Day 68: Intercom, Dinner

[damned_intercom]

As it turned out, all of the female patients were wise enough to remain indoors, so the nurses didn't have as much work to do as the intercom came on and the end of the day officially hit.

"Hello, patients! This storm put a wrench into some of our planned activities, but I hope that all of you stayed dry and safe, especially those of you who are sick!" The Head Doctor did a spectacular job of sounding like he was truly worried for the patients' well-being.

"For dinner, we'll be serving some gourmet spaghetti with marinara sauce. There'll be parmesen cheese and some crushed red peppers on the side to add if you wish, not to mention a salad! I hope that you all eat well before lights out, and those of you who've been paired up with some of our new arrivals, make sure to make them feel welcome."

The announcement echoed through the halls as the patients were led back to their assigned rooms, and Landel finished it all off as most of them arrived to their doors.

"That's all for now. Sleep well, everyone, and we'll be talking again come tomorrow."

The intercom turned off, leaving patients with only their roommates as company.

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Comments

Re: M55

[sixth_attack]

Freezing once again, Sechs blinked almost in unison with Fai as he scrambled to process the words he just heard. Mistaking him for someone else...?

Frowning, the puzzled Replica rested his hands on the edge of Fai's desk and leaned in for a closer look.

That annoying smile... That eye patch... The blond hair... The familiar shape of the head and nose... That cooing voice...

Once he concluded his appraisal, Sechs straightened up and gave out a soft snort, like a beast confused by what it had just smelled. It was Fai alright! Sitting right there in front of him! How could he be mistaken?! Something wasn't right here...

"What do you mean?" Sechs sputtered, "Don't ya remember me? I'm Sechs!" Now the former android was getting worried. Fai always had that damn nickname for him, why had he not used it yet? What was going on here?! "We've spent a few nights together and you even helped me out weeks ago when I first ended up here!" he added, concern filling his face as his mind tried to make sense of Fai's strange answer. "How could you be at home and come back without remembering me...?"

Re: M55

[behind_my_smile]

Fai straightened up a little when the man got close. One golden eye studied the other just as he was being studied. This certainly wasn't what Fai had expected when he walked into the room. If he had been here before..he wondered just how long he had been gone and why suddenly he couldn't remember any of it. In a way it started to help him understand some of Kurogane's behavior from the night before.

Fai's smile became more sympathetic, "I'm not sure how it happened, but I guess I had my memory erased or perhaps you just aren't meant to remember this place when you finally get released. I'm sorry, but I really don't know what you are talking about. As far as I know, this is the first time we have met."

Fai was worried that this might happen with other people should he encounter them. That could get exhausting after awhile..

Re: M55

[sixth_attack]

Now Sechs' towering posture had slumped down into a saddened slouch. "Memory erased...?" was all he could mumble as he turned around and heavily dropped back down on his chair.

Frowning, Sechs took a moment to ponder all this, and found that it bothered him on a far deeper level than he'd like to admit. It reminded him too much of the perils of memory back in his homeworld; biochips and organic brains alike were prone to duplication and erasure. A brain and a biochip originating from the same person could have completely different sets of experiences and memories. Maybe now Sechs could understand how Alita must have felt when confronted with the fact that saving the brain of one of her deceased friends would mean starting their relationship all over again. It was as though it had all been for nothing. Sechs did not like that at all.

"So you didn't die then..." Sechs returned Fai's sympathetic smile with a grim curl in his lips. "You got 'released' instead. Yeah, I get it now..."

Once again, Sechs was reminded of Alita, knowing from what he learned from General Berg, she was out there too, trapped as a brainwashed "relative" in the institute's sick game. "I know someone who's been 'cured' by this institute and is living a total lie out there right now," Sechs bitterly explained, "As much as I'd hate to say it, I'd rather you were still oblivious but safe out there and not stuck back here in this hell hole..."

Leaning back on his chair, Sechs drew his arms back and rested his head against his hands. He gave out a gruff sigh. "But you're back now though and the institute screwed with ya over like everyone else here... I guess I'll have to update you on the basics then, huh?"

Odd... Fai was one of the first people to help Sechs into this terrible new environment, and now weeks later Sechs himself was giving the same back to Fai! What a sad case of irony for the Replica... Despite that, Sechs was willing to tell Fai everything he knew -- except for the irritating nickname he used to have for him of course. He wasn't giving the blond that piece of info if he still wanted some of his dignity intact!

Re: M55

[behind_my_smile]

Fai's expression fell a little as he watched the other man. He wondered if they had been close or if there was something else that was bothering him. This was definitely a difficult situation and Fai wasn't really sure what he could do to ease the tense feeling that now existed in the room. It was his own fault..as most things were. He was the one that didn't remember. Perhaps this really was a trap of the institute. Perhaps what he thought he knew, was actually just implanted memories and he wasn't really himself.

He certainly felt like himself..and as far as he knew he had never been here before, but what if that belief was wrong? There was always the possibility that the Fai that had been here before was from a different world or timeline then himself. That it hadn't been him at all and that his memories were real..but rather it was a completely different version of himself. Knowing what Fai did about other worlds made it a viable possibility.

Looking down at his food instead of at the other man, Fai tried to think of something to ease a little of the Sechs' distress. "I imagine everyone wishes they were safe in a different place. I don't know why I left, or why I'm back. Perhaps I did die and I've been resurrected and my memories were forgotten. Or maybe the me from before is not the same me. Worlds like this have a lot of unknowns that we can't possibly figure out and it seems like the ones in charge like to keep their secrets."

Fai finally looked up and back over at Sechs. "I encountered Kurogane last night so he filled me in a little, but we were definitely distracted." Fai smiled, the same masking smile that he is capable of pulling out and using whenever he needs to cover the fact that he feels uncomfortable. "But any information you have will definitely be appreciated. You can never have too much information, right? Better to be well informed and ready for anything!"

Re: M55

[sixth_attack]

Sechs glared at Fai's smile with total incredulity on his face. How could Fai take this so... so calmly? If Sechs was in Fai's position right now, he would be having a fit big enough to take on several orderlies! Didn't this whole brainwashing predicament bother Fai at all?

For a second Sechs looked about ready to blow up at his new roommate, nearly losing to the urge to shake some sense into the smiling youth. Yet Sechs remembered Fai's constant state of steady smiling in the face of danger had been a staple of his personality before. Hell, Fai's smile barely faded that one night when Sechs came under his M-U side effects and ended up pointing his axe right at the blond's face!

In that moment, Sechs calmed down and turned around to face his dinner. He couldn't help but side-eye the other though. Come to think of it, there was the whole mysterious issue of Fai's eye patch. Fai had lied to Sechs about the real reason behind the loss of his eye before. There had to be more behind that irritatingly amiable grin...

For now though, Sechs had to focus on helping Fai stay alive (or unreleased) this time. He frowned to himself, wondering what the fate of Niikura may have been. Had he been "released" as well? Sechs sighed. That was a real bummer. He barely got the chance to really know the guy...

"Well, if Kurogane gave you the basics..." Sechs took in a breath, time for a bit of explaining... "There's monsters and brainwashed patients at night. Don't believe what the staff tell you, they're part of Landel's game whether they know it or not. Night ends whenever Landel wants, so don't be surprised if you find yourself doing something then waking up back in your bed the next second. Finally, we get stuffed in buses once a week for some fake 'field trip' to some town nearby, but don't bother trying to get help from the folk there, they think we're all just crazy," he said, counting off his fingers as he listed each feature of the institute.

"The purpose of this place isn't totally known, but it definitely involves some big military of some sorts. Weeks ago some higher power in the form of soldiers and generals took over for awhile," he grimly added, his eyes shadowing somewhat from the recollection. "And I learned myself from one of them that this place is meant to fight something out there, but that's all I got..."

"Also, there's supposed to be some outside party trying to help us out. But so far they've been a bit flaky... if not totally trustworthy in whatever they're trying to do," Sechs added with a shrug and a displeased grimace, he hadn't forgotten the Radio Man's involvement (whether intentional or not) with Landel's return to power after his ousting by the military. "I suggest keeping a radio with ya at night, sometimes we get messages from them but I wouldn't totally trust them with your life if I were you."

Now with the more current news of the institute. Sechs turned his head to give Fai a direct and serious gaze. "Right now, the biggest thing you oughta know is that Landel set up a real sick game about a week ago. Some of us got infected with a virus that has been transforming random victims into monsters. Me and another prisoner found the cure a couple of nights ago..." Determination filling his eyes, Sechs turned his gaze back down to the yellow flower on his desk. "...And I'm gonna deliver it to a friend tonight," he firmly stated with a grim nod. "Before it's too late."

Re: M55

[behind_my_smile]

This really was too much for him to take in, but he listened as he ate his food. He knew he would need the energy even if it was a completely different type of "food" that he needed to actually stay alive. Luckily he had fed the night before so he knew he would be good with that unless he somehow got injured over the course of the night. He was just going to hope that didn't happen. He had already agreed to meet with Kurogane so even if he did, at least the ninja would be close by to help him. But he tried not to let his mind wander to that too much as he continued to listen to Sechs.

"That is a lot of information to take in. I hope I can remember it all..I'm not sure I can actually handle it." Fai's tone was teasing as he looked over at Sechs briefly before looking back down at his food again. He was trying to keep the mood light even as he absorbed all of that information.

"I mentioned to Kurogane that perhaps the reason we are here and are being experimented on is because they are looking for a way to create the perfect weapon or soldier. If there really is a war going on then perhaps this is some sort of support facility." It was a dangerous thought and it meant that no matter what, this place wasn't going to be easy to get out of, particularly if it had ties to a military force.

"Whatever the reason, we need to just plug along and hope that more answers become clear to us soon." Preferably before too many others got hurt. "Maybe we will get lucky and that group will come and help us really soon and all their flakiness is just a cover to keep things from being discovered." Fai knew about acting flaky to hide things. It was pretty effective normally. Fai was trying to sound positive but even he had his doubts about surviving here.

"Monsters..I think I met someone who was infected last night. He contacted me to say he was okay so maybe he got the cure too." Fai tapped his lips with the fork as he thought about that. "I hope you get to your friend in time. I'm sure you will though! You seem pretty capable~." That teasing tone was back but there was honesty to the words.