Sora (
lighthearted) wrote in
damned_institute2013-08-14 01:12 pm
Day 72: Sun Room (4th Shift)
[From here.]
Sora wandered back over to the bulletin board after leaving the showers, hoping that he might run into the person he'd talked to over it yesterday. He remembered the description Sechs had given him: tall, dark hair, yellow eyes. That was the sort of thing that should stand out...
But if Sechs was over eighteen, there was a good chance that he would be in the Arts and Crafts room instead. Sora could try and beg one of the nurses to let him go check, but he didn't know if they'd be all that happy with him after he'd slept most of the day.
Well, he'd wait around for just a little longer. If Sechs didn't show, then Sora was going to ask a nurse anyway. The worst thing they could do was say no, right?
[For Sechs.]
Sora wandered back over to the bulletin board after leaving the showers, hoping that he might run into the person he'd talked to over it yesterday. He remembered the description Sechs had given him: tall, dark hair, yellow eyes. That was the sort of thing that should stand out...
But if Sechs was over eighteen, there was a good chance that he would be in the Arts and Crafts room instead. Sora could try and beg one of the nurses to let him go check, but he didn't know if they'd be all that happy with him after he'd slept most of the day.
Well, he'd wait around for just a little longer. If Sechs didn't show, then Sora was going to ask a nurse anyway. The worst thing they could do was say no, right?
[For Sechs.]

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"I don't wanna do arts and crafts!" Sechs complained loudly as he was escorted back inside. "It's all stupid and you don't ever let me do what I really want anyways!" Like restoring the bold "6" he used to have on his forehead with a permanent marker. Last time he attempted that he was sedated by the orderlies...
"Keep your voice down and act your age, Cody!" the nurse chastised as she herded Sechs into the Sun Room. "Doing some art therapy won't hurt you, it could actually help you feel better!"
Sechs rolled his eyes with a snort. "You kidding me?" And like a stubborn bull, the Replica halted on the spot with his arms folded across his chest, unwilling to take another step forward. "The only way some stupid finger painting is gonna help me is if I get to paint Landel's head on a bloody pike!"
The nurse stopped as well, silent for a moment as she mentally reminded herself that her patient was just very ill. Deciding to ignore that description of such a violent finger painting, the nurse turned to face Sechs. "You've been keeping to yourself in the Sun Room too much lately," she retorted with a grave tone, knowing her patient's short-tempered reputation. "So unless you have someone waiting for you here, I'd suggest you follow me to the crafts room or else a timeout for you will have to be arranged..."
Sechs snorted, his eyes narrowing at the thinly veiled threat of needles and sedation. Just thinking about those damn syringes made the scars on his spine twinge and his blood simmer with adrenaline. He was so sick of being pushed around here--!
"Arrange anything for me," he snarled, "and I'll arrange a ruckus for all of you...!"
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Which seemed to be the case with the patient who was arguing loudly with his nurse. Was going to Arts and Crafts really that big of a deal? At first, Sora tried to ignore it all to be polite, but he ended up glancing over once more and then he realized...
Tall, dark hair, yellow eyes. That was Sechs?
Sora scooted away from the bulletin board and rushed over, though he tried to make it seem like he was obliviously walking in on the conversation.
"Oh, hey, Sechs!" he greeted. "It's Sora." He risked a glance over at the nurse and managed a smile. "Would it be all right if we spent this shift together?" Sora didn't care where they ended up, so long as he was able to keep his promise.
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Once back in the Sun Room, he slunk over a seat at the most out-of-the-way spot, and sat with torso tilted forward—his hair was still a little wet, his hands crossed.
[Soushi!]
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And, it seemed, she wasn't the only one who'd been missing in action -- the Head Doctor was breezily apologizing for being absent. Did she dare think that had something to do with the fact that they'd made it upstairs? And if so, was he doing damage control or gleefully setting traps? Or, Taura thought, shaking her head and trying to dislodge the last muzziness of sleep, was it both?
She was better at shooting things than twisty logic. They'd wanted soldiers, not spies. That was what the Dendarii had Miles for. Or Miles had the Dendarii for. It was one of the choices she didn't disagree with; they hadn't been turned into order-following automata (like I.R.I.S.?), and inspiring trust had not been high on anyone's priority list once they'd begun to grow, but somehow they'd still ended up loyal. To each other, at least, and, if any of the others had survived, Taura was sure they'd have found something bigger to love, just like she had.
She finished dressing, ignored her stomach -- while she probably could talk the staff into some food if she invoked enough of the medical jargon in her file, she didn't really need fuel yet. Dinner would be enough. What she really needed was information.
[Free!]
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Yet to Sechs' surprise, it wasn't the usual hulking figure in uniform who approached him, but a shorter and friendlier stranger who for some reason knew his name. That unexpected voice popped Sechs' hostility like a bubble. "Huh?" Blinking, Sechs turned his glare away from the nurse and down to the spiky-haired boy, dubious by the stranger's unexpected greeting. Sora? Who...?
A second later and Sechs' perturbed expression changed into amiable recognition. Oh! It was that kid he talked with over the message board! Damn, after his falling out with Zero, he had almost forgotten about their meeting today!
The nurse on the other hand appeared less than convinced, even concerned that such a good patient like Matthew would want anything to do with hoodlum like Cody...(It didn't help that Matthew wasn't using their real names either...!) For a moment she looked about ready to refuse the younger body's request, but then decided against it. Perhaps Matthew could calm Cody down? Considering Cody's reputation, it was better than risking injury for the staff and spending another whole syringe of expensive sedatives...
Finally, she let out a quiet sigh. "Alright, Matthew. You two can stay here if you want," she said to Sora. "Just take this time to relax and don't get too excitable..." And with that warning, she shot Sechs a leery scowl before moving on with her duties.
Once the nurse had moved out of ear shot, Sechs' let out a satisfied snort. "Heh, thanks for getting her off my back," he said, greeting Sora with a nod and a smile. "I'd be no more than happy to have a fun little tussle with the staff here, but they never play fair..."
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He almost wished Landel had left him in the armor.
He went back into the Sun Room and flopped down on the couch with a sigh. Next time he had a chance to go outside during the day, he was going to run laps. Maybe that would at least burn off his frustration.
[Link!]
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She took a moment, looking over the patients who were milling around until her gaze settled on Sakuta, one of the few people Soushi actually knew by name. He padded along behind her, like a baby duck following its mother. He had to remind himself that any sort of distraction would be good, anything to keep him from dwelling on his master's cruel words. The nurse gave him some encouragement, though he barely heard her as he stepped forward and gave a slight bow in greeting.
"Sakuta-san, it's good to see you are well," his tone was soft and somber, though he tried not to let his emotions betray him too much. "I apologize for the inconvenience, but the lady insists you might like some company."
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Another stop at the bulletin board allowed him to confirm with Castiel and Lloyd that they would be meeting again later in the evening at the same spot as the night before, and also to arrange a short meeting with someone interested in hearing more about the third floor. He wasn't entirely sure who it was, but since their numbers were dwindling these days, he figured whoever it was would be somewhat recognizable.
Armed with the description provided, Kratos began to search the Sun Room for the man in question.
[for L]
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"How have you been?" Miketsukami hadn't had any visible wounds the last time Ryusei had had a glimpse of him, but maybe that had changed. Something had, at least; unless he wasn't remembering correctly, Miketsukami's voice hadn't seemed so soft before. Then again, the biggest impression Miketsukami had made was when he'd been ordering Ryusei to run.
Maybe it was a disguise. "I hope things have been going well?"
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Sora nodded to her as she left. "Don't worry, we'll behave!"
They were just going to have a friendly talk, right? No need for outbursts or sedations or anything like that. If anything, Sora was glad that he'd arrived in time to make sure that Sechs didn't get himself in too much trouble. It looked like he had something of a temper...
"It's no problem," he told Sechs with a wink and a smile. "You're probably better off just ignoring them, though, right? I've only been sedated once, but that was more than enough." That hadn't even taken place during the day, either. Sora had just been unfortunate enough to get attacked by one of the nurses at night...
"Anyway, did you want to take a seat?" Sora led them to the closest couch and gestured to it.
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Bringing his focus back to the present, Sechs followed Sora and promptly picked a seat. "Don't mind if I do!" he said, heavily dropping down on the couch with a grunt. Once he made himself comfortable (and checked for one particular kitten that always seemed to be around to pester him), Sechs cut right to the chase of the conversation. Ever since his talk with Sora over the bulletin he had been very eager to get the full story. Any information about the world outside of the institute was valuable in Sechs' book.
"So, tell me about what happened after you, uh, well, y'know..." he asked, trailing off a bit over the topic of death before getting back on track with his questions. "Where did ya end up? And how did you get back here?"
Furthermore, why did he come back? Sechs himself would have stayed the hell out of the institute if he could help it, but he figured he would ask that later.
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He made himself as comfy as he could on the couch, fully prepared to answer all these questions. He'd gone through it a few times by now, after all.
"Well, after all that, I woke up on a cot in some place I didn't recognize. There were two other people with me, Locke and Byrne." He had no idea if Sechs knew them, but he decided to mention their names just in case. "We were in an abandoned city called Farwell. The rebel group is holed up there, trying to work on getting us home."
Just knowing they were still out there trying to get things done made Sora feel better about their chances. "And... I walked back, actually. Through this secret underground railroad track." How could they have ever even known something like that existed?
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"I am well, thank you for asking," he replied in the same soft, polite tone.
"I've yet to make much progress since our last meeting," he added, sounding a bit apologetic. "How have you fared Sakuta-san?"
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"Farwell..." Sechs felt an emotional wave of relief and excitement wash over him. The world wasn't just a giant bubble which no one could escape. There was more out there, and better yet, it wasn't all under Landel's control! "Do you know how you got there exactly? What with what happened before?"
He couldn't help but picture Farwell to be like the Scrapyard either, still homesick for that damn junkyard even after all these weeks. "What's that city like?" he asked, "And how big is the rebel group there?" He could only hope that those faceless people were doing a better job now compared to before...
What Sora said next nearly sent Sechs teetering off the edge of his seat. "An underground railroad track?" he nearly blurted out loud, eyes wide with surprise. Once that new bit of information fully registered in his head, Sechs grinned to himself, greatly encouraged by such news. If this underground path was connected with the basement, he and his allies were surely on the right track! He was going to have to tell them -- or just Aigis -- about this!
"Is this track connected to the basement in anyway?" he questioned next, "Is there a way we could use it to get out of here instead of just in?"
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What he needed to look for was someone who was visibly doing the same thing that he was, and it wasn't long before he saw someone who fit the bill. He raised his hand to his shoulder, something that it wasn't likely that anyone would notice if they weren't looking directly at him, then attempted to catch the other man's eye with raised eyebrows and a subtle wave of his fingers.
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Though he couldn't help but add their situation into the equation.
"Good afternoon." Link offered a smile as he settled on the couch next to Al. Now closer, he noted the mild burns running up the boy's arms.
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"I think that it's underneath the institute, but I don't know exactly how to get there. The night ended right after we got back here." Sora had that bracelet that the ferryman had given him, so he would never have to find that place the hard way. He hoped that the other patients could uncover it for themselves, though.
With Sechs getting so excited, a few people were looking their way now, and so Sora made a small shushing motion with his hand. They had to be careful and not alert the staff.
"Farwell's pretty big. I didn't even see all of it, but there's a river that connects the different areas. Most of it's abandoned. I don't know for sure how many rebels there are, but I'd guess at least twenty. Maybe more." Sora wished that he had more detailed answers, but he hadn't been there long enough to get a complete idea of what Farwell was like.
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"Hello." He wasn't sure if "Daniel" was one for tradition, but he extended a hand anyway out of habit. "Kratos Aurion."
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"Me and a couple others have been exploring the basement lately," Sechs explained, ignoring the fact that it was only going to be just him and Aigis without Zero next time. "If that track is under the institute, there ought to be a way to it through the basement..." He rubbed his chin in thought. "We'll be keeping an eye out for that track for sure!"
Even though Farwell didn't sound like the Scrapyard, the rebels described were somewhat reminiscent of the Barjack group who fought against Tiphares. All those rebels needed now was a giant robot with anger issues like the Barjack's leader Master Den and they would be set! "Twenty rebels sounds a tad small, but then again, I've seen groups with numbers like that pack a huge punch against tyrants," Sechs remarked, "Let's hope things work in their favor." (And that they don't meet the same fate as the Barjacks did...)
Mentally digesting all this new information, Sechs moved away from the edge of his seat and leaned back against the couch. Even with all the answers he could get from Sora, there was still one more nibbling question Sechs had to ask. "So you found some freedom at Farwell, huh?" he said, appraising Sora with a curious perk of his eyebrows. "Why come back here when you finally escaped? What if you can't get out again? Why bother?"
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"You?" He had a brother here as well, right? Link prayed that he was also okay.
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"Your first clue should be this huge underground lake. There's someone down there you can take you across, and then you can hopefully get to the part that'll take you to the railroad tracks." He didn't know how it would work if someone was trying to do it the other way around, but it was definitely worth a shot.
Sora wasn't worried about the fact that the rebel group was fairly small. He and his two friends had stopped all sorts of ill-meaning people, so it was definitely possible for a group that large to take down Landel. Besides, they would have help from all of the patients too, which would probably make a huge difference.
At Sechs' next question, Sora glanced over and shrugged his shoulders. It had been a simple enough choice for him, but Sechs wasn't the first person to ask him this. "I couldn't just let my friends think that I was dead. I had to come back and tell everyone about what had happened." And considering how many people had asked him for information since he came back, Sora could tell that he'd made the right decision.
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"It's rare for people to go nights without some sort of injury." He had escaped harm more than others, though Link chalked it up to his recent experience. This wasn't the first place of its kind he had come across.
Though, he had to admit, it was unlike any other. And far more dangerous.
"We're getting close, though. You know of the rebel movement, don't you?"
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He nodded again. "Yeah, I do. Scar got a note from the rebels last night, and we did manage to get up to the third floor. We only got to the hallway before we blacked out, though."
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Scar...? Scar! Alphonse knew him as well, then? Link only knew his name from the bulletin post regarding his whereabouts and the rather... nasty incident.
"You know him, then?" Was Alphonse the one he had spoken to on the board? "I apologize if this is insensitive, but... from what I knew, he had... died. But he is alive once again. Do you know what happened?" A fairy could bring a person back from the brink of death, yes, but beyond that, there was no such concept in Hyrule. Spirits lived on, but they never returned to physical form.
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Not by the patients, at least. "Brother and I had been trying to find a way to get my body back before Landel took us."
Al winced and looks down. "Other than that Landel is the reason he is alive again, no. Scar had been dead back home before he was brought here, too, so obviously it's something he's capable of."
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"I see..." On both accounts. At least, he understood as well as he could. Nobody knew how Landel could raise the dead, then. He was thankful, at least, that the other man was alive. It was just like Sora... Gone, but then...
No more. The corners of Link's lips drooped. Soon. They would be through with this place soon.
He chose not to ask further about the details surrounding the loss of Alphonse's body, or how his spirit could have been tied to a suit of armor. So he simply let it drop.
"If I were to find the raw materials necessary, would you still be all right with building a sword for me?"
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He brightens a bit at the new subject, though. This was definitely one way he could still be helpful! "Of course! There's another person that wants a gun made for them, so it might be a few nights before I can transmute it. Though I might be able to convince Brother to do it, if I do use up all my energy on the gun."
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What Sora said next was met with momentary silence from Sechs. The Replica crossed his arms across his chest as his brows furrowed together in thought. The kid should did care about his friends, huh? Weeks ago Sechs wouldn't have been able to comprehend something like that, even outright scoffing at such an idea. Now he couldn't help but wish that some of his own lost friends could come back to show him that they weren't dead either...
Avoiding those disheartening recollections, Sechs shook his shaggy head a little as his frown relaxed into an amiable smirk. "Heh, good thing you did then. Link must've been happy to see ya back. Nothing I did would get that guy to stop moping over it..." he said with a soft chuckle.
"Coming back to tell us what you learned outside is a huge help too. If we all work together, I'm sure that trip you took to get back here will be all worth it in the end." He then gave the boy an appreciative nod, "You've got my thanks, kid."
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"You have been productive during the nights, then?"
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"I have heard rumors of the details... And somebody was kind enough to post information today." His voice dropped in volume. "Beyond that, though, I have not seen the entrance for myself." And a small, vain part of him that never truly spoke up was disappointed that he had yet to find it.
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But now they had people working at exploring both areas, the basement and the third floor. Sora agreed with Sechs. They all just had to work together and rely on each other -- if they did that, getting home might really be possible. Finding their friends who'd been brainwashed might really be possible. This wouldn't all be for nothing.
"Don't worry about it!" Coming back had been the natural thing to do, and so Sora had barely thought twice over it. The only thing that had caused him to hold up was knowing that Byrne would be staying behind. Sora hoped he was all right. "And you have my thanks for keeping an eye on Link while I was gone."
Even if Sechs didn't feel like he'd been able to cheer Link up at all, the fact that he'd been there to offer support was important all the same.
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"What was the... nature of the hallucinations?"
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"We will speak again, Alphonse." He offered a smile before following his nurse out of the Sun Room.