damned_institute | Day 34: Lunch

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Day 34: Lunch

Yuffie bounced all the way through collecting her lunch, all the way to a good seat- one with a nice view of the whole cafeteria, which was something she'd been missing out on during the past day or so that she'd been stuck in the Institute- and hell, she even bounced into her seat.

A good mood? No, really?

Despite the occasional blip, talking to Sagara had been awesome. He was a fun guy; he wasn't a prude, didn't have a stick shoved so far up his ass it was poking out his eyeballs, and he'd actually had a conversation with her. One that hadn't revolved around doom, gloom or how much life sucked. If she could find other people like that and keep in touch with Sagara, maybe there was a little hope for this place.

After a quick gulp of pink lemonade, Yuffie settled to munching through her food and keeping an eye on the door.

[Waiting for Dean, I think? :x]

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Phew. At least it wasn't as much of a shock as I'd feared. Edgeworth listened carefully, adding, "I can't imagine how odd that would be."

When the - no, not young lady, Digimon, he reminded himself - asked that question, he smiled gently. "It began with Rika choosing you. She wanted to become strong herself, and thought of you as a...tool, with which to do so."

He sipped his lemonade, continuing. "As the show went on, you had quite a few confrontations with other Digimon. You and Rika became close; she helped you digivolve several times, and even biomerged with you towards the end, so you became Sakuyamon. You went into that form quite a few more times after that; every time you faced the D-Reaper, in fact."

Edgeworth smiled gently. "You'll have to forgive any lapses in my memory."

The secretive fox didn't know how to respond to the majority of the important parts of her life being known. Edgeworth had asked forgiveness for lapses, but his rundown was a perfect summary of... She found herself getting angry deep inside. Like an outside observer, she stared at it until it went away. She was going to remain calm. No emotions. No reactions. Just questions. Questions lead to answers.

She closed her eyes and contemplated what to say. A moment passed, then another. "...I can't shake the feeling that I should have been looking for cameras behind me at every turn." The poor attempt for a joke came complete without a smile. "The Bio-Merging... I have to ask about that at least. How did it... How was it represented?" Bio-Merging with Rika had been an extreme turning point in her life, something akin to a spiritual experience. Afterwards... nothing was the same. If they (whoever they were) just wrote it off.... She didn't know why she needed to know.

Everything else could be written off. The D-Reaper being mentioned was a sore spot, but it was at least gone, even after all the damage it had caused. Digivolving was known to anyone that had knowledge of Digimon, and a Digimon being simply used as a tool was more commonplace then ones as friends. Again, again Rika was the exception. Renamon's voice was a fraction quieter when she spoke next. "Don't feel obligated to answer. But... how were we close?"

Rika changed everything. That was the only constant in Renamon's life.

"It wasn't taken lightly," Edgeworth said, hoping his tone was comforting. "It happened when you, Rika, Ryo, and Cyberdramon were looking for Calumon. Chaos was surrounding all of you, and things looked bleak. You'd told her to go back, but Rika asked you if you could choose your destiny. You told her yes, and she said she would stay and fight with you."

Edgeworth closed his eyes, thinking back to watching the episode as a child. "It was really beautiful, the way they depicted the Bio-Merge. You were both surrounded by this light...I remember Rika saying that it was warm, and beautiful. You, together, were beautiful."

He opened his eyes again, smiling gently. "It's going to sound odd, saying this, but you two were closer than most other partners were. I think she would have said you were more than a partner to her. You were close friends."

Edited 2008-08-11 23:26 (UTC)

[player note for less confusion: mostly-manga-version of Renamon equals no Ryo/Cyberdramon. =P]

She had been practicing even breaths, and her mind was a bit more clear when Edgeworth finished talking. Enough to focus on the points that didn't quite make sense. "That sounds about right. Though I don't know of any 'Ryo' or 'Cyberdramon'."

The rest of what Edgeworth said hit Renamon in a way she couldn't quite describe. A mesh of things: warmth, affection, irritation, impatience, an awkward feeling, and extreme relief, mixed with memories and an all-consuming love. It wasn't something she was looking forward to admitting to herself, let alone say to others. She again closed her eyes, elbows resting on the table, her fingers steepled in front of her face. She had nothing to say to any of that. There was nothing to be said. It was just something to be accepted, and truthfully, something she needed to be reminded of. She opened her eyes to focus her bright gaze on the man sitting across from her. "...Thank you, Edgeworth. It means a great deal to me."

Renamon slid her elbows down to fold her hands on the table. "But I think my life, fictional or otherwise, has taken quite enough of our time. I originally wanted to speak with you to hear any theories--or information--you may have on the 'why's' of Landel's Institute. If you don't mind," she added, slightly bowing her head.

Different version? Maybe the US made cuts or added characters or something. "That may have been a slip in my memory - I do apologize."

After Renamon opened her eyes and spoke, Edgeworth bowed his head in response, nodding. "You're quite welcome." Her mood had changed perceptibly, and there was no need to say more than that, he thought.

When the conversation shifted topics, the prosecutor took his journal from his inner coat pocket. "I don't mind at all," he said, flipping to a page early on. "There are a few theories I've been tossing around, actually. One is that this is a type of military testing facility, though it isn't like any I know of in my own world."

He tapped his pen against the notebook. "Basically, the military facilities at home are strictly voluntary. There's no...conscription of people. Though if this is a different world completely from any of ours, it still could be military."

Renamon, as well, slid her own notebook to the front of her and flipped between her note pages without really looking at them. The change of topic, and the possible intellectual debate it might offer, was just what she needed to focus. "I've heard that theory, and I somewhat agree with the points raised against it. They'd most likely allow us to keep our full range of powers in a completely controlled environment, or actually interact in a militaristic fashion. The way things are, they aren't allowed to witness our full potential or draw any conclusions other than how efficiently we can run through their maze."

She leaned back in the chair and crossed her arms. "In most military training, from what I know, goals are set. The goals are quite clear here. We play their games at night, and make no actual progress. This basement spoken of in hushed tones, outside the gates, and everywhere inside. None of these places led us to solid conclusions because it is their game. Our moves are monitored, our actions controlled and hindered. The game-master decides all." She sighed suddenly, internally frustrated at the lack of knowledge and at the same time surprised at her speech. "But for what?...."

Renamon hadn't said all of this aloud to someone yet, her days full of other world interviews, and her nights with useless exploration. A part of her was relieved to be able to voice it all, as contrary to her usual silent acceptance as it was.

"My thoughts exactly," Edgeworth said. "With the number of people here who have...certain powers, if this were actually some kind of military establishment, why not just dampen them during the day and then bring them up to full strength at nightfall? If they really wanted to test that aspect, at least."

The prosecutor nodded in agreement with Renamon's thoughts on military training. "That's quite correct from what I know of military training. You're placed on a team, given a mission, and sent to carry it out. Here? We form our own teams, we decide our own smaller missions, and carry them out, but what does that mean, in terms of the larger picture? Unless that's the objective of the test, it makes no sense."

Edgeworth laughed sarcastically. "It almost sounds more like a social psychology experiment, and it reminds me in a vague way of one I studied in college. It was called the Stanford Prison Experiment, and the way it worked was that the subjects were grouped into 'prisoners' and 'guards'. The experiment had to be cancelled shortly after it began because the 'guards' got out of hand. I wonder if we're not the 'prisoners', the staff aren't the 'guards', and there hasn't been any kind of cancellation."

[Horribly sorry for the delay. =( And then LJ kept eating my posts so I gave up for awhile.]

Renamon nodded, thinking. "What were the actual experiments? What were they trying to see?"

"Theories are well and good," she started up again, "but what's missing is facts. At least for me. Certain things seem like they might matter but I have no information on them. Experimental trials, a 'Mr. Radio' who had some control over the creatures within the Institute, and a partnership between the man previously mentioned and Landel himself... do you know anything about those?"

"The actual experiment is pretty much what I'd just described - the people running it assigned the roles and then let the scenario play out. They were trying to find out two things: one, what people see on both sides of the same situation, and two, how people adapt to their roles within a prison situation," Edgeworth explained, pushing his tray aside and sitting back in his chair.

He frowned at those last questions. "Let me take the last question first and work backwards," he began.

"From what I've pieced together, the man known as 'Mr. Radio' was actually named Alec Doyle, and he and Martin Landel had worked together quite a lot in the past - that's why he had the control he did over the creatures here. I don't know why they parted ways, but I know that they did. Whatever the reason for the fallout was seems to be why Doyle was so eager to help the people here. At some point several days ago, the two men had a confrontation, and it's fairly clear that Landel killed Doyle for those actions."

Edgeworth crossed his arms and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before tackling that last question. "I know more than I'd like about those experimental trials. I was the subject of one my first night here. I don't know what their objective is, aside from causing trauma to the subjects."

"Did he ever give information about this place, or did he just speak in riddles like I've heard?" The man called Alec Doyle interested her, but the man could have just been another player--after the same things as Landel, but carried it out in different ways. It wouldn't be the first time a captor tried to 'make friends' with the captives. "And now a woman took his place... who might not be all she seems...."

Renamon was extremely interested that Edgeworth had been involved in one. Features still bland, she carefully thought about her questions. "Not to... tear open wounds, as it were, but what kind of things do they do?"

"On the last night before the confrontation with Landel, Doyle made an announcement that he would be in the library and that patients were welcome to come there and talk to him. I wasn't able to make it there myself, but I suspect his intent was to give information directly that he wasn't able to over the intercom," Edgeworth replied. "I think he actually was on our side, as is the woman on the intercom now. I wish I had more information on her than I do."

The prosecutor closed his eyes. Even now, after all this time, he still wasn't terribly comfortable talking about what had happened, but there was only one way to get more comfortable, as much as he wished he didn't have to. "From what I've gathered by talking with other people who have been subjects of these trials, what happens in them depends on the subject, where they're from, and what abilities are present in their world. It's highly personalized. In my case...there are certain people in my world who have the ability to channel the spirits of the dead. They tried to see if they could grant that ability to someone not born with it."

"I don't know what the..." Edgeworth still had a hard time calling that monster a doctor, so he settled on a different word. "...scientist running the trial saw, but I...I'll be blunt. My father was murdered when I was a child, and I witnessed it. I saw the whole thing through his eyes."

If she asked, Edgeworth would explain about the reminder that had been left, but after having explained it once that morning, he was hardly in the mood to offer the information again.

Renamon nodded, brow furrowed. There was a lot that interested her in this Alec Doyle, but she had much to think on already. Any more questions on him would have to wait. "...Thank you."

She bowed her head slightly in respect for the dead and Edgeworth himself. She had no personal experience really with deep mourning, but the dead should always be given respect. "So... the experiments test your capability for different powers or abilities?" That would add a whole new twist to her way of thinking if true. Keeping her head bowed, she continued. "Were you able to keep that ability afterwards, to channel spirits?"

Edgeworth simply nodded. "I wish I had more information on that front."

The last question...he closed his eyes again, breathing deeply, then opened them carefully. "That's the gist of things, yes, but it doesn't always seem to be that way. In other cases, memories have been wiped, or altered, or things have been taken from a person."

"In my case, while I haven't been able to...completely keep the ability, the experiment left a reminder. I still hear my father's voice at times, and it serves most often as a warning. I hear it when I'm in danger."

This definitely gave her a lot more to think about regarding what the Institute wanted. She would have to contemplate these 'experiments' further.

She seemed to be running out of time to talk to Edgeworth though, as she noticed the first few nurses lead the patients away. "I'm sorry that you had to go through something that was trying for you. But it seems like you were given a gift, whether through the Institute's design or... maybe someone else's." Renamon gave Edgeworth a small smile. "You have someone you care for looking out for you."

She closed her notebook, having never really gotten around to discussing the sum of what was inside. No matter. There were other days if it was necessary. "Thank you for meeting with me. I apologize for spending so much time on myself, as it were." She stood up. "If I find out anything beneficial, I'll be sure to contact you."

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Day 34: Lunch

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