Night 66: M-A Block Hallway

[dividedby]

[From here, and for the robutt gang!]

The nearly empty block hallway did nothing to relieve Zero's growing suspicion that something wasn't right. Why weren't there more people around? Perhaps Landel was using some of them, as he'd been used. Or others were transforming, just like that prisoner from the night before - Sora - and the one mentioned on the board...the one who'd attacked two children before being taken down. Landel had said to 'watch your back'...

...well. Empty or not, at least Zero was in the right place to find his allies now. He slowed his brisk walking pace for a moment as he wondered if he should try to go to Harpuia's room directly or wait out here for him to show up. (Hopefully X would be with him.) If this were simply a matter of him getting here too quickly, then they should be coming out of their rooms soon...

Comments

[dividedby]

Thankfully, the emptiness of the hallway seemed to be a matter of Zero getting here too early after all. Within seconds, he could see other prisoners (who were very clearly not transformed) leaving their rooms and making their way out of the patient block, just like usual - and Harpuia was one of them.

Harpuia, who...was also a lucky recipient of new clothing this evening, apparently, though his coat was different from Zero's. From what he could see beyond the bright flashlight beam, it looked more like a longer, fancier version of the vest Harpuia normally wore as a Reploid, same colors and all. Odd...why would he receive something that was obviously made for him when Zero received something of Ciel's?

...Perhaps it was better to just stop trying to make sense of what Landel did around here...

Either way, Harpuia's reaction to Ciel's coat was unexpected enough to reward him with a frown. What are you wearing? What kind of question was that? What, was there a nightly dress code here? What was Harpuia expecting him to wear--

Any smartass retort Zero was about to say was wisely held back, however, as X suddenly approached the two former Reploids, having come from the same hallway as Harpuia. So that meant their rooms were close to each other...that was good to know. Looked like X missed out on Landel's generous coat-giving spree, but at least he and the group finding each other turned out to be a quick and painless procedure.

"No," Zero responded, turning to face him. "I just got here myself." Yes. Ignore Harpuia for now. Rude comments could wait a little longer.

[lovesthepain]

Wow, Zero, rude. Whatever, let's talk about the actually important party member here: X had shown up -- apparently he hadn't been all that far behind Harpuia. That must have meant their rooms were in the same hall. From the looks of it, he hadn't received any clothing from Landel. Given his lack of surprise at their new looks... maybe he'd been given something else? Or had he simply been left out for some reason? Trying to make sense of it seemed to be an excercise in frustration, so Harpuia simply left that thought where it was.

His attention drifted down to the journal X was carrying next. A strange choice; it was too impractical to serve as a weapon, and with patients-turned-monsters roaming around, Harpuia personally wouldn't have planned on staying in one place for long, let alone distracting himself with writing in a dark space. Maybe he had some other plan in mind for tonight -- Master X wouldn't burden himself for no reason. Something to ask about, but not before he got some basic organization out of the way:

"You're just in time, Master X," Harpuia agreed, inclining his head respectfully. "Before we set out... I would like for us to make meeting up as easy as possible. Zero and I have already exchanged room numbers; he's in M79, and I've been assigned to M3. I would appreciate it if you could let us know your room, Master X. For efficiency's sake, I'd like to propose that we make this location our usual rendezvous point, as well."

It was easy to treat this like a pre-mission briefing; having fallen into that familiar pattern, Harpuia moved on to the next step: establishing their objective. "As we all know, the Institute is exceptionally dangerous right now. I don't advise taking offensive action against the monsters -- not only do they not seem to be in control of themselves, but they're still human. Avoiding a confrontation is critical; tonight, we need to move quickly and quietly. I intend to reach the janitor closet on the second floor tonight, unless either of you had something else in mind?" He looked over to X as he finished up, waiting for his response. (Again: he's the actually important one here.)

[maverickhunterx]

"Oh, good. The last thing I wanted was to keep you guys waiting."

Quick, effortless, and methodical.

And without unnecessary argument between Harpuia and Zero; this night was already shaping up to be a good one. Well, good-ish...about as good as the nights here could get (or maybe 'productive' was a far better word?). It was as though X wasn't in a hallway in the middle of a farce of an insane asylum, but in a briefing room, detailing some mission or another.

Familiar.

With a nod to Harpuia, X opened the journal (ninth page, first line), pushed the glass shard slightly to the side, before grabbing the pencil also stored inside to jot down a quick note:

Z = M79. H = M3.

...before setting everything in place and shutting it again, tucking it under his arm.

"My room is M5. And..."

Harpuia was in the same hallway as him, while Zero was a further distance away. Though at least it made nighttime meetings quicker, and correspondence more convenient. At least, it did with Harpuia; with Zero it was less so, but...

What could he do?

"...I don't have anything else in mind," mentioning the information that Scar had given him could wait until they had reached the closet, or perhaps for the next night. Getting himself equipped was probably the safer bet. "Getting ourselves equipped should be the top priority right now, anyway. The last thing we need is to be unprepared in case something like last night happens again."

And if it did...well.

His leg was healed up, so his maneuverability was far improved from then. If something went wrong, he'd be ready.

"Are you all right with that, Zero?"

[dividedby]

...Was it alright with him. Was it alright for Harpuia to suddenly take charge of everything ever, only looking at X for confirmation, completely ignoring the fact that Zero was standing right here and had quite a few words of his own to say. Yes, yes it was.

Not.

The frowning at Harpuia resumed while the former general finished his round of 'pre-mission briefing', or whatever declaring himself the unofficial leader of the group was supposed to be called. But once again, Zero was going to try to hold back the irritation that had been growing ever since he'd woken up this evening. It wasn't like Harpuia's concerns weren't right, and arguing admittedly wasn't going to get his allies armed any faster.

...But he was going to put emphasis on try. No guarantees on actually holding that irritation back.

"Sure," Zero responded after a pause, directing his attention at X again; he mentally noted down his friend's room number in the meantime (M5 - right next to Harpuia, practically). Yes, the journal in X's hands concerned him, too, but Zero wouldn't raise any vocal objections...as long as X didn't foolishly try to throw it at any potential threat, or let it become a distraction.

Anyhow. "If we're going, then let's go," the former Reploid said next, with added gruffness, "and quickly. Before we run out of time again..." Or before something unfriendly ran out of the patient rooms and attacked them again.

[lovesthepain]

Rest assured, if Harpuia had been given a tiny violin instead of a coat, he would play a sad little tune for you, Zero. Well... no, okay, he wouldn't; he was far too busy being the same old bossy take-charge Harpuia to waste time on Zero's feelings. X's room number was likewise committed to memory: M5 was reassuringly close to Harpuia's own room, which was a small comfort. It would be hard to lose track of Master X as long as he was so near -- even in the event of a crisis, the odds were good that Harpuia would still be able to protect him.

And speaking of that... with their objective established, it was time to get going. "You lead the way, Zero," Harpuia commanded, albeit a little reluctantly. Zero was still the only one who knew exactly where the janitor closet was, so it made no sense for Harpuia to be out in front himself. "I'll guard our rear. Master X, stay between the two of us, please." It was the safest position to be in, after all. It was more than just simple duty; X had been the one targeted last night, after all, and he'd injured himself the night before that too. It would be far more beneficial for all of them as a whole if X was closely guarded.

With everything organized and planned for, then, nothing remained but to get moving.

[To here]