damned_institute | Day 30: Cafeteria, Dinner

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Day 30: Cafeteria, Dinner

The cafeteria was all but empty when Zelnick got there. He was a little disappointed; he had gotten the impression that patients usually ate dinner in their rooms, so he hadn't arranged to meet anyone, and there really wasn't anyone to sit by and engage in conversation yet.

Quietly, he collected dinner and a big glass of orange juice, and chose a seat near the food-serving counters. Talking for so long had made him thirsty... and, well, fruit juice was a luxury he had missed.

[Stalk away, my dearest Admiral. <3 ]

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The quick shower had been refreshing, and Ami flicked her damp hair out of her eyes as she made her way into the cafeteria. She paused in the doorway as she scanned the room. As the announcement had said, orderlies were everywhere. The earlier fight had obviously concerned them.

Her stomach suddenly growled - a very Usagi-thing to do - and she blushed slightly. She hadn't been eating properly, and her body was paying for it. I really have to make sure that I eat right, otherwise I won't have any energy for all these "nightly exploits", she thought as she filled up a plate with pork and vegetables.

Looking around, she noticed Logan sitting on his own. She made his way over to him. "Good evening, Logan-san," she said politely, though she was still nervous about talking to the intimidating older man. "May I sit here or are you expecting someone?"

Logan was about halfway through his meal when he heard the girl's small voice pipe up opposite him. He'd been too preoccupied with eating to notice her earlier, it seemed, but that hardly matter. He smiled broadly, genuinely at the schoolgirl and motioned with his hand for her to take a seat. After the mostly down day he'd been having, talking with this polite and friendly girl, along with the hearty meal would no doubt put him in a much better mood. Jus' in time for tha nightly 'hi-jinks', too.

"Ami, darlin', how're ya fairin'?" The girl looked healthy enough, perhaps she like himself had managed to keep out of trouble last night. "Ya don' look too banged up. Been managin' ta keep ahead o' tha monsters?"

Ami blushed faintly, still not used to being called "darlin", and took a seat opposite him. He seemed to be overly cheered to see her and she studied him discreetly while eating. He looks a little...strained, for want of a better word, she thought, noting the tightness around his eyes and mouth which hadn't been so prominent the last time they spoke. Maybe something happened...? Though apparently it hadn't affected his eating, Ami was amused to see.

She ducked her head at his question, responding quietly. "I've had a few run-ins, and ended up worse for wear, but luckily I've managed to escape any serious injury." In fact, the worst injury she had suffered was the night she had been shot with an arrow from MOMO. Though the wound had healed, the skin around it was still tight.

"How about you? How are you doing in here?" She wondered if there was anything on his mind.

Finishing the last of his meal as the girl spoke, Logan sat back and exhaled in satisfaction. The blush wasn't lost on him, nor was its meaning. He had to remember that Japanese culture was strong on politeness; he should know that after having spent so many years there. "My apologies fer callin' ya 'darlin'', I shoulda address ya as 'Ami-san', right?" He hoped his informal demeanour wouldn't put the girl off too much.

"Well, 's'good ta know yer stayin' outta the worst o' tha trouble, at least. Ya managin' ta stick with tha' blonde frien' o' yers? She seems like a good sor'. If tha two o' ya spen' more time runnin' than fightin', ya shoul' live longer. Leave tha scrappin' ta tha big boys, where ya can." He smiled again.

The smile dropped a little as she asked how he was. Perhaps his recent worry was showing on his face, or she was otherwise a natural for noticing when something was 'off' about another person. "I been better, but I'm survivin', it's...kinda what I do. Thought I was losin' my abilities further, but coupla' tha other patien's I talked ta taday seem ta think I migh' be wron' there, which is a bit o' a relief, ta tell tha truth." There was no way he'd worry such a young girl with his recent sense of despair over the murder of his wife and child; the girl had enough nightmares to contend with as it was.

"So..." He brightened a little more. "To wha' do I owe tha pleasure of yer company, l'il lady? Jus' checkin' up, or is there somethin' I migh' be able ta help ya wit'?"

Ami flushed a deeper red as Logan corrected himself. Obviously he had noticed her reaction, which made her even more embarrassed. "You speak very good Japanese," she said, hoping that red across her cheeks would subside quickly. "Ami-san is fine." She noticed his smile falter at her previous question and mentally kicked herself for bringing it up. Obviously it's something personal, and I don't want to pry.

She quickly changed the topic to talk about herself. "Yes, Usagi-chan and I have been meeting up at night. I think safety in numbers is the best way to go for...people like us." She'd almost said people who had lost their abilities. Watch it Ami, you've been too close to revealing your true nature here.... "We keep trying to get to the kitchen because neither of us has anything we can use to defend ourselves." She sighed. "It's been...hard. One of my friends visited me the other day..." She trailed off, swallowing a lump in her throat. It had been so hard seeing Mako-chan...and the fact that she had been going along with everything that was being spouted off to the patients by the nurses was incomprehensible. "She wasn't...her usual self." She mentally shook herself. The more the thought about what had happened to Mako-chan, the more confused she became. She needed a clear head if she and Usagi were to survive this hellish place. Ami pushed the image of Makoto to the back of her mind. She had surprised herself by even mentioning it to someone she barely knew.

"Sorry, I don't know why I even brought that up," she said weakly. "I actually came over to see if you had any more information about this place? Like maybe why patients have disappeared or anything? Or what is under the kitchen?" It was a long shot, but Logan was probably more likely to have learnt something from talking to people than Ami...

Poor girl, seems I embarrassed her more'n I thought. Japanese schoolkids, in particular, seemed almost too polite sometimes. He would have to remember to watch his manners around her in future, out of respect more than anything else. "Thanks fer tha complimen', Ami-san. Japan's been my secon' home fer many years now, 's'a beautiful place."

Logan paused to take a large swig from his glass of water before continuing, and watched the girl as she paused as if searching for the right term for herself and her friend. Was there something more there? Did this girl perhaps have more up her sleeve than she was letting on? If that was the case, if she wanted him to know she would doubtless tell him, or at least let it show in battle if he ever traversed the halls with her at night again. But he wouldn't press in the meantime.

"Yeah, I was with yer frien' one o' those times, tha nigh' wit' tha buses. Seems tha Sun Room n' tha cafeteria're amongst tha more dangerous places durin' tha nigh'." He had wondered about that, perhaps it was because they were places likely to have the highest patient traffic? Or maybe because what lay beyond them were the most advantageous to get to? "Perhaps ya should try ta fin' a differen' route if ya wanna keep tryin' fer it? You got a map? I managed ta get one from tha bulletin board if ya wan' a copy."

Interesting; of only four people he'd spoken with today, two others either had or knew someone who had had a 'visitor'. Seemed Landel wanted to cover as much ground as possible with his psychological warfare. "Ya had a visitor too? An' ya say she wasn' herself. She think you were someone ya know yer not, too? Same thin' happened ta me, an' someone else I know. Through discussin' it, a few o' us've come ta tha conclusion tha they were more likely ta be impostors than our frien's, if tha's o' any consolation to ya." It certainly made him feel a bit better, at least in terms of not worrying so much about Landel's power.

He switched topic to her other questions, and considered thoughtfully, using his vast memory to try and give her whatever he could that might prove useful, but his train of thought cut off when she mentioned disappearing patients; he hadn't heard that. "Wait, yer tellin' me...patients're...disappearin'? As in, wit'out a trace?" This was troubling indeed. "Sorry, Ami-san, I ain' heard 'bout tha. Got a few theories on it, but tha's all I c'n give. How much do ya know 'bout it?" He would have to ask around about this further, depending on how much information she could give.

He suddenly felt a little foolish when he had to admit he knew very little about what was under the kitchen. "Hmmm...Statesman'd said somethin' about a 'basemen'' down there, ain' had tha chance ta get down there m'self yet, been mostly workin' search n' rescue so far. From wha' I hear', sounds like ya shoul' be pretty geared up if'n ya wanna check it out, don' reckon it'd be much o' a cakewalk. Tha's...'bout all I know, sorry" There had to be somethin he could tell her that was useful?!?

"Uh, ya been on tha secon' floor? Me n' my roommate checked part o' it ou' las' nigh'. Tha's where they do tha torturin'. Can' get inta tha rooms ta get a Landel's goons, but they release tha victims before tha en' o' tha nigh' n' let 'em wander tha halls in whatever condition they put 'em in." Tha bastards. Ain' jus' physical torture, either, one kid we got out'd had his head messed up pretty bad." He took another gulp from his water and continued to wrack his brain for further information to share.

Ami was surprised to hear Logan had lived in Japan for a long time. I guess you can't judge a book by its cover, she thought. Her attention quickly snapped back when Logan said he had a full map of the place. Hastily swallowing a mouthful of mashed potato, she replied, "I've only got a half map, so I'd love a copy of a full one."

It could be just what they needed to have an edge. Ami already knew that the sunroom seemed to be one of the main places monsters or brainwashed patients were positioned, and the recreational field was probably another. A map would help to find alternative routes in the darkness.

As for the visitor problem..."My roommate also had visitors...I just don't know if they were impostors or just brainwashed." Please, don't let it be that..... "My friend is a remarkably good cook, and this girl brought food that tasted just like something my friend would make. And she knew all my other friends as well...but under different names..." How could she explain the hurt she felt? But then, Logan had had a visitor too...he had probably gone through the same analysis and emotions. She took a deep breath. "I still can't figure out if it was just part of Landel's sick game."

When Logan mentioned that he hadn't heard anything about people disappearing, Ami's heart fell for Usagi's sake. The other girl had already lost three friends. She had hoped that someone would know something about it. "Apparently there are patients who just disappear and don't return. No one seems to know what has happened to them, and no one has seen them being taken away by a nurse or doctor before they go missing. Three people Usagi-chan has met in here have disappeared over the past six days, and there have probably been more than I don't know about." Hopefully it could be something Logan would look into.

He also confirmed her own suspicions about what was under the kitchen - something Landel either didn't want them to get to or something else to make his "game" more interesting. It was tempting to go down there to see what they could find, but without her powers, Ami couldn't risk it.

"Search and rescue? Torture?" Ami thought she was going to be sick. She had heard rumours, but what Logan said not only confirmed them, but made the situation they were in much more dangerous. "What for? Information? Is there any way to get into the rooms to stop it?" Even without weapons, Ami was not going to stand idly by and let innocent people be tortured, mentally or physically, by this monster Landel.

Without hesitation, Logan fished into his right pants pocket and pulled out the neatly folded map. He didn't bother to be coy about it; if the staff here hadn't removed the maps from the bulletin board, they were unlikely to take this copy from him. Handing it over, he half-shrugged apologetically. "Yer'll havta copy it yerself, don' got a pen on me. 'Sides, yer prob'ly a better drawer, anyways."

Changing topic again, back to the issue of the visitors, he expounded on what he'd discussed with Parker and Cole earlier in the day. "I can' confirm it o' course, but I got a good reason ta believe tha people we saw weren't tha versions we know who've been manipulated. My visitor was an ol' frien', too, an' a mutan' like m'self, 'cept his 'powers''re a lot diff'ren' ta mine. He's a telepath, tha strongest o' my worl', an' amongst otha' things, tha' also means he's got prob'ly tha strongest will in tha worl', makin' it damn-near impossible ta even get inta his head, much less scramble it." Of course that had happened before, on several occasions but Shadow King had been the only mutant strong enough to pull that off...Logan sincerely hoped he wasn't involved in all of this. He pushed it out of his mind, content to believe the possibility of impostors over anything else until he was shown otherwise.

"Yeah, I'm thinkin' they're alternate versions, maybe from this one, maybe from a whole slew o' 'em for all I know, which might explain tha differences even tho' they still seem so familiar." It was a pretty sound theory, and he had no reason to believe anything else at this stage. "As fer tha resonin' behin' it, I suspect it's form o' psychological warfare, jus' another reason ta try n' break us fer whatever reason Landel's twisted mind has created."

Logan raised his eyebrows slightly as Ami gave more detail on the patients who had vanished, a look as closed to alarmed as he ever got. "Three people...in six days? An' they all knew yer frien', ya say?" He paused, considering. "Maybe she's bein' targeted specifically. Not sure if there's anythin' ya c'n do about it, but if I were ya, I'd stay on my guard, especially roun' her. No offense ta her or nothin', but if she's a target..." He trailed off, not wanting to upset the girl by outright telling her that her friend could potentially be a threat. "I'll see what else I c'n fin' out, see if anyone I know's heard anythin'." This was not good, not good at all.

The look on her face when he mentioned the torture made him curse himself silently again. With her excellent intellect and precocious manner, it was easy to forget that the person he was speaking with was still just a kid, and probably didn't want to hear about such things. "Sorry, didn't mean ta upset ya. I don' know why they're doin' it, not yet, at least. Tha kid we got outta there was damn near-catatonic, so he wasn't much help. We din't get tha chance ta try any o' tha doors save tha one ta the hall tha rooms were in, an' even that one took two o' us ta bust open, so I imagine in ain' gonna be easy. Prob'ly need tha righ' key, or else they're 'lectronic'lly or magnetic'lly sealed. Trus' me tho, findin' a way in there's pretty close ta the top o' my list o' priorities."

Ami hurridly sketched out the map - to pinpoint accuracy - in her notebook, which she carried everywhere now, and slid it back to him with a thank you nod. It seemed everyone in here had similar theories on the visitors they received. "That's what I thought could have happened, but what concerns me is what has happened to their version of us? Are they stuck back in our world?" Ami really hoped not. It wouldn't be good to be a powerless Sailor Mercury in her dimension right now.

However all thoughts of Makoto and the other visitors were pushed to the back of her mind when Logan mentioned that perhaps Usagi was being targeted. Ami's eyes quickly darted around the cafeteria, and she breathed a small sigh of relief when she noticed two tell-tale buns sticking up in the crowded room. Now that's even more of a worry - if someone is trying to target Usagi by eliminating everyone around her, she's in more trouble than either of us thought! Ami bit her bottom lip as she watched her friend. But Usagi will kill me if she finds out I'm trying to protect her again...which means I'll have to tell her about this possibility and hope that she'll be okay. It wasn't an option Ami liked. "You could be right. I'll definitely be looking out for her." Turning back to Logan, Ami gave him a small smile. "If you can find out anything else about the disappearances, that would be greatly appreciated." If only so that I know Usagi isn't in any immediate danger...

The whole situation was just getting worse and worse, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Ami felt like her intelligence was letting everyone down, and she felt useless. "So there's not really much we can do to help people escape from the upstairs rooms then..." she trailed off, looking down at her hands clenched in her lap.

Watching as the girl quickly recreated the map to a point that the finished product almost looked as if she'd just ran his copy through a photocopier, Logan was quite impressed, and smiled at her as he took the map back and pocketed it again. He pondered her question regarding alternate versions swapping places between worlds. That had never happened in his experience; often two or more versions occupied the same universe or dimension from what he'd seen, giving further credence to his theory that who they met could be alternates from this world, or some other.

"Seems like tha leas' likely turn o' even's, but I guess it is still possible. More likely they're from this worl', or, like us, they been brough' here specifically fer whatever reason from their own realities. Coul' be tha' Landel's got himsel' his very own dimension n' he's jus' been fillin' it up with people n' things from elsewhere."

Logan stopped talking as Ami suddenly started scanning the room, doubtless looking to confirm that her friend was here and unharmed. She seemed to relax slightly, and he followed her gaze to also take in the sight of the strangely blonde Japanese girl they were speaking of. That was a relief, to Ami at least, surely.

"We all gotta watch each other's backs ta survive. N' I'll certainly keep ya in tha loop if'n I find out anythin' more, not leas' in exchange fer tha information ya've given me." He returned her smile with what he hoped was a reassuring one of his own.

"Sure, there's ways we c'n help, even if we can' stop what they're doin' ta them. We c'n stop 'em from gettin' hurt worse after they're let out. We c'n offer 'em aid, n' get 'em ta safe places, n' those who know how ta heal or a leas' patch 'em up c'n help 'em in tha' way. We ain' entirely helpless, n' neither are they when we c'n help them. Remember tha', an' try ta stay positive, kid." Although that was becoming far easier said than done as the days rolled on.

She was about to thank Logan for his words when the intercom announcement for nightshift came on. Her blood started pounding in her ears as her nerves got the better of her.

She glanced at Logan as a flood of people began moving towards their rooms. "I guess I better go..." she trailed off. "Actually, there is one other thing." She wasn't sure Logan would know the right person, but it was worth asking anyway. "If you know of or find anyone who can work with metal to make a weapon, could you let me know?" Standing, she bowed slightly and sent him a small smile. "Thank you, Logan-san."

Her thanks was more than just because of the request. It was because he had listened and tried to make her feel better, and she appreciated it. She hoped it showed in her eyes. He may not look it, but he is a good friend, she thought as she left the cafeteria. Who would have thought I'd make friends with such a person.

Logan's features drew grim and taught at the sound of the intercom as he looked over at it. When the message was seemingly over, he turned his attention from the intercom back to Ami one last time, listening as she asked about weapons. Cole's 'friend' Recluse came to mind.

"I know a guy, migh' be able ta help, but I can' make any guarantees. He ain' exactly tha...charitable type. Leave it wit' me n' I'll let ya know if I have any luck." He offered her a tight, but genuine smile as she thanked him. "An' thank ya too, Ami-san. Ya've been mos' helpful. Take care o' yerself tonigh', alrigh'?" With that, his nurse lightly tapped him on the shoulder, and he stood to be led back to his room, mind still whirling with questions.

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Day 30: Cafeteria, Dinner

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