Day 41: Breakfast

[oftemptation]

Endrance turned his head to look at the intercom, giving it a look that would wither an entire rose garden in an instant. He would never get used to ending up in his room again from somewhere else in the Institute

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[feartehreaper]

That sealed it then. A sour look crossed Haseo's face as he thought about Atoli being, from what it sounded like, by herself in this strange place. Hadn't she already been through enough? And, she wasn't even there anymore, and Haseo didn't know what that meant either. Atoli... I promised myself I'd protect her, came the unbidden thought, along with something less coherent about potentially failing and general frustration. He'd have to find and talk to this person: a friend, Endrance had said, but he'd have to judge that for himself when the time came. If nothing else, at least the next question was easy enough to answer.

...Or was it? Haseo paused, and for the briefest moment he considered dodging the question by giving some half-assed answer. But that was an entirely stupid response to give an honest question, and Haseo begrudgingly recognized that if they were going to figure out anything about their situation, it'd most likely be disadvantageous to leave Endrance in the dark. The only problem was knowing where to start, and then knowing how to explain everything that was bound to come out.

"I guess... technically I'm considered the Sage Palace Emperor now," he said, resting an elbow on the table. "And yeah. Sage. Taihaku and a lot of others were infected with AIDA, and I... didn't really have much choice."

It was at that time Haseo's nurse chose to return, but fortunately she seemed content not to interfere. "Kai" didn't seem in immediate danger of trying to tear someone apart if he was left a plastic utensil, and so she just leveled a disapproving glare at Endrance's untouched breakfast that mostly passed over Haseo's head before retreating. Haseo himself mostly dismissed her in order to continue.

"Endrance, uh... what you were describing happened a while back."

[oftemptation]

Endrance's face brightened considerably for just a moment before fading back into worry. He wasn't entirely sure whether to congratulate him on that victory, or to immediately apologize for failing to do more. On the one hand, there was the fact that there was only so much he could have done, given that there had been some time since her disappearance and his own appearance in this place. On the other... I promised myself I'd be there in every way for you that I could be, or that you'd want me to be. I feel like I failed you here...because I know you'd have wanted me to protect her.

"I'm sorry," he finally said, after a long moment. "I...I know you would have wanted me to look out for her. I did everything that I could, but...I don't feel like it was enough. The incidents that occurred at night just feel like excuses..."

He looked out for a moment, distracted by a rather loud and argumentative man standing on one of the tables and shouting math at everyone. Endrance shot him a frosty glare, then turned back towards Haseo. "But...even if the circumstances were less than ideal, that accomplishment is...well, it's unheard of. I'm incredibly impressed, though I should expect no less from you, Haseo." For half a second, his cheeks were tinged pink, but that, too, was forgotten with that last statement.

"It - it was?" Endrance's eyes widened in surprise. "When you say a while back...how far?"

[feartehreaper]

"Yeah, that's what the Announcer said too," Haseo responded, and gave a half-audible scoff at the thought, just barely amused. He couldn't help but feel a little vindictive over the rather loud man's confusion after all that had happened, even if he could guess he didn't likely have any real ill intentions beyond doing his job. "The Emperor's title doesn't really mean much to me though... it's not like I did it alone."

He took a deep breath, tilting his head as he thought- just how far back did the Sakaki thing go anyway? "Couple of weeks?" he guessed, "After we beat Bordeaux and Sirius, it..." Haseo gave a glare to the pancakes in front of him. "It was Sakaki's fault. He tricked Atoli and infected her with AIDA. Took over Moon Tree and said he was going to make the world a better place... he was controlling things outside the game.

"But that... that's not even the worst part." Haseo felt sick, having to explain it, when he himself didn't even understand what had happened. But it wasn't like he could suddenly stop....

However, that's exactly what he did, the pause after his last sentence heavy with anger and dragging on until it wasn't clear if he was even going to carry on at all.

Then finally, he broke out of it. "Ovan... betrayed us," he said, voice dangerously low, "All of this time, he was Tri-Edge."

[oftemptation]

"But still..." Endrance was about to continue with the gushing praise, but stopped in his tracks a moment later. He listened to everything in stunned silence. There was no doubt in the slightest that it was the truth, but...it was just so much to take in. First Sakaki, then Ovan? That anger was more than understandable, it was akin to what he'd felt in the past. That feeling of both betrayal and anger at once...

There weren't words enough to be comforting, and the moment's urge to fling his arms around Haseo passed just as soon as it happened. With staff watching the both of them like hawks, it would only lead to trouble, even if it did seem like the right thing to do.

He didn't say anything for a long time, trying to think of a way to deal with his own shock and do something to make Haseo feel better at the same time. "Haseo...you stopped both Sakaki and Ovan, right? I shouldn't even need to ask, of course, but..."

[feartehreaper]

Haseo let the silence be, residual fury throbbing in time with his quickened pulse. Wanting something to do with his hands, he turned his attention once more to the tray the nurse had left behind. Mercifully, she had left him bacon in addition to the pancakes, and he cautiously took a strip in hand before answering. "Both of them," he confirmed, but he didn't sound particularly relieved by that fact alone.

"Ovan... told us what he'd done right after we beat Sakaki. I don't know what he's up to, but... he's an Epitaph User too. He wanted me to fight him, so I did." Haseo paused again, thinking back on how he'd felt and what Yata had said to him afterward, and then what had transpired in that Lost Ground Cathedral, where so many other things had begun. "He came back," he said, and pulled apart a piece of bacon.

"And then Sakaki came back too. He was even worse- corrupted, like Bordeaux. He convinced CC Corp to let him take over G.U. and turned the Arena into a 'PK tournament' as some sort of... revenge or something. Because we refused to bow down to him.

"But Sakaki won't be coming back." This at least Haseo said with finality, and he definitely sat straighter as he sought to meet Endrance's eyes. "I dunno how much AIDA and Data-Draining one can take, but if he gets infected again, I don't think he'd even be human anymore." Or at least able to pull off any plans. Even if Ovan is helping him....

[oftemptation]

Endrance felt his heart sink even further as Haseo finished the story. In a way, it reminded him of what had happened years ago, just with different people pulling the strings. "How did Sakaki come back that first time like that? It shouldn't have even been possible..." He knew firsthand that you only got so many options when you were Data-Drained when the infection ran that deep, and they all involved coming back without it. "Unless he...but why would he have intentionally infected himself?"

As for Ovan...he had to admit he didn't know the Steam Gunner well, aside from his reputation. That reputation alone was formidable, however, and he knew about the fact that he and Haseo had been in the same guild some time back. But, to take things that far, admitting - or bragging? Endrance wasn't sure - that he had sent so many people into comas and caused so much pain... it was simply unforgivable.

"We will find a way out of this place, Haseo. And when we do... I swear that I'll do whatever it takes, whatever you need me to do, so that all the wrong that's been done is set right."

[feartehreaper]

"Sakaki was convinced that AIDA was going to help him 'rewrite' the world. He wanted to go beyond the system and control people's minds." This was undoubtedly a touchy subject for Endrance, and Haseo was half-tempted to ask him if he wouldn't have done the same thing, right after he'd been cleansed of AIDA himself- if it had meant going back to that semblance of 'Her' that he had loved so much. Instead, he merely let out a breath and said, "So yeah. It was intentional."

"I actually saw him do it the first time. He... had an item that Ovan had given him, that could somehow contain AIDA." Ovan had later insisted that he didn't directly control the anomaly, but since Haseo didn't know how else to explain it he left it at that.

Endrance's promise came as no surprise, of course. After all, it had literally been minutes before that the man sitting next to Haseo had stepped down from his place of apparent betrayal and instead stabbed Sakaki in the back. "Love" was not a word that went neglected when Endrance had a say, and Haseo didn't doubt it would continue.

"I got it. Thanks, Endrance," he said, with as much sincerity as was possible given the circumstances. He shifted then, eying a member of the staff. "First of all... do you have your sword?"

[oftemptation]

"That's..." Endrance trailed off again. Yes, there had been a moment's temptation to do the same thing, but he'd decided against it in the end, because losing 'her' a third time, even if it would be an illusion at best, would probably have driven him completely mad. The alternative that he'd chosen hadn't been a whole lot better, in retrospect, but all of that was in the past now. Dwelling on it too much wouldn't get him anywhere.

"Taking that step, then using it to try going outside the system and control people's thoughts and actions...it's unthinkable. And I can't imagine what he must have been thinking, nor do I want to. The fact that Ovan was willing to go that far, too..." He shook his head, the mix of shock, disapproval, and anger clearly written in his expression. "It's madness."

That shift in subject was more than welcome. "I've made arrangements to have one made for me, but I don't have it in hand yet, I'm afraid. But..." Endrance looked up, meeting Haseo's eyes with his own, all seriousness and worry. "You need to know what this place is. I stepped in when the staff were approaching you because I was afraid of what would happen to you if I didn't. They all call us by false names, say we're ill when we're not, and at night..."

He took a slow, deep breath, holding it for a moment before letting go. "It's dangerous here at night." He didn't want to broach the subject of his Avatar not having come when he'd called it, not yet.

[feartehreaper]

Haseo's eyes dropped, lingering on Endrance's bandages again while his mind blazed. When Landel's staff had cornered him, even without access to his weapons Haseo felt certain he could have done something against them- more than just Misaki Ryou would have anyway, even if it didn't exactly involve backflipping off a wall and pushing back enemies with the sweep of a chainsaw-tipped scythe. Endrance too was a capable combatant in the World- almost untouchable even with the semi-legal interference of his Avatar. His injuries were definitely worrying, but that didn't mean Haseo was just going to give up.

"If it's dangerous then I'll be careful, but I'm not afraid," he said, and any uncertainty from before had melted away in favor of the determination he'd become so used to when faced by odd situations. For a moment Haseo stopped and considered himself, introspective. That feeling, his Avatar Skeith's presence was still there, and in fact Haseo was sure he could sense Macha too. This was somehow a relief, to think that that part hadn't been taken from them even if so much else apparently had.

"What do you mean? You can still fight, right? As your character?"

[oftemptation]

"I can, but..." Endrance sighed deeply, closing his eyes and turning away for a moment. How to explain this? It wasn't at all that he couldn't fight - he'd instinctively known how to use the pipe he had like a sword, after all. No, that wasn't it. The fact was, he had lost control of his emotions both times, and that made him weaker than he should have been. It didn't account for the fact that Macha hadn't come when he'd tried to summon her, but...

"The second night I was here, I was upstairs, on the second floor. Someone else had...accompanied me up there, and we were attacked. It was a cat, larger than usual, but...it looked exactly like 'she' had. I know it was a moment of weakness on my part, but I thought it might listen. I talked to it, and it took the opportunity to...well. Cats don't normally attack like the ones here do. That's not really the worst of it..."

He sighed again, pushing his still-untouched breakfast tray back a few inches before going on. "There was something on the BBS -- I mean bulletin board, in the Sun Room -- about certain powers that didn't work as intended. I was hesitant, actually, to try, but I had to know whether I could summon Macha. So last night, I went out to the courtyard, intending to just try it...but things didn't go as planned. They take people at night here, brainwash them, turn them against their allies...I had no idea the woman was there until she had a knife at my throat."

Endrance tucked his hair behind his ear again. "I thought I'd turned the situation to my advantage, but...she summoned something that was like Skeith, but...wasn't."

[feartehreaper]

Haseo didn't understand why Endrance was being so hesitant, frowning slightly when the other turned away. After that, however, he listened in silence, a mild sense of shock once more permeating his thoughts. This soon transformed itself into a tightened jaw and narrowed eyes, and he looked down at the table without really seeing it.

Damn it, Endrance, what were you thinking...? But a large cat that matched 'Her'- surely that had some sort of organization behind it. It was all kinds of messed up, that this place would turn to "hell" and twist up an insecurity like that, all the while masquerading as a mental hospital during the day. However, if Haseo had anything worth saying aloud, it was cut off by Endrance's next revelation.

"What?" His tone was just barely over a whisper, but he snapped his gaze up at once. "Was it an Avatar?" The fact that so far only seven Epitaph Users had been uncovered out of a possible eight stood clear in his mind. If this wasn't 'The World,' then it was a strange place to discover another with their ability....

[oftemptation]

"I honestly don't know whether it was or not," Endrance began, frowning again. "On the one hand, I didn't sense that type of power within her at first, not the way I can tell it now, with yours. On the other...the attack hit me almost like a Data Drain would have. I blacked out for a moment afterwards..." That part was also hard to admit to - it felt like admitting a weakness. But it had to come out.

"I thought I sensed something later in the night, too, after I woke up and was off elsewhere. There was no question about it then..." There was a moment's compulsion to reach across the table and trace one of the wavemarks on Haseo's cheeks with his finger, but that would more than likely draw staff attention.

"I felt it as clearly as I do now, Haseo. It was definitely the presence of your Avatar. I'd wanted to find you then, but I didn't have the first clue where to look...and I knew that if something else attacked me when I was searching, I..." He trailed off again, sighing deeply.

"I didn't want something to happen to me before I could see you again."

[feartehreaper]

"Maybe if we can talk to her we might get some answers...." Without a name it would probably be difficult, but from what it seemed the population of the institute was much smaller than that of, say, the entire Japanese 'The World' server. Endrance had mentioned a bulletin board, after all... however Haseo was wondering if this person was capable of being found and questioned at all, considering the current situation, and whatever the ramifications of "brainwashing" were.

That itself disturbed Haseo in the same way seeing people infected by AIDA did, leaving a sour taste in his mouth that had nothing to do with the orange juice the nurse had left behind. He definitely wasn't about to let his guard down by expecting anything less than the worse- even if she wasn't under the institute's influence any longer, and by some strange coincidence an Epitaph User as well, that didn't automatically put her on the right side. That little detail had been proven beyond any doubt, in Haseo's experience.

"I think... that the Epitaphs are drawn to each other," he mused further, "I don't remember if the others ever mentioned sensing each other... I guess it's possible for us to feel each other because our Avatars have fought." And Data Drained, but Haseo didn't really want to get into that.

And then suddenly it occurred to him once more that he wasn't really sitting behind a terminal anymore. He blinked at Endrance. "That would have been bad," he agreed, helplessly, then said, "So, what? Everyone just wanders around at night?"

[oftemptation]

"If she's willing to talk with me," Endrance said, a touch of embarrassment in his voice. "I don't know if she will be, given the circumstances during which we interacted, but...it's worth a try." He wasn't going to mention it directly, but he was feeling a little apologetic about having, in a way, insulted her. It hadn't been entirely intentional, and she had brought it on herself in a way, but it might have been going a little too far.

There was that blush again. To have that kind of connection, the kind most people wouldn't, with someone he knew he loved deeply, was...almost too much to ask for, and almost too much to put words to. "I see," he said, trying and failing to keep the emotion out of his voice. "So, it was your presence I had felt last night. I...I'm sorry I didn't immediately try to find you, but I just couldn't take the risk," he added, trying to meet Haseo's eyes as he spoke. It was probably a good thing that the subject changed again just then.

"There are groups of patients who go out together at night, for a number of purposes...but I haven't gone out with any of them. I've run into others, but. I think most people are looking for clues as to why we're here, or some way to leave."

[feartehreaper]

"Right," Haseo replied, vaguely rubbing a palm against his other arm in thought. It seemed weird that they had that freedom when the staff's actions were making it so clear that their "patients'" every move was being observed. He couldn't help but wonder if they were actually being watched at night too, like Sakaki had done after he took over the Serpent of Lore. Now all they needed was Pi to come along and provide a way to get outside the building or something so they could talk in peace....

"That's un--" he started next, but the rest of his words were cut off by the overhead jingle of the intercom, and like a true gamer he instinctively froze to listen. However, it was all pretty much worthless nonsense, and with the way the others in the room were looking distasteful and reluctant as they rose to leave, it seemed that they too agreed with this assessment.

Frowning, Haseo looked back to Endrance, fully prepared to continue, but spotted two nurses coming purposefully towards them. The one leading looked like a woman Haseo hadn't see so far. She also looked pissed.

[oftemptation]

Endrance followed Haseo's gaze, and turned around to see a pair of very, very angry nurses coming in their direction. The one in the lead immediately grabbed onto his arm, and in a stern voice said, "We can't leave you alone for a minute, can we, Peyton? Now, you're going to come with me, and away from Kai and I'll personally see to it that you leave him be while you're on my watch." With that, she pulled him up and into a standing position. "I'm sorry, dear, I hope he wasn't bothering you too much," she said to Haseo before turning and marching Endrance towards the door to the courtyard.

"I'll see you later --"

"Oh, no, you won't," the nurse said, cutting him off. "We're keeping the two of you separated, and that is that," she said, and with that just about dragged him outside.