damned_institute | Night 66: M1-M10 Hallway

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Night 66: M1-M10 Hallway

[M7]

Dinner went by too fast, and as the intercom announcement came on and the change to night officially started, Sora pushed himself to the edge of bed, caught in the tight hold of dread. He didn't want it to become night. He didn't want to change again. He'd gone to a lot of effort to make sure that he didn't end up repeating the events of last night, but something could always go wrong.

Landel cut to the chase pretty fast this time around, and no other clues were given out. Did that mean that the rebel group hadn't been able to get through, or had they just run out of clues to give them? Did that mean they were on their own? Sora let out a breath and tried to manage the panic that was bubbling up in his chest.

Link was still here. Sora had hoped that his roommate would make a move to leave the second that night came, but it didn't look like that was the case. Of course not. If Sora was honest with himself, he'd known from the start that someone like Link wasn't going to leave him alone here.

Sora forced out a shaky sigh. He didn't feel anything yet, but he knew that it wouldn't be long before the darkness started to take over.

"I know you're worried," he said to Link, "but it's fine. My other friend should be here soon, so..." He wanted as few people as possible around when the change went through. Hopefully Tsurugi would get here soon, and then Link could leave.

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While the beginning of dinner had given Kyousuke a burst of energy, as the end came closer, he found himself more and more on edge. It was spent in silence, and while he was glad to have a moment alone for once, it was difficult to find anything to focus on but what was about to come. He spent the majority time in a state of restlessness, sitting or leaning against the wall with his arms crossed for a few moments, finding a new spot, and repeating the process. Normally, he would have shown more restraint, but it was difficult to care knowing that they only one shot to get Sora properly restrained. ... It was bad enough he already had to deal with changing. Kyousuke didn't want to add escaping again to his list of burdens.

Eventually, he stopped to investigate the contents of his desk, since he hadn't bothered with it quite yet, and discovered a journal, a roll of pens, and a keyring. He couldn't care less about the pens or the journal, but one of the keys was marked for the room, even though there wasn't a lock inside. ... Now there was something that would come in handy. He'd kicked down doors himself before, but a lock was still one extra layer to get through, so if Sora had a key like this, it might be able to help contain him.

By the time the the Head Doctor made the announcement to begin the night, he already had his flashlight ready and was waiting by the door with an air of impatience, which was only added to by the man's arrogance. The more he heard that voice, the more he learned to hate it.

"... Shut up already," he muttered under his breath. The Head Doctor's idea of 'cutting to the chase' hardly matched his own. But soon the door unlocked, and he pushed his way out into the hall, making his way four doors down as quickly as he could.

It looked like Sora's roommate was still there when he got there, so Kyousuke gave him a nod of acknowledgment; introductions could come later, when things were more stable. Then, without prelude, he made his way to what he assumed to be Sora's desk, opening it so he could fish out the set of two keys. This was overbearing, even for him, but...

"Sorry. There isn't any time," he explained. There was too much going on to bother with courtesy.

Once he got the keys, he turned to face Sora. "... Are you ready?" he asked. Considering what he was about to do, he felt obligated to ask. And truthfully, he could use a small moment to steel himself, too.

Sora was quickly proven right, as a younger boy hurried into the room within seconds of the intercom going silent. Link was already at his closet, focusing immediately at the floor. His knife, as well as the scalpels and first aide kit, were still in there. Link snatched up them both as something very green caught his eyes. There was a slight leap in his chest as he noticed his clothing- his tunic, hanging up. He would puzzle on that later.

"I have a health kit of sorts, as well as these small knives from the medical area." The Hylian set the materials on the bed, giving Kyousuke a nod in greeting. He'd seen him speaking with Sora, earlier.

Link's heart was already racing, but as always, he remained calm and efficient under pressure.

Before Link could even respond to him, Tsurugi opened the door and stepped inside. That really was fast. He had to only be a few doors down, then. Either way, it was a point of relief, and all Sora wanted to do at that point was get his roommate on his way so that he didn't endanger more people than strictly necessary.

Sora stepped up off of his bed and moved slightly closer to Tsurugi. He was hesitant to get close to anyone, really, but he would need to if Tsurugi was going to knock him out. But before that...

"You should make sure you have a weapon with you, at least," Sora warned Link. "But now that Tsurugi's here, I should be fine." That really wasn't true. Their plan was to knock him out and possibly perform surgery on him, once Kratos got here. But Sora wasn't going to say anything about that, and hopefully Tsurugi would know to keep his mouth shut too.

"Thanks for worrying about me, and I hope you can find something helpful for the other sick patients."

As Sora glanced down, he saw wisps of black starting to form around his hands and wrists. He held his breath for a moment and then tucked his hands behind his back. Tsurugi already knew, but Link didn't need to see it.

[someone just come punch me if anything is amiss idk]

'Health kit?' Kyousuke glanced towards the objects the stranger indicated, and noted the first aid kit he'd place on the bed. ... Right. He'd never heard one referred to that way before. But though it was being offered, he wasn't entirely sure how he felt about taking it. "Are you sure you don't need it?" he questioned. This may have been incredibly dangerous, but considering where they were, all of them were likely to get injured.

That aside, it sounded like Sora wanted the roomed cleared out as soon as possible. Kyousuke didn't have any issues with having any extra hands around, since it could probably be a lot of help in this kind of situation, but he guessed for Sora, it was more like adding extra targets. The fewer the better, huh... He understood what the other boy was thinking, but privately, he couldn't help but think it was stupid. He didn't say that out loud, though, nor could he ask someone to stick around for this mess.

He couldn't see the point in the motion Sora made, either. What good was that...? The moment he was unconscious, his hands would be visible again. But it also meant that there was absolutely no time left to lose. He raised the hand holding the flashlight with an air of uncertainty. This may have been his idea, but he really wasn't keen on doing it. ... Still, he couldn't afford to hesitate. The longer he held this off, the harder it would become to do. He shoved down his reservations, and using the metal flashlight, gave Sora a good strong blow to the back of the head.

He grit his teeth, apologizing for it mentally. He just hoped that it was enough, or worse, that it wasn't too much. He did, however make sure the other boy was settled comfortably on his bed. It didn't make too much difference, but it still didn't feel right not to do somehow.

That accomplished, he turned Sora's roommate. "... We should leave. I'm going to lock the door and block it off, and someone else will be here soon."

From there.... who knew what happened. He didn't want to entertain any possibilities, good or bad.

"I will stay until my companion for the night has arrived. Help is more needed right here and right now." Link ignored the implications in Sora's words that his roommate wanted him gone. Each was too noble for his own good! The Hylian had his knife, and that was enough as far as he was concerned. His sharp eyes only caught a glimpse of the eerie smoke on Sora's fingertips. He swallowed and addressed Kyousuke.

"Sora is going to need it far more than I do." He spoke quietly. Link had gotten adept at conserving his own medical supplies, which meant that he was good at avoiding injury. In the wilderness, it was necessary.

Link did not wince when Kyousuke struck Sora with the magic light. He took a deep breath, watching his roommate closely and only glancing back up when Kyuosuke spoke.

"We shouldn't..." But he was right. Despite Link's hesitations about leaving Sora alone, it was best for all of them at this point. Even if they could only contain him for now, it would at least keep people safe. "Alright." He collected his things and gave Sora one last glance. Almost as an afterthought, Link grabbed his tunic, hat, and boots from his closet before making his way to the door. He glanced back at Sora once more, uncertainty obvious on his face. It seemed cruel, to leave the boy here in this state.

Link wasn't going to give up that easily, and while Sora might have argued with him further, about how he wouldn't need that first aid kit because he didn't keep his wounds when morning came around, he never got the chance.

In reality, it was probably for the best. They might have gone back and forth forever otherwise, but the flashlight knocking him in the head ended that conversation promptly. Sora felt only a shock of pain centered in his head before he passed out and collapsed to the floor, luckily not hitting anything on the way down.

But while he remained unconscious even as Tsurugi moved him into the bed, the darkness sprouting up from his arms and now his legs didn't stop. Slowly, his clothing and skin were stained black, and while he looked almost peaceful on the bed, how long could that last?

Kyousuke opted to leave the supplies where they were as they exited the room; if someone got injured here, it would be because Sora had managed to open the door, so they'd still be accessible in that case, and if they ended up not being used, they'd end up back in possession on their owner.

The other guy did seem reluctant to leave the room, and Kyousuke couldn't blame him for that, but this was the only way. "I'll still be watching from this side," he explained further. He wasn't content to leave well enough alone either, but once Sora was done changing for the night, no possible good could from being in the same room as him, and Kyousuke had the injuries to prove it. His ribs throbbed in forgotten pain as he thought that, but he ignored it, and locked the door behind them.

From there, he'd have to start building a barricade. He considered asking for help, since it would be faster, but he remembered the stranger mentioning meeting someone, so maybe it was best not keep him. "If you have something to do, you don't have to stick around," he said instead. Either worked for him. He still thought Sora was an idiot trying to reject any support right now, so he had no issues with anyone ignoring that. On the other hand, the most important thing for Sora's condition right wasn't here, but somewhere out there. What was happening here wasn't even a solution so much as stalling for time.

But whatever it was they decided to do, the situation was too urgent to stand around discussing it, so he quickly made his way into one of the nearby rooms and began to maneuver a desk into the hall. He could let him answer by whether or not he followed him.

"My friend is coming here to meet me. It's fine." Link followed Kyousuke's lead, setting his clothing on the floor and following the younger boy into another room. He piled the chair on top, dragging it into the hall behind Kyuosuke.

There was still no sign of Sechs, so Link was more than alright with continuing the help. He had no idea how strong Sora was in his strange, dark form. How heavy of a barricade would they need? Was it Twili magic? Midna had always been able to tell... Link frowned.

It was incredibly frustrating, not even knowing what he was dealing with.

[From here.]

M10... M9...

Before Sechs took a step past room M8, he spotted a door up ahead open to reveal two patients exiting out into the hallway. Sechs halted, lowering his flashlight down to the floor. Akin to a lone wolf warily watching a new situation unfold before it, his shoulders had hunched over slightly while his wide eyes gleaming in the darkness. That was room M7 that they just left, right? The two figures had hurried over to another room. There was no panic or violence going on though, and Sechs immediately recognized one of the prisoners to be Link just before he disappeared past the door.

"Hey! Link!" Relaxing a bit, Sechs lifted his flashlight up and moved towards where the other two went. Already Link and the other patient had begun dragging furniture out into the hall. Sechs frowned a little at this, realizing that they were likely setting up a barricade for Link's sick roommate...

With better lighting conditions, Sechs recognized the smaller patient to be that kid he sort of talked with earlier that day; he looked a bit too small for big desk he was pushing out by himself. Pocketing his flashlight and hanging his axe by the hilt behind his belt, Sechs got to the other end of the desk to help drag it over. "Mind if I help?"

Edited 2012-10-07 01:40 (UTC)

As it turned out, moving furniture was a lot more difficult than Kyousuke thought. It wasn't so heavy he couldn't push the desk along, but the problem was, he still hurt from the previous day. The pain had been mild enough during the day to be annoying, but ignorable, but the act of moving something sent a particularly sharp pain through his broken rib. He exhaled sharply, but didn't stop, trying to fight his way through it; this was too important to be concerned with himself right now.

But as luck would have it, someone offered to take the other end. This was the he'd seen in the Sun Room earlier that day, right? If Kyousuke wasn't injured, he probably would have asked him to grab something else, since he was used to a lot heavier exertion than this, but the truth was that he probably shouldn't but putting this kind of strain on his wound if he wanted it to heal quickly, so he accepted easily enough.

"Help yourself," he nodded, allowed the newcomer to take the other end of the desk. It did still hurt, but it was a lot easier to get in place with the extra set of hands.

Link had a relatively easy time with the desk, as he had often found himself lugging impossibly large things around throughout his travels. He gave Sechs a nod in greeting, grunting as he shoved his own desk against Kyousuke's. Taking the chair off the top, he wedged it under the door handle.

"Thank you, Sechs." Link glanced down the hall for newcomers. Someone else was supposed to be coming, right?

"Were you simply planning on staying by the door, tonight?" He addressed Kyousuke.

"No problem." Another good heave and the side of the desk was pushed firmly up against the door to M7. Backing off, Sechs watched Link add the second desk to the pile and shove a chair under the door handle. Would all that stuff be enough to keep that door shut?

Standing back with his arms crossed, the Replica's lips fell into a lopsided frown at the scene. So that infected patient was just going to be locked in that room, huh? There had to be a better way to this, but how else could a regular organic human restrain an unpredictable monster who shouldn't be killed? Sechs didn't know just who it was inside, but just thinking that it could have been him or someone else like Aigis getting that same treatment only gave him more motivation to get outside and find that damn cure.

"So that's it?" Sechs asked, shifting his focus from the fortified door to Link. "You ready to go or is there more we gotta do?"

"That's the plan," Kyousuke affirmed. "I'll make sure the door holds for tonight. Hopefully someone will have the real cure by tomorrow, so we don't have to do this to him again." He was fine with it if he really had to, but they couldn't keep doing this forever. The faster someone found a method to fix this that didn't involve cutting people open, the better. It may have worked, supposedly, but he didn't approve of the risk that entailed; what good would curing someone be if they died in the process?

He made a glance at their handiwork, and wondered if maybe they should pile up more things, but hopefully this would hold. For now, he leaned against the wall opposite the door and crossed his arms, deciding to wait for Kratos until doing anything else.

"I can handle the rest. If there's anything else, I can ask the guy coming," he said. If the other two had something to do, he didn't have any reason to keep them here.

"Alright, thank you for your help. What was your name? I'm Link." He wouldn't forget his manners, even in a situation such as this. It seemed that the two of them would be seeing more of each other, anyway. Link turned to Sechs, giving him a nod.

Link set his knife and magic light on the ground, pulling off his shirt and fastening on the white undershirt he was familiar with. It was only then that he realized his chain mail was gone. The Hylian frowned, frustrated. What was the point of giving him his clothes, then? To tease him? Shaking his head, he pulled on his tunic, changed his pants underneath it and pulled on his boots and hat. He felt much more comfortable in his old clothes.

Edited 2012-10-08 00:32 (UTC)

Sechs let out a pleased snort when given Link's affirmative nod. He was anxious to get going on this risky mission of theirs, even if it turned out to be a wild goose chase. He couldn't stand sitting around and thinking about what could happen from it, he just wanted to get going on it now.

Grasping for his axe and flashlight, Sechs took a few heavy steps towards the entrance of the hall before stopping to look back at the barricaded door. He half expected it to suddenly burst open against the pile of furniture against it, but so far it remained closed and silent. It did help to know that someone else was coming by to help the sick roommate, but the lack of action was getting the Replica antsy and he found himself restlessly shifting on the spot as he waited for Link.

As impatient as he was, Sechs couldn't help but look at Link's new attire with a curious perk of his eyebrows. That was a style of clothing he had never seen before! It sure had a naturally crafted look to it compared to Sechs' industrial body suit and armor. In fact, it had an almost historical look to it... or maybe something of an old folk tale? Sechs couldn't quite put his finger on it, but for some reason he knew that outfit was made for Link... or was it the other way around?

Oh well... As long as Link was ready to go, Sechs didn't want to waste anymore time tonight, as he was keen on vocalizing his eagerness with another wolfish snort and a jerk of his head towards the end of the hall.

Edited 2012-10-08 05:31 (UTC)

[from here]

There was already something passing for a sizable crowd outside of M7, and Kratos couldn't help but wonder just how many people Sora had asked for help tonight. He had been under the impression that it would be just him and someone named "Tsurugi", but perhaps there had been a late change of plans.

There was also a sizable pile of furniture outside M7 as well--a barricade, presumably, to contain Sora within the room until everyone had arrived. Well, now that he was there, it looked like they would have to move all the furniture back so he could actually get into the room and perform the surgery. That seemed unfortunate; by his estimate, it had really been only around three minutes, and it had probably taken them that long to get all the desks there in the first place.

...unless, of course, there had indeed been a change of plans. The only way to verify that, though, was to ask directly.

"Good evening," Kratos said as he approached the three men (teenagers) standing around outside the door. "Which one of you is Tsurugi?"

"Tsurugi," he answered when Link prompted his name.

He shut his eyes for the time being as Link changed, to afford a little more privacy. He wondered if this was really the time to be worrying about clothes, but he couldn't quite blame him either; if he had anything else, he'd be out of this uniform in a second. It looked like it was a common thing here, since now, he was the only one in the hall still in the institute's clothing, but he didn't pay it any mind.

When a stranger approached asked for him, he nodded. "That's me," he affirmed. "You're Kratos?"

An impatient noise at the end of the hall cut through that, and he raised and eyebrow, turning back to Link. "... Looks like you'd better go before he decides to leave you."

Link didn't blame Sechs for wanting to get going. If this idea had any ground to it, they could be saved.

"Thank you for your help." He nodded to both Tsurugi and Kratos, fixing his cap to the top of his head. "Whatever it is we might find... I will be sure to put it on the message board in the morning."

And with that, Link was off at a run, knife in one hand and torch in the other.

[To here]

Edited 2012-10-09 22:03 (UTC)

Kratos watched the two others sprint off, leaving him and Tsurugi alone in the hall. It seemed he had been wrong; it would be just the two of them up against whatever Sora became. His first instinct trended toward pessimism, but Tsurugi had sounded sufficiently mature on the board, and he was willing to trust Sora and the help he'd found. This sort of dilemma wasn't one best left to people that couldn't be totally depended on, after all.

"I am," he said, nodding in return. "What did Sora tell you about his intentions for tonight?" Before they did anything else, he wanted to be sure that they were on the same page, not only about the surgery, but also about what might happen if that failed.

"... Not much," Kyousuke responded, thinking back on his conversation from breakfast. Ultimately, they never were able to find a good solution, so this was about as far as their plan went. "I was under the impression we keep him restrained for now, until somebody comes up with something better."

Unless they did have a real way to fix this, but when he'd asked, Sora said that there hadn't been any changes. That had been just before dinner, so it seemed too early to think that they had anything more than a temporary solution.

Kratos raised an eyebrow. "Really." Suddenly, he felt much less sure about this whole deal. Unfortunately, it was too late; they would have to press forward despite the miscommunication. "Interesting, because when I talked with Sora, we established something a little more detailed.

"I'm sure you're aware of the impromptu surgeries that people have been subjecting themselves to in order to remove the transformation device. Since Sora wished to deal with this matter as soon as possible, and since we have yet to establish another method by which to remove or deactivate the device, he asked me to attempt a similar operation on him tonight." He bowed his head. "I apologize for not making that clear earlier; I was under the impression that Sora would tell you himself what he intended to do."

If this succeeded, he knew exactly what he would be talking about tomorrow morning with the boy.

There had been a few blissful minutes of silence, where everyone had been able to rest assured that the beast was asleep and no longer a problem, but in a place like Landel's that was never bound to last for long.

Even while unconscious, the darkness had took its hold on Sora, spreading over him like ink bleeding through water. And eventually, after his hands had turned into claws and every hint of color had disappeared from his body, he opened up bright yellow eyes, a monster once again.

The Heartless threw itself off the bed and found an empty room, but it could sense the hearts behind the door. It slammed into it and found only a strong resistance, but that was no obstacle for the Anti-Form. It leapt up and started to attack the door with its claws, intending to open up a hole large enough for it to get through.

"... What?" The new information left Kyousuke visibly taken aback, and he glanced from Kratos to the door. Had Sora really been intending to go through with surgery all along...? Link hadn't seemed to know anything about it, either, or he probably wouldn't have left quite so easily. Which, as far he could tell, left only Kratos.

That idiot. ... No wonder he'd been eager to clear the room out.

Kyousuke scratched the back of his head, frustrated, angry, and most of all, feeling like a fool. Had he been armed with this knowledge beforehand, he would have reacted to the situation very differently. He couldn't agree with any of this, especially after being given no chance to try and talk some sense into Sora.

In spite of that, he did his best to stay collected. "If he really wants to bet his life on that, it's his decision," he said after a moment. As much as he didn't like it, he didn't have the right to decide what Sora thought was worth dying for.

There was more he had to say one the matter, but a loud noise from the other side of the door stopped him cold. Knocking Sora out... hadn't worked out after all. For now, he put everything aside, facing the door and preparing himself. If Sora was awake, they couldn't worry about the surgery right now; they had to focus on how to keep him subdued before anything else. Last night hadn't gone well, but this time, he'd be ready. He'd make sure of that.

Ah, at least there were no complaints, even though Tsurugi didn't look entirely pleased to hear of Sora's intended course of action: convincing him of the necessity of the surgery over waiting for another cure to pop up would have taken more time than they could afford. Unfortunately, as soon as Kratos prepared to jump straight into how they would proceed, something slammed hard into the door to Sora's room.

Kratos's head turned sharply toward the door as he listened, with no small amount of trepidation, to the thing-that-used-to-be-Sora clawing frantically through the wood. "Excellent timing," he said curtly. His hands by instinct were already moving to his side, but they soon froze as he checked himself, fingers still half-curled in anticipation of drawing his sword. Not yet; he had to restrain himself, for fear of drawing and then letting his usual judgment take over when the monster inevitably attacked.

He glanced at Tsurugi. "If he manages to break through the barricade, I'm assuming the two of us will be temptation enough to keep him in this area." Otherwise, he was going to break through the pile of furniture himself. Better to risk personal injury and keep Sora occupied and contained, than give him an opening to escape into the rest of the institute.

It took time, but the Heartless were persistent. With only one goal that could exist in their minds for any length of time, there was no option but to keep trying until it reached the hearts it needed or it died trying. Which was why the Anti-Form didn't let up. It continued to claw at the door, aiming high where the desks weren't in the way.

But these doors were built to keep any patient in (and to keep monsters out), and for that reason its efforts were almost pointless. Its claws glanced off the door like they were bad of paper instead of something that was more like hardened rock.

The next idea it had was to try and ram the door open, and so it backed up to get a running start and then slammed itself against the door with all its weight.

The door barely budged.

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[Outside M7]

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