Day 29: Cafeteria (2nd Shift)

[fly_petrelli]

Nathan had never actually been in a nuthouse before and had only recently contemplated checking himself into one in a fit of sarcastic, self-depricating humor as of late. It was safe to say that he wasn't terribly familiar with the typical layout, even though he guessed it wasn't too hard to assume in this case. Everything was clean and painfully

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[fly_petrelli]

"You're telling me," Nathan replied shortly, almost laughing bitterly but managing to restrain himself for the sake of not coming off as a bitter asshole. Just yet, anyway. There wasn't any point in making enemies or offending anyone when he was trying to get more information about the facility. It seemed a lot more casual than he would've expected, but if there was anything he'd learned from dealing with Linderman and his mother, it was that appearances could be deceiving. If this place was run by the Company, and he had little reason to believe that it wasn't since that seemed to be the only logical explanation, there was no doubt they were being monitored and kept in line should they chose to act out.

"Nathan," he introduced himself, not forgetting his manners and offering a hand. Sanji? Sounded... Japanese? Not like it really mattered what nationality the guy was; they were both stuck in the same predicament. "And no. You'd be the first person I've had the pleasure of running into. If this isn't a nuthouse, do you mind telling me exactly what's going on?" Of course, he had his theories, but it would be best to hear it straight from someone who'd been here longer than the fifteen minutes or so he'd spent being led through the building.

[misterprince]

And here came the explaining again. Once more Sanji wished he'd heard his first explanation from someone other than Usopp. It might have been easier to do it himself in that case. "Before I start," he said, all at once growing very serious, "I want you to know that just trying to explain things to you is going to make it sound like I really do belong in an institute for the mentally unstable. But before you outright doubt me, know that any other patient you asked here would tell you the exact same thing." For the most part. Actually, any other patient might be able to explain it better.

"Whatever preconceived notions you had about this place? Dump them. The chances of this actually being the world you came from are slim. The quick and easy explanation is that they take people of all sorts from various worlds and place them here, at the same time greatly dampening any abilities they might have. We don't know why," at least his crew didn't, "and we don't know how. The institute is normal enough during the day, but at night... monsters roam the halls and patients can be turned against their own friends. That's just the short of it."

He leaned back in his seat, long legs crossed with his ankles resting on the table. "There's a bulletin board in the sun room. You should check that - make sure others know you need someone to be with this evening. It's not safe to go wondering around alone."

[fly_petrelli]

"Right," Nathan said oh-so-cheerfully, instantly regretting asking the guy with the curly eyebrows to fill him in on what kind of operation was being run even before Sanji had launched into some far-fetched fairytale about monsters and some babble about multiple worlds that sounded like something straight out of a science fiction novel. Multiple worlds? Mind control? Well, the latter of the two was plausible enough, but Nathan was still stuck on the boogeyman that was apparently going to come after him when the lights went out.

But he listened attentively, trying not to look at the guy like he was nuts. As a trained politician, if there was one thing Nathan Petrelli was good at, it was humoring people. The smile he forced after swallowing the rather large pill he'd been offered probably seemed to be just that, but it was better than outright calling the guy a nutjob.

"Monsters. Right. I'll keep that in mind." The bulletin board he mentioned seemed fairly promising, and entirely not like the Company he'd dealt with, however, so at least the conversation hadn't been a complete waste.

Now was probably a good time to take another bite of that hamburger.

[misterprince]

[[It's not safe to go alone - take this! *offers kitten*]]

The chef snorted, already tempted to just pull out one of his newly acquired cigarettes but not wanting to risk them getting taken away before nightfall. He looked so much cooler explaining things when he had a cig out. "See, I knew I should have shoved you at someone else for explanations. That way they'd look like the crazy ones." Usopp. Yes, Usopp would have been a good man for the job.

"Frankly, I can't care if you believe me or not. I've got other plans tonight that shouldn't include watching over a newbie." Though, honestly, if he made mention of Nathan to Luffy, their captain would surely tell him to bring the other man along. "Just don't leave your room tonight without having plans to meet with someone. You're lucky you arrived during the day and had the chance to get an explanation before being thrown into things."

[fly_petrelli]

[[ Thank you! The kitten and I shall protect one another with our lives... >| ]]

"Look, I really appreciate the help. I do," Nathan attempted to assure the other man, and it wasn't a complete lie either; he'd be checking out that Bulletin Board as soon as he got the chance in hopes of finding some useful information. "It's just a little hard to swallow, and believe me. I've seen a lot." He supposed he ought to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. After all a couple of years ago, he wouldn't have thought there was a chance in hell that he'd take flight or watch his brother explode, unable to do anything about it.

Great. Everything always led back to that.

Nathan sighed, setting the rest of a half-eaten hamburger down on the plate. He wasn't so hungry anymore.

"You've got to think about how all that sounds," he finished, pinching the bridge of his nose in a sad attempt to stop the images from flashing again.

[misterprince]

"Well of course it sounds crazy!" Sanji twirled one hand in a sort of absent wave as if dismissing this as well-known fact. "One of my crewmates tried to explain it all to me in one go and really I just tuned half of it out 'cause it just sounded like he was babbling again." The fact that Usopp was well-known for making up tall tales didn't really help his case any. "Really, the only good way is to see things for yourself. I've given you the best advice I can."

He slipped his legs off the table again, leaning forward so he could count off the tips on his fingers. "One, bulletin board. Two, safety in numbers. Oh, and three..." had added as a last thought, "the nurses here tend to sedate those that get a bit 'rowdy' so try not to get into a physical scuffle with anyone." From recent personal experience, getting sedated this close to nightfall could really throw a wrench in one's plans.

[fly_petrelli]

Crewmates? What was this guy, some kind of sailor? Regardless, it was kind of disturbing how sure of himself he sounded. He certainly didn't act like the sort of certifiable nut who would believe in monsters, but, then again, Nathan supposed insanity could come in a lot of different forms. He'd learned from firsthand experience that you didn't have to be bouncing off the walls to be considered crazy. He almost shuddered to think about what he saw every time he looked in the mirror. By those standards, he felt a little guilty about automatically assuming Sanji wasn't all there.

Still. Monsters.

"I'll keep that in mind. Just let me make sure I've got it all down." Nathan sighed, his hands falling to rest on the cafeteria table. "I'm in a different world, this isn't actually a nuthouse, and monsters and patients both run around when it gets dark outside." He refrained from making any snide comments about the boogeyman or Count Dracula. Even if Sanji did prove to be off his rocker, any potential contacts or allies in this place would prove useful if they ever planned on escaping.

[misterprince]

Sanji grinned hugely. "Oh, I'm pretty sure it is a nuthouse," he laughed, "just maybe not the sort they'd like us to believe. I've heard some theories, but like I said - I've only been here a couple shitty days myself." Nevermind that Luffy claimed he'd been there prior to that. If he had no memory of it then it hadn't happened. "Some people have been talking about experimentations, but I haven't witnessed any of that first hand."

He gestured around to the other patients. "Everyone wanders out at night because the doors come unlocked and the staff goes away," or became monsters themselves, but he didn't like to think of that happening to the nurses no matter what sort of place this was. "It's a prime time to try and escape, but I don't think anyone's managed to find a way out yet." They just disappeared. Nathan was still too new to be dumping that on his just yet, however.

[fly_petrelli]

Despite the fact that this place supposedly wasn't his world, it certainly sounded like something a certain group of people from his homeland would dream up. Experiments... People forgetting how they'd come to wake up in an unfamiliar bed in a similarly unfamiliar room... That all fit perfectly with the Company's tactics, at least from what he'd gathered before he'd managed to escape. It was the whole letting them run around unchecked at night that had him worried. Sure, it seemed like escape would be even easier that way, but what Sanji said echoed in his head.

I don't think anyone's managed to find a way out yet.

It left two options, really. Either this whole survive the monsters at night business was a delusion, or there was something keeping them from escaping even when unsupervised. That was where things started to not make sense. It didn't sound like a logical course of action, and it all sounded a bit risky for the Company. Nathan shook his head. He couldn't believe he was really starting to think about this like it was possible, like the blond sailor with the curly eyebrows might actually not be a few grapes short of a fruit salad. Maybe that said something about him.

"Because of the monsters?" Nathan guessed dryly.

[misterprince]

The chef shook his head at this. "Not just the monsters. My run-ins with them have been limited anyway." Read: one instance. "Last night my crewmates and I were halted by one of the brainwashed patients. When I woke up I was back in my bed again and it was morning. But you don't even have to be knocked unconscious. At some point in the night everything comes to an abrupt stop and then the day starts over." Sanji shrugged his shoulders. He still didn't understand most of it himself and somehow he thought he could explain it to someone else? "Maybe the Institute just knocks you out."

The Institute itself, he realized he'd said, as though the building was a living entity of its own. Perhaps it was.

[fly_petrelli]

The more he thought about it, the more it sounded like some kind of sick test, perhaps to monitor their powers and how they interacted with one another. Would the patients trapped here band together to escape? Or would they fight amongst themselves and spread their efforts too thin to make a difference? If someone on their side was capable of altering their minds to make them see a bunch of crazy monsters, there was no doubt they could keep them in check and get some useful information that they'd otherwise be unable to coax from an unwilling subject without damaging them. He hated to admit it, but Sanji's story was sounding more and more plausible the longer Nathan mulled it over in his head.

Brainwashing didn't sound too low for them either, not when there was precious data to obtain.

"It sounds like quite an operation they've got going on here," he sighed, sounding grudgingly genuine now that it was all starting to click, he hoped, in his mind. He probably wouldn't get the chance to check the bulletin board now, but at least he'd gotten some information, weird and disturbing as it was.

[misterprince]

It seemed as though Nathan might really be taking in some of Sanji's warnings now, which was a very good thing. It wasn't too long before nightfall, and he'd want all the advanced knowledge he could get. The more he believed the better he was liable to prepare himself. The Chef nodded sagely. "The guy in charge - you'll hear him over the intercom now and then. Goes by the name of Martin Landel. There's another guy that comes on the radios at night - name's Jack, I think."

How much did he have left to explain? Every time he thought he'd come to a good stopping point he'd remember something else. And when did this shift end? He just wanted to get back to his room and get comfortable with a cigarette before he had to start running around in the dark... "Is there anything you think I'm leaving out?"