Second Side 11
Chapter 11, early because I have to get up at 4 tomorrow morning. T.T
Cloud tightened his hold on the panicking Roxas and murmured comforting words to try and get Roxas to realize it was him. Zack had blocked their view of the person in the coat and was going off on them.
“Didn’t I already tell you people not to wear those in here?!”
“I - I’m sorry, I didn’t-”
“Get out!”
Sora stared in shock at the scene before him. Sure something similar had been happening when he had woken up earlier that day, but he hadn’t really been awake or even functioning enough to understand the extent of what was happening. The door opened and closed again, but Sora didn’t really pay it much mind.
“God dammit,” Zack whispered and moved back toward the others.
Roxas had stopped fighting against Cloud and was now clinging to his arm and shaking like crazy. His eyes had a far away look to them that assured Zack that Roxas was not seeing them.
“What’s wrong with him?” Sora asked quietly.
“Post-traumatic stress disorder I’d guess,” Cloud sighed.
“Technically it has to last more than a month to be considered PTSD,” Zack commented.
“You know what I mean,” Cloud muttered.
“Probably will happen every time he sees a lab coat, needles, and just about everything the coroner uses,” Zack commented.
“His heart rate jumps every time a door opens too,” Cloud offered.
Sora blinked at them, “How long do you think he’ll be doing that?”
“Who knows? Do you remember how after you were kidnapped you got jumpy whenever someone came within three feet of you for a few months?” Cloud asked, looking at Sora. Sora nodded so Cloud continued, “That was PTSD.”
“He might never get completely over it,” Zack offered after a moment.
“…What did Hojo do to him?” Sora whispered.
“I assure you, you don’t want to know,” Cloud’s quiet voice replied.
________________________________
“Rufus speaking.”
“Rufus, it’s Reeve. I was wondering if you remember your former head of the weapons department Scarlet.”
Rufus blinked and shifted the phone so he could go back to working on his computer, “I do remember her. Why?”
“Would happen to know her whereabouts?”
“Reeve…”
“She’s a suspect,” Reeve said with a sigh, “We need to ask her some questions.”
Rufus paused before opening a document on his computer, “Last I checked she was working as a correctional officer at the Destiny Island prison.”
“Thank you.”
__________________________
“So this is the ShinRa vault… people would kill to see this…”
“Focus would you?”
“Surely you find this a little interesting Saix.”
“We are here to work. You’d do well to remember it Luxord.”
“Shut up both of you,” Leon said as he walked into the room.
Luxord looked up at Leon, “I heard you guys found Roxas.”
Leon nodded, “He’s still at the hospital right now. He’ll be moved to a secret location once he’s released.”
“Serious injuries?” Saix asked.
“More mental than physical,” Leon replied and looked up at the vault in front of him, “Rufus ShinRa says that someone stole from this vault. I want every square inch of this place processed.”
“I get this is a case and to take it seriously, but what’s with the ‘no nonsense’ thing you got going?” Luxord asked with a raised eyebrow.
“This is connected to Hojo,” Leon replied and turned to go check the security system.
Saix and Luxord looked at one another before setting down their kits and pulling their gloves on.
“You take the back; I’ve got the front.”
_________________________
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“No.”
“Comforting.”
“You’re the one who asked.”
“If you don’t think it’s a good idea, then why are we doing it?”
“Because Cloud brought up a very good point.”
“Which was?”
“Better together than apart.”
Axel snapped his mouth shut and stared at Vincent who was across the table from himself and Riku. The former Turk sighed a little.
“He knows where you all live. He flat out told Roxas that he wanted him and Sora. He found out where the safe house was last time if you recall. We’re out of options. Even sending you to another continent wouldn’t be much good since we have no idea where he is right now. We’re low on options.”
Riku’s eyes slid to Axel, “He’s got a good point.”
“Well, why not just stay here then?” Axel gestured toward the building around them.
“That would not be best for Roxas’ mental health,” Vincent said after a moment.
“What do you mean?” Axel asked quietly after a pause.
“He’s had three panic attacks and a breakdown since arriving. Putting him in a place he’s familiar with should help him dramatically.”
“Three?” both Axel and Riku echoed.
“He had another one a little while ago. Or so Cloud says.”
Axel grit his teeth and clenched his fists on the table, “Dammit…”
“What does he keep having the attacks over?” Riku asked since Axel was busy seething to himself.
“Lab coats at the moment. Cloud mentioned that doors opening make him jumpy though.”
“Then staying here would be bad,” Axel agreed having seen every person that worked there wore a lab coat.
“It probably won’t be safe much longer anyway,” Vincent said, almost offhandedly.
Riku and Axel both looked up at him so he expanded.
“Hojo and his accomplice both used to work for ShinRa. While they no longer hold any sort of power they do know a lot of people. Who knows how many they have working with them?”
“When are we leaving then?” Riku asked quietly.
“Very soon.”
____________________________
“Roxas!”
“Olette, you’re cutting off my air supply.”
“That’s what you get! Don’t do that to us again!”
“That’s what Sora said…”
I had become exceedingly bored of the room I was in and had decided to see if I could find the cafeteria that Axel had mentioned. I wasn’t hungry, but I was rather thirsty and that seemed like the place to go to find such things. I was waylaid though as I had ended up in the waiting room where my gang had been chatting. Hence Olette nearly squeezing me to death.
As soon as she let me go Naminé jumped in and I sighed a little, resigned to my fate. Hayner grinned at me and I bumped fists with him.
“Glad to see you’re alright. I was starting to think they were lying to us,” Demyx teased.
I gave a slight shrug, “You know doctors. Always overreacting…”
Zexion gave a light chuckle. Pence smiled a little before speaking.
“Were you going somewhere?”
“I was trying to find the cafeteria but this place is a freaking maze. I’m pretty sure I’ve been wandering for a good twenty minutes now,” I replied with a grin.
“It’s this way,” Olette said, taking the lead.
“How do you know where it is?” Hayner asked.
“Because it’s the way that Sora and Riku and Axel and Vincent went when they were looking for it,” Olette replied.
“Smart ass.”
I chuckled at them as I followed them through more winding hallways. I was having that detached feeling again. It was almost like the last few days hadn’t happened. Zack says that’s a symptom of PTSD. I distantly wondered if this is what insane people felt and why it was so easy for them to do all the things they did.
“Ta da!”
I came out of my thoughts to see that we had found the cafeteria. Why did this whole building have to be nothing but white? Would a little color really kill them? There was color in the room though, I realized after a moment. There was someone who was wearing a vibrant red off in the corner. I blinked, taking a moment to realize that it was Vincent and that Axel and Riku were sitting with him.
“Think we’re allowed to eat?” Hayner asked, licking his lips.
“Sure,” Zexion replied and the group headed over toward the buffet of sorts.
I bypassed it and snagged a water from a basket. I went to remove the cap and gasped as it came off easier than I was expecting. I was also apparently squeezing the bottle a little too hard because water squirted out of it and onto me.
Shit, Zack and Cloud hadn’t been kidding.
“That was smooth Roxas,” Demyx said from my right and I scowled at him.
“You saw nothing…”
“Uh huh…” he replied then nodded toward my shirt, “I think your wet shirt gives you away.”
“It’s black, it’ll be hard to notice,” I replied before heading toward where Axel was, loosening my grip on the bottle a little.
Vincent looked up at me since he was the one facing me. He gave a slight nod of acknowledgement as I slid into the empty chair at the table.
Sebastian, who I hadn’t noticed sitting in Axel’s lap, squealed and made a grabbing motion at me. I hesitated, remembering the water bottle. I didn’t want to hurt him.
“What’s wrong?” Axel asked as he placed Sebastian on the table and slid him toward me.
I very hesitantly picked him up, feeling as though he was going to slip through my hands at any given moment. He didn’t though and he didn’t make any sound to say he was hurting so I placed him on my lap and let out a quiet sigh.
“Nothing,” I said in reply to Axel’s question.
Vincent, who was my new favorite person, decided a subject change was in order, “We were just discussing where you all were going to go when you leave here.”
I blinked at him, sipping at my water bottle, “And…?”
“They want us all to go and stay at Zack’s,” Riku replied.
I made a quiet hum of understanding. Both Axel and Riku blinked at me, clearly surprised at my reaction.
“What?”
“You’re not going to question that?” Axel asked, looking worried.
“No, it makes sense,” I replied.
“What? How could that make sense?” Riku said, looking confused.
“We sure as hell can’t go home, so that rules out both our houses and Cloud’s isn’t safe so Zack’s would be the next best place although it’s probably only a little safer than Cloud’s.” I replied.
“Safer is safer,” was all Vincent had to offer.
Axel blinked, “Why isn’t Cloud’s safe?”
“He’s Cloud,” I answered simply and knew I was getting under both their skins, but I was still oddly detached so that didn’t bother me like it should.
“…You know something,” Riku stated.
I gave a slight shrug, “It’s Cloud’s problem, not mine. You wanna know then ask him.”
Axel nodded in understanding even as Riku looked more annoyed. I rolled my eyes at him.
“I suppose you could ask Sora if you really wanted. He knows too. Kind of.”
“Kind of?” Riku echoed.
I ignored the question and looked at Vincent, “When do we leave?”
“Waiting for the ok from Leon,” Vincent replied.
I nodded again and took another sip of my water. I really didn’t want to deal with the real world just yet.
Next chapter: http://ashley-reyland.livejournal.com/4751.html
Cloud tightened his hold on the panicking Roxas and murmured comforting words to try and get Roxas to realize it was him. Zack had blocked their view of the person in the coat and was going off on them.
“Didn’t I already tell you people not to wear those in here?!”
“I - I’m sorry, I didn’t-”
“Get out!”
Sora stared in shock at the scene before him. Sure something similar had been happening when he had woken up earlier that day, but he hadn’t really been awake or even functioning enough to understand the extent of what was happening. The door opened and closed again, but Sora didn’t really pay it much mind.
“God dammit,” Zack whispered and moved back toward the others.
Roxas had stopped fighting against Cloud and was now clinging to his arm and shaking like crazy. His eyes had a far away look to them that assured Zack that Roxas was not seeing them.
“What’s wrong with him?” Sora asked quietly.
“Post-traumatic stress disorder I’d guess,” Cloud sighed.
“Technically it has to last more than a month to be considered PTSD,” Zack commented.
“You know what I mean,” Cloud muttered.
“Probably will happen every time he sees a lab coat, needles, and just about everything the coroner uses,” Zack commented.
“His heart rate jumps every time a door opens too,” Cloud offered.
Sora blinked at them, “How long do you think he’ll be doing that?”
“Who knows? Do you remember how after you were kidnapped you got jumpy whenever someone came within three feet of you for a few months?” Cloud asked, looking at Sora. Sora nodded so Cloud continued, “That was PTSD.”
“He might never get completely over it,” Zack offered after a moment.
“…What did Hojo do to him?” Sora whispered.
“I assure you, you don’t want to know,” Cloud’s quiet voice replied.
________________________________
“Rufus speaking.”
“Rufus, it’s Reeve. I was wondering if you remember your former head of the weapons department Scarlet.”
Rufus blinked and shifted the phone so he could go back to working on his computer, “I do remember her. Why?”
“Would happen to know her whereabouts?”
“Reeve…”
“She’s a suspect,” Reeve said with a sigh, “We need to ask her some questions.”
Rufus paused before opening a document on his computer, “Last I checked she was working as a correctional officer at the Destiny Island prison.”
“Thank you.”
__________________________
“So this is the ShinRa vault… people would kill to see this…”
“Focus would you?”
“Surely you find this a little interesting Saix.”
“We are here to work. You’d do well to remember it Luxord.”
“Shut up both of you,” Leon said as he walked into the room.
Luxord looked up at Leon, “I heard you guys found Roxas.”
Leon nodded, “He’s still at the hospital right now. He’ll be moved to a secret location once he’s released.”
“Serious injuries?” Saix asked.
“More mental than physical,” Leon replied and looked up at the vault in front of him, “Rufus ShinRa says that someone stole from this vault. I want every square inch of this place processed.”
“I get this is a case and to take it seriously, but what’s with the ‘no nonsense’ thing you got going?” Luxord asked with a raised eyebrow.
“This is connected to Hojo,” Leon replied and turned to go check the security system.
Saix and Luxord looked at one another before setting down their kits and pulling their gloves on.
“You take the back; I’ve got the front.”
_________________________
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“No.”
“Comforting.”
“You’re the one who asked.”
“If you don’t think it’s a good idea, then why are we doing it?”
“Because Cloud brought up a very good point.”
“Which was?”
“Better together than apart.”
Axel snapped his mouth shut and stared at Vincent who was across the table from himself and Riku. The former Turk sighed a little.
“He knows where you all live. He flat out told Roxas that he wanted him and Sora. He found out where the safe house was last time if you recall. We’re out of options. Even sending you to another continent wouldn’t be much good since we have no idea where he is right now. We’re low on options.”
Riku’s eyes slid to Axel, “He’s got a good point.”
“Well, why not just stay here then?” Axel gestured toward the building around them.
“That would not be best for Roxas’ mental health,” Vincent said after a moment.
“What do you mean?” Axel asked quietly after a pause.
“He’s had three panic attacks and a breakdown since arriving. Putting him in a place he’s familiar with should help him dramatically.”
“Three?” both Axel and Riku echoed.
“He had another one a little while ago. Or so Cloud says.”
Axel grit his teeth and clenched his fists on the table, “Dammit…”
“What does he keep having the attacks over?” Riku asked since Axel was busy seething to himself.
“Lab coats at the moment. Cloud mentioned that doors opening make him jumpy though.”
“Then staying here would be bad,” Axel agreed having seen every person that worked there wore a lab coat.
“It probably won’t be safe much longer anyway,” Vincent said, almost offhandedly.
Riku and Axel both looked up at him so he expanded.
“Hojo and his accomplice both used to work for ShinRa. While they no longer hold any sort of power they do know a lot of people. Who knows how many they have working with them?”
“When are we leaving then?” Riku asked quietly.
“Very soon.”
____________________________
“Roxas!”
“Olette, you’re cutting off my air supply.”
“That’s what you get! Don’t do that to us again!”
“That’s what Sora said…”
I had become exceedingly bored of the room I was in and had decided to see if I could find the cafeteria that Axel had mentioned. I wasn’t hungry, but I was rather thirsty and that seemed like the place to go to find such things. I was waylaid though as I had ended up in the waiting room where my gang had been chatting. Hence Olette nearly squeezing me to death.
As soon as she let me go Naminé jumped in and I sighed a little, resigned to my fate. Hayner grinned at me and I bumped fists with him.
“Glad to see you’re alright. I was starting to think they were lying to us,” Demyx teased.
I gave a slight shrug, “You know doctors. Always overreacting…”
Zexion gave a light chuckle. Pence smiled a little before speaking.
“Were you going somewhere?”
“I was trying to find the cafeteria but this place is a freaking maze. I’m pretty sure I’ve been wandering for a good twenty minutes now,” I replied with a grin.
“It’s this way,” Olette said, taking the lead.
“How do you know where it is?” Hayner asked.
“Because it’s the way that Sora and Riku and Axel and Vincent went when they were looking for it,” Olette replied.
“Smart ass.”
I chuckled at them as I followed them through more winding hallways. I was having that detached feeling again. It was almost like the last few days hadn’t happened. Zack says that’s a symptom of PTSD. I distantly wondered if this is what insane people felt and why it was so easy for them to do all the things they did.
“Ta da!”
I came out of my thoughts to see that we had found the cafeteria. Why did this whole building have to be nothing but white? Would a little color really kill them? There was color in the room though, I realized after a moment. There was someone who was wearing a vibrant red off in the corner. I blinked, taking a moment to realize that it was Vincent and that Axel and Riku were sitting with him.
“Think we’re allowed to eat?” Hayner asked, licking his lips.
“Sure,” Zexion replied and the group headed over toward the buffet of sorts.
I bypassed it and snagged a water from a basket. I went to remove the cap and gasped as it came off easier than I was expecting. I was also apparently squeezing the bottle a little too hard because water squirted out of it and onto me.
Shit, Zack and Cloud hadn’t been kidding.
“That was smooth Roxas,” Demyx said from my right and I scowled at him.
“You saw nothing…”
“Uh huh…” he replied then nodded toward my shirt, “I think your wet shirt gives you away.”
“It’s black, it’ll be hard to notice,” I replied before heading toward where Axel was, loosening my grip on the bottle a little.
Vincent looked up at me since he was the one facing me. He gave a slight nod of acknowledgement as I slid into the empty chair at the table.
Sebastian, who I hadn’t noticed sitting in Axel’s lap, squealed and made a grabbing motion at me. I hesitated, remembering the water bottle. I didn’t want to hurt him.
“What’s wrong?” Axel asked as he placed Sebastian on the table and slid him toward me.
I very hesitantly picked him up, feeling as though he was going to slip through my hands at any given moment. He didn’t though and he didn’t make any sound to say he was hurting so I placed him on my lap and let out a quiet sigh.
“Nothing,” I said in reply to Axel’s question.
Vincent, who was my new favorite person, decided a subject change was in order, “We were just discussing where you all were going to go when you leave here.”
I blinked at him, sipping at my water bottle, “And…?”
“They want us all to go and stay at Zack’s,” Riku replied.
I made a quiet hum of understanding. Both Axel and Riku blinked at me, clearly surprised at my reaction.
“What?”
“You’re not going to question that?” Axel asked, looking worried.
“No, it makes sense,” I replied.
“What? How could that make sense?” Riku said, looking confused.
“We sure as hell can’t go home, so that rules out both our houses and Cloud’s isn’t safe so Zack’s would be the next best place although it’s probably only a little safer than Cloud’s.” I replied.
“Safer is safer,” was all Vincent had to offer.
Axel blinked, “Why isn’t Cloud’s safe?”
“He’s Cloud,” I answered simply and knew I was getting under both their skins, but I was still oddly detached so that didn’t bother me like it should.
“…You know something,” Riku stated.
I gave a slight shrug, “It’s Cloud’s problem, not mine. You wanna know then ask him.”
Axel nodded in understanding even as Riku looked more annoyed. I rolled my eyes at him.
“I suppose you could ask Sora if you really wanted. He knows too. Kind of.”
“Kind of?” Riku echoed.
I ignored the question and looked at Vincent, “When do we leave?”
“Waiting for the ok from Leon,” Vincent replied.
I nodded again and took another sip of my water. I really didn’t want to deal with the real world just yet.
Next chapter: http://ashley-reyland.livejournal.com/4751.html