damned_institute | Night 72: M71-80 Hallway

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Night 72: M71-80 Hallway

Finally, a broadcast from Landel that was worth listening to...in that it gave actual information, and wasn't either completely annoying or unhelpful. The third floor... It seemed like Zero had been hearing about that more and more, along with receiving a rough set of directions to it on the board today. The mysterious note he'd found at dinner could be related to this, too...

Was it finally time to bring Landel down?

...He'd ponder it for awhile, keep an eye out for any more news. But for now, he grabbed his boots, gun, ammo, maps, and flashlight - all the usual things. This time he shoved them into the pockets of Ciel's coat, which he just now decided to wear. Not for a fashion statement, of course. The...original owner of this coat might want it back, was all. For the same reason, he also picked up Alouette's stuffed doll - something he'd admittedly been trying to ignore ever since it'd showed up - as he hoped it might give Ciel a reminder of the people they were fighting for. The people that she, at the very least, needed to return to.

The last thing he grabbed was the sword from the basement, which he would carry. It wasn't like he'd be holding on to it for very long. Now prepared, he gave a quick 'good luck' to his roommate and then headed out.

[To here.]

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[From here.]

The walk to Gabe's room was nearly instinctive by now, taking less than a minute even without a proper source of light to go by. Skulduggery tapped on the door with his elbow when he arrived, and Gabe would see the reason why the moment he opened it.

Gabe's roommate's metal bar was under Skulduggery's right arm. His plate of food from dinner was in his right hand. The same toy radio as before he had clutched under his left arm, and the shield given to them by the Sphinx was carefully balanced on his left hand. To complete the picture, the Teleporter ring on his finger glinted in the half-light against the small metal shield.

He was starting to think maybe a makeshift bag wouldn't have gone amiss.

"Hello," he greeted Gabe when the angel opened the door. "Could you spare one of your pillows?"

When Gabe opened the door, the very first thing he did was laugh. He took Skulduggery's plate of food and opened the door wider so Skulduggery could enter, still grinning. "I may be able to. Or at least the pillow cover. That's a good idea, actually."

He might need them to carry the clay figurines, sitting proudly on his desk with Gabe's own plate of food. Gabe carried Skulduggery's plate over to the desk and picked up his pillow, stripping the cover off.

"I got another note," he said. "So did my room-mate. It's there, on the bed. You should read it."

"I'm full of good ideas," Skulduggery agreed with a smile that only looked uncertain because he still wasn't used to needing facial muscles in order to smile. He put the metal bar and shield on Gabe's bed, let the radio fall on top of them with a clang, and picked up the note Gabe had indicated.

Still not sure if we can even rely on you guys, but here's the scoop.

There's a lot to stuff that you all have to get right if you want to really get home, got it? Obviously, the biggest obstacle is Landel, but there may be a way to stop him in his tracks.

We're working on a piece of tech that could get the job done. Wait until that's delivered, and then go track that bastard down.

If you use the device near him, well, he'll be singing a different song.

Skulduggery didn't trust the so-called 'rebels' who were supposedly writing these notes. Castiel seemed to, and Castiel had been trapped here much longer - but then again, people without hope tended to lose better judgement when faced with an opportunity to get some of that hope back. Landel had been running this prison for a very, very long time. Skulduggery found it hard to believe that stumbling across the third floor was going to do impede him in any significant way.

But he also didn't know anything about the rebels. There was every chance their rebelling had also been going on behind the scenes for a very long time.

Skulduggery nodded, and put the note back down. "They're delivering a piece of tech. All we have to do is track Landel down. It's so simple. Why hasn't anyone ever thought of that?"

The words dripped with sarcasm, even if Skulduggery's tone didn't.

Very carefully, Gabe slid his 'masterpieces' inside the pillow cover, only looking up when Skulduggery spoke. "When one is imprisoned, is their first thought escape or revenge?" he asked patiently, aware there might possibly have been some sarcasm meant but replying straight anyway. "At least now we know we have to find Landel in order to get home."

Home. The thought put a wistful twist in Gabe's belly, one that, he was startled to find, was a bit regretful too.

"It seems likely Landel's on the third floor. Maybe we should try to go there tomorrow night." He straightened up, reaching for the shield and the pipe. "I asked Zero about trading for the pipe. He wants to know what else you have to offer."

"No. What we know is that a group of people we know nothing about are telling us that we have to find Landel in order to get home." Skulduggery dropped the note back onto the bed. "I was going to do that anyway, but the idea's lost some sparkle now that people are telling me to. Now it feels like an order."

Zero. Gabe's roommate, no doubt. Skulduggery mentally ran through the list of possessions he'd acquired while trapped in the Institute. It didn't take too long. In fact, most of the list was what now lay on Gabe's bed.

"Flashlight batteries," he remembered. He could do without a flashlight, but he was probably one of the few who could - and nurses wouldn't hand out batteries simply because a patient asked. "Or, if we try for the third floor tomorrow night, basement artifacts. But I'm not entirely sure we should. For one thing, everyone else is already exploring it - your brother included. If there's anything to be found, we'll hardly be the first ones there. For another thing, so much fuss is being made over the third floor that every other mystery is being ignored entirely, and the underground ballroom still intrigues me. Landel didn't build that on a whim."

"Not quite nothing," Gabe said mildly. "We know that they gave us the radios, and we know they'd been trying to give us information. Kratos said they've been around for a while, and he knows people who have been across to their encampment." He finished knotting up the pillow so it would contain all its objects and turned, brushing his curls out of his eyes.

"Just because someone asks is no reason not to do something," he pointed it gently. "Usually, it's for a reason. An order only makes it a more urgent one." He tilted his head. "Besides, look at what the basement is. It's a game for Landel--a way to entertain himself. Why else would he keep people like Antony down there? Why else would he make such a system, of challenges and tests? But the third floor is protected. It has an electrified fence and some sort of security Teleportation system. And he's been reacting badly to people being up there."

The Archangel shook his head. "If we're getting notes from the people who know better, who are we to ignore them? They wouldn't have sent them if things weren't going to happen soon, and fast."

Now there was something new. People who had been across to their encampment. And then... been transported right back? The rebels might have been real, and their attempts to help might have been genuine, but something about their existence still rubbed Skulduggery the wrong way.

He nodded slowly. "Good points, all. But this note doesn't mention anything about the third floor - just that whenever they deliver this piece of tech, to use it near wherever Landel happens to be. That might be the third floor, but it might not. Landel is a psychopath. In my experience, when psychopaths create games of challenges and tests to keep themselves entertained, they like to watch. Now, that could mean he's on the third floor watching through hidden cameras, but with the way he likes to rub every small failure in our faces?"

It was difficult to strategise when half of the prisoners wouldn't even talk to each other, but in this instance, Skulduggery had the vague beginnings of an idea. He wouldn't squander it when so many people were already doing what the rebels wanted, and the more places Landel's armour was attacked from, the greater the chance of someone breaking through.

"It's an option," he summarised. "Maybe if we ask around tomorrow, learn more about the basement and what people have discovered on the third floor, more of us will be willing to talk about what we should do next. Your clay figures are exquisite, by the way."

"That's true," Gabe said slowly. "We'll have to move fast, though. We don't know how big the basement is, or how long it might take to figure out just where he's watching from."

He nodded. "Alright. Kratos said he would tell me what they discovered, and I'm sure Castiel would as well." Then, abruptly, the Archangel's face bloomed with a brilliant smile. "Thank you. I was aiming more for quantity than quality, though. Antony will find clay easier to play with than paint, and it was the best way to get as much clay as I could."

Gabe had gathered everything up, now, or at least as much as he could. He picked up the pillowcase, all lumpy and lopsided, and handed it to Skulduggery before picking up their plates of food and moving close to the skeleton. "Okay. Let's go."

"Castiel's been keeping me updated," Skulduggery nodded. "I'm the one who told him how to access the third floor. He feels it's only fair to return the favour."

With everything they could possibly need secured in the pillowcase, Skulduggery put one hand on Gabe's arm, made a fist of the other, and swung the ring against the corner of the desk to smash the inset jewel.

[To here.]

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Night 72: M71-80 Hallway

M79

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