damned_institute | Day 43: Chapel

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Day 43: Chapel

And just like that, the disorienting feeling of blacking out just to wake up in an unfamiliar bed came again. Alkaid had wondered if it would - everything about last night had been different, all the way from the zombies to the eerie emptiness of the Institute to the strange broadcast at the end of the night. Had the Head Doctor been shot? Damn, someone had gotten to it before her. And who was the voice at the end there? It was like she'd been allowed access to some kind of strange mystery that she could not understand, one that had been going on for a long time before she had arrived and would be going on for quite a while in the future, after she was gone. Had these strange sets of circumstances been bugs in this place's programming? Who could say?

The morning's intercom greeting was strange, as well. Federal training whatsit? It didn't seem like this happened very often, from the sound of it, but so much had happened since the last day she remembered that the former Demon Palace Emperor was ready to take pretty much anything at face value.

The room she woke up in was still empty. Wondering where to stick the half-cracked bat that she'd picked up last night, she shoved it under the mattress hastily when she heard footsteps in the hall.

The stupid nurse was the same as ever, though. Some things never changed. "Ahh, good morning, Eileen. It's so nice to see you awake."

Alkaid rolled her eyes at the nurse's chuckle, and shook her head. She didn't care that the NPC thought it was nice, she just wanted to see the rest of the institute already.. see what had changed! "Yeah, it's fantastic. Whatever! Just take me where I'm going and be done with it!"

It was just then that she realized that she was not wanting to devour the flesh of the nurse in front of her. And that the pain on her arm had kind of abated - she couldn't see through the thick bandages they had covered her arm with, but she wondered if her skin was still rotting off like a zombie. Had they somehow cured her infection overnight? Or was the nurse not human, like Alkaid had always thought?

There was only one thing for it: she had to go somewhere else.

"Chapel, sun room, or cafeteria, then?"

"Does it look like I care?"

The nurse sighed, then started walking Alkaid down the hall, up the stairs, and down another hall to the chapel. No one here yet, huh? That was weird. She couldn't imagine that no one else'd show up, but who could say? This place had been turned on its ass.

The chapel was empty so far, and kind of nondescript. She shooed the nurse away, and stood in the middle of the space between the pews, standing akimbo. What would happen today? What would she learn about herself... her situation? How long had she been sleeping? Was she really still going freaking undead, or had that been somehow taken care of?

All this would come to light really soon. She hoped. Geez, too many mysteries!!

[unwittingly awaiting Haseo]

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One minute he was in the car thing beside Will, the next he was laying in bed again with no transition at all. Nataku sat up slowly, his whole body protesting with little injures he hadn't even noticed the night before. It looked like they hadn't made it out of town after all, but he wasn't as disappointed (or surprised) as he ought to be by that. Given the time to think it over, he wasn't sure what he would have done if he'd woken up outside somewhere anyway. Even with Will, he would have spent a great deal of time wondering about Kenren and Homura and the others. It would have been impossible not to come back for them.

Speaking of which, Ritsuka was nowhere to be seen, but his bed was obviously slept-in so Nataku wasn't overly worried.

As he moved to get out of bed, he found the machete still beside him. No longer streaked with gore, it was a pleasant surprise. It was unfamiliar and small and not at all graceful, but a comfort to have something that felt like a weapon in his hand. He tucked it beneath the mattress just before the nurse came in for him.

After leaving a quick note on the bulletin, he asked to see the chapel out of curiosity. He'd never been inside one before, and he didn't know where any of his friends would be anyway.

It was more boring than he expected, just rows of benches and a different backdrop from the sunroom. He wondered over to one of he windows, vaguely intrigued by the multicoloured glass and swatches of red-orange-green-blue light. What was this place for, anyway? Was it just a place to sit around and talk like everywhere else? Nataku sighed. He would have taken more of last night over another long day of sitting around doing nothing inside.

He pressed his hand against the glass, scowling to himself. On the other hand, if they'd escaped, at least he wouldn't be here, weakened and caged. He'd thought it wouldn't make much of a difference to him with no one to use his strength, but not having it when he needed it...that was another matter. The window remained unbroken beneath his palm.

[Closed to bird boy~]

Edited 2009-08-10 05:13 (UTC)

Jason jerked awake again, immediately throwing himself out of the bed and to his feet, looking for any sign of danger.

What. The. Fuck? He'd thought for sure that they were almost in the clear. How the hell was he back here again?

"Fuck!" He spun around, kicking the dresser and slamming it back into the wall in a fit of rage. More furniture would've been drawn into the assault if it hadn't been for the intercom coming on to deliver it's message, the change from the usual routine making him stop and listen. That was something new. It suggested that something wasn't going as planned here. Didn't make him any less angry - at this place for managing to round them all up again no matter how much they were spread out and at himself for being stupid enough to think they could get away that easily. He knew nothing was ever that easy but he'd still believed.

Fine, he could deal with this. Just think of it as another fucking lesson. Not like he had any other choice. His mood did improve slightly when he saw the machete laying on the floor by the bed. Yeah, the fact that they wanted him to be better armed was a bad sign but he'd needed a weapon and now he had one.

About then the nurse came to collect him, same as always, acting like there was nothing different about this morning and like they hadn't still been in the town last night. Following her out of the room, Jason turned down the offer of 'brunch', really not in the mood for food just yet. Last thing he remembered he'd been surrounded by the living dead - it didn't matter if that's what he was too, at least he wasn't rotting anymore - and eating was the last thing on his mind. He didn't feel like sitting around the sun room either. He should talk to the other inmates about what had happened last night and this morning and try to get some leads but he wasn't in the mood for that crap. And he sure as hell didn't want to look for Alfred (or Bruce) to make sure they- he was OK. So Jason went to the chapel. No one he knew would be there.

Except someone was, but it was someone he didn't mind seeing again so it wasn't a bad thing. Wandering over to Nataku, he slumped back against the wall. "Generally they don't break just by looking at 'em, no matter how much you glare."

Nataku looked up as he was approached. The scowl disappeared instantly once he recognised the man, replaced with mingled relief and happiness. The window went completely ignored so he could take a couple of steps closer to meet him. "Will! I'm glad you're ok."

He looked ok anyway, and Nataku didn't remember seeing any major injuries on him the night before. That was one person he didn't have to worry about at least. He glanced at the window and shook his head. "I just wanted to go outside. I don't like being stuck in here all day." The frown returned. "I thought this would be different from the sun room. How many rooms do people need just for sitting around?"

Jesus, when was the last time anyone had looked happy to see him? In a way that wasn't because they were thinking of how they could use him? Shoving that thought back down where it belonged, Jason grinned, reaching out to scruffle Nataku's hair teasingly as he replied, "Yeah, I'm fine. Good to see you didn't get eaten when I wasn't watching."

Snickering the question, he looked around at the other occupants of the chapel. There were only a few people he could see actually praying, though why anyone would bother at all was beyond him. "It's a church, you're supposed to sit around and pray or something. Pretend you feel bad for fucking around behind your partner's back or killing people so's you can feel good about yourself when you go and do it again." Or that was how it had always sounded to him. It wasn't like people who went to churches seeking forgiveness for their sins stopped doing whatever it was.

"By those things? Yeah right." He even sounded mildly offended at the notion, but that could easily just be indignity at having his hair ruffled again... not that he made even the slightest effort to escape. This was getting to be a habit and he wasn't even wearing that sweater.

Will's explanation just made this place even more confusing. "Why do they need a special room for that? Oh, like a temple, I guess. But if they're going to do it again, then why bother pretending to feel bad? It doesn't make things better when you have to kill again." As he understood it, prayer was something people did for themselves, to draw on their own strength. He looked up at Will, still frowning in confusion. "Are you here to pray too? It sounds pointless."

"Because it lets them tell themselves they're not bad people no matter what they do."

His lip curled at the thought of praying for anything - forgiveness, help, comfort - whatever the reason it just seemed stupid to expect some guy that supposedly watched over you to decide to make it all better for you. Especially when that same guy was supposed to watch all the kids who were beaten or murdered or used up and spat out by the greedy bastards who had the power.

"No, I'm not. I never believed in that sort of thing." He cocked his head, studying Nataku thoughtfully. He was a strange kid. Kenren had claimed they were from heaven which didn't seem to fit with how casual the kid was about killing. And how he didn't know basic stuff like what a car was. "What would you know about having to kill?" he asked, tone deliberately casual.

"If they're talking to the gods, I can understand where they got that impression." He replied, almost cold, but he didn't truly care what people like that occupied themselves with. He flashed Will a slight smile of approval. "I thought you were smarter than that anyway."

The question wasn't overly surprising. Nataku didn't even hesitate. He blinked up at Will, answering in the same casual tone, "I'm the Toushin Taishi."

Normally that would have explained everything, but this wasn't the heavens and it was clear that the answer needed a little more explanation. "I kill for the gods because they're unwilling to dirty their own hands. It's the point of my existence in the heavens."

Jason blinked down at Nataku, waiting for some indication that the kid was joking. It was hard to say which part was the hardest to believe - that he worked for gods, came from heaven or that he was an assassin. He'd seen a lot of unbelievable things, and done even more, but this was pushing the limits.

"You're telling me you're a hired killer for a bunch of real live gods?" he asked incredulously. Sure, Wonder Woman was supposed to have something to do with a bunch of old gods but he didn't buy that they were real, honest to, well, god gods. The same could be true for Nataku's gods but the kid sure seemed to believe it.

Edited 2009-08-13 02:49 (UTC)

It would be difficult to kill for a bunch of dead gods, but he was pretty sure that wasn't what Will was implying. He didn't know why the notion of gods should be surprising at all, unless there were gods in Will's world who hid their actions more thoroughly.

"An appointed killer, but close enough." He replied evenly, though not without a hint of bitterness. "The gods aren't that amazing to behold. They just think they are and people get stupid ideas."

The kid had demonstrated he could fight, possibly even better than Jason ever had as Robin and had the same calm attitude while dismembering the living dead that most professional killers did. If it weren't for his mention of heaven and gods, Jason wouldn't have had much trouble believing the story. He knew that Nataku's age was no barrier to bastards trying to use him like that - fuck he knew members of the 'family' with similar stories. And the way he'd spoken about these so-called gods made it sound like they were just another bunch of power-hungry assholes willing to make a kid do their dirty work.

"Yeah, I can buy that. Never got why people got so hung up on god anyway." Jason paced a few steps back and forth, too restless and agitated to stay still. Nataku seemed almost resigned to his position, which made him think he'd been doing it a while. And considering his age, there were only so many ways he could've gotten to this point. "How'd you get the position? It's not the sort of thing you volunteer for."

He stood with his arms at his sides, eyes tracking Will as he paced back and forth. He still reminded Nataku a lot of Kenren, one of the few people who never failed to get angry on his behalf. He hoped he wouldn't have to punch Will too. It wouldn't do him any good getting all worked up again after last night.

Still, it was clear that he wasn't going to lose interest, so Nataku stayed where he was, fingers curling slightly at his sides, but otherwise still. "You understand what gods are, basically? They're forbidden to sin, to kill or so much as eat another living creature because its corruption.

"But I'm only part god. Heresy, because my blood is tainted. I was born from the sin of a god who chose to mix his blood with that of youkai. Demons," He clarified. "Among other things."

Though his tone remained neutral, his hands were closed into fists at his sides, his shoulders set with tension as if he expected Will to change his mind and dash off or accuse him at any moment. He had no intention of hiding what he was, but he wasn't eager to explain unless he was asked, and so Will was the first person outside of Homura and Kenren who he'd mentioned anything to at all.

"When the gods needed a War Prince to kill where they couldn't subdue, I was presented. I was allowed to exist so long as I remained obedient. I was created by my father like the failed Natakus before me specifically for that purpose."

Edited 2009-08-13 23:00 (UTC)

Scowling intensely, Jason wheeled around and strode up to Nataku, staring at him intently as he declared "That's the biggest load of bullshit I've ever heard."

Just the thought of some bastards spouting those kinds of lies, about being unable to kill or eat meat because they'd be 'corrupted' while sending some kid out to do what they didn't have the balls to do themselves had his fingers itching for a gun, or better yet, his dagger so he could teach them a lesson. And that wasn't even touching on what he'd do to some dickless asshole who'd tell his own son that he only existed to be used, that he was 'allowed' to exist. Even Sheila Haywood hadn't tried to act like what she was doing was right.

"You better not be telling me you buy into that load of crap. Sending someone else out because you're too scared to get your hands dirty is worse than killing or fucking eating meat. All the bastards who'd send you out to kill for them are already plenty corrupted, no matter what they say."

Nataku stared, too taken aback to worry about the intensity of Will's gauze. He didn't know the man well enough to interpret the fury on his face one way or another, but it turned out his initial assumption was right. Will was much like Kenren, at least in this respect, and that was plenty enough for him.

He shook his head slowly. "I know it's not right," He replied firmly. "And I know it's not fair. It's just the way heaven works."

He broke eye contact abruptly, his gaze skipping over Homura in a different corner of the room, engaged in conversation with a woman Nataku didn't recognise. It was oddly appropriate to find him here, in a strange temple, while they spoke about heaven.

He turned back to the man in front of him. "You're a warrior, Will. What do you do back home?"

Fuck he hated that excuse. 'It's just the way things are' was a cheap way to justify letting people keep doing whatever they wanted because it was too hard to make them change. It fell in the same category as 'if I cross that line there's no going back' and all the rest of that bullshit used to excuse cowardice. Not that he blamed the kid for that. Nataku was too young to be worrying about changing the kind of shit that went down deep in almost every place Jason had been.

He was jerked out of his seething thoughts by Nataku's next words. "A- I wouldn't say that," he replied stuck between confusion and amusement. A warrior? It sounded so old-fashioned but then the kid said he was some sort of War Prince so it fit with whatever this heaven place must be like.

Shaking his head he paced back a few steps, needing to move again. "I'm a vigilante. I keep my city safe from criminals and other bastards like that." He wasn't ready to drop the subject of what Nataku did back home but he'd let the kid change the topic for now. They didn't know each other that well and he didn't want to push too hard in case he drove him away.

"Is that why you could do that cool flip thing in the tree? I thought you might be a performer at first, but last night you fought pretty well too." While Will went back to pacing he took the opportunity to lever himself up onto the window sill and lean forward, gripping the edge lightly for balance. His feet swung back and forth beneath him in easy rhythm.

"You keep the whole city safe by yourself? You must really love it to work that hard. What's it like?"

"What you mean this sort of thing?" Grinning, Jason flips himself backwards to land on one hand, balancing like that for a moment before springing back to his feet. The movement wakes up a chorus of minor aches from the past few nights but it's a familiar feeling and one he missed.

"Not exactly - there's others around who do the same thing but I work alone." Funny how that sentence is true and yet so completely wrong in so many ways. It's easier to talk about his city instead. There's no need to hide anything there.

"Gotham's like nowhere else in the world. Fucking beautiful, messed up city. If you don't know your way around you'll be dead before you know it. But there's nothing you can't do there." He shrugs self-consciously. It's stupid and sentimental to talk like that but Gotham has always been his favourite place in the world, no matter how twisted and rotten she may be.

Nataku laughed, delighted. "You have to show me how to do that. It's not fair just showing off."

It was almost hard to believe Will wasn't a performer. He certainly liked the attention.

"Why do you work alone?" He didn't try to guess. He could sort of understand. Homura did the same thing as him, but they were both accustomed to working alone and even here they wouldn't necessarily make a good team on the battlefield. Homura had even used that weak point against him on the night they fought. Still, he certainly wasn't opposed to the other demi-god's companionship. He had to wonder why Will chose to work alone.

He smiled, a little wistfully. "Nothing, huh? I don't like cities much, but it must be good to love a place like that."

"When they actually let us outside again it's a deal," Jason replied, surprised to realise he meant it. Teaching Nataku a few tricks would be fun. Till then showing off was fun all on it's own.

"I prefer it that way. Partners are more trouble than they're worth." It's all he wants to say on the subject, anything else is too complicated to explain.

"You can't prefer the sticks over a city?" Jason's expression is one of mingled horror and disgust at the mention of the countryside. He may have travelled to some pretty remote locations to further his training but he'll take any city over being stuck in the middle of fucking nowhere. Shaking his head again, he says "If we ever get the chance I'll take you there and show you around." Few people knew Gotham like he and Bruce did and Jason liked to think he had a better knowledge of the city than even Batman. He stayed with her no matter what and didn't go off and spend his days in a cushy manor or on the other side of the globe.

"Awesome." Nataku was quite clearly pleased with this, eyes widening a little with excitement.

He frowned a little, thinking someone so interesting must lead a lonely life. "What about friends?" Of course it was something to worry about, because if Will didn't make friends then they couldn't be friends. And he liked Will.

"I've never been to a city that's like that. If I can, I'll come with you." He still felt the need to defend his own territory. The forest wasn't a bunch of sticks. If anything, it was a lot better than a bunch of giant buildings with endless corridors and people who only thought about themselves, wasting their long lives trying to claw their way above eachother - or not doing anything at all. But Will's city probably wasn't like that, so instead he said, "Back home, even if I mess with those lazy guys sometimes, it's not the same as being out in the forest. 'There's nothing you can't do there.' That's enough of a reason to like it, right?"

"I don't have the sort of life where you get the chance to make friends. Most of the time when I'm meeting people it's not a social call." His tone remained carefully neutral and he avoided looking at Nataku as he spoke. He wasn't interested in pity or anything like that and he wasn't even sure why it matters whether or not he has friends.

"Yeah, it's a good reason. I never spent much time out of the city unless I had to, but maybe you can show me 'round your place sometime." He doesn't think he'll ever like the country, he's always been a city kid. A forest might be OK for ambushing people in but it can't possibly be the same as Gotham with her endless rooftops, derelict buildings, subway systems and so many other places you can disappear right out from under someone's nose.

But he likes Nataku's company and it's not going to matter until they get out of here. Whenever that happens he'd be willing to see the kid's home and to see what can be done to fix it. From what he's heard so far the place is badly in need of Red Hood's kind of clean-up. After that, who knew. There might be time for fun.

Edited 2009-08-16 10:00 (UTC)

"Same here. I had Goku but... Hey, we can be friends, right?" There was some nervous anticipation in the question, but Nataku understood not leading the type of life that precluded many friends. If anything, the news was received with quiet empathy.

He nodded, smiling at the thought of dragging Will around the forest. If he thought it was boring, they could always go swimming or play games or...anything. The particulars of getting a human into heaven - and avoiding detection long enough to have fun - didn't really enter the equation.

Jason blinked, looking back up at Nataku in surprise. It wasn't what he'd been expecting to hear but- "Yeah, I'd like that."

He hesitated before adding, "In that case, my real name's Jason. Jason Todd. I'd rather you didn't use it on the bulletin board or anywhere like that though."

Nataku grinned. "Jason." He parroted, committing it to memory.

"I won't use it on the bulletin or anything," He agreed, pausing a moment. He didn't look at the board much anyway, let alone use it. "But why are you hiding your name?"

"There's people here I don't want knowing I'm around." He almost left it at that but from what the kid had said he'd understand and it felt right to explain why he'd lied.

"Some of my 'family' are here. We don't get on any more - if it were up to them they'd leave me locked up in a place like this for the rest of my life." Or in a real insane asylum, though it was hard to say whether this place was worse than Arkham or not - considering the people who were locked up there. "It's easier to avoid them if they don't know I'm here so I haven't been using my name much."

"They'd leave you locked up in here to die?" Nataku's brow furrowed slightly in disapproval though there wasn't a hint of disbelief in his voice. If he hadn't been useful, he would have been locked up in a dark cell and forgotten like Homura, or just never born at all, so what did he have to be surprised about?

If humans were anything like the gods, they needed no reason for that kind of action beyond their own fear and guilt.

"Did you disobey them," He asked quietly. "Or are they just jerks?"

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