damned_institute | Nightshift 44: Entry Room

"A random attempt to cause tension among the patients would be in keeping with what I have seen of some of the other procedures -- Special Counseling, for example. Yet the question of where the clothing is coming from is important when considering why someone provides it."

He stepped into the room after Jones, following him to the first file room door. "What are they calling you here? My own file is likely to be under L."

Laurier, L, Lawliet... he didn't know which, but he wondered if Jones would notice that it had nothing to do with "Ryuuzaki." Then, it would follow that his assumption about the location of his file was the same regardless of whether he should look under his real name, or the name given to him by the Institute.

He had never said that Ryuuzaki was his name. He presented it in such a way that most people would believe that was the case, even though it was only misdirection, careful wording on his part: Please call me Ryuuzaki. A sharp acquaintance might suspect an alias.

Apart from that, some unfortunate transparency in the matter of his identity seemed to be the trade-off for the safety in numbers that a companion might provide. He thought of the way he had chosen to introduce himself to the NPA's task force, in exchange for their trust and assistance: they knew where he was and what he looked like, although in that situation, he had the ability to disappear if he became uneasy enough for it to be necessary. He lacked the freedom and resources here; he was trapped, pinned down. An uncomfortable feeling.

His cognitive dissonance on the subject reconciled itself. All Jones was likely to learn was an initial... a revealing one, yes, but there was a good chance that it wouldn't even mean anything to him.

When they found that the door was locked, L raised his eyebrows, hidden by the hair that covered his forehead. "I have nothing with which to pick the lock; do you? If not, I suppose we can attempt to break it. Someone I know was able to open it last night without too much trouble." After a pause, he added, "He was attacked in the room, but he was able to kill the creature."

He wondered if he would be able to kick the door hard enough to get past it, but the force and momentum that would be required in what appeared to be a small space was daunting. It might be easier to force with a shoulder.

"They may have taken it at the same time they took us," Indy replied with a shrug; he felt comfortable enough to continue the discussion now that some thirty seconds had passed without anything lunging at them, teeth bared. No reason why not--his adventuring clothes wouldn't've been in plain sight, but it would've been easy enough for someone who knew what they were looking for to find them with a cursory search of his house. "It's possible there's a set of everyone's clothing in storage here, in case they decide to use it. The Patient Possessions clothes are likely just store-bought."

It didn't escape his notice that Ryuuzaki was still being cagey about his name, not to mention asking for more information than he was interested in providing. Indy knew that "L" and "R" would be the same sound in Japanese, but aside from that there was no other obvious connection between the name and the initial. As it happened, he didn't care. Even if he made the (probably incorrect) assumption that "Ryuuzaki" wasn't an alias, there was no reason why anyone's real name would necessarily correspond to the name he'd been assigned. Anyway, real names didn't have much actual value here, except when someone gave his as a show of good faith. Having a name with which to identify someone was usually enough.

What concerned him more was that he had no idea what Pierson's patient name was--or, come to think of it, any assurance that "Pierson" itself hadn't been an alias. Maybe it had been; surely the nurse would've corrected him if he hadn't used the "official" name in asking.

"So's mine," Indy answered shortly. "And no, I don't. The guy who disappeared was the one with the lockpicking equipment. I should be able to kick it in, if you don't mind a little noise." Not that it looked like they had much of a choice.

Unfortunatly, the other occupant of the room did mind a little noise. He would much rather hear the soothing tones of his heart rather than some loud,obnoxious slamming about and banging.

tick tick tick tick

Stepping out into the main room from where he'd been leaning against a corner, the undead assasin tilted his head, considering the intruders. They didn't look like they would be much challenge... But he had long ago learned to never underestimate an opponent. One tonfa blade was drawn with a sharp, slow slide of metal on leather.

L heard the ticking before he had the chance to answer Dr. Jones, and he frowned, then flicked the beam of the flashlight in Kroenen's direction. He didn't like what he saw. The flash of a long, silver blade extended past the length of the shadowy figure's forearm.

He was not in any way equipped to handle anyone who was armed like this. Although it was difficult to tell in the darkness, he suspected that it wouldn't even be possible to knock the blade out of the man's hand.

"One door or the other. We cannot stay." His voice was commanding, suddenly -- almost strident, as if he was used to being obeyed.

His curiosity about the file wasn't worth a suicide mission.

Edited 2009-10-12 15:16 (UTC)

Dammit, how the hell had he managed to miss someone? Didn't matter now. Indy didn't have to look to know that whoever it was had one long blade, and he wasn't just drawing it to show it off. He kicked the door possibly harder than he'd ever kicked anything else in his life, finished the job with his shoulder, and ducked into the closest file room. "Come on!" he ordered.

It occurred to him that they were walking right into a dead end, one he had no idea how to get out of, but he was just gonna have to figure that part out later.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/740228.html)]

[and back out from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/740228.html?thread=60406404#t60406404)]

The cabinet that had been blocking the file room door came down with a noise like a gunshot. Indy scrambled over it and made for the hall door. The empty file drawer he was ducking behind felt less protective with every step--not to mention it made seeing more than a little difficult, especially with Ryuuzaki behind him carrying the only light they had. His one consolation was that it was heavy enough to throw.

He didn't stop running to look for whoever that had been with the blade. Hopefully the guy'd gotten bored of trying to decapitate people and gone out for a drink or something.

L ran behind Indy, keeping pace well, but nervous about where the man with the blade had gone in the room. He kept the drawer in front of him.

When it came time to turn towards the exit, he wasn't entirely sure which direction he could put his back to. Going back-to-back with Dr. Jones would be safest in strategic terms; in terms of speed and escape, though, it would only slow them down.

Edited 2009-10-15 04:13 (UTC)

He couldn't help it, really. He had to laugh at that, though the sound was dry and could have been confused for wheezing or coughing if one didn't see the way his shoulders shook.

In the end, it was the pathetic sight that saved them from a full attack. Kroenen moved quickly,and drew a smaller blade to throw. They were covering their heads, but legs were in plain view and the blade could easily embed itself in someone's leg... if he hadn't been laughing so hard, he might have even managed to aim for a particular person's leg.

(okay, so if you want, you can be stabed, but have a free small (SMALL) knife and a new hole, or a graze and lighter wound and no blade, OR he missed totally and you get off just fine. It's up to you two if you want either Indy or L to be the target, but he was going for the one with the light. ^^ )

Indy could just barely made it out in the dim, bouncing light: the wheezing sound, the arm drawing back, the shadow and whistle of a projectile. He leaped forward on instinct, but either their attacker had lousy aim or he hadn't been throwing for Indy.

He fought the impulse to look back and kept running. Another couple steps brought him to the door; Indy sprinted through and ducked to one side, flattening himself against the wall to watch through the doorway. If Ryuuzaki wasn't badly injured, they could make for the stairs. No matter how aggressive Knife Boy was feeling, getting a couple of file drawers dropped on his head should be enough to convince him to take a nap.

As L was about to pass through the door behind Indy, there was some kind of obstruction near his feet; he almost tripped.

"Ah!" The stinging feeling burned along the side of his leg, and a wetness began to trail and spread. It was painful, and as he ran, he registered that he was bleeding... yet the pain and the blood were nothing in comparison to what had happened the previous evening.

[To here.]

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/732808.html?thread=60642184#t60642184)]

Hallelujah stepped confidently into the entry room, looking around himself with interest, seeing it himself with his own eyes for the first time. It was different in the darkness, as the entire place was. "Come on," he called back to Fai.

tick....tick.... tick

Well, perhaps this new pair could provide a bit more entertainment or at least have the common sense to turn and flee?

The clockwork assasin was content to watch for the moment, blades held close to his sides...

There was little room for argument and Yuuhi quietly followed into the next room. The light was dim at best and he could smell blood in the air, but then again, where couldn't he?

Once they were both in the room, he stepped out from behind Hallelujah, peering through the darkness for any sign of a threat. Usually they were just in the Sun Room, weren't they? But then again, the way Hallelujah had led them here, had he known exactly where to find the source of whatever song it was he'd heard?

Someone had been fighting here. The scent of blood was strong in his nose, much more interesting than fighting in space where there was no scent and no sound of the enemy screaming as he ripped them apart. There should be something in here. He just had a feeling, an instinct about it. That was what he was after all. Instinct pure and simple, the savage animal part of them which felt the most strongly, the most viciously.

He drew out one of the bottles of acid, holding it in his hands loosely as he moved towards the door.

Kroenen stepped up, drawing a single tonfa with a soft hiss of metal on leather. With his other hand, he slipped a second throwing knife from it's sheath.

tick tick tick tick

He didn't move to attack just yet. Occasionally, all it took was a glimpse of his gas mask and opponents fled. Would they?

It took a few seconds to place the sound. A ticking, sort of, like a clock. But from where? He couldn't recall seeing one recently. That wasn't where the song was coming from, was it? Maybe instead of a clock, a metrinome, keeping time to the music he couldn't yet hear.

But the sound of metal being drawn from a sheath was certainly more familiar to his ears. He was able to lock onto their enemy fairly quickly after he'd heard it. A man, from the look of him. But he wore a mask, and Yuuhi could sense little life nor anything magical about him. He felt empty.

It was enough to make him uneasy, unsettled. And when he saw the bladed weapons reflecting in their flashlight's waning glow, it did nothing to make him feel any better.

"I don't think he wants to let us through," Yuuhi tried, turning to Hallelujah, though he didn't take so much as a half-step back. If anything, he tried to step ahead, between Hallelujah and the strange man with the bladed weapon. Hallie or Allie, it didn't matter, he couldn't just let the boy get himself hurt. "Maybe we should try a different way?"

The sound caught Hallelujah's attention quickly and he turned around, gazing at the human-shaped thing that ad appeared with no trace of fear or uncertainty. If anything, his grin widened at the appearance of an enemy, something that he could fight and hurt. He reached down to the pouch at his side, resting his fingers on one of the bottles of acid lightly, ready to throw it. He liked the look of that knife. It would look much better in his hand than this guy's.

His eyes widened a little in surprise when Fai moved though, stepping half in front of him. What was he idiot doing? "Why should we move?" he asked with a vicious smile. "He's in our way." And they took precedence over everything.

If he'd still had the ability to smile, he would be. As it was, he stopped and tilted his head, looking at the blond and the darker-haired man behind him. He brought the tonfa up into a ready position...

tick tick tick

This new side of Allie was difficult to understand. Did he mean that the man in front of them wasn't the objective? That whatever they were searching for was beyond it perhaps? His eyes slid away for only a moment, going from Hallelujah right back to the ticking man.

As if in answer to Hallelujah's statements, the armored man raised his weapons. Though he couldn't sense anything from the man, he could read enough of the body language to know they weren't getting through without a fight.

Yuuhi, on the other hand, wasn't one to start a fight. Hallelujah hadn't advanced, so he readied himself to react should the ticking man attack. Yuuhi had no weapons, no way to do much more than dodge unless he could wrest one of the blades from his opponent.

"Why don't you go ahead and try the door Hallie? I'll keep our new friend company," he suggested.

Oh good, he wanted to fight. Just perfect. Hallelujah watched with something approaching glee as the weapon was raised, because this was what he was made for, this was what he existed for, the quick sharp pleasure of violence, the violence that Allelujah craved but would never admit to wanting. But they were soldiers, they were made for violence and warfare and that was where they excelled.

"Moron," Hallelujah said when Fai suggested that he move aside. What did he think they were here for? "You try the damn door." With that, he quickly, more quickly than was entirely human, pulled the glass bottle of acid from the pouch and lobbed it with perfect aim at the man.

Interesting. Dissention in the ranks? This could be interesting. Kroenen's tonfa sliced through the air, shattering the bottle before it could hit his chest. The acid splashed over the blade and on his forearm, but he didn't seem to care about the way it was starting to eat at his bracers or flesh.

Instead, he tilted his head towards the darker one, and lunged forward---

Twin tonfa slicing out at the blond with intent to remove an important limb or two...

When Kurogane called him names, it was easy to dismiss; it happened so often after all. But from Allie, who'd been so nice before, he had to admit, it stung a little. In spite of that, he kept a smile on his lips, keeping his eyes on their opponent.

Things changed in an instant though, when Hallelujah hurled the bottle at the ticking man, only to have it slicked into pieces before it ever hit him. They were both fast. Not too fast for his eyes to follow, but with the restrictions here, well... it certainly wasn't going to be easy.

Before his thoughts had time to simmer, the man was already on the attack with his bladed tonfa, aimed straight for him. The first strike caught only fluff and fabric as his coat trailed behind him, but the second cut deeply across his left arm. Yuuhi winced and went into a practiced fall, though his legs struck out at his opponent with a couple of spinning kicks. It might not have done much in the usual uniform, but with his own boots, it stood a chance of pushing him back.

Well, that was irritating. The acid was dripping along the guy's arm and he could see it eating at the material and the skin, but he wasn't even fucking reacting? Well where was the fun in that? Hallelujah's expression turned angry and he snarled as the enemy moved towards Fai, attacking him with that petty knife of his. No! He wasn't allowed to do that! It was annoying, but Allelujah would be upset if Fai got cut up or killed.

As Fai moved, Hallelujah did too, grabbing one of the broken glass pipes and moving between Fai and the man, trying to rake the sharp splintered glass down the man's chest. "Idiot!" he snapped at Fai, never taking his eyes off the enemy, expression full of battle-lust. "I'm the on who has to deal with Allelujah when he's upset and he'll be miseable if you get yourself killed."

Edited 2009-10-28 16:49 (UTC)

The kicks hit his stomach while the glass scraped along the metal chest piece he wore. Staggering backwards, feigning weakness, he bent and moved back out of immediate reach.

He brought a hand to his chest, and twisted it sharply.

ticktickticktickticktick The sounds of the clock grew faster and the undead Nazi exploded into action.

Tonfa spun out as he sprinted at the dark haired one. He was the one that wanted a fight after all... Let's see just how skilled he was. Bringing the blades together, aiming for his stomach, but settling for a side wound, Kroenen put his not inconsiderable weight behind the blow.

The kick hit it's target and Yuuhi used the momentum to get back to his feet as Hallelujah pushed it back with his own attack. It wasn't as if Yuuhi intended to get himself killed, though he wasn't sure why Allie should be bothered by it either way. Certainly not miserable.

"I'm fine," he assured the boy; after all, it was far from a mortal wound. He could still fight if he had to. And with their opponent, odds were good it would take both of them to get anywhere near defeating the ticking man. Speaking of, his head turned back to their opponent when the sound of ticking sped up.

It was always hard to adapt to a new person's fighting style and learn to fight alongside with them without things getting messy. But in this kind of environment, they either had to learn, or end up injuring themselves. When the metal man pushed forward again, this time considerably faster, Yuuhi reacted faster as well, though he wasn't sure he could match the speed. He slid low, aiming a kick for the man's legs, hoping to throw off the aim if he couldn't completely stop the blow.

Much as he wanted to crow when the metal man fell backwards, Hallelujah knew that it was only temporary and when the clock began to tick faster, Hallelujah was already moving, cursing the way that his movements seemed subdued, more sluggish than they normally would have been, almost like he'd been drugged except he was clear headed. The fucking music then. That had to be doing this to him!

He twisted sharply as the blades struck towards him, hissing as they gashed his side, cutting into the muscle of his stomach when he couldn't quite move out of the way in time. But he used to momentum of the movement to slam his weight back, grasping for that thing that the man had twisted in his chest. It had made him faster so it might make him slower too.

Kroenen was already enjoying this far more than his previous 'fight' and was thrilled when they both went for him at once.

He spun on the balls of his feet away from the low sweeping kick and his steel hand shot out towards the darker one's face. He was going for his eyes, but he'd be just has happy crushing his nose or jaw.

The tonfa spun in his hand and he thrust it forward at the same time, stabbing towards his stomach again.

Too fast. The ticking man completely dodged away from his kick and went straight back toward Allie. Seconds had passed, but it felt like much longer, or maybe his body was just reacting too slowly. He could see the man's moves, thought he could counter them, but he wasn't as fast as he'd once been.

There was no time to think about consequences; his fingers and right hand moved in a wide arc, summoning runes and symbols of magic to defend his friend. They blasted toward the ticking man, weaker, much weaker than he remembered, but hopefully enough to push him back.

Nightshift 44: Entry Room

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