damned_institute | Nightshift 41: Disciplinary Therapy Corridor

The static snapped Spider out of his gruesome writing trance. His initial project had been to cover the walls in his shit, but he soon sobered up and realized that the nurses would probably wash it all off as soon as he cleared out of the cell, and he couldn't even read what he'd been writing very well. Instead - and mostly because he didn't actually want to smear shit all over himself - Spider had begun writing on his clothes and body using a mixture of blood and saliva. He was still having problems reading what he'd written, but he planned to transcribe it later. He'd have plenty of time after the interviews. He just needed some jumpstart, maybe a cigarette, maybe some coffee, maybe a whole fucking lot of coffee and - WAIT! INTERVIEWS!

The static rose in volume, and Spider heard the click of his cell door unlocking. Leaping to his feet, Spider threw himself against the door until he found a way to open it, and burst out into the corridor.

"HAVE AT THEE, DOGFUCKER! WHO UNLOCKED MY DOOR? I WILL EITHER THANK YOU OR FUCK YOU IN THE NECK DEPENDING ON WHO YOU ARE."

Spider threw his gaze around the room, attempting to slam it into a lurking orderly or patient. He found no one.

"BAH! I HAVE INTERVIEWS TO CONDUCT. YOU ARE SAFE FOR NOW, YOU QUIVERING TOWER OF EXCREMENT! BUT THIS IS NOT THE LAST TIME THE BASTARDS WILL PUT ME IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT, AND THE NEXT TIME YOU LET ME OUT, I WILL GRIND YOUR SKULL AGAINST ITS OWN FOOLISHNESS UNTIL CANDY COMES OUT."

Screaming into the empty corridor, Spider kicked open the door and ran.

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The leftover had moved closer to the door to attack Tsubaki and Obi-wan's group, breathing a heavy dose of sulphur into the room as it did so - releasing an ear shattering scream at the same time. It wasn't about to let anyone get away tonight, not when the doors refused to open and give it easy prey. Frustration was something it did not know, but hunger was something that was built into it.

The lucentien reached out, bladed fingers grasping at the air as the tentacles shot out toward the two groups. Three went for Tsubaki's group, while three more went for Soubi and Demyx. The force was meant to throw them back, away from the little one who would be easily devoured, but something went wrong.

Beams of light shot out, like mockeries of the lucentien's own flesh, hard like blades, but made of light. What should not have hurt it cut into its flesh and the creature screamed, the tentacles veering off course and smashing into the walls. The tentacles curled up on themselves, swinging wildly at all three of them.

Demyx was only vaguely aware that Soubi had launched some sort of attack beside him; he was too focused on coaxing the water beneath their feet. Put pressure on the joints, make a hole in the pipe, then draw the water up -

Beads of water had only just begun to coalesce into a small, fist-sized ball of liquid in the air before Demyx when the monster screamed, snapping the Nobody's gaze upwards just in time to see tentacles flying at them. There was no time for finesse, for shaping the water into some sort of weapon; all he had time for, in his panic, was to explode the ball outwards, forming a wide but paper-thin shield of water in front of the three of them to keep the tentacles at bay. It should have offered no resistance whatsoever, save for Demyx desperately willing the sort of surface tension into it that he'd infused into his water clones with, a solidity that was as firm as a brick wall.

But man, he hoped Soubi had another attack, because there was no way he could hold this up for long, and if he dropped the shield while the tentacles were this close there was no way he was going to be able to get off any sort of attack himself before they got him.

And just like that the fight had started. Ritsuka unconsciously dropped back behind the other two men, determined to watch for an opening and do...something. God, he felt so useless in these situations. The only thing he was good for was as a Sacrifice and that didn't even--

The creature screamed in pain and Ritsuka almost did the same. What the hell was that?! It felt like someone had just stabbed him in both arms with needles, several needles, all at once. Gritting his teeth, Ritsuka slipped back further and looked down at his arms. What he saw, he didn't like. He was bleeding, somehow or another, from several small lacerations up and down his forearms. When had he...?

He didn't have time to think though, as Demyx proved just how impressive he could be. Water shot up out of the ground and formed a shield in front of them, which was...odd enough, but even weirder was that it worked.

Biting back the pain in his arms, Ritsuka pointed forward at the glowing creature hanging from the middle. "Soubi! Blind it!"

It worked. It really worked! Soubi...Soubi felt....

He turned back to Ritsuka, face lit with joy and relief that disappeared just as suddenly. Ritsuka looked frightened? Hurt? Soubi was reaching out when he received a new order.

He'd almost forgotten about their foe. He quickly turned, lifted his hand and....when he found the words, the did nothing. No combination, to intonation, nothing could make it work, the spells were gone.

He put a hand on Ritsuka's chest and urged him back, ready to protect Ritsuka with his body alone.

He looked towards Demyx, hoping he was ready.

The tentacles thudded heavily against the wall of water and the creature screamed again in anger and frustration. These patients weren't supposed to be putting up a fight. They were supposed to be dying!

Pulling its tentacles back, the creature slapped them hard against the walls and ceiling, heaving its heavy body forward one more step. Just a little further and the lucentien's body wouldn't have far to go at all to rip them to shreds. Plaster rained down into the room as the creature moved, and as the tentacles ripped free from their places. Soon, the monster was hurling blow after blow against the shield with its tentacles, trying to break it down.

Demyx's horror as the creature dragged itself closer, bringing its tentacles more fully and heavily to bear against his ridiculously thin shield, was complete; his estimate of how long he could keep the shield between them and what had to be an incredibly horrible death dropped from minutes to seconds. And Soubi...didn't seem to have anything left, though Demyx could definitely hear him trying.

The simulation of terror had been useful; it had helped him call up a defense in record time, had preserved them for as long as it could be expected to. But as Demyx recognized the complete hopelessness of the situation, there was no point in holding onto the fake emotion anymore, and he dropped it, leaving...nothing, really. In a way, the emptiness was a calm of sorts, letting him work things out without the distraction of exerting effort to maintain a facade.

"You guys should go," he said over his shoulder, never taking his eyes off of the monster through his see-through shield. His voice was mild, almost disinterested. "I can't hold this for much longer. I've died before, anyway." Somehow, that made it seem more...logical, somehow, if not exactly attractive. He should have stopped existing two deaths ago; Ritsuka and Soubi were real people, with real lives and real emotions and real hearts. If there was nothing else they could do, then -

Besides, even if they didn't leave, it was pretty clear he was going to die as soon as the shield gave out; it wasn't like he was sacrificing himself for them. He might as well die protecting them as die getting all three of them killed.

He began to hum under his breath. An epic death deserved some music, right?

The creature dragged itself closer and Ritsuka grimaced, grabbing his right arm as it did so. He had seen Soubi's panic and he had hidden his own away. There was no way he could show weakness now that things were getting so bad - especially now that it seemed the spells were gone again. How could they work and then disappear, just like that?!

Biting back his frustration, Ritsuka let Soubi push him back, his mind racing. They had to find a way to distract the creature or--

"What?!" What the hell was Demyx saying? And...why in that voice? Why in a voice that sounded so hollow? He sounded like he was resigned to dying, like it was no big deal to get eaten by a giant thing hanging from the ceiling. And was he humming? "Don't be stupid, you jackass! We're not going to leave you here to be some dumb martyr!"

Ritsuka reached into his pocket and pulled out his camera, looking to it and then to the water. If they could make that thing into some sort of glass to enhance the light, the flash might temporarily blind the creature and they could all run. "Demyx, can you get that water to magnify light? Soubi-" He pulled his backpack off, wincing as his arms protested, and pulled his flashlight out, tossing it to him. "-use this when I tell you. We're going to blind this thing like I said - and then we're going to run. All of us."

Nightshift 41: Disciplinary Therapy Corridor

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