Nightshift 33: The Grand Ballroom

[idolism]

_{[from here]}

Before they’d even reached the bottom of the stairs, Aidou heard the sound of trickling water. And once he stepped onto the black marble floor, it was oddly the first thing he focused on. Fountains… His gaze trailed them up, to the seemingly infinite expanse of ceiling.

“Heh, it really is a ballroom,” thought the noble out loud, tone half-amused.

It was a common practice for vampire families, his included, to stage some of their events in buildings that appeared to be abandoned and near to falling apart. Places nobody wanted, would never think to enter and explore. If one did, they’d find the lower levels transformed into grand rooms much like this, fit for the most respected nobility to gather. To find such a place here… well, the vampire didn’t find himself all that surprised. Gaudy architecture, though. That was the least impressive thing.

His heels clicked along the smooth floor as he walked. A plain, black door, two wooden doors, and one door of white marble… He thought back to what he’d read on the bulletin board, and consequently gleaned as to what could lie behind them, absently approaching the closest door and examining the carvings. And, of course, that was when the glint of candlelight on metal drew his eye, to the opposite end of the hall where a hulking form stood sentient. He turned his head fully, blinking. Was that...?

The vampire let out a groan. "Not that thing," he complained lowly, looking over at the others before raising his voice slightly. "Hurry up. There's a guard dog down here too."

Comments

[thebloodyacacia.livejournal.com]

The intricacy of the grand ballroom and the intrigue of the doors may have been a major distraction, as at the far end of the ballroom, a figure stood, sword gripped tight in its right hand and helmet tilted toward the room's first occupant.

He didn't move yet. His sword lay still at his side, a slight trail left in the stone below from the blade.

[arrogantflame.livejournal.com]

As Wolfram reluctantly allowed 'John' to help him down the stairway, actually not stumbling too badly, he tensed as they made it to the bottom, clutching his items tightly again. He could feel that the room was big and open judging by both Aidou's comment and the way the air moved and sounded around them. He kept opening his eyes in brief intervals, but the most he could make out still were the giant blurry shapes of his companions.

"S-Something else?" he whispered. Whatever it was, he couldn't tell at all, and he hated feeling so very defenseless like this.

[i-slay-giants.livejournal.com]

Of course, Aidou didn't share exactly what it was he saw. Jack wasn't in the mood for cryptic bullshit--he'd gotten enough of that from Fabletown.

"And what is it you see?" He said dryly.

[idolism]

"You didn't get anything in your eyes, did you?" Aidou inquired. He pointed at the giant thing with the metal pylon in its head, where it was ridiculously obvious. "It's right there. The pyramided head thing." He'd seen it once before, but had never engaged it--like the thing in the kitchen, it wasn't something the noble wanted to fool around with on account of it being disgusting. But this thing probably wouldn't even be able to fit inside the kitchen, given the fact that it was much taller and broader.

A giant with a club and a penchant for moving faster than its bulk would seemingly allow.

And considering how often it was mentioned on the bulletin board, Aidou thought it had to be one of Landel's veterans. He assumed Jack would recognize what he meant, even if Wolfram didn't. The kid was new and had his vision impaired. Jack really had no excuse.

[thebloodyacacia.livejournal.com]

As if he heard Aidou talking about him, saw the motions toward him, Pyramid Head lurched forward. His sword screeeeched forward as he slowly came closer.

Slowly, of course, because the sword was so huge, so heavy. His movements were jerky, and he left behind a trail of broken, scratched marble thanks to the blade. Still, he was headed straight for them.

[arrogantflame.livejournal.com]

The scratching of metal on stone was something that Wolfram could definitely hear, and something about the sound made him shiver deeply. Despite the fact that he could barely see, he was overwhelmed with the feeling that this pyramid-thing might not be something they should be messing with, whatever Aidou had meant by that. Not that the thing in the kitchen was any better.

"Can we out-run it?" Wolfram didn't wait for an answer, half pulling out of the hold on his arm and trying to walk in the direction opposite of where the sound was coming from. His other senses had started getting sharper in response to the lack of sight, but that didn't mean he trusted them enough to fight.

[traitors-smile.livejournal.com]

[[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/403830.html?thread=32502390#t32530294)]]

Gin waited for Ran to come through before the started descending the staircase. The cool air made the new cut on his back sting, but not so much as it had in the freezer. Though his shirt and his bandages had offered some protection and managed to keep the cut from being too deep, he wasn't thrilled about so obvious an injury.

He pulled his flashlight from his sleeve, tucking the sword into the waist of his hakama. They weren't all the way down the stairs just yet, but he didn't want to be taken by surprise.

[fuyunohanabi.livejournal.com]

Rangiku slipped down the hole quickly after Gin, turning to move the tile back into place as best she could from beneath it. It was when she turned that she saw the gash on the back of Gin's robes and she reached out to touch his shoulder. "How badly did it get you?" she asked seriously. It looked bad, but it was difficult to tell. "And you won't need the torch yet. There are candles in the wall when you get further down."

[traitors-smile.livejournal.com]

At least it would save how long the light lasted. He shrugged and slipped the device back into his sleeve. Odd that this was the only place that was lit at night.

"Can't very well see it, but I don't think it's more n' a scratch. M' more upset about the clothes. They jus' don't last like they used to," he said lightly as he began walking down the staircase. Sure enough, there was light in the distance. If she was really that worried, they could take a look where they could actually see.

[thebloodyacacia.livejournal.com]

He was close enough to the stairway that there was no chance anybody coming down the stairs would be able to get by without facing him. Pyramid Head wasn't moving now - he'd stopped after some fruitless searching and (seeing? feeling?) sensing nothing.

But now there were more people coming. Though he remained mostly still, the fingers on his free hand twitched in what might have been anticipation.

His blade was ready.

[fuyunohanabi.livejournal.com]

"If we can, maybe we should take some more of the candles," Rangiku suggested. "I took a good few the other night, but didn't bring them with me, but if we take some, we can keep a couple lit and just switch between them as they run out." Although, if they were going to use candles when they came down here, next time she might think about bringing the cup that the juice came in for dinner to hold them.

She frowned slightly at his back, not liking that he was injured and she probably couldn't manage another spell to deal with it if it did turn out to be bad.

[blurred-divide.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/403830.html?thread=32505974#t32505974)]

Angel lead the way down the stairs slowly, making sure Anya could still keep her weight on him if she needed and that Willow was still following. There could very well be something else down here, too, but he was really hoping not. Something told him there would be a guest to greet them, though. He supposed he could always send Anya and Willow back up into the fridge if it came down to that--but it wasn't that much safer up there, either.

He paused just at the bottom of the stairs, ready to move if anything came out at them. But a part of his attention couldn't help but be caught by the sight that greeted him.

...This was what everybody kept referring to as the basement? Not exactly what came to mind when he thought of that word.

[wishescankill.livejournal.com]

Anya was a little startled at the fact that the basement was not oozing green slime, full of strange machinery, and home to a cackling old man and a large pile of dead bodies. It looked like it belonged in a palace, not in the basement of some deranged hell dimension.

"At least there's no Klingons," she pointed out optimistically. Across the room, she noticed an ornately carved door. "Come on," she urged again, tugging Angel in that direction and hoping Willow would follow.

[light-wicca.livejournal.com]

Willow was more interested in the large, tall room they found themselves in than any ornately carved doors around the sides. She walked slowly into the center, staring up at the tall domed ceiling. "How does this fit?" she asked softly, frowning in confusion. All the laws of physics said this giant, dizzyingly tall room shouldn't exist considering the amount of time it took to walk down the stairs. Not to mention such a beautifully designed room was out-of-place to begin with.

A place that didn't have to follow the laws of physics. That pointed more towards the alternate dimension theory than anything else. Willow slowly followed the other two, her attention still fixed on the brilliant silver chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

[blurred-divide.livejournal.com]

Angel caught Anya's arm, holding her back before she could go too far. They definitely weren't alone. He shushed them both, relinquishing Anya to Willow while he took a step further into the ballroom.

And stopped abruptly. He'd come across a lot of things in his time. This wasn't one of them. He didn't even know how to describe it. Except large. The two patients facing off from it didn't escape his notice, either.

Bookended by two giant demons. Great.

"Stay back," he said. As long as their escape route back up to the fridge remained unblocked, they'd be okay. Probably.

[heading up here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/408382.html?thread=32554302#t32554302)]

[jurisfictional.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/403830.html?thread=32754294#t32754294)]

This wasn't Thursday's first excursion into the basement, but the beauty of it still took her breath away for a brief moment. Tonight, she supposed, they'd try one of the entrances to the right and left of the ballroom. One of them was bound to lead somewhere interesting.

Her train of thought halted as she caught sight of the creature standing near the center of the ballroom. Its profile, described so many times on the Bulletin Board, was absolutely unmistakable.

"Oh, fuck," she muttered. How many creatures did Landel plan on throwing at them tonight, anyway?

[akarusa.livejournal.com]

Hokuto was so surprised to step into a ballroom that she just stopped and stared. It was beautiful, something straight out of a movie--but what was it doing here? She didn't have much time to wonder, though, because scant seconds later she realized they weren't alone and turned to see who else was in here...

"If you see something with a triangle for a head, run."

Hokuto froze, eyes fixed on one of the monsters here she'd hoped to never see. All she knew about this thing was that it was invulnerable or close to it, and that was more than enough. Breath already coming quicker, she wondered, Okay, now what?

[spirit-forge.livejournal.com]

Since he'd been down here before, the wonder of the ballroom had already worn off on him. Unfortunately, there seemed to be a new addition to the decor, an unfriendly looking creature with a triangular hat and huge-ass blade, creating cracks in the floor. Just by appearances alone, Archer could tell this wasn't an enemy he wanted to mess with, at least for now, in his current state. Fortunately, it appeared that his comrades seemed to share the same opinion as him.

"Door's over there. Let's go." With his free hand, he motioned towards the western door, opposite the direction he'd gone last night. The monster wasn't moving towards them yet, and while it would be nice if the creature stayed still like a statue, Archer wasn't really holding out for that hope. Tightening his grip around his sword, he edged towards the door, while keeping an eye on the dangerous monster.

[jurisfictional.livejournal.com]

Thursday nodded, choosing to stay with her back to the wall and circle around the ballroom without having to get any closer to the triangle-headed thing. She hadn't gone through the door Archer was indicating before - here was to hoping nothing worse lay behind it.

[akarusa.livejournal.com]

Hokuto had heard very little about the basement, and now she was panicked enough so she couldn't remember any of it. She could see the door, but it seemed so far away that it really didn't do her much good.

And when we get that far, what else will we find waiting for us? she wondered, shivering. She had nothing left in her stomach, but she still really, really didn't feel well.

[rappigs.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/403830.html?thread=32960374#t32960374)]

It really was kind of cool, wasn't it? How the starched, creepy hallways of the rest of the Institute opened up to this. The room was still creepy as hell, but in a different way. Had this room been used years ago to hold grand galas? To Peony, the air, though there was more of it down here, seemed stagnant, as if any dancing that would be done here would be the chilling dance of death.

Peony spread his arms wide as he reached the bottom of the stairs, and immediately wished he hadn't. He grinned through the pain. "Welcome to the basement," he said, cheerfully as possible. "Let's get moving."

He'd be moving even faster if he actually saw what was down here...

[visualize.livejournal.com]

Jade didn't bother holding back a loud sigh as Peony continued on his way without waiting for any kind of protest, following the blond down the stairs and took in the sights the new area had to offer with a slight smile.

"Really, Peony, I can hear your bones rattling from here," The colonel hummed as he took a step forward and adjusted his glasses, all the while holding tightly onto his new makeshift weapon. If the kitchen had been any indication of what was in store for them, then he simply couldn't risk getting caught in another surprise attack. His last arte had already drained a considerable amount of his energy, and he knew he had to conserve what was left in case of an emergency.

[nobleman]

Guy had to admit he was surprised by how quickly the others were moving, figuring that taking a breather might have been a good idea after what they had just been through. Then again, he was the one who was probably the most injured, so he had to make sure he kept up with everyone else.

Haseo had mentioned water, though, which sounded like the perfect thing to alleviate the burning sensation that was spreading down his side. Though he was distracted by the pain when he reached the bottom of the stairs and was met by a grandiose ballroom.

He whistled under his breath, trying to squint and see how large the room really was. It looked like there were some light sources, and he was pretty sure they weren't alone, but right now the fountains were what he was mainly focused on.

He gravitated to one, dipping his makeshift bandages in them and then pressing the wet cloth against his side. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh of relief. That felt a lot better.

[multiweapon.livejournal.com]

Proceeding with a couple of injured party members wasn't an idea Haseo was too thrilled about, but they knew their limitations better than he did.

While following the others into the main area, he spoke of the night before in case they didn't get filled in. "We tried those two doors over there yesterday. Neither one of them would budge." Two doors indicated on the ends of the ballroom were indicated with a point in their direction. Hopefully this time one of the doors would actually open now that they had an expert with them. Though now that he thought about it.. he wasn't sure what this person was supposed to be an expert on; Peony had just said he wanted to bring along an "expert".

They didn't exactly get much time to mess with the mysterious entrance night before, morning had come before they had much of a chance. The rogue strode up to one of the locked doors in order to get a better look at it; It just looked like.. a door. "So..." He looked back at the group. "Which one of you is supposed to be good at this sort of thing?"

[rappigs.livejournal.com]

Doing his best to run after Haseo, Peony grinned back at Jade. "Oh, come on. Peony the Man isn't afraid of anything!" Which wasn't true at all. He was actually pretty shaken from the encounter with the monster not five minutes ago. So was his shoulder, which hurt somethin' fierce.

Haseo was already approaching the door they'd tried yesterday! The west one. Ah, now they could try it! Yessss. But where was Guy? He'd disappeared somewhere along the way. "Gailardia is, actually. He's a fontech expert and can figure out just about everything. Jade isn't good at anything," he explained to Haseo.

Peony looked around. "Gailaaardia!" Oh, there he was! Next to the fountain. Ah, what was he doing? Smiling, but Peony couldn't tell much else. "Come on! Fix the door for us, hurry!"