The Monsters (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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damned_institute2015-01-29 06:40 am
damned_monsters) wrote in damned_institute2015-01-29 06:40 am
Night 75: Third Floor Security Station
The security station that monitored the third floor didn't differ much from any of the others, but where normally at least one distorted nurse would have been waiting, there were instead bodies littered on the floor. Quite a few belonged to nurses, and it appeared that the monsters which had been unleashed in greater force on the institute had decided to attack indiscriminately.
The nurses hadn't been spared, and neither had the doctor who had worked so hard to get away from a group of displeased patients. His body laid crumpled on the floor, throat torn open by the mountain lion that stood over him. It didn't seem particularly proud of its kill -- no, it really only seemed hungry as it ripped the doctor's neck further open with large, greedy bites. As if some fresh meat might repair the damage to its own body, that telltale taint of rotted flesh and exposed bone.
Screens lined one wall, still displaying footage which cast enough light to show off the grisly scene. The security feeds revealed that there were monsters in most parts of the third floor now, occupying rooms where the patients had only just been.
As they arrived on the warp pad, the mountain lion's head jerked up and it bared its teeth in a snarl. The muscles in its legs coiled as it prepared to pounce.
The nurses hadn't been spared, and neither had the doctor who had worked so hard to get away from a group of displeased patients. His body laid crumpled on the floor, throat torn open by the mountain lion that stood over him. It didn't seem particularly proud of its kill -- no, it really only seemed hungry as it ripped the doctor's neck further open with large, greedy bites. As if some fresh meat might repair the damage to its own body, that telltale taint of rotted flesh and exposed bone.
Screens lined one wall, still displaying footage which cast enough light to show off the grisly scene. The security feeds revealed that there were monsters in most parts of the third floor now, occupying rooms where the patients had only just been.
As they arrived on the warp pad, the mountain lion's head jerked up and it bared its teeth in a snarl. The muscles in its legs coiled as it prepared to pounce.
no subject
Were they all dead, then? It was one of the weirder explanations for all of this that she'd entertained. Ema would have a stranger one, surely, if she were here. But an explanation, whether flight of fantasy or pure truth, was nothing but a distraction. She'd heard crazier testimonies, and while part of her itched to get to the bottom of it, it couldn't be a priority. They would, after all, have all the time in the world to talk about it later. Whether that was over a plate of -- was it waffles tomorrow? -- in a miraculously restored cafeteria, or while Landel sat in chains at their feet didn't matter.
She didn't bother volunteering any information about herself; she was, in fact, completely unchanged, and it should be readily apparent. If they couldn't gather that, they could ask.
Castiel was still looking at her, though, and Lloyd clearly needed another moment to gather himself. Well, then perhaps some experimentation was called for.
"...Alright. I don't mind if you take a look, if you'd like." She stooped down, wincing as the motion pulled the scab on her leg loose, and pushed up her pants leg and peeled the corner of the dressing down. Minor was a slight understatement; the wound could debatedly have used a couple of stitches rather than just a cover, given that she was going to be running around on it, but it showed no signs of infection. "Quickly, please."
no subject
I have a Key Crest. The thought penetrated the fog of shock like something electric itself. He looked down at his hand, which had curled tight around the two piece of metal and the gem they'd found in the last room, refusing to drop them even when he'd all but lost his senses to the power crashing through his veins. A shaky breath escaped him.
Two Key Crests. One of them already made for an angel.
"I... Yeah." When his voice didn't come out as confident as he would have liked, he said it a second time. "Yeah. I- I will." He'd have to be. They couldn't afford anything else.
With another breath, a better attempt to mentally steady himself, he transferred the precious items in his left hand to his right, then bit the tip of his glove on his now-empty hand so he could pull it off and let it drop to the ground. Another gem, similar to the one in his hand, sparkled in the light of his wings, though this one was literally embedded in the skin on the back of his hand. Angry, scarred flesh surrounded the Crystal, showing the evidence from when his Exsphere had been surgically removed, but Lloyd didn't think twice before fitting one of the rune-inscribed plates around it.
Kratos's Key Crest. He couldn't trust his own to be able to handle a fully developed Cruxis Crystal. Dad...
The effect was instantaneous. Lloyd hissed as the inhibitor ore reacted, sinking what felt like thousands of tiny teeth in. After so many days of numbness creeping up his hands, the sensation was almost more than he could bear, though it was over almost as quickly as it began, soothed away by a deep, deep relief. Lloyd unconsciously released tension he hadn't even realized he'd been holding as his turbulent, unsettled mana stilled. Shakily, he flexed his fingers, checking to make sure that everything still worked.
"I'm... not sure what I can do. If I've got my normal powers back, then I'm stronger, and I can be faster, and I can use my mana - my energy - in attacks." It was more complicated than that, but it would take too much time to explain - especially if any of them didn't know what mana was. "But being an angel..." For a moment, he felt helpless, at a loss to explain, and his eyes darted to Castiel. Something about the man felt like... like...
He didn't know what to compare it to. He'd never been able to feel mana like this before. But he couldn't shake the feeling that Castiel was somehow like him, and that he might have answers that Lloyd didn't.
Except he wasn't from Lloyd's world. He couldn't know. It was a feeling that didn't make any sense. Lloyd shook his head, trying in vain to dismiss it.
"In my world, angels can do all that and more. They can fly, and they have holy magic, and..." And again, all the little things tied into the angelic transformation were so much more than Lloyd could even begin to explain. Not needing to eat, not needing to sleep, the potential loss of humanity... And that was only the tip of things. They didn't have time. Even pausing for long enough to let Castiel heal Lana, there wasn't enough time for it all.
Shaking his head again, he placed his Exsphere and Key Crest into the most secure pocket on his tool belt, then reached to collect his glove and his sword. The last vestiges of his shock were still there, and it helped to focus on something physical. A simple task. Easy and uncomplicated.
"I don't know," he repeated, trying not to twitch at the motion of his wings as they fluttered behind his back. "I know what my d- what Kratos can do, and it's his Crystal I've got, but I won't know if I can do what he can do until I try." But even not knowing, he still had to wonder...
Could he do magic now?
no subject
"Whether or not you can do anything of that nature," he said to Lloyd, "it looks like we may be in good shape going forward, as long as time doesn't run out. If we're lucky, what we've done to the systems before now might give us some leeway. If not -- we'll have to reassess in the morning. If it comes in the same way that it usually has. I don't know what will happen at dawn."
If it comes and they fall asleep the way they have as long as he's been there, if they're allowed to interact when they wake, if there's any staff to place them in their beds, if they're even allowed to wake up, at this point. If any of the chaos they've caused is reversible by their opponents at all. If it's not, they may need to continue to hold out against what they've unleashed for as long as they can, on the understanding that the other side has to hold out against it, too. But Castiel's abilities would almost certainly make it easier.
He looked over to see how Lana's ankle was doing. She was still quite herself after all, nothing to declare.
"If she can be healed, we can take the flanks, but we can't do much in comparison to Castiel. My bullet didn't stop that cat, and it took several to stop a nurse last night."
After a momentary pause, he turned his attention back to Lloyd. "Are we in any potential danger if Kratos's skills don't work as expected?"
If they were, they'd have to risk it.
no subject
As he stepped over to Lana, Castiel could feel as all of Lloyd's lashing, uncontrolled power begin to stabilize. Those items that they'd found in the other room appeared to be doing their work, which was good. The last thing they needed was for him to let out some surge of power that either drew attention to them or harmed one of the humans in their group.
Even as Lloyd explained, Castiel stooped down to peer at Lana's ankle. It wasn't in any danger of infection, which made sense since the staff here normally cleaned and dressed their wounds -- the sort of hypocrisy this place was known for. Castiel doubted that it was comfortable to walk on, though.
He reached out, gently setting his hand an inch or so above the wound. Then suddenly, without any indication (no noises or glowing light or anything at all), the injury had disappeared, as if it had never existed in the first place. Castiel stood then and nodded to Lana, a quiet there you go.
"For now, I can take the lead and Lloyd can take the rear until he's determined what he's capable of with his new abilities." It was the safest route, since Castiel should be able to obliterate whatever they came across all on his own if he had to. It wasn't difficult at all for him to fall into a leadership role again, given that he'd commanded his siblings in battles in the past.
He scanned the group. "Is everyone ready?" At this point, they had to be.
no subject
Even effusive thanks (which Lana had never been prone to) seemed insignificant for what most people would call a miracle; he'd done it like it was trivial. So she just rolled down her pant leg, and nodded back. They had a job to do, and even if she and Ryuuzaki were pitifully equipped compared to angels, they had eyes and could sound an alert. She stepped into place just behind Castiel. "We are," she said. Whether Lloyd really was or not, she couldn't tell for sure; Ryuuzaki she was certain of. At least he was as ready as she was; overwhelmed and exhausted and merely human, but determined. And Lloyd would be if they had confidence in him; Ema had surprised her over and over again with her strength, and she'd have to trust him to do the same.
Of all the things Landel had done, he had succeeded in bringing out the best in everyone he'd brought in. She kept her mind focused on Ema, and on projecting confidence in Lloyd; reminiscing about anyone else would be useless at best.
no subject
Granted, Lloyd's lack of reply might be due to how disoriented he was, but Castiel trusted that Lana or Ryuuzaki would see to it that he made it through into the next room.
And so he inched toward the pad with its soft glow and stepped on, wondering just how many more of these trips they would have to make before they reached the end of the line.
[To here.]