Day 59: Sun Room (4th Shift)

[contentincloset]

After an intercom broadcast like that, Kurogane felt somewhat better about the little information he'd gotten from Harrington the previous night. The man only sounded competent when he needed to but was an idiot otherwise. Unfortunately that was furthered proof of the General not employing the brightest of staff members, making another option for

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[yin_yang_fox]

The day had been satisfactory, more than she could have hoped. Much came in the way of shared information, both hers and others, and the Digimon was far more content than she had been in a while--far more determined to move appropriately and with intent. There was still too much to uncover, too many open paths to explore. With the military and Marc both opening themselves to speak with others.... It opened an entire new line of communication and information network capabilities. It was too much to hope for another Yamato (then, again, with all the man had done before he had turned, perhaps Renamon should not hope for one like him), but it was possible there were those within the military discontent with the goings ons. Especially if the drop about traitors being correct.

It was something to consider, by any means. As well as the rest. The sun room was still a mess of blankets and chairs, but she found a couch off to the side. There was still much to work over, especially with what Nigredo had had to share.

[Byrne~]

[corvus_veritas]

On any other day, Byrne would have had a lot of things to say about Major Harrington and his inability to keep a professional tone off the intercom. Today, he could care less.

He'd say today just wasn't his day, but that statement applied to the past five or six days he'd been here as well, so it was more like this wasn't his week. It was becoming more and more difficult to remain optimistic, what with his best friend getting into trouble and the food possibly being rotten - possibly, if he wasn't going mad. Was he going mad? Were they breaking him, slowly but surely? He didn't want to submit to Aguilar's game, but it was hard to fight back when he was being hit where it hurt the most. He and Badd both

[yin_yang_fox]

Of the people to approach her, there were only a few left that she was genuinely fond of--the man that did so quietly was one of them. She returned the expression, nodding in turn. "Not at all."

Byrne looked somewhat worn around the eyes, but that was something the Digimon understood explicitly. If Renamon remembered correctly... Byrne would be approaching his first week here. He had already lasted longer than many. She was not yet sure if that was something to be glad of. At the least, she thought to herself, he was still here. Still fighting, in his own way. She watched him, not unkindly. "What have you been doing the past days?"

[corvus_veritas]

Byrne didn't hesitate to seat himself on the couch once given permission to, and he let a long sigh escape his lips. "Well." He laughed, although he sounded more exhausted than anything else. "There's been too much going on, and some of it I'd rather never think about again."

Namely, almost everything that had happened in the past two days. His 'experimental study', Badd's kidnapping and brainwashing, the food supposedly being rotten today, that scrap with Niikura this morning, the ghost child from last night (oh yeah, and that mark on his arm too - wow, forgot about it again). But with everything that had happened to him, he found himself not wanting to trouble Renamon with any of it. At least, not right this moment. He did want her opinion on a few things, like the nightly torture sessions, but he didn't want her pity or anything. It was bad enough that he'd reacted the way he did at Gren earlier

[yin_yang_fox]

Renamon glanced over to him, curious but in essence, concerned. Byrne was intelligent, yes, but in the end, he was only human. Unless he had some skills she was not aware of, it was more than dangerous for him in this place. She could understand the sentiment he voiced, but at the same time, she realized that she was fortunate. She could at least survive all of this. She could at least fight the terrors here.

She thought of Beelzemon, then, as she hadn't for days, and glanced away. It would be simplest, she thought, if each human had a Digimon that could fight the way they needed to. As things were....

She inclined her head politely. "I've had too much going on as well. I've actually been a little busy. I've been researching the basement and meeting a few people I previously hadn't." The man seemed like he needed a distraction. She could, at least, provide that. "For example. I met Marc last night."

[corvus_veritas]

Oh thank god, Renamon wasn't going to question him and was going to talk about something else instead. Something else that was...meeting Marc last night? Byrne blinked at the name. Who was Marc again? He vaguely remembered it being the name of someone important, someone mentioned before. Hmm...wait--no, was it--possibly--ooohh, oh oh right, Marc was that guy over the radio, right? The rebel? Yeah, Renamon had explained it to him before, along with the basement she mentioned with the name. Right, right. Now he remembered

[yin_yang_fox]

The man seemed legitimately interested, and the Digimon found herself pleased. "Not much, to be honest. The night ended quickly once we found him. He left a clue on the radio to his location last night, and myself and two others went to the ruins that he said he was in. We asked mostly about Landel and the military, but he seems to be under a literal geis that restricts him from speaking too bluntly about such things." A fact Renamon had confidence in.

"What he did make clear was that he is working under the assumption that the military is the larger threat. And that Landel's abilities are far more vast than most have realized. That it's possible," the Digimon added, thinking of what Nigredo said. "That Landel himself creates most of the things within the institute himself, rather than any technology or magic."

[corvus_veritas]

So this Marc fellow's been hiding out in some ruins somewhere? Where were these ruins? And how did Renamon get there in a single night? Byrne really wanted to jump in and ask, but interrupting someone in the middle of talking was rude so he'd wait until she finished her story. In the meantime, he listened carefully to her and nodded his head every now and then to show he understood what she was telling him. (And was still thankful for having this distraction, too. An informative distraction at that.)

Then Renamon continued on to talk about Landel's abilities, and Byrne's eyes widened with surprise. Landel, creating the things in the Institute himself? But--but how, without technology or--dare he say it--magic? No, he shouldn't doubt it was true. This was Renamon telling him, after all. But still...

"How?" he repeated out loud. Just what kind of man was Landel, anyway?

[yin_yang_fox]

That was the question of the hour, wasn't it? Nothing could be done without some kind of toll, and nothing could simply just be done. Landel had to be some manner of being, and the Digimon suddenly wanted to be in the same room as him once more. She hadn't picked up much last time, just a distorted impression of not human... But even that could be doubted with the mass amounts of individuals in the sun room that day. She would have to meet with him with less people involved to be certain. And even then.... There were so maybe that Landel could be

[corvus_veritas]

To Byrne, Landel had been the biggest threat to the patients in the beginning, and was still considered a decent threat even after the military kicked him out. (It was called Landel's Institute for a reason, wasn't it?) Landel was a tyrant, a guy with a shady agenda who must have built this place for some dark scheme of his. Must have. The military, in Byrne's eyes, just took over the Institute for, well, whatever reason they wanted it for. But was all started by Landel.

And yet, Renamon's theory of Landel being a prisoner here before taking over as 'ruler' of the Institute was entirely plausible, a theory Byrne hadn't considered until now. Landel? As one of--one of them? The thought was more than just a little disturbing. Of course, the prosecutor's mind had to take it a step further to make it even worse - what if Landel used to be an honest-to-god sort of man who became corrupted by this place? It broke him like it was trying to break everyone else, made him stop caring about fighting back? Made him into a monster

[yin_yang_fox]

In essence, Byrne's musings lined up with Renamon's own. Landel was by far the larger threat, if only for the unknown that he was, and the charismatic methods he had of shifting things. He was not a well-liked persona, but he was well-known, and spoken of warily, even with the way he used to present himself over the intercom. He was certainly one who you did not take without caution

[corvus_veritas]

Byrne frowned even more as Renamon went on with her explanation. So, while Landel had actually designed this place (which made it less likely that he used to be a patient too, right?), the military forces were the people 'funding the project', so to speak, and Landel and Aguilar had to cater to their wishes plus whoever else was above them. People with more power than Landel and Aguilar? Another disturbing thought, but it made perfect sense for a man-behind-the-man situation to be going on here. It would fit one of Byrne's earlier theories that this place was government-run, meaning chances of getting outside help were nil

[yin_yang_fox]

She nodded briskly to his musing. "One would think. If they're military based, it would make sense to-" There was the briefest of pauses, and then the Digimon continued in her level tones. "Test and experiment on the subjects given to try to create or enhance a weapon already there. To try to adjust for more abilities or tear apart one to find out how to duplicate it. It's a pattern that seems to hold in these kinds of situations." Something she would prefer not to think further on

[m-u effects]

[corvus_veritas]

This whole 'men are power-hungry' thing Renamon kept saying sounded an awful lot like something Badd would say. And he and his cynical speeches were things Byrne did not want to be thinking about right now. He'd had enough worrying about that guy, the fight they'd had, if he would be showing up later, things like that...

Although, in terms of cynical speeches, von Karma was the best at them, wasn't he. And rightfully so, old cranky bastard, if only he were still here when all of this was going on-! Speak of the devil, Renamon sure sounded a lot like him. What did she just say, now? The military will uh, the military is under some governmental power. Right, yes, that is what they are talking about, he's got this. He knows the truth. It has to be the United States government, there's no doubt about it. Only THEY would do something so sinister and so terrible and so and soSo Renamon knew after all! She wasn't blind to the system and she was better for it. She was in --what was it now, was she a lawyer? Didn't she say that before? uhh

[yin_yang_fox]

The stuttering was noted but taken.... Though the more he continued to speak, the more she questioned. His speech was taken on that of those either paranoid or sedated, and she wondered if he had been previously, and it had just been taking a while to set in. The last part... She wondered if it referred to what she thought or something else. That look was a bit... Strange.

"That's true. However." She looked at him carefully, then continued slowly. "...Byrne. Are you feeling all right?" Had something happened that she had missed, other than the wear she had noted around him?

[corvus_veritas]

... What just happened?

Byrne blinked, slowly at first, then rapidly, as if trying to force himself to wake up. Which was a pretty good description of how he felt at the moment. Did he really just fall asleep in the middle of talking to Renamon? Weird. He wasn't even tired or anything.

But better apologize first before he seemed like a complete jerk, especially since Renamon noticed. "I'm--wow, haha, I'm sorry! Did I just doze off? How rude of me." He smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head, embarrassed.

And heavily confused. Seriously, that was really weird. Maybe he was just pushing himself too hard today? Oh, actually, you know what? It was probably from going all day without eating. That made sense.

"A-anyway, yeah. I agree with you," he commented, eager to get any conversation away from what he'd just done, "But not everyone seems to have some sort of 'ability', from what it looks like to me. Is the government - assuming they're the ones on top, anyway - just picking people at random, you think?"