Day 22: Brunch

[dawning-dreams.livejournal.com]

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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[high-prosecutor.livejournal.com]

The moment had passed, and Edgeworth realized what had happened internally was nothing more than a moment of overreaction, probably due to the drugs. It was nothing, and he shook it off, visibly relaxing and now trying to at least eat a little something.

"I think we're all worried about the Head Doctor said," he said, agreeing with Adelheid's statement. The drugs seemed to be wearing off a little, or at least settling, and speaking was easier than it had been. "Frankly, while it was good to have a face to put with the voice on the intercom, it was upsetting to many of us to hear the speech. Though I have to admit, I...didn't hear it myself."

He took a long drink of his tea. He wasn't sure if he actually had a visitor coming that afternoon or not, but he worried a little. They had dredged up his father last night intentionally, he was sure of that. Would it be thrown back in his face?

He shoved the thought down. "Do you know ahead of time if you'll have a visitor? I haven't been here long enough to have had one before."

[the-clown-king.livejournal.com]

"It's alright," Tamaki said, smiling brightly. "It hasn't been a very good morning."

He listened to Adelhied talk about what had happened in the chapel.

"What does that mean...?" Tamaki frowned. "That they've taken our family, too? But..." He swallowed hard and sat back, his expression falling. His father... well, his father could handle it. But what about his mother? What if they'd done something to her, just because Tamaki was here? He'd done everything for her, and the thought of her in this place....

"I don't have much family," he said, quietly. "But..." he looked over at Edgeworth and nodded. "Will we be warned? Does everyone get visited? I..."

He trailed off, gripped by an icy fear.

[in-your-defense.livejournal.com]

Visitation. I hadn't even thought about that.

Phoenix didn't know what to think about that idea. It was true, that the Head Doctor had said that many of their family and friends had gone through the "same treatment" as they were going through then. There was something strange about that -- a contradiction, and it was tickling in the back of his head, unformulated. Different universes...different worlds...the thoughts swirled through his head, a mess of information that he knew he needed to get down into his journal. There was something wrong with that, and as hard as Phoenix tried, he couldn't put his finger on it. It was almost like...there were too many things wrong with it.

He had to eat, however. Hunger had held him back a little bit the night before, and he couldn't ignore the fact that he needed the energy. So, mechanically, he lifted the food to his mouth with his fork, chewed, and then swallowed, but didn't think of the flavor.

The thoughts of the visitation diverted Phoenix from the thoughts of what he had done wrong, and the pressure was alleviated slightly. Once he had some silence to himself, however, his headache came back, pounding through his skull, as if there were someone tiny inside his head, playing his brain like a drum.

"There's something wrong with what the Head Doctor said," Phoenix stated the words vaguely, as he rubbed the fingers of his right hand into his temple, attempting to make the throbbing go away, "and I can't figure out what it is right now. But I get the feeling that...visitation isn't going to be normal." But then again, nothing was normal in this place.

[grosse-sklaven.livejournal.com]

It seemed like none of them knew that for certain about the visitation. To be honest, Adelheid was almost hoping that he didn't see anyone; it had been so long since he'd met with anyone from his world- even though it had been less than a week, really- that he wasn't sure if he'd be able to tell the difference. Or, if it was a simulacrum of his sister, if he'd care to notice the difference.

On the positive side, at least his hands were healing nicely. One small benefit to hang on to?

As it was, Tamaki looked like he was about to collapse, and the two lawyers weren't doing so well either. Adelheid wished he was better at cheering people up; soothing anger he could manage, smoothing ruffled feathers was a specialty, but he'd never really had to console others. But... it wasn't like he couldn't try, right?

"I don't believe that visitation will be normal, not considering this place. One person on the bulletin board stated that the individuals involved are likely brainwashed locals who happen to bear a resemblance; I believe that, considering the technology that the Head Doctor has at his disposal..." Like drugs that could effect even the dead, and hulking orderlies, and a shield that absorbed Adelheid's attack like nothing. "...that he could easily create replicas or false versions. It may be difficult, but we must not let ourselves be shaken by these 'visitors'. No matter how close to our true families they might be."

His gaze shifted from one person to the next, one long gaze that made Adelheid sit up straight in his chair and, despite the diminishing sedation and the pain that replaced it, seemed to breathe strength and determination. He couldn't show any doubt, not when all three of the others seemed to be weakening. If need be, he would shoulder all of the burdens himself, for the sake of his friends.

"We'll know when the time comes. Until then, prepare yourselves; at least we know what will be coming." One last gaze at the others, and then Adel focused on Tamaki, a very faint smile on his face. That boy didn't deserve to go through all of this. He was pure; naive, but with a perspective and a soothing presence that Adelheid was sincerely starting to hope wouldn't dim in Landel's. Just seeing the boy's posts on the Board had cemented this impression in Adelheid's mind.

"Tamaki... you asked about my world, and while that is something that would take a long time to retell, I can share this with you. There was an organization of corrupt scientists, called the NESTs Cartel. They perfected a means of cloning, and created what was supposed to be an invincible army of one of the greatest enemies of my family. Facing that nearly destroyed me... but in the end, I realized that they weren't the real thing. In the same way, I believe you'll know if it's your real family there." Adelheid had to take a drink of his juice, throat dry and sore from the unexpected rambling. But he had to get it out, in a perhaps vain attempt to reassure the young man. "No matter how good the copy is, it still can never be the original. Please remember this, and remember also that no matter what you see, this world is not our own. That goes for all of us here."

...Adelheid really wished he could have put it better. No matter how hard he tried, it always seemed to sound false in his own ears.

[high-prosecutor.livejournal.com]

Edgeworth was also hoping that he didn't see anyone. It would be incredibly easy to tell that the "visitors" weren't real in his case, because he didn't really have much of a family, and the one person that was left wouldn't let herself be seen in a place like this, even as a visitor. Of course, they'd made him speak with his father the night before, in a matter of speaking, so who knew, at this point? Especially if they were brainwashing others...

It was crystal clear from the looks on their faces that the others did have actual families, or at least close friends that would have come had they actually been in their own worlds, and somewhere in the mess of slowly clearing thoughts, he realized that he owed them another apology, this time for his earlier harshness.

Tamaki is just a kid...and despite everything he's talking about, and how much older he seems than the other, Adelheid's a kid, too. What's more, Wright's got to be worried about his family, and he's probably worried about Maya Fey, too. She might as well be a sister to him.

When Adel changed the subject, he was almost glad for the distraction. It wasn't easy to get used to the idea of other worlds, but if it took everyone else's mind off the worry, so much the better. Conversations outside of work had never been his forte, and particularly not now with his brain still fogged from the sedatives, but he knew it would be better for all of them if he at least made an effort.

"In my line of work, before I woke up here, I dealt with criminals each day. I can't say I've ever faced one with the type of weapons this one has, but I don't think, based on the bulletin board transcript of the speech, that they took the time to actually bring in family members of ours. I don't know why, but I believe the advice is sound. They aren't the ones we care about, no matter how much we want them to be. I'm just not sure why they would do this at all, other than to keep up an illusion."

He didn't mention the hypothesis Wright had come up with. It was too soon, yet, for that, and if he didn't have a visitor, he'd want to go back to the library to see if there was any information at all there. It had mostly been nonfiction before, but people had been known to write in library books before...

[the-clown-king.livejournal.com]

Panic very nearly gripped Tamaki. Even if it was just a clone, what it... what if he couldn't tell? What if it had been too long? What if he couldn't even remember his own mother the right way anymore? What then? The thought was a very scary one for the sixteen year old. What if they did send him some clone of his mother and he couldn't tell the difference?

He didn't want to think on it.

But he was probably being silly. Of course he'd be able to tell his own mother from a fake version! She was his mother time and distance and unholy deals and all of that weren't going to change that.

Everyone else was right, anyway. Whatever was coming, it wasn't real. It was pretend, nothing else than that.

"You're right," he said, nodding. "You're very right. They're just doing this to confuse us, that's all."

And then, as if on cue, the intercom sounded. Tamaki grinned brightly at this announcement. "Oh! The Courtyard! That's perfect for the Host Club meeting! You're all invited!" He beamed at his three brunch companions and bounded up out of his seat, already distracted and his mind full of a new idea....