Nightshift 21: Hallway Behind Disciplinary Therapy Rooms
[[coming from here]]Miles Edgeworth had developed a routine over the years for how to handle nightmares. He would wake with a start, quietly walk to the bathroom and splash his face with cool water, then walk quietly back to bed. He'd taken to keeping a book by his bedside for the - common - nights when sleep didn't come again afterwards
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He knew Edgeworth was tired, just by the way he had given in to the embrace, but he didn't press it. Phoenix was merely thankful for the fact that Edgeworth was in one piece, with all of his limbs intact.
Phoenix then reached out and placed a hand on Edgeworth's shoulder. "Are you okay, though? I was worried that they'd hurt you..."
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"I..." He started to speak and then stopped. He took a deep breath. It was hard to talk about what had happened, but he supposed that if Wright had taken the time to come find him after everything he knew about the place, he also owed it to him to level with him.
"I don't know what they're doing to other people. They didn't physically hurt me - I don't think there was permanent damage done."
He stopped and took another deep breath.
"Wright, your assistant. Miss Fey. She has the gift of spirit channeling. She's been training. I don't have this. I wasn't born with it. But tonight, I...they have drugs that can make a person do it."
The mumble in the back of his head was still there, and he did his best to ignore it.
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Channeling...? Maya...? But it was only Maya, and the Fey family. No drug could...
...and then it dawned on Phoenix.
There were drugs to do everything, but none of it was released to the general public. Who in the hell knew what the military was doing underneath the surface? They most definitely didn't tell anyone about it.
And that thought bred theory upon theory in Phoenix's head, thoughts he knew he would need to write down once he had gotten back to his room.
Phoenix understood, though, that it was more important to speak to Edgeworth about what had happened versus getting involved in his own thoughts about it. "...what happened...? How...who did they..." and then Phoenix stopped himself mid-sentence, not sure how to keep on going without sounding cruel.
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"I suppose I should start from the beginning of this evening. I remember the nurse escorting me from the Sun Room to my own room, dinner being brought in, and then nothing until I woke up strapped down to a chair."
That had been the easy part of the story. The rest of it...it had only been moments ago, hadn't it? The injection site on his neck throbbed a bit, as if there was a needle being stuck there again. He reached back and touched it lightly.
"I don't know what they used. I don't even know myself, really, what happened in there. I..."
He stopped speaking before he finished the sentence. The words felt as if they were stuck in his throat.
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Dinner was drugged for the Disciplinary Trial patients, he understood that much. Once knocked out, they were taken here, then... experimented on? "Spirit channeling." This man was given some kind of ability, but why? How?
And what did that mean for Snake?
"You're okay now," said Otacon as he knelt in front of Edgeworth. He ignored that a monster was coming, and focused on what he could do. Otacon wasn't close to an M.D., but Philanthropy had given him enough medical experience to feel halfway confident studying Edgeworth to make sure he was all right. "My name is Otacon. They really didn't do anything to hurt you?"
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"I do," Phoenix said softly, in response to Edgeworth's statement regarding the DL-6 case.
Listening closely, it was difficult to believe that anything like that could have happened -- and the fact that Edgeworth had been subjected to that kind of torture...it both saddened and troubled Phoenix. Edgeworth had dealt with enough in his life without having to rehash his father's death again, regardless of how he had left.
There were a lot of things that bothered Phoenix about Edgeworth's situation. He couldn't imagine what it had been like to live with someone like Manfred von Karma, and couldn't imagine what it was like to live with a nightmare of killing one's own parent. As much as he had tried to do something to help Edgeworth, Phoenix knew that the most he could do was support Edgeworth. Phoenix had gathered glimpses of Edgeworth's life, his vulnerability...but it wasn't everything, and he knew that there was no way to make up for all of that, no matter how hard he ( ... )
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He was reminded of the comic books other children read when they were young; fantastic things with robots and loud whizzes and bangs. Those couldn't exist, could they? He stared at - whatever it was - with an incredulous look on his face.
And then one of the others had the nerve to challenge it? That was wishing death.
"That's...your colleague, is it not? He's going to get himself killed! It's a fool's errand trying to fight that thing."
He looked at both of the others. "Can we actually do anything to help without weapons? I know I'm not in any shape to fight, but there's...It's hard to say this, but I feel I owe you some gratitude."
He trailed off.
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Otacon's train of thought was derailed for the thousandth time today when he heard a shout from an unmistakable voice. "Snake? Snake!" His friend was alive. Whatever it was that he'd just had to endure, Snake was still alive, and that was enough for Otacon to shake himself out of his worry. He knew well enough to remain back here-distractions could be disastrous for his friends-but "here" was still far from safe ( ... )
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Edgeworth could tell Phoenix was terrified; he couldn't see him well in the darkness at all, but the tension was clear in his grip. There was the same uncomfortable - whatever it was - that always seemed to happen when he was too close to the other, but he pushed that to the back of his head. He didn't want to let himself get too lost in emotions at the moment, even the fear that was there somewhere below his calm surface. He didn't know if that...thing could sense fear or not, but if it did, he didn't want to give it anything TO sense.
"I don't know where we are. Can we meet with them later in a safe place - IS there a safe place? One of our rooms? What else is out here tonight?"
Stay calm, Edgeworth. You can think later., was the one thought that he didn't try to shove somewhere else. It was like a mantra, almost, and he kept repeating that in his head.
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The desire to just leave struck Phoenix -- he wanted to find their way, even in the face of all these unknown dangers. There was something enabling about having Edgeworth at his side, something that helped Phoenix to be more courageous, even while he was afraid.
He wasn't about to just jump and run out, however. Phoenix knew that he didn't want to make any choice without considering it completely. This was like standing in court, with the judge giving him only one chance to prove the case, and Phoenix wasn't about to blow it out of being reckless.
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"I think...I don't have a weapon of any kind, and as much as I hate to admit it, I wouldn't call myself trained in anything that would help in this matter. Unless Wright's been taking karate classes or something in his spare time, he isn't, either. I'm going to trust that the two of you know a bit more about the place than I do - you made it up here, and I was drugged and brought up. I'll have to follow you back."
He gently wriggled his wrist out of Phoenix's grip and tried standing up. He couldn't see terribly well in the darkness, but it looked as if there was a room up ahead. "It's there, or it's back down the stairs to our rooms, but I don't think we need to stay here."
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And the wounds to his torso and head...Phoenix let out a breath that he was holding. I'll come back once I get Edgeworth somewhere safe. I need to make sure that everyone's okay, and I have the medical kit... He couldn't abandon the responsibility he had been given in exchange for his permission to come here ( ... )
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