damned_institute | NIGHT 64: MAIN HALLWAY, 1-EAST

_{[from here]}

When she saw someone breaking their way into the Medical Wing, Tsubaki wasn’t sure what to do. Should she go inside, too…? Lingormr hadn’t said if he wanted her to meet him inside or outside in the hall, and so far she hadn’t seen any sign of him on her way.

Given that the door had been locked, it was safe to say that Lingormr hadn’t gotten ahead of her, at least. If that was the case, she could probably find him more easily outside, where she could flag him down.

Waiting on a night like this was especially difficult, but a few minutes wouldn’t kill her… Ah, no, that’s a horrible way to think. Sighing softly, Tsubaki backed up against the wall, keeping her hands near her sides in case she needed to quickly reach into the many hidden folds in her outfit and retrieve an item.

_{[dropping down a thread to mingle with Scar here!]}

Edited 2012-06-25 06:03 (UTC)

_{[From here]}

Scar crawled back into the hallway, his arms shaking and weak from the loss of blood. There was a deep gash across his back and one across the backs of his thighs, the muscle damage making his legs useless. His clothes were soaked in his own blood, and he was becoming dizzy. Despite his current state, a deep scowl was still firmly set on his face.

At this point, his only chance at making it through the night was if someone who cared enough to help him showed up before a monster found him.

Scar sat against the wall, unable to go on much farther. Gingerly, he peeled off his bloodstained shirt and began cutting at it with his small knife. The front was mostly blood-free, so he could at least use it as a bandage for his legs. Grimacing, the Ishbalan wrapped the cloth tightly around the wounded areas. It would be soaked through rather quickly, but it would do for now. There was no way he could get to his back. He didn't even try.

Edited 2012-06-24 22:58 (UTC)

_{[from here]}

Tsubaki had been tempted to sidle up to the door and peek inside, wanting to know what was going on in there, if the information leading to a cure had been uncovered, but her desire to keep her word and find Lingormr first kept her at bay. What was taking so long? Hopefully he was coming soon…

With her eyes and ears trained on what was going on back along the corridor, she didn’t notice the figure leaving the Medical Wing until the sharp smell of blood hit her. Unmistakable, that scent. It raised the hair along her neck and arms, making her breath catch.

She jumped away from the wall, searching for the source--and that’s when she saw the man pulling himself free of the doors to her left.

"Oh my gosh!" All those black smears… blood, oozing from more than one wound. "Sir! Sir, what happened?"

In a flash she was on her knees beside him, reaching inside her clothes for the bandages she kept in stock there.

Scar looked up weakly to find the girl who had been in the hallway with him earlier rushing towards him. He continued to scowl, quickly returning his touch-and-go focus to tying the cloth of his shirt around his leg. His hands trembled slightly.

"Special counciling, I think." His voice was raspy and a bit weak, but still tense with anger. It was the best explanation for Loki's motive of getting Scar to go back to his room.

"Just don't go in there." There was nothing worse than being in such a weak state in front of another, but at least it was no one that he knew.

[From here.]

The amount of patients thinned out as they got closer to the medical wing, which Sora was surprised by. Shouldn't just about everyone have been heading this direction? Or at least anyone who was sick or had a sick friend, he would think. Maybe he and Link had just been fast.

As he moved his flashlight around, though, he saw some bloodstains on the wall. That wasn't a good sign, but it might also just be something that Landel was doing to worry them.

"Umm," Sora said, quickly pressing forward in the hopes that Link hadn't seen that, "the door into the medical wing should be right ahead!" Then they just had to find the X-Ray room.

Link's eyes widened slightly as he shone his flashlight on the wall. There was... a lot of blood. Had someone already been here tonight? Were they okay?

"Sora, I realize how important this cure is..." They had arrived at the only door in his sight, so he assumed that this was the medical wing. "But whatever was bleeding this badly must have come out of there."

Link watched the ajar door closely, eyes narrowed. There were bits of smeared blood on the floor, the trail clearly leading to their destination.

"Here, let me help you… It’s not much but it will help to stop the bleeding." She had a role of medical tape stashed somewhere near her left arm, and she added it to the small pile of gauze and bandages she’d lain out on the floor. The man had made a temporary around his leg, but from what she could see his sides were slick with blood, indicating more areas that needed tending. "Where else are you injured?"

From her vantage point, wounds didn’t look life-threatening provided they stopped the bleeding, but still… for a prisoner under Special Counselling to hurt someone so badly was chilling. What was the likelihood Landel had stationed someone in the Medical Wing just to prevent people from heading to the X-Ray room?

And to think, a whole area of the hospital dedicated to medical supplies but no safe way past…

"Who did this? Was it really one of the prisoners?"

Well, it had been silly for him to think that Link would just miss that much blood. Sora had been hoping that his new roommate's first night here would have been calmer than this, but that was a lot to ask of Landel's.

He sighed, realizing that entering what was clearly a danger zone when he was feeling sick and with someone who was both new to this place and unarmed was a bad idea. But what else was he supposed to do? This was his only chance!

"I know," he said after a pause, looking away from the blood as he faced Link, "but I have to go in. You don't have to come with me. It's going to be dangerous and you don't even have a weapon. But... well, I'm one of the people who's sick and who might end up hurting people if I don't get better, so I have to go." He frowned, hoping that Link would understand. Sora wouldn't hesitate to go on his own from here. This wasn't Link's battle, after all.

"Lingormr." He spat the name like a curse. Scar grunted as he sat more forward so the girl could better access his back.

"My back... And both of my legs." He closed his eyes, the dizziness of blood loss starting to really get to him.

Scar did not want to dwell on the idea that he had just been so easily torn to shreds by Lingormr, though. He tried not too appear so infuriated by the man. And he was curious as to where Tsubaki had gotten her hands on medical supplies.

"Where did you get tape?"

"Of course I'll come in with you," Link said without a moment's hesitation. But they were both completely unarmed and getting ready to enter a room with blood at it's door frame.

"Are you somehow armed?" This seemed to be a place of magic... Perhaps Sora had abilities that weren't obvious at Link's first glance?

“Wh--what?” It comes out as a disbelieving squeak, her surprise making her eyes fly wide.

Lingormr? As in… ? How many Lingormrs could there be under one roof!? Logic said only one, which meant… which meant her Lingormr, the one she was acquainted with and was supposed to meeting up, had been taken for Special Counselling. Brainwashed! And ordered to hurt people!

Her hands froze for a split second before Tsubaki reminded herself there were more important things to be doing. Quickly snatching up some gauze, she sat up on her knees. “I’ll bandage them up, okay? Just hang in there.” Her mind might have been racing, but her hands still knew what to do. She pressed the pads to the wound along the man’s back with one hand, using the other to grab a length of bandage to secure them in place. It wouldn’t hold forever, but at the moment any little bit of help to seal the injuries off would be a blessing.

“I--I got a first aid kit in town,” she stammered in answer. “But I only brought a little with me.”

Clearly, this girl knew him. Scar scowled.

"He has a... giant knife of some sort," he rasped, gritting his teeth against the pain as she pressed the cloth against his back.

The Ishbalan nodded when she mentioned buying supplies in town. Of course that made sense. Why hadn't Scar thought of that? He would have to remember the next time they brought them down there.

"Thank you," he murmured, still trying to cool off his anger at Loki. He wasn't about to channel the brunt of it to this girl. Really, he was still shocked that Landel was so twisted as to kidnap such a young lady. His mind was slow from the lack of blood, but he was conscious enough that another rush of fury flared through his system at the thought of subjecting children to a place like this.

Landel was just as bad as the Amestrian military. Scar hated him.

So Link was coming along either way. Sora got the feeling that even if he tried to convince his new roommate to stay behind, he would refuse, so the two of them would be in this together.

At the question, Sora cocked his head to the side before grinning and patting his chest. "Yeah, I do! I have a weapon called a Keyblade, but it only comes out in immediate danger, so... we'll see what happens, I guess."

It was nervewracking walking into an area that was clearly dangerous, but that was no different from what Sora had been doing since he received the Keyblade. He neared the door, placing his hand near the broken lock as he eased it open.

"Here goes," he whispered back to Link before walking inside.

[To here.]

Tsubaki felt silent for a moment, lost in the whirlwind of her thoughts. Hard to believe the man she had only just talked to that morning was now prowling the very spot they’d agreed to find each other, attacking whoever went inside. But that was how Special Counselling worked. Lingormr must have been taken at dinner and…

… and given his power and strength back.

The man before her was obviously no lightweight, but Lingormr had easily chased him out of the area. It was good that brainwashing victims seemed to have a limited range of movement and couldn’t follow people throughout the building.

“You don’t have to thank me,” she said in a small voice. “I’m sorry, if I’d known I would have gone inside after you. We‘ll get you help.” She had enough supplies left to tape up the leg he hadn’t gotten around to, but if only Rapunzel was nearby! Healing magic was far more efficient than a few bandages.

Wait. Healing magic…? She didn’t have any healing abilities herself, but she did have the vial of yellow liquid she’d gotten as a “reward.”

Consume wisely and only if you or one of your friends is gravely injured.

Without thinking, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the bottle, which after two weeks still sat full of the mysterious substance. “I have this! It… well, I was told you’re supposed to take it when you’re injured. But I don’t know if it’s true.” Kurogane had advised her not to use it if she didn’t know what it was, and she had been inclined to agree with him, but if it helped… “I don’t know what it does, honestly, but it might help with your wounds and we can get you somewhere safe to rest.”

It was certainly a testament to this girl's kindness that she was offering this supposed healing serum to Scar. He was only made more angry that someone like this was being holed up in this hell.

"Keep it." He grimaced, moving to sit up straighter. "I'll live."

And honestly, Scar didn't quite trust whatever was in that bottle. If she had gotten it from the Institute, chances were it was just as big of a trap as the one he had just marched into.

If the potion did actually work, Scar would rather this girl have it when she needed it, rather than wasting it on him.

[coming in after Scar and Tsubaki, from here]

The main hallway was usually clear as far as Soma could remember. She didn't expect the smell of blood that hit her almost instantly tonight. It was impossible to not think of the scene she'd stumbled across with Lingormr and Castiel the night before, and her lips thinned as she neared the doors. She had never been fond of blood.

But there were thankfully no bodies here, only smears of still-fresh blood along the walls and floor. More of it than she liked to see, but the injured patient in question had presumably survived. What was less reassuring was the fact that judging from the smears, the patient had been injured inside the medical wing.

That didn't seem like a cure to her.

"We're going in there," she said to the Once-ler, indicating with her flashlight. "In case you were wondering." If nothing else, at least the blood might be evidence he couldn't really ignore.

It wasn't like the Once-ler had never seen blood smears before. A large, heavily mechanical factory tended by hundreds of workers was bound to see some accidents. Thankfully no one had ever died, and the incidents could be counted on one hand. Besides, he'd had some of the finest lawyers money could buy, which kept things from getting out of control.

He hadn't liked inspecting the aftermath, but it was part of his job, and he'd gotten through it fairly easily.

This was different. He'd never seen so much blood in one place, and the scent hit him like a truck. He swallowed sharply, going slightly pale. "Is that normal?" he asked softly. "The blood, I mean."

Perhaps Soma was right about the monsters. It still seemed absurd, but.... The Once-ler shook his head. "Let's go."

He preferred to leave the scene behind as quickly as possible.

"More normal than it should be," she returned flatly.

At least he wasn't panicking at the sight of blood. She hadn't been sure how prepared he'd be; he didn't seem like much of a fighter to her. Still, to drag someone new into a hallway where some unknown creature might be lurking...

"Whatever caused that is probably still in there," she said, turning to him. "Before we go in, I need to know how used you are to fighting, and if you have any abilities that might come in handy if worse comes to worst."

“But…”

But what? What was she trying to argue, exactly? That he should take a strange drink from a strange person? If she were on the other end of things, she would probably hesitate to test her luck, too.

But that still meant he was injured in the middle of the hallway, with their way into the Medical Wing blocked by… well, she didn’t want to think about it.

“Do you think you can walk?” she hazarded instead, putting the vial away again. With someone smaller, Tsubaki could have carried them herself, but she hesitated to think of trying to move the man alone. He was a lot bigger.

The Once-ler nodded grimly. His younger self would have panicked at the sight, but after causing so much destruction himself, it just didn't have the same effect. Not to say he wasn't disturbed; seeing desolation every day for a year had simply jaded him to horrific (in his mind) sights.

He hesitated before answering Soma. "Fighting? Er... well, I have a pair of twin brothers who enjoyed tag teaming me when we were kids," he offered lamely. He paused, then, somewhat more quietly, added, "I'm also pretty handy with a wood axe."

For once, Soma was grateful her emotions didn't tend to show on her face. She managed not to look dubious as she nodded. If she were perfectly honest with herself, the Once-ler was probably safer running full tilt back to his room than going inside with her.

"If you want to come with me, you should probably take this," she said, pulling the katana free from a bedsheet loop and offering it to him hilt first. "It isn't a wood axe, but it's better than nothing. It belonged to one of my friends, so don't lose it."

And then all that was left to do was pull her handgun free from her belt, switch off the safety, and head inside.

[to here]

"It's the only option," he said through grit teeth in response to her question. He would just have to force himself to suck it up and walk. Scar leaned heavily against the wall as he stood weakly, a painful grimace on his face. It was bad enough that his injuries were almost completely crippling, but he had lost so much blood that he was lightheaded.

Scar would be Scar, though. He refused to let himself be defeated by an injury that was actually quite petty in comparison to what other various atrocities he had endured. And the fact that they had been inflicted by Lingormr only drove him further to overcome this.

"Where to?"

Staying in the hallway wasn’t an option. Trouble could come from any direction, and predators that were already nearby would probably be able to smell the blood. But a safe place…? The hospital was definitely short on those, ironically. Upstairs where she knew other medical supplies to be was out of the question with the man’s injuries. So were the patient rooms because of the sheer distance.

The closest spot she felt comfortable enough taking him to was the next hall over, where the doctor’s offices were. On her way past, she hadn’t noticed any of the doors standing open, which meant they were still relatively untouched…

“If we can get you to the doctor’s offices, there’ll be a place to rest!” She lifted herself up, recollecting the leftover supplies. “You can lean on me, I’ll help.”

Once she’d gotten the door unlocked, she knew there would be a couch to lay on, which would help take the pressure off of his legs and back. And then… and then she could figure out the next step.

"Alright." Scar tried not to put too much weight on the girl as he walked, keeping one hand on the wall and the other arm on her shoulder. Thankfully, she was on the taller side. It was a painfully slow process, and Scar wasn't quite sure where he was going. He had never been to the doctor's offices before.

Something hit him after a moment of walking in silence. He hadn't thought of the sickness as an issue before. No one would be concerned if he transformed or not. But he wasn't about to put this girl's life in danger.

"There is a chance I may transform tonight. If that happens while we're in the doctor's office, barricade the door on your way out."

Or, he supposed, he wouldn't mind being locked in the Medical Wing with Lingormr. That would certainly be satisfying in some sick sense.

At times like these, Tsubaki was almost grateful for the physicality of her work; she would never be the strongest person in Shibusen, but she wasn’t grossly out of shape, either. Having a little muscle made leading the man a bit easier.

With one hand on his arm and the other above the wound on his back to steady him, the two of them made their halting way back down the hall. The stranger deserved credit for his endurance--given the severity of his injuries, every step he managed must have been an uphill battle for him.

Just getting him out of harm’s way was enough to focus on. The last thing she was expecting to hear was--

“You’re sick?” Damn, why did she think she could stop looking for signs of the infection? She’d known there were others out there, others who had to be going through the same thing as her friends… “I’ll… I’ll be careful.”

If he transforms, not when. Surely that wouldn’t happen.

Bit by bit, their destination emerged from the blackness, rows of doors resolving themselves into familiar shapes. The first door facing them was the same office she and Rapunzel had found a computer in, and it was the first room she thought to go to.

“Okay, first things first. I’ll get the door if you’re okay to wait here,” she said, peering up at him. Leaving him by himself even for a short time wasn’t the safest, but she needed both hands to pick a lock.

Scar nodded. He wasn't going to leave her in the dark about something so serious.

"That's fine." His expression was still stiff, his teeth grit against the pain. Scar leaned heavily against the wall, waiting for the young woman to return. At this point, every moment was a fight to remain conscious. He had been so hurt that he blacked out before, but he couldn't afford that to happen here. Scar didn't expect the girl who was kind enough to help him to be able to get him into a safe room. And he was certain that there would be beasts attracted to the stench of blood.

While Tsubaki was away, Scar managed to get a shaking hand into his pants pocket, pulling out the photo of his brother. Blood now stained one corner. He frowned slightly. He shouldn't care... but least it wasn't ruined.

[from here]

The next hall was just as quiet as the one before it, but this one actually gave Kratos pause as he passed his flashlight over blood smeared on the walls and floor. There had been a fight here...the question was, between who? He shone his light around the rest of the hall, finally happening upon the culprit--or the victim, depending on how he looked at it. There was no monster corpse nearby, though; had whatever attacked him escaped, or had he stumbled in here from another area?

His mouth thinned to a line. If the injured patient hadn't been attacked in the hallway, he had probably come from the medical wing. Well, could you have expected anything less? The prospect of a fight, even a brief one, was looming, and Kratos's arm began aching in response.

"The medical wing is straight ahead," he said, pointing it out with his flashlight. "Flynn--" He paused to fumble with the tool pouch sitting next to his "sheath" and extracted two of the scalpels he'd acquired while exploring with Lingormr several nights before, which he then offered to the other man. "You're going to need these."

((From here.))

As they made their way forward, Claude glanced over at Guy. "You haven't been over there, either, right?"

He didn't think so, especially since they spent their nights together more often than not, but it was probably better to check. The more information they could arm themselves with beforehand, the better.

"I haven't heard of any traps there, but I wouldn't be surprised if Landel set something up," he darkly added as he kept an eye out for the medical wing entrance. Now that they were passing the hallway containing a bunch of doctor offices, Claude figured it was close.

Rapunzel was at once relieved that Eugene was okay with saving their talk for another time, and guilty that she had to leave him hanging. She knew full well just how much significance the dagger carried for both of them, and sick patients or not, leaving something that big out on a wire wasn't going to help much with feelings of unease.

It seemed she had greater reason to be uneasy as they closed in on the Medical Wing, however. She hadn't expected they would be able to just waltz in and take whatever cure was there, but that still didn't prepare her for the blood. Not much did. The only reason she didn't cover her mouth was that she didn't have a free hand.

She drifted closer to Eugene as Kratos handed him some tiny blades. Better than nothing, but her stomach still sat in knots. "For sure. Whatever's in there, it's going to be like last night. Probably worse," she explained, the body of her voice barely there anymore.

Neither Claude nor Anise seemed comfortable with the thought that they might need to draw attention to some sort of change in their own bodies, and Guy couldn't blame them for that. Turning into a monster was something even he had a hard time imagining, and he'd had his body controlled and re-purposed a few times before. That had been bad enough, so transforming into something else entirely just seemed unbearable.

When Claude directed a question at him, Guy glanced over and shook his head. "No, this'll be my first time." He was surprised that Anise had made it over here at all, but at least one of them had. It might make navigating a little easier.

They were getting closer to where he thought the door was, if he remembered right, but Guy was stopped short for a moment when he realized there were blood stains on the wall and the floor near said door. Like Claude had said, it seemed likely there was going to be some sort of trap in there.

He sent a wary look to both Anise and Claude before letting out a sigh. "Are we ready for this?"

Claude sounded about as uneasy as Anise felt. It was a little comforting to have someone who understood what she was going through... even if she would have preferred for none of her friends to be sick like that.

The blood around the door brought a frown to Anise’s face. Whatever clue was being kept back there, it wasn’t going to be easy to reach. When she looked up from the gruesome mess, however, she met Guy’s look with a nervous smile. “Yeah... I’m ready. We don’t have much choice but to go forward, right?” Both her and Claude’s lives depended on this. There was no turning back.

[to here]

That...was a lot of blood. Even after the nightmare that was last night, nothing could have quite prepared Eugene for the reality of seeing the blood that smeared the hall. He stepped back a little, startled, but steeled himself and recovered quickly. He could handle blood and the sudden, unbidden mental images speculating about its origins. But that didn't matter right now. It didn't matter who--or what--had been doing the bleeding; it wasn't anyone in their group and trying to find the source would just waste time they apparently didn't have. Rapunzel was dead-set on finding that cure. There were sick people waiting on them.

Sick people like Castiel. It had taken a little longer to notice, thanks to his little bout with weapon-that-killed-me-is-now-in-my-girlfriend's-hand phobia, but now that Eugene was looking, really looking, the guy didn't look so great. Put bluntly, he looked like death warmed over.

Eugene frowned. Why wasn't Castiel back in his room? If there were more monsters like the birds last night running around and leaving bloodsmears everywhere, the last thing they needed was for Castiel to become a liability.

But, hey. If they were off to find a cure, he could think of no one who needed it more than their long-coated companion.

Eugene pulled himself from his thoughts and the blood-smeared spectacle in front of him when Kratos began to speak and then search through his bag to produce...

...a couple of really small knives. "Thanks," he said, examining them. They were long-handled and wickedly sharp, sure to cut deeply and cleanly. Back home, Eugene had used something very similar to cut purse strings when money was tight and more high-profile jobs were a long time coming. "I appreciate it." And he did. He had reservations about their practicality as weapons, but something was better than nothing. He was going to need all the help he could get.

In the end, his question was never answered, as the entirety of their group was distracted by the blood that was staining the walls and floor near the medical wing door. Castiel stopped for a moment, realizing that it could be staged -- and yet he knew enough about wounds, even human wounds, to know that it was all real.

Besides, when had the threats here even been empty?

As Kratos handed a few weapons off to Flynn (they were medical instruments rather than actual knives, but most people were limited when it came to weaponry here), Castiel stepped forward. He knew that he shouldn't be the one leading group, but he -- like Kratos -- was less affected by the sight of blood. Rapunzel, at least, clearly wasn't used to this sort of danger, and seeing how she was here on the behalf of others, it would be best to keep her safe.

"Brace yourselves," he said with a glance over his shoulder. He drew in a breath, ignored the aches and pains in his body, and opened the door. A dark hallway was all he could see for now, and so he stepped inside.

[To here.]

_{[Sorry for the wait. D:!]}

Okay… quickly now, let’s go…

Once Tsubaki was relatively sure the man wasn’t about to topple over, she turned and ran for the door, pulling out her lock picking tools as she did. She hadn’t had a lot of chances to get a feel for the Institute’s locks, but after breaking into the doctor’s offices she at least knew what to expect where they were concerned.

A few tense seconds of fiddling led to the eventual click that she was waiting for. Thank goodness. Tsubaki breathed a sigh of relief and straightened.

“Got it open! I’m going to check it out!” she called.

Monsters could be hiding anywhere, even behind a locked door. If Landel wanted to inflict a nasty surprise on someone, putting them there would be the best chance to do so, too. But when Tsubaki poked her head inside and scanned the darkness, nothing stood out to her. It was the same as it’d been before--dark and quiet. Most importantly, it was a place for the man to rest.

Hurrying back to Scar, she held out her arms to once again get some of his weight across her shoulders. “All right, it seems safe. There’s a couch in the corner where you can lay down.”

[Nah, don't worry about it!]

Scar nodded weakly, leaning against the girl once again and making his way slowly to the office she had opened. Crossing the hallway was difficult without a wall to lean on, but Scar eventually made it. It was a slow, painstaking process, though.

[To here]

Edited 2012-07-04 01:01 (UTC)

[From here]

... Like a faded dream, it was coming back--But, no. That wasn't really true, was it? The former Hero had to stop this roller coaster of nostalgia from rising any further and dropping over the edge. The two of them were stuck in limbo, separated by forgotten history and festering wounds, and it was his fault. Sure, he could blame the institute or Ouroboros for scrambling his brain again, but all that was required to heal it was the truth.

Why was the truth always so hard to tell? Maybe he was sadly the only plagued by this conflict. In the spans of just a few moments, Wild Tiger's mood went from elated to guilt-ridden and all he could do was heave a long sigh as he stared down at the linoleum around his feet.

Barnaby could sense the change in his partner's mood as easily as feeling a shift in the wind.

Something was clearly on the man's mind. Given their circumstances, though, that was hardly surprising. As a NEXT dealing with the loss of his powers, he could imagine why it would be easy for him to feel inadequate or insecure about their working together like this. On the other hand, it was entirely possible that he was troubled by something else entirely. Trapped in a place like Landel's Institute, they didn't exactly have a shortage of problems to worry about. Brunch was grim proof of that.

Upon hearing that sigh, and taking note of Kotetsu's downward gaze, Barnaby slowed his pace just as they were about to pass the next two hallways. If they were going to go into this uncharted area, he figured he ought to clear the air between them while it was still quiet. The last thing Barnaby needed was to get caught off guard while Kotetsu was privately wallowing in his own issues. Besides, if there was something Barnaby could do to make Kotetsu's burden lighter, he wanted to do it.

"What is it?" he calmly asked, doing his best to reel in the anxiety he felt when he thought too hard about Kotetsu's symptoms and what they might mean. It was possible the change wasn't even related to that, but it was hard to be sure until they at least tried talking about it.

Edited 2012-07-05 05:39 (UTC)

"Oh--Ah, nothing! I just..." am having a crippling bout of depression, no biggy. Right, like he would tell Barnaby about that when they were in the middle of something important! The last thing he needed was for his partner to feel exposed in a moment of crisis because he was having a pity-party for one.

"I was just thinking about that time--" flippantly waving in the direction of the Sun Room. "--and I was falling and I was thinking, you know, 'This is how my life's gonna be... Tossed around like a puppet in an insane asylum.' And then you caught me out of nowhere... I mean what were the chances, you know? But every time I needed you, you've always been right there..."

Edited 2012-07-06 04:08 (UTC)

The man's words blind-sided Barnaby -- not because they were bad, exactly, but because he hadn't expected to hear something like that come out of his mouth. For a moment, Barnaby forgot how to breathe, and he was struck by the strange sensation of butterfly wings fluttering against the walls of his stomach. A confusing knot of surprise, embarrassment, and happiness suddenly lodged itself in his chest, making it difficult to speak.

He'd wondered, sometimes, whether he was really there for Kotetsu when he needed him. It was certainly true that Barnaby wanted to be there for him. Not only that, but he wanted Kotetsu to feel like it was okay to need him. More often than not, though, his partner kept him at arm's length when it came to his own problems. Whenever Barnaby considered the fact that Kotetsu must have been struggling with his power loss for months leading up to his retirement, he didn't think he'd always been there for Kotetsu. In fact, Barnaby felt like he'd failed him by not noticing his condition sooner.

This sudden admission was a huge change from before, though, and Barnaby was desperate to conceal just how pleased he was to hear it. As he shyly averted his gaze, his mouth twisted into a muted smile, and he took a slow, measured breath to steady himself.

Once again, he was left wondering what had happened to make Kotetsu say such things.

"That's because we're partners," Barnaby finally answered, as if the matter was as natural as one of the laws of physics. And while that was certainly true, he still got the distinct impression that wasn't why Kotetsu had heaved such a unmistakable sigh. His eyebrows faintly furrowed.

"In any case," he added, bringing himself to meet the other man's gaze, "we should probably get going. The sooner we get this taken care of, the sooner we can focus on other things." Barnaby's voice grew more subdued. "There's a lot I want to ask you about..."

Edited 2012-07-08 02:33 (UTC)

It was good to know that answer came so easily to the blond. He knew it would have--Doubt wasn't so much the problem, but insecurities had a way of popping up at the worst times, especially since this bizarre outbreak. Of course, that was why they were here. As Barnaby said, the sooner they get this done, the sooner--

"Ah, yeah," Talking... It almost made him sigh again. Well, it didn't matter right now! They both needed to focus on serving any patients who got caught in the potential crossfire of this mad doctor's schemes. And hey, this whole saving thing could take all night! It was all Wild Tiger could think to keep the flutter of anxiety in his stomach from rising any higher. It was strange how easily he was growing flustered over the dumbest things lately. Sure, he had a lot to be worried about, but they both did and Barnaby was holding it together better than he... Though he also hadn't been the one to up black hair twice! In fact, the older man was pretty impressed by how well he was dealing with it. Cool as a cucumber, man!

"All right, we are gonna be all over that X-Ray Room. Won't even know what hit it!" Strutting down the hallway with renewed purpose, it didn't take long to run into the right set of doors however, what he found dried up any humor left in him. The door was clearly broken into and that could mean anything from reckless patients or a violent attack, or maybe even a trap. They needed to be very careful.

Edited 2012-07-08 06:21 (UTC)

It looked like someone had already beaten them to the medical wing, though Barnaby had yet to determine that that meant, exactly. Still, the damage done to the door coupled with the blood stains illuminated by a quick sweep of his flashlight didn't bode well.

Barnaby knew he didn't even have to remind Kotetsu to stay on guard. After exchanging a grim, wordless glance with his partner, he led the way onto the next area.

((To here.))

[from here]

Though there had been a few pauses as they'd walked, it seemed Kyousuke energy was deteriorating, not improving. He wasn't surprised—this wasn't the kind of exhaustion that didn't get better by taking a breather. He wanted to go faster, but keeping a normal pace was still a strain, one that he could keep up with less and less. Subtly, his movements began to slow, and while it might not have been drastically obvious on the outside, it was enough for him to notice, and that made all the difference. But it was too open here to actually sit down and rest, so there wasn't much of a choice but to press on.

There were several places to go from here. Two halls to the north, a door at the end, and two doors marked as stairs. The stairs weren't the best idea right now, so after a moment of deliberation, he started to make his way towards the closest hall.

Edited 2012-07-16 19:20 (UTC)

[From here]

As they approached the end of the hall, Locke looked around, almost as if he expected some big monster to jump out at them. Maybe some head nurse turned monster to get in their way. Worse, though, was the fact there was nothing. It didn't make him feel any better.

There were a couple hallways to their left as well as a door. The treasure hunter glanced at them and went to check the door to their right first, then the one at the far end of the hall. "Both stairs. Guess that just leaves these hallways and that door."

Assuming the door would open and wasn't one of those Forbidden Doors.

Edited 2012-07-17 04:15 (UTC)

"The hallways are curiously empty," Tolten said quietly, echoing Locke's own musings. And if the hallways were empty...that was a very strong indication that the forces of the Institute were concentrated on guard duty.

He strained his ears, trying to determine which directions the ambient sounds of the Institute were coming from. There were always the whispers of battles and discussions and arguments, sometimes bouncing through the halls or echoing through the vents, but attempting to triangulate them....

Perhaps Locke had more of a knack for that.

"I suppose we try the door," he concluded, shaking his head. "Nothing about this feels right."

"No sign of life at a location we've been directed to? Yeah, sounds kinda like a trap to me." He smirked as if it were an amusing situation even though the dread in his stomach argued otherwise.

Still, they had no other leads. Locke went up to the door, a little afraid he'd open it and something would spring out at them, and tried the handle..which turned just fine. Likewise, the treasure hunter opened the door and nothing at all happened. Well...that was anti-climactic.

"Shall we? He stepped into the hall, leaving the door open for Tolten to follow. Watch, now that he was through, that was when something was going to jump out at them.

[To here]

[from here]

Gumshoe gasped. An all too familiar smell hit him as they got closer to the Med Wing. It was strong enough to stop him in his tracks. "Wait, ma'am!" he said firmly, without thinking. His arm shot out in front of the woman to make sure she didn't walk ahead of him as he shone his flashlight around.

Blood... A trail of it was leading out of the Med Wing, which meant there might be more of it.

The first thing he wanted to do was shout orders at his men. He could shout all he wanted. It wouldn't get him anywhere in here.

The arm in front of the lady fell just as his other hand grabbed a fistful of air near his waist, which he then gave a frustrated sigh at. You'd think he'd have learned to stop doing that by now. "Alright, I'm going to need you to stay behind me." He glanced at her before moving forward, trying not to look at the blood. He already had that gross feeling in his stomach... "There's no telling what might be waiting for us in there."

Edited 2012-07-30 11:05 (UTC)

Stunned - very few men ever made any attempts to protect her, and fewer still did so physically - Lust actually stopped as his arm came up to detain her. She watched him inspect the hallway, noting the blood. He reminded her of the men from the military. The young men. Shaken but determined to maintain control and calm.

"Something horrible, I'm sure," Lust mused, ignoring the order to stay behind him entirely. The moment of shock had passed, and she had no fear of blood. Or whatever had made it. Anger and indignation had smoothed over her memories of her first night shift with Scar.

"And really, there's no need to keep treating me as though I'm some civilian."

[from here]

Edited 2012-07-30 17:07 (UTC)

NIGHT 64: MAIN HALLWAY, 1-EAST

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