be up to tonight.

As for fun, his default thing to do in this room was play one of those Game Boys, and so Sora went searching through the shelves and was lucky enough to find one not in use. He plopped down into an armchair and powered it on. It looked like today he'd be playing something called "Donkey Kong."

[For Facilier.]

The boss on the intercom had said to have the patients come into the game room, so he figured he ought to simply stay here. He had already spent a good deal of time in the Sun Room, and felt no need to spend time lounging. He gave Sora a nod and a smile as he entered- He could speak with his roommate at dinner.

Link had already taken a good look around the room, so he settled into one of the chairs and kept a keen eye on the door for someone he recognized.

[Sechs!]

As much as Scar would have preferred to relax in the Sun Room once again, he figured he ought to at least take a look around the rest of the institute. If he was going to stay awake during the day, he ought to take what little advantage of the time that he could.

He cut through the Sun Room, lumbering into the so-called 'game room.' It was hardly different from the Sun Room, save for the board games scattered about. As expected, the doctors had been careful to keep nothing of use lying about during the day.

Grumbling quietly, he settled into one of the chairs, trying and (still) failing to ease his aching head and the cramps in his stomach. He had spoken with Frank about setting out together tonight... Scar's best bet would be to make his way to the X-Ray Room, considering that he now had no way of performing the surgery.

[The happiest little robot~]

[Tsurugi]

He would have preferred to talk to Guy longer, but when lunch ended Lloyd wasn't given much choice in the matter. Still, he tucked away what he'd learned from the blond, promising to bring it up with Claude the next time he saw his roommate. He followed his nurse - he still hadn't learned the man's name, and grumpily he decided not to ask. The nurse still insisted on calling him Nigel, despite Lloyd's repeated reminders that that wasn't his name. If he wasn't going to acknowledge Lloyd's real name, then Lloyd wasn't about to ask after his.

Not entirely certain what to expect from this "game room" he was being led to, he looked around when they arrived, trying to get a feel for what it was.

"Why don't you join one of the other patients for a game?" his nurse suggested, nudging him forward and away from the door to keep them from blocking the entrance. "You might enjoy yourself."

Under normal circumstances, the suggestion would definitely have held some appeal. Lloyd enjoyed games, even ones that other people might think were too childish for his age. It didn't matter to him what other people thought was "appropriate." Fun was fun! That was all that was important! But in a building where he and so many others were being held prisoner, when people were sick and hurt, when his own arm and ribs were bandaged from an attack the night before, it was hard to think about having fun.

Before he could voice any of these thoughts out loud, though, his eyes landed on a somewhat familiar face in the crowed. That was the boy he'd met yesterday, the one who'd tried to warn him. If Tsurugi hadn't warned him...

Without a second though, Lloyd started forward, leaving his nurse behind as he made his way to the younger boy's side. "Hey," he said, stopping a couple feet away. "Uh... Tsurugi, right?" He hoped he wasn't tripping over the other boy's name.

Lunch ended and with it, Uryuu found, went his headache. His numerous unsatisfied questions threatened to stir it once more, but whatever remained from his groggy stirring the night before, and from his face being half bashed in with a baseball bat, had finally gone. Eating a solid meal probably helped.

The Head Doctor's cheek remained consistent, he noted while listening to the shift change announcement. Loath to do as suggested by the man, yet disinclined to not wash his hands after eating, Uryuu stopped at the bathroom. Then at the bulletin board, observing no further notice from Kratos-san. After looking around for Inoue-san, he moved next into the Game Room, curious as to who had proceeded there, and if anything in it had changed.

As if by magnetism, his eyes fell to the televisions. He forced himself to properly scan the room, seeing that some of those already present had busied themselves with what looked like Game Boys. Bulky, older models. Sora-san sat with one and Uryuu didn't bother nodding, thinking him not bound to notice. Instead... he found himself taking one step, then another, toward the chairs in front of the televisions.

Uryuu knew he should continue to jot notes in his journal. Ought to solidify his plans for tonight and make certain that Inoue-san understood. Only, she seemed to understand. It felt wrong to indulge in such frivolity when... Only, there he was, kneeling in front of the machines. He'd blame it on playing as Gerard. Sure.

Though he'd neither owned nor ever had the chance to play either one, Uryuu recognized the Nintendo and its successor, the Super Nintendo. "How retro," he murmured, dangerously close to cheerful as he sifted through the small stack of games. After a minute, he selected for the Super Nintendo and switched it on, taking a controller with him to one of the chairs positioned in front.

Retro, yet so new to him. The screen loaded in pastels and he obediently pressed 'B' until presented with the character selection screen. Were there any pluses or minuses? Did any car or character have particular attributes? Uryuu pursed his lips, moving the selector among them. It made sense to choose Mario, right? Super Mario Kart.

[ swimming pool-san ]

Edited (ffff grammar sorry!!) 2012-09-25 06:25 (UTC)

His nurse was very adamant about him heading to the game room because apparently, he needed more variety in his life. "You can't stay in the sun room all day, Kurtis. You need to move around a bit!"

As if that was reasonable justification for anything.

Kratos had initially chosen to stand off to the side by the door, arms crossed, while he tried to figure out exactly what he could do, but eventually, his nurse lost her patience and shoved a deck of cards into his hands before sending him off to find a seat. He neatly avoided the one already occupied by his son - he wasn't ready to face Lloyd again yet, and it looked like he was wrapped up in talking to someone else anyway - and ended up at an otherwise empty table.

He still had no idea what he was going to do; he did know one game, but unfortunately, it required two people. What was he even...Kratos flipped a few of the cards over in his hand as he glanced around, wondering if he was really going to have to do this for an entire shift.

[for Loki]

Loki had to do a bit of searching to find Kratos, since the man wasn't in the Sun Room as expected. Thankfully, he was able to talk a nurse into showing him around.

He really needed to start writing down the false names. It would be a much better way to find people during the day.

He saw Kratos immediately and walked to the table the man occupied, sitting after giving the man a polite nod.

Ah, perhaps he would be saved, although Kratos wasn't sure if he could really attribute such a word to Lingormr's arrival--not that he disliked talking to the man, just that...if he were honest, he would have preferred some other company. As it was, though, Lingormr had asked to speak with him earlier on the board. Now was convenient, and it wasn't as if he had anything else to do other than flip cards mindlessly.

He nodded back as Lingormr approached. "I see you found me." Now, to see what the man wanted with him.

Loki nodded, even as he gave the cards in Kratos' hands a curious look. "I've a bit of information to impart. I told Sora as well, but I saw that you were to be in charge of Arts and Crafts for the time being so thought it best you know as well."

He crossed his legs neatly, hands clasped over one knee. "I undertook an operation upon Soma at her own request. She seems to be recovering, though I think you ought not expect her to be able to work for a few days. But the sickness seems to have abated as a result."

There had been no ingredients suitable for smoothies in the greenhouse, but the visit there had been more than worth the effort due to the herbs he'd found. There were only so many leaves he'd been able to pick, and he didn't know if he'd get any opportunity to use them even in tea, but at least there was the option.

Besides, it meant Gabriel had been able to meet Lee in person, and that had most certainly been worth it! It was nice to see someone else with genuine hope and enthusiasm, even if Gabe couldn't blame others for finding it difficult.

Those herbs were now in his pockets as he walked ahead of Rachel, scanning the game-room with a furrow in his brow. He'd just had the chance to see the note on the bulletin board. A glance around told him Murphy wasn't present yet, but Gabe hadn't been in the game-room before, so he spent a few minutes taking a wander around.

When he found the cards he had to stop and pick them up, smiling nostalgically as he fanned them out with the practice of an expert. The Archangel couldn't help but wonder what was happening back home. Had his Master been asking Rafe or Michael to play? Or was He just visiting the casinos? It had been months since Gabe had played with Him at all, even as a dealer, thanks to Lucifer's harassment and the need for the Lord to take cover. The Archangel missed it with an unexpectedly sharp clench in his chest.

Gabe took a deep slow breath, let it out equally slowly, and then took the cards over to a table. There he sat, shuffling, cutting and fanning the cards like a pro while he wondered what to play and kept an eye out for Murphy, making sure to keep rosary around his neck on display so the man would know who he was.

[for Murphy!]

Edited 2012-09-25 19:03 (UTC)

Kyousuke hadn't really been expecting to hear his own name, since he hadn't told very many people, and had made no real effort to bother correcting any of the nurses. he looked up to see a somewhat familiar face—this was the guy he'd talked to in the courtyard the other day.

"Yeah," he acknowledged. "And you're Lloyd?" ... He'd looked better off the other day, from the bandage on his arm. "I guess things didn't go well last night?" he asked, indicating the bandage with his eyes. Not that he could say much about it, since he'd gotten himself pretty beaten up, too.

X had the same thoughts in mind; not only because it was beneficial for him to know where everything was so he wouldn't have to rely on maps, but due to honest curiosity. He'd seen a few rooms in the Institute, mostly settling his thoughts to contemplation or to concern for his friends.

In his travels, he had tried to spot Harpuia or Zero in the mass of patients. No such luck.

But there was something eerie, almost...unnatural with a room like this. Perhaps it was the inclusion of something that was meant for play (X had never seen such things before, but upon further inspection found that they were, in fact, games. Games? In a place like this?), or maybe the false front that Landel cared enough about the patients to honestly include something for their recreation.

Or just...

Last night, he'd seen monsters. Real monsters. He'd been injured both nights, and so many things about this place were beyond understanding.

And yet...this.

"It doesn't feel right."

It was spoken entirely to himself, even if he was in the close vicinity of one of the other patients. His brow was furrowed with obvious discomfort, even as he sat down near an occupied chair, seeming to almost stare out into space.

During her stay at the Institute, Leanne hadn't yet had much of a chance to take a good look at the game room. Sure, she'd heard nurses mention it before, as an alternative to staying in the Sun Room, but she hadn't paid them much mind, usually more interested in staying near the Bulletin Board.

It was simple curiosity that brought her there this time, however. It wasn't like she felt any less tired, any less exhausted, than the day before, but she felt somewhat cheered after the morning she'd had, a little more like she could face anything that came her way.

Which was how Leanne found herself leaning back on a chair, having settled on a deck of cards, one of the only things in the room that was actually familiar to her. She couldn't say she knew what that weird console hooked up to the television was supposed to do, besides being something like an interactive movie from what she could tell, but this, at least, was familiar.

[Zero!]

Scar's lunch hadn't consisted of much more than picking off the moderately edible parts of the so-called 'sandwiches' on a bench in the courtyard, which had suited the former lion just fine. It was before long, however, when the former lion was ushered back inside into what was the game room.

Unfortunately, games were hardly different from any other activity Landel chose to bother them with during the day. Other than the fact that he had no idea how most of them worked, he was no longer some dimwitted cub. He dropped into the first chair he could find, barely paying any interest to the items arrayed in front of him. Instead, boredom was written all over his face.

[Free!]

It was hard to believe it was the same place, from day to night. Murphy had some experience with warped, nightmare realities, but...

Not quite like this. Hell, he thought he'd be more comfortable if it was always creepy.

And speaking of being comfortable...

He still had his doubts. Murphy would have given anything for a proper confessional. To be able to kneel in that comforting darkness as he had so many times as a child, to unburden himself and be told he was forgiven. And to believe it.

He didn't know what he believed anymore. But when he was shuffled into the Game Room and saw the younger guy with the rosary, he knew he didn't have any more choice in the matter of talking to someone. Maybe it was better that way. He couldn't get out of it now, not really.

Hands hooked in the waistband of his pants - he hated the lack of pockets - Murphy approached who he assumed was this Gabe guy with the demeanor of a beaten dog.

"Uh...I think we're supposed to meet?"

Doubtlessly, the most frustrating part of being here (beyond...everything else about this place) was how quickly and suddenly the nights ended. How one could go from actually accomplishing something to sudden darkness, with sunrise and another 'fun' day in the Institute following shortly after. No way of predicting when it would happen. Such was the case this morning: Zero went from helping his injured allies find weapons to waking up in his bed with practically no warning once again. Grumble. Getting used to this routine seemed like it would be an impossible task...

This morning was a little different from other mornings, however. Usually the once-Reploid was at least willing to get the day over with, but this time that motivation was practically nonexistent. He kept half-opening his eyes, glancing up at the ceiling for no real reason, then closing them again for several minutes. No attempt was made to get out of bed. It felt like all of his energy had been sapped from his body, and he was left to be nothing but a lethargic heap of bones and meat.

Eventually, the nurse came into the room to fetch him, probably hoping her sickeningly cheery voice would convince him that having a fun, educational time with Dayshift activities was far healthier for his mind than being lazy in bed. If only he had enough energy to retort that the Institute's activities would sooner make him go insane than sleeping in would...but whatever.

"Yūdai? Come on, wake up." The nurse gently put a hand on his shoulder, since simply sounding annoying wasn't enough, apparently. Either way, he wasn't going to budge. Too tired. "Wake up. Come on, sleepy head! You've already missed both breakfast and lunch. The day's almost over now! You shouldn't spend the rest of it sleeping."

As if that was going to change his... Wait. The day's almost over? It's not morning?

That little detail was enough to spark a whole wave of motivation. Zero sat up at once, much to his nurse's surprise, and begrudgingly submit himself to his nurse's plans for him...whatever those were, now that it was apparently 'fourth shift' and he'd slept through everything else. How in the world had he managed to sleep so long? He hadn't intended to, nor could he remember ever being so tired in the morning before.

Well. He was awake now, and that was what mattered. He could check the bulletin board...on which he'd missed a lot, but better late than never. Getting information from there was the most important thing, the only reason to be around during the day beyond checking on allies. And then after that he could be taken away from the board to...sit in the Game Room. Because his nurse thought it was more important to be useless than it was to actually get one step closer to freedom. Wonderful.

At least he managed to spot a familiar face once he walked into that room. Leanne...someone he cared about, even more so now that he knew she was infected. (It didn't help that he'd run into another infected patient last night, one who had actually transformed. That was not something Zero wanted Leanne - or anyone else, for that matter - to go through, too.) The once-Reploid made his way over to her at once. And of course, the first words he said to her were almost the opposite of pleasantries. (Hopefully she was used to this by now.)

"Leanne. What's going on?" If he looked and sounded grumpier than usual, then oh well. Who wouldn't be after discovering they'd slept through most of an entire day?

It was, Gabe saw at once, completely unnecessary for him to have full use of his senses in order to see the weariness in this man. He wished he could offer him what he wanted, but the fact was that even with the will to choose, Gabe was only an angel. If he was being open about who he was, he could have told Murphy what he believed God would think, and be all but certain of its accuracy, but he wasn't a priest. He couldn't speak for God.

Free will was still just a little too new for him to want to try, when it came to something so important. And he wasn't sure he ever would in the future, either. Some things could only be offered from one human to another, and human body or not, he wasn't one.

All this, he thought in the second that he looked up at Murphy, decided that some gentle cheerfulness might be in order, and grinned at him.

"That depends on whether you're Murphy or not, but in this instance, I'm going to guess you are. Take a seat!" With his foot he pushed out the chair to his side. "Do you like cards?" he asked, indicating the Seahavan Towers Solitaire tableau in front of him. "I just started this one, but we can play something else, if you like."

"Yeah. I'm Murphy."

He nodded and sank into the chair, feeling nervous and confused and drained. This...this was practically a kid. Not at all what he'd been expecting. But he didn't really know what he was expecting.

"Not too big on cards, sorry." It made him think of Sewell, and his constant games. Poker when the other night COs were around, Solitaire when he was alone. "So what, are you in seminary or something?" Because Gabe had said he wasn't quite a priest. And that would explain why he couldn't take a confession.

Lloyd nodded in response to the first question, grimaced when his bandages were pointed out. He shook his head, looking unhappy about it. "I made it outside with a couple of friends, but we ran into a monster on the road. I don't even remember what happened after we fought it. I just woke up back in my room, and someone had bandaged me up."

Tsurugi's injuries might not be so obvious, but even Lloyd could tell he was moving a little more gingerly. "What about you? Are you all right?"

"That's okay," Gabe said with a smile, picking up the tableau anyway and shuffling it easily back into the deck. If they couldn't play together, the Archangel certainly wasn't going to be so rude as to play alone during this conversation. "My--Father is very fond of cards, especially games of chance. He taught me everything I know."

The catch before 'Father' was audible. Calling the Lord his Master likely wouldn't go down too well around here, given that Gabe couldn't explain the context.

Setting the deck to the side, Gabriel looked at Murphy, wondering how he was meant to answer that question without lying or making Murphy feel he couldn't talk about it. "Not exactly," he admitted. Or at all. "But my family are long-running, er, practitioners. I can't do anything officially, but as I said," he smiled encouragingly, "I'm a very good listener."

Murphy had to raise an eyebrow.

"Practitioners? That makes it sound like you shake snakes around and speak in tongues..."

He didn't care much about the hesitance before using a paternal term. He'd done similar, when he was younger, when he felt awkward trying to explain that he didn't have a mother, he had a Sister, but no, not like his sister, a nun-Sister. It was easier just to use the simplest terms, sometimes.

"It does, doesn't it?" Gabriel said with a chuckle, although it wasn't entirely inaccurate. Well, the shaking snakes around was inaccurate, but the speaking in tongues ...

Either way, it was difficult to explain. The easiest might just be to say that his family were all religious, but as he'd been trying--or failing--to explain to Skulduggery, it felt like an important hair to split. An important one, but a difficult one, and he didn't want to detract from the reason they were here by attempting to explain.

"If you like, we can start with a prayer," he offered, "to make you more comfortable. Did you get the rosary?"

So it was true. Even if you left this place, you were still stuck. Kyousuke had already heard about that, but final portion of Lloyd's explanation caught by surprise. "... Really? It was like that for me, too. All the times I woke up here I didn't know how I got back in bed." Did that mean something...? Either way, it seemed a little too coincidental for comfort.

In truth, Kyousuke didn't have much desire to recount how he'd gotten his injuries, but since Lloyd told him what happened to him, it was only fair to offer the same in return. "Someone was... changing. I tried to help restrain him so nobody would get hurt, but it didn't work out that way." It was a stupid idea, in hindsight, but they'd both been desperate, and he didn't regret trying. The problem was finding something that would actually work...

"Yeah, let's go with that. And yeah. That was...the note on the board. I do appreciate it, a lot." Murphy scrubbed a hand over his face and let out a long breath. He tried to calm his mind the way the sisters had taught him, to find that peace inside of him.

But he hadn't felt anything close to peace inside for over a decade.

"Do you know the Memorare?"

"You're welcome," Gabriel said with a small smile, taking off the rosary Skulduggery had made and absently running the knots through his fingers before palming it. Even if they weren't strictly praying on it, and even if they didn't, it was still somehow comforting to have it nearby.

He grinned, reaching for Murphy's hands. "Latin or English?"

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Day 66: Game Room (Fourth Shift)

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whoops, I seem to have created wordbarf.... ._.

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