damned_institute | Night 64: M11-M20 Hallway

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Night 64: M11-M20 Hallway

It wasn't as though Tolten could ignore the (no longer just) implications. But regardless, there was work to be done. And while he felt miserable, he was certainly still very much himself now that night had fallen.

He was not about to allow this place to break him. He knew he was a rather soft and sometimes timid thing, given to strange fits of emotion and often questioning himself. But he also knew he was the last son of Uhra, blood of the ancient golden knights, containing all the strength of of his holy ancestors. He bent and bent but he would not break.

Fueled more by anger than anything else, the young king took up his pipe - he would give it to Locke, as he'd have a sword now - and headed into the hallway.

He didn't allow himself to consider the possibility of Locke not meeting with him tonight. The other man had never failed before, he certainly wouldn't now. And they would go to the Medical Wing and try and decipher the only clue they'd been given.

Failure was simply not an option.

[to here]

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[From here]

Thankfully, this establishment was kind enough to keep them relatively close together in the male ward. All it took was a quick stroll down a few quiet halls--very quiet halls actually. When he turned into the teens' block, Wild Tiger caught sight of the first patient he'd seen yet, storming down that hall with grim purpose. His heart lept into his throat when his flashlight caught a glimpse of wavy blond hair and thought Barnaby. Oh no, he had grown impatient and was on the war path to find him! As the man drew closer, though, he realized he had been wrong.

A sigh of relief rushed out, then a fit of coughing, before he got control over himself again. Okay, he would try this again. At door number twelve, the older man nervously composed himself and ran through a few lines before he knocked quietly on Barnaby's door. Hey, Barnaby! Did you hear that crazy intercom message? Wowie, that was exciting! We should probably check it out before any patients think of braving the unknown, you know! Yeah? Sounded like a fantastic idea to me too! Thanks, man! You're always so good to me! Stop it, you are! Ha ha ha, you're so funny--!

[Knock-knock, betch!]

Dinner shift had been quiet with Gavin asleep. Barnaby wondered if the man had fallen ill, too, or if he was simply tired. Either way, he decided not to disturb him as he ate his dinner in peace. After dealing with his fair share of forced conversations in this place, having some silence was a welcomed relief in some ways, especially with how shaky his body felt sometimes lately. Although it was temping to forgo eating in favor of making preparations for Nightshift, Barnaby knew it was important to keep his strength up, even if he didn't necessarily trust the source of his nutrition.

He hadn't had a chance to talk to Kotetsu about what they planned on doing tonight. Truth be told, he'd wanted to sit down and have a long chat so they could at least try to get onto the same page. Of course, once he heard the intercom announcement, and the following interruption, his thoughts became more focused on the potential clues at hand.

By the time he heard a knock from outside, Barnaby had already changed into his street clothes. After grabbing his flashlight, he reached out and opened the door. He wasn't surprised to find Kotetsu standing in front of him, wearing his usual mask this time (thank goodness -- the daytime one looked even more ridiculous), and still in one piece.

"Tiger," he greeted with a small nod, careful not to use the man's real name where other patients could hear them. "Did you have any trouble on the way here?"

Edited 2012-06-22 04:25 (UTC)

"Hey, Bunny!" He brought one of his hands up in an enthused wave. "No trouble! Actually, the halls were really quiet. I only saw one patient out. Pretty weird..." Once he stopped talking, though, he realized the error of his way! There now existed a vacuum that would inevitably lead to Barnaby saying something like "We have to talk, come in" and then all hell would break loose!

He had to come up with something before his partner had a chance to speak! "Oh! Uhh--" Come on, words, don't desert him now! "I heard that intercom message!" His serious business face went in place as he pointed at the ceiling. "Sounds dangerous. We should probably investigate before any citizens hurt themselves."

He hadn't necessarily been referring to any attacks or ambushes, but Kotetsu looked a lot better than he had toward the end of their brunch together. That had to count for something, though Barnaby privately resolved to keep an eye on him tonight.

There was something off about Kotetsu's suggestion, though -- and, quite frankly, Barnaby didn't have any trouble coming up with a few reasons why. Maybe he wanted to mask any symptoms he was experiencing, or perhaps he wished to avoid the inevitable questions Barnaby had for him. The man had never been particularly difficult to read, even if Barnaby didn't always understand the deeper issues connected with his partner's behavior.

"I still have some things I want to talk to you about," he bluntly reminded him, "but I do agree with you. It could be a trap, or it could be a legitimate clue. Either way, I'd like to investigate it so we can learn more about what's going on here."

After checking over his flashlight and maps, he decided he was ready to go -- once he took care of one last thing, anyway. "By the way," Barnaby added as he reached out to grab something folded on his desk, "these are for you." With that, he extended some maps he'd copied from Anise's drawings during dinner. "Keep them in your pocket so you don't lose them."

"Right, right, of course! There's always time for talk later." It was a terrible attempt at pacifism with absolutely no bias. He tried for neutrality, but even he knew he sounded more relieved and excited than he should have in the face of his thoroughly confused partner. Wild Tiger swore that he could make it up to the blond once they were done with their investigation and this illness or whatever it was had been alleviated! That wasn't too much to ask, right?

When Barnaby was ready to leave, the older man was about to step out of the room when he was handed pieces of paper. "What--Aww, Bunny, did you draw me someth--Oh..." No, it wasn't some cute picture of a crappy tiger and bunny frolicking together in an equally crappily drawn setting; it was just a few tracings of the institute's blueprints. After looking over it for several moments, Tiger did as he was told and put them into his right-hand pocket for safe-keeping.

"Okay, to the med wing!" Where ever that was. Had it been on his map? Well, it was too late to fret now! His feet were in motion and they told him to go this way.

[To here]

Edited 2012-06-24 07:34 (UTC)

Hakkai awoke with a start to that now-familiar emotionless voice singing over the intercom again. He fumbled for his glasses on the bedside table out of instinct, and only then realized he was most definitely not where he'd passed out. Not that this was unusual here - though for once he could actually remember passing out, instead of the more abrupt transisions this place offered. His memory was hazy, but he could remember the buses stopping as night started to fall, and monsters attacking them. He had been fighting back, but his strength had been sapped somehow - evidently to the point where he couldn't keep up.

It was dim in the room now, and even without windows, he was fairly certain it was night. He wasn't sure, however, whether it was the same night, or whether he'd slept through the day entirely somehow. His sense of time was a mess in this place, and he still felt tired and lightheaded. He had half a mind to just roll over and try to get some more sleep, but a mix of curiosity and anxiety nagged at the back of his mind. Now that he was awake, he wasn't going to be able to shake it so easily.

He sighed, very slightly, at himself, and pushed the covers aside quietly. He'd try to find Gren - the other man might know what had happened on the buses, and they could always see what else was in the basement. Gathering his usual things, he slipped out into the hallway to head to the room just down the hall from him

Edited 2012-06-22 05:02 (UTC)

It didn't take very long for Gren to gather up his things for the night. He was traveling fairly light, though he still carried the shovel with him. It was a little unwieldy, but it was the only weapon he had. The announcement had him a little concerned--it was hard to say if the information was genuine help or a trick--and after last night, he wasn't about to divert his own plans for something that might be a trap. Doubtless, someone would go investigate. He'd leave it to them.

He was barely out of his door when he spotted a familiar figure. Good... he'd been hoping he'd be able to catch Hakkai before he set out in earnest.

"Hakkai," he called out, waving a bit to catch his attention.

Hakkai very nearly jumped at the sound of his own name - he managed to catch himself before doing anything to undignified, but he was more on edge than he had thought, apparently.

He gave Gren a small wave in return. "I was just coming to find you."

"I take it you're on for another evening of subterranean exploration, then?" He smiled a little, hoping to make light of the situation they were caught in. Things were a lot more tense than they'd been just a day or two ago, and it was hard not to feel the pressure.

He was going to try, though. His pride kept rebelling at the notion that this place might drag him back down and undo him completely. If this place was going to take him, it'd have to fight for it.

"Ah, that too," Hakkai replied with a slightly sheepish smile. "But... I blacked out during that fight with the creatures on the bus. I was hoping, ah, that you remembered a little more." Like what day it was, but he didn't want to admit he'd gotten that confused outloud.

"You okay?" Blacking out didn't sound good at all. He looked fine, anyway... he supposed the same thing that had happened to Edgar had happened to Hakkai--once they were unconscious, the monsters lost interest.

"There were more creatures waiting for everyone out on the road," he replied, and if he sounded a little tired, it was because he hadn't wanted to think about it again, and here he was, telling it for the second time. "They didn't have a lot of interest in me, so I managed to make it past them, but it wasn't pretty." To put it lightly.

He didn't want to talk about what had been waiting for everyone in the entry way. He had a limit for casually recounting horror, and he'd reached it for the moment. "They're definitely not playing nice with us anymore."

"Mm, I'm fine. Just pushed my powers a little farther than I should have. I wish I had been able to do more to help, though." If he had used his other powers... but then, that may have been what Landel had wanted him to do. A worried expression flitted briefly across his face before it smoothed to his usual calm smile.

"I'm glad you're alright, though."

"Yeah, can't be helped, I guess." His own failure to stick around and help the patients who were under attack still nagged at him, though he knew there wouldn't have been much he could do. A voice in the back of his head that wasn't his own said it was pointless to worry about them. They were nothing. He shoved it and the lingering guilt away and tried to concentrate on the present.

"Yeah. I'm fine. You up for an excursion, or would you rather take it easy?" The basement would still be there tomorrow, after all. ...probably, anyway.

"I'd like to explore some more, I think - if you're up for it." Gren looked a little worn out - not enough to really worry Hakkai, but if the other man wanted to take it slower, he'd concede.

"I think I've rested enough for today myself, aha." And some exploring would take his mind off of worrying about the announcements and the monsters and and how close his own demons were to the surface, and how easily everything could go so very, very wrong.

"Yeah, I'm good to go." As good as he was ever going to be, anyway. The only good thing about this place--he never had to worry about not being able to sleep.

At least this would give him something to focus on, aside from just how screwed they probably all were. It was seeming more and more like whoever was really in charge just wanted them dead in various and creative ways. This way, it felt like they were doing something, even if it didn't get them anywhere in the end.

Hakkai nodded. "Do you have your ring...?" If it could get them down there faster, so much the better. He still hadn't found a decent set of lock picks, and the walk through the darkened halls felt particularly intimidating tonight. Whatever was weighing on his mind felt like it was weighing on the atmosphere, too. And the rash on his arm had only gotten worse, though thankfully the darkness hid that.

"Yeah," he replied, holding up the hand with the broken ring on it. "But it won't do us any good until we can get back down there and reset it," he added apologetically. If he'd realized the thing was actually going to come in handy, he would have broken it ages ago, and he could have set it the last time they were down there.

Hakkai's face fell for a brief moment at the prospect of making their way through the maze of the dark halls again. He pulled his usual careful smile up again, though, hoping Gren hadn't caught his disappointment.

"Well, then. We should get a move on before it gets any later."

Not that it likely would have been any consolation, but Gren wasn't too keen on the idea either. Still, if they succeeded in their goal tonight, they wouldn't have to face that problem any more.

"Good idea."

He hefted his shovel again, though he didn't expect much trouble this close to the patient rooms, and headed down the hall.

[To here.]

Edited 2012-07-01 05:06 (UTC)

This was not necessarily going to work, Badd cautioned himself. There was every chance it wouldn't. He should fully expect to wake up in his bed tomorrow morning with everything exactly how it was, as this was more experiment than escape attempt. But it was hard not to be excited at the idea that for once the sun might rise and not find them.

His trenchcoat swirled around his shoulders as he swept out into the hallway.

[To here.]

His first instinct was to assume that it could be a trap. Landel had to know that they were desperate for information. On the other hand, it certainly hadn't sounded as if I.R.I.S's intrusion had been planned, and just sitting around assuming everything had ulterior motives wasn't helpful when they were in a desperate race against time. Contrary to what most people thought, Kratos was more than willing to take risks if the situation called for them.

He changed into the military uniform - all the better to hide his bandages from Rapunzel - and gathered his things before opening the door. Castiel's room was M39, which wasn't hard to reach at all; in fact, he knew the route well: he had taken it often when he'd formerly worked in the clinic.

Well, no time to waste. Kratos readjusted the sword resting at his hip and walked out into the hall.

[to here]

Edited 2012-06-22 20:27 (UTC)

Sleep could claim one so easily.

Humans were such fragile creatures, their bodies requiring constant sustenance through food, exercise, and sleep. Dreaming was the norm, claiming their minds as they pondered their own existences, so short in comparison to those who were created to protect them...

X had been created in order to be close to these creatures, and close he was.

Funny how it must be to become that which you loved so dearly, and were so sworn to protect.

His eyes opened slowly, the lack of light filtering through his eyes and bringing nothing but musty fuzziness to his field of vision. He could feel the thin blankets touching his skin, his body pressed against something that was too soft to be a pod, but too hard to be truly comfortable.

...A bed?

No, that couldn't be right. He was in his pod, wasn't he? That's where he'd fallen into sleep mode last. Why would he have been moved to a human bed? It wasn't like he needed...

X tried to sit up, but found his body unable to cooperate, his head falling back down onto the pillow with a thud.

Strange. His body wasn't quite agreeing with him.

X tried again, pulling up on his arms and forcing himself upright. His eyes were starting to adjust to the darkness (when did his optics get so worn? Maybe that last battle took more out of him than he thought), breaths shallow as his mind tried to focus through all these shared sensations--

--breaths.

X stared down at himself. At the blanket, at the bed, at himself.

He was breathing. It was one thing to vent through an oral orfice, but it was another to feel his chest expand and retract, breath coming in and out of his nose and mouth as though he was...

"wha--"

His voice wasn't even working properly. Coming out in a hoarse whisper it lingered in the air, sounding as foreign to him as everything else.

He was breathing. He was in a bed, in a room that most assuredly wasn't his, dark as it was.

He didn't have his armor on.

"What's..." His voice came out in that whisper again. Why? He tried speaking again, breathing deeper and trying to incorporate more air. That was how those with lungs spoke, wasn't it?

"What's...going on?"

There. That was better. Focus on the little things, stay calm, think rationally. He was possibly in a VR simulation (one hell of a good one, though, if they can rig up something like this), or something else. There was no use getting worked up over it.

Stay calm. Think rationally.

On shaking legs that didn't seem to want to work, X made an attempt to try to step out of bed--

--only to land crashing with a loud, surprised cry as his legs buckled. Instinctively he threw his arms out, shielding his face as he landed on the ground.

[To here!]

Edited 2012-06-24 14:52 (UTC)

Wishing Gren luck, Edgar pulled on the doctor's coat and finished grabbing his equipment for the night: the radio and dagger were tucked into the bag in the event they were needed. Luck favored the prepared, after all, and when one never knew exactly where the night would take them or what they would be facing, they needed all the luck they could get.

His mind poured over the announcement as he worked. The doctor was interrupted by a strange message, one bearing Harrington's name. Though it held advice for the infected, the question was whether it was a genuine attempt to aid those doomed to transform, or if it was another ruse from Landel's bag of tricks. The man had already proven he wasn't above sending his prisoners on a witch hunt; luring the infected— and at the same time, anyone looking to find out who they were— to a specific room was just asking for trouble. It was an ambush just waiting to happen.

He sighed, knowing there wasn't much to be done about it at that moment. He had an appointment to make. He set a few other odds and ends inside— mostly tools— before pulling the strap of the bag over his shoulder. With one last look around the room, he was off.

[To here.]

Edited 2012-07-13 09:34 (UTC)

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Night 64: M11-M20 Hallway

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M13

[From M16]

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