damned_institute | Night 68: M1-M10 Hallway

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Night 68: M1-M10 Hallway

[In M1]

The second intercom message had startled Alphonse, and the chilling change to the doctor's voice threw him off more (though if he were honest he had expected something of the sort). He didn't waste much time, grabbing the 'magic torch' Link had told him about and searching around the rest of his side of the room.

A keyring in the desk and what he could only assume were batteries for the flashlight were the only really useful things he found. Still, it was better than nothing, and after he switched the slippers for shoes he slipped out of his room. Setting down the hallway at a trot, he turned down toward the entrance to the block.

[to here]

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As the lights flickered and the final announcements were made, Soushi narrowed his eyes and set about his work. While he didn't trust the man in charge to keep his word about the doors, if it was true, he might actually be able to carry out a plan for the evening.

His inventory was woefully small, consisting of only his flashlight and a baseball bat from the night before. Odd, he thought, that the nurses hadn't thought to search their patients rooms. Unless this too was all part of the game the head doctor seemed to be playing. Many had already mentioned how much the man enjoyed gloating and lauding his power over them. This too seemed a part of it.

Without wasting too much time or thought on it, he pushed open the door to his room and was gone.

[to here]

Link had told Soma he would meet her in the Western portion of the main hallway. He was quick in gathering his things- his light, (not magic, according to Alphonse) his sword, and his proper clothing.

He was looking forward to this excursion, if that was the proper way to think about it. He supposed he "looked forward to it" as much as anyone could, in this place.

Supplies in hand, he adjusted his cap and set out for what was hopefully going to be a successful night.

[To here]

Edited 2013-01-25 20:58 (UTC)

Once again, dinner ended up a quiet affair. Kyousuke had eaten a bit, but didn't bother taking his time with it or pausing for conversation, instead rolling into the bed for a quick nap before night came. Keeping himself shut in was out of the question in this situation, but as it was, he needed to devote as much energy to letting himself heal as he could. There was nothing to be gained from constantly pushing himself and prolonging his injuries, even if it was sometimes hard not to. He never did quite fall asleep, but this would have to do, for now. Better than missing his meeting completely.

He listened to the announcement in silence, eyes narrowing as he did so. It sounded like they'd probably be able to reach their destination, which he still had mixed feelings about; he sincerely doubted there would be anything there to look forward to. But, if it had to be done, he'd rather get it over with properly this time, and put this whole mess behind him. The rest, however, was cause for concern. "Friends," huh. Kyousuke couldn't be sure what the man meant by that, but it was certain it couldn't be anything good. He just hoped that, battered as he was, he wouldn't have to find out. ... He probably didn't stand a chance if it came down holding his own like this.

Not feeling up to laying around much longer, Kyousuke collected his flashlight and the flower he'd picked earlier, and opted to wait out in the hall. The flower, he wasn't sure he'd be needing, but it was probably better to keep it with him as much as possible, in case he ran into anyone who needed it.

[ chillin' for Kratos ]

[borrowing roommate's flashlight with permission]

Well, night had come. The Once-ler pulled his suit out and quickly changed into it, again leaving hat and glasses behind. After a moment's consideration, he chose to take the hammer that he had liberated from the janitor's closet the previous night. The tool went into his belt pouch; after the last night's adventure, the Once-ler decided to leave behind the Truffula seed. It wasn't worth the risk.

The Once-ler went to retrieve his flashlight, belatedly remembering that he'd lost it in the lake the night before. He glanced over at the empty bed where Scar had slept; he'd have had a flashlight too, likely in the same place. It's not as if he needs it anymore.

Still, it took the man another moment before he could steel himself to reach under the pillow and retrieve the light. The Once-ler flicked it on and hurried out his door, with a bit more urgency than was necessary.

[to here]

Edited 2013-01-27 03:17 (UTC)

[from here; sup bro]

He'd ended up flicking his light on, but only with the intention of checking the room numbers. Even that task ended up being superfluous, in the end: he found Tsurugi waiting in the hall just outside his door.

"Good evening," Kratos said with a slight tilt of his head as he walked up to the boy. His light caught a flash of yellow in Tsurugi's hand; he glanced down and raised an eyebrow first at the revealed flower and then at Tsurugi himself.

"Just in case?" Landel had said something about "friends of his", and while that didn't necessarily patients-turned-monsters, it was best to assume anything to be possible.

Bound and determined not to fall asleep tonight, Lee had refused to lay on his bed at all after eating dinner. He had instead contented himself with some one-handed push-ups, as awkward as they could be with his hand stuck in a sling. But he had done it before, though that had been years ago. He managed to do quite well here, despite not having chakra to ground him. He only fell on his face twice.

When the Head Doctor's usual message began, Lee hoisted himself up and stretched out his good arm, determining it was still well enough to handle him out there despite the threat of "friends." It seemed that way, so Lee smiled as he turned to his closet to gather his outfit. The sling he was in now was a simple one; he could dress in his spandex and vest and reposition it easily enough on his own. It was a little awkward, but it would do.

Feeling much like himself now that he was in his shinobi garb, Lee wished his roommate a good evening and launched himself out the door.

[and moving down to here]

Edited 2013-02-02 09:13 (UTC)

Unlike the previous night, Kyousuke didn't have long to wait before his companion for the night arrived. Maybe because he remembered what happened more vividly than he cared for, the first thing he really saw was more the cut down Kratos' face than the actual person. He considered asking how it was doing, but he didn't know how welcome that would be, so he decided that it was probably best not to say anything, and simply returned the man's greeting with a nod.

"... Something like that," he responded, looking at the tiny flower in his hand. "Until everyone's cured, you never know where this might come in handy." Which was true, but in a sense, carrying it was also just a product of wishful thinking. ... If he could end up helping someone somehow, in whatever way, it would put his mind more at ease. As it was, there were too many failures to contend for.

But nevermind that. "Should we get going?" he asked, more a courtesy than a real question. Normally he might have, but this wasn't a situation where felt entirely comfortable assuming the lead.

"Mm." It was true that it might come in handy - funny, the idea that a little flower would help them against a monster. He didn't know how the procedure worked, but assumed that Tsurugi knew what he was doing; he looked like the sort of person who didn't carry things around unless he knew how to use them properly.

"Let's," Kratos said with a nod as he turned around.

[to here]

As if Aidou needed any more motivation to get his rear end moving. Landel's nettling intercom announcement and his new "roommate" were a toxic combination; Aidou was more than happy to see Daken go so that he could change out of his uniform in peace.

If first impressions were anything to go by--and they often were--the man was right up there with the worst of his cellmates. Aidou wasn't eager to see what kind of trouble he would cause before his stay at Landel's was over. That said, Aidou wasn't about to encourage it. Before he left the cell, he made sure to seal the door tightly so that anyone wanting inside would have a hell of a fight getting in.

One couldn't be too careful.

Once Aidou was done with that, it was time for the night's plan to commence.

_{[to here]}

Edited 2013-02-05 18:48 (UTC)

The evening had gone by relatively quietly, and Karkat didn't have much of a problem with that. He'd stopped hearing Gamzee's voice in his head for now, and he honestly wasn't sure if he should be happy or not. On the one hand, it was nice to feel a little more sane, but on the other... he kinda missed hearing his moirail's voice for real. That was the main reason it hadn't bothered him all that much in the first place.

There wasn't any discussing of plans either, so once night began Karkat decided simply to head out on his own. It wasn't the safest route, but then they hadn't gotten much of anything done the past couple nights. Maybe, though it was doubtful, he'd be able to actually make his way further if he went on his own.

Or at least started out on his own.

It would have been a better idea to bring the bat or something else to use as a weapon when he left the room, but he didn't think about that until he was already gone. He'd do just fine unarmed anyway...

Edited 2013-02-02 09:00 (UTC)

[moving down from here]

Lee burst out the door of his room and broke into a full sprint down the hallway. Lee had also failed to make plans for the night, so he was free to discover whatever he happened to run into. Even with his arm in a sling, he could run without any impediment to his speed, especially since now he had his spandex suit and vest to wear rather than the loose cloth of the institute issued clothing.

Thrilling at the rush of a good run, Lee happened to close his eyes as he shot down the hallway, not realizing he wasn't alone in the small space. As a result, he slammed directly into the smaller body of the troll at full tilt, and Lee toppled to the ground with a startled grunt. A flash of pain shot through his injured arm and he hissed, but his immediate worry was for the person he had hit. Shaking himself off, Lee flailed and attempted to check on the other boy.

"I... I am so sorry! Have I hurt you?"

[From here.]

There was no sign of Luke so far, which meant that if they were going to find him anywhere, it would be in his room. Guy worked his way around the two other patients in the hall, and since it seemed like they were distracted, he didn't bother to ask them if they'd seen a redhead around. Come to think of it, Guy didn't even know who Luke's roommate was. He'd have to ask him about that at some point.

"You want to check six and I'll check seven?" he asked. "If it's neither of those, we can move out from there." It wouldn't take them long to search the rooms, since all they had to was open the doors and peek inside.

Well, that was a better guess than Anise could come up with. "Got it!" she agreed with a nod. M6 was just a little farther down the hall, and Anise hurried over so she could check at more or less the same time as Guy.

Slowly and gently, she opened the door, hoping that if this was the wrong room, it wouldn't be inhabited by someone who'd get mad at being intruded on at night. It looked like she was in luck, though, as the room was dark and silent when she poked her head inside. For a moment, she thought the room must be empty, but as she shone her flashlight around to check, the beam illuminated a human-sized lump under the covers of one of the beds. When she tried to get a peek at the face... well, there was no mistaking that red hair.

Anise pulled herself back from the doorway and turned to call to Guy. "Over here! I can see him."

To be fair, Karkat was walking without a flashlight. Thus it was possible that Lee might have run into him even with his eyes open. It's for this reason only that the first words out of the troll's mouth aren't to tell the boy to watch where he's going.

The first thing out of his mouth wasn't any word at all, really, just an undignified squawk as he was knocked face first into the ground.

He was scrambling up to glare at the guilty party soon enough, though thankfully for both of them he didn't look all that inured at all. "What do you think, idiot? Do I look like just a bump in the tile to you? I could've had a couple teeth knocked out or something!" That didn't mean he wasn't going to complain about it all the same, of course.

Guy opened the door to M7 and quickly moved the flashlight over both of the beds. While he saw that at least one of the patients in the room had eaten their dinner, at this point there was no one there. Which meant that both of the occupants must have left already. He was about to move over to Anise and let her know, but then he heard her call out for him.

"Hey, I guess I wasn't that far off after all," he said as he exited M7 and wandered down to M6. He stood in the doorway, staying a safe distance from Anise, and then caught a glimpse of Luke's sleeping face. Well, that answered that.

"I guess he needed a break too, huh?" Did that mean that Guy would soon be falling asleep without warning? He didn't feel that worn down or tired, but he also realized that was the sort of thing that could happen unexpectedly in this place. "Well, I guess that means it's just the two of us." So what did they do with themselves tonight? He looked to Anise questioningly.

‘Asleep’ was still better than ‘missing,’ but it was hard for Anise not to be a little worried after discovering that two of her friends were oversleeping. From her experience, it was usually a bad sign.

“Is it really okay to just leave him like that?” she wondered aloud, looking back to the sleeping redhead. Anise knew that the patient rooms were usually the safest places to be, and that people who fell victim to the mysterious bouts of sleeping were usually impossible to wake, but it felt weird to just give up and walk away. But they couldn’t exactly hover over their sleeping friends all night, either…

It wouldn’t hurt to think of a back-up plan. “Well… I guess we could try what we were doing last night. With the doors messed up like that, most people probably couldn’t get anywhere near the Greenhouse. There’s only two of us, but we can make it a little safer for anyone who still needs those flowers.” Assuming it wasn’t already too late for the remaining uncured patients, anyway.

Guy could understand where Anise was coming from, he really could. It wasn't easy for him to just leave their other friends behind either. But it was either sit around in one of the rooms waiting for Luke or Claude to wake up, or they could actually make some use of the night. It was true that there weren't many options left when it was just the two of them, but Anise came up with something pretty fast.

"Clear the way for the sick patients to get what they need, huh... Well, that's thinking like a Fon Master Guardian." Guy meant it as a compliment, and he smiled at Anise before sending a last look in Luke's direction. "In the end, I think Claude and Luke both would prefer we spend our night that way."

With that settled, Guy figured they didn't have any time to waste. Checking on their friends had probably eaten up a good chunk of their night already, and so Guy quickly headed back down the hall and out of the block with Anise in tow.

[To here.]

Taking inventory of the room had proved useful: once Daken got into the hall, the flashlight became a necessity. He swept the light up and down the corridor - empty, for the moment, and he had something to do before he went any farther.

He pointed the beam at his hand and popped one of his claws, smiling when it worked. He pulled it back in, still shining the flashlight on the red line it had left behind. The skin sealed itself.

Excellent.

He turned and headed down the hall.

[ to here. ]

Edited 2013-02-10 21:51 (UTC)

Lee was surprised to find he hadn't injured his arm further from the collision but he had surely thought he had hurt the other boy. That didn't seem to be the case, since he wasn't crying out and didn't even seem bruised. How curious! Or else very lucky!

He certainly was angry, though. Lee pursed his lips into his familiar pout, very much contrite. And also a little sad to hear someone call him an idiot upon their first meeting. "I am sincerely sorry, sir! I should have been more careful! If there is any way I can make it up to you, then please, tell me and I shall endeavor to do whatever is in my power to help you!"

Given that Lee's dominant arm was still in a sling, he probably didn't look all that helpful. However, his chakra had replenished during the day so he still had something to offer. A shinobi was not easily beaten by circumstance.

Another day, another night for exploring in his alternate persona. He wondered if he could actually make some progress for the night instead of being interrupted. He had found a few pairs of scissors inside of the crafts room from last night that he sharped a bit on his own and broke into two pieces. While they were still dull, his flames could enhance them enough to give them some punch.

Putting on his cape and gear, he set out for the night, slipping into the darkness as if he was one with it.

[here]

Edited 2013-02-09 04:22 (UTC)

Wow, he sure did run into the weirdos here, didn't he? That, or there was something a little strange about all of them, which was more than likely the case. Either way, Karkat sat and blinked deadpan at the other teen for a few moments before responding again.

"Holy shit. At least make it a little easier to be angry at you." What was he supposed to ask for, another apology? If he said not to apologize, the human would probably just apologize for apologizing. He'd seen this before. It was irritating as all hell. The apology even included a 'sir'. What was he even supposed to say to that?

The fact that the other patient was already wounded didn't help matters any. It would be like kicking someone who was already down. (Not that he hadn't done this in the past, but this just seemed like a fairly bad time for it.)

So he sighed, getting back up to his feet and making a show of brushing himself off. For now, his ire would just have to take the shape of not helping Lee to his feet as well. Take that, kid with weird eyes.

Edited 2013-02-10 10:15 (UTC)

Lee paused, a little concerned. "You... want to be angry with me?" That certainly seemed backwards. But maybe if that's what he really wanted... And then Lee realized he wasn't serious. He cringed, feeling foolish. Someday he would learn to see around people's words and into their intent.

As it was, Lee was sincere in wanting to help. He got to his feet but kept his eyes on the younger boy, a little worried he might be even a little bruised though there was still no indication that he had been hurt.

"... I do wish to help, if it would make it up to you," Lee continued, honesty burning in his eyes. "If you are in need of a body guard, or even just need something in particular retrieved, I can certainly help with that!"

Good gobs of grubsauce was this kid something special. And by special he meant the sort that would generally surround the word in airquotes had he been describing him to someone else. That, or he was taking Karkat for a fool. He wouldn't put that past a lot of the patients here either. There was something genuinely and disturbingly earnest about the teen, however, which made believing him seem like the most appropriate choice.

Still. "A bodyguard? You?" That got Lee a raised brow and a meaningful glance at his wounded arm. One didn't normally offer oneself as a protector when already wounded. Not only would it just be putting them in more danger, but it also didn't speak very highly of their ability to actually perform the task. Not that he didn't seem to be in great physical shape otherwise, but that didn't necessarily mean he was automatically good bodyguard material.

Not that Karkat even needed a bodyguard, either. He was perfectly capable of taking care of himself!

Edited 2013-02-11 09:52 (UTC)

"Of course!" Lee stood at attention, his chest expanding as he breathed in and offered an awkward, left-handed salute. "I am a shinobi; a mighty ninja of Konoha! I have been on many escort missions for my village. You will have nothing to fear!"

Lee understood he wasn't at the top of his game, and his chakra was hardly at an acceptable level, but he was hardly helpless. Even with his dominant arm in a sling, he was still a worth-while opponent. Facilier's roommate had gotten to know that first hand.

Ninja. Karkat did know what a ninja was. (Never mind how. Alternia was strange that way, even though it was supposed to have come first.) This guy hardly fit his mental image of a ninja, though. Then again, he wouldn't really have a dark mask or hood in this place, would he? They were all stuck in those silly smiley-face outfits. He'd never seen what a ninja looked like when they weren't dressed, well, as a ninja.

The uncertain expression he was giving Lee didn't change. "What makes you think I need someone watching my back, anyway? Are you saying I look like I can't defend myself?" It was being petty, he knew, but he felt like he should at least protest a little rather than immediately accepting the offer.

"Certainly not!" Lee grinned, knowing well one could never judge by an initial impression. If people did that, well, he would have a lot fewer friends back home. But underneath his sweet demeanor was hard-packed muscle and a thorough knowledge of how to kill using a variety of martial arts and weaponry. He just didn't like to flaunt that part about himself.

"I would never imagine another is not capable of protecting them self, but this place is not like our homes. We are robbed of a great deal of our power here." He crossed his good arm over his chest and gave a sharp nod. "Even my chakra has been quite depleted. But, I am not hopeless! It helps to have a group, however."

He smiled again, but his eyes took on a nostalgic glaze. "Even back home, we were expected to travel in teams. It was good bonding experience!"

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Night 68: M1-M10 Hallway

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