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damned_institute2009-10-09 11:49 am
dahliahasthorns.livejournal.com) wrote in damned_institute2009-10-09 11:49 am
Night 44: Grand Ballroom
[From here]
Dahlia made her way over to the fountain first thing and went to sit down next to it. Believe it or not, her feet were still aching from last night and just because this room never stopped being gorgeous did not mean she stopped being sensible. If there was something going on soon, she needed to be ready for it.
Hmph. More like ready to push either one of these brats into the fray instead of dealing with it herself. Either or, she'd need to rest for a little while. May as well drop her bag for now while she was at it, too; the strap was bugging the bandaged gash along her back.
She wasn't dumb though. She kept one of her hands on it just in case someone got grabby.
"So, um." She brought her other hand to her mouth, thinking to herself. Did she dare ask now? Or was Syncie going to keep some more secrets from her? "What do we do now?"
Dahlia made her way over to the fountain first thing and went to sit down next to it. Believe it or not, her feet were still aching from last night and just because this room never stopped being gorgeous did not mean she stopped being sensible. If there was something going on soon, she needed to be ready for it.
Hmph. More like ready to push either one of these brats into the fray instead of dealing with it herself. Either or, she'd need to rest for a little while. May as well drop her bag for now while she was at it, too; the strap was bugging the bandaged gash along her back.
She wasn't dumb though. She kept one of her hands on it just in case someone got grabby.
"So, um." She brought her other hand to her mouth, thinking to herself. Did she dare ask now? Or was Syncie going to keep some more secrets from her? "What do we do now?"
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"Dangerous?!" she squealed, wide-eyed. Oh, whoopsie, that was too loud, wasn't it? Oh no! She immediately brought a hand to cover her own mouth. Was Sync watching? Oh no, what if Anise were right, what should they do?!
She leaned forward, tears just beginning to spring to her pretty brown eyes. Dahlia whispered to the other girl, just so afraid! "Are... are you sure?"
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Maybe this was why the God-General pulled away from the group, acting like he was too busy examining the marble doors. Actually, it had been his original intention, but halfway through he realized that he'd just given the Guardian the perfect opportunity to try and to save herself. Even now he used his peripherals in an attempt to study their body language, watching carefully for any sort of movement that would trigger a reaction.
Luckily, Dahlia had done all the dirty work for him, and he spun around fully just as the redhead clamped a hand over her mouth. Sync blinked at the pair, quickly making his way over before kneeling before them.
"Is there anything wrong …?" For that moment he looked worried, like the conversation was about anything else but him.
Yet he gave no warning when he suddenly reached out and violently grabbed the Guardian's neck, forcing her to get back on her feet with a harsh tug. By then he had all but dropped his facade, gracing the teen with a dangerous smirk as if daring her to try and pull something to test his patience. Even now he pressed his thumb into Anise's throat, making sure he got his point across.
"You can ease up now, Dahlia," Sync began casually, tossing the redhead an amused smirk as he began to drag Anise towards the door. "I was going to kill her off anyway."
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"Not so loud!" Anise hissed, but it was too late. Sync was already on his way back. Anise stiffened where she sat, her face the same mixture of anxiety and hatred it had been when he last saw her. For a moment, it looked like Sync was just giving her a warning...
...But then he made his move. Anise yelped in pain and surprise when the God-General's hand suddenly clenched around her neck and pulled her to her feet. Her one hand still held her weapon, and she tightened her grip so as not to drop it. The other flew to her throat, trying to pry Sync's fingers away.
As she was yanked along, the girl choked out whatever protests, threats, and curses she could force out of her tightened airway, but she stopped abruptly when she heard his next words.
Dahlia?
Anise fought to turn her head to look at the other girl, finding that it hurt even more when she moved. What did Sync mean by that? Why would he say that to Dahlia?
It couldn't be...
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Was that brat calling her out? Now? What a waste of space! She didn't give the idiot permission to blow her cover! Still... Knowing Sync had plans to off their tenacious little fungus of a girl was a bonus.
If she didn't have to work to keep her cover or kill the brat later? Whatever.
So Dahlia stood up and followed the other two. If she was in this, she was in this for the prize and hell if she was getting it by flaking out now. Anise could take the fall for them and it'd be perfect!
"Hee." Her hands found their way to her face again and she just blushed in the most adorable way as she giggled. Was Anise that surprised? How shocked must she be to find the girl she was trying to protect was more dangerous than the man she had thought was so terrible? Was she going to cry? How sweet! "Let's keep that to ourselves, okay Syncie?"
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"Fine, fine. You win this time," Sync laughed, expression softening as if he was just joking around with a good friend. In fact, he was (expect for considering Dahlia as more than a convenient acquaintance), but he needed something to lighten his mood after having to drag Anise around with that fake smile plastered on his face. It was obvious that he didn't care about the girl's well being as he continued to drag her along, stopping just as they reached the door and approached Dahlia with an outstretched arm.
"Here. Can you put this in the other indentation?" During their little event Sync had taken the time to balance both artifacts with one hand, gripping the sword's handle with his last three fingers while pinching the shield between his thumb and forefinger. He had carefully set the shield into Dahlia's palm once she reached out before pulling back and making his way over to one of the indentations.
Taking one last glance over his shoulder, Sync carefully fitted the sword inside.
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Finally, all of that darkness opened up into light, and Guy was no longer forced to squint and see if their quarry was still up ahead of them. No, the forms of Sync, Anise, and another girl he didn't know were crystal clear. Sync was in the middle of placing one of those artifacts into its appropriate slot, while holding hard onto Anise with his other hand.
Why hadn't Anise told him about this? Guy had sensed that she'd wanted to, but in the end she hadn't gotten the words out. Maybe she hadn't wanted to worry him, but this wasn't the sort of thing you tried to handle on your own! He'd brought two people along with him, hadn't he?
At this point, though, Claude and Dias were far from his mind. Right now all Guy could think about was the way Sync's hand was curled around Anise's throat.
He broke out into a run, holding his sword at his side with all intention of using it if he had to. He wasn't sure how the third member of their group fit into all of this, but his main priority at this point was stopping Sync from getting any further with this quest of his.
"What the hell are you doing?!" he snapped as he closed the distance between them, and it was hard to tell if the question was aimed at Sync or Anise.
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However, when he saw Sync with his hand around the throat of one of the girls, he began moving faster without any conscious direction. Boy or not, there were some things he wouldn't permit while he could possibly prevent them.
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He wasn't sure why Anise was here -- if Sync was involved, though, that had to mean he'd tricked her and that other girl somehow. The thought of Sync targeting other victims, to say nothing of someone he considered a friend, strengthened his resolve that much more. Grip tightening on his weapon, Claude ran along side Dias, eyes narrowed as he focused on the replica.
Sync might have gotten away the last time he'd screwed with them, but not this time. They'd just see what the bastard would do now that he was outnumbered!
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Anise was being dragged by the neck to what could end up being her death, and Dahlia was giggling.
Everything Anise went through in the basement had been for nothing. Dahlia was never an innocent victim to begin with; she was a willing accomplice. While Anise believed she was protecting someone, all she was really doing was helping Sync set up his trap for her and her friends.
She could feel her eyes welling up with tears of frustration. All of this could have been avoided if she hadn't bought their stupid act!
Just as one of those tears started to make its way down her cheek, Anise heard Guy's voice. She turned her head as far as it would move to see.
Her heart made a small leap of joy at the sight of Guy, but it quickly sank again when she remembered how she hid all of this from him. She wanted to say something to him - a lot of somethings, even - except not only was there no time for that, but she wasn't even sure the words would even come out. With her throat squeezed so tightly, she couldn't breathe normally, and instead she took frequent shallow gasps, just to get some air.
There were two others with Guy. It was a relief that he came prepared, but it was too soon to relax. Sync had been expecting this, after all. Now that the God-General couldn't afford to give Anise all of his attention anymore, the girl started struggling again, pulling at the arm that held her neck in an attempt to loosen his grip, or at the very least, distract him a bit for Guy.
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"What the hell are you doing?!"
And aww, there was the promised company, right on schedule! Sure, Annie might be friends with them and eventually tell them that she was just as rotten as Syncie if she survived tonight, but who'd believe her when the evidence was so in her favor? She already had a backup plan in mind for that train of unfortunate events (because, let's face it. Sync was horrible at keeping his promises). But how on earth was a girl supposed to victimize herself without anyone to sympathize with her plight?
Once those knights in shining armor stepped in, Dahlia let out a gasp and backpedaled closer to the door. Please don't point those swords at her! Can't they see she was just as scared at Anise was?!
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The God-General scowled when Anise struggled harder against his grip, suddenly pulling the Guardian closer to him and plowed his knee right into her stomach. It didn't matter if the other group saw; in fact, he'd done it partly to rile up the others even more.
"It's been a while Guy," He began with a snide expression, waving the latter off with his free hand as he turned back around to face the door. "Maybe if Anise behaved then this would've been more pleasant for all of us."
Yet for someone who could potentially have their plans ruined Sync hardly looked upset. In fact, he looked even happier than when he was just traveling with Anise and Dahlia, but now wasn't the time to reminisce.
With Guy closing in there was no time to waste, yet just as he reached out a loud click filled the air, signifying that something had occurred with the door. The God-General immediately grabbed the handle and pulled hard, grinning when the object gave in and opened in response. He didn't wait to see what was inside, propping the door open with his foot in order to take Dahlia's hand into his own before pulling both girls into the next hall.
[To here.]
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However, Guy pursued Sync so quickly upon the opening of the door that he and Claude were more or less left in his wake; he'd known from the first that Claude had a large personal stake in this, could have worked it out from body language alone, but Guy - whom Dias couldn't read quite as well, not being as familiar with him - clearly had his own score to settle. The man had been anxious and eager before, but whether it was the captive girls or simply the sight of their quarry, Guy was evidently in a positive froth now.
Unfortunately, if Sync was as conniving as he sounded cruel, he'd probably use that to his advantage. He didn't like the thought of leaving Guy to face Sync alone, even though he had no reason to believe Guy wasn't the better fighter(so say nothing of having height, weight, and reach advantages). "Come on," he snapped to Claude, voice clipped.
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In the back of Claude's mind there were niggling doubts over what may have been running into. It was dark. They hadn't been up there before. But all of that was overshadowed by the pressing need to rescue Sync's hostages. If they could just get them somewhere safe, or at least out of Sync's clutches, they could unleash everything they had in dealing with the boy. Either way, they couldn't just let Guy fight Sync alone. They needed to support him!
Dias had urged him along, but it wasn't necessary. In fact, Claude already charged forward, hot on the heels of their enemy.
((To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/740949.html?thread=60490069#t60490069).))