damned_institute | Night 58: North of the Institute

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Night 58: North of the Institute

[from here]

His feet hit the ground hard, which made him feel like he just worsened the mark that the bullet left in his leg.

Riku forced himself to keep going for a few steps before he just stopped. And it wasn't just that he stopped, a dizzying feeling swept over him, and it wasn't unlike how he felt after fighting Xemnas. He managed to get through that fight all right, but he knew he didn't have much after. This was worse. Minus his additional strength and plus the other factors, he was barely moving. Each step, as he lumbered on, was almost impossible. He forced himself to stop, and though he should've been listening for his friends, it felt like his heart was beating too hard to focus.

Was that the limit of this place? Was he all right in a fight as long as he didn't hurt himself? Riku fell hard to his knees as he tried to focus on this. What good was he to them now? His hand fell over his leg and he felt the warm, sticky liquid, and he winced from the stinging feeling of the pain.

Nowhere in his mind was the lingering feeling of resentment over not being able to go with his plan from before. Right now, all he could focus on was how much of a burden he was. After insisting he came along on this, this was all he was good for, in the end.

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It seemed that Riku's shot at the man had given them just enough of a lead to get over the wall without being targeted again. Sora made sure to jump over the wall in record time, his flashlight held tight in one hand. He felt the impact of landing jolt through his legs painfully (he wasn't focusing enough to land properly), but he managed to keep his footing if nothing else.

In the end, though, Sora wasn't worried about himself. They'd made it over the wall and that meant they were safe at least for the time being. The special counseling patients didn't follow anyone past their assigned area, but Sora knew there were still monsters around. He'd seen a bear out here once, after all. They couldn't relax for too long.

It didn't help that one of them was bleeding. The smell could easily attract, but Sora was more concerned about the injury rather than what it might mean for them. Riku had been hurt and it was partly due to the fact that Sora hadn't let him do what he wanted from the start.

Recovering quickly, the boy moved over to his friend, skidding to his knees next to him. His hand reached out to grip Riku's shoulder. "Hey, Riku? Hang in there, okay? We need to get that bandaged..." Of course, all Sora had for that was his own clothing and it wasn't like it ripped as easily as the old Landel's uniform did.

Kairi was the last one over the all, having waited for Sora and Riku to see that they were both over. From the quick glance of both she could see that Riku was the one who had been hurt, and instantly concern washed over her as she pushed herself the rest of the way over the wall.

The landing on the other side caused her legs to give out, pain shooting up them as she fell to her bottom on the grass, letting out a his for a moment before clamping her lips shut and forcing herself to her knees. Sora was already by Riku's side, and if there was one thing she knew about either of her boys, it was that they didn't want to be coddled when something went wrong. She simply watched Riku from afar, giving him a concerned look.

There had to be something they could find to at least wrap the wound slightly - oh!

Kairi looked down at her sword, and without a single thought, pulled her shirt out of her pants and began to hack away at the bottom of it, carefully holding into the blade with three fingers so she could use the tip of it to get at the cloth. Once the small tear in the fabric was cut, she began to rip at the fabric, finally making a long enough strip that she could use.

Sure, now her stomach was showing, but minor details. She didn't care, at this point.

Pushing herself up, Kairi moved towards Riku, holding out the makeshift bandage with a small smile - however, it was also serious. "Here. This should at least do for now. Please use it. Please."

The fact that she had to beg him—of course he really messed up. Guilt washed over his features the moment Kairi approached. It was different with Sora moments prior. With Sora, he could keep on a brave face; in fact, some part of his existence necessitated it. But with Kairi, it was different, and the "please" and its pleading nature was like a kick in his stomach. Silver hair fell down heavily over his face as he took the bandage from her, and he murmured softly: "Thanks." Though barely audible, it was genuine.

What was remarkable was, despite how fatigue, how quick he made work of his leg. Riku had a feeling his friends would be able to tell he had experience with this. And, after running with the Organization for so long as the imposter, of course he did. There were times when healing himself just didn't do the trick. If he didn't run into one of those guys, it was a heartless that meant business. His hands moved meticulously to fasten the piece of Kairi's shirt.

After he was done, Riku tried to shrug his shoulders, but it came out as a pathetic motion. How did he explain why he was so tired? His friends wouldn't like it, and without the adrenaline rushing through him, it was going to be harder to keep going. He figured he had two options, and he could make a safe guess which one his friends would go for.

"Sora, I need you to help me walk until I'm less tired," he explained. "It's that or leave me here. What I sent at that guy to get away, it's too much." Riku leaned back better so that Sora could help him up. If he knew anything, it was that his friend wouldn't just leave him here. He looked down at the sword in his hand, and he knew that he could ask for Kairi's help, too, if he didn't have it, but it wasn't like he was going to let go now.

As it turned out, Kairi was thinking along the same lines that Sora had been. She beat him to it, mainly because her shirt was easier to cut and she actually had a sword on hand. In fact, Sora was the only one who didn't have a permanent weapon now, but he could deal with that. He had been this whole time, after all.

While he would have offered to help, Riku managed to wrap up his leg without much trouble. Instead, Sora hovered near him, wanting to make sure that his friend was really okay. He wanted to apologize, but right now he wasn't sure how to do so. Maybe it would be better to wait until they were on the move.

Kairi was going to be even colder with some of her shirt sacrificed for use as a bandage, but it looked like she was doing okay so far. More than that, Riku was straightforward about needing help, which Sora was grateful for. The last thing he needed was his friend trying to act like he was okay when he clearly wasn't.

"All right, here," he said, getting to his feet and then extending a hand down to his friend. They had done this all before. They could do it again. "I didn't even know you could do something like that here," he admitted. "Just lean on me, okay?" His guilt was still there in full force, but for now Sora knew the best thing was to give his friend the support he needed so they could keep moving. They didn't want that injury to be for nothing.

Kairi watched Riku with concern, her shoulders stiff - however she relaxed when he took the makeshift bandage from her, and she nodded her head, giving him a bright smile. "It's the least I could do."

However, there was the fact that Riku was not only injured, but he also appeared to be tired. What were they going to do? They were supposed to be wandering through the forest until they reached their target, but with Riku in this state, she didn't want to push things. It was bad enough he was still bleeding, and they didn't have any bandages, and it was cold and they had climbed over that big wall and -

Kairi allowed that run on thought process to end, watching as Sora helped Riku to stand. She didn't want to recommend maybe resting for a bit, because she didn't want either of them to take it the wrong way. Instead, she watched with worried eyes, turning to look around the dark forest, reaching into her pocket to pull out her flashlight.

"Well, now that we're here ... where do we go?" she asked in a soft voice, almost afraid that they would attract something if too loud. That was the last thing she wanted, after all.

"I found out last night in the medical wing," Riku said. It was a good thing he found out, and it was a part of his plan for tonight. But there was no point in lingering on that. The reason why it wasn't allowed to go forward was his own past mistakes; if that was how things would be, he'd have to do a lot more than just one night of successes. They weren't even impressed with what he accomplished. Fighting and killing two spiders was one thing, but taking the drugs was another. Riku still had a hard time seeing what was wrong with that.

Which he figured, really, was the heart of the problem. He couldn't notice that now, would he ever?

He leaned heavily on Sora and looked straight ahead. "Let's just go straight. We'll keep an ear out and see if anyone's been out here. It'd make sense if someone's coming and going. Landel ... I doubt that. But the guy he's with? He seems like he'd be the type to get around." So maybe he didn't know anything, but he knew what it was like to be in a similar position. Someone didn't keep safe by sitting around waiting. They took action.

If Riku had "found that out," it probably meant that he'd been attacked last night too. Sora didn't like that thought much at all, but he'd seen his friend at breakfast and knew he hadn't been injured. Which meant that maybe if he'd just listened to him back on the field none of this would have happened. Still, Sora hadn't had any way of knowing that his friend had that kind of power at his disposal. If he had, he might have reacted differently.

There wasn't much point in dwelling on it, though, especially since he now had to focus on leading the way. "Where we are now isn't the forest," he corrected them. There were trees around, but the place they were headed was much denser. "We have to go... that way." He pointed off to the right, remembering how long of a trek it had been. Sora didn't know if Riku was going to be able to travel that distance with one of his legs out of commission, but they had to try.

Sora had no idea if Marc was the kind of person who would leave tracks for them to follow, but it was the only feasible way for them to try and track him down. The most important part of all this was just showing his friends how to get around, though. Then they would be able to do this trip without him in the future if they had to.

The boy started moving, pulling his friend along with him until they got into a sort of rhythm. "Let me know if you need to rest, okay?" he said with a glance to Riku.

At the idea of just continuing on straight, Kairi nodded, and instantly rounded around the two boys so she was ahead of them. "I'll take the lead this time," she said with a bright smile, glad to ... actually be feeling useful to either of them instead of simply another worry.

After all, if they were attacked by anything, she was the only one who would be able to move fast enough and get her sword up. Sora would have to let go of Riku without hurting him, and Riku was ... well, injured and weakened, so it only made sense for her to lead. At least, that was what she continued to tell herself as Sora pointed them in the direction they needed to go.

"Just tell me when to turn," Kairi said with that same chipper tone as before, turning her head every now and then to see how Riku was holding up.

After a few moments of silence, the princess shivered from the cold, resisting the urge to wrap her arms around herself. Instead, she spoke a question that had honestly been on her mind since they had decided to travel over the walls of the institute. "What are we going to do ... once we find either of them?"

A part of him was reminded now of how different it was working with Kairi. Back on the islands, she was always there—and for Riku, she was often the center of attention, even if she didn't realize it. Well, it was her and getting off the Islands, but even then, there was nothing more that he wanted than for her and Sora to come with him. After all, unlike Terra when he showed up that day, Kairi was physical, present, a constant; still, her role from then to now shifted. Even from a distance, he could tell what was different. It was that constant, wafting reminder.

As for where to go, he wasn't sure. A vague pointing in a direction didn't help, and his mind was too cloudy to give further suggestions. That was something he hated a little right now. Being hurt was one thing, but being too tired to think—that was like limiting half his existence. He focused on the surroundings, on his friends, but beyond that, planning was nullified for the time being.

At least he knew what to do. No one could stay tired forever, and he could work injured, so it was a matter of taking care of the easier one to fix. That meant working with Sora. He put all of his weight onto his uninjured leg and barely put any onto the other. When he did, it was the that he really made his friend support him. Sure, he would get tired, but it wasn't like he had to do that much work around this place. Riku felt guilty, but not too guilty to keep his friend from helping him out—especially since the alternative to this was sitting and waiting.

He peered ahead all the same, despite the cloudiness and most of his strategic abilities lent toward trying to hold it together, and tried to tell Kairi where to go. Really, that part was a force of habit. Being bossy was second-nature, no matter how self-conscious he felt. Though right now, he wasn't really coming up with anything.

"You've gotta be more precise, Sora. Or are you gonna get us lost?" That was what he fell back on. Hide the fact that he felt terrible about not knowing where to go, and try to make sure things went the way they should. Maybe then, he wouldn't be such a burden on his friends.

Riku was definitely putting a lot of weight onto him, but that wasn't something Sora would ever complain about. He was always more than willing to help and he felt that it was the least he could do seeing how his hesitation had gotten his friend injured in the first place. From now on he was going to have to be willing to let his friends lead the attack from time to time. That wasn't easy for him to do, but they deserved it.

At least it wasn't too snowy out. That would have made things even harder. As it was, Sora just focused on pointing his flashlight ahead of them so he could anticipate any dips or bumps in the ground. This wasn't the easiest terrain to walk over, and even less so when he was holding someone else up.

"I'm telling you, we're heading straight for it now." It was a matter of turning right after going over the wall and then just trudging forward until they saw the cluster of trees. In fact, it looked like those trees were coming into view already. "If you squint you can see it up ahead," he said, pointing forward with his free hand.

As for Kairi's question, that was something that he was hoping Riku would address. That had probably been wishful thinking, seeing how his friend was probably focusing most of his attention on staying vertical. Sora held back a sigh and spoke up. "Well... it depends on who we find. If it's Marc, we ask questions. If it's Landel... it's probably going to turn into a fight." Which might be foolish of them, but they would also be stupid to not take a chance if they got it. Right?

Kairi continued to listen to the two of them behind her, smiling to herself when Riku teased about getting the three of them lost. That was the last thing she wanted, she knew, and she didn't know exactly why she was smiling, but still. It lightened the mood slightly -

Which instantly fell at the mention of the two men they may or may not encounter once they reached the location of where they were hiding out.

Honestly, she'd ... rather meet Marc, but that went without say, especially considering the state of Riku. Should they find Landel and a fight did break out, what would happen? She would fight, she knew that much, but how would Riku do? She knew he would probably not want to simply sit out on the sidelines, but in the state he was in ... what could he do? She knew Sora had the keyblade, so that was at least a slightly comforting thought. Plus, Riku did have the sword of his own ...

"I see," Kairi answered in a soft voice, looking down at her sword for a moment, tightening her grip on it before continuing to look ahead towards their destination. "Have to be prepared for anything, I suppose. Though, I know it might seem like a silly question, but ... do you think we might be able to get some answers out of Landel, should we meet him?"

It was a nice thought. To be able to really, truly hear why they were all being kidnapped from their homes was something she and everyone else wanted to know, after all.

That, and what was the point of the experiments other than just mental torture. What was he planning on doing with them and the brainwashed patients who attacked others once the night fell?

When he paused to think about it, Riku realized that Kairi's question wasn't a bad one, after all; it made a lot of sense considering the situation at hand. If Landel was kicked out, he might be more willing to provide some kind of answer. Then again, if he recalled correctly, it was Landel still sending people through the basement. If that many people were against that plan, then it was a trick. It wasn't something to be considered.

So when it came down to it, Riku realized they probably wouldn't. Landel was probably just as determined to send them on a wild goose chase. The better question wouldn't be: how to get out, but rather, to find out why they were there. The hows and whys seemed simple enough—an experiment—but it could help them. That was, after they defeated Landel and went back to spread the word.

"We can ask," he conceded. "But not the typical questions. That wouldn't be very smart. He's already told people the way to get out, and we know that isn't right. So, we ask something else. And if he doesn't answer ..." Riku trailed off, because he knew his friends had the right imagination to figure out what would happen if it didn't go well.

The thing was, he imagined Landel was more likely to give them a false shred of information to send them on another chase. Any questions would probably be along the lines. That was how the guy seemed to work, but he knew his friends, and really, he knew himself. Anything that could work to their favours was worth a shot, even if it didn't end up working in the long run. A fight would probably happen, but they had to keep their options open. Asking questions would buy time.

As things stood, Sora was fine with letting the others talk. Usually he wanted to be right in the middle of the conversation, but right now he was more focused on holding Riku up and making sure that they made it to the forest in time. He'd only gotten to the very edge of it last time, so he was hoping he could see more of it with his friends.

That, and the conversation, interesting thought it was, probably wouldn't amount to much. Sora knew that they were all hoping that they would find the man who had brought them here, but he realized how unlikely it was. Kairi probably did, too; she'd been around long enough to know that the man was impossible to reach. Even if he was out in the wild here somewhere...

Still, it was good to be prepared. "We can take him," he said, making sure he sounded confident for both of his friends. The truth was they were probably way under-prepared for any fight of that level, but Sora had taken on Ansem. He'd taken on Xemnas. He could do this too, especially with the support of those he cared for.

As they crossed the open area, the grouping of trees came closer and closer. They'd reached the forest. He paused for a moment, readjusting his hold on Riku before nodding to himself. "All right, let's check this out." And with that, he led them in.

[To here.]

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Night 58: North of the Institute

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