damned_institute | Night 72: Main Hallway, 1-Center

[from here]

Upon reaching the main hallway, Rita immediately spotted Taura. She approached, nodding to acknowledge the other woman, then stopped and glanced around. Wasn’t someone else supposed to be here?

“No sign of the brat, huh.” Goku wasn’t the most reliable companion, and it wouldn’t surprise Rita if he’d gotten distracted and forgot all about their meeting. Still, she really did want some clearer answers about his whereabouts over the last few days, so a part of her hoped he’d show up.

"Did you hear from him today?" Taura had been monitoring the board, and keeping an eye out, but she'd slept more than she'd been awake, and she might have missed a reply.

"And do you think he knows how to work these radios?" Just because he'd been giving them out, didn't mean they could call him and ask. Besides, what would they ask? Are you still alive?

Rita shook her head. "No. I was hoping you did." So neither of them had talked to Goku since last night. That wasn't a good sign. As for whether he'd know how to use the radios... Rita snorted. "I doubt it. He'd probably break it if he tried." Honestly, whoever entrusted those devices to him might as well have strapped them to a rampaging boar.

Well, it looked like they had a few minutes. After a pause, Rita supposed there was something else she could share with Taura. "I got another one of those anonymous notes," she said. "It said to look for the 'lovely lady' who lives on the third floor. I wonder if it means IRIS." Rita didn't know of any other 'ladies' they might find there.

Then they couldn't stay here. Especially not if they were expected. "Nothing. Again. I wonder if whoever's sending them knows you and I are working together."

She peered down the hallway; her eyes were better than almost everyone else here, but they couldn't see something that wasn't there. "We should go," she said, but her voice turned up at the end, making it a question. "We could send him a message? Even if he doesn't know how to reply, he has ears."

She fiddled with the radio, finding the frequency of the one he'd been holding. Assuming he hadn't given that one away, too. She rattled off instructions like orders, and then looked up at Rita and shrugged. "Right? We can't wait all night when we don't even know if he's still here."

Edited 2013-09-01 14:55 (UTC)

"Huh, so you have his number." Rita was impressed that Taura had caught that. It was one of the farthest things from her mind at the time, as the very fact that Goku was alive had been a serious shock. Even now, she found herself entertaining the idea that it had been a hallucination, even if the radio in her own pocket was clear evidence that it couldn't have been.

"Let's just hope he didn't give that one away, too," she mumbled as she gently pushed the doors to the Sun Room open. In the end, she agreed with Taura about moving on. After checking for noise or movement and finding no sign of either, Rita opened the door wider and slipped into the room.

[to here]

[From here]

"You think they put someone else in here tonight?" She peered into the open Sun Room doors, trying to get a view for anyone who might be waiting. There wasn't anyone here more powerful than herself, right? How many abilities could there possibly be that made fighting in the dark even possible?

The closer they got to the Sun Room, the steadier Tsubaki's breathing became. There was no getting around the facts--the Sun Room was an ideal location for brainwashed individuals like Korra. Chances were, if there was something waiting to impede their progress to the library, it would reveal itself in the Sun Room.

"It's possible," she said, tone soft and serious. "Keep your guard up."

Although she took a peek from over Korra, her night eyes weren't so good that she could make out the fine details of the room. Without a better survey of the room, she wasn't sure what to expect.

"You know which room is the library, right? Let's move as quietly as we can and with luck we'll be able to get around any obstacles."

"Yeah. I got it." They could handle it, whatever might be waiting for them in the next room. She'd yet to see Tsubaki fight, but the girl moved like an Airbender, so that could easily have been testament to her skills.

Time to find out.

She rounded the door frame, slipping silently into the Sun Room and assuming Tsubaki would be close behind. She hated all this secrecy, but they had somewhere they needed to be fast.

[To here]

Edited 2013-09-07 01:13 (UTC)

[From here]

Scar peered into the Sun Room as they approached the doors, watching for movement. Last night, that girl with the fire had been stationed in here. Would somebody else be here tonight?

"There was a powerful young woman in here last night. Brainwashed," he warned quietly, not yet wanting to shine his light all around the room just in case.

"This room is often guarded."

Lust sighed softly. As far as she could tell, she could use her talons only three times in a night. She hated to feel so defenseless, but she supposed she should be thankful she had what she did.

"We'll be quiet." Perhaps they could slip through - she'd go first. "Turn off your light, I can see well enough without them. Keep your hand on my shoulder. If something is in there and senses us, at least we can blind it by turning our lights on it."

Scar flicked his light off as soon as she suggested it, frowning as she continued to speak. His mind set to work trying to think of some alternate plan of attack, but could think of none that made more sense. She had superior vision and was more useful in a fight, much to his frustration.

"Fine," he said for what felt like the tenth time that night. Scar's tone made it obvious that he was unhappy with this arrangement, but there was nothing he could argue. His eyes adjusted as well as they could to the darkness, to the point where he could distinguish her silhouette in the hall and the faint light from the Sun Room. Now, he felt vulnerable. His eyes darted around in vain nervousness. He spoke up almost immediately.

"This is a bad idea."

"We can go in side by side, if you'd prefer."

Lust could make that concession. And she could understand his reluctance. There was a need for trust, in placing himself behind her and relying solely on her for guidance and protection. Not something that would be easy for Scar.

"Fine," he said again, still tense as his eyes tried to adjust to the unnatural darkness that settled over the Institute every night.

He looked up at her, or rather, in the general direction of her voice.

"Are you ready?" Scar spoke quietly, hoping they hadn't already alerted whatever may or may not be waiting for them in the Sun Room.

And he was nervous. He had been dead the last time he had allowed himself to be distracted, let his guard down. He doubted Lust was the only thing here that could see through the dark. Anything could sneak up at any given moment.

Lust nodded. And then she moved close and slipped her arm around his, before he could protest or change his mind or attempt to move away. It was simply practical.

"I'm right here." She was as hesitant as he was, though loathe to admit it. She hated the way she could be hurt in this place, and who knew what could be in there? But they hadn't heard the sounds of any altercations...

She put a hand to the door and waited for Scar to follow suit.

Scar shot her a sideways glare, not caring that she wouldn't see it. He growled something inaudible, pushing open the door to the Sun Room. Standing so close made it both easier and more difficult. He knew what not to swing at, but still...

[To here]

Edited 2013-09-13 02:39 (UTC)

[From here.]

Other than a few strangers who were moving down the hall ahead of them, it was relatively quiet. Castiel did catch sight of Lust with a man he didn't recognize, but when he caught sight of his face for a split-second he realized it was the person she'd asked him about before, the one who'd been sick with that illness and had supposedly died.

Then again, judging from the bulletin, the scarred man wasn't the only one who'd come back from death. Castiel wondered what the criteria were for who came back and who stayed dead.

He remained silent for now, waiting for the others to weigh in on the subject of the rebel notes.

"I received a note to the same effect as yours, so it seems that perhaps we'll have to try the radios." Kratos had no idea of who might have gotten a note about disabling the security system, but he did have a few people's numbers, so potentially, he could ask them all and see, if they had the time. "I suspect those would be more secure." Presumably. One could never really know how much Landel knew or heard.

"Regardless, we still have another task to complete, and I think it would be in our best interest to focus on finding the archive for the time being." He looked to the other two, hoping to hear their agreement.

"Do we know if everyone has one?" Lloyd asked, letting his eyes warily scan the hall as they walked. "We only got ours because we went to that toy store. What if there were people who didn't?" He shook his head. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like it would be a better idea to stick with their original plans for tonight. There was too much they just didn't know to make the plans they needed to make. "You're right. I think we should find the archive first. We can find out who we need to make plans with tomorrow."

They passed by the spot where Lloyd and his friends had been attacked that night they'd run into that cat. Lloyd's hand unconsciously tightened its grip on his sword as he tried to peer through the darkened halls. There was no sign of either the monster or the cat, though, and he couldn't hear anything but their footsteps, not even a cat's soft mew. With Landel's warning, though, Lloyd was feeling paranoid. The doctor knew they'd made it to the third floor last night. He had to know they'd try again.

"Hey, Kratos?" He kept his voice low. He didn't want to attract anything's attention if there was anything in the hall. "Do you still have any of your angelic abilities? Can you hear if something's trying to sneak up?" That would make things somewhat easier if it was the case, but after what Landel had done to him, having his Cruxis Crystal replaced, would that affect what he could do?

Castiel had seen the list of radio frequencies being passed around and had copied it down onto a piece of paper, but he hadn't brought that with him. Which meant that it wouldn't do much good at the moment.

It seemed that they'd all decided to focus on the archive for now, though, which meant that contacting any other patients could be set to the side for now. It would be best if they could learn about all the information that was being disseminated through the institute, but Castiel wasn't exactly eager to try and figure out how the radios worked.

He was about to lead them straight into the Sun Room, but then Lloyd spoke up to ask Kratos something. The moment that the word "angelic" came out of the young man's mouth, Castiel tensed up and spun around, sizing up both of them.

Kratos had told him plenty about being a soldier, but this was new. This was... something Castiel should have sensed a long time ago. He narrowed his eyes, peered at Kratos with a look that almost hinted at betrayal. "Angelic abilities?" Maybe it was a specific terminology from their world that wasn't meant to be taken literally. Maybe.

"No, but I do remember a few, and we might as well start somewhere." Kratos was about to try a number when Lloyd suddenly mentioned his second most tightly guarded secret--especially around Castiel, who was probably the last person that needed to know about his pseudo-divinity. It had been in passing, hopefully a word easily missed or glossed over, but no: as if on cue, Castiel abruptly turned around.

Usually, he managed to keep his reactions muted, but this time, Kratos could not help but give Lloyd the dirtiest look he could muster, a glare so venomous that it could have killed. It lasted for only a second, a brief crack in a normally well-maintained poker face, and soon enough, he was impassively meeting Castiel's accusing eyes.

"It's not what you think," he said slowly - cautiously - because even though he was honestly telling the truth, Kratos could tell that he was already walking on thin ice.

The look may have only lasted for a moment, but Lloyd was looking at Kratos when it happened. Every bit of irritation in that look hit him full force, and he took an involuntary step back. Eyes widening, he looked from Kratos to Castiel.

Oh. Damn it. It had been so long since that particular secret had been a secret that he honestly hadn't thought anything about mentioning it - not that he'd really thought at all. Even if he had, Kratos seemed to trust Castiel. It hadn't occurred to him that it could be a problem.

He couldn't take it back now, though. Any lie from him would only make it worse. With a guilty wince, he looked away. Dammit, how could he fix this?

There was only one thing he could think of. He lifted his voice, probably a little too loud. "Oh, uh, hey, I forgot to tell you guys!" Flustered and trying not to act like he was, he stepped right between the two as though obliviously moving on, straight for the doors to the Sun Room. "I- I found out what that arch was in that room last night! It's supposed to tell if we've got metal on us, so we just need to take our metal off!" He stepped through the door, still leading the way.

[To here.]

Edited 2013-09-06 12:42 (UTC)

Night 72: Main Hallway, 1-Center

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