[Nightshift 28] M-A Block, 11-20 hallway
[ From here.]There didn’t seem to be anyone else around the area, something he was rather pleased to se, as he sauntered down the hallway until he made it to the door to his room. He’d feel better himself having a weapon in his hand. While it was convenient being able to at least paralyse his prey, there was a sense of comfort felt within with
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Yeah whatever, it wasn't like he slept his way to the top like Saïx.
Still, it wasn't like the redhead had an easy time answering Ashton's question. He didn't seem to be the right person to ask since he'd only gotten a heart only recently, and even then it was just some sorry excuse for a replacement. So he was rather ignorant of the fluttering feelings of 'love', or at least the deeper meaning if one ignored all the science about hormones and the like.
"Well, since Dias wouldn't be the kind to braid flowers into your hair," Axel started as he stretched about in their room. "I suggest you confront him about it, but not in front of everyone else. Keep it to yourselves for a while."
Axel had kept his chakram underneath the mattress of his bed, so that was the first thing that he dived for. He spun it once before nodding in satisfaction, glancing over at his closet in thought. Since there was the possibility of them going outside at some point, it would've been smart to grab his coat just in case. However, just as he pulled open the closet door, he couldn't help but drop his weapon in surprise, too shocked with what he found to pay much mind to the loud clatter of metal on the hard floor.
Even if it was pretty dark Axel could still catch the dark mass of his Organization coat that hung there as if it'd been there the whole time. He made a quick swipe for the hanger that held it, pulling it out and gave it a thorough look through.
"... What the hell?!" Was his delayed reaction nearly ten seconds after he found it.
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And then there was the issue of the telepaths of Landel's, who would know automatically. When would River confront either himself or Dias about it?
He wasn't looking forward to that. Further thought on the matter was interrupted by that terrible, clattering sound and a garment being pulled out of a closet. A... black dress? ...He looked like he recognized that outfit, judging from the reaction. Was Axel a crossdresser too or had someone hung their dress in his closet or - or -
He stared at his roommate for a second, then edged over to his own closet and pulled the doors open.
...Well, sure enough, there it was. He pulled out his own purple robe, complete with cape and belt and - "Oh, Tria! Axel! My duds! ...Are those your duds? But why are they here?"
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He knew he should've been somewhat repulsed by the sight, but it was one that brought a strange sense of comfort that he hadn't felt before until now. He wondered if the rest of his outfit was in there, and with enough searching was successful in finding his pants, gloves and boots folded and lying off in the far corner. Axel set everything on his bed, spreading them carefully over the entire length before crossing his arms and sighed.
"Either this is an early Christmas present or they just want a little variety." Or the things could be wired so they could keep an eye on everyone, but a thorough search was enough to dismiss that theory. He had no idea why they'd do this, but he guess he shouldn't take their gracious moods for granted.
And so, with a bit of hesitation, he began to shed his current clothing, not really minding that Ashton was in the same room since they also happened to share the same shower space. Even though he seemed slow, his movements were second nature, fitting on his pants and toeing on his boots (making sure to tuck them in right after) before finally shrugging his coat on, zipping it around until he had it just right. The material was tight and constricting, but it'd only been two weeks so the feeling wasn't too foreign, and it was almost cozy in a sense.
It wasn't until he stretched his gloves on and smoothed out his outfit did he turn around and graced his roommate with one of his usual grins.
"So how do I look?"
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It was like they were making them try to feel more at home in the Institute. But Ashton knew if he tried to wear this stuff during the day it'd be snatched up faster than he could believe.
(And there was another mention of 'Christmas' - Ashton still wasn't sure what Christmas entailed besides giving gifts to loved ones, but now didn't seem to be the proper time to ask.)
Well, there was only one thing to do, and that was strip. He turned around (Ashton was a modest fellow, even though there really should be nothing to hide) and threw off the hooded sweatshirt, the thin t-shirt, and the khaki pants in excitement. After he was stripped down to his underwear (and kind of cold) he pulled his comfortable pants on and tucked them into his own boots. Then he slid his robe over his head - noting how easy it was without dragons, how it always had been before their possession, and also noting that there were no holes in the back as there had been since - and tied his belt in a jaunty knot at his hip.
When he turned around to gather his cape and headband, Axel was dressed already, and Ashton had to pause. "You look.. dramatic. It's a nice coat. Is that a favorite outfit of yours, or is it a uniform?"
Ashton fastened the cape around his neck as he spoke, then went to working on securing his headband, making sure it looked just so. It was comforting, feeling these clothes again. Even though there were no more holes for his beloved dragons.
"There are such memories in this outfit," he added, searching the pockets for the jewelry he tended to keep in there - and actually finding some. From how the objects felt under his fingers, he gathered that they had left him the sapphire ring, it felt like, and the engraved pendant. And - was that the silver bracelet? No way~
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His eyes were still lingering on the robe that his roommate wore, and then pictured the man twirling his swords about as he ran around the battlefield. Of course, it was an image that cracked out a grin from the corner of his mouth, but he could see the advantages it brought to wear such an outfit. The redhead took a moment more to mentally critique the outfit before granting Ashton two thumbs up and made a grab for his single chakram.
Oh, what he'd give to get another, but one would be enough for now.
"I wonder if the others got theirs." Axel spoke to himself. He was being rather vague with his question, considering that he could be talking about anyone, but his mind was dead set on the Nobodies.
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He slid the sword down into its correct place at his side, feeling a little off-balance since Claude was currently in possession of the other one.
The beam of the flashlight dropped to illuminate the floor. "It really makes me feel like we're both veterans of this place, I guess. Being here long enough to get good weapons, get our own outfits back.. get experimented upon.. I dunno. I'm not sure if that makes us lucky or unlucky."
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But alas, such was their luck. It wasn't like they'd last much longer anyway considering the fact that mostly everyone came back from the dead when they arrived here.
But now Ashton posed an intriguing concept, one that made him laugh out as he thought about it. It really was true wasn't it? It'd felt like months since they arrived, and during that time they've definitely gained enough bizarre experiences to make a bestselling novel.
"It just means we'll have to pave the way for the newbies that'll be popping up soon. One guy I met has actually been here for a whole month, and he told me that the second or third day I arrived. I'm surprised he hasn't gone mad yet."
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Ashton had never really been part of an organization before. Well, not before the Cooking Club, he supposed.
"A month, huh." Come to think of it, that sounded like how long Colonel Mustang had said he'd been here. How terrifying. But then when Axel went and had to mention going mad, Ashton couldn't help but look away. "I'm surprised, too..."
The swordsman cleared his throat, his voice shaky and worried. "Like, suppose that you'd been seeing strange things and hearing weird screams and, um, now voices that really shouldn't be there. I mean, would you call that going mad? Or, um, do you think it's just a side effect of this place?"
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"It depends what you mean. I haven't seen anyone go insane on their own in this place, or at least, anyone that I've talked to. However, suppose that person was put under some kind of experiment, then it could be plausible. I don't know if they have a term for it where you're from, but when you hear voices it's usually from a disorder called 'schizophrenia'. Though like I said, I haven't seen anyone with the symptoms ever since I arrived."
Already, Axel was itching to find out what happened last night, and with good reason as well. Ashton wouldn't have brought something like that out of the blue if he hadn't been experiencing something similar. And so, pushing back modesty for the time, he took a step forward and graced his roommate with a quizzically curious look.
"What exactly did they do to you last night...?"
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A disorder called 'schizophrenia', huh? Ashton had never heard of such a thing. Bowman probably knew more about something like that, Claude too, probably. But Ashton wasn't a very educated man, after all. That made him even more nervous, the thought of being given a disorder of some sorts.
But then Axel had to go ahead and ask that question, and Ashton took a deep breath before he started in on his own personal little monologue.
"I.. I don't know. I guess. I mean, I asked the guy a bunch of times, but he'd never say what his goal was, or why they'd brought me there. He.. he knew about you, too. I mean, he mentioned you, and.. yeah. Um." This was harder than he thought it would be. "He cut the back of my head open, and then there were masheens and I felt pressure, and when I stopped screaming.." He pressed his lips together tightly for a moment, the memory suddenly rather painful. "He told me that he was sticking a needle in my brain. And that's when I heard them. Gyoro and Ururun." His dragons.
He looked up again, meeting his roommate's gaze with wide eyes. "I mean, I had heard a weird shriek in the doctor's office the other day, and I saw that enormous eye in the middle of my breakfast, too. But hearing them at that point - they - it just seemed so real, and it was comforting at that time, at least until they went away. But now the more I think about it I'm afraid that he killed them, and those words were their last words to me, or... either that or I'm crazy, and I have that schizophrenia thing you were talking about, or.."
Ashton trailed off, unsure of what else he could say.
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"I can't exactly pinpoint what they'd done to you. For all I know they could've injected their thoughts right into your brain, though that in itself is unlikely. What I want to know though is where exactly they put that needle."
And like that Axel fell silent again, though this time it wasn't for long. No, he was just trying to figure out a way to do so without trying to pry open Ashton's skull. But fortunately for him, the brain was almost painfully predictable in some aspects.
"Tell me exactly how you felt from when he put in the needle all up until he started to close the wound." That in itself only gave a limited amount of options, but maybe it'd act as a sort of guideline for him as he mentally mapped out the brain. Admittedly, he wasn't as skilled about this as the Heart, but a little review never hurt anyone.
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The swordsman swallowed, his throat suddenly uncomfortably dry. Even though he knew it would be beneficial, it was difficult to relive such memories. "Well, it hurt, you know? The wound, I mean. It was already hurting, especially since there wasn't anything to dull the pain in the first place."
What had happened? The memories seemed to jumble together a little bit in Ashton's head - it had happened so fast. "Um. ... He said that, and I was fine. At first. I mean.. I heard them - Gyoro and Ururun - except it was kind of like.. they were coming in and out? Like a memory was tickling at the back of my head. Then as we kept talking, they sounded clearer, and I was.. so immensely happy." He smiled, shaking his head. "I don't even remember why I was so happy. I mean, hearing them was the best thing that had happened to me that night, I guess? It was like they were really there, and everything was going to be okay. My muscles were limp. And.. and it was just like they were.. really there again."
He crossed his arms in front of him. What had happened after that was terribly painful for Ashton, and his tongue flicked out over suddenly dry lips, moistening them, before he spoke. "Then they were gone, and I .. I thought of you guys, and I knew you were all suffering, like none of you were ever going to be happy again, and I was so terrified, I couldn't help but scream. I was.. I was so afraid, Axel, I really was. I honestly thought I was going to die in there, and that you all were going to die, and.. and.."
He sniffed suddenly, finding himself on the verge of tears. He composed himself just long enough to finish the little 'story'. "Um. Then that's when I think he started closing it? I mean, he was fumbling around back there an awful lot, so.."
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Axel's brows furrowed as he listened to his roommate's words, darting a finger about in the air like he was trailing it down a road map representing Ashton's brain. Yet he suddenly froze when the latter almost broke down, feeling his own emotions beginning to reflect the latter's, al bit more discretely. But the redhead refused to show it, cringing lightly with gritted teeth before he began to talk.
"It's hard to decipher how many times he stuck it in since a lot of what you say seems to overlap each other. Ah, I'll try to put it in terms that you can understand, so..."
He was edging from one foot to the next, the tips of his boots making small 'clicks' and 'clacks' on the hard floor as he stepped about.
"Your brain is broken off into a lot of sections, and each part has its own role in making you who you are. For example, there’s a good chunk at the end of your brain that connects that and your spinal cord, a cord of nerves that moves down your back and controls the rest of your body, called the medulla oblongata. The medulla is the chunk that controls your breathing and heartbeat, so if you damage that you’re pretty much a gonner."
Axel stopped for a moment to gather his breath before continuing.
"Like I said, I don’t know how many times that doctor put the needle, but what I am certain about is that he struck you in the amygdala. The amydala is a tiny little portion of your brain that processes your emotions, and the emotions that are most in tune with it are fear and anger. So what I’m hypothesizing is that this doctor injected some kind of catalyst, a kind of motivator if you will, to coerce those emotions to show."
He gave a sigh.
"But that’s all I know. For now anyway."
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"I... I see," Ashton ended up saying. "I mean.. I feel rather similar to the way I used to feel before, I guess. I wonder why they did something like that? It just.. doesn't make sense. Maybe they wanted me to give up on finding my dragons again." The melancholy stained his eyes. He almost had given up, to tell the truth. The dragons had all but told him not to go looking for them.
Ashton looked Axel over, a little worried. He'd noticed that cringe, and part of him, the motherly part, wanted to reach out and pat the man on the shoulder. It was probably his fault that his roommate felt the way he did.
"Well, um... thanks for thinking about it.. it's really enlightening. I'll let you know if any weird symptoms show up, I guess." He clutched the flashlight tightly within his hand. "I should probably go soon, though."
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"But maybe it wouldn't be good to let a bunch of strangers work over something so personal."
He had to wonder if any of the others snatched the opportunity to break free, and if any of them were actually successful in the end. Their numbers were fluctuating every single day, but it didn't seem to affect him as much as it would've had if he'd been taken from a much earlier memory. Regardless, he'd rather stay away from a majority of them until he could find a way to escape.
"Mmm, that's right. Well, make sure you don't stress yourself over too much tonight, alright?" Axel replied with a smirk, already prepping his own plans for what to do for the rest of the night.
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"I couldn't ask for a better roommate, you know," Ashton added, reaching his hand out to lightly brush against the material of the arm of Axel's coat in a vaguely affectionate gesture.
Then he swallowed, his heart pitter-pattering up in his throat just as he realized he was going to go see Dias for the first time since.. well, last night. "I.. will. Be safe. I'll let you know if anything develops," he stammered, before turning and dashing out the door and down the hall to the other swordsman's room.
[moving down a few threads, yeah~]
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