damned_institute | Night 48: M81-M90 Hallway

With the creepy narration finished and Guybrush eager to get started on that long walk to Javert's room, he stood and bid farewell to Scott Pilgrim, mighty bassist. "Well, it's been fun, but I've got a sword to deliver and some searching and rescuing to do. Try not to mangle yourself horribly while I'm gone. I'd hate to see you end up with one of these." He gave Scott a sly smile and an encouraging waggle of his hook.

Taking the blade of the sword between the two halves of said hook and grabbing his shovel and flashlight in his good hand, he headed out the door.

[To here.]

Edited 2010-03-24 08:27 (UTC)

Scott pulled together the last of his own inventory in his jacket pockets, having somehow managed to change in front of Guybrush tonight without being too weirded out. "Yeah, you rock the look pretty well, but it totally wouldn't suit me at all. Later, dude!" he called out after his (famous) roommate.

He gave one last check over himself. On hand, he had his flashlight and the bigger of his two lengths of pipe. In his pockets, he had a couple of garbage bags for potential item collection, pens for on-the-fly projectiles, some batteries for the flashlight, and the radio just in case another weird broadcast went out. He felt fully stocked up. And yet it still felt like he was missing some things. Which was silly, because if it turned out he'd forgotten anything, he could always just run back to the safety of the patient blocks and his room, right? Was he forgetting something else here?

Nah. Pro'lly nothing important. It's just Nightshift jitters.

With that flimsy handwaving of the ominousness he felt, Scott set out into the halls.

[To here]

Edited 2010-03-26 06:08 (UTC)

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/845200.html?thread=67548816#t67548816).]

So this is that idiot Scott's room, eh? Porky thought to himself as he strode in, Not much in here, is there? And that would be...before the main event...heh heh heh...

Well, best get to work. This room wasn't going to spray itself.

As Porky walked around the room, spraying everything with a liberal coating of paint thinner, he was sure to keep an eye out for anything that could be potentially useful in the hands of a far more intelligent person. In short, Porky. As was expected, nothing immediately caught Porky's eye. If Scott had anything interesting or useful, he had taken it with him for the night. How inconsiderate! As Porky poked around the nooks and crannies of the room, however, something finally stood out: a pair of bright red mittens.

"...Well, it is getting colder..." Porky mumbled to himself before stuffing the mittens in his pocket, "And besides, it'll be a ton of fun to rub these in that brat's face. Heh heh heh..."

After ~~stealing~~ claiming the mittens, Porky put the finishing touches on the room. The beds and desks glistened with chemicals and the stench of aerosol filled the air. It was a good thing that Porky had left his lit torch outside, because there was no doubt in his mind that the entire room would have lit up like a match had there been a flame present. Porky deeply inhaled and savored the delicious aroma of destruction waiting to happen. It was such a pity that he hadn't been present for the firebombing of the Sunshine Forest, and while this certainly wasn't on as grand a scale, it would be a good enough substitute.

Porky slowly stepped out of the room, spraying a trail of paint thinner on the floor to serve as a primitive fuse for the rest of the aerosol in the room. He picked up his torch, lit it once more, and bent over to light the fuse. Just as the flame was about to touch the paint thinner, however, an idea struck! As a finishing touch, Porky quickly straightened up and closed the door to M85. With a devious grin on his face, he shook the can of paint thinner and sprayed a pig's snout on the front door, just below the M85 sign. He then touched the torch to the door and ignited the chemicals he had sprayed. The flames that were produced as a result lasted for a pitifully short amount of time, but after they had faded, the blackened remains remained in the shape of a pig's snout, smoke slowly rising off of it.

"Hot damn, I'm good at this!" Porky snickered to himself as made sure the door was fully shut. Nothing would suck more than having half of his face burnt off because of the initial burst of flame. After he rattled the handle a few times to ensure that it wasn't accidentally open, Porky slowly bent over to light the "fuse." He could barely hold back a fiendish giggle as he inched the lit torch closer and closer, imagining everything being engulfed by flames. Finally, he lit it.

A few seconds later, Porky heard what sounded like a small explosion from beyond the door. As Porky reared back, laughing manically, he made a mental note to himself.

Phase one: complete.

[Running from here.]

Well, Guybrush had been right for a change. He had heard an explosion. Much like the times he'd predicted Elaine's mother was coming for an impromptu visit, it was one of those moments he wished he wasn't right.

M85 was on fire.

He could tell his room was the source of the chaos the moment he reached the door. If the flames trying to crawl their way through the crack between the door and the floor weren't a dead giveaway, the bizarre shape burned into the door was. The pirate looked at it for only a second- from what he could tell, it was either a badly-drawn face or two halves of an apple- before remembering he wasn't the only one who used that room.

"Scott!" he called through the closed door, setting his items on the floor. No answer. "Scott Pilgrim, are you in there? Now would be a good time to answer!" Still no answer.

With his conscience biting him, Guybrush decided he'd have to take a look in the room himself, just to be sure the mighty bassist wasn't frying in there. He first tried the handle, immediately regretting that choice- he let loose a loud yelp as he pulled his hand back, the hot metal burning his skin. Okay, plan B. He took a step from the door, lifting his foot and giving the door a solid kick. The door, though ablaze, refused to budge on the first blow. "It's you or me, door. One of us is getting kicked open tonight, and I can guarantee it's not going to be Guybrush Threepwood, mighty pirate!" He geared himself for one more, all-or-nothing kick, putting everything he had into getting that door open. On impact, the latch gave up and the door popped open, sending the pirate stumbling into the room.

Guybrush quickly scanned the burning area, trying to find his roommate amongst the flames and smoke. He didn't get much of a chance to look as said flames made their way to his feet. "Ow ow ow ow ow! Hot feet, hot feet!" He scampered into the hallway again, lifting his legs high in an awkward attempt to avoid the fire on the ground. He fell to the floor and tore off his shoes, blowing on his singed feet to sooth the burns. The injuries weren't severe- certainly not as bad as any sustained by the room, anyway.

"Well, in good news, I don't think Scott was in there," he told himself. "In bad news, everything that was in there is totally wrecked." He looked at his items he'd left in the hall, gathering them into his arms once again. "At least Javert's sword wasn't in there. The guy will probably hate me for several reasons by the time I get out of here, but I'd rather 'burned his sword to a crisp' not be one of them."

[To here.]

Edited 2010-03-29 06:23 (UTC)

[From here.]

The moment they exited out into the hall, it was clear what the source of the explosion was. Halfway back down the corridor, a bright, blazing light was coming from one of the rooms. A fire? Guy stiffened for only a second before he raced over, a sense of dread already settling in. If someone had gotten caught up in the blast, then there was basically no chance that they'd actually survived.

Forced to stop when he got within about five feet of the room, Guy winced back from the heat, putting his arms in front of his face as he tried to peer into the destroyed room. It was hard to tell, but he was fairly sure that he didn't see any bodies in there. Besides, chances were they would have smelled something, as grim as the thought was.

Guy looked over to his friend, doing his best to keep his calm so that Luke didn't overreact. "It doesn't look like it's spreading beyond the room itself," he said, trying to point out the silver lining. He wasn't sure why it wasn't spreading, but it wasn't like they had any way to stop it either way.

The real question was, what had caused this? Rooms didn't explode into flames all by themselves.

"But it shouldn't even be happening, right?" Luke asked, looking at the area curiously. He remembered that they were supposed to be safe in their rooms, and he also remembered his mindset from the other night. Though it was incorrect, they were trying to have him send people back to their rooms. Was this supposed to be some kind of mixed message?

What worried him more was that it seemed impossible to believe that everyone left their rooms at night. If there was a chance of explosions, it meant that people could be caught—and that someone was caught in this one. He tried moving toward the flames, but rekindled after a moment. He didn't have any armor to help resist that, and while he could have the other night, things changed.

Trying to keep from breathing in too deeply, he fell into place alongside Guy. "Maybe if we rush in together quickly, we can see if anyone's caught in there."

Glancing over to Luke when he spoke up, Guy sighed and shook his head. "This is the first time I've ever seen anything like this. I mean, there's been damage to the building, but it's usually caused by..." He'd been planning to say "brainwashed patients," but soon realized that he shouldn't mention that, and quickly recovered with, "other things."

Hopefully Luke was too distracted by the matter at hand to catch it. That turned out to be the case, as his friend next suggested that they just rush into the wall of flames in search of any victims. Guy's eyes widened -- even if his Mystic Arte involved fire, that didn't mean he was ready and raring to race into a burning room.

"I'm pretty sure there's no one in there, Luke," he said carefully. "We'd be able to see something, or we would have heard them." He'd keep his earlier thought about the smell to himself, since he didn't want to upset his friend. It all came down to assessing the facts, though. They shouldn't endanger themselves if they didn't have to.

As Guy spoke, however, he noticed something interesting: a trail of residue on the floor, leading toward the room. Frowning, he crouched down to examine it. "I wonder..."

Even fire couldn't kill someone instantly, and they moved there as fast as possible. Someone suffocating wouldn't risk being lost in the blaze; they would fight for their lives. Luke had fought for his life before, had clung to the last bits of it until he had no choice but to let go. He had a feeling that this was no different. Someone in here wouldn't let Landel—or one of the patients—win. They would fight to prove some fire wouldn't keep them down.

He just wondered if it would look this same way tomorrow night. Would it be as problematic, or would the morning come with the room in the same shape as always? It probably wouldn't be worth checking. In the end, it wouldn't answer any questions, and they could always mention it over the bulletin when they could.

"What's it look like?" Luke asked, coming up behind his friend and abandoning the near-suicidal thought of rushing into the blast (near-suicidal because he believed they could get someone out if they needed to; they could be that determined). He considered the residue, but he told himself that he didn't have the knowledge to investigate as well as Guy. He just hoped his friend would explain so he could hold the knowledge for future engagements.

It looked like Luke had abandoned the idea of rushing in there, which Guy was thankful for. He'd only just recently gotten back into good health, and he didn't want to throw that all away for nothing. It seemed strange to burn down a room that no one was even in, but maybe whoever had been the target of this had already escaped.

When his friend asked what he was looking at, Guy showed him the residue which he'd wiped up on his fingers. He wasn't entirely sure what it was, but he had a few guesses. "This is probably flammable, meaning that someone set this fire purposefully. It was no accident, and..." He paused and sighed. Luke wasn't going to like what he had to say next, but the younger man wasn't going to let him drop it without explaining. "This doesn't seem like something a monster would do. I'm pretty sure it was a patient."

There was no sign of the culprit at this point, though. They'd been too late. While it wasn't their job to track people down, Guy did feel bad about it. Getting to his feet, he wiped his hand off on the side of his sweatpants and then glanced back to the redhead. "Since it doesn't seem to be spreading, I think we can head back to Leon now." He thought they'd left the kid waiting for long enough. He didn't want Leon to worry.

What was worse was how quickly he linked it all together. It wasn't just that someone was doing it here, which was bad enough, but that they were doing it willingly. They sought out the stuff that made the fire that could have possibly hurt someone in the long run. They didn't need to be forced, because he knew that people were supposed to be in their rooms. They did this willingly.

Luke always did poorly at hiding how he felt, and he was even worse now. "What kind of ..." bastard, he finished mentally, but it seemed as if he was having a hard time getting the words out. Instead, he raised a hand and clenched it into a fight fist, showing his complete and absolute irritation with the situation. For now, it was the most he could do.

"Let's get going," he added, the tension still in his voice, and holding his jaw. Without waiting for Guy's confirmation that it certainly was time, he started moving back to Leon's room.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/843571.html?thread=67699507#t67699507)]

As Porky heard Guybrush tromping down the hall, he quickly hid himself in one of the nearby rooms, keeping the door open barely enough so that he could see how the idiot would react, but not so much that the "mighty pirate" would be able to see Porky and possibly deduce that it had been Porky that started the fire.

The very first thing that Porky couldn't help but giggle at was when the buffoon tried to open the door using the handle. Really, Guybrush? You're going to open the door to a burning room using a metal handle? Really? Of course, Guybrush revealed his name in the process, proving that perhaps stupidity was contagious. Anyone forced to share a room with that idiot Scott Pilgrim was sure to see his IQ drop a few points. In any event, Porky had a pretty good idea of how he was going to spend his next nightshift.

Finally, Porky couldn't help but collapse with laughter when the almost frightfully stupid pirate started yelping and jumping around, neglecting to think through how he would manage to walk on fire with normal shoes on. Of course, Porky wasn't an idiot, so he shut the door to the room he hid in before Guybrush could hear him laughing and wiped a tear from his eye.

"Oooh...good times..." Porky sighed as he sat on one of the beds. He briefly toyed with the idea of running over to the kitchen to grab some graham crackers and marshmallows to make s'mores with, using the burning husk of M85 as a fire, of course, but eventually decided that it would be too much effort.

With no regard to the true owners of the room, Porky reclined on the bed and fell asleep.

[From here. (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/842092.html?thread=67498604#t67498604)]

And finally, Kakashi came to a stop at Leon's door. Really, it would've been nice if there were more direct routes between the blocks. Even with the daytime care being nothing but a facade, Kakashi would've thought that the staff also had need to get from one area to the next without going all the way around the corridor. At least he was in good shape; the jounin could only imagine how even that much of a trip might wear out the less physical able of the patients.

Ah well. Shifting the bag so it rested on the floor, Kakashi knocked on the door to the room he'd visited just a few nights prior. "Leon? It's Kakashi." At least to a stranger, the jounin was able to put on a friendly smile, regardless of his own personal problems. "I've got that payment I've promised. Sorry it's late; the bank was being particularly stingy about withdrawls."

...It wasn't his best excuse, was it? But then, Kakashi did still have a lot on his mind.

The bank was...? ...What a lame joke. Leon deadpanned at the ceiling before rolling off his bed. Hearing that the ninja had actually done as he'd promised was good news, though, especially with how low he was running on supplies.

He opened the door carefully, not that he didn't trust Kakashi, but because you never knew what might be out there once the lights went off. His ears perked up at seeing the bag of materials, though his expression didn't change. The one downside to having his real ears back was that it made it even more difficult to hide how he felt (not that he was particularly good at that even without them).

The mage smiled and opened the door further. "Thank you! I only had enough for tonight."

Whatever Leon thought of the joke, he kept his reaction literally behind the closed door. Instead, Kakashi got a rare treat in Landel's: a bright, happy smile. Definitely something nice to see, especially on a kid so young, in a place so terrible.

"Of course. I did promise." Kakashi stepped inside once Leon opened the door wider, pausing once he came to the center of the room. "Where would you like me to leave it? I know you're expecting company tonight, so I won't take up too much of your time." Not to mention Kakashi's own errands; somehow, the mental image of Gai tearing through the halls just didn't go away so easily.

"Just, um..." Leon glanced around and pointed a finger at a random spot on the floor near his bed. "There is good. Anywhere is fine, really, but that will put them within reach. Thank you again!" The more people that brought metal in on their own, the less he'd have to ask others to do it. It was a hard thing to ask people to dedicate their time to, what with everything else that needed to be done every night, but he was providing a service.

He didn't want to keep the man, but he didn't want to look like he was hurrying him out, either. Bending down, he began sorting through what the ninja had brought. Kakashi could take the opportunity to leave whenever he wanted. "This is excellent."

Kakashi nodded and set the bag down where Leon had pointed, then moved aside so the boy could inspect the goods. He was a little curious as to just what Sai and Shikamaru had gotten himself, but it wasn't worth lingering over.

"Good. I'll pass that on to my team." Kakashi recognized the slight awkwardness Leon showed, and decided it'd be best for them both to go ahead and end the visit. "Thanks again for helping us out. Take care." Raising a hand in a wave, Kakashi made his way to the door, then back out into the hall.

[To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/839210.html?thread=67707434#t67707434)]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/844406.html?thread=67579254#t67579254)]

After making his comment to Guy and referring back to Claude, Luke turned the corner and started toward the room Guy indicated. He didn't want to hesitate any further, and he realized he was curious about more people who knew Claude. It was nice that Guy had so many connections here—he had friends and people he knew outside of Luke, and outside of the darker dealings of Auldrant. If it were in a different place, it would almost be nice. But here, it just showed that Guy could hold himself together and find other people to help him out.

It made him feel a little better about his friends here, but it didn't make him any less desperate to get them out—them and everyone else, too.

He stopped before the room and raised his hand, knocking on the door.

Leon had just finished up getting his new supply of metal in order when the next knock on the door came. This would be Guy, he suspected, unless someone else had decided to pay him a visit. The young mage stood and hurried to the door, opening it just an inch or so to see who was there.

He was greeted by an unfamiliar face, which surprised him. Who was the red-head? Guy was close behind him, so he assumed he was a friend. Still, it was a surprise. He hadn't known Claude's friend would be bringing anyone else. Leon opened the door further, his caution causing his ears to flatten just a little. At least he didn't look threatening.

"Ah... hello. Come on in. I'm Leon." It was a good thing Guy wasn't wandering the halls alone, he supposed, strong as the man probably was.

While Guy wasn't sure if blacksmith was the best word for it, he figured he'd let Luke see the alchemy for himself and then make his own conclusions. This was the first time he'd be seeing it, too, so he had to admit he was pretty excited to witness what Leon was capable of.

It was also good to hear that Luke was interested in finding another skill to hone. It probably wasn't something his friend needed to worry about right now, but if they ever got home, it would be best if he found something to do with himself now that their world wasn't in danger. Thinking too much about the future was just going to be depressing, though.

Pleased to see that Luke was starting to take charge, even if it was only through knocking on a door, Guy waited for it to open. Even in the darkness, the first thing that he noticed was Leon's ears.

Guy tilted his head. "Uhh, hey, Leon. You didn't have those before, did you?" Hopefully the kid would understand what he was referring to, since Guy didn't want to be rude and point. "Oh, and..." He gestured toward Luke. "This is my friend, Luke. The sword's going to be for him." With that taken care of, the blond waited for Luke to walk in first, since he didn't want to push past him.

Huh, he'd never seen ears like those before. Since Guy indicated them, Luke's gaze fell on them almost immediately. It would be rude to say something, but he hadn't expected something like it. He wondered if Guy hadn't seen them because they were hidden, or maybe they grew while they were here. There was probably a pretty good explanation for it, one that wasn't coming to him right away. It wouldn't do him any good to keep staring like an idiot, instead of moving inside.

"Hey," he greeted, though he was wise enough not to say more, giving Leon an opening to answer Guy's question. He stepped inside so that Guy could move in behind him. It wouldn't do them any good to linger outside, anyway. And he figured Leon kept himself safe during these procedures by sticking around in his room.

"Oh!" That's right. Guy hadn't seen them yet. The boy grinned, twitching the ears for added effect. "These only pop up after the doors close for the night, and it only started recently. This is the way I'm supposed to look! The way I do look, I mean, when I'm back home."

So it wasn't Guy he was making a weapon for, but I friend of Guy's? Was that cheating the system in some way? Well, if the blond wanted him to use the offered favor for a friend instead of himself, it shouldn't be a problem. It was his time. If he ever wanted to do something like this again, however, he'd have to sign up just like everyone else.

He motioned them toward the bed. "I don't suppose you brought anything with you? Metal to add to my supplies?" It was all right for tonight if they didn't. Kakashi's delivery had been timely.

Following in after Luke, Guy couldn't help raising both eyebrows when he got Leon's explanation. So they were taking away body parts only to give them back? If Leon usually had ears like that, did that mean he wasn't entirely human? Guy knew it didn't really matter, but it was interesting to note nonetheless. It was downright odd that they only showed up at night, though. Then again, if the nurses could transform so drastically, why not the patients?

"Well, I'm glad you got them back, if only partly," he said with a smile. He figured that Leon felt more comfortable having them, so it was a good thing, in a way. It always made Guy anxious when the institute did something that could be construed as nice, though. He hoped nothing happened to the kid.

When Leon asked for metal, Guy smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I don't know if it's enough, but..." He dropped the pillowcase full of metal off from where it'd been hanging over his shoulder and then handed it over to the boy. Seeing how he'd gotten it through a night spent taking part the bathroom sinks alongside Claude, he could only hope that it would make up a whole sword.

Then Guy glanced over to Luke. "So, I guess give him a description of what exactly you want." They had to make sure that Luke got the style of sword that he was used to, or as close as Leon could manage.

"Just as simple as explaining what I want?" Luke asked, and considered what he wanted. He thought about the size of the weapons he did best with, and he wasn't certain if that was manageable at all. Stealing a glance at the weapon that Guy had, he had a feeling he'd have to accept something less. Still, it had to beat the stupid meat cleaver he had. Having something so small made him feel a little foolish. Bigger, thinner swords fit Guy better, but neither of them could do much with something small like this. He could rush into a battle all he wanted, but it wasn't like he had much to block with.

All of those specifications were a bit much. Instead of just starting with all of them, he figured he'd ask a simple question first. "How big can it be?" Luke wasn't selfish enough to expect something like the swords back on Auldrant. He was lucky to have anything at all, especially after how hopeless it seemed at first.

That was a good question. How big could it be? Leon held out his arms, trying to make a mental measure of the distance between his hands. "Mm... Possibly an arm's length. Guy's arm, anyway." Expellian measurements would probably mean very little to them. "I don't know if I can do anything bigger than that, but I haven't tried. The one I did last night was fairly long, but the blade was thin. I have a book here, if you want to draw out what you--"

There was an explosion down the hall, and Leon stumbled. He spun and stared wide-eyed at the wall behind him as though he'd be able to see through it to see what had happened. He thought of running out into the hall, but they needed to get this weapon-making business over with. Instead he glanced to Guy, trying to convey the need to check things out.

"What was that?" He grabbed up his book anyway, handing it to Luke. Hopefully this wasn't anything huge.

The question of size was one that seemed to be common here. It made sense that something larger would take more energy to make, but most people didn't use weapons quite as short as Ashton's. That was because most people also didn't fight with a sword in each hand, but that was besides the point right now.

As long as his arm? Guy extended the limb in front of him and glanced down to judge. That was a decent length, so hopefully Luke would be happy with it. He was going to have to be, anyway.

When the explosion came, Guy jerked up ramrod straight, his heart pounding as he realized how close that must have been. He gave a quick shake of his head in response to Leon's question, indicating that he had no clue either. The building had been shaken around before, but this seemed more like a local thing. Which wasn't really good for them...

He glanced to Luke. "Did you want to check it out while Leon worked on your sword?" he asked. He didn't think his friend was just going to leave this one alone; not when someone might be injured.

"Yeah, we better check it out," Luke said, looking over the book. He didn't want to ditch Leon without giving him a good idea of just what he wanted. In the crudest manner possible, he scribbled down the sword he wanted inside of the book. Even if he wasn't in a hurry, it would probably not look much better. "The length you mentioned is fine," he added, handing the book back over with the scribbled down description of his sword. It was shaped like the Key of Lorelei, but it would probably be smaller. That was fine. The likeness was what he was going for, anyway.

That handled, he looked toward Guy. "We better get moving. Someone might be hurt." His belief that people couldn't get hurt in these halls was incorrect, after all. It wasn't surprising that people could get hurt in the hallways themselves, but an explosion of that size seemed like it might be within their rooms. Damnit, did this have to happen, too? Why did they have to change up things just because they could? His fingers curled hard around his flashlight and meat cleaver.

While it was a shame that Guy wasn't going to get to see just how this alchemy worked, he knew that checking in on that explosion took priority. He felt bad for just leaving Leon alone, but they obviously weren't going to let anything dangerous get past. Besides, the rooms were supposed to be secure, so it would most likely be fine. Unless Landel had changed up the rules on them. It wouldn't surprise him all that much if he had.

Nodding when Luke urged him on, Guy made sure to glance over to Leon apologetically. "We'll be back pretty soon, hopefully. Thanks again for doing this for us." He knew that Leon had gone out of his way to squeeze them in. Guy figured that the boy would understand why they had to look into this, though. Explosions weren't exactly normal, especially not when they seemed that close.

Without further delay, he stepped out of the room, hoping that whatever had caused that noise was at least something they could handle.

[To here.]

Leon watched worriedly as they left. He'd begin working on the sword while they were gone, so they'd better come back for it. If something happened to them and he hadn't been there to help them, he didn't know what he'd do. (Not that he'd probably be a whole lot of help to begin with...)

He looked over the drawing Luke had given him, frowning. Working with this drawing would be possible, even if it wasn't the quality he'd normally prefer. It would be rude of him to point that out; not everyone was graced with his artistic talent.

The process was very familiar by now. The young mage set up the symbol and the metal, trying to ignore the acrid stench of smoke from down the hall. Any distractions and worries could screw him up. He had to forget about all of that and just focus on the task at hand. He'd done this several nights before - this night would be no different.

The glow spread from his hands to the materials laid out in front of him, slowly causing them to take the shape of the weapon Luke wanted. He pushed for as large of a size as he could manage, the effort causing sweat to run down his cheeks. The finished product came out well, or so he hoped. It fit the design as closely as he could manage, with the length being just a slight bit longer then Guy's arm.

Now he'd rather go and check on the other two, but his use of alchemy left him with hardly enough energy to sit up straight, much less stand. Leaning back against the side of the bed, he let his heartbeat slow down to a normal pace again while he waited for the others to return.

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/843571.html?thread=67974963#t67974963)]

It might have been nicer, but Luke didn't bother to check to see if Guy could keep up with him. Innately, he knew his friend could outrun him anytime, and they weren't exposed to enough smoke. But right now, his thoughts were focused on the fire and the cause of it—and just who would do that. He wondered if the person who did it would brag about it. Or maybe they would never find out. Sometimes things like that just happened.

He reached Leon's door, and he didn't bother to knock or announce his presence. Sometimes, old habits died hard, and in this case, Luke had never been very good at consistently announcing his arrival. Back home, it sometimes meant they could find things in people's rooms. Here, it just meant he was a little rude.

Only he stopped at the sight of Leon. The image of the boy leaning like that reminded him of Ion. Luke's selfishness connected to the thoughts of the attack slipped away, and he moved toward him quickly to check on him. "What happened?" he asked, and he wished he had some kind of gel to help Leon. At the least, it might return his strength.

It was clear that Luke was pissed, but that wasn't something he could be blamed for. Guy was also upset at the prospect that a patient had purposely set someone's room on fire, but after having to deal with people like Sync, he couldn't say he was surprised. He'd known from a young age just how cruel people could be, and he was able to control his emotions much more effectively than his friend.

Making it back to Leon's room, they came across the boy looking worn out. Before Guy could even say anything, Luke had crossed to Leon's side. It was typical of Luke -- even though he'd only met Leon tonight, he was worried. Meanwhile, Guy couldn't help noticing the finished sword. He really was grateful that Leon was willing to sacrifice his own energy (which was not a small price in a place like this) to see to it that other people got armed.

Figuring that Leon might not be in the mood to explain, Guy kept his distance while he took up that task. There was no point in crowding the boy. "Any usage of power to that extent is going to tire someone out here," he explained. "Making weapons without even a has to be tough. We really appreciate it, Leon." They hadn't even explained about the fire yet, but that was also because no one had actually been injured. Thankfully. Guy would bring it up later, but he wanted to be certain that Leon was all right first.

"I'm fine. It's all right," he reassured Luke, smiling weakly at him. He pointed at the sword. "It should be the size you wanted, but... you'll have to find something to wrap the hilt in. I can only do the metal." Leon sat up a bit straighter, trying to make himself look less drained for the sake of both men. Of course, standing would still be out of the question for the moment.

He glanced toward the door and back. It was good to see them both back in one piece, and apparently the fire wasn't spreading, but... "Is everything all right with you two? Did you... find anything?"

The similarity to Ion made Luke linger near Leon's side a little longer. He knew it was probably too close for someone he just met, but he couldn't bring himself to part ways just yet. This wasn't Ion, but he remembered how selfish he had been in the past with Ion, and how he refused to care for him at first. Now, he couldn't deny that part of himself; it was who he was. Leon's well-being was more important than his sword at the moment. Still, it would be impolite to go without thanking him. "Thank you for doing this for me. I'll do whatever I can for you in the future. Just name it."

After a moment, Luke cast a cautious glance toward Guy, who probably could explain this a lot better. "Someone started the fire," he explained, his features immediately marred with his displeasure at this idea. "We found residue."

Glad to see that Luke was offering up a favor in return for what Leon had done for him, Guy couldn't help smiling. Not that either of them was going to see it, but that wasn't the point. Even though it was in a small way, he was still always pleased when he was given signs of how far his friend had come. A few years back, he would have never imagined that Luke would be so quick to want to repay someone. He'd been entitled; he'd been a brat. But he'd grown out of it.

When Luke started to explain, Guy let out a small sigh and nodded. "It seems pretty likely that it was a patient. Luckily, the fire isn't spreading and we're pretty sure that no one got caught in it." Once again, he didn't bother going into the details of how he knew that. He wasn't going to dump that onto someone so young.

Wanting to make himself useful in some way, Guy moved to collect Luke's sword and then grabbed a sheet off of the unused bed to wrap it in. He wouldn't have done so without asking under other circumstances, but he knew that everything was replaced here. Once the blade was wrapped up neatly, he walked over to Luke and handed it to him. "Here you go." This would do until he fashioned something for the hilt, in any case.

Dinner had been wonderful, as always, and had left Brook with enough of both energy (and gas) to encourage a trip through the hallways. Better to leave before he suffocated his roommate, and besides that he was a bit concerned over Usopp. The bulletin message had proven that he was well and good, but that didn't mean Brook was just going to take his word for it. After all, the sharpshooter had said he wasn't Brook last night! That could mean he was new again, or something else Brook hadn't come across before! So he had to be sure.

It wouldn't take that long to get to Usopp's room, he didn't think, so being sure to retrieve his flashlight from beneath the pillow, Brook strolled out into the hallway, humming lightly as per his usual.

Night 48: M81-M90 Hallway

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