Nightshift 23: Second Floor, hallway containing disciplinary therapy rooms and nurse station

[part1of3.livejournal.com]

[From here!]

The lock to the smaller hallway's door had burst. The door had slammed open. And Ashton had crept in, signaling to Xigbar and Naminé behind him with the end of a long metal ladle, gripping the other one tightly, ready to attack with his makeshift weapons if need be.

He didn't see anything yet, but that didn't mean that something wasn't lying in wait just behind the corner. It was dark, after all, and he'd just made enough noise to probably stir whatever was in here waiting for them. Anticipation crawled up his spine.. it'd only been two days since he'd been in a real, proper, honest-to-Tria fight, but was he ever ready for it.

He was ready to save his roommate from his terrible fate.

He was ready to be a hero again - not for the fate of the entire universe, but for one man. Granted, there were other people who had been taken tonight for the Institute's plans, and Ashton would help save them if he could.. but he had one priority right now. He'd save the eighth member of this elusive (yet ever-present) Organization, and he'd get him safely back to their room.

Now where the heck were they keeping the man?

Comments

[damned-nurses.livejournal.com]

To most, Ashton's actions were nothing short of noble, but it would have wise if the swordsman switched his priorities for the time being. If he knew what was good for him anyway.

The shine of the flashlight had caused more harm than good at the moment, revealing the brunet to whatever stood on the other side of the hallway. It took a few moments, but it finally revealed itself, the creature... not as grotesque as one would've predicted these abominations being. In fact, this person almost looked like a normal human being. She was a woman in what looked to be her late twenties, wearing the same uniform as the nurses that worked the dayshift. However, there was something wrong about the way she looked up at Ashton, smile as fake and empty as ever.

The Nurse didn't move from her spot, but the sudden rattling of chains behind her was enough to make it clear that she wasn't the only one there. It wasn't before long when the second figure revealed itself, practically towering over the women as it drew closer. It looked to be far more inhuman, bloody scrubs with decayed skin, its entire head shrouded by the darkness of the hallway. The creature had a long chain tight in its grip, perfectly still as if waiting for some kind of signal to strike.

And so the signal came. The nurse raised her finger, wagging it at Ashton as if scolding him for even thinking about setting foot out his room before stopping and pointing it straight at him.

And just like that the Orderly rushed forward, raising its arm into the air and swinging the chain at its victim.

[piously.livejournal.com]

[angels-inflight.livejournal.com]

Naminé saw them - two, three figures? She turned to the sound of the scraping of chains and she immediately began to back away. She had never seen a creature like that before. It looked male, but there was a nurse behind it's actions. Beside them, a woman. Naminé knew she had to be an enemy, for she was not dressed like the patients. Was she controlling the monsters? Naminé wanted to shine her light upon the woman to get a glimpse at her face, but decided against it. It almost seemed like the woman was ignoring them...

The scrape of chains alerted her and Naminé instinctevly backed away, almost going back out of the hall. She had to go and get help. There was no way Ashton and Xigbar would be able to handle this creature on their own, especially if the nurse was going to step in for round 2.

[numberii.livejournal.com]

There was very little time to think. Which was fine, because Xigbar tended to fight mostly by instinct anyway. If he fought hard enough, sooner or later he'd take care of the whole problem. That was just how things were, really.

"Namine, skedaddle out of here! And Ashton, keep tall and gruesome occupied if you can; I'm going after the brains of the outfit."

With that he broke to the left and began running past the solitary confinement rooms, hoping that the orderly would be too busy with Ashton to do anything about it. And if he could handle the human-looking chick, then that'd make things a whole lot easier. The big guy looked strong but dumb; that'd make him easy to take down if he couldn't think for himself.

As for the other person? Heck if Xigbar cared for her; if she caused a problem she'd get a pen to the eye. Otherwise he had bigger things to worry about.

[damn-legends.livejournal.com]

[[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/99440.html?thread=6148976#t6148976).]]

Snake charged through a door with broken hinges without even pausing to ask how, and panted as he flattened himself against the wall around the corner from the door, out of sight from that crazy woman, catching his breath. He noticed with a great deal of displeasure that it didn't take him as long as usual to do so - must be the quitting. If he didn't get his hands on a packet of cigarettes soon he'd be positively free of the addiction and he'd never again know the feeling of pleasure you got when you'd been denying yourself a cigarette for just a few hours too long and then you finally had one and life was just completely perfect. Bliss.

Recovered, he stared around. This was the hallway. This was the hallway where Axel was being kept. Behind one of those doors, and yet -

- what the hell was that?! A little child and a lurching thing, all chains and dead eyes.

He smirked. He was seeing a lot of action tonight. This was their battlefield, but when wasn't it?

[angels-inflight.livejournal.com]

The moment the battle started, Naminé knew she had to leave, and leave she did. But her escape was thwarted when the little girl (it was a little girl! Naminé was not used to seeing others younger than her and it was a bit surprising to hear the girl's voice) called out her name and the hallway doors closed in response, suddenly locking her in the hallway.

No... No! Naminé panicked for a short moment, not expecting there to be a sudden intrusion. Would she have to fight? The girl was standing now, but she was still on the opposite side of the room. Naminé clutched onto her flashlights, the only defense she had against the monsters in the room.

But before Naminé could react properly, the door burst open again, almost hitting her. A man barged in; was he a friend? He was wearing the Landel's uniform and Naminé did not know if he was supposed to be here for Axel or if he was with someone else, but it was reassuring enough for her.

The Witch almost stopped to thank the strange man who had just freed her from possible death, but there was no time for that. Instead, Naminé backed out, barely out of the room and watching. Her job was simply to stay away for now.

[piously.livejournal.com]

[damn-legends.livejournal.com]

"David?" Snake repeated, hands tightening around the bar. Not even Mantis had been able to pry that secret from his mind. Only two - no, three people knew that name and were still alive; there was certainly no way she could have known. Perhaps it was a coincidence. Perhaps she'd mistaken him for someone else. Maybe it was a metaphor, alluding to the giant-killer, but then who the hell was Naminé?

She must have read his mind. She must have read it in sharper detail than even Mantis. If only he could use the other -

- no point thinking about that.

"Sorry," Snake said, instead. "I've stared down far too many bullets to love any gods. I don't have any belief left in me any more, and I'm not going to make any exception for you."

He'd read something about psychics a few years ago, how they usually cracked and lost their minds. How they often developed violent, split personalities; vibrant schizophrenic hallucinations, indecipherable from their visions; hopeless, lonely psychosis, distant from reality. Cramming all that power into the mind of a child had to be behind this talk of gods and Manah...

...Manah, one of the goddesses of Mecca, the goddess of fate and the oldest of the three Daughters of God.

Well, if they could bring fictional characters here, he thought, and berated himself for being a disgruntled, faithless atheist.

[angels-inflight.livejournal.com]

"Axel!"

Naminé spotted him immediately, as his red hair stuck out against the cold, metallic environment. But his hair was not the only thing that was red - Axel's chest was covered in dried blood, seemingly from a wound on his chest. Where his heart would have been,

Naminé's stomach lurched. What had they done? He looked so weak, she wasn't sure if he was even alive. Were they too late? Had Manah only allowed her to enter so she could see that she had failed?

"Axel?" The Witch placed the pipe down on the floor, reaching out her arms, one hand resting on the wound of his chest to wipe away the trace amounts of blood there and the other propping his head up. "Axel? Wake up..."

She had done this before, when Axel had run into Saix, but it was different. She had power back then. There was none now, and whether Axel lived or not was entirely up to those damned murderers of Landels.

[bond-off-lame.livejournal.com]

Axel didn't know how long he'd been left there, not having the strength to really pull himself out of his unconsciousness, let alone drag himself off the table and out of the room. Part of his subconscious wished that the man had left the respirator on him, his body almost too weak to breathe on his own. The redhead was in pain even though he couldn't physically feel it, his whole system now in shambles because of this foreign substance pumping away in his body.

It was a shame that he hadn't felt Naminé's kindness after his encounter with Saïx, all of that still too far ahead in the future for him to grasp. Yet that wasn't to say that those gentle touches hadn't given the same affect. He didn't know how, but the Nobody felt himself be coaxed out of his slumber, green eyes slowly opening when the blonde propped his head up with her hand. At the moment his vision was fuzzy, but the small yellow figure had been a nice change to the harsh metallic sheen of the room.

He could feel blood lingering in his mouth, lips parting slightly to let some trickle out the corner of his mouth. Using all his strength to lift his own arm up, Axel let it rest right over the smaller one on his chest, lightly pressing it against the stitched wound so they could feel the light lub dub underneath.

[angels-inflight.livejournal.com]

When Axel's eyes opened, a great feeling of relief, however fake, flooded Naminé's body. She actually let out a grateful sigh, torn between hugging the redhead and dragging him outside. But she could tell that he was still too weak. She couldn't rush him and she was starting to doubt that she could help him walk out on her own.

Naminé winced when she saw the blood spill out of his lips, but Axel's urgings to lay her hand on his chest caught her attention. She frowned, not feeling anything at first. And then...

Her eyes widened. Beating?

"They gave you a heart?" She gasped, leaving her hand on the wound to feel the rhythmic beating that was so foriegn to her. It seemed wonderful and horrible all at once. Did they restore Axel?

But something was wrong. Naminé did not feel the warmth or strength of a heart in Axel's chest. Yes, there was the beating of a physical heart, but... that was all.

"I see. I'm sorry, Axel..." If only she, Ashton, Xigbar, David, if only they had reached him sooner!

[bond-off-lame.livejournal.com]

As he became more aware of his surroundings, as slowly as it was, Axel could make out the muffled response of Naminé's voice. So the others have come to rescue him as well, knowing that the blonde was smart enough not to wander the halls alone. The redhead's breathing was growing deep, a small smile creeping up the corners of his chapped lips.

Though the object may have been artificial, the beating in his chest was almost comforting in a way. There was no reason for Naminé to apologize, his hand lightly patting over hers in a way that remarked 'It's not your fault'. But even with the girl there he knew he couldn't make it out of the room with just her strength. And besides, Axel didn't feel so rushed to get out just yet, his body heat having finally warmed up the table and thoughts of sleep more than inviting at that moment.

[sasuke-of-sound.livejournal.com]

Sasuke was at once confused and suspicious when the hallway appeared empty. There had been noise enough for several patients or enemies.

And now it's too quiet.

[piously.livejournal.com]

[piously.livejournal.com]

[numberii.livejournal.com]

((Woes, getting flung to over thar~! (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/94850.html?thread=6067842#t6067842) ))

[damned-ivy.livejournal.com]

Through the door and into a battlefield. Not the first time they had stumbled across something like that, but unusual nonetheless. Definitely a call for caution, at the least.

Hakkai paused again, just inside the door, before moving cautiously down the hallway. It seemed deserted, but that meant little in Landel's. The seeming lack of people in what had obviously been a well guarded place was reason enough for caution. Still, nothing was gained without risk.

[opposingheaven.livejournal.com]

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/99846.html?view=6326278#t6326278)]

The walk to the door seemed impossibly long for Kenren, even though he knew it was only a few feet. The cut across his face and neck were still bleeding sluggishly, the blood trickling over his skin. He tried wiping it away, but that just tore at the skin, making it bleed more.

The door opened easily, thankfully; he didn't think he was up to the coordination required to fiddle with complicated mechanisms at the moment. He peered into the corridor and then stumbled out, barely noticing the presence of other people in the hallway.

[31st-of-china.livejournal.com]

Sanzo drew to a stop. Something had moved up ahead, and none too smoothly for an ordinary inmate.

One of the "nurses"?

They weren't even close to the medwing - unless that had somehow shifted up here during that change - so unless there were more of those types roaming around, it seemed out of the question.

To hell with it. He was tired of the fucking surprises. Sanzo swung the flashlight towards the source of the motion. They might not be armed, but they had numbers and Sanzo was far more ready for something after last night. It was doubtful he could fight well with his breathing the way it was now, but an opponent didn't give a shit if you could fight or not.

The beam illuminated a bloodied Gojyo from years back. The monk's breath caught.

"The fuck?"

[damned-ivy.livejournal.com]

Hakkai's eyes widened as Sanzo's flashlight beam ran across a familiar figure. ""

This was why he'd come here, but.. something was still wrong. Something was off. The knife was in Hakkai's hand almost before he thought of it. If this was some sort of trap, a false face to lure them in, he wanted to be ready. Moving steadily closer, however, didn't even take a thought. If it was Gojyo, like hell Hakkai would leave him alone in the state he was in.

For the first time, Hakkai actually regretted having used his chi to heal someone, because Gojyo might need him now and he wasn't sure he could help.

[sasuke-of-sound.livejournal.com]

No sign of the blood-eyed girl, and only the vague noises of what sounded like other patients.

Still, he took several steps into the room first, hand tight on the metal grip of the sword. It would be more slippery than he liked for strict iaijutsu, but it was good enough if he needed it.

Scanning the hall carefully, he moved closer to the wall, then shifted back to the broken door.

"Clear," he muttered after a long pause, and made room for Yoshiaki and Lee to move out of the hallway and away from the vulnerable position in the doorframe.

[faithful-dog.livejournal.com]

Naoe entered right after Sasuke gave the word. He looked around the hallway for any sign of Takaya and finding none right away stepped more inside. Perhaps on the for doors held the teenager?

[youthfulrocklee.livejournal.com]

Silently, Lee paid attention to the sounds behind them, making sure that they weren't being followed. Though he knew that the other two were ahead of him, he did not entirely pay attention to them. Sasuke or Naoe would say something if need be, so his focus remained elsewhere.

So far, everything appeared to be going better than before. He knew how fast that could change, so there was no time to take a break. It was time for them to find Takaya or to kick some serious butt!

Not that he was going to say that, but it was the thought that counted.

[piously.livejournal.com]

[0bnoxious.livejournal.com]

[ooc; here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/100231.html#cutid1)]

Albel didn't even have the time to voice an insult before he was literally shoved out into the hallway, door slamming shut behind him. The captain hadn't been expecting to be thrown outside so easily after his little 'treatment'. So there he stood, in a hall he didn't recognize, with a bloody scalpel and a missing limp.

The scalpel had his blood on it.

Confusion soon made place for anger, as he turned around and started pulling on the door handle. The maggot wasn't going to get away with this! He was going to pay! And if that worm thought he'd be safe by locking himself up in that room...

...he was unfortunately quite right.

...Damnit!!

The door was shut tightly, as Albel couldn't get it open no matter how hard he tried. He gave the innocent door a frustrated kick, only to glare at it as if the whole mess had been the door's fault.

A growl escaped his lips as he had the urge to cross his arms out of frustration, but found himself unable to do so for obvious reasons.