damned_institute | Night 64: F-A Block Hallway

[from here]

Anise raced through the hallway, her heart pounding against her chest. Could there really be a cure? Maybe this was just another trick, some false hope being dangled in front of them so their spirits could be crushed completely in the end.

But no matter what, Anise had to take this chance. Guy would probably agree. And Claude... they wouldn't have much time to explain, but he'd surely be willing to help too. With the three of them working together, and this lead... maybe there was hope after all.

Anise wanted to believe that.

[to here]

Edited 2012-06-21 03:03 (UTC)

_{[from here]}

Sora, Leanne, Kurogane… Despite her best intentions, she couldn’t help seeing their faces in her mind’s eye as she sprinted from one hallway to the next, near soundless.

In the end, though, wasn’t her desire to keep them all safe a source of strength and not necessarily a distraction? She really did want to find a way to stop Landel’s experiment for the sake of all the sick prisoners, but the ones she had met and befriended and had seen suffering through the symptoms…

They’d left their mark. And if Black☆Star had been there, she knew he would’ve felt the same. Anything for a friend.

Anything I can do tonight, she thought. Anything is worth it.

_{[to here]}

Edited 2012-06-21 04:08 (UTC)

[from here]

Fortunately, Rita didn't have to go far before finding the person she was looking for.

"Good - you're here," she commented, which would have to suffice as a greeting given her usual social graces. Rita drew closer, walking with a slight limp. She stopped when she was just within arm's reach. Taura appeared well-armed, and for a moment she wondered if the woman had made plans. Well, whatever. If she wanted to talk about that, she would. They didn't have much time to waste on chitchat.

"Did you bring the stone?" No one could say Rita wasn't one to get straight to business.

"Yeah," Taura said, digging it out. "D'you want me to use it, or ..." She trailed off, delicately. She would rather use it here, and put it away, since none of them ever knew if they would come back, but Rita's record was better than most. But she was also still limping, which meant she was probably hiding worse injuries.

So she just shrugged. "Up to you. I don't know how much good it will do, but it can't hurt."

Taura was willing to use it on her? Rita supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised by that, but gestures of kindness always seemed to catch her off-guard. “... If you don’t mind. Don’t forget that it’ll drain your energy, though.” If Taura was planning on going anywhere, weakening herself first seemed like a bad idea. One use probably wouldn’t hurt her much, though.

“I’m not expecting a full recovery or anything,” she added to assure Taura she didn’t have any unreasonable expectations, “but if we both take a shot or two with it, it should speed up the process a lot. I want as little downtime as possible.” And, in fact, she didn’t plan on taking any breaks.

Or Rita could have been planning to use it right here, and worrying about her carrying it off could have been completely baseless. Taura's shoulders drooped a bit, although her expression didn't change.

"I never made plans -- I fell asleep after breakfast, and I just woke up." Now she did scowl, at her own fallibility. At least she could do something. "Here goes nothing." She held out the stone, and it glowed from within. It didn't change temperature, but Taura could almost feel warmth draining out of her fingers.

[It's casting a Final Fantasy CURE 1 spell, and it'll do four per NS. Heal accordingly.]

The warm light washed over Rita, mending flesh and bone and easing some of the pain she was feeling. When the spell faded, the mage ran a hand over her ribs to examine the changes. It was no miracle cure, as much of it still stung at the slightest pressure, but there was a sizeable improvement. The swelling was down, and aches that had previously persisted with or without aggravation had been relieved.

"Not perfect, but not bad," she reported. "My turn."

The mage took the stone from Taura's hand, held it close to her chest, and focused. The stone's magic was reliable, and immediately the warm light enveloped her a second time. As one who never practised healing magic herself, it was a peculiar feeling to be the one to mend her own wounds, although it was also a rather good feeling.

In her weakened state, Rita quickly recognized that consecutive spells weren't an option if she wanted to get herself anywhere. She passed the stone back to Taura. "I guess you'll want to hang on to this." Perhaps she was just projecting, though; Rita could be possessive when it came to rare magical items. The next word to come out of her mouth was slightly muffled, as though it were used so little that she wasn't sure how to even pronounce it. "... Thanks."

She couldn't tell what the magic had done, but Rita was standing straighter, and moving with more of her usual grace. Even more so after the second round -- the pain had lessened more than it had tired her, obviously, and Taura smiled.

Taura took the stone and tucked it back in her purse. "I...yeah. It's stupid, but I keep worrying that if I lend it to someone, they'll be the next to disappear." People she cared about kept disappearing; the History Club had crumbled, and if Okita was still around, he was too caught up in whatever had caused him to disband it to say anything on the board at all.

It was superstition, that was all, but she'd seen herself how that could run rampant through the barracks, and just because this wasn't a spaceship and they weren't all fighters didn't mean the pressures weren't similar.

"Just go out there and don't get killed," she added, ignoring Rita's hesitation over thanking her. She seemed surprised by the kindness, and Taura knew what that was like. "Let me know if you find anything interesting, eh?"

It was a reasonable concern, Rita had to admit. If someone was released while borrowing something valuable, there was a good chance the item would be gone forever, or that it would fall into the hands of a roommate who didn’t care to return it.

“I won’t die,” Rita replied firmly, partly to reassure Taura, and partly to reinforce her own resolve. She’d survived this much, and while she knew her body was in a fragile state, she simply wasn’t going to allow herself to die from anything. If that meant retreating from danger, then that was what she was going to do.

It looked like Taura already figured Rita wasn’t planning to spend a quiet night in her room. She appreciated that the woman knew her that well, at least. “Sure. See you around.” With a small, casual wave, Rita walked to the block exit, and turned into the next hallway. This time, she didn’t limp.

[to here]

[from here]

Aigis rushed into the night, down the long hallway towards the bathroom. As she moved, however, her thoughts turned to an unusual subject; I.R.I.S. The system had been hacked by Harrington, surely, but it left Aigis wondering. Was the I.R.I.S. just a manipulated machine, or could she be as Aigis had once been herself? Trapped in metal chassis, but brimming with the possibility of personal will.

That possibility gave her hope, and also a frisson of sad empathy. If that was true then I.R.I.S. was in need of a friend to pull her back from her bad programming. Perhaps Harrington was the one she needed. Or maybe someone else, Aigis couldn't tell. She hardly understood the reasons why Minato had been able to still her hand that fateful night of Ikutsuki's betrayal. But she knew it had been him that had started her progress of as a sentient being.

With her mind fully occupied, Aigis swiftly made her move into the women's lavatory, ignoring all the others around her as she passed.

[to here]

Edited 2012-06-22 05:35 (UTC)

[from healing Yomi]

Aigis was glad that had gone well. Not the best that Athena could do, but under the circumstances Yomi had been given a proper treatment. She really probably would need even more help the next night, but if the girl requested it then Aigis would be willing.

Aigis stopped by a wall in the block hallway, trying to decide if it would be worth it pursuing the cure Harrington had spoken of. Or if she should just return to her room. Or...

An arrhythmic shudder of her heart picked up as her thoughts moved to I.R.I.S. There was probably nothing she could do. But if there was even the barest change, Aigis would take it. She would need to locate Landel's office first, however. That would be the most likely place Landel would keep her main processor. But Harrington had hacked into that system tonight, hadn't he? Maybe there were other ways to access the I.R.I.S. program, and if that were true, perhaps it wouldn't be completely illogical to think she could extract I.R.I.S. herself.

[For Aidou and Sasuke~]

_{[from here]}

Although in reality it hadn’t taken long to reach the female cell block, Aidou still felt the minutes trickling by and it made him anxious. Why couldn’t everyone just stay in a spot that was easy for him to fin--

Halfway through the door, his eyes fell on the only person in the corridor. Oh. Had his wish been heard!?

“Aigis!” he exclaimed, partly accusatory. That she was standing right there in the open seemed too good to be true. “Good, you haven’t gotten far. I came to see if I was needed or not, but you seem…”

Well, not ‘fine’. At least better than a drooling monster, though, right?

“… about the same.”

Aigis looked up, distracted momentarily from her thoughts.

"... Aidou-san." The once-android blinked, surprised by his openness. And the sight of another man behind him also gave her pause. Usually, Aidou liked to keep their relationship private and impersonal. But then again, there was talk of transformations and cures going on tonight. Maybe he had thought it best to bring back-up. Aigis did not blame him.

She cleared her throat, forcing herself to ignore the erratic fluttering of her heart. "I had an appointment, but that is over now."

She looked down at her arm. The rash had grown further, but beyond that... "I am, it seems. I feel no different from before, at least." Aigis' eyes subtly trailed to the other man behind Aidou, wondering how much he might know of the situation.

Not entirely truthful didn't begin to cover the extent to which Landel and the radio people covered their own and occasionally each others' asses, at the expense of the lab rats that were the patients, but it was true that there had been prizes that had been given before -- tools that made the nights or days easier. The occasional gift to an experiment that was particularly promising; Sasuke had seen it and knew the motivations behind such things well enough to both be wary and aware of when it could be worth taking advantage.

But Aidou didn't appear to be interested in seeking any potential cure for this acquaintance of his, and when they located the person in question Sasuke could understand why. For all that Landel had apparently suggested about patients turning into slavering monsters (Sasuke could well remember the unnatural hunger that he'd been forced to suppress during that first round of infections), this one sounded fine.

Or -- human, at least. Sasuke was no Inuzuka, but even he could tell that there was no festering smell of rot like there had been around his own body last time, and that meant that either this was indeed a completely different virus or it hadn't progressed enough to tell.

Aidou didn't bother to introduce him and this Aigis didn't take pains to introduce herself in turn, so Sasuke allowed himself a moment to activate the Sharingan. The chakra he'd seen in himself last time had been tainted, sluggish -- in front of him now was Aidou's familiar ice-blue glow and a new signature. Something about the pulse of light was slightly off, concentrated weirdly, but ...

Sasuke let the Sharingan fade, brow furrowing. "You can't smell the difference this time, Aidou?"

In the noble's opinion, Sasuke and Aigis were two entirely separate concerns. On the one hand, Sasuke was... well, Sasuke was the closest thing to a conversation partner that he had. The girl, meanwhile, was an evolving situation that he hadn't bothered to inform Sasuke about--in the grand scheme of things, his and Aigis' "arrangement" was rather unimportant. She fell into the category of Aidou's personal problems, which would probably simultaneously bore and annoy the boy unless mutually relevant. Sasuke had never shown much drive to be a fanboy and involve himself in all of Aidou's business.

All in all, having the two of them converge was almost odd to witness; he didn't blame Aigis for looking a little baffled by the extra presence. At the very least, he knew Sasuke would only guage her based on her usefulness and not on many more qualities than that.

"Don't worry," he said, giving Sasuke a glance of his own. The boy had chosen to follow him, so he couldn't have been too reluctant to take part in Aidou's "chore." "You don't have to be shy around Sasuke. He won't care if you're infected or not. On that note, it would seem then that you're not one of the unlucky ones scheduled to change today. I'd thought perhaps... mm, well, it doesn't matter now. You certainly don't seem like you've progressed to that stage, so it seems we can avoid that scenario for now."

At Sasuke's question, he gestured at Aigis with one hand, though he knew it would likely be lost on the boy.

"Oh, it's definitely in her blood--she and I checked that, you see--but it's nothing so overt as to drastically change the infected prisoners' bodies. Not yet, anyway. And that's all I really wanted to know, Aigis. If you're not any worse, we don't have to stay long."

"Ah, I see." That Sasuke had no care whether she was infected or not was in some part a relief and a worry. Perhaps he was simply too bold for his own good, but a little caution was always preferable to foolhardy courage. Still, Aigis would not be rude in assuming anything.

She offered a quick bow to the other man, though the gesture was probably lost in the darkness. "Pleased to meet you, Sasuke-san. I thank you for accompanying Aidou-san in his endeavors tonight."

She didn't know quite the relationship between the vampire and the dark-haired man, but it was clear that they were comfortable around one another. Aigis didn't sense the least bit of hostility, or at least, not the same that she had once experienced with the blond. It was interesting to see Aidou with another. And a male at that. At least Aigis didn't have to worry about the noble attempting to drain his guest after they left.

Though maybe it would be best to stick around. Aigis paused, contemplating sending them on their way with a swift farewell, but then decided against it. "... I appreciate your coming this way to check on my condition, Aidou-san. However, if you have other plans, I would not mind accompanying you for the night. I can provide backup, and emergency healing if necessary."

He was free to deny her request, but she was even contemplating following them if he did so. The android had little else to do that night.

Not care was perhaps taking it a little lightly, as Sasuke would likely be forced to care should this Aigis decide to change from somewhat reticent female patient to ravenous flesh-eating monster, but since that didn't seem likely he decided to let the description go. More important was making note that Aidou could detect it, just with less ease than last time.

And more important than that, the knowledge that Aigis was a healer. Sakura had tried to look at the infection last time, but there had been matters at hand that ... and he hadn't heard from her lately, nor had his nurse found any notes marked with the Leaf. For all that Sasuke didn't miss her and only cared on a practical level what might become of the Konoha-nin that had vanished from the Institute (and they had all gone by now, unless Sai was embarking on a mission to outsleep Sasuke), she had been -- useful.

He nodded once to acknowledge Aigis' formal greeting, brusque and unwilling to waste time with formalities.

"A healer could be of use." If Aidou had any particular reason of his own to not include her, the vampire could speak for himself. "You should be able to track the progress of the disease in yourself, correct?"

If she couldn't, Sasuke could to at least some degree; if nothing else, it would be information worth noting.

"You don't have to thank him..." Aidou muttered under his breath, expression flat.

The girl's choice of words made it sound like Sasuke was some kind of babysitter or dog watcher, keeping Aidou in line on the off-chance he started to run amok and bite everyone he met. Or a bodyguard that was helping to keep Aidou alive, which was most certainly not the case! And why was she thanking people at all? It wasn't like Aigis was his personal keeper, either! If anything, it was the other way around--wasn't he the one checking up on her as he had promised? Not to mention Sasuke would probably still be slumbering in his bed if Aidou hadn't resolved to wake him up!

That was right, Aidou was the one who was watching out for everyone else! As a responsible adult should. Which he was, technically, in human years.

Thankfully Sasuke didn't pain Aidou further by offering a "you're welcome" or something equally phony. It was official--Sasuke had more social skills than a girl who claimed to be an android in her real life. But only just. He was, after all, jumping on Aigis' attempt to invite herself along, making the vampire switch his deadpan to the boy. What was with that? Hadn't any one heard of muddying the waters? Aigis was better off dealing with Aigis-related business, and he and Sasuke were better off dealing with... productive business, or something like.

Having the two start to work together... Why did that make him start to fear for the worst?

"It was my obligation to come," he corrected, turning to Aigis. "Shouldn't you be more interested in the medical wing, anyway? If there's indeed a clue there, it could improve your situation. Why aren't you going?"

Although Aigis had found a place within his circle of acquaintances, Aidou wasn't her doctor or her guardian--decisions about what to do about her health belonged to her. But still, focusing on a cure seemed like the obvious thing to do for someone who was infected.

Edited 2012-07-11 04:22 (UTC)

"I was only being polite." There was no excuse for rudeness.

"My skills are not as they are back home, but they are adequate," she conceded. She couldn't promise a full recovery for anyone's injuries, but she wasn't going to downplay what she could offer either. She looked down at her rash-covered wrist. "I cannot judge beyond whether it has worsened or lessened. At the moment, I feel much the same as before. No worse."

She tilted her head to the side, gazing earnestly at her almost-friend. "I considered it, but I am certain I am not going to transform tonight. We will likely hear from others tomorrow over the bulletin what they have found as well." She had faith in the other patients to share their knowledge, anyway.

The android shrugged a shoulder. It looks just as unnatural as the movement was to her. "I would rather be of use than idle."

It appeared the relationship between Aidou and Aigis wasn't quite the same as how Aidou chose to interact with Sasuke, as Sasuke had initially assumed. Given that the vampire had been talking about the taste of the illness earler, Sasuke rather dryly shifted his assumption towards a link that was more like those on the food chain.

That evidently meant that Aidou had qualms about bringing her to the basement -- to protect her, or to prevent her from learning what meagre information that might be available? Sasuke himself had no particular interest in keeping anything about the Institute secret nor in not securing someone with the ability to heal when travelling into new territory. Not least because he could distinctly recall the last time someone had gotten hurt when he'd worked with Aidou and what had followed.

Though this time there would be no Naruto to talk too much. That was hardly a loss, and given that this Aigis seemed more shy than liable to blab, Aidou had better have a decent reason to reject her company.

"Decide between you whether she comes or not," he said shortly, what little social grace he'd been showing wearing away to imaptience. "We need to move soon."

Preferably before the night ended for once.

"You hardly need to tell me that," said the vampire in response to Sasuke’s restlessness. On the surface, time was a luxury for a long-lived creature like himself who could live for hundreds and hundreds of years, but if anything his longevity just made the cost of wasted time even more pronounced.

His time was important; spending it on petty feuds and Landel’s equally petty illusions of grandeur was rather insulting.

Besides, it wasn’t as if Aidou was overflowing with patience. As far as he saw it, there were two options: let Aigis tag along, or freeze her feet to the floor and run for it. Trying to understand why she’d rather follow him like a puppy instead of investigate a potential cure for herself would probably take all night with the way Aigis’ mind seemed to work.

Turning to speak to Aigis over his shoulder, he said, "I’m not even going to pretend to understand why you deem latching onto us to be more important than the alternatives. Whatever, you can do what you want. You’re still interested in the basement, aren’t you, Sasuke? If we head there, we might require another body, anyway. But that means mouth closed. And no crazy antics! You might not transform, but the infection’s still made you weak. If you keel over from fatigue, neither Sasuke nor I will carry you out."

Aigis did have some use, he had seen that himself. So long as they made some progress, any warm body that could be trusted to follow orders was fine, right?

"Speaking of, I suppose we'll be shortening the journey by using that damn ring, won't we?" He made an unhappy noise in the back of his throat. "Since I used up some of our time on this little detour, I guess that's to be expected. It's not like we have to worry about it turning us into monsters."

"I do not require any special treatment." She was determined to say on her own two feet. Aigis could be of use, she knew it! If only she could fight through the heart murmurs and shivers, then she would feel she had beaten the institute at it's game for one more day.

The possibility of change was still there, but she wouldn't let it hold her back from being productive.

Aigis moved to stand with the other two, feeling no need to keep space. She had not been forbidden to join them, at least. "You can rely on me to be discreet."

She was curious what their agenda in the basement would be. She had been there, but little had been accomplished in her short visit.

Sasuke was already curling the hand with the ring on it into a fist as Aidou and Aigis sorted out whether the latter was coming or not, resisting the urge to roll his eyes as Aidou stipulated that there would be no special care taken for injuries. If any of that genuinely bear saying aloud in this place, then Aidou really didn't have much of an alliance with this patient -- whether that was due to incompetence or otherwise would be seen tonight.

Hopefully, anyway, assuming they got anywhere and that Aigis didn't shift into a threat herself ... or to herself. Sasuke lifted the ring with its small, crucial jewel as soon as the decision seemed to be made.

"If you transform, we'll take you out," he said, as long as they were making the conditions clear. Then, voice flat enough that the sarcasm was barely detectable, "... and if the ring turns us all into monsters, we'll have nothing to worry about after all."

With that, he grabbed out for Aidou's wrist and dropped it onto Aigis' shoulder, smashing the ring into the wall as soon as they were all in contact.

[[to here]]

[from here]

She'd gotten something of a late start and the halls were busier than she was used to. It was strange, the free for all that was night. Everyone focused on their own tasks, hardly paying attention to anyone that passed them. And hardly anyone seemed to move in large groups, which would surely be safest.

But humans and organization didn't always go hand in hand, she supposed.

[to here]

Edited 2012-06-27 21:53 (UTC)

[From here]

The hallways weren't as abandoned as they had been the first night Nina had found herself in the institute. There were a few other women moving from their own rooms. Nina could hear more people she couldn't see, too.

Of course, that didn't make the institute not frightening.

[To here.]

Edited 2012-07-12 09:41 (UTC)

Night 64: F-A Block Hallway

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