damned_institute | Night 30: Main Hallway, 1-East

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/303653.html?thread=24407333)]

The darkness opened up around him. Armand fancied he could hear echoes from all sides. He gripped the dead light with both hands and continued hesitantly forward. He thought he needed to go back to the right, but he wasn't certain anymore.

Damn.

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/305146.html?thread=24408570#t24408570)]

TK kept a vigilant watch on the surroundings as he walked down the halls, intending to try and get to where he had met Armand last night.

Instead, he managed to find the man completely in the dark, clinging for dear life onto his dead glowrod. Damn it. Do the power cells in these things run out that quickly? TK approached carefully, making sure not to startle the other man. "Armand," he called out quietly, "I guess I should have told you these things can lose their charge." He gestured with the glowrod in his hand. "I just didn't realize it was going to happen so soon."

Armand jumped and turned toward the voice. "Is that you, Morrison?" The glow from the other flashlight stung his eyes slightly.

TK lowered the glowrod so it was less in the other man's eyes. "Yes. Will Dr. Uzuki know to meet us here?" He was worried about heading to the basement again, with Armand acting like this. It seemed like the sedatives hadn't worn off...

"...so you're the intruders." An icy tone swept over the hall. Kratos stepped forward, Flamberge glinting dimly in the shadows. The lack of light made for poor visibility, but his angelic senses had adjusted. No matter where they moved, he would always be able to find them, whether it be by sound or sight. "I've been waiting for you- or are there more?" Two only? Surely there would have been more, or else Yggdrasill would have merely sent some minor angels...

His grip tightened on the hilt of his sword. "No matter. I will take care of you as you come." The Flamberge swept up in almost a salute. "I'm sorry, but you will have to be disposed of." Targeting the man who had just spoken, he ran forward, sword point aimed for the shoulder. Disable first, ask questions later.

The question had barely registered in his ears when the new voice pinpointed the arrival of someone unexpected. "Wait!" Armand exclaimed, thinking there was some misunderstanding.

But as the man rushed at TK, he realized that this was possibly one of the other prisoners brainwashed to "defend" the Institute. For a second time in as many minutes, he cursed to himself. He dropped his flashlight to fumble in his pocket for his knife from the kitchens.

Mostly, he worried that he wouldn't be a lot of help.

TK turned to face the direction of the voice, staff up in a guard position. Stupid. He gave away any chance for an ambush. His normal politeness completely dropped away, his face hardening into an expression that had terrified the rebel militiamen on Ralltiir.

He waited on the spot until the man came close enough, sidestepping to the right and forward, bringing him level with the attacker's unprotected side. He brought his staff down in a hard strike to the man's right shoulder, aiming to snap the collar bone and take the sword arm out of commission. At the same time he kicked out at the right knee. If it worked, then it would dislocate the kneecap and send it around to the outer side of the joint.

"...hmph." So he'd underestimated his target slightly- a minor miscalculation. There was a brief flash as Kratos teleported several feet back to dodge both blows. He'd been too hasty, it seemed, but at least now he knew not to count on attacks at a close proximity to finish the man off. It was time to take a more conservative approach.

"Double Demon Fang!" Two successive sweeps of his sword and Kratos had sent two identical shockwaves toward TK. Hoping that the attack would distract his target long enough, Kratos gathered up the needed mana and cast: "Take this- Thunder Blade!"

A giant sword plunged from above toward TK, sending electricity crackling outward.

With a gasp of surprise, Armand dropped into a crouch when the man disappeared and reappeared somewhere else. And then when the sword crashed down with its flash of electricity, he had to close his eyes a moment to gather enough courage to look for an opening to help. For now, he was outside of the nimbus of that effect, but to help he'd have to move closer.

What could he do against someone like that? His heart raced as he watched. The man seemed to be concentrating on TK, so Armand drew a deep breath, and began to creep nearer, hoping for a chance to thrust his little knife into a thigh or a knee.

TK's eyes widened in surprise for a moment as his target simply vanished. He re-focused on his target quickly, but it still only just fast enough to evade a double volley of some sort of shockwave attack. Then--

Fierfek! TK leapt out of the way towards his target as something big hit the ground near him. He almost got out of range in time- it felt just like when he'd been attacked by a hacked Viper droid. Electrical discharge. Just as when the droid had attacked, he carried on regardless, closing the remaining distance between himself and the hostile, striking at the man's wrist, then jabbing in at the neck.

Kratos frowned- persistent...and fast! Acting out of instinct, he twisted sharply to the side to avoid being hit on the wrist, but too late to dodge both completely as the second strike clipped his neck.

Reeling, Kratos coughed thinly before teleporting once more, this time reappearing behind TK. "Demon...Fang!" Managing to force the words out as he tried to recover, he launched the shockwave before moving back a couple steps to create distance, sword up in a defensive position in case of attack as he massaged his throat. There was still another target to consider as well...he'd have to watch his back.

The way the man with the sword kept disappearing and reappearing gave this conflict an even more nightmarish quality for Armand. He realized that creeping might not work since the man moved so fast, but what would? A fight that moved too fast and a brain that moved too slow weren't a good combination. He hadn't even done anything and he felt dizzy and shaky. It was probably nerves. He'd never been in a fight like this either. It reminded him far too much of getting jumped by St. Cyr's men all those years ago.

Armand stood then, gripping his little kitchen knife tightly, and tried to keep to the edge of the confusion. He wanted to keep away from that sword as much as possible, but... maybe... The loud report of the blossoming shockwave numbed his ears even though he didn't seem to be anywhere near its focused area. So it was in a eerily calm cone of faux silence that Armand reached where he thought he wanted to be. Then he yelled, trying to draw the man's attention to him and struck out, aiming for the upper part of the sword arm. If he succeeded in getting the man's attention he didn't doubt he'd end up hurting. With that sword, his opponent could easily out-reach him and he had those strange magical attacks too, but if he wasn't paying attention to TK, maybe the soldier could get a decisive blow in at last.

Again! TK dodged out of the way as soon as he heard the words that somehow went along with the shockwaves. If nothing else, the words were an easy giveaway that an attack was soon to follow.

TK moved in, taking the opposite side of the attacker from Armand, not wasting a second in aiming a hard strike down onto the attacker's head, aiming for the temple. He didn't know if the man would dissapear again, but if he didn't, he'd have to choose which attack to block.

It just figured that Kratos would get stuck fighting one of the few truly competent people in this place, didn't it? As Kratos took a blow to the throat and was forced to resort to teleporting frequently, Leon decided reluctantly that he had no choice but to get involved.

Keeping to the shadows, Leon summoned the energy into his knife, preparing to send a majinken at the fighter with the staff--the other seemed to be little threat, unskilled enough that Leon suspected he could handle him even in this weakened state. As he poured his power into the little knife, Leon kept watch on the fight, waiting for Kratos' next move before loosing his attack.

Another opponent had presented itself, but at that particular moment Kratos was too occupied to pay Leon much attention. Moving the Flamberge to stop the staff, the blade slicing through wood, Kratos barely flinched from the cut that followed from Armand's knife. The Cruxis Crystal was doing its job- any sensation of pain was completely numbed.

And now he had his two current targets in close proximity to each other- the perfect opportunity to hit both of them with a spell: Even as Kratos blocked TK he was already summoning mana. There wasn't enough time to cast Judgment as he wanted to, but at the moment any spell would do the job.

"Eruption!" The floor beneath the three of them ignited in a roar, sending flame flaring upward.

With a cry of alarm and pain, Armand fell back, dropping his knife in his frantic efforts to put out the flame now trying to consume his clothing and get to his flesh. In his fear, he couldn't even look to see how his friend was faring. His hands were already feeling scorched from where he was trying to put out his sleeves and front. He didn't plan it so, but he put out more flames rolling around on the ground. His screams echoed in the darkness, and all he could see was fire, even when he closed his eyes.

At least he seemed to be out of immediate range of more attacks.

Fierfek! TK's eyes widened as the floor suddenly burst into flames. He lept out of the way as fast as he could, striking one more time at the attacker as he passed by him, aiming a quick, hard jab with one half of the broken staff at the attacker's neck. It seemed a good target, when this person's words could cause shockwaves and set the damned floor on fire.

Once he'd attacked, he dove for safer ground, hitting the ground rolling to smother the flames eating at his clothing as fast as he could, so he could get up and be back on the offensive.

Leon had suspected it when he saw Kratos cast First Aid that night in the clinic, and now he was certain of it--somehow, the spells of Kratos' world and of his own were the same. He was very glad to be out of the range of Eruption, especially since he was without Chaltier's magic to shield him from the worst of its effects. But the spell also granted him an excellent opportunity to try to take out one of Kratos' opponents.

Swinging the knife with a sharp, practiced motion, Leon murmured softly, "Majinken" and released the energy he'd summoned into the blade. A shockwave identical to Kratos' Demon Fang sped towards the staff-wielder as he rolled on the ground to try to put out the flames licking at his clothing and hair. Was it a cheap shot, attacking a man who was on the ground and on fire? Yes. Was it a good move, tactically? Absolutely.

Kratos backpedaled a little too quickly to avoid the staff and for a split second almost lost his balance- he'd been expecting one last attack, but had been too focused on the completion of his spell to begin preparing a Guardian. The other Demon Fang surprised him as well- another Exsphere user, here? Whoever it was, they were certainly going to be a challenge for later. However, at the moment his objective was to get out of the flames and make his next move while he still had a handle on the flow of the fight.

There was a flash of blue as the signature wings of a Cruxis angel materialized behind him. Teleporting was out of the question- he only did it when absolutely necessary, in any case. Soaring up and out, Kratos landed at a distance from the fire, now dying as the spell wore down. His uniform was smoking, but he couldn't afford to be concerned about it now. He had the time; he needed to make use of it--

"Sacred powers, cast thy purifying light upon these corrupt souls..." The chant made Judgment long and hard to cast, but twenty seconds more was all he needed- after THIS spell, it would all be over.

Most of the fire out, Armand couldn't even gather his thoughts well enough to assess damage. He hurt, mostly his unprotected hands and his neck near where his hair had taken flame. He panted and huddled against the wall, trying to stay out of the fight. Let his friend call him a coward if he must. Armand, frightened more than he cared to admit, could not stand to face that sword-wielding man again. His small knife attack hadn't even fazed him.

Still, he was far too close to the fighting for his comfort, and the sound of their opponent's chanting made his skin crawl with nervous anticipation. He worried that they'd should have fled. Was it too late? He couldn't fight, but he wouldn't leave TK to fight alone.

Damn. They had to run. He got his feet under him and staggered to where his friend was, trying to grab his arm to drag him away. "Morrison... run!"

With how focused he was on putting out the flames eating at his clothing and his skin, he nearly didn't see the next shockwave attack coming. He tried to get out of the way, but it still clipped him, knocking him back and driving the air out of his lungs.

Two attackers now. And whatever the first one was saying, it sounded like trouble. Normally, he'd have just headed straight for the hostile and done whatever it took to bring him down. But...

He had to keep Armand in mind. It didn't matter what he'd normally do if he were alone or with other fighters, Armand didn't have to get hurt because of him.

He picked himself up, pushing Armand in front of him as he started to run. If they got hit by another attack, he'd take the worst of it.

[running off to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/307793.html)]

[[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/304409.html?thread=24725529#t24725529).]]

"KRATOS!" Raine shouted, stopping not far behind him. She knew exactly how much damage Judgment could do, and if at all possible she had to stop him from casting it. She was standing out of reach, technically--she couldn't hit him with her broom from here, but even Demon Fang could get her from this distance. Still, she might have time to dodge if it came to that.

"You don't have time for this." She stared at him, her eyes steely. "I know the rest of us are your enemies, but Lloyd's hurt. Regal and Genis are trying to get him out of here, but it doesn't look good; I couldn't do much for him, his injuries were too extensive. If you care about your son at all, go find him."

After so many years of practice, she was an excellent liar; she didn't break eye contact, and the subtle emotion in her voice was real. She was genuinely worried for Lloyd, even if what she was telling Kratos was a lie. Lloyd was perfectly capable of defending himself under ordinary circumstances, but their journey was anything but, and the protectiveness she felt towards him, towards Genis, towards Colette had nothing to do with logic.

And the guilt in her eyes over not being able to protect her student was real, too, as well as the regret. She really didn't want to be telling Kratos this, but even if it didn't make him abandon the fight in a search for the child he wouldn't find here, it should demoralize him enough to let someone take him down.

After this, she was going to owe more than one apology in the morning.

If you care about your son... Leon flinched, physically, at those words. Concerns about the spell Kratos was casting, about fighting, flew completely out of Leon's head. Kratos had a son. If that was who Kratos had been talking about last night in the clinic, when they spoke of war and power, Leon already knew the answer--Kratos cared about his son a great deal. Leon wasn't sure why that hurt him, any more than he'd understood why he grew so angry at that father who sat with him at dinner--he'd always known that it was normal for fathers to love their sons, to defend and protect and support them. Always known that Hugo was the exception and not the rule.

But he still hated being reminded of that.

Could he ever look at Kratos again, without thinking of--without wanting--the Hugo that could have been? Should have been. Was that why he was drawn to Kratos? Not just shared experience as warriors, but because he was looking for some sort of replacement father? Disgusting. Weak. Leon started to laugh, clutching at his cane to keep from falling down. "Oh, I'm pathetic, just like he always said."

"Judgm..." The word faded from Kratos's lips as the mana building around him collapsed. The angel froze, unbelieving, as all thoughts of opponents or fighting fled.

The Flamberge pointed at Raine accusingly. "A lie. You can't be serious." To think that the boy had been foolhardy enough to come after his father- his enemy! And then Lloyd had to get himself injured...so much that not even Raine Sage could heal him. Idiot!

"Lloyd would not-- he would never let himself be caught in that sort of situation." Kratos' voice was sure, but the doubt was growing: the concern in Raine's voice had sounded genuine. Lloyd...! His parental side was screaming for him to run to his son; he shoved it aside. The task at hand- he had to think of the task at hand. "And I...I have orders. I cannot leave."

He had practically shouted those last few words, not just as his excuse to Raine, but also as his excuse to himself.

"Colette was in trouble," Raine replied; she'd meant to keep her voice steady, but it wavered a little. She knew exactly what Lloyd would do in that kind of situation, and she could picture it far too easily.

Regardless, the part about orders made her glare. "What's more important to you? Your orders, or your own child? He's in real trouble, and he'll have the best chance if you're there. You need to go find him." She wouldn't do more than imply Lloyd could be dying; it would be too hard for her to say and too hard for Kratos to hear.

"And if you were ordered to make us leave--be assured we're trying to. You can tell Yggdrasil you chased us all off later; for now, we're not the important ones. Go; the last I heard, they were trying to get out through the back exit." She nodded towards it; if Kratos was going to be sent off on a wild goose chase, it was best he go deeper into the building. When he didn't find Lloyd, he would be able to blame it on all the chaos--and hopefully keep looking, out of a desire not to fail him this time.

It would be good if Kratos smashed the back wall while he was at it, but she would settle on him being driven to frantic searching that allowed nothing else.

Night 30: Main Hallway, 1-East

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