damned_institute | Day 43: Courtyard, Third Shift

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Day 43: Courtyard, Third Shift

Once again, Endrance's nurse interfered with his plans. He had been planning to look around the Game Room, but the moment he began to move towards the Sun Room, she had taken him by the arm. "Your family has asked that we make sure you get as much fresh air and sunshine has possible, and you won't get that by staying inside playing video games all day."

He had thought for a moment about protesting, but decided against it. After all, if what had happened to Haseo was punishment for having spoken too strongly the day before, he didn't want to make that worse somehow. So, when given the choice of going out to the recreational field or the courtyard, he chose the latter.

There were a few reasons behind the decision, the most salient being that he wanted to see what the area looked like for a second time - this time without the threat of a brainwashed patient surprising him. The second reason was just as strong as the first, and it had to do with the presence of a second former Demon Palace Emperor. As energetic as she was normally in The World, he couldn't imagine Alkaid not wanting to spend some time outside.

Just as before, he sat down under a tree by the side of the pond, keeping one eye on the door.

[closed to Alkaid]

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Ah, that was right. Freyjadour had a sister. It was likely she was the one who was ruling the country now, with Freyjadour's parents gone. But there was something odd about the way the prince spoke and it took Franziska a bit of time to parse out what exactly. Freyjadour's tone. There was something almost protective in the way he spoke, as if his sister were possibly younger than he was. Franziska only recognized it because... well, she had the same sort of tone (to a lesser degree) when it came to him. Not, of course, in his company or in anyone's company, but in her head.

"A stubborn woman is a good one," Franziska said, smiling faintly. She liked the sound of Freyjadour's sister. A woman, ruling her own country, disposing of useless things and improving efficiency? Yes, Franziska certainly liked that. "I should hope she changes things to your favor then. Equality is as important as justice and perfection in all things."

Tim frowned at Kon. Bart seemed to be really upset with the idea that it was an illusion.

"It wasn't an illusion or a hallucination," he said, carefully, steadily. "I woke up this morning with something I'd grabbed last night in my closet. It wouldn't have been there if I were hallucinating it." He turned to Bart and continued, "Maybe the bites did heal up, or maybe he's just hiding them. I don't know. I only saw him for a few minutes. What I do know is that something really screwed up is going on here. There were zombies in the town, and I don't even believe in zombies. And now there's some weird thing going on with the intercom."

He wondered if some of the patients had blacked out instead of taking part in the zombie apocalypse. It was hard to say. Now that he knew that Bruce had seen Wally get bitten though, he was definitely going to ask him about it.

"Your father," Sylar shot back, leaning down to meet her nearly eye-to-eye, "stopped me from getting what I deserved."

He remembered that day, when he'd escaped from the company facility and had made it all the way to the Bennet house, had talked and played pretend with "Noah's" oblivious wife. He'd been just about to get some revenge for those two weeks in a glass cage when the bastard had busted in with that Haitian goon of his and chased Sylar away from his invaluable catch. Bennet had somehow even been here to keep Sylar separated from the cheerleader, though now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen Super Daddy around in a while...

Claire's back was nearing the wall. He almost had her cornered, and though he couldn't do anything right now, this was still very, very good for his mental health.

It was good that someone else was thinking his same thoughts, but at the same time, it was aggravating as well. Here he had thought that the outside world was safe... but perhaps such was not the case. It certainly didn't mean he was going to give up, though; it just meant that he'd have to rely more on dealing with the Institute and its machinations.

But far from being offended, Adelheid nodded quietly at Faize's statement. "I had considered the same thing," he admitted, "but those flimsy desks and beds wouldn't hold me for long. And if I barricade myself in, my room mate will be locked in with me- if I wait, I won't have time to do so."

A pause, and then a faint laugh. "Of all the problems to face me, I never thought keeping myself in the Institute would give me a pause."

"I thought you didn't want to know about the future." Otacon managed a little smile despite himself, and continued: "The threat of a nuclear attack didn't end with the Cold War. If anything, it only freed up tons of nuclear material to be sold on the black market, along with the Soviet engineers to hire. None of the major powers were going to be first to completely disarm if any small country could develop their own nukes. At the time, I hadn't even known what 'Metal Gear' signified. My employers did, but to them, Metal Gear was just a way to stay in business. I don't know if they thought as far as to realize that, with a weapon like REX, the concept of mutually-assured destruction would become obsolete."

He exhaled, slowly. Much of this he learned later by hacking what information he could still retrieve on Shadow Moses from Armstech and DARPA, after the glow of his new lease on life had faded, and he'd realized that it wouldn't be so simple to move on from what he'd done. It was almost strange to be discussing nuclear war and Metal Gear again. Nostalgic, even.

"After that, I dedicated my life to stopping Metal Gear. The war grew to be a little more complicated than bipedal tanks and nuclear missiles, but it was an old war, rooted in events that happened long before either of us were born."

He looked out at the rest of the courtyard, and found his gaze hooked by Big Boss again. Otacon wondered if he'd had any idea how things would spiral out of control after his death.

"Still," he murmured, "we ended it. Before I woke up here, I thought the fight was over."

"No, I don't," Jiraiya replied honestly. "I'd rather not know, anyways. Leave the dead to rest in peace."

Jiraiya also noticed the pair of boobs that sat down nearby, barely shifting his head to get a better view. His distraction was such that it took him a long moment before realizing that Rude was also looking. He smiled softly, noticing how subtle the other man was. If that man was his student, his skill would definitely bring proud tears to his eyes...!

"It's not my type of movie, anyways," Jiraiya stated, and after Rude's next question, he blinked once, looking at Rude more clearly. "Gaia? No, I don't know what you're referring to."

[Was swamped yesterday, sorry!]

Claire felt her back bump against the wall as she tried to avoid his face being too close to hers. This could have been it, he had her cornered, helpless, he could do whatever he wanted, but...

I couldn't kill you, even if I wanted to.

She was completely at his mercy and he hadn't so much as lifted a finger. No matter what his reasons where, it made her feel a little more in control. He'd already done his worst to her and she survived-- and now she was going to make him pay for what he did.

"You deserve to die," she growled. "And I'm going to be the one to kill you." Regardless whether or not he took the threat seriously, she meant it. She'd spend her whole life trying to kill him, if it came to that.

Big Boss nodded; Fox still looked like he remembered him -- but only on the outside. He was quick to notice that something was off about him, although he couldn't lay his finger on what exactly.

He felt a light pang of sadness -- He's grown again, he thought, and I don't know into what.

But it was still Frank, and that was all that really mattered to him, in the end.

"Snake told me," Big Boss said preemptively, to eliminate any unnecessary questions. He kept his gaze focused on Fox, but his eye began to wander as he mentioned Snake. Even now (especially now) he wasn't quite sure what to think. Or how to co-exist with him --

When he spotted a nurse in the distance watching them blatantly, he sighed exasperatedly and turned back to Fox. For everything that was new and unfamiliar in this institute, at least he knew how being watched felt, and being tired of it.

Big Boss crossed his arms in front of his chest -- making no effort to hide his hands -- and furrowed his brow the tiniest bit as he spoke again, voice a lot more quiet this time.

"How are you holding up? You look like hell." An elusive smile played on his lips. Even now forming coherent sentences proved to be much harder than it should be. He was also aware that it was a redundant statement -- when didn't they look like hell? But still they managed every time --

But he asked because it was Frank, as he would have asked any other of his men.

"I'm starting to wish I'd never asked," Snake said, dryly, to hide how sick he looked. Nuclear proliferation becoming so widespread... it didn't even bear thinking about. And at the centre wasn't some Soviet imperialist mad scientist high on his own power-trip, or an anarchist despot trying to plunge the world into endless chaos, but -

- but a normal, well-intentioned man, who'd made a stupid, mercenary mistake.

Trying to lean back so that Otacon, distracted by Big Boss, wouldn't notice, he studied the line of Otacon's jaw, the set of his mouth, the shape of his eyes, and found him looking weathered, and gentle, and sad - not like a black-hearted arms dealer or maniacal warlord, but like the kind of person he'd trust with his name.

Maybe in the twenty-first century, his fans would finally understand what he'd been telling them about heroes.

"And you and I were working together?" he eventually said. "I can't say I imagined anyone else being involved, but the rest sounds about how I'm starting to expect. An old me, fighting somebody else's old war." He leaned back, half-smiling with his bruised lips. It wasn't a happy smile.

Well, Big Boss had already met Snake. Fox resisted the urge to sigh, because that probably had not gone well. Of course, between the two of them, things not going well probably included bodily injury to one or more people involved.

"I think the worst is over, I'll be fine." Fox responded to the question of how he was holding up. A bit hypocritical, since he'd gone and gotten himself killed. In fact, they all had, except Otacon, as far as Fox knew. Which was strange considering how little self preservation Fox had observed in the scientist. There was that faint smile he thought he saw, and realized that he was a lot more intently focused on observing Big Boss than he really should have been. He relaxed a little bit.

Of course, he didn't have too much room to relax. "What did Snake tell you?" This would have been a lot better if he'd seen Big Boss first, but it seemed the institute didn't like things to go his way. Fox didn't think Snake would've gone spilling all his secrets, especially to Big Boss, but there were some things that he just didn't want Big Boss to find out through someone else.

Fox was still a little wary and uneasy about this whole situation, but he took a couple steps closer. He didn't feel that same need he'd felt with Snake to be sure that he was real, that he was actually standing there. Was it because he already knew the answer? Fox felt a lot more confident about his state of mind now than he had in a while.

"Before or after the nurse had to separate us by force? Well," he rubbed a little over the spot on his chest where Snake had stabbed him; now wearing a fresh shirt, of course. Still the same smiley face, though, he really didn't want to dwell on that, but he certainly would have preferred another attire.

Big Boss paused visibly. It was probably best to avoid talking about Zanzibar altogether...there were certain things he did not want or need to know about. Everything that was important he already knew, and for him, it felt like he had talked to Fox about increasing the number of guards at the detention camp just a day ago. Finding himself here now was surreal, but fortunately he'd always been quick to adapt to his environment, and age hadn't manage to change that.

"Just a brief rundown on what this place is about. I don't think he lied, but I don't think he knows too much either. That'd be new." He looked away, smiling bitterly, and made a vague gesture that could have meant anything. "Frank. How long have you been here?"

Now with those nurses and doctors trying to make them into different people (this, too, was familiar), it was probably important to remind each other frequently of who they were. Not like he wouldn't have called Fox by his real name instinctively, anyway.

Fox didn't miss the way Big Boss rubbed his chest, and wasn't surprised to hear that a nurse had separated the two of them. It was probably for the best, really. "Monsters at night, the place pretends to be a mental hospital," people back from the dead although Fox didn't say that out loud, "that about covers the basics."

Hearing his name again, his real name. Not Fox, not what they called him here, but Frank. He felt incredibly relieved to hear Big Boss say his name for some reason he couldn't quite place. Big Boss was one of the few people that had ever called him Frank with any regularity since he became Gray Fox.

"I've been here for nearly thirty days... although it's been... several years since I saw you last." Discounting the brainwashed, younger Big Boss that had come to visit him. Fox was eventually going to have to get around to that, and The Boss being here. "We have... There's a lot I need to tell you, Boss."

Awww man! Now he felt like a jerk for trying to be sensible about the whole thing. "OK, OK- I believe you," he told Bart as sincerely as possible while batting his scratching hand away from the bandages.

He turned to Robin to ask, "But then why did I get dragged back here instead of being left for zombie chow?" Why did he miss out on kicking some zombie ass? It would've been awesome! ....Except if the Flash got bitten twice it had to have been pretty dangerous too and maybe not so great. But he felt lame for missing out. He would've been too good at beating up zombies, that was why he'd been brought back here instead.

"Wait, so you can buy monster squirr- monsters and people from all different worlds being kidnapped without even noticing but not zombies? Why not?" What was so hard to buy about zombies? They were just the undead. Not undead like Superman was undead but still just undead.

Edited 2009-08-24 21:55 (UTC)

There was a bit of silence, because Big Boss didn't respond immediately. Instead he took his time looking Fox over thoroughly once more, his expression unreadable but clearly displaying a hint of worry, and he noticed a few more scars, physically as well as mentally. Years...did that mean that Zanzibar...?

30 days was way too long for Fox to be caged in.

"We got time," he said -- at least judging by what everyone here says, and we won't be bored either, "No rush. And we'll figure something out, like usual." Patience on his part was something that had progressively decreased over the years, but he knew when he had to retreat an rethink his strategy; as well as where and who his priorities were. Big Boss straightened up, closed the last bit of distance between them, and made the first physical contact by laying a heavy hand on Fox's shoulder, because he knew that he wouldn't mind -- even though Big Boss had avoided any form of contact that wasn't hostile ever since, well, that had happened.

He didn't feel much, so he had to fill in the blanks himself. He remembered Frank as being cold and often distant; but despite that he'd always felt a heart beating underneath that shell, and this time was no different.

Squeezing Fox's shoulder reassuringly, his expression softened as he pulled him closer.

I think the last time I did that was after almost breaking your new nose for gunning down the non-involved parents of a little girl.

Edited 2009-08-24 21:58 (UTC)

The physical contact was reassuring, and Fox let himself be pulled closer. This was Big Boss, without a doubt. The Big Boss that had saved him, time after time, the one he had fought for and alongside for years. Fox returned the hug, briefly, before pulling away to speak. "Time's a funny thing here, Boss. There never seems to be enough of it," Although Big Boss would be able to see that for himself tonight.

It was a little bit easier to talk now. Fox wanted to think he'd grown up past that kind of basic, physical reassurance but it was still nice.

"Psychological warfare plays a big part of what they do, but there's a definite undercurrent of research. Medical, psychological, weapons too, probably," Fox hadn't seen much evidence that they were researching traditional weaponry, but the concept of turning a person into a weapon was hardly new. "I'm not even sure where to begin."

Sylar let out a laugh, sharp and scornful. When he looked back to her, his grin was even wider than before.

"You, Claire? Kill me? Oh, I seriously doubt it."

Her back was against the wall, which meant that he could escalate to a whole new level of intimidation. He leaned one hand onto the wall beside her and reached forward with the other, following it with longing eyes as he trailed a finger across the middle of her forehead with a feather's lightness.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

"No, no," he said in a low, steady murmur, "what's going to happen is I'm going to take your power. I'm going to wear it as my own, and then, nothing else will matter."

It was like watching a dam break. Any attempt to keep her brave, tough front was lost the closer he got to her. She couldn't stop thinking of being trapped, unable to breathe, as Meredith taunted her.

Was this what it was like with Sylar?

No, no, no, she was going to fight back now, she was strong, she...

Did he make you feel trapped?

He was close now, far too close and there was no room to run, and he was touching her and...

...Why do you wanna stop bad guys?

She slapped his hand away, her breathing now heavier than it had been before. Claire felt herself start to shake, but she wasn't quite sure whether it was from fear or anger. "I'll kill you," she said again, her voice raising. Her adrenaline was pumping, and she didn't care about the consequences anymore, so she shoved him now in an attempt to gain some distance. "I'll kill you!"

"I'm not sure that was exactly the case with Mary. She was a woman of fairly uncomplicated needs, and travelling on the King's business fulfilled them as well as anything else." Well, uncomplicated until their encounter with Dalis brought her forgotten past back to her.

Leon shook his head, sighing a little. "No, this is the first I've been out and about today, I haven't seen him yet." And just as well. Leon didn't mind a little time to settle his mind before talking to Stahn again.

Talking about Lymsleia was bittersweet, because Frey was worried about her and missed her, but with some time and distance from the war he was also finding himself more able to focus on the fond memories he had of the time before things had fallen apart. Even some of the memories of their few wartime meetings were almos pleasant, in their own way. "I don't think that, when I was her age, I could have been half so brave and brilliant as she was during the war."

He could see the panic slowly rise in her pretty blue eyes, hear her breaths quicken and then stop altogether. He anticipated her explosion of anger but he didn't try to stop it: instead, he let his arm go limp as she thrust it away and laughed even as he staggered backwards from her surprisingly powerful shove. He couldn't help it: she was so predictable, so adorable. So fun.

"You know," Sylar said, and this time, his tone was more contemplative than derisive, "maybe you will."

Maybe she would survive his "methods" to fight another day and maybe he wouldn't care. Maybe, if she gave him this much of a reaction to a few well-placed words, she was worth keeping alive for entertainment.

He took a step backward. He'd done what he'd meant to; anything more would give her the impression that she had the upper hand, and that simply wasn't the case.

"Well," he said with a smirk, "it won't matter because by the time you do? I'll just come back."

With a wave, he turned around and made his way towards the main section of the Courtyard.

"That's what I thought. Not like I'd put it past them to do this for their own entertainment, but if they didn't get any data or results out of this, it'd be pointless -- a wasted effort."

And the only thing expendable are we, he added in his mind. Big Boss completely let go of Fox after a moment, and put on a stoic expression again. It was better to maintain a cold exterior around places like there, he figured, even though he had learned to not hold back emotions anymore, neither on the battlefield not off it. If you could still function while not forgetting the human aspect -- that was a big part of being a soldier, a warrior. Of course, Fox had had to work hard on regaining this humanity, and in this aspect he still wasn't perfect, and that was a good thing. People don't grow any more when they're perfect.

Big Boss idly put his hand in his neck, brushing over the spot where the nurse had plunged in the needle and cracked it to the side.

"I'm of no use right now. Gave me a shot strong enough to put me out of commission for the entire day...hope this wears off soon; preferably before it gets dark." Knowing that Snake wasn't really better off was something, at least.

"I guess privacy isn't really known around here, but maybe we should relocate someplace less out in the open." Nevermind that he inconspicuously kept glancing over to Snake and his skinny friend while saying this.

Shame. Rude agreed about letting dead bodies stay dead and all, but if there was a way of finding out how this shit was going on....

"Any friends here that might know?"

If anybody tried to take Rude on as a student he'd be offended and would open a rival school to theirs. Although, in all fairness, he appreciated the man's talent. He looked without shades. That took PRACTICE.

"It's a world. The one I'm from."

Put it past them... that was odd, considering they didn't really know who was in charge. Unless Big Boss thought he knew who was in charge. The change from a more emotional expression to more stoic one and less expressive body language was a good signal that it was time to get down to business. Business was a lot easier than dealing with an emotional reunion, Fox could figure out how he actually felt about this later.

"If they gave it to you this morning it should run it's course by the time night starts," Fox said. He nodded in agreement with Big Boss, and also spared a glance for Snake and Otacon. He'd need to talk to Snake about this sooner or later, he couldn't just abandon him now that Big Boss was here.

Fox went a little further away so they would both be more obscured by the trees and other obstacles in the courtyard. "I guess I'll start at the beginning here," Fox could trust Big Boss to keep information to himself, both because he wasn't the kind that shared it when it wasn't necessary and because Fox trusted Big Boss not to betray him like that.

"I... haven't been here alone. For a while I was, recently, but it hasn't always been like that. There have been a lot of people that came through here that I've known, and that you knew... I met The Boss, for the brief time she was here."

"I see." It was about midday, and Leon had just gotten out? If there was anything Kratos was sure about, it was that the Institute wreaked havoc on its patients' internal clocks. He was always amazed himself at how he lasted an entire day on perhaps a few hours of sleep.

"I'm sure he'll end up finding you regardless. As I mentioned, he was quite concerned about you last night. No doubt he is running around searching for you as we speak; his persistence astounds me." In a way, Kratos reasoned, Stahn was comparable to a very loyal dog. He certainly had the hair for it.

"Do not doubt yourself, Freyjadour Falenas." If she were capable of sounding encouraging, she would have at that moment. Instead (and much to her own chagrin), she sounded a little bit like she was scolding the boy at her side. She merely couldn't stand to see people lower themselves in comparison to others. She refused to do it herself and she refused to allow others to do it in her presence.

And judging by the way Freyjadour was speaking, his sister had to be the younger one. Franziska knew a bit about being the younger sibling, just as she knew about being an elder sister (albeit figuratively), and she chanced a small smile, just a trace of it lifting the corner of her lips. "The younger often becomes brave because of the example of the elder."

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Day 43: Courtyard, Third Shift

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