damned_institute | Day 51: Breakfast

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Day 51: Breakfast

Yuffie Kisaragi, indomitable bouncing ball of sunshine and unfathomable ebullience, was tired. It'd been a long night full of gibberish and getting nowhere fast.

"Can't I—"

Plucky, who had been busily loading a plate full of French toast and bacon, tittered. "I'm afraid not, Hanna, darling. A chat over a nice, hearty breakfast would do you a world of good, don't you think?"

"Aaaaactually—"

"Come on, let's find you a seat. Plenty to choose from this morning!"

For a long moment, Yuffie seriously considered doing something—anything—to act out. Punch her nurse, rub jam in an orderly's face, climb a wall and hang off the ceiling, jump on a table and parody Loveless… A ruckus like that would definitely jolt her back into gear, right? Sedation aside. And it'd turn Plucky's good day right on its head, which was always a bonus worth shooting for.

But, by the time she'd reached a decision—and it was an epic decision, a really awesome one; everybody'd appreciate the genius, she was sure—she was already alone. Her breakfast tray had been set down neatly by the nurse, who had left with an infuriatingly winsome smile.

"Wow," Yuffie muttered. Shaking her head, she picked a chair at random and threw herself into it. She kicked back, one arm slung across her eyes, to wait. For what, she wasn't totally sure. Some moron to decide that she looked like good company? That was how it usually went.

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Ema woke up to Agatha ranting and raving, which was simultaneously terrifying and a relief. The threats were horrific and, worse, Ema was roughly 90% positive that Agatha wasn't kidding; something in her tone was visceral and not to be reckoned with. On the flip side, however, the rage also meant that Agatha was back to herself. That fact, at least, was good to learn.

While Ema understood why Agatha was so upset, she was also aware of the reality that surrounded them. Agatha needed to calm down before one of the nurses came, since attacking the staff would only end badly for her. They had no power, especially during the day when they were so closely monitored.

"Agatha?" Ema kicked off her covers and scrambled out of her bed, crossing the room to her roommate. "Please calm down, please!"

Agatha's fury was strong, even in the absence of a decent target. Ema's appearance was just a reminder that they'd hurt her friend and had her considering doing that too, and if that was on the table there was really no reason to assume the Lilith and Adam she'd seen were copies- sweet lightning, that thought hurt, and turning her grief to rage was something purely defensive. It was better than breaking down.

"You think I shouldn't fill their abdominal cavities with lab pests?" she asked as she sat up. Her tone was marginally more human, since she was talking to someone she didn't want to viciously murder, but the mad rage was still obvious in every sound that passed her lips, and her expression made her look far less like her usual self than she had the night before. "Why the devil not?"

Ema couldn't help but feel a little put-off by Agatha's continued ire. Sure, it wasn't directed at her and it was most definitely justified, but it was also a darker side of her roommate that she hadn't seen before now. She made the mental note to never, ever enrage Agatha. Having her abdominal cavities filled with lab pests sounded extremely unpleasant, scientifically speaking.

With a brief glance at the door to make sure a nurse wasn't flitting in at the worst possible time, Ema stood her ground. "Because it won't actually fix anything! It'll just get you into trouble with them, and they have capabilities beyond what either of us are capable of even imagining! You'll wind up hurt--or worse--and I don't want to see that happen to you!" Her tone was cutting and a little huffy, based on the hypothesis that Agatha would respond better to someone with a rigid backbone. She almost felt like Lana in that moment, actually.

That was an interesting thought. She'd have to consider it more completely later on.

Yeah, and how did you provoke them the other night? Agatha thought, but even in her rage she was aware that would be a stupid thing to actually say. It was still true that she'd just end up drugged and losing control again, and if Ema was finding "the madness place" disturbing, it was best she didn't meet Lucrezia.

Besides, seeing her cellmate coming over all determined and protective was reminding Agatha of something that made her curious. "How did you find me?" she asked; her expression only slightly relented, but the intensity in her voice was of a different kind. "Why" wasn't even worth asking. Of course you looked after your friends.

"My sister, mostly. She suggested we look in the Sun Room, since brainwashed patients have been found there before, and she saw you upstairs on the balcony." Ema decided not to clarify why only Lana could see Agatha from the Sun Room below; it was embarrassing and unnecessary to bring up her newfound shortcomings, especially at a time like this. "Once we knew where you were, we hurried upstairs to try and stop anyone from hurting you or you from hurting anyone against your will. We... we would have made it there sooner, but the feedback over the speakers was... really loud." Her gaze fell ever so slightly out of guilt. Even though her being affected by the noise was scientifically reasonable--even expected--Ema still couldn't help but feel like she should have been able to ignore it somehow.

"I'm glad that you weren't hurt, Agatha. I don't know what good we actually did, but... we tried."

Not badly hurt would probably have been more accurate; Agatha shut her eyes briefly and remembered the flames. She was pretty sure most of this morning's bruises were from that alone, and as furious as it had made her, she probably could have killed someone. With a different weapon, things could have been very different. And that only raised more questions.

"I know I didn't want to hurt anyone," she mused, "the point was to make them turn back. And they gave me the foil, not any kind of death ray. Obviously-"

She didn't get to say what was obvious, because at that point the door lock clicked, opened, and admitted That Nurse. "It's good to see you're making such good friends!" she chirped.

Agatha's expression darkened again, but she did manage to restrain herself from attempting to strangle the woman. "Don't you knock?"

Ema turned to face the nurse, her own expression not much lighter than Agatha's. Every morning of them entering the room, smiling as if nothing at all was wrong with this place, was becoming more and more difficult to bear. Considering that this place pretended to be a mental hospital, it was a wonder that more of its so-called patients didn't go completely crazy just dealing with it.

Closing in on Agatha protectively, Ema answered, "Of course we're making friends." All the patients in this hospital had were each other; why wouldn't they bond?

The nurse smiled more broadly at the pair, if it was at all possible. "I don't know what difference me knocking would make. You have to go to breakfast either way. Now come on, girls, or the food will be cold!" She stepped aside and held the door open, looking at the pair of teenagers expectantly.

Ema turned back to her roommate. "I guess that's our cue. Breakfast will be good for both of us."

Agatha shrugged; That Nurse inspired contrariness even when it made no sense, but it wasn't as if she'd planned on not eating. It didn't make her less annoyed, but she did trudge out the door after seeking and squeezing Ema's hand in a try for comfort. Both ways, if she was honest.

"How do you know we're not changing, or something?" she griped, once she was out in the hall. That Nurse apparently chose to ignore this in favor of urging the girls along, even though Agatha thought it had been a good point. Sure, those in charge had an obvious disregard for their prisoners that went far beyond a little thing like nudity, but this was them playing nice. One would think that would count for a little consideration.

Ema thought it was a good point as well, although she wasn't surprised when the nurse ignored it. They tended to only hear what they wanted to hear in situations like these, something Ema learned yesterday in the worst way. She hoped she wouldn't end up with another terrible headache today.

The two of them entered the cafeteria area, and Ema couldn't help but wince slightly at the increase in noise. The nurse must have been running late in collecting them, because the room was already half-full with patients eating their breakfasts and talking. Looking around, there was one head that Ema didn't see amongst the crowd. "Where's my sister?"

"Oh, Shirley? She's not feeling well today, so she's staying in bed." The woman paused for a few moments, then quickly added in response to Ema's extremely worried facial expression, "There's no need to fuss over it, Marie. She'll be fine; she's probably just tired."

'More like she's run herself to exhaustion because of you people.' Ema thought darkly. If that was the case, it was better to let Lana sleep today. With a small huff, she took Agatha's hand and started pulling her toward the food--and away from the nurse. Ema's own patience with them was starting to rub thin, so it was better to just ignore her for now.

"It's early in the day. I'm sure she's fine." Agatha hadn't spoken with Lana much, and certainly wasn't nearly as attached to her as her own sister would be, but in the little acquaintance they did have she'd seemed decent if brusque. She certainly wasn't thrilled to find anyone unaccounted for, but she'd just have to rely on their captors' habit of waiting till at least dinner to do anything.

Besides, Agatha reflected, piling her plate nearly to overflowing with mainly sausage, she entirely understood the urge to sleep in. She'd been up till all hours fighting, and though once again she didn't feel as tired or as beaten up as she reasonably should, she was still feeling it.

"I'm sure she is, too. It's just... she's my family. I can't help but worry." Leaving the discussion at that, Ema helped herself to french toast and fruit, opting for carbohydrates over protein even though the latter made for a better breakfast, scientifically speaking. However, carbohydrates were more delicious, and in this case taste won over science.

Once the pair found a place to sit where they could be (mostly) left alone, Ema sighed. "Honestly, we should all be on the brink of exhaustion. By my calculations--and they're really rough ones--we're allowed maybe a few hours of sleep every night. That's not enough for a person to get any significant rest."

"Well, it's pretty clear they're accelerating healing," said Agatha weakly. Family was not a happy subject right now. "I'd imagine they're accelerating the effects of sleep, too, which is a neat trick, by the way..."

Agatha's tone only got more distant over the course of that comment, and at the end she just stared at the half-eaten sausage link on her fork for a moment. "Geargrit, why are we even talking about this?" she whispered. "I think they got my parents, Ema..."

"They have your parents?!" Ema could only assumed that Agatha meant 'brainwashed,' given the circumstances of their conversation so far. Was that how the visitations happened, then? Bring in people they know and brainwash them into thinking all of this is legitimate? It was a horrifying thought. More than that, however, it explained Agatha's terrible mood yesterday during dinner.

Every time Ema thought she'd seen the worst of this place, it somehow managed to surprise her with something even worse. She felt an indignant anger blossoming in her chest. Suddenly, all of Agatha's horrible threats from earlier were starting to sound like good ideas.

"We'll make them pay for that, and we'll find a way to get your parents back. We just have to find a way out of this place first."

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Day 51: Breakfast

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