damned_institute | Nightshift 31: F-A Block Hallway

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Nightshift 31: F-A Block Hallway

[from here]

Anya was beginning to feel the adrenaline as she rounded the corner. Those zombie dogs the first night hadn't really counted as a fight. She hadn't been in a real fight since... since Buffy.

Oh dear god, what if this Kimbley guy had superpowers like Buffy, only his were way better than Buffy's? That was entirely possible, Buffy's weren't exactly the last word on awesome superpowers, no matter how much The Slayer liked to think different. Holy crap, she was gonna get slaughtered!

The vengeance demon cut off her nervous thoughts quickly. She'd promised to do this in order to get more good intel from that sin-type woman. Plus, it wasn't like there was much out there that could kill her.

She opened the door and stepped into the next hall.

[to here]

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"Well enough," Max replied cheerfully. "How about you? I'm glad there'll be familiar faces along tonight. There's so many people in this place it almost feels like I never bump into the same person twice."

She glanced towards the end of the hall but saw no sign of Renji yet, so settled against the nearest wall in a comfortable slouch as she passed the time talking with Thursday.

"Our group got into a bit of a scrap last night trying to get to the basement," said Thursday, nodding down at the wheelchair. "Hopefully we'll have better luck tonight - I wonder where we're going."

"I think Renji mentioned the basement again," Max replied sympathetically, eying the wheelchair. "Are you up for another trip down? What's it like down there? I've not been yet."

"I'm game if Renji can get me up and running again." Thursday fiddled with her baseball bat. "I haven't been down there before, but I've heard a bit about it - apparently it's massive, with giant rooms and mazes and puzzles and all sorts of strange shit. Like some sort of video game or something, and GSD knows what's at the end of it."

"What do you mean, up and running again?" Max asked curiously, a puzzled expression on her face.

At the description of the basement, however, her dark eyes lit with anticipation. "Sounds challenging. I can't wait." She probably got way too much enjoyment out of having an actual plan for this nightshift, but she couldn't help it. It finally felt like she was getting something accomplished.

Thursday blinked up at Max. Maybe that phrase wasn't in use anymore when she was from. "It's just a figure of speech. Whatever was in the cafeteria last night cut my leg pretty badly - Renji said he might be able to heal it." She wasn't particularly comfortable with asking favors of people, but she wouldn't be able to go anywhere tonight if she didn't accept.

"I can't wait, either, even if it feeling like we're playing right into Landel's hands."

Now Max's other eyebrow raised in surprise. "Whoa, hold up. He can... he's one of those people who can do stuff like healing?" Such things were still a bit beyond the realm of believability for her, but the man was a death god, so she supposed that shouldn't be too surprising. But why should death gods be able to heal when they were around for dead people? Unless she was mixing her lore up somehow.

This place was so confusing.

"It does, a bit, but that doesn't mean we can't still take him by surprise," she countered, her smirk looking slightly fiendish in the dim light of the flashlights.

"I don't know. I guess. I've only met a few shinigami here so far, and I don't know all of the powers they have." Thursday grinned. "It feels weird to say that - we haven't got any where I'm from. Or if we do, I've not met them."

Thursday grinned. "That's certainly true. Payback for whatever he did to that poor fellow behind the radio, too. Did you ever meet him?"

"I can't say I've ever met a god of any sort in my world," Max chuckled in rueful amusement. "Despite what a male friend of mine would claim."

At the question, a pang of sadness flickered across Max's face and her fingers tightened slightly around the crowbar she held. "I did," she answered softly, glancing down at her weapon. "I met him the night before he died."

"Oh, hell. I'm sorry about that." Thursday stared down at her lap. Yeah, definitely the wrong question to ask. She wasn't terribly good with emotions - couldn't think of anything else to say except something that might possibly make things worse.

Still, she couldn't deny her curiosity in the end. "This is probably a horrid time to ask, but...what was he like?"

Surprisingly, that brought a small smile to Max's lips and a chuckle. "An outrageous flirt," she answered, remembering wistfully. "I liked him. He was sly, I'll give him that. Smart. And he demanded a kiss in exchange for a crowbar. He also had one of the nightshift cats - the huge ones, you know? - curled up beside him on the table, asleep and purring."

She shook her head in amused admiration. "He was unique. And he struck me as trustworthy, no matter what people whispered about him. I only met him in person that one night, but..." her voice trailed off thoughtfully for a moment before she shrugged and shot Thursday a crooked smile. "He was a good guy. He deserved better than what he got."

Thursday laughed a little. "Sounds like quite the rogue - I would've liked to meet him. No sense in wondering what might've been, though. This'll make our revenge on Landel all the sweeter."

She glanced down the hall curiously - no sign of anyone who looked like Renji. "Wonder where our leader is. You don't think he might've got held up or something?"

[from here]

He entered the block, his waraji silent against the floor. He heard the familiar sound of Max's voice, and someone he had to assume was Thursday. He pulled the flashlight off his makeshift belt and flicked it on, the beam turned toward the floor so it wouldn't blind anyone.

"I just had a thought before I left my room, so I made a real quick drawin'," he said, answering Thursday's question even though it hadn't been directed at him. "Let's see if we can get you fixed up."

"Uh-oh, he's been thinking, look out," Max quipped teasingly, glancing up as the redhead joined them, though she shot him a crooked smile in greeting, then let her dark gaze skim over his strange outfit. "Fancy get-up you got there. How'd you luck out to find period clothing in this place?"

So this was Renji. It appeared Max had met him before. Thursday, for her part, nodded, smiling slightly.

"Honored to meet you," she said. "Read about you on the bulletin board."

She rolled up her pants leg, exposing a nasty cut along her calf. It was the worst of her injuries, and the only one that she thought really needed healing; she'd be able to deal with the others on her own.

Renji snorted. He was used to getting that sort of crap from people, though normally not people he barely knew. "Showed up a couple of days ago," he said. "'s my uniform, actually. And it's easier to fight in, so I'm not gonna bitch."

He bowed to Thursday. It was a habit, and one he wasn't interested in breaking. "Nice to meet you too," he said. He dropped to his knees next to the chair, to inspect the cut.

"Alright," he said. "I'll see what I can do. You ladies might have to give me a couple minutes to rest once I'm done." He hated admitting it, but he was already pretty tired from fixing up Adel earlier in the day. At leas the had a couple good meals under his belt.

He held his hands over Thursday's leg and began to recite the proper kidou incantation.

Max came to crouch nearby, partially to keep an eye up and down the hall and partially to keep an eye on what Renji was doing in fascination. Even as Thursday's injury began to heal in response to the Shinigami's strange chanting, she watched in wide-eyed amazement. The things people could do in this place. That sure would have come in handy back home a time or two...

"We can give it a few minutes more, I've got watch," Max replied finally in response to Renji needing a rest afterwards. With the drain on people's abilities this place had, she could imagine that such a thing would exhaust him quickly. It spoke a lot about him that he was willing to offer the aid anyway. Some people would have kept it all to themselves. She found herself liking and respecting the redhead more.

Thursday couldn't help it. She stared, mouth slightly open, as her leg began to heal. She'd seem some pretty weird shit in SpecOps, and she'd met plenty of BookWorlders who could heal, but seeing it in real life was entirely different.

"Thanks," she said gratefully as the pain in her leg dulled and soon faded entirely. "Really. I'm sorry for holding us up."

It was just the cut, not a broken bone or anything, so he didn't shove every last bit of energy he had into it. He wondered if the other Shinigami were as bad off as him at times like this; at least they had some finesse to their technique. All he could really manage was to just shove as much energy as he could into the spell and hope.

He felt the familiar headache blooming behind his eyes. He sat back against the wall, going from his knees to sitting on his butt. After a moment of consideration, he leaned forward to put his head between his knees. It was kind of embarrassing, but it'd maybe get him moving faster.

"Yeah, I'll need a minute," he said. He wasn't worried if Max was keeping watch. "And... no problem. We'll try to keep you in one piece tonight." He kept his tone joking, but the way he intended to run things was if something overwhelming got them, he'd hold it off and give the ladies a head start. It wasn't so much chauvinism as him feeling responsible as the Shinigami.

He coughed quietly, then said. "Lemme fill you in on the basement far as we got last night. Made it to this hallway where there was an armory with weapons in it. We took some weapons, then had to leave through a second room. I was first through, and all of the weapons disappeared but mine. There was a bunch of stuff in there like movin' target dummies. When I cut it all down, the sword I had was gone, too, and this thing that looked like a sword appeared in the middle of the room." He dug around in his sleeve for the piece of paper he'd drawn the map and the sketch of the sword on and held it up for someone to take without looking up. "It's useless as weapon... bad metal for it, no edge. So it's got to have another purpose, but fuck if I know what. But this is what it looks like and what we know so far of the place. I figure tonight we'll be mapping more and maybe seein' if there's something down there the damn sword can be used for, or maybe more stuff like it."

Max kept an eye out as Renji finished healing Thursday, then watched sympathetically as he slumped back against the wall to re-gather his strength. Yeah, Max was glad she didn't have anything like that to worry about. While her strength and speed and capabilities were limited here, at least fighting like she normally did didn't leave her as wiped as Renji now looked. She was relieved she was just here for good looks, a quick mind and body, and big muscles (despite her slight appearance).

She reached out and took the drawing he held out, listening to his explanation as she showed the picture to Thursday as well, filing away the information he gave with practiced ease. "Where's this sword now? In someone's quarters?" Max asked thoughtfully, eying the drawing and puzzling over what she'd just learned about in the basement.

Thursday inspected the picture. A sword...it matched with what Armand had told her two days ago. Clearly there was more to the basement than met the eye.

"I spoke to another patient two days ago. He'd been down in the basement with another group, and if I recall correctly, they found a shield." She remembered much more than that, of course, including something about a sphinx, but she'd promised Armand she wouldn't tell and she already felt a little guilty about letting the bit about the shield slip. "I can't help but think it might be related to your sword here."

A shield... that was really more help than he'd been hoping for. "Who has it?" he asked. "If they're similar, we probably gotta do something with them together." He hadn't really considered the sword some kind of secret to be horded, himself; he'd just figured it'd be best to let Artemis and Colonel Mustang take a look at it first, since there were enough weird, creepy people around now that he was reluctant to make general announcements. And then the whole not knowing what the Head Doctor might be watching thing. "I just didn't say anything about it on the board because there're some people around who are definitely not on the side of any of us. But... think you could get whoever it is to meet up with me tomorrow or something?"

This was much better luck than he'd hoped for. "So then we should keep our eyes peeled for something to do with a sword... and a shield." He hoped it didn't involve fighting anything, since the sword was a piece of shit if considered a weapon, and he had no idea how you'd use a shield in a fight anyway.

"Maybe when we get down there tonight, we can inspect the place you found them," Max replied thoughtfully, a curious expression on her face as she glanced between Renji and Thursday. "Did you see anything that would resemble engravings or runes anywhere in the armory, or around where you found the sword, anything that might give a hint as to what's meant to be done with them?"

"I'll try to contact them tomorrow," said Thursday, standing up experimentally and smiling in satisfaction when her leg bore her weight well. "They were worried the shield might get stolen, but if you think they'd be able to work together with Arts and Crafts, that shouldn't be a problem."

All of this talk was making her more than a little eager to see the basement. Perhaps there wouldn't be anything interesting guarding the kitchen tonight, although that was probably too much to hope for.

"I understand the worry," Renji said. "Consderin' we got some prisoners attacking and almost killin' each other at night. And not 'cause Landel got to them either." He sounded grim; he was thinking about what had happened to Kairi, and the whole Rhode problem. "Hopefully me or taichou have a good enough rep, I guess." While he knew they could both rub people the wrong way - and neither of them really cared if they did - they certainly weren't thieves.

He lifted his head, blinking a few times. He wasn't dizzy any more, at least. Slowly, he pulled himself to his feet. The headache sucked, but he could ignore it for now. "So that'll be priority one then, I think," he said. "If there's a sword and a shield, let's figure out what we should be doing with 'em so we can talk it over with the guys that've got the shield."

Nightshift 31: F-A Block Hallway

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