damned_institute | Day 72: Sun Room (3rd Shift)

It was unlike him, very unlike him, but for once the vampire found the hot water more seductive than the desire to flee from the public eye, and he spent most of his second shift in the shower with the other males. He'd surprised himself with how badly he needed to relax and soak his muscles. Constant failure had done wonders to make him tense like a bow string wound too tight.

As second shift led to third, he retreated to the Sun Room, blond locks still dripping with water. There was a nice, unoccupied couch sitting out of the way of the midday sun; Aidou fell into and it and reclined, tossing his lunch somewhere on the table.

Perhaps if he could keep himself relaxed, he wouldn't be so damn cranky later in the day when he'd have to spend his night jumping through Landel's hoops...

Unlikely, but one could dream.

Another intercom change again. That was beginning to be strange, but for the moment Ryusei ignored it and opened his lunch. He should take advantage of the option to scout the other rooms, he knew, but they sounded—and looked, from the glimpse he'd had of them the first day—so mundane that he didn't quite want to bother. And anyway those rooms weren't places in which strange things happened—but on the other hand, he wouldn't know, would he? He never made it into here at night, if he were ever even inclined to come here.

Irate, he got up, sandwich in one hand and bag in other, and strolled restlessly around the room until he stopped in front of the bulletin board.

[Korra!]

Ryusei wasn't exactly the guy Korra'd been looking for. But Tsurugi was nowhere to be found, and she didn't even know that other spiky-haired kid's name.

"Intercom's kinda wacky, huh?" she announced by way of a greeting. "There ever been a lady doing it before?" Korra spoke while she poked through the board herself, occasionally glancing over to Ryusei.

"No, but... I haven't been here that long." All that trouble taken at the beginning to hide it, and now he was coming right out and admitting it himself. But no one had ever given him any trouble for it, so it hadn't been a caution he'd needed. From what he could tell, almost everything everyone had told him had turned out to be true, even when he had assumed they were either lying or didn't know what they were talking about. He should have known better than to dismiss certain kinds of statements out of hand, but he had been thrown by the guise of an authoritative-looking institution that he subconsciously trusted.

He dragged his gaze away from the strange drawing he'd been staring at, and glanced askance at Korra. "Looking for something?"

He'd known that the board was used for communication—well, obviously—but he hadn't thought to use it himself due to the unfavorable opinion he'd formed the last time he'd looked, and had only stopped in front of it due to boredom. It looked like a convenient way to pass notes, but he hadn't brought his pen so he couldn't leave a message even if he'd wanted to. Problem was, it couldn't be used for anything private since everyone could see it, and if people were being vague on purpose for that reason, it probably wasn't any of his business. "—I'll leave you to it." He turned back to the room at large. "I'll save a seat for you?"

"Been here longer than me. I've just never heard this lady on it before. And that guy last shift didn't seem to really know what he was doing," Korra pointed out, shrugging. She turned away from the bulletin board, digging through her lunch.

"Sure! Just gimme a sec. I wanna copy something down." She pulled her journal from the hip of her pants, jotting down the instructions someone else had managed to post about the third floor. Korra followed Ryusei soon after he sat down.

The new intercom people not knowing what they were doing did indeed point to this being a new—or at least rare—occurrence, Ryusei thought as he sat. But since there had been no formal announcement of a change in normal operations, it probably wasn't permanent, either. But then again, who knew how this place was supposed to work; maybe it was a permanent change and they just didn't see fit to announce it, just implement it without informing the patients of whatever long-term effects there might be due to the changeover.

Maybe he was overthinking it. Nothing else had changed so far. Or maybe the pertinent announcement would come after dinner. Nothing he could do until then but wait and see.

He could do other things until then, though. Recalling his conversation with Lana Skye—in which she'd been all business—he could start talking about night and the things that occurred therein. There was one question in particular that he'd been wanting to ask Korra. He didn't have a good lead-in to it, though, and he didn't know if it was rude to ask her about that fire thing.

"Have you heard about the radios?" he said instead.

"Yeah, my roommate got one! I missed the chance, though." She began pulling her food out of her bag, thinking briefly of the last time she and Ryusei had been together.

She probably had some apologizing to do for that too, didn't she?

"Why? Did you grab one?"

"My roommate has one. I just heard from someone else that they might be important." Though 'important' was stretching it, probably. "'Odd' might be a better way to describe it."

Then again, it wasn't much more than conjecture. But as long as he'd brought up oddities.... "Speaking of odd," he said, then hesitated. There were ramifications to being perceived as rude in this case that wouldn't be present in another; he didn't relish the thought of having to dodge an ability like that, just... in case. But if she were willing to do it, he didn't think she'd still be stuck here, unless the nurses had some manner of recourse. Then again, this was a place where ghosts existed apparently.

"Do you know how we escaped from the ghost?" he settled on saying instead.

Korra froze as she dug through her lunch. With what had happened last night, she had let that encounter slip from her mind.

"No clue. But my attacks sure didn't have anything to do with it." She paused, glaring at her lunchbag before looking back over to Ryusei. "Sorry 'bout that."

And she meant it. Her screwups could have cost them their lives.

Someone like Korra would have noticed if the ghost had knocked her out somehow, wouldn't she? A fighter would have. As Ryusei didn't remember anything like that, either, then it couldn't have been the ghost that had done it. Then again, it was a ghost. "I don't think anything we could've done would have worked."

Lucky that they'd escaped when they had, but if it was the work of the institute (and Ryusei had no reason not to assume so), then he doubted it was for some altruistic reason. What was that thought he'd had once? A battle royale? No, that didn't make sense.

"Your attacks.... How do you do it?"

"Yeah." Dejected and with a bit of anger, Korra threw her feet up on an ottoman. Her stormy gaze eased when Ryusei asked about her bending.

"It's bending. Apparently we've only got it where I'm from, but..." She shrugged. It had been fun, at first, explaining to people what it was. But now it was just annoying, especially since she couldn't even use it properly here.

Down right humiliating, for an Avatar.

If Korra was being this nonchalant about it, it must not be a special thing where she was from. That still left the question of why she didn't do it, right now for example, but he didn't think it was unreasonable to assume she couldn't; depending on the limits of one's abilities, getting outnumbered despite individual advantages was certainly a possibility. And if he took her unnecessary apology to him at face value, she probably didn't want anyone to get hurt, so burning down the building probably wouldn't have been an option. Not that he would have been in favor of doing that.

"'But'?" he asked. That didn't sound like something someone would say, in his experience, if the things he'd thought of just now were a factor.

She shrugged again.

"This Landel freak-" she gestured vaguely at the intercom "-did sometime to it. It doesn't work right here." Except for last night. She opted not to mention that.

"There was a guy who could take bending away back home, but it wasn't like this. I get it back every night." Korra held back a shudder at the thought of Amon. "According to someone else, he's got some sort of power limiter that blocks my chi during the day, or... something."

She didn't know how to explain it herself. A temporary block of her abilities? How was that even possible? Especially without her even noticing?

What sort of bond can be created between two people within the span of two years?

Indeed, the head of long blonde hair could be seen easily, framing Ciel's short stature, when she left the Arts and Crafts room with her nurse in tow. Her downcast expression signified her current state, dejected with her— no, their situation, if "Zero" was truly who he said he was.

And for what reason could she doubt him for his attempts to appease who otherwise would have been just another patient? ...Several, actually. After being "reminded" by the nurse (though, this is clearly the first time she heard of it) during Arts and Craft, she came to know that this is a mental institution, and that everyone here "have a reason to be here". She caught the meaning easily: Everyone here was "sick". Everything she knew of the Resistance, of Neo Arcadia, and of the Reploids were all simply a fantasy of hers. Yet, what kind of crazy coincidence would it be for that person to be "sick" about being someone she knew before? There were other, more painful reasons to be apprehensive, but...

"Good afternoon.. Yūdai, was it?" said the voice behind her, whose feet came to a stop a second before. The girl didn't notice her nurse stop, but the prompt paused her own steps immediately. Her eyes trailed the ground to find the feet of the person the nurse spoke of, his own nurse off to the side.

Her face followed her eyes and rose up to see the posture that spoke of determination. The hardened stare she came to know so well within that span of time before. The blond man who called himself Zero, despite now being of flesh and blood.

Her body suppressed itself, almost in reaction, to the emotions that swarmed within her. She had already embarrassed herself by breaking down and crying in public, something she never liked doing. Now though, she thought she could control herself. A mixture of hurt and happiness, closed eyes holding back the tears with a bittersweet smile, was all that she allowed to show on her face, and even then briefly, before she took a deep breath and relaxed into a more neutral, though melancholy feeling.

The nurse continued while Ciel readied herself, continuing on her cheerful-yet-firm mood, more talking to the man than her. "I understand that you two have some history." She continued without allowing a response from either of them. "If you can agree to behave, both with each other and with us, you can talk with one another." It sounded like she was done with that sentence, but quickly added another one after trading glances with the other nurse some more. "With our supervision, of course."

They were exchanging glances the entire time, but Ciel couldn't have noticed, her attention fixated on the person who claimed the identity of the hero of her world, and of her life.

And there she was. Coming out of the Arts and Crafts room, just as Zero had thought she would.

He didn't waste any time moving in her direction, focusing only on her and ignoring his surroundings. Of course, the nurse followed immediately, but unlike past shifts, she didn't try to physically stop him. Rather, she went over to the nurse guiding Ciel and agreed on some 'rules' or something with her. Whatever. It wasn't like Zero was going to hurt her or anything. Why were they reacting as if he would?

Maybe it was another one of Landel's tricks, making it difficult for him to talk to Ciel on purpose... But at least they were letting the two of them talk period. Zero wasn't going to lose this chance, even if they were going to be overheard by both of their nurses. It just meant he'd have to be more careful with his words. So - while refusing to acknowledge the nurses in any way - he took a step closer to Ciel, seeming eager but also anxious somehow in his movements.

"Ciel..." He could read the mixed emotion on her face, and he'd be lying if he said it wasn't hard to see her like this. At the same time, though, it was relieving in a way, as it was more proof that she was the real deal. Her reactions were genuine, her face was genuine...and she didn't seem to be calling him 'Yūdai' yet...

There was a subtle look that came over Zero's face as he continued to stare at her, one that seemed to quietly ask, Is it really you? and Are you...okay?

The last time "Yūdai" took a step towards the one the staff knew as Celia Giroux, she took a step back, a scared expression worn on her face. The same word used once before, a name apparently sprung from the ill mind of that patient.

And yet... "...Z—... Zero...?"

Rather than correct him like before, she hesitantly voiced a different word, the number of nothing identified as a unique something. Something that had no other equal, not even compared to the concepts of alpha or Omega.

Perhaps in her own delusion she had already given up and accepted that Yūdai would never think differently about himself. Maybe this was why she finally broke. Whether the nurses thought this, they didn't voice it.

Meanwhile, in the true reality shared by the two of them, the girl known as Ciel instead wore a relieved, though perplexed face. "I'm... alright." At least she managed to get a better head on her shoulders about their circumstances by now, even if she wasn't really alright, so no one needed to be worried for her sake. She meekly asked, "How...?" while her eyes wandered across his form, trying to make sense out of what she was seeing. Then her eyes found the bandage on his arm. Her eyes widened and she gasped silently, fearing that something like what she ran into last night had found him too. Her posture, with her standing on her right foot to leave her left leg without pressure, as well as her earlier attempts at running and walking, showed a limp of her own.

'How'....? Was she reading his mind? If only Zero knew 'how' any of this was possible, like how and why Ciel was here, and how she could be seemingly normal again when just a week ago, she hadn't seemed to truly recognize him...

He wanted to repeat her question out loud, but before he could, he saw her notice something alarming on his form. What could she be...oh. Glancing down momentarily reminded him. Funny how that bandaged cut had been of little importance to him today; the way he stared at it for a moment showed as much, even.

"...I'm fine," he said calmly, in an attempt to make Ciel feel better about it. She always worried so much about him, but really, it was her that deserved more worry here. She wasn't like X or Harpuia; Ciel was not trained in combat. This was the last place she should be. And he needed to be able to protect her, or at the very least warn her of everything Landel was capable of.

But where to start? What to say? What to ask? Despite so much ground he wanted to cover in the little time he knew they had, Zero found himself unable to say anything at first. At least he knew better than to bombard her with questions, but then it was difficult to decide what to ask first. Or maybe he shouldn't ask anything, and should just start explaining. Or maybe he didn't need to explain; that limp hadn't gone unnoticed during their first meeting this morning, and he could only imagine how she'd gotten it.

After a silent moment of pondering, he finally decided to ask one thing, rather than try to explain her 'how' at length. Break it down into chunks rather than tackle everything at once. "Did you...just get here last night?" Not the most ideal starter question, perhaps, but it would be good to confirm if she'd seen the nightshift already or not. If yes, it would cut down on the amount of explaining he had to do.

...It might also help him figure out if she had any memory of being here the week before. That would...also be helpful.

Al settled himself at one of the tables with his lunch, munching idly and looking around. He'd finally found a note for him from the person he was to transmute that gun for, and they had wanted to talk about a few things. Probably how quickly it would be made, and how reliable. It might cut into how much exploring he and Edward could do once all the materials were together, but with how things seemed to be going equipping everyone seemed to be a good thing to prioritize.

[Skullduggery!]

Edited 2013-08-20 01:07 (UTC)

It only occurred to Skulduggery once the shift changed and the bags of food were handed out that he didn't have any idea what Alphonse looked like. In his defence, he had a lot on his mind - but since everything on his mind had something to do with the metal shield or the challenges in the basement, which would no doubt require a weapon of some kind, Skulduggery wasn't going to make himself any excuses.

It was lax. He was growing lax, and that was inexcusable.

Fortunately, there weren't many people in the Sun Room. And of them, only three weren't already involved in conversations. One was young, no more than fifteen or sixteen - around Valkyrie's age. Valkyrie tended to be the exception to the rule that most children, in Skulduggery's experience, were selfless. Or at least, tended to be less selfish than their adult counterparts. If the alchemist from the bulletin board was offering to transmute a revolver for nothing in return, Skulduggery was willing to bet it was the teenager.

And if it wasn't, no harm done. "Alphonse?" he asked, leaning both hands on the table if only for the support he sometimes still needed, what with the extra flesh.

Al looked up at the man and smiled, nodding. "That's me. You're...Skulduggery, right?" It was an odd name, but then it might be a very common one where he was from. How was Al to know?

He held out a hand to shake, his smile widening. "It's good to meet you. I hope you didn't run into any serious trouble last night?" It would be foolish to think anyone could avoid all the dangers the nighttime brought, but you could always hope to only get caught in the smaller ones.

Skulduggery hesitated before reaching out and shaking Alphonse's hand. "That depends on what you call 'serious.' I did meet a man-eating monster, but my partner managed to make friends with it, so that ended rather well."

Technically, that still remained to be seen. If Gabe could keep Antony from attacking them for one more night, then Skulduggery would be convinced.

All-too-aware that he'd just called the man-eating monster by the name Gabe gave it, even if only in his mind, Skulduggery sat down in the chair opposite Alphonse. "Are alchemists common where you come from?"

"Man-eating?" Al's voice squeaked a bit, his eyes going wide. "Jeez, I'm glad it didn't decide to attack you."

He nodded. "Yeah, it's a common science in my country. Not quite so much in others, I guess, but it's not a huge secret or anything. You do have to be born with the ability to channel alchemical energy to actually perform it--which is about a fifty-fifty chance overall, I'd guess. Some people are stronger with how much they can do than others, but you could say the same for having a mind for mathematics or dance, you know?"

"I do know." Skulduggery had to admit; he was intrigued. A universe with alchemists. He was beginning to learn just how infinite the possibilities of alternate realities were, and how different the laws of physics could be in each one. Unfortunately, he didn't have the time to ask about anything that didn't directly relate to Alphonse's abilities - empty shifts tended to stretch out endlessly before him, but the moment there was someone to talk to or questions to ask, they passed in a blink.

He needed to get the important stuff out of the way first. "I don't doubt you're an excellent alchemist normally," he started, "but this place has a habit of dampening abilities. Are you sure you can make a revolver?"

Al nodded, his expression falling into a more serious one. "I should be able to. It might take everything I've got, just from the complexity, but I should be able to. If it were a semi-automatic pistol, I know I wouldn't be able to with the limits I have here, but I'm pretty confident I can pull it off."

He grinned then. "And if it turns out I can't do it all it one go, I can reuse the materials from the failed attempt and make it piece by piece." Assuming there wasn't a particularly brutal rebound, but he didn't want to mention that. It was only a small chance that would happen, anyway. (He hoped.)

If only all teenagers were so dedicated to their craft.

If only Valkyrie would believe that Skulduggery had run into a teenager who could make a revolver out of practically nothing. Maybe then she'd start taking things much more seriously.

Alphonse sounded like he did know his limits, though, so with nothing more than a blankly scrutinising look, Skulduggery moved on. "You mentioned there were all kinds of things you could make, given the right materials. What about a gramophone?"

Alphonse thought about that for a moment, considering what he knew of how a phonograph was put together. "...back home, I could, but I'm not sure I could do it here. At least not without doing it in bits and pieces for you to put together after a few nights of work. It's not so much the materials as the detail involved--it takes a lot more focus to even make a simple weapon properly right now."

Soushi was groggy when he finally woke. It was odd for him to sleep more than four or five hours a night, and as he pushed himself up out of bed, the stiffness in his muscles told him it had been much longer than that. Was it night? The next day perhaps? Everything after Ririchiyo's visit was a blur. Even now, after hours had passed, he still felt raw. His eyes felt slightly puffy, a result of yesterday's tears no doubt. He tried to push them away, but it was no easier than trying not to think of her.

Almost like clockwork, a nurse arrived to check on him, tutting concern shaking her head as she listed off the things he'd already missed by sleeping so late. She seemed a bit unsure of how stable he might be and suggested the Sun Room, likely because it was close and there were always plenty of staff members to keep watch on the patients. Soushi followed obediently.

She handed him a paper sack filled with what was slowly becoming the usual, and left him to his seat on one of the nearby couches. Kittens wandered nearby, rubbing against a leg or testing new claws on the sides of furniture. He pushed his food aside and was content to watch the baby animals for a few moments, glad for the distraction.

[Free]

Edited 2013-08-13 03:29 (UTC)

Day 72: Sun Room (3rd Shift)

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Sorry I'm late! I was unexpectedly busy.

No worries! Sorry I'm so late too, actually.

haha no problem!

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