DAY 45: Sun Room (Second Shift)

[violent-varmint.livejournal.com]

There was something fishy going on in the Institute today. All over the bulletin board, people were talking about having "woken up", having been "cured"... and it seemed as though ZEX was one of them. Tanaka wouldn't have recognized the note at all if it hadn't been signed - his wording, his handwriting, even his name had changed - and a part of him still wondered if it had been an imposter, trying to pull the wool over the Captain's allies.

But it'd be easy enough to find out the truth. Whoever it was had agreed to meet him, and Tanaka was waiting for him just outside the cafeteria doors, ready to catch him as he came from breakfast. If "Max" was an imposter, then he'd discover the identity of a hidden enemy. And if he was really ZEX...

...well, he'd have a whole new set of things to worry about.

[for a spoiled rich brat brainwashed Admiral]

Comments

[jokers-wildcard.livejournal.com]

The issue of personal space never fazed Harley much at all. That had been switched off and forgotten years ago. So she didn't think to move at all even when the guy leaned away, especially since she was as interested as a child at story time at the moment.

"Really? Another name and everything?" That was the detail that made it so weird! "I been hearin' lotsa people been acting whacko today. ...More than normal, I mean. I just figured everyone was in a weird mood. Didn't hear nothin' about people using new names, though."

The sudden switcheroo in personality was strange, but not all that weird. An asylum full of people was bound to have a few nutsos with more than one person in their head. In fact, she was willing to just write it off as that and have that be the end of it, except for two things. 1) She'd never heard of anyone calling the other them 'fake.' That was kind of mean. 2) She'd already seen stuff on the bulletin board involving people she knew acting the same way. And none of them had shown signs of having different personalities.

So, what did that mean exactly? If it wasn't that and they were acting completely different and using another name... Wait. Harley expression shifted a little to a suspicious frown. This was starting to sound very familiar all right, and not in the good way. "Hey. This Todd guy. Is 'Todd' what the old hags here call him?"

[sixth-attack.livejournal.com]

Returning the same amount of attention to the stranger, Sechs replied with an eager nod. "Yeah! He acted completely like someone else and said he was 'better' now! I'd say he got screwed in the head! So you're saying that other people here are acting like they're 'sane' too?"

Come to think of it, the messages on the board (or at least what remained of them after the nurse's reign of censorship) sounded like people here were rattled... Or at least more rattled than usual... At the time Sechs was too angry over what happened at breakfast to read closely into the posts. Thinking back to his brief checkup on the messages, weren't there some notes talking about people changing while others announced that they were "fixed" or something? Did that mean that Teisel wasn't the only one who changed?

"Hmm..." The first time Sechs talked with (or more like yelled at) Teisel, it was in that hardware store in Doyleton and back then there weren't any nurses to nag at them. "I haven't heard them call him Todd," Sechs pondered out loud, "but I wouldn't be surprised if they did." It must have been like how the nurses kept calling him that blasted "Cody" name. Did Teisel's "real" name happen to be "Todd" as well?

The former android's reasoning returned to a state of irritation and just a hint of desperation. "I'm pretty sure the damn tyrants behind this place did something to him and anyone else who's changed!" Sechs growled as he looked back down at his clenched fists. "Like how they brainwash people here at night, only well... Opposite?"

That was the only theory that made sense to Sechs. No way in hell would he accept the other possibilities explaining this mess...

[jokers-wildcard.livejournal.com]

Harley wasn't exactly one to sit around and think of logical alternate explanations herself. Her expression reflected shock as the guy spoke, taking just about everything he was saying as proven fact. Holy moley! Jungle Hair was right! That was why so many people were acting funny. It was because they weren't acting funny! The pieces didn't fit because they were in place already! IT MADE SENSE!

"Yer right! It's like... like they got the soul sucked outta 'em or somethin'." She balled both fists as though determined, but her expression looked just as outraged as his. "What the heck's goin' on?! I mean... they never went this far with the mind games before! It's usually just like zombies or clones or Smelly Fish Dinner Fridays! This is even worse!"

At least she felt like she could deal with those other things. But what the heck was anyone supposed to do when they had some quack doctors taking people and giving them super-lobotomies? So what? That was the plan? Brainwash everyone into being normal? That was so dumb. If Mr. J were here he'd--

"Wait..." Right there, the lightbulb went off. Harley froze in realization and she almost slapped a hand to her forehead. Of course! It was so obvious! The outrage melted into a huge excited grin and she almost looked like she was about to grab the poor guy and shake him. Thankfully, she didn't go that far yet. "He got 'better' he said, right? Everyone's acting like they're 'sane,' right?" The grin got bigger as she got to the crux of the matter. "Sooo, if we make them insane again, then they should get back to normal. Right?"

It made sense to her. You fight backwards brainwashing with more backwards brainwashing! Backwards backwards brainwashing was like forward... washing. It was like making someone step to the left by making them step to the right so much that they wound up on your left!

[sixth-attack.livejournal.com]

"Tell me about it! It's all nothing but bullshit!" Ah! Sharing frustrations like this felt so good! Not as good as beating the crap out of a worthy opponent but it was better than nothing!

With the way the woman looked as though she had just experienced a state of total eureka, Sechs could practically see the light bulb appear above her head! Sechs waited for her to come up with the perfect solution to the problem with a grin that grew just as much as hers. What was on her mind that would bring Teisel back to normal and ease Sechs' worries over his own sanity? He couldn't help but expect something brilliant, like what Desty Nova would come up with.

Yet as soon as the words left the woman's mouth, Sechs could feel his hopes fall like a dense piece of metal. Thunk! His grin disappeared only to be replaced by a befuddled look. "Wait... Make them insane again? But..." Giving the back of his head a thoughtful scratch, Sechs mumbled, "weren't they already sane before but then made to think that they were actually 'insane' and now they're 'sane'? Ugh... This is confusing..."

Alright, maybe the woman's solution wasn't so brilliant at first. But there were times Desty Nova would come up with some crazy stuff that would work in the end.

Trying to clear his mind of the rather loopy idea's confusing logic, Sechs gave off a wary shrug. Well, he might as well give her suggestion a shot. He couldn't think up any ideas himself, except maybe bash some sense into Teisel's brain with a chair...

"So how do you think we can make them... Erm... Insane then?" Sechs asked, "I tried shaking some sense into that 'Todd' guy but that didn't work. Plus those nurses are always breathing down my neck..."

Feeling better over seeing a plan take shape, Sechs figured he'd introduce himself. "By the way, my name -- my real name -- is Sechs. What's yours? And I mean not the stupid fake ones that the nurses slap on everyone here."

[jokers-wildcard.livejournal.com]

"How? Easy! 'All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy,'" she quoted with a big grin. Brilliant words from a brilliant man. "Anyone can snap if they go through a rough enough time, ya know. Just gotta find that button and push it! A buncha times. ...And if that don't work, could always knock their heads a bit." Like they did in those amnesia stories.

Unfortunately this guy spotted the problem before Harley had: Nurses. Okay, maybe she hadn't thought this one through all the way. There was only so much one could do with those biddies eyeballing you every second of the day. She looked around the room at all the nurses scattered along the walls. All packed and ready to pump you full of meds the second you even looked at them funny.

She gave off a defeated pout at their presence. It stank when you had the energy to do something but couldn't do it. "...You gotta point. Those ol' stiffs always ruin everything. You know, even when you think no one's lookin' there's always one that somehow catches ya. It's not fair!" She sighed. "Sooo, I guess we couldn't really do much til the doors open, 'nless we get a fire drill or something."

Note to Self: Look for Fire Alarm pull switch thingie.

"Sechs?" That name. It was better than those Japanese ones she couldn't pronounce, but there was something about it. She felt like she knew that name from somewhere. Not back home, nope. It was right on the edge of her mind as something recognizable but she couldn't quite pinpoint from where Wait... wait... Nope. No clue. Oh well, she'd remember eventually. "That's a strange name. Prolly better than whatever the hags are givin' ya, though." Another glance at the biddies before turning back to Sechs with a grin. "I got enougha people calling me that stupid nurse name. I don't need another one. Just call me Harley, 'kay?"

[sixth-attack.livejournal.com]

"Hmm... Well..." She did kinda have a point there. The whole idea of pissing off Teisel even more than usual sounded fun to Sechs, but it still didn't make much sense when it came to bringing him back to normal... Well, it was better than doing nothing. Maybe screwing around with a "cured" patient enough will reverse the brainwashing they were put through? Yet how much harassment would that take to work?! The last part of the woman's idea brightened Sechs' mood up somewhat. "Yeah, head bashing always makes a good alternative in my opinion," he chuckled.

Nodding to the woman's saddened response, Sechs was quick to add, "or if a riot got started..." Such a chaotic image got Sechs smirking to himself. If he confronted the staff and caused a big enough ruckus to get other patients to join... Hmm...

The expression of lost recollection that fleeted past Harley's face was completely lost on Sechs. "Hey! It's not a strange name!" Sechs grumbled, "but yeah, it's way better than what they've been calling me!" The Replica returned the grin. "Harley, huh? Sure thing!"

It was then that the despised speakers went off and the time for the next shift was announced. Off to be herded off by the nurses again... Sechs grumbled to himself. This stupid game had gotten old a long time ago! With a sigh he heaved himself off the couch. He limped his way out of the room but not before nodding to Harley. "Well, let's give that idea of yours a shot then! We can update each other on our progress. We gotta get some of these people's heads screwed back on right!"

Sechs knew his head was on properly, it was the other poor saps who thought themselves "cured" who needed help, not him. It couldn't be any other way... It just couldn't.