Day 51: Intercom, Evening

[damned_intercom]

"Well, that's it for today's activities and hygiene!" The Head Doctor said with a jovial tone just after the sound system's jingle. He seemed excited and maybe even giddy. "Our nurses will now be escorting everyone back to their rooms, and some of you might find that you have brand new roommates to share your dinner with! That's right: we've gotten

Comments

[zack_fair]

That response made it seem obvious that this stranger was used to reading people. Whether it was a skill he'd just sort of been born with or due to his occupation, whatever it might be, was pretty unclear. And that wasn't really something that you asked about on the first conversation, either. If anything, Zack was glad to know that he was more than what he came off as at first glance. It did make sense to think that some muscled soldier wouldn't be the letter-writing type.

Zack signed the letter and then closed his journal, setting it aside as he took a few more bites of his dinner and watched his roommate explore. There wasn't too much to see, but he figured he'd let the guy come to those conclusions on his own. Being the know-it-all that chimed in all the time wasn't going to earn him any points.

As it turned out, the guy was straight-forward. He didn't trust him, and that was fine. Zack didn't expect him to, not this early. "Yeah, that's about the size of it," he replied nonetheless, still holding onto that smile even though he'd been accused of lying. "I know it doesn't make any sense, but you'll get used to the confusion sooner or later." Which was true. There were so many questions that Zack still hadn't had answered, and he'd had to learn to put them aside until there was time for them. It wasn't fun, but it was necessary.

"I'm not saying you have to trust me, but this is how it is. This place acts like it's some sort of mental institution. We're apparently all nuts even though we clearly aren't, and they're trying to force us to get better, which means brainwashing us into living a completely different life. And it doesn't end there," he finished with a sigh, not wanting to dump too much onto the guy at once.

"I didn't get your name, by the way," he reminded the man. He didn't think that was too much to ask, trustworthy or not.

sorry premature enter button :C

[notstealing]

Something about the irony of the situation struck Locke in a way that he couldn't help but to mentally grin, sob, and maybe even wonder if he was dreaming up something miserable. Of all the people in the world to stick into a mental institution... and they couldn't even pin the right person down, even if he was running around with more than just a few screws loose in his head. Locke's brows twitched at the thought of it, but regardless, Locke brushed a knuckle over his forehead, thinking.

"Oh, you aren't?" he joked, letting out a short laugh. Well... that did explain a few things, as ridiculous as it sounded. Nevertheless, Locke stood up from his bed, walking towards the desk. "Brainwashing someone... is that even possible?" Of course he knew the answer to that question-but information was information, in the end.

Strange-a journal, just like the man had said. And a radio... what else? Opening the drawer, Locke ran into a couple more things. Keys, for one. Odd looking pens, for the other. Pretty advanced looking batteries, off in a corner. He threw the batteries up into the air and caught it with ease with deft hands, a quiet whistle escaping him. Not bad.

"Ahh, I was just waiting for you." With a sheepish grin, Locke turned to look at his supposed roommate, leaning against the desk. A careful eye surveyed the entire room, its walls whiter than any place he'd seen in his travels. A closet, and maybe he'd check under and over his bed for anything else that'd be useful. Then, finally... the door. All in due time.

It couldn't hurt to give away a name, right? This guy either knew him, or he didn't-past that, it wouldn't even matter. "Locke. You?"

As he waited for an answer, he set the batteries aside and took the keys into his possession, twisting the keys off of the ring. The keys, he'd keep around. The ring... he could think of a couple more uses than keeping some keys together.

[zack_fair]

Whether or not he might be crazy was worth considering, he had to admit. Zack knew he'd gone through about four years of experimentation, being shoved into a mako-saturated tube for most of that time while he hallucinated all sorts of things. But he hadn't been broken down enough to stop looking for a way out, and he'd managed it. Still, he could tell that the newcomer was joking with him, and so he only smiled in return.

As for the brainwashing, that was something that he couldn't be as lighthearted about. He frowned and made sure to make eye contact with the other patient before responding. "Believe me, it is. They also manage to take people out of their rooms at least every other night and brainwash them into attacking people. I've seen it happen." Zack hadn't experienced it himself, but he also hadn't been here that long compared to certain people. Yuffie had gone through it. There was no saying that he or Cloud might not be next.

Zack worked on his meal as he watched the stranger search the room, going through the same motions that he had done himself, less than a week ago. Leaning his chin on his hand, he took a few bites of the chicken until the guy turned to face him, deciding to give his name after all.

"All right, Locke. And did you miss my saying it earlier? I'm Zack." He didn't mind repeating himself, especially since he knew how disoriented Locke probably was at that moment. There was a whole lot that had to be taken in all at once, so missing a thing here or there wasn't so surprising.

"Anyway, the way it works is that during the day, we're forced to go to random rooms and waste time, and they try to treat us like real patients. But at night, we're let out of our rooms with a click of the locks and then we can go wherever we want, but there are monsters in the way, among other things. Not to mention that brainwashing I told you about, with some experiments on the side." Zack sighed and shook his head. Even if he'd gotten to a point where he could describe the situation succinctly, that didn't make what was going on any easier to swallow.

[notstealing]

Waving a hand in front of him as if to shrug off his mistake, Locke mentally cursed to himself. Way to work up that bluff, huh? No, this was a little too disorienting for his tastes, and he didn't like this one bit, regardless of whatever smile he had over his features for the time being. "My bad. Guess I wasn't listening to you as well I should have been." Crossing his arms, he looked towards the door. No seams, as far as he could tell. Harder to take advantage of, in the end. "I won't miss a word after this if it makes you feel better."

Locke furrowed his brows in thought, trying not to think too hard on it-but he couldn't help it. Mental institutions, doctors, brainwashing... it all sounded like something out of five different types of worst case scenarios back in his world, all shove into one possible situation. The worst of the worst!

... except it couldn't be that bad.

"And what, you guys still haven't figured out the connection yet?" he questioned, looking a little bit more serious than he had been initially. There was always a complication; no one ever had the mind to construct things in a straightforward manner, did they? The fact of the matter was, if there were more than just the two of them-this was a hospital, after all-there was something that was keeping the so-called patients in line. It didn't take a fool to figure that one out, yet...

None of that mattered. He didn't have time to waste. With or without a plan, he'd have to bust out of this place before any more time was wasted.

"You say we can go wherever we want at night, but... you're still here." Locke tapped his fingers against his arm, finally making a move away from the desk, to the closet. "Are the monsters that strong, or are the other things too big for you guys to handle?"

[zack_fair]

When Locke promised to not miss another thing, Zack only laughed and shook his head. "Now you're going to be watching for me to slip up, huh?" Even if he had only just started talking to Locke and even though the guy was brand new, this was probably the most laid-back conversation that he'd had with a roommate thus far. Zack was glad that it was going well, even if Locke didn't trust him just yet. Once he saw that all he'd been saying was true, maybe he would come around.

As for the question of a connection, Zack couldn't be entirely sure what Locke was getting at. There were a lot of connections that could be made about a lot of things, and he almost wanted to ask for clarification. But regardless of what the man meant, the answer was going to be the same: there was no connection, at least not an obvious one. And so the soldier decided that his silence would be as good an answer as any.

Besides, he had to explain why it was that he was still sitting here when all logic said that he should have been long gone by now. It was the question everyone had to have answered, and Zack had a sense of pride to maintain. He wasn't some tool who couldn't fight his way through a couple of monsters, after all!

"It's more that getting out of here has been impossible so far," he said with a sigh as he abandoned his dinner and turned in his seat to face the other patient. No matter who it was, that smiley-faced shirt just looked silly. Zack didn't think it suited anyone, but that was besides the point. "Even if you can climb over the walls, once night ends and morning comes, you'll find yourself back in your bed all of a sudden. It's a mystery how they do it, but that's not the important part."

What mattered was that it was a solid block against any of them really getting away. Not that there was necessarily a place to escape to, Zack realized. What might be worth focusing on instead was taking this place down from the inside, but that was just a hunch.

[notstealing]

Now, that didn't add up at all, did it?

Locke frowned at the thought, opening the door to the closet as he looked through its contents-on the bright side, he was looking to get some new shoes...

Not that... that was the point at all. Regardless, he counted up the clothing, stared at the smiley face on each and every one of those shirts, and then his own, and let out a groan. "These faces? Not helping. I might go crazy just staring at them." Wear them everyday, every night, to bed and on a grim note, to death... that was its implication, wasn't it? Not happening. Not on Locke's watch, and certainly not anytime soon. Or any time at all.

Shutting the closet door shut and looking a tiny bit more and more frustrated at the prospects of getting out, doing something, anything at all, Locke searched the remainder of the bed, the dresser-and whatever he found, he left it at its original spot. No use carrying all of them around, right?

And finally... the door. As he approached the exit, he kneeled down and looked at the knob. Locked from the outside, but not the inside, huh. Typical. And no room to pick at the lock on the side... it didn't give Locke much of an option, a lockpick in hand or not. They really thought this one through, huh?

"If you can't run, then..." he trailed off, turning the knob-no such luck in figuring out the door completely, of course. Nothing was ever that easy. "... take down what's already established. You're telling me no one's ever gone against the doctors head-on, here?"

[zack_fair]

The faces certainly seemed to bother some people. Zack thought they were as ridiculous as the next person, but he didn't think it was the main thing to get worked up about in this place. Not when there were far worse things going on. He realized that it was just the icing on a pretty terrible cake, though, and sometimes it was the little things that got to you the most.

"You better get used to them," he said nonetheless. "Everyone has to wear them, at least during the day." At night anything was possible, but if you weren't lucky enough to end up with your own outfit, then the only other options were going around shirtless or with the garment turned inside-out. The first was reckless and the second was a bit too much effort for no real reason.

"But I'd rather my roommate didn't go crazy on me, so try to kept it together, all right?" he joked as he watched Locke inspect the room at his own pace. He didn't take it apart too intensely, but he was also thorough. And the way he examined the lock of the door seemed to indicate that he knew what he was doing. Too bad the locks were pretty much impenetrable. Zack didn't know if they had some sort of spell on them, but he wouldn't be surprised if they did.

When Locke brought up the other possible option for how to handle their situation, Zack sighed and shook his head. "That doesn't work, either. The second someone steps out of line they're assaulted by an army of nurses with syringes. The sedatives are apparently pretty powerful." Zack had managed to avoid the prick of a needle so far, but that was because he was pretty good at laying low when he had too. Angeal would have been shocked, but it was true.

[notstealing]

If this was cake, Locke would have strangled whatever horrible baker was responsible for this. Though, at Zack's joke, Locke only offered a cheeky grin as he finally let go of the knob. It was like something he'd expect from the Empire, tools and the environment included, but not quite. Something... not quite where he was before.

"You know, I might be crazy to begin with," Locke commented, finally standing up and stepping back from the door. He would kick it, in hopes of knocking at least his frustrations out on that door, but that was out of the question-he didn't want to draw any unwarranted attention to himself, did he now? Instead, he finally sat down the only other chair in the room, and leaned back. "... someone, but what about a whole group?"

Though, the risks in that kind of plan... too high. It would lead to people being left vulnerable, and that was the last thing anyone would want. Locke shook his head at that thought, closing his eyes. "Either way, from the way you're putting it, we can't make a move until nightfall."

Finally, he stared up at the ceiling, bright white just like the room's walls, letting out a sigh. This institute was something beyond his realm of knowledge-rare, especially when it came down to places as odd as this one. Beyond his world or no, it was still a stab at his pride.

"Guess I can cross out Kefka in having a hand in this. Just my crummy luck," he murmured.

[zack_fair]

Maybe Locke was crazy, but Zack didn't think so. Even if he was staring at that lock like he might be able to break through it, that only showed that he was resourceful and had been around the block a few times. Their conversation had been normal enough, with all of the crazy-sounding stuff coming from Zack's end. In fact, the only indication that his roommate might not be all there was that he was taking in his explanations without much complaint.

"Pretty sure a whole group must have tried it by now," Zack said with a sigh as he turned back toward his dinner and grabbed for the caramel apple, taking a testing bite as he went back to watching Locke. He considered urging the man to eat, but he knew he hadn't had the biggest appetite when he'd first woken up here, so it would be sort of hypocritical of him.

It looked like regardless of complaint, though, Locke had gotten the point. Zack nodded when night was mentioned. "That's right, yeah. Luckily, night should be coming on pretty soon, so you won't be stuck in here for much longer." It was the only time when they were completely confined, but Zack didn't mind so much so long as he had someone to chat with. Unfortunately, this was one of the only dinners so far where he'd been given that luxury.

Even if it seemed like Locke was mumbling to himself, Zack couldn't help being curious. "Kefka?" he asked as he took another bite of his apple. "Who's that?"

[notstealing]

No, not much of an appetite at all. If it would come bite him in the ass later, he wasn't really thinking too hard about it. Maybe later, if there was a later at all in this place, but not now. There were other things to consider, and Locke wasn't one to be bogged down by a lack of food or anything of that sort.

Or, well, so he hoped. Discipline wasn't one of his strong suits, but it couldn't hurt.

"That doesn't leave a lot of options open," he replied, more tired at the sudden influx of information than anything else. He welcomed it, of course-any information was better than none-but even Locke had his limits, especially when caged in an unfamiliar room. He sighed. "Nothing to do but eat and wait..."

But, when Zack had asked about Kefka, Locke jumped a slight bit, letting the chair fall from its leaning position with a neat 'thump,' its legs once again, settled firmly against the floor.

"Never heard of Kefka, huh?" Locke questioned, arching a brow. There goes that idea. Even the previously reclusive knew of Kefka, back in their world, and the only other explanation... well! That made a lot of sense. A place like this-especially populated places like this-couldn't go under Locke's radar. That was his specialty, wasn't it?

"Let's just say he belongs here more than anyone else I can think of."

[zack_fair]

"Eat and wait and talk, yeah," Zack said with a laugh and a shrug as he leaned back in his seat. He figured they might as well take it easy while they could, since things were about to get serious, but Locke didn't quite realize that yet. No wonder he was so antsy. "You see why I use the journal now," he pointed out, gesturing down to the book as he took another bite of food.

Whoever this Kefka guy was, he was apparently pretty well-known wherever Locke came from, considering how he asked that question. Either Locke had figured out that this world wasn't his, or he thought that Zack had lived under a rock or something. He just brought his hands up in the air to show that he didn't have a clue, but then frowned when the other man gave his explanation.

That sounded like Sephiroth to a T, although Zack had to admit that he was glad that the general (or ex-general, as the case might be) wasn't here. It was better that he wasn't around to terrorize people, and was instead staying defeated or whatever it was that had happened to him. More than that, Zack just didn't know how he would react if he had to face him again. There was a whole jumble of feelings that he had about the man, and he didn't really want to have to sort through them, especially not here.

"I think I know what you mean," he said with a sigh. "But I don't think sanity has much to do with whether or not you end up in this place." Who even knew what the criteria were? Zack hadn't really made much of an effort to try and figure it out, but he was pretty sure he was better off for it.

[notstealing]

Locke's gaze followed to Zack's journal, with a nod of his head. "Right, your diary," he replied, his arm slung across the backrest of the chair. Keep rational, keep rational-as crazy as all this sounded, he'd seen worse. Perhaps not in this context, but! It wasn't as if Locke hadn't gone through worse situations before, right?

But this waiting... he hated nothing more than sitting around and waiting for something to happen. There was nothing worse than that, in his mind, and opened them up to nothing but vulnerabilities. Locke exhaled, tipping his chair back once again. "Either way, our captors are pretty generous." Or confident about their abilities. Fact of the matter was, it would have been more advantageous for them to keep their prisoners in their cells, day and night.

Lucky for them, huh?

But if Zack hadn't heard of Kefka... all the better for them. That means here, in this facility itself, he didn't make himself known-or even better, exist. He would have to make certain of that, in any case, but for now, Locke was willing to put just about anything into the category of good news.

"Well, if night's as bad as you say it is... guess I've got to keep an eye out."

((ooc; wrapping up thread sometime soon? IDK, anything you want, bb. :C))

[zack_fair]

Zack wasn't sure if generous was the right word for it. It was more that Landel liked messing with them, and it wouldn't be very fun if he just kept them locked up the whole time. He had to let them stretch their legs and give them the illusion of being able to win, but that was exactly where he was making his mistake. Someday he was going to slip, or there was going to be an opening, or someone would break in to help them. This couldn't last forever.

He was pulled from his thoughts at Locke's next comment and immediately nodded in response. "Yeah, that's for sure. You shouldn't run around on your own too much. Try to find someone to stick with, even if it means you have to walk up to a stranger in the middle of a hallway." People were used to that here, so it probably wouldn't be a problem.

While he wanted to say that the guy should try to find a weapon soon, too, Zack couldn't give too much advice there. He didn't have one for himself yet, for one thing. Yuffie and Cloud had gotten lucky in that department, but the Buster Sword hadn't come back with them. Materia was good, and he'd take his Thunder down to the basement with him, but it was still a shame.

Before he could say much else, though, the intercom went off and Zack was forced to pause and listen. There was no saying that the Head Doctor would have much of use to say, but Zack didn't want to assume that, either.

[ooc: I'm good with wrapping it up here! I'm going to move the rest of Zack's reaction into NS itself.]