vivarium | THE HEART OF THE MATTER

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THE HEART OF THE MATTER

Sometime early in the morning (or at least what feels like it, considering that there aren’t any clocks around), Calhoun will scream into a megaphone to wake everyone up. He won’t explain what’s going on, but he will say that he has a surprise for everyone. What is it? Well, they won’t know until they get up! So, everyone line up by the hallway’s door!

He’ll be calling everyone into a “☆ SECRET ROOM ☆” one by one, and spending a few minutes with them. In this room, it’ll be nothing but a table, two chairs, a metal cabinet, and a lone lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. Anyone who’s seen enough cop shows will notice that this is an interrogation room. Granted, there’s a sleeping pod in the corner of the room (rather similar to the same device that returns memories) and this room is a pretty fictional interrogation room as the real things aren't so hardboiled, but Calhoun is a fan of cop dramas and he only has so much power, so this is what he went for.

Anyway, in here, Calhoun will do one of two things:

1) Reveal an unpleasant secret about them. Of course, it might sound fictional at first, but then he’ll go into his little cabinet and pull out a folder to back up his claims. These reports don’t look fake, and well, just think of what the others might think if they heard of this. Sure, you can deny it all you want, but what about your fellow test subjects? How can they ever see you in the same light again? Even if you attempt to convince them otherwise, this will forever linger in the back of their minds. They might even start turning against you, and while Calhoun’s a pretty nice mouse, he can’t do anything to stop you silly test subjects from doing something dramatic.

2) Grant them the fragment of a memory. What a kind mouse Calhoun is being, giving you a freebie! They’ll be placed in a pod, as per the usual, and given part of a memory. The problem is this freebie cuts off at the worst possible time, and any begging, threats or inquiries into the matter are only going to be met by Calhoun’s snickers. It would be awful if something happened and you could never find out if your dear friend Timmy ever got out of that well, right? A real tragedy. Oh well, too bad for you, buddy.

Once Calhoun has called everyone one by one into this “☆ SECRET ROOM ☆” of his, he will gather all the test subjects up, stand on counter of Calhoun’s Corner and make an announcement.

“Listen up, test subjects! While yesterday’s round of Bingo was all fun and games, it’s time to spice things up around here! This is starting to get really bland, like oatmeal bland, and my Master has given me the go ahead to shake things up.”

“Some of you, I've told you a dark, spooky secret, while for the rest, I've shown you a little memory! Who got what, though, no one knows! But you know who you are and you know what you have to lose.”

“So what was the point of all this? Welllllll, like I've said, it’s so boring here, that I’m giving you the chance to redeem yourselves of this sinful dullness. How, you wonder?”

“Give me a show.”

“I think you all know me well by now, what entertains me and what I like to see. So, give me the performance of a lifetime by the end of the next AB Voting round! Of course sooner is better, because you never know if I’m gonna like these plans of yours, but go ahead, take your time! I mean it’s not like there’s much I can do, excepppppt…”

“I can just reveal those little secrets of yours to everyone! Don’t think you can just shrug it off as something I've made up too. I’ll spread out those reports and all the evidence for everyone to see, and we’ll see how long it takes for them to turn on you.”

“And those with a memory, don’t sigh in relief, because you’re not safe either! I’ll ensure that you will never get the rest of that memory I showed you. You can wonder for the rest of your lives what really happened. If you think it’ll be as simple as just asking around when you get out, think again. You’ll never know the whole truth unless you remember it yourself, since this mouse can get his paws in the outside world’s evidence.”

“What if one of you manages to entertain me? Well, not only will you get your full memory back, but everyone’s memories and secrets will be safe! They won’t be getting anything back, but maybe one day, and you’re the one who did all the work, those ungrateful cads!”

“Well, I think that’s about it. Toodles! You know where to find me if you have any questions or love letters for me.”

He winks at the crowd (looking at you, Zelos), then hops off the counter, back into the safety of his shop.

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Heiji gave Snake a Look. Seriously, Snake? You went to Ema to get her to stab you? What was she, a one-stop stabbing shop?

He grabbed the book and held it up so that Hershel could read the writing except -- "Wait, whattaya mean, 'how is she'? You sayin' you don't know?"

Hershel located Ema's jacket wherever it was, picking it up with a shake of the head. "Ema has a wound on her stomach, she's doing as well as she can be given the circumstances but the blood loss seems to be affecting her."

He looked over at Heiji with a long suffering look seriously these two and their stabbing. "I'm guessing she ran off after their stunt, she's... not very keen on company right now. Do you two need anything?"

Well, I couldn't ascertain how she bandaged herself up after I cut her since she pinned me to this book and then ran off. *She was afraid to do it but she still stuck it out. What a woman.* I don't know if what we did will be good enough to impress Calhoun but at least it's something to measure his tastes by.

"You cut Ema's stomach open?" Wow, that sure was a raised voice. "Could you even tell how badly you were hurting her?"

What the hell was wrong with these people and why couldn't they obey the basic tenet of knife safety? There was only one, dammit! ONE!*

"I thought you needed that damn knife to protect yourself, not go around carvin' up other people! When were ya gonna mention that, huh?"

* (The one rule of knife safety was to keep the pointy end out of people.)

I didn't cut her stomach OPEN you moron, or she'd be dead. I sliced the flesh of her torso and not even into her muscles. In exchange, she nailed me through my good hand. We needed risk, which is something no one's been able or willing to do. Until us.

I also didn't use the knife on her. She had her own knife. The one I borrowed from you she nailed with my hand. We didn't want to cross-contaminate each other. *You'd think he'd never planned knife slashing friends before!*

I knew you wouldn't like this idea. You told me as much. *Also, the sedative must be slightly working since he's not stuttering with pain anymore*

Oh boy Snake, you're in trouble... Hershel frowned, taking in the state of Snake's hand. If this wasn't enough for Calhoun this was probably it, they were going to lose. He only hoped they wouldn't get infections and die for nothing at all.

Pessimism... He walked over to Heiji, putting a hand on his arm reassuringly. "Heiji, trust me, they both deserve quite an earful for this but maybe we should focus on getting them better first." You're welcome for the backup, Snake. "I really need to get back to Ema, will you two be okay?"

"Oh, well, that fixes everything, don't it? And who you callin' a moron, you moron? At least I ain't knife some lady just to put a theory to the test!" ...Arguing semantics with Heiji only seemed to upset him further. He shook Hershel's hand off his shoulder, but Hershel wasn't the one he was angry at, and he did have a point after all.

"We'll be fine. I guess I gotta drop this guy off at the washroom so maybe he's got a 50-50 chance of keepin' his damn hand."

If what I did ended up not impressing our rat captor, you have my permission to slap me in the head. *He sighs. It's already done now.* Hershel, we'll be fine. Please tell Ema that I'll be fine and I hope she's well.

Hershel stifled a sigh, he really couldn't blame Heiji for being mad. Honestly he was pretty mad about it too, but at the moment he was too concerned about their health to say anything. Soon, you two. Soon.

"Alright, good luck. We'll be in the cafeteria if you need anything, Heiji." He offered Heiji a sympathetic look before hurrying away to give Ema her jacket back.

Heiji nodded at Hershel, then started hauling Snake's skinny ass over the direction of the washroom. HE WAS NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT, THOUGH.

Still, he concentrated on making sure Snake wasn't going to fall over before they got there.

*In spite of the throbbing pain in his hand, he can put one foot in front of the other and make it to the washroom.* Well, let's get this over with. *The water and soap on the now mostly stopped bleeding is like pouring acid. -This- time he shrieks, but he doesn't move his hand. He knows it's got to be cleaned.*

Heiji didn't even bat an eye. "Move over a little, I'll help." His movements were businesslike but careful, like he was used to doing this kind of thing. This whole thing was just reminding him of the time he'd spent in the bathroom with Ema (paying it forward, ha ha), in agony while she pulled a knife out of his thigh.

Shut it down, get it done. Probably Snake's life depended on it.

*He moves over, absently noting how cool Heiji is about everything. Wow, he must be really angry. After the initial acid pour, it was a constant level of hurt. But he'd be damned if he was going to yank his hand away. He stood there, gritting his teeth, scrubbing at the wound with his less than precise prosthetic hand and letting Heiji tend to it as well.*

Once they were done, Heiji shut the tap off. "Come on, let's get ya to the lounge while you're still on your feet. That couch ain't particularly comfortable, but it's better than the floor, I bet."

Well... marginally better. At least it wouldn't be freezing?

*Snake wasn't up for any more snark. It seemed to have slipped down the drain along with his blood. The thin sheen of sweat on his forehead and the sickly pallor might have something to do with it. With his hand bound again, he plods alongside Heiji. His arm hurts fiercely, but everything in the world is starting to grow soft, including his mind.*

That was probably for the best, because one crack about how Ema was a cut above the rest or whatever and Heiji probably would have hurried the unconsciousness process along a little with a HEADBUTT TO THE FACE.

Once they got to the lounge, Heiji brushed off the couch, which may or may not have had pages of ripped magazine and/or a few dried, scattered remains of Charley's corpse left on the cushions. "Okay," he said, making sure Snake was in the right vicinity, "Just lie down here. I'll stick around and make sure nothing happens."

*Gratefully, Snake curled on the couch, cradling his hand close to his body.* Thank you, Heiji. *his voice was slurred.* I...I had to try. Something. If...it doesn't work...at least I tried to know who she was. Maybe she'll be okay with that.

Heiji propped one elbow up on the arm of the couch and rested his chin in his hand, leaning in closer as he listened to Snake talk. The medication evidently kicked in pretty quickly -- which was probably a good thing, all told. Heiji's expression was hard to read.

"Go to sleep, dummy," he said, though more subdued than usual. "You can worry about that when ya wake up."

Okay. *He just couldn't articulate in words how important it was not to lose this person, even if he didn't know who she was. Whatever he'd done, it would have to be enough.* Heiji...I'm not...the best...of people. *With that, he grew quiet, his consciousness gone.*

Heiji waited until Snake grew still, then reached over and brushed some of the hair out of Snake's face.

He turned and sat on the floor, back propped against the edge of the couch. After a few moments had passed, he looked up, thinking quietly to himself as he watched the blank television screen.

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THE HEART OF THE MATTER

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