NIGHT 65: M1-M10 HALLWAY

[his_legacy]

As soon as the intercom was through, Link was off at a sprint. He carried the pillow case,his flashlight, and the knife from the previous evening.

There were now two tasks to be accomplished: Supplies for Sora, and another clue in the X-Ray Room. Two birds with one stone in the medical wing. There wasn't a moment to lose.

Sora could already be gone by the time he returned.

[To here]

Comments

[knightspirit]

When the door unlocked, Kyousuke didn't waste a second in grabbing his flashlight and making his way into the hall. His first thought was to try and find his way to the medical wing, to get a look for himself at this new clue, but he pushed it aside for now—right now, there was something more important.

He made a glance down the hall, but instead of starting down it, he leaned on the wall next to his own door, keeping the flashlight off. If he stayed like this, he'd remain fairly concealed; people probably wouldn't notice him unless they were passing by him. The disadvantage was that he couldn't see anything, but he didn't need his own light, when what he was looking for was someone else's. ... According to what he'd been told, Sora's room was just a few doors down. If he could, all he really wanted was a quick look, just to make sure he was faring well, and then he could leave. Or maybe the other boy wouldn't even leave his room. He certainly hoped that was the case, but who could know? All he could do was wait.

[lighthearted]

The first sign that something was wrong was when the lights turned off, and Sora realized that he could see almost perfectly without a flashlight. It wasn't supposed to work that way, and it made it clear almost immediately that something in him had changed.

Landel had said five patients would be turning tonight. Was he really in that number?

Before Sora could get a word out to Link about the situation, though, his roommate had run off and dashed down the hall, which meant that Sora was more or less on his own. He felt his chest squeeze in anxiety as he stared down at his hands and realized that tendrils of black smoke were coming off of them.

Sora ran to the door and then stared down the hall. "Wait!" he called out, but Link was already long gone. His roommate was trying to help him, of course, gathering supplies and whatever else was needed, but right now Sora needed a different kind of help. He didn't count as safe anymore.

His heart was beating so fast that he could barely stand it. The intercom had said something about another clue, but it was too late for him. There just hadn't been enough time. Sora stumbled into the hall, his hands shaking as he looked around for anyone who could help.

The improved vision made life a little easier, but at the greatest price. Still, he was able to spot Tsurugi standing in the hall, almost as if he was waiting for something. Sora remembered how he had told Tsurugi to stay safe this morning, but right now he was the only person he could rely on.

Sora moved toward him, unaware that his eyes had already started changing from their normal bright blue to a glowing yellow. "Tsurugi!" he called out. "I need your help!" The darkness was slowly moving from his hands up his arms, and he knew that it had to be obvious what was happening by now. At this point, he just wanted to be restrained so that he couldn't hurt someone if he really did lose himself. He could still barely believe this was real.

[knightspirit]

What he was looking for never quite came. ... It was strange. He could hear a door opening in the distance, but in the darkness, he couldn't say whose, and whoever it had been been, there was no trail of light to help identify them. He wondered for a second if someone was doing something similar to him, but he realized that he could hear footsteps, which meant someone was actually stupid enough to try traveling down the hall without seeing where they were going.

Someone, or something. His hand tightened around his flashlight.

"Who's there!" the boy called out sharply. He was about to turn the beam on and shine it in that direction, but a voice made him freeze. "Sora...?"

... So he'd been spotted. How had he even known he was there? He shouldn't have been able to see anything like this. But then he heard the plea for help, and realized with trepidation that he could something—eyes, glowing a faint yellow color. He clicked the flashlight on immediately, only find that they belonged to Sora, and that wasn't all. Now that he could actually see the other boy properly, he could see dark tendrils running off of him. It was almost like the aura avatar users gave off, but spiritual energy had a strange kind of glow to it, and this was pure black, more like oozing off shadows. Could this be...?

Suddenly his insides were reeling. ... It was true. The talk of monsters was really true. He hadn't doubted it, but it couldn't have truly set in until a moment like this. There was a stab of panic as he realized he didn't have a single clue what to do about it, but in spite of that, he was able to act quickly.

"You have to get back inside!" he yelled. He darted forward and grabbed Sora by the wrist, not paying the blackness of it any mind. It wasn't a safe move by any means, but his own safety was probably the furthest thing from his mind right now. He just had to drag Sora back into his room as quickly as he possibly could. From there... he really didn't know, but he had to do something.

[lighthearted]

It wasn't fair to involve someone like Tsurugi, seeing how he was brand new and still so young, but Sora didn't know who else he could turn to at this point. There was Tsubaki, and Rapunzel, and even Kratos, but none of them were close enough for it to matter right here and now. It was lucky enough that Tsurugi was here, even though Sora was already scared that he was going to end up harming the boy somehow.

When the flashlight was turned on, Sora immediately winced and tried to flinch away. And that just felt so wrong, because for Sora the light had always been something warm and inviting. He'd never let himself be scared of the dark, but he didn't want to be a part of it like this.

Of course, this wasn't the first time he'd gone through something like this. There was the first time, when Kairi had saved him, but Sora also remembered what had happened whenever he'd overused his Drive forms. Donald and Goofy had described it to him in detail, how every now and then he'd change into something else entirely. But this was different, something that was being forced on him, and it wasn't like he had Heartless to target in this place.

No, it was only the other patients.

When Tsurugi grabbed his wrist, Sora nodded and moved along with him. All he wanted was to be put in a position where he couldn't hurt anyone, and it had to happen before he lost himself completely.

They stumbled back into his room and while it was dark here as well, he could see just fine. He stayed out of the path of Tsurugi's flashlight and started to look around in a panic. "You need to tie me up somehow!" What could they use?

M1

[monkeyboy]

As usual Goku didn't waste time once the lights went out and that hidden person began talking to them in their room. It never pertained to him and most of the time the young boy didn't really understand half the words so there was no point trying to comprehend when there were more important matters. You didn't need to make long, fancy speeches to fight. In fact, it kind of made it harder... Hmm maybe the person should continue his monologues so the young boy could easily run up to him and kick him in the balls before he knew what was what.

Grabbing his nyoibo from the closet and fixing his pants so his tail could comfortably sway behind him, Goku set out for the night, eager to meet up with Taura. It was too bad Birdy wasn't going to be with them, but he supposed it meant more monster butt to pound between the two of them. Yeah, he could get behind that definitely.

[To here]

M6

[dispersive]

Scott and he parted ways as soon as night hit. His roommate had his own problems to sort out and so did Luke. Taking his sword from his wardrobe, Luke remembered to grab his fontech torch for once. If Anise and he were going to be rummaging, an artificial source of light was essential.

"Okay," he murmured to no one in particular as he tried to gather his thoughts before leaving. "Let's do this..." He wished Scott luck and left to find Anise, Guy, and his friend Claude. The sooner they got a move on, the more time they could put into searching for another cure as well. So without any further delay, the replica opened their door and left for the larger hallways.

[To here]

Re: M6

[vstheworld]

The best he could say for right now was that it felt reassuring to have someone to wish him good luck for the night again.

Aside from that, a wave of guilt crashed over Scott as he finished he preparations for the night. Five people were going to turn into horrible creatures of the night while other patients searched desperately for a cure. And what was he doing? He and the others were going cliff jumping again. Scott wasn't always the most socially conscious person in the world, but he at least knew enough to figure when he wasn't doing enough, even if he didn't do anything about it most times.

Still, what else could they do that other people probably weren't going to be doing already? The caverns were still a lead to a way out of this hole, they were some of the only ones able to investigate it, and none of the three of them were sick. As much as he felt like he was going to get crap from his (admittedly weak) conscience for doing so, he pretty much had no choice but to go forward with the plan as it stood.

"Here's hoping for less hand trauma this time, at least," he said to himself, heading out the door.

[To here]

M5

[awokentospring]

Lee felt a little bad leaving behind his roommate without offering to bring him along for the break out, but if the man had others to meet with then Lee would not detain him from them. A True Man kept to his promises, after all!

He gathered his flashlight and without much thought, headed out into the hallway to try his hand at breaking out. His plan was fairly straight-forward. Get to the entrance, and get out. He could manage at least that much. Then after he was free, and the war had been taken care of, Lee would return to free the fellow patients imprisoned here. Priorities.

[to here]

[M5]

[maverickhunterx]

It had been the intercom that woke X from his nap, though through his sleep-addled haze, he hadn't caught any of what was said.

Damn it.

He had taken it easy after eating dinner, lying down on his bed and trying to get some shuteye, though he only felt moderately well-rested. But it was better than the fatigue he had felt after eating, so he supposed he couldn't complain.

Letting out a sigh, he slipped out of bed and knelt down, wincing at the pain in his leg. Lifting the mattress, he groped in the dark.

It had to be--

"Ouch!"

There it was. The tip had cut him, and he could feel a small amount of blood ooze out.

Gripping the shard of glass, he pulled it out, clutching it to him. It didn't do much good against Zero last night, but it could come in handy. It was better than nothing, at any rate.


X got item: [Glass Shard]


He had to find supplies. Had to find a way out...

Struggling to stand, he braced himself on the wall, ignoring the pain in his leg as he limped out of the room and into the hallway, tracing the path that he had taken before.

[To Here!]

[lovesthepain]

It was clear by the way Tsurugi had stared down the door so intently that he had somewhere he was eager to be tonight; Harpuia may not have liked the idea of leaving a human to potential danger, but his roommate seemed capable enough. If he had a plan, then there was no need to interfere.

Harpuia wasn't the type to move out without a plan either. Tonight's foremost priority: visit the second floor janitor closet. If the intercom was to be believed, then it was more important than ever to be properly armed. Once that was out of the way, he would be in a better position to guard Master X -- seeking him out would be a priority as well.

As for Zero...

As if Harpuia would ever worry about him. Zero could take care of himself. Still, it may be worthwhile to make sure that last night's incident would not be repeated; Zero hardly took being controlled very well, after all. Flashlight in hand, he ventured a practice swing -- a sharp twinge of pain from last night's blaster burns, but that was to be expected. Can't be helped, anyway. As prepared as he was ever gonna be, he didn't think twice before striking out into the darkness.

[To here]

M1

[atrabilis]

Again, Nigredo succumbed to the illness; he fell into a heated sleep at the beginning of dinner and hadn't stirred since. Thus, the boy never gained the opportunity to assess his new surroundings, and the prospect of a new roommate (and the state of his predecessor) had yet to set in. As the rest of the world went about their business, he existed within the dark of his unconscious mind, listening to labored beats of his heart.

Night grew, and still, he slept.

[purgatio]

[from here]

No prelude was given for this: Albedo opened the door and walked in, a wary glance behind him at the hall as he did so, before closing the door securely. He stared at it a moment, something being held to all the same, before he turned to see his feverish little brother and the items strewn about his bed. Some deemed a high notice, others less so, but all in all, items were items, and Nigredo...

Perhaps it was a humorous sight to see the highly armed child cross the small room to touch his little brother's hair, but there spoke a worried tenderness all the same. It was a seriousness seldom spoke of--without emotion or delay, Albedo would do the things required, and it was perhaps this, this lack of self in the act that allowed another to recognize all of this for what it was.

Need. The need for another to live more than himself. That was all.

[atrabilis]

It was touch that stirred him, that proved significant enough to call attention upon. Nigredo murmured a sound and shifted uncomfortably underneath the bed sheets before he chanced opening an eye. It took a moment for sense to catch, but eventually, the variant found the presence of one of his own.

"Albedo?" Of course. In this place, there existed no other. "How long..." His voice trailed into brief silence, as if Nigredo had forgotten his intent. It passed as it always did, and he moved to sit. "How long have I been asleep?"

[purgatio]

For a beat, Albedo continued to trace hair, then the hand dropped back to his lap, and he shrugged, a twitch of a gesture. "I can't tell you, love. It's the beginning of night, though."

A moment, shifting. This, perhaps, needed not to be said. Not with Nigredo like this. "I don't want you to leave your room tonight." Even as the thought of leaving his brother in this condition made it feel like a betrayal. The emotion pulsed between them.

Inside M2

[envy_the_sinners]

Scar sat in his room, slumped in his wheelchair. His dinner remained untouched despite his hunger. The pain persisted in his head, the nausea his stomach. The cramps had only gotten worse throughout the day. Then came the madman on the intercom.

It was difficult to contain a shudder when he mentioned tonight's... body count. Scar had no idea if the transformation would be permanent, or only for the night, or something in between... What would happen if he transformed tonight? There couldn't be that many people sick, and he couldn't deal with the thought of killing Tsubaki, or Rapunzel, or-

Wheeling slowly over to his closet, Scar pulled out his box and subsequently the photograph of his brother. His blood now stained one corner.

The Ishbalan felt too sick to keep up the tough guy act. Too nervous. This place and the people in it were stripping him down to his weakest, and he couldn't quite hide it with anger any longer.

The hope that his brother was out there was what kept him going. He had died in hopes of finding his forgiveness. Now he lived for that same purpose.

[For Tsubaki!]

[thecamellia]

_{[from here and sorry for the late, bro!]}

M2 was at the end of the hallway, and Tsubaki made her way toward it on cautious feet. Did it smell like blood or was what just her imagination playing tricks on her? She wasn’t sure anymore.

Regardless, she stepped up to the door marked with '2' on the front and knocked. She wasn’t sure about Scar’s roommate, but Scar himself couldn’t have gotten far if he’d left his room for some reason, right? Tsubaki knew from experience that anything could happen, but she was hoping the man was still inside as planned and not stuck in the middle of trouble somewhere where she couldn’t help him.

She realized at the last second that maybe it would be a good idea to introduce herself so those inside would know that trouble hadn’t come looking for them. “Um, it’s Tsubaki!” she called. “I’m here!”

[envy_the_sinners]

[Nah it's cool!]

Scar started slightly when he heard the knock at the door, eyes narrowing suspiciously as he hurriedly stuffed the photo in his pocket. The tension relaxed, though, upon hearing Tsubaki's voice call through the door. He shouldn't have been surprised that she'd come, but the Ishbalan had reached a point that acts of kindness were worthy of suspicion. It was sad, really.

Wheeling over to the door, (this damn chair was humiliating) he pulled it open, doing his best to mask the weariness and worry with his trademark scowl.

"You ready to go?"

[thecamellia]

<sub>Oh, thank goodness. He’s not one of the five.

Quickly, she dropped her hand and held both of them at her side, putting on a soft but confident smile at the sight of Scar in the doorway. “Yes, I’m ready. Are you?” she said, before adding, “That’s a relief your illness hasn’t gotten worse in the mean time. We can get you straight to Rapunzel.”

There was still the matter of how much the man wanted her help, though.

“… Is it easier for me to push your wheelchair while we go?”</sub>

[unpriest]

Five would change. That...did not bode well, not at all.

The disgust that Seishin felt for the head doctor's idea of an 'interesting experiment' was not something he could entirely mask from his features. He had no doubts about the truth behind Landel-san's claim, and though the outcome was to be expected, for these five people it was too soon.

It must be awful for those who were infected...

Seishin cast a worried glance towards his roommate, but anything he would say or do would have been useless, wouldn't it? He did not even know the man's name, so it was not his place to offer reassurances for the arrival of a cure that might be too late. No, he wouldn't be able to do anything to help anyone at all. He could only allow fate to take its course in silent resignation.

The former priest rose from his seat to collect his flashlight and the hatchet. Before long, he left the room to find Silvestri-san.

[To here]

[knightspirit]

[from hurr]

No! That wasn't supposed to happen! At the very best, Kyousuke thought he'd stun or delay the creature, and that was only at best; he half expected it to sink its claws into him again right away. But not only was the light effective, it was too effective, and now instead of giving him a chance to stop it, he'd only chased it into halls to find more victims. Dammit! He had to move before something happened!

He got onto to his feet for the second time, and tore his way into the hall, moving to the end as fast as he could allow himself. This time, he was careful about where he shined his light, but it was no good. The creature was already gone. There was absolutely no time to waste if he wanted to catch it in the next hall, but for a moment, he was torn. .... His chest. Should he be chasing something like this? The wound didn't feel very deep, but because of the location, there was a lot of blood; most of the front of his shirt was red now. He wasn't sure how bad it was, since his hand was still pressed against it and he didn't want to move it, but...

... He had to go back. It wasn't going to help anyone if he kept bleeding like this. His instincts seemed to want to keep pulling him forward, and it took all the willpower he had to pull himself away and trudge back to the room. He hated it, and cursed every single step, but the fact remained he couldn't get far if he didn't do something about this wound. He stepped back inside, tentatively removing his hand, and tossing off the torn shirt. He reached for portions of the sheet that hadn't been pulled apart, and began to pull them around his torso. It didn't seem to be helping much more than his shirt and hand had, and the adrenaline was from the encounter was wearing off, being replaced with pain. ... A lot of pain. Even just breathing hurt.

His hands tightened around the scraps of cloth he held, and he squeezed his shut. For the first time tonight, he could actually think to be afraid for himself. To think that he'd considered running without doing anything about this... But the wound was shallow, and nothing seemed to be punctured... Maybe it was his ribs. That would be more more manageable. ... Probably. Basic first aid didn't elude him, but this wasn't something within his knowledge. All he could say was that it was hard to breathe, but he didn't seem to coughing anything up, and that was probably a good sign.

Done with the sheets, he grabbed his flashlight again and pushed his way back into the hall. He left the shirt; it was totally useless, and it would probably just scare people. The sheets around his chest were red too, but not quite as much. Maybe the blood was starting to slow. He didn't know. ... He didn't want want to focus on it anymore.

[to durr]

M4

[propheteer]

With the unlocking of the doors came the time to start focusing on tonight's task—and one what, specifically, tonight's task should be. He felt that the situation merited a little more observation before he began to move, but simply observing from the edges of the main hall might not be the most informative option. Perhaps he should chase down the clue that had been mentioned tonight, to see for himself what all the fuss was about...

...Yes, that could do quite nicely. From the little bit of talk he'd ran across on the bulletin about last night's discovery, the clues might not be the most pleasant stuff—which meant that twisting the meaning around could work in his favor.

So the clue it was to be, and that meant a brief trek across the Institute. Izaya took only a moment after the intercom cut out to prepare, pocketing his makeshift lock picks and securing his journal in the waistband of his pants in case he needed to record anything.

He paused at the door, throwing a brief glance back at Snow. "Take care tonight," he said, feigning concern. "I don't think Landel's talk of some people 'turning' was an idle threat."

With that, Izaya slipped out the door and started down the hall, his flashlight illuminating the way.

[To here]

[age_of_kings]

At least five.

At least.

The words wouldn't leave Tolten alone. He was more aware than ever of his shaking failing body. Even the fevers of his childhood seemed like mild ailments compared to this.

What if it was him? What if it was Locke?

What if it was both of them?

Even his righteous anger was fading now. He was too tired, too sick, too worried to keep it burning. He was only bitter and frustrated and desperate now.

M2

[envy_the_sinners]

[From here]

Finally. Scar shut his bedroom door behind him, immediately sitting down with his head in his hands. His legs were faintly throbbing from the walking, but at least they worked, now. His head was pounding and his stomach churned from the damned disease. Scar glanced down at his right arm, where the pink, raw flesh of the healing gash from the flying monsters sat over the rash that had now passed his elbow. At least that wasn't bothering him.

Part of him hoped that Lust wouldn't actually come. That she got hung up on her errands, or whatever she was doing. He should have realized that he didn't want her to see him like this.

Not again.

He must have looked so pathetic, broken further by a place where mere children could hold their own. But what else could he do? Either he would die in the process of executing this insane plan, or he would kill those who didn't even deserve death. The choice was obvious.

Re: M2

[a_sin_for_him]

[from here]

And so here she was. On the walk to this hallway, Lust's mind had gone in a million different directions. She approached Scar's room quick, deliberate steps. What was it he wanted? What was it he needed?

"Scar?" she called, knocking on the door to the room he'd said was his. Though in a terribly roundabout way.

Re: M2

[envy_the_sinners]

Scar actually jumped when he heard the knocking on the door and the voice confirming that Lust had arrived. He closed his eyes for a moment and collected himself, doing what he could to wipe the exhaustion (emotional and physical) from his face.

The Ishbalan walked with unease due to the wounds hidden by his clothing, but at least he was walking. He pulled open the door, facing her with his usual scowl, albeit weary. Scar motioned his head for her to follow him inside as he turned to walk back into his room, almost as if keeping his distance. He was quiet for a moment, watching the floor rather than Lust.

"If you could shut the door..." Scar absentmindedly rubbed at his rashed right arm.