Nightshift 36: Courtyard

[numberii.livejournal.com]

((From here.))

Why was it that the Courtyard seemed so much darker than most other places? He dug the water features, sure, but Xigbar didn't like how the place just seemed... dead. He had to make a note to get out of this madhouse pretty soon, or else he'd go stir-crazy. Sticking around with people was great and all, but this was just not good enough. Oh well. Cookies were calling, and after getting his munchies, Xigbar could think of what to do later.

Whatever it was, he was going to get something done. Last night was a fluke, and it was never, ever, ever happening again. Ever. He was Number Freaking Two, he was the go-to guy when something had to be done and was interesting enough to hold his attention! Which meant that if he didn't get something done soon, it'd be hard to keep calling himself a member of the Organization. And that just wasn't going to fly.

Comments

[innovator-skuld.livejournal.com]

A tree rustled quietly, perhaps only from the wind, before a very small angel flew over. Her expression was mostly one of curiosity, and she hovered a few feet away to examine Xigbar closely.

When she'd looked him over enough to satisfy herself, she looked him in the face and smiled; she didn't speak, but shook her head slightly as if to say You know better.

[numberii.livejournal.com]

...he sure hoped that wasn't Luxord's Peanut, as that would likely prove a tremendously aggravating situation. He'd blown the thing off once, why couldn't it stay blown? Sometimes, Xigbar swore, he just had no luck whatsoever. Probably Fortuna cursing him because of how often he cheated on Luxord. Freaking women in his life, always throwing wrenches in the works...

Well, didn't matter now. He casually drew his bow from its resting place over his shoulder, fitting an arrow to the string from his impromptu belt. "'ello, Peanut," he said in a suitably mock-Luxord voice, "an' to what do I owe the pleasure?" Prolly insubstantial, knowing his luck... man, why didn't he have any tonight?

[innovator-skuld.livejournal.com]

Noble Scarlet waved her finger in a clear "ah-ah-ah" gesture, then just folded her arms and watched him. She wasn't worried; either the man would get the picture and leave, or he would become their opponent.

She was sure he knew that wouldn't be pleasant.

[numberii.livejournal.com]

...okay, not his Peanut. Just fine with him. Xigbar offered a wide grin, then pointed towards the Cafeteria. "Actually, I was just on my way that-a-way. You just lemme go on my way and I'll be right back to my room. How does that sound to you?"

Hey, it was time to experiment with how the Institute worked. Maybe, if he said those magic words in a suitably convincing way, this really weird half-naked angel thingie would let him get past. Which would be fine with him, 'cause that was where he was planning on going anyway. Now he just had to test his hypothesis.

[innovator-skuld.livejournal.com]

She shook her head again and moved between him and the direction he'd indicated. If he turned around now, all would be well.

If he didn't, then the situation might get a little ugly. They didn't want to hurt anybody, but sometimes the chaos of battle made that unavoidable. He'd recover.

[numberii.livejournal.com]

"C'mon. It'd take me longer to climb up that freaking wall and walk around the yard than it would be to just walk through the Sun Room. 'sides, there's a freaking killer zombie squirrel over there. Killer. Zombie. Squirrel." He said it with all seriousness, his eye narrowed as he tried to see if reason could work on this thing. Of course, that narrowing of his eye was good for finding a mark to shoot at, but either way.

"You look cute an' all, you wouldn't want me to be nibbled on, right? So just lemme go on my way."

[innovator-skuld.livejournal.com]

That line even had Scarlet looking taken aback. Killer zombie squirrel...?

The tree rustled again, this time from Skuld jumping off a branch. She was visible within its shadow, but just barely. She came forward enough to look at Xigbar herself, but stopped well out of his range; it kept her close to the pond, anyway. "You're not going anywhere," she said as Scarlet zipped back to hover at her side.

Skuld studied him for a moment; she had her bughammer held casually in one hand, but it was clear she knew how to use it, and it was solid. In case that didn't scare him, the pond behind her started rippling; she wanted to make it very clear she was a force to be reckoned with.

[numberii.livejournal.com]

Hah! The power of the Killer Zombie Squirrels was unrestrained and triumphant! Xigbar was looking rather up, when suddenly... a girl with a far too solid-looking hammer and a special effects budget- man, made Xigbar wish he had his powers back, then he could show her a show to remember!- came forward at him.

That comment, however, made him roll his eye. Man, this was going nowhere! But now that he knew the real body of this little duo, he could shoot her just fine. If it came to that. "Um, no, in case you weren't listening, I'm planning on going back to my room. You're the one keeping me here, dude." A pause, then an amended, "-ette."

[gottabetactile.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/492738.html?thread=39877314#t39877314)]

Flopping down on one of the benches ringing the courtyard, Kon barely noticed the other two people, too focused on the fact he was bleeding to death here! OK, maybe the bites weren't that bad, but they sure hurt! He was about to peel his shirt off when it registered that they had company.

Looking over the babe by the pond and the old guy, it was easy to guess they weren't friends. His normal reaction was to help the woman, but something about the situation - or, more likely, his own lack of powers - made him stay back for the moment.

[no-barbarian.livejournal.com]

Teisel could only roll his eyes at the guy's outburst. Some people got one little bite and thought they were going to die. "Mother above, kid, relax! I was kidding about the rabies." Sort of. "And I could see you were taking real good care of yourself. Sure was nice of you to let that squirrel sit on your chest and nibble on your arm, eh, tough guy?"

That guy over by the pond looked so familiar, but in the dark Teisel couldn't see him clearly enough to make out his face. Oh well. Whoever it was looked to be having an argument with someone, and he didn't need to get mixed into anyone else's problems. Again.

Sitting on the guy's injured (er, more injured) side, Teisel watched puzzled as the man made to take his shirt off. "Uh, did it get your torso? 'Cause you don't really need to do that if it didn't; you'll just get chilled." Now that he could really look at that bad bite, he could see it wasn't quite as bad as it looked. "Well, it's not spurting. That's good," he said. Arteries were stubborn bastards. "It's still bleeding pretty good, though; it looks deep." That was a little more worrying. There wasn't anything clean to use as a bandage, but getting it covered and stopping the bleeding were more important than infection right now. The guy could have a nurse disinfect it in the morning.

With that settled, Teisel reached out and tore a strip off of the guy's shirt, wadded it up and held it tight against the wound. "I guess now you know how an acorn feels, huh?"

[gottabetactile.livejournal.com]

"Man, I told you, my tactile telekinesis isn't working! If it were that squirrel would've broken a tooth trying to chew on me! Like I said, I'm Superboy, just my powers aren't working right now." Maybe the old guy hadn't heard him before, or didn't believe him without his 'S' crest. He really wanted his TTK back, then he'd prove it. Or just fly on out of here, which would prove his point and get him away from the weird prison with its rabid attack squirrels.

He didn't need to take his shirt off? Not that Kon was really bothered by this, he would've been more eager to strip off if he'd been rescued - not rescued, not really - by someone hot. As it was, Kon watched as his companion just tore a strip off his shirt. He'd appreciate the tearing of his clothes more if it were, say, the babe over by the pond doing it too. "You were the one who asked if I was attached to it. Thought you might need the whole thing."

Wincing, he pulled away as the guy started pressing on his arm. "Ow! Watch it, that hurts!" Reaching out, he tried to snatch the wad of fabric away and hold it less painfully against the wound. It really wasn't going to work, so he tried to distract himself, saying "I thought they just buried those things and forgot about them? Not that I wanted him to try that either!" And then, "So, what d'you think's going on with them?" he nodded towards the pair closer to the pond, who seemed to be having some sort of disagreement.

[no-barbarian.livejournal.com]

"Uh-huh, whatever," Teisel said, letting the guy's babble slide right on by. He wasn't a terribly credulous person, not anymore. For the sake of the guy's ego he'd keep quiet this time.

When the man tried to pull away, Teisel followed, keeping the pressure on the bite steady. What a baby! "Did your textile psychokinesis keep you from acting like a total wuss, too?" he laughed. "My kid sister's more stoic than you are." He eased up on the bite a little, though. The guy hadn't had a real pleasant night, after all. "Hey, maybe it should've! You could have snuck off while it was digging the hole."

Following the man's gaze, Teisel watched the pair for a moment. Whatever was going on didn't look very friendly. And that man! He knew he knew him from somewhere, it was on the tip of his brain... Was that an eyepatch? It was! "Hey, it's Xigbar!"

[innovator-skuld.livejournal.com]

[From above.]

The new duo didn't seem to be going anywhere, but it was still possible they were planning something. After some silent back-and-forth, Skuld stepped back into the shadows--not completely invisible, but close--and Noble Scarlet went ahead.

The little angel stopped just out of reach of the boys and hovered there, watching them closely to see what they were doing. They might not want to fight, from the looks of things, but just because they were injured didn't mean they couldn't. She and Skuld were sure they had the upper hand, and they weren't about to get so taken by surprise that they lost it.

[gottabetactile.livejournal.com]

"Tactile telekinesis," Kon repeated slowly. "Get it right! And it made me invulnerable, I'm not used to Rocky the rabid rodent being able to punch holes in me!"

He pouted at the joke about being buried. "If I was gonna sneak away I would've waited until it was munching on you."

Whatever had been going on between the other two must have been resolved, since eye-patch guy was leaving. "Yeah? He a friend of yours? Maybe you should try and catch him, we could-" At that moment he caught sight of the - angel? go figure - hovering nearby. Now he wished he'd taken his shirt off earlier. This lousy outfit was so not flattering, he'd look way better if he could show off his incredible physique.

Just have to rely on his natural charm instead. Tilting his head back, Kon grinned flirtatiously up at her. Do not use a cheesy 'fell from heaven' line he reminded himself, it never works. "Hey there. My friend and I got attacked back there," he jerked his thumb indicating the way they'd come. "Hope we're not crashing your party or anything, he just wanted to make sure I was OK. You're not here alone, are you?"

[no-barbarian.livejournal.com]

He'd looked away and missed whatever commotion had gone on between Xigbar and the girl, but for some reason Xigbar looked soaking wet and was now stalking away across the grass. Maybe she'd pushed him into the pond? Teisel was very sorry to have missed it. That had probably been a truly poetic sight.

"Yeah, well, whatever it was, it's gone now. Maybe you were relying on it too much." Carefully, he lifted the rag to see how the bite was doing. It was still bleeding, but just a slow ooze now. Tossing the bloody rag aside, he ripped another strip off the guy's shirt (hey, it was already ruined!) and wrapped the wound. Checking to see that it was tight, but not too tight, he felt he could call it good. Not very sanitary, but it'd have to do.

He had to laugh; that was just the sort of thing Teisel had expected him to actually do. "Ha! I'm still amazed that you didn't, kid. It's what I would've done."

"Pah!" Teisel cast a dark glance at the retreating figure. "Friend? I wouldn't spit on him if he was on fire! He-" Catching sight of the thing watching them, Teisel's words got all gobbed up in his throat. If the Mothers were androids, then what else could an angel be? It even had red eyes like Sera had. But why? Wasn't the Master System gone now?

And why was this idiot flirting with it?!

[usoppsenchou.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/492738.html?thread=40337858#t40337858)]

Reaching the top of the wall, Usopp paused, staring at the conversation a little down the wall's length. Then he turned around a bit, still sitting on the wall top, whispering to his ridiculously tall companion as though he weren't perfectly obvious sitting up there in the moonlight anyway.

"I think something's going on..! There's two guys and some floaty little angel girl." Normally, a floaty little angel girl would not be threatening, but anything unexpected was pretty scary here. Looking over some more, he saw another girl, wielding...

A really, really great hammer. Usopp paused, staring at it, forgetting the potential threat for the moment in admiration. He thought of his own little hammer, tucked at his waist, and wished for a moment he'd had time and resources to build a new Usopp Pound.

[promisedawhale.livejournal.com]

Brook peered up, listening intently. Since Usopp was whispering now, Brook was readily able to follow suit with a hushed whisper his own. "A floaty what now?" he asked, beginning to shake just a bit. Floating anythings were usually reasons to turn tail and run as Usopp had suggested not but mere seconds ago.

[usoppsenchou.livejournal.com]

"Shiny hammer." Usopp answered back in a whisper. He even missed his own old mallet; it had gotten him out of some tough situations, after all.

But it hadn't been in his clothes when those had been returned to him. And he was pretty sure that a hammer that great was not Institute-issue, unlike the wimpy little hammer at his side. Connecting the dots slowly but surely, Usopp didn't need a second warning.

"You know what? Let's go back to the other shed, just to be impulsive. It'll be fun!" He quickly slid down off the wall again, before the girl could turn and do whatever either monstrous or brainwashed things she might be capable of.

[running like a chicken right back here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/492738.html?thread=40391362#t40391362)]

[tony-castaway.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/492738.html?thread=40827074#t40827586)]

Tony landed on the ground and crouched, straining his ears to follow Kvothe's progress.

[sir-savien.livejournal.com]

Kvothe appeared at the top of the wall soon enough, even with the injury he's an excellent climber. He takes a moment at the top though to check his arm before lowering himself over the courtyard side of the wall and dropping down. He'd need to bandage that soon.

[innovator-skuld.livejournal.com]

Another group? They just wouldn't let up... Skuld was almost tempted to just confront them herself, but since it was safer for Noble Scarlet to do so, she relented.

The tiny angel flew over and then hovered near them, obviously looking them over. Well... they didn't look like demons.

[tony-castaway.livejournal.com]

Tony had noticed the increasing blood flow. "We need to take care of that right now," he said. Then he saw the little flying creature... person? He'd not seen anything like it before. "Kvothe, watch out!" he hissed, trying to keep his voice low.

"What is... she?"

[sir-savien.livejournal.com]

"I need a bandage and I don't have anything that I can tear off to make one," he said, then started when he realized what Tony was talking about. "I...don't know," he whispered back, staring at the little creature. "I've never seen anything like that before."

[innovator-skuld.livejournal.com]

Scarlet sighed dramatically and shook her head. They'd never seen an angel before, even in pictures? That was just sad.

At least they were taking her seriously. She hovered in place and kept watching them; it was best if they knew they weren't alone. She and Skuld had the element of surprise either way.

[tony-castaway.livejournal.com]

"Umm... hello," Tony said nervously. He lifted the bags from his shoulder, slowly. "Nice night, isn't it?" Whatever it was hadn't attacked them. He opened one bag and peered inside to see if it was his or Kvothe's. His. He fished out his shoes to put back on and held out the other bag to his friend.