damned_institute | Nightshift 30: M11-M20 Hallway

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Nightshift 30: M11-M20 Hallway

[Specifically M12]

"… Wait, really?" Axel asked, mainly to himself, as he listened to the intercom and the head doctor’s sudden confession. It hadn’t been long since he was escorted back to his room after his dinner, feeling rather content after spending a shift to himself. It was fun and all to chill with a couple of people beforehand, but a guy needed a break every once in a while.

His plans were relatively simple at the time. He was going to run off to Kairi’s room, swing her body over his shoulders and haul her back over to his own. He’d forgotten to write a note down for Roy in the bulletin saying he couldn’t make it, but he was sure the colonel could make the right assumptions.

He had been in the middle of rummaging under his mattress for his chakram when the intercom came to life again, and with that he couldn’t help but stop and look up at the ceiling with a mix of curiosity and disbelief. At this point it almost felt like a tradition for the man behind the radio to pop up every evening, so a change this big earned a bit of attention. Axel’s gaze remained on the ceiling for at least half a minute before he glanced over at his roommate on the other side.

"You know, I almost don’t believe it." But this was technically a battlefield, and one side had to give in one way or another. He had to remind himself that tradition didn’t exactly last forever.

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[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/300944.html?thread=24435344#t24435344)]

Ashton had changed headbands quick as a flash, then quickly thrown on his trusty indigo robe, forgoing his traditional boots for the Landel's issue slippers. It would be some time still before he actually set out to the greenhouse for the night, and he wanted to get to Dias' room as quickly as possible. He could fiddle with the buckles and straps on his boots later. Dias was so much more important!!

Scampering across the hallway, he realized that he'd assumed that Dias' room would be empty, as it usually was come nightshift. And now his own room was empty! Aahh, maybe he should drag Dias out to the hallway if it was occupied or something. Or to his own room? It didn't really matter, as long as Dias was comfortable around him! That was the most crucial thing!

He knocked politely before poking his head around the door, his flashlight positioned right below his chin, creating the age-old ghost-stories-around-the-campfire look. Of course, it probably looked quite odd when it wasn't Gyoro providing the under-chin fire... "OooOoooOoohhhh. Diaaaas~ You have an invitation to come over to Ashton's r-" Then he quickly pulled his head out of there. Dias was changing! That wasn't proper at all! What had Ashton been thinking?

So he waited in the hallway, back up against the wall.

Edited 2008-02-28 19:19 (UTC)

Dias' head had snapped up at Ashton's...unorthodox introduction, staring bemusedly at the man until Ashton apparently realized he'd caught Dias in the middle of changing and abruptly ducked back out. He wondered whether he'd actually seen the beginnings of a blush even before his friend's head vanished or whether that had been a trick of the flashlight's play over his face.

Either way, after a moment's wondering why Ashton was embarrassed at all - hadn't Ashton himself argued that it was nothing they hadn't been before in the showers just the night before, when it had been Dias in that position? - Dias shrugged internally and finished dressing before going to the door and leaning out to raise an eyebrow at Ashton. "It's safe," he informed him, almost amused.

To Ashton, it was the principle of the thing. It was okay for Dias to look in on Ashton - in fact, it felt kind of appealing - but for Ashton to look in on Dias? No way. It was totally different. Double standards? Yeah, but that was to be expected when two very different people got caught up in a confusing, complex, lovely situation like this.

And then Dias was poking his head back out. Ashton couldn't help but grin at him. Yeah, the blush was covering half his face, but he didn't really care. It was dark, and while Ashton was still severely self-conscious around Dias, it was more exciting than ..fearful of being judged.

"We've, uh, had this discussion before, haven't we?" Ashton whispered with a nervous little smile, quiet so no one else in the hallway could hear. Secrecy was key. "But speaking of safe, I .. wanted to make sure." That you hadn't been taken were the unsaid words. To have Dias be taken.. the very idea turned his stomach.

"I'm going to the greenhouse for compounding materials tonight. You better come home in the same shape, okay?" Ashton was rather adamant about this. Because now it was no secret that Ashton cared. Never mind that he'd just referred to Landel's, or at least a sparsely decorated, nearly barrel-free room as 'home.' (One couldn't forget the barrel candies: Ashton had enjoyed a candy tonight as he did nearly every night, and the root beer smell remained on his breath.)

Dias didn't realize the deeper meaning behind Ashton's 'wanting to make sure' as being anything other than his hanging around in the hallway until he was certain Dias was decent, but he'd have understood and agreed with the sentiment if he'd been aware of it. Actually, maybe their group should make a habit of meeting up at the start of each nightshift, just to ensure that none of them had been taken...

"I will," he said, with a slight nod. "I'm going to be accompanying someone who doesn't know how to fight, so I don't plan on going anywhere particularly dangerous with him in tow." After a moment, he reached out and rested a hand on Ashton's shoulder, squeezing almost imperceptibly. In public, it was the most physical affection he'd risk displaying. "You be careful, too." I'd never be able to forgive myself if something happened to you. It wasn't something he could bring himself to say aloud, but he expected Ashton understood.

"Good. Mm," Ashton acknowledged Dias' hand there on his shoulder with the slightest of sounds, closing his eyes and smiling calmly. There was so much he wanted right now, so many things that he could do if he were only bolder. But he still wasn't sure how far he should go, how much was too much. And they were in public, in the hallway. He wasn't in Dias' room like he'd wanted to be. Ashton was a private person most of the time

Finally, he opened his eyes back up, and tentatively brushed the top of Dias' hand with a couple of ungloved fingers. It wasn't much, but it was enough. And it was dark inside, so he doubted anyone would see anyway. Not unless they were looking on. Which - why would they? It wasn't like Ashton's business was very interesting to other people. Except for Claude..

"Did you hear me? On the piano earlier." He figured Dias wouldn't have recognized the melody as one of his own - this one had never played alongside them all in the orchestra. "I saw you and Claude talking nearby. ...And then later we figured out some things. About me, I mean. ..About what happened the other night."

Edgeworth paused as he stepped out into the hallway from Gumshoe's room, listening to the radio message. It was a relief to have someone else taking the man's place, he thought, making note of the woman's name. Jack and Jill...how funny. I hope she doesn't tumble after him.

He stopped just short of where Dias and his friend were talking, not wanting to interrupt their conversation. He'd wait to approach until after they were finished.

"I heard," Dias acknowledged with a slight nod. "But I didn't realize it was you. You play well." He let his hand fall off of Ashton's shoulder, leaving his response to his friend's brush of his hand at nothing but a look that, with any luck, spoke for him.

The unexpected radio message - Dias had been intending to leave his on, just for this last night, as a sort of silent tribute to Alec, even though he hadn't really counted on hearing anything - distracted him from the conversation with Ashton, however, and he listened to it with a slight frown. So...Alec had allies. On the one hand, it wasn't surprising, especially considering everything the man had accomplished - perhaps too much for one person to manage - but at the same time it was, because he couldn't imagine where a small resistance faction (as Alec's group was beginning to seem) could possibly hide away from the staff and the head doctor in this place. One man might be able to avoid them, with some difficulty, but for a group to pull it off was remarkable.

At least they weren't completely on their own now.

Glancing up from his contemplations, Dias' gaze met that of a man he hadn't seen in so long - well, it had probably been no more than a week, but it felt like an age - that it took him a second to recall who it was. Edgeworth. So he'd finally showed.

"My group is here," he murmured sidelong to Ashton.

Ashton dropped his hand to his own chest, fingering the pendant at his neck and unintentionally noticing his own heart's rapid beat. It was funny, how one's body did those things and he never really realized it until he paid attention.

Then Dias' radio sounded; Ashton jumped a little bit in surprise. He hadn't brought it with him, assuming Mr. Radio wouldn't be using it again, considering he was dead and all. Jill sounded like a pretty nice lady! Oh, there was still hope! Even if she wasn't as cool and collected as Jack was, she was still very nice-sounding. He hoped to meet her someday.

"Ahhh, looks like we'll be having radio duty in the future after all," he said cheerfully. Everything seemed to be coming up roses!

..Until that man appeared out of the corner of his eye, and Ashton immediately took a flustered step back as Dias spoke. It wasn't as if he didn't want to seem close to Dias, but.. if this little non-arrangement between the two of them became common knowledge, who knew what other kinds of rumors would circulate around about them!? "Oh! Ah!"

Face a deep red, Ashton nodded a greeting to Edgeworth, then looked up at Dias. "Right. Um.. Let's meet tomorrow. Breakfast? ..Please?" The younger swordsman smiled hopefully - and then, without waiting for an answer, he skittered back on down the hallway, disappearing back into room M12.

[back to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/300944.html?thread=24435344#t24435344)]

Edgeworth returned the nodded greeting, staying a few steps back until Ashton was out of sight. "Dias. I'm sorry I was delayed. This is the colleague I'd mentioned from my home world. Dick Gumshoe, Dias Flac," he said, motioning to each to make the introductions.

"I've arranged for a weapon from the people here that can make them, but it may be some time before that's in my hands," he said, a note of contrition in his voice. "That said, shouldn't there be something around the kitchens that will do for now?"

Mr. Dias Flac had to have been a celebrity back home. The sweeping long hair said it all!

Gumshoe seemingly sprung from the shadows, grin unchanged from when it had first emerged in M19. He glanced down at the prosecutor as he introduced the two of them, not quite able to have his smile waver when they were in the middle of a business meeting. Worries were put aside.

"That's Detective Di-... oh right," he chuckled, shifting forward a tad and holding a hand out for Mr. Flac to shake. "If Mr. Edgeworth trusts you, then I gotta trust you too. Those're rules."

The hand was lowered rather abruptly as he listened to Mr. Edgeworth's next sentence, encouraging an unintentionally rude impression; he hadn't allowed time for the stranger to even touch the offered hand. The longhaired man went ignored for the moment.

"A 'weapon'?" His cheerful expression had faded like it was never there. "Sir! You gotta learn to walk before you can crawl! ... Or, n- no, th- that's not how... ha ha." He gave a nervous smile, running fingers through his hair. "I- what I mean is, y- you shouldn't skip steps! Learn how to block hits! What if somebody stole your weapon? You'd be defenseless again!"

He sincerely hoped he was getting some kind of point across. In truth, he just didn't like the idea of Mr. Edgeworth with a weapon, full stop. The man had gotten himself into enough trouble, picking up that gun once...

Fortunately for Gumshoe, Dias wasn't big on handshaking, and so the gesture was mostly ignored. Besides, the mercenary was thinking of more important matters.

Dias' expression hadn't changed as he had listened to the new man's - Gumshoe's? - rambling, but that was mostly by force of will. His night, he estimated, had just become 33% more difficult. He'd seen Gumshoe's type before; the man seemed well-intentioned and good-humored, for what that was worth, but he was rather clearly a nervous, inept bumbler. Something like Ashton, actually, except that Ashton broke out of Dias' standard expectations by being a remarkably competent fighter despite his awkward anxiety. Somehow, Dias doubted Gumshoe was nearly so competent.

Worse, he was clearly protective of Edgeworth, for whatever reason, which meant that he'd probably spend the night both actively and passively making Dias' job harder - either interfering with Edgeworth's instruction out of concern for him or accidentally messing things up.

He closed his eyes and made a brief appeal to Tria for patience, then opened them again.

"He'll most likely need a weapon for blocking, as well," Dias informed Gumshoe flatly. "Not many monsters here fight bare-handed, or they come equipped with natural weapons like claws and fangs that would make taking them on barehanded just as dangerous as going unarmed against an armed opponent." He reached down and lifted his shirt slightly; although the wound had basically healed up by now, the scar where he'd taken the hit that night he'd been protecting Scar and River was still plainly visible. He doubted the burn marks would ever go away. "At least one woman in this institute attacks patients indiscriminately with a red-hot poker. Getting your friend a weapon should be the highest priority, simply because there are monsters enough in this institute that can injure him as badly if he tries to block barehanded than if he hadn't tried blocking at all."

With that said, he turned to Edgeworth. "If you're appealing to one of the alchemists for your weapon, then at best the kitchen is a good source of raw materials. But as for weapons, there isn't much there; the staff apparently doesn't leave knives just lying around for patients to find, and what little of use there is has probably long ago been scavenged by other patients. The best I ever found to serve as a weapon there was a large metal ladle, and that was weeks ago - it's probably been scoured even more thoroughly since then."

Those were all facts, but it was also a fact that it didn't help arm Edgeworth any to tell him where they probably wouldn't find anything. The problem was, Dias didn't particularly know of anywhere besides the alchemists - or off an armed monster or fellow patient - where anything decent in the way of weapons could be found. Eventually, he continued, "Unless you somehow manage to take a weapon from someone or something else, I don't know where you could get anything worthwhile. Until you get your own weapon, you might simply be better off sticking with people who have weapons and know how to use them and accept whatever protection they can provide."

Edgeworth listened to Dias, frowning as he took in the information regarding the kitchens. Damn. I should have figured as much. "I'm well aware of the fact that some creatures are equipped with natural weapons," he said, pulling aside his own shirt to reveal the wounds left by "Pearl" the night before. "We were attacked by a monster that took the form of a little girl Gumshoe knew in our home world. She caught us completely unaware, I'm sorry to say."

He then took out the maps of the first and second floor, studying them carefully. "If you don't have these, Dias, I'm more than happy to make copies for you," he added, offhandedly, scanning them for any place that might have any useful weaponry.

He pointed at the second floor map after a few minutes of careful thought. "We have a few options remaining, I think. There are the autopsy rooms and the nurse prep areas here on the second floor; those should have scalpels, if nothing else, assuming they've not been locked away. There is also the patient possessions room, though I suspect they stripped anyone who had a weapon of it when they were brought in. Still, though, there might be something to use for blocking there."

Mr. Flac had sort of lost him after 'monsters'. Yeah, he'd... he'd forgotten about those. They weren't your everyday crooks. Couldn't slap on some handcuffs and tell the boys to take 'em downtown.

Gumshoe opted to sew his mouth shut from then on, an attentive eye on the two men. It would never be his place to order Mr. Edgeworth around. Things always worked out if he let the prosecutor do the talking, though nothing could relieve the detective's apprehension for the night ahead. ... That was natural, right?

Striving to accept the impossible was a lot harder than it sounded.

The invisible stitches on his lips unwound as he prevented himself from literally bouncing (rather odd to witness, to watch him reverse into a wall and awkwardly thrash his arms about), remembering something from nowhere.

"That kid I met the other night! He had a weapon!" Which wasn't a detail he was likely to forget, considering the knife's end in all its glory had been pointed directly at his throat. "I... I should've asked where he found it." He turned away dejectedly, shoulders sagging.

... I want my pistol back.

Dias' throat closed briefly when Edgeworth reported being attacked by a monster that had taken the form of a little girl Gumshoe had known; he had thought it bad enough to be attacked by such a shapeshifter while it looked like River, but the realization that it could have been even more personal than that - that his shapeshifter could have been a little girl, could have been Cecille - made him feel physically ill. Actually, he hadn't felt all that great since nightshift began, but that thought - that potentiality; after all, he might well run into shapeshifters again - made it far worse.

"You're not alone in that," he said finally, a hand going to his neck to touch the mostly-healed jagged wound there. If that scarred, he'd look like he'd gotten the world's biggest hickey from a shark for the rest of his life. "I was nearly killed by a similar monster, one that took the form of one of my friends here. I'm not sure that there are many ways to avoid being caught off-guard by those things."

He eyed the maps Edgeworth was offering. "You could give them to the friend of mine that just left," he replied. "He's the one compiling a map of this place, more than me." Dias tended to make his own maps in his head, where he didn't need to be referencing back to some outside source.

With a glance between Gumshoe and Edgeworth, he said, "Edgeworth's suggestions are probably the best possible places to look. Whichever you two would prefer is where we'll go - it probably doesn't matter which we try first."

Edgeworth had been frowning through most of the conversation, and that didn't change when Dias said he had been attacked by a similar monster. "We were lucky that night ended when it did, in our case. I think we would have both been killed otherwise."

He took a moment to put the maps back in his journal, which he then tucked into the pocket of his overcoat. "I'll do that in the morning, then. Leaving a note on the bulletin board for him would probably be the best way to catch up with him."

Edgeworth looked over at Gumshoe, the look on the detective's face almost reminding him of his dog, Pess, when he was too eager to go out for a walk. "There's a stairway in the southwest corner that leads to the second floor. I think we should take that and see where we come out."

Gumshoe zoned out for a minute as memories of the previous night arose. Mr. Edgeworth was absolutely right! He- he couldn't begin to imagine how on earth they'd have escaped. The notion of carrying the man away had hardly been a great option at the time – the detective had had trouble staying on his own feet. And Pearl- or- or the thing that looked like Pearl would've probably latched on to them again if he'd tried slinging the unconscious man over his shoulder. And he'd only one shoulder to throw him over.

He would give anything to not have to go through a situation as dangerous again.

"Y- Yessir!" He stammered in agreement. "I- I'll try to watch we don't have anything tailing us!"

Dias nodded slightly at Gumshoe. He wasn't sure how much use the man would be, but if he was a detective, then he was hopefully at least observant and had some experience dealing with criminals; between that and his size, he was a slightly better choice than Edgeworth to be guarding the rear, even unarmed. "I'll lead." This was the obvious choice, of course; he was the only one of them armed and skilled in combat. Edgeworth, in between them, could navigate.

He did wonder, though, why Edgeworth had put the maps back, unless the man had them memorized. "You can tell us the way," he stated more than suggested, although there was an implication that Edgeworth could start right now. Dias knew his way around the institute, but the only two times he'd ever even seen the stairs in this place had both involved stressful situations - in fact, both had involved that pyramid-headed monstrosity. Once he'd been going to fight it, and once he'd been fleeing it.

Edgeworth nodded, taking the hint and pulling the maps back out. "We'll head down the hallway and hang a right," he said.

Edited 2008-03-13 18:16 (UTC)

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