damned_institute | Night 68: Main Hallway, 1-Center

Al decided to let his brother field that one, glancing over to him with a grin.

"It's related. They started being developed at the same time. Anyway, you need to be really good with chemistry and other branches of science to be a good alchemist. What other branches depends on your specialty," Ed explained, trying to keep it relatively simple. "One of the helpful things about it is that you can do stuff so much faster than traditional methods, given the correct raw materials."

In this hallway, lit only through the distant glass panes of the front entrance, it was dark enough that the corners were hugged with shadow -- but that was normal, a product of the Institute's night-time ambiance.

Or was it?

Streaking from the shadow cast by the angle of the wall, a black cat suddenly wound its purring way around Al's ankles, moving with total self-assurance and no heed whatsoever for his balance.

Science. Something Lloyd absolutely wasn't good at, and more often than not didn't even understand what was being discussed in class. If alchemy was something more related to science than magic, he probably wouldn't ever understand it - though, technically, the same could be said of magic, too. Either way, he could content himself with the fact that it clearly worked.

Though to what extent? What could alchemy do? He started to open his mouth to ask, only to jump, startled, when one of the shadows moved. Nearly fumbling his flashlight, he jerked the beam of light on whatever it was that had just darted into there path. There, there it was! It was wrapped around Al's ankles! It was-

He blinked. "A cat?"

"Wha--!?" Al yelped and stumbled as the cat tangled around his legs, fortunately flailing away from the rest of the group with the sword. A few staggering steps lead to a faceplant, and he groans as he pushes himself up to hands and knees to look back at the feline in question.

"It could have chosen a better time to be friendly..." he said with good humor. If there was one cat here, there were probably others--and his brother couldn't tell him he can't spoil and pet these ones!

Ed ducked away from Al's sword. "Okay, making a sheathe for that thing has just gone pretty damn high on my list of things to do."

Ed turned on his own flashlight, adding its beam to the one already illuminating it. "Sure it's not a monster cat hellbent on tripping its victims and licking your face off?"

A cat indeed, and every inch catlike: Mar ducked out of the way of Al's flailing limbs with perfectly feline aplomb, returning to him as soon as he was stable in order to wind around his arms in turn. Monster cat was at once inaccurate and accurate: for all intents and purposes, Mar was just a cat tonight.

But he was of something that called each to each; something that had soaked into the very bones of the Institute in this space. When he rubbed a furry cheek against Al's elbow, purr rumbling, he released a small mew.

Echoing through the expanse of the hall, there came an answering rattle, guttural and faint.

A monster cat. The corner of Lloyd's mouth twitched up, because of course that was just teasing. The cat looked like a plain and ordinary house cat, and was certainly acting like one, too. It was even purring and mewing at Al, practically inviting a petting. Lloyd nearly reached out-

-when something rattled in the dark that was most definitely not a cat. The muscles that Lloyd had started to relax tensed again as he snapped his head around, his free hand dropping to the knife at his waist while his other tried to shine his flashlight through the dark. "Uh, guys?" he called to the others, trying not to sound as nervous as he was. "I don't think we should be standing here."

Al scratched the purring cat with a smile, reveling for a short moment in the feeling of its fur under his fingers. "Come on, Brother, do you really think this little guy would want to--"

He cuts off at the uncanny growl, head snapping up to stare into the darkness. "Y-yeah, let's get going quick!" He scooped up the little cat in his free arm as he stood up, moving back towards Ed and Lloyd.

"..." Ed gave the cat a suspicious look. "Funny how we didn't hear whatever it was until the cat meowed."

He started moving away from the direction of the sound, shining the flashlight in its direction. He tensed himself for a potential fight. "Just so you know Lloyd, alchemy can be and often is used in battle. Depending on how things go, you may get to see it in action."

The cat snuggled easily into Al's hold, squirming into the most comfortable position and kneading absently at the boy's shirt. Devoid of fear, it continued to purr even as the patients scrambled toward safety.

Or rather: even as Ed turned away from the rattle, another answered the first, equally faint, at the same difficult-to-judge distance -- but this time, sounding from in front of them. And before the echoes of that one had faded, another rattle scuttled through from yet another direction, harsh and rough.

And, subtly, something tickled the back of Al's head, the lightest brush of touch.

It was hard to tell how close the things were, but now there were more of them, one in front, one behind, and one somewhere else. Dread crawling up his spin, Lloyd swung his flashlight around, trying to get a glimpse of something, anything.

"I have some mana techniques I can use, too, but they drain me. I haven't figured out the limits, but I probably shouldn't use them if I can help it." He just hoped he'd have a choice. He edged closer to the others, freeing the knife from his belt just in case, then darted a glance toward where he knew the doors to the Sun Room were. The doors always seemed to be open, but if they could close them... "Let's... let's keep going. The Sun Room has tables. We can block the door."

Al scowled at his brother, holding the cat close to his chest and ignoring that comment. "We just need to get away, not make a stand. We shouldn't waste too much energy." When Lloyd suggested the Sun Room, he nodded. "That should at least slow them down."

The faint brush against his head made every hair stand up on end (how had it gotten behind him already?!), and he whirled around with his blade up against whatever had managed to sneak so close.

"Shit. Tell me we aren't surrounded," Ed groaned as he kept playing the light around the hall to make whatever was after them have to step into the light and reveal itself if it wanted to get close.

"Anyway, yes, getting somewhere more defensible sounds like a really good idea," he said, as he moved towards the Sun Room. At least, up until he saw the way his brother moved from the corner of his eye and also whirled around, so he could see what got his attention.

Surrounded they were, though not as they thought: it was the air itself that smothered them now, heavy with vendetta, now furious enough to taste. The cat in Al's arms continued to purr, the low rumble of it incongruous in the thick sense of rage permeating each breath --

Until abruptly its claws sank through Al's shirt at the same time that the touch against the back of his head resolved into a hand, grey-pale, extended from among his hair. Groping at nothing, it reached first outward and then curved back at the wrist to bury an unforgiving grip in his hair: with a vicious yank, it pulled him backwards, towards the darkest recesses of the hallway.

Lloyd had halfway turned as well, to see what had startled Al. His breath caught and his lungs struggled with the air- No, that had to be just fear. He tried to shove the feeling aside, opened his mouth to ask what was wrong - only something gray emerged from the dark right then. Lloyd's eyes widened.

"Al!"

Without a second thought, he lunged forward, slashing at the hand and the too-thick blackness with the dagger in his hand.

A thrill of ice-cold fear went through Al; he yelled and let go of the cat, sneakers screeching across the linoleum as he tried to fight the tug of...whatever the hell had a hold of him. He reached up and grabbed at the fingers, desperately trying to pry it loose from his head as his heart hammered in his ears. He just got his body back, he couldn't fall prey to the monsters here so soon!

"Brother, catch!" he shouted, tossing the sword to Ed and grabbing at the hand with both of his, bracing himself against the pulling and trying to get back to the others.

"Al!" Ed raced toward his brother and caught the sword as it was thrown to him.

Fear shot through him past the rage that was choking him. He couldn't lose his brother their first night here!

He shined the flashlight at the section of hall Al was being dragged to so he could see and attack whatever was there.

Mar yowled as he hit the ground, the mewlings and rumblings of a normal cat vanishing as he arched his back and drew his lips back as far as they would go, baring a row of sharp teeth: and then the darkness reached to him. One moment he was there, feline-scream guttural and distended, and then he disappeared into the shadow as if swallowed by it, melted away into the avenging memory that remembered him.

And the hand: Lloyd's dagger struck it open with the overripe sound of dead flesh splitting. Black, viscous blood splashed, spattering his face and oozing sluggishly along the wrist and rapidly-emerging forearm until it stained Al's bright hair. And still it didn't hesitate, grip only tightening and pulling, pulling until -- a second hand crawled out of his hair, pale fingers curling forward this time. Blood-caked fingernails scraped across his face, trailing lightly over his cheek and eyebrows until abruptly it, too, was pulling him back.

Inexorable strength, unmitigated fury. Behind Al the darkness in the hallway didn't disperse so much as absorb the light, shadows writhing as if all the black itself was alive.

He'd said he didn't want to use his mana if he could help it, but the monster hadn't even reacted when Lloyd's knife had sliced into it. Blood splattered, scattering flecks of darkness across Lloyd's clothes, maybe on his face, too, but he barely registered it. His mind was on the verge of panic. Al was going to be dragged into that darkness!

In a split second, he threw away his first instinct to slam the thing with Beast. Beast had exhausted him when he'd used it on the front door three nights ago, and he couldn't afford to be exhausted. Not now! But maybe something weaker, that didn't need as much mana from him.

His mana raced down his arm as he focused it almost without conscious thought. Even before it reached his dagger, he was moving, aiming another strike at the monster's arm in a technique he'd done so many times it was almost second nature to him. Mana and light streaked through the air as he hurled it with his blade, a shockwave already forming.

"Demon Fang!"

Let's see how you like mana point blank!

Al struggled desperately against the pull of the monster, clawing at the hands to loosen them, get enough slack to break free. His heart was pounding, and the still-new feeling of adrenaline drove his reactions even further out of hand. Terror lent strength enough to halt the pull of the hands for a little bit longer. He couldn't die, he couldn't die here, not like this--!

A sudden flash of memory--another time years ago he'd been taken in a mysterious creature's grip, the pain that had followed-- "Brother!!"

Ed was also remembering this and he sped up and dropped his flashlight to grab Al and yank him towards himself.

"I am not losing him again," he snarled at the darkness, hiding his fear behind anger.

Lloyd's attack struck home. Bone and rotted sinew snapped, both arms pulping open until they dangled freely, connected to Al only by the ferocious strength of their fingers: for even as decaying flesh oozed black slime down his back, they clung on, pulling without the logic of physics, until --

Even as Ed reached for his brother, the darkness reached back. The sluggish mess staining his shirt, cold to the touch, suddenly writhed into motion at the same time as the blackness behind him did: it whipped around Al, grabbing at him like myriad tiny hands dragging him back into the darkness. Except these were no hands. If the patients took the time to look, they would see: it was hair, a sea of it, creeping along the shadows cast in the hallway and making them alive.

Strands crawled over his face, writhing around the hand still clawing into flesh until it subsumed it altogether and the fingers became hair themselves, funneling into every crevice: mouth, nostrils, ears, seeking even to creep between his eyelids and eyeballs.

Even as his mana lashed out at the monster, Lloyd could feel the drain as it left him. Not as bad as when he'd used Beast, but still leaving him winded, his muscles a little weak and rubbery. If only he could sit down and catch his breath-

But there wasn't any time! The hands hadn't let go, and now there were fingers, strands of hair and darkness, wrapping around every part of Al he could see, and if they didn't do something-

"Edward, cut the hair!"

If they couldn't kill the monster - and it certainly hadn't acted like it cared about his attacks! - then they needed to get Al out of its grasp, and they needed to do it now! He sliced his dagger into the black strands nearest to Al's head. They couldn't let it suffocate Al before they cut him free!

He shrieked in pure terror and pain, thrashing within the prison of hair and holding onto Ed's arm in a death-grip. There was nothing that could be called thought anymore, just a desperate need to be free of the gripping black around him, so similar to the hands of the Gate that to him there was no distinguishing between the two.

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