damned_institute | Nightshift 47: The Grand Ballroom

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Nightshift 47: The Grand Ballroom

[from here]

The stairway downstairs was not unreasonably long per say, but it somehow felt like the trek took far longer than Klavier would have liked. Each step seemed to drive in a horrible sensation of dread, like he was slowly shuffling along on an assembly line into a slaughter house. He was fully aware his actions tonight were terribly risky, even by the standards of this place. Somehow, it hadn't felt so real until he was making his way down these steps. Maybe because these didn't seem like the type many found themselves traveling back up.

The anxiety, however, completely vanished as soon as he reached the bottom. In fact, he didn't even double check to be sure Nigredo was behind him as he normally would have. Instead, he slowly stepped forward into the ballroom with what could only be described as wide-eyed wonder.

And that was what this was: A ballroom. An immensely stereotypical, architecturally gorgeous ballroom far more expansive than "his" previous memories held. There was even an old-fashioned chandelier, far too bright and clean to belong in a basement. In fact, it was difficult to grasp such an expansive room as being underground. Even more difficult to imagine "David" had stepped down here and not taken note of any of this.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Path and destination proved no less majestic in comparison to his first night down. Nigredo, too, appeared taken with the scenery, albeit the nature of his wonder was a far different flavor than Klavier's. Green eyes wandered from walls to lights to doorways, a grimness encompassing the boy's countenance. Anxiety as well. He remembered what stood behind the nearest door.

He remembered blood and brain.

Sickness rose like a wave, something crushing against the walls of his skull cavity, and the boy made to move away. He wasted no effort in interrupting Klavier from observing; he had no reason to. Let the man do as he wished. Instead, Nigredo approached the opposing door, as though holding every intent to open.

Nausea, however, had other plans, and he found himself stumbling into a frame. Knees and hands slapped against stone, resonating like the clap of a hammer. Like a bullet to the--

Nigredo gagged into his sleeve. On impulse or intention, he hadn't a chance to decide.

It was astonishing how such an empty room could offer so much for an overactive mind to consider. The condition of the room was phenomenal. There was no way it was abandoned. Someone was obviously coming down here and maintaining the area. And considering the size of this place... Let's see. Considering the slope of the stairs where would they be standing in relation to the upper levels? With the size of this room, it had to cover the entire cafeteria, along with some of the courtyard and the Sun Room as well. ...Was there a way to gain access to inaccessable rooms from underground this way? Maybe if they kept their eyes peeled they would be able to--

His thoughts were interrupted by the sharp sound of skin on stone echoing dully from behind him. Klavier whipped around to find Nigredo on the ground. More specifically, the boy had fallen to his knees and was dryly heaving into his sleeve. "Nigredo! What's wrong?!"

He quickly moved to the child's side while glancing around in slight paranoia. Stupid. He had allowed his curiosity to distract him and lower his guard, even knowing full well how dangerous it was down here. But... What had happened? He couldn't see anything which seemed dangerous around them. Nigredo himself didn't show any obvious signs of external injury either. That was perhaps more terrifying than seeing an obvious threat.

Thankfully, he was too focused on concern and caution to allow himself to panic in any way. He stopped next to Nigredo, not willing to kneel next to him or do anything that would leave him unable to move at a moment's notice. He didn't know what was happening, but if something down here was effecting Nigredo physically, he would have to grab him and drag him back upstairs before he ended up with some kind of internal damage. That was a decision he would have to make very quickly. He frowned trying to gage Nigredo's state.

Wrong? Nothing was particularly wrong because nothing was particularly new. The man rushing over to him, however, appeared to contradict, and Nigredo glanced at his hands. There was an expectation in the act, which thankfully went unfulfilled. No smudge nor hint of red--just the soft orange glow from nearby candlelight.

"I just feel dizzy," he answered, lowering his head to his hands. "I'm sorry; I'll be okay in a moment." In a moment, things would stabilize. He would push memory to the background, and they could continue.

What do you think? the boy wanted to ask. From what glimpse of Klavier he had seen, he seemed to have absorbed their setting. Information could be gleamed from that--ripped apart and sewn together and make sense of something from nothing. Pity he felt too ill for such a question.

Instead, Nigredo waited. Waited for the man to start his questions. If there was a thing to do, he could answer. It didn't require as much effort as the other.

[joining the party from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/819958.html?thread=66157814#t66157814).]

Rika hadn't known what to expect, but...it certainly wasn't this. Her eyes went wide as she took in the surroundings. Was this a...no. Not a temple, not a cathedral. It looked like something out of a fairy tale, but fairy tales generally didn't involve crawling through large refrigerators and into a palace.

She took a moment to adjust to the light, and then noticed - there was something wrong. She didn't think, she simply moved. "Are you okay?"

The moment his feet touched the stairs, Albedo thought he knew it. Ignoring a link was good and fine, but in close proximity... But still, he moved if nothing had changed things, still he trailed after the girl with the matching eyes; a hand trailing against the wall, mouth pulled tight. This place... Held nothing good for him. Everything that happened here... He remembered. Everything that had happened here he wanted to destroy. Even his twin's embrace on the hard floor was tainted--the events of that night... They, too, had started things in a way. Had started something.

In front of him, she spoke, and Albedo first saw Klavier, a bright blond in the midst of shadows, who seemed concerned in the way of the girl's words. Are you okay? His mentality seemed to refuse to see his brother for a moment, and then with the force of strikes, three things fell into place at once.

Nigredo had returned here. Without him. And with the other instead. Like it didn't matter. Like he didn't matter. Like the promise he had loosely spoke, but had wanted to hold to meant nothing. And to bring... Who?... His pet instead. How useful that one would be!

And here, too, was the knowledge of who they were concerned over. Head in his hands, the youngest rested against a door. And here? What conclusion should he come to? Anger and concern warred fiercely, the anger attributed to Nigredo for not calling, and for Klavier for allowing whatever had happened. And the man called himself an adult. Albedo was already moving past the girl when the third item of interest fell into place.

His dearest youngest sibling, the sweet little lamb made for slaughter, daddy's darling was only fitting the part now, dressed so well, so fine, in Albedo's rage. Ah, how this was familiar. Two steps away, his eyes flashed iridescent, and his mindset shifted utterly, anger the only response to this kind of betrayal. Hadn't this been left behind? Hadn't that place and all it's connotations, its memories, been left in the ashes for the ones that this place was creating only to destroy? What kind of sick amusement was this? A kind only granted to himself, it seemed. His hand fisted around the uniform, pulling Nigredo up. Albedo's teeth bared, the hurt too obvious around the anger to hide from family.

And was he angry at himself as well? Albeit slightly? Because here, he had felt worry and concern, and that washed away in the force of his own emotions. Was this some kind of regret, placed to push one forward? Albedo couldn't know. None of this was something known. Again, his eyes flashed, narrowing. "What are you wearing?" the boy hissed as his arm drew back, propelling forward with unnatural force. In a split decision, his fist flattened into an open palm, a jerk releasing some of the built-tension.

Edited 2010-02-17 02:17 (UTC)

That was the kind of statement Klavier would prefer eye contact for, but it seemed Nigredo was beyond that for the moment. Dizzy could have meant a lot of things, both normal and abnormal. Klavier himself didn't think a sudden bout of dizziness complete with violent nausea was something to be handwaved, but... if Nigredo believed it to be nothing, he would simply have to take his word for it until something else proved otherwise. He exhaled through his nose, a sort of quiet relief that the boy was at least okay enough to claim he was alright. At least his dry attempts at throwing up had ceased. Any other assessment would have to wait until Nigredo could look up at him.

It was about here, however, Klavier noticed the peculiarity of Nigredo's clothes himself. Was he... Had he been wearing that before? He hadn't noticed anything off within the dark hallways, but here in the illumination of the ballroom, it was all too obvious the child was wearing some kind of odd... "uniform" was probably the best word to use. He'd never seen one like that, but it certainly held that neutral, garish, no-one-would-really-wear-this-unless-they-had-to feel of a uniform. Clothes wouldn't normally mean much of importance but in a place like this, obtaining something "foreign" to the institute was incredibly significant. Pressing someone while they were ill wasn't very considerate, but the getting Nigredo to focus on something else might actually help matters.

Seemed he wouldn't be getting that chance. He'd barely opened his mouth to speak when a girl's voice suddenly piped up behind him. But when he turned around to face her, it wasn't the girl who caught his immediate attention. No, it was a head of white hair closing in quickly. Albedo. There wasn't much time to register the boy's presence or consider a proper reaction of any kind before he was practically on his brother. In an instant, Albedo had Nigredo by the shirt, yanking his torso up rather harshly. Given Nigredo's state, he was likely far too disoriented to react properly and was probably caught off guard as much as Klavier had been.

He couldn't fathom where the sudden rage was coming from (he had been under the assumption the brothers had been getting along as of late), but that absolutely ridiculous question the boy spat out with such venom... well, it didn't exactly clarify anything. Normally, such a thing would have piqued his curiosity, but when he saw Albedo drawing his arm back for a strike, all considerations ceased and Klavier simply reacted. Out of pure instinct, he reached out as quickly as possible and snatched Albedo's arm right at the wrist.

"Albedo! Stop! What's the matter with you?" Okay. That was a stupid question. But obvious answers aside, couldn't he see Nigredo was ill? He certainly couldn't condone punching, especially among children (and brothers), but how could Albedo even think of fighting with someone who was obviously disoriented like this?!

Waiting for a shift appeared to take the edge off his dizzy spell. The haggard breathing softened; lungs remembered a center his head could not. A memory was found in the air, it seemed. The light scent coming from the man nearby helped dispel the musk in the room, and Nigredo remembered today's circumstances were greatly different. They were going elsewhere, not there, and his companions were not to be found among blood but trusted adults.

In that moment, the boy felt glad for Klavier's presence. There was no naming the reason, only the sense of peace so rarely known elsewhere.

This shattered in the form of a voice.

Nigredo raised his head at the question, green eyes glazed and hollow. Senses acknowledged the newcomer (No, plural?) to have directed the query at him. The questioner was female, young. Young or younger? He couldn't tell. He never would as someone else would not provide the chance. A force closed in on him, around him, pulling the boy from off the floor and toward the dimming lights. A little too late, he realized. The link hammered into his skull and crashed against his nerves, reviving his earlier nausea and disorientation to full force. The source of this was seen as a waveform of magenta and violet. Albedo. His older brother.

The methods were not examined. There were plenty of avenues for a U.R.T.V. to meet his own; it wasn't at all laborious when you considered the setting, the people, and the facts. The effects, on the other hand, he wholly devoured: there existed pain and fury in his brother's eyes the child had seen too often as of late, now directed completely, utterly at him. And what had Nigredo done? He had not a clue. Not right now, in any case.

He stood lifeless in Albedo's grasp, eyes pulled away to space on his right. A fear rose sharply in the moment, and the child seemed to practically shrink--waveform or otherwise--from the malevolent variant. As if expecting the coming blow, Nigredo winced. Remained the same when nothing rained down. Only his lips moved clumsily, their words incomprehensible to all but the speaker.

I'm sorry. Please don't... Hate him, reject him. A slew of meanings yet there existed not enough room for one.

She didn't realize she was running until she was breathless, heart beating too fast and the word 'no' ringing through her brain. She could see the action - one hand on her companion's wrist, but only half-heard the words that went along with it. All she could think of was strings of deaths that all started like this - a mistaken action turning to paranoia, a word taken the wrong way that led to jealousy, and all of that turning into a sea of blood and another lost chance.

Rika put her hands on each of the boys' shoulders, as if to pull them apart or somehow stop time enough for herself and the blond man to pull them apart. "Stop." The word came out with a distinct calm, one borne of trying to do this before and failing, but hoping that this time, it would be enough.

"You don't want to do this. I don't know what happened between you before, but the answer isn't going to be found in bloodshed. It never is." All that would do was turn to pain, turn to bitterness that would take a human form. She didn't say that out loud, but it was reflected in downcast violet eyes that wouldn't meet anyone else's.

Rika paused, then, taking a long, deep breath. "I know because I've seen it happen too many times. The true problem couldn't be found or solved when it was covered in blood." The questions would turn to her then, but she could handle that.

There existed a moment, full and complete where nothing moved. The scene remained as it was, all four connected in this interaction of chance and hate. The only change was Albedo's sped up breathing, becoming more and more harsh. Klavier's hand he hadn't tried to fight, the girl's he had flinched at, nothing more. In the same way, he hadn't tried to speak or do anything more with Nigredo. Albedo simply stared at him, an incomprehensible mix of emotions. There was something utterly broken in Nigredo's movements and mentality. Something so desperately familiar.

If a memory flashed, of hours prior, it was not clear.

In truth, Albedo would have rathered kill the two at his sides, over release his brother, but release him he did, suddenly and without warning. On one side, he twisted his wrist to break a grasp, adding force in a vain hope to throw the man off balance. The girl he stepped back from, bringing them face to face in the movement. Anger would have been kept after the incident, but he had seen enough in his sibling to tamper with the other effect. This female's words, however, had continued its boil. This would be his eyes flaring for the third time; this would be his face cracking in its unnatural grin. "For war between siblings and monsters, bloodshed is always the answer," he gave to her, in a lilting tone different from the one he had spoke to her before. "And please, don't assume my wants or desires. If you assume, I'll have to show you in detail the reverse is true. I can come up with presents for you, I'm sure."

An act. Lines in a play. The motions were quickly becoming familiar, and even as Albedo smirked cruelly, the boy felt like crying. Klavier was ignored, as he should be. What was the matter with him? Everything. Of course. There was nothing that wasn't wrong with him, right? Rubedo could tell him. Anyone could explain. The man had overstepped his bounds again--the stranger also--and a situation that was private was now shoved aside by others' feelings. An apology died in his throat before it was thought of; that option was closed to him.

At his side, his hand twitched, an urge to grab Nigredo no matter the current mentality held. Touch. Contact. Something solid. Unexplainable, without reason, he added, {Don't.} Don't what? Abandon him? Turn from him? Make a scene? Become more or less than what he already was? It wasn't clear to the middle Variant at all, simply a need making itself known. Too close to all three of them, temper shifting and rising, and waveform erratic, he knew naught what his next move would be. There was loss in this, but the source was unknown.

Edited 2010-02-19 16:08 (UTC)

It didn't exactly take much to predict Albedo would yank away from Klavier's grasp in such a manner. The child was angry. Why, he hadn't the slightest clue. Was there really a need when it came to Albedo? But the boy had released Nigredo so Klavier did nothing to maintain his grip. Not that that meant he could relax any with Albedo now turning his anger to the poor girl who'd found herself caught up in this.

He wasn't exactly sure who this girl was or why she had ended up down here with the rest of them. Common sense would say she'd traveled with Albedo, likely a friend of his, only the way he was speaking to her now completely contradicted that line of logic. He was babbling nonsense again, but an apparent threat was buried in his words, something Klavier couldn't ignore. Threatening a little girl was just all new levels of low.

Klavier needed to contain this situation and fast before something happened. He was the only adult here, after all, and the only one in a position to control anything. Nigredo was still disoriented, Albedo was still hostile, and the poor girl who'd only been trying to help was now the focus of Albedo's rage. He needed to calm this kid down, which first meant drawing his attention away from the other two and onto himself. Then he could at least try. In actuality, it was difficult to consider reasoning with him at all, especially since just seeing the child's face re-ignited a hidden anger which threatened to boil up should he linger on it too much.

...His personal feelings were not a factor in this exchange. It was much simpler to concentrate on the here and now; nothing else. "...That's enough, Albedo." The tone was stern and serious but lacked the harshness of his previous outburst. "You're only going to waste energy and accomplish nothing this way. That would be an obscene waste of a trip, don't you think?" He paused for a brief moment, like this was something he was considering only now. Like this question hadn't been running through his mond since the second he saw this kid. "...What exactly are you doing down here, anyway? It wasn't just to see us, now was it?"

Deterring the subject. Deterring attention. Deterring lingering thoughts and angry sentiments, even if it meant to himself. It didn't matter. All he could do for now was attempt to shift the situation and eventually manipulate it to something a bit more favorable. If possible.

Movements in three parts progressed in a matter of moments, the greater of these igniting an established hate. The fingers clasped against his shoulders burned like acid as her words triggered the state he had worked so hard to avoid. And what was talk of blood without the memories? Memories which turned his skin to an abnormal white and threatened to collapse his knees from beneath him. It seemed a silly thing, for a weapon to physically fear the basis of his very life. Yet it seemed so real, the way the unknown girl spoke of a sticky red substance.

Like there existed nothing else in the world.

Without prelude and relief, Nigredo was released. The child staggered away from the others--back against the door, mind against rejection--and then slid effortlessly to the floor. One might have expected crying to occur from the way his hands fell across his face (from past experience), but he stayed relatively quiet. The only sound from his person was a staggered and pained breathing, even then it hovered a degree above inaudible.

Albedo's subsequent threat toward the girl and Klavier's line of questioning did not register, and Nigredo made no effort to interact with the three before him. A need from the former also went unanswered, though something shuddered violently in his waveform, only to break against its own shifts. Sickness had grown past the point of recognition; his body refused to do little else until it could recover what had been lost.

Provided they could be recovered, that is.

"No. It isn't." Rika's words were quiet, but determined. "Not at all. But I won't argue the point further. It won't help things right now." She looked up, meeting Klavier's eyes for just a moment, and mouthed a silent 'Thank you.' Her attention then focused on the quiet boy who had been threatened just now.

"I'm Rika," she said, loud enough for the others to hear, before lowering its pitch to a quieter tone, as she kneeled down in front of him. "Are you hurt? Is there anything I can do?" She didn't touch him like she had before, instead glancing over him for any visible injuries. She didn't see any, and breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"If I made things worse, I'm sorry. I just don't want to see anyone hurt. And that...it reminded me too much of something back home. I couldn't not say anything, though again, if it was too much or if it made things worse, I'm sorry."

His eyes kept hers until she turned, smirk still in place. Odd girl, that one. No sign of surprise at the ultraviolet shining in his eyes, no sign of fear at his response. This was one used to insanity. Or one ever-so-very idiotic. His lip curled as he chuckled to himself at her bravado, hate blooming like a friend missed within his chest.

None of this was to say that he missed Nigredo stumble and slide to the floor. Peripherally, he made careful notes of the instance, body stiffening. There was concern there, and he already knew he would go to him, even after his last endeavor failing, when his attention came upon the girl again, kneeling like she mattered in the spot Albedo would have taken.

...Would it always be like this? A part of him could idly wonder. Would girls always work their way to wedge between brothers. He hated her, then. Hated her as much as another before. --Not quite, not as much, but closing. Albedo glared at her openly, not bothering to conceal his loathing. Yes. He hated that girl.

Rigid, he watched, unwavering, even as Klavier spoke. "Enough?" he murmured, voice thickly layered with hostility. Enough? Was it? Was it? "...Obscene?" The word was nearly laughed.

The boy snarled, a grin-like grimace more suited to corpse, lips pulled back in mocking. "Oh, but maybe I have, puppy.~ Maybe I missed you all so--" It was sickening, and he was done with it. "The sphinx of course. We hadn't finished our dance. We had a game."

His fingers drummed against his thigh, a quick and frantic motion. He moved forward, a lazy stride, towards the pair against the door. For a moment, he watched his sibling, head cocked to the side. Albedo blinked, almost with a peaceful quality, so quietly consumed by rage. The moment after, his fist shot out to the side, trying to backhand the girl into the door.

Albedo wouldn't have touched the other, no, no; not as he was. Not so fearful of losing as he had been (still was). But the self he was becoming... Lacked such fearful qualities. They would leave, anyway, wouldn't they? What did it matter after all?

[Switch orders with Klavier and modding Rika with permission.]

He sensed her approach before the girl spoke. Though the prospect did nothing for his nausea, Nigredo evened each inhale, softened each breath, before lifting green eyes to observe her violet. Rika appeared young--a year or two behind himself, perhaps. Why one of that age and that gender would accompany Albedo extended beyond simple curiosity; there were preset biases to consider, ones the youngest had taken care in leaving alone. The longer he stared, the more he couldn't understand.

And that a stranger would approach him first in concern, especially after this morning... The resulting sensation was curiously like crushing glass, and Nigredo again wondered what he had done to warrant this break. Sentiments did not occur without reason, not within their family at least.

Still, he continued watching Rika instead of his brother. Perhaps it was for this the boy missed the intent for Albedo's approach. He opened his mouth to brush aside the questions, only to catch movement too late, alarm piquing at the second act of violence. The girl's head echoed with a crack, and she was propelled toward the door behind them. Nigredo acted without proper thought: one arm shot out to soften the fall as the other grab at the offending wrist. Even as the former found itself pinned between body and door, the latter tightened its grip.

It was no wonder, then, that the child missed a widening creak. Without warning, he found himself falling backwards. Without awareness, he slammed into the floor.

[To here.]

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/819958.html?thread=66146550#t66146550)]

Normally, such a trek down into the earth would have been a chill one that brought shivers to one's body with both dread and cold. This wasn't the case at all though. For one thing, the basement was considerably warmer, though still cool, compared to the refrigerator where its entrance was hidden. For another, Hime was not one to get the chills from something so nonthreatening as a giant ballroom hidden below an institute of the damned.

"Impressive," she noted, looking around. The space was quite enormous and there were candles lighting up the entire area, though the ceiling remained cast in shadows. Turning around, she saw a large set of doors that seemed almost out of place. Plain, rough-hewn black stone that looked odd in contrast to the fine ballroom. Walking over, she pushed against them. They didn't seem to budge at all.

"Hmph," went the Royal, taking a step back. Well, there were other doors. Hime turned her attention to one of them, pointing imperiously. "Let's try those ones."

[Which way do you guys want to go/which room do you guys want to challenge? Hime can be pointing at either the west or the east doors]

"By the Matrix..."

The prickles on his skin from the sudden chill of the refrigerator had barely worn off by the time they reached the bottom of the stairs. Stepping into the sweeping grandeur of the ballroom, great and dark and ornate, was enough to bring them back in full force, albeit from sheer bewilderment. Hime, of course, looked perfectly at home. Typical.

The shuffle of their feet sounded deeply conspicuous against the gleaming marble of the floor; if Depth Charge's movements seemed especially cagey, it was because he hadn't felt nearly so exposed in a long, long time. There was already another group in the vicinity at least, which was enough to take some of the edge off, but he paid them little attention. They seemed to be doing a good enough job of preoccupying themselves.

"It's all the same to me, princess." Nodding to Kagura, he followed the blonde woman over to where she stood on the east side of the room. "Who knows what's behind any of those doors?"

[joining the party from here] (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/819958.html?thread=66194422#t66194422)

This was not what Teresa had expected. Having finally reached a point where she could again stand up to her full height, she cocked her head at the sight. This was a room more suited for the interior of a cathedral, not the basement of some barracks. Underbelly of the Beast, indeed.

Torchlight flickering off her silver eyes, she noted three children and a man getting into a squabble on one side. Hime and her merry band of minions was on another. If it had not been for her higher vantage point on the stairs, she might have missed the children completely given the fountains in the area. She cared nothing for the children's fight, and turned her attention to Hime.

"Is this room more suited to your ever refined tastes, Hime?" Teresa called to the younger blonde as she descended the stairs, a slight smile on her lips.

"Wow..." Kagura said as was awestruck by the ballroom's majesty. She'd seen some strange stuff, but this was still amazing. And she hadn't been expecting something this grand to be hidden underneath the institute. Once her amazement wore off, she returned Depth Charge's nod and followed the other two to the east. "Let's go find out."

Just as she was about to touch the door, she sensed something behind them. Kagura whipped around with her bat raised in a loose stance. Moments later the sound of footsteps echoed from the stairs, and a strong, feminine voice emerged from the shadows.

The blonde woman carried the feel of a trained warrior, and her robust physique supported that theory. Her long weapons also added to her imposing appearance. However, Kagura's senses could feel the demonic presence beneath the flesh. What was the other woman? Was she an evil spirit or... And could she sense what was hidden in the depth's of Kagura's soul?

"Someone you know, Hime?" Kagura asked as she took a slightly relaxed stance. She was still tense, but there was more than enough room between the them and the woman to switch back to offense if this woman turned out to be an enemy.

Not surprisingly, Kagura and Depth Charge were far more impressed by the ballroom's grandiose appearance than Hime was. Even if she didn't expect one underneath the institute, the Royal was used to such opulent settings.

Not surprisingly, it seemed Teresa wasn't impressed by the setting much at all. Hime wasn't sure anything impressed the warrior. Still, it was good to see she had made it. Her task must not have taken very long to finish.

"Good to see you could make it, Teresa," called the princess, her smile just as subtle. Since the warrior's greeting reached Hime far before any other indication of the woman, she hadn't reacted as cautiously as Kagura. It seemed the girl had quite the honed senses. Hime turned her attention to her question. "Yes. She's one of the other I contacted over the board; I guess she finished her other task for the night."

That she had caught up with them so soon was surprising though. Had she managed to avoid whatever fight came up in the Sun Room as well? Or had she found another route? Well, no matter. It was a pointless mystery to ponder.

Going over to the doors, Hime pressed against it with one hand. While it didn't open, it seemed to budge slightly. Considering it seemed identical to the door on the opposite side of the room which the other group had disappeared into, she assumed it would operate similarly. So did she not have enough strength by herself to open it?

"Help push this open," she requested curtly, taking a step back and looking over at the others. If they wanted to do introductions, there was no reason they couldn't do so while they continued deeper into the basement. As grand as this ballroom was, it clearly held little value beyond aesthetics.

They'd barely been in the ballroom for five cycles when another woman joined them: blonde, smiling to herself. And, in those five cycles, somewhere along the lines, Depth Charge had gone from resident tank to resident harem keeper. That made, what, four women? He wasn't just outnumbered, he was surrounded on all sides. Swell.

At least this Teresa looked like she might be of a little more use physically than the other two- she looked plenty taller and older than Hime, not to mention she had the air of someone with a fight or two under her belt. It was better than being the only muscle on the team, he had to admit, but when that team consisted of two teenage girls and another woman, he had to ask- where did that leave him, anyway?

Tch. No point in arguing about it, just so long as he wasn't left behind. Anyway, he was far too curious about what would be behind that door to throw a hissy fit. Raising an eyebrow at Kagura briefly as the new addition made her way over, Depth Charge shrugged and cracked his knuckles before heading over to the door. "I'm on it."

The door gave a little more under the force of his push, shoulder jammed up against it, but not enough for them to slip through. Maybe having Teresa around would pay off already.

She'd sensed it, the youma in the room, but it wasn't until Teresa had visual contact with Kagura that the hybrid knew it was her and not the man. She'd picked up on it before, in the upstairs hallways, but there was so much latent youma energy laying around it was hard to pinpoint exactly who was giving it off and what was still lingering from other youma passing through. Now that she was in a place less traveled with only a handful of people, zeroing in on Kagura was easy.

And she'd just thought not too long ago that Hime didn't have any youma in her merry band of minions. She was... disappointed in the Royal at the same time she gave the girl the benefit of the doubt; likely she did not know of the demon traveling with her. Well, the one that wasn't Teresa.

As she crossed the room to where they stood, Teresa entertained the thoughts of killing Kagura right there, her eyes on the short girl. There was a sense that the youma was aware of what Teresa was, and she found that curious. This was the first time anyone other than one of her own kind had recognized her as the threat she was. Or at least a shred of the real level of threat. She decided she would spare the youma for the moment and grant Hime her pet.

Silver eyes moved from the youma to Hime briefly. "Interesting company you're keeping," she said, her tone light if not a bit amused.

Once she reached the door, she reached over Hime to place her hand flat on the surface as it seemed they were having some issues getting it open. With her generous strength added to the mix, the door opened smoothly, and she couldn't help but feel her effort had been unnecessary. Either than man was far weaker than he looked or there had been a catch to opening the door.

She knows. But how? Kagura guessed that Teresa probably had a similar ability or sixth sense. Kagura had hoped to keep her spiritual roommate a secret, but it looked like her luck had run out.

For a moment, Kagura tensed when she felt Teresa direct killing intent towards her, but the feeling passed. Kagura read the unspoken message - there would be no fight for now. Eventually, she'd probably have to talk with Teresa, so they could sort things out, preferably during the dayshift, when they wouldn't be tempted to rash actions like trying to kill each other with blunt instruments.

As the door swung open, Kagura aimed her flashlight into the abyss. If this had been a horror film, right now would have been the moment a monster was supposed to jump out. Hopefully, the institute wouldn't be so cliche.

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Nightshift 47: The Grand Ballroom

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