Night 69: West Wing, South Hall 1-A

[his_legacy]

[From here]

The same tedious route as always. It was so frustrating for Link to have to reset his progress night after night. It would be so much quicker if he could simply blow through this place in one run.

But this place was different than any temple of dungeon he had ever faced before. It was the same, yes, in many ways. But it was still much more tedious in its own little ways. And much more deadly.

[To here]

Comments

[freewill]

[From here.]

And this was where they would be meeting. As Soushi was so new, Castiel couldn't expect him to make it much further without potentially getting lost, and so he didn't head toward the closest set of stairs despite the urge to do so.

In addition to that, he didn't mind the chance to take a small break. He could move around without crutches now, but his body was still sore and worn down. Even something as simple as walking a short distance caused his pain to increase.

He shifted his weight against the wall and kept an eye on the door he'd just left. Castiel hadn't forgotten that Soushi could shapeshift, but he didn't suspect he'd do so tonight. Not when they'd already had a conversation about it and Castiel had expressed his suspicions. It was still something to keep in mind, however.

[For Soushi.]

[ever_loyal_dog]

[from here]

He pushed the door open and scanned the hall. It didn't take long to match the few flashlight beams with faces and figures. Castiel was leaning on the wall and appeared to have been waiting.

Soushi straightened immediately and walked briskly over to meet him. He bowed his head in apology, "Forgive me for making you wait Castiel-san."

[freewill]

It didn't take long for Soushi to arrive, which at least spoke to his competence when it came to getting around in the dark. Even more surprising, considering he didn't have a flashlight that Castiel could see. (Though it was just as likely he was able to see in the dark and didn't need a flashlight in the first place.) He did have a bat in hand, though, which meant that he'd managed to get his hands on a weapon, as makeshift as it was, in the space of a night or two. That also showed that Soushi could take care of himself if nothing else.

As for the apology, Castiel only shook his head, a silent way of telling Soushi it was fine. He hadn't had to wait that long in the first place, and the moment spent catching his breath did him some good.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked as he cast a glance down the hallway. "We'll need to head upstairs."

[ever_loyal_dog]

"I'm afraid my flashlight was lost last night in an altercation," he said quietly, glancing toward the hall Castiel had pointed out. At least the man didn't seem overly upset about waiting. He seemed to have a much better weapon in hand than a simple bat, but their weapons last night had been of little use against vengeful spirits.

"I can go ahead if you'll light the path, or I shall be happy to defer to your leadership," he added, smile never leaving his lips.

[freewill]

That explained the flashlight, then. This mention of an altercation left him curious, but Castiel decided that he could ask about it once they were on the move. For the moment, he was left with deciding who should take the lead. Seeing how Soushi had already lost one flashlight, it might be best if Castiel held onto his. He was also moving slower than usual because of his wounds, so it made more sense for him to take the rear position.

"You can take the lead," he said, "and I'll light the way." He nodded down the hall in the direction he knew the closest stairwell was. "Head that way and we'll reach the stairs." As soon as Soushi headed off that direction, Castiel followed after him, keeping his flashlight pointed forward.

[To here.]

[knightspirit]

[skipping in from here]

Kyousuke was beginning to get used to going through the hallways like this, to the point it had become automatic. Even sweeping his light across the halls to check that none of the shadows were out of place was beginning to feel routine, although he realized he'd be in trouble if he let his guard down too much.

His injury was starting to feel better, too, and to a surprising degree. It was still difficult to move around with, but it had also been particularly severe. It was the type of thing that should take weeks to heal. Maybe whatever power Kratos used on him had more effect than he'd thought, though it seemed like it had only penetrated the deepest recesses, just enough that he wouldn't bleed to death. The boy cringed at the thought; that was one image he was never going to forget as long as he lived. He tried to banish it from his mind, although he did make a mental note to ask about it later. It probably wouldn't hurt—the worst he could get was no answer at all.

[to here]

[armoredsoul]

[from here]

Al looked both ways out the corridor before turning and heading towards the next patient block. "You only have the scalpels for weapons?" he asked Scar, trying not to sound...well, anything that would hurt his pride. A weapon was a weapon, after all.

[envy_the_sinners]

Scar let Alphonse lead slightly, deciding it would be better if he brought up the rear. They could both see forward with their lights, but they were helpless to whatever might sneak up behind them.

"...Yes," he answered reluctantly as they turned into the main hallway.

[To here]

[envy_the_sinners]

[From here]

The coast was still, almost miraculously, clear. They had made good time, tonight. Scar was thankful for that; he had been completely useless last night.

[fullmetalheart]

"Yes, we did," Ed said with a roll of his eyes. He kept looking around. "So far, so good."

Yes, he's aware of the possibility of jinxing things.

[armoredsoul]

"It looked perfectly normal!" Al whined, getting tired of everyone bringing that back up. Can't a guy live down a stupid mistake already?

[to here]

[fallenbeanpole]

[from here]

Another empty hall. This part of the route was starting to become familiar; leave room, exit patient block, walk down long hallway. The variation came upon reaching the end of the hall.

[to here]

[ryuuzaki]

[From here.]

The corridor seemed quiet: nothing exciting had been happening. That was for the best.

However, the nighttime look of disuse and decay was still there, and taking note of it now made him remember how, soon after his arrival, there had been a weird illusion that had sometimes made entire panels of drywall seem to vanish, showing the pipes and wiring beneath. He had never been able to explain it, and it hadn't happened more recently. Still, he knocked on the wall to his left as he moved down the hall.

Solid.

Edgar didn't appear to be ahead of L, unless he had already reached the meeting point. L moved to the end of the hall and took a right turn.

[To here.]

[earthling]

((From here.))

There weren't many people further down the hallway either, but Claude wasn't too surprised at this point.

"I just..." He sighed after a heavy pause. "I hope we make some progress tonight." That went without saying, and he realized Guy and Anise were likely just as frustrated as he was. But the more they spun their wheels, the more impatient and restless Claude became. It was only a matter of time before something gave, one way or another.

[nobleman]

Of course that was how Claude felt. There was no way to really help it, so Guy could only hope that dealing with that ferryman and working their way through the caverns would take Claude's mind off of things. At this point the damage had already been done, so all they could do was keep moving forward.

"Right," he responded as he headed down the hall. They were almost to the main corridor, and Anise would no doubt be waiting for them there. "If we find anything down in those caverns, we'll just have to do our best to share that with Lloyd too." Which might be impossible with how this place worked, but it did seem like they could say a little more about the caverns than they ever could the coliseum.

At the end of the hall, Guy took a right.

[To here.]

[asteroidbelt]

[skipping a hall from here]

He'd been warned not to travel alone, he thought as he went on. Probably with good reason. Ryusei knew well enough—especially after last night—that there were things he couldn't handle alone.

There were some things people in a group couldn't handle, either, he corrected himself snidely as he went. And a group carried with it the risk of danger, as when someone was infiltrating the group for the sake of some other secret goal. And failed.

... Nothing he could do about it now.

[forsworn]

[from here; before Claude and Guy pass through]

By the third hallway, Kratos found himself wishing mightily that he still had the use of his wings. He could run fast enough, but flying cut the time down by at least half, and right now, he was in the sort of race that demanded that kind of speed. It wasn't meant to be, though; all he could do was just push his body to its absolute limit and pray that a miracle would occur.

[to here]

[maverickhunterx]

[From here!]

...Usually this was the place where he, Zero, and Harpuia met, right along this hallway and blanketed by darkness.

Darkness.

X flicked on the flashlight and did a quick sweep of the area before turning it off again. Nothing, of course. Zero probably hadn't gotten here yet.

...

Well. No use waiting around. He had to keep moving.

[To here!]