Night 66: M1-M10 Hallway

[lighthearted]

[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.

Comments

[knightspirit]

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.

[his_legacy]

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.

[envy_the_sinners]

Scar looked almost wearily to the intercom as the cheery voice faded into the head doctor's madness. Despite his injured body's protests, he stood and collected his things from the closet.

Scar lifted the photograph of his brother gingerly, as if it were something sacred. There were no cameras in Ishbal; he had not seen the man's face since their fateful day in the wilderness. It had vanished for the last time beneath the sand, in a messy grave dug with the bare hands of his hateful and broken younger brother who should not have even been alive. There were still little scars on his fingertips (only the left, now) from the rubble.

Scar swallowed the lump in his throat and fought wetness from his eyes. There was no time for his undeserved sorrow, for his remorse.

He put the photo in his pocket, anyway.

Scowling in a way that gave no indication to the emotions now stirring in his chest, Scar, one of the last sons of Ishbal, stamped out of his room and into the night. Frank would not face this sickness alone.

[To here]

[lighthearted]

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.

[knightspirit]

[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.

[M5]

[maverickhunterx]

[To here!]

X could barely concentrate on his food through dinner, though he'd made a valiant effort in choking it down (emphasis on choking). He probably should have broken out of the hole of his thoughts, at least enough to have more than fleeting conversation with his roommate.

But this place. This situation.

It made him antsy.

And the intercom message wasn't helping either, filling his stomach with the cold stone of dread, and his heart with the burning coals of impotent rage.

Landel would be stopped. There was no questioning it; he'd be brought in to the proper authorities and brought down -- justice would be carried out.

X was going to make sure of it.

But first...he had to find him. And get some equipment; and that wasn't going to be done if he stood around doing nothing.

Glancing down at his bed, he spied his journal, and the piece of glass he'd stored inside.

X let out a sigh.


X acquired [Journal]
X acquired [Glass shard]


Tucking the journal (the glass shard still inside) under his arm, he glanced towards his roommate, then the door.

"I'm going ahead. Take care of yourself."

With a spriteliness he hadn't felt since he had first arrived, X dashed out the door and into the hallway.

[lovesthepain]

Another night, another try.

As much as Zero's warnings over the bulletin board had annoyed Harpuia, he could still see where Zero was coming from; accumulating a new injury every time the sun went down was shortsighted, reckless behaviour. It was all well and good to want to protect Master X, but if he was going to keep doing it while woefully under-equipped, then he certainly wouldn't be doing it for very long.

Harpuia already knew that the most useful thing his room had to offer was his flashlight, but it was in his nature to be meticulous -- double-checking took only a few minutes, after all.

He didn't end up finding anything that would be useful in a danger situation, per se, but the search nonetheless paid off: a quick look into the closet revealed a splash of colour amid all the generic gray Institute-wear. Curiously, he pulled the garment free. Green and gold... the same colours he'd worn as part of his Neo Arcadian uniform. The coat appeared to be a variation on his armor; the same symbolic criss-crossing in the front that all Neo Arcadian soldiers had, but the length was definitely new. As was the design on the back: a golden insignia, prominently featuring a large X.

...Why was this in his closet? Had someone put this there in hopes that he would wear his Neo Arcadian colours again? (A smaller, quieter voice in the back of his mind couldn't help wondering if he really even deserved to.)

Not that this was the appropriate time to be agonizing over fashion, of all things. Whatever it was that had brought this here, it wasn't as though it was a threat. He went with his gut: he pulled the coat on, seized his flashlight, and hurried outside. He already knew which room was Zero's -- with any luck, meeting up wouldn't take long at all.

[to here]

[his_legacy]

"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.

[unpriest]

Seishin watched his roommate leave with a concerned glance, but otherwise remained as silent as he had been during dinner. He could only hope the other man would be alright...

With that, the former priest rose from his own seat and began collecting everything he needed for the night. He didn't particularly look forward to traveling down to the underground lake again, but if they wanted to make any progress he didn't have much of a choice.

It was best not to keep Silvestri-san needlessly waiting...

[To here]

[lighthearted]

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?

[thisisyourgod]

After the staff had dragged Ishida off, Karkat had been left staring at the door aghast until it opened again, which wasn't long. He waited to see if anyone else was going to enter, and when they didn't he was then left with the issue of how to proceed with the rest of his night.

There was some irony in that fact that his roommate had just been talking about them grabbing people for experimentation only to have it happen to himself, or at least that's what Karkat assumed that all had been about. It had been disturbing how easily they'd just come in and subdued him, and it twisted the troll's stomach up to realize that the same thing could happen to him in the future if he didn't get out of this place.

He couldn't just run out. He'd been left with instructions, poor as they'd been. Though he resented the teen a bit for forcing that upon him, he wasn't going to completely ignore the orders either. There was a bat in the closet, apparently, and when he looked he did indeed find one - made of metal and everything, which id more than he'd expected. The idea of keeping it for himself was tempting, but it would be wrong to keep it from whoever was waiting for him out there.

Some girl, wasn't it? The name had come out so weirdly. Inoway, or something like that.

He didn't think to take anything else in the room - not the radio, and not perhaps a pillowcase for lugging things around. He didn't even take the flashlight, because strangely enough despite his human body, moments after the lights went out his eyes adjusted as though he was still a troll. That was one thing he could at least be grateful for.

The sun room, Ishida had said. At least that was somewhere he could find. So it was with bat in hand that he began walking down the hall toward his destination.

> ==>

[knightspirit]

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.

[his_legacy]

"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.

[Outside M7]

[sixth_attack]

[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?"

M6

[dispersive]

Luke didn't have time to sit around and let the night wander off without him. Every minute was precious now that life and death was truly on the line tonight. The last thing they needed was for Anise to change or for her to rush into surgery and die from complications. Perhaps it was arrogance, but if they could save their entire world with the alternative route, the replica just knew they could find another cure besides invasive surgery.

But they wouldn't find it the longer he lollygagged around here. Grabbing his sword and a fontech torch, Luke left but not before wishing his roommate good luck.

[knightspirit]

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.

[his_legacy]

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.

[sixth_attack]

"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?"

[knightspirit]

"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.

[his_legacy]

"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.

[sixth_attack]

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.

Re: [M5]

[awokentospring]

Lee hated to see his roommate sigh so much but there was hardly any helping it. This place was rather dismal. Lee hoped his charming smile might light up the room, but it did only very little.

Wishing his roommate good luck before he sped off, Lee stood and started gathering his own things. He had an appointment tonight and he did not plan on being late! However, before he left, he thought it wise to go ahead and check on the room again in case any changes had come his way.

Looking in the closet, Lee was utterly surprised and ecstatic to find his green spandex suit, leggings and chuunin vest neatly hanging as if they had been hung there so naturally for him. Reaching out tentatively with his unbound hand, Lee's face slowly morphed into an expression of delighted wonder. His Youthful and Spring-like suit was here! Gai-sensei! Surely his teacher was thinking of him right now!

Lee wanted to put it on that very second! But unfortunately, his sling was in the way. At home, Lee might have discarded it without a worry, but here he wasn't sure if that was a good idea. He was surrounded by nurses during the day but they hardly seemed capable of healing at a level he was used to back home. He couldn't trust that if he removed his arm from the sling that he would have any luck getting it back on properly, or that he wouldn't break something even further in trying to get his outfit switched out.

He was torn. What he would give to wear that glorious spandex again... Alas, common sense won out and Lee regretfully closed the door of his closet. However, he vowed that tomorrow he would wear his spandex, and it would be glorious! Everyone would behold his beautiful costume with such envy and admiration! He could see it now...

But enough about that! Lee shook himself of his reverie and put on a determined face. He had a meeting to see to and he would not be late! Gathering his flashlight, Lee happily skipped out the door and headed down the hallway.

[to here]

[forsworn]

[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?"

[knightspirit]

"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."

[his_legacy]

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]