Night 71: Basement: Grand Ballroom

[sixth_attack]

[From here.]

Racing to leave the biting chill of the freezer, Sechs bowed his way down the darkened steps to the basement. Yet his brief moment upstairs was more than enough to trigger off the worst of his dreaded post M-U effects. All six scars left behind by that cruel doctor's syringes were searing from the frigid poison inside his spine, spreading pain throughout his nerves and muscles like cracks diverging across an icy landscape. Such agony clouded the Replica's mind, slowing down time and stretching the staircase below into infinity. Sechs' vision worsened and his hearing was overwhelmed by the drug's malicious taunting. Nearly thrown off balance with each step, Sechs forced his flashlight-wielding hand against the wall to keep himself stabilized. Refusing to give in, Sechs continued his pained journey down the stairwell, focusing on reaching warmer air than anything else going on around him.

Once he finally reached the end of the stairwell, Sechs nearly stumbled off the final step, his boots shuffling against the pristine marble floor as he turned to lean his back against the wall. By then his shivering had faded and the icy sensation that racked his spine had finally thawed. The triggering cold of the freezer was gone, replaced by the lukewarm air of the ballroom. Even though the worst was over, Sechs' nerves remained ransacked and his burdened flight down the stairs left him hunched over and panting. Standing with his head bowed over, the Replica closed his eyes tight against whatever dark hallucinations may be awaiting him, knowing they could trick him into attacking his allies.

It was then that Sechs' awareness of the present returned, reminding him that he hadn't been alone during his episode. Zero and Aigis were sure to have seen it all now. There was no doubt that they were going to ask the questions which Sechs always dreaded to answer. They may even decide to leave him behind. He was just a big liability to the group and the drug was no more than happy to remind him of that fact with a deviant cackle. All Sechs could do was catch his breath and rub his hand into the back of his aching neck, bracing for the questions to fall upon him like blasted shrapnel.

Comments

[no_dont_go]

Aigis was the second one down the ladder after Sechs, but she found it odd how he kept stopping, nearly stumbling as he finally reached the bottom. Her curiosity was piqued but she wasn't quite sure what to make of it, not having the visibility to gauge his expression from her angle above him.

Her feet touched the ground and Aigis approached him with a tilt of her head, her eyes concerned. "Sechs-san, if you are feeling unwell or in need of a short rest, we can stop for a while here."

She glanced around the large room, dimly lit with torches along the walls. "We will certainly see anything approaching should we find ourselves with unwanted company."

Aigis had faith that as long as they weren't caught unawares, they would manage against any opponent. The three of them were built for battle, after all.

[dividedby]

As the trio continued onward, Zero's suspicions about Sechs' condition kept growing and growing. It was the same as before...the not wanting to be in a specific place, the stumbling about, the breathlessness...the only thing that wasn't happening was Sechs outright falling to the floor, which, considering the situation, was a good thing. But nevertheless. Zero followed the other two down the stairs while splitting his focus between what might appear behind them and what might happen in front of him. The latter was, in his mind, Sechs collapsing, but luckily the group managed to get to the bottom of the stairs without that happening.

Once there, Zero became briefly distracted by their new surroundings - or rather, new to him. Was this...a ballroom? It was dated and looked more fit for Neo Arcadia than anything Zero had seen in the Institute before, but doubtlessly this was far beyond anything he'd been expecting, to completely understate things. Dark corridors and abandoned medical equipment, perhaps even torture devices, had been closer to what he'd been imagining...heh. Guess Landel was still as skilled as ever at surprising people and being completely unpredictable. It would almost be admirable if they weren't in the middle of a fight for their lives.

Zero wasn't given even half a minute to ponder all of this, though, as Aigis's voice quickly brought him back to their situation and reminded him of Sechs's condition. The reminder was good though, honestly. Even half a minute of broken concentration could be a death sentence here. Zero tore his eyes away from the ballroom and looked back over at Sechs, who was leaning against the wall and not looking too good. Aigis was questioning out loud, now, and the former Reploid's own suspicions were too strong to ignore.

"...Is this the same thing that happened the last time we met at night?" he finally asked, unable to hold it back. He didn't want a full explanation, however; a simple yes or no would suffice. His main concern was with Sechs' ability to continue the mission, not his history. Zero already knew some of it from the last time this happened, anyway.

[sixth_attack]

Sechs replied to Aigis with a weary grunt, his eyes remaining tightly closed as he nodded with a grimace, humiliated that she had to see him like this. He was reluctant to give a straight answer to Aigis, refusing to admit defeat or accept any rejections. Yet he felt so drained and crippled. If he didn't sit down soon his dizzy head may force him to collapse instead...

Knees buckling slightly, Sechs slowly lowered himself to the floor, his leathery suit squeaking softly as his back slid down against the stone wall. Once seated, Sechs placed his flashlight down with a clatter that echoed sharply against the looming columns of the ballroom. He kept his eyes closed, hoping that the others would spot danger for him while he struggled to regain leverage of his consciousness from the drug.

Even though it was no longer cold and dark, the liquid parasite wasn't finished tormenting its host. "You're just a big giant handicap! A bad egg that should've been thrown out a long time ago!" the drug sneered into Sechs' ears. "If the G.I.B company hadn't fallen when they did, they would have seen you were a failure just waiting to screw up! They would've cut you off the program and tossed you into the garbage with the rest of their failed Replicas!"

Such words stung deeply for Sechs. He dug his hand into his hair, clutching into his scalp with fingers wanting nothing more than to claw away into his skull until they could rip out the disgusting poison from his mind. "Shut up, SHUT UP!" he mentally snarled back.

Yet the drug wasn't done jeering. "Now no thanks to the G.I.B's failure to clean its act up, poor Aigis and Zero here have to deal with you now! Stuck with a big weak dummy who can't do anything right! They're so much more smarter and capable than you, y'know..."

The drug's cruel words dissipated, allowing Zero's voice to reach the aggrieved Replica's ears. Sechs raised his head and carefully opened his eyes, only to shut them tightly again once he found Zero and Aigis completely covered by pitch-black illusions. Being reminded of the night of his friend Kibitoshin's disappearance didn't help much either. Sighing, Sechs' head drooped back down, resting his chin upon his chest plate.

"Yeah..." he gruffly answered, "Same thing I got from that sick doctor weeks ago." Grunting, Sechs continued rubbing his warm palm into the back of his neck. "I'll deal with it. Just... Just gimme a sec..."

[no_dont_go]

So Sechs was feeling ill tonight. It was unfortunate, but there was little Aigis could do for that, compared to physical injuries. With though, she merely needed to whip out her Evoker and call on Athena for a quick patch job. But this was something that Athena could not touch. She was machine, as was Aigis, and her capabilities could not transcend the physical.

But Aigis could do something. She moved nearby her friend and crouched low, taking a seat beside him on her knees. Her hands on her thighs, Aigis patiently waited for her friend to catch his breath, perfectly content to sit there in companionable silence while he rested up.

[dividedby]

Zero, meanwhile, was more content to remain standing where he was, especially since they were in unfamiliar territory (to him) and he wanted to keep watch. Aigis seemed to be taking care of being comforting anyway, which was good since Zero was well aware of his own difficulties in doing the same. He'd leave that part to her.

In the meantime, he, too, stayed silent as he and Aigis both waited for Sechs to recover. Sechs gave him his answer - and that was all Zero needed to know to confirm his suspicions and understand what was going on. Nothing else needed to be said. As long as it didn't get worse...

(And the mission's success was not the only reason Zero was hoping for that, even though expressing it was something else he wasn't exactly good at.)

[sixth_attack]

Sechs didn't move nor open his eyes, bracing for words of disgust and ridicule to come his way from the others. Yet the silence which met his ears instead felt far worse. Zero and Aigis were probably just standing there, staring and realizing just how much of a failure Sechs really was. For all Sechs knew, they were probably already on their way without him, but he still didn't dare to look...

As though answering his fear, the sound of footsteps echoing off into the distance broke the silence. The realization that he may have just been left behind was more painful than he thought it would be, forcing his eyes open to catch a glimpse of an empty ballroom and two shadows disappearing into one of the corridors. Such a sight caused the Replica to shut his eyes and grind his jaw, overwhelmed by a bomb of emotions he could not deal with all at once without exploding himself.

"Shit! They didn't... Did they really...?" Sechs thought to himself, too shocked to be angry just yet. "...Maybe it's better that way then..."

It was then that Sechs just about gave in to his loathsome ailment -- but a new sound halted his downward spiral. Someone had sat down close beside him, a warm presence which Sechs immediately recognized...

Opening his eyes once more, Sechs found that he wasn't alone in the ballroom as he thought. Zero remained standing guard while Aigis had perched close beside Sechs. They were waiting for him, just as he had asked.

Seeing Aigis so unexpectedly close to him again, Sechs felt that unexplainable warming sensation in his face again, but this time he wasn't so bothered by it; for he could feel it melting away some of the icy pain in his spine. Sechs gave Aigis a pained but grateful smile. The drug had just been trying to trick him again, and so far it wasn't so pleased by Sechs' realization. "They're only sticking around because they pity you!" it bitterly snapped in Sechs' ear.

Ignoring the voice, Sechs put his flashlight into one of his pockets and gingerly rose back up to his feet. Sechs still felt the residual effects of the drug's attack, but with the worst of it over he was ready to continue. "Thanks for waiting," he said with a small sigh of relief. The Replica's trust in Zero and Aigis had definitely grown and it showed in his eyes. "I'm ready to get going now."

Before he took a step however, Sechs suddenly remembered something important that he brought with him. "Ah -- Wait a second..." Digging into one of his pockets, Sechs retrieved a ring he found weeks ago. "Got this ring that can teleport us here if we need to later," he explained. "Lemme get it working..."

"Shoot, how did these rings work again?" Sechs recalled seeing Utena using a ring just like his own before. The ring had to be activated in a place someone wanted to go back to, right? He could only recall smashing the ring and giving it blood. Utena smashed hers during that one night to get to the ballroom, so that meant...

Taking out his machete, Sechs carefully drew the blade against one of his fingers just as he recalled seeing Utena do so before. He hissed quietly from the pain, but it was nothing compared to all the other injuries he sustained so far. At first the blood emerging from his skin appeared dark and tar-like, but after closing his eyes against the drug's illusions for a second, Sechs was able to direct the red blood onto the ring, causing it to react affirmatively to his small sacrifice.

With that done, Sechs dropped the bloody ring back into his pocket. "There, ready now. Let's go."

[no_dont_go]

Aigis had turned her gaze over to Sechs just in time to see him smile. Smiling back faintly, she gave him a short nod, acknowledging his gratefulness with modesty. As he rose to stand, she did as well, almost certain they were going to continue on with little to no more trouble save for whatever this place had in store.

"A ring? So you have one of those..." Aigis did not have one of her own, but it was quite a boon for Sechs to have found one. She watched him curiously as he set it, a little put out to note it required blood. Trust Landel to give them something that required them to experience pain to utilize.

Still, what was done was done. And they now had a convenient lift back to this place for the night after.

Moving further into the ballroom with little ado, Aigis turned and gazed around. There were several doors, some of which did not seem to host handles for opening. Now the question was.... "From here, where should we venture?"

[dividedby]

Fortunately, there was no repeat of that night Sechs had nearly suffocated to death; he recovered in not too long, getting back on his feet and looking more determined than ever. Feeling a bit relieved, Zero gave his fellow android a nod when he mentioned being ready, although unlike both of his comrades, he didn't give any smile in return. (But at least he wasn't quite frowning. Just...neutral.)

As for Aigis's question, Zero had nothing to say. He was still content to leave the actual navigation up to the other two. Anywhere they could possibly go would equal progress made to him, because he hadn't been to the basement before. Even just getting here was technically progress, even if it wasn't very much progress.

Instead, he would address something that Sechs just did after confirming his readiness, something that made Zero stare in confusion for a few moments. A ring that could teleport one to wherever they wanted as long as they bled on it...? What kind of a messed up thing was that? Whatever it was, both Sechs and Aigis seemed to know about it already. So when did he miss the announcement for these? It better not have been when he was sleeping all of yesterday...

"Where did you get that?" asked Zero, unable to hold back his curiosity. While they were trying to decide where to start exploring, he could at least get this one answer.

[sixth_attack]

Musing over Aigis' question, Sechs shifted his gaze between the two hallways and the single door the ballroom offered. Pressing his bleeding finger against his lips, the Replica's frown became a puzzled one. He approached the extravagant marble doors first, seeing that they were the obvious crowning feature of the grandiose ballroom. Despite all the ornate paintings of angels and the pair of looming columns which flanked the fantastical doors, Sechs found the whole display cheesy, even offensive, considering how the entire ballroom contrasted so much against the horrors of the institute.

Despite his distaste, Sechs attempted to open the doors, but found that they wouldn't budge. Stepping back, the only clues Sechs could find to unlocking them were two indentations. Were these some sort of keyhole?

"Shit. This door ain't opening," Sechs growled, turning away from the marble entrance with a scowl. "We might need to find two keys or something to open it..."

Returning to the center of the ballroom, Sechs focused his attention between the two hallways. There weren't any discernible differences between the two opposing options, just a gut feeling that egged his attention towards the eastern corridor. Even though they had no idea of what may be discovered at the end of these opposing hallways, they had to start somewhere to find anything in the first place...

Then Zero's question brought Sechs out of his pondering. Plucking the aforementioned ring back out of his pocket, Sechs appraised the odd object with a shrug. "I found it in my room one night," he answered Zero with a brief glance before stowing the ring away. "Don't know exactly why only a few people like me got it. I remember it popping up sometime after that one night when all the doors became random portals to other places..."

Meanwhile, Sechs' instincts remained fixated on the east-facing hallway. He couldn't tell if it was just a blind guess or something else, but he wasn't going to waste anymore time trying to figure out which way to go. The night could end at any moment...

"Even if we can get back here faster with the ring, we don't have a lot of time to explore tonight," Sechs gruffly added, turning to face the eastern entrance with a shuffle of his boots. "So let's get going and try out this way. I don't know if it's the right way or not, but we gotta start looking somewhere, right?"

And with that, the Replica began his determined prowl down the chosen corridor.

[To here.]

[impudentsongbird]

[from here.]

When they appeared in the ballroom Gabe staggered, leaning on Skulduggery's arm to throw off the disorientation. Dizziness was not a very comfortable sensation. Just one more thing he wasn't used to. "Well," he managed after a moment, "that was uncomfortable."

After a moment he was able to straighten up and move away, glancing around the ballroom. It was empty, but didn't seem quite as overwhelmingly huge and distant as last time. Like someone else had been here, recently. Well, they weren't there anymore, and Skulduggery and Gabe had to choose which door to go through. There were only two. One on the right, and one on the left.

"'He ascended into Heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty'," he murmured, turning toward the right-hand door. His Master's Son, on the right hand. If there was any grace to be found at this place, Gabriel would look for it on His side. "Let's go right."

[skeletonenigma]

The pipe wouldn't exactly be useful for Skulduggery either, but he took it when Gabe offered it. Preparation was the key.

He was also only slightly more used to being dizzy than Gabe was, but at least there Skulduggery knew how to keep his balance. It wasn't the first time he'd been Teleported, and it wasn't even the first time he'd been Teleported while alive. He knew what to expect. There was a slight stumble as Skulduggery caught his balance, arms out, but he remained stable enough to help Gabe find his.

The ballroom was as empty as before, and it echoed as much as before. Gabe's quiet words seemed to fill the empty space, resonating with such calm confidence that Skulduggery could well imagine they'd just stepped into a holy place. A church, perhaps - a proper one, not the all-faiths demonic chapel from upstairs.

Skulduggery shook the sensation away. "As good a reason as any," he murmured. "And it's good enough for me." The air was still in that direction, or as still as Skulduggery was able to tell; he wasn't going to put much stock in that, but it was a wonderful confidence booster while it lasted.

He eyed the silver wall brackets holding candles as they approached the large brown double-doors. It might be possible to wrench one of those from the wall, and it would certainly be enough metal for what he wanted. But it would probably require magic, and Skulduggery wanted to save that for whatever they might encounter down here. The detective settled for quickly pricking his finger on one of the brackets, the same way Gabe had last night, and letting his blood drip onto the ring so it would take them back to the ballroom again tomorrow.

[To here.]