damned_institute | Nightshift 34 - Labyrinth (Basement)

Archer may not have been paying attention, but every little sound had Brook jumping nearly out of his skin and back into being a skeleton again! Looking back at the door, he gulped at it having locked, then looked ahead to see that his teammates were trying to leave him again. "W-wait!" he called, then caught up quickly. "Ah, why... would an artifact be important? Archer-san can make swords, so looking for one seem a little silly, don't you think?" He wanted to turn around and claw his way out of the locked door, but it was too late now. He was stuck.

Why did this always happen to him?!

As soon as Brook blurted out his secret, Archer pulled Brook to the side for a little chat, so Thursday couldn't hear. "I don't know why, but Landel's left them there for us, patients, to find. It must be some kind of clue or key."

The sharp, deadly glint in Archer's eye indicated how strongly he wanted to keep this a secret, and his grip on Brook tightened a little. "Also, why don't we keep what happened in the shed between us, alright, buddy? I don't want news of my powers getting out."

Brook was nearly doubled over by Arhcer's sudden desire for a whispered conversation, but he'd had to lean down as such before. The only problem was that as scary as the hallway was, Archer's looking speaking to Brook was even scarier than some of the zombies the musician had encountered. He shuddered a bit, the thoughts of Archer possibly being a monster in disguise coming and going, then nodded that he understood. "You should have said from the start then!" Brook wouldn't have spoken a word about anything if he'd made a promise not to. He wouldn't ever break a promise no matter what!

"Good, glad we're on the same page pal," Archer said, all traces of evil intent gone, washed away with Brook's understanding. "Don't forget your promise now."

Archer returned to the head of the group, leading them down the hallway until they got to the first intersection. They'd already followed the path, which only led to a dead end yesterday. Tonight, they'd take the turn.

"This way," he said, turning down the hallway, taking out the roll of string he'd gotten yesterday. It'd be a good way of marking where they'd been, much better than pens in these dark halls. Archer wished he'd gotten something better, but he'd make due with what he had.

"Promise, yes." If Archer considered it as such, then so would Brook, and he would hold to it.

Unfortunately though, that little meeting had left Brook a little more shaken than before. Not only were the hallways scary, but so was Archer! He didn't like thinking that he was afraid of someone he considered a friend, but he couldn't help it!

They came to two hallway entrances around the circular bend, which led to another dead end.

"Which way now?" Archer asked. He didn't really care which path they took, since he had no idea where either led, or what was waiting for them. Plus, taking charge meant being the leader, and he wasn't completely comfortable with that position. Sure, it meant he could do whatever he wanted, but he was also responsible for the lives of his team.

"I don't suppose anyone has a coin we can toss to decide?" It seemed as good a choice as any, leaving things to chance.

"Way?" Brook had seen earlier that Archer apparently knew which way he was heading, but the new question forced him to think differently. He looked down one hall, then the other, then down at Archer before fully grasping what was going on. "D-d-don't tell me.... this is a maze?!"

"Yep, it's a maze," Archer mischievously replied. So now the ex-skeleton understood. A grin broke through his calm mask, but Archer turned his head away so Brook wouldn't see. Receiving a nod from Thursday, Archer randomly chose a hallway. "So it's door number two."

True to his word, he led them down the second hallway.

"Don't act like it's so casual! Do you know what can be in mazes?!" Things a lot worse than zombies, that's what! Or at least, that's what Brook's mind was telling him. What else could be hiding in a maze in a basement in this place?!

But it was either refuse to enter and be left alone, or go along with the crazy pair straight into the heart of the maze. Brook was quaking in his slippers as he made his only real option and followed.

"Sure, all kinds of horrors and dangers," Archer replied. Now that he'd gotten Brook here there was no turning back for the poor pirate. He wouldn't actually tell his friend that he knew about this labyrinth, since last night. That would be cruel. Wait, he was a "meanie," according to his roommate, so being evil should be okay. Oh well. Brook wouldn't be of any use if Archer got him too worked up. Time for him to calm the ex-skeleton down. "However, it's not like anywhere else in the Institute is really safe. You remember what happened last night in the Sun Room right?"

He noticed that the hallway was a little long, not as long as the previous one though. Eventually it opened up to a right turn, with another detour off to the right. This really sucked. There was no way of telling if they were on the right track. Hell, he didn't even know where the goal was.

He wondered if they should take the first turn possible, where ever one came up, although Archer had no idea where that thought came from. Probably some crappy, little tip he picked up somewhere.

"So do we go straight or make a detour?" He looked back at his team, seeking their input.

"I'm leaning towards the detour." Although there was no particularly reason behind his choice.

"Ah... well, yes..." Brook had tried to forget that actually, but he did remember the glowing outline that had attacked them. It wasn't as though he wished to meet anything like that for a second time though! "But that's still no reason to go looking for those kinds of things!"

Brook pouted up at the hallways again, not desiring to go down either. "I believe the saying goes that the quickest path is a straight line?" he tried, only suggesting things since them stopping to think only made it take all the longer for them to get out of here. Brook wanted out!

"Staying in our rooms won't get anything accomplished." Archer wasn't afraid of many things at this point. Since death had lost its appeal for him, there wasn't much left over to feel frightened of. "Besides, we don't know if even our rooms are safe from danger."

So Brook wanted to go straight, huh? Alright. Archer stepped straight forward, traveling down the detour. Seeing his roommate was pretty nervous, he deduced that his friend wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. Stopping at each intersection to ask for their opinions would be a waste of time. One corridor was as good as another.

Thursday had agreed with him, so he'd just lead the team according to his instincts. Hopefully, his luck was good tonight.

"Safer than going to look for..." he started, then halted when Archer went the exact opposite of the way Brook had just suggested. "A-Archer-san? Straight is that way." Brook pointed down the other corridor, hoping that his friend had only mistaken his way and wasn't intentionally trying to be mean. Not Archer!

"Oh." He almost sounded apologetic, but it didn't stop him from continuing on. The path wasn't straight and angled back to the west. Eventually they came out to another circular hall. He wondered if this was the other side of the same wall he saw earlier? Archer paused to update his map. However, since this was a maze, he wasn't quite sure how accurate his map would be. With all its twists and turns it was hard to gage distance and direction.

It had been too much to hope for. "H-hey! Wait for me!" Brook took the turn anyway since the other two were, but he was still upset that Archer had just taken the opposite of what he'd suggested. Suggestions were meant to either be listened to or overturned, but Archer had simply ignored it! That wasn't a nice thing to do!

It wasn't as though Brook was Zoro or something!

Archer waited for Brook to catch up to them, while he finished updating his map. "I'm surprised you have trouble keeping up Brook, since you're so tall you should be able to easily keep up with us."

After putting his stuff away, Archer continued around the circular bend until it opened up to another intersection, composed of a detour and continuing their current path. "Left it is."

"I wouldn't have a problem if I were more fond of wandering through a maze, Archer-san!" And just what kind of person would be fond of such a thing, anyway?! He had every right to be hesitant!

"I'm not exactly big on mazes either, but doing nothing is even worse." So far so good. No monster attacks. On the other hand, they hadn't found anything else either, and although Archer was a little deterred by this fact, he kept moving, determined to find the artifact that he believed was waiting for them somewhere in this labyrinth.

Moving down the hall they came to another turn, this time to the right. Having no other choice, besides returning, naturally, they followed it.

This turn was short, angling off to the left in what appeared a longer hall. Archer couldn't be sure, since his torch could only illuminate a few feet ahead of him.

"Nothing would be terrible," Brook consented, calmly, "but there are things that can be done while in one's room you know. Like in Luffy-san's room! That's where I stashed the piano from last night, remember? It would be easy to have a party in there! Yohohoho! Much better than walking down in a scary basement maze! And more fun too!"

"It isn't a party unless there's enough people," said Archer, trying to, in his own way, distract Brook from his fear of the unknown. It had been a little funny earlier watching his friend squirm, but the entertainment, like all good things, came to an end a few turns ago.

After a long walk, they made another right turn, leading to an intersection with three available paths open to them. Sighing, Archer took a few moments to decide which path they should pick.

"You could have only two people and still have a decent party! It just has to be fun! Yohohoho!" Brook would have been happy for even something so small as a bird to have come by when he'd been alone on that ship. So far as he was concerned, any company was good company and a party could be had from even the smallest of amounts beyond one.

"We have different opinions on that. The more the merrier." Back when he was Emiya Shirou, he had five other people living in his house, making it a exciting and happy home. Those had been some fun times.

Archer decided on the left hallway and began walking down it.

"It is certainly better than being completely alone." His tone was solemn as he spoke because Archer's job was a lonely and depressing existence in itself. When he died or completed his job here, he'd be back to it, and the Counter Guardian wasn't exactly looking forward to it.

"Well of course the more the merrier! That's a rule wherever you go! But there is also 'The party must go on!'" More the show, but Brook was trying to make a point. He'd used the modified saying before anyway and found no problem with it. Then Brook suddenly did a 180, shouting ceasing as his tone flattened to a melancholic deadpan. "Anything is better than being alone."

The hall eventually turned into a sharp right up ahead, which Archer followed. They walked for a little while longer until it opened into a T-shaped intersection. Left or right?

"Don't worry," Archer said, keeping a look out for danger. Still, he recognized the melancholic tone that his friend used, remember the former skeleton had been alone for fifty years. "You have your nakama now. You're no longer alone. And while I can't tell whether or not you'll make it back to your world, I promise I won't let any of my comrades die while I'm around."

Archer looked down the right hall, trying to illuminate it with his torch, but had no such luck. "This way."

Brook had momentarily turned quite solemn thanks to the talk of being alone. He had to admit that even in as scary a place as this, he much preferred the company of Archer and Thursday to being alone. Even having the man as a roommate was a wonderful thing that Brook had only just gotten to experience. The cabin on the Thousand Sunny was also fun, if a bit crowded, but roommates - few or many - were all wonderful in Brook's eyes!

They'd come to another stop when Archer said something that had Brook's head lifting. "Eh?" he tried to remember if he'd heard correctly and looked down on the white haired man, "Did you just say... comrade? For me?" Brook pointed a finger at his face. Of course Archer probably meant others as well, but that was the first Brook had heard him say anything even close to Nakama in reference to Brook. If it had been for him.

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