Event: Consolidation Theory, Part Four and Five

[snowblindmods]

Characters: red-marked characters and their new friends
Location: ???
Date: Morning 354, Morning and Day 355
Summary: A quiet morning and a confusing morning, or maybe they're both, or maybe they're neither.
Warnings: gore, psychological horror, warn for specifics in the subject lines

Part Four OOC Post
Part Five OOC Post

Comments

CW: General trauma/possible ptsd development/disaster reference/stitches

[tadashiwashere]

I.
[ Tadashi isn't inclined to move for a long time. Everything aches. Looking over at the food that's been left for him makes his stomach turn, so he leaves it where it is and shoves himself back into a corner of his cell. That's the most movement anyone will see out of him for a while. He needs to process.

Whenever he closes his eyes, he sees flashes of the accident -- or remembers the flurry of activity and the panic that took place at the hospital afterward. The same anxiety twists his gut into knots, even though there's not the question hovering on lips like there was when he was a kid -- where are my parents?

He's not sure what's brought on the connection. The cuts? The bruises? He has a nasty one on his neck, but it's no outlier when compared with the rest of his body. It might be the shoulder. Dislocated and somehow relocated while he was out. The same one that was dislocated during the earthquake...

Tadashi's breath hitches and he draws his knees up.

Can he just... go home? ]

II.

[ Later, Tadashi manages to bring himself back to the present. It's... not a lot better than the past he's been agonizing over. Now that he's able to focus on his surroundings, he's forced to remember some of the bits and pieces that happened the night before.

It takes a lot to stand on shaking legs and pad barefoot to the edge of his cell. Another step and he's out, standing in the relative openness of the corridor between the cells. Anyone who notices him will see his trademark baseball cap missing and his hair in disarray. There are claw marks on his right cheek -- the deepest of which is stitched closed near his ear. ]

Is.... Hello?

II

[devoutish]

[The voice of the guy standing outside his cell sounds familiar, but Alfie can't quite place it - it's not someone he knows, but he's probably heard him on the network. He's sure that if he were thinking more clearly, he'd be able to figure it out, but as it stands even just twitching too hard or shifting too quickly is enough to bring on a wave of nausea. That's enough to rattle anyone's brains.]

Yeah.

[He says, though he's pretty sure this guy isn't looking for him. He presses his back closer to the wall and squints up at him.]

Yeah, what do you want?

[tadashiwashere]

[Inwardly, Tadashi flinches, but outwardly he resists the urge as much as he can -- his shoulders stiffen like he's expecting an attack and then relax. A bad reaction, as it turns out for an aching shoulder.]

Where are we?

[There are brief flashes of patchy memory to go on from the night before, but Tadashi can't place anything well enough to identify even a general location. All he knows is that they're down.

Tadashi stands awkwardly for a moment, uncertainty warring for the spot in his demeanor where confidence usually sits.]

Hey -- that was -- I'm sorry. I feel like I can't get my bearings. A lot went on. [Almost none of which he wants to address right now, but...] We haven't met before, have we?

[devoutish]

You spoke with Royce on the network.

[He says, suddenly remembering. He'd been the one with the ridiculous plan to hire Royce to give people pep talks.]

No. No, we haven't met.

[tadashiwashere]

Uh, yeah. That was me.

[That still leaves Tadashi hanging. There are so many people here he doesn't know now. He needs to make up for it fast. The more time he spends on his feet, the more he's able to begin pushing the anxiety away. This might not be his element, but he knows there must be a way he can help.]

Tadashi Hamada. I'm a robotics student.

[devoutish]

And you've been in Norfinbury before.

[Alfie tries to move himself into more of a seated position, but winces at the strain in his limbs and the ache of his head.]

Solomons. Alfie. Not much for robotics, myself, but I've learned about 'em here. Just a bit.

[tadashiwashere]

[Tadash automatically takes a step toward Alfie's cell, but stops short long enough to give the other man a questioning look, waiting for permission.]

Do you need help, Mr. Solomons?

[It might seem ridiculous, considering the state Tadashi is in. All things considered, though, he's better off than a lot of the others. At least he can walk, even if he feels like he might fall down if he pushes his luck.]

My major was robotics, but I specialized in medicine. I'm not as good as an actual doctor, but I'll do what I can.

[devoutish]

Hero man.

[His tone manages to have hint of derisiveness while still not being truly nasty. He doesn't wave off Tadeshi, at least, or give any indication that he shouldn't come closer.]

What's the use of a doctor who doesn't doctor himself, eh? Look at you.

[tadashiwashere]

[There's a slight smile from Tadashi as he reaches up to touch the stitches near his ear. It's painful and slightly warm to the touch, but not hot enough to give him cause for alarm just yet.]

I haven't had a chance. That bad, huh?

[After another moment of hesitation, he steps into the cell and kneels down, offering his good hand if Alfie needs help changing his position again.]

I think someone else beat me to it. I could use a sling for my arm, but otherwise...

[Just a lot of pain that he's willing to work through.]

CW: General trauma/possible ptsd development/disaster reference/stitches - Eye loss

[sleight_of_fate]

[Rhys has managed to sit himself up by the time Tadashi wanders by, turning his head to extreme angles to look around. Half his face is covered in bandages, including his right eye, and raw-looking scratches mark the rest of his fair cheeks amid the bright red thorn lines on his exposed skin. A sad-looking red devil's tail hangs in his lap, limp as a dead snake, and even that has bandages on it.

He watches things with the detached weariness of the shell-shocked, his one good blue eye creased with exhaustion and worry as he looks past the wall of his cell to...whatever it is that he might focus on besides his own pain.
]

Hey. New guy?

[His voice is rough and tired, but not unfriendly.]

[tadashiwashere]

[Wow.

That's not the kind of thought anyone wants to have when confronted with another human being in the state Rhys is in. Now, more than ever, Tadashi wishes that Baymax had been among the items that followed him here. There are so many people who could use his help. All Tadashi can do is fill in for his robot as best he can. ]

That's me.

[ He tries for a smile and switches his course, approaching the other man slowly. He stops a few feet away.]

I answer to Tadashi, too. What can I get you?

[sleight_of_fate]

[Rhys would have adored Baymax, honestly. Or even just the cat, but under the circumstances, someone to distract him is good. Just some conversation that's not dwelling on what he can't remember, and how much things hurt right now.

So Tadashi gets a smile, however fragile.]

Wish I had some ice cream, but that's not gonna happen so just saying hi. Haven't met you before. I'm Rhys.

[He's staying put, but as long as he doesn't move too much, he's almost okay. He's had practice at this, being busted up.]

If you wanna use my sink, I'll stay over here. Give you room.

Sorry I'm so slow! Long weekend!

[tadashiwashere]

It's nice to meet you. [All things consider -- Rhys gets an answering smile.]

I don't know what I can do about the ice cream right now, but I've been ferrying people water if that would help?

[Even as he asks, Tadashi nods at the other's offer and steps around to go use the sink. Sorry, Aunt Cass, for drinking straight out of the tap, but he's going to take what he can get. Tadashi regrets a little the times he shrugged off offers of filtered, pitcher water back home. It sounds like a luxury now...]

No worries!

[sleight_of_fate]

[It's pretty much a given here that "nice to meet you" is always followed by "sorry that it's here". So it's all good.]

I think I'm alright for now, but I appreciate it.

Mostly just tired. They've been drugging us and I've been seeing some crazy shit.

[He watches Tadashi drink, almost absently.]

You did just go through the force field, right? I didn't imagine that?

[tadashiwashere]

[Tadashi's gaze darts back to the, in his eyes, completely empty entranceway.]

Nope, a hundred percent real. I've got a theory about it, if you're interested?

[So far dragging people through the door hasn't worked, but maybe if he sits down and talks through the possibilities with someone, Tadashi can finally spot which angle to come at the problem from. With any luck, they can be out of here before anything else happens.]

[sleight_of_fate]

[Rhys considers, then gives the younger man a game smile.]

Most of this science stuff tends to go over my head so I have no idea if I'll actually follow it, but I'm game if you are.

]He scoots over as much as he can manage with his arm, indicating that he's not going to go for Tadashi's throat or anything. Just the company is good, and if he can add anything to Tadashi's thoughts? It's worth a thought.]

[tadashiwashere]

[There's only a moment of hesitation before Tadashi pushes purposefully through it and steps over. He slides slowly to the ground to sit to the side of Rhy, his muscles protesting the entire way down.]

Don't worry about it. Just talking it out helps sometimes. [He shakes his head, smiling slightly.] Besides, a lot of this stuff is over my head, too.

[A.I.s are one thing, but what he's read about here is on another level. Tadashi isn't even sure how far away they are from nanobots. It would almost be exciting to see the future of tech if he could get his hands on it in any meaningful way.

Tadashi takes a breath.]

Okay, my first theory is that the barriers on the door are coded to certain people genetically. Or to the nanobots in their blood. Do you know if anyone has tried to throw anything through the barrier yet?

II

[warriorscribe]

Tadashi?

[Enoch's voice comes from inside a cell, but the only sign of a person there is the food tray left on the floor. Enoch himself is hidden behind the partition that gives the bathroom its privacy.]

[tadashiwashere]

Enoch?

[Tadashi stops short of where the invisible barrier should be as he squints into the room, trying to pick out the source of the voice. It hasn't been long since they last talked on the network, so Tadashi is fairly sure his guess is correct. All the same...]

That's you, isn't it?

[warriorscribe]

It is. You weren't- I don't think you had returned yet, when we disappeared. I don't understand why he would take you.

[The others he'd seen down here might have been those who had taken some part of the people who had jumped, but unless his sense of time had slipped again, Tadashi arrived too late to have taken anything from anyone.]

[tadashiwashere]

When you disappeared?

[He stands baffled outside of the cell. Does Enoch think it's been longer than it has? No one else has mentioned much about how much time has passed since they were taken down here, but it can't have been that long since...]

Hey, we just talked on the network a few days ago. Who took you? I'm missing a lot of pieces here. The things that took me...

[Tadashi's words trail off. He doesn't know what he can say about them. Just things made of static. He still doesn't understand what could project that sort of image on a person or creature's skin. The tech here is lightyears beyond what he's used to back home.]

[warriorscribe]

No, when we disappeared to- to the room with the pit. Did you read about that? Those of us who fell into it returned with these markings.

So far, Miller has only taken those of us with them, and those of us who showed...an unusual interest shortly after they spread. You- I don't think you were here for either.

[His breathing is heavy with silent anger. What purpose does it serve!?]

[tadashiwashere]

{He hasn't read about that. There's been so much happening and so much to catch up on... Tadashi feels like he could kick himself for not pushing himself harder. A lot of good he does everyone when he doesn't even have a basic understanding of what started this.

In the end, Tadashi shakes his head in answer to Enoch's questions.]

No, I didn't -- I had no idea.

[But if they can get out of this, Tadashi is going to make certain he's not clueless for next time. As much as it pains him to realize there will be a next time.]

Hey, let's go down to the basics. Is there anything we could all have in common knowing I showed up later? Maybe the other commonality was just a coincidence.

[Or maybe it's all random, but that's not something that will help them right now.]

[warriorscribe]

I'm not sure.

[A second of silence while he struggles with how useless he feels, and something comes to mind.]

If there are other outliers, we might be able to find something. Perhaps you could start asking others if they had participated in...whatever that was. I'm not even remotely certain how I could describe it.

[tadashiwashere]

[Tadashi nods hesitantly.

Yeah, that might work. The more points of data they have, the better off they'll be even if it doesn't lead them to an immediate answer.]

I can do that. Will you be okay here while I go check on some of the others?

[Tadashi's hesitant to move away when he's still not sure how badly off Enoch is.]