damned_institute | Night 46: Main Hallway, 1-West

Sam was about to turn for the stairs, but a distant shout made him stop. He flipped his flashlight in the other direction, peering into the darkness. Whatever tension was between him and Dean bled away, or at least retreated for the time being, and Sam felt weirdly grateful.

He took a cautious step forward. One hand lingered along the grip of his gun. He glanced over at Dean, exchanging a look with his brother. You hear that?

That was definitely something. Seemed like it was coming from the hallway just a bit up ahead. They weren't in the best position to be taking down anything—a bullet could only get you so far—and hell, both he and Dean were still in crap shape from the past week and a half, but there was no way they could leave it if someone might be hurt. He knew without asking that Dean's thoughts weren't straying far from those lines, either.

[rescuing Sylar here]

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/781144.html?thread=64325976#t64325976)]

The main hallway had a few more people in it which made Tsukasa feel a little bit safer, not by much, but it was a start, right? Perhaps they'd scare away some of the monsters. He really didn't want to use his magic so early in the night before he'd even got anywhere. It left him so drained and tired and well, kind of useless. Not for the first time, he sort of wished that he'd picked a fighting class of character to play. A blademaster perhaps, or a long arm like Crim.

This was getting him nowhere. He huffed softly and then dragged himself up to his full height, trying to make himself look determined and confident, like he had a plan for the night instead of just wandering aimlessly. Yes, he had a plan! He was going som- oh who was he kidding?

The maps were good, yes, but as the History Club had proven, some places remained unwritten. If Homura had discovered the room upstairs, then what else had people discovered and kept to themselves? The basement was open knowledge now, especially since someone had been so unwise as to write how to open the place on the board; but it had also yielded far too many dangers. And far too many consequences. So what else was locked away in people's heads, sealed behind closed lips? He supposed Ayumu was the best person to find that out, given her skills. Laughing a little, Okita said, "Yes, it's always wiser to rely on personal observations than the general word of mouth."

But do be careful. There are things here that not even I can fight. - was what he wanted to say, but he held his tongue and slipped the pillowcase over his shoulder, feeling the weight of the weapons inside press into his back. They were a cautious reminder that his night was going to be a dangerous one; which would be normal, if it weren't for the situation. "I promise!" he chirped out, cheerful despite it all. The cake in his hand certainly helped his mood at least. "I'll see you in the morning, yes?"

And with that, Okita waved ever so carefully with the cake filled hand and headed off toward Adel's room.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/781144.html?thread=64327512#t64327512)]

Abe preened slightly, giving off a faint smile. "Now that, I can assure you of." He almost laughed, if it was around Red and Liz he would have done so. "I'm a trained professional in these sorts of situations, it's how I was able to take you down so quickly.

A sudden flash of light drew Abe's attention and his hand went to his bat--oh, just another patient.

She nodded in agreement to the technology levels. However... "A little more different, I'm afraid. The majority of my kind looks nothing like humans. Each and every one of us--Digimon--look entirely different, and some didn't retain a single form at all."

The name 'Coluan' was placed into memory, along with the unfamiliar explanation. Again, she nodded to what he said. "We, too, were composed of created programs, and eventually we evolved past what our creators set out to do, altering our programing and forming our own upgrades as we saw fit." To simplify. "Our original world is raw data, so the majority of Digimon are... shifting programs." Unstable data. "And others--humans--continued to see us as just that, even when we crossed over to their world. Merely something to alter and delete."

This was said without bitterness. Renamon was too detached from it at the moment to carry any heat in her voice. And it already felt so long ago. Rika's initial reaction, other Digimon's views, even the back-up programs created to expel all digital life. Something shifted behind her eyes, unreadable.

Brainiac 5's smile spoke more than his words. She returned it without thinking, the expression surprisingly light. "It does," she agreed. "It's difficult for some people to understand that all life is life, no matter your origins." Including herself. Perhaps especially. But that wasn't something she would so willingly share. Data and life were equal, and she had learned that. Even so.... "It's good to find those who don't simply consider you a weapon or a toy."

Kratos indeed had an inkling of which Hitsugaya was the real one. From their clothing, he had gotten the sense that the one in the strange uniform was in fact the true Hitsugaya, since there was no reason he could think of for a mimic to wear that sort of clothing. Most patients still wandered around in the Landel's uniform; to deviate from that would mean drawing unnecessary attention and suspicion.

And of course he had suspected the strangely-dressed Hitsugaya of being an SC patient, but the more he thought about it, the less it seemed reasonable that an agent of the institute (even if it was just for one night) would attack another and give time for him and Hokuto to escape.

There was one problem, however, with his hypothesis: it was a hypothesis. Kratos disliked operating on conjecture, and until he had definite proof of which one was true, he would not interfere, not if he ran the risk of injuring the real Hitsugaya. The institute did sometimes run contrary to logic, after all.

Still...he wasn't about to be caught unprepared. Tilting his head back, Kratos muttered to Hokuto, "I suspect the second one is the real thing - suspect." Even as he said that, he was pushing his teammate back, giving himself some room and her more leeway for escape, and shifting into a better position for attack.

He had gotten the impression Anise had little to no shame in acting like a barnacle when she saw fit, and now was apparently going to be one of those times. There was harmless curiosity, and then there was… this.

The vampire got the distinct impression she was trying to box him in. Without even a drop of sheepishness for what she’d done! No, his night really wasn’t going well. Why him? At least some weepy newcomer probably would’ve apologized and obeyed his advice, whatever it may have been; he would’ve preferred that if given the choice. But no. So what was left? There was always pretending he was in an Olympic event and vaulting over her and the Hitsugaya-doppelganger. Aidou was tempted.

“Thanks for the concern,” he eventually said. Oh sure, as much concerned as sorry, he bet! “But I’m fine. I’m… headed elsewhere. You should hurry up and meet your people, too.”

He knew what was dangerous, and standing around like this was it. He could hope she’d been headed somewhere before finding him.

Jade hadn't actually intended to ask Guy and Luke to accompany him; indeed, he'd meant for his next question to be where Dist would be released from, and how to get there. It certainly wasn't because he didn't want their help, or even that he'd prefer to work alone, so much as he'd simply imagined they wouldn't be interested in helping Dist, of all people. He'd kidnapped Luke (however briefly) once, and been a general annoyance to them all on several occasions - and while Jade at least had a childhood friendship ~~of sorts~~ to blunt his distaste for the God-General somewhat, neither Luke nor Guy could be expected to feel any sort of obligation to Dist, or concern for him.

Jade wasn't sure whether Luke had offered because he'd forgiven more readily than Jade had taken into account, or if he was simply determined to do the right thing even if it meant helping Dist. Still, either way, he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth; the fact that Guy would almost certainly follow Luke's lead made it all the better. "We can find out whether we can bust in or not once we arrive," Jade replied to the boy's first question, "though given what else this place is capable of, I'd at least expect them to be able to secure a door against us." Nodding to the stairs, he said in a pleasant and all-too-familiar tone, "Guy, would you care to lead the way?"

Minato gave a little relieved sigh at the vaguely visible amusement; at least Abe was letting down his guard slightly.

...At least, that was what he thought until Abe snapped his hand to the bat at his belt. Minato peered over at the light, blinking at who had pointed their flashlight their way.

"Seta?"

So it was decided, then. Part of Guy was annoyed at having to do this when their night could have been spent doing something more worthwhile, but in the end he wasn't going to argue about it. Maybe it was for the best, since he wasn't even near healed up yet. Then again, heading into that area where the captured were locked up usually involved some sort of fight. He'd have to warn the other two about it before they got there, but he was sure they could handle themselves. The three of them as a team was nothing to sneeze at, that was for sure.

"From what I can tell, there's no way to get through those doors," he informed Luke with a frown. He kept having to give his friend disappointing news, but it was better than feeding him false hope. As for the types of experiments, that was opening a whole can of worms; in fact, he wasn't sure he was informed enough to answer that question properly.

Jade was right, though. They needed to get going, and he could fill them in to the best of his ability as they headed up the stairs. Shaking his head in mock dismay when Jade took that tone with him, Guy turned toward the stairs and started up, willing to be the leader now that they were going to a place that only he knew the way to. At least now both Jade and Luke would know how to get there, for any future problems like this.

[To here.]

Unlike many of the more bestial creatures roaming the Institute at night, this particular one was blessed with an important weapon: intelligence. He was no burly fighter; his style was usually to lure prey into a situation beneficial to him and then strike. Since that clearly hadn't worked, due to the unfortunate interruption of the one whose form he had assumed, he now had two options. Fight or flee.

It took only the barest instant of consideration to assess the situation and decide which one was the better. And only an instant later, it put thought into action - and fled.

The mimic threw himself to one side to avoid the sword blow, turning the lunge into a flat-out run as soon as his balance was right, heading for the safety of the darkness. There was plenty of prey about tonight that would be easier to obtain than this.

"I'm not meeting anyone tonight," Anise protested. Well, she was going to go see if she could tag along with her friends, but that wasn't so much a plan as it was just a little whim. Besides, she'd wasted enough time here that they were probably long gone from their blocks.

Luke and Guy had each other to travel with, the Colonel wasn't somebody who needed to be worried over, so that just left Anise as the only one who needed a traveling companion for safety. And who better to cling to than the handsome guy standing right in front of her?

Now, if only that handsome guy could be more cooperative.

"If we're both alone, then we should go together!" she suggested cheerfully. But Aidou was being incredibly difficult, and seeing how her 'concerned friend' approach had failed in Doyleton, Anise supposed it was time to try a different tactic on him. Her smile faded into a more sullen look, and she lowered her gaze.

"Unless... you don't like spending time with me?"

He chuckled again at that. He was reminded of Roxas' brief moments of humor and he could not say he hated that.

How was the child off on his own? Finding something useful with his time, hopefully.

But in answer to his lack of preparation, Luxord took it upon himself to politely explain as they walked on. "A gambler should know when to hold and know when to fold; this is true. But when one overthinks, when they dramatize the game to the point of losing sight of its original purpose, it stops being what it had been intended for: fun." From the hand gestures he made as he walked, it appeared "fun" was not a totally abstract concept to the Nobody and was, in fact, invisibly hovering in the close vicinity of his left shoulder. "It stops being a game. It becomes the onus of a man."

He smiled and, for the first time this night, removed his hood. This was not a mission, after all. He had no reason to keep hidden. "I prefer to go where Lady Luck takes me.

"Also, I should rightfully take offense to that statement," even if his tone of voice only held good mirth. He stopped for a second, briefly raising his right leg off the ground and shining the light onto it. "As you can clearly see, my boots do not have buckles."

Howl shrugged, but didn't elaborate any further on his mood. If his shoulders were still tense, or his pleasantness too contrived, he couldn't tell. He simply brushed past the question as if it were of little more importance than the nonexistent dust he was brushing off his sleeves.

"I have no complaints," he said with a light, charming smile. Admittedly, he could appreciate taking a gander at the supplies as well. The night before was supposed to have been productive, but instead he ended up watching Keman's shoulder being torn into by some variety of monster. Howl was hoping for a less eventful night than that. He was optimistic that Ryuuzaki could manage himself if any sobbing young ladies decided they wanted to make a snack of him.

"I've yet to venture above, as this place seems to be conspiring against me," he sighed tragically. "So I might be able to make use of something up there myself, even if it's just knowledge."

Kaworu raised his hand to acknowledge Neku's departure. In the distance, he could see the outline of a boy with dull, light hair, about the length of Kaworu's own. He stared wordlessly for a moment, observing the few details that the dark hallway revealed to him, before turning back to Kanji.

"Where are you going?" he asked, craning his neck to look up and meet Kanji's eyes. Kaworu was beginning to understand the Lilim and their draw towards the familiar. It was pleasant, and the hallways felt less oppressive with someone he knew. Still, he did not know Kanji well. He could not even say that Kanji liked him, though Kaworu understood parts of him. Those parts were both universal as well as unique, but there was more to the tall blond boy than Kaworu could currently see. Lilim obscured themselves, intentionally or not.

His footsteps slowed as he listened, staring up at the older man and wondering when gambling had come into the equation. "...Did we start playing blackjack and I never noticed?"

Bizarre analogies aside, there was a lot to be gleaned from that little drop of wisdom. One being that Luxord was certifiably crazy. To refer to the institute as a game of all things, treating it like a romping good time? That was unsettling. Brainy had seemed confused about how he'd ticked off Luxord enough to make him join Grell in his stabby escapades, but considering that kind of kooky philosophy, it was just as easy to say Brainy had done nothing at all. The guy had come along for kicks. What did he do, flip a coin on it?

The next statement cemented it. Luxord was just flying by the seat of his pants, morality and survival instincts be damned. What a whacko. No point in arguing further. Any sign of dissent could tip him off. Peter only shrugged, saying, "Eh. It's your funeral."

Now he could see his face, at the least. Older than Grell, blond, goatee. Somehow Peter couldn't fit in the earrings with the silver British tongue he'd grown to know and love.

Also why were all the creepy people he met British?

His eyes moved down to the man's boots when Luxord shone his light on them, proving that he was completely buckle free. Okay, between the chuckling and the playing along with his jokes, Peter wasn't quite sure what to say anymore. The man was...strangely charming. Craziness aside. On a very big level he knew that being amicable didn't come close to excusing what he'd done, but on another he was thrown off track. None of the creeps he'd met were friendly in the good way. They could be polite and say nice things, true, but you always got the feeling they were a second away from pulling a knife. He wasn't getting that vibe from Luxord. His spider sense wasn't even buzzing.

"Then the Black Lagoon will just spit out seven pounds of zippers once it's done with you. They are very nice boots, though. I'll have to look for a pair just like them."

He swallowed a lump in his throat. He didn't even notice he'd had a lump in his throat until he swallowed it. Cripes. They were getting closer.

Peter still didn't know what he was going to do.

[To here.]

Edited 2010-01-12 00:38 (UTC)

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/781144.html?thread=64316504#t64316504).]

Prowl continued down, torch on this time, looking out. It was about time he stopped following behind and he was fairly certain the stairs he'd seen would be the correct ones. He refused to be a tag along partner. He wanted to be equals if he was going to play along with this.

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/780542.html?thread=64356862#t64356862).]

Euphemia looked around the hallway - so many people here. This must be the night's big meeting spot. She didn't spot any familiar faces, though...and that was a little strange.

She didn't see the silver-haired mage in front of her until she had turned around and bumped into him. "Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't hurt you or anything, did I? I'm sorry, I honestly didn't see you..."

Soma looked better tonight, Meche thought. She couldn't quite put her finger on why--more at ease, maybe. It had sounded from the board like Soma had been feeling under the weather earlier. Hopefully it had just been something simple, but either way, it was good to see the girl smiling. Meche gave her an answering smile and a nod, feeling a little more at ease herself. What the kids might lack in experience, it seemed as though they might more than make up for in youthful exuberance. It was bracing, somehow.

Sora's comment didn't do much to reassure her, though. From the way he'd said it, obviously the Sun Room was a pretty dangerous route to take, and obviously she was supposed to know why, too. She didn't. Great, Meche thought glumly, they hadn't even shaken hands and she was already at the bottom of the class here.

"Why, what's wrong with the Sun Room?" she asked. "Does something else usually get there first?"

A useful segue, L thought. He wanted the subject of the previous day's events to come up naturally. In the ordinary course of events, it was rare for him to concern himself with avoiding awkwardness; often, he used someone else's discomfort to his advantage. In this case, though, it was his own discomfort that was in question.

"I was up there the night before last." A significant pause followed, suggesting that he would have mentioned it if he had been able to remember it. His long hand strayed to his hair, where he rubbed his scalp. "My companion and I covered a lot of ground -- a file room, which is of almost no use at all, and the morgue, which is exactly what you would expect. Although, in terms of conspiracy, we were attacked before we made it upstairs."

He indicated the nearby staircase with a tilt of his head. "Shall we?"

Edited 2010-01-12 02:01 (UTC)

When he heard that voice, Souji blinked in surprise. That voice... surely it wasn't... yet when his gray eyes shifted over, he couldn't deny that there was Minato right there. The young man trotted over to the other, and yet, with each step, the knowledge that there was no headache only grew. Rather, there was that odd sense of destiny, a lingering attraction that Souji had learned to associate with a potential social link.

In other words, it was a sense of normalcy for him, which was very much welcome after all of the confusion of the past few days. When he got closer, he nodded politely to the other patient- had to be a friend of Minato's, right?- but his gaze was still on the other kid's, confusion written on his face. How was this even possible...?

"...I guess that answers that," Hokuto finally said, blinking. The monsters here had self-preservation instincts?

It didn't look like Hitsugaya was hurt, but she'd seen too many anime where mimics like that tracked down their original and hurt them before taking their form. "Are you okay?" She knew better than to fuss over him like she would a real little kid, but she was still concerned.

Hopefully, their mission tonight wouldn't be over before it even started.

"Let's," Howl agreed, and wasted no time moving.

[To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/785428.html?thread=64364564#t64364564).]

"If we're lucky, you'll have a chance to confirm those notes," Joshua told Leonard, seeming quite interested in seeing whether the man would learn to trust his notes or whether he would go through this cycle again and again, each time doomed to make that same critical error.

But before he could speak further, Neku trotted over, and Joshua smiled as he nodded to Leonard. "Hi Neku, I brought someone else along for our trip tonight, I hope you don't mind." It was a pity he couldn't force a pact anymore, that would have made things so much easier.

Even after his foe had fled to the shadows, Hitsugaya stood there with his blade pointing towards the darkness, but after he was certain the danger had passed, he lowered his sword and turned towards his comrades. He wished he could have sheathed his blade to make himself look less threatening; no doubt his comrades were probably still a little rattled and suspicious after a run in with his look alike, but the truth was obvious to see as Hokuto had mentioned. "Yes. I would never abandon my comrades to save myself."

Honestly, Hitsugaya had been expecting more of a fight from his double. To his knowledge, it was first time that a monster had ever retreated from a patient without fighting. Clearly the creature was intelligent enough to recognize a losing battle when presented with one.

"I'm fine," he replied, waving away Hokuto's concern. Although his head wound was still bothering him a little, it wouldn't have an effect on his performance tonight. He'd dealt with much worse before. Perhaps, something within the bundle of medical supplies that Kagura had left him might help his pain? He'd have to check later.

Hokuto seemed to have accepted him as the real Hitsugaya, but Kratos was, as usual, harder to read. And while Hitsugaya was concerned that his teammates might have been harmed somehow by his double, they both seemed fine, at least physically. "My apologies for being late. My room was suddenly changed today, so I had to make a detour. How are you two? That impostor didn't do anything to you, did he?"

Night 46: Main Hallway, 1-West

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