damned_institute | Nightshift 31: M81-90

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Nightshift 31: M81-90

Clark woke up feeling drained.

And once again, he was on the floor - only this time he'd fallen out without jolting himself awake and apparently slept sprawled like that for who knew how long. Pushing himself up, the farmboy winced. Ow. His neck was sore from lying like that. Rubbing at it, grimacing, he sat up and leaned back against his bed, trying to get used to actually feeling sore. What with his powers going on and off like this, one minute he could chug burning coffee without feeling a thing and the next, he couldn't even sleep on the floor without getting cramps. Cramps!

He still got surprised over stuff like that. Sure, it was little and every day to most people, but he'd spent most of his life not able to feel uncomfortable like most people. He'd probably even enjoy it if his bouts of normalcy were consistent.

But they weren't, so instead of feeling relieved, Clark just felt sharply out of place. It was like he was stuck between being human-normal and...and, alien-normal, whatever that meant.

Sighing and getting to his feet, Clark automatically looked over at Leon's end of the room. It was too dark to see if his roommate was still here or gone. Moving quietly, Clark felt his way about the room, his hands briefly brushing on the flashlight he'd left on the desk. Picking it up, he then felt his way to the door, running along the wall and not wanting to turn on the light and wake up his roomie. Sleep was hard to come by in Landels, nightmares or not. He'd let Leon get some sleep.

Clark closed the door behind him, flicking the flashlight on. The light seemed even weaker than normal - probably had to do with the batteries - and he hoped it'd last through the night, if not long enough to get to Dr. Burrough's office. He'd had to break and enter more times than any teen should back in Smallville, but he'd told himself that it'd been for the right reasons; to get to the bottom of things, to learn the truth and protect people. Chloe did it herself from what he knew and if she knew what he did, she'd probably even approve. But this somehow felt different. He didn't think that his doctor was a criminal. If anyone was doing anything criminal, it'd probably be him.

Assuming he even could trace his way back to her office.

Keeping the flashlight angled toward the floor, Clark set off.

[To here]

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Momo glanced over at Hokuto, a tiny flush touching her cheeks at the girl's comment, but thankfully Archer answered the door then. She smiled at the tall man, hoping he wouldn't notice the minute blush. If she really thought about it, Archer was a bit what the shinigami thought Hitsugaya would look like when he got older... when they both got older. Archer was quite easy on the eyes, in her opinion.

"This is Sumeragi Hokuto," Momo introduced the girl next to her and then entered the room. Once Hokuto was inside as well, she continued. "Our mission tonight is to rescue the patients taken for experimentation in the second floor."

Hokuto smiled and bowed slightly; even if wasn't his culture, he should recognize the gesture. "I'm the back-up. It's nice to meet you."

Her eyes widened a little when Momo said what they were doing tonight; that was a surprise. She didn't know much about M-U, either. "What's the plan?" That... sounded especially dangerous, so she was going to be asking a little more than she usually did if they didn't have to hurry. For this, she wanted to be prepared.

After catching Hinamori's blush, Archer really wanted to know what they were talking about just now. Unfortunately, it wasn't the time or any of his business. What a shame.

"Good to know." Archer returned Hokuto's bow with a genuine smile. He was very familiar with the gesture from his homeland. "Nice to meet you too Hokuto-san. You can call me Archer."

He closed the door behind her and went to his chair.

"Please have a seat," he gestured to them both. There weren't too many places to sit, but the two beds should be more than enough to accommodate them. His attention swerved to the Vice Captain when she announced their mission. "Alright."

Smoothly freeing her katana from her belt and laying it across her lap, the shinigami sat upon the offered bed, small blush gone from her face as she focused on the mission. Her eyes moved between the two a moment before she explained the plan.

"There are six rooms our captors use for these experimentations in the eastern wing of the second floor. They pretty much lay right above where the women's block is. We will take the staircase closest to the women's wing up to the second floor and then head to the experimentation hallway nearby. It it shaped in an L and, in the past, it has been heavily guarded," Momo explained.

She pursed her lips together for a moment. "If wither of you were paying attention to Martin Landel's announcement this night, he stated that there wouldn't be any monsters in that hallway and anyone attempting to rescue would be barred by locked doors until the doctors were done with their tortures." She sighed. "I don't know if that is the truth or not, but we will still carry out our duty. If we are monster-free, we will attempt to get into the rooms and save those taken. If we are unfortunately barred, a very real possibility as I'm unsure if I have access to Hakufuku while under the limiter, we will wait until the locks are released. We will then take the patients down to the St Francis Aide Clinic at M35 where the healers are stationed."

Momo's face softened. "If the later is the case, our mission may seem futile, but no one deserves to be left alone in one of those rooms afterwards."

Hokuto nodded; she'd heard enough about the experiments so that even she was scared of being taken for them. "Aside from that, do we know anything about what to expect? I'd guess everyone's going to need healing, but... even if knowing what's probably being done to them doesn't help us, it's better to know at least something in advance."

She guessed it was too soon to know who had been taken, but hopefully they would find out when they met up with the other rescue teams. Even without much a dedicated information center at night, that kind of news would spread fast.

After hearing Hinamori's description, Archer checked his map and found the specified location. The Vice Captain's instructions were clear and precise, which made him think that she was a competent leader. Hopefully, he wouldn't have any problems following her command.

Hakufuku... White Crawl, is it some sort of spell from her world?

Healing wasn't exactly Archer's area of expertise, so he couldn't help there. Although there was that, but it was unlikely, he'd be able to pull it out.

"Can you tell us anything particular about the creatures guarding the hallway, or are they simply randomly selected?"

Archer wanted any possible info on the monsters, especially if they had any weakness. It was simple tactics, know your enemy. From his assessment, it appeared that only the Vice Captain had a real weapon, and Hokuto appeared unarmed.

((quick cover for the missed shovel discription. Forgive me, Clover.))

Archer must have missed seeing Hokuto rest her shovel against the closet right as they came into the room, but perhaps he really didn't consider a shovel a weapon. Momo really didn't consider it one either, but it was better than nothing and sometimes improvisation was the deciding factor in a battle.

"As far as the guardian monsters go, it varies from night to night. There have been golden golem-like monsters once - weak to lower back and their blood holds healing properties when drank. Other nights its been guarded by some of the intelligent monsters that roam the halls at night, such as Gilgamesh," the shinigami said, glancing over at Archer. "Other nights, when there aren't experimentations occurring, there have been more mundane creatures, like the giant spiders. I don't believe there's any way to predict what may or may not be waiting for us."

She next addressed Hokuto's questions. "Except for a few obvious external indicators such as fresh stitches and the like, we don't know what is done to the patients. As far as we've been able to tell, whatever is done to each patient taken is personally tailored. I can understand the wish to not want to talk about the traumatic things done to them," she said, her eyes upon Hokuto, knowing the girl would pick up on exactly what she meant by that. Both Hokuto and Momo had things they didn't like to talk about.

"If there are monsters, we will enter in a reverse triangle formation with myself and Archer-san at the head and Sumeragi-san behind us acting as support. Those that need immediate healing, I can stabilize but it is best to take them as quickly as we can to the Clinic where Sage-sensei and the other healers can attend to them. We will have to deal with other rescue groups, friends of those taken. This will work to our advantage if there aren't any guardian monsters, but if there is... there will be a lot of congestions."

[[Really, it's my own fault for not ever updating her profile!]]

Hokuto nodded; even if people had been asked for details, if they didn't want to say what had happened to them it was understandable. Healers probably wouldn't need to know what had been done, and she hadn't heard of anyone who was left still bleeding.

"There's no asking less experienced fighters to stand back, is there?" She could plan on obeying orders now, but if she heard that someone she was close to was in there--common sense might be tossed aside faster than regard for chain of command.

Archer had indeed missed Hokuto's shovel, but as he glanced towards his closet, lo and behold, it was there. He supposed a shovel was better than nothing.

"Well that makes things interesting," he replied to Hinamori's info. He recalled a matching description in the bestiary posted by Reinforce on the bulletin board; it seemed worth copying down.

Everyone had secrets, and Archer wasn't going to pry into these people's personal lives or trauma stories. He'd accomplish his mission that was all. No more, no less.

He didn't have any problems with Hinamori's formation, but... "Will we be coordinating with the other teams in a mass assault of waves, or are we acting independently?"

Judging from his map there were multiple tactics they could employ to increase their success, but Archer would only offer his opinion. He had no desire to be saddled with the job of leader; it was too stressful.

Hokuto's comment was a little foreboding. She seemed like a nice girl, but a little too emotional. He'd have to watch over her since it wouldn't look very good on his resume if his new team member died so soon after he joined.

It was well known by now amongst the patients that Arts & Crafts sent a rescue team each night there was experimentations, but not all patients appreciated the effort. "Most likely we will be acting independently," Momo answered. "As far as I've been informed by my superior, out of the other organized groups, we are the only ones sending a team in with this specific mission. That being the case, the others we may encounter also with intent on rescue, are those with emotional attachments to those in need of rescuing." She paused a moment as she thought.

"People in general tend to let their emotions guide them, humans more so than others. That being the case, the others coming to the rescue may not be keen on our help. So, we will carry out our mission as best we can and lend support to the others where needed. If there are creatures in the hall when other groups arrive, we will force the monsters to focus on us to allow the others to safely retrieve their friends."

"Our priority is the safe return of the patients taken. If an opportunity arises to get one out early, we will take it. The actions of the others will be unpredictable, Sumeragi-san, so we will have to adjust as things occur." She gave the girl a very level look. "I trust I will not have to watch you like a hawk as I did our fist few nights working together?"

"My previous experience wasn't entirely in competitions," Hokuto objected. She knew she was an amateur compared to the others, but she could at least keep herself safe. If things got too chaotic, not getting hurt would be her first priority; otherwise, she'd just be careful as she tried to protect anyone who needed it.

She'd also raised her eyebrows slightly at the "humans especially let their emotions guide them" line. A lot of the shinigami were calmer than most humans she knew, but not all of them--such as Momo. And she'd had a few instructors who had much in common with them in terms of disposition.

It was entirely possible she knew more non-humans than she thought she did, but that would only explain a lot with one or two of them...

Uh oh, Archer really hoped this wasn't going to turn into a "subtle" argument. What sane man would want to get in the crossfire of two women? Well, it wasn't that bad yet, but the fuel for it was there.

"Emotions are fine as long as they don't cloud your judgment," he interjected calmly. "Losing control will only get yourself or your friends hurt."

Which is something you would know about isn't that right, Mr. Counter Guardian?

Did Hokuto just say "competitions?" Man, he really hoped she had some real experience. Archer wasn't expecting her to have colorful life experiences like him; God he hoped her life was nothing like his. Although it would be enough if she could just handle herself accordingly in battle.

"Is that all for the briefing fukataicho?" he asked, eager to get going.

"Exactly," Momo said to Hokuto when she mentioned the competitions and gave the girl a small smile.

Getting up, the vice captain nodded to Archer. "Yes, that is all for the briefing. Before we start our mission, though, there is one thing I must do first. As shinigami, I have the ability to see the underlying spiritual structure a person's soul possesses, regardless of their origin. These spirit threads are as unique to one as fingerprints. Because there are creatures within this place controlled by our enemies that have the capacity to effect that structure and even impersonate another, I would like to take a look at your spirit threads, Archer-san."

She gave the man a reassuring smile. "This way, I'll be able to tell at a later time if you've been effected negatively by something or if someone is attempting to fool me with impersonation. I do not talk about what I see in a person's threads and I cannot affect or manipulate them at all." Definitely not here. "It is merely a safety precaution."

Hokuto smiled back; she did what she could, and it was good to hear that Momo knew she was trying.

Hearing the explanation of spirit threads again renewed her curiosity; in her onmyouji training, hadn't she heard a little about that?

...of course, that had been when she was in early elementary school, and if she was capable of doing this normally, she'd forgotten. But if nothing else, it was interesting--and the fact she couldn't do onmyoujitsu didn't matter. Related didn't mean the same, and it would be nice if she knew more than she thought she did.

Wait a sec, she wanted to look at the spiritual threads that composed his soul? Archer felt more than a bit of hesitation about this procedure but ultimately decided to go through with it.

"I understand," he calmly replied to the Vice Captain.

Being a spiritual being and magus, Archer intimately understood the soul. While he understood the value of what she was saying, it still didn't completely assuage his discomfort.

"Thank you," Momo said with a nod and a small smile. "This will only take a moment and you shouldn't feel anything."

Setting one hand on the headboard of the bed, the shinigami centered herself and let her senses expand and bring the spirit threads into view. Immediately, she started feeling her headache again, but she ignored it. She focused on the spirit threads of Archer that swirled around him and out, quite relieved to see that the only similarity between his and Gilgamesh's was that thread she'd come to uniquely associate with the Servants.

She reached a hand out a little to touch one of the threads, allowing it to move freely as it slid through her light grip. At this point, a small amount of blood started to drip from the vice captain's nose, but she paid it no heed. Just as she had with Saber, she looked at the end of that unique thread, nodding just a little, and then released it as well as her focus. Momo closed her eyes, her grip on the bed frame increasing a bit as the vertigo hit her. She drew in a deep breath and slowly blinked her eyes open.

"All done," she said, her voice quiet. She thought about telling Archer about Saber's disappearance, but she wasn't sure how much the knowledge would effect him during the mission. If there were monsters waiting for them, she needed him focused. There was a chance that knowing about Saber would only drive him to distraction. She would wait on distributing that knowledge for now.

"Sumeragi-san... a towel please," she requested, fingers moving to staunch the nosebleed.

Hokuto quickly handed over a few, just to be safe; she'd certainly grabbed enough to have some to spare.

So, all in all, they had no idea what to expect... Hokuto was glad she didn't scare as easily as she had in life, but she was still getting nervous. Being killed didn't frighten her, not really... but the risk of severe injury sure did.

Ah, well. It can't be helped.

She went and slung her shovel onto her back again; she was ready to move on when Momo was.

It didn't actually feel painful, but he still felt uncomfortable. After all, a stranger was touching his soul. The experience reminded him of how it felt when he opened his magic circuits for the first time. When she was done, his unease began to fade.

Archer was a little concerned when blood started to drip from Hinamori's nose, but he wasn't exactly squeamish. In his experience, he'd seen much worse than that.

He didn't want to patronize her by asking if she was okay because that might question her capacity. Hinamori seemed like a responsible person who understood her limits, at least more so than others, which is why he remained silent.

"Ready when you are Vice Captain," Archer said, waiting until she had seemed to recover before speaking. His words were a polite way of ignoring what he'd just seen.

At this point, Momo was very adept at staunching her nosebleeds. It didn't take long for the blood to stop and, after wiping her face with a second towel, she tossed them into the waste bin. She gave Archer a tiny smile. "Expect to see more random nosebleeds and the like if I need to use any of my abilities. This body was not made to contain reiatsu of my level," she explained.

The shinigami picked her sword up and headed to the door. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to use any kidou, but that was too much to ask for. Besides, it was still hard to remember her greatest strength was also her greatest liability while under Landel's limiter.

"Let's go," she said, leaving the room.

[to here] (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/337119.html)

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Nightshift 31: M81-90

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