damned_institute | Nightshift 41: Entry Room

Any hope Haseo had about being mistaken was destroyed the moment he came through the doorway, that sense of uneasiness solidly validated and quickly increasing. He was completely ignoring the woman and other men present, eyes going right to the one conspicuously glowing and floating and lacking in a grey uniform. It was-- It was that guy! Of all the ... Why him?!

The Adept Rogue gritted his teeth, and although he wasn't entirely in his full offensive or defensive posture yet, every line in his body was full of obvious tension as he stood mostly frozen, grip tightening on his wooden pole and flashlight. This was bad. Almost embarrassingly so, without access to his weapons. But all the same... after several seconds the fact that the other patients seemed to be actually threatened by the being sunk in. He took a step forward, then another, until he was quickly approaching the AI, not sure what to expect at all.

"Hey!" he snapped, trying to catch its attention.

That push to one side had briefly startled Endrance, but he recovered from that quickly and dashed over to Haseo's side once again. He gave the pipe in his hand a glare, willing it to turn into a proper sword, but of course, that didn't happen. It was only then that he looked up and towards the source of the trouble.

"K-Kite...?" He stammered out the name, clearly taken aback. "What...what did they..." He shook his head, brushing his bangs out of his eyes so he could get a full view of the AI. There was no question that the -- person? program? being? -- was based on his old friend's appearance, with the way he looked. Only...it was like looking at a caricature. No. Not a caricature, a...a bad parody. This isn't Kite, this is...

He was forcibly snapped out of his thoughts by that sharp yell. "Haseo, be careful!" I don't want to hurt you, Kite, but I've got someone more important to protect. I'm sorry, but this is how it has to be. With that, he moved into a defensive stance, ready to jump in if and when he was needed. He briefly looked back to the other two, his look clearly stating "Stay behind us and wait to cast anything unless you absolutely have to," then focused his attention once again on the AI.

It took a moment for Tsukasa to take in the scene (not helped by the fact that he was shorter than Endrance and Haseo), but once he did, his eyes widened at the sight of the person who was stood nearby. "Kite?" he called out in surprise, although there was something wrong with the twin-blade. The colours... the way he moves and... Some twisted version of him and Tsukasa couldn't help but shudder.

He nodded in acknowledgement of Endrance's look, moving back a few paces and preparing himself to cast a spell if need be. Assuming he could even cast spells. He didn't have a staff and these wasn't exactly a normal situation.

They knew the person who was fighting? Great. This could get messy, and fast. Leon shook his head, keeping near the back of the group. "Be careful!" he warned. "If he's being used by the Institute then there's nothing you can do but keep away. He'll fight his friends, allies, anyone!"

The young mage gave an exasperated growl. He knew even as he gave the warning that they weren't going to listen to him at all. Not all of them, at least. They hadn't been here long enough to understand.

Well, if they were going to get him involved... "Haseo!" he cried out, tossing the short sword he'd been carrying right in the young man's direction. It would only get in the way of spellcasting anyway.

One moment Haseo was becoming steadily angrier, taking in the attack by fake!Tri-Edge, or whatever the hell he was supposed to be called, toward the guy who clearly didn't stand the chance of a Chim Chim against a full party. In the next moment, something heavy was flinging through the air toward the AI, casting a wild beam of light in every direction as it spun. Then Haseo noticed that he didn't seem to be holding his flashlight anymore.

Up until that, the state of his companions had remained pushed to the side, their warnings and exclamations of familiarity just barely acknowledged beyond what was important right then. Fortunately, when Haseo's name was called by itself, in a voice he was not yet used to, he looked back- just in time to process Leon tossing that short sword. Haseo was forced to make an emergency decision, reaching out his free hand automatically and catching the weapon. The blade was facing the opposite direction than it had probably been intended, but it wasn't like that mattered, considering the way Haseo as a 'Twin Blade' generally wielded something like that....

Endrance looked over to Haseo for the brief moment when his name was called, then nodded once in Leon's direction. "He's right...remember what I said about what happened last night." That said, it was strange. The girl in the courtyard last night had clearly been a patient under the institute's control, and she'd certainly regretted her actions afterwards. This false Kite had a completely different air about him, though - all weapon, and none of the real Kite's attitude about hurting other people. Real Kite wouldn't have ever drawn his blades against an unarmed person like that.

The appearance of those blades meant that things were getting serious fast. If the false Kite's attention was drawn towards them by the flashlight beam, that made things a whole lot easier for the other group. He glanced over to the dark-haired man in the group, and with a toss of his head and a look, said, "We'll handle this...". It wasn't that he particularly cared about any of them - if anything, he was indifferent at best towards the other group, particularly towards the red-haired girl who kept screaming her head off. But having more room in the area would definitely make the fight easier for the rest of them.

[From here. (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/639482.html?thread=53921274#t53921274)]

Eyes wide and glowing with fury at whoever had cracked his face-display, he jerked his head around to see who had interrupted his attack pattern. Before he could even see who it was, his visual display was filled with three large red circles and urgent messages:

ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK
ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK
ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK

It wasn't in his nature to question why--just to do what his program told him.

With a feral, unintelligible yell, he charged forward, fangs bearing down on Haseo with unflinching ferocity. He wasn't just aiming to get them out of the room--it looked like he was attacking to kill.

No, Kite wouldn't have done something like this! He wouldn't have attacked people like this! This was some kind of trick and it just had his form. Someone had taken his PC design or... or something. There was a long crack running down his face now and the scream sent a shiver down Tsukasa's spine. He was aiming right for Haseo as though he wanted to kill him. A PKer?

Tsukasa pressed back against the wall, keeping out of the way and ready to cast a spell if it became needed, but he'd just get in the way of physical combat.

It was certainly a good thing he'd armed Haseo as the young man brought the trouble right towards them. Leon should have facepalmed right there on the spot, but there were more important matters to worry about.

Like Tsukasa, Leon also fell back. He was a spellcaster too, and he came prepared. His book was open in an instant, and the mage prepared to cast an offensive spell whenever he saw an opening. For the moment, the patient's(?) attention wasn't on him.

"You know this guy?" he called to the others. "What are his weaknesses?"

SHIT!!

Azure Kite was fast, and although the thought of fighting him again under what might be another mistaken premise was unappealing, there wasn't any leeway to reminisce on those occasions he or someone he knew had faced off against the being, and what it meant to find it here. When you'd managed to attract and enrage something like that, context was an unnecessary detail. With that kind of reaction, Haseo had only a moment, filled with that bizarre clarity typically present the instant before something truly terrible happened. If he kills me they'll never get Endrance to come out from under the bed and if Atoli comes back she'll have to annoy some other guy goddamn it...!

Fortunately, instincts and the drive for self-preservation were things not easily ignored. Defend! Defend yourself! something far more visceral screamed, and even if really so much should have been different between now and the times battles were fought in-game, all the same Haseo was already trying to move to one side and that blade was up in a flash, counterbalanced with the pole in his other hand. He knew he had to attempt to defend and parry against what little he could of the impending attack, but... even at Haseo's best, fully armed and armored, this guy was a handful for sure.

What was he weak against? Hell if Haseo knew... "Just attack!!" he managed.

There wasn't time to think before the false Kite was moving towards Haseo, clearly intent on killing him if at all possible. What the...this isn't my old friend. That means there's no reason to hold back. The speed and ferocity of the attack meant there was no time for the full range of dramatics Endrance would normally engage in before a fight. It might have irritated him at any other time, but that didn't matter now.

Despite his injuries, he jumped into the fray without a second thought, a swirl of rose petals following in his wake. The important thing here wasn't to avoid getting hurt again - that much didn't matter, either. It was to draw attention away from Haseo long enough for a counterattack.

"How unlucky for you to have met me," he said in a low voice as he rushed forward with the pipe out, striking at the right side of Kite's body. It wasn't the sword he was used to - something he was going to have to remedy at some point in the near future, he thought dimly - but it would need to do a little longer, and it wasn't as if he'd had much of a choice in weaponry.

Endrance was aiming to knock one of those twin blades away if he could, or at least pause that attack pattern so he and Haseo could coordinate their attacks. If that gave the spellcasters a moment to work, then so much the better.

Sparks flew as his blade met Haseo's, the unfinished fighter leaning in to the attack. His other blade sunk dangerously far into the wooden pole and lodged there. That was uncalculated for. This target should have been carrying something similar to what was impacted with first.

For a second, he looked up through his pointed, sparse bangs at the defender. How did he know the type of weapon this unidentified target would be carrying? Normally his program would identify these things on a case-by-case basis, instead of feeding him information immediately. When the defender came into his display, the same red circle and command pattern reinitiated.

Dragging his sword along Haseo's sword, more sparks jumping from his Fang, he moved it into a blocking position moments before the pipe could strike his side. His block was about as firm as if Endrance had hit a wall with his pipe. But they were both good, he knew that much. He would have to overclock his program in order to fight all four of them. Not that his data readout was warning him not to do that...

Tsukasa gave Leon a brief, confused look and shrugged, utterly at a loss about what to say. He'd never faced Kite himself, wouldn't have tried, but he knew that Kite would never have just attacked another player for any reason. He was a hero, the man who'd defeated the Cursed Wave, but this wasn't him!

"Try anything," he said firmly in response, and then the order from Haseo came and it was easy to pretend that this was just a normal party event like the time with Bear and Mimiru. This was just another monster and this was still The World.

"Rai Rom!" Tsukasa called out, calling out the spell name and waiting for it to take effect. He wasn't prepared for the feeling of it being dragged out of him, actual strength and energy, as opposed to SP. The lightning formed, coiling around the target, and Tsukasa squeezed his eyes shut, willing it to work.

This was almost the sort of fight Leon was used to, though with quite a bit more limitations than normal. Unfortunately, the rest of the party was quite unhelpful when it came to trying to figure out how best to deal with their opponent.

Haseo's proximity to Kite wasn't a problem, as Leon's spells were designed to hit only those he wanted them to hit. It was a couple moments before he could decide what spell to use, however. Black Saber was the most powerful one he could cast right now, but it would leave him with nothing else. He might be better off casting something weaker and relying on the others to back him up.

"WOUNDS," he decided at last. Dark energy appeared in his hand before moving to encompass their opponent. It wasn't a strong spell, but it should cause some pain - hopefully enough to be a distraction.

The force applied behind the weapons against Haseo's was incredible, sending shocks down his arms and throughout his body. It was only a moment before it was made blindingly clear that even if he was to use every bit of strength he possessed directly against those strange blades, it would still make no difference... and probably never would.

But if nothing else, this definitely proved that "Tri-Edge" wasn't anything like them, Haseo and Endrance and Tsukasa, somehow changed from digital to flesh and blood. That crack.... The trick seemed to be getting in strikes around the weapons. But the question was how? Once more Haseo started to move, this time to the side opposite Endrance, and to the same as his wooden pole still mostly caught up with one of those strange dual swords. When the block to Endrance's attack was initiated, Haseo struck with the freed sword... just as the spells hit.

Haseo fell back several steps, half in surprise, but then quickly regained his senses, repositioning his weapons. If he continued to be the one drawing out the aggression, then hopefully the others could get something more damaging in. It was just a matter of continuing to fend off the guy without being cut to ribbons in the process... easier said than done. "Try to hit something besides his arms," he snapped at Endrance, then moved as to strike with both "weapons."

Endrance had half-expected the block itself, but hadn't expected the recoil from it to be as hard as it was. It was enough to aggravate the injuries he'd taken the previous two nights, and he couldn't help staggering backwards, half-dizzy from pain. The familiar spell name jolted him back to his senses, and he looked up to see both the lightning spell and the other spell hit their target.

With that, he took a deep breath, drawing himself back up to his full height and watching Haseo and Azure Kite's movements just long enough to get the gist of the pattern. It was something he had gotten very good at doing in the Arena, and it was - to mild surprise - just as easy as it had been before. Endrance nodded at Haseo's words. Even though he didn't particularly like the idea of the Adept Rogue taking most of the aggression, if that was the plan, this was no time to argue it.

He then moved back to striking distance with steps that were almost like a dance. If you're going right, then I'll take the opposite side... That was what he proceeded to do then, first mimicking a move to the left, then moving fast towards the right side, aiming the pipe at the back of Kite's head. It felt almost like a cheap shot, but if their opponent was this formidable, that could be forgiven.

Any spellcaster worth their level almost never missed a spell. Even here, stunted as their power was, Tsukasa and Leon's abilities didn't fail them. However, one was more effective than the other.

There was no point to having pain sensors in his program. Pain detracted from his running processes. Pain was something for players, not for him. It was what separated him from everything else that populated the servers of R2. Therefore, while Leon's attack was accurate and probably well-chosen for an entity that could feel pain, he shook off the black cloud with a few swipes of his fangs.

It had served its purpose, though. The Wavemaster's spell curled around him, causing his limbs to lock in place. Electricity coursed through his mainframe and control center, preventing movement. For a moment, though, he made a sound that almost sounded as though he were in pain instead of ready to kill something.

In that moment, both Haseo's and Endrance's attacks struck him. Unable to move due to the electric current, he took both of them--Haseo's sword running him through and Endrance's strike breaking a hole in the back of his head and hat. Black and green code was left where the back of his skull should have been.

For a moment he was silent, one of his arms crackling with residual energy from Tsukasa's spell. Suddenly, his head snapped up, eyes flashing blue. Weak as his arms looked, he was still able to leave his fangs in mid-air and shove Haseo back violently, removing the sword from his midsection and throwing the Adept Rogue back nearly to the back of the room. Next was the one who'd damaged his code.

The circles weren't even appearing and the command to attack wasn't even being given--that was all that was left that he could read. Head snapping around, both blue eyes fixated on Endrance, he moved.

Faster than could be followed by the human eye, his hand was around Endrance's throat and the pair of them had hit the wall opposite Haseo with enough force to run a crack up the wall. Transparent polygons began shifting around his wrist as he held Endrance in place with a grip equivalent to a steel cable. More cracks slowly formed along his face and eyes, which were locked with Endrance's.

He needed data to repair his program. He NEEDED IT.

He hardly dared to open his eyes and look at what had happened. It was the most basic, the weakest of lightning spells, and yet it had taken so much energy. His legs felt wobbly and there was a throb growing in the back of his head like he'd been hit. But a second later he looked, seeing the electricity coil around Ki- the AI, freezing it in place and crackling around its limbs.

It ended too soon, the AI managing to throw Haseo across the room and reaching for Endrance, grabbing him around the throat too fast to be seen. It was like he'd just teleported there and his strength couldn't be denied. Then those polygons... like a bracelet... "Electricity!" he said, glancing over at Leon. If he could use it, then maybe the had a chance before Endrance could be data drained.

Tsukasa pulled himself up straighter, mustering his strength, calling it to him so that he could perform another spell.

It took a few precious moments for Leon to catch his breath after the last spell. Darkness spells took the air out of him. He knew when what he'd cast hadn't been effective, though, and he couldn't help but feel a bit jealous when Tsukasa's spell did a good deal more. When the other caster then addressed him in regards to their opponent's weaknesses, he could only shake his head. "...Can't..."

Out of his repertoire of skills, he had only three or four different types, mostly darkness, void, and water. Nothing electric. Celine was the one with the thunder spells.

If this person(?) was mechanical, his darkness spells might not work at all. He didn't have the energy to try Black Saber, which was more direct damage and might actually connect, but he could always try his weakest spell. Ice might not be electricity, but it could still slow things up.

He took as deep a breath as he could and readied the short incantation. "!" If it could strike him where he was already vulnerable...

Haseo had a flash of wary triumph, even going as far as being slightly alarmed at the damage they'd done- he briefly wondered if it was possible to drive the being into exploding like the time beyond the Sign at Morrigu Barrow Wall. And then, everything spun out of control.

Other than a sort of cut-off, surprised exclamation, there was no chance to respond before Haseo was flying backward, screaming and just barely managing to keep hold of his weapons. However, landing was another matter. He must have rolled at least once before he was on his hands and knees again, but aside from suddenly feeling battered and burning where he'd slid on the carpeting, the details were unclear. At least he hadn't managed to impale himself on the sword- he snatched it up from where it had fallen nearby, bracing and trying desperately to keep going against the attack he was sure was about to commence.

Except it didn't. Their opponent, for whatever reason, had gone after Endrance instead. Whatever confusion Haseo had felt was gone just like that, and he was once more on his feet, bolting across the room with every intention of destroying the AI and not much regard for anything else, this time preparing to initially strike with the bar.

There wasn't time for Endrance to react before he was pinned against the wall, the false-Kite's hand pressed against his throat. The pipe in his hand fell from his grasp and rolled a few feet away, but he hardly noticed that through the haze of pain and surprise.

He felt the incoming ice spell before he heard the words that announced it, and the chill in the air was enough to snap him out of the moment's daze. Endrance wasn't sure if it would freeze the AI or not, but the spell gave him enough time to bring his hands up to the arm holding him in place. He tried pulling away, but there wasn't any give at all. When he looked to the side, he gasped in shock.

That wasn't possible, was it? Not now, not without an Avatar. It had been, for the real... no. This wasn't the time to get sentimental, not with what he was sure would be a Data Drain imminent. "You're pathetic," he said in a low whisper. "Taking on someone else's appearance, yet acting so different...you're nothing but a shoddy imitation at best." With that, he kicked hard at the false-Kite's legs, hoping that would surprise him enough to do something.

Data... he needed data to repair himself. Any source would do, really, he just needed that little bit to patch his head...

The polygons kept shifting and changing, adjusting to the target. Then the ice spell hit and caused him to jerk a little. Next, Haseo came at him with the rod, striking him across the shoulders, and Endrance kicked at his legs. All of the attacks caused minimal damage, but they didn't stop the drain. In fact, they caused it.

With a roar, the multicolored beams shot out of the bracelet, striking around Endrance's body. The rest of the beams raced out in all sorts of directions, hitting the walls, floors, furniture, sucking up the data and repairing him slowly.

There was a flash of light as all of the walls were covered in static snow, like there was a broken television projecting its screen everywhere--except there were no shadows where the people stood.

The room went black again, then reset. The hand came off Endrance and he lept back. When the room lit up again, it was as though the patients were in a completely different room. The ceiling rose several stories higher and sunlight streamed through the windows, casting a yellow glow across the the pews. The room was almost completely made of stone, save for the stained glass windows behind the altar.

It was a place that at least three of the people in the room were familiar with: the Hulle Granz Cathedral.

It didn't seem possible, but that was what the room looked like now. Meanwhile, he stood facing the pedestal that used to hold the statue of his goddess, seemingly repaired from the data he rewrote.

He turned his head again, looking back at the group, waiting to see what they would do now.

Tsukasa braced himself for the vicious drag of energy that he now knew the spell would take. He could see the ice needles strike the AI, see it shudder and then Endrance and Haseo struck. Tsukasa opened his mouth to speak the spell, but before he could, there was a roar, like static or something, loud in Tsukasa's ears, and light flashed around the room. Tsukasa stared in shock as static crept over everything, making him feel dizzy and slightly sick, and this made it so easy to believe that this was The World, that they were trapped inside it and that outside, parents and friends were waiting anxiously for them to wake up.

The room shifted, making Tsukasa's stomach lurch and then suddenly there was light and a familiar setting came into view. More ornate than Tsukasa remembered, but it was definitely the cathedral where he'd met Mimiru and where they'd fought Morganna's Guardians. Where Macha had...

Leon was on his knees, the last spell having taken more out of him than he liked. He wouldn't be able to manage a third any time in the immediate future. His mouth was dry, and breathing came hard. If he had a bit of a break, got a chance to rest for a few moments, he might be able to try again...

He had no idea what was going on. Had they been relocated? Everything looked different, but it didn't feel like he'd been moved (unless he'd blacked out for a minute and not realized it). "W-what's going on?"

Needless to say, Haseo was not prepared to suddenly weather the effects of this particular type of Data Drain. He'd already smashed the bar against the AI before he realized the full extent of what was happening, just then seeing the beginning of the bracelet quickly growing and-- mental query "HOW TO STOP A DATA DRAIN" came up short and he merely stared in horror as the skill began in earnest.

The beams flew everywhere and there was nothing for Haseo to do but stand frozen in place, arms crossed in front of his face. But then he took a step back, and then another, away from the source. Although it only took a few seconds, it was just enough time for Haseo to realize that the damage they'd done was being repaired, and he kicked himself for not thinking of that when remembering the last time. He should have known! But this time events definitely didn't play out in the same way. Whether that was fortunate or not remained to be seen.

When the lighting changed, from static to darkness and finally something that should have made telling what was going on easier, it was so different from what Haseo might have expected that at first he just wasn't capable of accepting it. Δ Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground, the Hulle Granz Cathedral. For the first several seconds afterward he was completely rigid in shock... had there been a goal for creating something that was the most psychologically jarring at the moment, it had been met for sure.

"This is...!" Impossible. How the hell did you just go and change a room like that? It had to be a trick of some sort... he was still "real," dressed in those damned pajamas, and it still wasn't like it was possible to just log out. If they went out the doors, what would happen then? It made Haseo's head hurt.

But after several beats, he managed somehow to shake off the worst of it- at least so that he could move again. Despite most of his attention being locked on the now-whole figure, he couldn't stop glancing at the others, and at the altar unmarred by the Sign branding the place where Shino had become a Lost One. He cautiously moved to a space between the AI and Endrance, not yet sure how much damage the Blade Brandier might have sustained.

"What the hell did you just do?!" he finally managed, voice filled with anger and alarm. He kept a grip on his weapons... the attack may have paused, but that didn't mean it couldn't resume at any moment.

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