Day 17: Music Room

[last_roivas]

Sighing to herself as the nurse herded her into the music room, Alex resisted the urge to rub her temples. Eventually she knew she was going to have to check Skadi's memories to see just what she had been up to, but she had a feeling doing that right now would just make her headache worse. That would teach her not to be specific when she told

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[muted_flame]

The colonel truly had been looking forward to continuing that lesson Greed had been giving him in the cafeteria, but it was cut short. Roy found himself a bit unfulfilled as he entered the music room, scowling at whatever was playing as he located somewhere comfortable to sit down. Greed could be a very hard-to-find homunculus at times, so he wasn't sure when he'd be seeing the sin again. Still, he had the basic idea as to how to shield, so he could continue practicing on his own.

Yeah. He didn't need Greed's help every step of the way.

Still, it had been easy to keep such things to himself in the cafeteria. The music room was a bit smaller--making it easier for others to keep track of what he was up to. He wasn't sure who would be that curious, but black suddenly covering parts of his hands would be a bit hard to miss.

He was sure that if he kept it up for too much longer he'd end up tired out, anyway, so perhaps it was for the best. Settling comfortably onto the couch he'd found, he tried to look open to conversation for once. A lot of the time, he simply wasn't in the mood, but today he might be okay with it. Besides, he needed something to distract him from the fact that he most certainly was no longer human.

[rubbermancan]

Luffy had expected to find a bunch of fun instruments to mess around with when he and Zoro had been ushered inside, but he was very disappointed to find very few, if any. Judging by what the small group of patients were doing already, it seemed that this place was more for just...sitting and listening than anything else.

A rather boring place, in Luffy's book.

Still, the people who were nearby seemed to be fairly interesting. Though he was still a little unsettled by what had transpired in the cafeteria, Luffy thought it might be a good idea to try and get more of his questions answered by people who'd been here longer than him. (As much as he liked Brock, he'd been there probably about as long as Luffy himself had, which meant that he hadn't learned too much about this strange place, save for a few, vague details that really didn't mean much to him right now.)

It didn't take long for Luffy to spot a pretty cool looking guy on the couch. His eyes were actually mismatched, which made the pirate wonder if he'd always been that way, or if he'd experienced a lot of unusual adventures in his lifetime. Curiousity definitely aroused now, the boy silently left his green-haired companion and directly approached this stranger.

"Hey, there, mister!" he said with a simple smile. "Not much really happens in this room, huh?"

[muted_flame]

Apparently it worked.

Roy glanced up, having been lost in quite a few thoughts. He had a lot to muse over, after all. But he'd been hoping for a distraction, so this was good. Even if he had been approached by quite an odd-looking kid, it was better than being ignored by people because he seemed too moody.

Then again, he got the feeling that this kid would have stepped up to him even if he'd been glowering and giving off a 'leave-me-alone' vibe.

He sighed and provided a nod. "Not really, no. Then again, not much happens in most rooms during the day." He supposed some rooms were better than this one, though. The Game Room, for instance, not that many patients actually played. Roy really would have liked to play a game of chess with someone at one point--it had been too long. But he didn't know how good his luck would be when it came to finding a partner to play with.

[tripleswordflow]

Watching Luffy move off towards Roy, of all people, Zoro quickly followed after, a slightly confused look on his face. He was still left puzzled and slightly unsettled by what had transpired in the cafeteria, but was doing his best to shrug it off. Luckily, when he'd seen Roy, his mind had found some other subject to latch onto. The two had never really finished any kind of conversation they might have had left the day before, and while Zoro didn't have much to say to Roy, he did know that the man at least knew more than anyone else he'd managed to meet in this shithole.

Moving to Luffy's side, Zoro only gave a small nod as greeting, crossing his arms over his chest.

[rubbermancan]

Luffy hummed in agreement, his eyes roaming around the room for a few moments. Yep, this place was definitely too quiet for his liking during the day, though the foreboding comments people kept making about the nighttime around here didn't sound too terribly fun, either.

"A lot sure happened in the cafeteria while we were eating breakfast today, but I guess you didn't see it." He scratched his cheek some, as if he were still trying to piece together what had transpired. "They made my friend Brock go to sleep because there was something wrong with him, but I'm not sure what it was." He kind of wished he knew where they'd taken him; the chances of him winding up in the music room with everyone else were probably pretty slim.

Since the topic of food had been briefly touched on, however, Luffy regarded the stranger with a curious expression and asked, "But, hey, do you know how many times they feed us around here? The food portions are really small, aren't they?"

[muted_flame]

Well then. It was Zoro. Roy remembered the young man from the day before and returned his nod as he neared. Did these two know each other, then? They looked to be similar in age, so it made sense...

This stranger, though, was much more excitable than Zoro. Then again, that never stopped people from being friends any other time. He and Hughes were polar opposites, but had managed to forge a friendship regardless of that. Sometimes, opposites really did attract.

"Brock... Eddie Brock?" Roy asked with a frown. "I spoke with him briefly yesterday." He hadn't gotten much of a chance to find out anything about the new patient, but still. "And... sleep?" What did the boy mean? Sleep was a very ambiguous word that meant a lot of things, but the stranger didn't seem distressed enough for it to be overly serious.

Roy suppressed a small smirk at the question about food. He had never been big on eating in general--one of those necessary things, but he didn't have a particular fondness for food, so really, the feeding schedule didn't bother him much. Being part-homunculus made it even less of an issue. For those that truly did like food, though, he could see how it might be lamentable. "Three times a day," he responded. "Though you end up serving yourself, so you can always get more if you're still hungry."

[rubbermancan]

Luffy nodded at the older man's query. "Yeah, Eddie Brock's his name." Eyebrows raising some, he tilted his head. "You know him?" He supposed it wouldn't be all that surprising...Brock probably stuck out if he went through weird bouts like he did in the cafeteria. "And, yeah...he started acting really crazy," the pirate added. "At first, he just looked really tired and really hungry, and he was staggering like maybe he'd had too much alcohol or he'd gotten in a nasty fight with someone."

Luffy paused, eyebrows furrowing as he remembered how vicious Brock had looked when he'd threatened to tear Crane's eyes out of his head. "He kept saying he needed 'settatives,' which I guess put you to sleep. That's all he'd tell me though, except he did say he was sorry for acting like he was gonna claw people to death." Unfortunately for Roy, Luffy didn't think of how this might sound to someone who hadn't really witnessed the event, so he didn't really feel the need to elaborate on anything.

This new information about the food situation seemed to perk up the boy's attitude considerably, though. Three times a day wasn't really much to his liking - Luffy was used to snacking on things through out the day, whenever he wanted - but he supposed the fact he could get as much as he wanted could almost be considered a redeeming factor for this whole mess.

"Oh, great!" he laughed, rubbing the back of his head some. "I'm glad to hear that! Looks like I won't have to sneak any of that stuff to my room or anything." He abruptly paused, looking rather thoughtful. "Well, maybe. I guess it depends on how hungry I get. This food's weird 'cause it sits real heavy in your stomach for awhile, you know?"

[tripleswordflow]

Zoro watched the conversation in silence, looking slightly bored when it moved to food. He was pretty sure Roy didn't share Luffy's passion for all things edible, and regardless, Zoro was interested in hearing more about this place, what happened at night, and where he might locate his personal items.

Even though Zoro had refused his offer to join up with him, he mused silently.

"You were right about this place being strange," Zoro said suddenly to Roy. "I didn't see any monsters last night, but the whole thing almost felt like a dream."

[muted_flame]

Sedatives. From what Luffy was saying, that made sense. At least Brock had possessed the presence of mind to realize that he was going to be a danger to himself and others if he stayed awake. Still, what had gotten into the man? He'd seemed rather calm when he'd spoken to him (except for the strange way he'd stared), but that had been when he'd been brand new to the place. Perhaps the stress of the whole situation had cracked down on him a bit hard...

"Sedatives knock you out," he explained. "They give it to patients who can't calm down or are having a panic attack. Considering he was ready to attack people, it sounds like he needed it." Roy wasn't sure if he should put too much interest into the man. On one hand, it was something that might be worth looking into. On the other hand, he wasn't sure he wanted to get involved.

Glancing at Zoro, he sighed and nodded. The young man seemed silent and reserved next to his what-seemed-to-be friend. He could understand that, though. Some people could talk enough for two or three people. He could think of a few examples right off the top of his head.

"You'll run into the monsters eventually," he said, sounding grim. "They're impossible to avoid after a while. The best you can do is hope you get a few creature-free nights. That way you can get yourself oriented before you have to start worrying about your life as well."

[rubbermancan]

Nodding, Luffy listened to Roy's explanation in a surprisingly patient manner. He remembered Chopper talking about those mysterious sleeping pills once, though he never really thought much of them until coming to this place. Maybe Brock really would feel better after sleeping off whatever had been bothering him.

When Roy turned to speak to Zoro, however, the pirate blinked and sharply looked over to the green-haired man. "You two have already talked?" he asked, genuinely interested. Then, he gave a small laugh. "You should do a better job of introducing me to people, Zoro!" The last was said in a light-hearted way and was more than likely a small bout of teasing on Luffy's part than anything serious. "And what's this stuff about monsters? You mean things will actually attack us at night?"

[tripleswordflow]

Zoro glanced towards Luffy, nodding some. "This is Roy," he muttered as way of introduction. Glancing towards Roy, he shrugged. "And this is Luffy."

With that settled, he nodded some towards Luffy. "Yeah. Apparently there are monsters that lurk around the halls at night. We didn't exactly get much of a chance to get out yesterday... we didn't see them." He frowned. "That's why it's so important that I find my swords." He looked towards Roy, slightly frustrated. "Do you have any idea where they keep personal objects?" He was already afraid of the answer. What if they didn't keep them?

Why would they?

[muted_flame]

Roy couldn't help laughing at the boy--who apparently was named Luffy--and his indignation at the lack of introduction. Exchanging names was always helpful, so he nodded to yet another new acquaintance. "Nice to meet you, Luffy," he said, rather polite. Being in the military ingrained that sort of thing.

The alchemist couldn't believe that Luffy hadn't yet heard about the monsters. Who had he been speaking to? Well, it was a good thing he hadn't run into them the night before when he wouldn't have been prepared. "They're not to be taken lightly," he grunted. He didn't have any current injuries to show off, unfortunately. That probably would have gotten the message across.

As for missing items, well... Roy sighed--he seemed to be doing that a lot--and shook his head. "I've had things taken from me as well." His gloves. His gloves! He really, really wished he had his damned gloves. "There isn't much of a way to retrieve them. The only time you get them back is during special counseling, where the people in charge of this place brainwash you for a night. You'll attack fellow patients and order them into their rooms, unable to control yourself." And you even remembered it the next day! That was the best part. "Special counseling patients have their old attire, all their weapons, and all their powers. On those nights, it's advisable to stay in your rooms."

[rubbermancan]

"'Special counseling,'" Luffy echoed, his gaze firmly meeting Roy's. Normally, Luffy liked the word "special," because it often hinted at something good and fun, but coupled with that horrible piece of information that Roy just told them, it gave him a rather foreboding feeling. It seemed that everything in this place was turned upside down.

"So, you're saying that I won't be able to get my hat back unless I've been pulled in for this special counseling?" Luffy asked, his voice carrying an unusually serious tone. That was unacceptable. Going around and hurting innocent people went against the very values that hat stood for. "It's my most precious possession. I'd rather not leave this place unless I get it back."

But, if that meant that he wouldn't be getting his hat back anytime soon, what did that say for Zoro?

"Isn't there some way we can find some more swords or something?" Luffy suddenly asked. "That's what Zoro's best at. How can he fight if he doesn't have the thing he needs to do it with?" His gaze shifted over to his companion, and he wondered how he was going to take this bit of news. Swords...especially that special one named Wadou...were practically Zoro's life.

[tripleswordflow]

Zoro shook his head, instantly rejecting Roy's information.

"If they have them to give to these "special counseling" patients, then they still exist and they're still somewhere in this hospital," he answered seriously. "That means I can find them."

All hope was not yet lost. Feeling Luffy's eyes on him, Zoro exchanged a glance, determination in his eyes.

[muted_flame]

Roy locked gazes with Zoro for a moment, nodding. "Of course. They must be somewhere. Hell if I know where to look, though." His possessions were things he could get again when he got home. The uniform, even the gloves. They were replaceable. However, he understood that some people had things that were one of a kind, things that needed to be found.

"Until you find them, though, there are knives and things you could get out of the kitchen at night," he explained to Luffy. "If you collect enough, I could transmute them into one sword." Some people preferred long blades to short--which was an easy enough problem to fix.

[rubbermancan]

Luffy blinked as the cogs in his mind began to furiously turn. The kitchen? "Oh! Was that what the radio was talking about the other night? It said something about...juice, so I figured that's what it was talking about..." So, they had been on the right track the night before after all. The pirate felt uplifted upon learning that there was a way to get Zoro a sword, but he felt even better at the realization that their prized possessions were probably somewhere in this very building after all.

They definitely needed to arrange a trip to the kitchen as soon as the day shift ended, monsters or no monsters.

This Roy fellow definitely sounded like he knew what he was talking about, which Luffy liked a lot. It was nice to actually get some definite answers around here. Even so, Luffy's eyebrows furrowed at Roy's last few words, and he stared at the older man as if he were speaking in a different language. "Wait. Transmute? What is that?"