Night 72: Sun Room

[overlimit]

[from here]

Rita's luck had seen some improvement over the past few nights. After a long string of obstructions and disasters, she'd had some smooth progress. She just hoped that lucky streak was going to hold, and that nothing was going to interrupt her this time, either.

Not wanting to push her luck, she broke into a run soon after entering the room, making a beeline for the Library doors. She could trust that Taura wouldn't be far behind.

Comments

SC Thread

[fullmetalheart]

Ed's orders were clear: Keep the crazy people from getting any further than the Sun Room and make them go back to their rooms. Failing that, take them down any way he can without killing them. Not that he'd do the latter anyway.

He prowled the room to check where the best materials for transmutations were, for if he happened to get near them during the course of a fight. His check for materials done, his prowling turned into patrolling although his routes were mainly near the main entrance to the Sun Room since that was the most likely point of entry for intruders.

During the course of his prowling, his bright red coat, white gloves, and blond hair made it relatively easy to pick him out quickly, even in the low lighting provided by the moon through the skylights.

[This is an SC thread. Tag here for your pup's fellow patient trying to kick his/her ass.]

[ninelivesonce]

Of course she'd gotten the number. Eidetic memories were one of the easier line-items on her design sheet. Not that they'd ever told her that, but she and her siblings had breezed through those tests and the researchers hadn't bothered to hide their boredom. It did come in handy, though.

Taura was right behind Rita, and they slipped quietly through the room. A flash of color caught her eye, and she glanced to the side -- there was someone walking across the center of the room, not trying to hide himself at all. She set a gentle hand -- the one not holding the stunner -- on Rita's shoulder and urged her forward silently. Whoever it was, he wasn't trying to hide, but they were.

[overlimit]

As she zig-zagged around the furniture, Rita caught a glimpse of someone standing in the moonlight. The realization caused her breathing to stop for a moment, as she also realized she'd probably already made enough noise to alert the room's guard. Whoever he was (he looked human - maybe a patient?), he wasn't going to stay still for long.

She felt Taura's hand on her shoulder, and knew immediately that she saw it too. The meaning behind the gesture was also clear: just keep running. Rita did. She ran, vaulted over the corner of a sofa, and dove at the Library door, hastily opening it and throwing herself inside.

[to here!]

[fullmetalheart]

Ed whirled around when he heard them, just in time to watch two figures throw themselves through the door, resulting in him swearing long and loud. It just figured that during the ten or fifteen seconds he was looking at another part of the room that someone would get through.

He growled to himself and started pacing the room closer to the main entrance to ensure that he'd see the next one. His first chance to do his duty and he botched it. He didn't intend to fail through inattention again.

[rebonding]

[From here]

Korra nearly crashed head-long into Edward as she entered the Sun Room.

"Hey, you're that guy-!" But was he? He was in weird clothes, which could very well mean...

She backed away as soon as it clicked, eyes narrowed and ready for a fight.

[thecamellia]

Shoot.

Under ideal circumstances, they should have had the time and means to learn the lay of the room before running headlong into trouble, but not this time. Bad move. Not to mention, it put them in a bad position, tactically. Tsubaki should have guessed that rushing around would lead to something like this!

But she had also been partnered with Black#&9734;Star for so long that finding trouble around every corner was almost an old habit by now, and she didn't so much as pause upon seeing the young man positioned inside, and she pulled out from behind Korra to keep her line of vision clear. Everything screamed aggression just as it had with Korra the previous night, but once Korra stopped in surprise, she couldn't very well leave without her.

"Korra-san, watch it!"

You didn't see that.

[fullmetalheart]

"Go back to your rooms. Only warning," Ed warned as he tensed to fight.

He didn't really expect them to listen to him although it would be nice. But the way they're reacting is giving him the feeling that he'll actually have to do some work.

nope nope

[rebonding]

"No can do, short stuff." Any uncertainty Korra had about attacking Edward was pushed away with the knowledge that he hadn't hesitated to take her on last night. Besides, a little air never killed anyone.

Swinging once again inexpertly at the air, she implemented the only element she could against Edward. She could feel the limitations, but it was no worse that being limited to quick water whips in probending matches. No problem. A compressed wind, which she knew both Tsubaki and Ed would recognize by now, was sent flying in Ed's direction.

They could make a break for it, yeah. But before she turned tail and sprinted for the library, Korra wanted to know what Edward was capable of without limiters placed on him. Running could end badly at this point.

Nobody saw my html fail in my last post, either.

[thecamellia]

They had only two choices: run for the library and hope for the best, or challenge the Sun Room's guard. Going back to their rooms wasn't an option, no matter what.

Korra made their decision for them the moment she struck, and Tsubaki bent her knees in anticipation of the retaliation to come. If they fought, then she had to defend Korra as best she could. That was her only choice.

[fullmetalheart]

Ed's temper snaps. "WHO DID YOU SAY IS TOO SHORT TO BE AN EFFECTIVE GUARD?!"

He dodges to the side to avoid Korra's attack, staggering a bit as it partly catches him and claps his hands together before kneeling and slamming them against the floor, making a pillar like projections go towards her to knock her off her feet.

Of course not, Shira.

[rebonding]

Korra was so caught off guard by Edward's outburst that she didn't move to dodge his attack in time. Was he really that touchy? Would it make him a better fighter...? Or a worse one? Time to find out.

The carpet covering the floor was, unfortunately, unbendable. She was stuck with Air and, if things got really nasty, Fire. What confused her, however, was how Ed had been able to move the floor like that... It wasn't bending. It seemed to require him clapping first, then touching the object in question...

Knocked into the air by the floor, Korra landed clumsily on a bent air cushion. Would it be better to fight him head-on? He had that metal attachment on his arm... The painful bruise on her arm wasn't going to forget let her forget that anytime soon. But she'd just have to take the risk. Korra began to run straight for Ed, light on her feet and ready to dodge whatever came her way next.

They were going to have to make a run for it, she fully realized.

:'D

[thecamellia]

What sudden anger! As she jumped around a chair to flank the stranger, Tsubaki realized a quick temper combined with the stranger's full skill set might prove to be a seriously dangerous combination for the two of them. A brainwashed prisoner didn't know what they were doing to begin with, and who was to say what the boy was capable of?

He certainly had some kind of ability that went beyond the purely physical. The clap of his hands was loud and ominous in the dark space.

"Look out!"

A tingle of energy was all the warning she got before he was attacking Korra from afar. This wasn't good at all! But if there was an opening, if she could restrain him before Korra took a direct hit... Grabbing the end of her ponytail, Tsubaki pulled her hand down, down the length of her hair... then even further down as a chain began to grow from the end of her ponytail, lit up with a soft, gold glow. Attached to that chain was a scythe, which Tsubaki snatched from the air in the fading light.

Like a whip, the chain lashed out for the right side of Ed's body, moving with a mind of its own to tangle about any limbs it should touch.

Posting order: Lloyd, Ed, Castiel, Kratos?

[redcladidealist]

[From here.]

A raised voice just outside the Sun Room was probably enough to warn Ed that someone was coming just before Lloyd stepped in. Still caught up in his attempt to distract Castiel from what he'd said, it took Lloyd a moment to realize that there was someone else there in the room. The teen blinked in surprise when his flashlight caught the highlights of Ed's blond hair. Recognition dawned, and he forgot what he'd been about to say. He lifted his hand holding the flashlight in greeting.

"Oh. Hey, Ed. I didn't think I'd run into you here."

Sounds Good.

[fullmetalheart]

Unfortunately for Lloyd, he showed up after two different groups got past Ed. So he's not exactly in the best of moods.

"What are you doing here?" Ed snapped as he looked past him to see how many others were with him. He knew Lloyd had to be talking to someone. At the moment, he's hoping the group isn't too big. That would make chasing them off tricky.

[freewill]

It's not what you think, Kratos said. Castiel was going to need more of an explanation than that. He hadn't missed the look that Kratos had given Lloyd, one of pure irritation that he had let that detail slip. If anything, that made it worse, because it made it crystal clear that Kratos had been trying to keep this secret from him.

And for what purpose? Kratos already knew what Castiel was, so why would he need to hide his own nature? There had to be something more to all of this, but Castiel wasn't given much opportunity to ask about it, not when Lloyd barreled ahead after explaining the trick behind that one room to them.

They couldn't have metal on them when walking through that arch? It was a strange concept, but Castiel assumed it was for instances where humans wanted to prevent people from taking a weapon into a particular place.

It was something they would have to test for themselves. Castiel followed after Lloyd, stopping in his tracks when they encountered another patient who Lloyd seemed to know. Automatically, Castiel sent a glance in Kratos' direction. What was this all about?

[forsworn]

Properly chagrined, Lloyd had taken it upon himself to change the topic to something he thought would properly distract them, and for a second, Kratos was: they needed to take off anything metallic to pass through the arch? That...he thought about the number of buckles holding together the outer shell of his uniform and sighed inwardly. No use in complaining about it, though: if Lloyd's information was correct, he had a choice between partially undressing and receiving an electric shock, and it didn't take a genius to recognize which one would be more inconvenient.

They entered the Sun Room and were immediately met by a short, ornery blond that seemed to be an acquaintance of Lloyd's. As the two talked, Kratos exchanged glances with Castiel. While their initial exchange seemed innocuous, his instincts were telling him otherwise, especially given what room they were in and what often transpired here during the night.

"A friend of yours?" he asked Lloyd, all the while preparing to bolt at the first sign of aggression.

[redcladidealist]

Ed's presence was enough that Lloyd was no longer thinking about the metal detector or what passing through it might entail. He blinked at the question, taken aback by the blond's irate tone. Had something happened before they got here?

"Yeah," he said in response to Kratos's question first. "This is Edward Elric. Ed, this is Kratos and Castiel. We're heading to the third floor. Why? Is something wrong?" Something did feel wrong, and it took him a moment to pin it down. He glanced around the room, brow furrowing. "Hey, where's Al?" He'd always seen the brothers together at night. The fact that Al wasn't here was a little odd.

[fullmetalheart]

Ed scowled at him. "What's wrong is that people aren't staying in their rooms like they're supposed to!"

He ignored the question about his brother. It wasn't relevant. What was relevant was getting people back to their rooms. Or taking them down if they weren't cooperative.

[freewill]

It didn't take long to determine that this Edward was not a friend, at least not for the duration of this night. Castiel had heard that sort of language before, and it always meant that the person in question was under the institute's brainwashing.

This wasn't good. They couldn't afford to be held up again, but Castiel felt that there might still be a chance to get away from the young man. His skillset was unknown, which made it difficult to know how to best proceed, but the library door was so close...

Castiel looked back to Kratos and made a tiny motion with his head toward said door. He wasn't usually one to flee, but this wasn't something they had time for.

[forsworn]

Ah, there they were, the magic words. Just as Kratos had suspected, "Edward" had been picked for Special Counseling - which meant that they had precious little time before he finally made his move and attacked them under the pretense of driving them out of the Sun Room.

He looked at Castiel and nodded. The library was close, and the door was also open; if they ran now, they could possibly make it. The only problem now was Lloyd...

He spared his son a glance as well and made his decision in an instant. Clearly, Lloyd's instincts were not likewise screaming danger, and it would take time they didn't have to convince him otherwise - and alert Ed to their intentions. The only solution, then, was to forcibly move Lloyd regardless of whether he understood.

"What a shame," he said brusquely. "Excuse us." Grabbing Lloyd by the arm, Kratos ran for the library door.

[redcladidealist]

Something was wrong. Lloyd knew that much, but that didn't mean he was prepared to have Kratos grab his arm and physically haul him off. "Wha- Hey! Let go!" He stumbled, his first instinct to twist his arm and resist. "Kratos, what are you- It's just Ed!"

Still struggling to keep his balance with Kratos pulling on him, he threw a look back at his friend. Something wasn't right, but why would Kratos and Castiel be reacting this way? "Ed, what's going on?!"

[fullmetalheart]

Rather than answer, Ed clapped his hands together before kneeling to use alchemy to make a wall shoot up to block the doorway to the library. While he wasn't fast enough to keep Castiel and Kratos from vanishing into the library, it did stop Lloyd.

Then he rose to his feet and charged Lloyd with a snarl, clapping his hands together and forming his arm-blade. Since they were all obviously uncooperative, he wanted to take down the one he could fast and hard. Maybe it'll help assuage the frustration of the night.

[forsworn]

Lloyd was protesting, but there was no stopping now. They were almost to the library, just a few steps away; in fact, Castiel had already gone through, and Kratos had a foot through the door himself when suddenly, the floor shot up, knocking his hand away from Lloyd's arm. Freed abruptly from the added weight, Kratos stumbled forward, but swiftly caught himself and pivoted just in time to see the newly-formed wall slam into the ceiling, neatly dividing their group in twain.

Lloyd was capable of handling himself, he knew that. Unfortunately, after everything that had happened, from experimentation to even the previous night's episode with the metal detector, Kratos's fear of losing his son had slowly grown to the point where, if provoked, very little could defeat it, not even reason.

"Lloyd!" He took one step toward the door, then another, and then suddenly, he was sprinting, throwing his weight against the wall as if to shatter it. "Lloyd!" Naturally, the wall refused to budge, and Kratos was left, head bowed, to try to convince himself that this wasn't his fault - and more importantly, that Lloyd would be alright.

And then the world began to spin again, his vision blurring and his heartbeat beginning to pound relentlessly in his ears as the Exsphere wasted no time in taking advantage of its host's sudden (and prolonged) emotional turmoil. Kratos squeezed his eyes shut and tried to force his body to cooperate, but the air around him was growing heavier by the second, the amount of mana so high, so stifling that it was visible, a cloud of brilliant blue shards flickering in and out of existence as they struggled to coalesce into the individual segments of his wings.

[freewill]

Castiel found it efficient that instead of trying to explain anything, Kratos simply dragged Lloyd along with him. There wasn't time for anything else -- if need be, they could go over it all when they reached the library. He still needed to find out what these "angelic abilities" of Kratos' really were.

He hadn't been prepared for a wall to shoot up from the ground a good ten feet, erecting a solid barrier between them and Lloyd. Castiel paused and spun around as he reached the library door, watching as Kratos tried to ram the wall. But it was thick concrete and there would be no way for them to breach it, not with their powers so limited.

And yet again, Kratos was overcome with a need to protect Lloyd. It was only when the younger man called back to him from the other side that Castiel finally understood: they were father and son.

That meant it would be even more difficult for Kratos to leave Lloyd behind, but there was no other option. Castiel noticed the shining particles that were starting to form around Kratos' back then, and while he had no idea what they were and couldn't properly sense them, he could see that Kratos seemed to have weakened somehow.

Not willing to wait any longer, Castiel moved back over to Kratos, grabbing him by the back of his collar to turn him around and then tugging him into the library by the crook of his elbow.

[To here.]

[redcladidealist]

Lloyd never had a chance. Since when do walls shoot up out of the floor?! The solid concrete slammed up between him and his father, breaking Kratos's hold on his arm before Lloyd could so much as give a panicked yelp. "Dad!" The word escaped from his mouth without thought. He tried to gather himself to jump, but it was too late. The wall hit the ceiling, cutting him off.

Unfortunately, he didn't have time to process even that. Ed was already attacking, his blade (where had that come from?!) slicing through the air straight for Lloyd. The teen threw himself to the side, barely dodging the thing. "Ed! What the hell are you doing!?"