Night 74: M41-M50 Hallway

[redcladidealist]

We'll see how long that lasts.

Those ominous words followed Lloyd as he made his way out of his room. Tonight, unlike last night, he'd chosen to wear his own clothes, red jacket and black pants, red gloves and boots, despite the metal that would get him into trouble if he had to go through that metal-detecting trap again. The Key Crest on his hand meant that he'd be in trouble anyway, so he figured he might as well dress as he wanted. His tool belt rested comfortable around his waist, packed with the things he thought he might need. His sword rested in his hand, ready for any attack, though he wished, not for the first time, that he had something to sheathe it in and make it easier to carry when he didn't need it. At least his other hand was free now that he didn't need to hold his flashlight. The little lamp he'd taken from that first aid kit last night dangled at his hip, attached to his tool belt with the ring at the top. It jostled with each step and he couldn't aim it easily, prompting him to take his flashlight along with him, too, tucked into a pocket in his tool belt, but the fact that he didn't need to hold it more than made up for that. It also made up for the fact that he had to stop every twenty minutes to wind the light back up. He'd spent dinner playing with it, getting a feel for how long the light would last.

He'd tried not to think about his roommate's still-empty bed, or the plate of food growing cold on the other's desk. It had been days since he'd seen Claude. What had happened to him? If he was gone, or if he'd escaped, then why did they still bring him food? Lloyd had tried to ask his nurse, but she'd just brushed the question off with a smile and a reassurance that "Thomas" was fine, then told Lloyd he needed to worry about himself, she'd hardly seen him eat a thing at lunch.

Lloyd frowned at the memory, then shook his head, pushing it to the back of his mind. He needed to focus on what he was doing tonight. Footsteps sure, he rounded the corner.

[To here.]

Comments

[nobleman]

While Guy's day had been rather uneventful, especially for his first day back after going to Farwell, there was one thing that had stood out. He'd been passed a piece of paper that recorded different radio channels for various patients.

But there was also a public channel, and if this was being sent to them, then that had to be what Kratos was using.

"We have to tune it to the public channel," he explained, shifting his own radio around in his hand and then turning the knob until it had the correct number displayed. "It's 88.8, for future reference."

With the job already done, Guy didn't hesitate to lift the radio to his mouth and speak into it. Once he was done, he glanced over to Claude. "What should I tell them about your Earth? I think they might have to narrow it down..."

[earthling]

Considering how many people here seemed to come form some other "version" of Earth or whatever, Claude wasn't surprised that he had to clarify about his own world. Of course, now that he was looking at the opportunity to go home, he knew deep down that he didn't really want to return.

That was why he hesitated for a moment.

Of course, he realized it would be irresponsible to not at least have the number on hand. So, he did his best to come up with something that would distinguish his reality from other people's.

"If it helps, the year is SD 366," he said.

[gald_digger]

88.8? That was easy enough to remember. Anise committed that number to memory and put her radio away for now, allowing Guy to go ahead and do the talking.

As if reading Anise’s mind, the voice on the radio informed them that there was only one Auldrant. “Too bad. It would’ve been neat if we had alternate worlds, too.” Of course, it was a lot easier this way, with less chance of them getting mixed up, but still. What if there were some really weird ones out there, like a world where people could fly, or where cheagles were taller than humans, or… something! Alas, she would probably never find out.

With Guy handling the radio and Claude the one with a journal handy, there wasn’t much for Anise to do but stand by and wait patiently. Or at least, as patient as she could be at a time like this.

[nobleman]

Well, that was fast. Guy didn't even have the time to get back to Lloyd before he had a response about Auldrant. Anise might be disappointed, but Guy personally was relieved. Getting back home was proving to be difficult enough on its own -- did he really want to worry about ending up in the wrong place on top of all that? "Let's be glad," he said to Anise.

Guy told Lloyd that they were ready and then drew close to Claude so that he would be able to hear Auldrant's coordinates loud and clear. It was a fairly long string of numbers, and Guy could barely believe that these could be the key to getting home after all this time.

It was hard not to feel a little excited in spite of all that.

After everything was safely recorded, Guy then offered up some information about Claude's Earth as well. He really hoped they'd be able to find the right one.

[earthling]

Claude, too, let out a small breath when they easily received Auldrant's coordinates. He'd hate having to worry about accidentally sending his friends to the wrong universe. All of that went without saying, though, so Claude dutifully wrote down the string of numbers without comment.

Next came his own world. Good thing the date was good enough, or else Claude would have been wracking his brain for other ways to distinguish it from any other Earth.

"Do you think we should ask for Expel too?" he asked once he'd written the relevant information down in his notebook. "I know Ashton, Dias, and Leon aren't here anymore, but..."