Nightshift 36: West Wing, South Hall 2-B

[brightlyshine.livejournal.com]

[From here.]

The hall seemed deserted, with no one else up here yet. Elena wondered if everyone was outside or something, the way they'd tried to go that first night. But they had a mission to accomplish, and hopefully they could find what Rude was looking for.

"We should keep going, right?" she asked. "I don't think these rooms are right from the map..."

Comments

[arrogantflame.livejournal.com]

The hall was narrower here; good because it was less likely for you to be sneaked up on or have something hiding in the shadows along the sides, bad because if a fight broke out it was harder to defend yourself, fewer places to run.

He gives Hohenheim and Yuuri a curious look, senses still on high alert and worried that something might jump at them any moment.

"We're looking for locked doors? I thought most you could force the door open anyways? Or is that not true for all of them?"

[mazoku-king.livejournal.com]

Yuuri had taken the flashlight with a sloppy grin. The light from the flashlight roamed all over the area until it had settled on the hallway to their left, and Wolfram had followed in suit. The grin never left his face as he was reminded of all of their adventuring days.

"Ahh it's so nice being out and about again," Yuuri ignored the fact that he was practically being carried everywhere as he merrily glanced at the hallway around them.

"There's a locked door!" He announced in excitement as the flashlight passed over the first door they'd come across. He didn't know if what Wolfram was saying was true or not, but they would soon find out. "Let's try that one."

[only-logic.livejournal.com]

Plodding along after Wolfram, Hohenheim had no concerns about what might or might not be lurking around here. He had had very few unfortunate incidences while at the Institute, and those he had were mostly due to one of his children's pranks and not the Institute itself. Besides, they were more or less armed.

He chuckled softly at Yuuri's words and nodded his head. The last time he had been out lurking the halls was as a much younger man. Of course, his adult years had been spent in a lab doing activities that most of society would have been interested in having a part in. Society now might have frowned on it, but it had been important research at the time. Potential witches and plague infected individuals were as good as dead back then anyway.

Pausing at the door that Yuuri pointed to, he peered at the peculiar lock. It appeared more high-tech than he had seen before. The door itself also appeared stronger, and he had to set his pillow case down in order to run his hand over the surface. It felt strangely resilient, perhaps a material or new bond formed chemically.

He released his hold on Yuuri near the wall so that the young man could hopefully keep balanced. He began to root around in his pillow case and drew out a liquid in a bottle and metal shards which he had ground up late in the evening last night. Unstoppering the bottle, he gently and with a complete steady hand allowed some of the clear fluid slip down the door's surface. Where the liquid was rolling its way down, he flicked a few of the metal shards.

The metal sizzled and popped on the door, but there was no effect on the door itself. Very interesting. This must have been a material he had never seen before, and its toughness was chemically resistant. The shards of metal were simply a conductor and would add to any volatile erosion that might have been present.

Scratching his beard as he stared at the door, Hohenheim was in a pickle. He began to mutter to himself and rooting around in his pillow case, exchanging chemicals and trying different combinations on the lock and the door itself. Nothing. No chemical reaction at all. This material was completely inert. He was clearly stumped but more interested than he had been.