damned_institute | Night 72: Sun Room

Lloyd whipped his sword up to parry again, awkwardly because his other hand moved instinctively to follow through with a counterattack, but all he had was a flashlight in his other hand. At the last moment, he tried to turn it into an attempt to knock Ed back. Hey, it might not be a sword, but the butt of a flashlight had to hurt if it slammed into someone's gut.

"Yes it has! You didn't have any problem going out in the halls before! Don't you remember?"

Ed's breath shot out with a grunt as he stumbled back and turned the stumble into a flip to get further away in order to give himself a chance to use his alchemy. "No."

Then he clapped his hands together again and knelt to construct a cage to trap Lloyd in.

The last time Ed had clapped his hands to the ground, a wall had shot up to cut him off from his group. Lloyd didn't know what Ed was planning to do this time, but no way was he going to just stand still. Again he threw himself to the left, leaping up and over a table. Dammit, he really wanted to throw a Demon Fang, but he didn't want to waste that kind of energy for something he only wanted to use as a distraction. He didn't want to actually hurt Ed. Not if he could help it.

"You're saying you don't even remember when that monster attacked Al with its hair?" he shot back. "You don't remember when your own brother got hurt?" Come on, there had to be a way to jog Ed's memory. What could have even caused this in the first place? Had the doctors done something to him? Somewhere in the back of his mind, he thought he remembered someone mentioning the doctors brainwashing patients. Dammit. Dammit! "Ed, those are your memories! You can't let the doctors win and take them!"

Landing on the ground, he sprinted a few steps before turning and hooking a chair with his arm and hurling it straight at the blond. It wouldn't, couldn't do that much damage, if it even hit at all, but it was the best he could manage to try to distract Ed from throwing up another one of those walls. The last thing he needed was for Ed to try to trap him in here. He also needed time to try to figure out how he was going to get out of this.

The cage closed without Lloyd in it and Ed spun on his knees and lifted his automail arm up so the blade could meet the chair, cutting it into halves that tumbled to either side of him.

Mention of the attack on Al got a brief look of uncertainty to cross his face before it devolved back into a snarl. "You're lying."

He got up again to charge at Lloyd. Since it was obvious that Lloyd wasn't going to stop on his own, he wanted to make him stop talking himself.

That brief look of uncertainty was enough to give Lloyd hope. As Ed rushed toward him, he preemptively swung his sword, fully expecting the other to block.

"Why would I lie! You could ask Al yourself and he'd tell you the exact same thing!"

"To get to me and make me stop. Go to your room!" Ed blocked Lloyd's sword and aimed a kick at his knee with his left foot.

The kick forced Lloyd to pull back, though it still grazed his shin with enough force to make him bite back a curse. It took him a moment to recover, but when he did, he struck again. This time, while his sword was slicing toward Ed, he followed it with another jab at Ed's gut with the butt of the flashlight in his hand.

"No!" he snapped. "I don't want to fight you, Ed, but I will if you don't let me go! If you've been brainwashed, that's only one more reason why these people need to be stopped!"

Ed didn't bother responding this time, blocking Lloyd's sword and taking the hit to his gut, getting bent over.

It wasn't the same as dual wielding two swords, but doing two things at once with his hands was something Lloyd could do. While Ed was bent over, he shoved hard with his sword, not back, but to the side, trying to push Ed's blade out of his way. His other hand came up, swinging straight for Ed's head. Maybe if he could just knock Ed out, he could end this here and now.

"No! I'm not losing to someone else tonight!" Ed exploded as he struggled to keep his arm in place before giving up and letting himself drop and roll to the side to avoid being hit again.

Lloyd felt a burst of frustration when Ed dodged his attack, but with Ed on the ground, even briefly like this, he was given an extra moment to think and plan his next move or attack. He took the opportunity to back up and shine his flashlight on the wall Ed had erected. Did it extend all the way, or were there any gaps? Dammit, how could he get past?

"If you'd just let me go, you wouldn't have to lose," he tried to reason with Ed. "Why do you care anyway? Since where are you working for them?"

Nope, it's completely blocked. Maybe if Lloyd was say, an ant, he could get through.

"If I let you go, I'd be violating my orders," Ed snapped as he rose to his feet again, twitchy and watching Lloyd to see what he does next so he'd know how to counter.

[From here]

The low light of the moon cast outlines barely strong enough for Scar to realize what was going on. There was the sound of a struggle, definitely, and a voice he could not entirely make out. Edward? But why would he be ahead of Alphonse? There was no way they had passed him...

Unless the boy was under the same trance as that girl from last night.

Scar reacted, but immediately froze. He jerked forward, prepared to rush in, but his arm tightened around Lust's. He was silent. Hesitating. Turning on a light would make their presence known, but would also weed out the possibility of an ambush from whatever else could be waiting in the shadows.

Lust paused as well, head cocking and eyes narrowing before she felt Scar's grip tighten on her arm. She was plagued by the same indecision. There was a chance they could slip through undetected, or so she felt at the moment.

But...

Damn it all! Nothing could ever be simple in this place. Nothing could ever be easy.

Focused as Lloyd was on Ed, he didn't notice the near-silent arrival of the two who'd just entered the room. They wouldn't fail to notice him though - not with the flashlight in his one hand still on and his voice raised as he tried to talk to Ed.

"Why do you care?" he tried again. Adjusting his grip on his sword, he shifted his stance, trying to prepare for whatever Ed was going to try next. Despite his reservations, he even began drawing on his mana. He didn't want to drain himself of his energy, but he knew he might not have any choice. Not if he wanted to keep going. With no outward sign of the gathering energy, he pressed on. "You weren't taking their orders before! Ed, can't you see this is just a trick!? The doctors are using you!"

Ed didn't notice the new arrivals either, focused on Lloyd. "Enough talking!"

He clapped his hands together and knelt to make pillars explode from the ground at Lloyd to hit him and hopefully knock him out. He didn't wait to see the results before returning to his feet to charge in for an assault, intending to swing his armblade at Lloyd while he was still distracted by the previous attack.

Scar knew that Lust was intelligent enough to glean the situation from their words. Edward was, without a doubt, under the same trance Korra had been under last night. And that fool of a boy was trying to fight him with only a sword. The question that remained was whether or not they should be interfering.

There was a pang of guilt as Scar thought of Alphonse, waiting in the hall for his brother alone. He shouldn't be alone. He knew that he would need to notify the boy of his brother's state either way. Once hearing, though, he would come running...

And that was even more of a disaster waiting to happen.

So Scar made the decision that he would have to, in one way or another, neutralize Edward. His arm slipped away from Lust's, fingers pausing on her forearm in a 'stay put' gesture that was more of a reflex than anyplace else. His attention had shifted to the fight. He crept closer, intending to remain low and rely on the shadows cast by furniture to avoid detection. His footsteps were silent, surprisingly light for someone of his stature.

It was tempting to go after him, ignore his silly command to remain where she was...

But Lust knew she would be of little use in this battle. She wasn't made to non-lethally neutralize, which would be required here. And Scar could handle himself. And likely help with more care than she would. It was only a contrary desire, entirely illogical and only brought on by Scar. She could ignore it, considering the circumstances.

Of all the victims to be addled and set to guard this place tonight! She stayed where she was, peering through the gloom with her jaw set tightly.

This time, Lloyd didn't try to dodge. Ed was right. Enough was enough. Talking wasn't working, so he had no choice. He needed to take the other boy out, hard and fast, when he was least expecting it and couldn't dodge. This was exactly that chance. Mana raced down his arms, somehow tingling less than it should, but there wasn't any time to think about what that meant. Ed's hands slapped to the ground and Lloyd lunged forward as the pillars shot up where he had been. Bringing his swords low, he slashed up to meet Ed's attack, and with the movement he shoved every bit of mana he'd gathered out. Energy erupted from his blades, a brilliant burst of ethereal light that seemed to form the shape of a snarling beast. At this range, it would be nearly impossible to miss, but even if Ed did dodge it, it would definitely hit the wall. Lloyd just hoped it would be enough to break through it. He wasn't sure he'd have it in him to do this a second time.

Dammit, Ed, just go down!

Ed's eyes widened as the attack slammed into him, smashing him against the wall and breaking the wall apart.

He lay stunned for a moment before he started struggling to get up. His attempts aren't going very well, as bits of concrete move under his hands instead of staying where they've fallen. "I--I refuse to lose."

Stubborn brat.

Scar dropped his sword, vaulting the chair that was his hiding place and lunging for Edward in one fluid motion. He was much less gentle with him than he had been with Korra, though he was still cautious. There wasn't any hesitation. He aimed an elbow for the back of Edward's head, hopefully hard enough to knock him out without causing further damage.

To look on the bright side, he'd done worse to the poor kid.

Ed wouldn't be Ed if he weren't stubborn.

He saw Scar too late, turning his head to see who or what was moving when Scar's elbow connected, making him crumple.

At least it had all gone quickly - assuming Edward didn't begin to stir and revive in a few moments. And Lust hadn't needed to move a muscle, Scar and the young man already engaged in the altercation had it well under control. What was that saying about small miracles?

And Edward would be fine in the morning - more or less. Perhaps a bit of a headache, but no worse for wear than that. The brainwashing would have faded.

She tried not to preen too much that her suggestion of sneaking into the Sun Room had been the right course of action.

The moment the energy left Lloyd's sword, a wave of exhaustion hit him, hard, making the world tilt for a moment as he drew ragged breaths. Even so, it wasn't as bad as the last time he'd used that technique. This time, he didn't feel like he was about to topple over, and he might even be able to pull off another technique. Maybe. He didn't think he should press his luck unless he had no other choice.

Dragging in another breath, he turned and warily shined his flashlight toward the man who'd just appeared from the dark. Brown skin, graying hair, a scar on his face- "Scar?"

"Yes." As soon as he was certain Edward was out, Scar hustled back to retrieve his sword. Upon a better look, it was indeed that Lloyd boy from earlier today. Strange and unnerving as his abilities were, Scar wasn't interested or distracted enough to ask about them. It must have had something to do with the 'mana' he had mentioned earlier.

"He'll be up soon," he said as a way of urging the group forward. Nasty as Edward's collision with the wall was, at least they could make it through easily. Scar glanced to Lust, lifting his light enough to see that she was still standing by the door.

What was that about small miracles?

Night 72: Sun Room

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