Chapter 65: Struggle

*"Your meetings with Gale continue"*

## Major Events

* Ten's meetings with Gale continue. Ten questions if Lucius or The Overseer will noticed that they switched the anesthetic with the placebo and they assure her that they would be the one taking the fall
	+ Gale mentions being punished for being to curious in the past, indicating that they are willing to be punished for these meetings, despite respecting The Overseer
	+ Gale suggests that when the time comes when The Overseer punishes here, Ten should be docile, look into his eyes with respect (not fear) and take the pain he dishes
	+ The Overseer wouldn't lose respect for Gale if they are found out because he can be merciful with those he finds important
	+ There many things that Gale doesn't know about The Overseer - despite being able to read him most of the times
		- Ten assumes that The Overseer uses everyone around him and seems to only have genuine respect for Lucius
	+ Gale justifies that the real world isn't ideal and they were drawn to the Facility and willingly indulges despite how horrible it's been to their prisoners
* Gale moves the conversation along and asks about specifics of Ten's confinement
	+ Gale knows of what Yosuke did but didn't personally see it themselves. The Overseer, Lucius and Mom are the only ones that know
	+ Gale focuses their observances on the patients since the Workers have predictable behaviors
	+ Ten recalls the time before she was taken in and the start of her confinement
	+ Gale had recommended the recreational rooms to preserve the mental states of the prisoners
		- Gale in turn gets more variety in observations
		- Overseer retains prisoners longer
		- Without the rec rooms, the prisoners are akin to Workers
* Gale ends the conversation and waits for next day to continue
* After usual routine, Gale brings up the "stakes" Ten had mentioned during the previous meeting
	+ Ten reveals that she has chances to get pregnant and that Monica had examined her. She recalls both her visits with Monica
	+ Gale asks about Lucius and is seemingly aware of his urges and the death of C1. They are likely able to put together that Ten knew about C1's death
	+ Ten had learned about the Red Valentine, and the fates of Jade and her doctor, Richard
		- Ten fears she will meet the same fate as Jade due to the similarities of their situations
	+ Ten mentions how she's not sure if she'll make it out of the room alive, especially with the Overseer giving her subtle praise as of late. Once they're found out, she's sure she'll lose what little respect he had of her
	+ Gale points out that Ten has been too codependent on others and needs to rely on herself from time to time. They mention how other doctors have spoken about Ten's bite as of late
* Conversation is cut short again
* Ten rethinks on The Overseer and his aloof personality when he's on duty to watch the room
* When Lucius injects her with the anesthetic, he notices that Ten had stopped "begging" for the shot - but is cut off by The Overseer to move along before he can press his questions further
* Next meeting, it's Ten's turn to ask Gale questions
	+ The Numbers are doing fine and are the same for the most part. They miss Ten very much - However, Gale can't be specific
	+ Ten asks if she can have both their real names for something to hold onto but Gale declines her request in favor preventing the risk of it slipping
	+ Yosuke hadn't been faring well and hadn't been visiting Underground as much
		- Gale notes that while he's obsessive, that she is very special to him - much to Ten's discomfort
	+ Gale reminds Ten that her friends are her support, not her permanent crutches - and that she has to learn how to stay afloat on her own
		- They use Three and Violet as examples as clinging to people to avoid facing their realities
		- Gale implies that they like the numbers as both test subjects and as people
* Gale ends the conversation and Ten promises that if she comes out of this fine, she'll be less reliant on Gale and be more willing to fight them
* Ten awakes to Lucius looking at papers at his desk
	+ He notes she's been quiet as of late and that he may have a point that fear leads to obedience
	+ Ten holds her anger but is concerned why Lucius is pecking at her
	+ Lucius reveals that he has a phone recording of Gale and Ten's conversation - showing that he knows
		- He had left his phone under the computer - a location where Gale would have spot the phone if they actually did their job
		- He had likely suspected something was up when Ten had reactions akin to "begging" when he would dose her with the anesthetic
	+ He says he won't tell The Overseer right away and that Ten would definitely be punished for this. However, whether or not she would be killed isn't certain
* Ten asks Lucius if she could at least talk to Gale until the end - Lucius allows it after he makes her beg and orally pleasure him
	+ During the entire ordeal, Ten is offset by his lack of reaction but perseveres out of fear
	+ After she brings him to climax, he agrees to let her continue her talks with Gale and asks her not to reveal his knowledge of the interactions right away
	+ Lucius denies Ten her meal saying she had "plenty"
* Gale visits Ten again - after Ten notices that she is still being dosed with the placebo
	+ Gale notes that she's been acting different and she vaguely says it's more abuse from Lucius
	+ Ten brings up the recordings that she saw during the first day of her confinement and asks why her interview was done so differently - it seems not even Gale knew the answer to that
	+ Gale reveals that they parse information from their prisoners and that they eventually got accustomed to lying and watching them suffer
	+ When asked, Gale can't show Ten Cyrus' feed due to it being encrypted behind limited access and that he was in a different group
* After the conversation ends, the routine continues - as well as Lucius's use of her mouth
* Next meeting, Ten jumps right into asking about Cyrus' feed
	+ Previously, he had more fight in him - similar to Ten but became more docile over time
	+ Gale notes that while the Overseer repeatedly punishes Mom, he never opts to take Cyrus away from her - yet Ten is taken from Yosuke on the first strike
	+ Cyrus get slight special treatment for being at the Facility for so long
	+ As told by Gale, Cyrus' feed showed him confused but also frustrated that he had to check up on "someone" - he had vague memories of hat someone before he put under
	+ Gale is impressed that Cyrus had out lasted the entirety of his previous group
* Before Gale puts Ten back to sleep, she asks them to tell her they "love her" - showing her need for comfort. Gale does as asked and kisses her on the cheek
* More time passes and Lucius even tires of using Ten's throat. He notes that Gale would defend her when the Overseer eventually finds out
	+ Ten says she never asked them to and doesn't understand why people treat her like she's "special"
	+ This remark ticks off Lucius, and he laughs and forces her on the bed before he mounts her. He says everything that's happened was circumstantial and that she's far from special
	+ He shoves himself off of her and tells her to stop being so scared as her impregnation is inevitable
* Ten is left with her thoughts before Gale returns again
	+ They quickly piece together that Lucius had found out
	+ Gale had advised Ten on how to deal with The Overseer because they regret not being able to interview Ten and was curious of how far she would go - seeing Ten die would be a shame
	+ Gale confirms that they knew Six and kept her close out of "love" - when Ten brings up Six's reaction to Gale during her feed
	+ Gale also confirms that they had paired Six with Five so that she had a chance of being happy. However, their plan to couple the two was also a part of Gale's study
		- Ten calls Gale out for being manipulating
* Before Gale can continue, they see both The Overseer and Lucius rounding the corner through the cameras - indicating he has found them out
* Gale advices Ten to watch how they take their punishment and to follow
* When the Overseer storms into the room and angrily questions Gale for abusing their privilegdes, Gale outright admits they are at fault
	+ Gale admits that they did this out of wanting to speak with Ten but restates that it was an act of disobedience
	+ Gale accepts the punishment immediately
	+ Lucius holds Gale down while The Overseer swings punches at Gale's head and body until they fall limp. Once the beating is done, Gale is released
	+ The Overseer helps Gale get up and reminds them that he "needs" them
	+ Lucius helps Gale to the hall, likely to tend to their injuries
* Left alone with The Overseer, he heads to the connecting bathroom and the sound of water can be heard
	+ He comes back and cuffs her hands behind her back before dragging her by her hair
	+ Once brought into the bathroom, she sees a tub full of water. Her head is dunked into the tub right away and held there
	+ Before she can pass out, she is taken out and asked what Gale had told them. She answers confused before The Overseer dunks her head again
	+ When taken back up, Ten honestly relays all the topics she and Gale had covered but swears there was nothing intimidating. This still upsets him since she still asked to begin with
* Ten is dunked into the water for a long while one last time before being thrown out and The Overseer cocks his gun
* He asks Ten if there was a reason why she deserved to live, otherwise he intends to shoot her
* In the midst of her fear, she remembers Gale's advice. She tells him that she simply didn't know why she deserved to live but knows that she is worthless and that she won't beg for her life but accept her fate
* The Overseer lowers his gun and warns Ten that she will have no more chances - but he becomes curious of her for her willingness to accept death
* He tells her to remain on the floor until Lucius can come back
* She remains on the floor with the sounds of breathing

## Trivia

* Gale wears a wrist watch underside, however they only put it on after Lucius has left the room - likely due to the watch not being approved by The Overseer to bring Underground
* Ten brings up Cyrus' advice on trying to distract herself while bad things are happening to herself - however Gale counters this method saying that it only allows the emotional turmoil to fester instead of facing the problem head on; to balance between denial and acceptance
* When Gale notes that Ten shows a "shown a remarkable stubbornness" that previous Numbers have also shown, they are curious how it will go "this time" - implying that they were killed before anything came out of it
* Gale "works on their own" like Yosuke, Lilah and Milos
* Gale's closest collaborators would be The Overseer an Yosuke
	+ Overseer cares little for emotions
	+ Yosuke picks and chooses what he cares to use and observe