Nightshift 30: M81-90 Hallway

[spirit-forge.livejournal.com]

The radio crackled to life, and a strange voice emerged. Archer had been wondering what purpose the radio served. He doubted it was psychological warfare via Enya, but hey, he wouldn't put it past the Institute. Deciding to pocket it, he opened up his closet and geared up. That essentially meant putting on a large gray sweater and overlarge coat. Gray definitely wasn't his color.

Archer was about to leave when he remembered his pillow. It had felt awfully hard. Searching it revealed a durable, black flashlight. He'd probably need this too.

Pausing for a final glance around the room, Archer decided he was ready to leave. He exited his room, ready to see what horrors Landel's had to offer.

Comments

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

Phibrizzo entered the hallway, intent and anxious to finally have a few overdue words with his subordinate. He hadn't spoken to, much less seen Xelloss for days. Without confirming his orders, how could Phibrizzo be certain they were being carried out at all? Of course, Xelloss being as loyal and reliable as he was, Hellmaster had little doubt he'd stray from his commands. Still, the priest had the princess's presence to account for and the Mazoku lord was eager to hear him wheedle his way out of that.

...with little doubt on his mind that Xelloss would find someway to escape too much of a punishment for his lapsed warnings (albeit, it annoyed Phibrizzo to admit it), Hellmaster waited for the other to show up. His head throbbed and he still felt a bit off. What was that strange feeling in the back of his mind...?

[enigmaticmedium.livejournal.com]

And this was what he had not been looking forward to all day. True, Phibrizzo had seemed to still be in one piece when Xelloss had seen a glimpse of him at breakfast, but Hellmaster had also been addressing an individual who could not possibly be mistaken for anyone other than Amelia. Even Xelloss found her a little hard to bear at times; doubtlessly Phibrizzo would find some way that her presence was Xelloss's fault, which wasn't so threatening given the circumstances but still nothing to hope for.

The more significant problem, the genuine lapse, had been his inability to locate Hellmaster last night. If Hellmaster blamed him for that, all Xelloss could say in response was that he had done the best he could, a genuinely pathetic answer to a serious problem. He knew of two things which patients underwent if the Institute took them away, and considering that there were no reports of wide-spread deaths and disappearances this morning, that left the option of experimentation. What could they do to a Mazoku trapped in a human form? The fact that they were trapped in this form at all suggested some unpleasant possibilities.

Nonetheless, as he located Phibrizzo, he bowed perhaps a little lower than usual. "I couldn't find you last evening, Lord Hellmaster," Xelloss explained, and let that stand.

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

Phibrizzo pursed his lips. Since Xelloss was addressing that first, Phibrizzo saw no reason not to start there. "You couldn't? Where did you look?" Even he had read a thing or two on the bulletin board about the disappearences at night. He somehow doubted the Priest had turned a blind eye to those. "Do you have even the slightest notion what I got up to? Didn't you find it odd when I was not here to meet with you?! DID IT NOT CROSS YOUR MIND THAT SOMETHING MAY HAVE COME UP?!"

Hellmaster knew he was losing his temper and had to keep it in check, lest he attract attention and blow his cover (these meetings with Xelloss were meant to be private and clandestine), but he could not help it. Thinking back on all that was done to him, how weak he felt and how very odd he still felt, he couldn't help but hold the preist responsible. "And HOW LONG has that Princess been here? I don't want any excuses. I want to know HOW she managed to spot me before YOU noticed her!"

[enigmaticmedium.livejournal.com]

Well, this was about what he'd expected. If anything, it wasn't quite as bad. Of course, the fact that all of their powers were weakened did help, as Phibrizzo's actual ability to harm him in this form was in question. That didn't change the fact that he did have some of this criticism coming.

And to avoid future criticism, although he doubted Hellmaster would appreciate it at the moment, he mentioned, "My roommate spoke to me about eavesdropping on our conversations, Lord Hellmaster." So please turn your volume down slightly. "Last night, when I was unable to find you, I met with an individual called Quatre Rabera Winner and went upstairs in search of you. So far as I am aware, only two options were possible, either you had been unleashed on the general population or your body was being experimented on. Since I could do nothing in the latter case and it would in fact be an improvement in circumstances over our current state, I decided to act upon the possibility that you were the victim of experimentation. Unfortunately, despite finding my way upstairs and to the area where I believe such things take place, I was unable to find you. There was a large crowd of individuals coming and going, likely on similar missions." Calling it a 'rescue mission' would likely sound insulting.

"As for the princess, I can only assume she arrived this morning before breakfast; that was the first time I saw her. I saw you with her, but did not approach so she would ideally not be aware of my presence until we could discuss how to address our status here with her." Xelloss looked up a bit.

[for-marian.livejournal.com]

It was good to be able to move at something approaching a reasonable speed again. Granted, the cane still slowed Leon down some, but nowhere near as much as the crutches had.

[going here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/305655.html)]

Leaving M86

[son-ofkrypton.livejournal.com]

Clark didn't leave immediately like his roommate did. For a long moment, he just sat there. What kind of person would stab someone six times and sound like it'd been a weight off his shoulders?

It was that and that night with the buses, the staff mutating, that made it all the more real. And made him even more determined to do something. Lex was wrong. He had to be. Clark wasn't crazy - there really was terrible things happening and it wasn't his imagination at all. While he wasn't sure at all how he got here or how right Lex was about his "Kal", Clark did know that what mattered was what was going on now.

Ignoring the way his cheek still throbbed from earlier, the teenager got to his feet, arming himself with a flashlight before stepping out.

Clark didn't know what he was planning to do. Something, obviously. But he wasn't sure if he wanted to look for this Martin Landel or what. What if he found him? Clark knew he still had his powers, even if they were wonky, and he might be better armed than the normal people here.

But that opened up another problem, which was did he really think he could use his powers intending to hurt - or worse?

He wasn't sure.

Re: Leaving M86

[son-ofkrypton.livejournal.com]

[To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/304409.html?thread=24810265#t24810265)]

[adorkabledragon.livejournal.com]

The man on the radio was dead.

Even though he'd never met him, Keman felt...sad. Ever since last night, he'd wanted to meet him, to ask him questions, and now he'd never get that opportunity. It seemed so selfish, now that he thought about it.

The patients had had someone on their side, and now he was gone. Killed. Viciously.

It was kind of frightening.

The 'sound' of Valyn's magic interrupted his thoughts, and he looked up. Well, that was good, at least. Even though he was still tapped out from his idiotic display the night before, he could still sense magic. It was heartening.

[going here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/305655.html#comments).]

[zeus-incarnate.livejournal.com]

It had taken Statesman a little longer than usual to get into his uniform once he had been escorted back to his room. The drugs still hadn't seem to have worn off, and he made a note of it mentally.

He felt tired, much more than he should have been. He had been through a lot since the Fountain of Zeus, but this was beginning to edge towards the top of the list of bad situations.

His room mate was being shouted at by the Hellmaster, but Marcus didn't feel like paying too much attention for them, instead waiting for Logan and Parker to emerge from their room.

[ol-canucklehead.livejournal.com]

As soon as he stepped into the hallway, Logan was mildly relieved to spot the familiar outline of the burly hero lounging casually against the wall. He moved over to him swiftly. "Evenin', bub," he said, addressing the man almost identically as he had earlier. "Wha's tha plan tonigh'? Got somethin' I reckon' needs sharin' wit' ya, if yer interested." He has no hesitations regarding telling Cole about the missing patients.

[zeus-incarnate.livejournal.com]

"I want to get into the basement tonight if we can," He was having a much harder time hearing everything in the hallway, as though his senses had been dulled even further. Marcus thought of what Logan had said earlier and wondered if perhaps it was true, but shook that thought off.

"I want the three of us to head towards the basement tonight, and if you have any information that needs to be shared, I'm all ears."

[sword-and-demon.livejournal.com]

It had taken Sparda only a little longer than his room mate to exit. He took with him the first aid spray, set carefully in a pocket of his coat, as well as the sword.

Perhaps tomorrow he would speak to Momo about joining the arts and crafts club, but for now Sparda would explore the facility and aid any patients he came across that needed his help.

[mylackofeffort.livejournal.com]

Quatre left his room with his flashlight in hand. He had no idea what he was going to attempt to accomplish tonight, but he lacked any serious weaponary and that needed to be fixed as soon as possible. He had spent a few nights here already and gotten very little accomplished. He paused for a moment before turning to head down the hall. His flashlight was on, but pointed at the ground. There was rarely any danger outside in the main hallway of his room. He wanted to attempt to find Heero and Duo tonight, and check on Relena, but he also needed to make sure to find out more about this place.

[roger-hug.livejournal.com]

Bridget clung to Roger as he stepped outside. He promised Armand that he would be careful, but it looked like it would be another night spent with just him and Roger. He hadn't needed his flashlight before now, so he hadn't thought to bring it. Sure enough, there were plenty of people about with lights. He started off hesitantly.

[mylackofeffort.livejournal.com]

Quatre noticed the blond when they walked by each other. He frowned slightly. He didn't seem to be with anyone, so Quatre went up to him.

"Care for some company?" he asked quietly, smiling. Hopefully Bridget remembered him from the time they spent together in the library.

M84

[ol-canucklehead.livejournal.com]

Logan sat down heavily on his bed after being led back to his room from dinner, awaiting the return of his roommate so they could make a start on the night. He'd spent the majority of the day asking questions, but obtaining few answers, and as such hadn't actually gotten around to making any plans for the night. He wasn't even sure where Statesman would be, or even if he could suggest anything useful if they met up. The first thing he would do, if he found the other man, would be to tell him about the patients who had disappeared. Perhaps Cole had more information regarding that.

Re: M84

[a-spider-can.livejournal.com]

Peter showed up soon after, and while he wished that he had some news to report to Logan about the kid they had saved last night, he hadn't been able to get much out of the little guy. Still, he had seen that he was doing better, and that was something.

He nodded to Logan as he closed the door behind him and immediately started for the closet to retrieve his outfit.

"So I ran into the kid we picked up last night. He seemed to be doing okay. He was talking, at least." Well, not ready to talk about what happened, but at least he hadn't been all out of it and forlorn.

Re: M84

[ol-canucklehead.livejournal.com]

Logan looked up sharply as Parker was bustled into the room, and immediately stood up to retrieve the knife from under his mattress, listening all the while. It was good to know the kid hadn't been too badly scrambled, at least. "Well, tha's somethin'. He say anythin' 'bout wha happened ta him?" He spun the knife idly as he waited for the younger man to change. Peter needed to know what he'd discovered, too.

"I foun' out somethin' interestin' at dinner. Seems tha the torturin' n' brainwashin' they're doin' ta us migh' not be tha wors' o' it. Girl I spoke ta said she'd heard o' patien's...disappearin'. No-one knows how it happens, apparently, an' no-one's seen it firs' hand. Although maybe she jus' din't have enough infermation. Ya hear' o' anythin' like tha' happenin'?" The only way to get any kind of information in this place was through talking to other patients; the nurses just avoided questions or aluded to their apparent mental instability during the night, and at night, well...they just weren't talking at all.

M85

[rectifies.livejournal.com]

Music filled the room, rousing the young boy from sleep. The rouse immediately upgraded to a jolt as Ken realized he had drifted off much longer than he expected. Bridget was nowhere to be seen while signs of activity could be heard from outside the room. Hopefully, Yukari hadn't already dropped by.

None of that, however, succeeded in remaining in the boy's mind. The eerie echo of Taps replaced his thoughts, an echo Ken was forced to listen to. Something about the affair did not seem right, especially considering dinner's discussion.

What happened?

Re: M85

[remedying.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/305655.html?thread=24718583#t24718583).]

It was the furthest hall down. That's what she remembered.

Yukari made her way down, shining her flashlight at every door she passed by to read their numbers. They counted down, which made it easier to determine which door would lead to Ken's room.

M85. So she did remember correctly, fortunately.

She made a slight face at the closed door, unsure of what that meant. He wouldn't have gone anywhere without her, right? They didn't get the chance to say where to meet up at dinner, so Yukari hoped they kept with their original plan from the bulletin.

There was a knock. "Ken-kun, are you there?"

Re: M85

[rectifies.livejournal.com]

His stupor was cut short thanks to the knock and the voice, for which Ken was glad. "Yeah," he called out, pulling himself out of bed. "You can come in, Yukari-san."

Trying to keep the music out of his mind, Ken began to crawl under the bed to reach for the hidden broom.

Outside M89

[thehellismycar.livejournal.com]

God. He'd had enough of this crap of letting the wall guide him into a straight line; noticing weird things with his heavy eyes, his heart beginning to race, and then realising the apparent villains were a part of his flashlight's delightful shadow show; thinking he was about to lose footing altogether and leaning laterally on walls for seconds at a time.

When he finally arrived at every night's meeting point, his patience wore much thinner than usual.

"Sam?" He called in a plain-tired voice, giving the door two quiet knocks. "C'mon, haven't got all day." Resting a raised arm on the doorframe and rubbing his temple, he waited, mentally shooing away the headache to no more success than the previous attempts.

Re: Outside M89

[neverreallyfit.livejournal.com]

The door opened at the second knock, a touch swifter than caution should have permitted. The faint expression of relief Sam wore upon seeing Dean flickered and faded, and the younger hunter's eyes narrowed slightly. "You look like hell," he remarked, question and concern both buried not at all far below the surface. His hand continued to rest on the open door, holding it in place rather than stepping out immediately. Sealing off a swift avenue of retreat seemed at the moment even more foolhardy than usual.

M89

[thehellismycar.livejournal.com]

Dean regarded his brother's statement with an air of cynicism, lazily bouncing off one foot to brush past him. The man parked himself on one of the beds, hunched over with a hand shielding his face. He remained seated for a bit, allowing the rush of blood coursing through his pounding head to settle, somewhat, and when he straightened to open his eyes again, he could actually look at the beam of his flashlight and not squint.

Standing slowly, almost cautiously, he blew a low whistle and chuckled once completely sure he'd made it to his feet without wincing.

"So kids, what've we learned today? Oh! That free speech is not a hot commodity? Aaay!" Dean forced a taut smile to indicate he was clearly pissed, sticking both thumbs up, then completing the act to perfection with a scowl while both hands traveled to his hips. "Think I'd killed someone the way she stabbed me with that thing. Assisting care my ass. Look at it, man!" He urged Sam closer to examine the large purple bruise on his upper arm.

[heraldric.livejournal.com]

Leon was late leaving his room. He sat on the bed for a good long while, just going over what the Head Doctor had said. The man on the radio, the one they had gone to see just the night before, who he'd said such rude things to when he claimed to be trying to help... he was dead now? It seemed so wrong. It wasn't fair. Jack should have stayed wherever he'd been hiding and not come out for anything. Not if he'd been safe.

Worse yet, he hadn't gotten the chance to talk with any of the others about what he was going to do that night. He couldn't go out on his own! Especially not now. It felt even less safe now without the man on the radio, even if ha hadn't really paid all that much attention to him before.

It wasn't until the radios crackled back to life again, that there was another voice announcing she was there to help, that he started to think about moving. Just that little push was all he really needed. There were still people moving in the shadows. It was still possible to move there. He supposed he needed to do his all too.