Day 44: breakfast

[thatdamnedninja.livejournal.com]

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]

Comments

[falseblack]

"The next room was nothing like the others. It was composed entirely of metal and held gun turrets and two panels." More in tune with what the variants had known. "Like a training room for firearms."

Upon second thought... "It probably was, now that I think about it. When we entered, we were immediately locked in and greeted by an automated voice. Then the turrets went off. Rubedo was required to use the pistol we had acquired from the other room to shoot at a succession of targets." Nigredo tilted a head, something like annoyance crossing his features. "When he succeeded, we were given a sword and the exit. That probably led back here." He tapped his pen at the circular shape.

Now that he had a chance to retell the story, the child couldn't help but note the missing piece. Something had occurred after they had obtained the sword--the incident Rubedo had mentioned on the board--but try as he might, the memory wouldn't come. As though someone or something had cut off his awareness shortly after...

Oh, well. Giving up, Nigredo shifted his notebook to show Klavier the finished product. "There."

[rocksthecourt]

A firing range in the basement?! Why would something like that even be down there? Worst yet were the idea of gun turrets having been set up. It sounded like a trap of sorts, though it was posed as more of a trial. The way Nigredo had explained it, it sounded like the turrets had gone off for the sake of motivating them to complete a firing test. ...Wait. They found a pistol downstairs? Klavier had to wonder if the basement was where patients were getting guns. If that was the case, he could somewhat see why the area would be hidden away. For those desperate here, a gun would seem like an excellent idea.

But... what a horrible trial to have to go through! Frankly, he wasn't sure if some of the people on the LA police force could have completed such a test. It was a miracle Rubedo had been able to pass it. ...Actually, how had he? He'd never fired one himself, but Klavier understood the mechanization and procedure for firing a gun. It wasn't as simple as the movies would have one believe, and an average pistol (a 35-calibur weapon) isn't something an amateur could hope to pick up and fire off in succession, especially while moving or under pressure. One could also hurt themselves if they held it the wrong way.

...Either that was pure dumb luck or this wasn't the first time Rubedo had fired a gun. He knew these children were supposed to be trained as 'weapons' but did that mean... they had been trained in regards to firearms, too? He didn't want to think such a thing, but he couldn't deny the possibility was there.

He looked bothered, but didn't vocalize this idea. "...It's a good thing you were all able to get through there." He looked down at the map, frowning a bit in concern and focus. "If one room was set up in such a way, likely more will be. I wonder what the point would be in setting up such measures..." There could only be one reason: They were preventive measures. For what was the question. Klavier kept talking, but he was mainly going on to himself at this point. "And these other doors... It's really more like a sublevel than a basement. Assuming the basement covers the entire institute, these could likely lead to a labyrinth of other rooms. Everyone is free to explore the building as they please, but this is the only section that's both hidden and trapped. There must be something..."

Or someone. Didn't he hear that no one was sure where Herr Doktor kept himself? There was certainly nothing that had been mapped that would indicate such. Perhaps...

[falseblack]

"Most likely," agreed Nigredo, who also fixed his eyes on the map. If the other doors led to similar rooms, the chance they held like prizes were high. And if there was more than one, perhaps there existed a reason in obtaining them. Keys to a point. Maybe that sword wasn't so useless.

He looked up at Klavier with a curious expression. "Something?" he echoed.

[rocksthecourt]

"Hmn. I'm not sure, honestly, but... there's little doubt that this basement level is important to this place somehow." Klavier had absolutely no basis for this theory outside simple logic. And it was because of that fact he hesitated to jump on the theory with as much conviction as he normally would have. This place thrived on the illogical. But it made too much sense for him to discard.

Thus, despite the small amount of doubt, he spoke with absolute conviction and a small hint of enthusiasm. It was good to have a new clear objective again. "I'm not optimistic enough to think an exit of any kind might be down there, but there's a much better chance of there being something of interest there than in any of the above level rooms. Possibly some hint regarding this place and what's going on. Otherwise, there would be no point in going through the trouble of such a set up. If any area of the institute is worth investigating, it would be this one."

Maybe he didn't have the equipment or the staff or the nagging, food-mongering detective on his heels, but it was one of his personal rules to fully investigate anything he deemed relevant himself. There was always the chance that the answers hidden there may not be anything as direct and obvious as he might prefer. But he was confident he was observant and detail-oriented enough to catch whatever might be hidden there if he had even half the chance. He'd have to consider going there himself at some point.

[falseblack]

An interest. These keys, perhaps. Nigredo was not so naive to accept the man's reasoning without some of his own; however, the thoughts he applied pointed to the same. The basement contained features different from places he had observed. That alone was enough for a degree of interest, one barely nonexistent the night before.

There still, however, were doubts. Factors Klavier should honestly consider before fully embracing this logic. "You may be correct," said Nigredo, "and we are sitting on top of this place's secrets. However, wouldn't you say someone would have discovered at least part of them by now?" He frowned. "From the way Rubedo introduced the basement, it sounded like its existence had been public knowledge for a while. But I've rarely seen anyone discuss it, let alone propose any theories." Or to even travel below. They hadn't run into any other patients during their stay.

So where was he going with this? "There could be something far too dangerous there for proper exploration. We only looked in a couple of rooms, but we barely made it out alive." There was a sharp intake of breath, as though the child had found the statement painful. "A-Anyway, you should consider these details. I doubt such an investigation is as fruitful as you think."

[rocksthecourt]

"There's a chance the basement's entrance was public knowledge at some point, but has grown increasingly scarce over time. If it's rarely spoken about, it may not be as widespread as one might assume," he said in consideration. He wasn't arguing Nigredo's points; they were sound. Klavier was only seeking out alternate explanations. Habit. "It could also be that people venturing down there have goals other than investigation in mind. Looking for supplies, for example. More people tend to focus on trying to orient themselves when in a new space than analyzing it."

That wasn't the only reason. Nigredo's point - if anything was worth discovering, someone would have been found by now - made perfect sense. But that was also overestimating the patient population by assuming everyone here followed logic, which unfortunately was not the case. If he had learned anything while here, it was that the people were too focused on their personal vendettas and small scope problems to work together or strive for the common good of getting out of here. Klavier wished he could agree with Nigredo's point, but honestly, many people were simply stupid. He wouldn't be volalizing that point, however.

That last point, on the other hand, made perfect sense. If one room was trapped, they all very likely could be. People might not be exploring due to the fact that it was simply too dangerous. Nigredo and his brothers had been lucky to make it through. Obviously, the child had been somewhat shaken by the ordeal. Klavier couldn't blame him. He offered the boy a gentle smile. "...But you are likely right. This whole building is dangerous, and the basement is most probably no less so. Whether people are being driven back or there is nothing to find in the first place, exploring the basement isn't something to be taken lightly. Just running down there without a plan wouldn't be a good idea."

[falseblack]

The counterpoint required some consideration. "You could almost say those who've been to the basement are keeping the information a secret," Nigredo speculated, "with that in mind." It was possible people forgot to bring up the subject in actual discussion, but the chance of casting aside such a sight was ludicrous. There must exist a reason for the silence.

He gazed up at Klavier, expression softening. A pleased amusement lingered beyond his eyes. "No, it isn't," said Nigredo, "but at least we know enough to create one." That was his secret hope anyway. Now that they've hashed out the plain and simple facts, the basement became a novelty. And one knew what they said about children and new things...

"Perhaps you would like to come along. We'll probably head there again tonight."

[rocksthecourt]

Actually, the idea that people were purposely keeping the basement a secret made more sense than anything else, and that made it even more worrisome. True, people here were focused more on benefiting themselves rather than the general patient body most times, but something as important as an additional floor should reasonably be important enough to speak about. If people were purposely being quiet, that could mean any number of things.

Nigredo's offer somewhat surprised him, more due to the fact that despite what had happened, they actually expected to go down again. Frankly, Klavier really didn't like the idea of traveling with children to such a dangerous place, but if they were planning to go down anyway, they might as well have an adult there to watch out for them. Besides, he was very interested in seeing this other floor for himself.

That aside, one other factor made him hesitate. By 'we,' Nigredo was likely referring to all three brothers. Traveling with Nigredo and/or Rubedo seemed like a fine enough idea, but traveling with Albedo had the potential to be nerve-wrecking. His last encounter with the boy was still fresh in his mind, and it wasn't something he'd want repeated, let along in an environment where he'd rather be fully focused.

Then again, they weren't discussing traveling alone, but together as a group. If it were Nigredo, Rubedo, and he with Albedo, Klavier would be able to handle that. And likely, it would be better to have another person there in case Albedo decided to attack someone again, though he doubted that would happen. If the three traveled around last night and were willing to do so again tonight, then they had probably gone through with little difficulty. Relatively.

After that slight consideration, Klavier nodded his head with a slight smile. "I would. If you are all heading down there as is, an extra person would probably be best."

[falseblack]

In hindsight, Nigredo supposed he had thrown the question out partly in jest. He didn't know if the man would actually accept the invitation, after all, and a second trip had yet to be established. If it would be, that is.

At the very least, the boy could drag Klavier around for a night. He strangely found that prospect a little exciting. "Okay, I'll ask Rubedo and let you know over the bulletin," he answered in a light tone. "I would consider bringing a weapon, by the way. Just in case."

[rocksthecourt]

"'Kay," he said.