Day 43: Intercom, Dawn

[damned_intercom]

Good morning, and welcome to your personalized tour of Landel's Institute! My name is I.R.I.S. and I will be your automated guide during your stay here. If you have any specific questions during our tour, please direct them to the personal console in your welcome bag. We will do our very best to address any concerns you may have

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[tofindherwings]

There was silence where there should have been the sound of helicopter rotors. That was the first thing that came to mind when Cissnei woke. She was on the alert as soon as she regained consciousness, listening intently for the sound of movement, her eyes snapping open when she was met with only silence. White walls. Bed. Wardrobe. Desk. A hospital or other institution. Not even the ShinRa orphanage of her childhood had been so blank. She pushed herself to her feet carefully, doing a mental checklist of injuries and finding nothing that would account for her being in the hospital although the clothing did hold up that idea as a possibility. No weapons either. It made her feel slightly naked to be utterly unarmed, and it was dangerous for a Turk to be so unless you were Rude perhaps. She unfortunately lacked the muscle mass to make up the brute force needed for hand to hand combat to be truly effective.

She remembered speaking to Tseng, being given the order by him to retrieve Zack and Cloud before the army got to them. She remembered stepping onto the helicopter even. But after that? Nothing. Possible amnesia perhaps although that seemed doubtful when she remembered every bit of time leading up to that.

Zack... Cissnei’s hands clenched at her sides, her expression taking on a more determined bent, and she headed to the door, feet bare against the cold floor, but definitely easier to walk in than the slippers that were set next to the bed. She tried the door, finding it firmly locked. She stood back for a moment, regarding it with a touch of annoyance, arms folded across her chest. It wasn’t a particularly advanced lock, although it was solid and probably wouldn’t break even from a solid kick. No windows, no air vents, no lockpicks. She was trapped and it wasn’t a feeling that she liked, especially not when Tseng was relying on her to save Zack, when she was relying on herself to save Zack.

Waiting didn’t sit well with her but thankfully she didn’t need to wait long as the door opened and a nurse stepped in. She forced down her first impulse to incapacitate the woman and interrogate her with all of her skill, but that seemed like it might be counterproductive at the moment. Not to mention that she could see two heavy-set men lurking outside the doorway. This woman she could doubtless take, but three at once?

“Ah, Miss Savage, you’re awake!”

Cissnei arched one eyebrow at the name, but that was her only sign of confusion. “I seem to be suffering from a little amnesia,” she said, smiling guilelessly. “Could you tell me where I am?”

The nurse smiled reassuringly and reached out to touch Cissnei’s arm. She pulled away quickly, not trusting this woman, no matter how benign she was trying to appear. “You’ve had a long night. I’m not surprised you’re having trouble remembering. But your family sent you here to get better. This is Landel’s Institute.”

And Institution then, but what was this talk of family. The Turks? The only thing she could consider was that she had been sent undercover but she didn’t think that would be the kind of thing that she would forget. Which meant that she was alone and in unknown territory until she could contact Tseng or one of the others. This wasn’t a time for her to be out of contact. Lives were on the line.

The nurse took her silence for acceptance of her words and began to usher her towards the door. “Now dear. We don’t want you to miss breakfast. Why don’t we go and you can make some new friends. That will be nice, won’t it?”

“Very,” Cissnei replied dryly with a thin-lipped smile, already planning how best to go about getting her hands on a PHS. She didn’t intend to be here long.

[To here]