damned_institute | Nightshift 23 - Stairs Near Lobby 1

[Coming in from here]

So far so good.

The stairs to the second floor should be around here. So far they hadn't run into any of the locals here, which was both a good and bad thing: they didn't have to expend needless energy defending themselves, but, on the other hand, that also meant no food. Brock sighed, searching the walls for the door to the stairs, and tried to not focus on the fact that he was not only starving again for human food (apparently they were still recovering from last night), but he was also getting pretty hungry for some of the fresh, rather socially inacceptable meat that had a habit of walking on two legs.

It would be the first time that he could remember that he'd fed when he wasn't Venom. While it probably wasn't a far stretch to assume that the symbiote took his body on joyrides when he was asleep or unconscious, there still remained the fact that he didn't recall any incident where he'd killed with his bare hands, fed as Eddie Brock only.

The mental image of himself crouched over a corpse and going for the head was a bit nauseating, actually and he had to hurriedly focus on the walls before him, rearing up in the darkness and grainy in their eyes. Being back to near-human apparently made him somewhat squeamish again.

It's just a need like normal eating, Brock thought, echoing the reassurances of his Other. It's perfectly okay. We have as much a right to exist as everyone else.

The blond paused before the stairs, slightly comforted by this, and started up them, careful to watch his feet and feeling along the rails with one hand. Hopefully the Chapel was empty when they got there; Brock was all for feeding outside it, but it seemed wrong to profane that kind of ground with even their very honest needs. It just didn't feel right to pull that kind of shit in a holy place (while it didn't have any religious markers, Brock still felt it was special and deserved the proper respect).

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"Never! I was just held up a little! I’m sorry; it’s such poor manners to leave a girl waiting."

Catching Yuffie in a hug was a welcome dose of perspective; her delight at seeing him restored his good humour. Girls were so much fun, even when he wasn’t sucking their blood.

"This is..." He waved a hand at Jack, at a loss for words. If Tsukiko had ever found out about bizarre exchanges he’d been having with Jack, she’d laugh so hard his father’d have to disown him just to shut her up. That was... such a horrible thought! "Well, I’m sure he’d prefer his own introduction. I hope you don't mind, but I invited him along with us."

Captain Jack smiled broadly at Yuffie. "Captain Jack Harkness," he said. "Pleasure to meet you. And your name is...?"

He was in an even better mood than he had been, before, just seeing how he'd made Aidou scramble. "Hope you don't mind if I tag along. No worries, I can hold my own." He smiled, hefting the skillet. If the kids didn't notice the fact that he had a knife at each hip as well, that was their problem.

Aidou had invited this guy to come along? Well, she was a little put off that she wouldn't be getting any alone time with Aidou, but this new guy--Jack?--seemed ok... Even if he was a little old.

"I'm the Great Ninja Yuffie Kisaragi!" She always like introducing herself with great fervor. She was the best ninja in the world, after all...according to her. "But you can just call me Yuffie." She grinned at Jack before looking back to Aidou again.

"So, any idea where we're headed, or are we just gonna wing it?"

Aidou shot Jack a dirty look from over Yuffie's head. "He was just wandering around like a lost puppy - out of the kindness of my heart, I just had to ask him along," he said, smiling angelically. Oh yeah, Aidou just bet he could hold his own.

As for offering explanations, he had three major settings: a mild, easygoing exchange between those he liked and respected, a more monotonous slapdash for lesser creatures, and finally, a rapid-fire blast of information meant to keep blockheads in the dust. He chose a more relaxed version of the middle option, if only for Yuffie's sake. With his arm still draped around her shoulders, he pulled out his journal, leaving her tucked against him as he slipped out a sheet and presented it to the group, making sure no one else around them could catch a glimpse.

He'd made two maps of the second floor, one as detailed as possible and full of his own personal conclusions, and the other nothing more than a basic layout. He pulled out the second; he wasn't in the business of handing out free information.

Drawing his finger along the map, he said, "This is supposedly where the experimentation is taking place, and the Chapel is over here - even if it's somehow a wrong conclusion from the clue given on the radio, most are assuming so and heading there anyway - and this is the spot I want to check out." There were two major blank spots on the map, both the areas to either side of the Chapel, and Aidou was specifically pointing to the hallway next to the unmarked laundry room. It was a weak assumption, but if anything of interest were on the second floor, it would be at the end of that corridor. The second floor was said to be more heavily guarded then the first, so it was worth a shot.

"It's out of the way, but when we come out at the top of this stairwell, we'll get to see if anything exciting is happening in response to tonight's galas." Mainly if anyone was getting maimed. "But enough talk, we should get going. Any objections?"

Jack gave Yuffie another 1000-watts-of-charm smile. "Thanks, Yuffie," he said, "You'll be the first great ninja I've ever known. And you'll definitely always be the cutest."

When Aidou whipped out the map, for a moment he considered sharing that one of the big blank spots was where he'd gotten himself armed. But since they weren't going to go there, he stayed silent. Maybe he'd tell them later, if he felt like it. He was mostly interested in seeing how this was going to work.

For now, he pretended that this was the same as his outing with Gin. "Sounds fine," he said. "Who's taking point?"

Yuffie wasn't quite sure how she felt about being called 'cute' by someone who was probably twice her age, but she grinned back anyway. Attention was attention, after all.

More so, she was delighted that Aidou was reluctant to let her go--curious as to why, but she wasn't complaining. Not at all. She watched and listened much more intently than she normally would have if someone else were explaining this plan to her.

"No objections here," the ninja chimed when Aidou was finished. Though it seemed that Jack had a question. Well, Aidou could answer that. She wasn't usually the one to figure out marching order, and she wasn't about to start.

Aidou guessed it came down to him or Jack. He was less inclined to volunteer himself on the sole basis that he wasn't with a group he could count on; he could handle being on point for obvious reasons alone, but then came the reasons behind how he could navigate soundlessly in the dark.

"It's a request coming from a virtual stranger, but perhaps you should, Jack," Aidou said, tucking his journal away once again. "I trust you've done it before. I can take the rear." At least it put the two most capable on either end of Yuffie. And it wasn't like he couldn't still keep on eye on things even as the last in line, right? Right.

There was always the option of abandoning them if this team thing went horribly wrong.

Then, with the split second realization that Alucard was following his scent, felt a caustic bark of laughter building up in his throat. He clamped it down. Ridiculous. The filthy beast didn't appear to comprehend leniency when it was provided. Flouncing up to the door, he opened it with a gracious gesture akin to ushering through noble parties, nowhere near his current company. "Shall we go, then?"

"Sure thing," Jack said. So he was basically in the same position as he'd been with Gin last night. Well, it could be worse.

He moved up to the front and started up the stairs, flashlight angled correctly, skillet at the ready. He was a professional at this sort of thing, after all. All things considered, he moved fairly quickly, though obviously slower than normal because he wanted to be cautious. He figured he could just bean Aidou (or Yuffie) with the skillet if either of them got noisy about the old guy playing it smart.

That thought had him smiling, though he was far too well trained to giggle.

(hot "old" guy taking us here (http://community.livejournal.com/landels_damned/98560.html))

Nightshift 23 - Stairs Near Lobby 1

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