damned_institute | Day 22: Brunch

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Day 22: Brunch

Cid usually liked sleeping in, especially in a place as messed up and uninviting as this, but this happened to be one situation where he really wished he hadn't.

Right there, on the bulletin board. The Head Doctor and he'd fucking missed it? Some part of him wished he'd been there to take his eye out and another part of him knew he wouldn't have been able to. No man that powerful who hid for so long went to dangerous places without some kind of entourage.

Brunch sounded like it'd be filling, at least, though he nearly stopped in his tracks when the bastard announced TEA. TEA. It'd been a damn long while since he'd had some fucking tea, though with all the stress this place had found fit to rain down on his fucking head, it hadn't really been the first priority on his mind. Kinda nice, even if Cid was sure this was just some game the mother fucker was playing to get them all stuck neck-deep in Stockholm Syndrome.

He scanned the mostly-empty room for any sign of a familiar face once he'd piled waffles and sausages and syrup on his plate, though the person he really wanted to talk to was that Reynolds guy. "Spaceship" was the last word he remembered clearly before waking up in his bed, and dammit if he wasn't going to keep it stuck like glue in his mind.

He found a table where he could watch people come into the cafeteria and grabbed for his mug. The steam rising from his drink and the bag of herbs in it was nearly enough to make him grin despite it all, and it was with marked leisure and a little relief that he drank his goddamn tea.

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Hmmm. Well, that had been unexpected. He must really have been out of it. She'd seen similar things happen to patients of the Fourth Division when they needed particularly strong magic to be healed. How odd.

She returned to her seat and took a few more bites of food before his silence got the better of her. She poked the top of her head idly with one finger. "Na, Renji," She began in between bites. "Who gave you the bruises to match your tattoos?" She imagined they'd be turning a lovely shade of black in a couple of hours.

"No, this isn't the other side of the Gate." Lust folded her hands on the table and pursed her lips. "We don't know where this is, I'm afraid. Or how we came to be here, or why." She kept her voice gentle, or as gentle as she could manage with pain all through her body.

"This place styles itself as a hospital for diseases of the mind. They try and tell us that we're all mad, delusional. They take us from different worlds and from different times. And they... well, it seems almost as though sometimes they return people, only to bring them back from another time. During the day, this place is how you see it now. A hospital, tightly run. But at night it grows dangerous."

She was used to telling others about this place. "There are creatures at night, far worse than any chimera. And the doctors... well, they certainly don't have our best interests at heart, let's simply put it that way for now."

"No. I just woke up here...I was in bed last night and then I was here this morning. But some friends told me about what happens...is it really as bad as people say? Monsters and everything?"

Honey was trying not to worry too much. He'd deal with it, whatever came, and as long as he had friends nearby, it would be all right, he thought. Thinking otherwise...well. It wasn't his nature to be negative about anything, and Honey didn't want to start now.

Well, that was logical enough, but Kadaj gave a him a grin that seemed to imply he wasn't entirely convinced anyway. It was just more fun that way. After a moment, though, he nodded, "accepting" the answer. Who said he couldn't try annoying his siblings?

He dropped it the second Yazoo brought up that, though, the expression fading into a far more serious one as he considered whether he should deliver the good news or the bad news first. Given the question, it would make more sense to give the good first, but since he himself despised being lied to or misled in any way... would it really be fair?

Thinking that way wasn't helping at all. Turning his attention back to his burritos, he picked at one with his fork for a moment before beginning to mash it into his plate. "One of the other patients here has the ability to read people's fortunes from cards, and he said Mother was coming." He looked up from his food to glance around the room, searching for Luxord. He managed to catch the tail end of not one but two fights, and after smirking for a moment at the unfortunate soul that had been sedated (red hair, tattoos... ah, that had to be him), he said, "He's not here yet, but I said we'd help him later if he needs it. He deserves it, don't you think?"

"It really depends on how many people are with you and what you actually come across at night." Axel only really had one encounter during his time here in Landel's, and in the end he was knocked out by a giant scorpion before waking up in his bed. But his earlier conversation with Larxene was also something worth mentioning.

"But that isn't the only thing you have to worry about. On some nights they take up a few of the patients here and sit them through these 'torture sessions'. I myself haven't had it done to me yet, but I know someone who's endured it." But the Nobody wouldn't go about saying that he didn't want it done on him. Truth be told that he was actually curious about it, and if it brought him one step closer to understanding this Institute then pain was a small sacrifice he'd gladly pay.

"So I suggest you make allies with whoever you can."

It was good to see that Tachibana wasn't too offended by the way he'd repeated his name. Alex was just glad that his name was really easy to say. Of course, it was actually Alexis, to be technical about it, but he never introduced himself that way. And if the few people who knew his full name ever called him by it, they usually ended up regretting it.

"Martin Landel," he remarked, finding that name much easier to say. It didn't even sound evil. "A barrier?" There was definitely that sort of thing in his world - particularly strong mages could make sure they no one could even get close to them - so he wasn't too surprised by the news. "There are spells to break that," he muttered to himself. Not that he knew any. When it came to magic, he was pretty useless. What he needed was a nice, hefty sword.

"Oh yeah, the visitors." He sighed. It wasn't like he had any family, but he was pretty sure that some of the other patients did, and he doubted the visits were going to end well. "Expecting anyone?" he asked.

And this... this was why Adelheid didn't like being in large groups. Such a tremendous influx of information all at once was hard for a sedative-muddled mind to process. Granted, a lot of it was the same thing- that it wasn't his fault, that it was the best he could do...

...so many stale platitudes that would have made Adelheid sick if he wasn't already feeling queasy with sedation. Only two of them truly mattered to him; those of Fox, and those of Edward. The former had given a detailed answer, and if Adelheid could stop the world from spinning, he would have been pleased to answer the points that had been raised. And Edward? Edward had eased the guilt filling Adelheid's mind. If they were a team, then even giving an opening would have done a great deal, right? It was enough to at least make Adelheid glance at both men who were apparently willing to wage war over him.

It was strange, this sort of situation, but Adel hoped he knew how to handle it. He'd dealt with arms dealers, after all; smoothing ruffled feathers was a specialty. Now, if only he could force it through the sedatives. "Mr. Wright, Suou-san, I'm honored that both of you are willing to do such things on my behalf, but there's no need to raise your voices." He forced a smile on his face; while he would have liked to be alone, it wasn't about what he wanted. "Though I had rather hoped that one of you would have asked before assuming what I did or did not want."

After that chiding tone, and after subjecting both men to a blurred and lesser version of the Bernstein Gaze, he motioned to both of them. It had been... almost sweet. Especially that protective look on Nick's face, and that regal poise that he'd seen for the first time from Tamaki. "Nick, I was injected with sedatives in the Chapel, but... for Mr. Edgeworth and myself, we knew what'd happen. I regret only that I did nothing useful in my attempt... not that I was sedated. And I think Mr.... Edgeworth, was the same way." Gah, it sounded more eloquent in his head, without his slurred tongue keeping him from saying it the way he wanted.

So, instead, he did the next-best thing. He rested his hand on Phoenix's shoulder, squeezing slightly. Normally that would have been agonizing, but with the sedatives, all pain was numbed and scattered. So he could do this, offered that slight reassurance, and at the same time encourage Nick to calm down and sit.

As for Tamaki? Adel then turned his attention to the other boy, a faint smile on his face. "And, ah... could you get some juice for me, Tamaki? Didn't have time for it, with everything else." Food was out of the question, but he'd at least like to have something to keep his attention off of the numbness. And that was why he could offer a faint smile, trying to joke and show he was fine for company. "No need to play Host to me... not quite yet."

What a mess.

Tea. They had tea now. While under normal circumstances, the Gambler would have been rather picky about the type of tea, or the lack of alcohol in it, but in this abomination… Tea was tea. It was goddamn tea, and he'd not complain, none the less sprinkle his paranoia of laced drugs onto the drink (which was odd, as he continued to refuse the other foods, much to Nursey's distain.)

The was a soft clinking sound as he placed the mug down onto the table, followed by the rustling of sugar packets and cup of milk. They hadn't any honey, but it was close enough, he supposed. The meek looking girl sitting at the table had not gone unnoticed either, and in the mood he supposed he was in now (after getting tea, bothering the Keybrat and his friends, and simply lying to people in general, he thought he should be positively glowly), he really had no excuse to be rude to her.

So, he gave her a smile and gestured to the seat near her. "Hello there, Miss. You wouldn't be too upset if I sat here, no?" It seemed II and the Keyblade Master were not yet speaking of anything of importance. He'd just chatter here, for now.

"None of us are from here."

Dias, being as socially stunted as he was, didn't much care if he was interrupting. ~~He cared when it was Lust and Scar, but only because they were his friends and talked about exceedingly uncomfortable things to overhear.~~ He wouldn't have cared even if River hadn't looked distressed, even if he hadn't felt compelled to check on her after her outburst at the damned head doctor and now when she still seemed upset.

Anyway, the freedom to sit where he wanted was one of the few granted to him by the institute and he intended to make use of it.

He sat down beside River, setting down a ~~distinctly overloaded~~ tray before moving his one good hand to rest over one of River's, gently trying to pry it off the table. There was no particular reason for his doing so; it was as instinctual as blinking.

"None of us belong here," he said in the direction of the other man, whoever he was, even as he tried to get River's hands to relax their death grip. He might not feel guilty about interrupting but answering the man's questions would make guilt a complete non-issue. "Everyone here has been dragged from their own world and imprisoned in this place. During the day they pretend it's an asylum and that we're locked away for our own good, but at night you see something more like the truth."

The Nobody was used to having people gravitate to her for their own little reasons. But for every stranger that approached her, Larxene would make them regret their decision or ignore the person altogether. However, after having done so a couple of times already, she was growing bored of the same routine...

Whether she liked it or not, a reasonable portion of the Institute’s patients were either the curious type or those that actually wanted to forge new friendships during their stay.

Although she cared little for friends, Larxene recognized that they might actually be interesting enough to converse with, especially if they held any information that could be useful for her and the Organization.

And if not, well, she could certainly find amusement in pretending to be their friend.

“Oh, good morning.” She smiled back to the unfamiliar person; a man with brown hair. “Who are you?”

How hard could it be to fool others? If Axel and Zexion could do it, so could she.

Kenren couldn't let go of Goku now. There was too much for him to say and who knew if he'd go missing again? So he stayed close as they were herded towards the cafeteria, one hand against Goku's shoulder like they had so many times before, starting with their first meeting. The memory brought a small smile to his face. The expression on the bureaucrat's faces when he'd said Goku was his son had been priceless.

He blinked in surprise when Goku told him he was hungry and could only watch as Goku piled his plate high with more food than he could imagine anyone managing. He took a bowl of ramen for himself and some pancakes and syrup. He hesitated over the burgers; he wasn't supposed to eat meat after all, although he doubted it mattered when he was already dead, but decided not to tempt fate more than he had to.

He settled himself next to Goku and took a few forkfuls of the ramen while surveying the guy who was with Sanzo.

A frown crossed Kenren's face. He seemed kind of familiar, like Kenren had seen him before. He doubted it was too important here, but he kept an eye on the man, even when he turned his attention back to Goku.

"So..." he began, almost warily.

The boy shrugged a bit at that question, as he still wasn't sure what all he was supposed to be missing. "It doesn't feel like anything's missing. I just thought that I had to have fallen asleep right before dinner or something; but no, I don't feel like I'm forgetting 'crazy demon girls' or anything like that."

Still, this was quite the problem. A few different people were telling him the same story, which meant either collaboration or the truth. After a moment, he softly asked, "How... did it look, with me and Mr. Hughes and Colonel Mustang? Did it look like they were upset with me, or anything like that?"

This whole thing was worrying. It really is like a horror manga. I want to go home.

Mitsukuni looked up, a concerned, serious look on his face. "Axel-san. Do you know anything about why we're all here? I...I'm scared."

He hadn't wanted to say that in front of the others. It would only have worried them, and they seemed to have enough to worry about. Somehow, even though he didn't know the - what had he called himself? It didn't seem right to call him a Nobody, when he was clearly a person, right there...but if that was the right word, as much as he didn't like it - very well, he'd opened up a whole lot. It was easier to say you were scared in front of someone you didn't feel like you needed to protect.

Not...the other side of the Gate? "Then I..." Brother--what happened to Brother? Alphonse tried to keep smiling as his heart skipped five beats and his stomach did a somersault.

--"Different worlds?" And creatures. And. Al frowned, biting his lip. His eyes watched the table surface beneath his hand. He couldn't ask it. He couldn't ask it. About Brother. His chest hurt from the wild thrashing of his heart; his stomach was a big butterfly's nest. He found the next best thing. "They...return people and bring them back again? Does that mean..." A pause. Ah. "Was there another me here, before?"

"Ugh...I knew I should've gotten here earlier." Looking perfectly disgusted with Renji's new look, the haute couture of black and blue, Ichigo strolled up to the Shinigami seating with a tray filled to the edges with food locked in his hands. Softly, he set his meal down and seated himself, but immediately stared down at his plate as if his conscience was wounded.

Ichigo had only just arrived after the fight had ended, and Renji was under the nurse's thumb. Out of sight, he had stared staggers at Gin, projecting nothing but a frigid attitude at those creased eyes and slitted smile, but he lacked the same justified rage as his tattooed colleague.

Instead, he went about his own business, gathering his food, then followed poor Renji to where he had been deposited. "Why'd you have to do that, Renji?" he asked, knowing full well, though, that he wouldn't get a real response. That wouldn't stop his stern glare, which he used to bombard the drugged vice-captain between bites. "...all you had to do was wait until tonight, where the nurses wouldn't interfere. Maybe you'll come down soon."

Yazoo shot Kadaj a playful glare as if daring his brother to question his bravery when it came to trying new foods. As if to prove a point, he reached over and plucked a piece of chicken off of Kadaj’s tray, popping it into his mouth with a grin.

That instantly became a mistake though, as the news that Mother was coming to Landel’s caused him to choke on his food. He washed the bite down with a drink and stared at Kadaj as if his brother had suddenly sprouted an extra head. “What?!” The fights didn’t go unnoticed by him, but the announcement concerning Mother had his complete attention. It now made sense why Luxord had been holding those playing cards.

Appetite leaving him for now, Yazoo pushed his tray of half eaten food away from him to be finished later if there was time before the next shift. He leaned forward to rest his arms on the table and raised his shoulders in a slight shrug to Kadaj’s last statement, saying in answer, “I guess so, although I can’t say I entirely trust him.” He was going to leave it at that, but his curiosity finally got the better of him, and as an afterthought he asked, “Does he know when Mother’s going to be here?”

"They aren't my friends." It was an automatic response. Friends implied a deeper connection, and Sanzo generally just thought of them as a group that he could trust a little more than the common stranger not to stab him in the back. "And fucking stop calling me that."

Sanzo glanced away, as Goku settled down next to him, followed by Kenren, who he could probably do without. It was weird: the monkey usually would be diving right into the food, sometimes without any regard for manners. Right now, the absence of that one quirk was enough to make him wish for the pigsty eating style rather than that confused smile that just spelled out uneasiness.

"If you're just going to stare at it, don't bother picking it up: you're just wasting food."

Even though his time in the Sun Room was completely uneventful, Roxas was feeling much more well-rested than before, and was more than ready for some food. Not entirely sure what to eat, he took small portions of various entrees. It was a lot more than he normally ate, but since this would be his only meal until dinner, that wasn't too much of a problem, as long as he didn't move around too much directly afterward.

By the time he broke away from the buffet table there were a lot of people in the cafeteria, so he scanned the area for some familiar faces. There actually weren't very many, and in a place like Landel's that wasn't necessarily a good thing. Maybe Roxas would have to make an effort to be a little more social. He did see Axel though, and they hadn't talked in a while. So, tray in hand, he made his way over.

The first thing that Roxas noticed as he made his was over was the blonde boy that Axel was talking to. Just how old was he? The second was the large pile of cake. Was he going to eat all of that? He didn't ask about any of it though, instead just taking a seat unobtrusively. It looked like whatever they were talking about was serious, and he didn't really want to interrupt.

The lady seemed nice enough. This would work, then. All Mal wanted was for Inara to catch sight of him having a nice conversation with this girl and then his childish little act would be over with. Though, in the meantime, might as well see what the blond had to say.

Compared to his one bandaged foot, she was definitely in a worse state than he was. The crutches made it obvious enough (he never resorted to that sort of thing if he could help it), but he was wondering why she needed them. There was no obvious bandaging anywhere...

"Captain Malcolm Reynolds," he said by way of introduction, extending his hand to her. "You? And... what happened?" he asked, gesturing to the crutches she'd set down with the hand he wasn't waiting to have shaken.

Homura nodded even as Sanzo said the words; of course they weren't his friends. They never had been. They had merely been bound by fate, and yet the four worked so well together, each strengthening the others, so that combined they were brilliant. It had been that way on both Heaven and Earth, and Homura would be happy enough to see it remain unchanged.

The arrival of Goku and Kenren sparked new interest in Homura, and new confusion: Goku and Sanzo were as they had been when Homura died, 500 years after their fall from Heaven. Kenren, however, was as he had been in that time past, instead of his contemporary incarnation.

Interesting indeed.

"Son Goku, and Kenren Taisho." Homura nodded to both as a greeting. "A pleasure to see you both again."

"Dozens of different worlds," Lust said, with a small nod. It was a lot to take in, she knew that. She hadn't believed it at first. But she hadn't known as much of the Gate then, hadn't known about other worlds.

"Some like ours, some so foreign as to seem unbelievable. Some may even be from the world beyond the Gate - Edward has told me little about it, but enough for me to recognize the names of countries at the very least." She took a small bite of food, wincing as she swallowed.

But she had to answer another difficult question. She'd tell him whatever he wanted to know, however. No matter how difficult the questions were.

"Yes, Alphonse. This is... the third time I've greeted you here. What's the last thing that you remember before waking up in this place?"

Miku looked up from rolling a strawberry across the plate, surprised. The man before her looked ~~kind of, sort of, in a way, not really~~ less non-threatening than some of the wildly spiky haired people she'd seen.

Say something, Miku, Rei would make fun of you if you were all tongue-tied! she told herself and met his eyes for a split second before looking back down at her half-poked to death meal.

"Um, yes, you may." Miku replied softly. "I don't mind at all."

Watching the blond's face drown in worry Axel was once again stuck under the assumption that a child was here in Landel's. Maybe it was because the Nobody had been around his Heart for a while, but the redhead sought it fit to place his hand on the latter's shoulder in a reassuring manner.

"I don't know much, but you can stick by me whenever you want to when Night does come. Back in my world I used to be a real fighting machine, you see." It was something Axel had missed, even with a Nobody's emotions. He didn't enjoy the thought of being so powerless in this cramped space.

"This Institute weakened a lot of what I can do, but I'll do my best to watch out for you."

Once again these words left a strange taste in his mouth, though it wasn't unpleasant. It was just an entirely new experience to strive to protect another, and it felt a lot like what he felt for Roxas. It was... nice.

… And speaking of Roxas.

“Hey stranger, it’s been a while.” And just like that the redhead lit up like a light bulb. It really had been a while since he’d seen his ~~only~~ friend, and the last time really didn’t count because his stomach was doing back flips.

The theft of his food was enough to put the tiniest of pouts on face, but that quickly dissolved into laughter when Yazoo began choking on it. So what if that was cruel? It was funny! The laughter soon ended, though, both because of the gravity of the situation and because, well, it was his brother. Kadaj wasn't a complete sociopath.

Stealing one of Yazoo's sausages in retaliation (not that it mattered, seeing as how the other silver-haired man didn't seem very interested in it anymore-- it was the principle of the thing), he waved it around in a mock victory pose (it all came back to him, didn't it?) and said, "He said she'd be here the fourth shift. I believe him, though-- the fact that we're going to be having visitors later strengthens his claim, wouldn't you say?

"Besides," Kadaj added, finally eating the food still speared on his fork, "he looked genuinely surprised to when he saw what cards came up. He even gave me one. I don't think he'd do that if he was lying-- he seemed pretty attached to them, you know." The next time he saw the man, he was going to have to ask about what powers he had back on his world. It would be interesting to find out, not to mention useful in case he was ever caught for special counseling.

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Page 8 of 28

Day 22: Brunch

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