damned_institute | Night 56: The Grand Ballroom

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That feeling of vertigo that came with using the ring seemed to be getting worse with each trip, Erika thought, as she saw the world spin around her and felt that tugging sensation pulling all three of them. Well prepared this time, Erika braced herself as she felt wind roaring in her ears and saw the surroundings change into that familiar ballroom, getting ready to land -

"Ow!"

Landing gracefully this time was her idea, but she realized the thing she was landing on was not the floor, but on Sync once again. It seemed like she was the last one to fall despite being the one to destroy the ring, a curious constant that might have had more of her attention if it weren't for the fact that Erika was certain she landed against an elbow this time and that she still had no idea where the other boy was. Heaven forbid she landed on both of them, she might have killed one.

"Where is..." Ah, there he was. The other boy had landed a few feet away from them, though whether he was awake or not, she couldn't tell. Instead of checking on either of her companions, Erika took the moment to search around for her belongings, trying to find where the bag landed. It wasn't too far, but she noted with displeasure that several items had scattered onto the floor, including her katana and that gun. Clearly, those were her first priority, and Erika ignored the two behind her to get her things.

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Sync ignored Erika's response for the time being, knowing exactly what he was going to do with the katana before tossing it aside once he was done. He had no interest in using the latter's weapon aside from the obvious, though he felt it was idiotic of her to bring about two weapons. That meant having to keep a close eye on Nigredo, who could very well take an opportunity if Erika ever gave him that chance. Idiot.

Their voices carried farther in the large expanse of the ballroom, and so he couldn't help but chuckle at his roommate's side quip. The God-General soon made his way over to where Erika stood, angling his own arm so that he could slide the katana's blade over the healing skin and reopen the wound. Expecting the other to cooperate and hold out the ring, he quickly hovered a drop of blood over the shattered jewel.

"Maybe you shouldn't have taken them off in the first place," He pointed out for the sake of belittling his roommate further. "Anyway, I'm sure most would be happy enough to keep their lives, but I guess I can make an exception. If you cooperate then you're free to come with us to the-"

But before he could finish it was as if something had completely cut off his thoughts, green eyes narrowing as Sync fumbled to finish. Yet the words refused to spill, and after a few more seconds of trying he finally gave up. Letting his scowl get the better of him for a moment, he pushed the handle of the katana into some vague direction of Erika's hand, gaze still focused on his roommate.

"You're after the same thing, aren't you? Don't be an idiot and fight back. You would've just wasted my time getting you down here in the first place."

It was truly amusing to Erika how simply having the fake firearm in her possession was enough to gain the boy's reluctant assistance. Therefore, she had to do her best to keep herself from smiling too widely and decided to just hold her tongue on the whole matter. Honestly, the fact she was carrying what was assumed to be a loaded weapon in a pillowcase should have been enough to tell them at the very least that she wasn't planning on using it, but she shouldn't complain. Perhaps she was mistaken and Sync was the reason why the boy was at least bargaining with them.

Her ego took a bit of a blow when considering this reasoning though. The threat of violence was always such a crude method for gaining assistance, one that Erika greatly disliked in favor of having people follow her simply because they were stupid and she knew better. That was probably why it greatly pleased Erika when Sync's threat was interrupted, the boy seemingly at a loss for words when he tried to describe where it was exactly where they were going.

Or perhaps the words weren't coming out at all. Erika arched a brow, realizing that it was not a case of forgetfulness. He looked like he couldn't say anything about their destination, a fact that both pleased and intrigued her. How was this possible? Sync was a violent, angry child at best, but he wasn't stupid. She took her katana back wordlessly for a moment, contemplating the situation. She didn't have any incentive to offer the child, nor did she care to. Simply sparing his life should have been good enough and Sync knew more about the rewards to be gained from going through this place.

For Erika, the only reward would be solving it's mysteries. Nothing more, nothing less.

"Let's go. You two can work something out while we walk, can't you?" The other boy didn't have anywhere to go, and she was sure Sync would just drag him along if he had to, so Erika let the two of them sort each other out while she headed towards one of the two other doors in the room. She already knew that two items were needed to open the third door across from the entrance, and the door behind the stairs wouldn't open to her. So... which one did she want to go through first.

The doors were identical, with no hints if there was a right or wrong answer. Erika had the feeling it didn't matter.

"Let's go through the left one." She called out to them, hoping her voice would penetrate through their thick skulls. Sync's reaction would probably tell her how good of a guess that was.

Edited 2011-06-02 21:18 (UTC)

Keeping his life was a laughable concept, like being told you could have a cookie when you hated sweets. If not for his tendency of being the stable child, Nigredo might have taken a cue from his less sane sibling and giggled in a high-pitched tone. He would have done it, too, if not for the effort involved and the offer given--the latter having less to do with Sync's "willingness" to concede and more the strange cutoff. Like the girl, he lifted an eyebrow at his roommate, incredulous of what he saw. Though reason would suggest otherwise, Nigredo refused to believe the older boy was the type to trail off without a reason.

Before he could question, however, a ping from the shared mental space threw any sarcastic remarks to the wayside. Which in complete honesty, happened to be the worst interruption imaginable. If Albedo knew the exact source of his anger, all control would be lost, and the situation would derail into a more comically stupid wreck than it already was. Without hesitation, Nigredo dispersed his previous thoughts and divided the attention between people.

"You don't know what I'm after," he retorted, eyes rolling in disdain. He then stepped toward the girl, who was heading in the direction of one of the doors. Of course, the child ignored what was actually chosen. "But fine. I won't waste your time. Just don't ever touch me again." Anyone who knew Nigredo well enough might have been taken aback by his attitude, but in his mind, all bets were off. Propriety was the last thing he wanted to hold to this night.

To Albedo, however, the response was less hateful. Unfortunately, his sibling was sharper than most, and it took maneuvering to offer a believable excuse. It helped that the words were mostly true, and that he was staring angrily at the female the entire time. They eventually offered their farewells, and Nigredo was left alone. Uneasiness slid through his chest, but nothing could be helped. They were not in the relationship they were last night.

As the girl offered her suggestion, his mind moved suddenly, a memory flitting to life. He had thought that girl looked familiar. "Hey," he called out, not bothering with pleasantries nor addressing the decision. He did, however, walk to the aforementioned door. "Do you know someone named Rika?"

Sync tried not to think too deeply about what just happened, even if he was certain the other two had also noticed that obvious pause. It could very well have been another one of their captor's tricks, but it wasn't like it mattered in the end anyway. Didn't Erika want to just figure out what was actually down there as opposed to the end result? Still, he supposed it was just added insurance to make sure the 'mysteries' of the coliseum weren't revealed prematurely.

"There's only one reason why you'd already have one of the items in your possession." Sync thought it was common sense, unless Nigredo was the type of person that hated progress. But given the pacing of this damned Hell he wouldn't have been all that surprised if that were the true. "But don't worry, I'm not interested in taking what you have."

It was Erika's words that caught his attention next. Right, they might as well make it a quick run if they wanted to get anything done tonight.

"Fine by me." Like Nigredo, he was compliant with the girl's choice, and he'd remain that way as long as they didn't go through those damned elemental rooms. He said nothing at his roommate's question, figuring it was reserved for Erika given the similarities of names, but that alone was enough to pique his curiosity. Regardless, he acted uninterested, pushing open the door and making his way into the next hallway.

[To here.]

Night 56: The Grand Ballroom

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GOTTA MAKE HER MIND UP, WHICH DOOR CAN SHE TAKE???

EVERYTHING. UH. /lets Brenda choose

my choices are the best.