damned_institute | Nightshift 44: Stairwell by Nurse's Station 1-B

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/727542.html?thread=60407798#t60407798)]

Argilla entered the stairwell warily,, grip tight on the handle of the pickaxe as she peered around the gloom. She spotted Heat quickly and moved over to his side, smiling slightly. "Heat," she said softly as she approached, relaxing a little as she did so.

As Argilla entered, Heat immediately stopped his pacing. A low growl found it's way out of the back of his throat before he could help it. "About time. Where're the others?" Roland was the only one he'd seen on the bulletin, but the fact that Argilla had made it here despite her lack of response meant it was possible Gale had seen the notice as well. He'd better have. And Roland had to show because this was his damn meeting (not that Heat wouldn't have planned one himself had the Lokapala leader not done it first).

One hand went to his hip in his old familiar pose. He didn't see anyone behind their sniper. "Are you alone?"

((From here.)) (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/727695.html?view=60439183#t60439183)

It was at about that point that Roland finally strolled in, shouldering his pickax and with his unlit lamp dangling from his fingers. With no matches, he couldn't light the thing, but it would still be good to have along. At the least, Heat could use it to ignite the oil within, perhaps. It was good to have options.

As he approached, he offered a sheepish smile at the two other demons. "Sorry I'm late."

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/727695.html?thread=60469391#t60469391)]

Gale wasn't long behind Roland, and he not so visibly relaxed when he saw his tribe mates. He had nothing with him save the flashlight he found in his room. Approaching the others, seeing them together eased the tension in his shoulders by a fractional margin.

Arms folded across his chest and he nodded to the others.

Argilla glared back at Heat when he began to growl, baring her teeth at him. It wasn't up to her to keep track of the others, and she didn't have to answer to him. He hadn't been their second in command since they'd left the Junkyard. She hadn't seen either Gale or Roland since yesterday either. Perhaps Roland had been taken by the institute again, who knew?

She was thankfully saved from having to respond by the arrival of both of them. She gave a relieved smile and moved a little closer to Roland. "We're all here now. What are we doing?"

Roland wasn't so late that Heat wouldn't forgive him, and as Gale followed in after he gave both a toothy grin. So they had all made it. That was promising. The lack of Seraph and Cielo was still disappointing, but given where they were perhaps it was best that they'd ended up somewhere else. They were, after all, the most innocent of all of them - if one that fed off the flesh of others could still be called innocent.

"Hunting," he answered Argilla easily. The others might have different plans, but Heat knew what he was after. There were still plenty of questions left unanswered, but they could wait until he was lest restless and more willing to listen to answers.

At the last minute, for the sake of fairness, he frowned and glanced between each of them. "...Unless there are any objections."

Edited 2009-10-15 03:13 (UTC)

Roland had to suppress a bit of a smile when Heat gave his answer. He should have expected something like that, and yet, right now, he couldn't say that he minded all that much. Roland hadn't had a chance to feed for a little while, and while he wasn't quite at the point of ravenous hunger, it was best to be careful.

He took a step closer to Argilla, offering an apologetic look- for last night, but also just in general- but then he stopped. 'All here'... hm. He turned his head, seeing that Gale had followed behind him. Made sense, the tactician usually moved quietly and never raised his voice, but still, a little worrisome that he hadn't heard it. Ah well. With a shrug, he affirmed, "Hunting sounds good to me, as it's been a few days. We might want to consider getting some weapons for the two of you at some point, however."

As calm as he generally was, Gale was not immune to the restlessness of a demon's hunger. He nodded, shifting his weight onto one hip. It would also give Heat and himself a chance to better aquatint themselves with the layout of the institute.

Though, hunting and devouring without the benefit of their demon forms should prove to be interesting, to say the least. "Gaining weapons should probably be our first priority, it would certainly make hunting easier."

Gale turned his attention towards Roland, eying the pickax. "Do you know where we could attain something useful?"

Argilla smiled back when Roland moved closer to her but she quickly turned her attention to the matter at hand. Hunger was starting to return, even after how they'd gorged the other night. They never stayed sated for very long. It came back all too soon. And now food seemed rather appealing.

"We found these in a mine a little way outside the Institute," she said. "We could head there. Or there are pieces to be found around the buhadn't spent much time looking though if she were honest.

So getting outside the Institute was possible? The guardian the night before had placed some doubt on that, and the fact that Roland and Argilla were back with them now meant they hadn't gotten far in the long run. Heat growled at the idea of using weapons anyway, after becoming so used to tearing through enemies with his claws. A grenade launcher was all well and good against human opponents, but he'd relied on it far less after the transformation. He wanted to be stubborn, claim that his fists would be enough for anything, but he hadn't even seen what sorts of demons this place had to offer aside from the small, already deceased ones they'd passed the night prior.

He nodded at Gale and Argilla, though it was still clear from his expression that he wasn't pleased. "We'd be better off armed, but we need a meal no matter what. Two of us have weapons. I'll tear shit apart with my bare hands if I gotta." Standing around here deciding what was best wasn't going to get them anywhere. "We should head for equipment through somewhere demons are bound to show. Best of both worlds."

Heat definitely spoke what was on Roland's mind. They could get weapons, or they could get a meal... or they could get both. Why not have the best of both worlds, especially since they had more than enough manpower to get things done?

With Gale looking at him, and with the others having finished their remarks, Roland quietly asserted, "I'm with Heat on this one. If we go outside to the activities shed, we can get some makeshift clubs, and there are usually monsters of some sort out there. Not a guaranteed thing, of course, but it's the best thing that I can come up with."

After all, it had taken himself and Argilla some effort to find and retrieve the pickaxes, chances were good that they wouldn't be able to get there tonight. But tomorrow, perhaps, they'd have a better chance. Hopefully.

Gale nodded towards Heat, brushing the brow of his nose with a finger. "I agree." He was unsure about hunting without proper weapons, but Argilla and Roland had been able to survive until they acquired something they were able to use to defend themselves.

There were others here far less skilled then they were, and now there were four of them. As a group they had a far better chance of a successful hunt, powerless or no.

"We should get moving."

"The recreational field then?" Argilla said, looking between her comrades for a moment before nodding decisively. She felt more confident than she had in a long time, her comrades, her tribe by her side, backing her up and giving her strength. She hadn't realised how much she had missed this until it was returned to her.

[To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/727695.html?thread=60684943#t60684943)]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/727695.html?view=60425871#t60425871)]

Endrance noticed the presence of others in the stairway, but fortunately, they were generally off to one side and occupied. "If my memory serves me correctly, we want to make a slight right as we leave here, and then it's one of the first doors down that hall..."

Edited 2009-10-13 22:38 (UTC)

"Yeah, you're right." No time, Endrance had said, and somehow Alkaid couldn't help but feel a deep despair welling up in her tummy, like somehow no matter what they did, they wouldn't be able to save Haseo. It was the same useless feeling she'd had after the glorious dork had defeated her in the Arena - that stomach-tightening, useless feeling.

She hated it.

She climbed up the stairs two at a time - not really to show off, but more to save time. Even though the legs were kinda short on her five-foot-tall self, this wasn't uncomfortable to her PC body. Endrance would probably find it even easier, with his long legs. She kinda envied that of him, but it wasn't like this was very hard or anything.

So, with his careful direction, she continued, pushed past the other people gathered in here, and opened the next door.

[ to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/729936.html?thread=60427344#t60427344) ]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/727695.html?thread=60396687#t60396687)]

It was still rather uneventful once they reached the stairs. There didn't seem to be any monsters out at the moment, although Feldt realized that it was possible that they could still appear. She swung her flashlight around as she began to climb the stairs.

The only thought that was on Setsuna's mind was to complete the mission so that they and the other people mistakenly placed in this strange institution could escape, and so that Celestial Being could return to their fight. The world still needed to change; it still needed them.

Again, not even the smallest hint of pause or doubt could be noted in the Gundam Meister as they ascended the stairs.

The hallways may have been empty of anything but cautious collections of patients, yet as he inched his way up the staircase Lunge began to realise that something was most definitely not right. The top of the stairs were just out of sight but his eyes weren't necessary in this equation; already he could hear the sound of retching, hurried voices, scuffling. Something was going on. Something he couldn't afford to get involved in.

Glassy-eyed, Lunge switched off his flashlight and, keeping his head down, made his way to the top of the stairs.

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/727695.html?thread=60284047#t60284047)]

There were others here, both in this hallway and beyond. Venom kept to the side out of habit (did it matter if others saw him? They were all patients, all looking for escape and closure. Maybe because it felt like a mission - and he hadn't gone on one in quite a while. He never had liked them, and now that he held power over the Guild, it was silly to keep doing them - his response was to treat it like one), letting the shadows obscure him again as he ascended the stairs without a single sound. He hadn't even considered that the other two may be following at this rate. He only wanted to see what was at the top of the stairs and if any of the information gathered could bring down this institute.

There had to be something...

"Sorry," the vampire tried to amend the silence, but he wasn't sure why. He could understand never hearing of the smaller, less-populated countries... but England? That was pushing the letter a bit. It was clear their answers had confused the smaller boy, which was the strangest part of all. There didn't even seem to be a vague recognization there.

Bringing his eyes from the brunet child, the vampire saw that Venom had moved on without him. He followed quickly - as quickly as he could manage without hissing in pain - until the stairwell was in sight. Though Venom moved swiftly through the darkness, Edward's ascent of the stairwell was much slower and, he laughed to himself under his breath, clumsily human. The burns on his leg didn't take kindly to the constant harsh bending of his leg, and he kept his burned, bandaged arm cradled against his chest to prevent himself from using it to steady his stumbles against the wall.

When he scaled the top with a sigh of relief, his immediate view was still covered in darkness. So the lights didn't work on the second floor, either. That would have been too useful.

Perhaps it would be better if he broke away from the darker man; as much as it seemed he had a general idea where he was going, Edward would be a burden on him if anything decided to attack. It's not as if he expected help if it happened now, anyway.

To add to Rolo's frustration, neither of them even stopped to explain anything and Rolo just blinked in surprise when they both walked past him. Of course, he never considered that this was how he tended to treat people in particular, and he was annoyed enough to actually give chase, following the two up the stairs.

The one who apologized to him looked injured, from how slow he was climbing. He especially took note of how swiftly the other moved, and how he didn't seem to care for his partner. Were these two actually not traveling together?

"... Do you know anyone here from Japan, at least?" Rolo tried. The name sounded so foreign, but Teresa didn't know about Britannia and it's Areas, and neither did these two. Maybe they were one of those stubborn people who refused to call a conquered area by it's number.

It was almost like they were from completely different... planets or something.

If he had been wondering about the other two, the amount of noise they made answered his question soon enough. Were they... following him? Why? Yes, he had scolded Edward for leaving his room unsupervised and thus the vampire at least had a legitimate reason (alright, he wasn't completely surprised with his actions), but the other...

"Yes," he answered from the dark, his quiet voice almost completely inaudible. "There are many people from Japan here." More than he was comfortable with after the country's destruction. It was incredibly jarring, like suddenly finding yourself surrounded by individuals claiming to be from Ancient Rome. During the 22nd century. While you were in Hawaii.

And just because they had no care for stealth did not mean Venom joined them in that mindset. He stayed hidden and scanned the surrounding area as the other two talked on. If something attacked, it would attack them first - perhaps that was cowardly, but it meant the attacker would not suspect retaliation from a third party.

Edited 2009-10-21 16:30 (UTC)

[To here.]

There may have been some people on the stairwell already, but they at least didn't pretend to not be following after her as she headed up. Donna was thankful for that, even if it still would have been a good idea to have someone to travel with. Better to be alone than to be annoyed, wasn't it? Or at lest she could continue telling herself that.

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/729936.html?thread=60765776#t60765776).]

Endrance slammed the door shut the moment Alkaid and Haseo were both through, then continued to face it for a moment, sword pointing directly at it. It seemed that the being that had captivated Alkaid was incorporeal, but he wasn't about to take any chances. If it came back for either of them, he was prepared to fight it, no matter the cost.

"Haseo...Alkaid. Are both of you all...no. I know you aren't all right, but can you make it downstairs?"

From there, it wouldn't be far to the patient blocks. Haseo's room was closer than the women's block, at any rate, so...the best course of action would be to move there as fast as possible.

Edited 2009-10-27 00:35 (UTC)

It was probably no surprise that Alkaid would be a little disoriented, at one point being almost entranced by the cat and the little kid and then... suddenly, as if she'd been dragged from a rushing river, she'd been grabbed, a warm hand yanking her someplace... dark. The stairwell..?

Her heart was pounding. She hadn't noticed this before; it'd just been the darkness and the silence surrounding her, and all she had heard was silence.

"Haseo..." Had he saved her from something? It was as if there'd been a gap in her memory. She held on to her friend for a second, gaining her bearings. Then she pulled away all of a sudden, turning her gaze away from them both. The hunger was still there, though it was growing faint - a good sign. But they still weren't safe from it.

"I... uh, I'm fine! Fine. Looks like we're all fine," she replied pointedly. "I was right to trust you, Endrance." Though.. as far as she remembered, he hadn't been gone for more than a minute. But from the haze that had started with that choking feeling, and that cat... who knew how long she'd been standing there, transfixed by whatever Endrance had been able to escape.

She started walking down the stairs, refusing to look at either of them. She wanted to know what had happened to Haseo, but there was no freaking way that she was going to up and ask. She wouldn't bruise his pride.

Haseo paused for a long moment once they were in the stairwell, face turned toward the door and pulse continuing to drum in his ears. His concentration was still erratic; barring the return of whatever had caused Alkaid to go temporarily insane, he was suddenly left once more without anything to focus his attention on... except, of course, that he hated this place. However, it wasn't until Alkaid pulled away that he reacted at all, unsteadily putting the hand with Endrance's flashlight against the wall and lowering his head as the Twin Blade marched away.

It took a lot to resist the temptation in just sitting down right there on the stairs and refusing to do anything more, but upon glancing at Endrance still nearby he cleared his throat and followed after the girl without answering, trying to ignore the frustrated embarrassment stemming from the implication that they had made plans to go after him- just how long had he been missing...?

Endrance nodded silently, glad that Alkaid had actually started moving forward first. It saved him the trouble of rounding everyone up. He still wanted to know what it was she had been seeing, but...that didn't matter, not now. Either way, it couldn't be anything good, so better that it stayed on the second floor.

He began to follow the other two down, keeping his eyes on Haseo - he would get yelled at if he actually caught him if he fell, but he'd rather be yelled at than whatever the opposite might be.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/727695.html?thread=60782479#t60782479)]

Nightshift 44: Stairwell by Nurse's Station 1-B

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