damned_institute | Day 43: Sun Room, 4th Shift

Teresa's conversation with Soma had certainly been interesting. She wasn't quite sure why humans would create a human to be a weapon, given the practice of creating monsters like the hybrids made more sense to her. Then again, hybrids were tremendously hard to control at times, so perhaps some humans learned not to play with monsters. Regardless, it seemed that Soma was at a junction in her life, much like Teresa had been, and needed to make a decision soon. Whatever her decision was, Teresa hoped the human could live with it.

Leaving the courtyard, she found herself once again in the room she'd ended the previous night in. She'd passed through here earlier, but now she had the time to actually look at it. Silver eyes scanned the rafters in search of those bats. Unsurprising, there were none to be found. Not even a sign of them. How irritating.

What she did find, while looking the place over, was Euphy. She'd known the girl was still around given the exchange on the board she'd interceded on, but seeing her with her own eyes brought an odd amount of relief. The girl wasn't Clare, but she couldn't help but think of the girl when she looked at Euphy. There were no physical similarities, but the feeling of honesty and innocence that survived conditions that they probably shouldn't have was so similar.

Enough looming.

Teresa drew up behind the girl, easily able to see what Euphy was copying given their height differences. "I see you finally found a map."

His time in the Music Room hadn't turned out as quiet and restful as Hanatarou had intended, but he was still reluctant to leave once it was time for shift change. The nurse had resumed fussing over him as soon as she'd arrived, noting that he looked a little tired. She'd suggested that he could go get some fresh air, but he only considered that a moment before politely refusing.

A peek into the Arts and Crafts room showed him that Hinamori was already in there and nobody else at the moment; not wishing a confrontation with another shinigami, Hanatarou hastily backed out again. Staying in the Sun Room seemed like the best option at the moment, and the nurse showed him to one of the empty sofas as though he wasn't capable of taking care of himself, admonishing him to "get some rest" before heading off again.

Hanatarou flopped against the cushions with a sigh, closing his eyes for a moment as he considered the idea of maybe taking that nap. But no - sleeping in such an open and public area wasn't something he was very good at, considering that back home it would invite all kinds of pranks on the sleeping person. Well, if that sleeping person was him.

While he considered it, though, he felt something soft and small climb up onto his lap, and opened his eyes to find the orange kitten from earlier that morning (or its twin; it was all the same to him) curling up comfortably on his lap. The healer blinked and froze in place, watching the kitten and hardly daring to move, lest he disturb it.

[for Endrance]

There was half a moment's surprise at feeling someone's presence behind her, but the minute she heard that voice, the surprise turned to relief. "Teresa! Oh, I'm so glad you're okay - I knew you were, after the bulletin, but it's a relief to see you in person." She smiled, breathing a quiet sigh.

"And yes, I did," she laughed. "It took me long enough, that and a bit of a scary adventure. About that - they didn't hurt you, right?" The princess looked up towards the ceiling, scanning herself, but there wasn't anything at all there. She hadn't expected it, not after everything she'd learned about how the place changed completely from the day to the night, but it was still good to see it for herself.

"I owe you a thank-you, by the way. For earlier," she said, gesturing to the bulletin board. "I don't know who that was, but I won't speak with someone who insults two of my dearest friends. I'm all for meeting new friends, but insulting someone like that.."

Edited 2009-08-22 02:14 (UTC)

"It takes more than a few common beasts, even in a place like this, to injure me," Teresa replied. Euphy's concern was making the hybrid a bit uncomfortable. She had to remind herself that the girl was not familiar with her kind and thus her concern was probably warranted in her own mind. "Do not worry," she added on, a little awkwardly.

She then blinked, a little startled that Euphy had guessed it was her that had given the warning. "What makes you think that was me?"

Well...that had certainly been...Endrance wasn't entirely sure how he would categorize the conversation with Alkaid, but at least it hadn't gone particularly badly. She was still herself, as high-spirited and fiery as ever, and he had absolutely no doubts about her ability to hold her own in this place at night. If anything, it was a relief. If anything happened to her, Haseo would...

He shook his head, not wanting to think about that possibility, and stepped into the Sun Room, scanning for familiar faces. One in particular stood out, and he took the seat next to Hanatarou with a nod and a bit of a smile.

"I haven't seen you for a day or two...how are you, Hanatarou?" It looked like he was worn out, but after last night, there was no getting around that.

"All right," the pink-haired girl said, with a nod. "Though that's really impressive," she added, before changing the subject again.

"Well," Euphy admitted, "I figured it out by the handwriting. I know what Suzaku's writing looks like, and what Lelouch's writing looks like. And since I - ah, right, I should explain who they are. They're two really close friends from home."

And...was that Lelouch, over there? She frowned, trying to catch his attention. Something bad had happened; she could tell that much by the expression on his face. She didn't know what, but she could tell it was something big. Before she could call out to him or even wave, though, he disappeared into one of the side rooms, and she sighed.

"As I was saying..." The words came out a bit more awkwardly this time. "I know their writing, and since it wasn't either of them, and Suzaku would have told me if anyone else from home was here, I had figured it was someone I'd met here, and you were the first person, so." She flushed just a little when she said that.

Teresa knew she was impressive, but simply nodded when Euphy voiced it. If only the girl understood the monster that Teresa really was. Then again, that was impressive too.

She looked over when the girl's attention was diverted and caught sight of a pathetic-looking thin man. Who was he to the girl?

"Ah. Your reasoning lead you to the correct conclusion," she confirmed with a bit of a chuckle. "It must be nice having people you already know here."

During the short time that Feldt had been awake, she had not managed to learn much about her new surroundings. The most she knew was that she was being referred to as "Anna", that she had been admitted here, and that she would only be able to leave if she managed to get better. ... Even if she felt fine, and as far as she knew, she wasn't injured. She also knew that Setsuna was in this place. At least the short amount time she had spent with the Gundam pilot had been somewhat productive.

Feldt wasn't with Setsuna anymore, though. The nurse had insisted that it would be better for her to go around and meet some other people, rather than sticking with one person. She would have preferred to stay with Setsuna, but... it didn't seem like she had much of a choice when it came to spending more time with him. At least she would be able to see him again later that night. They had things to do, and they were going to do their best to finish the tasks at hand.

That was how she had gotten back to the Sun Room, at least. The nurse, who had allowed her to take the paper Haros that she had made with Setsuna, had led Feldt back to the room. It was still the same as last time, though. All she did was take a seat because she wasn't sure how to start any conversations with the people around her. So, instead of awkwardly looking around at the other people in the room, Feldt had taken to staring down at her paper Haros. She had made the decision to put them in with her next letter to Lockon, Christina, and her parents. They would probably all like them, even if they weren't the most accurate representation of the little robots.

Feldt didn't allow herself to be completely absorbed into her thoughts. She was in an unknown place, and doing such a thing could end up being a very bad idea. She had to pay some attention to the various things that were going on around her.

Hanatarou was still watching the cat when another joined him, and he glanced up at Endrance mild surprise. "Oh...hello," he replied, in a somewhat exaggerated whisper. "I'm fine. It's sleeping."

He gestured toward the kitten as he spoke, careful not to move anything more than one arm. Usually the cats in here didn't stick around him for long, and this one had come to see him twice in one day. He certainly didn't want to scare it off, or ruin its nap.

Canned, monotone smugness resounded over the intercom, and Tanaka knew that ZEX would soon be returning from his "visitor". Who would they use for leverage against him, anyway? Probably some past lover, given the VUX's blatant innuendos towards anyone he could get his tentacles on. Especially the Captain... who did he think he was, anyway, trying to seduce a hero of the entire quadrant who was already engaged...

The Shofixti put that thought aside. It would do him no good anymore to let his anger rise against the VUX... the Captain was dead, he reminded himself, and his last wishes were for ZEX to be happy and for them to return to their world. Which mean that they'd have to work together for now, Winged Ones help him.

After a brief trip past the bulletin board, Tanaka sat down on a couch near the main doors of the Sun Room. Wherever ZEX was going next, he'd have to pass through there, which meant he'd be able to catch him and have that talk on what to do next.

[for Admiral Emo]

Jason hadn't showed.

Harvey knew that there could be a variety of reasons for it. Maybe he had ended up with a visitor at the last second, for instance. Maybe he'd done something stupid and gotten himself sedated to the point that he couldn't find the courtyard. Even if there were some logical explanations, that didn't help Harvey's mood any. They were getting so close now, and if he didn't get some retribution soon--

It made him wonder if Jason hadn't been stringing him along this whole time and was now suddenly deciding to back out. It was a sudden conclusion to jump to, and he knew that he couldn't start assuming anything. He would track the kid down one way or another and demand an explanation.

Either way, he had no intention to sit around in the courtyard like someone who'd been stood up, and so the second the shift changed he headed back inside and moved into the Sun Room. Before he could even decide what he wanted to do, his nurse insisted that he go speak with one of the brand new patients to make them feel welcome.

He was forced to sit by a young girl with bright pink hair, and he already knew he had no idea what to say to her. The nurse left them alone and Harvey eyed the stranger before glancing away. "Don't expect me to be much help."

ZEX was already feeling drained and tired after seeing DAX again and he'd almost forgotten that he'd arranged to meet with the Shofixti later that day. He couldn't say he was exactly looking forward to it, given the circumstances, and his last conversation with him had not gone well either. Although, if the Shofixti wanted to exchange insults for the rest of the shift, then that might be a welcome distraction from his circling thoughts. He wasn't sure it was possible to think about something else with how he was dwelling on his Captain, but there had to be something. There had to be a way to make this feeling stop, he was sure of it.

Either way, ZEX couldn't muster up the energy to be that concerned about what Tanaka wanted with him, or to look too hard for him. It was surprisingly hard to care about... anything right now. He walked into the Sun Room slowly, feeling heavy and tired. Find some place to sit, maybe... think about where to go from there...

Sure enough, there was ZEX... looking like he'd been hit by a train. He wasn't entirely surprised - ZEX hadn't been doing well even before being taken away to the visiting rooms - but he still hadn't expected total disintegration. Tanaka grunted, got up from the sofa, and quickly went over to the VUX, putting his arm on ZEX's shoulders and attempting to nudge him over to the couch. "Come on," he said quietly, making a face at like he was swallowing an unusually foul medicine at no-one in particular, "you should sit down. You look terrible."

ZEX was lost in his own thoughts, which was easier to do now than it had even been before, and he didn't notice someone approaching him until they touched him. Even then, he just blinked slowly and turned to see who it was. The Shofixti, of course. That made sense.

"Do I?" ZEX raised a hand to brush some of his hair from his face. "It's hard to tell..." He couldn't see himself, after all. But he was definitely more than willing to sit down for a while.

Once there, vaguely he noted that Tanaka had touched him voluntarily which was unusual, and was showing what could be concern for him which was also unusual, but they were quirks in behavior that barely registered for him now. He rubbed at his eyes, which felt swollen and sore.

"You wanted to speak to me." That should have been a question, but he couldn't quite give it the energy it needed to be one. Well, it didn't matter.

The meeting with Lunge had gone well; the man at least knew how to give the appearance of competency, and he might very well be a useful ally in the future. If someone could set about organizing those inclined to gathering information into one cohesive group, so much the better. Search and Rescue was a passable substitute, but he had simply never been the heroic sort.

Javert remained where he was after the shift change; he hadn't specified where the unnamed patient would meet him, but the Sun Room seemed his best bet. Glancing over his journal one last time, he flipped to a clean page and uncapped his pen, waiting.

As if the day couldn't get any worse, it slowly dawned on Kibitoshin that he had no idea where he was supposed to be for this shift's meeting. The Sun Room was the obvious choice, but in all honesty he'd been so swept up in the whole zombie thing that he'd completely forgotten eighty percent of the details. All he remembered was that he was supposed to be meeting an angel.

... hmm. He could maybe even ask around, but the nurses probably wouldn't like that. This would have been so much easier back in Otherworld! All he would have had to look for would have been the wings, or halo, or... that was what angels looked like, right? Oh, dear.

Kibitoshin dropped into an armchair, giving a sigh as he stealthily crossed the fingers on both hands. If he was really, really lucky, he had been the one to give his description and they'd find him soon enough.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I'd just seen a friend," she said, apologizing instinctively for having looked away for those few moments. It was...difficult, to say the least, leaving out the details and intricacies of that relationship. Even saying that they had known each other from childhood, while it was true, would be too much. "I'm worried about him. He didn't look well."

She nodded then, her attention returning. "Then, I'll repeat that: thank you," she said, and would have curtsied had her clothing not been able to repeat that. "And...on the one hand, it's a relief knowing I'm not the only one, but on the other hand, it makes me worry," Euphy answered, simply and honestly. "I know that Suzaku, at least, can more than handle himself in a difficult situation, but Lelouch..."

The girl sighed, looking in the direction of that door. "Well, I'm just glad everyone else is here."

There wasn't any need for Euphy to apologize, but Teresa opted to let her do so.

"So I see," she replied. Just what she saw was left up to the girl. "There is another hybrid her, but we have never crossed paths while serving the Organization." Her lips curled up. "She does know who I am, though. I suppose that is something."

She looked at the door as well. "Which one is he?"

Endrance looked down, and couldn't help but smile a little. "Someone told me earlier today that cats are a good judge of character," he said, also in a whisper. "I think this one likes you."

There was something else - a moment's thought, thank goodness it's not 'her', but it went unspoken. The relief showed on his face just a bit, as much as he tried to hide it.

"I'm glad to see you're safe, after last night..."

Forte was getting restless, having been stuck in a chair all day, and having Sheena pulled away from him didn't help. He'd seen the other patients using wheeled chairs like his, and it seemed the large wheels were there for him to push himself around... if he had his hands. He tried to push with his left hand, but his right arm was still strapped to his chest, so... he could spin around in a circle. Until the nurse came and stopped him.

He passed time looking at the bulletin board, hoping Teisel would find him soon.

Hanatarou blinked at that, glancing from Endrance down to the dozing kitten with apparent confusion. Judges of character? What did that have to do with the fact the cat had inexplicably decided to take a nap on him? Maybe he was just the one sitting the most still, or something.

He decided to let that go without comment, and instead mustered up an uncertain smile. "Yes, um. I was okay. Someone helped me and, and I ended up on a roof and...it was kind of safe." As much as anything in town had been considered "safe" the night before, at least. He'd managed to escape unbitten, which was better than several people.

But that kind of reminded him, of Endrance's other friend that he'd met, and what he'd noticed on the board earlier. "Did...more of your friends arrive? From, er, where you're from?"

It occurred to Tim that he had absolutely no idea where he was meeting the man from the bulletin board. He hadn't told the man anything about himself, which was normal for him really, but neither of them had specified a meeting place. So when the nurse came to collect him and pull him away from his friends, Tim wasn't sure where to ask her to take him.

He figured the bulletin board was a good enough place to start, and asked for the Sun Room. She seemed content to lead him there, since he'd had his outside time or whatever it was. He still wasn't quite sure how this place worked, or how the staff operated, but it seemed that his nurse was amiable enough. He wasn't overtly causing huge amounts of trouble, so other than thinking he was crazy (and why was that, again?), she wasn't so bad. Well, and she called him Timothy, which annoyed him a little. It also confused him some; many of the "patients" here were being called by names that weren't their own. How was it that he was actually being called by his name? He'd have to ask Bruce about it that night.

He made a mental note of that and wandered toward the bulletin board. He checked the notes, then looked around the room. Nothing too exciting was on the board but...wait. Sideburns, greying hair. Well, wasn't that just a stroke of luck, then.

He walked up to the man and looked at him for a minute. He had to be the guy. "Javert, right?" Tim asked. Seemed like a French name, going by spelling; hopefully he was pronouncing it correctly.

Javert hadn't known whom to expect, but given the average age of the patients here, the fact that the patient who finally approached him didn't look a day over eighteen wasn't surprising.

"Right," he said, extending a hand out of habit. You never knew how old these people actually were. "And you would be?"

Tim took the man's hand and shook it. "Alvin Draper," he said, not missing a beat. Maybe it wasn't the best option to keep using the alias, but for now, it was the best he could do. He hadn't been in the habit of telling people his actual name for a long time now, and with the nurse calling him "Timothy," no one was going to question that any time soon that he could see.

"We spoke on the board earlier, about the so-called sleep studies," he continued.

"I assumed that was the case." Javert gestured for the apparently younger man to take a seat. There seemed little point in wasting time now that the necessary introductions had been made.

"What do you want to know?" It was a much more general beginning than he liked, but there was no way of telling whether Alvin was merely interested in researching the subject or had a personal reason to do so, and there was no sense in alienating him immediately.

Day 43: Sun Room, 4th Shift

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(third time's the charm)

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