Day 71: Sun Room

[lighthearted]

For the first time in a long time, Sora woke up in a comfortable bed outfitted with sheets and pillows. It wasn't like the Landel's standard beds were even that nice, but after sleeping in various places in Farwell (generally not in anything bed-like), it was definitely a change.

Sora's eyes opened slowly -- blinking once, twice, and then taking in the white ceiling above him. Of course, he'd expected this. He'd asked for it, even. Now that he was back in the institute, though, he had to admit that he felt his stomach churn with the knowledge that he'd been caught once again, even if it was by choice.

That feeling was what got him up out of bed, but as he stood up he heard something fall to the ground. Right, it was that bone bracelet that the skeleton had given them! He'd said that it would take them right back to that underground lake area, which meant that Sora would be able to return to Farwell pretty easily. The question was, would he be able to take someone with him?

For now, though, he was really only focused on one thing, and that was getting back to his friends. Speaking of which, one such friend was laying in the bed opposite his. "Link," Sora said quietly, but he knew that he probably wouldn't be able to wake up his roommate. He'd just have to catch him later on in the day.

Instead, Sora quickly hid the bracelet, making a face as he was reminded of where the materials for it had probably come from. There wasn't much he could do about that, though.

A nurse stepped into the room and sent him a bright smile. "Matthew!" she greeted, as if he had never been gone. "Where would you like to go this morning, the chapel or the Sun Room?"

Sora needed to get to the bulletin board first and foremost, so the answer to that question was easy. The trip from his room to the Sun Room was one that he still remembered in perfect detail, but it was weird having to fall right back into this routine when he'd had a break from it for a few days.

Once there, Sora moved over to the bulletin, grabbing for a pen as he started to draft up a note. He was really looking forward to seeing all of his friends again, so it was too bad that none of them were here yet...

[For Tsurugi.]

Comments

[dividedby]

Visits from friends and family... Zero immediately felt wary and tense when he heard those words, and for good reason. There was no way he could forget what had happened the last time a visitor had come for him. How much it had hurt and confused him.

Ciel... Was she going to come visit him again? If so, what was she going to say to him this time? Would she know about Zero having her coat and Alouette's doll? And what if she didn't come? What would that mean, especially since Zero did have her things? If she didn't come now, would she ever come again? Would he ever hear from her again?

The flood of questions that Zero couldn't stop from overtaking his thoughts quickly made him feel uncertain if he wanted her to visit or not. It hurt to see her, to listen to her deny everything, but it would also hurt to not know if she was still here...if she was safe. And her safety was especially important when he couldn't watch over her himself.

But whatever was going to happen, he had to remind himself that that was later, not now. He'd have to do whatever it took to get his mind off of things until the time came. Otherwise he was going to waste another day.

The Sun Room was obviously going to be his choice this morning, and of course, the bulletin board was the first thing he moved to when arriving there. There was one thing he could think about, besides distracting himself with reading posts...his health. He wasn't limping quite so obviously now. Good signs... (He needed those right now.)

[Free!]

[knightspirit]

The Head Doctor's voice rang out, and without much more warning, night cut from day, and Kyousuke found himself slowing pulling himself from bed. His mind drifted back to the picture he'd found, and he found himself wandering if the Head Doctor wasn't the real reason for Patient Posessions—not to make the lie any more believable, but just so that he could watch their reactions. ... Seemed like a pastime the bastard would enjoy.

The boy snorted, and pulled himself out of bed. He'd been wondering what a chapel was doing here of all places, which the morning announcement answered, but being told they had visitors was more ominous. How were they going to pull that off...? But maybe he shouldn't worry about it. It was probably just a sham, like everything else here.

While he waited for the nurse to arrive, he decided to investigate the state of his wounds, but it looked like he couldn't even call them that anymore. ... It was really surprising, what good shape he was in. There were some pretty nasty marks, but apart from a shallow cut on his chest, all his wounds had healed. Normally, he'd probably only just be out of bed by now, even with Kratos stopping the bleeding. In hindsight, it was hard to believe that he kept going like that. ... But he guessed he hadn't much choice. If he didn't keep moving, he'd never be able to put all that behind him.

... Why did always keeping thinking about this when he was by himself? He wasn't doing himself any favors.

Luckily, the nurse soon entered, and he was able to push his thoughts to other things. He opted to go to the Sun Room, not being particularly religious, and he needed to leave a note about those radios anyway. ... But it looked like he hadn't put aside thoughts of that night as well as he thought. Standing right at the bulletin, he caught a glimpse of familiar hair, and for a moment, he thought—

He turned away immediately, a sudden tightness constricting his chest. What was wrong with him? He'd almost expect images like that if he were alone and had his eyes shut for too long, but this... He must have mistaken someone similar looking, but having it pop up in his daily life like this was just too much.

Except that when he looked up again, what he saw didn't change. That couldn't be right... He made his way forward in a trance, not even realizing that was drawing closer until he'd finally stopped, just beside the other boy. ... There was still no change. No sign he was just seeing things. Could it actually be him, somehow...? Yet all Kyousuke could do was continue to stare, almost afraid that if he said something, the illusion would break, and he'd be forced to deal with reality again.

[lighthearted]

Sora was just about finishing up the note, all ready to place it on the board where it would be easily visible to anyone who looked it over, when he sensed someone standing near him. He stopped writing and glanced over, gasping in surprise when he realized it was one of the few people he needed to see as soon as possible.

Tsurugi. Tsurugi, who had offered to help him even though they hadn't even known each other that long. Who had done everything he could to make sure that Sora wasn't a danger to people when he transformed. Who had been there when he'd died, and had probably been holding onto that guilt ever since it happened.

Sora set down the pen he had been using and clenched his hands into fists at his side. "It's you," he said quietly, before his voice raised. "Tsurugi, I... I'm so sorry. I'll explain everything, I just had to come back and find you and let you know that I was okay."

He wanted nothing more than to throw his arms around his friend in a hug, but Sora had learned that there wasn't any use in doing that. He would just end up hurting both of them...

Part of him wanted to do it anyway, but he didn't think it would be a good idea to greet a friend who'd helped him by shocking him. So he held back, giving Tsurugi an earnest, apologetic stare.

[knightspirit]

So it really was Sora. Kyousuke didn't know how or why, but... there he was. Living and breathing, like nothing had happened. That probably should have eased some of his tension, but somehow, it only made it worse. ... Maybe he still didn't believe it enough to be relieved. All he could see see right now was that one night all over again: looking on helplessly as a black creature tore him open, certain it was all going to end, only to be saved by a sudden flash of silver. ... Kratos made a choice, and now Kyousuke was only here because Sora wasn't. Or, hadn't been, but didn't clear up the feeling of powerlessness welling up in him. It was just too early for him to be happy.

He continued to stare on as Sora spoke, registering what he was saying. He seemed to be apologizing for something, though Kyousuke couldn't quite figure out what. Something about explaining, but he was distracted by the single thought that kept rolling in his head, and when Sora did go silent, all he could manage to do was say very bluntly, "... You were dead." Like he he hadn't been listening to a single word.

He had been, really. He just couldn't think straight through all this shock and disbelief, beginning to grow incredibly frustrated for reasons he couldn't even comprehend. His reaction didn't even make sense to him, but then, neither did anything right now.

"Sorry," he muttered. "I'm just—... Anyway, we should probably go sit somewhere." They wouldn't be able to get an real privacy here, but at least they could go somewhere out of the way and pretend they did.

[lighthearted]

Sora didn't blame Tsurugi for reacting this way. Someone coming back from the dead all of a sudden like this—it just wasn't supposed to happen. Not that Sora was complaining, since the last thing he wanted to be was dead, but it was still a pretty hard thing to swallow: to think someone was dead and then have them show up a few days later like nothing was wrong.

Sitting down was a good idea, so Sora quickly signed his note and tacked it to the board before heading over to an empty couch in the corner with Tsurugi. As they walked, he tried to subtly look Tsurugi over, checking to see if his friend was still injured after what he'd done to him. Sora couldn't tell for sure, but the fact that Tsurugi wasn't in any obvious pain was a good sign, at least.

Once they sat down, Sora let out a breath, bunching his hands into the fabric of his pants as he wondered how to even explain.

"You're right," he said after a pause. "I was dead. It's just that... Landel can bring people back." In a way, that shouldn't have been a surprise, seeing how some people arrived at the institute after their deaths back home. But Sora knew this was kind of different.

"I didn't wake up here, though." Sora paused before he leaned in, lowering his voice to make it clear that what came next was a huge secret. "There's this city, Tsurugi... it's been abandoned, but the rebels have a base there. That's where I woke up. I guess they came and grabbed our bodies after... y'know, and so that's why I wasn't around for a while." He'd even been able to watch the sun rise a couple of times, and that was only the tip of the iceberg.

[knightspirit]

Landel can bring people back. ... So something like this must have happened here before. Kyousuke had been wondering why people thought that checking the morgue would make any difference. Kratos talked about it like people almost expected Sora to show up there still alive, but of all the things he'd swallowed here, that was the one thing he hadn't believed for a second. Deep down, he thought those people must be in denial, and the only reason he agreed to check was so they could realize that and start to move on. ... But it looked like he was wrong.

He thought that, but he was having difficulty actually believing it. Even as Sora spoke he continued to look on with a frown, almost not convinced he was actually sitting right next to him, like the illusion could break any second now. Maybe that was why he couldn't be glad to see him.

He could tell what he was saying was important, and it did raise a lot of questions, but he felt like they were getting a little ahead of themselves. With someone who had been gone, living and breathing right in front of him, unraveling this place's mysteries wasn't quite the thing in Kyousuke's mind. He shook his head. ".... Hold on. There's some things I want to ask you before that."

But where did he even begin... He would have tried to start with something more practical, but there had been one question weighing on him for a while now, and it rose to surface before he had much chance to think on it. "... Why didn't you tell me what you were planning to do?" A host of other bitter questions came with that, but he bit them down.

[thehumanofthemachine]

His nurse brought him here with that opened ended request of whatever was best, Albert figured they probably thought he needed some sun, or perhaps just to relax. He knew anyone looking at him could tell he was tense. When he entered the sunroom, he knew this was not Black Ghost's normal way of operating. Not at all, not with the relaxing atmosphere and the bulletin board to one side of the room.

But he could feel eyes on him, he looked up and saw the balcony with some nurses up there. Like the scientists in the observations room for the surgical theater. He glared back at them, making sure to look each and everyone in the eyes to the best of his ability. They didn't wear the shades of the Black Ghost scientists, but still.

This could be a hallucination, like 003 had with the bug on that Christmas Eve night. He dig his fingers into the cloth of his sweatshirt, it was terribly odd feeling this and only added to that thought also, that this was just a hallucination. He once he made sure the nurses and Doctors knew he would be watching them just as much as they were watching him, he turned back to find a wall to lean against and people watch some more, trying to figure out what was going on.

[redcladidealist]

Lloyd had meant to get up soon enough that he could get dressed before any nurses came to wake either him or Claude up. He'd wanted to try to change into the nurse's clothes he'd found the night before, then hide them under his normal Landel's patient clothes. Unfortunately, he wasn't given that chance - or the chance to realize that they'd already been confiscated for the day.

"Come on, sleepyhead, it's time to get up!" The nurse's cheerful voice came at the same time as a hand touched his shoulder and shook him.

Groggy as he was, the next few minutes were a blur. It wasn't until his nurse was leading him into the Sun Room that anything really registered, and by that time she was guiding him into an empty seat.

"Why don't you say hello to Mr. Winter here, Mr. Clarke," she went on, continuing a string of bright morning comments she'd been making all down the hall leading to the Sun Room. "He's new, so he hasn't made any friends yet. We'll have breakfast a little later, all right?"

Lloyd rubbed the sleep from his eyes and yawned, then raked a hand through his hair as he looked, not quite warily, but cautiously, at the man his nurse had wanted him to talk to. "Mr. Winter?" he asked, testing. He doubted that was the older man's name.

[thehumanofthemachine]

"Heinrich." Albert corrected, without skipping a beat. "Albert Heinrich." Alert's tone was unapologetic at the correction. After all, why should it be? It was the simple truth, he wasn't 'Mr. Winter'. The german looked at Llyod, wondering if he had possibly seen him anywhere before- and it was a huge 'no, never had'.

"And yourself?"

[redcladidealist]

Lloyd nodded, not surprised at all to be corrected. He'd figured as much. The nurses and doctors here didn't seem to call anyone by their real name. "I'm Lloyd," he said. He shot a glance to make sure their nurses had truly backed off, then added, "Lloyd Irving. Not Nigel Clarke." He couldn't help grimacing at the name. "You'll probably figure it out pretty quick, but they think we're all crazy here, and that we've all forgotten our names. How new are you anyway?"

[thehumanofthemachine]

Albert grimaced at it too. "I woke up here this morning." he said, "And I am glad I am not the only one, I have my theories-" he crossed his arms, as he pondered this for a few moments.

"Willing to give the newbie a few tips?" Of course he was going to ask for information- and he was going to ask around and see how many of the stories matched up. After all, if this was an asylum, there was bound to be a few loose screws here.

[kings_thief]

For one groggy moment he wondered why the ground felt soft and why he was warm, but then the clouds lifted and he opened his eyes to the room he had shared with Guy before his untimely demise. It wasn't like he didn't want this to happen, they'd been trying to get back after all, but it was bittersweet. Being back in the institute was hardly something to celebrate, but it did mean he could focus on find his friends and getting them out of here.

That thought was enough to get him out of bed and begin thinking of all he wanted to get done. He needed to find Edgar and Tolten and he should probably find Guy and potentially tell him of the way out as well. Based on the empty state of his room, he could only guess his roommate had already left, he'd just have to catch up with him later.

When his usual nurse came to fetch him, he experimentally tried to say good morning back to her, but no sound came out of his mouth. So it really was gone, then. He swept the thought into the 'dwell on later' pile in his mind and snatched his journal and pen before following the nurse out; it would certainly serve better than the old notepad had.

Between the Sunroom and the Chapel, he figured he was more likely to spot someone he was looking for in the former, so he was a bit disappointed when none of the blondes he was looking for seemed to be there. He wrote a quick note on the board, hoping maybe someone would see that at some point, then took up a place to sit and wait and watch for anyone familiar.

[For Tolten]

[age_of_kings]

It had been another fruitless night. Tolten awoke with heavy heart and dragging feet. Physically he felt better - sore and aching from wounds not yet healed, but far better than he had been for a stint - and emotionally he was on an even keel...

But it was so draining, to make no progress night after night. To feel so utterly useless and incapable, to wake every morning with nothing new, no fresh hope...

Ah well. He'd promised himself he would not fall into some dark fugue because of it. He was a king. He was the golden son of Uhra. He had survived worse than this, truly he had! Though at this point he suspected that perhaps he was only trying to convince himself.

Not wanting to deal with God this morning, he asked to be taken to the Sun Room instead. He couldn't face any god, and certainly not his own. He was dimly aware that he was likely letting his great ancient ancestor down. At least his mind had been clear.

But perhaps he'd had the thought too soon. His eyes scanned the sun room without really seeing at first, but...

No. He was having some mad fit, this place was making him see things. Tormenting him. Torturing him. He felt a cold hand squeezing his heart and he made a small noise of sorrow and fear mixed together. He stood, staring, eyes wide and face pale.

Locke was dead. He had seen him die....

[kings_thief]

Locke had been staring off into nothing when he noticed someone new come into the room. Someone with blond hair and blue eyes. Locke's face lit up and he stood, everything he'd been thinking he was going to say to the young king momentarily forgotten with just how happy Locke was to see him again.

The treasure hunter closed the distance between them and pulled the taller man into a tight hug. He wanted to say something, anything, even 'hi,' but his vocal chords wouldn't cooperate and he had to settle for just the physical contact.

He could only imagine what Tolten must be thinking, especially if he still thought Locke was dead, he could only hope he didn't think this was some really elaborate illusion. If he did, hopefully it wouldn't be too hard to convince him, there was so much Locke had to tell him and he knew the nurses waiting around for them weren't going to give them all the time they might want.

[age_of_kings]

Tolten remained frozen, stricken. It was impossible! Wasn't it? He had seen people he assumed were dead come back, but never someone he'd watched actually die...

But it wasn't some madness of the institute. It was real and solid and no one was giving him odd looks.

"What...but...no..." He couldn't manage words. He could barely manage thoughts!

[kings_thief]

Locke almost would have laughed at the reaction if he could have. Honestly, he hadn't really been expecting much more but it was just good to see Tolten again. He pulled back from the hug and smiled at the blond before returning to where he'd been sitting to retrieve his journal.

He turned to a new page and scribbled a quick 'Hi. Sorry, can't explain it, but I promise it's really me. I've been in a town outside of this place and only just managed to get back last night.' before offering the book to his friend.

[armoredsoul]

It was amazingly refreshing, to wake up from an actual night's sleep rather than to lose consciousness and find yourself where you hadn't been. It would have been better if Edward were there with him, but Alphonse knew that was too much to hope for. The charade had to continue, after all.

The doctor's mention of friends and family left a sick feeling in his gut--there was little doubt in his mind that such visits wouldn't be along lines of anything he would want. The idea of some fake of their mother (another one) coming to reinforce the story of why he and his brother were here made him want to curl up and not leave his bed.

But when the nurse came to collect him, he went along with her over to the Sun Room without any fuss. There wasn't any reason to suspect a thing like that would be sprung on them both so soon--and besides, he had a notice to put up on the bulletin board. At least now he knew there was something he could do to help everyone!

With that small task done (and a quickly sketched copy of the maps Lloyd had left up in his pocket; it was easy to recognize them from before) he took a seat on one of the couches. Hopefully he could catch up with the friends he'd made, find out how their explorations had gone.

[Free!]

[fullmetalheart]

Ed woke up faster than usual due to actually getting enough sleep for once. The announcement about visits made him nervous though. He didn't think he was up to dealing with a fake version of his mother and sincerely hoped he and Al would be spared that.

When the nurse arrived to shoo him out of his room, he opted for the Sun Room. Being shoved into a chapel? No thanks.

When he saw Al, he perked up and immediately headed over to him to flop down on the couch. "Hey. I slept better for the first time in what feels like ages."

[armoredsoul]

Al smiled brightly when Ed came over. "Yeah, I really think we needed that break. Me especially," he added, scratching the back of the neck. "I put up a note about making things for people, but I'm not sure if we'll get anyone coming to ask for stuff tonight."

[fullmetalheart]

"All right. Hopefully, we won't get swamped," Ed said as he leaned against Al. "I'm hungry."

[ever_loyal_dog]

Soushi woke with a start as he tried to remember the events of last night. He'd started out on his own, but it hadn't been long at all before morning was upon him again. It took a moment to straighten out his thoughts, but they all came to a halt with the morning's announcement. Visitors? His mood brightened and an almost-hopeful smile crossed his lips for a few seconds before he pushed that hope down as far as he could. How could anyone be here for him? And if they were, was he terrible for wishing it? Was it his fault if they were dragged into this strange world? His conversation with Lingormr wasn't so easily forgotten, but the man could hardly understand his circumstances, could he?

Even so, his step was a little lighter as he made his way down the hall, accompanied by one of the nurses. He was sure to smile politely and thank her as he entered the Sun Room. The path seemed so easy in the daylight, but nightfall came with its own set of problems. Soushi gave the bulletin a cursory glance, but saw nothing that was familiar or striking enough to warrant immediate attention. He instead found a seat on one of several couches and glanced occasionally at the doors, just in case.

[Korra]

[rebonding]

Korra awoke with a frustrated groan and a glare at the ceiling. She should have felt lucky to be alive after what had happened last night. Whatever that thing had been... any doubts she had had about the horrors Landel's Institute had to offer were gone.

And she had to be more careful with fire in the future. Korra had made a bad situation worse, and she knew it. She could only hope that no one else had gotten hurt because of it.

She looked around the hallways with a bit of unease as her nurse guided her to the Sun Room. There wasn't any sign of the fire to be found. She knew that the building "healed" itself, but...

It was still weird.

She was in the process of having a look around the various goings-on of the Sun Room when her nurse suggested that she go try to "make some friends." That story again, huh? Fine. With a questioning glance at her nurse, she flopped onto the couch next to Soushi with a nod and an apologetic glance as her greeting.

[ever_loyal_dog]

The woman approaching was not the one he was hoping for, but he still smiled in a friendly manner as she seated herself. His posture was a bit more stiff in contrast, a part of his training that never really went away. The young woman seemed to be a little older than Ririchiyo, and certainly a lot more athletic.

"Good morning," he offered, nodding in her direction. A handshake seemed a bit awkward from the differences in the way they were sitting, so he kept his hands folded in his lap.

"I'm Miketsukami Soushi."

[rebonding]

"Morning."

When Soushi offered Korra the friendly smile, she managed to muster up a more friendly expression. Positivity wasn't one of her strongest points when she felt completely powerless.

And Landel's was pretty good at doing that.

"I'm Korra." She introduced herself with a small bow as she sat. Korra was quiet for a moment, craning her neck to have another look around the sun room.

"So uh... you been here long?" Man, she felt like she was in jail! She supposed, though, that she was. She just hadn't done anything wrong.

[6toleadus]

Day, 6 had decided, was much better than night. He had never made much of a distinction about such things before. He was used to a dark hazy sky where even the brightest daytime hours were murky and gray. Outside was dangerous and inside was safe, so what did it matter how dark the sky outside was? Yet in this place, day and night mattered quite a bit. Now he understood, and now he was prepared.

What he hadn't been prepared for, no matter how much he had tried to imagine it, was the crowd. There were so many people! All of them different and all of them alive. It was amazing! Between the people, the pleasant buzz of chatter, and the bright sunlight, he was truly overwhelmed.