damned_institute | Night 51: Main Hallway 2-Center

Entry tags:

Night 51: Main Hallway 2-Center

[From here.]

By the time Sechs had reached the center hall which opened up to the space that overlooked the sun room bellow, he was still feeling a bit winded from his inner battle with his living dark psyche. He hadn't expected his energy to be drained like that! It had taken more than just mental concentration to push his unwanted passenger out of his awareness; it seemed to have strained his physical body in the process as well. His fight wasn't as effective as Kibitoshin's ki energy, but it was still enough to ease the worst of the drug's side-effects for the time being. Not to mention, his little personal victory made Sechs a tad too cocky for his own good...

"Where the HELL are you Alita?!" Sechs barked as he strolled down the hall, his big boots thundering against the floor as he marched through the shadows, "If you're really here, I'm gonna find ya! I've hunted you down before, Alita! I can do it again!"

According to the copies he made of the institute maps, there was another section of the second floor that had been left unmarked. In the southern center of the building, right across the balcony that overlooked the first floor, was a central unmarked room with a sturdy-looking door, a pretty important-looking one too if you'd ask Sechs! Maybe the door led to a storage room containing the stolen bodies and possessions of the institute's prisoners? Or perhaps a way to the third floor and possibly even Landel himself?

"And how 'bout you, you sick, slimy excuse for a doctor?!" the Replica went on, not bothering to lower his voice. He couldn't help but grin viciously in spite of himself and the dangerous situation at hand, "That stupid drug of yours isn't working as well as you thought it would! Well, tough! I'm NO ONE'S rat!"

The Replica stopped before the center door. No knobs or any panels to open it could be seen. Oh well. Sechs had his axe and a giant boost to his confidence to give it a shot. He had all night.

"Either way!" he growled, a hunger for destruction flashing in his amber eyes, "I'm gonna find somebody I want tonight! Nothing can stop me!"

Leaving his flashlight switched on, Sechs stuffed it into his pocket, allowing the bright head to stick out and illuminate some of the Replica's surroundings. With both hands free, Sechs gripped his double bit axe, lifted it over his shoulder, and then swung it against the door.

Ah! Solving his problems with nothing but destructive brute force, just the way Sechs liked it!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Before, it had been quiet. Quiet and dark, exactly as the lurcher liked it. It had strayed from the rest of its group, and that had clearly been the wrong choice. It had been calm and content until it heard the scream of one of the patients, followed by a banging so loud that it caused the nearby wall to vibrate.

The creature pushed off of said wall, its hands swinging near each thigh as it moved itself toward the noise. It could have ignored it, or returned to its kin, but now it was angry. This puny thing had interrupted its quiet and it even had a light that was offending the lurcher's yellow eyes.

Those eyes were sharp, though -- sharp enough to pick out the offender like he was a sore thumb. Huffing in anger and preparation, the lurcher tensed its legs, feeling the muscles tighten into place before it rushed forward, charging with all the momentum of a locomotive.

The huge creature would tower over any normal person, but that was because it wasn't normal. It wasn't quite human, and yet was far larger... and hairier. Any relation it may have had in genetics didn't matter to the dimwitted lurcher, though. All it wanted to do was pound the life out of the one that had disturbed it.

Meanwhile, Sechs had dealt a few impressive dents into the metal door, but so far it refused to budge. The Replica was undeterred though, and had moved his target to the walls surrounding the entrance. If he couldn't bust the door down, he was going to make his own way into the room it guarded by chopping a hole in the wall! One way or another, he was going to get in!

At first he failed to hear the heavy footfalls approaching him from the shadows, the echoing thuds of his axe smashing into the wall blocked out the incoming stomping. It was only when Sechs pulled his blade out of his target that he heard that extra thump sound that shouldn't have been emitted yet...

Pausing, he looked over his shoulder guard and saw the source of the noise. Something huge was coming his way! For a split second, Sechs almost fell back to the habit of expecting the drug to be playing tricks on him again. But this figure was looking pretty solid as it charged towards him. The android's instincts confirmed that this was the real deal, and during that following second Sechs retrieved his axe from the wall and faced the creature.

The flashlight in Sechs' pocket swayed its beam of light as Sechs shifted his stance into a defensive one, allowing him another split second of just what he was dealing with. ...Damn! It was like facing an orderly gone wrong! Or in this case, wild and hairy! The thing was enormous, and not in the least happy over Sechs' little tirade against the door! The drug faintly gave Sechs heck for being so careless, and for once he couldn't help but agree with it...

Still, it looked to be a far better opponent than an unbeatable self-reflection in the form of a rotten doppelganger or one's own dark psyche; it was a target that he could actually hit, along with the promise of the kind of battle he had been itching for since his rival Will disappeared. Sechs grinned at this new challenge, and as another second blurred by, he lifted his axe and swung it towards the lumbering creature's side with lethal force.

Edited 2010-08-31 08:39 (UTC)

While the lurcher could charge with an immense amount of force, putting the brakes on its advancement was almost impossible. For that reason, it had really had no means of dodging the attack, and the axe crashed into its side with a loud sound that was both a crack and a thwump.

It had a very thick skin, but it was not made of armor or anything of that sort. The blade of the weapon stuck into it, but it didn't go nearly as far in as it would have on a normal human.

Instead, it just caused the creature to roar in pain and increased anger as the blood started to gush out of it, red as a human's. Still, even if it was injured, it was also close enough to get a counterattack in.

One of its meaty hands reached out and balled into a fist, pummeling into the human's side. And the patient wasn't nearly as hardy, was he?

The battle android's grin only widened as he felt the axe meet its target with a satisfying reaction of spilt blood and enraged roaring. So the thing wasn't invincible then. Good. Sechs' grin only lasted for a moment though, as the creature made a swift retaliation, which came in the form of a fist the size of a wrecking ball--

WHOMPH!

To Sechs' shock, the dull sound of something cracking in his torso was heard once the creature's boulder-like fist connected with his side. Another millisecond later and Sechs found himself violently tumbling a good few feet away from the besieged door. The attack knocked the wind out of his lungs and he crashed to the ground like a discarded rag doll, his now-bloody axe just barely kept in one hand as he rolled to a stop on his stomach.

Sechs gasped in his stolen air, letting out an infuriated snarl as a rush of pain cascaded over his side. Risking a quick glance at his torso, Sechs found that his chest guard had taken most of the creature's impact, leaving behind a deep crack that threatened to split open if he wasn't careful. The pain was still pretty bad and he wouldn't have been surprised if a rib or two had gotten broken as well. Sechs gave out a ragged cough, a strained smirk crawled over his lips. This wasn't going to be a boring battle, that was for sure!

Despite that powerful impact, Sechs's limbs were still functioning and ready to move and he did so with beastly enthusiasm, scrambling to his feet with his stained axe in hand before the creature could finish him off while he was still on the floor. Sechs loudly panted with pain but a surge of excitement was coursing through his body, keeping him alert and nimble as he retained a short distance from the looming humanoid.

Keeping his front facing his foe, Sechs swiftly circled the creature, his teeth were bared as his yellow eyes scanned for weaknesses. The depth of the wound Sechs left told him that his opponent was made of tougher stuff than he thought, his blade had barely left a dent in it!

The big ape could definitely move fast when it wanted to as well, but just how agile was it? Would its huge mass of hair and muscle be able to turn on a dime? Seeking an answer to his combative curiosity, Sechs made a mad dash for the creature's back and dove in with his axe aiming for its spine.

Edited 2010-08-31 22:38 (UTC)

The punch was amazingly effective, knocking the patient back with such force that the axe was wrenched out of the lurcher's side, causing it to twitch in both pain and relief. The blood was continuing to pour out, but it paid no attention, not even having the brain power to know that putting pressure on a wound would slow the bleeding. No, all it cared about was cornering and taking apart its prey.

It was not particularly fast unless it was charging, but it was good at keeping its eye on its target once it had it in sight. So as Sechs moved, the lurcher's eyes followed, not willing to let him out of its field of vision.

For that reason, it was able to angle its body fast enough to avoid the majority of the human's attack. Instead, the axe cut into it only superficially, near the monster's shoulder blade. It growled, almost coming across as annoyed, before turning itself around more fully so that it could reach out for the human's arm.

Once it had a hold, it intended to throw the human's weak body right against the nearby railing.

The creature may have been powerful and fast, but it was probably lacking in the smarts department; if it wasn't going to do anything for the first wound Sechs landed on it, then sooner or later it was going to bleed to death. If Sechs could inflict enough damage on it, he could weaken the creature enough for the final blow -- at least that was the theory...

Sechs cursed through his clenched teeth when he felt his blade miss his target. Dammit! He might as well have given the lumbering monster a bad haircut! The thing may have been dumb but it knew how to keep a good eye on its target! Sechs didn't get the chance to back up and strike again when the towering ape turned and clasped a huge hand around his axe-wielding arm. Sechs yelped and felt himself get lifted into the air--

Shit! The damn thing was going to throw him! The g-force pressing against his body increased with every second, reminding Sechs of those frenzied moments when Niz tried to shoot him out of the Z.O.T.T arena. Sechs wasn't going to let that happen again without a fight! With few seconds to spare, the Replica twisted his free arm behind his back and retrieved his machete. And then within mid-swing, Sechs plunged the blade into the monster's offending arm, right into the inner elbow joint.

Whether Sechs' attack worked or not, he wasn't able to tell when the momentum of the monster's throw catapulted him towards the open space overlooking the sun room below. The sound of air whistling through his hair, along with the darkness of the hallway mixing with the fleeting beams of his rattled flashlight filled Sechs' senses before he crashed into the rail with an audible crunch. Dammit, that was going to hurt in the morning...

A few seconds of falling stars exploding behind Sechs' eyelids later, and the Replica's senses managed to successfully reboot, allowing him to see the extent of the damage. He had collided with the guard rails back-first while half of his cracked breast plate had been knocked off. His bloody axe was a few inches away from his hand while the machete was nowhere to be found -- was it still in the monster's arm?

"You son of a bitch!" Sechs snarled. Crawling to his hands and knees, he groaned from the extra layering of pain that had just been pounded into his already bothered back. No doubt he was going to have some massive bruises there! Grunting, he scrambled for his axe and pulled himself up to his feet by the dented railing. His posture was stooped but not submissive; instead he glared at the hairy beast with his teeth bared in a predatory grin. "Is that the best you got?!" he shouted, his wild hair dangling over his wide amber eyes, "You throw like a Deckman!"

Edited 2010-09-01 05:36 (UTC)

And so the human went flying across the hall as if he was nothing more than a rag doll. And yet he didn't go down without a fight. Before the lurcher knew what was happening, a new weapon had come out of nowhere and was forced into its arm blade-first.

More blood gushed from the new wound, mixing with the rest that was pouring from both its side and its back. It all slowly slid down its immense body, eventually hitting the floor and staining it red. And yet the lurcher didn't care. It was practically berserk by now, sick of the human's tricks and determination.

To make it worse, its prey actually stood back up after hitting the railing. He hadn't given up yet. Made even more enraged by that sight, the lurcher yanked the machete out of its arm with a spray of blood and tossed it aside; it hit the floor with a clattering sound. It had no use for weapons, as its own body would be good enough.

With that thorn in its side taken care of (though the removal of it only worsened the bleeding), the lurcher turned toward where the human was standing and yelling at it (the words meant nothing) and charged once more, straight for Sechs and the railing.

Sechs' eyes snapped towards the sound of the machete clanging to the ground. The creature didn't have any use for the weapon, but Sechs did. It may have once been Will's blade, but Sechs wasn't done wielding it!

The monstrous primate made another thunderous charge towards Sechs, its blood spilling and splattering about as it lumbered straight for him. Dammit! His attack against its arm barely disabled it! The Replica was now stuck between a nasty drop to the sun room below and one pissed off monster! Panting, Sechs didn't budge; he watched the ape quickly close the distance between them. He waited for the right moment and then--

--Sechs dove to the side, tucking his axe beneath his torso as he somersaulted away from the rail and towards his discarded machete. At the end of Sechs' roll, he leapt into a crouch and frantically grabbed for his bloodied blade. With both of his weapons in his possession, Sechs turned to look over his shoulder, hoping to see that the creature's relentless speed had acted against it and sent it over the rail...

While the lurcher didn't quite go over the railing, it did crash right into it; the impact made a loud clanging noise echo throughout that part of the hall, and its groan of pain soon followed. For a moment it just remained there, arms hanging over the top rail as it tried to regain some energy after that charge.

Stupid human, moving out of the way at the last second like that...! As the monster straightened to an even more encroaching height and then turned toward Sechs, its sharp teeth bared and its yellow eyes glowing with anger, it seemed just about fed up.

And so it lived up to its name and lurched for the patient, grabbing Sechs by the neck and then yanking him forward. It was strong enough that it could hold the human in the air by the throat, letting him dangle there as it decided what to do with him.

To a mixture of relief and dismay, Sechs found the creature hung halfway over the railing. Dammit, the monster was so close to falling over it! At least Sechs' speedy dodge caused that big bastard some damage. For the moment the giant ape appeared to have been stunned by its collision with the rail. Sechs gave out a pained chuckle as he slipped his machete back under his belt. Staggering to his feet, the Replica readied his axe, clenching down on the handle with both hands. It was time to land the final blow on this hairy ape and send half its torso down into the sun room below...

But as soon as the Replica turned around to face his opponent he was immediately confronted by the monster's lunging hand! The creature had already recovered and was grabbing for Sechs with an arm that was almost as long as Sechs was tall! Grunting with surprise, Sechs immediately tried to jump back, but he was swiftly snatched up and roughly tugged towards his enemy.

Next thing he knew, Sechs felt his boots leave the ground and he let out a strangled yelp. The android's legs furiously kicked in the air, but the creature's outstretched hold kept its prey too far away from its body for Sechs to hit. The mammoth fingers coiled tightly around Sechs' neck, squeezing the air out of him while straining the muscles that connected to his head and his torso. SHIT! Not good! NOT GOOD!!

Gasping and eyes nearly bulging, Sechs released one hand from his axe and grabbed into the hairy limb in a desperate attempt to relieve most of his dangling weight off his neck. The other hand shifted its grip on his weapon until it was close to the double bit blade. Panting and choking through his gnashing teeth, Sechs began to chop into the hellish primate's arm with the axe, frantic to escape its merciless stranglehold.

This insolent human didn't give in! Before the lurcher knew it, its arm was being hacked into as if its prey was trying to cut it off entirely. As cut after cut was added, the monster roared and started to turn toward the railing. Such a long fall would likely be very damaging to something so small-boned, whereas it would probably survive...

In any case, it needed to let go of the human sooner rather than later, and so it literally flung itself toward the railing with all of its strength, forcing it loose until it was pulled out of the ground.

Still holding onto Sechs' throat with a tight, tight grip, it waited for the railing to give out completely, sending both of them toppling toward the Sun Room floor. Its tough body would withstand the fall. Who could say it would be the same for the puny human?

The Replica's blood-spilling hacking was affecting the monster alright, but not in his favor! The hairy creature's clutches around Sechs' throat did not relent, and Sechs' attempts to chop its strangling hand off only brought it into an irrational rage -- so much so that the monster threw itself against the one thing that kept it and Sechs from falling down into the darkened sun room below...

Sechs' body was roughly flung about in the air as the ape bounded for the railing; he couldn't help but feel like some hapless toy being swung around by some child playing a not-so-gentle game of heroes and villains! The impact nearly knocked the axe out of his grip, but the reason why Sechs halted his attacks was that he was too busy looking down and realizing--

The stupid giant monkey was going to let itself fall down -- and bring Sechs with it!!

"WHAT?!" Sechs cried through a strangled yelp, "JUST HOW DUMB ARE YOU--?!"

Before Sechs could cough and grunt out the rest of his insults, the rail gave way with an ear-splitting screech, sending both Replica and monster to plummet down below...

"NOO!!"

The monster was sure to survive the fall, but not Sechs' organic body if he didn't think fast enough! He had to get the damn thing to let him go, or else he might get crushed by it once they collided with the floor! With an incoherent shout of anguished effort, Sechs swung his legs up to wrap around his opponent's arm and raised his axe for one more strike, this time aiming away from the primate's arm, and closer towards his own head! He had just one shot at this, or he'd grievously injure himself in the process--

THWACK! Sechs' desperate aim hit its mark, chopping off the creature's think thumb in the process as they hurtled down through the open space. Freed from the wild humanoid's stranglehold, Sechs swung himself off its arm, hoping that the creature's immense weight would get it to crash first--

--And that he himself would have something softer than the floor to land on...

Edited 2010-09-04 19:04 (UTC)

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/968874.html?thread=72399530#t72399530)]

As they entered the next hall, Kratos saw immediately that there would be no need for extreme measures: patient and monster were quite literally locked in battle. He looked back once again to ensure that Rita was near before beginning to move silently and cautiously across the hall, making sure that the gleam of his sword would not be accidentally noticed.

The remaining shreds of the knightly part of him were berating him for leaving a fellow patient in such a terribly compromising situation--by the gods, he was being strangled. But they had to keep going; Rita probably wouldn't appreciate him running off into someone else's battle. And in his current state, there probably would not be much that he could do.

What a pity. One of the ... lower beings was taking the good fight, but Kronen was enjoying watching the bloodshed without actually getting his hands dirty. Then some other people had to enter the area and interrupt his leisure.

He didn't move from the dark shadows just yet, but wound himself up and perhaps, if his prey were paying attention, they could hear the telling sounds of the end coming for them.

*tick ... tick ... tick ...*

Kratos' presumption received a nod; Rita was indeed light on her feet when she needed to be. She moved quickly and quietly as she followed the swordsman into the central part of the hallway. She'd turned off her flashlight as they neared the scuffle, not wanting to draw the attention of the beast assaulting what appeared to be another patient. Said patient was adequately armed, at least, so Rita was able to focus on their destination without feeling too guilty.

Was this the kind of place Landel's was? A place where patients would need to climb over the bodies of their fellow patients to reach their goals? Though Rita didn't hesitate in her movements, there was certainly hesitation in her mind.

But then, there was something that made Rita pause mid-step. A mechanical noise, coming from somewhere that wasn't where the ongoing fight was taking place.

"... What's that sound?" Rita whispered to Kratos, slowing to a cautious pace. It was possible that there was some kind of machine up ahead, but it was better to ask than to assume.

They were proceeding fairly steadily when all of a sudden there was a noise in the distance. It was a ticking noise, like a clock, except Kratos's intuition immediately told him that this was no such thing.

"Probably not a friend and probably nothing so simple as a machine, knowing this place," he whispered back. That was the easy part to figure out. The hard part was determining what exactly had been awoken. "If we engage it, and the battle turns sour" - which it was most likely to do - "don't hesitate to run."

He kept moving forward, but now at the same, cautious pace as Rita. If anything was up ahead, it would see him first, which was the objective.

Herrlich! Kroenen rather enjoyed it when the little ones didn't flee right away, but he did have his orders. They would not pass by him. There was the hiss of metal on metal as he drew the tonfa and stepped closer to the pair.

tick tick tick tick

Once he was visible to them, it was plain that no, this wasn't a machine or a friend. He spun the blades almost absently and considered the man before coming to rest directly in front of them.

When the source of the noise revealed itself, Rita immediately flicked her flashlight back on, illuminating the man - machine? - that stood in their way. Light reflected off the blades he held; it was clear that this was no ally.

"You better get out of our way, or you'll be sorry!" Rita barked at the obstacle. The mage then tucked her flashlight under her arm, freeing her hands to begin casting a spell. Below her, a magic circle of a red-orange color began to glow, with red-hot sparks of magic rising into the air from it. Between her hands, a bright light began to gather.

Rita acknowledged Kratos' advice, but she wasn't going to make running a priority unless there was no other choice. If this thing didn't get out of their way, it was going to get fried.

Their foe was using an unfamiliar sort of weapon, although Kratos was sure he had seen those of Mizuho using something vaguely similar. The two blades were shorter than his broadsword and, by the careless way that the man twirled them, light. He could probably expect a quick series of blows at close range, which did resemble the way Sheena preferred to fight.

How to deal with this...well, he couldn't do it by rushing in and leaving Rita at risk, especially while she was casting. It would be better to let their opponent make the first move and give him a better idea of what they were up against.

Keeping his sword on point, Kratos waited. He hadn't fought a serious battle left-handed in some time; this would be a good way to see if several hundred years' worth of training was good for anything.

Sorry? Him? That was amusing. Her little light show was interesting as well and he watched them, head cocked to one side, chest ticking merrily away.

He didn't make the first move, simply stood there, silently, and waited for the outcome of this little trick...

Wasn't he going to attack? When the spell was fully charged - at least, to the extent that Rita could conjure it with her limited abilities - the light between her hands had transformed into a fireball, and Rita was keeping it ready to use once their opponent made his first move.

But the move didn't come, and the three of them were left staring each other down. Rita could feel her own energy slowly draining to sustain the spell. She couldn't wait around forever.

"All right, I warned you!" she snapped, breaking the silence and raising the fireball threateningly. She told him to move, he didn't move, and now he would have no right to complain if he got burned. Her patience gone, Rita shifted her hands so that her palms faced the strange-looking man, and in an instant the fireball was launched straight at its target.

[fffff sorry for the late tag]

The machine/man hadn't moved, and Kratos inwardly sighed. Stalemate. This was the worst because eventually one of them would be forced to make a move, and he was the one with less time.

Thankfully, Rita's spell changed the dynamic a bit. Of course, it was only one fireball - easy enough to simply sidestep - but it was an opportunity. The swordsman stepped out of the way as the fireball hurtled past him and easily closed the gap between him and their mystery opponent. As he drew closer, the ticking noise he'd heard earlier became more pronounced...what was the cause of such a thing?

In any case, if he was going to strike first, he had to make it count. Better to take out one of the blades and even the odds: Kratos cut diagonally with the sword, aiming for the man's right wrist.

(I think I win the late tag game. Sorry! ; ; )

Kroenen saw both coming and had only a split second to act. Neither the fire nor the blade would actually hurt him, but he wasn't interested in letting either touch him anyway. He whirled into motion, bringing up a tonfa to block the wrist strike and used his own momentum to pivot out of the way of the fire. There was the smell of burning clothing-apparently he didn't move quite far enough and it had gotten close enough to sear a line over his side.

Still, he kept moving forward into the armed man's defense, bringing up his other blade to the man's chest, intending to slice his way through clothing and skin.

He dodged it? Now that was just insulting.

"Tough guy, huh!?" Not about to be deterred, Rita shifted her hands back into their casting position and started on another spell. Just as before, a magic circle manifested below her as Rita gathered the power she needed and ran through the spell's formula in her head. "This one won't miss!" she hollered at the metal man as she prepared her next strike.

The distance between Kratos and the enemy had already been closed, but Rita could hold her spell long enough to wait for an opening. The blast from the fireball's impact seemed to be much less than normal... even for an indirect hit. That was disappointing, but in a situation like this, it could be advantageous. It meant that Kratos wouldn't need to get too far away to avoid being caught in the blast and the flames.

For now, Rita waited with the fireball slowly forming between her hands. Sweat gathered at her forehead, and she felt it on her palms as well. It wasn't strange for a mage to feel this exhausted after ten or twenty consecutive spells, but two? Rita's pride wouldn't allow her to acknowledge the strain she was beginning to feel in her body.

Kratos had expected the fireball to be dodged, but he hadn't expected the machine-man to react so swiftly and be completely unfazed by either attack. He could have sworn that he'd seen Rita's spell hit their enemy, and the smell of burnt something or another had immediately hit him, and yet...no reaction. It was almost as if he was fighting an angel of Cruxis, a lifeless being.

The thought was chilling - Kratos had never had much love for lifeless beings - but unfortunately, there was little time to dwell on it. As the second tonfa came whirling up to meet him, the angel narrowly twisted out of the way, noticing, out of the corner of his eye, that Rita was preparing a second fireball. And of course, it fell to him to give her an opportunity.

Quickly hopping back to give himself some needed space, he drew his sword back and then swept it forward swiftly, scraping it along the floor as he released the mana focused into the blade. "Demon Fang!" The white shock wave had little distance to cover; it was relatively weak, but perhaps it would act as the distraction Rita needed.

[From here.]

There was more to see on the other side of the door; there was the ticking, the loudest sound to him, despite the presence of other patients and what sounded like threats. The vampire moved with the other two, always shielding Bella's body with his own, one hand holding the pillowcase containing the radio - just in case there were further clues - and his right closed around the wood of the shotgun. He could drop the radio fast enough; luckily, shotguns didn't require aim.

And luckily he had some knowledge of guns, though this was much more modern than the World War 1 ammunitions that had captured his attentions as a child.

His eyes watched the movement of the other patients' flashlights, noting how it was being reflected back - machine? Some sort of armor? Whatever it was, it wasn't worth getting close to, and it seemed distracted with two humans already... it shouldn't be too hard to slip by, as long as they kept their backs to the walls to move past.

After sliding off of Edward, Bella clicked off her flashlight and shoved it into her pocket, allowing both of her hands to grip tightly onto the baseball bat as she attempted to move silently behind Edward. Heart pounding in her ear, she almost didn't hear the strange ticking sound - until they got closer, that is.

Joining the ticking sound was a sound like something slicing through the air; a metallic sound that sent a shudder racing down her spine, and she moved closer to Edward in response, her hip bumping against him every now and then as she kept close to the wall as he was doing.

Sure, they were monster hunting. But this? Certainly not what they were looking for, she figured.

Looking at the three of them, she figured that if the creature were to attack, they would at least be able to defend themselves. After all, Venom had some strange pool stick thing, and Edward had her father's shotgun ... and she had a baseball bat. Perhaps it was good that she was horrific at sports - she tended to hit others instead of hitting the ball, so maybe this would help.

Bella made no mention of the fact that she really didn't want to run away as Venom proposed. Especially after Edward had mentioned the whole blood fountain thing in the Chapel.

The assassin pressed his back closer to the wall as they passed by, eyes searching for anything dangerous. That irritating ticking sound only grew louder the closer they drew into the center hall, and finally being able to detect the source once sneaking through was... odd.

Venom had seen his fair share of strangeness, to the point that seeing the flesh-eating undead his first night in this prison hadn't even made him blink. Genetically mutated soldiers, vampires, Magical spells, strange women with funny hats attacking him for no discernible reason: it was all the usual ilk to Venom. But the ticking man...?

Why was he ticking? Considering the blades the man were currently spinning, the mystery of why the he was ticking like a large clock was certainly the less important matter at hand, but Venom was curious. Was it the suit he was wearing? Or was it coming from the man himself? He would admit that the majority of blacktech fascinated him - it was something he very rarely was able to see for himself and once he did it was usually snatched away from him by certain do-gooders. It was insight to a world long destroyed, all information regarding it having been forgotten and banned before he were even born. Magic and Gears were obviously weaponized in their own right, but the sheer destructive force of the 21st century... He could only imagine the amount of power and leverage it would give the Guild.

But while the ticking man was a curious sight, Venom also didn't enjoy that destructive force being pointed at him, especially if he had no idea what that thing was capable of. As much as it pained him to do this on what was essentially a timed mission, the Guild Head turned back toward his comrades and raised his left hand, gesturing to the next hallway. They could gather themselves out of harm's way.

[To here.]

Unfortunately for him, it looked as though Lunge was just about to run into his first obstacle- and a deeply fascinating one at that. The ticking was what caught his attention first, and what dried his pace to a halt. Soft at a distance, perfectly steady. And then he saw it: the humanoid figure standing stock-still in the centre of the hallway, little more than a faint platinum gleam from where he stood, staring back at the young man and woman in front of him with the clear detached interest of a scientist watching a butterfly under a belljar, even if the face he could barely see was barely recognisable as having eyes. Even as the floor around the woman began to glow, it didn't move. It watched, it waited- and then the woman's hands were alight with fire, and Lunge remembered himself.

No. This is not relevent. He couldn't get distracted here. But how to pass by without causing too much of a stir? Careful, careful, he switched of his flashlight and sank back against the wall, eyes sliding warily towards the three and fixing on them as he slipped across the back wall. Quiet, calm, casual. Nothing to see here. I don't have time for you, tin man.

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/968874.html?thread=72494250#t72494250)]

"Of course you should be worried." Callisto stopped abruptly, swinging her arm around to level the pickax under Ratigan's chin. "What do you think people are walking around armed for?" He should also probably be concerned about her wanting to use him as a human shield as well, but she wasn't going to bring that up.

Granted, she wasn't worried, but then she considered herself a special case. She was armed because she enjoyed being armed. The fact that it made fighting monsters an easier task was just a bonus. Even now, she could see other patients squaring off against what must be one of the Institute's guardians, if not a creation of the Institute completely.

"They don't let us roam about at night because it's good for our health."

Ratigan couldn't help but flinch when Callisto swung the pickax dangerously close to his neck, and a small gasp passed his lips in spite of himself. Feisty, nothing, this Callisto girl was a sociopath! And not the delightful kind of sociopath like Ratigan himself, either! After the initial shock of Callisto's act finally wore off, his expression hardened and he slowly raised his hand to gently push the pickax away from his chin.

"That was hardly necessary." Ratigan growled, "I was only asking a question. However, I suppose I must thank you for making the answer perfectly clear." And for making it perfectly clear that I'll never ask you for help again, Ratigan thought to himself as he idly brushed off one of his shoulders.

Ratigan sniffed as he observed what appeared to be some other "patients" fighting what appeared to be some sort of...clockwork creature. "I say, are we going to step in and try to help those fellows over there?" he asked casually, watching the machine stand there menacingly, "They seem to be having a scuffle of some sort."

"Then again, four against one hardly seems fair..." Ratigan said quietly, looking off to the side.

Was he honestly asking that? He probably thought it was obligatory, as he didn't look much more interested in helping those under attack than she did. There certainly wasn't any way he could actually expect her to say yes. "Their problem, not ours. If they keep it occupied, then we can make our way past easier."

Not that this was guaranteed to put them in the clear by any means. There was still a good chance they'd find more the closer they got to their destination. In fact, they might not even make it past this automaton without attracting its attention and causing it to direct some of its attacks their way as well. Nothing good in this place was ever retrieved easily. The basement was proof enough of that.

She moved quickly, keeping her flashlight pointing away from the scuffle in case that might draw less attention to herself and her companion.

"I don't think the phrase 'great minds think alike' has ever been more appropriate, my dear Callisto." Ratigan sniffed as he looked back at the fight, "Fighting is such a barbaric way of settling conflicts, and I, for one, would much rather avoid such loathsome activities when I'm given the opportunity. Let the brutes fight for themselves. If they got into that mess, they can get themselves out."

He walked briskly alongside Callisto, reaching the next section of the hallway mere steps before she did. This time, however, he made sure not to boast. For such a tough girl, Callisto seemed to be rather sensitive about races and the like.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/975500.html?thread=72545676#t72545676).]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/968874.html?thread=72633258#t72633258)]

As soon as they entered the next hall, Sanae's mind was made up.

"Okay, we gotta move fast." Not only was there a little girl with fire building up between her hands, but there was a man who definitely was not a patient with tonfa. That wasn't good news, especially if he happened to have a short attention span and spotted them.

Note to self--his spur-of-the-moment decision-making skills sucked. It was also apparently much easier to run into trouble inside the institute than it was if you decided to head out for the night. He was going to have to remember that for the future.

"Good idea," he replied in a hushed tone. "I'd rather avoid being pummeled if I can." Granted, he could fend pretty well for himself if he had to, but he wasn't ready to test just how healed up his arm was from that cat attack quite yet.

Sanae nodded. "That's the general idea, yeah." Hopefully the next hall would be more peaceful.

[to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/975500.html?thread=72710028#t72710028)]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Night 51: Main Hallway 2-Center

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

tick tock

Re: tick tock

Re: tick tock

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject