Day 55: Courtyard [2nd Shift]

[sheepwood]

After what seemed like an eternity of being amused, irritable, bored, in pain, in excruciating pain, and any combination of those, Guybrush was met by the same soldier who had led him to the cafeteria. He wasn't offered a trip to the Sun Room to check the bulletin board, but didn't push for it anyway. That would have been more walking, and moving

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[sixth_attack]

The physical and emotional exhaustion from the night before smothered Sechs into an almost impenetrable slumber, he only stirred slightly from the distant hollering that echoed throughout the halls that morning. Still, for some reason he had been spared from the rude awakening, and was left in peace beneath the thick layers of blankets that did little for the cold presence that chilled his back, leaving him shivering and quietly moaning into his pillow.

It was only that afternoon did Sechs finally wake up, groggily emerging from the blankets and blinking stupidly at the empty room. Despite the good rest, he was feeling rather odd inside. It was like a strange concoction of worry, relief and even a bit of embarrassment. But why was he feeling that way?

His brain sluggishly recovered the memories from the night before, and it all became clearer to him. Kibitoshin had been hurt badly last night! Sechs remembered the panic he felt as he helped the injured Kaioshin back to safety, working to help and heal each other after that attack

[sixth_attack]

Once alone, Sechs fumed so intensely inside that the heat of his anger would have been enough to melt the light snow around him. Who the hell did they think he was?! He wasn't some mindless agent of the G.I.B anymore, and he sure as HELL wasn't going to be the same for those bastards!

To further add to his fury, Sechs finally managed to get a good look at the dog tags around his neck and the beret that had been forced on his messy head. His yellow eyes blinked rapidly at what he saw.

Cody Sasaki
Rank B
10186012M

The words and numbers imprinted upon the metal tags shone dully in the frosty light, stinging his insides as he realized he had been given a rank and an ID number... Just like the G.I.B all over again...

His beret was no better; it bore pins with letters inscribed upon them. At first "SC" and "MU" made no sense, but then the acronyms slowly registered in his memory: Special Counseling and the CM-US trials... Had he been "awarded" pins for all the torture and manipulation he had suffered here

[damned_soldiers]

It had only been a matter of time until someone snapped. It would have been naive in the highest degree to expect that every patient would tolerate the changeover with no one resorting to violence. Landel's Institute took some volatile patients for a reason; they were hard to deal with, but sometimes they got results.

Expected or not, though, outbursts were not going to be tolerated lightly by Aguilar's troops. A soldier broke away from the nearby group, standing tall and broad-shouldered above the fuming patient. "I'm going to give you one chance to put those back on and shut your mouth, Sasaki," he warned, his tone cool but with a sharp, definite threat laced into its edges. He was at the ready to grab Sasaki's arms and restrain him in place immediately should he either continue to be petulant or escalate to actual violence.

[Eryn]

[sixth_attack]

Sechs' temper escalated at the sight of the approaching soldier, (bigger and taller than him as usual, just like those damn orderlies...) and the Replica focused that rage into the body, tensing his muscles and pumping adrenaline throughout his veins. He was ready for the confrontation, and there were no stupid nurses with their sedatives around to get in the way...

Fists balled up into angry fists, Sechs glared up at the solider. "NO!" Sechs snarled, his voice strident and wild compared to the soldier's cold tone. "I'm NOT shutting up OR putting that damn shit back on!"

The furious android shifted one foot back, his shoulders hunched up like a beast about to charge. "My name is Sechs, and I'm NO ONE'S lackey!" he growled, pointing a contentious finger at the soldier "So BACK OFF!"

[damned_soldiers]

"Then you can drop and give me 20 and you're going on report," the soldier responded, unfazed by the threat. If Sasaki made a move to get violent, he was still ready to respond. "No food for lunch. No sitting down until second shift tomorrow. Comprende?"

[sixth_attack]

Sechs gave out a loud snort at the soldier's pathetic "punishment". He had been expecting violence, needles and more gas; was no food and standing around the best he could throw at him?! Sechs couldn't stop the hollow chuckle from escaping him as he glared back at the stoic soldier, his vicious stance unrelenting as he roughly unbuttoned the strict collar of his suit.

"That's all you got?! Screw that!" Sechs snorted, tearing another button loose from his tight collar. "Nah! I got a better idea!" he exclaimed, turning to the side slightly, "How 'bout YOU drop down and plant twenty kisses on my ASS!?!" he barked, sneering at the soldier and pointing at his aforementioned rear.

If the military goons thought they were going to get submission and some boot polishing services on the side from Sechs, they had another thing coming! With his body tensed up for a fight, the Replica was all more than willing to shove a boot or two up the soldier's behind. Every sick tyrant out there can go to hell for all Sechs cared

[damned_soldiers]

"Okay then. You don't like the uniforms?" the soldier insisted in an infuriatingly cool and steely tone. "Then why don't we make it twenty laps around the Courtyard. Without the hat. Or the coat."

The soldier gave Sasaki a look like he was going to be getting off easy with that; and he was, really. The soldier honestly would have liked nothing better than smashing Sasaki's face in then. But orders were orders: the kind of action they had seen yesterday was a last resort. Sasaki was making threats, but he hadn't made a move yet. If he went for the laps, fine. If he continued to refuse orders, the soldier had carte blanche to pile on more punishments. But until Sasaki threw a punch unprovoked, no one could get violent with him.

In any case, he would see how well Sasaki did without proper insulation in the cold, snowy weather, laps or not.

[sixth_attack]

The soldier's stoic stance was met with a snarl from Sechs, hissing dangerously through his clenched teeth as his frustration continued to bubble and boil inside.

The stupid bastard just wasn't going to budge then, eh? The lack of response from the soldier only fanned the flames to Sechs' anger. He might as well have been barking at a wall! That was it; Sechs wasn't going to tolerate being talked down to like some stupid child! It was time for some action!

"No! No laps!" Sechs snapped back, his sneer opening up into a toothy grimace, "Unless that involved me kicking you 'round the place like I'd kick a junky old soup can back at the Scrapyard!"

And with barely a twitch to give the soldier any warning, Sechs' sideways stance instantly flashed into a roundhouse kick, his leg aiming to strike the soldier's side to knock him over into the snowy ground.

[damned_soldiers]

Thank god for the little things, thought the soldier.

He had to give Sasaki credit: he did kick pretty fast and pretty hard, even being ready for it as he was. The kick broke through the defending arm he put up, which smarted like a motherfucker. Unfortunately for Sasaki, however, the soldier was quick to catch the kick in his other hand before it actually reached his side, his palm flat against the sole of Sasaki's boot.

With some quick maneuvering, the soldier grabbed hold of Sasaki's foot and lower leg and yanked him down into a thin blanket of snow. Seeing the commotion, another soldier rushed in to help, putting his hands down on Sasaki's shoulders to hold him down on the cold ground while the first held down his ankles.

"We can do this all day, Sasaki," said the first soldier, narrowing his eyes at the patient. "You can either smarten up and take your punishment like a man, or look like a childish idiot for all to see. Which is it gonna be?"

[sixth_attack]

The kick connected, smashing the soldier's arm and bashing hard against his side. Sechs' fury experienced seconds of much-needed satisfaction, a brief victory that was cut short by a sudden upheaval of the Replica's vision as he felt himself grabbed by the leg and then dragged down to the ground with enough force to knock the wind out of his lungs

[damned_soldiers]

Two of the soldiers looked at each other uncertainly as Sasaki began spasming on the ground, and not because he was trying to struggle. They were worried the patient might be having a seizure.

The first gave them a nod to let them know that this was all right. From the shining "M-U" pin on the man's fallen beret, he could guess fairly quickly what was going on. And if it wasn't that, then they would know soon enough and be able to call in further assistance. Whatever was going on, Landel had sanctioned it, so unless this was another of that man's fuck-ups, this wasn't going to kill Sasaki. It was just going to make him suffer.

The soldiers held dilligently, waiting to see whether or not Sasaki calmed down, or at least stopped moving.

[sixth_attack]

Meanwhile, the downed Replica began to experience the drug's power over his vision. The stern face of the soldier who glowered down at Sechs became warped and darkened by the poison that slithered from his spine and into his brain, twisting the face above him into a grotesque grin full of razor-sharp teeth and a yellow beady eye that flared in the sadistic darkness. Gritting his teeth, Sechs closed his own eyes shut as tightly as he could, unable to bear the terrible image that took over the soldier's features

[damned_soldiers]

Finally, Sasaki wound down beneath the soldiers' grips, confirming the first soldier's hunch. The patient was left with no energy left to rebel, and that suited them just fine. When they were certain that the man wouldn't be getting back up for a while, they let go, and the backup soldiers returned to their posts.

The first soldier went to retrieve Sasaki's beret and tossed it down next to his head in the snow. "That'll do in place of push-ups or laps," he said with finality. "Once you're able to stand, stay that way. You're on report until second shift tomorrow. No more temper tantrums. Got it?"

Feeling he had made himself clear, the soldier turned away at that, leaving Sasaki prone where he was.