damned_institute | Nightshift 33: Outside

"H-hey!" Yuffie had yelped, when Cloud had suddenly started walking away

Walking quickly, she caught up with the blond, fingers tightening on the handle of her flashlight. Damnit..! This place was not allowed to creep her out! It wasn't even supposed to register on her creep-o-dar.

She didn't want to have to start treating this place any more seriously than she already was, but it looked like she'd have to. Sucksville! "Got any bright ideas for how we're supposed to do that?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

Edited 2008-07-24 02:50 (UTC)

Cloud looked around their uneven surroundings. He kicked at the ground gently, moving some rocks about with a foot, and that gave him a pretty good indication of what kind of terrain they would be facing off again. He figured that they would be heading towards mountains or at least uneven ground.

"Stones and wood if we can," he murmured. He figured that they could strike out from larger portions of rock as landmarks. There would not be any purpose of investing too much time into the job, so he fell into a croutch and gathered larger stones together in the form of as tall a marker as possible. "If you trip of something, you will know we have been here before."

He rose and looked at her, noting how she held tightly to her flashlight. He reached out and patted her head. "Just like old times," he offered and continued to walk on to the East.

Yuffie watched him in silence for a moment, shifting her weight. Then, after taking her equipment out, she dropped the bag on the ground next to the pile of rocks. She'd come back for it later, but... if there even the slightest chance that she'd have to fight, she did not need anything slowing her down.

"Gah!" She ducked when Cloud patted on her on the head, then aimed a kick at his retreating ankle in retaliation.

Not bothering to see whether or not the kick connected, she scampered back to his side. "Sure thing, gramps. Y'know, it totally sounds like you're reminiscing about stuff that happened decades ago. Please don't go mushy on me. I'd hate to have to mop you up."

Lifting his foot, he avoided the kick with a small snort. He did not glance back as he continued onwards. The fog would make things difficult and he hoped that they would remember the way back to the Institute. As long as they did not get turned around, everything should work out just fine.

He shrugged his shoulders, not at all offended by being called 'gramps'. "I would not want to leave you alone out here in the fog-covered wilderness so I will spare going to pieces on you." He was already injured enough as it was, and he was hoping to avoid further injury tonight. "You might get lost after all."

They had managed to evade the beasts on the walls. He was almost beside himself with glee. It had been a long time since someone had entered his woods, and if they had managed to get this far, they were truly great sport, indeed.

He did not announce his presence by his own devices. Instead it was the baying of hounds, a cry far more unnatural than any mere mortal beast and filled with a demonic hunger, that warned them of his approach. They would be brought back to the institute. Whether living or dead, it mattered not to him. Only the thrill of the hunt drove him onwards.

[David]

"I could make it back blindfolded." She said, with an effort not to sound offended- it didn't work, and she was pretty sure she sounded like she wanted to kick him again. "On my own," she added as an afterthought.

The sound of baying hounds cut through the night air, and Yuffie's head shot up. It didn't sound natural, but the sound was there, and that was enough. She turned slightly in the direction of the sound, eyes narrowing. "Uh, I think we've got company."

Cloud's eyes narrowed at the sudden noise from the previously silent surroundings. He had faced off against dogs before, but he could not tell if these calls were different. He was hoping that they were the same as he had not had too much trouble defeating them. It helped that he was better equiped as well.

He turned himself around so that he was back-to-back with Yuffie, tilting his head this way and that in an attempt to locate the direction they would be attacked from. He drew his nailbat up defensively and waited patiently. "Show me your stuff, Kisaragi."

The calling of the hounds grew louder and louder, their voices echoing off the trees and the wall of the institute, until at last two of them, huge demonic dogs, leaped from the foliage, both aiming to bring Cloud down in unison. One jumped high to bowl him over while the other bit at his ankle to drag him to the ground.

But the sounds from the woods did not stop. A sound of a galloping steed could be heard not far behind.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours!" Yuffie retorted, with a devil-may-care grin twitching across her lips and a twinkle in her eyes.

She was ready for the dogs, when they appeared: they looked hideous, but to the ninja, they were just another monster. Just like old times, back home in the Gaian wilderness.

Hoping that Cloud would be able to defend himself from the mutt jumping at him- he had a nailbat, after-all!- she span to the side and attempted to ram the lawn mower blade through the ankle biting mutt’s throat; years of playing throw-and-catch with weapons almost as big as herself had honed her upper body strength considerably, and the spin would add a little momentum.

"I will not bother to hold back then," Cloud murmured as his eyes shifted to where it seemed like the greatest sound was coming from. He shifted his weight as two rather large hounds seemed to slide form the fog in his direction.

Twisting around, he pushed off the ground to face the savage animal coming for his midsection head-on. He left his place where his legs were under attack and swung his nailbat around other large dog aiming for its jaws. They looked worse as they closed the distance, but he was going to put his new-found joy to the test on them.

He swung a leg up in an attempt to slam it into the dog's midsection to shove it to the side instead of having its considerable weight slam into him.

The bat connected with the dog squarely on the jaws, the nail driving into its flesh as it had no clear way to dodge the attack. His knee allowed him to partially deflect the weight of the incoming dog, though not all of it as it still brought a decent amount of forward momentum with it.

The second dog was quick, ducking back immediately as it missed Cloud's ankles, simultaneously dodging Yuffie's throat-aimed swing.

It was just as that moment that he burst from the woods. He stood an impressive height, easily over six feet and possibly reaching seven, a barbarian of a man, less human and more monstrous. He was unarmed, but from the looks of him alone it was clear that was not much of a hindrance.

He remained upon the skeletal steed for the time being as he charged Yuffie, aiming to trample her underfoot as it rode by.

Meanwhile, the two hounds began to circle cloud, the injured one bleeding freely from its cheek. They had lost the element of surprise and found their foe to be more combat worthy than expected, and so they moved cautiously, not with the reckless abandon from before.

The dog had been quick, but Yuffie was quick as well. She used a handspring to get herself out of the way; as tempted as she was to try knocking the skeletal horse to pieces or knock the rider right off its bony back, she was more concerned with the dogs circling Cloud.

"Just like old times, huh?" She called. To keep moving was essential when she didn't have any long-ranged weapons. With this in mind, once she came out of the handspring she immediately span on heel, launching a vicious kick at the face of the already wounded dog.

Feeling his bat connect, Cloud frowned as the wood seemed the shudder with the assault. It was not the most well-made baseball bat, but it would have to do with the damage that it could inflict. The dog's weight helped to force him back to the ground.

His attention shifted to the impressive monsterous man that emerged next. Clenching his hand around the baseball bat tighter, he reached back with his other hand and withdrew the small short sword that he carried along with him.

Twirling the blade over his hand, he kept one posed on the dog circling as he moved in on the one he had already hit with his bat. He swung hard and accurately at the dog's visible side, hoping to break a few ribs.

"You cannot say this is not," he called back to Yuffie. "Odds are always stacked against us, Yuffie."

As he rode past the dodging Yuffie, the beast of a man pushed himself off the horse, landing with a loud thud that seemed to make the very trees shake from the force of his landing. With a loud inhumane roar he charged after Yuffie, while his steed turned around to charge at Cloud.

Meanwhile, the wounded dog jumped back and out of the way of Cloud's attack, barely avoiding the swing. Unfortunately it didn't see Yuffie's kick coming, and her foot connected with the already unpleasant wounded cheek, sending the dog rolling several times. The other perfectly healthy hound snapped at Yuffie's ankles, more as a diversion to distract her from the huge gladiator who charged at her and prevent her escape than to do any actual damage.

Keep moving, she told herself, over and over again. Keep moving, keep moving, keep moving, Kisaragi! Yuffie called a quick, distracted reply to Cloud: "Tell me about it!"

The man hitting the ground set off what felt like a miniature earthquake, and Yuffie was never more glad of her good sense of balance; it allowed her to keep her feet through the tremors, but the dog snapping at her ankles was proving to be a bit more of a problem.

And the man was charging at her.

Yuffie acted on the first thought that sprung into her racing mind- to use the mutt as a stepping stone to get the hell out of the way. She aimed a hard kick to the dog’s muzzle before she sprang upwards.

She'd only be on the dog's back for a split second before launching herself off and into a fresh set of handsprings. Assuming that her plan worked, that was.

Cloud drew back as his attack missed the dog, feeling the ground tremble as that mountain of a man leapt from the horse. He turned to regard who the monster was coming for and frowned when it appeared that he would be going for Yuffie.

He used the situation to his advantage as he dove away from the bony hooves that had intended to trample him. He drew himself up to his full - yet quite meager height when compared to the monsterous man - and set himself for a charge as he drew all the energy from his muscles towards his nailbait.

Using Yuffie's escaping body as a screen against the monster, Cloud charged and leapt into the air that Yuffie had just vacated, his nailbait gripped two-handed behind his head as green energy surrounded it. He brought down his 'Braver' over-head slash into the space where he could only hope the monster would occupy.

Yuffie's jump-kick landed squarely on the hound's back, forcing it onto its stomach as she cartwheeled away from the gladiator. Cloud's attack caught it by surprise, the nail digging in deep into its shoulder, causing blood to flow freely down his chest; however, it didn't seem to phase the huntsman for even a second as the goliath screamed, grabbing at the bat and aiming to swing it, with Cloud ill attached, into a nearby tree.

Meanwhile the skeletal horse turned around and charged at Yuffie once again, as the wounded dog righted itself and charged after her as well, its demonic howls somewhat garbled now that its cheek was so torn up and blood was in its mouth, making the sound even worse somehow.

That goddamn mutt just wasn't given up! And, by the looks (and sounds) of things, the skeletal horse wasn't either.

Yuffie felt a grin spreading across her face, despite the complete suckiness of the situation at hand. She'd always loved battle, and there was a reason one of her Limit Break techniques was known as 'Bloodfest'. The bit of bloodlust, coupled with her natural drive, had been the reason she'd defeated the Five Mighty Gods at age sixteen.

But the horse was a skeleton. How the hell did you hurt a skeleton? They didn't have flesh, didn't have blood, or organs or anything.

... Bones.

Yuffie pulled out of the handsprings but continued to run, thinking furiously. If she could dislodge the bones, or at least some of them, she'd have an advantage. And, not to mention, she needed to find some way of dealing with the dog.

The ninja made a dash for a nearby tree. Using the speed she'd already built up, she ran a little ways up the trunk and jumped for the first branch that was high enough to keep out of reach, hauling herself up. If the horse smashed into the tree and knocked some of it's own bones out, awesome.

If it didn't, she could always try jumping down onto it's back.

Cloud felt the impact of his attack as it slammed into the giant's shoulder, but he was surprised as the baseball bat shattered upon impact. A spray of wood and screws flew passed him as he continued to drive his weight and momentum into the huntsman. The best he managed to get was a scream from the much larger barbarian, but he could not tell if it was pain or rage.

He released his hold on what was left of his baseball bat as it was seized, jerking to one side as his feet touched down on the ground. His knees almost buckled as a bout of weakness gripped him, but he forced himself to stay upright. He drew his short sword again and moved in to impale the huntsman.

This was becoming a desperate fight. Could they even win as they were?

The horse did not crash into the tree, but instead moved around the tree. Still, it was easy enough for Yuffie to land on its back. An unholy whinny escaped from the horse's nonexistant throat, and the horse reared back on its hind-legs in an effort to get her off. The two dogs now circled around the horse, waiting for the ninja to fall off so they could pounce on her.

Meanwhile, the huntsman moved to the side to avoid impaling, although the blade still cut a deep scratch along his side, causing a trickle of blood to move further down along his side and down his leg. He roared again and reached for Cloud, aiming to grab a hold of the man's shoulder with one hand and punch him in the face with the other.

"Holy crap!" Yuffie yelped, grabbing at the bones of the horses neck and clinging on for dear life. The bones were poking at her all over, and it was hella uncomfortable, but she could ignore it; the building nausea was kind of distracting like that.

The blade that she was still holding dug uncomfortably into her hands, and she gritted her teeth momentarily. It stung. But it was enough to keep her focused.

"Cloud!" She hollered, gagging slightly at the horse's wild movements. "St-- urk!- stop getting your ass handed to you!" It was as close to 'can we run away now?' as she could bring herself to say.

Maybe this hadn't been such a bright idea.

Cloud happened a glance to see how Yuffie was holding up, only to find her surrounded and up a tree. He wondered how easy it would be to clear a path, but then again, he did not need to really worry when she ended up on the bone horse's back. She did not seem happy in the least.

His distraction cost him as he felt a large hand close over his shoulder, and he turned back in time to suddenly duck his head to avoid having it knocked right off his shoulders. He felt the graze of the big monster's hand on the top of his head but righted himself as he drew his sword back and swung it upwards, hoping to cause more body injury to the huge barbarian.

This was futile. They were outnumbered, and even Yuffie was calling for retreat. He reached back into his bag of goods and pulled out his lawn mower blade, throwing the blade at one of the circling dogs in hopes of attracting their attention.

"Run West," he called. "I will cover your path. Just get yourself out of here."

Cloud's flung blade drew the attention of the two dogs, though the steed continued to buck like a bronco in efforts to dislodge the nuisance from its back. Meanwhile Cloud's blade sunk a few inches into the gladiator's arm, causing him not to drop the warrior but instead to scream loudly, squeeze down harshly onto the shoulder it retained a grip on, and then fling him towards a tree. The dogs charged towards him then, once again suggesting chase with their unnatural howls.

"If you don't follow me, I'm coming back and kicking your ass myself!" Yuffie snapped.

She would run. Had to get out of there, or the horse was gonna be covered in puke, and that would be absolutely gross. It went without saying that it would leave her in a rather, uh, sticky situation.

The next time the horse bucked, Yuffie was ready: using the buck as a makeshift springboard, she leaped into the air, tucking her arms and legs close to her body. She landed plenty far enough away from the horse to avoid its flailing limbs, and, having rolled to cushion her fall, immediately sprang to her feet and ran west as fast as she could.

Damnit, if Cloud didn't follow her..!

Edited 2008-07-30 21:45 (UTC)

Wincing as he felt the grip on his shoulder increase, Cloud tried to twist out of the hold without success. Damn this guy was strong! He heard Yuffie's words, but he was more than willing to retreat right now. This was getting to be overwhelming, and they were no closer to finishing their battle then with the monster had leapt from his horse in the first place.

"Just go..." he called back before a small grunt left him as he was flung through the air. He twisted as he flew, spying the dogs coming after him and the weapon that he had abandoned behind on the ground. Would it be worth retrieving?

He slammed into the tree less gracefully than he normally would, feeling the bark etching into his back as he slid down to his feet. He would probably bruise there was well, but he had to get away from the charging mutts that seemed intent to bite his legs off. He swung his bloody sword at the closest one and tried to charge passed them, leaping into a roll to snatch up his lawn mower blade.

Yuffie was gone through the fog, leaving him fighting his way after her. He hoped these things could not see through the fog.

Cloud managed to slide between the charging dogs and retrieve his blade. He had a head start as the dogs turned around before they started to pursue, time enough for him to lose himself in the fog. The skeletal steed cantered back to the goliath, who hopped on and cried his outrage as his prey eluded them.

The last thing they heard before night once again changed to day as the baying of the hounds as they followed the trail of the two heroes.

[From here. (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/408710.html?thread=32968838#t32968838)]

The Star Dragon Sword skidded down the slop as he landed. Fortunately his small form missed all of the larger and more dangerous rocks in the area, and after pushing what he could out of the way, the Night Rune called up to his young companion.

“It is safe to follow.” He called out and stepped away to allow Kagura to land.

She'd heard it all before. Of all the zodiacs, Hatori seemed like he ought to be one of the most trustworthy. He was always so... mature and seemed to think so logically. That's why it'd been such a shock to hear that same logical voice tell her that he'd no idea who she was.

With a sigh she leaped down, landing gracefully on her feet near Star Dragon Sword. The outside didn't seem much more inviting than the inside, but she was hoping they'd be able to just make a run for it in one direction. They were bound to run into something or someone who could help them, weren't they?

"Okay, I guess... we just keep going, right? If we're all the way out here, then... then they can't just capture us when the morning comes. We should be okay."

“Then we should put as much distance as possible.” Checking Kagura over to make certain the young woman was without injury, the Star Dragon Sword nodded to her suggestions before looking around. He could see the forest off in the distance. They didn’t pass by one when they first went to the town either. Turing his gaze over the large area, his eyes spotted what appeared to be odd formations poking up in the distance. Squinting his eyes to get a better look, the Night Rune pointed over towards the south east.

“There appear to be buildings in that direction.” Casting his female companion a quick glance, the Night Rune smirked as he silently gestured for her to follow. “I do hope you can keep up.” He said, before running off in the direction of the buildings in the distance.

She had to say she agreed. While leaving her friends behind left her feeling some regret, she'd try to come back for them, if she was able. And others... like Bridget... well... he wanted to stay. He didn't want anything more to do with her so far as she could tell. It hurt, but she pressed onward.

Kagura followed the sword's gaze and was relieved to see that there was in fact a group of buildings in the distance. She needed no further urging. Her feet pounded loudly behind the sword, as though it was a stampede that followed him, rather than one tiny girl.

The racket the girl was making was loud enough to wake the dead. He noted while making a quick dash over towards where the buildings were up ahead. Who would have thought such a small person could make so much noise when they moved? He’s heard quieter armies on the battlefield.

She definitely wasn’t one for stealth.

[To here. (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/414854.html)]

Nightshift 33: Outside - East of the Institute

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