Night 54: M1-M10 Hallway
Having to endure an empty room for yet another night had Sora worried. Were they not planning to give him a new roommate? He didn't know how these soldier people worked -- would they rather that patients were left in their rooms alone? That didn't make much sense, but he really didn't know what to expect anymore
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This…was tasting more like the bad kinda funky.
Dean was a little queasy before the intercom came on, trying to decide if he was food poisoned like a wussy or not (c’mon, he would’ve liked to say he had a stronger stomach than Sam). He seriously doubted it was actual regular poisoning. Didn’t seem like the Institute’s style, something that direct. And sure, he’d tried to make a break for it from the cafeteria, but he hadn’t exactly resisted or broke a guard’s nose, so there was that, right? Dean looked up from slipping on his necklace as the intercom came on with the computerized system thing. So first the coup or whatever you wanted to call it with Martin Landel in the Sun Room, now some mystery Project 2911?
He was pretty sure he’d had a big “what the fuck” face during the whole Sun Room thing. He’d be damned if Sam didn’t have the same reaction.
So…so what, he was supposed to believe that Martin Landel had their best interests at heart? Screw that. Tell that to the folks who got chewed on every night ‘cause of all the freak spirits and plain freaky things he kept turning loose on ‘em every night. Not that Dean figured the new people were going to be much better. For one, they seemed a lot more on the ball with surveillance, so sneaking out could be better. He was sure this was the part where those doors wouldn’t open. The click of the locks proved him wrong, Dean glancing over, surprised.
Okay, so much for that idea. Dean waited, dressed and pretty much ready, for Yuffie to come by to drop the goods. He wasn’t sure what to do next. Find Sam was the obvious one. He sat propped up oby the edge of the desk, biding his time by picking at his nails with the bowie knife.
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"Knock knock!" Yuffie called, as she rapped awkwardly on the door of M2. Both of her hands were full, but in the end she'd decided to forgo knocking with her forehead (or her foot) in favor of just, you know. Adjusting her grip on the sheaf of papers. "Ninja Express, special delivery for Dean!"
What exactly a 'ninja' was, Yuffie didn't know. She had a vague yet sure feeling that it was something amazing, something special, something that she was the best at. She knew that it was why she never carried a flashlight; why wearing short shorts was practical as well as cute; why she had a short sword-wakizashi-at her hip and two knives hidden away, even with the gigantic shuriken securely in hand. She also knew that it was how she had two knives hidden away, because gawd knew that it took skill and ingenuity to hide much of anything on an outfit like the one she was wearing.
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Dean opened the door. He stared.
Yuffie was a friggen walking arsenal, and not only that, but she was old school. Was that a short sword? Who carried those? Machetes were more his thing, except staring at what she was packing, Dean wasn't thinking much of machetes. Where she even got a hugeass ninja star was beyond him. Much less how she could possibly hide that in the rooms without someone getting suspicious. Color Dean impressed. He moved to stand aside, letting Yuffie in. He wasn't too worried about a possible demon: not with the salt line around M2 or the devil's trap on the ceiling.
Fruity crayon or not.
"Overkill much?" Dean said as he walked inside M2 and turned around by the desk, hand on his him. Okay, yeah, he couldn't stop staring at the ninja star. It looked like it should be pretty heavy but either it was made out of cardboard or it must've been made of something he hadn't ever heard of for a skinny chick like that to carry it that easily.
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With unabashed curiosity, Yuffie stared around the Spartan bedroom, even as she held out the papers for Dean to take. The room wasn't any different from her own, of course; all of them were the same. But it looked like she'd made more personal touches than Dean. … 'cept for maybe that big ol'…. Uhm… symbol-thingie he'd drawn on the ceiling. She squinted up at it, tilting her head. It was like nothing she'd ever seen before, unless she'd gone and forgotten it.
… Which, given her current state of mind, wasn't as crazy dumb or way out there as it seemed.
"Say, uh, Dean…" she trailed off, shuffling her shuriken. She set it slightly behind and to the side of herself, grip relaxed-belatedly, she'd remembered how she'd done that out of 'super basic warrior courtesy' or whatever when she'd gone to visit Okita that one time. "Do you feel… Weird? Like, uh. 'Something just messed with my head'-style weird?" It was, after all, one thing to admit that there was a problem and completely another to admit that, deep down in her squishy inner center, it was... kind of troublesome...
Because she definitely wasn't scared at all. Nope. Not even a little bit.
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Dean was still trying to figure out how you could possibly lose a bigass shuriken in the first place as Yuffie got a look around. And then brought up the funky feeling.
"More like stomach but now that you mention it..." Dean trailed off. Actually, he did feel a little weird up there too, right in the back of his head, this kinda light pressure as if someone being a dick and poking him right there. What was with that? That wasn't no food poisoning, and Yuffie getting something similar. Dean moved to lean up against the desk's edge, folding his arms over his chest. "Kinda. Right here," he patted the back of his head. "What about you?"
There wasn't a real subtle, polite way to go about asking if she felt like she was gonna croak. Hell, he had less than a year but despite that, he wasn't gunning to die any time soon if he could help it. Dean focused on Yuffie, taking her in. She looked pretty healthy to him, just from a glance. Confused about something, sure, but today especially had been a big basket case. Still, if there was something in the water (or food, whatever), they should probably figure it out. Dean had to say that aside from the funky feeling, he felt...okay? He didn't much feel like he was dying himself, come to think of it.
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When Dean moved to lean against his desk, Yuffie followed suit-except she made a beeline for the closet. Her instincts suggested that she open it and root around inside, but she squashed them. There'd be time for that later, preferably when he wasn't standing right there in front of her. "Uhm, well… how to put this…" she trailed off, tapping her knuckles against her chin. In the end, when a handful of seconds had ticked happily on by and serious, thoughtful words to say still hadn't come to her, Yuffie decided that her best (and only) option was to blurt: "It's… actually, it feels kind of a lot like I'm missing most of my life, probably because I am, and gawd, that's a lot of stuff to miss. I'm pretty damn sure by now that I don't remember anythin' from before I came here. To Landel's in general, I mean."
Yuffie paused to breathe, and to run the hand formerly at her chin through her hair. Saying it out-loud like that, to another person… somebody who wasn't her, somebody that wasn't something, like her shuriken… it brought a whole new level of reality to the problem. "It's better than, I dunno, spewing up blood and having three hours left to live or whatever, but… Man. It's awkward, you know?"
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"Yeah, no kidding," Dean said, snorting. Looking at her, he didn't think she was making it up. She was too fidgety and not the fake kind, either. "Okay, okay, let's back up. So the very first thing you remember is just being here, all the time? 'Cause juddging from the heat you're packing, that didn't just pop out of nowhere."
Okay, fine. Maybe he wasn't the best at giving these kind of pep talks. This was more Sam's thing, walking people through stuff. Dean was more get the answers, gank the hunt, possibly spread 'em for the hot blonde at the dive ten miles down the road, and move on. Dean shifted his weight against the desk. Wasn't exactly a nice way to put this, but he might as well get it over with:
"It's possible they could've done something to your memory. Picked out stuff. Question is if it's permanent or not," Dean added.
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She knew that she had friends from back home trapped here right alongside her. She knew that there was something… wrong, about that. Things didn't add up between them. But it was fuzzy; remembering memories of memories was like trying to hold water in cupped hands. Or, was it…? Yuffie sighed, knocking her head back against the door of the closet. All this thinking around and around in circles was gonna give her one hell of a headache, especially if she kept taking it so seriously.
"It's more than just possible, sheesh… considerin' some of the other stuff Landel and his cronies got up to, this stuff must be easy-peasy." But the idea of it being permanent-she hadn't even thought about that! Yuffie froze, trying desperately to reassure herself that despite what she'd just said aloud to Dean, no way would she be stuck like this forever; it was impossible, she'd be just fine, just wait and see; she'd have her memory back as it should be in no time at all. "Th… That… woah, that'd… kinda suck, huh… But! But, I have better things to do than stand around and worry about ifs and buts and maybes."
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"So what'd you have in mind?" Dean asked. "'Cause I was about to say that in your state, it's probably safer, but I'm not your babysitter, either."
But he didn't intend to just turn his back on her if she did decide to take off. The right thing to do was dog after her, make sure she didn't get herself killed or ran into someone who wasn't exactly real friendly. Dean could see this as being a long, long night, his eyes going over involuntarily to that big shuriken. What was that movie? Okay, it was no BB gun, but seriously, that thing could totally poke your eye out if you so much as looked at it wrong.
Dean could think of a few things she'd probably want to do. Get answers was the most obvious. Hell, he'd want to do the same thing if he was in her place, and he was sorta-kinda sure he wasn't there yet. Niggling funky feeling or not. He remembered everything here and before Landels, aside from his...supposed first time here. Okay, maybe he wasn't exactly one to talk but at least it wasn't recent like tonight recent. Dean watched Yuffie, frowning slightly.
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… And then the radio came on.
"So head away from the building if you want to chat, okay?" said the faceless voice. The words jumped out at her, practically smacking her in the face. It had been way too long since she'd last made a try for the world outside; a few days, at least.
"Away from the building," Yuffie repeated, cocking her head. "On a scale of one to dumb, that's, like, astronomically 'totally nutso why would you even think about wanting to think about that', but…" Maybe that guy would hold some answers. Maybe he'd also be a trap; a crazy guy just waiting to tear apart the first unlucky sucker who fell for his play. Maybe, just maybe, he'd be worth the risk anyway, if they could even reach him before morning fell.
Yuffie grinned at Dean. "Whaddya say? Between the two of us, we've got a pretty good chance-I may have lost a whole bunch of memories, but I still know how to take care of myself."
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For all he knew, he was. It didn’t exactly feel like anything was missing. But what the dude said on the radio made it seem like if you ate any of the food at all, you were up shit creek, so…yeah, he was just gonna hope he didn’t end up with his head exploding on some delayed timer or ending up like Yuffie. No offense. Dean frowned and then shrugged. If she was taking off outside, he was going after her. If they put something in the food, then if she started losing more memories on the way, she might need someone there who at least knew, sorta, what she was going through. Dean grabbed his duffel bag, relieved at least the nurses weren’t going to be out. He thought he vaguely remembered a nurse during Doyleton but he wasn’t sure. He’d been sorta busy drooling on Sam at the time.
“Can’t hurt,” Dean said, with a look at Yuffie that said don’t even go there. Yeah, it could hurt if they ran into a goblin or - or whatever was out there, but she knew what he meant. “I’ve wanted to get a better look outside. Maybe he’ll know about your memory problem.”
Sucked balls for her to be missing parts of her memory. He hoped she just wasn’t gonna start leaking more on him on the way out. Dean wasn’t sure he was all that prepared for some chick forgetting stuff like what happened two minutes ago or even forgetting how to walk.
"After you." Dean motioned at the door. Hitching up his duffel bag, he checked the catch release of his knife's sheath, ready to go.
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The move was instantaneous, and Castiel felt the change in temperature (from the cold outside air to the more heated patient room) and yet managed to keep his balance and bearing. He was right at Dean's side, as he'd planned to be, with Orihara standing next to him.
He took his hand off of the young man immediately, turning to Dean first. Though he didn't miss the fact that there was one other patient there, a girl in full outfit and heavily armed. Her choice of weaponry was a bit antiquated, though Castiel wasn't one to judge such a thing, seeing how he normally fought with a knife or his fists.
"Dean," he greeted immediately, only realizing at a delay that this version of the older Winchester wasn't exactly used to his sudden appearances.
But this was fortunate. It would prove that he wasn't all talk, that he was in fact capable of more than a human. Whether it would convince the man that he was an angel remained to be seen, but he was allowing himself to be hopeful.
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Izaya might have enjoyed the first instance of teleporting, but this second one was another matter. He'd been prepared for the first time (or as prepared as he could have been), but Castiel had taken hold of his arm without warning this time. A wave of uncertainty washed over him, about-... Well, it must have been about the teleporting. If Castiel could only go places he'd been, was this really usefully? Was this even safe?
The next thing he knew, they were back inside, near a man and a young lady in clothes that might have been trendy somewhere, but who (thanks to the weapons) practically looked like she was dressed in some cosplay. Castiel apparently knew the guy.
Castiel was paying more attention to his acquaintance than Izaya at the moment, but that didn't stop Izaya from commenting (more sharply than he'd meant to), "Warn me the next time you try that."
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Half a second before, wham! Two guys! Out of nowhere!
"The hell?!" Yuffie yelped, startling backwards. The motion took her straight into the closed door of the closet; the handle dug uncomfortably into her back, and she hopped forward again to escape it. "You guys-that's-rude, geez!" It was halfway through her mess of exclamations that Yuffie realized she'd automatically brought her shuriken up, holding it at the ready to… to… decapitate, or something. Maybe. (And there it went, in the back of her mind; a quick-flash replay of solid steel and cracking bones.)
Yuffie kept her eyes fixed on the interlopers, careful and measuring despite her more energetic outward reaction. It was strange… her body had moved on its own, almost, more quickly that she could keep up with. Her hands were dead steady, both of them, and although the shuriken felt heavy, it also felt familiar-too familiar to be discomforting. But she didn't move to attack, or to run away (not that she could've, she knew; ninja or not, they were between her and the door, and it wasn't like there was a whole lot of room left anyway.) If Dean knew the guy-one or both-then how this played out was his call, not hers.
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Dean jumped at the voice and presence suddenly at his side, starting as he whirled away and found himself almost side by side with Yuffie. Okay, so having a wall at your back wasn't the best move but what the hell? How did Castiel and - okay, he didn't know who the other guy was, but seriously, did it even matter - get in here. Dean had his hand on his knife without even thinking about it, even if Yuffie had beat him to the punch with her shuriken. Dean didn't quite relax, his heart still racing as he glanced from Castiel to...well, whoever his pal was.
"How'd you get in here?" Dean found his voice. "Who're you?"
Castiel, he knew. But seeing as he plain wasn't used to people just beaming into his room, he thought he had a right to know who was gonna be popping in. Was this more of those rings teleporting folks around? Dean couldn't even tell Yuffie, with her memory all shot to hell, if this was normal, 'cause he didn't even know himself.
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A room, with both Dean and a female in it. He'd known Dean for long enough to realize that this signified. Copulation befuddled the angel, but it was not his place to judge. In that case, he would need to quickly explain and move on.
Ignoring the weapons that were raised against him, Castiel glanced around the room for a moment, noticing that it was identical to his own. Then he turned to Dean and gave a minute shrug of his shoulders. "I had reason to believe that you did not trust what I said about what I am." The skepticism had been clear on both Dean and Sam's faces that first day.
"It appears that some of my power has returned to me. I felt that I should show it to you firsthand." Now it would be difficult for Dean to argue with his claim; that was his theory, at the least.
"However, it seems that you are busy," Castiel continued with a pointed glance in the girl's direction, "so I will take my leave." He glanced to Orihara then, giving him a silent warning that they would be moving again soon.
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