Night 67: West Wing, North Hall 1-A

[complicatedliar]

[From here]

Loki slipped out the door into the larger hall. Here, he was cautious enough to burn one illusion to make himself invisible. The distance he needed to cover was small enough that he'd only need to use one in this fashion.

Hopefully he'd be able to find his target quickly enough in the other M-block. The annoying part was that he still didn't know what room was Scar's so he'd have to lie in wait potentially, but he was fairly certain the man was in M-A; Loki had never seen him departing from M-B.

Loki didn't think of himself as sadistic, and didn't take particular pleasure in killing.

Most of the time.

This, he was looking forward to, as a service to at least temporarily make the institute less stupid.

[To here]

Comments

[maverickhunterx]

[From Here!]

If memory served him right, Zero's room was the other M block, north of X's and Harpuia's.

...and to get to it, X had to travel some of the same hallways that he'd traveled on his first night. Funny. X didn't think he would have gotten even the slightest bit nostalgic concerning this hellhole.

But even here...even though he'd only been here for a few days, it felt like far longer. Time just seemed to drag o--

--!!!!!!!

There was someone moving in that hallway.

X ignored the prickle of Deja Vu in the back of his mind, hugged the wall, and crept forward.

His companion could be anything, friend or foe. All he needed to do was squint his eyes, get a good judge of who it was...

...

...and X let out a breath he didn't know he was holding when he saw Zero.

Creeping towards him, X dared to whisper (though in the silence of the hallway, it felt like he was screaming):

"Zero?"

[dividedby]

Ah-. Zero had been looking back at the door to the Recreational Field, so hearing someone familiar call his name from somewhere he couldn't see immediately threw him into alert mode. When he turned back around to confirm voice to face and realized it was X standing in front of him, he internally winced. Too slow. X had been quick about leaving his room, too, and he'd even decided to go looking for Zero rather than standing around in one of the other hallways waiting for him. On any other night, this would have been close to relieving. A convenience, even. Now, it was just deeply concerning.

...And why was his stomach rumbling even more? That and the pain in his leg weren't helping matters any.

"...X." Zero stared at his friend, but then frowned and glanced away uncomfortably for a moment. Should he be completely honest with X? Or should he just try to run? Knowing X, he probably would object to Zero being on his own, possible impending transformation or not, and he'd definitely try to stop Zero from running if he didn't know what was going on. But would he listen to reason if Zero told him their being separated was for the better tonight? Or would his optimism convince him to stick to Zero no matter what?

He'd think about it a moment longer. For now, Zero would ask about something unrelated that was also currently bothering him (though not nearly as much as his current state of health). "Where's Harpuia?" Odd that he wouldn't be right at X's side...

I wrote this with a stylus, so forgive any mistakes ;;

[maverickhunterx]

“Harpuia...?”

X bit his lip.

“I didn't see him on the way here. I got worried when I couln't find either of you at the usual spot, so I decided to look for you myself.”

...in case something went wrong. Though maybe Harpuia was waiting for them at the usual spot now...maybe X should have waited to find Zero.

...no. In this place, X didn't much like standing around for long at night. Besides, they could go and meet with Harpuia together now.

...Harpuia. X hoped that he was all right...

o/ !

[dividedby]

Harpuia was missing, too...? No, it couldn't be just simple negligence. A guy like him who emphasized duty over almost everything would never leave X to his own devices without good reason. Perhaps he, too...? Zero couldn't stop the thought from entering his head, as bad as it was. But considering Landel's threat before dinner, the injections...it was very much a real possibility.

...Maybe he'd chosen to stay in his room, if that were the case. Zero was suddenly regretting not doing the same.

Or maybe he was just late. Unlikely, but not impossible. It was a more optimistic viewpoint, anyway.

Harpuia's current condition didn't change Zero's, though. The once-Reploid shook his head and then stared hard at his friend. Honest. He was choosing be honest. And hopefully this would work. "He might be running late. You should go see if he's waiting for us in one of the block hallways." He paused for only a moment to think on his next few words more carefully. He couldn't just say anything - X wouldn't listen to 'anything'. "But if you can't find him there, then don't keep looking. It's...better if we stay separated tonight."

Another pause, and then he added (for clarification): "All of us."

[maverickhunterx]

Zero may have hoped that X would have stepped back and been okay with it.

He may have hoped that X would have said: "I understand. I'll take you at your word." and go on his merry way without any questions whatsoever.

Unfortunately, Zero was sadly mistaken. X's worry was already off the charts, with concern for Harpuia rising by the moment, while for a bit, X thought that his worry for Zero was unfounded.

...Nope. Not anymore.

"Did something happen?" X asked, not moving from his spot. Blunt as always; when it came to asking probing questions like...earlier, he may have preferred to take the more diplomatic approach, but in times like this? His age was apparent and his forwardness even more so.

[dividedby]

Of course he would want an explanation. Of course X wouldn't just take a simple order without wondering why. Zero let out a small, impatient sigh. Not that he blamed his friend for being concerned - he would be too if the roles were reversed - but his eagerness to split away from everyone with a pulse was growing by the second, along with the pains in his leg and his hunger for some reason. The longer they stood here talking...no. They had to hurry. They didn't have all night.

"Something might happen and if it does, it won't be good for anyone near me." His words came out somewhat hastier than usual, another outward sign that he wanted to minimize the chitchat and get going already. But regardless, he would give X a fuller explanation if that would make him understand. "Landel wasn't kidding when he said he was going to give some of us that 'extra help'. Now something's happening to me, and whatever it is might just get you killed. So it's safer if I go on alone."

And that should be that. That was all X needed to know. And to prove how serious he was about this, Zero was going to turn away from X and start walking towards the Recreational Field door now. (...Trying his best to ignore his physical pain in the meantime.)

[maverickhunterx]

X's blood ran cold, icicles piercing through ripe flesh--

Something was happening to Zero. Landel had done something to him (that phrase...'extra help' had put X on edge when he'd first heard it, too), and he was trying to go alone in order to prevent harm from coming to X and Harpuia.

Something was happening to him...

--then hot, boiling within his veins.

Something was happening to him. And he wanted to go alone and suffer through whatever it was by himself?!

X had only two words to describe his sentiments towards Zero's game plan:

Hell and No.

If Zero thought X was the kind of man who ran away from his friends when they were suffering, then he had another thing coming. He'd let Zero fall once; he wasn't going to do that again, never again.

Leaving him alone was not an option.

X said nothing, following behind Zero.

He didn't need words: his actions were loud enough.

[dividedby]

Unfortunately for X, Zero wasn't about to let any following happen so easily. He didn't have to look back to know how his friend was reacting to the news; he could hear those footsteps well enough, thank you very much. Was he deaf? Did he not just hear Zero specifically say that he was going on alone? (Of course he did. It was X. What else would he do?)

But instead of saying anything immediately, Zero waited until he was a step away from the Recreational Field door before he swiftly turned around and directed all of his negative emotions at his friend, an obvious glare on his face to go with them. "Don't follow me," he snapped, as if he were a military officer ordering around a stubborn younger subordinate.

Before he could give any lectures, however, he hesitated...and the glare on his face let up a little. A strange, unknown feeling suddenly overcame him as he stared at X. Something about him... He couldn't put a finger on the feeling, but...what was...

His shoulder... He just wanted to reach out, and...

The once-Reploid shook his head, trying to snap out of...whatever that feeling was, ignoring another protest from his stomach in the meantime. Great...so what, staring at X triggered his body to change faster, then? In other words, it was something else he was going to be avoiding from now on. Will do. Zero turned back to the door and reached for the handle - but not without continuing his lecture in the meantime. "I told you it isn't safe. And I'm not gonna let you risk your life trying to protect me."

He was going through this door, whether X liked it or not. Where he would go from there, he had no clue yet. Over the wall? Sounded like a good idea. He'd decide for certain momentarily.

[To here.]