Nightshift 22, Sun Room

[per-ardua.livejournal.com]

Raine stopped just outside the Sun Room, which was only a little lighter than the rest of the Institute now because of the skylight; the moon was apparently out. She wondered briefly what the moon looked like, here, but pushed that thought aside. She didn't hear anything from inside...

Standing just outside the doorway, so anyone inside the room wouldn't be able to see her, she looked back at her companions. "It sounds empty. Let's go in." She'd only gotten a few looks at the room during the day, but she was fairly certain that once inside, they should take a left to get into the Arts & Crafts room; it still sounded like a poor place to find weapons, but it was worth taking the chance. She had yet to meet a god at full power, but the myths she knew were informative enough. If they could just retrieve what Amaterasu needed to perhaps get her to a stronger state...

Raine clicked her flashlight on and jumped into the Sun Room's entrance, flicking the beam of light around to hopefully reveal any monsters hiding in the shadows. She held Reinforce's discarded crutch, her only real weapon, at the ready just in case; she wasn't letting herself be caught off-guard just yet.

Comments

[divineglutton.livejournal.com]

((From here. (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/76000.html?view=4363488#t4363488) ))

Amaterasu followed behind Raine, her eyes attempting to penetrate the gloom and her ears perked for any warning sounds. She felt more helpless than she had been in centuries, without even her teeth to protect her or the others with her, and the sooner that they got something for protection, the better it would be.

She'd said enough about her powers, or so she felt; after that it was only a question of believing or seeing. She just hoped that her lack of praise wasn't going to hamper her efforts too badly.

[1imited-edition.livejournal.com]

Reinforce slowly scanned the room before turning left and indicating the Arts and Crafts Room door. "That's the crafts room..." She turned to the women's bathroom door further up the wall, "...and bathroom. Those first, then the kitchen." Her voice was even quieter than normal now, and when she started for the first door it was at a thoroughly cautious pace. Her hair caught even the dim natural light of the Sun Room too well for her to hope to go unseen by a vigilant eye, but she could at least keep quiet and avoid attracting one in the first place.

[tartaros-avatar.livejournal.com]

[[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/76000.html)]]

Recluse far preferred the Sun Room when there wasn't any sun to leave him half blind. The moonlight was more than bright enough for him.

There were more patients in this room, scanning the shadows with their flashlights. Recluse kept quiet, watching the small group. He would rather not get that light directly in his eyes. Or a concussion from the crutch one of them seemed to be holding as a weapon.

[somber-secret.livejournal.com]

Hisoka could feel the patients long before any of them entered the room, his mind reaching out and brushing their minds-- an action only the keenest of minds would ever feel.

All of them were strong, in their own ways, but one was unarmed and unable to do much without their weapon of choice. The boy's eyes flickered behind his eyelids as he listened to their fears and worries. Their thoughts and secrets. Their souls were laid bare before him.

From his crouched position on the floor just behind a couch, Hisoka opened his eyes and silently checked the pistol in his hands, main attention still on listening to the others. He would wait, wait until the time was right, but for now they were far too out of range.

He closed his eyes again. His fellow patients would not understand, but this was for their own good. This place was dangerous at this hour.

[blacksustenance.livejournal.com]

[Coming from here ()]

They had decided to start with a circle of the courtyard. It was the only source of real life they had seen in Landels that wasn't out to hunt right back, and seemed like it could be the safest place to begin their explorations. Fairly wide open, lots of foliage, and trees. Even though Brock hadn't been much of a tree climber as a kid, he had picked up Peter Parker's weird abilities, one of which was apparently being good at climbing just about anything. Heights still bothered Brock (just a little), but he'd rather experience vertigo from a branch than spend all night fending off packs of the mutated cats.

Seemed like a plan, at any rate. And it kept his mind focused to the present rather than the visitation earlier.

What definitely focused him was the sharp sense of something wrong when he stepped into the Sun Room. Brock was all for blundering in blindly like a human was supposed to, but his Other would have none of it - it jerked at the proper signals in his brain and his legs suddenly dropped out from under them, spilling Brock onto the floor in a crouch and very nearly giving him an unwanted taste of the carpet.

Before he knew it, the Other was moving their body in a fast crawl toward the gray shapes of the tables and couches near the wall, ignoring the fact that their knees were hurting and their hands were developing a nice case of carpet-burn.

What's going on? Brock demanded. Ow, will you stop that?

Quiet.

The symbiote ignored him and kept them crawling until they had some cover behind the big couches. It was a hunter. It knew instinctively when there was another such hunter in the area. Not another symbiote but...there was the distinct tang of blood in the room. Not enough to get them all hungry, but enough to raise mental flags and put them on their guard. They knew where the door was to the courtyard after being escorted there enough, but now wasn't the time for a blind rush.

Brock sighed. Now was a good time for Kasady to be here - he could use a psycho hill billy with an equally psycho symbiote to get in the way. He wouldn't have had any qualms about ditching Kasady to whatever had beaten them here.

[blacksustenance.livejournal.com]

[Gargh, too lazy to change my html. Brock came in from here (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/74515.html?thread=4412179#t4412179)]

[idolism]

_{[coming in to crash the party from here]}

The Sun Room was so much more bearable without actual sun, glaring beams of flashlights or not. As the doors seemed to remain open, Aidou could move in soundlessly, unnoticed as was his birthright. Blood. Fresh. So fresh, the wound hadn't even begun to close. And gunpowder.

In the pitch black, Aidou counted four people: three huddled together, one with the gun... No, none of them were shot, so it had to be... He cast his eyes around the room, then towards the floor, watching for movement from the fifth person. Wait, was that scrabbling noise... a sixth? The boy holding the gun deserved his attention more, however. He seemed human, yet his mind was reaching out, entrapping thoughts like the sticky threads of a spider's web. A telepathic human? No, that wasn't possible.

A part of him, cold and uncaring, whispered, Who cares? I'm not human, it's not enough to trouble me. It could be turned over later.

For now, Aidou cupped his hands around his mouth. "Hellooo~!" he sang, feigning oblivion. "Is anybody home?"

[idolism]

_{[taking a stroll over here]}

[sasuke-of-sound.livejournal.com]

Sasuke slipped into the Sun Room just as a loud bang reverberated through the place, making him flinch back against the wall, hoping that he hadn't been seen.

It sounded familiar -- a moment, and then he placed it.

One of those 'gun' things, he realized, and swore internally. Just his luck.

Moving with all the silence of his shinobi training, he skirted the source of the sounds, following the wall towards the entrance to the cafeteria. It sounded like the 'good patient' already had a target or several -- with luck and skill, Sasuke could get to the cafeteria without trouble.

[sasuke-of-sound.livejournal.com]

[madvampireking.livejournal.com]

((Came from: here (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/82496.html?view=4544832#t4544832)))

With the now -reasonably- cleaned, dead Necrit in his hand, he followed Aidou's scent past the door, and into a new room. He had no idea where he was, only that it was awkward for him to be toting around a small, dead corpse...and he still had to find the one wielding the firearm. And steal it from whoever that was.

Sticking to the darkened walls, he simply followed the smell of gunpowder and his target. Hands still clutching the Necrit.

[madvampireking.livejournal.com]

((Went here (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/79983.html?view=4543343)))

[dancingdagger.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/76000.html?thread=4333792#t4333792)]

Penelo listened as Kiden warned them of the creatures wandering the halls. She seemed quite serious, given she was armed. Then the first priority should be arming themselves... that, or learning how to avoid the monsters. That sounded better to Penelo; she didn't want to fight if she could avoid it. That's what her brother always told her, anyway.

They were on the right track, and before long, they arrived at the Sun Room. Penelo had thought there would be more people here, but at the same time, she could see why there wasn't. There were probably better places to be at.

"Here we are," Penelo smiled, maintaining her optimism. She was not going to let this get her down. "Looks like Larsa and Gabranth aren't here yet... That's alright. More time for us to talk, right?"

[tempusfragments.livejournal.com]

"...Yeah, I've heard... that sometimes the other patients can get ... rowdy." Kiden started to say, but cut herself off. She didn't have any proof of that. Just what she'd heard, and other people were hardly reliable sources. With a scowl she tapped the pipe against her foot, idly.

They were young looking, both of them. Not like Kiden had a lot of room to judge people on their looks, but she felt close to them, even if they'd just met. Someone familiar, like that Claire girl in the library.

"You guys know how to fight?"

[shiki-master.livejournal.com]

There had been a gunshot, which always meant trouble. Even with the pressing matter of finding Hisoka, Tsuzuki's caring nature couldn't overlook something like this. Not if there was the possibility that humans were hurt or needed help...

The sound lead him to a large room with moonlight streaming in, scattered groups of people standing around. But once he was there, he couldn't tell exactly where it had come from. He looked all of them over, at least all the ones he could see, but none of them were holding a gun.

Tsuzuki frowned slightly, hovering near the doorway and looking a little lost now. He hadn't imagined it...had he?

[shiki-master.livejournal.com]

[entrust-to-few.livejournal.com]

((From Here. (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/74515.html?thread=4283667#t4283667)))

Larsa didn't know what strength he possessed as he, quite literally, dragged Gabranth from the Hallway to their said destination. He could hear the voices of other people as he rushed past them, but the child did not want to create more detours if Penelo had been waiting for them the entire time. Part of him would have felt awful, but it would have been a relief to see her unharmed.

And, indeed, as the young Lord skidded to a halt he was able to spot the familiar head of hair several feet away and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Penelo! We have-... oh!" Upon closer inspection it appeared that she was busy engaged in some kind of conversation with two other women. And, from what he had been warned by other men, it was not polite to interrupt when women were talking amongst one another. So Larsa stood back, taking the time to catch his breath while he gave Gabranth a rather sheepish smile.

[dancingdagger.livejournal.com]

So the other two were trained fighters? That was great, in Penelo's book. Penelo wasn't the best fighter in the world, but she could definitely say she could hold her own in some battles.

"Yeah, I've fought monsters before. I'm used to having weapons and Magicks, but I guess we just have to improvise for now," Penelo explained, wondering what sort of training they had. The way Sakura had been sneaking around, it made her wonder if the girl was supposed to be some kind of assassin. As for Kiden... well, Kiden seemed to just be rough around the edges. But again, appearences could be decieving. She didn't blame them if they thought she couldn't fight.

Just then, she heard a familiar voice call out to her. Pebelo turned around and grinned. Right on time! Larsa looked kind of flustered, like he was running...

"Hey, Larsa! Uh, Kiden, Sakura, these are the people I was meeting up with. Larsa and Gabranth," Penelo introduced the two men before them.

[idolism]

_{[back from here]}

Truthfully, Aidou had been hoping one or the other would've turned him down (not that he liked being turned down), so he'd only have to deal with one of them. But then Alucard was slobbering at his heels like an overeager pet, and Sasuke was either grateful for the witty company, or after a scapegoat.

What a pain.

He led the way through the empty cafeteria - beyond the broken door leading outside, the sounds of yet another scuffle was audible - and to the doorway leading into the Sun Room, where he paused, letting the others catch up while he took a quick survey. Not much had changed in the time since he'd past through. The same people were still on the floor, and the same child was still holding a gun - only now there was a group of newcomers clustered around the hallway doors.

Granted, Aidou may have purposely drawn attention to himself the first time, but at least he hadn't made an easy target by waving a flashlight around.

Leaning against the threshold, he tilted his head at Alucard without looking at him. "Well? Didn't you express an interest in guns? Why don't you display your prowess and take down that little boy. By the sounds of it, there's someone out there fighting akimbo if that's more your style."

[madvampireking.livejournal.com]

Did he have a choice, Alucard would've wandered off alone. But he still wanted to irritate and annoy Aidou for...well, he liked picking on lesser vampires who didn't know their place. He didn't mind having a tag-along too much, Alucard barely knew Sasuke. Thus, he didn't have the time -or the grounds- to develop a grudge. Yet. The thrown scapel was completely understandable.

The vampire stopped, scenting the air again when the scent of gunpowder wafted his way. So the group from the Sun Room never moved at all? Well, people prefered to stay still when held at gunpoint. Luckily though, he could see perfectly in the darkness. The boy was occupied with a few others, and he only recognized one familiar face in the small crowd. And then there was a light. On the ceiling. What the hell? It wasn't like...synthetic light either, if there was such a thing. It was like a miniature sun, bobbing around on the ceiling.

"I'll go take a look at things. After all, you seem perfectly content in lingering around the rear," he retorted before creeping foward.

[part1of3.livejournal.com]

[From here. (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/76874.html?thread=4759626#t4759626)]

Ashton was occasionally glad he didn't have dragons behind him constantly breathing loudly and giving away his position. It was a lot easier to sneak.

He was out of practice with the whole 'sneaking' thing. Before the unwarranted exorcism that Landel's had forced upon him, people would take a look at the group Ashton had spent time with, see not Precis' robot nor Claude's alien raiments, but a man with two enormous and ornery dragons with ridiculous expressions and glowing bestial eyes poking out of his back.

And you miss them why, Ashton? he asked himself, before blushing from guilt. As long as they weren't dead, he'd feel better. As long as. You need to find them! Just.. just make sure!

He sidled along the walls, flashlight turned off just in case. He didn't want anyone to pay too much attention to him, after all.

[part1of3.livejournal.com]

[Off to here! (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/79842.html)]

[numberii.livejournal.com]

((From here. (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/79842.html?view=4790754#t4790754) ))

Well... it seemed like things had quieted down a lot, seeing as how this place had to be the one where bullets had been fired and all that nastiness had gone on, and with the sudden darkness? So not a chance to grab anything useful. So Xigbar decided to just turn off his flashlight and slide along the wall, hoping to get to where he needed to be that night. After all, there was a Neophyte to tuck into bed, and another Neophyte to get some cards to, and... well, there'd be more work after that. He just needed to be sure he was in good with the Organization, just in case. Or rather, in good with Xemnas.

...man, why couldn't that Nobody get out of II's head already!?

((Slinking off to here. (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/72360.html) ))

[barium-bullet.livejournal.com]

[[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/76000.html?thread=4712160#t4712160)]]

I was expecting there to be more patients in here at night than this. Yazoo thought to himself as the three of them stepped into the sun room. Maybe they all got scared off by the earlier gunshots. He gripped his daggers a little tighter, preparing to go on the defense if he needed to, and continued to follow Kadaj into the room.

[deathinvitation.livejournal.com]

"Very good. That would work quite well. Ingenious of you to find these 'Alchemist' people."

Sephiroth was mildly impressed that Kadaj had managed to do so. Given what he had read on the bulletin board and heard others talking about, this place was nothing but a house of monsters at night. Were everyone armed so, then there would have been far less worry about creatures. It was most likely his own ego, pleased that a part of himself had managed to adapt and work in these circumstances so well. Then again, he would have expected nothing less of himself.

Sephiroth didn't look as pleased with Yazoo as the remnant fumbled with his dagger and dropped it. Even such a small thing could damage weapons, making them less reliable. Were they poorly smithed, it could cause small but critical cracks in them, not to mention attract anything lurking about.

"I imagine you will get that practice. I'm pleased with your progress, Kadaj. Had others found these Alchemist people, I doubt there would be as much fear about the night. Very good."

Mentally, he was already going through how much metal would be required to try to reform at least a katana. Concealing something the size of his usual weapon would be near impossible, especially with a roommate. When they reached the room, he glanced about, the slit pupils of his eyes widening to let in as much light as possible. There were times it served well to be better than the humans.

"Where are we now? You know this place better than I do."

For now, he added to himself.

[per-ardua.livejournal.com]

[[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/79032.html?thread=4372152#t4372152).]]

Raine abruptly decided she'd had enough of this--even with Hisoka down, all this was doing was delaying them, and if she was the only one willing to keep going, fine. With her magic so weakened, she needed a weapon more than ever, and she was determined to get one before the night was out.

She was aware she was... perhaps a little irrational due to her emotional state, but between her agitation, anger, and grief she couldn't quite bring herself to care. Without a word to her teammates, she took her flashlight back from where Amaterasu had dropped it, turned, and ran towards the cafeteria. She doubted there would be anything worth taking in there, but she'd been informed that just beyond it was a kitchen, and that should prove very useful.

[1imited-edition.livejournal.com]

Reinforce had only just finished applying Recluse's tourniquet when Raine's flight forced yet another premature shift in her priorities. She'd wanted to see their opponent secured but the wounded had called her attention, and now a closer look at Amaterasu and the other injured patients was foregone for the protection of her roommate.

The impositions of both the actions of the others and her own limits would have annoyed her, but even moment-to-moment she was buoyed by the thought that the decisions, unaccustomedly difficult and fraught with dangers though they were, were at least now hers to make.

And as far as she was concerned, hesitation in decision was a weakness, in the same fashion if not as strong as hopelessness, and not to be succumbed to. As suddenly as she'd arrived to aid him she left Recluses' side and ran after Raine. There were no vows between them, but in Rein's mind the girl was her charge. She couldn't let her wander alone.