damned_institute | Day 26: Cafeteria, Lunch

Scar felt cold and sick, though more the latter than the former. As he rose from his bed, he didn't quite know which way was up, and the artificial light coming from overhead seemed as hot and as blinding as the Ishbal sun.

His head hurt, but that was nothing new. After all, the last thing he remembered from the night before was fighting a homunculus off of Lust and then having a conversation about events best left forgotten. The man hadn't been his brother. He just hadn't. And if what Lust had said they'd done to her was true...

Scar stood with shakiness that he wanted to attribute more to a bizarrely weakened physical state than a mental one. Had he been knocked out by some kind of lurking monster before the morning had come? He felt as if he had been out for days, being a veteran of such circumstances, though as he took the practiced role of being an obedient follower behind the nurse and orderlies that came for him, it didn't seem as if much had changed.

This place was probably just playing tricks on him again, and he was tired of being the man left out of the loop. He grabbed some food he didn't really care for and sat down, not seeing anyone he knew already seated. On one hand, he wished he had someone to talk to, and on the other, it scared him that he was no longer used to being alone.

He dug his fork into his food and tried to block out any related thought.

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Quatre watched Duo carefully as he spoke, listening to every word and considering it. He looked at his friend (probably one of his best friends) without expression. After a moment a slightly worried look crept over his features and settled on his face.

"Duo," he said quietly with the tone of someone delivering bad news. "Time travel?" he asked, one eyebrow going up. "I'm not saying I don't believe you.." he added before Duo could protest. "But I don't think that's what's going on. You do look younger than the last time I saw you, but don't you think it's more likely that... that whoever is behind this..." He paused, as the idea caused him a lot of pain to think about. "They probably brainwashed you into forgetting and put you through some sort of surgery." He frowned. It seemed much more likely than time travel, but also more horrific.

They must have also made Relena forget the last few months (for if she had been kidnapped when Duo said, he would have heard about it). Quatre wondered if he had forgotten anything. His frown deepened. At least, whatever they did to Duo he had forgotten.

Quatre's reaction was about the same as his had been. Who's wouldn't be? This was nuts. But Quatre's idea? Made about as much sense as time travel did. Or dimensional travel or whatever Relena had called it.

"But why go through all the trouble? Surgery is expensive. And for teenagers like us, you're talking changing height and facial structure, along with all those other intricate still-developing details. If they could actually do it, stuff like that would sell for thousands. Why use it on prisoners? Sounds like a waste, if you ask me. And if they're going to brainwash someone, why stop at only memories? Why didn't they go all-out and completely reprogram us? It still doesn't make sense."

Really, Duo didn't like the idea of anyone messing with his head, or even his body. If he had to pick between those two theories, at least with Relena's idea (as crazy as it was), he was still the same person.

Quatre shook his head. "It doesn't make sense," he added. "But did killing an utter pacifist who was only trying to give his people hope make sense? And yet Heero Yuy was still sacrificed to OZ, wasn't he?" he asked, voice calm and carefully collected. "If there's anything that I've learned after the war, Duo, it's that people don't have to make sense when they think they can gain something." He frowned slightly. "You don't remember it, but there's been a lot of people after us lately. OZ, it turned out, was the least of our worries. I don't know who is behind this, but whoever it is they want to gain something. We can sit here and try to figure out what that is, or we can try to figure out a way to get out and bring Miss Relena with us." He was trying to stay on topic. He didn't know how long they had to discuss things. And continuing to discuss this was upsetting him. He didn't like the idea of someone hurting his friend so badly.

"How long have you been here?" he asked, attempting to stir the conversation away from whatever had happened to Duo. They could find out the answers to those questions later. Right now, they needed to figure out how to escape. "I just woke up today and the only thing I've found out is that it's a place called Landel's."

The conversation he had had with the girl in the Game Room had been almost completely pointless, except to scare him for a moment, he hadn't been able to find out anything from her.

Quatre was right, as much as Duo hated to admit it. On both counts. People didn't have to make sense if they wanted something, he knew that well enough. Many times over. He just couldn't understand what they wanted that would warrant this... They also needed to start working on an escape plan. The why could come later.

"I just got here last night. There was something on the bulletin board about this place. Supposed to be a mental hospital. Rumor has it that some crazy things happen at night, though. Patients being let out, monsters running around. The doors did open at night, but I didn't see anything running the halls. Relena's been here longer, though. If we're gonna make an escape plan, we'll need to include her, right?"

Quatre nodded. "I'll talk to her as soon as I can." He paused and frowned more deeply. "Monsters?" he asked. Add that to the time travel idea and this situation was starting to sound like the plot of a cheap horror novel. He wondered if perhaps this really was a mental hospital, and they had stuck Relena, Duo and himself here because it would be easy to hide them there. Sooner or later, they might even start to believe that they were insane.

After all, Quatre had experienced insanity once, hadn't he? He shuddered slightly at the thought and got more control of himself. "But if they let us out at night," he said, getting back to business. "Then we can use that time to explore. We'll meet somewhere. What is your room number?"

Duo noted the shudder from the other pilot, but let it lie when the topic moved on. Whatever it was, Quatre didn't seem keen on talking about it.

His room number? "M61," Duo responded, glad he'd taken a look at the room on his way out the door this morning. "What about yours? And where are you thinking we should meet? I didn't get a chance to get Relena's room number from her."

Quatre thought about that. "I'll find out her room. My room is M87. We can meet half way and then go to see her." Quatre smiled slightly. It felt a little better to know they had a basic plan.

Day 26: Cafeteria, Lunch

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