damned_institute | Night 68: West Wing, South Hall 1-A

[from here]

The door opened, just as before, into a larger hallway, one he recognized easily enough from the trips he'd made back and forth with the nurses. It was empty though, devoid of life, and gave off an eerie sort of feeling.

Atavists weren't to go out at night for good reason. Their presence was practically a flashing beacon to any full-blooded demons that might be wandering about. Did the same hold true here? Demons and monsters and all sorts of experiments were said to walk these halls, but he'd yet to see proof that it wasn't just the other patients or excited nerves.

He hesitated for a moment, glancing back down the hall. One way led outside, he remembered, the other toward the rooms they used in the daytime. The Sun Room, Lingormr had mentioned, could be particularly dangerous and was usually inhabited by some sort of dangerous presence. On the other hand, he could seek out his belongings. His clothing, perhaps, his photos... If his cell phone still had any sort of charge, he might make a call, or a text, or some word to the outside world. If he didn't find it tonight, he was almost certain the battery would be gone with the morning. At the very least, he might find some kind of clue there. Something to tell him where he was, where his master had gone, and how to return to her, if it was at all possible.

He eyed the hallway ahead, training his light on the empty tile before him.

[Ryusei]

Edited 2013-01-25 06:50 (UTC)

[from here]

... That wasn't Ryuugamine again, was it? No, Ryusei had met him in the hall farther along than this one. And this person was taller.

He'd pass right by, but his light would give him away. Ryusei wasn't exactly being very subtle about shining the flashlight every which way. "Excuse me.... Are you going somewhere?"

Ryuugamine had told him not to go out at night alone. Maybe this guy was waiting for someone. And if he was, Ryusei had time enough to ask him a few things, if he was receptive to it. For Ryusei's purposes, collecting information couldn't be a bad thing; it'd speed up his mission somewhat if he could glean anything useful.

Soushi paused when he saw the beam of another flashlight and someone called out to him. Going somewhere?

He turned with a faint but friendly smile on his lips, and found the other was a man, probably a few years his junior. Soushi had to wonder if this was how he'd seemed to Lingormr, showing up out of the blue the other night, but thus far, he'd been met with fairly friendly, if not outright helpful patients.

"I'm looking for the room where they keep our things," he said honestly. Might as well be straightforward about that much at least. His bulletin post had proved fruitless, but perhaps there were those here that knew.

"Do you know of it?"

Uncanny. But there was no reason to be suspicious; surely one of the first instincts upon waking in this place was to get one's things back. Ryusei couldn't be the only person who might have had something important confiscated. "No. But I'm looking for it, too."

Then he hesitated. More prudent to get this guy's name and then split up. But he couldn't ask this guy to wait around if he had other things to do after finding it. If it'd been Ryusei, if he hadn't needed to get to that room, he might already have started to break out of here.

Or not. Ryusei frowned, but this wasn't the time to think about Jirou. "Are you waiting for anyone?"

Soushi blinked. It seemed either terribly fortunate or terribly suspicious that they were both looking for the same place. Ryuugamine had mentioned it too, hadn't he? Maybe it wasn't so farfetched. Soushi shook his head slowly at the young man's next question.

"It isn't that. I'm just not certain where to start looking, I suppose," he admitted, glancing at the floor then back down the hall. But if this other patient was still looking for the same thing, there was some chance they could narrow their search.

"I'm Miketsukami Soushi. If it's to our mutual interest, perhaps we might seek it out together? I've heard it's quite dangerous to explore on one's own."

"Sakuta. Pleasure to meet you."

'Heard' it might dangerous, Miketsukami had said. Might be more dangerous to stay in the rooms, but there was nothing they could do, it seemed, to stop from being taken.

Never mind that. The weirdo on the intercom had mentioned something about friends, hadn't he? Traveling with someone else as a precaution might not be a bad idea, seeing as the weirdo had also mentioned the patient numbers dropping. That wasn't necessarily sinister, as it meant patients were presumably being released. But Ryusei didn't like the vagueness. And there was no reason to taunt them about it, either, unless he really did mean it threateningly.

There was the possibility that Ryusei was remembering wrong. He'd only been half-listening, and he had to admit that he'd been preinclined to think poorly of whoever ran the place. But he only thought that because the asylum's normal operation (or what he assumed was normal operation) was baffling to him.

"How much ground have you covered? I... got stuck, yesterday." As good an explanation for what happened last night. The intercom guy had used the word 'portals.' That had been true, hadn't it? But he hadn't seen Ryuugamine all day, either. He hadn't been paying much attention, though, so that might not mean that Ryusei had been imagining things last night. "Do you know the dimensions of this building?"

"Sakuta-san, it's nice to meet you as well," he nodded, committing the name and face to memory.

"I'm afraid last night was my first attempt at exploration. I went through several rooms, but because of the confusion I can't be certain as to their location within the building. I have not yet determined the dimensions of this building, I'm sorry," he replied, hoping that Sakuta might have a bit more experience than he in this place. If not, he would go alone, of course, but Soushi wasn't above trying to make his work a bit easier.

"I thought the second floor might be a good place to start, as it sounds like this level is primarily for medical treatments and housing its patients."

[from here.]

This hall was a lot longer. Much longer than the others, where the doors were so close to one another. That meant there were more people in there, too. More people, a lot of shadows, and a memory of shadowy vines snapping toward him.

Gabe's step faltered, his voice wavered, but then he forced himself onward, his whole body shaking. The first time someone hurried past Gabe couldn't help but shrink against the wall, his heart suddenly leaping to his throat. It felt like the fear was rattling all in his body, making his gut clench and roll, his limbs rubbery with the exertion he hadn't actually performed.

It took a few moments before he could move again, lifting his eyes to focus upon a light in the distance, down the hall. "Actiones nostras, quaesumus Domine, aspirando praeveni et adiuvando prosequere: ut cuncta nosta oratio et operatio a te semper incipiat et per ta coepta finiatur--"*

He was so focussed that when he came upon the pair speaking in the hallway he was almost startled by his arrival to them, cutting off with a slight gasp. For a moment the Archangel was almost disorientated, his face pale, the fear written large on it; then he managed a wobbly smile as his mind processed what he'd overheard as he came nearer.

"Hello. Looking for something?"

[*Go before us, O Lord, we beseech Thee, in all our doings with Thy gracious inspiration, and further us with Thy continual help, that every prayer and work of ours may begin from Thee, and by Thee be duly ended.]

Hmm. Miketsukami. Are you used to reporting your findings? 'Yet' determined the dimensions of the building, he'd said, as if it were normal for him to have done so; it wasn't like Ryusei had had a certain expectation when he'd asked the question.

In any case, there was only the far side of the Sun Room that Ryusei hadn't yet seen on this floor. No, more appropriate to say that he hadn't yet seen it properly. It seemed Miketsukami had been through the portals nonsense from last night. The two of the couldn't have been having the same dream, could they? He couldn't remember if the intercom person had said anything last night to subliminally affect their psyches; Ryusei had nearly fallen asleep last night before the intercom had gone off.

But never mind that. He could work it out as they went. "Then let's—"

He turned around. Oh, someone else who wanted a 'friend'? The intercom person had mentioned that today. Was that paranoid thinking? He had met Ryuugamine before that announcement about the friends; maybe it was just common sense around here. He couldn't think why that would be, but surely Ryusei couldn't be the only one who'd received that kind of warning, if the patients were going out every night. Come to think of it, Kurogane had just told him not to go out at all, and it might have just been that Kurogane was telling him to go to sleep, but Ryusei didn't think so; he didn't seem like the type of person to make multiple escape attempts and then tell someone else to sit still. More likely it was....

Never mind that for now. "We're looking for our stuff," he answered. "I feel like changing out of these clothes. Do you know where it is?"

Soushi glanced aside when he heard the foreign words being spoken down the hall. Perhaps last night had been a fluke. Tonight, it seemed there were plenty of people he could have gone exploring with. None of them seemed quite as bothered by him as Lingormr had been the night before.

The timing was suspicious, of course, as had been the fact that he and Sakuta were looking for the same place, but Soushi put those thoughts aside. Ririchiyo-sama was not here to look after, which meant that as long as he survived, he could continue seeking her. He might be outnumbered now, but with any luck, these patients were not the sort to go after one another.

"Miketsukami Soushi," he nodded to the newcomer, bowing ever-so-slightly. Sakuta was quick to answer the immediate question, so introductions seemed best, "a pleasure to meet you."

He could already hear other monsters, roars, screams, and thunderous footsteps overhead. Was it better to avoid them? None sounded familiar. He gestured toward the hall that led toward the Sun Room and beyond. "If not, may I suggest we take the route furthest from wherever that ground-shaking noise is coming from?"

Of course. That idea had never even occurred to Gabe; he hadn't had anything to bring in with him. Even his clothes were usually just a metaphysical manifestation. But that didn't mean he might not have any, if his life before the Institute was supposed to be a human one. It was worth checking.

"I wasn't," he admitted, then bit his lip and looked at them hopefully. "But I lost my torch last night, and there might be another one in the same place, if it's for storage."

Maybe they'd let him come. Especially now that he had something to ground him, and those distant sounds were filtering in to make it more difficult all over again. He gripped his rosary tighter, breathing slow and deep, and tried to ignore them with a bow back at Soushi. "Gabe. Just Gabe. May I attend you? I don't know the way, but I'm--not too bad at defence."

Even though he really, really did not want to fight again. Landel had implied he might not have a choice.

"Sure." Maybe Miketsukami would mind, but Ryusei didn't really care. In any case, if Miketsukami was going to have Ryusei along, he didn't think he'd mind one more, and anyway if that were the case, Miketsukami wouldn't have bothered to introduce himself.

Probably.

"What kind of defense are you not bad at?" Maybe not a good question to ask to calm Gabe down, but Ryusei was genuinely curious. And maybe talking would distract the guy. And actually, it would be useful to know, if Gabe snapped somewhere down the line.

Not that Ryusei would do anything.

[to here]

[From here]

Another hallway. The same one every night. It was nothing Link wasn't used to, with the dungeon crawling he had been doing so much of on his adventures.

This Institute was just another puzzle to be solved. Landel was just another boss to be figured out and thwarted. And the basement was the place to look for their answers.

[To here]

Edited 2013-01-25 21:04 (UTC)

[From here]

Out of the M-block and into the hallway, Loki turned right immediately and headed for the larger hallways. His feet were all but silent even in the boots.

[To here]

Edited 2013-01-26 00:47 (UTC)

[from here]

Another familiar hallway. The Once-ler kept moving, keeping a cautious eye out for any trouble. Running into any of Landel's 'friends' on his own fell into the category of things he wanted to avoid at all costs.

[to here]

Edited 2013-01-27 03:48 (UTC)

[From here.]

Guy thought that maybe he'd catch sight of Luke around here, since he knew that his room was in the southern block, but all he saw were a pair of patients who looked like they were just getting to know each other. Well, better to run into someone at random during the night than wander around on your own.

Luke's absence wasn't really all that strange, since he usually went straight to the main hall to meet Anise. Hopefully the two of them would be waiting for him by now. Since Guy didn't want to make them worry, he sped up and took a quick right at the main hall.

[To here.]

Edited 2013-01-27 23:32 (UTC)

[From here.]

The first thing Castiel heard as he stepped out of the patient block was a familiar voice. Not intimately familiar, but recently so. It was Soushi, and while one of the things on Castiel's to-do list was to question him, it was clear he was already engaged in conversation with someone else.

Not that Castiel couldn't barge in and demand some answers, but from the looks of things, the discussion between the two of them was entirely amicable. And unlike what Lingormr had mentioned, Soushi looked exactly the same age now. Either Lingormr had been trying to mislead him (which wouldn't have necessarily surprised Castiel) or something else was going on. If Soushi could change his form, then it was possible he simply hadn't chosen to do so tonight.

Either way, Castiel needed to find Lust, so he moved past the pair and continued to half-lean against the wall as he reached the next hallway.

[To here.]

Edited 2013-01-28 04:13 (UTC)

[from here.]

Ed looked around as they passed through the doorway. "I know I didn't say it earlier, but I see what Lust meant about it being different at night. It's creepy."

"You made that?" Lloyd's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Not only that, Al made it sound like he'd made it in a day. "How?"

The question came out a little too loud, echoing eerily down the hall.

"No kidding," Al muttered under his breath, glancing warily around.

Al jumped a bit at the echo, surprised by Lloyd's reaction. "Yeah, Brother and I are both alchemists. I was given some spare metal Brother's roommate had, and I transmuted it into this."

[to here]

Edited 2013-01-28 22:37 (UTC)

[[from here]]

Through hallways he could navigate blind, literally, Sasuke wondered how long it would be before the Elrics disappeared again. He expected Edward to disappear in due time, as all his roommates had.

For the first time, it occurred to him to wonder how many roommates Aidou had gone through in turn. The vampire's recent displacement had been the first time in weeks either of them had moved rooms, after all.

[[to here]]

[ from here ]

As had become habitual, once into the next hall, Kyousuke took a short pause to scan over the area as best he could before he began walking again. He couldn't be sure how much good it did, but he was quickly learning there could never be too much caution in a place like this.

"... And you?" he asked, making a glance to Kratos. "Anything interesting?" It probably didn't matter much, but it was something to talk about. ... A distraction.

Kratos likewise let his eyes sweep casually over the hall before slanting a look at Tsurugi. "Hardly." Damn. He hadn't exactly prepared for this, but at least he'd gone around the institute a few times and could lie about locations easily. "Mostly around the institute, same as you - nothing special. I've been to the medical wing before."

Hopefully that answer was satisfactory; Kratos was eager to turn the conversation away from him, and did so readily, although not so fast as to raise suspicion. "You said you were able to return to your world?" It was evident that he was now asking with more interest than just curiosity. Even if Tsurugi hadn't stayed there permanently, at least he'd proven that there was some way of getting back to their original worlds. "What happened there?"

[to here]

Edited 2013-01-29 04:57 (UTC)

[From here.]

"He's in this block here, I know," Guy said to Anise as he led them toward the southern set of rooms. He was going to have to try and drag Luke's room number out of his memory, as it'd been some time since he'd been there. He knew the number was in his head somewhere, so he just needed to find it. He prided himself on having a good memory, so he was sure it would come to him.

It couldn't hurt to go and look, Anise figured. If it turned out Luke was awake and on his way, they were certain to cross paths anyway. The patient blocks weren't that big. "Yeah..." Anise murmured in response to Guy, turning to enter the nearest block.

[to here]

[From here.]

Seeing how it was his third time in this part of the hall, Guy had to admit he was getting pretty sick of these white walls. Which made him wonder if it might make more sense to take the outside route. They'd tried the other way last night and while the portals had tripped them up, he still wouldn't mind a change of pace.

"Do you mind if we go through the recreational field and the courtyard to get there?" he asked Anise. "I wouldn't mind getting some fresh air." He was pretty sure the storm from earlier in the day had passed, so it wasn't like the weather would be too bad either. Hopefully.

Anise gave a pleased grin when Guy praised her for her idea. He was probably right, too – their friends would rather they did something productive than sit around, watching them sleep all night. She could imagine Luke groaning about being hovered over like that.

The route he suggested wasn’t one Anise would normally think of taking. Going around outside instead of through the hallways? She had to think for a moment. “Well… sure, I guess it wouldn’t hurt.” Maybe it would even be faster. They were both in pretty good shape at the moment, so climbing the walls wouldn’t be a problem. For now, Anise started walking towards the northern hallway.

[to here]

[From here.]

Another damn long hallway...!

Sechs grunted with frustration, berating his own legs for not being fast enough. He sprinted between fellow prisoners, not allowing any distractions to get in his way. With each thunderous step, Sechs could feel the chill within his back deepen into his spine and muscles. He knew some form of opposition -- whether it be from outside or within -- was bound to raise its ugly head at the Replica any moment now...

"Let 'em come...!" Sechs aggressively thought to himself, his teeth gashing together as he snorted through his flared nostrils. Nothing was going to stop him from reaching his goal--!

[To here.]

Edited 2013-02-18 03:12 (UTC)

[From here.]

By now Facilier was encountering other prisoners. He sneered at them from the safety of the darkness. For all he knew, these people were on their way to ruin his plans! He had to get ahead of them without drawing any attention. Such a desire was easy for the Shadow Man; he gracefully slithered his way down the walls and dodged the bobbing rays of lights cast by the suspended flashlights. It helped that he was wearing softer slippers, as undignified as they were; it made his traverse all the more silent.

[To here.]

Edited 2013-02-19 06:23 (UTC)

[From here.]

L made it through the connecting corridor near his room, wary as he passed through it and into the longer hall. Scar had been attacked in the M-A hall, not the M-B hall, but it was rare for much to happen in any of the four corresponding areas near the rooms. The only real exception that L knew of had been the night when Aguilar had lost control of the Institute.

His current route would bring him past the door to the area in question, one that was familiar from when his own room had been located in that grouping.

As he approached it, he understood what else had been nagging at him about the reports on the bulletin earlier in the day.

The door was typically kept closed, so it wouldn't have been easy for a creature to wander in and out of the area, which was itself heavily trafficked. Scar had been a large, strong man, and there had been indications that the death had been extremely messy, all of which suggested that he had gone up against something big. On top of that, it had happened early enough in the evening for someone to stumble across the body afterward without running into the monster itself. Yet no one else had reported an encounter in that area the night before with anything capable of doing that kind of damage.

Why not? It was feasible that Scar could have been attacked as he opened the door, but in that case the door would probably have fallen closed. Furthermore, the hall that L was passing through now was highly trafficked, and the Main Hallways even more so.

The possibility that whatever Scar had encountered had somehow been able to materialize was ridiculous, but it had to be considered. In that case, if it had come here looking for easy victims, why stop at one? And why choose a big man when any number of the other patients were less physically likely to defend themselves? There hadn't been any indication that anyone suspected that the creature had been wounded, but if it had been, the bathroom would have been the easiest and most likely hiding place in which it could nurse its injuries. There, again, was the problem of the door.

The entire scenario -- something with the size and strength to make short work of a big man, but with the ability to be completely unseen otherwise, no interest in other victims in an area where they were plentiful, and the potential ability to open doors -- seemed extremely dubious, and experience suggested that the questions he had been asking himself were only precursors to the right ones. For the moment, it was a distraction; it wasn't safe to become too preoccupied, especially when he was still alone. Taylor seemed to have a similar idea. They could talk about it tomorrow.

A right turn put him into the corridor where the rest of the group planned to meet.

[To here.]

Edited ("teh" hahaha) 2013-02-22 05:43 (UTC)

[From here]

"There were other beasts in front of me, but something slit my throat from behind. I never saw what it was."

Scar had been assuming another monster of some sort. Nobody here was out to kill him.

Were they?

Tsubaki lengthened her stride, hurrying to keep up with the man as he promptly started off down the hall. Try as she might, it was difficult not to keep glancing at him every few seconds, like he were a fragile illusion that might disappear at any moment.

Scar being alive and well was incredible, it was, but the more she learned about what had happened, the more she found his good health harder to believe. A slit throat, really...? She felt a little sick at the thought.

Sneak attacks were nothing new to her; in an objective fashion, she could see why an aggressor would choose to attack from behind to disable the man quickly. He was large and physically daunting. Attacking someone like Scar head on would be risky, given that. But to target the throat from behind... That spoke of a certain amount of thought and skill. No simple-minded beast would strike like that, especially given how tall one would have to be to do it...

Tsubaki was silent for a long while. Words didn't come easily on a subject like this.

"What matters it that you're okay now!"

Scar was thinking along the same lines. He had encountered a scant few of Landel's resident monsters, but none of them had ever seemed so precise, never mind so intelligent as to figure out the quickest and most clever way of killing him. The monsters that had been coming at him from the front certainly hadn't known that.

He only nodded at Tsubaki's comment, rounding the corner.

[To here]

Night 68: West Wing, South Hall 1-A

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