damned_institute | [Nightshift 34] Outside the Institute (South)

Luxord smiled once more as his arm went to wrap around the General's. It was a nice night, but why waste it on trudging through muck and insects that would surely be found in the forest?

"I'm afraid we may be ill suited to travel through such dense woods; perhaps the path we're on is suitable enough." Really, he knew how walking through a forest always ended: someone would trip and sprain their ankle, the other would have to carry them, and they'd both be torn apart by bears. He did not wish to spend his night that way, thank you very much.

"Perhaps," she agreed after a moment. Strange that nothing had chosen to find them, Celes felt that the tiny bit of providence was in their favor tonight. Behind them, there were people that had followed them out. She patted his hand, though hers was cool to the touch.

"We should hurry along," the General tipped her head back towards. Even a green knight knew that people that were loud would attract the monsters and as much as she loved her new shiny little knife, she didn't want to break it in so early. There was still so much time. "And put some distance between us and the Institute; though, from what I read, we'll only end up back in bed in the morning."

He would have been bothered by her hands, but the Organization's annual check-ups left him used to less than warm skin on his. It was as if Vexen's chance for revenge (the Gambler was never particularly kind to IV) came only once a year, and it came swift and painfully. No one could complain about a cold stethoscope until dealing with Mr. Ice King.

Yes. He simply moved his free hand to cover hers, stroking her skin gently with his thumb.

As for the lack of demons pursuing them... Luxord would attribute that to Lady Luck. It seemed she was truly beginning to favor him once again. He still agreed with Celes and her assessment, however. "I suppose it matters not where we are in the morning so long as we share this night in peace. Would you like to lead, my lady?"

"Certainly," when wouldn't she lead? She had only acquiesced to two men in her life - Gestahl and Bannon. Her hands were getting only a fraction warmer in his, a fact Celes had long ago attributed to Shiva's influence in her veins. Shiva and countless other Espers that had been harvested the name of Science and Magical Research.

"We'll continue along, I think," the General decided, pursing her lips in thought. "Master Luxord, just what was it you did in your original home?" Celes asked politely. She realized that despite their bond to Noah, Celes knew very little about her companion.

Well, that was out of the blue. The Nobody cast her a questioning look as they continued their walk, but his grin remained. "It is a long story," he said. "Are you sure you wish to hear it?"

Celes shrugged and motioned out to the road ahead of them. "We've plenty of road and plenty of time. If you're willing to tell it, I'll be very much pleased to listen." How long had it been since someone told her a story, anyway?

If she was so inclined, then... He shrugged his shoulders and, while his smile did not leave him, his eyes dulled in brightness as he began to explain. "I belonged to a special group known as Organization XIII. There are such beings in the universe I hailed from that could quite literally steal the heart out of a man and all the emotions therein, leaving nothing behind. However," he paused and drew Celes' hand to his chest, pressing it there, "sometimes the odds will skew. Anyone with a strong enough heart can cling to the remains of their body, though most no longer appear human. And those that do," his smile turned grim, "hardly resemble what they used to.

"They call us Nobodies, and we are not meant to exist. Organization XIII was composed of those who were strong enough to remain human in appearance and held enough power to be of use. We worked to return to us what had been lost. We were, unfortunately, disbanded in a particularly gruesome manner." Bludgeoned to death, cut in half, self-destruction... Thus was the fate of their poor members.

All because of some idiotic boy with a key.

He released Celes' hand after a moment, then smiled once again. "And of you, dear?"

"In comparison, my story isn't that interesting," Celes responded quietly. She had noticed the cooling of emotion in Luxord, and something in it set off alarms. "But, as you've already shared yours..." Celes returned her hand to his arm. "My parents either died in the war or simply chose to abandon me in the streets of Vector when I was a toddler. At the time, they were already developing the technology to reintroduce magic into our world and to lead the whole planet into an era of peace and prosperity. At least, that what the children of the Empire are told. Doctor Cid found me and took me in, but not without price, I suppose. I was his second experiment, and next to the Witch," Celes's smile twitched a fraction with amusement. "I was the most successful."

She looked up at the moon and wondered where the grandfatherly scientist was now. Safe, she hoped. "I don't remember much, lots of experimentation was done while I slept, but the benefits... the benefits were worth the price. I had achieved the production of magic without having to resort to Magitek armor. After that came my military training and it wasn't long before I had achieved the rank of General in the army. The first woman, and likely the only if the Returners have their choice."

Celes shrugged, in this place her rank didn't matter. "There were some... difficulties, before I came here. But then I was found by one of the Returners and chose to travel with them, and while they searched for the Witch... we learned that we needed an airship to travel to her destination, so I was, ha ha, volunteered to take the place of an opera singer. Soon after, I had to allow myself to be kidnapped, but I woke up here." Celes frowned. "It seems like an awfully strange place to end a story, doesn't it? Like it's only half-finished."

And now there was another sense of triumph. First out the building's door and now past the gate of its imprisoning wall. Rhode honestly could not make sense of why she simply had not attempted to walk of this place sooner. "It's pretty dark, but there's a road so if we follow it, maybe we'll get somewhere," she said, then looked up at Rainier, "There's a town they took us to a few days ago that I think is that way."

Rhode honestly did not care for which direction they went in. As long as it was away from this place, it would probably be good. Maybe the further away she got, the more her powers would come back. This place couldn't have that big of a restrictive reach, right?

Rainier let the girl drag him outside, raising his eyebrows in surprise when there was no shield, no barrier to stop them stepping outside the gates and onto the road, apparently outside the grounds of that place. That was more than a little surprising considering Daemon and Lucivar had seemed so adamant that escape was difficult if not impossible.

He reached for his power as a test, wanting to shield if he could, but found himself once again drawn up short, unable to even access the abyss. Obviously whatever malign influence this place had, it extended further than the walls.

"A town would be a good destination for now, I think," he agreed as they continued walking. They could perhaps find more information, or at least a location, not that it would do much good if they were in some other world far removed from their own.

It wasn't often that an aquila saw the patients trying to escape this way. As it watched from the roof, the rotting bird fluttered its half-dead wings and tasted the air.

One tainted, the other untouched. It would have been preferable if both were pure, but it wasn't going to avoid them simply because of that.

It spread its wings before taking off into the air, managing to flap them and maneuver rather well despite the fact that it looked to be in serious disrepair. None of that seemed to matter here.

It let out a warning caw, if only because it liked to watch them try to run before it swept down for the kill.

"Wonder how far away it is..." Rhode hummed a little in thought, continuing the feigned innocence for the sake of the man behind, but her thoughts came to a momentary halt when an inhuman sound came from behind. Her walking stopped as well and she twirled back, first looking at the road, then looking upwards. It was kind of dark, but since the moon was shining the creature in the air was not as difficult to see. For someone who'd not seen it before it might have been hard to identify, but Rhode remembered the annoying Akuma-like things from before.

"There, that's one of those birds," she pointed up, then looked to Rainier, "Like I was talking about." She didn't think to run. Why should she? She knew how animals of prey worked, technically being one herself, and since there was more meat on Rainier, the bird was sure to go for him first. Probably. That's how she would have done it. The bigger ones were more fun anyway since they struggled.

Rainier stopped mid-step when he heard the inhuman sound and then turned quickly, putting himself in between Rhode and the direction the call had come from. "Mother Night!" he said, staring at the creature which came towards them. He grabbed Rhode's hand and started pulling her quickly towards the edge of the road where the trees might give them a little more protection. They wouldn't stand out quite so much there.

Their attempt to hide was certainly amusing, but the aquila relied much more on its sense of smell than sight. That was abnormal for a bird of prey, but it had worked out just fine for it so far.

Its hunting techniques were certainly different from any other predator as well. The smaller one might not have as much meat on her bones, but she would taste that much sweeter.

Sharp, silver talons gleamed under the cast of the moon as the bird circled its way down, riding the updrafts of air until it swooped in a steep decline toward the two. The trees made getting to them slightly more difficult, but it wasn't enough to stop it. It made sure to move around behind them, aiming for the girl with outstretched talons as it let out a bloodthirsty cry.

Rhode suddenly felt her body being pulled away from its position on the road. She couldn't resist the pull of the much bigger man, but she supposed she should have expected it. The feeling he had was not quite so much a goody-goody as someone who protected. Kind of like Brooklyn from that one night.

At least Rhode wasn't struggling or fighting him which made Rainier feel a little relief. He'd dealt with too many obstinate children in the last few days to want to deal with any more. He glanced up once the reached the tree line, but the trees apparently did nothing to deter it. He twisted around, pushing Rhode behind him again as the beast began to drop towards them. He tried again to reach his power, dragging it into a shield and it actually worked this time, fitting to his body, about a hand-span from his skin and leaving him sweating from the effort. But it worked!

When the aquila saw that the tainted one had come forward to stand in the way, it was fully prepared to shove the man down to get to its real target, but before it could even get that far, it smacked into some sort of invisible wall.

The creature was fully shocked by this turn of events, and it squawked and gave a weak flap of its wings as it tried to recover from being so stunned. It managed to make its way up to a tree branch, finding one that was large enough to support its large form.

It watched the two with small, black eyes. It didn't want to give up the hunt, but it wasn't willing to make another attempt quite so soon.

[Coming from here. (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/430299.html?thread=35630811#t35630811)]

Max headed straight, steering quite clear of where two men were fighting off the monsters - even though she recognized one as the man she'd had breakfast with. Well, he'd found out first hand about the monsters here, after all.

Making sure Citan stayed close, she slipped out the front gates of the wall that surrounded the institute and paused there, standing by the road, her slim form tensed and alert for fight or flight as she scanned the darkness that seemed to stretch out forever.

And so here they were. Beyond the walls of the institute. There was little triumph to it, in Citan's mind. They would be fools to think that Dr. Landel's grip didn't exceed his fences and boundaries.

"Yes, I've been to the town. And there was little on the road that led to it that looked traversable, or worth venturing down," he pointed out. "Are you certain that's the best path to take?"

"The road was traversable enough - the buses made it down, after all - so the question is, do we want to aim for the town to see if finding civilizations gives us any additional help, or do we scout the immediate area surrounding us first instead?" Max countered, glancing back at him, waiting to see if he had an opinion.

Citan's eyes were scanning the area.

"The road presents its own problems," he pointed out. "I'd imagine that most would take the paved route, and therefor a concentration of obstacles are likely. From what I've seen, you see, most likely traveled areas are higher in creatures and protection. If we wish to head towards the town, I would advise not taking the road itself. Making our way along the mountainous areas off the road would be difficult going, but tactically a more wise decision."

And then there was the other option.

"I've heard bits and pieces of what surrounds the institute. And as we aren't the first to venture out tonight, it would be wise to assume immediately accessible areas have already been plundered. But also cleared of more pressing danger. Oh, I haven't given much of an argument for or against either, have I? I suppose either would be equally worth exploring."

"Well, if they keep to their routine, we're to be heading to the town tomorrow anyways," Max countered thoughtfully, straightening up once more. "In which case, I can always look around in daylight and see if there's anything worth investigating. We might as well use the advantage and scout out what's around out here first."

To the right of them looked like some rather unforgivable terrain, but to the left... from what she could see, she wanted to explore some of that more.

"Have a problem with starting in this direction?" she asked Citan, motioning off to the east.

"No, no problems," Citan said, shaking his head. At least he'd return with some knowledge of the outside terrain, if nothing else. Knowledge was important, no matter how irrelevant it seemed.

"Lead on."

Max's lips quirked at how she'd ended up the unofficial leader of their little two-person party, but didn't object. "Alright, stay close, then," she replied, and headed off in an easterly direction, her crowbar held at the ready.

She kept her eyes peeled as they walked, alert for anything looking to make a meal of them, though the surrounding area was eerily quiet, which made Max all the more wary.

"So," she spoke after several minutes of walking, her voice just loud enough to be heard by her companion. Anything to break the unnatural silence, which was getting even to her. Otherwise, she was perfectly composed, not even winded, though the territory they were crossing was far from even.

"Yes?" Citan asked, politely, as clearly the young woman wanted to speak on something. The landscape reminded him of the mountainous areas of Lahan, which he had become quite familiar with in his two years there. It almost brought back fond memories.

Almost.

"Are you from a place like this, or somewhere else entirely?" she added, keeping the same low voice as they moved along. "I mean, most of the people here seem to be from close to the same universe and time as I am, but I know there's a bunch that's not, as well."

"I'm from a place called Lahan," Citan said. "A small mountain village on the outskirts of the country of Aveh. It's, well, it's like this and not like this. The technology is different, in some ways more advanced and in some ways much less. Most of our technology is quite old - relics from a long ago time. Most of our technology was earmarked for warfare - Aveh and Kislev have been at one another's throats for years. I served as a surgeon on the Aveh front for some time, such a horrible war. Man pitted against war machine, farmers forced to take up arms..." he shook his head, sadly.

"There is no greater tragedy in the course of human evolution than the development of warfare. Great minds should be set to tasks of providing better lives for their people, not death for their supposed enemies."

Unless those enemies truly deserved it, of course. And one must be ready to defend ones country, of course. But he knew what people liked to believe - that was was horrific and futile.

"Man seems to put more effort into making war than anything else," Max agreed, her tone dry, though her lips twisted downwards as she listened to him tell of his world. "You sound as if you come from a difficult place."

She glanced around her, motioning the surrounding countryside with a sweep of her hand. "My world is sort of like this. Or it used to be, is more like it. The technology seems pretty similar to the world I knew when I was a kid, but when I was 9, a terrorist group set off an electomagnetic pulse miles above my country. Totally destroyed anything electronic or machine-operated. One minute we were one of the most advanced world powers, and the next we'd been knocked back to the dark ages. Granted, I was just a kid, so I don't remember much of how things were before the Pulse, but I've never found it so bad since then. Dangerous, yeah, but I can't say we're any worse off. I bet some would disagree with me, though."

"There are difficulties in any world," Citan pointed out, cheerfully. "And without difficulty and strife, how can we truly enjoy the bounties and pleasant times as well? Without a comparison, the joys in life would mean nothing."

Which was something he believed. Without struggle and hard work and disappointment, triumphs meant nothing.

"An electromagnetic pulse?" How interesting. Solaris had played around with that manner of technology - wasn't Jesse working with it back out of Jugend? Ah yes, and Khar of course had been quite interested in it - the second set of Elements had some manner of electromagnetic resonating device in a few of their Gears, hadn't they? "That must have been a true tragedy. I'm sorry your world suffered through it."

"I guess that's a good point," Max replied with a shrug. It did make you appreciate the good things more, in a way. "And I don't know about it being a tragedy. I guess a lot of people say it is. I think it's how you look at it. Personally, I think a lot of them are better off with the way things turned out. Sure things are rough, but back when things were supposedly 'easy', people were just as corrupt. They just have less to work with now."

"Corruption exists no matter how well off or not a people are," Citan pointed out. "It is human nature, unfortunately, to bend the rules or break them for gain. Certainly the temptation is within all of us - sometimes I believe the true difference between good and evil is not the actions of men, but the intentions."

"Well, considering that's what normally guides their actions, that makes perfect sense," Max agreed, pausing on a small rise to take their bearings and glance about her, checking to make sure the way was still safe and they weren't being followed by anything hungry.

"But there are many who dismiss intent, and focus only on action." Citan could philosophize all day, if given the opportunity. "And while good intentions do not necessarily excuse evil actions, it's something to think about. The age old question, I suppose. A man kills in order to feed his starving family. Is he a murderer, or merely desperate? A general destroys a town in order to win a war and save his people from slavery and death. Is he a monster, or a hero?"

Citan shook his head, looking over the terrain.

"I suppose it all comes down to where you stand."

[Nightshift 34] Outside the Institute (South)

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