Sechs (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sixth_attack) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
damned_institute2012-10-13 11:06 pm
sixth_attack) wrote in damned_institute2012-10-13 11:06 pm
Night 66: Forest
[From here.]
It was an odd thing really. Sechs had been so used to walking through those rigid hallways for the past few weeks that this trek through wide-open space felt almost foreign to him. No walls, doors, stairs or tiled floors... Just a wet, open field with grass, rocks and the occasional shrub. It was like he had returned to a very old memory, one of traveling for miles on foot through deserts and canyons back at his homeworld. He didn't think he would ever get rusty at this sort of thing! This nighttime walk was reminding him of just how much he missed all that freedom of travel before. Now if it hadn't been raining so damn much...
Ascending the peak of a sloping hill, Sechs paused and scanned the area to make sure they were going in the right direction. The rain was coming down so thick that he had to wipe his drenched hair away from his eyes to see properly. From there he could barely make out the pitch black wall of trees near the base of the hill. Sechs gave out a mixed sigh of relief and trepidation. They had made it to the forest, and so far it wasn't looking one bit welcoming...
"We made it..." he panted, "Now we just gotta find where those leaves come from and whatever water source is nearby..." He stopped and looked to Link, "I don't think there's any paths we can take there. You uh, you good at navigating through forests?" he asked, looking somewhat abashed that he had to ask that question in the first place. "They're uh, not too common back where I come from..."
It was an odd thing really. Sechs had been so used to walking through those rigid hallways for the past few weeks that this trek through wide-open space felt almost foreign to him. No walls, doors, stairs or tiled floors... Just a wet, open field with grass, rocks and the occasional shrub. It was like he had returned to a very old memory, one of traveling for miles on foot through deserts and canyons back at his homeworld. He didn't think he would ever get rusty at this sort of thing! This nighttime walk was reminding him of just how much he missed all that freedom of travel before. Now if it hadn't been raining so damn much...
Ascending the peak of a sloping hill, Sechs paused and scanned the area to make sure they were going in the right direction. The rain was coming down so thick that he had to wipe his drenched hair away from his eyes to see properly. From there he could barely make out the pitch black wall of trees near the base of the hill. Sechs gave out a mixed sigh of relief and trepidation. They had made it to the forest, and so far it wasn't looking one bit welcoming...
"We made it..." he panted, "Now we just gotta find where those leaves come from and whatever water source is nearby..." He stopped and looked to Link, "I don't think there's any paths we can take there. You uh, you good at navigating through forests?" he asked, looking somewhat abashed that he had to ask that question in the first place. "They're uh, not too common back where I come from..."
no subject
He winced as the lightning struck, hurting his ears. They needed the lightning, though. As it lit up the sky, Link could see the forest in the distance. He set off after Sechs, minding his footing on the uneven ground.
The line of trees was becoming clear, now. There was a faint smile on Link's face as Sechs spoke.
"Just follow me." The forest had been his playground as a boy. "Sora told me that the river was to the east, so it must be somewhere in the woods. We'll hit it if we just keep going." Link set off at a light trot down the hill.
The closer they got to the trees, the more he realized that the trees practically grew on top of one another. Minding his feet, he made his way into the woods.
no subject
Sechs returned Link's smile with a weak one of his own, grateful to not receive any mocking or rejection for his question. Getting into this forest became slightly less of a daunting task then and Sechs followed Link down the hill with more confidence.
Taking his first steps into the forest, Sechs immediately felt some sanctuary from the rain as the towering trees above acted as natural cover from the storm, allowing Sechs to shake himself off like a great wet dog. Yet the darkness remained just as thick as ever for their flashlights to penetrate. An uncanny fog seeped through the mossy earth, distorting both shadows and light with shifting mist that seemed almost alive. Sechs grimaced at the sight and gripped tighter into his axe. He was already feeling crowded by all this foreign growth and fog. The trees here made the ones back at the Courtyard look like nothing but a bunch of skinny saplings!
Keeping close behind Link, Sechs found himself constantly switching his focus between looking out for danger and minding his footing through all the fauna. Last thing he needed was to trip over some dumb mossy rock! It didn't help that his back was cold and bothering him either. Despite his constant aching, everything was on high alert for the Replica, his instincts twinged like mad as though expecting the giant trees to suddenly spring to life and attack. Even if the chance of running into a brainwashed patient were slim, that didn't mean there could still be monsters out here. He and Link had to stay alert...
It was then that Sechs noticed just how abnormally quiet the forest was. Other than the rain, occasional thunder and the sound of their footsteps going through the bushes, there was nothing else to be heard. The Replica could almost hear his own heart beat pounding in his ears. Sechs may not have been an expert on forests, but he knew there were always birds and other animals at the Courtyard and Doyleton. This silence was really bugging him and he decided to bring up some light talk with his ally.
"Sora? You mean the sick roommate you told me about?" he cautiously asked, remembering that name from the bulletin board. Was Sora the one who they had just barricaded into that room earlier? Dammit, this trek for that cure had better be worth it...!
no subject
"Yes. He's been stuck here a very long time, it seems." Link was thankful for the stillness of the trees, for the reprieve from the pouring rain. The occasional chattering of his teeth seemed almost deafening in the eerie silence. The dead stillness was like no forest the Hylian had ever set foot in. The air of magic that resided in the Faron Woods and the Sacred Forest was replaced with a lingering feeling of dread...
Link trudged forward, hacking back overgrowth as they pushed onward. Suddenly, his ears twitched up.
"I hear water." He was moving fast, now, agile and quick steps over rocks and roots. They were close.
no subject
After what felt like hours of trekking through the foggy underbrush, Link suddenly spoke up in the unbearable silence, nearly spooking Sechs into swinging his axe at the darkness. He managed to halt and listen to his ally's words. If Sechs' ears were as long and pointed as Link's, they would have perked up with attention as well. Instead his back straightened from his usual slouch and he stretched his neck out to catch the precious sound of running water. Sechs held his breath. The misty atmosphere of the forest seemed too thick and heavy for sounds to carry through, yet he eventually heard the same sound as Link.
The former android exhaled with a grin. The river was just up ahead! Sechs eagerly followed his nimble ally with less grace and fluidity, kicking through the bushes with his heavy boots and shoving away branches with his axe. Driven by his need to find a cure, Sechs' focus narrowed on the source of the watery sound, overriding his cautious instincts to remain quiet. If they could just find that river and where those dried leaves originated from--!
Finally, they came upon a narrow clearing that closely followed the edge of a flowing river. Sechs stumbled to a stop, his boots splashing into the wet earth as he felt the rain thicken upon his head. There were fewer trees to act as covers from the storm and the blackened clouds above still refused to release the moon from their capture, keeping everything damp and in the dark. Like the forest itself, the stream was but a foreboding road through the earth, its black surface bubbling and churning from its own flow and the rain pelting down upon it. It was a grim sight to find, one that didn't offer Sechs as much comfort as he hoped it would.
Catching his breath, Sechs scanned the area with his flashlight and took out some of the dried leaves from his pocket. He glanced up at the looming treetops, narrowing his eyes against the falling rain at the multitudes of leaves above. Had they found the right place?
"Alright, we found the river," Sechs muttered, glaring into the darkness for any hints of a cure -- and of danger as well. "Now we just gotta find those leaves and hope we get a clearer sign on what to do next..."
Sechs sure as hell hoped there would be a concrete sign from all this, otherwise he would be at a total loss at what to do. The two of them were going to have to figure out something soon before the night ended. They couldn't expect some headless Baptist to pop up and just hand over the cure, as weird yet oddly helpful that possibility sounded...
no subject
"Do you have any idea what we might be looking for...?"
If all else failed, he thought it best to try to find the water's source.
"I wonder if we should be looking to the trees more than the water..." He glanced up to the canopy, squinting in the rain with Sechs.
no subject
Its dark robes made it difficult to spot right away, but the distinctly-shape mask (or was it its face?) was white, and a stark contrast to the rest of the dreary, rain-drenched woods.
A pair of hollow eyes bore into the two men near the river bank, but, whatever it was, it stayed perfectly still.
[Jansen]
no subject
Yet the rest of Sechs' words never made it past his lips. Instead they had frozen inside his throat the very moment his flashlight fell upon a freakishly white face floating above the river. The unexpected sight nearly petrified the Replica, sending his brain stumbling into a numb state of terror akin to a computer program crashing from an unexpected error. That face wasn't there before--
For a second Sechs was as still as a terrified rabbit, his face nearly expressionless while his eyes remained wide and dilated. The next second that followed filled the Replica with electrifying adrenaline, jolting him out from his state of disbelief as he bristled into a hostile stance against the unmoving mask. He took a defensive step back and swung his axe down from his shoulder, readying his weapon for any hazard the stranger represented.
"Who's there?!" he snarled at the suspended figure, his body hunched over like a threatened canine as he kept his flashlight fixed on the unnerving face.
no subject
The Hylian was silent, as he always was in the face of danger. All of his focus and concentration was on the creature that seemed to be hovering on the water. He would wait for it to move. Rushing head-on into something unknown meant nothing but death. He would take his time. Track its movements and mannerisms. Maybe it wouldn't even attack at all.
no subject
Raising a gloved hand, the cloaked figure seemed to gesture for the two to come closer.
no subject
Sechs remained posed for attack while his labored breathing came out in rumbling growls. He knew the white-faced stranger couldn't have been a hallucination caused by the M-U drug, as it never used anything lighter than black ink for its illusions. Link's reaction confirmed to Sechs that he was definitely not seeing things either. The former android cautiously watched the stranger tilt its head, expecting it to suddenly fly off its invisible perch and attack with unforeseen talons. Yet the masked creature remained hovering on the spot and uttered not a single sound. Whether or not it moved, it was still an unnerving sight to behold for the Replica. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before since he became trapped in Landel's.
After what felt like hours of intense silence, the floating figure moved once more, this time beckoning Sechs and Link to come closer. Sechs blew out a snort through his nostrils at the gesture, gripping even harder into his weapon as he took a step back. Years at the Scrapyard and weeks trapped in Landels taught Sechs to know better than to approach a stranger like this. What if the masked stranger were to attack through other means hidden in the river? Even the drug implanted inside Sechs' spine was hissing warnings of death inside his ear. This didn't look right--
Yet...
What if this masked stranger was the cure they were looking for, the beheaded Baptist mentioned in the clue? It had not made any hostile moves yet and it was in the right area which Sechs' theory added up to, in the river surrounded by trees as he had hoped. Maybe there was something helpful behind that disturbing mask...
Finally, without saying anything, Sechs looked to Link and gave him a knowing nod. He was the one who was sick here; Link didn't have to follow if he chose not to. Sechs then lowered his axe and warily approached the blackened creature until his boots barely touched the bubbling edge of the river. He stopped there and kept his gaze and flashlight fixed on the stranger. Now he could only hope that this wasn't some cruel trap...
no subject
The whole while they stood in silence, Link's grip on his light and knife did not falter. He had no true way of knowing if he gazed upon friend or foe. The specter honestly reminded him more of the friendly denizens of the Twilight Realm than it did of any enemy.
As far as Link was concerned, there was only one way to find out what this creature would do. He moved with Sechs, standing a hair ahead of his sick friend purely out of instinct. All of the Hylian's senses seemed to be in overdrive. The rain pattering against the treetops. The flow of the river's water. The glare of the figure's white mask in the light of his torch.
He was tense and ready for whatever it would do.
no subject
The trees were growing thicker, blotting out what little moonlight had been making it through the clouds. At least they kept some of the rain off, and the ground was less rocky. Lana had slid her flashlight down into the cuff of her jacket -- it lit the ground just before their feet.
Without stars, and without much moonlight, it would be very easy to get turned around. Perhaps if they attempted to always move downhill...or at least take the shallowest uphill. The fact that that was less effort was a side benefit at best.
"You can explain as we go," Lana murmured again. "Why the river?" She really had no idea what leaps of logic he'd taken; maybe this had been a bad idea. It did get the two of them far away from any children they could hurt if they transformed, but Gumshoe wouldn't stand a chance. Aside from that, there seemed to be no connection. So he could explain, and she could pick it apart, like she should have done long before they'd traipsed all the way out here.
no subject
Then, extending its arm, the stranger seemed to offer it to the approaching men.
no subject
Despite the overwhelming shivering and aching he was suffering, Sechs remained attentive towards the cloaked figure, keeping his yellow eyes fixed on its shadowy outline. Everything going on around him felt amplified by the silent stillness emanating from the stranger. He could feel his blood flowing faster throughout his veins, his nerves painfully tingled with anticipation. With his position being much closer to the figure, now was the time for it to strike out -- or help.
When it finally moved, its actions were once again slow and gentle, but what it revealed in its upturned hand surprised Sechs more than an attack from behind.
...A flower?
Sechs blinked, nonplussed by this unexpected offering. To the Replica, flowers were an odd rarity back at the Scrapyard. The climate there was too dry and the soil too barren to support anything but the hardiest of weeds. Finding a flower poking out amongst all the junk there was almost unheard of. Plants like that weren't seen as anything useful in the harsh factory life of metal and violence. Yet for some citizens of the Scrapyard, a flower made just as a good as a gift as a diamond ring...
Was that what this yellow flower was supposed to be? A gift? It was so strange to see a bright, delicate plant in the hands of such a dark and grim creature. It was so much like how a flower would be seen back at the Scrapyard, a rare miracle surviving in an unforgiving world of steel and cruelty. Perhaps the stranger was truly benevolent behind that bird-like mask?
Locking his flashlight and focus on the flower, Sechs tucked his axe away and took a careful step forward, submerging his boot into the icy water. Each step Sechs took got him closer to the figure and its gift, but it was also putting him in grave risk. The last thing he needed was to slip into the water, knowing full well that such a freezing hazard was sure to trigger the M-U drug into taking full control of his body. Yet if this flower was the cure to Landel's virus, then he had to take that risk, not just for himself but for Aigis and everyone else as well.
By the time Sechs was nearing the stranger's hovering form, he was already waist-deep in the river. At that point Sechs' shivering had turned into uncontrollable trembling from the chilling water and rain that was dowsing him from head to foot, yet he kept his eyes locked on the stranger's gift without relent. Wading across the water felt like an eternal task for the Replica until he finally got close enough to reach for the cloaked figure's offering. Fighting to keep himself planted on the spot against the river's current, Sechs slowly raised his quivering hands up and grasped the flower by its delicate stem, trying to do so as carefully as any former battle android once made of metal could. His hands were so cold he could barely feel the flower's leaves brush against his fingers; he feared he would drop it into the river. Yet after a few anxious seconds of nervous fumbling, Sechs managed to safely receive the flower from the stranger's gloved hand.
Lowering his arms to keep the plant close to his chest, Sechs stared down at the strange gift for a moment, taking in its comforting colors. He then gazed up to the stark-white mask above him, almost at a total loss for words except for one question: "What... What should I do with this...?"
no subject
He was starting to come to the conclusion, though, that nothing here was like Hyrule.
The Hylian followed Sechs into the water, easily ignoring the freezing current. There was something not normal about the river, but he couldn't tell what it was in the poor lighting. Link watched silently, knife still in hand, as Sechs took the delicate flower from the seemingly benevolent creature.
"...Do you speak?" he asked, his head cocked curiously to the side and his ears twitching.
no subject
Maybe it had been a little too soon to celebrate.
They'd made it to the forest, and Anise was happy about that, but the visibility had just gotten ten times worse from what it already was. There weren't any paths to follow, either, so they just had to go deeper and deeper until they stumbled onto something. Not Anise's favorite plan.
She let out a sigh, her breath slightly visible in the cold air. "Well... at least we're almost there." Anise really, really hoped so, anyway.
no subject
Then, with a slight turn of a gloved hand, a ghostly, green butterfly fluttered near the flower that was cradled near Sechs' chest. Interestingly, the color and shape wasn't unlike the picture someone had painted in the X-Ray room. As soon as the butterfly gently settled on one of the yellow petals, however, its wings disintegrated like old parchment caught in a flame, until the bug had vanished.
That, apparently, was its answer.
no subject
To his credit, Gumshoe didn't complain at any point in the long walk, and L quickly became used to his solid presence... even grateful for it, in a grudging, tentative way, once he was satisfied that the man seemed like a companion rather than a threat. Gumshoe was injured, but he was taller and had more physical bulk than his companions; he reminded L a little of Mogi, who had spent all year working very hard to catch Kira. L couldn't deny that he felt safer with Gumshoe there, even if he had misgivings about how well the other man would handle a crisis.
They had reached the edge of the ruined town and the forest, and given that he had been intercepted in the town more often than not, L was pleased to skirt the edge of it, slipping behind the buildings and into the trees at the edge of the woods.
It was darker here. The ground might be slippery, and branches made their progress even slower. Also, if they were attacked, they might not see it coming, and they might not have many places to run; if they tried to run anyway, they might get lost, split up, picked off one by one. Or one or more of them might get away.
"Try to stick together as much as we can, here. If something happens, it would be better if we didn't get separated. Keep to a straight line as much as possible, the same direction we were going before were entered the forest."
He pushed a low-lying branch aside with his free hand, and one that was higher up almost knocked the beret off of his head until he ducked at the last moment. He could hear the sound of water rushing in the near distance.
"You keep asking me Why the river? I assume you must really mean, Why the river and not somewhere else?" His breathing was sometimes labored as they moved, from the exertion, and there was a mild strain in his voice. He continued to push branches aside as they moved through the dark forest. They were going into a wild wood, not knowing what they would find, instead of trying to find a way out of it. Figuratively, it was his natural tendency, what he always did, but in a more literal sense, he knew how incredibly stupid it was.
Explaining his rationale to Lana would probably help him focus less on his misgivings.
"I told you last night that John the Baptist baptized Christ in the Jordan... it's a relatively common subject in medieval and renaissance art. Salome is too, but I couldn't work out a way that she would be significant. The only thing that stood out to me was the idea of baptism.... purification. It seemed like it could be related to healing.
"The person who placed it"--he paused, winded, to flex another branch to give himself passage--"wanted us to understand the identity of the figures in the painting, so the emphasis couldn't merely have been on the beheading. It seemed that the leaves had to have some significance, too... why leave them there if they didn't?
"Back to the idea of baptism... I know of a few bodies of water around the Institute. The most obvious would be the fountain in the chapel on the second floor. But if that was the place to go, why not send us there rather than to the X-Ray Room? Also, is there any evidence that it's a baptismal font? It doesn't seem that there should be any need for one in a psychiatric hospital. It doesn't even seem that any religions are practiced here... not in an official sense.
"There's the pond in the courtyard, and there are trees there, so that would explain the leaves. But again, if Harrington could direct us to the X-Ray Room, there doesn't seem to be any reason that he couldn't direct us to the Courtyard." A branch at the waist, then another, a few steps later, on the other side, at the shoulder.
"The only place that I knew of that fit the clue exactly was a river in a forest. You can hear that we're getting closer to it."
He paused for a moment, huffing for breath before he continued along again. His calves ached. All he really wanted, after the time spent dragging himself ill and exhausted through the countryside, was a pot of hot tea and a soft, warm bed.
"When I met Marc a few weeks ago, he told me that Landel had made it impossible for him to talk about certain things. You may have noticed that there are other subjects that patients can't directly address... what happens in the Coliseum, for example.
"I thought that the vagueness of the clues, the fact that Harrington wasn't saying what he had to say in a more blatant way, might mean that he was literally unable to. And I thought that the river might be far enough away from the Institute itself that he or Marc could say more... that that might be the reason why he wanted us to make this trip.
"On the other hand, if we saw the clues, then it stands to reason that Landel might have. There isn't even any particular guarantee that Landel wasn't behind the second one, and if he wasn't, it's possible that he might be planning to sabotage whatever is planned. On the other hand, he seemed more interested in the idea of patients turning tonight, and he talked about the idea of us running through a rat maze looking for a cure.
"He might have meant it in a metaphorical sense, or he might really have meant that he didn't expect us to look outside. The latter scenario would probably be best for us. What would be worst is if he had intended the statement as misdirection."
After a moment, he tilted his head to the side and added,
"--Or if Harrington doesn't mean us well after all."
He stopped walking, turning his head to peer at Lana from under the fringe of damp dark hair that hung above his eyes.
"You seem like you're still feeling as human as ever." He hoped she was satisfied; it would mean that she would stop plaguing him for answers that she hadn't been able to put together herself. With a glance at the third member of their party, he added, "What about you, Mr. Gumshoe?"
If Landel had insinuated that attacks might come from unexpected sources, then it would be better to anticipate that patients who hadn't been sick could also change.
no subject
He hoped that they had access to the showers tomorrow. A nice, hot shower sounded great right about now...
While the trees did offer some protection, it was clear that some of the rain had made it to the forest floor, which muddled any indication of where they should go.
"We'll just need to head further in and keep an ear out for rushing water." Which would be hard when they were essentially surrounded by it, but what other choice did they have? Guy just hoped they didn't get attacked by anything. That was the last thing they needed right now.
no subject
And of course he'd have to listen for something specific at a time like this. Awesome.
"Man, they sure didn't try to make this easy," Claude huffed, and his teeth began to lightly chatter. "Rivers sounds pretty different from rainfall, though, and I'll bet it's gushing from all this water." It made logical sense to him, anyway. Or was that just him trying to stay positive?
no subject
"Alright, well, there's only so much forest. It's in there somewhere." It was supposed to be a morale boost, but it sounded more sarcastic than he meant it to be. He thought about splitting up, but with the rain they would never hear each other if someone got attacked or found the river. They would just have to comb the forest the hard way.
no subject
At one point, her ears seemed to pick up a watery sound that stood out a bit amongst the plopping and pattering of rain, but it was hard to tell. Anise stopped walking, hoping the sound might be clearer without the sloshing of her own footsteps getting in the way.
"I thought I heard it," she explained, a little sheepishly, figuring she ought to explain that sudden pause. For a moment, Anise wondered if it wasn't just wishful thinking on her part, that she'd imagined the sound she wanted to hear so badly, but now that she was standing still, she was almost certain she was on the mark. "Do you guys hear it too?"
no subject
A ruined town? Was he talking about Doyleton? If so, he knew they were going the wrong way, didn't he? Gumshoe wouldn't have called it 'ruined', either. But if he remembered right, there weren't any rivers near Doyleton. None that he'd seen, anyway. There was another town that was closer to the Institute, then? He hadn't known that. What was it doing there, he wondered?
It gave him a lot to think about on the way there. So did the reminder to stay alert. On top of an ongoing struggle to keep his feet from sinking in the mud, he had to keep looking up in case those giant monsters showed themselves! You know, the ones that had taken to the sky on those nights they'd come back from Doyleton! He almost wished the lightning was more frequent so the sky stayed lit up for as long as possible.
When they finally made it to the forest, all three of them were soaked to the bone. The lower halves of Gumshoe's trouser legs were covered in mud. That'd teach him not to wear slippers outside again. Anyway, their group didn't have to worry as much about things attacking them from above now, but the deeper they went into the forest, the more certain he was that they were being watched. It was mainly trees rustling in the wind and twigs snapping under their feet, but every few seconds, there'd be a noise in the distance that had him thinking they weren't gonna make it 'til morning without a monster making an appearance.
The last straw was when he stepped on a branch and the particularly loud snap caused him to gasp and jump back. He had to ask himself: what in the world were they even doing out here!? One of them was sick, and here they were traipsing through a forest at night, in the middle of a thunderstorm, all because this guy thought it was a good idea to--
Ms. Skye beat him to the question of the hour.
Gumshoe stayed mostly silent during the lengthy explanation, for Ms. Skye's sake. He was curious, too. As they both listened, he continued to stomp through the undergrowth and throw worried glances at her. "So what you're saying, pal, is that you could be right or wrong. Is that right?" he growled. But they were starting to get desperate, so he wasn't going to say that this guy's theory wasn't worth looking into.
Gumshoe could only raise an eyebrow at the question. "I'm not the one you need to worry about, pal," he said in a low voice.
no subject
After some trudging through the muddy undergrowth, Anise paused all of a sudden. Worried that she might have heard a monster creeping up on them, Guy quickly whirled around, but let out a sigh of relief when the girl explained herself.
Guy went quiet and tried to push away the sound of the rain to hear what else was there, and eventually his ear caught onto rushing water. "Yeah, yeah, I think I do." He pointed in the direction the sound seemed to be coming from. "Come on." As silently as he could, Guy changed direction, keeping an eye out for any monsters in the trees or the brush.
no subject
She forced down several objections -- the first clue had been in the X-Ray room for a reason, clear and obvious if you were willing to risk your life on amateur abdominal surgery. Having the second clue in the same place might just be to remind others of that option. Or it could be that Harrington's access was limited, and he'd chosen the location most important to the first option.
Had the fact that it took them both, ill and dangerous, away from the Institute swayed him? If it had, she wasn't sure she wanted to argue the point. He brought the conversation there himself, though, which meant she couldn't avoid answering.
"I am. And I believe I could say the same for you," she added, raising her eyebrows at him pointedly. She wouldn't stop him from coming out here, pushing himself just as hard as she was, but if Detective Gumshoe hadn't figured it out yet, she wasn't going to keep him in the dark. At least on this.
"I'm not sure I'm thinking on my feet as well as I'm accustomed to, though." And neither am I sure about you, she thought, hard enough that she was sure it showed on her face. If he didn't pick up on it, he really was ill. She didn't want to worry Gumshoe, though, so she didn't elaborate. "You're right about Harrington, certainly. It could just be a reminder of what happens to people who stick their necks out. From him or from Landel. After all, we don't have proof that both sets of clues are from him at all." That was the bigger problem -- and if that man had set up the tableau in mockery of the previous night's, they were all in trouble.
Then again, the worst that could happen was limited by the fact they were in the middle of nowhere, and she wasn't sure anyone else would follow Ryuuzaki's leaps of logic. Especially when some of them seemed to jump from tenuous to vacant in their grounding.
Still, it was the only lead they had; if it didn't pan out, they could check the chapel tomorrow night, or follow the next ridiculous idea. That was assuming they were able, but she was trying to stay optimistic. There wasn't much more to say; it wasn't worth picking little holes in Ryuuzaki's idea now. The best they could all do was to stay positive. And so, on that note, she changed the subject, if only minutely. "I do hope no one is expecting me to dance."
no subject
"Hmm," was all he'd say on the subject. The sound of rushing water did indeed reach his ears, but he honestly wasn't sure whether it was in his head or not. His friend had just claimed they knew their next direction, though, and Claude desperately wanted it to be true. On the other hand, a small part of him dreaded the possibility that they would reach the river without finding anything to reward them for their trouble.
Well, there was only way to find out. After taking a deep breath and wordlessly glancing at Luke, Claude began to follow Guy's lead.
no subject
It was strange, but her assurance had left his heart thumping in his chest. All of this could be over in a matter of minutes. It put some color back in his cheeks as adrenaline began to flow through him with every step beside the group.
no subject
The sound grew clearer, but there was still nothing within view. After a few minutes, they finally approached what appeared to be a gap in the trees, and Anise felt hopeful once more. A place where trees wouldn’t grow… maybe that was the river!
Before long, her hopes were confirmed. Somewhere between the trees, she could see the rippling surface of rushing water. “There! That’s it!” she cried, pointing excitedly.
no subject
As they grew closer, Guy became more aware of the sound of rushing water, though he only allowed himself to feel relief when Anise pointed out that the river was now in plain view for them. "Great," he said as he let out a sigh.
While the hard part was over now, Guy realized that they were about the face the music, so to speak. If they didn't find anything around the river, then they were officially out of options, and would have to resort to surgery. Guy sent Claude and Anise a worried glance before he moved down toward the river and started to search around the banks.
"So, keep an eye out for any plants that might be useful, or anything out of the ordinary..." The problem was they honestly didn't know what they were looking for. His hope was that they'd known what it was when they saw it.
no subject
"I don't doubt my conclusions; I doubt the intentions of someone I've never been able to observe in person. Landel is more prone to gloating than lying... or he lies by omission, then doesn't keep his mouth shut, because he wants to be sure that you know he's pulling something over on you, or that you're good and afraid. But with Harrington... there isn't enough for me to say either way."
He could hear his own tiredness; he didn't even have the vigor to sound particularly exasperated, just tired and resigned. His adrenaline might be up, might be propelling him through the thick-set trees, but his energy was fading fast. If this wasn't successful--he was having a hard time envisioning what would come next, but he would know soon--he wasn't sure how much more he would be able to do. No cure tonight meant that he would probably have to spend tomorrow in bed, then spend the night chasing around the Institute making wild guesses about Harrington's intentions... if he was lucky enough to even be able to do that much.
"In any case, I never said this was an ideal plan. It isn't." (Another branch pushed aside, and a pause while he rested with his hand against the tree's bark and caught his breath.) "... It's the best of a lot of bad options. I'd prefer to be resting, but if we weren't going to cut ourselves open, and didn't want anyone else doing it, it seemed like a better idea all around to be away from the Institute tonight."
And then there was the fact that doing this, as completely disastrous as it seemed, at least felt proactive to him, like he had even a small hand in his own fate, like he wasn't sitting by, waiting for the next thing that Landel or Aguilar or some subsequent monster would use him for or put him through. Like he wasn't compliant with the way he and everyone else had been abused.
The surgeries seemed to have helped the people who had done them, but it wasn't so conclusive, or so safe, that it was a route he wanted to take unless there was no other way. He didn't feel like explaining to Lana that the person he would have come closest to trusting to do the surgery was gone, and that even that would have been a bad idea, because he doubted that Lunge had had any medical expertise whatsoever. Nor did he want to have to explain more about where he'd come from, and what he hoped to do on return, if it was possible--nor would he expect her to believe him about any of it.
Almost anyone would want to stay alive; his particular reasons for it shouldn't be relevant to her, and probably wouldn't be. And almost anyone could say they were important to their world, that they could and would and had saved many lives; that didn't make it true.
Also, there was every reason to suspect that Landel might cure the remaining sick himself when he got bored with his game, or that the illness might run its course more naturally, but that was an assumption he didn't feel he could make.
"As to how I'm feeling..." He shrugged, and his expression collapsed into something infinitely exhausted, hollow and haunted. "About as well as can be expected, but no, I don't think we're in that kind of danger."
The sound of the water was getting closer, now--very close--and the trees were sparser here. Some shreds of weather-beaten fabric clung to a branch, but there was nothing he could see that explained how it had gotten there.
"This is it."
The entire journey had been a strange and anxious one, but as L saw the water of the river spread out before them, the feeling snowballed. There was a rush of fear and hope, along with anticipation: the vivid impression that his curiosity might soon be satisfied.
no subject
Sechs flinched from the sudden appearance of the butterfly, nearly losing his balance from his combative instinct's knee-jerk reaction to uncanny illusions. He already had enough bad experiences with dangerous hallucinations from his fight with Whophon and his current battle with the M-U drug! Yet something about the insect's gentle landing upon the flower kept the Replica from striking out. Sechs just noticed the butterfly's resemblance to the clue's oil painting before it suddenly burst into a twisted flame upon the flower's petal. Now Sechs really twitched from the image before him! He took a shocked step back and held the flower away from his chest. Was this how the masked apparition was going to attack them? By setting them on fire?!
Yet the flame came and went just as quickly as one that had been sparked and snuffed out through a lighter in a single second. No harm had been done and the yellow flower remained untouched and almost serene in Sechs' hands. What just happened...?
Cautiously bringing the flower back to his chest, Sechs stared down at the plant with wide eyes and furrowed brows. What did that strange display mean? How was it supposed to help him with this virus? It all made little sense to him, so much so that the gears inside Sechs' head sluggishly clanked away like a rusty piece of junk! He couldn't bear to ask Link about it and the masked stranger obviously wasn't going to talk. Sechs gritted his teeth. Damnit! Why did he have to be so dumb?! Everyone else like Alita could easily figure this out! He might as well be just as stupid as that bug that burned up on that flower...!
Wait... A bug? Like the kind of bug that makes you sick? The one shown in that first clue about getting one out of your stomach by surgery? Did that mean the flower in his possession could burn up the bug that was inside his system right now...?
"I... I think I know what I have to do..." he muttered.
Sechs' train of thought seemed to be disturbing the drug inside his spine, as it gave his back a painful wrench before hissing in his ear. "Don't even think about it!" it snarled inside Sechs' mind, "You eat that flower and it's just going to make you look stupid! It's not going to do a DAMN thing for you except make you sicker! Remember what happened with the 'medicine' the military left for you that one night...?"
The Replica hesitated. The flower in his hands was rapidly becoming shrouded by the drug's inky mirages, yet somehow its glow managed to remain bright against the shadows coiling around its stem. Maybe the drug was right... He had no idea who or what this masked stranger's true intentions were. What if it was just a trap set by his enemies? But something inside Sechs' heart felt little suspicion towards the flower's warm light. Something just felt right about the cloaked creature's gift. It was then that Sechs made his decision. If the virus was to be cured then the flower had to get inside his stomach where the bug resided, and if the drug was reacting so defensively about it then Sechs knew just what to do...
He ate the flower. Ignoring the drug's illusions and curses, Sechs chomped down on the plant, ripping the head off the stem and chewing it down as quickly as he could. For such a brutish meat-lover like Sechs, he didn't think he would ever eat anything vegetable-related with such voracity like this! As he eagerly gulped the flower down, he could only wait and hope that he had done the right thing...
Anxious minutes dragged by with no apparent changes for the Replica to sense. Was it working? The parasite inside Sechs' consciousness was still insulting and threatening him, but his attention eventually moved to his exposed fingers. With his flashlight focused on his gloved hand, Sechs watched in disbelief as the red rash on his skin began to slowly but surely fade. Finally, a joyous smile emerged upon the android's lips as he pulled off his glove to get a better look at the receding rash.
"L-look!" Sechs exclaimed, barely able to repress a chuckle as he showed his hand to Link, "It's... It's working!"
no subject
The confusion on Link's face melted into a smile as he watched the green butterfly singe and curl until it was nothing but ash. It was only obvious that it was the same creature residing in the sick patients' stomachs.
"Yes, we just-" Link cut himself off, a sudden tightness coming over his chest as Sechs devoured the flower whole. Why would he gobble the whole thing down?! He panicked for a moment, looking back to the apparition. Sechs' affirmation that the cure worked registered with Link. He knew it was good that his friend was cured, but...
"Do you have more?" he asked the cloaked creature. If Sechs had just swallowed whole their only cure that could have easily been divided into pieces, those dozens of other sick people...
no subject
Fluttering fabric caught her eye just as it had Ryuuzaki's, but she didn't even need to shine her flashlight on it to know it was old. Irrelevant, if they were looking for Marc or Harrington. It was the plants that mattered, not the wildlife. Animal, human, or somewhere in between. Squatting down to look at the banks was both useful and a way to rest; it wouldn't help if the plant actually grew in the water. "Detective," she said, looking up at Gumshoe. "We're looking for a plant with leaves about an half-inch long, narrow, smooth, small spots." Just because she'd been ill, tired, and wasn't an expert on plants didn't mean she hadn't gotten a decent look at the leaves. "No idea how large of a plant, and it could be in the water."
no subject
It blended into the dark well enough, except for the white, beak-like mask that covered its face. Or was that the apparition's head? In a place like this, that may have been difficult to know at first glance.
The mask's hollow eyes bore into the three patients, but so far the figure seemed content to watch them until someone noticed.
[Jansen]
no subject
On the other hand, he hadn't considered that maybe he ought to be grateful that nothing had tried to ambush them yet. He sure inwardly changed his tune the moment his hardhat light brushed across something that, upon a second glance, looked out of place.
Like an alarmed animal, Claude instinctively froze. "Guys," he breathed, unsure of whether he ought to say more. They would probably see for themselves soon enough.
no subject
The group, however, had definitely been noticed, which became clear when the apparition quizzically tilted its mask to the side, empty eyes pointedly gazing at them.
no subject
And, as such, the creature didn't produce anymore plants, save for a transparent apparition of a small bouquet of the same flowers from before. Then, the image shifted and morphed until countless glowing butterflies escaped from its gloved hands. Forming an iridescent trail, the phantom bugs made a perfect arc straight back toward Landel's Institute.
If Sechs and Link hoped to find more of the same herb, they would apparently have to seek them elsewhere.
no subject
It was then that another hologram-like display came forth from the masked stranger, this time in the form of a whole bouquet of flowers! Sechs' grin widened with triumphant excitement. There must have been enough to cure everyone at the institute! Aigis and everyone else were going to be ok! He eagerly reached out for the cluster of glowing flowers, but his hand met nothing as the plants suddenly burst into more butterflies. Sechs' grin faded as he watched the delicate insects flutter off into the distance.
"Wuh?!"
For a moment, Sechs felt a surge of anger erupt inside his heart and he gave a reproachful frown at the emotionless mask before him. What the hell did that illusion mean? That there were no more flowers left? Why didn't it say so before? How could that cloaked creature tease them like this?! And what was up with those stupid butterflies anyways? Where the hell were they flying off to...
Sechs just about shot off an angry retort at the stranger when that last thought got him to glare back at the retreating butterflies. They weren't flying off in random directions, but a concentrated flock with one destination in mind: the institute. But why there out of all places? Were they looking for more of the flowers to land on...?
Like a firecracker going off inside his head, Sechs' inner revelation brought a new spark of determination in his eyes, erasing the frustration that marred his face and bringing back his toothy grin of gratitude. Where was the one place at the institute where you could find flowers? The green house! That had to be what the masked creature meant!
"HAH! C'mon Link!" Sechs exclaimed as he turned around and noisily waded through the water towards the river edge. "There's more back at the institute! There's gotta be enough for your roommate and everyone else!"
Crashing and splashing until he was free from the river's freezing embrace, the quivering Replica shook off as much water as he could and stuffed the stem into his drenched pocket. The chilling ache throughout his body barely reached Sechs' mind, he was too enthralled with this personal victory to care. He was feeling the most energy he had ever experienced since before he got sick! Nothing could ruin his combative bliss, not even a bad case of hypothermia!
Barely waiting for Link to catch up, Sechs almost made a dash back into the forest when he remembered one last important thing. He skidded to a stop and turned to face the hovering mask. "Thanks, whoever the hell you are!" he called to the nameless healer. He was then off like a shot back towards the institute. He knew what to do now.
no subject
Then Sechs had taken off. Pausing briefly to give a nod and a word of thanks to the strange river creature, he trudged awkwardly through the river after him.
"What did you have in mind?" Link honestly had no idea.
And there couldn't be too much time left, that night.