damned_institute | Night 75: Main Hallway, 3-Center

[from here]

It was a hallway similar to the ones on other floors but perhaps even darker. Aigis felt on edge, her heart racing and blood rushing in her ears as she chased as Sechs. She couldn't leave him alone. If he ran into something dangerous...!

"Sechs-san!" Aigis called out to him as she watched him follow after the man who had fallen. But Sechs didn't appear to be attempting to go any further. She wasn't sure if he had been trying to save the man or not but there was nothing either of them could do for him now.

The threat seemed to have disappeared but Aigis still felt nervous. Stepping close to her friend she lowered her Evoker to her side and reached out to him. "Sechs-san?"

The unnatural roaring was fading, replaced by the furious pounding of blood inside Sechs' ear drums. Nothing else reached him, just the sight of the doctor's body below and the overwhelming rage wrecking havoc inside his chest.

He still remembered that night, like it had only just occurred several hours ago. The pain, the hallucinations, the doctor's laughter... "I've done it. I've done it!" reverberated the man's cruel voice, "Now the rest is up to you, AR-6. Prove to me you're not a copy or your own replica will run the show for me. Enjoy fighting yourself for that 'control' you seemed so desperate for!"

Those hated words rang clearer in Sechs' mind than the blaring alarms echoing throughout the institute. He could feel what was left of the doctor's creation squirm feebly inside his vertebrae, as though aware of the passing of its master.

It was over.

Bowing his head, Sechs gripped tightly onto the rail with his hand, pressing his forehead upon it as he clenched his teeth against the cry of rage which threatened to escape his throat. He knew he had won against the doctor's experiment, he was no copy, he was truly in control of himself...

...But his nameless foe was never going to know that now.

Finally, a new voice pierced through the fog of Sechs' loss. He lifted his head to find Aigis, reaching out to him as though to pull him back from his past and back to the present. He was brought back to his senses then and he quickly realized who he had just left behind in his fury.

"Aigis...!" Sechs tore his eyes away from the doctor's crumpled form and stepped away from the railing. "I..." He tried to explain, but his words fell along with his haunted gaze. Not only had he lost his vengeance, but he had risked the safety of his companions as well. All his rage had suddenly drained out of his chest and sank to the pit of his stomach in a nauseating knot. He couldn't tell if he was hollow or about to explode with another wave of uncontrollable emotions.

"The man who fell..." Sechs muttered, "He used me in his sick experiment and..." He fell into bitter silence for a moment, turning his eyes away from the balcony and Aigis. "He's gone now, and he took my chance for revenge along with him."

Taura stepped out of the door a few minutes later, holding a small device in her hands.

"Someone once told me the best revenge is outliving the enemy." That hadn't been what Admiral Naismith had said at all, really, but she'd started to realize how his genius worked. He said what people needed to hear; what would point them in the right direction, and stood back. Sechs was aimed at a man who was dead or on his way there; lying unconscious in a building filled with flesh-eating monsters was more pleasant a way to die than being conscious, but she wasn't picky. Now she just had to pass that on to Sechs.

She held up the device; it had a single, obvious button. "Now all we have to do is find Landel. I doubt he'll let us in if we just knock on the door."

Her hand alighted on his arm and she felt the tension dispel along with his anger. There was some relief to be had in that but Aigis also wondered if maybe something else was lost along the way, too.

"There is still plenty of chance for revenge," Aigis said after a moment's pause. After all, even the doctors that had tortured them were mere pawns in this game.

Taura had her own words of advice to offer and, to an extent, Aigis could agree with them. As with Ikutsuki she and her friends had lived on to tackle a new day and the true enemy. They couldn't get back what time was stolen from them through his hands but they could certainly do better if they continued to look forward. It was better than living one's life as a slave to pure self-loathing and helplessness.

Aigis eyed the object and took note of its simplicity. She wondered how such a device had been crafted. Could they really trust it to do what it was supposed to? It was their only hope, nonetheless.

"Come," she said, tugging gently on Sechs' sleeve. "Let us rid ourselves of the true enemy here."

Outliving the enemy...

Sechs' gaze slowly lifted up from the floor. He glanced between Aigis and Taura, his yellow eyes glowing amidst the crimson shadow hiding his face. For a moment he still appeared strained as he took in his friend's words. Reluctantly, he took one more glance over the balcony rail to stare down the fallen body of his enemy. A part of him still wanted revenge, even if it meant beating up a body that was already long dead. But another part of him knew better than that...

"You're right," Sechs finally replied, his face now resolute and calm, no longer blinded by rage. "He can't torture anybody else now."

As though a very painful chapter in his life had finally reached closure, his beastly posture relaxed and he straightened up as the focused warrior he was needed to be. Aigis was right as well; the true enemy was Landel. If it hadn't been for him and his institute, that doctor would not have had such freedom to torture others in the name of his so-called "science" in the first place.

Standing by Aigis, Sechs appraised the unexpectedly simple device in Taura's hand. Strange... Could something like that really stop Landel? Then again, he had just witnessed a giant roaring balloon float around and kill a man, so anything could happen in Landel's institute...

"Yeah... But where do we start looking for him?" Sechs said as he followed Aigis' guiding hold upon his sleeve. He glanced around the area, alert for danger once more.

Speaking of dangers...

"I wouldn't suggest going down that hallway..." he added, gesturing towards the aforementioned corridor. "The... thing that just killed that doctor went that way..."

Sechs didn't bother explaining just what that thing was to his companions. He himself still couldn't totally wrap his brain around what he had just witnessed anyways! Long as they didn't run into it again, they didn't have to know.

When Sechs relaxed, Taura let out a sigh of relief. He'd worked himself into a frenzy, and she hadn't been entirely sure he wasn't about to go berserk; he could have killed them all while they were so close to victory.

Nor had she wanted him to attract the attention of anything roaming the building. She hadn't quite been able to see the attack from cover, and so she hadn't been able to tell exactly what had induced the doctor to take a three-story jump rather than face it, but it could have some sort of psychic effect. Sechs was too calm, now, the sort that meant this business wasn't over, merely waiting; the wounds ran deep, and would take years to heal. She'd been lucky to have enough time for hers to mend, but that hadn't made them easy years. Landel knew their weaknesses; he struck where their armor was thinnest, and she didn't have to know where those points were for Sechs to know he'd done it.

Taura pulled the map back out, and spread it across the balcony. The crumpled form below was still visible, but it wasn't her nightmare made real.

Except that the entire Institute kinda was. But here she was; Bharaputra's super-soldier project a hidden boondogle, and Ryoval's collection destroyed with the touch of a button. She'd made a career of helping history repeat itself with the Dendarii before even becoming a recruit. And a bit more, since. Time to do it again.

She pointed to the big space just north of them. "I think he's here. Don't suppose we can just knock on the door, though."

Edited 2014-09-22 01:42 (UTC)

It was time to plan. Aigis was hardly creative but she was excellent at execution once she was given a task. Moving close, she peered over the map then turned her eyes back up to Sechs and Taura.

"Athena can do more than just knock." The Persona was a veritable tank when called upon. She could knock down a few walls in their way. "I have more fear of running into guardsmen. I would not wish for us to run out of steam before we can locate our target."

Yes, Landel was no longer just a manifestation of fear and rage. He was a target. And they were so close to him even as he was still spaces away.

It was true that the pain remained. Closure didn't always lead to spontaneous healing, it just meant that the wound had finally gotten the right treatment it needed, and not just some superficial bandage to cover it up only to be ripped off over and over again...

While the chapter of the nameless doctor was over, the entire story of the institute itself was still open. Sechs' eyes followed Taura's hand, finding a pair of ornate doors which stood out too conspicuously amongst the rest of the building to be just another doctor's office. The placement of the doors was central to the entire area and conveniently placed before the balcony for the owner to look over his domain. There was no sign of heavy security in the form of metal or artillery, but with the third floor having been tightly out of bounds for so long, there likely wasn't too much concern about securing such an important entrance. It all made sense, he couldn't imagine those doors leading to somewhere else! The more Sechs glared at those doors, the more he could feel his instincts burning, his adrenaline pumping... If those doors did lead to Landel, would they also bring about the end of their nightmarish story as well?

"I could bring the doors down to the molecular level with one touch of Hertza Haeon..." Sechs said, taking a few steps towards the stately entry. "But I can't risk trying that when my powers still don't work here. Hell, even if we do get through those doors, do we even have what it takes to go against whatever is in store there?"

As long as Landel was in power, they would always be at a disadvantage...

Returning his gaze back to Taura, Sechs gestured to the unassuming object in her hand. "That device... Did they tell you exactly how to use it?"

Aigis was right; they'd come a long way tonight, and could run out of time at any moment. And while the staff usually left their toys alone, there might not be any staff left; there was no going back from here. In a way, it was relaxing.

In another, it was terrifying. It made her feel alive, awake.

Taura nodded, a single swift bob of her head. She held the device out, and repeated the instructions she'd been given. It would take down his defenses, she explained. The button was obvious, and all they needed to do was get it close enough to Landel and push.

Find the bastard, and push a tiny little button. And be ready; while it would take down his impregnable defense, he hadn't survived this long by only having one plan; the coup and re-coup had proven that. They needed to put him down for good.

Behind the doors? Other than Landel and a few of the other horrors she was aware of, Aigis couldn't imagine there being something they couldn't handle. Even if it was a bit much... "Well, Athena does have healing properties. But... as you said, without my full potential her abilities are hardly even half-fold."

Aigis breathed deeply as she gazed down at the Evoker in her hands. Minato...

She looked up to Taura again. "I suppose I should refrain, then. Hold back on Athena in case we need a quick patch up." She bit her lip and glanced over at Sechs. "I am sorry, but that would mean I should take a backseat in any battles that occur. I can fight with my claws, however I am no nearly as skilled with them as I wish I could be."

"Now don't talk like that," Sechs replied, "You're a great fighter! We just need a good confidence boost..."

As he said that, Sechs approached the doors with his gun held tight and ready to fire; even though that strange balloon was gone, Sechs couldn't let his guard down in case it returned or was replaced by another monstrosity. Once he was but a foot from the pivotal entrance, Sechs gestured for the others to follow him. He glared at the doors, unable to believe that those two slabs of wood was all that stood between him and Landel...

"Just how close do we need to be 'round Landel for the device to work?" Sechs questioned, glancing over his shoulder at Taura. "We're as close as we can get now." Placing his hand on the door, Sechs could only imagine using Hertza Haeon to bring the whole thing down. "Try activating it now. If it doesn't work, then we'll just have to barge our way in and use the device right in the bastard's face! Powers or no powers!"

Sechs said what Taura had been hesitating to; they weren't going to get any closer. Especially not with Sechs hurt, and Aigis unable to fight well without whatever her native abilities -- and body -- were.

"I'm not sure, but you're right. Either we're close enough, or..." Her voice trailed off -- not so much delicately as ominously, and she winced. "Yeah."

She took a deep breath and stood up straight, all six and a half feet of her borrowed body pointed straight at where every power-hungry egotist would put their chair to intimidate people entering, and smiled. She wasn't good with words, but perhaps she could borrow a few for the occasion.

"Let's see what happens," she growled, and pressed the button.

Sechs was being encouraging, Taura was hesitating but hardly ready to back down. Aigis still teetered on indecision. But it was true. They would never be any closer to Martin Landel as they were now and they couldn't hold out that they would ever see a night as auspicious as this. So she stepped forward, joining her two friends at the door and waited as she watched Taura depress the button.

The change was sudden and Aigis heard it, a slight sound from beyond the door. A cry, of shock or pain? And then the sudden feeling that Aigis had been hit in the gut. Sparks filtered through her sight and a gasp caught in her throat.

For a second she staggered, her hand instinctively reaching out to Sechs' arm to help steady herself. Then the mind blowing understanding nearly had her on her knees, already tears beginning to flee down her cheeks.

"A... Athena has..." And a sob left her, squelched by the hand that she placed over her mouth. She had never considered herself emotional, even here she rarely got like this. But neither had the feeling of her long lost Persona been so poignant and fresh since waking up in that bed days and days ago.

Sechs heard the sound beyond the door as well. It was but a short sample of another voice Sechs could never forget. "Was that Lan-"

But an unseen force knocked the wind out of Sechs' chest and extinguished his words like a candle in the midst of a storm. If Sechs hadn't propped his hand against the door he would have stumbled over from what felt like a nuclear-powered train flying past him! Sechs barely had time to react, he could only double over and lean into the door as the sensation of this invisible sandstorm blasted through his very being. Feeling Aigis' hand upon his arm, Sechs steadied his posture, awaiting whatever attack was bound to befall them--

Yet no ambush or harm came. Instead that same ethereal air which had threatened to rip them apart just seconds ago returned to fill them up instead, like a life-saving breath of air mere moments from drowning. Gasping, Sechs staggered away from the door and pressed his hand against his head, furiously blinking the stars out of his eyes. "The hell...?!"

Before he could fully grasp what had just happened, Sechs was alerted to Aigis' fall. Worried that she had been harmed, Sechs stooped down close to her, allowing her to keep a hold on his arm for support. At first he didn't understand her words or the sudden emergence of her tears, but his confusion was quickly alleviated by the familiar sensation of being recharged for another battle at the Z.O.T.T...

"My powers...!" Sechs cried, "Th-they're back! I can feel them more than I did back at Farwell!" Looking down at his arm with rejuvenated confidence, Sechs clenched his trembling hand into a steady fist. The Replica's eyes brightened at this realization and his lips curled into a wild grin. Before he could only vainly imagine performing a simple Panzer Kunst technique, now he knew he could pull off any skill his biological body could handle! That alone was more than enough to give his shaky fortitude the ultimate boost he needed!

The change, as it swept over Taura, was less than it had been with her friends. She was fast, and strong, and tall -- she was faster, stronger, and precisely the same height she'd been a moment ago. But she gasped in a breath -- decompression was a regular terror if you lived in space, and the effect had unnerved her.

She closed her eyes for a second, and took another few breaths. She felt a little more like herself; much more so than she had in Farwell. And she offered one last silent apology to whoever Katherine Jackson might be, if she was ever anyone at all. She risked her own short lifespan every day with the Dendarii, but risking someone else's was a heavy burden. She thought her other self would agree on this one, though.

"Me too," was all she said. Sechs and Aigis were nearly glowing with joy; she mirrored it with a toothy grin.

Now they just needed to get through one flimsy door and they could see if the rest of the promised effect had worked.

The phenomena extended beyond herself it seemed and yet it had come without an explosion or din. Subtle, moreso than Aigis would have believed possible for such an occurrence. But here it was, and while she was still in this faux human body she was no longer lacking the power that had once been trapped within her. Athena was at her fingertips, awaiting and eager for her call.

The Evoker in her hand was unnecessary now. However, as gratifying as tossing it aside might be she instead replaced it into her pocket. That movement in itself was cathartic in its own way.

"Well then..." A buzz of excitement tickled along her spine and settled somewhere in her stomach; now was the time. She looked between Sechs and Taura before returning her gaze to the door. "Together then? On the count of three. One..."

Sechs didn't require an explanation for what Aigis meant with her countdown. He knew what was to be done now and he couldn't have been any more thrilled to do so.

Eyes glinting with revitalized confidence, Sechs stood up to face the door by his companion's side, ready to strike down their final obstacle at once together. With his right hand firmly gripping his pistol, Sechs concentrated his energy into his left arm, reciting the muscular tensions required to trigger off a Hertza Haeon attack. It felt like ages since he last could perform this attack; he still remembered the painful repercussions of failing the technique in a human body, but this time he had no reason to fear, it was now just a matter of falling back into the habit with no hesitation.

When it was his turn to countdown, Sechs' arm was shivering with destructive energy, ready to send deadly oscillations out through his fingertips and into the door's very molecular structure. If blunt force wasn't enough to bring the door down, Sechs' Hertza Haeon strike was bound to destroy any reinforced support it may have.

Following Aigis' lead with his power ready to burst from his hand, Sechs drew his arm back and readied it for his attack. "Two...!"

Taura had no special powers -- her muscles were quivering with nothing more than good old-fashioned adrenaline, but there was certainly plenty of it.

"Three," she hissed, and they leapt forward, all as one.

The doors creaked, and jolted inwards a few millimeters; it was not the odd dullness many of the doors in the Institute had. Nor had it opened, and Taura bounced back, ready to try again.

A crackle of breaking glass signified the appearance of Athena upon the final number. Although she was now more solid-looking than ever before her attacks were safe enough to aim even with friends nearby; she never dealt out collateral damage.

The Persona rushed forward, brandishing her shield and lance with a mechanical whirl. Once, twice she hit at the door, each with a loud splintering sound accompanying it. The wood buckled, some flaking off from the blows, but the hinges still held, albeit precariously.

With each assault the wooden shell of the doors splintered off like scales shedding off a great beast's hide, revealing a rectangular skeleton of strong metal supports inside. Sechs sneered, unsurprised by this extra layer of security beneath such an opulent surface. Both Taura's and Athena's strength combined together into an impressive strike against the door, exposing its steely hinges for their final attack.

"Hertza Haeon!"

Sechs slammed his hand flat against the dented metal, releasing all the stored energy from his muscles into the door's steal frame. To an outsider unaware of the mechanics behind Panzer Kunst, nothing out of the ordinary seemed to be happening; but to the trained cyborg eye, Sechs was manipulating oscillations by the millions into the door's alloy matter, focusing them to remain in the metal and safely away from his friends. The attack invaded its target like a sub-atomic quake, ripping through particles and destabilizing the door's molecular make-up. Within seconds there was a low hum emanating from Sechs' hand, then the sound quickly intensified into an audible rumble which could be felt by others nearby. Then an erratic shudder possessed the metal supports, shaking them furiously against their hinges. Another second later and deep cracks grew throughout the frames like fast-spreading vines until--

Ker-CRACK!

The metal frame and hinges collapsed down on themselves like loose chunks of ice slipping away from a melting glacier. The tangible hum ceased instantly, replaced by the deafening clanging of metal debris falling harmlessly upon the carpeted floor. Whatever wooden part of the door was left joined the fallen hinges with numerous dull thuds.

At last, with nothing but a pile of splintered wreckage to protect it, the entryway to Landel's coveted office was now open to all.

Night 75: Main Hallway, 3-Center

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