damned_institute | M1-M10 Hall, Outside M5, Nightshift 22

He couldn't help the bubble of fury that grew at the idea that somehow his magic had been dampened. It almost made him want to take out his wand right there and start experimenting. A deep breath, a clenched fist, and then he took control over his emotions again.

They could be lying, he realized. Though, as far as he could tell, at this point there was no advantage to doing so. For now, he would concentrate on the rest of the coversation.

So they were working with alchemy. Or at least, that is what they called it. And from the looks, it had taken a great deal of energy out of the other man. Severus was getting the feeling that his life had just taken another turn for the worse. Or at least, a turn for the stranger, and more dangerous, than he was used to.

He had questions about the alchemy, but those could wait for a more appropriate time.

With a nod to Hughes, he introduced himself. Somewhat. "My name is Severus Snape."

"Hey, take it easy." Hughes kept his voice hushed, for Roy's ears only. There was no need for Roy to overdo it any further, after all.

"Well, welcome to Landel's, Mr. Snape. I wish we had better news for you." He shrugged, sadly. "You might want to try using the bulletin board tomorrow, to see if anyone you know is here."

It was the best suggestion Hughes had for the man.

"For tonight, you should either stay in and test your own limits so they don't take you by surprise, or find people to move around with. It's not safe to go out alone at night."

It seemed that things were finally getting wrapped up, so hopefully they could get on with things as planned. First, Roy needed to finally tell Hughes (and Hawkeye, there was nothing wrong with her knowing) about what had happened last night.

He could only do that once he was certain they were alone. It might be best to move into a room, considering how exhausted he still felt.

"Good luck," he added, one last remark of good will. He was merciful enough to not add "You'll need it" to that statement.

He nodded to Hughes - he'd do his best not to push himself, but he wasn't making any promises - he relinquished his grasp on the man's shoulders. He was definitely shaky on his feet, but he could at least stand in one place without collapsing.

"We might want to get a room," he remarked with a sigh. It would only waste more time, but it might be the advisable move at the moment.

With the colonel's suggestion, she hoped Severus Snape would understand their haste. Were she alone, she might have made just such a remark to the man, but it wasn't her place to do so. Instead, she made a slight but polite bow to him to excuse herself. In truth, she was only stepping a pace or two away as she faced her superiors, but even this short distance would have been rude without the gesture. Still, she was not so close to them that it would be very awkward for them to exclude her.

The colonel seemed better, now that she could see him plainly, but she was still concerned, and she let her expression show it in the smallest amount.

Were they moving to the brigadier general's room? The door he'd exited with the blond boy was still the nearest to them.

He narrowed his eyes briefly at the three in front of him, realizing that they were purposefully trying to get rid of him. At least it didn't seem out of rudeness, or more nefarious reasons. They just didn't know him. And they were also right, if it was true that this place dampened any magical abilities, he was going to have figure out what his limits were. And fast.

Returning the short bow he turned away and began trying to think up a plan.

"Take care," Maes called after Severus, nodding to the man's retreating back. He turned to Roy and gave the man an appraising look before nodding once more.

"Come on, we can use my room." He turned back to his door and pulled it open, holding it for the other two. His room was the same as everyone else's, now with two beds instead of one. "My roommate's gone, he's a pretty good guy. Didn't seem too overwhelmed by this stuff, took it as well as anybody I've seen." Idle conversation. This wasn't the evening that Maes had envisioned. Certainly it had involved Roy and his bedroom, but Riza hadn't exactly been in the picture.

Not that Maes really minded - important things needed to be taken care of first, after all.

"Make yourselves comfy."

With the new patient taken care of, it seemed that they could finally get down to the point. Roy stared at the open door. It really wasn't far too move, and yet he didn't much like the idea of taking one step knowing that there was a possibility he wouldn't be able to hold his weight.

He couldn't just stand there, though, and he certainly wasn't going to ask either Hughes or Hawkeye for help. (Even if he knew both of them would gladly lend a hand, he wasn't one to ask for aid. He might take it if it was offered, but...)

Closing his eyes and sighing, he steeled himself and took a step. He managed it well enough. Now the trick was making sure he could keep it up until he reached Hughes' bed where he could sit down. Or maybe even lay down. Sleep sounded wonderful right now...

But no. There were things to be done, tired as he was.

Stubborn colonel.

She stepped forward as though meaning to enter the room, but stopped at the colonel's side, making no glance and no comment that would refer to the support she was offering him. She merely kept her focus in front of her as she finally felt his hand, and then a little of his weight, on her shoulder, and it was only then that she proceeded at his pace across the threshold. She knew the brigadier general would have done the same (more or less) were he not holding the door, and once inside she let him guide them to the correct bed.

Riza wasn't the type to make herself 'comfy' with such company, and so she waited a moment with her hands behind her back. If the brigadier general took the chair on his side of the room, she'd either continue standing or take the other chair. Though, given the long-standing friendship between the two, she half-expected him not to take the chair at all.

Maes did take the chair, moving it by the bed and turning it to sit. He glanced at Riza and gestured to the other furniture in the room.

"Have a seat, you don't need to stand on ceremony around here," he said, giving her a small wink. She was always so professional - and Maes did appreciate that. But they weren't in Amestris and they weren't in uniform and their titles and medals and ranks meant nothing here.

"Alright Roy, so what's the big news? Elena told me a little bit about what you guys did last night, but I'd really like to hear it from you." Not that he didn't trust Elena - he did, completely - but she was a teenage girl and wasn't exactly versed in giving reports.

Upon hitting the bed, Roy was tempted to turn his sitting position into a laying one, but there more matters of import to discuss - and places to get to after that.

The colonel wasn't certain if he liked the idea of Elena blabbing to Hughes about what had happened. Then again, she probably told Hughes because she had known he would tell his friend about it, anyway. Still, there was a chance she was informing other people as well. There was no way of her knowing that he wanted to keep things secret, of course. She may not have even seen what happened and was just mentioning the file rooms and -

He was getting ahead of himself. He needed to deliver the news and see how things went from there. "I got to the entry room last night after we separated. One of my keys opened the main door in there, but morning came before I could see laid behind it."

She responded to the brigadier general's wink with a smile of self-awareness. He was right, of course. But she'd never spoken with either of them outside of a military setting . . . or not for many years, at least, and without all the formality, she really had very little relationship to either of them. To let go of the ceremony meant she'd be alone, at least until she forged some new friendships, and as that might not be easy for her, she preferred not to go that route.

She took the chair from the other desk and set it at a reasonable closeness before sitting and listening. The entry room? She wasn't certain where that was, but if accurately named, it must be . . . well, one door away from the outside, and she assumed that was the door he meant if it required a key. But why did he have it? Could it really be that easy?

Her questions, however, would only waste time, and if the colonel's claim about last night were any indication, time was not in their favor. She merely sat forward, listening intently to them both.

"Elena mentioned the entry room," Hughes said, nodding. "She came by to return my knife, we chatted a little bit and she and Alfons got a few pointers on knife throwing. Alfons needs some practice, but I'm confident he can handle himself. Elena's a natural."

He leaned forward, thoughtful. So it was true, Roy really had made it to the entry room and had the key for it. That was more than Hughes could have hoped for, really.

"So we heading there tomorrow night? It'd be damn good to have an idea of the surrounding area. If we're going to orchestrate an escape, we need somewhere to escape to." It wasn't like they'd all just leave and pop back to their own worlds.

Right?

"I'm staying here tonight - Ed's supposed to come by so I can have a talk with him. I'm pretty sure he's not gonna show, but I figure I may as well give him the benefit of the doubt. And, well, we can't get much done tonight anyway - may as well rest up."

Which was a very polite way of saying that there was no way in hell he was letting Roy out to gallivant around in his condition.

It was good to hear that Alfons had at least learned something as far as combat. Roy doubted he was going to be able to do much good when he'd barely had any training, but it was still better than nothing. "If he keeps at it, he might get decent at it." Nowhere near Hughes' level, of course, but Roy hadn't seen anyone who could throw as well as his friend.

"Tomorrow night?" Roy wasn't able to hold his tongue. Where had Hughes gotten that idea? There was still a lot of time left this night, wasn't there? He wasn't about to waste it in some room...

Even though he could tell that Hughes was insinuating that he stay put, he would have none of that. "You can stay here and wait for Fullmetal, but I think there is still a lot we can get done. Or I can, anyway." Hawkeye would go with him, wouldn't she? Even if Hughes was going to insist on staying, that wouldn't stop him from seeing just what was behind that door.

Riza frowned sharply. She too was eager to know what lay beyond the door, though she'd been captive for the least amount of time by far, but if the brigadier general did stay for Ed, she would be the colonel's only escort. And in his condition, he'd need someone at his side who could protect him.

She was sorry to admit to herself that it couldn't be her. Not here, not without the weapons she'd been most trained in. She could probably defend herself enough to keep herself alive, but she couldn't cover them both, not if the institution housed the atrocities she'd been hearing about.

"Sir, at the very least you should rest here a while before going out again." The brigadier general was right, but the most she could hope for was a compromise. She'd go with him, of course, if he insisted on trying the key again immediately, but she knew it wasn't wise.

"Roy, the door and the key aren't going anywhere." There was a sharp note in Hughes's voice. Because he wasn't going to just let this go. Roy and his constant need to be doing something, no matter how dangerous it was, no matter the risk. It was getting to be a pain.

"You know... we agree that people need to rest, breaks are needed, that if we burn ourselves out we'll do more harm in the long run then good... and then you act like none of that applies to you. What happens when you make it out of the male wing and you get jumped by something big and nasty? And you're exhausted and Hawkeye doesn't have a gun? What the hell's the point of having that key and knowing where it goes if you're dead or crippled?" Hughes threw up an arm, clearly frustrated. And he was frustrated, with a vast many things, but again it was Roy who would suffer the brunt of them. Because Roy was there and Hughes knew, somewhere behind his conscious thoughts, that he and Roy would always be alright.

"And besides that... I was under the impression we were going to stay in tonight. But you know what, Roy? Do whatever the hell you want, you hardly listen to my advice anymore anyway."

Even Hawkeye was agreeing? She usually didn't question him - actually, that wasn't true. Roy had told her in the past that if she truly didn't approve of a decision he made, that she should protest. It didn't mean he would listen to her, but sometimes it was good to hear it.

But when Hughes opened his mouth, the alchemist could immediately tell that he was about to get more or less scolded. He knew that tone. He glanced over at his friend somewhat reluctantly, but listened to the rant all the same. Yes, there was logic to it, and yes, he had considered these things before, but...

It was that last part that actually got to him. He took it like a slap to the face as he recalled their anonymous conversation on the bulletin board earlier in the day. He had sort of hinted that they could stay in for once, but he'd gotten so carried away once night had actually come...

Roy sighed and lowered his head, his bangs falling forward to cover his face. He pulled his hand up to brush the strands back and let out an even heavier sigh.

"All right," he gave in. "We'll stay here."

Riza kept her eyes on the floor as the brigadier general spoke. It wasn't the sort of exchange she should have been privy to, and so she pretended as though she weren't. She was relieved, however, when the colonel conceded. Again, the brigadier general was right. The door and the key weren't going anywhere; the real risk was in heading out too soon. Caution was the priority.

Something the brigadier general had said wasn't sitting well with her, though. He had been under the impression that he and the colonel were staying in, and without following it with what they were staying in to do, it gave the impression of exclusivity at the very least.

It made sense. She didn't know how long the brigadier general had been here, but she was certain that whatever time they had spent together in this place couldn't possibly make up for the sort of void the brigadier general had left in the colonel. Certainly it helped, but it would never be enough.

Whatever the case, it didn't sound as though they'd be planning, plotting, or covering ground tonight. And though she had questions, they weren't particularly relevant. She would not be of use here.

She stood up and saluted, despite what the brigadier general had said about military formality. After all, she'd only been away from that life for a few days.

"Permission to be excused, Colonel, sir."

"Uh... look, I'm sorry I snapped." Hughes apologized immediately, shaking his head. "Just been another long day. And... well... you know how it is, and how I worry...." He just trailed off, not about to bring up anything else in front of Riza. He hated to exclude her, or make her feel as though there were things going on that she couldn't know about, but he didn't have any other choice.

He felt even worse when Riza stood to excuse herself, but he wasn't exactly in the mood to invite her to stay. No matter what, he and Roy would at the very least be talking about things that she probably didn't want to overhear.

"We'll catch up in the morning?" he asked, giving her a lopsided grin.

If Roy had been in a better mood, he might have smiled at the apology. That was just like Hughes, to get carried away and raise his voice, only to feel bad the minute the words were out of his mouth. He knew that his friend only got upset because he didn't like the thought of Roy being in an unnecessary amount of danger. He really did worry too much.

He shook his head at Hughes, as if it to tell him it was no big deal. For once, it seemed like he'd stopped their frazzled nerves from dragging them into a pointless fight.

Though it seemed they had managed to scare Hawkeye away, nonetheless. He could understand how awkward it was to be present when two close friends were fighting, and Hughes had mentioned their intention to stay in - that was almost like a direct exclusion.

He did feel bad, but it would only make matters worse if he tried to force her to stay. "Granted," he replied. "Be careful." He knew she would, but it didn't hurt to say it, anyway.

Maybe eventually, he would tell her the truth. She was the one person he might be able to trust with it.

She nodded to the brigadier general as she dropped her salute, answering "Of course, sir," to him, and "I will, sir," to the colonel. She considered losing a little of the formality and wishing them a pleasant or productive evening, but in the end she just wasn't certain how to phrase it, and it was safest to say nothing more of it.

Before heading to the door, however, she mentioned her new room number. F5. It probably wouldn't be of use tonight, but she figured they should know it for future reference.

Making certain she had with her what she came with (the radio and flashlight), she replaced the chair in one quiet movement, then headed out, making sure the door closed almost silently behind her. She wanted to avoid alerting whoever, or whatever, was in the hallway before she was ready.

Hughes was quick to write down Riza's room number, for whenever it may be needed. It was good to keep track of those things.

And she would be alright. Hughes knew she would be, and he'd do his best not to worry too much over her.

"I really am sorry I snapped liked that," he said, once Riza had left. He stood at his desk for a moment and ran a hand through his hair, still calming down his frayed nerves. "I just do worry a lot about you. And I know you know how to take care of yourself." He moved and sat on the bed, next to his friend. "But I also know you're a lot like me - you're a damn stubborn bastard sometimes. And I know I'm willing to push myself further than I should unless someone knocks some sense into me." He offered a weak grin to Roy.

"But if we're going to be making a bid to get outside, we want to be well rested. We don't know what's gonna be out there. We want to be fresh, rested, and well armed. I'm missing a knife, you've already used alchemy, Hawkeye doesn't have anything but her flashlight..." He shook his head. "And while I do want to keep you here for my own nefarious purposes, I do think it'd be a better idea to head for the entry way and outside after we've had time to rest up and plan."

That was teasing, accompanied by a slightly warmer smile.

Roy normally would have jotted the room number down as well, but Hughes had it under control and he had managed to find himself laying on the bed as opposed to sitting. He'd been resisting that before, but now that it had been established that he wasn't going anywhere, what was the point? Besides, as uncomfortable as the beds tended to be, it felt like it was made of feathers at the moment.

Glancing over when Hughes sat next to him, he nodded. "I know. You really are a hypocrite, though. Telling me not to push myself when you did just that and got yourself killed, if I remember correctly." It may have been a low blow to bring that up, but he was talking about it in a light tone, which meant he didn't want Hughes to take it seriously.

"I got it," he grumbled when Hughes continued to make his point. He had already given in, so did his friend really have to keep pushing it? Really, rest didn't sound so bad now that it was an option. He wouldn't have minded falling asleep right then and there, but he got the feeling that Hughes might throw something at him if he closed his eyes.

"Plan. Right," he said skeptically, giving Hughes a small smile in return. "I doubt that's your top priority at the moment." He turned his gaze to the ceiling and exhaled. He really was exhausted, though.

"I never said I wasn't a hypocrite," Hughes said, chuckling. "I just said I know I'm damn stubborn unless someone knocks some sense into me. And then... well, I got smart and just didn't give anyone a chance to." He winked, taking the light jab for what it was. And besides, he could joke about it now. And it was better to joke about it.

"Oh, I didn't say we were going to plan tonight." Maes grinned, looking down at Roy. Who was laying on his bed. And they were alone. It was really too great of a temptation. Besides, he'd made his intentions clear. He wasn't about to waste an opportunity.

Shifting on the bed, Hughes leaned over, one hand on either side of Roy so he was half stretched out over the other man. He was still grinning as he shifted further, to straddle Roy's legs with his own - on his hands and knees over his friend.

"If you'll remember, we had other plans for tonight? Or are you gonna blow me off again?" Maes chuckled, wanting to be certain Roy knew he was just teasing.

"Maybe I should learn from your example," Roy said, giving into the tiredness and allowing one eye to close. If he wasn't careful, the other would follow, but it wasn't his fault they were just refusing to stay open at the moment. Maybe he had been pushing himself too hard. He just hadn't ever taken a moment of rest, so he hadn't been able to realize it.

Before he could even respond to that insinuation, Hughes had moved so that he was on top of him, staring down, and suddenly Roy felt much more awake. Hughes being in close proximity to him did have that effect.

Other plans, right. It had been vague, but they both knew what it meant. There was really no reason why they shouldn't, except for the fact that Fullmetal might be showing up, but Hughes had said that he doubted that would happen.

Still, he felt like it was his duty to give Hughes a hard time, and so he gushed out, quite dramatically, "But I'm so tired!" He pulled his hand up, placing the back of it to his forehead as he sighed.

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