damned_institute | Day 71: Cafeteria

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Day 71: Cafeteria

Korra's stomach was grumbling by the time that annoyingly friendly voice chimed over the speaker that they'd be going into the cafeteria to eat.

"About time..." she grumbled under her breath as her nurse marched her out of the sun room and into the caf. Pancakes seemed like a good idea; something at least a little similar to the food she'd eat in Republic City. She settled down with her food, the events of last night still lingering on her mind despite her best efforts to shut them out. Korra needed to get herself some closer allies, and needed to get in the know on all this talk of the basement and the third floor.

For now, though, food. The Avatar dug in like it was the first decent meal she'd eaten in months.

[Gabe!]

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"Alchemy," he corrected, smiling. "And it's fine, I put the note up after you left the note about the map. And you don't have to leave a note up there--I'll just make a note for myself about it later in my journal." He didn't want to leave too many notes for the nurses to see hanging around, after all. "And I can change the metal from one type to another. Technically I could change dirt into a metal by messing with the atomic composition, but it's going to be a lot easier to use something that's already a similar element. That takes a lot less energy."

Al nodded, frowning as well. "Yeah, but I think you would want a group going down to the basement with you anyway from what it sounds like. Brother and I could give it a shot with you at some point, but I think he'll want to keep looking for the third floor right now."

"Alchemy. Got it." For now, at least. Technical terms weren't something Lloyd had an easy time retaining, but as cool as alchemy sounded, Lloyd figured he'd remember this. "Man, alchemy sounds awesome," he enthused. "I wish I could do something like that! Just change stuff to make it whatever I needed it to be!" It was entirely too bad that Ed had mentioned you had to be good at chemistry.

Using lots of energy, though, that he understood. "So the closer the metal is to what it needs to be, the less energy you'll need?" That made sense, and he found himself nodding at the idea. It was too bad he probably wouldn't be able to get his hands on any stock iron or steel, but lots of things were made of metal... "How much do you need? As much as there is in a sword?" That was a guess he thought made sense, but he wasn't sure how Al's alchemy worked.

Unconsciously, he rubbed the back of his hand, then flexed his fingers a little. The tips were tingling, like they were starting to fall asleep. Probably not even related, but it was enough to remind him of his more immediate priorities. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. I need to do some of my own searching tonight, though, so... Yeah, another night."

He paused then. Hesitated. The temptation to ask for Al's help was strong, but he still wasn't sure how much to say. How much was too much? How much would Al need? Lloyd trusted him. He'd already decided that much. Just something about the younger boy made him feel like someone Lloyd knew that he could count on, even for something dangerous. But Tsurugi had warned him that he didn't need to tell people everything, that scaring people wouldn't serve any purpose.

Maybe he could just ask and see what he got. Worry about what questions Al would ask when he asked them.

"Hey, Al? Can I ask you a favor? Do you... remember what I had on my hand the night that we first met? The stone and the metal crest?"

Al smiled and nodded--he was quite used to that reaction, even from people in his world. "It really is useful, in a whole lot of ways. Brother's always been more the scholarly type about it, but I'd like to study medicinal alchemy at some point."

"The mass needs to be equivalent, yeah. It doesn't all need to be one piece, though, so if you yank off a couple locker doors or something like that, I can fuse them together." He frowns a moment, making a few mental calculations. "Don't worry too much if the metals you get are of different types, or if there's rust or something on it. It'd be easier if it were all one type, but it's such a small difference it's not too big of a deal."

He watched Lloyd flex his hand, frowning a little when he mentioned the crest. Was this what had been bothering him when he first sat down? "Sort of. What were they, anyway? I don't remember if you explained that or not."

Lloyd tried not to sigh at that single word confirmation that alchemy would probably never be possible for him. Study. He hated studying, especially the 'scholarly' type. "I bet he'd get along really well with my friend Genis. He loves studying, too. His sister's our professor back home. She's really smart - practically obsessed with books." Among many other things. "So you can use alchemy for healing?"

He nodded, making a mental note to figure out how big a sword he wanted so he could estimate the metal he'd need. "That's good to know. About the rust and the types of metal, I mean. I don't know what happens at night to make everything rusty and old, but if I don't have to worry about rust, that'll makes things a lot easier." It also meant he wouldn't have to be too picky about where he got his metal from, or spend any time trying to figure out what kind of metal it was.

There it was, though. The question he'd known Al would ask. He would have asked the same thing if their positions had been reversed, he knew, but that didn't make it any less uncomfortable trying to figure out how to answer it. But he could trust Al. If he couldn't trust Al, who could he? He swallowed, then decided to just bite the bullet. "The metal plate's called a Key Crest. The stone is called an Exsphere. Exspheres... It's really complicated, but they can boost your strength and your power and let you use your mana in ways you normally couldn't. If you don't have the Key Crest, though, they'll make you sick. If your mana goes out of control, it's... it's not good." He drew a breath and let it out. "They took mine. Two nights ago. They took my Key Crest and Exsphere and gave me someone else's Exsphere instead. They gave me a Key Crest, too, but it's a fake. I need them back. The other Key Crest, too, if I can find it. Could you, you know, keep an eye out for them?" He was still trying not to alarm Al too much, but he couldn't keep the edge of fear from his voice.

Al nodded with a fond grin. "What sorts of things do they study? And sort of. Alchemy can boost the natural regeneration of the body to heal faster, but the most common use is to create medicines that are too difficult to create by normal means."

His frown deepened as Lloyd explained--this was really dangerous, that much was incredibly obvious. "I'll keep an eye out for it. I wish I could try and make a new one for you, but from what you're saying I don't think I could with just alchemy." His mind was already racing, trying to decide where the scientists might have stored the stolen Exsphere and Key Crest. "...is your mana going out of control something you can can be held off? Or is it just...how the sickness progresses?"

"The professor really likes archaeology. I mean, it's scary how much she likes it sometimes." He grinned at a memory of her hugging a stone wall. Literally hugging it. "But they both study almost anything. Raine's a healer. I bet she'd love healing alchemy."

He let out a breath, not exactly relieved, still too tense, but glad for the promise of another set of eyes. "Thanks." Then he shook his head. "Yeah, I don't think it's something anyone can copy. It's dwarven technology. No one can really match what they do. Maybe if I had a forge and inhibitor ore I could come up with something close, at least something better than what they gave me, but I don't." And that wasn't likely something he'd ever get his hands on here. The doctors themselves hadn't been able to get enough ore to make a Key Crest, and there was no way they put a forge inside a mental institute.

He winced at the question, unconsciously rubbing his hand again. "I... I don't know. Back home, people could go days, weeks, even years without a Key Crest, but I think it depends on the person and... and what they're going through." Had his mom lasted so long because she'd escaped from the Human Ranch? Or was she just more resistant to the effects of an Exsphere without a crest? "And I don't know how good the Key Crest they gave me is. I just know it doesn't feel right." And he hoped Al didn't ask him to describe what it was he was feeling because he wasn't sure he could pin words to it himself. It was something intangible, something wrong, something that made it feel like his mana was... stirring or slipping or something. It wasn't the way it should have felt like. "It hasn't done anything yet, but I don't know how long I have."

Edited 2013-06-23 12:51 (UTC)

Al laughed, grinning. "She must have a real passion for history! And she's a healer, too? Does she do surgeries, or does she use mana to heal her patients?" He had to admit the mana of Lloyd's world seemed to be an incredibly flexible power. It was a shame Lloyd only seemed to have a basic grasp of it, rather than any theoretical knowledge.

He grimaced and nodded. He couldn't blame Lloyd in the slightest for being worried over this--his life was literally on the line with what they had done to him. "If we can, Brother and I will go looking for the crests. I can't make any guarantees, but..." It's better than nothing, which was about all that Landel left any of them with.

"Damn." He bit his lip, looking at Lloyd's hand. There had to be some physical effect on the body, even if the mana disturbances were more connected to the soul. "...is the sickness more physical or mental? If it's physical, I...I might be able to tell how bad off you are." He gave Lloyd a weak smile. "I can tell what substances are composed of by touching them, including people, and I have a really good knowledge of the body's chemistry. So if the Exsphere is affecting your body, I might be able to tell something." Al just hoped Lloyd wouldn't ask him why he could do that. He wasn't sure he wanted to try to explain what the Gate had done to his minds--or if he even could.

"She uses mana," Lloyd said. "She's really good at it, too. I know some other people who can use mana to heal, but she's better than all of them. She even used her magic once to heal someone who'd turned into a... who lost control of their mana." The smile he offered tried to be positive, reassuring, but it fell short of the mark because Raine wasn't here, and he wasn't sure he wanted her to come. He didn't want her to be trapped in this place because of him. Who knew if she'd even have enough of her power to heal him if it came down to that?

Little as it was, though, Al's offer drew a breath of relief and gratitude from him. "Two sets of eyes are better than one. Even if you guys just keep an eye out for them, that's better than me looking by myself."

Fortunately for Al, Lloyd had already gotten the idea that the details of how alchemy worked were probably way behind him. If you had to know chemistry to make anything work, he had a sinking feeling that asking Al to explain anything would quickly turn into the kind of lesson that made his eyes glaze over and left him feeling more lost than when they'd begun. Still, his eyes widened just a little. "You can do something like that?" It took a moment before he remembered that Al had asked a question. "It's more physical, I guess. I don't know all the symptoms, but my... my body will change if it gets bad enough." He swallowed. "Trust me, you'll know if it gets that bad."

'Who'd turn into a...', huh? That didn't make Al feel any more at ease, but he didn't let that show on his face. No sense in aggravating something Lloyd was already worrying about. "That's amazing! She must be really skilled to be able to accomplish so much."

Al was better at trying to find a simple way to put things, especially since he was well aware that he processed things a lot faster than other people. (Something that Edward forgot far too often when he would actually get going on a subject.) "I bet. But I could sense changes that are too small or subtle for you to notice on your own, so you could at least know how fast things are progressing right now before it becomes obvious." Al shrugged. "I admit it wouldn't be for much more than peace of mind, so you're not wondering if you'll...whatever at the drop of a hat all the time."

"Yeah, she is." Lloyd smiles, but beneath it, he was grateful Al was pressing the subject of what exactly happened when someone's mana went out of control. Maybe he should warn him, but...

Maybe he was being selfish, not wanting to see fear in Al's eyes yet. Fear or the level of worry that would come with knowing the details of what might occur.

Even so, the promise of forewarning was too appealing to pass up. "You can't do it now, can you?" Would that count as one of the powers they suppressed during the day? "Is it something you could do tonight?"

"It's...kind of fuzzy right now. It would be better if I tried tonight. Did you get one of those toy radios in town yesterday? If you want to go get the metal first, it'd be easier for you to find me that way." Not that Al had any real idea what he and Edward would be doing tonight. Probably more exploring to find the third floor, or maybe check the patient records.

Lloyd brightened at the question and what it implied. "Yeah, I did! And my friend Tsurugi explained how to use them last night. My number is seven-eight-nine! What's yours?" Then as an afterthought he added, "And what room are you in?" Knowing where Al would be would make it even easier to find him tonight. "I'll try to be as fast as I can. I think I've already got a plan." An idea had been forming in the back of his head as they'd talked. Those rusty door handles hadn't looked like it would be that hard to break them off...

"It's zero-seven-four," Al said with a grin. "And my room is M1. Brother's radio is zero-seven-nine." The more points of contact they had with each other, the better. "Just let us know when you have everything, and we'll find a place to meet up."

Zero-seven-four. Zero-seven-nine. M1. Lloyd repeated the numbers in his head, wishing he had something he could write them down on. As soon as the shift ended, he resolved to visit the bulletin and borrow a pencil and a piece of paper there. He also wanted to post a note to see if anyone had any better maps than the ones he had, especially of the second floor, or the third floor if he was lucky. For now, though...

"Got it. I'll call you when I'm ready." In retrospect, it was probably a better idea to call anyway, rather than just showing up at Al's room. Ed and Al probably had plans and wouldn't want to stick around just waiting for him. "If you need anything, you can call me, too, okay?" Just in case they ran into trouble like they had the other night.

Speaking of the shift change, though, it looked like the nurses were starting to move...

Al caught their nurses coming over out of the corner of his eye, and shoveled another quick bite of his food in as he nodded. "I will! Just make sure you take care of yourself."

"You too!" Lloyd shot back just as quickly, just before his nurse walked up. After that, there wasn't time to say anything else before she was already leading him off.

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Day 71: Cafeteria

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