damned_institute | Night 49: West Wing, North Hall 1-B

When he entered the final of the larger hallways, Kurogane took enough time to glimpse those that were already out, looking specifically for any sign of the magician. He'd moved fast, yes, but he'd also taken a longer route, so there was no telling if Fai had flitted off somewhere in that short time. Kurogane could just see him out on the field already, getting attacked by something.

But before checking that (Fai was an idiot, but that only went so far), the ninja instead turned for the patient rooms. M99 was easily reachable, and if he didn't find the man there, then he could check outside. If he didn't turn over the room first out of frustration.

There had initially been silence after he'd doubled back, however once he was to the door, the magician's footsteps had become easily distinguishable behind him. He used them to double-check the man's condition (he wasn't limping at least), just to be sure, but ended up pausing in the doorway to hold the door back nevertheless.

"We're heading up," he explained, "To the third floor, if we can find it."

Up to the third floor? Both of his attempts had failed miserably. There was the adventures with outdoor plastic furniture and supposed virgin-eating birds, and when he'd tried to get further up the staircase, not only had there been no way to get to a higher floor, but he'd also been cornered by that vampire woman, Diva.

While they might have been important details to share with Kurogane, he left it all unsaid, actually somewhat surprised when the man held the door, as though expecting him to walk through ahead. His gaze met red eyes for a second before he flicked it back to the hall in front of him. Questions, he told himself, not for the first time. It would only lead to more questions if he tried to explain anything.

He managed to keep up the pretense of a smile though, even if it was the last thing he felt like doing. He gave a slow nod to show he understood, but where he might've added a teasing comment or quip, there was only silence. No more teasing, he promised himself. No more getting close.

[From here.]

The darkness here didn't reveal much that the last hallway had, minus a few more extra heads. But he wasn't dealing with them. He was satiated - even if it would be a lie to say he wasn't tempted by them - and could concentrate on the task at hand.

He didn't bother trying to pick up her trail since it would be long-gone either way, and it would definitely have been dissipated by the air from outside. Surprisingly, the door wasn't already opened - as it always was when he had been outside. Maybe he'd been the first to be here?

No. He had to check, at least. There wasn't a pause - except to test for Venom's presence - or hesitation in his movements when he opened the door to the field.

She had been there before, therefore that was where she was? It was poor logic but, again, it was panic. No, it was more than panic. It was almost desperation. She had to be there because he knew she was there before and if she wasn't there, he was lost.

Venom may have been blind to most social norms, but he wasn't an idiot. This wasn't just a friend of Edward's.

It was strange; as much as he could be easily guilted with the knowledge that he were perfectly willing to leave that girl to her fate (if she were stupid enough to wander off on her own, she deserved what happened to her), it was also coupled with the fact that he were just as easily guilted for caring at all.

He kept quiet as he followed behind the other. All that mattered was finding the girl and returning as soon as possible. They didn't have time to waste.

[Going-- wait, what?]

Brook reached the doorway leading out into the larger hallway faster for his longer strides and held the door open for his much smaller friend. "Might I ask, Minato-san, is the violin your favorite instrument?" he asked, curiosity getting the better of him for the moment. In fairness though, it wasn't that often he got to discuss music with another who also played an instrument. "You said you play it in a... club was it?"

"A music club at school," affirmed Minato, looking up at his new acquaintance even as he pointed the flashlight down the hall. He was quiet for a moment as they walked, contemplating. The violin had just seemed like a better fit for him than other instruments -- it was light, capable of beautiful music, and didn't require him to buzz into a horn's mouthpiece. But maybe if they hadn't focused on classical music, he would have chosen something different. "I enjoy it; my friends play violin, too. Have you played a long time, Brook-san?"

He had been somehow expecting the club to be in relation to the ones mentioned on the bulletin, but it seemed Minato meant something from his home world. A school club! Brook wasn't all that familiar with the idea - his "schooling" had been rather different than most - but he believed he understood well enough.

"Ah, so your friends are in this club too? That's nice. My friends and I would play all the time back when we were together! Yohohoho!" Such wonderful memories! Brook always preferred to remember the good times he had spent with his crewmates than the bad. Remembering them in that way was the least he could do in lieu of having spent so many years unable to fulfill his promise to them and Laboon.

Still set on doing something, but not sure what he was going to do, Forte followed the usual path down the hall, turning right and continuing without thinking about it.

And what had happened at the diner, anyway? Sure, he was an angry robot, but he didn't usually just lose control like that. Was it another side-effect of being human, the feeling he was used to being that much more intense? Or just because he he'd not felt that angry all at once, as opposed to his hatred for Rock Man, which grew and seethed for years? Or maybe he did, he'd just never second-guessed his actions while pissed off before?

Edited 2010-05-18 06:26 (UTC)

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/884585.html?thread=69346921#t69346921)]

This hallway was also empty, so Raph continued onwards. The door at the end of the hall should lead outside, and while it was pouring rain out there, that had never really bothered Raphael in the least. He lived in a sewer, after all, so a little rainwater was the least of his concerns. He'd see about getting over the fence around the place maybe, or if he could climb the outside of the building and get up further that way. He was positive the asshole in charge was on the highest floor, watching them all, and it was past time that someone found a way to take the fight to him.

Hefting his sword, he pushed the door that led outside open and ducked through.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/897180.html)]

Edited 2010-05-20 13:28 (UTC)

[ from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/886646.html?thread=69288822#t69288822) ]

Rolo took a moment to glance to his left, knowing where that door lead. Outside, he wouldn't have to worry as much about people seeing, and it was a pretty convenient place to leave Stephen's corpse. It would be easy to assume that a monster got him outside and he was just unlucky. So leading him up that way was tempting, but...

It was time-wasting. Rolo was pretty confident that Stephen had no purpose other than to annoy him at the moment, but the other boy was still a danger and Rolo wasn't sure how far he wanted Stephen to tag along either. It was a little frustrating, deciding whether to waste his time killing Stephen now or later.

Later. Rolo wasn't sure what compelled him to take his chances, but at the very least, if they ran into something ugly, Stephen would either run off or become bait.

[ to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/883371.html) ]

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/884585.html?thread=69361513#t69361513)]

Another part of the usual route Tenzen would have no trouble navigating when blinded by now. For an area close to the patient blocks, it was one that was completely deserted. The ninja cared little, however, and simply continued to head south under the cover of darkness.

[To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/883371.html?thread=69363627#t69363627)]

[From here]

Another deserted area, devoid of patient or monster alike. Choosing not to remain here any longer than necessary, Scar began heading South.

[To here]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/884585.html?thread=69414761#t69414761)]

As he exited the first block of rooms, he found the hallway outside completely deserted. Though his night vision was better than average, he started trailing his fingers along the wall as he walked -- and stopped immediately. Paint chips cracked beneath his fingers. Disgusted, he brushed them off on the edge of his shirt.

The place had an air of neglect and abandonment, and a deeper mystery he couldn't quite place. Maybe once he'd sated his hunger, he would spend some time unravelling it all.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/883371.html?thread=69414059#t69414059)]]

Edited 2010-05-20 16:34 (UTC)

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/886646.html?thread=69414262#t69414262)]

Allelujah moved quickly out of the patient room block and into the main hallway, keeping one hand lightly against the wall and moving mainly from memory by now. He'd walked these hallways so many times that it was rather depressing. He didn't have a particular goal in mind except, perhaps, to try and get further into the wilderness surrounding the area. With that in mind, he headed up towards the door to the rec field.

[To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/899201.html?thread=69478273#t69478273)]

[From here.]

Edgar had to admit that musicians were an interesting bunch. While he'd never managed to learn to play an instrument (all felt too delicate for his tastes- he preferred disassembling them to figure out how they worked), he knew it took a lot of dedication to learn the skill.

"If I recall correctly," he said as they neared the door leading to the recreational field (or it should have, if his sense of direction served him well), "there's a room dedicated to music in this building. I'm not familiar with the saxophone, but perhaps they'd have one there. If so, you'll have to give me a demonstration sometime."

"Is there? That's the best news I've heard all day." Not that he really wanted to stick around that long, but it was beginning to seem like he wouldn't have a choice. At breakfast, with Claire, he'd been confident of his ability to escape--he'd broken out of a military prison after all--but now... well. This place was looking like it would be a lot tougher than it initially seemed, and a part of him, a part that was perhaps not the wisest part, wanted to stick around long enough to work out just what was actually going on in this place. "Saxophones probably aren't standard issue in a place like this, but there might be a piano, at least." An out-of-tune clunker, probably, but it would be something.

"I've not seen much of the room myself," Edgar said, opening the door to the outside and allowing Gren to pass through first. "I can't imagine they wouldn't have a piano in there, though. We even have them in my homeland."

It was strange how some of the worlds connected- even if there were very few similarities in politics, people, magic, or weaponry, certain concepts like music and instruments seemed to exist in multiple realms to some degree of familiarity. Were they truly taken from more than one world, or was it that they were from the same place, but vastly different times?

Having someone who understood strong magic would have helped in finding the answer to that question, but Edgar didn't fancy himself so lucky as to run into a time mage within the institution. They were rare enough as it was.

[To here]

Since Gren went through first.

Edited 2010-05-21 20:44 (UTC)

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/884585.html?thread=69466729#t69466729)]

Still recalling the path he had taken to get out into the entrance hall from last night, Niikura sped down the next hallway. There weren't too many patients hereabouts; was it because it was still early into the night or was it because no one typically went this way?

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/883371.html)]

Of course, he was curious about Sechs's equipment as well. He could guess the axe was looted from somewhere, but that didn't explain the outfit.

"Where did you get the armor, anyway? I could definitely use some."

Sechs nodded, quietly grunting at Forte's reply. The other youth's tone sounded pretty tentative at first, but so far Sechs couldn't see anything wrong with the former bot. As long as he didn't throw the same question back at Sechs, particularly about the night he was taken...

"Hmm... Not too shabby there." Eying the petite (but still very sharp) scalpels, Sechs smirked with a slight upward tilt of his nose. "Looks like they'd deal some good damage if you can shove one of them into a monster's weak point or something. That could be a bit tricky in slow bodies like these..."

"It's mine, back before I ended up here," Sechs answered, proudly looking down at his breast plate and the black suit beneath it. "A couple of nights ago I found it sitting in my closet!" Yet his boastful expression faltered as uncertainty settled in. "Don't ask me how or why it was given back to me. It seems some other people trapped here got their old clothes back too. I don't know if it's Landel's way of screwing with us or what..."

They reached the door leading to the recreational field. "Either way, I'm not letting my battle gear just sit around in a closet!" he added as he stepped up to the door, "Warriors use all they can get to survive!" Flicking the flashlight off and stuffing it into his pocket, Sechs reached out for the door knob and roughly opened it.

Edited 2010-05-23 03:22 (UTC)

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/883371.html?thread=69479595#t69479595)]

"Still," Yukari said, arguing for the sake of argument - as if she had any other reason to begin with, "why not the Sun Room? Or the cafeteria? Then we could go get ice cream afterward or something."

Of course, it was obviously too late, with the door to the rec field right there before them now. She could hear the rain from here. It was going to be so wet.

[To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/898189.html?thread=69541517#t69541517)]

Edited 2010-05-23 01:57 (UTC)

[From here.]

"Aside from that, I've heard rumors they do some mad scientist stuff here," Guybrush continued as they entered the next hallway. "And it's like no one has ever heard of pirates! Or grog! Or the Tri-Island area! Or me, but that one's not so surprisingly as of late. I did think finding La Esponja Grande would have at least made the front of some cheap tabloid, though."

He sighed. "Thinking about Tri-Island celebrities makes me think about Elaine," he said to himself. "I hope she's all right. What if she's in trouble? What if she's being terrorized by another villainous zombie-ghost-demon pirate and I'm not there to rescue her?"

Okay, that was unlikely, but Guybrush could dream of one day wearing the pants in his marriage.

LeChuck wasn't surprised to hear there were plenty of weirdos here. They sounded like the kind of people Guybrush associated with, like that crew of singing of barbers they found on Blood Island.

He also returned to his normal speech pattern, having had his fun. "Mad science, y'say? Ye think that doctor from Flotsam Island could be behind it? I saw ye do him in, but he was usin' some o' that weird sciency-stuff on my leftover voodoo. And anyway, yer here with yer body alive and breathin'. Well, most o' it."

He turned right here, not waiting for Guybrush's input. He'd seen some possible places to investigate while he was led down the main hallway, and he wanted to establish early that he wasn't going to let Guybrush lead him around this time.

[From here.]

Guybrush kept his pace slow as he entered the next hall, looking over his shoulder occasionally to make sure the rest of them were still following and not killing one another through any means possible. How was he going to explain it to them that this place seemed a little more dangerous than most of the situations he'd faced before? People fighting each other randomly wasn't too unusual- pirates had a tendency to start duels over trivial things like sneezing too loudly in a fancy restaurant- but the whole 'De Singe's Creepy Hospital, Now with 100% More People Brought Back from the Dead' theory set the institution apart from the usual 'Taking Over the Caribbean for X Reason' crowd.

If he had died, and Morgan had been dead, and LeChuck had definitely been all sorts of dead, then it'd take more than just normal Voodoo mumbo jumbo to bring them back to life and as good as new. That just left Elaine- LeChuck had threatened to off her in the past so they could be wed in the afterlife, but even he had looked genuinely surprised to see her. So much for the 'You Only Come Here If You Die' idea.

Well, no use worrying about it too much now. They were on their way to escaping. He felt a little badly about leaving Javert and Scott behind, but the former would probably hate the Tri-Island area and the latter looked like he'd burn if he got too much sun.

"I figure we'll just go outside and over this big wall," Guybrush said as he walked, hoping some conversation would distract them from their unbridled dislike of one another. "Elaine, Mo, and I can climb over, and... we'll find some way to get you over, LeChuck." Or they could leave him. He wouldn't be totally opposed to that.

The dread pirate turned and followed Guybrush back down the hall, "Aye, see? Would I really be walkin' around with Cheap-hood here if I could just kill him? And we all have more to gain workin' together than against each-other after all."

LeChuck wasn't pleased that his front-door plan had been immediately steamrolled, but he was telling the truth about having more to gain by playing along. Especially when he was outnumbered. If he did decide that turning on them would be in his best interest, he'd have to wait for a more opportune time anyway - he always preferred a battle that grossly in his favor. Not that he could bring himself to kill his beloved Elaine of course - not here, now, without voodoo to revive and enslave her, of course.

Morgan followed them, making sure she stayed a few paces behind LeChuck so she could keep him in her sights. She was trying to be especially vigilant right now, both because of LeChuck's presence and because Guybrush had started them all marching straight down the hallway about as sneakily as a parade. The Threepwood approach to life worked well at times (although it hadn't done much for her today except get her needled), but it had two fundamental flaws: he trusted people too easily, his grasp of the appropriate application of violence was limited at best, and he wouldn't recognize subtlety if it whacked him over the head.

Okay, maybe more than two.

What he said about "freaky stuff" had her full attention, though, since it was coming from a guy who carried dead seahorse heads around in his pants. She didn't want to give LeChuck any edge by telling him she and Elaine had only woken up here today, so she dodged the point and asked, "What freaky stuff? And how long have you been here?"

That took them to the door. As they got close, Morgan slipped around the others and pushed it open with her back to it, so she could keep facing them. No way was she going to let LeChuck out first and give him the chance to make a run for it.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/910210.html?thread=69783426#t69783426)]

Edited 2010-05-30 00:45 (UTC)

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/883371.html?thread=69821099#t69821099).]

She hadn’t wanted to pry? Ruby raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. She seriously doubted that Utena had decided not to ask for reasons that were so…delicate, but it didn’t look like she was actually going to get any answers from the pink-haired girl so she let it slide.

The fact that the sword girl was the one that they were going to find was slightly more promising, though. Sword girl would have to talk fast and explain herself and what had happened, or else she might find her vocal chords severed. Ruby still hadn’t ruled out doing it anyway, even though she normally avoided killing humans for fun. The bitch who’d cut her leg might very well be a notable exception to her little rule.

She’d just have to see how charitable she was feeling if/when they finally found her. And whether or not her leg stopped hurting.

They passed through one main hall and into another, and suddenly they were facing a door that Ruby was pretty sure led outside. She looked over at Utena. “You think your friend’s really going to be out in this weather?”

Utena gave Ruby a wry grin. "She's done weirder things before," she answered. If anything, it would be more like the Himemiya she knew to go out in the rain and look for snails to keep as pets than to actually go around doing anything productive.

She didn't plan to look outside for long; the rain wasn't exactly an inviting thing to her either. It would be worth it just to check and see if anyone had been through that way, though, she figured. Footprints would be a lot easier to see and follow in the wet grass than normal. With that in mind, she took the handle in front of her and pushed the door open.

[To here]

Edited 2010-06-02 10:22 (UTC)

Night 49: West Wing, North Hall 1-B

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