Night 56: Basement, East Hall

[godforsaken]

[From here.]

Having already been through these hallways once meant that nothing was all that surprising anymore, even if the atmosphere was usually more than enough to stop anyone in their tracks. Still, the God-General paused midway down the hall, glancing up at the nearest tapestry with vague interest. Even then, the contrast between the institute and the basement was still impressive, but Landel could've done better to throw that effort elsewhere.

In a way he couldn't believe he was going through with this again, but if there was one thing he learned it was that leaving something to simmer made for a more satisfying end result. No one was normal in this place, and so maybe Nigredo and Erika had more to offer than they let on.

That was, until they died.

But before he could continue there came a loud burst of static from inside Erika's bag. The God-General couldn't help but roll his eyes, glancing over his shoulder and over at the girl in question.

"Why the hell do you bring so much stuff?" He thought it was a perfectly reasonable question to ask. With the added weight of her dress, Erika was just making herself an easier target from all sides. "Turn it up."

Comments

[witchoftruth]

It was a surprise that the other boy asked her that question, yet it certainly wasn't a pleasant surprise when Erika scowled in reaction to being asked about Rika. Yes, she knew of Rika, and if Erika wasn't mistaken, she also hadn't seen Rika for a few days, hopefully meaning that useless piece was already thrown out in the trash. As for her response, she just shrugged.

"We've met. But don't assume our relationship simply because of similarities, okay?"

She might have gone on, had she not been interrupted by a burst of static and by Sync complaining about it. She shot him a glare and almost contemplated refusing his offer, except a familiar voice - no, two! - rang through the air and Erika was all too happy to turn the volume up to max and let the sound echo through the chamber, since the area was clear anyway. The grin on her face got wider and wider as she listened to what both Marc and dear Landel-san had to say. So, he wasn't fully gone at all, but rather switched seats... How similar to Rokkenjima's own board, now. Hopefully, Landel-san was going to give them a good show while he tried to get back what was his.

And now, she really did have a reason to go through this dump. The mystery was good enough for her, but she knew the others wouldn't be persuaded so easily since they didn't value the experience of being able to solve a perfectly good riddle. Cretins. With this information, she was sure to get a lot more interest, and if she could confirm the few thoughts she had with others... Suddenly, things were improving vastly.

"That's good news for you, isn't it Sync?" Erika quipped once the broadcast had died down. "Maybe I had to bring the rest of the essentials since your hands were full. Unless you preferred to miss this?" She waved the radio and felt tempted to insult him more, but she held back just for now. Only because she liked to wait until the right moment to strike. It was just sweeter when she was proven to be right, that's all.

[falseblack]

If there existed any assumption to be made, it came with that answer. Nigredo, however, more than understood the pitfalls of shared appearances and acquiesced to her rather sensible request. Never mind he wanted to push the envelope and make very pointed comments about the nature of their relationship. He was only a child, after all. How could he help the curiosity that came from meeting someone who could be the sister of one who claimed to be his friend, especially after being woken up so rudely by the person in question and the sadist who shared his room?

Why, yes, he was in a terrible mood. Did the sarcasm give it away?

"Sure." Nigredo sniffed, bitterly amused, and followed the older boy through the threshold. He was all too unhappy to see the familiar tapestry on the wall, a part of him surprised that one was still in place despite a brother's efforts. As they settled into their surroundings, however, static caught the trio's attention, the youngest of the three staring outright at the Rika lookalike as she fiddled with the dial. Voices filled the corridor, and the boy found himself completely drawn into the conversation. Or banter, in this case.

Nice little surprise, huh? That possibly explained what Sync was trying to say. As to why the teenager did not, well... Given the reach of Dr. Landel's control, it would not surprise the child if the ability to reveal was beyond Sync's capacity. What a waste. Nigredo admittedly wanted the details, especially with the mention of a reward.

Not that he trusted the people involved or anything.

The exchanges were starting to get under his skin, especially when the female mentioned someone's hands being full. Ugh. Both of them talked too much. He sighed and crossed his arms, eyes shifting toward the interior of the hallway as he waited. Maybe morning would come, and he could abandon this joke of a nightmare.

[godforsaken]

From the way Erika answered it sounded like this 'Rika' was a sore spot for her, but he was more disappointed in the fact that she cut off the subject before they could find anything worthwhile.

But all of that was forgotten when he recognized the voice coming from the radio, rather pleased that he didn't have to tell the latter twice as she turned the volume to its highest setting. So Landel was working with the resistance now? Irony couldn't begin to describe what they were listening to, but he supposed anything was possible when power was involved. He couldn't care less about the man's reasons, but if there was one thing for certain it was that the outcome would hardly be boring.

But the moment Landel snapped his fingers a sharp stab of pain suddenly invaded his temples. It was enough to make the God-General grimace, reaching for his head in some vain attempt to will away the ringing his ears. Fortunately, the pain subsided with enough time, and he was quick to recover once all the symptoms dissipated. But it couldn't have been a coincidence, and from the way their previous captor spoke it sounded as if that had been his intention all along.

"So he still has some influence here after all." Then that earlier block couldn't have been a coincidence, with all of it coming together in this single announcement. However, while this was certainly good news (he always had a feeling that there was something more to the basement than just gaining an incentive to kill each other) it meant that it'd likely attract those who were desperate for progress. The last thing they needed was to compete with other groups to complete their objectives, so it was essential they get as far as possible.

As for Erika's smug response? The God-General just shrugged, offering her his own smirk in return.

"You just got lucky. I'm sure you won't be too happy when you trip and get jumped by a monster." And with that he continued along to the end of the hall, expecting the other two to just shut up and follow. Offering a look of distaste at the set of doors leading to the elemental rooms, Sync placed his hand on the other without hesitation.

"We're going left."

In his mind there was no room for debate.

[witchoftruth]

"I wouldn't waste time coming up with imaginary scenarios, Sync, when you're the one that I'd worry about." Did he think she didn't catch that grimace? It was fairly easy to reason that Sync's latest issues were caused by dear Landel-san, but in the end, he was starting to make himself out to be more of a liability then she was. Perhaps Erika just wasn't content with being the only one grilled when it didn't matter to her in the end - she knew how to move around and work in the dress, and she knew any damage would repair itself (well, maybe not under the Aguilar regime...), so Sync could just shove it.

That's why she was extremely tempted to pick the door that Sync had looked at with a clear disgust. However, that actually would go against her goals: Sync glared at the door because he knew what was behind it, didn't he? She knew he did this challenge before, and that's why she knew whatever was behind that door was not going to be worth their time. As much as Erika wanted to solve both challenges in this room, if they had to pick one, they were going to have to pick one that everyone agreed on. And since only her and Sync's opinions mattered, then they were in agreement. For once.

The detective glanced over to the other boy, but only to see if she could get another repulsed look from the boy. That face he made when he realized he had to suffer their company was highly amusing. But they needed to move on, so she followed Sync through the doors.

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