damned_institute | Day 38: Sun Room

Entry tags:

Day 38: Sun Room

Matt had to bite his tongue hard to keep from insisting he would be perfectly comfortable in the library, really, and could he please stop being led around like freaking cattle? As the nurse drew him into the empty Sun Room, the answer to that seemed to be a resounding 'No'.

Great.

He was given the usual talk of 'be nice', 'maybe someone will come back and you'll have someone to talk to' and the strangely sincere 'we're getting a few books in braille, they just haven't arrived yet'. He was sure he believed that one, but it would be nice to not be singled out for a change.

Reminded him of grammar school actually.

What a coincidence, he hadn't been fond of grammar school either. Settling back on the seat he'd found himself in, the Daredevil closed his eyes and debated on the merits of a nap as he listened to the occasional person stop by and scribble something down before leaving. A message board or something? He'd have to ask someone about that.

(Free to any and all!)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"It's fine," Artemis said, shaking his head a little. "That would make two of us. What happened? That is, if you don't mind my asking."

Schuldig may have thought that Artemis' status as a teenager made him self-centered and ignorant of other people's problems, but for now Artemis putting aside his own problems might help him back to a state where he could function normally.

"Nah, nothing big. A girl I knew disappeared yesterday. A couple of them, probably." He wasn't sure about Atoli. He hadn't been looking for her and he didn't know her that well anyway. Badou's gaze drifted up to the ceiling.

"I think she's pissed at me for groping her that one time."

Artemis sighed. He'd thought it had felt as though the population of the Institute had been thinning the past couple of days. No doubt everyone had been hit somewhere.

"I'm sorry," the boy said, reaching for Badou's hand with his needled hand.

Badou looked down at Artemis again. "For what? People disappear all the time. It was the same way back home. I'll get over it."

He caught Artemis hand and put it back onto the arm of the wheelchair. "Just rest ok. Get better and help me kick some ass or find some cigarettes or something."

The boy looked at his hand, then back up at Badou. He was getting a better idea of how Badou worked, which helped him figure out what to do in turn.

"All right, I will," Artemis sighed. "I was planning on running by the doctor's offices in search of cigarettes, to thank you for yesterday. But I was a little busy," he gave Badou a wry smile.

That was news to Badou.

"Really?" His expression brightened considerably, like a puppy who'd just been offered premium quality steak. "I've got a few, actually. It's the lighter...or matches...or flint. Fuck it, I can't pick up with fire at all. Someone suggested the kitchen stove but the sunroom is...well, the sunroom. I'd risk it if I had a gun but I need to be alive to smoke."

"Oh, you need a lighter?" Artemis tilted his head slightly. "I know Schuldig has one. I don't know if he has it anymore, but on my second night we broke into a doctor's office. There were cigarettes and a lighter if I recall correctly.

"Or, I could try to break into one of the stores in town the next time I can walk. Being a genius means you know how locks work, and how easy they are to fool."

Artemis leaned back in his chair, thinking. "There are plenty of supplies in town. Once we're adequately armed and... sated, in your case, we can start the assault."

"Schuldig has one?" Badou repeated. Well, that...might actually be lucky, because he was fairly sure he wasn't on the telepath's shitlist. Now if he could get a light without sexual favours involved, that would be nice. "Well, he's got my number."

Maybe Artemis had all of this planned better than he expected, but Badou was a bit lost. "The assault? What are we attacking?" A valid question if only because there were multiple targets and the most obvious one was a bit pitchfork shy. "And when are you planning to do all this? During the night?"

"If you let him know you're playing the part of my second therapist, he would probably lend it to you out of sheer gratitude. The past few days' events have had him trying to keep me together."

Artemis steepled his fingers, still lost in thought. Whether or not it was rational, he couldn't tell. He still couldn't think very straight.

"I... don't know," Artemis said with all seriousness. "But we're storming the basement someday. That's where he is, I know that's where he is."

"I think if I told him that he'd laugh his ass off. You don't even need to be a telepath to know what a bad choice I am for a therapist." Badou grinned a little anyway. They'd already agreed that Artemis had the strangest choice of friends.

"I know you're pissed, but you know as well as I do it's going to take more than weapons and the blood of angry men to take him down, let alone find a way home. I'm just saying he has all the cards, and right now it looks like he's going to win unless we find a way around it."

"So I have to find a way around it. As soon as I have more information on it, I'll find a way." And from Artemis' tone, it sounded as though he would do it or die trying.

"All I'm suggesting is that we are being far too tame in our resistance. We aren't putting any pressure on him--we're running around like his little lab rats, and some of us are content to do so. I'm not, not anymore. I am tired, and I am angry."

"Join the club. You really think it doesn't piss me off to be stuck here chasing my tail so Dr. Fucktard can get his rocks off?" He knew Artemis probably didn't mean him in particular, but he could sympathize with being pissed off at least.

"If we put pressure on him before we're ready to take him out, all he has to do is snap his fingers and feed us to the dogs or up his defenses or just move somewhere else. I'm sure he can do it the minute he finds out his lab rats have teeth. It's fine to be pissed off, just don't be stupid about it."

"You're right... You're right, I know you're right," Artemis conceded, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It's hard to... be calm. Especially with all of this noise in my head."

The boy leaned back in his chair, tilting his head back. He looked at Badou, "At least you're relatively quiet."

"Then don't be calm. If you need a way to get some of it out of your system I could just antagonize you some more, shrimpbait." Badou offered, almost cheerfully. The promise of a lighter seemed to have done wonders for his mood.

"I've never been accused of being quiet before." Actually, it was kind of ironic, but if Artemis wasn't picking much up from him then all the better. He didn't know anything about magic and he didn't have any, so trying to help block it out would have been a pain. "What do you think it is?"

Shrimpbait...? What exactly did one use for the purpose of baiting shrimp? ...oh, this was another short joke, wasn't it? Artemis grimaced a little and looked away haughtily. "Go ahead. I can keep up with an addict such as yourself."

Artemis have a half-hearted, small shrug (ow, back muscles, ow...). "Schuldig seems to amplify it, you're silent. I haven't gathered much data besides that. If I had my notes, this would be simple. I could just find the answer and be done with it. Here... I have to try to remember."

"Only if that wheelchair is faster than those stubby little legs." Any minute now Artemis was going to realize that Badou's bedroom slippers were no match for said wheelchair and this verbal sparring match would end painfully.

"Schuldig's a telepath, and kind of a mindfuck by nature." Badou pointed out, only partially because of the realization he'd just come to. He actually didn't know anything else about Schuldig. Badou grinned a little, "Maybe it's just warning you."

"Considering I can't walk right now, Mr. Cigarettes-and-Slippers, I would be inclined to agree with you. But, once I've recovered, we'll see what gives out first: my legs or your lungs."

...which could actually be an interesting race, considering how physically inept Artemis was.

"Mm, no," Artemis said, shaking his head. "If it was warning me, I would be wheeling my way away from you as well. Besides, he isn't at full power right now, small feats give him migraines. Doubling the sound that I'm hearing shouldn't be possible for him--and considering he was trying to calm me down at breakfast, further antagonizing me wouldn't have been helpful at all. If he'd wanted to break me, he would have done it days ago."

"My bet is on your legs and your lungs. I'll smoke you." Oh, ow. That one was even painful to say.

Badou was doubtful about Artemis' physical prowess in general. If the teen tripped over his own legs at the starting line, he wouldn't be terribly surprised.

"That's not unsettling at all." Badou muttered, but he didn't know much at all about the relationship between Schuldig and Artemis except that Schuldig functioned as the primary psychiatrist. He wasn't surprised to find out Schuldig could break people. It was a pretty natural extension, considering his arguably brilliant performance on the bulletin. "Anyway, what notes are you talking about? I've still got your patient possessions stuff. There might be something in there."

Artemis grimaced, "I think I've won this argument based on sheer lack of awful punning. You could have killed me with that--you should be more careful with your sharp sense of humor. You might bludgeon someone to death with it if you don't pay attention."

The boy sat in thought for a moment, crossing his arms over his chest. "I know it sounds like a monumentally bad idea, but he's really quite fascinating. It gets dull being around people who never surprise me. Granted, it can get rather annoying when he demonstrates that he knows things I wish he didn't, but it's something he's had to live with for his entire life." His eyes went a little unfocused as he thought through this. "He's different to me, I should try to be different to him. That's all.

"Anyway, the notes I'm referring to are the translations of the fairy equivalent of the Bible, the U.S. Constitution, and Grey's Anatomy combined. The magic that was installed into me was definitely the type that I had stolen previous, and thus the same properties would apply. When I was studying the Book, I was most concerned with the Ritual. Which I suppose is quite useless to me now. But there might be something in there about voices in one's head. Granted, I am the first human to take on this brand of magic, so for all I know, it's an anomaly." The boy sighed, sounding a little annoyed by all of this. He didn't like being his own guinea pig.

Badou rolled his eye. That had been almost accidental! "Shut up, brat."

He shook his head at the explanation, though he had to wonder what it was like to grow up knowing everyone's thoughts. It sounded like hell. But hey, they were all a little - ok, plenty - fucked up. "Yeah, it's fine. You don't have to explain."

Wasn't Grey's Anatomy some old tv show? He was more familiar with the other two, so he still got the general idea of what Artemis was talking about. "So until you find it you're just going to have to figure things out as you go along," Badou surmised. "And even if you do find it, it might not have the answers you're looking for." It's always nice to know you might be thoroughly fucked over. Badou added sardonically, though he kept it to himself in a vague attempt to stave off some of the negativity. "Well, at least you know there can be silent..spots? It's a start, since you're so keen on getting rid of the voices."

Artemis laughed. It was good to win again, even if it was a small victory. "As you wish, addict," Artemis said, bowing his head slightly. He couldn't resist that last jab.

"It is a possibility--that there is some way to get rid of them. But until I know otherwise, I have to operate under the assumption that I will never be alone in my head again.

"But so far, I think these 'silent spots' as you call them are generated by people. I can't hear that echo that Schuldig gave off anymore, which leads me to believe that these voices are on a person-to-person basis. Which means..." Artemis eyed Badou. "You're my control group."

Badou just glared. He was going to pretend he'd let Artemis win that one. He seemed a lot calmer now, so it was a fair enough trade. He even seemed to be look at things reasonably now, so that was a nice bonus.

"Don't I feel special." Badou resisted the urge to squirm. It wasn't so much Artemis' scrutiny as being slightly uncomfortable with the terminology. So many fun things in his life came from experiments already, why not add more?

"So what do I do?"

Edited 2009-01-13 03:17 (UTC)

"Nothing uncomfortable," Artemis assured him. "Maybe answer a question or two when I think of a possibility. Just so that I can isolate what's causing this.

"Or, if you prefer, I can cut your skull open," Artemis joked with an eerily pleasant smile.

Badou nodded at the first part. He could do that easily enough, and it wasn't like he had anything to hide.

...Then Artemis had to go and pull a face right out of American Psycho. Entirely without noticing it, Badou leaned back just a little bit more. "...See, I'd be a lot more creeped out if you could actually reach my skull."

"Hmm? Ah, you have a point," Artemis looked a little disappointed. He sighed and shrugged again, "I'll just have to wait until your head is a bit lower, then. Like when you're sitting," his smile widened a little. "Or sleeping."

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject