Night 72: Main Hallway, 1-Center

[ninelivesonce]

[from here]

Taura ran down the hall, looking for Rita. She wasn't there -- in fact, there was no one there. Maybe she wasn't running quite as late as she'd feared. Or there was something else going on, and she just hadn't been hit with it. Better to think it was just early.

She got out the radio, and looked at it -- she'd give it a few minutes, and then she'd call Rita. These were useful tools, but they weren't secure, and letting Landel know they were coming would be worse than waiting out here all night.

Comments

[freewill]

[From here.]

Other than a few strangers who were moving down the hall ahead of them, it was relatively quiet. Castiel did catch sight of Lust with a man he didn't recognize, but when he caught sight of his face for a split-second he realized it was the person she'd asked him about before, the one who'd been sick with that illness and had supposedly died.

Then again, judging from the bulletin, the scarred man wasn't the only one who'd come back from death. Castiel wondered what the criteria were for who came back and who stayed dead.

He remained silent for now, waiting for the others to weigh in on the subject of the rebel notes.

[forsworn]

"I received a note to the same effect as yours, so it seems that perhaps we'll have to try the radios." Kratos had no idea of who might have gotten a note about disabling the security system, but he did have a few people's numbers, so potentially, he could ask them all and see, if they had the time. "I suspect those would be more secure." Presumably. One could never really know how much Landel knew or heard.

"Regardless, we still have another task to complete, and I think it would be in our best interest to focus on finding the archive for the time being." He looked to the other two, hoping to hear their agreement.

[redcladidealist]

"Do we know if everyone has one?" Lloyd asked, letting his eyes warily scan the hall as they walked. "We only got ours because we went to that toy store. What if there were people who didn't?" He shook his head. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like it would be a better idea to stick with their original plans for tonight. There was too much they just didn't know to make the plans they needed to make. "You're right. I think we should find the archive first. We can find out who we need to make plans with tomorrow."

They passed by the spot where Lloyd and his friends had been attacked that night they'd run into that cat. Lloyd's hand unconsciously tightened its grip on his sword as he tried to peer through the darkened halls. There was no sign of either the monster or the cat, though, and he couldn't hear anything but their footsteps, not even a cat's soft mew. With Landel's warning, though, Lloyd was feeling paranoid. The doctor knew they'd made it to the third floor last night. He had to know they'd try again.

"Hey, Kratos?" He kept his voice low. He didn't want to attract anything's attention if there was anything in the hall. "Do you still have any of your angelic abilities? Can you hear if something's trying to sneak up?" That would make things somewhat easier if it was the case, but after what Landel had done to him, having his Cruxis Crystal replaced, would that affect what he could do?

[freewill]

Castiel had seen the list of radio frequencies being passed around and had copied it down onto a piece of paper, but he hadn't brought that with him. Which meant that it wouldn't do much good at the moment.

It seemed that they'd all decided to focus on the archive for now, though, which meant that contacting any other patients could be set to the side for now. It would be best if they could learn about all the information that was being disseminated through the institute, but Castiel wasn't exactly eager to try and figure out how the radios worked.

He was about to lead them straight into the Sun Room, but then Lloyd spoke up to ask Kratos something. The moment that the word "angelic" came out of the young man's mouth, Castiel tensed up and spun around, sizing up both of them.

Kratos had told him plenty about being a soldier, but this was new. This was... something Castiel should have sensed a long time ago. He narrowed his eyes, peered at Kratos with a look that almost hinted at betrayal. "Angelic abilities?" Maybe it was a specific terminology from their world that wasn't meant to be taken literally. Maybe.

[forsworn]

"No, but I do remember a few, and we might as well start somewhere." Kratos was about to try a number when Lloyd suddenly mentioned his second most tightly guarded secret--especially around Castiel, who was probably the last person that needed to know about his pseudo-divinity. It had been in passing, hopefully a word easily missed or glossed over, but no: as if on cue, Castiel abruptly turned around.

Usually, he managed to keep his reactions muted, but this time, Kratos could not help but give Lloyd the dirtiest look he could muster, a glare so venomous that it could have killed. It lasted for only a second, a brief crack in a normally well-maintained poker face, and soon enough, he was impassively meeting Castiel's accusing eyes.

"It's not what you think," he said slowly - cautiously - because even though he was honestly telling the truth, Kratos could tell that he was already walking on thin ice.

[redcladidealist]

The look may have only lasted for a moment, but Lloyd was looking at Kratos when it happened. Every bit of irritation in that look hit him full force, and he took an involuntary step back. Eyes widening, he looked from Kratos to Castiel.

Oh. Damn it. It had been so long since that particular secret had been a secret that he honestly hadn't thought anything about mentioning it - not that he'd really thought at all. Even if he had, Kratos seemed to trust Castiel. It hadn't occurred to him that it could be a problem.

He couldn't take it back now, though. Any lie from him would only make it worse. With a guilty wince, he looked away. Dammit, how could he fix this?

There was only one thing he could think of. He lifted his voice, probably a little too loud. "Oh, uh, hey, I forgot to tell you guys!" Flustered and trying not to act like he was, he stepped right between the two as though obliviously moving on, straight for the doors to the Sun Room. "I- I found out what that arch was in that room last night! It's supposed to tell if we've got metal on us, so we just need to take our metal off!" He stepped through the door, still leading the way.

[To here.]