Behind Bars [active/closed]

[dollsy_npcs]

Characters: Ushiromiya Ange, Mello, Ciel Phantomhive, Link, Mai Kawasumi, Rue
Setting: Basement Labs
Time: Day 21, early morning
Summary: The latest batch of experiment victims are brought to the labs' cells as the sun rises. Here, they await their turn for torture.
Warnings: Misery and fear and raeg and general unpleasantness. Unhappy captives. That

Comments

[agentle_green]

Like the others, Link had given a bit of a struggle when he was first dragged down here. He'd dealt with Poes back in the Arbiter's Crypt, but these ghosts were something else... Without his ability to sense them it had only been a matter of time before they had him cornered, Master Sword or not. The more he fought, the more they worked to restrain him until the young man had to admit defeat or risk breaking an arm. Strong as they were, Link was honestly surprised when - save having a decidedly firm grip on their new prisoner - they didn't do anything more than move him to a cell and simply leaving him there, weapons and all.

The last time he had been unceremoniously thrown into a cell was back when he was a wolf. Then again, the last time he had been dragged to a cell, he had fur and was largely left alone in a strange place. Here...

Here, there were others stuck in the same predicament.
Here, Link doubted Midna would show up again and find an escape route for him.

It was strange how different this place was compared to Hyrule Castle. This place was so clean and cold in a manner completely different from the dungeons. It was the sort of despair that could creep into your bones and settle there if you let it. Link had never been as thankful for the Triforce of Courage as he was at that moment. As he stood near one of the walls of his 'cage' he silently watched the others who were trapped here. Watched the exchange between two of the other prisoners and prayed that his present travel companion could manage on his own, that the two of them would make it to the dawn once again.

In this sterile light and the others' harsh words, the Ordonian found himself missing both the light of his home and the quiet peace of the Twilight Realm.

[is_not_number1]

Mello had finished with his screaming and cursing a while ago; though it was a perfectly suitable initial reaction to the situation, it had grown old rather quickly. There would be no point in keeping that up the entire time he was in the cell, as doing so would have been a bit of a waste of energy. Besides, yelling so much was beginning to hurt his throat and give him a headache. Though the disgustingly bright white lights in this place probably didn't help with that.

Regardless, it was quite some time before he decided to stop fretfully pacing back and forth across the cell. He kept that up until it had finally started to tire him out. He wasn't sure how long it had taken; in fact, he really hadn't the slightest clue as to how long he'd even been in the cell. It didn't seem like any time had been passing at all.

Which was probably why, he figured, it seemed like it had been so long at the same time.

He sat down on the bench, leaning forward so that his arms rested on his knees, and pressed his forehead into the palm of one hand. He was fucking exhausted... He almost wanted to sleep, but there was no way he could. Not with the anticipation of what was going to happen. He was way too damn anxious. But at the same time, it was certainly boring enough here. The cells were absolutely sickeningly boring. And that, he decided, was an awful thing to pair with this anxiety.

He was going to go crazy if something didn't happen soon. Maybe it'd help to talk to someone... Someone other than Ciel, and hopefully more pleasant. The kid just got on his fucking nerves. He stood up again, and made his way over to a corner of the cell, closest to some strange guy with an interesting outfit and a really bizarre hat. "Hey," He called out, his tone a bit unnecessarily sharp. It wasn't that he was holding anything against the guy, or anything; he was just in an absolutely foul mood. "You enjoying yourself there?"

[agentle_green]

After being stuck here with nothing but Mello and Ciel's 'conversation' as the only distraction, Link had understandably tuned the two out. The last bit of time was spent watching the others trapped in this too bright room and trying unsuccessfully to find a way out. These Phantasms seemed very no-nonsense compared to the guards of Hyrule Castle or the Twilight Beasts that Zant created.

Then again, when none of those groups had been raised or even exposed to such a cold place, Link couldn't find it in his heart to blame them. Between the steady hum of the light above them and any other quiet noise that was being made in the cell, the swordsman had just about nodded off when he heard someone call out to him. It takes a few moments for Link to blink away the sleep and realize that someone was speaking to him, and not continuing the conversation from earlier.

"Hm...?" What a strange question the other person was asking. After a second, he simply sighed as he shook his head. No, he didn't really enjoy this whole imprisonment deal.

[is_not_number1]

"No?" Mello laughed bitterly, taking a few seconds to look the other over. In no way did he look like he was enjoying himself; he just seemed bored. He looked like he'd been about to fall asleep, and Mello couldn't really blame him. Who wouldn't hate every moment of this?

He couldn't help but to wonder, though, if the guy had any idea of what was to come. Not that he did himself-- hell, he was completely clueless about this whole thing-- but he knew it was going to be bad. He didn't know firsthand about what the phantasms did to people; he'd only been told about it. His idea of what to expect was vague at the very best, but he knew whatever happened after this would be awful, and although he was now trying to hide at least some of his fear, he was terrified.

"Me neither, really," he commented dryly, averting his eyes for a moment. "Prison's no fun. And they sure do a nice job of making this place as painfully boring as possible, huh? Makes it all the worse to wait."

If Mello had learned anything from this experience so far, it was that he really didn't like the way boredom and terrified anticipation mixed.

[agentle_green]

The laugh caused Link to watch the other in confusion for a moment before he relaxed again. It didn't sound like a shouting match would start up again, which was fine by him. As 'nice' a distraction as it had been, Link had eventually tuned it out like he usually did with arguments. .... Bar the times where Ilia or Midna were yelling at him.

But Link had no better idea of what the Phantasms had planned than the rest of the prisoners. Despite being held in a prison once before, the hero had managed to escape with a little help from Midna.

At the dry comment, Link just smiled. Entertaining didn't appear to be something high on the Phantasms' priorities. "Waiting's always the hardest part," came the quiet agreement. The Triforce of Courage helped to keep Link's fear at bay but... While upset at being separated from someone once again, at least he didn't need to worry about Marth being defenseless.

Hopefully.

"I wonder what purpose this serves..."

[is_not_number1]

"Yep." Mello gave a short nod and sighed faintly. "I wonder how long they're planning on keeping us here before they do anything." He glanced downwards, before absentmindedly removing one glove and running a finger across the floor of the cell, concentrating on it for a few moments as if trying to figure out what it was made of. "Something tells me... they know."

He hoped the Phantasms didn't plan on waiting too much longer before starting whatever it was they were going to, however, he somehow doubted that. They knew what they were doing. They knew waiting was painful. Since the house did have a strong habit of causing its residents pain, what reason would the Phantasms have to make this ordeal convenient for them? Not that there was really any way it could be made convenient.

The anxiety was killing him, and the Phantasms were probably enjoying every minute of it.

"Their fucking entertainment, I'd say. Unless there's some other benefit to them... whatever that is. They're screwballs. They just do whatever the hell they want. They might be gaining something from all this..." He paused, and looked up at Link, his expression now quite harsh. "You think we'll ever find out?"

[agentle_green]

"They wouldn't put us here unless there's reason behind it," Link suggested quietly. It seemed to be the most logical course of action. Or it seemed that way to Link. He had yet to have gone to a place that has held him in one location for any duration of time without causing him some form of grief. Even the respected and renowned Spirit Springs had made him run all over Hyrule to find their Tears of Light.

Although Link had his concerns about what the Phantasms had planned for all of the people caught here. Would they be as heartless as either Ganondorf or Zant? Or did they have something else planned?

Whatever it was...

"They seem to have covered all our escape routs," he looked around the cell before he shook his head again, "Very thorough."

[is_not_number1]

"Of course there's gotta be a reason behind all this," Mello said. "There's a reason behind everything, isn't there?" However valid that reason was, though, was something else. Who the hell knew if they were actually getting something real accomplished by doing this? "This could all be some sort of experiment... to test what, exactly, I've got no clue... but y'know, I wouldn't be surprised if it was."

He smirked, and took a few moments to glance around the cell before turning back to face the guy. " 'course they did. There wouldn't be any point in locking us up here if we just went and got out on our own, now, would there?"

Besides... if they did, the Phantasms would probably just catch them again. Even if escaping from the cell had been possible, escaping from the Phantasms themselves was quite a different story. If anyone wanted to get out of this shithole, they'd just have to wait for the Phantasms to let them out.

Fuck. They were completely helpless.