Night 52: Rec Field

[tsunagari.livejournal.com]

[from here]

This was already further than Sai had gotten the past couple nights, which was saying something. It was getting over the wall that would be the real test, though. The actual act of scaling the brick would be simple, but the night had an odd way of ending before he'd gotten beyond that point. Hopefully the same wouldn't hold true this time around.

The important thing was to just keep on the move. Chances were there would already be something or someone in the field waiting to hinder them and keep them from their goal. If they could avoid them, and avoid getting drawn into a pointless struggle, then perhaps they could actually get into the woods for once. Of course, this was much easier said than done. He'd been controlled by the Institute once before, and he knew how easy it could be just to keep a patient with their abilities dampened from getting between one door and another.

He would tell himself to think positive, except that wasn't really what Sai was known for.

Comments

[idkmybfframen.livejournal.com]

Naruto was obviously pleased that they'd made it outside. Surprisingly, there wasn't anyone out here tonight that he could immediately see. Well, good. Hopefully they'd get the hell over that wall and see what was out there!

"Great!" he exclaimed, turning to Sai. "Okay. Now we just have to get over that wall. I know we can't really run up it as easy anymore, but do you think we can do something?

[sixth-attack.livejournal.com]

Unbeknownst to the two patients, someone was waiting for them outside, and he wasn't one bit welcoming! Perched on top of the lone shed like a predatory beast, the cyborg spied the two patients enter the darkened field with a vicious grin. With a toss of his shaggy head, the shine of shark-like teeth, thick armor, and metal skin could be seen beneath the moon's glow. Hanging against the shed from his sturdy hand was his Titan blade, its crystalline teeth shone hungrily for destruction. The battle android was fully powered and equipped, what chance did these two have against him? For now he kept his crouch still, not moving until his prey was close enough for him to surprise.

"Hey kiddies! Aren't you supposed to be in bed right now?" Sechs called from his perch, chuckling at their pathetic attempt to reach their destination without detection. Another shape appeared by the cyborg's face, his Interactive Interface doll popped her head out from his shoulder guard to join in their vindictive laughter. Both their single yellow eyes glowed like foreboding flames in the darkness. Heh, those two prisoners were screwed!

Yet despite how amusing it was to see two hapless youth in grey pajamas stumbling about into his turf, Sechs was disappointed to not find a worthy warrior to battle with yet, as these two certainly didn't fit the bill in his opinion! Oh well, he would just have to scare these two punks off and wait for someone more worthwhile to come around...

The battle android's moonlit figure shifted, raising a free hand up in the air before a small explosion shattered the once silent air. A ball of controlled white-hot plasma instantly took shape in the Replica's hand, its intense light revealing the armored android and a bold metal "6" beneath his hairline as he held it near his grinning face.

"I'd go back if I were you..." he warned, before sending the small mass of plasma streaking towards the two intruders and exploding into the earth just a foot away from where they stood. Both Replica and doll cackled as the plasma splashed like molten lava, sending flaming debris to scatter about the lawn. That warning alone should be enough to show those two exactly who they were dealing with!

[tsunagari.livejournal.com]

If Sai was much for cursing, he would have done that now. He should have known that the run from the door to the outside wall wouldn't be simple. If they could just get around this patient, then he shouldn't follow them... but just getting that far might prove to be impossible.

He only had one kunai, so throwing that was out of the question - especially since he doubted it would do any good. He wouldn't have many shots with his ink jutsu, and they wouldn't cause any actual damage, but if he could get one or two images out as distractions, they might be able to get by. Sai wasn't sure what Naruto had tried so far in the Institute after dark, but he was capable of running up the wall here, at least most of the way. He'd done it before.

"Naruto," he hissed under his breath, "we should split up and head for the wall." Hopefully he wouldn't be able to shoot both of them, and if he could work out that distraction...

[idkmybfframen.livejournal.com]

Naruto was all ready to kick this guy's ass when Sai spoke to him. What was it with people out here trying to attack them? Didn't they want to get out of here, too?

Wait. Sakura had said that the short old guy was brainwashed, right? And he'd apologized to them later on. Was this guy the same way? That changed things, didn't it. He didn't want to hurt someone who didn't know what they were doing, and he didn't think that they had time to talk the guy out of this. That meant that it was time to get out of here!

He nodded once at Sai, then turned and raced for the wall. He knew he didn't have a lot of chakra here, if any, but they had to get out of here before they had a real fight on their hands!

[gald_digger]

[from here]

Anise only took a few steps from the door before stopping to look around. It looked like there was some activity around the far corner of the field, by the shed. Squinting, Anise could make out something like metal armor, and... a wave of dirt? Probably some weird technique.

"Looks like a special counseling patient," she told Ilia in a quiet voice, trying not to attract any unwanted attention. "But there's no sign of Tear..." She shone her flashlight around the other side of the field, and while the beam wasn't strong enough to illuminate the farthest corners, it was probably fair to say that her friend wasn't out there.

Come to think of it, weren't Guy and the others coming this way? Maybe they already got past that guy. Anise hoped so, anyway. He looked like a tough opponent - one she wouldn't want her friends to get stuck with.

[avengingfists.livejournal.com]

If Anise was willing, then Ilia was too. She stepped out into the night air, completely alert to the sounds off to the far end of the field. Ilia turned off her flashlight and returned it to her pocket, freeing both her fists. Anise was smart and stayed quiet. It looked like the patient, a much bigger man--or something--didn't fit the description of Anise's friend.

"If she's not here, then we should check elsewhere," Ilia whispered, backing towards the door. She didn't want them to get caught up in a fight when they already had an agenda. She felt a little bad for the others they might be abandoning, but they didn't seem completely defenseless, which was enough for Ilia.

[pullstrung.livejournal.com]

((From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/992361.html?thread=73680489#t73680489).))

The first thing Woody noticed when he stepped outside was how cold it was. A weird sensation ran through his body, and he belatedly realized goosebumps were spreading down his arms. Maybe he should have grabbed a coat from the closet, but it was too late to go back.

For now he needed to figure out where to go from here. Pressing his back against the wall, Woody scanned the area. From the looks of it, he'd found some kind of sport field that was probably similar to what Andy had used when he went to soccer practice. To be honest, he'd half expected more guards, or at least some kind of watch tower.

Some activity further into the field caught his attention, though, and Woody's eyes snapped over to where he saw...a wall of dirt springing from the ground?! Taking several steps away from whatever that was about, Woody focused his attention on the wall furthest away from the action. If he could just get there without anyone noticing him, then maybe...

He was just going to have to try. Steeling his resolving, he tightly clutched onto his light and clothes rod. Within seconds, he was darting across the grass, body bent into a half crouch all the while.

[damned-monsters.livejournal.com]

With such a disturbance going on elsewhere on the field, one might think himself safe from the other creatures who guarded the Institute after night fell. And indeed, such was the noise and confusion that many of said creatures were nowhere to be seen, having prudently vacated the immediate vicinity. The ones who inhabited the roof, however... well, they were a little more accustomed to such things going on in the open fields at night. And when likely prey emerged into the open and was distracted by the very visible guardian, it only presented an opportunity.

Only the most observant of patients would have noticed the dark shadow overhead, the outline occasionally blotting out the stars as the aquila circled over the field, waiting for the right moment to strike. Once its target was far enough into the open, the massive avian curved about and went into a sharp dive, talons extended as it plummeted toward the man.

[pullstrung.livejournal.com]

Just a little closer, just a little closer now-- he inwardly repeated to himself as if it were a mantra. One nice thing about having longer legs was that he moved much faster than he would have in his original body, but that was little consolation. He wouldn't have even been in this mess at all if he hadn't been dragged here in the first place.

Unfortunately, even his human legs weren't fast enough to save him from getting noticed by something unsavory. But it wasn't until Woody saw a dark shape swooping in from the sky that he realized that he'd just made a mistake -- a huge, feathered mistake that was about to tear him to pieces.

Eyes wide as saucers, he couldn't make out much beyond its large shape, and the outstretched talons that were aimed straight for him. But that was all he needed to see to make him go cold. "Ahhhh!" Woody threw his weight to the side in a desperate attempt to land in the grass and roll out of the creature's grasp for at least a couple of seconds longer.

[dualistic]

[From here.]

Not surprisingly, the field was already lively with what looked to be a few separate attacks. There was one man who was being terrorized by what he was pretty sure was a huge bird, and then three other patients further down the field, all of whom seemed to be more interested in each other. Maybe this would work in their favor, then.

It was funny, though, when he thought about it. When it came to whether or not they should help, chances were that Jones would want to, Recluse wouldn't, and he... Well, he could go either way. Not that he was going to tell that to either of the men. In this case, maybe Jones' need to see more of that mine would outweigh any benevolence.

"So, what's our gameplan?" he asked the two. (Was his shadow flickering against the wet grass? No, of course not.) "We could try to sneak past." And over a wall, which wasn't the most inconspicuous of actions, but if they were quick about it...

Apparently when I said "I'll be posting presently" I meant "AUGH GERMAN TEST WHERE DID YOU COME FROM

[tartaros-avatar.livejournal.com]

Recluse was relieved to escape the flickering lights, giving his eyes a moment to adjust, the slitted pupils slowly dilating, releasing more of the strong glow within them, turning his gaze to the field. Ah, the birds were out tonight.

"None of us need to worry about the birds, but we should remain cautious and keep moving. There are often others guarding the field." Well, at least he hoped neither of the other two had gotten this far with their virginity. He didn't think they had, but really, life just loved to throw nasty surprises at him.

[its-the-mileage.livejournal.com]

Indy was about to ask why they didn't need to worry about the birds before something about Richter's tone tipped him off. Those birds, huh? He'd never gotten any closer to them than spotting a few shadows on the roof, but he remembered a few innuendo-laden bulletin posts.

And speaking of shadows... Indy turned sharply to look over his shoulder. He could've sworn he'd seen something moving at the edge of his vision, by the door, but when he actually faced that way, there was nothing unusual there. Indy faced front, glanced back, then turned ahead again. "Must've been the cat," he muttered under his breath, but that didn't put him any more at ease. His ears rang just thinking about last night's encounter; he wasn't in a hurry to repeat it. Keeping moving seemed like a good idea.

No need to belabor the point. Indy just nodded and continued forward, walking fast. He and Dent were pros at getting over the wall by now; with any luck, this wouldn't take long.

[swornandbroken.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/992361.html?thread=73725545#t73725545)]

Mello stepped outside and stopped, lifting a hand to signal to Matt to hold up, too. It was already active out here tonight, a shouting brainwashed prisoner he did not want to tangle with, and that was assuming they made it that far without attracting the attention of the... bird thing.

"Bloody fuck," he muttered, and thought fast. Chance it, or not? Both threats were occupied with other prisoners at the moment, but they might not stay that way. Matt was in no condition to decide. There might be worse behind them. There might be nothing behind you. Do you just get a kick out of risking Matt's life?

Mello did let an annoyed huff escape now. Let the bugs say what they liked; they wanted to make him waver, and wavering was never the answer. He squared his shoulders. "Run for the wall, and don't stop for anything."

[sixth-attack.livejournal.com]

Hmph! Stupid little cowards! It was by pure luck and their cowardice that the two kids were able to escape a cyborg at his highest peak of power! Fine! Those two can just go and get themselves killed out there then! He didn't care! They weren't worth his energy anyways! He had the rest of the night to have some better fights!

As the crackling plasma's light dissipated in the night air and darkness returned to the field, the beastly android turned away from the scorched wall and prowled back to the activities shed. A cloud drifted past the luminous moon, cloaking the Replica in shadow; all that could be detected were the sounds of his robotic body heavily stomping through the grass and the foreboding crunch of his enormous Titan blade dragging through the earth behind him, leaving a trail of ravaged dirt and grass in his wake.

A commotion going on at the farther end of the field caught Sechs' attention. What was a giant bird doing flying around in his turf?! Both Sechs and the miniature robot perched on his shoulder growled at the sight like territorial canines. Couldn't a battle android have his own space to have fights in around here?!

Sechs was seriously considering chopping and roasting the monstrous hawk into a giant fried chicken wing combo when two more intruders caught his eye. Both he and his doll version sneered at the trespassers as the two prisoners emerged through the door. Were they the fighters he had been waiting for, or were they yet another pair of cowards? Either way, he was going to give them his own way of saying "hello", and it wasn't going to be one bit welcoming!

The Replica made another spectacular leap into the air, this time his spinning form surged towards the institute and landed against its aged wall with a dull crunch. The building shuddered and pieces of debris scattered down to the ground. Once the dust settled and the moon freed itself from the passing cloud, the dangerous Replica was revealed to his targets. With a hand gripped onto a window sill and his boots dug into the structure, Sechs hung near the second floor, just a few feet from the door where his prey had just exited through. His toothy Titan blade dangled from his free hand like a deadly pendulum as he viciously peered down at the two patients.

"You two fighters?!" he barked, shooting a challenging grin to his new opponents as he kept his predatory perch above them, "Or just some more wimps in stupid pajamas who should be in bed right now?!"

[gamingsostfu.livejournal.com]

"Oh goddammit-" Matt rolled his eyes. He'd had enough of the lunacy of this place - though lately it seemed to be reaching new levels. Wouldn't help to tell me the place isn't normally so mad, he thought, smirking at the irony of it.

He chanced a look at Mello, sharper than he initially assumed he was capable of; vicodin on an empty stomach? Matt was honestly surprised he hadn't collapsed before then. He wasn't sure how far into the battle he could get before his body just... gave up on him. Hopefully he could hang on as long as Mello could. It would really aggravate him if he let the blond have one more thing to boast about when they decided to be pricks at each other.

"Oi!" he called back, giving their possible opponent a really grouchy look. "They're not pajamas. They're uniforms." A point which was somewhat skewed, he had to admit, but accurate nonetheless.

And irrelevant. But what else could he say? That he wasn't a wimp? Matt was a fan of logic, and logically? Yeah, the guy in front of them could probably blow them in half. He popped his neck.

[nobleman]

[From here.]

As usual, the field was buzzing with activity, though most of it was difficult to pinpoint considering how dark it was, along with the distance between them and the other patients. Still, it was clear that they weren't alone, and that was reason enough to be careful. They couldn't just march across and expect to not be confronted by something or someone.

"We're heading for the wall; it's straight across," Guy explained, even though it wasn't actually visible from where they were standing. There were some floodlights that surrounded the field, but they were very come-and-go, and didn't give as good of a view of everything as he would have expected.

All it really did was play tricks on him. He kept glancing around, thinking that he saw something when he didn't.

"There's a good chance we'll get attacked by something, so be ready." That was all he said before moving toward the side of the field in hopes that they could sneak by unseen. It was a long shot, but he preferred to err on the side of caution either way.

[full-score.livejournal.com]

Apparently Asch decided to be reasonable and come along, and Guy didn't have any objections. Good, Claude thought to himself with some measure of relief, now maybe they could get moving now. He was sure that, if they ran into something dangerous, they'd all be able to put aside any differences long enough to handle it.

As they walked out into the chilled air, Claude gazed at their surroundings. It was hard to tell what was going on, but he got the impression there was at least some kind of fight going on. Claude hated having to press on without making sure others in the area were okay, but he'd been here long enough to know that sometimes adding more people to the mix could be more of a hindrance than a help to everyone involved. That didn't mean he had to like it, though.

But Guy was right about staying on guard. They couldn't get distracted by whatever was going on around them just to have something nasty sneak up from behind -- or above, for that matter. "Some of the monsters out here fly, too," he said, mostly for Asch's benefit. "So, yeah, let's keep a tight formation until we get to the edge of the field, at least."

He fell into step a couple of paces behind Guy, glancing over toward Asch to make sure he was staying close.

[dissonates]

Asch wasn't about to bring up his particular issues about staying close, even though he did work with them and make sure he kept up the pace. It was against his nature to cooperate with people or work closely with them. The only exceptions had been Ginji and the Dark Wings out of necessity, and he'd only done that because he could accomplish more with hired help working in the shadows. At least their loyalty could be bought; there'd been more guarantee that his own soldiers wouldn't betray him for Van. Here there was no money, no one to bribe or employ. And now he was with the last person in the world he would ever be able to win over with money.

Instead, he tried to focus on Claude's words, and keeping an eye on their surroundings. Monsters here, too? It figured. Just when he had no weapon or powers with which to defend himself. He knew how to fight without a blade, somewhat, but it wasn't at all his area of expertise. He looked sidelong at Guy. Speaking of weapons...

"My fonic artes don't work here. Where did you get that sword?"

[doctorbadtouch.livejournal.com]

[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/991949.html?thread=73784013#t73784013).]

Dinner and a show. Some little idiot had gotten herself caught, but that wasn't really any of Muraki's concern. He half-listened to Landel's rant, but he was no self-proclaimed hero so tonight's entertainment would be dreadfully dull for him, wouldn't it?

Muraki's flashlight flickered and died as he stepped out into the field. He didn't pause, but he flooded his senses briefly with the dead boy's life force. Though he sensed nothing familiar, the taste of it was like breathing again. Even the small amount of power was intoxicating after days of being imprisoned and restrained.

He took a last breath of cool night air and stepped into the next hallway.

[To here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/992361.html?thread=73783401#t73783401).]

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/988984.html?thread=73860408#t73860408)]

TK cautiously made his way out, making sure to check for hostiles in all directions, including up. "The shed's over there," he pointed, keeping his voice low. "Keep a lookout, including towards the sky."

[stealthetruth.livejournal.com]

"What's in the sky?" Kay asked, equally low, and looked around with interest, flashlight shining. Oooh, walls! She bet she could climb those, even without a ladder. "And what's on the other side of those walls?"

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

"Some sort of hostile avian," he replied, trying not to blush as he continued, "I know for a fact that they will at least specifically target me if they realize I'm here." Because apparently he seemed to contain enough virginity for three normal men at the very least.

"I don't know the area directly around the Institute. I've mostly been focused on helping others within it."

[gald_digger]

[from here]

The recreational field wasn't much different from when she left it before, though there seemed to be more patients outside... and more monsters, too. And, even though Anise had known it probably wouldn't work, she still felt a disappointed to see that her shadow had followed her outside too. Even worse? It was continuing on, acting as though Anise wasn't trying her hardest to get rid of it.

"... But I guess you like those naïve sorts of people, don't you? After all, Ion was that way, too. I bet he didn't suspect a thing when you--"

"Shut up!"

Anise had enough. She didn't care if what this thing said was true, if she needed to be ignoring it, or whatever else. It had no right to talk about Ion like that! The girl tore away from Ilia, grasping her meat tenderizer with both hands. Hoisting it over her shoulder, she swung at the shadow creature. The weapon passed right through the darkness that made up its body, with the shadow showing no sign of pain or even displeasure. It just watched her with an empty smile.

But despite that, Anise kept swinging. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Though each strike hit nothing but empty air, and the injury in her shoulder hurt more and more each time, she swung the weapon three more times before she had to stop to catch her breath.

[avengingfists.livejournal.com]

Damn it! Out here there wasn't any cover to hide in, not even the institute seemed to have a shadow cast by the moon for them to take cover. It was cold and Ilia was freezing, but inside something was starting to burn. The Shadow Anise had called the young girl a traitor. It continued to say she was using Ilia, and then it said she had betrayed Ion. Ion, the Fon Master, the one she was supposed to be guarding.

Maybe Ilia really didn't know Anise at all.

She stood for a moment, just watching the younger girl flail at her opposing shadow, and in that instant she felt hopeless. But she immediately began shielding her heart from those thoughts. She would not let this place lead her on like a puppet. And almost on cue, her own Shadow approached her, drawing her attention away from Anise.

"You think you can save her, but you know it's not true."

Ilia clenched her fists to her sides and remained close-lipped. Yelling wasn't going to help. It wasn't hostile towards them. It was only spouting words. Just words. Nothing more.

"You can't escape from the truth. You have no power."

It was wrong. She had to tell herself that. She gritted her teeth, standing firm. The Shadowself shrunk away, and Ilia hoped that meant it had conceded defeat, or at least given up for now, but no. It just heaved a worn sigh, shivered, and gazed up with weak eyes.

"After all, I can't do anything. Someone, validate me! Give me praise! I'm worthless without it!" And that was it.

Ilia was immediately on the move, unable to stop herself now. She launched into an attack, aiming punch after punch at the shadow. It backed away, moved to the side, dodged every move. But Ilia was used to fast enemies. She kept right on at it, focusing on speed more and more and less on power. Her gimp leg was slowing her down though, and something... something bothered her about its movements.

Why couldn't she get in a hit? What was wrong with this thing?

[gald_digger]

Looked like Ilia's patience had run out, too. So she had been fighting just as hard as Anise to keep her emotions from boiling over... but just like with Anise, her shadow wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of landing a proper blow.

Anise's shadow actually looked pleased that she was lashing out, as if she was only helping to prove its point. "Is it really okay to let Ilia see the real you? You might scare her away, you know," the shadow casually reminded her.

The girl had caught her breath by then, however, so she raised her weapon and swung again. "I don't care! I'll kill you!" The attack was slower and sloppier than before, and she could feel something warm and wet on her shoulder. On the back of her shirt, a dark red stain began to spread out from her wound.

Anise paid no attention to it. Even though the shadow remained unaffected by her attacks, she swung again. "I'll kill you!" she repeated in a desperate cry.