damned_institute | 2nd Floor Hallway Near Nurses' Stations

Hijikata didn't much like being led away from the sounds further down the hallway, but he couldn't be sure exactly what it was and Homura seemed fully intent on his destination. Normally he would have gone anyway - lives were more precious than scraps of metal - but he'd already said he would accompany Homura and the certainty of that temporarily outweighed his curiosity.

He moved on towards the door. "No, but I have experience opening them. It will attract attention."

If Homura had a better way, he would have used it already. Hijikata shifted back and kicked the door.

[Through to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/194728.html).]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/192553.html?thread=13261609#t13261609)]

The wounded Pokémon dragged 'Lady Suzumiya' as far as he could. However, in his injured state, it was clear that going back the way they came would be suicide, and he was leaving a trail of blood - so it didn't really matter where they went, it would be rather easy for the monster to follow.

Instead, Mewtwo went for the hallway next to them, farthest to the left. He could hear muffled shouts from the battle that they had left behind. Mewtwo hoped that those humans who had ran in would be able to defeat the monster, because if that creature was actually a Pokémon (which Mewtwo doubted - he was sure he would have heard of a Pokémon who preferred the flesh of humans for a meal), then this human child would be paralyzed for quite some time.

As soon as Mewtwo had determined the area safe, he set the girl down against the wall. His own injury throbbed and blood was dripping down his arm, making the Pokémon light-headed, but he would have to treat that later.

"Are you alright? Can you breathe?" He asked, looking the girl over.

Haruhi was a bit lost on some of the details in there. After she had fallen, everything had gone past in a blur. She was pretty sure she was still alive. Meaning not dead. She had thought she was gone there as the monster had begun leaning down to bit her head off.

Then suddenly everything had happened and she ended over here. (And had she heard that guy from the night before? No way, she must have been imagining it. But no one else called her 'Miss Suzumiya' like that. Damn.) Had Mewtwo dragged her all that way? Damn, if only she wasn't paralyzed like this! She hated being useless!

"I can't move," she responded gruffly, "but I can breathe. I'm talking, aren't I? And what about you? Aren't you hurt?" Not that she could turn to look. Or help. Being paralyzed sucked!

As he thought, the paralysis did not affect the rest of her body. Perhaps the creature really was a Pokémon. Not that Mewtwo's knowledge on human physiology was advanced, but he did know that humans were more susceptible to venom than Pokémon were. This 'Suzumiya' seemed be fine though, aside from being unable to move.

"I am fine," Mewtwo ignored his wound for the moment, which was much more painful now that he had finally stopped moving. Humans were so annoyingly fragile, and Mewtwo suspected he could not ignore this wound for long.

But what else could they do? As far as Mewtwo was concerned, paralysis took quite awhile to wear off, if it even would for a human. Were they to simply stand around and wait? The monster would surely come for them if they remained here.

"I am afraid there is nothing we can do but wait for you to regain control of your body," Mewtwo decided. There was simply no other way to do it. He wasn't going to drag Suzumiya around, especially with his wound. Which he would have to treat eventually.

Mewtwo gazed to the entrance of the hallway. If anything came, he would simply have to deal with it from afar.

"Sure you are." Even if Haruhi couldn't see the wound right now, she hadn't missed seeing the monster take a decent chunk out of him back there. That didn't look like something that healed up fast.

"Ahh, that's so annoying!" The only thing Haruhi could do now was voice her frustration. Damn this stupid not moving body! She really hoped this didn't last long. It wasn't permanent, right? Oh god, it couldn't be permanent. It just couldn't. She wanted to move again!

"You don't have to stay with me, you know. I can take care of myself." That was a complete lie, but it was already her fault that Mewtwo had gotten into this mess. The least she could do was let him leave.

The human child insisted that he could leave her, and Mewtwo knew very well that he could. In fact, if he had arrived here earlier, he very well may have, but Mewtwo obviously could not leave a paralyzed child in a dangerous hallway.

It simply didn't bode well with him. Though Mewtwo would have been willing to let an adult human sit in the hallway (after all, adults were supposed to care for themselves), this human was but a child.

He was in Ash's debt, after all. He had to repay it somehow.

"You would be killed," Mewtwo put it simply. "Humans are weak. I may look like one, but I still have some power left in me. You have none. Are you sure you would send me away?"

Damn, Mewtwo made a good point. If that monster came around here again, she would die. She couldn't even make an attempt to run while she was like this.

"I know! I know that!" She didn't mean to be cross at him. She was more angry at herself for being in this situation. He was right. Humans were weak. If she was an alien, she could use some kind of advanced technology or power. If she was an esper, then she'd definitely have some kind of mind power. Even as a time traveler she could go back in time to when this hadn't happened!

But she was just a useless human. That was all there was to it. "I just don't want to have to depend on someone else," she finally admitted.

Perhaps he had phrased it too harshly. He didn't mean to upset the human. Humans were weak, yes, but he only meant in the context of powers and abilities. If they were truly useless, then they wouldn't be able to work side by side with Pokémon. He had carried the misconception that Pokémon were slaves to humans, but considering how hard the Pokémon he met fought for their world and their trainers...

"I apologize. I did not mean it that way," Mewtwo frowned. "I do not mind. We are not... depending on each other, we are helping each other. Is that not what humans and Pokémon are supposed to do?"

Of course, he wasn't a normal Pokémon, and Suzumiya was a far cry from being anything resembling his "trainer", but... Mewtwo had learned a lesson from his experiences.

Haruhi scoffed. "Like I'm much help right now." Instead of continueing along this train of thought, she closed her eyes and tried very hard to concentrate on moving. After a minute or so, she became frustrated once more.

Opening her eyes to glare out at nothing, she said, "This isn't working at all! I can't even move my finger! How long is this supposed to last?" No, no, she would not start thinking about the possibilty of being paralyzed forever again.

The Pokémon merely watched as he watched Suzumiya try to move. She was met with little success, and Mewtwo was not surprised.

"Perhaps an antidote is needed," He thought aloud, glancing to the end of the hallway to see how many rooms were available. If this was a hospital, there had to be potions or drugs of some sort. Whatever humans called their own medicine.

Mewtwo wondered if the venom in that creature's claws were merely slow acting. Was she going to recover as time passed by or grow worse? Paralysis did not usually act that way with Pokémon, but if that creature wasn't a Pokémon, then he shouldn't judge her condition as if she were attacked by one.

Well, if he was going to have to carry her to find this antidote... he would have to treat his own wound first. He had nothing else to seal it with, so he took off his shirt, carefully as to not agitate the wound further, and wrapped it around his injured arm, tying it as tightly as he could.

"We wait a few more minutes. If your condition does not improve, I will try to find something to treat it. If that creature is a Pokémon, you will not be able to move for quite some time."

"Like the antivenin you use when you get bit by a poisonous snake?" Haruhi thought he meant something like that. But where were they going to find something like that? Sure this was a hospital, but so far Haruhi hadn't found any of the hospital-like rooms with needles and syringes and things like that. So she wouldn't be able to help there either.

"It looked too freaky to be a pokemon." When she thought of pokemon, she thought of that pikachu thing from the show. That monster had not looked at all like a cuddly pikachu. Besides, no one else here called them pokemon.

Did that mean she would be paralyzed forever now? ...Yeah, they should probably try to find some kind of antivenin.

"Yes, if you put it that way," Mewtwo nodded. However, before he could go about finding something to cure Suzumiya, he had to find a way to transport her efficiently. Dragging her by the neck of her shirt was not the best way, especially when he was wounded.

Ignoring the dull throbs of pain as Mewtwo flexed his arms, he deduced that he could not carry her in his arms either. He never had much actual physical strength, never needing it when his mind could do all of the work. Here, that was not possible.

"We must resolve the issue of transportation first. Should I try to carry you on my back?" He asked Suzumiya, not to further remind her that she was incapacitated but to ask her how she wanted to be carried. This was a very strange situation for the Pokémon. If he was in his true form, he could just levitate her...

"Would that be easiest for you?" Haruhi knew full well that it didn't really matter what she thought. She was the one who had no way of moving here. She didn't want to inconvenience him anymore than she had to. "If it is, then that's fine with me."

Hopefully they could find something to get rid of this paralysis fast. Haruhi didn't think she could stand living the rest of her life like this. If there was one thing she hated more than the thought of being normal it was the thought of being dependent on anyone else.

"Very well."

The problem was just getting Suzumiya on his back. If she could at least move some part of her body, it would have made the process easier, but Mewtwo would have to find some way around it. He tried to mentally lift her to make the task easier, but trying to lift a human was like trying to lift a building. Obviously, he couldn't get her to move an inch.

Instead, he had to push her onto his back and then lean forward so that Suzumiya would not fall off, since she couldn't lift her arms to hold on. Once he got a hold of her legs, he was able to get up, although he nearly fell over with the effort.

"This is the best I can do. I might drop you, so prepare yourself for that possibility," Mewtwo warned her.

Haruhi waited as patiently as she could as Mewtwo struggled to lift her up. If she could she would have helped in some way. Too bad that remained impossible.

She was a bit alarmed as her weight almost caused him to fall over. Was he going to be able to carry her like this, really? His next statement didn't encourage her either.

"Are you sure you can do this?" She wondered again if maybe he she just leave her behind. If he was only going to find something to help her and meant to come back, then it would be ok, right? Still, the thought of being left alone for the monster find frightened even her, and if she had been able to shiver she likely would have.

Unfortunately, this was really their best option right now.

"Yes," was all the Pokémon said as he started to move out of the hall. No need to make the human girl doubt anything. Besides, Mewtwo was sure he would suffer worse injuries.

His injured arm groaned under the weight and he could feel blood trickling onto his shirt, but other than that, he could move at a comfortable pace. Looking both ways, he decided to continue moving up the hall instead of back to where the monster was. If it was still there, Mewtwo would simply be walking them right into their deaths.

Surely, there had to be something in this hallway he could use.

[moved here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/194728.html)]

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/194728.html?thread=13415848#t13415848)]

Once they reached the end of the hallway, they traded room numbers. Homura's would be the closest to the stairs, so that was their destination. Hijikata thought he remembered the way well enough, so it was back toward the stairs and then straight across.

[To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/188297.html?thread=13416841#t13416841)]

[Running from here. (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/188297.html?thread=13586313)]

Had that thing caught sight of them? He was almost afraid to look back and find this to be the case. L slowed his pace and glanced back to assure that Light was following. It would benefit neither of them if they got separated somehow. There were two directions they could go now. “Yagami-kun?”

Light needed no more encouragement than the tug on his sleeve to go tearing after L, adrenaline pumping through his veins as he made his way into the next hall. The fact that this one was empty was hardly the boon it had been when they were in the stairwell, but so far he didn't hear any sounds of pursuit...

Slowing his pace in time with L, he allowed a fraction of the light produced from his flashlight to shine in the direction they'd come, hopefully illuminating the hall enough that they could see if they were being followed while not giving away their location if they were. Artemis's map hadn't shown where this particular hall ended, so if they were followed, it was entirely possible that they had run into a dead end. Shit.

The threat seemed much more real now, and as a result, Light's composure was cracking. "I'm here, Ryuga," he said softly, gaze fixed on the hall they'd just left. If that thing was coming after them... "Where do you suggest we head now? Further into the hall, or should we try going through there?" He gestured towards the second door, thinking of the map again. He wouldn't be able to pick the lock without any tools, but maybe either he or L could try breaking it. One of them should be able to do it.

There was no time for either young man to make a decision. From down the hallway, beyond the glow of the flashlight there came a high pitched chittering. It almost sounded human.

Almost.

Rather than any recognizable words, the noises were garbled, a mockery of speech. The steady scrape and scrabble of claws was heard against the floor, loud in the darkness. The beam of he flashlight suddenly illuminated giant yellow eyes, two pairs, and strange, lumpy, misshapen gray bodies capering down the hall towards Light and L. The creatures were perhaps knee height, without arms or hair or noses. Their giant eyes were sunken, their mouths gaping to reveal row upon row of sharp yellow teeth. Their strange, warped feet ended in a single wicked scythelike claw.

The necrits were out, and they hungered for flesh.

L turned his head in the direction of the sound; something was moving towards them at a rapid speed. From the brief moment the odd looking creatures were caught in the light of the flashlight, L had matched them to the description and drawing he had seen on the bulletin board that morning. So these were ‘necrits’? As much as he wanted to observe them, he doubted they would give him chance.

There appeared to be only two of them, both short in stature, but their quickness made up for their height. Clawed feet and sharp teeth designed for ripping into flesh were obvious signs that these things were carnivorous in nature. He had seen the injuries that the other patients had received during the night; these creatures could very well be responsible for some of them. Recognizing the danger, L positioned himself to cover Light’s back and meet the creatures head-on. He wasn’t going to allow them to have the first attack.

He took a step towards them, crouched low and aimed a sweeping kick at the nearest one. If he missed, he could quickly recover and attack again.

Out of the frying pan, into the fire. Just their luck. Light tightened his grip on his flashlight, turning towards the source of the sound in unison with L. While he was somewhat reluctant to take the information on the bulletin at face value, he certainly hoped it was true this time; the description had said that these things were fragile, if he remembered correctly, and with how much trouble they'd be in if they weren't, he didn't want to consider the alternative.

Leaving the first necrit to L, he moved in to attack the second, making sure to give the detective enough room to move as he darted towards it. He'd been on the receiving end of the man's kicks more than enough times already, thank you very much, and repeating the experience when they were in very real danger wouldn't help either of them.

Even with the monsters in front of them, however, he couldn't help but briefly entertain the idea of leaving L to fight them on his own. With both his mastery of capoeira and the fact that there were only two of the creatures to consider, though, the chances of him falling prey to them were not very good at all. Besides, if Light turned and ran back the way they'd come, it was possible that he'd encounter the other monster they'd seen and be no better off.

Cursing his luck, he swung his flashlight at the necrit he'd targeted, hoping to end this quickly. He'd just have to wait for another, more viable way of getting rid of L to present itself.

L's kick connected with the first necrit, even as the creature moved to dodge. It caught the creature on its side, sending it skittering back down the hallway in a tangled heap. It screamed shrilly and recovered, its left side grotesquely beneath its skin. As though bone had broken but not pierced skin. Screaming madly, yellow eyes wild, it leapt at L to retaliate - aiming for the man's throat.

The other necrit met Light's flashlight, its scream joining that of its kin. Its head bulged obscenely and it lashed its head from side to side before diving quickly in an attempt to sink its teeth into Light's wrist.

They were determined to get their meal.

L used the remaining momentum he had to swing his body upright again, and ready himself for another attack. The creature recovered quickly; screaming in what appeared to be both anger and anguish. Seeing the creature leaping for him, L crouched and pivoted, making a Round House kick with his other leg aimed directly at other side of the creature’s body. Despite how fast this thing appeared to be, it would be difficult for it to dodge such a blow in mid-air.

Light felt a brief moment of panic at the necrits' screams-- what if more of them heard the sound and came running?-- but he quickly forced it down. He paid for his moment of distraction soon enough, though, as the creature's sharp fangs closed in on his wrist before he had the chance to jerk it away. Swearing, he curled his free hand into a fist and threw a punch at the thing's head, hoping to convince it to let go. It could just as easily end up taking a chunk out of him that way, but he didn't have many other options.

The first necrit was kicked away again, the sound of shattering bones loud in the darkened hallway. Its flesh shifted and bulged as its bones broke and it landed in a twisted heap. But still it tried to feed, staggering with bared teeth and a crazed look in its yellow eyes. But it weaved and bobbed - it hardly seemed a threat.

The second creature was crowing in triumph as it sunk its razor sharp teeth into Light's wrist. It snarled as Light hit it, refusing to relinquish its hold. It tasted blood in its mouth and it wanted more.

The sound of bones breaking rang harshly on L’s ears. He had to maintain his focus, however, even as he heard the cursing. Regrettably, Light would have to handle this situation on his own. L wasn’t about to let his guard down just because the creature he faced was injured and staggering. It was still trying to attack despite its condition. Desperation could make it far more dangerous than before. L made a move; another low sweeping kick to the necrit’s left side.

ShitshitSHIT! The necrit wasn't letting go, and damn it, those teeth hurt. Light's eyes were starting to water, and even through gritted teeth, small pained sounds managed to escape him. He had to suppress the urge to shake his wrist violently to get the thing off, panic rising to the fore again before rationality could fight it back. That wouldn't help! He'd probably lose a chunk of his wrist in the effort, and there was no way that even killing this thing would be worth that. Instead, he gave up on punching the thing and freed his flashlight from his captured hand, using that instead to try and beat the necrit into submission.

The necrit attacking L fell yet again, more bones snapping. It was now just a tangled lump of gray flesh, twitching feebly and screaming in pain. It could no longer get up.

The necrit attached to Light's wrist wasn't giving up. But Light's flashlight against its skull was angering it, and its head began to bulge obscenely as its skull fractured. It twitched and spasmed, and gave one last mighty chomp before letting go and falling to the floor.

The necrit's teeth sliced through the flesh on the top of Light's wrist easily, the small bones snapping and tendons tearing under the assault. The necrit finally dropped away, strings of skin between its yellowed teeth, blood dripping from its lips. It left Light's wrist a mangled mess, the hand hanging limply from shredded flesh and shattered bones.

Satisfied that the creature he had fought was no longer any real threat to him, L shifted his attention to Light. However he nervously kept the creatures within his sight. Who knew what these things were capable of doing? The determination of the one he had fought bothered him, there had been no fear of injury, just bloodlust.

“Yagami-kun!” L’s voice expressed genuine worry as the beam of his flashlight fell upon the hand that was profusely bleeding, limp and mangled. He rushed to Light’s side to examine the damage, already being able to assess that he would have to take immediate action to save the hand.

... Oh god. His hand. What had it done to his hand? Light's eyes were impossibly wide as he stared at the bloody ruin that remained of his wrist, his breath coming in short pants that became more and more shallow as what he was actually seeing filtered in to his brain. In a daze, he tried rotating his forearm a fraction of an inch, but the resulting pain and the way his hand flopped to the side proved to be too much for him to take.

His flashlight fell from nerveless fingers to clatter to the floor, and though his senses were fading under an all-consuming darkness, he thought he heard L call out his name....

The necrit that was busily chewing on the flesh it had torn from Light was nearing the end of its snack. And now there were two meat creatures for it to feast on, as its companion had fallen. It swallowed a lump of sinew and began chattering once more as it eyed its new prey.

There was flesh readily available near the ground. The necrit hissed as it dove for L's exposed ankle, gaping maw wide open, not even bothering to try and bring the man down. The creature was too eager to feed to think of incapacitating its dinner.

L caught hold of Light as he collapsed, falling to the floor along with him. It was a familiar scene still fresh in his memory; this had happened before, only the roles had been reversed. He didn’t get the time to dwell on the irony, however, the concern L had shown ended up costing him. as the creature Light had been fighting was still looking for something to sink his teeth into.

It clamped down on the muscle at the back of his leg. L gave a loud yelp from both surprise and the shock of the sharp, burning pain running through his leg. He turned over, struggling to ignore the sensation of the creature’s teeth slicing into his skin as he moved. Aided by both pain and adrenaline, he used his free leg to kick at the necrit’s eyes.

L's kick connected. The necrit let go of its prize and let loose a high pitched, pained scream. L's foot sunk into its large eye, passing through the gelatinous matter easily and lodging into the creature's soft, wet brain. The monster's limbs began jerking and spasming in a hectic, random dance and it opened and closed its mouth blindly.

Its brain had been damaged. It was in no shape to cause further harm to the two young men.

That was surprisingly effective. Slowly, L twisted his foot free of the creature’s skull, horror stricken at the gooey mess of puss and brain that gushed out as he did. He had seen, in detail, many things of a similar nature, but this had not come from a human being, and the reeking matter was oozing down his skin and dripping onto the floor to mix with the blood from his leg. He wiggled his toes. Pieces of the brain had been lodged between them and were squishing as he moved them… or was that part of the eye? No matter, he was assured that this was indeed, his own foot covered in gooey fluid.

His thoughts quickly shifted back to Light’s hand, which was a far more urgent matter. There was no time to dwell on his foot. Cringing with pain from the bite on his leg, he quickly crawled over to where Light had dropped his flashlight and picked up his own, which had been dropped as he went to break Light’s fall. With them cradled in his arm, he made his way back to Light, knee sliding from under him as it fell upon a pool of stinking substance on the floor. He recovered; the pant leg of his patient uniform sopping wet and sticking to his skin.

L rapidly went to work; noting with relief that the main arteries in Light’s hand hadn’t been damaged. He shredded his pillow case into strips and tore at the seam of Light’s jacket to get to the arm. He tied the piece of cloth to the pressure point above the youth’s elbow. He couldn’t clean the hand in order to prevent infection. The best he could do was wrap the remainder of the pillow case around it.

Light taken care of, L turned his attention to his own wound. He placed both flashlights in his lap and pulled off his shirt.

Ripping strips of cloth out of his sweater, L went to work tending to his own injury. While tried to slow the bleeding of his leg, he determined what his next move should be. Looking around he saw no one, and although he had thought of leaving Light to look for help, the scent of their blood might attract unwanted attention to the scene. L knew that he shouldn’t move him, but he wasn’t comfortable at the thought of leaving him while he was unconscious and unable to protect himself. It was also doubtful that L could defend both of them should there be another attack. There was no safety here.

Placing the flashlight in the pocket of Light's jacket, L brought himself to his feet, cringing as his weight was applied on his wounded leg. He grabbed Lights good arm and pulled him onto his back the best he could.

Taking a step, a sharp pain shot up his leg causing him to pause. Forcing himself to ignore it, he took another step. He would go towards the pharmacy he had seen on the map. Perhaps they would be fortunate enough to encounter someone along the way.
[Carrying Light here. (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/188297.html?thread=13586313)]

2nd Floor Hallway Near Nurses' Stations

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