damned_institute | NIGHT 65: MEDICAL WING HALL

[From here]

Frantically looking over the medical wing's many doors, Link took a chance with a door with "O.R." in it's name. He could only hope that stood for Operating Room. Bashing it open, he pressed onward. He needed a scalpel.

[To here]

Edited 2012-08-13 19:32 (UTC)

[from here]

Soma brought the handgun up as she entered the medical wing, but her flashlight beam illuminated nothing for the moment. Marie couldn't seem to sense anything, either, though it was entirely possible the illness had made her as sluggish as Soma felt.

Still, she didn't lower her guard as she moved quickly but carefully toward the x-ray room. It was entirely possible she was moving fast enough to beat Landel and his creatures to the clue, but the idea of it seemed a little too optimistic to her.

As before, the lock had been broken. Someone else was sick, she thought, or was close enough to someone to be rushing tonight. One last glance down the hall, and she slipped inside.

[to here]

Edited 2012-08-14 23:38 (UTC)

[back from here]

Still nobody out here. She had to wonder if something was keeping everyone else; there had been a veritable army in the medical wing last night. Soma frowned a little at the thought.

The operating room was just across the hall, if she remembered correctly. Another quick glance at her surroundings, and she moved on.

[to here]

Edited 2012-08-18 15:47 (UTC)

[From here]

Link entered the main medical wing hall for the third time that night, not realizing that someone else had slipped into the X-Ray Room in his absence. He continued back into the main hall.

[To here]

Edited 2012-08-13 22:42 (UTC)

[From here]

Picking his staff back up, he jumped in and brandished it in a swift arc around him to catch anything that lurked in the room by surprised. Unfortunately, there was nothing in here. He could smell people, sure, but nothing malevolent. After a moment of silence, caught in a defensive stance, the young boy gave it up and pulled himself back together.

"Aww, there's nothing in here!" What terrible luck! He stared at the darkness with disappointment, but it petulant mood didn't last long; they never did. Goku noticed a jar of suckers sitting on a desk and took two.

Taura jogged down one of the side halls; all of the doors were locked, and it was nearly pitch black. They could start breaking down doors -- or they could assume that someone who had gone before them knew more. She voted for the easy route, and poked her head back out from the side hall.

Especially since they had someone who could smell people. At least one or two people had headed quickly down this way while she'd been waiting. "Any idea which way people went? Can you still smell them?"

Edited 2012-08-21 01:17 (UTC)

"Oh yeah, they went this way!" He pointed down the corridor in front of them before waddling toward it. One of the suckers was unwrapped and stuck in his mouth. It was a flavor he couldn't really discern, but it was sweet and that meant lots of energy, even if that also meant sacrificing good taste. Why couldn't anything ever be grilled wolf or centipede flavored? It was a damn shame.

By the second intersecting hallway, Goku stopped, his monkey tail bobbing from the momentum. He turned his head one way, sniffed, and looked to his right. "People all over. Some went that way--" he said, pointing toward the X-Ray rooms clearly labeled on the walls. "--and over there." Where the operating tables lay. Again, he couldn't sense anything evil or abnormally powerful, so he turned back to Taura. She wanted to come down here, so he would follow her where ever she wanted to go. Hopefully it was a fighty place.

"Gotcha." Taura listened, but it was quiet.

"If there's anyone in there, they're not saying anything. Be ready." Usually, the assumption would be that it actually was quiet, not that they were walking into an ambush, but professional paranoia was an asset. Plus, it kept Goku entertained.

[to here]

[From here.]

In a contrast to the night before, everything was quiet here. Guy didn't see any multiplying people with horned helmets, so it was possible that they were getting a break after all. It didn't seem characteristic of Landel, but maybe he thought that triggering five people to transform was bad enough.

Guy could hear some voices a bit further ahead, and it didn't sound like they were in any sort of danger. After scanning the immediate area with his flashlight and seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he finally turned toward the rest of the group.

"I guess the coast is clear for now," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Did we want to split up here?" Guy knew exactly where he and Claude were going, whereas Anise and Luke might have to do more exploring. Still, he was sure the two of them could handle it.

Claude, too, was surprised to find no signs of danger or a trap. Maybe that should have made him more suspicious. For now, though, he was content with taking advantage of the quiet while they could.

"I'd be fine with that," he responded. Since splitting up was the plan from the start, they may as well set out to accomplish what they wanted. No one would be wandering around alone, and they all had combat experience. Things would be okay. Probably. Hopefully.

Of course, the decision didn't rest solely with him, and he looked to Luke and Anise for their input.

If there weren't any special counseling patients or rampaging monsters, Anise was happy. And since they weren't in immediate danger, it seemed safe enough to split up.

"Sure! Come on, Luke - we can leave the machines to these two." Anise started breaking off from the group, gesturing for the redhead to follow. "Make sure to find that new clue for us!" she called to the blonds before turning to figure out where, exactly, she needed to go.

Having a goal to focus on that was within reach helped to keep Anise's spirits up. Everything they needed was practically right in front of them! It felt like they really had a chance at beating this illness. And to make things even better, Anise remembered a bit about the layout of the Medical Wing from her previous visits. "I think there's an operating room to our right, and a storage room way at the end of the hall," she explained to Luke. "Let's try the closest place first, okay?"

That sounded just fine to Luke. When Anise beckoned them on, the young man nodded and followed after her, but not before one last look back at Guy and Claude. "Be careful!" he called to them, hoping they wouldn't really need to be careful tonight. It would be a wonderful change of pace if everything went according to plan. Hey, he could dream!

Their closest room was just as Anise had said: Operating Room and Observation. Gee, that didn't sound ominous at all! But skipping a room just because he didn't like the name was not a good strategy. His friend was right, they needed to tackle this door by door as they gathered up supplies. "Alright, let's do it..." Taking the lead, the replica held his sword tight to waist before opening the door as quietly as possible.

[Anise and Luke to here]

Edited 2012-08-27 16:53 (UTC)

When it seemed that everyone was in agreement, Anise and Luke didn't hesitate to head off on their own supply hunt. Guy nodded to Luke when his friend told them to be careful. "Same to you," he said as he watched the pair disappear into one of the nearby doors.

Which left Guy with Claude. He turned toward the other man for a moment, looking him over. While he still looked ill, there was no sign that anything had worsened or that Claude was struggling with some creature that was trying to work its way to the surface. So it seemed like they were safe -- or as safe as they could be -- for the moment.

"Let's go," he said as he retraced their steps from the night before. While they had all been in quite the panic, Guy still remembered where the X-Ray room had been located. He tried not to think too hard on the horrible sight they'd seen, that girl being eaten, as he stepped through the door.

[To here.]

Edited 2012-08-27 17:52 (UTC)

[From here.]

Sechs stomped past the front desk and out into the darkened halls of the Medical Wing. There he stopped and swore out loud to himself. "Son of a fucking Deckman...!" There were just too many damn halls and doors! He had no patience for these mazes! The last time he was here he was with someone who was familiar with hospital settings, so he had less trouble finding his way around. This time he was alone. Sechs frowned deeply to himself. He had left a message for Ritsuka on the message board but he hadn't replied... Did that mean that little cat boy was...

Shaking his head, the Replica forced himself onward. He faintly remembered looking into the first hallway to his left and some of the doors to his right. He knew the Infirmary and the general storage was at the far end of the hallway. That was where he took the military's mystery concoction and...

Sechs gritted his teeth together. This place was just full to the brim with bad memories! He couldn't stand it! He needed to get this whole clue thing done and over with fast!

After passing three doors to his right, Sechs chanced a look to the second hallway to his left. It was then that his flashlight caught the words "X-Ray" upon the doors. Adrenaline instantly flooded his veins, and he hastened his pace to the last door of the hallway. This ought to be the right room...!

[To here.]

Edited 2012-10-12 07:28 (UTC)

[Back from here.]

Crap... Now that was total let down! Some weird painting and a pile of leaves! How was that clue going to help him if he didn't get it?

Aggravated and more disappointed than he'd like to admit to himself, Sechs grumpily scratched at his head as he let the door to the X-Ray room shut close behind him.

What the hell was he supposed to do now? He found the clue, but standing around pondering over it by himself in the dark wasn't the smartest thing to do. He had to keep moving if he didn't want to make himself into a sitting target. As long as he had the leaves and all his limbs in tact, he could go for some more physical work tonight and worry about the clue later. This sort of thinking made his head hurt anyways...

Though a few patients had been through the corridor already, their passage had gone undisturbed as they hadn't lingered, their movement making them more trouble than they were worth. Though skilled hunters, a beast with a body the size of a grown man often had difficulty maneuvering around the tight hallways; sometimes, waiting for prey to come to them was the simplest solution unless the situation was dire. Sechs' pause had made him an easier, more appealing target than those before, enticing the spiders in the area to make their move.

Long, spindly limbs made their way down from the ceiling, moving silently in the dark near one end of the hallway. If the sticky webbing along the wall of the corridor wasn't a sign enough of the danger lurking around Sechs, the spider creeping toward him, mandibles clicking together in anticipation, would be more than enough.

[Sorry for my lateness! RL forced me into a hiatus. orz]

Weeks of traveling in monster-infested hallways didn't teach Sechs nothing, nor had two years of surviving the hostile world of the Scrapyard before left the Replica with any sense of naivety of his surroundings. He barely took one step forward before his instincts alerted him of the large presence coming from behind. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, electrified by the adrenaline sparking through his skin. He turned around...

...and cursed under his breath at the sight his flashlight revealed.

A huge spider was lowering itself from the ceiling, its sharpened limbs outstretched towards the Replica. For a fleeting moment Sechs imagined the spider as the towering figure of Recluse, no longer a human like all the other prisoners, but back to his original form with all the eight arms he described to Sechs weeks ago. This image set Sechs' heart pounding like an overworked engine inside his rib cage. Recluse had nearly killed him that one night over Sechs' actions as a brainwashed guard...!

But this wasn't a cruel and cunning human he was dealing with, this was just some hungry spider too big for the hallway it occupied, Sechs knew he could deal with this!

...Or could he? As Sechs tucked his flashlight halfway into his pocket and readied his axe, the frigid drug inside his spine clenched hard at his back muscles, forcing him to pause with a small gasp. "No, no! Not now!" Sechs mentally snarled at the darkness surrounding his mind. He wasn't letting the drug get in the way!

"C'mon! You want some of this?!" Sechs barked at the giant arachnid. Fighting to ignore the MU parasite in his body, Sechs took a hostile step forward and gave a warning swing of his axe. "I'll leave ya with just one leg to drag your sorry ass back to your hole!"

The spider skittered back at the swing of the axe, raising its front legs defensively. It had enough intelligence to know better than to get too close; however, hunger was fueling its drive to attack in spite of the danger. Backing up further, its rear legs made their way onto the webbing on the wall, allowing it to climb upward to gain some height over Sechs.

Fortunately for the monster, it wasn't alone- a second spider waited in the darkness behind Sechs, lurking in the webs that covered the entirety of one side of the corridor, waiting for the perfect time to drop onto their unsuspecting victim and snatch him up.

Watching the spider withdraw for the ceiling, Sechs took another loud stomp forward and released an angry snort through his nostrils. The monstrous arachnid wasn't stupid, but Sechs could already read its next move. An attack from above could easily be countered by an upward swing of his axe. Sechs moved in for the kill, all he had to do was disable the thing by slicing off any legs it dared to reach him with. Simple right?

Yet that proved not to be the case. The black drug was still clenching into Sechs' muscles and invading his vision. He could feel his body stiffening, like a machine running low on oil. The icy pain was growing worse and the voice accompanying it began echoing like a clanging bell inside his head. "Stupid copy!" the drug cackled, "You do know that there's another one behind you, right?"

Sechs' entire body tensed, his eyes wide as he hesitated for a mere second from the drug's taunting. He couldn't get his eyes off the spider before him, but if there was another one...

"SHIT!" Sechs chanced a glance behind to find that the drug was right. Another enormous spider was approaching him from the other end of the hall, trapping him between the two eight-legged predators. Now Sechs' adrenaline levels had reached a new high, pushing his pounding heart against his ribs and forcing sweat through his pores. Clenching his teeth together, Sechs widened his footing and shifted his stance to keep his back to the wall, allowing him to change his focus between the two arachnids. He tightened his grip onto his axe, waiting for the moment to attack the first monster to get closest to him...

Unfortunately for Sechs, it was the parasite inside his spine that attacked first. It twisted its chilling grip upon its host's back muscles, forcing Sechs to arch back in pain as it threatened to take over his balance. "PATHETIC!" it screeched inside Sechs' head, "You can't figure out a simple clue! You've always been too STUPID! You won't make it out alive tonight unless you let me take over!"

Another wrench of his body and Sechs nearly lost his footing. Sweating from the panic and agony, he struggled to keep balance while staying focused on the approaching spiders. "No!" he hissed at the inner parasite through his teeth. He was cornered by three enemies; two on the outside and one within, Sechs didn't know what was worse!

The Replica's defiant answer earned him another spine-wrecking assault from the drug, causing him to stumble closer to the wall behind him. "IDIOT! If you won't let me take over, then I'll leave you to these spiders!" the dark voice roared, "You're better off as a monster's meal anyways!"

One last attack from the living drug and every muscle needed to stay upright froze, sending Sechs falling back with a cry. He released one of his hands from his axe and braced for impact, expecting to fit the hard wall behind before slipping down to the floor. Yet he was surprised to feel something soft and sticky instead. His fall was instantly supported by the strange material behind, and it was only a heart-stopping second later that Sechs realized he had fallen back-first into a wall of spider webs!

"N-NO!" Sechs pulled against the possessive web, but was held fast within its thick threads. He was stuck from head to foot in the giant web, including his axe-bearing hand. Only his left arm was free but practically useless against two hungry arachnids.

As Sechs struggled, the drug's laughter rang inside his skull. "Have fun dying, you stupid copy!"

[Sorry for the wait!]

And there was the moment they'd been waiting for- as Sechs slipped onto their webs, the two arachnids turned and darted for him, wasting no time closing the gap between them as their webs lapped at Sech's limbs. The sticky threads curled around him as he struggled against them, their grip tighter with every successive pull. Though some snapped from the strain, most held fast, causing the entire web to shake as he fought their grasp; the spider on the wall slowed down, maintaining its balance in spite of the turbulent movement.

The spider that had approached him first made its way down the opposite wall and was the first to near him again, pincers ready to strike at Sechs' thigh, intending to poison him so wrapping him up would be that much easier.

The paralyzing cold in Sechs' back faded, as though the predator inside his mind had stepped back to sadistically watch his demise. "Stupid copy!" the dark voice inside Sechs' head cackled, "Where there's spiders, there's webs! Don't tell me you forgot about that!"

It did not matter if the drug wasn't restraining Sechs anymore; that job was already covered by the spider's numerous webs. The more Sechs struggled, the tighter the web's clutches upon his limbs became, rendering his violent fighting into desperate squirming. Every part of his body caught in the sticky threads was falling deeper into the deathly white mess, even his pauldrons and belts became increasingly enveloped in the spidery trap. He could feel the sticky threads tangle into his hair, pulling at his scalp with each wrench he made. He was rapidly losing any freedom of movement, falling into a state of total helplessness before the spiders could finish him off.

"NO! GET BACK YOU UGLY SHITS!" Sechs' free left arm furiously swiped at the air towards the approaching monsters, letting the intensity of his roar show that he wasn't going down without a fight. "I'LL KILL YOU!" Despite his loud display of bravado, Sechs knew that his single bare hand was useless -- Unless...

Sechs twisted his free arm towards his back, his fingers frantically reaching for the handle of his machete. The remaining blade had been tucked beneath his back belt and was partially encased in the tangle of webs. Panting, Sechs fought to arch his spine off the wall, hoping to reveal enough of the machete's handle for a clean grip as he couldn't risk getting his left hand stuck in the web with the rest of his limbs.

Yet being careful and quick in a situation that teetered between life and death wasn't exactly easy. Sechs could hear the spiders and their clicking mandibles getting far too close for comfort. He let out a strained grunt as he pushed his arm further behind his back, hoping against all hope to feel the handle of his blade and not the damning webs that threatened to swallow him up. To his relief, his hand caught a clean grip of the machete. He wasted no second to pull out the weapon, but cursed out loud when it refused to come free from the spider threads.

Panicking, Sechs struggled madly to unsheathe the machete from the giant layers of webs. He had to get the damn threads off his blade before it was too late! If he could just get the machete to start cutting now...

Immediately Sechs twisted his wrist and wrenched hard to the side, forcing the machete to turn against the strings until its blade was in the right angle to slice right through. The sound of the webbing snapping behind flooded Sechs with combative joy, but in the corner of his eye he could see the first spider moving in for the kill. "N-NO!!" he cried, his struggle to free his machete was too late as he was forced to watch the giant arachnid open its terrible jaws and aim for his unarmored thigh.

In those horrifying seconds between being uninjured and experiencing sudden agony, Sechs braced himself for the bite but did not waver in his fight to relinquish his weapon. A second before the spider's mandibles closed in on his leg, Sechs focused all his strength into his arm and tugged. The sound of more threads popping and snapping filled Sechs' ears as he felt his arm escape their unforgiving clutches with the machete in hand. But by then it was too late--

"AUUGGGHHHH!!!!" The spider's poisonous jaws viciously pierced through Sechs' pants and hungrily dug into his leg, forcing out a howl of agony from the trapped Replica. Completely blinded by the overwhelming pain shooting through his body, Sechs made no hesitation to fight back, violently swinging his blade arm at the biting arachnid's head.

Though the spider had managed to get a bite on its prey, its venom working its way through the wound immediately, it was a move that was its last: the machete swung through the air and sliced through its head upon contact, the monster's weak structure providing little resistance against the weapon. Though it still moved after death, nerves causing it to twitch and jerk wildly, it was no longer a threat as its legs collapsed under its giant bulk, its body curling inward as it shut down.

While the other spider hadn't the intelligence to lament the loss of its brother— and even if it did, it would be happy to have all the food to itself— it knew better than to jump at the prey while he was still thrashing wildly, especially when it was clear that despite his entrapment, he presented a mortal threat. It instead stayed back and on the defensive- having seen the bite its twin placed on Sechs, it knew it was only a matter of time before it could approach him safely to wrap him up in webbing. All it had to do was wait for him to be still, and then... dinnertime.

Edited 2012-10-11 08:50 (UTC)

The machete drove through the spider's head with a nasty but satisfying crunch. As the monster's body collapsed into a big twitching heap, Sechs pried the remaining mandibles off his thigh with the end of his blade. Those damn jaws had gotten a good grip on him, and as they clattered to the floor Sechs saw traces of poison leaking from their tips.

Realizing that his time was rapidly running out as the poison was seeping into his system, Sechs went straight to freeing himself from the webs with his machete. He viciously hacked and slashed away at the threads without stopping. In the corner of his eye he could see the second spider keeping a safe distance, he knew that it was waiting for the poison to kick in, but he wasn't going down without a fight once that happened! "Yeah! You just sit you FAT ASS there and watch!" he snarled at the lurking arachnid. "I'll knock your head off just like I did with your pal! Just watch!"

The machete sliced through the sticky ropes holding down his axe-bearing arm and his legs, yet separating himself from the spider's trap still proved to be a painful fight, as he was forced to cut off some of his hair in order to free his head without tearing away his entire scalp. By then he was beginning to feel an unpleasant numbness emerge in his bitten leg and his orientation was starting to waver from dizziness. Shit! He had to do something before this mystery poison took over!

Giving out a brutish growl, Sechs finally tore himself from the webbed wall and stumbled towards the center of the hall. Some of the white strands from the sticky trap remained on his body while bits of his slashed hair were left stuck on the wall, but he was free nonetheless. With both of his hands wielding weapons, Sechs turned to face the remaining spider and viciously bared his teeth at it. "C'mon! You wanna join your friend?!" Sechs taunted the legged creature, "Come at me!"

Even with his hostile swaggering, the battle android's vision was blurring and his equilibrium was becoming increasingly sluggish. He struggled to stay upright in his aggressive stance and he knew that his injured leg could give out any moment now. Yet against such odds, Sechs knew that as long as he had his sights on the monster and swung his weapons right, he had a fighting chance! He wasn't letting his search for the cure be all in vain...!

With the prey free, the remaining spider took the defensive, raising its front legs in a show of intimidation as its foe taunted it. It took a step back, its bulk hitting the wall- while it wanted to wait out the poison, it could see it would have to move if it wanted to survive.

It started to climb up the wall again, still facing Sechs the entire time. What changed its mind was when he wobbled, his wounded leg increasingly unsteady as the poison crept through him, shutting him down bit by bit. That told the spider his meal was ready, that the time to strike was right there and then. A good thing, too- its hunger couldn't wait any longer.

The spider let out an unnatural hiss, poison dripping from its mandibles as it leapt onto the floor, front legs reaching for Sechs as it closed in on its prey.

From the darkness came a terrible hiss, followed by the tell-tale clattering of giant arachnid claws scuttling across the tile floor. A mere second later and Sechs caught the blurred image of the spider striking forward with its sharpened limbs. He had less than a second to react, but it was that very moment that his poisoned leg gave way, forcing the Replica to drop to his injured knee.

Kneeling upon the floor with most of his failing balance depending upon his remaining leg, Sechs had only another second to make up for his vulnerable position. He knew it would all be over if the spider got the chance to knock him over onto his back. Now was the time to strike first -- or die trying.

Snarling, Sechs lifted his weapon-bearing arms and crossed them across his chest. As his eight-legged opponent reached in with its horrid arms, Sechs risked his balance with an outward strike of his two blades, his eyes wide with violent passion as he gave out a roar of effort.

"RAH!!"

The spider saw the fury in Sechs' eyes and the blades coming toward it a second too late: in a battle of feral hunger and survival instinct between man and beast, it was the Replica who won, his blades tearing apart the spider's delicate frame, slicing through its legs as though they were made of paper.

The creature squirmed as it fell, hissing and writhing as it tried desperately to reach its prey; however, with its front legs in pieces and its eyes ruined from Sechs' impassioned strike, it was an impossible task- the beast was helpless and in agony. Another second and it was down for the count, its nerves causing the body to twitch, but its life no longer there.

[From here.]

The group passed through the front desk area without trouble or comment. There was nothing interesting there, and there didn't appear to be anything interesting in the open break room off to the side of it.

"If I'm remembering correctly, the X-Ray Room is further back, to the left. But be careful of the first hall here." As he spoke, he moved the beam of his flashlight across the room, into corners, and down the hall in question. He couldn't illuminate the place where it turned. They could go down the hall and check it, but if something was waiting there, it seemed to him that it would increase, rather than decrease, the chance of being attacked. Actually following the corridor seemed like a waste of time, as long as they were all aware that there was a chance that trouble could come from that direction.

The worst-case scenario, now, was probably that someone had made it to the X-Ray Room and then transformed there. However, the entire wing seemed quiet. Other patients might be moving around in it, but there was none of the kind of distant commotion that indicated a fight up ahead.

The quietness of it gave Nina chills, sending them running all up the base of her spine. It was better than the alternative and she knew that, but still, it was hard not to be creeped out by the extreme darkness and quietness that surrounded them from all sides. Occasionally they passed other patients milling by, but there were otherwise no signs of life.

"Has anyone ever tried to get into the computers back there?" she asked as they walked, partly to take her mind off the quietness and partly because she felt it was an avenue that needed to be explored if it hadn't already. She suspected someone else had probably tried it already and come up empty, if neither Ryuuzaki nor Lana felt the need to comment on it, but it didn't hurt to ask.

When Ryuuzaki said to be careful of the first hall, Nina nodded and swallowed hard. It seemed like it was just waiting for someone to jump out at them, and although Nina didn't actually sigh with relief when someone didn't, she felt like she might as well have.

She kept shining her flashlight anywhere it might be useful, trying to keep it on a different place than either of the other two kept their beams.

Lana had chills running up her spine, too -- blood had been spilled here, and even if it had all been washed away, if she squinted, she could almost see the color it would glow when treated with Luminol. She straightened her jacket's shoulders, though they were already crisply straight, and followed at Ryuuzaki's heels.

"Not the computers, but I have been in the file room." Her flashlight swung to the file room door, and then back with a snap. "They match our false names. Full histories, plus information about our treatment." Her voice had risen above a whisper; she swallowed, and dropped the volume. "Someone's told you about that, I'm sure."

That brought them to a labeled, already unlocked door, and Lana pushed it open with her shoulder. The hand not holding the flashlight was tucked into her coat, wrapped around the butt of her gun. If something was going to attack them, she wanted to be in the lead.

[to here]

[back from here]

"I'm not sure," she said, once Nina had made it out into the hallway. "This doesn't seem entirely consistent with Landel's previous actions." Strike entirely -- if you disregarded the nature of the illness, it was almost nothing like his previous tortures. "Prior to this, while permanent effects were common, no particular illness lasted longer than a night or a day. Or, perhaps, both."

There was really no hiding that even that much of a speech, combined with just walking down the hall, had her short of breath. "Cryptic messages on the radio, yes, but always explained within the same night, and these puzzles are new." Crime scenes were often like that, but usually not deliberately, and this was certainly the first instance of it she'd seen from Landel.

Before leaving the X-Ray Room, L tucked the leaf carefully into the sling.

He noticed, once they were in the hall, that his step was lighter. His head was clearer, he had more energy, and he felt more physically capable than he had a few minutes earlier, sharp and alive.

It had to be adrenaline: after several days of uncharacteristic bafflement, he had been able to hone in on something that merited further investigation, a clue that he was eager to pursue. But he would be tired tomorrow, and if they couldn't be cured tonight, he and Lana might both be much worse off than they would have been if they had stayed in their rooms. She already seemed short of breath.

He shot a glance in Lana's direction, a concerned frown. He had little emotional attachment to her past her essential humanity, but it was obvious by now that she could be a useful ally in the cause of putting an end to the Institute for good. He understood that he wouldn't want to see her die.

Whether or not this jaunt out into the chilly night air would turn out to be worth it was a gamble--it could be useless with no harm done, or in a worst-case scenario, it could be a fiasco.

"To be honest, it bothers me that these messages we're following are coming through the intercom rather than the radio. However, the last radio transmission was less clear than the others--almost unintelligible. It could be that Marc was forced to broadcast from a greater distance than he had in the past, but it seems more likely that Landel is now jamming the signal."

The turn in the corridor passed, this time on their right. In spite of his renewed liveliness, he wasn't any less wary than he had been going in; he still walked with his right hand ready to draw the Walther from its holster.

"I believe the clue indicates the river that runs through the woods to the east of the Institute. John baptized Christ in the River Jordan. It doesn't seem that the fountain in the chapel is a necessarily baptismal font... and in that case, what would the leaves mean? There's also the Courtyard, which has a pond and trees, but I can't imagine what we would do there. Why send us here if we could easily have been sent there? It seems like it should be something less accessible."

If, he silently amends, it refers to a location at all.

[To here.]

Edited 2012-09-06 08:02 (UTC)

[from here]

The sound of voices finally reached Soma as she entered the medical wing hall again. That was almost reassuring; nobody sounded particularly panicked, so she must just have been faster than most of the other patients. She hadn't liked the idea of running into anything on her own.

Still, she didn't pay any of them much more attention than that. She had an appointment to keep, after all.

[to here]

Edited 2012-08-29 03:35 (UTC)

((From here.))

As they slowly made their way beyond the door, Barnaby remained tense as he tried to prepare himself for anything. After all, they hadn't seen and identified Lingromr as a threat until it was too late. Making another mistake wasn't an option they could afford.

Dragging his flashlight across their immediate path and over the walls, he pursed his hips. Nothing -- so far, at least. They could probably keep going, so long as they made sure not to relax their guard too much.

After he had scanned the area to the best of his ability, Barnaby looked toward Kotetsu.

"Guess it's clear?" No one could blame him for the uncertainty in his voice. It had looked clear the last time they had come through here and soon found out that hadn't been the case at all. "I'll watch the back," he offered, waving his own light across every nook and cranny the entrance had to offer. "You cover the front." Wild Tiger figured it was harder to sneak up on someone from that direction... Hopefully.

As they moved on together, highly attuned to any noises outside the click of his shoes and the slight squeal of Barnaby's wheels, it didn't seem like anything was going to bum rush them tonight. That could change in a matter of seconds, yeah, but... it seemed like they were alone. Or at least not in the presence of any axe-crazy psychoes. That was a serious plus!

The chaos of last night left the older man confused as to how he actually got his partner to the X-Ray Room, but thankfully the wonderful staff at the institute had been kind enough to direct patient traffic with signs. How thoughtful. Coming around the corner, Wild Tiger peeked his head around the hallway and saw that nothing obstructed their way.

"Alright!" he congratulated their remarkable luck with the proper amount of victorious fist pumping. "Coast is clear, let's go!" He waited for Barnaby to move ahead while he watched their rear for any signs of sneaky business until they came to the right door. He was about to rush through, but suddenly remembered how he had hit that one civilian and almost trampled a few more. It hadn't been his fault exactly! Who stood right in front of a door? You were kind of asking for trouble, but that wasn't the point. Tiger didn't want to make that mistake again, so he very carefully opened to the door.

[To here]

Edited 2012-08-31 15:07 (UTC)

[From here]

Though the Doctor had known the way up until this point, his knowledge of the building had now reach its limit. He'd never fully explored the medical wing before, so while he knew they were in the general area as their goal, it was just a matter of figuring out which door was the right one.

"We're going to need to search now," the Doctor warned. "I'm not exactly sure which door leads to the x-ray room."

He shone the light across the front desk, and then in an arc to the right. It probably wasn't the door behind the desk—that would most likely be for something secretarial—so he started along the edge of the desk towards the more open area beyond it.

He glanced at Tsurugi. "Can you keep going, or do you want to rest here while I have a look around?"

Splitting up for a moment shouldn't be too bad, the Doctor reasoned. He could find where the x-ray room was and be back for Tsurugi before anything found the boy first. Hopefully.

Kyousuke wasn't sure he enjoyed to prospect of looking around like this, but at least he knew he was in the right area instead of having to scour the halls to find this place. He wondered if there was a map somewhere, since he didn't have a very good idea of anything in the building, and mindlessly opening every little door sounded both pointless and dangerous.

"No, I'll look too," he responded. Stopping was tempting, but he was sure that if he stayed in one spot for too long, it would get harder and harder to leave. If he was going to stop, he wanted it to be for the rest of the night; resting wasn't going to do much unless he could stick to it.

Because of the display from earlier, he tried to take greater care as he walked, and turned the corner next to the front desk. It looked like everything was labeled clearly, at least. The rooms immediately to the right were marked as exam rooms. Operating rooms a bit up. There were bathrooms across the hall, and something else nestled in the corner, but he couldn't make it out from where he was, and crossed the hall to take a look. ... Doctor's offices. It looked like what they wanted was a bit farther up.

The Doctor nodded once when Tsurugi said he'd look too. Even if having the boy rest for a while could help him, the sooner they found the x-ray room, the sooner he would be able to settle down—for good. They could work out the clue without Tsurugi needing to move again.

He wandered a little bit away from the boy, trying to cover more ground at once. He headed past the doors marked as the OR while Tsurugi was still checking out the rooms on the first left-hand hall, glancing back every few seconds. It made him nervous to let the boy out of his sight even for a moment, but...

There was another hall branching off across from the operating rooms. One of the far doors was ajar, and the light of his torch caught a sign that identified the lot as—

"Found it!" the Doctor called, looking back the way he'd come to see how Tsurugi was doing.

That was easy enough. Instinct made Kyousuke want to hurry when he found out that their destination had been found, and he forgot about his chest only for the briefest of seconds—just enough to aggravate it and send him reeling.

"Damn it, " he hissed, placing a hand on the wall to try and steady himself. He made his way back into the main hall with a bit of a struggle, sore and slightly dizzy for reasons he couldn't discern. Maybe it was the pain, or maybe he'd lost a little more blood tonight than he'd thought. ... Who knew.

Either way, the sooner he got off of his feet, the better, so he started down the portion of the hall he hadn't been able to explore yet. A bit ahead of them he noticed a sign marked 'Infirmary', and made a note to go back there after their errand was done. It was probably his best bet for finding somewhere to rest.

Since the x-ray room was the only room with the door left open, it was easy enough spot, so he slipped his way in.

[to here]

[From here]

There was nothing waiting for them in the hallway, which was kind of disappointing. There were plenty of people here for monsters to attack and yet he couldn't really sense any. Taura had told him they would come if there was prey, but the closest thing to something exciting happening were a bunch of dead leaves. And by exciting he meant not at all. Getting poked in the eye was more fun than this boring little strip of dark shadows. Hopefully that glass cage of jungle would have something dangerous lurking around!

It was a thrilling idea, but despite his excitement Goku staggered to a stop right in the middle of the corridor. Even his lively tail fell flat on the tiled floor with its stunned owner. "My tummy," he groaned, his voice as distant as the look on his face while he wrapped his stubby arms around his middle.

Taura was more thrilled, albeit quietly, with the complete lack of monsters so far. She watched Goku, as he nearly vibrated with contained energy. Tails were so expressive; they were easier to read than faces, especially in the dark. His twitched and hovered alongside his moods.

And then it stopped. And fell over, along with the rest of Goku. Taura was beside him in two quick strides. Had he been sick all along? Oh, no. She should have asked. It wasn't like she hadn't seen people do this -- and by people she meant Admiral Naismith, who was like a lot of people put together, at least when he tried. Or was trying.

She scooped him up in her arms, since it was easier than bending over, and a lot easier to run. "What's wrong?" she asked, even though the answer was obvious.

"I... dunno," he mumbled, just as confused as Taura. It took something pretty beastly to give him a stomach ache. Even then, it wasn't quite the same. Usually Goku just had to take a big dump and then he was fine! This felt more like he had eaten something whole and living and it was trying to escape the confines of his insides. The longer he laid in Taura's arm, the harder it fought for release until his consciousness started to slowly slip away.

His big, black eyes began to glaze over as he stared up at the ceiling with all the intent of a blind man. A strange gurgling sound came from his stomach and traveled up his small body, turning into a growl as he released it behind clenched teeth that seemed suddenly so animalistic.

There weren't any injuries anywhere on Goku's body. Poison? Or just another effect of the illness? He was twitching, and his eyes were becoming glassy, and she had no idea what might be wrong. Field medicine generally involved a dose of synergine and some bandages, and for anything else, call a medic. They were standing in the middle of a medical bay, and she didn't have the first idea where to start. It didn't stop whatever was happening from happening, though, and Goku started to say something.

Or, er, that was less talking and more noise -- it didn't sound like Goku at all, and she almost dropped him. Instead, she set him on the ground and took a step backward. She slid the stunner out of her purse and kept it pointed at him, although still with her hand by her side. "Talk to me, yeah? Tell me what hurts."

It was hard to hear Taura over the sound of blood pumping frantically through his small body. All he could hold onto was the word hurt, keeping him grounded if only for a moment.

"I... M-My--" That was all he could muster before it felt like something was trying to tear its way out from the inside. With a groan, he doubled over on himself, clutching his stomach in vain to keep whatever it was from getting out. Spots played like fireflies across his vision until his legs gave, sending him sprawling onto the cold, hard tile. On all fours, he finally matched the crazed animal he sounded like. The whites of his eyes overtook the inky black pupils as he frothed at the mouth like a rabid canine. He even had the fangs now to prove it.

Then a new sound began to form from underneath the snarling mess. It was the sound of cloth ripping and, sure enough, his shoulders were no longer able to stay contained beneath the cheap fabric of his tiny shirt. All that skin stretched and tore across an ever-changing frame, growing far taller than Taura and the room itself. Even his chubby face, twisted with feral rage, broke and reshaped into a snarling snout, covered in wild dark hair. The only thing that remained true to Goku was the long tail that swayed through the room like a heavy pendulum, knocking papers and chairs over in a single swoop.

The top of his head barely brushed the ceiling as the behemoth of a monkey stared down at the tiny woman in front of him.

Taura hadn't really expected a coherent answer, but his entire body growing from half her height to something that barely fit in the room was not it.

Was this what he really looked like? Or was this Landel's threat made good? Either way, she had to stop him before he hurt himself or someone else. Or Taura. They needed to get out of here, with all the patients rushing over to the medical wing.

"Son Goku?" she called up to him. She tucked the stunner away -- its entire charge wouldn't make a dent on a body that size; if she'd had an opportunity to shoot, she'd squandered it. "Want to go outside?"

Goku stared at her for a moment, listening to the noises Taura was making, but his quiet contentment did not last long. With a loud roar from his giant, toothy maw, the giant monkey beat his fists into the wall behind him. They shook from the heavy impact as fissures ate through the paint and material and left a large crater in their wake.

It didn't end there. He was determined to break down any wall that tried to impede his destructive momentum. His lumbering body made quick work of the receptionist's desk, splintering it like a toothpick into a hundred pieces. Goku tore the whiteboard from the wall and threw it behind him without care. The force of it actually wedged the board into the adjacent wall.

It was then, turning away from the broken desk that he remembered Taura was still in the room with him. He eyed her for a moment as if he was unsure what to do with her.

Taura was used to people eying her warily, but usually because they thought she was going to eat them for breakfast, and clean her teeth with their bones. Not the other way around. Though, if she really looked, Goku didn't look hungry any more than she did while simply walking down a hall -- it was the part where he towered over her that did it.

She was going to feel bad the next time someone cringed away from her, wasn't she? Not helping, Taura. Though the thought of being back home was one she hadn't had in a while.

She waved up at him, smiling, and darted towards the door. She didn't step through it, but waited on the threshold, as curious as he was to see what was going to happen next.

[from here]

Alright, he was in. Niikura paused in the middle of the hallway, trying to figure out which way he should go. He was looking for stuff that he'd need for an operation; they had to have a supply room around here, or else it'd be a pretty poor medical wing.

He wandered down the hall, peeking through doors, smashing through locks where he had to, and trying to figure out where the supplies were until finally, he stumbled upon a room that looked like an induction room--hah! Now they were talking! The supplies had to be nearby somewhere. With a smile on his face, Niikura crept in.

[to here]

Edited 2012-09-08 00:16 (UTC)

NIGHT 65: MEDICAL WING HALL

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