damned_institute | Day 44: breakfast

Yuffie had died.

No, really. Seriously. She had actually died. Bleeding all over the place, making a horrid, sticky mess and scaring the hell out of Suzaku; she remembered it clearly. Kind of. Sort of. Through the blood loss, the pain, and the visions. Through Aerith's voice whispering in her ear, Cloud's stricken eyes, and her own panic. As bad nights went, it had been Bad, capital B and all the trimmings, and oh, god. She sat, trembling on the edge of her bed, eyes closed and hands pressed hard over her racing heart. The by-play between Landel—Landel!—and Lydia barely even sunk in. There was nothing in the whole world, any world, that could prepare you for something like…

Had it all been some kind of hallucination?

Had she imagined the whole thing?

No… She didn't think so. Nightmarish or not, Yuffie knew reality. But if it had been real, how was she alive now? That kind of pain wasn't something you could just cook up, was it? She thought about it all the way to the cafeteria, drifting behind her nurse without focus or intent. Maybe if she tried to stay clinical, tried to step back… But she'd never been good at that when things got personal. And every time she closed her eyes or blinked, she swore that the scenes played back to her, like an overused commercial on a crappy channel on a crappy TV, in a run-down dump of an inn that smelled like mothballs and yesterday's breakfast.

The scent of blood and damp, rotted wood clogged her nose. Disgusted, Yuffie shoved her bowl of cereal—handed to her by a clucking Plucky—off to the side so that she could melt into her chair, palm heels scrubbing against her eyes. Too much. This was… Too much. She couldn't even paste a plastic smile on her face to make herself feel better. Her usual shield, the white noise of inane babble that could filter out almost any crisis, was in tatters all around her. Five minutes, she gave herself.

Five minutes (not) to think, five minutes to get her act together, because there was no way she could let herself shatter here. No way…

[Closed to Sheena]

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Regardless of how many twisted individuals the man had met, he was certainly taking the news much more sensibly than Soma herself had. It made her wonder what the world he came from was like.

"Everything from undead cats to large metal monsters made of steel and lightning." Soma thought a moment, sipping from her glass again. "I don't think anyone has seen all of the monsters that are here. There was a list of them on the bulletin board yesterday, but it's gone now. I wouldn't be surprised if someone will put it up again, though."

She paused, then added, "You mentioned enchantments. Are those common in your world?"

"World?" he asked, thinking the wording was a little strange. He put little thought into it as he continued: "Well, monsters are pretty common where I'm from- especially since the world changed. Enchantments, not so much. I've seen plenty of them, but I'll always favor machines over magic. I'm better with the former, and the latter is somewhat of a rare art among people."

He finished his apple, putting the core on the tray before taking a drink of water. "It's peculiar that a place like this would provide a bestiary. Was it written by the people running this show, or by prisoners like ourselves? And where might I find this 'bulletin board' so I can peruse the listing?"

Since when had asking what world someone came from become such a commonplace question for her? Perhaps she was adjusting to this place more quickly than she had realized. It was a disconcerting thought.

"We're not all from the same time, place, or even planet," she explained, still unable to keep a little skepticism from her voice. "At least, it certainly seems that way. It sounds as if you have experience with magic, but that doesn't exist at all where I come from. Monsters aren't particularly common, either."

She drained her glass of water and set it aside. "It's in the Sun Room--that's the room you came through in order to get here. The list was compiled by the patients, so it's probably incomplete, but it's helpful anyway. There's a patient here by the name of Lamperouge who's been doing most of the organizing, as far as I can tell."

Edgar's brow furrowed as he paused. "Wait, not from the same time, place, or planet? How is that even possible?" Magic could do a lot of strange things- divide two worlds, create and destroy others, and even stop the flow of time temporarily- but being able to pull people from a completely different points in history? His stomach shifted at the thought of what would happen if Kefka ever figured out that trick.

He ran a hand through his hair, trying to think more about how this could possibly make sense and less about how he really wanted something to keep his locks off the back of his neck. "This place is more unconventional than I anticipated," he admitted.

"I don't know. I don't think anyone does." It didn't particularly matter, as far as she was concerned; the logistics of how they'd arrived were the least of her worries at the moment. "But if there was a way to bring us here, then there must be a way to send us back."

She didn't smile at his comment; only nodded slightly in agreement. "It must be a shock for you. I didn't believe it at all until I was attacked by monsters one night."

"The 'different times and worlds' issue is more of a shock to me than beasts wandering the halls at night," Edgar said as he finished his glass of water. He returned it to his tray, not sure if he was hungry anymore. "Knowing there is someone out there with this sort of power is a much more disturbing notion. Some people think themselves gods when they have those sorts of abilities."

He pushed a stray strand from his face. "However, I believe you're right. If there was a way to bring us here, then there must be a way to return us, no matter how difficult to obtain. Impossible is more of a figment of the mind."

That may have been the ambitious machinist in him talking, but he believed it. There had to be a way back to where he was- he'd come too far and worked too hard for everything to be completely lost. End of the world or trapped in a completely different one or not, he was going to find a way back to his people.

"It sound as if this Dr. Landel does." Soma tilted her head slightly, faint curiosity showing in her golden eyes. "You sound as if you've encountered this sort of thing before."

She only hoped they were both right about a way back. And maybe there was a way to bring back those who'd been brought back to life, too...

No. She wouldn't think about that. Especially not now.

"I've encountered men who believe they have the right to use others, to wipe entire towns from existence on a whim, to murder in cold blood in order to get to the top." A scowl crossed the king's face as he felt ire rising within him. He closed his eyes briefly and recomposed himself. A tyrant like Kefka could not be allowed to rule the world forever.

He took a deep breath, catching the girl's eyes after a moment. "I don't believe we introduced ourselves, milady," he said, his smile returning. He knew it'd be best if he stuck to his thief persona until he was positive Kefka wasn't somehow in charge of this madhouse in one way or another, but it struck him that this woman was probably speaking the truth. She had no apparent reason to lie to him, and he was fairly skilled at reading people.

Then again, they had taken his disguise and supposedly taken them from completely different times and worlds. The chances that Kefka would strike him down with the Light of Judgment were slim, supposing this was true.

"My name is Edgar," he said after a brief pause.

"It sounds as if most of the patients here have met people like that." Soma almost wanted to hear more, but didn't press. It wasn't as if she wanted to talk about those in her own life--not when she was considering allying with them here.

She was a little baffled at his sudden change in manner, but she nodded. "I'm sorry; I should have remembered. My name is Soma Peries."

Day 44: breakfast

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