damned_institute | Night 50: Main Hallway, 1-West

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Night 50: Main Hallway, 1-West

[from here]

It looked like the hallway opened up over here. Guess he couldn't expect to just run around and follow a linear corridor forever, but now he had to figure out which way he wanted to go. Normally, he'd just run down whatever hallway he happened to lay eye on first, but again, he was running a liiittle blind here.

He still wasn't seeing any people anywhere. Maybe everyone was hiding. If everyone knew the staff turned into monsters and tried to eat them, then it'd make sense that they'd try to keep low. Thankfully, he'd be taking care of whatever was wandering around this place, so they wouldn't have to stay hiding for long. Once that was done, they could blast their way out of there and he could find his way back to the others. Couldn't keep everyone waiting on account of him, right?

[running across Rita, The Trickster, and hopefully, a freaking flashlight]

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"Oh, just thought I saw an old lawyer friend, or a young lawyer friend more like," the chief joked, trying to bolster his mood. So what if Wrighto really wasn't here? Big deal. He could still get by. All he needed to do tonight was just stroll out the front door.

"But I wasn't looking for anyone, per se. Just on my way to the front door. Can't waste my time twiddling my thumbs in this fine establishment." He smiled even wider, clasping his hands in front of him, hoping to give off a friendly impression.

Now that he thought about it, having a kid around might not be a bad idea. Extra bodies meant lower odds of being attacked directly. But just pulling someone along without asking probably wouldn't be the best idea. "You wouldn't happen to have been waiting for someone, eh, young man?"

"Huh..." Niikura nodded slowly. A lawyer friend? He couldn't even begin to imagine lawyers trying to navigate the Institute at night. They'd get eaten in a flash since those types rarely worried about anything other than who they would sue next.

That this man was trying to head out the front doors caught his interest, though. He'd tried to do that himself two nights ago, only to get dissuaded from it by Morgan - no, Mello. Maybe...maybe it wouldn't hurt to try again. Safety in numbers, after all. And it wasn't like this guy was anyone special to him. Now time to bite the bait in a way that wasn't too purposeful.

"Nah, I'm not. Just hangin' around, tryin' to figure out what I want to do. Why? You need help?" Niikura grinned.

What a nice little boy scout, offering his help to the poor, old man. Kind of suspicious, too. But there were genuinely kind people in this world. Gant just never got close enough to anyone to find out if they fell into that category. Well, what the heck. Once they were out of here, they would probably never see each other again. Their alliance could be terminated as soon as they were out of reach of all the monsters. And of course, if the boy ended up useful, they could also plan to stay in-touch.

"Help? Oh, I wouldn't want to bother you, but if you're offering..." Gant shrugged, flashing his brilliant smile. "I assume it would be in your interest to get out of here as well." After all, who would want to stay here in this godforsaken place?

"Oh! But I'm sure you'll want to know who you're breaking out with if that's the case, eh?" The chief clasped his hands behind his back, standing straight and tall, though his grey uniform struck less of an imposing figure than his usual outfit. "Damon Gant, Chief of Police, L.A.P.D." It was always a good idea to tack on the title. Most people trusted an officer of the law. Usually made them feel extra-safe when they realized he was the chief to top it off. Asuka's reaction earlier today had been proof enough of that.

His previous grin vanished, and Niikura raised an eyebrow at the title. Police? Had he heard that correctly? Ha...ha, ha! What a strange twist of fate this was. How would Officer Yamada feel, knowing that the infamous, crazed terrorist Akumetsu had escaped with the aid of the police - no, the chief of police! Alright, it wasn't Tokyo's finest he would be busting out with, but one cop really did not deviate from another.

"'Chief of Police', huh?" And then all suspicion was wiped off of his face by another slow, easy smile. "Good to know someone's around to serve and protect." Wow, the irony was really dripping from every word, wasn't it?

He inclined his head toward Gant. "I'm Niikura Shou, Civilian. Let's make this a productive night, hm, Gant-san?"

[Lurking his way in from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/941594.html). Also ORZ, HTML FAIL.]

Recluse entered the southernmost hallway, scanning the darkness for any of the mutant guards this place was so fond of, glowing eyes narrowing reflexively as they turned towards the direction of the beams of a couple of flashlights.

He would have continued on without giving it a second thought, had he not heard mention of an attempt to leave the facility. Conveniently, that matched his own plans for the night.

He waited for a moment beyond the main glow of their lights, allowing his sensitive eyes some time to adjust, and listening in. After noting both of their names, he took a few more steps forward, remaining just out of range should either of them become startled, especially given the fact that he was dressed in an Arachnos uniform, potentially marking him as a brainwashed thrall. Not that he wouldn't be able to do something about it if he was attacked, but there were few things more certain to kill the effectiveness of a dramatic entrance than a reflexive blow to the head.

"Productivity would be an excellent idea. If you are both intent on leaving the facility, then we are headed in the same direction."

Hmm, did the kid not believe him? He hoped that remark about his career choice had not been said sarcastically. Gant took his job very seriously, even if he did it only to get a nice seat of power.

"Sounds good, kid," Gant said, secretly a little disappointed. What was with all these people and their terrible names? He had yet to make a satisfying nickname out of anyone new he had met here, and Niikura wasn't any different. Sure, maybe Nick or Nicky would be okay, but there was something that held him back. Did he already know a Nick from somewhere...?

Gant nearly jumped clear out of his skin when a giant mass of a man stepped up next to them. He would have reached out and struck with his candlestick had the guy not spoken up so clearly. So the sci-fi behemoth wanted to join them? Gant wasn't sure if he wanted another man more intimidating than himself in the team. But something about those red eyes stalled any protests.

"T-that so?" Gant cleared his voice and gazed at the big man over his clear glasses. He had to get a grip, or he'd look weak and expendable. That would be unacceptable. "I wouldn't mind more additions to our merry little group, as long as Nicky here has no objections." He really didn't care for that nickname but, well, there was no going back now.

Like his new 'comrade', Niikura nearly jumped out of his skin when another, far larger man strolled onto the scene - an eavesdropper, actually. He'd flipped his flashlight in preparation to strike, but when all the other man did was make a comment, the teen relaxed.

But seriously, what was this, Babushka Doll night? At this rate, a literal whale disguised as a man would crash the party and eat them all.

"Aye, I got no problems teamin' up," he said, giving Gant a weird look. 'Nicky'? What kind of dumb name was that? He'd get the other man back in due time. 'Gantaloupe' sounded like a good start..."Stickin' togther, we got a higher rate of success."

He looked their newest addition over a little more thoroughly and decided that he actually liked this guy. The eyes especially drew his interest, but that uniform was pretty snazzy too. Probably be good in a fight. "Nice threads, by the way...?" Niikura trailed off, motioning for Red Eye-san to fill in his name.

Recluse only just managed to keep the vaguely malevolent smile on his face from turning into a self-satisfied smirk, nodding to the two. "Excellent. Then I will join you." One could always use more minions, however temporary and unaware of their status they might be.

"Recluse," he introduced himself. "The range of the hostile creatures of this place extends far beyond the walls. I can likely spot them before they get close, but you will need to remain alert." He couldn't be looking everywhere at once, after all. "And keep the flashlights out of my eyes."

Didn't seem like the kid cared much for the nickname. Gant just shrugged. He wasn't too fond of it himself. But now was not the time to worry about that. Gant really, really didn't like the look of their new friend. Those eyes (creepy contacts or not) were clearly a warning to anyone who gazed upon them. But the chief had experienced the monsters last night, something he hoped to never have to deal with again. As long as this guy didn't turn on them Gant was willing to give it a go. And anyway, Recluse sounded like a fun name for once! He could be Lucy! But Gant would probably keep that nickname to himself.

"Sure, sure! Not a problem! Not even a little one." Gant quickly lowered his flashlight beam to the ground. He never messed with big dogs, unless he happened to outnumber them with willing lackeys. It was hard not being the biggest fish in the pond for once. "You sound pretty knowledgeable about this place. Mind leading the way?"

Although he considered himself a leader, he was willing to abdicate his position when necessary. And keeping Recluse in the lead might make him the primary target for any monsters they happened to run into. Gant and Nick could stroll behind safely... God, he hated that nickname. Maybe he should focus less on the "Niikura" part and more on the "Shou." Shou, Shou. There was hidden potential there.

Nice to know someone around here could double as an alarm bell. Niikura wouldn't have minded having Recluse around that first night; that way he could've known ahead of time that some crazy pirate was going to attack him with flaming projectiles.

Seriously, how close to being an anime character was this guy? Crazy eyes, special monster-detecting powers, awesome not-exactly-an-actual name, sci-fi uniform...but he'd keep his comments to himself. He didn't want to accidentally shatter the fourth wall and blow up the universe - which wasn't plausible, but it was fun thinking that it would.

Niikura only nodded and stepped off from the wall as Gant offered to let Recluse lead the way. He'd be the starry-eyed teenager for now.

"Excellent." Mostly because they'd done what he'd told them to. "Then we will continue on," Recluse gave the two a curt nod, and turned to walk on through the dark hallways.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/940332.html?thread=71152940#t71152940)]

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Night 50: Main Hallway, 1-West

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