damned_institute | Night 63: Road to/from Doyleton

[From here.]

But being outside was probably just as dangerous, if not more dangerous, than it was being trapped inside the bus with that nurse.

Besides the many other deformed nurses that were roaming around here, Zero caught sight of numerous forms flying overhead, casting large shadows on the ground as they passed by. They looked like...eagles. But deformed and horrific-looking, just like the nurses. At first, they seemed content to simply circle overhead, screeching, like vultures swarming above a carcass. But then many of them suddenly swooped down and headed straight for some of the prisoners running in the street.

Kind of like the one flying at Zero right now.

"Kh--!" The once-Reploid barely managed to dodge the monster as it dived for him by falling to the ground and rolling back onto his feet. The bird flew upwards again, slowly flapping its wings, then circled around as if to try again, another eagle joining it. To avoid them, Zero quickly moved out of the open, where he was obviously a target, and circled around one of the buses, keeping his back to it for cover. But he knew he wasn't going to be safe here...not when there were nurses on the ground and so many eagles above.

Not since the night he had become temporarily stronger had there been so much visible chaos... And if that one prisoner hadn't started a riot, this wouldn't be happening right now...!

As he stood contemplating the best route for escape, Zero glanced around quickly, searching the fleeing prisoners for anyone familiar or anyone who might need help. He was defenseless, so protecting someone else would only get him so far (and he certainly didn't want a repeat of two nights ago), but they all might have a better chance of survival if they grouped up...

[Leanne, Lana, and Harvey, WHERE YOU AT.]

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Brook was more used to having things on his heels, so he was less stressed when it came to thinking something behind him - he usually just thought that something had to be chasing him. That always kept him moving in any event. As did one more thing.

"Would you mind a song while we go?" he proposed out of nowhere. Usually he hummed while running for his life, but he also liked to sing. Doing so calmed the nerves and, he had decided, did good to soothe the occasional angry beast that wanted to snack on him. "It might pass the time faster and get us there quicker. I don't actually know how far we are but I know a good number of songs!"

Any half-decent musician would have to, and Brook was damn decent if he did say so himself!

"Ah—" Maya spontaneously uttered, thrown off guard. Passing the time wasn't Maya's concern at the moment, but she wouldn't have minded—if her companion's running ability weren't one of the things making her antsy.

"Can you spare the breath?" she asked. She didn't know the extent of whatever he'd said was slowing him down. On top of that, neither of them knew the distance to the asylum they still had to cover; they couldn't pace themselves.

It was terrible idea, and she would have said so if Maya hadn't been thinking of Wataru. It wasn't as if Wataru would have felt better if Maya had sang to him when she was trying to keep them safe, and she wouldn't have encouraged him to do so, either. Yet the memory of Wataru contradictorily blunted the anxiety borne from...remembering Wataru. Hmm. Maya had certainly forfeited the right to claim herself a not irrational person many years ago. "I wouldn't mind," she said instead.

"Always for music!" Brook announced proudly, though he admittedly hadn't considered what singing would mean with him as tired as he was. He liked to think he would always be able to cheer up a situation with music, regardless of what was happening. "Any requests? I can't guarantee I'll know it though..."

Worlds and all. At least music was universal though! And who knew, maybe a song was just the medicine to make his head stop pounding?

He liked to hope.

Oh dear. Maya only knew classical music. And nursery rhymes, she supposed, after a moment of thought. "I have no preference," she answered, a little breathlessly.

Should she add something about being careful about this breathing? If he sang often, he should know, and he did mention that he ran a lot. She'd omit it, then. "Careful about your footing!" she said instead. It was fairly innocuous: it was dark, and they didn't know the terrain.

No preference was just fine with Brook. That meant he could sing whatever he pleased, and he had the perfect song in mind!

"Then I've the perfect song! I hope you don't mind it being upbeat..." he warned at a beat before heading right on into the introduction, "So, Bink's Sake is what it's called! And since we're running, it's perfect! Now... Going to deliver~ Bink's sak--"

WHACK

Not more than a few words in, Maya's warning about footing doubled back on him as Brook tripped straight to the ground, ending his song. So singing and running while already out of breath hadn't been the best of his ideas so far, and now that even the ground was aware, he would have to reconsider his means of passing the time.

Still, Brook couldn't help but laugh as he raised his head to see where Maya had continued ahead of him. "I suppose singing on the run doesn't work so well," he joked as blood trickled down from his nose.

Upbeat was fine, but she should have warned that if it wasn't good (by her standards, of course), she'd have to stop him just on principle—

Oh dear. Maya nearly tripped herself as she, despite the strong urge to keep going (flighted attacking monstrosities), stumbled to a stop and turned. "I had faith in you," she cheerfully replied as she walked back to where Brook lay. "Are you all right?"

The loud sound had been worrying, but in her experience, the lack of shrieking indicated that nothing was too hurt...possibly. No one could determine that but the hurt person himself, so she reached for Brook's arm, to offer assistance. "Can you stand?"

Pushing himself up, Brook sighed before sniffing back the blood - not the best sensation, snorting blood - and coughed a bit when he felt some catch in the back of his throat. "Well, that's all that matters then, Maya-san," he took the compliment happily as he nodded. "I'll be all right. A little bruised pride shouldn't get the better of me just yet!"

A cracked skull on the other hand... no, wait, he'd had that before!

He reached his hand up when he offered, but got himself up mostly on his own ability so as not to take her down. Like most people, and most women in particular, she was smaller than him and he didn't want to cause a young lady any harm! "If I'm having problems with both running and singing, then today has definitely not been my day."

Now, about making it to the asylum. Maya glanced in the direction she thought the building was while she aided Brook; she thought she could detect the outline of a building if she looked hard enough. Or it was fanciful illusion and Maya was seeing mirages.

Speaking of, Brook felt lighter than she expected him to be. "You're sure you're fine? Can you walk?" Can you utilize your singing ability to keep the winged creatures at bay should the situation arise? Singing was unlike birdsong, however, though there was a non-zero chance that Brook did know something to that effect. Perhaps they would continue to be lucky. In that case, it was no reason to give up. "Let's continue slowly," she said, turning back to their route.

"Oh, believe me, I've taken far worse hits to the head!"

He was a regular punching bag now that he had female crew mates. Robin wasn't so violent unless pushed, but when it came to Nami, he really should have developed more of a sense of self preservation around her. Or the ability to duck.

"And yes, I can walk. So long as nothing comes after us, a nice stroll in the moonlight doesn't sound so bad. Especially with such a pretty lady at my side."

Normally she would respond to the flattery, but she didn't want to flirt right now. "Then excuse me for this." Maya took hold of a bit of Brook's sleeve—it would prevent her from dragging him, and if the sleeve slipped from her fingers, she was going too fast—and began walking a little faster. "We seem to be close."

Was that the asylum that she could see? Ah, she wasn't a liar, then. A few more moments and they were at the door, which Maya cautiously opened.

[to here]

Night 63: Road to/from Doyleton

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